Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal Changes in Social Brain Development: Processing Outcomes for Friend and Self.

Adolescence is an important time for social development during which friendships become more intimate and complex. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study we tested how outcomes for friends are processed on the neural level across adolescence. Participants between 8 and 27 years of age were tested twice with a 2-year difference between the first (N = 299) and second (N = 254) time points. Participants performed a task in which they could win and lose money for themselves and their best friend. Mixed linear models revealed a linear decrease in activity in social brain regions for friend > self over development. These results confirm changes in the social brain network across adolescent development, we further show that individual differences are related to these neural changes.
All correlations must die: Assessing the significance of a stochastic gravitational-wave background in pulsar timing arrays

We present two methods for determining the significance of a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background affecting a pulsar-timing array, where detection is based on evidence for quadrupolar spatial correlations between pulsars. Rather than constructing noise simulations, we eliminate the GWB spatial correlations in the true datasets to assess detection significance with all real data features intact. In our first method, we perform random phase shifts in the signal-model basis functions. This phase shifting eliminates signal phase coherence between pulsars, while keeping the statistical properties of the pulsar timing residuals intact. We then explore a method to null correlations between pulsars by using a "scrambled" overlap-reduction function in the signal model for the array. This scrambled function is orthogonal to what we expect of a real GW background signal. We demonstrate the efficacy of these methods using Bayesian model selection on a set of simulated datasets that contain a stochastic GW signal, timing noise, undiagnosed glitches, and uncertainties in the Solar system ephemeris. Finally, we introduce an overarching formalism under which these two techniques are naturally linked. These methods are immediately applicable to all current pulsar-timing array datasets, and should become standard tools for future analyses.
Influence of material anisotropy on the hydroelastic response of composite plates in water

Flexible lightweight plate-like lifting surfaces in external flows have a diverse range of use from propelling and controlling marine and aerospace vehicles to converting wind and ocean energy to electrical energy. Design and analysis of such structures are complex for underwater applications where the water density is much higher than air. The hydrodynamic loads, which vary with the inflow speed, can significantly alter the dynamic response and stability. This paper focuses on the hydroelastic response of composite plates in water. The results show that the dynamics and stability of the structure can be significantly modified by taking advantage of the material anisotropic; on the contrary, careless composite material designs may lead to unwanted dynamic instability failures. The resonance frequencies, divergence speeds, and fluid loss coefficients change with material anisotropy and hydrodynamic loads. The resonance frequencies are much lower in water than in air. The critical divergence speed increases, if the principal fiber direction is oriented towards the inflow. Hydrodynamic damping is shown to be much higher than the material damping, and tend to increase with flow speed and to decrease with increasing modal frequency. The paper derives Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs) for sample composite plates in water and use them to predict the motion response when subject to stochastic flow excitations. We show how material anisotropy can be used to passively tailor the plate vibration response spectrum to limit or enhance flow-induced vibrations of the plate depending on the desired applications.
Framework of product experience

In this paper, we introduce a general framework for product experience that applies to all affective responses that can be experienced in human-product interaction. Three distinct components or levels of product experiences are discussed: aesthetic experience, experience of meaning, and emotional experience. All three components are distinguished in having their own lawful underlying process. The aesthetic level involves a product’s capacity to delight one or more of our sensory modalities. The meaning level involves our ability to assign personality or other expressive characteristics and to assess the personal or symbolic significance of products. The emotional level involves those experiences that are typically considered in emotion psychology and in everyday language about emotions, such as love and anger, which are elicited by the appraised relational meaning of products. The framework indicates patterns for the processes that underlie the different types of affective product experiences, which are used to explain the personal and layered nature of product experience
Frontostriatal White Matter Integrity Predicts Development of Delay of Gratification: A Longitudinal Study

