Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Manually controlled human balancing using visual, vestibular and proprioceptive senses involves a common, low frequency neural process

Ten subjects balanced their own body or a mechanically equivalent unstable inverted pendulum by hand, through a compliant spring linkage. Their balancing process was always characterized by repeated small reciprocating hand movements. These bias adjustments were an observable sign of intermittent alterations in neural output. On average, the adjustments occurred at intervals of ∼400 ms. To generate appropriate stabilizing bias adjustments, sensory information about body or load movement is needed. Subjects used visual, vestibular or proprioceptive sensation alone and in combination to perform the tasks. We first ask, is the time between adjustments (bias duration) sensory specific? Vision is associated with slow responses. Other senses involved with balance are known to be faster. Our second question is; does bias duration depend on sensory abundance? An appropriate bias adjustment cannot occur until unplanned motion is unambiguously perceived (a sensory threshold). The addition of more sensory data should therefore expedite action, decreasing the mean bias adjustment duration. Statistical analysis showed that (1) the mean bias adjustment duration was remarkably independent of the sensory modality and (2) the addition of one or two sensory modalities made a small, but significant, decrease in the mean bias adjustment duration. Thus, a threshold effect can alter only a very minor part of the bias duration. The bias adjustment duration in manual balancing must reflect something more than visual sensation and perceptual thresholds; our suggestion is that it is a common central motor planning process. We predict that similar processes may be identified in the control of standing.
Effects of Bread with Nigella Sativa on Lipid Profiles, Apolipoproteins and Inflammatory Factor in Metabolic Syndrome Patients

Nigella sativa (N.sativa) has been used in traditional medicine and many studies have been performed in different communities in order to reveal the effects of it on medical disorders and chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of bread with N. Sativa on lipid profiles, apolipoproteins, and inflammatory factors in metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients. A randomized, double-blind, cross-over and clinical trial was conducted in 51 MetS patients of both sexes with age group of 20-65 years old in Chaloos, north of Iran. Patients were randomly divided in two groups. In phase 1, intervention group (A, n = 27) received daily a bread with N. sativa and wheat bran and control group (B, n = 24) received the same bread without N. sativa for 2 months. After 2 weeks of wash out period, phase 2 was started with switch the intervention between two groups. Measuring of lipid profiles, apolipoproteins and inflammatory factor was performed for all patients before and after two phases. In this study, treatment, sequence and time effects of intervention were evaluated and revealed that consumption of bread with N. sativa has no significant treatment and time effects on triglyceride (TG), cholesterol (CHOL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), apolipoprotein (APO)-A, APO-B and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (p > 0.05). Sequence effect was significant on CHOL, LDL, APO-A, and APO-B (p < 0.05) but was not significant on other parameters (p > 0.05). Consumption of bread with N. sativa has no a significant effect on lipid profiles, apolipoproteins and inflammatory factor in MetS patients.
RNA-Seq Assembly – Are We There Yet?

Transcriptomic sequence resources represent invaluable assets for research, in particular for non-model species without a sequenced genome. To date, the Next Generation Sequencing technologies 454/Roche and Illumina have been used to generate transcriptome sequence databases by mRNA-Seq for more than fifty different plant species. While some of the databases were successfully used for downstream applications, such as proteomics, the assembly parameters indicate that the assemblies do not yet accurately reflect the actual plant transcriptomes. Two different assembly strategies have been used, overlap consensus based assemblers for long reads and Eulerian path/de Bruijn graph assembler for short reads. In this review, we discuss the challenges and solutions to the transcriptome assembly problem. A list of quality control parameters and the necessary scripts to produce them are provided.
Modelling animal spirits in financial markets

