Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wavelet packet analysis of EEG signals from dyslexic children with writing disability

This paper describes Wavelet Packet Analysis of EEG signal of dyslexic children with writing disability. Two activities were carried out during EEG recordings; relax and and writing letters. EEG signals were collected using biosignal gMobilab system and analysed using Wavelet Packet Decomposition to extract alpha and beta brainwave rhythm. Statistical data such as log energy entropy and standard deviation were used to compare the characteristic of EEG signals from dyslexic and normal children. Result showed that the dyslexic children consumed higher energy at left parietal lobe during writing activity especially those who write incorrectly. The alpha band shows higher log energy entropy for dyslexic children compare to normal children at most channel during relax.
Epidemiologia da infecção pelo vírus da hepatite B em indivíduos em tratamento hemodialítico no estado do Tocantins

A infeccao pelo virus da hepatite B (HBV) continua sendo um grande problema de saude publica mundial, mesmo sendo imunoprevenivel. Individuos em tratamento hemodialitico apresentam risco elevado para aquisicao do HBV devido a varios fatores, incluindo imunossupressao e a frequencia elevada que sao submetidos a procedimentos invasivos. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a epidemiologia da infeccao pelo HBV em pacientes em tratamento hemodialitico no Estado do Tocantins. Trata-se de um estudo observacional, de corte transversal, analitico, conduzido em todos os servicos de hemodialise do Estado do Tocantins. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevistas e coleta de amostras sanguineas no periodo de outubro de 2014 a fevereiro de 2015. Todas as amostras foram testadas para os marcadores HBsAg, anti-HBs e anti-HBc total pelo ensaio imunoenzimatico. Analises uni e multivariadas foram realizadas para identificacao de possiveis fatores de risco para exposicao ao HBV. Um total de 394 individuos participou do estudo. A maioria possuia idade superior a 40 anos (78,2%), era do sexo masculino (58,6%), de cor parda (58,6%) e de baixa escolaridade. A prevalencia global para HBV foi de 34,56% (IC 95%: 29,75-39,08), sendo 0,76% (IC 95%: 0,26-2,21) para HBsAg, 30,20% (IC 95%: 25,88-34,91) para anti-HBc e anti-HBs e 3,30% (IC 95%: 1,94-5,56) para anti-HBc isolado. Do total de participantes, 29,4% (IC 95%: 25,16-34,12) apresentaram positividade isolada para anti-HBs, embora praticamente todos referissem no minimo tres doses da vacina contra o HBV. Somente idade acima de 55 anos (RP: 1,84; p=0,022) e tempo de tratamento hemodialitico (RP: 1,60; p=0,001) foram preditoras de exposicao ao HBV. A associacao entre tempo de hemodialise e HBV sugere o ambiente dialitico como promotor de exposicao viral. A baixa frequencia do perfil sorologico de imunizacao contra hepatite B evidencia a necessidade de maior vigilância da vacinacao nos individuos em hemodialise no estado do Tocantins.
Shear stress-dependent expression of apoptosis-regulating genes in endothelial cells.

Laminar shear stress exerts potent anti-apoptotic effects. Therefore, we analyzed the influence of laminar shear stress on the expression of apoptosis-regulating genes in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Application of high levels of laminar shear stress (15 and 30 dyn/cm(2)) decreased the susceptibility of HUVEC to undergo apoptosis, whereas low shear stress (1 dyn/cm(2)) had no effect. These diminished signs of apoptosis were accompanied by a decreased mRNA expression of apoptosis-inducing Fas receptor. Furthermore, mRNA and protein expression of anti-apoptotic, soluble Fas isoform FasExo6Del and anti-apoptotic Bcl-x(L) were induced. Surprisingly, high shear stress also elevated mRNA and protein expression of pro-apoptotic Bak. The shear stress-induced up-regulation of Bcl-x(L) and Bak mRNA can be abrogated by inhibition of the endothelial NO synthase. We propose that altered expression of Bcl-x(L) and the Fas system is involved in the protective effect of laminar shear stress against apoptosis in human endothelial cells.
Toward high‐resolution myocardial tagging

