Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shared and distinct contributions of rostrolateral prefrontal cortex to analogical reasoning and episodic memory retrieval

Rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) is widely appreciated to support higher cognitive functions, including analogical reasoning and episodic memory retrieval. However, these tasks have typically been studied in isolation, and thus it is unclear whether they involve common or distinct RLPFC mechanisms. Here, we introduce a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task paradigm to compare brain activity during reasoning and memory tasks while holding bottom‐up perceptual stimulation and response demands constant. Univariate analyses on fMRI data from twenty participants identified a large swath of left lateral prefrontal cortex, including RLPFC, that showed common engagement on reasoning trials with valid analogies and memory trials with accurately retrieved source details. Despite broadly overlapping recruitment, multi‐voxel activity patterns within left RLPFC reliably differentiated these two trial types, highlighting the presence of at least partially distinct information processing modes. Functional connectivity analyses demonstrated that while left RLPFC showed consistent coupling with the fronto‐parietal control network across tasks, its coupling with other cortical areas varied in a task‐dependent manner. During the memory task, this region strengthened its connectivity with the default mode and memory retrieval networks, whereas during the reasoning task it coupled more strongly with a nearby left prefrontal region (BA 45) associated with semantic processing, as well as with a superior parietal region associated with visuospatial processing. Taken together, these data suggest a domain‐general role for left RLPFC in monitoring and/or integrating task‐relevant knowledge representations and showcase how its function cannot solely be attributed to episodic memory or analogical reasoning computations. Hum Brain Mapp 37:896–912, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Texture-surround suppression of contour-shape coding in human vision

Contextual influences on neurons in the primary visual cortex have largely been studied using simple visual stimuli and their functional role is still poorly understood. Using a novel visual after-effect of perceived shape we show psychophysically that the coding of a contour's shape is inhibited by nearby parallel, but not orthogonal texture orientations. This suggests that neurons in the visual cortex that are suppressed by parallel orientations feed their outputs into higher visual areas that are involved in the processing of contour shape and in the recognition of objects.
The Effect of Cloud Cover on the Meridional Heat Transport: Lessons from Variable Rotation Experiments

AbstractThe question “What determines the meridional heat transport (MHT)? ” is explored by performing a series of rotation-rate experiments with an aquaplanet GCM coupled to a slab ocean. The change of meridional heat transport with rotation rate falls into two regimes: in a “slow rotating” regime (rotation rate < 1/2 modern rotation) MHT decreases with increasing rotation rate, whereas in a “fast rotating” regime (rotation rate ≥ 1/2 modern rotation) MHT is nearly invariant. The two-regime feature of MHT is primarily related to the reduction in tropical clouds and increase in tropical temperature that are associated with the narrowing and weakening of the Hadley cell with increasing rotation rate. In the slow-rotating regime, the Hadley cell contracts and weakens as rotation rate is increased; the resulting warming causes a local increase in outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), which consequently decreases MHT. In the fast-rotating regime, the Hadley cell continues to contract as rotation rate is increased.
Regulation of Synaptic Structure and Function by FMRP-Associated MicroRNAs miR-125 b and miR-132

Dieter Edbauer,1,4,* Joel R. Neilson,2 Kelly A. Foster,1 Chi-Fong Wang,1 Daniel P. Seeburg,1 Matthew N. Batterton,1 Tomoko Tada,1 Bridget M. Dolan,1 Phillip A. Sharp,2,3 and Morgan Sheng1,* 1The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biology 2The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research 3Department of Biology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02319, USA 4Present address: German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 80336 Munich, Germany *Correspondence: dieter.edbauer@med.uni-muenchen.de (D.E.), msheng@mit.edu (M.S.) DOI 10.1016/j.neuron. 2010.01. 005
Nation Binding: How Public Service Broadcasting Mitigates Political Selective Exposure

