Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antagonism of NMDA receptors impairs acquisition but not retention of olfactory memory.

Prompted by evidence pointing to a key role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor system in the induction of long-term potentiation and possibly in the formation of some types of memory, we examined the effect of chronic intraventricular administration of D-amino-phosphono-valeric acid (AP5), a competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, on olfactory discrimination and avoidance learning. These two tasks were selected because they are affected to very different degrees by damage to the hippocampus and other telencephalic structures rich in NMDA receptors. Twenty rats previously trained to solve a series of discriminations between two simultaneously presented odors were infused with either 20 mM D-AP5 or saline (n = 10 per group) for 14 days. An important and unusual feature of the paradigm was that it permitted a comparison of drug effects on acquisition of new discriminations versus retention of old ones. Animals treated with AP5 made significantly more errors than did saline controls in acquiring discriminations between low-intensity odors presented with long intertrial intervals (ITIs). However, no deficit was observed when short ITIs (less than 2 min) or strong odors were used. Animals treated with AP5 had no difficulty in recognizing odors on which they were trained before administration of the drug. After exhaustion of the pumps, performance of the AP5 group was indistinguishable from that of the control group. One-way active avoidance learning was not affected by chronic infusion of AP5. Several possibilities are discussed that could account for the selective olfactory learning deficit. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Modeling Elastic Wave Propagation Using $K$ -Space Operator-Based Temporal High-Order Staggered-Grid Finite-Difference Method

The traditional high-order staggered-grid finite-difference (SGFD) method has high-order accuracy in space, but only the second-order accuracy in time, which makes the traditional SGFD method suffer from a large temporal dispersion error during long-distance wave propagation. This paper develops temporal fourth- and sixth-order and spatial arbitrary evenorder SGFD schemes to model isotropic elastic wave propagation. The temporal high-order SGFD schemes have smaller temporal dispersion than the traditional temporal second-order scheme, and thus allow larger time steps to attain a similar accuracy. The developed temporal high-order SGFD schemes are applied to simulate a quasi-stress–velocity wave equation (QWE) that is derived in the framework of a $k$ -space approach. A split QWE (SQWE) is further developed, and numerical simulation of SQWE results in separated P (compressional)-wave and S (shear)-wave. Theoretical computational cost analysis verifies that the numerical simulation of QWE using the temporal fourthand sixth-order SGFD schemes is more efficient than the numerical simulation of the traditional stress–velocity wave equation using the traditional temporal second-order SGFD scheme in 2-D. In 3-D, the temporal fourth-order SGFD scheme still runs faster than the traditional temporal second-order scheme; however, the temporal sixth-order scheme is more efficient only when a longer stencil length than 12 is adopted. Numerical examples confirm the correctness of the developed elastic wave modeling schemes.
Estrogen, menstrual cycle phases, and psychopathology in women suffering from schizophrenia

ABSTRACT Background Estrogen has been hypothesized to have a protective and antipsychotic-like effect in women at risk for schizophrenia. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between menstrual cycle and/or estrogen levels and psychotic symptoms in a sample of women with schizophrenia. Method One hundred and twenty-five premenopausal women with schizophrenia and regular menses were examined. The levels of 17β-estradiol and other hormones of the gonadal axis were assessed in the follicular, peri-ovulatory, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. The effects of the menstrual cycle phase and/or the estradiol level on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores were calculated by means of regression analyses. Results Significant improvement in psychotic, but not depressive, symptoms was observed during the luteal phase, compared with other days of the menstrual cycle. Conclusions The present findings indicate that estradiol may have specific antipsychotic-like effects on the symptoms of schizophrenia. Thus further investigation into the therapeutic effect of estrogen may be worthwhile.
Differential Interference with Pythium ultimum Sporangial Activation and Germination by Enterobacter cloacae in the Corn and Cucumber Spermospheres

