Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of the amygdala in the perception of positive emotions: an “intensity detector”

The specific role of the amygdala remains controversial even though the development of functional imaging techniques has established its implication in the emotional process. The aim of this study was to highlight the sensitivity of the amygdala to emotional intensity (arousal). We conducted an analysis of the modulation of amygdala activation according to variation in emotional intensity via an fMRI event-related protocol. Monitoring of electrodermal activity, a marker of psychophysiological emotional perception and a reflection of the activation of the autonomic nervous system, was carried out concurrently. Eighteen subjects (10 men; aged from 22 to 29 years) looked at emotionally positive photographs. We demonstrated that the left and right amygdalae were sensitive to changes in emotional intensity, activating more in response to stimuli with higher intensity. Furthermore, electrodermal responses were more frequent for the most intense stimuli, demonstrating the concomitant activation of the autonomic nervous system. These results highlight the sensitivity of the amygdala to the intensity of positively valenced visual stimuli, and in conjunction with results in the literature on negative emotions, reinforce the role of the amygdala in the perception of intensity.
Asset Allocation Under Multivariate Regime Switching

This paper studies asset allocation decisions in the presence of regime switching in asset returns. We find evidence that four separate regimes - characterized as crash, slow growth, bull and recovery states - are required to capture the joint distribution of stock and bond returns. Optimal asset allocations vary considerably across these states and change over time as investors revise their estimates of the state probabilities. In the crash state, buy-and-hold investors allocate more of their portfolio to stocks the longer their investment horizon, while the optimal allocation to stocks declines as a function of the investment horizon in bull markets. The joint effects of learning about state probabilities and predictability of asset returns from the dividend yield give rise to a non-monotonic relationship between the investment horizon and the demand for stocks. Welfare costs from ignoring regime switching can be substantial even after accounting for parameter uncertainty. Out-of-sample forecasting experiments confirm the economic importance of accounting for the presence of regimes in asset returns. ; Earlier title: Strategic asset allocation and consumption decisions under multivariate regime switching
Randomization of Quasi-Monte Carlo Methods for Error Estimation: Survey and Normal Approximation *

Monte Carlo and quasi-Monte Carlo methods are simulation techniques that have been designed to efficiently estimate integrals for instance. Quasi-Monte Carlo asymptotically outperforms Monte Carlo, but the error can hardly be estimated. We propose here to recall how hybrid Monte Carlo/Quasi-Monte Carlo have been developed to easily get error estimations, with a special emphasis on the so-called randomly shifted low discrepancy sequences. Two additional points are investigated: we illustrate that the convergence rate is not always improved with respect to Monte Carlo and we discuss the confidence interval coverage problem.
Vision and Control for UAVs: A Survey of General Methods and of Inexpensive Platforms for Infrastructure Inspection

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained significant attention in recent years. Low-cost platforms using inexpensive sensor payloads have been shown to provide satisfactory flight and navigation capabilities. In this report, we survey vision and control methods that can be applied to low-cost UAVs, and we list some popular inexpensive platforms and application fields where they are useful. We also highlight the sensor suites used where this information is available. We overview, among others, feature detection and tracking, optical flow and visual servoing, low-level stabilization and high-level planning methods. We then list popular low-cost UAVs, selecting mainly quadrotors. We discuss applications, restricting our focus to the field of infrastructure inspection. Finally, as an example, we formulate two use-cases for railway inspection, a less explored application field, and illustrate the usage of the vision and control techniques reviewed by selecting appropriate ones to tackle these use-cases. To select vision methods, we run a thorough set of experimental evaluations.
Revealing the Complexity of a Monogenic Disease: Rett Syndrome Exome Sequencing

Rett syndrome (OMIM#312750) is a monogenic disorder that may manifest as a large variety of phenotypes ranging from very severe to mild disease. Since there is a weak correlation between the mutation type in the Xq28 disease-gene MECP2/X-inactivation status and phenotypic variability, we used this disease as a model to unveil the complex nature of a monogenic disorder. Whole exome sequencing was used to analyze the functional portion of the genome of two pairs of sisters with Rett syndrome. Although each pair of sisters had the same MECP2 (OMIM*300005) mutation and balanced X-inactivation, one individual from each pair could not speak or walk, and had a profound intellectual deficit (classical Rett syndrome), while the other individual could speak and walk, and had a moderate intellectual disability (Zappella variant). In addition to the MECP2 mutation, each patient has a group of variants predicted to impair protein function. The classical Rett girls, but not their milder affected sisters, have an enrichment of variants in genes related to oxidative stress, muscle impairment and intellectual disability and/or autism. On the other hand, a subgroup of variants related to modulation of immune system, exclusive to the Zappella Rett patients are driving toward a milder phenotype. We demonstrate that genome analysis has the potential to identify genetic modifiers of Rett syndrome, providing insight into disease pathophysiology. Combinations of mutations that affect speaking, walking and intellectual capabilities may represent targets for new therapeutic approaches. Most importantly, we demonstrated that monogenic diseases may be more complex than previously thought.
Evaluation of explanatory hypotheses 1

