Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noncanonical connections between the subiculum and hippocampal CA1

The hippocampal formation is traditionally viewed as having a feedforward, unidirectional circuit organization that promotes propagation of excitatory processes. While the substantial forward projection from hippocampal CA1 to the subiculum has been very well established, accumulating evidence supports the existence of a significant backprojection pathway comprised of both excitatory and inhibitory elements from the subiculum to CA1. Based on these recently updated anatomical connections, such a backprojection could serve to modulate information processing in hippocampal CA1. Here we review the published anatomical and physiological studies on the subiculum to CA1 backprojection, and present recent conclusive anatomical evidence for the presence of noncanonical subicular projections to CA1. New insights into this understudied pathway will improve our understanding of reciprocal CA1–subicular connections and guide future studies on how the subiculum interacts with CA1 to regulate hippocampal circuit activity and learning and memory behaviors. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3666–3673, 2016. © 2016 The Authors The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Human Motor Control System's Response to Mechanical Perturbation: Should It, Can It and Does It Ensure Stability?

From among the diverse meanings of stability, the one the author adopts here is that the effects of a perturbation are opposed, and therefore small effects remain small. Except in linear systems, however, instability need not lead to unbounded motion and may actually be desirable when maneuverability is important. Moreover, properties of nerves, muscles, and tendons present serious challenges to stabilization. A review of observations from the motor control literature reveals that responses to perturbations in many common situations assist rather than resist the perturbation and are therefore presumably destabilizing. The observations encompass situations of position maintenance as well as impending or ongoing movement. The author proposes that the motor control system responds to a sudden perturbation by a pattern of muscle activity that mimics an accustomed voluntary movement, oblivious of stability considerations. What prevents runaway motion in the face of short-term instability appears to be voluntary intervention.
Using Anaphora Resolution to Improve Opinion Target Identification in Movie Reviews

Current work on automatic opinion mining has ignored opinion targets expressed by anaphorical pronouns, thereby missing a significant number of opinion targets. In this paper we empirically evaluate whether using an off-the-shelf anaphora resolution algorithm can improve the performance of a baseline opinion mining system. We present an analysis based on two different anaphora resolution systems. Our experiments on a movie review corpus demonstrate, that an unsupervised anaphora resolution algorithm significantly improves the opinion target extraction. We furthermore suggest domain and task specific extensions to an off-the-shelf algorithm which in turn yield significant improvements.
Replication in Ecuador of a multinational study on performance of programming students

We present a replication at ESPOCH (an Ecuadorian university) of the well-known multinational, multiinstitutional study conducted by a working group at the ITiCSE 2004 conference, known as the Leeds group. The paper has three main contributions. Firstly, we found that most of the results are in common with the Leeds group ten years after. Secondly, we found some interesting differences, specific of the Ecuadorian context. ESPOCH students performed worse than students evaluated by the Leeds group. They also had more problems than expected with some predictive questions, as well as with some constructs of the C language. These problems may be explained by lower intrinsic motivation, by their reluctance to analyze code, and by some pedagogical decisions on programming courses. Thirdly, we did not find significant differences between male and female students, although we detected some tendencies. From the research point of view, we refined the analysis methodology used by the Leeds group. From a practical point of view, findings can be used at the university to enhance the quality of their programming education.
Syllabic level automatic synchronization of music signals and text lyrics

We present a framework to synchronize pop music to corresponding text lyric. We refine line level alignment achievable by existing work to syllabic level by using a dynamic programming process. Our main contribution is using music knowledge to constrain the dynamic programming search. This is done by modeling (1) non-uniform note length distribution and (2) a note length distribution for each section type (for example intro, chorus, and bridge). These reduce alignment error by 6.4% and improve time efficiency by a factor of 2.2.
Distance learners acceptance of learning management system

Distance learning is a very important mode of learning in Higher Education institutions (HEI) in some countries. Distance learning increases access to learning opportunities to the people in different geographical areas, ages and different learning capabilities. Learning management system (LMS) is a web-based tool used to manage implement, and assess online learning and teaching with varying levels of support structures provided to administrator, instructors and students in a learning program. This study examines the factors that influence distance learning students' acceptance and use of the LMS and tests the applicability of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A survey was conducted to higher education students who involved in distance learning instruction. This study used a set of questionnaire which was developed based on TAM three factors namely Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use and Behavioral Intention to Use. The finding of the survey indicated high acceptance level on LMS among distance learners. Also, a regression analysis revealed that perceived ease of use of the system had a significant impact on perceived usefulness. In addition, the analysis also confirmed that Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness have positive effect on Behavioral Intention to Use.
Cerebral blood flow changes in very‐late‐onset schizophrenia‐like psychosis with catatonia before and after successful treatment

