Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preprocessing strategy influences graph‐based exploration of altered functional networks in major depression

Resting‐state fMRI studies have gained widespread use in exploratory studies of neuropsychiatric disorders. Graph metrics derived from whole brain functional connectivity studies have been used to reveal disease‐related variations in many neuropsychiatric disorders including major depression (MDD). These techniques show promise in developing diagnostics for these often difficult to identify disorders. However, the analysis of resting‐state datasets is increasingly beset by a myriad of approaches and methods, each with underlying assumptions. Choosing the most appropriate preprocessing parameters a priori is difficult. Nevertheless, the specific methodological choice influences graph‐theoretical network topologies as well as regional metrics. The aim of this study was to systematically compare different preprocessing strategies by evaluating their influence on group differences between healthy participants (HC) and depressive patients. We thus investigated the effects of common preprocessing variants, including global mean‐signal regression (GMR), temporal filtering, detrending, and network sparsity on group differences between brain networks of HC and MDD patients measured by global and nodal graph theoretical metrics. Occurrence of group differences in global metrics was absent in the majority of tested preprocessing variants, but in local graph metrics it is sparse, variable, and highly dependent on the combination of preprocessing variant and sparsity threshold. Sparsity thresholds between 16 and 22% were shown to have the greatest potential to reveal differences between HC and MDD patients in global and local network metrics. Our study offers an overview of consequences of methodological decisions and which neurobiological characteristics of MDD they implicate, adding further caution to this rapidly growing field. Hum Brain Mapp 37:1422‐1442, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Occlusion-Aware Video Deblurring with a New Layered Blur Model

We present a deblurring method for scenes with occluding objects using a carefully designed layered blur model. Layered blur model is frequently used in the motion deblurring problem to handle locally varying blurs, which is caused by object motions or depth variations in a scene. However, conventional models have a limitation in representing the layer interactions occurring at occlusion boundaries. In this paper, we address this limitation in both theoretical and experimental ways, and propose a new layered blur model reflecting actual blur generation process. Based on this model, we develop an occlusion-aware deblurring method that can estimate not only the clear foreground and background, but also the object motion more accurately. We also provide a novel analysis on the blur kernel at object boundaries, which shows the distinctive characteristics of the blur kernel that cannot be captured by conventional blur models. Experimental results on synthetic and real blurred videos demonstrate that the proposed method yields superior results, especially at object boundaries.
Low cycle fatigue and creep–fatigue interaction in short fibre reinforced aluminium alloy composite

Abstract The high temperature low cycle fatigue resistance and the creep–fatigue interaction (CFI) behaviour in terms of the effects of prior fatigue exposure on the subsequent creep behaviour are evaluated and reported for a short alumina fibre (Saffil) reinforced aluminium alloy (Al–12Si–CuMgNi) matrix composite at 623 K. The prior fatigue to study the CFI behaviour was imparted in the form of low cycle fatigue loading in a fully reversed, total strain controlled loading up to a quarter of fatigue life at a total strain amplitude of 0·006 (the plastic strain amplitude at half-life is 0·004), corresponding to a plastic strain energy per cycle value of 0·46 MJ m–3. Subsequently, isothermal tensile creep tests were conducted at 623 K to evaluate the minimum creep rate, rupture time and strain to failure as a function of applied creep stress. Also examined were the fracture features as well as the nature and extent of damage that occurs during low cycle fatigue and creep–fatigue loading. The results obtained on the composite material are compared with those of the matrix aluminium alloy to bring out the effects of reinforcement. The results showed that the reinforcement causes significant loss in high temperature low cycle fatigue resistance in terms of fatigue ductility and cyclic energy parameters. Prior fatigue loading was seen to cause a small but consistent decrease in the creep resistance, which is attributed to the combined effects of mechanical loading and microstructural damage from prior fatigue loading.
Taste loss in hospitalized multimorbid elderly subjects

Background Loss of the sense of taste is common among older people. Morbidities and polypharmacy may contribute to the age-related decline in gustatory function. The aims of the present study were to investigate taste perception in elderly hospitalized patients by comparing their taste recognition thresholds with those of healthy, free-living elderly individuals and to identify potential determinants of taste loss. Methods The participants in this observational study were 55 elderly patients hospitalized in the acute geriatric section of the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at Padova University and 41 free-living individuals aged older than 65 years, randomly recruited from elderly people attending mild fitness programs at public gymnasiums in Padova. Data were collected on nutrition, health, cognitive, and functional status for all participants. Gustatory capabilities were assessed using aqueous solutions of sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, and quinine hydrochloride (representing sweet, salty, sour, and bitter stimuli, respectively), and taste recognition thresholds were measured in both groups. Results In comparison with the free-living elderly subjects, those in hospital were significantly less able to recognize the taste of citric acid (P < 0.05). Low citric acid sensitivity was independently associated with advanced age (≥75 years; odds ratio [OR] 3.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–9.82), polypharmacy (number of prescribed drugs ≥ 4; OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.01–7.72), and poor nutritional status (as assessed by Mini Nutritional Assessment score < 23.5; OR 5.08, 95% CI 1.76–14.6). Conclusion Because gustatory impairment may reduce a person’s appetite and lead to inadequate dietary intake, compensatory nutritional measures, such as the use of flavor-enhanced foods, should be strongly encouraged, particularly in the hospital setting.
Hypothalamic hamartoma with refractory epilepsy: surgical procedures and results in 18 patients.