The term ‘animal spirits’ was introduced by Keynes to describe the entrepreneur’s often irrational optimism and drive to act as opposed to basing decisions on formal analysis. This PhD thesis provides an analysis, both theoretical and empirical, of this phenomenon in the financial markets from several points of view. In the first chapter we show that the pricing kernel in the economy may be represented in a probabilistic form, as a solution to a stochastic filtering problem. The noise in the associated information process may contain drift term that is impossible to estimate from current market prices of assets. This drift can be associated with ‘animal spirits’ driving the market. The second chapter is explicitly devoted to ‘animal spirits’: it introduces a factor based risk-management model for an illiquid project. We show that behavioural factors together with the collateralization mechanism often employed by banks not only increase the risk for the banking system, but also introduce anomalies during high-volatility crisis periods. In the third chapter we apply Hidden Markov Models to estimate animal spirits from historic asset prices. We argue that an arbitrary addition of a stress scenario to the model can greatly improve risk estimation. The last chapter deals with optimal investment problem in a model with behavioural factors. This may be linked to the pricing kernel discussion from the first chapter by the marginal utility maximisation approach to pricing derivatives.
Clustering Based Routing Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Survey

- Due to the wide range of application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN)[1] the past few years have witnessed the potential use of it and also become a hot research area now a days. One the main degradation of WSN is that sensor nodes are battery powered and deployed in harsh environment so it is not possible to recharge or replace the batteries all the time the node fails or dead. WSN are used in various applications like environment monitoring, health care, military, industrial control units and in various other environments. Routing protocols developed for various other adhoc networks such as MANET, VANET etc can’t apply directly in WSN due to energy constrains of nodes. It is proved that sensor nodes require much energy to transmit data rather than sensing thus routing protocol developed for WSN should be efficient so that the network lifetime can be prolonged. In this paper, a survey on various Clustering routing protocols has been done indicating their merits and de-merits.
The Effect of the Decentralization Degree on Corruption: A New Interpretation

This work contributes to empirical studies on decentralization and corruption by trying to resolve the uncertainty that the literature so far has shown. It also gives reasons supporting the ‘best’ decentralization structure which a country can adopt to discourage corrupt behaviour, and suggests an intermediate degree of decentralization. The trade-off between the moral hazard and the adverse selection aspect of the principal-agent framework, that emerges in this literature, can be better captured by a non-linear specification (e.g. cubic, as the more general non-linear model); neither very small nor very high degrees of decentralization are appropriate against corruption, but an intermediate one. Being monitored by the voters, local politicians, in a intermediate decentralized setting, have an incentive to perform in the voters interest and, being local resources they manage not very much, they have little incentive to appropriate part of such resources for personal use.
Practices of Dengue Fever Prevention and the Associated Factors among the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia

Background Dengue is prevalent among Malaysia's indigenous peoples, known as the Orang Asli, and it poses a serious health threat to them. The study aims to look at the socio-demographic factors, health beliefs, and knowledge about dengue and its association to dengue prevention practices among Orang Asli communities in Peninsular Malaysia. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 16 randomly selected Orang Asli villages from eight states in Peninsular Malaysia from April 2012 until February 2013. Results A total of 560 Orang Asli were interviewed and 505 completed the survey. Slightly above half of the participants (n = 280, 55.4%) had a total dengue prevention score of 51–100 (of a possible score of 0–100). Multivariate analysis findings showed dengue knowledge, perceived barriers to perform dengue prevention, fogging frequency, and perceived susceptibility to dengue fever as significant factors associated to dengue prevention practices. Participants with a lower dengue knowledge score (score 0–18) were less likely (OR = 0.63, 95%CI = 0.44–0.92 vs. score 19–36, P = 0.015) to practice dengue prevention. Participants with low perceived barriers to prevent dengue (score of 1–5) were more likely (OR = 2.06, 95%CI = 1.21–3.53, vs. score of 6–10, P = 0.008) to practice dengue prevention. Villages that were not fogged (OR = 0.49, 95%CI = 0.24–0.99, P = 0.045) or rarely fogged (OR = 0.40, 95%CI = 0.22–0.75, P = 0.004) had lower dengue prevention practices than villages that were fogged often. Participants with low perceived susceptibility of acquiring dengue (score of 1–5) were less likely (OR = 0.54, 95%CI = 0.33–0.89 vs. score of 6–10, P = 0.018) to practice dengue prevention measures. Conclusion Findings imply that educational and health programmes should focus on enhancing dengue knowledge and perceived susceptibility of acquiring dengue and reducing perceived barriers to performing dengue prevention practices among the Orang Asli. More outreach on mosquito control campaigns should be carried out especially in villages where mosquito fogging is frequent.
Neural Encoding and Integration of Learned Probabilistic Sequences in Avian Sensory-Motor Circuitry

