Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emotions Are Rising: The Growing Field of Affect Neuropsychology

Abstract Thirty years ago, the neuropsychology of emotion started to emerge as a mainstream topic. Careful examination of individual patients showed that emotion, like memory, language, and so on, could be differentially affected by brain disorders, especially in the right hemisphere. Since then, there has been accelerating interest in uncovering the neural architecture of emotion, and the major steps in this process of discovery over the past 3 decades are detailed in this review. In the 1990s, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans provided precise delineation of lesions in the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, insula and somatosensory cortex as underpinning emotion disorders. At the same time, functional MRI revealed activation that was bilateral and also lateralized according to task demands. In the 2000s, converging evidence suggested at least two routes to emotional responses: subcortical, automatic and autonomic responses and slower, cortical responses mediating cognitive processing. The discovery of mirror neurons in the 1990s reinvigorated older views that simulation was the means to recognize emotions and empathize with others. More recently, psychophysiological research, revisiting older Russian paradigms, has contributed new insights into how autonomic and other physiological indices contribute to decision making (the somatic marker theory), emotional simulation, and social cognition. Finally, this review considers the extent to which these seismic changes in understanding emotional processes in clinical disorders have been reflected in neuropsychological practice. (JINS, 2017, 23, 719–731)
Towards single trial decoding of cortical-muscular activities

This paper exploited the single trial decoding of cortical-muscular activities (CMAs). The CMAs were measured by acquiring Electromyographic (EMG) signal, and Electroencephalographic (EEG) signal. We focused on CMAs related to sustained muscular contractions (SMC), and investigated on the classification performance of four types of CMAs with different combinations of three types of features. The four types of CMAs were relaxing, conducting precise hand operation without distractive mental task, conducting precise hand operation with distractive mental task, and conducting rough hand operation. The three types of features were combined root mean square (RMS) and wavelet packet decomposition (WPD) feature of EMG signals, common pattern spatial (CSP) filtered WPD feature of EEG signals, and cortical-muscular coherence (CMC) feature of EMG-EEG signals, which were noted as EMG features, EEG features, and CMC features respectively. In total of 5 subjects participated in the experiments. According to experimental results, we concluded that the classification performance of myoelectric controller can be significantly improved (p<0.05, ANOVA) by the combination of EEG and EMG features and the combination of CMC and EMG features, compared with sole EMG features. The improvements were 9.83% and 6.06% respectively.
Schizophrenia – a Brain Disease? a Critical Review of Structural and Functional Cerebral Abnormality in the Disorder

Background With genetic and neurochemical findings pointing to a biological aetiology, considerable effort has been devoted to finding direct evidence of brain abnormality in schizophrenia. Method T, MRI, post-mortem and functional imaging studies are reviewed to assess which structural and/or functional brain abnormalities have been consistently demonstrated. Results The only well-established structural abnormality in schizophrenia is lateral ventricular enlargement; this is modest and there is a large overlap with the normal population. There is no consensus on the presence of any localised structural abnormality from MRI and post-mortem studies, but the most promising findings concern temporal lobe limbic structures. Hypofrontality is not a well-replicated finding in schizophrenia under resting conditions, but the evidence is stronger for a selective association with negative symptoms. A number of studies have found hypofrontality under conditions of neuropsychological task activation. However, findings in these studies are divided and a recent methodologically sophisticated study has failed to confirm it, although this study suggested a decoupling of prefrontal and temporal function. Conclusion Schizophrenia is characterised by minor structural abnormality which, in the case of lateral ventricular enlargement, may be better understood as a risk factor than a causative lesion. The functional imaging findings are not transparent but suggest that, as a disorder, schizophrenia shows complex alterations in regional patterns of activity rather than any simple deficit in prefrontal function.
Real-time vector velocity profile measurement based on plane wave transmission

