Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcutaneous Spinal Direct Current Stimulation Alters Resting-State Functional Connectivity

Transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) is a noninvasive method that can modulate spinal reflexes, sensory afferent conduction, and even pain perception. Although neurophysiological evidence suggests that tsDCS alters somatosensory and nociceptive afferent conduction to the cortex, its supraspinal effects have not yet been investigated by using functional imaging to investigate tsDCS-induced alterations in intrinsic functional connectivity (FC). Therefore, we hypothesize that tsDCS-induced changes in neurophysiological measures might also be reflected in spontaneous brain activity. We investigated tsDCS-induced changes in somatosensory cortical connectivity by using seed-to-voxel-based analyses from the bilateral primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and the thalamus in a double-blind, crossover study design. Resting state FC was measured by using blood oxygenation level-dependent, functional magnetic resonance imaging (3T Philips) before and after anodal, cathodal, and sham tsDCS (20 min, 2.5 mA, active electrode centered over T11 spinous process, reference electrode over left shoulder blade) in a double-blind, crossover study of 20 healthy men (24 ± 0.7 years). As compared with sham, anodal tsDCS resulted in a decreased connectivity between the S1 and the ipsilateral posterior insula for both left and right hemispheres. Anodal tsDCS also resulted in decreased thalamic connectivity with the anterior cingulate cortex, and increased connectivity between S1 and the thalamus. Cathodal tsDCS showed increased FC between the right thalamus and both left and right posterior insulae, and decreased connectivity between the S1 seeds and the occipital cortex. Our results provide evidence of supraspinal effects of tsDCS and suggest that tsDCS may provide a noninvasive intervention that is able to target cortical sensory networks.
A nuclease specific to lepidopteran insects suppresses RNAi

More than 70% of all agricultural pests are insects in the order Lepidoptera, which, unlike other related insect orders, are not very sensitive to RNAi, limiting genetic studies of this insect group. However, the reason for this distinct lepidopteran characteristic is unknown. Previously, using transcriptome analysis of the Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis, we identified a gene, termed up56, that is up-regulated in response to dsRNA. Here we report that this Lepidoptera-specific gene encodes a nuclease that contributes to RNAi insensitivity in this insect order. Its identity was experimentally validated, and sequence analysis indicated that up56 encodes a previously uncharacterized protein with homologous sequences in seven other lepidopteran species. Its computationally predicted three-dimensional structure revealed a high structural similarity to human exonuclease I. Exposure to dsRNA in O. furnacalis strongly up-regulated this gene's expression, and the protein could digest single-stranded RNA (ssRNA), dsRNA, and dsDNA both in vitro and in vivo. Of note, we found that this up-regulation of up56 expression is faster than that of the gene encoding the key RNAi-associated nuclease Dicer. up56 knockdown in O. furnacalis significantly enhanced RNAi efficiency. Moreover, up56 overexpression in Drosophila melanogaster suppressed RNAi efficiency. Finally, up56 knockdown significantly increased the amount and diversity of small RNAs. Therefore, we renamed this protein RNAi efficiency–related nuclease (REase). In conclusion, we propose that REase may explain why lepidopterans are refractory to RNAi and that it represents a target for further research of RNAi efficiency in this insect order.
"23andMe confirms: I'm super white" - Analyzing Twitter Discourse On Genetic Testing

Recent progress in genomics is bringing genetic testing to the masses, as participatory public initiatives are well underway to sequence the genome of millions of volunteers, and a new market is booming with a number of companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA offering affordable tests directly to consumers. Consequently, news, experiences, and views on genetic testing are increasingly shared and discussed online and on social networks like Twitter. In this paper, we present a large-scale analysis of Twitter discourse on genetic testing. We collect 302K tweets from 113K users, posted over 2.5 years, by using thirteen keywords related to genetic testing companies and public initiatives as search keywords. We study both the tweets and the users posting them along several axes, aiming to understand who tweets about genetic testing, what they talk about, and how they use Twitter for that. Among other things, we find that tweets about genetic testing originate from accounts that overall appear to be interested in digital health and technology. Also, marketing efforts as well as announcements, such as the FDA's suspension of 23andMe's health reports, influence the type and the nature of user engagement. Finally, we report on users who share screenshots of their results, and raise a few ethical and societal questions as we find evidence of groups associating genetic testing to racist ideologies.
FFMPD Scales: Comparisons With the FFM, PID-5, and CAT-PD-SF

