Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurocognitive Impairments in Unaffected First-degree Relatives of Schizophrenia

Background: Neurocognitive impairments of attention and executive functioning are trait abnormalities in schizophrenia, and these are considered to be endophenotypes. These deficits have been convincingly linked to prefrontal cortical functioning. In this study, we examined the cognitive performance in the domains of attention and executive functioning among first-degree relatives of Indian people with schizophrenia (high-risk [HR] patients) compared to healthy controls (HC). Materials and Methods: Siblings of patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia, HR patients (n = 17), were compared with HC (n = 30) (matched as a group for age, sex, years of education, and handedness) using the following neurocognitive tests for attention and executive function – digit span test (DST), trail making test, letter-number sequencing (LNS), and spatial span test. Results: HR patients had significantly deficient performance in attention and executive function tasks (DST-forward [P < 0.001], DST-backward [P < 0.001], spatial span-forward [P < 0.001], spatial span-backward [P < 0.001], and LNS [P < 0.001]). Conclusions: This study replicates the findings that neurocognitive deficits involving executive function task performance, attention, and working memory, which are considered as principal features in patients with schizophrenia, are also significantly present in the first-degree relatives of patients. Thus, these neurocognitive parameters can be considered as potential endophenotypes in schizophrenia.
Combination HBV therapy is linked to greater HBV DNA suppression in a cohort of lamivudine-experienced HIV/HBV coinfected individuals

Objectives:To determine if highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with combination anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapy compared to HAART with HBV monotherapy leads to greater HBV DNA suppression in an HIV/HBV coinfected cohort. Design:A cross-sectional analysis of 122 HIV/HBV coinfected patients from Australia and the United States. Methods:Univariate analysis and ordinal logistic regression were used to determine factors associated with an HBV DNA less than 100 IU/ml. Results:The majority of patients were on HAART (85%), had an HIV RNA less than 50 copies/ml, a median CD4 cell count of 438 cells/μl, and had prior or current lamivudine therapy (98%). The majority (89%) of those on HAART were on HBV-active drugs including 54% on tenofovir (TDF) with either lamivudine (LAM) or emtrictabine (FTC), 34% receiving LAM or FTC monotherapy, and 12% on TDF monotherapy. Only 4% of patients in the combination (TDF + LAM/FTC) group had HBV DNA greater than 20 000 IU/ml compared to 54% in the group on no HBV-active therapy, 31% in the LAM or FTC monotherapy group, and 30% in the TDF monotherapy group (P < 0.0001). In an ordinal logistic regression model, monotherapy with either TDF or LAM remained independently associated with higher HBV DNA. Conclusion:These data suggest that there may be an advantage to using TDF in combination with LAM or FTC in HIV/HBV coinfection, particularly in the setting of previous LAM experience. Continued prospective follow-up in this study will confirm whether the advantage is sustained longer-term.
SAMHD1 Has Differential Impact on the Efficacies of HIV Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

ABSTRACT Sterile alpha motif- and histidine/aspartic acid domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) limits HIV-1 replication by hydrolyzing deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) necessary for reverse transcription. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are components of anti-HIV therapies. We report here that SAMHD1 cleaves NRTI triphosphates (TPs) at significantly lower rates than dNTPs and that SAMHD1 depletion from monocytic cells affects the susceptibility of HIV-1 infections to NRTIs in complex ways that depend not only on the relative changes in dNTP and NRTI-TP concentrations but also on the NRTI activation pathways.
Intraoperative electrical stimulation for identification of cranial nerve nuclei

