Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Flash-Triggering Action Potential of the Luminescent Dinoflagellate Noctiluca

The action potential which elicits luminescence in Noctiluca is recorded from the flotation vacuole as a transient all-or-none hyperpolarization in response to either local or general application of inward (bath to vacuole) current. Experiments were performed to determine whether the unorthodox polarities of both the stimulus current and the potential response resulted from uncommon bioelectric mechanisms or from special morphological features of this species. The findings all indicate that the action potential belongs to the familiar class of responses which have their origin in voltage- and time-dependent selective increases in membrane permeability, and that morphological factors account for the observed deviations from normal behavior. Both the stimulus and the response have orthodox polarities provided the vacuole is designated as an "external" extracytoplasmic compartment. Differential recording between vacuole and cytoplasm showed that the action potential occurs across the vacuolar membrane, with the cytoplasmic potential, which at rest is negative with respect to the vacuole, overshooting zero and reversing sign to become transiently electropositive. The rising phase of the action potential therefore depends on active current flow through the vacuolar membrane from the vacuole into the cytoplasm. Propagation of the action potential over the subspherical cell from the locus of stimulation is thought to depend largely on the core conductor properties of the thin perivacuolar shell of cytoplasm which is bounded on its inner surface by the excitable membrane and on its outer surface by inexcitable membranes.
Impact of Microfinance on Poverty Alleviation in Nigeria : An Empirical Investigation §

The empirical relationship between microfinance loan disbursement and poverty alleviation was tested in this paper by employing chi-square test, F-test and T-test. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference between those people who used microfinance institutions and those who do not use them. There is a significant effect of microfinance institutions in alleviating poverty by increasing income and changing economic status of those who patronize them. The study concludes that microfinance institution is indeed a potent strategy of poverty reduction and a viable tool for purveying credit to the poor. However, microfinance can be more viable tool for sustainable poverty alleviation if more is done on programme outreach and depth than the present outreach.
Rumination and psychosis: an experimental, analogue study of the role of perseverative thought processes in voice-hearing

Abstract We rigorously tested the role of rumination in the development of voice-hearing type experiences. One-hundred and two students watched a video depicting a physical assault and then either ruminated about the contents or were distracted. Participants listened to an anomalous auditory stimulus and recorded any words/phrases along with distress. Manipulation checks confirmed that the rumination group showed greater perseveration regarding the film content than the distraction group. However, the groups did not significantly differ on number of words recorded, convergence with the video content or distress. These findings indicate that rumination might not necessarily be involved in the development of these experiences or associated distress. The current work should provide an impetus to conduct additional rigorously controlled experimental or prospective work to fully discern the key processes relevant to the experience of voice-hearing following exposure to stressful events.
Peer-review under Responsibility of Daaam International Vienna 25th Daaam International Symposium on Intelligent Manufacturing and Automation, Daaam 2014 Measurement of Complex Permittivity in Free Space

The paper describes the measurement of complex permittivity in free space. It is an advanced non-contact method which is used to find the electromagnetic properties of materials. In this case it involves the materials which are used in aviation technology, especially for hardening the avionics against electromagnetic interference. A specialized laboratory workplace equipped with the vector network analyzer ZVA 67 from Rohde and Schwarz was built for the measurement. Initial measurements were performed at high frequencies from 220 to 325 GHz on a Teflon sample because of the ease of verifying the results. The high frequency range was achieved by using ZVA-Z325 converters from the same company and the respective antenna systems. This measuring system was used for determining the transmission coefficients. The complex permittivity which characterizes the electromagnetic properties of the material for the above frequency range was found by iterative method programmed in Matlab environment.
Computational discovery of miR-TF regulatory modules in human genome

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. They play an important role in several biological processes such as cell development and differentiation. Similar to transcription factors (TFs), miRNAs regulate gene expression in a combinatorial fashion, i.e., an individual miRNA can regulate multiple genes, and an individual gene can be regulated by multiple miRNAs. The functions of TFs in biological regulatory networks have been well explored. And, recently, a few studies have explored miRNA functions in the context of gene regulation networks. However, how TFs and miRNAs function together in the gene regulatory network has not yet been examined. In this paper, we propose a new computational method to discover the gene regulatory modules that consist of miRNAs, TFs, and genes regulated by them. We analyzed the regulatory associations among the sets of predicted miRNAs and sets of TFs on the sets of genes regulated by them in the human genome. We found 182 gene regulatory modules of combinatorial regulation by miRNAs and TFs (miR-TF modules). By validating these modules with the Gene Ontology (GO) and the literature, it was found that our method allows us to detect functionally-correlated gene regulatory modules involved in specific biological processes. Moreover, our miR-TF modules provide a global view of coordinated regulation of target genes by miRNAs and TFs.
A psychotherapeutic baby clinic in a hostel for homeless families: practice and evaluation.

