Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dopamine Modulates the Response of the Human Amygdala: A Study in Parkinson's Disease

In addition to classic motor signs and symptoms, Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by neuropsychological and emotional deficits, including a blunted emotional response. In the present study, we explored both the neural basis of abnormal emotional behavior in PD and the physiological effects of dopaminergic therapy on the response of the amygdala, a central structure in emotion processing. PD patients and matched normal controls (NCs) were studied with blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a paradigm that involved perceptual processing of fearful stimuli. PD patients were studied twice, once during a relatively hypodopaminergic state (i.e., ≥12 hr after their last dose of dopamimetic treatment) and again during a dopamine-replete state. The imaging data revealed a robust bilateral amygdala response in NCs that was absent in PD patients during the hypodopaminergic state. Dopamine repletion partially restored this response in PD patients. Our results demonstrate an abnormal amygdala response in PD that may underlie the emotional deficits accompanying the disease. Furthermore, consistent with findings in experimental animal paradigms, our results providein vivo evidence of the role of dopamine in modulating the response of the amygdala to sensory information in human subjects.
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND CYCLES : CROSS-COUNTRY MODELS OF EDUCATION , INDUSTRY AND FERTILITY AND INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS GUISAN

We analyse, from a worldwide view, the evolution of real Gross Domestic Product, Population and Gdp per inhabitant and the main differences in the levels of development are explained having into account the results of several cross-country models. The main conclusions highlight the necessity of new international policies for improving the educative level of population in less developed countries. JEL Classification: C5, E6, F0, I2, L8, O1, O57
Investigating SME resilience and their adaptive capacities to extreme weather events: A literature review and synthesis

In the UK, extreme weather events (EWEs) such as floods, heat waves and storms are increasing in frequency and severity. The ability of local communities to cope with the immediate impact and recover from the aftermath is critical to the continued well-being of the community that is affected. As part of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded projects we investigate how Small and medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs), prepare themselves for the effects of EWEs. SMEs constitute a substantial proportion of the community that is affected as a result of these events. They need to prepare themselves for the effects of EWEs in a way that minimises disruption to them and allows them to return to near normal working conditions as soon as possible after an event. Very few studies have examined how SMEs respond to EWEs. Policy makers and theorists in this field have proposed various models and frameworks to improve the adaptive capacities of SMEs by concentrating on identification of risks and opportunities coupled with strategy development and implementation. Their individual and collective attitudes influence the activities that SMEs perform towards preparation of disaster preparedness plans and post disaster recovery measures. The paper argues that this continuous process of engaging SMEs will develop their adaptive capacities and enhance their coping measures in facing up to the risk of extreme weather events. The paper provides a literature review and a synthesis and a methodological vehicle to guide this research.
In Silico Investigations of the Anti-Catabolic Effects of Pamidronate and Denosumab on Multiple Myeloma-Induced Bone Disease

It is unclear whether the new anti-catabolic agent denosumab represents a viable alternative to the widely used anti-catabolic agent pamidronate in the treatment of Multiple Myeloma (MM)-induced bone disease. This lack of clarity primarily stems from the lack of sufficient clinical investigations, which are costly and time consuming. However, in silico investigations require less time and expense, suggesting that they may be a useful complement to traditional clinical investigations. In this paper, we aim to (i) develop integrated computational models that are suitable for investigating the effects of pamidronate and denosumab on MM-induced bone disease and (ii) evaluate the responses to pamidronate and denosumab treatments using these integrated models. To achieve these goals, pharmacokinetic models of pamidronate and denosumab are first developed and then calibrated and validated using different clinical datasets. Next, the integrated computational models are developed by incorporating the simulated transient concentrations of pamidronate and denosumab and simulations of their actions on the MM-bone compartment into the previously proposed MM-bone model. These integrated models are further calibrated and validated by different clinical datasets so that they are suitable to be applied to investigate the responses to the pamidronate and denosumab treatments. Finally, these responses are evaluated by quantifying the bone volume, bone turnover, and MM-cell density. This evaluation identifies four denosumab regimes that potentially produce an overall improved bone-related response compared with the recommended pamidronate regime. This in silico investigation supports the idea that denosumab represents an appropriate alternative to pamidronate in the treatment of MM-induced bone disease.
Memory Behavior of the SPEC 2000 Benchmark Suite

