Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patient-Directed Neurofeedback for AD/HD

The study reports on Patient-Directed neurofeedback for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Therapist involvement was limited to 10 treatment sessions used to train the patient or parents of younger children to use the equipment, to monitor treatment, and to make changes in the treatment protocol as necessary. The remaining 50 sessions were conducted at home using inexpensive, easy to operate, 1 or 2 channel Lexicor PODS. Results from the initial 6 patients, ages 7 to 45, are reported. Thirteen of 24 Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) measures (attention, impulsivity, reaction time and variability) were below average (SS c 90) at baseline. After 30 neurofeedback sessions, only 5 TOVA variables remained below average. It is concluded that Patient-Directed neurofeedback may be an effective alternative to Therapist-Directed treatment for many AD/HD patients and can be delivered at substantially less cost.
M2T: Local map descriptor

Map matching, the ability to match a local map built by a mobile robot to previously built maps, is crucial in many robotic mapping, self-localization, and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) applications. In this paper, we propose a solution to the “map-to-text (M2T)” problem, which involves the generation of text descriptions of local map content based on scene understanding to facilitate fast succinct text-based map matching. Unlike previous local feature approaches that trade discriminativity for viewpoint invariance, we develop a holistic view descriptor that is view-dependent and highly discriminative. Our approach is inspired by two independent observations: (1) The behavior of mobile robots given a local map can often be characterized by a unique viewpoint trajectory, and (2) a holistic view descriptor can be highly discriminative if the viewpoint is unique given the local map. Our method consists of three distinct steps: (1) First, an informative local map of the robot's local surroundings is built. (2) Next, a unique viewpoint trajectory is planned in accordance with the given local map. (3) Finally, a synthetic view is described at the designated viewpoint. Because the success of our holistic view descriptor depends on the assumption that the viewpoint is unique given a local map, we also address the issue of viewpoint planning and present a solution that provides similar views for similar local maps. Consequently, we also propose a practical map-matching framework that combines the advantages of the fast succinct bag-of-words technique and the highly discriminative M2T holistic view descriptor. The results of experiments conducted using the publicly available radish dataset verify the efficacy of our proposed approach. Further, although this paper focuses on the standard 2D pointset map, we believe that our approach is sufficiently general to be applicable to a broad range of map formats, such as the 3D and general view-based maps.
Use of Monoclonal Antibodies in the Sensitive Detection and Neutralization of Botulinum Neurotoxin Serotype B

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) are some of nature’s most potent toxins. Due to potential food contamination, and bioterrorism concerns, the development of detection reagents, therapeutics and countermeasures are of urgent interest. Recently, we have developed a sensitive electrochemiluminescent (ECL) immunoassay for BoNT/B, using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) MCS6-27 and anti-BoNT/B rabbit polyclonal antibodies as the capture and detector. The ECL assay detected as little as 1 pg/mL BoNT/B in the buffer matrix, surpassing the detection sensitivities of the gold standard mouse bioassays. The ECL assay also allowed detection of BoNT/B in sera matrices of up to 100% sera with negligible matrix effects. This highly-sensitive assay allowed the determination of the biological half-lives of BoNT/B holotoxin in vivo. We further tested the toxin neutralization potential of our monoclonal antibodies using the mouse systemic and oral intoxication models. A combination of mAbs protected mice in both pre- and post-exposure models to lethal doses of BoNT/B. MAbs were capable of increasing survival of animals when administered even 10 h post-intoxication in an oral model, suggesting a likely time for BoNT/B complexes to reach the blood stream. More sensitive detection assays and treatments against BoNT intoxication will greatly enhance efforts to combat botulism.
MicroRNA-93 promotes ovarian granulosa cells proliferation through targeting CDKN1A in polycystic ovarian syndrome.

