Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Basal Ganglia Volumes in Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Previous research has demonstrated volume reduction of the left globus pallidus in children with the codiagnoses of Tourette syndrome and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in comparison with children who have Tourette syndrome alone and with normal controls. The purpose of this study was to determine whether children with ADHD alone also had volume reduction of the globus pallidus or other basal ganglia structures. Subjects were 10 boys with ADHD, 16 boys with Tourette syndrome and ADHD, and 11 normal control boys. Groups were matched for age. Boys with ADHD were individually matched for age, handedness, and IQ to 10 of the 16 boys with Tourette syndrome and ADHD. Volumes of caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus were measured and corrected for brain volume. The boys with ADHD had significantly smaller left globus pallidus volume and total globus pallidus volume (corrected for brain volume) than the normal controls. The Tourette syndrome plus ADHD group did not differ from the ADHD group on any of the measures. We conclude that small globus pallidus volume, particularly on the left side, is associated with ADHD. (J Child Neurol 1996; 11: 112-115).
The opsonizing ligand on Salmonella typhimurium influences incorporation of specific, but not azurophil, granule constituents into neutrophil phagosomes

Phagosomes were purified from human neutrophils ingesting Salmonella typhimurium opsonized with adsorbed normal human serum or with rabbit IgG. Constituents within the phagosome were endogenously labeled by supplying the cells with 125INa during phagocytosis. Lactoferrin and vitamin B12 binding protein (TC1 and TC3), markers for specific granules, were present in the phagosomes from neutrophils ingesting S. typhimurium opsonized with IgG but were 3.5- to 5-fold less prominent in phagosomes from cells phagocytosing Salmonella bearing C3 fragments only. In contrast, iodinated azurophilic granule components, most prominently defensins, were the major constituents in phagosomes prepared under both opsonization conditions. Furthermore, labeled complement (CR1 and CR3) and immunoglobulin (Fc gamma RIII) receptors were incorporated in the phagosome regardless of the ligand mediating phagocytosis. These results suggest that the ligand-receptor interactions mediating phagocytosis influence incorporation of neutrophil-specific granule contents into phagosomes.
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience Cellular Neuroscience

