Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A randomized double-blind crossover trial comparing subthalamic and pallidal deep brain stimulation for dystonia.

OBJECT The authors' aim was to compare the subthalamic nucleus (STN) with the globus pallidus internus (GPi) as a stimulation target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) for medically refractory dystonia. METHODS In a prospective double-blind crossover study, electrodes were bilaterally implanted in the STN and GPi of 12 patients with focal, multifocal, or generalized dystonia. Each patient was randomly selected to undergo initial bilateral stimulation of either the STN or the GPi for 6 months, followed by bilateral stimulation of the other nucleus for another 6 months. Preoperative and postoperative ratings were assessed by using the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS) and video recordings. Quality of life was evaluated by using questionnaires (36-item Short Form Health Survey). Supplemental Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS) scores were assessed for patients with focal dystonia (torticollis) by examining the video recordings. RESULTS On average for all patients, DBS improved the BFMDRS movement scores (p < 0.05) and quality of life physical scores (p < 0.01). After stimulation of the STN, the mean 6-month improvement in BFMDRS movement score was 13.8 points; after stimulation of the GPi, this improvement was 9.1 points (p = 0.08). Quality of life did not differ significantly regardless of which nucleus was stimulated. All 12 patients accepted 6 months of stimulation of the STN, but only 7 accepted 6 months of stimulation of the GPi. Among those who rejected stimulation of the GPi, 3 accepted concomitant stimulation of both the STN and GPi for 6 months, resulting in improved quality of life physical and mental scores and BFMDRS movement scores. Among the 4 patients who were rated according to TWSTRS, after 6 months of stimulation of both the STN and GPi, TWSTRS scores improved by 4.7% after stimulation of the GPi and 50.8% after stimulation of the STN (p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS The STN seems to be a well-accepted, safe, and promising stimulation target in the treatment of dystonia, but further studies are necessary before the optimal target can be concluded. Simultaneous stimulation of the STN and GPi should be further investigated. Clinical trial registration no.: KF 01-110/01 (Committees on Biomedical Research Ethics of the Capital Region of Denmark).
Optimization of Drug Delivery by Drug-Eluting Stents

Drug-eluting stents (DES), which release anti-proliferative drugs into the arterial wall in a controlled manner, have drastically reduced the rate of in-stent restenosis and revolutionized the treatment of atherosclerosis. However, late stent thrombosis remains a safety concern in DES, mainly due to delayed healing of the endothelial wound inflicted during DES implantation. We present a framework to optimize DES design such that restenosis is inhibited without affecting the endothelial healing process. To this end, we have developed a computational model of fluid flow and drug transport in stented arteries and have used this model to establish a metric for quantifying DES performance. The model takes into account the multi-layered structure of the arterial wall and incorporates a reversible binding model to describe drug interaction with the cells of the arterial wall. The model is coupled to a novel optimization algorithm that allows identification of optimal DES designs. We show that optimizing the period of drug release from DES and the initial drug concentration within the coating has a drastic effect on DES performance. Paclitaxel-eluting stents perform optimally by releasing their drug either very rapidly (within a few hours) or very slowly (over periods of several months up to one year) at concentrations considerably lower than current DES. In contrast, sirolimus-eluting stents perform optimally only when drug release is slow. The results offer explanations for recent trends in the development of DES and demonstrate the potential for large improvements in DES design relative to the current state of commercial devices.
Local duality and mixed Hodge modules

We establish a relationship between the graded quotients of a filtered holonomic D-module, their sheaf-theoretic duals, and the characteristic variety, in case the filtered D-module underlies a polarized Hodge module on a smooth algebraic variety. The proof is based on Saito's result that the associated graded module is Cohen-Macaulay, and on local duality on the cotangent bundle.
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors as anticancer therapeutics: a patent review