CONTEXT MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Whether differently expressed miRNAs contribute to promoting granulosa cell proliferation in polycystic ovarian syndrome disease (PCOS) remains unknown. OBJECTIVE We explored whether certain miRNAs are involved in the ovarian dysfunction of PCOS and the mechanism of increased granulosa cells proliferation. Patients and Cells: miRNA expression was analyzed in excised ovarian cortexes from 16 women with PCOS and 8 non-PCOS. An immortalized human granulosa (KGN) cell was used for the mechanism study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Expressions of miRNAs in ovarian cortexes were measured using qRT-PCR and KGN granulosa cells were cultured for proliferation assays after overexpression or inhibition of miR-93 or after insulin treatment. Bioinformatics were used to identify the potential miRNA targets. Protein expression analysis, luciferase assays, and rescue assays were used to confirm the substrate of miR-93. RESULTS MiR-93 expression was higher in PCOS ovarian cortex and its identified target, CDKN1A, was downregulated. MiR-93 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and G1 to S transition. Knocking down CDKN1A promoted cell growth and cell cycle progression in granulosa cells, and CDKN1A re-introduction reversed the promotional role of miR-93. High concentrations of insulin induced upregulation of miR-93, stimulated KGN cells proliferation and reduced CDKN1A expression. CONCLUSIONS miR-93 was increased in PCOS granulosa cells and targeted CDKN1A to promote proliferation and cell cycle progression. Insulin could upregulate the expression of miR-93 and stimulate cell proliferation. This might provide a new insight into the dysfunction of granulosa cells in PCOS.
Comparison of Early Maladaptive Schemas and Their Parental Origins in OCD Patients and Non-Clinical Individuals

هزات لاس ،يتخانش مولع ياه 2 1 ةرامش ، 1 ، 9 138 ، 9 6 9 5 59 Advances in Cognitive Science, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2010 فده : حرط ةسياقم هراو هشير و هيلوا راگزاسان ياه حرط نيا ينيدلاو ياه هراو للاتـخا هـب نايلاتبم رد اه تيصخش يساوسو يرابجا ، للاتخا يساوسو يرابجا ريغ تيعمج و ينيلاب . شور : زا رضاح شهوژپ سپ عون يداديور ) ّلع ي هسياقم يا ( و هـك تسا يعطقم رد هـنومن يا 45 هرـفن ) لماـش 15 هـب لاتـبم راـميب تيصخش للاتخا يساوسو يرابجا ، 15 للاتخا هب لاتبم راميب يساوسو يراـبجا و 15 تـيعمج زا رـفن ريغ ينيلاب ( دش ارجا هب هك هنومن ةويش رد يريگ هدش باختنا سرتسد دـندوب . آ يندوـمز زا هدافتـسا اـب اـه ةمانشسرپ حرط هراو ياه راگزاسان گناي و گناي يرورپدنزرف دـنتفرگ رارـق يباـيزرا دروـم . يارـب لـيلحت هداد شور زا ،اه دش هدافتسا يفيصوت ياهرامآ و هريغتمدنچ سنايراو ليلحت يرامآ ياه . هتفاي اـه : نـيا للاتخا هب نايلاتبم هورگ رادانعم توافت شهوژپ يساوسو يرابجا ريغ هورگ اب ار حرط يمامت رد ينيلاب هراو اه درك راكشآ . يلاتبم هورگ تيصخش للاتخا هب نا يساوسو يرابجا حرط رتشيب رد زين هراو هـب ،اـه حرط يانثتسا هراو ريغ هورگ اب ،يناجيه تيمورحم و تسكش ،راثيا ياه تـشاد راداـنعم تواـفت ينيلاـب . ود ينيلاب هورگ ) للاتخا هب نايلاتبم يساوسو يرابجا تيصخش للاتخا و يساوسو يرابجا ( رد طـقف زـين حرط ان ةراو دنتشاد رادانعم توافت مه اب يناجيه تيمورحم هيلوا راگزاس . هـشير ةزوـح رد ،ينيدـلاو ياـه هب نايلاتبم هورگ توافت للاتخا يساوسو يرابجا ريغ هورگ اب هـب ناـيلاتبم هورگ توافت زا رتشيب ينيلاب تيصخش للاتخا يساوسو يرابجا ريغ هورگ اب دوب ينيلاب . هورگ ود اسا رب زين ينيلاب حرط راهچ س ةراو صقن ،يناجيه تيمورحم / اهر ،مرش يگدش / يب يب و يتابث يدامتعا / هشير ةزوح رد يراتفردب ينيدلاو ياه دندوب زيامتم مه زا . هجيتن يريگ : هب جياتن ريغ هورگ اب ار ينيلاب هورگ ود رادانعم توافت يلك روط ينيلاب حرط رد هراو يم ناشن هيلوا راگزاسان ياه دهد . لاع هو نيا رب ، قـيمع ياهراتخاـس تهابـش رگناـيب شهوژپ تسا للاتخا ود نيا نيب طابترا دوجو هجيتن رد و ينيلاب هورگ ود يتخانش .
Age Differences in the Control of Looking Behavior: Do You Know Where Your Eyes Have Been?

