Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic cultural modulation of neural responses to one's own and friend's faces

Long-term cultural experiences influence neural response to one's own and friend's faces. The present study investigated whether an individual's culturally specific pattern of neural activity to faces can be modulated by temporary access to other cultural frameworks using a self-construal priming paradigm. Event-related potentials were recorded from British and Chinese adults during judgments of orientations of one's own and friend's faces after they were primed with independent and interdependent self-construals. We found that an early frontal negative activity at 220–340 ms (the anterior N2) differentiated between one's own and friend's faces in both cultural groups. Most remarkably, for British participants, priming an interdependent self-construal reduced the default anterior N2 to their own faces. For Chinese participants, however, priming an independent self-construal suppressed the default anterior N2 to their friend's faces. These findings indicate fast modulations of culturally specific neural responses induced by temporary access to other cultural frameworks.
Association between Changes in Obesity Parameters and Incidence of Chronic Kidney Disease in Japanese Individuals

Obesity increases the risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD). By analyzing data on individuals who underwent general health screening in two consecutive years, we investigated whether changes in body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC) were associated with the appearance or disappearance of the CKD components; micro-/macroalbuminuria (≥30 mg urinary albumin per gram creatinine) and a low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; <60 ml/min/1.73 m2). Logistic regression analysis showed that in men with micro-/macroalbuminuria at the first visit, a BMI reduction of ≥0.42 or a WC reduction of ≥3.0 cm over the 1-year period resulted in a significantly reduced incident of micro-/macroalbuminuria at the second visit. On the other hand, a BMI gain of ≥0.33 over 1 year in men without micro-/macroalbuminuria and a low eGFR at the fist visit significantly increased the incident of micro-/macroalbuminuria and a low eGFR, respectively, at the second visit. These findings indicate that lowering the obesity indexes in men with micro-/macroalbuminuria reduced the incidence of this condition at the 1-year follow-up and that, on the contrary, an increase in BMI in men without micro-/macroalbuminuria and a low eGFR at the first examination increased the risk of these conditions during the 1-year follow-up period.
Rhizosphere bacterial communities of dominant steppe plants shift in response to a gradient of simulated nitrogen deposition

We evaluated effects of 9-year simulated nitrogen (N) deposition on microbial composition and diversity in the rhizosphere of two dominant temperate grassland species: grass Stipa krylovii and forb Artemisia frigida. Microbiomes in S. krylovii and A. frigida rhizosphere differed, but changed consistently along the N gradient. These changes were correlated to N-induced shifts to plant community. Hence, as plant biomass changed, so did bacterial rhizosphere communities, a result consistent with the role that N fertilizer has been shown to play in altering plant-microbial mutualisms. A total of 23 bacterial phyla were detected in the two rhizospheric soils by pyrosequencing, with Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Bacteroidetes dominating the sequences of all samples. Bacterioidetes and Proteobacteria tended to increase, while Acidobacteria declined with increase in N addition rates. TM7 increased >5-fold in the high N addition rates, especially in S. krylovii rhizosphere. Nitrogen addition also decreased diversity of OTUs (operational taxonomic units), Shannon and Chao1 indices of rhizospheric microbes regardless of plant species. These results suggest that there were both similar but also specific changes in microbial communities of temperate steppes due to N deposition. These findings would contribute to our mechanistic understanding of impacts of N deposition on grassland ecosystem by linking changes in plant traits to their rhizospheric microbes-mediated processes.
Early Detection of Configuration Errors to Reduce Failure Damage

