Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An fMRI study of facial emotion processing in patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE Emotion processing deficits are notable in schizophrenia. The authors evaluated cerebral blood flow response in schizophrenia patients during facial emotion processing to test the hypothesis of diminished limbic activation related to emotional relevance of facial stimuli. METHOD Fourteen patients with schizophrenia and 14 matched comparison subjects viewed facial displays of happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust as well as neutral faces. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal changes as the subjects alternated between tasks of discriminating emotional valence (positive versus negative) and age (over 30 versus under 30) of the faces with an interleaved crosshair reference condition. RESULTS The groups did not differ in performance on either task. For both tasks, healthy participants showed activation in the fusiform gyrus, occipital lobe, and inferior frontal cortex relative to the resting baseline condition. The increase was greater in the amygdala and hippocampus during the emotional valence discrimination task than during the age discrimination task. In the patients with schizophrenia, minimal focal response was observed for all tasks relative to the resting baseline condition. Contrasting patients and comparison subjects on the emotional valence discrimination task revealed voxels in the left amygdala and bilateral hippocampus in which the comparison subjects had significantly greater activation. CONCLUSIONS Failure to activate limbic regions during emotional valence discrimination may explain emotion processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia. While the lack of limbic recruitment did not significantly impair simple valence discrimination performance in this clinically stable group, it may impact performance of more demanding tasks.
The correlation analysis of human embryonic MMP-9 secretion and embryo quality.

OBJECTIVE The correlation of the embryo matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) secretion, embryonic development and clinical pregnancy was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS The embryo culture from in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) patients were collected in the Xuzhou Central Hospital from January 2013 to September 2014. At the same time, the embryo grade was recorded. The secretion of the MMP-9 in the embryo culture was detected through hybridization (Dot-blot) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The clinical pregnancy outcome was followed after one month of the embryo transfer. RESULTS With the embryonic development from 2-cell to 8-cell, embryonic MMP-9 secretion increased gradually (p < 0.05). Though 8/I embryo, the secretion of MMP-9 are not identical. The quantitative detection of the MMP-9 secretion of the 8-cell embryo by ELISA is higher as is the embryo score, but the low secretion of embryo score is lower (p < 0.001). As 8/I embryos, the clinical pregnancy rate (77.3%) of the MMP-9 high secretion embryos is higher than the low secretion embryos (16.7%) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The secretion of the embryonic MMP-9 is closely related to the quality of the embryo and embryo implantation. It is speculated that MMP-9 may become one of the criteria to evaluate the quality of the embryos.
Fluctuations and limitations of a multi-sector economic model with delays

A general multi-sector model of the economy is investigated. A sector's input to production, labor, evolves according to a jump Markov process. Labor jumps between sectors to balance supply and demand, where each sector differs by its productivity. The jump model captures the intrinsic noise of the micro agents on the macro level, which is represented by the random timing of labor jumps. Quantifying this noise is a central theme of this paper. An operator theoretic approach is utilized to capture the fluctuations of a linearized jump system exactly. As an illustrative example two sector and three sector economies are studied. In each case the optimal aggressiveness, gain, of a sector is determined for minimal variance. Delays are then introduced into the model. It is shown that the presence of a delay creates a limit on the minimum variance achievable and that high gain is destabilizing. For both the two and three sector models the nonlinear jump systems are simulated. It is shown that the operator theoretic approach is an appropriate method for quantifying the second moments.
Development and characterization of stabilized double loaded mPEG-PDLLA micelles for simultaneous delivery of paclitaxel and docetaxel

