Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New anatomical and functional imaging methods

Powerful new methods for imaging both brain anatomy and brain function are appearing at an increasing rate. The modern era of minimally invasive, highly informative, neurological diagnostic imaging methods began with the introduction of x‐ray computed tomography in the 1970s. More recently, positron emission tomography and single‐photon emission computed tomography have been used extensively in research on normal and pathological brain function, and they are finding specific medical applications. Nuclear magnetic resonance methods are in widespread use for neurological diagnosis only a decade after they became available. Rapid development of new techniques based on the same principles, and implementable on clinical instruments with relatively minor modifications, will expand the range of nuclear magnetic resonance measurement capabilities considerably in the near future. These technological innovations and others yet to come have major implications for the practice of neurology. The most important one is an increase in relative value among clinical diagnostic skills of history taking and mental status examination, which will remain largely beyond the reach of technology.
A reassessment of the proposed ‘Lairg Impact Structure’ and its potential implications for the deep structure of northern Scotland

The Lairg Gravity Low may represent a buried impact crater c. 40 km across that was the source of the 1.2 Ga Stac Fada Member ejecta deposit but the gravity anomaly is too large to represent a simple crater and there is no evidence of a central peak. Reanalysis of the point Bouguer gravity data reveals a ring of positive anomalies around the central low, suggesting that it might represent the eroded central part of a larger complex crater. The inner or peak rings of complex craters show a broadly consistent 2:1 relationship between ring diameter and total crater diameter, implying that the putative Lairg crater may be as much as 100 km across. This would place the crater rim within a few kilometres of the Stac Fada Member outcrop, a location inconsistent with the thickness and clast size of the ejecta deposit. We propose that the putative impact crater originally lay further east, substantially further from the Stac Fada Member than today, and was translocated westwards to its present location beneath Lairg during the Caledonian Orogeny. This model requires that a deep-seated thrust fault, analogous to the Flannan and Outer Isles thrusts, exists beneath the Moine Thrust in north–central Scotland.
Relationship of tropospheric stability to climate sensitivity and Earth’s observed radiation budget

Significance In current climate models, the anticipated amount of warming under greenhouse gas forcing, quantified by the “effective climate sensitivity,” increases as time passes. Consequently, effective climate sensitivity values inferred from the historical record may underestimate the future warming. However, the mechanisms of this increase in effective climate sensitivity are not understood, limiting our confidence in climate model projections of future climate change. Here, we present observational and modeling evidence that the magnitude of effective climate sensitivity partly depends on the evolution of the vertical profile of atmospheric warming. In climate models, as the Earth warms overall, the warming becomes increasingly muted aloft, and this alters the strength of feedbacks controlling the radiative response to greenhouse gas forcing. Climate feedbacks generally become smaller in magnitude over time under CO2 forcing in coupled climate models, leading to an increase in the effective climate sensitivity, the estimated global-mean surface warming in steady state for doubled CO2. Here, we show that the evolution of climate feedbacks in models is consistent with the effect of a change in tropospheric stability, as has recently been hypothesized, and the latter is itself driven by the evolution of the pattern of sea-surface temperature response. The change in climate feedback is mainly associated with a decrease in marine tropical low cloud (a more positive shortwave cloud feedback) and with a less negative lapse-rate feedback, as expected from a decrease in stability. Smaller changes in surface albedo and humidity feedbacks also contribute to the overall change in feedback, but are unexplained by stability. The spatial pattern of feedback changes closely matches the pattern of stability changes, with the largest increase in feedback occurring in the tropical East Pacific. Relationships qualitatively similar to those in the models among sea-surface temperature pattern, stability, and radiative budget are also found in observations on interannual time scales. Our results suggest that constraining the future evolution of sea-surface temperature patterns and tropospheric stability will be necessary for constraining climate sensitivity.
A PET study of cognitive strategies in normal subjects during language tasks. Influence of phonetic ambiguity and sequence processing on phoneme monitoring.