intracellular Ca 2+ increases (Owens and Kriegstein, 2002). Such a mechanism has been reported in SVZ neuroblasts and involves nifedipine-sensitive L-type VGCC (Nguyen et al., 2003; Wang et al., 2003b; Gascon et al., 2006). It has been speculated that this canoni-cal Ca 2+ increase may not operate in SVZ astrocytes due to their biophysical properties (low input resistance and hyperpolarized resting potential) (Liu et al., 2006; Bordey, 2007). We thus set out to investigate whether and, if so, how GABA A increases Ca 2+ in SVZ astrocytes. One limitation to address this issue has been the inability to distinguish Ca 2+ indicator-loaded astrocyte-like cells from neurob-lasts in acute SVZ slices. To study Ca 2+ activity selectively in SVZ astrocytes, we used two lines of transgenic mice where astrocyte-like cells express intracellular DsRed or membrane-associated GFP. Using these mice revealed that traditional bath loading of Ca 2+ indicators preferentially loaded neuroblasts at the slice surface while astrocyte-like cells resided deeper inside the tissue. Using pressure loading of a Ca 2+ indicator dye inside the tissue, we preferentially loaded astrocyte-like cells. We found that a GABA A receptor agonist increased Ca 2+ in a subset of astrocyte-like cells (∼50%) through Land T-type VGCCs. In addition, ambient GABA tonically regulated the frequency of Ca 2+ activity in ∼80% of SVZ astrocytes. GABA increased or decreased the frequency, subdividing the SVZ astrocytes into two subpopulations. For the fi rst time this fi nd-ing illustrates a functional difference among astrocyte-like cells of the SVZ. Such a GABA A-regulation in selective astrocyte-like cells may impact Ca 2+-dependent mechanisms, including proliferation and the release of diffusible molecules (e.g. ATP; Striedinger et al., 2007).
Impact of Regular Physical Activity on the NAD(P)H Oxidase and Angiotensin Receptor System in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Background—In patients with stable coronary artery disease, physical exercise training (ET) improves endothelial dysfunction. A potential mechanism mediating the enhanced vasomotor function is a reduced breakdown of endothelium-derived nitric oxide by reactive oxygen species (ROS). The aim of the present study was to analyze the impact of ET on sources of ROS generation in the left internal mammary artery of patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease. Methods and Results—In left internal mammary artery rings sampled during bypass surgery from 45 patients randomized to either a training (n=22) or an inactive control (n=23) group, the mRNA expression of NAD(P)H oxidase subunits, NAD(P)H oxidase activity, and ROS production were assessed. In addition, endothelial function, expression of angiotensin II (Ang II) receptor type 1 and 2 (AT1-R and AT2-R), and Ang II-mediated vasoconstriction were determined. ET resulted in a significant lower expression of gp91phox (23.1±0.5 versus 69.1±18.1 arbitrary units, training versus control), p22phox (0.7±0.3 versus 2.0±0.5 arbitrary units), and Nox4 (2.7±1.2 versus 5.4±1.0 arbitrary units). Enzymatic activity (2.1±0.3 versus 4.9±0.4 mU/mg) and ROS generation (0.02±0.01 versus 0.06±0.02 arbitrary units) were significantly lower in the training compared with the control group. On a functional level, ET resulted in improved acetylcholine-mediated vasodilatation and a 49% reduction in Ang II–induced vasoconstriction, accompanied by lower AT1-R (3.7±0.8 versus 16.6±5.7 arbitrary units, training versus control) and higher AT2-R (7.8±2.5 versus 1.6±0.7 arbitrary units) mRNA expression. Conclusions—ET reduces vascular expression of NAD(P)H oxidase and AT1-R, resulting in decreased local ROS generation. These molecular effects converge in a reduced Ang II–mediated vasoconstriction.
Low Taxon Richness of Bacterioplankton in High-Altitude Lakes of the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, with a Predominance of Bacteroidetes and Synechococcus spp

ABSTRACT Plankton samples were collected from six remote freshwater and saline lakes located at altitudes of 3,204 to 4,718 m and 1,000 km apart within an area of ca. 1 million km2 on the eastern Tibetan Plateau to comparatively assess how environmental factors influence the diversity of bacterial communities in high-altitude lakes. The composition of the bacterioplankton was investigated by analysis of large clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes. Comparison of bacterioplankton diversities estimated for the six Tibetan lakes with reference data previously published for lakes located at lower altitudes indicated relatively low taxon richness in the Tibetan lakes. The estimated average taxon richness in the four Tibetan freshwater lakes was only one-fifth of the average taxon richness estimated for seven low-altitude reference lakes. This cannot be explained by low coverage of communities in the Tibetan lakes by the established libraries or by differences in habitat size. Furthermore, a comparison of the taxonomic compositions of bacterioplankton across the six Tibetan lakes revealed low overlap between their community compositions. About 70.9% of the operational taxonomic units (99% similarity) were specific to single lakes, and a relatively high percentage (11%) of sequences were <95% similar to publicly deposited sequences of cultured or uncultured bacteria. This beta diversity was explained by differences in salinity between lakes rather than by distance effects. Another characteristic of the investigated lakes was the predominance of Cyanobacteria (Synechococcus) and Bacteroidetes. These features of bacterioplankton diversity may reflect specific adaptation of various lineages to the environmental conditions in these high-altitude lakes.
Stock Portfolio Evaluation : An Application of Genetic-Programming-Based Technical Analysis

