Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Action-based mechanisms of attention.

Actions, which have effects in the external world, must be spatiotopically represented in the brain. The brain is capable of representing space in many different forms (e.g. retinotopic-, environment-, head- or shoulder-centred), but we maintain that actions are represented in action-centred space, meaning that, at the cellular level, the direction of movement is defined by the activity of cells. In reaching, for example, object location is defined as the direction and distance between the origin of the hand and the target. Most importantly, we argue that more than one task-relevant action can be evoked at any moment in time. Therefore, highly efficient selection processes that accurately link vision and action have had to evolve. Research is reviewed which supports the notion of action-based inhibitory mechanisms that select the target from competing distractors.
How to Think, Say, or Do Precisely the Worst Thing for Any Occasion

Did I Really Do That? Most of us believe that our daily actions occur because we exert conscious effort to make them happen; nevertheless, we sometimes seem to end up doing the precise thing we had hoped to avoid. Wegner (p. 48) reviews the recent psychological research on ironic processes. The findings support the view that the unwanted outcomes are held in working memory and that the monitoring centers that usually ensure correct behavior can be distracted or exhausted, allowing the taboo idea to escape. In slapstick comedy, the worst thing that could happen usually does: The person with a sore toe manages to stub it, sometimes twice. Such errors also arise in daily life, and research traces the tendency to do precisely the worst thing to ironic processes of mental control. These monitoring processes keep us watchful for errors of thought, speech, and action and enable us to avoid the worst thing in most situations, but they also increase the likelihood of such errors when we attempt to exert control under mental load (stress, time pressure, or distraction). Ironic errors in attention and memory occur with identifiable brain activity and prompt recurrent unwanted thoughts; attraction to forbidden desires; expression of objectionable social prejudices; production of movement errors; and rebounds of negative experiences such as anxiety, pain, and depression. Such ironies can be overcome when effective control strategies are deployed and mental load is minimized.
Delay in presentation in the context of local knowledge and attitude towards leprosy--the results of qualitative fieldwork in Paraguay.

OBJECTIVE The primary objective of our research was to explore help-seeking behavior in the context of knowledge, attitude, and practice as factors contributing to delay in presentation in leprosy. The secondary objective was to demonstrate the value of basic qualitative research methods in this context. METHODOLOGY Fieldwork was based at the Hospital Mennonita Km 81, the referral center for leprosy services in Paraguay. We adopted exclusively qualitative methods for fieldwork, effectively carrying out a rapid assessment of factors contributing to delay. We relied on multiple sources of information and the use of multiple methods to ensure the validity of our findings. RESULTS Our findings linked delay in presentation to traditional beliefs, lack of awareness of the early symptoms of leprosy, stigma, seeking help from natural healers, and to interactions with the health services. Traditional beliefs diminish the importance of the early symptoms of leprosy. Stigma has an impact on decisions to seek help. Natural healers have maintained their traditional status in society; their preferred treatments for leprosy are ineffective. Only rarely do natural healers refer to the health services. Once presented to the health services, some individuals affected by leprosy experienced lengthy delays in diagnosis and start of treatment. DISCUSSION To address the traditional values of a society and provide effective public health initiatives is a clearly a major challenge for program organizers and for health education. Increased awareness of leprosy and sensitivity to its social consequences among health service practitioners is a further priority.
Fat3 and Ena/VASP proteins influence the emergence of asymmetric cell morphology in the developing retina

