Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative computed tomography measures of emphysema and airway wall thickness are related to respiratory symptoms.

RATIONALE There is limited knowledge about the relationship between respiratory symptoms and quantitative high-resolution computed tomography measures of emphysema and airway wall thickness. OBJECTIVES To describe the ability of these measures of emphysema and airway wall thickness to predict respiratory symptoms in subjects with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS We included 463 subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (65% men) and 488 subjects without COPD (53% men). All subjects were current or ex-smokers older than 40 years. They underwent spirometry and high-resolution computed tomography examination, and completed an American Thoracic Society questionnaire on respiratory symptoms. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Median (25th percentile, 75th percentile) percent low-attenuation areas less than -950 Hounsfield units (%LAA) was 7.0 (2.2, 17.8) in subjects with COPD and 0.5 (0.2, 1.3) in subjects without COPD. Mean (SD) standardized airway wall thickness (AWT) at an internal perimeter of 10 mm (AWT-Pi10) was 4.94 (0.33) mm in subjects with COPD and 4.77 (0.29) in subjects without COPD. Both %LAA and AWT-Pi10 were independently and significantly related to the level of dyspnea among subjects with COPD, even after adjustments for percent predicted FEV(1). AWT-Pi10 was significantly related to cough and wheezing in subjects with COPD, and to wheezing in subjects without COPD. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for increased dyspnea in subjects with COPD and in subjects without COPD were 1.9 (1.5-2.3) and 1.9 (0.6-6.6) per 10% increase in %LAA, and 1.07 (1.01-1.14) and 1.11 (0.99-1.24) per 0.1-mm increase in AWT-Pi10, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Quantitative computed tomography assessment of the lung parenchyma and airways may be used to explain the presence of respiratory symptoms beyond the information offered by spirometry.
Missing data analysis for binary multivariate longitudinal data through a simulation study

The nature of longitudinal data is repeated measurements over many occasions. Missingness frequently occurs during a longitudinal study because of circumstances such as a subject moving, medical illness or administrative reasons. In this paper, our focus is multivariate longitudinal data, for which there are more than one outcome measured at many occasions. The missingness in multivariate longitudinal data can happen such that all outcomes are missing at a particular time or partially such that only a subset of outcomes is not observed at that time. Missingness is considered a big issue in statistical analysis since its effects are to reduce the statistical power and increase bias. The statistical analysis should pay attention to the problem of missing data and use some statistical missing data handling methods to reduce the bias and reach better estimates. Missing data mechanisms were classified by Little1 into three types:
Decision templates for the classification of bioacoustic time series

The classification of time series is topic of this paper. In particular we discuss the combination of multiple classifier outputs with decision templates. The decision templates are calculated over a set of feature vectors which are extracted in local time windows. To learn characteristic classifier outputs of time series a set of decision templates is determined for the individual classes. We present algorithms to calculate multiple decision templates, and demonstrate the behaviour of this new approach on a real world data set from the field of bioacoustics.
Functional and evolutionary analysis of flowering time genes in Brassica nigra and Physcomitrella patens

Plant genomes harbour many gene families reminiscent of previous duplication events. In this thesis, the molecular evolution of duplicated genes is analysed with special emphasis on flowering-time genes. In Brassica nigra, a close relative to Arabidopsis, three COL genes have been associated with flowering time (BnCOa, BnCOb and BnCOL1). The molecular evolution of these genes have been studied. All aspects of the data can not easily be explained by demography, indicating that selection has played a role in shaping the variation at these genes. BnCOb appear to be in the early process of pseudogenization. A functional study of COL genes in the moss Physcomitrella patens shows that in Ppcol3 knockout mutants, the generation of gametophores (leafy shoots) was diminished under blue light. Indicating that PpCOL3 is required for gametophore development Stem elongation was affected in white light in Ppcol2-Ppcol3 double mutants, but not in a Ppcol3 single mutant, suggesting that PpCOL2 might be involved in growth regulation of the gametophore. A phylogenetic study of plant PEBP genes show that three major clades exists in land plants: the basal MFT clade and FT and TFL1 clades. An analysis of positively selected sites in the tree branches identified six putatively selected sites. A detailed study of the basal MFT clade, together with an expression analysis in Physcomitrella, shows that moss MFT-like genes are light-induced and appear to be associated with development of reproductive structures.
Changes in invertebrate assemblage composition in benthic and hyporheic zones during a severe supraseasonal drought

