Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dissociation of Self-Motion and Object Motion by Linear Population Decoding That Approximates Marginalization

We use visual image motion to judge the movement of objects, as well as our own movements through the environment. Generally, image motion components caused by object motion and self-motion are confounded in the retinal image. Thus, to estimate heading, the brain would ideally marginalize out the effects of object motion (or vice versa), but little is known about how this is accomplished neurally. Behavioral studies suggest that vestibular signals play a role in dissociating object motion and self-motion, and recent computational work suggests that a linear decoder can approximate marginalization by taking advantage of diverse multisensory representations. By measuring responses of MSTd neurons in two male rhesus monkeys and by applying a recently-developed method to approximate marginalization by linear population decoding, we tested the hypothesis that vestibular signals help to dissociate self-motion and object motion. We show that vestibular signals stabilize tuning for heading in neurons with congruent visual and vestibular heading preferences, whereas they stabilize tuning for object motion in neurons with discrepant preferences. Thus, vestibular signals enhance the separability of joint tuning for object motion and self-motion. We further show that a linear decoder, designed to approximate marginalization, allows the population to represent either self-motion or object motion with good accuracy. Decoder weights are broadly consistent with a readout strategy, suggested by recent computational work, in which responses are decoded according to the vestibular preferences of multisensory neurons. These results demonstrate, at both single neuron and population levels, that vestibular signals help to dissociate self-motion and object motion. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The brain often needs to estimate one property of a changing environment while ignoring others. This can be difficult because multiple properties of the environment may be confounded in sensory signals. The brain can solve this problem by marginalizing over irrelevant properties to estimate the property-of-interest. We explore this problem in the context of self-motion and object motion, which are inherently confounded in the retinal image. We examine how diversity in a population of multisensory neurons may be exploited to decode self-motion and object motion from the population activity of neurons in macaque area MSTd.
Therapeutic plasma levels of phenytoin, phenobarbital, and carbamazepine

The range and clinical features that influence the individual variation of the therapeutic plasma concentration of phenytoin, phenobarbital, and carbamazepine were studied in 84 epileptic patients on single-drug therapy. Complete cessation of seizures was observed at plasma concentrations of 17.9 (3 to 50) μg/ml phenytoin, 24.5 (3 to 43) μg/ml phenobarbital, and 6.5 (4.8 to 9.7) μg/ml carbamazepine. Fifty-one percent of the 53 patients receiving phenytoin were completely controlled at either below or above the 10 to 20 μg/ml range, suggesting that individual dosage adjustment is preferably based on clinical judgment rather than numerical limits of published therapeutic ranges. Fifty patients with therapeutic plasma concentrations of or above 15 μg/ml phenytoin, 25 μg/ml phenobarbital, or 6 μg/ml carbamazepine more often had partial epilepsies, complex partial seizures and, most markedly, a higher number of seizures in the first year of epilepsy and during the year prior to the present drug therapy, when compared with 34 patients with lower therapeutic plasma concentrations. The variation in therapeutic plasma concentration is primarily related to the type and to the severity of the individual epilepsy, as indicated by the seizure frequency at the onset of the epilepsy or prior to the treatment.
Common Fluorescent Sunlamps are an Inappropriate Substitute for Sunlight¶

