Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Continuous robot control using surface electromyography of atrophic muscles

The development of new, light robotic systems has opened up a wealth of human-robot interaction applications. In particular, the use of robot manipulators as personal assistant for the disabled is realistic and affordable, but still requires research as to the brain-computer interface. Based on our previous work with tetraplegic individuals, we investigate the use of low-cost yet stable surface Electromyography (sEMG) interfaces for individuals with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a disease leading to the death of neuronal cells in the anterior horn of the spinal cord; with sEMG, we can record remaining active muscle fibers. We show the ability of two individuals with SMA to actively control a robot in 3.5D continuously decoded through sEMG after a few minutes of training, allowing them to regain some independence in daily life. Although movement is not nearly as fast as natural, unimpaired movement, reach and grasp success rates are near 100% after 50s of movement.
Emissive Properties of Wearable Wireless-Communicating Textiles Made From Multimaterial Fibers

This paper presents the emissive properties of wearable wireless-communicating textiles made from multimaterial fibers for network applications at 2.4 GHz frequency. Tests conducted on these textiles have shown that, for on-body and off-body scenarios, the emissive properties in terms of return loss (S11), radiation pattern, efficiency (gain), and bit-error rate (BER) adequately address short-range wireless communications applications at Mbps data-rate scales. The wireless-communicating textiles were fabricated by integrating polymer-glass-metal fiber composites into textile hosts using conventional weaving process. This multimaterial fiber approach provided good radio-frequency (RF) emissive properties in compliance with safety regulations while preserving the mechanical and cosmetic properties of the garments. These results demonstrate that multimaterial fiber textiles could be designed for short-range wireless network applications addressing the IEEE 802.11b/g/n and IEEE 802.15. 4 standards at 2.4 GHz frequency.
Semliki Forest Virus Neurovirulence Mutants Have Altered Cytopathogenicity for Central Nervous System Cells

We have analyzed the pathogenicity and host range properties of four neurovirulence mutants of Semliki Forest virus which, unlike the wild type (WT), allow the survival of weanling mice injected intraperitoneally with 102 PFU. The mutant M9 showed a sustained multiplication in the brains of infected mice. It produced paralysis in 35%, and 8% died. Demyelination occurred in 94% of the surviving mice and was associated with the destruction of oligodendrocytes. All of the mutants showed a restricted ability to multiply in BHK, C1300 (neuroblastoma), and G26-24 (oligodendroglioma) cells as compared with the WT, and this was not associated with differential interferon production or action. C1300 cells infected with the mutants survived, whereas WT-infected cells were killed. In G26-24 cells all of the mutants and the WT produced a rapid cytopathic effect which was inhibited by pretreatment with 10 U of mouse interferon. Extensive RNA synthesis was detected for all of the mutants and the WT in BHK and C1300 cells, but it was only detectable in G26-24 cells in small amounts early in the infection. The mutant M4 had a defect in the nucleocapsid assembly, whereas M9 had a defect in total RNA synthesis. M136 was defective in the synthesis of 26S RNA, and M103 showed defective synthesis of viral core protein in C1300 cells. It is concluded that C1300 cells can tolerate viral RNA synthesis by a defective virus without showing a cytopathic effect, but the fully virulent WT virus is cytopathic. G26-24 cells are sensitive to small amounts of viral RNA synthesis. These properties of the WT and mutant viruses correlate with changes produced in the neurons and oligodendrocytes of the central nervous system: the virulence of the WT is due to its ability to destroy both neurons and oligodendrocytes, whereas the demyelination produced by the mutants M9 and M136 is due to the destruction of oligodendrocytes alone.
New insights into the mechanism of neurally mediated syncope

