Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal Grey and White Matter Changes in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

Behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia are characterised by progressive brain atrophy. Longitudinal MRI volumetry may help to characterise ongoing structural degeneration and support the differential diagnosis of dementia subtypes. Automated, observer-independent atlas-based MRI volumetry was applied to analyse 102 MRI data sets from 15 bvFTD, 14 AD, and 10 healthy elderly control participants with consecutive scans over at least 12 months. Anatomically defined targets were chosen a priori as brain structures of interest. Groups were compared regarding volumes at clinic presentation and annual change rates. Baseline volumes, especially of grey matter compartments, were significantly reduced in bvFTD and AD patients. Grey matter volumes of the caudate and the gyrus rectus were significantly smaller in bvFTD than AD. The bvFTD group could be separated from AD on the basis of caudate volume with high accuracy (79% cases correct). Annual volume decline was markedly larger in bvFTD and AD than controls, predominantly in white matter of temporal structures. Decline in grey matter volume of the lateral orbitofrontal gyrus separated bvFTD from AD and controls. Automated longitudinal MRI volumetry discriminates bvFTD from AD. In particular, greater reduction of orbitofrontal grey matter and temporal white matter structures after 12 months is indicative of bvFTD.
Strategies for Preparing Albumin-based Nanoparticles for Multifunctional Bioimaging and Drug Delivery

Biosafety is the primary concern in clinical translation of nanomedicine. As an intrinsic ingredient of human blood without immunogenicity and encouraged by its successful clinical application in Abraxane, albumin has been regarded as a promising material to produce nanoparticles for bioimaging and drug delivery. The strategies for synthesizing albumin-based nanoparticles could be generally categorized into five classes: template, nanocarrier, scaffold, stabilizer and albumin-polymer conjugate. This review introduces approaches utilizing albumin in the preparation of nanoparticles and thereby provides scientists with knowledge of goal-driven design on albumin-based nanomedicine.
Assumption generation for software component verification

Model checking is an automated technique that can be used to determine whether a system satisfies certain required properties. The typical approach to verifying properties of software components is to check them for all possible environments. In reality, however, a component is only required to satisfy properties in specific environments. Unless these environments are formally characterized and used during verification (assume-guarantee paradigm), the results returned by verification can be overly pessimistic. This work defines a framework that brings a new dimension to model checking of software components. When checking a component against a property, our model checking algorithms return one of the following three results: the component satisfies a property for any environment; the component violates the property for any environment; or finally, our algorithms generate an assumption that characterizes exactly those environments in which the component satisfies its required property. Our approach has been implemented in the LTSA tool and has been applied to the analysis of a NASA application.
Reallocation, Firm Turnover, and Efficiency: Selection on Productivity or Profitability?

There is considerable evidence that producer-level churning contributes substantially to aggregate (industry) productivity growth, as more productive businesses displace less productive ones. However, this research has been limited by the fact that producer-level prices are typically unobserved; thus within-industry price differences are embodied in productivity measures. If prices reflect idiosyncratic demand or market power shifts, high "productivity" businesses may not be particularly efficient, and the literature's findings might be better interpreted as evidence of entering businesses displacing less profitable, but not necessarily less productive, exiting businesses. In this paper, we investigate the nature of selection and productivity growth using data from industries where we observe producer-level quantities and prices separately. We show there are important differences between revenue and physical productivity. A key dissimilarity is that physical productivity is inversely correlated with plant-level prices while revenue productivity is positively correlated with prices. This implies that previous work linking (revenue-based) productivity to survival has confounded the separate and opposing effects of technical efficiency and demand on survival, understating the true impacts of both. We further show that young producers charge lower prices than incumbents, and as such the literature understates the productivity advantage of new producers and the contribution of entry to aggregate productivity growth.
Packet Error Rate in OFDM-Based Wireless LANs Operating in Frequency Selective Channels

