Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Voltage-sensitive-dye imaging of microstimulation-evoked neural activity through intracortical horizontal and callosal connections in cat visual cortex

Recently, intrinsic signal optical imaging has been widely used as a routine procedure for visualizing cortical functional maps. We do not, however, have a well-established imaging method for visualizing cortical functional connectivity indicating spatio-temporal patterns of activity propagation in the cerebral cortex. In the present study, we developed a novel experimental setup for investigating the propagation of neural activities combining the intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) technique with voltage sensitive dye (VSD) imaging, and demonstrated the feasibility of this setup applying to the measurement of time-dependent intra- and inter-hemispheric spread of ICMS-evoked excitation in the cat visual cortices, areas 17 and 18. A microelectrode array for the ICMS was inserted with a specially designed easy-to-detach electrode holder around the 17/18 transition zones (TZs), where the left and right hemispheres were interconnected via the corpus callosum. The microelectrode array was stably anchored in agarose without any holder, which enabled us to visualize evoked activities even in the vicinity of penetration sites as well as in a wide recording region that covered a part of both hemispheres. The VSD imaging could successfully visualize ICMS-evoked excitation and subsequent propagation in the visual cortices contralateral as well as ipsilateral to the ICMS. Using the orientation maps as positional references, we showed that the activity propagation patterns were consistent with previously reported anatomical patterns of intracortical and interhemispheric connections. This finding indicates that our experimental system can serve for the investigation of cortical functional connectivity.
Kinematic cross‐correlation induces sensory integration across separate objects

In a basic cursor‐control task, the perceived positions of the hand and the cursor are biased towards each other. We recently found that this phenomenon conforms to the reliability‐based weighting mechanism of optimal multisensory integration. This indicates that optimal integration is not restricted to sensory signals originating from a single source, as is the prevailing view, but that it also applies to separate objects that are connected by a kinematic relation (i.e. hand and cursor). In the current study, we examined which aspects of the kinematic relation are crucial for eliciting the sensory integration: (i) the cross‐correlation between kinematic variables of the hand and cursor trajectories, and/or (ii) an internal model of the hand‐cursor kinematic transformation. Participants made out‐and‐back movements from the centre of a semicircular workspace to its boundary, after which they judged the position where either their hand or the cursor hit the boundary. We analysed the position biases and found that the integration was strong in a condition with high kinematic correlations (a straight hand trajectory was mapped to a straight cursor trajectory), that it was significantly reduced for reduced kinematic correlations (a straight hand trajectory was transformed into a curved cursor trajectory) and that it was not affected by the inability to acquire an internal model of the kinematic transformation (i.e. by the trial‐to‐trial variability of the cursor curvature). These findings support the idea that correlations play a crucial role in multisensory integration irrespective of the number of sensory sources involved.
Gorham-Stout Disease Management during Pregnancy

Abstract Gorham-Stout Disease (GSD) is a rare lymphatic disorder affecting children or young adults with no predilection of sex. It is generally associated with vanishing bone osteolytic lesions, thoracic and abdominal involvement, and diffuse pulmonary lymphangiomatosis. Chylous effusions and chylothorax, consequent to the abnormal proliferation of lymphatic vessels, may induce respiratory failure with a high mortality risk. Extrapulmonary alterations may include chylous ascites, lymphopenia, and destructing bone disease for overgrowth of lymphatic vessels. Here, we report the case of a young woman who developed a severe and recalcitrant GSD with persistent unilateral chylothorax during pregnancy. The complex management of this patient during and after pregnancy was discussed and compared with literature data to contribute to the definition of a correct diagnostic and therapeutic approach to this rare lymphatic disease.
Changes in self-efficacy beliefs over time: Contextual influences of gender, rank-based placement, and social support in a competitive orchestra environment

This research adds to the growing body of music self-efficacy literature by profiling changes in instrumental performance self-efficacy perceptions of 157 high school student musicians over the course of a 3-day competitive honor orchestra festival in order to clarify contextual influences upon self-efficacy perceptions within a high-stakes music performance environment. Student participants completed surveys, participated in interviews, and were observed by a team of researchers over the course of the festival. Reported instrumental performance self-efficacy beliefs were profiled over time by characteristics of gender, orchestra placement, and influence of competitive environment versus social support. Repeated measures analysis revealed a significant general increase in students’ instrumental performance self-efficacy beliefs over time, with a delayed increase in self-efficacy beliefs of females placed in the top orchestra. Qualitative data from interviews, observations, and open-ended survey responses were analyzed according to the sources of self-efficacy and in relation to statistical results. Findings suggest a strong influence of enactive mastery experience for all students, and a negative influence of competitive environment upon female self-beliefs. Recommendations include providing positive enactive mastery experiences for all students, and teacher awareness of student differences by gender, competitive placement, and influence of social support.
Gaussian Process Priors with Uncertain Inputs - Application to Multiple-Step Ahead Time Series Forecasting

We consider the problem of multi-step ahead prediction in time series analysis using the non-parametric Gaussian process model. k-step ahead forecasting of a discrete-time non-linear dynamic system can be performed by doing repeated one-step ahead predictions. For a state-space model of the form yt = f(yt-1,.,yt-L), the prediction of y at time t + k is based on the point estimates of the previous outputs. In this paper, we show how, using an analytical Gaussian approximation, we can formally incorporate the uncertainty about intermediate regressor values, thus updating the uncertainty on the current prediction.
ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR1 Integrates Signals from Ethylene and Jasmonate Pathways in Plant Defense Online version contains Web-only data. Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.007468.

Cross-talk between ethylene and jasmonate signaling pathways determines the activation of a set of defense responses against pathogens and herbivores. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie this cross-talk are poorly understood. Here, we show that ethylene and jasmonate pathways converge in the transcriptional activation of ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR1 (ERF1), which encodes a transcription factor that regulates the expression of pathogen response genes that prevent disease progression. The expression of ERF1 can be activated rapidly by ethylene or jasmonate and can be activated synergistically by both hormones. In addition, both signaling pathways are required simultaneously to activate ERF1, because mutations that block any of them prevent ERF1 induction by any of these hormones either alone or in combination. Furthermore, 35S:ERF1 expression can rescue the defense response defects of coi1 (coronative insensitive1) and ein2 (ethylene insensitive2); therefore, it is a likely downstream component of both ethylene and jasmonate signaling pathways. Transcriptome analysis in Col;35S:ERF1 transgenic plants and ethylene/jasmonate-treated wild-type plants further supports the notion that ERF1 regulates in vivo the expression of a large number of genes responsive to both ethylene and jasmonate. These results suggest that ERF1 acts downstream of the intersection between ethylene and jasmonate pathways and suggest that this transcription factor is a key element in the integration of both signals for the regulation of defense response genes.
Outsiderness, Social Class, and Votes in the 2014 European Elections

Les votes ont longtemps ete consideres comme structures par les conflits de classe. Toutefois, lors des elections europeennes de 2014, le vote ne semble pas significativement structure par les classes sociales. Les societes post-industrielles sont au contraire confrontees au declin de la classe ouvriere traditionnelle et au dualisme croissant sur le marche du travail entre individus proteges (insiders) et individus exposes (outsiders). Comment ces changements socio-economiques se traduisent-ils dans le champ politique ? A partir de la litterature emergente sur la precarite et des donnees d’un sondage conduit apres les elections europeennes de 2014, cet article montre que les clivages de classe traditionnels ont un impact limite sur les comportements electoraux et que la distinction entre insiders et outsiders a surtout des effets negatifs, accroissant l’abstention et diminuant le soutien aux grands partis de droite. Le meilleur facteur explicatif des votes est l’evaluation subjective par les repondants de leur position sociale et de sa trajectoire ascendante ou descendante.
The Effects of a Summer Science Camp Teaching Experience on Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Science Teaching Efficacy, Science Content Knowledge, and Understanding of the Nature of Science

THE EFFECTS OF A SUMMER SCIENCE CAMP TEACHING EXPERIENCE ON PRESERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ SCIENCE TEACHING EFFICACY, SCIENCE CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF SCIENCE Mollianne G. Logerwell, PhD George Mason University, 2009 Dissertation Director: Gary Galluzzo, PhD The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers’ science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science. Master’s degree students enrolled in the elementary Fairfax Partnership Schools (FPS, n = 21) cohort served as the treatment group, while those enrolled in the Loudoun Partnership Schools (LPS, n = 15) and Professional Development Schools (PDS, n = 24) cohorts at George Mason University served as the control groups. The treatment group planned for and taught a two-week inquiryand problem-based summer science camp as part of their science methods course, while the control groups did not. The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI), a science content assessment, a personal data questionnaire, and a modified version of the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-C) were administered to the participants at the beginning and end of their science methods course. Analyses revealed significant increases for the FPS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, science teaching outcome expectancy, general science knowledge, biology content knowledge, chemistry content knowledge, and understanding of NOS; the LPS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, chemistry content knowledge, and understanding of NOS; and, the PDS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, and chemistry content knowledge. Additionally, the FPS group had significantly higher general science teaching efficacy than both control groups, personal science teaching efficacy than the PDS group, and understanding of NOS than the LPS group. Overall, the findings indicate that course length is not as important for developing preservice teachers’ teaching efficacy and understanding of content as having connected, authentic field-based teaching experiences that are based on best-practices research and coupled with methodological instruction.
Ivory Tower to Concrete Jungle: The Difficult Transition from the Academy to the Workplace as Learning Environments.

In the complex and increasingly competitive world of graduate employment, a great deal of research has been undertaken into aspects of the interface between higher education and the job market. This has included the monitoring of placement successes, the promotion rate of graduates up the corporate ladder, the degree to which job expectations are met by graduates and employers alike, and the formal and informal evaluations of the adequacy of graduates to perform competently in the workplace. Yet despite the many studies that have already been made into aspects of the transition from university' to the world of work, and despite the best efforts of higher education institutions to establish links with industry and to ensure there are employment opportunities for their graduates, there is one particular aspect of the interface between university and the world of work which, although significant, has received little attention; namely, what happens to new graduate employees in terms of their learning processes. How do they adapt to a new learning environment, what strategies do they adopt to cope with the unfamiliar, and why do they sometimes founder outside the structured learning environment to which they have been accustomed?
Clostridium difficile Toxin B, an Inhibitor of the Small GTPases Rho, Rac and Cdc42, Influences Spiral Ganglion Neurite Outgrowth

Objective--Neurotrophins and extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules are involved in neurite guidance during the development of spiral ganglion (SG) neurons. Several intracellular signaling molecules can be activated by ECMs and neurotrophins via their cognate receptors. In other systems these include the Rho small GTPases, which influence reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton that is required for axon growth. The aim of this study was to determine whether neurotrophin-3 (NT-3)-mediated SG neurite outgrowth on laminin-1 (LN) is dependent on the activation of the small GTPases Rho/Rac/Cdc42. Material and methods--SG explants from postnatal Day 4 rats were cultured on LN with and without NT-3 and increasing concentrations of Clostridium difficile Toxin B, an inhibitor of Rho GTPases. After fixation and immunocytochemical labeling, neurite growth was evaluated. Results--Treatment with C. difficile Toxin B without NT-3 lead to a dose-dependent decrease in the length and number of processes on LN. In contrast, C. difficile Toxin B had no significant effect on NT-3-mediated stimulation of neurite growth on LN, in terms of either number or length. Conclusion--The results suggest that the Rho GTPases (Rho, Rac and Cdc42) are not involved in the pathways linking NT-3 signals to neurite outgrowth, but appear to be involved in LN signaling in these neurons. However, NT-3 can override or bypass LN signaling to promote neurite extension.
Top-down shielding from distraction in visual attention

The present work examines top-down shielding from distraction in visual attention; that is, under which circumstances can the intentions and goals of an observer counteract the bottom-up salience of irrelevant distractors. Several factors of influence will be considered: First, prior experience with distractors, i.e. did observers previously acquire an effective distractor shielding strategy; second, intra- vs. cross-dimensionality of distractors, i.e. are irrelevant distractors defined in the same feature dimension (e.g., shape, color) as the target or in a different feature dimension; third, time, i.e. how effective is distractor shielding early vs. later in processing; and finally, the incentive for effective distractor shielding.
Building Balanced Search Tree based on Layered Decision Tree for Packet Classification

Packet classification is an important building block of the Internet routers for many network applications, such as Quality of Service (QoS), security, monitoring, analysis, and network intrusion detection (NIDS). In this paper, we propose a scheme called Layer based Search Tree (LST) to solve multifield packet classification problem. LST improves the traditional decision tree based schemes (e.g. HyperCuts and EffiCuts) by reconstructing the leaf nodes of the decision tree as an approximately balanced search tree. Since all the address subspace covered by each node of LST is disjoint, the buckets of the leaf and internal nodes in LST must not be empty. Thus, only the rules in one bucket can match the header values of the incoming packet. Searches on LST are completed immediately after the packet matches a rule in some internal node. In addition, we design the hardware search engine with pipeline and parallel architecture for the LST in Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA environment. Because the memory usage of LST is very efficient, our search engine can support the ACL, FW, and IPC tables of 50k rules. LST search engine with dual ported memory can sustain the throughput of over 120 Gbps for the packets of minimum size (40 bytes). Keywordspacket classification; Pipelined Architecture; FPGA; decision tree;
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Beta Subunit Genes CGB1 and CGB2 are Transcriptionally Active in Ovarian Cancer

