Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Head Position on Perception of Gravity in Vestibular Neuritis and Lateral Medullary Infarction

Objective Internal representation of gravity can be quantified by measuring the subjective visual vertical (SVV). Modulation of verticality perception during head tilts may be perturbed in vestibular disorders causing SVV tilts in the upright head position. This study aimed to determine the influence of head tilts on the estimation of SVV in acute vestibular disorders. Methods We measured the SVV in 37 patients with acute vestibular symptoms due to unilateral vestibular neuritis (VN) (n = 28) and lateral medullary infarction (LMI) (n = 9). Measurements of the SVV were performed under head upright, head tilt 30° and 60° in each direction. Seventeen normal subjects served as the control. Results In controls, head tilt of 30° produced a contraversive shift of the SVV (the E-effect), and head tilt of 60° generated an ipsiversive shift (the A-effect). Patients with VN showed only the A-effect irrespective of the direction and amplitude of head tilt. Patients with LMI could estimate earth verticality accurately during head tilts. Patients with VN during the recovery phase showed the patterns of SVV modulation similar to those observed in the controls either with head upright or tilted. Conclusion Given the absence of the E-effect in acute VN, the peripheral otolithic inputs appear to be essential in the perception of earth vertical during small static head tilts.
Dynamic recognition of synchronization operations for improved data race detection

Debugging multithreaded programs, which involves detection and identification of the cause of data races, has proved to be a hard problem. Although there has been significant amount of research on this topic, prior works rely on one important assumption - the debuggers must be aware of all the synchronization operations that take place during a program run. This assumption is a significant limitation as multithreaded programs, including the popular SPLASH-2 benchmark, have barriers and flag synchronizations implemented in the user code. We show that the lack of knowledge of these synchronization operations leads to unnecessary reporting of numerous races. Our experiments with SPLASH-2 benchmark suite show that 12-131 distinct segments in source code, on an average, give rise to well over 4 million dynamic instances of falsely reported races for these programs. We propose a dynamic software technique that identifies the user defined synchronizations exercised during a program run. This information not only helps avoids reporting of unnecessary races, but also helps a record/replay system to speedup the replay. Our evaluation confirms that our synchronization detector is highly accurate with no false negatives and very few false positives. Thus, reporting of nearly all unnecessary races is avoided. Finally, we show that the knowledge of synchronization operations resulted in about 23% reduction in replay time.
Functional Genomics and Phylogenetic Evidence Suggest Genus-Wide Cobalamin Production by the Globally Distributed Marine Nitrogen Fixer Trichodesmium

Only select prokaryotes can biosynthesize vitamin B12 (i.e., cobalamins), but these organic co-enzymes are required by all microbial life and can be vanishingly scarce across extensive ocean biomes. Although global ocean genome data suggest cyanobacteria to be a major euphotic source of cobalamins, recent studies have highlighted that >95% of cyanobacteria can only produce a cobalamin analog, pseudo-B12, due to the absence of the BluB protein that synthesizes the α ligand 5,6-dimethylbenzimidizole (DMB) required to biosynthesize cobalamins. Pseudo-B12 is substantially less bioavailable to eukaryotic algae, as only certain taxa can intracellularly remodel it to one of the cobalamins. Here we present phylogenetic, metagenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and chemical analyses providing multiple lines of evidence that the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Trichodesmium transcribes and translates the biosynthetic, cobalamin-requiring BluB enzyme. Phylogenetic evidence suggests that the Trichodesmium DMB biosynthesis gene, bluB, is of ancient origin, which could have aided in its ecological differentiation from other nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. Additionally, orthologue analyses reveal two genes encoding iron-dependent B12 biosynthetic enzymes (cbiX and isiB), suggesting that iron availability may be linked not only to new nitrogen supplies from nitrogen fixation, but also to B12 inputs by Trichodesmium. These analyses suggest that Trichodesmium contains the genus-wide genomic potential for a previously unrecognized role as a source of cobalamins, which may prove to considerably impact marine biogeochemical cycles.
Labor Market Equilibration : Evidence from Uber

Using a city-week panel of US ride-sharing markets created by Uber, we estimate the effects of sudden fare changes on market outcomes, focusing on the supply-side. We explore both the short-run dynamics of market adjustment, as well as the eventual long-run equilibrium. We find that the driver hourly earnings rate—essentially the market equilibrium wage—moves immediately in the same direction as a fare change, but that these effects are short-lived. The prevailing wage returns to its pre-change level within about 8 weeks. This return is achieved primarily through permanent changes in driver “utilization,” or the fraction of hours-worked that are spent transporting passengers. Our results imply that the driver supply of labor to ride-sharing markets is highly elastic, most likely because drivers face no quantity restrictions on how many hours to supply and new drivers face minimal barriers to entry.
Health Literacy in Older Latinos With Heart Failure: A Systematic Review

