Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maintenance of Self-Imposed Delay of Gratification by Four Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and an Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)

Abstract Delay maintenance, which is the continuance over time of the choice to forgo an immediate, less preferred reward for a future, more preferred reward, was examined in 4 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and 1 orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). In the 1st experiment, the apes were presented with 20 chocolate pieces that were placed, one at a time, into a bowl that was within their reach. The apes could consume the available chocolate pieces at any time during a trial, but no additional pieces would be given. The total length of time taken to place the 20 items into the bowl ranged from 60 s to 180 s. All 5 apes delayed gratification on a majority of trials until all 20 chocolate pieces were presented. Unlike in most experiments with human children using this test situation, attention by the apes to the reward was not detrimental to delay maintenance. In a 2nd experiment with the chimpanzees only, 4 foods of differing incentive value were presented in different trials in the same manner as in Experiment 1. The chimpanzees were highly successful in obtaining all food pieces, and there was no difference in performance as a function of food type.
Deep Difference: Diversity, Planning and Ethics

The article suggests that planning's current sources of moral philosophy are no longer an entirely satisfactory guide on issues of ethical judgement in a context of deepening social difference and an increasingly hegemonic market rationality. A focus on process in planning and a relative neglect of product, together with the assumption that such processes can be guided by a universal set of deontological values shaped by the liberal tradition, are rendered particularly problematic in a world which is characterized by deepening social and economic differences and inequalities and by the aggressive promotion of neoliberal values by particular dominant nation-states. The notion of introducing values into deliberative processes is explored.
What would the Ottawa Charter look like if it were written today?

The Ottawa Charter has been a phenomenal influence guiding the development of the concept of health promotion, and in shaping public health practice in the past 20 years. The world has changed somewhat since 1986 in many ways that could not have been anticipated by those drafting the Charter. Substantial social and economic changes have occurred, and continue to occur. These include the globalization of trade, the invention and development of the internet and mobile communications, as well as the emergence of new threats to health such as HIV/AIDS. Such profound changes require adaptations to established health promotion strategies and the development of new strategies. This paper considers the origins, describes changes and suggests adaptations to the five strategies of the Ottawa Charter - build healthy public policy; create supportive environments for health; strengthen community actions; develop personal skills; and reorient health services - that now routinely provide the framework for consideration of any major public health challenge.
Comparison of work motivation in camp supervisors and camp counselors in Greek private camps

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study sought to better understand the work motivators that led camp supervisors and counselors to accept their job. Second, the study sought to better understand the ranking and rating of 20 work motivators from supervisors and camp counselors. Responders to the research questionnaire (n=121) were camp supervisory staff and counselors, age 15-55, working in seven private camps in Greece. Two instruments were used to collect data. The first instrument collected demographic data while the second instrument focused on ranking and rating 20 work motivators. The study suggested that Herzberg's theory (Motivator / Hygiene) does not apply on a full scale. The results suggested that supervisory staff indicated good working conditions, meeting other people and carrying out personal growth are important. In addition, they don't like travel and don't consider working in a camp, as a stable job. The camp counselors want to have fun in their job and the opportunity to work with youth. They also don't consider working in a camp, as a stable job and they don't accept the responsibility in proportion to their position.
Confidence levels of evolutionary synthesis models - II. On sampling and Poissonian fluctuations

In terms of statistical fluctuations, stellar population synthesis models are only asymptotically correct in the limit of a large number of stars, where sampling errors become asymptotically small. When dealing with stellar clusters, starbursts, dwarf galaxies or stellar populations within pixels, sampling errors introduce a large dispersion in the predicted integrated properties of these populations. We present here an approximate but generic statistical formalism which allows a very good estimation of the uncertainties and confidence levels in any integrated property, bypassing extensive Monte Carlo simulations, and including the effects of partial correlations between different observables. Tests of the formalism are presented and compared with proper estimates. We derive the minimum mass of stellar populations which is required to reach a given confidence limit for a given integrated property. As an example of this general formalism, which can be included in any synthesis code, we apply it to the case of young ($t \leq 20 $ Myr) starburst populations. We show that, in general, the UV continuum is more reliable than other continuum bands for the comparison of models with observed data. We also show that clusters where more than 10 5 $M_\odot$ have been transformed into stars have a relative dispersion of about 10% in Q (He + ) for ages smaller than 3 Myr. During the WR phase the dispersion increases to about 25% for such massive clusters. We further find that the most reliable observable for the determination of the WR population is the ratio of the luminosity of the WR bump over the H β luminosity. A fraction of the observed scatter in the integrated properties of clusters and starbursts can be accounted for by sampling fluctuations.
Consequences of Video Games on Oculomotor Behavior and Attention and Additional Implications for Healthy Aging

