Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local cortical dynamics of burst suppression in the anaesthetized brain

Burst suppression is an electroencephalogram pattern that consists of a quasi-periodic alternation between isoelectric ‘suppressions’ lasting seconds or minutes, and high-voltage ‘bursts’. It is characteristic of a profoundly inactivated brain, occurring in conditions including hypothermia, deep general anaesthesia, infant encephalopathy and coma. It is also used in neurology as an electrophysiological endpoint in pharmacologically induced coma for brain protection after traumatic injury and during status epilepticus. Classically, burst suppression has been regarded as a ‘global’ state with synchronous activity throughout cortex. This assumption has influenced the clinical use of burst suppression as a way to broadly reduce neural activity. However, the extent of spatial homogeneity has not been fully explored due to the challenges in recording from multiple cortical sites simultaneously. The neurophysiological dynamics of large-scale cortical circuits during burst suppression are therefore not well understood. To address this question, we recorded intracranial electrocorticograms from patients who entered burst suppression while receiving propofol general anaesthesia. The electrodes were broadly distributed across cortex, enabling us to examine both the dynamics of burst suppression within local cortical regions and larger-scale network interactions. We found that in contrast to previous characterizations, bursts could be substantially asynchronous across the cortex. Furthermore, the state of burst suppression itself could occur in a limited cortical region while other areas exhibited ongoing continuous activity. In addition, we found a complex temporal structure within bursts, which recapitulated the spectral dynamics of the state preceding burst suppression, and evolved throughout the course of a single burst. Our observations imply that local cortical dynamics are not homogeneous, even during significant brain inactivation. Instead, cortical and, implicitly, subcortical circuits express seemingly different sensitivities to high doses of anaesthetics that suggest a hierarchy governing how the brain enters burst suppression, and emphasize the role of local dynamics in what has previously been regarded as a global state. These findings suggest a conceptual shift in how neurologists could assess the brain function of patients undergoing burst suppression. First, analysing spatial variation in burst suppression could provide insight into the circuit dysfunction underlying a given pathology, and could improve monitoring of medically-induced coma. Second, analysing the temporal dynamics within a burst could help assess the underlying brain state. This approach could be explored as a prognostic tool for recovery from coma, and for guiding treatment of status epilepticus. Overall, these results suggest new research directions and methods that could improve patient monitoring in clinical practice.
Correlates of Inserted Object-Assisted Sexual Behaviors in Men: A Model for Development of Paraphilic and Non-Paraphilic Urges

In a study designed to investigate the role of conditioning starting before age 18 on adult sexual behavior and urges, retrospective data were provided by 841 men using an anonymous computerized survey. Participants were recruited from populations including college students, 12-step meetings, and the general population in the mid-Atlantic United States. Using objects inserted into their rectums or urethras during masturbation before age 18 increased by 15.5 fold and 11.4 fold, respectively, the likelihood that they would use objects similarly after age 18. Using an inserted object during masturbation also increased the likelihood of experiencing urges to use objects in relation to the individual's own genitals and/or anus. And, using an inserted object during masturbation increased the likelihood of experiencing urges to use objects in relation to the partner's genitals and/or anus.
Performance of some metaheuristic algorithms for localization in wireless sensor networks

In this paper we propose two novel and computationally efficient metaheuristic algorithms based on tabu search (TS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) principles for locating the sensor nodes in a distributed wireless sensor network (WSN) environment. The WSN localization problem is formulated as a non‐linear optimization problem with mean squared range error resulting from noisy distance measurement as the objective function. Unlike gradient descent methods, both TS and PSO methods ensure minimization of the objective function without the solution being trapped into local optima. We further implement a refinement phase with error propagation control for improvement of the results. The performance of the proposed algorithms are compared with each other and also against simulated annealing based WSN localization. The effects of range measurement error, anchor node density and uncertainty in the anchor node position on localization performance are also studied through various simulations. The simulation results establish better accuracy, computational efficiency and convergence characteristics for TS and PSO methods. Further, the efficacy of the proposed methods is verified with data collected from an experimental sensor network reported in the literature. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lower-Dose and Long-Term Intermittent Interferon Therapy for Hepatitis C Genotype 2a may be a Possibility

We report two recent, successful cases in treating active chronic hepatitis C patients (genotype 2a) with a lower-dose and long-term intermittent interferon therapy. Case 1: A 67-year-old female received IFN-alpha 3 MU twice a week. Biochemical and virological remissions were achieved after 4 weeks and 14 months, respectively. We changed the IFN to pegylated-interferon alpha-2a (P-IFN) 45 μg once a week. After which, we successfully reduced the frequency of injections to once a month while maintaining both remissions. Case 2: A 61-year-old male had received a conventional genetical recombination interferon therapy. However, the hepatitis recurred. He was given IFN-alpha 3 MU once a week. A biochemical remission was achieved after 3 months. After 7 months, we changed the IFN to P-IFN 90 μg once a week, and a virological remission soon occurred. Then, we also could reduce the frequency to once every two months. Our novel strategy using P-IFN is safe and economic.
Diabetes care and control: the effect of frequent visits to diabetes care center

