Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP: COMPARATIVE SELF-EVALUATIONS EVOKE THE USE OF ROUTINE STANDARDS

Abstract Recent evidence suggests that people compare themselves with routine standards—such as their best friend—during self–evaluations (Mussweiler & Ruter, 2003). In these past studies, the best friend was more accessible than a former friend subsequent to self–evaluations. We therefore concluded that the best friend was used as a routine standard. However, spreading activation from the self to the more closely associated best friend would provide an alternative explanation. In the present research, we want to rule out this possibility and demonstrate that comparison processes are responsible for the best friend's increased accessibility. In Study 1, we contrasted comparative self–evaluations with absolute ones. In Study 2, participants engaged either in comparative self–evaluations or in self–descriptions. Afterwards the accessibility (Study 1) or the facilitation of judgments (Study 2) of the best friend was assessed. Both studies support the assumption that the best friend was used as a routine stan.
Signal processing in a simple visual system: The locust ocellar system and its synapses

The neurons with the widest axons that carry information into a locust brain belong to L‐neurons, the large, second‐order neurons of the ocelli. L‐neurons play roles in flight control and boosting visual sensitivity. Their morphology is simple, and their axons convey graded potentials from the ocellus with little decrement to the brain, which makes them good subjects in which to study transmission of graded potentials. L‐neurons are very sensitive to changes in light, due to an abnormally high gain in the sign inverting synapses they receive from photoreceptors. Adaptation ensures that L‐neurons signal contrast in a light signal when average light intensity changes, and that their responses depend on the speed of change in light. Neurons L1‐3 make excitatory output synapses with third‐order neurons and with L4‐5. These synapses transmit tonically, but are unable to convey hyperpolarising signals about large increases in light. Graded rebound spikes enhance depolarising responses. L1‐3 also make reciprocal inhibitory synapses with each other and transmission at these decrements so rapidly that it normally requires a presynaptic spike. The resolution with which graded potentials can be transferred has been studied at the inhibitory synapses, and is limited by intrinsic variability in the mechanism that determines neurotransmitter release. Electron microscopy has shown that each excitatory connection made from an L‐neuron to a postsynaptic partner consists of thousands of discrete synaptic contacts, in which individual dense‐staining bars in the presynaptic neuron are associated with clouds of vesicles. Acetylcholine is likely to be a neurotransmitter released by L‐neurons. Microsc. Res. Tech. 56:270–280, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
THz signatures of DNA in nanochannels under electrophoretic control

During the past several years we have utilized our nanofluidic-chip technology and high-resolution frequency-domain THz spectroscopy to detect absorption signatures in biomolecules and bioparticles of various types, especially the nucleic acids. Some of the signatures have been surprisingly narrow (<; 20 GHz FWHM), leading to the hypothesis that the nanofluidic chips can enhance certain vibrational resonances because of their concentrating and linearizing effects. In this work, we take the technology one step further by utilizing electrophoretic control of the absorbing biomolecules. A demonstration is provided of the variation in THz transmission through aqueous Lambda DNA at fixed frequency at one of its strongest sub-THz solutions. The THz transmission is found to be highly correlated to the electrophoretic current in the nanochannels, and to decrease with time. This is consistent with an increasing DNA concentration, or increasing oscillator strength, by the electrophoretic effect.
Do compound radicals play a role in Chinese character recognition

A lexical decision experiment was performed with a masked primed paradigm. Each character, which was either simple radical or compound radical, was pre-exposed by a complex prime character containing a simple radical or compound radical. Undergraduates ( N = 82) participated in the task at either short or long prime duration. Facilitation was observed when simple radicals were preceded by simple radical primes and when compound radicals were preceded by compound radical primes. Non-significant priming effect was observed when compound radicals were preceded by simple radical primes across short and long prime duration. The existence of compound radical representation was not confirmed probably because the range of prime duration (16-ms) used was too short. Results were interpreted with an interactive-activation framework.
Very high frequency (13 MHz) ultrasonographic examination of the normal neck: detection of normal lymph nodes and thyroid nodules.

Very high frequency (13 MHz) ultrasonographic examination of the neck successfully visualized one or more normal lymph nodes (weakly echoic oval structures with an echoic central hilum) in 67.6% of 1000 healthy volunteers. Efficacy was not related to recent ear, nose, and throat infection, sex, or age. The longitudinal‐transverse diameter ratio was greater than or equal to 2 in 86.2% of cases. No signal was detected with color Doppler imaging. One or more thyroid nodules were also identified in 34.7% of the subjects: the frequency was 44% in women and 42% in subjects over 50 years of age.
Tractable Queries for Lightweight Description Logics