Early detection is the key to minimizing failure damage induced by configuration errors, especially those errors in configurations that control failure handling and fault tolerance. Since such configurations are not needed for initialization, many systems do not check their settings early (e.g., at startup time). Consequently, the errors become latent until their manifestations cause severe damage, such as breaking the failure handling. Such latent errors are likely to escape from sysadmins' observation and testing, and be deployed to production at scale. Our study shows that many of today's mature, widely-used software systems are subject to latent configuration errors (referred to as LC errors) in their critically important configurations--those related to the system's reliability, availability, and serviceability. One root cause is that many (14.0%-93.2%) of these configurations do not have any special code for checking the correctness of their settings at the system's initialization time. To help software systems detect LC errors early, we present a tool named PCHECK that analyzes the source code and automatically generates configuration checking code (called checkers). The checkers emulate the late execution that uses configuration values, and detect LC errors if the error manifestations are captured during the emulated execution. Our results show that PCHECK can help systems detect 75+% of real-world LC errors at the initialization phase, including 37 new LC errors that have not been exposed before. Compared with existing detection tools, it can detect 31% more LC errors.
Diagnostic Performance of Assays for the Detection of Anti-Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Antibodies in Serum and Muscle Transudate (“Meat Juice”) Based on Samples Collected under Experimental Conditions

Three assays were evaluated for their ability to detect antibodies against Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in porcine muscle transudate (“meat juice”) samples. Samples were derived from 91 pigs inoculated with PRRSV isolate VR-2332 and 46 age-matched controls. Serum and muscle (Musculus longissimus dorsi) samples were collected from randomly selected animals euthanized at ∼14-day intervals from 28 to 202 days postinoculation. Serum samples were assayed at a dilution of 1:40, and muscle transudate samples were assayed at 5 dilutions (1:2, 1:5, 1:10, 1:20, 1:40) using a commercial PRRSV antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In addition, muscle transudate samples were tested using an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) at 5 dilutions (1:2, 1:5, 1:10, 1:20, 1:40). Attempts to assay muscle transudate samples for neutralizing antibodies using a modified fluorescent focus neutralization assay were unsuccessful. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to estimate cutoff thresholds and the associated diagnostic sensitivities and specificities for ELISA and IFAT at each dilution. For ELISA, muscle transudate samples at the ROC-optimized cutoffs were >95% sensitive and 100% specific at each dilution. At a cutoff dilution of ≥1:5, the IFAT diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of muscle transudate was estimated at 63.3% and 100%, respectively. These findings validated the use of muscle transudate samples in PRRSV surveillance programs based on ELISA antibody testing.
The Effects of Framing and Cause-Related Marketing on Crowdfunding Sponsors' Intentions: A model Development

In recent years, crowdfunding sprang up and became a new way to raise funds from the public instead of senior investors. Crowdfunding refers to enterprises and entrepreneurs raising funds from the crowd through social network by launching their projects on the crowdfunding platforms. However, more than half of the projects which were launched on the crowdfunding platforms did not raise enough funds in time. How to attract and persuade more people willing to sponsor turns on a big issue to project creators and platform managers. Therefore, it is essential to understand what factors influence on sponsors' intentions. Past studies found that people change their original choice if the question was demonstrated in different way. But the literature seldom focused on this situation in the domain of crowdfunding. Thus, this study develops a model to understand the effects of framing effect and cause-related marketing on crowdfunding sponsors' intentions. Follow up studies can do the empirical study of this model in the future.
A Comparison of Long-Term Functional Outcome After 2 Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Models in Rats

Background and Purpose— Proven behavioral assessment strategies for testing potential therapeutic agents in rat stroke models are needed. Few studies include tasks that demand higher levels of sensorimotor and cognitive function. Because behavioral outcome and rate of recovery vary among ischemia models, there is a need to characterize and compare performance on specific tasks across models. Methods— To this end, sensorimotor and cognitive deficits were assessed during a 5-week period after either permanent proximal middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) or permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion combined with a 90-minute occlusion of both common carotid arteries (dMCAO/tCCAO) in Sprague-Dawley rats. The EBST, hindlimb and forelimb placing, and cylinder tests were given at regular intervals postinjury to assess sensorimotor function. Cognitive function was assessed with a multitrial water navigation task. Results— pMCAO, which caused both striatal and cortical damage, produced persistent sensorimotor and cognitive deficits. Limb placing responses and postural reflexes were impaired throughout the month of testing. A persistent bias for using the ipsilateral forelimb for wall movements in the cylinder test was observed as well as a bias for landing on the opposite forelimb. pMCAO rats were also impaired in the water navigation task. dMCAO/tCCAO, which caused only cortical damage, produced similar sensorimotor deficits, but these were greatly diminished by 2 weeks after injury. No impairment was found for water tank navigation. Correlations between forelimb placing (both models), water navigation performance (pMCAO model), and sensorimotor asymmetry (dMCAOtCCAO model) and infarct volume were observed. Conclusions— Based on the range of functions affected and stability of observed deficits, the pMCAO model appears to be preferable to the dMCAO/tCCAO model for use in assessing therapeutic agents for stroke.
Simultaneous expression analysis of vitamin D receptor, calcium-sensing receptor, cyclin D1, and PTH in symptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism in Asian Indians.

