Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anticonvulsant effects of four linear furanocoumarins , bergapten , imperatorin , oxypeucedanin , and xanthotoxin , in the mouse maximal electroshock-induced seizure model : a comparative study

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the anticonvulsant activities of four natural furanocoumarins [bergapten (5methoxypsoralen), imperatorin (8-isopentenyloxypsoralen), oxypeucedanin (5-epoxy-isopentenyloxypsoralen) and xanthotoxin (8-methoxypsoralen)] in the maximal electroshock-induced seizure test in mice. The anticonvulsant effects of bergapten, imperatorin, oxypeucedanin, and xanthotoxin were evaluated at 15, 30, 60 and 120 min after their systemic (intraperitoneal) administration. Tonic hind limb extension (seizure activity) was evoked in adult albino Swiss mice by a current (sine-wave, 25 mA, 500 V, 50 Hz, 0.2 s stimulus duration) delivered via auricular electrodes. The time courses of protection by bergapten, imperatorin, oxypeucedanin and xanthotoxin against maximal electroshock-induced seizures revealed that 300 mg/kg imperatorin and xanthotoxin (C-8 substituted derivatives of psoralen) exerted strong anticonvulsant activity, whereas 300 mg/kg bergapten and oxypeucedanin (C-5 substituted derivatives of psoralen) did not produce any anticonvulsant activity in this model. In conclusion, imperatorin and xanthotoxin protected the animals against maximal electroshock-induced seizures, whereas bergapten and oxypeucedanin, despite their chemical and structural similarities to xanthotoxin and imperatorin, exerted no anticonvulsant activity in this seizure test.
Automated Ice–Water Classification Using Dual Polarization SAR Satellite Imagery

Mapping ice and open water in ocean bodies is important for numerous purposes, including environmental analysis and ship navigation. The Canadian Ice Service (CIS) has stipulated a need for an automated ice-water discrimination algorithm using dual polarization images produced by RADARSAT-2. Automated methods can provide mappings in larger volumes, with more consistency, and in finer resolutions, which are otherwise impractical to generate. We have developed such an automated ice-water discrimination system called MAp-Guided Ice Classification. First, the HV (horizontal transmit polarization, vertical receive polarization) scene is classified using the “glocal” method, i.e., a hierarchical region-based classification method based on the published iterative region growing using semantics (IRGS) algorithm. Second, a pixel-based support vector machine (SVM) using a nonlinear radial basis function kernel classification is performed exploiting synthetic aperture radar gray-level cooccurrence texture and backscatter features. Finally, the IRGS and SVM classification results are combined using the IRGS approach but with a modified energy function to accommodate the SVM pixel-based information. The combined classifier was tested on 20 ground truthed dual polarization RADARSAT-2 scenes of the Beaufort Sea containing a variety of ice types and water patterns across melt, summer, and freeze-up periods. The average leave-one-out classification accuracy with respect to these ground truths is 96.42%, with a minimum of 89.95% for one scene. The MAGIC system is now under consideration by the CIS for operational use.
What Medicare Has Meant To Older Americans

In marking Medicare's 30th year in operation, it is fitting to focus on the program's successes. The fiscal pressures facing Medicare on both its own financing base and that of the Federal Government as a whole, and the rapid changes occurring elsewhere in the health care system, have led to a raft of criticisms of the program in recent years. Although Medicare could certainly be improved, pausing to reflect on the positive aspects of the program can offer some balance to the current debate on Medicare's future. Medicare is the largest public health program in the United States, providing the major source of insurance for the acute medical care needs of elderly and disabled persons. Its administrative costs are low, and it is popular with both its beneficiaries and the population as a whole. It has delivered on its promises. The success of Medicare from the perspective of older Americans can be summarized in four broad areas.
Application of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry in the Screening of VanA-Positive Enterococcus Faecium