Abstract Objective: Double loaded micelles (DLM) in which paclitaxel (PTX) and docetaxel (DTX) were co-solubilized with monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(d,l-lactide) (mPEG-PLA) copolymer were prepared and evaluated in an aim to investigate the effect of a combination of PTX and DTX on the stability of mPEG-PLA micelles compared to single drug-loaded micelles (SDM), especially that recent clinical anticancer formulations are limited by the existence of toxic excipients and stability issues. Materials and methods: The SDM and DLM of PTX and DTX were prepared by a solvent evaporation method. Micellar size, size distribution, drug loading content and drug release were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the stabilization mechanism. Results: The drug loading efficiency of both PTX and DTX in DLM and SDM were 25% and 10%, respectively. 1H NMR showed a successful encapsulation of both drugs in the polymeric micelle. DLM showed better physical stability at drug concentrations higher than 1 mg/mL compared to SDM. Moreover, DLM, SDM-PTX and SDM-DTX were stable for 24, 9 and 1 h, respectively. The stabilization mechanism of DLM was investigated, a network structure of DLM was observed in TEM graphs. Furthermore, DLM showed complete and faster drug release compared to SDM. mPEG-PLA double loaded micelles can deliver two poorly water soluble anticancer drugs at clinically relevant doses. The obtained results offer a promising alternative for double drug therapy without any formulation associated undesirable effects and encourage further in vivo development and optimization of the DLM as a drug delivery system for anticancer drugs.
Macromolecular Organization and In Vitro Growth Characteristics of Scaffold-free Neocartilage Grafts

Recent advances in tissue engineering offer considerable promise for the repair of focal lesions in articular cartilage. Here we describe (1) the macromolecular organization of tissue-engineered neocartilage grafts at light and electron microscopic levels, (2) their in vitro development, and (3) the effect of chondrocyte dedifferentiation, induced by monolayer expansion, on their resultant structure. We show that grafts produced from primary cultures of chondrocytes are hyaline in appearance with identifiable zonal strata as evidenced by cell morphology, matrix organization, and immunohistochemical composition. Like native articular cartilage, their surface zone contains type I collagen, surface zone proteoglycan, biglycan and decorin with type II collagen, aggrecan, chondroitin sulfate, chondroitin-4-sulfate, and keratan sulfate, becoming more prominent with depth. Assessment of cell viability by Live/Dead staining and cell-cycle analysis with BrDU suggest that the in vitro tissue has a high cellular turnover and develops through both appositional and interstitial growth mechanisms. Meanwhile, cell-tracker studies with CMFDA (5-chloromethyl-fluorescein diacetate) demonstrate that cell sorting in vitro is not involved in their zonal organization. Finally, passage expansion of chondrocytes in monolayer culture causes progressive reductions in graft thickness, loss of zonal architecture, and a more fibrocartilaginous tissue histology, consistent with a dedifferentiating chondrocyte phenotype. (J Histochem Cytochem 55: 853–866, 2007)
A change detection approach of high-resolution imagery combined the pre-classification with the post-classification comparison

This paper presents a change detection approach for high-resolution remote sensing image combined the pre-classification with the post-classification comparison. Firstly, a spectrum correction image is constructed on the basis of fusing the differential and ratio algorithm, which can alleviate the effects of single band's sensitivity. Secondly, a binary change mask is extracted from the spectrum correction image by using Otsu. Then multiply it with the overlaying multi-temporal image to extract reliable change region. Finally, the transference process is realized by using an improved Fuzzy C-Means algorithm. Additionally, considering that Fuzzy C-Means cannot determine the cluster center and cluster number automatically, and also be sensitive to the noise, the article utilizes membership entropy to determine the optimal cluster number, and adopts the max-minimum distance to initialize the cluster center, which can avoid trapping in local optimum caused by selecting cluster center randomly, and also introduces the similarity-weight of the neighbor pixels to correct the membership function. Experiments show that the combination of pre-classification with post-classification comparison can realize the whole change process and also alleviate error propagation effects of multi-classification, which makes the change detection results closer to the real situation. Additionally, the improved Fuzzy C-Means has a better performance in determining the cluster number and center as well as reducing the noise interference.
Fast, Accurate Thin-Structure Obstacle Detection for Autonomous Mobile Robots

