Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Tractography Reveals Disrupted White Matter Structural Connectivity Network in Healthy Adults with Insomnia Symptoms

Neuroimaging studies have revealed that insomnia is characterized by aberrant neuronal connectivity in specific brain regions, but the topological disruptions in the white matter (WM) structural connectivity networks remain largely unknown in insomnia. The current study uses diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography to construct the WM structural networks and graph theory analysis to detect alterations of the brain structural networks. The study participants comprised 30 healthy subjects with insomnia symptoms (IS) and 62 healthy subjects without IS. Both the two groups showed small-world properties regarding their WM structural connectivity networks. By contrast, increased local efficiency and decreased global efficiency were identified in the IS group, indicating an insomnia-related shift in topology away from regular networks. In addition, the IS group exhibited disrupted nodal topological characteristics in regions involving the fronto-limbic and the default-mode systems. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the topological organization of WM structural network connectivity in insomnia. More importantly, the dysfunctions of large-scale brain systems including the fronto-limbic pathways, salience network and default-mode network in insomnia were identified, which provides new insights into the insomnia connectome. Topology-based brain network analysis thus could be a potential biomarker for IS.
The Effects of Salicylic Acid on Helianthus annuus L. Exposed to Quizalofop-P-Ethyl

Herbicides adversely affect both the target plant and its environment. In this study, Helianthus annuus L. cv. “Oliva CL” was treated post-emergence with 0.3 to 3.1 mM quizalofop-p-ethyl. The peroxidase activity (POD), ascorbate peroxidase activity (APX), lipid peroxidation, pigment sys tem and total phenolic content were then determined on the 1st, 5th, 10th and 15th days following treatment. The POD activity increased on all application days, and the APX activity increased on the 5th day and decreased on the 10th and 15th days. In addition, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was increased on the 1st, 5th, 10th and 15th days, except for the in H. annuus plants treated with 1.6 to 3.1 mM quizalofop-p-ethyl. The total chlorophyll, carotenoid and total phenolic content were important and changed in a time dependent manner. In the present study, we also investigated the possible role of salicylic acid (SA) in protecting H. annuus seedlings from herbicide toxicity. The plants were first treated with 0.5 mM SA pre-emergence and then treated with 0.3 to 3.1 mM quizalofop-p-ethyl herbicide post-emergence. In general, increases in the POD activity and MDA content were observed in the treatment groups on all application days. In the treated groups, the APX activity increased until the 15th day. In the SA pre-treated plants, the total phenollic, total chlorophyll and carotenoid content were also important in a time dependent manner.
Rebuttal of McFeeters, Ryan and Cullen, 2018, ‘Positional variation in pedal unguals of North American ornithomimids (Dinosauria, Theropoda): A Response to Brownstein (2017)’

The Arundel Clay of Maryland is among the only Early Cretaceous terrestrial units known from eastern North America. Research on some theropod dinosaur bones from this layer has indicated the presence of two ornithomimosaur taxa in the assemblage. However, a recent paper discussed issues with the definite assignment of any of these unguals to Ornithomimosauria and suggested that morphological differences originally interpreted to be indicative of the presence of two ornithomimosaurs could be explained by positional variation. Here, I show that substantial evidence persists for the presence of two ornithomimosaurs in the Arundel Clay assemblage, even considering the recent description of positional variation in ornithomimosaur pedal unguals. Furthermore, the argument against the confident assignment of these unguals to ornithomimosaurs is shown to be based on oversimplified comparisons that do not take into account the combination of features in the Arundel specimens that allow for their assignment to that clade. Although several small points made in the initial paper describing the Arundel specimens are incorrect or unsubstantiated, the differences between the Maryland unguals are outside the spectrum of positional variation and are indicative of the presence of two ornithomimosaurs in the Arundel Clay assemblage.
Developing Information Infrastructure: The Tension Between Standardization and Flexibility