Introduction: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), a receptor tyrosine kinase from the insulin receptor superfamily, is implicated in the oncogenesis of numerous cancers including anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, non–small-cell lung cancer, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors, glioblastoma, as well as neuroblastoma. The root cause for these specific cancers has been identified as aberrant ALK kinase activity, which has been shown to be associated with specific gene translocations, single-point mutations, gene amplification and/or overexpression. The direct inhibition of ALK with small-molecule inhibitors represents a viable therapeutic intervention that has achieved clinical proof of concept. Areas covered: Small-molecule ALK inhibitors covered in the patent literature from 2010 to September 2013 are described. Relevant peer-reviewed journal articles that describe discovery and development of the above-identified ALK inhibitors are also discussed. Keyword-based (e.g., ALK, anaplastic lymphoma kinase) literature searches were conducted in Scifinder®. Expert opinion: Novel ALK inhibitors continued to be discovered at a fast pace over the covered period, with many distinct chemotypes emerging. Crizotinib received FDA approval in 2011, and six additional ALK inhibitors have entered clinical trials. The focus of ALK research appears to have shifted toward inhibitors that display activity against resistant mutants unearthed in clinical studies with crizotinib.
RESEARCH ARTICLE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FRESH AND FROZEN‐THAWED SEMEN QUALITY IN RELATION TO FERTILITY OF BLACK BENGAL GOATS SEMEN FROM SIX ADULT MALE BLACK BENGAL GOATS

Bangladesh possesses a tropical goat breed popularly known as Black Bengal goat. They are dwarf in size and noted to be famous for their adaptability, fertility, prolificacy, delicacy of meat and superior skin quality (Husain et al. 1996). It is well adapted to hot and humid climate and usually produces twins and triplets. However, it has been observed that there exists sizeable genetic variation with the traits between individuals within and between locations (Amin et al. 2000). These variations can be exploited for genetic improvement using selective breeding within the breed (Husain et al. 1996; Akhter et al. 2000). But it is a matter of great concern that unlike cattle, goat raisers castrate almost all of their male kids at their early age. Consequently, availability of breeding bucks become squeezed day by day (Amin, 1999). Therefore, provision of Artificial Insemination (AI) using selected buck semen is the easiest Semen from six adult male Black Bengal goats (Capra hircus) was collected to compare the fresh and frozen-thawed semen quality and investigate its relationship with the fertility. Each collected samples was divided into two parts: One part of semen was used as fresh and another part was filled into 0.50 ml straws, sealed, cooled (5 ̊C) and equilibrated for freezing. In both cases, semen was diluted with commercial Triladyl diluent (a Tris based diluter). The motility and morphology of fresh and frozen-thawed semen was subjectively evaluated by one operator. It was revealed that motility and sperm abnormality of the frozen semen differed significantly (P<0.05), but differed insignificantly in fresh semen between males. Besides these, fresh and frozen-thawed sperm motilities also differed significantly (P<0.01) between males which varied from 70.83±1.54 to 74.23±1.59% and 44.17±2.39 to 52.31±1.08%, respectively. A significantly (P<0.01) higher sperm abnormalities was observed in frozen-thawed semen (11.18±0.42 to 16.55±0.09%) than that of fresh semen (8.82±0.24 to 9.71±0.52%). Cervical inseminations were performed with fresh and frozen-thawed semen in 997 and 1004 female goats, respectively, both at Nucleus Breeding Flock (NBF) and four project areas. Fresh semen showed significantly (P<0.01) higher kidding rates (59.8%) than that with frozen-thawed semen (43.9%). The motilities of fresh and frozen-thawed semen were positively correlated (0.526 and 0.987; P<0.01), whereas the proportion of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa was negatively correlated (-0.530 and -0.776) with fertility of Black Bengal goats. Males with a higher motility and lower proportion of abnormal spermatozoa provided better fertility.
On Input Selection with Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo Sampling