OBJECTIVES A pilot baby clinic in a hostel for homeless families has been established to address the specific attachment and developmental needs of infants living in temporary accommodation. The aim of this study was to assess whether this clinic model was associated with more positive outcomes than mainstream community services in terms of infant development and parent-infant interactions. DESIGN Parent-infant psychotherapy and health visiting services collaborated to develop a new model of baby clinic, which reconfigured the traditional clinic to give priority to infants' affective experiences in a therapeutic group setting. Outcomes for parent-infant dyads in a homeless hostel where this service model was applied were compared with outcomes for parents and infants in hostels, which did not have such a service. METHODS Fifty-nine mother-baby dyads participated in evaluation, 30 in the intervention hostel group and 29 living in comparison hostels. Infant mental and motor development was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Interactions between the parents and infants were video-recorded and coded on the Coding Interactive Behaviour Scales. RESULTS The indices of mental and motor development of infants in the intervention hostel were significantly improved over time in relation to infants in the comparison hostels. No significant differences were found in the quality of parent-infant interaction between the two groups over time. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that the service model may have positive benefits for infant development. The findings, study limitations, and clinical implications are discussed. PRACTITIONER POINTS Parents and infants living in temporary accommodation represent a high-risk and hard-to-reach population. A new model of intervention, which combines universal infant health services with a therapeutic parent-infant group may be an effective means of supporting the emotional needs of hard-to-reach parents and infants.
Influence of cationic lipid concentration on properties of lipid–polymer hybrid nanospheres for gene delivery

Nanoparticles have been widely used for nonviral gene delivery. Recently, cationic hybrid nanoparticles consisting of two different materials were suggested as a promising delivery vehicle. In this study, nanospheres with a poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) core and cationic lipid shell were prepared, and the effect of cationic lipid concentrations on the properties of lipid polymer hybrid nanocarriers investigated. Lipid–polymer hybrid nanospheres (LPHNSs) were fabricated by the emulsion-solvent evaporation method using different concentrations of cationic lipids and characterized for size, surface charge, stability, plasmid DNA-binding capacity, cytotoxicity, and transfection efficiency. All LPHNSs had narrow size distribution with positive surface charges (ζ-potential 52–60 mV), and showed excellent plasmid DNA-binding capacity. In vitro cytotoxicity measurements with HEK293T, HeLa, HaCaT, and HepG2 cells also showed that LPHNSs exhibited less cytotoxicity than conventional transfection agents, such as Lipofectamine and polyethyleneimine–PLGA. As cationic lipid concentrations increased, the particle size of LPHNSs decreased while their ζ-potential increased. In addition, the in vitro transfection efficiency of LPHNSs increased as lipid concentration increased.
Beyond Adoption: Barriers to an Online Assignment Submission System Continued Use

Understanding the factors that affect continued use or discontinuance of an information system beyond initial adoption is one of the most challenging issues in information systems research. This paper combines information economics, the technology acceptance model (TAM), and diffusion of innovation theory, and analyzes barriers with respect to the continued use of information systems. The suggested model examines data collected from 284 former users enrolled in a blended distance learning university, who apparently abandoned an online assignment submission system. The findings indicate that behavioral intention to use the system was mainly influenced by its perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, its real value, and general attitude towards new technologies. Social and institutional influence was quite low, but the major barrier to continuance was incompatibility with the assignment preparation process performed by the students, as well as the assignment checking process performed by the tutors, which discouraged continued use.
A typology of political participation online: how citizens used Twitter to mobilize during the 2015 British general elections

