Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Operant Conditioning of Synaptic and Spiking Activity Patterns in Single Hippocampal Neurons

Learning is a process of plastic adaptation through which a neural circuit generates a more preferable outcome; however, at a microscopic level, little is known about how synaptic activity is patterned into a desired configuration. Here, we report that animals can generate a specific form of synaptic activity in a given neuron in the hippocampus. In awake, head-restricted mice, we applied electrical stimulation to the lateral hypothalamus, a reward-associated brain region, when whole-cell patch-clamped CA1 neurons exhibited spontaneous synaptic activity that met preset criteria. Within 15 min, the mice learned to generate frequently the excitatory synaptic input pattern that satisfied the criteria. This reinforcement learning of synaptic activity was not observed for inhibitory input patterns. When a burst unit activity pattern was conditioned in paired and nonpaired paradigms, the frequency of burst-spiking events increased and decreased, respectively. The burst reinforcement occurred in the conditioned neuron but not in other adjacent neurons; however, ripple field oscillations were concomitantly reinforced. Neural conditioning depended on activation of NMDA receptors and dopamine D1 receptors. Acutely stressed mice and depression model mice that were subjected to forced swimming failed to exhibit the neural conditioning. This learning deficit was rescued by repetitive treatment with fluoxetine, an antidepressant. Therefore, internally motivated animals are capable of routing an ongoing action potential series into a specific neural pathway of the hippocampal network.
An Integrated Cell Purification and Genomics Strategy Reveals Multiple Regulators of Pancreas Development

The regulatory logic underlying global transcriptional programs controlling development of visceral organs like the pancreas remains undiscovered. Here, we profiled gene expression in 12 purified populations of fetal and adult pancreatic epithelial cells representing crucial progenitor cell subsets, and their endocrine or exocrine progeny. Using probabilistic models to decode the general programs organizing gene expression, we identified co-expressed gene sets in cell subsets that revealed patterns and processes governing progenitor cell development, lineage specification, and endocrine cell maturation. Purification of Neurog3 mutant cells and module network analysis linked established regulators such as Neurog3 to unrecognized gene targets and roles in pancreas development. Iterative module network analysis nominated and prioritized transcriptional regulators, including diabetes risk genes. Functional validation of a subset of candidate regulators with corresponding mutant mice revealed that the transcription factors Etv1, Prdm16, Runx1t1 and Bcl11a are essential for pancreas development. Our integrated approach provides a unique framework for identifying regulatory genes and functional gene sets underlying pancreas development and associated diseases such as diabetes mellitus.
C. elegans model of neuronal aging

Aging of the nervous system underlies the behavioral and cognitive decline associated with senescence. Understanding the molecular and cellular basis of neuronal aging will therefore contribute to the development of effective treatments for aging and age-associated neurodegenerative disorders. Despite this pressing need, there are surprisingly few animal models that aim at recapitulating neuronal aging in a physiological context. We recently developed a C. elegans model of neuronal aging, and showed that age-dependent neuronal defects are regulated by insulin signaling. We identified electrical activity and epithelial attachment as two critical factors in the maintenance of structural integrity of C. elegans touch receptor neurons. These findings open a new avenue for elucidating the molecular mechanisms that maintain neuronal structures during the course of aging.
Expression of K13/v-FLIP gene of human herpesvirus 8 and apoptosis in Kaposi's sarcoma spindle cells.