Recent studies in financial economics suggest that technical analysis may have merit to predictability of stock. When attempting to create an efficient portfolio of stocks, there are numerous factors to consider. The problem is that the evaluation involves many qualitative factors, which causes most approximations to go off track. This paper presents a genetic programming approach to portfolio evaluation. By using a set of fitness heuristics over a population of stock portfolios, the goal is to find a portfolio that has a high expected return over investment.
Reliability of the Rating of Perceived Exertion at Ventilatory Threshold in Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), using the Borg 6-20 scale, at ventilatory threshold (VT) in children. Thirty children (19 male, 11 female) with a mean +/- SD age of 10.4 +/- 1.1 yrs performed two graded exercise tests for the assessment of VT and VO2max. RPE was recorded throughout each exercise test. There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences between the mean VO2max (50.9 +/- 6.0 vs 51.0 +/- 5.7 ml.kg-1.min-1; r = 0.95) or the mean VO2 at VT (36.2 +/- 4.4 vs 36.7 +/- 4.5 ml.kg-1.min-1; r = 0.87) between trials. The mean RPE at VT during trial 1 (12.4 +/- 2.7) was significantly higher than during trial 2 (11.4 +/- 3.3; p < 0.05). The test-retest reliability correlation for the RPE at VT was r = 0.78. The lower RPE in the second trial may have been due to a greater comfort and familiarity with the testing procedures. The reliability analysis indicates that the RPE at VT within a given child is fairly consistent from trial to trial. However, large inter-individual variability in the RPE at VT (range = 6 to 19) was noted and was not related to variations in the onset of VT. This raises some concern over the use of a given RPE value or range of RPE values in the regulation of exercise intensity for this age group. The test-retest reliability of VT and VO2max in this age group is similar to previous reports.
Energy evaluation of Sparse Matrix-Vector Multiplication on GPU

Many recent studies suggest that energy efficiency should be placed as a primary design goal on par with the performance in building both the hardware and the software. As a primary step toward finding a good compromise between these two conflicting design goals, first we need to have a deep understanding about the performance and the energy of different application kernels. In this paper, we focus on evaluating the energy efficiency of the Sparse Matrix-Vector Multiplication (SpMV), a very challenging kernel given its irregular aspect both in terms of memory access and control flow. In the present work, we consider the SpMV kernel under four different sparse formats (COO, CSR, ELL, and HYB) on GPU. Our experimental results obtained by using real world sparse matrices from the University of Florida collection on an NVIDIA Maxwell GPU (GTX 980Ti) show that there is no universal best sparse format in terms of energy efficiency. Furthermore, we identified some sparsity characteristics which are related to the energy efficiency of different sparse formats.
Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibition Abolishes Neuron Apoptosis Induced by Chronic Hypoxia Independently of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Signaling

Exposure to hypoxia triggers a variety of adverse effects in the brain that arise from metabolic stress and induce neuron apoptosis. Overexpression of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is believed to be a major candidate in orchestrating the cell’s defense against stress. To test the impact of HIF-1α on apoptosis during chronic hypoxia in vivo, we examined the protective effect of modulating the nitric oxide (NO)/cGMP pathway by sildenafil, a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5). Male ICR/CD-1 mice were divided into 3 groups (n = 6/group): normoxic (21% O2), hypoxic (9.5% O2), and hypoxic with sildenafil (1.4-mg/kg intraperitoneal injections daily). At the end of the 8-day treatment period, the mice were euthanized and cerebral cortex biopsies were harvested for analyses. We found that sildenafil: (1) did not significantly alter the hypoxia-induced weight loss and hemoglobin increase, but did augment plasma nitrates+nitrites and the tissue content of cGMP and phosphorylated (P) NO synthase III; (2) reversed the hypoxia-induced neuron apoptosis (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase positivity and double-staining immunofluorescence, P = 0.009), presumably through increased bcl-2/Bax (P = 0.0005); and (3) did not affect HIF-1α, but rather blunted the hypoxia-induced increase in P-ERK1/2 (P = 0.0002) and P-p38 (P = 0.004). We conclude that upregulating the NO/cGMP pathway by PDE-5 inhibition during hypoxia reduces neuron apoptosis, regardless of HIF-1α, through an interaction involving ERK1/2 and p38.
Face Cyclographs for Recognition

A new representation of faces, called face cyclographs, is introduced for face recognition that incorporates all views of a rotating face into a single image. The main motivation for this representation comes from recent psychophysical studies that show that humans use continuous image sequences in object recognition. Face cyclographs are created by slicing spatiotemporal face volumes that are constructed automatically based on real-time face detection. This representation is a compact, multiperspective, spatiotemporal description. To use face cyclographs for recognition, a dynamic programming based algorithm is developed. The motion trajectory image of the eye slice is used to analyze the approximate single-axis motion and normalize the face cyclographs. Using normalized face cyclographs can speed up the matching process. Experimental results on more than 100 face videos show that this representation efficiently encodes the continuous views of faces.
Cross-layer design in 4G wireless terminals

