Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EEG-fMRI Fusion of Paradigm-Free Activity Using Kalman Filtering

We address here the use of EEG and fMRI, and their combination, in order to estimate the full spatiotemporal patterns of activity on the cortical surface in the absence of any particular assumptions on this activity such as stimulation times. For handling such a high-dimension inverse problem, we propose the use of (1) a global forward model of how these measures are functions of the neural activity of a large number of sources distributed on the cortical surface, formalized as a dynamical system, and (2) adaptive filters, as a natural solution to solve this inverse problem iteratively along the temporal dimension. This estimation framework relies on realistic physiological models, uses EEG and fMRI in a symmetric manner, and takes into account both their temporal and spatial information. We use the Kalman filter and smoother to perform such an estimation on realistic artificial data and demonstrate that the algorithm can handle the high dimensionality of these data and that it succeeds in solving this inverse problem, combining efficiently the information provided by the two modalities (this information being naturally predominantly temporal for EEG and spatial for fMRI). It performs particularly well in reconstructing a random temporally and spatially smooth activity spread over the cortex. The Kalman filter and smoother show some limitations, however, which call for the development of more specific adaptive filters. First, they do not cope well with the strong nonlinearity in the model that is necessary for an adequate description of the relation between cortical electric activities and the metabolic demand responsible for fMRI signals. Second, they fail to estimate a sparse activity (i.e., presenting sharp peaks at specific locations and times). Finally their computational cost remains high. We use schematic examples to explain these limitations and propose further developments of our method to overcome them.
Gender Issues in the Use of Virtual Environments

Gender differences in cognitive and behavioral performance have been reported throughout the psychological literature. Consequently, gender differences should be considered and controlled for when cognitive research is conducted in virtual environments (VEs). These variables may include gender-related differences in cognitive performance, susceptibility for cybersickness, and the impact of sex hormones on cognition. Such issues are addressed in the context of a recent VE study of the visuospatial ability referred to as mental rotation. The Mental Rotation Test (MRT), a paper and pencil measure, has been shown to produce one of the largest gender differences in the cognitive literature. The outcomes of the MRT are in favor of males. However, results reported from a Virtual Reality Spatial Rotation (VRSR) test demonstrate no gender differences when subjects were able to manually manipulate the stimuli in a VE. Further analysis uncovers gender differences in the patterns of associations between verbal and spatial tasks and performance on VRSR. Results are discussed in terms of dimensionality factors and hemispheric lateralization.
Virological surveillance in Africa can contribute to early detection of new genetic and antigenic lineages of influenza viruses.

INTRODUCTION In Africa, the burden of influenza is largely unknown since surveillance schemes exist in very few countries. The National Institute of Hygiene in Morocco implemented a sentinel network for influenza surveillance in 1996. METHODOLOGY Epidemiological and virological surveillances were established and influenza viruses circulating in Morocco were characterised. Four practice-specific indicators were collected during the 1996-1997 season and nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from patients with an influenza-like illness during a three-year period (between 1996 and1998). Laboratory diagnosis was done by viral isolation. The isolates were characterized by hemagglutination- and neuraminidase-inhibition assays and by sequencing the hemagglutinin gene and phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS Among a total of 673 specimens, 107 (16%) were positive for influenza virus. Seasonal influenza strains were isolated from November to February. Antigenically, A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and B isolates were related to the vaccine strains. Genetically, one 1996/97 isolate A/Rabat/33/96 and the 1997/98 A(H3N2) isolates clustered with the new drift variant A/Sydney/5/97, a vaccine component of the 1998/99 season. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate a seasonal circulation of influenza in Morocco concentrated between November and February. Further, the results demonstrate the importance of including the maximum number of countries in influenza surveillance to contribute to the definition of the influenza vaccine composition.
A New Approach for Quantitative Analysis of Inter-Joint Coordination During Gait

A new method for quantitative analysis of interjoint coordination at various walking speeds is presented. The model imposed a parametric relationship among lower limb joint motions (hips and knees) using the least number of parameters. An integration of different analysis tools such as harmonic analysis, principal component analysis, and artificial neural networks helped overcome high-dimensionality, temporal dependence, and nonlinear relationships of the gait patterns. The trained model was fed only two control parameters (cadence and stride length) for each gait cycle and predicted the corresponding gait waveforms. Based on the differences between predicted and actual gait waveforms, a coordination score, which ranged from 0 to 10, was defined at various walking speeds. The model was applied to eight patients with knee arthroplasty at different follow-ups as well as to eight healthy subjects, walking at three different speeds. The results showed that knee replacement and rehabilitation programs improved the coordination score. The technique provides an analytical tool that can be used as a routine test in the clinical evaluation of human gait abnormalities.
Risk premia in Eurodollar futures prices

