Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary Network Games: Equilibria from Imitation and Best Response Dynamics

We consider games of strategic substitutes and complements on networks and introduce two evolutionary dynamics in order to refine their multiplicity of equilibria. Within mean field, we find that for the best-shot game, taken as a representative example of strategic substitutes, replicator-like dynamics does not lead to Nash equilibria, whereas it leads to a unique equilibrium for complements, represented by a coordination game. On the other hand, when the dynamics becomes more cognitively demanding, predictions are always Nash equilibria: for the best-shot game we find a reduced set of equilibria with a definite value of the fraction of contributors, whereas, for the coordination game, symmetric equilibria arise only for low or high initial fractions of cooperators. We further extend our study by considering complex topologies through heterogeneous mean field and show that the nature of the selected equilibria does not change for the best-shot game. However, for coordination games, we reveal an important difference: on infinitely large scale-free networks, cooperative equilibria arise for any value of the incentive to cooperate. Our analytical results are confirmed by numerical simulations and open the question of whether there can be dynamics that consistently leads to stringent equilibria refinements for both classes of games.
Benefits and Fast Construction of Efficient Two-Level Foldover Designs

Recent work in two-level screening experiments has demonstrated the advantages of using small foldover designs, even when such designs are not orthogonal for the estimation of main effects (MEs). In this article, we provide further support for this argument and develop a fast algorithm for constructing efficient two-level foldover (EFD) designs. We show that these designs have equal or greater efficiency for estimating the ME model versus competitive designs in the literature and that our algorithmic approach allows the fast construction of designs with many more factors and/or runs. Our compromise algorithm allows the practitioner to choose among many designs making a trade-off between efficiency of the main effect estimates and correlation of the two-factor interactions (2FIs). Using our compromise approach, practitioners can decide just how much efficiency they are willing to sacrifice to avoid confounded 2FIs as well as lowering an omnibus measure of correlation among the 2FIs.
Nuclear genomic signals of the ‘microturbellarian’ roots of platyhelminth evolutionary innovation

Flatworms number among the most diverse invertebrate phyla and represent the most biomedically significant branch of the major bilaterian clade Spiralia, but to date, deep evolutionary relationships within this group have been studied using only a single locus (the rRNA operon), leaving the origins of many key clades unclear. In this study, using a survey of genomes and transcriptomes representing all free-living flatworm orders, we provide resolution of platyhelminth interrelationships based on hundreds of nuclear protein-coding genes, exploring phylogenetic signal through concatenation as well as recently developed consensus approaches. These analyses robustly support a modern hypothesis of flatworm phylogeny, one which emphasizes the primacy of the often-overlooked ‘microturbellarian’ groups in understanding the major evolutionary transitions within Platyhelminthes: perhaps most notably, we propose a novel scenario for the interrelationships between free-living and vertebrate-parasitic flatworms, providing new opportunities to shed light on the origins and biological consequences of parasitism in these iconic invertebrates. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.05503. 001
Beat-induced fluctuations in auditory cortical beta-band activity: using EEG to measure age-related changes

People readily extract regularity in rhythmic auditory patterns, enabling prediction of the onset of the next beat. Recent magnetoencephalography (MEG) research suggests that such prediction is reflected by the entrainment of oscillatory networks in the brain to the tempo of the sequence. In particular, induced beta-band oscillatory activity from auditory cortex decreases after each beat onset and rebounds prior to the onset of the next beat across tempi in a predictive manner. The objective of the present study was to examine the development of such oscillatory activity by comparing electroencephalography (EEG) measures of beta-band fluctuations in 7-year-old children to adults. EEG was recorded while participants listened passively to isochronous tone sequences at three tempi (390, 585, and 780 ms for onset-to-onset interval). In adults, induced power in the high beta-band (20–25 Hz) decreased after each tone onset and rebounded prior to the onset of the next tone across tempo conditions, consistent with MEG findings. In children, a similar pattern was measured in the two slower tempo conditions, but was weaker in the fastest condition. The results indicate that the beta-band timing network works similarly in children, although there are age-related changes in consistency and the tempo range over which it operates.
School‐to‐work transition services for students with disabilities in Malaysia: organisations' views on policy and practices

