Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noise-enhanced heart rate and sympathetic nerve responses to oscillatory lower body negative pressure in humans.

By injecting noise into the carotid sinus baroreceptors, we previously showed that heart rate (HR) responses to weak oscillatory tilt were enhanced via a mechanism known as "stochastic resonance. " It remains unclear, however, whether the same responses would be observed when using oscillatory lower body negative pressure (LBNP), which would unload the cardiopulmonary baroreceptors with physically negligible effects on the arterial system. Also, the vasomotor sympathetic activity directly controlling peripheral resistance against hypotensive stimuli was not observed. We therefore investigated the effects of weak (0 to approximately -10 mmHg) oscillatory (0.03 Hz) LBNP on HR and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) while adding incremental noise to the carotid sinus baroreceptors via a pneumatic neck chamber. The signal-to-noise ratio of HR, cardiac interbeat interval, and total MSNA were all significantly improved by increasing noise intensity, while there was no significant change in the arterial blood pressure in synchronized with the oscillatory LBNP. We conclude that the stochastic resonance, affecting both HR and MSNA, results from the interaction of noise with the signal in the brain stem, where the neuronal inputs from the arterial and cardiopulmonary baroreceptors first come together in the nucleus tractus solitarius. Also, these results indicate that the noise could induce functional improvement in human blood pressure regulatory system in overcoming given hypotensive stimuli.
LDPC coded OFDM system design and performance verification on a realistic underwater acoustic channel model

The underwater acoustic channel (UAC) is highly frequency selective; the degree of selectiveness depends on a detailed geometry of the channel. Further, the response changes over time as conditions affecting the response (such as water temperature, sea surface wind, salinity, etc.) are time-varying. A system design to deal with the frequency and time selective channel in UAC, therefore, becomes very challenging. We consider low density parity check (LDPC) coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system to deal with deep sub-band fading problems. In this paper, we aim to, first, provide a detailed realistic UAC model as we have noted that most LDPC coded OFDM systems have not been tested under realistic channels; second, to design a robust LDPC coded OFDM system; and third to test the proposed system under a variety of conditions using the channel model. We show robustness of the proposed system in simulation under a number of realistic channel conditions.
A Single Enhancer Regulating the Differential Expression of Duplicated Red-Sensitive Opsin Genes in Zebrafish

A fundamental step in the evolution of the visual system is the gene duplication of visual opsins and differentiation between the duplicates in absorption spectra and expression pattern in the retina. However, our understanding of the mechanism of expression differentiation is far behind that of spectral tuning of opsins. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have two red-sensitive cone opsin genes, LWS-1 and LWS-2. These genes are arrayed in a tail-to-head manner, in this order, and are both expressed in the long member of double cones (LDCs) in the retina. Expression of the longer-wave sensitive LWS-1 occurs later in development and is thus confined to the peripheral, especially ventral-nasal region of the adult retina, whereas expression of LWS-2 occurs earlier and is confined to the central region of the adult retina, shifted slightly to the dorsal-temporal region. In this study, we employed a transgenic reporter assay using fluorescent proteins and P1-artificial chromosome (PAC) clones encompassing the two genes and identified a 0.6-kb “LWS-activating region” (LAR) upstream of LWS-1, which regulates expression of both genes. Under the 2.6-kb flanking upstream region containing the LAR, the expression pattern of LWS-1 was recapitulated by the fluorescent reporter. On the other hand, when LAR was directly conjugated to the LWS-2 upstream region, the reporter was expressed in the LDCs but also across the entire outer nuclear layer. Deletion of LAR from the PAC clones drastically lowered the reporter expression of the two genes. These results suggest that LAR regulates both LWS-1 and LWS-2 by enhancing their expression and that interaction of LAR with the promoters is competitive between the two genes in a developmentally restricted manner. Sharing a regulatory region between duplicated genes could be a general way to facilitate the expression differentiation in duplicated visual opsins.
Protocol of the Swiss Longitudinal Cohort Study (SWICOS) in rural Switzerland

