Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lawsonite composition and zoning as an archive of metamorphic processes in subduction zones

The hydrous, high-pressure mineral lawsonite is important in volatile and element cycling between the crust and mantle in subduction zones and may also influence the rheology and deformation behavior of the subducted crust and associated sediments. However, despite its potential geochemical and geodynamic significance, little is known about the trace element affinity and the types and origins of zoning patterns in lawsonite. To evaluate the significance of trace element variations and zoning in lawsonite, we conducted a geochemical and microstructural study of lawsonite in a suite of different rock types from the Sivrihisar Massif, Turkey, one of the few places in the world where pristine lawsonite has survived in eclogite during exhumation from depths of ~75–80 km. Lawsonite in metamafic, metasedimentary (impure quartzite and quartz-rich schists), and metasomatic chlorite-rich rocks contains Fe, Ti, and/or Cr as major constituents (substituting for Al) and commonly displays zoning in these elements. Intragrain variations (up to two orders of magnitude) in rare earth elements and other trace elements are also common and in some cases correlate with transition-metal zoning. For some elements (e.g., Ti), uptake was crystallographically controlled, whereas for others, compositional variations may reflect changes in the local metamorphic environment, such as the growth or breakdown of other mineral phases that compete for trace elements (garnet, titanite, epidote-group minerals, apatite) or shifts in the bulk-rock composition during subduction. Deformation may have assisted the mobilization of some elements during and after crystal growth, including relatively immobile elements such as Ti. Intersample variations in lawsonite composition likely reflect variations inherited from the protolith. Lawsonite from Sivrihisar metamafic rocks has high Sr/Pb, whereas lawsonite from quartz-rich metasediments yielded lower Sr/Pb, with a few exceptions that may indicate interactions between oceanic crust and sediments during metamorphism. This study shows that lawsonite composition, zoning, and microstructure can be used to track processes during subduction metamorphism and deformation and can potentially be used to document fluid-rock interaction within and between different lithologic layers.
Variability of undetermined manner of death classification in the US

Objectives: To better understand variations in classification of deaths of undetermined intent among states in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). Design: Data from the NVDRS and the National Vital Statistics System were used to compare differences among states. Main outcome measures: Percentages of deaths assigned undetermined intent, rates of deaths of undetermined intent, rates of fatal poisonings broken down by cause of death, composition of poison types within the undetermined-intent classification. Results: Three states within NVDRS (Maryland, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) evidenced increased numbers of deaths of undetermined intent. These same states exhibited high rates of undetermined death and, more specifically, high rates of undetermined poisoning deaths. Further, these three states evidenced correspondingly lower rates of unintentional poisonings. The types of undetermined poisonings present in these states, but not present in other states, are typically the result of a combination of recreational drugs, alcohol, or prescription drugs. Conclusions: The differing classification among states of many poisoning deaths has implications for the analysis of undetermined deaths within the NVDRS and for the examination of possible/probable suicides contained within the undetermined- or accidental-intent classifications. The NVDRS does not collect information on unintentional poisonings, so in most states data are not collected on these possible/probable suicides. The authors believe this is an opportunity missed to understand the full range of self-harm deaths in the greater detail provided by the NVDRS system. They advocate a broader interpretation of suicide to include the full continuum of deaths resulting from self-harm.
THE VARIATIONS OF PLASMA, FIELD PARAMETERS AND GEOMAGNETIC INDEX DURING GEOMAGNETIC STORM OF APRIL

This research is intended to communicate the results of inter-relationship that exist among the following interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) parameters: (Bz, By, Bt) and the geomagnetic index (GI): (Ap, Kp, Dst, Ae) along side with the plasma parameters (T, P and V) during geomagnetic storm. The relationship between the field parameters, GI and plasma parameters with disturbance storm time index (Dst) was studied. A correlative study between the geomagnetic indices and the peak values of various plasma and field parameters during the geomagnetic storm of April 2010 were also presented. Our study shows that, while some of the parameters play active role in Dst morphology, some do not. An antiphase relation was observed in total field and Dst index. Hence mechanisms of the interplay between the parameters are also discussed.
Classification of place-of-articulation of stop consonants using temporal analysis

This paper proposes acoustic-phonetic features for classification of place-of-articulation of stop consonants derived from their temporal structures. The speech signal corresponding to a stop is characterized by several temporal features such as sub-band zero-crossings and envelope fits. Classification experiments on the stops from the TIMIT (read speech) and the Buckeye (conversational speech) databases using a support vector machine classifier demonstrate that the performance of the proposed features (84.6 %) is comparable to that obtained by MFCCs (85.1 %) in many aspects. Further, the classification accuracy is boosted (90.1 %) with the combination of temporal and MFCC features, which substantiates their supplementary nature.
Short-term Aftereffects of Response Inhibition: Repetition Priming or Between-trial Control Adjustments? the Stop-signal Paradigm