BACKGROUND Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) infection is associated with all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). The HHV8 genome locus ORFK13-72-73 (ORF = open reading frame) encodes proteins that may be important in HHV8-mediated pathogenesis, i.e., the latency-associated nuclear antigen (encoded by ORF73), viral-cyc-D (v-cyc-D), a viral homologue of cellular cyclin D (encoded by ORF72), and viral-FLIP (v-FLIP), a homologue of the cellular FLICE (Fas-associated death domain-like interleukin 1 beta-converting enzyme) inhibitory protein (encoded by ORFK13; is an inhibitor of apoptosis [programmed cell death]). Through differential splicing events, this locus expresses individual RNA transcripts that encode all three proteins (tricistronic transcripts) or just two of them (v-FLIP and v-cyc-D; bicistronic transcripts). We examined expression of these transcripts in KS tissues. METHODS We collected tissues from patients with KS of different stages. By use of an optimized in situ hybridization procedure, we examined different ORFK13-72-73 locus transcripts in HHV8-infected cells in skin lesions and in one adjacent lymph node. Apoptosis in KS lesions was determined by use of an in situ assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate the following: 1) Transcripts from the ORFK13-72-73 locus appear to be spliced differentially in latently infected KS cells in skin lesions and in HHV8-infected cells in lymph nodes; specifically, ORFK13-ORF72 bicistronic transcripts were expressed abundantly in KS cells, whereas ORFK13-ORF72-ORF73 tricistronic transcripts were detected only in lymph node cells. 2) Sequences encoding the antiapoptotic protein v-FLIP are expressed at very low levels in early KS lesions, but expression increases dramatically in late-stage lesions. 3) The increase in expression of v-FLIP-encoding transcripts is associated with a reduction in apoptosis in KS lesions. IMPLICATIONS These data suggest that functional v-FLIP is produced in vivo and that antiapoptotic mechanisms may be involved in the rapid growth of KS lesions, where only a few cells undergoing mitosis are generally observed.
The Experiences and Meanings That Shape Heterosexual Fathers’ Relationships With Their Gay Sons in South Africa

ABSTRACT Gay men’s relationships with their mothers are likely to be more positive than their relationships with their fathers, and fathers are less likely to be told, less likely to be told first, and more likely to react negatively to disclosure than mothers. Drawing on an interpretivist approach, an individual in-depth interview strategy was adopted in the study as a means of gathering data from six Afrikaans-speaking White fathers, between the ages of 53 and 61 years (median: 55.5 years), residing in Gauteng, South Africa. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for later coding and analysis. Through thematic network analysis, eight organizing themes emerged and were explored. For the purpose of this article only three organizing themes are discussed, namely “subliminal awareness prior to coming out,” “epistemic rupture of internal systems of ideas/beliefs,” and “acceptance as a complex and ongoing dialectical and reconciliatory process. ” The themes support the view that most parents are neither totally rejecting nor fully accepting of their gay sons. Although the fathers may have attained a level of “loving denial” in the relationships with their gay sons, most continue to struggle with the meaning and expression of same-sex sexuality. Despite these challenges, it is recognized that the fathers are adapting to changing circumstances and are trying to find ways to tolerate, accommodate, and in some ways accept their gay sons.
An exploration of preservice teachers' experiences in an Online Writing Partnership

of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy AN EXPLORATION OF PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES IN AN ONLINE WRITING PARTNERSHIP By Daniel Allan Nail, Jr. May 2008 Chair: Jane S. Townsend Major: Curriculum and Instruction The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of four preservice teachers and one practicing teacher in an Online Writing Partnership with high-school students dual-enrolled in a community college, and to examine what these experiences revealed about preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching, writing instruction, and the use of technology for instructional purposes. The following questions guided this study: 1. What kinds of experiences do prospective English teachers preparing for the teaching profession have in a distance, online partnership with secondary writers? 2. What do these experiences reveal about these prospective teachers’ views of teaching and specifically teaching writing? 3. What influences on the partnership or on the participants appear to exist from experience with and attitude toward technology? In what way did these attitudes affect the partnership/participants? 4. What contextual threads appeared most salient to these prospective English teachers in the success (or lack thereof) of this online partnership? For the study, the researcher conducted extensive interviews (both formal and informal), collected documentary data from both the graduate students and their highschool partners, and kept a detailed research journal. The questions of the study are addressed in the results and presented as individual case studies of the five participants; an across-case analysis addresses the questions again, using the contextual threads identified by the participants for question four of the study as a lens for further examination. Each of the five graduate students experienced the Online Writing Partnership in ways that reflected their individual experiences, beliefs, and attitudes about online technologies, education in general, and writing instruction in particular. Each individual case was unique; however, there were significant similarities across cases, providing for a view of context from which all participants can draw in creating and interpreting meaning. Looking at the individual cases collectively, those aspects of context deemed salient by the participants of the Online Writing Partnership were: their perception of social presence between partners, their understanding of the relationships between teachers and students, their sense of the role and authority of a teacher, and their preconceived expectations of classrooms processes. CHAPTER
Inside the Black Box: The Role and Composition of Compensation Peer Groups

