Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnetic source imaging of late evoked field responses to vowels: toward an assessment of hemispheric dominance for language.

OBJECT The goal of this study was to determine whether the late neuromagnetic field elicited by simple speech sounds, which is detected by magnetoencephalography, may be used to estimate hemispheric dominance for language and to guide or constrain the intraoperative search for essential language sites. If sufficiently robust, a noninvasive method for assessing hemispheric dominance for language could reduce the necessity for amobarbital testing and the extent of intraoperative cortical stimulation-based mapping, both of which carry the risk of morbidity. METHODS Fifteen patients undergoing surgery for tumors during which intraoperative language mapping would be performed and two additional patients in whom intracarotid amobarbital testing confirmed right-hemisphere language dominance participated. Following a primary auditory response sources of late neuromagnetic fields elicited by vowel stimuli were modeled and coregistered using magnetic resonance images to form magnetic source (MS) images. A laterality index (LI) was calculated by summing the number of equivalent current dipolar sources in the late fields detected from each hemisphere. In 14 right-handed patients, 10 displayed left asymmetric LIs (0.37 +/- 0.16. mean +/- standard error of the mean in 14 patients). For both right-hemisphere dominant patients in whom an LI was obtainable, the LI was rightward. Stimulation-mapped essential language sites were found in 7 of 15 patients. For six of these seven patients, the MS image-derived LI was leftward. CONCLUSIONS Asymmetry in single equivalent dipole modeling of the late neuromagnetic field evoked by simple speech sounds correlates with hemispheric language dominance, although not to the degree necessary for individual clinical predictions. With further development, MS imaging of simple language tasks may be used preoperatively to predict language dominance and even to identify or constrain the intraoperative search for likely sites of essential language cortex.
Knee osteoarthritis risk is increased 4-6 fold after knee injury – a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To estimate knee osteoarthritis (OA) risk following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), meniscus or combined ACL and meniscus injury. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources MEDLINE, Embase, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL and Web of Science until November 2018. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Prospective or retrospective studies with at least 2-year follow-up including adults with ACL injury, meniscal injury or combined injuries. Knee OA was defined by radiographs or clinical diagnosis and compared with the contralateral knee or non-injured controls. Study appraisal and synthesis Risk of bias was assessed using the SIGN50 checklist. ORs for developing knee OA were estimated using random effects meta-analysis. Results 53 studies totalling ∼1 million participants were included: 185 219 participants with ACL injury, mean age 28 years, 35% females, 98% surgically reconstructed; 83 267 participants with meniscal injury, mean age 38 years, 36% females, 22% confirmed meniscectomy and 73% unknown; 725 362 participants with combined injury, mean age 31 years, 26% females, 80% treated surgically. The OR of developing knee OA were 4.2 (95% CI 2.2 to 8.0; I2=92%), 6.3 (95% CI 3.8 to 10.5; I2=95%) and 6.4 (95% CI 4.9 to 8.3; I2=62%) for patients with ACL injury, meniscal injury and combined injuries, respectively. Conclusion The odds of developing knee OA following ACL injury are approximately four times higher compared with a non-injured knee. A meniscal injury and a combined injury affecting both the ACL and meniscus are associated with six times higher odds compared with a non-injured knee. Large inconsistency (eg, study design, follow-up period and comparator) and few high-quality studies suggest that future studies may change these estimates. Clinical relevance Patients sustaining a major knee injury have a substantially increased risk of developing knee OA, highlighting the importance of knee injury prevention programmes and secondary prevention strategies to prevent or delay knee OA development. PROSPERO registration number CRD42015016900
Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Virioplanktonic Abundance in Haihe River, China