The purpose of the present study was to investigate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes in a patient with very‐late‐onset schizophrenia‐like psychosis (VLOS) with catatonia. A 64‐year‐old woman developed catatonia after experiencing persecutory delusions. The patient's rCBF was examined using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with easy Z‐score imaging system. Before treatment, hypoperfusion was observed in the striatum and the thalamus, whereas hyperperfusion was observed in the left lateral frontal cortex and the left temporal cortex. After treatment, the disproportions in rCBF disappeared, and hyperperfusion was observed in the motor cortex. Sequential SPECT findings suggest that rCBF abnormalities may be correlated with the symptomatology of catatonia in patients with VLOS.
Delayed Flowering in Bamboo: Evidence from Fargesia qinlingensis in the Qinling Mountains of China

Gregarious flowering of bamboo species impacts ecosystem properties and conservation, but documentation of these periodic events is difficult. Here, we compare the characteristics of flowering sites and un-flowered patches of an arrow bamboo (Fargesia qinlingensis) in the Qinling Mountains, China, over a 5-year period (2003–2007) after a mast flowering event (2003). We examined flowering culm and seedling characteristics in relation to questions regarding the evolution of delayed flowering. Density of live culms decreased over the 5 years in both flowering sites and un-flowered patches. New shoots regenerated only in un-flowered patches. Chemical constituent allocation varied among culm parts (stems, branches, and leaves). Crude protein and extract ether in branches and leaves were less in flowering culms than in un-flowered culms. Seedling density was lower than expected based on floret counts, suggesting predation of seeds. Seedling density was significantly greater in flowering sites than in un-flowered patches and decreased over time. Seedlings performed better in flowering sites than in un-flowered patches based on their height, leaf number per seedling, and average leaf length, while fertilization on flowering sites had no significant effect on seedling growth, suggesting a saturation of resources. This study suggested that the characteristics of bamboos and bamboo stands were dramatically altered during this flowering event, enhancing seedling establishment and growth, and supporting mostly the habitat modification hypothesis of delayed reproduction.
Beyond survival: A study of factors influencing psychological resilience among Cambodian child survivors

BEYOND SURVIVAL: A STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE AMONG CAMBODIAN CHILD SURVIVORS SEPTEMBER 2007 URAKORN KHAJORNWIT FUDERICH, B.Ed., SILPAKORN UNIVERSITY M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ed. D. , UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor David R. Evans War is a one of the major causes of child mortality and morbidity worldwide. Research evidence suggests that exposure to war trauma increases a child's risk of developing psychological problems, both short and long term. However, studies of resilience have shown that some children have a remarkable ability to survive trauma with little or no damage to their psyche. This dissertation is a study of individuals who have survived childhood war trauma and managed to rise above the odds to function well in major areas of life. The study was designed to explore factors contributing to their resilience in the face of adversity. Using in-depth phenomenological interviewing, ten Cambodian child survivors were interviewed. All of the participants were separated from their families in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over and suffered extraordinarily difficult ordeals during their internment in the labor camps. Some managed to reunite with their families in 1979 after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia before fleeing to the refugee camps in Thailand. Others lost all of their family members and came to the US as unaccompanied minors.
Assessing the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio ’ s ability to map burn severity in the boreal forest and tundra ecosystems of Alaska ’ s national parks

Burn severity strongly influences post-fire vegetation succession, soil erosion, and wildlife populations in the fire-adapted boreal forest and tundra ecosystems of Alaska. Therefore, satellite-derived maps of burn severity in the remote Alaskan landscape are a useful tool in both fire and resource management practices. To assess satellite-derived measures of burn severity in Alaska we calculated the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) from preand post-fire Landsat TM/ETM+ data. We established 289 composite burn index (CBI) plots in or near four national park areas between 2001 and 2003 in order to compare ground-based measurements of burn severity with satellite-derived values of burn severity. Within the diverse vegetation types measured, a strong linear relationship between a differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) and CBI for eight out of the nine fire assessments was found; R2 values ranged from 0.45 to 0.88. The variations in severity among four pre-fire vegetation types were examined and a significant difference in the average dNBR and average CBI values among the vegetation types was found. Black spruce forests overall had the strongest relationship with dNBR, while the high severity white spruce forests had the poorest fit with dNBR. Deciduous forests and tall shrub plots had the lowest average remotely sensed burn severity (dNBR), but not the lowest ground severity among the vegetation types sampled. The tundra vegetation sampled had the lowest ground severity. Finally, a significant difference was detected between initial and extended assessments of dNBR in tundra vegetation types. The results indicated that the dNBR can be used as an effective means to map burn severity in boreal forest and tundra ecosystems for the climatic conditions and fire types that occurred in our study sites. Additional keywords: dNBR, Landsat, Picea, remote sensing, wildland fire.
Temporal window of integration revealed by MMN to sound omission