Background: By 2050, one-third of US residents will be Latino, with an incidence of heart failure (HF) higher than other ethnicities. Culturally linked risk factors and socioeconomic challenges result in cardiometabolic risks, healthcare disparities, and worsening health outcomes. Individuals with low health literacy (HL) and HF are less likely to possess tools for optimal self-care, disease management, or preventative health strategies. Objective: In this systematic review, we analyzed the literature studying older Latinos with HF and limited HL. Method: We searched the literature and used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines in an iterative process. Inclusion criteria were research studies, Latinos, HF, and HL. Results: Eight quantitative studies were identified for final review. Inadequate HL was reported in 87.2% of elderly Latinos. Higher HL was associated with more HF knowledge. Clinics serving minorities reported lower HL levels and higher medical complexity. Conclusions: Nurses and advanced practice nurses serve a pivotal role improving access and understanding of health information. Before conducting intervention research affecting clinical outcomes, it is essential to describe elderly Latinos with HF and their HL and self-care levels. Barriers identified confirm the need to alter research protocols for older adults and ensure the availability of assistive devices. The need to examine HL in older Latinos with HF is confirmed by the medical complexity of ethnic minority patients with limited HL, limited HL in the elderly, and the relationship of HL with HF knowledge. In culturally diverse populations, HL levels alone may not be reliable predictors of a person’s ability to self-manage, recognize symptoms, and develop, implement, and revise a self-care action plan to manage their health.
Characteristics and follow-up of postmarketing studies of conditionally authorized medicines in the EU.

AIM The aim of the present study was to provide an insight into the characteristics and follow-up of postmarketing studies of medicines that were conditionally authorized in the European Union (EU). METHODS We compiled a list of all postmarketing studies attached as specific obligations to the licence of medicines that were granted conditional marketing authorization from January 2006 to April 2014. Studies were characterized based on their objective, design, status upon marketing authorization (MA) and due data set by authorities. They were linked to online study registrations (Clinicaltrials.gov, ENCePP) to determine completion date. We described and associated characteristics of studies and medicines, and determined whether studies were completed on time. RESULTS A total of 59 postmarketing studies were requested for 21 conditionally authorized medicines. Most studies had an interventional study design (73%), were ongoing upon MA (61%) and aimed to provide additional data on efficacy (45%). Interventional studies were more often ongoing and providing efficacy data, while observational and other studies were more often new and providing safety data. Frequent grounds for requesting postmarketing studies were 'long-term follow-up' and 'increase data on subpopulations'. Of the 34 studies eligible for follow-up analysis, 26 (76%) were completed and 17 (50%) completed on time. Actual completion time took a median (interquartile range) of 274 (-121 to 556) days longer than expected. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicated that most postmarketing studies attached to a conditional marketing authorization were eventually completed but that half were completed with a substantial delay. The observations suggest caution when broadening the use of postmarketing studies for resolving uncertainties about benefits and risks after MA.
Situating Developmental Psychology within ‘Colonial Romanticism’ and ‘Postcolonial Realism’: A Study of Paul Scott’s The Birds of Paradise

This paper examines the colonial discourse in Paul Scott’s novel The Birds of Paradise from the perspective of developmental psychology. While doing so, it foregrounds the postcolonial notion of ‘self’ and ‘other’ through the fictional development of protagonist. Side by side, the paper also takes up the shifting position of the princely states during colonial India and the aftermath of decolonization on the rulers of these states. As a method, the development of the protagonist as a person from the childhood to his mature stage will be used to bring out the different facets of British colonialism and its effects on human psychology.
Using biomaterials to promote pro-regenerative glial phenotypes after nervous system injuries

Trauma to either the central or peripheral nervous system (PNS) often leads to significant loss of function and disability in patients. This high rate of long-term disability is due to the overall limited regenerative potential of nervous tissue, even though the PNS has more regenerative potential than the central nervous system (CNS). The supporting glial cells in the periphery, Schwann cells, are part of the reason for the improved recovery observed in the PNS. In the CNS, the glial populations, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes (OLs), do not have as much potential to promote regeneration and are at times inhibitory to neuronal growth. In particular, the inhibitory roles astrocytes play following trauma has led to a historical focus on neurons and OLs instead of astrocytes. Recently, this focus has shifted as new, regenerative astrocyte phenotypes have been described. From these observations, glial cells clearly play critical roles in native recovery pathways in both the CNS and PNS. This makes the ability to manipulate both transplanted and native glial cell phenotypes a potentially successful strategy to improve nerve injury outcomes. This review focuses on factors that cause glial cells to adopt repair phenotypes and biomaterials that manipulate and/or harness these glial phenotypes.
Discovery of a Sweet Spot on the Foot with a Smart Wearable Soccer Boot Sensor That Maximizes the Chances of Scoring a Curved Kick in Soccer