Safety is paramount for mobile robotic platforms such as self-driving cars and unmanned aerial vehicles. This work is devoted to a task that is indispensable for safety yet was largely overlooked in the past – detecting obstacles that are of very thin structures, such as wires, cables and tree branches. This is a challenging problem, as thin objects can be problematic for active sensors such as lidar and sonar and even for stereo cameras. In this work, we propose to use video sequences for thin obstacle detection. We represent obstacles with edges in the video frames, and reconstruct them in 3D using efficient edge-based visual odometry techniques. We provide both a monocular camera solution and a stereo camera solution. The former incorporates Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data to solve scale ambiguity, while the latter enjoys a novel, purely vision-based solution. Experiments demonstrated that the proposed methods are fast and able to detect thin obstacles robustly and accurately under various conditions.
Controversial issues in visual cortex mapping: Extrastriate cortex between areas V2 and MT in human and nonhuman primates

The visual cerebral cortex of primates includes a mosaic of anatomically and functionally distinct areas processing visual information. While there is universal agreement about the location, boundaries, and topographic organization of the areas at the earliest stages of visual processing in many primate species, i.e., the primary (V1), secondary (V2), and middle temporal (MT) visual areas, there is still ongoing debate regarding the exact parcellation of cortex located between areas V2 and MT. Several parcellation schemes have been proposed for extrastriate cortex even within the same species. With the exception of V1, V2, and MT, these schemes differ in areal borders, areal location, neighboring relations, number of areas, and nomenclature. As a result, most anatomical and physiological studies of these areas have been carried out following one or another scheme, in the absence of any general agreement. This situation is inevitably hampering our understanding of the function and evolution of these visual areas. The goal of this special issue is to provide a critical review and evaluation of the literature on the most controversial issues regarding the parcellation of extrastriate cortex, to identify the main reasons for the controversy, and to suggest critical future experimental approaches that could lead to a consensus about the anatomical and functional identity of these areas.
Combating rituximab resistance by inducing ceramide/lysosome-involved cell death through initiation of CD20-TNFR1 co-localization

ABSTRACT Despite the success of CD20 antibody rituximab in immunotherapy, acquired resistance is one of the prime obstacles for the successful treatment of B-cell malignancies. There is an urgent need to intensify efforts against resistance in cancer treatment. Growing evidence indicated that lysosomes may form an “Achilles heel” for cancer cells by sensitizing them to death pathways. Here, we uncover an important role of CD20 in initiation of ceramide/lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP)-mediated cell death, showing that colocalization of CD20-TNFR1 after type II CD20 antibody ligation can stimulate de novo ceramide synthesis by ceramide synthase and consequently induce remarkable lysosomal permeabilization (LMP) and lysosome-mediated cell death. Further studies show that the potent lysosome-mediated cell death induced by CD20 antibodies exhibits a profound killing effect against both rituximab-sensitive and -resistant (RR) lymphoma. Furthermore, engineering of rituximab by introducing a point mutation endows it with the ability to induce potent ceramide/LMP-mediated cell death in both RR lymphoma and primary B-cell malignancies from patients with rituximab-refractory, suggesting the potential clinical application to combat rituximab resistance.
Decline in sperm count and motility in young adult men from 2003 to 2013: observations from a U.S. sperm bank

