Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal changes in white matter disease and cognition in the first year of the Alzheimer disease neuroimaging initiative.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate relationships between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based measures of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), measured at baseline and longitudinally, and 1-year cognitive decline using a large convenience sample in a clinical trial design with a relatively mild profile of cardiovascular risk factors. DESIGN Convenience sample in a clinical trial design. SUBJECTS A total of 804 participants in the Alzheimer Disease Neuroimaging Initiative who received MRI scans, cognitive testing, and clinical evaluations at baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up visits. For each scan, WMHs were detected automatically on coregistered sets of T1, proton density, and T2 MRI images using a validated method. Mixed-effects regression models evaluated relationships between risk factors for WMHs, WMH volume, and change in outcome measures including Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog), and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale sum of boxes scores. Covariates in these models included race, sex, years of education, age, apolipoprotein E genotype, baseline clinical diagnosis (cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer disease), cardiovascular risk score, and MRI-based hippocampal and brain volumes. RESULTS Higher baseline WMH volume was associated with greater subsequent 1-year increase in ADAS-Cog and decrease in MMSE scores. Greater WMH volume at follow-up was associated with greater ADAS-Cog and lower MMSE scores at follow-up. Higher baseline age and cardiovascular risk score and more impaired baseline clinical diagnosis were associated with higher baseline WMH volume. CONCLUSIONS White matter hyperintensity volume predicts 1-year cognitive decline in a relatively healthy convenience sample that was similar to clinical trial samples, and therefore should be considered as a covariate of interest at baseline and longitudinally in future AD treatment trials.
Neuropeptides, the hypothalamus and obesity: Insights into the central control of body weight

Summary Body weight tends to remain relatively stable for long periods over an adult's lifespan. Dieting can reduce weight by 5–10%, but in most individuals attempts to lose larger amounts of weight are counteracted by a reduction in energy expenditure and an increase in hunger. The fact that body weight appears to be actively defended in this manner suggests that it is homeostatically regulated at a certain “set‐point”. Such a mechanism is likely to be centrally controlled by the brain since the hypothalamus can sense the amount of adipose tissue stored in the body and can alter both energy intake and expenditure. Over the past four years a number of major advances have reinforced the critical role the brain may play in controlling body weight, and these have greatly enhanced our understanding of this area. Advances have included the identification of several genetic mutations that cause obesity in animal models, examination of the metabolic consequences of such mutations and the development of mice with genetically engineered altered neuropeptide levels. This review summarises what has been recently discovered about the regulation of body weight by the brain and how this may be disrupted in obesity.Abbreviations: ACTH, adrenocorticotropin hormone; CPE, carboxypeptidase E; CRH, corticotropin‐releasing hormone; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; GLP‐1, glucagon‐like peptide 1; MCH, melanin‐concentrating hormone; MC‐R, melanocortin receptor; MSH, melanocyte‐stimulating hormone; NPY, neuropeptide Y; PC1, prohormone convertase 1; PVN, paraventricular nucleus.
Process-and context-sensitive research on academic knowledge practices: developing CASS-tools and methods

The Contextual Activity Sampling System (CASS) methodology and CASS-Query tools have been developed for the investigation of learning and working practices. The CASS-methods and tools provide contextualized data that allow the analyzing and modeling of within-person changes across time. This paper describes a pilot study with 3G mobiles used by eight engineering students. Students answered questionnaires concerning their ongoing study projects, academic emotions, and collaboration, with a mobile phone five times a day for a period of two weeks (70 queries per person). Variation in their emotions were examined by time-series analysis. Students were also interviewed before and after the CASS-query period. Interview and query data were used to form a picture of the variation of daily routines, challenges, and reflections of one's own activities related to engagement in academic tasks or leisure. The study reports results regarding students' experiences of the CASS-methodology, emotional experiences during the two-week follow-up, their objects and activities related to personal study projects they undertook during this period.
Persistence of Ulama in Progress of Islam in East Kotawaringin

The island of Borneo as widely known is the second largest island in Indonesia after Papua. The Dayak ethnic is the major inhabitant of the island along with other ethnics including Javanese, Banjarnese, and Maduranese. Yet the Dayak ethnic comprises a number of sub-ethnic such as Dayak Bakumpai, Dayak Meratus, and Dayak Ngaju. Examples of sub-ethnic Dayak Ngaju inhabit Central Kalimantan region, especially East Kotawaringin district. Although ethnic Dayak Ngaju residents who are still very thick with the tradition of ancestors are a little bit contrary to the teachings of Islam, but that does not mean Islam does not grow there. In fact, Islam grows rapidly and becomes the largest religion in East Kotawaringin with 86.95% of the total population of 426,176 people in 2016. Now, Islam is a religion with the most adherents is because of persistence of the ulama who has the background of various Islamic boarding school in Java and Banjarmasin. This research is a qualitative research with the method of Ethnography of Communication. With the method of communication ethnography, researchers can see how the process of delivering da’wah messages from ulama 'to the people around the Dayaknese especially so that Islam can grow well there. Ethnographic studies attempt to examine a particular cultural group based on observations and the presence of researchers in the field within a certain time. Keywords—ulama; da’wah; ethnography; dayaknese; Islam
Immunocytochemical localization of metallothionein in the rat prostate gland

