Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Submillisecond Precision of the Input-Output Transformation Function Mediated by Fast Sodium Dendritic Spikes in Basal Dendrites of CA1 Pyramidal Neurons

The ability of cortical neurons to perform temporally accurate computations has been shown to be important for encoding of information in the cortex; however, cortical neurons are expected to be imprecise temporal encoders because of the stochastic nature of synaptic transmission and ion channel gating, dendritic filtering, and background synaptic noise. Here we show for the first time that fast local spikes in basal dendrites can serve to improve the temporal precision of neuronal output. Integration of coactivated, spatially distributed synaptic inputs produces temporally imprecise output action potentials within a time window of several milliseconds. In contrast, integration of closely spaced basal inputs initiates local dendritic spikes that amplify and sharpen the summed somatic potential. In turn, these fast basal spikes allow precise timing of output action potentials with submillisecond temporal jitter over a wide range of activation intensities and background synaptic noise. Our findings indicate that fast spikes initiated in individual basal dendrites can serve as precise “timers” of output action potentials in various network activity states and thus may contribute to temporal coding in the cortex.
Measurement of Poisson’s ratio with contact-resonance atomic force microscopy

We describe contact-resonance atomic force microscopy AFM methods to quantitatively measure Poisson’s ratio or shear modulus G at the same time as Young’s modulus E. In contact-resonance AFM, the frequencies of the cantilever’s resonant vibrations are measured while the tip is in contact with the sample. Simultaneous measurement of flexural and torsional vibrational modes enables E and to be determined separately. Analysis methods are presented to relate the contact-resonance frequencies to the tip-sample contact stiffness, which in turn determines the sample’s nanoscale elastic properties. Experimental results are presented for a glass specimen with fused silica used as a reference material. The agreement between our contact-resonance AFM measurements and values obtained from other means demonstrates the validity of the basic method. © 2007 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2767387
The impact of bug management patterns on bug fixing: A case study of Eclipse projects

An efficient bug management process is critical for the success of software projects. Prior work has focused on improving this process, for example, by automating bug triaging, detecting duplicate bugs, and understanding the rationale for re-opening bugs. This paper continues this line of work by exploring the people who are involved in the bug management process. In particular we develop four patterns that distill the different relations between the people involved in the process: the reporter, triager, and fixer of a bug. Through a case study on the Eclipse Platform and JDT projects, we demonstrate that these patterns have an impact on the efficiency of the bug management process. For example, we find that using our patterns project personnel can improve their efficiency through better communication about bugs before assigning them.
Cortisol awakening response in preschoolers and depression risk: Relations with maternal history of depression and child temperament

Title of document: CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE IN PRESCHOOLERS AND DEPRESSION RISK: RELATIONS WITH MATERNAL HISTORY OF DEPRESSION AND CHILD TEMPERAMENT Victoria Chialy Hang Smith, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Lea R. Dougherty Department of Psychology Increasing research suggests that elevations in the cortisol awakening response (CAR), the natural increase of cortisol 30 to 40 minutes after waking, may serve as a vulnerability marker for depression. However, existing studies have focused on adolescence and adulthood; very little is known about the CAR in early childhood and the factors that are associated with it. The current study aimed to examine the validity of the CAR as a potential early-emerging vulnerability marker for depression in a sample of preschool-age children. We examined associations between the CAR and two wellestablished risk factors for depression: maternal psychopathology and early child temperament (high negative emotionality (NE) and/or low positive emotionality (PE)). The sample consisted of 146 preschool-age children, of whom 71 (49.3%) had a biological mother with a history of depression and 65 (45.5%) had a biological mother with a history of anxiety. To assess the CAR, salivary cortisol samples were collected from the child upon waking, 30 and 45 minutes post-waking on two weekdays. Children’s CAR was examined as the total volume of cortisol secreted (AUCg) and the total increase in cortisol (AUCi) across waking. Evening cortisol was collected 30 minutes before bedtime. Child temperament was assessed using observational laboratory measures. Maternal depression and anxiety were assessed with clinical interviews. Associations with children’s CAR, as indicated by AUCg or AUCi, appeared to be specific to maternal current psychopathology and symptoms of anhedonia. Additionally, we observed significant interactions for both maternal lifetime and current depression and anxiety, in combination with child NE and PE, on elevated evening cortisol levels and flattened diurnal cortisol rhythms, indicating altered patterns of basal cortisol activity in offspring. Our study contributes to the limited but growing knowledge on the development of the CAR in preschool age children and as a marker of early risk. Findings suggest that there is a complex interplay between familial risk, affective vulnerability, and their joint effects on neuroendocrine dysfunction in young children, and highlight the need for future research to examine which aspects of the early diurnal rhythm predict the emergence of later depressive illness. CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE IN PRESCHOOLERS AND DEPRESSION RISK: RELATIONS WITH MATERNAL HISTORY OF DEPRESSION AND CHILD TEMPERAMENT
The Reluctance to Use the Word Populism as a Concept

