Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
1H-MRS in spinal cord injury: acute and chronic metabolite alterations in rat brain and lumbar spinal cord

A variety of tests of sensorimotor function are used to characterize outcome after experimental spinal cord injury (SCI). These tests typically do not provide information about chemical and metabolic processes in the injured CNS. Here, we used 1H‐magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to monitor long‐term and short‐term chemical changes in the CNS in vivo following SCI. The investigated areas were cortex, thalamus/striatum and the spinal cord distal to injury. In cortex, glutamate (Glu) decreased 1 day after SCI and slowly returned towards normal levels. The combined glutamine (Gln) and Glu signal was similarly decreased in cortex, but increased in the distal spinal cord, suggesting opposite changes of the Glu/Gln metabolites in cortex and distal spinal cord. In lumbar spinal cord, a marked increase of myo‐inositol was found 3 days, 14 days and 4 months after SCI. Changes in metabolite concentrations in the spinal cord were also found for choline and N‐acetylaspartate. No significant changes in metabolite concentrations were found in thalamus/striatum. Multivariate data analysis allowed separation between rats with SCI and controls for spectra acquired in cortex and spinal cord, but not in thalamus/striatum. Our findings suggest MRS could become a helpful tool to monitor spatial and temporal alterations of metabolic conditions in vivo in the brain and spinal cord after SCI. We provide evidence for dynamic temporal changes at both ends of the neuraxis, cortex cerebri and distal spinal cord, while deep brain areas appear less affected.
Physicians Treating Physicians: Information and Incentives in Childbirth

This paper provides new evidence on the interaction between patient information and financial incentives in physician induced demand (PID). Using rich microdata on childbirth, we compare the treatment of physicians when they are patients with that of comparable non-physicians. We exploit a unique institutional feature of California to determine how inducement varies with obstetricians' financial incentives. Consistent with PID, physicians are almost 10 percent less likely to receive a C-section, with only a quarter of this effect attributable to differential sorting of patients to hospitals or obstetricians. Financial incentives have a large effect on C-section probabilities for non-physicians, but physician-patients are relatively unaffected. Physicians also have better health outcomes, suggesting overuse of C-sections adversely impacts patient health.
Genes Identified by Visible Mutant Phenotypes Show Increased Bias toward One of Two Subgenomes of Maize

Not all genes are created equal. Despite being supported by sequence conservation and expression data, knockout homozygotes of many genes show no visible effects, at least under laboratory conditions. We have identified a set of maize (Zea mays L.) genes which have been the subject of a disproportionate share of publications recorded at MaizeGDB. We manually anchored these “classical” maize genes to gene models in the B73 reference genome, and identified syntenic orthologs in other grass genomes. In addition to proofing the most recent version 2 maize gene models, we show that a subset of these genes, those that were identified by morphological phenotype prior to cloning, are retained at syntenic locations throughout the grasses at much higher levels than the average expressed maize gene, and are preferentially found on the maize1 subgenome even with a duplicate copy is still retained on the opposite subgenome. Maize1 is the subgenome that experienced less gene loss following the whole genome duplication in maize lineage 5–12 million years ago and genes located on this subgenome tend to be expressed at higher levels in modern maize. Links to the web based software that supported our syntenic analyses in the grasses should empower further research and support teaching involving the history of maize genetic research. Our findings exemplify the concept of “grasses as a single genetic system,” where what is learned in one grass may be applied to another.
Development and validation of a multiplex TaqMan real-time PCR for rapid detection of genes encoding four types of class D carbapenemase in Acinetobacter baumannii.

