Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intraneural sensory feedback restores grip force control and motor coordination while using a prosthetic hand

Objective. Tactile afferents in the human hand provide fundamental information about hand-environment interactions, which is used by the brain to adapt the motor output to the physical properties of the object being manipulated. A hand amputation disrupts both afferent and efferent pathways from/to the hand, completely invalidating the individual’s motor repertoire. Although motor functions may be partially recovered by using a myoelectric prosthesis, providing functionally effective sensory feedback to users of prosthetics is a largely unsolved challenge. While past studies using invasive stimulation suggested that sensory feedback may help in handling fragile objects, none explored the underpinning, relearned, motor coordination during grasping. In this study, we aimed at showing for the first time that intraneural sensory feedback of the grip force (GF) improves the sensorimotor control of a transradial amputee controlling a myoelectric prosthesis. Approach. We performed a longitudinal study testing a single subject (clinical trial registration number NCT02848846). A stacking cups test (CUP) performed over two weeks aimed at measuring the subject’s ability to finely regulate the GF applied with the prosthesis. A pick and lift test (PLT), performed at the end of the study, measured the level of motor coordination, and whether the subject transferred the motor skills learned in the CUP to an alien task. Main results. The results show that intraneural sensory feedback increases the subject’s ability in regulating the GF and allows for improved performance over time. Additionally, the PLT demonstrated that the subject was able to generalize and transfer her manipulation skills to an unknown task and to improve her motor coordination. Significance. Our findings suggest that intraneural sensory feedback holds the potential of restoring functionally effective tactile feedback. This opens up new possibilities to improve the quality of life of amputees using a neural prosthesis.
Scripted attachment representations and adaptive functioning during early childhood

ABSTRACT Attachment theorists have characterized children’s internal working models, forged from early attachment relationship histories, as the link between earlier and later manifestations of competence. In this study, working models of attachment were measured as access to and use of the secure base script (SBS) to organize children’s attachment relevant narratives (N = 139). Study goals were to assess relations between SBS use and a range of adaptive functioning domains including peer social competence, teacher/child relationships, effortful control, executive function, and verbal intelligence. Simultaneous path analyses using structural equations indicated that SBS use was significantly associated with each of these outcome domains. Findings were reproduced when effects of verbal intelligence, sex and age were controlled, except for effortful control. Results suggest that children’s internalized attachment representations are intertwined with adaptive functioning during early childhood.
Autonomous motivation, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and healthy beverage intake in US families: differences between mother–adolescent and father–adolescent dyads

Abstract Objective To assess interdependent effects of autonomous motivation to limit sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in relation to SSB and healthy beverage (HB) intake in mother–adolescent and father–adolescent dyads. Design Adopting a dyadic cross-sectional design, the actor–partner interdependence modelling (APIM) approach was used to construct and analyse two APIM for mother–adolescent and father–adolescent dyads. The first model assessed actor effects (individual’s autonomous motivation associated with his/her own beverage intake) and partner effects (individual’s autonomous motivation associated with another family member’s beverage consumption) of autonomous motivation on SSB consumption. The second model assessed actor and partner effects of autonomous motivation on HB intake. Setting Two Internet-based surveys were completed in participant households. Participants Data from a demographically representative US sample of parent–adolescent dyads (1225 mother–adolescent dyads, 424 father–adolescent dyads) were used. Results In the first model (autonomous motivation on SSB consumption), actor effects were significant for adolescents, but not for parents. Partner effects were significant for mother–adolescent, but not father–adolescent dyads. In the second model (autonomous motivation on HB intake), actor effects were significant for adolescents and parents in all dyadic combinations. Regarding partner effects, adolescent autonomous motivation had a significant effect on HB intake for mothers and fathers. In addition, maternal autonomous motivation had a significant effect on adolescent HB intake. No partner effects for HB were identified for fathers. Conclusions We found significant interdependent effects of autonomous motivation in relation to SSB and HB intake in mother–adolescent and father–adolescent dyads for eleven out of sixteen pathways modelled.
(Not) hearing happiness: Predicting fluctuations in happy mood from acoustic cues using machine learning.