The ability to delay gratification increases considerably across development. Here, we test the hypothesis that this impulse control capacity is driven by increased maturation of frontostriatal circuitry using a fiber-tracking approach combined with longitudinal imaging. In total, 192 healthy volunteers between 8 and 26 years underwent diffusion tensor imaging scanning and completed a delay-discounting task twice, separated by a 2-year interval. We investigated dynamic associations between frontostriatal white matter (WM) integrity and delay of gratification skills. Moreover, we examined the predictive value of frontostriatal WM integrity for future delay of gratification skills. Results showed that delay discounting increases with age in a quadratic fashion, with greatest patience during late adolescence. Data also indicated nonlinear development of frontostriatal WM, with relative fast development during childhood and early adulthood and—on average—little change during mid-adolescence. Furthermore, the positive association between age and delay discounting was further increased in individuals with higher WM integrity of the frontostriatal tracts. Predictive analysis showed that frontostriatal WM development explained unique variance in current and future delay of gratification skills. This study adds to a descriptive relation between WM integrity and delay of gratification by showing that maturation of frontostriatal connectivity predicts changes in delay of gratification skills. These findings have implications for studies examining deviances in impulse control by showing that the developmental path between striatum and prefrontal cortex may be an important predictor for when development goes astray. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT During the transition from childhood to adulthood, individuals generally show increased patience and become better in delaying gratification. The exact neural correlates of delay of gratification, however, remain poorly understood. By measuring both frontostriatal white matter (WM) integrity and delay of gratification skills at two time points, we were able to provide links for our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying this type of impulse regulation capacity. We demonstrate that the ability to delay gratification improves between childhood and young adulthood and this improvement is predicted by the integrity of frontostriatal WM connections. This study adds to a descriptive relation between WM quality and delay of gratification by showing that maturation of frontostriatal connectivity predicts improvements in delay of gratification skills.
Drought, abscisic acid and transpiration rate effects on the regulation of PIP aquaporin gene expression and abundance in Phaseolus vulgaris plants.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Drought causes a decline of root hydraulic conductance, which aside from embolisms, is governed ultimately by aquaporins. Multiple factors probably regulate aquaporin expression, abundance and activity in leaf and root tissues during drought; among these are the leaf transpiration rate, leaf water status, abscisic acid (ABA) and soil water content. Here a study is made of how these factors could influence the response of aquaporin to drought. METHODS Three plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs) or aquaporins were cloned from Phaseolus vulgaris plants and their expression was analysed after 4 d of water deprivation and also 1 d after re-watering. The effects of ABA and of methotrexate (MTX), an inhibitor of stomatal opening, on gene expression and protein abundance were also analysed. Protein abundance was examined using antibodies against PIP1 and PIP2 aquaporins. At the same time, root hydraulic conductance (L), transpiration rate, leaf water status and ABA tissue concentration were measured. KEY RESULTS None of the treatments (drought, ABA or MTX) changed the leaf water status or tissue ABA concentration. The three treatments caused a decline in the transpiration rate and raised PVPIP2;1 gene expression and PIP1 protein abundance in the leaves. In the roots, only the drought treatment raised the expression of the three PIP genes examined, while at the same time diminishing PIP2 protein abundance and L. On the other hand, ABA raised both root PIP1 protein abundance and L. CONCLUSIONS The rise of PvPIP2;1 gene expression and PIP1 protein abundance in the leaves of P. vulgaris plants subjected to drought was correlated with a decline in the transpiration rate. At the same time, the increase in the expression of the three PIP genes examined caused by drought and the decline of PIP2 protein abundance in the root tissues were not correlated with any of the parameters measured.
Comparing Self-reported Disease Outcomes, Diet, and Lifestyles in a National Cohort of Black and White Seventh-day Adventists

Introduction Few epidemiologic cohort studies on the etiology of chronic disease are powerful enough to distinguish racial and ethnic determinants from socioeconomic determinants of health behaviors and observed disease patterns. The Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), with its large number of respondents and the variation in lifestyles of its target populations, promises to shed light on these issues. This paper focuses on some preliminary baseline analyses of responses from the first group of participants recruited for AHS-2. Methods We administered a validated and pilot-tested questionnaire on various lifestyle practices and health outcomes to 56,754 respondents to AHS-2, comprising 14,376 non-Hispanic blacks and 42,378 non-Hispanic whites. We analyzed cross-sectional baseline data adjusted for age and sex and performed logistic regressions to test differences between responses from the two racial groups. Results In this Seventh-day Adventist (Adventist) cohort, blacks were less likely than whites to be lifelong vegetarians and more likely to be overweight or obese. Exercise levels were lower for blacks than for whites, but blacks were as likely as whites not to currently smoke or drink. Blacks reported higher rates of hypertension and diabetes than did whites but lower rates of high serum cholesterol, myocardial infarction, emphysema, and all cancers. After we eliminated skin cancer from the analysis, the age-adjusted prevalence of cancer remained significantly lower for black than for white women. The prevalence of prostate cancer was 47% higher for black men than for white men. Conclusion The profile of health habits for black Adventists is better than that for blacks nationally. Given the intractable nature of many other contributors to health disparities, including racism, housing segregation, employment discrimination, limited educational opportunity, and poorer health care, the relative advantage for blacks of the Adventist lifestyle may hold promise for helping to close the gap in health status between blacks and whites nationally.
Can Ca2+ Fluxes to the Root Xylem Be Sustained by Ca2+-ATPases in Exodermal and Endodermal Plasma Membranes?1

