Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Integration of Functional Brain Activity from Adolescence to Adulthood

Age-related changes in human functional neuroanatomy are poorly understood. This is partly due to the limits of interpretation of standard fMRI. These limits relate to age-related variation in noise levels in data from different subjects, and the common use of standard adult brain parcellations for developmental studies. Here we used an emerging MRI approach called multiecho (ME)-fMRI to characterize functional brain changes with age. ME-fMRI acquires blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signals while also quantifying susceptibility-weighted transverse relaxation time (T2*) signal decay. This approach newly enables reliable detection of BOLD signal components at the subject level as opposed to solely at the group-average level. In turn, it supports more robust characterization of the variability in functional brain organization across individuals. We hypothesized that BOLD components in the resting state are not stable with age, and would decrease in number from adolescence to adulthood. This runs counter to the current assumptions in neurodevelopmental analyses of brain connectivity that the number of BOLD signal components is a random effect. From resting-state ME-fMRI of 51 healthy subjects of both sexes, between 8.3 and 46.2 years of age, we found a highly significant (r = −0.55, p ≪ 0.001) exponential decrease in the number of BOLD components with age. The number of BOLD components were halved from adolescence to the fifth decade of life, stabilizing in middle adulthood. The regions driving this change were dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, parietal cortex, and cerebellum. The functional network of these regions centered on the cerebellum. We conclude that an age-related decrease in BOLD component number concurs with the hypothesis of neurodevelopmental integration of functional brain activity. We show evidence that the cerebellum may play a key role in this process. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human brain development is ongoing from childhood to at least 30 years of age. Functional MRI (fMRI) is key for characterizing changes in brain function that accompany development. However, developmental fMRI studies have relied on reference maps of adult brain organization in the analysis of data from younger subjects. This approach may limit the characterization of functional activity patterns that are particular to children and adolescents. Here we used an emerging fMRI approach called multi-echo fMRI that is not susceptible to such biases when analyzing the variation in functional brain organization over development. We hypothesized an integration of the components of brain activity over development, and found that the number of components decreases exponentially, halving from 8 to 35 years of age. The brain regions most affected underlie executive function and coordination. In summary, we show major changes in the organization and integration of functional networks over development into adulthood, with both methodological and neurobiological implications for future lifespan and disease studies on brain connectivity.
Comparison of Internal Adaptation in Class II Bulk-fill Composite Restorations Using Micro-CT.

PURPOSE This study compared the internal adaptation of bulk-fill composite restorations in class II cavities and explored the relationship between internal adaptation and polymerization shrinkage or stress. METHODS AND MATERIALS Standardized mesio-occluso-distal cavities were prepared in 40 extracted human third molars and randomly divided into five groups (n=8). After having been applied by total-etch XP bond (Dentsply Caulk, Milford, DE, USA) and light curing, the teeth were restored with the following resin composites: group 1, Filtek Z350 (3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA); group 2, SDR (Dentsply Caulk, Milford, DE, USA) + Z350; group 3, Venus Bulk Fill (Heraeus Kulzer, Dormagen, Germany) + Z350; group 4, Tetric N-Ceram Bulk Fill (Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein); and group 5, SonicFill (Kerr, West Collins, Orange, CA, USA). After thermo-mechanical load cycling, cross-sectional microcomputerized tomography (micro-CT) images were taken. Internal adaptation was measured as imperfect margin percentage (IM%), which was the percentage of defective margin length relative to whole margin length. On the micro-CT images, IM% was measured at five interfaces. Linear polymerization shrinkage (LS) and polymerization shrinkage stress (PS) were measured on each composite with a custom linometer and universal testing machine. To explore the correlation of IM% and LS or PS, the Pearson correlation test was used. RESULTS The IM% of the gingival and pulpal cavity floors were inferior to those of the cavity walls. The IM% values of the groups were found to be as follows: group 5 ≤ groups 1 and 4 ≤ group 2 ≤ group 3. The correlation analysis showed that the p value was 0.006 between LS and IM% and 0.003 between PS and IM%, indicating significant correlations (p<0.05). CONCLUSION Flowable bulk-fill composites had a higher IM% and polymerization shrinkage stress than did packable bulk-fill and hybrid composites. In class II composite restoration, the gingival floor of the proximal box and pulpal floor of the cavity had higher IM% than did the buccal and lingual walls of the proximal box. LS and PS, which were measured under compliance-allowed conditions, were significantly related to internal adaptation.
A comparison of linear and non-linear calibrations for speaker recognition

