Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Partially Obscured Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release

We have compiled a sample of 21 low-redshift (z ≲ 0.3), luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with large Balmer decrements (Hα/Hβ > 7) using the galaxy and QSO catalogs of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release. Using this sample we attempt to determine the fraction of quasars with large internal absorption. We find that these AGNs have strong [O III] λ5007 and broad Hα emission, and that starlight dominates the spectra in the blue band, suggesting that these objects are heavily reddened. Their narrow emission line ratios are similar to those of Seyfert 2 galaxies, yet the average [O III] λ5007 emission is ~10 times more luminous. Applying the empirical relation between the optical continuum and the Balmer line luminosity for blue quasars, we find that the intrinsic luminosities of these 21 objects are in the range for quasars. We propose that they are obscured, intermediate-type quasars analogous to type 1.8 and 1.9 Seyfert galaxies. The ratio of these optically selected, intermediate-type quasars to type 1 quasars is found to be around 1, similar to that for local Seyfert galaxies. Preliminary study indicates that most of these quasars are hosted in early-type galaxies.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A Increases the Aqueous Humor Outflow Facility

Purpose Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody therapy is an effective treatment for ocular angiogenesis. Although the intraocular pressure of some patients increases after anti-VEGF therapy, the effects of VEGF-A on the aqueous humor outflow pathway remain unknown. This study investigated the effects of VEGF-A on the aqueous humor outflow pathway. Methods We used human recombinant VEGF121 and VEGF165. Trabecular meshwork (TM) and Schlemm’s canal endothelial (SCE) cells were isolated from the eyes of cynomolgus monkeys. Expression of mRNA coding four VEGF receptors, VEGFR1 (FLT1), VEGFR2 (KDR), neuropilin-1, and neuropilin-2, was examined by RT-PCR. To evaluate the permeability of cell monolayers, we measured transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). The outflow facility was measured in perfused porcine anterior segment organ cultures treated with 30 ng/mL VEGF121 for 48 h. Results Four VEGF-A-related receptor mRNAs were expressed in TM and SCE cells. The TEER of TM cells was not significantly affected by VEGF121 or VEGF165 treatment. In contrast, the TEER of SCE cells was significantly lower 48 h after treatment with 30 ng/mL VEGF121 to 69.4 ± 12.2% of baseline (n = 10), which was a significant difference compared with the control (P = 0.0001). VEGF165 (30 ng/mL) decreased the TEER of SCE cells at 48 h after treatment to 72.3 ± 14.1% compared with the baseline (n = 10), which was not a significant difference compared with the control (P = 0.0935). Ki8751, a selective VEGFR2 inhibitor, completely suppressed the effect of VEGF121 on SCE cell permeability, although ZM306416, a selective VEGFR1 inhibitor, did not affect the VEGF121-induced decrease in TEER. Perfusion with 30 ng/mL of VEGF121 for 48 h significantly increased the outflow facility compared with the control (47.8 ± 28.5%, n = 5, P = 0.013). Conclusions These results suggest that VEGF-A may regulate the conventional aqueous outflow of SCE cells through VEGFR2.
Perceived Stress Level Among Madrasah â€˜Aliyah Students During Examination Week

Academic demands including examinations are found to be the major contributor of stress development among students. Current research is purposed to investigate the prevalence of perceived stress level among Madrasah Aliyah students during examination week. This study was a descriptive and cross-sectional design applying quantitative method for data collection. With respect to the sample, 107 students form Madrasah Aliyah Pasirjambu, Kab. Bandung were proportionally selected from class 10 to class 12. To measure the degree to which particular situations and conditions happening in studentâ€™s life are appraised or perceived as stressful situation, Perceived Stress Scale developed by Sheldon Cohen was administered. After which, having gained ethical approval from the foundation board and school director, the data were collected and analyzed using statistical program of SPSS. Result showed that during examination, majority of them were experiencing moderate level of stress accounting for more than 80% and no significant differences of stress level were found with respect to gender, age and study year (class).
GABAA Receptor α1 Subunit Deletion Prevents Developmental Changes of Inhibitory Synaptic Currents in Cerebellar Neurons

