Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The brain stem saccadic burst generator encodes gaze in three-dimensional space.

When we look between objects located at different depths the horizontal movement of each eye is different from that of the other, yet temporally synchronized. Traditionally, a vergence-specific neuronal subsystem, independent from other oculomotor subsystems, has been thought to generate all eye movements in depth. However, recent studies have challenged this view by unmasking interactions between vergence and saccadic eye movements during disconjugate saccades. Here, we combined experimental and modeling approaches to address whether the premotor command to generate disconjugate saccades originates exclusively in "vergence centers. " We found that the brain stem burst generator, which is commonly assumed to drive only the conjugate component of eye movements, carries substantial vergence-related information during disconjugate saccades. Notably, facilitated vergence velocities during disconjugate saccades were synchronized with the burst onset of excitatory and inhibitory brain stem saccadic burst neurons (SBNs). Furthermore, the time-varying discharge properties of the majority of SBNs (>70%) preferentially encoded the dynamics of an individual eye during disconjugate saccades. When these experimental results were implemented into a computer-based simulation, to further evaluate the contribution of the saccadic burst generator in generating disconjugate saccades, we found that it carries all the vergence drive that is necessary to shape the activity of the abducens motoneurons to which it projects. Taken together, our results provide evidence that the premotor commands from the brain stem saccadic circuitry, to the target motoneurons, are sufficient to ensure the accurate control shifts of gaze in three dimensions.
Panic attack semiology in right temporal lobe epilepsy.

BACKGROUND Panic attack semiology as a manifestation of epileptic seizures may lead to difficulties and delay in diagnosis. We present a case series to demonstrate the association of ictal panic and anxiety symptoms with partial seizures lateralized to the right temporal lobe. METHODS From 112 consecutive patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (59 right, 53 left) referred for video-EEG monitoring, five patients were identified whose seizures had been diagnosed as panic attacks in the past. Their ictal symptomatology included feelings of panic and impending doom, hyper-ventilation, palpitation, diaphoresis, shortness of breath and generalized paresthesiae. Ictal panic was not identified in 72 patients with extra temporal epilepsy investigated during the same period. RESULTS EEG documented a right anterior to mid-temporal focus in all five patients. Brain MRI or pathology showed right mesial temporal sclerosis in four and a right temporal ganglioglioma in one. Ictal tachycardia was documented with EEG-EKG recording in the latter patient, prior to right anterior temporal lobectomy and amygdalohippocampectomy. Reinvestigation of this patient five years later for recurrent seizures, no longer associated with panic symptomatology, showed right temporal ictal onsets with seizure spread to the left temporal lobe, now associated with ictal bradycardia. CONCLUSIONS Our case series provides further evidence to support a relationship between panic attack symptomatology and ictal involvement of the right mesial temporal region [Published with video sequences].
High-speed tournament givens rotation-based QR Decomposition Architecture for MIMO Receiver

This paper presents a high-speed hardware architecture of an improved Givens rotation-based QR decomposition, named tournament-based complex Givens rotation (T-CGR). In the proposed approach, more than one pivots are selected and zero-insertion processes of Givens-rotations are performed in parallel like tournament in order to increase the throughput. As a result, the QR decomposition performance significantly increases compared to the triangular systolic array (TSA) approach. Moreover, the circuit area was reduced due to the smaller number of flip-flops for holding the computed results during the decomposition process. The proposed QR decomposition hardware was implemented using TSMC 0.25 um technology. The experimental results show that the proposed architecture achieves 73.00% speed-up over the TACR/TSA-based architecture for the 8 × 8 matrix decomposition.
Feature space maximum a posteriori linear regression for adaptation of deep neural networks