AIM To study the surgical procedures and results on seizures, in 18 patients with refractory epilepsy due to hypothalamic hamartoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eighteen patients aged from 9 months to 32 years underwent surgery between 1997 and 2002. The mean age at seizure onset was 15.5 months. Seventeen patients had gelastic seizures, 14 had partial seizures, two had infantile spasms, 10 had tonic or atonic seizures and three had generalized seizures. The mean seizure frequency was 21 per day. Four patients had borderline intellectual disability and the others were mentally retarded. Five patients had precocious puberty, one had acromegaly and four suffered from obesity. Brain MRI, performed at least twice in each patient showed the hamartoma as a stable, homogeneous interpeduncular mass implanted either on the mammillary tubercle or on the wall of the third ventricle, with variable extension to the bottom. Ictal SPECT, performed in four patients, showed hyperperfusion within the hamartoma in two. SURGICAL PROCEDURE Twenty-six operations were performed in 18 patients. The first patient underwent a total removal of the hamartoma, whereas the following patients underwent a disconnection, either through open surgery (14 patients) or endoscopy (10 patients). RESULTS Regarding the seizure outcome with a mean follow up of three years four months (one year to 4.5 years), nine patients are seizure-free, one patient has only brief gelastic seizures and eight are dramatically improved. Surgery was uncomplicated in all but two patients: one had transitory hemiplegia and paresis of the third cranial nerve, the other presented with hemiplegia due to ischemia of the middle cerebral artery territory. The quality of life, behavior and school performance were greatly improved in most of the patients. CONCLUSION Our series illustrates the feasibility and relative safety of disconnecting surgery of hypothalamic hamartomas, with seizure relief in 50% and a dramatic improvement in the others. Endoscopic disconnection seems to be a very safe way to treat the intra-ventricular part of hamartomas.
Mechanisms of the salutary effects of dehydroepiandrosterone after trauma-hemorrhage: direct or indirect effects on cardiac and hepatocellular functions?

BACKGROUND Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is the most abundant adrenal hormone in man and has been shown to improve immune functions after trauma-hemorrhage. However, it remains unknown whether this agent has any salutary effects on the depressed organ functions under such conditions. HYPOTHESIS Administration of DHEA after trauma-hemorrhage attenuates depressed cardiac and hepatocellular functions, and beneficial effects are mediated via the estrogen receptors. DESIGN, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Male rats underwent laparotomy and were then bled to and maintained at a mean arterial pressure of 40 mm Hg until 40% of the maximal bleed-out volume was returned in the form of Ringer lactate (RL) solution. The animals were then resuscitated with 4 times the maximum bleed-out volume with RL for 60 minutes. Subcutaneous administration of DHEA (30 mg/kg of body weight) or vehicle occurred after resuscitation. At 24 hours after resuscitation, cardiac output was measured by a dye-dilution technique. Hepatocellular function, ie, the maximum velocity of indocyanine green clearance (Vmax) and the efficiency of the active transport (Km), was determined using an in vivo hemoreflectometer. Plasma levels of DHEA, sex hormone binding globulin, 17beta-estradiol, and testosterone were also determined. Moreover, additional groups of animals received a high-affinity estrogen receptor antagonist (ICI 182,780) with or without DHEA treatment. RESULTS Cardiac output decreased by 12.9% at 24 hours after trauma-hemorrhage; however, it was similar to shams in DHEA-treated animals. Moreover, hepatocellular function was significantly depressed after hemorrhage (Vmax, -74.4%; Km, -62.3%), whereas DHEA treatment restored those values to sham levels. Plasma levels of 17beta-estradiol and testosterone were not significantly altered in animals receiving DHEA. The hemorrhage group treated with DHEA and ICI 182,780 showed markedly depressed cardiac and hepatocellular functions. CONCLUSIONS Since DHEA treatment after trauma-hemorrhage restored the depressed cardiac and hepatocellular functions, it appears that DHEA is a safe and inexpensive adjunct to fluid resuscitation for restoring the depressed cardiac and hepatocellular responses after severe hemorrhagic shock in male subjects. Furthermore, since ICI 182,780 administration with DHEA abolished the salutary effects of DHEA, it appears that these effects on cardiac and hepatocellular functions after trauma-hemorrhage are mediated via the estrogen receptors.
Genital diseases in the peruvian dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus).

