Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuromagnetic oscillations to emotional faces and prosody

Higher association cortices as well as unisensory areas can support multisensory integration [D. Senkowski et al. (2008) Trends Neurosci. , 31, 401–409]. The present study investigated whether audiovisual integration of emotional information emerges early at unisensory or later at higher association cortices. Emotional stimuli were presented in three blocks: audiovisual (AV), auditory (A) and visual (V). Eighteen participants performed a delayed emotional recognition task (happy, angry or neutral prosody and/or facial expression) while whole‐brain magnetoencephalography (MEG) data were obtained. Time–frequency evoked and total power analyses were performed on the sensor data, and source localization of the frequencies of interest performed via a synthetic aperture magnetometry beamformer. To examine crossmodal integration between bimodal and unimodal conditions, two contrasts were specified: AV > A and AV > V. In the AV > A contrast, early effects were observed on both the temporal and the occipital evoked responses. However, at the source level, early alpha suppression was limited to the occipital sources without changes in temporal cortices. In the AV > V contrast, sensor and source findings revealed increased alpha suppression only in temporal cortices, with no changes in visual cortex. Thus, no crossmodal effect in unisensory areas emerged. Instead, increased frontal alpha activity in both the AV > A and AV > V contrasts supports the view that affective information from face and prosody converges at higher association cortices.
Understanding Emotions in Frontotemporal Dementia: The Explicit and Implicit Emotional Cue Mismatch.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have reported significant deficits in emotion recognition among individuals along the frontotemporal dementia (FTD) spectrum. The basis of emotional impairment is still poorly understood and explicit (emotion appraisal) and implicit (autonomic system activity) responses have not been carefully evaluated. OBJECTIVE We investigated explicit evaluation of emotions by testing valence and arousal using self-report measures and we also assessed automatic responses to emotional cues, using autonomic measures (skin conductance response and heart rate). METHODS 16 behavioral variant FTD and 12 agrammatic variants of primary progressive aphasia patients were included. The performance of these patients was compared to a group of 14 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 20 healthy controls. Each subject was required to observe and evaluate affective pictures while autonomic parameters were recorded. RESULTS FTD patients preserved a functional general competency in terms of valence (correct positive versus negative attribution) and arousal (correct dichotomy between high versus low arousal category) distinction. These patients showed significant changes in autonomic implicit response compared to the other groups. The mismatch between explicit and implicit responsiveness to emotional cues was found both in behavioral variant FTD and in agrammatic variants of primary progressive aphasia. Emotional responsiveness was related to the severity of behavioral abnormalities as measured by the Frontal Behavioral Inventory and associated with atrophy of the left putamen. CONCLUSION The present findings indicate that FTD patients are able to explicitly "appraise" the emotion, but they cannot implicitly "feel" the emotion. This mismatch between the two levels may help explain the general emotional behavior impairment found in these patients.
Incentives for progressive income taxation

This study analyzes the electoral incentives for redistributive income taxation when the incumbent strategically decides the degree of tax progressivity. Progressivity makes the median voter prefer more government spending, which induces left-wing incumbents to foster progressivity and right-wing incumbents to propose flat taxation. However, if (i) more progressivity reduces middle-income voters’ fear of left-wing policies with respect to right-wing policies, (ii) parties’ office holding incentives are high, and (iii) there is low uncertainty about the median voter, then left-wing incumbents opt for less-progressive taxation and right-wing incumbents opt for more progressive taxation. In addition, we show that voters’ risk aversion over private consumption implies that right-wing incumbents propose more progressivity in comparison with left-wing incumbents proposing less progressivity. Our theoretical prediction can explain why, for example, Democrat Kennedy contributed to decreasing progressive taxation and Republican Bush contributed to increasing progressive taxation.
Making sense of remunicipalisation: theoretical reflections on and political possibilities from Germany’sRekommumalisierungprocess

The increasingly discussed phenomenon of ‘remunicipalisation’ marks a global trend since 2000 for cities to take formerly privatised assets, infrastructure and services back into public ownership. It is most prominent in basic service sectors such as water and energy, but it is also evident in a range of diverse utility and infrastructure areas—from education, health, refuse and other areas of local government. As a reaction to the problems and contradictions arising from four decades of privatisation and marketisation of public services, remunicipalisation represents a compelling contemporary phenomenon of urban politics and governance. In this article, we critically interrogate remunicipalisation in the face of ongoing and mutating processes of neoliberal urbanism. Drawing upon evidence from the German Rekommunalisierung process in the energy sector, we explore both the wider conceptual significance of remunicipalisation and its progressive potential in contributing to an alternative urban politics beyond neoliberalism.
Cognitive dysfunction in patients with very mild Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment showing hemispheric asymmetries of hypometabolism on 18F‐FDG PET