BACKGROUND To explore underlying molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of symptomatic sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-one parathyroid adenomas from patients with symptomatic PHPT and ten normal parathyroid glands either from patients with PHPT (n=3) or from euthyroid patients without PHPT during thyroid surgery (n=7) were analyzed for vitamin D receptor (VDR), calcium-sensing receptor (CASR), cyclin D1 (CD1), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) expressions. The protein expressions were assessed semiquantitatively by immunohistochemistry, based on percentage of positive cells and staining intensity, and confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS Immunohistochemistry revealed significant reductions in VDR (both nuclear and cytoplasmic) and CASR expressions and significant increases in CD1 and PTH expressions in adenomatous compared with normal parathyroid tissue. Consistent with immunohistochemistry findings, both VDR and CASR mRNAs were reduced by 0.36- and 0.45-fold change (P<0.001) and CD1 and PTH mRNAs were increased by 9.4- and 17.4-fold change respectively (P<0.001) in adenomatous parathyroid tissue. PTH mRNA correlated with plasma PTH (r=0.864; P<0.001), but not with adenoma weight, while CD1 mRNA correlated with adenoma weight (r=0.715; P<0.001). There were no correlations between VDR and CASR mRNA levels and serum Ca, plasma intact PTH, or 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. In addition, there was no relationship between the decreases in VDR and CASR mRNA expressions and the increases in PTH and CD1 mRNA expressions. CONCLUSIONS The expression of both VDR and CASR are reduced in symptomatic PHPT in Asian Indians. In addition, CD1 expression was greatly increased and correlated with adenoma weight, implying a potential role for CD1 in adenoma growth and differential clinical expression of PHPT.
Semidefinite Programs for Exact Recovery of a Hidden Community

We study a semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation of the maximum likelihood estimation for exactly recovering a hidden community of cardinality $K$ from an $n \times n$ symmetric data matrix $A$, where for distinct indices $i,j$, $A_{ij} \sim P$ if $i, j$ are both in the community and $A_{ij} \sim Q$ otherwise, for two known probability distributions $P$ and $Q$. We identify a sufficient condition and a necessary condition for the success of SDP for the general model. For both the Bernoulli case ($P={\rm Bern}(p)$ and $Q={\rm Bern}(q)$ with $p>q$) and the Gaussian case ($P=\mathcal{N}(\mu,1)$ and $Q=\mathcal{N}(0,1)$ with $\mu>0$), which correspond to the problem of planted dense subgraph recovery and submatrix localization respectively, the general results lead to the following findings: (1) If $K=\omega( n /\log n)$, SDP attains the information-theoretic recovery limits with sharp constants; (2) If $K=\Theta(n/\log n)$, SDP is order-wise optimal, but strictly suboptimal by a constant factor; (3) If $K=o(n/\log n)$ and $K \to \infty$, SDP is order-wise suboptimal. The same critical scaling for $K$ is found to hold, up to constant factors, for the performance of SDP on the stochastic block model of $n$ vertices partitioned into multiple communities of equal size $K$. A key ingredient in the proof of the necessary condition is a construction of a primal feasible solution based on random perturbation of the true cluster matrix.
Connexin43 and Connexin45 Form Heteromeric Gap Junction Channels in Which Individual Components Determine Permeability and Regulation