This article explores the tension between standardization and flexibility in information infrastructure (II). Just like other large technical systems, the geographically dispersed yet highly interconnected II becomes increasingly resistant to change. Still, II design must anticipate and prepare for changes, even substantial ones, if infrastructure is to survive. An II contains a huge number of components that alternate between standardization and change throughout their lifetimes. These components are interdependent: when one is changed, others have to remain stable, and vice versa. The article examines theoretical concepts for frammg these aspects of an II. The empirical underpinning of the article is a study of two existing embryonic manifestations of II.
RAINFALL-INDUCED LANDSLIDES IN SINGAPORE

Minor, shallow landslides have occurred frequently on the island of Singapore. However, very few major landslides (greater than 10 m in height) have occurred. Slope failures in the sedimentary Jurong and granitic Bukit Timah formations have occurred largely on slopes with angles greater than or equal to 27 degrees. It is clear that rainfall has been the dominant triggering event for landslides in Singapore. Observations of past landslide events suggest that a total rainfall of 100 mm within a six-day period is sufficient for minor landslides to take place. The equivalent condition for major landslides would appear to be 320 mm within 16 days but this is based on very limited data. (A)
Acquisition and Rectification of Shape Data Obtained by a Moving Range Sensor

“Modeling from Reality” techniques are making great progress because of the availability of accurate geometric data from three-dimensional digitizers. These techniques contribute to numerous applications in many areas. Among them, one of the most important and comprehensive applications is modeling cultural heritage objects. For a large object, scanning from the air is one of the most efficient methods for obtaining 3D data. We developed a novel 3D measurement system, the Floating Laser Range Sensor (FLRS), in which a range sensor is suspended beneath a balloon. The obtained data, however, have some distortions due to movement of the system during the scanning process. We propose two novel methods to rectify the shape data obtained by the moving range sensor. One method rectifies the data by using image sequences; the other rectifies the data without images. To test these methods, we have conducted a digital archiving project of a large-scale heritage object, in which our algorithms are applied. The results show the effectiveness of our methods. Moreover, both methods are applicable not only to our FLRS, but also to moving range sensors in general.
Microcomputers and Severely Handicapped Students: Are We Overbidding Our Hand?

Microcomputers are the wave of the future and will revolutionize educational technology as they revolutionize almost every other aspect of our lives. But are they always the most effective and efficient learning tool for severely handicapped students? Perhaps not. At least, they are not the best tool for all severely handicapped learners. There are less complex, less expensive, easier-to-produce, and easier-to-use media that can do an outstanding job of teaching specific skills. We need to be imaginative enough to realize that microcomputers may not always be the best answer, and we need to be realistic enough to look for simple or "low tech" methods when "high tech" is literally beyond the grasp of our learners. If we are truly committed to creating student-use materials, we need to learn from our severely handicapped students. They can tell us which medium and which method is best for them as individual learners. This paper will describe some of the media and methods now being investigated by the Instructional Media Production Project for Severely Handicapped Students as it develops student-use materials.
The feasibility of a Compact Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar for PolSAR and Pol-InSAR Applications.

Nowadays it is widely recognized that SAR polarimetry (POLSAR) and polarimetric SAR interferometry (POLINSAR) add a valuable contribution to promising applications in many fields of remote sensing. SAR polarimetry uses the information embedded in the polarization state of electromagnetic waves scattered by the target; as an example, this technique has been used for vegetation mapping, classification and bio-physical parameters retrieval. POLINSAR technique combines SAR polarimetry and SAR interferometry and associates a scattering phase center to each resolution cell. The interferometric phase at different polarizations can yield information on the height of the target in the cell through suitable scattering models [1, 2]. With reference to forested areas, promising applications of this technique are biomass estimation and multilayer topographic information retrieval [3]. Both POLSAR and POLINSAR require full polarimetric (FP) SAR sensors and interferometric acquisitions. Full polarimetry from space implies system constraints to cope with data downloading rate, size of the processed swath and power consumption. To overcome these limiting factors, a new approach for SAR polarimetry, called compact polarimetry (CP), has been proposed. In the CP architecture, the SAR transmits either a circularly polarized wave (π/2 mode) or a linearly polarized one oriented at 45 degrees (π/4 mode), and receives at both horizontal and vertical polarization. A central issue in remote sensing is to assess the performance of a CP SAR sensor with respect to a fully polarimetric configuration.
Circulating tumor DNA as a liquid biopsy for cancer.