The SPEC CPU benchmarks are frequently used in computer arch itecture research. The newly released SPEC’2000 benchmarks consist of fourteen floating point and twelve int ger applications. In this paper we present measurements of number of cache miss s for all the applications for a variety of cache configurations. Prior studies have shown that SPEC benchmar ks do not put much stress on the memory system. Our simulation results demonstrate that SPEC’2000 places only modest pressure on the first level caches confirming the results of similar experiments.
Estimation of protein secondary structure from circular dichroism spectra: comparison of CONTIN, SELCON, and CDSSTR methods with an expanded reference set.

We have expanded the reference set of proteins used in SELCON3 by including 11 additional proteins (selected from the reference sets of Yang and co-workers and Keiderling and co-workers). Depending on the wavelength range and whether or not denatured proteins are included in the reference set, five reference sets were constructed with the number of reference proteins varying from 29 to 48. The performance of three popular methods for estimating protein secondary structure fractions from CD spectra (implemented in software packages CONTIN, SELCON3, and CDSSTR) and a variant of CONTIN, CONTIN/LL, that incorporates the variable selection method in the locally linearized model in CONTIN, were examined using the five reference sets described here, and a 22-protein reference set. Secondary structure assignments from DSSP were used in the analysis. The performances of all three methods were comparable, in spite of the differences in the algorithms used in the three software packages. While CDSSTR performed the best with a smaller reference set and larger wavelength range, and CONTIN/LL performed the best with a larger reference set and smaller wavelength range, the performances for individual secondary structures were mixed. Analyzing protein CD spectra using all three methods should improve the reliability of predicted secondary structural fractions. The three programs are provided in CDPro software package and have been modified for easier use with the different reference sets described in this paper. CDPro software is available at the website: http://lamar.colostate. edu/ approximately sreeram/CDPro.
Near-optimal sparse fourier representations via sampling

(MATH) We give an algorithm for finding a Fourier representation <b>R</b> of <i>B</i> terms for a given discrete signal signal <b>A</b> of length <i>N</i>, such that $\|\signal-\repn\|_2^2$ is within the factor (1 +ε) of best possible $\|\signal-\repn_\opt\|_2^2$. Our algorithm can access <b>A</b> by reading its values on a sample set <b><i>T</i></b> ⊆[0,<i>N</i>), chosen randomly from a (non-product) distribution of our choice, independent of <b>A</b>. That is, we sample non-adaptively. The total time cost of the algorithm is polynomial in <i>B</i> log(<i>N</i>)log(<i>M</i>)ε (where <i>M</i> is the ratio of largest to smallest numerical quantity encountered), which implies a similar bound for the number of samples.
Experimental validation of analytical performance models for IEEE 802.11 networks

We consider the simplest IEEE 802.11 WLAN networks for which analytical models are available and seek to provide an experimental validation of these models. Our experiments include the following cases: (i) two nodes with saturated queues, sending fixed-length UDP packets to each other, and (ii) a TCP-controlled transfer between two nodes. Our experiments are based entirely on Aruba AP-70 access points operating under Linux. We report our observations on certain non-standard behavior of the devices. In cases where the devices adhere to the standards, we find that the results from the analytical models estimate the experimental data with a mean error of 3–5%.
Regional cortical thinning in multiple sclerosis and its relation with cognitive impairment: A multicenter study