A multiplex TaqMan real-time PCR to detect carbapenem-hydrolysing class D β-lactamases (bla(OXA-23)-like, bla(OXA-24/40)-like, bla(OXA-51)-like and bla(OXA-58)-like genes) was developed and evaluated for early detection of imipenem (IMP) resistance in clinically significant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates. Well-characterized strains of A. baumannii were used as positive controls and non-Acinetobacter strains were used to assess specificity. Analytical sensitivity was quantified by comparison with the number of bacterial c.f. u. Forty of 46 (87 %) clinically significant and IMP-resistant A. baumannii isolates were positive for the bla(OXA-23)-like gene, and one isolate (2 %) was positive for the bla(OXA-58)-like gene. The bla(OXA-24/40)-like gene was not detected in any of the 46 IMP-resistant strains and the bla(OXA-51)-like gene was identified in both IMP-resistant and non-resistant A. baumannii. All 11 non-Acinetobacter bacteria produced a negative result for each of the four bla(OXA) genes. This assay was able to detect as few as 10 c.f. u. per assay. This real-time PCR method demonstrated rapid detection of OXA-like carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii in comparison with phenotypic susceptibility testing methodology. This method could be adapted to a multiplexed single reaction for rapid detection of genes associated with carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii and potentially other clinically significant multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.
Improved Arterial Visualization in Cerebral CT Perfusion–Derived Arteriograms Compared with Standard CT Angiography: A Visual Assessment Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Invasive cerebral DSA has largely been replaced by CTA, which is noninvasive but has a compromised arterial view due to superimposed bone and veins. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether arterial visualization in CTPa is superior to standard CTA, which would eliminate the need for an additional CTA scan to assess arterial diseases and therefore reduce radiation dose. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we included 24 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage for whom CTA and CTP were available. Arterial quality and presence of superimposed veins and bone in CTPa were compared with CTA and scored by 2 radiologists by using a VAS (0%–100%). Average VAS scores were determined and VAS scores per patient were converted to a 10-point NRS. Arterial visualization was considered to be improved when the highest rate (NRS 10, VAS > 90%) was scored for arterial quality, and the lowest rate (NRS 1, VAS < 10%), for the presence of superimposed veins and bone. A sign test with continuity correction was used to test whether the number of cases with these rates was significant. RESULTS: Average VAS scores in the proximal area were 94% (arterial quality), 4% (presence of bone), and 7% (presence of veins). In this area, the sign test showed that a significant number of cases scored NRS 10 for arterial quality (P < .02) and NRS 1 for the presence of superimposed veins and bone (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Cerebral CTPa shows improved arterial visualization in the proximal area compared with CTA, with similar arterial quality but no superimposed bone and veins.
Performance of a Helicon Hall Thruster Operating with Xenon, Argon, and Nitrogen

The helicon Hall thruster is a two-stage thruster that was developed to investigate whether a radio frequency ionization stage can improve the overall efficiency of a Hall thruster operating at high thrust and low specific impulse. This paper describes an experiment that measured the single-stage and two-stage performance of the helicon Hall thruster operating at 10–25 mg/s anode mass flow rates of xenon at 100–200 V discharge voltages, and also for 6 mg/s of argon at 300 V, and 2.6 mg/s of nitrogen at 200 V. The helicon Hall thruster performance during operation with argon and nitrogen is characterized by low beam divergence efficiency and low propellant utilization efficiency. During two-stage operation, the thrust of the helicon Hall thruster marginally increased with radio frequency power, but the propulsive efficiency and thrust-to-power both decreased with increasing radio frequency power. Probe diagnostics suggest that gains were realized by a slight increase in propellant efficiency, but that t.
Providing Resource Oriented Security Solution for Heterogeneous Clustered Sensor Networks

Heterogeneous clustered sensor networks (HCSNs) help meet the cost, lifetime, and scalability requirements of real applications. However, the security solution should be reconsidered for their unique properties, such as uneven resources and in-network processing. In this paper, we provide a resource oriented security solution (ROSS) to protect the network connectivity of HCSNs. ROSS is a robust security solution that is embedded into network layer operations, resulting in in-depth defense against attacks from both external attackers and compromised nodes. Through security analysis and performance simulation, we demonstrate that ROSS not only achieves the predefined security goals, but also allows a tradeoff between security and performance cost
One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Magnetite Prussian Blue Nano-Composites and Their Application to Fabricate Glucose Biosensor

