Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cortical motor and somatosensory representation: effect of cerebral lesions.

OBJECT Changes in cortical representation in patients with cerebral lesions may alter the correlation between cortical anatomy and function. This is of potential clinical significance when the extent of cortical resection is based on surface anatomical landmarks. METHODS Fifty-one patients with supratentorial lesions were studied. Nineteen harbored noncentral lesions (no involvement of pre- or postcentral gyrus), whereas 32 had central lesions. Control studies consisted of stimulation of the hand contralateral to the unaffected hemisphere. Positron emission tomography activation studies were performed using the [15O]H2O tracer. Somatosensory stimulation of the hand or foot was performed using a mechanical vibrator. Motor activation consisted of hand clenching or foot tapping. The t-statistic volumes were generated from images showing the mean change in regional cerebral blood flow, and coregistered with a T1-weighted magnetic resonance image. At the threshold selected, exclusive contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex activation was elicited in 100% of the control studies. A different pattern of cortical activation was associated with central lesions in 35 (78%) of 45 patients, which occurred significantly more often than with noncentral lesions (eight [31%] of 26 patients). The most common difference in the pattern of activation with central lesions was activation of cortical regions outside the central area (including the supplementary sensorimotor area and the secondary somatosensory cortex). No sensorimotor activation was observed in gyri adjacent to the pre- or postcentral gyrus. CONCLUSIONS Central lesions are more frequently associated with altered patterns in activation than lesions in noncentral locations. Characteristic patterns include activation of secondary sensorimotor areas. The absence of activation in gyri adjacent to the sensorimotor strip has clinical significance for the planning of resections in the central area.
Modeling of peptides connecting the ligand‐binding and transmembrane domains in the GluR2 glutamate receptor

Ligand‐gated Glutamate receptors (GluR) mediate synaptic signals in the nervous system. Ionotropic GluRs of AMPA type, the subject of this study, are tetrameric assemblies of monomer subunits, each of which is constructed in a modular fashion from functional subdomains. The extracellular ligand‐binding domain (LBD) changes its conformation upon binding of an agonist ligand followed by opening of a transmembrane (TM) ion channel. Peptides connecting the LBD and TM domains facilitate gating of the channel, and their structure and composition are important for the receptor functioning. In this study, we used replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations to model S1M1 and S2M3 connecting peptides of the GluR2 receptor in two implicit solvents, water and interfacial water/lipid medium characterized by lower polarity. Propensity of these peptides to form helical structures was analyzed using helicity measure derived from the free energy of the simulated ensembles of structures. The S1M1 and S2M3 connecting peptides were not helical in our simulations in both dielectric environments in the absence of the rest of the protein. The structures of the LBD fragment with known high‐resolution α‐helical structure and of the TM3 helix were successfully predicted in the simulations, which in part validate our results. The S2M3 peptide, which is important in gating, formed a well‐defined coil structure and salt‐bridges with the S2 domain. The S1M1 peptide formed a loop structure via formation of internal salt‐bridges. Potential implications of these structures on function of the receptor are discussed. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hyperlink analysis of the visibility of Canadian library and information science school web sites

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to probe the external visibility of the web sites of all seven ALA‐accredited Canadian library and information science (LIS) schools. The number of inlinks to the schools' web sites is used as an indicator of the visibility of all or some portions of the LIS web sites.Design/methodology/approach – Inlinks pointing to the LIS school web sites were collected using the AlltheWeb search engine. The LIS school web pages pointed to by inlinks were manually analysed to discover visible topics and contents.Findings – Four content clusters were identified by which to group the content of all the inlinked LIS school web pages. These clusters were LIS, research, home page and resources. The most visible cluster was the LIS cluster and the least visible was the research cluster. The most visible topics were student projects/activities, LIS‐related resources and course‐related information, in that order. The home page of each LIS school's web site was shown to be the single web p.
Differential impact of belatacept and cyclosporine A on central aortic blood pressure and arterial stiffness after renal transplantation

Calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) are potent vasoconstrictors and induce an acceleration of arteriosclerosis, thus contributing to the cardiovascular risk after renal transplantation. The study compares the impact of belatacept and cyclosporine A (CsA) on arterial stiffness and central aortic blood pressure. We performed a case–control study in 46 patients (23 on belatacept and 23 on CsA) matched for age, body mass index, time after transplantation, and time on dialysis prior to transplantation. Pulse wave analysis (SphygmoCor, AtCor®) was used to assess central aortic blood pressure, aortic augmentation pressure, and pulse wave velocity (PWV) as a marker of arterial stiffness. Assessment of vascular function was performed after a minimum of 20 months and a median follow‐up of 81 months post‐transplant. Peripheral systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not significantly differ in the two groups (p > 0.05 each). The central aortic augmentation pressure was higher in the CsA group (12.7 mmHg vs. 7.3 mmHg, p = 0.048). PWV as a measure of arterial stiffness did not differ in the two groups. Thus, belatacept is not associated with a significant difference in arterial stiffness compared to CsA after a median of 81 months post‐transplant. It is associated, however, with a lower aortic augmentation pressure, a strong independent cardiovascular risk factor.
Prevalence of Unique Pediatric Pathologies Encountered by Paramedic Students Across Age Groups

Abstract Introduction Traditionally, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) educators have divided the pediatric population into age groups to assist in targeting their clinical and didactic curriculum. Currently, the accrediting body for paramedic training programs requires student exposure to pediatric patients based entirely on age without specifying exposure to specific pathologies within each age stratification. Identifying which pathologies are most common within the different pediatric age groups would allow educators to design curriculum targeting the most prevalent pathologies in each age group and incorporating the physiologic and psychological developmental milestones commonly seen at that age. Hypothesis It was hypothesized that there are unique clusterings of pathologies, represented by paramedic student primary impressions, that are found in different age groups which can be used to target provider education. Methods This is a retrospective review of prospectively collected data documented by paramedic students in the Fisdap (Field Internship Student Data Acquisition Project; Saint Paul, Minnesota USA) database over a one-year period. For the purposes of this study, pediatric patients were defined arbitrarily as those between the ages of 0-16 years. All paramedic student primary impressions recorded in Fisdap for patients aged 0-16 years were abstracted. Primary impression by age was calculated and graphed. The frequency of primary impression was then assessed for significance of trend by age with an alpha ≤. 05 considered significant. Results The following primary impressions showed clinically and statistically significant variability in prevalence among different pediatric age groups: respiratory distress, medical-other, abdominal pain, seizure, overdose/poisoning, behavioral, and cardiac. In patients less than 13 years old, respiratory and other-medical were the most common two primary impressions and both decreased with age. In patients 5-16 years old, the prevalence of abdominal pain and behavioral/psych increased. Bimodal distributions for overdose were seen with one spike in the toddler and another in the adolescent population. Seizures were most common in the age group associated with febrile seizure. Sepsis was seen most often in the youngest patients and its prevalence decreased with age. Conclusion There are statistically significant variations in the frequency of paramedic student primary impressions as a function of age in the pediatric population. Emphasizing paramedic student exposure to the most common pathologies encountered in each age group, in the context of the psychological and physiological milestones of each age, may improve paramedic student pediatric practice. ErnestEV, BrazeltonTB, CarhartED, StudnekJR, TrittPL, PhilipGA, BurnettAM. Prevalence of unique pediatric pathologies encountered by paramedic students across age groups. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016; 31(4):386–391.
On Rate Control of Wireless Multicasting

This paper studies wireless multicast communication, where a source of common information is transmitted to a group of receivers over fading channels. Communication between the transmitter and each of the receivers is implemented by specifying a minimum signal to noise ratio (SNR) threshold; if the threshold is met, the communication is successful at a corresponding rate, otherwise the communication fails. The determination of SNR threshold that maximizes the effective multicast communication rate is termed rate control. By modeling the channel from the transmitter to each of the receivers as an erasure channel and assuming only channel distribution information at the transmitter, the optimal SNR threshold under a given transmit power is derived. It is shown that, in the low transmit power regime, the optimal ratio between the SNR threshold and the transmit power is determined only by the channel distributions.
Robust Camera Tracking by Combining Color and Depth Measurements

One of the major research areas in computer vision is scene reconstruction from image streams. The advent of RGB-D cameras, such as the Microsoft Kinect, has lead to new possibilities for performing accurate and dense 3D reconstruction. There are already well-working algorithms to acquire 3D models from depth sensors, both for large and small scale scenes. However, these methods often break down when the scene geometry is not so informative, for example, in the case of planar surfaces. Similarly, standard image-based methods fail for texture-less scenes. We combine both color and depth measurements from an RGB-D sensor to simultaneously reconstruct both the camera motion and the scene geometry in a robust manner. Experiments on real data show that we can accurately reconstruct large-scale 3D scenes despite many planar surfaces.
D Information Searching and Search Models