The pathway of Ca2+ movement from the soil solution into the root stele has been a subject of controversy. If transport through the endodermis is assumed to be through the cytoplasm, the limiting factor is believed to be the active pumping of Ca2+ from the cytoplasm into the stele apoplast through the plasma membrane lying on the stele side of the Casparian band. By analogy, for similar transport through the exodermis, the limiting step would be the active pumping into the apoplast on the central cortical side of the layer. Such effluxes are mediated by Ca2+-ATPases. To assess whether or not known Ca2+ fluxes to the stele in onion (Allium cepa) roots could be supported by Ca2+-ATPases, the percentages of total membrane protein particles required to effect the transport were calculated using measured values of membrane surface areas, an animal literature value for Ca2+-ATPase Vmax, plant literature values for Ca2+-ATPase Km, and protein densities of relevant membranes. Effects of a putative symplastic movement of Ca2+ from the exo- or endodermis into the next cell layer, which would increase the surface areas available for pumping, were also considered. Depending on the assumptions applied, densities of Ca2+ pumps, calculated as a percentage of total membrane protein particles, varied tremendously between three and 1,600 for the endodermis, and between 0.94 and 1,900 for the exodermis. On the basis of the data, the possibility of Ca2+ transport through the cytoplasm and membranes of the exodermis and endodermis cannot be discounted. Thus, it is premature to assign an entirely apoplastic pathway for Ca2+ movement from the soil solution to the tracheary elements of the xylem. To verify any conclusion with certainty, more detailed data are required for the characteristics of exo- and endodermal Ca2+-ATPases.
Encode When Necessary

Recent research has shown that network coding has great potential to improve network performance in wireless communication. The performance of network coding in real-world scenarios, however, varies dramatically. It is reported that network coding brings negligible improvements but extra coding overhead in some scenarios. In this article, for the first time, we analyze the impact of link correlation on network coding and quantify the coding benefits. We propose correlated coding, which encodes packets only when performance improvement is achieved. Correlated coding uses only one-hop information, which makes it work in a fully distributed manner and introduces minimal communication overhead. The highlight of the design is its broad applicability and effectiveness. We implement the design with four broadcast protocols and three unicast protocols, and we evaluate them extensively on one 802.11 testbed and three 802.15. 4 testbeds. The experimental results show that (i) more coding operations do not lead to fewer transmissions, and (ii) compared to existing network coding protocols, the number of transmissions is reduced with lower coding overhead.
eview ddiction , adolescence , and the integration of control and motivation

The likelihood of initiating addictive behaviors is higher during adolescence than during any other developmental period. The differential developmental trajectories of brain regions involved in motivation and control processes may lead to adolescents’ increased risk taking in general, which may be exacerbated by the neural consequences of drug use. Neuroimaging studies suggest that increased risk-taking behavior in adolescence is related to an imbalance between prefrontal cortical regions, associated with executive functions, and subcortical brain regions related to affect and motivation. Dual-process models of addictive behaviors are similarly concerned with difficulties in controlling abnormally strong motivational processes. We acknowledge concerns raised about dual-process models, but argue that they can be addressed by carefully considering levels of description: motivational processes and top-down biasing can be understood as intertwined, co-developing isk taking components of more versus less reflective states of processing. We illustrate this with a model that further emphasizes temporal dynamics. Finally, behavioral interventions for addiction are discussed. Insights in the development of control and motivation may help to better understand – and more efficiently intervene in – vulnerabilities involving control
Long Term Persistence of Preschool Intervention on Children's Mathematical Development: Results from the German Model Project "Kindergarten of the Future in Bavaria".

The present study examines how attending the German model project “Kindergarten of the Future in Bavaria” (KiDZ), which provided 138 children (aged 3 to 6) with traditional preschool stimulation combined with cognitive and domain-specific stimulation, is associated with children’s competencies in mathematics over time to age 12 compared to a control group of 53 children. Controlling for child and family background measures, attending KiDZ was positively associated with mathematical competencies at the age of 12 compared to the control group not attending. Those effects are mediated through grade and preschool quality. Furthermore, results showed that preschool quality was associated with higher competencies in mathematics at age 12, even when controlling for numerical skills at preschool and primary school age. The results suggest that preschool quality influences mathematical development over and above those effects detected previously in preschool. Thus, the academically oriented high-quality preschool intervention, KiDz, lays not only the foundation for a good start in school, but also for later development in secondary school
TRANSLATION AND VALIDATION OF THE BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE VERSION OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOM RATING SCALE (GSRS) QUESTIONNAIRE.