In order to understand the composition and dynamics of planktonic viruses and their relationship with environmental parameters in natural freshwater, flow cytometry was optimized with filtration/fixation/staining/dilution and then applied to the analysis of samples collected from 9 stations (covering urban, rural, and estuarial areas) along the Haihe River, China, over a one-year period of study. The total viral abundance exhibited an apparent peak in the spring. Spatially, the highest viral abundance was recorded in estuarial areas. The correlation analysis indicated that the bacteria in the Haihe River significantly influenced viral abundance. The relationship between abiotic variables and viral abundance remained the same as with bacterial abundance, indicating that environmental parameters could possibly influence viral abundance in virtue of their bacterial host cells. The influence of environmental factors on viral abundance differed in the three sampling areas, suggesting different drivers of viral abundance in different stretches of the river associated with their utilization and surroundings.
Dilemmas for contemporary trade unionism: lessons from the European steel industry

Trade unions seek to tackle developments in the economic and social context of employment, as well as addressing changing membership priorities. Recent debate about union organisation and operation, particularly at a local level, has centred on an examination of the ways in which unions have been challenged by developments in the composition of managerial hierarchies and approaches, work and employment conditions, and legislative requirements; features and outcomes of the constant restructuring and transformation of capitalism. One somewhat understated dimension is the way unions in different national contexts may begin to address the implications of cross-border corporate restructuring. To focus such an enquiry, the paper examines dimensions of the European steel industry. The argument is that in the context of on-going sectoral restructuring, unions face the challenge of addressing the tension between nationally-focused policy and the forms of corporate development. The contention is that in this sector trade unions have maintained an approach to interest representation that centres on the state and/or supra state, rather than the emerging corporate form in the sector. I go on to suggest that one initial issue for these trade unions is the articulation of alternative perspectives. The paper employs data from a programme of research conducted across the European steel industry that started in 2000, and is on-going. Thus, the paper focuses on union responses to the challenges presented by the internationalisation of the European steel industry.
Phenotypic spectrum of ALPK3‐related cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathies are clinically heterogeneous disorders and are the leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Different etiologies have a significant impact on prognosis. Recently, novel biallelic loss‐of‐function pathogenic variants in alpha‐kinase 3 (ALPK3) were implicated in causing early‐onset pediatric cardiomyopathy (cardiomyopathy, familial hypertrophic 27; OMIM 618052). To date, eight patients, all presented during early childhood, were reported with biallelic ALPK3 pathogenic variants. We describe the molecular and clinical phenotype characterization of familial cardiomyopathy on one family with six affected individuals. We identified homozygosity for an ALPK3 deleterious sequence variant (NM_020778.4:c.639G>A:p.Trp213*) in all the affected individuals. They presented with either dilated cardiomyopathy that progressed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or HCM with left ventricular noncompaction. The age of presentation in our cohort extends between infancy to the fourth decade. The phenotypic severity decreases with the progression of age.
Quantification of bar bathymetry from video observations