BACKGROUND Targeted therapies have markedly changed the treatment of cancer over the past 10 years. However, almost all tumors acquire resistance to systemic treatment as a result of tumor heterogeneity, clonal evolution, and selection. Although genotyping is the most currently used method for categorizing tumors for clinical decisions, tumor tissues provide only a snapshot, or are often difficult to obtain. To overcome these issues, methods are needed for a rapid, cost-effective, and noninvasive identification of biomarkers at various time points during the course of disease. Because cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a potential surrogate for the entire tumor genome, the use of ctDNA as a liquid biopsy may help to obtain the genetic follow-up data that are urgently needed. CONTENT This review includes recent studies exploring the diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive potential of ctDNA as a liquid biopsy in cancer. In addition, it covers biological and technical aspects, including recent advances in the analytical sensitivity and accuracy of DNA analysis as well as hurdles that have to be overcome before implementation into clinical routine. SUMMARY Although the analysis of ctDNA is a promising area, and despite all efforts to develop suitable tools for a comprehensive analysis of tumor genomes from plasma DNA, the liquid biopsy is not yet routinely used as a clinical application. Harmonization of preanalytical and analytical procedures is needed to provide clinical standards to validate the liquid biopsy as a clinical biomarker in well-designed and sufficiently powered multicenter studies.
Leukocyte Pattern Recognition

The results of an automated classification of the peripheral blood leukocytes into eight categories are presented. The classification was achieved by means of digital image processing. The categories were: small lymphocytes, medium lymphocytes, large lymphocytes, band neutrophils, segmented neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes. An eight-dimensional multivariate Gaussian classifier was used. The features were extracted from a 50 × 50 point digital image. These features were measures of such visual concepts as nuclear size, nuclear shape, nuclear and cytoplasmic texture, cytoplasm color, and cytoplasm colored texture. The data set consisted of 1041 blood cell images and were divided into a training set of 523 cells and an independent testing set of 518 cells. These cells were digitized directly from the blood smear, which was stained with Wright's stain. Twenty different blood smears were used and were collected over a three-year period from 20 people. The "true" classification of the data set was obtained from four experienced hematology technicians. Their performance was compared to the automated classifier both in terms of an absolute classification of cells and in terms of estimating the percentage composition of the population (or the blood cell differential count). The measure of performance used was the percentage error for each class. The mean percentage error for the eight classes in terms of an absolute classification was 8 and 29 percent for the human observers and the automated classiffier, respectively.
Induction Motor Speed Control Using Fuzzy Logic Controller

Because of the low maintenance and robustness induction motors have many applications in the industries. The speed control of induction motor is more important to achieve maximum torque and efficiency. Various speed control techniques like, Direct Torque Control, Sensorless Vector Control and Field Oriented Control are discussed in this paper. Soft computing technique – Fuzzy logic is applied in this paper for the speed control of induction motor to achieve maximum torque with minimum loss. The fuzzy logic controller is implemented using the Field Oriented Control technique as it provides better control of motor torque with high dynamic performance. The motor model is designed and membership functions are chosen according to the parameters of the motor model. The simulated design is tested using various tool boxes in MATLAB. The result concludes that the efficiency and reliability of the proposed speed controller is good. Keywords—Induction motor, Field Oriented Control, Fuzzy logic controller, Maximum torque, Membership function.
Tobacco WLIM1 Is a Novel F-Actin Binding Protein Involved in Actin Cytoskeleton Remodeling[W]