Controversy exists regarding stability of semen quality over time with papers reporting decrease, increase or stable parameters in heterogeneous populations. The current study examined semen parameters of young adult men from 2003 to 2013 at an urban U.S. sperm bank. Semen parameters were analyzed before and after cryopreservation for a total of 9425 specimens from 489 individuals. Demographic information was obtained from a social and medical history questionnaire. Following 2–3 days abstinence, the specimens were collected at the laboratory and assessed by uniform technicians and techniques. The data were analyzed using generalized linear regression after adjustment for age, days of abstinence, for repeated samples, as well as by the Cochran–Armitage trend test. The within variability was accounted for by the repeated measures model. All p values were two‐sided with p < 0.05 considered significant. There was a significant decline in sperm concentration (−3.55, 95% CI −4.87, −2.23; p < 0.001), total motility (−1.23, 95% CI −1.65, −0.82; p < 0.001), total count (−10.75, 95% CI −15.95, −5.54; p < 0.001) and total motile count (−9.43, 95% CI −13.14, −5.73; p < 0.001). There was no significant change in semen volume (0.03, 95% CI −0.02, 0.09; p = 0.2). The post‐thaw total motility significantly (−2.30, 95% CI −2.72, −1.87; p < 0.001) decreased with time. Importantly, demographic and lifestyle factors were stable or improved over the study period. There was a decline in age (ptrend = 0.003) and alcohol use (ptrend = 0.005) and an increase in college GPA (Grade Point Average) (ptrend = 0.02). BMI (ptrend = 0.73), educational attainment (ptrend = 0.2), race/ethnicity (ptrend = 0.53), and lifestyle habits (weekly exercise, ptrend = 0.21; smoking, ptrend = 0.99; marital status, ptrend = 0.85) remained constant. Uniform technicians and techniques over the study period make measurement bias unlikely. This report demonstrates a decline in semen quality among young adult men in the Boston area who were attending or completed a college education during the past 10 years, and requires further study.
430 GHz bandpass filter incorporating synthetic transmission lines in standard 0.13 μm CMOS

A third-order transmission line (TL) based terahertz bandpass filter (BPF) is presented in this paper. All the resonators are implemented by using the synthetic transmission lines, so-called the complementary-conducting strip transmission line (CCS-TL). The guiding characteristics of the CCS-TL with different size of the periods are theoretically extracted for the filter design. The comparisons between simulated and measured results show that the prototype in 0.13 μm 1P8M CMOS technology has an insertion-loss of 2.4 dB and a fractional bandwidth of 26%, with a 3.5% offset of the center frequency.
Risk of development of lung cancer is increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a large case control study in US veterans.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the occurrence of lung cancer in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the US veteran population. Patients with rheumatic diseases appear to have an increased risk for the development of lymphoproliferative and some solid organ malignancies. METHODS We conducted a retrospective case control study using prospectively collected data from the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) 16 Veteran Affairs (VA) database from 1998 to 2004. We studied the association of RA and lung cancer and analyzed data on 483,721 VA patients. Patients were identified by searching for the diagnoses of RA and lung cancer based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. We identified 8768 (1.81%) patients with a diagnosis of RA (ICD code 714.0), 7280 (1.5%) patients with lung cancer (ICD code 162.0), 247 patients with lung cancer and RA, and 7033 patients with lung cancer but no RA. Logistic regression analysis was performed to adjust for age, gender, race, and tobacco and asbestos exposure. Statistical tests were conducted at a 5% level of significance. RESULTS The diagnosis of RA was determined to have a significant association with lung cancer in this veteran population. Patients with RA are 43% (odds ratio 1.43) more likely to develop lung cancer than patients without RA, when adjusted for covariates. CONCLUSION Our study shows a significant positive association between RA and the development of lung cancer in the veteran population. Veterans with RA have an increased incidence of lung cancer when compared to the non-RA population.
Involvement of Putrescine in the Development of Kindled Seizure in Rats

Abstract: During the development of kindling by daily electrical stimulations applied to the left amygdala of rats, concentrations of the polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and spermine were measured in the left amygdala and the remainder of the cerebrum. A significant increase of putrescine concentration appeared first at the left amygdala in prekindled rats and then propagated to the remainder of the cerebrum with the development of kindling. This increase in putrescine concentration in the left amygdala was higher in prekindled rats than in fully kindled rats and lasted for at least 24 h after the final kindling stimulation. The concentrations of spermidine and spermine were slightly increased in a fully kindled state. To clarify the role of putrescine in kindling, the development of amygdaloid kindling was examined in rats after microinjections of α‐difluoromethylornithine, a specific inhibitor of polyamine synthesis, and putrescine into the ipsilateral amygdala. Pretreatment with α‐difluoromethylornithine (50 nmol) for 10 days accelerated both the development of behavioral kindling and the propagation of the afterdischarge from the left amygdala to the frontal cortex. In contrast, pretreatment with putrescine (200 nmol) for 10 days retarded the development of kindling. These results suggest that the increase in putrescine concentration in the kindled brain has an inhibitory effect on the development of kindling.
Hyperinsulinemia and Hypoinsulinemia: Insulin Responses to Oral Carbohydrate Over a Wide Spectrum of Glucose Tolerance