In recent work on both generative and discriminative score to log-likelihood-ratio calibration, it was shown that linear transforms give good accuracy only for a limited range of operating points. Moreover, these methods required tailoring of the calibration training objective functions in order to target the desired region of best accuracy. Here, we generalize the linear recipes to non-linear ones. We experiment with a non-linear, non-parametric, discriminative PAV solution, as well as parametric, generative, maximum-likelihood solutions that use Gaussian, Student's T and normal-inverse-Gaussian score distributions. Experiments on NIST SRE'12 scores suggest that the non-linear methods provide wider ranges of optimal accuracy and can be trained without having to resort to objective function tailoring.
Prevalence of Pain in COPD Patients and Associated Factors: Report From a Population-based Study

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of chronic neck pain (CNP), chronic low back pain (CLBP), and migraine among Spanish adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with non-COPD patients matched by age and sex; and to identify predictors for each of these types of pains among COPD sufferers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted with data collected from the European Health Interview Surveys for Spain (EHSS) conducted in years 2009/2010 (n=22,188) and 2014 (n=22,842). Data were analyzed using multivariable logistic models. Results: The prevalence of COPD among patients aged 35 years or above were 7.6% (n=1328) for the EHSS 2009 and 5.4% (n=1008) for the EHSS 2014. We matched 2251 COPD patients with age and sex controls. The prevalence of all types of pain were significantly higher among those suffering COPD than those without COPD. For CNP the figures were 40.5% versus 26.1%, for CLBP 44.8% versus 28.4%, and for migraine 22.5% versus 13.2%. Multivariable analysis showed that COPD was associated to a 1.21 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.45) higher risk of CNP, 1.38 (95% CI, 1.16-1.64) of CLBP, and 1.36 (95% CI, 1.12-1.65) of migraine. Associated factors with the presence of these types of pain among COPD patients included younger age (not for CLBP), female sex (not for CLBP), “fair/poor/very poor” self-rated health (not for migraine), high blood pressure (not for CNP), mental disorders, obesity (not for migraine), and use of pain medication. Discussion: The prevalence of CNP, CLBP, and migraine was significantly higher among COPD patients in comparison with controls. Associated factors to suffering these types of pain in patients with COPD included age, sex, self-rated health, certain comorbidities including mental disorders, obesity, and using pain medication.
Hydrodynamics of microbial filter feeding

