Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Causal Role for the Extrastriate Body Area in Detecting People in Real-World Scenes

People are extremely efficient at detecting relevant objects in complex natural scenes. In three experiments, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate the role of the extrastriate body area (EBA) in the detection of people in scenes. In Experiment 1, participants reported, in different blocks, whether people or cars were present in a briefly presented scene. Detection (d-prime) of people, but not of cars, was impaired after TMS over right EBA (rEBA; five pulses at −200, −100, 0, 100, 200 ms) compared with sham stimulation. In Experiment 2, we applied TMS either before (−200, −100 ms) or after (+100, +200) the scene onset. Poststimulus EBA stimulation impaired people detection relative to prestimulus EBA stimulation, while timing had no effect during sham stimulation. In Experiment 3, we examined anatomical specificity by comparing TMS over EBA with TMS over scene-selective transverse occipital sulcus (TOS). Two scenes were presented side by side, and response times to detect which scene contained people (or cars) were measured. For people detection, but not for car detection, response times during EBA stimulation were significantly slower than during TOS stimulation. Furthermore, rEBA stimulation led to an equivalent slowing of response times to left and right lateralized targets. These findings are the first to demonstrate the causal involvement of a category-selective human brain region in detecting its preferred stimulus category in natural scenes. They shed light on the nature of such regions, and help us understand how we efficiently extract socially relevant information from a complex input.
Beyond Captions: Linking Figures with Abstract Sentences in Biomedical Articles

Although figures in scientific articles have high information content and concisely communicate many key research findings, they are currently under utilized by literature search and retrieval systems. Many systems ignore figures, and those that do not typically only consider caption text. This study describes and evaluates a fully automated approach for associating figures in the body of a biomedical article with sentences in its abstract. We use supervised methods to learn probabilistic language models, hidden Markov models, and conditional random fields for predicting associations between abstract sentences and figures. Three kinds of evidence are used: text in abstract sentences and figures, relative positions of sentences and figures, and the patterns of sentence/figure associations across an article. Each information source is shown to have predictive value, and models that use all kinds of evidence are more accurate than models that do not. Our most accurate method has an -score of 69% on a cross-validation experiment, is competitive with the accuracy of human experts, has significantly better predictive accuracy than state-of-the-art methods and enables users to access figures associated with an abstract sentence with an average of 1.82 fewer mouse clicks. A user evaluation shows that human users find our system beneficial. The system is available at http://FigureItOut.askHERMES. org.
Politics, Persuasion, and Educational Testing

Acknowledgments Tables and Figures 1. Testing from a Political Perspective 2. Persuasion as a Policy Instrument 3. The State Politics of Testing 4. Local Testing Controversies: The Case of CLAS 5. Testing and Teaching 6. Aligning Politics, Policy, and Practice Appendix: Sample Characteristics and Data Collection Instruments Notes References Index
Meningitic Escherichia coli K1 Penetration and Neutrophil Transmigration Across the Blood–Brain Barrier are Modulated by Alpha7 Nicotinic Receptor

Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), an essential regulator of inflammation, is abundantly expressed in hippocampal neurons, which are vulnerable to bacterial meningitis. However, it is unknown whether α7 nAChR contributes to the regulation of these events. In this report, an aggravating role of α7 nAChR in host defense against meningitic E. coli infection was demonstrated by using α7-deficient (α7-/-) mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) and animal model systems. As shown in our in vitro and in vivo studies, E. coli K1 invasion and polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) transmigration across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) were significantly reduced in α7-/- BMEC and α7-/- mice. Stimulation by nicotine was abolished in the α7-/- cells and animals. The same blocking effect was achieved by methyllycaconitine (α7 antagonist). The tight junction molecules occludin and ZO-1 were significantly reduced in the brain cortex of wildtype mice infected with E. coli and treated with nicotine, compared to α7-/- cells and animals. Decreased neuronal injury in the hippocampal dentate gyrus was observed in α7-/- mice with meningitis. Proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, MCP-1, MIP-1alpha, and RANTES) and adhesion molecules (CD44 and ICAM-1) were significantly reduced in the cerebrospinal fluids of the α7-/- mice with E. coli meningitis. Furthermore, α7 nAChR is the major calcium channel for nicotine- and E. coli K1-increased intracellular calcium concentrations of mouse BMEC. Taken together, our data suggest that α7 nAChR plays a detrimental role in the host defense against meningitic infection by modulation of pathogen invasion, PMN recruitment, calcium signaling and neuronal inflammation.
The effect of age and study duration on the relationship between ‘clustering’ of DNA fingerprint patterns and the proportion of tuberculosis disease attributable to recent transmission