Transition services are required by law for students with disabilities in many developed countries. In Malaysia, however, there is still no specific legislation mandating that school-to-work transition planning and services be provided to students with disabilities. This study investigated the state of the transition services provided by educational organisations to students with disabilities in Malaysia. A mixed method research design, which utilises both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, was employed to obtain information from 23 government organisations and NGOs involved in the education and training of students with disabilities. This study found that the organisations surveyed were aware of the lack of transition support and call attention to the importance of instituting a national policy on school-to-work transition services and supported employment systems for students with disabilities. The legislative and educational implications for Malaysia are discussed.
LÉVY AREA OF WIENER PROCESSES IN BANACH SPACES

The goal of this paper is to construct canonical Levy area processes for Banach space valued Brownian motions via dyadic approximations. The significance of the existence of canonical Levy area processes is that a (stochastic) integration theory can be established for such Brownian motions (in Banach spaces). Existence of flows for stochastic differential equations with infinite dimensional noise then follows via the results of Lyons and Lyons and Qian [see, e.g., System Control and Rough Paths (2000). Oxford Univ. Press]. This investigation involves a careful analysis on the choice of tensor norms, motivated by the applications to infinite dimensional stochastic differential equations.
Open Access Series of Imaging Studies: Longitudinal MRI Data in Nondemented and Demented Older Adults

Abstract The Open Access Series of Imaging Studies is a series of neuroimaging data sets that are publicly available for study and analysis. The present MRI data set consists of a longitudinal collection of 150 subjects aged 60 to 96 years all acquired on the same scanner using identical sequences. Each subject was scanned on two or more visits, separated by at least 1 year for a total of 373 imaging sessions. Subjects were characterized using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) as either nondemented or with very mild to mild Alzheimer's disease. Seventy-two of the subjects were characterized as nondemented throughout the study. Sixty-four of the included subjects were characterized as demented at the time of their initial visits and remained so for subsequent scans, including 51 individuals with CDR 0.5 similar level of impairment to individuals elsewhere considered to have “mild cognitive impairment. ” Another 14 subjects were characterized as nondemented at the time of their initial visit (CDR 0) and were subsequently characterized as demented at a later visit (CDR > 0). The subjects were all right-handed and include both men (n = 62) and women (n = 88). For each scanning session, three or four individual T1-weighted MRI scans were obtained. Multiple within-session acquisitions provide extremely high contrast to noise, making the data amenable to a wide range of analytic approaches including automated computational analysis. Automated calculation of whole-brain volume is presented to demonstrate use of the data for measuring differences associated with normal aging and Alzheimer's disease.
The Surface Glycoproteins of H5 Influenza Viruses Isolated from Humans, Chickens, and Wild Aquatic Birds Have Distinguishable Properties

ABSTRACT In 1997, 18 confirmed cases of human influenza arising from multiple independent transmissions of H5N1 viruses from infected chickens were reported from Hong Kong. To identify possible phenotypic changes in the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) of the H5 viruses during interspecies transfer, we compared the receptor-binding properties and NA activities of the human and chicken H5N1 isolates from Hong Kong and of H5N3 and H5N1 viruses from wild aquatic birds. All H5N1 viruses, including the human isolate bound to Sia2-3Gal-containing receptors but not to Sia2-6Gal-containing receptors. This finding formally demonstrates for the first time that receptor specificity of avian influenza viruses may not restrict initial avian-to-human transmission. The H5N1 chicken viruses differed from H5 viruses of wild aquatic birds by a 19-amino-acid deletion in the stalk of the NA and the presence of a carbohydrate at the globular head of the HA. We found that a deletion in the NA decreased its ability to release the virus from cells, whereas carbohydrate at the HA head decreased the affinity of the virus for cell receptors. Comparison of amino acid sequences from GenBank of the HAs and NAs from different avian species revealed that additional glycosylation of the HA and a shortened NA stalk are characteristic features of the H5 and H7 chicken viruses. This finding indicates that changes in both HA and NA may be required for the adaptation of influenza viruses from wild aquatic birds to domestic chickens and raises the possibility that chickens may be a possible intermediate host in zoonotic transmission.
AUTOMATED AND MANUAL DIRECT METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF BLOOD UREA.