Objective: To determine the role of the cerebral cortex in neurally mediated syncope, the electroencephalograms (EEG) of patients recorded during head up tilt table test were analysed. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: University hospital. Patients: 18 patients with syncope or near syncope underwent head up tilt table test with simultaneous ECG and EEG monitoring. Methods: Standard 70° tilt table test was done with simultaneous ECG and EEG monitoring. EEG waveforms were analysed by both visual inspection and spectral analysis. Results: 6 of 18 patients (33%) had a positive tilt table test. Before syncope slow waves increased in patients with a positive test. In addition, five of six tilt positive patients (83%) had slow wave activity that lateralised to the left side of the brain (mean (SD) 822 (724) v 172 (215) μV2, p < 0.05), while none of the tilt negative patients exhibited lateralisation (24 (15) v 26 (19) μV2, NS). Spectral analysis showed that the lateralisation occurred in the δ frequency. The lateralisation preceded the event by 5–56 seconds (18 (21) seconds). Conclusions: EEG activity lateralises to the left hemisphere of the brain before syncope. The lateralisation precedes syncope and is associated with the onset of bradycardia, hypotension, and clinical symptoms. These findings suggest that the central nervous system may have a role in neurally mediated syncope.
Content analysis of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs in popular music.

OBJECTIVE To perform a comprehensive content analysis of substance use in contemporary popular music. DESIGN We analyzed the 279 most popular songs of 2005 according to Billboard magazine. Two coders working independently used a standardized data collection instrument to code portrayals of substance use. OUTCOME MEASURES Presence and explicit use of substances and motivations for, associations with, and consequences of substance use. RESULTS Of the 279 songs, 93 (33.3%) portrayed substance use, with an average of 35.2 substance references per song-hour. Portrayal of substance use varied significantly (P < .001) by genre, with 1 or more references in 3 of 35 pop songs (9%), 9 of 66 rock songs (14%), 11 of 55 R & B/hip-hop songs (20%), 22 of 61 country songs (36%), and 48 of 62 rap songs (77%). While only 2.9% of the 279 songs portrayed tobacco use, 23.7% depicted alcohol use, 13.6% depicted marijuana use, and 11.5% depicted other or unspecified substance use. In the 93 songs with substance use, it was most often motivated by peer/social pressure (45 [48%]) or sex (28 [30%]); use was commonly associated with partying (50 [54%]), sex (43 [46%]), violence (27 [29%]), and/or humor (22 [24%]). Only 4 songs (4%) contained explicit antiuse messages, and none portrayed substance refusal. Most songs with substance use (63 [68%]) portrayed more positive than negative consequences; these positive consequences were most commonly social, sexual, financial, or emotional. CONCLUSIONS The average adolescent is exposed to approximately 84 references to explicit substance use daily in popular songs, and this exposure varies widely by musical genre. The substance use depicted in popular music is frequently motivated by peer acceptance and sex, and it has highly positive associations and consequences.
Galton's Problem as Multiple Network Autocorrelation Effects

Empirical evidence that cultural traits are often nonrandomly distributed because of the individual or combined effects of common history, diffusion, borrowing, and/or other types of cultural transmission processes has been accumulating for decades. Because many cultural traits have recently been shown to be influenced by more than one transmission process, it has become a methodological priority in comparative research to develop statistical methods that can simultaneously incorporate multiple transmission processes. This article proposes a multiple network autocorrelation effects model and associated two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimation procedures. The network autocorrelation effects model offers an alternative interpretation of how cultural trait transmission processes operate than does the network autocorrelation disturbances model. Conceptual differences between the two classes of models suggest that the network effects specification will be more generally applicable in comparative studies. An empirical example demonstrates the substantive value of the multiple network autocorrelation effects model and the widely available 2SLS estimation procedures.
Cytokine Induction in Fetal Rat Brains and Brain Injury in Neonatal Rats after Maternal Lipopolysaccharide Administration

