Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prolonged unit responses in thalamic reticular, ventral, and posterior nuclei following lateral hypothalamic and midbrain reticular stimulation

In unanesthetized postcollicular cerveau isolé rats, prolonged responses over 10 sec periods following intracranial stimulation (0.2 sec, 100 Hz, 0.5 msec, 600 μA cathodal pulses) were studied with extracellular recordings of 150 nucleus reticularis and 122 ventral and posterior thalamic units. After medial forebrain bundle (MFB) or midbrain reticular (RET) stimulation, most nucleus reticularis units showed significantly decreased firing, and the MFB and RET effects converged on 64%. None was excited. In ventral and posterior thalamus, however, long‐lasting unit responses were mixed. MFB and RET stimuli elicited significantly increased firing in 17% and 20% of the units, respectively, and decreased firing in 21% and 16%, respectively. Convergence of MFB‐ and RET‐elicited responses occurred in 25% of the cells, but none showed convergence of opposite responses which might reflect believed motivational differences between the stimuli. Similar stimuli delivered to ventral medial thalamus evoked pronounced excitation of nucleus reticularis discharge, contrasting the MFB and RET effects and confirming previous reports by others. The substantial responses elicited by MFB and RET stimuli in nucleus reticularis fulfill previously proposed criteria for definition of an arousal dimension in terms of single cell activity. The similarity of MFB and RET effects in the posterior nucleus of thalamus raises questions regarding its role in nociception.
Clinical Evidence of Decreased Iris Resistance in Patients With Keratoconus

Purpose: To compare the total energy required for producing patent neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser peripheral iridotomy in patients with or without keratoconus (KC). Methods: In this case–control study, 36 eyes from 36 patients with KC and 24 eyes from 24 patients with myopia with or without astigmatism (as control group) who were scheduled for phakic intraocular lens implantation underwent neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser peripheral iridotomy 1 week before surgery. The total laser energy was recorded and compared between the 2 groups. Results: Mean total laser energy was significantly lower in patients with KC compared with the control group (114.7 ± 41.0 mJ and 263.9 ± 79.6 mJ, respectively, P < 0.01). Total laser energy was not correlated with patients' age, sex, race, refraction, maximum keratometry, or corneal thickness. Conclusions: Lower tissue resistance may be present in other ocular structures, such as iris, in patients with KC. Our findings supported a generalized abnormality in patients with KC rather than a localized corneal disease, at least in some cases.
Increased expression of the close homolog of the adhesion molecule l1 in different cell types over time after rat spinal cord contusion

The close homolog of the adhesion molecule L1 (CHL1) is important during CNS development, but a study with CHL1 knockout mice showed greater functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) in its absence. We investigated CHL1 expression from 1 to 28 days after clinically relevant contusive SCI in Sprague‐Dawley rats. Western blot analysis showed that CHL1 expression was significantly up‐regulated at day 1 and further increased over 4 weeks after SCI. Immunohistochemistry of tissue sections showed that CHL1 in the intact spinal cord was expressed at low levels. By 1 day and through 4 weeks after SCI, CHL1 became highly expressed in NG2+ cells. Hypertrophic GFAP+ astrocytes also expressed CHL1 by 1 week after injury. The increase in CHL1 protein paralleled that of NG2 in the first week and GFAP between 1 and 4 weeks after injury. At 4 weeks, NG2+/CHL1+ cells and GFAP+/CHL1+ astrocytes were concentrated at the boundary between residual spinal cord tissue and the central lesion. NF200+ spinal cord axons approached but did not penetrate this boundary. In contrast, CHL1+ cells in the central lesion at 1 week and later colabeled with p75 and NG2 and were chronically associated with many NF200+ axons, presumably axons that had sprouted in association with CHL1+ Schwann cells infiltrating the cord after contusion. Thus, our study demonstrates up‐regulation of CHL1 in multiple cell types and locations in a rat model of contusion injury and suggests that this molecule may be involved both in inhibition of axonal regeneration and in recovery processes after SCI. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Short-term outcome of painful bone marrow oedema of the knee following oral treatment with iloprost or tramadol: results of an exploratory phase II study of 41 patients.

