Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developmental gene expression in the mouse clarifies the organization of the claustrum and related endopiriform nuclei

Studies on gene expression in the developing claustrum of the mouse have clarified the relationships and identity of the claustrum proper and related endopiriform nuclei. The cells of the claustrum primordium express Nr4a2; they are formed in combination with the Nr4a2‐labeled subplate cells in the lateral pallium at the site of the future insular cortex. The insular cortex cells, which are born later and which are Nr4a2‐negative, migrate through the claustrum toward the pial surface to form layers (2–6a) of the insular cortex. The claustrum is made up of distinct deep (subplate‐like) and superficial (principal) parts. The cells of the dorsal endopiriform nucleus (which are also Nr4a2‐positive) are formed in the deep part of the claustrum primordium in the lateral pallium, but they migrate ventrally to reach the ventral pallium deep to the piriform cortex at E14.5 in the mouse. On the other hand, the ventral endopiriform nucleus is formed by radially migrating Nr4a2‐negative cells in the ventral pallium; it is therefore developmentally distinct from the Nr4a2‐postive dorsal endopiriform nucleus, which is a lateral pallial derivative. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:1499–1508, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Relationships among Religiosity, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior in Jewish Adolescents

Because the effects of religion or religiosity on physical activity (PA) and sedentary activity (SA) are unknown, weekend accrual of PA and SA was measured among Jewish adolescents (N = 437) attending religious day schools in two large cities in the western United States. Participants completed the Self-Administered Physical Activity Checklist and demographic and religious questionnaire items. Orthodox respondents accrued less PA and SA on Saturday than the non-Orthodox; no differences on Sunday were found. Factor analysis of the religiosity items yielded three factors: observance, devotion, and doctrinal consonance. Correlation of factor scores with PA and SA revealed that observance was most strongly associated with accrual of PA and SA.
The relationship between static posturography measures and specific cognitive domains in individuals with multiple sclerosis

There are still limitations as to the understanding of the cognitive–postural control relationship in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). The aim of the current study’ was to examine the relationship between cognition with measures of posturography in PwMS. The study was cross-sectional comprising 253 PwMS (162 women) with a mean age of 42.0 (SD=14.0). All participants completed a computerized cognitive test battery designed to evaluate multiple cognitive domains (Mindstreams; NeuroTrax) and static posturography tests (Zebris Medical GmbH). PwMS were divided into four levels of disability on the basis of their Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score: very mild (EDSS: 0–2.0), mild (EDSS: 2.5–3.5), moderate (EDSS: 4.0–5.5), and severe (EDSS: 6.0–6.5; using a walking aid). Significant correlations were observed between cognitive domains and posturography measures. However, the correlations were different between the disability subgroups. For the mild group, significant correlation scores were observed between the balance measures to the executive function and motor skills cognitive domains (Pearson’s &rgr;=∼0.3 and ∼0.4, respectively). As for the moderate group, significant correlation scores were observed in memory and verbal function (Pearson’s &rgr;=∼0.4 and ∼0.4, respectively). Attention was the only cognitive domain correlated significantly with posturography measures in the severe group (Pearson’s &rgr;=∼0.55). Our study found that posturography measures are related to cognition in PwMS. However, the associations vary in terms of cognitive domains and disability levels.
[Psychosocial risk exposure among wage earning population in Spain (2004-05): reference values of the 21 dimensions of COPSOQ ISTAS21 questionnaire].