It is a classic result in database theory that conjunctive query (CQ) answering, which is NP-complete in general, is feasible in polynomial time when restricted to acyclic queries. Subsequent results identified more general structural properties of CQs (like bounded treewidth) which ensure tractable query evaluation. In this paper, we lift these tractability results to knowledge bases formulated in the lightweight description logics DL-Lite and ELH. The proof exploits known properties of query matches in these logics and involves a query-dependent modification of the data. To obtain a more practical approach, we propose a concrete polynomial-time algorithm for answering acyclic CQs based on rewriting queries into datalog programs. A preliminary evaluation suggests the interest of our approach for handling large acyclic CQs.
Predicting patient complaints in hospital settings

Background: The prediction of patient complaints is not clearly understood. This is important in so far as patient complaints have been shown to correlate with other adverse outcomes of interest in acute care facilities. Objectives: To evaluate the complexity of the patient case and patient safety culture as predictors of patient complaints. Design: A matched case-control analysis of data from patients filing complaints (cases) and matched patients who did not file complaints (controls) in 2005. Staff surveys were used to measure the Patient Safety Culture on individual units. Setting: 45 inpatient acute care units from four general hospitals in a large metropolitan centre in western Canada. Sample: 586 patients registering complaints in 2005. Method: The primary outcome was patient complaints (number and type). Predictors included unit-level measures of patient safety culture based on a survey and patient admission characteristics (including age, gender, treatment unit, primary diagnosis, case resource intensity). Results: The probability of a patient complaint was positively associated with cases of higher complexity (β = 0.145, p = 0.032; odds ratio = 1.16; CI 0.994 to 1.344). The culture of patient safety within hospital units was not related to the probability of complaints within a given unit. Conclusions: Patient complaints are associated with higher clinical complexity. However, the confidence interval around the odds ratio for this association just crosses 1.0 and is thus not “significant” in a traditional framework of dichotomously judging statistical significance at the 95% confidence level. The lack of association with a unit’s safety culture, meanwhile, implies that the non-modifiable clinical complexity factor is a more important determinant of patient complaints.
Performance of precoded integer-forcing for parallel Gaussian channels

Recently, an open-loop transmission scheme for multiple-input multiple-output Gaussian channels based on precoded integer-forcing was proposed. The transmitter encodes the data into independent streams, all taken from the same linear code. The coded streams are then linearly precoded using a unitary matrix. At the receiver side, integer-forcing equalization is applied, followed by single-stream decoding. It was shown that this communication architecture achieves capacity up to a finite gap. In the present work we consider precoded integer-forcing for parallel Gaussian channels. We derive tighter bounds for this class of channels, which are related to the minimum product distance figure of merit. We further suggest a practical scheme that is applicable for all transmission rates, where the precoding matrix is capacity-dependent, chosen so as to maximize the achievable rate for a given value of capacity. For example, it is shown that for the case of two and three parallel channels, the scheme universally (for any value of capacity) achieves 94% and 82% of capacity, respectively.
Fast parallel algorithms for chordal graphs

We present an NC algorithm for recognizing chordal graphs, and we present NC algorithms for finding the following objects on chordal graphs: all maximal cliques, an intersection graph representation, an optimal coloring, a perfect elimination scheme, a maximum independent set, a minimum clique cover, and the chromatic polynomial. The well known polynomial algorithms for these problems seem highly sequential, and therefore a different approach is needed to find parallel algorithms.
Socioeconomic inequalities in functional somatic symptoms by social and material conditions at four life course periods in Sweden: a decomposition analysis

Objective Socioeconomic inequalities in health are deemed a worldwide public health problem, but current research is lacking on key points including determinants of socioeconomic differences in health, and not the least variations of these determinants over the life course. Using a 26-year prospective Swedish community-based cohort, we aim at decomposing socioeconomic inequalities in functional somatic symptoms by social and material life circumstances, at 4 periods of the life course. Design Repeated cross-sectional study. Setting Participants came from the Northern Swedish Cohort (n=1001), who completed questionnaires about occupational class, social and material living conditions, and symptoms at ages 16, 21, 30 and 42. Socioeconomic inequalities were estimated and decomposed using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis. Results Inequalities in symptoms between blue-collar and white-collar socioeconomic groups increased along the life course in the sample. In the decomposition analysis, a high proportion of the gap between socioeconomic groups could be explained by social and material living conditions at ages 16 (84% explained), 30 (45%) and 42 (68%), but not at age 21. Specific social (parental illness at age 16 and violence at ages 30 and 42) and material (parental unemployment at age 16, and own unemployment and financial strain at ages 30 and 42) factors contributed jointly to the health gaps. Conclusions Socioeconomic inequalities in functional somatic symptoms increased along the life course in this Swedish cohort. A considerable portion of the social gaps in health was explained by concurrent social and material conditions, and the importance of specific adversities was dependent on the life course stage. Our findings suggest that socioeconomic inequalities in functional somatic symptoms may be reduced by addressing both social and material living conditions of disadvantaged families, and also that the life course stage needs to be taken into consideration.
Evidence for the involvement of microtubules, ER, and kinesin in the cortical rotation of fertilized frog eggs

