Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brain-Computer Music Interfacing : From Basic Research to the Real World of Special Needs

This paper reports on the development of a proof-of-concept brain-computer music interfacing system (BCMI), which we built to be tested with a patient with Locked-in Syndrome at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, in London. The system uses the Steady State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) method, whereby targets are presented to a user on a computer monitor representing actions available to perform with the system. Each target is encoded by a flashing visual pattern reversing at a unique frequency. In order to make a selection, the user must direct her gaze at the target corresponding to the action she would like to perform. The patient grasped the concept quickly and rapidly demonstrated her skill at controlling the system with minimal practice. She was able to vary the intensity of her gaze, thus changing the amplitude of her EEG and vary the consequent musical parameters. We have proved the concept that such BCMI system is cost-effective to build, viable, and useful. However, ergonomic and design aspects of the system require further refinement in order to make it more practical for clinical usage. For instance, the system at present requires a therapist to place individual electrodes and calibrate a user’s response to each stimulus, which can be time consuming. A new version of the system will require just positioning of a headset and, due to advanced algorithms, will require no calibration.
Cloning of human anti‐GM1 antibodies from motor neuropathy patients

Patients with multifocal motor neuropathy frequently have elevated titers of serum antibodies reactive with GM1 ganglioside. Although these antibodies may cause the syndrome, this has yet to be proven directly. As part of our studies on the nature and pathogenic potential of anti‐GM1 antibodies, we have cloned B cells from the peripheral blood of 3 patients with multifocal motor neuropathy and generated four stable heterohybridoma cell lines secreting human monoclonal IgM anti‐GM1 antibodies. In this report we describe the basic properties of these monoclonal antibodies in comparison with the patient's sera from which they were derived. The antibodies all differ in their pattern of reactivity with GM1 and other Gal(β1–3)GalNAc‐containing glycoconjugates. They have widely varying thermal ranges and their reactivities are strongly influenced by the presence of accessory lipids. Affinity purification of the patient's sera with GM1 led to the identification of previously unrecognized paraproteins that were resolvable above the background of polyclonal anti‐GM1 IgM. Our data demonstrate considerable heterogeneity in the immune response to GM1 both within individual sera and between different patients, which is likely to be of importance to their role in disease pathogenesis.
The nature of nurture: refining the definition of the exposome.

Historical debates concerning human biology and behavior have frequently focused on contributions of nature, ie, the inherited characteristics with which we are born, and nurture, ie, life’s influences after birth. Indeed, the concept of nature vs nurture has guided our understanding of human biology for decades, if not centuries. A series of discoveries has greatly advanced the knowledge of our nature. Watson and Crick’s unraveling of the double helix revolutionized the understanding of our genetic makeup (Watson and Crick, 1953). The polymerase chain reaction allowed amplification and manipulation of genes (Saiki et al., 1988). Identified links between specific genes and disease (Saiki et al., 1985) led to new diagnostic tools and treatments. These advances spurred the Human Genome Project with success in sequencing the entire human genome (Lander et al., 2001; Venter et al., 2001). This epic undertaking of biomedical science and technology was completed with amazing speed and celebrated with great fanfare. But the limitation of genetics to predict disease rapidly became obvious; as noted by Dr Venter shortly after the completion of human genome sequence, “We simply do not have enough genes for this idea of biological determinism to be right (McKie 2001). ” Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed genetic associations and networks that improve understanding of disease, but these still account for only a fraction of disease risk. With the majority of disease causation being nongenetic, the need for improved tools to quantify environmental contributions seems obvious. The simple distinction between genes and environment is blurred by knowledge that environmental exposures cause permanent genetic changes via mutagenesis and also have long-term impact on gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. Importantly, epigenetic mechanisms are central to differentiation and development, impacting genome function before birth and throughout life. The epigenome is highly reliant on nurture, ie, the nature and timing of environmental exposures and external forces. Randy Jirtle, a pioneer in epigenomics stated “The nature vs. nurture argument is rapidly proving to be irrelevant, because we’re finding that the 2 forces interact in highly specific ways that alter gene behavior (Duke Health, 2006). ” Although Dr Jirtle suggests the argument is becoming irrelevant, the reality is that biomedical research is overwhelmingly focused on the gene side of this debate. The tools and knowledge of our nature are far ahead of those for the environment. If we want to focus on the interaction between nature and nurture, we need better ways of cataloguing and integrating the complex exposures and forces that represent nurture. Such a framework is provided by the exposome.
Compact dual-mode DGS resonators and its application to wide stopband bandpass filters