Introduction Increased longevity and consequent major changes in demographics and population lifestyles necessitate new approaches to reduce the burden of ageing-related diseases (including cardiovascular disease) and maintain an optimal quality of life. This study aims to examine and longitudinally follow health status and disease risk factors in a Swiss rural cohort, evaluating all health-related research and practice disciplines to assure development of new implementable and successful preventive strategies for healthy ageing. Methods and objectives Small Swiss villages with low migration rates will be selected for this study. 2 villages (Cama/Lostallo) have already been selected as initial study sites. All residents (age ≥6 years, no upper age limit) are eligible. The target enrolment number per village is 300. Examinations and measurements encompass medical history, anthropometry, cardiac and vascular health, pulmonary function, physical performance, nutritional, mental and emotional status, biochemical and molecular analyses. Follow-up examinations (identical to baseline) will be performed after 5 and 10 years, and in 10-year intervals thereafter. The major objective is to assess, and observe change in, health status over time in a prospective manner. Secondary objectives are to: (1) identify ‘hidden’ (asymptomatic and/or unrecognised) health problems which enhance risk for chronic diseases; (2) identify barriers to accessing healthcare and adapting health behaviours; (3) evaluate efficacy of present preventive strategies and recommendations; (4) evaluate knowledge and attitude towards ongoing health programmes and public health recommendations; (5) monitor change and progress towards the national health objectives; (6) formulate new preventive strategies and recommendations based on the findings and knowledge base of the past 10 years; (7) formulate models for successful prevention of chronic diseases and for healthy ageing. Ethics and dissemination The Ethics Committee of Nordwest-und Zentralschweiz approved this study (EKNZ 2014-209). It is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02282748). Findings will be disseminated through scientific articles/presentations and public events.
Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome and malignant hyperthermia.

We read with interest the report by Peterson and Crouch (1) of an adverse reaction to anesthesia in a patient with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. While there is no doubt an adverse event occurred, we would take issue both with their proposed link with malignant hyperthermia and their suggestions for the future anesthetic management of these patients. The case described is of a child who developed muscle rigidity and respiratory acidosis after an inhaled induction of anesthesia and tracheal intubation without a muscle relaxant. It is possible that the entire scenario is simply due to a light plane of anesthesia, a condition that can mimic malignant hyperthermia in many respects (2). We have subsequently reviewed the recent anesthetic records of five patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome having a total of 38 anesthetics. Halothane was administered in 37 cases, and in 33 it was also used for induction of anesthesia. Succinylcholine was used in only one case. There was one difficult intubation; otherwise, all other anesthetics were uneventful. There were no cases of hyperthermia or acidosis. There is no justification in changing departmental anesthetic practice on the basis of this solitary case. Anesthesia for this group of patients is difficult enough without the unnecessary risk of using a volatile and succinylcholine-free technique in the hope of preventing an unlikely complication.
An RNA Binding Protein Promotes Axonal Integrity in Peripheral Neurons by Destabilizing REST

The RE1 Silencing Transcription Factor (REST) acts as a governor of the mature neuronal phenotype by repressing a large consortium of neuronal genes in non-neuronal cells. In the developing nervous system, REST is present in progenitors and downregulated at terminal differentiation to promote acquisition of mature neuronal phenotypes. Paradoxically, REST is still detected in some regions of the adult nervous system, but how REST levels are regulated, and whether REST can still repress neuronal genes, is not known. Here, we report that homeostatic levels of REST are maintained in mature peripheral neurons by a constitutive post-transcriptional mechanism. Specifically, using a three-hybrid genetic screen, we identify the RNA binding protein, ZFP36L2, associated previously only with female fertility and hematopoiesis, and show that it regulates REST mRNA stability. Dorsal root ganglia in Zfp36l2 knock-out mice, or wild-type ganglia expressing ZFP36L2 shRNA, show higher steady-state levels of Rest mRNA and protein, and extend thin and disintegrating axons. This phenotype is due, at least in part, to abnormally elevated REST levels in the ganglia because the axonal phenotype is attenuated by acute knockdown of REST in Zfp36l2 KO DRG explants. The higher REST levels result in lower levels of target genes, indicating that REST can still fine-tune gene expression through repression. Thus, REST levels are titrated in mature peripheral neurons, in part through a ZFP36L2-mediated post-transcriptional mechanism, with consequences for axonal integrity.
A rotation invariant feature descriptor O-DAISY and its FPGA implementation

State-of-the-art local feature descriptors like SIFT or SURF require a significant amount of computational power which prevents their usage in applications with real time constraints. Despite recent efforts to simplify the calculation of feature descriptors, a faster computation comes often to the disadvantage of weakening the invariance to rotation or scale. Recently, Tola et al. introduced DAISY, a new local feature descriptor for wide-baseline matching across stereo image pairs. It is shown that DAISY outperforms SIFT in terms of matching accuracy while being computed significantly faster. This paper takes on the idea of DAISY by proposing a rotational invariant extension of the descriptor, called O-DAISY, and outlining its implementation on FPGA to achieve real time performance. The results are benchmarked against its original version and against the widely used descriptors BRIEF and SURF on a standardized image set.
Bancada: Using Mobile Zoomable Lenses for Geospatial Exploration

Nowadays, looking at the path between two points on a city map has become a simple task using any modern tablet, smartphone or laptop. However, when exploring maps with different information across multiple layers and scales, users experience information discontinuity. Bancada is a multi-display system developed to investigate the exploration of geospatial information using multiple mobile devices in a multi-display environment. In Bancada, tablets are Zoomable Magic Lenses that augment, through specific geospatial layers, an overview map displayed on a tabletop or on a wall display. Users interact with lenses using touch gestures to pan and zoom; and multi-layer maps can be built by overlapping different lenses. Currently, Bancada is being used to research user interfaces separated across multiple devices and interactions with high-resolution mobile devices. Future work with Bancada includes (i) evaluating the user performance when using one tablet or multiple tablets to control all lenses; (ii) exploring what and how interactions can be performed on an overview map; and (iii) exploring how lenses can be changed.
Interacting viruses in networks: can both survive?