Since 1992, coastal morphology and hydrodynamics of the nearshore zone have been studied from video observations, within the framework of the so-called ARGUS research program. Image data are collected every day-light hour, at seven beach locations worldwide. Timeaveraged images show bright, longshore bands of intensities, clearly indicating the locations where waves preferably break. In the nearshore zone waves generally break due to depth limitation. Because of this, locally observed light intensities can be assumed to be related to local bathymetry. This relationship has already been indicated qualitatively by Lippmann and Ho/man [1989]. In this thesis, the relationship between image intensities and bathymetry is quantified. A model called MONIMORPH ('MoNitoring MORPHOlogy') has been developed, which estimates the bottom elevation Zb from observed image intensities. This is performed by relating intensity values along a cross-shore transect to a wave parameter, and modelling this wave parameter inversely. For the time being, considerations are one-dimensional and concentrate on the actual region of wave breaking. From both statistical and physical considerations it was concluded that it might be useful to relate image intensities to the roller energy density E. divided by the squared phase speed c2 . In order to obtain a quantitative match between intensity profile and E/c2 curve, the raw intensity data are scaled by means of a three parameter model (Ibase , r, SF). The background intensity parameter Ibase and the trend removal parameter r are derived from raw image intensities, while the upscaling factor SF is related to the ratio Hsig/Hmax at the seaward boundary of the computational region. The MONIMORPH wave model comprises the inverted UNillEST-TC equations, UNlBEST-TC being a cross-shore morphodynamic model developed at DELFT HYDRAULICS. Based on boundary conditions for (Hnns' h, () and 11) and a cross-shore distribution of E/c2 , it computes the corresponding bottom elevation. Estimates obtained from single images are combined by means of a data assimilation technique. From a sensitivity analysis, a favourable mechanism, damping both initial disturbances in the boundary conditions and noise in the input intensity signal, was found to exist. It makes MONIMORPH suitable to deal with relevant initial deviations of the order of 5%. The inverse model has been calibrated against data obtained from the field campaign at Duck, October 1994, yielding a scaling relation for SF. Based on this relation MONIMORPH has been tested for 27 different situations. It was concluded that for situations within the range of calibrated wave conditions (the so-called calibration window), reliable estimates of bar bathymetry are produced: deviations at the top of the bar amount 10 to 20 cm, while the mean difference across the bar is 30 to 40 cm. The bar crest is systematically predicted too far shoreward, though the differences of 10 to 20 m are small considering the mild slope of the bar. Situations not matching the wave window have to be excluded from analysis, for the time being.
Measurement and interpretation of gas phase formaldehyde concentrations obtained during the CHABLIS campaign in coastal Antarctica

Gas phase formaldehyde concentrations were measured during the 2004–2005 CHABLIS campaign at Halley research station, Antarctica. Data coverage span from May 2004 through to January 2005, thus capturing the majority of the year, with a wintertime minimum of near or below the instrumental detection limit rising to between 50 and 200 pptv during the austral summer. Factors controlling HCHO concentration include local chemical sources and sinks, and exchange with the snow surface. The measured seasonality is in line with previous observations from Neumayer station, with maximum in summer and minimum during the winter months, but with lower absolute concentrations throughout the year. The gas-phase production of HCHO was dominated by methane oxidation and a steady-state analysis showed that reactions of iodine and bromine species substantially reduced the predicted HCHO levels based upon in situ chemistry. This indicates a substantial additional HCHO source to be present that could be explained by a snowpack source.
Influence of Fermented Red Ginseng Extract on Broilers and Laying Hens

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of fermented red ginseng extract (FRGE) as feed additive in broilers and laying hens. In broilers, 480 Arbor Acre male broilers were randomly allotted to 4 treatments with 6 replications per treatment and 20 chicks per pen. The experiment lasted 5 weeks and dietary treatments were as follows: i) CON, basal diet; ii) FRGE1, basal diet+1 g/kg fermented red ginseng extract; iii) FRGE2, basal diet+2 g/kg fermented red ginseng extract and iv) FRGE3 basal diet+4 g/kg fermented red ginseng extract. Throughout the experiment, no effects were observed (p>0.05) in performance in response to FRGE. At the end of the experiment, FRGE administration improved (p 0.05) in performance or egg quality among all the treatments. However, the layers fed diets supplemented with FRGE had higher lymphocyte level (p<0.05) compared with those fed CON. In conclusion, the dietary supplementation with FRGE did not influence performance but improved the lymphocyte level in both broilers
CD27, CD201, FLT3, CD48, and CD150 cell surface staining identifies long-term mouse hematopoietic stem cells in immunodeficient non-obese diabetic severe combined immune deficient-derived strains