Magnetic resonance imaging with preceding tissue tagging is a robust method for assessing cardiac motion of the entire heartbeat cycle with a high degree of accuracy. One limitation of this technique, however, is the low resolution of the obtained displacement map of the labeled points within the myocardium. By a new tagging technique, which is based on the combination of two or more measurements of the same slice but with different grid positions, a highly improved resolution of cardiac motion data can be achieved. In combination with a multi‐heart‐phase echo‐planar imaging sequence, such images with doubled grid frequency can be acquired in two short breath‐hold periods. Magn Reson Med 41:639–643, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Interpolation by a Game

We introduce a notion of a real game (a generalisation of the Karchmer‐Wigderson game (cf. [3]) and of real communication complexity, and relate this complexity to the size of monotone real formulas and circuits. We give an exponential lower bound for tree‐like monotone protocols (defined in [4, Definition 2.2]) of small real communication complexity solving the monotone communication complexity problem associated with the bipartite perfect matching problem. This work is motivated by a research in interpolation theorems for prepositional logic (by a problem posed in [5, Section 8], in particular). Our main objective is to extend the communication complexity approach of [4, 5] to a wider class of proof systems. In this direction we obtain an effective interpolation in a form of a protocol of small real communication complexity. Together with the above mentioned lower bound for tree‐like protocols this yields as a corollary a lower bound on the number of steps for particular semantic derivations of Hall's theorem (these include tree‐like cutting planes proofs for which an exponential lower bound was demonstrated in [2]).
FORMATION OF CARBON-CARBONBONDS IN THE PHOTOCHEMICAL ALKYLATION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS

The reaction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with alkanes was examined in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) light under model prebiotic Earth and interstellar medium (ISM) conditions. We observed the formation of alkylated PAHs from a variety of PAHs and alkanes, which was caused by the absorption of UV light by the PAH molecule. Photoalkylation occurred in PAHs and alkanes in solution, in thin films in contact with simulated ocean water, and in matrices simulating ISM conditions. Photoalkylation occurred readily, with significant product yields within 5 h of irradiation. Because alkanes and PAHs are presumed to be part of the organic inventory in the ISM and on the early Earth, we propose that this photoalkylation reaction is a plausible pathway for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds in both these environments.
The position of phosphorylcholine on the lipopolysaccharide of Haemophilus influenzae affects binding and sensitivity to C‐reactive protein‐mediated killing

The lic1 locus of Haemophilus influenzae controls the incorporation of environmental choline into lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as phosphorylcholine (ChoP) as well as the phase variation of this structure. ChoP is the target of an acute phase reactant in serum, C‐reactive protein (CRP), which mediates killing through the activation of complement when bound to the organism. Structural analysis of the oligosaccharide region of the H. influenzae LPS showed that ChoP is linked to different hexose residues on different chain extensions in strains Rd and Eagan. Differences in the molecular environment of ChoP affect the epitope defined by monoclonal antibody 12D9 and were associated with polymorphisms within LicD, a putative diphosphonucleoside choline transferase. Exchanging the licD genes between the two strains with ChoP on different chain extensions was sufficient to switch its position. Allelic variants with ChoP on a hexose on heptose III rather than heptose I were sensitive to CRP‐mediated serum bactericidal activity regardless of the genetic background. Differences in CRP‐mediated killing correlated with differences in the binding of CRP from human serum to whole bacteria. This suggests that, in addition to the mechanism involving phase variation, the structural rearrangements within the oligosaccharide contribute to evasion of innate and acquired immunity.
Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase Synergizes with Notch2 To Govern Marginal Zone B Cells in Nonobese Diabetic Mice