The classical TCP/IP layered protocol archi- tecture is beginning to show signs of age. In order to cope with problems such as the poor performance of wireless links and mobile termi- nals, including the high error rate of wireless network interfaces, power saving requirements, quality of service, and an increasingly dynamic network environment, a protocol architecture that considers cross-layer interactions seems to be required. This article describes a framework for further enhancements of the traditional IP- based protocol stack to meet current and future requirements. Known problems associated with the strictly layered protocol architecture are summarized and classified, and a first solution involving cross-layer design is proposed.
Interactive multi-pass programmable shading

Programmable shading is a common technique for production animation, but interactive programmable shading is not yet widely available. We support interactive programmable shading on virtually any 3D graphics hardware using a scene graph library on top of OpenGL. We treat the OpenGL architecture as a general SIMD computer, and translate the high-level shading description into OpenGL rendering passes. While our system uses OpenGL, the techniques described are applicable to any retained mode interface with appropriate extension mechanisms and hardware API with provisions for recirculating data through the graphics pipeline. We present two demonstrations of the method. The first is a constrained shading language that runs on graphics hardware supporting OpenGL 1.2 with a subset of the ARB imaging extensions. We remove the shading language constraints by minimally extending OpenGL. The key extensions are color range (supporting extended range and precision data types) and pixel texture (using framebuffer values as indices into texture maps). Our second demonstration is a renderer supporting the RenderMan Interface and RenderMan Shading Language on a software implementation of this extended OpenGL. For both languages, our compiler technology can take advantage of extensions and performance characteristics unique to any particular graphics hardware.
The importance of phase on voice quality assessment

State of the art objective measures for quantifying voice quality mostly consider estimation of features extracted from the magnitude spectrum. Assuming that speech is obtained by exciting a minimum-phase (vocal tract ﬁlter) and a maximum-phase component (glottal source), the amplitude spectrum cannot capture the maximum phase characteristics. Since voice quality is connected to the glottal source, the extracted features should be linked with the maximum-phase component of speech. This work proposes a new metric based on the phase spectrum for characterizing the maximum-phase component of the glottal source. The proposed feature, the Phase Distortion Deviation, reveals the irregularities of the glottal pulses and therefore, can be used for detecting voice disorders. This is evaluated in a ranking problem of speakers with spasmodic dysphonia. Re-sults show that the obtained ranking is highly correlated with the subjective ranking provided by doctors in terms of overall severity, tremor and jitter. The high correlation of the suggested feature with different metrics reveals its ability to capture voice irregularities and highlights the importance of the phase spectrum in voice quality assessment.
Influence of Co and Al on Bainitic Transformation in Super Bainitic Steels

The effect of cobalt and aluminum addition on the bainitic transformation of super bainitic steels was investigated. Nanostructured bainitic ferrite and retained austenite microstructures were obtained when the steels were transformed at low temperatures. The bainitic transformation was accelerated by the addition of Co and Al. The thickness of bainite plate was reduced and the volume fraction of bainite was increased in the Co and Al containing steel, compared with the parent steel.
Isolated atrial septal defect with pulmonary vascular obstructive disease--long-term follow-up and prediction of outcome after surgical correction.

