Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cell-autonomous role of GFRα1 in the development of olfactory bulb GABAergic interneurons

ABSTRACT GFRα1, a receptor for glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), is critical for the development of the main olfactory system. The olfactory bulb (OB) of Gfra1 knockout mice shows significant reductions in the number of olfactory sensory neurons, mitral and tufted cells, as well as all major classes of OB GABAergic interneurons. However, the latter do not express significant levels of GFRα1, leaving the mechanism of action of GFRα1 in OB interneuron development unexplained. Here we report that GFRα1 is highly expressed in the precursor cells that give rise to all major classes of OB interneurons, but is downregulated as these neurons mature. Conditional ablation of GFRα1 in embryonic GABAergic cells recapitulated the cell losses observed in global Gfra1 knockouts at birth. GFRα1 was also required for the sustained generation and allocation of OB interneurons in adulthood. Conditional loss of GFRα1 altered the migratory behaviour of neuroblasts along the rostral migratory stream (RMS) as well as RMS glial tunnel formation. Together, these data indicate that GFRα1 functions cell-autonomously in subpopulations of OB interneuron precursors to regulate their generation and allocation in the mammalian OB. Summary: Our data indicate that GFRα1 functions cell-autonomously in subpopulations of OB interneuron precursors to regulate their generation and allocation in the mammalian OB.
The Effects of Haemodilution with Succinylated Gelatin Solution on Coagulation in Vitro as Assessed by Thromboelastometry and Impedance (Multiple Electrode) Aggregometry

We investigated the in vitro viscoelastic changes of progressive haemodilution with succinylated gelatin (SG) solution compared with normal saline (NS) using rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM®). Whole blood (WB) samples obtained from 20 healthy volunteers were diluted in vitro with SG solution or NS by 10%, 20% and 40%. Fibrinogen concentration and ROTEM (EXTEM, FIBTEM) variables including coagulation time (CT), clot formation time (CFT), α-angle, and maximum clot firmness (MCF) were measured in the undiluted sample and at each degree of haemodilution. Haemodilution with SG decreased FIBTEM MCF by 34.8% at 20% dilution (SG 20% haemodilution mean 9.1 [standard deviation, SD 2.7] mm versus WB, mean 13.9 [SD 3.4] mm) whereas this was observed only at 40% haemodilution with NS (mean 8.5 [SD 2.7] mm, 38.7% decrease). We found that 40% haemodilution with SG slowed clot formation (EXTEM CFT; SG 40%, mean 179 [SD 39] seconds versus WB mean 87.9 [SD 13.7] seconds; increased CFT by 103%), reduced clot strength by 23.5% (EXTEM MCF; SG 40% mean 47.7 [SD 3.4] mm versus WB mean 62.4 [SD 2.5] mm), and decreased fibrin formation (FIBTEM MCF; SG 40% mean 5.8 [SD 1.6] mm versus WB mean 13.9 [SD 3.4] mm); 58.4% decrease). The platelet contribution to clot strength (EXTEM MCF–FIBTEM MCF) was not changed by SG. We found that haemodilution of more than 20% with SG impaired coagulation greater than that observed with NS haemodilution in this in vitro study. This suggests that at 40% haemodilution with SG, a clinical scenario that could occur during resuscitation of a patient in grade IV haemorrhagic shock, impaired coagulation could occur. Frequent monitoring of coagulation is advised when SG solutions are administered rapidly during volume resuscitation.
Relationship of Selected Adipokines with Markers of Vascular Damage in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

