Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid Self-Paced Event-Related Functional MRI: Feasibility and Implications of Stimulus- versus Response-Locked Timing

Many cognitive paradigms require self-paced responses or examine events that occur at unpredictable times. To explore whether functional MRI (fMRI) can accommodate such paradigms, a method allowing rapid, unpredictable trial pacing was developed and tested on 17 subjects using activation of the motor network as a model. Trial onset was determined solely by the subjects' self-paced responses and trials occurred, on average, less than 2 s apart. The hemodynamic response was estimated both in relation to stimulus onset (stimulus-locked) and in relation to behavioral response time (response-locked). Results yielded robust activation maps and hemodynamic response estimates. Specifically, significant activation in motor cortex, supplementary motor area (SMA), and cerebellum was observed both at the group and at the individual-subject level, confirming predicted patterns of brain activity. Moreover, the self-paced design resulted in even temporal sampling of the hemodynamic response across the image acquisition, allowing estimation of response parameters. Stimulus-locked analysis demonstrated strong correlation between hemodynamic- and behavioral-response timing both within and across subjects. Conversely, response-locked analysis showed minimal correlation with behavioral timing, suggesting effective resynchronization of the timing parameters. These results demonstrate fMRI procedures that can accommodate rapid, arbitrarily timed events and, in doing so, provide precise temporal estimates of the hemodynamic response.
Evidence for Premature Lipid Raft Aging in APP/PS1 Double-Transgenic Mice, a Model of Familial Alzheimer Disease

Abstract Altered lipid raft homeostasis has been considered to contribute to cellular deregulation, leading to neuronal loss in Alzheimer disease. Alterations in these microdomains affect amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing, resulting in neurotoxic conditions, but modifications of the molecular structure of lipid rafts in Alzheimer disease model mice have not been characterized. Using a lipidomic approach, we investigated frontal cortex lipid rafts inwild-type mice and in double-transgenic APP/presenilin 1 (PS1) mice. Lipid rafts in wild-type mice undergo age-dependent modifications, that is, decreased cholesterol and sterol esters levels, augmented sphingomyelin and saturated fatty acid content, and increased phospholipids/cholesterol ratio. These age-dependent changes were more dramatic and occurred earlier in APP/PS1 mice; other lipid classes (e.g. sulfatides) and essential long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (including docosahexaenoic and arachidonic acids) were also affected. Steady state anisotropy measurements demonstrated that APP/PS1 animals exhibit more viscous (membrane-ordered) lipid rafts and that this is mainly attributable to reduced unsaturation of phospholipids and increased sphingomyelin levels rather than to changes in cholesterol. In summary, we demonstrate that aging is accompanied by alteration of the physicochemical structure of lipid raft microdomains. This “lipid raft aging,” a metaphenomenon, is considerably exacerbated by the induced amyloid burden in APP/PS1 genotype.
Maternal Antioxidant Supplementation Prevents Adiposity in the Offspring of Western Diet–Fed Rats

OBJECTIVE Obesity in pregnancy significantly increases the risk of the offspring developing obesity after birth. The aims of this study were to test the hypothesis that maternal obesity increases oxidative stress during fetal development, and to determine whether administration of an antioxidant supplement to pregnant Western diet-fed rats would prevent the development of adiposity in the offspring. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Female Sprague Dawley rats were started on the designated diet at 4 weeks of age. Four groups of animals were studied: control chow (control); control + antioxidants (control+Aox); Western diet (Western); and Western diet + antioxidants (Western+Aox). The rats were mated at 12 to 14 weeks of age, and all pups were weaned onto control diet. RESULTS Offspring from dams fed the Western diet had significantly increased adiposity as early as 2 weeks of age as well as impaired glucose tolerance compared with offspring of dams fed a control diet. Inflammation and oxidative stress were increased in preimplantation embryos, fetuses, and newborns of Western diet-fed rats. Gene expression of proadipogenic and lipogenic genes was altered in fat tissue of rats at 2 weeks and 2 months of age. The addition of an antioxidant supplement decreased adiposity and normalized glucose tolerance. CONCLUSIONS Inflammation and oxidative stress appear to play a key role in the development of increased adiposity in the offspring of Western diet-fed pregnant dams. Restoration of the antioxidant balance during pregnancy in the Western diet-fed dam is associated with decreased adiposity in offspring.
AN INVESTIGATION ON THE PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF PORTLAND CEMENT WITH KOSOVO FLY ASH IN CEMENT MORTARS