A series of 8 Five Factor Model Personality Disorder (FFMPD) scales have been developed to assess, from the perspective of the Five Factor Model (FFM), the maladaptive traits included within DSM–5 Section II personality disorders. An extensive body of FFMPD research has accumulated. However, for the most part, each study has been confined to the scales within 1 particular FFMPD Inventory. The current study considered 36 FFMPD scales, at least 1 from each of the 8 FFMPD inventories, including 8 scales considered to be from neuroticism, 8 from extraversion, 5 from openness, 8 from agreeableness, and 7 from conscientiousness. Their convergent, discriminant, and structural relationship with the FFM was considered, and compared with the structural relationship with the FFM obtained by the Personality Inventory for DSM–5 (PID-5) and the Computerized Adaptive Test-Personality Disorder-Static Form (CAT-PD-SF). Support for an FFM structure was obtained (albeit with agreeableness defining 1 factor and antagonism a separate factor). Similarities and differences across the FFMPD, PID-5, and CAT-PD-SF scales were highlighted.
Distinct functions for the membrane-proximal ectodomain region (MPER) of HIV-1 gp41 in cell-free and cell–cell viral transmission and cell–cell fusion

HIV-1 is spread by cell-free virions and by cell–cell viral transfer. We asked whether the structure and function of a broad neutralizing antibody (bNAb) epitope, the membrane-proximal ectodomain region (MPER) of the viral gp41 transmembrane glycoprotein, differ in cell-free and cell–cell-transmitted viruses and whether this difference could be related to Ab neutralization sensitivity. Whereas cell-free viruses bearing W666A and I675A substitutions in the MPER lacked infectivity, cell-associated mutant viruses were able to initiate robust spreading infection. Infectivity was restored to cell-free viruses by additional substitutions in the cytoplasmic tail (CT) of gp41 known to disrupt interactions with the viral matrix protein. We observed contrasting effects on cell-free virus infectivity when W666A was introduced to two transmitted/founder isolates, but both mutants could still mediate cell–cell spread. Domain swapping indicated that the disparate W666A phenotypes of the cell-free transmitted/founder viruses are controlled by sequences in variable regions 1, 2, and 4 of gp120. The sequential passaging of an MPER mutant (W672A) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells enabled selection of viral revertants with loss-of-glycan suppressor mutations in variable region 1, suggesting a functional interaction between variable region 1 and the MPER. An MPER-directed bNAb neutralized cell-free virus but not cell–cell viral spread. Our results suggest that the MPER of cell–cell-transmitted virions has a malleable structure that tolerates mutagenic disruption but is not accessible to bNAbs. In cell-free virions, interactions mediated by the CT impose an alternative MPER structure that is less tolerant of mutagenic alteration and is efficiently targeted by bNAbs.
A New Approach to the Evaluation of Local Muscular Load while Typing on a Keyboard.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the contribution of using keystroke dynamics (KD) in combination with integrated electromyography (iEMG) for the objective evaluation of local muscular load of hands and forearms while typing on a computer keyboard and to compare it with results of the commonly used method. METHOD Study was performed on 12 subjects. Data were collected using our own application for capturing KD data and using EMG Holter for detecting electromyographic potentials to determine local muscular load. RESULTS The results of our study revealed that currently used methods for assessment of the workload while typing on a computer keyboard are not entirely accurate. In particular, the real total number of keystrokes performed during processing of a text is significantly higher than the count of characters the text is consisting of. In addition to this count, also the so-called invisible keys, keyboard shortcuts, and especially corrections in the typed text must be taken into consideration. CONCLUSIONS The results indicated that all probands in our study exceeded the valid hygienic limits for the total amount of the small repetitive movements of the hands and forearms and the total amount of the keyboard typing movements. Most of the probands in our study also exceeded the valid hygienic limit for the highest average time-weighted value of the percent maximum voluntary contraction (%MVC). This implies that the keystroke dynamics method has a great potential to increase the accuracy of evaluation of local muscular load when using the keyboard and thus to improve the existing methodology for investigation of occupational diseases resulting from overload while working on the computer.
Saffron carotenoids (crocin and crocetin) binding to human serum albumin as investigated by different spectroscopic methods and molecular docking