might actually be undesirable in a humorous explanation . ) Given a task, ACCEPTER examines the causes outlined in a candidate explanation, to determine whether those causes are sufficient to accomplish the task. For example , suppose the explainer's task is to repair a malfunctioning device. An explanation must account for the symptoms of the malfunction, and show how those symptoms result from abnormalities in the device. For example, if a television set is smoking, a good explanation for repair must say which parts are causing the smoke, rather than simply saying the smoke is the result of combustion within the device. ACCEPTER evaluates explanations for four purposes: predicting an event, controlling its future occurrence, repairing an undesirable state, and assigning responsibility. Depending on which purpose is in effect, the system requires different information to be included in an explanation. For example, one episode for which the system evaluates explanations involves a car recall. It is offered two possible explanations for the recall: that there was bad quality control when the car was manufactured, and that the car has a defective transmission. Both explanations are plausible when taken out of context, but when ACCEPTER evaluates them for the repair task, it rejects the first explanation and accepts the second, since only the second provides the information needed for the repair. ACCEPTER's evaluation of usefulness is dynamic, depending on the current task. It may require that an explanation include causes that are observable, predictive, and distinctive (for the task of predicting and avoiding future problems), repairable (for repairing a bad state), controllable (for preventing or causing an outcome), or desirable/undesirable (for assigning praise or blame). All these criteria reflect the content of the explanation, rather than structure alone. A more detailed description can be found in Leake (1989b; 1990). Conclusion Abduction, or inference to the best explanation, is a central component of the reasoning process. The " best " explanation is not one that is the most " correct, " if correctness is even measurable in the domain of interest, but one that is most useful to the process that is seeking the explanation. Consequently , criteria for evaluating the goodness of explanations must depend on a theory of the types of uses to which explanation may be applied. We have argued that two main classes of purposes must be considered: those based on knowledge goals reflecting internal desires for information, and …
Virtual places 1

Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts . A graphical representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding. (William Gibson, Neuromancer, 1984)
Pengaruh Kompetensi dan Kepemimpinan terhadap Kinerja Karyawan dengan Motivasi sebagai Variabel Moderasi

Purpose of this research to analyze the effect of competention, leadership and motivation on employee performance dan to analyze effect of competention and leadership on employee performance with motivation are moderation. Design research is survey on employees of CV. Harapan Baru Surakarta. Population are 56 employees with sampling technique used sensus. The type of data used quantitative and qualitative data. Source of data used primary data and secondary data. The technique of collecting data used questionnaires and literature. The data analysis technique used regression with moderation. The results showed that competention has significant effect on employee performance. Leadership has significant effect on employees performance. Motivation has significant effect on employees performance. Motivation did not moderate effect of competention on employees performance. Motivation did not moderate effect of leadership on employees performance. Keywords: competention, leadership, motivation and performance
The impact of visual cues and lexical knowledge on the perception of a non-native consonant contrast for Colombian adults

The study investigates the impact of visual cues and lexical knowledge on the identification of a nonnative phonemic contrast. Twenty native Colombians were tested on an identification task involving 16 minimal pairs of English words, produced by four English speakers, contrasting in the presence of /b/ or /v/ in initial or medial position. The test was run in three conditions: audiovisual (AV), audio only (A) or visual only (V). Prior to the identification task, their knowledge of the lexical items was evaluated; they were also recorded while reading the words. Mean identification scores were higher for the AV than the A condition, but V and AV scores not differ. Relative to previous /b/-/v/ studies with Peninsular Spanish speakers, Colombians relied more heavily on visual cues in their identification of /b/-/v/. Although there was a trend for identification scores to be higher for known lexical items, this effect was not statistically significant. Finally, production accuracy for the /b/-/v/ contrast was not correlated with perception accuracy, but production tended to be more accurate in speakers with better lexical knowledge. The visual weighting results suggest that the degree of visual bias in speech perception may be ‘culture-specific’ rather than merely ‘language-specific’.
Morphological Characteristics of Renal Artery and Kidney in Rats