Standard Doppler ultrasound investigations are limited to detect the axial blood velocity component, as they cannot directly estimate the flow direction. A typical approach for obtaining a 2D velocity vector consists in combining the echoes received from two PW lines investigating the region of interest from different angles. The estimate is usually limited to the sample volume (SV) where the focused lines intersect. To get a complete picture of flow distribution, at least the entire velocity profile across a vessel must be reconstructed. In this work, we propose exploiting the plane waves originated from two different sub-arrays of a linear probe, to estimate the vector velocities in 512 SVs aligned to cover the diameter of large vessels. The method was tested on a laminar flow in a 8 mm diameter pipe. The probe was placed longitudinally over the pipe and the angle, α, between the probe surface and the pipe axis, was changed in the range 0°~20°. In particular, at α = 12°, the flow was perpendicular to one of the plane waves. The direction measurements featured a gain accuracy of 0.89 and a standard deviation (SD) <; 1.8°, while the velocity magnitude featured an average 2.8% overestimation with a coefficient of variation less than 1%.
The good lies: Altruistic goals modulate processing of deception in the anterior insula

When it comes to lies, the beneficiaries of one's dishonesty play an important role in the decision‐making process. Altruistic lies that are made with the intention of benefiting others are a specific type of lies and very common in real life. While it has been shown that altruistic goals influence (dis)honest behaviors, the neural substrates of this effect is still unknown. To reveal how the brain integrates altruistic goals into (dis)honest decisions, this study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural activity of participants in a real incentivized context while they were making (dis)honest decisions. We manipulated the beneficiaries of individuals' decisions (self vs. a charity) and whether the choices of higher payoffs involved deception or not. While finding that participants lied more often to benefit charities than for themselves, we observed that the altruistic goal of benefiting a charity, compared with the self‐serving goal, reduced the activity in the anterior insula (AI) when lying to achieve higher payoffs. Furthermore, the degree of altruistic goal‐induced reduction of AI activity was positively correlated with the degree of altruistic goal‐induced reduction of honesty concerns. These results suggest that the AI serves as a neural hub in modulating the effect of altruistic goals on deception, which shed light on the underlying neural mechanism of altruistic lies. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3675–3690, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Reduced synaptic clustering of GABA and glycine receptors in the retina of the gephyrin null mutant mouse

Clustering of neurotransmitter receptors in postsynaptic densities involves proteins that aggregate the receptors and link them to the cytoskeleton. In the case of glycine and GABAA receptors, gephyrin has been shown to serve this function. However, it is unknown whether gephyrin is involved in the clustering of all glycine and GABAA receptors or whether it interacts only with specific isoforms. This was studied in the retinae of mice, whose gephyrin gene was disrupted, with immunocytochemistry and antibodies that recognize specific subunits of glycine and GABAA receptors. Because homozygous (geph −/−) mutants die around birth, an organotypic culture system of the mouse retina was established to study the clustering of gephyrin and the receptors in vitro. We found that all gephyrin and all glycine receptor clusters (hot spots) were abolished in the geph (−/−) mouse retina. In the case of GABAA receptors, there was a significant reduction of clusters incorporating the γ2, α2, and α3 subunits; however, a substantial number of hot spots was still present in geph (−/−) mutant retinae. This shows that gephyrin interacts with all glycine receptor isoforms but with only certain forms of GABAA receptors. In heterozygous geph (+/−) mutants, no reduction of hot spots was observed in the retina in vivo, but a significant reduction was found in the organotypic cultures. This suggests that mechanisms may exist in vivo that allow for the compensation of a partial gephyrin deficit. J. Comp. Neurol. 427:634–648, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The scientific basis of skin cancer.

BACKGROUND Mutations in tumor suppressor gene p53 are very common in many human cancers. They are present in more than 90% of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and are usually found in actinic keratoses (AKs). Data demonstrate a strong relationship between the early effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on p53 in skin and the development of AK and SCC. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to review specific data about the p53 tumor suppressor gene, UVR, and their interaction to cause AKs. METHODS The published, peer-reviewed literature is reviewed and a published proposal for the mechanism for UVR-induced carcinogenesis is explained. RESULTS The specific effect of UVR on the p53 tumor suppressor gene, including its impact on apoptosis, in humans, and in animals, suggests a cause-effect relationship between UVR and the earliest mutations seen in AKs. CONCLUSION AKs result from UVR in a process by which UVR mutates a known tumor suppressor gene (p53). It is likely that the mutated cells expand preferentially in a clonal fashion at the expense of the normal surrounding keratinocytes to develop into a clinical lesion of AK.
Intake and digestibility by wethers as influenced by forage morphology at three levels of forage offering.

