Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NeuroImage: Clinical Advancing functional dysconnectivity and atrophy in progressive supranuclear palsy

Progressive supranuclear palsy syndrome (PSP-S) results from neurodegeneration within a network of brainstem, subcortical, frontal and parietal cortical brain regions. It is unclear how network dysfunction progresses and relates to longitudinal atrophy and clinical decline. In this study, we evaluated patients with PSP-S (n = 12) and healthy control subjects (n = 20) at baseline and 6 months later. Subjects underwent structural MRI and task-free functional MRI (tf-fMRI) scans and clinical evaluations at both time points. At baseline, voxel based mor- phometry (VBM) revealed that patients with mild-to-moderate clinical symptoms showed structural atrophy in subcortex and brainstem, prefrontal cortex (PFC; supplementary motor area, paracingulate, dorsal and ventral medial PFC), and parietal cortex (precuneus). Tf-fMRI functional connectivity (FC) was examined in a rostral midbrain tegmentum (rMT)-anchored intrinsic connectivity network that is compromised in PSP-S. In healthy controls, this network contained a medial parietal module, a prefrontal-paralimbic module, and a subcortical-brainstem module. Baseline FC de ﬁ cits in PSP-S were most severe in rMT network integrative hubs in the prefrontal-paralimbic and subcortical-brainstem modules. Longitudinally, patients with PSP-S had declining intermodular FC between the subcortical-brainstem and parietal modules, while progressive atrophy was ob- served in subcortical-brainstem regions (midbrain, pallidum) and posterior frontal (perirolandic) cortex. This suggested that later-stage subcortical-posterior cortical change may follow an earlier-stage subcortical-anterior cortical disease process. Clinically, patients with more severe baseline impairment showed greater subsequent prefrontal-parietal cortical FC declines and posterior frontal atrophy rates, while patients with more rapid longitudinal clinical decline showed coupled prefrontal-paralimbic FC decline. VBM and FC can augment disease monitoring in PSP-S by tracking the disease through stages while detecting changes that accompany hetero- geneous clinical progression.
A 2-Speed Small Transmission Mechanism Based on Twisted String Actuation and a Dog Clutch

In this letter, we propose a 2-speed small transmission mechanism based on twisted string actuation (TSA). The proposed mechanism achieves a compact and simplified two-stage transmission ratio by adjusting the radius of the twisted string. This transmission mechanism does not require the complex mechanical parts and mechanisms of conventional transmission systems. In addition, the mechanism can achieve a braking effect without an additional mechanical component via the nonlinearity of the rotational-linear transmission provided by TSA. The prototype is sufficiently small to be embedded in a robot hand and can be easily installed in a small robotic system. This mechanism can provide an energy-efficient driving strategy and a wider driving range for small robot systems.
Zoonotic intestinal parasites of carnivores: A systematic review in Iran

Aim: Parasitic infections, especially of the zoonotic-parasitic type, are the most important health, economic, and social problems in developing countries, including Iran. The aim of this study was to review systematically the available data on gastrointestinal parasites of carnivores in Iran and their ability to infect humans. Materials and Methods: Studies reporting intestinal parasites of carnivores were systematically collected from nine electronic English and Persian databases and Proceedings of Iranian parasitology and veterinary congresses published between 1997 and 2015. A total of 26 studies issued from 1997 to 2015 met the eligibility criteria. Results: The pooled proportion of intestinal parasites of carnivores was estimated as 80.4% (95% confidence interval=70.2-88.8%). The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in dogs, cats, foxes, and jackals were 57.89%, 90.62%, 89.17%, and 97.32%, respectively. Dipylidium caninum (20.45%), Toxocara spp. (18.81%), Taenia hydatigena (15.28%), Mesocestoides lineatus (11.83%), Echinococcus granulosus (10%), and Toxascaris leonina (8.69%) were the most frequently observed parasites. Conclusion: High prevalence rates of zoonotic intestinal parasites of carnivores particularly Echinococcus spp. and Toxocara spp. increase the risk of acquiring zoonotic infections such as cystic hydatid, alveolar cysts, and visceral or ocular larva migrants in Iranian people. Therefore, it is essential for public health centers to develop more effective control strategies to decrease infections rates in carnivores’ populations.
P2Y6 Receptors Regulate CXCL10 Expression and Secretion in Mouse Intestinal Epithelial Cells

