Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dual-Energy CT in the Evaluation of Intracerebral Hemorrhage of Unknown Origin: Differentiation between Tumor Bleeding and Pure Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Detection of underlying tumor in patients with unknown-origin acute ICH may be difficult because acute hematoma may mask enhancement of tumor on postcontrast CT. We intended to investigate the clinical utility of DECT in differentiating tumor bleeding from pure ICH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a dual-source CT scanner, we obtained TNC single-energy and postcontrast DECT scans for 56 patients with unknown-origin spontaneous ICH. From the 2 sets of postcontrast DECT images obtained with different tube energy, EA (equivalent to conventional postcontrast CT), VNC, color-coded iodine overlay, fusion images of iodine overlay and VNC images were produced. The diagnostic performances of fusion, EA, and combined EA and TNC images for detecting underlying tumors were compared. RESULTS: Of the 56 patients, 17 had primary or metastatic tumors (18 lesions) and 39 had nontumorous ICH. The sensitivities of fusion, EA, and combined EA and TNC images for detecting brain tumors were 94.4%, 61.1%, and 66.7%, respectively, and their specificities were 97.4%, 92.3%, and 89.7%, respectively. The areas under the ROC curves were 0.964, 0.786, and 0.842, respectively. Overall, the diagnostic performance of fusion images was significantly superior to EA (P = .006) and combined EA and TNC (P = .011) images. CONCLUSIONS: DECT may be useful in detecting underlying tumors in patients with unknown-origin ICH.
Purification and Characterization of NafY (Apodinitrogenase γ Subunit) from Azotobacter vinelandii*

The formation of an active dinitrogenase requires the synthesis and the insertion of the iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMo-co) into a presynthesized apodinitrogenase. In Azotobacter vinelandii, NafY (also known as γ protein) has been proposed to be a FeMo-co insertase because of its ability to bind FeMo-co and apodinitrogenase. Here we report the purification and biochemical characterization of NafY and reach the following conclusions. First, NafY is a 26-kDa monomeric protein that binds one molecule of FeMo-co with very high affinity (Kd ≈ 60 nm); second, the NafY-FeMo-co complex exhibits a S = 3/2 EPR signal with features similar to the signals for extracted FeMo-co and the M center of dinitrogenase; third, site-directed mutagenesis of nafY indicates that the His121 residue of NafY is involved in cofactor binding; and fourth, NafY binding to apodinitrogenase or to FeMo-co does not require the presence of any additional protein. In addition, we have obtained evidence that suggests the ability of NafY to bind NifB-co, an FeS cluster of unknown structure that is a biosynthetic precursor to FeMo-co.
Processing Sentiments and Opinions in Text

There is a recent surge in interest in processing sentiments and opinions in free text. I examine research in this area, and summarise the differing approaches to the various sub-tasks and applications relating to sentiment analysis. A list of existing evaluation efforts for sentiment analysis tasks is also presented. Finally, 2 possible research directions that could help to further the state-of-the-art are suggested.
Alcohol Dehydrogenase Protects against Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Myocardial Contractile Dysfunction via Attenuation of Oxidative Stress and Autophagy: Role of PTEN-Akt-mTOR Signaling

Background The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays an essential role in ensuring proper folding of the newly synthesized proteins. Aberrant ER homeostasis triggers ER stress and development of cardiovascular diseases. ADH is involved in catalyzing ethanol to acetaldehyde although its role in cardiovascular diseases other than ethanol metabolism still remains elusive. This study was designed to examine the impact of ADH on ER stress-induced cardiac anomalies and underlying mechanisms involved using cardiac-specific overexpression of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Methods ADH and wild-type FVB mice were subjected to the ER stress inducer tunicamycin (1 mg/kg, i.p., for 48 hrs). Myocardial mechanical and intracellular Ca2+ properties, ER stress, autophagy and associated cell signaling molecules were evaluated. Results ER stress compromised cardiac contractile function (evidenced as reduced fractional shortening, peak shortening, maximal velocity of shortening/relengthening, prolonged relengthening duration and impaired intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis), oxidative stress and upregulated autophagy (increased LC3B, Atg5, Atg7 and p62), along with dephosphorylation of PTEN, Akt and mTOR, all of which were attenuated by ADH. In vitro study revealed that ER stress-induced cardiomyocyte anomaly was abrogated by ADH overexpression or autophagy inhibition using 3-MA. Interestingly, the beneficial effect of ADH was obliterated by autophagy induction, inhibition of Akt and mTOR. ER stress also promoted phosphorylation of the stress signaling ERK and JNK, the effect of which was unaffected by ADH transgene. Conclusions Taken together, these findings suggested that ADH protects against ER stress-induced cardiac anomalies possibly via attenuation of oxidative stress and PTEN/Akt/mTOR pathway-regulated autophagy.
Does Confucianism still matter? A new insight from a study of the mental health of functionally dependent Korean older adults