Previous research has shown that during visual search young and old adults' eye movements are equivalently influenced by the appearance of task-irrelevant abrupt onsets. The finding of age-equivalent oculomotor capture is quite surprising in light of the abundant research suggesting that older adults exhibit poorer inhibitory control than young adults on a variety of different tasks. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that oculomotor capture is age invariant when subjects' awareness of the appearance of task-irrelevant onsets is low, but that older adults will have more difficulty than young adults in inhibiting reflexive eye movements to task-irrelevant onsets when awareness of these objects is high. Our results were consistent with the level-of-awareness hypothesis. Young and old adults showed equivalent patterns of oculomotor capture with equiluminant onsets, but older adults misdirected their eyes to bright onsets more often than young adults did.
Exocytosis of Neutrophil Granule Subsets and Activation of Prolyl Isomerase 1 Are Required for Respiratory Burst Priming

This study tested the hypothesis that priming the neutrophil respiratory burst requires both granule exocytosis and activation of the prolyl isomerase Pin1. Fusion proteins containing the TAT cell permeability sequence and either the SNARE domain of syntaxin-4 or the N-terminal SNARE domain of SNAP-23 were used to examine the role of granule subsets in TNF-mediated respiratory burst priming using human neutrophils. Concentration-inhibition curves for exocytosis of individual granule subsets and for priming of fMLF-stimulated superoxide release and phagocytosis-stimulated H2O2 production were generated. Maximal inhibition of priming ranged from 72 to 88%. Linear regression lines for inhibition of priming versus inhibition of exocytosis did not differ from the line of identity for secretory vesicles and gelatinase granules, while the slopes or the y-intercepts were different from the line of identity for specific and azurophilic granules. Inhibition of Pin1 reduced priming by 56%, while exocytosis of secretory vesicles and specific granules was not affected. These findings indicate that exocytosis of secretory vesicles and gelatinase granules and activation of Pin1 are independent events required for TNF-mediated priming of neutrophil respiratory burst.
High dynamic range imaging: spatially varying pixel exposures

While real scenes produce a wide range of brightness variations, vision systems use low dynamic range image detectors that typically provide 8 bits of brightness data at each pixel. The resulting low quality images greatly limit what vision can accomplish today. This paper proposes a very simple method for significantly enhancing the dynamic range of virtually any imaging system. The basic principle is to simultaneously sample the spatial and exposure dimensions of image irradiance. One of several ways to achieve this is by placing an optical mask adjacent to a conventional image detector array. The mask has a pattern with spatially varying transmittance, thereby giving adjacent pixels on the detector different exposures to the scene. The captured image is mapped to a high dynamic range image using an efficient image reconstruction algorithm. The end result is an imaging system that can measure a very wide range of scene radiance and produce a substantially larger number of brightness levels, with a slight reduction in spatial resolution. We conclude with several examples of high dynamic range images computed using spatially varying pixel exposures.
Regret and Disappointment: A Conceptualization of their Role in Ethical Decision-making