Abstract Fluorescent sunlamps are commonly employed as convenient sources in photobiology experiments. The ability of Kodacel to filter photobiologically irrelevant UVC wavelengths has been described. Yet there still remains a major unaddressed issue—the over representation of UVB in the output. The shortest terrestrial solar wavelengths reaching the surface are ∼295 nm with the 295–320 nm range comprising ∼4% of the solar UV irradiance. In Kodacel-filtered sunlamps, 47% of the UV output falls in this range. Consequently, in studies designed to understand skin photobiology after solar exposure, the use of these unfiltered sunlamps may result in misleading, or even incorrect conclusions. To demonstrate the importance of using an accurate representation of the UV portion of sunlight, the ability of different ultraviolet radiation (UVR) sources to induce the expression of a reporter gene was assayed. Unfiltered fluorescent sunlamps (FS lamps) induce optimal chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity at apparently low doses (10–20 J/cm2). Filtering the FS lamps with Kodacel raised the delivered dose for optimal CAT activity to 50–60 mJ/cm2. With the more solar-like UVA-340 lamps somewhat lower levels of CAT activities were induced even though the apparent delivered doses were significantly greater than for either the FS or Kodacel-filtered sunlamp (KFS lamps). When DNA from parallel-treated cells was analyzed for photoproduct formation by a radioimmuneassay, it was shown that the induction of CAT activity correlated with the level of induced photoproduct formation regardless of the source employed.
Repetition Suppression of Induced Gamma Activity Predicts Enhanced Orienting toward a Novel Stimulus in 6-month-old Infants

Habituation refers to a decline in orienting or responding to a repeated stimulus, and can be inferred to reflect learning about the properties of the repeated stimulus when followed by increased orienting to a novel stimulus (i.e., novelty detection). Habituation and novelty detection paradigms have been used for over 40 years to study perceptual and mnemonic processes in the human infant, yet important questions remain about the nature of these processes in infants. The aim of the present study was to examine the neural mechanisms underlying habituation and novelty detection in infants. Specifically, we investigated changes in induced alpha, beta, and gamma activity in 6-month-old infants during repeated presentations of either a face or an object, and examined whether these changes predicted behavioral responses to novelty at test. We found that induced gamma activity over occipital scalp regions decreased with stimulus repetition in the face condition but not in the toy condition, and that greater decreases in the gamma band were associated with enhanced orienting to a novel face at test. The pattern and topography of these findings are consistent with observations of repetition suppression in the occipitaltemporal visual processing pathway, and suggest that encoding in infant habituation paradigms may reflect a form of perceptual learning. Implications for the role of repetition suppression in infant habituation and novelty detection are discussed with respect to a biased competition model of visual attention.
Molecular and transcriptional characterization of 17p loss in B‐cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Distinct genetic abnormalities, such as TP53 deletion at 17p13.1, have been identified as having adverse prognostic relevance in B‐cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B‐CLL), and conventional cytogenetic studies have shown that TP53 deletion in B‐CLL is mainly associated with the loss of 17p due to complex chromosomal rearrangements. We used an integrative genomic approach to investigate the significance of 17p loss in 18 B‐CLLs in Binet stage A, carrying a TP53 monoallelic deletion detected by means of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Genome‐wide DNA analysis using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays of 12 of 18 samples showed 17p loss in 11 cases, with breakpoints scattered along the 17p11.2 region. FISH analysis confirmed these findings and revealed 17p loss in a small fraction of leukemic cells in the remaining TP53‐deleted case, and it also indicated 17p loss in the six cases not investigated by means of SNP arrays. Mutations in exons 2–11 of the remaining TP53 allele were found in 9 of 12 deleted samples. Gene‐expression profiling of 60 B‐CLLs, including seven patients with 17p loss, identified 40 differentially expressed genes in 17p‐ versus 17p normal samples, 35 of which were downregulated in 17p‐tumors. The majority (30 of 35) of these transcripts, including putative tumor suppressor genes, mapped to 17p, thus indicating a remarkable gene‐dosage effect. Our data provide evidence that 17p loss may play an additional pathogenetic role in B‐CLL and suggest that the concomitant loss of multiple tumor suppressor genes could be responsible for the highly adverse prognostic relevance associated with TP53 loss. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Increased serum level of soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 is associated with poor coronary collateralization in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND The present study investigated whether serum levels of soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (sVEGFR)-1, -2 and -3 are related to poor coronary collateralization in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS AND RESULTS Serum levels of sVEGFR-1, -2, -3, VEGF, and placental growth factor (PLGF) were determined in 403 consecutive patients with angiographic total or subtotal occlusion of at least 1 major coronary artery. The degree of collateralization was graded according to the Rentrop scoring system. Low (Rentrop score of 0 or 1) and high (Rentrop score of 2 or 3) coronary collateralization occurred in 161 and 242 patients, respectively. Serum levels of sVEGFR-1 and -2 were significantly elevated, in contrast, VEGF and PLGF levels were remarkably decreased in patients with low collateralization than in those with high collateralization (all P<0.05). Significant differences in sVEGFR-1, VEGF and PLGF levels was consistently detected between the low and high collateralization subgroups for patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) (for all comparisons, P<0.01). Multivariable regression analysis revealed that DM, dyslipidemia, elevated sVEGFR-1, and reduced VEGF and PLGF in serum were independently associated with a low degree of coronary collateralization. CONCLUSIONS Increased serum sVEGFR-1 level is associated with poor coronary collateralization in patients with stable CAD. Type 2 DM is a predominant factor affecting collateral growth in these patients.
Human bone morphogenetic protein 7 transfected nucleus pulposus cells delay the degeneration of intervertebral disc in dogs

