Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Avoidance‐based human Pavlovian‐to‐instrumental transfer

The Pavlovian‐to‐instrumental transfer (PIT) paradigm probes the influence of Pavlovian cues over instrumentally learned behavior. The paradigm has been used extensively to probe basic cognitive and motivational processes in studies of animal learning. More recently, PIT and its underlying neural basis have been extended to investigations in humans. These initial neuroimaging studies of PIT have focused on the influence of appetitively conditioned stimuli on instrumental responses maintained by positive reinforcement, and highlight the involvement of the striatum. In the current study, we sought to understand the neural correlates of PIT in an aversive Pavlovian learning situation when instrumental responding was maintained through negative reinforcement. Participants exhibited specific PIT, wherein selective increases in instrumental responding to conditioned stimuli occurred when the stimulus signaled a specific aversive outcome whose omission negatively reinforced the instrumental response. Additionally, a general PIT effect was observed such that when a stimulus was associated with a different aversive outcome than was used to negatively reinforce instrumental behavior, the presence of that stimulus caused a non‐selective increase in overall instrumental responding. Both specific and general PIT behavioral effects correlated with increased activation in corticostriatal circuitry, particularly in the striatum, a region involved in cognitive and motivational processes. These results suggest that avoidance‐based PIT utilizes a similar neural mechanism to that seen with PIT in an appetitive context, which has implications for understanding mechanisms of drug‐seeking behavior during addiction and relapse.
Methionine Adenosyltransferase α1 Is Targeted to the Mitochondrial Matrix and Interacts with Cytochrome P450 2E1 to Lower Its Expression

Methionine adenosyltransferase α1 (MATα1, encoded by MAT1A) is responsible for hepatic biosynthesis of S‐adenosyl methionine, the principal methyl donor. MATα1 also act as a transcriptional cofactor by interacting and influencing the activity of several transcription factors. Mat1a knockout (KO) mice have increased levels of cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The aims of the current study were to identify binding partners of MATα1 and elucidate how MATα1 regulates CYP2E1 expression. We identified binding partners of MATα1 by coimmunoprecipitation (co‐IP) and mass spectrometry. Interacting proteins were confirmed using co‐IP using recombinant proteins, liver lysates, and mitochondria. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) samples were used to confirm relevance of our findings. We found that MATα1 negatively regulates CYP2E1 at mRNA and protein levels, with the latter being the dominant mechanism. MATα1 interacts with many proteins but with a predominance of mitochondrial proteins including CYP2E1. We found that MATα1 is present in the mitochondrial matrix of hepatocytes using immunogold electron microscopy. Mat1a KO hepatocytes had reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and higher mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, both of which were normalized when MAT1A was overexpressed. In addition, KO hepatocytes were sensitized to ethanol and tumor necrosis factor α–induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Interaction of MATα1 with CYP2E1 was direct, and this facilitated CYP2E1 methylation at R379, leading to its degradation through the proteasomal pathway. Mat1a KO livers have a reduced methylated/total CYP2E1 ratio. MATα1’s influence on mitochondrial function is largely mediated by its effect on CYP2E1 expression. Patients with ALD have reduced MATα1 levels and a decrease in methylated/total CYP2E1 ratio. Conclusion: Our findings highlight a critical role of MATα1 in regulating mitochondrial function by suppressing CYP2E1 expression at multiple levels.
The Transitive Composability of Relation Transition Systems