THE central auditory system for event perception involves the integrating mechanism of sequential information addressed by the present study. The mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the event-related potentials (ERP) reflects the automatic detection of sound change. ERPs to occasionally omitted stimuli were measured when sequences with constant stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) were presented. In separate blocks, the SOA was from 100 to 350 ms. A clear MMN was elicited by a stimulus omission in a sequence of regularly spaced tone pips only when the SOA was shorter than 150 ms, yielding an estimate for the duration of the temporal window of integration used the perceptual segregation of auditory events.
Sequential motor skill: Cognition, perception and action

Discrete movement sequences are assumed to be the building blocks of more complex sequential actions that are present in our everyday behavior. The studies presented in this dissertation address the (neuro)cognitive underpinnings of such movement sequences, in particular in relationship to the role of perceptual information and the development of automaticity in such skill. The majority of the empirical chapters focusses on the role of perceptual information in sequential behavior, and specifically examines the context-dependence of sequencing performance. The notion of context-dependence – which originates from the literature on verbal memory, but has also been reported for motor skill – holds that memory retrieval is better in the environment in which the memory trace was initially acquired as opposed to retrieval in a different environment. First, a new form of context-dependence is explored, namely context-dependent filtering. It was investigated whether the continuous pairing of an irrelevant stimulus along with imperative stimulus results in the learning of (filtering out) the irrelevant information. If this would be the case, sequencing performance is assumed to be hindered when the learned pairs of irrelevant and imperative stimuli are changed during testing. Second, the notion of context-dependence for memory-based sequencing skill was studied, specifically differentiating between the sensitivity to perceptual changes of sequence preparation versus execution processes. These chapters on the effects of perceptual changes on sequencing performance also address the role of practice in this matter. In another chapter, developmental differences regarding the cognitive mechanisms underlying discrete sequence skill were investigated by studying whether preadolescent children, like young adults, learn to perform sequential movements in an automatic fashion. Previous studies demonstrated that the development and use of motor chunks for sequencing performance was limited in middle-aged and elderly. It has been suggested that this relates to the degeneration of frontal and other brain areas with older age. As these areas are known to mature during childhood, it could be hypothesized that sequencing skill differs between children and young adults as well. Finally, the neural basis of sequencing performance was addressed. The changes with practice in cognitive processes underlying sequence production were related to changes in brain areas that are involved in the production of discrete movement sequences.
Two decades of the public health approach to skin cancer control in Australia: Why, how and where are we now?

Incidence and mortality rates due to skin cancer are rising in most Western countries. Early detection of these tumours at a stage when they can be easily cured is the primary approach taken by many people wishing to deal with the problem. A primary prevention approach, that is, reduction in sunlight exposure, is being considered by an increasing number of organizations. The public health approach to primary prevention of skin cancer, including melanoma, requires an understanding of the role of sunlight in the production of these tumours. Despite a clear understanding of exactly how sunlight does this, there is enough epidemiological and laboratory evidence to suggest a broad approach to the problem. This includes reduction of sunlight exposure, particularly in childhood and adolescence. It also suggests the need to recommend avoidance of suntanning and particularly the excessive exposures that lead to sunburn. Widespread primary prevention public health programmes have been running in Australia for almost 20 years. The data measuring the effect of these programmes indicate a very large shift in knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about sunlight exposure and suntans, and major shifts in behaviour. Suntans are no longer as popular as they were and people are reducing their sunlight exposure by a variety of methods encapsulated in Slip! Slop! Slap! Cohort analysis of the incidence rates for melanoma and non‐melanoma skin cancer show that the incidence of these tumours is levelling out in young people and is dropping in some instances. These are the people who were able to be influenced by the public health programmes in recent decades. Finally, following initial dramatic changes in all the behavioural variables related to the programme, a period of consolidation with continuing effort and more specific targeting will be required in the coming decades to maintain the improvement.
TONE AND REACTIVITY OF VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE IN GERMFREE RAT MESENTERY