In this paper we will treat input selection for a radial basis function (RBF) like classifier within a Bayesian framework. We approximate the a-posteriori distribution over both model coefficients and input subsets by samples drawn with Gibbs updates and reversible jump moves. Using some public datasets, we compare the classification accuracy of the method with a conventional ARD scheme. These datasets are also used to infer the a-posteriori probabilities of different input subsets.
Quantitation of intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis – a new empirical formula

Intrathecal immunoglobulin (Ig) synthesis occurs in various chronic inflammatory neurological diseases. Different formulae have been developed for quantitative determination of Ig synthesis within the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartment. The hyperbolic formula of Reiber is frequently used which, however, returns a considerable number of false positive results in empirical observations.
Quality of experience and HTTP adaptive streaming: A review of subjective studies

HTTP adaptive streaming technology has become widely spread in multimedia services because of its ability to provide adaptation to characteristics of various viewing devices and dynamic network conditions. There are various studies targeting the optimization of adaptation strategy. However, in order to provide an optimal viewing experience to the end-user, it is crucial to get knowledge about the Quality of Experience (QoE) of different adaptation schemes. This paper overviews the state of the art concerning subjective evaluation of adaptive streaming QoE and highlights the challenges and open research questions related to QoE assessment.
FAM3A activates PI3K p110α/Akt signaling to ameliorate hepatic gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis

FAM3A belongs to a novel cytokine‐like gene family, and its physiological role remains largely unknown. In our study, we found a marked reduction of FAM3A expression in the livers of db/db and high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced diabetic mice. Hepatic overexpression of FAM3A markedly attenuated hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and fatty liver with increased Akt (pAkt) signaling and repressed gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis in the livers of those mice. In contrast, small interfering RNA (siRNA)‐mediated knockdown of hepatic FAM3A resulted in hyperglycemia with reduced pAkt levels and increased gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis in the livers of C57BL/6 mice. In vitro study revealed that FAM3A was mainly localized in the mitochondria, where it increases adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production and secretion in cultured hepatocytes. FAM3A activated Akt through the p110α catalytic subunit of PI3K in an insulin‐independent manner. Blockade of P2 ATP receptors or downstream phospholipase C (PLC) and IP3R and removal of medium calcium all significantly reduced FAM3A‐induced increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ levels and attenuated FAM3A‐mediated PI3K/Akt activation. Moreover, FAM3A‐induced Akt activation was completely abolished by the inhibition of calmodulin (CaM). Conclusion: FAM3A plays crucial roles in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism in the liver, where it activates the PI3K‐Akt signaling pathway by way of a Ca2+/CaM‐dependent mechanism. Up‐regulating hepatic FAM3A expression may represent an attractive means for the treatment of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). (Hepatology 2014;59:1779–1790)
Conversion from high-dose full-opioid agonists to sublingual buprenorphine reduces pain scores and improves quality of life for chronic pain patients.

OBJECTIVE This study aims to determine the effectiveness of converting patients from high doses of full-opioid agonists to sublingual (SL) buprenorphine. DESIGN An observational report of outcomes assessment. SETTING An interventional pain management practice setting in the United States. SUBJECTS Thirty-five chronic pain patients (age 24-66) were previously treated with high-dose opioid-agonist drugs and converted to SL buprenorphine. Patients' daily morphine equivalents ranged from 200 mg to 1,370 mg preconversion, with a mean daily dose of 550 mg. METHODS A retrospective chart analysis examined numerical pain levels and quality of life scores before and 2 months after conversion to SL buprenorphine. RESULTS After continuation of SL buprenorphine therapy for 2 months, the mean pain score decreased from 7.2 to 3.5 (P < 0.001), with 34 of the 35 patients examined reporting a decrease in pain. This pain score decrease was robust with regard to initial pain score and preconversion morphine equivalent dosage. Quality of life scores improved from 6.1 to 7.1 (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION Average pain scores decreased from 7.2 to 3.5, and quality of life scores increased from 6.1 to 7.1 for 35 patients converted from high-dose full-opioid agonists to SL buprenorphine therapy for more than 60 days. Clinicians should consider buprenorphine SL conversion for all patients on high-dose opioids, particularly patients with severe pain (7-10) unrelieved by their current opioid regimen or patients for whom the clinician does not feel comfortable prescribing high-dose opioids.
Signal Processing for Robust Speech Recognition