We propose a feature space maximum a posteriori (MAP) linear regression framework to adapt parameters for context dependent deep neural network hidden Markov models (CD-DNNHMMs). Due to the huge amount of parameters used in DNN acoustic models in large vocabulary continuous speech recognition, the problem of over-fitting can be severe in DNN adaptation, thus often impair the robustness of the adapted DNN model. Linear input network (LIN) as a straight-forward feature space adaptation method for DNN, similar to feature space maximum likelihood linear regression (fMLLR), can potentially suffer from the same robustness situation. The proposed adaptation framework is built based on MAP estimation of the LIN parameters by incorporating prior knowledge into the adaptation process. Experimental results on the Switchboard task show that against the speaker independent CD-DNN-HMM systems, LIN provides 4.28% relative word error rate reduction (WERR) and the proposed fMAPLIN method is able to provide further 1.15% (totally 5.43%) WERR on top of LIN.
Protective Cross-Reactive Cellular Immunity to Lethal A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96-Like H5N1 Influenza Virus Is Correlated with the Proportion of Pulmonary CD8+ T Cells Expressing Gamma Interferon

ABSTRACT A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96-like H5N1 influenza viruses now circulating in southeastern China differ genetically from the H5N1 viruses transmitted to humans in 1997 but were their precursors. Here we show that the currently circulating H9N2 influenza viruses provide chickens with cross-reactive protective immunity against the currently circulating H5N1 influenza viruses and that this protective immunity is closely related to the percentage of pulmonary CD8+ T cells expressing gamma interferon (IFN-γ). In vivo depletion of T-cell subsets showed that the cross-reactive immunity was mediated by T cells bearing CD8+ and T-cell receptor (TCR) α/β and that the Vβ1 subset of TCR α/β T cells had a dominant role in protective immunity. The protective immunity induced by infection with H9N2 virus declined with time, lasting as long as 100 days after immunization. Shedding of A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96-like H5N1 virus by immunized chickens also increased with the passage of time and thus may play a role in the perpetuation and spread of these highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses. Our findings indicate that pulmonary cellular immunity may be very important in protecting naïve natural hosts against lethal influenza viruses.
Effect of Duck Feet Gelatin on Physicochemical, Textural, and Sensory Properties of Low-fat Frankfurters

Duck feet gelatin (DFG) gel was added as a fat replacer to low-fat frankfurters and the effect of DFG on physicochemical, textural, and sensory characteristics of low-fat frankfurters was evaluated. DFG gel was prepared with a 20% duck feet gelatin concentration (w/w). Adding DFG decreased lightness and increased yellowness of the low-fat frankfurters (p<0.05). However, DFG did not affect redness of low-fat frankfurters (p>0.05). The statistical results indicated that adding DFG improved cooking yield of low-fat frankfurters (p<0.05). In addition, replacing pork back fat with DFG resulted in increased moisture content, protein content, and ash content of low-fat frankfurters, and the low-fat frankfurter formulated with 5% pork back fat and 15% DFG gel had the highest moisture content and lowest fat content (p<0.05). Adding of DFG increased all textural parameters including hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, and gumminess of low-fat frankfurters (p<0.05). In terms of sensory properties, the low-fat frankfurter formulated with 5% pork back fat and 15% DFG gel showed similar satisfaction scores for the flavor, tenderness, juiciness, and overall acceptance when compared to the regular frankfurters (20% back fat). Therefore, our results suggest that DFG could be an effective novel source, as a fat replacer, for manufacturing of low-fat frankfurters.
Physicochemical, Geochemical and Mineralogical Aspects of Agricultural Soils in Limpopo Province, South Africa

