Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Methamphetamine Self-Administration on Neurotensin Systems of the Basal Ganglia

Methamphetamine (METH) dependence causes alarming personal and social damage. Even though many of the problems associated with abuse of METH are related to its profound actions on dopamine (DA) basal ganglia systems, there currently are no approved medications to treat METH addiction. For this reason, we and others have examined the METH-induced responses of neurotensin (NT) systems in the basal ganglia. This neuropeptide is associated with inhibitory feedback pathways to nigrostriatal DA projections, and NT tissue levels are elevated in response to high doses of noncontingent METH because of its increased synthesis in the striatonigral pathway. The present study reports the contingent responses of NT in the basal ganglia to self-administration of METH (SAM). Intravenous infusions of METH linked to appropriate lever-pressing behavior by rats significantly elevated NT content in both dorsal striatum (210%) and substantia nigra (202%). In these same structures, NT levels were also elevated in yoked METH animals (160 and 146%, respectively) but not as much as in the SAM rats. These effects were blocked by a D1, but not D2, antagonist. A NT agonist administered before the day 5 of operant behavior blocked lever-pressing behavior in responding rats, but a NT antagonist had no significant effect on this behavior. These are the first reports that NT systems associated with striatonigral pathway are significantly altered during METH self-administration, and our findings suggest that activation of NT receptors during maintenance of operant responding reduces the associated lever-pressing behavior.
When Dad Works Long Hours: How Work Hours Are Associated with Fathering 4-5-year-old Children

The role of the father is multifaceted, with fathers often undertaking the breadwinner role in couple families, spending time with children, and providing support and assistance to the mother. This paper uses data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to examine relationships between fathers' hours of paid employment and the extent to which they undertake these roles in families with children aged 4-5 years. (Journal abstract)
Subthalamic deep brain stimulation at individualized frequencies for Parkinson disease

Objectives: The oscillation model of Parkinson disease (PD) states that, in the subthalamic nucleus (STN), increased θ (4–10 Hz) and β (11–30 Hz) frequencies were associated with worsening whereas γ frequencies (31–100 Hz) were associated with improvement of motor symptoms. However, the peak STN frequency in each band varied widely from subject to subject. We hypothesized that STN deep brain stimulation (DBS) at individualized γ frequencies would improve whereas θ or β frequencies would worsen PD motor signs. Methods: We prospectively studied 13 patients with PD. STN local field potential (LFP) was recorded after electrode implantations, in the OFF and then in ON dopaminergic medication states while patients performed wrist movements. Six individual peak frequencies of the STN LFP power spectra were obtained: the greatest decrease in θ and β and greatest increase in γ frequencies in the ON state (MED) and during movements (MOVE). Eight DBS frequencies were applied including 6 MED and MOVE frequencies, high frequency (HF) used for chronic stimulation, and no stimulation. The patients were assessed using the motor Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (mUPDRS). Results: STN DBS at γ frequencies (MED and MOVE) and HF significantly improved mUPDRS scores compared to no stimulation and both γ frequencies were not different from HF. DBS at θ and β frequencies did not worsen mUPDRS scores compared to no stimulation. Conclusion: Short-term administration of STN DBS at peak dopamine-dependent or movement-related γ frequencies were as effective as HF for reducing parkinsonian motor signs but DBS at θ and β frequencies did not worsen PD motor signs. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class III evidence that STN DBS at patient-specific γ frequencies and at usual high frequencies both improved mUPDRS scores compared to no stimulation and did not differ in effect.
Exchange Rate Regimes and Pro-Poor Growth

This paper extends the ongoing discussion on optimal exchange rate regimes to the issue of pro-poor growth. To analyze empirically the poverty effects of exchange rate regimes, we estimate the distribution effects of different exchange rate arrangements on the poorest 20 and 20 to 40 percent. In addition, we test the total effect, i.e. the distribution and growth effect, to capture potential trade-offs between poverty effects through overall economic growth and distribution. To analyze this question, we collect an irregular and unbalanced panel of time-series cross-country data on the first and second quintile share from 76 countries and use two recently proposed de facto exchange rate regime classifications, Levy-Yeyati/Sturzenegger (2002) and Reinhart/Rogoff (2003). To cover econometric issues, cross-country variation and dynamic aspects of within-country changes of the income of the poor, we apply two econometric specifications, a growth equation and a system GMM estimation. We estimate the poverty effects of different exchange rate regimes for all countries and, separately, developing and industrial countries due to considerable differences in economic structure, access to international capital markets and soundness of domestic financial systems. Empirical findings vary considerably with respect to three aspects. First, findings for the Levy-Yeyati/Sturzenegger (2002) and Reinhart/Rogoff (2003) classification differ significantly with respect to similar exchange rate categories. Thus the classification process of exchange rate regimes affects critically the policy conclusions. Second, statistically significant exchange rate regimes in the Reinhart/Rogoff (2003) classification impact positively on the poor in developing countries, but negatively on the poor in industrial countries. Thus exchange rate regimes affect very differently the poor in developing and industrial countries in the Reinhart/Rogoff (2003) classification. Third, statistical significance of exchange rate regimes in the system GMM approach differs considerably for adjusted and unadjusted income inequality measures. Due to these varying and only weakly robust empirical findings, a concise policy recommendation with respect to poverty-reducing exchange rate regimes is difficult. Nevertheless, positive effects of intermediate regimes of the Reinhart/Rogoff (2003) classification in developing countries should be emphasized, showing at least a tendency to not negative and possible positive effects of intermediate regimes on the poorest 40 percent in developing countries.
An HLLC Solver for Relativistic Flows – II .