The energy sector is one of the biggest polluters of environment in Kosovo. More than 40 million tons of ash and about 400 hectares of arable land are occupied from the landfill of Kosovo-A and Kosovo-B power plants. On the other hand, the use of fly ashes with proper characteristics, as pozzolanic material in concrete production is a well-known fact. In this context the effect of the partial replacement of Portland cement with Kosovo fly ash in cement pastes and mortars has been investigated. For that purpose, six different series of (0/100, 5/95,10/90,15/85.20/80 and 25/75) fly ash to cement ratios (FA/PC) have been studied. Normal consistency, initial and final setting time of the cement pastes, and water absorption, flexural strength, compressive strength and shrinkage deformation of the mortar specimens were investigated. Test results show that Kosovo fly ash has good parameters that improve the compressive strength of cement mortars and concrete by replacing the Portland cement up to 10%. On the other hand, it increases slightly the water absorption capacity of the mortars. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that the use of Kosovo fly ash in concrete could be a good alternative to be used as a pozzolanic material. Future studies should be focused on the durability effect of Kosovo fly ash on concrete. Article DOI: https://dx.doi. org/10.20319/mijst.2017. 33.125141 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.
Short Term Culture of Vitrified Human Ovarian Cortical Tissue to Assess the Cryopreservation Outcome: Molecular and Morphological Analysis

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of human ovarian vitrification protocol followed with in vitro culture at the morphological and molecular levels. Methods: Ovarian tissues were obtained from 10 normal transsexual women and cut into small pieces and were divided into non-vitrified and vitrified groups and some of the tissues fragments in both groups were randomly cultured for two weeks. The morphological study using hematoxylin and eosin and Masson’s trichrome staining was done. The analysis of mean follicular density, 17-β estradiol (E2) and anti mullerian hormone (AMH), and real-time RT-PCR was down for the evaluation of expression of genes related to folliculogenesis. Data were compared by paired-samples and independent-samples T test. Values of p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The proportion of normal follicles did not show significant difference between vitrified and non-vitrified groups before and after culture but these rates and the mean follicle density significantly decreased in both cultured tissues (p<0.05). The expression of genes was similar in vitrified and non-vitrified groups but in cultured tissues the expression of GDF9 and FSHR genes increased and the expression of FIGLA and KIT-L genes decreased (p<0.05). An increase in E2 and AMH concentration was observed after 14 days of culture in both groups. Conclusion: In conclusion, the present study indicated that the follicular development and gene expression in vitrified ovarian tissue was not altered before and after in vitro culture, thus this method could be useful for fertility preservation; however, additional studies are needed to improve the culture condition.
Antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected children who require a rifamycin-containing regimen for tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Introduction: In high prevalence settings, tuberculosis and HIV dual infection and co-treatment is frequent. Rifamycins, especially rifampicin, in combination with isoniazid, ethambutol and pyrazinamide are key components of short-course antituberculosis therapy. Areas covered: We reviewed available data, for which articles were identified by a Pubmed search, on rifamycin-antiretroviral interactions in HIV-infected children. Rifamycins have potent inducing effects on phase I and II drug metabolising enzymes and transporters. Antiretroviral medications are often metabolised by the enzymes induced by rifamycins or may suppress specific enzyme activity leading to drug-drug interactions with rifamycins. These may cause significant alterations in their phamacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, and sometimes that of the rifamycin. Recommended strategies to adapt to these interactions include avoidance and dose adjustment. Expert opinion: Despite the importance and frequency of tuberculosis as an opportunistic disease in HIV-infected children, current data on the management of co-treated children is based on few studies. We need new strategies to rapidly assess the use of rifamycins, new anti-tuberculosis drugs and antiretroviral drugs together as information on safety and dosing of individual drugs becomes available.
Tests and Modeling of Heat Generation and Heat Exchange in the Full Size Joint Sample

We present the results of thermal-hydraulic tests and analysis performed on the Full Size Joint Sample (FSJS), specifically aimed at the validation of computational models for heat generation and heat exchange in a joint. These ingredients are essential for a proper predictive study of several items in the testing program of the ITER Toroidal Field Model Coil using, e.g., the MITHRANDIR or M&M codes. The tests also shed some light on the more general limitations of present heat transfer models in the cable bundle region.
Probiotics and dietary counselling contribute to glucose regulation during and after pregnancy: a randomised controlled trial