Workplaces provide settings for the manifestation of an assortment of emotions that impact managerial decisions, ethical or otherwise, in a variety of ways. Most of the research work in this domain has concentrated on identifying and analysing the influence of positive affect on decision-making, with little work done on negative affect and its implications. To address this gap, the paper seeks to study the role of negative affect in ethical decision-making by managers. All decisions have outcomes. Post-decision affect may be negative when a decision appears to be wrong in retrospect, and ⁄ or when the outcome of a decision is not what was expected. How does negative affect experienced by an individual as a consequence of a decision impact his⁄her potential ethical decision-making process? In order to develop a model that illustrates how negative affect might impact the components of an individual's ethical decision-making process, this paper makes use of two negative emotions: Regret Dissappointment. Although regret and disappointment have a lot in common, they differ in ways that are relevant to decision-making. Unlike other emotions, regret is unique in its relation to decisionmaking and responsibility. Individuals regret an outcome when they could have taken a different decision and prevented that outcome. Being an outcome of individual choice and hence personal agency, its behavioural consequences comprise an active attempt to undo the unpleasant effects of the decision that went wrong. Disappointment on the contrary is experienced when the negative outcome is the result of a random procedure rather than choice. The behavioural consequences of disappointment might include complaining and talking about the event to others, feelings of powerlessness and a tendency to do nothing and get away from the situation. The paper discusses the possible behavioural consequences of the two emotions in terms of ethical decision-making. As numerous ethical decision-making models have succeeded in integrating personspecific, issue contingent, and organizational contributors to ethical decisions, the need now is to probe further into specific causalities. Understanding affect induced by work is important to gain further insights into the person-specific variables that impact ethical decisions. This paper is an attempt in that direction.
The Effect of Holotropic Breathwork on Personality

As for the “First-breathers”, a significant improvement in satisfaction of the need for the purpose in life and significant reduction of rigidity and dogmatism were observed. The “Breathers” were found to be less rigid and dogmatic compared with the “Non-breathers” (including scientific area), they display a positive change in their attitude towards unusual comprehension of the reality, they profess the conventional values to a lesser extent and apply them in a more flexible manner. In addition, their approach towards the reality is more appropriate, they are more able to enjoy the present moment, they are more autarchic and more independent of other people’s attitudes, they are more sensitive to their own feelings and needs, they are more spontaneous, they express a higher self-esteem, and they show a better capacity to establish warm interpersonal relations. All of the above differences are significant statistically. The “Breathers” do not show a significantly better satisfaction of their need for the purpose in life compared with the “Non-breathers”. Subjectively, all participants evaluated the experience from the holotropic breathwork session as a contribution to a better communication with people, to a deeper knowledge of the surrounding world, and to a higher acceptance of previously rejected opinions and thoughts. Keywords: holotropic breathwork, transpersonal psychology, values and attitudes.
Gender differences and styles in the use of digital games

This paper reports work in progress investigating gender differences and styles in the use of digital games amongst advanced level biology students. It is an elaboration on previous work exploring the relationship between cognitive style and academic performance in Maltese students taking biology at advanced level. In this previous work the cognitive style of 581 (212 male and 369 female) advanced biology students was correlated with their academic performance in five different subjects. Pearson's correlation showed that the wholist–analytic dimension, the verbal–imagery dimension, and gender were not correlated. Regression analysis showed that none of the style dimension combinations had a significant effect on performance in any of the subjects. However, gender proved to be a stronger determinant of performance. These results were interpreted from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Numerous studies have consistently found gender differences in language and visuospatial skills. Female superiority is seen on tests of both receptive and productive language, and on more complex tasks such as making analogies and creative writing. Males have an advantage in visuospatial reasoning, being more adept at performing disembedding and internal spatial transformations. In view of these results and the constantly reported gender difference in the use of digital games, this paper describes the initial stage of an investigation about gender‐determined propensities to digital media. Different studies claim that males dedicate more time than female students to playing digital games. A marked emphasis on the use of particular game genres by the different sexes is also reported. This reported phenomenon is investigated within the context of Maltese students taking advanced biology. Through a questionnaire, data were collected about the time students spend playing digital games, their preferred platform, and their preferred games. Data were analysed to establish gender differences in the time spent on playing digital games, the preferred platform, the most popular digital games amongst males and female students, and the preferred game genre. The results are interpreted from neurocognitve and psychosocial perspectives. Suggestions are made for possible integration of digital games in learning.
Deconstructing Ecstasy: The Politics Of Mdma Research