In this work, we presented a simple method to synthesize magnetite Prussian blue nano-composites (Fe3O4-PB) through one-pot hydrothermal process. Subsequently, the obtained nano-composites were used to fabricate a facile and effective glucose biosensor. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis absorbance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The resultant Fe3O4-PB nanocomposites have magnetic properties which could easily controlled by an external magnetic field and the electro-catalysis of hydrogen peroxide. Thus, a glucose biosensor based on Fe3O4-PB was successfully fabricated. The biosensor showed super-electrochemical properties toward glucose detection exhibiting fast response time within 3 to 4 s, low detection limit of 0.5 µM and wide linear range from 5 µM to 1.2 mM with sensitivity of 32 µA∙mM−1∙cm−2 and good long-term stability.
New MU-MIMO random access employing THP with correlation based user scheduling

This paper proposes a novel random access scheme with multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) employing Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP) for distributed wireless systems. An efficient user scheduling based on correlation is introduced for the proposed random access with MU-MIMO. Because the proposed scheduling does not need all channel state information from all terminals, the proposed random access enables simultaneous multiple packets transmission by using THP with small overhead. We evaluate the performance by computer simulation that the proposed access achieves about 7.8 bits/Hz at Eb/N0 = 1.3 dB when 4 antennas are installed on the access point and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) is applied.
Changes in Ventricular Repolarization Duration During Typical Daily Emotion in Patients With Long QT Syndrome

Objective: Intense emotions are known triggers of sudden cardiac death. However, the effect of typical daily emotion on repolarization has not been examined. We examined whether QT interval changes as a function of typical daily emotion in patients at risk for cardiac events in the context of emotion. Methods: We studied 161 patients (n = 114 females; mean age, 35 years) with the congenital form of the Long QT Syndrome during daily activities. Each day for 3 days, a 12-hour Holter recording was completed. Patients were paged ten times per day at random times and rated the intensity of 16 prespecified emotions during the preceding 5 minutes. Measurements of QT interval and interbeat intervals were synchronized with emotion ratings. Results: Low Arousal Positive Affect was associated with significant increases in QT interval corrected for heart rate (using Fridericia's QTc) (p < .001), whereas higher arousal Activated Positive Affect (p < .001) and Activated Negative Affect (p < .01) were associated with significant decreases in QTc. Changes in QTc as a function of daily emotion ranged from 5-ms increases to 11-ms decreases. High-frequency heart rate variability (vagal tone) was positively correlated with QTc (p < .001). The effects of each positive emotion variable on QTc were greater in LQT2 than LQT1 patients (p < .001). Conclusion: Ventricular repolarization duration (QTc) changes dynamically as a function of daily emotion. These changes are relatively small and do not constitute a risk in themselves. In the context of other risk factors, however, they may contribute to ventricular arrhythmias in vulnerable populations. CLM = conditional linear models; ECG = electrocardiogram; EMA = ecological momentary assessments; HF-HRV = high-frequency heart rate variability; ICD = implanted cardioverter defibrillator; LQTS = Long QT Syndrome; QTc = Fridericia correction of QT interval for heart rate; PDA = personal digital assistant.
Structure of the light-harvesting bacteriochlorophyll c assembly in chlorosomes from Chlorobium limicola determined by solid-state NMR

