Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Episodic Reinstatement in the Medial Temporal Lobe

The essence of episodic memory is our ability to reexperience past events in great detail, even in the absence of external stimulus cues. Does the phenomenological reinstatement of past experiences go along with reinstating unique neural representations in the brain? And if so, how is this accomplished by the medial temporal lobe (MTL), a brain region intimately linked to episodic memory? Computational models suggest that such reinstatement (also termed “pattern completion”) in cortical regions is mediated by the hippocampus, a key region of the MTL. Although recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies demonstrated reinstatement of coarse item properties like stimulus category or task context across different brain regions, it has not yet been shown whether reinstatement can be observed at the level of individual, discrete events—arguably the defining feature of episodic memory—nor whether MTL structures like the hippocampus support this “true episodic” reinstatement. Here we show that neural activity patterns for unique word-scene combinations encountered during encoding are reinstated in human parahippocampal cortex (PhC) during retrieval. Critically, this reinstatement occurs when word-scene combinations are successfully recollected (even though the original scene is not visually presented) and does not encompass other stimulus domains (such as word-color associations). Finally, the degree of PhC reinstatement across retrieval events correlated with hippocampal activity, consistent with a role of the hippocampus in coordinating pattern completion in cortical regions.
N-gram-based detection of new malicious code

The current commercial anti-virus software detects a virus only after the virus has appeared and caused damage. Motivated by the standard signature-based technique for detecting viruses, and a recent successful text classification method, we explore the idea of automatically detecting new malicious code using the collected dataset of the benign and malicious code. We obtained accuracy of 100% in the training data, and 98% in 3-fold cross-validation.
Anger experiences, expression and perceived functional impact in highly-skilled Chinese taekwondo athletes

Qingyang Xiong, 2013. Anger experiences, expression and perceived functional impact in highly-skilled Chinese taekwondo athletes. Master’s Thesis in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Department of Sport Sciences. University of Jyvaskyla. 50 p. The study of emotions and their relationship with athletic performance has received wide research attention. Previous literature has indicated that unpleasant emotions can be beneficial or harmful to performance. This study, grounded in the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model, aimed to examine situational anger, anger disposition as well as anger expression and control. Additionally, the reasons for feeling anger in a combat and perceived impact on performance were investigated. Participants were 21 elite taekwondo athletes in Chinese national team (M age=20.10). The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) in its Chinese version was used to measure state anger, trait anger and anger expression. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 4 athletes to further investigate anger domains, perceptions about the impact of anger on performance. Coping mechanisms and the role of the coach in emotion regulation were also investigated. Results from repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant differences in the levels of anger intensity prior to, during and after best and worst performances. A great intraindividual variability was also found. Five profiles represented the levels of anger for the whole group. Results from inductive content analyses indicated that anger related to six different situations stemmed from internal and external reasons. The impact of anger on performance was perceived as facilitative (i.e. mobilizing energy) and also as detrimental (i.e. inefficient utilization of energy). Most Chinese athletes tended to control their anger (i.e. control-in, to calm down). They also endeavored to suppress anger (express-in) rather than express verbally or physically (express-out). In addition, results also pointed out that coach played an important role to assist emotion regulation. In conclusion, this study replicates previous IZOF-based research and extends it to examine anger experiences in an Eastern culture as well as the role of the coach in anger regulation.
Wellbeing, occupational justice and police practice: an ‘affirming environment’?

Abstract This paper examines wellbeing and occupational justice within the police profession. The research presented is based on a preliminary study utilising a qualitative methodology in which 14 in-depth interviews were conducted with rank and file police officers in one state of Australia. The data-set reveals that there are many positive aspects to being a police officer, contrary to the ‘dysfunction’ research that exists concerning the police in which corruption and poor performance prevails. The data analysis supports the notion that the practice of the police can be understood through a framework of wellbeing, occupational justice, and positive psychology. Whilst the research yields strong positive aspects in the work police officers engage in, as well as in their working environment, there are challenges within the profession, namely dealing with traumatic events that can hinder wellbeing and occupational justice. This study offers evidence to reflect on current policies and practices in terms of police recruitment, education and training. The study also offers evidence for improving staff retention by building on the principles of wellbeing and occupational justice within police practice.
Alcohol and the risk for latent autoimmune diabetes in adults: results based on Swedish ESTRID study