Recent popular claims surrounding virtual assistants suggest that computers will soon be able to hear our emotions. Supporting this possibility, promising work has harnessed big data and emergent technologies to automatically predict stable levels of one specific emotion, happiness, at the community (e.g., counties) and trait (i.e., people) levels. Furthermore, research in affective science has shown that nonverbal vocal bursts (e.g., sighs, gasps) and specific acoustic features (e.g., pitch, energy) can differentiate between distinct emotions (e.g., anger, happiness) and that machine-learning algorithms can detect these differences. Yet, to our knowledge, no work has tested whether computers can automatically detect normal, everyday, within-person fluctuations in one emotional state from acoustic analysis. To address this issue in the context of happy mood, across 3 studies (total N = 20,197), we asked participants to repeatedly report their state happy mood and to provide audio recordings-including both direct speech and ambient sounds-from which we extracted acoustic features. Using three different machine learning algorithms (neural networks, random forests, and support vector machines) and two sets of acoustic features, we found that acoustic features yielded minimal predictive insight into happy mood above chance. Neither multilevel modeling analyses nor human coders provided additional insight into state happy mood. These findings suggest that it is not yet possible to automatically assess fluctuations in one emotional state (i.e., happy mood) from acoustic analysis, pointing to a critical future direction for affective scientists interested in acoustic analysis of emotion and automated emotion detection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Emerging Role of Organ‐on‐a‐Chip Technologies in Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology Evaluation

The recently enacted Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) VI includes in its performance goals “enhancing regulatory science and expediting drug development. ” The key elements in “enhancing regulatory decision tools to support drug development and review” include “advancing model‐informed drug development (MIDD). ” This paper describes (i) the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Clinical Pharmacology's continuing efforts in developing quantitative clinical pharmacology models (disease, drug, and clinical trial models) to advance MIDD, (ii) how emerging novel tools, such as organ‐on‐a‐chip technologies or microphysiological systems, can provide new insights into physiology and disease mechanisms, biomarker identification and evaluation, and elucidation of mechanisms of adverse drug reactions, and (iii) how the single organ or linked organ microphysiological systems can provide critical system parameters for improved physiologically‐based pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluations. Continuous public‐private partnerships are critical to advance this field and in the application of these new technologies in drug development and regulatory review.
Crocus sativus L. Versus Methylphenidate in Treatment of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood and adolescence. About 30% of patients do not respond to stimulants or cannot tolerate their side effects. Thus, alternative medication, like herbal medicine, should be considered. The aim of this trial is to compare the safety and efficacy of Crocus sativus (saffron) versus methylphenidate in improving symptoms of children with ADHD. METHODS In a 6-week randomized double-blind study, 54 patients (children 6-17 years old) with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) diagnosis of ADHD were randomly assigned to receive either 20-30 mg/d (20 mg/d for <30 kg and 30 mg/d for >30 kg) methylphenidate (MPH) or 20-30 mg/d saffron capsules depending on weight (20 mg/d for <30 kg and 30 mg/d for >30 kg). Symptoms were assessed using the Teacher and Parent Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale-IV (ADHD-RS-IV) at baseline and weeks 3 and 6. RESULTS Fifty patients completed the trial. General linear model repeated measures showed no significant difference between the two groups on Parent and Teacher Rating Scale scores (F = 0.749, df = 1.317, p = 0.425, and F = 0.249, df = 1.410, p = 0.701, respectively). Changes in Teacher and Parent ADHD Rating Scale scores from baseline to the study end were not significantly different between the saffron group and the MPH group (p = 0.731 and p = 0.883, respectively). The frequency of adverse effects was similar between saffron and MPH groups. CONCLUSION Short-term therapy with saffron capsule showed the same efficacy compared with methylphenidate. Nevertheless, larger controlled studies with longer treatment periods are necessary for future studies.
A morphable model for the synthesis of 3D faces

In this paper, a new technique for modeling textured 3D faces is introduced. 3D faces can either be generated automatically from one or more photographs, or modeled directly through an intuitive user interface. Users are assisted in two key problems of computer aided face modeling. First, new face images or new 3D face models can be registered automatically by computing dense one-to-one correspondence to an internal face model. Second, the approach regulates the naturalness of modeled faces avoiding faces with an "unlikely" appearance. Starting from an example set of 3D face models, we derive a morphable face model by transforming the shape and texture of the examples into a vector space representation. New faces and expressions can be modeled by forming linear combinations of the prototypes. Shape and texture constraints derived from the statistics of our example faces are used to guide manual modeling or automated matching algorithms. We show 3D face reconstructions from single images and their applications for photo-realistic image manipulations. We also demonstrate face manipulations according to complex parameters such as gender, fullness of a face or its distinctiveness.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Impairment Is Associated with Increased Amyloid Burden

