Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased default-mode network centrality in cognitively impaired multiple sclerosis patients

Objective: To investigate how changes in functional network hierarchy determine cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: A cohort consisting of 332 patients with MS (age 48.1 ± 11.0 years, symptom duration 14.6 ± 8.4 years) and 96 healthy controls (HCs; age 45.9 ± 10.4 years) underwent structural MRI, fMRI, and extensive neuropsychological testing. Patients were divided into 3 groups: cognitively impaired (CI; n = 87), mildly cognitively impaired (MCI; n = 65), and cognitively preserved (CP; n = 180). The functional importance of brain regions was quantified with degree centrality, the average strength of the functional connections of a brain region with the rest of the brain, and eigenvector centrality, which adds to this concept by adding additional weight to connections with brain hubs because these are known to be especially important. Centrality values were calculated for each gray matter voxel based on resting-state fMRI data, registered to standard space. Group differences were assessed with a cluster-wise permutation-based method corrected for age, sex, and education. Results: CI patients demonstrated widespread centrality increases compared to both HCs and CP patients, mainly in regions making up the default-mode network. Centrality decreases were similar in all patient groups compared to HCs, mainly in occipital and sensorimotor areas. Results were robust across centrality measures. Conclusions: Patients with MS with cognitive impairment show hallmark alterations in functional network hierarchy with increased relative importance (centrality) of the default-mode network.
Validation of a Six Second Cycle Test for the Determination of Peak Power Output

The present study examined the agreement between peak power output during a standard Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) and a six second ‘all-out’ test on a Wattbike Pro. Nine males (40.7 ± 19.4 yrs, 1.76 ± 0.03 cm, 82.11 ± 8.9 kg) underwent three testing protocols on separate days. The protocols consisted 30 second WAnT (WAnT30), a modified WAnT over 6 seconds (WAnT6) and a 6 second peak power test (PPT6). PPT6 was correlated with WAnT30 (r = 0.9; p < 0.001) with a mean bias of 105 W. PPT6 correlated with WAnT6 (r = 0.95; p < 0.001) with a mean bias of 74 W. WAnT6 correlated with WAnT30 (r = 0.99; p < 0.001) with a mean bias of 31 W. There was no difference in time to peak power between any trial. PPT6 resulted in significantly greater power outputs than in WAnT30 and WAnT6 (p < 0.001). We conclude that PPT6 and WAnT6 are valid measures of peak power output compared with WAnT30. This identifies that PPT6 and WAnT6 as short duration ‘all-out’ tests that have practical applications for researchers and coaches who wish to assess peak power output without the fatiguing effects associated with a standard WAnT.
New insights into the genetics of fibromyalgia

Although debate on the concept of fibromyalgia (FM) has been vigorous ever since the classification criteria were first published, FM is now better understood and has become recognized as a disorder. Recently, FM has come to be considered a major health problem, affecting 1% to 5% of the general population. As familial aggregations have been observed among some FM patients, genetic research on FM is logical. In fact, genome-wide association studies and linkage analysis, and studies on candidate genes, have uncovered associations between certain genetic factors and FM. Genetic susceptibility is now considered to influence the etiology of FM. At the same time, novel genetic techniques, such as microRNA analysis, have been used in attempts to improve our understanding of the genetic predisposition to FM. In this article, we review recent advances in, and continuing challenges to, the identification of genes contributing to the development of, and symptom severity in, FM.
Enzymic lesions of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide biosynthesis in hepatomas and in azo dye carcinogenesis.

Several enzymes involved in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) biosynthesis were assayed in transplanted and azodye-induced primary hepatomas in order to determine the enzymic lesion responsible for the low level of NAD present in these tumors. The same enzymes were also investigated in precancerous livers of 3′-methyl-4-dimethylaminobenzene (3′-Me-DAB) fed rats and in rats receiving 3′-Me-DAB and 4′-Me-DAB i.p., as well as rats fed α-naphthyl isothiocyanate. It was concluded that the low level of NAD in the tumors examined was probably due to the deletion of enzymes in the tryptophan-to-NAD pathway and to decrease in activity of nicotinic acid mononucleotide pyrophosphorylase which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the nicotinamide-to-NAD pathway. Changes in these enzymes in precancerous liver did not satisfy Reid's criteria for key steps in the carcinogenic process.
Anatomy and systematics of Notohippus toxodontoides Ameghino, 1891 (Mammalia, Notoungulata), from the Miocene of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