Packet loss leads to a reduction in TCP throughput for data and a loss in intelligibility for VoIP. In general, packet loss is a function of packet error rate due to transmissions errors in the channel. In this paper, we develop an analytical packet error rate (PER) expression for convolutional coded OFDMbased WLANs operating in frequency selective channels. This expression is a function of the wireless channel and system parameters. The expression also provides an efficient method of estimating the PER given the channel conditions and system parameters, and most importantly, the expression facilitates the study of the impact of packet loss on the application. The PER results (obtained from the PER expression) are applied to the study of the impact of system parameters on the Quality of Service (QoS) for VoIP and TCP-based data applications over WLANs. By studying the trade-off between the user’s QoS, energy consumption and channel time, we provide insights into how system parameters such as data rate can be selected to guarantee the “user-required QoS” and ensure efficient usage of user and system resources.
A Model of Saccade Initiation Based on the Competitive Integration of Exogenous and Endogenous Signals in the Superior Colliculus

Significant advances in cognitive neuroscience can be achieved by combining techniques used to measure behavior and brain activity with neural modeling. Here we apply this approach to the initiation of rapid eye movements (saccades), which are used to redirect the visual axis to targets of interest. It is well known that the superior colliculus (SC) in the midbrain plays a major role in generating saccadic eye movements, and physiological studies have provided important knowledge of the activity pattern of neurons in this structure. Based on the observation that the SC receives localized sensory (exogenous) and voluntary (endogenous) inputs, our model assumes that this information is integrated by dynamic competition across local collicular interactions. The model accounts well for the effects upon saccadic reaction time (SRT) due to removal of fixation, the presence of distractors, execution of pro-versus antisaccades, and variation in target probability, and suggests a possible mechanism for the generation of express saccades. In each of these cases, the activity patterns of neurons within the model closely resemble actual cell behavior in the intermediate layer of the SC. The interaction structure we employ is instrumental for producing a physiologically faithful model and results in new insights and hypotheses regarding the neural mechanisms underlying saccade initiation.
THE NEW VIEW OF ANIMAL PHYLOGENY

■ Abstract Molecular tools have profoundly rearranged our understanding of metazoan phylogeny. Initially based on the nuclear small ribosomal subunit (SSU or 18S) gene, recent hypotheses have been corroborated by several sources of data (including the nuclear large ribosomal subunit, Hox genes, mitochondrial gene order, concatenated mitochondrial genes, and the myosin II heavy chain gene). Herein, the evidence supporting our current understanding is discussed on a clade by clade basis. Bilaterian animals consist of three clades: Deuterostomia, Lophotrochozoa, and Ecdysozoa. Each clade is supported by molecular and morphological data. Deuterostomia is smaller than traditionally recognized, consisting of hemichordates, echinoderms, chordates, and Xenoturbella (an enigmatic worm-like animal). Lophotrochozoa groups animals with a lophophore feeding apparatus (Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, and Phoronida) and trochophore larvae (e.g., annelids and mollusk), as well as several other recognized phyla (e.g., platyhelminthes, sipunculans, nemerteans). Ecdysozoa comprises molting animals (e.g., arthropods, nematodes, tardigrades, priapulids), grouping together two major model organisms (Drosophila and Caenorhabditis) in the same lineage. Platyhelminthes do not appear to be monophyletic, with Acoelomorpha holding a basal position in Bilateria. Before the emergence of bilateral animals, sponges, ctenophorans, cnidarians, and placozoans split from the main animal lineage, but order of divergence is less than certain. Many questions persist concerning relationships within Ecdysozoa and Lophotrochozoa, poriferan monophyly, and the placement of many less-studied taxa (e.g., kinorhynchs, gastrotrichs, gnathostomulids, and entoprocts).
New frontiers in biological halogenation.