The main reason for intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is the decrease in the quantity and activity of IVD cells with subsequent reduction of the extracellular matrix (ECM). In this study, we investigated a cell‐based repair strategy by injecting nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) transduced with human bone morphogenetic protein (hBMP7) by adeno‐associated virus‐2 into the canine degenerative IVD to determine whether NPCs expressing hBMP7 could delay the degeneration of the IVD. Fourteen canines received annular punctures to induce disc degeneration. Eight weeks later, saline (group A), allogeneic NPCs (group B), or allogeneic NPCs transduced with hBMP7 (group C) were injected into the degenerative discs. Twelve weeks after the injection, MRI scan showed that the degeneration process of groups C was slower and less severe compared with that of groups B and C. The IVD stability in group C was superior to that in groups A and B in left‐right bending and rotation. HE, safranin‐O staining, and ELISA indicated that the degenerative degree of the IVD in group C was significantly milder than that in groups A and B. The study demonstrated that the implantation of NPCs‐hBMP7 could effectively maintained the structural integrity, ECM, and biomechanical properties of the canine degenerated discs. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:1311–1322, 2017.
Multiple Viral/Self Immunological Cross-Reactivity in Liver Kidney Microsomal Antibody Positive Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Patients is Associated with the Possession of HLA B51

Liver Kidney Microsomal autoantibody type 1(LKM1) directed to cytochrome P4502D6 (CYP2D6) characterises autoimmune hepatitis type-2 (AIH-2), but is also found in a proportion of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients, CYP2D6252 – 271 being a major B- cell autoepitope. Molecular mimicry and immunological cross-reactivity between CYP2D6252 – 271, HCV polyprotein and the infected cell protein 4 (ICP4) of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) have been suggested as triggers for the induction of LKM1, but reactivity and cross-reactivity to the relevant sequences have not been investigated experimentally. CYP2D6252 – 271 and its viral homologues were constructed and tested by ELISA in the sera of 46 chronically infected HCV patients, 23 of whom were LKM1 positive. Reactivity to the E1 HCV and ICP4 HSV1 mimics was frequently found in HCV infected patients irrespectively of their LKM1 status; viral/self cross-reactivity (as indicated by inhibition studies), however, was present in the only 2 of the 23 LKM1 seropositive HCV patients, who possessed the HLA allotype B51. Our results indicate that in HCV infected patients virus/self cross-reactivity is dependent on a specific immunogenetic background, a finding awaiting confirmation by studies in larger series of patients.
Do pipecuronium and rocuronium affect human bronchial smooth muscle?