Relation Transition Systems (RTSs) have recently been proposed as a foundation for reasoning effectively about program equivalence in higher-order imperative languages like ML. RTSs fruitfully synthesize the coinductive style of bisimulation-based methods with the treatment of local state in recent work on step-indexed Kripke logical relations (SKLRs). Like SKLRs, RTSs are designed to have the potential to scale to inter-language reasoning; but unlike SKLRs, RTS proofs are also transitively composable, which is of critical importance for applications such as multi-stage verified compilation. In a POPL’12 paper [6], we presented the first RTS model for an ML-like core language, F ! , supporting higher-order functions, recursive types, abstract types, and general mutable references, and we proved soundness of the model w.r. t. contextual equivalence. In addition, we briefly sketched the proof that RTSs are transitively composable, but our proof only covered a restricted fragment of the language/model omitting abstract types and mutable state. Here, we present the transitivity proof for the full RTS model of the full F ! language. The proof is highly intricate, requiring a number of technical innovations. We have mechanized all our results in Coq.
Automatic Generation of Some Results in Finite Algebra

This is a report of the application of the Model Generation Theorem Prover developed at ICOT to problems in the theory of finite quasigroups. Several of the problems were previously open. In this paper, we discuss our theorem proving methods, related to those of the existing provers SATCHMO (Manthey, Bry) and OTTER (McCune), and note how parallel processing on the ICOT Parallel Inference Machines was used to obtain high speeds. We then present and discuss our machine-aided investigation of seven problems concerning the existence of types of quasigroup.
Food Microbiology

1 Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas (ICAAM), Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal 2Universitary Institute for Research in Agroalimentary Resources (INURA), Escuela de Ingenieŕıas Agrarias, University of Extremadura, Avda. Adolfo Suárez s/n, 06007 Badajoz, Spain 3CIISA – Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Pólo Universitário da Ajuda, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal 4Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal
Selection of Bacillus anthracis isolates resistant to antibiotics.

OBJECTIVE Long-term therapy for anthrax might induce antimicrobial resistance in Bacillus anthracis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of 18 different antibiotics to select resistant isolates of B. anthracis, (ST-1 and Sterne strains). METHODS Resistant isolates were selected by serial passages on brain heart infusion agar containing increasing concentrations of antibiotics (from the MIC upwards). RESULTS The MICs of ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and levofloxacin increased from 0.125-0.25 to 8 mg/L, that of moxifloxacin increased from 0.03-0.06 to 8 mg/L, in both strains, and the MIC of garenoxacin increased from 0.015 to 0.5 mg/L for the ST-1 strain and from 0.03 to 8 mg/L for the Sterne strain. The MICs of tetracycline and minocycline increased from 0.125 to 2-8 mg/L and 0.06 to 1 mg/L, respectively. The MIC of vancomycin increased from 2.5 to 20 mg/L for the ST-1 strain and from 5 to 20 mg/L for the Sterne strain. Linezolid exhibited an MIC increase from 2 to 4 mg/L for both strains. The MIC of quinupristin/dalfopristin increased from 0.125 to 64-128 mg/L. Erythromycin demonstrated an MIC increase from 1 to 128 mg/L, that of clarithromycin increased from 0.125 to 8-64 mg/L and that of telithromycin increased from 0.06-0.125 to 1-4 mg/L. The clindamycin MIC increased from 0.125-0.25 to 8 mg/L. Penicillin G and amoxicillin MICs increased from <1 mg/L to 128-512 mg/L. Isolates made resistant to one fluoroquinolone exhibited cross-resistance to the other quinolones except the ST-1 mutant strain which remained susceptible to garenoxacin. Cross-resistance to fluoroquinolones did not correlate with resistance to other antibiotics. CONCLUSION The ease with which B. anthracis can be made resistant in vitro suggests that close monitoring of patients treated for anthrax is mandatory.
Dynamics of Antigenemia and Coproantigens during a Human Fasciola hepatica Outbreak