Two gap junction proteins, connexin43 (Cx43) and connexin45 (Cx45), are coexpressed in many cardiac and other cells. Homomeric channels formed by these proteins differ in unitary conductance, permeability, and regulation. We sought to determine the ability of Cx43 and Cx45 to oligomerize with each other to form heteromeric gap junction channels and to determine the functional and regulatory properties of these heteromeric channels. HeLa cells were transfected with Cx45 or (His)6-tagged Cx43 or sequentially transfected with both connexins. Immunoblots verified production of the transfected connexins, and immunofluorescence demonstrated that they were colocalized in the HeLa-Cx43(His)6/Cx45 cells. Connexons were solubilized from HeLa-Cx43(His)6/Cx45 cells by using Triton X-100 and were applied to a Ni2+-NTA column, which binds the His6 sequence. Cx45 was coeluted from the column with Cx43(His)6, demonstrating that some hemichannels contain both connexins. Single-channel recordings showed that the HeLa-Cx43(His)6/Cx45 cells exhibited single-channel conductances that were not observed in cells expressing either connexin alone. Dye-coupling experiments showed that HeLa-Cx43(His)6 cells readily passed Lucifer yellow and N-(2-aminoethyl)biotinamide hydrochloride (neurobiotin); in contrast, HeLa-Cx45 and HeLa-Cx43(His)6/Cx45 cells showed extensive intercellular passage of neurobiotin but little coupling with Lucifer yellow. Treatment with the protein kinase C activator 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate reduced junctional conductance in cells expressing Cx43, Cx45, or both connexins, but it reduced the extent of neurobiotin transfer only in HeLa-Cx43(His)6 and HeLa-Cx43(His)6/Cx45 cells but not in the HeLa-Cx45 cells. Thus, biochemical and electrophysiological evidence suggests that Cx43 and Cx45 extensively mix to form heteromeric channels; however, individual connexin components dominate aspects of the physiological behavior of these channels.
A Generic Framework for Three-Factor Authentication: Preserving Security and Privacy in Distributed Systems

As part of the security within distributed systems, various services and resources need protection from unauthorized use. Remote authentication is the most commonly used method to determine the identity of a remote client. This paper investigates a systematic approach for authenticating clients by three factors, namely password, smart card, and biometrics. A generic and secure framework is proposed to upgrade two-factor authentication to three-factor authentication. The conversion not only significantly improves the information assurance at low cost but also protects client privacy in distributed systems. In addition, our framework retains several practice-friendly properties of the underlying two-factor authentication, which we believe is of independent interest.
Isolation and Characterization of Novel Giant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Phage SMA 5

Isolation and Characterization of Novel Giant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Phage SMA5 Hsiao-Chuan Chang, Chiy-Rong Chen, Juey-Wen Lin, Gwan-Han Shen, Kai-Ming Chang, Yi-Hsiung Tseng,* and Shu-Fen Weng* Institute of Molecular Biology and Institute of Biochemistry, National Chung Hsing University, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Section, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, and Center for Research and Development, Chungtai Institute of Health Sciences and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
Afa/Dr Diffusely Adhering Escherichia coli Strain C1845 Induces Neutrophil Extracellular Traps That Kill Bacteria and Damage Human Enterocyte-Like Cells

ABSTRACT We recently documented the neutrophil response to enterovirulent diffusely adherent Escherichia coli expressing Afa/Dr fimbriae (Afa/Dr DAEC), using the human myeloid cell line PLB-985 differentiated into fully mature neutrophils. Upon activation, particularly during infections, neutrophils release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), composed of a nuclear DNA backbone associated with antimicrobial peptides, histones, and proteases, which entrap and kill pathogens. Here, using fluorescence microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy, we observed NET production by PLB-985 cells infected with the Afa/Dr wild-type (WT) E. coli strain C1845. We found that these NETs were able to capture, immobilize, and kill WT C1845 bacteria. We also developed a coculture model of human enterocyte-like Caco-2/TC7 cells and PLB-985 cells previously treated with WT C1845 and found, for the first time, that the F-actin cytoskeleton of enterocyte-like cells is damaged in the presence of bacterium-induced NETs and that this deleterious effect is prevented by inhibition of protease release. These findings provide new insights into the neutrophil response to bacterial infection via the production of bactericidal NETs and suggest that NETs may damage the intestinal epithelium, particularly in situations such as inflammatory bowel diseases.
Draft resistance of the ploughs depending on soil friction.