We previously demonstrated using PET in normal subjects (Démonet et al., Brain 1992; 115: 1753-68) that, by comparison to a reference task of monitoring for pure tones, a phoneme monitoring task involving two factors of complexity (sequence processing and perceptual ambiguity) activated Wernicke's area and Broca's area. In the present experiment, we explored the respective influence of these factors on brain activation. In addition to the reference task, four phoneme monitoring tasks in non-words were used with stimuli presented binaurally. These included an easy, non-sequential, unambiguous task; a perceptually ambiguous, but non-sequential task; a sequential, but perceptually unambiguous task; a sequential and ambiguous task identical to the one we used in our previous study. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow were measured in nine right-handed volunteers using PET and infusion of H2(15)O. The sequential unambiguous task was associated with the same pattern of activation as that observed for the equivalent non-sequential task, i.e. activation of Wernicke's area. The two tasks with perceptual ambiguity gave rise to activations in the left fusiform gyrus and in Broca's area, respectively. Activation of the left fusiform gyrus in the perceptually ambiguous but non-sequential task suggests a prominent role for a strategy involving phoneme-to-grapheme transcoding in subjects, who thereby attempted to visualize non-words that they could not decipher auditorily. Activation of Broca's area in the sequential and ambiguous task reproduces our previous result and suggests that subjects resorted to a predominantly verbal rehearsal strategy when performing this task.
Intestinal helminthoses in dogs in Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Background: Intestinal helminths in dogs provide a potential source of infection in humans due to the close contact between humans and dogs. Due to the limited information on parasites infecting dogs in Kaduna State, Nigeria, a cross sectional study was conducted with the aim of determining the diversity and prevalence of intestinal helminths of dogs in the area. Methods: During the survey, 160 gastrointestinal tracts of dogs killed for meat selected by simple sampling technique were collected and examined for helminths in Kaduna metropolis, latitude 10 0 50 I N and longitude 7 0 50 I E. Results: Of the helminths found, Dipylidium caninum (75.0%), Taenia hydatigena (43.8%), Diphyllobothrium latum (6.3%), Ancylostoma caninum (6.3%) and Toxocara canis (6.3%) were the most common. Female dogs were more likely of contacting intestinal helminths than male dogs (RR = 1.125). Higher mean worm burden was recorded for dogs infected by T. hydatigena and D. caninum than dogs infected by T. canis, D. latum or A. caninum . Conclusion: The presence of these parasites in dogs examined indicates a potential public health problem in Kaduna metropolis. Mass enlightenment of dog keepers on the need for periodic veterinary care and restriction of stray dogs through legislation formulation and enforcement are recommended as possible control measures.
The role of item similarity in part-list cueing impairment

