comparative

Probing the architecture of neuronal circuits and the principles that underlie their functional organization remains an important challenge of modern neurosciences. This holds true, in particular, for the inference of neuronal connectivity from large-scale extracellular recordings. Despite the popularity of this approach and a number of elaborate methods to reconstruct networks, the degree to which synaptic connections can be reconstructed from spike-train recordings alone remains controversial. Here, we provide a framework to probe and compare connectivity inference algorithms, using a combination of synthetic ground-truth and in vitro data sets, where the connectivity labels were obtained from simultaneous high-density microelectrode array (HD-MEA) and patch-clamp recordings...

The use of deep learning (DL) is steadily gaining traction in scientific challenges such as cancer research. Advances in enhanced data generation, machine learning algorithms, and compute infrastructure have led to an acceleration in the use of deep learning in various domains of cancer research such as drug response problems. In our study, we explored tree-based models to improve the accuracy of a single drug response model and demonstrate that tree-based models such as XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) have advantages over deep learning models, such as a convolutional neural network (CNN), for single drug response problems...

Compartmental models that describe infectious disease transmission across subpopulations are central for assessing the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions, behavioral changes and seasonal effects on the spread of respiratory infections. We present a Bayesian workflow for such models, including four features: (1) an adjustment for incomplete case ascertainment, (2) an adequate sampling distribution of laboratory-confirmed cases, (3) a flexible, time-varying transmission rate, and (4) a stratification by age group...

Commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae starters are single-strain cultures widely used in winemaking to optimise the fermentation process and improve the organoleptic quality of wine. Unfortunately, the worldwide extensive use of a limited number of industrial strains led to the standardisation of the sensory properties, reducing the identity of wines. Therefore, the use of multi-strain S. cerevisiae starters can be an alternative tool to alter the sensory profile of wines, increasing the diversity of wine styles...

Bootstrap is a simple, yet powerful method of estimation based on the concept of random sampling with replacement. The ridge regression using a biasing parameter has become a viable alternative to the ordinary least square regression model for the analysis of data where predictors are collinear. This paper develops a nonparametric bootstrap-quantile approach for the estimation of ridge parameter in the linear regression model. The proposed method is illustrated using some popular and widely used ridge estimators, but this idea can be extended to any ridge estimator...

Researchers and clinicians often rely on molecular assays like PCR to identify and monitor viral infections, instead of the resource-prohibitive gold standard of viral culture. However, it remains unclear when (if ever) PCR measurements of viral load are reliable indicators of replicating or infectious virus. The recent popularity of PCR protocols targeting subgenomic RNA for SARS-CoV-2 has caused further confusion, as the relationships between subgenomic RNA and standard total RNA assays are incompletely characterized and opinions differ on which RNA type better predicts culture outcomes...

Cancer development is driven by an accumulation of a small number of driver genetic mutations that confer the selective growth advantage to the cell, while most passenger mutations do not contribute to tumor progression. The identification of these driver genes responsible for tumorigenesis is a crucial step in designing effective cancer treatments. Although many computational methods have been developed with this purpose, the majority of existing methods solely provided a single driver gene list for the entire cohort of patients, ignoring the high heterogeneity of driver events across patients...

Large-scale neuromusculoskeletal models have been used for predicting mechanisms underlying neuromuscular functions in humans. Simulations of such models provide several types of signals of practical interest, such as surface electromyographic signals (EMG), which are compared with experimental data for interpretations of neurophysiological phenomena under study. Specifically, realistic characterization of spectral properties of simulated EMG signals is important for achieving powerful inferences, whereas considerations should be taken for myoelectric signals of different muscles...

BACKGROUND: Malaria elimination using current tools has stalled in many areas. Ivermectin (IVM) is a broad-antiparasitic drug and mosquitocide and has been proposed as a tool for accelerating progress towards malaria elimination. Under laboratory conditions, IVM has been shown to reduce the survival of adult Anopheles populations that have fed on IVM-treated mammals. Treating cattle with IVM has been proposed as an important contribution to malaria vector management, however, the impacts of IVM in this One Health use case have been untested in field trials in Southeast Asia...

BACKGROUND: Endoxifen, a protein kinase C inhibitor and selective estrogen receptor modulator, primarily used in breast cancer treatment, has recently emerged as a potential therapeutic option for managing manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder (BD). This review aims to assess the existing evidence base for endoxifen in BD treatment and evaluate the strengths and limitations of current research findings. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted on Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases...