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Frequent visits to diabetes care clinics linked with better control of diabetes mellitus (DM), but debates exist about how frequently visits should be done. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of frequent visits on diabetes care and control. DESIGN AND SETTINGS A prospective study of 100 diabetic patients attending Prince Abdul-Aziz Bin-Majed Diabetes Care Centre (PAMDCC), Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia, during the period from March 2011 through December 2012. METHODS Demographics, lifestyle, and diabetes data were obtained at the index visit. At that and subsequent visits, glycosated hemoglobin (HBA1c), blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were measured. All these data together with visit number and gap were recorded. Statistical analysis including linear regression analysis was done. RESULTS A significant reduction in the mean of diabetic control parameters was observed at the last visit. The highest mean changes were observed in patients with >6 visits, visit gap ≤1 month, and visit-month index ≥8. Adjusted linear regression showed that each visit significantly lowered HBA1c by 0.25%, BP by 2.1/0.7 mm Hg and 0.2 mmol/L for LDL. The number of visits needed to get HBA1c <7% and BP <130/85 was 8 and 5 visits with a visit-month index of 14 and 5, respectively. CONCLUSION The study suggests that frequent visits at short intervals may lead to better diabetes control. Other prospective clinical trial studies are needed to confirm these findings and to outline the appropriate cost-effective intervals and visit gaps.
Evaluation of Acetylcholinesterase Biosensor Based on Carbon Nanotube Paste in the Determination of Chlorphenvinphos

An amperometric biosensor for chlorphenvinphos (organophosphorus pesticide) based on carbon nanotube paste and acetylcholinesterase enzyme (CNTs-AChE biosensor) is described herein. This CNTs-AChE biosensor was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The SEM result shows the presence of CNTs and small lumps, due to the enzyme AChE, which has a type of cauliflower formation. From EIS analysis is possible to observe increased R tc for CNTs-AChE biosensor when compared to the carbon nanotube paste electrode for the reaction [Fe(CN)6]4−/3−. Using a chronoamperometric procedure, a linear analytical curve was observed in the 4.90 × 10−7–7.46 × 10−6 M range with limit of detection of 1.15 × 10−7 M. The determination of chlorphenvinphos in the insecticide sample proved to be in agreement with the standard spectrophotometric method, with a 95% confidence level and with a relative error lower than 3%. In this way, the CNTs-AChE biosensor presented easy preparation, fast response, sensitivity, durability, good repeatability, and reproducibility.
Transverse Mode Selection in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers With Optical Injected Signal

The transverse mode selection induced by optical injection in a VCSEL emitting in two transverse modes is analyzed from a theoretical point of view. Different pairs of transverse modes with parallel or orthogonal polarizations are considered. In general, we show that transverse mode selection can be achieved when the two modes have parallel or orthogonal polarizations. The selection is not possible only when both modes have parallel polarizations and the mode with the lowest threshold current has a lower injection rate than the other mode. Different forms of the selection region in the injected power-injection current plane appear depending on the polarization of the transverse modes. When both transverse modes are orthogonally polarized the mode with the lowest threshold is selected when the injected power surpasses a value that depends on the injection current. However when both modes have parallel polarizations the selection region has a completely different shape because the selection of the mode is no longer possible if the injected power or the injected current are large enough. We also show that the modal selection is favoured as the frequency of the injected light becomes smaller than the frequency of the mode to be selected.
Prochlorococcus as a Possible Source for Transparent Exopolymer Particles (TEP)

Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), usually associated with phytoplankton blooms, promote the formation of marine aggregates. Their exportation to deep waters is considered a key component of the biological carbon pump. Here, we explored the role of solar radiation and picocyanobacteria in the formation of TEP in oligotrophic surface waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in ten on-deck incubation experiments during the Malaspina 2010 Expedition. TEP concentrations were low on the ocean’s surface although these concentrations were significantly higher on the surface of the Pacific (24.45 ± 2.3 μg XG Eq. L-1) than on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean (8.18 ± 4.56 μg XG Eq. L-1). Solar radiation induced a significant production of TEP in the on-deck experiments from the surface water of the Pacific Ocean, reaching values up to 187.3 μg XG Eq. L-1 compared with the low production observed in the dark controls. By contrast, TEP production in the Atlantic Ocean experiments was lower, and its formation was not related to the light treatments. Prochlorococcus sp. from the surface ocean was very sensitive to solar radiation and experienced a high cell decay in the Pacific Ocean experiments. TEP production in the on-deck incubation experiments was closely related to the observed cell decay rates of Prochlorococcus sp. , suggesting that this picocyanobacteria genus is a potential source of TEP. The evidence to propose such potential role was derived experimentally, using natural communities including the presence of several species and a variety of processes. Laboratory experiments with cultures of a non-axenic strain of Prochlorococcus marinus were then used to test TEP production by this genus. TEP concentrations in the culture increased with increasing cell abundance during the exponential phase, reaching the highest TEP concentration at the beginning of the stationary phase. The average TEP concentration of 1474 ± 226 μg XG Eq. L-1 (mean ± SE) observed at the stationary phase of P. marinus cultures is comparable with the values reported in the literature for diatom cultures, also growing in non-axenic as well as axenic cultures. Our results identify Prochlorococcus sp. as a possible relevant source of TEP in the oligotrophic ocean.
Genetic Polymorphisms in LDLR, APOB, PCSK9 and Other Lipid Related Genes Associated with Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Malaysia

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by elevations in total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc). Development of FH can result in the increase of risk for premature cardiovascular diseases (CVD). FH is primarily caused by genetic variations in Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor (LDLR), Apolipoprotein B (APOB) or Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin type 9 (PCSK9) genes. Although FH has been extensively studied in the Caucasian population, there are limited reports of FH mutations in the Asian population. We investigated the association of previously reported genetic variants that are involved in lipid regulation in our study cohort. A total of 1536 polymorphisms previously implicated in FH were evaluated in 141 consecutive patients with clinical FH (defined by the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria) and 111 unrelated control subjects without FH using high throughput microarray genotyping platform. Fourteen Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were found to be significantly associated with FH, eleven with increased FH risk and three with decreased FH risk. Of the eleven SNPs associated with an increased risk of FH, only one SNP was found in the LDLR gene, seven in the APOB gene and three in the PCSK9 gene. SNP rs12720762 in APOB gene is associated with the highest risk of FH (odds ratio 14.78, p<0.001). Amongst the FH cases, 108 out of 141 (76.60%) have had at least one significant risk-associated SNP. Our study adds new information and knowledge on the genetic polymorphisms amongst Asians with FH, which may serve as potential markers in risk prediction and disease management.
Lophotrochozoa internal phylogeny: new insights from an up-to-date analysis of nuclear ribosomal genes

Resolving the relationships among animal phyla is a key biological problem that remains to be solved. Morphology is unable to determine the relationships among most phyla and although molecular data have unveiled a new evolutionary scenario, they have their own limitations. Nuclear ribosomal genes (18S and 28S rDNA) have been used effectively for many years. However, they are considered of limited use for resolving deep divergences such as the origin of the bilaterians, due to certain drawbacks such as the long-branch attraction (LBA) problem. Here, we attempt to overcome these pitfalls by combining several methods suggested in previous studies and routinely used in contemporary standard phylogenetic analyses but that have not yet been applied to any bilaterian phylogeny based on these genes. The methods used include maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference, the application of models with rate heterogeneity across sites, wide taxon sampling and compartmentalized analyses for each problematic clade. The results obtained show that the combination of the above-mentioned methodologies minimizes the LBA effect, and a new Lophotrochozoa phylogeny emerges. Also, the Acoela and Nemertodermatida are confirmed with maximum support as the first branching bilaterians. Ribosomal RNA genes are thus a reliable source for the study of deep divergences in the metazoan tree, provided that the data are treated carefully.
Gpu-based parallel optimization and embedded system application of immune convolutional neural network

Nowadays the image recognition system is applied more and more widely in the security monitoring, the industrial intelligent monitoring, the unmanned vehicle, and even the space exploration. As an image recognition technique, the traditional convolution neural network has some defects such as long training time, easy over-fitting and high misclassification rate. After our analysis on the network structure and parameters of the convolutional neural network, we firstly used the immune mechanism to improve the convolutional neural network and put forward an algorithm of the new immune convolution neural network. Our algorithm not only integrated the network node location and the parameter adjustment, but also dynamically adjusted the base function smoothing factor. In addition, we utilized the NVIDIA GPU to accelerate the parallel computing of the new immune convolutional neural network and built a real-time embedded image recognition system of the new immune convolutional neural network. Experimental results show that our new immune convolutional neural network has higher recognition rate, more stable performance and faster computing speed than the traditional one.
Dopamine D4 receptor activation decreases the expression of μ‐opioid receptors in the rat striatum