ABSTRACT The specimens described herein come from the Río Bote locality, Santa Cruz Formation (early Miocene), Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. They include the most complete cranial material of the ‘Notohippidae’ Notohippus toxodontoides and other remains that increase knowledge of the mandible and dentition. The new remains allow extension of the original description proposed by Ameghino in the 19th century and provide data on ontogenetic variation in the dental traits of this species. Notohippus differs from the Deseadan–Colhuehuapian genus Argyrohippus in the following features: discontinuous dentition; C and p1 absent; shorter P2–M3/p2–m3 series; crown of I1 highly curved; upper molars with less developed parastyle and paracone fold, less undulating ectoloph, deeper distolingual groove of M3 directed more lingually and presence of a very shallow distolabial groove; incisiform lower canine; and lower molars with posterolabial angle of talonid more rounded and narrower trigonid valley. As stated in previous works, our phylogenetic analysis indicates that the ‘Notohippidae’ do not constitute a monophyletic group, because Argyrohippus, Notohippus, and Toxodontidae are recovered as a clade. Internal relationships within this clade are not resolved in any of the phylogenetic analyses performed here. The presence of N. toxodontoides in the faunal assemblage found at the Río Bote locality adds to its previous records in Santa Cruz (Kar-Aiken and Cerro Centinela localities) Province, Argentina, and Sierra Baguales locality in Chile.
1 kHz 2D Visual Motion Sensor Using 20$\,\times\,$20 Silicon Retina Optical Sensor and DSP Microcontroller

Optical flow sensors have been a long running theme in neuromorphic vision sensors which include circuits that implement the local background intensity adaptation mechanism seen in biological retinas. This paper reports a bio-inspired optical motion sensor aimed towards miniature robotic and aerial platforms. It combines a 20 × 20 continuous-time CMOS silicon retina vision sensor with a DSP microcontroller. The retina sensor has pixels that have local gain control and adapt to background lighting. The system allows the user to validate various motion algorithms without building dedicated custom solutions. Measurements are presented to show that the system can compute global 2D translational motion from complex natural scenes using one particular algorithm: the image interpolation algorithm (I2A). With this algorithm, the system can compute global translational motion vectors at a sample rate of 1 kHz, for speeds up to ±1000 pixels/s, using less than 5 k instruction cycles (12 instructions per pixel) per frame. At 1 kHz sample rate the DSP is 12% occupied with motion computation. The sensor is implemented as a 6 g PCB consuming 170 mW of power.
Lymphoproliferative responses to recombinant HIV-1 envelope antigens in neonates and infants receiving gp120 vaccines. AIDS Clinical Trial Group 230 Collaborators.

Children of mothers infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) were immunized at birth and at 1, 3, and 5 months with 1 of 3 doses of recombinant gp120 vaccines prepared from SF-2 or MN strains of HIV-1. A total of 126 children were not infected; 21 received adjuvant only. Vaccine recipients developed lymphoproliferative responses on >/=2 occasions, responding more often to homologous HIV-1 antigens than did adjuvant recipients (56% vs. 14%; P<.001). Responses were appreciated after 2 immunizations and were maintained for >84 weeks after the last immunization. An accelerated immunization schedule (birth, 2 weeks, 2 months, and 5 months) with the lowest dose of the SF-2 vaccine produced responses in all 11 vaccinees by 4 weeks. Responses to heterologous envelope antigens were also detected. Immune responses to vaccination are achievable at an age when some infection (perinatal or breast milk exposure related) may be prevented.
Entrepreneurial Growth : Individual , Firm , and Region Sleeping Gazelles : The Unseen Job Creators ?