Video game play has become a common leisure activity all around the world. To reveal possible effects of playing video games, we measured saccades elicited by video game players (VGPs) and non-players (NVGPs) in two oculomotor tasks. First, our subjects performed a double-step task. Second, we asked our subjects to move their gaze opposite to the appearance of a visual target, i.e. to perform anti-saccades. As expected on the basis of previous studies, VGPs had significantly shorter saccadic reaction times (SRTs) than NVGPs for all saccade types. However, the error rates in the anti-saccade task did not reveal any significant differences. In fact, the error rates of VGPs were actually slightly lower compared to NVGPs (34% versus 40%, respectively). In addition, VGPs showed significantly higher saccadic peak velocities in every saccade type compared to NVGP. Our results suggest that faster SRTs in VGPs were associated with a more efficient motor drive for saccades. Taken together, our results are in excellent agreement with earlier reports of beneficial video game effects through the general reduction in SRTs. Our data clearly provides additional experimental evidence for an higher efficiency of the VGPs on the one hand and refutes the notion of a reduced impulse control in VGPs on the other. Statement of contributions This study consists of a full reanalysis of the data from my diploma thesis (Mack, 2010). The new analysis was conducted by myself and the manuscript was created together with Uwe J. Ilg.
Decitabine-Induced Changes in Human Myelodysplastic Syndrome Cell Line SKM-1 Are Mediated by FOXO3A Activation

The epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) can potentially confer a growth advantage to individual cellular clones. Currently, the recommended treatment for patients with high-risk MDS is the methylation agent decitabine (DAC), a drug that can induce the reexpression of silenced tumor suppressor genes. We investigated the effects of DAC treatment on the myeloid MDS cell line SKM-1 and investigated the role of FOXO3A, a potentially tumor-suppressive transcription factor, by silencing its expression prior to DAC treatment. We found that FOXO3A exists in an inactive, hyperphosphorylated form in SKM-1 cells, but that DAC both induces FOXO3A expression and reactivates the protein by reducing its phosphorylation level. Furthermore, we show that this FOXO3A activation is responsible for the DAC-induced differentiation of SKM-1 cells into monocytes, as well as for SKM-1 cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and autophagy. Collectively, these results suggest that FOXO3A reactivation may contribute to the therapeutic effects of DAC in MDS.
The Absence of Ottoman, Islamic Europe in Edward W. Said’s Orientalism

Edward W. Said’s Orientalism has attained canonical status as the key study of the cultural politics of western representation of the East, specifically the imaginative geographies underwriting constructions such as the Middle East and the Islamic world. The Ottoman Empire overlapped both European and exteriorized Oriental space during much of the period that Said dealt with, yet while the existence of the empire is referred to in Said’s study, the theoretical implications of that presence for his critique of Orientalist discourse are not. The material presence of the Ottoman state, in the Arabic-speaking lands, but also crucially, and for a longer period, much of south-east Europe and Anatolia, highlights long-standing Oriental geopolitical and cultural agency in the face of unidirectional narratives of western encroachment. Attention to the specific discursive manoeuvres undertaken by the West to handle that disruptive, intrinsic Ottoman presence in Europe itself may add traction to the notion that the Orient was imagined as a radically exterior point of comparison. It is argued that the history of western representation of the Ottoman Empire constitutes a pre-Orientalist discourse, whose dual, perennial purpose is to make pragmatic accommodation for an Ottoman Oriental material presence in Europe yet never to fully acknowledge its discursive presence as being of Europe. I argue that by supplementing Said’s critique with a full consideration of the Ottoman legacy, a reformulation is possible that integrates the Islamic Orient as an intrinsic component of historically informed notions of European space, while dissolving notions of the absolute distinction of that latter construct from the wider milieus in which it is embedded.
VARIATIONS OF SCIATIC NERVE BIFURCATION IN DISSECTED CADAVERES FROM ETHIOPIA AND THEIR CLINICAL IMPLICATION: A CASE REPORT

Background: The tibial and common peroneal nerves are dorsal and ventral divisions of the ventral rami of L4 to S3 of the lumbosacral plexus that join to form the sciatic nerve. The two nerves are structurally separate and supply the posterior compartment of the thigh, the leg and the foot. The point of bifurcation or separation of the sciatic nerve into tibial and common peroneal nerve varies. The common site is at the junction of the middle and lower third of the back of the thigh, near the apex of the popliteal fossa, but division may occur at any point above this. It may also rarely occur below it. The variations in the bifurcation of the sciatic nerve have clinical implications. They may result in nerve injury during deep intramuscular injections in the gluteal region, sciatica, piriformis syndrome etc. This study is to report the variations of the bifurcation in the sciatic nerve found in the cadaveres from Ethiopia, and discuss the clinical implications of such variations. Conclusion: We conclude from this study that the bifurcation of the sciatic nerve could occur high up in the gluteal region in relation to the piriformis muscle and may present clinical challenges in patient management
Wollastonite nanofiber–doped self-setting calcium phosphate bioactive cement for bone tissue regeneration