This paper describes a series of cepstral-based compensation procedures that render the SPHINX-II system more robust with respect to acoustical environment. The first algorithm, phone-dependent cepstral compensation, is similar in concept to the previously-described MFCDCN method, except that cepstral compensation vectors are selected according to the current phonetic hypothesis, rather than on the basis of SNR or VQ codeword identity. We also describe two procedures to accomplish adaptation of the VQ codebook for new environments, as well as the use of reduced-bandwidth frequency analysis to process telephone-bandwidth speech. Use of the various compensation algorithms in consort produces a reduction of error rates for SPHINX-II by as much as 40 percent relative to the rate achieved with cepstral mean normalization alone, in both development test sets and in the context of the 1993 ARPA CSR evaluations.
Primary hypothyroidism presenting as multiple ovarian cysts in an adult woman: A case report

A 21-year-old woman was referred because of abdominal pain. On physical examination, her abdomen was distended up to the umbilical region. Ultrasound and computer tomography of the abdomen revealed bilateral multiple ovarian cysts. Laboratory studies revealed increased liver function, total cholesterol and creatine phosphokinase. Further clinical investigations determined that the patient suffered from primary hypothyroidism due to autoimmune thyroiditis. The cysts resolved spontaneously after the simple replacement of a thyroid hormone. Some reports have been published of primary hypothyroidism presenting as ovarian cysts and precocious puberty in prepubertal girls. However, the case presented herein indicates that an ovarian tumor as a result of hypothyroidism may also occur in adult females. To avoid inadvertent surgery to remove an ovarian tumor, it is essential that a patient with multiple ovarian cysts and hypothyroidism be properly managed, as the simple replacement of a thyroid hormone could resolve the ovarian cysts.
Towards more accurate 3D face registration under the guidance of prior anatomical knowledge on human faces

Three-dimensional face registration is a critical step in 3D face recognition. A fully automatic registration method for aligning frontal 3D face data is presented in this paper with high accuracy and robustness to facial expressions. In our method, the nose region, which is relatively more rigid than other facial regions in Anatomy sense, is automatically located and analyzed for computing the precise location of a symmetry plane. We then proceed on to find a stable reference point and a nose line from the global information of the nose region. In this way, the six degrees of freedom as well as a unified coordinate system can be determined for each face. Extensive experiments have been conducted on the FRGC V1.0 benchmark face dataset to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of our registration method. Firstly, we compare its results with two other registration methods. One of such methods employs manually marked points on visualized face data and the other is based on the use of a symmetry plane analysis obtained from the whole face region. Secondly, we test its application in a 3-D face verification system. Preliminary experiment results show that this approach can efficiently reduce the intra-class distance and performs better than the other two registration methods in face recognition.
Phenotype of Cardiomyopathy in Cardiac-specific Heat Shock Protein B8 K141N Transgenic Mouse*