This paper provides the evidence of a sweet spot on the boot/foot as well as the method for detecting it with a wearable pressure sensitive device. This study confirmed the hypothesized existence of sweet and dead spots on a soccer boot or foot when kicking a ball. For a stationary curved kick, kicking the ball at the sweet spot maximized the probability of scoring a goal (58–86%), whereas having the impact point at the dead zone minimized the probability (11–22%). The sweet spot was found based on hypothesized favorable parameter ranges (center of pressure in x/y-directions and/or peak impact force) and the dead zone based on hypothesized unfavorable parameter ranges. The sweet spot was rather concentrated, independent of which parameter combination was used (two- or three-parameter combination), whereas the dead zone, located 21 mm from the sweet spot, was more widespread.
Neurophysiological and Behavioral Differences between Older and Younger Adults When Processing Violations of Tonal Structure in Music

Aging is associated with decline in both cognitive and auditory abilities. However, evidence suggests that music perception is relatively spared, despite relying on auditory and cognitive abilities that tend to decline with age. It is therefore likely that older adults engage compensatory mechanisms which should be evident in the underlying functional neurophysiology related to processing music. In other words, the perception of musical structure would be similar or enhanced in older compared to younger adults, while the underlying functional neurophysiology would be different. The present study aimed to compare the electrophysiological brain responses of younger and older adults to melodic incongruities during a passive and active listening task. Older and younger adults had a similar ability to detect an out-of-tune incongruity (i.e., non-chromatic), while the amplitudes of the ERAN and P600 were reduced in older adults compared to younger adults. On the other hand, out-of-key incongruities (i.e., non-diatonic), were better detected by older adults compared to younger adults, while the ERAN and P600 were comparable between the two age groups. This pattern of results indicates that perception of tonal structure is preserved in older adults, despite age-related neurophysiological changes in how melodic violations are processed.
Polymorphisms in Nonamelogenin Enamel Matrix Genes Are Associated with Dental Fluorosis

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether genetic polymorphisms in AMELX, AMBN, ENAM, TFIP11, and TUFT1 genes are associated with dental fluorosis (DF). A total of 1,017 children from 2 Brazilian cohorts were evaluated. These populations lived in cities with fluoridation of public water supplies. DF was assessed in erupted permanent teeth using the modified Dean index. The polymorphisms rs946252, rs12640848, rs4694075, rs5997096, and rs4970957 were analyzed by real-time PCR from genomic DNA. Associations between DF, genotype, and allele distribution were evaluated using the χ2 test, with an alpha of 5%. The polymorphisms rs4694075, rs5997096, and rs4970957 in AMBN, TFIP11, and TUFT1 were associated with DF (p < 0.05). In conclusion, enamel matrix genes are associated with DF.
Disulfide-linked protein associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae cytadherence phase variation

Wild-type Mycoplasma pneumoniae possessed a protein with a very high molecular weight under nonreducing conditions (greater than 340,000; designated HMW5); this protein was absent from a noncytadhering phase variant lacking HMW1, 2, 3, and 4. When examined by two-dimensional nonreducing-reducing gel electrophoresis, HMW5 dissociated to yield a single polypeptide spot of molecular weight 190,000 that comigrated with cytadherence phase-variable protein HMW2. Extraction of wild-type mycoplasmas with Triton X-100 revealed the exclusive partitioning of HMW5 with the detergent-insoluble cytoskeletonlike triton shell.
Knockdown of pseudogene derived from lncRNA DUXAP10 inhibits cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and promotes apoptosis in pancreatic cancer

Current evidence suggests that pseudogene derived lncRNAs may be important players in human cancer progression. Our previous study showed that DUXAP10 could promote cell proliferation in colorectal cancer. However, the clinical significance and potential role of DUXAP10 in human pancreatic cancer (PC) has not been uncovered. In this study, we found that DUXAP10 was overexpressed in PC tissues compared with normal tissues. DUXAP10 expression was significantly higher in patients with an advanced TNM stage and positive lymph node metastasis. Bioinformatic analysis showed that cell cycle progression was increased in patients with high DUXAP10 expression. In vitro and in vivo assays of DUXAP10 alterations revealed a complex integrated phenotype affecting cell growth, apoptosis, migration, and invasion. Mechanistic studies revealed that DUXAP10 has a crucial role in G2/M arrest. We further showed that DUXAP10 regulated PC cell proliferation through interact with RNA‐binding protein EZH2 and LSD1. Overall, our findings indicates that DUXAP10 is an oncogenic lncRNA that promotes PC proliferation and metastasis.
The Druggable Pocketome of Corynebacterium diphtheriae: A New Approach for in silico Putative Druggable Targets