UNLABELLED We examined the cases of 702 patients found to have isolated atrial septal defect of the secundum or sinus venosus type at catheterization from 1953 to 1978. Forty patients (6%), 34 women and six men, had pulmonary vascular obstructive disease, with a total pulmonary resistance greater than 7 U/m2; of these patients 26 (mean age 47 years) underwent surgical closure and 14 (mean age 44 years) received medical treatment. All patients were followed for at least 4 years, with a median follow-up of 12 years. At the most recent follow-up, 17 of the 40 patients were dead. Of the 22 surgically treated patients with total pulmonary resistance less than 15 U/m2, 19 were alive with significant regression of symptoms. All four surgically treated patients with total pulmonary resistance greater than or equal to 15 U/m2 were dead. Of the five medically treated patients with total pulmonary resistance less than 15 U/m2, four had died, and one was alive with significant progression of symptoms. Of the nine medically treated patients with total pulmonary resistance greater than or equal to 15 U/m2, six had died and the three survivors had progression of symptoms. In the surgically treated group, the following variables correlated with survival: total pulmonary resistance (p less than .00001), pulmonary arteriolar resistance (p less than .00001), pulmonary-to-systemic resistance ratio (p = .004), systemic arterial oxygen saturation (p = .005), and pulmonary arterial oxygen saturation (p = .007). IN CONCLUSION (1) Atrial septal defect with high total pulmonary resistance is uncommon and predominates in adult female patients. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Young Circumstellar Disks and Their Evolution : A Review

A detailed understanding of the physics of star and planet formation requires study of individual objects as well as statistical assessment of global properties and evolutionary trends. Observational investigations of circumstellar material surrounding young stars have matured to the point that both spectral energy distributions sampled over more than four decades in wavelength and spatially resolved images or interferometric visibilities at limited optical/infrared and sub-/millimeter wavelengths are becoming available, though for few individual objects at present. Data on star/disk systems combined with continuing surveys for exo-solar planets themselves will lead to constraints on the likelihood and frequency of solar system formation. An overarching goal of these pursuits is to connect what is observed elsewhere with the history of our own solar solar system, and hence enhance our appreciation of the uniqueness – or lack thereof – of the human circumstance.
Tracing the Large-Scale Structure in the Chandra Deep Field South

We report the discovery of large-scale structures of X-ray sources in the 1 Ms observation of the Chandra Deep Field South. Two main structures appear as narrow (Δz ≲ 0.02) spikes in the source redshift distribution at z = 0.67 and 0.73, respectively. Their angular distribution spans a region at least ~17' wide, corresponding to a physical size of 7.3 h Mpc at a redshift of z ~ 0.7 (Ωm = 0.3, ΩΛ = 0.7). These spikes are populated by 19 sources each, which are mainly identified as active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Two sources in each spike are extended in X-rays, corresponding to galaxy groups/clusters embedded in larger structures. The X-ray source redshift distribution shows other spikes, the most remarkable at z = 1.04, 1.62, and 2.57. This is one of the first evidences for large-scale structure traced by X-ray sources and for spatial clustering of X-ray-selected AGNs. The X-ray data have been complemented with the spectroscopic data from the K20 near-infrared survey (Cimatti et al.), which covers ~1/10 of the X-ray field. In this survey, too, the source redshift distribution shows several spikes. Two narrow structures at z = 0.67 and 0.73 (again with Δz ~ 0.02) are the most significant features, containing 24 and 47 galaxies, respectively. While the K20 structure at z = 0.73 is dominated by a standard galaxy cluster with a significant concentration around a central cD galaxy and morphological segregation, the galaxies at z = 0.67 constitute a loose structure rather uniformly distributed along the K20 field. Moreover, we find a very good correlation (almost one-to-one) between less prominent peaks detected in the redshift distributions of X-ray and K20 sources. In particular, at z < 1.3 we find that five out of the six more significant K20 peaks have a corresponding peak in the X-ray-selected sources and, similarly, all five X-ray peaks below that redshift have a corresponding K20 peak. Since the K20 survey sensitivity drops beyond z ~ 1.3, structures at higher redshift are traced only by the X-ray sources. This correlation suggests that AGNs (from the X-ray data) and (early-type) galaxies (from the K20 survey) are tracing the same underlying structures. We also compared the X-ray and K-band catalogs to search for enhanced X-ray activity in the sources in the two main redshift spikes. While in the structure at z = 0.73 the fraction of X-ray sources is the same as in the field, in the structure at z = 0.67 it is higher by a factor of ~2, suggesting that X-ray activity may be triggered preferentially in the structure at z = 0.67. Given the limited statistics, this result is significant only at the ~2 σ level.