Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Somatotopic organization and functional properties of mechanosensory neurons expressing sensorin‐A mRNA in Aplysia californica

A previous study reported that a peptide, sensorin‐A, is expressed exclusively in mechanosensory neurons having somata in central ganglia of Aplysia. The present study utilized in situ hybridization, staining by nerve back‐fill and soma injection, and electrophysiological methods to characterize the locations, numbers, and functions of sensorin‐A‐expressing neurons and to define the relationships between soma locations and the locations of peripheral axons and receptive fields. Approximately 1,000 cells express sensorin‐A mRNA in young adult animals (10–30 g) and 1,200 cells in larger adults (100–300 g). All of the labeled somata are in the CNS, primarily in the abdominal LE, rLE, RE and RF, pleural VC, cerebral J and K, and buccal S clusters. Expression also occurs in a few sparsely distributed cells in most ganglia. Together, receptive fields of all these mechanosensory clusters cover the entire body surface. Each VC cluster forms a somatotopic map of the ipsilateral body, a “sensory aplunculus. ” Cells in the pleural and cerebral clusters have partially overlapping sensory fields and synaptic targets. Buccal S cells have receptive fields on the buccal mass and lips and display notable differences in electrophysiological properties from other sensorin‐A‐expressing neurons. Neurons in all of the clusters have relatively high mechanosensory thresholds, responding preferentially to threatening or noxious stimuli. Synaptic outputs to target cells having defensive functions support a nociceptive role, as does peripheral sensitization following noxious stimulation, although additional functions are likely in some clusters. Interesting questions arise from observations that mRNA for sensorin‐A is present not only in the somata but also in synaptic regions, connectives, and peripheral fibers. J. Comp. Neurol. 471:219–240, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Alternative Methods to Estimate the State Price Density

In this paper, we propose different approaches to estimate the state price density under the classical hypothesis of the Black and Scholes model. In particular, we use the nonparametric approaches based on kernel and on the conditional expectation estimators. Firstly, we examine the real mean return function using local polynomial smoothing technique. Then, we evaluate the conditional expectation using the real probability density. According the hypothesis of the Black and Scholes model, we are able to derive a closed formula for approximating the conditional expectation with the risk neutral probability. Finally, we propose a comparison among two estimators of the state price density.
An improved asynchronous brain interface: making use of the temporal history of the LF-ASD feature vectors

The low-frequency asynchronous switch design (LF-ASD) has been introduced as a direct brain interface (BI) for asynchronous control applications. Asynchronous interfaces, as opposed to synchronous interfaces, have the advantage of being operational at all times and not only at specific system-defined periods. This paper modifies the LF-ASD design by incorporating into the system more knowledge about the attempted movements. Specifically, the history of feature values extracted from the EEG signal is used to detect a right index finger movement attempt. Using data collected from individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries and able-bodied subjects, it is shown that the error characteristics of the modified design are significantly better than the previous LF-ASD design. The true positive rate percentage increased by up to 15 which corresponds to 50% improvement when the system is operating with false positive rates in the 1–2% range.
Does lying on the right side increase the rate of gastric emptying?

1. Saline test meals (750 ml., 125 mM‐NaCl) were given by tube into the stomachs of five subjects who were either sitting, lying on the left side, or lying on the right side. The gastric contents were recovered at 10 min. The rate of gastric emptying was assessed from the recovery of the original solution, marked with phenol red. 2. The mean volume of this rapidly emptying test solution recovered after 10 min was 215 ml. from subjects lying on the right side and 431 ml. from subjects lying on the left side (P < 0.005) and 308 ml. from the sitting subjects. 3. Similar studies were made with 750 ml. test meals of a solution of glucose monohydrate (100 g/l.) given to the same subjects in the same positions, but the recoveries of this more slowly emptying solution were made at 20 min. 4. There was no statistically significant difference between the volumes recovered when subjects lay on their left sides (589 ml), when they lay on their right sides (555 ml.), and when they were sitting (564 ml.). 5. These results are consistent with posture influencing gastric emptying provided the given meal does not strongly activate duodenal receptors mediating the slowing of gastric emptying.
The Harm Chain

This article introduces the concept of a ‘harm chain’ as a mechanism tofurther broaden the way in which firms and public policy makers consider potential negative outcomes from marketing activities. The purpose of conceptualizing a ‘harm chain’ is to examine specifically the creation of harm within networks of marketing exchanges that might occur throughout pre-production, production, consumption and post-consumption activities. The authors suggest that addressing issues where harm occurs allows both firms and policy makers to identify whether exchanges bring about harm and how relevant parties can address the core cause of harm, as well as how those who are harmed can be protected.
Ultra-high frequency near-ground short-range propagation measurements in forest and plantation environments for wireless sensor networks

