Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thalamic oscillations and signaling

History - changing concepts of oscillations and activation processes morphology - thalamic input-output relations intrinsic circuitry in the thalamus and cortex-electrophysiology: intrinsic properties and ionic conductances of thalamic cells state-related cellular modes - electrographic variables and methodology of behavioral states the oscillatory mode during eeg-synchronized sleep the relay mode during brain activated states brain-stem control of the thalamus and states of vigilance.
How Workers Fare When Employers Innovate

Complementing existing work on firm organizational structure and productivity, this paper examines the impact of organizational change on workers. We find evidence that employers do appear to compensate at least some of their workers for engaging in high performance workplace practices. We also find a significant association between high performance workplace practices and increased wage inequality. Finally, we examine the relationship between organizational structure and employment changes and find that some practices, such as self-managed teams, are associated with greater employment reductions, while other practices, such as the percentage of workers involved in job rotation, are associated with lower employment reductions.
Educators who believe: understanding the enthusiasm of teachers who use digital games in the classroom

This study used qualitative methods to explore why some educators embrace the use of digital game-play (DGP) in the classroom. The results indicated that these teachers had a very strong belief that DGP could be beneficial for learning which stemmed from experiencing their own form of subjective success with using DGP in the classroom, availing themselves of information and advocacy about using DGP in the classroom and personal experiences with DGP either through their own DGP or through watching their own children play games. They also shared positive attitudes towards information and communication technologies generally and had initially been invited to use DGP in the classroom by someone in authority. Their use of DGP was also something that they felt made them different to other teachers. Applying these findings to Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory predicted that the diffusion rate of using DGP in the classroom will continue to be slow. Finally, this study indicates that teachers need to experience their own form of subjective ‘success’ in order to find DGP valuable and this subjective ‘success’ often goes beyond test score performance. Keywords: game-based learning; video games; elementary education; secondary education; educational beliefs; pedagogical issues (Published: 4 September 2015) Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2015, 23 : 26155 - http://dx.doi. org/10.3402/rlt.v23. 26155
A Mean Field control approach for demand side management of large populations of Thermostatically Controlled Loads

This paper presents a Mean Field (MF) control approach for demand side management of large populations of flexible electric loads, such as electrical cooling/heating appliances, called Thermostatically Controlled Loads (TCLs). We model the switching dynamics of each individual TCL as the solution of a local optimization problem, characterized by individual cost function, comfort constraints, cooling/heating rates and external temperature. We consider that a central utility company broadcasts macroscopic incentives to steer the overall TCL population towards a convenient equilibrium, to avoid power demand peaks due to possible synchronization of the TCL duty cycles. To find such pricing schemes we propose an iterative algorithm where, at every step, a simple model-free feedback law is used to update the incentives, given the current aggregate demand of the TCL population only. The convergence of such algorithm is ensured for any population size, even in the presence of heterogeneous convex constraints. We illustrate our MF control approach via numerical analysis.
Molecular cloning of the gene which encodes beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase from a marine bacterium, Alteromonas sp. strain O-7

The gene encoding the periplasmic beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (GlcNAcase B) from a marine Alteromonas sp. strain, O-7, was cloned and sequenced. The protein sequence of GlcNAcase B revealed a highly significant homology with Vibrio GlcNAcase and alpha- and beta-chains of human beta-hexosaminidase.
Bilişim Teknolojileri (BT) Öğretmenlerinin Mesleki Sorunları ve Çözüm Önerileri: Okul Müdürü ve BT Öğretmenlerinin Görüşleri

BT ogretmenlerinin yasadiklari mesleki sorunlarin tespit edilmesi ve cozum onerilerinin gelistirilmesinin amaclandigi arastirmada nitel arastirma desenlerinden olgubilim deseni kullanilmistir. Arastirma 2010-2011 ogretim yilinda Eskisehir’deki ilkogretim okullarinda gorev yapan 10 okul muduru ve 10 BT ogretmeni ile gerceklestirilmistir. Veriler yari yapilandirilmis gorusme ile toplanmis, elde edilen veriler icerik analizi ile cozumlenmis ve yorumlanmistir. Arastirma sonucunda BT ogretmenlerinin mesleki sorunlari ozluk haklari, gorev tanimi, mesleki gelisim, mesleki doyum, yonetsel destek olmak uzere bes tema altinda toplanmistir. Yasanan sorunlara iliskin okul mudurleri ve BT ogretmenlerinin one cikan cozum onerileri; BT ogretmenlerine BT formatoru olarak kadro verilmesi, calisma saatlerinin ve gorev tanimlarinin duzenlenmesi, okul mudurlerinin BT ogretmeninin rolleri hakkinda bilinclendirilmesi, BT ogretmenlerinin egitim teknolojilerini yakindan takip etmesi, diger ogretmenlerin teknoloji kullanimi konusunda yetistirilmesi seklindedir. Okul mudurlerinin cogu BT ogretmenlerinin FATIH projesindeki rolunu teknoloji kullanimi konusunda ogretmenlere destek olma ve onlara egitim verme seklinde degerlendirmektedir.
VisTracer: a visual analytics tool to investigate routing anomalies in traceroutes

