Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Emotion on Cognitive Control: Relevance for Development and Adolescent Psychopathology

The last decade has witnessed an explosion of research into the neural mechanisms underlying emotion processing on the one hand, and cognitive control and executive function on the other hand. More recently, studies have begun to directly examine how concurrent emotion processing influences cognitive control performance but many questions remain currently unresolved. Interestingly, parallel to investigations in healthy adults, research in developmental cognitive neuroscience and developmental affective disorders has provided some intriguing findings that complement the adult literature. This review provides an overview of current research on cognitive control and emotion interactions. It integrates parallel lines of research in adulthood and development and will draw on several lines of evidence ranging from behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging work in healthy adults and extend these to work in pediatric development and patients with affective disorders. Particular emphasis is given to studies that provide information on the neurobiological underpinnings of emotional and cognitive control processes using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The findings are then summarized and discussed in relation to neurochemical processes and the dopamine hypothesis of prefrontal cortical function. Finally, open areas of research for future study are identified and discussed within the context of cognitive control emotion interactions.
CATASTROPHIZING ASSESSMENT OF WORRY AND THREAT SCHEMATA AMONG WORRIERS

Several authors have suggested that threat schemata of high worriers may differ from those of less worried individuals with regards to the manner with which information is structured in the Long Term Memory (LTM) or the content of the information stored in the LTM. The present study tested this hypothesis using the catastrophizing interview technique (c.f., Vasey & Borkovec, 1992). Results revealed that high worriers evaluated the likelihood of the occurrence of feared consequences generated for each worry as more likely to actually happen than low worriers did. Second, the ultimate outcome generated in the catastrophizing sequence for a given worry was more severe for high worriers. Finally, high worriers generated ultimate outcomes that were more similar in content, presumably reflecting tightly organized threat schemata. It is argued that activation of these threat schemata in the LTM contributes to the maintenance of worry and anxiety in anxious individuals.
Analysis of Mercury toxicity in the wild Population of Black-headed Oriole Oriolus brachyrhynchus (Swainson, 1837) from some selected community in Benue State, Nigeria

Mercury contamination in wild birds has long been recognized as a serious predicament in terms of pollution. Emission of mercury is still being observed [1-3] in order to reduce the rate of environmental pollution. Birds can be exposed externally, by physical contact, and internally, by consumption of contaminated feed [4]. Mercury can be bioaccumulated and biomagnified in the ecosystems leading to wildlife being exposed to it, and this may harm birds and even lead to population declines [5] in most cases. The tendency of mercury to accumulate in bird species depends on the intake and the rate of elimination from the body [6]. Basically, transportation of mercury in birds occurs through the blood where the ions are generally bound to proteins. This contaminant is brought into contact with the organs and tissues of the bird and as a result they are accumulated at different degree in different organs and tissues of the bird [7] but, it is a function of the duration of exposure.
Adhesion of algal cells to surfaces

This paper reports the cell–substratum interactions of planktonic (Chlorella vulgaris) and benthic (Botryococcus sudeticus) freshwater green algae with hydrophilic (glass) and hydrophobic (indium tin oxide) substrata to determine the critical parameters controlling the adhesion of algal cells to surfaces. The surface properties of the algae and substrata were quantified by measuring contact angle, electrophoretic mobility, and streaming potential. Using these data, the cell–substratum interactions were modeled using thermodynamic, DLVO, and XDLVO approaches. Finally, the rate of attachment and the strength of adhesion of the algal cells were quantified using a parallel-plate flow chamber. The results indicated that (1) acid–base interactions played a critical role in the adhesion of algae, (2) the hydrophobic alga attached at a higher density and with a higher strength of adhesion on both substrata, and (3) the XDLVO model was the most accurate in predicting the density of cells and their strength of adhesion. These results can be used to select substrata to promote/inhibit the adhesion of algal cells to surfaces.
Psychopathy And Treatment Response In Incarcerated Female Substance Abusers

The authors rated 404 incarcerated female participants in a substance abuse treatment efficacy study using either the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) or the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV). Participants were then randomly assigned among three treatment conditions. Psychopathy scores were significantly associated with poor treatment response with regard to program retention, removal for serious non-compliance, violent and disruptive rule violations, avoidance of urinalysis testing, treatment module attendance, and therapist ratings. Cox regression analyses indicated that psychopathy scores (particularly Factor 1 scores) better predicted new charges in the community than a combination of other variables. The authors concluded that Hare psychopathy scores can be used validly for assessment for placement, risk assessment, and individual treatment planning for female offenders.
Synthesis and assembly of flagellar components by Caulobacter crescentus motility mutants