Many complex behaviors, such as human speech and birdsong, reflect a set of categorical actions that can be flexibly organized into variable sequences. However, little is known about how the brain encodes the probabilities of such sequences. Behavioral sequences are typically characterized by the probability of transitioning from a given action to any subsequent action (which we term “divergence probability”). In contrast, we hypothesized that neural circuits might encode the probability of transitioning to a given action from any preceding action (which we term “convergence probability”). The convergence probability of repeatedly experienced sequences could naturally become encoded by Hebbian plasticity operating on the patterns of neural activity associated with those sequences. To determine whether convergence probability is encoded in the nervous system, we investigated how auditory-motor neurons in vocal premotor nucleus HVC of songbirds encode different probabilistic characterizations of produced syllable sequences. We recorded responses to auditory playback of pseudorandomly sequenced syllables from the bird's repertoire, and found that variations in responses to a given syllable could be explained by a positive linear dependence on the convergence probability of preceding sequences. Furthermore, convergence probability accounted for more response variation than other probabilistic characterizations, including divergence probability. Finally, we found that responses integrated over >7–10 syllables (∼700–1000 ms) with the sign, gain, and temporal extent of integration depending on convergence probability. Our results demonstrate that convergence probability is encoded in sensory-motor circuitry of the song-system, and suggest that encoding of convergence probability is a general feature of sensory-motor circuits.
IL-6 upregulation contributes to the reduction of miR-26a expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

A recent study showed that miR-26a is downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and that this downregulation is an independent predictor of survival. Interestingly, the same study also reported that miR-26a downregulation causes a concomitant elevation of IL-6 expression. Because miR-26a expression was found to be transcriptionally downregulated by oncogene c-Myc in various cancers, and the expression of c-Myc was increased by IL-6 stimulation, we hypothesized that IL-6 contributes to reduction of miR-26a in hepatocellular carcinoma. Serum IL-6 was measured by ELISA and miR-26a was detected by qRT-PCR. The data of 30 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had undergone surgical tumor resection revealed that serum IL-6 could be considered to be a predictor of survival up to 5 years for hepatocellular carcinoma patients (log-rank test, P < 0.05). We observed that the serum IL-6 concentration was inversely correlated with miR-26a expression in cancerous tissues (Pearson correlation test, r = -0.651, P < 0.01). Furthermore, by in vitro experiments with HepG2 cells, we showed that IL-6 stimulation can lead to miR-26a suppression via c-Myc activation, whereas in normal hepatocyte LO2 cells incubation with IL-6 had no significant effect on miR-26a expression. Taken together, these results indicate that miR-26a reduction in hepatocellular carcinoma might be due to IL-6 upregulation.
Supraventricular Tachycardia Classification in the 12-Lead ECG Using Atrial Waves Detection and a Clinically Based Tree Scheme