Repetition priming and between-trial control adjustments after successful and unsuccessful response inhibition were studied in the stop-signal paradigm. In 5 experiments, the authors demonstrated that response latencies increased after successful inhibition compared with trials that followed no-signal trials. However, this effect was found only when the stimulus (Experiments 1A– 4) or stimulus category (Experiment 3) was repeated. Slightly different results were found after trials on which the response inhibition failed. In Experiments 1A, 2, and 4, response latencies increased after unsuccessful inhibition trials compared with after no-inhibition trials, and this happened whether or not the stimulus repeated. Based on these results, we suggest that the aftereffects of successful response inhibition are primarily due to repetition priming, although there was evidence for between-trial control adjustments when inhibition failed. Flexible human behavior calls upon cognitive control and ex-Within this view, inhibition is often regarded as a key concept of executive control because it refers to " suppression of inappropriate responses, S–R [stimulus–response] mappings or task-sets when the context changes, and suppression of interfering memories during retrieval " (Aron, Robbins, & Poldrack, 2004, p. 174). In the present study, the focus is on one such function, namely, the inhibition of no-longer required responses. We examined the be-havioral consequences of successful and unsuccessful response inhibition and how stop-signal presentation in the stop-signal 1948) influenced subsequent task performance. It has previously been found that response latencies increased after successful inhibition compared with trials that followed no-signal trials 1999). In five experiments, we evaluated two possible explanations for these aftereffects of response inhibition: between-trial control adjustments and repetition priming. One of the most frequently used methods for the investigation of response inhibition is the stop-signal paradigm In this paradigm, subjects usually perform a choice reaction task (i.e., the primary task), and on a random selection of the trials, a stop signal instructs subjects to withhold their response. When the stop signal is presented shortly after the primary-task stimulus, subjects can easily withhold their response. As the delay between the primary-task stimulus and the stop signal increases (stop signal delay or SSD), probability of responding typically increases. To account for these observations, Logan and Cowan (1984) proposed the horse race model, which assumes two processes that work against each other: a go process, triggered by the presentation of the primary-task stimulus, and a stop process, triggered by presentation of the stop signal. Response inhibition depends on the …
Multivariate Protein Signatures of Pre-Clinical Alzheimer's Disease in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Plasma Proteome Dataset

Background Recent Alzheimer's disease (AD) research has focused on finding biomarkers to identify disease at the pre-clinical stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), allowing treatment to be initiated before irreversible damage occurs. Many studies have examined brain imaging or cerebrospinal fluid but there is also growing interest in blood biomarkers. The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) has generated data on 190 plasma analytes in 566 individuals with MCI, AD or normal cognition. We conducted independent analyses of this dataset to identify plasma protein signatures predicting pre-clinical AD. Methods and Findings We focused on identifying signatures that discriminate cognitively normal controls (n = 54) from individuals with MCI who subsequently progress to AD (n = 163). Based on p value, apolipoprotein E (APOE) showed the strongest difference between these groups (p = 2.3×10−13). We applied a multivariate approach based on combinatorial optimization ((α,β)-k Feature Set Selection), which retains information about individual participants and maintains the context of interrelationships between different analytes, to identify the optimal set of analytes (signature) to discriminate these two groups. We identified 11-analyte signatures achieving values of sensitivity and specificity between 65% and 86% for both MCI and AD groups, depending on whether APOE was included and other factors. Classification accuracy was improved by considering “meta-features,” representing the difference in relative abundance of two analytes, with an 8-meta-feature signature consistently achieving sensitivity and specificity both over 85%. Generating signatures based on longitudinal rather than cross-sectional data further improved classification accuracy, returning sensitivities and specificities of approximately 90%. Conclusions Applying these novel analysis approaches to the powerful and well-characterized ADNI dataset has identified sets of plasma biomarkers for pre-clinical AD. While studies of independent test sets are required to validate the signatures, these analyses provide a starting point for developing a cost-effective and minimally invasive test capable of diagnosing AD in its pre-clinical stages.
Seasonal Effects on Gene Expression

