Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pre-Stimulus Sensorimotor Rhythms Influence Brain–Computer Interface Classification Performance

The influence of pre-stimulus ongoing brain activity on post-stimulus task performance has recently been analyzed in several studies. While pre-stimulus activity in the parieto-occipital area has been exhaustively investigated with congruent results, less is known about the sensorimotor areas, for which studies reported inconsistent findings. In this work, the topic is addressed in a brain-computer interface (BCI) setting based on modulations of sensorimotor rhythms (SMR). The goal is to assess whether and how pre-stimulus SMR activity influences the successive task execution quality and consequently the classification performance. Grand average data of 23 participants performing right and left hand motor imagery were analyzed. Trials were separated into two groups depending on the SMR amplitude in the 1000 ms interval preceding the cue, and classification by common spatial patterns (CSPs) preprocessing and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was carried out in the post-stimulus time interval, i.e., during the task execution. The correlation between trial group and classification performance was assessed by an analysis of variance. As a result of this analysis, trials with higher SMR amplitude in the 1000 ms interval preceding the cue yielded significantly better classification performance than trials with lower amplitude. A further investigation of brain activity patterns revealed that this increase in accuracy is mainly due to the persistence of a higher SMR amplitude over the ipsilateral hemisphere. Our findings support the idea that exploiting information about the ongoing SMR might be the key to boosting performance in future SMR-BCI experiments and motor related tasks in general.
Capacitance minimization in modular multilevel converters: Using model predictive control to inject optimal circulating currents and zero-sequence voltage

The superior harmonic performance of the modular multilevel converter facilitates reduction in passive filtering requirements. However, in practice, any volume and weight reduction brought about by using smaller filtering components, is offset by the increase in stored capacitor energy inside the converter. This paper proposes injection of high-frequency circulating currents and zero-sequence voltages, that significantly reduce capacitor voltage ripple. This can ultimately facilitate use of smaller capacitances. Optimal reference voltages and currents are designed off-line, with a model predictive control scheme used to track the references on-line while also compensating for any disturbances introduced by the practical system.
On the Utility of Positive and Negative Feedback in a Paired-associate Learning Task

This study offers a neurophysiological examination of the relationship between feedback processing and learning. A two-choice paired-associate learning task borrowed and modified from Tricomi and Fiez [Tricomi, E. , & Fiez, J. A. Feedback signals in the caudate reflect goal achievement on a declarative memory task. Neuroimage, 41, 1154–1167, 2008] was employed to examine the mediofrontal electrophysiological brain activity associated with the processing of performance feedback in a learning task and to elucidate the extent to which the processing of the initial informative feedback is related to learning outcomes. Twenty participants were tasked with learning to correctly pair 60 novel objects with their names by choosing on a trial-by-trial basis between two possible names and receiving feedback about the accuracy of their selection. The novel objects were presented in three blocks of trials (rounds), each of which presented the same set of 60 objects once. The rounds allowed the separation of the initial informative feedback in Round 1 from the other feedback stimuli in Rounds 2 and 3. The results indicated differences in the processing of initial informative and proceeding feedback stimuli. More specifically, the difference appeared to be driven by the change in the processing of positive feedback. Moreover, very first positive feedback provided in association with a particular new object was found associated with learning outcomes. The results imply that signs of successful and unsuccessful learning may be detected as early as the initial positive feedback provided in a learning task. The results suggest that the process giving rise to the feedback-related negativity is sensitive to the utility of the feedback and that the processing of the first informative positive feedback is associated with learning outcomes.
A Point Mutation in p190A RhoGAP Affects Ciliogenesis and Leads to Glomerulocystic Kidney Defects

Rho family GTPases act as molecular switches regulating actin cytoskeleton dynamics. Attenuation of their signaling capacity is provided by GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs), including p190A, that promote the intrinsic GTPase activity of Rho proteins. In the current study we have performed a small-scale ENU mutagenesis screen and identified a novel loss of function allele of the p190A gene Arhgap35, which introduces a Leu1396 to Gln substitution in the GAP domain. This results in decreased GAP activity for the prototypical Rho-family members, RhoA and Rac1, likely due to disrupted ordering of the Rho binding surface. Consequently, Arhgap35-deficient animals exhibit hypoplastic and glomerulocystic kidneys. Investigation into the cystic phenotype shows that p190A is required for appropriate primary cilium formation in renal nephrons. P190A specifically localizes to the base of the cilia to permit axoneme elongation, which requires a functional GAP domain. Pharmacological manipulations further reveal that inhibition of either Rho kinase (ROCK) or F-actin polymerization is able to rescue the ciliogenesis defects observed upon loss of p190A activity. We propose a model in which p190A acts as a modulator of Rho GTPases in a localized area around the cilia to permit the dynamic actin rearrangement required for cilia elongation. Together, our results establish an unexpected link between Rho GTPase regulation, ciliogenesis and glomerulocystic kidney disease.
Impaired visual object processing across an occipital-frontal-hippocampal brain network in schizophrenia: an integrated neuroimaging study.