A novel compact dual-mode defected ground structure (DGS) resonator is presented. Full-wave simulation was used to investigate the distinct characteristics of this type of resonator. The results show that it has two operating modes which don't coupled with each other and it is convenient to control the resonant frequency of two modes. Also, an inherent transmission zero could be controlled to locate at the high or low side of the two modes. A bandpass filter, using this type of resonator, has a bandwidth of 5.7% at 2.26 GHz is simulated and fabricated. The results show that this filter not only has an inherent transmission zero near the passband, but also has a very wide upper stopband with rejection better than 20 dB up to about 10 GHz.
Systemic immune challenge induces preproenkephalin gene transcription in distinct autonomic structures of the rat brain

The involvement of enkephalins in the immune response was investigated in rats injected intravenously with interleukin‐1β (2 μg/kg). In situ hybridization with a riboprobe complementary to intron A of the preproenkephalin (ppENK) gene showed distinct transcriptional activation within several brain regions known to be activated by immune stimuli, including the nucleus of the solitary tract, the area postrema, the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, and the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and dual labeling confirmed that a large proportion of the intron expressing neurons co‐expressed c‐fos mRNA. Rats injected with saline (controls) showed little or no heteronuclear transcript in these structures. The induced signal was strongest after 1 hour but was present in some structures 30 minutes after interleukin‐1β injection. At 3 hours, transcriptional activity returned to basal levels. High basal expression of the heteronuclear transcript that appeared unchanged by the immune stimulus was seen in regions not primarily involved in the immune response, such as the striatum, the olfactory tubercle, and the islands of Calleja and in the immune activated central nucleus of the amygdala. The heteronuclear transcript colocalized with ppENK mRNA, demonstrating that it occurred in enkephalinergic neurons and was not the result of alternative transcription from the ppENK gene in other cells. These results demonstrated that enkephalin transcription is induced in central autonomic neurons during immune challenge, suggesting that enkephalins are involved in the centrally orchestrated response to such stimuli. J. Comp. Neurol. 462:450–461, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of noise on comfort in open-plan offices: application of an assessment questionnaire

Abstract Open-plan offices account for 60% of French office workspaces. The noise levels recorded in this type of environment are much lower than those encountered in industrial workplaces. Nevertheless, surveys show that noise is considered by employees as the main source of discomfort. A first questionnaire dedicated to noise discomfort was produced in 2013 and tested on a panel made up of 217 people working in 7 French companies. Today, it also makes it possible to address the issues of fatigue related to ambient sound, but above all, the survey aims to study the differences in how ambient noise is perceived depending on the type of open-plan office. On the basis of that new version, a second survey has been conducted in 23 open-plan offices, making it possible to collect the responses from 617 employees. Most of the results of the first survey have been confirmed, with an increase in the significance of the statistical analyses. Moreover, French Standard NF S 31-199, which is currently being drafted, establishes a typology of open-plan office spaces according to the types of work done in them. Based on this typology, it appears that when dealing with the impact on noise on workers, a distinction has to be made between the types of open plan offices. Practitioner Summary: Surveys conducted in open-plan offices show that noise is considered by employees as the main source of discomfort even if the noise recorded in this type of environment is not hazardous. This work presents the result of a large survey dedicated to noise discomfort conducted in 23 open-plan offices.
Chronic Prosthetic Hip Infection Caused by a Small-Colony Variant of Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT From two different specimens of a chronic prosthetic hip infection taken at an interval of 2 months a slow-growing gram-negative bacterium was isolated in pure culture. The strain grew with the typical features of a small-colony variant (SCV). 16S rRNA sequencing identified the bacterium as Escherichia coli. Biochemical characterization demonstrated multiple phenotypic alterations of a mutant carrying a defect in the heme biosynthetic pathway (Hem−): (i) catalase and nitrate reductase reactions were both negative, (ii) a negative benzidine reaction demonstrated the lack of heme-containing cytochromes, and (iii) growth stimulation under anaerobic conditions as well as gentamicin resistance indicated defective aerobic respiration. PCR and Southern hybridization demonstrated that the mutation of the SCV of E. coli was localized in the hemB gene and was most likely due to a deletion of the hemB gene. On blood agar plates revertants were recognized growing as normal-sized colonies between the dominant small colonies of the strain. Feeding experiments indicated that the revertants but not the small colonies were permeable for hemin. A strong antibody response against the infecting SCV of E. coli was found. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a Hem−E. coli strain as the etiological agent of a chronic bacterial infection.
Gene frequencies for four hypervariable DNA loci in a Chilean population of mixed ancestry.

