Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic changes in the cortico-subcortical network during early motor learning.

BACKGROUND Failure of early motor learning due to damage in any brain area involved in this process may interfere with successful rehabilitation of such patients. OBJECTIVE We investigated the changes in activation of the motor network during sequential finger motor learning to delineate the characteristics of the cortico-subcortical network during motor skill learning. METHODS Twenty healthy, right-handed volunteers participated. Subjects were instructed to perform eight blocks of a sequential finger motor task while functional MRI (fMRI) was performed. RESULTS The participants had an improvement in performance over time from block 1 to block 4, indicating that successful learning had occurred, followed by a plateau from block 5 to the last block. On fMRI, activities of the contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex, the premotor cortex, the supplementary motor area, and the posterior parietal cortex gradually increased from block 1 to block 4 and then decreased from block 5 to the last. In contrast, activity of the ipsilateral cerebellum showed a linear increase spanning the last block with peak activation. The thalamus and basal ganglia showed unilateral or bilateral activities at the unique stage of motor learning. CONCLUSIONS These findings delineated the characteristic plastic changes and different roles of the cortico-subcortical network during the early phase of motor learning and automatization.
Seismic Images of Crust and Upper Mantle Beneath Tibet: Evidence for Eurasian Plate Subduction

Seismic data from central Tibet have been combined to image the subsurface structure and understand the evolution of the collision of India and Eurasia. The 410- and 660-kilometer mantle discontinuities are sharply defined, implying a lack of a subducting slab beneath the plateau. The discontinuities appear slightly deeper beneath northern Tibet, implying that the average temperature of the mantle above the transition zone is about 300°C hotter in the north than in the south. There is a prominent south-dipping converter in the uppermost mantle beneath northern Tibet that might represent the top of the Eurasian mantle lithosphere underthrusting the northern margin of the plateau.
Methicillin resistance in staphylococci: molecular and biochemical basis and clinical implications

Methicillin resistance in staphylococci is determined by mec, composed of 50 kb or more of DNA found only in methicillin-resistant strains. mec contains mecA, the gene for penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP 2a); mecI and mecR1, regulatory genes controlling mecA expression; and numerous other elements and resistance determinants. A distinctive feature of methicillin resistance is its heterogeneous expression. Borderline resistance, a low-level type of resistance to methicillin exhibited by strains lacking mecA, is associated with modifications in native PBPs, beta-lactamase hyperproduction, or possibly a methicillinase. The resistance phenotype is influenced by numerous factors, including mec and beta-lactamase (bla) regulatory elements, fem factors, and yet to be identified chromosomal loci. The heterogeneous nature of methicillin resistance confounds susceptibility testing. Methodologies based on the detection of mecA are the most accurate. Vancomycin is the drug of choice for treatment of infection caused by methicillin-resistant strains. PBP 2a confers cross-resistance to most currently available beta-lactam antibiotics. Investigational agents that bind PBP 2a at low concentrations appear promising but have not been tested in humans. Alternatives to vancomycin are few due to the multiple drug resistances typical of methicillin-resistant staphylococci.
A circuits-based modeling approach for leaky-wave antennas using a transverse equivalent network representation

A modeling approach is developed for planar leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) where the guiding surface is characterized as a scalar transfer impedance such that the structure is represented by its transverse equivalent network in the spectral domain. This modeling procedure allows antenna designers to represent LWAs with an equivalent circuit which includes the antenna source for radiated power calculations and efficiency investigations. To demonstrate these concepts a numerical example is provided of a single-layer metallic strip grating LWA printed on a grounded dielectric slab. Proposed modeling techniques can also be applied to other single-layer LWA structures as well as more advanced multilayer configurations.
Opções reais, operações urbanas e o mercado imobiliário na cidade de São Paulo

Land represents a valuable asset, and it can be use d as an instrument of investment and speculation. T here is an optimal time to invest, an option of waiting to build and an optimal time of construction that n eed to meet demand conditions. On the other hand, there ar zoning regulations and master plans that limit th e use of land. This research examines empirical predi ctions of models based on real options by relating real estate prices to its real option prices, regarding the Cepacs. This asset lauched at Bovespa allows it s owner to build beyond zoning regulations and even t o modify the use of property. Through the CEPACS auctioned, the Municipality of São Paulo can interv ene in the Urban Operations. The model has an infinite horizon, and a continuous time, that resem bles the model of Williams (1991) but also test the inferences of Titman (1986). It regards the price o f the property, its construction cost, the revenue obtained by an underused land as parking, growth ra tes of prices and risk-adjusted costs. The data ran ges 2004, when the first auction of CEPACS happened, un til the end of 2009. Data on launchings were provided by Embraesp. Through the delimitation of w hich launchings should be included in each urban operation, an hedonic regression was made, to verit y if the intrinsic characteristics of each property would influence its prices. By using data from launchings of the largest real estate operations in urban are as of São Paulo (Faria Lima and Águas Espraiadas), the mo del is empirically corroborated. For the Faria Lima Urban Operation, there is an average premium of 32% of the observed value of the building. As for Operation Urban Águas Espraiadas, an average of 28% option premium is found.
SDSS Log Viewer : visual exploratory analysis of large-volume SQL log data