In order to evaluate a rapid matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MAIDI-TOF MS) assay in screening vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, a total of 150 E. faecium clinical strains were studied, including 60 vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VREF) isolates and 90 vancomycin-susceptible (VSEF) strains. Vancomycin resistance genes were detected by sequencing. E. faecium were identified by MALDI-TOF MS. A genetic algorithm model with ClinProTools software was generated using the spectra of 30 VREF isolates and 30 VSEF isolates. Using this model, 90 test isolates were discriminated between VREF and VSEF. The results show that all 60 VREF isolates carried the vanA gene. The performance of VREF detection by the genetic algorithm model of MALDI-TOF MS compared to the sequencing method was: sensitivity = 80%, specificity = 90%, false-positive rate = 10%, false-negative rate = 10%, positive predictive value = 80%, negative predictive value = 90%. MALDI-TOF MS can be used as a screening test for discrimination between vanA-positive E. faecium and vanA-negative E. faecium.
Attention, Automaticity, and Awareness in Synesthesia

The phenomenon of synesthesia has occupied the thoughts of philosophers and artists for decades. With the advent modern behavioral and brain imaging techniques, scientific research on synesthesia has also moved into the mainstream of thought. Here I provide a cognitive neuroscience perspective on the condition, with a particular emphasis on grapheme‐color synesthesia, the most common variant, in which individuals report vivid and consistent experiences of color in association with numerals, letters, and words. Behavioral studies have revealed several fundamental properties of induced synesthetic colors. First, although they seem to arise automatically, without the need for voluntary control, they are strongly modulated by selective attention. Second, they attain salience relatively early in visual processing, and so can influence perceptual judgments and guide focal attention in cluttered, achromatic displays. Third, brain activity during synesthetic color experiences arises from within the ventral temporal lobe, including color‐selective area V4. It has been speculated that grapheme‐color synesthesia arises from disinhibited feedback or abnormal cross‐wiring between brain regions involved in extracting visual form and color.
All order asymptotic expansion of large partitions

The generating function which counts partitions with the Plancherel measure (and its q-deformed version) can be rewritten as a matrix integral, which allows one to compute its asymptotic expansion to all orders. There are applications in the statistical physics of growing/melting crystals, TASEP (totally asymmetric exclusion processes), and also algebraic geometry. In particular we compute the Gromov–Witten invariants of the Calabi–Yau threefold, and we prove a conjecture of Mariño, that the generating functions Fg of Gromov–Witten invariants of Xp come from a matrix model, and are the symplectic invariants of the mirror spectral curve.
Validation of the exercise and eating disorders questionnaire

ABSTRACT Objective Compulsive exercise is a well‐known feature in eating disorders. The Exercise and Eating Disorder (EED) self‐report questionnaire was developed to assess aspects of compulsive exercise not adequately captured by existing instruments. This study aimed to test psychometric properties and the factor structure of the EED among women with eating disorders and a control group. Method The study included 449 female participants, including 244 eating disorders patients and 205 healthy controls. The patient group consisted of 32.4% (n = 79) AN patients, 23.4% (n = 57) BN, 34.4% (n = 84) EDNOS and 9.8% (n = 24) with BED diagnosis. Results The analyses confirmed adequate psychometric properties of the EED, with a four‐factor solution: (1) compulsive exercise, (2) positive and healthy exercise, (3) awareness of bodily signals, and (4) weight and shape exercise. The EED discriminated significantly (p < .001) between patients and controls on the global score, subscales, and individual items. Test‐retest reliability was satisfactory (r = 0.86). Convergent validity was demonstrated by high correlations between the EED and the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE‐Q; r = 0.79). Discussion The EED is the first clinically derived, self‐report questionnaire to assess compulsive exercise among ED patients. The EED offers assessment that has broader clinical utility than existing instruments because it identifies treatment targets and treatment priorities. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2015; 48:983–993).
The Pathogenicity of Anti-β2GP1-IgG Autoantibodies Depends on Fc Glycosylation