Though it is recognized that the extent of ‘clustering’ of isolates from tuberculosis cases in a given population is related to the amount of disease attributable to recent transmission, the relationship between the two statistics is poorly understood. Given age-dependent risks of disease and the fact that a long study (e.g. spanning several years) is more likely to identify transmission-linked cases than a shorter study, both measures, and thus the relationship between them, probably depend strongly on the ages of the cases ascertained and study duration. The contribution of these factors is explored in this paper using an age-structured model which describes the introduction and transmission of M. tuberculosis strains with different DNA fingerprint patterns in The Netherlands during this century, assuming that the number of individuals contacted by each case varies between cases and that DNA fingerprint patterns change over time through random mutations, as observed in several studies. Model predictions of clustering in different age groups and over different time periods between 1993 and 1997 compare well against those observed. According to the model, the proportion of young cases with onset in a given time period who were ‘clustered’ underestimated the proportion of disease attributable to recent transmission in this age group (by up to 25% in males); for older individuals, clustering overestimated this proportion. These under- and overestimates decreased and increased respectively as the time period over which the cases were ascertained increased. These results have important implications for the interpretation of estimates of the proportion of disease attributable to recent transmission, based on ‘clustering’ statistics, as are being derived from studies of the molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in many populations.
Maternal Enterovirus Infection as a Risk Factor for Type 1 Diabetes in the Exposed Offspring

OBJECTIVE Maternal enterovirus infections during pregnancy have been linked to an increased risk of type 1 diabetes in the offspring. The aim of this study was to evaluate this association in a unique series of pregnant mothers whose child progressed to clinical type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Maternal and in utero enterovirus infections were studied in 171 offspring who presented with type 1 diabetes before the age of 11 years and in 316 control subjects matched for date and place of birth, sex, and HLA-DQ risk alleles for diabetes. Acute enterovirus infections were diagnosed by increases in enterovirus IgG and IgM in samples taken from the mother at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy and cord blood samples taken at delivery. RESULTS Signs of maternal enterovirus infection were observed in altogether 19.3% of the mothers of affected children and in 12.0% of the mothers of control children (P = 0.038). This difference was seen in different HLA risk groups and in both sexes of the offspring, and it was unrelated to the age of the child at the diagnosis of diabetes or the age of the mother at delivery. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that an enterovirus infection during pregnancy is not a major risk factor for type 1 diabetes in childhood but may play a role in some susceptible subjects.
Isolation and characterization of a Drosophila hydei histone DNA repeat unit.