The French debate on populism is somehow paradoxical. On the one hand, the French political landscape has been characterized by the presence of a strong far-right populist and xenophobic party—the Front National (FN)—since the mid-1980s. Some well-known authors have contributed to the international mainstream analysis of the phenomenon (Meny & Surel, 2000; Taguieff, 1984, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2007). On the other hand, French academia is reluctant to use populism to explain and analyze the FN. Some of the major findings presented here from a review of the literature since 1995 include the relatively infrequent use of the word, its quasi-systematic association with right-wing parties, and the critical tone adopted by French authors when referring to populism as a concept.
Human Enterovirus 71 Disease: Clinical Features, Epidemiology, Virology, and Management

The purpose of this review was to summarize the epidemiology, clinical pictures, and virology of enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection. An epidemiological study in Taiwan revealed that the reported incidence of mild cases of hand-foot- mouth disease/herpangina (HFMD/HA) varied from year to year; seasonal variations in incidence were observed, with an incidence peak observed during the summer season. The study also showed that different enteroviruses co-circulate in the community, and seroepidemiological studies suggest that children aged less than 4 years old are most susceptible, while over 50% of the rest of the population is immune. The emergence of the EV71 epidemic in the Asia Pacific region has been associated with the circulation of three genetic lineages (genotype B3, B4, C2) that appear to be undergoing rapid evolutionary changes. EV 71 infection has emerged as an important public problem, causing serious clinical illness and, potentially, death in young children. Vaccine development is recommended for the prevention of EV 71 infection in the future.
Response of serum inhibin B and pro-alphaC levels to gonadotrophic stimulation in normal men before and after steroidal contraceptive treatment.

BACKGROUND Testicular regulation of inhibin B may be influenced by the germ cell complement. METHODS We examined the effects of gonadotrophin stimulation on serum inhibin B and pro-alphaC in 25 normal men at (i) control (stimulation test 1), (ii) after spermatogenic suppression induced by testosterone plus progestin treatment (stimulation test 2), and (iii) during spermatogenic recovery induced by FSH and/or hCG treatment (stimulation test 3). For each test, subjects received a single injection of 1200 IU FSH or 5000 IU hCG or both. RESULTS Inhibin B and pro-alphaC fell with spermatogenic suppression (75 and 51% of pre-treatment baseline respectively, P < 0.05). Inhibin B response to FSH (130-144%) was similar in controls and after germ cell suppression. Pro-alphaC response after germ cell suppression compared with control was significantly increased (P < 0.05) with both FSH (210-229% versus 140-185%) and hCG (254-261% versus 145%). All treatments partially restored spermatogenesis with no clear relationship apparent between inhibin B and sperm count. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that: (i) serum inhibin B and pro-alphaC are only partially gonadotrophin dependent, (ii) spermatogenic suppression does not modify inhibin B response to FSH but enhances pro-alphaC response to both FSH and hCG, and (iii) inhibin B is a poor marker of spermatogenesis in this model of gonadotrophic manipulation in normal men.
Parenting agendas: An empirical study of intensive mothering and infant cognitive development

Intensive parenting debates reflect the critical importance of a child’s early years, and parents’ roles in determining later developmental outcomes. Mothers are usually assigned primary responsibility for facilitating their infants’ cognitive development through adequate and appropriate sensory stimulation. Drawing on Foucault’s technologies of the self, this article explores how new mothers shape their mothering practices in order to provide appropriately stimulating interactions. Using findings from 64 interviews (31 women were interviewed twice, 2 women were interviewed only once) three main positions are identified of how mothers function in relation to their infants’ development: mother as committed facilitator, creative provider and careful/caring monitor. The study considers the perceived normative nature of these positions and the impact they can have on middle-class women’s subjectivities as new mothers. This analysis of parental agendas and infant cognitive development suggests that a continued focus on the mother’s role within early infant development reflects and upholds ideologies of child-centred, intensive mothering, which risks precluding ‘alternative’ maternal subjectivities and promotes conservative feminine identities.
Making sense of a university's culture: An examination of undergraduate students’ stories