Metallothionein (MT), which binds zinc and other metals, was localized within the rat prostatic complex at light and electron microscopic levels utilizing immunocytochemistry. Two groups of mature, male Sprague‐Dawley rats were injected with cadmium chloride subcutaneously (2 mg/kg body weight) to induce the synthesis of MT, and were sacrificed 48 h postinjection. From the first group, prostatic tissue from the three lobes was prepared for light microscopy. The indirect peroxidase antiperoxidase procedure was used for MT localization using rabbit anti‐MT as the primary antibody. The three lobes of the rat prostate demonstrated a positive reaction for MT, but among the lobes variations in the intensity and localization of the reaction product occurred. Tissues from the second group of animals were prepared for electron microscopy. Using the indirect immunogold labeling technique with anti‐MT, MT localization was confirmed in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, secretory vesicles, secretory products, and subepithelial connective tissue. These localizations suggest that MT binds zinc both intra‐ and extracellularly, where it may function in zinc storage and metabolism.
Cleavage-stage embryo micromanipulation in the clinical setting

ABSTRACT Embryo micromanipulation was developed after introduction of microinjection to overcome infertility. Embryo micromanipulation may be performed at any embryo stage from pronuclear to blastocyst. The technique started out as basic and turned out to be increasingly more complex. Embryo micromanipulation at the cleavage-stage includes a wide range of techniques, from opening the zona pellucida in order to improve the chance of implantation, to removing detrimental components from the embryo to enhance embryo development or blastomeres for preimplantation genetic diagnosis and embryo splitting. Evaluating the impact(s) of different micromanipulation techniques on epigenetics of the embryo and considering quality control during these techniques are important issues in this regard. This review aims to discuss the micromanipulation of cleavage-stage embryos in clinical assisted reproductive technology (ART). Abbreviations: ART: assisted reproductive technology; ICSI: intracytoplasmic sperm injection; IVF: in vitro fertilization; PGD: preimplantation genetic diagnosis; PZD: partial zona dissection; ZP: zona pellucida; SUZI: subzonal insemination; PVS: perivitelline space; AH: assisted hatching; LAH: laserassisted hatching; ZT: zona thinning; UV: ultraviolet; IR: infrared; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; FISH: fluorescent in situ hybridization; NGS: next generation sequencing; QC: quality control; QA: quality assurance
Data mining and pathway analysis of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase with natural language processing

Human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is a crucial enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway, and serves an important role in biosynthesis and the redox balance. G6PD deficiency is a major cause of neonatal jaundice and acute hemolyticanemia, and recently, G6PD has been associated with diseases including inflammation and cancer. The aim of the present study was to conduct a search of the National Center for Biotechnology Information PubMed library for articles discussing G6PD. Genes that were identified to be associated with G6PD were recorded, and the frequency at which each gene appeared was calculated. Gene ontology (GO), pathway and network analyses were then performed. A total of 98 G6PD-associated genes and 33 microRNAs (miRNAs) that potentially regulate G6PD were identified. The 98 G6PD-associated genes were then sub-classified into three functional groups by GO analysis, followed by analysis of function, pathway, network, and disease association. Out of the 47 signaling pathways identified, seven were significantly correlated with G6PD-associated genes. At least two out of four independent programs identified the 33 miRNAs that were predicted to target G6PD. miR-1207-5P, miR-1 and miR-125a-5p were predicted by all four software programs to target G6PD. The results of the present study revealed that dysregulation of G6PD was associated with cancer, autoimmune diseases, and oxidative stress-induced disorders. These results revealed the potential roles of G6PD-regulated signaling and metabolic pathways in the etiology of these diseases.
Intranuclear membrane structure formations by CaaX-containing nuclear proteins