Expansion of autoimmune-prone marginal zone (MZ) B cells has been implicated in type 1 diabetes. To test disease contributions of MZ B cells in NOD mice, Notch2 haploinsufficiency (Notch2+/−) was introduced but failed to eliminate the MZ, as it does in C57BL/6 mice. Notch2+/−/NOD have MZ B cell numbers similar to those of wild-type C57BL/6, yet still develop diabetes. To test whether BCR signaling supports Notch2+/−/NOD MZ B cells, Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk) deficiency was introduced. Surprisingly, MZ B cells failed to develop in Btk-deficient Notch2+/−/NOD mice. Expression of Notch2 and its transcriptional target, Hes5, was increased in NOD MZ B cells compared with C57BL/6 MZ B cells. Btk deficiency reduced Notch2+/− signaling exclusively in NOD B cells, suggesting that BCR signaling enhances Notch2 signaling in this autoimmune model. The role of BCR signaling was further investigated using an anti-insulin transgenic (Tg) BCR (125Tg). Anti-insulin B cells in 125Tg/Notch2+/−/NOD mice populate an enlarged MZ, suggesting that low-level BCR signaling overcomes reliance on Notch2. Tracking clonotypes of anti-insulin B cells in H chain–only VH125Tg/NOD mice showed that BTK-dependent selection into the MZ depends on strength of antigenic binding, whereas Notch2-mediated selection does not. Importantly, anti-insulin B cell numbers were reduced by Btk deficiency, but not Notch2 haploinsufficiency. These studies show that 1) Notch2 haploinsufficiency limits NOD MZ B cell expansion without preventing type 1 diabetes, 2) BTK supports the Notch2 pathway in NOD MZ B cells, and 3) autoreactive NOD B cell survival relies on BTK more than Notch2, regardless of MZ location, which may have important implications for disease-intervention strategies.
Draft Genome Sequence of an Endophytic Actinoplanes Species, Encoding Uncommon trans-Acyltransferase Polyketide Synthases

ABSTRACT Actinoplanes is an endophytic actinobacterium isolated from the medicinal plant Amphipterygium adstringens. The strain draft genome sequence reveals a gene cluster involved in the biosynthesis of a hybrid trans-acyltransferase (AT) polyketide, an unconventional bioactive metabolite never reported before in the genus Actinoplanes.
CD30‐specific AB1‐AB2‐AB3 internal image antibody network: Potential use as anti‐idiotype vaccine against Hodgkin's lymphoma

The tumor‐associated CD30 antigen is presently under study as a target for active specific immunotherapy of Hodgkin's lymphoma with anti‐idiotypic antibodies. Internal image antibodies (Ab2(i) 9G10 and 14G9 against the CD30‐specific antibody HRS‐4 (Abl) have been described, which induce a CD30‐specific T‐ and B‐cell response in BALB/c mice and New Zealand white rabbits. In extension of this work, murine monoclonal anti‐idiotypic Ab2β 9G10, mimicking structures of the nominal CD30 antigen, was used to generate monoclonal Ab3 in mice and polyclonal Ab3 in rabbits with specificity for CD30. The Ab2p 9G10‐specific murine monoclonal Ab3 4A4 bound specifically to the 120‐kDa band of CD30 present on Hodgkin cell lines and Hodgkin tumor tissue, and effectively inhibited binding of Ab1 HRS‐4 to Ab2 9G10 as well as to CD30+ cells. Monoclonal Ab3 4A4 was cytotoxic for CD30+ cell lines in vitro and effectively prevented the s.c. growth of L540 cell tumors after passive i.v. administration in a SCID mouse tumor model. While this cytotoxic effect of the IgM subclass monoclonal Ab3 4A4 was due to complement activation, the murine monoclonal Abl HRS‐4 and a polyclonal Ab3 preparation of 1gG‐subclass from New Zealand white rabbits were cytotoxic by an antibody‐dependent cell‐mediated mechanism in vitro. In conclusion, Ab2p 9G10 is able to induce a CD30‐specific cytotoxic 1gG and 1gM response. Cytotoxicity was shown to be mediated by complement activation and antibody‐dependent cell‐mediated cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo and across species barriers. Thus, the CD30‐like Ab2β 9G10 may hold promise for effective active specific immunotherapy of human Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Local versus general anaesthesia for varicose veins surgery: a prospective non-randomized controlled trial

Objective To compare the acceptability and outcome of primary varicose vein (VV) surgery (saphenofemoral or saphenopopliteal ligation/excision) under local anaesthesia (LA) with that of general anaesthesia (GA). Methods A non-randomized controlled trial of consecutive patients treated between April 2004 and March 2006 was performed. After complete informed consent individual patients were asked to select their preferred form of anaesthesia (LA or GA). Preoperative disease status and co-morbidities were recorded. Outcomes were assessed perioperatively and at six weeks and six months postoperatively using patient scoring systems including the Aberdeen varicose veins severity score (AVVSS). Results Seventy-two (LA 46[62%] and GA 26[38%]) patients participated; median (range) age was 48 (21–74) years versus 36 (21–59) years (P = 0.0164), respectively. All procedures were performed as day cases. Median postoperative pain scores for LA and GA did not differ at 12 hours (4 versus 4; P = 0.48) and four days (5 versus 6; P = 0.44). Median improvement in the AVVSS at six weeks and six months for LA and GA cohorts were 5.7 versus 6.1 (P = 0.875) and 6.5 versus 8.3 (P = 0.131), respectively. Overall patient satisfaction did not show any intergroup difference at six weeks. Conclusions Surgical treatment of VV under LA can be performed safely with comparable results to GA in self-selected patients.
A new approach for byzantine agreement

