Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the Predictive Value of Myelography, Computed Tomography and MRI on the Treadmill Test in Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

To date, there have been no prospective, objective studies comparing the accuracy of the MRI, myelo-CT and myelography. The purpose of this study is to compare the diagnostic and predictive values of MRIs, myelo-CTs, and myelographies. Myelographies with dynamic motion views, myelo-CTs, MRIs and exercise treadmill tests were performed in 35 cases. The narrowest AP diameter of the dural sac was measured by myelography. At the pathologic level, dural cross-sectional area (D-CSA) was calculated in the MRI and Myelo-CT. The time to the first symptoms (TAF) and the total ambulation time (TAT) were measured during the exercise treadmill test and used as the standard in the comparison of correlation between radiographic parameters and walking capacity. The mean D-CSA by CT was 58.3 mm2 and 47.6 mm2 by MRI. All radiographic parameters such as AP diameters and D-CSA have no correlation to TAF or TAT (p>0.05). Our data showed no statistically significant differences in the correlation of the patients' walking capacity to the severity of stenosis as assessed by myelography, myelo-CT and MRI.
DIGESTION AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF ACID PHOSPHATASE IN BLEPHARISMA

Suspensions of Blepharisma intermedium were fed latex particles for 5 min and then were separated from the particles by filtration. Samples were fixed at intervals after separation and incubated to demonstrate acid phosphatase activity. They were subsequently embedded and sectioned for electron microscopy. During formation of the food vacuole, the vacuolar membrane is acid phosphatase-negative. Within 5 min, dumbbell-shaped acid phosphatase-positive bodies, possibly derived from the the acid phosphatase-positive Golgi apparatus, apparently fuse with the food vacuole and render it acid phosphatase-positive. A larger type of acid phosphatase-positive, vacuolated body may also fuse with the food vacuole at later stages. At about 20 min after formation, acid phosphatase-positive secondary pinocytotic vesicles pinch off from the food vacuoles and approach a separate system of membrane-bounded spaces. By 1 hr after formation, the food vacuole becomes acid phosphatase-negative, and the undigested latex particles are voided into the membrane-bounded spaces. The membrane-bounded spaces are closely associated with the food vacuole at all stages of digestion and are generally acid phosphatase-negative. Within the membrane-bounded spaces, dense, pleomorphic, granular bodies are found, in which are embedded mitochondria, paraglycogen granules, membrane-limited acid phosphatase-containing structures, and Golgi apparatuses. The granular bodies may serve as vehicles for the transport of organelles through the extensive, ramifying membrane-bounded spaces.
Incidence of Pregnancy after Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy in South Africa: A Retrospective Clinical Cohort Analysis

Background. Little is known about rates of incident pregnancy among HIV-positive women initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Methods. We conducted a retrospective clinical cohort study among therapy-naïve women ages 18–45 initiating HAART between 1 April 2004 and 30 September 2009 at an adult HAART clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa. We used Poisson regression to characterize rates and rate ratios of pregnancy. Results. We evaluated 5,996 women who experienced 727 pregnancies during 14,095 person-years at risk. The overall rate of pregnancy was 5.2 per 100 person-years (95% confidence limits [CL] 4.8, 5.5). By six years, cumulative incidence of first pregnancy was 22.9% (95% CL 20.6%, 25.4%); among women ages 18–25 at HAART initiation, cumulative incidence was 52.2% (95% CL 35.0%, 71.8%). The strongest predictor of incidence of pregnancy was age, with women 18–25 having 13.2 times the rate of pregnancy of women ages 40–45 in adjusted analysis. CD4 counts below 100 and worse adherence to HAART were associated with lower rates of incident pregnancy. Conclusions. Women experience high rates of incident pregnancy after HAART initiation. Understanding which women are most likely to experience pregnancy will help planning and future efforts to understand the implications of pregnancy for response to HAART.
Spectral Extremal Problems for Hypergraphs

