Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Affective Processing in Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Over Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the most frequently targeted brain region by non-invasive brain stimulation (NBS) studies. Non-invasively stimulating the PFC has been shown to both modulate affective processing and improve the clinical symptoms of several psychiatric disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia. The magnitude of the modulation depends on several factors, including the stimulation frequency, the number of stimulation sessions, and the specific sub-region of the PFC that is stimulated. Although some of the potential underlying mechanisms have been identified, the exact mechanisms that underlie these cognitive and affective changes remain unclear. The present review aims to summarize recent advances in the study of affective processing using NBS over the PFC. We will provide a theoretical framework for better understanding how affective processing changes are induced by NBS, with the goal of providing testable hypotheses for future studies.
Improving Translation Selection with a New Translation Model Trained by Independent Monolingual Corpora

We propose a novel statistical translation model to improve translation selection of collocation. In the statistical approach that has been popularly applied for translation selection, bilingual corpora are used to train the translation model. However, there exists a formidable bottleneck in acquiring large-scale bilingual corpora, in particular for language pairs involving Chinese. In this paper, we propose a new approach to training the translation model by using unrelated monolingual corpora. First, a Chinese corpus and an English corpus are parsed with dependency parsers, respectively, and two dependency triple databases are generated. Then, the similarity between a Chinese word and an English word can be estimated using the two monolingual dependency triple databases with the help of a simple Chinese-English dictionary. This cross-language word similarity is used to simulate the word translation probability. Finally, the generated translation model is used together with the language model trained with the English dependency database to realize translation of Chinese collocations into English. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this method, we performed various experiments with verb-object collocation translation. The experiments produced very promising results.
Harmonic Issues Assessment on PWM VSC-Based Controlled Microgrids Using Newton Methods

This paper presents the application of Newton-based methods in the time-domain for the computation of the periodic steady state solutions of microgrids with multiple distributed generation units, harmonic stability, and power quality analysis. Explicit representation of the commutation process of the power electronic converters and closed-loop power management strategies are fully considered. Case studies under different operating scenarios are presented: grid-connected mode, islanded mode, variations in the Thevenin equivalent of the grid and the loads. Besides, the close relation between the harmonic distortion, steady state performance of the control systems, asymptotic stability, and power quality is analyzed in order to evaluate the importance and necessity of using full models in stressed and harmonic distorted scenarios.
Auditory map reorganization and pitch discrimination in adult rats chronically exposed to low-level ambient noise

Behavioral adaption to a changing environment is critical for an animal's survival. How well the brain can modify its functional properties based on experience essentially defines the limits of behavioral adaptation. In adult animals the extent to which experience shapes brain function has not been fully explored. Moreover, the perceptual consequences of experience-induced changes in the brains of adults remain unknown. Here we show that the tonotopic map in the primary auditory cortex of adult rats living with low-level ambient noise underwent a dramatic reorganization. Behaviorally, chronic noise-exposure impaired fine, but not coarse pitch discrimination. When tested in a noisy environment, the noise-exposed rats performed as well as in a quiet environment whereas the control rats performed poorly. This suggests that noise-exposed animals had adapted to living in a noisy environment. Behavioral pattern analyses revealed that stress or distraction engendered by the noisy background could not account for the poor performance of the control rats in a noisy environment. A reorganized auditory map may therefore have served as the neural substrate for the consistent performance of the noise-exposed rats in a noisy environment.
RSS-Based Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Convex Relaxation: Noncooperative and Cooperative Schemes