Many health conditions, ranging from psychiatric disorders to cardiovascular disease, display notable seasonal variation in severity and onset. In order to understand the molecular processes underlying this phenomenon, we have examined seasonal variation in the transcriptome of 606 healthy individuals. We show that 74 transcripts associated with a 12-month seasonal cycle were enriched for processes involved in DNA repair and binding. An additional 94 transcripts demonstrated significant seasonal variability that was largely influenced by blood cell count levels. These transcripts were enriched for immune function, protein production, and specific cellular markers for lymphocytes. Accordingly, cell counts for erythrocytes, platelets, neutrophils, monocytes, and CD19 cells demonstrated significant association with a 12-month seasonal cycle. These results demonstrate that seasonal variation is an important environmental regulator of gene expression and blood cell composition. Notable changes in leukocyte counts and genes involved in immune function indicate that immune cell physiology varies throughout the year in healthy individuals.
Multi-objective optimization of minority-3 functions for ultra-low voltage supplies

Low supply voltages, small currents and small circuit feature sizes will for CMOS logic typically coincide with deteriorating robustness, i.e. a reduction of a circuits ability to maintain correct functionality across all operating conditions. In this paper we examine three circuit topologies implementing the minority-3 function, operating at a power supply voltage of 150 mV in a standard 65 nm CMOS process. Using a heuristic multiobjective optimization algorithm we consider each circuits area and metrics for power and robustness, and optimize each circuit to find an approximation to the optimal trade-off surface (a Pareto front) for these objectives.
Development of a Cucumis sativus TILLinG Platform for Forward and Reverse Genetics

Background Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family that includes more than 800 species. The cucumber genome has been recently sequenced and annotated. Transcriptomics and genome sequencing of many plant genomes are providing information on candidate genes potentially related to agronomically important traits. To accelerate functional characterization of these genes in cucumber we have generated an EMS mutant population that can be used as a TILLinG platform for reverse genetics. Principal Findings A population of 3,331 M2 mutant seed families was generated using two EMS concentrations (0.5% and 0.75%). Genomic DNA was extracted from M2 families and eight-fold pooled for mutation detection by ENDO1 nuclease. To assess the quality of the mutant collection, we screened for induced mutations in five genes and identified 26 mutations. The average mutation rate was calculated as 1/1147 Kb giving rise to approximately 320 mutations per genome. We focused our characterization on three missense mutations, G33C, S238F and S249F identified in the CsACS2 sex determination gene. Protein modeling and crystallography studies predicted that mutation at G33 may affect the protein function, whereas mutations at S238 and S249 may not impair the protein function. As predicted, detailed phenotypic evaluation showed that the S238F and the S249F mutant lines had no sexual phenotype. In contrast, plants homozygous for the G33C mutation showed a complete sexual transition from monoecy to andromonoecy. This result demonstrates that TILLinG is a valuable tool for functional validation of gene function in crops recalcitrant to transgenic transformation. Conclusions We have developed a cucumber mutant population that can be used as an efficient reverse genetics tool. The cucumber TILLinG collection as well as the previously described melon TILLinG collection will prove to be a valuable resource for both fundamental research and the identification of agronomically-important genes for crop improvement in cucurbits in general.
Little languages: little maintenance?

textabstractSo-called little, or domain-specific languages (DSLs), have the potential to make software maintenance simpler: domain-experts can directly use the DSL to make required routine modifications. At the negative side, however, more substantial changes may become more difficult: such changes may involve altering the domain-specific language. This will require compiler technology knowledge, which not every commercial enterprise has easily available. Based on experience taken from industrial practice, we discuss the role of DSLs in software maintenance, the dangers introduced by using them, and techniques for controlling the risks involved.
Temporal Limitation of Navon Effect on Face Recognition

Performance on a face identification line-up task is impaired if an intervening task involved processing the local features of a Navon stimulus rather than its global features. These results have only been shown in comparison with a reading task in line-up paradigms. In Exp. 1 undergraduates (3 men, 17 women, M age = 19 yr., selected by convenience) were tested in a replication of this Navon-effect using a recognition paradigm. The effect is observed only during the early part of the recognition test phase. In Exp. 2 analysis of undergraduates' responses (9 men, 20 women, M age =19, selected by convenience) showed the decrease in the Navon effect could be prevented by alternating the Navon task with the face recognition task.
River Network Rearrangements in Amazonia Shake Biogeography and Civil Security