Objectives: The objectives of this paper are to compare in a multicenter setting patterns of regional cortical thickness in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and cognitive impairment (CI) and those cognitively preserved (CP), and explore the relationship between cortical thinning and cognitive performance. Methods: T1-weighted isotropic brain scans were collected at 3T from seven European centers in 60 RRMS patients and 65 healthy controls (HCs). Patients underwent clinical and neuropsychological examinations. Cortical thickness (CTh) measures were calculated using FreeSurfer (failing in four) and both lobar and vertex-based general linear model (GLM) analyses were compared between study groups. Results: Twenty (36%) MS patients were classified as CI. Mean global CTh was smaller in RRMS patients compared to HCs (left 2.43 vs. 2.53 mm, right 2.44 vs. 2.54 mm, p < 0.001). Multivariate GLM regional analysis showed significantly more temporal thinning in CI compared to CP patients. Verbal memory scores correlated to regional cortical thinning in the insula whereas visual memory scores correlated to parietal thinning. Conclusions: This multicenter study showed mild global cortical thinning in RRMS. The extent of thinning is less pronounced than previously reported. Only subtle regional differences between CI and CP patients were observed, some of which related to specific cognitive domains.
The Determinants of Students' Performance in Introductory Accounting Courses: Evidence from Kingdom of Bahrain

The aim of this study is to determine and analyse factors affecting students' performance in first two introductory accounting courses at undergraduate level of Ahlia University, Bahrain. A random sample of 286 students who took and finished these courses was obtained from deanship of students affairs. Using correlation coefficient and multiple regression models to test, whether performance of students’ affected by students' gender, major, stream and cumulative grade of high school, GPA before ACCT 101, GPA before ACCT 201, credit hours before ACCT 101, credit hours before ACCT 201, and grade in ACCT 101. The study reveals that student’s GPA before ACCT 101 is the most significant determinant for performance in ACCT 101. While, ACCT 101 grade is the most influential determinant for ACCT 201 performance. Accounting and finance major was found to be important indicator in both courses. The research findings will help students, academicians, and universities to pay more attention on these determinants.
Contracts as Reference Points - Experimental Evidence

In a recent paper, Hart and Moore (2008) introduce new behavioral assumptions that can explain long term contracts and important aspects of the employment relation. However, so far there exists no direct evidence that supports these assumptions and, in particular, Hart and Moore's notion that contracts provide reference points. In this paper, we examine experimentally the behavioral forces stipulated in their theory. The evidence confirms the model's prediction that there is a trade-off between rigidity and flexibility in a trading environment with incomplete contracts and ex ante uncertainty about the state of nature. Flexible contracts - which would dominate rigid contracts under standard assumptions - cause a significant amount of shading on ex post performance while under rigid contracts much less shading occurs. Thus, although rigid contracts rule out trading in some states of the world, parties frequently implement them. While our results are broadly consistent with established behavioral concepts, they cannot easily be explained by existing theories. The experiment appears to reveal a new behavioral force: ex ante competition legitimizes the terms of a contract, and aggrievement and shading occur mainly about outcomes within the contract.
Tabu Programming Method : A New MetaHeuristics Algorithm Using Tree Data Structures for Problem Solving

The core of artificial intelligence and machine learning is to get computers to solve problems automatically. One of the great tools that attempt to achieve that goal is Genetic Programming (GP). GP is a generalization procedure of the well-known meta-heuristic of Genetic Algorithms (GAs). Meta-heuristics have shown successful performance in solving many combinatorial search problems. In this paper, we introduce a more general framework of meta-heuristics called MetaHeuristics Programming (MHP) as general machine learning tools. As an alternative to GP, Tabu Programming (TP) is proposed as a special procedure of MHP frameworks. One of the main features of MHP is to exploit local search in order to overcome some drawbacks of GP, especially high disruption of its main operations; crossover and mutation. We show the efficiency of the proposed TP method through numerical experiments.
Survival prolongation in HIV-associated progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy treated with alpha-interferon: an observational study.