Background/Aims: Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) impairment in Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with global amyloid deposition in postmortem studies. We sought to determine whether IADL impairment is associated with increased cortical Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) retention. Methods: Fifty-five subjects (19 normal older controls, NC, and 36 with mild cognitive impairment, MCI) underwent clinical assessments and dynamic PiB positron emission tomography imaging. Results: A linear multiple regression model showed that greater IADL impairment was associated with greater global PiB retention in all subjects (R2 = 0.40; unstandardized partial regression coefficient, β = 5.8; p = 0.0002) and in MCI subjects only (R2 = 0.28; β = 6.1; p = 0.003), but not in NC subjects only. Conclusion: These results suggest that daily functional impairment is related to greater amyloid burden in MCI.
Semi-automated IGRT QA using a cone-shaped scintillator screen detector for proton pencil beam scanning treatments

To promote accurate image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) for a proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) system, a new quality assurance (QA) procedure employing a cone-shaped scintillator detector has been developed for multiple QA tasks in a semi-automatic manner. The cone-shaped scintillator detector (XRV-124, Logos Systems, CA) is sensitive to both x-ray and proton beams. It records scintillation on the cone surface as a 2D image, from which the geometry of the radiation field that enters and exits the cone can be extracted. Utilizing this feature, QA parameters that are essential to PBS IGRT treatment were measured and analyzed. The first applications provided coincidence checks of laser, imaging and radiation isocenters, and dependencies on gantry angle and beam energies. The analysis of the Winston–Lutz test was made available by combining the centricity measurements of the x-ray beam and the pencil beam. The accuracy of the gantry angle was validated against console readings provided by the digital encoder and an agreement of less than 0.2° was found. The accuracy of the position measurement was assessed with a robotic patient positioning system (PPS) and an agreement of less than 0.5 mm was obtained. The centricity of the two onboard x-ray imaging systems agreed well with that from the routinely used Digital Imaging Positioning System (DIPS), up to a consistent small shift of (−0.5 mm, 0.0 mm, −0.3 mm). The pencil beam spot size, in terms of σ of Gaussian fitting, agreed within 0.2 mm for most energies when compared to the conventional measurements by a 2D ion-chamber array (MatriXX-PT, IBA Dosimetry, Belgium). The cone-shaped scintillator system showed advantages in making multi-purpose measurements with a single setup. The in-house algorithms were successfully implemented to measure and analyze key QA parameters in a semi-automatic manner. This study presents an alternative and more efficient approach for IGRT QA for PBS and potentially for linear accelerators.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Brain-targeted glycyrrhizic-acid-loaded surface decorated nanoparticles for treatment of cerebral ischaemia and its toxicity assessment

Abstract We, the Editors and Publishers of Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology have retracted the following article: Niyaz Ahmad, Abeer M. Al-Subaie, Rizwan Ahmad, Sonali Sharma, Md Aftab Alam, Mohammad Ashafaq, Rehan Abdur Rub & Farhan Jalees Ahmad (2019) Brain-targeted glycyrrhizic-acid-loaded surface decorated nanoparticles for treatment of cerebral ischaemia and its toxicity assessment. Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 47:1, 475–490, DOI: 10.1080/21691401.2018. 1561458 This article is retracted due to image manipulation as well as reuse of images from other articles by the same authors, representing results of different experiments. This includes Figure 10(d) and (e), which can also be found in: Ahmad et al. (2020). Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs. 2019.11. 008 In addition, concerns were raised regarding the integrity of other Figures in the article, including Figures 8 and 10. When asked for an explanation, the authors were unable to provide raw data that would support the integrity of their research. As the authors were unable to provide the original images, the Editors agreed the findings of the study are no longer valid and advised for the article to be retracted. The authors do not agree with the retraction. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.
Alexithymia and frontal–amygdala functional connectivity in North Korean refugees