Oral glucose tolerance tests using a 75 gm. carbohydrate load were performed on 396 Pirna Indians. Subjects were divided into groups on the basis of two-hour plasma glucose levels and the patterns of insulin response examined. Two-hour insulin levels were highest in the group with two-hour plasma glucose levels between 140–169 mg. /100 ml. and then fell progressively until levels above 400 mg. /100 ml. were reached. Half and one-hour insulin levels showed little change in the groups with two-hour glucose levels up to 170 mg. /100 ml. , but at higher glucose levels these insulin levels also progressively diminished. Fasting insulin levels were relatively unchanged over the entire range of glucose tolerance. Obesity was the most important factor influencing the fasting insulin levels. Glucose level was the major determinant of post-load insulin responses, but these were also significantly influenced by obesity. No effect of age or sex on insulin levels was demonstrated. Comparison with other published data indicates that different interpretations of insulin response in subjects with “mild diabetes” have resulted from comparisons of groups with different degrees of glucose intolerance.
Disruption of zonula occludens-1 localization in the rabbit corneal epithelium by contact lens-induced hypoxia.

PURPOSE Hypoxia impairs the barrier function of the corneal epithelium. This function depends on tight junctions, of which zonula occludens (ZO)-1 is a major component. The authors have investigated the effects of hypoxia on ZO-1 localization and expression in the rabbit corneal epithelium in vivo. METHODS A polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lens was applied to one eye each of albino rabbits for 24 hours. The structure of the corneal epithelium was examined by in vivo confocal microscopy, and epithelial barrier function was evaluated by measurement of central corneal thickness. The distribution and expression of ZO-1 in the corneal epithelium were examined by immunofluorescence analysis and by immunoblot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses, respectively. RESULTS Application of a PMMA lens, but not that of an RGP lens, resulted in a reduction in cell size at the surface of the corneal epithelium, compared with that in control eyes, and an increase in central corneal thickness. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed a continuous pattern of ZO-1 immunoreactivity around the perimeter of superficial corneal epithelial cells in control eyes or in eyes treated with an RGP lens. In contrast, the pattern of ZO-1 staining was discontinuous and patchy in eyes treated with a PMMA lens. Amounts of ZO-1 mRNA and protein in the corneal epithelium were reduced by application of a PMMA lens but not by that of an RGP lens. CONCLUSIONS Hypoxia at the ocular surface induced the disruption of tight junctions between superficial cells in the rabbit corneal epithelium in vivo.
Comparison of racemic ketamine and S-ketamine in treatment-resistant major depression: Report of two cases

Recent studies with intravenous infusion of the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine showed robust and rapid antidepressant effects within hours after treatment. Ketamine is a racemic mixture consisting of two enantiomers, R- and S-ketamine. In contrast to ketamine, S-ketamine is reported to be less prone to psychomimetic side effects, such as derealisation and hallucinations. In this report we describe the effect of ketamine and S-ketamine infusion therapy, respectively, in two patients with treatment-resistant major depression. Severity of depression was rated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). While one patient did not respond to either treatment, in the other patient intravenous administration of ketamine as well as S-ketamine showed an antidepressant effect as assessed by a decrease in HAMD-21 and BDI at days 1 and 3 after infusion which faded until day 6. Both patients experienced psychomimetic side effects during ketamine infusion which were absent during treatment with S-ketamine. We conclude that S-ketamine might exert similar antidepressant effects as ketamine in drug-resistant depression but may be better tolerated by the patients.