Significance Microbes compose the majority of life in aquatic ecosystems and are crucial to the transfer of energy to higher trophic levels and to global biogeochemical cycles. They have evolved different foraging mechanisms of which our understanding is poor. Here, we demonstrate for filter-feeding choanoflagellates—the closest relatives to multicellular life—how the observed feeding flow is inconsistent with hydrodynamic theory based on the current understanding of the morphology. Instead, we argue for the widespread presence of flagellar vanes and suggest an alternative pumping mechanism. We also demonstrate a trade-off in filter spacing that allows us to predict choanoflagellate prey sizes. These mechanistic insights are important to correctly understand and model microbial heterotrophs in marine food webs. Microbial filter feeders are an important group of grazers, significant to the microbial loop, aquatic food webs, and biogeochemical cycling. Our understanding of microbial filter feeding is poor, and, importantly, it is unknown what force microbial filter feeders must generate to process adequate amounts of water. Also, the trade-off in the filter spacing remains unexplored, despite its simple formulation: A filter too coarse will allow suitably sized prey to pass unintercepted, whereas a filter too fine will cause strong flow resistance. We quantify the feeding flow of the filter-feeding choanoflagellate Diaphanoeca grandis using particle tracking, and demonstrate that the current understanding of microbial filter feeding is inconsistent with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and analytical estimates. Both approaches underestimate observed filtration rates by more than an order of magnitude; the beating flagellum is simply unable to draw enough water through the fine filter. We find similar discrepancies for other choanoflagellate species, highlighting an apparent paradox. Our observations motivate us to suggest a radically different filtration mechanism that requires a flagellar vane (sheet), something notoriously difficult to visualize but sporadically observed in the related choanocytes (sponges). A CFD model with a flagellar vane correctly predicts the filtration rate of D. grandis, and using a simple model we can account for the filtration rates of other microbial filter feeders. We finally predict how optimum filter mesh size increases with cell size in microbial filter feeders, a prediction that accords very well with observations. We expect our results to be of significance for small-scale biophysics and trait-based ecological modeling.
Altered MicroRNA Expression Is Responsible for the Pro‐Osteogenic Phenotype of Interstitial Cells in Calcified Human Aortic Valves

Background The transition of aortic valve interstitial cells (AVICs) to myofibroblastic and osteoblast‐like phenotypes plays a critical role in calcific aortic valve disease progression. Several microRNAs (miRs) are implicated in stem cell differentiation into osteoblast. We hypothesized that an epigenetic mechanism regulates valvular pro‐osteogenic activity. This study examined miR profile in AVICs of calcified valves and identified miRs responsible for AVIC phenotypic transition. Methods and Results AVICs were isolated from normal and diseased valves. The miR microarray analysis revealed 14 upregulated and 12 downregulated miRs in diseased AVICs. Increased miR‐486 and decreased miR‐204 levels were associated with higher levels of myofibroblastic biomarker α‐smooth muscle actin and osteoblastic biomarkers runt‐related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osterix (Osx). Cotransfection of miR‐486 antagomir and miR‐204 mimic in diseased AVICs reduced their ability to express Runx2 and Osx. The miR‐486 mimic upregulated α‐smooth muscle actin expression in normal AVICs through the protein kinase B pathway and moderately elevated Runx2 and Osx levels. Knockdown of α‐smooth muscle actin attenuated Runx2 and Osx expression induced by miR‐486. The miR‐486 mimic and miR‐204 antagomir synergistically promoted Runx2 and Osx expression and calcium deposition in normal AVICs and normal aortic valve tissue. Conclusions In AVICs of calcified valves, increased levels of miR‐486 induce myofibroblastic transition to upregulate Runx2 and Osx expression and synergize with miR‐204 deficiency to elevate cellular and valvular pro‐osteogenic activity. These novel findings indicate that modulation of the epigenetic mechanism underlying valvular pro‐osteogenic activity has therapeutic potential for prevention of calcific aortic valve disease progression.
Assessment of Reduced Tolerance to Sound (Hyperacusis) in University Students

Introduction: Hyperacusis is defined as a reduction in tolerance to ordinary environmental sounds. Hyperacusis can occur in individuals of all age groups, making daily life difficult for the sufferers. Although there is no objective test to accurately diagnose hyperacusis, questionnaires are useful for the assessment of hyperacusis. The aim of this study was to explore the reduced sound tolerance in university students using a hyperacusis questionnaire (HQ). Materials and Methods: A total of 536 university students (300 females and 236 males) aged between 18 and 25 years, with a mean age of 21.34 ± 1.87 years, were assessed using an HQ developed by Khalfa. The mean total score of all the participants was 16.34 ± 7.91, and 5.78% of the participants had total scores indicating hyperacusis, where a majority of them were females. Results: Females had significantly higher scores than men in terms of both the total and the attentional and emotional dimensions. The scores of the participants who reported noise exposure or a decrease in their tolerance to noise were significantly higher than those of the other participants. Even among young adults, there was a group of participants suffering from some problems related to decreased tolerance to everyday sounds. Discussion: Although the Turkish translation of the HQ seems to be a reliable tool for evaluating hyperacusis in young adults, further work with various populations of different age groups is required to establish validity and to assess the psychometric qualities of the Turkish form.
Assessment of Thyroid Functions Test among Hyperprolactinemic Sudanese Infertile Females

