Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Model-based analysis of subthreshold mechanisms of spinal cord stimulation for pain

Objective. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a common treatment for chronic pain. For decades, SCS maximized overlap between stimulation-induced paresthesias and the patient’s painful areas. Recently developed SCS paradigms relieve pain at sub-perceptible amplitudes, yet little is known about the neural response to these new waveforms or their analgesic mechanisms of action. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the neural response to multiple forms of paresthesia-free SCS. Approach. We used computational modeling to investigate the neurophysiological effects and the plausibility of commonly proposed mechanisms of three paresthesia-free SCS paradigms: burst, 1 kHz, and 10 kHz SCS. Specifically, in C- and Aβ-fibers, we investigated the effects of different SCS waveforms on spike timing and activation thresholds, as well as how stochastic ion channel gating affects the response of dorsal column axons. Finally, we characterized membrane polarization of superficial dorsal horn neurons. Main results. We found that none of the SCS waveforms activate nor modulate spike timing in C-fibers. Spike timing was modulated in Aβ-fibers only at suprathreshold amplitudes. Ion channel stochasticity had little effect on Aβ-fiber activation thresholds but produced heterogeneous spike timings at suprathreshold amplitudes. Finally, local cells were preferentially polarized in their axon terminals, and the magnitude of this polarization was dependent on cellular morphology and position relative to the stimulation electrodes. Significance. Overall, the mechanisms of action of subparesthetic SCS remain unclear. Our results suggest that no SCS waveforms directly activate C-fibers, and modulation of spike timing is unlikely at subthreshold amplitudes. We conclude that potential subthreshold neuromodulatory effects of SCS on local cells are likely to be presynaptic in nature, as axons are preferentially depolarized during SCS.
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Child care subsidies are an important part of federal and state efforts to move welfare recipients into employment. One of the criticisms of the current subsidy system, however, is that it overemphasizes work and does little to encourage parents to purchase high-quality child care. Consequently, there are reasons to be concerned about the implications of child care subsidies for child development. In this paper, we provide a systematic assessment of the impact of subsidy receipt on a wide range of child outcomes. Drawing on rich data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, we document a negative relationship between child care subsidies and child development. In particular, our results suggest that subsidy receipt in the year before kindergarten lowers reading and math test scores and increases a variety of behavior problems at kindergarten entry. Some of these negative effects persist to the end of kindergarten. A tentative explanation for the poorer outcomes is that subsidized children are more likely to receive intense exposure to low-quality child care. Chris M. Herbst School of Public Affairs, ASU, Mail Code 3720 411 N. Central Ave., Ste. 450 Phoenix, AZ 85004-0687 chris.herbst@asu.edu Erdal Tekin Department of Economics Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Georgia State University P.O. Box 3992 Atlanta, GA 30302-3992 and NBER tekin@gsu.edu
First evidence of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) outside of Hokkaido Island in Japan

ABSTRACT Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an infection of the central nervous system caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). TBE is endemic in parts of Europe and Asia. TBEV is transmitted to humans primarily by Ixodes ticks. There have been 5 TBE cases identified in Japan, all on the northern island of Hokkaido. Rodents with TBEV antibodies and Ixodes ticks have been identified throughout Japan, indicating that TBEV infection might be undiagnosed in Japan. Residual serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected in 2010–2021 from 520 patients ≥1 year-of-age previously hospitalized with encephalitis or meningitis of unknown etiology at 15 hospitals (including 13 hospitals outside of Hokkaido) were screened by ELISA for TBEV IgG and IgM antibodies; TBEV infection was confirmed by the gold standard neutralization test. Residual serum was available from 331 (63.6%) patients and CSF from 430 (82.6%) patients; both serum and CSF were available from 189 (36.3%). Two patients were TBE cases: a female aged 61 years hospitalized for 104 days in Oita (2000 km south of Hokkaido) and a male aged 24 years hospitalized for 11 days in Tokyo (1200 km south of Hokkaido). Retrospective testing also identified a previous TBEV infection in a female aged 45 years hospitalized for 12 days in Okayama (1700 km south of Hokkaido). TBEV infection should be considered as a potential cause of encephalitis or meningitis in Japan. TBE cases are likely undiagnosed in Japan, including outside of Hokkaido, due to limited clinical awareness and lack of availability of TBE diagnostic tests.
Radiological assessment of hip disease in children with cerebral palsy: development of a core measurement set

