Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human Cortical Neurons Originate from Radial Glia and Neuron-Restricted Progenitors

Understanding the molecular and physiological determinants of cortical neuronal progenitor cells is essential for understanding the development of the human brain in health and in disease. We used surface marker fucose N-acetyl lactosamine (LeX) (also known as CD15) to isolate progenitor cells from the cortical ventricular/subventricular zone of human fetal brain at the second trimester of gestation and to study their progeny in vitro. LeX+ cells had typical bipolar morphology, radial orientation, and antigen profiles, characterizing them as a subtype of radial glia (RG) cells. Four complementary experimental techniques (clonal analysis, immunofluorescence, transfection experiments, and patch-clamp recordings) indicated that this subtype of RG generates mainly astrocytes but also a small number of cortical neurons. The neurogenic capabilities of RGs were both region and stage dependent. Present results provide the first direct evidence that RGs in the human cerebral cortex serve as neuronal progenitors. Simultaneously, another progenitor subtype was identified as proliferating cells labeled with neuronal (β-III-tubulin and doublecortin) but not RG markers [GFAP, vimentin, and BLBP (brain lipid-binding protein)]. Proliferative and antigenic characteristics of these cells suggested their neuron-restricted progenitor status. In summary, our in vitro study suggests that diverse populations of cortical progenitor cells, including multipotent RGs and neuron-restricted progenitors, contribute differentially to cortical neurogenesis at the second trimester of gestation in human cerebral cortex.
A covariance matrix method to compute bit error rates in a highly nonlinear dispersion-managed soliton system

We completely describe the covariance matrix method for the first time, and we use it to compute the noise evolution in a 10-Gb/s single-channel dispersion-managed soliton system propagating over 24000 km. The linearization assumption upon which the covariance matrix method is based breaks down, unless we explicitly separate the phase and timing jitter of each pulse from the noise. We describe a procedure for carrying out this separation.
The Influence of Socialization on Early Helping From a Cross-Cultural Perspective

This cross-cultural study examines, first, whether 18-month-olds’ helping behavior differs between cultures and, second, the way in which caregivers’ socialization goals and practices are associated with toddlers’ helping behavior. Helping behavior was assessed in three out-of-reach tasks with increasing motivational demands. We found that Delhi toddlers (n = 32) helped more than Münster toddlers (n = 60). Regarding socialization practices (SPs), Delhi mothers, compared with Münster mothers, reported to provide more opportunities to help in the family context and to praise less when fostering toddlers’ prosocial behavior. Furthermore, Delhi mothers reported to use more punitive practices after their children did not follow a helping request. On an intra-cultural level, we found that helping was positively associated with punitive practices in the Delhi sample, whereas helping was negatively related with punitive practices and providing opportunities to help in Münster. On the basis of these results, we first propose that culture affects toddlers’ helping behavior from the time of emergence during the second year. Second, we propose that the culture-specific conceptions of prosocial behavior influence which SPs parents use, which, in turn, may influence children’s motivation underlying early prosocial behavior.
Cumulative Victimization as a Predictor of Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Mothers

Objective: To examine the effects of cumulative victimization on intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among young mothers. Method: With a cross-sectional design that utilized the life history calendar method and was grounded in developmental traumatology and life course stress theory, we interviewed 60 young mothers (ages 16 to 21) about their retrospective yearly experiences with community and school violence, witnessing IPV, physical maltreatment by a caregiver, and sexual victimization, beginning at age 5; we retrospectively assessed for annual IPV victimization beginning with 1st dating partner. We obtained an average of 15 years of data per participant, which we analyzed using multilevel modeling. Results: This high-risk sample reported much higher rates of victimization than did similarly aged national samples, with lifetime prevalence of each type ranging from 60% to 84%. Cumulative victimization during childhood was positively associated with cumulative victimization during adolescence. A higher rate of cumulative victimization during childhood was associated with a steeper increase in the rate of IPV victimization during adolescence, after controlling for a range of predictors, though childhood cumulative victimization was not linked to IPV at age 16. Conclusions: Consistent with developmental traumatology and life course stress theory, which emphasize the role of early and proliferating stressors in shaping poor outcomes, childhood experiences with cumulative victimization may increase young mothers’ vulnerability to IPV victimization during adolescence. Researchers should embrace innovative methods to explore developmental trajectories of cumulative victimization, especially among high-risk groups; clinical practice and dating violence interventions must be evidence-based and trauma-informed to be effective.
Connective action and the echo chamber of ideology: Testing a model of social media use and attitudes toward the role of government