In this study, we investigated the role of extracellular nucleotides in chemokine (KC, MIP-2, MCP-1, and CXCL10) expression and secretion by murine primary intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) with a focus on P2Y6 receptors. qRT-PCR experiments showed that P2Y6 was the dominant nucleotide receptor expressed in mouse IEC. In addition, the P2Y6 ligand UDP induced expression and secretion of CXCL10. For the other studies, we took advantage of mice deficient in P2Y6 (P2ry6-/-). Similar expression levels of P2Y1, P2Y2, P2X2, P2X4, and A2A were detected in P2ry6-/- and WT IEC. Agonists of TLR3 (poly(I:C)), TLR4 (LPS), P2Y1, and P2Y2 increased the expression and secretion of CXCL10 more prominently in P2ry6-/- IEC than in WT IEC. CXCL10 expression and secretion induced by poly(I:C) in both P2ry6-/- and WT IEC were inhibited by general P2 antagonists (suramin and Reactive-Blue-2), by apyrase, and by specific antagonists of P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y6 (only in WT), and P2X4. Neither adenosine nor an A2A antagonist had an effect on CXCL10 expression and secretion. Macrophage chemotaxis was induced by the supernatant of poly(I:C)-treated IEC which was consistent with the level of CXCL10 secreted. Finally, the non-nucleotide agonist FGF2 induced MMP9 mRNA expression also at a higher level in P2ry6-/- IEC than in WT IEC. In conclusion, extracellular nucleotides regulate CXCL10 expression and secretion by IEC. In the absence of P2Y6, these effects are modulated by other P2 receptors also present on IEC. These data suggest that the presence of P2Y6 regulates chemokine secretion and may also regulate IEC homeostasis.
Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer: Long-term Incidence Trends and Prognostic Differences

Background: Secular trends in incidence and prognosis of molecular breast cancer subtypes are poorly described. We studied long-term trends in a population of Norwegian women born 1886–1977. Methods: A total of 52,949 women were followed for breast cancer incidence, and 1,423 tumors were reclassified into molecular subtypes using IHC and in situ hybridization. We compared incidence rates among women born 1886–1928 and 1929–1977, estimated age-specific incidence rate ratios (IRR), and performed multiple imputations to account for unknown subtype. Prognosis was compared for women diagnosed before 1995 and in 1995 or later, estimating cumulative risk of death and HRs. Results: Between 50 and 69 years of age, incidence rates of Luminal A and Luminal B (HER2−) were higher among women born in 1929 or later, compared with before 1929 [IRRs 50–54 years; after imputations: 3.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.8–6.9 and 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2–5.2, respectively], with no clear differences for other subtypes. Rates of death were lower in women diagnosed in 1995 or later, compared to before 1995, for Luminal A (HR 0.4; 95% CI, 0.3–0.5), Luminal B (HER2−; HR 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3–0.7), and Basal phenotype (HR 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2–0.9). Conclusions: We found a strong secular incidence increase restricted to Luminal A and Luminal B (HER2−) subtypes, combined with a markedly improved prognosis for these subtypes and for the Basal phenotype. Impact: This study documents a clear secular increase in incidence and a concomitant improved prognosis for specific molecular breast cancer subtypes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(12); 1625–34. ©2016 AACR.
A Single‐Stranded Junction Modulates Nanosecond Motional Ordering of the Substrate Recognition Duplex of a Group I Ribozyme

Rigid spinning: Site-directed spin-labeling studies using a rigid nitroxide spin label (Ç) reveal that both length and sequence of a single-stranded junction (J1/2) modulate nanosecond motional ordering of the substrate-recognition duplex (P1) of the 120 kD group I ribozyme. The studies demonstrate an approach for experimental measurements of nanosecond dynamics in high-molecular-weight RNA complexes.
Small Molecule Inhibitors of LcrF, a Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Transcription Factor, Attenuate Virulence and Limit Infection in a Murine Pneumonia Model

