Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Portraying the unique contribution of the default mode network to internally driven mnemonic processes

Numerous neuroimaging studies have implicated default mode network (DMN) involvement in both internally driven processes and memory. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether memory operations reflect a particular case of internally driven processing or alternatively involve the DMN in a distinct manner, possibly depending on memory type. This question is critical for refining neurocognitive memory theorem in the context of other endogenic processes and elucidating the functional significance of this key network. We used functional MRI to examine DMN activity and connectivity patterns while participants overtly generated words according to nonmnemonic (phonemic) or mnemonic (semantic or episodic) cues. Overall, mnemonic word fluency was found to elicit greater DMN activity and stronger within-network functional connectivity compared with nonmnemonic fluency. Furthermore, two levels of functional organization of memory retrieval were shown. First, across both mnemonic tasks, activity was greater mainly in the posterior cingulate cortex, implying selective contribution to generic aspects of memory beyond its general involvement in endogenous processes. Second, parts of the DMN showed distinct selectivity for each of the mnemonic conditions; greater recruitment of the anterior prefrontal cortex, retroesplenial cortex, and hippocampi and elevated connectivity between anterior and posterior medial DMN nodes characterized the semantic condition, whereas increased recruitment of posterior DMN components and elevated connectivity between them characterized the episodic condition. This finding emphasizes the involvement of DMN elements in discrete aspects of memory retrieval. Altogether, our results show a specific contribution of the DMN to memory processes, corresponding to the specific type of memory retrieval.
DV-Hop localization algorithms based on centroid in wireless sensor networks

The localization of the unknown nodes is essential for many applications in wireless sensor networks (WSN). But the traditional DV-Hop algorithm has not high accuracy of the localization of the nodes. In this paper, we proposed an improved DV-Hop location algorithm based on reduce the accumulation errors of the average hop distance of the unknown nodes in wireless sensor networks. We have made detailed analysis of the DV-Hop algorithm, and have introduced the weighted averaged method for calculate to the average hop distance in the second stages. Then the estimates regional based on two beacon nodes is built, and the centroid of the region is the coordinates of the unknown node. Simulation experiments are conducted to compare the traditional DV-Hop algorithm and improved DV-Hop algorithm. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has better localization accuracy based on the same or different number of the sensor nodes and the communication radius.
Preservation of Neuronal Number Despite Age-Related Cortical Brain Atrophy in Elderly Subjects Without Alzheimer Disease

Cerebral volume loss has long been associated with normal aging, but whether this is due to aging itself or to age-related diseases, including incipient Alzheimer disease, is uncertain. To understand the changes that occur in the aging brain, we examined the cerebral cortex of 27 normal individuals ranging in age from 56 to 103 years. None fulfilled the criteria for the neuropathologic diagnosis of Alzheimer disease or other neurodegenerative disease. Seventeen of the elderly participants had cognitive testing an average of 6.7 months prior to death. We used quantitative approaches to analyze cortical thickness, neuronal number, and density. Frontal and temporal neocortical regions had clear evidence of cortical thinning with age, but total neuronal numbers in frontal and temporal neocortical regions remained relatively constant during a 50-year age range. These data suggest that loss of neuronal and dendritic architecture, rather than loss of neurons, underlies neocortical volume loss with increasing age in the absence of Alzheimer disease.
Discretionary power, rent-seeking and corruption

This article considers corruption as a breach of contract between a principal and an agent. This does not necessarily imply that corruption is immoral, for the nature of the violation actually depends on the features of the underlying contract. In this light, under many circumstances corruption turns out to be a rational and understandable reaction to institutional failures, which are often far from accidental. To this purpose, three different stylized institutional frameworks are analyzed: developed, undeveloped and transition countries. Contrary to the mainstream approach to corruption, it is here argued that the origin, scope and consequences of corruption vary significantly across the different frameworks. Normative conclusions should therefore be adjusted accordingly.
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Fetal Skin Reveals Key Genes Related to Hair Follicle Morphogenesis in Cashmere Goats