Cultures of wild-type Caulobacter crescentus and strains with fla mutations representing 24 genes were pulse-labeled with 14C-amino acids and analyzed by immunoprecipitation to study the synthesis of flagellar components. Most fla mutants synthesize flagellin proteins at a reduced rate, suggesting the existence of some mechanism to prevent the accumulation of unpolymerized flagellin subunits. Two strains contain deletions that appear to remove a region necessary for this regulation. The hook protein does not seem to be subject to this type of regulation and, in addition, appears to be synthesized as a faster-sedimenting precursor. Mutations in a number of genes result in the appearance of degradation products of either the flagellin or the hook proteins. Mutations in flaA, -X, -Y, or -Z result in the production of filaments (stubs) that contain altered ratios of the flagellin proteins. In some flaA mutants, other flagellin-related proteins were assembled into the stub structures in addition to the flagellins normally present. Taken together, these analyses have begun to provide insight into the roles of individual fla genes in flagellum biogenesis in C. crescentus.
Effects of acute blood removal via the sublingual vein on haematological and clinical parameters in Sprague-Dawley rats

Haematological and clinical effects were evaluated after multiple blood samplings over 24 h in the laboratory rat and for up to 22 days after collection to determine the time required for a return to baseline values. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 7/sex/group) were bled 4 times over 24 h and blood samples of 1.2, 1.6, 2.4 and 3.2 ml were taken. There were no adverse clinical signs and no statistically significant differences in body weight, body weight gain and food consumption. The acute effect on main haematological parameters of blood removal over 24 h consisted of reductions of red blood cell count, haemoglobin and haematocrit which were similar for blood removal exceeding 7.5% and less than 15% of circulating blood volume, and the reductions were positively related to the amount of blood loss beyond 15%. Time to recover to baseline values was also proportional to the initial blood collection volume and was estimated to range from 48h for amounts from 5% to below 7.5%, 12 days for amounts from 7.5% to up to 20% and 19 days for amounts above 20%. Recommendations are made concerning suitable blood collection regimes.
Analysis of protein transmembrane helical regions by a neural network

Neural networks were used to generalize common themes found in transmembrane‐spanning protein helices. Various‐sized databases were used containing nonoverlapping sequences, each 25 amino acids long. Training consisted of sorting these sequences into 1 of 2 groups: transmembrane helical peptides or nontransmembrane peptides. Learning was measured using a test set 10% the size of the training set. As training set size increased from 214 sequences to 1,751 sequences, learning increased in a nonlinear manner from 75% to a high of 98%, then declined to a low of 87%. The final training database consisted of roughly equal numbers of transmembrane (928) and nontransmembrane (1,018) sequences. All transmembrane sequences were entered into the database with respect to their lipid membrane orientation: from inside the membrane to outside. Generalized transmembrane helix and nontransmembrane peptides were constructed from the maximally weighted connecting strengths of fully trained networks. Four generalized transmembrane helices were found to contain 9 consensus residues: a K‐R‐F triplet was found at the inside lipid interface, 2 isoleucine and 2 other phenylalanine residues were present in the helical body, and 2 tryptophan residues were found near the outside lipid interface. As a test of the training method, bacteriorhodopsin was examined to determine the position of its 7 transmembrane helices.
A tale of two counties: the impact of pretrial release, race, and ethnicity upon sentencing decisions

Pretrial release is clearly an important issue for defendants, since the results of previous research has suggested that pretrial release or detention can have an effect on later processing decisions. Additionally, race and ethnicity have been identified as factors in processing decisions in American courts. The current study is an analysis of a sample of felony filings in two Florida counties during 1998. Two dependent variables are considered: type of sentence (incarceration or another sentence) and the actual length of incarceration. The purpose of the analysis is to detect whether pretrial release remains a significant predictor of sentence type and length after controlling for legal and extra‐legal variables. Specifically, we are interested in whether pretrial release has a differential impact on Hispanic and non‐white defendants compared to whites. Defendants held pending trial faced significant disadvantages compared to their released peers in all models, but race and ethnicity did not appear to be universally contributing factors. Significant differences between the counties suggest that smaller‐scale studies have the potential to uncover local and regional variations within state criminal justice systems that multi‐state studies fail to capture.
General Mental Ability and Selection in Private Sector Organizations: A Commentary