This paper considers the features of the newly disclosed compensation peer groups and demonstrates their significant role in explaining variations in chief executive officer (CEO) compensation beyond that of other benchmarks such as the industry-size peers. After controlling for industry, size, visibility, CEO responsibility, and talent flows, we find that firms appear to select highly paid peers to justify their CEO compensation and this effect is stronger in firms where the compensation peer group is smaller, where the CEO is the chairman of the board of directors, where the CEO has longer tenure, and where directors are busier serving on multiple boards.
Genetic fingerprinting proves cross-correlated automatic photo-identification of individuals as highly efficient in large capture–mark–recapture studies

Capture–mark–recapture (CMR) approaches are the backbone of many studies in population ecology to gain insight on the life cycle, migration, habitat use, and demography of target species. The reliable and repeatable recognition of an individual throughout its lifetime is the basic requirement of a CMR study. Although invasive techniques are available to mark individuals permanently, noninvasive methods for individual recognition mainly rest on photographic identification of external body markings, which are unique at the individual level. The re-identification of an individual based on comparing shape patterns of photographs by eye is commonly used. Automated processes for photographic re-identification have been recently established, but their performance in large datasets (i.e., > 1000 individuals) has rarely been tested thoroughly. Here, we evaluated the performance of the program AMPHIDENT, an automatic algorithm to identify individuals on the basis of ventral spot patterns in the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) versus the genotypic fingerprint of individuals based on highly polymorphic microsatellite loci using GENECAP. Between 2008 and 2010, we captured, sampled and photographed adult newts and calculated for 1648 samples/photographs recapture rates for both approaches. Recapture rates differed slightly with 8.34% for GENECAP and 9.83% for AMPHIDENT. With an estimated rate of 2% false rejections (FRR) and 0.00% false acceptances (FAR), AMPHIDENT proved to be a highly reliable algorithm for CMR studies of large datasets. We conclude that the application of automatic recognition software of individual photographs can be a rather powerful and reliable tool in noninvasive CMR studies for a large number of individuals. Because the cross-correlation of standardized shape patterns is generally applicable to any pattern that provides enough information, this algorithm is capable of becoming a single application with broad use in CMR studies for many species.
To Say or Not to Say: Different Strategies of Acknowledging a Visible Disability

Individuals with visible disabilities can acknowledge their disabilities in different ways, which may differ in effectiveness. Across four studies, we investigate whether individuals with visible disabilities engage in different acknowledgment strategies (claiming, downplaying) and how and why these different strategies affect evaluations from others. Specifically, we draw from the Stereotype Content Model and Stereotype-Fit Theory to articulate a process whereby claiming and downplaying differentially affect others’ perceptions of competence and warmth, which subsequently affect overall evaluations of the individual with a disability. We found that individuals with visible disabilities intentionally manage others’ impressions by engaging in claiming and downplaying. Claiming strategies (relative to downplaying or not acknowledging) resulted in higher evaluations because they activated perceptions of competence and warmth and the benefits of claiming were stronger for jobs higher in interpersonal demands. We discuss the implications of these results for individuals with disabilities and for organizations.
Lazy functions and mobile processes