Neurons exhibit asymmetric morphologies throughout development – from migration to the elaboration of axons and dendrites – that are correctly oriented for the flow of information. For instance, retinal amacrine cells migrate towards the inner plexiform layer (IPL) and then retract their trailing processes, thereby acquiring a unipolar morphology with a single dendritic arbor restricted to the IPL. Here, we provide evidence that the Fat-like cadherin Fat3 acts during multiple stages of amacrine cell development in mice to orient overall changes in cell shape towards the IPL. Using a time-lapse imaging assay, we found that developing amacrine cells are less directed towards the IPL in the absence of Fat3, during both migration and retraction. Consistent with its predicted role as a cell-surface receptor, Fat3 functions cell-autonomously and is able to influence the cytoskeleton directly through its intracellular domain, which can bind and localize Ena/VASP family actin regulators. Indeed, a change in Ena/VASP protein distribution is sufficient to recapitulate the Fat3 mutant amacrine cell phenotype. Thus, Fat-like proteins might control the polarized development of tissues by sculpting the cytoskeleton of individual cells. Summary: Time-lapse imaging and biochemical studies suggest that Fat3 acts autonomously via Ena/VASP to orient the cytoskeleton in mouse amacrine cell precursors as they migrate and elaborate dendrites.
Response of understory vegetation to salvage logging following a high‐severity wildfire

Timber is frequently salvage-logged following high-severity stand-replacing wildfire, but the practice is controversial. One concern is that compound disturbances could result in more deleterious impacts than either disturbance individually, with mechanical operations having the potential to set back recovering native species and increase invasion by non-native species. Following the 2002 Cone Fire on the Lassen National Forest, three replicates of five salvage treatments were applied to 15 units formerly dominated by ponderosa pine, covering a range of disturbance intensities from unsalvaged to 100% salvaged. Understory species richness and cover data were collected every two years between 2006 and 2012. Richness of both native and non-native species did not differ among salvage treatments, but both showed strong changes over time. While cover of forbs and graminoids did not differ with salvage treatment, cover of shrubs was significantly reduced at the higher salvage intensities. The three main shrub species are all stimulated to germinate by fire, potentially leaving seedlings vulnerable to any mechanical disturbance occurring immediately postgermination. Many other native perennial species emerge from rhizomes or other deeply buried underground structures and appear to be less affected by salvage harvest. Over time, the plant community in all salvage treatments shifted from dominance by shrubs and forbs to shrubs and grasses. Most of the grasses were native, except Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), which was found in 4% of measurement quadrats in 2006 and 52% in 2012. Our results indicated that understory vegetation change 4–10 years posthigh-severity wildfire appeared to be influenced more strongly by factors other than salvage logging.
Detection of alpha(0)‐thalassemia South‐East Asian‐type deletion by droplet digital PCR

The α(0)‐thalassemia South‐East Asian (SEA)‐type deletion is the most common genetic disorder in the Asian population. Couples who are both carriers have a 25% chance of conceiving Bart's hydrops fetalis. Therefore, results from carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis frequently need to be available rapidly. The aim of this study was to implement a droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) for diagnosis of α(0)‐thalassemia SEA‐type deletion.
Kepler-47: A Transiting Circumbinary Multiplanet System

A Pair of Planets Around a Pair of Stars Most of the planets we know about orbit a single star; however, most of the stars in our galaxy are not single. Based on data from the Kepler space telescope, Orosz et al. (p. 1511, published online 28 August) report the detection of a pair of planets orbiting a pair of stars. These two planets are the smallest of the known transiting circumbinary planets and have the shortest and longest orbital periods. The outer planet resides in the habitable zone—the “goldilocks” region where the temperatures could allow liquid water to exist. This discovery establishes that, despite the chaotic environment around a close binary star, a system of planets can form and persist. Data from the Kepler space telescope reveal two small planets orbiting a pair of two low-mass stars. We report the detection of Kepler-47, a system consisting of two planets orbiting around an eclipsing pair of stars. The inner and outer planets have radii 3.0 and 4.6 times that of Earth, respectively. The binary star consists of a Sun-like star and a companion roughly one-third its size, orbiting each other every 7.45 days. With an orbital period of 49.5 days, 18 transits of the inner planet have been observed, allowing a detailed characterization of its orbit and those of the stars. The outer planet’s orbital period is 303.2 days, and although the planet is not Earth-like, it resides within the classical “habitable zone,” where liquid water could exist on an Earth-like planet. With its two known planets, Kepler-47 establishes that close binary stars can host complete planetary systems.
Compact UWB high gain fermi taper slot antenna for future 5G communication systems

