Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medial-lateral Organization of the Orbitofrontal Cortex

Emerging evidence suggests that specific cognitive functions localize to different subregions of OFC, but the nature of these functional distinctions remains unclear. One prominent theory, derived from human neuroimaging, proposes that different stimulus valences are processed in separate orbital regions, with medial and lateral OFC processing positive and negative stimuli, respectively. Thus far, neurophysiology data have not supported this theory. We attempted to reconcile these accounts by recording neural activity from the full medial-lateral extent of the orbital surface in monkeys receiving rewards and punishments via gain or loss of secondary reinforcement. We found no convincing evidence for valence selectivity in any orbital region. Instead, we report differences between neurons in central OFC and those on the inferior-lateral orbital convexity, in that they encoded different sources of value information provided by the behavioral task. Neurons in inferior convexity encoded the value of external stimuli, whereas those in OFC encoded value information derived from the structure of the behavioral task. We interpret these results in light of recent theories of OFC function and propose that these distinctions, not valence selectivity, may shed light on a fundamental organizing principle for value processing in orbital cortex.
Evolving the experimental design for self-assembling amphiphilic systems

Amphiphilic molecules in particular environments may self-assemble and originate chemical entities, such as vesicles or micelles, which are relevant in technological applications. Experimentation in this field is difficult because of the high dimensionality of the search space and the high cost of each experiment. In this research we address the problem of a design of the experiments, which selects just a small number both of variables and experiments. We adopt a Nature-inspired approach based on the paradigm of the evolution and through a genetic algorithm and a neural network model we discover the very small set of variables that are relevant in affecting the optimization process.
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among psychiatric inpatients in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE Metabolic syndrome is a highly prevalent disorder among the general population. Studies show an even higher prevalence among psychiatric patients. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among inpatients of a psychiatric ward of a general hospital in Brazil and correlate it with their respective psychiatric diagnoses and with the antipsychotics and mood stabilizers used. METHOD 170 inpatients (mean age: 45.6 years) were evaluated according to the National Cholesterol Education Program criteria for metabolic syndrome, with a modification of the criteria for blood pressure and fasting glucose. RESULTS The prevalence found was 29.4%, being higher in women (43.6% versus 20.8%, p = 0.002). The prevalence stratified by psychiatric diagnostic was 48.1% for depression, 38.3% for bipolar disorder, 31.8% for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, 5.1% for alcoholism, and 23.1% for "other mental disorders". The prevalence for alcoholism was significantly lower than the prevalence rates associated with other diagnostic categories (p = 0.035). After using the multivariate analysis, female gender and use of lithium remained as factors associated with a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence found was 29.4%. Gender (female) and use of lithium were factors significantly associated with the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.
Financial Valuation and Risk Management Working Paper No . 249 Learning and Asset Prices under Ambiguous Information

We propose a new continuous time framework to study asset prices under learning and ambiguity aversion. In a partial information Lucas economy with time additive power utility, a discount for ambiguity arises if and only if the elasticity of intertemporal substitution (EIS) is above one. Then, ambiguity increases equity premia and volatilities, and lowers interest rates. Very low EIS estimates are consistent with EIS parameters above one, because of a downward bias in Euler-equations-based least-squares regressions. Ambiguity does not resolve asymptotically and, for high EIS, it is consistent with the equity premium, the low interest rate, and the excess volatility puzzles.
A Newly Synthesized Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor, DR2313 [2-Methyl-3,5,7,8-tetrahydrothiopyrano[4,3-d]-pyrimidine-4-one]: Pharmacological Profiles, Neuroprotective Effects, and Therapeutic Time Window in Cerebral Ischemia in Rats

