Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Short‐term and long‐term plasticity interaction in human primary motor cortex

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over primary motor cortex (M1) elicits changes in motor evoked potential (MEP) size thought to reflect short‐ and long‐term forms of synaptic plasticity, resembling short‐term potentiation (STP) and long‐term potentiation/depression (LTP/LTD) observed in animal experiments. We designed this study in healthy humans to investigate whether STP as elicited by 5‐Hz rTMS interferes with LTP/LTD‐like plasticity induced by intermittent and continuous theta‐burst stimulation (iTBS and cTBS). The effects induced by 5‐Hz rTMS and iTBS/cTBS were indexed as changes in MEP size. We separately evaluated changes induced by 5‐Hz rTMS, iTBS and cTBS applied alone and those induced by iTBS and cTBS delivered after priming 5‐Hz rTMS. Interactions between 5‐Hz rTMS and iTBS/cTBS were investigated under several experimental conditions by delivering 5‐Hz rTMS at suprathreshold and subthreshold intensity, allowing 1 and 5 min intervals to elapse between 5‐Hz rTMS and TBS, and delivering one and ten 5‐Hz rTMS trains. We also investigated whether 5‐Hz rTMS induces changes in intracortical excitability tested with paired‐pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation. When given alone, 5‐Hz rTMS induced short‐lasting and iTBS/cTBS induced long‐lasting changes in MEP amplitudes. When M1 was primed with 10 suprathreshold 5‐Hz rTMS trains at 1 min before iTBS or cTBS, the iTBS/cTBS‐induced after‐effects disappeared. The 5‐Hz rTMS left intracortical excitability unchanged. We suggest that STP elicited by suprathreshold 5‐Hz rTMS abolishes iTBS/cTBS‐induced LTP/LTD‐like plasticity through non‐homeostatic metaplasticity mechanisms. Our study provides new information on interactions between short‐term and long‐term rTMS‐induced plasticity in human M1.
Prognostic value of anti-Epstein-Barr virus antibodies in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

INTRODUCTION Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human herpes virus with worldwide infection. It is associated with Burkitt's lymphoma in Africa and nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) in Asian countries. EBV-coded DNA was found to be present in epithelial elements of NPC, and is usually associated with non-keratinizing (WHO type II) or undifferentiated carcinoma (WHO type III). Transcriptional analyses of EBV genome expression in NPC demonstrate an activated viral state in some of these tumors, leading to elevated levels of serum anti-viral capsid antigen (VCA) antibody in NPC patients. METHODS Eighty patients with histological diagnoses of NPC according to the 1978 WHO classification were referred to the Department of Radiation Oncology at Chang-Hua Christian Hospital for curative radiotherapy from 1985 to 1995. The patients were staged according to the AJCC staging system. A mean dose of 7,020 cGy in 39 fractions was delivered to the primary tumor using a telecobalt-60 unit or 6-10 MV X-ray linear accelerator. Pre- and postradiotherapy serum levels of anti-EBV/VCA IgG and IgA were determined for all patients using the indirect immunoperoxidase assay (IPA). Multivariate analysis was done to determine which factors affected the patients' treatment outcome and survival. RESULTS Five patients were excluded from this study due to incomplete radiotherapy, leaving 75 patients eligible for analysis. Overall local control was 77.3%, with a mean disease-free interval of 19.7 months. Factors affecting local control included radiation dose and pretreatment anti-EBV/VCA IgG titer. The overall 5-year actuarial survival for the 75 patients was 75%, with a median survival of 129.5 months. The 5-year actuarial survival rates for stage I + II, III, and IV patients were 90%, 40%, and 45%, respectively. Prognostic factors for survival included tumor histological type and pretreatment anti-EBV/VCA IgA titer, while prognostic factors for local control included total radiation dose received and pretreatment anti-EBV/VCA IgG titer. CONCLUSION We found that there was a significant difference in the geometric mean titer of anti-EBV/VCA IgA antibodies before and after radiotherapy. Prognostic factors affecting NPC patients' actuarial survival included tumor histology and pretreatment IgA titer, while prognostic factors for local control of NPC included total radiation dose received and pretreatment IgG titer.
Transparent, High‐Performance Thin‐Film Transistors with an InGaZnO/Aligned‐SnO2‐Nanowire Composite and their Application in Photodetectors