ABSTRACT Soil samples were collected from three selected sites (uncultivated, cultivated and grazing land) at University of Limpopo Experimental Farm (Syferkuil) in Mankweng area to characterise their physicochemical, geochemical and mineralogical properties and their influence on soil fertility for agriculture. Soil textural triangle using Texture Auto Lookup Software (TAL 4.2) Package was used to determine particle sizes of samples which were all dominated by a loamy texture. Chemical characterisation carried out included determination of exchangeable cations, major elemental oxides and trace elements. Silica was the dominant oxide with the highest weight percentage values ranging from 75.99 to 83.45. Chemical index of alteration values of 66 to 75 depicted moderate silica weathering with depletion of soil nutrients due to leaching. Seven minerals were identified i n soil samples which were dominated by kaolinite. The presence of mica and smectites in the soils displayed properties typical of soils rich in exchangeable cations compared to those with mineral assemblage dominated by kaolinite and quartz. The overall findings indicated moderate concentrations of nutrient elements and favorable plant growing conditions, where addition of adequate nutrient fertilizers would potentially optimize crop yield.
Specific extra chromosomes occur in a modal number dependent pattern in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and high hyperdiploidy (>50 chromosomes) are considered to have a relatively good prognosis. The specific extra chromosomes are not random; extra copies of some chromosomes occur more frequently than those of others. We examined the extra chromosomes present in high hyperdiploid ALL to determine if there were a relation of the specific extra chromosomes and modal number (MN) and if the extra chromosomes present could differentiate high hyperdiploid from near‐triploid and near‐tetraploid cases. Karyotypes of 2,339 children with ALL and high hyperdiploidy at diagnosis showed a distinct nonrandom sequential pattern of gain for each chromosome as MN increased, with four groups of gain: chromosomes 21, X, 14, 6, 18, 4, 17, and 10 at MN 51–54; chromosomes 8, 5, 11, and 12 at MN 57–60; chromosomes 2, 3, 9,16, and 22 at MN 63–67; chromosomes 1, 7 13, 15, 19, and 20 at MN 68–79, and Y only at MN ≥≥80. Chromosomes gained at lower MN were retained as the MN increased. High hyperdiploid pediatric ALL results from a single abnormal mitotic division. Our results suggest that the abnormal mitosis involves specific chromosomes dependent on the number of chromosomes aberrantly distributed, raising provocative questions regarding the mitotic mechanism. The patterns of frequencies of tetrasomy of specific chromosomes differs from that of trisomies with the exception of chromosome 21, which is tetrasomic in a high frequency of cases at all MN. These results are consistent with different origins of high hyperdiploidy, near‐trisomy, and near‐tetrasomy. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Factors affecting pre- and post-stenting computed tomography perfusion in patients with middle cerebral artery stenosis

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting pre- and post-stenting head computed tomography perfusion (CTP) in patients with middle cerebral artery stenosis. A total of 25 patients with severe middle cerebral artery stenosis were enrolled. CTP was performed prior to and following stenting. Scores were allocated to the time-to-peak (TTP) parameter of CTP using the Alberta stroke program early computed tomography scoring (ASPECTS) scale. The factors possibly affecting pre- and post-stenting CTP were analyzed. All the patients exhibited markedly prolonged TTP on the affected side prior to stenting, compared with the healthy side. Following surgery, the TTP was improved in all patients. The preoperative ASPECTS score was negatively correlated with the degree of middle cerebral artery stenosis with a correlation coefficient of −5.78. The preoperative vascular stenosis rate was positively correlated with the improvement degree of the ASPECTS score with a correlation coefficient of 1.137 (P=0.001). TTP is a sensitive parameter for evaluating the effect of stenting on middle cerebral artery stenosis. TTP prior to and following stenting may be quantitatively assessed using the ASPECTS scale. Patients with serious stenosis and/or good collateral circulation are able to benefit more from stenting.
Heterogeneity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Brazilian Cystic Fibrosis Patients

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to assess the diversity and genomic variability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients being treated at a university hospital in Brazil. Ninety-seven isolates of P. aeruginosa from 43 CF patients were characterized by macrorestriction analysis of chromosomal DNA by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and tested for susceptibility to 20 antimicrobial agents by broth microdilution. It was possible to evaluate single isolates from 20 patients and multiple isolates (two to seven) from 23 patients collected during a 22-month period. Among all of the unrelated patients, we detected only one pair of patients sharing a common strain. Among the 77 isolates from 23 patients who had multiple isolates analyzed, we identified 37 major types by PFGE, and five different colonization patterns were recognized. The isolates were susceptible to several antimicrobial agents, although consecutive isolates from the same patient may display differences in their susceptibilities. Mucoid isolates were more resistant (P < 0.001) than nonmucoid isolates to five antibiotics. Our results indicate that CF patients remain colonized by more than one strain of P. aeruginosa for long periods of time. In addition, the finding of several different genotypes in the same patient suggests that the colonizing strain may occasionally be replaced.
Fast In-Memory SQL Analytics on Typed Graphs

