Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimizing fMRI analysis in Schizophrenia research: methodology improvements.

La Resonancia Magnetica funcional (RMf) es una tecnica moderna de neuroimagen que permite la localizacion de actividad neuronal con una alta resolucion espacial. La tecnica de RMf emplea los cambios locales de oxigenacion en la sangre, reflejados como pequenos cambios en la intensidad en un tipo concreto de imagen de Resonancia Magnetica. La habilidad de esta tecnica en la deteccion de cambios en la funcion en el cerebro sano y enfermo, y la localizacion de funcion anormal convierte a la RMf en una tecnica ideal para el tratamiento de numerosas enfermedades y lesiones neuronales. Ya se ha aplicado clinicamente en la localizacion de areas funcionales afectadas por tumores, pre- y post- operativamente. La esquizofrenia, una vasta enfermedad que se encuentra presente en el uno por cien de la poblacion global, es una dolencia que se ha estudiado recientemente mediante tecnicas de neuroimagen funcional, con mas de 300 estudios publicados en revistas sobre esquizofrenia y RMf. La comprension de los sustratos neuronales de la esquizofrenia requiere una determinacion precisa de la extension y la distribucion de anormalidades en la funcion y anatomia cerebrales. Ya que los sintomas tienen una distribucion dispersa, se deberia emplear una aproximacion fenomemologica a esta enfermedad para relacionar anormalidades, sintomas y prognosis con precision. Los pacientes que tienen principalmente sintomas positivos, tales como alucinaciones auditivas y delirios, pueden tener anomalias cerebrales diferentes a aquellos que tienen sintomas negativos pronunciados. Por tanto, en el presente estudios se ha seleccionado un sintoma positivo, la presencia de alucinaciones auditivas en pacientes esquizofrenicos, como el criterio de seleccion de un grupo homogeneo de pacientes esquizofrenicos auditivos. Esta tesis presenta la aplicacion de la RMf al estudio de la enfermedad de la esquizofrenia. Finalmente, un nuevo metodo de filtrado de datos de RMf, el NL-means, se ha propuesto y se sugiere su
Influence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis on outcome of critically ill infected patients.

The clinical significance of the systemic inflammatory response in infected patients remains unclear. We examined risk factors for hospital mortality in 3,608 intensive care unit patients included in the European Sepsis Study. Patients were categorized as having infection without or with (i.e., sepsis) systemic inflammatory response, severe sepsis, and septic shock, on the first day of infection. Hospital mortality varied from 25 to 60% according to sepsis stage, but did not differ between the first two categories (hazard ratio, 0.94; p = 0.55), whereas there was a grading of severity from sepsis to severe sepsis (1.53, p < 10-4) and septic shock (2.64, p < 10-4). Within each stage, mortality was unaffected by the number of inflammatory response criteria. Prognostic factors identified by Cox regression included comorbid conditions, severity of acute illness and acute organ dysfunction, shock, nosocomial infection, and infection caused by aerobic gram-negative bacilli, enterobacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, and infection from a digestive or unknown source. We conclude that whereas the categorization of infection by the presence of organ dysfunction or shock has strong prognostic significance, infection and sepsis have similar outcomes, unaffected by the presence or number of inflammatory response criteria. Refinement of risk stratification of patients presenting with infection and no organ dysfunction is needed.
A novel RNA‐based adjuvant combines strong immunostimulatory capacities with a favorable safety profile