A high mobility of 109.0 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) is obtained by thin-film transistors (TFTs) comprising a composite made by aligning SnO2 nanowires (NWs) in amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin films. This composite TFT reaches an on-current density of 61.4 μA μm(-1) with a 10 μm channel length. Its performance surpasses that of single-crystalline InGaZnO and is comparable with that of polycrystalline silicon.
Learning Non-taxonomic Relationships of Financial Ontology

Finance ontology is, in most cases, manually addressed. This results in a tedious development process and error prone that delay their applicability. This is why there is a need of domain ontology learning methods that built the ontology automatically and without human intervention. However, in this learning process, the discovery of non-taxonomic relationships has been recognized as one of the most difficult problems. In this paper, we propose a new methodology for learning non-taxonomic relationships and building financial ontology from scratch. Our new technique is based on using and adapting Open Information Extraction algorithms to extract and label domain relations between concepts. To evaluate our new method effectiveness, we compare the extracted non-taxonomic relations of our algorithm with related works in the same finance corpus. The results showed that our system is more accurate and more effective.
Simultaneous H∞ Control for Nonlinear Systems

This note develops a novel method for designing simultaneous H infin state feedback controllers for a collection of single-input nonlinear systems. Based on the Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov Lemma, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of simultaneous H infin controllers are derived by the control storage function approach. A universal formula for constructing continuous, time-invariant, simultaneous H infin state feedback controllers is presented.
Prospective Electrophysiologic Findings of Round Window Stimulation in a Model of Experimentally Induced Stapes Fixation

Hypothesis: Mechanical stimulation of the round window (RW) with an active middle ear implant (AMEI) with and without experimentally induced stapes fixation (SF) results in equivalent electrophysiologic measures of cochlear microphonic (CM), compound action potential (CAP), and auditory brainstem response (ABR). Background: Where normal oval window functionality is mitigated, the RW provides a pathway to mechanically stimulate the inner ear. Methods: Measurements of the CM, CAP, and ABR were made in 5 ears of 4 chinchillas with acoustic stimulation and with application of the AMEI to the RW with and without experimentally induced SF using pure-tone stimuli (0.25-20 kHz) presented at differing intensities (−20 to 80 dB SPL vs. 0.01 mV to 3.16 V). Results: Morphologies of the CM, CAP, and ABR were similar between acoustic and RW stimulation with and without SF. Stapes fixation increased CM thresholds relative to RW stimulation without fixation by a frequency-dependent 4- to 13-dB mV (mean, 7.9 ± 3.2 dB mV). Although the thresholds changed with SF, CM sensitivities and amplitude dynamic range were identical to normal. The CAP in all conditions demonstrated equivalent decreasing amplitudes and increasing latency with decreasing intensity (decibel sound pressure level versus decibel millivolt). Stapes fixation increased the CAP thresholds at all frequencies, ranging from 9 to 24 dB mV (mean, 17.7 ± 4.9 dB mV). Auditory brainstem response waveforms were preserved across experimental conditions. Conclusion: Mechanical stimulation of the RW in an animal model of SF generates functionally similar inputs to the cochlea as normal acoustic and RW mechanical inputs but with increased thresholds. With further study, AMEIs may provide a surgical option for correction of otosclerosis and ossicular chain disruption.
Comparison of Tumor Uptake Heterogeneity Characterization Between Static and Parametric 18F-FDG PET Images in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