An approximate Riemann solver for the equations of relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) is derived. The HLLC solver, originally developed by Toro, Spruce and Spears, generalizes the algorithm described in a previous paper (Mignone & Bodo 2004) to the case where magnetic fields are present. The solution to the Riemann problem is approximated by two constant states bounded by two fast shocks and separated by a tangential wave. The scheme is Jacobian-free, in the sense that it avoids the expensive characteristic decomposition of the RMHD equations and it improves over the HLL scheme by restoring the missing contact wave. Multidimensional integration proceeds via the single step, corner transport upwind (CTU) method of Colella, combined with the contrained tranport (CT) algorithm to preserve divergence-free magnetic fields. The resulting numerical scheme is simple to implement, efficient and suitable for a general equation of state. The robustness of the new algorithm is validated against one and two dimensional numerical test problems.
Biases of Parameter Estimates in Misspecified Structural Equation Models

We deal with the problem of quantifying the degree to which parameter estimates in a structural equation model can be biased when structural relationships were not specified correctly by the researcher. We propose a framework to relate moment residuals to biases of parameter estimates and the overall noncentrality of the model. For each parameter in the model, an impact of either particular moment residual or the overall model noncentrality can be evaluated, although the latter tends to give error bounds that are rather conservative. We provide illustrative analytical and empirical examples to demonstrate the steps in application of the proposed procedures. The first example is a mildly misspecified model with causal indicators mistaken to be effect indicators. The resulting biases can be approximated very accurately by accounting for the effect of a single misfitted residual moment. The second example is a grossly misspecified model in which a mediating latent variable was erroneously omitted. In this case, the misspecification spreads to all entries of the covariance matrix, and measures based on overall noncentrality give a good indication of the magnitudes of plausible biases. The third example is an empirical study that uses Holzinger-Swineford factor analysis data that shows how the procedures can be used in practice.
Market Microstructure Model: study of variations of exchange rate for Asia and Latin America

The paper studies the commercial relations between Europe and its principal commercial partners, such as Asia and Latin America, for the period of 1999 to 2007. The methodology appeals to the correlation analysis of the variables of the model and the autocorrelation of the exchange rate variation variable, to the Augmented DickeyFuller (1979) and Philips Perron tests (1988), and finally, to the market microstructure model suggested by Medeiros(2005). Medeiros(2005) model, when applied to the Asian and Latin American markets, in their relations with Europe, give us more consistent and stronger results, although R2 is still very low. An estimation with ARCH/GARCH-M methodology increases the model capacity substantially, confirming the previous results of Medeiros (2005).
Three Axiom Systems for Additive Semiordered Structures

Axioms are provided for extensive, probability, and (two-component, additive) conjoint structures which are semiordered, rather than weakly ordered. These are sufficient to construct the usual representation for the natural, induced weak order and a tight, threshold representation for the semiorder itself. The fundamental difficulty is in finding axioms that are simple in the primitive semiorder, rather than simple in its induced weak order; from this point of view, the results are only partially successful.
Political ideology and housing supply : rethinking New Towns and the building of new communities in England