BACKGROUND Reference values of all the 21 psychosocial scales or dimensions (73 items) of the psychosocial risk assessment questionnaire COPSOQ ISTAS21 are computed from a representative sample of the wage earning population in Spain. METHODS Representative sample of the Spanish wage-earning population, n=7,612. The sampling was multi-stage by conglomerates. The information was obtained by the administration of a standardized questionnaire in the household during 2004-2005. All 21 scales were standardized and three punctuation levels were established and labelled as 'more favourable to health (or green)', 'intermediate (or yellow)' and 'more unfavourable to health (or red)' according two criteria: 1) to obtain groups that follow a tertiles theoretical distribution and 2) to get the 'red' and 'green' groups as equilibrated as possible. RESULTS Response rate was 60. Predictability dimension showed the wider difference between 'green' and 'red' proportions (7.14). Role clarity concentred the 35.06 % of population between 100 and 93.75 points, and Sense of community the 29.6% between 100 and 91.67. Double presence and hiding emotions grouped the 34.02% and the 27.74% % of population between 0 and 12.5 points, respectively. CONCLUSIONS 2005 upgraded representative reference values of the 21 COPSOQ ISTAS21 psychosocial dimensions for the wage earning population in Spain are available, necessary premise to diagnose risk situations and prioritize the needed preventive actions at company level.
Implementing the IT Infrastructure for Health Reform: Adoption of Health IT among Patient-Centered Medical Home Practices

While health IT is thought to be critical to the success of new models of care delivery, we know little about the extent to which those pursuing these models are relying on HIT. We studied a large patient-centered medical home (PCMH) demonstration project, a new model of care delivery that has received substantial policy attention, in order to assess which types of HIT were most widely used, and how adoption rates changed over time as PCMH practices matured. We found that clinically-focused HIT tools were both widely adopted, and increasingly adopted, in PCMH practices compared to non-PCMH practices. In contrast, HIT that supports patient-engagement, patient portals and personal health records, was neither in widespread use nor more likely to be adopted over time by PCMH practices compared to other practices. This suggests that these tools may not yet support the types of patient engagement and interactions that PCMH practices seek.
The Oxford Brookes basal metabolic rate database--a reanalysis.

OBJECTIVE To produce prediction equations for basal metabolic rate (BMR) derived from weight and height covering the age range from birth to old age. DESIGN Cross-sectional data on BMR, sex, age, weight, height, ethnicity and measurement technique from the Oxford Brookes BMR database. SETTING Worldwide. SUBJECTS Data for 13,910 men, women and children from 174 papers published between 1914 and 2001. RESULTS Absolute and proportional regression models were developed for each sex, showing a steep rise in predicted BMR with age until 15 years, more pronounced in males than females, then a gradual fall through adulthood. Predicted BMR increased by 6% and 1.4%, respectively, per standard deviation increase in weight and height. Predicted BMR in Caucasians was 4% higher than in non-Caucasians, though the effect size was sensitive to the inclusion or exclusion of data from certain influential publications. The effect of measurement technique on BMR, closed-circuit versus open-circuit, was small, near 1%. CONCLUSIONS It is possible to develop prediction equations that avoid splitting the data into arbitrary age groups. Heterogeneity between publications is greater than might be expected by chance, probably due to undocumented differences in technique.
Mode Selection Schemes for D2D Enabled Aerial Networks

In this paper, we present and evaluate the effect of two mode selection schemes for device to device (D2D) enabled areal netwroks. The two schemes are based on a threshold received signal strength (RSS) and an average threshold D2D distance between two given users to select the D2D mode. While one scheme triggers the D2D mode based on distance values only, the other scheme can trigger D2D mode for larger distances if a minimum RSS value is received, for it to maximize connectivity regions. Numerical results show the advantage of the presented schemes in offloading traffic from aerial platforms and the effect of the environment on the performance of D2D enabled aerial networks.
Genetic transformation of the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus and of other Thermus spp

Genetic transformation of auxotrophs of the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus HB27 to prototrophy was obtained at high frequencies of 10(-2) to 10(-1) when proliferating cell populations were exposed to chromosomal DNA from a nutritionally independent wild-type strain. The transformation frequency was proportional to the DNA concentration from 10 pg/ml to 100 ng/ml. T. thermophilus HB27 cells did not require chemical treatment to induce competence, although optimal transformation was obtained by the addition of a divalent cation (Ca2+ or Mg2+). Competence was maintained throughout the growth phase, with the highest transformation frequencies at pH 6 to 9 and at 70 degrees C. T. thermophilus HB27 and four other typical Thermus strains, T. thermophilus HB8, T. flavus AT62, T. caldophilus GK24, and T. aquaticus YT1, were also transformed to streptomycin resistance by DNA from their own spontaneous streptomycin-resistant mutants. A cryptic plasmid, pTT8, from T. thermophilus HB8 was introduced into T. thermophilus HB27 Pro- at a frequency of 10(-2).
Resolving Ambiguity in Sentiment Classification