BACKGROUND In this study we compared levels of selected adipokines between patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and healthy individuals and we determined their relationship with early vascular damage markers. METHODS Seventy-seven subjects: 56 patients with T2D (34 men and 22 women) and 21 healthy controls (8 men and 13 women) were examined in this cross-sectional study. Selected adipokines [adiponectin, adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP), fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21), C1q/TNF-related protein 9 (CTRP-9), and allograft inflammatory factor-1 (AIF-1)] with possible cardiovascular impact were measured in all participants. To identify markers of vascular damage von Willebrand factor (vWF), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and arterial stiffness parameters were examined in all the subjects. RESULTS When compared with healthy controls, T2D had significantly higher levels of A-FABP [50.0 (38.1-68.6) vs. 28.6 (23.6-32.9) ng/mL, P < 0.0001] and lower levels of adiponectin [5.9 (4.3-9.0) vs. 11.3 (8.7-14.8) μg/mL, P < 0.0001]. Differences in other adipokines were not statistically significant. Adiponectin level correlated negatively with vWF levels (ρ = -0.29, P < 0.05) and PAI-1 (ρ = -0.36, P < 0.05) and A-FABP positively with vWF (ρ = 0.61, P < 0.05) and PAI-1 (ρ = 0.47, P < 0.05) and augmentation index (ρ = 0.26, P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed independent association between A-FABP and vWF (b = 0.24, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Patients with T2D have significantly higher levels of A-FABP and lower levels of adiponectin. These adipokines correlate with indicators of vascular damage and could contribute to cardiovascular risk in patients with T2D. A-FABP may participate in direct endothelium damage.
How Moments Become Movements: Shared Outrage, Group Cohesion, and the Lion That Went Viral

Can moments of viral media activity transform into enduring activist movements? The killing of Cecil the lion by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe in 2015 attracted global attention and generated enduring conservation activism in the form of monetary donations to the research unit that was studying him (WildCRU). Utilizing a longitudinal survey design, we found that intensely dysphoric reactions to Cecil’s death triggered especially strong social cohesion (i.e., “identity fusion”) amongst donors. Over a six-month period, identity fusion to WildCRU increased amongst donors. In addition, in line with an emerging psychological model of the experiential antecedents of identity fusion, cohesion amongst donors increased most for those who continued to reflect deeply on Cecil’s death and felt his death to be a central event in their own lives. Our results highlight the profound capabilities of humans to commit resources to supporting others who are distant in space and time, unrelated culturally or biologically, and even (as in this case) belonging to another species altogether. In addition, our findings add to recent interdisciplinary work uncovering the precise social mechanisms by which intense group cohesion develops.
Cognitive Impairment in Fall-Related Studies in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract Background: There is increasing evidence to suggest a tight relationship between cognitive impairment and falls in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Here, we draw attention to a potentially significant flaw in the existent falls-related research, namely the apparent exclusion of patients with cognitive impairment or dementia. Objective: Our objective was to review all published, on-going or scheduled fall-related intervention studies, in order to investigate the extent to which cognitively impaired individuals with PD were included in these studies. Methods: We analyzed published controlled trials regarding falls and PD in commonly used databases, as well as relevant ongoing clinical trials registered within the World Health Organization database, clinicaltrials.gov and the European Clinical Trials Database. Results: Fourteen of the fifteen published studies included had explicit cognitive exclusion criteria as part of their study protocol. Most of the 54 on-going PD fall-related studies excluded patients with cognitive impairment. Conclusions: This suggests that individuals with cognitive impairment or dementia are excluded from fall-related research studies. We strongly recommend that future work in this area should include a representative sample of patients with PD, including subjects with cognitive decline.
MacNeille completion and Buchholz' Omega rule for parameter-free second order logics

Buchholz' Omega-rule is a way to give a syntactic, possibly ordinal-free proof of cut elimination for various subsystems of second order arithmetic. Our goal is to understand it from an algebraic point of view. Among many proofs of cut elimination for higher order logics, Maehara and Okada's algebraic proofs are of particular interest, since the essence of their arguments can be algebraically described as the (Dedekind-)MacNeille completion together with Girard's reducibility candidates. Interestingly, it turns out that the $\Omega$-rule, formulated as a rule of logical inference, finds its algebraic foundation in the MacNeille completion. In this paper, we consider the parameter-free fragments LIP0, LIP1, LIP2, . of the second order intuitionistic logic, that correspond to the arithmetical theories ID0, ID1, ID2, . of iterated inductive definitions up to omega. In this setting, we observe a formal connection between the Omega-rule and the MacNeille completion, that leads to a way of interpreting second order quantifiers in a first order way in Heyting-valued semantics, called the Omega-interpretation. Based on this, we give an algebraic proof of cut elimination for LIPn for every n<omega that can be locally formalized in IDn. As a consequence, we obtain an equivalence between the cut elimination for LIPn and the 1-consistency of IDn that holds in a weak theory of arithmetic.
Midfrontal Theta and Posterior Parietal Alpha Band Oscillations Support Conflict Resolution in a Masked Affective Priming Task