Recent research suggests that more and more citizens select news and information that is congruent with their existing political preferences. This increase in political selective exposure (PSE) has allegedly led to an increase in polarization. The vast majority of studies stem from the US case with a particular media and political system. We contend that there are good reasons to believe PSE is less prevalent in other systems. We test this using latent profile analysis with national survey data from the Netherlands (n = 2,833). We identify four types of media use profiles and indeed only find partial evidence of PSE. In particular, we find that public broadcasting news cross-cuts all cleavages. This research note offers an important antidote in what is considered a universal phenomenon. We do find, however, a relatively large segment of citizens opting out of news consumption despite the readily available news in today’s media landscape.
Tubing and casing buckling in horizontal wells

This paper describes new theoretical results for predicting the buckling behavior of pipe in horizontal holes. Pipe buckling in horizontal holes occurs initially in a sinusoidal mode along the low side of the hole; at higher axial compression a helix is formed. Equations are given for computing the forces required to initiate these different buckling modes. Simple experimental laboratory results confirm the theory. Results presented in this paper apply to friction modeling of buckled tubulars to help predict when pipe can be forced to move along a long section of a horizontal well.
Shreddr: pipelined paper digitization for low-resource organizations

For low-resource organizations working in developing regions, infrastructure and capacity for data collection have not kept pace with the increasing demand for accurate and timely data. Despite continued emphasis and investment, many data collection efforts still suffer from delays, inefficiency and difficulties maintaining quality. Data is often still "stuck" on paper forms, making it unavailable for decision-makers and operational staff. We apply techniques from computer vision, database systems and machine learning, and leverage new infrastructure -- online workers and mobile connectivity -- to redesign data entry with high data quality. Shreddr delivers self-serve, low-cost and on-demand data entry service allowing low-resource organizations to quickly transform stacks of paper into structured electronic records through a novel combination of optimizations: batch processing and compression techniques from database systems, automatic document processing using computer vision, and value verification through crowd-sourcing. In this paper, we describe Shreddr's design and implementation, and measure system performance with a large-scale evaluation in Mali, where Shreddr was used to enter over a million values from 36,819 pages. Within this case study, we found that Shreddr can significantly decrease the effort and cost of data entry, while maintaining a high level of quality.
DESIGN ASPECTS OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES STRENGTHENED WITH EXTERNALLY BONDED CFRP-PLATES

Thin plates of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP-plates) will increasingly replace steel plates for the strengthening of concrete structures. Bending and shear design follows conventional reinforced concrete design. Specific limit steel and plate strains have to be observed. According to truss analogy (TA), the plate ends have to be anchored to the concrete outside of the line of tensile forces. CFRP-plate anchorages can fail through interlaminar bond failure in addition to concrete failure, already known for steel plates. Bond tests indicate that an already existing bond model, developed for steel plates, can be adapted to CFRP-plates. For the covering abstract see ITRD E111699.
The complex between urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its type-1 inhibitor (PAI-1) independently predicts response to first-line endocrine therapy in advanced breast cancer

Summary It has been shown that urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its main inhibitor (PAI-1) have predictive value for therapy success in advanced breast cancer. Levels of the complex between uPA and PAI-1, formed when both molecules are in their active form, might have superior predictive power. Here, we investigate the association between levels of uPA:PAI-1 complex and rate of response to first-line systemic therapy for advanced breast cancer. Tumor tissues of 170 patients with advanced breast cancer were analyzed for uPA:PAI-1 complex concentrations using a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The patients received either endocrine therapy (n=96) or chemotherapy (n=74) as first-line treatment after diagnosis of advanced disease. Of the endocrine treated patients, those with high levels of uPA:PAI-1 complex showed a shorter progression-free survival (PFS) compared to patients with lower uPA:PAI-1 complex levels (P=0.035). Furthermore, in the multivariate regression analysis a significant lower rate of response to first-line endocrine therapy was found in patients with high uPA:PAI-1 complex levels compared to patients with low uPA:PAI-1 complex levels (odds ratio (OR)=0.27, 95% CI, 0.09–0.59, P=0.018), in addition to the predictive impact of the steroid hormone receptor (ER/PgR) status (OR=2.68, 95% CI, 1.08–6.63, P=0.033). Complex levels did not predict efficacy of chemotherapy in patients with advanced breast cancer. The results show that the plasminogen activation system affects the response to endocrine therapy independent of steroid hormone receptor status and may be of help to further refine the indication for this treatment in individual patients. Further studies are warranted to explain this underlying resistance to endocrine therapy when uPA:PAI-1 levels are high.
Hardware based projection onto the parity polytope and probability simplex