User-generated Structured Query Language (SQL) queries are a rich source of information for database analysts, information scientists, and the end users of databases. In this study a group of scientists in astronomy and computer and information scientists work together to analyze a large volume of SQL log data generated by users of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data archive in order to better understand users' data seeking behavior. While statistical analysis of such logs is useful at aggregated levels, efficiently exploring specific patterns of queries is often a challenging task due to the typically large volume of the data, multivariate features, and data requirements specified in SQL queries. To enable and facilitate effective and efficient exploration of the SDSS log data, we designed an interactive visualization tool, called the SDSS Log Viewer, which integrates time series visualization, text visualization, and dynamic query techniques. We describe two analysis scenarios of visual exploration of SDSS log data, including understanding unusually high daily query traffic and modeling the types of data seeking behaviors of massive query generators. The two scenarios demonstrate that the SDSS Log Viewer provides a novel and potentially valuable approach to support these targeted tasks.
The pathophysiology of photosensitivity in lupus erythematosus

The strong association between photosensitivity and lupus erythematosus has led to the suggestion that abnormal photoreactivity participates in the pathogenesis of cutaneous lesions. In this review we discuss the evidence for abnormal cutaneous reactivity to sunlight in lupus and speculate on the cellular, molecular and genetic factors that may underlie this abnormality.
Role of organic cation transporters in drug-induced toxicity

Introduction: Membrane transporters are important determinants of in vivo drug disposition, therapeutic efficacy and adverse drug reactions. Many commonly used drugs are organic cations and substrates of organic cation transporters (OCTs). These transporters have a large binding site containing partially overlapping interaction domains for different substrates and are specifically distributed around the body. Consequently, drug interactions with these transporters can result in specific toxicity. Areas covered: This review describes the general properties of OCT and illustrates their importance for the development of important drug toxicities using the examples of metformin and cisplatin. Additionally, this review discusses the role of OCT polymorphisms in the modulation of these toxic effects. Expert opinion: Understanding how drugs interact with membrane transporters is pivotally important in explaining the mechanisms of specific toxicities and also in designing new drugs or new therapeutic protective protocols by specific competition at the transporter. Defining the pharmacogenomics of these transporters will be essential to personalized medicine, enabling physicians to choose drugs for patients based on efficacy, availability, cost, safety, tolerability and convenience.
Are Learning Assistants Better K-12 Science Teachers?

This study investigates how the undergraduate Learning Assistant (LA) experience affects teachers’ first year of teaching. The LA Program provides interested science majors with the opportunity to explore teaching through weekly teaching responsibilities, an introduction to physics education research, and a learning community within the university. Some of these LAs are recruited to secondary science teacher certification programs. We hypothesized that the LA experience would enhance the teaching practices of the LAs who ultimately become teachers. To test this hypothesis, LAs were compared to a matched sample of teachers who completed the same teacher certification program as the LAs but did not have the LA “treatment. ” LAs and “non‐LAs” were compared through interviews, classroom observations, artifact packages, and observations made with Reformed Teacher Observation Protocol (RTOP) collected within the first year of teaching. Some differences were found; these findings and their implications are discussed.
Soluble Interleukin-6 Receptor is a Prognostic Marker for Relapse-Free Survival in Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer

Considering the protumorigenic roles of interleukin-6 (IL-6) transsignaling, we assessed the serum levels of IL-6, soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R), and soluble glycoprotein 130 (sgp130) in 143 patients with breast cancer. Serum levels of IL-6 were elevated with advanced T and N stage. Serum levels of sIL-6R were lower in patients with estrogen receptor-positive cancer. The median values of IL-6 and sgp130 did not differ between patients with recurrence and those without recurrence. However, higher serum levels of sIL-6R at diagnosis were associated with significantly shorter relapse-free survival in patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.
Desarrollo sostenible : ¿sabemos de qué estamos hablando? Algunos criterios para un uso consistente del término sostenibilidad aplicado al desarrollo a partir de una perspectiva sistémica

