Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual cortex neurons of monkeys and cats: temporal dynamics of the contrast response function.

Cortical neurons display two fundamental nonlinear response characteristics: contrast-set gain control (also termed contrast normalization) and response expansion (also termed half-squaring). These nonlinearities could play an important role in forming and maintaining stimulus selectivity during natural viewing, but only if they operate well within the time frame of a single fixation. To analyze the temporal dynamics of these nonlinearities, we measured the responses of individual neurons, recorded from the primary visual cortex of monkeys and cats, as a function of the contrast of transient stationary gratings that were presented for a brief interval (200 ms). We then examined 1) the temporal response profile (i.e., the post stimulus time histogram) as a function of contrast and 2) the contrast response function throughout the course of the temporal response. We found that the shape and complexity of the temporal response profile varies considerably from cell to cell. However, within a given cell, the shape remains relatively invariant as a function of contrast and appears to be simply scaled and shifted. Stated quantitatively, approximately 95% of the variation in the temporal responses as a function of contrast could be accounted for by scaling and shifting the average poststimulus time histogram. Equivalently, we found that the overall shape of the contrast response function (measured every 2 ms) remains relatively invariant from the onset through the entire temporal response. Further, the contrast-set gain control and the response expansion are fully expressed within the first 10 ms after the onset of the response. Stated quantitatively, the same, scaled Naka-Rushton equation (with the same half-saturation contrast and expansive response exponent) provides a good fit to the contrast response function from the first 10 ms through the last 10 ms of the temporal response. Based upon these measurements, it appears as though the two nonlinear properties, contrast-set gain control and response expansion, are present in full strength, virtually instantaneously, at the onset of the response. This observation suggests that response expansion and contrast-set gain control can influence the performance of visual cortex neurons very early in a single fixation, based on the contrast within that fixation. In the DISCUSSION, we consider the implications of the results within the context of 1) slower types of contrast gain control, 2) discrimination performance, 3) drifting steady-state measurements, 4) functional models that incorporate response expansion and contrast normalization, and 5) structural models of the biochemical and biophysical neural mechanisms.
Speech Rhythm in World Englishes: The Case of Hong Kong

This study investigated syllable duration as a measure of speech rhythm in the English spoken by Hong Kong Cantonese speakers. A computer dataset of Hong Kong English speech data amounting to 4,404 syllables was used. Measurements of syllable duration were taken, investigated statistically, and then compared with measurements of 1,847 syllables from an existing corpus of British English speakers. It was found that, although some similarities existed, the Hong Kong English speakers showed smaller differences in the relative syllable duration of tonic, stressed, unstressed, and weakened syllables than the British English speakers. This result is discussed with regard to potential intelligibility problems, features of possible language transfer from Cantonese to English with respect to speech rhythm, and implications for language teaching professionals. considering nonnative patterns of English speech, two paths are generally pursued: segmentai and suprasegmental. This article focuses on the suprasegmental features of language. Speech rhythm is a suprasegmental aspect of pronunciation, those aspects which describe and address features larger than individual speech sounds. English speech rhythm in older native varieties like British and American English is often described as stress timed, which, in basic terms, means that the start of each stressed syllable is said to be equidistant in time from the start of the next stressed syllable. This kind of rhythm is in contrast to syllable-timed languages (e.g., French, Spanish, Cantonese), in which the start of each syllable is said to be equidistant in time from the start of the next. Instrumental studies have, in fact, shown that very little difference can be found between languages thought of as typically stress timed and typically syllable timed (Roach, 1982; Dauer, 1983), and, in fact, Cauldwell (2002) describes English as irrhythmical Whether these descriptions stand up under instrumental scrutiny, they do seem to have some psychological importance for speakers of the languages so described. English spoken with a syllable-timed rhythm
Purification and Structural Analysis of a Soluble Human Chorionogonadotropin Hormone-Receptor Complex*

