Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LIN-12/Notch Regulates GABA Signaling at the Caenorhabditis elegans Neuromuscular Junction

The role of Notch signaling in cell-fate decisions has been studied extensively; however, this pathway is also active in adult tissues, including the nervous system. Notch signaling modulates a wide range of behaviors and processes of the nervous system in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, but there is no evidence for Notch signaling directly altering synaptic strength. Here, we demonstrate Notch-mediated regulation of synaptic activity at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction (NMJ). For this, we used aldicarb, an inhibitor of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, and assessed paralysis rates of animals with altered Notch signaling. Notch receptors LIN-12 and GLP-1 are required for normal NMJ function; they regulate NMJ activity in an opposing fashion. Complete loss of LIN-12 skews the excitation/inhibition balance at the NMJ toward increased activity, whereas partial loss of GLP-1 has the opposite effect. Specific Notch ligands and co-ligands are also required for proper NMJ function. The role of LIN-12 is independent of cell-fate decisions; manipulation of LIN-12 signaling through RNAi knockdown or overexpression of the co-ligand OSM-11 after development alters NMJ activity. We demonstrate that LIN-12 modulates GABA signaling in this paradigm, as loss of GABA signaling suppresses LIN-12 gain-of-function defects. Further analysis, in vivo and in silico, suggests that LIN-12 may modulate transcription of the GABAB receptor GBB-2. Our findings confirm a non-developmental role for the LIN-12/Notch receptor in regulating synaptic signaling and identify the GABAB receptor GBB-2 as a potential Notch transcriptional target in the C. elegans nervous system.
IMAGING LOCALIZATION AND SURGICAL APPROACH IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ECTOPIC PARATHYROID ADENOMAS.

OBJECTIVE ( 1) Review the anatomy and epidemiology of ectopic parathyroid adenomas (EPAs), ( 2) summarize the role of relevant imaging modalities in the localization of EPAs, and ( 3) characterize surgical approaches for various ectopic locations. METHODS Literature review of published English-language articles from 1995 through August 2017. RESULTS Summary of the literature indicates that the prevalence of EPA is approximately 20% in unexplored patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, but it is as high as 66% in re-operative patients. EPAs may be located anywhere from the carotid bifurcation to the aorto-pulmonary window. Ultrasound has limited accuracy in identifying EPAs except near the thyroid and thyrothymic ligament and requires expert experience from the user. Among dual-phase 99mTc sestamibi scintigraphy techniques, hybrid imaging with both single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and computed tomography (CT) (SPECT/CT) is superior to planar scintigraphy or SPECT alone at localizing EPAs. Four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) precisely delineates important anatomic relationships and is highly sensitive in localizing EPAs. Although 4DCT requires radiation, intravenous iodinated contrast, and reader experience, it is well-equipped to detect lesions at various ectopic sites and guide the surgical approach. EPAs frequently require alternative surgical approaches. Re-operative parathyroidectomy may be attempted in patients having previously undergone bilateral neck exploration by an experienced surgeon once the lesion is colocalized by 2 repeat imaging modalities. Removal of nonlocalized disease requires a careful and systematic exploration of superior and inferior gland locations. CONCLUSION EPAs pose challenges during both localization and surgical removal. High-volume experience and multidisciplinary care are necessary for optimal outcomes. ABBREVIATIONS CT = computed tomography; 4DCT = 4-dimensional CT; EPA = ectopic parathyroid adenoma; EPG = ectopic parathyroid gland; PHPT = primary hyperparathyroidism; RLN = recurrent laryngeal nerve; SPECT = single-photon emission computed tomography; TE = tracheo-esophageal.
A Comparison Between Aluminum and Iron Electrodes on Removal of Phosphate from Aqueous Solutions by Electrocoagulation Process

