Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A modelling study to inform specification and optimal electrode placement for imaging of neuronal depolarization during visual evoked responses by electrical and magnetic detection impedance tomography

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has the potential to achieve non-invasive functional imaging of fast neuronal activity in the human brain due to opening of ion channels during neuronal depolarization. Local changes of resistance in the cerebral cortex are about 1%, but the size and location of changes recorded on the scalp are unknown. The purpose of this work was to develop an anatomically realistic finite element model of the adult human head and use it to predict the amplitude and topography of changes on the scalp, and so inform specification for an in vivo measuring system. A detailed anatomically realistic finite element (FE) model of the head was produced from high resolution MRI. Simulations were performed for impedance changes in the visual cortex during evoked activity with recording of scalp potentials by electrodes or magnetic flux density by magnetoencephalography (MEG) in response to current injected with electrodes. The predicted changes were validated by recordings in saline filled tanks and with boundary voltages measured on the human scalp. Peak changes were 1.03 ± 0.75 µV (0.0039 ± 0.0034%) and 27 ± 13 fT (0.2 ± 0.5%) respectively, which yielded an estimated peak signal-to-noise ratio of about 4 for in vivo averaging over 10 min and 1 mA current injection. The largest scalp changes were over the occipital cortex. This modelling suggests, for the first time, that reproducible changes could be recorded on the scalp in vivo in single channels, although a higher SNR would be desirable for accurate image production. The findings suggest that an in vivo study is warranted in order to determine signal size but methods to improve SNR, such as prolonged averaging or other signal processing may be needed for accurate image production.
Muscle fatigue during dynamic contractions assessed by new spectral indices.

PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to test the applicability and sensitivity of new electromyography (EMG) spectral indices in assessing peripheral muscle fatigue during dynamic knee-extension exercise. METHODS Seven subjects completed 10 sets of 15 repetitions of right knee-extension exercise lifting 50% of their one-repetition maximum. Torque (T), knee-joint angle, and the interference EMG of rectus femoris muscle were recorded simultaneously. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) was tested before and after exercise. Median spectral frequency (Fmed) and new spectral indices of muscle fatigue (FInsmk) were calculated for each repetition. RESULTS The rate and range of FInsmk- and Fmed-relative changes against the first repetition of the corresponding set increased gradually across successive repetitions within the set, reflecting accumulation of peripheral muscle fatigue. The maximal change of FInsmk observed in the present experiment was approximately eightfold, whereas that of Fmed was only 32%. Significant between-subject variability in the range of FInsmk changes (P < 0.0001) was found, so a hierarchical cluster analysis of muscle fatigue indices was conducted. Three distinct subgroups of subjects were identified: high (N = 1, FInsmk change > 400%), medium (N = 4, 200% < FInsmk change < 400%), and low (N = 2, FInsmk change < 200%) muscle fatigability. The changes in muscle performance during (last vs first repetition peak T, P = 0.03) and after (post- vs preexercise MVC, P = 0.012) exercise were significantly different between clusters (one-way ANOVA). The rate of fatigue development was also significantly different between clusters (linear regression analysis of Fmed and FInsmk changes). CONCLUSIONS The new spectral indices are a valid and reliable tool for assessment of muscle fatigability irrespective of EMG signal variability caused by dynamic muscle contractions, and these indices are more sensitive than those traditionally used.
Operating Strategy for Local-Area Energy Systems Integration Considering Uncertainty of Supply-Side and Demand-Side under Conditional Value-At-Risk Assessment

To alleviate environmental pollution and improve the energy usage efficiency of terminals, energy systems integration (ESI) has become an important paradigm in the energy structure evolution. Power, gas and heat systems are becoming tightly interlinked with each other in ESI. The dispatching strategy of local-area ESI has significant impact on its operation. In this paper, a local-area ESI operational scheduling model based on conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) is proposed to minimize expected operational cost, which considers the uncertainty of energy supply-side and demand-side as well as multi-energy network constraints, including electrical network, thermal network and gas network. The risk cost is analyzed comprehensively under the condition of under- or overestimated cost. On this basis, a hybrid method combining particle swarm optimization with interior point algorithm is executed to compute the optimal solutions of two-stage multi-period mixed-integer convex model. Finally, a case study is performed on ESI to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Environmental and biological controls on size-specific δ13C and δ18O in recent planktonic foraminifera

