Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-timescale hybrid components of the functional brain connectome: A bimodal EEG-fMRI decomposition

Concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) bridge brain connectivity across timescales. During concurrent EEG-fMRI resting-state recordings, whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) strength is spatially correlated across modalities. However, cross-modal investigations have commonly remained correlational, and joint analysis of EEG-fMRI connectivity is largely unexplored. Here we investigated if there exist (spatially) independent FC networks linked between modalities. We applied the recently proposed hybrid connectivity independent component analysis (connICA) framework to two concurrent EEG-fMRI resting state datasets (total 40 subjects). Two robust components were found across both datasets. The first component has a uniformly distributed EEG-frequency fingerprint linked mainly to intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) in both modalities. Conversely, the second component is sensitive to different EEG-frequencies and is primarily linked to intra-ICN connectivity in fMRI but to inter-ICN connectivity in EEG. The first hybrid component suggests that connectivity dynamics within well-known ICNs span timescales, from millisecond-range in all canonical frequencies of FCEEG to second-range of FCfMRI. Conversely, the second component additionally exposes linked but spatially divergent neuronal processing at the two timescales. This work reveals the existence of joint spatially independent components, suggesting that parts of resting-state connectivity are co-expressed in a linked manner across EEG and fMRI over individuals.
Correlation and path analysis studies of yield and yield components in brinjal

Correlation coefficient analysis in 84 varieties of brinjal revealed that the association of number of flowers per cluster, number of fruits per cluster, average fruit length and number of fruits per plant with fruit yield and among themselves was positive and highly significant and these traits were identified as yield components. The genetic improvement of fruit yield thus can be obtained by direct selection of these yield components. Path coefficient analysis revealed that the characters viz., fruit set percentage, fruit weight, number of fruits per plant, relative style length, number of flowers per cluster and number of fruits per cluster had high direct and correlation values. Thus, the fruit yield per plant can be improved by making selection of these characters during yield improvement programme.
Barriers to healthcare for people on the autism spectrum

Purpose – Adults on the autism spectrum experience difficulties in receiving health care, and health care providers face difficulties in offering health care to adults on the autism spectrum. The purpose of this paper is first, to assess the various difficulties and second, to provide strategies to overcome them. Design/methodology/approach – In this qualitative research project, current barriers and facilitators to health care services were sampled from a collaboration of autistic self-advocates and autism professionals in Berlin, Germany. The findings were complemented by a review of practical guidelines and research about the service accessibility of patients on the autism spectrum. Findings – A comprehensive list of barriers to health care was compiled and structured according to various aspects, such as “making appointments”, “waiting area”, “communication”, and “examination”. Strategies considering the perceptual and communicative peculiarities of autism were found to improve access to health care f.
manta - a clustering algorithm for weighted ecological networks

Microbial network inference and analysis has become a successful approach to generate biological hypotheses from microbial sequencing data. Network clustering is a crucial step in this analysis. Here, we present a novel heuristic flow-based network clustering algorithm, which equals or outperforms existing algorithms on noise-free synthetic data. manta comes with unique strengths such as the ability to identify nodes that represent an intermediate between clusters, to exploit negative edges and to assess the robustness of cluster membership. manta does not require parameter tuning, is straightforward to install and run, and can easily be combined with existing microbial network inference tools.
Combining Crowdsourcing and Deep Learning to Assess Public Opinion on CRISPR-Cas9

The discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9-based gene editing method has opened un-precedented new potential for biological and medical engineering, sparking a growing public debate on both the potential and dangers of CRISPR applications. Given the speed of technology development, and the almost instantaneous global spread of news, its important to follow evolving debates without much delay and in sufficient detail, as certain events may have a major long-term impact on public opinion and later influence policy decisions. Social media networks such as Twitter have shown to be major drivers of news dissemination and public discourse. They provide a vast amount of semi-structured data in almost real-time and give direct access to the content of the conversations. Such data can now be mined and analyzed quickly because of recent developments in machine learning and natural language processing. Here, we used BERT, an attention-based transformer model, in combination with statistical methods to analyse the entirety of all tweets ever published on CRISPR since the publication of the first gene editing application in 2013. We show that the mean sentiment of tweets was initially very positive, but began to decrease over time, and that this decline was driven by rare peaks of strong negative sentiments. Due to the high temporal resolution of the data, we were able to associate these peaks with specific events, and to observe how trending topics changed over time. Overall, this type of analysis can provide valuable and complementary insights into ongoing public debates, extending the traditional empirical bioethics toolset.
Top-down feature-based cueing modulates conflict-specific ERP components in a Stroop-like task with equiprobable conditions