This paper is concerned with the adaptation to hardware of methods for Euclidean norm projections onto the parity polytope and probability simplex. We first refine recent efforts to develop efficient methods of projection onto the parity polytope. Our resulting algorithm can be configured to have either average computational complexity O (d) or worst case complexity O (d log d) on a serial processor where d is the dimension of projection space. We show how to adapt our projection routine to hardware. Our projection method uses a sub-routine that involves another Euclidean projection; onto the probability simplex. We therefore explain how to adapt to hardware a well know simplex projection algorithm. The hardware implementations of both projection algorithms achieve area scalings of O(d (log d)2) at a delay of O ((log d)2). Finally, we present numerical results in which we evaluate the fixed-point accuracy and resource scaling of these algorithms when targeting a modern FPGA.
The Association between Gray Matter Volume and Reading Proficiency: A Longitudinal Study of Beginning Readers

Abstract Neural systems involved in the processing of written language have been identified by a number of functional imaging studies. Structural changes in cortical anatomy that occur in the course of literacy acquisition, however, remain largely unknown. Here, we follow elementary school children over their first 2 years of formal reading instruction and use tensor-based morphometry to relate reading proficiency to cortical volume at baseline and follow-up measurement as well as to intraindividual longitudinal volume development between the two measurement time points. A positive relationship was found between baseline gray matter volume in the left superior temporal gyrus and subsequent changes in reading proficiency. Furthermore, a negative relationship was found between reading proficiency at the second measurement time point and intraindividual cortical volume development in the inferior parietal lobule and the precentral and postcentral gyri of the left hemisphere. These results are interpreted as evidence that reading acquisition is associated with preexisting structural differences as well as with experience-dependent structural changes involving dendritic and synaptic pruning.
A Lagrangian Dual Approach to the Single-Source Localization Problem

The single-source localization problem (SSLP), which is nonconvex by its nature, appears in several important multidisciplinary fields such as signal processing and the global positioning system. In this paper, we cast SSLP as a Euclidean distance embedding problem and study a Lagrangian dual approach. It is proved that the Lagrangian dual problem must have an optimal solution under the generalized Slater condition. We provide a sufficient condition for the zero-duality gap and establish the equivalence between the Lagrangian dual approach and the existing Generalized Trust-Region Subproblem (GTRS) approach studied by Beck et al. [“Exact and Approximate Solutions of Source Localization Problems,” IEEE Trans. Signal Process. , vol. 56, pp. 1770-1778, 2008]. We also reveal new implications of the assumptions made by the GTRS approach. Moreover, the Lagrangian dual approach has a straightforward extension to the multiple-source localization problem. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the Lagrangian dual approach can produce localization of similar quality as the GTRS and can significantly outperform the well-known semidefinite programming solver for the multiple source localization problem on the tested cases.
A Basal Sauropodomorph (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Triassic, Carnian) and the Early Evolution of Sauropodomorpha