The presentation of a subset of studied items as retrieval cues can have detrimental effects on recall of the remaining (target) items. In three experiments we examined whether such part-list cueing impairment depends on the similarity between cue and target items. Item similarity was manipulated by making use of pre-experimental semantic similarities between cue and target items (Experiments 1 and 2), or was episodically induced through a similarity-encoding task, in which participants were asked to interrelate cue and target items in a meaningful way (Experiment 3). In all three experiments reliable part-list cueing impairment arose when the similarity between cues and targets was low, but no impairment was found when the similarity between cues and targets was high. Inhibitory as well as non-inhibitory explanations of the findings are discussed.
Active neck muscle training in the treatment of chronic neck pain in women: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT Active physical training is commonly recommended for patients with chronic neck pain; however, its efficacy has not been demonstrated in randomized studies. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of intensive isometric neck strength training and lighter endurance training of neck muscles on pain and disability in women with chronic, nonspecific neck pain. DESIGN Examiner-blinded randomized controlled trial conducted between February 2000 and March 2002. SETTING Participants were recruited from occupational health care systems in southern and eastern Finland. PATIENTS A total of 180 female office workers between the ages of 25 and 53 years with chronic, nonspecific neck pain. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomly assigned to either 2 training groups or to a control group, with 60 patients in each group. The endurance training group performed dynamic neck exercises, which included lifting the head up from the supine and prone positions. The strength training group performed high-intensity isometric neck strengthening and stabilization exercises with an elastic band. Both training groups performed dynamic exercises for the shoulders and upper extremities with dumbbells. All groups were advised to do aerobic and stretching exercises regularly 3 times a week. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Neck pain and disability were assessed by a visual analog scale, the neck and shoulder pain and disability index, and the Vernon neck disability index. Intermediate outcome measures included mood assessed by a short depression inventory and by maximal isometric neck strength and range of motion measures. RESULTS At the 12-month follow-up visit, both neck pain and disability had decreased in both training groups compared with the control group (P<.001). Maximal isometric neck strength had improved flexion by 110%, rotation by 76%, and extension by 69% in the strength training group. The respective improvements in the endurance training group were 28%, 29%, and 16% and in the control group were 10%, 10%, and 7%. Range of motion had also improved statistically significantly in both training groups compared with the control group in rotation, but only the strength training group had statistically significant improvements in lateral flexion and in flexion and extension. CONCLUSIONS Both strength and endurance training for 12 months were effective methods for decreasing pain and disability in women with chronic, nonspecific neck pain. Stretching and fitness training are commonly advised for patients with chronic neck pain, but stretching and aerobic exercising alone proved to be a much less effective form of training than strength training.
Oral conditions in very low and extremely low birth weight children.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oral conditions in very low birth weight (VLBW) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) children. METHODS Fifty-two VLBW and ELBW 2- to 4-year-old children (V/ELBW group) were evaluated and compared with 52 normal birth weight children (NBW group). The oral examination was performed in accordance with World Health Organization criteria. The parents/guardians answered a structural questionnaire about the children's feeding and oral habits. The prenatal, natal, and neonatal information was obtained from the hospital files. RESULTS The enamel defects, such as demarcated opacity and hypoplasia, had a significant association with prematurity and VLBW and ELBW. The breast-feeding and bruxism were more often in the NBW group, whereas nocturnal bottle-feeding, pacifier use, and high frequency of oral hygiene were associated with prematurity and lower birth-weight. V/ELBW group children were at a 12.5 and 6.6 times greater risk of presenting demarcated opacity and hypoplasia, respectively, than NBW children. The risk of presenting nocturnal bottle-feeding, good oral hygiene, and enamel defects was significantly higher for the V/ELBW group. CONCLUSIONS Very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight were indicators of enamel defects and contributed to an increase in non-nutritive suction habits, being necessary the establishment of early preventive and interceptive measures, to avoid future severe problems.
Endometrial Cancer in Relation to Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine Consumption: A Prospective Cohort Study Among Middle-Aged Women in Sweden

This study aimed to add to prospective data on the possible inverse association between coffee consumption and endometrial cancer risk, already supported by several case-control studies. Coffee and tea consumption and possible confounding factors were assessed among 42,270 women aged 30–49 years at enrollment in 1991–1992 in the Swedish Women's Lifestyle and Health cohort study, with complete follow-up through 2009. We calculated caffeine intake per day; Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate multivariable relative risks (mRR) for endometrial cancer with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). One hundred forty-four endometrial cancers were diagnosed during follow-up. Women with and without endometrial cancer had a similar mean daily coffee consumption (549 vs. 547 g), tea consumption (104 vs. 115 g), and caffeine intake (405 vs. 406 mg). Compared to those consuming <2 cups of coffee per day, women consuming >3 cups had a mRR of 1.56 (95% CI: 0.94–2.59; P for trend = 0.17). Compared with the lowest tertile of caffeine intake, the highest tertile had a mRR of 1.32 (95% CI: 0.87–1.99; P for trend = 0.27). Our study provides no convincing evidence of an association between coffee consumption, tea consumption, or caffeine intake and endometrial cancer risk among middle-aged women.
Properties of Sodium Currents and Action Potential Firing in Isolated Cerebellar Purkinje Neurons