18F-FDG PET is well established in the field of oncology for diagnosis and staging purposes and is increasingly being used to assess therapeutic response and prognosis. Many quantitative indices can be used to characterize tumors on 18F-FDG PET images, such as SUVmax, metabolically active tumor volume (MATV), total lesion glycolysis, and, more recently, the proposed intratumor uptake heterogeneity features. Although most PET data considered within this context concern the analysis of activity distribution using images obtained from a single static acquisition, parametric images generated from dynamic acquisitions and reflecting radiotracer kinetics may provide additional information. The purpose of this study was to quantify differences between volumetry, uptake, and heterogeneity features extracted from static and parametric PET images of non–small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in order to provide insight on the potential added value of parametric images. Methods: Dynamic 18F-FDG PET/CT was performed on 20 therapy-naive NSCLC patients for whom primary surgical resection was planned. Both static and parametric PET images were analyzed, with quantitative parameters (MATV, SUVmax, SUVmean, heterogeneity) being extracted from the segmented tumors. Differences were investigated using Spearman rank correlation and Bland–Altman analysis. Results: MATV was slightly smaller on static images (−2% ± 7%), but the difference was not significant (P = 0.14). All derived parameters, including those characterizing tumor functional heterogeneity, correlated strongly between static and parametric images (r = 0.70–0.98, P ≤ 0.0006), exhibiting differences of less than ±25%. Conclusion: In NSCLC primary tumors, parametric and static baseline 18F-FDG PET images provided strongly correlated quantitative features for both standard (MATV, SUVmax, SUVmean) and heterogeneity quantification. Consequently, heterogeneity quantification on parametric images does not seem to provide significant complementary information compared with static SUV images.
Surface exposure of outer membrane protein and lipopolysaccharide epitopes in Brucella species studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry

Seven surface-exposed outer membrane proteins (OMPs) in Brucella supp. have been previously described (A. Cloeckaert, P. de Wergifosse, G. Dubray, and J. N. Limet, Infect. Immun. 58:3980-3987, 1990). OMPs were shown to be more accessible to monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) on rough (R) Brucella melitensis and B. abortus strains than to MAbs on their smooth (S) counterparts. In this work, we have extended this study to representatives of the main Brucella species, using MAbs specific for OMPs and S and R lipopolysaccharides (S-LPS and R-LPS). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), flow cytometry, and immunoelectron microscopy showed important differences between strains in the binding of OMP- and R-LPS-specific MAbs which were in part related to the particular expression of S-LPS, irrespective of the species. Results indicated that both the amount and the length of O polysaccharide on S-LPS greatly influenced the accessibility of OMP and R-LPS epitopes to MAbs. S-R B. melitensis EP and S B. suis 40, for instance, which express O-polysaccharide chains in small amounts and with short mean length, respectively, bound a greater number of OMP- and R-LPS-specific MAbs than the other S Brucella strains. The major 31- to 34-kDa OMP was the most exposed OMP on S strains of B. melitensis and B. suis. In most cases, flow cytometry results agreed with those of ELISA and supplied additional data, such as the homogeneity or heterogeneity of OMP expression at the strain level. However, there were some discordances between flow cytometry and ELISA results concerning the surface exposure of the 25- to 27-kDa and 31- to 34-kDa OMPs on S strains and that of minor OMPs in vaccine strain B. melitensis Rev.1. Immunoelectron microscopy confirmed the poor accessibility of OMPs to MAbs on the surface of S Brucella strains. The naturally R pathogenic species B. ovis and B. canis bound the majority of OMP-specific MAbs as well as the R-LPS-specific MAbs. Therefore, the conserved OMP and R-LPS epitopes could play a role as targets of protective antibody-mediated immunity in infections caused by naturally R B. ovis and B. canis.
Aesthetics on the web: effects on approach and avoidance behaviour

This paper describes an experimental investigation that tested the impact of the aesthetic impression on approach and avoidance behaviour by measuring relevant behavioural variables while interacting with websites. These variables included dwell time, number of retrieved web pages and reading time proportion. This approach extends previous research that primarily used surveys as the data collection method. Two levels of experiencing aesthetics were integrated into the research set-up: the first measures the reflective aesthetic appreciation and the second captures the immediate affective visual impression, the latter being operationalised through an affective priming experiment. Seventy participants took part in the main experiment and explored 10 real stimulus websites. Results showed that participants stayed significantly longer, retrieved more web pages and spent more time reading on websites that they preferred in their aesthetic impression. Aesthetics on the web are thus revealed to be of behavioural relevance. Effect sizes indicate only small to medium effects though. No statement is possible concerning the respective share of the two levels of aesthetic processing in this effect, because the study did not successfully delineate the effectiveness of affective and reflective aesthetic experiences in the course of exploration.
Cellularity and enzymatic activity of adipose tissue in the Karagouniko dairy breed of sheep from birth to maturity.

