Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association between waking EEG and cognitive event-related potentials in patients with obstructive sleep apneas

Objective: Abnormal event-related potentials (ERP) and slowing of the waking electroencephalographic (EEG) activity have been reported in patients with obstructive sleep apneas (OSA). This study aimed at evaluating whether an association exists between the severity of ERP abnormalities and EEG slowing in order to better understand cerebral dysfunction in OSA. Methods: Twelve OSA patients and 12 age-matched controls underwent an overnight polysomnographic recording, an EEG recording of 10 minutes of wakefulness and an auditory ERP protocol known to specifically measure attention. Amplitude and latency of each ERP component were measured as well as the spectral power in each frequency band of the waking EEG. Pearson’s correlations were used to measure associations between ERP characteristics and EEG spectral power in OSA patients and control subjects. Results: A positive correlation between the late P300 amplitude and theta power in occipital region was observed in OSA subjects (p<0.01). A positive correlation was also found between P3a amplitude and beta 1 power in central region in OSA subjects (p<0.01). No correlation was observed for control subjects. Conclusions: ERP abnormalities observed in an attention task are associated with a slowing of the waking EEG recorded at rest in OSA.
Toll-like receptor 3 activation impairs excitability and synaptic activity via TRIF signalling in immature rat and human neurons. Short title: TLR3 activation impairs neuronal function

Louise Ritchie, Rothwell Tate, Luke H. Chamberlain, Graham Robertson (orcid.org/00000002-3841-874X), Michele Zagnoni (orcid.org/0000-0003-3198-9491), Teresa Sposito, Selina Wray (orcid.org/0000-0003-3062-7050) , John A. Wright, Clare E. Bryant (orcid.org/0000-0002-2924-0038), Nicholas J. Gay (orcid.org/0000-0002-2782-7169) and Trevor J. Bushell (orcid.org/0000-0003-4145-9670) Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK. Centre for Microsystems and Photonics, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1XW, UK. Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, 1 Wakefield Street, London WC1N 1PJ, UK. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK. e Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
Clinical and genetic characteristics of Chinese Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy patients with small mutations

Background Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) are amongst the inherited neuromuscular diseases with the highest incidence. Small mutations are less common and therefore have been poorly studied in China. Materials and methods The clinical data of 150 patients diagnosed with DMD/BMD by genetic analysis in Hunan Children’s Hospital from 2009 to 2021 were analyzed. The patients were followed up for an average of 3.42 years and their clinical characteristics were collected. Loss of ambulation (LOA) was used to evaluate the severity of disease progression. The correlation among clinical features, different variants, and glucocorticoid (GC) treatment was analyzed by Cox regression analysis. Results 150 different variants were detected in this study, including 21 (14%) novel mutations, 88 (58.7%) non-sense mutations, 33 (22.0%) frameshift mutations, 22 (14.7%) splicing mutations, and 7 (4.7%) missense mutations. Single-exon skipping and single- or double-exon (double/single-exon) skipping strategies covered more than 90% of patients with small mutations. A case with frameshift mutation combined with Klinefelter’s syndrome (47, XXY) and another one with missense mutation combined with epilepsy was found in our study. De novo mutations accounted for 30.0% of all patients. The mean onset age was 4.19 ± 1.63 years old, and the mean diagnosed age was 5.60 ± 3.13 years old. The mean age of LOA was 10.4 years old (40 cases). 60.7% of them received GC treatment at 7.0 ± 2.7 years old. The main causes of complaints were muscle weakness, high creatine kinase (CK), motor retardation, and family history. The risk factors of LOA were positive family history (HR 5.52, CI 1.26–24.18), short GC treatment duration (HR 0.54, CI 0.36–0.82) and frameshift mutation (HR 14.58, CI 1.74–121.76). DMD patients who treated with GC after 7 years old had a higher risk of earlier LOA compared to those receiving treatment before the age of 7 (HR 0.083, CI 0.009–0.804). Moreover, an earlier onset age, a higher CK value, and a larger LOA population were found in the DMD patients compared to the BMD ones. Finally, the locations of the most frequent mutation were in exon 70 and exon 22. Conclusion In conclusion, 150 small mutations were identified in this study, and 21 of them were discovered for the first time. We found the hotspots of small mutations were in exon 70 and exon 20. Also, the analysis showed that positive family history, frameshift mutation, short duration of GC treatment, and delayed GC treatment resulted in earlier LOA for the DMD patients. Taken together, our findings complement the mutation spectrum of DMD/BMD, benefit us understanding to the DMD disease, and lay foundations for the clinical trials.
IPO survival and CEOs ’ decision-making power