Due to the malicious attacks and software errors cause faulty nodes to exhibit arbitrary behavior, a byzantine agreement (BA) is increasingly important. A novel solution for the BA problem is presented. We propose the use of an artificial neural network (ANN), a back propagation network (BPN), to help reach a common value in a fully connected network (FCN), and as a substitute for storing messages in each processor. There are several significant advantages: (1) using ANN to store messages, the memory space required in previous approaches is no longer needed; (2) the characteristic of the learning ability can help other new applications of the BA reach an agreement; and (3) parallel processing can be achieved in each processor.
Technological Change in Resource Extraction and Endogenous Growth

We add an extractive sector to an endogenous growth model of expanding varieties and directed technological change. Extractive firms reduce the stock of non-renewable resources through extraction, but also increase the stock through R&D investment in extraction technology. Our model replicates long-term trends in non-renewable resource markets, namely stable prices and exponentially increasing extraction, for which we present data from 1792 to 2009. The model suggests that the development of new extraction technologies neutralizes the increasing demand for non-renewable resources in industrializing countries like China in the long term.
Subglacial sediment distribution from constrained seismic inversion, using MuLTI software: examples from Midtdalsbreen, Norway

ABSTRACT Fast ice flow is associated with the deformation of subglacial sediment. Seismic shear velocities, Vs, increase with the rigidity of material and hence can be used to distinguish soft sediment from hard bedrock substrates. Depth profiles of Vs can be obtained from inversions of Rayleigh wave dispersion curves, from passive or active-sources, but these can be highly ambiguous and lack depth sensitivity. Our novel Bayesian transdimensional algorithm, MuLTI, circumvents these issues by adding independent depth constraints to the inversion, also allowing comprehensive uncertainty analysis. We apply MuLTI to the inversion of a Rayleigh wave dataset, acquired using active-source (Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves) techniques, to characterise sediment distribution beneath the frontal margin of Midtdalsbreen, an outlet of Norway's Hardangerjøkulen ice cap. Ice thickness (0–20 m) is constrained using co-located GPR data. Outputs from MuLTI suggest that partly-frozen sediment (Vs 500–1000 m s−1), overlying bedrock (Vs 2000–2500 m s−1), is present in patches with a thickness of ~4 m, although this approaches the resolvable limit of our Rayleigh wave frequencies (14–100 Hz). Uncertainties immediately beneath the glacier bed are <280 m s−1, implying that MuLTI cannot only distinguish bedrock and sediment substrates but does so with an accuracy sufficient for resolving variations in sediment properties.
“Too Long in Foreign Parts”?: An Asian Reception to Cosmopolitanism in Henry James’s The American and The Portrait of a Lady

The works of Henry James with their attention to cosmopolitanism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries provide valuable insight into contemporary expectations of cultural hybridity and globalism. This paper assesses the ways students studying English as a foreign language in Taiwan read the cultural exchanges between Americans and Europeans in James’s The American (1877) and The Portrait of a Lady (1881). It places the main attention upon how students evaluate James’s characters based upon their own attitudes toward cosmopolitanism, work and leisure, and women’s independence. Informed by the travel theory of Mary Louise Pratt (2008) and Homi Bhabha’s (1994) concept of the third space, it studies the negotiation and subversion of meaning in postcolonial and reverse-colonial contexts. The analysis of student responses reveals that in this culturally hybrid reading site, the limited consciousness technique of James generates judgments of characters’ potentialities based upon the students’ own values. Reconciling the cultural oppositions in the self to become a citizen of the world remains an ideal they do not see fully realized in James’s highly conflicted characters, and, as their own partial views attest, not realizable in their own lives.
HCN channelopathy and cardiac electrophysiologic dysfunction in genetic and acquired rat epilepsy models