Diphtheria is an acute and highly infectious disease, previously regarded as endemic in nature but vaccine-preventable, is caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae (Cd). In this work, we used an in silico approach along the 13 complete genome sequences of C. diphtheriae followed by a computational assessment of structural information of the binding sites to characterize the “pocketome druggability. ” To this end, we first computed the “modelome” (3D structures of a complete genome) of a randomly selected reference strain Cd NCTC13129; that had 13,763 open reading frames (ORFs) and resulted in 1,253 (∼9%) structure models. The amino acid sequences of these modeled structures were compared with the remaining 12 genomes and consequently, 438 conserved protein sequences were obtained. The RCSB-PDB database was consulted to check the template structures for these conserved proteins and as a result, 401 adequate 3D models were obtained. We subsequently predicted the protein pockets for the obtained set of models and kept only the conserved pockets that had highly druggable (HD) values (137 across all strains). Later, an off-target host homology analyses was performed considering the human proteome using NCBI database. Furthermore, the gene essentiality analysis was carried out that gave a final set of 10-conserved targets possessing highly druggable protein pockets. To check the target identification robustness of the pipeline used in this work, we crosschecked the final target list with another in-house target identification approach for C. diphtheriae thereby obtaining three common targets, these were; hisE-phosphoribosyl-ATP pyrophosphatase, glpX-fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase II, and rpsH-30S ribosomal protein S8. Our predicted results suggest that the in silico approach used could potentially aid in experimental polypharmacological target determination in C. diphtheriae and other pathogens, thereby, might complement the existing and new drug-discovery pipelines.
Model for autonomous agents in machine‐to‐machine navigation networks

Machine‐to‐machine (M2M) is an evolving architecture and tends to provide enormous services through the swarm presence of the networked devices. Localization is one of those services. Previous localization techniques require complex computation that is not suitable and affordable in such architecture. Moreover, integrating intelligent multiagents on these ubiquitous devices makes the network more independent and reactive requiring for a less complex localization model. This paper reviews the present localization techniques and discusses their infeasibility for M2M communication while proposing a mathematical model that is derived from Anderson model for the distributed structure of machine‐type‐communication network involving autonomous agents. This paper has made an attempt to use the property of Anderson model that structures the distributed objects. This paper also classifies autonomous agents according to their functionalities in a navigational network. Recently, Anderson model have been customized for implication of optical communication; in this paper, the proposed mathematical model involves intelligent agents for localization that aim to reduce complexity of positioning computations for nodes having restricted computational resources and battery life, which are the main characteristics of M2M communication.
Conformation Generation: The State of the Art

The generation of conformations for small molecules is a problem of continuing interest in cheminformatics and computational drug discovery. This review will present an overview of methods used to sample conformational space, focusing on those methods designed for organic molecules commonly of interest in drug discovery. Different approaches to both the sampling of conformational space and the scoring of conformational stability will be compared and contrasted, with an emphasis on those methods suitable for conformer sampling of large numbers of drug-like molecules. Particular attention will be devoted to the appropriate utilization of information from experimental solid-state structures in validating and evaluating the performance of these tools. The review will conclude with some areas worthy of further investigation.
In situ cultured preantral follicles is a useful model to evaluate the effect of anticancer drugs on caprine folliculogenesis

Despite the increase in the incidence of cancer, the number of women who survive cancer treatment is growing. However, one of the principal results of chemotherapy is premature ovarian failure (POF). The aim of this study was to use the in situ culture preantral follicles as an in vitro model to evaluate the toxicity of two anticancer drugs, doxorubicin (DXR) and paclitaxel (PTX), on the integrity and development of ovarian follicles. Fragments of the ovarian cortex of goats were cultured in vitro for 1 or 7 days in α‐MEM+ supplemented with different concentrations of DXR (0.003, 0.03, or 0.3 µg/mL) and PTX (0.001, 0.01, or 0.1 µg/mL). Analyses were performed before and after culture to evaluate tissue integrity by classical histology, apoptosis by TUNEL assay, DNA laddering kit and the detection of activated caspase 3, and DNA damage by the immune detection of phosphorylated histone H2A.x (H2AXph139). Both DXR and PTX reduced the number of morphologically normal primordial and developing follicles. Positive staining for TUNEL and active caspase 3 was detected in all the samples (P < 0.05). Therefore, we propose the in situ culture of caprine preantral follicles as a useful experimental model for assessing the toxic effects of the chemotherapeutic agents on ovarian folliculogenesis. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:773–781, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Discovering Grammatical Relations in Czech Sentences

The syntactic parser synt developed at NLP Centre, Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, can provide as one of its possible outputs a list of dependency relations discovered in the analysed sentence. In the paper, we present the result of codification and translation of the (rather technically labeled) dependency relations from synt to linguistically significant relations. The resulting relations are demonstrated by means of Word Sketches (WS), where the new relations are compared with traditional WS relations from WS grammar.