Droughts are unpredictable disturbances characterized in streams by declining flow, reduced habitat availability, and deteriorating abiotic conditions. Such events typically reduce benthic invertebrate taxon richness and modify assemblage composition, but little is known about how hyporheic invertebrate assemblages respond to drought or how these responses relate to changes in benthic assemblages. We hypothesized that taxon richness (α diversity) and variability (as within-site β diversity) in benthic assemblage composition would decline as drought proceeded, whereas concurrent changes in hyporheic assemblages would be lower in this more stable environment. We predicted that benthic assemblage composition between sites would converge as epigean taxa were selectively eliminated, whereas between-site hyporheic β diversity would change little. We sampled benthic and hyporheic invertebrates concurrently from 4 sites along a groundwater-fed stream during the final stages of a severe supraseasonal drought punctuated by a record heat wave. Abiotic conditions in benthic habitats deteriorated as flow declined, but changes were less pronounced in the hyporheic zone. Benthic α diversity declined during drought, whereas hyporheic α diversity changed little. However, benthic within-site β diversity increased as the drought progressed because of localized variation in the abundance of common taxa. Temporal trends in hyporheic β diversity were less consistent. Benthic assemblages at individual sites became more similar, especially during the heat wave, reflecting low α diversity and abundance. Hyporheic assemblages changed markedly because of temporary increases in abundances of epigean and hypogean amphipods. These contrasting responses of benthic and hyporheic assemblages to drought should be recognized when developing management strategies for drought-impacted streams.
The Effectiveness of Theory of Mind Training On the Social Skills of Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

Objective Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) tend to have problems in establishing and maintaining their social relationships. Some professionals believe this social impairment is the result of deficit in Theory of Mind (ToM). This study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of ToM training on such children. Materials & Methods A quasi-experimental method, pre- test, post-test with control group was used. The sample included of 12 girls and 12 boys with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (HFASD). Two instruments were used as follows: the Theory of Mind test and the social skills questionnaire (1). The samples were randomly placed in the experimental and control groups. The experimental groups had 15 sessions of ToM training and the control groups had just regular school program. Results The data were analyzed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov, independent t- and twoway- variance tests. The scores for social skills in the experimental group were significantly more than the control group. Conclusion ToM training might improve the social skills of children with autism spectrum disorders.
Comments on "Influence of voltage contacts on precision measurements of the quantized Hall resistance: an effect of externally injected current"

T.P. Chen and H.A. Chua (ibid., vol. 47, pp. 592-4, 1998) proposed a model to explain the influence of the voltage contact resistance R, on the value of the Hall resistance R/sub H/ in high-precision measurements. Their model is based on the observation that the offset current of the null detector of the cryogenic bridge generates a voltage in the contact resistance that induces a deviation of the Hall resistance from its ideal value. Using their model, they give a quantitative interpretation of a set of high-precision measurements made at the Swiss Federal Office of Metrology. The main argument of the paper is as follows: the offset current of the null detector I/sub offset/ will develop an error voltage V/sub d/=I/sub offset/R/sub c/, where R/sub c/ is the contact resistance. We think this argument is wrong. In addition to the contact resistance, the Hall resistance is present between the terminals of the voltmeter and, therefore, the error voltage is given by V/sub d/=I/sub offset/(R/sub c/+2R/sub H/). In this case, RH is multiplied by two because we are comparing two Hall resistances.
Characterization of transcription initiation and termination signals of the proteinase genes of Lactococcus lactis Wg2 and enhancement of proteolysis in L. lactis