In this paper, we propose new approaches based on convex optimization to address the received signal strength (RSS)-based noncooperative and cooperative localization problems in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). By using an array of passive anchor nodes, we collect the noisy RSS measurements from radiating source nodes in WSNs, which we use to estimate the source positions. We derive the maximum likelihood (ML) estimator, since the ML-based solutions have particular importance due to their asymptotically optimal performance. However, the ML estimator requires the minimization of a nonconvex objective function that may have multiple local optima, thus making the search for the globally optimal solution hard. To overcome this difficulty, we derive a new nonconvex estimator, which tightly approximates the ML estimator for small noise. Then, the new estimator is relaxed by applying efficient convex relaxations that are based on second-order cone programming and semidefinite programming in the case of noncooperative and cooperative localization, respectively, for both cases of known and unknown source transmit power. We also show that our approaches work well in the case when the source transmit power and the path loss exponent are simultaneously unknown at the anchor nodes. Moreover, we show that the generalization of the new approaches for the localization problem in indoor environments is straightforward. Simulation results show that the proposed approaches significantly improve the localization accuracy, reducing the estimation error between 15% and 20% on average, compared with the existing approaches.
The influence of acute pulmonary embolism on early and delayed prognosis for patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND Patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) with concomitant chronic heart failure (CHF) are characterized by higher mortality rates than APE patients without CHF. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential impact of APE on early and long-term prognosis in patients with CHF. METHODS This study included 87 patients with CHF with suspected APE. Patients were divided into two groups according to spiral computed tomography results: one group with confirmed APE and one with excluded APE. Total and cardiovascular mortality in patients of both groups during a 6- and 36-month follow up period was assessed. Potential risk factors for mortality in patients with CHF in short and long-term observations were identified. RESULTS APE was diagnosed in 35 patients, and excluded in the remaining 52 patients. Total and cardiovascular 6-month mortality was higher in APE patients than in patients without APE: 34.3% and 28.5% vs. 13.4% and 11.5%, p = 0.02, p = 0.02, respectively. In 6-month follow-up the only independent risk factor for mortality was the presence of APE (HR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.1-24.4, p = 0.04). However, in the 36-month follow-up APE had no effect on mortality. CONCLUSIONS Patients with CHF and acute episode of PE are characterized by a higher 6-month total and cardiovascular mortality rate following discharge from hospital compared to patients hospitalized due to acute CHF decompensation. Moreover, recent episode of PE in patients with CHF is an independent risk factor for early mortality in a 6-month follow-up.
Acute, chronic and withdrawal effects of the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN55212‐2 on the sequential activation of MAPK/Raf‐MEK‐ERK signaling in the rat cerebral frontal cortex: Short‐term regulation by intrinsic and extrinsic pathways

The cannabinoids (CB) modulate the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK), leading to various forms of plasticity in the brain. Little is known, however, on the in vivo short‐ and long‐term activation and regulation of the components of mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK)/ERK signaling by CB. The CB agonist WIN55212‐2 (8 mg/kg) increased the immunodensities of phosphorylated c‐Raf‐1 (42%), MEK1/2 (63%), ERK1 (24%), and ERK2 (28%) in the rat cerebral frontal cortex. These effects were antagonized by SR141716A (rimonabant, 10 mg/kg), a selective CB1 receptor antagonist. Repeated WIN55212‐2 treatment (2–8 mg/kg for 5 days) resulted in tachyphylaxis to the acute activation of Raf‐MEK‐ERK signaling. Acute WIN55212‐2 also induced a hypothermic effect in rats, which was reduced after repeated administration (tolerance). Treatment with SR141716A after chronic WIN55212‐2 resulted in the expected cannabinoid withdrawal syndrome, without concomitant alterations in the phosphorylation state of c‐Raf‐1, MEK1/2, or ERK1/2. Pretreatment with SL327 (20 mg/kg, a MEK1/2 inhibitor) increased the basal phosphorylation of c‐Raf‐1 (40%) and MEK1/2 (74%; feedback regulation) and fully prevented the up‐regulation of ERK1/2 (23–31%) induced by WIN55212‐2. Pretreatment with MK801 (1 mg/kg, a NMDA receptor antagonist) effectively blocked the up‐regulation c‐Raf‐1 (41%), MEK1/2 (57%) and ERK1/2 (25–30%) induced by the CB agonist. The main findings demonstrate that the acute stimulation of CB1 receptors in the frontal cortex results in the sequential phosphorylation of Raf‐MEK‐ERK cascade, in which c‐Raf‐1 activation (rate‐limiting process) plays a crucial role. Moreover, the in vivo stimulating effect of WIN55212‐2 on Raf‐MEK‐ERK signaling is under the extrinsic regulation of an excitatory glutamatergic mechanism. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
p48 Activates a UV-Damaged-DNA Binding Factor and Is Defective in Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group E Cells That Lack Binding Activity

