Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Model driven EEG/fMRI fusion of brain oscillations

This article reviews progress and challenges in model driven EEG/fMRI fusion with a focus on brain oscillations. Fusion is the combination of both imaging modalities based on a cascade of forward models from ensemble of post‐synaptic potentials (ePSP) to net primary current densities (nPCD) to EEG; and from ePSP to vasomotor feed forward signal (VFFSS) to BOLD. In absence of a model, data driven fusion creates maps of correlations between EEG and BOLD or between estimates of nPCD and VFFS. A consistent finding has been that of positive correlations between EEG alpha power and BOLD in both frontal cortices and thalamus and of negative ones for the occipital region. For model driven fusion we formulate a neural mass EEG/fMRI model coupled to a metabolic hemodynamic model. For exploratory simulations we show that the Local Linearization (LL) method for integrating stochastic differential equations is appropriate for highly nonlinear dynamics. It has been successfully applied to small and medium sized networks, reproducing the described EEG/BOLD correlations. A new LL‐algebraic method allows simulations with hundreds of thousands of neural populations, with connectivities and conduction delays estimated from diffusion weighted MRI. For parameter and state estimation, Kalman filtering combined with the LL method estimates the innovations or prediction errors. From these the likelihood of models given data are obtained. The LL‐innovation estimation method has been already applied to small and medium scale models. With improved Bayesian computations the practical estimation of very large scale EEG/fMRI models shall soon be possible. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Rapid rise in detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection soon after incident HIV infection among South African women.

BACKGROUND It is well established that the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is increased among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals, but the temporal relationships between these infections are unclear. METHODS During a South African cervical cancer screening trial, 5595 women 35-65 years of age were followed up for 36 months; 577 women were HIV positive at enrollment, HIV seroconversion occurred in 123 women, and 4895 women remained HIV negative throughout. Tests for high-risk HPV DNA and cytology were performed on cervical samples, and a colposcopy/biopsy was performed at each visit. The effects of early HIV infection on the risk of HPV infection and HPV-related disease were evaluated. RESULTS Among seroconverters, HPV infection prevalence was 20.3% before seroconversion, 23.6% at seroconversion (P = .4), and 49.1% after seroconversion (P = .01). Seroconverters had significantly lower HPV infection prevalence than women with prevalent HIV infection before and at seroconversion (41.8% and 45.9%, respectively) but had similar HPV infection prevalence to women with prevalent HIV infection after seroconversion (49.4%). HIV seroconversion was associated with newly detected HPV infection (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 4.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.26-7.13) and increased risk of low-grade cytological abnormalities (AHR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.16-5.51) compared with HIV-negative women. CONCLUSION Detection of HPV infection increases rapidly within the first years after HIV seroconversion, suggesting that mucosal immune dysfunction occurring at an early stage of HIV infection may influence HPV-related diseases.
Healthy and tasty school snacks: suggestions from Brazilian children consumers

Children do not choose what to eat based on health issues alone, and the high availability of non-nutritious food in the environment can be a barrier to the consumption of healthy foods. Brazilian children are consuming processed, savoury, rich in fat, sodium and refined carbohydrates rather than more nutrient-dense foods. Foods offered in public school meals and those sold in private school canteens in Brazil are subject to regulation, but not the snacks brought from home. This study identified the suggestions of public and private school students about the characteristics that a snack should present in order to be considered both healthy and palatable. A qualitative exploratory study using focus groups was conducted with 128 primary school students aged 7–10 years old. Interviews were transcribed and content analysis was conducted, generating three categories: (1) foods actually consumed during snack breaks; (2) examples of foods considered healthy and/or tasty for consumption during snack breaks; and (3) desired characteristics of a healthy and tasty snack. Foods of high energy density and low nutritional value were mentioned as the most consumed snacks, usually brought from home or purchased within/near the schools. Consumption of meals offered by the National School Meal Program was reported by only one-third of the public school students. Fruits, natural juices and vegetables were considered healthy foods; sweet-tasting preparations containing fruits were considered tasty; while fruits and natural fruit juices were considered both healthy and tasty. Sweet-tasting preparations containing fruits were mentioned as examples of snacks with the desired healthy/tasty characteristics. The disparity between what was actually consumed and what was reported as ideal leads us to question the availability in retail stores of healthy yet palatable foods that meet this population's desires.
Work-Family Balancing and Working Time: What Measures are Available to Canadian Workers and What Measures Should Employers Develop?