UNLABELLED A retrospective chart review was conducted to determine the effect of alpha-Interferon (alpha-IFN) on disease progression, symptom palliation, and survival in HIV-associated Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML). METHODS Subjects were HIV seropositive patients diagnosed with PML at the Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1985 and July of 1986. Diagnostic criteria for PML included both clinical symptomatology and histologic or radiographic confirmation. All patients with concomitant CNS infections were excluded. Patients receiving a minimum treatment of 3 weeks of 3 million units of alpha-IFN daily were compared to untreated historical controls. From 104 PML cases reviewed, 77 met the defined criteria for PML. Twenty-one patients had received open-label alpha-IFN treatment in a non-randomized manner for at least 3 weeks, and 32 met criteria for inclusion in the untreated group as historical controls. Deceased treated patients were comparable to deceased untreated patients with respect to age, gender, race, HIV risk factors, AIDS-defining illnesses, and CD4+ counts. CD4+ counts and use of anti-retroviral medications within 6 months of PML onset were higher among those who were living at the time of the study. RESULTS Among deceased patients, median survival of treated patients was 127.5 days longer than that of untreated patients (Chi-square=4.21, P=0.04). When living and deceased treated patients were combined, the median survival was 325 days (range 35 - 1634) versus 121 days (range 46 - 176) in untreated patients (Chi-square=13.47, P < 0.001). When survival times in untreated patients were left-censored to account for possible survivorship bias in treated patients, survival in treated patients remained significantly prolonged (325 days versus 175.5 days, Chi-square=4.65, P=0.03). In addition, use of alpha-IFN was associated with a significant delay in the onset of memory loss (Chi-square=8.59, P < 0.01). Seven alpha-IFN treated patients showed sustained remissions of several months to over a year, with documented improvements in mental status, aphasia, dysarthria, dysphagia, paresis, and dyscoordination. Moreover, four IFN-treated patients had evidence of MRI lesion regression, although this was not always correlated with clinical remission. Four of 32 untreated patients also reported transient symptomatic improvements. CONCLUSION This open-label study suggests that alpha-IFN may delay progression, palliate symptoms, and significantly prolong survival in HIV-associated PML, and we therefore suggest that a controlled clinical trial is warranted.
Altair – the “hottest” magnetically active star in X-rays

Context. The onset of stellar magnetic activity is related to the operation of dynamo processes that require the development of an outer convective layer. This transition of stellar interior structure is expected to occur in late A-type stars. Aims. The A7 star Altair is one of the hottest magnetically active stars. Its proximity to the Sun allows a detailed investigation of a corona in X-rays for a star with a shallow convection zone. Methods. We used a deep XMM-Newton observation of Altair and analyzed X-ray light curves, spectra, and emission lines. We investigated the temporal behavior and properties of the X-ray emitting plasma and studied the global coronal structure of Altair. Results. Altair’s corona with an X-ray luminosity of LX = 1.4 × 10 27 erg/s and an activity level of logLX/Lbol = −7.4 is located predominantly at low latitude regions and exhibits X-ray properties that are overall very similar to those of other weakly active stars. The X-ray emission is dominated by cool plasma (1–4 MK) at low density, and elemental abundances exhibit a solar-like FIP effect and Ne/O ratio. The X-ray brightness varies by 30% over the observation, most likely due to rotational modulation and minor activity; in contrast, no strong flares or significant amounts of hot plasma were detected. The X-ray activity level of Altair is apparently close to the saturation level, which is reduced by roughly four orders of magnitude when compared to late-type stars. Conclusions. With its fast rotation, Altair provides an inefficient, but very stable dynamo that mainly operates in convective layers below its “cooler” surface areas around the equator. This dynamo mechanism results in magnetic activity and leads to X-ray properties that are similar to those of the quiescent Sun, despite very different underlying stars.
Predictive Intelligent Fuzzy Control for Cooperative Motion of Two Nonholonomic Wheeled Cars