The purpose of this study was to synthesize a self-setting bioactive cement by incorporation of wollastonite nanofibers (WNFs) into calcium phosphate cement (CPC). The composition, morphology, setting time, compressive strength, hydrophilicity, and degradation of WNF-doped CPC (wnf-CPC) were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy were utilized. Additionally, methyl-thiazolyl-tetrazolium bromide assay, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, and histological evaluation were used to study the cell and tissue responses to wnf-CPC, both in vitro and in vivo. The results confirmed that the addition of WNFs into CPC had no obvious effect on the setting time or the compressive strength of wnf-CPC, provided the WNF amount was not more than 10 wt%. However, the hydrophilicity and degradability of wnf-CPC were significantly improved by the addition of WNFs – this was because of the change of microstructure caused by the WNFs. The preferred dissolution of WNFs caused the formation of microporosity in wnf-CPC when soaked in tris hydrochloride solution. The microporosity enlarged the surface area of the wnf-CPC and so promoted degradation of the wnf-CPC when in contact with liquid. In addition, MG-63 cell attachment and proliferation on the wnf-CPC were superior to that on the CPC, indicating that incorporation of WNFs into CPC improved the biological properties for wnf-CPC. Following the implantation of wnf-CPC into bone defects of rabbits, histological evaluation showed that wnf-CPC enhanced the efficiency of new bone formation in comparison with CPC, indicating excellent biocompatibility and osteogenesis of wnf-CPC. In conclusion, wnf-CPC exhibited promising prospects in bone regeneration.
Distinctive Roles for 2′,5′-Oligoadenylate Synthetases and Double-Stranded RNA-Dependent Protein Kinase R in the In Vivo Antiviral Effect of an Adenoviral Vector Expressing Murine IFN-β1

To evaluate the anti-HSV-1 mechanisms of murine IFN-β in ocular infection, mice were transduced with an adenoviral vector expressing murine IFN-β (Ad:IFN-β). Ocular transduction with Ad:IFN-β resulted in enhanced survival following infection with HSV-1. The protective effect was associated with a reduction in 1) viral titer, 2) viral gene expression, 3) IFN-γ levels, and 4) the percentage of CD8+ T lymphocyte and NK cell infiltration in infected tissue. Expression of IFN-β resulted in an elevation of the IFN-induced antiviral gene 2′,5′-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS1a) but not dsRNA-dependent protein kinase R (PKR) in the cornea and trigeminal ganglion (TG). Mice deficient in the downstream effector molecule of the OAS pathway, RNase L, were no more sensitive to ocular HSV-1 compared with wild-type controls in the TG based on measurements of viral titer. However, the efficacy of Ad:IFN-β was transiently lost in the eyes of RNase L mice. By comparison, PKR-deficient mice were more susceptible to ocular HSV-1 infection, and the antiviral efficacy following transduction with Ad:IFN-β was significantly diminished in the eye and TG. These results suggest that PKR is central in controlling ocular HSV-1 infection in the absence of exogenous IFN, whereas the OAS pathway appears to respond to exogenous IFN, contributing to the establishment of an antiviral environment in a tissue-restricted manner.
When Do Price Thresholds Matter in Retail Categories

Marketing literature has long recognized that brand price elasticity need not be monotonic and symmetric, but has yet to provide generalizable market-level insights on threshold-based price elasticity, asymmetric thresholds, and the sign and magnitude of elasticity transitions. This paper introduces smooth transition regression models to study threshold-based price elasticity of the top 4 brands across 20 fast-moving consumer good categories. Threshold-based price elasticity is found for 76% of all brands: 29% reflect historical benchmark prices, 16% reflect competitive benchmark prices, and 31% reflect both types of benchmarks. The authors demonstrate asymmetry for gains versus losses on three levels: the threshold size and the sign and the magnitude of the elasticity difference. Interestingly, they observe latitude of acceptance for gains compared to the historical benchmark, but saturation effects in most other cases. Moreover, category characteristics influence the extent and the nature of threshold-based price elasticity, while individual brand characteristics impact the size of the price thresholds. From a managerial perspective, the paper illustrates the sales, revenue, and margin implications for price changes typically observed in consumer markets.
Responses of the Cerebral Circulation to Hypercapnia and Hypoxia after 7th Cranial Nerve Transection in Baboons