CONTEXT Perceptual closure is the ability to identify objects based on partial information and depends on the function of a distributed network of brain regions that include the dorsal and the ventral visual streams, prefrontal cortex (PFC), and hippocampus. OBJECTIVE To evaluate network-level interactions during perceptual closure in schizophrenia using parallel event-related potential (ERP), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and neuropsychological assessment. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING Inpatient and outpatient facilities associated with the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research. Patients Twenty-seven patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 23 healthy controls. Intervention Event-related potentials were obtained from 24 patients and 20 healthy volunteers in response to fragmented (closeable) and control-scrambled (noncloseable) line drawings. Functional MRI was performed in 11 patients and 12 controls. Main Outcome Measure Patterns of between-group differences for predefined ERP components and fMRI regions of interest were determined using both analysis of variance and structural equation modeling. Global neuropsychological performance was assessed using standard neuropsychological batteries. RESULTS Patients showed impaired generation of event-related components reflecting early sensory and later closure-related activity. In fMRI, patients showed impaired activation of the dorsal and ventral visual regions, PFC, and hippocampus. Impaired activation of dorsal stream visual regions contributed significantly to impaired PFC activation, which contributed significantly to impaired activation of the hippocampus and ventral visual stream. Impaired ventral stream and hippocampal activation contributed significantly to deficits on neuropsychological measures of perceptual organization. CONCLUSIONS Schizophrenia is associated with severe activation deficits across a distributed network of sensory and higher order cognitive regions. Deficit in early visual processing within the dorsal visual stream contributes significantly to impaired frontal activation, which, in turn, leads to dysregulation of the hippocampus and ventral visual stream. Dysfunction within this network underlies deficits in more traditional neurocognitive measures, supporting distributed models of brain dysfunction in schizophrenia.
Amyloid Core Formed of Full-Length Recombinant Mouse Prion Protein Involves Sequence 127–143 but Not Sequence 107–126

The principal event underlying the development of prion disease is the conversion of soluble cellular prion protein (PrPC) into its disease-causing isoform, PrPSc. This conversion is associated with a marked change in secondary structure from predominantly α-helical to a high β-sheet content, ultimately leading to the formation of aggregates consisting of ordered fibrillar assemblies referred to as amyloid. In vitro, recombinant prion proteins and short prion peptides from various species have been shown to form amyloid under various conditions and it has been proposed that, theoretically, any protein and peptide could form amyloid under appropriate conditions. To identify the peptide segment involved in the amyloid core formed from recombinant full-length mouse prion protein mPrP(23–230), we carried out seed-induced amyloid formation from recombinant prion protein in the presence of seeds generated from the short prion peptides mPrP(107–143), mPrP(107–126), and mPrP(127–143). Our results showed that the amyloid fibrils formed from mPrP(107–143) and mPrP(127–143), but not those formed from mPrP(107–126), were able to seed the amyloidogenesis of mPrP(23–230), showing that the segment residing in sequence 127–143 was used to form the amyloid core in the fibrillization of mPrP(23–230).
Chronic Vitamin C Deficiency does not Accelerate Oxidative Stress in Ageing Brains of Guinea Pigs

Increased oxidative stress in the brain has consistently been implied in ageing and in several degenerative brain disorders. Acting as a pivotal antioxidant in the brain, vitamin C is preferentially retained during deficiency and may play an essential role in neuroprotection during ageing. Thus, a lack of vitamin C could be associated with an increase in redox imbalance in the ageing brain. The present study compared oxidative stress of ageing to that of a long‐term non‐scorbutic vitamin C deficiency in guinea pigs. Adults (3–9 months old) were compared to old (36–42 months old) animals during a 6‐month dietary intervention by assessing vitamin C transport and redox homoeostasis in the brain. In contrast to our hypothesis, chronic vitamin C deficiency did not affect the measured markers of oxidative stress in the brains of adult and aged animals. However, aged animals generally showed increased lipid oxidation (p < 0.001), decreased glutathione (p < 0.05), increased p53 mRNA expression (p < 0.01) and somewhat elevated DNA oxidation (p = 0.08) compared to adult counterparts irrespective of dietary vitamin C intake. Increased mRNA expression of sod1 (p < 0.05) and svct2 (p = 0.05) was observed in aged animals together with increased superoxide dismutase activity (p < 0.01) and cerebrospinal fluid vitamin C status (p < 0.001) suggesting a compensatory effort that did not counterbalance the effects of ageing. Essentially, no effects of age were observed in the liver demonstrating the brain's unique susceptibility to redox imbalance. Consistent with previous findings, we show that ageing per se constitutes a considerable oxidative insult in the brain. However, our data also suggest that a long‐term poor vitamin C status does not accelerate this process.
The Repressing Function of the Oncoprotein BCL-3 Requires CtBP, while Its Polyubiquitination and Degradation Involve the E3 Ligase TBLR1