This article examines work-family balance. Data from the Workplace and Employee Survey (WES) was used to assess the overall situation of this phenomenon in Canada. Representative statistical data was used to determine to what extent employers have taken the work-family challenge into account. Our data indicate that the progress observed regarding the social debate on work-family balance has not necessarily translated into a marked improvement in facilitating conditions in workplaces and that there have even been setbacks. Indeed, the number of workdays per week has slightly increased, reaching almost 5 days on average for men and 4.6 days for women in 2002. Moreover, a significant percentage of the Canadian workforce is on flexible work schedules or rotating shifts, which were identified as a source of difficulty for work-family balance. On the other hand, a great proportion of Canadian workers report that they work a number of hours at home, which may foster balance but can also be a source of encroachment on private life. The WES data show that people work at home because of work demands and not for reasons of work-family balance. In brief, work spills over into their personal lives. Moreover, although the most pressing desire of Canadian parents with children under the age of 3 is that employers offer help with daycare and on-site childcare services, barely more than one-quarter of Canadian workers report that their employers offered childcare services in 2002. Also, employers offer help with eldercare services to only one-tenth of Canadian workers. As regards the impact of the number of children, its effect on work time, schedules and preferences related to work time is ambiguous. As regards interest in work time reduction, the effect is also ambiguous but workers with one child or two children expressed a slightly greater desire to reduce their work hours. On the other hand, a link was found between the number of children and the desire to work extra hours since the more children workers have, the less they want to work extra hours.
Hydrogen etching and cutting of multiwall carbon nanotubes

The interaction of H atoms with the curved concentric graphene walls of a multiwall carbon nanotube and the stacked planar graphene sheets of graphite was investigated using a combination of high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in conjunction with electron energy-loss and Raman spectroscopies. Continuous cylindrical graphene walls of a nanotube are etched and amorphized by the H atoms. Etching is not uniform across the length of the CNT but rather, small etch pits form at defective sites on the CNT walls along the entire nanotube length. Once an etch pit is formed, etching proceeds rapidly, and the remainder of the CNT is quickly etched away. The carbon K core-loss edge spectra collected from etch pits do not differ from the spectra collected from pristine CNT walls, indicating that reactions occur exclusively at the exposed graphene edges. Similar observations were made when sheets of planar graphite were exposed to H atoms. Confocal Raman spectroscopic measurements revealed that H et.
A Comparative Study of Mixture Models for Automatic Topic Segmentation of Multiparty Dialogues

In this article we address the task of automatic text structuring into linear and nonoverlapping thematic episodes at a coarse level of granularity. In particular, we deal with topic segmentation on multi-party meeting recording transcripts, which pose specific challenges for topic segmentation models. We present a comparative study of two probabilistic mixture models. Based on lexical features, we use these models in parallel in order to generate a low dimensional input representation for topic segmentation. Our experiments demonstrate that in this manner important information is captured from the data through less features.
Maturation of kainate‐induced epileptiform activities in interconnected intact neonatal limbic structures in vitro

In vivo studies suggest that ontogenesis of limbic seizures is determined by the development of the limbic circuit. We have now used the newly‐developed in vitro intact interconnected neonatal rat limbic structures preparation to determine the developmental profile of kainate‐induced epileptiform activity in the hippocampus and its propagation to other limbic structures. We report gradual alterations in the effects of kainate during the first postnatal week on an almost daily basis; from no epileptiform activity at birth, through interictal seizures around postnatal day (P) 2 and ictal seizures by the end of the first week. The developmental profile of kainate‐induced hippocampal seizures is paralleled by the expression of postsynaptic kainate receptor‐mediated currents in CA3 pyramidal cells. Intralimbic propagation of the hippocampal seizures is also age‐dependent: whereas seizures readily propagate to the septum and to the contralateral hippocampus via the commissures on P2, propagation to the entorhinal cortex only takes place from P4 onwards. Finally, repeated brief applications of kainate to the hippocampus induce recurrent spontaneous glutamatergic ictal and interictal discharges which persist for several hours after the kainate is washed away and which replace the physiological pattern of network activity. Paroxysmal activities are thus generated by kainate in the hippocampus at an early developmental stage and are initially restricted to this structure. Before the end of the first week of postnatal life, kainate generates the epileptiform activities that may perturb activity‐dependent mechanisms that modulate neuronal development. Although at this stage neurons are relatively resistant to the pathological effects of kainate, the epileptiform activities that it generates will perturb activity‐dependent mechanisms that modulate neuronal development.
Infrastructure and regional economic performance: comment