ABSTRACT LcrF (VirF), a transcription factor in the multiple adaptational response (MAR) family, regulates expression of the Yersinia type III secretion system (T3SS). Yersinia pseudotuberculosis lcrF-null mutants showed attenuated virulence in tissue culture and animal models of infection. Targeting of LcrF offers a novel, antivirulence strategy for preventing Yersinia infection. A small molecule library was screened for inhibition of LcrF-DNA binding in an in vitro assay. All of the compounds lacked intrinsic antibacterial activity and did not demonstrate toxicity against mammalian cells. A subset of these compounds inhibited T3SS-dependent cytotoxicity of Y. pseudotuberculosis toward macrophages in vitro. In a murine model of Y. pseudotuberculosis pneumonia, two compounds significantly reduced the bacterial burden in the lungs and afforded a dramatic survival advantage. The MAR family of transcription factors is well conserved, with members playing central roles in pathogenesis across bacterial genera; thus, the inhibitors could have broad applicability.
One Metarhizium brunneum Strain, Two uses to Control Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

ABSTRACT We determined the virulence and insecticidal activity of the hypocrealean fungus Metarhizium brunneum (Petch) strain EAMb 09/01-Su and its crude extract against Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) and we evaluated the combined use of the fungus with its crude extract. We also determined the effect of fermentation time, temperature, and initial pH of the M. brunneum culture medium on the insecticidal activity of the crude extract. When C. capitata adults were sprayed with a conidial suspension, the strain EAMb 09/01-Su caused 100% mortality with a mean lethal time (LT50) of 5.6 d and mean lethal concentration (LC50) of 2.84 × 107 conidia per milliliter. Fermentation time significantly affected the lethality of the crude extract when it was provided to C. capitata per os. The highest level of mortality (73.3%) and the shortest median survival time (25.5 h) was obtained from 15-d-old cultures. The crude extract was demonstrated to be thermostable, given that the mortality was >50% at 48 h when the extract had been heated to 100°C for 3 h. Lastly, the optimum initial pH for maximum crude extract activity in terms of mortality ranged between 7 and 9. Additivity was observed for all M. brunneum EAMb 09/01-Su strain crude extract combinations tested, indicating compatibility between products. We concluded that the M. brunneum EAMb 09/01-Su strain is a promising tool for medfly control alone or in combination with its crude extract.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Friends for Life Program on Children’s Anxiety and Depression

Objective: Anxiety disorders and depression during childhood and adolescence are among highly prevalent serious mental health problems, which lead to reduced performance in children and can also negatively affect children’s emotional and social long-term development. This study, which was conducted in Mashhad in 2015, aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the Friends for Life cognitive-behavioral program in reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression in children. Method: In this controlled clinical trial, 248 male students aged 10 were screened for mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression using the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety (RCMA) and the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Of the participants, 40 students met the inclusion criteria. The demographic questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS) were filled out by parents. The children in the experimental group received the Friends for Life cognitive-behavioral training program for eight 1-hour weekly sessions. RCMA, CDI, SDQ, and DASS were filled out again by both groups at the end of the sessions and 3 months later. To evaluate comparability between the 2 groups, Mann-Whitney test was used for qualitative variables and paired t test and repeated measure for quantitative variables with normal distribution. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS-16. All statistical references were made at □=0.05. Results: Children’s depression and manifest anxiety scores were not significantly different in the 2 groups before the intervention; however, their changes immediately after intervention and at the 3- month follow-up were significant (p<0.001). Moreover, hyperactivity (p = 0.039), peer problems (p = 0.011), and parental depression (p = 0.015) scores significantly changed in both groups over time. Conclusion: Implementation of Friends for Life program is effective in prevention and treatment of the symptoms of anxiety and depression in children.
Multiparametric Non-Negative Matrix Factorization for Longitudinal Variations Detection in White-Matter Fiber Bundles