1. Comey CT, Koons BW, Smerick JV, Sobieralski CA, Stamley DM. DNA extraction strategies for amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. J Forensic Sci 1994;39:1254–69. 2. Multiplex I Kit (Lifecodes Corp) User’s Manual, ed. 3. Budowie B, Baechtel FS, Smerick JB, Presley KW, Giusti AM, Parsons G, et al. D1S80 population data in African Americans, Caucasians, Southeastern Hispanics, Southwestern Hispanics and Orientals. J Forensic Sci 1995;40(1):38–44. 4. Edwards A, Hammond HA, Jin L, Caskey CT, Chakraborty R. Genetic variation at five trimeric and tetrameric repeat loci in four human population groups. Genomics 1992;12:241–53. 5. Nei M. Estimation of average heterozygosity and genetic distance from a small number of individuals. Genetics 1992;89:583–90. 6. Chakraborty R, Fornage M, Guegue R, Boerwinkle E. Population genetics of hypervariable loci: analysis of PCR based VNTR polymorphism within a population. In: Burke T, Dolf G, Jeffreys AJ, Wolff R, eds. DNA fingerprinting: approaches and applications. Birkhauser Verlag, Berlin, 1991;127–43. Additional information and reprint requests: Mónica Acuña P. Programa de Genética ICBM Facultad de Medicina Universidad de Chile Casilla 70061, Santiago 7, Chile Phone: 056-2-6786479, 056-2-6786302 Fax: 056-2-7373158. E-Mail: Macuna@machi.Med.Uchile.cl
Inhibition of Food Response to Intracerebroventricular Injection of Leptin Is Attenuated in Rats With Diet-Induced Obesity

The fat-derived hormone, leptin, is thought to regulate adipose tissue mass by acting on the brain to reduce food intake and increase thermogenesis. We have produced obesity in rats more than 8 weeks old by feeding a high-calorie diet and have then examined the inhibitory effect of intracerebroventricularly injected recombi-nant murine leptin on their food intake versus control rats. In control rats, randomized injections of leptin (0.5, 2.0, or 10.0 μg) or sterile saline vehicle into the lateral ventricle produced a dose-dependent reduction in normal laboratory diet consumed 1, 4, and 24 h after the lights were turned off. However, in diet-induced obesity, the dose-dependent inhibition of food intake was observed at 1 h only, and the effect was attenuated. Switching the diet-induced obese rats to a normal laboratory diet 1 week before injections of leptin were commenced resulted in a reduction in the daily food consumption. These data suggest that rats made obese by feeding a high-calorie diet override the normal satiety effects of leptin since when they are returned to a normal laboratory diet, they reduce their calorie intake, possibly as a result of a restoration of the satiety effects of endogenous leptin. However, the fact that the hypophagic response to exogenous leptin is impaired in these rats at this time suggests some residual impairment of the satiety signal, perhaps caused by reduced receptor sensitivity and/or near total occupation of receptors by endogenous leptin molecules, levels of which are raised in plasma.
Brain morphometric abnormalities in geriatric depression: long-term neurobiological effects of illness duration.