Past attempts to characterize the neural mechanisms of affective priming have conceptualized it in terms of classic cognitive conflict, but have not examined the neural oscillatory mechanisms of subliminal affective priming. Using behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) time frequency (TF) analysis, the current study examines the oscillatory dynamics of unconsciously triggered conflict in an emotional facial expressions version of the masked affective priming task. The results demonstrate that the power dynamics of conflict are characterized by increased midfrontal theta activity and suppressed parieto-occipital alpha activity. Across-subject and within-trial correlation analyses further confirmed this pattern. Phase synchrony and Granger causality analyses (GCAs) revealed that the fronto-parietal network was involved in unconscious conflict detection and resolution. Our findings support a response conflict account of affective priming, and reveal the role of the fronto-parietal network in unconscious conflict control.
Increased Cerebral Tff1 Expression in Two Murine Models of Neuroinflammation

Background/Aims: The trefoil factor family (TFF) peptide TFF1 is a typical secretory product of the gastric mucosa and a very low level of expression occurs in nearly all regions of the murine brain. TFF1 possesses a lectin activity and binding to a plethora of transmembrane glycoproteins could explain the diverse biological effects of TFF1 (e.g., anti-apoptotic effect). It was the aim to test whether TFF expression is changed during neuroinflammation. Methods: Expression profiling was performed using semi-quantitative RT-PCR analyses in two murine models of neuroinflammation, i.e. Toxoplasma gondii-induced encephalitis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the latter being the most common animal model of multiple sclerosis. Tff1 expression was also localized using RNA in situ hybridization histochemistry. Results: We report for the first time on a significant transcriptional induction in cerebral Tff1 expression in both T. gondii-induced encephalitis and EAE. In contrast, Tff2 and Tff3 expression were not altered. Tff1 transcripts were predominantly localized in the internal granular layer of the cerebellum indicating neuronal expression. Furthermore, also glial cells are expected to express Tff1. Characterization of both experimental models by expression profiling (e.g., inflammasome sensors, inflammatory cytokines, microglial marker Iba1, ependymin related protein 1) revealed differences concerning the expression of the inflammasome sensor Nlrp1 and interleukin 17a. Conclusion: The up-regulated expression of Tff1 is probably the result of a complex inflammatory process as its expression is induced by tumor necrosis factor α as well as interleukins 1β and 17. However on the transcript level, Tff1KO mice did not show any significant signs of an altered immune response after infection with T. gondii in comparison with the wild type animals.
Possible association of ghrelin/obestatin balance with cardiometabolic risk in obese subjects with Helicobacter pylori

Abstract Objectives. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a common gastric infection associated with extragastric conditions. The association between H. pylori infection and obesity is unclear. H. pylori may affect gut hormones involved in food intake and energy expenditure. The aim of this study is to evaluate ghrelin/obestatin balance and leptin in obese subjects with H. pylori infection. Methods. Sixty healthy volunteers were divided into: obese and non-obese groups. Each group was divided into H. Pylori positive or H. pylori negative. Anthropometric parameters, H. pylori status, serum glucose, insulin level, and lipid profile were estimated with calculation of Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR). Serum levels of ghrelin, obestatin, and leptin were evaluated. Results. Significant increase was found in serum glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR ratio in obese subjects with positive H. pylori as compared to other groups. H. pylori positive obese subjects showed significantly increased ghrelin, ghrelin/obestatin balance, and leptin with a significant decrease in obestatin as compared to negative subjects. Ghrelin/obestatin ratio positively correlated with weight, body mass index, waist, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, leptin, cholesterol, triglycerides, low density cholesterol and also with H. pylori antigen in the same group. Conclusions. It can be concluded that ghrelin, obestatin, and leptin are affected by presence of H. pylori seropositivity in obese subjects. The higher ghrelin levels and ghrelin/obestatin ratio with lowered obestatin could be considered as a gastro-protective effect against inflammation induced by H. pylori.
A common co-morbidity modulates disease expression and treatment efficacy in inherited cardiac sodium channelopathy