Throughout the twentieth century, England experienced a chronic problem of housing supply that persists to this day. In an attempt to manage it, philanthropists, policymakers and politicians have directed planning policies and legislation to build new planned communities: Howard’s town/country magnet; New Labour’s sustainable communities; and, the recent Coalition government’s initiatives in delivering locally-led garden cities. Problematically, this results in planning being trapped between political ideology and problems of housing supply. To examine this tension, the New Towns programme provides an important example of how goal-driven planning policy was used during the period 1946-1976 to address housing supply. This research focuses on the first wave (mark 1) of New Towns built as ‘balanced communities for working and living’ (Reith, 1944) between 1946-1955 in Southeast England, to decentralise London’s population and industry. Three critical lenses are employed to understand the development of mark 1 objectives: self-containment (Hall 1973, Ward 2004), newness vs. sameness (Clapson 2003) and governance (Aldridge 1979, Reade 1987). This research provides a different appraisal to the New Towns programme and makes a critical contribution to the meta-discourse of building new communities. A principal critique here is that the historiography of New Towns has been predominantly written by experts (academic and otherwise), providing a limited interpretation of the legacy of (living in) New Towns. To empirically rectify this, Sandercock’s (2003) suggestion of a narrative-led approach is employed in investigating two mark 1 case studies: Harlow and Hemel Hempstead. Perspectives of original New Town pioneers as well as planners/officials working in development corporations and local authorities/councils have been collected and analysed for a hitherto undocumented experience of planning, building, managing and living in New Towns. It thus provides not only valuable scholarship on New Towns, but also reinforces their contemporary relevance to the continued pursuit of building new communities in England.
Business Improvement Districts

Das Kooperationsmodell "Business Improvement District" wird anhand des Beispiels der "Oberen Altstadt" von Lienz analysiert. Der Forschungsrahmen umfasst den Aufbau, die Wirkungen und die Effekte dieses ubergreifenden Kooperationsmodells unter Bezugnahme der Zusammenarbeit zwischen privatem und offentlichem Sektor uber einen langeren Zeitraum mit dem Ziel der nachhaltigen Revitalisierung eines Innenstadtquartiers. Der Schwerpunkt der Analyse liegt in der Vorstellung der Business Improvement Districts und deren modifizierte Anwendung im ausgewahlten Innenstadtquartier von Lienz. Es erfolgt eine Darstellung der grundlegenden Idee bis hin zu der reprasentativen Umfrage der betroffenen Unternehmer und Hauseigentumer. Die zentrale Fragestellung dieser Arbeit ist: "Kann das angloamerikanische Modell der 'Business Improvement District' als Kooperationsform zwischen privatem und offentlichem Sektor fur ein osterreichisches Innenstadtquartier als Marketingplattform dienen, welches die Positionierung der einzelnen Akteure nachhaltig starkt? "
Determining environmental causes of biological effects: the need for a mechanistic physiological dimension in conservation biology

The emerging field of Conservation Physiology links environmental change and ecological success by the application of physiological theory, approaches and tools to elucidate and address conservation problems. Human activity has changed the natural environment to a point where the viability of many ecosystems is now under threat. There are already many descriptions of how changes in biological patterns are correlated with environmental changes. The next important step is to determine the causative relationship between environmental variability and biological systems. Physiology provides the mechanistic link between environmental change and ecological patterns. Physiological research, therefore, should be integrated into conservation to predict the biological consequences of human activity, and to identify those species or populations that are most vulnerable.
Is there a critical lesion site for unilateral spatial neglect? A meta-analysis using activation likelihood estimation

The critical lesion site responsible for the syndrome of unilateral spatial neglect has been debated for more than a decade. Here we performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) to provide for the first time an objective quantitative index of the consistency of lesion sites across anatomical group studies of spatial neglect. The analysis revealed several distinct regions in which damage has consistently been associated with spatial neglect symptoms. Lesioned clusters were located in several cortical and subcortical regions of the right hemisphere, including the middle and superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, intraparietal sulcus, precuneus, middle occipital gyrus, caudate nucleus, and posterior insula, as well as in the white matter pathway corresponding to the posterior part of the superior longitudinal fasciculus. Further analyses suggested that separate lesion sites are associated with impairments in different behavioral tests, such as line bisection and target cancellation. Similarly, specific subcomponents of the heterogeneous neglect syndrome, such as extinction and allocentric and personal neglect, are associated with distinct lesion sites. Future progress in delineating the neuropathological correlates of spatial neglect will depend upon the development of more refined measures of perceptual and cognitive functions than those currently available in the clinical setting.
Algorithms for Representing Similarity Data

Abstract : This report develops and demonstrates algorithms for representing and displaying similarity data using three established cognitive models. The first representational model, multidimensional scaling, represents objects as points in a coordinate space so that similar objects lie near each other. The second representational model, the additive tree, represents objects as terminal nodes in a tree so that the similarity of two objects is modelled by length of the path between them. The third representational model, additive clustering, specifies a number of clusters with associated weights, so that the similarity of two objects is modelled by the sum of the weights of their common clusters. As well as listing and demonstrating MATLAB algorithms for finding these representations, a survey is presented of ways in which similarity and proximity data may be generated, and a principled Bayesian method of controlling the complexity of each representational model is presented. Finally, a number of suggestions are made regarding the use of the three representational models, and the relative strengths and weaknesses of the algorithms in relation to previously developed alternative algorithms are discussed.
On quadrature for Cauchy principal value integrals of oscillatory functions