SUMMARY The cellular and enzymatic characteristics of dissected subcutaneous and perirenal adipose tissues were examined in a total of 102 male and female animals from commerical flocks of the Karagouniko dairy sheep. The animals were slaughtered in groups of three males and three females at 45-day intervals from birth to 720 days of age. The following determinations were made on each animal: (1) subcutaneous and perirenal chemical fat, (2) fat cell size and number and (3) the activities of NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase in subcutaneous and perirenal adipose tissues. Subcutaneous adipose tissue expanded by a combination of fat cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia during the accelerating phase of the growth curve of chemical fat, after which the fat expansion was accomplished primarily by hyperplasia. The changes in perirenal chemical fat weight with increasing age were primarily due to hypertrophy of fat cells during the accelerating phase of the curve of chemical fat growth and due to a combination of hypertrophy and hyperplasia during the diminishing phase of the curve. The enzyme activities were higher in subcutaneous than in perirenal adipose tissue, with the NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase being the most active enzyme in both tissues and sexes. The changes in enzyme activities in subcutaneous adipose tissue with increasing age were parallel to the changes in the rate of chemical fat weight during growth. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Zellularitaet und enzymatische Aktivitaet des Fettgewebes beim Karagouniko Milchschaf von der Geburt bis zur Reife. Es wurden die Anzahl und die Groesse der Fettzellen sowie die Aktivitaeten der NADP-Isocitrat-Dehydrogenase und der 6-Phosphogluconat Dehydrogenase in subcutanen und perirenalen Fettgewebe des Schafes waehrend des Wachstums undersucht. Das Tiermaterial bestand aus 51 maennlichen und 51 weiblichen Schafen der Karogouniko Milchrasse. Die Schafe wurden in Gruppen bestehend aus 3 maennlichen und 3 weiblichen Tieren in 45-taegigen Abstaenden von der Geburt bis zum Alter von 720 Tagen geschlachtet. Es wurden die folgenden Merkmale erfasst: Chemisches Fett, Anzahl and Groesse der Fettzellen, Aktivitaeten der gennanten Enzyme. Das subcutane Fettgewebe wuchs durch eine Kombination von Hypertrophie und Hyperplasia waehrend der beschleunigten Phase der Wachstumskurve fuer das chemische Fett. Nach dieser Wachstumsphase, das weitere Wachstum des subcutanen Fettgewebes kam vorwiegend durch Hyperplasia der Fettzellen zustande. Das perirenale Fettgewebe wuchs zunaechst durch Hypertrophie der Fettzellen und anschliessend durch eine Kombinationn von Hypertrophie und Hyperplasia. Die Aktivitaet der NADP-Isocitrat-Dehydrogenase war hoeher als die Aktivitaet der 6-Phosphogluconat-Dehydronase in beiden Geweben und Geschlechtern waehrend der gesamten Versuchsdauer. Die Aenderungen der Enzymaktivitaet waehrend des Wachstums stimmten gut ueberein mit den entsprechenden Aenderungen der taeglichen Wachstumstrate der subcutanen Fettgewebes.
An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis from fresh-pressed apple cider.

BACKGROUND Recent waterborne outbreaks have established Cryptosporidium as an emerging enteric pathogen, but foodborne transmission has rarely been reported. In October 1993, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis occurred among students and staff attending a 1-day school agricultural fair in central Maine. DESIGN Environmental/laboratory investigation and cohort study. PARTICIPANTS Attendees of the fair and their household members. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Clinical or laboratory-confirmed cryptosporidiosis. Clinical cryptosporidiosis was defined as 3 days of either diarrhea (three loose stools in a 24-hour period) or vomiting. RESULTS Surveys were completed for 611 (81%) of the estimated 759 fair attendees. Among attendees who completed the survey, there were 160 (26%) primary cases. Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in the stools of 50 (89%) of 56 primary and secondary case patients tested. The median incubation period was 6 days (range, 10 hours to 13 days); the median duration of illness was 6 days (range, 1 to 16 days). Eighty-four percent of primary case patients had diarrhea and 82% had vomiting. Persons drinking apple cider that was hand pressed in the afternoon were at increased risk for cryptosporidiosis (154 [54%] of 284 exposed vs six [2%] of 292 unexposed; relative risk, 26; 95% confidence interval, 12 to 59). Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in the apple cider, on the cider press, and in the stool specimen of a calf on the farm that supplied the apples. The secondary household transmission rate was 15% (53/353). CONCLUSIONS This is the first large cryptosporidiosis outbreak in which foodborne transmission has been documented. It underscores the need for agricultural producers to take measures to avoid contamination of foodstuffs with infectious agents common to the farm environment.
The Theorodokoi of the Nemean Games