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of cranial nerve nuclei monitoring during resection of brainstem cavernous malformations. Eleven patients with brainstem cavernous malformations underwent resection of their malformations utilizing cranial nerve nuclei monitoring. Cranial nerves V and VII were monitored by placing electrodes in muscle groups innervated by these nerves and recording manipulation‐induced neurotonic discharges and triggered electromyographic (EMG) activity, after electrical stimulation of the corresponding brainstem nuclei. Seven of 11 procedures (64%) with cranial nerve nuclei monitoring were noted to have cranial nerve nuclei activity corresponding to manipulation of the nuclei. The cavernous malformation was completely resected in 5 of 7 cases with cranial nerve nuclei activity and in all 4 cases without activity. In the remaining 2 cases, the cavernous malformation was not resected due to the proximity of the monitored cranial nerve nuclei to the cavernous malformation and to increasing neurotonic activity as the cavernous malformation was approached. None of the 11 patients had new permanent postoperative deficits corresponding to the cranial nerve nuclei monitored; 1 patient had a transient partial facial palsy lasting 2 days. Preliminary results indicate that cranial nerve nuclei monitoring proves useful in preserving neurologic function and reducing surgical morbidity during resection of brainstem cavernous malformations, particularly indicating when lesion resection places these nuclei at risk. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 22: 1538–1543, 1999
3 Micron Imaging of the Hubble Deep Field

Images of the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) at 3.2 μm, taken with the 10 m Keck Telescope, are presented. The images cover a total area of ∼2.5 arcmin2. To a 5 σ limit of [3.2]tot ≈ 17.5 mag (Vega relative), 11 sources are detected, nine of which are extragalactic. The integrated galaxy number counts are therefore ∼1.3 × 104 deg-2 to this depth. The galaxies detected at 3.2 μm have a median redshift of z = 0.56. All 3.2 μm sources have 1.6 μm, 1.1 μm, and visual counterparts, all of fairly regular morphology; several also have 6.7 μm, 15 μm, 850 μm, 8.5 GHz, or 1.4 GHz counterparts. No sources are found that are either anomalously red or anomalously blue in their H-[3.2] color, and there are significant detections of most of the known near-infrared HDF sources for which detection in these 3.2 μm data seemed likely.
Matching architecture and software technology for HPC systems

PQE2000 is an Italian project on High Performance Computing (HPC), whose goal is the realization of innovative general purpose systems and programming tools, as well as the development of new strategic HPC applications for industry, commerce and public services. The research activities of PQE2000 include MPP architecture, software tools and programming environments, and applications in technical, transactional and new media areas. The results of these activities are transferred into industrial products. This paper describes the general guidelines, the current products and technologies of PQE2000, and the trends in the area of relationships between programming environments and architectural models for the efficient exploitation of large degree of variable grain parallelism in complex applications.
Explicit upwind difference schemes for lossy multiconductor transmission lines

Written in a conservation law form, the time domain multiconductor transmission line (MTL) equations are solved by splitting the fluxes and using a second order accurate upwind differencing technique. The solutions of the initial and boundary value problems are compared to those obtained by employing the standard finite difference time domain (FDTD) scheme based on the Yee version of the leap-frog method. For any general explicit numerical scheme, for a given MTL, only the fastest propagating mode can be solved for at the Courant number of the scheme. This causes the other slower modes to disperse. The results of our comparisons, show that the upwind scheme produces much less numerical dispersion for the slower propagating modes than the standard FDTD scheme. In addition, the Courant number of the second order upwind scheme is twice of that of the investigated FDTD schemes. These advantages make the second order upwind scheme a better tool to model any MTL with linear terminations.
Fourier-Transform Infrared Microspectroscopy, a Novel and Rapid Tool for Identification of Yeasts

ABSTRACT Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy was used in this study to identify yeasts. Cells were grown to microcolonies of 70 to 250 μm in diameter and transferred from the agar plate by replica stamping to an IR-transparent ZnSe carrier. IR spectra of the replicas on the carrier were recorded using an IR microscope coupled to an IR spectrometer, and identification was performed by comparison to reference spectra. The method was tested by using small model libraries comprising reference spectra of 45 strains from 9 genera and 13 species, recorded with both FT-IR microspectroscopy and FT-IR macrospectroscopy. The results show that identification by FT-IR microspectroscopy is equivalent to that achieved by FT-IR macrospectroscopy but the time-consuming isolation of the organisms prior to identification is not necessary. Therefore, this method also provides a rapid tool to analyze mixed populations. Furthermore, identification of 21 Debaryomyces hansenii and 9 Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains resulted in 92% correct identification at the strain level for S. cerevisiae and 91% for D. hansenii, which demonstrates that the resolution power of FT-IR microspectroscopy may also be used for yeast typing at the strain level.
Isoprene Increases Thermotolerance of Isoprene-Emitting Species