Tests for the presence of risk premia in Eurodollar futures are made and the effects of factors which might affect the size of these premia examined. Using weekly Eurodollar futures prices in the period of 1983 through 1989, premia are found which are positive on average despite a net long hedging demand in the Eurodollar futures market during the sample period. The documented premia seem to be independent of factors such as interest rate level, interest rate volatility, hedging imbalance, and time to delivery of the contract. It is found that a spread strategy to take advantage of these premia is not profitable net of transaction costs.
Reoptimization of MDL Keys for Use in Drug Discovery

For a number of years MDL products have exposed both 166 bit and 960 bit keysets based on 2D descriptors. These keysets were originally constructed and optimized for substructure searching. We report on improvements in the performance of MDL keysets which are reoptimized for use in molecular similarity. Classification performance for a test data set of 957 compounds was increased from 0.65 for the 166 bit keyset and 0.67 for the 960 bit keyset to 0.71 for a surprisal S/N pruned keyset containing 208 bits and 0.71 for a genetic algorithm optimized keyset containing 548 bits. We present an overview of the underlying technology supporting the definition of descriptors and the encoding of these descriptors into keysets. This technology allows definition of descriptors as combinations of atom properties, bond properties, and atomic neighborhoods at various topological separations as well as supporting a number of custom descriptors. These descriptors can then be used to set one or more bits in a keyset. We constructed various keysets and optimized their performance in clustering bioactive substances. Performance was measured using methodology developed by Briem and Lessel. "Directed pruning" was carried out by eliminating bits from the keysets on the basis of random selection, values of the surprisal of the bit, or values of the surprisal S/N ratio of the bit. The random pruning experiment highlighted the insensitivity of keyset performance for keyset lengths of more than 1000 bits. Contrary to initial expectations, pruning on the basis of the surprisal values of the various bits resulted in keysets which underperformed those resulting from random pruning. In contrast, pruning on the basis of the surprisal S/N ratio was found to yield keysets which performed better than those resulting from random pruning. We also explored the use of genetic algorithms in the selection of optimal keysets. Once more the performance was only a weak function of keyset size, and the optimizations failed to identify a single globally optimal keyset. Instead multiple, equally optimal keysets could be produced which had relatively low overlap of the descriptors they encoded.
Autonomic Activity

A review such as this can do no more than provide an indication of the issues involved in using autonomic activity as a means of providing a "window on the brain. " Several points arise. One of the most important is that of careful and appropriate use of techniques available. One well-known textbook of experimental psychology published some time ago advocated the use of two dimes applied to the palm of the hand for the measurement of electrodermal activity. It was this sort of recommendation that led to the use of psychophysiological measurement falling into disrepute. As indicated in the second section, it is important to understand fully the peripheral mechanisms involved before measurement of electrodermal activity can be usefully carried out. Appropriate use of silver/silver chloride electrodes and physiologically appropriate levels of saline in the electrolyte medium can lead to accurate and repeatable measurement where artefact is not carelessly introduced. Equally important is the context in which studies are carried out. The psychological invasiveness of the technique is important to recognize, and it is here that measurement of autonomic activity probably scores over other methods that are available insofar as very little restriction of the subject is required and the number of transducers that must be applied is minimal. The measurement of autonomic activity within the totality of the experimental context is all important. As an example Dawson and Schell investigated the SCR to words which had previously been associated with shock. When these words were presented to the ear to which attention was not directed in a dichotic listening paradigm, an SCR could be elicited although the subject was unaware of the presentation of the stimulus. The importance of the Dawson and Schell study was the care that they took to make sure that the subject really was unaware of the critical stimulus and had not momentarily switched attention from the attended ear. More important, their experiment, in contrast to some which had gone before, used a balanced design in which the critical stimuli were presented on different occasions to each ear. As a result of this it was found that critical stimuli, which were presented to the left ear, right hemisphere, gave rise to SCRs, even when the subject was not aware of their presentation, whereas stimuli presented to the right ear, left hemisphere elicited no response. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Invertebrate community responses to a particulate‐ and dissolved‐copper exposure in model freshwater ecosystems