OBJECTIVES To compare the therapeutic effects of oral iloprost and tramadol on the outcome of bone marrow oedema (BME) of the knee by MR imaging and clinical assessment. METHODS Forty-one patients with painful ischemic or mechanical BME of the knee were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized controlled study. Patients were randomized either to iloprost (n = 21, group 1) or tramadol (n = 20, group 2). The treatment duration was 4 weeks. The Larson knee score was used to assess function before treatment and then 3 days, 1, 2, 3, 4 weeks and 3 months after the start of treatment. Short tau inversion recovery and T1-weighted MR images of the affected knees were obtained before and 3 months after the start of treatment. Bone marrow oedema was assessed visually and by computer-assisted quantification for baseline and follow-up MR examinations. RESULTS Thirty-three patients completed the study as scheduled. The mean Larson score improved from 58.6 points to 81.8 points in group 1, and from 59.6 points to 86.8 points in group 2, after 3 months (no significant difference between the treatment groups). On MR images, complete BME regression in at least one bone was observed in nine patients (52.9%) in group 1, as opposed to three patients (18.7%) in group 2, after 3 months (P = 0.034). Correspondingly, the median BME volume decreased by 58.0% in group 1, and by 47.5% in group 2. CONCLUSIONS The analgesic effect of iloprost and tramadol was similar. BME regression on MR images was more pronounced under iloprost treatment.
A novel system architecture for brain controlled IoT enabled environments

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) has recently gained much popularity due to plethora of its applications. In this paper, we propose a novel system architecture to utilize brain signals for controlling Internet of Things enabled environments. The proposed architecture aids in translating brain signals to commands that interact with or control the environment using IoT actuation networks thus executing user desired actions. It comprises of novel, low complex and low power intelligent signal processing architecture for detection of voluntary eye blinks by isolating involuntary eye blinks and IoT enabled wireless actuation network for controlling the environment using commands generated from EEG signal. For the real time performance analysis of the proposed architecture, we developed a wearable device which acquires dual channel EEG using electrodes at Fp1 and Fp2 locations. From the acquired EEG data, the device detects the voluntary eye blinks of the patient and use this information in controlling the environment such as switching HVAC system, lighting or electric fan etc. Performance analysis shows that the proposed intelligent signal processing architecture detects the voluntary eye blinks with 95.2% accuracy when tested on 10 subjects with a low power consumption of 165 mW.
Skin layer recovery of free‐surface wakes: Relationship to surface renewal and dependence on heat flux and background turbulence

The thermal signatures of free-surface wakes observed in the open ocean show that the recovery of the cool skin layer is related to the degree of surface mixing and to ambient environmental conditions. Wakes produced by two surface-piercing cables of O(10 -2 m) in diameter are analyzed using infrared imagery. Under low-wind-speed conditions when the swell and surface current were aligned, the wakes exhibited distinctive patchlike features of O(1 m) in diameter that were generated by the passage of individual waves. The time t * required by the skin layer to recover from these disturbances is compared to the surface-renewal timescale τ used in heat and gas flux models. At low wind speeds, t * is comparable to τ, but at moderate wind speeds the agreement is poor. The spatial and temporal variations in the skin temperature of these wakes are related to a wave Reynolds number used to characterize the strength of the disturbance due to the waves. The recovery process is characterized in terms of the restoring internal energy flux J r which is proportional to both the initial thickness and the thermal recovery rate of the skin layer and was found to be directly related to the strength of the surface disruption. Comparison of the wake results with laboratory and other field measurements of breaking waves implies that J r is also a strong function of the net heat flux and background turbulence, which relate directly to the existing environmental conditions such as wind stress and sea state. Our results demonstrate that J r may vary by several orders of magnitude, depending on the environmental conditions.
Optimizing magnetomotive contrast of SPIO-labeled platelets for thrombosis imaging in optical coherence tomography