To analyze the glycosylation of anti-β2GP1, we investigated purified IgG from healthy children, patients with APS, and asymptomatic adult carriers of antiphospholipid antibodies. We observed that in the sera of healthy children and of patients with APS, IgG3 and IgG2 were predominant, respectively. The potentially protective anti-β2GP1-IgM was lower in the sera of healthy children. Although anti-β2GP1-associated C1q did not differ between children and patients with antiphospholipid syndrome, the associated C3c was significantly higher in the sera of healthy children. This indicates a more efficient clearance of anti-β2GP1 immune complexes in the healthy children. This clearance is not accompanied by inflammation or coagulatory events. It is likely that the most important pathogenic factor of the anti-β2GP1-IgG is related to the different glycosylation observed in healthy and diseased individuals. We detected a significantly higher sialylation of anti-β2GP1-IgG isolated from the sera of healthy children and asymptomatic adults when compared with that of patients with clinically apparent antiphospholipid syndrome. Low sialylated IgG reportedly ameliorates inflammation and inflammation promotes hyposialylation. Thus, both reactions create a vicious circle that precipitates the pathology of the antiphospholipid syndrome including thrombus-formation. We conclude that the increased sialylation of anti-β2GP1-IgG of sera of healthy individuals limits their pathogenicity.
Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients

Objectives: This study investigated the relationships between a mindfulness‐based stress reduction meditation program for early stage breast and prostate cancer patients and quality of life, mood states, stress symptoms, lymphocyte counts, and cytokine production. Methods: Forty‐nine patients with breast cancer and 10 with prostate cancer participated in an 8‐week MBSR program that incorporated relaxation, meditation, gentle yoga, and daily home practice. Demographic and health behavior variables, quality of life (EORTC QLQ C‐30), mood (POMS), stress (SOSI), and counts of NK, NKT, B, T total, T helper, and T cytotoxic cells, as well as NK and T cell production of TNF, IFN‐&ggr;, IL‐4, and IL‐10 were assessed pre‐ and postintervention. Results: Fifty‐nine and 42 patients were assessed pre‐ and postintervention, respectively. Significant improvements were seen in overall quality of life, symptoms of stress, and sleep quality. Although there were no significant changes in the overall number of lymphocytes or cell subsets, T cell production of IL‐4 increased and IFN‐&ggr; decreased, whereas NK cell production of IL‐10 decreased. These results are consistent with a shift in immune profile from one associated with depressive symptoms to a more normal profile. Conclusions: MBSR participation was associated with enhanced quality of life and decreased stress symptoms in breast and prostate cancer patients. This study is also the first to show changes in cancer‐related cytokine production associated with program participation.
Antioxidant Vitamin Concentrations and LDL Oxidation in Nephrotic Syndrome

The increased risk of atherosclerosis in nephrotic syndrome is attributable in part to the associated hyperlipidaemia. The importance of oxidation of LDL in the atherogenic process has been recognized over the last 15 years. However, there are few data on the balance of antioxidant defences and lipoprotein oxidation in nephrotic syndrome. Plasma antioxidant vitamin concentrations and indices of LDL oxidation (LDL lipid hydroperoxide content and the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation) were measured in two groups of patients; group I comprised 29 nephrotic patients and group II comprised 25 patients with haematuria. Plasma ascorbate concentration was significantly lower in group I (the nephrotic group) compared with group II (median 13·3 versus 22·2 μmol/L; P < 0·001). Vitamin E concentrations were higher in group I but were not significantly different if corrected for total plasma cholesterol (6·12 versus 5·88 μmol/mmol; P = 0·33). However, these changes resulted in a low ascorbate:vitamin E ratio in group I (0·19 versus 0·87; P < 0·0001). Despite these changes in important antioxidant vitamin concentrations, we were unable to demonstrate any increased susceptibility to LDL oxidation in vitro or any difference in LDL lipid hydroperoxide content. These data suggest that there may be a relative defect of oxidant/antioxidant balance in nephrotic syndrome which could predispose to increased oxidative stress. However, measures of LDL oxidation were not significantly different between the two groups. LDL was protected from oxidation despite the severe hyperlipidaemia and the low circulating vitamin C concentrations.
Novel Reassortant Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N5) Viruses in Domestic Ducks, China