In this paper we consider spectral extremal problems for hypergraphs. We give two general criteria under which such results may be deduced from `strong stability' forms of the corresponding (pure) extremal results. These results hold for the \alpha-spectral radius defined using the \alpha-norm for any \alpha>1; the usual spectrum is the case \alpha=2. Our results imply that any hypergraph Tur\'{a}n problem which has the stability property and whose extremal construction satisfies some rather mild continuity assumptions admits a corresponding spectral result. A particular example is to determine the maximum \alpha-spectral radius of any 3-uniform hypergraph on n vertices not containing the Fano plane, when n is sufficiently large. Another is to determine the maximum \alpha-spectral radius of any graph on n vertices not containing some fixed colour-critical graph, when n is sufficiently large; this generalizes a theorem of Nikiforov who proved stronger results in the case \alpha=2. We also obtain an \alpha-spectral version of the Erd\H{o}s-Ko-Rado theorem on t-intersecting k-uniform hypergraphs.
A Semi-linear Model for Normalization and Analysis of cDNA Microarray Data

Microarray analysis is a technology for monitoring gene expression levels on a large scale and has been widely used in functional genomics. A challenging issue in the analysis of microarray data is normalization. A proper normalization procedure ensures that the intensity ratios provide meaningful measures of relative expression levels. There are two important questions concerning normalization not adequately addressed in the current literature: (a) how to identify genes that have constant expression levels in order to establish the normalization curves; (b) how to account for the uncertainty inherent in the normalization process in the subsequent statistical analysis. We propose a semi-linear model that incorporates normalization into the analysis. This method does not make the usual assumptions needed for the loess and dye-swap normalization procedures, nor does it require to identify a set of constantly expressed genes prior to normalization. It also naturally accounts for the uncertainty in the normalization process. We apply the proposed method to two microarray data sets to illustrate this approach and its differences from the loess normalization method. Contact: jian-huang@uiowa.edu
Factors associated with work ability and perception of fatigue among nursing personnel from Amazonia.

OBJECTIVE To analyze factors associated with inadequate work ability and perceived fatigue among nursing professionals. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 272 nursing personnel at an emergency hospital in Rio Branco/State of Acre, Brazil. Data collection was performed using the following instruments: questionnaire on sociodemographic data, working conditions and life styles; the Work Ability Index - WAI, and a questionnaire on perceived fatigue. Bivariate and multiple Poisson regression was used in the analysis of factors associated with work ability and perceived fatigue. RESULTS The prevalence of inadequate work ability was 40.8% and presented the following associated factors: female sex (RP = 1.84; 95% CI 1.06 - 3.18); refering: other job commitment (RP = 1.71; 1.25 - 2.35); understaffing (RP = 1.96; 1.10 - 3.47); repetitive and monotonous tasks (RP = 1.84; 1.24 - 2.72); reporting three or more clinically undiagnosed morbidities (RP = 1.48; 1.06 - 2.06); excessive reported fatigue (RP = 2.37; 1.81 - 3.12). The prevalence of severe fatigue was 25.7% and the associated factors were: repetitive and monotonous tasks (RP = 1.74; 1.00 - 3.03); reporting three to five clinically-diagnosed morbidities (RP = 1.98; 1.00 - 3.11) and six or more self-reported morbidities (RP = 3.79; 2.04 - 7.03). CONCLUSIONS The study revealed that most of the studied population showed reduced work ability and high levels of fatigue. These results point toward the need for interventions on an individual level (such as life conditions) and workplace improvements, looking jointly at the organizational aspects and work environment, particularly organizational aspects.
Individual differences in cognitive decline in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE The authors' goal was to determine whether cognitively impaired patients with schizophrenia exhibit age-related cognitive declines similar to those of patients with schizophrenia who do not have substantial cognitive impairment. METHOD Correlation coefficients were computed between age and the Average Impairment Rating, a summary index of cognitive ability, in a group of 77 patients with schizophrenia. These patients were clustered into two groups: one with near-normal cognitive function (N=51) and one with severely impaired cognitive function (N=26). A group of patients with senile dementia (N=21) and another comparison group of nonschizophrenic patients (N=299) were used as reference groups. RESULTS There were significant correlations between age and the Average Impairment Rating in all groups except the cognitively impaired patients with schizophrenia, in which a zero-order correlation was obtained. CONCLUSIONS Patients with schizophrenia who have substantial cognitive impairment do not have the significant correlation between age and cognitive function found in patients with schizophrenia who have mildly impaired or normal cognitive abilities, suggesting earlier onset of cognitive deficit in the cognitively impaired patients with schizophrenia.
Quasi-Static Analysis of Defected Ground Structure