Partiendo de la teoria de los sistemas y de la ciencia de la complejidad, en este articulo se pretende delimitar el campo y los sentidos en que se deberia, dentro de la construccion de una ciencia de la sostenibilidad, hablar legitimamente de sostenibilidad. Con ello se quiere indicar un marco para una delimitacion clara del concepto de sostenibilidad lo que implica incluso, como se discute brevemente al final del articulo, en el abandono del concepto de ‘desarrollo sostenible’ por el de ‘desarrollo sustentable’ en la medida en que, como veremos al discutir los distintos principios propuestos, la complejidad y las inumeras dimensiones implicadas en el proceso de desarrollo socioeconomico requieren de un proceso de ‘sustentacion’ y no de un hipotetico e inviable ‘sostener’. Esta discusion nos parece fundamental una vez que la palabra ‘sostenibilidad’ se ha convertido en lo que el linguista aleman Uwe Poerksen define como una palabra plastica. Una palabra con un enorme poder ideologico y legitimador de la accion social, sin embargo despojado de sentido concreto. Crear una ciencia de la sostenibilidad solo sera posible en la medida en que logremos dar al concepto y a los discursos sostenibilistas, en y a traves de sus distintos contextos de utilizacion, una denotacion clara y, a la vez, reduzcamos al maximo sus connotaciones valorativas. Solo asi se puede reducir el ruido que dificulta la comunicacion, embota el entendimiento y acaba entorpeciendo la accion.
CPAP treatment supported by telemedicine does not improve blood pressure in high cardiovascular risk OSA patients: a randomized, controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with hypertension, which is one of the intermediary mechanisms leading to increased cardiovascular morbidity. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of a combination of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and telemedicine support on blood pressure (BP) reduction in high cardiovascular risk OSA patients. DESIGN A multi-center randomized controlled trial that compared standard CPAP care and CPAP care and a telemedicine intervention. SETTING Sleep clinics in France. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS 107 adult (18-65 years old) OSA patients (AHI > 15 events/h) with a high cardiovascular risk (cardiovascular SCORE > 5% or secondary prevention). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to either standard care CPAP (n = 53) or CPAP and telemedicine (n = 54). Patients assigned to telemedicine were equipped with a smartphone for uploading BP measurements, CPAP adherence, sleepiness, and quality of life data; in return, they received pictograms containing health-related messages. MEASUREMENTS The main outcome was home self-measured BP and secondary outcomes were cardiovascular risk evolution, objective physical activity, CPAP adherence, sleepiness and quality of life. RESULTS Self-measured BP did not improve in either group (telemedicine or standard care). Patients in primary prevention showed greater BP reduction with CPAP treatment than those in secondary prevention. CONCLUSIONS CPAP treatment supported by telemedicine alone did not improve blood pressure and cardiovascular risk in high cardiovascular risk OSA patients. This study emphasizes the need for diet and physical activity training programs in addition to CPAP when aiming at decreasing cardiometabolic risk factors in these patients. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01226641.
Considerations on optimal fluoride intake using dental fluorosis and dental caries outcomes--a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES The "optimal" intake of fluoride has been widely accepted for decades as between 0.05 and 0.07 mg fluoride per kilogram of body weight (mg F/kg bw) but is based on limited scientific evidence. The purpose of this paper is to present longitudinal fluoride intake data for children free of dental fluorosis in the early-erupting permanent dentition and free of dental caries in both the primary and early-erupting permanent teeth as an estimate of optimal fluoride intake. METHODS Data on fluoride ingestion were obtained from parents of 602 Iowa Fluoride Study children through periodic questionnaires at the ages of 6 weeks; 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, and 36 months; and then at 6-month intervals thereafter. Estimates of total fluoride intake at each time point were made by summing amounts from water, dentifrice, and supplements, as well as other foods and beverages made with, or containing, water. Caries data were obtained from examinations of children at ages 5 and 9 years, whereas fluorosis data were obtained from examinations of children only at age 9 years. RESULTS The estimated mean daily fluoride intake for those children with no caries history and no fluorosis at age 9 years was at, or below, 0.05 mg F/kg bw for nearly all time points through the first 48 months of life, and this level declined thereafter. Children with caries had generally slightly less intakes, whereas those with fluorosis generally had slightly higher intakes. CONCLUSIONS Given the overlap among caries/fluorosis groups in mean fluoride intake and extreme variability in individual fluoride intakes, firmly recommending an "optimal" fluoride intake is problematic.
The Effect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on CEO Pay for Luck

According to the rent-extraction hypothesis, weak corporate governance allows entrenched CEOs to capture the pay-setting process and benefit from events outside of their control -- get paid for luck. In this paper, I find that the independence requirement imposed on boards of directors by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), together with the governance regulations subsequently introduced by stock exchanges, affects CEO pay structure. In firms whose corporate boards were originally less independent, and thus more affected by these provisions, CEO pay for performance strengthened while pay for luck decreased after adopting SOX. In contrast, those firms that exhibited strong board independence prior to SOX showed little evidence of pay for luck and little change in pay for performance following the adoption of SOX. The results are consistent with the rent-extraction hypothesis, and they are robust to alternative explanations such as asymmetric benchmarks, oligopoly, and managerial talent.
Value of different modalities of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor applied during or after induction therapy of acute myeloid leukemia.