Cashmere goat skin contains two types of hair follicles (HF): primary hair follicles (PHF) and secondary hair follicles (SHF). Although multiple genetic determinants associated with HF formation have been identified, the molecules that determine the independent morphogenesis of HF in cashmere goats remain elusive. The growth and development of SHF directly influence the quantity and quality of cashmere production. Here, we report the transcriptome profiling analysis of nine skin samples from cashmere goats using 60- and 120-day-old embryos (E60 and E120, respectively), as well as newborns (NB), through RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). HF morphological changes indicated that PHF were initiated at E60, with maturation from E120, while differentiation of SHF was identified at E120 until formation of cashmere occurred after birth (NB). The RNA-sequencing analysis generated over 20.6 million clean reads from each mRNA library. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in E60 vs. E120, E120 vs. NB, and E60 vs. NB were 1,024, 0 and 1,801, respectively, indicating that no significant differences were found at transcriptomic levels between E120 and NB. Key genes including B4GALT4, TNC, a-integrin, and FGFR1, were up-regulated and expressed in HF initiation from E60 to E120, while regulatory genes such as GPRC5D, PAD3, HOXC13, PRR9, VSIG8, LRRC15, LHX2, MSX-2, and FOXN1 were up-regulated and expressed in HF keratinisation and hair shaft differentiation from E120 and NB to E60. Several genes belonging to the KRT and KRTAP gene families were detected throughout the three HF developmental stages. The transcriptional trajectory analyses of all DEGs indicated that immune privilege, glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis, extracellular matrix receptor interaction, and growth factor receptors all played dominant roles in the epithelial-mesenchymal interface and HF formation. We found that the Wnt, transforming growth factor-beta/bone morphogenetic protein, and Notch family members played vital roles in HF differentiation and maturation. The DEGs we found could be attributed to the generation and development of HF, and thus will be critically important for improving the quantity and quality of fleece production in animals for fibres.
Prevalence of β-lactam and fluoroquinolone resistance, and virulence factors in Escherichia coli isolated from chickens in Slovakia

The incidence of infections due to organisms resistant to β-lactam antibiotics has increased sharply in recent years. The goal of this study was to investigate the β-lactam resistance in 151 Escherichia coli strains isolated from chickens over a two-year period. Extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) were present in 24 strains (16%), ESBL phenotype was identified by interpretative reading of minimal inhibitory concentration values of ceftriaxon (CRT ≥ 7.1 mg/L), ceftazidime (CAZ ≥ 3.4 mg/L) and ceftiofur (CFF ≥ 8.7 mg/L). PCR detection revealed the presence of the blaCMY-2 gene and CTX-M-1 group. We detected high resistance to ampicillin (92%), streptomycin (63%), tetracyclin (70%), ceftiofur (40%), floroquinolones (enrofloxacin 68%, ciprofloxacin 62%), florfenicol (18%), chloramphenicol (21%) and cotrimoxazol (43%). We also investigated the presence of virulence factors and mobile genetic elements, and performed plasmid replicon typing in 24 selected strains. The most prevalent integrase among the isolates was the integrase 1 with gene cassettes dfrA, aadA and genes sul1 and sul2. Plasmid mediated quinolone resistances (qnrS) were also detected in two strains. Plasmid typing showed that the Y and IncI1 were dominant plasmid replicons. The genes iss, kpsII, tsh, iutA were the most frequently detected virulence genes in ESBL-positive strains. These results demonstrate that broilers in Slovakian food markets and farms could be the source of ESBL-producing E. coli, as well as virulent and resistant strains representing a potential risk for the human population.
The continuum and narrow line region of the NLS1 galaxy Mrk 766

We present the first spectroscopic observations in the interval 0.8-4.0 microns, complemented with HST/UV and optical spectroscopy, of the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk766. The NIR spectrum is characterized by permitted lines of HI, HeI, HeII and FeII, and forbidden lines of [SII], [SIII] and [FeII] among others. High ionized species such as [SiIX], [SiX], [SIX] and [MgVII] are also observed. The continuum has a complex shape, with contribution of the central engine, circumnuclear stellar population and dust. This last component is evidenced by the presence of an excess of emission peaking at 2.25 microns, fitted by blackbody function with T_bb=1200K. That temperature is close to the evaporation temperature of graphite grains. As such, it provides strong evidence of hot dust, probably very close to the nucleus. Consistent modeling of the line and broad band continuum spectrum by composite models, which account for the photoionizing flux of the central engine and shocks, shows that the shock velocities are between 100 and 500 km/s, the preshock densities between 100 and 1000 cm^-3 and the radiation fluxes from the active centre between 10^9 and 5x10^12 photons cm^-2 s^-1 eV^-1 at 1 Ryd with spectral indices $\alpha_{UV}$=-1.5 and $\alpha_X$=-0.4. Adopting silicon grains, dust-to-gas ratios are between 10^-{6} and 4x10$^{-4}$ by mass. The emitting clouds are at an average distance of 160 pc from the centre, with high velocity clouds closer and low velocity clouds farther from the centre. The N/H relative abundance could be twice solar. In constrast, Fe is depleted from the gaseous phase by a factor >2. Ratios of calculated to observed line ratios to Hbeta indicate an average contribution of the broad line region to the observed Hbeta of about 40%.
A Threading-Based Method for the Prediction of DNA-Binding Proteins with Application to the Human Genome