The dopaminergic and opioid peptide systems interact in many nuclei of the brain. In the striatum, dopamine/opioid peptide interactions modulate locomotor and motivated behaviors as well as reward, motivational, and tolerance processes in opiate dependence. Dopamine D4 receptors (D4 R) and μ‐opioid receptors (MOR) are highly concentrated in the striosomes (islands) of the striatum, suggesting the existence of receptor–receptor interactions between them. In the present work we studied the role of D4 R in modulating MOR expression in the islands by using immunohistochemistry and image analysis. The activation of D4 R by the agonist PD168,077 (1 mg/kg) decreased MOR immunoreactivity (IR) in the striosomes 6 hours after drug treatment. MOR IR levels had recovered 12 hours later. Treatment with a D4 R antagonist (L745,870, 1mg/kg) blocked downregulation of MOR IR, showing that the D4 R agonist effects observed were specific. Furthermore, treatment with the D2/D3 receptor agonist quinpirol (1 mg/kg) and D2/D3 receptor antagonist raclopride (1 mg/kg) had no effect in MOR IR, suggesting that D4 R is the only D2‐like receptor producing an MOR downregulation in the islands. The decreases of MOR IR in the striosomes suggest that D4 R activation may reduce MOR signaling. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that the islands in the striatum play a critical role in habit acquisition during drug addiction. D4 R/MOR interactions could be crucial in such processes. J. Comp. Neurol. 502:358–366, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Working Memory Control Deficit in Kindergarten ADHD Children

The present study tests the hypothesis that a working memory deficit is also found in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms as young as 5 and is related to the control of interfering information. One group of 23 kindergarten children identified by the presence of ADHD symptoms and one group of 23 children matched for gender, age, and socioeconomic status were administered a visuospatial working memory task that required the selective recall of information. Children with ADHD symptoms performed more poorly than controls and were affected to a particularly high extent by intrusion errors (i.e., recalling of information initially encoded but that needed to be consequently suppressed during the task).
The maturity of discourse analysis (Review article)

The term discourse analysis was first used in linguistics by Zellig Harris in I952 as the title of an article about the description of connected discourse. In the thirty-first year of its existence this term appears again tout court as a title, not of an article this time, but of two books both of which purport to be textbooks (Brown & Yule I983; Stubbs I983). These publications can be seen as documenting the claim of a new (sub)discipline's having come into existence. Only two years later we witness the appearance of the first Handbook of discourse analysis (hereafter HDA) (van Dijk i985). ' Has discourse analysis come of age? Is it mature enough for a handbook? Do van Dijk's volumes live up to the expectations one tends to have about handbooks? That is, does the HDA provide a reference base and an overview and orientation of the field? And finally, does it meet its own objective to be "a coherent, representative, and upto-date state of the (new) art of discourse analysis" (van Dijk i985, Vol. I:xii)? These questions crossed my mind again and again as I read van Dijk's prefaces and introductions to the individual volumes and, subsequently, the articles gathered in each volume. I wish I could say yes, however, what follows will make it clear why I cannot.
Language Fluency, Socialization and Inter-Unit Relationships in Chinese and Finnish Subsidiaries

High levels of trust and shared vision contribute to collaborative behaviour among units belonging to the same corporation. We examined the relationship of language fluency and socialization mechanisms to inter-unit shared vision and trustworthiness, using a sample of 310 inter-unit relationships involving subsidiaries of multinational corporations located in China and Finland. Results show that language fluency related significantly to shared vision and perceived trustworthiness in both the Chinese and Finnish subsidiaries. We also found socialization mechanisms to have a positive relationship to shared vision in the Chinese but not the Finnish sample, and no significant relationship to perceived trustworthiness in either sample. The interaction effects of language fluency and socialization mechanisms produced different results in the Chinese and Finnish samples. The study confirmed the importance of language fluency for inter-unit relationships and offered several suggestions for future research.
Teaching advanced software design in team-based project course

Skillful design remains one of the critical success factors in long-lived software projects. Design fundamentals have been established and are pretty stable. How do we teach design in-the-large to equip our graduates with design skills relevant to a plethora of changing software technologies and emerging new application domains? Today programs are built on top of functionalities provided by software platforms. Most often, developers extend existing systems rather than develop from scratch. Programming with application program interfaces (API) that allow newly written code to call middleware or existing application software has become a norm in software industries. While the details of API mechanisms heavily depend on a specific platform or application, the principles behind API design are universal, and can be taught in project courses designed for that purpose. Working knowledge of API design principles helps students faster adapt to new and changing technologies. In the paper, we describe a teaching methodology and 10 years of experiences teaching advanced design in a team-based software engineering project course. Our course builds around fundamental concepts in API design and use.