The transcription initiation signals of the prtP and prtM genes specifying the proteolytic activity of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris Wg2 were mapped by primer extension. The strength of these promoters was analyzed with promoter-screening vector pGKV410, and they appeared to be weaker than previously isolated promoters of strain Wg2. In addition, a putative transcription terminator downstream of the prtP gene was characterized by using the terminator-screening vector pGKV259. The putative terminator decreased the transcription activity of lactococcal promoter P59 by approximately 70% in both Bacillus subtilis and L. lactis. Deletion of a part of the stem-loop structure of the terminator decreased the negative effect on transcription, indicating that the structure could indeed function as a terminator of transcription. The proteolytic activity of the lactococcal host was enhanced by placing the originally oppositely oriented prt genes in tandem and replacing the relatively weak promoters upstream of the prt genes with the stronger promoter, P32, from the chromosome of L. lactis Wg2.
Effect of Rate Control on Speech Production and Intelligibility in Dysarthria

The reported study investigated the effect of 7 rate control methods (RCM) on running speech intelligibility, speaking rate (SR), articulation rate (AR) and pause characteristics in 27 individuals with dysarthria. The data reveal that with the exception of slower on demand, each RCM resulted in lower mean SRs and ARs (p < 0.05). Clinically significant improvements in intelligibility were found in half of the participants with different types of dysarthria. The majority of them had normal or decreased ARs and SRs. The most effective methods were: alphabet board, hand tapping and pacing board. For the majority of speakers, the maximal decrease in speech rate was not associated with the maximal increase in intelligibility.
Concurrent Angioplasty Balloon Placement for Stent Delivery through Jugular Venous Bulb for Treating Cerebral Venous Sinus Stenosis. Technical Report.

OBJECTIVE To report upon technique of concurrent placement of angioplasty balloon at the internal jugular vein and sigmoid venous sinus junction to facilitate stent delivery in two patients in whom stent delivery past the jugular bulb was not possible. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 21-year-old woman and a 41-year-old woman with worsening headaches, visual obscuration or diplopia were treated for pseudotumor cerebri associated with transverse venous stenosis. Both patients had undergone primary angioplasty, which resulted in improvement in clinical symptoms followed by the recurrence of symptoms with restenosis at the site of angioplasty. INTERVENTION After multiple attempts at stent delivery through jugular venous bulb were unsuccessful, a second guide catheter was placed in the ipsilateral internal jugular vein through contralateral femoral venous approach. A 6 mm × 20 mm (left) or 5 × 15 mm (right) angioplasty balloon was placed across the internal jugular vein and sigmoid sinus junction and partially inflated until the inflation and relative straightening of the junction was observed. In both patients, the internal jugular vein and sigmoid sinus junction was successfully traversed by the stent delivery system in a parallel alignment to inflated balloon. Balloon mounted stent was deployed at the site of restenosis with near complete resolution of lumen narrowing delivery and improvement in clinical symptoms. CONCLUSION We report a technique for realignment and diameter change with concurrent placement and partial inflation of angioplasty balloon at the jugular venous bulb to facilitate stent delivery into the sigmoid and transverse venous sinuses in circumstances where multiple attempts at stent delivery are unsuccessful.
xAnalog Device and Circuit Performance Degradation Under Substrate Bias Enhanced Hot Carrier Stress

In this paper, we investigate the influence of forward and reverse body bias stress on the hot carrier induced degradation of MOS analog performance parameters. The underlying physical mechanisms are identified with the help of experimental results, TCAD and Monte-Carlo simulations. We show that under forward body bias stress conditions, the auger recombination enhanced hot carrier injection (HCI) degrades the device and circuit performance considerably. Degradation in various analog circuits' performance is quantified by considering the individual transistors under different stress conditions
HLA‐DR‐dependent increased mannan‐induced lymphoproliferative response in atopic eczema dermatitis syndrome