The growing interest in applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in vegetation environment has made it important to understand and predict the impact of vegetation on coverage and signal quality. As most of the proposed vegetation attenuation models are mainly based on measurements in temperate climate their prediction accuracy needs to be tested in tropical climate. With the presence of high humidity and high temperature in the tropical climate the attenuation because of vegetation is bound to increase. Very few researches have been reported about the attenuation because of vegetation related to WSN applications in scrub forest and plantation environments from the regions having tropical climate in Indian subcontinent. This study focuses on short-range, near to ground received signal strength measurements at 915 and 2400 MHz to evaluate vegetation attenuation models for planning and deployment of wireless sensor communications/networks in tropical climate for precision agriculture and plantation management applications. The measurements have been done in scrub forest, mango and guava plantation environment. It is found that International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Recommendation (ITU-R) and Weissberger models under predict vegetation because of attenuation, whereas the Cost 235 model has high prediction accuracy in the scrub forest and plantation environments in tropical climate.
Modeling Approach of LTE Mobile Positioning Simulator for OTDOA Measurements

Positioning techniques in LTE (Long Term Evolution) network are gaining more interest since the majority of mobile communication operators are deploying their 4G Solution all over the world. In this paper, we present a tool, based on Matlab/Simulink, for simulating the LTE positioning reference signal (PRS) generation, transmission and reception in a realistic propagation environment. The received signal at mobile station will be processed to obtain the time difference of arrival estimates which are used to calculate the handset position.
Genetics and epidemiology: asthma and infection

Purpose of reviewThis review will consider how recent epidemiological studies have helped reveal the role of respiratory infection in asthma inception early in life. We will also review the importance of respiratory infections and exacerbations of asthma and will discuss genetic factors controlling host immune responses to respiratory infection and the influence these may exert on asthma pathogenesis. Recent findingsBirth cohort studies have demonstrated bidirectional relationships between early life severe respiratory infections and asthma development; however, whether there is a clear causal role for severe respiratory infection early in life leading directly to asthma development remains unknown. The role of rhinovirus infection in asthma exacerbations has been investigated experimentally, with asthmatic patients exhibiting greater clinical illness severity, which was related to increased virus load and lower airways inflammation. Polymorphisms in genes involved in innate, antiviral and Th1 and Th2 immune responses have been linked to asthma as well as to early life severe respiratory infections, suggesting that host factors are likely to play an important role in their association. SummaryEarly in life, such genetic factors contribute to the risk of severe lower respiratory tract viral infection as well as later development of wheezing illness and asthma. Respiratory viruses are also the most frequent cause of asthma exacerbations at all ages.
Caregivers of frail elders: updating a national profile.

PURPOSE Family caregivers comprise the backbone of long-term-care provision in the United States, yet little is known about how the composition and experience of family caregiving has changed over time. DESIGN AND METHODS Data are drawn from the 1989 and 1999 National Long-Term Care Survey and Informal Caregiver Survey to develop nationally representative profiles of disabled older adults and their primary informal caregivers at two points in time. RESULTS The proportion of chronically disabled community-dwelling older adults who were receiving informal assistance from family or friends declined over the period of interest, whereas the proportion receiving no human help increased. On average, recipients of informal care were older and more disabled in 1999 than in 1989. Primary caregivers were children (41.3%), spouses (38.4%), and other family or friends (20.4%); children were more likely and others less likely to serve as primary caregivers in 1999 relative to 1989. Primary caregivers provided frequent and high levels of help at both points in time. A striking increase was found (from 34.9% to 52.8%) in the proportion of primary caregivers working alone, without secondary caregiver involvement. IMPLICATIONS In the context of projected demographic trends and budgetary constraints to public health insurance programs, these data underscore the importance of identifying viable strategies to monitor and support family caregivers in the coming years.
Use of complementary/alternative medicine by breast cancer survivors in Ontario: prevalence and perceptions.

