Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum chemokines in patients with psoriatic arthritis treated with cyclosporin A.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the levels of serum chemokines in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) before and during cyclosporin A (CyA) treatment. METHODS Sixteen outpatients with active PsA were followed for 6 months during low dosage CyA treatment. Serum chemokines of the C-X-C and C-C groups were determined by ELISA at the baseline. Serum RANTES levels were measured at 2 month intervals for 6 months. Serum chemokine levels were related with clinical and laboratory disease activity variables. RESULTS Serum interleukin 8 and macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha levels were undetectable at baseline. Mean serum growth related gene product-alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 values were reduced and serum RANTES were elevated compared to controls. CyA treatment did not change serum RANTES levels. Patients with PsA with persistently normal serum RANTES levels (4 patients) had a more favorable clinical and laboratory response to CyA compared to patients with persistently high serum levels (6 patients). CONCLUSION Serum RANTES levels are higher in patients with PsA than in a control population. CyA treatment does not change RANTES values. Patients with PsA with persistently normal RANTES levels have a better response to CyA treatment.
Venus: Estimation of age of impact craters on the basis of degree of preservation of associated radar‐dark deposits

Venus impact craters larger than 5 km in diameter (∼90% of all craters) have been classified based on the presence and prominence of associated radar‐dark deposits. Approximate estimates of the absolute age of craters of different morphologic classes are made. Analysis of age relations of dated craters and volcanic and tectonic structures permits the estimation of the age and duration of different volcanic and tectonic events.
Thiazide-sensitive sodium chloride cotransport in early distal tubule.

At least two pathways mediate sodium absorption across the luminal membrane of the renal distal tubule. One pathway is a conductive channel and the other appears to be a coupled Na-Cl cotransport pathway. The distal tubule comprises three segments: the distal convoluted tubule, the connecting tubule, and the initial collecting duct. To provide information about cellular locations of the proposed sodium transport pathways, we perfused early (14-38% of whole distal length) and late (61-83% of whole distal length) segments of whole distal tubules separately in vivo in anesthetized rats. When perfused with a solution that resembles fluid normally arriving at the distal tubule (75 mM Na, 68 mM Cl), rates of sodium absorption were similar in early and late segments (early 68 +/- 29.6, late 67 +/- 27.5 pmol X min-1 X mm-1). When perfused with a solution that resembles interstitial fluid (148 mM Na, 110 mM Cl), sodium transport was significantly higher in early than in late segments (276 +/- 28.4 vs. 113 +/- 29.7 pmol X min-1 X mm-1). Chlorothiazide (10(-3) M), which blocks sodium and chloride absorption in whole distal tubules, reduced sodium and chloride transport to zero in early distal tubules but had no significant effect in late distal tubules. Removing all chloride from perfusion solutions reduced sodium transport in early but not late distal segments. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Development and Validation of the Abstinence Motivation Scale

Development and Validation of the Abstinence Motivation Scale Natalie Johnson Department of Psychology, BYU Master of Science The purpose of this study was to design the Abstinence Motivation Scale-Sex (AMSSex), a scale to assess adolescent motivations for sexual abstinence using the self-determination theory (SDT) motivation continuum as a framework. Previous sexual abstinence research, SDT measurement studies, pilot study data, and expert panel feedback were used to develop the initial 77-item AMS-Sex. The sample consisted of 695 adolescents (aged 15 to 18; M age = 16.49, SD = 1.08; 50.8% male) recruited online from the across the U.S. Participants completed an online survey. The sample was randomly split into two samples. Independent samples t-tests indicated that sample 1 (N = 351; M age = 16.53, SD = 1.09; 48% male) and sample 2 (N = 344; M age = 16.46, SD = 1.07; 51% male) did not significantly differ by age, gender, parent education, annual household income, sexual behavior, or social desirability. Sample 1 data was used to assess scale reliabilities and run exploratory factor analyses (EFA) to examine the factor structure of the 77-item AMS-Sex. The 77-item AMS-Sex had good internal consistency (α = .99), as did the four subscales. As anticipated, the EFA resulted in a four-factor structure. However, these factors did not represent the anticipated SDT motivation types. Rather, the autonomous motivation items loaded on a single factor; the controlled motivation items loaded onto three factors by source or reference (i.e., parents, peers/others, and self). A second EFA was examined, constraining the model to two factors (i.e., controlled, autonomous). The 77 AMSSex items were reduced to a final 24-item AMS-Sex measure with six items per motivation type through a rigorous process using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with modification indices and information from CFA loadings, item means, standard deviations, skewness, correlations with social desirability, EFA loadings, and item wording and clarity. Sample 2 was then used to validate the final 24-item AMS-Sex using CFA and structural equation modeling (SEM). CFA was used to assess the four-factor, three-factor, and two-factor models. Model fit indices indicated that the four-factor and three-factor models had acceptable model fit, but the two-factor model did not. SEM was used to assess the relationships between the factors (i.e., types of motivation) and age, gender, social desirability, and sexual behavior for the four-factor, threefactor, and two-factor models. The SEM models indicated that older teens tended to be less motivated towards abstinence; girls were more motivated towards abstinence than boys; and sexual behavior was negatively correlated with all four motivation types, but more strongly with the autonomous motivations; and, in general, autonomous motivations were negative predictors of sexual behavior, while controlled motivations positively predicted sexual behavior. EFAs with the final 24 items were assessed, resulting in a three-factor solution: external, introjected, and autonomous motivations.
Molecular Identification and Functional Characterization of Rat Multidrug and Toxin Extrusion Type Transporter 1 as an Organic Cation/H+ Antiporter in the Kidney