Automated and manual direct methods for the determination of urea in blood or serum are described. These methods determine urea by the colored product formed when urea, in relatively weak acid solution, reacts with diacetyl monoxime in the presence of thiosemicarbazide and ferric ion. Results are compared with those obtained by urease conversion of urea to ammonia and measurement of the ammonia by nesslerization.
Optimization of charging infrastructure usage under varying traffic and capacity conditions

In the future energy landscape, high attention will be paid to the intelligent management of the balance between generation and demand. The shift of transportation towards electrification is a crucial part of the future efforts, but also a great challenge regarding the alignment with renewable energy supply. In this paper, we investigate the EV charging capacity management, with a focus on sustainable electric vehicle (EV) charging capacity for long-distance traffic on highways. The proposed method is based upon the concept of an Intelligent Dynamic Charging Assignment which takes various parameters of traffic information, user information and charging facility information into account in order to optimize charging facility usage by increasing its utilization and maximizing the energy usage, enable higher EV throughput in given traffic conditions and comply with user preferences and EV car characteristics. The optimization results have been validated in a simulation environment with different parameter variations. With the dynamic assignment, an increase of 30% of the utilization of the infrastructure with equal charging station deployment at each location can be reached. This is also reflected in an increase of the throughput of the EVs which is limited by waiting times. The given studies show a 30% higher throughput efficiency through the proposed dynamic assignment method. A reshuffling of the charging infrastructure is also considered. While the energy utilization itself increases to a small extend, the improvement on user experience regarding waiting times has a greater impact towards user satisfaction.
Inhibitory Effects of Total Ginseng Saponin on Catecholamine Secretion from the Perfused Adrenal Medulla of SHRs

There seems to be some controversy about the effect of total ginseng saponin (TGS) on the secretion of catecholamines (CA) from the adrenal gland. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine whether TGS can affect the CA release in the perfused model of the adrenal medulla isolated from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). TGS (15-150 μg/mL), perfused into an adrenal vein for 90 min, inhibited the CA secretory responses evoked by acetylcholine (ACh, 5.32 mM) and high K+ (56 mM, a direct membrane depolarizer) in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. TGS (50 μg/mL) also time-dependently inhibited the CA secretion evoked by 1.1-dimethyl-4 -phenyl piperazinium iodide (DMPP; 100 μM, a selective neuronal nicotinic receptor agonist) and McN-A-343 (100 μM, a selective muscarinic M1 receptor agonist). TGS itself did not affect basal CA secretion (data not shown). Also, in the presence of TGS (50 μg/mL), the secretory responses of CA evoked by veratridine (a selective Na+ channel activator (50 μM), Bay-K-8644 (an L-type dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel activator, 10 μM), and cyclopiazonic acid (a cytoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor, 10 μM) were significantly reduced, respectively. Interestingly, in the simultaneous presence of TGS (50 μg/mL) and Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride [an inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, 30 μM], the inhibitory responses of TGS on the CA secretion evoked by ACh, high K+, DMPP, McN-A-343, Bay-K-8644, cyclopiazonic acid, and veratridine were considerably recovered to the extent of the corresponding control secretion compared with the inhibitory effect of TGS-treatment alone. Practically, the level of NO released from adrenal medulla after the treatment of TGS (150 μg/mL) was greatly elevated compared to the corresponding basal released level. Taken together, these results demonstrate that TGS inhibits the CA secretory responses evoked by stimulation of cholinergic (both muscarinic and nicotinic) receptors as well as by direct membrane-depolarization from the isolated perfused adrenal medulla of the SHRs. It seems that this inhibitory effect of TGS is mediated by inhibiting both the influx of Ca2+ and Na+ into the adrenomedullary chromaffin cells and also by suppressing the release of Ca2+ from the cytoplasmic calcium store, at least partly through the increased NO production due to the activation of nitric oxide synthase, which is relevant to neuronal nicotinic receptor blockade, without the enhancement effect on the CA release. Based on these effects, it is also thought that there are some species differences in the adrenomedullary CA secretion between the rabbit and SHR.
Surround haptics: tactile feedback for immersive gaming experiences