A quasi-static equivalent circuit model of a dumbbell shaped defected ground structure (DGS) is developed. The equivalent circuit model is derived from the equivalent inductance and capacitance developed due to the perturbed returned current path on the ground and the narrow gap, respectively. The theory is validated against the commercial full-wave solver CST Microwave Studio. Finally, the calculated results are compared with the measured results. Good agreement between the theory, the commercially available numerical analyses and the experimental results validates the developed theoretical model.
Learning Causal Graphs with Small Interventions

We consider the problem of learning causal networks with interventions, when each intervention is limited in size under Pearl's Structural Equation Model with independent errors (SEM-IE). The objective is to minimize the number of experiments to discover the causal directions of all the edges in a causal graph. Previous work has focused on the use of separating systems for complete graphs for this task. We prove that any deterministic adaptive algorithm needs to be a separating system in order to learn complete graphs in the worst case. In addition, we present a novel separating system construction, whose size is close to optimal and is arguably simpler than previous work in combinatorics. We also develop a novel information theoretic lower bound on the number of interventions that applies in full generality, including for randomized adaptive learning algorithms. For general chordal graphs, we derive worst case lower bounds on the number of interventions. Building on observations about induced trees, we give a new deterministic adaptive algorithm to learn directions on any chordal skeleton completely. In the worst case, our achievable scheme is an $\alpha$-approximation algorithm where $\alpha$ is the independence number of the graph. We also show that there exist graph classes for which the sufficient number of experiments is close to the lower bound. In the other extreme, there are graph classes for which the required number of experiments is multiplicatively $\alpha$ away from our lower bound. In simulations, our algorithm almost always performs very close to the lower bound, while the approach based on separating systems for complete graphs is significantly worse for random chordal graphs.
Combined Effects of UVR and Temperature on the Survival of Crab Larvae (Zoea I) from Patagonia: The Role of UV-Absorbing Compounds

The aim of our study was to assess the combined impact of UVR (280–400 nm) and temperature on the first larval stage (Zoea I) of three crab species from the Patagonian coast: Cyrtograpsus altimanus, C. angulatus, and Leucippa pentagona. We determined the survival response of newly hatched Zoea I after being exposed for 8–10 h under a solar simulator (Hönle SOL 1200) at 15 and 20 °C. There was no mortality due to Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm) or ultraviolet-A radiation (UV-A, 315–400 nm), and all the observed mortality was due to ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280–315 nm). The data of larval mortality relative to exposure time was best fit using a sigmoid curve. Based on this curve, a threshold (Th) and the lethal dose for 50% mortality (LD50) were determined for each species. Based on the Th and LD50, C. altimanus was found to be the most resistant species, while L. pentagona was found to be the most sensitive to UV-B. For both species of Cyrtograpsus, mortality was significantly lower at 20 °C than at 15 °C; however, no significant differences between the two temperature treatments were found in L. pentagona. Bioaccumulation of UV-absorbing compounds in the gonads and larvae of C. altimanus, and to a lesser extent in C. angulatus, might have contributed for counteracting the impact of UV-B. However, most of the resilience to UV-B observed with the increase in temperature might be due to an increase in metabolic activity caused by a repair mechanism mediated by enzymes.
Cognitive Dedifferentiation in Eidetics and Synaesthesia: Hunting for the Ghost Once More