Conflict between subgroups is common in organizations. This study examines stories that students know as cultural artifacts that help them to make sense of their university's culture and the tensions or conflicts that exist within that culture. The results suggest the existence of a student subculture that is frequently in conflict with the dominant, tradition‐based culture of the university. The stories generally illustrate how subgroups of students simultaneously defy the dominant culture and assist in maintaining and transforming it. A few stories are ambiguous, in that they do not clearly espouse values. Overall, the study demonstrates how the stories produce, maintain, and transform the organizational culture. In this way, stories provide a framework for making sense of the unity, conflict, and change that are simultaneously part of organizational culture.
Comparing precaution in the United States and Europe

The regulation of health and environmental risks has generated transatlantic controversy concerning precaution and the precautionary principle (PP). Conventional wisdom sees the European Union endorsing the PP and proactively regulating uncertain risks, while the United States opposes the PP and waits for evidence of harm before regulating. Without favouring either approach, this paper critically analyses the conventional depiction of transatlantic divergence. First, it reviews several different versions of the PP and their different implications. Second, it broadens the transatlantic comparison of precaution beyond the typical focus on single-risk examples, such as genetically modified foods. Through case studies, including hormones in beef and milk production and mad cow disease in beef and in blood donations, as well as reference to a wider array of risks, the paper demonstrates that relative precaution varies enormously. Sometimes the EU is more precautionary than the US (such as regarding hormones in beef), while sometimes the US is more precautionary than the EU (such as regarding mad cow disease in blood). Thus, neither the EU nor the US can claim to be categorically 'more precautionary' than the other. The real pattern is complex and risk-specific. Third, the paper seeks explanations for this complex pattern in five sets of hypotheses: optimal tailoring on the merits, political systems, risk perceptions, trade protectionism, and legal systems. None of these hypotheses fully explains the observed complex pattern of relative transatlantic precaution. The paper concludes that differences in relative precaution depend more on the context of the particular risk than on broad differences in national regulatory regimes.
How quickly do forecasters incorporate news? Evidence from cross-country surveys

Using forecasts from Consensus Economics Inc., we provide evidence on the efficiency of real GDP growth forecasts by testing whether forecast revisions are uncorrelated. As the forecast data used are multi-dimensional—18 countries, 24 monthly forecasts for the current and the following year and 16 target years—the panel estimation takes into account the complex structure of the variance–covariance matrix due to propagation of shocks across countries and economic linkages among them. Efficiency is rejected for all 18 countries: forecast revisions show a high degree of serial correlation. We then develop a framework for characterizing the nature of the inefficiency in forecasts. For a smaller set of countries, the G-7, we estimate a VAR model on forecast revisions. The degree of inefficiency, as mananifested in the serial correlation of forecast revisions, tends to be smaller in forecasts of the USA than in forecasts for European countries. Our framework also shows that one of the sources of the inefficiency in a country’s forecasts is resistance to utilizing foreign news. Thus the quality of forecasts for many of these countries can be significantly improved if forecasters pay more attention to news originating from outside their respective countries. This is particularly the case for Canadian and French forecasts, which would gain by paying greater attention than they do to news from the USA and Germany, respectively.
Columnar Organization of Dendrites and Axons of Single and Synaptically Coupled Excitatory Spiny Neurons in Layer 4 of the Rat Barrel Cortex

Cortical columns are the functional units of the neocortex that are particularly prominent in the “barrel” field of the somatosensory cortex. Here we describe the morphology of two classes of synaptically coupled excitatory neurons in layer 4 of the barrel cortex, spiny stellate, and star pyramidal cells, respectively. Within a single barrel, their somata tend to be organized in clusters. The dendritic arbors are largely confined to layer 4, except for the distal part of the apical dendrite of star pyramidal neurons that extends into layer 2/3. In contrast, the axon of both types of neurons spans the cortex from layer 1 to layer 6. The most prominent axonal projections are those to layers 4 and 2/3 where they are largely restricted to a single cortical column. In layers 5 and 6, a small fraction of axon collaterals projects also across cortical columns. Consistent with the dense axonal projection to layers 4 and 2/3, the total number and density of boutons per unit axonal length was also highest there. Electron microscopy combined with GABA postimmunogold labeling revealed that most (>90%) of the synaptic contacts were established on dendritic spines and shafts of excitatory neurons in layers 4 and 2/3. The largely columnar organization of dendrites and axons of both cell types, combined with the preferential and dense projections within cortical layers 4 and 2/3, suggests that spiny stellate and star pyramidal neurons of layer 4 serve to amplify thalamic input and relay excitation vertically within a single cortical column.
A Behavioural Preparation for the Study of Human Pavlovian Conditioning