The gross anatomy and morphometry of the kidney and renal arteries were studied in the strains of laboratory rat: Sprague-Dawley (Sp) and Wistar (W) rats. Total of 106 three-dimensional endocasts of the intrarenal arteries of kidney that were prepared using standard injection-corrosion techniques were examined. A single renal artery was observed in 100% of the cases. The renal arteries were divided into a dorsal and a ventral branch. The dorsal and ventral branches were divided into two branches, the cranial and caudal branch. Renal arteries were classified into types I and II, depending on the cranial and caudal branches and their made of branching. The present study also showed that the right kidney was slightly heavier than the left one and that the kidney of the male was generally larger than that of the female. The mean live weights of the Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats were found to be 258.26 ± 5.9 and 182.4 ± 19.05 g, respectively. The kidney weights were significantly correlated (P < 0.01) with body weights. The kidney weights were not found significantly correlated (P > 0.01) with the length of renal arteries.
Production and Maintenance of Content-Intensive Videogames: A Document-Oriented Approach

<e-Game> is a tool for the rapid development of adventure videogames with an educational purpose. It provides a markup language (the <e-Game> language) for structuring documents containing storyboards, and a processor (the <e-Game> engine) for executing games from these marked documents. This paper describes how <e-Game> facilitates new development models for the production and maintenance of content-intensive applications with domain-specific markup languages by applying our ADDS approach (approach for document-oriented development of software)
Understanding enrolment in community health insurance in sub-Saharan Africa: a population-based case-control study in rural Burkina Faso.

OBJECTIVE To identify factors associated with decision to enrol in a community health insurance (CHI) scheme. METHODS We conducted a population-based case-control study among 15 communities offered insurance in 2004 in rural Burkina Faso. For inclusion in the study, we selected all 154 enrolled (cases) and a random sample of 393 non-enrolled (controls) households. We used unconditional logistic regression (applying Huber-White correction to account for clustering at the community level) to explore the association between enrolment status and a set of household head, household and community characteristics. FINDINGS Multivariate analysis revealed that enrolment in CHI was associated with Bwaba ethnicity, higher education, higher socioeconomic status, a negative perception of the adequacy of traditional care, a higher proportion of children living within the household, greater distance from the health facility, and a lower level of socioeconomic inequality within the community, but not with household health status or previous household health service utilization. CONCLUSION Our study provides evidence that the decision to enrol in CHI is shaped by a combination of household head, household, and community factors. Policies aimed at enhancing enrolment ought to act at all three levels. On the basis of our findings, we discuss specific policy recommendations and highlight areas for further research.
Physiological Mechanisms of Eccentric Contraction and Its Applications: A Role for the Giant Titin Protein

When active muscles are stretched, our understanding of muscle function is stretched as well. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of concentric contraction has advanced considerably since the advent of the sliding filament theory, whereas mechanisms for increased force production during eccentric contraction are only now becoming clearer. Eccentric contractions play an important role in everyday human movements, including mobility, stability, and muscle strength. Shortly after the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction was introduced, there was a reluctant recognition that muscle behaved as if it contained an “elastic” filament. Jean Hanson and Hugh Huxley referred to this structure as the “S-filament,” though their concept gained little traction. This additional filament, the giant titin protein, was identified several decades later, and its roles in muscle contraction are still being discovered. Recent research has demonstrated that, like activation of thin filaments by calcium, titin is also activated in muscle sarcomeres by mechanisms only now being elucidated. The mdm mutation in mice appears to prevent activation of titin, and is a promising model system for investigating mechanisms of titin activation. Titin stiffness appears to increase with muscle force production, providing a mechanism that explains two fundamental properties of eccentric contractions: their high force and low energetic cost. The high force and low energy cost of eccentric contractions makes them particularly well suited for athletic training and rehabilitation. Eccentric exercise is commonly prescribed for treatment of a variety of conditions including sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and tendinosis. Use of eccentric exercise in rehabilitation and athletic training has exploded to include treatment for the elderly, as well as muscle and bone density maintenance for astronauts during long-term space travel. For exercise intolerance and many types of sports injuries, experimental evidence suggests that interventions involving eccentric exercise are demonstrably superior to conventional concentric interventions. Future work promises to advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that confer high force and low energy cost to eccentric contraction, as well as signaling mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of eccentric exercise in athletic training and rehabilitation.
Effects of brief and sham mindfulness meditation on mood and cardiovascular variables.