Background: Hyperprolactinemia is the most prevalent endocrine disorder in hypothalamic- pituitary axis especially among reproductive age women. This cross section study was conducted to assess thyroid function among infertile Sudanese female with hyperprolactinemia. Methods: One hundred infertile Sudanese females with hyperprolactinemia were chosen for this study and 50 infertile Sudanese females with normal prolactin level were used as controls. All individuals were within the same age group (16-42). Prolactin, LH, FSH, TSH, T4 and T3 were measured in both group by Radioimmunoassay. Results: 17% of hyperprolactinemic patients were found to be with hypothyroid; interestingly no case was reported to have hypothyroidism or other thyroid dysfunction in the control group. The concentrations of serum PRL and TSH was significantly higher than in the control group while the level of LH and FSH were found to be significantly lower than in the control positive association was found between PRL and TSH among hyperprolactinemic patients. Conclusions: This study was found an association between hyperprolactinemia and hypothyroidism. The relatively high occurrence of hypothyroidism among hyperprolactemic infertile females emphasizes the importance of estimating both serum prolactin and TSH in infertility.
The Ethics of Uterus Transplantation

Human uterus transplantation (UTx) is currently under investigation as a treatment for uterine infertility. Without a uterus transplant, the options available to women with uterine infertility are adoption or surrogacy; only the latter has the potential for a genetically related child. UTx will offer recipients the chance of having their own pregnancy. This procedure occurs at the intersection of two ethically contentious areas: assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and organ transplantation. In relation to organ transplantation, UTx lies with composite tissue transplants such as face and limb grafts, and shares some of the ethical concerns raised by these non-life saving procedures. In relation to ART, UTx represents one more avenue by which a woman may seek to meet her reproductive goals, and as with other ART procedures, raises questions about the limits of reproductive autonomy. This paper explores the ethical issues raised by UTx with a focus on the potential gap between women's desires and aspirations about pregnancy and the likely functional outcomes of successful UTx.
Anti-elastase and anti-collagenase potential of Lactobacilli exopolysaccharides on human fibroblast

Abstract Polysaccharides could be used as biodegradable and biocompatible polymers for scaffolds and carriers matrix. Numerous algal, fungi and herbal polysaccharides can attenuate degradation of skin matrix by the inhibition of elastase, collagenase and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In this study, we investigate anti-elastase and anti-collagenase potential of Lactobacilli exopolysaccharides (LEPS) on normal human fibroblast. Among 60 Lactobacilli isolated from herbal plants and dairy products, selected LEPS showed high anti-collagenase (up to 100%), anti-elastase (up to 87%) and antioxidant activity (up to 60%). Most of them had no cytotoxicity effect on fibroblast, and some of them promote cell proliferation (up to 10%). In scratch assay, all the investigated EPSs stimulated wound healing process in fibroblast (up to 99%). MMP1, MMP2, MMP3, MMP9 and MMP10 were down-regulated significantly and TIMP1 and TIMP2 were up-regulated slightly in LEPS of B9-1 from L. casei with high anti-collagenase and anti-elastase activity; however, no meaningful alteration was observed in MMPs expression level for LEPS of P35 from L. plantarum with low anti-collagenase and anti-elastase activity. By consideration of high anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, antioxidant activity and wound healing of LEPS, they could be considered as good candidate of skin anti-aging agents for tissue engineering and skin regeneration scaffolds.
Genetic topography of brain morphology