Sentiment analysis has become popular in business intelligence and analytics applications due to the great need for learning insights from the vast amounts of user generated content on the Internet. One major challenge of sentiment analysis, like most text classification tasks, is finding structures from unstructured texts. Existing sentiment analysis techniques employ the supervised learning approach and the lexicon scoring approach, both of which largely rely on the representation of a document as a collection of words and phrases. The semantic ambiguity (i.e., polysemy) of single words and the sparsity of phrases negatively affect the robustness of sentiment analysis, especially in the context of short social media texts. In this study, we propose to represent texts using dependency features. We test the effectiveness of dependency features in supervised sentiment classification. We compare our method with the current standard practice using a labeled data set containing 170,874 microblogging messages. The combination of unigram features and dependency features significantly outperformed other popular types of features.
Potential Source of Francisella tularensis Live Vaccine Strain Attenuation Determined by Genome Comparison

ABSTRACT Francisella tularensis is a bacterial pathogen that causes the zoonotic disease tularemia and is important to biodefense. Currently, the only vaccine known to confer protection against tularemia is a specific live vaccine strain (designated LVS) derived from a virulent isolate of Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica. The origin and source of attenuation of this strain are not known. To assist with the design of a defined live vaccine strain, we sought to determine the genetic basis of the attenuation of LVS. This analysis relied primarily on the comparison between the genome of LVS and Francisella tularensis holarctica strain FSC200, which differ by only 0.08% of their nucleotide sequences. Under the assumption that the attenuation was due to a loss of function(s), only coding regions were examined in this comparison. To complement this analysis, the coding regions of two slightly more distantly related Francisella tularensis strains were also compared against the LVS coding regions. Thirty-five genes show unique sequence variations predicted to alter the protein sequence in LVS compared to the other Francisella tularensis strains. Due to these polymorphisms, the functions of 15 of these genes are very likely lost or impaired. Seven of these genes were demonstrated to be under stronger selective constraints, suggesting that they are the most probable to be the source of LVS attenuation and useful for a newly defined vaccine.
Optimal, sampling-based manipulation planning

When robots perform manipulation tasks, they need to determine their own movement, as well as how to grasp and release an object. Reasoning about the motion of the robot and the object simultaneously leads to a multi-modal planning problem in a high-dimensional configuration space. In this paper we propose an asymptotically optimal manipulation planner. Our approach extends optimal sampling-based roadmap planners to efficiently explore the configuration space of the robot and the object. We prove probabilistic completeness and global, asymptotic optimality. Extensive simulations of a typical pick-and-place scenario show that our approach significantly outperforms a (nonoptimal) state-of-the-art approach. We implemented our planner on a real manipulator and were able to compute high quality solutions in less than a second.
Detecting Sarcastic Tweets : A SentiStrength Modeling Approach

Recently, Twitter has become a valuable source of people’s opinions and sentiments. Thus, sentiment analysis for understanding the sentiment is needed. In the general area of sentiment analysis, sarcasm has an important role because it can change the polarity of a message. Sarcasm is a common phenomenon in social media, which is a nuanced form of language for expressing the opposite of what is written. Several works have been done either at the level of non-hashtag or hashtag-based sentiment analysis. In sarcasm detection; however there is no model for identifying sarcastic tweets to work on both levels. In this article, we present a new Sarcasm Detection Model (SDM) for identifying sarcastic tweets at the level of hashtag and non-hashtag sentiment, based on the strength level of the tweets. In the proposed SDM, three classifiers are used; SentiStrength Sarcasm Classifier (SSC); Sarcasm Hashtags Classifier (SHC) and Hashtag-SentiStrength Sarcasm Classifier (HSSC). SentiStrength Sarcasm Classifier works based on the strength level of tweet, whereas Sarcasm Hashtags Classifier works based on the Sarcasm Hashtags Indicator (SHI) and contrast between the orientation of the tweets and hashtag(s), and Hashtag-SentiStrength Sarcasm Classifier works based on the strength levels of tweet and hashtag(s). These classifiers work better when they are used as part of a coherent model rather than used individually. This research is still on-going where in the future we will need to test the effectiveness of the SDM. Moreover, we except to achieve good result because it is covered several types of tweets (hahstags and non-hashtags). KeywordsSarcasm, Sentiment analysis, Hashtags analysis, Strength level of tweets.
Mechanism of facilitation at the crayfish neuromuscular junction

