Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Saccade Modulation by Optical and Electrical Stimulation in the Macaque Frontal Eye Field

Recent studies have demonstrated that strong neural modulations can be evoked with optogenetic stimulation in macaque motor cortex without observing any evoked movements (Han et al., 2009, 2011; Diester et al., 2011). It remains unclear why such perturbations do not generate movements and if conditions exist under which they may evoke movements. In this study, we examine the effects of five optogenetic constructs in the macaque frontal eye field and use electrical microstimulation to assess whether optical perturbation of the local network leads to observable motor changes during optical, electrical, and combined stimulation. We report a significant increase in the probability of evoking saccadic eye movements when low current electrical stimulation is coupled to optical stimulation compared with when electrical stimulation is used alone. Experiments combining channelrhodopsin 2 (ChR2) and electrical stimulation with simultaneous fMRI revealed no discernible fMRI activity at the electrode tip with optical stimulation but strong activity with electrical stimulation. Our findings suggest that stimulation with current ChR2 optogenetic constructs generates subthreshold activity that contributes to the initiation of movements but, in most cases, is not sufficient to evoke a motor response.
Issues in Information Systems

Higher education is adopting information technologies to provide students with opportunities for 24/7 educational access. Part of this adoption is driven by perceived student demand to have anytime, anywhere access to educational content. Technology-related stress (technostress) is already common in today’s electronic age. Working in the online educational environment adds additional levels to this type of stress. This paper presents an instrument to measure technology related stress for online students. Existing instruments used to measure general technology related stress as well technology related stress in the workplace were consulted for preliminary question development. The questions were tested using a convenience population of students and the results indicate there is a relationship between technostress and student outcomes in the online environment.
Caring for the aged.

HP: What drew you to the field of geriatric health care? Kantor: Actually, my interest in and passion for changing the culture of aging and long-term care both stem from a very personal experience: my father's death. He died suddenly when I was only 16 years old. He was 57, the youngest of five children, and the only son. We lived in Rochester, N.Y. , and my father's sisters and mother were in New York City. My four aunts decided to protect my grandmother and not tell her that "the love of her life," my father, had died. They thought the news would, in their words, "kill her. " My grandmother lived another four years wondering why "her Moishe" never called or visited anymore. She felt neglected; she thought he didn't love her anymore. At that time, I wrote in my diary that I would devote my life to ensuring that no one made decisions for older people because of their age. That no one should take away their rights and act in their stead. I still have the diary. And through my work in the culture change movement and the Pioneer Network, I am fulfilling the promise I made to myself almost 40 years ago.
Development and validation of a weight-bearing finite element model for total knee replacement

Abstract Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a successful procedure for osteoarthritis. However, some patients (19%) do have pain after surgery. A finite element model was developed based on boundary conditions of a knee rig. A 3D-model of an anatomical full leg was generated from magnetic resonance image data and a total knee prosthesis was implanted without patella resurfacing. In the finite element model, a restarting procedure was programmed in order to hold the ground reaction force constant with an adapted quadriceps muscle force during a squat from 20° to 105° of flexion. Knee rig experimental data were used to validate the numerical model in the patellofemoral and femorotibial joint. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses of Young’s modulus of the patella cartilage, posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) stiffness, and patella tendon origin were performed. Pearson’s correlations for retropatellar contact area, pressure, patella flexion, and femorotibial ap-movement were near to 1. Lowest root mean square error for retropatellar pressure, patella flexion, and femorotibial ap-movement were found for the baseline model setup with Young’s modulus of 5 MPa for patella cartilage, a downscaled PCL stiffness of 25% compared to the literature given value and an anatomical origin of the patella tendon. The results of the conducted finite element model are comparable with the experimental results. Therefore, the finite element model developed in this study can be used for further clinical investigations and will help to better understand the clinical aspects after TKA with an unresurfaced patella.
Evaluation of Routing Protocols for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks in City Traffic Scenarios

Vehicular multi-hop ad hoc networks (VANETs) are an important technology for future developments of vehicular communication systems. Vehicles are able to exchange information within these networks without the need of installing any infrastructure along the roadside. VANETs can be used to improve the road safety by e.g. warning drivers about accidents in front of the road or to provide Internet access to the passengers via gateways along the road. However, the routing of data packets through the VANET is very complex since network topology and communication conditions may vary heavily. To evaluate the performance of routing protocols in urban traffic scenarios, we developed a realistic city mobility model, which was used to examined the performance of AODV, DSR, FSR and TORA on the basis of network simulations. We found out that TORA is completely unsuitable for vehicular environments, whereas FSR, DSR and AODV showed promising results in the city scenarios.
Understanding of outcome-based education (OBE) implementation by civil engineering students in Malaysia