High-growth firms have recently received considerable attention in the firm growth literature. These firms might have grown despite the existence of growth barriers, and evidence also suggests that, having already grown exponentially, they may not be in the best position to grow further. Policies targeting high-growth firms may therefore be misdirected. We argue that entrepreneurship researchers should concentrate more on firms that are not hiring, despite having high profits. We call these firms “sleeping gazelles,” and demonstrate that they represented almost 10% of all limited liability firms in Sweden from 1997 to 2010. Nearly half of these firms continued to earn high or moderate profits in subsequent three-year periods, while still displaying no growth. Regression analyses indicate that these firms were significantly smaller, older, more likely to be active in industries with high profit uncertainty, and more likely to be located in less densely populated municipalities than were corresponding growing firms. Entrepreneurial Growth: Individual, Firm, and Region Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth, Volume 17, 161 185 Copyright r 2015 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1074-7540/doi:10.1108/S1074-754020150000017013 161 D ow nl oa de d by P ro fe ss or S ve nO lo v D au nf el dt A t 0 3: 10 1 8 A ug us t 2 01 5 (P T )
Social personality trait and fitness

Several recent studies have explored various aspects of animal personality and their ecological consequences. However, the processes responsible for the maintenance of personality variability within a population are still largely unknown. We have recently demonstrated that social personality traits exist in the common lizard (Lacerta vivipara) and that the variation in sociability provides an explanation for variable dispersal responses within a given species. However, we need to know the fitness consequences of variation in sociability across environmental contexts in order to better understand the maintenance of such variation. In order to achieve this, we investigated the relationship between sociability and survival, body growth and fecundity, in one-year-old individuals in semi-natural populations with varying density. ‘Asocial’ and ‘social’ lizards displayed different fitness outcomes in populations of different densities. Asocial lizards survived better in low-density populations, while social females reproduced better. Spatiotemporal variation in environmental conditions might thus be the process underlying the maintenance of these personality traits within a population. Finally, we also discuss the position of sociability in a more general individual behavioural pattern including boldness, exploration and aggressiveness.
WW Domain HECT E3s Target Cbl RING Finger E3s for Proteasomal Degradation*

Cbl proteins have RING finger-dependent ubiquitin ligase (E3) activity that is essential for down-regulation of tyrosine kinases. Here we establish that two WW domain HECT E3s, Nedd4 and Itch, bind Cbl proteins and target them for proteasomal degradation. This is dependent on the E3 activity of the HECT E3s but not on that of Cbl. Consistent with these observations, in cells expressing the epidermal growth factor receptor, Nedd4 reverses Cbl-b effects on receptor down-regulation, ubiquitylation, and proximal events in signaling. Cbl-b also targets active Src for degradation in cells, and Nedd4 similarly reverses Cbl-mediated Src degradation. These findings establish that RING finger E3s can be substrates, not only for autoubiquitylation but also for ubiquitylation by HECT E3s and suggest an additional level of regulation for Cbl substrates including protein-tyrosine kinases.
Adrenal suppression and osteoporosis after treatment of nasal polyposis

Conclusion. Patients with severe nasal polyposis (NP) and a high steroid consumption have a high prevalence of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis and secondary adrenal insufficiency. Objectives. To evaluate the risk of complications of the medical treatment in patients presenting with the diagnosis of NP. Patients and methods. This was a prospective study. A total of 46 consecutive patients with NP were included when the oral steroid consumption during the past year was greater than three short courses of systemic steroid treatment (i.e. more than 21 days per year of treatment, prednisolone 1 mg/kg body weight per day, for 6–10 days). The nasal function was checked on the basis of five criteria: nasal obstruction, anterior rhinorrhea, posterior rhinorrhea, facial pain, and loss of sense of smell. Two tests were carried out for each patient: (i) a bone mineral density evaluation by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at three different sites in the lumbar spine and femur, and (ii) an evaluation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis by the synacthen test. Results. Most of the patients had a severe NP associated with asthma (78.3% of the population), and aspirin idiosyncrasy (28.3%). In all, 10.9% and 43.5% of patients had osteoporosis and osteopenia at the lumbar spine site. Twenty patients (48.8% of the tested patients) had an asymptomatic adrenal insufficiency.
Genomic Identification of a Novel Mutation in hfq That Provides Multiple Benefits in Evolving Glucose-Limited Populations of Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Beneficial mutations in diversifying glucose-limited Escherichia coli populations are mostly unidentified. The genome of an evolved isolate with multiple differences from that of the ancestor was fully assembled. Remarkably, a single mutation in hfq was responsible for the multiple benefits under glucose limitation through changes in at least five regulation targets.
Network Function Modeling and Performance Estimation

