Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Secret Lives of Liberals and Conservatives: Personality Profiles, Interaction Styles, and the Things They Leave Behind

Although skeptics continue to doubt that most people are “ideological,” evidence suggests that meaningful left-right differences do exist and that they may be rooted in basic personality dispositions, that is, relatively stable individual differences in psychological needs, motives, and orientations toward the world. Seventy-five years of theory and research on personality and political orientation has produced a long list of dispositions, traits, and behaviors. Applying a theory of ideology as motivated social cognition and a “Big Five” framework, we find that two traits, Openness to New Experiences and Conscientiousness, parsimoniously capture many of the ways in which individual differences underlying political orientation have been conceptualized. In three studies we investigate the relationship between personality and political orientation using multiple domains and measurement techniques, including: self-reported personality assessment; nonverbal behavior in the context of social interaction; and personal possessions and the characteristics of living and working spaces. We obtained consistent and converging evidence that personality differences between liberals and conservatives are robust, replicable, and behaviorally significant, especially with respect to social (vs. economic) dimensions of ideology. In general, liberals are more open-minded, creative, curious, and novelty seeking, whereas conservatives are more orderly, conventional, and better organized.
Testing congruency of geographic and genetic population structure for a freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionoida) and its host fish

The macrogeographic dispersal of unionoid mussels is largely dependent on movement by their host fish. The snuffbox mussel Epioblasma triquetra (Unionoida) and other congeners use a novel trapping behaviour to parasitize potential host fish with their larvae (glochidia). Common logperch (Percina caprodes) trapped by E. triquetra survive the trapping behaviour, whereas other darter species (Etheostoma and Percina) do not, thus, making the P. caprodes‐E. triquetra relationship a good candidate system for a coevolutionary study. We hypothesized that the geographic genetic structure of E. triquetra should closely match that of its host, albeit with greater interpopulation divergences as a result of its dependency on the host for dispersal. Mantel tests of parallel pairwise matrices of population divergence (Jost’s D) and genetic assignment tests based on microsatellite DNA data showed that the genetic population structures of both species were broadly, but not perfectly, congruent. Therefore, it appears that P. caprodes are not solely responsible for the genetic population structure observed for snuffbox and may not necessarily be the mussel’s only host across its entire range. This suggests the potential for a geographic mosaic for coevolution in unionoids and darters. The findings of the present study reinforce the need for a joint study and conservation of unionoids and host fish aiming to protect these coevolved taxa. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102, 669‐685.
Stabilization of two-wheeled mobile robot using smooth control laws - experimental study

The paper presents a comparison of selected smooth and time-differentiable control laws used for stabilization of nonholonomic two-wheeled mobile robot. The significant part of the research is concentrated on application of these algorithms in resolving parallel parking problem. Some remarks concerning tuning of the controllers and their robustness to the delay in control loop are given
A Novel Scheme to Eliminate Common Mode Voltage in Multilevel Inverters

Nowadays, multilevel voltage source inverters offer several advantages compared to their conventional two-level inverters. In these inverters, by synthesizing several levels of dc voltages, the staircase output waveform is produced. The structure of this waveform will have lower total harmonic distortion which leads to an approach to a desired sinusoidal waveform. Achieving higher output voltage and lower stress on power switches are other advantages of theses inverters. But in multilevel inverters the problem of common mode voltage which had been found in conventional two level inverters can still be considered as a major issue which leads to motor bearing failures. Therefore to eliminate these voltages proposing some methods seems to be necessary. This paper proposes a generalized method to generate pulse width modulation signals in multilevel inverters that have an odd number of levels. The main idea of this method to generate these signals for an n- level inverter is based on a freely selectable modulation method of an (N+1)/2 level imaginary inverter. This method which leads to eliminate common mode voltages of the n-level inverter can be extended to higher levels. Index Terms— Common mode voltage, Phase voltage, Line voltage, N level inverter. —————————— a ——————————
Hemodynamic correlates of low umbilical cord vitamin D and ionized calcium

Abstract Vitamin D deficiency and hypocalcemia are associated with gestational hypertension. Therefore, we hypothesized that umbilical cord [Ca2+] and [vitamin D] are correlated with perinatal blood pressures. Mothers and newborns comprised vitamin D sufficient (vitamin D ≥50 nM, range 52–111 nM, n = 14), and vitamin D deficient groups (vitamin D <50 nM, range 13–49 nM, n = 29). Cord [Ca2+] was negatively correlated with maternal systolic pressure (SBP) (r = –0.56, p < 0.01) and positively correlated with neonatal SBP (r = +0.55, p < 0.01) in the vitamin D deficient group. We conclude that low umbilical cord [vitamin D] and [Ca2+] may predispose mothers to higher and newborns to lower blood pressures.
Handwritten Digit Recognition with a Back-Propagation Network