This paper continues the study of Milner's encoding of the lazy $\lambda$-calculus into the $\pi$-calculus \cite{Mil92}. The encoding is shown to give rise to a $\lambda$-model in which, in accordance with the theory of the lazy $\lambda$-calculus, conditional extensionality holds. However, the model is not fully abstract. To obtain full abstraction, the operational equivalence on $\lambda$-terms ({\em applicative bisimulation}) is refined. The new relation, called {\em open applicative bisimulation}, allows us to observe some internal structure of $\lambda$-terms, and coincides with the {\em Levy-Longo Tree} equality. Milner's encoding is presented on a sublanguage of the $\pi$-calculus similar to those proposed by Boudol \cite{Bou92}, Honda and Tokoro \cite{HoTo91}. Some properties of bisimulation on this sublanguage are demonstrated and used to simplify a few proofs in the paper. For instance, {\em ground bisimulation}, a form of bisimulation where no name instantiation on input actions is required, is proved to be a congruence relation; as a corollary, various $\pi$-calculus bisimilarity equivalences (ground, late, early, open) are shown to coincide on this sublanguage.
Cool Guys and Warm Husbands

While smiling enhances women’s facial attractiveness, the findings are inconclusive for men. The present study investigated the effect of smiling on male facial attractiveness for short- and long-term prospective partners using East Asian and European samples. In Experiment 1 (N = 218), where female participants rated male facial attractiveness, the facilitative effect of smiling was present when judging long-term partners but absent for short-term partners. This pattern was observed for East Asians as well as for Europeans. Experiment 2 (N = 71) demonstrated that smiling male faces engendered an impression suitable for long-term partnership (e.g., high ratings of trustworthiness) while neutral faces produced an impression suitable for short-term partnership (e.g., high ratings of masculinity). We discuss these results in terms of opposing evolutionary strategies in mate choice: heritable benefit versus paternal investment.
Complicações e o tempo de diagnóstico do diabetes mellitus na atenção primária

Objective: To analyze the association between the time of disease and the onset of diabetes mellitus complications and to describe the characteristics of the diabetics' population of a mid-sized city located in the Midwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with 1320 patients with diabetes mellitus. The data were obtained from the registration system of Hypertensive and diabetic patients and the following variables were evaluated: sociodemographic characteristics, duration of disease and diabetes complications. Results: Among patients who have the diagnosis of the disease for more than 10 years, the percentage of those that present complications 156 (32.2%) is higher than among those with the diagnosis of the disease for less than 10 years 45 (12.1%). Conclusion: The results showed that the onset of diabetes-related complications might be associated with the duration of disease.
Spatial Compartmentalization Specializes the Function of Aurora A and Aurora B*

Background: Aurora kinases show different localizations and play distinct roles, yet the mechanisms remain largely unknown. Results: Different localization leads to functional divergence of the Auroras and their N termini also contribute to the localization. Conclusion: Both N/C termini of Aurora A/B contribute to their spatial compartmentalization and function. Significance: Functional divergence of Aurora kinases is largely determined by their localizations through binding with partners/substrates. Aurora kinase A and B share great similarity in sequences, structures, and phosphorylation motif, yet they show different localizations and play distinct crucial roles. The factors that determine such differences are largely unknown. Here we targeted Aurora A to the localization of Aurora B and found that Aurora A phosphorylates the substrate of Aurora B and substitutes its function in spindle checkpoint. In return, the centrosome targeting of Aurora B substitutes the function of Aurora A in the mitotic entry. Expressing the chimera proteins of the Auroras with exchanged N termini in cells indicates that the divergent N termini are also important for their spatiotemporal localizations and functions. Collectively, we demonstrate that functional divergence of Aurora kinases is determined by spatial compartmentalization, and their divergent N termini also contribute to their spatial and functional differentiation.
Emotion arousing message forms and personal agency arguments in persuasive messages: Motivating effects on pro -environmental behaviors