The current robot path planning methods only use global or local methods, which is difficult to meet the real-time and integrity requirements, and can not avoid dynamic obstacles. Based on this, this study will use the improved A-star global planning algorithm to design a hybrid robot obstacle avoidance path planning algorithm that integrates sliding window local planning methods to solve related problems. Specifically, A-star is optimized by evaluation function, sub node selection mode and path smoothness, and fuzzy control is introduced to optimize the sliding window algorithm...

The association of subjective mental health-related quality of life (MHRQOL) and treatment use among people experiencing common substance use disorders (SUDs) is not known. Furthermore, the association of a given substance's legal status with treatment use has not been studied. This work aims determine the association of MHRQOL with SUD treatment use, and how substance legal status modulates this relationship. Our analysis used nationally-representative data from the NESARC-III database of those experiencing past-year SUDs (n = 5,808) to compare rates of treatment use and its correlates among three groups: those with illicit substance use disorders (ISUDs); those with partially legal substance use disorders, i...

Rising income inequality has recently garnered intensive attention owing to its significance in theory and practice. This has rendered the mechanism through which inequality can be understood, even from a microscopic perspective, to institute proper policies that curtail it important. We contribute to the literature by examining the effect of freedom on income inequality using data from 34 least-free and 18 most-free countries from 2000 to 2020 in Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe, respectively. A novel fixed-effects panel quantile regression econometric estimator was employed, and the findings showed a non-linear relationship between personal freedom and income inequality for both regions...

OBJECTIVE: Immune checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis (CIP) is a prevalent form of immunotherapy-induced pulmonary toxicity, ranking among the leading causes of mortality associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Despite its significance, the risk stratification of CIP in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains uncertain. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis, comparing various factors such as histological types, treatment regimens, PD-L1 expression levels, and EGFR/ALK negativity in advanced NSCLC...

BACKGROUND: Exercise therapy (ET) is frequently an early treatment of choice when managing shoulder pain, yet evidence on its efficacy to expedite recovery is inconsistent. Moreover, the value of adding adjunct therapies (i.e. injections, manual therapy, electrotherapy) to ET is currently unclear. This study combined both direct and indirect evidence across studies on the effectiveness of ET with/without adjunct therapies compared to usual medical care for adults with chronic shoulder pain...

BACKGROUND: The liking for sweet taste is a powerful driver for consuming added sugars, and therefore, understanding how sweet liking is formed is a critical step in devising strategies to lower added sugars consumption. However, current research on the influence of genetic and environmental factors on sweet liking is mostly based on research conducted with individuals of European ancestry. Whether these results can be generalized to people of other ancestry groups warrants investigation...

BACKGROUND: Miscarriage is a major public health concern in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Nepal. This study aims to examine the factors associated with miscarriage among pregnant women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in the past 15 years. METHODS: There were a total of weighted sample of 26,376 cross-sectional pregnancy data from Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 combined together, which was used in the study...

Climatic variability and soil fertility decline present a fundamental challenge for smallholder farmers to determine the optimum management practices in the production of maize. Optimizing genotype (G) and management (M) of maize under different environmental conditions (E) and their interactions are essential for enhancing maize productivity in the smallholder sector of Malawi where maize is the main staple food. Here, we evaluated over seven seasons, the performance of four commercial maize genotypes [including hybrids and one open pollinated variety (OPV)] managed under different Conservation Agriculture (CA) and conventional practices (CP) across on-farm communities of central and southern Malawi...

The human smile can convey both rewarding and affiliative social intent and thus has significant utility in politics, where the ability to bond with and reassure voters is vital to electoral success. We examine experimental evidence from the 2019 UK general election to investigate the influence of a politician's reward or affiliative smile on voter emotions. It was hypothesised that the winner's affiliative smile would engender positive affect across all partisan groups compared to the winner's reward smile display...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the association of cardiorespiratory fitness with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in healthy adults. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 17,990 asymptomatic self-referred adults free of diabetes or cardiovascular disease who were screened in a preventive healthcare setting. All subjects underwent measurement of IOP and completed a maximal exercise stress test according to the Bruce protocol. Fitness was categorized into age and sex-specific quintiles according to the treadmill time and dichotomized to low (lowest quintile) and non-low fitness groups...