In this paper a problem of intelligent cooperative motion control of two wheeled nonholonomic cars (target and follower) is considered. Once a target car converges to a fixed state (position and orientation), a follower car coming from different position and orientation, converges to the state above, without excessive delay between the known arrival time of the target car and the arrival time of the follower. In this sense we present a new predictive fuzzy control system. A Kalman's filter and an odometric model are used to predict the future position and orientation of the target car. The prediction above is employed to plane a circular nonholonomic reference motion for the follower car. A fuzzy closed loop motion control for the follower, where the asymptotical stability of the motion errors is based on the properties of the Fuzzy maps, assures the stabilization of the follower car in the circular planned motion and the reaching of the target car with good dynamical performances.
A tensor approach to the estimation of hydraulic conductivities in Table Mountain Group aquifers of South Africa

Based on the field measurements of the physical properties of fractured rocks, the anisotropic properties of hydraulic conductivity (HC) of the fractured rock aquifer can be assessed and presented using a tensor approach called hydraulic conductivity tensor. Three types of HC values, namely point value, axial value and flow direction one, are derived for their possible applications. The HC values computed from the data measured on the weathered or disturbed zones of rock outcrops tend to give the upper limit values. To simulate realistic variations of the hydraulic property in a fractured rock aquifer, two correction coefficients, i.e. the fracture roughness and combined stress conditions, are adapted to calibrate the tensor model application. The application results in the Table Mountain Group (TMG) aquifers show that the relationship between the HC value and fracture burial depths follows an exponential form with the power hyperbola.
Mehanizmi suočavanja sa stresom, optimizam i generalna samoefikasnost kao prediktori psihofizičkog zdravlja

The main objective of this research was to examine the contributions of coping mechanisms, optimism, and general self-efficacy in predicting the scores on the Psychophysical Health Scale. The same combination of predictor variables was used in prediction of particular aspects of psychophysical health related to physical health, fear and anxiety, depressive reactions, tiredness, and social behavior. In order to measure these constructs, the following instruments were used: the Psychophysical Health Scale, the Life Orientation Test-Revised for measuring dispositional optimism, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Brief COPE for analyzing coping mechanisms. The research was carried out on a sample of convenience consisting of 269 students from the University of Novi Sad. Both undergraduate and graduate/master students were included. The factor structure analysis of the Brief COPE identified three factors included in the set of predictors: seeking social support, problem-focused coping strategy and avoidance-focused coping strategy. Significant predictors of the overall psychophysical health were: Avoidance-focused coping strategy (β = .24, p < .01), optimism (β = -.35, p < .01) and general self-efficacy (β = -.18, p < .05). The same combination of predictors proved to be significant in explaining every particular aspect of psychophysical health. Comparisons of individual contributions of predictors suggested that the variability in each particular aspect of psychophysical health could be explained by differences in the degree of optimism and susceptibility to avoidance-focused coping strategy.
Importance of students’ views and the role of self-esteem in lessons of creative dance in physical education

Abstract The purpose of this study was to capture the student’s views in lessons of creative dance. A qualitative empirical research design was carried out using video-stimulated recall interviews. The participants in this study were 88 children (63 female and 25 male) between the ages of 9 and 11 years (M = 10.5, SD = 1.2) in physical education lessons. A total of 16 teaching units in dance, which took place once a week within a period of 16 weeks were conducted. Of the 88 children, a total of 37 young male and female subjects (M = 10.5 years) were interviewed about their personal views subsequently to the lessons. Transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis revealed that students made use of specific strategies aimed to resist threats to their self-esteem. We observed that students prefer to find creative ideas with familiar partners. Moreover, it has been observed that the anticipation of negative feedback from classmates can be a source of threats to the self-esteem. The identification of such strategies implies specific didactical methods that should be considered when initiating successful creative processes in physical education.