Routing in the Internet is vulnerable to attacks due to the insecure design of the border gateway protocol (BGP). One possible exploitation of this insecure design is the hijacking of IP blocks. Such hijacked IP blocks can then be used to conduct malicious activities from seemingly legitimate IP addresses. In this study we actively trace and monitor the routes to spam sources over several consecutive days after having received a spam message from such a source. However, the real challenge is to distinguish between legitimate routing changes and those ones that are related to systematic misuse in so-called spam campaigns. To combine the strengths of human judgement and computational efficiency, we thus present a novel visual analytics tool named Vistracer in this paper. This tool represents analysis results of our anomaly detection algorithms on large traceroute data sets with the help of several scalable representations to support the analyst to explore, identify and analyze suspicious events and their relations to malicious activities. In particular, pixel-based visualization techniques, novel glyph-based summary representations and a combination of temporal glyphs in a graph representation are used to give an overview of route changes to specific destinations over time. To evaluate our tool, real-world case studies demonstrate the usage of Vistracer in practice on large-scale data sets.
Nber Working Paper Series the Design of Fiscal Adjustments the Design of Fiscal Adjustments *

and participants to the 2012 AER session on Fiscal Adjustments for useful comments and Giampaolo Lecce for excellent research assistantship. Views and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Goldman Sachs or the National Bureau of Economic Research. The author alone is responsible for any remaining errors. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications. ABSTRACT This paper offers three results. First, in line with the previous literature, we confirm that fiscal adjustments based mostly on the spending side are less likely to be reversed. Second, spending based fiscal adjustments have caused smaller recessions than tax based fiscal adjustments. Finally, certain combinations of policies have made it possible for spending based fiscal adjustments to be associated with growth in the economy even on impact rather than with a recession. Thus, expansionary fiscal adjustments are possible. Abstract This paper offers three results. First, in line with the previous literature we confirm that fiscal adjustment based mostly on the spending side are less likely to be reversed. Second, spending based fiscal adjustments have caused smaller recessions than tax based fiscal adjustment. Finally, certain combinations of polcies have made it possible for spending based fiscal adjustments to be associated with growth in the economy even on impact rather than with a recession. Thus, expansionary fiscal adjustments are possible.
Between Amyloids and Aggregation Lies a Connection with Strength and Adhesion

We tell of a journey that led to discovery of amyloids formed by yeast cell adhesins and their importance in biofilms and host immunity. We begin with the identification of the adhesin functional amyloid-forming sequences that mediate fiber formation in vitro. Atomic force microscopy and confocal microscopy show 2-dimensional amyloid “nanodomains” on the surface of cells that are activated for adhesion. These nanodomains are arrays of adhesin molecules that bind multivalent ligands with high avidity. Nanodomains form when adhesin molecules are stretched in the AFM or under laminar flow. Treatment with antiamyloid perturbants or mutation of the amyloid sequence prevents adhesion nanodomain formation and activation. We are now discovering biological consequences. Adhesin nanodomains promote formation and maintenance of biofilms, which are microbial communities. Also, in abscesses within candidiasis patients, we find adhesin amyloids on the surface of the fungi. In both human infection and a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model, the presence of fungal surface amyloids elicits anti-inflammatory responses. Thus, this is a story of how fungal adhesins respond to extension forces through formation of cell surface amyloid nanodomains, with key consequences for biofilm formation and host responses.
Collagen markers deoxypyridinoline and hydroxylysine glycosides: pediatric reference data and use for growth prediction in growth hormone-deficient children.