We investigated the pharmacological profiles of DR2313 [2-methyl-3,5,7,8-tetrahydrothiopyrano[4,3-d]pyrimidine-4-one], a newly synthesized poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, and its neuroprotective effects on ischemic injuries in vitro and in vivo. DR2313 competitively inhibited poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in nuclear extracts of rat brain in vitro (Ki = 0.23 μM). Among several NAD+-utilizing enzymes, DR2313 was specific for PARP but not selective between PARP-1 and PARP-2. DR2313 also showed excellent profiles in water solubility and rat brain penetrability. In in vitro models of cerebral ischemia, exposure to hydrogen peroxide or glutamate induced cell death with overactivation of PARP, and treatment with DR2313 reduced excessive formation of poly(ADP-ribose) and cell death. In both permanent and transient focal ischemia models in rats, pretreatment with DR2313 (10 mg/kg i.v. bolus and 10 mg/kg/h i.v. infusion for 6 h) significantly reduced the cortical infarct volume. To determine the therapeutic time window of neuroprotection by DR2313, the effect of post-treatment was examined in transient focal ischemia model and compared with that of a free radical scavenger, MCI-186 (3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolone-5-one). Pretreatment with MCI-186 (3 mg/kg i.v. bolus and 3 mg/kg/h i.v. infusion for 6 h) significantly reduced the infarct volume, whereas the post-treatment failed to show any effects. In contrast, post-treatment with DR2313 (same regimen) delaying for 2 h after ischemia still prevented the progression of infarction. These results indicate that DR2313 exerts neuroprotective effects via its potent PARP inhibition, even when the treatment is initiated after ischemia. Thus, a PARP inhibitor like DR2313 may be more useful in treating acute stroke than a free radical scavenger.
Diversity of Breast Carcinoma: Histological Subtypes and Clinical Relevance

Mammary carcinoma is the most common malignant tumor in women, and it is the leading cause of mortality, with an incidence of ≥1,000,000 cases occurring worldwide annually. It is one of the most common human neoplasms, accounting for approximately one-quarter of all cancers in females worldwide and 27% of cancers in developed countries with a Western lifestyle. They exhibit a wide scope of morphological features, different immunohistochemical profiles, and unique histopathological subtypes that have specific clinical course and outcome. Breast cancers can be classified into distinct subgroups based on similarities in the gene expression profiles and molecular classification.
Model-Based Water Quality Assurance in Ground and Surface Provisioning Systems

The optimal management of water resources is a key problem for the sustainable exploitation of ground and surface water sources. One of the key issues is the assurance of quality of the provided water with respect to the presence of pollutant substances or micro biotic. This paper defines an automatic approach to evaluate the vulnerability of a provisioning network with respect the detection of a threat. By means of the creation of a high level model of a network and the automatic generation of proper formal models, it is possible to detect: (1) the effect of such threat on all the network nodes and (2) the most probable location of the contamination source.
Bone cement grafting increases implant primary stability in circumferential cortical bone defects

Purpose Implant beds with an insufficient amount of cortical bone or a loss of cortical bone can result in the initial instability of a dental implant. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of bone cement grafting on implant initial stability in areas with insufficient cortical bone. Methods Two different circumferential defect depths (2.5 mm and 5 mm) and a control (no defect) were prepared in six bovine rib bones. Fourteen implants of the same type and size (4 mm×10 mm) were placed in each group. The thickness of the cortical bone was measured for each defect. After the implant stability quotient (ISQ) values were measured three times in four different directions, bone cement was grafted to increase the primary stability of the otherwise unstable implant. After grafting, the ISQ values were measured again. Results As defect depth increased, the ISQ value decreased. In the controls, the ISQ value was 85.45±3.36 (mean±standard deviation). In circumferential 2.5-mm and 5-mm defect groups, the ISQ values were 69.42±7.06 and 57.43±6.87, respectively, before grafting. These three values were significantly different (P<0.001). After grafting the bone cement, the ISQ values significantly increased to 73.72±8.00 and 67.88±10.09 in the 2.5-mm and 5.0-mm defect groups, respectively (P<0.05 and P<0.001). The ISQ value increased to more than double that before grafting in the circumferential 5-mm defect group. The ISQ values did not significantly differ when measured in any of the four directions. Conclusions The use of bone cement remarkably increased the stability of the implant that otherwise had an insufficient level of stability at placement, which was caused by insufficient cortical bone volume. Graphical Abstract
Multimodal imaging reveals structural and functional heterogeneity in different bone marrow compartments: functional implications on hematopoietic stem cells.