Protein‐ and peptide‐based tumor vaccines depend on strong adjuvants to induce potent immune responses. Here, we demonstrated that a recently developed novel adjuvant based on a non‐coding, long‐chain RNA molecule, termed RNAdjuvant®, profoundly increased immunogenicity of both antigen formats. RNAdjuvant® induced balanced, long‐lasting immune responses that resulted in a strong anti‐tumor activity. A direct comparison to Poly(I:C) showed superior efficacy of our adjuvant to enhance antigen‐specific multifunctional CD8+ T‐cell responses and mediate anti‐tumor responses induced by peptide derived from HPV‐16 E7 protein in the syngeneic TC‐1 tumor, a murine model of human HPV‐induced cervical cancer. Moreover, the adjuvant was able to induce functional memory responses that mediated complete tumor remission. Despite its remarkable immunostimulatory activity, our RNA‐based adjuvant exhibited an excellent pre‐clinical safety profile. It acted only locally at the injection site where it elicited a transient but strong up‐regulation of pro‐inflammatory and anti‐viral cytokines as well as cytoplasmic RNA sensors without systemic cytokine release. This was followed by the activation of immune cells in the draining lymph nodes. Our data indicate that our RNA‐based adjuvant is a safe and potent immunostimulator that may profoundly improve the efficacy of a variety of cancer vaccines.
Classless Inter-domain Routing (CIDR): The Internet Address Assignment and Aggregation Plan

This memo discusses the strategy for address assignment of the existing 32-bit IPv4 address space with a view toward conserving the address space and limiting the growth rate of global routing state. This document obsoletes the original Classless Inter-domain Routing (CIDR) spec in RFC 1519, with changes made both to clarify the concepts it introduced and, after more than twelve years, to update the Internet community on the results of deploying the technology described. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
Egg collagen content is increased by a diet supplemented with wood charcoal powder containing wood vinegar liquid

Abstract The aims of the present study were to examine whether collagen exists in egg, particularly in egg yolk; to establish a Fourier transform-near infrared (FT-NIR) measurement method for collagen in egg and to assess the possibility of increasing the collagen content by feeding hens a diet containing wood charcoal powder containing wood vinegar liquid (WCV). The collagen in eggs from 67-week-old hens fed on the dietary 0 and 9.9 g/kg WCV diets was investigated using a combination of histochemical, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and FT-NIR approaches. All approaches used to identify collagen in egg yolk yielded positive results. The collagen in egg yolk measured using colorimetry, collagen in egg yolk, egg white and eggshell membrane using FT-NIR and collagen in egg yolk determined by treating the egg yolk with collagenase were abundant after feeding a dietary WCV (p<0.05). These results suggest that egg yolk contains collagen, that the collagen in egg can be measured using FT-NIR, and that the collagen content of egg yolk can be increased by feeding dietary WCV diets.
The virC and virD operons of the Agrobacterium Ti plasmid are regulated by the ros chromosomal gene: analysis of the cloned ros gene

The ros chromosomal gene is present in octopine and nopaline strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens as well as in Rhizobium meliloti. This gene encodes a 15.5-kDa protein that specifically represses the virC and virD operons in the virulence region of the Ti plasmid. The ros gene was cloned from a genomic bank by electroporation and complementation in Agrobacterium cells. Reporter fusion to the ros gene indicates that the level of transcription is controlled in part by autoregulation. A consensus inverted repeat sequence present in the ros promoter and in the virC and virD promoters of pTiC58, pTiA6, and pRiA4b suggests that a specific Ros binding site exists in these promoters. In the virC and virD promoter region, this binding site is within a cluster of vir box consensus sequences in which the VirG protein binds. This suggests possible binding competition between Ros and VirG at the virC and virD promoters. That the Ros protein binds DNA is suggested by the presence of a 'zinc finger' consensus sequence in the protein.
Can we predict top‐level sports performance in power vs endurance events? A genetic approach