In China, domestic ducks and wild birds often share the same water, in which influenza viruses replicate preferentially. Isolation of 2 novel reassortant highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N5) viruses from apparently healthy domestic ducks highlights the role of these ducks as reassortment vessels. Such new subtypes of influenza viruses may pose a pandemic threat.
Progression of sensorineural hearing impairment in aided and unaided ears

The possibility of ''adult onset auditory deprivation'' has been proposed as a condition of extensive deterioration of speech discrimination in unaided ears. Pure tone thresholds and speech discrimination were studied in a follow-up examination on 500 patients using hearing aids unilaterally. The follow-up time ranged from 5 to 24 years. In average the same amount of deterioration was obtained in both ears. Deterioration in pure tone thresholds increased after the age of 80 years and speech discrimination after 65 years respectively. The results obtained gave no support to the concept of adult onset auditory deprivation in unaided ears.
A MAT1–2 wild-type strain from Penicillium chrysogenum: functional mating-type locus characterization, genome sequencing and mating with an industrial penicillin-producing strain

In heterothallic ascomycetes, mating is controlled by two nonallelic idiomorphs that determine the ‘sex’ of the corresponding strains. We recently discovered mating‐type loci and a sexual life cycle in the penicillin‐producing fungus, Penicillium chrysogenum. All industrial penicillin production strains worldwide are derived from a MAT1‐1 isolate. No MAT1‐2 strain has been investigated in detail until now. Here, we provide the first functional analysis of a MAT1‐2 locus from a wild‐type strain. Similar to MAT1‐1, the MAT1‐2 locus has functions beyond sexual development. Unlike MAT1‐1, the MAT1‐2 locus affects germination and surface properties of conidiospores and controls light‐dependent asexual sporulation. Mating of the MAT1‐2 wild type with a MAT1‐1 high penicillin producer generated sexual spores. We determined the genomic sequences of parental and progeny strains using next‐generation sequencing and found evidence for genome‐wide recombination. SNP calling showed that derived industrial strains had an uneven distribution of point mutations compared with the wild type. We found evidence for meiotic recombination in all chromosomes. Our results point to a strategy combining the use of mating‐type genes, genetics, and next‐generation sequencing to optimize conventional strain improvement methods.
Software analysis: a roadmap

We describe the challenges of software analysis by presenting a series of dichotomies. Each gives a spectrum on which any particular analysis can be placed; together, they give some structure to the space of possible analyses. Our intent is not, however, to provide a survey of existing analyses within this space, but to argue that some regions are more likely to be important in the future than others. Recognizing that our opinions do not represent the consensus of the community, we have tried, for each dichotomy, to make a case for both extremes (or at least identifying the contexts in which one makes more sense) while arguing primarily for one over the other. We argue that in the future analyses will be model-driven, namely centered on abstract models of behaviour; modular and incremental, to enable analysis "of components, and of systems before completion; and focused and partial, rather than uniform, paying closer attention to properties that matter most and to the parts of the software that affect those properties. In support of such analyses, we expect modelling languages to be global, with a focus on structural relationships across the system, and declarative, and we expect the analyses themselves to make more use of induction than has been fashionable recently. Finally, although we believe that unsound analyses have a bright future, we expect the increasing importance of infrastructural software to bring a renewed credibility to sound, precise and resource-intensive analyses.
Segmentation and recognition of symbols within handwritten mathematical expressions

An efficient on-line recognition system for symbols within handwritten mathematical expressions is proposed. The system is based on the generation of a symbol hypotheses net and the classification of the elements within the net. The final classification is done by calculating the most probable path through the net under regard of the stroke group probabilities and the probabilities obtained by the symbol recognizer based on hidden Markov models.
A new function for the calcineurin b subunit: Antiplatelet aggregation and anticoagulation