Objective Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. Our aim was to investigate whether alcohol consumption is associated with the risk of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), an autoimmune form of diabetes with features of type 2 diabetes. Design A population-based case–control study was carried out to investigate the association of alcohol consumption and the risk of LADA. Methods We used data from the ESTRID case–control study carried out between 2010 and 2013, including 250 incident cases of LADA (glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADAs) positive) and 764 cases of type 2 diabetes (GADA negative), and 1012 randomly selected controls aged ≥35. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) of diabetes in relation to alcohol intake, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, family history of diabetes, smoking, and education. Results Alcohol consumption was inversely associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.92–0.99 for every 5-g increment in daily intake). Similar results were observed for LADA, but stratification by median GADA levels revealed that the results only pertained to LADA with low GADA levels (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.76–0.94/5 g alcohol per day), whereas no association was observed with LADA having high GADA levels (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.94–1.06/5 g per day). Every 5-g increment of daily alcohol intake was associated with a 10% increase in GADA levels (P=0.0312), and a 10% reduction in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (P=0.0418). Conclusions Our findings indicate that alcohol intake may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and type 2-like LADA, but has no beneficial effects on diabetes-related autoimmunity.
AstonCAT-Plus: An Efficient Specialist for the TAC Market Design Tournament

This paper describes the strategies used by AstonCAT-Plus, the post-tournament version of the specialist designed for the TAC Market Design Tournament 2010. It details how AstonCAT-Plus accepts shouts, clears market, sets transaction prices and charges fees. Through empirical evaluation, we show that AstonCAT-Plus not only outperforms AstonCAT (tournament version) significantly but also achieves the second best overall score against some top entrants of the competition. In particular, it achieves the highest allocative efficiency, transaction success rate and average trader profit among all the specialists in our controlled experiments.
Ultralight and fire-resistant ceramic nanofibrous aerogels with temperature-invariant superelasticity

Ultralight and fire-resistant ceramic nanofibrous aerogels with temperature-invariant superelasticity to 1100°C. Ultralight aerogels that are both highly resilient and compressible have been fabricated from various materials including polymer, carbon, and metal. However, it has remained a great challenge to realize high elasticity in aerogels solely based on ceramic components. We report a scalable strategy to create superelastic lamellar-structured ceramic nanofibrous aerogels (CNFAs) by combining SiO2 nanofibers with aluminoborosilicate matrices. This approach causes the random-deposited SiO2 nanofibers to assemble into elastic ceramic aerogels with tunable densities and desired shapes on a large scale. The resulting CNFAs exhibit the integrated properties of flyweight densities of >0.15 mg cm−3, rapid recovery from 80% strain, zero Poisson’s ratio, and temperature-invariant superelasticity to 1100°C. The integral ceramic nature also provided the CNFAs with robust fire resistance and thermal insulation performance. The successful synthesis of these fascinating materials may provide new insights into the development of ceramics in a lightweight, resilient, and structurally adaptive form.
Indexing 3D Scenes Using the Interaction Bisector Surface

The spatial relationship between different objects plays an important role in defining the context of scenes. Most previous 3D classification and retrieval methods take into account either the individual geometry of the objects or simple relationships between them such as the contacts or adjacencies. In this article we propose a new method for the classification and retrieval of 3D objects based on the Interaction Bisector Surface (IBS), a subset of the Voronoi diagram defined between objects. The IBS is a sophisticated representation that describes topological relationships such as whether an object is wrapped in, linked to, or tangled with others, as well as geometric relationships such as the distance between objects. We propose a hierarchical framework to index scenes by examining both the topological structure and the geometric attributes of the IBS. The topology-based indexing can compare spatial relations without being severely affected by local geometric details of the object. Geometric attributes can also be applied in comparing the precise way in which the objects are interacting with one another. Experimental results show that our method is effective at relationship classification and content-based relationship retrieval.
HRA∗: Hybrid randomized path planning for complex 3D environments

We propose HRA*, a new randomized path planner for complex 3D environments. The method is a modified A* algorithm that uses a hybrid node expansion technique that combines a random exploration of the action space meeting vehicle kinematic constraints with a cost to goal metric that considers only kinematically feasible paths to the goal. The method includes also a series of heuristics to accelerate the search time. These include a cost penalty near obstacles, and a filter to prevent revisiting configurations. The performance of the method is compared against A*, RRT and RRT* in a series of challenging 3D outdoor datasets. HRA* is shown to outperform all of them in computation time, and delivering shorter paths than A* and RRT.
Effects of message framing on intentions towards the Pap test: Moderation by the objective of the recommended behavior, mediated by the valence of mental imagery