Key considerations are summarized relating to the design of cognitively oriented selection procedures for the purpose of minimizing group differences and maximizing selection effectiveness. It is concluded that selection effectiveness and selection rate equality trade off within the cognitive domain and that design efforts to minimize group differences are likely to result in differential prediction where it was previously absent. It is also suggested that the frequently cited premise that selection procedures of equal validity are substitutable is not, in general, true. Equal validity does not imply equal value for the organization. Finally, it is argued that additional research and discussion is necessary to clarify and reach professional consensus regarding two competing perspectives about the meaning of differential prediction. One perspective views differential prediction as an extension of validation requiring the criterion to be theoretically construct-relevant to the predictor. The other views differential prediction as analysis of valued outcomes requiring the criterion to be an encompassing measurement of valued outcomes created by employees.
An efficient unified approach to direct visual tracking of rigid and deformable surfaces

Image-based deformations are generally used for visual tracking of deformable objects moving in the 3D space. For the visual tracking of deformable objects, this assumption has shown to give good results. However it is not satisfying for the visual tracking of 3D rigid objects as the underlying structure cannot be directly estimated. The general belief is that obtaining the 3D structure directly is difficult. In this article, we propose a parameterization that is well adapted either to track deformable objects or to recover the structure of 3D objects. Furthermore, the formulation leads to an efficient implementation that can considerably reduce the computational load and it is therefore more adapted to real-time robotic applications. Experiments with simulated and real data validate the approach for deformable object visual tracking and 3D structure estimation. The computational efficiency is also compared to standard methods.
Brain oscillatory signatures of working memory control processes

Mnemonic operations are vital in our everyday life and comprise a vast array of sub-processes that need to be co-ordinated constantly to ensure smooth functioning. The goal of this work was to investigate the superimposed control component responsible for the co-ordination of those individual sub-processes. Furthermore, by using neuroscientific methods like electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the underlying oscillatory signatures were explored and their behavioural relevance tested. It will be shown that increase in theta frequency (4-8 Hz) over medial frontal cortical areas is a local indicator of increasing task demand and task complexity. Moreover, findings will be presented that indicate that the phase of this local oscillation (frontal-midline theta, FMtheta) enables task-relevant processes in posterior cortical areas (represented by increased activity in the gamma frequency range, 30-80 Hz) to flexibly access prefrontal cognitive resources. This mechanism is implemented in a way that bursts of posterior gamma frequency are locked to specific phases of a FMtheta cycle. The higher the task complexity, i.e. the more prefrontal control processes are needed for its execution, the closer to the excitatory phase of FMtheta (trough) the posterior gamma bursts are nested. In contrast, when only very little cognitive control needs to be employed, the posterior fast frequency bursts are locked near the inhibitory FMtheta phase (peak) rather. By using repetitiveTMS it was furthermore possible to show the behavioural relevance of this mechanism and how the disruption thereof has a highly selective and immediate deteriorating effect on working memory performance. Moreover, it will be demonstrated that this mechanism does not only depend on task difficulty but can be influenced and controlled voluntarily by information prioritisation. Finally, based on these findings a model will be introduced that could potentially explain the mechanism of such flexible allocation of and access to prefrontal control processes.
Optimization of Power Beacon Assisted Wireless Powered Two-Way Relaying Systems under User Fairness

This paper investigates a power beacon (PB) assisted two-way relaying network, in which two single antenna energy constraint users first harvest energy from a multi-antenna PB and then communicate with each other with the assistance of a relay. Considering user fairness, we propose the max-min design that maximizes the minimum rate of the two users and investigate the corresponding optimal energy beamformer and time split. Due to the non-convex nature of the optimization problems, an alternating optimization design is proposed in which the optimal beamformer and time split can be solved via a low-complexity algorithm and convex optimization, respectively. Our results show that the proposed alternating optimization design yields near optimal performance, and implementing multiple antennas at the PB can significantly improve the system performance.
Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) on Eimeria papillata-Induced Infection in Mice

Coccidiosis is the most prevalent disease causing widespread economic loss, especially in poultry farms. Here, we investigated the effects of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) on the outcome of coccidiosis caused by Eimeria papillata in mice. The data showed that mice infected with E. papillata and treated with PPE revealed a significant decrease in the output of oocysts in their faeces by day 5 p.i. Infection also induced inflammation and injury of the jejunum. This was evidenced (i) as increases in reactive oxygen species, (ii), as increased neutrophils and decreased lymphocytes in blood (ii) as increased mRNA levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), Bcl-2 gene, and of the cytokines interferon gamma (IFN-γ), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and (iv) as downregulation of mucin gene MUC2 mRNA. All these infection-induced parameters were significantly altered during PPE treatment. In particular, PPE counteracted the E. papillata-induced loss of the total antioxidant capacity. Our data indicated that PPE treatment significantly attenuated inflammation and injury of the jejunum induced by E. papillata infections.
Adsorption of human tear lipocalin to human meibomian lipid films.