II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . IV VITA. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS . VII LIST OF TABLES . VIII CHAPTER 1 . 1 CHAPTER 2 . 10 OVERVIEW OF EMOTION AND PERSUASION.10 SELECTED APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN.28 EMOTION AND PERSUASION.28 ISSUES AND GAPS IN EMOTION AND PERSUASION RESEARCH . 55 MESSAGE DESIGN AND EMOTION . 60 RATIONALE AND HYPOTHESES.75 CHAPTER 3 . 96 PARTICIPANTS AND RECRUITING . 96 MESSAGE DESIGN – PRE-TESTING.97 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND GENERAL STUDY PROCEDURES . 99 CHAPTER 4 . 108 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE.108 PRE-TEST MEASURES: KNOWLEDGE, FAMILIARITY, RELEVANCE AND ATTITUDE . 110 MANIPULATION CHECKS.112 EFFECTS OF PERSUASIVE MESSAGES ON ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR INTENTIONS . 118 CHAPTER 5 . 148 INFLUENCE OF EMOTION AND PERSONAL AGENCY MESSAGES ON PERSUASIVE OUTCOMES.148 STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY . 154 FUTURE RESEARCH AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS . 158 CONCLUSION . 164 LIST OF REFERENCES . 166 APPENDIX A – PERSUASIVE MESSAGES . 174
Canny edge detection on NVIDIA CUDA

The Canny edge detector is a very popular and effective edge feature detector that is used as a pre-processing step in many computer vision algorithms. It is a multi-step detector which performs smoothing and filtering, non-maxima suppression, followed by a connected-component analysis stage to detect ldquotruerdquo edges, while suppressing ldquofalserdquo non edge filter responses. While there have been previous (partial) implementations of the Canny and other edge detectors on GPUs, they have been focussed on the old style GPGPU computing with programming using graphical application layers. Using the more programmer friendly CUDA framework, we are able to implement the entire Canny algorithm. Details are presented along with a comparison with CPU implementations. We also integrate our detector in to MATLAB, a popular interactive simulation package often used by researchers. The source code will be made available as open source.
ATTITUDES TO THE POLICE OF ETHNIC MINORITIES IN A PROVINCIAL CITY

A survey carried out in Leeds, in areas with more than 10 per cent non-white households, investigated the attitudes of blacks, Asians, and whiles to the police and their experiences of them. It was found that Asians had more favourable attitudes and fewer among them had unpleasant experiences of the police than was the case with both blacks and whites. The relationships between attitudes and experience were explored. Blacks and whites were found to be more similar to each other than had been found in other surveys where area of residence was not controlled for. The areas covered in the survey contained just over half the blacks and Asians in the city, but only 6 per cent of whites, so the sample was not representative of the whole city. The attitudes to the police of Afro-Caribbeans (hereafter called blacks), Asians (from the Indian subcontinent), and whites in Great Britain have been looked at in several studies. One of the earliest was the Survey of Londoners (Smith 1983) carried out by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI). This found that blacks (and to a lesser extent Asians) tended to be more hostile to the police than whites. However, the whites differed in many ways from the non-whites, so the interpretation is not straightforward. The whites were selected to be representative of the whole of London, whereas nearly all the non-whites were representative only of those living in areas with more than 2 per cent non-white inhabitants. Since whites tend to be of higher socio-economic status and generally live in areas with less social deprivation, they would probably have had less experience of crime and of the police than the non-whites. This may in part explain the considerably higher stop and arrest rates of blacks, and the different attitudes to the police of blacks and whites. Other studies, such as those in Islington (Jones et al. 1986; Crawford et al. 1990) and in Hammersmith and Fulham (Painter et al. 1989), although carried out in only parts of London, still involved large populations (of over 300,000) with heterogeneous social conditions, which again might make the experiences of crime and of the police of the three ethnic groups not comparable with each other. This might account for the finding, once again, that blacks and whites differed in their attitudes to the police. The most recent British Crime Survey (Mayhew et al. 1989)—which included a booster sample of non-whites—also found differences in attitude. The only study of blacks and whites living in the same small area was that by Tuck and Southgate (1981) in Moss Side, Manchester. This found few differences between them. As part of a larger study of ethnicity and crime a survey was carried out in Leeds in 1987; this also controlled for area of residence.1 The survey was carried out only in