As living organisms, planktonic foraminifera are not passive tracers of the environment. Their test geochemistry—arguably the single most important resource for paleoceanographic research—reflects the combined signal of environmental, biological, and preservational processes. For most species, comparisons of test stable isotopic composition within and among taxa provide the primary means for disentangling the relative influences of these different processes. Here we test the foundations of our paleoceanographic interpretations with the first quantitative comparison of the determinants of carbon and oxygen isotopic variation across multiple ocean basins, studies, and species by re-analyzing size-specific data collated from the literature. We find clear evidence of species-specific biological effects (i.e., vital effects), as the intercepts of size-specific carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions differ significantly among species. Trends in body size and isotopic composition, particularly in dinoflagellate bearing taxa, suggest that much of the size-dependent isotopic variation observed in death assemblages (i.e., core tops and sediments) relates to factors influencing the maximum size obtained by adults rather than ontogeny. The presence and type of photosymbiont hosted (dinoflagellate, chrysophyte, or none) were a major factor affecting species- and size-specific ? 18O values. In contrast, size-related trends in ? 13C values were driven by depth habitat (mixed layer, thermocline, subthermocline), symbiont ecology and whether the assemblage was alive or dead when sampled. On this broad geographic and oceanographic scale, ocean basin and biome had a significant effect on ? 18O and ? 13C values . Our analysis and its model-averaged predictions provide a quantitative basis for interpreting size-specific isotopic variation in 22 species of modern macroperforate planktonic foraminifera. We conclude by highlighting existing data gaps and outstanding questions of the relative influence of environmental, preservational, and biological processes on variation in the test geochemistry of planktonic foraminifera.
Optimism, Cynical Hostility, and Incident Coronary Heart Disease and Mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative

Background— Trait optimism (positive future expectations) and cynical, hostile attitudes toward others have not been studied together in relation to incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and mortality in postmenopausal women. Methods and Results— Participants were 97 253 women (89 259 white, 7994 black) from the Women’s Health Initiative who were free of cancer and cardiovascular disease at study entry. Optimism was assessed by the Life Orientation Test–Revised and cynical hostility by the cynicism subscale of the Cook Medley Questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models produced adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) for incident CHD (myocardial infarction, angina, percutaneous coronary angioplasty, or coronary artery bypass surgery) and total mortality (CHD, cardiovascular disease, or cancer related) over ≈8 years. Optimists (top versus bottom quartile [“pessimists”]) had lower age-adjusted rates (per 10 000) of CHD (43 versus 60) and total mortality (46 versus 63). The most cynical, hostile women (top versus bottom quartile) had higher rates of CHD (56 versus 44) and total mortality (63 versus 46). Optimists (versus pessimists) had a lower hazard of CHD (AHR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.99), CHD-related mortality (AHR 0.70, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.90), cancer-related mortality (blacks only; AHR 0.56, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.88), and total mortality (AHR 0.86, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.93). Most (versus least) cynical, hostile women had a higher hazard of cancer-related mortality (AHR 1.23, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.40) and total mortality (AHR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.27; this effect was pronounced in blacks). Effects of optimism and cynical hostility were independent. Conclusions— Optimism and cynical hostility are independently associated with important health outcomes in black and white women. Future research should examine whether interventions designed to change attitudes would lead to altered risk.
Incidental findings in genetic research and clinical diagnostic tests: A systematic review

Incidental findings arise when clinically relevant genetic information about a research participant or patient is identified outside the scope of the original research objective or diagnostic test being performed. These findings can relate to carrier status for a heritable condition, misattributed paternity or increased susceptibility to a medical condition. The decision whether to disclose these findings to the research subject or patient is underpinned by many ethical, moral, and potentially legal considerations. There is an urgent need for definitive guidelines for researchers and healthcare professionals. We performed a systematic review of the relevant literature concerning the disclosure of incidental findings, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses recommendations, using the prescribed flowchart and checklist. At initial screening, 473 articles were retrieved. The inclusion and exclusion criteria aimed at obtaining data that were relevant and of sufficient quality were applied and a total of four relevant studies were identified, comprising 2,680 individual participants and 1,023 guidance documents. Major themes emerging from the included articles include patient autonomy, patient welfare, harmful secrets, and genetic literacy. The lack of relevant studies emphasizes the urgent need for empirical investigations into the disclosure or non‐disclosure of genetic incidental findings, and the provision of guidelines to assist healthcare professionals and researchers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Transcription Factor-dependent DNA Bending Governs Promoter Recognition by the Mitochondrial RNA Polymerase*

Promoter recognition is the first and the most important step during gene expression. Our studies of the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) mitochondrial (mt) transcription machinery provide mechanistic understandings on the basic problem of how the mt RNA polymerase (RNAP) with the help of the initiation factor discriminates between promoter and non-promoter sequences. We have used fluorescence-based approaches to quantify DNA binding, bending, and opening steps by the core mtRNAP subunit (Rpo41) and the transcription factor (Mtf1). Our results show that promoter recognition is not achieved by tight and selective binding to the promoter sequence. Instead, promoter recognition is achieved by an induced-fit mechanism of transcription factor-dependent differential conformational changes in the promoter and non-promoter DNAs. While Rpo41 induces a slight bend upon binding both the DNAs, addition of the Mtf1 results in severe bending of the promoter and unbending of the non-promoter DNA. Only the sharply bent DNA results in the catalytically active open complex. Such an induced-fit mechanism serves three purposes: 1) assures catalysis at promoter sites, 2) prevents RNA synthesis at non-promoter sites, and 3) provides a conformational state at the non-promoter sites that would aid in facile translocation to scan for specific sites.
Rethinking sentiment analysis and ‘ master narratives ’ : an alternative unsupervised text analytics approach using ‘ information space differences ’