This study presents a comparison between aluminum and iron plate electrodes on phosphate removal from aqueous solutions by electrocoagulation process. The effectiveness of main operational parameters such as initial pH, initial phosphate concentration and current density were examined. In addition, treated solution and sludge characteristics, energy consumption and electrode mass depletion were compared for both electrodes. All experiments were done in an electrocoagulation cell with effective volume of 2 liters. It was found that the aluminum electrode has higher removal efficiency compared to the iron electrode in the same operational conditions. Phosphate removal efficiencies of 100% and 84.7% were observed for aluminum and iron electrode in a special case with optimum initial pH, maximum current density and maximum initial phosphate concentration equal to 3, 250A/m2, 400mg/l PO4 3- , respectively. Furthermore, less treated solution turbidity, higher secondary pollution (remained Al) and less electrode mass depletion was observed for the aluminum electrode.
A Tight Convergence Analysis for Stochastic Gradient Descent with Delayed Updates

We provide tight finite-time convergence bounds for gradient descent and stochastic gradient descent on quadratic functions, when the gradients are delayed and reflect iterates from $\tau$ rounds ago. First, we show that without stochastic noise, delays strongly affect the attainable optimization error: In fact, the error can be as bad as non-delayed gradient descent ran on only $1/\tau$ of the gradients. In sharp contrast, we quantify how stochastic noise makes the effect of delays negligible, improving on previous work which only showed this phenomenon asymptotically or for much smaller delays. Also, in the context of distributed optimization, the results indicate that the performance of gradient descent with delays is competitive with synchronous approaches such as mini-batching. Our results are based on a novel technique for analyzing convergence of optimization algorithms using generating functions.
Following the Herd

How can so many people suddenly sign on to a questionable idea? And then, why do they often change their opinion just as quickly? Over the last two decades, economists have tried to answer those questions using cascade theories, which attempt to explain the emergence and evolution of transient and reversible phenomena of people falling in line with the crowd.
Predicting outcomes of acute low back pain patients in emergency department

Abstract Low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint among patients presenting to emergency department (ED) in Singapore. The STarT Back Screening Tool (SBT) was recently developed and validated for triage of LBP patients in primary care settings. This study aimed to investigate whether the SBT could provide prognostic information for long-term outcomes of acute LBP patients visiting the ED, who might benefit from appropriate and timely management at an earlier stage. Data were collected in a prospective observational cohort study from 177 patients who consulted emergency physicians for acute LBP and completed 6-month follow-up. Patients were administered the SBT and assessed at baseline. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 6 weeks and 6 months. A multiple linear regression model incorporating SBT total score, age, employment status, LBP history, and 6-week pain score was constructed to predict 6-month pain score. In the model, SBT total score and 6-week pain score were significantly associated with 6-month pain score (P < .05) with respective coefficients of 0.125 and 0.500. The model explained 40.1% of the variance for 6-month pain score. This study demonstrated that the multiple linear regression model showed predictive performance in determining long-term outcomes for acute LBP patients presenting to the ED.
Study of Lipid profile and Paraoxonase-1 Activity in Psoriatic patients

Background: Psoriasis is a common recurrent disease of skin characterised by excessive cell proliferation and incomplete differentiation in lesional epidermis.Aim: The present study was aimed to determine lipid parameters and paraoxonase activity in psoriatic patients. Methods: The study included 100 subjects of age group 30-60 years, out of which 50 were patients of psoriasis (Case group) and rest 50 were normal healthy individuals of same age group (Control group). Result: Our study showed significant increase (p<0.001) in the levels of Cholesterol, Triglyceride, LDL and VLDL in patients of psoriasis as compared to control group. Also, we found significant decreased levels of serum HDL and PON-1 in psoriatic patients as compared to control group.Conclusion: Our study concludes that altered lipid profile and paraoxonase may be responsible for the higher prevalence of systemic complication such as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
Successful Treatment of Actinic Keratosis with Kanuka Honey