Isoprene-emitting plants lose a large portion of their assimilated C as isoprene. Because isoprene synthesis can be regulated, it has been assumed that isoprene benefits the plant. Since the rate of isoprene emission from leaves is highly responsive to temperature, we hypothesized that isoprene benefits plants by increasing their thermotolerance. We used three methods to measure isopreneinduced thermotolerance in leaves. Each technique assayed thermotolerance under conditions that suppressed endogenous isoprene synthesis. When measured by chlorophyll fluorescence, thermotolerance of kudzu (Pueraria lobata [Willd.] Ohwi.) leaves increased as much as 4[deg]C in very low light. With higher light, isoprene increased thermotolerance of kudzu leaves by as much as 10[deg]C. When measured as the temperature at which photosynthesis declined to zero, thermotolerance increased with added isoprene by 2.5[deg]C. All three measures of thermotolerance were dose dependent. Both fluorescence techniques also showed isoprene-induced thermotolerance in white oak (Quercus alba L.). Thermotolerance was not observed in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris var Linden), a species that does not emit isoprene. None of the experiments was designed to determine the mechanism of thermotolerance, but we theorize that isoprene functions by enhancing hydrophobic interactions in membranes.
Imaging the Vascular Network of the Human Spleen from Immunostained Serial Sections

The spleen is one of the organs, where the micro-structure and the function on that level are not completely understood. It was for example only recently found that is has an open circulation, which distinguishes it from all other organs. Imaging the complete vascular network from the arteries to open-ended capillaries would greatly facilitate research in this area. The structure of such tissue is best uncovered using immunehistological staining. This can however only be applied to thin tissue sections and larger structures span several slices. Due to the deformation induced when cutting the specimen, standard registration algorithms cannot be used to merge the images into a volume. We propose a specialized matching algorithm to robustly determine corresponding regions in the images. After a rigid alignment of the scans, we use a cubic B-spline to deform and align the images. During this process we minimize the total deformation to produce as accurate results as possible.
Characterization of Frequency Stability: Analysis of the Modified Allan Variance and Properties of Its Estimate

An analytical expression for the modified Allan variance is given for each component of the model usually considered to describe the frequency or phase fluctuations in frequency standards. The relation between the Allan variance and the modified Allan variance is specified and compared with that of a previously published analysis. The uncertainty on the estimate of the modified Allan variance calculated from a finite set of measurement data is discussed.
Pivotal role of NOD 2 in in fl ammatory processes affecting atherosclerosis and periodontal bone loss

APPLIED BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Correction for “Design and formulation of functional pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac microtissues,” by Nimalan Thavandiran, Nicole Dubois, Alexander Mikryukov, Stéphane Massé, Bogdan Beca, Craig A. Simmons, Vikram S. Deshpande, J. Patrick McGarry, Christopher S. Chen, Kumaraswamy Nanthakumar, Gordon M. Keller, Milica Radisic, and Peter W. Zandstra, which appeared in issue 49, December 3, 2013, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (110:E4698–E4707; first published November 19, 2013; 10.1073/ pnas.1311120110). The authors note the following: “The reported conduction velocity of our human cardiac microwires, in Table 1, should read 25.1 ± 7.7 cm/s, rather than 47.4 ± 12.4 cm/s. This error was due to an unaccounted scaling factor during microscope imaging. We acknowledge Dr. Nenad Bursac for notifying us of this error. “The conduction velocity of Purkinje fibers, in Table 1, cited from a previous publication [Durrer D, et al. (1970) Total excitation of the isolated human heart. Circulation 41(6):899–912] should read ∼200 cm/s rather than ∼2000 cm/s. “The major conclusion of our manuscript, which is that we determine and use engineering design criteria for the formulation of cardiac microtissues from pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, is not impacted by this error. ” The corrected table appears below.
Novel techniques for the diagnosis of Ménière's disease