Intravital microscopy of the calvarium is the only noninvasive method for high-resolution imaging of the bone marrow (BM) and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niches. However, it is unclear if the calvarium is representative of all BM compartments. Using the combination of whole body optical imaging, intravital microscopy, and "in vivo fluorescence trapping," a thorough comparison of HSCs and putative HSC niches in the calvaria, epiphyses, and diaphyses, at steady state or after HSC transplantation, can be made. We report substantial heterogeneity between different BM compartments in terms of bone-remodeling activity (BRA), blood volume fraction (BVF), and hypoxia. Although BVF is high in all BM compartments, including areas adjacent to the endosteum, we found that compartments displaying the highest BVF and BRA were preferentially seeded and engrafted upon HSC transplantation. Unexpectedly, the macroanatomical distribution of HSCs at steady state is homogeneous across these 3 areas and independent of these 2 parameters and suggests the existence of "reconstituting niches," which are distinct from "homeostatic niches. " Both types of niches were observed in the calvarium, indicating that endochondral ossification, the process needed for the formation of HSC niches during embryogenesis, is dispensable for the formation of HSC niches during adulthood.
Tissue tracking: applications for brain MRI classification

Bayesian classification methods have been extensively used in a variety of image processing applications, including medical image analysis. The basic procedure is to combine data-driven knowledge in the likelihood terms with clinical knowledge in the prior terms to classify an image into a pre-determined number of classes. In many applications, it is difficult to construct meaningful priors and, hence, homogeneous priors are assumed. In this paper, we show how expectation-maximization weights and neighboring posterior probabilities may be combined to make intuitive use of the Bayesian priors. Drawing upon insights from computer vision tracking algorithms, we cast the problem in a tissue tracking framework. We show results of our algorithm on the classification of gray and white matter along with surrounding cerebral spinal fluid in brain MRI scans. We show results of our algorithm on 20 brain MRI datasets along with validation against expert manual segmentations.
Electrostatic dependence of the thrombin-thrombomodulin interaction.

The rate constants for the binding interaction between thrombin and a fully active fragment of its anticoagulant cofactor, thrombomodulin, have been determined by surface plasmon resonance. At physiological ionic strength, the k(a) was 6.7x10(6) M(-1) s(-1 )and the dissociation rate constant was 0.033 s(-1). These extremely fast association and dissociation rates resulted in an overall binding equilibrium constant of 4.9 nM, which is similar to previously reported values. Changing the ionic strength from 100 mM to 250 mM NaCl caused a tenfold decrease in the association rate while the dissociation rate did not change significantly. A similar effect was observed with tetramethylammonium chloride. A Debye-Hückel plot of the data had a slope of -6 and an intercept at 0 ionic strength of 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). The same slope and intercept were obtained for data that was collected in the presence of glycerol to slow the association rates. These results show that the thrombin-TM456 interaction is extremely rapid and nearly completely electrostatically steered. An association model is presented in which TM456 approaches thrombin along the direction of the thrombin molecular dipole.
A CLT FOR INFORMATION-THEORETIC STATISTICS OF GRAM RANDOM MATRICES WITH A GIVEN VARIANCE PROFILE

Consider a $N\times n$ random matrix $Y_n=(Y_{ij}^{n})$ where the entries are given by $$ Y_{ij}^{n}=\frac{\sigma_{ij}(n)}{\sqrt{n}} X_{ij}^{n}\ , $$ the $X_{ij}^{n}$ being centered, independent and identically distributed random variables with unit variance and $(\sigma_{ij}(n); 1\le i\le N, 1\le j\le n)$ being an array of numbers we shall refer to as a variance profile. We study in this article the fluctuations of the random variable $$ \log\det\left(Y_n Y_n^* + \rho I_N \right) $$ where $Y^*$ is the Hermitian adjoint of $Y$ and $\rho > 0$ is an additional parameter. We prove that when centered and properly rescaled, this random variable satisfies a Central Limit Theorem (CLT) and has a Gaussian limit whose parameters are identified. A complete description of the scaling parameter is given; in particular it is shown that an additional term appears in this parameter in the case where the 4$^\textrm{th}$ moment of the $X_{ij}$'s differs from the 4$^{\textrm{th}}$ moment of a Gaussian random variable. Such a CLT is of interest in the field of wireless communications.
Nitrogenase Activity in Cell-Free Extracts of the Blue-Green Alga, Anabaena cylindrica