Rehydratable, lyophilized platelets loaded with superparamagnetic iron oxides (SPIOs) has the potential to provide magnetomotive imaging contrast to sites of vascular damage, including thrombosis complicating atherosclerosis and hemorrhage. Magnetomotive optical coherence tomography (MMOCT) contrasts SPIO-platelets based on their nanoscale, magnetically-induced motion. We report improvements in MMOCT imaging contrast and sensitivity by optimizing the magnetic properties and SPIO loading of the platelets. SPIO-platelets have been shown to specifically adhere to sites of vascular damage in porcine arteries ex vivo. This may lead to new methods for detecting internal bleeding and monitoring the formation of blood clots using infused SPIO-platelets.
A recurring FBN1 gene mutation in neonatal Marfan syndrome.

BACKGROUND Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder of connective tissue caused by mutations in the fibrillin 1 gene (FBN1). FBN1 mutations have been associated with a broad spectrum of phenotypes. Neonatal Marfan syndrome has unique clinical manifestations and mutations. OBJECTIVE To determine if there is a discernible genotypic-phenotypic correlation associated with the unique mutation in neonatal Marfan syndrome. STUDY DESIGN A newborn exhibited many typical characteristics of neonatal Marfan syndrome, including arachnodactyly; contractures of both elbows, knees, and ankles; small-joint laxity; dilated cardiomyopathy; valvular dysplasia and insufficiency; congestive heart failure; and pulmonary emphysema. Three atypical features were also discovered: a right diaphragmatic hernia, a myocardial mass, and left main-stem bronchomalacia. She died at 3(1/2) months of age. Total RNA was extracted from skin fibroblasts and amplified by means of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification with FBN1-specific primers. The complementary DNA fragments were sequenced. RESULTS A single T-to-C transition at nucleotide 3276 (T3276C) was identified and confirmed at the DNA level by sequencing of genomic DNA. This results in a substitution of threonine for isoleucine. CONCLUSIONS Neonatal Marfan syndrome is a unique clinical entity with recurring mutation hot spots in exons 24 to 27 and 31 to 32 of the FBN1 gene. Some clinical features in this case report are unusual for neonatal Marfan syndrome. This is the third report of this T3276C mutation in the FBN1 gene with unusual clinical manifestations. We conclude that there is a genotypic-phenotypic correlation associated with this mutation.
ASSESSMENT OF RADIATION DAMAGE—THE NEED FOR A MULTIPARAMETRIC AND INTEGRATIVE APPROACH WITH THE HELP OF BOTH CLINICAL AND BIOLOGICAL DOSIMETRY

Accidental exposure to ionizing radiation leads to damage on different levels of the biological organization of an organism. Depending on exposure conditions, such as the nature of radiation, time and affected organs and organ systems, the clinical endpoint of radiation damage and the resulting acute and chronic radiation syndromes may vary to a great extent. Exposure situations range from purely localized radiation scenarios and partial-body exposures to whole-body exposures. Therefore, clinical pictures vary from localized radiation injuries up to the extreme situation of radiation-induced multi-organ involvement and failure requiring immediate, intensive, and interdisciplinary medical treatment. These totally different and complex clinical situations not only appear most different in clinical diagnostic and therapeutic aspects, but also, due to different levels of underlying biological damage, biological indicators of effects may vary to a wide extent. This fact means that an exact assessment of the extent of radiation damage within individual patients can only be performed when taking into consideration clinical as well as different biological indicators. Among the clinical indicators, routine laboratory parameters such as blood counts and the documentation of clinical signs and symptoms (using such methods as the METREPOL system) are the key parameters, but dicentric assay, the gold standard for biological dosimetry, and other methods under development, such as the gamma-H2AX focus assay or gene expression analysis of radiosensitive genes, must also be taken into account. Each method provides best results in different situations, or, in other words, there are methods that work better in a specific exposure condition or at a given time of examination (e.g., time after exposure) than others. Some methods show results immediately; others require days to weeks until results are available for clinical decision-making. Therefore, to provide the best basis for triage and planning and to provide medical treatment after accidental radiation exposure, different and independent diagnostic procedures integrating all clinical aspects as well as different biological indicators have to be applied. This multiparametric approach has been suggested after recent radiation accidents but needs to be adopted and standardized worldwide. A new integrative concept is shown and discussed.
Functional outcome in bipolar disorder: the role of clinical and cognitive factors.

