Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subthalamic nucleus stimulation impairs emotional conflict adaptation in Parkinson’s disease

Abstract The subthalamic nucleus (STN) occupies a strategic position in the motor network, slowing down responses in situations with conflicting perceptual input. Recent evidence suggests a role of the STN in emotion processing through strong connections with emotion recognition structures. As deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the STN in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) inhibits monitoring of perceptual and value-based conflict, STN DBS may also interfere with emotional conflict processing. To assess a possible interference of STN DBS with emotional conflict processing, we used an emotional Stroop paradigm. Subjects categorized face stimuli according to their emotional expression while ignoring emotionally congruent or incongruent superimposed word labels. Eleven PD patients ON and OFF STN DBS and eleven age-matched healthy subjects conducted the task. We found conflict-induced response slowing in healthy controls and PD patients OFF DBS, but not ON DBS, suggesting STN DBS to decrease adaptation to within-trial conflict. OFF DBS, patients showed more conflict-induced slowing for negative conflict stimuli, which was diminished by STN DBS. Computational modelling of STN influence on conflict adaptation disclosed DBS to interfere via increased baseline activity.
A review of the tissue residue approach for organic and organometallic compounds in aquatic organisms

This paper reviews the tissue residue approach (TRA) for toxicity assessment as it applies to organic chemicals and some organometallic compounds (Sn, Hg, and Pb) in aquatic organisms. Specific emphasis was placed on evaluating key factors that influence interpretation of critical body residue (CBR) toxicity metrics including data quality issues, lipid dynamics, choice of endpoints, processes that alter toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics, phototoxicity, species‐ and life stage‐specific sensitivities, and biotransformation. The vast majority of data available on TRA is derived from laboratory studies of acute lethal responses to organic toxicants exhibiting baseline toxicity. Application of the TRA to various baseline toxicants as well as substances with specific modes of action via receptor‐mediated processes, such as chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, and organometallics is discussed, as is application of TRA concepts in field assessments of tissue residues. In contrast to media‐based toxicity relationships, CBR values tend to be less variable and less influenced by factors that control bioavailability and bioaccumulation, and TRA can be used to infer mechanisms of toxic action, evaluate the toxicity of mixtures, and interpret field data on bioaccumulated toxicants. If residue‐effects data are not available, body residues can be estimated, as has been done using the target lipid model for baseline toxicants, to derive critical values for risk assessment. One of the primary unresolved issues complicating TRA for organic chemicals is biotransformation. Further work on the influence of biotransformation, a better understanding of contaminant lipid interactions, and an explicit understanding of the time dependency of CBRs and receptor‐mediated toxicity are all required to advance this field. Additional residue‐effects data on sublethal endpoints, early life stages, and a wider range of legacy and emergent contaminants will be needed to improve the ability to use TRA for organic and organometallic compounds. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2011;7:50–74. © 2010 SETAC
No Silver Bullet: Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering

But, as we look to the horizon of a decade hence, we see no silver bullet. There is no single development, in either technology or in management technique, that by itself promises even one orderof-magnitude improvement in productivity, in reliability, in simplicity. In this article, I shall try to show why, by examining both the nature of the software problem and the properties of the bullets proposed.
Rifabutin Resistance Associated with Double Mutations in rpoB Gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates

The objective of this study was to investigate the cross-resistance between rifampin (RIF) and rifabutin (RFB) among clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates, and the correlations between specific rpoB mutations and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of RIF and RFB. A total of 256 RIF-resistant isolates were included from the National Tuberculosis Clinical Laboratory in China. The MICs of MTB isolates against RIF and RFB were determined by using a microplate alamarBlue assay. In addition, all the MTB isolates were sequenced for mutations in rpoB gene. 204 out of 256 isolates (79.7%) were resistant to RFB, whereas 52 (20.3%) were susceptible to RFB. RIF-resistant/INH-susceptible (RR) group had a significant lower proportion of RFB-resistance than MDR- (P = 0.04) and XDR-TB group (P < 0.01). DNA sequencing revealed that there were 218 isolates (85.2%) with a single mutation, 26 (10.1%) with double mutations, and 12 (4.7%) without mutation in rpoB gene. Notably, although the single substitution of Leu511Pro, Asp516Gly, and His526Asn did not result in RFB resistance, 77.8% (7/9) of the MTB isolates with these double mutations became resistant to RFB. Compared with RR group (38.9%, 7/18), MDR-TB (63.5%, 106/167) had significantly higher proportion of isolates with mutations in codon 531 of rpoB gene (P = 0.04). Our data demonstrate that various rpoB mutations are associated with differential resistance to RIF and RFB. A single specific mutation in codons 511, 516, 526, and 533 was linked to the susceptibility to RFB for MTB, while the strains with these double mutations irrelevantly conferring RFB resistance produced RFB-resistant phenotype.
Anti-sclerostin Antibodies and the Future Treatment of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a bone disorder characterized by the reduction of bone mass and/or volume in a normally mineralized bone. This ultimately results in reduction in the mechanical strength of bone making it more vulnerable to minimal trauma fracture [1]. Osteoporosis is highly prevalent in elderly especially postmenopausal women and it can increase both morbidity and mortality. It is estimated that over 200 million adults have osteoporosis worldwide. Furthermore, the prevalence of osteoporotic fractures is increasing by 1% to 3% each year worldwide [2]. Therefore effective and novel treatments are required to overcome this global health problem.
SOX8 Is Expressed during Testis Differentiation in Mice and Synergizes with SF1 to Activate the Amh Promoter in Vitro*