Aims Hip disease is common in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and can decrease quality of life and function. Surveillance programmes exist to improve outcomes by treating hip disease at an early stage using radiological surveillance. However, studies and surveillance programmes report different radiological outcomes, making it difficult to compare. We aimed to identify the most important radiological measurements and develop a core measurement set (CMS) for clinical practice, research, and surveillance programmes. Methods A systematic review identified a list of measurements previously used in studies reporting radiological hip outcomes in children with CP. These measurements informed a two-round Delphi study, conducted among orthopaedic surgeons and specialist physiotherapists. Participants rated each measurement on a nine-point Likert scale (‘not important’ to ‘critically important’). A consensus meeting was held to finalize the CMS. Results Overall, 14 distinct measurements were identified in the systematic review, with Reimer’s migration percentage being the most frequently reported. These measurements were presented over the two rounds of the Delphi process, along with two additional measurements that were suggested by participants. Ultimately, two measurements, Reimer’s migration percentage and femoral head-shaft angle, were included in the CMS. Conclusion This use of a minimum standardized set of measurements has the potential to encourage uniformity across hip surveillance programmes, and may streamline the development of tools, such as artificial intelligence systems to automate the analysis in surveillance programmes. This core set should be the minimum requirement in clinical studies, allowing clinicians to add to this as needed, which will facilitate comparisons to be drawn between studies and future meta-analyses. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2023;4(11):825–831.
Optimal treatment of tannic acid for the anti-calcification of bovine jugular veins and the underlying mechanism

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of combined treatment with tannic acid and ferric ions on the biomechanical and anti-calcification properties of glutaraldehyde-fixed bovine jugular veins after xenografting. Methods: Two-point bending test and uniaxial tensile test were used to evaluate the flexural and biomechanical properties; Subcutaneous implantation in rat and right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction of sheep were used to evaluate the anti-calcification effects; The performance of the graft in sheep models was evaluated every month after the surgery with echocardiography examination. Markers of macrophages, T lymphocytes, smooth muscle cell osteogenic differentiation and matrix metalloproteinases in sheep explants were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: The flexibility of the bovine jugular veins cotreated with ferric ions-tannic acid was improved while maintaining biomechanical properties and excellent anti-calcification effects. Echocardiography results showed that the grafts functioned well in the animals without stenosis or reflux of the valve. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the osteogenic differentiation marker (Runx2) was detected in calcified regions and colocalised with the SMC marker (α-SMA). Compared to the glutaraldehyde-treated samples, T-cell marker (CD3), matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9 expressions were reduced in the ferric ions-tannic acid treated group. Conclusion: Ferric ions-tannic acid treatment can give the conduits better flexibility with excellent biomechanical properties and anti-calcification effects, making it a promising bovine jugular veins processing method.
' s personal copy Tracing the trilobite tree from the root to the tips : A model marriage of fossils and phylogeny

Trilobites are a highly diverse group of extinct arthropods that persisted for nearly 300 million years. During that time, there was a profusion of morphological form, and they occupied a plethora of marine habitats. Their diversity, relative abundance, and complex morphology make them excellent candidates for phylogenetic analysis, and partly as a consequence they have been the subject of many cladistic studies. Although phylogenetic knowledge is certainly incomplete, our understanding of evolutionary patterns within the group has dramatically increased over the last 30 years. Moreover, trilobites have formed an important component of various studies of macroevolutionary processes. Here, we summarize the phylogenetic breadth of knowledge on the Trilobita, and present various hypotheses about phylogenetic patterns within the group, from the highest to the lowest taxonomic levels. Key topics we consider include the question of trilobite monophyly, the phylogenetic position of trilobites vis à vis extant arthropod groups, and interand intra-ordinal relationships. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Explorer Occurrence of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis across host species and European countries with evidence for transmission between wildlife and domestic ruminants

Background: Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) causes an infectious chronic enteritis (paratuberculosis or Johne's disease) principally of ruminants. The epidemiology of Map is poorly understood, particularly with respect to the role of wildlife reservoirs and the controversial issue of zoonotic potential (Crohn's disease). Genotypic discrimination of Map isolates is pivotal to descriptive epidemiology and resolving these issues. This study was undertaken to determine the genetic diversity of Map, enhance our understanding of the host range and distribution and assess the potential for interspecies transmission. Results: 164 Map isolates from seven European countries representing 19 different host species were genotyped by standardized IS900 restriction fragment length polymorphism (IS900-RFLP), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and mycobacterial interspersed repeat unit-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) analyses. Six PstI and 17 BstEII IS900-RFLP, 31 multiplex [SnaBI-SpeI] PFGE profiles and 23 MIRU-VNTR profiles were detected. AFLP gave insufficient discrimination of isolates for meaningful genetic analysis. Published: 7 October 2009 BMC Microbiology 2009, 9:212 doi:10.1186/1471-2180-9-212 Received: 20 April 2009 Accepted: 7 October 2009 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2180/9/212 © 2009 Stevenson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. BMC Microbiology 2009, 9:212 http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2180/9/212
Moving together: Effect of a 12-week online dance training intervention on static and dynamic postural stability and gait speed in older adults. A pre-post intervention study