PURPOSE Tear lipocalin (Tlc) is a major lipid binding protein in tears and is thought to have an important role in stabilizing the Meibomian lipid layer by transferring lipids to it from the aqueous layer or ocular surface, or by adsorbing to it directly. These possible roles have been investigated in vitro using human Tlc. METHODS Tlc was purified from human tears by size exclusion chromatography followed by ion exchange chromatography. Three additional samples of the Tlc were prepared by lipidation, delipidation, and relipidation. The lipids extracted from the purified Tlc were analyzed by HPLC-MS followed by fragmentation. Adsorption of these different forms of Tlc to a human Meibomian lipid film spread on the surface of an artificial tear buffer in a Langmuir trough were observed by recording changes in the pressure with time (Pi-T profile) and monitoring the appearance of the film microscopically. These results were compared with similar experiments using a bovine Meibomian lipid film. RESULTS The results indicated that Tlc binds slowly to a human Meibomian lipid film compared with lysozyme or lactoferrin, even at 37 degrees C. The adsorption of Tlc to a human Meibomian lipid film was very different from its adsorption to a bovine Meibomian lipid film, indicating the nature of the lipids in the film is critical to the adsorption process. Similarly, the different forms of Tlc had quite distinct adsorption patterns, as indicated both by changes in Pi-T profiles and the microscopic appearance of the films. CONCLUSIONS It was concluded that human Tlc was capable of adsorbing to and penetrating into a Meibomian lipid layer, but this process is very complex and depends on both the types of lipids bound to Tlc and the lipid complement comprising the Meibomian lipid film.
Support Services in E-Learning - an Evaluation Study of Students' Needs and Satisfaction

English Abstract The article reports from an evaluation study among NKI Internet students. The main aim of the study was to examine students' need for support services in Internet based distance study and examine the students' satisfaction with support services. The study was carried out as part of the project, Student Support Services in e-Learning, supported by the Socrates Minerva Programme of the EU Commission. The other partners of the project have carried out similar evaluation studies. For reasons of comparison between different countries, institutions and systems, the quantitative part of the evaluation instrument was, except for language differences, identical with the one used in the studies conducted by the other four project partners, Ericsson Competence Solutions and Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland, FernUniversität in Germany, University of Rome III in Italy. The NKI evaluation study was designed to supply results to form the basis for planning quality developments of the learning management system, organisation and counselling services. Norwegian Abstract Denne artikkelen rapporter fra en evalueringsundersøkelse blant Nettstudenter ved NKI Fjernundervisningen. Hovedmålet med undersøkelsen var å få mer innsikt i nettstudenters behov for støtteog oppfølgingstiltak (student support services) og få informasjon om studentenes holdninger til og tilfredshet med oppfølgingsog støttesystemene slik de fungerer i dag. Studien ble gjennomført som en aktivitet i prosjektet, Student Support Services in e-Learning, som er et prosjekt under EU-kommisjonens Sokrates Minerva program. De andre partnerne i prosjektet gjennomførte tilsvarende studier blant egne studenter. Prosjektet ønsket at disse parallelle studiene skulle kunne gi data som ga noe grunnlag for sammenlikninger mellom deltakeres syn på behov for støtteog oppfølgingssystemer på tvers av land, institusjoner og e-læringssystemer. Derfor ble den kvantitative delen av evalueringsinstrumentet konstruert slik at det bortsett fra språkforskjeller skulle bli mest mulig identisk med spørreskjema benyttet av den andre prosjektpartnerne, Ericsson Competence Solutions and Cork Institute of Technology i Irland, FernUniversität i Tyskland, og Universitet Roma 3 i Italia. NKI-undersøkelsen ble designet med sikte på å gi informasjon som grunnlag kvalitetsforbedringer i vårt LMS, SESAM, NKI Fjernundervisnings organisering av nettundervisningen, og våre veilednings-, rådgivnings-, støtteog oppfølgingssystemer. Studien omfattet studentstøttetiltak fra prospektivfasen til etter fullført studium. Et interessant funn er at studentene generelt er tilfreds med støttesystemene og at de faktisk er mest fornøyd med de støttetiltak som de mener er mest viktig.