ABSTRACT Scholars continue to debate how information and communications technology (ICT) influences civic behavior. Existing studies may be grouped into two approaches: ICT as a tool used to achieve a civic end, and ICT as an unanticipated influencer of how citizens view civic roles. This paper develops the second theory by testing moderated relationships between social media use, political identity, and citizen views of government service provision and spending. Regression results suggest that liberal users show greater preference for an active government, while conservatives show less preference.
Novel Threadlike Structures May Be Present on the Large Animal Organ Surface: Evidence in Swine Model

Background. The types of embryonic development probably provoke different paths of novel threadlike structure (NTS) development. The authors hypothesized that NTS may be easily observed on the surface of swine intestines by using trypan blue staining method and visualization under an optical microscope. Methods. General anesthesia was administered to 2 Yorkshire pigs. The abdominal walls of the pigs were carefully dissected along the medial alba. NTSs were identified on organ surfaces under a stereoscopic microscope after trypan blue staining. Isolated NTS specimens obtained from the large intestine were subjected to 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining and observed using the polarized light microscopy to confirm whether the obtained structure fits the definition of NTS. Results. We found elastic, semitransparent threadlike structures (forming a network structure) that had a milky-white color in situ and in vivo in swine large intestines. The samples showed distinct extinction of polarized light at every 90 degrees, and nucleus was shown to be rod shaped by DAPI staining, indicating that they meet the criteria of NTS. Conclusion. We used a swine model to demonstrate that NTS may be present on large animal organ surfaces. Our results may permit similar studies by using human specimens.
Cooperating or competing in three languages : Cultural accommodation or alienation?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of using foreign languages on cooperative behavior in a prisoner’s dilemma setting. The cultural accommodation hypothesis suggests that people are less cooperative in English, associated with the Anglophone cultural cluster, than in French, which is – as is Belgium – associated with the more cooperative Latin European cultural cluster. Design/methodology/approach Choices are framed as pricing strategies in the context of duopolistic competition. In total, 422 Flemish-Belgium participants with English and French as foreign and Dutch as their native language played in one of three language treatments. Findings While the authors observe differences between the native and both foreign languages, which are moderated by gender, the authors do not find any difference in effects between the two foreign languages that are associated with different cultures. Extending cultural accommodation arguments, the data suggests an effect specific to the use of the two selected foreign languages. Originality/value The authors contribute to this literature by reporting an experimental test of cultural accommodation and alienation effects related to two foreign languages. The authors explore novel arguments, related to cognitive psychology and gender effects.
FDI as an Outcome of the Market for Corporate Control: Theory and Evidence

Much foreign direct investment (FDI) takes the form of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It is commonplace in finance to view acquisitions as manifestations of the market for corporate control. Following on that insight we propose a model of FDI in which headquarters bid to control overseas assets. We derive an equation for bilateral FDI stocks that resembles the recently developed fixed effects approach to modelling bilateral trade flows. We estimate the model and use its parameters to construct benchmarks for evaluating multilateral inward and outward FDI.
Development of the Multilingual Semantic Annotation System

This paper reports on our research to generate multilingual semantic lexical resources and develop multilingual semantic annotation software, which assigns each word in running text to a semantic category based on a lexical semantic classification scheme. Such tools have an important role in developing intelligent multilingual NLP, text mining and ICT systems. In this work, we aim to extend an existing English semantic annotation tool to cover a range of languages, namely Italian, Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese, by bootstrapping new semantic lexical resources via automatically translating existing English semantic lexicons into these languages. We used a set of bilingual dictionaries and word lists for this purpose. In our experiment, with minor manual improvement of the automatically generated semantic lexicons, the prototype tools based on the new lexicons achieved an average lexical coverage of 79.86% and an average annotation precision of 71.42% (if only precise annotations are considered) or 84.64% (if partially correct annotations are included) on the three languages. Our experiment demonstrates that it is feasible to rapidly develop prototype semantic annotation tools for new languages by automatically bootstrapping new semantic lexicons based on existing ones.
Instructions for use Title Coordinated increase of γ-secretase reaction products in the plasma of some female Japanese sporadic Alzheimer ' s disease patients : quantitative analysis of p 3-Alcα with a new ELISA system