Aims Management of patients with inherited cardiac ion channelopathy is hindered by variability in disease severity and sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk. Here, we investigated the modulatory role of hypertrophy on arrhythmia and SCD risk in sodium channelopathy. Methods and results Follow-up data was collected from 164 individuals positive for the SCN5A-1795insD founder mutation and 247 mutation-negative relatives. A total of 38 (obligate) mutation-positive patients died suddenly or suffered life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia. Of these, 18 were aged >40 years, a high proportion of which had a clinical diagnosis of hypertension and/or cardiac hypertrophy. While pacemaker implantation was highly protective in preventing bradycardia-related SCD in young mutation-positive patients, seven of them aged >40 experienced life-threatening arrhythmic events despite pacemaker treatment. Of these, six had a diagnosis of hypertension/hypertrophy, pointing to a modulatory role of this co-morbidity. Induction of hypertrophy in adult mice carrying the homologous mutation (Scn5a1798insD/+) caused SCD and excessive conduction disturbances, confirming a modulatory effect of hypertrophy in the setting of the mutation. The deleterious effects of the interaction between hypertrophy and the mutation were prevented by genetically impairing the pro-hypertrophic response and by pharmacological inhibition of the enhanced late sodium current associated with the mutation. Conclusion This study provides the first evidence for a modulatory effect of co-existing cardiac hypertrophy on arrhythmia risk and treatment efficacy in inherited sodium channelopathy. Our findings emphasize the need for continued assessment and rigorous treatment of this co-morbidity in SCN5A mutation-positive individuals.
Human Motion Modeling using DVGANs

We present a novel generative model for human motion modeling using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). We formulate the GAN discriminator using dense validation at each time-scale and perturb the discriminator input to make it translation invariant. Our model is capable of motion generation and completion. We show through our evaluations the resiliency to noise, generalization over actions, and generation of long diverse sequences. We evaluate our approach on Human 3.6M and CMU motion capture datasets using inception scores.
Improving accuracy of C4.5 algorithm using split feature reduction model and bagging ensemble for credit card risk prediction

Giving credit to prospective debtor is determined by the existence of credit scoring. The accuracy of credit scoring to classify the debtor data is very important. The method that can be applied is classification and one of the classification method is decision tree. One of the decision tree algorithm that can be used is C4.5 algorithm. In this paper, the problem that discussed is how to increase the accuracy of C4.5 algorithm to predict credit receipts. The increasing accuracy is conducted by applying the Split Feature Reduction Model and Bagging Ensemble. Split Feature Reduction Model is applied in the preprocessing process which split datasets to the amount of n. In this paper, datasets split into 4 splits. Split 1 consists of 16 features, Split 2 consists of 12 features, Split 3 consists of 8 features, and Split 4 consists of 4 features. Then, C4.5 algorithm is applied to every splits. The best accuracy result by applying split feature reduction model with C4.5 algorithm is in Split 3 amount 73.1%. Then, the best accuracy results obtained by applying the split feature reduction model and bagging ensemble with C4.5 algorithm is in Split 3 amount 75.1%. In comparison to the accuracy of C4.5 algorithm stand alone, the applying of split feature reduction model and bagging ensemble obtained increased accuracy by 4.6%.
An Optimal Full Frequency Control Strategy for the Modular Multilevel Matrix Converter Based on Predictive Control