Background Physical inactivity negatively affects gait performance and postural stability in older adults, which results in a higher risk of fall accidents. Previous research has shown that in-person dance training improves various aspects of balance and lower extremity function, however, the potential benefits of dance training delivered online on variables used for fall risk stratification in older adults have yet to be studied. Research question What are the effects of a 12-week online dance training intervention on static and dynamic postural stability and gait speed in older adults? Methods Forty-five older adults were included. The 12-week dance training intervention consisted of two weekly 60-min classes in improvisation and salsa delivered online through Zoom video calls. Static and dynamic postural stability was assessed using the center of pressure (CoP) area and velocity (force platform), and the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest), respectively. 10-m gait speed was measured using photo gates. Before and after comparisons were performed using paired sample t-tests. Results Thirty-two older adults completed the study. There were no significant changes for static postural stability assessed by CoP area or velocity (P[≥] 0.218). The Mini-BESTest total score was significantly improved at post-intervention (23.88 {+/-} 3.01) compared to baseline (22.56 {+/-} 1.41, P = 0.007). 10-m gait speed was significantly faster at post-intervention (1.68 {+/-} 0.25 m/s) compared to baseline (1.57 {+/-} 0.22 m/s, P < 0.001). Significance These results indicate that online dance training has limited effect on static postural stability but is beneficial for improvements in gait speed and in particular dynamic postural control among older adults. While the absolute increase in gait speed observed in the present study suggests limited clinical relevance, the improvement in Mini-BESTest score was above the minimal clinically important difference, which suggests a clinically relevant enhancement of dynamic postural control.
Phosphate minerals in granitic pegmatites from the Mount Wills District, north-eastern Victoria

Tin- and tantalum-bearing LCT-type granitic pegmatites occur in a 45 km long belt between Eskdale and Mount Wills in north-eastern Victoria. Near Mount Wills, several compositionally zoned rare-element pegmatites contain complex assemblages of primary and secondary phosphate minerals, many of which are rare and previously unrecorded in Victoria. The phosphate assemblages can be divided into Al-rich and Fe–Mn-rich suites, in addition to ubiquitous fluorapatite. The Al-rich phosphate suite includes montebrasite, scorzalite, bertossaite and brazilianite. The Fe‒Mn phosphate suite includes heterosite, phosphoferrite, wolfeite, alluaudite (sp.), arrojadite (sp.) and jahnsite (sp.), derived from the metasomatic alteration of primary triplite. Further hydrothermal alteration of this assemblage has resulted in a secondary suite of strengite, rockbridgeite, phosphosiderite, whiteite, jahnsite and whitmoreite forming in etch cavities and fractures. A Late Silurian age of 420±4 Ma was obtained from one of the dykes via CHIME radiometric dating of monazite, suggesting a similar age for the adjacent Mount Wills Granite, which has not been reliably dated. This highly fractionated, peraluminous granite is presumed to be the source of the rare-element pegmatites based on their close spatial relationship.
Neurophysiology of Tactile Perception : A Tribute to Steven Hsiao Reduced GABAergic inhibition and abnormal sensory symptoms in children with Tourette syndrome

Nicolaas A. J. Puts, Ashley D. Harris, Deana Crocetti, Carrie Nettles, Harvey S. Singer, Mark Tommerdahl, Richard A. E. Edden, and Stewart H. Mostofsky Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; F. M. Kirby Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland; Center for Neurodevelopment and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; and Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Neurophysiology of Tactile Perception : A Tribute to Steven Hsiao Feeling form : the neural basis of haptic shape perception