Specific supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) classification using surface ECG is considered a challenging task, since the atrial electrical activity (AEA) waves, which are a crucial element for obtaining diagnosis, are frequently hidden. In this paper, we present a fully automated SVT classification method that embeds our recently developed hidden AEA detector in a clinically based tree scheme. The process begins with initial noise removal and QRS detection. Then, ventricular features are extracted. According to these features, an initial AEA-wave search window is defined and a single AEA-wave is detected. Using a synthetic Gaussian signal and a linear combination of 12-lead ECG signals, all AEA-waves are detected. In accord with the atrial and ventricular information found, classification to atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia, atrioventricular reentry tachycardia, or sinus rhythm is performed in the framework of a clinically oriented decision tree. A study was performed to evaluate the classification from 68 patients (26 were used for the classifier's design, 42 were used for its validation). Average sensitivity of 83.21% [95% confidence interval (CI): 79.33-86.49%], average specificity of 95.80% (95% CI: 94.73-96.67%), and average accuracy of 93.29% (95% CI: 92.13-94.28%) were achieved compared to the definite diagnosis. In conclusion, the presented method may serve as a valuable decision support tool, allowing accurate detection of SVTs using noninvasive means.
Progesterone Affects Vitellogenesis in Octopus vulgaris

The electrophoretic analysis of egg yolk proteins of the mollusc Octopus vulgaris by both SDS- and native- PAGE, showed two different patterns that mirror the two main periods characterizing the reproductive cycle of the female of Octopus vulgaris: the non-vitellogenic period (October-February) and the vitellogenic period (March-July). Since dif- ferent levels of progesterone also characterize these stages, we performed in vitro incubations of previtellogenic ovary of Octopus vulgaris with this steroid in order to clarify its possible involvement in the regulation of egg yolk protein synthe- sis. Treatment of Octopus eggs with progesterone induced the appearance of a 70 kDa protein which cross-reacted with antibodies raised against crab vitellogenin. This protein was further identified as a component of Octopus egg yolk pro- teins of the vitellogenic period. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation in the nuclei of follicle cells after treatment with progesterone brought about follicle cell proliferation, suggesting that this hormone may be involved in vitellogeneisis in Octopus.
Results and open problems regarding the role of local feature descriptors for image classification in computer vision , and image representation in primary visual cortex

The goal of this study is to provide the foundation for a systematic investigation of those types of local feature descriptors that are preferentially used for image representation in primary visual cortex. We review both the (rather limited) types of local feature descriptors that have already been used as basis for the design of neurobiological experiments and those (more sophisticated) types of local feature descriptors that have turned out to be most successful for object recognition and related tasks in computer vision. We also initiate the design of stimuli for new neurobiological experiments that will provide information about the fundamental question whether evolution has also discovered the performance advantages of some of the more sophisticated local feature descriptors that are used by state-of-the-art algorithms in computer vision.
Loss Aversion for Quality in Consumer Choice

A reference price is an internal price that consumers are believed to use to compare actual prices. Reference effects for price have been demonstrated in many settings. Reference effects for quality also have been demonstrated using scanner data. Here we present experimental evidence. Firstly, it is shown that high quality goods will be valued more by consumers who consider trading down in quality than by those who consider trading up in quality. Secondly, we show that when all prices fall, more switching up in quality from the reference brand will occur than switching down in quality when all prices rise, and that when all prices fall, consumers will switch to higher quality up to, but not beyond, the price regularly paid.
Pharmacokinetics of enrofl oxacin in inbred and outbred rabbits

The pharmacokinetics of enrofl oxacin (ENR) were investigated after intravenous (i/v) administration in inbred (n = 10) and outbred (n = 10) healthy rabbits. After i/v ENR injection the elimination half-life (t1/2β), total body clearance (ClB) and the area under the concentration vs. time curve (AUC) in inbred rabbits were 1.51 h, 28.35 ± 1.51 ml/kg/min and 3.01 ± 0.16 μg. h/ml, respectively. The value of t1/2β in outbred rabbits was 2.12 h. The value of ClB (21.47 ± 1.16 ml/kg/min) was signifi cantly lower in outbred rabbits. There were no differences in pharmacokinetic parameters between male outbred and inbred rabbits, and only the value of ClB in female outbred rabbits was signifi cantly lower in comparison to inbred animals. The phenotypic diversity, a manifestation of the complex interaction among the genotype and the environmental factors (the ENR treatment), was clearly less manifested in the inbred group than in outbreds.
Collective Entrepreneurship: An Emerging Phenomenon in Producer-Owned Organizations