We study a class of graph analytics SQL queries, which we call relationship queries. These queries involving aggregation, join, semijoin, intersection and selection are a wide superset of fixed-length graph reachability queries and of tree pattern queries. We present real-world OLAP scenarios, where efficient relationship queries are needed. However, row stores, column stores and graph databases are unacceptably slow in such OLAP scenarios. We propose a GQ-Fast database, which is an indexed database that roughly corresponds to efficient encoding of annotated adjacency lists that combines salient features of column-based organization, indexing and compression. GQ-Fast uses a bottom-up fully pipelined query execution model, which enables (a) aggressive compression (e.g., compressed bitmaps and Huffman) and (b) avoids intermediate results that consist of row IDs (which are typical in column databases). GQ-Fast compiles query plans into executable C++ source code. Besides achieving runtime efficiency, GQ-Fast also reduces main memory requirements because, unlike column databases, GQ-Fast selectively allows dense forms of compression including heavy-weight compressions, which do not support random access. We used GQ-Fast to accelerate queries for two OLAP dashboards in the biomedical field. GQ-Fast outperforms PostgreSQL by 2--4 orders of magnitude and MonetDB, Vertica and Neo4j by 1--3 orders of magnitude when all of them are running on RAM. Our experiments dissect GQ-Fast's advantage between (i) the use of compiled code, (ii) the bottom-up pipelining execution strategy, and (iii) the use of dense structures. Other analysis and experiments show the space savings of GQ-Fast due to the appropriate use of compression methods. We also show that the runtime penalty incurred by the dense compression methods decreases as the number of CPU cores increases.
Deficiency in Galectin-3 Promotes Hepatic Injury in CDAA Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly recognized as a condition in which excess fat accumulates in hepatocytes. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a severe form of NAFLD in which inflammation and fibrosis in the liver are noted, may eventually progress to end-stage liver disease. Galectin-3, a β-galactoside-binding animal lectin, is a multifunctional protein. This protein is involved in inflammatory responses and carcinogenesis. We investigated whether galectin-3 is involved in the development of NASH by comparing galectin-3 knockout (gal3−/−) mice and wild-type (gal3+/+) mice with choline-deficient L-amino-acid-defined (CDAA) diet-induced NAFLD/NASH. Hepatic injury was significantly more severe in the gal3−/− male mice, as compared to the gal3+/+ mice. Data generated by microarray analysis of gene expression suggested that galectin-3 deficiency causes alterations in the expression of various genes associated with carcinogenesis and lipid metabolism. Through canonical pathway analysis, involvement of PDGF and IL-6 signaling pathways was suggested in galectin-3 deficiency. Significant increase of CD14, Fos, and Jun, those that were related to lipopolysaccharide-mediated signaling, was candidate to promote hepatocellular damages in galectin-3 deficiency. In conclusion, galectin-3 deficiency in CDAA diet promotes NAFLD features. It may be caused by alterations in the expression profiles of various hepatic genes including lipopolysaccharide-mediated inflammation.
Single-Phase On-Board Integrated Battery Chargers for EVs Based on Multiphase Machines

The paper considers integration of multiphase (more than three phases) machines and converters into a single-phase charging process of electric vehicles (EVs) and, thus, complements recently introduced fast charging solutions for the studied phase numbers. One entirely novel topology, employing a five-phase machine, is introduced and assessed jointly with three other topologies that use an asymmetrical nine-phase machine, an asymmetrical six-phase machine, and a symmetrical six-phase machine. In all topologies, both charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode are viable. Moreover, all are capable of unity power factor operation. A torque is not produced in machines during charging/V2G process so that mechanical locking is not required. Hardware reconfiguration between propulsion and charging/V2G mode is either not required or minimized by using a single switch. Theoretical analysis of operating principles is given, and a control scheme, applicable to all topologies and which includes current balancing and interleaving strategy, is developed. Finally, operation of all topologies is compared by means of experiments in both charging and V2G mode, with a discussion of influence of current balancing and interleaving strategy on the overall performance.
Collective Lamb Shift in Single-Photon Superradiance

