Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uncertain Malinowski: The Importance of Preritual Stress Data

Snodgrass, Most, and Upadhyay present exciting and intriguing research on the complex relationship between religious ritual and anxiety. They suggest, based on their results, that rituals may be “good medicine” for chronically stressed populations. While we concur that ritual behavior can serve as an antianxiety agent in certain situations, we are concerned that the current data do not afford a straightforward interpretation. Whereas the main finding of stress reduction after the Holi and Navratri rituals is compelling, we lack sufficient data to understand what mediated this decrease. In this commentary, we identify four models that can potentially explain the observed stress decrease and suggest supplementary measurements that can distinguish between these competing explanations.
Bile Acid Analysis in Biliary Tract Cancer

The etiology of biliary tract cancer is obscure, but there are evidences that bile acid plays a role in carcinogenesis. To find the association between biliary tract cancer and bile acid, this study compared the bile acid concentration and composition among patients with biliary cancer, biliary tract stones, and no biliary disease. Bile was compared among patients with biliary tract cancer (n = 26), biliary tract stones (n = 29), and disease free controls (n = 9). Samples were obtained by percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage, endoscopic nasobiliary drainage, or gallbladder puncture, and analyzed for cholic, deoxycholic, chenodeoxycholic, lithocholic, and ursodeoxycholic acid composition. Total bile acid concentration was lower in the cancer group than the biliary stone and control groups; the proportions of deoxycholic (2.2% vs. 10.2% and 23.6%, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) and lithocholic acid (0.3% vs. 0.6% and 1.0%, p = 0.065 and p < 0.001, respectively) were also lower. This result was similar when disease site was limited to bile duct or gallbladder. Analysis of cases with bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL also showed lower total bile acid concentration and deoxycholic acid composition in the cancer group compared to controls (5.7% vs. 23.6%, p = 0.003). Although the presence of bile duct obstruction explains some of the difference in total concentration and composition of bile acid, there are other contributing mechanisms. We suspect the alteration of bile acid transport might decrease bile acid excretion and cause the accumulation of carcinogenic bile acid in bile duct epithelium.
The Vestibular-Evoked Postural Response of Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis Is Altered

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a multifactorial disorder including neurological factors. A dysfunction of the sensorimotor networks processing vestibular information could be related to spine deformation. This study investigates whether feed-forward vestibulomotor control or sensory reweighting mechanisms are impaired in adolescent scoliosis patients. Vestibular evoked postural responses were obtained using galvanic vestibular stimulation while participants stood with their eyes closed and head facing forward. Lateral forces under each foot and lateral displacement of the upper body of adolescents with mild (n = 20) or severe (n = 16) spine deformation were compared to those of healthy control adolescents (n = 16). Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients demonstrated greater lateral displacement and net lateral forces than controls both during and immediately after vestibular stimulation. Altered sensory reweighting of vestibular and proprioceptive information changed balance control of AIS patients during and after vestibular stimulation. Therefore, scoliosis onset could be related to abnormal sensory reweighting, leading to altered sensorimotor processes.
Hyperflares of SGRs as an engine for millisecond extragalactic radio bursts

We propose that the strong millisecond extragalactic radio burst (mERB) discovered by Lorimer et al. (2007) may be related to a hyperflare from an extragalactic soft gamma-ray repeater. The expected rate of such hyperflares, $\sim$ 20 - 100 d$^{-1}$ Gpc$^{-3}$, is in good correspondence with the value estimated by Lorimer et al. The possible mechanism of radio emission can be related to the tearing mode instability in the magnetar magnetosphere as discussed by Lyutikov (2002), and can produce the radio flux corresponding to the observed $\sim$ 30 Jy from the mERB using a simple scaling of the burst energy.
A Kinematically Selected, Metal-poor Stellar Halo in the Outskirts of M31

We present evidence for a metal-poor, [Fe/H] ~ -1.4, σ = 0.2 dex, stellar halo component detectable at radii from 10 to 70 kpc, in our nearest giant spiral neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy. This metal-poor sample underlies the recently discovered extended rotating component and has no detected metallicity gradient. This discovery uses a large sample of 9861 radial velocities of red giant branch (RGB) stars obtained with the Keck II Telescope and DEIMOS spectrograph, with 827 stars with robust radial velocity measurements isolated kinematically to lie in the halo component primarily by windowing out the extended rotating component, which dominates the photometric profile of Andromeda out to <50 kpc (deprojected). The stars lie in 54 spectroscopic fields spread over an 8 deg2 region, and are expected to fairly sample the halo to a radius of ~70 kpc. The halo sample shows no significant evidence for rotation. Fitting a simple model in which the velocity dispersion of the component decreases with radius, we find a central velocity dispersion of 152 km s-1 decreasing by -0.90 km s-1 kpc-1. By fitting a cosmologically motivated NFW halo model to the halo stars we constrain the virial mass of M31 to be greater than 9.0 × 1011 M☉ with 99% confidence. The properties of this halo component are very similar to that found in our Milky Way, revealing that these roughly equal mass galaxies may have led similar accretion and evolutionary paths in the early universe.
Collaborative Metacognition in a Signal Detection Task