This experimental research examines the effect of message framing (gains vs losses) for a health communication promoting Pap smears on behavioral intentions in a new way: by suggesting a moderation by the objective of the recommended behavior (prevention vs detection), which is, in turn, mediated by the valence (positive vs negative) of mental images. An experiment conducted on 271 women highlights that message framing affects behavioral intentions when the recommended behavior is detection-related. These effects are explained through the valence of visual mental images. The results are discussed, and avenues for further research, especially those arising from the study limitations, are proposed.
Regulation of Porcine Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells by Cytokines

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) are the most potent producers of type-I interferon (IFN) and represent the main interferon (IFN)-α source in response to many viruses. Considering the important roles played by type I IFN’s, not only as antiviral effectors but also as potent alarming cytokine of the immune system, we investigated how such responses are regulated by various cytokines. To this end, we stimulated enriched pDC in the presence or absence of particular cytokines with a strong activator, CpG DNA, or a weak activator of pDC, foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Alternatively, we pre-incubated pDC for 16 h before stimulation. The pro-inflammatory cytokines tested Interleukin (IL)-6, IL17A, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α did not influence IFN-α responses except TNF-α, which promoted responses induced by FMDV. The haematopoietic cytokines Fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt3-L) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) had enhancing effects on pDC activation at least in one of the protocols tested. IFN-β and IFN-γ were the most potent at enhancing FMDV-induced IFN-α, up to 10-fold. Interestingly, also the Th2 cytokine IL-4 was an efficient promoter of pDC activity, while IL-10 was the only negative regulator of IFN-α in pDC identified. The cytokines enhancing IFN-α responses also promoted pDC survival in cell culture with the exception of GM-CSF. Taken together this work illustrates how the cytokine network can influence pDC activation, a knowledge of relevance for improving vaccines and therapeutic interventions during virus infections, cancers and autoimmune diseases in which pDC play a role.
Germline DNA Demethylation Dynamics and Imprint Erasure Through 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine

Epigenetic Controls Germ cells in mammals give rise to sperm and eggs. During their development, germ cells undergo extensive epigenetic reprogramming, including global DNA demethylation, which is vital for the totipotency of the developing embryo. Hackett et al. (p. 448) show that the enzymes Tet1 and Tet2 are involved in the demethylation of individual genes and in imprinted gametic differentially methylated regions. The enzymes were also responsible for the global conversion of CpG methylation to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, which then progressively declines. The findings suggest that demethylation can occur by replication-coupled dilution, although active mechanisms cannot be excluded. A small number of loci escape demethylation, providing a possible mechanistic basis for transgenerational inheritance. Rare loci that escape epigenetic reprogramming in mammalian germ cells may underlie transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs) undergo sequential epigenetic changes and genome-wide DNA demethylation to reset the epigenome for totipotency. Here, we demonstrate that erasure of CpG methylation (5mC) in PGCs occurs via conversion to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), driven by high levels of TET1 and TET2. Global conversion to 5hmC initiates asynchronously among PGCs at embryonic day (E) 9.5 to E10.5 and accounts for the unique process of imprint erasure. Mechanistically, 5hmC enrichment is followed by its protracted decline thereafter at a rate consistent with replication-coupled dilution. The conversion to 5hmC is an important component of parallel redundant systems that drive comprehensive reprogramming in PGCs. Nonetheless, we identify rare regulatory elements that escape systematic DNA demethylation in PGCs, providing a potential mechanistic basis for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.
Evaluation of GenoType MTBDRplus for the rapid detection of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Ghana.

BACKGROUND Rapid but simple diagnostic tools for the detection of drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis (TB) have been acknowledged as being important for its effective management and control. OBJECTIVE To establish a molecular line-probe assay (GenoType MTBDRplus) for detecting DR-TB in Ghana. METHOD We first screened 113 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates using the indirect proportion method and MTBDRplus. The rpoB and katG genes and the promoter regions of oxyR-ahpC and inhA were sequenced to identify mutations in isolates found to be resistant on phenotypic drug susceptibility testing and/or MTBDRplus. We then analysed an additional 412 isolates using only MTBDRplus. RESULTS Respectively 43 (8.2%) and 8 (1.5%) isolates were resistant to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP), while 8 (1.5%) were multidrug-resistant. In resistant isolates, mutations in codon 450 of rpoB and codon 315 of katG, conferring resistance to respectively RMP and INH, dominated. We found two RMP-resistant isolates with a S450L substitution, each harbouring an additional mutation at S388L and Q409R. Using phenotypic testing as gold standard, the MTBDRplus assay showed a sensitivity and specificity in the detection of RMP and INH resistance and multidrug resistance of respectively 100% and 100%, 83.3% and 100%, and 100% and 100%. CONCLUSION The high sensitivity of MTBDRplus makes it a valuable addition to the conventional TB diagnostic algorithm in Ghana.
The case for normothermic machine perfusion in liver transplantation

