Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stimulation of the Subthalamic Region Facilitates the Selection and Inhibition of Motor Responses in Parkinson's Disease

The aim of the present study was to specify the involvement of the basal ganglia in motor response selection and response inhibition. Two samples were studied. The first sample consisted of patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) who received deep-brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN). The second sample consisted of patients who received DBS for the treatment of PD or essential tremor (ET) in the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (Vim). Stop-signal task and go/no-go task performances were studied in both groups. Both groups performed these tasks with (on stimulation) and without (off stimulation) DBS to address the question of whether stimulation is effective in improving choice reaction time (RT) and stop-signal RT. The results show that DBS of the STN was associated with significantly enhanced inhibitory control, as indicated by shorter stop-signal RTs. An additional finding is that DBS of the STN led to significantly shorter choice RT. The effects of DBS on responding and response inhibition were functionally independent. Although DBS of the Vim did not systematically affect task performance in patients with ET, a subgroup of Vim-stimulated PD patients showed enhanced stop-signal RTs in on stimulation versus off stimulation. This result suggests that the change in performance to stop signals may not be directly related to STN function, but rather results from a change in PD function due to DBS in general. The findings are discussed in terms of current functional and neurobiological models that relate basal ganglia function to the selection and inhibition of motor responses.
Searching through spatial relationships using the 2DR-tree

The 2DR-tree is a novel approach for accessing spatial data, particularly when spatial relationships are defined among objects. The 2DR-tree uses nodes that are the same dimensionality as the data space. Therefore, all relationships between objects are preserved and different binary search strategies are supported. This paper presents the 2DR-tree binary search strategy. A preliminary performance evaluation identifies the advantages of the binary search strategy.
An Initial Investigation of the Use of Comparative Referents to Assess Social Anxiety

The current study examined the validity of two self-report measures of social anxiety constructed using social comparative referent points. It was hypothesized that these comparison measures would be both reliable and valid. Results indicated that two different comparative versions – one invoking injunctive norms and another invoking descriptive norms – showed good reliability, excellent internal consistency, and acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. The comparative measures also predicted positive functioning, some aspects of social quality of life, and social anxiety as measured by an independent self-report. These findings suggest that adding a comparative reference point to instructions on social anxiety measures may aid in the assessment of social anxiety.
Clausius Relation for Active Particles: What Can We Learn from Fluctuations

Many kinds of active particles, such as bacteria or active colloids, move in a thermostatted fluid by means of self-propulsion. Energy injected by such a non-equilibrium force is eventually dissipated as heat in the thermostat. Since thermal fluctuations are much faster and weaker than self-propulsion forces, they are often neglected, blurring the identification of dissipated heat in theoretical models. For the same reason, some freedom—or arbitrariness—appears when defining entropy production. Recently three different recipes to define heat and entropy production have been proposed for the same model where the role of self-propulsion is played by a Gaussian coloured noise. Here we compare and discuss the relation between such proposals and their physical meaning. One of these proposals takes into account the heat exchanged with a non-equilibrium active bath: such an “active heat” satisfies the original Clausius relation and can be experimentally verified.
A neurophysiological study of mirror movements in adults and children

The mechanism underlying mirrored activity/movements in normal individuals is unknown. To investigate this, we studied 11 adults and 39 children who performed sequential finger–thumb opposition or repetitive index finger abduction. Surface electromyographic (EMG) activity recorded from the left and right first dorsal interosseous muscles (1DI) during unilateral sequential finger–thumb opposition (voluntarily activated muscle, 1DIvol) showed mirrored EMG activity (homologous muscle of the opposite hand, 1DImm) that decreased with increasing age. The time of onset of involuntary compared with voluntary EMG activity was variable but could start at the same time. A significant increase in E2 (transcortical component) size of the cutaneomuscular reflex recorded from the 1DImm indicated increased excitability of the motor cortex ipsilateral to the 1DIvol during active index finger abduction compared with the 1DIvol relaxed. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, using the Bistim technique, indicated that the transcallosal inhibitory pathway in children may not operate in the same way as in the adult. Cross‐correlation analysis did not detect shared synaptic input to motoneuron pools innervating homologous left and right hand muscles. We conclude that the mirrored movements/activity observed in healthy adults and children are produced by simultaneous activation of crossed corticospinal pathways originating from both left and right motor cortices. Ann Neurol 1999;45:583–594
Isolation of a phytotoxic isocoumarin from Diaporthe eres-infected Hedera helix (English ivy) and synthesis of its phytotoxic analogs.

