Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Alterations of Postcentral Gyrus Modulated by Angry Facial Expressions during Intraoral Tactile Stimuli in Patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Previous findings suggest that negative emotions could influence abnormal sensory perception in burning mouth syndrome (BMS). However, few studies have investigated the underlying neural mechanisms associated with BMS. We examined activation of brain regions in response to intraoral tactile stimuli when modulated by angry facial expressions. We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging on a group of 27 BMS patients and 21 age-matched healthy controls. Tactile stimuli were presented during different emotional contexts, which were induced via the continuous presentation of angry or neutral pictures of human faces. BMS patients exhibited higher tactile ratings and greater activation in the postcentral gyrus during the presentation of tactile stimuli involving angry faces relative to controls. Significant positive correlations between changes in brain activation elicited by angry facial images in the postcentral gyrus and changes in tactile rating scores by angry facial images were found for both groups. For BMS patients, there was a significant positive correlation between changes in tactile-related activation of the postcentral gyrus elicited by angry facial expressions and pain intensity in daily life. Findings suggest that neural responses in the postcentral gyrus are more strongly affected by angry facial expressions in BMS patients, which may reflect one possible mechanism underlying impaired somatosensory system function in this disorder.
Outcome of operatively treated type-C injuries of the pelvic ring

Background Internal fixation has become the preferred treatment for type-C pelvic ring injuries, but controversies persist regarding surgical approach and surgical technique. Patients We evaluated 101 consecutive patients with type C1-C3 pelvic ring injuries who had been treated with standardized reduction and internal fixation techniques. Results Our findings suggest a correlation between excellent reduction followed by sufficient fixation of the pelvic ring and functional outcome. Unsatisfactory reduction (displacement > 5 mm), failure of fixation, loss of reduction and a permanent lumbosacral plexus injury were the commonest reasons for an unsatisfactory functional result. All 40 patients with an associated lumbosacral plexus injury showed at least some evidence of neurological recovery. 14 underwent complete neurologic recovery. 8 had only sensory deficits and the remaining 18 also had motor deficits at the final followup. Complications were rare, but some of them were severe: loss of reduction in 8%, malunion in 10%, deep wound infection in 2%, and a lesion of the L5 nerve root in 1%. Interpretation Our results suggest that special attention should be paid to preoperative planning, reduction of the fracture, decompression of the nerve roots, and fixation of the most severe sacral fractures. Our results seem to favor internal fixation of displaced (> 10 mm) and unstable rami fractures and symphyseal disruptions in conjunction with posterior fixation, to achieve better stability of the whole pelvic ring.
Growth and differentiation of C2 myogenic cells are dependent on serum response factor

In order to study to what extent and at which stage serum response factor (SRF) is indispensable for myogenesis, we stably transfected C2 myogenic cells with, successively, a glucocorticoid receptor expression vector and a construct allowing for the expression of an SRF antisense RNA under the direction of the mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat. In the clones obtained, SRF synthesis is reversibly down-regulated by induction of SRF antisense RNA expression by dexamethasone, whose effect is antagonized by the anti-hormone RU486. Two kinds of proliferation and differentiation patterns have been obtained in the resulting clones. Some clones with a high level of constitutive SRF antisense RNA expression are unable to differentiate into myotubes; their growth can be blocked by further induction of SRF antisense RNA expression by dexamethasone. Other clones are able to differentiate and are able to synthesize SRF, MyoD, myogenin, and myosin heavy chain at confluency. When SRF antisense RNA expression is induced in proliferating myoblasts by dexamethasone treatment, cell growth is blocked and cyclin A concentration drops. When SRF antisense RNA synthesis is induced in arrested confluent myoblasts cultured in a differentiation medium, cell fusion is blocked and synthesis of not only SRF but also MyoD, myogenin, and myosin heavy chain is inhibited. Our results show, therefore, that SRF synthesis is indispensable for both myoblast proliferation and myogenic differentiation.
Confirmation of initial antiphospholipid antibody positivity depends on the antiphospholipid antibody profile