This research examines the impact of a CEO's (Chief Executive Officer) decision-making power on a firm's survival after an initial public offering (IPO), using data from the period 2001 to 2011 in China. Following the CEO literature which argues that CEO traits are related to a firm's performance, I find that the CEO who has power over the board as a consequence of her/his status as a founder decreases the probability of delisting, whereas her/his status as the board's sole insider and concentration of the title in the hands of the CEO increases the likelihood of delisting. Moreover, the results suggests that firms with higher CEO ownership power, older, more industry experience, and highly educated CEOs, and with those who have the same nationality as the company, are more likely to survive after taking IPOs, but that firms with CEOs who also chair their boards are less likely to survive. The results also show that firms with powerful CEOs generate negative announcement date excess returns.
The influence of job burnout on the attention ability of army soldiers and officers: Evidence from ERP

Job burnout is one of the most widespread mental problems in today’s society and seriously affects the mental health and combat effectiveness of soldiers and officers. Herein, the effect of burnout on individual attention is studied from the perspective of neuroelectrophysiology. A total of 1,155 army soldiers and officers were included in this investigation and completed the Job Burnout Scale for Military Personnel. A total of 42 soldiers and officers were randomly selected from those with and without burnout to participate in an event-related potential (ERP) study using a visual oddball task. The characteristics of visual P3a and P3b at Fz, FCz, Cz, CPz, and Pz were recorded and analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). P < 0.05 was the criterion for a significant difference. The total average score on the Job Burnout Scale for Military Personnel among the participants was 0.74 ± 0.46, and the detection rate of job burnout was 29.85%. In the Oddball task, the average number of target stimuli counted in the burnout group was lower than that in the control group, but no significant difference was found. For P3a, the Fz, FCz, Cz, CPz, and Pz amplitudes in the burnout group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The average amplitude of P3a evoked in the central parietal area was larger than that in the prefrontal area. For P3b, the amplitudes of the five electrodes in the burnout group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The average amplitude of P3b evoked in the parietal region was larger than those in the prefrontal and central parietal regions. A certain degree of job burnout is evident in army soldiers and officers. The voluntary attention and involuntary attention of individuals with burnout are both affected to some extent, as reflected by the lower amplitudes of P3a and P3b. The results suggest that P3a and P3b can be used as indicators to monitor cognitive neural function in soldiers and officers with burnout and can also be used as references for evaluating the effects of cognitive training and screening methods. In this study, ERP was used to research the attention ability of soldiers and officers with job burnout, and related issues were discussed from the aspects of the burnout results, behavioral results, ERP results, compensation effect of cognitive resources, application in the military field, limitations, and prospects.
Oxidative stress markers-driven prognostic model to predict post-discharge mortality in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

Background Current predictive models based on biomarkers reflective of different pathways of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) pathogenesis constitute a useful tool for predicting death risk among HFrEF patients. The purpose of the study was to develop a new predictive model for post-discharge mortality risk among HFrEF patients, based on a combination of clinical patients’ characteristics, N-terminal pro-B-type Natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and oxidative stress markers as a potentially valuable tool for routine clinical practice. Methods 116 patients with stable HFrEF were recruited in a prospective single-center study. Plasma levels of NT-proBNP and oxidative stress markers [superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), uric acid (UA), total bilirubin (TB), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)] were measured in the stable predischarge condition. Generalized linear model (GLM), random forest and extreme gradient boosting models were developed to predict post-discharge mortality risk using clinical and laboratory data. Through comprehensive evaluation, the most performant model was selected. Results During a median follow-up of 525 days (7–930), 33 (28%) patients died. Among the three created models, the GLM presented the best performance for post-discharge death prediction in HFrEF. The predictors included in the GLM model were age, female sex, beta blockers, NT-proBNP, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), TAC levels, admission systolic blood pressure (SBP), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor II blockers (ACEI/ARBs) and UA levels. Our model had a good discriminatory power for post-discharge mortality [The area under the curve (AUC) = 74.5%]. Based on the retained model, an online calculator was developed to allow the identification of patients with heightened post-discharge death risk. Conclusion In conclusion, we created a new and simple tool that may allow the identification of patients at heightened post-discharge mortality risk and could assist the treatment decision-making.
Influence of the MASONRY VAULTS building process on their stiffness: Numerical analysis using a homogenised DAMAGE MODEL including mortar joint shrinkage and induced crack re-closure effect