We present an application of back-propagation networks to handwritten digit recognition. Minimal preprocessing of the data was required, but architecture of the network was highly constrained and specifically designed for the task. The input of the network consists of normalized images of isolated digits. The method has 1% error rate and about a 9% reject rate on zipcode digits provided by the U.S. Postal Service.
Mixed Neural Network Approach for Temporal Sleep Stage Classification

This paper proposes a practical approach to addressing limitations posed by using of single-channel electroencephalography (EEG) for sleep stage classification. EEG-based characterizations of sleep stage progression contribute the diagnosis and monitoring of the many pathologies of sleep. Several prior reports explored ways of automating the analysis of sleep EEG and of reducing the complexity of the data needed for reliable discrimination of sleep stages at lower cost in the home. However, these reports have involved recordings from electrodes placed on the cranial vertex or occiput, which are both uncomfortable and difficult to position. Previous studies of sleep stage scoring that used only frontal electrodes with a hierarchical decision tree motivated this paper, in which we have taken advantage of rectifier neural network for detecting hierarchical features and long short-term memory network for sequential data learning to optimize classification performance with single-channel recordings. After exploring alternative electrode placements, we found a comfortable configuration of a single-channel EEG on the forehead and have shown that it can be integrated with additional electrodes for simultaneous recording of the electro-oculogram. Evaluation of data from 62 people (with 494 hours sleep) demonstrated better performance of our analytical algorithm than is available from existing approaches with vertex or occipital electrode placements. Use of this recording configuration with neural network deconvolution promises to make clinically indicated home sleep studies practical.
An automatic approach to extract the formats of network and security log messages

Analyzing massive network and security logs that record network events is crucial for diagnosing network anomalies in large-scale network environments. Extracting log message formats is an important and necessary step to achieve the goal. However, it is time-consuming and costly to automatically and efficiently extract log message formats from massive network and security logs of many different types, which are generated by the increasing number of network and security devices and services used in large-scale networks. In this paper, we propose log template extraction (LTE), an approach that is semantics aware of network and security logs to address the problem. LTE first cleans log messages and then clusters the cleaned log messages based on the DBSCAN algorithm. At last it infers message templates by LDA Gibbs sampling algorithm. We evaluate our work on massive amount of network log messages collected from a large production network. Experimental results show that LTE approach infers and gets multiple log message formats at the same time with more than 90% accuracy and 100% recall.
Lack of Effect of Pravastatin on Cerebral Blood Flow or Parenchymal Volume Loss in Elderly at Risk for Vascular Disease

Background and Purpose— Ageing is associated with a decline in cerebral blood flow. Animal studies have shown that cholesterol-lowering therapy with statins might preserve cerebral blood flow (CBF). We examined the effect of 40 mg pravastatin on the decline in CBF and brain volume in a subset of elderly subjects participating in the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER) trial. Methods— Randomization was not stratified according to whether or not subjects participated in the MRI substudy. In 391 men (n=226) and women (n=165) aged 70 to 82 years (mean±SD, 75±3.2), we measured total CBF (in mL/min) at baseline and after a mean±SD follow-up of 33±1.4 months with a gradient-echo phase-contrast MRI technique. Total CBF was defined as the summed flows in both internal carotid and vertebral arteries. Parenchymal volume (whole brain) was segmented with the use of in-house–developed semiautomatic software. Results— Total CBF significantly declined in the placebo-allocated group, from 521±83 to 504±92 mL/min (P=0.0036) and in the pravastatin-allocated group from 520±94 to 506±92 mL/min (P=0.018). This decline was not significantly different between treatment groups (P=0.56). There was also a significant reduction in brain volume over time (P<0.001), which was not different between the treatment groups (P=0.47). When expressed per unit of parenchymal volume, the decline in CBF over time was no longer statistically significant. Conclusions— Elderly people at risk for cerebral vascular disease had a significant decline in CBF with increasing age that was explained by a concomitant reduction in brain volume. Treatment with 40 mg pravastatin daily had no beneficial effect on total CBF.
Sensor Planning for 3D Object Search,

This thesis studies the almost-unexplored field of sensor planning for object search. Object search is the task of efficiently searching for a given 3D object in a given 3D environment by an agent equipped with a camera for target detection and, if the environment configuration is not known, a method of calculating depth, like stereo or laser range finder. Sensor planning for object search refers to the task of selecting the sensing parameters so as to bring the target into the field of view of the camera and to make the image of the target easily detected by the available recognition algorithms. In this thesis, the task of sensor planning for object search is formulated as an optimization problem. This problem is proved to be NP-Complete, thus an approximate solution employing a one step look-ahead strategy is proposed. This approximation is equivalent to the optimal solution under certain conditions. The search region is characterized by the probability distribution of the presence of the target. The goal is to find the desired object reliably with minimum effort. The control of the sensing parameters depends on the current state of the search region and the detecting ability of the recognition algorithm. The huge space of possible sensing actions is decomposed into a finite set of actions that must be considered. In order to represent the surrounding environment of the camera and to determine efficiently the sensing parameters over time, a concept called the sensed sphere is proposed, and its construction, using a laser range finder, is derived.
Unraveling the regulatory network of IncA/C plasmid mobilization: When genomic islands hijack conjugative elements