The goal of our study was to discriminate potential genetic differences between humans who are in both endpoints of the sports performance continuum (i.e. world‐class endurance vs power athletes). We used DNA‐microarray technology that included 36 genetic variants (within 20 different genes) to compare the genetic profile obtained in two cohorts of world‐class endurance (N=100) and power male athletes (N=53) of the same ethnic origin. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression showed that the rs1800795 (IL6−174 G/C), rs1208 (NAT2 K268R) and rs2070744 (NOS3−786 T/C) polymorphisms significantly predicted sport performance (model χ2=25.3, df=3, P‐value <0.001). Receiver–operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed a significant discriminating accuracy of the model, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.72 (95% confidence interval: 0.66–0.81). The contribution of the studied genetic factors to sports performance was 21.4%. In summary, although an individual's potential for excelling in endurance or power sports can be partly predicted based on specific genetic variants (many of which remain to be identified), the contribution of complex gene–gene interactions, environmental factors and epigenetic mechanisms are also important contributors to the “complex trait” of being an athletic champion. Such trait is likely not reducible to defined genetic polymorphisms.
Extensor digitorum brevis and extensor hallusis brevis transplantation for treatment of long-standing facial paralysis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of free transplantation of denervated muscles and vessels in the treatment of long-standing facial paralysis. METHODS A total of 26 patients with facial paralysis (10 males and 16 females, aged 16-65 years, mean: 47 years) were enrolled in this study to receive transplantation of denervated extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) and extensor hallusis brevis (EHB). The muscle tendon was slung to the ala nasi, the middle point of the nasolabial sulcus, the angulus oris and the chin to correct the nasal and oral deformity. The muscle belly was buried around the nerves that innervated the masseter muscle. Microsurgery was applied to anastomosing the tarsus lateral vessels to the superficial temporalis vessels. RESULTS After operation, all the patients immediately obtained satisfied static appearance. The movement of the paralyzed corner of the mouth could be obtained one month later and the smile of the paralyzed side could be restored after 3 months of training. And 88% patients achieved perfect results, 8% obtained satisfactory results, and 4% got improvement 6 months after operation according to Stennert's paresis scoring system. CONCLUSIONS Free transplantation of denervated muscles and vessels for the treatment of long-standing facial paralysis, which seldom causes atrophy or liquefaction of the transferred muscles, can maintain muscle viability and induce reliable nerve regeneration. Therefore, it is a safe and efficient treatment method for the patients suffering from facial paralysis.
General Log‐Likelihood Ratio Expression and Its Implementation Algorithm for Gray‐Coded QAM Signals

A simple and general bit log‐likelihood ratio (LLR) expression is provided for Gray‐coded rectangular quadrature amplitude modulation (R‐QAM) signals. The characteristics of Gray code mapping such as symmetries and repeated formats of the bit assignment in a symbol among bit groups are applied effectively for the simplification of the LLR expression. In order to reduce the complexity of the max‐log‐MAP algorithm for LLR calculation, we replace the mathematical max or min function of the conventional LLR expression with simple arithmetic functions. In addition, we propose an implementation algorithm of this expression. Because the proposed expression is very simple and constructive with some parameters reflecting the characteristic of the Gray code mapping result, it can easily be implemented, providing an efficient symbol de‐mapping structure for various wireless applications.
RcsB-BglJ-mediated activation of Cascade operon does not induce the maturation of CRISPR RNAs in E. coli K12

Prokaryotic immunity against foreign nucleic acids mediated by clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) depends on the expression of the CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins and the formation of small CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs). The crRNA-loaded Cas ribonucleoprotein complexes convey the specific recognition and inactivation of target nucleic acids. In E. coli K12, the maturation of crRNAs and the interference with target DNA is performed by the Cascade complex. The transcription of the Cascade operon is tightly repressed through H-NS-dependent inhibition of the Pcas promoter. Elevated levels of the LysR-type regulator LeuO induce the Pcas promoter and concomitantly activate the CRISPR-mediated immunity against phages. Here, we show that the Pcas promoter can also be induced by constitutive expression of the regulator BglJ. This activation is LeuO-dependent as heterodimers of BglJ and RcsB activate leuO transcription. Each transcription factor, LeuO or BglJ, induced the transcription of the Cascade genes to comparable amounts. However, the maturation of the crRNAs was activated in LeuO but not in BglJ-expressing cells. Studies on CRISPR promoter activities, transcript stabilities, crRNA processing and Cascade protein levels were performed to answer the question why crRNA maturation is defective in BglJ-expressing cells. Our results demonstrate that the activation of Cascade gene transcription is necessary but not sufficient to turn on the CRISPR-mediated immunity and suggest a more complex regulation of the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system in E. coli.
A Learned Saliency Map for Eye Detection