Background: A lys141Asn (K141N) missense mutation in heat shock protein (HSP) B8 causes distal hereditary motor neuropathy (HMN). Results: HSPB8 K141N transgenic mice exhibited mild hypertrophy and apical fibrosis as well as slightly reduced cardiac function. Conclusion: A single point mutation of HSPB8, such as K141N, can cause cardiac disease. Significance: The cardiomyopathy phenotype was observed in cardiac-specific HSPB8 K141N transgenic mice. A K141N missense mutation in heat shock protein (HSP) B8, which belongs to the small HSP family, causes distal hereditary motor neuropathy, which is characterized by the formation of inclusion bodies in cells. Although the HSPB8 gene causes hereditary motor neuropathy, obvious expression of HSPB8 is also observed in other tissues, such as the heart. The effects of a single mutation in HSPB8 upon the heart were analyzed using rat neonatal cardiomyocytes. Expression of HSPB8 K141N by adenoviral infection resulted in increased HSPB8-positive aggregates around nuclei, whereas no aggregates were observed in myocytes expressing wild-type HSPB8. HSPB8-positive aggresomes contained amyloid oligomer intermediates that were detected by a specific anti-oligomer antibody (A11). Expression of HSPB8 K141N induced slight cellular toxicity. Recombinant HSPB8 K141N protein showed reactivity against the anti-oligomer antibody, and reactivity of the mutant HSPB8 protein was much higher than that of wild-type HSPB8 protein. To extend our in vitro study, cardiac-specific HSPB8 K141N transgenic (TG) mice were generated. Echocardiography revealed that the HSPB8 K141N TG mice exhibited mild hypertrophy and apical fibrosis as well as slightly reduced cardiac function, although no phenotype was detected in wild-type HSPB8 TG mice. A single point mutation of HSPB8, such as K141N, can cause cardiac disease.
Major hnRNP proteins act as general TDP-43 functional modifiers both in Drosophila and human neuronal cells

Abstract Nuclear factor TDP-43 is known to play an important role in several neurodegenerative pathologies. In general, TDP-43 is an abundant protein within the eukaryotic nucleus that binds to many coding and non-coding RNAs and influence their processing. Using Drosophila, we have performed a functional screening to establish the ability of major hnRNP proteins to affect TDP-43 overexpression/depletion phenotypes. Interestingly, we observed that lowering hnRNP and TDP-43 expression has a generally harmful effect on flies locomotor abilities. In parallel, our study has also identified a distinct set of hnRNPs that is capable of powerfully rescuing TDP-43 toxicity in the fly eye (Hrb27c, CG42458, Glo and Syp). Most importantly, removing the human orthologs of Hrb27c (DAZAP1) in human neuronal cell lines can correct several pre-mRNA splicing events altered by TDP-43 depletion. Moreover, using RNA sequencing analysis we show that DAZAP1 and TDP-43 can co-regulate an extensive number of biological processes and molecular functions potentially important for the neuron/motor neuron pathophysiology. Our results suggest that changes in hnRNP expression levels can significantly modulate TDP-43 functions and affect pathological outcomes.
Real Estate Appraisals with Bayesian Approach and Markov Chain Hybrid Monte Carlo Method: An Application to a Central Urban Area of Naples

This paper experiments an artificial neural networks model with Bayesian approach on a small real estate sample. The output distribution has been calculated operating a numerical integration on the weights space with the Markov Chain Hybrid Monte Carlo Method (MCHMCM). On the same real estate sample, MCHMCM has been compared with a neural networks model (NNs), traditional multiple regression analysis (MRA) and the Penalized Spline Semiparametric Method (PSSM). All four methods have been developed for testing the forecasting capacity and reliability of MCHMCM in the real estate field. The Markov Chain Hybrid Monte Carlo Method has proved to be the best model with an absolute average percentage error of 6.61%.
Maximal operator for pseudo-differential operators with homogeneous symbols

The aim of the present paper is to obtain a Sj\"{o}lin-type maximal estimate for pseudo-differential operators with homogeneous symbols. The crux of the proof is to obtain a phase decomposition formula which does not involve the time traslation. The proof is somehow parallel to the paper by Pramanik and Terwilleger (P. Malabika and E. Terwilleger, A weak $L^2$ estimate for a maximal dyadic sum operator on $R^n$, Illinois J. Math, {\bf 47} (2003), no. 3, 775--813). In the present paper, we mainly concentrate on our new phase decomposition formula and the results in the Cotlar type estimate, which are different from the ones by Pramanik and Terwilleger.