We have characterized voltage-gated tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium currents of Purkinje neurons of the cerebellum, with an interest in relating the properties of voltage-gated ion channels to the distinctive firing properties of those cells. Step depolarizations from hyperpolarized potentials activate conventional sodium currents that decay by more than 99%. A family of sodium currents from a Purkinje cell isolated from a 2-week-old mouse and the corresponding current–voltage relation are shown in FIGURE 1A. Currents rose to a peak within a few hundred ms, and had a dominant decay time constant of 1 ms at −30 mV, which decreased with depolarization. An unusual component of sodium current, illustrated in FIGURE 1B, was evoked by step repolarizations from positive potentials after sodium currents had maximally inactivated. This “resurgent” current is steeply and nonmonotonically voltage dependent, with the current being small but measurable at −70 mV, maximal at −30 mV, and undetectable at −10 mV. Although most recordings were done in reduced concentrations of sodium, in normal saline (150 mM sodium) the peak resurgent current was on the order of a nA. The rise and decay times of the currents were more than an order of magnitude slower than for the transient currents evoked by depolarization. Even brief (2-ms) steps to positive potentials could elicit resurgent current, suggesting that it may be evoked by spikelike voltage deflections. Resurgent current correlates with partial, rapid recovery from inactivation in the voltage range of −70 to −30 mV. This current was present in all Purkinje neurons, but not in CA3 neurons of the hippocampus. Single-channel recordings as well as genetic studies suggest that the channels underlying resurgent current also contribute to conventional transient sodium current.
High Quality Oxygen Measurements from Profiling Floats: A Promising New Technique

Abstract Two state-of-the-art profiling floats were equipped with novel optode-based oceanographic oxygen sensors. Both floats were simultaneously deployed in the central Labrador Sea gyre on 7 September 2003. They drift at a depth of 800 db and perform weekly profiles of temperature, salinity, and oxygen in the upper 2000 m of the water column. The initial results from the first 6 months of operation are presented. Data are compared with a small hydrographic oxygen survey of the deployment site. They are further examined for measurement quality, including precision, accuracy, and drift aspects. The first 28 profiles obtained are of high quality and show no detectable sensor drift. A method of long-term drift control is described and a few suggestions for the operation protocol are provided.
A New Predictor/Corrector Pair to Estimate the Visual Features Depth during a Vision-based Navigation Task in an Unknown Environment - A Solution for Improving the Visual Features Reconstruction During an Occlusion

This papers deals with the problem of estimating the visual features during a vision-based navigation task when a temporary total occlusion occurs. The proposed approach relies on an existent specific algorithm. However, to be efficient, this algorithm requires highly precise initial values for both the image features and their depth. Thus, our objective is to design a predictor/estimator pair able to provide an accurate estimation of the depth value, even when the visual data are noisy. The obtained results show the efficiency and the interest of our technique.
Refinement and Quantification of Terrain-Induced Effects on Global Gravity Data

The geodetic and geophysical applications of Earth Gravity Field parameters computed from Global Geopotential Models (GGMs) are quite on the increase despite the inherent commission and omission errors of these models. In view of this, this study focuses on refining and quantifying terrain-induced effects on Bouguer gravity anomalies computed directly from a total of seven recent GGMs. In the study, the Residual Terrain Model (RTM) technique was used to estimate the residual terrain effects that were added to the GGM-computed Bouguer gravity anomalies at the sixty test points in Enugu State, Nigeria. The computed residual terrain effects range from -24.6 to 37.5 mgal while the percentage of the omission errors of the GGMs based on their Root-Mean-Square (RMS) differences ranges from 7.8% to 44.7%. It can be concluded that GGM-refined Bouguer gravity anomalies are better in accuracy than the unrefined GGM-computed Bouguer gravity anomalies and hence there is need for accurate height information in the development of GGMs. We, therefore, recommend that refined Bouguer gravity anomalies obtained from HUST-Grace2016s, EIGEN-6C4 and GECO that gave best improvement amongst the seven GGMs under consideration should be used to supplement the available terrestrial Bouguer anomalies for geodetic and geophysical applications within the study area.
Claudin-2 expression induces cation-selective channels in tight junctions of epithelial cells