This study explored predictors of functionally dependent Korean older adults’ mental health. Logistic regression analyses were conducted using a sample of 1234 subjects. Findings show a subject’s functional dependency, pre-existing depression, objective financial status, and stressful life events are risk factors. This analysis yielded unexpected findings of a limited protective effect of social support from family members compared to a significant effect of intrapersonal resources. These findings suggest an emergent transition within East Asian culture about individuals and family dynamics and a need for an alternative approach to culturally competent social work practice with East Asian populations.
Effect of Psychological Empowerment and Transformational Leadership on Organizational Commitment

According to recent literature that relates to organizational leadership, transformational leadership consists of three important elements: idealized influence, individual consideration and intellectual stimulation. Extant studies in this area highlighted that the ability of the leaders in implementing these transformational processes (to execute organizational functions) may have a significant impact on individual outcome especially organizational commitment. Although this relationship has been studied, the mediating role of transformational leadership has taken a less prominent role in organizational leadership model. Recent studies on organizational leadership have emphasized that transformational leadership has three important characteristics: idealized influence, individual consideration and intellectual stimulation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of empowerment in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment; by using 77 usable questionnaires gathered from employees who worked at a foreign manufacturing company in Free Trade Zone, Malaysia. Results of SmartPLS path model analysis confirm that empowerment does act as an important mediating variable in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment in the organizational sample. In the succeeding sections, discussion, implications and conclusion are elaborated.
PREDATION , ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND VIOLENCE : Evidence from the Philippines

initiative through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) under Award FA9550-09-1-0314. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect views of ONR or AFOSR. All mistakes are ours. Abstract This paper explores the relationship between economic activity and political violence through the lenses provided by several different mechanisms. Investment as a predictor of future violence implies that low private sector investment today provides a robust indicator of high violence tomorrow. " Rent-capture " or predation asserts that economic programs and business investment will increase violence by increasing extortion by insurgents. " Hearts and minds " counterinsurgency has been asserted to link economic activity to political violence in three ways, through an opportunity cost mechanism by which improved economic conditions reduce the cost of rebel recruitment; through a " hope and gratitude " effect by which development assistance generates support for government, reducing cooperation with rebels; and thirdly, though an improved governance mechanism. We lay out these mechanisms in a framework with strategic interaction between rebels, communities, government and firms within an information-centric " hearts and minds " counterinsurgency model. We test the mechanisms in the context of the Philippines in the first decade of this century, using a new dataset that combines violent incidents with indicators of economic activity. The data support the predation thesis, while refuting the predictions of the predictive investment mechanism, the opportunity cost mechanism, and the gratitude effect.
Math Emporium Model: Preparing developmental students for college algebra

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . iii DEDICATION . v LIST OF TABLES . xi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION . 1 Statement of the Problem . 4 Research Questions and Hypotheses . 5 Research Questions . 6 Hypotheses . 6 Definition of Terms. 6 Delimitations . 7 Assumptions . 8 Justification . 8 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW . 1
Control of Intracellular Francisella tularensis by Different Cell Types and the Role of Nitric Oxide

Reactive nitrogen is critical for the clearance of Francisella tularensis infections. Here we assess the role of nitric oxide in control of intracellular infections in two murine macrophage cell lines of different provenance: the alveolar macrophage cell line, MH-S, and the widely used peritoneal macrophage cell line, J774A.1. Cells were infected with the highly virulent Schu S4 strain or with the avirulent live vaccine strain (LVS) with and without stimuli. Compared to MH-S cells, J774A.1 cells were unresponsive to stimulation and were able to control the intracellular replication of LVS bacteria, but not of Schu S4. In MH-S cells, Schu S4 demonstrated control over cellular NO production. Despite this, MH-S cells stimulated with LPS or LPS and IFN-γ were able to control intracellular Schu S4 numbers. However, only stimulation with LPS induced significant cellular NO production. Combined stimulation with LPS and IFN-γ produced a significant reduction in intracellular bacteria that occurred whether high levels of NO were produced or not, indicating that NO secretion is not the only defensive cellular mechanism operating in virulent Francisella infections. Understanding how F. tularensis interacts with host macrophages will help in the rational design of new and effective therapies.
Grassmannian beamforming for multiple-input multiple-output wireless systems