During the first cell cycle, the vegetal cortex of the fertilized frog egg is translocated over the cytoplasm. This process of cortical rotation creates regional cytoplasmic differences important in later development, and appears to involve an array of aligned microtubules that forms transiently beneath the vegetal cortex. We have investigated how these microtubules might be involved in generating movement by analyzing isolated cortices and sections of Xenopus laevis and Rana pipiens eggs. First, the polarity of the cortical microtubules was determined using the "hook" assay. Almost all microtubules had their plus ends pointing in the direction of cortical rotation. Secondly, the association of microtubules with other cytoplasmic elements was examined. Immunofluorescence revealed that cytokeratin filaments coalign with the microtubules. The timing of their appearance and their position on the cytoplasmic side of the microtubules suggested that they are not involved directly in generating movement. ER was visualized with the dye DiIC16(3) and by immunofluorescence with anti- BiP (Bole, D. G., L. M. Hendershot, and J. F. Kearney, 1986. J. Cell Biol. 102:1558-1566). One layer of ER was found closely underlying the plasma membrane at all times. An additional, deeper layer formed in association with the microtubules of the array. Antibodies to sea urchin kinesin (Ingold, A. L., S. A. Cohn, and J. M. Scholey. 1988. J. Cell Biol. 107:2657-2667) detected antigens associated with both the ER and microtubules. On immunoblots they recognized microtubule associated polypeptide(s) of approximately 115 kD from Xenopus eggs. These observations are consistent with a role for kinesin in creating movement between the microtubules and ER, which leads in turn to the cortical rotation.
Toward a new conceptualization of environmental concern: Perceptions of threat and motivation for change as underlying psychological dimensions

Theoretical and conceptual accounts of environmental concern have traditionally followed two approaches: concern as attitudes, or evaluations of environment-related problems and behaviors, and concern as values or objects of import to the individual, threatened by negative environmental conditions. Each approach has laid foundational knowledge and guidance for studying how environmental concern is implicated in proenvironmental behaviors, though an integrated framework that clearly specifies the psychological mechanisms comprising concern has been largely absent. In the current paper, a new conceptual model of environmental concern is proposed, premised on the idea that concern for environmental problems can be organized around two understudied psychological dimensions: the degree of perceived threat associated with the issue, and the degree of desired change (motivation) exhibited for effecting behavioral action. Using a survey-based methodology, cross-sectional data (N = 455) were collected for three environmental issues: air pollution, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling procedures confirmed the validity of the proposed model, while also revealing the unique and interactive effects that perceived threat and desired change have on proenvironmental intentions, and in turn, effects on self-reported behavior. These relationships appeared to be moderated by personal relevance and self-appraised knowledge for the issues. The ability of the conceptual model to predict proenvironmental intentions was also explored in the context of integrated models incorporating Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) constructs. The
Topology of multiple log transforms of 4-manifolds

Given a 4-manifold X and an imbedding of T^{2} x B^2 into X, we describe an algorithm X --> X_{p,q} for drawing the handlebody of the 4-manifold obtained from X by (p,q)-logarithmic transforms along the parallel tori. By using this algorithm, we obtain a simple handle picture of the Dolgachev surface E(1)_{p,q}, from that we deduce that the exotic copy E(1)_{p,q} # 5(-CP^2) of E(1) # 5(-CP^2) differs from the original one by a codimension zero simply connected Stein submanifold M_{p,q}, which are therefore examples of infinitely many Stein manifolds that are exotic copies of each other (rel boundaries). Furthermore, by a similar method we produce infinitely many simply connected Stein submanifolds Z_{p} of E(1)_{p,2} # 2(-CP^2)$ with the same boundary and the second Betti number 2, which are (absolutely) exotic copies of each other; this provides an alternative proof of a recent theorem of the author and Yasui [AY4]. Also, by using the description of S^2 x S^2 as a union of two cusps glued along their boundaries, and by using this algorithm, we show that multiple log transforms along the tori in these cusps do not change smooth structure of S^2 x S^2.
Direct Mechanical Intervention Versus Combined Intravenous and Mechanical Intervention in Large Artery Anterior Circulation Stroke: A Matched-Pairs Analysis