Decision makers working in teams generally achieve higher sensitivity than individual decision makers in a signal detection task. The current experiment asked whether metacognitive, or Type 2, signal detection judgments would show a similar effect. Thirty participants performed a signal detection task both individually and in groups. Measures of Type 1 and Type 2 sensitivity were calculated from participants’ confidence ratings. Robust evidence suggested that when working collaboratively, group metacognitive efficiency exceeded what the worse group members could achieve on their own, but was no different than the metacognitive efficiency of the better members. These results suggest that collaborative teams may assess their performance by defaulting to the judgment of the most meta-cognitively sensitive team member.
Capturing utilising Enhanced Podcasts

The advent of podcasting technology has transformed lecture capturing and enabled easy and costeffective delivery of recorded lectures to students in Higher Education. This paper investigates the use of an Enhanced Podcasting model to distribute audio recordings synchronised with the slides used in the lecture. A pilot study was conducted with two groups of students (first years and third years) to evaluate the acceptance and use of this technology as a supplement to traditional lectures. Enhanced Podcasting was evaluated as a model suitable to the South African context, enabling a richer experience than simple audio recordings, but still limiting bandwidth demands and equipment costs. The results reveal that a notable portion of students utilised these recordings and gave Enhanced Podcasting a high usefulness rating. The most popular uses of this technology were for test preparation and revision. Issues relating to access were identified and the viewing behaviour of students was also studied. Survey responses indicated that most students either download or stream the recordings for playback on computer with mobile viewing receiving almost no use. The vast majority of students reported receiving benefit from using the recorded lectures and indicated that they would prefer podcasting as a permanent service. They were also polled on possible alternative teaching modes. Both attendance tracking and survey responses indicated that podcasting had almost no effect on lecture attendance among first years with a small group of third years indicating that their attendance has decreased. This study suggests that the use of podcasting as a supplement to traditional lectures is clearly perceived as beneficial by the surveyed students, especially as a revision tool.
Effect of a musical instrument performance program on emotional intelligence, anxiety, and aggression in Korean elementary school children

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a musical instrument performance program on emotional intelligence, anxiety, and aggression in Korean elementary school children. A quasi-experimental study design was employed, in which the experimental group (n = 30) received a weekly group musical instrument performance class with a regular music class, and the control group (n = 30) received only a regular music class that is part of the elementary school curriculum. We measured emotional intelligence, anxiety, and aggression at the beginning and end of the 24-week intervention using the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Aggression Scale. The musical instrument performance program improved the ability to perceive emotions, and reduced physical and verbal aggression, but had no statistically significant effect on the level of total emotional intelligence, anxiety, or aggression.
Extracting macroscopic stochastic dynamics: Model problems

The purpose of this work is to shed light on an algorithm designed to extract effective macroscopic models from detailed microscopic simulations. The particular algorithm we study is a recently developed transfer operator approach due to Schütte et al. [20]. The investigations involve the formulation, and subsequent numerical study, of a class of model problems. The model problems are ordinary differential equations constructed to have the property that, when projected onto a low‐dimensional subspace, the dynamics is approximately that of a stochastic differential equation exhibiting a finite‐state‐space Markov chain structure. The numerical studies show that the transfer operator approach can accurately extract finite‐state Markov chain behavior embedded within high‐dimensional ordinary differential equations. In so doing the studies lend considerable weight to existing applications of the algorithm to the complex systems arising in applications such as molecular dynamics. The algorithm is predicated on the assumption of Markovian input data; further numerical studies probe the role of memory effects. Although preliminary, these studies of memory indicate interesting avenues for further development of the transfer operator methodology. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Drivers of CO2 Emission Rates from Dead Wood Logs of 13 Tree Species in the Initial Decomposition Phase

Large dead wood is an important structural component of forest ecosystems and a main component of forest carbon cycles. CO2 emissions from dead wood can be used as a proxy for actual decomposition rates. The main drivers of CO2 emission rates for dead wood of temperate European tree species are largely unknown. We applied a novel, closed chamber measurement technique to 360 dead wood logs of 13 important tree species in three regions in Germany. We found that tree species identity was with 71% independent contribution to the model (R2 = 0.62) the most important driver of volume-based CO2 emission rates, with angiosperms having on average higher rates than conifers. Wood temperature and fungal species richness had a positive effect on CO2 emission rates, whereas wood density had a negative effect. This is the first time that positive fungal species richness—wood decomposition relationship in temperate forests was shown. Certain fungal species were associated with high or low CO2 emission rates. In addition, as indicated by separate models for each tree species, forest management intensity, study region, and the water content as well as C and N concentration of dead wood influenced CO2 emission rates.
Immunoglobulin E Antileishmanial Antibody Response in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