ABSTRACT This study investigates how, and to what extent, citizens use Twitter as a platform for political mobilization in an electoral context. Conceptualizing political participation as a process, we develop a typology of political participation designed to isolate mobilizing calls for action from the rest of the political discussion online. Based on Twitter data collected one week prior to the 2015 British general election, we then identify the top 100 most retweeted accounts using the hashtag #GE2015, classify them by actor type, and perform a content analysis of their Twitter posts according to our typology. Our results show that citizens – not political parties – are the primary initiators and sharers of political calls for action leading up to the election. However, this finding is largely due to an uneven distribution of citizen-driven mobilizing activity. A small number of highly active users, typically supporters of nationalist parties, are by far the most active users in our dataset. We also identify four primary strategies used by citizens to enact mobilization through Twitter: in-text calls for action, hashtag commands, sharing mobilizing content, and frequent postings. Citizens predominantly expressed political calls for action through Twitter’s hashtag feature, a finding that supports the notion that traditional conceptions of political participation require nuance to accommodate the new ways citizens are participating in the politics of the digital age. Video abstract Read the transcript Watch the video on Vimeo
Depressive Symptoms as a Longitudinal Predictor of Sexual Risk Behaviors among African American Adolescents: Findings from Project iMPPACS

Research that clarifies individual level factors associated with sexual risk behavior among African American adolescents remains an important public health priority. The current study examined the longitudinal association of depressive symptoms to sexual risk behaviors, and determined whether the association of depressive symptoms to risky sex varies as a function of gender in a sample of African American adolescents. A secondary aim was to examine whether self-efficacy for sex refusal and condom use mediate the depression-sexual risk relationship. Data analyses focused on baseline and three-month assessments of depressive symptoms and sexual behaviors assessed for the previous three-months, including: (a) engagement in vaginal sex; (b) having two or more sexual partners; (c) relative frequency of condom use; and (d) condom use at last sex. Analyses confirmed that depressive symptoms predict sex with two or more partners and both indices of inconsistent condom use. Further, gender moderates the association of depression and sex with two or more partners, such that depressive symptoms are a more powerful risk factor for females relative to males. Lastly, mediation analyses revealed that condom use self-efficacy significantly mediates the effects of depressive symptoms on inconsistent condom use. Depression is not a significant predictor of sexual activity status, nor did sex refusal self-efficacy mediate the association of depressive symptoms to engagement in vaginal sex or having two or more sexual partners. Nonetheless, current study findings have important implications for HIV/STI prevention, where behavioral interventions may benefit from modules that include a focus on the influence of mood on sexual behaviors and self-efficacy for safer sex practices.
Estimation and propagation of parametric uncertainty in environmental models

It is proposed that a numerical environmental model cannot be justified for predictive tasks without an implicit uncertainty analysis which uses reliable and transparent methods. Various methods of uncertainty-based model calibration are reviewed and demonstrated. Monte Carlo simulation of data, Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE), the Metropolis algorithm and a set-based approach are compared using the Streeter–Phelps model of dissolved oxygen in a stream. Using idealised data, the first three of these calibration methods are shown to converge the parameter distributions to the same end result. However, in practice, when the properties of the data and model structural errors are less well defined, GLUE and the set-based approach are proposed as more versatile for the robust estimation of parametric uncertainty. Methods of propagation of parametric uncertainty are also reviewed. Rosenblueth’s two-point method, first-order variance propagation, Monte Carlo sampling and set theory are applied to the Streeter–Phelps example. The methods are then shown to be equally successful in application to the example, and their relative merits for more complex modelling problems are discussed.
Distinct and combined vascular effects of ACE blockade and HMG-CoA reductase inhibition in hypertensive subjects.

Hypercholesterolemia and hypertension are frequently associated with elevated sympathetic activity. Both are independent cardiovascular risk factors and both affect endothelium-mediated vasodilation. To identify the effects of cholesterol-lowering and antihypertensive treatments on vascular reactivity and vasodilative capacity, we studied 30 hypercholesterolemic hypertensive subjects. They received placebo for 4 weeks, either enalapril or simvastatin for 14 weeks, and, finally, both medications for an additional 14 weeks. Postischemic forearm blood flow (MFBF) and minimal vascular resistance (mFVR) were used as indices of vasodilative capacity and structural vascular damage, respectively. Total (resting-stress-recovery phases) cardiovascular (blood pressure [BP] and heart rate [HR]) and regional hemodynamic (FBF and FVR) reactivity to stressful stimuli were calculated as area-under-the-curve (auc) (valuextime). Compared with baseline levels, simvastatin reduced total (TOT-C) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (1.27 mmol/L, P<0.001 and 1.33 mmol/L, P<0.001, respectively). Enalapril also reduced TOT-C and LDL-C (0.6 mmol/L, P<0.001 and 0.58 mmol/L, P<0.05, respectively). MFBF was increased substantially by both treatments (P<0.001). Enalapril had a greater effect (-1.7 arbitrary units (AU), P<0.001) than simvastatin (-0.6 AU, P<0.05) on mFVR. During stress, FBF increased more with enalapril (4.4 FBFxminutes, P<0.001) than with simvastatin (1.8 FBFxminutes, P<0.01). Conversely, FVR stress response was reduced more with enalapril (9.1 FVRxminutes, P<0.001) than with simvastatin (2.9 FVRxminutes, P<0.01). During combination treatment, a significant (0.001>P<0.05) additive effect on hypercholesterolemia, structural vascular damage, BP, and FVR was shown. The findings suggest that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition induces a larger reduction than HMG-CoA reductase blockade in vascular reactivity and structural damage in hypercholesterolemic hypertensive subjects.
Lung cancer metastasis presenting as a solitary skull mass