In this paper, an UWB high gain fermi taper slot antenna for 5G mobile communication networks is proposed. The antenna has a compact volume of 16.1 × 10 × 0.127 mm3. The matching between a rectangular taper slot and 50-Ω microstrip line is manipulated through aproximity-feed technique. Furthermore, the fermi taper slot antenna is modified by incorporating corrugations on the edges of fermi metallic flaring section. The antenna is designed to operate within the frequency band of 15.4 GHz to 36.8 GHz with -10dB impedance bandwidth. The proposed antenna shows nearly stable end fire radiation patterns throughout the frequency range.
Rate of Optokinetic Nystagmus to the Left and Right and Performance on the Portable Rod and Frame Test

Deviations from the true vertical on the Rod and Frame Test were studied in relation to optokinetic nystagmus response during varied mental activities in 14 right-handed male college students. Judgment of the vertical was more accurate for 7 subjects whose frequency of optokinetic nystagmus was high or low in both directions than for those 7 whose optokinetic nystagmus frequency was high in one direction and low in the other. Asymmetries in the degree to which subjects' optokinetic nystagmus frequency was raised during periods when they were instructed to perform presumed left-hemisphere mental tasks were related to asymmetries in their Rod and Frame Test performance.
Effects of inspiratory flow waveforms on lung mechanics, gas exchange, and respiratory metabolism in COPD patients during mechanical ventilation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE The clinical usefulness of varying inspiratory flow waveforms during mechanical ventilation has not been adequately studied. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of three different respiratory waveforms on the pulmonary mechanics, gas exchange, and respiratory metabolism of ventilated patients with COPD. DESIGN A randomized and comparative trial of consecutive patients. SETTING Medical ICUs of a 2,000-bed university hospital. PATIENTS Fifty-four patients with COPD were enrolled. INTERVENTIONS Constant, decelerating, and sine waveforms were applied to each patient in a random order. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS With tidal volume, inspiratory time, and inspiratory frequency being kept constant, the decelerating waveform produced statistically significant reductions of peak inspiratory pressure, mean airway resistance, physiologic dead space ventilation (VD/VT), PaCO(2), and symptom score. There was also a significant increase in alveolar-arterial oxygen pressure difference with the decelerating flow waveform, but there were no significant changes in mean airway pressure, arterial oxygenation, heart rate, mean BP, and other hemodynamic measurements. In addition, assessment on the work of breathing (WOB) revealed that ventilator WOB values were reduced with the decelerating waveform. Oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide output were virtually not affected by changing inspiratory flow waveforms. Except for VD/VT, the effects of constant square and sine waveforms were similar to each other and could not be separated statistically. CONCLUSIONS The most favorable flow pattern for ventilated patients with COPD appeared to be the decelerating waveform. There are possibilities for the improvement of ventilation in these patients by selecting an appropriate inspiratory flow.
Effect of immune status on dengue 2 virus replication in cultured leukocytes from infants and children

Cord blood leukocytes from neonates with maternal dengue antibody supported dengue 2 virus replication in vitro; those from neonates without maternal antibody did not. Cord bloods of infants born to dengue-immune mothers contained a potent enhancing factor which gradually decayed with age and which was absent from neonates born to nonimmune mothers. Permissiveness of cultures of washed peripheral blood leukocytes from infants with maternal antibody declined steadily with increasing age in parallel with the decay of maternal antibody, and the leukocytes were no longer permissive after 10 to 12 months. The demonstration of a dengue maternal infection-enhancing factor in human cord blood from dengue-immune mothers supports the hypothesis that severe primary dengue hemorrhagic fever with shock seen in Bangkok infants is related to maternal immune status.
Calcium currents in aged rat dorsal root ganglion neurones.