The revised classification criteria for the antiphospholipid syndrome state that antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies (lupus anticoagulant [LAC] and/or anticardiolipin [aCL] and/or anti‐β2‐glycoprotein I [aβ2GPI] antibodies) should be detected on two or more occasions at least 12 weeks apart. Consequently, classification of patient risk and adequacy of treatment may be deferred by 3 months.
Evolutionary combined neural networks for modelling the growth boundaries for a five strain Staphylococcus aureus cocktail against temperature , pH and water activity

Staphylococcus aureus contamination of foods is one of the most prevalent causes of gastroenteritis worldwide, which is caused by ingestion of preformed toxins. Ready-to-eat foods without previous heat treatment before consumption are susceptible to be contaminated during processing, storage or handling at both retail points and domestic homes. In this study, a logistic regression based on product units neural networks (LRPU) was carried out to determine the probability of growth of a five strain S. aureus cocktail as a function of storage temperature (8-19oC), pH (4.5-7.5) and water activity (aw) (0.856-0.999). A good adjustment of the LRPU model was observed for both training and test datasets (91.10% and 89.36% cases correctly classified respectively). Results confirmed the tolerance to low levels of aw of the working cocktail, since it was capable to grow at 19oC up to aw levels of 0.867 and at neutral pH (7.0). The storage temperature had a marked effect on S. aureus cocktail growth, since at 8oC, it was only able to grow at aw levels higher than 0.977. Regarding pH effect, at pH levels below 5.0, probability of growth was lower than 50 % in most cases at temperatures lower than 16oC. This study provides a solid scientific basis that verifies the criteria established by food industries for the assurance of the microbiological safety of the product until the consumption phase, currently demanded by the European legislation.
Analyzing users' narratives to understand experience with interactive products

Recent research in user experience (UX) has studied narratives, users' account of their interaction with technology. It has emphasized specific constructs (e.g., affect, needs, hedonics) and their interrelation, but rarely analyzed the content of the narratives. We analyze the content and structure of 691 user-generated narratives on positive and negative experiences with technology. We use a multi-method approach consisting of manual (structural analysis of narratives) as well as of automated content analysis methods (psycholinguistic analysis and machine learning). These analyses show converging evidence that positive narratives predominantly concern social aspects such as family and friends. In addition, technology is positively experienced when it enables users to do things more efficiently or in a new way. In contrast, negative narratives often express anger and frustration due to technological failures. Our multi-method approach illustrates the potential of automated (as opposed to manual) content analysis methods for studying text-based experience reports.
PyHTK: Python Library and ASR Pipelines for HTK

This paper describes PyHTK, which is a Python-based library and associated pipeline to facilitate the construction of large-scale complex automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems using the hidden Markov model toolkit (HTK). PyHTK can be used to generate sophisticated artificial neural network (ANN) models with versatile architectures by converting a compact configuration file defining the ANN, into the form used by HTK tools, as well as supporting a range of capabilities to train and test ANN models. The ASR pipeline is divided into multiple steps, which can be arranged and customised for different ASR data sets, and allows for both step-by-step and fully automatic end-to-end operation. PyHTK is integrated with HTK 3.5. 1 which includes an expanded range of ANN layer types and very flexible ways to connect them, together with capabilities for ASR training and testing. Some example systems are included to illustrate the flexibility and performance achievable.
Teacher acceptability of progressive muscle relaxation in the classroom for the treatment of test anxiety

Abstract Test anxiety is experienced by 10–40% of students. The physical symptoms associated with test anxiety may be more likely to be exhibited by elementary students. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) has been demonstrated to reduce physical symptoms of anxiety and could be used in the classroom, but teacher acceptability of PMR for test anxiety has not been assessed. This study used a vignette format to survey 404 first through fifth grade teachers on their acceptability of classroom-based PMR as an intervention for test anxiety. Good levels of acceptability were found for implementation with a school psychologist or counsellor, CD player, or digital music player. Special education teachers reported slightly lower levels of acceptability for using PMR in the digital music player scenario. With good levels of teacher acceptability of PMR to address test anxiety, school psychologists and counsellors may be more likely to recommend the use of PMR in classrooms. Implications for implementation of PMR to reduce test anxiety, study limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Adaptive Tracking Control of A Class of First-Order Systems With Binary-Valued Observations and Time-Varying Thresholds