We have determined the atomic structure of the bacteriochlorophyll c (BChl c) assembly in a huge light-harvesting organelle, the chlorosome of green photosynthetic bacteria, by solid-state NMR. Previous electron microscopic and spectroscopic studies indicated that chlorosomes have a cylindrical architecture with a diameter of ≈10 nm consisting of layered BChl molecules. Assembly structures in huge noncrystalline chlorosomes have been proposed based mainly on structure-dependent chemical shifts and a few distances acquired by solid-state NMR, but those studies did not provide a definite structure. Our approach is based on 13C dipolar spin-diffusion solid-state NMR of uniformly 13C-labeled chlorosomes under magic-angle spinning. Approximately 90 intermolecular CC distances were obtained by simultaneous assignment of distance correlations and structure optimization preceded by polarization-transfer matrix analysis. It was determined from the ≈90 intermolecular distances that BChl c molecules form piggyback-dimer-based parallel layers. This finding rules out the well known monomer-based structures. A molecular model of the cylinder in the chlorosome was built by using this structure. It provided insights into the mechanisms of efficient light harvesting and excitation transfer to the reaction centers. This work constitutes an important advance in the structure determination of huge intact systems that cannot be crystallized.
On the existence of self-similar structures in turbulent pipe flow

Townsend’s attached eddy hypothesis forms the basis for one of the most far-reaching concepts in the analysis of the logarithmic layer in wall-bounded turbulent flows. The hypothesis proposes that the eddying motions in the inertially dominated region are energetic and geometrically self-similar eddies that scale with the distance from their eddy center to the wall, implying that these three-dimensional eddies can be completely scaled using a single length scale. The attached eddy hypothesis has been used successfully to predict turbulence statistics and the spectral behavior in wall-bounded flows. Here, we experimentally investigate the existence of selfsimilar flow structures in fully-developed turbulent pipe flow at Reτ ≈ 2390. The data is simultaneously acquired at two pipe crosssections using two stereo PIV systems, where the streamwise separation ranges from 0 to 9.97R. The structures are unconditionally sorted by their spanwise length scale through an azimuthal Fourier decomposition. The sorted structures are thereafter investigated using two-point correlations, and the resulting correlation maps are shown to exhibit self-similar behaviour with respect to its spanwise length scale. This single length scale provides a complete description of the shape of the self-similar eddies.
Stability of the Random Neural Network Model

In a recent paper (Gelenbe 1989) we introduced a new neural network model, called the Random Network, in which negative or positive signals circulate, modeling inhibitory and excitatory signals. These signals can arrive either from other neurons or from the outside world: they are summed at the input of each neuron and constitute its signal potential. The state of each neuron in this model is its signal potential, while the network state is the vector of signal potentials at each neuron. If its potential is positive, a neuron fires, and sends out signals to the other neurons of the network or to the outside world. As it does so its signal potential is depleted. We have shown (Gelenbe 1989) that in the Markovian case, this model has product form, that is, the steady-state probability distribution of its potential vector is the product of the marginal probabilities of the potential at each neuron. The signal flow equations of the network, which describe the rate at which positive or negative signals arrive at each neuron, are nonlinear, so that their existence and uniqueness are not easily established except for the case of feedforward (or backpropagation) networks (Gelenbe 1989). In this paper we show that whenever the solution to these signal flow equations exists, it is unique. We then examine two subclasses of networks balanced and damped networks and obtain stability conditions in each case. In practical terms, these stability conditions guarantee that the unique solution can be found to the signal flow equations and therefore that the network has a well-defined steady-state behavior.
Joint source based analysis of multiple brain structures in studying major depressive disorder

We propose a joint Source-Based Analysis (jSBA) framework to identify brain structural variations in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). In this framework, features representing position, orientation and size (i.e. pose), shape, and local tissue composition are extracted. Subsequently, simultaneous analysis of these features within a joint analysis method is performed to generate the basis sources that show signi cant di erences between subjects with MDD and those in healthy control. Moreover, in a cross-validation leave- one-out experiment, we use a Fisher Linear Discriminant (FLD) classi er to identify individuals within the MDD group. Results show that we can classify the MDD subjects with an accuracy of 76% solely based on the information gathered from the joint analysis of pose, shape, and tissue composition in multiple brain structures.
Silk Genes Support the Single Origin of Orb Webs