Evidence from animal and human studies indicates that epilepsy can affect cardiac function, although the molecular basis of this remains poorly understood. Hyperpolarization‐activated cyclic nucleotide‐gated (HCN) channels generate pacemaker activity and modulate cellular excitability in the brain and heart, with altered expression and function associated with epilepsy and cardiomyopathies. Whether HCN expression is altered in the heart in association with epilepsy has not been investigated previously. We studied cardiac electrophysiologic properties and HCN channel subunit expression in rat models of genetic generalized epilepsy (Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg, GAERS) and acquired temporal lobe epilepsy (post–status epilepticus SE). We hypothesized that the development of epilepsy is associated with altered cardiac electrophysiologic function and altered cardiac HCN channel expression.
An Imaging Comparison of 64Cu-ATSM and 60Cu-ATSM in Cancer of the Uterine Cervix

Tumor uptake of copper(II)-diacetyl-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (copper-ATSM), a hypoxia-targeting radiopharmaceutical, assessed by PET has been found to correlate with prognosis in several human cancers. Wide clinical utility of this tracer will require its labeling with a copper radionuclide having a longer half-life than the 60Cu used in studies to date. The purpose of this work was to obtain the requisite preclinical data for copper-ATSM to file an investigational new drug application, followed by a crossover comparison of PET image quality and tumor uptake with 60Cu-ATSM and 64Cu-ATSM in women with cancer of the uterine cervix. Methods: The preclinical toxicology and pharmacology of a copper-ATSM formulation was examined using standard in vitro and in vivo assays, as well as 14-d toxicity studies in both rats and rabbits. For the clinical test–retest imaging study, 10 patients with cervical carcinoma underwent PET on separate days with 60Cu-ATSM and 64Cu-ATSM. Image quality was assessed qualitatively, and the tumor-to-muscle activity ratio was measured for each tracer. Results: The toxicology and pharmacology data demonstrated that the formulation has an appropriate margin of safety for clinical use. In the patient study, we found that the image quality with 64Cu-ATSM was better than that with 60Cu-ATSM because of lower noise. In addition, we found that the pattern and magnitude of tumor uptake of 60Cu-ATSM and 64Cu-ATSM on studies separated by 1–9 d were similar. Conclusion: 64Cu-ATSM appears to be a safe radiopharmaceutical that can be used to obtain high-quality images of tumor hypoxia in human cancers.
Effects of bupivacaine and calcium antagonists on the rat uterine artery

Bupivacaine is a commonly used local anesthetic in obstetrical practice, but since this compound also has a constrictor action on vascular smooth muscle it can be hazardous to the fetus. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of bupivacaine on the uterine vasculature using the rat uterine artery as a model. Small arterial segments were mounted in tissue chambers for isometric recording of vascular tension using a specially designed teflon‐steel gauge. Bupivacaine induced marked vasoconstriction and this vasoconstriction was reduced considerably by two different Ca antagonists, verapamil and nifedipine. Verapamil (10–5mol. 1‐1) reduced bupivacaine‐produced arterial contraction by a mean of 78% and nifedipine (2. 9 times 10‐7mol‐l‐1) reduced arterial contraction by a mean of 57%.
Numerical analysis of air bubble formation in PDMS micro-channels in negative pressure-driven flow

Unexpected air bubbles during microfluidic device operation always are problematic, while the underlying mechanism of the bubble formation is not well understood systematically. Here we elucidate the mechanism of air bubble nucleation in PDMS microfluidic channel during negative pressure-driven flow by theoretical analysis and numerical calculations. In negative pressure-driven flow, the unwanted air bubbles mostly originate from trapped air cavities, which are mainly due to the hydrophobicity of PDMS channel surface. Specific channel geometries and surface conditions, such as small channel corners and surface impurities, also catalyze the air bubble formation. The mechanism is developed in theoretical analysis to explain the air bubble formation process and numerical calculation is further developed based on two-phase flow to compare the influence of different parameters. Experimental observation validates the developed theory and the simulation. We believe that this study could help understand the problem more methodically and systemically in physics level, and benefit the gas bubbles prevention and removal strategy development.