In this paper we propose an architecture for rendering rich and high-resolution haptic feedback on the user's body while playing interactive games. The haptic architecture consists of three main elements, namely, haptic engine, haptic API/codec, and haptic display. The haptic engine extracts events from the game, assigns haptic feedback to these events, and sends coded packets to haptic API/codec. The haptic API/codec translates the coded packets and computes driving signals based on carefully evaluated algorithms derived from psychophysical modeling of tactile perception. The driving signals are then routed to the haptic display embedded with an array of vibratory transducers. A user feels high resolution and refined tactile sensations on the body through the display. We have integrated the Surround Haptics system with a driving simulation game to provide an enjoyable gaming experience.
Immunosorbent Assay Based on Recombinant Hemagglutinin Protein Produced in a High-Efficiency Mammalian Expression System for Surveillance of Measles Immunity

ABSTRACT Recombinant hemagglutinin (H) protein of the measles virus (MV) was produced in mammalian cells with a high-yield expression system based on the Semliki Forest virus replicon. Crude membrane preparations of H protein-transfected BHK-21 cells were used to coat microtiter plates to measure specific immunoglobulin G antibodies in 228 serologically defined serum samples mainly from measles late-convalescent adults. The titers by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the H protein (H-ELISA) closely correlated with neutralization test (NT) titers (R2 = 0.66), hemagglutination inhibition test (HI) titers (R 2 = 0.64), with the titers from a certified commercial ELISA based on whole MV-infected cells (MV-ELISA;R 2 = 0.45). The correlations described above were better than those of the commercial MV-ELISA titers with the NT (R 2 = 0.52) or HI (R 2 = 0.48) titers. By using the 2nd International Standard for anti-measles serum, the detection level of the assay corresponds to 215 mIU/ml for undiluted serum, which corresponds to the estimated threshold for protective immunity. The specificity, accuracy, and positive predictive value were, in general, better for the H-ELISA than for a commercial MV-ELISA, independent of whether HI, NT, or HI and NT were used as “gold standards. ” In contrast, the H-ELISA proved to be slightly less sensitive than the MV-ELISA (sensitivities, 98.6 versus 99.5%, respectively;P was not significant). The assays did not differ significantly in the number of serum samples with positive HI and NT results (n = 212) which measured false negative (H-ELISA, 2 of 212 [0.94%]; MV-ELISA, 1 of 212 [0.47%]), but the H-ELISA detected significantly more measles-susceptible individuals than the MV-ELISA (10 of 11 versus 3 of 11, respectively;P < 0.05) among the individuals whose sera had negative HI and NT results. Our data demonstrate that the H-protein preparation that we describe could be a cost-effective alternative to current whole-virus-based ELISAs for surveillance for immunity to measles and that such an assay could be more efficient in detecting susceptibility to measles. Furthermore, unlike whole MV-based antigens, H-protein would also be suitable for use in the development of a simple field test for the diagnosis of measles.
Analysis of Secretin-Induced Stress in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Suggests Prevention Rather than Response and Identifies a Novel Protein Involved in Secretin Function