The term facilitation frequently covers a variety of processes which lead to an increased response, including temporal and spatial summation, recruitment, or removal of inhibition. A more restricted definition will be used here; we shall speak of 'facilitation' if a nerve impulse in a presynaptic fibre sets up an increased post-synaptic potential due to preceding impulses in the same nerve fibre. The phenomenon has been described in many synapses and it is well known in the crustacean neuromuscular junction (van Harreveld & Wiersma, 1936; Katz & Kuffler, 1946). Three mechanisms have frequently been used in accounting for facilitation. The first explanation assumes that not all terminal regions in a presynaptic axon are reached by impulses and that more complete invasion of branches is brought about by facilitation. The second possibility is an increased output of transmitter by an individual nerve terminal causing a bigger synaptic potential. Finally, facilitation could consist of an increased response of the post-synaptic membrane to the same amount of transmitter. A rigorous study of all the above possibilities has been made in the vertebrate neuromuscular junction only, and evidence was found for an increase in the statistical probability of release of transmitter quanta (del Castillo & Katz, 1954a). In this paper we find the same to be true in the crayfish. The methods used are similar to those described in the preceding paper (Dudel & Kuffler, 1961a).
Multi-Saliency Detection via Instance Specific Element Homology

Saliency detection aims to find the useful and attractive regions from an image. In many situations, there may be multiple objects in the image, and these objects may have equal attractiveness. Moreover, the appearance of pixels in one object may demonstrate large difference, which could lead to lose the object integrality when detecting saliency. To this end, this paper proposes a multi-saliency detection model via Instance Specific Element Homology (ISEH), where the integrality of an object is also considered. The ISEH is mainly formulated as a belongingness probability computation of two elements (e.g., pixels or superpixels) relative to the same object, which exploits the linking of elements within certain proposal, as well as the objectness of the proposal simultaneously. This work takes ISEH into account in the foreground and background estimation and a final optimization, and generates a superior performance for multi-saliency detection than the state-of-the-arts.
High efficient discharge processes of large-capacity flue gas by using bidirectional pulse generator

Plasmas have been used to reduce flue gases. Research has shown that positive and negative coronas using pulsed voltages have an effect on removing SO/sub 2/, NO, and NO/sub 2/. In this paper bidirectional pulsed voltages are used to increase the efficiency of flue-gas reactors. The particle-mesh model using NGP (nearest-grid-point) and FEM (finite element method) calculate the detailed space-time variations of the electric fields for the streamer and it makes the characteristics of reactor clearer. In this simulation NO is considered a dominant gas.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Pediatric Septic Shock*