Therapeutic effects of saffron ingredients were studied in some diseases. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of these ingredients were also studied, but their transport mechanism is not clearly known. Serum albumin has been known as the most important transporter of many drugs in the body that affects their disposition, transportation, and bioavailability. Here, we investigated the interaction of crocin (Cro) with HSA, for the first time, and compared with the crocetin (Crt)–HSA interaction. UV and fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), and molecular docking was applied to investigate the possibility and mechanism of binding of HSA with these natural carotenoids. The gradually addition of Cro increased HSA absorbency at 278 nm, while Crt decreased it. Both of these changes induced HSA unfolding that was confirmed by the decreased α-helix content, as determined by the CD. Both carotenoids quenched HSA fluorescence emission, but with different mechanisms. The Stern–Volmer plots indicated a dynamic quenching of intrinsic emission of HSA due to Cro addition, while Crt quenching followed both static and dynamic quenching mechanisms. Docking results indicated binding of Cro/Crt in sub-domain IIA, Sudlow site I of HSA, which accompanied with the hydrogen bonding of Cro/Crt with Tyr138. The interaction of these ligands (Cro/Crt) caused HSA unfolding and affects the hydrophobic environment of Trp241, which result in the quenching of Trp fluorescence. The UV spectroscopy and fluorescence quenching data indicated the differences in the mechanisms of interaction of Cro/Crt with HSA, which is due to the differences in the structure and hydrophobicity of these ligands.
Effectiveness of Fresh Start: A Randomized Study of a School-Based Program to Retain a Negative Attitude Toward Substance Use in Secondary School Freshmen

ABSTRACT Background: The transition to secondary school is linked to more positive attitudes toward substance use, which prelude the moment of first use. Fresh Start is a school-based prevention program for secondary school freshmen (12–13 years old) to retain negative attitudes. Objectives: This study evaluates the effectiveness of Fresh Start on the attitudes toward smoking, alcohol use, and cannabis use, and on multiple secondary outcome measures. In addition, the effect of timing of the program within the schoolyear was examined. Methods: A cluster randomized trial was conducted. 48 classes, containing 1083 secondary school freshmen, were randomly allocated to the experimental or waiting list control condition. Experimental classes completed Fresh Start between October 2015 and January 2016 and waiting list control classes completed Fresh Start between March 2016 and May 2016. Measurements were scheduled at three points in time (September 2015, February 2016, and June 2016). Data were analyzed by means of multilevel analyses. Results: Fresh Start had small but significant effects on the attitudes toward smoking, alcohol use and cannabis use. The majority of secondary outcome measures were not influenced by Fresh Start, although a small, adverse effect was found on the perceived social acceptance of cannabis use by friends. Timing of the intervention within the schoolyear did not influence its effectiveness. Conclusions/Importance: Fresh Start can help to delay the development of positive attitudes toward substance use in secondary school freshmen. Strengths and limitations, implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Assessment of T- and B-lymphocytes and VEGF-A in acute pancreatitis.