Actinic keratoses form as rough, scaly plaques on sun-exposed areas; they can be an important step in premalignant progression to squamous cell cancer of the skin. Currently, pharmacological treatments consist of topical immunomodulatory agents with poor side effect profiles. Use of honey has been common in both ancient and modern medicine, where it is now a key therapy in the management of wound healing. In vitro studies show the New Zealand native Kanuka honey to have immunomodulatory and antimitotic effects, with recent evidence suggesting efficacy of topical application in a variety of dermatological contexts, including rosacea and psoriasis. Here, we present a case report of a 66-year-old gentleman with an actinic keratosis on his hand, which had been present for years. Regular application of Kanuka honey over three months resulted in remission immediately following the treatment period with no signs of recurrence at nine months.
Speech Categorization Develops Slowly Through Adolescence

The development of the ability to categorize speech sounds is often viewed as occurring primarily during infancy via perceptual learning mechanisms. However, a number of studies suggest that even after infancy, children’s categories become more categorical and well defined through about age 12. We investigated the cognitive changes that may be responsible for such development using a visual world paradigm experiment based on (McMurray, Tanenhaus, & Aslin, 2002). Children from 3 age groups (7–8, 12–13, and 17–18 years) heard a token from either a b/p or s/∫ continua spanning 2 words (beach/peach, ship/sip) and selected its referent from a screen containing 4 pictures of potential lexical candidates. Eye movements to each object were monitored as a measure of how strongly children were committing to each candidate as perception unfolds in real-time. Results showed an ongoing sharpening of speech categories through 18, which was particularly apparent during the early stages of real-time perception. When analysis targeted to specifically within-category sensitivity to continuous detail, children exhibited increasingly gradient categories over development, suggesting that increasing sensitivity to fine-grained detail in the signal enables these more discrete categorizations. Together these suggest that speech development is a protracted process in which children’s increasing sensitivity to within-category detail in the signal enables increasingly sharp phonetic categories.
Cardiometabolic risk factors in treatment‐seeking youth versus population youth with obesity

Although obesity affects approximately one in five youths, only a fraction is treated in pediatric weight management clinics. Characteristics distinguishing youth with obesity who seek weight management treatment from those who do not are largely unknown. Yet identification of specific health characteristics which differentiate treatment‐seeking from non‐treatment seeking youth with obesity may shed light on underlying motivations for pursuing treatment.
Antenna Calibration Method for Dielectric Property Estimation of Biological Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

We aim to estimate the average dielectric properties of centimeter-scale volumes of biological tissues. A variety of approaches to measurement of dielectric properties of materials at microwave frequencies have been demonstrated in the literature and in practice. However, existing methods are not suitable for noninvasive measurement of in vivo biological tissues due to high property contrast with air, and the need to conform with the shape of the human body. To overcome this, a method of antenna calibration has been adapted and developed for use with an antenna system designed for biomedical applications, allowing for the estimation of permittivity and conductivity. This technique requires only two calibration procedures and does not require any special manufactured components. Simulated and measured results are presented between 3 to 8 GHz for materials with properties expected in biological tissues. Error bounds and an analysis of sources of error are provided.
INTER-HARMONIC DETECTION AND ESTIMATION IN LOW-FREQUENCY CONDUCTED ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE MEASUREMENTS

The IEC 1000-4-7 standard is currently mandated to fix both procedures and instruments for evaluating the level of harmonics and inter-harmonics in electromagnetic interference measurements for power supply systems and connected equipment. Prescriptions and recommendations related to inter-harmonics seem to be not well detailed; this is particularly true for those showing a nonstationary behaviour. As a matter of fact, only a digital signal-processing approach, based on the Discrete Fourier Transform, is strongly recommended; little or nothing is said both about the sampling rate to be adopted and the time window to be observed. The paper aims at designing suitable measurement procedures based on advanced digital signal-processing algorithms in order to overcome the aforementioned limits. In particular, to allow non-stationary inter-harmonics to be monitored and properly analysed, a new approach, based on the use of Time-Frequency Representations, improved by a recently introduced reassignment technique, is proposed. After a detailed description of the proposed approach, its efficiency and suitability is assessed by means of tests on numerical signals as well as on actual signals directly acquired on the field.
ROLE OF CONSTRAINT AND SELECTION IN THE MORPHOLOGIC EVOLUTION OF CARYOCORBULA (MOLLUSCA: CORBULIDAE) FROM THE CARIBBEAN NEOGENE