ABSTRACT Differential protection of plants by Enterobacter cloacae was studied by investigating early sensing and response behavior of Pythium ultimum sporangia toward seeds in the presence or absence of E. cloacae. Ten percent of P. ultimum sporangia were activated within the first 30 min of exposure to cucumber seeds. In contrast, 44% of the sporangia were activated as early as 15 min after exposure to corn seeds with over 80% sporangial activation by 30 min. Germ tubes emerged from sporangia after 2.5 and 1.0 h in the cucumber and corn spermospheres, respectively. Seed application of the wild-type strain of E. cloacae (EcCT-501R3) reduced sporangial activation by 45% in the cucumber spermosphere, whereas no reduction was observed in the corn spermosphere. Fatty acid transport and degradation mutants of E. cloacae (strains EcL1 and Ec31, respectively) did not reduce sporangial activation in either of the spermospheres. Although wild-type or mutant strains of E. cloacae failed to reduce seed colonization incidence, pathogen biomass on cucumber seeds was reduced in the presence of E. cloacae strains EcCT-501R3 and Ec31 by 4 and 8 h after sowing, respectively. By 12 h, levels of P. ultimum on cucumber seeds treated with E. cloacae EcCT-501R3 did not differ from levels on noninoculated seeds. On corn seeds, P. ultimum biomass was not affected by the presence of any E. cloacae strain. When introduced after sporangial activation had occurred, E. cloacae failed to reduce P. ultimum biomass on cucumber seeds compared with that on nontreated seeds. Also, increasing numbers of sporangia used to inoculate seeds yielded increased pathogen biomass at each sampling time. This indicates a direct link between the level of seed-colonizing biomass of P. ultimum and the number of activated and germinated sporangia in the spermosphere, suggesting that E. cloacae suppresses P. ultimum seed infections by reducing sporangial activation and germination within the first 30 to 90 min after sowing.
Different WDR36 mutation pattern in Chinese patients with primary open-angle glaucoma

Purpose To determine the distribution of WD repeat domain 36 (WDR36) sequence variants in Chinese patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods One hundred and thirty-five unrelated POAG patients (82 high tension glaucoma [HTG], 42 normal tension glaucoma [NTG], and 11 juvenile-onset POAG [JOAG] patients) and 77 unrelated controls were recruited. All 23 coding exons and splicing junctions of WDR36 were sequenced using BigDye® Terminator v3.1 cycle sequencing kit. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and haplotype associations were analyzed using PLINK (version 1.04). Results Nineteen sequence alterations were identified, and eight of them were novel including two novel nonsynonymous SNPs (L240V and I713V). Except the common I264V polymorphism, no other previously reported disease-causing or disease-susceptibility mutations were found. The novel I713V mutation was observed in three (3.7%) patients with HTG. One intronic SNP, IVS5+30C>T (rs10038177), showed significantly higher frequency of minor allele T in HTG patients (16.5%) than in controls (1.3%; Odds ratio [OR]=15.0, p=7.9×10−7, Bonferroni corrected p=1.5×10−5). Haplotype GTA, which is composed of rs13153937, rs10038177, and rs11241095, was significantly associated with HTG (OR=22.5, p=0.002, Bonferroni corrected p=0.013). Neither the individual SNPs nor haplotypes of WDR36 were associated with NTG or JOAG (Bonferroni corrected p>0.05). Conclusions Findings in this study suggest WDR36 to be associated with sporadic HTG but not with NTG or JOAG. Our results also suggest a different mutation pattern of WDR36 in the Chinese population from other ethnic populations.
Isolation from Rat Diaphragm of a Calcium‐Protein Complex Involved in Excitation‐Contraction Coupling

Rat diaphragms depleted of calcium involved in excitation-contraction (E-C calcium) coupling were tagged with 45Ca Seventy percent of the 45Ca was extracted by a 25 mM NaHCO3-50% glycerol solution. Treatment of the muscles with caffeine, shown previously to release E-C calcium, decreased extractable 45Ca to about one-fourth of that of control muscles, indicating that a large fraction of the extracted 45Ca is involved in E-C coupling. On gel filtration, only 10% of the extracted 45Ca was bound to protein. This figure increased to 30% when procaine (which stabilizes E-C calcium) was present in the extraction solution; total extracted 45Ca remained unchanged. The results suggest that E-C calcium is extracted from the muscle as a calcium-protein complex and is readily dissociated from the protein unless prevented in part by procaine. Cadmium-115, which is shown to replace 45Ca at the sites involved in E-C coupling, binds more strongly than 45Ca When 115Cd muscles were extracted with glycerol solution containing procaine, all the extracted ll5Cd was in protein-bound form. One of the extracted proteins formed a precipitin line which was immunochemicaliy identical with rat plasma cardioglobulin-C when tested in gel against an anti-cardioglobulin-C antiserum. This supports our hypothesis that cardioglobulin is the circulating form of a cell membrane calcium transport system.
On the selection of image compression algorithms

This paper attempts to give a recipe for selecting one of the popular image compression algorithms based on: 1) wavelet, 2) JPEG/DCT, 3) vector quantisation, and 4) fractal approaches. We review and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these algorithms for compressing gray-scale images, give an experimental comparison on four 256/spl times/256 commonly used images (Jet, Lenna, Mandrill, Peppers, and one 400/spl times/400 fingerprint image). Our experiments show that all of the four approaches perform satisfactorily when the 0.5 bits per pixel (bpp) is desired. However, for a low bit rate compression like 0.25 bpp or lower, the embedded zerotree wavelet approach and DCT-based JPEG approach are more practical.
E-Drama: Facilitating Online Role-play using an AI Actor and Emotionally Expressive Characters