The synthesis of halogenated compounds in biological systems is well established, yet the mechanisms by which these compounds are formed are poorly understood. Many commercially important compounds, such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, contain halogens; indeed some halogenated natural products, such as the antibiotic vancomycin, are themselves valuable. Furthermore, several environmentally significant organohalogens can be formed naturally, for example it is likely that a significant proportion of the atmospheric bromomethane is produced by higher plants (Gan et al. 1998). While chemical synthesis of organohalogens can be difficult, the biological production of these compounds occurs under relatively mild conditions and often with a greater degree of specificity. Therefore an understanding of the biosynthesis of halometabolites, and in particular, the enzymology of carbon-halogen bond formation, may provide convenient biotechnological methods for the halogenation of organic compounds. For over 30 years haloperoxidases were the only halogenating enzymes that had been identified and it was largely accepted that these enzymes were responsible for almost all biological halogenation reactions. However, in recent years evidence has accumulated pointing to the existence of other halogenases and now the nature of these enzymes is being revealed. This review concentrates on the occurrence, mechanism and biocatalytic potential of the halogenating enzymes that are currently known.
Plan in 2-D, execute in 3-D: an augmented reality solution for cup placement in total hip arthroplasty

Abstract. Reproducibly achieving proper implant alignment is a critical step in total hip arthroplasty procedures that has been shown to substantially affect patient outcome. In current practice, correct alignment of the acetabular cup is verified in C-arm x-ray images that are acquired in an anterior–posterior (AP) view. Favorable surgical outcome is, therefore, heavily dependent on the surgeon’s experience in understanding the 3-D orientation of a hemispheric implant from 2-D AP projection images. This work proposes an easy to use intraoperative component planning system based on two C-arm x-ray images that are combined with 3-D augmented reality (AR) visualization that simplifies impactor and cup placement according to the planning by providing a real-time RGBD data overlay. We evaluate the feasibility of our system in a user study comprising four orthopedic surgeons at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and report errors in translation, anteversion, and abduction as low as 1.98 mm, 1.10 deg, and 0.53 deg, respectively. The promising performance of this AR solution shows that deploying this system could eliminate the need for excessive radiation, simplify the intervention, and enable reproducibly accurate placement of acetabular implants.
An Evaluation of the Vita‐Stat Automatic Blood Pressure Measuring Device

SUMMARY Four Vita-Stat (VS) automatic, coin-operated, blood pressure measuring derices were evaluated for accuracy and precision. Under field conditions, 342 adults had two blood pressure measurements with both the VS device and with the Random-Zero (RZ) device. Two of the VS machines gave significantly higher systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) values, compared to the RZ values. The mean difference between these two units and the RZ device were clinically important (14.0 and 6.9 mm Hg SBP; 7.5 and 6.8 mm Hg DBP), and resulted hi the misclassiflcation of 23% of normotensives as hypertensives. We observed a significant order effect on SBP with the VS device, with a mean decrement of 4.9 mm Hg between the first and second SBP values, compared to 0.6 mm Hg with the RZ device. Even after adjusting for this bias, all four VS devices gave significantly more variable SBP readings than the RZ unit; two of the four also gave more variable DBP values. These data suggest that the VS device is neither accurate nor precise enough at the present time to be recommended for widespread use. These findings also raise questions concerning the monitoring of performance of this and similar devices in the field.
Estrogen-mediated neuroprotection after experimental stroke in male rats.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We have previously shown that 17beta-estradiol reduces infarction volume in female rats. The present study determined whether single injection or chronic implantation of estrogen confers neuroprotection in male animals with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and whether there is an interaction with endogenous testosterone. METHODS Male Wistar rats were treated with 2 hours of reversible MCAO. In protocol 1, acute versus chronic estrogen administration was examined in groups receiving the following: Premarin (USP) 1 mg/kg IV, immediately before MCAO (Acute, n=13, plasma estradiol=171+/-51 pg/mL); 7 days of 25 microg (E25, n=10, 10+/-3 pg/mL) or 100 microg 17beta-estradiol (E100, n=12, 69+/-20 pg/mL) by subcutaneous implant; or saline (SAL, n=21, 3+/-1 pg/mL). Laser-Doppler flowmetry was used to monitor the ipsilateral parietal cortex throughout the ischemic period and early reperfusion. At 22 hours of reperfusion, infarction volume was determined by 0 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and image analysis. In protocol 2, rats were castrated to deplete endogenous testosterone and then treated with estradiol implants: castration only (CAST, n= 13, estradiol=5+/-2 pg/mL), sham-operated (SHAM, n= 10, 4+/-2 pg/mL), estradiol implant 25 microg (CAST+E25, n=16, 7+/-2 pg/mL) or 100 microg (CAST+E100, n=14, 77+/-14 pg/mL). RESULTS Cortical infarct volumes were reduced in all estrogen-treated groups: Acute (21+/-4% of ipsilateral cortex), E25 (12+/-5%), and E100 (12+/-3%) relative to SAL (38+/-5%). Caudate infarction was similarly decreased: Acute (39+/-7% of ipsilateral striatum), E25 (25+/-7%), and E100 (34+/-6%) relative to SAL (63+/-4%). Castration did not alter ischemic outcome; cortical and caudate infarction (percentage of respective ipsilateral regions) were 37+/-5% and 59+/-5% in CAST and 39+/-7% and 57+/-5% in SHAM, respectively. Estrogen replacement reduced infarction volume in castrated animals in cortex (19+/-4% in CAST+E25 and 12+/-4% in CAST+E100) and in caudate (42+/-6% in CAST+25 and 20+/-7% in CAST + 100). Laser-Doppler flowmetry results during ischemia and reperfusion was not different among groups. CONCLUSIONS Both acute and chronic 17beta-estradiol treatments protect male brain in experimental stroke. Testosterone availability does not alter estradiol-mediated tissue salvage after MCAO.
Effect of phased chest and abdominal compression‐decompression cardiopulmonary resuscitation on myocardial and cerebral blood flow in pigs

