Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Representational Similarity of Body Parts in Human Occipitotemporal Cortex

Regions in human lateral and ventral occipitotemporal cortices (OTC) respond selectively to pictures of the human body and its parts. What are the organizational principles underlying body part responses in these regions? Here we used representational similarity analysis (RSA) of fMRI data to test multiple possible organizational principles: shape similarity, physical proximity, cortical homunculus proximity, and semantic similarity. Participants viewed pictures of whole persons, chairs, and eight body parts (hands, arms, legs, feet, chests, waists, upper faces, and lower faces). The similarity of multivoxel activity patterns for all body part pairs was established in whole person-selective OTC regions. The resulting neural similarity matrices were then compared with similarity matrices capturing the hypothesized organizational principles. Results showed that the semantic similarity model best captured the neural similarity of body parts in lateral and ventral OTC, which followed an organization in three clusters: (1) body parts used as action effectors (hands, feet, arms, and legs), (2) noneffector body parts (chests and waists), and (3) face parts (upper and lower faces). Whole-brain RSA revealed, in addition to OTC, regions in parietal and frontal cortex in which neural similarity was related to semantic similarity. In contrast, neural similarity in occipital cortex was best predicted by shape similarity models. We suggest that the semantic organization of body parts in high-level visual cortex relates to the different functions associated with the three body part clusters, reflecting the unique processing and connectivity demands associated with the different types of information (e.g., action, social) different body parts (e.g., limbs, faces) convey. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT While the organization of body part representations in motor and somatosensory cortices has been well characterized, the principles underlying body part representations in visual cortex have not yet been explored. In the present fMRI study we used multivoxel pattern analysis and representational similarity analysis to characterize the organization of body maps in human occipitotemporal cortex (OTC). Results indicate that visual and shape dimensions do not fully account for the organization of body part representations in OTC. Instead, the representational structure of body maps in OTC appears strongly related to functional-semantic properties of body parts. We suggest that this organization reflects the unique processing and connectivity demands associated with the different types of information different body parts convey.
Piezoelectric acoustic resonant mass sensors

Piezoelectric acoustic resonant sensors enable selective and label-free detection of biological events in real time. They are featured with self-actuating and self-detecting ability, and have been extensively explored in chemical and biological sensing applications. In this paper, four types of piezoelectric acoustic sensors operating at different resonant modes (i.e., thickness extensional mode, thickness shear mode, lateral extensional mode and flexural mode) are reviewed and discussed, with particular focus on the fundamental mechanisms and the recent biological sensing applications.
Calcium Deposit Formation and Glial Reaction in Rat Brain after Ibotenic Acid‐induced Basal Forebrain Lesion

The mechanisms underlying amino acid neurotoxicity may involve a rise in the intracellular concentration of calcium. Some neurons appear to die as a consequence of increased intracellular calcium levels induced by excitatory amino acids. One month after injection of ibotenic acid in the rat basal forebrain, the induced formation of calcium deposits and concomitant glial reaction were studied. Alizarine Red‐positive calcium deposits were observed after ibotenic acid injection in the ventral part of the globus pallidus, but not in the medial septum. These deposits were present in the globus pallidus, ventral pallidum, substantia innominata, zona incerta, lateral hypothalamic area, entopeduncular nucleus, medial amygdaloid nucleus and several thalamic nuclei. Three types of round shaped deposit were identified morphologically. Differential astroglial and microglial reactions, studied autoradiographically with the monoamine oxidase‐B marker [3H]Ro 19‐6327 and the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor marker [3H]Ro5‐4864 respectively, were observed after both lesions. Our data suggest that excitotoxic lesions in the globus pallidus and medial septum lead with time to different neurodegenerative consequences and glial reactions. This differential sensitivity is discussed on the basis of the presence of different glutamate receptor subtypes and calcium‐binding proteins.
Structure of deviations from optimality in biological systems

Optimization theory has been used to analyze evolutionary adaptation. This theory has explained many features of biological systems, from the genetic code to animal behavior. However, these systems show important deviations from optimality. Typically, these deviations are large in some particular components of the system, whereas others seem to be almost optimal. Deviations from optimality may be due to many factors in evolution, including stochastic effects and finite time, that may not allow the system to reach the ideal optimum. However, we still expect the system to have a higher probability of reaching a state with a higher value of the proposed indirect measure of fitness. In systems of many components, this implies that the largest deviations are expected in those components with less impact on the indirect measure of fitness. Here, we show that this simple probabilistic rule explains deviations from optimality in two very different biological systems. In Caenorhabditis elegans, this rule successfully explains the experimental deviations of the position of neurons from the configuration of minimal wiring cost. In Escherichia coli, the probabilistic rule correctly obtains the structure of the experimental deviations of metabolic fluxes from the configuration that maximizes biomass production. This approach is proposed to explain or predict more data than optimization theory while using no extra parameters. Thus, it can also be used to find and refine hypotheses about which constraints have shaped biological structures in evolution.
Service Usage Typologies in a Clinical Sample of Trauma-Exposed Adolescents: A Latent Class Analysis

Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe typologies of service utilization among trauma-exposed, treatment-seeking adolescents and to examine associations between trauma history, trauma-related symptoms, demographics, and service utilization. Method: Latent class analysis was used to derive a service utilization typologies based on 10 service variables using a sample of 3,081 trauma-exposed adolescents ages 12 to 16 from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Core Dataset. Services used 30 days prior to the initial assessment from 5 sectors were examined (health care, mental health, school, social services, and juvenile justice). Results: A 5-class model was selected based on statistical fit indices and substantive evaluation of classes: (a) High intensity/multisystem, 9.5%; (b) Justice-involved, 7.2%; (c) Low intensity/multisystem, 19.9%; (d) Social service and mental health, 19.9%; and (e) Low service usage/reference, 43.5%. The classes could be differentiated based on cumulative trauma, maltreatment history, PTSD, externalizing and internalizing symptoms, and age, gender, race/ethnicity and place of residence. Conclusions: This study provides new evidence about patterns of service utilization by trauma exposed, treatment seeking adolescents. Most of these adolescents appear to be involved with at least 2 service systems prior to seeking trauma treatment. Higher cumulative exposure to multiple types of trauma was associated with greater service utilization intensity and complexity, but trauma symptomatology was not.
Differential retroactive interference in humans following exposure to structured or unstructured learning material: a single distributed neural network account

While retroactive interference (RI) is a well-known phenomenon in humans, the differential effect of the structure of the learning material was only seldom addressed. Mirman and Spivey (2001, Connection Science, 13: 257–275) reported on behavioural results that show more RI for the subjects exposed to ‘Structured’ items than for those exposed to ‘Unstructured’ items. These authors claimed that two complementary memory systems functioning on radically different neural mechanisms are required to account for the behavioural results they reported. Using the same paradigm but controlling for proactive interference, we found the opposite pattern of results, that is, more RI for subjects exposed to ‘Unstructured’ items than for those exposed to ‘Structured’ items (experiment 1). Two additional experiments showed that this structure effect on RI is a genuine one. Experiment 2 confirmed that the design of experiment 1 forced the subjects from the ‘Structured’ condition to learn the items at the exemplar level, thus allowing for a close match between the two to-be-compared conditions (as ‘Unstructured’ condition items can be learned only at the exemplar level). Experiment 3 verified that the subjects from the ‘Structured’ condition could generalize to novel items. Simulations conducted with a three-layer neural network, that is, a single-memory system, produced a pattern of results that mirrors the structure effect reported here. By construction, Mirman and Spivey's architecture cannot simulate this behavioural structure effect. The results are discussed within the framework of catastrophic interference in distributed neural networks, with an emphasis on the relevance of these networks to the modelling of human memory.
ASSESSING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF WEATHER AND CLIMATE : A FURTHER EXAMINATION OF WEATHER SALIENCE

In what ways are weather and climate (and changes in weather and climate) psychologically significant to people? How is the importance that people attach to weather and climate manifested on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral levels? These questions are addressed in the present project which describes the further development and evaluation of a psychological measurement tool, the Weather Salience Questionnaire (WxSQ, Stewart, 2005). The WxSQ is meant to assess the extent to which people find the weather and climate to be salient to various aspects of their lives. The salience of weather and climate information should be studied because anecdotal observations suggested that people differ in the extent to which weather and climate affects their decision-making, their emotional experiences, and their behaviors. In this regard, the construct of weather salience may be an important variable to consider insofar as it may affect the extent to which people seek and use weather-related information during hazardous or severe weather events. Conversely, extreme weather events such as hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005 may result in increased weather salience given the property destruction, injuries, and deaths that they caused. Thus, weather salience may both affect preparatory responses prior to dangerous weather and by affected by such weather. The sections that follow describe: 1. the development of the WxSQ items, the sample of individuals who responded to them, and the research methodology, 2. the WxSQ’s factorial validity, 3. the summary statistics for the WxSQ subscales and gender differences in WxSQ scores, 4. the relationship of WxSQ total and subscale scores with the experiencing of severe weather events and the use of consumer weather instruments, and 5. the WxSQ’s relationship with other measures of environmental salience and with a measure of seasonal effects upon mood. ______________________________________ *Corresponding author address: Alan E. Stewart University of Georgia, 402 Aderhold Hall, Athens, Georgia 30602-7142 email: aeswx@uga.edu 2. Development of the Weather Salience Questionnaire (WxSQ)
Orlistat and antisense-miRNA-loaded PLGA-PEG nanoparticles for enhanced triple negative breast cancer therapy.