Processing of longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data is a crucial challenge to better understand pathological mechanisms of complex brain diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) where white-matter (WM) fiber bundles are variably altered by inflammatory events. In this study, we propose a new fully automated method to detect longitudinal changes in diffusivity metrics along WM fiber bundles. The proposed method is divided in three main parts: 1) preprocessing of longitudinal diffusion acquisitions, 2) WM fiber-bundle extraction, and 3) application of nonnegative matrix factorization and density-based local outliers algorithms to detect and delineate longitudinal variations appearing in the cross section of the WM fiber bundle. In order to validate our method, we introduce a new model to simulate real longitudinal changes based on a generalized Gaussian probability density function. Moreover, we applied our method on longitudinal data. High level of performances were obtained for the detection of small longitudinal changes along the WM fiber bundles in MS patients.
Time Series UAV Image-Based Point Clouds for Landslide Progression Evaluation Applications

Landslides are major and constantly changing threats to urban landscapes and infrastructure. It is essential to detect and capture landslide changes regularly. Traditional methods for monitoring landslides are time-consuming, costly, dangerous, and the quality and quantity of the data is sometimes unable to meet the necessary requirements of geotechnical projects. This motivates the development of more automatic and efficient remote sensing approaches for landslide progression evaluation. Automatic change detection involving low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle image-based point clouds, although proven, is relatively unexplored, and little research has been done in terms of accounting for volumetric changes. In this study, a methodology for automatically deriving change displacement rates, in a horizontal direction based on comparisons between extracted landslide scarps from multiple time periods, has been developed. Compared with the iterative closest projected point (ICPP) registration method, the developed method takes full advantage of automated geometric measuring, leading to fast processing. The proposed approach easily processes a large number of images from different epochs and enables the creation of registered image-based point clouds without the use of extensive ground control point information or further processing such as interpretation and image correlation. The produced results are promising for use in the field of landslide research.
Ultrasound-Guided EPIÃÂ® Technique and Eccentric Exercise, New Treatment for Achilles and Patellar Tendinopathy Focused on the Region-Specific of the Tendon

Treatment of tendon injuries is a subject of frequent debate in sports medicine and physiotherapy. Achilles and patellar tendinopathy is a common, painful, overuse disorder, and is associated with a failure of the tendon repair process they have a low potential for healing with the usual techniques. Therefore, new treatments for tendinopaties drawn from the existing literature as well as from their own experience dealing with this condition to deal with this delicate pathology have been developed over recent past decades. This brief review aims to update recent information on the treatment with the ultrasound-guided EPI® technique and eccentric exercise in Achilles and patellar tendinopathy resulted in a great improvement in function and a rapid return to the previous level of activity.
On the kinematic modeling and control of a mobile platform equipped with steering wheels and movable legs

Mobile platforms equipped with several steering wheels are known to be omnidirectional, i.e., able to independently translate and rotate on the plane. As an improvement to this design, the Justin mobile platform also possesses the ability to vary its footprint over time by extending/retracting the wheel legs during motion. In this paper, we discuss the kinematic modeling and control issues for such a platform. The goal is to obtain a tracking controller which is able to realize an arbitrary linear/angular platform motion while, at the same time, independently expanding/retracting each leg. Experimental results support the proposed approach.
On mechanical and friction-wear properties of TiBx coated alumina sinters

Spieki korundowe pokryto powłok ą typu TiB x metod ą wspomaganego jonowo rozpylania jonowego. Wła ściwości mechaniczne spieków z powłok ą i bez powłoki okre ślono w te ście nakłucia, natomiast adhezj ę powłok do podło ży oraz współczynnik tarcia badano w te ście tarciowo-zu życiowym metod ą rysy. Nało żenie powłoki TiB x korzystnie wpłyn ęło na wła ściwo ści spieków korundowych. SŁOWA KLUCZOWE: powłoki PVD, TiB x, właściwo ści, test nakłucia, współczynnik tarcia, zu życie
Implementation of an integrated battery-charger for an electric-propulsion system