ABSTRACT In the present study the dynamics of antigenemia and coproantigens were studied in patients withFasciola hepatica infection during an outbreak occurring in La Palma, Pinar del Rı́o, in the West Province of Cuba. Stool and serum samples were collected from 67 patients and 40 healthy subjects. Stool samples were studied by a simple gravity sedimentation technique and an ES78 sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for observation of eggs and detection of parasite coproantigens, respectively. Serum samples were also studied by the ES78 sandwich ELISA and an indirect ELISA to detect circulating antigens and antibodies, respectively. At the beginning of the study, 8 of 67 patients had patent infections and 59 had prepatent infections, which was determined by the recent consumption of lettuce contaminated with metacercariae of F. hepatica, the presence of clinical symptoms, and the absence of Fasciolaeggs in their stools. Patients with prepatent infections were monitored by all techniques until patency. Circulating antigens were not detected in patients with patent infections. However, coproantigens were clearly detected in all patients with patent infections. On the other hand, 28.8% of patients with prepatent infections tested positive for circulating antigens and 81.4% tested positive for coproantigens in the first stool sample studied. Only two other coproantigen determinations were necessary to diagnose 93.2% of the patients. While circulating antigen levels diminished in all patients during the infection, coproantigen levels increased. The present study demonstrates that the ES78 sandwich ELISA is a better tool than parasitological examination for diagnosis of active early infection, since by the combination of the circulating-antigen detection assay and the coproantigen detection assay 91% of patients were able to be diagnosed at the beginning of the study. In contrast, a coprologic analysis repeated over several weeks was necessary to diagnose 100% of the patients.
Validation of the effectiveness of the Dental Practicality Index in predicting the outcome of root canal retreatments.

AIM To assess the effectiveness of the Dental Practicality Index (DPI) in predicting the outcome of root canal retreatment in posterior teeth. METHODOLOGY One hundred and thirty-seven posterior teeth with symptoms and/or signs of post-treatment endodontic disease requiring root canal retreatment and previously included in a clinical trial were selected. Clinical and radiographic examinations including digital periapical and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) were obtained pre-treatment and 1-year postoperatively from a previous study. Two calibrated and trained assessors who were unaware of the treatment outcome assessed the pre-treatment clinical records of these cases using the DPI. The DPI score was then compared to the outcome of the root canal retreatment. A Chi-square/Fisher's exact test was used to establish a relationship between categorical variables, the total score of DPI vs outcome. RESULTS Retreated teeth with DPI scores equal to 6 or above had an unfavourable outcome of 50% vs 14% of teeth with DPI below 6. Teeth with DPI score equal to 3 or above had an unfavourable outcome of 23% versus 2%, for teeth below 3. Molar teeth with a DPI score below 3 had a favourable outcome percentage of 96%. CONCLUSIONS This study highlighted that using the DPI gave a good outcome prediction for root canal retreatments. However, further research, including the prospective assessment of a wider range of cases undertaken by a larger group of examiners is needed to further validate the DPI.
Decimal CORDIC Rotation based on Selection by Rounding: Algorithm and Architecture

Hardware implementation of decimal floating-point arithmetic is a topic of great interest among the researchers in computer arithmetic and also the digital processor industry. Software packages for decimal arithmetic are actually being challenged by decimal hardware units. This spreading trend seems to include hardware implementation of elementary functions. The (Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer) CORDIC algorithm, due to its simplicity, is one of the most efficient methods for computing elementary functions. In this work, we develop a decimal CORDIC scheme with almost half number of equally long cycles with respect to the best previous design. This is achieved via retiming of the conventional CORDIC architecture and selection of the microrotation factors by rounding. However, the proposed design does not lead to a predetermined constant scaling factor. The solution that we use is to iteratively compute the logarithm of the scaling factor followed by a decimal exponentiation. The same CORDIC hardware is reused for performing the latter. The proposed CORDIC method requires 2n + 3 cycles for n-digit decimal operands vs. 4n cycles of the previous methods. Evaluations with 16-digit operands based on logical effort analysis conclude that the proposed architecture shows 82% speed advantage, at the cost of 60% more area and 2. 5Â KB more ROM.
SenTion: A framework for Sensing Facial Expressions