Diverse mechanisms for DNA-protein recognition have been elucidated in numerous atomic complex structures from various protein families. These structural data provide an invaluable knowledge base not only for understanding DNA-protein interactions, but also for developing specialized methods that predict the DNA-binding function from protein structure. While such methods are useful, a major limitation is that they require an experimental structure of the target as input. To overcome this obstacle, we develop a threading-based method, DNA-Binding-Domain-Threader (DBD-Threader), for the prediction of DNA-binding domains and associated DNA-binding protein residues. Our method, which uses a template library composed of DNA-protein complex structures, requires only the target protein's sequence. In our approach, fold similarity and DNA-binding propensity are employed as two functional discriminating properties. In benchmark tests on 179 DNA-binding and 3,797 non-DNA-binding proteins, using templates whose sequence identity is less than 30% to the target, DBD-Threader achieves a sensitivity/precision of 56%/86%. This performance is considerably better than the standard sequence comparison method PSI-BLAST and is comparable to DBD-Hunter, which requires an experimental structure as input. Moreover, for over 70% of predicted DNA-binding domains, the backbone Root Mean Square Deviations (RMSDs) of the top-ranked structural models are within 6.5 Å of their experimental structures, with their associated DNA-binding sites identified at satisfactory accuracy. Additionally, DBD-Threader correctly assigned the SCOP superfamily for most predicted domains. To demonstrate that DBD-Threader is useful for automatic function annotation on a large-scale, DBD-Threader was applied to 18,631 protein sequences from the human genome; 1,654 proteins are predicted to have DNA-binding function. Comparison with existing Gene Ontology (GO) annotations suggests that ∼30% of our predictions are new. Finally, we present some interesting predictions in detail. In particular, it is estimated that ∼20% of classic zinc finger domains play a functional role not related to direct DNA-binding.
Success Factors for Innovation Management in Networks of Small and Medium Enterprises

Because firms today operate in increasingly turbulent and complex environments, they need to be more proactive and innovative. Networks are gaining in importance, especially for small and medium enterprises with limited resources as R&D cooperations or cooperations along the value chain seem to be the only way to succeed with technologically challenging and promising but also expensive and risky product innovations. One of the key problems of these networks, however, is the question of how to plan, organize and control the innovation processes that are distributed over several partners. Theoretically derived and empirically proven success factors could help as much here as in the traditional success/failure discussion of new product development within firms. This paper discusses the effects of such factors, which partly derive from the traditional success/failure discussion within firms (e.g. market potential, product advantage, technological synergy, proficiency of technological or marketing activities) but also factors derived from recent network research (e.g. trust or dependence on partners). Their effect on new product performance is discussed on the basis of a comprehensive survey with 271 participating networks. The results confirm the traditional success factors, especially the product advantage and proficiency factors. But they also show that network-related success factors (especially network cohesion and organization) are of similar major importance.
Integrated GPS/INS System for Pedestrian Navigation in a Signal Degraded Environment

This paper evaluates the performance of a shoe/foot mounted inertial system for pedestrian navigation application. Two different grades of inertial sensors are used, namely a medium cost tactical grade Honeywell HG1700 inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a low-cost MEMS-based Crista IMU (Cloud Cap Technology). The inertial sensors are used in two different ways for computing the navigation solution. The first method is a conventional integration algorithm where IMU measurements are processed through a set of mechanization equation to compute a six degree-offreedom (DOF) navigation solution. Such a system is referred to as an Inertial Navigation System (INS). The integration of this system with GPS is performed using a tightly coupled integration scheme. Since the sensor is placed on the foot, the designed integrated system exploits the small period for which foot comes to rest at each step (stance-phase of the gait cycle) and uses Zero Velocity Update (ZUPT) to keep the INS errors bounded in the absence of GPS. An algorithm for detecting the stance-phase using the pattern of three-dimensional acceleration is discussed. In the second method, the navigation solutions is computed using the fact that a pedestrian takes one step at a time, and thus positions can be computed by propagating the step-length in the direction of pedestrian motion. This algorithm is termed as pedestrian dead-reckoning (PDR) algorithm. The IMU measurement in this algorithm is used to detect the step, estimate the step-length, and determine the heading for solution propagation. Different algorithms for stridelength estimation and step-detection are discussed in this paper. The PDR system is also integrated with GPS through a tightly coupled integration scheme. The performance of both the systems is evaluated through field tests conducted in challenging GPS environments using both inertial sensors. The specific focus is on the system performance under long GPS outages of duration upto 30 minutes.
Improving reading comprehension: From metacognitive intervention on strategies to the intervention on working memory executive processes