Suppose we have two competing ideas/products/viruses, that propagate over a social or other network. Suppose that they are strong/virulent enough, so that each, if left alone, could lead to an epidemic. What will happen when both operate on the network? Earlier models assume that there is perfect competition: if a user buys product 'A' (or gets infected with virus 'X'), she will never buy product 'B' (or virus 'Y'). This is not always true: for example, a user could install and use both Firefox and Google Chrome as browsers. Similarly, one type of flu may give partial immunity against some other similar disease. In the case of full competition, it is known that 'winner takes all,' that is the weaker virus/product will become extinct. In the case of no competition, both viruses survive, ignoring each other. What happens in-between these two extremes? We show that there is a phase transition: if the competition is harsher than a critical level, then 'winner takes all;' otherwise, the weaker virus survives. These are the contributions of this paper (a) the problem definition, which is novel even in epidemiology literature (b) the phase-transition result and (c) experiments on real data, illustrating the suitability of our results.
Sex differences in prodromal symptoms in acute coronary syndrome in patients aged 55 years or younger

Background Studies suggest that young women are at highest risk for failing to recognise early symptoms of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Objectives To examine sex differences in prodromal symptoms occurring days and weeks prior to the acute presentation of ACS. We also examined health-seeking behaviours and prehospital management in young patients. Methods Prospective cross-sectional analysis of 1145 patients (368 women) hospitalised for ACS, aged ≤55 years, from the GENdEr and Sex DetermInantS of Cardiovascular Disease: From Bench to Beyond Premature Acute Coronary SYndrome cohort study (January 2009–April 2013). Prodromal symptoms were determined using the McSweeney Acute and Prodromal Myocardial Infarction Symptom questionnaire. Health-seeking behaviour and prehospital care were determined by questionnaires. Results The median age was 49 years. The prevalence of prodromal symptoms was high and more women reported symptoms than men (85% vs 72%, p<0.0001). Symptoms were similar between sexes and included unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances, anxiety and arm weakness/discomfort. Chest pain was less common in both sexes (24%). Women were more likely to seek care (49% vs 42%, p=0.04). Among those who sought care, women were more likely to use an ambulance for their ACS compared with men (52% vs 39%). Cardiovascular risk-reduction therapy use was low (≤40%) in all patients and less than half perceived their care provider suspected a cardiac source. Conclusions Prior to ACS, women were more likely to experience prodromal symptoms and seek medical attention than men. Prehospital care was generally similar between sexes but demonstrated underutilisation of risk-reduction therapies in at-risk young adults.
Sufficient Dilated LMI Conditions for H∞ Static Output Feedback Robust Stabilization of Linear Continuous-Time Systems

New sufficient dilated linear matrix inequality (LMI) conditions for the 𝐻∞ static output feedback control problem of linear continuous-time systems with no uncertainty are proposed. The used technique easily and successfully extends to systems with polytopic uncertainties, by means of parameter-dependent Lyapunov functions (PDLFs). In order to reduce the conservatism existing in early standard LMI methods, auxiliary slack variables with even more relaxed structure are employed. It is shown that these slack variables provide additional flexibility to the solution. It is also shown, in this paper, that the proposed dilated LMI-based conditions always encompass the standard LMI-based ones. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the merits of the proposed method.
Exploring the Neural Architecture of Cultural Imitative Learning