We examined patterns of morphologic evolution in Caryocorbula, a common bivalve genus of the Caribbean Neogene, to evaluate the roles that constraint and selection play in its apparent morphologic conservatism. With multivariate analyses using landmark-based geometric morphometrics, we examined the relationship of valve size and outline shape within the Caryocorbula + (Bothrocorbula + Hexacorbula) clade, and within 21 morphospecies of Caryocorbula, all from Neogene deposits of the Caribbean region. We found that each genus is morphologically distinct both in shape and size, and that Caryocorbula shows strong interspecific allometry that persists despite species turnover and the vagaries of geographic and temporal sample coverage. Persistence of this allometric trend indicates that constraints shape Caryocorbula morphology. Constraint mechanisms may relate to 1) space limitations in the inequivalved shells that characterize Corbulidae, and/or 2) the need for functional articulation of unequal valves through a complex shell accretion history. Alternatively, environmental conditions, particularly nutrient availability, may control the spatial and temporal distribution of large Caryocorbula, but constraint via pleiotropy could restrict the shape of these bivalves. Finally, although constraints appear to play an important role in the morphologic evolution of Neogene Caryocorbula, an adaptive relationship of size and shape to environment is not precluded, as illustrated for Caryocorbula species from the late Miocene-early Pliocene of the northern Dominican Republic. The morphology of these species falls along the interspecific allometric curve, but each is also characteristic of a particular paleoenvironmental setting, with valve size and shape tracking with inferred depth and physical energy gradients.
Belonen met aandelen of opties bij een beursgang

Er is veel onderzoek gedaan naar de performance van nieuw ter beurze genoteerde ondernemingen op lange termijn. Vaak vindt men underperformance (Ritter, 1991,1997; Loughran en Ritter, 1995; Teoh, Welch en Wong, 1998). Dit betekent dat nieuw ter beurze genoteerde ondernemingen gemiddeld op de lange termijn (veelal drie of vijf jaar) een minder hoog rendement behalen dan reeds genoteerde vergelijkbare ondernemingen. Recentelijk is dit ook voor Nederland bevestigd (Van Frederikslust, Chu en Bode, 2002). Toch hoeven ondernemingen met een eerste beursnotering het niet per definitie allemaal op lange termijn slechter te doen dan de reeds lang genoteerde ondernemingen en het is dan ook niet verwonderlijk dat de internationale aandacht zich nu richt op de oorzaken van een betere of slechtere langetermijnperformance van nieuwe beursondernemingen (Brav en Gompers, 1997; Rajan en Servaes, 1997; Krigman, Shaw en Womack, 1999; Jog en McConnomy, 1999; Megginson et al., 2000). Dit onderzoek sluit bij deze laatste ontwikkelingen aan, doordat wordt onderzocht of er een statistische relatie bestaat tussen de met de beursgang geïntroduceerde beloningsvorm en de performance van de desbetreffende onderneming op de lange termijn. Wij zullen niet uitgebreid ingaan op de redenen van het introduceren van nieuwe beloningssystemen rondom de beursgang (Haugen en Senbet 1981; Barnea, Haugen en Senbet, 1985; Welbourne en Andrews, 1996; Von Eije en Van der Zwaan, 2001), maar het zal duidelijk zijn dat vele betrokkenen bij de beursgang er alle belang bij hebben dat de nieuwe levensfase van de onderneming gepaard gaat met de introductie van een zo goed mogelijk beloningssysteem, mede met het oog op het tegengaan van agentschapkosten. Met name wordt door de beursgang een beloning met aandelen of (call)opties relatief eenvoudig, doordat de waarde van het aandeel dagelijks wordt gepubliceerd. Op de verschillen tussen de beide beloningsvormen en hun mogelijke consequenties voor de langetermijnperformance van de onderneming zal in paragraaf 2 worden ingegaan. In paragraaf 3 komen de methodologie en de data aan de orde. Paragraaf 4 gaat daarna in op de empirische relaties tussen de beloningsvormen en de langetermijnperformance van de nieuw genoteerde ondernemingen. Paragraaf 5 bevat ten slotte de conclusies.
Towards virtual reality infinite walking