Animals on pasture do not always have the opportunity for ad libitum consumption. Our objectives were to determine effects of intake level on digestibility of 12 grass hays, and to relate differences in intake and digestibility to proportions of leaf blade, leaf sheath and stem. In each of two periods, 24 wethers were offered one of 12 hays at three consecutive levels of feeding: (L1) ad libitum, allowing 15% refusal; (L2) restricted to 100% of hay consumed ad libitum by individual wether during L1; and (L3) 1.8% of BW on a DM basis. Hays offered included two sorghum-sudan, four barley, four oat and two pearl millet. Hays were similar in NDF concentration but differed in morphological composition Organic matter intake averaged 1.99 +/- . 04, 1.79 +/- . 04 and 1.52 +/- . 01% of BW for L1, L2 and L3, respectively. Organic matter digestibilities averaged 71.8 +/- . 55 72.4 +/- . 60 and 72.3 +/- . 65% for L1, L2 and L3, respectively. Intake SEM within hays were lower with restricted intakes (L3), whereas the opposite was observed for the SEM for digestibility. Forage morphological composition within feeding level influenced intake and digestibility by altering diet selection capabilities of wethers. Wethers did not consume equal NDF amounts, ranging form . 95 to 1.47% of BW, because hays differed in morphological composition. Ash-free ADF and 72% sulfuric acid lignin were higher (P less than .01) in stem than in blade or sheath. In vivo digestibilities measured under restricted feeding conditions were related more closely (P less than .05) to in vitro estimates of digestibility than were digestibilities measured under ad libitum conditions (r = .72, .79 and .85 for L1, L2 and L3, respectively). This study demonstrates that variation in morphological characteristics of forages may account for part of the difference in voluntary intake of forages of similar chemical composition. New knowledge in this area will be valuable in developing improved forage quality prediction procedures.
Biotin tagging coupled with amino acid‐coded mass tagging for efficient and precise screening of interaction proteome in mammalian cells

In mammalian cells, when tandem affinity purification approach is employed, the existence of untagged endogenous target protein and repetitive washing steps together result in overall low yield of purified/stable complexes and the loss of weakly and transiently interacting partners of biological significance. To avoid the trade‐offs involving in methodological sensitivity, precision, and throughput, here we introduce an integrated method, biotin tagging coupled with amino acid‐coded mass tagging, for highly sensitive and accurate screening of mammalian protein–protein interactions. Without the need of establishing a stable cell line, using a short peptide tag which could be specifically biotinylated in vivo, the biotin‐tagged target/bait protein was then isolated along with its associates efficiently by streptavidin magnetic microbeads in a single step. In a pulled‐down complex amino acid‐coded mass tagging serves as “in‐spectra” quantitative markers to distinguish those bait‐specific interactors from non‐specific background proteins under stringent criteria. Applying this biotin tagging coupled with amino acid‐coded mass tagging approach, we first biotin‐tagged in vivo a multi‐functional protein family member, 14‐3‐3ε, which was expressed at close to endogenous level. Starting with approximately 20 millions of 293T cells which were significantly less than what needed for a tandem affinity purification run, 266 specific interactors of 14‐3‐3ε were identified in high confidence.
Acclimation of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) seedlings to high temperatures.