This technical note studies the adaptive tracking control for a class of single parameter systems with binary-valued observations and time-varying thresholds. A projection algorithm is proposed for parameter identification, based on which an adaptive control law is designed via the certainty equivalence principle. By use of the conditional expectation of the binary-valued observations with respect to the estimates, it is shown that the identification algorithm is both almost surely and mean square convergent, the closed-loop system is stable, and the adaptive tracking control is asymptotically optimal. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithms and the main results obtained.
Tumor Acquisition for Biomarker Research in Lung Cancer

The biopsy collection data from two lung cancer trials that required fresh tumor samples be obtained for microarray analysis were reviewed. In the trial for advanced disease, microarray data were obtained on 50 patient samples, giving an overall success rate of 60.2%. The majority of the specimens were obtained through CT-guided lung biopsies (N = 30). In the trial for early-stage patients, 28 tissue specimens were collected from excess tumor after surgical resection with a success rate of 85.7%. This tissue procurement program documents the feasibility in obtaining fresh tumor specimens prospectively that could be used for molecular testing.
High aspect ratio InGaAs FinFETs with sub-20 nm fin width

We demonstrate self-aligned InGaAs FinFETs with sub-20 nm fin width fabricated through a CMOS compatible front-end process. Working devices with fins as narrow as 7 nm, fin aspect ratios in excess of 5 and gate lengths as short as 20 nm have been fabricated using precision dry etching and digital etch. The devices also feature self-aligned metal contacts that are 20-30 nm away from the edge of the gate. FinFETs with Lg=30 nm, Wf=22 nm and channel height of 40 nm exhibit a transconductance of 1400 μS/μm at VDS=0.5 V. When normalized to Wf, this is a record value among all III-V FinFETs, indicating that our device architecture makes efficient use of conduction along the fin sidewalls.
Balloon aortic valvuloplasty for severe aortic stenosis as a bridge to transcatheter/surgical aortic valve replacement

Objectives: This study aimed to determine success‐ and complication rates after balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) and the outcome of BAV as a standalone therapy versus BAV as a bridge to transcatheter/surgical aortic valve replacement (T/SAVR). Background: The introduction of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has led to a revival in BAV as treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis. Methods: A cohort of 472 patients underwent 538 BAV procedures. The cohort was divided into two groups: BAV alone 387 (81.9%) and BAV as a bridge 85 (18.1%) to (n = 65, TAVR; n = 20, surgery). Clinical, hemodynamic, and follow‐up mortality data were collected. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in mean age (81.7 ± 8.3 vs. 83.2 ± 10.9 years, P = 0.18), society of thoracic surgeons score (13.1 ± 6.2 and 12.4 ± 6.4, P = 0.4), logistic EuroSCORE (45.4 ± 22.3 vs. 46.9 ± 21.8, P = 0.43), and other comorbidities. The mean increase in aortic valve area was 0.39 ± 0.25 in the BAV alone group and 0.42 ± 0.26 in the BAV as a bridge group, P = 0.33. The decrease in mean gradient was 24.1 ± 13.1 in the BAV alone group vs. 27.1 ± 13.8 in the BAV as a bridge group, P = 0.06. During a median follow up of 183 days [54–409], the mortality rate was 55.2% (n = 214) in the BAV alone group vs. 22.3% (n = 19) in the BAV as a bridge group during a median follow‐up of 378 days [177–690], P < 0.001. Conclusion: In high‐risk patients with aortic stenosis and temporary contraindications to SAVR/TAVR, BAV may be used as a bridge to intervention with good mid‐term outcomes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Facilitative Effects of the Ampakine CX516 on Short-Term Memory in Rats: Enhancement of Delayed-Nonmatch-to-Sample Performance