Tr HE FOLLOWING is a presentation of an inscribed stele discovered at Nemea where it had been thrown down a well in the second half of the 3rd century B.C. 1 The stone is a gray-white, fine-crystal marble with veins of gray running vertically through the stele, which is broken across the top but otherwise in a good state of preservation. The back is very roughly picked, although the edges are partially trimmed, and the sides are worked down with a toothed chisel except for a smooth vertical strip ca. 0.01 m. wide along the front edges. Across the bottom of the front surface is a roughly picked band, 0.06-0.07 m. wide, which was originally for the insertion of the stele into its base (P1. 45). The remainder of the front surface was dressed with a toothed chisel and then polished smooth before inscribing, as can be noted near the bottom of the stele where the polishing was less than completely done. The surface also displays several pock marks, most notably in the lower right corner as if from a deliberate striking of the surface with a pointed hammer or pick, perhaps from the time when the stele was broken and thrown down the well. The text is arranged in two vertical columns within which are headings for place names. These are followed in each case by one or more indented lines for personal names. Two or three different hands have been at work in the inscribing of the preserved text (see below, pp. 149-150). The first and original of these always indents the personal names one to one and one-half letters from the line of the place names. The second hand is more erratic, placing the indentations from one-half to one and one-half letter spaces to the right of his place names.
Evaluation of Etest Method for Determining Caspofungin (MK-0991) Susceptibilities of 726 Clinical Isolates of CandidaSpecies

ABSTRACT The performance of the Etest for testing the susceptibilities to caspofungin (MK-0991) of 726 isolates of Candida spp. was assessed against the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) microdilution broth method. The NCCLS method employed RPMI 1640 broth medium, and MICs were read after incubation for 48 h at 35°C. MICs were determined by Etest for all 726 isolates with RPMI agar containing 2% glucose (RPG) and were read after incubation for 48 h at 35°C. The Candida isolates includedCandida albicans (n = 486), Candida glabrata (n = 96), Candida tropicalis (n = 51), Candida parapsilosis (n = 47), Candida krusei (n = 11), Candida lusitaniae(n = 2), and Candida guilliermondii(n = 33). In addition, a subset of 314 isolates were also tested by Etest using Casitone agar (CAS) and antibiotic medium 3 agar (AM3). The Etest results obtained using RPG correlated well with reference MICs. Overall agreement was 94% with RPG, 82% with CAS, and 79% with AM3. When RPG was used, agreement ranged from 79% forC. parapsilosis to 100% for C. krusei,C. lusitaniae, and C. guilliermondii. When CAS was used, agreement ranged from 0% for C. lusitaniae to 100% for C. glabrata. With AM3, agreement ranged from 0% for C. lusitaniae to 100% for C. guilliermondii. All three media supported growth of each of theCandida species. Etest results were easy to read, with sharp zones of inhibition. In most instances (75%) where a discrepancy was observed between the Etest and the reference method, the Etest MIC was lower. The Etest method using RPG appears to be useful for determining caspofungin susceptibilities of Candidaspecies.
New Probiotic Culture of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis: Effective Opportunities and Prospects

We have isolated several new strains of lactococci from raw milk of Buryatia region of Russia near Lake Baikal with wide variety of climatic and ecological niches. Physiological and biochemical features of new strains were studied and compared to the nisin-producing strain Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis MSU. According to morphological, cultural, physiological, biochemical properties and gene sequence of 16S rRNA a novel most effective strain 194 was identified as Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis (GenBank database DQ 255954), which has status “GRAS” (absolutely harmless for human health and animals). The strain 194 had inhibitory activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria and also on fungi of genera Aspergillus, Fusarium and Candida. This is unique biological property for natural strains of Lactococcus lactis specie. We also studied the probiotic properties of strain as resistance to HCl and bile acids, sensitivity to antibiotics and show the therapeutic effect of strain as a food additive on model mice CBRB-Rb (8,17) 1Iem chronic dermatitis.