Receptors for the luteotropin/human chorionogonadotropin hormone belong to the G-protein-coupled receptor family by their membrane-anchoring domains. They also possess a large extracellular domain (ECD) responsible for most of the hormone-receptor interactions. Structure-function studies identified several contacts between hormone and receptor ECD, but the precise topology of the complex is still unknown because of the lack of suitable heterologous expression means. Receptor ECDs exhibit leucine repeats and have been modelized on the basis of the three-dimensional structure of the porcine ribonuclease inhibitor, the first structurally known leucine-rich repeats protein. Here we report overexpression (up to 20 mg per liter) and purification to homogeneity of a soluble human chorionogonadotropin-ECD receptor complex secreted by stably cotransfected Chinese hamster ovary cells. Biochemical analysis and surface plasmon resonance data were in favor of a unique dimer with a 1:1 ligand-receptor stoichiometry. Immunopurified complex was submitted to circular dichroism characterization; CD spectra deconvolution indicated more than 25% α helices contributed by the receptor, in agreement with the porcine ribonuclease inhibitor-based modelization.
What is the Difference Between Organizational Culture and Organizational Climate? A Native's Point of View on a Decade of Paradigm Wars

Recently, organizational culture researchers have applied quantitative survey methods and identified comparative “dimensions” of culture in a way that appears to contradict some of the original foundations of culture research within organizational studies. This new quantitative culture research also bears a strong resemblance to earlier research on organizational climate. This article examines the implications of this development by first considering the differences between the literatures on organizational culture and organizational climate and then examining the many similarities between these two literatures. The literatures are compared by focusing on their definition of the phenomena, their epistemology and methodology, and their theoretical foundations. The implications of the differing theoretical foundations and their underlying assumptions about the phenomenon are discussed at some length, as are some of the consequences of the continued separation of these two literatures. The final discussion f.
Competing for Attention in Knowledge Markets: Electronic Document Dissemination in a Management Consulting Company

The relatively recent explosion of information available in electronic forms makes attention, rather than information, the scarce resource in organizations. In this paper, we theorize about how suppliers of electronic information compete for this resource and use data on document database use in a management consulting company to show that document suppliers that occupied a crowded segment of the firm's internal knowledge market gained less attention from employees (measured as monthly use of their database) but were able to combat this negative competitive effect by being selective and concentrated in their document supply. This result reveals a paradox of information supply in competitive information markets: the less information a supplier offered, the more it was used, because the supplier developed a reputation for quality and focus. We suggest that this view of competition for attention can also be applied to the competition among Web sites in external information markets.
Some Liberating Effects of Anonymous Electronic Brainstorming

The high productivity of electronic brainstorming groups has been attributed to several factors, one of which is anonymity. The authors assessed the role of anonymity by randomly assigning brainstorming groups to one offour conditions: anonymous electronic, nonanonymous electronic, verbal, and nominal. The authors found some evidence that more controversial ideas were produced by members of anonymous electronic groups than by members of the other groups. The authors also found clear evidence that anonymous brainstorming groups produced more nonredundant ideas than did nonanonymous brainstorming groups.
Effects of repeated testing on short- and long-term memory performance across different test formats

This study examined whether practice testing with short-answer (SA) items benefits learning over time compared to practice testing with multiple-choice (MC) items, and rereading the material. More specifically, the aim was to test the hypotheses of retrieval effort and transfer appropriate processing by comparing retention tests with respect to practice testing format. To adequately compare SA and MC items, the MC items were corrected for random guessing. With a within-group design, 54 students (mean age = 16 years) first read a short text, and took four practice tests containing all three formats (SA, MC and statements to read) with feedback provided after each part. The results showed that both MC and SA formats improved short- and long-term memory compared to rereading. More importantly, practice testing with SA items is more beneficial for learning and long-term retention, providing support for retrieval effort hypothesis. Using corrections for guessing and educational implications are discussed.
Complete Protein Linkage Map of Poliovirus P3 Proteins: Interaction of Polymerase 3Dpol with VPg and with Genetic Variants of 3AB