We investigated cognitive dysfunction in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) who present hemispheric asymmetries of cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglc) decrease on 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.
Role of heat-labile serum factor or host complement in the inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum sporogonic stages in Anopheles stephensi by gametocyte carriers' serological factors

SUMMARY This study investigated the significance of serum complement on transmission-reducing activity (TRA) of field sera from 24 infected Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriers (from Cameroon) against cultured NF54 P. falciparum. Laboratory-reared Anopheles stephensi were given infectious blood meals prepared either with sera from naïve Dutch donor (AB type) or pair-matched field serum samples, both with and without active complement. TRA of serum factors and host complement on mosquito infection rate and oocyst intensity were divided into the various components involved in the early stages of sporogony. The majority (>80%) of sera tested showed positive antibody titres to Pfs230, the relevant complement-dependent target of transmission-reducing mechanisms. Regardless of the presence of active complement, bloodmeals with field sera exhibited significantly lower infection rates and oocyst intensity than the control group. Serological reactivity in Capture-ELISA against Pfs230 was significantly correlated with the reduction of parasite infectivity. Contrary to our expectation, the presence of active complement in the mosquito bloodmeal did not increase parasite losses and therefore the magnitude of transmission reduction by individual immune sera. Our findings on P. falciparum are consistent with previous studies on animal hosts of Plasmodium, indicating that early P. falciparum sporogonic stages may be insensitive to the antibody-dependent pathways of complement in human serum.
BRAFV600E remodels the melanocyte transcriptome and induces BANCR to regulate melanoma cell migration

Aberrations of protein-coding genes are a focus of cancer genomics; however, the impact of oncogenes on expression of the ∼50% of transcripts without protein-coding potential, including long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), has been largely uncharacterized. Activating mutations in the BRAF oncogene are present in >70% of melanomas, 90% of which produce active mutant BRAFV600E protein. To define the impacts of oncogenic BRAF on the melanocyte transcriptome, massively parallel cDNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on genetically matched normal human melanocytes with and without BRAFV600E expression. To enhance potential disease relevance by verifying expression of altered genes in BRAF-driven cancer tissue, parallel RNA-seq was also undertaken of two BRAFV600E-mutant human melanomas. BRAFV600E regulated expression of 1027 protein-coding transcripts and 39 annotated lncRNAs, as well as 70 unannotated, potentially novel, intergenic transcripts. These transcripts display both tissue-specific and multi-tissue expression profiles and harbor distinctive regulatory chromatin marks and transcription factor binding sites indicative of active transcription. Coding potential analysis of the 70 unannotated transcripts suggested that most may represent newly identified lncRNAs. BRAF-regulated lncRNA 1 (BANCR) was identified as a recurrently overexpressed, previously unannotated 693-bp transcript on chromosome 9 with a potential functional role in melanoma cell migration. BANCR knockdown reduced melanoma cell migration, and this could be rescued by the chemokine CXCL11. Combining RNA-seq of oncogene-expressing normal cells with RNA-seq of their corresponding human cancers may represent a useful approach to discover new oncogene-regulated RNA transcripts of potential clinical relevance in cancer.
Relational Egalitarianism

Derek Parfit famously introduced a now commonly adopted distinction between telic and deontic distributive egalitarianism. This chapter argues that we can draw a similar distinction between telic and deontic relational egalitarianism. Interestingly, telic relational egalitarianism might be less vulnerable to the levelling-down objection than telic distributive egalitarianism. However, while some relational egalitarian concerns are best captured by telic relational egalitarianism, other concerns are better captured by deontic relational egalitarianism and yet others relating to intergenerational justice are better captured by telic distributive egalitarianism. Accordingly, insofar as we are egalitarians, we should be pluralist egalitarians in a more thoroughgoing way than Parfit entertained.
Remittances and FDI Effects on Economic Growth: A VECM and GIRFs for the Case of Albania

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the effects of remittances and foreign direct investments (FDI) on economic growth, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), and inflation in Albania through a vector error correction model. The results show that remittances Granger-cause positively economic growth short- and long-run and negatively inflation, while no significant relationship has been established between remittances and GFCF. The findings support that remittances, apart from affecting economic growth, disinflate the Albanian economy. With respect to FDI, there are signs that inflation Granger-causes negatively FDI, while there appears to be no relationship between FDI, economic growth, and capital formation.
Family Welfare and the Cost of Unemployment