The scene for regional biogeography and human settlements in Central Amazonia is set by the river network, which presumably consolidated in the Pliocene. However, we present geomorphological and sediment chronological data showing that the river network has been anything but stable. Even during the last 50 kyr, the tributary relationships have repeatedly changed for four major rivers, together corresponding to one third of the discharge of the Amazon. The latest major river capture event converted the Japurá from a tributary of the Rio Negro to a tributary of the Amazon only 1000 years ago. Such broad-scale lability implies that rivers cannot have been as efficient biogeographical dispersal barriers as has generally been assumed, but that their effects on human societies can have been even more profound. Climate change and deforestation scenarios predict increasing water levels during peak floods, which will likely increase the risk of future river avulsions. This may have disastrous consequences for the local human societies, especially in those areas where the current floodplains are at only marginally lower elevations than the nearest water divide. We suggest that the prevailing paradigm of rivers as principal structuring elements of Amazonian biogeography needs to be re-evaluated, and that land use planning and civil risk assessment should take the possibility of river avulsions into account.
Enhanced resistance to fluoroquinolones in laboratory-grown mutants & clinical isolates of Shigella due to synergism between efflux pump expression & mutations in quinolone resistance determining region

Background & objectives: There is a worldwide emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance in Shigella species. To understand the molecular mechanisms associated with fluoroquinolone resistance, naturally occurring fluoroquinolone-resistant strains and laboratory-induced spontaneous mutants of Shigella spp. were used and the relative contributions of acrAB-tolC efflux pumps, gyrase and topoisomerase target gene mutations towards fluoroquinolone resistance were determined. Methods: Eight Shigella flexneri and six S. dysenteriae clinical isolates were studied. Three consecutive mutants resistant to ciprofloxacin for S. flexneri SFM1 (≥0.25 µg/ml), SFM2 (≥4 µg/ml) and SFM3 (.32 µg/ml) were selected in 15 steps from susceptible isolates by serial exposure to increasing concentrations of nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin. Similarly, two mutants for S. dysenteriae SDM1 (≥0.25 µg/ml) and SDM2 (≥4 µg/ml) were selected in eight steps. After PCR amplification sequence analyses of gyrase and topoisomerase target genes were performed. Expression of efflux genes acrA, acrB, acrR and tolC was measured using real-time PCR. Results: Mutations were observed in gyrA Ser83 →Leu, Asp87 →Asn/Gly, Val196 →Ala and in parC Phe93 →Val, Ser80 →Ile, Asp101 →Glu and Asp110 →Glu. Overall, acrA and acrB overexpression was associated with fluoroquinolone resistance (P<0.05); while tolC and acrR expression levels did not. Interpretation & conclusions: Fluoroquinolone resistance in Shigella spp. is the end product of either a single or a combination of mutations in QRDRs and/ or efflux activity. Novel polymorphisms were observed at Val196 →Ala in gyrA in clinical isolates and Phe93 →Val, Asp101 →Glu, Asp110 →Glu and in parC in majority of laboratory-grown mutants.
The neural regions sustaining object recognition and naming

This positron emission tomography study dissociates the neural correlates of object recognition and naming. Stimuli comprised coloured outline drawings of objects and coloured nonsense shapes. Subjects either viewed or explicitly named objects, similarly they viewed or named the colour of the shapes. Activations common to object and colour naming were identified by contrasting the explicit naming conditions (objects and colours) with the control (viewing) conditions. Activations associated with object recognition were identified by contrasting both object conditions (naming and viewing) with both shape conditions and activations specific to object or colour naming were identified by contrasting object naming (relative to object viewing) with colour naming (relative to shape viewing). The results associate: (i) object recognition with left middle occipital and bilateral anterior temporal cortices; (ii) modality independent naming with left posterior basal temporal lobe and the left prefrontal cortex; (iii) areas specific to object naming with left temporal extrasylvian regions, left anterior insula and right cerebellum; and (iv) areas specific to colour naming with left posterior lingual and fusiform gyri and midline cerebellum. These results are discussed in relation to previous neuroimaging and neuropsychological findings.
‘Metastasizing pleomorphic salivary adenoma’ should now be considered a low-grade malignancy with a lethal potential

Purpose of reviewTo review the current knowledge on the clinical entity of metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma. Recent findingsUsing case studies, the literature continues to explore the potential to identify a chromosomal abnormality that might explain the clinical entity, and may constitute a submicroscopic malignant transformation with molecular genetic alterations. Presently there are no agreed histopathological p arameters that can identify or confirm a difference in behavior between the ‘common’ pleomorphic adenoma from the metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma. SummaryThe evidence supports that metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma is most likely to be an unrecognized and as yet unclassified malignant neoplasm and as such must be considered a low-grade, potentially lethal malignant disease when it presents, which may constitute a submicroscopic malignant transformation with molecular genetic alterations. Further research is required to answer the many questions.