Cell-free extracts with high nitrogenase activity were prepared by sonic oscillation and French press treatment from the blue-gree alga Anabaena cylindrica. Extracts were prepared from cells grown on a 95% N2–5% CO2 gas mixture followed by a period of nitrogen starvation under an atmosphere of 95% argon–5% CO2. No increase in the specific activity of extracts was achieved by breaking heterocysts. Activity (assayed by acetylene reduction) was found to be dependent on adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an ATP-generating system, and a low-potential reductant. Na2S2O2 employed as reductant supports higher rates of nitrogenase activity than reduced ferredoxin. The activity is associated with a small-particle fraction that can be sedimented by ultracentrifugation. In contrast to the particulate nitrogenase of Azotobacter, which is stable in air, the A. cylindrica nitrogenase is an oxygen sensitive as nitrogenase prepared from anaerobic bacteria.
Efficacy and safety of fluoxetine in treating bipolar II major depressive episode.

As many as 45% of patients with major depressive episode also meet DSM-IV criteria for bipolar II (BP II) disorder. Although some clinicians advocate using a mood stabilizer in treating BP II depression, antidepressant monotherapy has been less well studied in this disorder. As part of a prospective, placebo-controlled, relapse-prevention study in 839 patients, the efficacy and safety of short- and long-term fluoxetine treatment in patients with BP II major depression compared with patients with unipolar (UP) major depression was retrospectively examined. Eighty-nine BP II patients (mean age, 41+/-11 years) were compared with 89 age- and gender-matched UP patients and with 661 unmatched UP patients (mean age, 39+/-11 years). All received short-term fluoxetine therapy at 20 mg daily for up to 12 weeks. Complete remission was defined as a final Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score < or = 7 by week 9 that was then maintained for 3 additional weeks. Remitted patients were then randomly assigned to receive double-blind treatment with one of the following: (1) fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 52 weeks; (2) fluoxetine for 38 weeks, then placebo for 14 weeks; (3) fluoxetine for 14 weeks, then placebo for 38 weeks; or (4) placebo for 52 weeks. Antidepressant efficacy was similar in BP and UP patients during short-term therapy. Discontinuation for lack of efficacy was lower in BP II (5%) than in UP (12%) patients (p = not significant [NS]), whereas dropouts for adverse events were similar in BP II (11%) and UP (9%) patients. During long-term relapse-prevention therapy, relapse rates were similar in BP II and UP patients (p = NS). During short-term fluoxetine therapy, three BP II (3.8%) versus no matched UP (p = NS) and 0.3% unmatched UP (p = 0.01) patients had a "manic switch. " During long-term fluoxetine therapy, one (2%) BP II and three (1%) unmatched UP patients (one taking placebo) had a manic switch (p = NS). In conclusion, fluoxetine may be a safe and effective antidepressant monotherapy for the short-term treatment of BP II depression with a relatively low manic switch rate. Fluoxetine may also be effective in relapse-prevention therapy in patients with BP II disorder.
Prognostic significance of cystatin SN associated nomograms in patients with colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of most malignant tumors, mainly due to its high rate of metastasis and recurrence. The prognosis of CRC is difficult due to early CRC patients have no specific symptoms. Therefore, it is emergent to identify a biomarker for CRC prognosis. Cystatin SN (CST1) shows elevated expression in many tumors, but its role in CRCs is still unknown. Through immunohistochemistry analysis, we found that CST1 was upregulated in CRC samples. The survival analysis had demonstrated that high CST1 expression was closely associated with poor clinical status, providing that CST1 plays a role in CRC tumorigenesis. Furthermore, nomograms were generated using CST1 levels and other factors to evaluate survival of CRCs. We evaluated the reliabilities of these nomograms using an independent cohort of 141 CRC cases and found that high CST1 expression is linked to low survival, which is consistent with the clinical results. Thus, we could predict the survival of a CRC patient via these nomograms. In addition, the multivariate analysis identified CST1 as an independent prognostic factor for CRCs, providing CST1 as a biomarker for CRC prognosis. Taken together, our studies revealed a close relationship between CST1 and CRCs, suggesting that CST1 possibly acts as a marker for CRC prognosis and a target for CRC therapy.
Subcortical Representation of Non-Fourier Image Features