Historical contamination has left a legacy of high copper concentrations in the sediments of freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Previous mesocosm studies have focused on dissolved‐copper exposures in the overlying waters, which, because of altered exposure pathways, may not accurately predict the effects of copper exposure on invertebrate communities at historically contaminated sites. The present study assessed the effects of copper on the establishment of invertebrate communities within a large outdoor pond mesocosm facility containing environmentally relevant copper‐spiked sediments. High particulate copper concentrations (>400 mg/kg dry wt) caused a pronounced effect on the benthic community richness, abundance, and structure in the mesocosms, but particulate copper concentrations below 100 mg/kg dry weight had no effect. Furthermore, there were no effects of copper on the invertebrate communities within the water column, even in the highest copper treatment. The response of the benthic community to copper was influenced by interspecific interactions, the stage of ecological succession, and interspecies variation in sensitivity to copper. The present study demonstrates the importance of using environmentally realistic exposure scenarios that provide both particulate and dissolved exposure pathways. It also emphasizes that risk assessments for aquatic ecosystems should consider the influence of interspecific interactions and interspecies variation in driving the biotic response to contamination. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:2724–2732. © 2014 SETAC
Blood Concentrations of Th2-Type Immunoglobulins are Selectively Increased in Weanling Mice Subjected to Acute Malnutrition

Male and female C57BL/6J mice, initially 19 days old, consumed a complete purified diet either ad libitum (age-matched control) or in restricted daily quantities (energy deficiency), or they consumed a purified isocaloric low-protein diet ad libitum (protein and energy deficit). In a 14-day experimental period, malnourished animals lost approximately 1.5% of their initial body weight daily. Zero-time controls, 19 days old, were also included in the study. Serum levels of Th2-type (IgG1 and IgE) and Th1-type (IgG2a and IgG3) immunoglobulins were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and total IgG concentration was also assessed. Both malnourished groups exhibited high serum concentrations of IgG1 and IgE relative to the age-matched control group, whereas levels of the Th1-type immunoglobulins were unaffected. Total IgG concentration in the malnourished groups reflected the usual finding in humans (i.e., no effect or elevated). The results are consistent with the proposition of Th2-polarized immune competence in acute weanling deficiencies of energy, protein, or both.
Sparganosis in the Monotremes Tachyglossus aculeatus and Ornithorhynchus anatinus in Australia

Sparganosis in the echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus, is characterized by large subcutaneous masses that may be confused with neoplasms. Plerocercoids, believed to be Spirometra erinacei, were found in the ventral or lateral subcutaneous tissues of three echidnas. In each case there was a prominent fibrous mass ≤12 cm in diameter enclosing plerocercoids, which were surrounded by an intense inflammatory infiltrate dominated by plasma cells and lymphocytes, with focal suppuration. Multiple, small (≤2 mm) plerocercoids were present in the lungs and pleural cavity of a fourth echidna that died due to severe pneumonitis. Several plerocercoids also were found in the lung of a platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) associated with parenchymal compression and focal pneumonia.
The plasma membrane calcium pump in health and disease

The Ca2+ ATPases of the plasma membrane (PMCA pumps) export Ca2+ from all eukaryotic cells. In mammals they are the products of four separate genes. PMCA types 1 and 4 are distributed ubiquitously; PMCA types 2 and 3 are restricted to some tissues, the most important being the nervous system. Alternative splicing at two sites greatly increases the number of pump isoforms. The two ubiquitous isoforms are no longer considered as only housekeeping pumps as they also perform tissue‐specific functions. The PMCAs are classical P‐type pumps, their reaction cycle repeating that of all other pumps of the family. Their 3D structure has not been solved, but molecular modeling on SERCA pump templates shows the essential structural pattern of the latter. PMCAs are regulated by calmodulin, which interacts with high affinity with their cytosolic C‐terminal tail. A second calmodulin‐binding domain with lower affinity is present in some splicing variants of the pump. The PMCAs are essential to the regulation of cellular Ca2+, but the all‐important Ca2+ signal is ambivalent: defects in its control generate various pathologies, the most thoroughly studied being those of genetic origin. Genetic defects of PMCA function produce disease phenotypes: the best characterized is a form of deafness in mice and in humans linked to PMCA2 mutations. A cerebellar X‐linked human ataxia has recently been found to be caused by a mutation in the calmodulin‐binding domain of PMCA3.
Characterization of capacitance mismatch using simple difference Charge-based Capacitance measurement (DCBCM) test structure

We propose a test structure named difference charge-based capacitance measurement (DCBCM) for measuring matching of MOM capacitance with better than 10 atto-farad (aF) accuracy and MOS capacitance with few tens of aF accuracy. The test structure is a derivative of the Charge-based Capacitance measurement (CBCM) technique [1]. In the structure two matched (or intentionally mismatched) capacitors are charged with alternating voltages on one side and on the other side the charges are alternated between two output nodes. We can eliminate parasitic leakage and charge injection components and extract the capacitance difference from the resulting output current that is proportional to the capacitance difference. It is found that mismatch of 20fF MOM capacitances with intentionally 100aF offset can be measured with 7.2aF absolute accuracy. With an adequate input pulse scheme, we also demonstrated a measurement of 100-200fF MOS capacitance mismatch with bias voltage dependence which showed sensitivity of σ = 0.06%. The proposed DCBCM technique is suitable for evaluating small capacitance mismatch for beyond 20nm node.
Echocardiographic Left Ventricular Geometry in Hypertensive Patients with Electrocardiographic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: The LIFE Study

Aim: To assess the prevalence of echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and concentric remodeling in hypertensive patients with electrocardiographic (ECG)-LVH and to estimate the costeffectiveness of echocardiography and ECG for detection of LVH.Design: Echocardiographic LV measurements and the prevalence of abnormal LV geometric patterns were compared between 964 hypertensive patients with ECG-LVH (Cornell voltage-duration product > 2440 and/or SV1
Raman tweezers sorting of single microbial cells.