We used confocal microscopy and in vitro analyses to show that Nicotiana tabacum WLIM1, a LIM domain protein related to animal Cys-rich proteins, is a novel actin binding protein in plants. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)–tagged WLIM1 protein accumulated in the nucleus and cytoplasm of tobacco BY2 cells. It associated predominantly with actin cytoskeleton, as demonstrated by colabeling and treatment with actin-depolymerizing latrunculin B. High-speed cosedimentation assays revealed the ability of WLIM1 to bind directly to actin filaments with high affinity. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and fluorescence loss in photobleaching showed a highly dynamic in vivo interaction of WLIM1-GFP with actin filaments. Expression of WLIM1-GFP in BY2 cells significantly delayed depolymerization of the actin cytoskeleton induced by latrunculin B treatment. WLIM1 also stabilized actin filaments in vitro. Importantly, expression of WLIM1-GFP in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves induces significant changes in actin cytoskeleton organization, specifically, fewer and thicker actin bundles than in control cells, suggesting that WLIM1 functions as an actin bundling protein. This hypothesis was confirmed by low-speed cosedimentation assays and direct observation of F-actin bundles that formed in vitro in the presence of WLIM1. Taken together, these data identify WLIM1 as a novel actin binding protein that increases actin cytoskeleton stability by promoting bundling of actin filaments.
The Tuupovaara end moraine in North Karelia, Eastern Finland - an ice-marginal formation of the same age as the Salpausselkä ridges

Described in this report is a previously for the most part unknown ice-marginal formation in the province of North Karelia extending from the parish of Värtsilä via Tohmajärvi and Tuupovaara to the parish of Ilomantsi. The formation is given the name Tuupovaara End Moraine. Including a few short gaps, it is 50 kilometers long, trends N S and S S W N N E and runs at distances varying between 12 and 22 kilometers from the distal f lank of Salpausselkä II. The parts formed in the Baltic Ice Lake and the local ice lake of Loitimo consist mainly of glaciofluvial material, while the supra-aquatic parts, again, are composed mostly of till and are much smaller than the glaciofluvial parts. The Tuupovaara End Moraine is slightly younger than Salpausselkä I, but distinctly older than Salpausselkä II. This indicates that the margin of the continental ice sheet did not extend during the formation of Salpausselkä I from Värtsilä to the ice-marginal formation between Kiihtelysvaara and Selkäkangas, and that the ice receded more rapidly in the Ilomantsi area than elsewhere. The esker complex of Otmen, which is located on the east side of the Tuupovaara End Moraine at a distance of between two and five kilometers, rests on the boundary between two different sets of striations. Judged on this evidence and by its structural features, it mus t be identified as an interlobate complex.
CD40 stimulation via CD40 ligand enhances adenovirus‐mediated tumour immunogenicity including ‘find‐me’, ‘eat‐me’, and ‘kill‐me’ signalling

Abstract Immunostimulatory gene therapy using oncolytic viruses is currently evaluated as a promising therapy for cancer aiming to induce anti‐tumour immunity. Here, we investigate the capacity of oncolytic adenoviruses (LOAd) and their transgenes to induce immunogenicity in the infected tumour cells. Oncolysis and death‐related markers were assessed after infection of eight human solid cancer cell lines with different LOAd viruses expressing a trimerized, membrane‐bound (TMZ)‐CD40L, TMZ‐CD40L and 41BBL, or no transgenes. The viruses induced transgene expression post infection before they were killed by oncolysis. Death receptors TRAIL‐R1, TRAIL‐R2 and Fas as well as immunogenic cell death marker calreticulin were upregulated in cell lines post infection. Similarly, caspase 3/7 activity was increased in most cell lines. Interestingly, in CD40+ cell lines there was a significant effect of the TMZ‐CD40L‐encoding viruses indicating activation of the CD40‐mediated apoptosis pathway. Further, these cell lines showed a significant increase of calreticulin, and TRAIL receptor 1 and 2 post infection. However, LOAd viruses induced PD‐L1 upregulation which may hamper anti‐tumour immune responses. In conclusion, LOAd infection increased the immunogenicity of infected tumour cells and this was potentiated by CD40 stimulation. Due to the simultaneous PD‐L1 increase, LOAd viruses may benefit from combination with antibodies blocking PD1/PD‐L1.
Past President's Address: Protistan Biogeography: Why All The Fuss? 1