OBJECTIVES Although long-term meditation has been found to reduce negative mood and cardiovascular variables, the effects of a brief mindfulness meditation intervention when compared to a sham mindfulness meditation intervention are relatively unknown. This experiment examined whether a 3-day (1-hour total) mindfulness or sham mindfulness meditation intervention would improve mood and cardiovascular variables when compared to a control group. METHODS Eighty-two (82) undergraduate students (34 males, 48 females), with no prior meditation experience, participated in three sessions that involved training in either mindfulness meditation, sham mindfulness meditation, or a control group. Heart rate, blood pressure, and psychologic variables (Profile of Mood States, State Anxiety Inventory) were assessed before and after the intervention. RESULTS The meditation intervention was more effective at reducing negative mood, depression, fatigue, confusion, and heart rate, when compared to the sham and control groups. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that brief meditation training has beneficial effects on mood and cardiovascular variables that go beyond the demand characteristics of a sham meditation intervention.
Diversification of a Protein Kinase Cascade: IME-2 Is Involved in Nonself Recognition and Programmed Cell Death in Neurospora crassa

Kinase cascades and the modification of proteins by phosphorylation are major mechanisms for cell signaling and communication, and evolution of these signaling pathways can contribute to new developmental or environmental response pathways. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae kinase Ime2 has been well characterized for its role in meiosis. However, recent studies have revealed alternative functions for Ime2 in both S. cerevisiae and other fungi. In the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, the IME2 homolog (ime-2) is not required for meiosis. Here we determine that ime-2 interacts genetically with a transcription factor vib-1 during nonself recognition and programmed cell death (PCD). Mutations in vib-1 (Δvib-1) suppress PCD due to nonself recognition events; however, a Δvib-1 Δime-2 mutant restored wild-type levels of cell death. A role for ime-2 in the post-translational processing and localization of a mitochondrial matrix protein was identified, which may implicate mitochondria in N. crassa nonself recognition and PCD. Further, Δvib-1 strains do not produce extracellular proteases, but protease secretion reverted to near wild-type levels in a Δvib-1 Δime-2 strain. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the VIB-1 protein is phosphorylated at several sites, including a site that matches the IME-2 consensus. The genetic and biochemical data for ime-2 and vib-1 indicate that IME-2 is a negative regulator of VIB-1 and suggest parallel negative regulation by IME-2 of a cell death pathway in N. crassa that functions in concert with the VIB-1 cell death pathway. Thus, IME2 kinase function has evolved following the divergence of S. cerevisiae and N. crassa and provides insight into the evolution of kinases and their regulatory targets.
The Detection of Earnings Manipulation

and Université du Québec à Montréal. I am indebted to David Hsieh for his generous econometric advice and the use of his estimation subroutines. I thank Julie Azoulay, Pablo Cisilino and Melissa McFadden for expert assistance. Abstract The Detection of Earnings Manipulation The paper profiles a sample of earnings manipulators, identifies their distinguishing characteristics, and estimates a model for detecting manipulation. The model's variables are designed to capture either the effects of manipulation or preconditions that may prompt firms to engage in such activity. The results suggest a systematic relation between the probability of manipulation and financial statement variables. The evidence is consistent with accounting data being useful in detecting manipulation and assessing the reliability of accounting earnings. In holdout sample tests, the model identifies approximately half of the companies involved in earnings manipulation prior to public discovery. Because companies discovered manipulating earnings see their stocks plummet in value, the model can be a useful screening device for investing professionals. While the model is easily implemented-the data can be extracted from an annual report-, the screening results require further investigation to determine whether the distortions in financial statement numbers result from earnings manipulation or have another structural root.
Market Competition and Information Diversity in Financial Markets

This paper shows that the sale of information, or news markets, can reduce the diversity of information held by nancial market traders. Improved access to news spurs more informed trading, which in turn can exacerbate a negative externality on the value of other types of information. Exploiting this externality, a monopolist news vendor sets prices to preempt the search for other information, thereby increasing the population of informed traders at the expense of information diversity. As a result, asset prices may be less informative even though the nancial market is more e¢ cient. By contrast, news market competition promotes the search for other information by further popularizing news to the extent that it decreases the externality. As the competitiveness of the news sector improves with both information technology and the ease of entry, countries with technologically more advanced and more open news industries should have more diversely informed investors and more informative stock prices. This can potentially explain the cross-country and time-series evidence on stock price comovements. JEL Classi cation: D82, G14, L12