This paper calculates the cost of an unemployment shock in terms of family welfare. We find that, overall, families face an average annualized expected dollar equivalent welfare loss of $1,156 when the unemployment rate rises by 1 percentage point. The average welfare loss for married families is greater than for single families and increases with education. We then estimate that a 1.8 percent shock to purchasing power would generate the same amount of overall welfare loss as a one-percentage-point rise in the unemployment rate.
Aberrations in the Diurnal Rhythms of Plasma Glucose, Plasma Insulin, Liver Glycogen, and Hepatic Glycogen Synthase and Phosphorylase Activities in Genetically Diabetic (db/db) Mice

The diurnal rhythms of plasma glucose, insulin, liver glycogen, and hepatic glycogen synthase and phosphorylase activities were determined in control and genetically diabetic (db/db) mice 8 weeks of age. The diabetic mice showed wide fluctuations in their plasma glucose levels, although being similar to controls near the end of the light period. Little variation was observed in their elevated plasma insulin levels. Liver glycogen levels in diabetic mice were not depleted to the low levels seen in controls during the last part of the light period but were maintained at significantly higher levels. However, maximum attained glycogen levels were similar in the two groups of mice. Alterations were also observed for the diurnal rhythms of glycogen synthase and phosphorylase activities, although again the daily maximums were similar in control and diabetic mice. These findings suggest that the reported changes of several of these metabolic parameters in the db/db mouse may be due to alterations in the diurnal pattern rather than to absolute changes.
DNA Transposition of Bacteriophage Mu

The Mu transpositional DNA recombination machinery selects target sites by assembling a protein-DNA complex that interacts with the target DNA and reacts whenever it locates a favorable sequence composition. Splicing of a transposon into the target generates a 5-bp duplication that reflects the original target site. Preferential usage of different target pentamers was examined with a minimal Mu in vitro system and quantitatively compiled consensus sequences for the most preferred and the least preferred sites were generated. When analyzed as base steps, preferences toward certain steps along the 5-bp target site were detected. We further show that insertion sites can be predicted on the basis of additively calculated base step values. Also surrounding sequences influence the preference of a given pentamer; a symmetrical structural component was revealed, suggesting potential hinges at and around the target site.
Functional Specializations of the Ventral Intraparietal Area for Multisensory Heading Discrimination

The ventral intraparietal area (VIP) of the macaque brain is a multimodal cortical region with directionally selective responses to visual and vestibular stimuli. To explore how these signals contribute to self-motion perception, neural activity in VIP was monitored while macaques performed a fine heading discrimination task based on vestibular, visual, or multisensory cues. For neurons with congruent visual and vestibular heading tuning, discrimination thresholds improved during multisensory stimulation, suggesting that VIP (like the medial superior temporal area; MSTd) may contribute to the improved perceptual discrimination seen during cue combination. Unlike MSTd, however, few VIP neurons showed opposite visual/vestibular tuning over the range of headings relevant to behavior, and those few cells showed reduced sensitivity under cue combination. Our data suggest that the heading tuning of some VIP neurons may be locally remodeled to increase the proportion of cells with congruent tuning over the behaviorally relevant stimulus range. VIP neurons also showed much stronger trial-by-trial correlations with perceptual decisions (choice probabilities; CPs) than MSTd neurons. While this may suggest that VIP neurons are more strongly linked to heading perception, we also find that correlated noise is much stronger among pairs of VIP neurons, with noise correlations averaging 0.14 in VIP as compared with 0.04 in MSTd. Thus, the large CPs in VIP could be a consequence of strong interneuronal correlations. Together, our findings suggest that VIP neurons show specializations that may make them well equipped to play a role in multisensory integration for heading perception.
A Structured Protocol Model of Depression Care versus Clinical Acumen: A Cluster Randomized Trial of the Effects on Depression Screening, Diagnostic Evaluation, and Treatment Uptake in Ugandan HIV Clinics