BACKGROUND The fungus Diaporthe eres was isolated from a fungal pathogen-infected leaf of Hedera helix (English ivy) exhibiting necrosis. It is hypothesized that the causative fungus produces phytotoxins as evidenced by necrotic lesions on the leaves. RESULTS The fungus was isolated and grown in Czapek Dox broth culture medium and potato dextrose broth culture medium and identified as Diaporthe eres. The ethyl acetate extracts of the culture broths were phytotoxic to lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera). 3,4-Dihydro-8-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylisocoumarin (1) and tyrosol (2) were isolated and identified as the phytotoxic constituents. Six analogs of 3,4-dihydro-isocoumarin were synthesized and shown to be phytotoxic. The synthesized 3,4-dihydro-8-hydroxy-3,7-dimethylisocoumarin and 3,4-dihydro-8-hydroxy-3,3,7-trimethylisocoumarin were two- to three-fold more phytotoxic than the naturally occurring 1 in a Lemna paucicostata growth bioassay. CONCLUSION Synthesis and herbicidal activities of the several new analogs of 1 are reported for the first time. These promising molecules should be used as templates for synthesis and testing of more analogs. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
The effects of traditional news, partisan talk, and political satire programs on perceptions of presidential candidate viability and electability

ABSTRACT This study examines how exposure to network news, partisan opinion talk, and political satire programs during the 2012 Iowa presidential caucuses affected viewers’ perceptions of candidate viability (likelihood of capturing the party nomination) and electability (likelihood of winning the general election). Programs representing these genres—ABC World News, Fox News’s Hannity, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart—all framed the same candidate as the front-runner for the nomination, though each framed this candidate’s general election prospects in distinctive ways. A randomized field experiment assigned respondents to view one (or none) of the three programs as they aired. Assessments of the front-runner were significantly shaped by assignment to view television coverage, hence demonstrating the potential importance of all three media genres for the presidential nomination process.
Nonequilibrium stationary states and equilibrium models with long range interactions

It was recently suggested by Blythe and Evans that a properly defined steady state normalization factor can be seen as a partition function of a fictitious statistical ensemble in which the transition rates of the stochastic process play the role of fugacities. In analogy with the Lee–Yang description of phase transition of equilibrium systems, they studied the zeros in the complex plane of the normalization factor in order to find phase transitions in nonequilibrium steady states. We show that like for equilibrium systems, the 'densities' associated with the rates are nondecreasing functions of the rates and therefore one can obtain the location and nature of phase transitions directly from the analytical properties of the 'densities'. We illustrate this phenomenon for the asymmetric exclusion process. We actually show that its normalization factor coincides with an equilibrium partition function of a walk model in which the 'densities' have a simple physical interpretation.
Visual novelty detection for autonomous inspection robots

Mobile robot applications that involve automated exploration and inspection of environments are often dependant on novelty detection, the ability to differentiate between common and uncommon perceptions. Because novelty can be anything that deviates from the normal context, we argue that in order to implement a novelty filter it is necessary to exploit the robot’s sensory data from the ground up, building models of normality rather than abnormality. In this work we use unrestricted colour visual data as perceptual input to on-line incremental learning algorithms. Unlike other sensor modalities, vision can provide a variety of useful information about the environment through massive amounts of data, which often need to be reduced for realtime operation. Here we use mechanisms of visual attention to select candidate image regions to be encoded and fed to higher levels of processing, enabling the localisation of novel features within the input image frame. An extensive series of experiments using visual input, obtained by a real mobile robot interacting with laboratory and medium-scale real world environments, are used to discuss different visual novelty filter configurations. We compare performance and functionality of novelty detection mechanisms based on the Grow-When-Required neural network and incremental Principal Component Analysis. Results are assessed using both qualitative and quantitative methods, demonstrating advantages and disadvantages of each investigated approach.
Psychophysiological changes associated with self-regulation of sleepiness and cessation from a hazard perception task

The relationship between a driver’s ability to identify increasing sleepiness and ceasing driving when sleepy is relatively unexamined. Several studies suggest that drivers have some ability to identify increasing levels of sleepiness. However, whether that identification of sleepiness leads to drivers being able to self-regulate and cease driving has not been examined. This study assessed the capacity of drivers to identify sleepiness and to self-regulate their own simulated driving cessation. Twenty-six young adults completed a validated hazard perception simulated task when moderately sleep deprived after a 05:00 wake up. Participants were instructed to stop driving if they thought they were too sleepy to drive safely on the road. Physiological (EEG, EOG, and ECG) and subjective (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale) measures were used to examine self-regulation of simulated driving cessation. The behavioural validity of the participants’ subjective sleepiness was then examined with a 30 minute nap opportunity. All participants ceased the task on average after approximately 40 minutes (range = 12.5-73 mins). No participant was judged to have experienced any microsleeps or fallen asleep. Subjective sleepiness and EOG-based blink duration measures increased significantly from the beginning of the drive to the end of the simulated driving episodes. During the nap opportunity 23 of the 26 participants were able to achieve sleep onset. The results suggest that moderately sleep deprived individuals can identify increasing sleepiness and then take action to cease a hazard perception task. Potentially, on-road drivers could benefit from better elicitation of subjective sleepiness and their self-regulation of driving cessation.
Severity-Based Adaptation with Limited Data for ASR to Aid Dysarthric Speakers