Background The earliest dinosaurs are from the early Late Triassic (Carnian) of South America. By the Carnian the main clades Saurischia and Ornithischia were already established, and the presence of the most primitive known sauropodomorph Saturnalia suggests also that Saurischia had already diverged into Theropoda and Sauropodomorpha. Knowledge of Carnian sauropodomorphs has been restricted to this single species. Methodology/Principal Findings We describe a new small sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Ischigualsto Formation (Carnian) in northwest Argentina, Panphagia protos gen. et sp. nov., on the basis of a partial skeleton. The genus and species are characterized by an anteroposteriorly elongated fossa on the base of the anteroventral process of the nasal; wide lateral flange on the quadrate with a large foramen; deep groove on the lateral surface of the lower jaw surrounded by prominent dorsal and ventral ridges; bifurcated posteroventral process of the dentary; long retroarticular process transversally wider than the articular area for the quadrate; oval scars on the lateral surface of the posterior border of the centra of cervical vertebrae; distinct prominences on the neural arc of the anterior cervical vertebra; distal end of the scapular blade nearly three times wider than the neck; scapular blade with an expanded posterodistal corner; and medial lamina of brevis fossa twice as wide as the iliac spine. Conclusions/Significance We regard Panphagia as the most basal sauropodomorph, which shares the following apomorphies with Saturnalia and more derived sauropodomorphs: basally constricted crowns; lanceolate crowns; teeth of the anterior quarter of the dentary higher than the others; and short posterolateral flange of distal tibia. The presence of Panphagia at the base of the early Carnian Ischigualasto Formation suggests an earlier origin of Sauropodomorpha during the Middle Triassic.
Factors Associated With Concurrent Tobacco Smoking and Heavy Alcohol Consumption Within a Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Australian Sample

ABSTRACT Background: Tobacco use and heavy alcohol consumption occur more frequently in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Little is known about the sociodemographic and psychosocial factors associated with use of alcohol and tobacco in disadvantaged groups in comparison to low-risk users. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the characteristics of low-risk users with: disadvantaged smokers only; disadvantaged heavy drinkers only; and disadvantaged concurrent smokers and heavy drinkers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of socioeconomically disadvantaged adult clients attending a community welfare agency assessed tobacco use, alcohol use, demographic, and psychosocial variables. Multivariable analysis using multinomial logistic regression was carried out. Results: The sample consisted of 835 participants; 40% (n = 331) were concurrent users, 31% were smokers only (n = 252), 11% were heavy drinkers only (n = 93), and 18% were low-risk users (n = 149). Compared with those who neither smoked nor consumed alcohol heavily, concurrent users were more likely to be younger, have only some contact with family, have more friends and family who were smokers, have no fixed home address, live alone, and have higher levels of financial stress. Most of these factors were shared by individuals who were smokers only. Factors associated with heavy drinkers only were frequent contact with family and having more friends and family who were smokers. Conclusion: Among those Australians who suffer severe economic hardship, being a concurrent smoker and heavy drinker appears to be associated with more isolated living conditions and financial stress but some contact with family.
FIRM PRODUCTIVITY AND INVESTMENT CLIMATE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: HOW DOES MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA MANUFACTURING PERFORM?

Firm productive performances in five Middle East and North African (MENA) economies and eight manufacturing industries are compared to those in 17 other developing countries. Although the broad picture hides some heterogeneity, enterprises in MENA often performed inadequately compared to MENA status of middle-income economies, with the exception of Morocco and, to some extent, Saudi Arabia. Firm competitiveness is a more constant constraint, with a unit labor cost higher than in most competitor countries, as well as investment climate (IC) deficiencies. The empirical analysis also points out how IC matters for firm productivity through the quality of infrastructure, the experience and education of the labor force, the cost and access to financing, and different dimensions of the government-business relationship. These findings bear important policy implications by showing which dimensions of the IC, in which industry, could help manufacturing in MENA to be more competitive in the globalization context. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
A Microclimate Analysis of a Niagara Peninsula Vineyard Using Solar Aspect as a Variable