ABSTRACT Poliovirus has evolved to maximize its genomic information by producing multifunctional viral proteins. The P3 nonstructural proteins harbor various activities when paired with different binding partners. These viral polypeptides regulate host cell macromolecular synthesis and function as proteinases, as RNA binding proteins, or as RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. A cleavage product of the P3 region is the genome-linked protein VPg that is essential in the initiation of RNA synthesis. We have used an inducible yeast two-hybrid system to analyze directly protein-protein interactions among P3 proteins. Sixteen signals of homo- or heterodimer interactions have been observed and have been divided into three groups. Of interest is the newly discovered affinity of VPg to 3Dpol that suggests direct interaction between these molecules in genome replication. A battery of 3AB variants (eight clustered-charge-to-alanine changes and five single-amino-acid mutations) has been used to map the binding determinants of 3AB-3AB interaction which were found to differ from the amino acids critical for the 3AB-3Dpol interaction. The viral proteinase 3Cpro was not found to interact with other 3Cpro molecules or with any other P3 polypeptide in yeast cells, a result confirmed by glutaraldehyde cross-linking. The weak apparent interaction between 3AB and 3CDpro scored in the yeast two-hybrid system was in contrast to a strong signal by far-Western blotting. The results elucidate, in part, previous results of biochemical and genetic analyses. The role of the interactions in RNA replication is addressed.
Effect of mindfulness meditation on the neural substrates of emotion processing and resting state in experienced and beginner meditators

La meditation par le ‘mindfulness’ favorise la stabilite emotionelle, mais les mecanismes neuroneux qui sous-tendent ces effets sont peu connus. Ce projet investiga l’effet du ‘mindfulness’ sur les reponses cerebrales et subjectives a des images negatives, positives et neutres chez des meditants experimentes et des debutants au moyen de l’imagerie par resonance magnetique fonctionnelle (IRMf). Le ‘mindfulness’ attenua l’intensite emotionelle via differents mecanismes cerebraux pour chaque groupe. Compares aux meditants, les debutants manifesterent une deactivation de l’amygdale en reponse aux stimuli emotifs durant le ‘mindfulness’. Compares aux debutants, les meditants exhiberent une deactivation de regions du reseau du mode par defaut (RMD) pendant le ‘mindfulness’ pour tous stimuli (cortex median prefrontal [CMP], cortex cingulaire posterieur [CCP]). Le RMD est constitue de regions fonctionnellement connectees, activees au repos et deactivees lors de tâches explicites. Cependant, nous ne connaissons pas les impacts de l’entrainement par la meditation sur la connectivite entre regions du RMD et si ces effets persistent au-dela d’un etat meditatif. La connectivite fonctionnelle entre regions du RMD chez les meditants et debutants au repos fut investiguee au moyen de l’IRMf. Compares aux debutants, les meditants montrerent une connectivite affaiblie entre subdivisions du CMP, et une connectivite accrue entre le lobule parietal inferieur et trois regions du RMD. Ces resultats refletent que les bienfaits immediats du ‘mindfulness’ sur la psychopathologie pourraient etre dus a une deactivation de regions limbiques impliquees dans la reactivite emotionelle. De plus, les bienfaits a long-terme de la meditation sur la stabilite emotionelle pourrait etre dus a une deactivation de regions corticales et cingulaires impliquees dans l’evaluation de la signification emotive et une connectivite alteree entre regions du RMD a l’etat de repos.
Progression of Aortic Arch Calcification Over 1 Year Is an Independent Predictor of Mortality in Incident Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Backgrounds and Aims The presence and progression of vascular calcification have been demonstrated as important risk factors for mortality in dialysis patients. However, since the majority of subjects included in most previous studies were hemodialysis patients, limited information was available in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of aortic arch calcification (AoAC) and prognostic value of AoAC progression in PD patients. Methods We prospectively determined AoAC by chest X-ray at PD start and after 12 months, and evaluated the impact of AoAC progression on mortality in 415 incident PD patients. Results Of 415 patients, 169 patients (40.7%) had AoAC at baseline with a mean of 18.1±11.2%. The presence of baseline AoAC was an independent predictor of all-cause [Hazard ratio (HR): 2.181, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.336–3.561, P = 0.002] and cardiovascular mortality (HR: 3.582, 95% CI: 1.577–8.132, P = 0.002). Among 363 patients with follow-up chest X-rays at 12 months after PD start, the proportion of patients with AoAC progression was significantly higher in patients with baseline AoAC (64.2 vs. 5.3%, P<0.001). Moreover, all-cause and cardiovascular death rates were significantly higher in the progression groups than in the non-progression group (P<0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that AoAC progression was an independent predictor for all-cause (HR: 2.625, 95% CI: 1.150–5.991, P = 0.022) and cardiovascular mortality (HR: 4.008, 95% CI: 1.079–14.890, P = 0.038) in patients with AoAC at baseline. Conclusions The presence and progression of AoAC assessed by chest X-ray were independently associated with unfavorable outcomes in incident PD patients. Regular follow-up by chest X-ray could be a simple and useful method to stratify mortality risk in these patients.
Subset WSDL to Access Subset Service for Analysis