Ovarian cysts and one ovarian tumour, uterine tumours, vaginal calculi, abscesses of the broad ligament or undetermined testicular lesions were observed in 25 out of 502 female and male dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) caught off Peru in 1985-1987 or 1993-1994. Tentative or definitive diagnoses included Graafian follicle cysts, luteinized cyst, ovarian parasitic granulomatous inflammation, dysgerminoma, leiomyoma, fibroleiomyoma and chronic fibrino-suppurative inflammation of the broad ligament. All lesions described represented first reports for L. obscurus, and the diagnosis of dysgerminoma was the first in a cetacean. It is also the first time that trematode eggs have been reported in the ovaries of cetaceans and that a vaginal calculus has been encountered in a sexually immature cetacean. The finding of struvite as a major component in two vaginal calculi suggested an infectious aetiology. Of 11 mature females with ovarian tumour or cysts or uterine tumours, only one (9.1%) was pregnant, i.esignificantly less than the expected pregnancy rate (53.3% in a random sample of Peruvian dusky dolphins). Several females with ovarian or uterine lesions and males with aberrant testes were large animals. It is possible that some of these lesions were associated with normal senescence of the reproductive system.
An effective resolution definition or how to choose an edge detector, its scale parameter and the threshold?

In this paper, we propose a new quantitative method to choose parameters values of edge detectors based on linear first derivative filters. First, the resolution is explicitly defined as the smallest distance d between edges that the user wants to detect. A new criterion C/sub d/ of signal to noise ratio improvement is defined as a function of d. Maximizing this criterion for a given filter defines its best scale parameter value. Then, we analyze quantitatively the effect of the third Canny criterion C/sub 3/ (mean distance between noise maxima), and the effect of C/sub d/ on the number of false detections. Finally, we discuss quantitatively the choice of the scale parameter and threshold as a function of the desired resolution, output quality, and of the input signal to noise ratio.
Animal models for assessing the consequences of intrauterine growth restriction on subsequent glucose metabolism of the offspring: a review

Objective: The aim of this article was to review the most current animal models for intrauterine growth restriction. Methods: The databases of MEDLINE and Pubmed were searched for articles published between 1969 and 2001. Additional sources included abstract proceedings and relevant reference lists of articles identified by database review. Key words included intrauterine growth retardation, small for gestational age, animal models and glucose metabolism. The inclusion criteria used to select studies included animal models of intrauterine growth retardation in which glucose metabolism was assessed after birth. Results: A variety of physiological and metabolic variables regulate fetal growth, and alteration of these variables can result in fetal growth restriction. Fetal growth restriction is secondary to initiation of fetal adaptation measures in response to inadequate supply of oxygen and nutrients. Several animal models have led to a greater understanding of the pathophysiology and consequences of intrauterine growth restriction. These observations are comparable to those observed in humans born small for gestational age, and are of interest because of the known association between poor fetal growth and development of glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus later in life. Conclusion: Experimental manipulations have apparently altered a number of metabolic and physiological variables, but the pattern of alterations seems to vary with the procedure employed. This allows only a preliminary conclusion to be drawn at best. Either the laboratory procedures vitiate the natural process under study, or the process itself is variable with respect to the triggering mechanism. As yet, we cannot tell which.
Clozapine in Huntington's disease