BACKGROUND This study explores the use of hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol)-conjugated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA-PEG-NPs) as delivery system to improve the antitumor effect of antiobesity drug orlistat for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) therapy by improving its bioavailability. MATERIALS & METHODS PLGA-PEG-NPs were synthesized by emulsion-diffusion-evaporation method, and the experiments were conducted in vitro in MDA-MB-231 and SKBr3 TNBC and normal breast fibroblast cells. RESULTS Delivery of orlistat via PLGA-PEG-NPs reduced its IC50 compared with free orlistat. Combined treatment of orlistat-loaded NPs and doxorubicin or antisense-miR-21-loaded NPs significantly enhanced apoptotic effect compared with independent doxorubicin, anti-miR-21-loaded NPs, orlistat-loaded NPs or free orlistat treatments. CONCLUSION We demonstrate that orlistat in combination with antisense-miR-21 or current chemotherapy holds great promise as a novel and versatile treatment agent for TNBC.
Molecular Basis of Intramolecular Electron Transfer in Sulfite-oxidizing Enzymes Is Revealed by High Resolution Structure of a Heterodimeric Complex of the Catalytic Molybdopterin Subunit and a c-Type Cytochrome Subunit*

Sulfite-oxidizing molybdoenzymes convert the highly reactive and therefore toxic sulfite to sulfate and have been identified in insects, animals, plants, and bacteria. Although the well studied enzymes from higher animals serve to detoxify sulfite that arises from the catabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids, the bacterial enzymes have a central role in converting sulfite formed during dissimilatory oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds. Here we describe the structure of the Starkeya novella sulfite dehydrogenase, a heterodimeric complex of the catalytic molybdopterin subunit and a c-type cytochrome subunit, that reveals the molecular mechanism of intramolecular electron transfer in sulfite-oxidizing enzymes. The close approach of the two redox centers in the protein complex (Mo-Fe distance 16.6 Å) allows for rapid electron transfer via tunnelling or aided by the protein environment. The high resolution structure of the complex has allowed the identification of potential through-bond pathways for electron transfer including a direct link via Arg-55A and/or an aromatic-mediated pathway. A potential site of electron transfer to an external acceptor cytochrome c was also identified on the SorB subunit on the opposite side to the interaction with the catalytic SorA subunit.
An Interior Point Cutting Plane Method for the Convex Feasibility Problem with Second-Order Cone Inequalities

The convex feasibility problem in general is a problem of finding a point in a convex set that contains a full dimensional ball and is contained in a compact convex set. We assume that the outer set is described by second-order cone inequalities and propose an analytic center cutting plane technique to solve this problem. We discuss primal and dual settings simultaneously. Two complexity results are reported: the complexity of restoration procedure and complexity of the overall algorithm. We prove that an approximate analytic center is updated after adding a second-order cone cut (SOCC) inO(1) Newton step, and that the analytic center cutting plane method (ACCPM) with SOCC is a fully polynomial algorithm.
A neural network approach to pointwise control of robot manipulators

The use of neural networks as an alternative to the computation-intensive control-theoretic approach to motion planning and execution is discussed. A three-tiered network structure is proposed: one tier is for conversion of task-space coordinates to joint-space coordinates, one is for converting the start and goal positions in joint space to a dynamic sequence, and one is for enabling the manipulator to execute the sequence by generating the necessary control signals. The issues involved in implementation are discussed and some results are presented. It is concluded that the neural-network approach has shown some promise in its ability to tackle nonlinear static problems and as a tool for generating plans. However, its effectiveness in eliminating completely any kind of online computation for precise control seems doubtful. <<ETX>>
Stimulated mechanisms of Ca 2 1 entry into vascular smooth muscle during NO synthesis inhibition in pregnant rats