Widely disparate results have flowed from various attempts to analyze the impact of public investment in tangible infrastructure on measures of economic activity. The author takes the substantial body of data put together by Munnell and Cook for 48 states over the years 1970 to 1986 and uses the data in pooled time series regressions, in pooled cross sections, and finally in distributed-lag investment functions. ; The author’s results support Munnell’s finding that states that have more capital have greater output, even after taking into account both their amounts of labor (nonagricultural employment) and private capital. The author notes that serious questions remain, however, as to which is the cause and which is the effect.
IBSEM: An Individual-Based Atlantic Salmon Population Model

Ecology and genetics can influence the fate of individuals and populations in multiple ways. However, to date, few studies consider them when modelling the evolutionary trajectory of populations faced with admixture with non-local populations. For the Atlantic salmon, a model incorporating these elements is urgently needed because many populations are challenged with gene-flow from non-local and domesticated conspecifics. We developed an Individual-Based Salmon Eco-genetic Model (IBSEM) to simulate the demographic and population genetic change of an Atlantic salmon population through its entire life-cycle. Processes such as growth, mortality, and maturation are simulated through stochastic procedures, which take into account environmental variables as well as the genotype of the individuals. IBSEM is based upon detailed empirical data from salmon biology, and parameterized to reproduce the environmental conditions and the characteristics of a wild population inhabiting a Norwegian river. Simulations demonstrated that the model consistently and reliably reproduces the characteristics of the population. Moreover, in absence of farmed escapees, the modelled populations reach an evolutionary equilibrium that is similar to our definition of a ‘wild’ genotype. We assessed the sensitivity of the model in the face of assumptions made on the fitness differences between farm and wild salmon, and evaluated the role of straying as a buffering mechanism against the intrusion of farm genes into wild populations. These results demonstrate that IBSEM is able to capture the evolutionary forces shaping the life history of wild salmon and is therefore able to model the response of populations under environmental and genetic stressors.
Poverty and Children's Work in 19th and 20th Century Spain and Nowadays Developing Countries. First Results

In the first part of this paper we portray the relationship between mothers earnings, fertility and children's work in the Spanish (Catalan) context of the second half of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. Specific human capital investment in adult working women had as an outcome the sharp increase of their real wage and also the increase of the opportunity cost of time devoted to house work including child rearing. Fertility evolution is endogenous to the model and decreases as a result of women real wage increases. Human capital investment of labouring women and mandatory schooling of children shift the labour supply function to a new steady state in which the slope of the function is steeper. According to recent papers this model applies to 20th century Spain and it causes the abolition of children's work. Nonetheless this model do not apply to nowadays developing world. The increasing spread of the informal sector of the economy and economic inequality imply the increasing use of part time women's and children work. High income inequality and poverty, in promoting the intensive use of the mother's and children's work, are contemporaneously blocking the development of human capital, both health and education. In these countries children's work is an obstacle to human capital accumulation does not allow for overcoming the poverty trap.
Liquid 2D scatter space for file system browsing

This (video-) paper describes a user interface concept, which facilitates multidimensional visual queries, filtering and browsing of the file system at the same time by means of the "liquid scatter space" (LSS) concept (Waldeck, 2004). The UI concept is based on an advanced star field display (Ahlberg & Shneiderman, 1994) using liquid browsing (Waldeck, 2004) and selection based (sketch-) queries. It allows realtime search and browsing at the same time (integrated into one single user interface) and can visualize the most important file system meta data dimensions simultaneously: 1. filename; 2. creation/modification date; 3. filesize; 4. filetype; and 5. label. LSS provides very fast and easy visual data mining possibilities for the desktop and makes it possible to perceive complex dependencies between the most important file system meta data properties at a glance. It also overcomes the "hidden-deep-down-in-hierarchy-structures"-problem by making it possible to use folders for structuring but not being bound to them. This paper focuses on visual design and interaction aspects and emphasizes the importance of paying regard to visual interactive details for information visualization and interaction interfaces and the need of making it easy to use.
Decreased prefrontal cortical dopamine transmission in alcoholism.