The modular multilevel matrix converter (M3C) is a promising topology for high-voltage high-power applications. Recent researches have proved its significant advantages for adjustable-speed motor drives compared with the back-to-back modular multilevel converter. However, the branch energy balancing in the M3C presents great challenge especially at critical-frequency points where the output frequency is close to zero or grid-side frequency. Generally, this balancing control depends on the appropriate injection of inner circulating currents and the common-mode voltage (CMV), whereas their values are hard to determine and optimize. In this paper, an optimization-based predictive control method is proposed to calculate the required circulating currents and the CMV. The proposed method features a broad frequency range balancing of capacitor voltages and no reactive power in the grid side. For operation at critical-frequency points, there is no increase on branch voltage stresses and limited increase on branch current stresses. A downscaled M3C system with 27 cells is designed and experiment results with the R–L load and induction motor load are presented to verify the proposed control method.
Evaluating Low-Power Wireless Cyber-Physical Systems

Simulation tools and testbeds have been proposed to assess the performance of control designs and wireless protocols in isolation. A cyber-physical system (CPS), however, integrates control with network elements, which must be evaluated together under real-world conditions to assess control performance, stability, and associated costs. We present an approach to evaluate CPS relying on embedded devices and low-power wireless technology. Using one or multiple inverted pendulums as physical system, our approach supports a spectrum of realistic CPS scenarios that impose different requirements onto the control and networking elements. Moreover, our approach allows one to flexibly combine simulated and real pendulums, promoting adoption, scalability, repeatability, and integration with existing wireless testbed infrastructures. A case study demonstrates implementation, execution, and measurements using the proposed evaluation approach.
Local Learning With Deep and Handcrafted Features for Facial Expression Recognition

We present an approach that combines automatic features learned by convolutional neural networks (CNN) and handcrafted features computed by the bag-of-visual-words (BOVW) model in order to achieve the state-of-the-art results in facial expression recognition (FER). To obtain automatic features, we experiment with multiple CNN architectures, pre-trained models, and training procedures, e.g., Dense–Sparse–Dense. After fusing the two types of features, we employ a local learning framework to predict the class label for each test image. The local learning framework is based on three steps. First, a k-nearest neighbors model is applied in order to select the nearest training samples for an input test image. Second, a one-versus-all support vector machines (SVM) classifier is trained on the selected training samples. Finally, the SVM classifier is used to predict the class label only for the test image it was trained for. Although we have used local learning in combination with handcrafted features in our previous work, to the best of our knowledge, local learning has never been employed in combination with deep features. The experiments on the 2013 FER Challenge data set, the FER+ data set, and the AffectNet data set demonstrate that our approach achieves the state-of-the-art results. With a top accuracy of 75.42% on the FER 2013, 87.76% on the FER+, 59.58% on the AffectNet eight-way classification, and 63.31% on the AffectNet seven-way classification, we surpass the state-of-the-art methods by more than 1% on all data sets.
Irrational Antibiotic Use among Secondary School Teachers and University Faculty Members in Shiraz, Iran

Objective: The main aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of university faculty members and high school teachers regarding irrational antibiotic use and self-medication. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, 320 university teaching staff and 150 high school teachers received a questionnaire that assessed their knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the use of antibiotics and self-medication. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed with Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient and the results were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between knowledge, attitude, and practice. Results: The questionnaires were completed by 134 university faculty members and 308 high school teachers, among whom 35.8% and 47.1%, respectively, reported self-medication with antibiotics during the previous year, mostly to relieve sore throat. High school teachers were significantly better than university teaching staff in their knowledge about the effects of antibiotics and in their usage practices. In both the groups, a weak direct linear relationship was detected between attitude and practice (r=0.243, r=0.238, P<0.01) and a weak inverse linear relationship was seen between knowledge and practice (P=0.22) in the high school teacher group. Conclusions: Our results showed that self-medication and the irrational use of antibiotics were common among highly educated people in a community population sample in Shiraz, Iran. The rational use of antibiotics may be favored by improving knowledge about these drugs.