PURPOSE To determine the prevalence of use of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) by breast cancer survivors in Ontario, Canada, and to compare the characteristics of CAM users and CAM nonusers. PATIENTS AND METHODS A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of Ontario women diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994 or 1995. RESULTS The response rate was 76.3%. Overall, 66.7% of the respondents reported using CAM, most often in an attempt to boost the immune system. CAM practitioners (most commonly chiropractors, herbalists, acupuncturists, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and/or naturopathic practitioners) were visited by 39.4% of the respondents. In addition, 62.0% reported use of CAM products (most frequently vitamins/minerals, herbal medicines, green tea, special foods, and essiac). Almost one half of the respondents informed their physicians of their use of CAM. Multiple logistic regression analysis determined that support group attendance was the only factor significantly associated with CAM use. CONCLUSION CAM use is common among Canadian breast cancer survivors, many of whom are discussing CAM therapy options with their physicians. Knowledge of CAM therapies is necessary for physicians and other health care practitioners to help patients make informed choices. CAM use may play a role in the positive benefits associated with support group attendance.
Blood pressure effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 analogues and sodium glucose transporter 2 inhibitors

Purpose of reviewThe growing number of obese patients with a high risk of developing hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus requires several drugs to treat all the associated morbidities. Ideally, one drug would help to tackle several health problems at the same time. We review available information on the blood pressure-reducing effects of the new antidiabetic drug classes, glucagon-like peptide 1 analogues and sodium glucose transporter 2 inhibitors. Recent findingsBlood pressure reduction with glucagon-like peptide 1 analogues or sodium glucose transporter 2 inhibitors ranges between 1 and 7 mmHg, both systolic and diastolic. As these drugs have not been sufficiently investigated in studies with office or ambulatory blood pressure as the primary efficacy measure or in prespecified hypertensive patient populations, their true efficacy in reducing blood pressure remains unclear. These studies are needed because the blood pressure-lowering effects of metabolic drugs may help to improve the clinical management of hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. SummaryObese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and difficult to control arterial hypertension represent a clinically important patient group at high cardiovascular risk that may profit from combined cardiovascular and metabolic actions of a drug.
Power combining multiplier using HBV diodes at 260 GHz

A technique for generating additional output power for a 260 GHz multiplier has been demonstrated. Waveguide branch-line couplers were used at both input and out put of the combiner block for power splitting and power combining respectively. The power combiner block showed good performance and is a good first step toward designing additional power combining blocks at higher frequencies to be fabricated using silicon micromachining.
A single-stage high efficiency high power factor LED driver

In this paper, we study the feasibility of a single-stage LED driver. The operating principles and design considerations for the LED driver in this study are analyzed and discussed in detail. A laboratory prototype has been built and tested. Using the prototype, high efficiency, high power factor and LED current control were achieved using a wide AC input voltage range from 90V to 270V.
Development of a compact MRI system for trabecular bone volume fraction measurements

A compact MRI system for measuring trabecular bone volume fraction (TBVF) of the calcaneus was developed with the use of a 0.21 T permanent magnet and portable MRI console. The entire system weighed < 600 kg and was installed in a 2 m × 2 m space. Two cross‐sectional spin‐echo images of a heel acquired with external reference phantoms (total measurement time = 5 min) were used to quantify the TBVF of the calcaneus. The linearity and reproducibility of the measurements were evaluated by means of proton density‐adjusted phantoms. Comparative measurements with quantitative ultrasound (QUS) in groups of healthy female volunteers showed a relatively high positive correlation (R2 = 0.4539, 0.2693) between TBVF and the speed of sound (SOS). These results demonstrate the potential of this new system for measuring bone density. Magn Reson Med 52:440–444, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The effect of remote-signal feedback architectures on the stability of human-in-the-loop telerobotics in the presence of time-delays

In this paper, stability properties of three different human-in-the-loop telerobotic system architectures are comparatively investigated, in the presence of human reaction time-delay and communication time-delays. The challenging problem of stability characterization of systems with multiple time-delays is addressed by implementing rigorous stability analysis tools, and the results are verified via numerical illustrations. Practical insights about the results of the stability investigations are also provided.
Yeast prt1 mutations alter heat‐shock gene expression through transcript fragmentation.

The inhibition of translation initiation by modification or mutation of initiation factors can lead to disproportionate effects on gene expression. Here we report disproportionate decreases in gene expression in cells with mutated Prt1 activity. The PRT1 gene product of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is necessary for translation initiation and is thought to be a component of initiation factor 3. At a restrictive temperature the prt1‐1 mutation, in addition to decreasing global protein synthesis, caused disproportionate decreases of the synthesis of the Ssa1 and Ssa2 members of the hsp70 heat‐shock gene family, and of the Hsp82 and Hsc82 heat‐shock proteins. Quantification of pulse‐labelled, immunoprecipitated lacZ fusion proteins showed that synthesis of each of these proteins was disproportionately decreased in prt1‐1 mutant cells. Although the mRNAs of affected genes were shown to be polysomal in mutant cells, they were fragmented and of decreased abundance, as indicated by transcript analysis and in vitro translation. Thus the mRNAs of these hsp genes become degraded under the conditions of limited translation initiation that are imposed by the prt1‐1 mutation. This untimely mRNA degradation accounts for the disproportionate decreases in polypeptide synthesis in prt1 mutant cells. We propose that sequences at the translation initiation site of SSA2 mRNA bring about the observed mRNA fragmentation.
TABLE I DSM IV classification of primary anxiety disorders . Categories Panic disorder with agoraphobia Panic disorder without agoraphobia Agoraphobia without history of panic disorder Specific phobia Social phobia Obsessive-compulsive disorder Acute stress disorder Posttraumatic stress disorder Gen