Developmental changes in miniature IPSC (mIPSC) kinetics have been demonstrated previously in cerebellar neurons in rodents. We report that these kinetic changes in mice are determined primarily by developmental changes in GABAA receptor subunit expression. mIPSCs were studied by whole-cell recordings in cerebellar slices, prepared from postnatal day 11 (P11) and P35 mice. Similar to reports in granule neurons, wild-type cerebellar stellate neuron mIPSCs at P11 had slow decay kinetics, whereas P35 mIPSCs decayed five times faster. When mIPSCs in cerebellar stellate neurons were compared between wild-type (+/+) and GABAA receptor α1 subunit-deficient (−/−) littermates at P35, we observed dramatically slower mIPSC decay rates in −/− animals. We took advantage of the greater potency of imidazopyridines for GABA current potentiation with α1 subunit-containing receptors to characterize the relative contribution of α1 subunits in native receptors on inhibitory synapses of cerebellar granule neurons. Zolpidem-induced prolongation of mIPSC decay was variable among distinct cells, but it increased during development in wild-type mice. Similarly, Zolpidem prolongation of mIPSC decay rate was significantly greater in adult +/+ mice than in knock-outs. We propose that an increased α1 subunit assembly in postsynaptic receptors of cerebellar inhibitory synapses is responsible for the fast inhibitory synaptic currents that are normally observed during postnatal development.
Evaluation of the effects of five QTL regions on Fusarium head blight resistance and agronomic traits in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an important disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of quantitative trait locus (QTL) regions for resistance to FHB and estimate their effects on reducing FHB damage to wheat in Hokkaido, northern Japan. We examined 233 F1-derived doubled-haploid (DH) lines from a cross between ‘Kukeiharu 14’ and ‘Sumai 3’ to determine their reaction to FHB during two seasons under field conditions. The DH lines were genotyped at five known FHB-resistance QTL regions (on chromosomes 3BS, 5AS, 6BS, 2DL and 4BS) by using SSR markers. ‘Sumai 3’ alleles at the QTLs at 3BS and 5AS effectively reduced FHB damage in the environment of Hokkaido, indicating that these QTLs will be useful for breeding spring wheat cultivars suitable for Hokkaido. Some of the QTL regions influenced agronomic traits: ‘Sumai 3’ alleles at the 4BS and 5AS QTLs significantly increased stem length and spike length, that at the 2DL QTL significantly decreased grain weight, and that at the 6BS QTL significantly delayed heading, indicating pleiotropic or linkage effects between these agronomic traits and FHB resistance.
Unraveling networks of co-regulated genes on the sole basis of genome sequences

With the growing number of available microbial genome sequences, regulatory signals can now be revealed as conserved motifs in promoters of orthologous genes (phylogenetic footprints). A next challenge is to unravel genome-scale regulatory networks. Using as sole input genome sequences, we predicted cis-regulatory elements for each gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by discovering over-represented motifs in the promoters of their orthologs in 19 Saccharomycetes species. We then linked all genes displaying similar motifs in their promoter regions and inferred a co-regulation network including 56 919 links between 3171 genes. Comparison with annotated regulons highlights the high predictive value of the method: a majority of the top-scoring predictions correspond to already known co-regulations. We also show that this inferred network is as accurate as a co-expression network built from hundreds of transcriptome microarray experiments. Furthermore, we experimentally validated 14 among 16 new functional links between orphan genes and known regulons. This approach can be readily applied to unravel gene regulatory networks from hundreds of microbial genomes for which no other information is available except the sequence. Long-term benefits can easily be perceived when considering the exponential increase of new genome sequences.
The effect of intrinsic and extrinsic goals on work performance: Prospective and empirical studies on goal content theory