BACKGROUND Muscle relaxants affect nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. Interaction of muscle relaxants with muscarinic receptors of human airways has been studied incompletely. METHODS The effects of pipecuronium bromide (long-acting, nondepolarizing) and rocuronium bromide (intermediate-acting, nondepolarizing) on prejunctional and postjunctional muscarinic receptors were studied in 96 isolated human bronchial rings from 12 patients. Contractile isometric responses to electric field stimulation of pilocarpine-stimulated and nonstimulated M2 muscarinic receptors were compared before and after incubation with the two muscle relaxants. The effect on postjunctional muscarinic receptors was studied by comparing acetylcholine concentration-response curves before and after incubation with the two muscle relaxants. RESULTS Pipecuronium bromide, but not rocuronium bromide, inhibited pilocarpine-stimulated prejunctional M2 muscarinic receptors. Neither pipecuronium bromide nor rocuronium bromide had significant inhibitory effects on nonstimulated M2 muscarinic receptors and on postjunctional M3 muscarinic receptors. CONCLUSIONS The inhibitory effect of pipecuronium bromide on pilocarpine-stimulated prejunctional M2 muscarinic receptors occurred at clinical concentrations.
Protein-protein binding affinity prediction from amino acid sequence

MOTIVATION Protein-protein interactions play crucial roles in many biological processes and are responsible for smooth functioning of the machinery in living organisms. Predicting the binding affinity of protein-protein complexes provides deep insights to understand the recognition mechanism and identify the strong binding partners in protein-protein interaction networks. RESULTS In this work, we have collected the experimental binding affinity data for a set of 135 protein-protein complexes and analyzed the relationship between binding affinity and 642 properties obtained from amino acid sequence. We noticed that the overall correlation is poor, and the factors influencing affinity depends on the type of the complex based on their function, molecular weight and binding site residues. Based on the results, we have developed a novel methodology for predicting the binding affinity of protein-protein complexes using sequence-based features by classifying the complexes with respect to their function and predicted percentage of binding site residues. We have developed regression models for the complexes belonging to different classes with three to five properties, which showed a correlation in the range of 0.739-0.992 using jack-knife test. We suggest that our approach adds a new aspect of biological significance in terms of classifying the protein-protein complexes for affinity prediction.
Effect of the Prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the Life Expectancy Rate on Economic Growth in SSA Countries: Difference GMM Approach

The productivity of countries around the globe is adversely affected by the health-related problems of their labour force. This study examined the effect of the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and life expectancy on the economic growth of 33 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries over a period of 11 years (2002–2012). The study employed a dynamic panel approach as opposed to the static traditional approach utilised in the literature. The dynamic approach became eminent because of the fact that HIV/AIDS is a dynamic variable as its prevalence today depends on the previous years. The result revealed that HIV/AIDS is negatively correlated with economic growth in the region, with a coefficient of 0.014, and significant at the 1% level. That is, a 10% increase in HIV/AIDS prevalence leads to a 0.14% decrease in the GDP of the region. Tackling HIV/AIDS is therefore imperative to the developing Sub-Saharan African region and all hands must be on deck to end the menace globally.
Empirical Models of the Electron Temperature and Density in the Nightside Venus Ionosphere

Empirical models of the electron temperature and electron density of the late afternoon and nightside Venus ionosphere have been derived from Pioneer Venus measurements acquired between 10 December 1978 and 23 March 1979. The models describe the average ionosphere conditions near 18�N latitude between 150 and 700 kilometers altitude for solar zenith angles of 80� to 180�. The average index of solar flux was 200. A major feature of the density model is the factor of 10 decrease beyond 90� followed by a very gradual decrease between 120� and 180�. The density at 150� is about five times greater than observed by Venera 9 and 10 at solar minimum (solar flux ≈80), a difference that is probably related to the effects of increased solar activity on the processes that maintain the nightside ionosphere. The nightside electron density profile from the model (above 150 kilometers) can be reproduced theoretically either by transport of 0+ ions from the dayside or by precipitation of low-energy electrons. The ion transport process would require a horizontal flow velocity of about 300 meters per second, a value that is consistent with other Pioneer Venus observations. Although currently available energetic electron data do not yet permit the role of precipitation to be evaluated quantitatively, this process is clearly involved to some extent in the formation of the nightside ionosphere. Perhaps the most surprising feature of the temperature model is that the electron temperature remains high throughout the nightside ionosphere. These high nocturnal temperatures and the existence of a well-defined nightside ionopause suggest that energetic processes occur across the top of the entire nightside ionosphere, maintaining elevated temperatures. A heat flux of 2 x 1010 electron volts per square centimeter per second, introduced at the ionopause, is consistent with the average electron temperature profile on the nightside at a solar zenith angle of 140�.
An Anatomic Assessment on Perforators of the Lateral Circumflex Femoral Artery for Anterolateral Thigh Flap