Background and Purpose— Five randomized controlled trials have consistently shown that mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in addition to best medical treatment (±intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator) improves outcome after acute ischemic stroke in patients with large artery anterior circulation stroke. Whether direct MT is equally effective as combined intravenous thrombolysis with MT (ie, bridging thrombolysis) remains unclear. Methods— We retrospectively compared clinical and radiological outcomes in 167 bridging patients with 255 patients receiving direct MT because of large artery anterior circulation stroke. We matched all patients from the direct MT group who would have qualified for intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator with controls from the bridging group, using multivariate and propensity score analyses. Functional independence was defined as modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2. Results— From February 2009 to August 2014, 40 patients from the direct MT group would have qualified for bridging thrombolysis but were treated with MT only. Clinical and radiological characteristics did not differ from the bridging cohort, except for higher rates of hypercholesterolemia (P=0.019), coronary heart disease (P=0.039), and shorter intervals from symptom onset to endovascular intervention (P=0.01) in the direct MT group. Functional independence, mortality, and intracerebral hemorrhage rates did not differ (P>0.1). After multivariate matching analysis outcome in both groups did not differ, except for lower rates of asymptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (P=0.023) and lower mortality (P=0.007) in the direct MT group. Conclusions— In patients with large anterior circulation stroke, direct mechanical intervention seems to be equally effective as bridging thrombolysis. A randomized trial comparing direct MT with bridging therapy is warranted.
BMP Signaling Induces Astrocytic Differentiation of Clinically Derived Oligodendroglioma Propagating Cells

Oligodendrogliomas are a type of glioma that lack detailed investigation because of an inability to cultivate oligodendroglioma cells that faithfully recapitulate their salient qualities. We have successfully isolated and propagated glioma stem-like cells from multiple clinical oligodendroglioma specimens. These oligodendroglioma-propagating cells (OligPC) are multipotent and form xenografts with oligodendroglioma features. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) are considered potent inhibitors of oligodendrogliogenesis during development; therefore, the effects of BMP signaling in OligPCs were characterized. BMP pathway components are expressed by OligPCs and canonical signaling via Smad proteins is intact. This signaling potently depletes CD133-positive OligPCs, decreasing proliferation, and inducing astrocytic differentiation. Furthermore, analyses revealed that cytoplasmic sequestration of the oligodendrocyte differentiation factors OLIG1/2 by the BMP signaling effectors ID2 and ID4 is a plausible underlying mechanism. These findings elucidate the molecular pathways that underlie the effects of BMP signaling on oligodendroglioma stem-like cells. Implications: Stem-like cells are capable of propagating oligodendrogliomas, and BMP signaling potently diminishes their stemness by inducing astrocytic differentiation, suggesting that BMP activation may be effective as a cancer stem cell–targeted therapy. Mol Cancer Res; 12(2); 283–94. ©2013 AACR.
A quality of life measure for limb lymphoedema (LYMQOL)

Background: This paper describes the validation of a 'condition-specific' quality of life (QoL) assessment tool for lymphoedema of the limbs (LYMQOL). Aims: To ascertain whether the tool could accurately assess QoL in this patient group. Methods: Face and content validity were assessed by patient questionnaires; criterion validity by comparison with European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire - Core 30 questions (EORTC QLQ-C30); internal validity by Cronbach's Alpha and split half-testing of each domain; reliability by the test-retest method; construct validity by comparing LYMQOL score with initial limb volume and responsiveness by measuring changes in score following treatment. Results: The tool was validated in a total of 209 patients. Face, content, criterion and interval validity were supported. However, there was no correlation between initial limb volume and LYMQOL score (construct validity), a finding which is similar to that from other studies. The validation of responsiveness was limited by the small numbers of responses at three and six months after the initial assessment. Conclusions: LYMQOL is a validated condition-specific QoL assessment tool which can be used for lymphoedema of the limbs both in clinical assessment and as an outcome measure.
Activation of Type B T Cells after Protein Immunization Reveals Novel Pathways of In Vivo Presentation of Peptides1

Type B T cells recognize a peptide-MHC conformer generated in recycling endosomes and eliminated by H2-DM in late endosomes; as a result, they recognize exogenous peptide, but fail to respond to the identical epitope generated from the native protein. To investigate the behavior of these cells in vivo, we generated mice transgenic for a type B TCR recognizing the 48-62 epitope of hen egg white lysozyme (HEL) presented by I-Ak. Type B T cells responded only to peptide ex vivo, but responded in vivo to immunization with either protein or peptide in the presence of Freund’s adjuvant or LPS. Presentation of the type B conformer was MyD88-independent, evident within 24 h after HEL immunization, and restricted to the CD11b/c+ APC subset. Immunization with listeriolysin O, a potent inducer of cell death, also primed type B T cells in vivo, and transfer of HEL-bearing allogeneic dendritic cells activated type B T cells. We conclude that a number of conditions in vivo, some of which induce inflammation and cell death, lead to peptide presentation through mechanisms distinct from the classical pathways involving H-2DM molecules.