Purpose of reviewThis review will consider the newly developed and emerging diagnostic techniques with real or potential clinical application to the diagnosis of Ménière's disease. Recent findingsSeveral new diagnostic modalities have been introduced, which have the potential to help diagnose endolymphatic hydrops. These include cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, cochlear hydrops analysis masking procedures, and three-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI following intratympanic instillation of gadolinium. SummaryDiagnosis of Ménière's disease has classically been of a clinical rather than a procedural nature. Despite the many recent advances in diagnostic testing which show potential applicability for aiding in diagnosis of Ménière's disease, each has limitations which prevent immediate utility. For now, Ménière's disease remains best diagnosed through the standard American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery clinical inclusionary and exclusionary criteria.
Muscle fatigue changes cutaneous suppression of propriospinal drive to human upper limb muscles

Some voluntary drive reaches human upper limb muscles via cervical propriospinal premotoneurones. Stimulation of the superficial radial nerve can inhibit these premotoneurones selectively and the resultant suppression of voluntary drive to motoneurones changes on‐going electromyographic (EMG) activity. We investigated whether muscle fatigue changes this cutaneous‐induced suppression of propriospinal drive to motoneurones of upper limb muscles. EMG was recorded from the extensors and flexors of the wrist and elbow. In the first study (n= 10 subjects), single stimuli (2 × perception threshold; 2PT) to the superficial radial nerve were delivered during contraction of the wrist extensors, before and after sustained fatiguing contractions of wrist extensors. In the second study (n= 10), similar stimuli were applied during elbow extension, before and during fatigue of elbow extensors. In the final study (n= 10), trains of three stimuli (2PT) were delivered during contractions of wrist extensors, before and while they were fatigued. With fatigue of either the wrist or elbow extensors, EMG suppression to single cutaneous stimuli increased significantly (by ∼75%) for the fatigued muscle (P < 0.05). Conversely, in the other muscles, which were coactivated but not principally involved in the task, inhibition decreased or facilitation increased. Trains of stimuli produced greater suppression of on‐going wrist extensor EMG than single stimuli and this difference persisted with fatigue. A control study of the H reflex in extensor carpi radialis showed that the mechanism responsible for the altered EMG suppression in fatigue was not at a motoneurone level. The findings suggest that the proportion of descending drive mediated via the disynaptic propriospinal pathway or the excitability of inhibitory interneurones projecting to propriospinal neurones increases substantially to fatigued muscles, but decreases to other active muscles. This pattern of changes may maintain coordination during multimuscle movements when one group of muscles is fatigued.
An alpha‐adrenoceptor‐mediated chloride conductance in mesenteric veins of the guinea‐pig.

1. The ionic basis of the depolarizing responses resulting from ionophoresis of noradrenaline onto the smooth muscle of mesenteric veins has been investigated using electrically short segments of vessel. 2. Isolated cut segments of vein were effectively isopotential as assessed by the voltage response to a step change in current. The mean input resistance and time constant of the smooth muscle were 24 M omega and 131 ms respectively. 3. Data on the noradrenaline‐induced slow depolarization indicated that it resulted from a decrease in conductance to potassium ions consistent with the finding of Suzuki (1981). 4. The fast noradrenaline‐induced depolarization was found to have a reversal potential of about ‐22 mV. 5. Exposure to low‐chloride solution caused greater than 90% suppression of this fast response with a 50% reduction occurring in less than 2 min. This suppression was not due to a negative shift in reversal potential. 6. The fast response underwent a large positive shift in reversal potential directly after changeover to low‐chloride solution at times when any inactivation of the response was minimal. By contrast the fast response showed no evidence implicating either sodium or calcium as charge‐carrying ions. 7. It is concluded the fast depolarization is carried by chloride ions.
Activation and desensitization of neuronal nicotinic receptors modulate glutamatergic transmission on neonatal rat hypoglossal motoneurons