Both synaesthesia and eidetics have a common characteristic of cognitive dedifferentiation. Synaesthesia (eg colour – hearing) entails the dedifferentiation of the sensory modalities, while eidetic imagery entails the dedifferentiation of imagery and perception. One can profitably gain by investigating both within the same study. Moreover, some of the same issues have arisen in these, hitherto, separate research literatures. This behoves a common framework for analysis and investigation. We applied a technique previously used for identifying child eidetikers, for screening the adult population, looking at both phenomena in the same sample. After screening, we selected a total of twenty-nine individuals for controlled testing of both phenomena and their variants (structural eidetic imagery, typographic eidetic imagery, colour – hearing synaesthesia, colour – mood synaesthesia). Our participants also completed a number of questionnaires of relevance (absorption, dissociation, and hallucination). We found that the personality trait of absorption underlies the commonality of experience tapped by both typographic and structural eidetic imagery. Furthermore, the latter phenomena were found to have a common pseudohallucinatory experiential base. For subjects scoring relatively high on the absorption scale, there is a negative correlation between structural eidetic imagery and colour – mood synaesthetic differentiation, replicating to a degree results reported earlier.
The functional neuroimaging correlates of psychogenic versus organic dystonia

The neurobiological basis of psychogenic movement disorders remains poorly understood and the management of these conditions difficult. Functional neuroimaging studies have provided some insight into the pathophysiology of disorders implicating particularly the prefrontal cortex, but there are no studies on psychogenic dystonia, and comparisons with findings in organic counterparts are rare. To understand the pathophysiology of these disorders better, we compared the similarities and differences in functional neuroimaging of patients with psychogenic dystonia and genetically determined dystonia, and tested hypotheses on the role of the prefrontal cortex in functional neurological disorders. Patients with psychogenic (n = 6) or organic (n = 5, DYT1 gene mutation positive) dystonia of the right leg, and matched healthy control subjects (n = 6) underwent positron emission tomography of regional cerebral blood flow. Participants were studied during rest, during fixed posturing of the right leg and during paced ankle movements. Continuous surface electromyography and footplate manometry monitored task performance. Averaging regional cerebral blood flow across all tasks, the organic dystonia group showed abnormal increases in the primary motor cortex and thalamus compared with controls, with decreases in the cerebellum. In contrast, the psychogenic dystonia group showed the opposite pattern, with abnormally increased blood flow in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, with decreases in the primary motor cortex. Comparing organic dystonia with psychogenic dystonia revealed significantly greater regional blood flow in the primary motor cortex, whereas psychogenic dystonia was associated with significantly greater blood flow in the cerebellum and basal ganglia (all P < 0.05, family-wise whole-brain corrected). Group × task interactions were also examined. During movement, compared with rest, there was abnormal activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that was common to both organic and psychogenic dystonia groups (compared with control subjects, P < 0.05, family-wise small-volume correction). These data show a cortical–subcortical differentiation between organic and psychogenic dystonia in terms of regional blood flow, both at rest and during active motor tasks. The pathological prefrontal cortical activation was confirmed in, but was not specific to, psychogenic dystonia. This suggests that psychogenic and organic dystonia have different cortical and subcortical pathophysiology, while a derangement in mechanisms of motor attention may be a feature of both conditions.
Self-sustained activity, bursts, and variability in recurrent networks