Anxiety disorders are classified according to symptoms, time course and therapeutic response. Concurrently, the experimental analysis of defensive behavior has identified three strategies of defense that are shared by different animal species, triggered by situations of potential, distal and proximal predatory threat, respectively. The first one consists of cautious exploration of the environment for risk assessment. The associated emotion is supposed to be anxiety and its pathology, Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The second is manifested by oriented escape or by behavioral inhibition, being related to normal fear and to Specific Phobias, as disorders. The third consists of disorganized flight or complete immobility, associated to dread and Panic Disorder. Among conspecific interactions lies a forth defense strategy, submission, that has been related to normal social anxiety (shyness) and to Social Anxiety Disorder. In turn, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder do not seem to be directly related to innate defense reactions. Such evolutionary approach offers a reliable theoretical framework for the study of the biological determinants of anxiety disorders, and a sound basis for psychiatric classification.
SMN-independent Subunits of the SMN Complex

The survival of motor neurons (SMN) complex is essential for the biogenesis of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) complexes in eukaryotic cells. Reduced levels of SMN cause the motor neuron degenerative disease, spinal muscular atrophy. We identify here stable subunits of the SMN complex that do not contain SMN. Sedimentation and immunoprecipitation experiments using cell extracts reveal at least three complexes composed of Gemin3, -4, and -5; Gemin6, -7, and unrip; and SMN with Gemin2, as well as free Gemin5. Complexes containing Gemin3-Gemin4-Gemin5 and Gemin6-Gemin7-unrip persist at similar levels when SMN is reduced. In cells, immunofluorescence microscopy shows differential localization of Gemin5 after cell stress. We further show that the Gemin5-containing subunits bind small nuclear RNA independently of the SMN complex and without a requirement for exogenous ATP. ATP hydrolysis is, however, required for displacement of small nuclear RNAs from the Gemin5-containing subunits and their assembly into snRNPs. These findings demonstrate a modular nature of the SMN complex and identify a new intermediate in the snRNP assembly process.
Etude des bases neurales de la catégorisation chez les sujets sains et les patients cérébro-lésés

La categorisation est un ensemble d’operations mentales qui permettent de classer les objets et les evenements. C’est un processus crucial pour de nombreuses situations, telles que la survie dans le monde animal, l’apprentissage chez l’enfant, ou encore le raisonnement abstrait et la resolution de problemes. Les patients ayant des lesions du cortex prefrontal presentent des difficultes pour les tâches de categorisation, et l’existence de ces difficultes est correlee au handicap fonctionnel de ces patients. Dans une premiere partie, nous avons mis au point une tâche de categorisation adaptee pour l’utilisation chez le patient, intitulee SimiCat. A l’aide de cette tâche, nous avons precise les difficultes de categorisation des patients et montre que les erreurs de type differenciations sont specifiques des patients frontaux. La tâche SimiCat presente une tres bonne valeur diagnostique pour distinguer les patients ayant une demence fronto-temporale de ceux ayant une maladie d’Alzheimer. Dans une deuxieme partie, nous avons utilise l’IRM fonctionnelle pour preciser les bases cerebrales de deux processus cles pour la categorisation : l’abstraction et la detection de similitudes. Nous avons montre que l’abstraction repose sur le cortex prefrontal dorsolateral gauche, alors que la detection de similitudes repose sur le cortex prefrontal ventrolateral bilateral. A l’aide de la morphometrie basee sur le voxel, nous avons montre que la variabilite des performances de categorisation des sujets sains etait correlee au volume de la portion anterieure du gyrus temporal moyen et inferieur droit, avec un gradient postero-anterieur selon le niveau d’abstraction de la categorisation. Dans une troisieme partie, nous avons mis au point une tâche de double amorcage semantique que nous utiliserons pour etudier les processus de categorisation automatique chez les patients ayant des lesions frontales et temporales. A partir de ces resultats, nous proposons un modele d’organisation cerebrale pour la categorisation, reposant sur les regions temporales anterieures, le cortex prefrontal ventrolateral bilateral et dorsolateral gauche. Nos resultats permettent egalement de mieux comprendre les deficits de categorisation des patients, ce qui permettra d’adapter leur prise en charge diagnostique et therapeutique.