Balanced glucose metabolism ensures optimal fetal growth with long-term health implications conferred on both mother and child. We examined whether supplementation of probiotics with dietary counselling affects glucose metabolism in normoglycaemic pregnant women. At the first trimester of pregnancy 256 women were randomised to receive nutrition counselling to modify dietary intake according to current recommendations or as controls; the dietary intervention group was further randomised to receive probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12; diet/probiotics) or placebo (diet/placebo) in a double-blind manner, whilst the control group received placebo (control/placebo). Blood glucose concentrations were lowest in the diet/probiotics group during pregnancy (baseline-adjusted means 4·45, 4·60 and 4·56 mmol/l in diet/probiotics, diet/placebo and control/placebo, respectively; P = 0·025) and over the 12 months' postpartum period (baseline-adjusted means 4·87, 5·01 and 5·02 mmol/l; P = 0·025). Better glucose tolerance in the diet/probiotics group was confirmed by a reduced risk of elevated glucose concentration compared with the control/placebo group (OR 0·31 (95 % CI 0·12, 0·78); P = 0·013) as well as by the lowest insulin concentration (adjusted means 7·55, 9·32 and 9·27 mU/l; P = 0·032) and homeostasis model assessment (adjusted means 1·49, 1·90 and 1·88; P = 0·028) and the highest quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (adjusted means 0·37, 0·35 and 0·35; P = 0·028) during the last trimester of pregnancy. The effects observed extended over the 12-month postpartum period. The present study demonstrated that improved blood glucose control can be achieved by dietary counselling with probiotics even in a normoglycaemic population and thus may provide potential novel means for the prophylactic and therapeutic management of glucose disorders.
Genomic amplification of 9p24.1 targeting JAK2, PD-L1, and PD-L2 is enriched in high-risk triple negative breast cancer

We used DNA content flow cytometry followed by oligonucleotide array based comparative genomic hybridization to survey the genomes of 326 tumors, including 41 untreated surgically resected triple negative breast cancers (TNBC). A high level (log2ratio ≥1) 9p24 amplicon was found in TNBC (12/41), glioblastomas (2/44), and colon carcinomas (2/68). The shortest region of overlap for the amplicon targets 9p24.1 and includes the loci for PD-L1, PD-L2, and JAK2 (PDJ amplicon). In contrast this amplicon was absent in ER+ (0/8) and HER2+ (0/15) breast tumors, and in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (0/150). The PDJ amplicon in TNBCs was correlated with clinical outcomes in group comparisons by two-sample t-tests for continuous variables and chi-squared tests for categorical variables. TNBC patients with the PDJ amplicon had a worse outcome with worse disease-free and overall survival. Quantitative RT-PCR confirmed that the PDJ amplicon in TNBC is associated with elevated expression of JAK2 and of the PD-1 ligands. These initial findings demonstrate that the PDJ amplicon is enriched in TNBC, targets signaling pathways that activate the PD-1 mediated immune checkpoint, and identifies patients with a poor prognosis.
Pacing accuracy during an incremental step test in adolescent swimmers

To assess pacing accuracy in a group of adolescent swimmers during an incremental step test. Fifteen well-trained swimmers (age 15±1.5 years; height 170.2±8.8 cm; mass 60.2±6.6 kg), completed two 7×200 m tests, separated by ~72 hours. They swam to a predetermined incrementally increasing pace per step and were instructed to swim at even pace. Upon completion of each step, rating of perceived exertion, heart rate and blood lactate were recorded. Significant differences observed for both trials between actual and predicted swim time (P<0.05). Significant differences also observed between the first and second 100 m of each step in trial 1 for step 1 (P=0.001, effect size [ES] =0.54), step 2 (P=0.0001, ES =0.57), step 4 (P=0.0001, ES =0.53), step 5 (P=0.005, ES =0.65), step 6 (P=0.0001, ES =0.50), and step 7 (P=0.0001, ES =0.70). Similar responses witnessed for trial 2 (P<0.05). Findings suggest that the finite anaerobic capacity was engaged sooner than would normally be anticipated, as a function of an inability to regulate pace. This is proposed to be a consequence of the volume of exposure to the biological and psychological sensations and cognitive developmental status. Given the apparent error in pacing judgment exhibited in this population group, caution should be applied when adopting such tests to monitor training responses with adolescent athletes, and alternate means of modulating pace be investigated.
Characteristics of Open Data CSV Files

This work analyzes an Open Data corpus containing 200K tabular resources with a total file size of 413 GB from a data consumer perspective. Our study shows that ~10% of the resources in Open Data portals are labelled as a tabular data of which only 50% can be considered CSV files. The study inspects the general shape of these tabular data, reports on column and row distribution, analyses the availability of (multiple) header rows and if a file contains multiple tables. In addition, we inspect and analyze the table column types, detect missing values and report about the distribution of the values.
Contribution of Filopodia to Cell Migration: A Mechanical Link between Protrusion and Contraction

Numerous F-actin containing structures are involved in regulating protrusion of membrane at the leading edge of motile cells. We have investigated the structure and dynamics of filopodia as they relate to events at the leading edge and the function of the trailing actin networks. We have found that although filopodia contain parallel bundles of actin, they contain a surprisingly nonuniform spatial and temporal distribution of actin binding proteins. Along the length of the actin filaments in a single filopodium, the most distal portion contains primarily T-plastin, while the proximal portion is primarily bound by α-actinin and coronin. Some filopodia are stationary, but lateral filopodia move with respect to the leading edge. They appear to form a mechanical link between the actin polymerization network at the front of the cell and the myosin motor activity in the cell body. The direction of lateral filopodial movement is associated with the direction of cell migration. When lateral filopodia initiate from and move toward only one side of a cell, the cell will turn opposite to the direction of filopodial flow. Therefore, this filopodia-myosin II system allows actin polymerization driven protrusion forces and myosin II mediated contractile force to be mechanically coordinated.
Clopidogrel With Aspirin in Acute Minor Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (CHANCE) Trial: One-Year Outcomes