Conjugative plasmids of the A/C incompatibility group (IncA/C) have become substantial players in the dissemination of multidrug resistance. These large conjugative plasmids are characterized by their broad host-range, extended spectrum of antimicrobials resistance, and prevalence in enteric bacteria recovered from both environmental and clinical settings. Until recently, relatively little was known about the basic biology of IncA/C plasmids, mostly because of the hindrance of multidrug resistance for molecular biology experiments. To circumvent this issue, we previously developed pVCR94ΔX, a convenient prototype that codes for a reduced set of antibiotic resistances. Using pVCR94ΔX, we then characterized the regulatory pathway governing IncA/C plasmid dissemination. We found that the expression of roughly 2 thirds of the genes encoded by this plasmid, including large operons involved in the conjugation process, depends on an FlhCD-like master activator called AcaCD. Beyond the mobility of IncA/C plasmids, AcaCD was also shown to play a key role in the mobilization of different classes of genomic islands (GIs) identified in various pathogenic bacteria. By doing so, IncA/C plasmids can have a considerable impact on bacterial genomes plasticity and evolution.
Usefulness of the BAST-24 smell and taste test in the study of diabetic patients: a new approach to the determination of renal function

Abstract Conclusion: A reduction in the percentage of correct responses in the olfactory test indirectly indicated increased albuminuria and worse glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in diabetic patients. The olfactory function test is an indirect indicator of early microvascular complications in diabetic patients. Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is a highly prevalent disease that causes numerous complications. The aim of this study was to determine whether olfactory and taste sensations are related to renal failure in diabetic patients. Methods: We studied 61 patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, mean age = 65.9 years (SD = 16.8), 54.1% male. We evaluated olfactory and taste sensations by determining the capacity of detection, identification and percentage of correct responses of the 29 components of the Barcelona Smell-taste Test-24 (BAST-24). We determined the relationship between these results and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), creatinine, albumin/creatinine, albuminuria and GFR (normal = GFR ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m2; impaired renal function = GFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2). Results: There was no significant relationship between HbA1c and olfactory and taste sensations. There was a significant relationship between the percentage of correct responses and albuminuria (p = 0.03) and between identification of odours through the olfactory nerve and GFR (p = 0.029), and the percentage of correct responses and GFR (p = 0.03). There was no significant relationship between taste and renal failure.
Hemodynamic actions of insulin: beyond the endothelium

BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Insulin’s hemodynamic actions are being progressively unraveled over the last two decades (Baron, 1994; Clark, 2008). Originally, Baron et al (Laakso et al., 1990) reported insulin-mediated increase in total blood flow, suggesting an associated higher delivery of nutrients and insulin to target tissues. Nonetheless, the physiological meaning of that extensive hemodynamic action of insulin is controversial, given that lower insulin concentrations than those required to increase total blood flow, stimulate muscle glucose uptake (Yki-Jarvinen and Utriainen, 1998; Zhang et al., 2004). Afterward, a distinct vascular action of insulin was observed, which resulted in capillary recruitment (Rattigan et al., 1997). Such capillary recruitment occurs at physiological concentrations of insulin, precedes increases in total blood flow and is directly correlated to glucose uptake in skeletal muscle (Rattigan et al., 1997, 1999; Coggins et al., 2001). Provided that insulin transcapillary transport plausibly involves a predominant non-saturable process in skeletal muscle (Steil et al., 1996; Hamilton-Wessler et al., 2002; Majumdar et al., 2012), insulin-mediated capillary recruitment emerges as a crucial action of insulin, coupling vascular and metabolic physiology. An integrative pathophysiological view of the relationships between hemodynamic and metabolic functions of insulin has been presented in detail in previous reviews (Muniyappa et al., 2007; Clark, 2008; Muris et al., 2013). Likewise, it has been recognized a similar vascular and metabolic insulin-signaling via insulin receptor/phosphatidylinositol 3kinase (PI3K) pathways (Kim et al., 2006; Kubota et al., 2011), which are present in both endothelium and vascular smooth muscle (VSM), leading to nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activation, increased nitric oxide (NO) production and subsequent vasodilation (Zeng and Quon, 1996; Anfossi et al., 2002). Most previous research in this field has focused on insulin actions in and/or through the endothelium, assumed as the preponderant sensor/effector organ underlying the vascular effects of insulin (Muniyappa et al., 2007; Kubota et al., 2011). However, recently increased animal and human evidence suggests a leading hemodynamic role for the direct insulin action in VSM (Rossi et al., 2005; Newman et al., 2009; Montero et al., 2013a,c), thus requiring to reconsider widely held conceptions in this field.
The GRB 030329 host: a blue low metallicity subluminous galaxy with intense star formation