Calcineurin is the only Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent serine/threonine protein phosphatase. The roles of the cytosolic calcineurin have been well researched; however, the roles of the serum calcineurin remain unknown. Here, we report that the recombinant human calcineurin B subunit (CnB) can bind to rabbit platelets and show an antiplatelet aggregation activity. Furthermore, CnB exerts an anticoagulant effect by prolonging the activated partial thromboplastin time and thrombin time and reducing the plasma fibrinogen concentration in a dose‐dependent manner. We further reveal that the functional domain associated with the anticoagulant activity of CnB is located in the C‐terminus. Hemolysis test and intravenous stimulation study show that the recombinant CnB does not cause obvious hemolysis and is safe for intravenous injection. These results reveal a new function of calcineurin B subunit. They also give an explanation for the roles of calcineurin B subunit in serum and point to a possible implication in antithrombotic therapy. © 2011 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 63(11): 1037–1044, 2011
Gravity as a Strong Prior: Implications for Perception and Action

In the future, humans are likely to be exposed to environments with altered gravity conditions, be it only visually (Virtual and Augmented Reality), or visually and bodily (space travel). As visually and bodily perceived gravity as well as an interiorized representation of earth gravity are involved in a series of tasks, such as catching, grasping, body orientation estimation and spatial inferences, humans will need to adapt to these new gravity conditions. Performance under earth gravity discrepant conditions has been shown to be relatively poor, and few studies conducted in gravity adaptation are rather discouraging. Especially in VR on earth, conflicts between bodily and visual gravity cues seem to make a full adaptation to visually perceived earth-discrepant gravities nearly impossible, and even in space, when visual and bodily cues are congruent, adaptation is extremely slow. We invoke a Bayesian framework for gravity related perceptual processes, in which earth gravity holds the status of a so called “strong prior”. As other strong priors, the gravity prior has developed through years and years of experience in an earth gravity environment. For this reason, the reliability of this representation is extremely high and overrules any sensory information to its contrary. While also other factors such as the multisensory nature of gravity perception need to be taken into account, we present the strong prior account as a unifying explanation for empirical results in gravity perception and adaptation to earth-discrepant gravities.
A Local Version of the Projection Theorem

We prove the following theorem: Suppose that 1 ≤ m ≤ n are integers and μ is a Borel measure on R such that for μ-a.e. x, (1) The upper and lower m-densities of μ at x are positive and finite. (2) If ν is a tangent measure of μ at x then for all V ∈ G(n, m) the orthogonal projection of the support of ν onto V is a convex set. Then μ is m-rectifiable.
The Effects of Ethanol on Spatial and Nonspatial Memory in Adolescent and Adult Rats Studied Using an Appetitive Paradigm

Abstract: Adolescent rats have been reported to be less sensitive than adults to many acute ethanol effects, including ethanol‐induced sedation and motor impairment, but conversely more sensitive to ethanol‐induced disruptions in spatial memory in a Morris water maze (Markwiese et al., 1998). The present study examined adolescent and adult rats trained for 6 days under spatial or nonspatial versions of a presumably less stressful sand box maze. Moderately food‐deprived animals were given 0, 0.5, or 1.5 g/kg ethanol intraperitoneally 30 min before training each day, but were tested without ethanol or reinforcer on test day. Spatial acquisition was impaired by 1.5 g/kg in adults but not adolescents, with no ethanol impairment on the nonspatial task at either age. These results are opposite the ontogenetic profile reported by Markwiese et al., (1998) and may reflect differential activation of prefrontal cortex or other stress‐sensitive forebrain regions by the two tasks across age.
OECD Economic Studies

Introduction . 104 The model and data . 106 Estimation results . 111 Tentative policy conclusions . 117 Appendix 1. Calculation and data sources of the technological variables . 120 Appendix 2. Regressions in log-levels. 122 Appendix 3. Stability of the estimated parameters. 124 Bibliography . 125