This paper describes a multi-user role-playing environment, referred to as "e-drama", which enables groups of people to converse online, in scenario driven virtual environments. The starting point of this research, is an existing application known as "edrama", a 2D graphical environment in which users are represented by static cartoon figures. Tools have been developed to enable integration of the existing edrama application with several new components to support avatars with emotionally expressive behaviours, rendered in a 3D environment. The functionality includes the extraction of affect from open-ended improvisational text. The results of the affective analysis are then used to: (a) control an automated improvisational AI actor - EMMA (emotion, metaphor and affect) that operates a bit-part character in the improvisation; (b) drive the animations of avatars using the Demeanour framework in the user interface so that they react bodily in ways that are consistent with the affect that they are expressing. Finally, we describe user trials that demonstrate that the changes made improve the quality of social interaction and users' sense of presence. Moreover, our system has the potential to evolve normal classroom education for young people with or without learning disabilities by providing 24/7 efficient personalised social skill, language and career training via role-play and offering automatic monitoring.
The importance of accurate muscle modelling for biomechanical analyses: a case study with a lizard skull

Computer-based simulation techniques such as multi-body dynamics analysis are becoming increasingly popular in the field of skull mechanics. Multi-body models can be used for studying the relationships between skull architecture, muscle morphology and feeding performance. However, to be confident in the modelling results, models need to be validated against experimental data, and the effects of uncertainties or inaccuracies in the chosen model attributes need to be assessed with sensitivity analyses. Here, we compare the bite forces predicted by a multi-body model of a lizard (Tupinambis merianae) with in vivo measurements, using anatomical data collected from the same specimen. This subject-specific model predicts bite forces that are very close to the in vivo measurements and also shows a consistent increase in bite force as the bite position is moved posteriorly on the jaw. However, the model is very sensitive to changes in muscle attributes such as fibre length, intrinsic muscle strength and force orientation, with bite force predictions varying considerably when these three variables are altered. We conclude that accurate muscle measurements are crucial to building realistic multi-body models and that subject-specific data should be used whenever possible.
Diagnosing and managing vaginismus

#### Summary points Recent consensus defined vaginismus as, “The persistent or recurrent difficulties of the woman to allow vaginal entry of a penis, a finger, and or any object, despite the woman’s expressed wish to do so. ”1 The definition also noted that affected women often avoid intercourse; experience involuntary pelvic muscle contraction; and anticipate, fear, or experience pain. However, it can be difficult to diagnose vaginismus. Women with total vaginismus are unable to tolerate penetration of their vagina by any object, but those with partial vaginismus tolerate penetration with difficulty and pain. The condition can be lifelong (primary) or it can occur after sexual function has been normal (secondary). It can also be situational, occurring only with certain partners or in particular circumstances, or it can be global, occurring independent of partner or circumstances. It is thus a clinical syndrome, not a definitive diagnosis, that consists of overlapping elements of hypertonic pelvic floor muscles, pain, anxiety, and difficulty in penetration. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , fourth edition (DSM-IV) categorises vaginismus as a sexual pain disorder along with dyspareunia. It describes vaginismus as occurring when “recurrent or persistent involuntary spasm of the musculature of the outer third of the vagina” interferes with intercourse.2 According to this definition, the experience of pain is not necessary for the diagnosis. …
Developmental Genetics of Red Cell Indices During Puberty: A Longitudinal Twin Study

Abstract Red cell number and size increase during puberty, particularly in males. The aim of the present study was to determine whether expression of genes affecting red cell indices varied with age and sex. Haemoglobin, red cell count, and mean cellular volume were measured longitudinally on 578 pairs of twins at twelve, fourteen and sixteen years of age. Data were analysed using a structural equation modeling approach, in which a variety of univariate and longitudinal simplex models were fitted to the data. Significant heritability was demonstrated for all variables across all ages. The genes involved did not differ between the sexes, although there was evidence for sex limitation in the case of haemoglobin at age twelve. Longitudinal analyses indicated that new genes affecting red cell indices were expressed at different stages of puberty. Some of these genes affected the different red cell indices pleiotropically, while others had effects specific to one variable only.
Impact of Therapist Emotional Intelligence on Psychotherapy