Background: In yeast‐sensitive atopic eczema dermatitis syndrome (AEDS), yeast mannan induces highly elevated specific IgE levels and lymphoproliferative responses. In healthy individuals the involvement of both human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐dependent T‐cell activation and non‐HLA‐dependent activation, e.g. by crosslinking of the cell surface mannose receptors, has been suggested. In the present study the HLA dependence and the role of crosslinking in the lymphoproliferative response to mannan in AEDS has been analyzed.
Survey of various techniques for determining influential users in social networks

Into the bloggers or a blog network, there are some users who cause a great influence over other users of the network. In this paper we refer these kinds of users as Influential Users (IU). IUs are those users that cause the other users to do some actions on the documents and contents published by him or her. The IU is being used by different organizations for viral marketing by using blogging sites. The organization wants to market a new product by using a small group of potential users to get profit. In this paper, we focus on the various approaches that helps in determination of IUs, some of them are based on the topology of the social network and some are based on hyperlink and later we discuss the new approach to finding the influential user which is based on the activities that the users performs in social networks, utilizing their diffusion history.
MIMO system identification with extended MADALINE neural network trained by Levenberg-Marquardt Method

Presented in this paper is an extended version of the Multi-ADAptive LINear Element (MADALINE) neural network, termed EMADALINE, for On-line System identification of Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) linear time-varying (LTV) systems Trained by Levenberg-Marquardt Method. A sliding window on the data set is used in the learning algorithm for the purpose of improving convergence speed during training and thus better tracking system parameters. Based on the input output polynomial model, which can be easily transformed into the row canonical state space model, Tapped delay lines are introduced, so the EMADALINE becomes recurrent in nature and thus is suitable for parameter estimation of such systems. The EMADALINE can then be setup under the assumption that the system structure is known in advance. The estimated parameters are obtained as the weights of trained individual neurons of the EMADALINE. The method is implemented in MATLAB and simulation study was then performed on a few well known examples. Simulation results show that the algorithms offer impressive results on convergence speed improvement. This work is based on author's previous work on MIMO systems' identification (Wenle Zhang, 2010).
Infected pseudoaneurysm following a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt procedure

A 3-year-old boy with pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect, who had undergone placement of a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt, presented with a 1-week history of high fever. Computed tomography showed a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomosis between the right brachiocephalic artery and the graft. After intravenous antibiotic therapy, the pseudoaneurysm and infected graft were resected through a median sternotomy. This report describes successful management of a potentially fatal complication following placement of a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt.
Comprehensive proteomic analysis of Penicillium verrucosum

Mass spectrometric identification of proteins in species lacking validated sequence information is a major problem in veterinary science. In the present study, we used ochratoxin A producing Penicillium verrucosum to identify and quantitatively analyze proteins of an organism with yet no protein information available. The work presented here aimed to provide a comprehensive protein identification of P. verrucosum using shotgun proteomics. We were able to identify 3631 proteins in an “ab initio” translated database from DNA sequences of P. verrucosum. Additionally, a sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment‐ion spectra analysis was done to find differentially regulated proteins at two different time points of the growth curve. We compared the proteins at the beginning (day 3) and at the end of the log phase (day 12).
Electron Microscopy During Release and Purification of Mesosomal Vesicles and Protoplast Membranes from Staphylococcus aureus

The mesosomes of log-phase Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538P and Staphylococcus aureus phage-type 80/81, as seen in situ in ultrathin sections, were of the vesicular type. The constituent vesicles ranged from 35 to 50 nm in diameter when the glutaraldehyde-osmium-uranium-lead sequence of fixation and staining was used. During protoplasting in hypertonic buffer containing a muralytic enzyme, vesicles of the same size were extruded and required magnesium ion to maintain structural integrity. The vesicles, purified from the protoplasting supernatant medium by density gradient centrifugation, maintained size and configuration in a homogeneous preparation. Cytoplasmic membranes, produced by osmotic shock and nuclease treatment of protoplasts, were similarly concentrated in gradients. However, they were not free of membrane-associated ribosomes nor of mesosomal vesicles except when prepared in the absence of magnesium.
Adaptive Impedance Control for an Upper Limb Robotic Exoskeleton Using Biological Signals