We present broad band photometry and spectroscopic observations of the host galaxy of GRB 030329. Analysis of the spectral emission lines shows that the host is likely a low metallicity galaxy (Z ∼ 0.004). The spectral energy distribution (SED) constructed with the photometric points has been fitted using synthetic and observational templates. The best SED fit is obtained with a starburst template with an age of ∼150 Myr and an extinction Av ∼ 0.6. We find that the GRB 030329 host galaxy is a subluminous galaxy (L ∼ 0.016 L � ) with a stellar mass of 10 8 M� . Three independent diagnostics, based on the restframe UV continuum, the [O ii], and the Balmer emission lines, provide a consistent )
Substitution of medical cannabis for pharmaceutical agents for pain, anxiety, and sleep

A prior epidemiological study identified a reduction in opioid overdose deaths in US states that legalized medical cannabis (MC). One theory to explain this phenomenon is a potential substitution effect of MC for opioids. This study evaluated whether this substitution effect of MC for opioids also applies to other psychoactive medications. New England dispensary members (n = 1,513) completed an online survey about their medical history and MC experiences. Among respondents that regularly used opioids, over three-quarters (76.7%) indicated that they reduced their use since they started MC. This was significantly (p < 0.0001) greater than the patients that reduced their use of antidepressants (37.6%) or alcohol (42.0%). Approximately two-thirds of patients decreased their use of anti-anxiety (71.8%), migraine (66.7%), and sleep (65.2%) medications following MC which significantly (p < 0.0001) exceeded the reduction in antidepressants or alcohol use. The patient’s spouse, family, and other friends were more likely to know about their MC use than was their primary care provider. In conclusion, a majority of patients reported using less opioids as well as fewer medications to treat anxiety, migraines, and sleep after initiating MC. A smaller portion used less antidepressants or alcohol. Additional research is needed to corroborate these self-reported, retrospective, cross-sectional findings using other data sources.
Effects of optional structural elements, including two alternative amino termini and a new splicing cassette IV, on the function of the sodium–bicarbonate cotransporter NBCn1 (SLC4A7)

• The human SLC4A7 gene and the mouse Slc4a7 gene each have alternative promoters that can yield two groups of NBCn1 variants, one in which the extreme N terminus begins with MEAD (representing the first four residues of the N‐terminal domain (Nt)) and the other in which it begins with MERF. • The mouse Slc4a7 gene contains, and the human SLC4A7 gene is predicted to contain, a novel exon that encodes an alternatively spliced cassette IV of 20 aa in the cytoplasmic Nt domain of NBCn1. This new cassette IV is in a position homologous to that of a previously described cassette in the Nt of NBCn2. • From combinations of known optional structural elements (OSEs), SLC4A7 is theoretically able to produce 32 major variants, of which 16 have now been identified, 10 for the first time in the present study. • With heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes, the OSEs have strong effects on surface abundance and intrinsic HCO3− transport activity. Cassettes II, III and the novel cassette IV have stimulatory effects on the intrinsic HCO3− transport activity of NBCn1.
Sex Differences in Hypertension: Recent Advances

Hypertension is a complex disorder involving multiple organ systems and the primary modifiable risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States. Although both men and women develop hypertension, distinct gender differences in the incidence and severity of hypertension are well established where men have a higher incidence of hypertension compared with women of the same age until the sixth decade of life.1,2 Despite gender differences in human hypertension, the treatment guidelines do not differ by gender.3 The first goal of this review is to examine the clinical data to determine whether this is appropriate, with the remainder of the review focused on basic science research implicating a role for the immune system in mediating sex differences in hypertension. The Institute of Medicine defined the term sex to classify subjects as men or women according to biology/genetics and the chromosomal complement of the individual. In contrast, the term gender includes socially constructed characteristics and the individual’s self-representation as male or female.4 In clinical studies, participants are asked to self-identify as men or women. For this reason, the term gender will be used throughout this review when referring to clinical studies, and sex will be used to refer to basic science studies examining males versus females based on phenotype. A recent study examined age-adjusted awareness, treatment, and blood pressure (BP) control rates among hypertensive men and women from 2003 to 2004 through 2011 to 2012.1 Awareness of hypertension increased in both men and women during this time period, with the greatest increase in awareness reported in women. Although women were less aware of their hypertension at the beginning of the study, they surpassed men’s awareness by the end of the study. One potential …