Facial expressions are an integral part of human cognition and communication, and can be applied in various real life applications. A vital precursor to accurate expression recognition is feature extraction. In this paper, we propose SenTion: A framework for sensing facial expressions. We propose a novel person independent and scale invariant method of extracting Inter Vector Angles (IVA) as geometric features, which proves to be robust and reliable across databases. SenTion employs a novel framework of combining geometric (IVA's) and appearance based features (Histogram of Gradients) to create a hybrid model, that achieves state of the art recognition accuracy. We evaluate the performance of SenTion on two famous face expression data set, namely: CK+ and JAFFE; and subsequently evaluate the viability of facial expression systems by a user study. Extensive experiments showed that SenTion framework yielded dramatic improvements in facial expression recognition and could be employed in real-world applications with low resolution imaging and minimal computational resources in real-time, achieving 15-18 fps on a 2.4 GHz CPU with no GPU.
Higher Order Mori-Zwanzig Models for the Euler Equations

In a recent paper [O. H. Hald and P. Stinis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104 (2007), pp. 6527–6532], an infinitely long memory model (the t-model) for the Euler equations was presented and analyzed. The model can be derived by keeping the zeroth order term in a Taylor expansion of the memory integrand in the Mori–Zwanzig formalism. We present here a collection of models for the Euler equations which are based also on the Mori–Zwanzig formalism. The models arise from a Taylor expansion of a different operator, the orthogonal dynamics evolution operator, which appears in the memory integrand. The zero, first, and second order models are constructed and simulated numerically. The form of the nonlinearity in the Euler equations, the special properties of the projection operator used, and the general properties of any projection operator can be exploited to facilitate the recursive calculation of even higher order models. We use our models to compute the rate of energy decay for the Taylor–Green vortex problem.
The Young and the Reckless: Adolescent Reckless Behavior

In Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, they "surf" on the tops of trains, standing with arms outstretched as the trains rush along. The surfers—adolescents, girls as well as boys—are undeterred by the death of 150 fellow surfers per year and the injury of 400 more, from falling off trains or from hitting the 3,000-volt electric cable that runs above. On Truk Island in the South Pacific, drunkenness, fighting, and sexual experiences with a variety of lovers are all part of typical development for young men in their late teens and early 20s. They also go spearfishing where large sharks are common, and seek out other "daredevil risks with life and limb. "^ In urban New Jersey in the United States, adolescent boys steal automobiles, then drive them wildly for a few hours before crashing or abandoning them. Why do many adolescents seek out experiences that involve physical, psychological, or legal risks? What blend of developmental and socialization factors leads to reckless behavior among adolescents? Researchers and theorists have offered a number of explanations, focusing on such behavior as driving an automobile at high speeds or while intoxicated, having sex without conJeffrey Arnett is Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research interests include adolescent reckless behavior, socialization, adolescents' uses of media, and the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Address correspondence to Jeffrey Arnett, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, 31 Stanley Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. traception or with someone not known well, using illegal drugs, and committing crimes. Richard Jessor, for example, has suggested that the developmental motivation for such behavior is the desire of adolescents to achieve adult status. ^ His theory also includes personality characteristics (such as self-esteem and value placed on achievement), family environment, and religiosity. Charles Irwin, Jr., presents a model that emphasizes pubertal timing and its effects on risk perception and peergroup association. ^ My own focus is on three developmental predispositions for reckless behavior in adolescence—sensation seeking, egocentrism, and aggressiveness—and their interaction with the cultural socialization environment.
Virus Assembly on a Membrane is Facilitated by Membrane Microdomains