Histone genes in D. hydei are organized in tandemly repeated clusters. , accomodating in total 120-140 repeat units. We cloned one of the repeat units and analysed the nucleotide sequence. The repeat unit has a size of 5.1 x 10(3) base-pairs and contains one copy of each of the genes coding for the core histones and one copy coding for the histone H1. In the promoter regions of the genes we identified the presumptive cap sites and TATA boxes. Two additional sequence elements are shared by all five Drosophila hydei histone genes in the cluster. The sequence CCCTCT/G1 is found in the region upstream of the presumptive CAP sites. The sequence element AGTGAA occurs downstream of the presumptive cap sites and is, in contrast to the promoter element, also seen in the histone genes of Drosophila melanogaster. Cell-cycle dependent regulation of transcription of the Drosophila histone genes may be different from that in other eukaryotes since sequence elements involved in the regulation of cell-cycle dependent transcription are absent. Also other regulatory elements for transcription differ from those of other genes. The highly conserved H1-specific promoter sequence AAACACA and the H2B specific promoter sequence ATTTGCAT, which are involved in the cell-cycle dependent transcription of those histone genes in eukaryotes, are missing in the Drosophila genes. However at the 3' end of the genes the palindrome and the purine-rich region, both conserved sequence elements in histone genes of eukaryotes, are present. The spacer regions show a simple sequence organization. The silent site substitution rate between the coding regions of the D. hydei and D. melanogaster histone genes is at least 1.5 times higher for Drosophila than for sea urchin histone genes.
Coffein: Construction and Presentation of Design Knowledge

Design is a hard problem: ill defined and open-ended. Schön [Schön (83)] characterized the process of designing an artifact as a successive refinement of reflection and redesign. Critiquing the communication of reasoned opinion about an artifact plays a central role in the design process. A computational critiquing mechanism provides an effective form of human-computer interaction to support these important aspects of design [Fischer 91]. Systems which realize such a computational critiquing mechanism are called Critiquing Systems. These systems provide context sensitive advice and rationale for an artifact designed by a user. This is realized by delivering so-called critiques, which contain relevant information for the user to the task at hand and are some kind of rule of thumb. But design experts are not programmers and programmers are not designers. So we need a module which supports design experts in stating their knowledge in form of critiques. The basis for this module is a a visual critiquing language (here called visual CiLa), completed by a knowledge construction supporting component. Furthermore a single design expert normally does not have all existing design knowledge. So the necessary information for building a complete design system is distributed among different stakeholders. Therefore we additionally need concepts and algorithms to combine and structure the critiquing knowledge of different design experts to construct a trustful, consistent and wise codesigner. This aspect is done by a module constructing the knowledge base and a module for constructing the virtual codesigner. These two aspects design knowledge construction and presentation are realized in a tool called Coffein. This article deals with the way Coffein works and how it influences the design process.
The Primer of Humor Research

The book is intended to provide a definitive view of the field of humor research for both beginning and established scholars in a variety of fields who are developing an interest in humor and need to familiarize themselves with the available body of knowledge. Each chapter of the book is devoted to an important aspect of humor research or to a disciplinary approach to the field, and each is written by the leading expert or emerging scholar in that area. There are two primary motivations for the book. The positive one is to collect and summarize the impressive body of knowledge accumulated in humor research in and around Humor: The International Journal of Humor Research. The negative motivation is to prevent the embarrassment to and from the "first-timers," often established experts in their own field, who venture into humor research without any notion that there already exists a body of knowledge they need to acquire before publishing anything on the subject-unless they are in the business of reinventing the wheel and have serious doubts about its being round! The organization of the book reflects the main groups of scholars participating in the increasingly popular and high-powered humor research movement throughout the world, an 800 to 1,000-strong contingent, and growing. The chapters are organized along the same lines: History, Research Issues, Main Directions, Current Situation, Possible Future, Bibliography-and use the authors' definitive credentials not to promote an individual view, but rather to give the reader a good comprehensive and condensed view of the area.
Dihydrostreptomycin Directly Binds to, Modulates, and Passes through the MscL Channel Pore

The primary mechanism of action of the antibiotic dihydrostreptomycin is binding to and modifying the function of the bacterial ribosome, thus leading to decreased and aberrant translation of proteins; however, the routes by which it enters the bacterial cell are largely unknown. The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, MscL, is found in the vast majority of bacterial species, where it serves as an emergency release valve rescuing the cell from sudden decreases in external osmolarity. While it is known that MscL expression increases the potency of dihydrostreptomycin, it has remained unclear if this effect is due to a direct interaction. Here, we use a combination of genetic screening, MD simulations, and biochemical and mutational approaches to determine if dihydrostreptomycin directly interacts with MscL. Our data strongly suggest that dihydrostreptomycin binds to a specific site on MscL and modifies its conformation, thus allowing the passage of K+ and glutamate out of, and dihydrostreptomycin into, the cell.
Imaging Brain Plasticity during Motor Skill Learning