Significance How diverse functional cortical regions develop is an important neuroscience question. Animal experiments show that regional differentiation is controlled by genes that express in a graded and regionalized pattern; however, such investigation in humans is scarce. Using noninvasive imaging techniques to acquire brain structure data of genetically related subjects (i.e., twins), we estimated the spatial pattern of genetic influences on cortical structure. We developed a genetic parcellation of cortical thickness to delineate the boundaries of cortical divisions that are—within each division—maximally under control of shared genetic influences. We also found differences in genetic influences on cortical surface area and thickness along two orthogonal axes. The concept of gradations is crucial for understanding the organization of the human brain. Animal data show that cortical development is initially patterned by genetic gradients largely along three orthogonal axes. We previously reported differences in genetic influences on cortical surface area along an anterior-posterior axis using neuroimaging data of adult human twins. Here, we demonstrate differences in genetic influences on cortical thickness along a dorsal-ventral axis in the same cohort. The phenomenon of orthogonal gradations in cortical organization evident in different structural and functional properties may originate from genetic gradients. Another emerging theme of cortical patterning is that patterns of genetic influences recapitulate the spatial topography of the cortex within hemispheres. The genetic patterning of both cortical thickness and surface area corresponds to cortical functional specializations. Intriguingly, in contrast to broad similarities in genetic patterning, two sets of analyses distinguish cortical thickness and surface area genetically. First, genetic contributions to cortical thickness and surface area are largely distinct; there is very little genetic correlation (i.e., shared genetic influences) between them. Second, organizing principles among genetically defined regions differ between thickness and surface area. Examining the structure of the genetic similarity matrix among clusters revealed that, whereas surface area clusters showed great genetic proximity with clusters from the same lobe, thickness clusters appear to have close genetic relatedness with clusters that have similar maturational timing. The discrepancies are in line with evidence that the two traits follow different mechanisms in neurodevelopment. Our findings highlight the complexity of genetic influences on cortical morphology and provide a glimpse into emerging principles of genetic organization of the cortex.
Assessing the impact of music on basic taste perception using time intensity analysis

Several recent studies have examined the impact of music on the evaluation of food and drink, but none have relied on time-based methods. Since music and food/drink are both time-varying in nature, it would seem only appropriate to take temporality into account when studying the impact of music on the eating/drinking experience. A common method of time-based sensory evaluation of food products is time-intensity (TI), where a specific sensory attribute is measured over time. In the present investigation, we used TI analysis to measure temporal changes in sweetness and sourness evaluations of an off-dry white wine when the music stimulus changed from a soundtrack commonly associated with sweetness to one associated with sourness instead, and vice versa. The results revealed that a change of soundtrack results in a change in taste intensity (for both sweetness and sourness) in the same direction as the change in the soundtrack. More specifically, a switch from the sweet to the sour soundtrack enhanced the intensity of sourness, whereas a switch from sour to sweet soundtrack enhanced the perceived intensity of sweetness. Potential implications for the mechanisms underlying the auditory modification of taste and opportunities for future studies are discussed.
Neutral current harmonic analysis and inhibition for two-stage four-leg matrix converter

There is an increasing interest in two-stage four-leg matrix converter (3×4TSMC) which provides a neutral connection for potential imbalanced loads. However, the fourth leg will worsen its operation performance unexpectedly, even if connected to the balanced loads. By means of analysis and calculation, it is found that the input filter capacitor voltage fluctuation will transfer to the output in the process of modulation, generating input frequency related harmonic in neutral current and distorting output voltage waveforms. To suppress this low-frequency harmonic, an improved time-varying repetitive control (TRC) scheme, which uses linear interpolation other than changing sampling period to obtain satisfactory harmonic rejection in frequency conversion system, is proposed. Its specific hardware implementation is presented on the heels. The correctness of harmonic analysis and validity of the control method are verified by experiments.