Lung cancer has been well documented to spread to bone and the axial skeleton after metastasis to adjacent organs. Bony metastasis is not, however, the typical presenting manifestation. The differential diagnosis for a tissue mass on the skull should warrant a workup for metastatic disease. Bony metastasis plays an important role in treatment and disease management. We report an exceptionally rare case of stage IV lung adenocarcinoma that presented with a solitary skull metastasis and a significant soft-tissue component. The lesion was treated by excision via craniotomy and subsequent medical management of the adenocarcinoma. This case illustrates a very rare presentation of lung adenocarcinoma and also represents what the authors believe to be the first report of a solitary skull mass originating from a lung primary. We also present a review of the literature surrounding bony metastasis to the skull and implications for patient care.
Mechanisms Underlying the Emergence of Post-acidosis Arrhythmia at the Tissue Level: A Theoretical Study

Acidosis has complex electrophysiological effects, which are associated with a high recurrence of ventricular arrhythmias. Through multi-scale cardiac computer modeling, this study investigated the mechanisms underlying the emergence of post-acidosis arrhythmia at the tissue level. In simulations, ten Tusscher-Panfilov ventricular model was modified to incorporate various data on acidosis-induced alterations of cellular electrophysiology and intercellular electrical coupling. The single cell models were incorporated into multicellular one-dimensional (1D) fiber and 2D sheet tissue models. Electrophysiological effects were quantified as changes of action potential profile, sink-source interactions of fiber tissue, and the vulnerability of tissue to the genesis of unidirectional conduction that led to initiation of re-entry. It was shown that acidosis-induced sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium load contributed to delayed afterdepolarizations (DADs) in single cells. These DADs may be synchronized to overcome the source-sink mismatch arising from intercellular electrotonic coupling, and produce a premature ventricular complex (PVC) at the tissue level. The PVC conduction can be unidirectionally blocked in the transmural ventricular wall with altered electrical heterogeneity, resulting in the genesis of re-entry. In conclusion, altered source-sink interactions and electrical heterogeneity due to acidosis-induced cellular electrophysiological alterations may increase susceptibility to post-acidosis ventricular arrhythmias.
A Service-Oriented Method for System-of-Systems Requirements Analysis and Architecture Design

Nowadays various problems, including the rapid growth of complexity, continually changing requirements and the alignment of IT with business strategy, challenge traditional design principles in analyzing System-of-systems (SoS), while Service-Oriented Computing offers a flexible integration architecture to meet the dynamic requirements of SoS. This paper introduce a service-oriented modeling method for SoS requirements analysis based on a three-tier framework with multi-ontologies. The method provides a reusable and flexible solution for SoS requirements modeling and enable the high level requirements description of System-of-Systems can be mapped to service-oriented system design architecture directly. A case study is given to demonstrate the applicability of the method.
Performance analysis of Indian stock market index using neural network time series model

Forecasting based on time series data for stock prices, currency exchange rate, price indices, etc., is one of the active research areas in many field viz., finance, mathematics, physics, machine learning, etc. Initially, the problem of financial time sequences analysis and prediction are solved by many statistical models. During the past few decades, a large number of neural network models have been proposed to solve the problem of financial data and to obtain accurate prediction result. The statistical model integrated with ANN (Hybrid model) has given better result than using single model. This work discusses some basic ideas of time series data, need of ANN, importance of stock indices, survey of the previous works and it investigates neural network models for time series in forecasting. The forecasting accuracy is analyzed and measured with reference to an Indian stock market index such as Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and NIFTY MIDCAP50 in this study and it is found that the right parameters number of epochs, learning rate and momentum is 2960, 0.28 and 0.5 respectively for forecasting network by conducting various experiment.