Key terms related to information searching and search models are defined. A historic context is provided to illustrate the evolution of the four main digital environments that users interact with in their search process to offer readers background information regarding the transition from manual information systems to computer-based information retrieval (IR) systems, as well as the transition from intermediary searching to end-user searching. Emphasis is placed on the review of different levels of information searching from search tactics/moves, search strategies, and usage patterns, to search models and associated factors in relation to task, user knowledge structure, IR system design, and social-organization context. Search models are further classified into two types, with one type illustrating information search process (ISP) and the other type emphasizing the factors that influence the process. In addition, unsolved problems and future research are discussed and suggested.
Concentration Gradient Along the Scala Tympani After Local Application of Gentamicin to the Round Window Membrane

Objectives: The distribution of gentamicin along the fluid spaces of the cochlea after local applications has never previously been demonstrated. Computer simulations have predicted that significant basal‐apical concentration gradients might be expected, and histologic studies indicate that hair cell damage is greater at the base than at the apex after local gentamicin application. In the present study, gradients of gentamicin along the cochlea were measured.
Fast Adapting PMD Equalizers Using Adaptive Step-Size Control

Optical high speed transmission is limited by the effects of PMD. Electrical equalization principles are entering more and more the field of PMD-mitigation techniques. Within these mitigators there is the group of adaptive electrical filters, with the drawback of a time-consuming adaption process. Several efficient step-size control algorithms are are implemented, which accelerate the adaption-process significantly, making the adaption up to ten times faster. These algorithms are analyzed and optimized to fit to the requirements of PMD-mitigation in optical DD-OOK systems.
Obesity in the elderly – a future matter of concern?

In most studies mean body weight increases with age up to about age 60 and then levels off, but information about the association between body weight and mortality at higher ages is sparse, since most studies published are cross‐sectional, thus introducing a bias in selectivity. Some studies actually suggest a protective effect of overweight in the oldest age groups. Indices of visceral obesity may be better indicators of risk than body mass index (BMI) in these age groups. Not only actual weight, but also weight development over the last decades may predict outcome. Most clinical trials exclude older patients and little is known about benefits of diets or drugs inducing weight loss in these age groups. More information is available suggesting multiple benefits of physical activity. Mechanical complications of obesity, such as osteoarthritis and static respiratory complications seem to improve with weight loss even at higher ages. For health economic reasons it will become important to address treatment strategies in the elderly in the future, since they will constitute a large segment of the population. Recent studies suggest that bariatric surgery, previously considered contraindicated in obese patients above age 60 can be safely performed even in patients above age 70 and with the same benefits as for younger subjects.
Direct involvement of DprA, the transformation-dedicated RecA loader, in the shut-off of pneumococcal competence

Significance This article concerns the control of competence for bacterial genetic transformation. Competence is transient in the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae, involving the specific expression of ∼100 genes that are turned ON suddenly and OFF almost as abruptly. Although the mechanism rendering all cells in a culture simultaneously competent is well understood, how competence stops has remained unknown. Here, we unravel the mechanism of shut-off, describing the discovery that a key recombination protein, DprA, exerts a negative control on competence through direct, physical interaction with the master regulator of competence, the response regulator ComE, to abolish transcription from ComE-activated promoters. Natural bacterial transformation is a genetically programmed process allowing genotype alterations that involves the internalization of DNA and its chromosomal integration catalyzed by the universal recombinase RecA, assisted by its transformation-dedicated loader, DNA processing protein A (DprA). In Streptococcus pneumoniae, the ability to internalize DNA, known as competence, is transient, developing suddenly and stopping as quickly. Competence is induced by the comC-encoded peptide, competence stimulating peptide (CSP), via a classic two-component regulatory system ComDE. Upon CSP binding, ComD phosphorylates the ComE response-regulator, which then activates transcription of comCDE and the competence-specific σX, leading to a sudden rise in CSP levels and rendering all cells in a culture competent. However, how competence stops has remained unknown. We report that DprA, under σX control, interacts with ComE∼P to block ComE-driven transcription, chiefly impacting σX production. Mutations of dprA specifically disrupting interaction with ComE were isolated and shown to map mainly to the N-terminal domain of DprA. Wild-type DprA but not ComE interaction mutants affected in vitro binding of ComE to its promoter targets. Once introduced at the dprA chromosomal locus, mutations disrupting DprA interaction with ComE altered competence shut-off. The absence of DprA was found to negatively impact growth following competence induction, highlighting the importance of DprA for pneumococcal physiology. DprA has thus two key roles: ensuring production of transformants via interaction with RecA and competence shut-off via interaction with ComE, avoiding physiologically detrimental consequences of prolonged competence. Finally, phylogenetic analyses revealed that the acquisition of a new function by DprA impacted its evolution in streptococci relying on ComE to regulate comX expression.
Convex functions on Banach spaces not containing ℓ1