Sox8 is a member of the Sox family of developmental transcription factor genes and is closely related to Sox9, a key gene in the testis determination pathway in mammals. Like Sox9, Sox8 is expressed in the developing mouse testis around the time of sex determination, suggesting that it might play a role in regulating the expression of testis-specific genes. An early step in male sex differentiation is the expression of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in Sertoli cells. Expression of the Amh gene during sex differentiation requires the interaction of several transcription factors, including SF1, SOX9, GATA4, WT1, and DAX1. Here we show that SOX8 may also be involved in regulating the expression of Amh. Expression of Sox8 begins just prior to that of Amh at 12 days post coitum (dpc) in mouse testes and continues beyond 16 dpc in Sertoli cells. In vitro assays showed that SOX8 binds specifically to SOX binding sites within the Amh minimal promoter and, like SOX9, acts synergistically with SF1 through direct protein-protein interaction to enhance Amh expression, albeit at lower levels compared with SOX9. SOX8 and SOX9 appear to have arisen from a common ancestral gene and may have retained some common functions during sexual development. Our data provide the first evidence that SOX8 may partially compensate for the reduced SOX9 activity in campomelic dysplasia and substitute for Sox9 where Sox9 is either not expressed or expressed too late to be involved in sex determination or regulation of Amh expression.
Stereologic Analysis of Microvascular Morphology in the Elderly: Alzheimer Disease Pathology and Cognitive Status

The presence of microvascular changes has been documented both in brain aging and Alzheimer disease (AD), although the relationship between the morphometry of brain capillaries and cognitive impairment is still unknown. We performed an analysis of capillary morphometric parameters and AD-related pathology in 19 elderly individuals with variable degrees of cognitive decline. Cognitive status was assessed prospectively using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. Total capillary lengths and numbers as well as mean length-weighted diameter, total neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) and neuron numbers, and amyloid volume were estimated in entorhinal cortex and the CA1 field. Total capillary numbers and mean diameters explained almost 40% of the neuron number variability in both the CA1 and entorhinal cortex. Total capillary length and numbers in the CA1 and entorhinal cortex did not predict cognitive status. Mean capillary diameters in the CA1 and entorhinal cortex were significantly related to CDR scores, explaining 18.5% and 31.1% of the cognitive variability, respectively. This relationship persisted after controlling for NFT and neuron numbers in multivariate regression models. Consistent with the growing interest about microvascular pathology in brain aging, the present data indicate that changes in capillary morphometric parameters may represent independent predictors of AD-related neuronal depletion and cognitive decline.
How younger and older adults master the usage of hyperlinks in small screen devices

In this paper we describe an experiment, in which we examined older and younger adults when interacting with a simulated PDA (personal digital assistant). Independent variables were users' age (young vs. older) and device interface (hyperlink vs. no hyperlink). Dependent variables were the effectiveness and efficiency of menu navigation. To understand how user characteristics influence performance, spatial ability, verbal memory, computer expertise and technical self-confidence were determined. Technology experienced young and older adults (benchmark testing) took part. They had to solve four tasks either with hyperlink interface or without hyperlinks in the interface. The method to collect, to automatically analyze and to structure the data according to interaction sequences and presumed user intentions is a novel approach supported by the open source software tool Clever [12]. The tool is briefly described; more details can be found in [23]. Results revealed that hyperlink interfaces showed overall higher effectiveness. However, the impact of hyperlinks for efficiency was age-related. Younger adults strongly benefit from having hyperlinks. The contrary was the case for older adults, who showed higher menu disorientation when using hyperlinks.
Numerical Modeling of the Conductivity of the Particle Monolayer with Reduced Size