ABSTRACT High levels of antileishmanial immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies are associated with disease activity in visceral leishmaniasis. Herein, we report our observations about the relationship between antileishmanial IgE antibodies and clinical aspects of cutaneous leishmaniasis. This study was carried out with 45 patients (29 male and 16 female), with ages ranging from 11 to 48 years. All subjects were from an area to which leishmaniasis is endemic, Corte de Pedra (Bahia, Brazil), and the duration of the illness was ≤30 days. The patients were classified as positive or negative for IgE serology in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with leishmanial antigens. IgE antibodies were detected in 18 patients (optical density, 0.421 ± 0.30; 95% confidence interval, 0.27 to 0.57), and only 3 (17%) had more than one ulcer. In this group the diameter of Montenegro’s reaction was 18 ± 12.2 mm. In the group with negative IgE serology, 11 of 27 patients (48%) presented two or more cutaneous ulcers, and the mean of the skin test result was 9 ± 6.9 mm. There was a positive correlation between IgE antibody levels and Montenegro’s reaction size and an inverse correlation between IgE antileishmanial antibodies and the number of skin ulcers. The presence of antileishmanial IgE antibodies in cutaneous leishmaniasis may be a result of immunoregulatory events with clinical implications.
Polyanionic (i.e., polysulfonate) dendrimers can inhibit the replication of human immunodeficiency virus by interfering with both virus adsorption and later steps (reverse transcriptase/integrase) in the virus replicative cycle.

Polyanionic dendrimers were synthesized and evaluated for their antiviral effects. Phenyldicarboxylic acid (BRI6195) and naphthyldisulfonic acid (BRI2923) dendrimers were found to inhibit the replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1; strain III(B)) in MT-4 cells at a EC(50) of 0.1 and 0.3 microg/ml, respectively. The dendrimers were not toxic to MT-4 cells up to the highest concentrations tested (250 microg/ml). These compounds were also effective against various other HIV-1 strains, including clinical isolates, HIV-2 strains, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV, strain MAC(251)), and HIV-1 strains that were resistant to reverse transcriptase inhibitors. HIV strains containing mutations in the envelope glycoprotein gp120 (engendering resistance to known adsorption inhibitors) displayed reduced sensitivity to the dendrimers. The compounds inhibited the binding of wild-type virus and recombinant virus (containing wild-type gp120) to MT-4 cells at concentrations comparable to those that inhibited the replication of HIV-1(III(B)) in these cells. Cellular uptake studies indicated that BRI2923, but not BRI6195, permeates into MT-4 and CEM cells. Accordingly, the naphtyldisulfonic acid dendrimer (BRI2923) proved able to inhibit later steps of the replication cycle of HIV, i.e., reverse transcriptase and integrase. NL4.3 strains resistant to BRI2923 were selected after passage of the virus in the presence of increasing concentrations of BRI2923. The virus mutants showed 15-fold reduced sensitivity to BRI2923 and cross-resistance to known adsorption inhibitors. However, these virus mutants were not cross-resistant to reverse transcriptase inhibitors or protease inhibitors. We identified several mutations in the envelope glycoprotein gp120 gene (i.e., V2, V3, and C3, V4, and C4 regions) of the BRI2923-resistant NL4.3 strains that were not present in the wild-type NL4.3 strain, whereas no mutations were found in the reverse transcriptase or integrase genes.
The organization of titin filaments in the half-sarcomere revealed by monoclonal antibodies in immunoelectron microscopy: a map of ten nonrepetitive epitopes starting at the Z line extends close to the M line

mAbs specific for titin or nebulin were characterized by immunoblotting and fluorescence microscopy. Immunoelectron microscopy on relaxed chicken breast muscle revealed unique transverse striping patterns. Each of the 10 distinct titin antibodies provided a pair of delicate decoration lines per sarcomere. The position of these pairs was centrally symmetric to the M line and was antibody dependent. The results provided a linear epitope map, which starts at the Z line (antibody T20), covers five distinct positions along the I band (T21, T12, T4, T1, T11), the A-I junction (T3), and three distinct positions within the A band (T10, T22, T23). The epitope of T23 locates 0.2 micron before the M line. In immunoblots, the two antibodies decorating at or just before the Z line (T20, T21) specifically recognized the insoluble titin TI component but did not recognize TII, a proteolytic derivative. All other titin antibodies recognized TI and TII. Thus titin molecules appear as polar structures lacking over large regions repetitive epitopes. One physical end seems related to Z line anchorage, while the other may bind close to the M line. Titin epitopes influenced by the contractional state of the sarcomere locate between the N1 line and the A-I junction (T4, T1, T11). We discuss the results in relation to titin molecules having half-sarcomere lengths. The three nebulin antibodies so far characterized again give rise to distinct pairs of stripes. These locate close to the N2 line.
VOWEL DURATION, COMPRESSION AND LENGTHENING IN STRESSED SYLLABLES IN ITALIAN