ABSTRACT A subset of xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) group E cells lack a factor that binds to DNA damaged by UV radiation. This factor can be purified to homogeneity as p125, a 125-kDa polypeptide. However, when cDNA encoding p125 is translated in vitro, only a small fraction binds to UV-damaged DNA, suggesting that a second factor is required for the activation of p125. We discovered that most hamster cell lines expressed inactive p125, which was activated in somatic cell hybrids containing human chromosome region 11p11.2-11cen. This region excludedp125 but included p48, which encodes a 48-kDa polypeptide known to copurify with p125 under some conditions. Expression of human p48 activated p125 binding in hamster cells and increased p125 binding in human cells. No such effects were observed from expression of p48 containing single amino acid substitutions from XP group E cells that lacked binding activity, demonstrating that the p48 gene is defective in those cells. Activation of p125 occurred by a “hit-and-run” mechanism, since the presence of p48 was not required for subsequent binding. Nevertheless, p48 was capable of forming a complex with p125 either bound to UV-damaged DNA or in free solution. It is notable that hamster cells fail to efficiently repair cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in nontranscribed DNA and fail to express p48, which contains a WD motif with homology to proteins that reorganize chromatin. We propose that p48 plays a role in repairing lesions that would otherwise remain inaccessible in nontranscribed chromatin.
Ultrasound of enthesopathy in rheumatic diseases

Enthesopathy is the pathologic change of the insertion of tendons, ligaments and joint capsules on the bone. It is a cardinal feature of spondyloarthropathies (SpA), but it can occur in other rheumatic disease. Recent studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) have demonstrated that enthesopathy can often be asymptomatic, in both the axial and peripheral skeleton. Therefore, a systematic US study of peripheral entheses could be useful in the diagnostic process of patients with rheumatic diseases, in particular SpA. Recently, power Doppler US (PDUS) has been proved to be useful for differentiating mechanical/degenerative and inflammatory enthesopathy and for monitoring the efficacy of therapy. This article reviews the main histopathologic aspects of enthesopathy and describes the normal US features of enthesis and the basic US features of enthesopathy, in its various stages. The usefulness of US and PDUS in the diagnosis and assessment of enthesopathy is discussed on the basis of the literature and our experience.
Capacity and lattice strategies for canceling known interference

We consider the generalized dirty-paper channel Y=X+S+N,E{X/sup 2/}/spl les/P/sub X/, where N is not necessarily Gaussian, and the interference S is known causally or noncausally to the transmitter. We derive worst case capacity formulas and strategies for "strong" or arbitrarily varying interference. In the causal side information (SI) case, we develop a capacity formula based on minimum noise entropy strategies. We then show that strategies associated with entropy-constrained quantizers provide lower and upper bounds on the capacity. At high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions, i.e., if N is weak relative to the power constraint P/sub X/, these bounds coincide, the optimum strategies take the form of scalar lattice quantizers, and the capacity loss due to not having S at the receiver is shown to be exactly the "shaping gain" 1/2log(2/spl pi/e/12)/spl ap/ 0.254 bit. We extend the schemes to obtain achievable rates at any SNR and to noncausal SI, by incorporating minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) scaling, and by using k-dimensional lattices. For Gaussian N, the capacity loss of this scheme is upper-bounded by 1/2log2/spl pi/eG(/spl Lambda/), where G(/spl Lambda/) is the normalized second moment of the lattice. With a proper choice of lattice, the loss goes to zero as the dimension k goes to infinity, in agreement with the results of Costa. These results provide an information-theoretic framework for the study of common communication problems such as precoding for intersymbol interference (ISI) channels and broadcast channels.
Substantial shared genetic influences on schizophrenia and event-related potentials.