In recent years, there has been growing interest in normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) as a preservation method in liver transplantation. In most countries, because of a donor organ shortage, an unacceptable number of patients die while awaiting transplantation. In an attempt to increase the number of donor organs available, transplant teams are implanting a greater number of high‐risk livers, including those from donation after circulatory death, older donors, and donors with steatosis. NMP maintains the liver ex vivo on a circuit by providing oxygen and nutrition at 37°C. This permits extended preservation times, the ability to perform liver viability assessment, and the potential for liver‐directed therapeutic interventions during preservation. It is hoped that this technology may facilitate the enhanced preservation of marginal livers with improved posttransplant outcomes by reducing ischemia/reperfusion injury. Clinical trials have demonstrated its short‐term superiority over cold storage in terms of early biochemical liver function, and it is anticipated that it may result in increased organ utilization, helping to reduce the number of wait‐list deaths. However, further studies are required to demonstrate longer‐term efficacy and the impact on biliary complications as well as further knowledge to exploit and maximize the potential of this exciting new technology. Liver Transplantation 24 269–275 2018 AASLD.
Sexual perceptions and practices of young people in Northern Thailand

This study draws together survey and qualitative data on sexual practices among more than 1750 young Northern Thai people aged 17–20 years. The survey data indicate that sexually active young people frequently engage in, or are subjected to, risk-taking behaviours that may expose them to sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies. These include having multiple sexual partners and quite frequent partner turnover. High percentages also engage in unprotected sexual intercourse with various types of sexual partner (steady, casual and paid), and young women especially had often experienced sexual coercion. Qualitative data revealed a mixture of perceptions and practices affecting sexual intercourse among the young, such as having unplanned sex, engaging in sexual relations to display love or cement committed relationships, and having serial relationships, both monogamous and non-monogamous. We conclude that condom use should be a central focus of activities aimed at preventing adverse sexual health outcomes, but that new intervention approaches to encourage use of other contraceptives are also needed. Changes in sexual norms among young people also need to be acknowledged and accepted by older Thai generations in order for programmes and interventions to combat negative sexual and reproductive health consequences to be more effective.
Applying boosting for hyperspectral classification of ore-bearing rocks

Hyperspectral sensors provide a powerful tool for non-destructive analysis of rocks. While classification of spectrally distinct materials can be performed by traditional methods, identification of different rock types or grades composed of similar materials remains a challenge because spectra are in many cases similar. In this paper, we investigate the application of boosting algorithms to classify hyperspectral data of ore rock samples into multiple discrete categories. Two variants of boosting, GentleBoost and LogitBoost, were implemented and compared with Support Vector Machines as benchmark. Two pre-processing transformations that may improve classification accuracy were investigated: derivative analysis and smoothing, both calculated by the Savitzky-Golay method. To assess the performance of the algorithms over noisy data, white Gaussian noise was added at various levels to the data set. We present experimental results using hyperspectral data collected from rock samples from an iron ore mine.
Overexpression of epidermal growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor receptors in a proportion of gastrinomas correlates with aggressive growth and lower curability.

PURPOSE Growth factor receptor expression and activation, particularly for epidermal growth factor (EGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), in many endocrine and nonendocrine tumors is important in determining tumor recurrence, growth, and aggressiveness. Whether this is true of neuroendocrine tumors such as gastrinomas is unclear. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN To address this question, we analyzed the extent of EGFR and HGFR expression in gastrinomas from 38 patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and correlated it with clinical and tumor characteristics. EGFR (n = 38) and HGFR (n = 22) mRNA levels were determined by competitive PCR, and immunohistochemistry was performed on a subset. RESULTS In each of the gastrinomas studied, detectable levels of EGFR and HGFR mRNA were present. Low levels of EGFR protein expression were detected in 40% of gastrinomas and HGFR protein expression in 90%. EGFR mRNA expression varied by 1050-fold and HGFR by 375-fold. Eighteen percent of gastrinomas overexpressed EGFR mRNA and 14% overexpressed HGFR mRNA, compared with normal pancreas. Maximal EGFR and HGFR mRNA levels were 4- and 1.2-fold increased and correlated with the presence of liver metastases (P = 0.034) and decreased long-term curability (P = 0.027) but not tumor location, size, or tumor functional characteristics. CONCLUSIONS These above results indicate that EGFR and HGFR mRNA are universally expressed in gastrinomas. Furthermore, each is overexpressed in a minority (15-20%) of the gastrinomas, and the overexpression correlates with aggressive growth and lower curability.