Widespread interest exists in government in applying data analytics techniques to ‘big data’, for example social media data, to gauge sentiment among populations. Two catchphrases which have ridden this wave of interest and gained currency are ‘sentiment analysis’ and ‘master narratives’. However, both entail methodological problems, and we suggest a rather different way of looking at big data, specifically, social media data, which can be computationally well-defined and validated, avoiding reliance on heuristics, and which is fully driven by the data itself rather than any analyst preconceptions. We show via examples that our unsupervised alternative is in fact capable of teasing out themes related to sentiment and master narratives from big social media data – themes which could potentially be useful in informing diplomacy.
CIO Rank as Organizational Integration Mechanism Does Higher CIO Rank Serve as an Organizational Integration Mechanism ? Completed Research Paper

Twenty years ago, ERP systems, Big Data and products embedded with information technology were not part of the IT landscape, but today these technologies are ubiquitous or at least top of mind for executives trying to remain competitive. Amidst this change, what firm level factors are critical to understanding the appropriate organizational response for the IT organization? We observe a previously unmeasured factor, the demand for integration, on the rank of the top IT executive, or CIO Rank. Using data on 186 Fortune 1000 firms over 17 years, we find that the demand for integration significantly influences the CIO Rank. Additional evidence suggests that a higher CIO Rank alleviates the generally harmful influence that the demand for integration has on firm performance, especially in recent years. The results illustrate the relevance of the demand for integration and that the CIO Rank may serve as an organizational integration mechanism for firms.
On the Interaction Between Perceptual and Response Selection: Neuropsychological Evidence

We examined the relations between selection for perception and selection for action in a patient FK, with bilateral damage to his temporal and medial frontal cortices. The task required a simple grasp response to a common object (a cup) in the presence of a distractor (another cup). The target was cued by colour or location, and FK made manual responses. We examined the effects on performance of cued and uncued dimensions of both the target and the distractor. FK was impaired at perceptually selecting the target when cued by colour, when the target colour but not its location changed on successive trials. The effect was sensitive to the relative orientations of targets and distractors, indicating an effect of action selection on perceptual selection, when perceptual selection was weakly instantiated. The dimension-specific carry-over effect on reaching was enhanced when there was a temporal delay between a cue and the response, and it disappeared when there was a between-trial delay. The results indicate that perceptual and action selection systems interact to determine the efficiency with which actions are selected to particular objects.
Identification of immunogenic MAGED4B peptides for vaccine development in oral cancer immunotherapy

The ever-increasing number of tumor-associated antigens has provided a major stimulus for the development of therapeutic peptides vaccines. Tumor-associated peptides can induce high immune response rates and have been developed as vaccines for several types of solid tumors, and many are at various stages of clinical testing. MAGED4B, a melanoma antigen, is overexpressed in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and this expression promotes proliferation and cell migration. In this study, we have identified 9 short peptides derived from MAGED4B protein that are restricted in binding to the HLA subtypes common in the Asian population (HLA-A2, A11, and A24). The peptides had good binding affinity with the MHC-Class I molecules and stimulated ex-vivo IFN-gamma and Granzyme-B production in blood samples from OSCC patients, suggesting that they are immunogenic. Further, T cells stimulated with peptide-pulsed dendritic cells showed enhanced T-cell cytotoxic activity against MAGED4B-overexpressing OSCC cell lines. In summary, we have identified MAGED4B peptides that induce anti-tumor immune responses advocating that they could be further developed as vaccine candidates for the treatment of OSCC.
Specific loss of apoptotic but not cell‐cycle arrest function in a human tumor derived p53 mutant.