The orb web is a spectacular evolutionary innovation that enables spiders to catch flying prey. This elegant, geometric structure is woven with silk fibers that are renowned for their superior mechanical properties. We used silk gland expression libraries to address a long-standing controversy concerning the evolution of the orb-web architecture. Contrary to the view that the orb-web design evolved multiple times, we found that the distribution and phylogeny of silk proteins support a single, ancient origin of the orb web at least 136 million years ago. Furthermore, we substantially expanded the repository of silk sequences that can be used for the synthesis of high-performance biomaterials.
High-Frequency Heart Rate Variability Linked to Affiliation with a New Group

This study tests the hypothesis that high levels of high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) predisposes individuals to affiliate with new groups. Resting cardiac physiological recordings were taken before and after experimental sessions to measure trait high-frequency heart rate variability as an index of dispositional autonomic influence on heart rate. Following an experimental manipulation of priming of caring-related words, participants engaged in a minimal group paradigm, in which they imagined being a member of one of two arbitrary groups, allocated money to members of the two groups, and rated their affiliation with the groups. High levels of HF-HRV were associated with ingroup favouritism while allocating money, an effect largely attributable to a positive relationship between HF-HRV and allocation of money to the ingroup, and less due to a negative relationship between HF-HRV and money allocation to the outgroup. HF-HRV was also associated with increased self-reported affiliation feelings for the ingroup but was unrelated to feelings towards the outgroup. These effects remained substantial even after controlling for age, gender, BMI, mood, caffeine consumption, time of day of data collection, smoking and alcohol behaviour, and respiration rate. Further, the effects were observed regardless of whether participants were primed with caring-related words or not. This study is the first to bridge a long history of research on ingroup favouritism to the relatively recent body of research on cardiac vagal tone by uncovering a positive association between HF-HRV and affiliation with a novel group.
Analogy based prediction of work item flow in software projects: a case study

A software development project coordinates work by using work items that represent customer, tester and developer found defects, enhancements, and new features. We set out to facilitate software project planning by modeling the flow of such work items and using information on historic projects to predict the work flow of an ongoing project. The history of the work items is extracted from problem tracking or configuration management databases. The Web-based prediction tool allows project managers to select relevant past projects and adjust the prediction based on staffing, type, and schedule of the ongoing project. We present the workflow model, and briefly describe project prediction of a large software project for customer relationship management (CRM).
Association of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 mass and activity with coronary and aortic atherosclerosis: findings from the Dallas Heart Study.

BACKGROUND Our aim was to characterize the association of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA(2)) with coronary and aortic atherosclerosis in a large population-based study. METHODS Lp-PLA(2) mass and activity were measured in 2171 subjects 30-65 years old participating in the Dallas Heart Study. We examined the association of Lp-PLA(2) levels with 3 atherosclerosis phenotypes: coronary artery calcium (CAC) measured by electron-beam computed tomography and abdominal aortic plaque (AAP) and aortic wall thickness (AWT) measured by magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS CAC and AAP were detected in 21% and 40% of subjects, respectively, and mean AWT (SD) was 1.70 (0.32) mm. In univariable analyses, Lp-PLA(2) mass (but not activity) was higher in both men (P = 0.04) and women (P = 0.02) with detectable CAC. Lp-PLA(2) mass and activity were higher (P = 0.004 and P = 0.01, respectively) and AWT was greater (P < 0.001 and P = 0.02, respectively) in women with aortic atheroma, but not in men. After adjustment for traditional atherosclerosis risk factors and C-reactive protein concentrations, Lp-PLA(2) mass and activity were not associated with AAP or AWT in either sex, but Lp-PLA(2) mass remained modestly associated with detectable CAC only in men (odds ratio 1.20 per 1 standard deviation increase, 95% CI 1.01-1.42, P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Although Lp-PLA(2) mass was independently associated with CAC in men, it was not associated with AAP or AWT in men or with any of the atherosclerosis phenotypes in women. These findings suggest that if Lp-PLA(2) independently influences clinical events, it does so by promoting atherosclerotic plaque instability rather than by stimulating atherogenesis.