Ampakines are a family of drugs that selectively increase AMPA receptor-gated currents and improve performance on several behavioral tasks. This report describes evidence that ampakines cause a cumulative enhancement of performance in a spatial short-term memory task (Deadwyler et al., 1996). Two groups of rats were trained on a spatial variant of the delayed-nonmatch-to-sample (DNMS) paradigm. One group (n = 12) received the ampakine CX516 (Cortex Pharmaceuticals) alternated with vehicle for 17 consecutive days and then only vehicle for an additional 7 d. The second group (n = 6) received only vehicle injections over the same number of days. CX516 improved performance within sessions, particularly on trials with delays of 6–35 sec. In 9 of 12 rats, the positive effect of the drug was also present on nondrug days between CX516 administration and after cessation of CX516 injections. The animals that received only vehicle injections showed no improvement in DNMS performance over the entire 32 d of testing. Three of the 12 animals given CX516 did not exhibit “carryover” effects of the drug to the intervening (vehicle only) test sessions, but nonetheless exhibited superior performance during the first half of the session on days in which the ampakine was administered. Evaluation of errors suggests that the ampakine eliminated the necessity for a shift in response strategy that produced proactive interference on the following trial. Hippocampal involvement in these ampakine effects is discussed as a prelude to the second article in the series (Hampson et al., 1998).
Isolation and characterization of a novel insecticidal crystal protein gene from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai EG6346, a novel grain dust isolate, was analyzed by Southern blot hybridization for its insecticidal crystal protein (ICP) gene profile. Strain EG6346 lacks previously characterized cryIA ICP genes yet does possess novel cryI-related gene sequences. A recombinant genomic plasmid library was constructed for strain EG6346 in Escherichia coli. One recombinant plasmid, pEG640, isolated from the library contained a novel ICP gene on a 5.7-kb Sau3A insert. The sequence of this gene, designated cryIF, was related to, but distinct from, the published sequences for other cryI genes. A second novel cryI-related sequence was also located on pEG640, approximately 500 bp downstream from cryIF. Introduction of cryIF into a Cry- B. thuringiensis recipient strain via electroporation enabled sufficient production of CryIF protein for quantitative bioassay analyses of insecticidal specificity. The CryIF crystal protein was selectively toxic to a subset of lepidopteran insects tested, including the larvae of Ostrinia nubilalis and Spodoptera exigua.
Arabidopsis AtRRP44A Is the Functional Homolog of Rrp44/Dis3, an Exosome Component, Is Essential for Viability and Is Required for RNA Processing and Degradation

The RNA exosome is a multi-subunit complex that is responsible for 3ʹ to 5ʹ degradation and processing of cellular RNA. Rrp44/Dis3 is the catalytic center of the exosome in yeast and humans. However, the role of Rrp44/Dis3 homologs in plants is still unidentified. Here, we show that Arabidopsis AtRRP44A is the functional homolog of Rrp44/Dis3, is essential for plant viability and is required for RNA processing and degradation. We characterized AtRRP44A and AtRRP44B/SOV, two predicted Arabidopsis Rrp44/Dis3 homologs. AtRRP44A could functionally replace S. cerevisiae Rrp44/Dis3, but AtRRP44B/SOV could not. rrp44a knock-down mutants showed typical phenotypes of exosome function deficiency, 5.8S rRNA 3ʹ extension and rRNA maturation by-product over-accumulation, but rrp44b mutants did not. Conversely, AtRRP44B/SOV mutants showed elevated levels of a selected mRNA, on which rrp44a did not have detectable effects. Although T-DNA insertion mutants of AtRRP44B/SOV had no obvious phenotype, those of AtRRP44A showed defects in female gametophyte development and early embryogenesis. These results indicate that AtRRP44A and AtRRP44B/SOV have independent roles for RNA turnover in plants.
Age‐ and sex‐specific cumulative rate and risk of ATLL for HTLV‐I carriers