Based on the goal content theory (GCT), the purpose of this paper is to focus on the essence of goals and examine the associations between different work goal contents (intrinsic and extrinsic goals) and work performance. ,The data were collected from 279 employees and their immediate supervisors, and the theoretical hypotheses were tested by correlation and hierarchal regression analyses. ,The results of the analyses showed that intrinsic goal content positively predicted task performance, dedicative performance, interpersonal performance, and adaptive performance and that extrinsic goal content positively predicted the task performance and adaptive performance; intrinsic goals were also found to enhance the relationship between extrinsic goals and task performance. ,The contribution of the current study is that it explores whether both extrinsic goals and intrinsic goals can contribute to predicting work performance. Moreover, different from previous studies that focus on discussing the separate effects of intrinsic and extrinsic goals on outcomes, the authors aim to study the interaction effect between these goals, which enriches GCT.
Online written emotional disclosure : effects on psychological well-being in individuals with infertility

The negative psychological impact of infertility and resultant stress inherent in the treatment of fertility problems is well documented in the research literature (Greil, 1997). Disclosing emotional reactions to stressful and traumatic experiences through writing has been shown to have beneficial effects on psychological well-being in healthy students and clinical populations (Frattaroli, 2006; Smyth, 1998). The principal aim of this thesis was to examine the efficacy of a written emotional disclosure intervention for individuals with infertility. However, initially the potential moderating effects of delivering the intervention via a computer and within the context of the home was examined. This showed that the adaptation of the traditional laboratory based, handwritten intervention developed by Pennebaker and Beall (1986) did not impact on the short-term or longer-term effects of written emotional disclosure. Subsequently, following a study which failed to recruit participants from an assisted conception unit, a written emotional disclosure intervention for individuals with infertility was examined using an internet-mediated delivery. Results showed that the effectiveness of writing about the experience of infertility and infertility treatment in producing changes in psychological well-being at 4-week follow-up was related to changes in the content of the disclosure narratives across the writing sessions. Analysis revealed that for those individuals in the disclosure group who showed an increase in their use of negative emotion words and cognitive words in their writing over the three disclosure sessions was associated with a reduction in symptoms of psychological distress. The findings of this study are discussed in relation to the heterogeneity of the sample and possible impact of the recruitment methods used. The contribution of this thesis has been to directly test the potential moderating effects of methodological variation in intervention delivery and examine the utility of a written emotional disclosure intervention for individuals with infertility, in doing so the findings of this thesis contribute to the expanding literature. Recommendations are made for more systematic examination of the utility of disclosure writing and investigation of the process by which positive changes occurs in individuals with infertility and other clinical populations.
Development of Elderly Quality of Life Index – Eqoli: Item Reduction and Distribution into Dimensions

OBJECTIVE To describe item reduction and its distribution into dimensions in the construction process of a quality of life evaluation instrument for the elderly. METHODS The sampling method was chosen by convenience through quotas, with selection of elderly subjects from four programs to achieve heterogeneity in the “health status”, “functional capacity”, “gender”, and “age” variables. The Clinical Impact Method was used, consisting of the spontaneous and elicited selection by the respondents of relevant items to the construct Quality of Life in Old Age from a previously elaborated item pool. The respondents rated each item’s importance using a 5-point Likert scale. The product of the proportion of elderly selecting the item as relevant (frequency) and the mean importance score they attributed to it (importance) represented the overall impact of that item in their quality of life (impact). The items were ordered according to their impact scores and the top 46 scoring items were grouped in dimensions by three experts. A review of the negative items was performed. RESULTS One hundred and ninety three people (122 women and 71 men) were interviewed. Experts distributed the 46 items into eight dimensions. Closely related items were grouped and dimensions not reaching the minimum expected number of items received additional items resulting in eight dimensions and 43 items. DISCUSSION The sample was heterogeneous and similar to what was expected. The dimensions and items demonstrated the multidimensionality of the construct. The Clinical Impact Method was appropriate to construct the instrument, which was named Elderly Quality of Life Index - EQoLI. An accuracy process will be examined in the future.
Training Implicit Learning of Spelling in Italian Children With Developmental Dyslexia