Conditioned suppression is a useful technique for assessing whether subjects have learned a CS-US association, but it is difficult to use in humans because of the need for an aversive US. The purpose of this research was to develop a non-aversive procedure that would produce suppression. Subjects learned to press the space bar of a computer as part of a video game, but they had to stop pressing whenever a visual US appeared, or they would lose points. In Experiment 1, we used an A+/B− discrimination design: The US always followed Stimulus A and never followed Stimulus B. Although no information about the existence of CSs was given to the subjects, suppression ratio results showed a discrimination learning curve—that is, subjects learned to suppress responding in anticipation of the US when Stimulus A was present but not during the presentations of Stimulus B. Experiment 2 explored the potential of this preparation by using two different instruction sets and assessing post-experimental judgements of CS A and CS B in addition to suppression ratios. The results of these experiments suggest that conditioned suppression can be reliably and conveniently used in the human laboratory, providing a bridge between experiments on animal conditioning and experiments on human judgements of causality.
What keeps athletes in the gym? Goals, psychological needs, and motivation of CrossFit™ participants

The CrossFit™ workout methodology has experienced tremendous growth and popularity over the last 10 years. This programme utilises high-intensity workouts that incorporate a wide variety of calisthenics and weight lifting movements, and is typically delivered in a group format by a qualified instructor. Gaining an understanding of the motivational factors underlying CrossFit participation will benefit fitness trainers of all types. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among goal contents, psychological need satisfaction, behavioural regulation, and participation frequency in a sample of CrossFit athletes. Participants (n = 322) completed instruments assessing exercise goal contents, basic psychological need satisfaction, and behavioural regulations in exercise, and a survey of demographic and participation variables. Having intrinsic goals, such as developing skills or improving health, was found to predict greater psychological need satisfaction. Competence and autonomy need satisfaction were found to predict higher levels of intrinsic and identified regulations. Participation frequency was positively predicted by intrinsic regulation, intrinsic goal contents, competence need satisfaction, and was negatively predicted by external regulation. When examining the full path-analysis model, competence and autonomy basic psychological need satisfaction were found to partially mediate the relationship between goal content and intrinsic regulation. Based on these findings, health and fitness leaders can maximise participant’s intrinsic motivation by emphasising goals focused on skill learning and health. Additionally, fitness leaders should make efforts to enhance participants’ feeling of competence and autonomy.
Price Reactions to Rivals' Local Channel Exits

In this paper, we study the effect of a firm’s local channel exits on prices charged by incumbents remaining in the marketplace. Exits could result in higher prices due to tempered competition or lower prices due to reduced colocation or agglomeration benefits. The net effect of these two countervailing forces remains unknown. In addition, little is known about how this effect could change depending on incumbents’ geographic locations. We address this research gap by examining new car price reactions by incumbent multiproduct automobile dealerships who experience the exit of a Chrysler dealership in their local markets. We find evidence that the competition effect exceeds the colocation effect: prices increase by about 1% ($318) following an exit relative to the price change in the absence of an exit. More important, we find that the price increase is lower at dealerships more proximate to the exiting dealership than dealerships farther away for the same set of cars available across these locations. This finding suggests differences in the extent of the two forces (competition and agglomeration) at different distances from the closed dealership. We assess the generalizability of our results by looking at the impact of GM’s closure of Pontiac dealerships. Taken together, our results inform consumers, firms, and policymakers about possible implications of an exit.Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi. org/10.1287/mksc.2015. 0952.
Resumption lag at interruptible timing might not be short in actual environment

Experiments performed in controlled environments have revealed that interruptions occurring at application switching (AS), which correspond to task breakpoints in the computer field, are more subjectively acceptable and require shorter resumption lags (RL), which indicate the cognitive cost. Therefore, in this study, we investigate RLs in uncontrolled office environment. The interruptions at more acceptable ASs were expected to show shorter RLs, because the cognitive costs of the interruption are less. However, contrary to the expected result, the RLs were longer. This implies that factors other than cognitive cost may affect interruptibility in a realistic environment.
Isolation, identification and molecular characterization of Inclusion body hepatitis virus

Inclusion body hepatitis caused by avian adenovirus with highly pathogenic strain lead to heavy mortality and unusual lesion like hydropericardium in commercial broilers. Samples were collected from an outbreak in 12000 broiler flock from Andhra Pradesh with sudden high mortality initiated from 32 days of age. Liver was enlarged and showed petechae. Hydropericardium was extensive. 10% liver suspension inoculated to SPF chicks produced mortality with hydropericardium and showed presence of intranuclear inclusions in the hepatocytes. Viral DNA extracted from infected liver processed for PCR produced an amplicon of 890 bp. Nucleotide sequence analysis using blast programme of NCBI showed 99% identity with fowl adenovirus.