ABSTRACT The nuclear and oncogenic BCL-3 protein activates or represses gene transcription when bound to NF-κB proteins p50 and p52, yet the molecules that specifically interact with BCL-3 and drive BCL-3-mediated effects on gene expression remain largely uncharacterized. Moreover, GSK3-mediated phosphorylation of BCL-3 triggers its degradation through the proteasome, but the proteins involved in this degradative pathway are poorly characterized. Biochemical purification of interacting partners of BCL-3 led to the identification of CtBP as a molecule required for the ability of BCL-3 to repress gene transcription. CtBP is also required for the oncogenic potential of BCL-3 and for its ability to inhibit UV-mediated cell apoptosis in keratinocytes. We also defined the E3 ligase TBLR1 as a protein involved in BCL-3 degradation through a GSK3-independent pathway. Thus, our data demonstrate that the LSD1/CtBP complex is required for the repressing abilities of an oncogenic IκB protein, and they establish a functional link between the E3 ligase TBLR1 and NF-κB.
Well-being, appraisal, and coping in African-American and Caucasian dementia caregivers: findings from the REACH study

Although there has been considerable interest in racial differences in family caregiving for persons with dementia, most research to date has either ignored racial diversity or based conclusions on small numbers of caregivers drawn primarily from single site studies. The current study utilized participants from four sites of the REACH (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health) multi-site study to compare well-being, appraisal, and religious coping by race. African-American (n = 295) and Caucasian (n = 425) dementia caregivers from four cities (Birmingham, Memphis, Boston, and Philadelphia) were compared in their demographics, care recipient characteristics, mental and physical health, and psychosocial coping resources including appraisal and religious coping. African-American caregivers reported lower anxiety, better well-being, less use of psychotropic medications, more benign appraisals of stress and perceived benefits of caregiving, and greater religious coping and participation, than Caucasian caregivers. Self-rated health did not differ by race, but African-American caregivers reported more unhealthy behaviors than Caucasian caregivers. Some results were specific to site, possibly due to differences in recruitment strategies, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and regional differences. Adjustment for covariates, including caregiver relationship to the care recipient, gender, age, socioeconomic status, and care recipient behavioral problems, altered few of these differences. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance to psychosocial intervention programs for ethnically diverse caregivers.
Gluing torsion endo‐permutation modules

Let k be a field of characteristic p, and let P be a finite p‐group, where p is an odd prime. In this paper, we consider the problem of gluing compatible families of endo‐permutation modules: being given a torsion element MQ in the Dade group D(NP(Q)/Q), for each non‐trivial subgroup Q of P, subject to obvious compatibility conditions, we show that it is always possible to find an element M in the Dade group of P such that DefresNP(Q)/QPM=MQ for all Q, but that M need not be a torsion element of D(P). The obstruction to this is controlled by an element in the zeroth cohomology group over 𝔽2 of the poset of elementary abelian subgroups of P of rank at least 2. We also give an example of a similar situation, when MQ is only given for centric subgroups Q of P. Moreover, general results about biset functors and the Dade functor are given in two appendices.
Standardization Work for BEV and HEV Applications: Critical Appraisal of Recent Traction Battery Documents

The increased activity in the field of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) have led to an increase in standardization work, performed by both world-wide organizations like the IEC or the ISO, as by regional and national bodies such as CEN, CENELEC, SAE or JEVA. The issues of these standards cover several topics: safety, performance and operational/dimension issues. This paper reports a brief overview of current standardization activities of lithium batteries based on IEC 62660-1/2 and ISO 12405-1/2. Furthermore, in this paper, a series of innovative test procedures for lithium-ion batteries are presented. Thanks to these tests, the general characteristics of a battery such as charge and discharge capabilities, power performances and life cycle can be determined. Then, a new approach for extracting the life cycle of a battery in function of depth of discharge has been developed.
Bereavement Interventions: Present Status and Future Horizons