Service analyzer requires automated approach to access Subset Service, so that cost can be reduced by organizing the test scenarios. Emphasis of analyzer is to access and handle subset of code. This paper proposed a conceptual model that access Subset Service in two steps. First, slicing the Web service based on Subset WSDL (SWSDL) to access Subset Service. Second, the Subset Service is categorized into five layers. This improves and optimizes cost of Web service analysis by slicing and layering the Service. We conducted case studies for few Service projects. SWSDLs are used for Operationalized and Parameterized Web service analysis.
Breast-feeding: second thoughts.

Studies have shown that breast-feeding supplies nourishment to the infant while providing immunologic protection against infection. Breast-fed infants have been less likely to develop respiratory and gastrointestinal infections and allergic reactions when compared with infants brought up on cows milk alone or in addition to breast milk. In addition breast-feeding insures a smooth infantile transition from entire dependence upon his mother nutritionally and immunologically to complete independence. If the infant receives breast milk alone for the first 6 months of life best protection is assured. In areas where contamination of cows milk unsanitary conditions and inadequate medical facilities are likely breast-feeding during the first 6 months is particularly important. Limitations of formula feeding as seen and reinforced by animal models prompt increased appreciation of breast-feeding.
Undersea Target Classification Using Canonical Correlation Analysis

Canonical correlation analysis is employed as a multiaspect feature extraction method for underwater target classification. The method exploits linear dependence or coherence between two consecutive sonar returns, at different aspect angles. This is accomplished by extracting the dominant canonical correlations between the two sonar returns and using them as features for classifying mine-like objects from nonmine-like objects. The experimental results on a wideband acoustic backscattered data set, which contains sonar returns from several mine-like and nonmine-like objects in two different environmental conditions, show the promise of canonical correlation features for mine-like versus nonmine-like discrimination. The results also reveal that in a fixed bottom condition, canonical correlation features are relatively invariant to changes in aspect angle.
Inhibition of neutrophil-superoxide generation by alpha-tocopherol and coenzyme Q.