Depression is common among people living with HIV, and it has consequences for both HIV prevention and treatment response, yet depression treatment is rarely integrated into HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa, partly due to the paucity of mental health professionals. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial of two task-shifting models to facilitating depression care delivered by medical providers: one that utilized a structured protocol, and one that relied on clinical acumen, in 10 HIV clinics in Uganda. Both models started with routine depression screening of all clients at triage using the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), from which we enrolled 1252 clients (640 at structured protocol clinics, 612 at clinical acumen clinics) who had screened positive over 12 months. We compared the two models on (1) proportion of all client participants, and those clinically depressed (based on survey-administered 9-item PHQ-9>9), who received post-screening evaluation for depression using the PHQ-9; and (2) proportion of clinically depressed who were prescribed antidepressant therapy. Linear probability regression analyses were conducted using a wild cluster bootstrap to control for clustering; patient characteristics, clinic size and time fixed effects were included as covariates. Among all client participants, those in the structured protocol arm were far more likely to have received further evaluation by a medical provider using the PHQ-9 (84% vs. 49%; beta = .33; p = .01). Among the clinically depressed clients (n = 369), the advantage of the structured protocol model over clinical acumen was not statistically significant with regard to PHQ-9 depression evaluation (93% vs. 68%; beta = .21; p = .14) or prescription of antidepressants (69% vs. 58%; beta = .10; p = .50), in part because only 30% of clients who screened positive were clinically depressed. These findings reveal that in both models depression care practices were widely adopted by providers, and depression care reached most depressed clients. The structured protocol model is advantageous for ensuring that positively screened clients receive a depression evaluation, but the two models performed equally well in ensuring the treatment of depressed clients in the context of strong supervision support. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02056106
Influence of IQ in interpreting MMSE scores in patients with multiple sclerosis

ABSTRACT The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) were administered to 46 outpatients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). MMSE total raw score was significantly and positively correlated with all WAIS-IV indexes, even when controlling for the effects of participant educational level, with the strongest relationship being with Full Scale IQ. These results suggest that clinicians consider patient intellectual functioning, in particular Full Scale IQ, when diagnosing neurocognitive impairment based on screening with the MMSE in individuals with MS.
Screening for chronic hepatitis B and C in migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the former Soviet Republics, and Vietnam in the Arnhem region, The Netherlands

SUMMARY Migrants born in hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) endemic countries are at increased risk of being infected with these viruses. The first symptoms may arise when liver damage has already occurred. The challenge is to identify these infections early, since effective treatment has become available. In 2011 we conducted a screening project in first-generation migrants (FGMs) born in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the former Soviet Republics, and Vietnam and living in Arnhem and Rheden. All participants were offered free blood screening for HBV and HCV. In total 959 participants were tested, with the country of origin known for 927, equating to 28·7% of all registered FGMs from the chosen countries. Nineteen percent (n = 176) had serological signs of past or chronic HBV infection and 2·2% (n = 21) had chronic HBV infection. The highest prevalence of chronic HBV infection was found in the Vietnamese population (9·5%, n = 12). Chronic HCV was found in two persons from the former Soviet Republics and one from Vietnam. Twenty-four percent (n = 5) of the newly identified patients with chronic HBV and one of the three patients with chronic HCV received treatment. Three of the patients, two with HCV and one with HBV, already had liver cirrhosis. The highest (9·5%) HBV prevalence was found in FGMs from Vietnam, indicating a high need for focusing on that particular immigrant population in order to identify more people with silent HBV infection. The fact that three patients already had liver cirrhosis underlines the necessity of early identification of HBV and HCV infection in risk groups.
Outer Membrane Protein-Specific Monoclonal Antibodies Protect SCID Mice from Fatal Infection by the Obligate Intracellular Bacterial Pathogen Ehrlichia chaffeensis1

Previous studies of Ehrlichia chaffeensis infection in the mouse have demonstrated that passive transfer of polyclonal Abs from resistant immunocompetent mice to susceptible SCID mice ameliorated infection and disease, even when Abs were administered during established infection. To identify particular Abs that could mediate bacterial clearance in vivo, E. chaffeensis-specific mAbs were generated and administered to infected SCID mice. Bacterial infection in the livers was significantly lowered after administration of either of two Abs of different isotypes (IgG2a and IgG3). Moreover, repeated administration of one Ab (Ec56.5; IgG2a) rescued mice from an otherwise lethal infection for at least 5 wk. Both protective Abs recognized the E. chaffeensis major outer membrane protein (OMP)-1g. Further studies revealed that both Abs recognized closely related epitopes within the amino terminus of the first hypervariable region of OMP-1g. Analyses of human sera showed that E. chaffeensis-infected patients also generated serological responses to OMP-1g hypervariable region 1, indicating that humans and mice recognize identical or closely related epitopes. These studies demonstrate that OMP-specific mAbs can mediate bacterial elimination in SCID mice, and indicate that Abs, in the absence of cell-mediated immunity, can play a significant role in host defense during infection by this obligate intracellular bacterium.