1. The whole‐cell voltage clamp technique was used to record calcium currents in the somatic membrane of rat cultured dorsal root ganglion neurones. 2. Neurones were enzymatically isolated from animals of three age groups (neonatal, 2‐7 days; adult, 7 months; and old, 30 months) and maintained in primary culture 3‐14 days. 3. The neurones isolated from neonatal and old rats showed two distinct types of Ca2+ currents, a low‐threshold transient current and a high‐threshold sustained current, whereas neurones from old rats showed only a high‐threshold calcium current. 4. The density of the high‐threshold calcium current was 28.4 +/‐ 6.3 pA/pF (mean +/‐ S.E.M., n = 54) in neonatal, 39.1 +/‐ 7.2 pA/pF (n = 62) in adult and 11.0 +/‐ 4.6 pA/pF (n = 64) in old dorsal root ganglion neurones. 5. We found no difference in elementary high‐threshold Ca2+ current characteristics in neurones from different age groups. The single‐channel conductance was (with 60 mM Ca2+ in the recording pipette) 16.0 +/‐ 2.7 pS (mean +/‐ S.E.M., n = 9) in neonatal, 16.2 +/‐ 1.7 pS (n = 11) in adult and 16.4 +/‐ 1.2 pS (n = 12) in old neurones. 6. Current‐voltage relations and kinetics of high‐threshold calcium currents showed no detectable age‐dependent difference. 7. The run‐down of high‐threshold calcium currents in dorsal root ganglion neurones from old rats was practically insensitive to intracellular administration of cyclic AMP and ATP. The same intervention caused a significant deceleration of Ca2+ current run‐down in the majority of neonatal and in some adult cells. 8. We suggest that the disappearance of the low‐threshold calcium current and reduction of high‐threshold calcium current with ageing is due to a depression of calcium channel expression during late ontogenesis. The decrease of sensitivity of high‐threshold calcium channels to phosphorylation by cyclic AMP‐dependent protein kinase in aged neurones could also be a reason for altered turnover between silent and functional pools of calcium channels, which may underlie the age‐dependent decline in the density of high‐threshold calcium channels.
Patient Satisfaction with Bedside Teaching Rounds Compared with Nonbedside Rounds

Objectives Many barriers have been cited in reference to why bedside teaching rounds have decreased in frequency during graduate medical education. One perceived barrier to the use of bedside teaching rounds is a fear of it causing patient discomfort or dissatisfaction. The objective of this study was to compare patient perception of bedside versus nonbedside teaching rounds. Methods Study participants were adults admitted to a family medicine inpatient team at a large university teaching hospital. Upon admission, participants were randomized to receive bedside or nonbedside teaching rounds conducted by a team consisting of medical students, family medicine residents, and one attending physician. Each participant completed a questionnaire administered on the day of discharge assessing patients’ perception of their involvement in medical decision making, trust in the medical team, satisfaction with care, and provider compassion. Statistical analysis was performed to examine any differences between the two groups. Results The vast majority of the sample indicated that they knew what they were being treated for in the hospital (n = 105, 98%), reported the medical team spent an adequate amount of time with them (n = 100, 94%), and reported the medical team explained the diagnosis and care in easy-to-understand terms (n = 101, 94%). On 1- to 5-point scales, participants reported that the medical team involved them in making decisions (4.62, standard deviation [SD] 0.72), they trusted the medical team (4.91, SD 0.32), they were satisfied with their care (4.85, SD 0.38), and their medical team was compassionate toward them (4.84, SD 0.44). Overall levels of satisfaction were positive on all of the measures, with no statistical significance between the two groups regarding measures of involvement in medical decision making, trust in the medical team, and satisfaction with care. Interestingly, subjects perceived level of compassion of their medical team to be significantly higher with a bedside teaching approach compared with a nonbedside approach. Conclusions Despite concerns that bedside teaching rounds may lead to patient discomfort, this study found no evidence supporting this perception. In fact, patients may perceive a medical team that engages in bedside teaching rounds as being more compassionate providers, supporting a patient-centered argument that teaching rounds should return to the bedside.
Association of the Y402H polymorphism in complement factor H gene and neovascular age-related macular degeneration in Chinese patients.