BACKGROUND In children and adolescents, markers of bone and collagen metabolism reflect the dynamics of skeletal growth and development. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of the urinary collagen markers deoxypyridinoline (DPD) and hydroxylysine (Hyl) and its glycosides [galactosyl-Hyl (Gal-Hyl) and glucosyl-Gal-Hyl] with growth. METHODS Urine samples from 240 apparently healthy children and adolescents (6-19 years; 124 girls) and from 51 prepubertal children with growth hormone (GH) deficiency (3-14 years; 14 girls) were analyzed. Urinary Hyl and its glycosides were quantified by HPLC, and DPD was assessed by chemiluminescence assay. Urinary concentrations of all markers were related to urinary creatinine. RESULTS Multiple regression analysis revealed that only age and height velocity were independently associated with these markers in healthy children. In GH-deficient patients, the urinary excretion of both analytes after 4 weeks of GH therapy correlated significantly with the height increase during the first treatment year (r = 0.79 for Gal-Hyl; r = 0.70 for DPD; P <0.001 each). In a multivariate linear regression model using Gal-Hyl concentrations at 4 weeks, baseline concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 and height velocity after 3 months accounted for 80% of the variability in height gain during the first treatment year. A model using DPD concentrations at 4 weeks, in place of Gal-Hyl concentrations, as well as baseline concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 and height velocity after 3 months accounted for 83% of the variability. CONCLUSIONS These urinary bone and collagen markers give some early indication of growth response, but the prediction of an individual marker is too imprecise to serve as a basis for clinical decisions. Markers of bone and collagen metabolism might be more useful as components of multivariate growth prediction models.
Sedimentation and sustainability of western American reservoirs

Reservoirs are sustainable only as long as they offer sufficient water storage space to achieve their design objectives. Life expectancy related to sedimentation is a measure of reservoir sustainability. We used data from the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Geological Survey (Reservoir Sedimentation Survey Information System II (RESIS II)) to explore the sustainability of American reservoirs. Sustainability varied by region, with the longest life expectancies in New England and the Tennessee Valley and the shortest in the interior west. In the Missouri and Colorado River basins, sedimentation and rates of loss of reservoir storage capacity were highly variable in time and space. In the Missouri River Basin, the larger reservoirs had the longest life expectancies, with some exceeding 1000 years, while smaller reservoirs in the basin had the shortest life expectancies. In the Colorado River Basin at the site of Glen Canyon Dam, sediment inflow varied with time, declining by half beginning in 1942 because of hydroclimate and upstream geomorphic changes. Because of these changes, the estimated life expectancy of Lake Powell increased from 300 to 700 years. Future surprise changes in sedimentation delivery and reservoir filling area are expected. Even though large western reservoirs were built within a limited period, their demise will not be synchronous because of varying sedimentation rates. Popular literature has incorrectly emphasized the possibility of rapid, synchronous loss of reservoir storage capacity and underestimated the sustainability of the water control infrastructure.
Effects of Menthol on Nicotine Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacology and Dependence in Mice

Although menthol, a common flavoring additive to cigarettes, has been found to impact the addictive properties of nicotine cigarettes in smokers little is known about its pharmacological and molecular actions in the brain. Studies were undertaken to examine whether the systemic administration of menthol would modulate nicotine pharmacokinetics, acute pharmacological effects (antinociception and hypothermia) and withdrawal in male ICR mice. In addition, we examined changes in the brain levels of nicotinic receptors of rodents exposed to nicotine and menthol. Administration of i.p. menthol significantly decreased nicotine’s clearance (2-fold decrease) and increased its AUC compared to i.p. vehicle treatment. In addition, menthol pretreatment prolonged the duration of nicotine-induced antinociception and hypothermia (2.5 mg/kg, s.c.) for periods up to 180 min post-nicotine administration. Repeated administration of menthol with nicotine increased the intensity of mecamylamine-precipitated withdrawal signs in mice exposed chronically to nicotine. The potentiation of withdrawal intensity by menthol was accompanied by a significant increase in nicotine plasma levels in these mice. Western blot analyses of α4 and β2 nAChR subunit expression suggests that chronic menthol impacts the levels and distribution of these nicotinic subunits in various brain regions. In particular, co-administration of menthol and nicotine appears to promote significant increase in β2 and α4 nAChR subunit expression in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and striatum of mice. Surprisingly, chronic injections of menthol alone to mice caused an upregulation of β2 and α4 nAChR subunit levels in these brain regions. Because the addition of menthol to tobacco products has been suggested to augment their addictive potential, the current findings reveal several new pharmacological molecular adaptations that may contribute to its unique addictive profile.
Pattern of somatic mutations in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia or IgM monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance

We analyzed MYD88 and CXCR4 mutation status of 260 patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia or IgM monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance using allele-specific real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing, respectively. A subgroup of 119 patients was further studied with next-generation sequencing of 11 target genes (MYD88, CXCR4, ARID1A, KMT2D, NOTCH2, TP53, PRDM1, CD79B, TRAF3, MYBBP1A, and TNFAIP3). MYD88 (L265P) was found at diagnosis in 91% of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia and in 60% of patients with IgM monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction analysis. MYD88 mutations other than the classical L265P (V217F, S219C and M232T) were found in four cases by next-generation sequencing. Waldenström macroglobulinemia patients with wild-type MYD88 had a distinct clinical phenotype characterized by less bone marrow infiltration (P=0.01) and more frequent extramedullary involvement (P=0.001) compared to patients with mutated MYD88. Patients with wild-type MYD88 did not show additional mutations in the other target genes. CXCR4 mutations were found by Sanger sequencing in 22% of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia. With next-generation sequencing, a CXCR4 mutation was detected in 23% of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia and 9% of those with IgM monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. Asymptomatic Waldenström macroglobulinemia patients harboring a CXCR4 mutation had a shorter treatment-free survival (51 months) than that of patients with wild-type CXCR4 (median not reached) (P=0.007). Analysis of variant allele frequencies indicated that CXCR4 mutations were present in the dominant clone in the majority of cases. Recurrent somatic mutations of KMT2D were found in 24% of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia and 5% of patients with IgM monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and were primarily subclonal.
Early intervention for childhood overweight: A randomized trial in general practice

Objective. To evaluate the effect of two intervention modalities concerning overweight and obesity among children in general practice. Design. Prospective randomized controlled trial. Setting. A total of 60 general practices in the former County of Funen, Denmark. Subjects. Overweight children, identified by International Obesity Task Force criteria, aged 5–9 years. Intervention. Model 1 with health consultations in general practice during a two-year period or Model 2, an educational programme for the children and their families in addition to the health consultations. Main outcome measures. Change in body mass index (BMI) z-score in order to compare the results, independent of gender- and age-related changes over time. Results. A total of 80 children were recruited with 35 and 45 children allocated to Model 1 and Model 2, respectively. No significant differences were found in the change in BMI z-score (SDS) between the two groups. A decrease in the mean BMI z-score from baseline to study end of −0.20 (95%CI −0.38 to −0.01) in Model 1 and −0.26 (95%CI −0.44 to −0.09) in Model 2, respectively, was detected. The majority of the participants (2/3) continued in the study for more than one year in both models, with a mean of 12 consultations in general practice. Conclusion. In this particular setting the two intervention strategies against overweight and obesity did not differ significantly with regard to change in BMI z-scores.
Citrate signal enhancement with a homonuclear J‐refocusing modification to double‐echo PRESS sequences

The citrate signal at field strengths of whole body imagers arises from two sets of two strongly coupled methylene protons. This causes citrate spectra acquired with standard in vivo localization schemes like the double‐echo point resolved echo spectroscopy (PRESS) sequence to have complicated dependencies on timing parameters. A homonuclear J‐refo‐cused version of the double‐echo PRESS sequence that has previously been shown to completely remove J‐modulations from weakly coupled AX systems is considered for its potential in acquiring signal from the strongly coupled AB system of citrate. An analytic solution to the problem is derived with the density matrix formalism and verified both numerically and experimentally for 7 T conditions. The general expression for the AB signal is applied to study the 1.5 T citrate signal where a substantial signal enhancement over conventional double‐echo PRESS sequences is predicted and verified for echo times in the 150 to 300 ms range.
Structural determinants of the capacity of heparin to inhibit the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. II. Evidence for a pentasaccharide sequence that contains a 3-O-sulfate group

Earlier work from our laboratory demonstrated that heparin inhibited the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in vivo and in vitro. Both anticoagulant and non-anticoagulant heparin species were equally effective as antiproliferative agents. Previous structure-function studies indicated that hexasaccharide and larger fragments retained antiproliferative activity, whereas tetra- and disaccharides were inactive. These experiments also suggested that both N- and O-sulfates of heparin were necessary for growth inhibitory capacity. In this paper, we have further analyzed the structural determinants of the antiproliferative activity of heparin. These experiments were done using synthetically prepared and therefore chemically defined heparin oligosaccharides. We present evidence that a pentasaccharide fragment retains antiproliferative activity, and that the 3-O-sulfate on the internal glucosamine residue is critical for growth inhibitory capacity of the pentasaccharide. We also show that heparins obtained from different manufacturers differ significantly in their ability to suppress smooth muscle cell proliferation.
Doping dependence of the carrier lifetime crossover point upon dissociation of iron-boron pairs in crystalline silicon

The excess carrier density at which the carrier lifetime in crystalline silicon remains unchanged after dissociating iron-boron pairs, known as the crossover point, is reported as a function of the boron dopant concentration. Modeling this doping dependence with the Shockley-Read-Hall model does not require knowledge of the iron concentration and suggests a possible refinement of reported values of the capture cross sections for electrons and holes of the acceptor level of iron-boron pairs. In addition, photoluminescence-based measurements were found to offer some distinct advantages over traditional photoconductance-based techniques in determining recombination parameters from low-injection carrier lifetimes.