AIM Highlighting certain characteristics of T- and B-lymphocytes, as well as of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) as a prognosis factors for patients suffering from acute pancreatitis, with the scope of establishing diagnosis and therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pancreatic tissue samples were analyzed, originating from 21 patients deceased due to acute pancreatitis, between the years 2015 and 2016. The study group was subdivided into two subgroups by pathology duration. As control group, pancreatic tissue fragments were sampled from eight patients, deceased due to non-pancreatic acute surgical abdomen (NPASA). RESULTS By analyzing the immunohistochemical expression of T-lymphocytes (immunomarked with the anti-CD3 antibody) and of B-lymphocytes (immunomarked with the anti-CD20 antibody), both on the tissue sections originating from the study patients, as well as the control group patients, we established that these were mostly present in the interstitium, following which the acini, less frequently in the islets, in general with B-lymphocytes being less present than T-lymphocytes. VEGF-A also tends to emerge in the acini periphery, at the border with the stromal connective tissue, while the islets are almost negative for VEGF-A. CONCLUSIONS We can state that the decreased expression of T- and B-lymphocytes in normal pancreatic tissue, surrounding the necrosis areas, can be used as an aggravated prognosis factor for patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. Moreover, the increased immunohistochemical expression of VEGF-A can play an important role in tracking the evolution and pathology of acute pancreatitis.
Space Vector Sequence Investigation and Synchronization Methods for Active Front-End Rectifiers in High-Power Current-Source Drives

Space vector pulsewidth modulation (PWM) schemes for the active front end of a high-power drive normally produce low-order and suborder harmonics due to the low switching frequency and the drifting of synchronization between the PWM waveform and the rectifier input frequency. To provide a synchronized PWM and achieve the best harmonic performance, different space vector sequences suitable for a current-source converter are investigated in this paper. Details on how to achieve the waveform symmetries with a minimum switching frequency for each sequence are discussed. A thorough comparison of the harmonic performance of different space vector sequences is carried out. An optimum space vector modulation method by switching between two best sequences is proposed to achieve the best line-current total harmonic distortion with reduced switching losses. In addition, two synchronization methods, namely a PWM frame regulation method and a direct digital phase-locked loop synchronization method, are proposed. Both methods are equally effective in providing tight synchronization of the PWM waveform with the rectifier input frequency. The work has been verified in simulation and experiment.
Comparative erosion tests results of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V samples obtained by using 3D - printing technology and manufactured by the traditional technological method

Rotating blades of steam turbines and compressors operate in conditions of various damaging factors, including shock-dynamic impacts of liquid droplets contained in steam or in air. One of the most promising ways to reduce damage from water droplet erosion can be the application of the 3D - printing technology that will allow to replace damaged parts of structural elements, as well as cut repair costs and prolonging the service life of the equipment. The aim of present work was to determine the possibility of using the 3D - printing technology of the turbine blades for use in power engineering. The main task of the work was to check samples of the material obtained by this method for water droplet erosion resistance, which is one of the regulated tests type at the turbine blades design stage. This paper presented the results of water droplet erosion process experimental studies of the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V samples prepared by the method 3D - printing and by the traditional technological process at a collision velocity Cimp = 300 m/s with a monodisperse flow of liquid droplets with a diameter dd = 1000 μm. Erosion tests were carried out by using a set of research equipment URI «Hydroshock rig «Erosion-M» NRU «MPEI». It has been established that the erosion resistance for the incubation period duration of the Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy samples manufactured by the 3D - printing method is 1.4 times less than for the samples manufactured by the traditional technological process. The data obtained can be used in the future in the development of complex passive methods for protection steam turbines and compressors last stages rotating blades: creation of replaceable erosion-resistant inserts by 3D - printing with a protective coating.
One for You, One for Me