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) is currently used in many assistive technologies, such as helping individuals with speech impairment in their communication ability. One challenge in ASR for speech-impaired individuals is the difficulty in obtaining a good speech database of impaired speakers for building an effective speech acoustic model. Because there are very few existing databases of impaired speech, which are also limited in size, the obvious solution to build a speech acoustic model of impaired speech is by employing adaptation techniques. However, issues that have not been addressed in existing studies in the area of adaptation for speech impairment are as follows: (1) identifying the most effective adaptation technique for impaired speech; and (2) the use of suitable source models to build an effective impaired-speech acoustic model. This research investigates the above-mentioned two issues on dysarthria, a type of speech impairment affecting millions of people. We applied both unimpaired and impaired speech as the source model with well-known adaptation techniques like the maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR) and the constrained-MLLR(C-MLLR). The recognition accuracy of each impaired speech acoustic model is measured in terms of word error rate (WER), with further assessments, including phoneme insertion, substitution and deletion rates. Unimpaired speech when combined with limited high-quality speech-impaired data improves performance of ASR systems in recognising severely impaired dysarthric speech. The C-MLLR adaptation technique was also found to be better than MLLR in recognising mildly and moderately impaired speech based on the statistical analysis of the WER. It was found that phoneme substitution was the biggest contributing factor in WER in dysarthric speech for all levels of severity. The results show that the speech acoustic models derived from suitable adaptation techniques improve the performance of ASR systems in recognising impaired speech with limited adaptation data.
A facile method for fabricating TiO2@mesoporous carbon and three-layered nanocomposites

Herein, we report a new and facile method for fabricating TiO2@mesoporous carbon hybrid materials. Uniform polydopamine (PDA) layers were coated onto the surface of titanate nanotubes (TNTs) and TiO2 nanorods (TNDs) through the spontaneous adhesion and self-polymerization of dopamine during the dipping process. Core–shell mesoporous carbon nanotubes with TiO2 nanorods or nanoparticles encapsulated inside (TiO2@MC) were then obtained by transforming PDA layers into carbonaceous ones through calcination in nitrogen at 800 °C. The thickness of the mesoporous carbon layers is tens of nanometers and can be controlled by adjusting the coated PDA layers through the self-polymerization reaction time. In addition, three-layered nanocomposites of TiO2@MC@MO (MO, metal oxide) can be readily prepared by utilizing PDA layers in TNTs@PDA or TNDs@PDA to adsorb the metal ions, followed by the calcination process.
Spontaneous viral clearance in patients with acute hepatitis C can be predicted by repeated measurements of serum viral load

Early interferon (IFN) therapy prevents viral persistence in acute hepatitis C, but in view of the resulting costs and morbidity patients who really need therapy have to be identified. Twelve consecutive patients with acute hepatitis C (9 women, 3 men, mean age: 39.5 ± 18.8 y, genotype 1: 7, genotype 3a: 3, 2 could not be genotyped) were studied. The sources of infection were medical procedures in 6, sexual transmission in 3, and intravenous drug abuse in 3 patients. Viral load was measured by Cobas Amplicor HCV Monitor v2.0 (Roche Diagnostic Systems, Branchburg, NY). The time from infection to clinical symptoms was 43.3 ± 8.6 (mean ± SD) days. Eight patients cleared hepatitis C virus (HCV) spontaneously and remained HCV‐RNA negative with a follow‐up of 9.0 ± 3.9 months. In these patients viral load declined fast and continuously. The time from exposure to HCV‐RNA negativity was 77.4 ± 25.3 and from the first symptoms was 34.7 ± 22.1 days. In 4 patients HCV‐RNA levels remained high or even increased. Two of them became sustained responders to treatment initiated after a 6‐week observation period. The 2 remaining patients were not treated (one because of contraindications for IFN, the other declined therapy) and are still HCV‐RNA positive. In conclusion, patients with acute icteric hepatitis C have a high rate of spontaneous viral clearance within the first month after the onset of symptoms. IFN therapy appears only needed in patients who fail to clear the virus within 35 days after onset of symptoms. By this approach, IFN therapy was not necessary in two thirds of patients with acute hepatitis C.
Estrogen Signaling as a Therapeutic Target in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Estrogens, the primary female sex hormones, were originally characterized through their important role in sexual maturation and reproduction. However, recent studies have shown that estrogens play critical roles in a number of brain functions, including cognition, learning and memory, neurodevelopment, and adult neuroplasticity. A number of studies from both clinical as well as preclinical research suggest a protective role of estrogen in neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. Alterations in the levels of estrogen receptors have been found in subjects with ASD or schizophrenia, and adjunctive estrogen therapy has been shown to be effective in enhancing the treatment of schizophrenia. This review summarizes the findings on the role of estrogen in the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders with a focus on ASD and schizophrenia. We also discuss the potential of estrogen as a therapeutic target in the above disorders.
Multiplex Identification of Human Papillomavirus 16 DNA Integration Sites in Cervical Carcinomas