The search for the neural substrates mediating the incremental acquisition of skilled motor behaviors has been the focus of a large body of animal and human studies in the past decade. Much less is known, however, with regard to the dynamic neural changes that occur in the motor system during the different phases of learning. In this paper, we review recent findings, mainly from our own work using fMRI, which suggest that: (i) the learning of sequential finger movements produces a slowly evolving reorganization within primary motor cortex (M1) over the course of weeks and (ii) this change in M1 follows more dynamic, rapid changes in the cerebellum, striatum, and other motor-related cortical areas over the course of days. We also briefly review neurophysiological and psychophysical evidence for the consolidation of motor skills, and we propose a working hypothesis of its underlying neural substrate in motor sequence learning.
Asymptotic properties of the maximum likelihood estimator in autoregressive models with Markov regime

An autoregressive process with Markov regime is an autoregressive process for which the regression function at each time point is given by a nonobservable Markov chain. In this paper we consider the asymptotic properties of the maximum likelihood estimator in a possibly nonstationary process of this kind for which the hidden state space is compact but not necessarily finite. Consistency and asymptotic normality are shown to follow from uniform exponential forgetting of the initial distribution for the hidden Markov chain conditional on the observations.
Interstitial Pressure of the Lung

The effects of alveolar and pleural pressures on pulmonary interstitial pressure were studied in 36 anesthetized dogs by application of Starling's law of transcapillary exchange. Fluid accumulation in the lung was produced by increasing left atrial pressure to levels always higher than alveolar pressure and by hemodilution with saline. Using a lung divider, a difference in alveolar pressure of from 5 to 14 mm Hg was achieved between the two sides in 24 dogs. Increased alveolar pressure did not reduce the rate of fluid accumulation, indicating its lack of effect on interstitial pressure. A relationship between the rate of fluid accumulation and the forces in the Starling equation was demonstrated when pleural pressure was included as an index of interstitial pressure. The rate of fluid accumulation increased markedly when interstitial pressure exceeded atmospheric. Fluid accumulation was considerably less in lobes statically inflated with plasma than in contralateral lobes ventilated with air (6 dogs); this difference could not be attributed to static inflation as opposed to ventilation (6 dogs). These findings suggest that surface tension opposes the transmission of alveolar pressure to the interstitial space. The interstitial pressure, as measured by application of Starling's law, acts on the small vessels within the alveolar-capillary membrane.
Pinhole test for identifying susceptibility of different horizons in loess-derived soils to piping erosion

The pinhole test is an empirical test based on the qualitative evaluation of the dispersivity (colloidal erodibility) of compacted fined-grained soils. This study evaluates the pinhole test device for the quantitative assessment of the susceptibil- ity of soil horizons to piping. The experiments performed on different loess-derived soil horizons, with different hydraulic head and using distilled water show that the clay-enriched horizon (Bt horizon) is less susceptible to piping than the decalcified (C1) and the calcareous horizon (C2). This study demonstrates that the pinhole test is suitable for assessing the susceptibility of soil horizons to piping in a quantitative way.
Quality of cellular attachment to various root-end filling materials