Effects of various derivatives of alpha-tocopherol (VE) and coenzyme Q (CoQ) on superoxide (O2.-) generation of neutrophils and protein kinase C (PKC) activity were examined. VE and CoQ8 inhibited O2. - generation of neutrophils stimulated by a protein kinase C mediated process monitored by cytochrome c reduction and spin trapping methods. The inhibitory action was observed not only with alpha-tocopherol, but also with beta-, gamma-, delta-tocopherols and with tocol which is a chemical similar to VE but lacking methyl groups on the chromanol ring structure and which is not a radical scavenger. By contrast, no inhibition was observed with 2-carboxy-2, 5, 7, 8-tetramethyl-6-chromanol (CTMC, trolox) or 2, 2, 5, 7, 8,-pentamethyl-6-chromanol (PMC) which are water soluble VE derivatives having radical scavenging activity. Compounds having a similar isoprenoid chain, such as CoQ, also have inhibitory activity on PKC-dependent O2. - generation of neutrophils. The inhibitory activity of CoQ derivatives is dependent on the length of the unsaturated isoprenoid chain. CoQ derivatives having 16, 24 and 32 carbon isoprenoid chains corresponding to CoQ4, 6, and 8 inhibited O2. - generation but 4 and 40 carbon isoprenoid chains corresponding to CoQ2 and 10 had no inhibitory activity on O2. - generation. Alpha-tocopherol and CoQ inhibited PKC activity but the ID50 for O2. - generation and PKC activity was different for each compound. However, no direct relationship between VE content and O2. - generation of neutrophils was observed. These results suggest that isoprenoids of VE and CoQ participate in the inhibition of the NADPH oxidase activation system through modulation of the neutrophil membrane probably by the inhibition of PKC.
Political Interest, Political Information Search, and Ideological Homogeneity as a Function of Sociopolitical Ideology: A Tale of Three Theories

The relative plausibilities of three theories concerning the relationship between sociopolitical ideology and certain personality variables were examined using 783 Swedish high school students: authoritarian personality theory, extremism theory, and context theory. The three theories were compared by examining degree of information search and interest in politics as a function of sociopolitical ideology and ideological homogeneity as a function of parental educational level. The main results showed that: (1) The relationships between degree of information search and political interest on the one hand, and sociopolitical ideology on the other, were primarily curvilinear indicating greater interest in politics and greater information search for both “left” and “right extremists” as compared to moderates on a number of ideological dimensions. (2) Subjects with well-educated parents were more ideologically heterogeneous than subjects with poorly educated parents. These differences were more marked for males than for females. The results were most consistent with context theory.
Equivalence of Backpropagation and Contrastive Hebbian Learning in a Layered Network

Backpropagation and contrastive Hebbian learning are two methods of training networks with hidden neurons. Backpropagation computes an error signal for the output neurons and spreads it over the hidden neurons. Contrastive Hebbian learning involves clamping the output neurons at desired values and letting the effect spread through feedback connections over the entire network. To investigate the relationship between these two forms of learning, we consider a special case in which they are identical: a multilayer perceptron with linear output units, to which weak feedback connections have been added. In this case, the change in network state caused by clamping the output neurons turns out to be the same as the error signal spread by backpropagation, except for a scalar prefactor. This suggests that the functionality of backpropagation can be realized alternatively by a Hebbian-type learning algorithm, which is suitable for implementation in biological networks.
Comparative Analysis of the Chromosomal Positions of rDNA Genes in Species of the tripunctata Radiation of Drosophila

The location of rDNA on chromosomes has been found to be highly variable in different groups of insect families of various orders. Yet, in other insect families the rDNA position is relatively constant. This contrast so far has received limited attention. We investigated the rDNA position on mitotic chromosomes in 18 species of Drosophila, 16 of which are from the tripunctata radiation, subgenus Drosophila, through fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). All species showed fluorescent signals only on the sex chromosomes. On the X chromosome a single fluorescent mark, but with variable locations, was found. On the Y, we observed variation both in location and in number of fluorescent marks (from 1 to 5). This constancy of chromosome location, in contrast to the great variability found in other groups, is consistent with the work carried out in other species of Drosophila. This suggests that the presence of a nucleolus organizer region (NOR) on each sex chromosome is probably an ancestral condition in the genus. Moreover, this difference in the variation of rDNA position among groups points out an interesting evolution question, which deserves further study.