Both attention and interference processing involve the selection of relevant information from incoming signals. Studies already show that interference decreases when the target location is precued correctly using spatial cueing. Complementary, we examine the effect of feature-based attentional cueing on interference processing. We used a design with equal stimulus probabilities where no response preparation was possible in the valid condition due to a response mapping alternation from trial to trial. The color of the Stroop stimuli was precued either validly or invalidly. Electrophysiological data (EEG) from 20 human participants are reported. We expected reduced interference effects with valid cueing for behavioral data and for both Stroop-associated event-related potential (ERP) components (N450 and sustained positive potential; SP). The N450 showed a significant effect for valid trials but no effect in the invalid condition. In contrast, the SP was absent with valid cueing and present with invalid cues. These findings suggest that focused feature-based attention leads to a more effective attentional selectivity. Furthermore, the top-down influence of feature-based attention differentially affects the N450 and SP components.
Working to reduce pressure ulcers in Scotland

in Scotland are affected by pressure ulcers, which can be painful, debilitating and life-threatening (Hopkins et al, 2006). Pressure ulcers are areas of tissue damage that typically occur in people who are unable to reposition themselves, such as the acutely ill, the elderly and the malnourished. The cost of treating a pressure ulcer imposes a significant financial burden on healthcare services, and treatment costs can range from £1,000 to £17,000 depending on the severity of the ulcer (Bennett et al, 1994). Costs increase in the most severe cases because healing time is longer and the incidence of complications is higher. Pressure ulcers cost the NHS an estimated £1.4–2.1 billion annually (Department of Health [DH]). Such figures, however, do not include the rising litigation costs associated with pressure ulcers. charts, a pressure ulcer grading scale, an excoriation tool, a dressing change package, and a best practice statement and associated audit tool on the prevention and management of pressure ulcers. Also included is the SSKIN care bundle, a powerful and central tool, which brings best and preventative practices together. SSKIN stands for : surface, skin inspection, keep moving, incontinence and nutrition, all aspects of care that staff are required to consider. A change package is also included.
Cell types, connectivity and behavior-dependent recruitment of vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing interneurons in the mouse hippocampus

It has been recognized for some time that different subtypes of cortical inhibitory interneurons innervate specific dendritic domains of principal cells and release GABA at particular times during behaviorally relevant network oscillations. However, the lack of basic information on how the activity of interneurons can be controlled by GABA released in particular behavioral states has hindered our understanding of the rules that govern the spatio-temporal organization and function of dendritic inhibition. Similar to principal cells, any given interneuron may receive several functionally distinct inhibitory inputs that target its specific subcellular domains. We recently found that local circuitry of the so-called interneuron-specific (IS) interneurons is responsible for dendritic inhibition of different subtypes of hippocampal interneurons with a great impact on cell output. Here, we will review the properties and the specificity of connections of IS interneurons in the CA1 hippocampus and neocortex, and discuss their possible role in the activity-dependent regulation of dendritic inhibition received by pyramidal neurons.
Model-Based and Model-Free Analyses of the Neural Correlates of Tongue Movements

The tongue performs movements in all directions to subserve its diverse functions in chewing, swallowing, and speech production. The aims of the present study were twofold: using task-based functional MRI in a group of 17 healthy young participants, we studied (1) potential differences in the cerebral control of frontal, horizontal, and vertical tongue movements and (2) potential inter-individual differences in tongue motor control. To investigate differences between different tongue movements, we performed voxel-wise multiple linear regressions. To investigate inter-individual differences, we applied a novel approach, spatio-temporal filtering of independent components. For this approach, individual functional data sets were decomposed into spatially independent components and corresponding time courses using ICA. A temporal filter (correlation with the expected brain response) was used to identify independent components time-locked to the tongue motor task. A spatial filter (cross-correlation with established neurofunctional systems) was used to identify brain activity not time-locked to the task. Our results confirm the importance of an extended bilateral cortical and subcortical network for the control of tongue movements, including the lateral primary sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, insula, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum. Frontal tongue movements, highly overlearned movements related to speech production, showed less activity in parts of the frontal and parietal lobes compared to horizontal and vertical movements and greater activity in parts of the left frontal and temporal lobes compared to vertical movements. The investigation of inter-individual differences revealed a component representing the tongue primary sensorimotor cortex time-locked to the task in all participants. Using the spatial filter, we found the default mode network in 16 of 17 participants, the left fronto-parietal network in 16, the right fronto-parietal network in 8, and the executive control network in 4 participants. Further detailed analyses of speech-related tongue movements are warranted to increase our understanding of tongue motor control as a crucial part of articulation. Spatio-temporal filtering of independent components appears to be a powerful approach to study inter-individual differences in task-based functional MRI. This approach may be particularly useful for the assessment of individual patients and may be related to individual clinical, behavioral, and genetic information.
Smart aerospace eCommerce: Using intelligent agents in a NASA mission services ordering application