In this paper, a method of constructing saliency map based on learning method is proposed. The saliency map is constructed by nonlinear combination of features, and the nonlinear function is approached through a feed forward artificial neutral network (ANN) whose weight is trained by examples. The efficiency of the proposed method is verified in the eye detection problem. Experiments show that the learned saliency map may be efficiently used in the eye detection problem.
Identification and assessment of ongoing stressors in adolescents with a chronic illness: an application of the behavior-analytic model.

Applied Goldfriend and D'Zurilla's (1969) Behavior-Analytic Model to the development of a context-specific measure of stressful situations for adolescents with a serious, chronic illness. In completing the situational analysis phase of the model, 45 adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF), 20 parents of adolescents with CF, and 8 health care professionals completed structured interviews or daily diaries to obtain the widest range of problematic situations. The adolescent sample was recruited from two different medical centers, and stratified by sex and illness severity. A total of 1,174 problem situations were elicited across all participants and then content-analyzed into 164 nonredundant items in 10 domains (e.g., Medications and Treatment, and School). Few relations were found between demographic variables (e.g., age and illness severity) and the number or difficulty of problematic situations. Both adolescents and parents mentioned the greatest number of problematic situations in the domains of School, Medications and Treatment, and Parent-Teen Relationship. In terms of difficulty, all three respondents (i.e., teens, parents, and health care professionals) rated problems with Clinic and Hospital Visits as very difficult. For the adolescent sample, problems in the Parent-Teen Relationship and Health Concerns were also highly difficult. Significant associations were found between the problematic situations we identified and standardized measures of social and emotional functioning. Adolescents who rated their problems as more difficult also endorsed more symptoms of depression and lower perceptions of social competence. In a future study, the most salient items will be selected to create a role-play measure to elicit adolescents' coping strategies.
Modélisation de la dynamique d'une population de vers de terre Lumbricus terrestris au champ. Contribution à l'étude de l'impact des systèmes de culture sur les communautés lombriciennes

Les lombriciens representent une composante majeure de la macrofaune du sol et sont souvent presentes comme bioindicateurs de la biodiversite et de la qualite du sol. Par ailleurs, ils sont des ingenieurs de l'ecosysteme car ils modifient directement ou indirectement la disponibilite des ressources pour d'autres organismes tels que les plantes et les microorganismes. Ils ont un role important dans les agrosystemes car ils participent aux processus qui influencent les composantes physique, chimique et biologique du sol. L'enjeu majeur de ce travail est de comprendre et de modeliser l'evolution des populations de lombriciens dans un champ cultive et d'etudier l'impact de certains systemes de culture sur les communautes lombriciennes. L'outil que nous avons mis en place, WORMDYN est un modele stochastique de dynamique des populations base sur un modele matriciel et structure en classes de stades de developpement (cocons, juveniles, sub-adultes et adultes). Il predit l'evolution des populations du ver L. terrestris dans des parcelles labourees et dans des parcelles travaillees superficiellement. Les parametres de ce modele, estimes en partie grâce a des donnees issues de la litterature, dependent de la temperature et de l'humidite du sol qui sont les facteurs cles influencant la dynamique a court terme de cette espece de vers de terre. Ce travail de these comporte une premiere partie methodologique. L'etude de la dynamique des populations lombriciennes a necessite un nombre important de prelevements en champ cultive. Or, diverses methodes sont classiquement utilisees pour l'echantillonnage des lombriciens. Nous avons donc cherche a determiner la methode de prelevement la plus adequate, c'est-a-dire alliant efficacite et securite du manipulateur. Une premiere partie est donc consacree a l'etude et a la comparaison de trois produits chimiques utilises pour le prelevement des lombriciens. Dans un deuxieme temps, la these presente la structure du modele WORMDYN. La capacite du modele a representer la realite est testee en confrontant les sorties aux mesures faites en parcelles experimentales. Une analyse de sensibilite designe les parametres influencant fortement les sorties du modele et met ainsi en evidence des pistes d'amelioration possibles. Enfin, dans le but de discuter des impacts de systemes de culture sur les communautes lombriciennes, nous avons recolte des donnees sur un essai de longue duree comprenant trois systemes : biologique, conventionnel et un systeme sous couvert vegetal permanent. Par ailleurs, les resultats nous permettent d'etudier le comportement de WORMDYN dans d'autres situations et de degager des pistes d'amelioration du modele.
Zinc supplementation in infants with a nutritional pattern of failure to thrive: a double-blind, controlled study.