We have cloned and functionally characterized the rat ortholog of multidrug and toxin extrusion type transporter 1 (rMATE1). The mRNA of rMATE1 was strongly expressed in kidney and detectable in the various tissues such as brain, stomach, colon, lung, liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, and prostate. When stably expressed in HEK293 cells, rMATE1 could mediate the transport of tetraethylammonium (TEA) and cimetidine under the condition where the membrane potential was disrupted by a high concentration of potassium ion and intracellular pH was reduced by NH4Cl pretreatment. When extracellular pH was changed from 5.5 to 8.5, the transport of TEA by rMATE1 was greatest at pH 7.5. Kinetic analyses showed that the transports of TEA and cimetidine mediated by rMATE1 were both saturable with a Km of 260 ± 10 and 3.01 ± 0.21 μM, respectively. It was found that cimetidine is the most potent inhibitor of rMATE1, and many other organic cations, such as 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium, amiloride, imipramine, and quinidine, are also effective as inhibitors. Pretreatment of the cells expressing rMATE1 with p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonate significantly reduced TEA transport, but this effect was totally reversed by subsequent treatment with dithiothreitol. These results indicate that the functional nature of rMATE1 is consistent with that of the hypothetical organic cation/H+ antiporter system in the brush-border membrane of the renal tubular epithelial cells. Accordingly, these results suggest that rMATE1 is an electroneutral and multispecific organic cation transporter energized by the trans-proton gradient, and plays a physiological role in renal secretion of organic cations, including clinically used cationic drugs.
Modeling of arterial stiffness using variations of pulse transit time

In this paper, a finite element (FE) modeling is used to model effects of the arterial stiffness on the different signal patterns of the pulse transit time (PTT). Several different breathing patterns of the three subjects are measured with PTT signal and corresponding finite element model of the straight elastic artery is applied. The computational fluid-structure model provides arterial elastic behavior and fitting procedure was applied in order to estimate Young’s module of stiffness of the artery. It was found that approximately same elastic Young’s module can be fitted for specific subject with different breathing patterns which validate this methodology for possible noninvasive determination of the arterial stiffness. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III-41007 i br. OI-174028 and FP7 ICT-2007-2-5.3 (224297) ARTreat project]
Effects of Self-Generated Facial Expressions on Mood

Two experiments were conducted in which participants looked at photographs (Experiment 1, n = 129) or slides (Experiment 2, n = 90) of people engaging in positive or negative facial expressions. Participants attempted to communicate these facial expressions as accurately as they could to a video camera while viewing themselves in a mirror or without viewing themselves in a mirror. Participants in a control group maintained neutral facial expressions. Participants experienced increased positive moods when they engaged in positive facial expressions and decreased positive moods when they engaged in negative facial expressions. These effects were enhanced when participants viewed themselves in a mirror. The effects of facial expressions on positive affect were stronger for participants with high private self-consciousness. Results were integrated with research identifying individuals who are responsive to self-produced versus situational cues and with theory and research on selfawareness. Recognition that facial expressions are intimately related to emotional experience has a long and interesting history (Adelmann & Zajonc, 1989; Izard, 1990). References to the process of intensifying one's emotions through amplification of expressions can be found in the writings of Homer and Shakespeare (Izard, 1990). Darwin ( 1872 / 1965 ) and William James ( 1890/
What information is represented in the human hippocampus

The hippocampus plays a critical role in supporting memories of our personal past experiences (episodic memories). However, it is not known how individual episodic memories are represented by neuronal populations within the hippocampus. The aim of my thesis was to explore the nature of the information represented in the human hippocampus, with a particular focus on episodic memories. I conducted five experiments using high-resolution and standard functional MRI (fMRI). In four of these projects I used and further developed a method known as multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA). This enabled me to interrogate the fMRI data to look for functionally-relevant patterns of information encoded across multiple voxels. My findings revealed that episodic memories were represented in the hippocampus more so than in neighbouring brain regions, that this was true even of memories that were highly overlapping in terms of content and context, and for recently-formed and very remote memories. Furthermore, I found that the episodic information within individual hippocampal subfields was consistent with computational models of episodic memory. One important contribution to the representation of an episodic memory is scene construction - the mental construction of a complex spatially coherent scene into which event details are bound. In order to explore the role of the hippocampus in scene construction, I used fMRI to study boundary extension – a scene-related phenomenon whereby people extrapolate beyond the edges of a given view. This revealed that hippocampal activity tracked the emergence of boundary extension, suggesting that scene construction can be rapid, automatic, and implicit. Overall, my findings shed new light on the nature of episodic representations within the human hippocampus, and offer an empirical link between episodic memory and computational theory. Moreover, they provide further evidence regarding scene construction, which is a key component of episodic representations within the hippocampus.
Ipsilateral intracortical connections of physiologically defined cutaneous representations in areas 3b and 1 of macaque monkeys: Projections in the vicinity of the central sulcus

This study examined cortical connections of areas 3b and 1 in 17 macaque monkeys in reference to regional somatotopography. The fluorescent retrograde tracers Fast Blue and Diamidino Yellow and the anterograde tracer Rhodamine Dextran were injected into closely related cutaneously responsive sites in primary somatosensory cortex, e. g. , adjacent digits.
Murdoch Research Repository Title: the Efficacy and Psychophysiological Correlates of Dual-attention Tasks in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (emdr)

(2011) The efficacy and psychophysiological correlates of dual-attention tasks in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). It is posted here for your personal use. No further distribution is permitted. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Title The efficacy and psychophysiological correlates of dual-attention tasks in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Abstract This study aimed to investigate the psychophysiological correlates and the effectiveness of different dual-attention tasks used during eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Sixty-two non-clinical participants with negative autobiographical memories received a single session of EMDR without eye movements, or EMDR that included eye movements of either varied or fixed rate of speed. Subjective units of distress and vividness of the memory were recorded at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 1 week follow-up. EMDR-with eye movements led to greater reduction in distress than EMDR-without eye movements. Heart rate decreased significantly when eye movements began; skin conductance decreased during eye movement sets; heart rate variability and respiration rate increased significantly as eye movements continued; and orienting responses were more frequent in the eye movement than no-eye movement condition at the start of exposure. Findings indicate that the eye movement component in EMDR is beneficial, and is coupled with distinct psychophysiological changes that may aid in processing negative memories.
Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor–Activated Caspase-3 Through Ras/Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase/Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase in the Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla Is Involved in Sympathoexcitation in Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

In the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), angiotensin II-derived superoxide anions, which increase sympathetic nerve activity, induce a pressor response by activating the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. The small G protein Ras mediates a caspase-3–dependent apoptotic pathway through p38 MAPK, ERK, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. We hypothesized that angiotensin II type 1 receptors activate caspase-3 through the Ras/p38 MAPK/ERK/c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway in the RVLM and that this pathway is involved in sympathoexcitation in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP), a model of human hypertension. The activities of Ras, p38 MAPK, ERK, and caspase-3 in the RVLM were significantly higher in SHRSP (14 to 16 weeks old) than in age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). The mitochondrial apoptotic proteins Bax and Bad in the RVLM were significantly increased in SHRSP compared with WKY. c-Jun N-terminal kinase activity did not differ between SHRSP and WKY. In SHRSP, intracerebroventricular infusion of a Ras inhibitor significantly reduced sympathetic nerve activity and improved baroreflex sensitivity, partially because of inhibition of the Ras/p38 MAPK/ERK, Bax, Bad, and caspase-3 pathway in the RVLM. Intracerebroventricular infusion of a caspase-3 inhibitor also inhibited sympathetic nerve activity and improved baroreflex sensitivity in SHRSP. Intracerebroventricular infusion of an angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker in SHRSP partially inhibited the Ras/p38 MAPK/ERK, Bax, Bad, and caspase-3 pathway in the RVLM. These findings suggest that in SHRSP, angiotensin II type 1 receptor-activated caspase-3 acting through the Ras/p38 MAPK/ERK pathway in the RVLM might be involved in sympathoexcitation, which in turn plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of hypertension.
The impact of picture cue emotionality on metamemory and cued recall of associated words