What is Ecstasy? Defined by the New Webster's Dictionary as a state of intense overpowering emotion, a condition of exultation or mental rapture induced by beauty, music, artistic creation or the contemplation of the divine, ecstasy derives etymologically from the ancient Greek ekstasis, which means flight of the soul from the body. The anthropologist, Mircea Eliade, who explored the roots of religious experience in his book Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, has described the function of this intense state of mind among aboriginal peoples. Select individuals are called to become shamans, a role specializing in inducing ecstatic states of trance where the soul is believed to leave the body and ascend to the sky or descend to the underworld. The shaman is thus considered a “technician of the sacred”, having been initiated through a process of isolation, ritual solitude, suffering and the imminence of death. Such initiation into the function of ecstatic states of consciousness, always accompanied by comprehensive tutelage from tribal elders, allows the shaman to assume for his tribal group the vital role of intermediary, or conduit, between the profane world of everyday existence and the sacred domains of alternative reality (Eliade, 1951; Schultes and Hofmann, 1992).
“The University Works Because We Do”: On the Determinants of Campus Labor Organizing in the 1990s

University campuses experienced a surge in protest activity around labor issues during the late 1990s, highlighted by several high-profile graduate employee unionization campaigns. Some scholars and activists attribute these developments to notable changes in the academy, while others note that this wave of activity coincided with revitalization efforts by the broader U.S. labor movement that included reaching out to new constituencies and college students in particular. The authors advance this discussion by analyzing the factors leading to graduate employee union organizing campaigns between 1996 and 2001. They draw from social movement and labor research to suggest how shifts in the nature of academic labor markets, local resources and opportunities for activism, and increased links between organized labor and college campuses influence the timing and location of organizing campaigns. Results from an event history analysis of campaign activity largely support these claims and highlight the importance of local resources and opportunities for campus organizing.
Studying the interaction of gender and self-efficacy (high and low) on the academic achievement of students in third grade

We studied the interactive relationship between gender and self-efficacy [high and low] and its impact on academic achievement in math and science. It consisted of 200 students [100 boys and 100 girls] who were selected from Shiraz School in first zone. Self-efficacy questionnaire of Pintrich and D. Groot [1990] was used to assess the self-efficacy and student’s math and science scores as indicators of academic achievement collected from the schools’ Archive. Research questions include: 1 – Are gender and self-efficacy [high and low] engaging in academic achievement and mathematics? 2 - Are gender and self-efficacy [high and low] engaging in academic achievement and science? To answer these questions, we used two-way analysis of variance. The results showed that: 1 – there is no significant difference between male and female students in terms of academic achievement in mathematics. 2 - School girls compared with boys are more advanced in Science class. 3 - Students with high self-efficacy, compared to students with low self-efficacy, had greater progress in both lessons. 4 - There is no meaningful interaction between gender and self-efficacy [high and low] in math and science lessons.
Secure data deduplication

As the world moves to digital storage for archival purposes, there is an increasing demand for systems that can provide secure data storage in a cost-effective manner. By identifying common chunks of data both within and between files and storing them only once, deduplication can yield cost savings by increasing the utility of a given amount of storage. Unfortunately, deduplication exploits identical content, while encryption attempts to make all content appear random; the same content encrypted with two different keys results in very different ciphertext. Thus, combining the space efficiency of deduplication with the secrecy aspects of encryption is problematic. We have developed a solution that provides both data security and space efficiency in single-server storage and distributed storage systems. Encryption keys are generated in a consistent manner from the chunk data; thus, identical chunks will always encrypt to the same ciphertext. Furthermore, the keys cannot be deduced from the encrypted chunk data. Since the information each user needs to access and decrypt the chunks that make up a file is encrypted using a key known only to the user, even a full compromise of the system cannot reveal which chunks are used by which users.