This work introduces a methodology for the modelization of network functions focused on the identification of recurring execution patterns as basic building blocks and aimed at providing a platform independent representation. By mapping each modeling building block on specific hardware, the performance of the network function can be estimated in termsof maximum throughput that the network function can achieve on the specific execution platform. The approach is such that once the basic modeling building blocks have been mapped, the estimate can be computed automatically for any modeled network function. Experimental results on several sample network functions show that although our approach cannot be very accurate without taking in consideration traffic characteristics, it is very valuable for those application where even loose estimates are key. One such example is orchestration in network functions virtualization (NFV) platforms, as well as in general virtualization platforms where virtual machine placement is based also on the performanceof network services offered to them. Being able to automatically estimate the performance of a virtualized network function (VNF) on different execution hardware, enables optimal placement of VNFs themselves as well as the virtual hosts they serve, while efficiently utilizing available resources.
Hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction after irradiation of nonpituitary brain tumors in adults.

CONTEXT Hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) dysfunction is common in children treated with cranial radiotherapy (RT) for brain tumors, but there is little known about the risk of HP dysfunction in adults treated with RT for primary nonpituitary brain tumors. OBJECTIVE The objective was to study the frequency of HP dysfunction in adults after RT for nonpituitary brain tumors. METHOD We studied 56 adult patients who received external beam RT for primary nonpituitary brain tumors at time intervals of 12-150 months after RT. The control group consisted of 20 RT-naive patients with primary brain tumors. GH and adrenal axes were assessed using the insulin tolerance test or the glucagon stimulation test. Gonadotroph, thyrotroph, and lactotroph function were assessed using baseline blood measurements. The biological effective dose (BED) to the HP axis was calculated in the RT patients. RESULTS Hypopituitarism was present in 41% of patients. The frequency of GH, ACTH, gonadotropin, and TSH deficiencies, and hyperprolactinemia was 32, 21, 27, 9, and 32%, respectively. Any degree of hypopituitarism and GH deficiency was significantly associated with longer time interval from RT and greater BED. However, gonadotropin deficiency and hyperprolactinemia were only related to BED, whereas ACTH deficiency was only significantly associated with the time interval from RT. One RT-naive patient was GH deficient. CONCLUSION Adult patients treated with cranial irradiation for primary nonpituitary brain tumors are at high risk of hypopituitarism, which is time and dose dependent. Long-term surveillance and periodic evaluation are needed. We recommend that adult late effect clinics, similar to those for children, should be established.
A role for T helper-1 cells in the induction of airway hyperresponsiveness.