Tight junctions seal the paracellular pathway of epithelia but, in leaky tissues, also exhibit specific permeability. In order to characterize the contribution of claudin-2 to barrier and permeability properties of the tight junction in detail, we studied two strains of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells (MDCK-C7 and MDCK-C11) with different tight junctional permeabilities. Monolayers of C7 cells exhibited a high transepithelial resistance (>1 kΩ cm2), compared with C11 cells (<100 Ω cm2). Genuine expression of claudin-1 and claudin-2, but not of occludin or claudin-3, was reciprocal to transepithelial resistance. However, confocal microscopy revealed a marked subjunctional localization of claudin-1 in C11 cells, indicating that claudin-1 is not functionally related to the low tight junctional resistance of C11 cells. Strain MDCK-C7, which endogenously does not express junctional claudin-2, was transfected with claudin-2 cDNA. In transfected cells, but not in vector controls, the protein was detected in colocalization with junctional occludin by means of immunohistochemical analyses. Overexpression of claudin-2 in the originally tight epithelium with claudin-2 cDNA resulted in a 5.6-fold higher paracellular conductivity and relative ion permeabilities of Na+≡1, K+=1.02, NMDG+=0.79, choline+=0.71, Cl-=0.12, Br-=0.10 (vector control, 1:1.04:0.95:0.94:0.85:0.83). By contrast, fluxes of (radioactively labeled) mannitol and lactulose and (fluorescence labeled) 4 kDa dextran were not changed. Hence, with regular Ringer's, Na+ conductivity was 0.2 mS cm-2 in vector controls and 1.7 mS cm-2 in claudin-2-transfected cells, while Cl- conductivity was 0.2 mS cm-2 in both cells. Thus, presence of junctional claudin-2 causes the formation of cation-selective channels sufficient to transform a `tight' tight junction into a leaky one.
Incidence of Acute Symptomatic Seizures in Rochester, Minnesota, 1935‐1984

Summary We determined the incidence of seizures due to acute CNS insults for residents of Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A. , from 1935 though 1984. The age‐adjusted incidence rates for 1955–1984, the period of most complete case ascertainment, was 39.0/100,000 person‐years (United States 1970 population as standard). The age‐adjusted incidence was considerably higher in men: 52.0 as compared with 29.5 in women. The 3.6% risk of experiencing an acute symptomatic seizure in an 80‐year lifespan approaches that of developing epilepsy. The major causes of acute symptomatic seizures were traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular disease, drug withdrawal, and CNS infections. Each type of acute symptomatic seizure has age, gender, and time period patterns that reflect the occurrence of the underlying cause.
Does Domestic Work Affect the Academic Performance of Girls in Primary School in Côte d’Ivoire? Empirical Evidence from Probit Model

The objective of this paper is to highlight the effects of domestic work of girls on their school results in Cȏte d’Ivoire. From a probit model, the analysis indicates that domestic work favours, meaningfully, the fact about repeating a school year for the girl child. Besides, the availability of basic services in schools significantly reduces failure of girls in schools in rural areas. Thus, policy makers must equip schools with canteens, toilets for girls, and they should also provide the necessary facilities for drinking water points.
Design and fabrication of neural implant with thick microchannels based on flexible polymeric materials

Mechanical guidance can be used to provide a supporting structure through which and onto which regenerating axons can grow. The dimensions of the mechanical guide need to be suitable to support regenerated axon outgrowth and vascularisation. In this paper, we present the design and fabrication process of a three-dimensional (3D) device comprising a bundle of parallel (100µmx100µm) microchannels with embedded electrodes. This device can be used as a 3D electrode interface for peripheral nerve repair. The skeleton of the device is entirely made of flexible polyimide films. Gold microelectrodes and microchannels of photosensitive polyimide are patterned directly on polyimide substrates. After fabrication, the 2D electrode channel array is rolled into a 3D channel bundle that fits the anatomy of the peripheral nerve. Samples are rolled and inserted into 1.5mm inner diameter tube.