Describes how intelligent agent technology was successfully prototyped and then deployed in a smart eCommerce application for NASA. An intelligent software agent called the Intelligent Service Validation Agent (ISVA) was added to an existing web-based ordering application to validate complex orders for spacecraft mission services. This integration of intelligent agent technology with conventional web technology satisfies an immediate NASA need to reduce manual order processing costs. The ISVA agent checks orders for completeness, consistency, and correctness, and notifies users of detected problems. ISVA uses NASA business rules and a knowledge base of NASA services, and is implemented using the Java Expert System Shell (Jess), a fast rule-based inference engine. The paper discusses the design of the agent and knowledge base, and the prototyping and deployment approach. It also discusses future directions and other applications, and discusses lessons learned that may help other projects make their aerospace eCommerce applications smarter.
The Wear of a New Total Knee Replacement With Anti-Oxidant UHMWPE

Introduction Wear of polyethylene continues to be a significant factor in the longevity of total knee replacement (TKR). Moderately cross-linked polyethylene has been employed to reduce the wear of knee prostheses, and more recently anti-oxidants have been introduced to improve the long-term stability of the polyethylene material. This is the initial study of the wear of a new anti-oxidant polyethylene and a new TKR design, which has modified femoral condylar geometry. Materials and Methods The wear of a new TKR the Attune knee was investigated using a physiological six station Prosim knee wear simulator (Simulator Solutions, UK). Six mid-size Attune fixed bearing cruciate retaining TKRs (DePuy Inc, Warsaw, USA) were tested for a period of 6 million cycles. The inserts were manufactured from AOX™, a compression moulded GUR1020 polyethylene incorporating Covernox™ solid anti-oxidant. The AOX polymer was irradiated to 8M Rad, to give a moderately cross-linked material. High and intermediate kinematics, under anterior-posterior displacement control were used for this study (McEwen et al 2005). The maximum femoral axial loading was 2600N, with flexion-extension of 0 to 58°, an anterior-posterior displacement of 0–10 mm for high kinematics and 0–5 mm for intermediate, and an internal-external rotation of ±5°. The lubricant was 25% (v/v) calf serum supplemented with 0.03% (v/v) sodium azide solution in deionised water, as an antibacterial agent, and was changed approximately every 0.33 Mc. Wear was assessed gravimetrically and moisture uptake was assessed using unloaded soak controls. Volumetric wear was calculated using a density of 0.94 mg/mm 3 , and compared with a previous study examining the Sigma XLK TKR design which uses moderately crosslinked polyethylene which is in current clinical use (Brockett et al 2012). Results The mean wear as a function of cycles, under high and intermediate kinematics is indicated in Figure 1. There was a significant reduction in wear rate with intermediate kinematics. The mean wear rate for the Attune TKR under high kinematics (0–3 Mc) was 6.27±1.03 mm 3 /Mc, and during the intermediate kinematics (3–6 Mc) was 4.63 ±1.01 mm 3 /Mc. These wear rates were comparable to previously reported data for a moderately cross-linked UHMWPE Sigma TKR (Figure 2, Brockett et al 2012) under high kinematics. Under intermediate kinematics there was a small but significant difference between the wear rates (ANOVA, p Discussion A new Attune design TKR has a new bearing material and a new femoral geometry was examined through experimental wear simulator studies, and compared with a previously reported study conducted under the same test conditions. The wear performance of the new Attune TKR was comparable with the Sigma XLK bearing under high kinematics, but higher under intermediate kinematics. This study has examined the short term wear performance of the implant, and found it to be a low wear option for TKR. The longer-term potential advantages offered by a more oxidatively stable material will be investigated in the future.
FuzzyVariantsExplorer: Graded exploration of genomic data and fuzzy queries

Summary FuzzyVariantExplorer is a web interface and a fuzzy search system for exploring richly annotated genomes in a flexible way. The application allows combining vague constraints in expressive logical queries to retrieve graded sets of genes and their associated variants. Results can be further refined in a visual way by selecting keywords and categories that are extracted from the underlying annotations and weighted with a statistical significance score; keywords can then be clustered using Latent Dirichlet Allocation and explored visually. The system has been applied to a set of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome annotations and a few variants. Availability FuzzyVariantExplorer source code is available at the URL https://bitbucket.org/mfalda/fuzzyvariantsexplorer/src/ and has been developed in Scala, TypeScript and R. Contact marco.falda@unipd.it
Behaviour of endangered European eels in proximity to a dam during downstream migration: Novel insights using high accuracy 3D acoustic telemetry