The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) describes a set of emotional skills that may comprise efficacious therapist variables. The present study is the first to investigate EI among psychotherapists. Based on conceptual overlaps between the EI model and psychotherapy models, as well as a review of empirical evidence from both literatures, we make several predictions of how therapist EI impacts treatment. In a small pilot study, we assessed psychotherapist EI to determine its relation to psychotherapy outcome and process. Therapists with higher ratings of EI achieved better therapist-rated outcome results and lower drop-out rates compared with therapists with lower ratings of EI. Though not hypothesized, higher therapist EI was significantly associated with increased patient assessment compliance. There was no relationship between early working alliance ratings and therapist EI. Findings offer preliminary support for the relevance of therapist EI to psychotherapy.
Neuronal Activity in the Caudal Frontal Eye Fields of Monkeys during Memory-Based Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements: Comparison with the Supplementary Eye Fields

Recently, we examined the neuronal substrate of predictive pursuit during memory-based smooth pursuit and found that supplementary eye fields (SEFs) contain signals coding assessment and memory of visual motion direction, decision not-to-pursue (“no-go”), and preparation for pursuit. To determine whether these signals were unique to the SEF, we examined the discharge of 185 task-related neurons in the caudal frontal eye fields (FEFs) in 2 macaques. Visual motion memory and no-go signals were also present in the caudal FEF but compared with those in the SEF, the percentage of neurons coding these signals was significantly lower. In particular, unlike SEF neurons, directional visual motion responses of caudal FEF neurons decayed exponentially. In contrast, the percentage of neurons coding directional pursuit eye movements was significantly higher in the caudal FEF than in the SEF. Unlike SEF inactivation, muscimol injection into the caudal FEF did not induce direction errors or no-go errors but decreased eye velocity during pursuit causing an inability to compensate for the response delays during sinusoidal pursuit. These results indicate significant differences between the 2 regions in the signals represented and in the effects of chemical inactivation suggesting that the caudal FEF is primarily involved in generating motor commands for smooth-pursuit eye movements.
The influence of different light-curing modes on microleakage of posterior resin composites

This investigation evaluated the effect of various curing modes on the extent of microleakage of differently resin-based posterior composites. Box-form Class II (MO/OD) cavities (n = 8) were prepared on proximal sides of 36 human sound mandibular molars. The cavities were restored by posterior composites (Filtek™ P90, Filtek™ Z250, and Filtek™ P60). The composite was placed in horizontal layers and irradiated occlusally by Astralis™ 10 light source at three modes of continuous intensities (conventional, high intensity power, and pulse-soft start). The specimens were thermocycled for 500 cycles at 5–55 °C, then immersed in 2% methylene blue solution for 4-h at 37 °C. The microleakage was examined by a stereomicroscope and scored occlusally and gingivally according to the ordinal scoring criteria. The Kruskal–Wallis revealed high significant differences between microleakage medians of the posterior composites examined (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were noted between microleakage medians at different modes of curing intensities occlusally (p = 0.076) and there were significant differences gingivally (p = 0.015). Mann–Whitney U-test showed a significant difference in microleakage for cavities restored by Z250 between high power and pulse modes of cure (p = 0.006). The highest microleakage score was identified in the cavities restored with P60, while the lowest microleakage score was found in cavities restored by P90 specifically at conventional and pulse mode of cure. The light intensity modes have no significant effect on the microleakage, while the difference in composition of posterior resin composites investigated was the main factor for such a significant difference.
Using managed runtime systems to tolerate holes in wearable memories

New memory technologies, such as phase-change memory (PCM), promise denser and cheaper main memory, and are expected to displace DRAM. However, many of them experience permanent failures far more quickly than DRAM. DRAM mechanisms that handle permanent failures rely on very low failure rates and, if directly applied to PCM, are extremely inefficient: Discarding a page when the first line fails wastes 98% of the memory. This paper proposes low complexity cooperative software and hardware that handle failure rates as high as 50%. Our approach makes error handling transparent to the application by using the memory abstraction offered by managed languages. Once hardware error correction for a memory line is exhausted, rather than discarding the entire page, the hardware communicates the failed line to a failure-aware OS and runtime. The runtime ensures memory allocations never use failed lines and moves data when lines fail during program execution. This paper describes minimal extensions to an Immix mark-region garbage collector, which correctly utilizes pages with failed physical lines by skipping over failures. This paper also proposes hardware support that clusters failed lines at one end of a memory region to reduce fragmentation and improve performance under failures. Contrary to accepted hardware wisdom that advocates for wear-leveling, we show that with software support non-uniform failures delay the impact of memory failure. Together, these mechanisms incur no performance overhead when there are no failures and at failure levels of 10% to 50% suffer only an average overhead of 4% and 12%}, respectively. These results indicate that hardware and software cooperation can greatly extend the life of wearable memories.