Long-term collaborative relationships require that any jointly produced resources be shared in mutually satisfactory ways. Prototypically, this sharing involves partners dividing up simultaneously available resources, but sometimes the collaboration makes a resource available to only one individual, and any sharing of resources must take place across repeated instances over time. Here, we show that beginning at 5 years of age, human children stabilize cooperation in such cases by taking turns across instances of obtaining a resource. In contrast, chimpanzees do not take turns in this way, and so their collaboration tends to disintegrate over time. Alternating turns in obtaining a collaboratively produced resource does not necessarily require a prosocial concern for the other, but rather requires only a strategic judgment that partners need incentives to continue collaborating. These results suggest that human beings are adapted for thinking strategically in ways that sustain long-term cooperative relationships and that are absent in their nearest primate relatives.
Neladenoson Bialanate Hydrochloride: A Prodrug of a Partial Adenosine A1 Receptor Agonist for the Chronic Treatment of Heart Diseases

Adenosine is known to be released under a variety of physiological and pathophysiological conditions to facilitate the protection and regeneration of injured ischemic tissues. The activation of myocardial adenosine A1 receptors (A1Rs) has been shown to inhibit myocardial pathologies associated with ischemia and reperfusion injury, suggesting several options for new cardiovascular therapies. When full A1R agonists are used, the desired protective and regenerative cardiovascular effects are usually overshadowed by unintended pharmacological effects such as induction of bradycardia, atrioventricular (AV) blocks, and sedation. These unwanted effects can be overcome by using partial A1R agonists. Starting from previously reported capadenoson we evaluated options to tailor A1R agonists to a specific partiality range, thereby optimizing the therapeutic window. This led to the identification of the potent and selective agonist neladenoson, which shows the desired partial response on the A1R, resulting in cardioprotection without sedative effects or cardiac AV blocks. To circumvent solubility and formulation issues for neladenoson, a prodrug approach was pursued. The dipeptide ester neladenoson bialanate hydrochloride showed significantly improved solubility and exposure after oral administration. Neladenoson bialanate hydrochloride is currently being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of heart failure.
Longest Prefix Lookup in Named Data Networking: How Fast Can It Be?

Named data networking architectures have emerged and attracted significant attention in recent years. Due to the name space being many orders of magnitude larger and more complex than IP address space, such architectures pose many significant challenges on design of routers and routing algorithms. IP forwarding algorithms are no longer applicable and cannot reach the satisfactory performance. In this paper, we ask ourselves the following question: how fast can the longest prefix name based lookup be? This is a key question to answer in order for named data networking architectures to be potentially successful. As an attempt to answer this question, we present a framework of fast longest prefix name lookup, based on a name space reduction scheme we proposed for named data networking. We also investigate feasible implementations on both CPU and GPU platforms. We demonstrate that we can achieve name lookup throughput as high as more than 37 and 70 million packets per second, respectively, on off-theshelf general-purpose CPU and GPU platforms. These results suggest that achieving high-performance lookup in named data networking architectures is not only feasible but also practical.
Computations of the Cerebellar Granular Layer

Due to its strikingly regular structure, the cerebellum is widely thought to implement a universal neuronal computation. The leading candidate is the ‘adaptive filter’ which is analogous to an analysis-synthesis filter whose output weights are modified by a simple synaptic learning rule. In this formulation, the cerebellar granular layer forms part of the analysis pathway, and is commonly assumed to implement a spatio-temporal recoding where inputs are recombined into an expanded set of output signals. The nature of the recoding is unknown, although its dense connectivity suggests that circuit-level mechanisms play an important role, a view supported by simulations of recurrent neural networks. By developing computational simulations of neural network models of the cerebellar granular layer, I examine how the structure of neural networks enables them to effectively generate adaptive filter basis signals, and relate this to the known granular layer microcircuit. ‘Cerebellum-like’ structures in sharks and electric fish are thought to be the evolutionary precursor to the cerebellum, and have been characterised as adaptive filters which cancel the predictable component of a sensory signal. The sophistication of recoding implemented by cerebellum-like structures appears to increase through evolutionary time in a way that parallels increasingly recurrent connectivity. Networks constructed using a neural network training algorithm demonstrate the potential versatility of the granular layer circuit, whereas a more realistic ‘winner-take-all’ network reproduces some of its experimentally known properties.