PURPOSE The hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs) introduced into induction chemotherapy (CT) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) might be of benefit to treatment outcome by at least two mechanisms. HGFs given on days simultaneously with CT might sensitize the leukemic cells and enhance their susceptibility to CT. HGFs applied after CT might hasten hematopoietic recovery and reduce morbidity or mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS We set out to evaluate the use of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF; 5 microg/kg) in a prospective randomized study of factorial design (yes or no GM-CSF during CT, and yes or no GM-CSF after CT) in patients aged 15 to 60 years (mean, 42) with newly diagnosed AML. GM-CSF was applied as follows: during CT only (+/-, n = 64 assessable patients), GM-CSF during and following CT (+/+, n = 66), no GM-CSF (-/-, n = 63), or GM-CSF after CT only (-/+, n = 60). RESULTS The complete response (CR) rate was 77%. At a median follow-up time of 42 months, probabilities of overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) at 3 years were 38% and 37% in all patients. CR rates, OS, and DFS did not differ between the treatment groups (intention-to-treat analysis). Neutrophil recovery (1.0 x 10(9)/L) and monocyte recovery were significantly faster in patients who received GM-CSF after CT (26 days v 30 days; neutrophils, P < .001; monocytes, P < .005). Platelet regeneration, transfusion requirements, use of antibiotics, frequency of infections, and duration of hospitalization did not vary as a function of any of the therapeutic GM-CSF modalities. More frequent side effects (eg, fever and fluid retention) were noted in GM-CSF-treated patients predominantly related to the use of GM-CSF during CT. CONCLUSION Priming of AML cells to the cytotoxic effects of CT by the use of GM-CSF during CT or accelerating myeloid recovery by the use of GM-CSF after CT does not significantly improve treatment outcome of young and middle-aged adults with newly diagnosed AML.
Multistatic mm-Wave Imaging with Planar 2D-Arrays

This work reports measurement results for the scanning of 2D and 3D objects in W-band (75 to 110 GHz) using active 2D planar arrays in multistatic configuration with digital beamforming technique. The image quality of the object reflectivity depends mainly on the frequency band, array configuration, signal polarization, and focusing method. Multistatic measurements allow for higher dynamic range, reduced antennas count and the feasibility for cross-polarization measurements. Measurements meet the theoretical expectation and the simulation results down to 4 mm resolution. Two multistatic arrays will be presented and compared in terms of image resolution, antennas count, SNR and digital processing needed.
Clinically distinct epigenetic subgroups in Silver-Russell syndrome: the degree of H19 hypomethylation associates with phenotype severity and genital and skeletal anomalies.

CONTEXT The H19 imprinting control region (ICR), located on chromosome 11p15.5, has been reported hypomethylated in 20-65% of Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) patients. OBJECTIVE We investigated the methylation status of 11p15.5 ICRs in SRS patients and children born small for gestational age (SGA) to clarify the relationship between phenotype and H19 methylation status. METHODS We performed methylation screens of the H19 and KCNQ1OT1 ICRs in 42 SRS patients, including seven maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 7 patients, and 90 SGA children without SRS. Clinical data were evaluated from patient records, and seven hypomethylated patients were clinically and radiologically reexamined. RESULTS H19 ICR hypomethylation was found in 62% of SRS patients but in no SGA children. A clinical severity score demonstrated strong correlation between hypomethylation level and phenotype severity. Hypomethylation related to a more severe SRS phenotype, in which especially asymmetry and micrognathia were significantly more common. Extremely hypomethylated patients had abnormally high lumbar vertebrae, lumbar hypomobility, elbow subluxations, and distinct hand and foot anomalies. They also presented with congenital aplasia of the uterus and upper vagina, equivalent to the Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome in females, and cryptorchidism and testicular agenesis in males. CONCLUSIONS We found a dose-response relationship between the degree of H19 hypomethylation and phenotype severity in SRS. We report for the first time the association of specific anomalies of the spine, elbows, hands and feet, and genital defects in SRS with severe H19 hypomethylation. Classical SRS features were found in H19 hypomethylation and milder symptoms in maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 7, thus distinguishing two separate clinical and etiological subgroups.