Fractures filled with a proppant monolayer play an important role in the hydraulic fracture network. Predicting the conductivity of these fractures is the basis of fracture network optimization. However, little attention has been paid to the conductivity of the proppant monolayer. The change of conductivity under various conditions is currently not fully understood. Therefore, in this paper, the conductivity variation under different conditions are simulated. The reduction of particle size was calculated by existing analytical models. The permeability variation was calculated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) combined with COMSOL Multiphysics. The controlling factors of conductivity under a proppant monolayer were identified. Simulation results indicate that elastic parameters, closure pressure, and proppant distribution have significant influence on conductivity, while creep parameters, such as rock viscosity and time, have limited influence on conductivity. Moreover, the changes in permeability, porosity, and tortuosity with variation of embedment were analyzed. Results indicated that with an increase in embedment, the permeability and porosity decrease as expected. The main reduction (nearly half) emerges in the first 20% of proppant embedment. Furthermore, the permeability of a single particle deviates largely from the prediction of Carman-Kozeny (CK) equation. The tortuosity of proppant particle increases with a decrease in particle size due to embedment. A modification of the Carman-Kozeny equation is proposed to address this influence.
Airflow elicits a spider's jump towards airborne prey. II. Flow characteristics guiding behaviour

When hungry, the wandering spider Cupiennius salei is frequently seen to catch flying insect prey. The success of its remarkable prey-capture jump from its sitting plant into the air obviously depends on proper timing and sensory guidance. In this study, it is shown that particular features of the airflow generated by the insect suffice to guide the spider. Vision and the reception of substrate vibrations and airborne sound are not needed. The behavioural reactions of blinded spiders were examined by exposing them to natural and synthetic flows imitating the fly-generated flow or particular features of it. Thus, the different roles of the three phases previously identified in the fly-generated flow and described in the companion paper could be demonstrated. When exposing the spider to phase I flow only (exponentially increasing flow velocity with very little fluctuation and typical of the fly's approach), an orienting behaviour could be observed but a prey-capture jump never be elicited. Remarkably, the spider reacted to the onset of phase II (highly fluctuating flow) of a synthetically generated flow field with a jump as frequently as it did when exposed to natural fly-generated flows. In all cases using either natural or artificial flows, the spider's jump was triggered before its flow sensors were hit by phase III flow (steadily decreasing airflow velocity). Phase III may tell the spider that the prey has passed by already in case of no prey-capture reaction. Our study underlines the relevance of airflow in spider behaviour. It also reflects the sophisticated workings of their flow sensors (trichobothria) previously studied in detail. Presumably, the information contained in prey-generated airflows plays a similar role in many other arthropods.
Klotho spins the thread of life--what does Klotho do to the receptors of fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23)?

Klotho is one of the three goddesses of the Moirae, who in Greek mythology control the life and destiny of everyone. She is the goddess who helps life to unfold, in contrast to the (apoptotic) goddess Atropos, who cuts the thread of life. Prolonging lifespan is probably the most important role of the ageing-suppressor gene Klotho, named after the Greek goddess. Klotho was identified 10 years ago, by the Japanese group of Kuro-o et al. [1]. They reported that a defect in Klotho gene expression in the mouse resulted in a syndrome that resembled human ageing, including a short lifespan, infertility, arteriosclerosis, skin atrophy, osteoporosis and emphysema. The gene encoded a membrane protein that shared sequence similarity with the beta-glucosidase enzymes. This led them to conclude that the protein might function as part of a signalling pathway involved in the regulation of ageing and related diseases. One year later, the same group isolated the human homologue of the Klotho gene and determined its structure [2].
Mid‐childhood outcomes of infant siblings at familial high‐risk of autism spectrum disorder

Almost 20% of infants with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit ASD themselves by age 3 years. The longer‐term outcomes of high‐risk infants are less clear. We examined symptoms of ASD, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety, language, IQ, and adaptive behaviour at age 7 years in high‐ and low‐risk children prospectively studied since the first year of life. Clinical outcomes were compared between high‐risk children who met diagnostic criteria for ASD at age 7 (HR‐ASD‐7 group, n = 15), high‐risk children without ASD (HR‐Non‐ASD‐7 group, n = 24), and low‐risk control children (LR group, n = 37). Diagnostic stability between age 3 and 7 years was moderate, with five children who did not meet diagnostic criteria for ASD at age 3 years being assigned the diagnosis at age 7, and three children showing the opposite pattern. The HR‐ASD‐7 group showed elevated ADHD and anxiety symptoms and had lower adaptive behaviour scores than LR controls. The HR‐Non‐ASD‐7 group had higher repetitive behaviour, lower adaptive functioning and elevated scores on one anxiety subscale (Separation Anxiety) compared to LR controls, but evidence for subclinical ASD symptoms (the broader autism phenotype, BAP) was limited in the group as a whole, although we identified a subgroup with elevated ASD traits. The difficulties experienced by high‐risk siblings at school‐age extend beyond ASD symptoms. The pattern of difficulties exhibited by the HR‐ASD‐7 group may inform our understanding of developmental trajectories of co‐occurring psychopathology in ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 546–557. © The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research
How Slow is the NBBO? A Comparison with Direct Exchange Feeds