The authors develop an algorithm for the numerical evaluation of Cauchy principal value integrals of oscillatory functions. The method is based on an interpolatory procedure at the zeros of the orthogonal polynomials with respect to a Jacobi weight. A numerically stable procedure is obtained and the corresponding algorithm can be implemented in a fast way yielding satisfactory numerical results. Bounds of the error and of the ampli2cation factor are also provided. c © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. MSC: Primary 65D05; 65D30; Secondary 41A10
Expression of pigment epithelium‐derived factor and thrombospondin‐1 regulate proliferation and migration of retinal pigment epithelial cells

Age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss among elderly. Although the pathogenesis of AMD is associated with retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) dysfunction and abnormal neovascularization the detailed mechanisms remain unresolved. RPE is a specialized monolayer of epithelial cells with important functions in ocular homeostasis. Pathological RPE damage contributes to major ocular conditions including retinal degeneration and irreversible loss of vision in AMD. RPE cells also assist in the maintenance of the ocular angiogenic balance by production of positive and negative regulatory factors including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), thrombospondin‐1 (TSP1), and pigment epithelium‐derived factor (PEDF). The altered production of PEDF and TSP1, as endogenous inhibitors of angiogenesis and inflammation, by RPE cells have been linked to pathogenesis of AMD and choroidal and retinal neovascularization. However, lack of simple methods for isolation and culture of mouse RPE cells has resulted in limited knowledge regarding the cell autonomous role of TSP1 and PEDF in RPE cell function. Here, we describe a method for routine isolation and propagation of RPE cells from wild‐type, TSP1, and PEDF‐deficient mice, and have investigated their impact on RPE cell function. We showed that expression of TSP1 and PEDF significantly impacted RPE cell proliferation, migration, adhesion, oxidative state, and phagocytic activity with minimal effect on their basal rate of apoptosis. Together, our results indicated that the expression of PEDF and TSP1 by RPE cells play crucial roles not only in regulation of ocular vascular homeostasis but also have significant impact on their cellular function.
International Conference on Information Systems ( ICIS ) 2010 THE EFFECTS OF CLIENT GOVERNANCE MECHANISMS AND RELATIONAL EXCHANGE ON IS OUTSOURCING EFFECTIVENESS

Although recent years have seen enormous growth in the nature and extent of IT outsourcing, organizations still struggle with factors that contribute to effective outsourcing. Drawing upon two theoretical lenses – formal and informal governance mechanisms and relational exchange theory – this study explores the relationships between four dimensions of governance (contractual governance, structural governance, extra-contractual governance, relational governance), two characteristics of the relational exchange (joint commitment, relationship trust) and four dimensions of IS outsourcing effectiveness (execution-level effectiveness, business benefits, functional benefits, economic benefits). Data collected from a field survey of 141 IS managers from client firms with application outsourcing arrangements are used to test these relationships. Results from PLS SEM analysis indicate that the four dimensions of governance mechanisms have different positive influences on the individual dimensions of outsourcing effectiveness, with joint commitment and relationship trust partially mediating the relationships. By modeling formal and informal governance mechanisms as antecedents to relational exchange, and by disaggregating the effectiveness dimensions, the findings from this study extend prior research and have important implications for researchers and practitioners alike.
Gas mass fraction from XMM-Newton and Chandra high redshift clusters and its use as a cosmological test

Aims. We investigate the cosmological test based on the evolution of the gas fraction in X-ray galaxy clusters and the stability of the cosmological parameters derived from it. Methods. Using a sample of distant clusters observed by XMM-Newton and Chandra, and comparing their gas fraction at different radii to the gas fraction observed for nearby clusters, we have determined the likelihood functions for Ωm in a flat universe and the confidence contours in the Ωm−ΩΛ plane. Results. Results obtained at the virial radius point to a high matter density Universe, while for inner radii the Ωm parameter obtained tends to decrease, reaching values compatible with the concordance model. The analysis allows us to conclude that this test provides ambiguous results due to the complex structure of the ICM that induces a dependence of the gas fraction on temperature, radius, and redshift, which cannot be accounted for by the self-similar picture expected from pure gravitational heating of the ICM. Conclusions. The use of gas fraction in X-ray clusters to constrain cosmological parameters seems therefore to be compromised until a better understanding of the ICM physics and the ability to obtain observations of better quality up to the virial radius are achieved.