Abstract There is a sizeable class of results precisely relating boundedness, convergence and differentiability properties of continuous convex functions on Banach spaces to whether or not the space contains an isomorphic copy of ℓ1. In this note, we provide constructions showing that the main such results do not extend to natural broader classes of functions.
Assessment of vessel permeability by combining dynamic contrast‐enhanced and arterial spin labeling MRI

The forward volumetric transfer constant (Ktrans), a physiological parameter extracted from dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE) MRI, is weighted by vessel permeability and tissue blood flow. The permeability × surface area product per unit mass of tissue (PS) in brain tumors was estimated in this study by combining the blood flow obtained through pseudo‐continuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL) and Ktrans obtained through DCE MRI. An analytical analysis and a numerical simulation were conducted to understand how errors in the flow and Ktrans estimates would propagate to the resulting PS. Fourteen pediatric patients with brain tumors were scanned on a clinical 3‐T MRI scanner. PCASL perfusion imaging was performed using a three‐dimensional (3D) fast‐spin‐echo readout module to determine blood flow. DCE imaging was performed using a 3D spoiled gradient‐echo sequence, and the Ktrans map was obtained with the extended Tofts model. The numerical analysis demonstrated that the uncertainty of PS was predominantly dependent on that of Ktrans and was relatively insensitive to the flow. The average PS values of the whole tumors ranged from 0.006 to 0.217 min−1, with a mean of 0.050 min−1 among the patients. The mean Ktrans value was 18% lower than the PS value, with a maximum discrepancy of 25%. When the parametric maps were compared on a voxel‐by‐voxel basis, the discrepancies between PS and Ktrans appeared to be heterogeneous within the tumors. The PS values could be more than two‐fold higher than the Ktrans values for voxels with high Ktrans levels. This study proposes a method that is easy to implement in clinical practice and has the potential to improve the quantification of the microvascular properties of brain tumors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The artificial leaf.

To convert the energy of sunlight into chemical energy, the leaf splits water via the photosynthetic process to produce molecular oxygen and hydrogen, which is in a form of separated protons and electrons. The primary steps of natural photosynthesis involve the absorption of sunlight and its conversion into spatially separated electron-hole pairs. The holes of this wireless current are captured by the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) to oxidize water to oxygen. The electrons and protons produced as a byproduct of the OEC reaction are captured by ferrodoxin of photosystem I. With the aid of ferrodoxin-NADP(+) reductase, they are used to produce hydrogen in the form of NADPH. For a synthetic material to realize the solar energy conversion function of the leaf, the light-absorbing material must capture a solar photon to generate a wireless current that is harnessed by catalysts, which drive the four electron/hole fuel-forming water-splitting reaction under benign conditions and under 1 sun (100 mW/cm(2)) illumination. This Account describes the construction of an artificial leaf comprising earth-abundant elements by interfacing a triple junction, amorphous silicon photovoltaic with hydrogen- and oxygen-evolving catalysts made from a ternary alloy (NiMoZn) and a cobalt-phosphate cluster (Co-OEC), respectively. The latter captures the structural and functional attributes of the PSII-OEC. Similar to the PSII-OEC, the Co-OEC self-assembles upon oxidation of an earth-abundant metal ion from 2+ to 3+, may operate in natural water at room temperature, and is self-healing. The Co-OEC also activates H(2)O by a proton-coupled electron transfer mechanism in which the Co-OEC is increased by four hole equivalents akin to the S-state pumping of the Kok cycle of PSII. X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies have established that the Co-OEC is a structural relative of Mn(3)CaO(4)-Mn cubane of the PSII-OEC, where Co replaces Mn and the cubane is extended in a corner-sharing, head-to-tail dimer. The ability to perform the oxygen-evolving reaction in water at neutral or near-neutral conditions has several consequences for the construction of the artificial leaf. The NiMoZn alloy may be used in place of Pt to generate hydrogen. To stabilize silicon in water, its surface is coated with a conducting metal oxide onto which the Co-OEC may be deposited. The net result is that immersing a triple-junction Si wafer coated with NiMoZn and Co-OEC in water and holding it up to sunlight can effect direct solar energy conversion via water splitting. By constructing a simple, stand-alone device composed of earth-abundant materials, the artificial leaf provides a means for an inexpensive and highly distributed solar-to-fuels system that employs low-cost systems engineering and manufacturing. Through this type of system, solar energy can become a viable energy supply to those in the non-legacy world.