OBJECTIVE Several components of event-related potentials--P50 suppression, P300 amplitude and latency, and mismatch negativity--have been proposed as potential endophenotypes for schizophrenia on the basis of family studies. The present study used a twin design to estimate the extent of genetic overlap between these indices and the liability to schizophrenia. METHOD The authors measured mismatch negativity, P300, and P50 suppression in 16 monozygotic twin pairs concordant for schizophrenia, nine monozygotic twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia, and 78 healthy comparison twin pairs. The study design was based on a power calculation. Structural equation modeling was used to quantify the genetic and environmental contributions to the phenotypic covariance between schizophrenia and each of the event-related potential indices. RESULTS Significant phenotypic correlation with schizophrenia was found for each of the event-related potential components. Genetic factors were the main source of the phenotypic correlations. P50 suppression had the greatest genetic correlation with schizophrenia, followed by P300 amplitude, P300 latency, and mismatch negativity. CONCLUSIONS All four event-related potential indices are potentially valid endophenotypes for schizophrenia, but P50 suppression and P300 amplitude show the closest genetic relationship to schizophrenia.
New Biomarkers of Coffee Consumption Identified by the Non-Targeted Metabolomic Profiling of Cohort Study Subjects

Coffee contains various bioactives implicated with human health and disease risk. To accurately assess the effects of overall consumption upon health and disease, individual intake must be measured in large epidemiological studies. Metabolomics has emerged as a powerful approach to discover biomarkers of intake for a large range of foods. Here we report the profiling of the urinary metabolome of cohort study subjects to search for new biomarkers of coffee intake. Using repeated 24-hour dietary records and a food frequency questionnaire, 20 high coffee consumers (183–540 mL/d) and 19 low consumers were selected from the French SU.VI. MAX2 cohort. Morning spot urine samples from each subject were profiled by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Partial least-square discriminant analysis of multidimensional liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry data clearly distinguished high consumers from low via 132 significant (p-value<0.05) discriminating features. Ion clusters whose intensities were most elevated in the high consumers were annotated using online and in-house databases and their identities checked using commercial standards and MS-MS fragmentation. The best discriminants, and thus potential markers of coffee consumption, were the glucuronide of the diterpenoid atractyligenin, the diketopiperazine cyclo(isoleucyl-prolyl), and the alkaloid trigonelline. Some caffeine metabolites, such as 1-methylxanthine, were also among the discriminants, however caffeine may be consumed from other sources and its metabolism is subject to inter-individual variation. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis showed that the biomarkers identified could be used effectively in combination for increased sensitivity and specificity. Once validated in other cohorts or intervention studies, these specific single or combined biomarkers will become a valuable alternative to assessment of coffee intake by dietary survey and finally lead to a better understanding of the health implications of coffee consumption.
On the Duality Between Slepian–Wolf Coding and Channel Coding Under Mismatched Decoding

In this paper, Slepian-Wolf coding with a mismatched decoding metric is studied. Two different dualities between Slepian-Wolf coding and channel coding under mismatched decoding are established. These two dualities provide a systematic framework for comparing linear Slepian-Wolf codes, nonlinear Slepian-Wolf codes, and variable-rate Slepian-Wolf codes. In contrast with the fact that linear codes suffice to achieve the Slepian-Wolf limit under matched decoding, the minimum rate achievable with nonlinear Slepian-Wolf codes under mismatched decoding can be strictly lower than that achievable with linear Slepian-Wolf codes.
Letter to the Editor