INTRODUCTION Few studies have examined the clinical, neuropsychological and pharmacological factors involved in the functional outcome of bipolar disorder despite the gap between clinical and functional recovery. METHODS A sample of 77 euthymic bipolar patients were included in the study. Using an a priori definition of low versus good functional outcome, based on the psychosocial items of the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF, DSM-IV), and taking also into account their occupational adaptation, the patients were divided into two groups: good or low occupational functioning. Patients with high (n = 46) and low (n = 31) functioning were compared on several clinical, neuropsychological and pharmacological variables and the two patient groups were contrasted with healthy controls (n = 35) on cognitive performance. RESULTS High- and low-functioning groups did not differ with respect to clinical variables. However, bipolar patients in general showed poorer cognitive performance than healthy controls. This was most evident in low-functioning patients and in particular on verbal memory and executive function measures. CONCLUSIONS Low-functioning patients were cognitively more impaired than highly functioning patients on verbal recall and executive functions. The variable that best predicted psychosocial functioning in bipolar patients was verbal memory.
A Silicon-Based Low-Power Broadband Transimpedance Amplifier

The analysis, design, and implementation of a 50-Gb/s transimpedance amplifier (TIA) in a 0.13-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> SiGe BiCMOS process are presented. The proposed TIA, designed for use in a single-channel optical communication network, is comprised of three stages including: 1) a shunt-peaked, shunt-series feedback stage incorporating a transformer-based positive feedback; 2) an <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$RC$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-degenerated common-emitter stage; and 3) an inductively degenerated emitter follower. The TIA chip integrates an on-chip 100-fF input capacitor to emulate the photo-detector junction capacitor, and achieves a measured transimpedance gain of 41 dB<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Omega $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and an input-referred current-noise spectral density of 39.8 pA/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sqrt {Hz}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> over a 50-GHz bandwidth. The TIA achieves an open eye at 50 Gbps with random jitter of 2.3-ps rms (including the jitter contribution of the test fixture). The prototype chip occupies 0.58 mm<sup>2</sup> (including pads) of die area and dissipates 24 mW of dc power from a 2-V supply voltage (i.e., less than 0.5 pJ/bit).
Delay-Sensitive Area Spectral Efficiency: A Performance Metric for Delay-Constrained Green Networks

This paper introduces a new metric, referred to as delay-sensitive area spectral efficiency (DASE), to analyze the performance of delay-constrained wireless networks. We study DASE in different point-to-point, spectrum sharing, interference, and Poisson-point process-based dense network configurations and with different levels of channel state information (CSI) at the transmitters. Also, we determine the optimal rates/powers optimizing DASE. Finally, we use some recent results on finite block-length codes to analyze the effect of the codewords length on the network DASE. As demonstrated, DASE is a useful metric for analyzing delay-sensitive green networks. Moreover, adaptive power allocation and partial CSI feedback are powerful tools for performance improvement in green networks.
Assessment of the risk factors for hearing loss in adult Nigerian population