Crews, Janice K. , Jacqueline Novak, Joey P. Granger, and Raouf A. Khalil. Stimulated mechanisms of Ca21 entry into vascular smooth muscle during NO synthesis inhibition in pregnant rats. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 45): R530–R538, 1999. —We have previously found that the vascular responsiveness to a1-adrenergic agonists is reduced in pregnant rats and enhanced in a rat model of pregnancy-induced hypertension produced by chronic treatment of pregnant rats with the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the observed changes in vascular reactivity during normal pregnancy and during pregnancy-induced hypertension reflect changes in the mechanisms of Ca21 entry into vascular smooth muscle. 45Ca21 influx and active stress during a1adrenergic stimulation by phenylephrine and membrane depolarization by 96 mM KCl were measured in deendothelialized aortic strips isolated from virgin and pregnant SpragueDawley rats untreated or treated with 1 mg/day L-NAME for 4–6 days and incubated in Krebs solution containing increasing concentrations of extracellular Ca21 ([Ca]e). In all groups of rats, both phenylephrine and 96 mM KCl caused [Ca]e-dependent increases in active stress and 45Ca21 influx. The phenylephrineand 96 mM KCl-induced active stress and Ca21 influx were significantly reduced in pregnant rats but significantly enhanced in pregnant rats treated with L-NAME. The phenylephrine-induced Ca21 influx-stress relationship was significantly greater than that induced by 96 mM KCl in pregnant rats treated with L-NAME. The phenylephrine-induced Ca21 influx-stress relationship was reduced in pregnant rats but enhanced in pregnant rats treated with L-NAME. Chronic treatment with L-NAME had minimal effect on active stress, Ca21 influx, and the Ca21 influx-stress relationship in virgin rats. These results provide evidence that the mechanisms of Ca21 entry into vascular smooth muscle are inhibited during pregnancy but enhanced during inhibition of NO synthesis in late pregnancy. The enhancement of the phenylephrine-induced Ca21 influx-stress relationship in pregnant rats treated with L-NAME suggests activation of other contractile mechanisms in addition to stimulation of Ca21 entry. These mechanisms appear to be inhibited during normal pregnancy.
The OpenPMU Project: Challenges and perspectives

The OpenPMU project is a platform for the development of Synchrophasor measurement technology, Phasor Measurement Units (PMU), in an open source manner. The project has now been operating for a number of years and has seen increased adoption at Universities and interest from electrical utilities. The OpenPMU device has recently been tested against the IEEE C37.118 standard and shown to operate within the specification. This paper discusses the OpenPMU project from the perspective of the past two years of experience and evaluates successes and opportunities for improvements in both the OpenPMU device and the philosophy of the design.
Hereditary angio‐oedema in children: A management guideline

Hereditary angio‐oedema is an uncommon condition, which usually first presents in childhood. In the absence of appropriate treatment hereditary angio‐oedema has a high mortality. There are a number of reports of successful short‐ and long‐term treatment with individual agents in those who suffer from hereditary angio‐oedema. However, there is little guidance in the literature for the overall management of children and adolescents with this condition. Here we review the treatment options available for children and adolescents with hereditary angio‐oedema, and propose a simple management guideline for such patients.
Patient Factors Predictive of Hospital Readmissions Within 30 Days

Background:Under the Affordable Care Act, the Congress has mandated that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reduce payments to hospitals subject to their Inpatient Prospective Payment System that exhibits excess readmissions. Using hospital-coded discharge abstracts, we constructed a readmission measure that accounts for cross-hospital variation that enables hospitals to monitor their entire inpatient populations and evaluate their readmission rates relative to national benchmarks. Methods:Multivariate logistic regressions are applied to determine which patient factors increase the odds of a readmission within 30 days and by how much. This study uses deidentified discharge abstract data from a database of approximately 15 million inpatient discharges representing 611 acute care hospitals from Premier healthcare alliance over a 2-year period (2008q4–2010q3). The hospitals are geographically diverse and represent large urban academic centers and small rural community hospitals. Results:This study demonstrates that meaningful risk-adjusted readmission rates can be tracked in a dynamic database. The clinical conditions responsible for the index admission were the strongest predictive factor of readmissions, but factors such as age and accompanying comorbid conditions were also important. Socioeconomic factors, such as race, income, and payer status, also showed strong statistical significance in predicting readmissions. Conclusions:Payment models that are based on stratified comparisons might result in a more equitable payment system while at the same time providing transparency regarding disparities based on these factors. No model, yet available, discriminates potentially modifiable readmissions from those not subject to intervention highlighting the fact that the optimum readmission rate for any given condition is yet to be identified.
A new common-mode EMI suppression technique for GHz differential signals crossing slotted reference planes

Based on a pair of symmetric quarter-wavelength stubs parallel connected to the slot line, a new low-cost technique for suppressing the common-mode electromagnetic interference (EMI) is proposed for high-speed differential signals crossing slotted ground planes. The quarter-wavelength resonator can provide a shorting path for return current around the resonance frequency of the stubs, which avoids common-mode noise to become the excitation source of the slot. To validate this idea, a test sample with using the proposed technique and a reference board without the solution are fabricated. The experimental and numerical results show the radiated energy due to the common-mode noise can be significantly reduced in broadband frequencies by using the propose resonators. The magnitude of common-mode EMI at 3 meter can be suppressed more than 5 dB at the frequency range from 2.1 GHz to 3.5 GHz, and even 10 dB during the frequency range of 2.4 GHz to 3.25 GHz.