The nuclear lamina is a protein meshwork lining the nucleoplasmic face of the nuclear envelope. Association of lamins with the inner nuclear membrane is mediated by specific modifications in the CaaX motif at their C-termini. B-type lamins are permanently isoprenylated whereas lamin A loses its modification by a lamin A-specific processing step after incorporation into the lamina. Lamins are differentially expressed during development and tissue differentiation. Here we show that an increased synthesis of lamins B1 and B2 in amphibian oocytes induces the formation of intranuclear membrane structures that form extensive arrays of stacked cisternae. These `lamin membrane arrays' are attached to the inner nuclear membrane but are not continuous with it. Induction of this membrane proliferation depends on CaaX-specific posttranslational modification. Moreover, in transfected HeLa cells, chimeric GFP containing a nuclear localization signal and a C-terminal CaaX motif of N-Ras induces intranuclear membrane stacks that resemble those induced by lamins and ER-like cisternae that are induced in the cytoplasm upon increased synthesis of integral ER membrane proteins. Implications for the synthesis of CaaX-containing proteins are discussed and the difference from intranuclear fibrous lamina annulate lamellae formations is emphasized.
Stable neural-network-based adaptive control for sampled-data nonlinear systems

For a class of multiinput-multioutput (MIMO) sampled-data nonlinear systems with unknown dynamic nonlinearities, a stable neural-network (NN)-based adaptive control approach which is an integration of an NN approach and the adaptive implementation of the variable structure control with a sector, is developed. The sampled-data nonlinear system is assumed to be controllable and its state vector is available for measurement. The variable structure control with a sector serves two purposes. One is to force the system state to be within the state region in which the NN's are used when the system goes out of neural control; and the other is to provide an additional control until the system tracking error metric is controlled inside the sector within the network approximation region. The proof of a complete stability and a tracking error convergence is given and the setting of the sector and the NN parameters is discussed. It is demonstrated that the asymptotic error of the system can be made dependent only on inherent network approximation errors and the frequency range of unmodeled dynamics. Simulation studies of a two-link manipulator show the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.
Impact of frame rate and resolution on objective QoE metrics

Video streaming applications are a major driver for the evolution of the future Internet. In this paper we introduce a framework for QoE management for video streaming systems based on the H.264/SVC codec, the scalable extension of H.264/AVC. A relevant feature is to control the user perceived quality of experience (QoE) by exploiting parameters offered by SVC. A proper design of a control mechanism requires the quantification of the main influence parameters on the QoE. For this purpose, we conducted a measurement study and quantified the influence of i) video resolution, ii) scaling method, iii) video frame rate and iv) video content types on the QoE by means of the SSIM and VQM full-reference metrics. Further, we discuss the trade-off between these different control knobs and their influence on the QoE.
Computing the internet checksum

This memo discusses methods for efficiently computing the Internet checksum that is used by the standard Internet protocols IP, UDP, and TCP.An efficient checksum implementation is critical to good performance. As advances in implementation techniques streamline the rest of the protocol processing, the checksum computation becomes one of the limiting factors on TCP performance, for example. It is usually approapriate to carefully hand-craft the checksum routine, exploiting every machine-dependent trick possible; a fraction of a microsecond per TCP data byte can add up to significant CPU time savings overall.
Pedigree reconstruction in wild cichlid fish populations

It is common practice to use microsatellites to detect parents and their offspring in wild and captive populations, in order to reconstruct a pedigree. However, correct inference is often constrained by a number of factors, including the absence of demographic data and ignorance regarding the completeness of parental sampling. Here we present a new Bayesian estimator that simultaneously estimates the pedigree and the size of the unsampled population. The method is robust to genotyping error, and can estimate pedigrees in the absence of demographic data. Using a large‐scale microsatellite assay in four wild cichlid fish populations of Lake Tanganyika (1000 individuals in total), we assess the performance of the Bayesian estimator against the most popular assignment program, Cervus. We found small but significant pedigrees in each of the tested populations using the Bayesian procedure, but Cervus had very high type I error rates when the size of the unsampled population was assumed to be lower than what it was. The need of pedigree relationships to infer adaptive processes in natural populations places strong constraints on sampling design and identification of multigenerational pedigrees in natural populations.
Conditional Generalized Estimating Equations for the Analysis of Clustered and Longitudinal Data

Summary A common and important problem in clustered sampling designs is that the effect of within‐cluster exposures (i.e., exposures that vary within clusters) on outcome may be confounded by both measured and unmeasured cluster‐level factors (i.e., measurements that do not vary within clusters). When some of these are ill/not accounted for, estimation of this effect through population‐averaged models or random‐effects models may introduce bias. We accommodate this by developing a general theory for the analysis of clustered data, which enables consistent and asymptotically normal estimation of the effects of within‐cluster exposures in the presence of cluster‐level confounders. Semiparametric efficient estimators are obtained by solving so‐called conditional generalized estimating equations. We compare this approach with a popular proposal by Neuhaus and Kalbfleisch (1998, Biometrics54, 638–645) who separate the exposure effect into a within‐ and a between‐cluster component within a random intercept model. We find that the latter approach yields consistent and efficient estimators when the model is linear, but is less flexible in terms of model specification. Under nonlinear models, this approach may yield inconsistent and inefficient estimators, though with little bias in most practical settings.
Design and Control of a Novel Unmanned Ground Vehicle