Staining for CD27 and CD201 (endothelial protein C receptor) has been recently suggested as an alternative to stem cell antigen–1 (Sca1) to identify hematopoietic stem cells in inbred mouse strains with low or nil expression of SCA1. However, whether staining for CD27 and CD201 is compatible with low fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) expression and the “SLAM” code defined by CD48 and CD150 to identify mouse long-term reconstituting hematopoietic stem cells has not been established. We compared the C57BL/6 strain, which expresses a high level of SCA1 on hematopoietic stem cells to non-obese diabetic severe combined immune deficient NOD.CB17-prkdcscid/Sz (NOD-scid) mice and NOD.CB17-prkdcscid il2rgtm1Wj1/Sz (NSG) mice which both express low to negative levels of SCA1 on hematopoietic stem cells. We demonstrate that hematopoietic stem cells are enriched within the linage-negative C-KIT+ CD27+ CD201+ FLT3− CD48-CD150+ population in serial dilution long-term competitive transplantation assays. We also make the novel observation that CD48 expression is up-regulated in Lin− KIT+ progenitors from NOD-scid and NSG strains, which otherwise have very few cells expressing the CD48 ligand CD244. Finally, we report that unlike hematopoietic stem cells, SCA1 expression is similar on bone marrow endothelial and mesenchymal progenitor cells in C57BL/6, NOD-scid and NSG mice. In conclusion, we propose that the combination of Lineage, KIT, CD27, CD201, FLT3, CD48, and CD150 antigens can be used to identify long-term reconstituting hematopoietic stem cells from mouse strains expressing low levels of SCA1 on hematopoietic cells.
Selection and analyses of variants of a designed protein suggest importance of hydrophobicity of partially buried sidechains for protein stability at high temperatures

Computationally designed proteins of high stability provide specimen in addition to natural proteins for the study of sequence‐structure stability relationships at the very high end of protein stability spectrum. The melting temperature of E_1r26, a protein we previously designed using the A Backbone‐based Amino aCid Usage Survey (ABACUS) sequence design program, is above 110 °C, more than 50 °C higher than that of the natural thioredoxin protein whose backbone (PDB ID 1R26) has been used as the design target. Using an experimental selection approach, we obtained variants of E_1r26 that remain folded but are of reduced stability, including one whose unfolding temperature and denaturing guanidine concentration are similar to those of 1r26. The mutant unfolds with a certain degree of cooperativity. Its structure solved by X‐ray crystallography agrees with that of 1r26 by a root mean square deviation of 1.3 Å, adding supports to the accuracy of the ABACUS method. Analyses of intermediate mutants indicate that the substitution of two partially buried hydrophobic residues (isoleucine and leucine) by polar residues (threonine and serine, respectively) are responsible for the dramatic change in the unfolding temperature. It is suggested that the effects of mutations located in rigid secondary structure regions, but not those in loops, may be well predicted through ABACUS mutation energy analysis. The results also suggest that hydrophobic effects involving intermediately buried sidechains can be critically important for protein stability at high temperatures.
Assessment of the scientific rigour of randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy and graded exercise therapy for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: A systematic review

Cognitive behavioural therapy and graded exercise therapy have been promoted as effective treatments for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. However, criticism on the scientific rigour of these studies has been raised. This review assessed the methodological quality of studies on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy and graded exercise therapy. The methodological quality of the 18 included studies was found to be relatively low, as bias was prominently found, affecting the main outcome measures of the studies (fatigue, physical functioning and functional impairment/status). Future research should focus on including more objective outcome measures in a well-defined patient population.
Active Learning: Lessons From Women With Type 2 Diabetes in a Walking Program

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and preferences of sedentary women with type 2 diabetes who had recently completed a pilot 12-week supervised treadmill walking study. Methods A qualitative design was used. Content analysis was used to assess major themes and subthemes embedded within participants’ responses to open-ended questions about their experiences of participating in a walking program. Women were recruited from a database of patients willing to be contacted for research studies. Results Seven inner-city women with type 2 diabetes (71% African American, age 62 ± 4.2 years, A1C 6.8% ± 1.3, years since diagnosis 6.6 ± 3.4 years) completed the postprogram interview. Only 3 of the 7 women had ever received any diabetes education. Four major themes emerged: (1) supportive environment, (2) personal commitment: overcoming ambivalence, (3) learning, and (4) outcomes, and 8 subthemes emerged. A supportive environment (encouraging, person centered, social, and structured) in combination with actively learning about diabetes and self-monitoring the effects of exercise seemed to be associated with personal commitment and confidence in participating in a walking program. Conclusions Active/experiential learning in a supportive environment may enhance both personal diabetes knowledge and behaviors among women with little diabetes education and low activity levels.
Towards an Improved IT Service Desk System and Processes: A Case Study