The assessment of masonry structures is more and more useful to characterize the behaviour of masonry walls, tower and bridges. The owner of these constructions would like to understand the mechanical performance of their structures. Experiments and computational methods are two essential elements to accurately study and determine the sensitive points of the edifices. This paper presents the numerical modelling of a vault in undamaged and damaged domain with a macro-homogenisation analysis. The importance of considering the building phases in order to determine the actual stiffness of the structure is highlighted. The numerical tool is a continuous finite element model based on an original anisotropic damage model considering the masonry as a homogenised continuous media. The model is implemented in a massive finite element for three dimensional formulation. It computes the localized damage and allows indicating zones of privileged crack opening in the structure. It is able to predict the cracking zones in large masonry constructions without pre-positioning joint elements. It uses a regularization method ensuring an independence of the numerical response from the mesh. The model includes also a reclosure function for cracks. This re-closure function allows simulating the progressive stiffness restitution during the crack re-closure process. The paper focuses on this aspect in relation with the crack induced by restrained shrinkage of joint mortar during the building history. First, a state of the arts is proposed, then the damage model is presented. In order to validate the model and to propose a global methodology, the damage model is applied to analyse a thin masonry vault previously tested in a laboratory. The numerical results are discussed regarding the experimental ones.
Labour Values for a Model with Heterogeneous Labour

This paper proposes to take a new look at the Fundamental Marxian Theorems, and establish some propositions for capitalist reproduction systems in a linear input-output model with heterogeneous labour. In so doing, we make a slightly stronger assumption concerning the productiveness of a given system, and obtain a theorem that each type of labour gets exploited in the system, if the wage rate of that labour type is not high enough to make savings, irrespective of the levels of profit rates of production processes. Some more related propositions are also presented.
WP / 18 / 114 International Spillovers of Forward Guidance Shocks

After 2007, countries that cut their policy interest rates close to zero turned, among other policies, to forward guidance. We estimate a two-country model of the U.S. and Canada to quantify how unexpected changes in U.S. forward guidance affected Canada. Expansionary U.S. forward guidance shocks, like conventional policy shocks, are beggarthyneighbor and depress Canadian output, but by twice as much as conventional shocks. We find that the effect of U.S. forward guidance shocks on Canadian output, unlike conventional policy shocks, depends on the state of U.S. demand and can be five times smaller when U.S. demand is weak. JEL Classification Numbers: E32, E52, F41.
ASSESSMENT OF ENTRANCE SURFACE DOSES FOR NEWBORN BABIES WITHIN AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Newborn babies with health conditions or those who have been born premature frequently require treatment in the neo-natal intensive care unit (ICU). The exposure to ionizing radiations in childhood increase two or three times the risk of cancer induction compared to the case of adults. The study describes the distribution, frequency of radiological examinations and estimates the ESD for the most important radiological procedures. The statistical process has been carried out by comparing the average values of the ESD with the reference levels by the “t” test. The average of ESD for the chest examination compared to the reference levels are high statistic significance (p < 0.001). Irrespective of a child’s weight, the kilo-voltage, used has been below the values, recommended for all radiological procedures. Worrying, in the case of this group of children, is not the ESD for one single exposure, but the repeated examinations during the child’s hospitalization period, leading to cumulative doses, to which it is likely that many other may be added during childhood. The incorrect use of the low kilo-voltage technique as a consequence of the small volume and weight of these babies, causes the increase of the dose.
1 Conditional Simulation of Max-Stable Processes

Max-stable processes are well established models for spatial extremes. In this chapter, we address the prediction problem: suppose a max-stable process is observed at some locations only, how can we use these observations to predict the behavior of 1 2 Extreme Value Modeling and Risk Analysis: Methods and Applications the process at other unobserved locations? Mathematically, the prediction problem is related to the conditional distribution of the process given the observations. Recently, Dombry and Eyi-Minko (2013) provided an explicit theoretical formula for the conditional distributions of max-stable processes. The result relies on the spectral representation of the max-stable process as the pointwise maxima over an infinite number of spectral functions belonging to a Poisson point process. The effect of conditioning on the Poisson point process is analyzed, resulting in the notions of hitting scenario and extremal or subextremal functions. Due to the complexity of the structure of the conditional distributions, conditional simulation appears at the same time challenging and important to assess characteristics that are analytically intractable such as the conditional median or quantiles. The issue of conditional simulation was considered by Dombry et al. (2012) who proposed a three step procedure for conditional sampling. As the conditional simulation of the hitting scenario becomes computationally very demanding even for a moderate number of conditioning points, a Gibbs sampler approach was proposed for this step. The results are illustrated on some simulation studies and we propose several diagnostics to check the performance. 1.
Crime and Elderly : A sociological analysis of ageing and violence