PURPOSE Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), with its complex traits and multiple risk factors, is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. A strong association between a coding variant, Y402H, in the complement factor H gene (CFH) and AMD has been recently identified in white patients. This study was conducted to investigate the association between the Y402H polymorphism in CFH and neovascular AMD in Chinese patients. METHODS One hundred sixty-three Chinese patients with neovascular AMD and 232 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Genomic DNA from white blood cells was extracted. The Y402H polymorphism in CFH, with the substitution of T to C at nucleotide position 1277 in exon 9, was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The association between the genetic polymorphism and the disease was examined by chi(2) test and logistic regression. RESULTS The frequency of the risk allele, 1277C, was 11.3% in AMD patients compared with 2.8% in controls (P < 0.00001). Genotype frequency differed significantly between the two groups (1277TT 81.0%, 1277TC 15.3%, and 1277CC 3.7% in the AMD group; 1277TT 94.4%, 1277TC 5.6%, and 1277CC 0% in the control group; P < 0.0001). The 1277C allele significantly increased the risk for neovascular AMD and had an odds ratio of 4.4 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.3-8.5; P < 0.00001). CONCLUSIONS The allele frequency of Y402H polymorphism in CFH has an ethnic variation, with much lower 1277C frequency in Chinese than in white patients. Despite this, the polymorphism is significantly associated with neovascular AMD in the Chinese population.
Impaired autophagy in Lafora disease

Lafora disease (LD) is a progressive, lethal, autosomal recessive, neurodegenerative disorder that manifests with myoclonus epilepsy. LD is characterized by the presence of intracellular inclusion bodies called Lafora bodies (LB), in brain, spinal cord and other tissues. More than 50% of LD is caused by mutations in EPM2A that encodes laforin. Here we review our recent findings that revealed that laforin regulates autophagy. We consider how autophagy compromise may predispose to LB formation and neurodegeneration in LD, and discuss future investigations suggested by our data.
CT and MR Imaging of the Liver Using Liver-Specific Contrast Media

Purpose: A new type of liposomal liver-specific contrast medium (CM) in CT was studied, and the results were compared with those obtained with Mn-DPDP, a paramagnetic hepatobiliary CM, in MR imaging. The contrasts of normal liver tissue to tumorous tissue and the importance of the CM for tumour detection in the 2 modalities were studied in a rabbit tumour model. CT and T1-weighted pre- and postcontrast and T2-weighted MR images precontrast were obtained. Material, Methods and Results: Compared to precontrast images, significantly higher contrasts of normal liver tissue to tumorous tissue were obtained after CM administration in both CT and MR examinations. At radiologic evaluation, significantly more tumours were detected after CM administration in CT and in T1-weighted MR images than in precontrast images in CT and T1-weighted MR. There were no significant differences in tumour detection frequency in MR studies including a T2-weighted pulse sequence, postcontrast CT, or postcontrast T1-weighted MR imaging. Conclusion: The use of liver-specific CM improves visualization of liver tumours in CT and T1-weighted MR imaging.
Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) Taps a Mechanism That Places Constraints on the Development of Early Reading Fluency

Previous studies have shown that rapid automatized naming (RAN) is a correlate of early reading skills; however, the interpretation of this finding remains controversial. We present the results from a 3-year longitudinal study. RAN, measured with nonalphabetic stimuli before reading instruction has begun, is a predictor of later growth in reading fluency. After reading instruction has started, RAN continues to exert an influence on the development of reading fluency over the next 2 years. However, there is no evidence of a reciprocal influence of reading fluency on the growth of RAN skill. We suggest that RAN taps the integrity of left-hemisphere object-recognition and naming circuits that are recruited to function as a critical component of the child's developing visual word-recognition system.