Dear Editors I read with great interest the paper by Jiang et al., who reported the existence of a significant association between cumulative smoking exposure and carotid intima-media thickness in 722 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Their cross-sectional study was conducted with adequate statistical adjustments, including for age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c and the serum lipid profile, and they stratified their analysis by sex. I have some concerns about their study. First, the limited number of samples caused a wide 95% confidence interval of the odds ratios, as seen from their figures 1 and 4, especially in females who were active smokers. The same problems were observed in multiple comparisons by Student– Newman–Keuls tests. Loss of statistical power could have contributed, at least in part, to the lack of statistical significance, and a larger number of samples is required for their study. Second, their study design was inadequate to establish the causality of the association, and the effect of smoking on the carotid intima-media thickness should be confirmed by a follow-up study. Lycett et al. recently clarified the adverse effects of smoking cessation on the glycaemic control in 3,131 patients with type 2 diabetes. Their retrospective cohort study revealed a 0.21% increase of the HbA1c during the first year after smoking cessation. Thereafter, the increased HbA1c improved within 3 years. Lino et al. reported similar findings, and the mean HbA1c values 6 months and 1 year after smoking cessation were 7.4% and 7.8%, respectively, which were significantly higher than the value of 6.8% recorded before the cessation of smoking. These two reports carried out appropriate adjustment for weight gain before reporting the results. Although Jiang et al. reported the absence of any significant differences of the HbA1c among the three smoking statuses examined in either males or females, caution should be paid in respect of the influence of smoking cessation on glycaemic control. Ohkuma et al. conducted a cross-sectional study to clarify the association of smoking cessation with glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The authors clarified that the HbA1c level, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein decreased linearly over a 10-year period after smoking cessation. The longterm health advantage of smoking cessation seems remarkable not only in terms of diabetes control, but also the cardiovascular risk. According to one previous report, the combination of elevated 2-h plasma glucose and hypertension may contribute to an increased carotid artery intima-media thickness in subjects with normal glucose tolerance. Smoking status, carotid intima-media thickness and diabetic status should be handled with caution to confirm the direction of causality of the association.
Thermal Fatigue in Copper Interconnects

Thermal fatigue in sub‐micrometer thick Cu lines has been investigated by using alternating currents to generate cyclic temperatures and strains. The thermal fatigue loading leads to the formation of severe surface damage and electrical failure of the interconnects. A series of tests show that thermal fatigue in Cu interconnects is strongly influenced by the amplitude and frequency of the thermal cycles and the interconnect dimensions and microstructure. In contrast, the presence of a soft encapsulation layer does nothing to hinder damage formation and failure. Thus, thermal fatigue reliability of microelectronic devices will depend on the interconnect microstructure and geometry as well as on the local temperature variations. For the samples studied here, thermal cycles of 100°C at a frequency of 200 Hz result in a lifetime as short as 6 months.
Estimation and comparison of tensile bond strengths at resin-dentin interface of total-etch and self-etch bonding systems

Objective: To estimate and compare the Tensile Bond Strengths and to observe the resin-dentin interface of total-etch and self-etch bonding systems to dentin of primary and permanent molar teeth. Method: Thirty non-carious exfoliated primary human molars and thirty extracted permanent molars were randomly assigned to four groups according to adhesives used. The specimens were subjected to tensile bond strength (TBS) testing at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. Mean TBS was statistically analyzed with student ‘t’ test. Interfacial morphologies were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Result : Etch-and-rinse adhesive Adper Single Bond 2 Total Etch® yielded high bond strength when applied to both primary and permanent dentine. For the one-step Adper Easy One® self-etching adhesive, the bond strength was relatively low regardless of the dentine type. SEM interfacial analysis revealed funnel shaped resin tags and a rough hybrid layer in specimens subjected to total etch system and cylindrical shaped and a smooth hybrid layer in specimens subjected to self etch system in both primary and permanent teeth. Conclusion: The total-etch systems provide better adhesion to primary and permanent tooth dentine. The self etch systems though convenient to use, do not match the bond strengths of conventional total etch systems. Also, it can be concluded that both adhesives show weaker bond strengths to primary tooth dentin.