This paper proposes an integrated battery-charger for an electric-propulsion system. The system includes a rectifying diode bridge, an inverter, a motor, a digital signal processor, a battery set, and three relays. By suitably controlling the three relays and the switching states of the inverter, the proposed system can be operated either an electric propulsion system or a charger. Moreover, the charger can be operated as a boost converter or a buck converter. The input power factor is higher than 0.9, which can meet the IEC 1000-3-2 standard. Only three additional relays are required and the windings of the motor are connected. A digital signal processor, TMS-320-F-2808, is used to execute all of the control algorithms. As a result, the hardware circuit is quite simple. The volume and cost of the proposed system can be reduced when compared the traditional charger with a traditional propulsion system. Experimental results can validate the theoretical analysis and show the correctness and feasibility of the proposed method.
Patterns of heart failure symptoms are associated with self-care behaviors over 6 months

Background: Both heart failure symptoms and self-care are associated with patient outcomes. Although it is thought that symptoms drive self-care, there is limited evidence to support this assumption over time. Aims: To determine whether patterns of physical symptoms are significantly associated with heart failure self-care over time. Method: Latent mixture analysis was used to identify subgroups based on physical symptoms of dyspnea, sleepiness and edema (using the heart failure somatic perception and Epworth sleepiness scales). Growth modeling was used to determine if symptom subgroups were associated with self-care behaviors (using the self-care in heart failure index) over 6 months. Sociodemographic and clinical variables predicting the likelihood of subgroup membership were identified using logistic regression. Results: The sample (n=146) was on average 57 years old, 70% were men and 59% had class III/IV heart failure. Two symptom subgroups were identified (entropy 0.91): a high symptom group (n=24; 16%) with no significant change in symptoms over time (high sustained), and a low symptom group (n=122; 84%) with no significant change in symptoms over time (low sustained). The high sustained group was associated significantly with better self-care behaviors at baseline and over 6 months. Women (odds ratio (OR) 3.67, P=0.023) and patients with more depressive symptoms (OR 1.16, P=0.015) were more likely to be in the high sustained symptom group. Those treated with a renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system agent were less likely to be in the high symptom group (OR 0.17, P=0.015). Conclusion: Patients bothered more by symptoms are consistently more engaged in self-care behaviors over time. The results of this study support symptoms as an important driver of self-care behaviors.
1 Fractional smoothness and applications in Finance

This overview article concerns the notion of fractional smoothness of random variables of the form g(XT ), where X = (Xt)t∈[0,T ] is a certain diffusion process. We review the connection to the real interpolation theory, give examples and applications of this concept. The applications in stochastic finance mainly concern the analysis of discrete time hedging errors. We close the review by indicating some further developments.
Convolutional Neural Networks for Toxic Comment Classification

Flood of information is produced in a daily basis through the global internet usage arising from the online interactive communications among users. While this situation contributes significantly to the quality of human life, unfortunately it involves enormous dangers, since online texts with high toxicity can cause personal attacks, online harassment and bullying behaviors. This has triggered both industrial and research community in the last few years while there are several attempts to identify an efficient model for online toxic comment prediction. However, these steps are still in their infancy and new approaches and frameworks are required. On parallel, the data explosion that appears constantly, makes the construction of new machine learning computational tools for managing this information, an imperative need. Thankfully advances in hardware, cloud computing and big data management allow the development of Deep Learning approaches appearing very promising performance so far. For text classification in particular the use of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have recently been proposed approaching text analytics in a modern manner emphasizing in the structure of words in a document. In this work, we employ this approach to discover toxic comments in a large pool of documents provided by a current Kaggle's competition regarding Wikipedia's talk page edits. To justify this decision we choose to compare CNNs against the traditional bag-of-words approach for text analysis combined with a selection of algorithms proven to be very effective in text classification. The reported results provide enough evidence that CNN enhance toxic comment classification reinforcing research interest towards this direction.