OBJECTIVE The authors' goal was to compare regional brain volumes in depressed elderly subjects with those of nondepressed elderly subjects by using voxel-based morphometry. METHOD They used statistical parametric mapping to analyze magnetic resonance imaging scans from 30 depressed patients 59 to 78 years old and 47 nondepressed comparison subjects 55 to 81 years old. RESULTS Depressed patients had smaller right hippocampal volume than comparison subjects. The volume of the hippocampal-entorhinal cortex was inversely associated with the number of years since the first lifetime episode of depression. CONCLUSIONS These data provide further evidence of structural brain abnormalities in geriatric depression, particularly in patients with a longer course of illness.
Cloning and Characterization of SCHIP-1, a Novel Protein Interacting Specifically with Spliced Isoforms and Naturally Occurring Mutant NF2 Proteins

ABSTRACT The neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) protein, known as schwannomin or merlin, is a tumor suppressor involved in NF2-associated and sporadic schwannomas and meningiomas. It is closely related to the ezrin-radixin-moesin family members, implicated in linking membrane proteins to the cytoskeleton. The molecular mechanism allowing schwannomin to function as a tumor suppressor is unknown. In attempt to shed light on schwannomin function, we have identified a novel coiled-coil protein, SCHIP-1, that specifically associates with schwannomin in vitro and in vivo. Within its coiled-coil region, this protein is homologous to human FEZ proteins and the relatedCaenorhabditis elegans gene product UNC-76. Immunofluorescent staining of transiently transfected cells shows a partial colocalization of SCHIP-1 and schwannomin, beneath the cytoplasmic membrane. Surprisingly, immunoprecipitation assays reveal that in a cellular context, association with SCHIP-1 can be observed only with some naturally occurring mutants of schwannomin, or a schwannomin spliced isoform lacking exons 2 and 3, but not with the schwannomin isoform exhibiting growth-suppressive activity. Our observations suggest that SCHIP-1 interaction with schwannomin is regulated by conformational changes in schwannomin, possibly induced by posttranslational modifications, alternative splicing, or mutations.
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children

In view of the epidemic obesity in childhood, facing the disease and its associated morbidities early at this age becomes crucial for public health researchers and care givers. The present review focuses on pediatric Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) among co-morbidities, being the disease yet under diagnosed and under treated despite a prevalence growing exponentially. Evidences suggest that the environmental background for the development of NAFLD may be established in early life, and that the duration of the disease affects probably the likelihood of progression to more severe disease (necro-inflammation or Non Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis, also termed, NASH; fibrosis and cirrhosis). NAFLD associates with abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and features of metabolic syndrome. In genetically prone individuals, malnutrition (i.e., excessive consumption of saturated fats and refined sugars) leads to the derangement of the adipose tissue architecture and homeostasis, the peripheral and hepatic resistance to insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, thus favoring a condition of chronic low-grade inflammation. Excessive nutrients cannot be stored in the adipose tissue and overflow elsewhere, mainly to the muscle tissue and liver. Fat deposition in both sites enhances insulin resistance and further deposition of fats in a vicious manner. What is of special interest comparing NAFLD in children and adults is that the histological appearance of the disease differs significantly, likely representing a yet physiological response to environmental stressors in children and a long-term adaptation in adults. In this article, we review the current concepts about paediatric NAFLD, its pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment, with particular regard to lifestyle and foods habits.
Synthetic medium voltage grids for the assessment of Smart Grid techniques

The Smart Grid Metric is a tool for systematically measuring the impact of smart grid technologies on the performance of distribution grids. For metric calibration, synthetic medium voltage (MV) test grids with distributed generation are modeled, using different approaches for urban and rural MV grids. The Smart Grid Metric is exemplarily applied to two rural test grids to demonstrate the impact of reactive power management by distributed generation on grid voltages and metric results as one example of smart grid technologies.
Obstructive sleep apnea in poorly controlled asthmatic children: Effect of adenotonsillectomy