Objectives This study investigated cellular attachment to 6 root-end filling materials as a measure of the biocompatibility of the materials. Material and Methods Class I retrograde cavities were prepared in root slices and these cavities were filled with the test materials, and incubated with Balb/C 3T3 fibroblasts for 24 h. Root slices with the cavities left empty served as the controls. The root slices were then processed for scanning electron microscopy, and were viewed to assess the quality of cellular attachment by observing the shape of cells, spread, and membrane outline. Results The best cellular attachment was observed at MTA and Geristore surfaces: cells exhibited characteristic elongated fibroblastic morphology, with projections of lamellipodia, filopodia, blebs, and microvilli from their surfaces, reflecting good attachment to the material. Fibroblasts attached poorly to the surfaces of IRM, Super EBA, KetacFil and Retroplast. Furthermore, the cells did not attach well to the tooth structure next to IRM and Super EBA. Conclusions The present study demonstrated a variation in cellular attachment to different root-end filling materials with the best cellular attachment to the surfaces of MTA and Geristore. IRM and Super EBA, Ketac Fil and Retroplast rendered poor attachment.
Inhibition of MMP-9 expression by ritonavir or saquinavir is associated with inactivation of the AKT/Fra-1 pathway in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia cells

A reduced incidence and decreased clinical progression of uterine cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) has been observed in women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treated with HIV-protease inhibitors (PIs). The HIV-PIs saquinavir (SQV) and ritonavir (RTV) have been demonstrated to efficiently inhibit invasion of human primary CIN cells by downregulating the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9. The present study further investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the activity of SQV and RTV in CIN. The results of the present study indicate that the treatment of human primary CIN cells with SQV or RTV directly impairs events leading to MMP-9 expression, including the phosphorylation of AKT and the nuclear localisation of the Fos-related antigen transcription factor. In addition, neither SQV nor RTV affected the expression of human papilloma virus proteins, such as E6 or E7. In view of the important role that the AKT/Fra-1/MMP-9 signalling pathway serves in CIN progression to invasive cervical carcinoma, these data further support the use of HIV-PIs in the treatment of CIN in women infected with HIV and women who are not infected with HIV. Furthermore, the present study identified a molecular mechanism underlying the anti-invasive effects of SQV/RTV, providing useful information for the development of SQV/RTV derivatives, which may be employed as novel anticancer drugs.
O2 and Reactive Oxygen Species Detoxification Complex, Composed of O2-Responsive NADH:Rubredoxin Oxidoreductase-Flavoprotein A2-Desulfoferrodoxin Operon Enzymes, Rubperoxin, and Rubredoxin, in Clostridium acetobutylicum

ABSTRACT Clostridium acetobutylicum, an obligate anaerobe, grows normally under continuous-O2-flow culture conditions, where the cells consume O2 proficiently. An O2-responsive NADH:rubredoxin oxidoreductase operon composed of three genes (nror, fprA2, and dsr), encoding NROR, functionally uncharacterized flavoprotein A2 (FprA2), and the predicted superoxide reductase desulfoferrodoxin (Dsr), has been proposed to participate in defense against O2 stress. To functionally characterize these proteins, native NROR from C. acetobutylicum, recombinant NROR (rNROR), FprA2, Dsr, and rubredoxin (Rd) expressed in Escherichia coli were purified. Purified native NROR and rNROR both exhibited weak H2O2-forming NADH oxidase activity that was slightly activated by Rd. A mixture of NROR, Rd, and FprA2 functions as an efficient H2O-forming NADH oxidase with a high affinity for O2 (the Km for O2 is 2.9 ± 0.4 μM). A mixture of NROR, Rd, and Dsr functions as an NADH-dependent O2− reductase. A mixture of NROR, Rd, and rubperoxin (Rpr, a rubrerythrin homologue) functions as an inefficient H2O-forming NADH oxidase but an efficient NADH peroxidase with a low affinity for O2 and a high affinity for H2O2 (the Kms for O2 and H2O2 are 303 ± 39 μM and ≤1 μM, respectively). A gene encoding Rd is dicistronically transcribed with a gene encoding a glutaredoxin (Gd) homologue, and the expression levels of the genes encoding Gd and Rd were highly upregulated upon exposure to O2. Therefore, nror operon enzymes, together with Rpr, efficiently function to scavenge O2, O2−, and H2O2 by using an O2-responsive rubredoxin as a common electron carrier protein.