To determine the extent to which loblolly pine seedlings (Pinus taeda L.) acclimate to high temperatures, seedlings from three provenances-southeastern Texas (mean annual temperature 20.3 degrees C), southwestern Arkansas (mean annual temperature 16.2 degrees C) and Chesapeake, Maryland (mean annual temperature 12.8 degrees C)-were grown at constant temperatures of 25, 30, 35 or 40 degrees C in growth chambers. After two months, only 14% of the seedlings in the 40 degrees C treatment survived, so the treatment was dropped from the experiment. Provenance and family differences were not significant for most measured variables. Total biomass was similar in the 25 and 30 degrees C treatments, and less in the 35 degrees C treatment. Foliage biomass was higher, and root biomass lower, in the 30 degrees C treatment compared with the 25 degrees C treatment. Net photosynthesis and dark respiration of all seedlings were measured at 25, 30 and 35 degrees C. Both net photosynthesis and dark respiration exhibited acclimation to the temperature at which the seedlings were grown. For each temperature treatment, the highest rate of net photosynthesis was measured at the growth temperature. Dark respiration rates increased with increasing measurement temperature, but the basal rate of respiration, measured at 25 degrees C, decreased from 0.617 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1) in the 25 degrees C treatment to 0.348 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1) in the 35 degrees C treatment, resulting in less carbon loss in the higher temperature treatments than if the seedlings had not acclimated to the growth conditions. Temperature acclimation, particularly of dark respiration, may explain why total biomass of seedlings grown at 30 degrees C was similar to that of seedlings grown at 25 degrees C.
Comparison of a radiometric method (BACTEC) and conventional culture media for recovery of mycobacteria from smear-negative specimens

The BACTEC system and three conventional media (Middlebrook 7H10, selective Middlebrook 7H11 [S7H11], and Lowenstein-Jensen [LJ] were compared for their mean recovery times and recovery rates of mycobacteria from acid-fast, smear-negative clinical specimens. Of the 71 smear-negative, culture-positive specimens recovered from 2,165 submitted smear-negative cultures, the BACTEC system detected 71.8%, compared with 88.7% for the conventional three-medium system. When media were individually compared, BACTEC medium (Middlebrook 7H12) was more successful in recovering mycobacteria (71.8%) than was LJ (62%), Middlebrook medium 7H10 (55.9%), or Middlebrook S7H11 medium (52.1%). Middlebrook 7H11 medium containing sodium selenate was also evaluated and did not increase the recovery rate or decrease the recovery time of mycobacterial species when compared with LJ, Middlebrook 7H10, S7H11, and 7H12 media. The mean detection time for the BACTEC system was less than that by conventional methods for the seven species of mycobacteria recovered. Detection times for Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the BACTEC system and conventional cultural systems were 13.7 and 26.3 days, respectively.
Suppressor Mutations in the Study of Photosystem I Biogenesis: sll0088 Is a Previously Unidentified Gene Involved in Reaction Center Accumulation in Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803

ABSTRACT In previous work, some members of our group isolated mutant strains of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 in which point mutations had been inserted into the psaC gene to alter the cysteine residues to the FA and FB iron-sulfur clusters in the PsaC subunit of photosystem I (J. P. Yu, I. R. Vassiliev, Y. S. Jung, J. H. Golbeck, and L. McIntosh, J. Biol. Chem. 272:8032-8039, 1997). These mutant strains did not grow photoautotrophically due to suppressed levels of chlorophyll a and photosystem I. In the results described here, we show that suppressor mutations produced strains that are capable of photoautotrophic growth at moderate light intensity (20 μmol m−2 s−1). Two separate suppressor strains of C14SPsaC, termed C14SPsaC-R62 and C14SPsaC-R18, were studied and found to have mutations in a previously uncharacterized open reading frame of the Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 genome named sll0088. C14SPsaC-R62 was found to substitute Pro for Arg at residue 161 as the result of a G482→C change in sll0088, and C14SPsaC-R18 was found to have a three-amino-acid insertion of Gly-Tyr-Phe following Cys231 as the result of a TGGTTATTT duplication at T690 in sll0088. These suppressor strains showed near-wild-type levels of chlorophyll a and photosystem I, yet the serine oxygen ligand to FB was retained as shown by the retention of the S ≥ 3/2 spin state of the [4Fe-4S] cluster. The inactivation of sll0088 by insertion of a kanamycin resistance cartridge in the primary C14SPsaC mutant produced an engineered suppressor strain capable of photoautotrophic growth. There was no difference in psaC gene expression or in the amount of PsaC protein assembled in thylakoids between the wild type and an sll0088 deletion mutant. The sll0088 gene encodes a protein predicted to be a transcriptional regulator with sequence similarities to transcription factors in other prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, including Arabidopsis thaliana. The protein contains a typical helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif and can be classified as a negative regulator by phylogenetic analysis. This suggests that the product of sll0088 has a role in regulating the biogenesis of photosystem I.
Ultrasonographic measurement of stallion accessory sex glands and excurrent ducts during seminal emission and ejaculation.