We have surveyed the incidence of adult T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) in an endemic area of 290,464 inhabitants for 7 years. We now revise our previous results on the basis of additional findings and estimate the age‐ and sex‐specific cumulative rate for HTLV‐I carriers, the adoption of which is recommended by current cancer epidemiology as a new age‐standardized incidence rate. An unequivocal age‐dependent increase in seroprevalence was observed for both sexes with a characteristic predominance in females. The age‐dependent seroconversion in females may be partly explained by additional infection from infected husbands to their wives but the reason for men remains obscure. The mean annual number of incident cases of ATLL was 11.4, giving 3.9 ATLL patients annually per 105 inhabitants, 6.1 per 105 inhabitants aged over 30, and 85.0 per 105 seropositives aged over 30. Crude annual incidence rate of ATLL among 105 male seropositives aged over 30 was 145.3 and that for females was 55.2 and 95% confidence intervals of ATLL incidence rates were 34.8 to 255.7 for males and 6.4 to 104.1 for females, respectively. Although the sex ratio of 80 ATLL patients was 1.35, males are more prone to the disease (46 male patients among 4,522 male seropositives aged over 30 vs. 34 female patients among 8,801 female seropositives aged over 30; p < 0.001) for unknown reason(s). Morbidity in male seropositives aged over 30 is 2.6 times as high as that of females. Decennial incidence rates in males in their fifties and sixties were significantly higher than those in females. The remarkable male preponderance in oncogenicity of HTLV‐I may be due to the fact that men are more prone to the disease and the number of female carriers in the denominator used to calculate the incidence rate is larger than that of males. The whole life span (0–79) cumulative risk for males was 6.9% and significantly higher than that of females (2.95%).
Is a Profile Worth a Thousand Words? How Online Support-Seeker’s Profile Features May Influence the Quality of Received Support Messages

Although there is an increasing amount of research on support-seeking in cyberspace, very little is known about what features of online support-seeking can enhance the quality of received support. The present experiment examined how support-seekers’ use of cues to personal identity in their user profile can influence the level of person-centeredness and politeness in others’ responses to their support-seeking postings. Results showed that support-seekers whose user profile contained a portrait picture and a first name ID tended to receive higher person-centered and more polite support messages than support-seekers whose user profile did not contain those cues to personal identity.
Factors Influencing Discharge Destination After Total Hip Arthroplasty

Introduction: With this growing demand, the length of stay for total hip arthroplasty (THA) procedures has decreased, and as a trade-off, we have seen a higher utilization of extended care facilities (ECFs). Both trends have significant economic implications on the health care system, and predicting the discharge destinations of THA patients would help policy makers plan for future health expenditures. We performed a retrospective data analysis of a large patient database to determine which variables are significant in predicting discharge destinations of THA patients. Methods: We used the California Hospital Discharge data set of the year 2010, collected and provided by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. The data set includes information about patient demographics, insurance type, diagnoses and procedures, and patient disposition. The study cohort included 14 326 patients. Discharge to home was the reference category. Discharge to ECF and discharge to home with home care were the 2 additional alternatives. Results: In all, 46.9% of patients were discharged home with home health care, followed by 29.6% to ECF, and 23.5% to home without care. Discharge to ECF was more likely for patients with more comorbidities and a higher age. The strongest predictors were Medicaid and black or Asian race. Medicare relative to private payer was a strong predictor of ECF discharge. Male gender was the only factor that lowered the risk of discharge to ECF. The strongest predictor for discharge to home with home care was black race relative to whites. Medicaid lowered the risk of home care, and gender did not matter. Conclusion: This study serves to provide insight on which patient characteristics influence discharge destination after THA. Race, insurance, and morbidity were highly significant factors on patient discharge destination to a subacute nursing facility.
Towards an Automated Optimization of Laminated Composite Structures: Hierarchical Zoning Approach with Exact Blending Rules

We present an automated methodology to optimize laminated composite structures. Our approach, inspired by bi-level optimization scheme, avoids its prime deficiencies and is based on developed computationally inexpensive stacking sequences reconstruction algorithm, which identically satisfies conventional set of blending rules. We combine it with proposed tight approximation to feasible domain of composite integral parameters and hierarchical zoning procedure to get highly efficient optimization methodology, which we test in two example applications. In both cases it is shown that blending rules compliant optimal solution remains within 10% gap from one with no rules applied.