Judgments of learning (JOL) are subjective predictions about how well information will be remembered in the future. Emotional stimuli have shown to be better remembered in free recall experiments, but not in cued recall experiments, even though JOLs have shown to be higher for emotional stimuli. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that emotional cues lead to higher JOLs but worse recollection performance than neutral counterparts. Twenty-eight undergraduate students participated in the study to rate and memorize neutral words paired with pictures that varied in emotionality (negative, neutral) and composition (high-complex, low-complex). The results showed that participants remembered negative-paired words reliably worse than neutral-paired words, but rated negative- paired words as more memorable than neutral-paired words. An underconfidence was observed for neutral-paired words and, to some extent, overconfidence for negative-paired words. The results are discussed in terms of relevance to witnesses’ memories.
The herpes simplex virus 1 gene encoding a protease also contains within its coding domain the gene encoding the more abundant substrate

The herpes simplex virus 1 open reading frames UL26 and UL26.5 are 3' coterminal. The larger, UL26 open reading frame encodes a protein approximately 80,000 in apparent molecular weight and contains the promoter and coding sequence of the UL26.5 gene, which specifies a capsid protein designated infected cell protein 35. The larger product contains in its entirety the amino acid sequence of the smaller protein. We report that the UL26 gene encodes a protease which catalyzes its own cleavage and that of the more abundant product of UL26.5. By inserting the coding sequence of an epitope to a cytomegalovirus monoclonal antibody and homologs of the immunoglobulin G binding domain of staphylococcal protein A into the 3' termini of the coding domains of the two open reading frames, we identified both products of the cleavage and determined that the cleavage site is approximately 20 amino acids from the carboxyl termini of both proteins.
Harnessing the search for rational bid schedules with stochastic search and domain-specific heuristics

In previous work we proposed an approach for computing an agentýs preferences over different schedules of tasks, and for soliciting desirable bid combinations to cover the tasks. The proposed approach finds schedules that maximize the agentýs Expected Utility. The maximization problem is hard because the domain is piece-wise continuous, with the number of pieces and local maxima growing exponentially in the worst case scenario. For agents who are averse to taking risks, maximization algorithms tend to converge to degenerate maxima of no practical interest. In this paper we demonstrate three maximization methods based on domain-specific heuristics. We also present a new stochastic maximization approach, and benchmark it in two substantially different problem setups.
Turning the closets inside/out: towards a queer-feminist theory in women's physical education.

One of the ways heterosexuality maintains its privileged status is through the discursive figure of “the closet,” where everyday speech normalizes heterosexuality while silencing lesbian sexuality. In this paper, feminist and queer theories are used to explain why the closet has featured so prominently in women’s physical education. The paper also contains a poststructural analysis of how the closet was constructed in the life histories of 6 lesbian and heterosexual physical educators. Excerpts from the life histories illustrate how silences inside the closet acquired meaning only in relation to everyday talk about heterosexuality. Finally, deconstruction is used to suggest how heterosexuality can sometimes find itself inside the closet, thereby undermining the boundaries between inside/outside, silence/speech, and lesbian/heterosexual.
Concentration based feature construction approach for spam detection

Inspired by human immune system, a concentration based feature construction (CFC) approach which utilizes a two-element concentration vector as the feature vector is proposed for spam detection in this paper. In the CFC approach, ‘self’ and ‘non-self’ concentrations are constructed by using ‘self’ and ‘non-self’ gene libraries, respectively, and subsequently are used to form a vector with two elements of concentrations for characterizing the e-mail efficiently. As a result, the design of classifier actually amounts to establishing a mapping between two real-value inputs and one binary output. The classification of the e-mail is considered as an optimization problem aiming at minimizing a formulated cost function. A clonal particle swarm optimization (CPSO) algorithm proposed by the leading author is also employed for this purpose. Several classifiers including linear discriminant, multi-layer neural networks and support vector machine are used to verify the effectiveness and robustness of the CFC approach. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed CFC approach not only has a very much fast speed but also gives 97% and 99% of accuracy just using a two-element concentration feature vector on corpus PU1 and Ling, respectively.
Idiomatic versus literal interpretations of ditropically ambiguous sentences.

"Ditropically" ambiguous sentences (each having both a literal and an idiomatic interpretation) were prepared for listener's discrimination judgments, and for silent readers' rankings on an "idiomaticity" scale. Listeners were unable to discriminate the literal from the idiomatic versions when presented with randomized single sentences excised from paragraph contexts. There was a bias toward interpreting the sentences as idioms, which correlated with rankings of each sentence for its likelihood of idiomatic use. Listeners were easily able to identify the literal and the idiomatic versions of the same ditropic sentences presented in pairs or singularly, when speakers sought purposively to convey the contrasting meanings.