Objective: This study was designed to assess the effects of a phased chest and abdominal compression‐decompression cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) device, Lifestick, vs. standard CPR on vital organ blood flow in a porcine CPR model. Design: Prospective, randomized laboratory investigation using an established porcine model with instrumentation for measurement of hemodynamic variables, vital organ blood flow, blood gases, and return of spontaneous circulation. Setting: University hospital research laboratory. Subjects: Twelve domestic pigs. Interventions: After 4 mins of untreated ventricular fibrillation, either the Lifestick CPR device (n = 6) or standard CPR (n = 6) was started and maintained for an additional interval of 6 mins before attempting defibrillation. Measurements and Main Results: During CPR, but before epinephrine, use of the Lifestick CPR device resulted in significantly higher (p < .05) mean (± SD) coronary perfusion pressure (23 ± 9 vs. 10 ± 7 mm Hg), cerebral perfusion pressure (29 ± 11 vs. 18 ± 10 mm Hg), mean arterial pressure (49 ± 10 vs. 36 ± 13 mm Hg), end‐tidal carbon dioxide (32 ± 11 vs. 20 ± 7 mm Hg), left ventricular myocardial blood flow (44 ± 19 vs. 19 ± 12 mL·min−1·100 g−1), and total cerebral blood flow (29 ± 10 vs. 14 ± 12 mL·min−1·100 g−1). After 45 μg/kg epinephrine, hemodynamic and vital organ blood flow variables increased to comparable levels in both groups. Conclusions: Compared with standard CPR, the Lifestick CPR device increased significantly hemodynamic variables and vital organ blood flow during CPR before epinephrine administration.
Quantitative fundus autofluorescence in recessive Stargardt disease.

PURPOSE To quantify fundus autofluorescence (qAF) in patients with recessive Stargardt disease (STGD1). METHODS A total of 42 STGD1 patients (ages: 7-52 years) with at least one confirmed disease-associated ABCA4 mutation were studied. Fundus AF images (488-nm excitation) were acquired with a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope equipped with an internal fluorescent reference to account for variable laser power and detector sensitivity. The gray levels (GLs) of each image were calibrated to the reference, zero GL, magnification, and normative optical media density to yield qAF. Texture factor (TF) was calculated to characterize inhomogeneities in the AF image and patients were assigned to the phenotypes of Fishman I through III. RESULTS Quantified fundus autofluorescence in 36 of 42 patients and TF in 27 of 42 patients were above normal limits for age. Young patients exhibited the relatively highest qAF, with levels up to 8-fold higher than healthy eyes. Quantified fundus autofluorescence and TF were higher in Fishman II and III than Fishman I, who had higher qAF and TF than healthy eyes. Patients carrying the G1916E mutation had lower qAF and TF than most other patients, even in the presence of a second allele associated with severe disease. CONCLUSIONS Quantified fundus autofluorescence is an indirect approach to measuring RPE lipofuscin in vivo. We report that ABCA4 mutations cause significantly elevated qAF, consistent with previous reports indicating that increased RPE lipofuscin is a hallmark of STGD1. Even when qualitative differences in fundus AF images are not evident, qAF can elucidate phenotypic variation. Quantified fundus autofluorescence will serve to establish genotype-phenotype correlations and as an outcome measure in clinical trials.
Monocularly Induced 2‐Deoxyglucose Patterns in the Visual Cortex and Lateral Geniculate Nucleus of the Cat: II. Awake Animals and Strabismic Animals