All Together Now An atom, when excited, will typically decay with a characteristic decay time. An ensemble of atoms, collectively coupled together with just one of the atoms excited will conspire to decay much faster than the single atom case. This enhancement of light-matter interaction is known as superradiance. Röhlsberger et al. (p. 1248, published online 13 May; see the cover; see the Perspective by Scully and Svidzinsky) present the realization of an artificial superradiant system comprising resonant iron atoms embedded in a semiconductor cavity and excited by synchrotron radiation and report the signature collective Lamb shift expected from the cooperative interaction and enhanced decay rate. The availability of such a controlled system to look closer at this effect should shed light on its role in natural and complex light-harvesting systems, and possibly allow the production of more efficient solar cells. Superradiance is observed from an ensemble of iron atoms excited by synchrotron radiation. Superradiance, the cooperative spontaneous emission of photons from an ensemble of identical atoms, provides valuable insights into the many-body physics of photons and atoms. We show that an ensemble of resonant atoms embedded in the center of a planar cavity can be collectively excited by synchrotron radiation into a purely superradiant state. The collective coupling of the atoms via the radiation field leads to a substantial radiative shift of the transition energy, the collective Lamb shift. We simultaneously measured the temporal evolution of the superradiant decay and the collective Lamb shift of resonant 57Fe nuclei excited with 14.4–kilo–electron volt synchrotron radiation. Our experimental technique provides a simple method for spectroscopic analysis of the superradiant emission.
The macular photostress test in diabetes, glaucoma, and cataract

Purpose. The photostress recovery time test (PSRT) has been widely reported as a helpful screening clinical tool. However, the poor standardization of its measurement technique remains to be a limitation among clinicians. The purpose of this study is to apply a recommended clinical technique to measure the PSRT in some of the most commons eye diseases to ascertain whether these diseases affect the PSRT values. Methods. One hundred and one controls and 105 patients, with diagnosed diabetes (without visible signs of diabetic retinopathy), primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) or cataracts underwent photostress testing. The test was performed with a direct ophthalmoscope for illuminating the macula for 30 seconds. Participants belonged to three age classes: A, B and C; and were divided into four groups: control, diabetic, POAG and cataract. The age range for A, B and C classes were respectively 43-54, 55-64 and 65-74 years. The groups were also further compared within each age class. In addition, the influence of age on PSRT was evaluated using the control group. Results. Results demonstrate that PSRT changes with age (p<0.02). In class A, diabetic group had a faster PSRT than control group, (mean ± standard deviation) 20.22±7.51 and 26.14±8.34 seconds. The difference between these groups was statistical significant (t-test, p=0.012). Cataract and POAG groups did not affect the PSRT significantly. Conclusions. The technique used for the Photostress showed that diabetics, younger than 54 years, may have faster PSRT and that, aging delays PSRT.
First rib palpation: a safer, easier technique for supraclavicular brachial plexus block.

The supraclavicular approach to local anesthetic blockade of the brachial plexus offers several advantages over other approaches. It has a high success rate and rapid onset of action (1). Compared with the axillary approach, it provides more complete anesthesia of the plexus, particularly the axillary and musculocutaneous nerves, and does not require abduction of the arm to perform. The interscalene approach is complicated by a higher incidence of injection into epidural or subarachnoid spaces or into the vertebral artery. It also is relatively difficult to master (1). The most significant problem that has prevented supraclavicular block from achieving widespread use has been pneumothorax, a complication that has a reported incidence of 0.6 to 5.0% (1). We describe a simple technique utilizing palpation of the first rib to improve the ease of supraclavicular brachial plexus block, which also should decrease the potential of lung injury.