By using analytical correlations derived as a result of theoretical research, a computer algorithm has been worked out for simulating the functions of the plough body and the forces exerted by soil upon the operating parts, as well as its draft resistance. These correlations allow to determine the draft resistance of the plough depending on the parameters of its body, as well as to evaluate the impact of the physical and mechanical properties of soil, such as friction upon it. The greatest infl uence upon the draft resistance is exerted by soil hardness, density and slip resistance along the surfaces of the operating parts. The latter is also aff ected by soil adhesion, which particularly manifests itself in wet clay soils at lower temperatures. It has been clarifi ed that the friction resistance constitutes 46 – 62% of the total draft resistance of the plough body. The main ways of lowering the friction resistance and the total draft resistance of the plough are the introduction of a more rational design of its body having optimum parameters, decreasing the resistance of the share-mouldboard surface and the values of reactions of the supporting surfaces, as well as the application of antifriction materials and better modes of joining with tractors.
Characterization of human serotype 1 astrovirus-neutralizing epitopes

Astroviruses are important agents of pediatric gastroenteritis. To better understand astrovirus antigenic structure and the basis of protective immunity, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced against serotype 1 human astrovirus. Four MAbs were generated. One MAb (8G4) was nonneutralizing but reacted to all seven serotypes of astrovirus by enzyme-linked immunosorbentassay (ELISA) and immunoperoxidase staining of infected cells. Three MAbs were found to have potent neutralizing activity against astrovirus. The first (5B7) was serotype 1 specific, another (7C2) neutralized all seven human astrovirus serotypes, while the third (3B2) neutralized serotypes 1 and 7. Immunoprecipitation of radiolabeled astrovirus proteins from supernatants of astrovirus-infected cells showed that all three neutralizing antibodies reacted with VP29. MAb 5B7 also reacted strongly with VP26. A competition ELISA showed that all three neutralizing antibodies competed with each other for binding to purified astrovirus virions, suggesting that their epitopes were topographically in close proximity. None of the neutralizing MAbs competed with nonneutralizing MAb 8G4. The neutralizing MAbs were used to select antigenic variant astroviruses, which were then studied in neutralization assays. These assays also suggested a close relationship between the respective epitopes. All three neutralizing MAbs were able to prevent attachment of radiolabeled astrovirus particles to human Caco 2 intestinal cell monolayers. Taken together, these data suggest that the astrovirus capsid protein VP29 may be important in viral neutralization, heterotypic immunity, and virus attachment to target cells.
Collaborative decision-making and school based management: challenges, rhetoric and reality.

School-based management has increasingly become the agreed-upon model around the world for the operation of schools, particularly those in large public education systems. A critical element of the model is devolving enhanced levels of decision-making from the centre (eg the head office) to the schools. While the rhetoric surrounding such actions is usually acclaimed as a positive step for teachers, parents and the wider community to be involved in decisions that affect their children, the challenges particularly for school leaders to achieve these ends is often overlooked. Further, the reality ‐ that is, the nature, extent and impact ‐ of collaborative decision-making appears to be variable in practice. This paper draws on two research studies to examine the above issues. The first, a longitudinal study on the impact of school-based management on primary principals in Queensland, identifies particular challenges for principals in terms of their skills and capacities in moving to more collaborative and inclusive decision-making regimes. The second follow-up study of two primary schools operating under school-based management examines in more detail how, and in what areas of the school (its planning, operation, curriculum), parents and teachers are actually engaging in schoollevel decision-making. ‘Gains’ for schools as a result of greater community involvement, and factors both facilitating as well as mitigating against teacher and parent involvement, are identified. Challenges for principals are also noted.