For many viruses assembly and budding occur simultaneously during virion formation. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this process could promote biomedical efforts to block viral propagation and enable use of capsids in nanomaterials applications. To this end, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations on a coarse-grained model that describes virus assembly on a fluctuating lipid membrane. Our simulations show that the membrane can promote association of adsorbed subunits through dimensional reduction, but also can introduce barriers that inhibit complete assembly. We find several mechanisms, including one not anticipated by equilibrium theories, by which membrane microdomains, such as lipid rafts, can enhance assembly by reducing these barriers. We show how this predicted mechanism can be experimentally tested. Furthermore, the simulations demonstrate that assembly and budding depend crucially on the system dynamics via multiple timescales related to membrane deformation, protein diffusion, association, and adsorption onto the membrane.
Gulf War Agent Exposure Causes Impairment of Long-Term Memory Formation and Neuropathological Changes in a Mouse Model of Gulf War Illness

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multisymptom illness with a central nervous system component such as memory deficits, neurological, and musculoskeletal problems. There are ample data that demonstrate that exposure to Gulf War (GW) agents, such as pyridostigmine bromide (PB) and pesticides such as permethrin (PER), were key contributors to the etiology of GWI post deployment to the Persian GW. In the current study, we examined the consequences of acute (10 days) exposure to PB and PER in C57BL6 mice. Learning and memory tests were performed at 18 days and at 5 months post-exposure. We investigated the relationship between the cognitive phenotype and neuropathological changes at short and long-term time points post-exposure. No cognitive deficits were observed at the short-term time point, and only minor neuropathological changes were detected. However, cognitive deficits emerged at the later time point and were associated with increased astrogliosis and reduction of synaptophysin staining in the hippocampi and cerebral cortices of exposed mice, 5 months post exposure. In summary, our findings in this mouse model of GW agent exposure are consistent with some GWI symptom manifestations, including delayed onset of symptoms and CNS disturbances observed in GWI veterans.
Challenges of participation in large-scale public projects

This paper examines challenges of participation in large-scale public projects. Taking its offset in a case-study, the development of a new public multimedia library, the paper discusses methods and values of Participatory Design in the face of the challenges that a project of this scale entails. These challenges concern how to address and manage a heterogeneous group of stakeholders and end-users, how to inform stakeholders and establish participation as a relevant activity, the development of new techniques and technologies to scaffold participation, and the interplay between iterative development and institutional transformation.
The unresolved hard X-ray background: the missing source population implied by the Chandra and XMM-Newton deep fields

We extend our earlier work on X-ray source stacking in the deep XMM-Newton observation of the Lockman Hole, to the 2-Ms Chandra Deep Field North (CDF-N) and the 1-Ms Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S). The XMM-Newton work showed the resolved fraction of the X-ray background (XRB) to be ∼80-100 per cent at ≤ 2 keV but this decreased to only ∼50 per cent above ∼8 keV. The CDF-N and CDF-S probe deeper, and are able to fill in some of the missing fraction in the 4-6 keV range, but the resolved fraction in the 6-8 keV band remains only ∼60 per cent, confirming the trend seen with XMM-Newton. The missing XRB component has a spectral shape that is consistent with a population of highly obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) at redshifts ∼0.5-1.5 and with absorption column densities of ∼10 23 -10 24 cm -2 .
Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 and h-prune Regulate Cell Migration by Modulating Focal Adhesions

ABSTRACT h-prune, which has been suggested to be involved in cell migration, was identified as a glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3)-binding protein. Treatment of cultured cells with GSK-3 inhibitors or small interfering RNA (siRNA) for GSK-3 and h-prune inhibited their motility. The kinase activity of GSK-3 was required for the interaction of GSK-3 with h-prune. h-prune was localized to focal adhesions, and the siRNA for GSK-3 or h-prune delayed the disassembly of paxillin. The tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and the activation of Rac were suppressed in GSK-3 or h-prune knocked-down cells. GSK-3 inhibitors suppressed the disassembly of paxillin and the activation of FAK and Rac. Furthermore, h-prune was highly expressed in colorectal and pancreatic cancers, and the positivity of the h-prune expression was correlated with tumor invasion. These results suggest that GSK-3 and h-prune cooperatively regulate the disassembly of focal adhesions to promote cell migration and that h-prune is useful as a marker for tumor aggressiveness.