We have selectively isolated microbial cells by identifying and then manipulating cells using a combination of Raman microspectroscopy and optical trapping. The criterion for cell discrimination is based on spectral peak shifts within the Raman spectrum of individual cells. A specific shift in the phenylalanine peak position from 1001 rel. cm(-1) to 965 rel. cm(-1) is utilized to indicate the uptake of (13) C within the cell that utilized (13) C-substrate. Cells were captured and manipulated using an infrared (1064 nm) laser while Raman spectra were acquired over shorter timescales (30 s) using a co-aligned 514.5 nm laser beam. Selected cells were manoeuvred to a clean part of a capillary tube and the tubes were cleaved to physically separate the cells. The technique was tested for cell viability and cross-contamination effects using 70 single yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisia). Following these tests, 58 single bacterial cells (Escherichia coli DH5α, and Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25::Km-RFP) that exhibited (13) C uptake were sorted from bacterial populations. Among those isolated cells, 11 out of 18 yeast cells and 7 out of 18 single SBW25::Km-RFP cells were recovered by incubation; 2 out of 7 sorted yeast cells and 3 out of 8 sorted bacterial cells (single SBW25::Km-RFP) were genome amplified correctly. We show that the Raman tweezers approach has the potential to open a new frontier to study unculturable microorganisms, which account for more than 99% microbes in natural environment.
Regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) in Migraine During the Interictal Period: Different rCBF Patterns in Patients With and Without Aura

The aim of this study was to evaluate the rCBF (133Xe clearance method) in migrainous patients free from attack. Fifty patients suffering from migraine without aura (group M) and 20 suffering from migraine with aura (group MA) (age range 20-50 years) were submitted to 32 channel rCBF mapping during the interictal period. The rCBF data of patients were compared with those obtained from 60 healthy control subjects (group C) and 21 patients suffering from tension-type headache (group TH). The mean (average of all channels) rCBF values were: group M=70.5 ± 13.7ml/100g/min; group MA=56.6 ± 11.4ml/100g/min; group C=62.3 ± 8.3ml/100g/min; group TH=62.1 ± 8.4ml/100g/min (F=11.93; p<0.001). As expected, patients belonging to group TH had a normal rCBF. The mean rCBF of group M was significantly higher than that of groups C and TH, while in group MA it was significantly lower than in groups C and TH. Group M showed a diffuse hyperemia, while group MA showed rCBF values significantly lower than normal in posterior regions, according to aura. Our results suggest that: (a) the rCBF pattern in migrainous patients is different from that in both controls and TH patients, even during the interictal period; (b) patients suffering from migraine with and without aura are two distinct subpopulations with opposite rCBF deviations.
Protective effect of L-carnitine against H2O2-induced neurotoxicity in neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells

Abstract Objectives: 4-N-trimethylammonium-3-hydroxybutyric acid (L-carnitine) is an endogenous mitochondrial membrane compound and some studies have reported that L-carnitine could effectively protect various cells against oxidative injury both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we used the human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line as an in vitro model and assessed the effect of L-carnitine on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-mediated oxidative stress and neurotoxicity. Methods: Cells in culture were treated with different concentrations of H2O2 alone or pretreated with L-carnitine. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays, transmission electron microscopy, agarose gel electrophoresis, biochemical methods, and Western blotting were employed in the present study. Results: Pretreatment with L-carnitine for 3 hours inhibited H2O2-induced cell viability loss, morphological changes, intracellular reactive oxygen species generation, and lipid peroxidation in a concentration-dependent manner. Endogenous anti-oxidant defense components including total anti-oxidative capacity, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase were also promoted by L-carnitine. Meanwhile, H2O2-induced down-regulation of Bcl-2, up-regulation of Bax, and DNA damage and apoptosis were also inhibited in the presence of L-carnitine. Discussion: Taken together, these results suggest that L-carnitine may function as an anti-oxidant to inhibit H2O2-induced oxidative stress as well as regulation of Bcl-2 family and prevent the apoptotic death of neuronal cells, which might be beneficial for the treatment of oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases.