Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interactions of the Julia Set with Critical and (Un)Stable Sets in an Angle-Doubling Map on ℂ\{0}

We study a nonanalytic perturbation of the complex quadratic family z ↦ z2 + c in the form of a two-dimensional noninvertible map that has been introduced by Bamon et al. [2006]. The map acts on the plane by opening up the critical point to a disk and wrapping the plane twice around it; points inside the disk have no preimages. The bounding critical circle and its images, together with the critical point and its preimages, form the so-called critical set. For parameters away from the complex quadratic family we define a generalized notion of the Julia set as the basin boundary of infinity. We are interested in how the Julia set changes when saddle points along with their stable and unstable sets appear as the perturbation is switched on. Advanced numerical techniques enable us to study the interactions of the Julia set with the critical set and the (un)stable sets of saddle points. We find the appearance and disappearance of chaotic attractors and dramatic changes in the topology of the Julia set; these bifurcations lead to three complicated types of Julia sets that are given by the closure of stable sets of saddle points of the map, namely, a Cantor bouquet and what we call a Cantor tangle and a Cantor cheese. We are able to illustrate how bifurcations of the nonanalytic map connect to those of the complex quadratic family by computing two-parameter bifurcation diagrams that reveal a self-similar bifurcation structure near the period-doubling route to chaos in the complex quadratic family.
Complement C3 Deficiency Attenuates Chronic Hypoxia-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension in Mice

Background Evidence suggests a role of both innate and adaptive immunity in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. The complement system is a key sentry of the innate immune system and bridges innate and adaptive immunity. To date there are no studies addressing a role for the complement system in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Methodology/Principal Findings Immunofluorescent staining revealed significant C3d deposition in lung sections from IPAH patients and C57Bl6/J wild-type mice exposed to three weeks of chronic hypoxia to induce pulmonary hypertension. Right ventricular systolic pressure and right ventricular hypertrophy were increased in hypoxic vs. normoxic wild-type mice, which were attenuated in C3−/− hypoxic mice. Likewise, pulmonary vascular remodeling was attenuated in the C3−/− mice compared to wild-type mice as determined by the number of muscularized peripheral arterioles and morphometric analysis of vessel wall thickness. The loss of C3 attenuated the increase in interleukin-6 and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 expression in response to chronic hypoxia, but not endothelin-1 levels. In wild-type mice, but not C3−/− mice, chronic hypoxia led to platelet activation as assessed by bleeding time, and flow cytometry of platelets to determine cell surface P-selectin expression. In addition, tissue factor expression and fibrin deposition were increased in the lungs of WT mice in response to chronic hypoxia. These pro-thrombotic effects of hypoxia were abrogated in C3−/− mice. Conclusions Herein, we provide compelling genetic evidence that the complement system plays a pathophysiologic role in the development of PAH in mice, promoting pulmonary vascular remodeling and a pro-thrombotic phenotype. In addition we demonstrate C3d deposition in IPAH patients suggesting that complement activation plays a role in the development of PAH in humans.
An Exploratory Study of Perceived Career Change and Job Attitudes Among Job Changers

The study examined the effects of job change characteristics on perceived career change and attitudes toward the new job. The job change characteristics examined were content of change, magnitude of change, direction of change, volitionality of job choice, and duration of the unemployment period between the two jobs. The subjects were 222 university educated men and women. It was found that perceived career change was firmly related to job change characteristics reflecting both “internal” and “external” career perspectives. After controlling for the direction of change, the magnitude of change had a negative impact on satisfaction with the new job, while the volitionality of job choice and the duration of unemployment were positively associated with job satisfaction. Contrary to expectation, the volitionality of job choice and the duration of unemployment did not increase the commitment to continue in the new job.
Validation of PeneloPET positron range estimations

Positron range depends on the materials in which positron propagates and on positron emitter isotope. As positron range limits the spatial resolution of PET images, good quantitative estimates of it should be included in any realistic simulation of PET acquisitions. In this work we compare positron range estimates obtained with PeneloPET to previous available simulations and experimental data. PeneloPET was used to simulate the positron range of 18F, 11C, 13N, 15O, 68Ga and 82Rb in the following tissues: cortical bone, soft bone, skin, muscle, brain, water, adipose tissue and lung. The 3D and 1D annihilation Point Spread Functions (aPSF) were calculated for each isotope-material combination. We have studied with more detail the 3D aPSF (radial distributions) and the cumulative fraction of annihilation events. These aPSF distributions were also studied for non-uniform media. Results obtained were consistent with other results previously reported in the literature as well as with experimentally measured data.
Developing a Test Battery to assess Determinants of Marital Relationship Satisfaction in Saudi Arabia

A sample of 50 wives and 50 husbands from Saudi Arabia completed a battery of scales assessing different aspects of couple relationship functioning which had been translated from English to Arabic. The selection of measures was based on the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Model (VSA, Karney & Bradbury, 1995) and included measures of partner attachment, conflict behaviour, and relationship with members of the family-in-law as predictors and marital satisfaction as criterion variable. All scales of the test battery showed acceptable reliability. The newly developed conflict behaviour scale consisted of three theoretically meaningful factors (Positive behaviour, Negative behaviour, and Abuse). All instruments showed evidence for convergent validity and contributed significantly to the prediction of relationship satisfaction. The results showed in general a similar pattern of correlations in Saudi Arabia as previous studies in Western countries.
Association of Personality, Work Values and Socio-cultural Factors with Intrapreneurial Orientation

This study reports on the impact of some personality factors, work values and socio-cultural factors on intrapreneurial orientation. Data were collected from 272 executives working in the manufacturing sector. Correlation and multiple regression statistics were performed to test the strength of association among measures of intrapreneurial orientation, big-five locator personality, eight work-values and four socio-cultural factors. Results showed that neuroticism significantly but negatively, and extraversion, altruism, creativity management and achievement positively predicted intrapreneurial orientation. Socio-cultural factors had significantly interacted with personality factors, but its impact on the association of work values with intrapreneurial orientation remained almost unchanged. The HR professionals can utilise this information in fostering facilitative climates for innovations in their organisations.
Production of Monoclonal Antibody and Development of a New Immunoassay for Apramycin in Food.

Apramycin (APR) residue in food of animal origin can cause harmful effects on human health. In this study, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) was successfully produced using APR-BSA as immunogen, which was prepared by using the glutaraldehyde method. mAb 2A2 showed low cross-reactivity (<0.1%) with other aminoglycoside antibiotics, and its IC50 value was 0.35 ng/mL. On the basis of this mAb, a novel immunoassay in the format of an immunoaffinity test column (IATC) was developed. An immunoaffinity column filled with anti-APR antibody-Sepharose 4B gel was used as solid phase. APR in sample and HRP-APR conjugate compete with each other for the limited antibody on the column. The approach was able to give a naked-eye color signal for the detection of analyte. A blue color appears for negative results and no color for positive. The method was then successfully applied to the detection of APR in animal-origin food. To further evaluate the assay, direct competitive ELISA (dcELISA) based on the same antibody was developed for comparison in different aspects. Compared to the dcELISA, the detection time of IATC is shortened to 20 min, whereas a similar sensitivity for various samples was observed. The limits of detection (LOD) for raw milk, muscles, and livers are 3 ng/mL, 3 μg/kg, and 10 μg/kg, respectively.
Author ' s personal copy Design and modeling of Faraday cages for substrate noise isolation q

A Faraday cage structure using through-substrate vias is an effective strategy to suppress substrate crosstalk, particularly at high frequencies. Faraday cages can reduce substrate noise by 32 dB at 10 GHz, and 26 dB at 50 GHz. We have developed lumped-element, equivalent circuit models of the Faraday cages and test structures to better understand the performance of the Faraday cages. These models compare well to measured results and show that the vias of the Faraday cage act as an RLC shunt to ground that draws substrate current. Designing a Faraday cage to achieve optimum isolation requires low via impedance and mitigation of via sidewall capacitance. The Faraday cage inductance is correlated to the number of vias and via spacing of the cage and can be optimized for the frequency of operation. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
“We're not NIMBYs!” Contrasting local protest groups with idealised conceptions of sustainable communities

Abstract The term “NIMBY” is used prolifically in both academic literature and general public discourse to describe a locally based action group protesting against a proposed development. It is frequently used to dismiss groups as selfish or ill-informed, as is illustrated both by those who accuse opponents of possessing such characteristics and also by the attempts of many community groups to reject the label. This lies in sharp contrast to the much encouraged notions of public participation in planning and community life as proposed by the UK government's proclaimed vision of a “sustainable community”. This paper argues that this dichotomy between “good” and “bad” participation can be misleading, by drawing on research from two case studies where locally based community groups opposed a specific, detailed development. The paper contributes to a burgeoning literature that reappraises conventional understandings of such groups by analysing often overlooked facets of protest groups, concluding that the conventional conceptualisations of them as NIMBY is inadequate and unhelpful in academic debate.
Pineal gland volume in primary insomnia and healthy controls: a magnetic resonance imaging study

Little is known about the relation between pineal volume and insomnia. Melatonin promotes sleep processes and, administered as a drug, it is suitable to improve primary and secondary sleep disorders in humans. Recent magnetic resonance imaging studies suggest that human plasma and saliva melatonin levels are partially determined by the pineal gland volume. This study compares the pineal volume in a group of patients with primary insomnia to a group of healthy people without sleep disturbance. Pineal gland volume (PGV) was measured on the basis of high‐resolution 3 Tesla MRI (T1‐magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo) in 23 patients and 27 controls, matched for age, gender and educational status. Volume measurements were performed conventionally by manual delineation of the pineal borders in multi‐planar reconstructed images. Pineal gland volume was significantly smaller (P < 0.001) in patients (48.9 ± 26.6 mm3) than in controls (79 ± 30.2 mm3). In patients PGV correlated negatively with age (r = −0.532; P = 0.026). Adjusting for the effect of age, PGV and rapid eye movement (REM) latency showed a significant positive correlation (rS = 0.711, P < 0.001) in patients. Pineal volume appears to be reduced in patients with primary insomnia compared to healthy controls. Further studies are needed to clarify whether low pineal volume is the basis or the consequence of functional sleep changes to elucidate the molecular pathology for the pineal volume loss in primary insomnia.
Efficacy and Safety of Carbomer-Based Lipid-Containing Artificial Tear Formulations in Patients With Dry Eye Syndrome

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of carbomer-based lipid-containing artificial tear formulations (CBLAT) in patients with dry eye syndrome. Methods: A multicenter parallel-group study was conducted in 412 patients with dry eye syndrome. Of these patients, 221 switched from using artificial tears to CBLAT (switching group) and 191 added CBLAT to their current treatment (add-on group). Ocular symptom scores, ocular staining grades, tear film breakup time (tBUT), Schirmer I test value, and Korean dry eye level (as defined by the Korean Corneal Disease Study Group guidelines) were evaluated at baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment. Results: After 4 weeks of treatment, ocular surface staining grade, tBUT, Schirmer I value, ocular irritation symptom scores, and the positive rate of visual symptom improved significantly in both groups. Mean reductions in ocular surface staining grades (−0.8 ± 0.9) and ocular irritation symptom scores (−0.8 ± 0.8) in the add-on group were significantly higher than those (−0.5 ± 0.8 and −0.6 ± 0.8) in the switching group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05). The positive rate of visual symptoms (44.2%) in the add-on group was significantly higher than that (26.4%) in the switching group (P < 0.01). The decrease of Korean dry eye level was 30.1% in the switching group and 51.6% in the add-on group. More patients in the add-on group had decreased dry eye levels than those in the switching group (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: CBLAT improves ocular surface staining grades, tBUT, Schirmer I values, and ocular symptoms in patients with dry eye syndrome.
Expression of Factor H Binding Protein of Meningococcus Responds to Oxygen Limitation through a Dedicated FNR-Regulated Promoter

ABSTRACT Factor H binding protein (fHBP) is a surface-exposed lipoprotein in Neisseria meningitidis, which is a component of several investigational vaccines against serogroup B meningococcus (MenB) currently in development. fHBP enables the bacterium to evade complement-mediated killing by binding factor H, a key downregulator of the complement alternative pathway, and, in addition, fHBP is important for meningococcal survival in the presence of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37. In this study, we investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in transcription and regulation of the fHBP-encoding gene, fhbp. We show that the fHBP protein is expressed from two independent transcripts: one bicistronic transcript that includes the upstream gene and a second shorter monocistronic transcript from its own dedicated promoter, P fhbp . Transcription from the promoter P fhbp responds to oxygen limitation in an FNR-dependent manner, and, accordingly, the FNR protein binds to a P fhbp probe in vitro. Furthermore, expression in meningococci of a constitutively active FNR mutant results in the overexpression of the fHBP protein. Finally, the analysis of fHBP regulation was extended to a panel of strains expressing different fHBP allelic variants at different levels, and we demonstrate that FNR is involved in the regulation of this antigen in all but one of the strains tested. Our data suggest that oxygen limitation may play an important role in inducing the expression of fHBP from a dedicated FNR-regulated promoter. This implies a role for this protein in microenvironments lacking oxygen, for instance in the submucosa or intracellularly, in addition to its demonstrated role in serum resistance in the blood.
The visual white matter: The application of diffusion MRI and fiber tractography to vision science

Visual neuroscience has traditionally focused much of its attention on understanding the response properties of neurons along the visual pathways. This review focuses instead on the properties of the white matter connections between these neurons. Specifically, we provide an introduction to methods to study the human visual white matter using diffusion MRI (dMRI). This method allows us to measure the white matter connections in individual visual systems in vivo, allows us to trace long-range connections between different parts of the visual system, and to measure the biophysical properties of these connections. We explain the principles underlying dMRI measurements and the basics of modeling these data. We review a range of findings from recent studies on connections between different visual field maps, on the effects of visual impairment on the white matter, and on the properties underlying networks that process visual information that supports visual face recognition. Finally, we discuss a few promising directions for future studies. These include new methods for analysis of MRI data, open data-sets that are becoming available to study brain connectivity and white matter properties, and open-source software for the analysis of these data.
Vascular Kinin B1 and B2 Receptors Determine Endothelial Dysfunction through Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase

B1- and B2-kinin receptors are G protein-coupled receptors that play an important role in the vascular function. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate the participation of kinin receptors in the acetylcholine (ACh)-induced vascular relaxation, focusing on the protein-protein interaction involving kinin receptors with endothelial and neuronal nitric oxide synthases (eNOS and nNOS). Vascular reactivity, nitric oxide (NO·) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, co-immunoprecipitation were assessed in thoracic aorta from male wild-type (WT), B1- (B1R−/−), B2- (B2R−/−) knockout mice. Some vascular reactivity experiments were also performed in a double kinin receptors knockout mice (B1B2R−/−). For pharmacological studies, selective B1- and B2-kinin receptors antagonists, NOS inhibitors and superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic were used. First, we show that B1- and B2-kinin receptors form heteromers with nNOS and eNOS in thoracic aorta. To investigate the functionality of these protein-protein interactions, we took advantage of pharmacological tools and knockout mice. Importantly, our results show that kinin receptors regulate ACh-induced relaxation via nNOS signaling in thoracic aorta with no changes in NO· donor-induced relaxation. Interestingly, B1B2R−/− presented similar level of vascular dysfunction as found in B1R−/− or B2R−/− mice. In accordance, aortic rings from B1R−/− or B2R−/− mice exhibit decreased NO· bioavailability and increased superoxide generation compared to WT mice, suggesting the involvement of excessive ROS generation in the endothelial dysfunction of B1R−/− and B2R−/− mice. Alongside, we show that impaired endothelial vasorelaxation induced by ACh in B1R−/− or B2R−/− mice was rescued by the SOD mimetic compound. Taken together, our findings show that B1- and B2-kinin receptors regulate the endothelium-dependent vasodilation of ACh through nNOS activity and indicate that molecular disturbance of short-range interaction between B1- and B2-kinin receptors with nNOS might be involved in the oxidative pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction.
Social Networking Privacy - Who's Stalking You?

This research investigates the privacy issues that exist on social networking sites. It is reasonable to assume that many Twitter users are unaware of the dangers of uploading a tweet to their timeline which can be seen by anyone. Enabling geo-location tagging on tweets can result in personal information leakage, which the user did not intend to be public and which can seriously affect that user’s privacy and anonymity online. This research demonstrates that key information can easily be retrieved using the starting point of a single tweet with geo-location turned on. A series of experiments have been undertaken to determine how much information can be obtained about a particular individual using only social networking sites and freely available mining tools. The information gathered enabled the target subjects to be identified on other social networking sites such as Foursquare, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+, where more personal information was leaked. The tools used are discussed, the results of the experiments are presented and the privacy implications are examined.
Prediction of In Vivo Radiation Dose Status in Radiotherapy Patients using Ex Vivo and In Vivo Gene Expression Signatures

Abstract After a large-scale nuclear accident or an attack with an improvised nuclear device, rapid biodosimetry would be needed for triage. As a possible means to address this need, we previously defined a gene expression signature in human peripheral white blood cells irradiated ex vivo that predicts the level of radiation exposure with high accuracy. We now demonstrate this principle in vivo using blood from patients receiving total-body irradiation (TBI). Whole genome microarray analysis has identified genes responding significantly to in vivo radiation exposure in peripheral blood. A 3-nearest neighbor classifier built from the TBI patient data correctly predicted samples as exposed to 0, 1.25 or 3.75 Gy with 94% accuracy (P < 0.001) even when samples from healthy donor controls were included. The same samples were classified with 98% accuracy using a signature previously defined from ex vivo irradiation data. The samples could also be classified as exposed or not exposed with 100% accuracy. The demonstration that ex vivo irradiation is an appropriate model that can provide meaningful prediction of in vivo exposure levels, and that the signatures are robust across diverse disease states and independent sample sets, is an important advance in the application of gene expression for biodosimetry.
Influences of Language and Parental Involvement on the Development of Counting Skills: Comparisons of French- and English-speaking Canadian Children

French- ( n =27) and English-speaking preschoolers ( n =38) completed four number tasks. French-speaking preschoolers performed more poorly on the rote-counting and number-recognition tasks than English-speaking preschoolers, but the groups did not differ on counting objects. Thus, French-speaking children may find it more difficult to master the number names than their English-speaking peers. Importantly, however, French-speaking parents' reported a lower frequency of teaching their children about numbers, letters, and words than English-speaking parents. Multiple regression analyses indicated that variability in counting and number recognition were predicted both by knowledge of the counting string ( i.e. , language) and by differences in parents' reports of teaching about numbers and letters ( i.e. , culture). Thus, researchers should examine potential variations in cultural factors such as parental involvement when comparing the academic skills of groups of children who ostensibly differ only in language.