ABSTRACT. Conflicting hypotheses regarding the distribution of protistan species on our planet have led to rather impassioned arguments in the recent literature, and heated discussions at scientific meetings. Both sides of this debate have mounted seemingly credible arguments for endemism on the one hand, or ubiquitous dispersal of protists on the other. At present, the controversy appears unending, perhaps because it is fueled by a convergence of unresolvable issues involving the enormous phylogenetic breadth of species presently encompassed by the term “protist,” the application of multiple species concepts to these taxa, the inability of extant techniques and technology to plumb the depths of microbial diversity in natural ecosystems, and a lack of knowledge regarding the relationship between dispersal rates and rates of evolution of protists. These issues have made it difficult to erect and test hypotheses concerning the distribution of protists. In the absence of definitive experimental or observational information, preconceived attitudes regarding protistan distributions have dominated the interpretation of the available data. On the positive side, the debate has led to the development and application of new approaches to the study of protistan diversity, and stimulated discussions involving how (and why) we define protistan species.
A novel coagulation inhibitor from Schistosoma japonicum

SUMMARY Little is known about the molecular mechanisms whereby the human blood fluke Schistosoma japonicum is able to survive in the host venous blood system. Protease inhibitors are likely released by the parasite enabling it to avoid attack by host proteolytic enzymes and coagulation factors. Interrogation of the S. japonicum genomic sequence identified a gene, SjKI-1, homologous to that encoding a single domain Kunitz protein (Sjp_0020270) which we expressed in recombinant form in Escherichia coli and purified. SjKI-1 is highly transcribed in adult worms and eggs but its expression was very low in cercariae and schistosomula. In situ immunolocalization with anti-SjKI-1 rabbit antibodies showed the protein was present in eggs trapped in the infected mouse intestinal wall. In functional assays, SjKI-1 inhibited trypsin in the picomolar range and chymotrypsin, neutrophil elastase, FXa and plasma kallikrein in the nanomolar range. Furthermore, SjKI-1, at a concentration of 7·5 µ m, prolonged 2-fold activated partial thromboplastin time of human blood coagulation. We also demonstrate that SjKI-1 has the ability to bind Ca++. We present, therefore, characterization of the first Kunitz protein from S. japonicum which we show has an anti-coagulant properties. In addition, its inhibition of neutrophil elastase indicates SjKI-1 have an anti-inflammatory role. Having anti-thrombotic properties, SjKI-1 may point the way towards novel treatment for hemostatic disorders.
Split-Belt Treadmill Adaptation Transfers to Overground Walking in Persons Poststroke

Background and Objective. Following stroke, subjects retain the ability to adapt interlimb symmetry on the split-belt treadmill. Critical to advancing our understanding of locomotor adaptation and its usefulness in rehabilitation is discerning whether adaptive effects observed on a treadmill transfer to walking over ground. We examined whether aftereffects following split-belt treadmill adaptation transfer to overground walking in healthy persons and those poststroke. Methods. Eleven poststroke and 11 age-matched and gender-matched healthy subjects walked over ground before and after walking on a split-belt treadmill. Adaptation and aftereffects in step length and double support time were calculated. Results. Both groups demonstrated partial transfer of the aftereffects observed on the treadmill (P < .001) to overground walking ( P < .05), but the transfer was more robust in the subjects poststroke (P < .05). The subjects with baseline asymmetry after stroke improved in asymmetry of step length and double limb support (P = .06). Conclusions. The partial transfer of aftereffects to overground walking suggests that some shared neural circuits that control locomotion for different environmental contexts are adapted during split-belt treadmill walking. The larger adaptation transfer from the treadmill to overground walking in the stroke survivors may be due to difficulty adjusting their walking pattern to changing environmental demands. Such difficulties with context switching have been considered detrimental to function poststroke. However, we propose that the persistence of improved symmetry when changing context to overground walking could be used to advantage in poststroke rehabilitation.