Abstract Background Refugees commonly experience difficulties with emotional processing, such as alexithymia, due to stressful or traumatic experiences. However, the functional connectivity of the amygdala, which is central to emotional processing, has yet to be assessed in refugees. Thus, the present study investigated the resting-state functional connectivity of the amygdala and its association with emotional processing in North Korean (NK) refugees. Methods This study included 45 NK refugees and 40 native South Koreans (SK). All participants were administered the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Clinician-administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), and differences between NK refugees and native SK in terms of resting-state functional connectivity of the amygdala were assessed. Additionally, the association between the strength of amygdala connectivity and the TAS score was examined. Results Resting-state connectivity values from the left amygdala to the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) were higher in NK refugees than in native SK. Additionally, the strength of connectivity between the left amygdala and right dlPFC was positively associated with TAS score after controlling for the number of traumatic experiences and BDI and CAPS scores. Conclusions The present study found that NK refugees exhibited heightened frontal–amygdala connectivity, and that this connectivity was correlated with alexithymia. The present results suggest that increased frontal–amygdala connectivity in refugees may represent frontal down-regulation of the amygdala, which in turn may produce alexithymia.
Excess Ventilation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease‐Heart Failure Overlap. Implications for Dyspnea and Exercise Intolerance

Rationale: An increased ventilatory response to exertional metabolic demand (high &OV0312;e/&OV0312;co2 relationship) is a common finding in patients with coexistent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure. Objectives: We aimed to determine the mechanisms underlying high &OV0312;e/&OV0312;co2 and its impact on operating lung volumes, dyspnea, and exercise tolerance in these patients. Methods: Twenty‐two ex‐smokers with combined chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction undertook, after careful treatment optimization, a progressive cycle exercise test with capillary (c) blood gas collection. Measurements and Main Results: Regardless of the chosen metric (increased &OV0312;e‐&OV0312;co2 slope, &OV0312;e/&OV0312;co2 nadir, or end‐exercise &OV0312;e/&OV0312;co2), ventilatory inefficiency was closely related to PcCO2 (r values from −0.80 to −0.84; P < 0.001) but not dead space/tidal volume ratio. Ten patients consistently maintained exercise PcCO2 less than or equal to 35 mm Hg (hypocapnia). These patients had particularly poor ventilatory efficiency compared with patients without hypocapnia (P < 0.05). Despite the lack of between‐group differences in spirometry, lung volumes, and left ventricular ejection fraction, patients with hypocapnia had lower resting PaCO2 and lung diffusing capacity (P < 0.01). Excessive ventilatory response in this group was associated with higher exertional PcO2. The group with hypocapnia, however, had worse mechanical inspiratory constraints and higher dyspnea scores for a given work rate leading to poorer exercise tolerance compared with their counterparts (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Heightened neural drive promoting a ventilatory response beyond that required to overcome an increased “wasted” ventilation led to hypocapnia and poor exercise ventilatory efficiency in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease‐heart failure overlap. Excessive ventilation led to better arterial oxygenation but at the expense of earlier critical mechanical constraints and intolerable dyspnea.
Mental health literacy programs for school teachers: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

The prevalence of mental disorders increases sharply during adolescence. Therefore, school teachers are in a good position to provide initial assistance to students with mental health problems. Although effects of a number of mental health literacy programs aimed at teachers have been reported, they have not yet been reviewed in a systematic manner. This study conducted a systematic review of the effectiveness of mental health literacy programs for teachers.
Phosphorylation of the Bruchpilot N-terminus in Drosophila unlocks axonal transport of active zone building blocks

ABSTRACT Protein scaffolds at presynaptic active zone membranes control information transfer at synapses. For scaffold biogenesis and maintenance, scaffold components must be safely transported along axons. A spectrum of kinases has been suggested to control transport of scaffold components, but direct kinase–substrate relationships and operational principles steering phosphorylation-dependent active zone protein transport are presently unknown. Here, we show that extensive phosphorylation of a 150-residue unstructured region at the N-terminus of the highly elongated Bruchpilot (BRP) active zone protein is crucial for ordered active zone precursor transport in Drosophila. Point mutations that block SRPK79D kinase-mediated phosphorylation of the BRP N-terminus interfered with axonal transport, leading to BRP-positive axonal aggregates that also contain additional active zone scaffold proteins. Axonal aggregates formed only in the presence of non-phosphorylatable BRP isoforms containing the SRPK79D-targeted N-terminal stretch. We assume that specific active zone proteins are pre-assembled in transport packages and are thus co-transported as functional scaffold building blocks. Our results suggest that transient post-translational modification of a discrete unstructured domain of the master scaffold component BRP blocks oligomerization of these building blocks during their long-range transport. Summary: Reversible SRPK79D-mediated phosphorylation of a conserved N-terminal region in BRP and other CAST/ELKS family proteins ensures safe axonal transport of active zone scaffold precursor building blocks.