This paper presents a novel design of a full six-degree-of-freedom, tri-rotor-actuated single-wheeled vehicle. When stationary on the ground, the model of the vehicle mimics an inverted pendulum system, a typical representative of highly nonlinear systems with non-minimum phase and unstable characteristics. The full nonlinear model of the vehicle is derived using Newton-Euler approach, but the objective herein is to balance the single-wheeled vehicle in its unstable upright position as this is a precursor to rolling motion. Robust feedback and Jacobi linearization techniques are invoked on the nonlinear dynamics of the vehicle in the relevant axis for subsequent controller synthesis. The synthesized controllers are verified and compared by means of numerical simulations, where it is shown that the design objective of stabilizing the vehicle in its unstable equilibrium (upright) position is robustly achieved.
Does Elastic Resistance Affect Finger Pinch Discrimination?

Objective: The sensitivity of pinch movement discrimination between the thumb and index finger was assessed with and without elastic resistance. Background: Researchers have examined the effect of elastic resistance on control of single upper-limb movements; however, no one has explored how elastic resistance affects proprioceptive acuity when using two digits simultaneously in a coordinated movement. Method: For this study, 16 right-handed, healthy young adults undertook an active finger pinch movement discrimination test for the right and left hands, with and without elastic resistance. We manipulated pinch movement distance by varying the size of the object that created the physical stop to end the pinch action. Results: Adding elastic resistance from a spring to the thumb–index finger pinch task did not affect accuracy of pinch discrimination measured as either the just noticeable difference, F(1, 15) = 1.78, p = . 20, or area under the curve, F(1, 15) = 0.07, p = . 80. Conclusion: Having elastic resistance to generate lever return in pincers, tweezers, and surgical equipment or in virtual instruments is unlikely to affect pinch movement discrimination. Application: Elastic resistance did not affect finger pinch discrimination in the present study, suggesting that return tension on equipment lever arms has a practical but not perceptual function. An active finger pinch movement discrimination task, with or without elastic resistance, could be used for hand proprioceptive training and as a screening tool to identify those with aptitude or decrements in fine finger movement control.
Mother's Milk-Induced Hsp70 Expression Preserves Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Function in an Immature Rat Pup Model

Preterm infants face many challenges in transitioning from the in utero to extrauterine environment while still immature. Failure of the preterm gut to successfully mature to accommodate bacteria and food substrate leads to significant morbidity such as neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis. The intestinal epithelial barrier plays a critical role in gut protection. Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is an inducible cytoprotective molecule shown to protect the intestinal epithelium in adult models. To investigate the hypothesis that Hsp70 may be important for early protection of the immature intestine, Hsp70 expression was evaluated in intestine of immature rat pups. Data demonstrate that Hsp70 is induced by exposure to mother's milk. Hsp70 is found in mother's milk, and increased Hsp70 transcription is induced by mother's milk. This Hsp70 colocalizes with the tight junction protein ZO-1. Mother's milk-induced Hsp70 may contribute to maintenance of barrier function in the face of oxidant stress. Further understanding of the means by which mother's milk increases Hsp70 in the ileum will allow potential means of strengthening the intestinal barrier in at-risk preterm infants.
Dynamically triggered slip on a splay fault in the Mw 7.8, 2016 Kaikoura (New Zealand) earthquake

We investigate the Mw 7.8, 2016 Kaikoura (New Zealand) earthquake by using optical satellite imagery and seismology to reveal the main features of the rupture process. Correlation of Landsat8 images reveals a 30–40 km surface rupture on the Kekerengu Fault and Jordan Thrust, with up to 12 m of right‐lateral slip. A previously unrecognized conjugate strike‐slip fault, the Papatea Fault, also slipped coseismically (3–4 m). The global centroid moment tensor (gCMT) centroid indicates both thrust and right‐lateral slip and is located ~100 km NE of the main shock epicenter. The significant non‐double‐couple component of the gCMT (25%) suggests that the main shock is not well represented by a single planar fault. Back projection of teleseismic P waves reveals two main bursts of seismic radiation: (1) at 10–20 s, near the main shock epicenter, and (2) at ~70 s, close to the observed surface ruptures. We determine a finite source kinematic model of the rupture from the inversion of seismic waveforms. We use two faults in our model, defined to match the observed slip on the Kekerengu Fault, and a deeper offshore fault with a lower dip angle to satisfy the long period seismological observations. We compute the equivalent moment tensor from our finite source model and find it to be remarkably consistent with the gCMT solution. Although little is known about the geometry of these faults at depth, if the Kekerengu Fault splays from the deeper thrust, then it provides a rare example where the contribution of slip on a splay fault can be clearly isolated in the seismological waveforms.