Imitation is a key mechanism by which people learn from others and is a fundamental component of cultural acquisition. Importantly, people do not imitate everyone in their social environment to the same degree. Instead, people preferentially imitate certain individuals including those who are similar to them or have high social status. These imitative biases are thought to automatically direct attention to individuals most likely to exhibit self-relevant or high quality behaviors, thus increasing the efficiency of cultural learning. Though much is known about the neural mechanisms underlying imitation, the neural mechanisms underlying imitative biases are largely unknown. In this dissertation, I began to address this knowledge gap by using fMRI to measure neural activity while people imitated individuals differing in self-similarity and social status. I focus on gender and race, two factors that can index a person's self-similarity and social status and that are known to influence the likelihood of imitation. In chapter 1, I proposed a tentative model of the neural mechanisms underlying imitative cultural learning. In chapter 2, I tested this model in relation to gender imitative biases. I found that the brain's reward system was more active during imitation of own-gender compared to other-gender models, suggesting a neural mechanism underlying the preferential imitation of own-gender models. In chapters 3 and 4, I tested this model in terms of imitative biases related to race. I found that both European Americans and African Americans exhibited more activity in visual regions and lateral fronto-parietal regions when imitating African American models compared to either European American or Chinese American models. Regardless of their own race, participants also rated African Americans as having lower social status than either European or Chinese Americans, suggesting that social status rather than self-similarity drives neural responses to race during imitation.Taken together, these studies demonstrate that the neural systems that support imitation are modulated by the gender and race of the person being imitated. These data also suggest that both self-similarity and social status influence neural responses to race during imitation, highlighting neural mechanisms that may underlie similarity and status biases in cultural imitative learning.
Extended Dominating-Set-Based Routing in Ad Hoc Wireless Networks with Unidirectional Links

We extend dominating-set-based routing to networks with unidirectional links. Specifically, an efficient localized algorithm for determining a dominating and absorbant set of vertices (mobile hosts) is given and this set can be easily updated when the network topology changes dynamically. A host /spl nu/ is called a dominating neighbor (absorbant neighbor) of another host u if there is a directed edge from /spl nu/ to u (from u to /spl nu/). A subset of vertices is dominating and absorbant if every vertex not in the subset has one dominating neighbor and one absorbant neighbor in the subset. The derived dominating and absorbant set exhibits good locality properties; that is, the change of a node status (dominating/dominated) affects only the status of nodes in the neighborhood. The notion of dominating and absorbant set can also be applied iteratively on the dominating and absorbant set itself, forming a hierarchy of dominating and absorbant sets. The effectiveness of our approach is confirmed and the locality of node status update is verified through simulation.
Neurotrophic Theory of Accelerated Temporal Cortex Maturation in the Valproic Acid Rat Model of Autism

Neuronal networks in the human ventro-anterior temporal lobe play a critical role in mediating object perception, long term semantic memory and social communication. A unique feature of this region is its delayed acquisition of peak cortical thickness, which is not reached until the second decade of life. In the majority of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (henceforth referred to as autism) there is premature overgrowth of the temporal lobe during childhood. In this thesis, I studied the maturation trajectory of neurons from a homologous region in the albino rat, the posterior temporal association cortex (TeA), and how it is altered with exposure to the autism-linked teratogen valproic acid (VPA). My overarching hypothesis was that the slow maturation of TeA neurons during the first three weeks of postnatal development is a result of low local production and/or secretion of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and that VPA can accelerate maturation of TeA neurons during this period by prematurely increasing BDNF signalling. Chapter 1 is a general introduction that describes the importance of the temporal association cortex in cognitive development and autism research (Section 1.1), the phenomenon of slow maturation of heteromodal association cortices in humans (Section 1.2), the anatomy, function and development of the rat cortex (Section 1.3 and 1.4), and the rodent VPA model of autism (Section 1.5). The aim of the introduction is to clearly define the context, significance, and rationale for the thesis hypothesis and aims, which are summarized in Section 1.6. Materials and methods used in this thesis are presented in Chapter 2. Chapters 3-7 are the results of experimental work. These chapters are ordered to provide a general characterization of neuroanatomy of the TeA in normal and VPA treated animals in intact brains, before moving into increasingly mechanistic investigations using primary neuronal cultures. In Chapter 3, I compare the cortical thickness trajectory of the TeA with that of other
Structural variation analysis with strobe reads

MOTIVATION Structural variation including deletions, duplications and rearrangements of DNA sequence are an important contributor to genome variation in many organisms. In human, many structural variants are found in complex and highly repetitive regions of the genome making their identification difficult. A new sequencing technology called strobe sequencing generates strobe reads containing multiple subreads from a single contiguous fragment of DNA. Strobe reads thus generalize the concept of paired reads, or mate pairs, that have been routinely used for structural variant detection. Strobe sequencing holds promise for unraveling complex variants that have been difficult to characterize with current sequencing technologies. RESULTS We introduce an algorithm for identification of structural variants using strobe sequencing data. We consider strobe reads from a test genome that have multiple possible alignments to a reference genome due to sequencing errors and/or repetitive sequences in the reference. We formulate the combinatorial optimization problem of finding the minimum number of structural variants in the test genome that are consistent with these alignments. We solve this problem using an integer linear program. Using simulated strobe sequencing data, we show that our algorithm has better sensitivity and specificity than paired read approaches for structural variation identification. CONTACT braphael@brown.edu