A fundamental goal of visual neuroscience is to identify the neural pathways representing different image features. It is widely argued that the early stages of these pathways represent linear features of the visual scene and that the nonlinearities necessary to represent complex visual patterns are introduced later in cortex. We tested this by comparing the responses of subcortical and cortical neurons to interference patterns constructed by summing sinusoidal gratings. Although a linear mechanism can detect the component gratings, a nonlinear mechanism is required to detect an interference pattern resulting from their sum. Consistent with in vitro retinal ganglion cell recordings, we found that interference patterns are represented subcortically by cat LGN Y-cells, but not X-cells. Linear and nonlinear tuning properties of LGN Y-cells were then characterized and compared quantitatively with those of cortical area 18 neurons responsive to interference patterns. This comparison revealed a high degree of similarity between the two neural populations, including the following: (1) the representation of similar spatial frequencies in both their linear and nonlinear responses, (2) comparable orientation selectivity for the high spatial frequency carrier of interference patterns, and (3) the same difference in their temporal frequency selectivity for drifting gratings versus the envelope of interference patterns. The present findings demonstrate that the nonlinear subcortical Y-cell pathway represents complex visual patterns and likely underlies cortical responses to interference patterns. We suggest that linear and nonlinear mechanisms important for encoding visual scenes emerge in parallel through distinct pathways originating at the retina.
Rotational Motion Deblurring of a Rigid Object from a Single Image

Most previous motion deblurring methods restore the degraded image assuming a shift-invariant linear blur filter. These methods are not applicable if the blur is caused by spatially variant motions. In this paper, we model the physical properties of a 2-D rigid body movement and propose a practical framework to deblur rotational motions from a single image. Our main observation is that the transparency cue of a blurred object, which represents the motion blur formation from an imaging perspective, provides sufficient information in determining the object movements. Comparatively, single image motion deblurring using pixel color/gradient information has large uncertainties in motion representation and computation. Our results are produced by minimizing a new energy function combining rotation, possible translations, and the transparency map using an iterative optimizing process. The effectiveness of our method is demonstrated using challenging image examples.
Examining Students’ Acceptance and Use of ChatGPT in Saudi Arabian Higher Education

This study examines students’ acceptance and use of ChatGPT in Saudi Arabian (SA) higher education, where there is growing interest in the use of this tool since its inauguration in 2022. Quantitative research data, through a self-reporting survey drawing on the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT2), were collected from 520 students in one of the public universities in SA at the start of the first semester of the study year 2023–2024. The findings of structural equation modeling partially supported the UTAUT and previous research in relation to the significant direct effect of performance expectancy (PE), social influence (SI), and effort expectancy (EE) on behavioral intention (BI) on the use of ChatGPT and the significant direct effect of PE, SI, and BI on actual use of ChatGPT. Nonetheless, the results did not support earlier research in relation to the direct relationship between facilitating conditions (FCs) and both BI and actual use of ChatGPT, which was found to be negative in the first relationship and insignificant in the second one. These findings were because of the absence of resources, support, and aid from external sources in relation to the use of ChatGPT. The results showed partial mediation of BI in the link between PE, SI, and FC and actual use of ChatGPT in education and a full mediation in the link of BI between EE and actual use of ChatGPT in education. The findings provide numerous implications for scholars and higher education institutions in SA, which are also of interest to other institutions in similar contexts.