Background: Aggregatable amyloid b-peptide (Ab) and non-aggregatable p3-Alca are metabolic products of the gsecretase cleavage of amyloid b-protein precursor (APP) and Alcadeina (Alca), respectively. Familial AD (FAD) -linked mutations in the presenilin 1 or 2 (PS1 or PS2) component of g-secretase can cause alternative intramembranous processing of APP and Alca, leading to a coordinated generation of variants of both Ab and p3-Alca. Variant Alca peptides have been observed in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with mild cognitive impairment and sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Since, like APP, Alca is largely expressed in brain, one might predict that alternative processing of Alca would be reflected in body fluids of some AD patients. These patients with misprocessing of multiple g-secretase substrates might define an endophenotype of p3-Alca, in whom AD is due either to dysfunction of g-secretase or to a disorder of the clearance of hydrophobic peptides such as those derived from transmembrane domains. Results: We developed a simple procedure for extraction of p3-Alca from plasma and for analyzing this extract in a sensitive, p3-Alca-specific sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system. Plasma p3-Alca levels and Ab40 levels were examined in sporadic AD subjects from two independent Japanese cohorts. In some of these patients, levels of plasma p3-Alca were significantly higher, and were accompanied by parallel changes in Ab40 levels. This AD-related difference was more marked in female subjects, but this phenomenon was not observed in subjects with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Conclusion: Reagents and procedures have been established that enable extraction of p3-Alca from plasma and for quantification of plasma p3-Alca levels by ELISA. Some populations of AD subjects apparently show increased levels of both p3-Alca and Ab40. Quantification of p3-Alca level may be useful as a readily accessible biomarker for a population of sporadic AD patients in which disease pathogenesis is associated with either dysfunction of gsecretase or with a disorder of the clearance of transmembrane domain-derived peptides.
A Heterologous Multiepitope DNA Prime/Recombinant Protein Boost Immunisation Strategy for the Development of an Antiserum against Micrurus corallinus (Coral Snake) Venom

Background Envenoming by coral snakes (Elapidae: Micrurus), although not abundant, represent a serious health threat in the Americas, especially because antivenoms are scarce. The development of adequate amounts of antielapidic serum for the treatment of accidents caused by snakes like Micrurus corallinus is a challenging task due to characteristics such as low venom yield, fossorial habit, relatively small sizes and ophiophagous diet. These features make it difficult to capture and keep these snakes in captivity for venom collection. Furthermore, there are reports of antivenom scarcity in USA, leading to an increase in morbidity and mortality, with patients needing to be intubated and ventilated while the toxin wears off. The development of an alternative method for the production of an antielapidic serum, with no need for snake collection and maintenance in captivity, would be a plausible solution for the antielapidic serum shortage. Methods and Findings In this work we describe the mapping, by the SPOT-synthesis technique, of potential B-cell epitopes from five putative toxins from M. corallinus, which were used to design two multiepitope DNA strings for the genetic immunisation of female BALB/c mice. Results demonstrate that sera obtained from animals that were genetically immunised with these multiepitope constructs, followed by booster doses of recombinant proteins lead to a 60% survival in a lethal dose neutralisation assay. Conclusion Here we describe that the genetic immunisation with a synthetic multiepitope gene followed by booster doses with recombinant protein is a promising approach to develop an alternative antielapidic serum against M. corallinus venom without the need of collection and the very challenging maintenance of these snakes in captivity.
Visual Orienting and Conscious Perception

Much research supports the dichotomy model of visual covert orienting which suggests that attention shifting occurs either exogenously or endogenously. The present study attempts to suggest an alternative model that can accommodate evidence of endogenously cued orienting that may not necessarily involve consciousness. The first part of the present study (Experiment 1-3) examined whether or not the perceptual awareness of visual cue stimuli is essential in Posner’s cue-target orienting paradigm. Lowering the cue luminance had differential effects in orienting and cue identification tasks, in that the performance in the orienting task was relatively unimpaired in comparison with the performance in the cue identification task which was greatly affected by the decrease in the cue luminance. It was suggested that the orienting system uses the dorsal visual pathway, which is resilient to luminance decrease. In Experiment 4, a flicker adaptation procedure was included before the orienting task trials in order to over stimulate the M pathway which has been suggested to be important in luminance contrast processing and in orienting. The flicker adaptation affected the orienting process suggesting the involvement of the M pathway in the attentional mechanism, but contrary to hypothesis the effect was facilitatory rather than inhibitory. Lastly, the effects of the eccentricity (peripheral or central, Experiment 5), number (single or double, Experiment 5) and the size (big or small, Experiment 6) of visually symmetric cues on visual orienting were investigated. The results showed that neither the eccentricity nor the size of the cues interacted with cue validity. It was suggested that the attentional system first uses the spatial correspondence between cue and target in visual orienting. This hypothesis was further explained in terms of the visual orienting system exploiting both space-based and symbolic-meaning-based attention strategies depending on the efficiency of each strategy in a given task. The findings in the current study show evidence against the endogenous-
The effects of body size on the acid-base and metabolite status in the white muscle of rainbow trout before and after exhaustive exercise