Microcirculatory observations and measurements were made by in vivo microscopy in 35 germfree and 26 conventional rats. The rate of vasomotor activity, "vasomotion," of precapillary arterioles was found markedly decreased in the germfree animals. All precapillary vessels in the germfree rats were markedly hyporeactive to the catecholamines, epinephrine and norepinephrine, as compared to similar vessels of conventional rats. The vessels in the germfree animals were also less responsive to vasopressin but not angiotensin. A greater lumen:wall ratio of primary arterioles, but not of secondary arterioles and metarterioles, found in germfree animals is related to change in vessel lumen alone without concomitant change in wall thickness. The germfree rat is characterized by possessing a hypotonic, catecholamine-refractory mesoappendix microvasculature.
Sox 2 promotes tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer cells

Development of resistance to therapy continues to be a serious clinical problem in breast cancer management. Cancer stem/progenitor cells have been shown to play roles in resistance to chemoand radiotherapy. Here, we examined their role in the development of resistance to the oestrogen receptor antagonist tamoxifen. Tamoxifen-resistant cells were enriched for stem/progenitors and expressed high levels of the stem cell marker Sox2. Silencing of the SOX2 gene reduced the size of the stem/progenitor cell population and restored sensitivity to tamoxifen. Conversely, ectopic expression of Sox2 reduced tamoxifen sensitivity in vitro and in vivo. Gene expression profiling revealed activation of the Wnt signalling pathway in Sox2-expressing cells, and inhibition of Wnt signalling sensitized resistant cells to tamoxifen. Examination of patient tumours indicated that Sox2 levels are higher in patients after endocrine therapy failure, and also in the primary tumours of these patients, compared to those of responders. Together, these results suggest that development of tamoxifen resistance is driven by Sox2-dependent activation of Wnt signalling in cancer stem/ progenitor cells.
Multimodal therapy is feasible in elderly anal cancer patients

Abstract Background: Many patients are diagnosed with an anal cancer in high ages. We here present the outcome after oncological therapy for patients above 80 years compared with younger patients. Materials and methods: A series of 213 consecutive patients was diagnosed and treated at a single institution from 1984 to 2009. The patients received similar radiation doses but with different techniques, thus progressively sparing more normal tissues. The majority of patients also had simultaneous [5-fluorouracil (5FU) and mitomycin C] or induction chemotherapy (cisplatin and 5FU). The patients were stratified by age above or below 80 years. Despite that the goal was to offer standard chemoradiation treatment to all, the octo- and nonagenarians could not always be given chemotherapy. Results: In our series 35 of 213 anal cancer patients were above 80 years. After initial therapy similar complete response was observed, 80% above and 87% below 80 years. Local recurrence rate was also similar in both groups, 21% versus 26% (p = .187). Cancer-specific survival and relative survival were significantly lower in patients above 80 years, 60% and 50% versus 83% and 80%, (p = .015 and p = .027), respectively. Conclusion: Patients older than 80 years develop anal cancer, but more often marginal tumors. Even in the oldest age group half of the patients can tolerate standard treatment by a combination of radiation and chemotherapy, and obtain a relative survival of 50% after five years. Fragile patients not considered candidates for chemoradiation may be offered radiation or resection to control local disease.
Reproductive Growth and Dry Matter Production of Glycine max (L.) Merr. in Response to Oxygen Concentration.

Reproductive as well as vegetative parameters of mature soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr. cv. Wye) plants grown in chambers in which the aerial portion was exposed to altered pO(2) during all or part of the growth cycle were measured. Oxygen concentration was found to be a key factor controlling all phases of reproductive development. Exposure to 5% O(2) from early seedling stage to senescence increased leaf, stem, and root dry weights and reduced seed yields when compared to 21% O(2); exposure to low O(2) during the vegetative growth stage from early seedling to mid-flowering arrested pod but not seed development; exposure from mid-flowering to mid-pod filling almost completely arrested seed but not pod development; exposure from mid-pod filling to senescence arrested seed development at the mid-filling stage.Exposures to 5% O(2) initiated at mid-flowering for 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, and 15 days had no effect on seed development when the exposure was up to 3 days and produced almost total arrest when the exposure was 10 or more days, suggesting reversibility. The requirement for O(2) in seed development is independent of CO(2) concentration with similar results produced by subambient O(2) combined with ambient CO(2), elevated CO(2) up to 2000 mul/l or depressed levels of CO(2) with the CO(2)/O(2) ratio as in air. An elevated O(2) atmosphere containing 40% O(2) and ambient or elevated CO(2) inhibited total growth but did not affect the balance of vegetative to reproductive growth.We conclude that an unknown reaction or process requiring at least atmospheric concentrations of O(2) but independent of CO(2) in contrast to photorespiration is necessary for optimization of all phases of reproductive growth and the effect is reversible for exposures of up to 3 days but not for exposures of 10 days or more. We propose that this O(2) phenomenon may be the result of a unique physical process or chemical reaction associated with translocation and accumulation of assimilates in reproductive structures.