The p53 tumor‐suppressor gene product is frequently inactivated in malignancies by point mutation. Although most tumor‐derived p53 mutants show loss of sequence specific transcriptional activation, some mutants have been identified which retain this activity. One such mutant, p53175P, is defective for the suppression of transformation in rodent cells, despite retaining the ability to suppress the growth of p53‐null human cells. We now demonstrate that p53175P can induce a cell‐cycle arrest in appropriate cell types but shows loss of apoptotic function. Our results therefore support a direct role of p53 transcriptional activation in mediating a cell‐cycle arrest and demonstrate that such activity is not sufficient for the full apoptotic response. These data suggest that either p53 can induce apoptosis through a transcriptionally independent mechanism, a function lost by p53175P, or that this mutant has specifically lost the ability to activate genes which contribute to cell death, despite activation of genes responsible for the G1 arrest. This dissociation of the cell‐cycle arrest and apoptotic activities of p53 indicates that inactivation of p53 apoptotic function without concomitant loss of growth inhibition can suffice to relieve p53‐dependent tumor‐suppression in vivo and thereby contribute to tumor development.
Optoelectronic devices for terahertz amplification and oscillation

In the terahertz (THz) frequency range, compact and coherent solid-state light sources are required for various applications. In this paper, a resonant tunneling diode oscillator integrated with a slot antenna, its oscillation in sub-THz range, and feasibility of the terahertz oscillation are reported. Theoretical characteristics of the fabricated device were in very good agreement with measurements. Higher oscillation frequency beyond 1 THz is feasible from this result. Proposal of a THz three-terminal device is also shown.
Construction and validation of an instrument that breaks the silence: the impact of domestic and/or sexual violence on women’s health, as shown during climacterium

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to construct and to validate a measure of the consequences of domestic violence on women’s health during climacterium. MethodsA questionnaire was administered at the Outpatient Climacterium Clinic to 124 women aged 40 to 65 years who were the victims of domestic and/or sexual violence (experimental group). They were divided into three groups: (1) those who were victims of violence exclusively during childhood/adolescence, (2) those who were victims of violence exclusively during adulthood, and (3) those who were victims of violence throughout their lives. The instrument included 34 items evaluating the beginning, frequency, and type of violence; the search for health assistance and reporting of the violence; the violence and the number of comorbidities; and violence and the Kupperman Menopausal Index. We also included a control group composed of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who did not experience any violence (n = 120). ResultsThe instrument presented a Cronbach &agr; = 0.82, good reliability among the examiners (+0.80), and a good possibility of reproducibility. The mean age of menopause was 45.4 years, and the mean age in the control group was 48.1 years. Group 1 showed a mean of 5.1 comorbidities, Group 2 had 4.6, and Group 3 had 4.4. Sexual violence (43.5%) and other types of violence both presented average comorbidities (4.60) but represented a significant impairment in the victim’s sexual life. There were significant associations in group 3 and a high Kupperman Menopausal Index score. In the experimental group, 80.6% did not seek health services for the violence they experienced. ConclusionsThe questionnaire presented good internal consistency and a validated construction. It can be easily reproduced and is indicated to evaluate the consequences of domestic and/or sexual violence on women’s health during climacterium.
Investigation of the effects of White Gaussian Noise jamming on commercial GNSS receivers

Satellite-based navigation and location technology has become an important tool for many positioning, navigation, and timing services. However, with increased use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) comes a major challenge — GNSS signal jamming, which is an intentional form of interference. Nearly all electronic equipment using services generated by GNSS receivers is susceptible to jamming, and its effects include degradation in received signal power and receiver clock drift. Jamming signals are categorized as narrowband and wideband signals according to the bandwidth of the target signal. One common type that has recently been researched is White Gaussian Noise (WGN) jamming. Several studies investigated the impact of such signal jamming on the performance of GNSS receivers under a variety of jamming conditions. This paper, on the contrary, investigates the effects of White Gaussian Noise jamming on the performance of both high-sensitivity and standard GNSS commercial receivers. Additionally, the performance of GPS-only receivers versus combined GPS/GLONASS receivers under jamming scenarios is explored. This study used receivers by NovAtel and UBlox, with simulation scenarios created using Spirent SimGEN™ with the GSS6700 Multi-GNSS Simulator. The jamming signals were generated using an Agilent interference signal generator (ISG) unit. The results show that the receivers responded differently to the jamming signals. Dilution of Precision (DOP) and the Carrier-to-Noise (C/N0) were the main measures used for the evaluation process. The results show that multi-constellation receivers attained higher resistance for signal jamming effects than GPS only receivers.
Body size divergence promotes post-zygotic reproductive isolation in centrarchids

Question: Does morphological divergence accelerate the evolution of post-zygotic reproductive isolation? Data incorporated: Estimates of divergence time between species, body size divergence, and hybrid embryo viability in the freshwater fish family Centrarchidae. Method of analysis: We estimated the age of each node in the phylogeny using penalized likelihood, calibrated with multiple fossil dates. We then regressed the average body size and hybrid viability at each phylogenetic node against the node’s age. Residuals from these regressions were compared to test for time-independent relationships between body size divergence and post-zygotic reproductive isolation. Conclusions: Morphologically divergent species tend to experience stronger post-zygotic reproductive isolation than expected given their age. These results suggest that morphological divergence between species is associated with an accelerated accumulation of genetic incompatibilities, and highlight one potential avenue by which ecological divergence may facilitate speciation.