Human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit (CGB) is a marker of pregnancy as well as trophoblastic and nontrophoblastic tumors. CGB is encoded by a cluster of six genes, of which type II genes (CGB3/9, 5 and 8) have been shown to be upregulated in relation to type I genes (CGB6/7) in both placentas and tumors. Recent studies revealed that CGB1 and CGB2, originally considered as pseudogenes, might also be active, however, the protein products of these genes have not yet been identified. Our study demonstrates the presence of CGB1 and CGB2 transcripts in ovarian carcinomas. While CGB1 and CGB2 gene activation was not detected in normal ovaries lacking cancerous development, our study demonstrates the presence of CGB1 and CGB2 transcripts in 41% of analyzed ovarian cancer cases.
the progression of sepsis and control the onset of irreversible shock and mortality in the CLP model

Lethality from sepsis is believed to be mediated by a proinflammatory cytokine cascade, yet blocking the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) fails to prevent mortality in human disease and a mouse model of sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The role of the antiinflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the CLP model of sepsis is unclear, with either protective or harmful effects demonstrated, depending upon the time of intervention. We therefore hypothesize that IL-10 functions as a temporal regulator of the transition from early reversible sepsis to the late phase of irreversible shock. Transition from reversible sepsis to irreversible shock in the CLP model was defined as the time when removal of the necrotic cecum by rescue surgery is no longer effective. We subjected IL-10-deficient (IL-10 / ) and wild-type (IL-10 / ) mice to CLP and monitored the progression of sepsis, the onset of irreversible shock, and mortality. Onset of lethality in IL-10 / mice occurred significantly earlier than in IL-10 / mice and was associated with 15-fold-higher serum levels of TNFand IL-6. Consistent with these findings, the efficacy of rescue surgery after lethal CLP is lost 10 h earlier in IL-10 / mice than in IL-10 / mice. Treatment with recombinant human IL-10 5 h after CLP significantly improved survival and lengthened the therapeutic window for rescue surgery in both strains of mice. These results demonstrate that IL-10 controls the onset of irreversible septic shock after CLP.
The gendered interplay between success and well-being during transitions

Background: Young females have been found to out-perform males in terms of grades and university degrees in many studies. At the same time, young women seem to exhibit lower levels of well-being compared with men. Interestingly, little work has evaluated the interplay between educational success and well-being. However, antecedents and consequences of educational success will likely affect life chances and further educational and occupational trajectories. Purpose: This paper contributes to this important, but as of yet, underdeveloped topic. The interplay between educational success – conceptualised as successful intergenerational educational mobility – and well-being is analysed as a dynamic, reciprocal and gendered process. Sample: Panel data from the Transition from Education to Employment Project (TREE) is used to study the gendered interplay between educational success and well-being. TREE focuses on post-compulsory educational and labour market pathways of the PISA 2000 cohort in Switzerland. It is based on a sample of 6343 young people who left compulsory schooling in 2000. Data were collected annually from 2001 to 2007. At the time of the first interview, the age range of the middle 50% of the youths was between 16.5 and 17.3 years. Design and methods: As previous research shows, episodes of educational mobility will not be evenly distributed over the observed period. Thus, an autoregressive cross-lagged mixture model framework is employed to account for the expected unequal distribution of the variables over time and the multilevel structure of the data. Within this framework, two modelling approaches are combined to test the implied reciprocal relationship between educational success and well-being. In the Latent Transition Analysis part of the model, success is measured as latent classes with fixed outcome categories. In the Autoregressive Structural Equation part of the model, well-being is specified to correlate over time. Models were estimated separately for males and females to allow for different error variances. Results: The models reveal that mechanisms of social comparison are gendered and operate differently at various stages of the observed period. Young females seem to be more likely to succeed and to experience positive effects in terms of well-being during successful episodes when compared to males. On the downside, females’ well-being seems to be more strongly affected by failure. Conclusions: This paper shows that well-being is a gendered personal resource during the transition to adulthood. These findings contribute to the literature on gender differences in educational success as they show how gender, as a social process, operates to create different success and well-being outcomes.
Decline in Maternal Immunity and Antibody Response to Vaccine in Captive Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Cubs

Blood was collected from captive cheetah cubs (Acinonyx jubatus) from the ages of 4 to 12 wk and monitored for the decline in maternally derived antibodies to feline panleu-kopenia, herpes and calici viruses. A steady decrease was seen in most of the cubs. Antibody responses to inactivated and/or modified live virus (MLV) vaccine also were measured. The strongest responses were seen post vaccination with MLV vaccine only.
Age‐induced hypertrophy of astrocytes in rat supraoptic nucleus: A cytological, morphometric, and immunocytochemical study

Background: In the adult rat, neuron‐astroglia interactions in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) are characterized by the structural and functional plasticity of astrocytes in response to several physiological and experimental conditions. This study has analyzed the plasticity of the supraoptic nucleus astrocytes in response to the age‐induced changes in neuronal activity.