The increasing number of older persons in society requires improving our knowledge about the elderly. One area that has received little attention is crime committed by elderly. Is the number of elderly criminals so low, as stereotypes would suggest that its importance as a social problem could be dismissed? This paper presents a sociological discussion on types of crime committed by old people and their relationship to each other and to other forms of deviance.
WP / 18 / 276 Transport Infrastructure , City Productivity Growth and Sectoral Reallocation : Evidence from China by

This paper examines the impact of highway expansion on aggregate productivity growth and sectoral reallocation between cities in China. To do so, I construct a unique dataset of bilateral transportation costs between Chinese cities, digitized highway network maps, and firm-level census. I first derive and estimate a market access measure that summarizes all direct and indirect impact of trade costs on city productivity. I then construct an instrumental variable to examine the causal impact of highways on economic outcomes and the underlying channels. The results suggest that highways promoted aggregate productivity growth by facilitating firm entry, exit and reallocation. I also find evidence that the national highway system led to a sectoral reallocation between cities in China. JEL Classification Numbers: F10, H54, O18, O40, R10.
Repository eHealth tools to provide structured assistance for atrial fibrillation screening , management , and guideline-recommended therapy in metropolitan general practice

Recommended citation(APA): Orchard, J., Neubeck, L. , Freedman, B. , Li, J., Webster, R. , Zwar, N. , . Lowres, N. (2019). eHealth tools to provide structured assistance for atrial fibrillation screening, management, and guideline-recommended therapy in metropolitan general practice: The AF-SMART study. Journal of the American Heart Association, 8(1), [e010959]. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.118. 010959
Antimicrobial resistance in animal production : an overview *

de Souza M.M.S., Coelho S.deM. deO. , Coelho I.daS. , Soares B.daS. , da Motta C.C. , de Melo D.A. , Dubenczuk F.C. , Santiago, G.S. , Pimenta R.L. , Marques V.F. & Alencar T.A. Antimicrobial Resistance in Animal Production: an Overview. [Resistência antimicrobiana em animais de produção: uma visão geral]. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 38(supl. 3):68-74, 2016. Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, Km 7, Seropédica, RJ, 23890-000, Brasil. E-mail: milianemss@gmail.com In the last two decades, antimicrobial resistance emerged as a puzzling multifactorial challenge. The role of the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters in animal production exerting a positive selection pressure which can favor the survival of resistant strains over susceptible ones and the spread of resistance genes is the subject of several researches throughout the world. Otherwise, defenders of the growth promoter use argue that antimicrobial abolishment will result in several disorders in production chain. Some researches support the idea that there are efficient and viable alternatives such as probiotics, enzymatic complex and natural products that can contributes to growth promotion without enhance antimicrobial resistance. Considering the importance of animal production to the social and economic development of Brazilian society and the crucially of this theme, this review presents some features of antimicrobial resistance in dairy milk and poultry industries, two major production systems. Also, it discusses the challenges faced by researchers in the establishment of an accurate resistance profile taking in account three important features: species identification, species diversity and virulence factors that may contribute to the observed resistance pattern, and additionally, the emergent role of Enterobacteriaceae in antimicrobial resistance in animal production environment.
Combined Inhibition of PI 3 K , mTOR and Bcl-2 Significantly Radiosensitises Progesterone and Oestrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Patients with triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) constitute about one-fifth of all breast cancer patients. TNBC is an aggressive and heterogeneous disease entity in comparison with other types of breast cancer and, therefore, tends to be resistant to existing treatment regimens, such as, targeted and hormone therapies. There is evidence to suggest that proliferative and survival pathways of triple-negative tumours are still poorly understood, which could be the reason for the observed treatment resistance. Novel treatment approaches are, therefore, needed to overcome the challenges in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers. Three human breast cell lines (MDAMB-231, MCF-7 and MCF-12A) were pre-treated with inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and the pro-survival gene (Bcl-2), and their radiosensitivities were evaluated using the clonogenic cell survival assay. Inhibition of PI3K, mTOR, and Bcl-2 with a cocktail of small molecule inhibitors NVP-BEZ235 and ABT-263 resulted in a 4to 14-fold radiosensitisation of human breast cell lines with features similar to those of triple-negative cancers. These findings suggest that inhibition of PI3K, mTOR, and Bcl-2 can significantly enhance the sensitivity of breast cells devoid of progesterone and oestrogen receptor expression. This approach may have therapeutic potential for breast cancer management.