Jo/san Garssen, Ph.D.; F. P N kamp; H. Van Der Vliet; and H. Van Loveren I n a mouse model it was shown that T helper-i celldependent immune reactions directed against the small molecular weight compound, picryl chloride, induces increased airway resistance and airway hyperresponsiveness. Whether this is also true for low molecular weight compounds, such as toluene-diisocyanate, that induce asthmatic complaints in humans, in addition to T help-2 cell-dependent immune responses, remains to be clarified in future studies. Asthma may affect up to 10% of the population and remains yet underdiagnosed. One of the major efforts to subdivide asthma is based upon the absence or presence of allergy, ie, specffic IgE, in asthma patients. A major feature of asthma is an obstruction of the respiratory tract caused by the following: an increased smooth muscle tone, an increased thickness of airway walls, and an increased mucus secretion in the airways. Hyperresponsiveness, a major characteristic of asthma, is characterized as an enhanced response to a wide range of bronchoconstrictor stimuli. Knowledge of the mechanisms leading to hyperresponsiveness can provide insight into the pathogenesis of asthma and improve possibilities for therapy. Induction of bronchial hyperresponsiveness has often been thought to be correlated with the presence of airway inflammation and the capacity of the inflammatory cells to release certain types of inflammatory mediators. ’ T cells are prominent in asthmatic airways and yet have received surprisingly little attention. T cells release mediators which can contribute to eosinophil activation2 and mast cell degranulation. ’ Recently, Coffman et al proposed that there are at least 2 major subsets of T helper cells in mice, designed T help-i (Thi) and T help-2 (Th2) cells. Both subtypes can be distinguished by their cytokine profile. Cher and Mosmann5 showed that Thi cells are responsible for the classical delayed type hypersensitivity reaction (DTH). In contrast, Th2 cells are responsible for the regulation of immediate type I hypersensitivity reactions (IgE production, eosinophil activation). Research concerning mechanisms of the induction of asthmatic disorders is mainly focussed upon a possible role for Th2 cells. It is shown that expression of 11-5 mRNA in mononuclear cells infiltrating mucosal bronchial biopsies from patients with asthma, correlated with the presence of activated (CD25) CD4 T cells and activated eosinophils.6 In the blood of patients suffering from intrinsic asthma, no IgE antibodies to environmental antigens can be found. The precise mechanisms leading to airway obstruction in intrinsic asthma are still not known. Small molecular weight substances, such as isocyanates, to which antibodies are not
Influence of serum-derived chemotactic factors and bacterial products on human neutrophil chemotaxis

The chemotaxis of neutrophils has been shown to be modulated by serum factors, tissue factors, bacterial products, and a host of other substances. In vivo, these factors may act in concert with each other to modify neutrophil movement. We examined the effect of aggregated gamma globulin-activated serum (AS), bacterial factors, and endotoxin either alone or in combination with each other, on human neutrophil chemotaxis. Exposure of neutrophils to AS resulted in deactivation to AS but not to Escherichial coli or Staphylococcus epidermis culture filtrate. Exposure of neutrophils to S. epidermis or E. coli CF or E. coli endotoxin resulted in deactivation to AS or C5a but not to E. coli or S. epidermis culture filtrate. Addition of endotoxin to AS or C5a resulted in inhibition of chemotaxis by untreated neutrophils toward this combination as compared with AS alone. These results suggest that separate mechanisms may be involved when serum or bacterial chemotactic factors initiate human neutrophil chemotaxis. Furthermore, the potent but specific inhibitory effect of endotoxin on chemotaxis toward AS may be of clinical significance.
Influence of Seed Priming on Germination and Seedling Vigour of Wood Apple (Feronia limonia Swingle)

Wood apple (Feronia limonia Swingle), the only species of genus Feronia (family Rutaceae), is one of the most medicinally rich underutilized fruit. Though, India and Sri Lanka is considered as native place of wood apple, well-managed orchard is rare in both the countries but road side and field-edge planting is common. With the passage of time, cultivation of wood apple spread over Southeast Asia, including northern Malaysia and Penang Island (Hossain et al., 1994; Islam et al., 2006). Dual purpose use of wood apple i.e. raw as well as processed products makes it more economically preferred commodity. Pulp of wood apple is loaded with immense quantity of medicinally important compounds like umbelliferol, dictamnine, xanthotoxol, sco-parone etc. those could be used in the pharmaceuticals industries. From ancient time, in India the ripe fruits are used as a liver and cardiac tonic, while unripe ones as an astringent for Influence of Seed Priming on Germination and Seedling Vigour of Wood Apple (Feronia limonia Swingle)
Robust Scale-Invariant Feature Matching for Remote Sensing Image Registration

When the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) is adopted in the registration of remote sensing images, a lot of incorrect matches of keypoints will appear owing to the significant difference in the image intensity between remote sensing images compared to visible images. Scale-orientation joint restriction criteria are proposed to achieve robust feature matching for keypoints in remote sensing images. Moreover, the feature descriptor of each keypoint is also refined to overcome the difference in the gradient intensity and orientation between remote image pairs. Experimental results for multidate, multispectral, and multisensor remote images indicate that the proposed method improves the match performance compared to intensity- and SIFT-based methods in terms of correct-match rate and aligning accuracy.