The objective of this study was to determine whether zinc deficiency is one of the factors involved in nutritional failure to thrive in infants and toddlers. Participants were selected on the basis of anthropometric criteria, particularly a decline in weight velocity preceding changes in length gains. The investigation was designed as a double-blind, randomized, pair-matched, controlled study of dietary zinc supplementation of 6 months' duration. Anthropometric data were collected at 0, 1, 3, and 6 months. Twenty-five pairs of infants completed the project. When compared with placebo-treated control children, the zinc-supplemented group (combined sexes) and the supplemented boys showed significant improvements in standard deviation scores for weight for all three intervals, the largest differences occurring for the 0- to 3-month interval (P less than or equal to .0001). The zinc-supplemented girls demonstrated a trend toward improvements in changes in standard deviation scores for weight (P = .056). There were no differences in length gains for either boys or girls. This improvement in weight gains after zinc supplementation demonstrates that mild zinc deficiency can be one of the etiologic factors in nutritional failure to thrive during infancy.
On sensory feedback in hand prostheses

Amputation of the hand implies the loss of the ability to grasp and the ability to "feel". The grasping function can be primitively restored using an active prosthesis. Multi­articulating electrically powered hands have recently made their way to the market and these hands provide enhanced grasping and gripping capabilities. However, these hands provide no direct and conscious sensory feedback to the user and there are ongoing research efforts in providing prosthetic hands with a sense of touch. There is no commercially available system for artificial limbs today that provides the user with conscious sensory feedback. This thesis presents the development and experimental studies of a new concept for providing users of prosthetic hands with a conscious sensory feedback. Previous studies have mostly relied on "sensory substitution" methods where sensory feedback is delivered in a different modality or to a different location on the body. By using modality matched sensory feedback, e.g. if pressure is sensed at a prosthetic finger then pressure is fed back to the amputee, the amputee would not have to learn to interpret the feedback signal (e.g. pressure coded as vibrations). Furthermore, many amputees experience a phantom "hand map" in their residual limb and when specific areas of this map is stimulated, the stimuli is perceived as coming from specific fingers in the amputated hand. By utilizing the phantom "hand map", amputees can be provided with modality matched sensory feedback, delivered to the "correct" body location and activating the correct location in the somatosensory cortex. In several studies, feedback actuators in the form of digital servomotors or air­mediated pressure bulbs were used to provide both non­amputees and amputees with sensory feedback. It was shown that amputees can learn to interpret sensory feedback on different locations and that the developed sensory feedback system would not interfere negatively with a myoelectric control system. Furthermore, it was shown that the use of modality matched feedback in a multi­site discrimination task yielded better results than modality mismatched sensory feedback. In conclusion, the studies indicate that this new concept for sensory feedback in hand prostheses can be useful in future artificial hands and enhance the sense of body ownership of the prosthesis.