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems provides capacity much larger than that provided by traditional single-input single-output (SISO) wireless systems. Beamforming is a low complexity technique that increases the receive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), however, it requires channel knowledge. Since in practice channel knowledge at the transmitter is difficult to realize, we propose a technique where the receiver designs the beamforming vector and sends it to the transmitter by transmitting a label in a finite set, or codebook, of beamforming vectors. A codebook design method for quantized versions of maximum ratio transmission, equal gain transmission, and generalized selection diversity with maximum ratio combining at the receiver is presented. The codebook design criterion exploits the quantization problem's relationship with Grassmannian line packing. Systems using the beamforming codebooks are shown to have a diversity order of the product of the number of transmit and the number of receive antennas. Monte Carlo simulations compare the performance of systems using this new codebook method with the performance of systems using previously proposed quantized and unquantized systems.
Positive Frequency Dependence in Graffiti: An Empirical Case Study of Cultural Evolution

Abstract Cultural traits can be seen to evolve by a process similar to natural selection. They are transmittable, variable, and the variants can have differential fitness. As a result, cultural evolution can in principle lead to non-random distribution of cultural traits. A limited number of studies have addressed the evolution of human cultural traits “in the wild,” partly because culture is difficult to categorize into discrete units. Parallel to studying non-random species distributions in ecosystems due to natural selection, we have focused on investigating non-random distributions of cultural traits in a local environment. We used a collection of library study desks to categorize graffiti into content-based cultural traits, or “topics”, and quantified the level of clustering for each topic as a measure of non-random distributions of topics on the desks. Clustering was found to occur for some topics but not others, and the level of clustering varied with topic in ways that are consistent with topic content characteristics.
Does gesture add to the comprehensibility of people with aphasia

Gesture can convey information co-occurring with and in the absence of speech. As such, it seems a useful strategy for people with aphasia (PWA) to compensate for their impaired speech. To find out whether gestures used by PWA add to the comprehensibility of their communication we looked at the information conveyed in gesture (similar to speech, additional to speech or essential information that is absent in speech), produced by 34 PWA and 5 non-brain damaged participants (NBDP) during semi-structured conversation. There were no significant differences found between PWA and NBDP, or between aphasia types. The total number of gestures and the use of similar gestures correlates with the information PWA can convey in speech. Essential gestures are used in instances of speech break down. These findings suggest that gestures used by PWA may add to the compressibility of their communication and that some PWA may use gesture compensatorily.
Is a Plea Really a Bargain? An Analysis of Plea and Trial Dispositions in New York City

The study challenges the common notion that plea bargaining is necessarily beneficial to defendants. It examines the factors influencing the likelihood of taking a misdemeanor case to trial, and the probability of acquittal upon reaching trial. Defendants charged with more serious crimes, persons crimes, crimes with victims, and represented by private attorneys were more likely to go to trial than to be pleaded out. By contrast, very few factors influenced trial outcomes, and the effect of race was fairly weak. Perhaps most important is the finding that two in five cases going to trial resulted in acquittal, showing that guilt is not a foregone conclusion which may provide leverage to defendants in the plea-bargaining process.
Mechanical stretch alters the actin cytoskeletal network and signal transduction in human trabecular meshwork cells.

PURPOSE Human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells were mechanically stretched in vitro as a potential model for the distension of this tissue that can occur in vivo in response to increased pressure gradients. Cell morphology and certain components of the signal transduction pathways, including the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) pathways, were evaluated for stretch-induced alterations. METHODS Primary HTM cells grown in tissue culture were subjected to a mechanical stretch lasting from 10 seconds to 4 days. The actin cytoskeletal network was visualized by phalloidin staining. Proteins phosphorylated on their tyrosine residues were isolated using an immunoaffinity system and were analyzed by gel electrophoresis and immunostaining. Mitogen-activated protein kinase activity was evaluated using an in-gel assay system, and the mRNA levels of c-fos and c-jun were determined by quantitation of competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the amount of c-Fos protein was estimated by chemiluminescent immunoblot analysis. RESULTS On stretching, the HTM cells elongated but regained their normal morphologic characteristics within 24 hours. Unstretched HTM cells displayed a diffuse F-actin microfilament network, whereas stretched cells exhibited complex geodesic patterns. Ten seconds after stretching began, the level of tyrosine phosphorylation on the six major phosphoproteins significantly decreased between 80% and 100%, whereas the level of paxillin tyrosine phosphorylation significantly increased 39%. Stretching caused MAPK activity and the amount of mRNA and protein of the immediate-early gene c-fos to decrease more than 60% within 2 minutes, but within 15 to 30 minutes they increased above or equivalent to normal levels. The level of c-jun mRNA was unchanged by stretching. CONCLUSIONS In response to a mechanical stretch, major cytoskeletal alterations occur in HTM cells, which involve changes in the levels of tyrosine phosphorylation. Mechanotransduction (signal transduction by mechanical stimulation) through the MAPK signaling pathway was significantly depressed immediately after stretching; however, the JNK pathway appeared to be unaffected. The data suggest that HTM cells adapt to mechanical stress by altering the cytoskeletal network and signaling cascades.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker Male/Female Foraging Differences in Young Forest Stands