ABSTRACT Secretins are bacterial outer membrane proteins that are important for protein export. However, they can also mislocalize and cause stress to the bacterial cell, which is dealt with by the well-conserved phage shock protein (Psp) system in a highly specific manner. Nevertheless, some bacteria have secretins but no Psp system. A notable example is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a prolific protein secretor with the potential to produce seven different secretins. We were interested in investigating how P. aeruginosa might deal with the potential for secretin-induced stress without a Psp system. Microarray analysis revealed the absence of any transcriptional response to XcpQ secretin overproduction. However, transposon insertions in either rpoN, truB, PA4068, PA4069, or PA0943 rendered P. aeruginosa hypersensitive to XcpQ production. The PA0943 gene was studied further and found to encode a soluble periplasmic protein important for XcpQ localization to the outer membrane. Consistent with this, a PA0943 null mutation reduced the levels of type 2 secretion-dependent proteins in the culture supernatant. Therefore, this work has identified a novel protein required for normal secretin function in P. aeruginosa. Taken together, all of our data suggest that P. aeruginosa lacks a functional equivalent of the Psp stress response system. Rather, null mutations in genes such as PA0943 may cause increased secretin-induced stress to which P. aeruginosa cannot respond. Providing the PA0943 mutant with the ability to respond, in the form of critical Psp proteins from another species, alleviated its secretin sensitivity.
Comparação do desenvolvimento da linguagem de crianças nascidas a termo e pré-termo com indicadores de risco para surdez

Objective: To compare language development in term and preterm infants in the 12th and 24th months of life. Methods: longitudinal study, with follow up of children from the Neonate Intensive Care Unit, without hearing loss at birth, with one or more risk indicators for delayed onset or progressive hearing loss. We used the corrected age for the preterm infants. The children were evaluated with the Early Language Milestone Scale. The parents were informed about how to stimulate the child´s communication. Results: We evaluated 23 (52,27%) term neonates and 21 (47,73%) pre-term neonates in the 12th months. In the 24th month 22 infants returned, 13 (59,10%) term and 9 (40,90%) preterm. At the age of 12 months, 8 (18,18%) infants showed delay in language development, with few oral productions and babbling. By the 24th month of age, three children (13,64%) were still delayed. The statistical analyses did not show association between ELM Scale and the term and preterm groups, in both ages. They showed transitory alterations in oral language development, which became normal in most of the infants after the parents orientation. Conclusions: Term and preterm infants showed a similar behavior in language development by the 12th and 24th months, when the corrected age is used with the preterms. A possible explanation for that is the fact that the parents received orientation about language development.
General practitioners' attitudes and ethical decisions in end-of-life care after a year of interactive Internet-based training.

BACKGROUND Personal characteristics affect physicians' end-of-life decisions. Education in palliative care (PC) faces a challenge in influencing doctors' attitudes and decision making in PC. A one-year Internet-mediated education project was arranged for general practitioners in Finland to provide postgraduate education in PC. METHODS A questionnaire was sent before and after the project to the education group (EG, n = 79) and a control group (CG, n = 100). Treatment decisions for presented scenarios and attitudes toward PC were elicited. RESULTS EG doctors had previously participated in postgraduate training in PC more often than had CG doctors (93% vs 29%). For a young terminal cancer patient, EG doctors chose CPR less often than did CG doctors (7% vs 33%, p = 0.004); 30% of EG doctors would have continued antibiotic treatment in the case of a terminal cancer patient, vs 55% of CG doctors (p = 0.023). EG doctors more often agreed with the statement "Terminal care is satisfying" (p < 0.001). Treatment decisions or attitudes did not change significantly in either group during the year, the EG doctors were more satisfied with their work after the project. CONCLUSION There are substantial differences in decision making between those who have experience and special interest in the subject and those who do not. To achieve the goals of education in PC, the most difficult target group, the "silent majority" of doctors, should be reached.