Accessory sex gland and excurrent duct activity of 10 stallions was visualized with transrectal ultrasonography during seminal emission and ejaculation. First and last penile urethral contractions were defined as the start (0 sec) and end of ejaculation, respectively. Duration of ejaculation (n = 63 ejaculations) averaged 6.15 +/- 2.98 sec. Penile urethral contractions occurred an average of 6.2 +/- 2.2 times per ejaculation. Right bulbourethral glands (n = 19 ejaculations) alternated repeatedly from ovoid to flattened, irregular shapes during ejaculation. Cross-sectional area of right bulbourethral glands did not change (p > 0.40) between 3 sec before ejaculation and the end of ejaculation. Cross-sectional area of right prostatic lobes (n = 17 ejaculations) decreased (p < 0.01) between 3 sec before ejaculation and the end of ejaculation, with decreases (p < 0.05) at 2, 1, and 0 sec before ejaculation and at the time of the second penile urethral contraction. Excurrent ducts of ampullae (n = 17 ejaculations) first appeared to dilate with fluid at 2.60 +/- 0.23 sec before ejaculation and subsequently dilated an average of 3.4 +/- 0.3 times between 3 sec before ejaculation and the end of ejaculation. Fifty-three of 58 (93%) ampullar duct dilations occurred prior to the start of ejaculation. During each dilation of ampullar ducts, fluid remained visible for 0.23 +/- 0.04 sec. Fluid was detected within the lumina of vesicular gland excurrent ducts during the 6 of 17 monitored ejaculations that produced detectable gel. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A novel P755L mutation in LRRK2 gene associated with Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder. The identification of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene mutations as a cause of Parkinson's disease has greatly expanded our knowledge of the genetic and molecular pathogenesis of this disorder. By denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography and gene sequencing in patients and controls, we identified a novel frequent heterozygous 2264C→T substitution, which causes a proline-to-leucine mutation (P755L) in LRRK2 gene. In our sample of 598 patients of Chinese Han ancestry, 12 cases carried the same LRRK2 mutation. Our results indicated that this single mutation was implicated in 2% of sporadic patients. We suggest that testing for this mutation will be important in the management and genetic counseling of patients with Parkinson's disease.
Nanoparticles-A Thoracic Toxicology Perspective

A substantial literature demonstrates that the main ultrafine particles found in ambient urban air are combustion-derived nanoparticles (CDNP) which originate from a number of sources and pose a hazard to the lungs. For CDNP, three properties appear important-surface area, organics and metals. All of these can generate free radicals and so induce oxidative stress and inflammation. Inflammation is a process involved in the diseases exhibited by the individuals susceptible to the effects of PM-development and exacerbations of airways disease and cardiovascular disease. It is therefore possible to implicate CDNP in the common adverse effects of increased PM. The adverse effects of increases in PM on the cardiovascular system are well-documented in the epidemiological literature and, as argued above, these effects are likely to be driven by the combustion-derived NP. The epidemiological findings can be explained in a number of hypotheses regarding the action of NP:-1) Inflammation in the lungs caused by NP causes atheromatous plaque development and destabilization; 2) The inflammation in the lungs causes alteration in the clotting status or fibrinolytic balance favouring thrombogenesis; 3) The NP themselves or metals/organics released by the particles enter the circulation and have direct effects on the endothelium, plaques, the clotting system or the autonomic nervous system/ heart rhythm. Environmental nanoparticles are accidentally produced but they provide a toxicological model for a new class of purposely 'engineered' NP arising from the nanotechnology industry, whose effects are much less understood. Bridging our toxicological knowledge between the environmental nanoparticles and the new engineered nanoparticles is a considerable challenge.