Redirected walking techniques can enhance the immersion and visual-vestibular comfort of virtual reality (VR) navigation, but are often limited by the size, shape, and content of the physical environments. We propose a redirected walking technique that can apply to small physical environments with static or dynamic obstacles. Via a head- and eye-tracking VR headset, our method detects saccadic suppression and redirects the users during the resulting temporary blindness. Our dynamic path planning runs in real-time on a GPU, and thus can avoid static and dynamic obstacles, including walls, furniture, and other VR users sharing the same physical space. To further enhance saccadic redirection, we propose subtle gaze direction methods tailored for VR perception. We demonstrate that saccades can significantly increase the rotation gains during redirection without introducing visual distortions or simulator sickness. This allows our method to apply to large open virtual spaces and small physical environments for room-scale VR. We evaluate our system via numerical simulations and real user studies.
Implementation science for integration of HIV and non-communicable disease services in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Objective: As the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) rises across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), global donors and governments are exploring strategies to integrate HIV and NCD care. Implementation science is an emerging research paradigm that can help such programs achieve health impact at scale. We define implementation science as a systematic, scientific approach to ask and answer questions about how to deliver what works in populations who need it with greater speed, appropriate fidelity, efficiency, and relevant coverage. We identified achievements and gaps in the application of implementation science to HIV/NCD integration, developed an HIV/NCD implementation science research agenda, and detailed opportunities for capacity building and training. Design: We conducted a systematic review of the application of implementation science methods to integrated HIV/NCD programs in SSA. Methods: We searched PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and EMBASE for evaluations of integrated programs in SSA reporting at least one implementation outcome. Results: We identified 31 eligible studies. We found that most studies used only qualitative, economic, or impact evaluation methods. Only one study used a theoretical framework for implementation science. Acceptability, feasibility, and penetration were the most frequently reported implementation outcomes. Adoption, appropriateness, cost, and fidelity were rare; sustainability was not evaluated. Conclusions: Implementation science has a promising role in supporting HIV/NCD integration, although its impact will be limited unless theoretical frameworks, rigorous study designs, and reliable measures are employed. To help support use of implementation science, we need to build sustainable implementation science capacity. Doing so in SSA and supporting implementation science investigators can help expedite HIV/NCD integration.
Management of Pain in Elite Athletes: Identified Gaps in Knowledge and Future Research Directions

Objective: For elite athletes to train and compete at peak performance levels, it is necessary to manage their pain efficiently and effectively. A recent consensus meeting on the management of pain in elite athletes concluded that there are many gaps in the current knowledge and that further information and research is required. This article presents the crystallization of these acknowledged gaps in knowledge. Data sources: Information was gathered from a wide variety of published scientific sources that were reviewed at the consensus meeting and the gaps in knowledge identified. Main Results: Gaps have been identified in the epidemiology of analgesic use, the management of pain associated with minor injuries, and the field of play management of pain for athletes with major injuries. From a pharmacological perspective, there is a lack of information on the prescribing of opioid medications in elite athletes and more data are required on the use of local anesthetics injections, corticosteroids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during training and in competition. Pain management strategies for the general population are widely available, but there are few for the elite sporting population and virtually none for elite athletes with a disability. More research is also needed in assessing cognitive-behavior therapies in improving specific outcomes and also into the new process of psychologically informed physiotherapy. A key issue is the paucity of data relating to incidence or prevalence of persistent pain and how this relates to persistent dysfunction, exercise performance, and physiological function in later life. Conclusions: The identification of the gaps in knowledge in the management of pain in elite athletes will provide a unified direction for the retrieval of information and further research that will provide reassurance, speed return to active sport, and benefit performance.