The anterolateral thigh flap was originally described in 1984 as a septocutaneous flap based on the descending branch of the lateral femoral circumflex artery (LCFA). This flap has many advantages for head and neck reconstruction. However, it is not widely used as a result of the broad range of anatomic variation of the cutaneous perforators and because dissection of these perforators is tedious when they are small. The purposes of this study are to classify the vascular anatomy of the LCFA and to assess the suitability of the anterolateral thigh flap for head and neck reconstruction in Koreans. From 38 thigh dissections of Korean cadavers, the LCFA commonly arose from the deep femoral artery and divided into ascending, transverse, and descending branches. In five cases, the LCFA arose directly from the femoral artery. The cutaneous perforators were present in 37 cases except one and the septocutaneous perforators were found in 17 of the 38 cases. Of the 160 perforators, 28 (17.5%) were the septocutaneous perforators and 132 (82.5%) were the musculocutaneous perforators. The average number of cutaneous perforators for the anterolateral thigh flap was 4.2 (range, 0-8), and these perforators were concentrated in the middle third of the anterolateral thigh. The septocutaneous perforators were located more proximally than the musculocutaneous perforators. The average length of the vascular pedicle derived from the descending branch or the transverse branch was 83.3 mm (range, 53.4-124.3 mm). The results of this study suggest that the vascular anatomy of the anterolateral thigh flap was reliable and well suited for head and neck reconstruction in Koreans.
Antiemetics in patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer: a randomized comparison of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and prochlorperazine.

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is an effective antiemetic as compared with placebos in patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer. In this study we compared THC with prochlorperazine (compazine) in a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial with patients who had failed to benefit from standard antiemetic therapy. Regardless of the emetic activity of the chemotherapeutic agents, there were more complete responses to THC courses (in 36 of 79 courses) than to prochlorperazine (in 16 of 78 courses). Of 25 patients who were treated with both drugs and who expressed a preference, 20 preferred THC (P = 0.005). Among patients under 20 years of age there was a higher proportion of complete responses to THC courses (15 of 20) than among older patients (21 of 59 courses; P = 0.004). Increased food intake occurred more frequently with THC (P = 0.008) and was associated with the presence of a "high. " Of 36 THC courses resulting in complete antiemetic responses, 32 were associated with a high. We conclude that THC is an effective antiemetic in many patients who receive chemotherapy for cancer and for whom other antiemetics are ineffective. (N Engl J Med 302:135--138, 1980).
The influence of long-range dependence on traffic prediction

Predicting traffic requirements is a fundamental objective of network management algorithms, whether explicitly stated or not. Considering the abundant evidence that traffic is long-range dependent (LRD) and the fact that the history of long-range dependent processes has significant impact on the present value of the process, it is natural to assume that predicting LRD traffic would be rather rewarding. Although there is indeed significant performance gain in using the correlation structure as the Hurst parameter increases, we show in this paper that this is primarily due to the utilization of the specific short-term correlations that occur within the structure of the traffic, rather than storing a long history of the traffic and utilizing the long-term correlations that exist between the future traffic level and this stored history. This conclusion is demonstrated using two specific management functions: rate control for elastic connections, and queue management using probabilistic packet discarding.