There is consensus in the current literature that stable states of asynchronous irregular spiking activity require (i) large networks of 10 000 or more neurons and (ii) external background activity or pacemaker neurons. Yet already in 1963, Griffith showed that networks of simple threshold elements can be persistently active at intermediate rates. Here, we extend Griffith's work and demonstrate that sparse networks of integrate-and-fire neurons assume stable states of self-sustained asynchronous and irregular firing without external input or pacemaker neurons. These states can be robustly induced by a brief pulse to a small fraction of the neurons, or by short a period of irregular input, and last for several minutes. Self-sustained activity states emerge when a small fraction of the synapses is strong enough to significantly influence the firing probability of a neuron, consistent with the recently proposed long-tailed distribution of synaptic weights. During self-sustained activity, each neuron exhibits highly irregular firing patterns, similar to experimentally observed activity. Moreover, the interspike interval distribution reveals that neurons switch between discrete states of high and low firing rates. We find that self-sustained activity states can exist even in small networks of only a thousand neurons. We investigated networks up to 100 000 neurons. Finally, we discuss the implications of self-sustained activity for learning, memory and signal propagation.
Hybrid Glass Fiber-reinforced Thermoplastic Nanocomposites

The feasibility of integrating thermoplastic isotactic polypropylene/ montmorillonite nanocomposite matrices into conventional fiber-reinforced composites has been investigated. Two basic processing routes were considered: long glass fiber (GF)-reinforced composites based on co-wound or co-woven yarns and glass mat reinforced composites. In each case satisfactory impregnation and consolidation were demonstrated, although at high fiber contents, this required increased pressures and/or temperatures in the presence of the montmorillonite. Flexural tests on the glass mat reinforced composites, containing relatively low GF contents, showed the use of a nanocomposite matrix to lead to the significant improvements in bending stiffness and strength.
Neuropeptide Y in Alcohol Addiction and Affective Disorders

Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a neuropeptide highly conserved throughout evolution, is present at high levels in the central nervous system (CNS), as well as in peripheral tissues such as the gut and cardiovascular system. The peptide exerts its effects via multiple receptor subtypes, all belonging to the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily. Of these subtypes, the Y1 and the Y2 are the most thoroughly characterized, followed by the Y5 subtype. NPY and its receptors have been shown to be of importance in central regulation of events underlying, for example, affective disorders, drug/alcohol use disorders, and energy homeostasis. Furthermore, within the CNS, NPY also affects sleep regulation and circadian rhythm, memory function, tissue growth, and plasticity. The potential roles of NPY in the etiology and pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders, as well as alcohol use disorders, have been extensively studied. This focus was prompted by early indications for an involvement of NPY in acute responses to stress, and, later, also data pointing to a role in alterations within the CNS during chronic, or repeated, exposure to adverse events. These functions of NPY, in addition to the peptide’s regulation of disease states, suggest that modulation of the activity of the NPY system via receptor agonists/antagonists may be a putative treatment mechanism in affective disorders as well as alcohol use disorders. In this review, we present an overview of findings with regard to the NPY system in relation to anxiety and stress, acute as well as chronic; furthermore we discuss post-traumatic stress disorder and, in part depression. In addition, we summarize findings on alcohol use disorders and related behaviors. Finally, we briefly touch upon genetic as well as epigenetic mechanisms that may be of importance for NPY function and regulation. In conclusion, we suggest that modulation of NPY-ergic activity within the CNS, via ligands aimed at different receptor subtypes, may be attractive targets for treatment development for affective disorders, as well as for alcohol use disorders.
Towards an Ontology of Cognitive Control

The goal of cognitive neuroscience is to map mental functions onto their neural substrates. We argue here that this goal requires a formal approach to the characterization of mental processes, and we present one such approach by using ontologies to describe cognitive processes and their relations. Using a classifier analysis of data from the BrainMap database, we examine the concept of "cognitive control" to determine whether the proposed component processes in this domain are mapped to independent neural systems. These results show that some subcomponents can be uniquely classified, whereas others cannot, suggesting that these different components may vary in their ontological reality. We relate these concepts to the broader emerging field of phenomics, which aims to characterize cognitive phenotypes on a global scale.