In the neonate the muscles of the tongue, which are exclusively innervated by the XII cranial nerves originating from the brainstem nucleus hypoglossus, must contract rhythmically in coincidence with breathing, suckling and swallowing. These motor commands are generated by hypoglossal motoneurons excited by glutamatergic inputs. Because in forebrain areas the efficiency of glutamatergic transmission is modulated by neuronal nicotinic receptors (nAChRs), the role and identity of nAChRs within the nucleus hypoglossus of the neonatal rat were explored using an in vitro brainstem slice preparation. This area expressed immunoreactivity for α4, α7 and β2 nAChR subunits. Whole‐cell patch‐clamp recording from hypoglossal motoneurons showed lack of spontaneous cholinergic events mediated by nAChRs even in the presence of a cholinesterase inhibitor. However, pharmacological antagonism of α7‐ or β2‐containing receptors depressed glutamatergic currents arising either spontaneously or by electrical stimulation of the reticular formation. Hypoglossal motoneurons expressed functional nAChRs with characteristics of α4β2 and α7 receptor subunits. Such receptors underwent fast desensitization (time constant of 200 ms) with full recovery within 1 min. Low (0.5 µm) concentration of nicotine first facilitated glutamatergic transmission on motoneurons and later depressed it through receptor desensitization. When 0.1 µm nicotine was used, only depression of synaptic transmission occurred, in keeping with the suggestion that nAChRs can be desensitized without prior activation. These results highlight the role of tonic nAChR activity in shaping excitatory inputs to hypoglossal motoneurons, and suggest that nAChR desensitization by ambient nicotine could contribute to disorders of tongue muscle movements.
Hierarchical control for a full hybrid vehicle with single motor and double clutches

A hierarchical control system is established based on a newly developed full hybrid vehicle with the structure of single motor and double clutches, energy management strategy based on “ICE efficiency optimization” is instituted and the dynamic coordinated control for engine start while driving is studied. The energy management strategy is validated by a developed forward simulation model, a fuel consumption reduction of 34% in the NEDC driving cycle is achieved. The effect of the dynamic coordinated control for engine start while driving is proved by drum and road test
Quantifying and Preventing Side Channels with Substructural Type Systems

Static techniques for deriving upper bounds on the resource consumption of programs have been extensively studied. However, there are applications that require more fine-grained information such as the difference between upper and lower bounds or the guaranty that the resource usage of a program does not differ for certain inputs. This article presents two novel substructural type systems for deriving lower bounds and for proving that a program has constant resource consumption for a class of inputs. The type systems are based on the potential method of amortized analysis to achieve compositionality, precision, and automatic inference using off-the-shelf linear optimization. While classic amortized analysis treats potential as an affine resource, the novel type systems treat potential as a relevant and linear resource, respectively. The soundness of the type systems with respect to an operational cost semantics is verified using the proof assistant Agda. The novel constant-resource and lower bound analyses are applied to quantify and prevent security vulnerabilities that leak secret information through resource consumption, such as side channels. First, implementations of the lower bound and constant-resource type systems in Resource Aware ML are used to automatically verify constant-time implementations of list comparison, encryption and decryption routines, database queries, and other resource-sensitive functionality. Second, the type systems are used to implement a method for automatically turning programs into constant-resource programs using LP solving. The method is static, does not require tracking resources at runtime, and works on most programs for which Resource Aware ML can derive an upper bound. Third, a resource-aware noninterference property is introduced. It relaxes the constant-resource requirement on programs, and requires only that resource usage does not leak information about secret inputs. This property is statically verified by combining the linear type system for constant resource consumption with an information flow type system.