An IT service desk provides a Single Point of Contact for the customers and users regarding support requests. The world-wide adoption of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework has also pushed organizations to improve their service desk operations. However, improving the service desk is a serious challenge for many IT service providers. Many government organizations in Finland have started to use ITIL in their service desks and need help in configuring service desk tools and defining processes. The research problem of this study is: How could an IT service provider’s service desk operations be improved by using IT service management best practices? The main contribution of this paper is to present results of a case study on IT service support in Finnish Tax Administration. First, the customer support challenges are described. Second, we present how these challenges were solved by using ITIL based practices. Third, we show how service desk performance and ITSM training usefulness were measured. Finally, lessons learnt from the case are presented.
Trends in socioeconomic differences in daily smoking among 15-year-old Danes 1991–2014

Aim: To examine trends in socioeconomic differences in daily smoking among 15-year-old Danes between 1991–2014, using occupational social class as indicator of socioeconomic status. Methods: The study included 15-year-olds participating in seven Danish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children studies between 1991–2014, n = 8,641. The analyses focused on absolute socioeconomic differences (prevalence difference between low and high occupational social class) and relative socioeconomic differences communicated by odds ratio for daily smoking. Results: The prevalence of daily smoking declined from 18.6% in 1991 to 4.5% in 2014. Across all surveys, the prevalence was 8.9% in high, 12.8% in middle and 16.5% in low occupational social classes (p < 0.0001). The absolute socioeconomic differences increased from 1991 to 2006 and declined thereafter. Across all survey years, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for daily smoking was 1.40 (1.19–1.65) in middle and 1.90 (1.56-2.32) in low versus high occupational social classes. The statistical interaction between occupational social class and survey year was significant (p = 0.0404), suggesting increasing relative socioeconomic differences from 1991 to 2014. Conclusions : There was a substantial decline in daily smoking among 15-year-olds between 1991–2014 in all occupational social class groups. The prevalence of daily smoking was highest in the low occupational social class during the entire period. The absolute socioeconomic differences in daily smoking increased between 1991–2006 and declined thereafter. The relative socioeconomic differences increased over 1991–2014. Studies of change in socioeconomic differences over time should address both absolute and relative socioeconomic differences as they may result in different conclusions and because important improvement in prevalence patterns may be disguised by exclusive focus on changes in relative socioeconomic differences.
Position reconstruction of rodent movements based on neural spike information of place cells

Place cells are located in the hippocampus of the brain and play an important role for spatial navigation. In this study neural spike activity of freely moving rats along with the position of the rats was acquired. The study was performed to investigate if position reconstruction is possible if the rat is freely moving in open arenas with and without barriers of different rectangular sizes based on neural recordings. The neural spike activity was measured using tetrodes from 6 chronically implanted rats in CA1 and subiculum regions. The position of the rats was monitored using a video tracking system. In the encoding step spike activity features of the place cells and position information from the rats were used to train a computer system. In the decoding step, the position was estimated from the neural spiking activity. Different reconstruction methods were implemented: (i) Bayesian 1-step and (ii) Bayesian 2-step. The results show, that the reconstruction methods are able to determine the position of the rat in this 2-dimensional rectangular arenas from the cell activity. Better accuracies were achieved for CA1 regions because the firing fields show more localized spots. Furthermore, higher accuracies are achieved with a higher number of place cells and higher firing rates.