Muchos estudiantes pueden leer de forma fluida pero presentan dificultades para construir significados a partir de los textos. Las dificultades de compresion lectora tienen varias implicaciones en la escuela. En particular, los problemas de comprension de textos interfieren con el estudio y el aprendizaje desde el texto. La comprension de lectura se ha mejorado en los ultimos 30 anos enfocandose en los programas de intervencion que trabajan con estrategias en las cuales la metacognicion juega un papel crucial. Sin embargo, en anos recientes han sido relevantes los avances en el estudio de las relaciones entre la memoria de trabajo (WM), particularmente el proceso ejecutivo, y la compresnion de lectura. En este articulo presentamos la manera como se ha desarrollado nuestra investigacion en los ultimos 20 anos, en relacion con intervencion metacognitiva desde las estrategias de comprension de textos, tales como la idea principal y el resumen en la intervencion sobre el proceso ejecutivo de WM durante la lectura. Asi, nuestros datos empiricos recientes han mostrado que la comprension de textos puede ser mejorada despues del tratamiento especifico sobre las funciones ejecutivas de memoria de trabajo (e.g., enfocandose, cambiando, conectando y actualizando las representaciones mentales, y la inhibicion de informacion irrelevante) en ninos de escuela primaria.
The Performance of Nigerian Manufacturing Firms: Report on the Nigerian Manufacturing Enterprise Survey 2001*

*This Report has not been formally edited. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The opinions, figures and estimates set forth in signed articles are the responsibility of the authors, and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or carry the endorsement of UNIDO. The designations “developed” and “developing” economies are intended for statistical convenience and do not, necessarily, express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. Mention of firm names or commercial products does not imply endorsement by UNIDO. The views expressed in this Report are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of UNIDO.
Fat Metaplasia on Sacroiliac Joint Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Baseline Is Associated with Spinal Radiographic Progression in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis

Objective To study the relationship between inflammatory and structural lesions in the sacroiliac joints (SIJs) on MRI and spinal progression observed on conventional radiographs in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Methods One hundred and ten patients who fulfilled the ASAS axSpA criteria were enrolled. All underwent SIJ MRI at baseline and lumbar spine radiographs at baseline and after 2 years. Inflammatory and structural lesions on SIJ MRI were scored using the SPondyloArthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) method. Spinal radiographs were scored using the Stoke AS Spinal Score (SASSS). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of spinal progression. Results Among the 110 patients, 25 (23%) showed significant radiographic progression (change of SASSS≥2) over 2 years. There was no change in the SASSS over 2 years according to the type of inflammatory lesion. Patients with fat metaplasia or ankyloses on baseline MRI showed a significantly higher SASSS at 2 years than those without (p<0.001). According to univariate logistic regression analysis, age at diagnosis, HLA-B27 positivity, the presence of fat metaplasia, erosion, and ankyloses on SIJ MRI, increased baseline CRP levels, and the presence of syndesmophytes at baseline were associated with spinal progression over 2 years. Multivariate analysis identified syndesmophytes and severe fat metaplasia on baseline SIJ MRI as predictive of spinal radiographic progression (OR, 14.74 and 5.66, respectively). Conclusion Inflammatory lesions in the SIJs on baseline MRI were not associated with spinal radiographic progression. However, fat metaplasia at baseline was significantly associated with spinal progression after 2 years.
Implementation of activity based costing in Malaysia: A case study of two companies

Purpose - The study aims to document and highlight the problems and benefits of implementing activity-based costing (ABC) in two companies in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach - A case study methodology was used to describe the process of ABC implementation in a Malaysian based multinational company as well as a Malaysian multinational company. Findings - Although ABC is not widely adopted by companies in Malaysia, it is recognized as a valuable tool to improve the performance of these two companies. Additionally, many of the problems that hinder the implementation of ABC are related to managerial factors rather than the technical aspects of the tool itself. Several factors are pertinent to ensure the success of ABC: top management support, simplifying the ABC implementation process, sourcing suitable ABC software, and finally, ensuring that all affected employees understand and actively support the implementation process. Originality/value - The findings have significant implications for companies that want to embark on ABC. The problems highlighted may help companies planning to adopt ABC in the near future to better address these issues.
Serendipitous Offline Learning in a Neuromorphic Robot

We demonstrate a hybrid neuromorphic learning paradigm that learns complex sensorimotor mappings based on a small set of hard-coded reflex behaviors. A mobile robot is first controlled by a basic set of reflexive hand-designed behaviors. All sensor data is provided via a spike-based silicon retina camera (eDVS), and all control is implemented via spiking neurons simulated on neuromorphic hardware (SpiNNaker). Given this control system, the robot is capable of simple obstacle avoidance and random exploration. To train the robot to perform more complex tasks, we observe the robot and find instances where the robot accidentally performs the desired action. Data recorded from the robot during these times is then used to update the neural control system, increasing the likelihood of the robot performing that task in the future, given a similar sensor state. As an example application of this general-purpose method of training, we demonstrate the robot learning to respond to novel sensory stimuli (a mirror) by turning right if it is present at an intersection, and otherwise turning left. In general, this system can learn arbitrary relations between sensory input and motor behavior.