It had been hypothesized that, in developmental dyslexia (DD), an implicit learning deficit explains children's problems in encoding the phoneme–grapheme correspondences underlying the writing system and thus the development of spelling skills. The present study tested the efficacy of an intervention to facilitate implicit learning of context-sensitive spelling rules with Italian children with DD. Mapping of phonological and orthographic information during spelling was implicitly modeled during 6 sessions of intervention. Thirty-eight elementary-aged children with DD were assigned either to this (phonological–orthographic mapping) condition (n = 19) or to a comparison condition (n = 19) in which phonological spelling procedures and spelling from dictation were used to train word spelling. The two groups were matched on intelligence, vocabulary, and their spelling skills at pretest. The experimental group showed significant improvements in spelling the words trained during the intervention and generalized their acquired spelling knowledge to untrained words. The comparison group also showed improvements, but these were in most cases not significant. Moreover, this group did not show generalization to untrained words. The results seem to confirm that the core problem in DD is inaccurate mappings between phonological and orthographic spelling units and that phonological–orthographic mapping in written word encoding can be modeled for children with DD to facilitate implicit learning.
Philosophy in the flesh : the embodied mind and its challenge to Western thought

* Introduction: Who Are We? How The Embodied Mind Challenges The Western Philosophical Tradition * The Cognitive Unconscious * The Embodied Mind * Primary Metaphor and Subjective Experience * The Anatomy of Complex Metaphor * Embodied Realism: Cognitive Science Versus A Priori Philosophy * Realism and Truth * Metaphor and Truth The Cognitive Science Of Basic Philosophical Ideas * The Cognitive Science of Philosophical Ideas * Time * Events and Causes * The Mind * The Self * Morality The Cognitive Science Of Philosophy * The Cognitive Science of Philosophy * The Pre-Socratics: The Cognitive Science of Early Greek Metaphysics * Plato * Aristotle * Descartes and the Enlightenment Mind * Kantian Morality * Analytic Philosophy * Chomskys Philosophy and Cognitive Linguistics * The Theory of Rational Action * How Philosophical Theories Work Embodied Philosophy * Philosophy in the Flesh
Optical-to-X-ray emission in low-absorption AGN: results from the Swift–BAT 9-month catalogue

We present simultaneous optical-to-X-ray spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from Swift's X-ray and UV-optical telescopes (XRTs and UVOTs) for a well-selected sample of 26 low-redshift (z < 0.1) active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the Swift/Burst Alert Telescope 9-month catalogue, the largest well-studied, hard X-ray-selected survey of local AGN to date. Our subsample consists of AGN with low intrinsic X-ray absorption (N H < 10 22 cm ―2 ) and minimal spectral complexity, to more accurately recover the intrinsic accretion luminosity in these sources. We perform a correction for host galaxy contamination in all available UVOT filter images to recover the intrinsic AGN emission and estimate intrinsic dust extinction from the resultant nuclear SEDs. Black hole mass estimates are determined from the host galaxy Two-Micron All-Sky Survey K-band bulge luminosity. Accretion rates determined from our SEDs are on average low (Eddington ratios λ Edd ≲ 0.1) and hard X-ray bolometric corrections cluster at ∼10―20, in contrast with the higher values seen for quasars. An average SED for the 22 low accretion rate (λ Edd < 0.1) objects is presented, with and without correction for extinction. Significant dust reddening is found in some objects despite the selection of low N H objects, emphasizing the complex relationship between these two types of absorption. We do not find a correlation of the optical-to-X-ray spectral index with the Eddington ratio, regardless of the optical reference wavelength chosen for defining the spectral index. An anticorrelation of bolometric correction with black hole mass may reinforce 'cosmic downsizing' scenarios, since the higher bolometric corrections at low mass would boost accretion rates in local, lower mass black holes. We also perform a basic analysis of the UVOT-derived host galaxy colours for our sample and find hosts cluster near the 'green valley' of the colour-magnitude diagram, but better quality images are needed for a more definitive analysis. The low accretion rates and bolometric corrections found for this representative low-redshift sample are of particular importance for studies of AGN accretion history.
The costs of accessible quality assured syphilis diagnostics: informing quality systems for rapid syphilis tests in a Tanzanian setting.