Outcome-based education (OBE) is an approach that focuses on what students should learn (outcomes) and able to apply after the learning process. The Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam Campus, Selangor, Malaysia has implemented the OBE approach since 2006. This paper presents the civil engineering students' level of awareness and understanding based on their agreements on the statements related to OBE implementation. Survey questionnaires were distributed to more than 1000 undergraduate students from Year 1 through Year 4. The findings show that majority of the students were aware of the OBE approach and understood its implementation. A good level of understanding on the OBE implementation was observed based on their agreements on the adaptation towards the OBE approach, the independent and lifelong learning, active learning concepts together with the assessment tools/techniques used and advantages gained from the OBE approach. The final students demonstrate a higher level of understanding on OBE implementation compared to the students from the earlier years of study. This indicates that the longer period of study the students were exposed, the better their understanding on the OBE implementation. Even though this study is limited to undergraduate civil engineering students in UiTM Shah Alam, it contributes significantly on the efforts to continually evaluate and monitor OBE implementation to ensure quality and its effectiveness.
Biological and Biochemical Studies for Characterization of Some Egyptian Trichomonas vaginalis Isolates

Background: Trichomoniasis has important medical, social and economical implications regarding its serious potentially associated complications, with the possibility of HIV acquisition and transmission. T. vaginalis is a very complex organism. Studying the variation in some biological and biochemical properties of the parasite can be used for characterization of the parasites. Objective: For the characterization of T. vaginalis infecting Egyptian female patients, the growth kinetics of 20 isolates, their pathogenicity, metronidazole susceptibility and electrophoretic protein patterns, were correlated with the recorded clinical manifestations associated with these isolates. Methodology: Positive samples for T. vaginalis were cultured on modified Diamonds medium. For growth pattern study, trophozoites were counted for each isolate every 24 hours for seven days. The pathogenicity assay was performed using intra-peritoneal inoculation in mice. The isolates susceptibility to different concentrations of metronidazole was recorded by determining the minimal lethal concentration (MLC) and trophozoites viability. The biochemical variability of the studied isolates was performed using 2-dimensional electrophoresis. Results: A broad experimental variability was recorded among the 20 T. vaginalis isolates. There was a clear relationship between 3 isolates obtained from patients with severe vaginitis and the different parameters studied. These isolates had the highest number (20-25 organisms/HPF) in wet mount of vaginal discharge, and the shortest generation time (6:34-7:31 hours); they were also highly pathogenic to mice. Only one isolate (no. 5) proved to be metronidazole resistant. The use of the first dimensional native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Native-PAGE) demonstrated the presence of some differences. The isolates were classified into two groups according to their proteins net charge. All samples in each group were considered as one isolate. However, when the 2-dimensional electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was applied, five different groups could be identified according to proteins molecular weights. Conclusion: There is a broad experimental variability among the studied Egyptian T. vaginalis isolates regarding growth kinetics, metronidazole drug susceptibility, degree of pathogenicity, as well as the electrophoretic protein patterns.
Local Ancestry and Clinical Cardiovascular Events Among African Americans From the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Background Local ancestry in relation to clinical cardiovascular events (CVEs) among African Americans can provide insight into their genetic susceptibility to the disease. Methods and Results We examined local European ancestry (LEA) association with CVEs among 3000 African Americans from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC). We estimated LEA using Local Ancestry Inference in adMixed Populations using Linkage Disequilibrium (LAMP‐LD) and examined its association with myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary heart disease and its composite and cardiovascular disease composite using logistic regression. Genome‐wide significance was achieved by 121 LEA regions in relation to myocardial infarction and 2 in relation to the cardiovascular disease composite. The LEA region downstream of 4q32.1 was significantly associated with 2 times higher odds of myocardial infarction (P=1.45×10−6). The LEA region upstream of 6q11.1 was associated with 0.37 times lower odds of fatal coronary heart disease (P=7.34×10−4), whereas the LEA region downstream of 21q21.1 was associated with 1.55 times higher odds of composite coronary heart disease (P=3.45×10−4). Association of LEA with stroke was observed in the region upstream of 6p22.3 with a 1.57 times higher odds of stroke (P=9.69×10−4). Likewise, the LEA region on 4q32.3 was associated with a 1.53 times higher odds of composite cardiovascular disease (P=3.04×10−4). We also found 20 of the LEA regions at previously significant cardiovascular disease single‐nucleotide polymorphisms to be associated with CVE in our study. Conclusions Future studies are needed to replicate and/or determine the causal variants driving our associations and explore clinical applications for those consistently associated with CVEs.
Sandwich shield subjected to bird impact: Use of surrogate models for influencing parameter analysis and shield behaviour understanding