Objectives: Mitochondrial dysfunction in peripheral blood mononuclear cells has been linked to immune dysregulation and organ failure in adult sepsis, but pediatric data are limited. We hypothesized that pediatric septic shock patients exhibit mitochondrial dysfunction within peripheral blood mononuclear cells which in turn correlates with global organ injury. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Academic PICU. Patients: Thirteen pediatric patients with septic shock and greater than or equal to two organ failures and 11 PICU controls without sepsis or organ failure. Interventions: Ex vivo measurements of mitochondrial oxygen consumption and membrane potential (&Dgr;&PSgr;m) were performed in intact peripheral blood mononuclear cells on day 1–2 and day 5–7 of septic illness and in controls. The Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction score, inotrope score, and organ failure–free days were determined from medical records. Measurements and Main Results: Spare respiratory capacity, an index of bioenergetic reserve, was lower in septic peripheral blood mononuclear cells on day 1–2 (median, 1.81; interquartile range, 0.52–2.09 pmol O2/s/106 cells) compared with controls (5.55; 2.80–7.21; p = 0.03). Spare respiratory capacity normalized by day 5–7. Patients with sepsis on day 1–2 exhibited a higher ratio of LEAK to maximal respiration than controls (17% vs < 1%; p = 0.047) with normalization by day 5–7 (1%; p = 0.008), suggesting mitochondrial uncoupling early in sepsis. However, septic peripheral blood mononuclear cells exhibited no differences in basal or adenosine triphosphate–linked oxygen consumption or &Dgr;&PSgr;m. Oxygen consumption did not correlate with Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction score, inotrope score, or organ failure–free days (all p > 0.05). Although there was a weak overall association between &Dgr;&PSgr;m on day 1–2 and organ failure–free days (Spearman &rgr; = 0.56, p = 0.06), patients with sepsis with normal organ function by day 7 exhibited higher &Dgr;&PSgr;m on day 1–2 compared with patients with organ failure for more than 7 days (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Mitochondrial dysfunction was present in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in pediatric sepsis, evidenced by decreased bioenergetic reserve and increased uncoupling. Mitochondrial membrane potential, but not respiration, was associated with duration of organ injury.
A Four-Gene Promoter Methylation Marker Panel Consisting of GREM1, NEURL, LAD1, and NEFH Predicts Survival of Clear Cell Renal Cell Cancer Patients

Purpose: The currently used prognostic models for patients with nonmetastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) are based on clinicopathologic features and might be improved by adding molecular markers. Epigenetic alterations occur frequently in ccRCC and are promising biomarkers. The aim of this study is to identify prognostic promoter methylation markers for ccRCC. Experimental Design: We integrated data generated by massive parallel sequencing of methyl-binding domain enriched DNA and microarray-based RNA expression profiling of 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine–treated ccRCC cell lines to comprehensively characterize the ccRCC methylome. A selection of the identified methylation markers was evaluated in two independent series of primary ccRCC (n = 150 and n = 185) by methylation-specific PCR. Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to estimate cause-specific survival. HRs and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were assessed using Cox proportional hazard models. To assess the predictive capacity and fit of models combining several methylation markers, HarrellC statistic and the Akaike Information Criterion were used. Results: We identified four methylation markers, that is, GREM1, NEURL, LAD1, and NEFH, that individually predicted prognosis of patients with ccRCC. The four markers combined were associated with poorer survival in two independent patient series (HR, 3.64; 95% CI, 1.02–13.00 and HR, 7.54; 95% CI, 2.68–21.19). These findings were confirmed in a third series of ccRCC cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas (HR, 3.60; 95% CI, 2.02–6.40). Conclusions: A four-gene promoter methylation marker panel consisting of GREM1, NEURL, LAD1, and NEFH predicts outcome of patients with ccRCC and might be used to improve current prognostic models. Clin Cancer Res; 23(8); 2006–18. ©2016 AACR.
Molecular and Morphological Characterization of Anisakid Nematode Larvae from the Sandperches Pseudopercis numida and Pinguipes brasilianus (Perciformes: Pinguipedidae) off Brazil

Abstract: Morphological and genetic data on the larvae of Anisakidae parasitizing the sandperches Pseudopercis numida and Pinguipes brasilianus were recorded from Cabo Frio, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (23°S, 42°W). Twenty-five specimens of P. numida and 25 specimens of P. brasilianus were necropsied. The 352 larvae collected included 1 Anisakis sp. , 344 Hysterothylacium sp. , and 7 Raphidascaris sp. We present mtDNA sequence data for Anisakis sp. and Hysterothylacium sp. , and we sequenced the ITS ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of Hysterothylacium sp. and Raphidascaris sp. The morphological and genetic profiles confirmed the identification of Anisakis typica (Diesing, 1860). Hysterothylacium sp. and Raphidascaris sp. were not identified to the species level due to the absence of similar sequences for adult parasites. The mtDNA sequence of Hysterothylacium sp. from P. numida showed a high similarity to the sequence of Hysterothylacium deardorffoverstreetorum. However, a phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the presence of different clades under the same name as the larval H. deardorffoverstreetorum. Pseudopercis numida is a new host record for A. typica.