To the Editor: Bonuccelli et all reported that the administration of clozapine to five patients with Huntington's disease (HD) reduced chorea without producing side effects. Clozapine was incremented at weekly intervals from a dose of 25 mg daily to 150 mg daily. This is an interesting hint that in our opinion is not adequately supported by the evidence provided. We reviewed the records of eight HD outpatients treated with low doses of clozapine from 1991 on a t the movement disorders clinic of the Catholic University. In all but one, clozapine produced appreciable sedation that in most cases was rated as marked. The average (&D) dose prescribed was 27.34 (k21.63) mg daily; the patients were treated and followed up for an average of 541.75 (k395.74) days; six patients are still on clozapine. In two patients, clozapine successfully controlled aggressive behavior; in two, delusions were attenuated; in three, a reduction of chorea was observed; and in one patient, alcohol intake was also reduced after starting clozapine. Our experience shows that, when given at doses as low as 25 mg daily, clozapine brings about appreciable sedation in HD patients. Based on the common knowledge that chorea is quite sensitive to arousal and to emotional state: we thought that the observed mild benefit on chorea could simply be a nonspecifjc aftermath of sedation. This view is also confirmed by two other studies. Caine et a13 observed drowsiness or somnolence in nine of 12 patients treated with clozapine (the dosage was gradually increased t o a plateau of 340.42 [*144.561 mg daily). They studied three HD patients: two had a reduction of chorea and somnolence, whereas the third had neither. Sajatovic et a14 reported that clozapine (up to 175 mg daily) was effective on depression and psychotic symptoms in one HD patient but not on chorea. They did not observe sedation. Indeed, Bonuccelli et all observed marked somnolence in a patient taking clozapine, but they did not report the dose taken by that patient and did not mention any dose-response correlation. It is rather surprising that they did not observe sedation in any of the remaining four patients, even at doses as high as 150 mg daily. The daily schedule of clozapine was not reported, nor the time of clinical evaluations. (Was it a standard time of day? ) Since the patients' reaction speeds and levels of arousal were not evaluated, it may well be that a mild sedation has escaped observation. Considering that chorea is a rather variable dyskinesia, that the number of patients studied was low, and that the study was not blinded, we believe that the reported antichoreic effect of clozapine is not proven data. Finally, we consider that studies such as this should not only compare the drug under study to placebo in double-blind fashion, but they should also compare it to known active drugs (eg, haloperidol) with a crossover design. This would allow more proper differentiation of direct action from the secondary therapeutic effects.
The fracture toughness of natural fibre- and glass fibre-reinforced SMC

The fracture toughness properties, in terms of stress intensity factor KIc and strain energy release rate GIc, of hemp fibre mat-reinforced sheet moulding compound (H-SMC) are measured using the compact tension (CT) method and compared with those of glass fibre-reinforced SMC (G-SMC). Three material parameters were considered for composite optimisation: fibre volume fraction, CaCO3 filler content and hemp fibre surface treatments using either alkaline, silane or a combination of these two treatments. The highest fracture toughness for H-SMC composites was obtained at a fibre loading of around 30 vol.-%, while it was also shown that the fracture toughness properties of H-SMC are sensitive to mineral filler content. Surface treatment of the hemp fibres using a combined alkaline-silane treatment resulted in a significant improvement in fracture toughness of H-SMC composites. Optimised H-SMC composites exhibited fracture toughness properties similar to those of G-SMC at fibre contents of 20 vol.-%, with KIc values of around 6 MPa.m−1/2.
Analysis of a rape case by direct sequencing of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 pol and gag genes

Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) from a male accused of rape and deliberate transmission of HIV-1 was investigated by sequencing of the HIV-1 pol and gag genes from virus obtained from the male and from the female victim. Parts of the reverse transcriptase and p17gag genes were amplified and directly sequenced from uncultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The sequences were compared with sequences from 21 unrelated HIV-1-infected controls from the same geographic area (Stockholm, Sweden). Bootstrap analysis of phylogenetic trees demonstrated that the sequences from the female were significantly more closely related to the sequences from the male than to sequences from the controls. Furthermore, we found that the male and female shared two distinct genetic variants of HIV-1. In p17gag the major variant had an unusual, out-of-frame deletion of 3 nucleotides which the minor variant lacked. These results indicated that the male had transmitted more than one infectious unit to the female. From this study we concluded that it was highly likely that the HIV-1 strains carried by the male and female were closely epidemiologically linked.
Get a Grip: Substrate Orientation and Digital Grasping Pressures in Strepsirrhines

Skeletal functional morphology in primates underlies many fossil interpretations. Understanding the functional correlates of arboreal grasping is central to identifying locomotor signatures in extinct primates. We tested 3 predictions linking substrate orientation and digital grasping pressures: (1) below-branch pressures are greater than above-branch and vertical-branch pressures; (2) there is no difference in pressure exerted across digits within autopods at any substrate orientation, and (3) there is no difference in pressure exerted between homologous digits across autopods at any substrate orientation. Adult males and females from 3 strepsirrhine species crossed an artificial arboreal substrate oriented for above-, below- and vertical-branch locomotion. We compared digital pressures within and across behaviors via ANOVA and Tukey's Honest Significant Difference test. Results show limited support for all predictions: below-branch pressures exceeded vertical-branch pressures and above-branch pressures for some digits and species (prediction 1), lateral digits often exerted greater pressures than medial digits (prediction 2), and pedal digits occasionally exerted greater pressures than manual digits during above-branch and vertical orientations but less often for below-branch locomotion (prediction 3). We observed functional variability across autopods, substrate and species that could underlie morphological variation within and across primates. Future work should consider the complexity of arboreality when inferring locomotor modes in fossils.