In this work, the behaviour of a sandwich shield subjected to a 1.82 kg bird impact at 175 m/s is studied using a finite element model. The 6 most influential design parameters are varied and their effects on the shield behaviour and on the target protection are assessed. First, we try to establish an engineer's visualization by varying parameters 2 × 2 using three 5-levels full-factorial design of experiments. These three 2D design of experiments enable us to visualize precisely the different effects of each parameter. Then a full sensitivity analysis (6D) is performed using a Latin Hypercube sampling to assess the possible interactions between parameters. Surrogate models are constructed using the Gaussian Process framework to follow the variation of the outputs in the 6D design space. These surrogate models are finally studied using two statistical methods: the Sobol′ method and the Morris method. The methodology developed in this study enables to improve the understanding of the behaviour of a shield under a soft body impact, as a first step towards a shield design tool.
[Uromodulin gene polymorphisms in patients with cast nephropathy in multiple myeloma].

AIM To investigate the nature of mutations in exons 4 and 5 of the uromodulin (UM) gene, including in the area encoding the domain of 8 cysteines (D8C), in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) with the secretion of monoclonal light chains (LC) in cast nephropathy (CN) and without kidney injury. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The investigation enrolled 24 patients in MM remission, who were observed to have monoclonal LC secretion at onset. Group 1 included 14 patients with CN; Group 2 consisted of 10 patients with normal renal function (a comparison group). The compared groups did not differ in the number of serum and urinary monoclonal LCs. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood samples of patients. The nucleotide sequence of exons 4 and 5 of the UM gene was determined by the Sanger method. RESULTS No differences were found in the frequency of polymorphisms depending on the severity of kidney injury. The missense mutation p.142R>R/Q in the UM gene, which had not been previously described, was discovered. CONCLUSION The patients with MM were not found to have statistically significant differences in the frequency and nature of polymorphisms of exons 4 and 5 in the UM gene, including in the area encoding D8C, in CN without kidney injury.
X-Ray Power Density Spectrum of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Arakelian 564

Beginning in 1999 January, the bright, strongly variable narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy Akn 564 has been observed by RXTE once every ~4.3 days. It was also monitored every ~3.2 hr throughout 2000 July. These evenly sampled observations have allowed the first quantitative comparison of long- and short-timescale X-ray variability in an NLS1 galaxy and the derivation of an X-ray power density spectrum (PDS). The variability amplitude in the short-timescale light curve is very similar to that in the long-timescale light curve, in marked contrast to the stronger variability on longer timescales, which is characteristic of "normal" broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLS1) galaxies. Furthermore, the Akn 564 PDS power law cuts off at a frequency of 8.7 × 10-7 Hz, corresponding to a timescale of ~13 days, significantly shorter than that seen in the PDS of NGC 3516, a BLS1 galaxy of comparable luminosity. This result is consistent with NLS1 galaxies showing faster (as opposed to larger amplitude) variations than BLS1 galaxies, providing further evidence that NLS1 galaxies harbor lower mass black holes than BLS1 galaxies of similar luminosity, accreting at a correspondingly higher relative rate.
Contribution of Epigenetic Silencing of Tumor Necrosis Factor–Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand Receptor 1 (DR4) to TRAIL Resistance and Ovarian Cancer

Dysregulation of apoptosis may support tumorigenesis by allowing cells to live beyond their normally intended life span. The various receptors for tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) are located on chromosome 8p21.2, a region frequently deleted in ovarian cancer. Lack of expression of TRAIL receptor 1 (death receptor 4, DR4) correlates with resistance to TRAIL-induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. Reconstitution of DR4 in the TRAIL-resistant A2780 ovarian cancer cell line was investigated with the demethylating agent 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine and transient gene transfer. Regulation of other genes in the TRAIL pathway by 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine was assessed in DNA GeneChip experiments. Primary ovarian cancers were analyzed by methylation-specific PCR and immunohistochemical analysis of a tissue microarray. Regulation of DR4 expression by demethylation or transient transfection is of functional relevance for TRAIL resistance in an ovarian cancer cell line. Hypermethylation of the DR4 promoter could be found in 10 of 36 (27.7%) DNAs isolated from ovarian cancer tissue. In an independent set of 68 ovarian cancer cases, a complete loss or down-regulation of DR4 protein expression was observed 10.3% and 8.8% patients, respectively. A significant (P = 0.019) majority of these patients was below 50 years of age. Our findings show a functional relevance of the level of DR4 expression in ovarian cancer and suggest a substantial contribution of DR4 hypermethylation and consequent loss of DR4 expression to ovarian cancer pathogenesis, particularly in premenopausal patients.
A protective effect of sulindac against chemically‐induced primary colonic tumours in mice