This paper introduces and defines the concept of collective entrepreneurship. A review of the defensive single-level rent-seeking objective of traditional agricultural cooperatives is introduced followed by an analysis of recent studies documenting a shift in the objective functions of producers jointly integrating toward more multiple-level rent-seeking entities. This process of shifting from market failure-ameliorating collective action mechanisms toward rent-seeking group action organizations is labeled collective entrepreneurship. The justification for introducing this concept is based on the Olsonian premise that rational, self-interested individuals will not act to achieve their common or group interests without coercion or selective incentives.
The paradox of using tacit and explicit knowledge: strategies to face dilemmas

Purpose – This paper contrasts two perspectives on the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge: on the one hand, the perspective that categorises knowledge as belonging to either one or the other class; and, on the other hand, the perspective that views knowledge type as a graded continuum.Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the extensive literature on the topic, and from this literature engages in conceptual development.Findings – The paper adopts the view that the continuum perspective, in which knowledge in a particular context has both tacit and explicit characteristics, is of particular value when considering the knowledge strategy of an organisation. Whereas the former perspective presents a well‐known dilemma, the continuum perspective permits the specification of a strategy in which the advantages of both tacit and explicit knowledge can, in principle, be obtained. One such strategy might be one that renders organisational knowledge as internally explicit, but externally taci.
Nonresponders to Daily Paroxetine and Another SSRI in Men With Lifelong Premature Ejaculation: A Pharmacokinetic Dose-Escalation Study for a Rare Phenomenon

Purpose Nonresponse to any selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment is rare. In this study, we aimed to investigate ejaculation delay nonresponse to paroxetine treatment in men with lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) who were also known to be nonresponders to other SSRIs. Materials and Methods Five males with lifelong PE who were known nonresponders to paroxetine and other serotonergic antidepressants and eight males with lifelong PE who were specifically recruited were included. Blood sampling occurred 1 month and 1 day before the start of treatment and at the end of three consecutive series of 4 weeks of daily treatment with 10-, 20-, and 30-mg paroxetine, respectively. Blood samples for measurement of leptin and paroxetine were taken at 8:30 AM, 9:30 AM, 10:30 AM, and 11:30 AM, respectively. At 9:00 AM, one tablet of 10-, 20-, or 30-mg paroxetine was taken during the first, second, and third month, respectively. Intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) was measured with a stopwatch. The main outcome measures were the fold increase in the geometric mean IELT, serum leptin and paroxetine concentrations, body mass index (BMI), 5-HT1A receptor C-1019G polymorphism, and CYP2D6 mutations. Results Between the 7 paroxetine responders and 6 nonresponders, the fold increase in the geometric mean IELT was significantly different after daily 10-mg (p=0.003), 20-mg (p=0.002), and 30-mg paroxetine (p=0.026) and ranged from 2.0 to 8.8 and from 1.1 to 1.7, respectively. BMI at baseline and at the end of the study was not significantly different between responders and nonresponders. Serum leptin levels at baseline were similar in responders and nonresponders and did not change during treatment. The serum paroxetine concentration increased with increasing dosage and was not significantly different between responders and nonresponders. There was no association between the fold increase in the geometric mean IELT and serum paroxetine levels during the three treatment periods nor between leptin levels during the treatment periods and serum paroxetine levels. For the 5-HT1A receptor C-1019G variation, all responders had the CC genotype and all nonresponders had the GC genotype, respectively. Conclusions Complete absence of paroxetine-induced ejaculation delay is presumably related to pharmacodynamic factors and perhaps to 5-HT1A receptor gene polymorphism.