The focus of this study is on temporal organization, specifically of vowel duration, in stressed syllables in (standard) Italian. We investigate possible compression effects on the duration of stressed vowels according to wordposition (final, penult and antepenult) and syllable type (open vs. closed) in this language. Our results show shortening in some contexts, e.g. closed syllables, and antepenultimate position, but not in all tested contexts. Compression effects do not surface in a fully linear fashion, with complications arising in word-final position where competing tendencies towards lengthening and shortening are found to co-occur. We consider the implications of our results for phonological descriptions of Italian.
Parvalbumin-Containing Fast-Spiking Basket Cells Generate the Field Potential Oscillations Induced by Cholinergic Receptor Activation in the Hippocampus

Gamma frequency oscillations in cortical regions can be recorded during cognitive processes, including attention or memory tasks. These oscillations are generated locally as a result of reciprocal interactions between excitatory pyramidal cells and perisomatic inhibitory interneurons. Here, we examined the contribution of the three perisomatic interneuron types—the parvalbumin-containing fast-spiking basket cells (FSBCs) and axo-axonic cells (AACs), as well as the cholecystokinin-containing regular-spiking basket cells (RSBCs) to cholinergically induced oscillations in hippocampal slices, a rhythmic activity that captures several features of the gamma oscillations recorded in vivo. By analyzing the spiking activities of single neurons recorded in parallel with local field potentials, we found that all three cell types fired phase locked to the carbachol-induced oscillations, although with different frequencies and precision. During these oscillations, FSBCs fired the most with the highest accuracy compared with the discharge of AACs and RSBCs. In further experiments, we showed that activation of μ-opioid receptors by DAMGO ([D-Ala2,N-Me-Phe4,Gly5-ol]enkephalin acetate), which significantly reduced the inhibitory, but not excitatory, transmission, suppressed or even blocked network oscillations both in vitro and in vivo, leading to the desynchronization of pyramidal cell firing. Using paired recordings, we demonstrated that carbachol application blocked GABA release from RSBCs and reduced it from FSBCs and AACs, whereas DAMGO further suppressed the GABA release only from FSBCs, but not from AACs. These results collectively suggest that the rhythmic perisomatic inhibition, generating oscillatory fluctuation in local field potentials after carbachol treatment of hippocampal slices, is the result of periodic GABA release from FSBCs.
Multi-view 3D Reconstruction from Uncalibrated Radially-Symmetric Cameras

We present a new multi-view 3D Euclidean reconstruction method for arbitrary uncalibrated radially-symmetric cameras, which needs no calibration or any camera model parameters other than radial symmetry. It is built on the radial 1D camera model [25], a unified mathematical abstraction to different types of radially-symmetric cameras. We formulate the problem of multi-view reconstruction for radial 1D cameras as a matrix rank minimization problem. Efficient implementation based on alternating direction continuation is proposed to handle scalability issue for real-world applications. Our method applies to a wide range of omni directional cameras including both dioptric and catadioptric (central and non-central) cameras. Additionally, our method deals with complete and incomplete measurements under a unified framework elegantly. Experiments on both synthetic and real images from various types of cameras validate the superior performance of our new method, in terms of numerical accuracy and robustness.
Using the role-play at the lectern: developing “work-ready” and confident professionals

ABSTRACT As Waters notes, the role-play is not traditionally used as a teaching technique in law schools. Educators utilise role-play in many disciplines, including health, business, psychology, economics and literature; yet apart from clinical settings or for teaching practical legal skills, the role-play seems to be underutilised in legal education. An empirical study of 67 law students from the University of Western Australia (UWA) Law School set out to investigate the utility of the role-play as a device for instilling confidence in students and assisting them to prepare for professional practice. Although the classroom and class size were large and teaching took place in a lecture theatre, the role-play worked effectively. Students reported greater knowledge, understanding, confidence and skill with conducting themselves in a professional practice context. The study shows the need to embrace the role-play as an experiential learning technique that can work as effectively in an intensive, large-class setting as it does in smaller or clinical classrooms. The study revealed that the role-play technique worked very well and that the role-play is a versatile and very much “alive” pedagogical technique of value to any law school.