In the course of experiments studying the organization of ocular dominance columns in the visual cortex of cats, we noticed that—contrary to common belief—labelling with 2‐deoxyglucose after monocular stimulation failed to induce a pattern of ocular dominance columns but resulted in a rather homogeneous 2‐deoxyglucose uptake throughout area 17 in anaesthetized and paralysed animals. We wondered whether 2‐deoxyglucose columns could be obtained in awake animals and/or in strabismic animals, which have a more pronounced segregation of ocular dominance columns. To this end, we investigated 2‐deoxyglucose patterns after monocular stimulation in three groups of animals: (i) in awake normally reared cats, (ii) in awake strabismic cats and (iii) in anaesthetized and paralysed strabismic cats. Additionally, we labelled ocular dominance columns with intraocular [3H]proline injections. In all cats, monocular stimulation induced 2‐deoxyglucose patterns that were in precise register with the proline‐labelled ocular dominance columns in layer IV. Regions of increased 2‐deoxyglucose uptake extended in a columnar fashion through all cortical layers. In contrast to normally reared animals, in strabismic cats, the expression of 2‐deoxyglucose labelled ocular dominance columns was not abolished by anaesthesia or paralysis. However, there was a difference between the 2‐deoxyglucose patterns in the awake normally reared cats and the strabismic animals. In the former, the patches of 2‐deoxyglucose labelling were smaller and occupied less territory than the afferents of the stimulated eye in layer IV. Together with the results of the previous study, these data indicate that in awake normally reared and in awake and anaesthetized strabismic cats, but not in anaesthetized and paralysed normally reared animals, monocular stimulation activates selectively neurons in columns that are in register with the termination sites of afferents from the stimulated eye. This suggests the existence of a mechanism in normally reared animals which restricts cortical activation after monocular stimulation to territories that are in register with the afferents from the stimulated eye. This mechanism appears to be effective only when the animals are awake and actively exploring their environment. This and the fact that the active columns were narrower than the terminal fields of the stimulated eye suggest an active inhibitory process, perhaps related to mechanisms of selective attention. The observation that ocular dominance columns persist in strabismic cats even under anaesthesia can be accounted for by the lack of binocular convergence in these animals.
An Integrated Geologic and Engineering Reservoir Characterization of the North Robertson (Clearfork) Unit: A Case Study, Part 1

Infill drilling of wells on a uniform spacing, without regard to reservoir performance and characterization, must become a process of the past. Such efforts do not optimize reservoir development as they fail to account for the complex nature of reservoir heterogeneities present in many low permeability carbonate reservoirs. New and emerging technologies such as cross-borehole tomography, geostatistical modeling, and rigorous decline type curve analysis can be used to quantify reservoir quality and the degree of interwell communication. These results can be used to develop a 3-D simulation model for prediction of infill locations. In this work, the authors will demonstrate the application of reservoir surveillance techniques to identify additional reservoir ``pay`` zones, and to monitor pressure and preferential fluid movement in the reservoir. These techniques are: long-term production and injection data analysis, pressure transient analysis, and advanced open and cased hole well log analysis. The major contribution of this paper is the summary of cost effective reservoir characterization and management tools that will be helpful to both independent and major operators for the optimal development of heterogeneous, low permeability carbonate reservoirs such as the North Robertson (Clearfork) Unit.