Yau JM, Kim SS, Thakur PH, Bensmaia SJ. Feeling form: the neural basis of haptic shape perception. J Neurophysiol 115: 631–642, 2016. First published November 18, 2015; doi:10.1152/jn.00598. 2015. —The tactile perception of the shape of objects critically guides our ability to interact with them. In this review, we describe how shape information is processed as it ascends the somatosensory neuraxis of primates. At the somatosensory periphery, spatial form is represented in the spatial patterns of activation evoked across populations of mechanoreceptive afferents. In the cerebral cortex, neurons respond selectively to particular spatial features, like orientation and curvature. While feature selectivity of neurons in the earlier processing stages can be understood in terms of linear receptive field models, higher order somatosensory neurons exhibit nonlinear response properties that result in tuning for more complex geometrical features. In fact, tactile shape processing bears remarkable analogies to its visual counterpart and the two may rely on shared neural circuitry. Furthermore, one of the unique aspects of primate somatosensation is that it contains a deformable sensory sheet. Because the relative positions of cutaneous mechanoreceptors depend on the conformation of the hand, the haptic perception of three-dimensional objects requires the integration of cutaneous and proprioceptive signals, an integration that is observed throughout somatosensory cortex.
R&D and Aggregate Fluctuations ∗

Empirical observations raise interesting questions regarding the sources of the excessive volatility in the R&D sector as well as the nature of the relation between the sector and aggregate ﬂuctuations. Using US data for the period 1959-2007, we identify sectoral technology and capital investment-speciﬁc shocks by employing a Vector Autoregression. The identifying assumptions are motivated by a two-sector dynamic general equilibrium model. Controlling for real and nominal factors, we ﬁnd that capital investment-speciﬁc shocks explain 70 percent of ﬂuctuations of R&D investment, while R&D technology shocks explain 30 percent of the variation of aggregate output, net of R&D investment. Technology shocks jointly explain almost all the variation of output in the R&D sector and 78 percent of the variation of output in the rest of the economy. They also constitute the main factor of the procyclicality of R&D investment.
HYDROFRACTURING PRESSURE OF COHESIVE SOILS

ABSTRACT Investigated is the relation between the hydrofracturing pressure Pf and the strength of cohesive soils. Fracture tests on six kinds of cohesive soils (i. e. ϕ = 0 materials), including artificial soils, were performed. The direction of fracture surface was chosen not only vertical (i. e. parallel to the borehole) but also horizontal and inclined. The result is the following equation in terms of total stress. Pf = σmin + qu σmin: the minimum principal stress, qu: the unconfined compression strength The shear failure—rather than the tensile failure—near the borehole initiates the hydrofracture of cohesive soils. This fracture mechanism seems to be reasonable, especially in case of the horizontal or inclined fracture. The viscosity of liquid in the borehole, the sample size and the pre-existent crack around the borehole have little influence on the fracturing pressure as far as the pressurizing rate is high enough to prevent the liquid to penetrate into the wedge.
Evaluating the effects of moonlight on the vertical flight profiles of three western palaearctic swifts

Recent studies have suggested the presence of moonlight mediated behaviour in avian aerial insectivores, such as swifts. Here, we use the combined analysis of state-of-the-art activity logger data across three swift species, the common, pallid and alpine swifts, to quantify flight height and activity in responses to moonlight-driven crepuscular and nocturnal light conditions. Our results show a significant response in flight heights to moonlight illuminance for common and pallid swifts, i.e. when moon illuminance increased flight height also increased, while a moonlight-driven response is absent in alpine swifts. We show a weak relationship between night-time illuminance-driven responses and twilight ascending behaviour, suggesting a decoupling of both crepuscular and night-time behaviour. We suggest that swifts optimize their flight behaviour to adapt to favourable night-time light conditions, driven by light-responsive and size-dependent vertical insect stratification and weather conditions.
The effectiveness of home-based therapeutic exercises on adults with fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based exercises (HBE) in alleviating pain, fatigue, depression, and anxiety and enhancing the quality of life (QOL) among adults with fibromyalgia. A comprehensive search was conducted across four databases PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL (EBSCO), and PEDro to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Standardized mean differences (SMDs) at a 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed. Ten RCTs met the inclusion criteria, involving 601 participants, with a good-to-fair quality according to the PEDro scale. Of the 10 included studies, 3 compared HBE to no exercise, while 7 compared HBE to center-based exercises (CBE). HBE showed significant pain reduction (SMD = 0.775, P = 0.003) and improved QOL as measured by the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ) (SMD = 0.621, P = 0.001) compared with no exercise, but there were no significant differences in depression and QOL as measured by SF-36 compared with CBE. In contrast, CBE demonstrated greater pain reduction (SMD = −1.325, P < 0.001) and improved FIQ scores (SMD = −0.843, P = 0.017) compared with HBE. In conclusion, HBE exhibit effectiveness in alleviating pain, and depression and enhancing QOL among fibromyalgia patients in comparison to no exercise. However, CBE are more effective in reducing pain and enhancing QOL than HBE, although HBE can be valuable for maintaining activity levels in fibromyalgia patients between treatment cycles.