Induction of proinflammatory cytokines has been proposed to be a link between prenatal maternal intrauterine infection and neonatal brain damage. It is known that the endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), released during bacterial infection crosses the placenta. Cytokine induction in the fetal rat brain after maternal administration of LPS was determined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction method. LPS suspension in pyrogen-free saline was administered (i.p.) to pregnant rats at 18 d of gestation. The control group was treated with pyrogen-free saline. Expression of the proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α and IL 1-β mRNA, in the fetal rat brain was increased in a dose-dependent manner at 1 h after LPS administration. The great increase in expression of IL-1β mRNA was only observed at 1 h after injection of LPS (4 mg/kg), whereas the increased expression of tumor necrosis factor-α was still detectable from 4 to 24 h after LPS administration. Brain injuries were examined by immunohistochemistry in 8-d-old rat pups born to the dams that were consecutively treated with LPS (500 μg/kg) or pyrogen-free saline on gestation d 18 and 19. No apparent necrotic tissue damage was found in either the LPS group or the control group. Myelin basic protein staining, as a marker of myelin, was clearly observed in the internal capsule and the fimbria hippocampus in the rat brain from the control group. Myelin basic protein staining was much less and weaker in the brains of the LPS-treated group. Glial fibrillary acidic protein–positive astrocytes were observed in both the control and the LPS-treated groups. The LPS-treated group appeared to have more glial fibrillary acidic protein–positive astrocytes in the hippocampal and the cortex areas of the brain than the control group. Immunoblotting data showed that glial fibrillary acidic protein content in the cortex or the hippocampus of the LPS-treated rat brain was higher than in the control group. OX-42–positive staining (a marker of the type 3 complement receptors) of microglial cells was greatly reduced in the 8-d-old rat brain after maternal LPS administration. However, histochemistry with tomato lectin showed that staining of both amoeboid and ramified microglial cells in the LPS-treated rat brain was similar to that in the control group. The overall results indicate that maternal LPS administration induces an increased expression of IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α mRNA in the fetal brain. Maternal LPS administration also increases glial fibrillary acidic protein–positive astrocytes, decreases myelin basic protein and alters immunoreactivity of microglia in the brain of offspring. Although results from the current study do not provide direct evidence linking LPS-induced cytokines with the abnormalities in the neonatal rat brain, our animal model may be appropriate for exploring the mechanisms involved in the effects of maternal infection on glial cells in the brains of offspring.
Monoamine oxidase A (MAO A) inhibitors decrease glioma progression

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumor which is currently treated with temozolomide (TMZ). Tumors usually become resistant to TMZ and recur; no effective therapy is then available. Monoamine Oxidase A (MAO A) oxidizes monoamine neurotransmitters resulting in reactive oxygen species which cause cancer. This study shows that MAO A expression is increased in human glioma tissues and cell lines. MAO A inhibitors, clorgyline or the near-infrared-dye MHI-148 conjugated to clorgyline (NMI), were cytotoxic for glioma and decreased invasion in vitro. Using the intracranial TMZ-resistant glioma model, clorgyline or NMI alone or in combination with low-dose TMZ reduced tumor growth and increased animal survival. NMI was localized specifically to the tumor. Immunocytochemistry studies showed that the MAO A inhibitor reduced proliferation, microvessel density and invasion, and increased macrophage infiltration. In conclusion, we have identified MAO A inhibitors as potential novel stand-alone drugs or as combination therapy with low dose TMZ for drug-resistant gliomas. NMI can also be used as a non-invasive imaging tool. Thus has a dual function for both therapy and diagnosis.
Vocational status and perceived well-being of workers with disabilities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the different employment statuses of under‐employment, temporary employment, unemployment and non‐participation in the labor force are associated with perceived well‐being among persons with disabilities.Design/methodology/approach – The authors used data from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) conducted by Statistics Canada to develop six categories of employment status. OLS regression analysis was used for hypothesis testing.Findings – Findings indicated that fully utilized permanent employees show the highest level of life satisfaction while unemployed persons searching for work have the lowest levels of life satisfaction and the highest levels of perceived workplace discrimination. Permanent employees whose skills are greatly underutilized show the second‐lowest level of life satisfaction and equally high perceived workplace discrimination as unemployed persons. Non‐participants in the labor force show life satisfactio.
The Association between Telomere Length and Cancer Prognosis: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis

Background Telomeres are essential for chromosomal integrity and stability. Shortened telomere length (TL) has been associated with risk of cancers and aging-related diseases. Several studies have explored associations between TL and cancer prognosis, but the results are conflicting. Methods Prospective studies on the relationship between TL and cancer survival were identified by a search of PubMed up to May 25, 2015. There were no restrictions on the cancer type or DNA source. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analysis approaches were conducted to determine pooled relative risks and 95% confidence intervals. Results Thirty-three articles containing forty-five independent studies were ultimately involved in our meta-analysis, of which twenty-seven were about overall cancer survival and eighteen were about cancer progression. Short TL was associated with increased cancer mortality risk (RR = 1.30, 95%CI: 1.06–1.59) and poor cancer progression (RR = 1.44, 95%CI: 1.10–1.88), both with high levels of heterogeneity (I2 = 83.5%, P = 0.012for overall survival and I2 = 75.4%, P = 0.008 for progression). TL was an independent predictor of overall cancer survival and progression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Besides, short telomeres were also associated with increased colorectal cancer mortality and decreased overall survival of esophageal cancer, but not in other cancers. Cancer progression was associated with TL in Asian and America populations and short TL predicted poor cancer survival in older populations. Compared with tumor tissue cells, TL in blood lymphocyte cells was better for prediction. In addition, the associations remained significant when restricted to studies with adjustments for age, with larger sample sizes, measuring TL using southern blotting or estimating risk effects by hazard ratios. Conclusion Short TL demonstrated a significant association with poor cancer survival, suggesting the potential prognostic significance of TL. Additional large well-designed studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Localization of deposited polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in leaves of Plantago

After deposition to foliage, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may remain on the leaf surface, accumulate in the cuticular wax, or diffuse into the remaining interior of the plant. In a field study, the location of deposited PAHs in the leaves of two Plantago species was determined. To this aim, leaves of Plantago major and Plantago media were divided into three fractions. First, the leaves were washed (wash‐off fraction), then cuticular wax was extracted (wax fraction). Finally, the remaining leaf material was extracted (interior fraction). The presence of PAHs could be demonstrated in all three fractions. For both plants, the distribution of PAHs over the three fractions changed with molecular weight (mol wt) of the PAHs. The wash‐off fraction increased with increasing molecular weight, likely because high molecular‐weight PAHs occur predominantly bound to particles, which can be readily washed off from the leaves. In contrast, the amount of PAHs detected in the interior of the leaves decreased with increasing molecular weight. This can be explained by a slow desorption of the PAHs from the particles and a low diffusion rate of the larger molecules. This study shows that washing reduces the amount of high molecular‐weight PAHs on plant surfaces. Therefore, washing of leafy vegetables is important to minimize human dietary intake of PAHs.
Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative and History

"If Freud turns to literature to describe traumatic experience, it is because literature, like psychoanalysis, is interested in the complex relation between knowing and not knowing, and it is at this specific point at which knowing and not knowing intersect that the psychoanalytic theory of traumatic experience and the language of literature meet. "-from the Introduction In Unclaimed Experience, Cathy Caruth proposes that in the "widespread and bewildering experience of trauma" in our century-both in its occurrence and in our attempt to understand it-we can recognize the possibility of a history no longer based on simple models of straightforward experience and reference. Through the notion of trauma, she contends, we come to a new understanding that permits history to arise where immediate understanding is impossible. In her wide-ranging discussion, Caruth engages Freud's theory of trauma as outlined in Moses and Monotheism and Beyond the Pleasure Principle; the notion of reference and the figure of the falling body in de Man, Kleist, and Kant; the narratives of personal catastrophe in Hiroshima mon amour; and the traumatic address in Lecompte's reinterpretation of Freud's narrative of the dream of the burning child.
A b-Lactam Antibiotic Dampens Excitotoxic Inflammatory CNS Damage in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis

In multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), impairment of glial ‘‘Excitatory Amino Acid Transporters’’ (EAATs) together with an excess glutamate-release by invading immune cells causes excitotoxic damage of the central nervous system (CNS). In order to identify pathways to dampen excitotoxic inflammatory CNS damage, we assessed the effects of a b-lactam antibiotic, ceftriaxone, reported to enhance expression of glial EAAT2, in ‘‘Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein’’ (MOG)-induced EAE. Ceftriaxone profoundly ameliorated the clinical course of murine MOG-induced EAE both under preventive and therapeutic regimens. However, ceftriaxone had impact neither on EAAT2 protein expression levels in several brain areas, nor on the radioactive glutamate uptake capacity in a mixed primary glial cell-culture and the glutamate-induced uptake currents in a mammalian cell line mediated by EAAT2. Moreover, the clinical effect of ceftriaxone was preserved in the presence of the EAAT2-specific transport inhibitor, dihydrokainate, while dihydrokainate alone caused an aggravated EAE course. This demonstrates the need for sufficient glial glutamate uptake upon an excitotoxic autoimmune inflammatory challenge of the CNS and a molecular target of ceftriaxone other than the glutamate transporter. Ceftriaxone treatment indirectly hampered T cell proliferation and proinflammatory INFc and IL17 secretion through modulation of myelin-antigen presentation by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) e.g. dendritic cells (DCs) and reduced T cell migration into the CNS in vivo. Taken together, we demonstrate, that a b-lactam antibiotic attenuates disease course and severity in a model of autoimmune CNS inflammation. The mechanisms are reduction of T cell activation by modulation of cellular antigen-presentation and impairment of antigen-specific T cell migration into the CNS rather than or modulation of central glutamate homeostasis. Citation: Melzer N, Meuth SG, Torres-Salazar D, Bittner S, Zozulya AL, et al. (2008) A b-Lactam Antibiotic Dampens Excitotoxic Inflammatory CNS Damage in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis. PLoS ONE 3(9): e3149. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0003149 Editor: Marco Prinz, University of Freiburg, Germany Received May 16, 2008; Accepted August 15, 2008; Published September 5, 2008 Copyright: 2008 Melzer et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This study was supported by university grants (IZKF Z-3/4) to NM and HW and (IZKF A54/1) to SGM and HW. All authors report no conflict of interest. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: melzer_n1@klinik.uni-wuerzburg.de (NM); heinz.wiendl@klinik.uni-wuerzburg.de (HW) . These authors contributed equally to this work.
The sketchy database

We present the Sketchy database, the first large-scale collection of sketch-photo pairs. We ask crowd workers to sketch particular photographic objects sampled from 125 categories and acquire 75,471 sketches of 12,500 objects. The Sketchy database gives us fine-grained associations between particular photos and sketches, and we use this to train cross-domain convolutional networks which embed sketches and photographs in a common feature space. We use our database as a benchmark for fine-grained retrieval and show that our learned representation significantly outperforms both hand-crafted features as well as deep features trained for sketch or photo classification. Beyond image retrieval, we believe the Sketchy database opens up new opportunities for sketch and image understanding and synthesis.
Successful pregnancy following conservative management of low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma: A case report

It is uncommon that fertility is preserved in young nulliparous females with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS). Therefore, successful pregnancy following such conservative management has been rarely reported in previous literature. A 25-year-old female (gravida, 0; para, 0) underwent hysteroscopic surgery and was pathologically diagnosed with an endometrial stromal nodule. The patient underwent fertility-preserving local resection and uterine reconstruction, with a final pathological diagnosis of low-grade ESS. Endocrine therapy was then administered. Conservative management resulted in the complete remission of low-grade ESS. The patient naturally conceived and successfully delivered a healthy baby at 42 weeks’ gestation by cesarean section, ~30 months following diagnosis with low-grade ESS. In conclusion, conservative management, including fertility-preserving local mass resection and endocrine therapy, can be effective for low-grade ESS and may yield a favorable outcome for young nulliparous females desiring fertility preservation.