Asthma and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children share multiple epidemiological risk factors and the prevalence of snoring is higher in asthmatic children, suggesting that the latter may be at increased risk for OSA. Since both asthma and OSA are inflammatory disorders, we hypothesized that polysomnographically demonstrated OSA would be more frequent among poorly controlled asthmatics (PCA), and that treatment of OSA, if present, would ameliorate the frequency of acute asthmatic exacerbations (AAE).
Production and Characterization of Extracellular L-asparaginase from Estuarine Actinomycetes Species by Submerged Fermentation Process

Actinomycetes were isolated from different estuarine sediments in the regions of Bay of Bengal off shores from Parawada to Visakhapatnam, India for extracellular Lasparaginase production. 5 different samples, 20 Actinomycetes strains were isolated. Among them 5 strains showing pink colour zones with high intensity were selected for the production of L-asparaginase. Out of 5 Actinomycetes, Strain PW-A12 shows maximum L-asparaginase activity with a yield of 3.933 IU/ml for 24 hrs Submerged Fermentation time. Further, optimizations of parameters were conducted with the strain PW-A12, by consecutive evaluation method. Maximum enzyme production with a yield of 5.73 IU/ml was observed with 4% peptone at pH 7.5. Reduced enzyme production was observed (5.6 IU/ml) while using on Yeast extract concentration of 1.2 gm/100 ml (w/v) and at a pH of 7.0 found to be optimal culture condition by the strain Streptomycetes species PW-A12 by submerged fermentation Process. Hence the present study indicated a scope for exploring estuarine Actinomycetes as a source for extracellular L-asparaginase production.
Naphthalene and Donor Cell Density Influence Field Conjugation of Naphthalene Catabolism Plasmids

ABSTRACT We examined transfer of naphthalene-catabolic genes from donor microorganisms native to a contaminated site to site-derived, rifampin-resistant recipient bacteria unable to grow on naphthalene. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) was demonstrated in filter matings using groundwater microorganisms as donors. Two distinct but similar plasmid types, closely related to pDTG1, were retrieved. In laboratory-incubated sediment matings, the addition of naphthalene stimulated HGT. However, recipient bacteria deployed in recoverable vessels in the field site (in situ) did not retrieve plasmids from native donors. Only when plasmid-containing donor cells and naphthalene were added to the in situ mating experiments did HGT occur.
Evaluation of Hidden Markov Model based Marathi Text-To-Speech Synthesis System

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the quality of HMM based Marathi TTS system. The main advantage of HMM technique is its ability to allow the variation in voice easily. The output speeches produced in this method have greater impact on emotion, style and intonation. The naturalness and intelligibility are the two important parameters to decide the quality of synthetic speech. Depending on the parameters specified the results of synthetic speech are categorized into 4 categories: natural speech, high quality synthetic speech, low quality synthetic speech and moderate quality synthetic speech. The results are obtained by using CT, DRT and MOS test.
Symbolic probabilistic inference with both discrete and continuous variables

The importance of resolving general queries in Bayesian networks using the symbolic probabilistic inference (SPI) algorithm is considered. SPI applies the concept of dependency-directed backward search to probabilistic inference, and is incremental with respect to both queries and observations. Unlike traditional Bayesian network inferencing algorithms, the SPI algorithm is goal directed, performing only those calculations that are required to respond to queries. Research to date on SPI applies to Bayesian networks with only discrete-valued variables or only continuous variables (linear Gaussian) and does not address networks with both discrete and continuous variables. In this paper, we extend the SPI algorithm to handle Bayesian networks made up of both discrete and continuous variables (SPI-DC). The only topological constraint of the networks is that the successors of any continuous variable have to be continuous variables as well. In order to have exact analytical solution, the relationships between the continuous variables are restricted to be "linear Gaussian. " With new representation, SPI-DC modifies the three basic SPI operations: multiplication, summation, and substitution. However, SPI-DC retains the framework of the SPI algorithm, namely building the search tree and recursive query mechanism and therefore retains the goal-directed and incrementality features of SPI. >