A MICROCLIMATE ANALYSIS OF A NIAGARA PENINSULA VINEYARD USING SOLAR ASPECT AS A VARIABLE Philip G. Dixon Advisor: University of Guelph, 2012 Professor Robert Brown This study, based on data collected in 2006, examined the effect of microclimate, as solar aspect, on yield and quality parameters of Riesling vines of a vineyard in the Niagara Peninsula, Thirty Bench Winery, Beamsville, Ontario. Precision viticulture practices including GPS (Global Positioning System), GIS (Geographic Information System) and LIDAR (Laser Range Finder) were used to delineate the microclimate and categorize variations within the vineyard. Within GIS, slope and aspect analysis tools generated solar aspect data. Two different zones were identified and compared for yield and quality data. Monoterpene concentrations in grapes differed by solar aspect, with vines receiving elevated solar radiation showing increased monoterpene concentrations. Since monoterpenes are important to the aroma and flavour of Riesling wines, a difference could impact the quality of the wine produced. Overall, this work shows the potential of precision viticulture in the development of terroir –specific wine in the Niagara region.
On simulation of non-Markovian stochastic Petri Nets with heavy-tailed firing times

Long-run stochastic stability is a precondition for applying steady-state simulation output analysis methods to a stochastic Petri Net (SPN), and is of interest in its own right. A fundamental stability requirement for an irreducible SPN is that the markings of the net be recurrent, in that the marking process visits each marking infinitely often with probability 1. We study recurrence properties of irreducible non-Markovian SPNs with finite marking set. Our focus is on the “clocks” that govern the transition firings, and we consider SPNs in which zero, one, or at least two simultaneously-enabled transitions can have very heavy-tailed clock-setting distributions. We establish positive recurrence, null recurrence, and, perhaps surprisingly, possible transience of markings for these respective regimes. The transience result stands in strong contrast to Markovian or semi-Markovian SPNs, where irreducibility and finiteness of the marking set guarantee positive recurrence.
Computational reproducibility: state-of-the-art, challenges, and database research opportunities

Computational experiments have become an integral part of the scientific method, but reproducing, archiving, and querying them is still a challenge. The first barrier to a wider adoption is the fact that it is hard both for authors to derive a compendium that encapsulates all the components needed to reproduce a result and for reviewers to verify the results. In this tutorial, we will present a series of guidelines and, through hands-on examples, review existing tools to help authors create of reproducible results. We will also outline open problems and new directions for database-related research having to do with querying computational experiments.
Impairment of dendritic cell function by excretory‐secretory products: A potential mechanism for nematode‐induced immunosuppression

To determine whether helminth‐derived products modulate dendritic cell (DC) function, we investigated the effects of excretory‐secretory products (ES) and adult worm homogenate (AWH) derived from the gastrointestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Hp) on murine bone marrow‐derived DC (BMDC). Compared to the TLR9 ligand CpG, Hp‐derived products alone failed to induce DC activation. ES, but not AWH, inhibited BMDC cytokine and chemokine production and co‐stimulatory molecule expression (CD40, CD86 and MHC class II) induced by TLR ligation. TLR ligand‐independent, PMA‐induced DC activation was unaffected by ES. Recipients of ES‐treated BMDC pulsed with OVA had suppressed Ab responses in vivo, irrespective of the Th1 or Th2 isotype affiliation, compared to recipients of control OVA‐pulsed BMDC. Importantly, suppression occurred even in the presence of the potent type 1 adjuvant CpG. In contrast to untreated OVA‐pulsed BMDC, ES‐treated BMDC pulsed with OVA had reduced co‐stimulatory molecule and cytokine expression. CD4+CD25+Foxp3– T cells, which secreted high IL‐10 levels, were generated in co‐cultures of OT‐II OVA‐specific TCR‐transgenic CD4+ T cells and ES‐treated BMDC. These IL‐10‐secreting T cells suppressed effector CD4+ T cell proliferation and IFN‐γ production, the latter effect mediated by an IL‐10‐dependent mechanism. Together, these results demonstrate that nematode ES impaired DC function and suppressed both Th1 and Th2 adaptive immune responses possibly by inducing regulatory T cells.