OBJECTIVES To determine the costs of Rapid Syphilis Test (RSTs) as compared with rapid plasma reagin (RPR) when implemented in a Tanzanian setting, and to determine the relative impact of a quality assurance (QA) system on the cost of RST implementation. METHODS The incremental costs for RPR and RST screening programmes in existing antenatal care settings in Geita District, Tanzania were collected for 9 months in subsequent years from nine health facilities that varied in size, remoteness and scope of antenatal services. The costs per woman tested and treated were estimated for each facility. A sensitivity analysis was constructed to determine the impact of parameter and model uncertainty. FINDINGS In surveyed facilities, a total of 6362 women were tested with RSTs compared with 224 tested with RPR. The range of unit costs was $1.76-$3.13 per woman screened and $12.88-$32.67 per woman treated. Unit costs for the QA system came to $0.51 per woman tested, of which 50% were attributed to salaries and transport for project personnel. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that rapid syphilis diagnostics are very inexpensive in this setting and can overcome some critical barriers to ensuring universal access to syphilis testing and treatment. The additional costs for implementation of a quality system were found to be relatively small, and could be reduced through alterations to the programme design. Given the potential for a quality system to improve quality of diagnosis and care, we recommend that QA activities be incorporated into RST roll-out.
Association Between SLC6A4 Serotonin Transporter Gene Lainked Polymorphic Region and ADRA2A −1291C>G and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Korea

Background/Aims Despite numerous studies on the relation of genetic polymorphisms with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the results still remain inconclusive. The aim of this study was to assess the possible association between SLC6A4 serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), ADRA2A −1291C>G, GNB3 825C>T, CCK1R intron 779T>C and TRPV1 945G>C polymorphisms and IBS based on Rome III criteria in Korea. Methods Study subjects were prospectively recruited from visitors to Seoul National University Bundang Hospital between July 2009 and January 2014. Ninety-nine IBS patients and 171 healthy controls were enrolled. Polymorphisms of above-mentioned 5 genes were genotyped. Serum serotonin from 101 participants was measured by ELISA and compared according to SLC6A4 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms and IBS subtypes. Results Regarding SLC6A4 5-HTTLPR polymorphism, L/L genotype was significantly associated with the total IBS, constipation predominant IBS (IBS-C) and mixture of diarrhea and constipation IBS (IBS-M) (adjusted OR: 4.35, 95% CI: 1.04–16.67; adjusted OR: 11.11, 95% CI: 1.69–50.00 and adjusted OR: 5.56, 95% CI: 1.05–33.33, respectively). Carrying ADRA2A −1291G allele was significantly associated with total IBS and diarrhea predominant IBS (adjusted OR: 3.37, 95% CI: 1.16–9.77 and adjusted OR: 5.64, 95% CI: 1.18–27.01, respectively). IBS-C patients showed reduced level of serum serotonin compared to controls and patients with diarrhea predominant IBS (50.2 ng/mL vs. 69.0 ng/mL and 92.9 ng/mL, P = 0.017 and P = 0.001, respectively). Conclusions Genetic polymorphisms of SLC6A4 5-HTTLPR and ADRA2A −1291C>G could be one of the pathophysiological factors of IBS in Korea. Reduced serum serotonin shown in the IBS-C group suggested a role of serotonin in IBS, but large study is needed for confirming genotypic difference in serum serotonin level.
Multiprocessing Acceleration of H.264/AVC Motion Estimation Full Search Algorithm under CUDA Architecture

This work presents a parallel GPU-based solution for the Motion Estimation (ME) process in a video encoding system. We propose a way to partition the steps of Full Search block matching algorithm in the CUDA architecture, and to compare the performance with a theoretical model and two implementations (sequential and parallel using OpenMP library). We obtained a O(n²/log²n) speed-up which fits the theoretical model considering different search areas. It represents up to 600x gain compared to the serial implementation, and 66x compared to the parallel OpenMP implementation.