Background: A reduction in hearing sensitivity is common in adults and was previously considered to be normal as age increases. However, other health variables may play a role in the sensory changes. This prospective, comparative, hospital-based study assessed the risk factors (RFs) associated with sensorineural hearing losses (SNHL) in adult patients in a specialized tertiary hospital clinic in South-western Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Patients with clinical diagnosis of hearing impairment (bilateral SNHL) were the test subjects and age and sex-matched comparable group without SNHL were the Controls. Using a structured questionnaire, variables assessed included current and past medical history, family and social history, use of medications including ototoxic drugs, and prolonged medications. Results: One hundred and twenty-seven patients participated in the study comprising of 76 test subjects with SNHL (including 14 with suspected ARHL) and 51 controls. 59.8% of the participants were males. Univariate analysis revealed statistically-significant differences in family history, alcohol consumption, smoking, exposure to noise, previous ear discharge, previous head injury, hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis, ototoxic drugs usage, prolonged medication and obesity between the two categories of subjects. Logistic regression analysis revealed family history, smoking, noise exposure, head injury, hypertension had significantly increased odds of developing SNHL. Conclusion: It was concluded that the RFs for SNHL in adult Nigerians were multifactorial while some of the RFs may be amenable to primary prevention. Legislation and public health education could facilitate reduction of SNHL in our community.
Reducing acquisition time in clinical MRI by data undersampling and compressed sensing reconstruction

MRI is often the most sensitive or appropriate technique for important measurements in clinical diagnosis and research, but lengthy acquisition times limit its use due to cost and considerations of patient comfort and compliance. Once an image field of view and resolution is chosen, the minimum scan acquisition time is normally fixed by the amount of raw data that must be acquired to meet the Nyquist criteria. Recently, there has been research interest in using the theory of compressed sensing (CS) in MR imaging to reduce scan acquisition times. The theory argues that if our target MR image is sparse, having signal information in only a small proportion of pixels (like an angiogram), or if the image can be mathematically transformed to be sparse then it is possible to use that sparsity to recover a high definition image from substantially less acquired data. This review starts by considering methods of k-space undersampling which have already been incorporated into routine clinical imaging (partial Fourier imaging and parallel imaging), and then explains the basis of using compressed sensing in MRI. The practical considerations of applying CS to MRI acquisitions are discussed, such as designing k-space undersampling schemes, optimizing adjustable parameters in reconstructions and exploiting the power of combined compressed sensing and parallel imaging (CS-PI). A selection of clinical applications that have used CS and CS-PI prospectively are considered. The review concludes by signposting other imaging acceleration techniques under present development before concluding with a consideration of the potential impact and obstacles to bringing compressed sensing into routine use in clinical MRI.
Pulsed light induced damages in Listeria innocua and Escherichia coli

Pulsed light (PL) is an upcoming nonthermal decontamination technology mainly used for surface sterilization. The objective of this study was to investigate the extent of cellular damage caused by PL treatments of Listeria innocua and Escherichia coli on a polysaccharide surface in order to gain knowledge about the main inactivation pathways.
Automated Solid-Phase Protein Modification with Integrated Enzymatic Digest for Reaction Validation: Application of a Compartmented Microfluidic Reactor for Rapid Optimization and Analysis of Protein Biotinylation

Protein modification by covalent coupling of small ligands or markers is an important prerequisite for the use of proteins in many applications. Well-known examples are the use of proteins with fluorescent markers in many in vivo experiments or the binding of biotinylated antibodies via biotin–streptavidin coupling in the frame of numerous bioassays. Multiple protocols were established for the coupling of the respective molecules, e.g., via the C and N-terminus, or via cysteines and lysines exposed at the protein surface. Still, in most cases the conditions of these standard protocols are only an initial guess. Optimization of the coupling parameters like reagent concentrations, pH, or temperature may strongly increase coupling yield and the biological activity of the modified protein. In order to facilitate the process of optimizing coupling conditions, a method was developed which uses a compartmented microfluidic reactor for the rapid screening of different coupling conditions. In addition, the system allows for the integration of an enzymatic digest of the modified protein directly after modification. In combination with a subsequent MALDI-TOF analysis of the resulting fragments, this gives a fast and detailed picture not only of the number and extent of the generated modifications but also of their position within the protein sequence. The described process was demonstrated for biotinylation of green fluorescent protein. Different biotin-excesses and different pH-values were tested in order to elucidate the influence on the modification extent and pattern. In addition, the results of solid-phase based modifications within the microfluidic reactor were compared to modification patterns resulting from coupling trials with unbound protein. As expected, modification patterns of immobilized proteins showed clear differences to the ones of dissolved proteins.