OBJECTIVE Basic studies have demonstrated that optimal levels of prefrontal cortical dopamine are critical to various executive functions such as working memory, attention, inhibitory control, and risk/reward decisions, all of which are impaired in addictive disorders such as alcoholism. Based on this and imaging studies of alcoholism that have demonstrated less dopamine in the striatum, the authors hypothesized decreased dopamine transmission in the prefrontal cortex in persons with alcohol dependence. METHOD To test this hypothesis, amphetamine and [11C]FLB 457 positron emission tomography were used to measure cortical dopamine transmission in 21 recently abstinent persons with alcohol dependence and 21 matched healthy comparison subjects. [11C]FLB 457 binding potential, specific compared to nondisplaceable uptake (BPND), was measured in subjects with kinetic analysis using the arterial input function both before and after 0.5 mg kg-1 of d-amphetamine. RESULTS Amphetamine-induced displacement of [11C]FLB 457 binding potential (ΔBPND) was significantly smaller in the cortical regions in the alcohol-dependent group compared with the healthy comparison group. Cortical regions that demonstrated lower dopamine transmission in the alcohol-dependent group included the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, orbital frontal cortex, temporal cortex, and medial temporal lobe. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study, for the first time, unambiguously demonstrate decreased dopamine transmission in the cortex in alcoholism. Further research is necessary to understand the clinical relevance of decreased cortical dopamine as to whether it is related to impaired executive function, relapse, and outcome in alcoholism.
Regional , interannual and size-related variation of age 0 year walleye pollock whole body energy content around the Pribilof Islands , Bering Sea

Mean whole energy content (Ewb) of age 0 year walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma was 19·928 KJ g 1 dry mass in 3943 fish collected from different habitats around the Pribilof Islands frontal structure, south-east Bering Sea, during September 1994–1996 and 1999. It varied, however, with habitat type. Fish residing offshore had higher Ewb than fish residing inshore of the frontal regions. Age 0 year walleye pollock Ewb changed in a non-linear fashion with fish size, with larger juveniles typically having higher Ewb. Size thresholds were identified at which the relationship between age 0 year walleye pollock Ewb and LS changed. One such threshold was found at 46 mm where Ewb reached a local minimum. Another threshold was found at 80 mm beyond which Ewb tended to remain constant with size. Overall mass-length and Ewb-length residuals were highly correlated with each other (r=0·73, P 0·0001). The slope of the regression, however, was higher for smaller fish. Possible mechanisms are proposed to explain the observed ontogenetic variation in nutritional status and the role of age 0 year walleye pollock late summer Ewb on survival over their first critical winter of life. 2002 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Accurate Lumen Segmentation and Stenosis Detection and Quantification in Coronary CTA

Accurate detection and quantification of coronary artery stenoses is fundamental in correct patient diagnosis and optimal treatment planning. Central to detection and quantification is the correct estimation of lumen in the coronary vessel. Here, we describe a method for accurate lumen segmentation in CTA and present results of an early prototype for stenosis detection and quantification for a variety of datasets. For the detection, a sensitivity of 72% and a PPV of 17% is obtained as compared to QCA, while a sensitivity of 57% and a PPV of 18% is achieved as compared to CTA. The stenosis degree is estimated with an absolute average difference of 49% as compared to QCA, and a weighted kappa value of -0.15 is obtained as compared to CTA. A Dice of 73% and 69% is reported for lumen segmentation of healthy and diseased vessel segments respectively.
Determinants and Repercussions of the Composition of Capital Inflows

The Mexican, Asian, and Russian crises of the mid- and late 1990s have renewed interest among policymakers in the determinants and effects of private capital inflows. This paper analyzes whether policies can affect the composition of capital inflows and whether different compositions aggravate crises. The results support the view that, while fundamentals matter, capital controls can affect the mix of capital inflows that countries receive. The results also show that during the Asian crisis, countries with more yen-denominated debt faired worse, while during the Mexican crisis larger short-term debt stocks increased the severity of the crisis.
Remittance Behaviours Among Recent Immigrants in Canada

Remittances "the money immigrants send to family members in their country of origin" are now centre stage in development and immigrant research. Yet, in spite of this interest, research on the characteristics of remittance senders in Canada remains quite limited, in large part because of the absence of household survey data. More broadly, studies of remittance senders in Canada and elsewhere often focus on immigrants from only one or two source countries and, consequently, do not provide a broad cross-national perspective on the issue. This study addresses these gaps by using the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada to document the incidence of remitting and the amounts remitted by immigrants from a wide range of countries. Using a common set of concepts and methods, we find that the incidence of remitting by the 2000 to 2001 landing cohort ranges from less than 10% to 60% across immigrants from different countries, while the average annual amounts remitted range from about $500 to almost $3,000. Turning to the factors associated with remitting, the financial and family characteristics are consistently significant among immigrants from all world regions. In contrast, other factors, such as gender and education, are associated with remitting among immigrants from some regions but not from others.