The effect of body size on the white muscle acid-base and metabolite status was examined in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) ranging in length from 8 to 54 cm. Following 5 min of exhaustive exercise, white muscle lactate concentration was approximately doubled (approximately 32 micromole g-1) in larger fish than in smaller fish (approximately 16 micromole g-1). Associated with this post-exercise increase in lactate was a nearly parallel increase in the number of metabolic protons produced by larger fish. Larger fish did not possess a greater non-bicarbonate buffering capacity or soluble protein concentration, so their mean muscle intracellular pH (pHi) decreased by approximately 0.70 units compared with a change in mean pHi of about 0.40 units in the smallest fish. The relationship between resting pHi and length was independent of size (mean pHi 7.31). Concentrations of muscle energy metabolites were also determined in trout white muscle before and after exercise. Under resting conditions, larger fish possessed a twofold greater concentration of ATP (approximately 7 micromole g-1) than did smaller fish (approximately 3micromole g-1). Similarly, resting values of muscle glycogen range from about 6 micromole g-1 in the smallest fish to as high as 15 micromole g-1 in the largest fish. However, the smaller fish had higher levels (approximately 35 micromole g- 1) of phosphocreatine (PCr) than the larger fish (approximately 25 micromole g-1). Following exercise, however, both ATP and glycogen concentrations remained size-dependent and increased with increases in fish length. Levels of PCr were size-independent following exercise. These results demonstrate that body size has an important influence on the acid- base and metabolic status of fish before and after exercise.
Spatiotemporal Distortions of Visual Perception at the Time of Saccades

Both space and time are grossly distorted during saccades. Here we show that the two distortions are strongly linked, and that both could be a consequence of the transient remapping mechanisms that affect visual neurons perisaccadically. We measured perisaccadic spatial and temporal distortions simultaneously by asking subjects to report both the perceived spatial location of a perisaccadic vertical bar (relative to a remembered ruler), and its perceived timing (relative to two sounds straddling the bar). During fixation and well before or after saccades, bars were localized veridically in space and in time. In different epochs of the perisaccadic interval, temporal perception was subject to different biases. At about the time of the saccadic onset, bars were temporally mislocalized 50–100 ms later than their actual presentation and spatially mislocalized toward the saccadic target. Importantly, the magnitude of the temporal distortions co-varied with the spatial localization bias and the two phenomena had similar dynamics. Within a brief period about 50 ms before saccadic onset, stimuli were perceived with shorter latencies than at other delays relative to saccadic onset, suggesting that the perceived passage of time transiently inverted its direction. Based on this result we could predict the inversion of perceived temporal order for two briefly flashed visual stimuli. We developed a model that simulates the perisaccadic transient change of neuronal receptive fields predicting well the reported temporal distortions. The key aspects of the model are the dynamics of the “remapped” activity and the use of decoder operators that are optimal during fixation, but are not updated perisaccadically.
MACHINE AND PERSON INTERACTIVITY: THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND INFLUENCES ON CONSUMERS' WILLINGNESS TO PURCHASE ONLINE

This paper proposes and tests a model using two dimensions of interactivity (machine and person) to predict consumers' intentions to purchase online. Analysis of the results of an online survey of 1,744 respondents revealed that machine interactivity is positively associated with online purchase intentions through its influence on physical telepresence, attitudes, perceived behavioral control and trust. Person interactivity is positively associated with online purchase intentions through its influence on social telepresence, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and trust. This paper also compares the relative influence of machine interactivity and person interactivity on intention to purchase online. Implications of the results are discussed to provide guidance for future research and business recommendations to marketers.
Pulmonary function, exercise performance, and growth in survivors of congenital diaphragmatic hernia

A cohort of survivors of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), with matched controls, was studied to assess growth, respiratory function, and exercise performance. Nineteen of 24 survivors from an 11 year period (79%) were compared with 19 matched controls. Subjects had detailed auxology, performed spirometry and cycle ergometry, and completed questionnaires about respiratory symptoms and exercise. There were no significant differences between the groups for height, weight, sitting height, head circumference, or body mass index expressed as SD scores. The mean (95% confidence interval) percentage predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) was 84.7% (79.1 to 90.3) in index cases and 96.5% (91.4 to 101.6) in controls (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in total lung capacity. Expiratory flow rates corrected for FVC were also similar between groups, suggesting normal airway function relative to lung size. Mean maximum oxygen consumption in ml/kg/min was 40.1 (36.8 to 43.4) and 42.2 (38.5 to 45.8) in index and control cases. These differences were not significant. Index cases achieved a similar minute ventilation to controls by more rapid and shallower breathing. Index cases had lower perception of their own fitness and lower enjoyment of exercise, although habitual activity levels were similar. Survivors of CDH repair have reduced functional lung volumes, but normal airway function compared with matched controls. They have no growth impairment nor significant impairment of exercise performance, although they have more negative perceptions of their own fitness. They should be encouraged and expected to participate fully in sport and exercise.