This paper presents adaptive impedance control of an upper limb robotic exoskeleton using biological signals. First, we develop a reference musculoskeletal model of the human upper limb and experimentally calibrate the model to match the operator's motion behavior. Then, the proposed novel impedance algorithm transfers stiffness from human operator through the surface electromyography (sEMG) signals, being utilized to design the optimal reference impedance model. Considering the unknown deadzone effects in the robot joints and the absence of the precise knowledge of the robot's dynamics, an adaptive neural network control incorporating with a high-gain observer is developed to approximate the deadzone effect and robot's dynamics and drive the robot tracking desired trajectories without velocity measurements. In order to verify the robustness of the proposed approach, the actual implementation has been performed using a real robotic exoskeleton and a human operator.
A Highly Conserved Cysteine of Neuronal Calcium-sensing Proteins Controls Cooperative Binding of Ca2+ to Recoverin*

Background: Recoverin contains a cysteine (Cys-39) that is highly conserved in neuronal calcium-sensing (NCS) proteins. Results: The C39A mutation shifts the conformational equilibrium from the R to T state, inducing cooperative calcium binding. Conclusion: Cys-39 controls the conformational equilibrium of calcium-free recoverin. Significance: This mutation assigns a previously unknown function to the conserved cysteine in recoverin and possibly all NCS proteins. Recoverin, a 23-kDa Ca2+-binding protein of the neuronal calcium sensing (NCS) family, inhibits rhodopsin kinase, a Ser/Thr kinase responsible for termination of photoactivated rhodopsin in rod photoreceptor cells. Recoverin has two functional EF hands and a myristoylated N terminus. The myristoyl chain imparts cooperativity to the Ca2+-binding sites through an allosteric mechanism involving a conformational equilibrium between R and T states of the protein. Ca2+ binds preferentially to the R state; the myristoyl chain binds preferentially to the T state. In the absence of myristoylation, the R state predominates, and consequently, binding of Ca2+ to the non-myristoylated protein is not cooperative. We show here that a mutation, C39A, of a highly conserved Cys residue among NCS proteins, increases the apparent cooperativity for binding of Ca2+ to non-myristoylated recoverin. The binding data can be explained by an effect on the T/R equilibrium to favor the T state without affecting the intrinsic binding constants for the two Ca2+ sites.
Incidence of Parkinson’s disease in Norway: the Norwegian ParkWest study

Objective: To present the incidence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in Norway and to explore gender influences on incidence and age at onset, as well as severity and pattern of parkinsonism at the time of diagnosis in a representative drug naïve cohort with newly diagnosed PD. Methods: In four Norwegian counties comprising a base population of 1 052 075 inhabitants, multiple sources of case ascertainment and a four step diagnostic procedure were used to establish a representative cohort of patients with incident PD at a high level of diagnostic accuracy. Of a total of 604 subjects referred to the study, 265 individuals fulfilled the clinical research criteria of PD at their latest clinical visit, at a mean 28 months after identification. Results: The incidence of PD in the study area, age standardised to the 1991 European standard population, was 12.6/105yr-1 (95% CI 11.1 to 14.2). The overall age standardised male to female ratio was 1.58 (95% CI 1.22 to 2.06), with a consistent male preponderance throughout all age groups. Clinical onset of PD was later in women than in men (68.6 vs 66.3 years; p = 0.062) whereas severity and pattern of parkinsonism in drug naïve patients was not different between genders at the time of diagnosis. Conclusion: Incidence rates of PD in Norway are similar to those in other Western European and American countries. Female gender was associated with a considerably lower risk of PD and slightly delayed motor onset but had no impact on severity of parkinsonism or clinical phenotype in incident drug naïve PD, suggesting that the female gender influences on the nigrostriatal system are most pronounced in the preclinical phase of the disease.