Sulindac, a non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug, has been reported to lead to tumour regression in cases of human polyposis coli. We have investigated the effects of this drug on the growth of 1,2‐dimethylhydrazine (DMH)‐induced mouse colonic tumours. In one experiment, DMH and oral sulindac were administered concurrently to a group of mice for a period of up to 24 weeks, while a control group of animals received DMH only for the same period. Sulindac caused a significant reduction in both the number of mice with colonic tumours and the number of tumours per mouse. In a second experiment, two groups of mice which had already been treated with DMH for 17 weeks received either sulindac or not for 78 days. In this experiment sulindac had no effect. These results demonstrate that sulindac has a protective effect against the chemical induction of colonic tumours in mice, but does not cause the regression of established tumours.
DIFFERENTIAL REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS AND HERITABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE REPRODUCTIVE TACTICS IN WILD ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO SALAR L.)

Abstract A critical step in understanding the evolution and maintenance of alternative reproductive tactics is to obtain accurate comparisons of their fitness and to determine factors influencing individual status. In this study, we first used individual multilocus genotypic information to compare reproductive success between two alternative reproductive tactics of anadromous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in their natural environments. We also documented the effects of the quality of the rearing environment and of paternal reproductive tactics on heritability of juvenile growth, which is an important component of individual status. Results showed that large dominant salmon (multisea winter) had higher reproductive success than smaller satellite individuals (grilse). Also, there was a status difference associated with both habitat and male tactic. Overall, offspring produced in streams were bigger than those produced in the main river stretch. Grilse also produced bigger offspring than those fathered by multisea winter males. Heritability of juvenile growth was significant but varied according to quality of habitat: higher heritability estimates were observed in higher quality habitats (streams) than in lower quality habitats (main river stretch). Heritability estimates for juvenile growth varied as well, depending on male tactic, with progeny fathered by multisea winter males having higher values than those fathered by grilse. Together, these results indicate that a combination of additive genetic effects, parental life history and habitat quality will ultimately shape juvenile growth rate, which is the main determinant of status and of subsequent choice of life‐history tactics.
Costly parasite resistance: a genotype-dependent handicap in sand lizards?

Male sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) with a specific restriction fragment length polymorphism fragment in their major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genotype (‘O-males’) are more resistant to ectoparasites (a tick, Ixodes ricinus) than are males that lack this fragment (‘NO-males’). However, emerging evidence suggests that such adaptive immune responses are costly, here manifested by reduced body condition and a compromised defence against secondary infections by haemoprotid parasites that use the ticks as vectors. Subsequent to tick encounter, O-males suffer from a higher leucocyte–erythrocyte ratio, and higher haemoprotid parasitaemia, in particular in relation to vector encounter rate. Furthermore, O-males (i.e. successful tick defenders) with more haemoprotid parasites remaining in their blood stream were in better body condition, whereas this did not apply in NO-males, demonstrating that the adaptive immunoreaction can—in the short term—be energetically even more costly than being moderately parasitized. In agreement with Zahavian handicap theory, O-males had a (marginally) higher reproductive success than males that lacked this fragment.
Tetraaqua(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)cadmium(II) sulfate dihydrate

In the title mononuclear complex, [Cd(C12H8N2)(H2O)4]SO4·2H2O, the coordination geometry around the CdII atom is a distorted octahedron, with two aqua ligands occupying the axial positions. Intermolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds lead to the formation of a two-dimensional layer structure parallel to (001). The layers are connected by π–π interactions between the pyridyl and benzene rings of the phenanthroline ligands [centroid–centroid distances = 3.591 (1) and 3.610 (1) Å].
Priming involuntary autobiographical memories

Involuntary autobiographical memories occur frequently in daily life and are usually triggered by cues in one's environment. This study investigated the possibility that priming plays a role in the production of involuntary memories. In Study 1, participants recorded their involuntary memories in a diary for 14 days and then completed a questionnaire assessing their cognitive activity during the recording period. Participants indicating frequent thought about significant others on the questionnaire showed significantly more involuntary memories related to such individuals than a control group. In Studies 2 and 3, participants recorded their involuntary memories in diaries for 14 days and were primed with recall sessions in the laboratory during that period (recalling episodes from high school, Study 1, the past year, or ages 13–16, Studies 2 & 3). The results of both studies showed significant priming effects in the involuntary memories of participants for all of the periods primed. The possibility that priming plays a significant role in the daily production of involuntary memories is discussed.