Background— The Clopidogrel in High-risk patients with Acute Non-disabling Cerebrovascular Events (CHANCE) trial showed that the combined treatment of clopidogrel and aspirin decreases the 90-day risk of stroke without increasing hemorrhage in comparison with aspirin alone, but provided insufficient data to establish whether the benefit persisted over a longer period of time beyond the trial termination. We report the 1-year follow-up outcomes of this trial. Methods and Results— The trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at 114 centers in China. We randomly assigned 5170 patients within 24 hours after onset of minor stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack to clopidogrel-aspirin therapy (loading dose of 300 mg of clopidogrel on day 1, followed by 75 mg of clopidogrel per day for 90 days, plus 75 mg of aspirin per day for the first 21 days) or to the aspirin-alone group (75 mg/d for 90 days). The primary outcome was stroke event (ischemic or hemorrhagic) during 1-year follow-up. Differences in outcomes between groups were assessed by using the Cox proportional hazards model. Stroke occurred in 275 (10.6%) patients in the clopidogrel-aspirin group, in comparison with 362 (14.0%) patients in the aspirin group (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.65–0.93; P=0.006). Moderate or severe hemorrhage occurred in 7 (0.3%) patients in the clopidogrel-aspirin group and in 9 (0.4%) patients in the aspirin group (P=0.44). Conclusions— The early benefit of clopidogrel-aspirin treatment in reducing the risk of subsequent stroke persisted for the duration of 1-year of follow-up. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00979589.
Supervisory control of Fuzzy Discrete Event Systems and its application to mobile robot navigation

A supervisory control of Fuzzy Discrete Event Systems (FDES) that can be effectively used in behavior based robotics is presented. Fuzzy controllable and uncontrollable events are newly defined to activate deliberative and reactive behaviors. A fuzzy supervisor is defined in order to activate both fuzzy controllable and uncontrollable events together. The fuzzy observability concept is incorporated. The proposed approach is extended to discuss an application.
Distribution and clearance of circulating endotoxin.

To elucidate the mechanisms of endotoxin action the distribution and clearance of injected endotoxin were studied in New Zealand white rabbits; some animals were rendered tolerant through successive (5 days) doses of endotoxin (E. coli lipopolysaccharide) and the remainder were nontolerant. Blood and plasma clearance of small doses of chromium-labeled endotoxin was more rapid in tolerant than in nontolerant rabbits. In both groups clearance was nearly complete within 10 minutes after injection. Circulating endotoxin was distributed between plasma and platelets in both non- and tolerant animals. A minimal amount of endotoxin was found in leukocytes by this was believed the result of contaminating platelets.
Strategy-Proofness versus Efficiency in Matching with Indifferences: Redesigning the NYC High School Match

The design of the New York City (NYC) High School match involved tradeoffs among efficiency, stability and strategy-proofness that raise new theoretical questions. We analyze a model with indifferences--ties--in school preferences. Simulations with field data and the theory favor breaking indifferences the same way at every school --single tie breaking-- in a student-proposing deferred acceptance mechanism. Any inefficiency associated with a realized tie breaking cannot be removed without harming student incentives. Finally, we empirically document the extent of potential efficiency loss associated with strategy-proofness and stability, and direct attention to some open questions.
The impact of cigarette package design on perceptions of risk.

BACKGROUND More than 40 countries have laws prohibiting misleading information from tobacco packages, including the words 'light', 'mild' and 'low-tar'. Little is known about the extent to which other words and package designs prove misleading to consumers. METHODS A mall-intercept study was conducted with adult smokers (n = 312) and non-smokers (n = 291) in Ontario, Canada. Participants viewed pairs of cigarette packages that differed along a single attribute and completed ratings of perceived taste, tar delivery and health risk. RESULTS Respondents were significantly more likely to rate packages with the terms 'light', 'mild', 'smooth' and 'silver' as having a smoother taste, delivering less tar and lower health risk compared with 'regular' and 'full flavor' brands. Respondents also rated packages with lighter colors and a picture of a filter as significantly more likely to taste smooth, deliver less tar and lower risk. Smokers were significantly more likely than non-smokers to perceive brands as having a lower health risk, while smokers of light and mild cigarettes were significantly more likely than other smokers to perceive brands as smoother and reducing risk. Perceptions of taste were significantly associated with perceptions of tar level and risk. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that current regulations have failed to remove misleading information from tobacco packaging.