Abstract The Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is an endangered species endemic to pine (Pinus spp.) forests of the southeastern United States. I examined Red-cockaded Woodpecker foraging behavior to learn if there were male/female differences at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina. The study was conducted in largely young forest stands (<50 years of age) in contrast to earlier foraging behavior studies that focused on more mature forest. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker at the Savannah River site is intensively managed including monitoring, translocation, and installation of artificial cavity inserts for roosting and nesting. Over a 3-year period, 6,407 foraging observations covering seven woodpecker family groups were recorded during all seasons of the year and all times of day. The most striking differences occurred in foraging method (males usually scaled [45% of observations] and females mostly probed [47%]), substrate used (females had a stronger preference [93%] for the trunk than males [79%]), and foraging height from the ground (mean ± SE foraging height was higher for males [11.1 ± 0.5 m] than females [9.8 ± 0.5 m]). Niche overlap between males and females was lowest for substrate (85.6%) and foraging height (87.8%), and highest for tree species (99.0%), tree condition (98.3%), and tree height (96.4%). Both males and females preferred to forage in older, large pine trees. The habitat available at the Savannah River Site was considerably younger than at most other locations, but the pattern of male/female habitat partitioning observed was similar to that documented elsewhere within the range attesting to the species' ability to adjust behaviorally.
Sociologists' Views of Everyday Life in Russia Under Crisis Conditions

By early in 2009, the proportion of Russians whose social situation and level of well-being had suffered significantly because of the economic crisis was about one-fifth of all working-age citizens. Almost 6 million people were unemployed and the crisis has already caused more and more Russians to focus on Russia's internal problems and the threats associated with them. The expectation that the solution to the crisis will come about more or less quickly accounts for the population's relatively calm reaction to the country's and their own worsening situation.
Effects of temporary inactivation of dorsal hippocampus on explicitly nonspatial, unimodal, contextual fear learning

ii ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Effects of temporary inactivation of dorsal hippocampus on explicitly nonspatial, Several studies have reported that dorsal hippocampal damage attenuates the of recently acquired contextual fear conditioning. "Context" is often operationalized as the conditioning chamber in which CS-US pairings occurred. However, the hippocampus is known to participate in spatial learning, presenting interpretative difficulties regarding the role of dorsal hippocampus in learning and memory. The current study examined the effects of temporary inactivation of DH on freezing, rearing, ambulating, grooming, and whisking behavior in an explicitly nonspatial contextual fear conditioning paradigm, where olfactory stimuli served as temporally and spatially diffuse contexts. Results indicate that temporary inactivation of DH produced both anterograde and retrograde deficits in contextually conditioned freezing, while sparing the acquisition and expression of freezing to a discrete auditory CS. Further, animals with DH inactivation froze modestly and similarly to the unsafe and safe contextual stimuli, while intact animals froze robustly to the unsafe, but not the safe, contextual stimulus. These data indicate that there is a decidedly nonspatial component to the role of DH in contextual conditioning, and suggest that olfactory contextual conditioning is a fruitful means of further exploring this function.
Inflation Targeting versus Price-Path Targeting:: Looking for Improvements

Price stability is now the paramount objective for the vast majority of modern central bankers. Combined with changes in central bank structure, this policy framework has yielded low and stable inflation that has brought with it high and stable growth. Taking recent successes as a starting point, we look at the possibility for further improvements. Could countries benefit by shifting from inflation targeting to price-path targeting? Or, should policymakers adopt a hybrid between these two extremes? Whether the optimal rule is pure inflation targeting, pure price-path targeting, or some hybrid depends on the country’s output persistence. Our discussion in this paper focuses not only on hybrid rules, also on the horizon over which such rules should be evaluated. Specifically, we examine the equivalence between a rule with a high weight on inflation targeting that is evaluated only infrequently and one with a high weight on the price-path that is evaluated often. For each country, we are able to derive a horizon for target evaluation that would result in optimal policy. The general result is that when deviations of output from its potential are less persistent, the optimal horizon for target evaluation will be shorter.
Conjunctive Grammars

This paper introduces a class of formal grammars made up by augmenting the formalism of context-free grammars with an explicit set-theoretic intersection operation. It is shown that conjunctive grammars can generate some important non-contextfree language constructs, including those not in the intersection closure of context-free languages, and that they can provide very succinct descriptions of some context-free languages and finite intersections of context-free languages. On the other hand, it is proved that conjunctive grammars can still be parsed in cubic time and that the notion of the derivation tree is retained, which gives reasonable hope for their practical applicability.