Cervical cancer is caused by high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), in more than half of the worldwide cases by HPV16. Viral DNA integration into the host genome is a frequent mutation in cervical carcinogenesis. Because integration occurs into different genomic locations, it creates unique viral-cellular DNA junctions in every single case. This singularity complicates the precise identification of HPV integration sites enormously. We report here the development of a novel multiplex strategy for sequence determination of HPV16 DNA integration sites. It includes DNA fragmentation and adapter tagging, PCR enrichment of the HPV16 early region, Illumina next-generation sequencing, data processing, and validation of candidate integration sites by junction-PCR. This strategy was performed with 51 cervical cancer samples (47 primary tumors and 4 cell lines). Altogether 75 HPV16 integration sites (3′-junctions) were identified and assigned to the individual samples. By comparing the DNA junctions with the presence of viral oncogene fusion transcripts, 44 tumors could be classified into four groups: Tumors with one transcriptionally active HPV16 integrate (n = 12), tumors with transcribed and silent DNA junctions (n = 8), tumors carrying episomal HPV16 DNA (n = 10), and tumors with one to six DNA junctions, but without fusion transcripts (n = 14). The 3′-breakpoints of integrated HPV16 DNA show a statistically significant (p<0.05) preferential distribution within the early region segment upstream of the major splice acceptor underscoring the importance of deregulated viral oncogene expression for carcinogenesis. Half of the mapped HPV16 integration sites target cellular genes pointing to a direct influence of HPV integration on host genes (insertional mutagenesis). In summary, the multiplex strategy for HPV16 integration site determination worked very efficiently. It will open new avenues for comprehensive mapping of HPV integration sites and for the possible use of HPV integration sites as individualized biomarkers after cancer treatment of patients for the early diagnosis of residual and recurrent disease.
[Stress: a neurobiological perspective].

BACKGROUND Stress is essential for our health and resilience, but vulnerability to psychopathology is increased when the action of a chronic stressor becomes excessive, prolonged or inadequate. METHOD This survey reviews the literature on the role that the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (hpa) system plays in the neurobiology of stress. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (crh), vasopressin, adrenocorticotropin hormone (acth) and beta-endorphin are very important in the stress reaction. In this paper the focus is on cortisol action in the brain. results Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal cortex in hourly pulses and constantly following stress. The action of cortisol is mediated by binding two types of receptor proteins which influence gene transcription, namely mineralocorticoid receptors (mr) and glucocorticoid receptors (gr). mr and gr are located primarily in the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex which regulate emotion and cognition. mr and gr are important for energy metabolism and regulate daily and sleep-related events. During stress, mr in coordination with other signals determines the defense against the stressor, hereas gr assists with the recovery and processing of stressful information and the storage of the experience in the memory. CONCLUSION Heightened vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology arises when an imbalance occurs between the mr-activating and the gr-suppressing components of the stress reaction. The balance depends on the ability to cope with stress, which in turn depends on genetic factors interacting with the outcome of previous stressful experience.
Design and Smooth Position/Force Switching Control of a Miniature Gripper for Automated Microhandling

Automated microhandling tasks demand miniature grippers equipped with position and force sensors to execute reliable operations. This paper presents the design, implementation, and control of a piezoelectrically actuated compliant gripper with combined position and force monitoring/control capabilities. The gripper structure is devised based on a compliant rotary bearing mechanism with the displacement amplification lever, which endows a simplified architecture than the existing parallelogram-based ones. Moreover, the challenge of achieving a smooth transition between the position and force switching control is addressed by means of a new incremental control scheme. Precision control under the influence of hysteretic nonlinearity is guaranteed by a discrete sliding-mode control algorithm. The scheme is implemented with an field-programmable gate array (FPGA) platform. Experimental investigations are undertaken to verify the effectiveness of the gripper system by executing grasp-hold-release operations of a micro copper wire. The results confirm that the proposed incremental-based switching control outperforms conventional approach in terms of position/force regulation accuracy and operation time.