BACKGROUND - Bowel function is a widely evaluated parameter in interventional and longitudinal studies since it is associated with good maintenance of health. The evaluation of intestinal function has been performed by many questionnaires, however, there are few options validated in Brazilian Portuguese. OBJECTIVE - The aim of this work was to translate and validate into Brazilian Portuguese the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) questionnaire. METHODS - Translation and cultural adaptation were performed according to a previously established methodology followed by reliability calculations. RESULTS - The final translated GSRS questionnaire showed an adequate value of overall reliability of Cronbach's alpha of 0.83, and its domains were classified from acceptable to adequate. The overall test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.84, considered excellent. CONCLUSION - The GSRS was translated and validated into Brazilian Portuguese, with appropriate internal consistency and reliability and is available to be used in assessments of bowel function.
Targeting and Therapy of Glioblastoma in a Mouse Model Using Exosomes Derived From Natural Killer Cells

Objective Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive primary brain tumor that is resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Natural killer (NK) cells have been used to treat incurable cancers. Recent studies have investigated the effectiveness of NK-cell-derived exosomes (NK-Exo) for treating incurable cancers such as melanoma, leukemia, and neuroblastoma; however, NK-Exo have not been used to treat glioblastoma. In the present study, we investigated the antitumor effects of NK-Exo against aggressive glioblastoma both in vitro and in vivo and determined the tumor-targeting ability of NK-Exo by performing fluorescence imaging. Methods U87/MG cells were transfected with the enhanced firefly luciferase (effluc) and thy1.1 genes; thy1.1-positive cells were selected using microbeads. U87/MG/F cells were assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blotting, and luciferase-activity assays. NK-Exo were isolated by ultracentrifugation, purified by density gradient centrifugation, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), nanoparticle-tracking analysis (NTA), and western blotting. Cytokine levels in NK-Exo were compared to those in NK cells and NK-cell medium by performing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). NK-Exo-induced apoptosis of cancer cells was confirmed by flow cytometry and western blotting. In vivo therapeutic effects and specificity of NK-Exo against glioblastoma were assessed in a xenograft mouse model by fluorescence imaging. Xenograft mice were treated with NK-Exo, which was administered seven times through the tail vein. Tumor growth was monitored by bioluminescence imaging (BLI), and tumor volume was measured by ultrasound imaging. The mice were intraperitoneally injected with dextran sulfate 2 h before NK-Exo injection to decrease the liver uptake and increase the tumor specificity of NK-Exo. Results RT-PCR and western blotting confirmed the gene and protein expression of effluc in U87/MG/F cells, with the bioluminescence activity of U87/MG/F cells increasing with an increase in cell number. NTA and DLS results indicated that the size of NK-Exo was ~100 nm, and the western blot results confirmed that NK-Exo expressed exosome markers CD63 and Alix. We confirmed the in vitro cytotoxic effects of NK-Exo on U87/MG/F cells by performing BLI, and the killing effect on U87/MG and U87MG/F cells was measured by CCK-8 and MTT assays (p < 0.001). ELISA results indicated that NK-Exo contained tumor necrosis factor-α and granzyme B. In vivo NK-Exo treatment inhibited tumor growth compared to in control mice (p < 0.001), and pretreatment of xenograft mice with dextran sulfate 2 h before NK-Exo treatment increased the antitumor effect of NK-Exo (p < 0.01) compared to in control and NK-Exo-alone-treated mice. Conclusion NK-Exo targeted and exerted antitumor effects on glioblastoma cells both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting their utility in treating incurable glioblastoma.
Cardiovascular dysfunction with low cardiac output due to a small heart in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

OBJECTIVE Little attention has been paid to possible cardiovascular involvement in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), although many of their symptoms and signs suggest cardiovascular dysfunction. Possible cardiovascular symptoms and cardiac function were investigated in CFS patients. METHODS Cardiovascular symptoms were intensively investigated and cardiac function was evaluated echocardiographically. PATIENTS Fifty-three patients (23 men and 30 women, mean age: 31+/-7 years) with CFS under 50 years were studied. RESULTS Slender build (body mass index <20 kg/m(2)) was common (47%). Possible cardiovascular symptoms including shortness of breath (32%), dyspnea on effort (28%), rapid heartbeat (38%), chest pain (43%), fainting (43%), orthostatic dizziness (45%) and coldness of feet (42%), were all frequent complaints. Hypotension (28%) was occasionally noted. Electrocardiograms frequently revealed right axis deviation (21%) and severe sinus arrhythmia (34%) suggesting accentuated parasympathetic nervous activity. Small heart shadow (cardiothoracic ratio <or=42%) was noted on the chest roentgenogram in 32 patients (60%). Echocardiographic examination demonstrated low cardiac indexes (<2 L/min/m(2)) with low stroke volume indexes (<30 mL/m(2)) due to a small left ventricular chamber in 19 (36%, p<0.05 vs. 8% in 36 controls). None had reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. CONCLUSION Cardiovascular symptoms are common in CFS patients. Cardiac dysfunction with low cardiac output due to small left ventricular chamber may contribute to the development of chronic fatigue as a constitutional factor in a considerable number of CFS patients.