This paper provides evidence on the benefits of faster proprietary data feeds from stock exchanges over the regulated “public” consolidated data feeds. We measure and compare the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) prices in each data feed at the same data center. Price dislocations between the NBBOs occur several times a second in very active stocks and typically last one to two milliseconds. The short duration of dislocations makes their costs small for investors who trade infrequently, while the frequency of the dislocations makes them costly for frequent traders. Higher security price and days with high trading volume and volatility are associated with dislocations.
Artificial Neural Network Application in the Diagnosis of Disease Conditions with Liver Ultrasound Images

The preliminary study presented within this paper shows a comparative study of various texture features extracted from liver ultrasonic images by employing Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), a type of artificial neural network, to study the presence of disease conditions. An ultrasound (US) image shows echo-texture patterns, which defines the organ characteristics. Ultrasound images of liver disease conditions such as “fatty liver,” “cirrhosis,” and “hepatomegaly” produce distinctive echo patterns. However, various ultrasound imaging artifacts and speckle noise make these echo-texture patterns difficult to identify and often hard to distinguish visually. Here, based on the extracted features from the ultrasonic images, we employed an artificial neural network for the diagnosis of disease conditions in liver and finding of the best classifier that distinguishes between abnormal and normal conditions of the liver. Comparison of the overall performance of all the feature classifiers concluded that “mixed feature set” is the best feature set. It showed an excellent rate of accuracy for the training data set. The gray level run length matrix (GLRLM) feature shows better results when the network was tested against unknown data.
Effect of childhood adversity on health related quality of life in patients with upper abdominal or chest pain

Background and aims: This study assessed whether childhood and current adversities: (a) were more prevalent in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) or non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) than in patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) or ischaemic heart disease (IHD); and (b) predicted health related quality of life in these disorders. Patients: Cohort study of consecutive attenders to gastroenterology and cardiology clinics in a secondary/tertiary referral centre. Methods: Patients were interviewed using the childhood experience of care and abuse and life events and difficulties schedules. Distress was assessed by questionnaire. Outcome was assessed using SF36 at the index clinic visit and six months later. Results: A total of 133 patients were included (40 NCCP, 43 FD, 29 GORD, and 21 IHD) (67% response rate). The diagnostic groups did not differ significantly in the proportion reporting childhood adversity (30%), ongoing social stress (40%), lack of a close confidant (14%), or level of psychological distress. Reported childhood adversity was associated with poor outcome at the index visit (SF36 physical component score: 36.6 (SEM 1.8) v 42.3 (SEM 1.2) for the remainder; p = 0.014). In multiple regression analysis, childhood adversity was a significant independent predictor for patients with functional disorders (NCCP and FD) but not organic disorders (GORD or IHD). Change in SF36 score at six months was determined by age and distress score at the index visit in both groups. Conclusion: Childhood adversity was common among this consecutive sample but was associated directly with poor outcome only in patients with functional gastrointestinal syndromes. Distress is an important predictor of outcome in all patients. Greatest impairment occurs when lack of social support accompanies reported childhood adversity.
Tracking information epidemics in blogspace

Beyond serving as online diaries, Weblogs have evolved into a complex social structure, one which is in many ways ideal for the study of the propagation of information. As Weblog authors discover and republish information, we are able to use the existing link structure of blogspace to track its flow. Where the path by which it spreads is ambiguous, we utilize a novel inference scheme that takes advantage of data describing historical, repeating patterns of "infection. " Our paper describes this technique as well as a visualization system that allows for the graphical tracking of information flow.
Shear coupling effect of monotonic and cyclic behavior of the interface between steel and gravel

Three-dimensional behavior of the interface between a structure and gravelly soil is of great concern in the design and construction of large-scale projects. A series of three-dimensional tests were conducted to investigate the effect of shear coupling on the monotonic and cyclic behavior of such an interface. In these tests, monotonic shear was applied to the interface first and then the monotonic and cyclic shears were applied in the orthogonal direction while the original shear was maintained. Based on the test observations, the shear strength of the interface was found to be independent of the shear coupling and proportional to the normal stress. Significant tangential displacement is induced by the orthogonal shear application and the deflection direction of the tangential displacement is proportional to the square of the ratio between the orthogonal shear stress and shear strength. The interface exhibits significant dilatancy due to a three-dimensional shear application, which is divided into reversible and irreversible components. Shear coupling remarkably affects the magnitude and transition shear stress of the reversible dilatancy component. There persists a significant aeolotropy of the interface evenly under the shear coupling condition. Particle crushing near the structure was observed to be enhanced due to the shear coupling.