It has been proposed that the responses of the cerebral circulation to hypoxia, hypercapnia and hypotension may be partially mediated by an autonomic reflex with receptors in the carotid body or sinus serving as sensors and the efferent limbs being the 7th cranial nerves. Transection of the 7th cranial nerve has been reported to impair the cerebral circulatory response to isolated chemoreceptor stimulation by hypoxia and hypercapnia. To test this hypothesis we measured cerebral blood flow (CBF) by an intra-arterial 133Xe technique in 10 baboons during periods of induced hypoxia and hypercapnia, both before and after transection of the 7th cranial nerve. We found that the responses of CBF were unaltered by either unilateral or bilateral section of the nerve. Our results showing the preservation of normal CBF responses, following transection, suggest that neurogenic control of the cerebral circulation by an autonomic reflex involving the 7th nerve is unlikely.
Beyond the first episode: Candidate factors for a risk prediction model of schizophrenia

Many early psychosis services are financially compromised and cannot offer a full tenure of care to all patients. To maintain viability of services it is important that those with schizophrenia are identified early to maximize long-term outcomes, as are those with better prognoses who can be discharged early. The duration of untreated psychosis remains the mainstay in determining those who will benefit from extended care, yet its ability to inform on prognosis is modest in both the short and medium term. There are a number of known or putative genetic and environmental risk factors that have the potential to improve prognostication, though a multivariate risk prediction model combining them with clinical characteristics has yet to be developed. Candidate risk factors for such a model are presented, with an emphasis on environmental risk factors. More work is needed to corroborate many putative factors and to determine which of the established factors are salient and which are merely proxy measures. Future research should help clarify how gene–environment and environment–environment interactions occur and whether risk factors are dose-dependent, or if they act additively or synergistically, or are redundant in the presence (or absence) of other factors.
Water-mediated changes in plant–plant and biological soil crust–plant interactions in a temperate forest ecosystem

Abstract. In the quest to understand how biotic interactions respond to climate change, one area that remains poorly explored is how interactions involving organisms other than vascular plants will respond. However the interactions between plants and biological soil crusts (BSCs) are relevant in many ecosystems and they will likely respond uniquely to climate change. Simultaneous considerations of both plant–plant and plant–BSC interactions may substantially improve our understanding of this topic. The aim of this study is to assess whether water availability differentially affects the biotic effects of BSCs and pioneer shrubs on the early life-history stage of tree seedling growth. We conducted a greenhouse factorial experiment with soil surface cover (bare soil, soil covered by a creeping shrub and BSC covered soil) and water regime (control and drought) as factors. We monitored Nothofagus pumilio (a native tree species of ecological and economic relevance) seedling water status and growth as well as changes in soil water content and soil properties. The shrub cover had a positive effect on soil water conservation and on the water balance of seedlings under water stress. However, its effect was negative for seedling growth under both water conditions. The BSC also contributed to soil water conservation and apparently added nutrients to the soil. The net effect of the BSC on seedling growth was negative under full-watering conditions but positive under water stress conditions. This result highlights how the studied biotic interactions, and especially interactions involving BSCs, depend on changes in water availability.
Walleye Dermal Sarcoma Virus Cyclin Interacts with Components of the Mediator Complex and the RNA Polymerase II Holoenzyme

ABSTRACT Walleye dermal sarcoma virus (WDSV) encodes an accessory protein, OrfA, with sequence homology to cyclins (retrovirus cyclin). In cells transfected with an expression construct, OrfA was localized to the nucleus and was concentrated in interchromatin granule clusters (IGCs), sites where splicing factors are concentrated. Other proteins identified in IGCs include transcription factors, the large subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II), and cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (cdk8). cdk8 is the kinase partner of cyclin C and a component of the mediator complex, associated with the Pol II holoenzyme. cdk8 and cyclin C can regulate transcription via phosphorylation of cyclin H and the carboxy-terminal domain of Pol II. OrfA in transfected HeLa cells was found to colocalize and copurify with hyperphosphorylated forms of Pol II (Pol IIO) in IGCs, and OrfA was coimmunoprecipitated from lysates of transfected cells with an antibody against Pol IIO. Likewise, Pol IIO could be coprecipitated with an antibody against OrfA. A survey with antibodies against several different cdks resulted in coimmunoprecipitation of OrfA with anti-cdk8, and antiserum against OrfA was able to coprecipitate cdk8 from lysates of cells that express OrfA. Coprecipitation of OrfA with anti-cyclin C demonstrated that it was included in complexes with OrfA and cdk8. OrfA has sequence and structural similarities to cyclin C, and, functionally, OrfA appears to have the capacity to both enhance and inhibit the activity of promoters in a cell-specific manner, similar to functions of the mediator complex. These data suggest that WDSV OrfA functions through its interactions with these large, transcription complexes. Further investigations will clarify the role of the retrovirus cyclin in control of virus expression and transformation.