Recent controversies about the effectiveness of grief therapy arise in part from previous reviews of small samples of studies, which make inferences about the evidence base for bereavement interventions precarious at best. Drawing on a new and comprehensive analysis of over 60 controlled studies, we offer a more definitive view of the efficacy of psychosocial treatments for those who have lost loved ones, and discuss moderators associated with more effective interventions. Finally, we conclude by considering one theory-based approach that holds promise for the further refinement of evidence-based therapies for bereavement complications, one premised on the idea that grieving entails reaffirming or reconstructing a world of meaning that has been challenged by loss.
Epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and gout in two regions of the Czech Republic in a descriptive population-based survey in 2002-2003.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the annual incidence and prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile arthritis (JIA) and gout in a population based study in two regions of the Czech Republic with total population of 186,000 inhabitants. METHODS The study was conducted in the Town of Ceske Budejovice and district of Cheb in the Czech Republic (with a total population of 186,000 inhabitants) in the years 2002 and 2003. Incident cases were registered on condition that the definite diagnosis was confirmed according to existing classification criteria during the study period. Prevalence was studied on the basis of identification of established diagnosis from registers of patients of participating rheumatologists and other specialists. They were asked to report all living patients who had been diagnosed before 1st March 2002. Patients were only included in the study if their permanent address was in the selected study area. RESULTS Overall, we found 48 incident and 947 prevalent cases of RA among adults (16+ years), 4 incident and 43 prevalent cases of JIA among children (less than 16 years old), and 64 incident and 425 prevalent cases of gout among adults (16+ years). The total annual incidence of RA was 31/100,000 in the adult population aged 16 years and more (95% CI 20 to 42/100,000). The prevalence of RA was 610/100,000 (95% CI 561 to 658/100,000) in the adult population. An annual incidence of gout in adults was 41/100,000 (95% CI 28 to 53/100,000). The prevalence of gout was 300/100,000 (95% CI 266 to 334/100,000). The annual incidence of JIA was 13/100,000 in children less than 16 years old (95%CI 1 to 20/100,000). The prevalence of JIA in children was 140/100,000 (95% CI 117 to 280/100,000). CONCLUSION This study estimates the annual incidence and prevalence rates of RA, gout and JIA in the first population-based survey in the Czech Republic. The rates of RA and JIA compare well with figures reported from other countries; figures in gout seem to be lower than reported elsewhere.
Multichromatic Analysis of Satellite Wideband SAR Data

The multichromatic analysis (MCA) can be applied to interferometric pairs of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images processed at range subbands and consists of exploring the phase trend of each pixel as a function of the different central carrier frequencies. The phase of stable scatterers linearly evolves with the subband central frequency, with a slope proportional to the absolute electromagnetic path difference that can be estimated and used for both phase unwrapping and height computation. MCA has been theoretically evaluated and tested on airborne wideband SAR data, appearing optimally suited for the new generation of satellite sensors, which operate with larger bandwidths than previously available instruments, generally limited to few tens of megahertzs. In this letter, we illustrate MCA application to satellite SAR data acquired in spotlight mode over the Uluru monolith in Australia. The topographic measurements derived through MCA on the monolith are compared with those provided by a high-resolution digital elevation model from optical stereo imagery. The theoretical parametric model describing the MCA performances according to the processing parameters is also validated.
Effects of Practice on Trail Making Test Performance

Craddick and Stern (1763) demonstrated that the Trail Making Test is subject to practice effects. Yates and McDonald (1766) used a similar test (Tsai-Partington numbers) and found practice effects with the same form. With a short break between trials, greater practice effects were found when different forms were used. The latter suggests the possibility that tasks similar to the Trail Making Test may affect subsequent Trail Making performance. The test is frequently used as part of a battery that includes somewhat sirnilar tasks, e.g., in the Halstead-Reitan Battery. It would be helpful to know if practice on other tasks affects Trail Making performance. Subjects were 60 university students who were randomly assigned to three groups of 20 subjects each, with each group having equal numbers of males and females. One group was administered the Halstead-Reitan Tactual Performance Test, a set of mazes, and WAIS Block Designs and Digit Symbol subtests followed by the Trail Making Tesc. Another group was administered projective tests followed by the Trail Making Test. These subjects were yoked to subjects in the first group in terms of amount of time used for practice tasks. A third group spent a brief period in a relaxed reading situation, followed by the Trail Making Test, a very brief period of projective testing, and a second administration of the Trail Making Tesc. Pracrice effects were demonstrated by comparing the results of two administrations of the Trail Making Test to the same group. Mean times to complete the test were 27.6 sec. (SD = 8.2) and 20.1 sec. (SD = 4.2) for Part A and 60.3 sec. (SD = 26.5) and 47.7 sec. (SD = 20.7) for Part B. For each part, less time was required after practice. Effects of practice were significant = 40.80, p < . 001 for Part A and = 5.60, p < . 05 for Part B). Practice with other tasks did not significantly improve Trail Making Test performance. The data indicated that in test-retest situations, a practice effect can be expected; however, there was no evidence that prior experience with other casks, such as in a battery of tests, has any effect on Trail Making Test performance.