River infrastructures such as weirs, hydropower stations or water reservoirs represent obstructions to migration for diadromous fish. Knowledge of accurate behaviour of fish in front of such structures is required to protect migrants from hazardous areas, guide them towards safe passage or adapt structure to improve the escapement. We developed and made available a method to process acoustic telemetry data based on Time Difference Of Arrival analysis to accurately locate tagged fish. Improved accuracy allows the detection of escape routes and description of dam‐crossing tactics. Sixteen tagged eels were tracked with high accuracy (1–2 m) and ~1 location min⁻¹ frequency during their exploration period on reaching the dam. Two migration routes (spillways and bottom compensation flow pipe) were used by 77% and 23% of eels respectively. Spillways were the preferred route, but a median of 16 days were required to pass the dam versus 1.1 days via the compensation pipe. A minimal water crest of 40 cm was required for passage via spillways. Eels passing through the compensation pipe were exclusively nocturnal and mainly explored the bottom of the dam. Eels passing through spillways explored the whole dam area by night and day, and were not attracted to the compensation pipe entrance. With global warming, more frequent drought periods are expected, potentially leading to decreased opportunities for eels to migrate across safer dams by spillways. To conserve this endangered species, dam management strategies that account for expected hydrologic conditions and distinct exploration behaviours are needed.
Reference gene selection and validation by qRT-PCR during flower development and in different organs of Primula forbesii

ABSTRACT Quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is an effective and widely used method in gene expression studies. Selection of appropriate reference genes is key to generating reliable data using this technique and there are no published studies regarding the selection of reliable reference genes in the genus Primula. In this study, 10 candidate reference genes (28S, ACT, TUA, TUB, HIS, GAPDH, RPL18a, STPP, CSD and RNA pol II), were chosen from the transcriptome database in Primula forbesii Franch. , and their expression levels were assessed by qRT-PCR in different flower developmental stages and different organs. Four software programs; geNorm, NormFinder, Bestkeeper, and Ref-Finder were used to validate the stability and suitability of potential reference genes. Comprehensive results showed that GAPDH was the most stable reference gene for P. forbesii, while TUA and TUB were the most unstable ones in flower development and different organs, respectively. Finally, to illustrate the usefulness of the top-ranked reference genes, the expression profile of the P. forbesii linalool synthase/nerolidol synthase gene (PfLIS/NES) was analysed, which highlighted the importance of proper reference gene selection. This work represents the first systematic study of reference gene stability in Primula and lays the foundation for future research into Primula gene expression patterns.
Special section World Health Organisation (WHO) - World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM) Recommendations - Part 1 Developing ICF Core Sets for persons with sleep disorders based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health q

Background: With the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), we can now rely on a globally agreed-upon framework and system for classifying the typical spectrum of problems in the functioning of persons given the environmental context in which they live. ICF Core Sets are subgroups of ICF items selected to capture those aspects of functioning that are most likely to be affected by sleep disorders. Objective: The objective of this paper is to outline the developmental process for the ICF Core Sets for Sleep. Methods: The ICF Core Sets for Sleep will be defined at an ICF Core Sets Consensus Conference, which will integrate evidence from preliminary studies, namely (a) a systematic literature review regarding the outcomes used in clinical trials and observational studies, (b) focus groups with people in different regions of the world who have sleep disorders, (c) an expert survey with the involvement of international clinical experts, and (d) a cross-sectional study of people with sleep disorders in different regions of the world. Conclusion: The ICF Core Sets for Sleep are being designed with the goal of providing useful standards for research, clinical practice and teaching. It is hypothesized that the ICF Core Sets for Sleep will stimulate research that leads to an improved understanding of functioning, disability, and health in sleep medicine. It is of further hope that such research will lead to interventions and
Morphology and DNA Data Reveal a New Shrimp Species of Genus Latreutes Stimpson, 1860 (Decapoda: Hippolytidae) from the Western Atlantic

The genus Latreutes Stimpson, 1860 comprises 17 described species of marine shrimps, most of them distributed in the Indo-West Pacific and eastern Pacific. Only three species are recorded in the Atlantic. When comparing specimens of Latreutes parvulus (Stimpson, 1871) from both sides of the Atlantic by means of a combination of morphological and molecular data, we recognized a new species of Latreutes from Brazil (Rio Grande do Norte, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo). The phylogenetic tree generated on the basis of the 16S gene showed a clear separation of the specimens of the new species from the other closely related species analyzed. The analyses also evidenced that the new species and L. parvulus are sister taxa. Although very similar, both species can be easily separated by features of the scaphocerite and eyestalk. Rostrum form and dentition, characters usually used for L. parvulus recognition, were highly variable in both species. Thus, herein the new species is described, illustrated, and compared with morphological similar species of Latreutes. A key for the Atlantic species is also provided.