Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combined Blockade of Cholinergic Receptors Shifts the Brain from Stimulus Encoding to Memory Consolidation

High central nervous system levels of acetylcholine (ACh) are commonly regarded as crucial for learning and memory, and a decline in cholinergic neurotransmission is associated with Alzheimer's dementia. However, recent findings revealed exceptions to this rule: The low ACh tone characterizing slowwave sleep (SWS) has proven necessary for consolidation of hippocampus-dependent declarative memories during this sleep stage. Such observations, together with recent models of a hippocampal-neocortical dialogue underlying systems memory consolidation, suggest that high levels of ACh support memory encoding, whereas low levels facilitate consolidation. We tested this hypothesis in human subjects by blocking cholinergic neurotransmission during wakefulness, starting 30 min after learning. Subjects received the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine (4 g/kg bodyweight intravenously) and the nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine (5 mg orally). Compared to placebo, combined muscarinic and nicotinic receptor blockade significantly improved consolidation of declarative memories tested 10 hr later, but simultaneously impaired acquisition of similar material. Consolidation of procedural memories, which are not dependent on hippocampal functioning, was unaffected. Neither scopolamine nor mecamylamine alone enhanced declarative memory consolidation. Our findings support the notion that ACh acts as a switch between modes of acquisition and consolidation. We propose that the natural shift in central nervous system cholinergic tone from high levels during wakefulness to minimal levels during SWS optimizes declarative memory consolidation during a period with no need for new memory encoding.
The pathophysiology of brain edema and elevated intracranial pressure.

The contribution of brain edema to brain swelling in cases of traumatic injury, ischemia, and tumor remains a critical problem for which there is currently no effective clinical treatment. It is well documented that in head injury, swelling leads to an elevation in intracranial pressure (ICP), which is a frequent cause of death, and to very poor prognosis in survivors. This swelling process has been classified into four distinct degrees of severity based on studies of the Traumatic Coma Data Bank. Of great importance is the fact that the degree of swelling assessed on the first CT scan, obtained soon after injury, is highly correlated with outcome (P < .0002).
CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE Should pulmonary embolism be suspected in exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Background: The cause of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often difficult to determine. Pulmonary embolism may be a trigger of acute dyspnoea in patients with COPD. Aim: To determine the prevalence of pulmonary embolism in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD. Methods: 123 consecutive patients admitted to the emergency departments of two academic teaching hospitals for acute exacerbation of moderate to very severe COPD were included. Pulmonary embolism was investigated in all patients (whether or not clinically suspected) following a standardised algorithm based on D-dimer testing, lower-limb venous ultrasonography and multidetector helical computed tomography scan. Results: Pulmonary embolism was ruled out by a D-dimer value ,500 mg/l in 28 (23%) patients and a by negative chest computed tomography scan in 91 (74%). Computed tomography scan showed pulmonary embolism in four patients (3.3%, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2% to 8%), including three lobar and one sub-segmental embolisms. The prevalence of pulmonary embolism was 6.2% (n = 3; 95% CI, 2.3% to 16.9%) in the 48 patients who had a clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism and 1.3% (n = 1; 95% CI, 0.3% to 7.1%) in those not suspected. In two cases with positive computed tomography scan, the venous ultrasonography also showed a proximal deep-vein thrombosis. No other patient was diagnosed with venous thrombosis. Conclusions: The prevalence of unsuspected pulmonary embolism is very low in patients admitted in the emergency department for an acute exacerbation of their COPD. These results argue against a systematic examination for pulmonary embolism in this population.
Local understandings and experiences of transitional justice: a review of the evidence

Scope and purpose:- Since the late 1980s, ‘transitional justice’ (TJ) principles and practices have gradually become normalised in international relations diplomacy and international development policy and yet we know very little about how transitional justice interventions are experienced locally, i.e. at the sub-state, community and individual level. This review sets out to examine and interrogate the extant literature on the local effects of transitional justice debates and processes. The review is discursive rather than conclusive and does not seek to impose a summary judgment on whether transitional justice ‘works’ or not. Methodology:- The evidence review uses a rigorous bibliographic search methodology to identify existing literature that includes ‘local-level’ empirical data. Three searches were conducted: a systematic database-driven search, a snowball search and a peer-led search. The literature yielded from the searches was ‘graded’ for evidential quality and quality of analysis using the Justice and Security Research Programme’s (JSRP) grading method. Shortcomings and limitations of the search methodology are explored. Download full annotated bibliography.
Stage 4 Involvement of liver and / or spleen , with or without generalized lymph node involvement Stage 5 Involvement of blood , bone marrow , and / or other organs

Lymphoma is the most common haematopoietic malignancy in dogs, and is the most responsive to chemotherapy. Affected dogs are typically middle-aged. Neither gender nor neutering is a predisposing factor for developing lymphoma. In studies of canine lymphoma epidemiology, boxers, Scottish terriers, German shepherds and poodles were more often affected, and recent evidence suggests a high incidence in golden retrievers. The most common physical finding in dogs with lymphoma is peripheral lymphadenopathy, which is usually generalized but may be localized to a single lymph node or a region of the body. Involvement of other organs, such as spleen, liver, or bone marrow is an indication of advanced disease. Some dogs may be presented with bilateral ocular disease which can include uveitis, conjunctivitis or orbital involvement; involvement of other (extranodal) sites is rare in dogs.
Dynamics of Rate-of-Return Regulation

Under Rate-of-Return regulation, a firm's product prices are constrained by the requirement that investors do not earn more an allowable return on the firm's assets. This paper examines the dynamic properties of the Rate-of-Return regulation process when the regulated firm periodically undertakes new capacity investments. Our analysis identifies prices that correspond to stationary values of the regulation process. It is shown that the underlying depreciation rules for property, plant and equipment determine whether these stationary prices will be above, equal to, or below the long-run marginal cost of providing the regulated service. We provide conditions under which the Rate-of-Return regulation process is dynamically stable so that prices indeed converge to their stationary values. The overall efficiency of this regulation method is shown to depend on how well the applicable depreciation schedule matches the productivity pattern of the assets in use.
Design of novel fuzzy distribution function for dimensionality reduction and intrusion detection

Reducing the processing complexity is main challenge when dealing with intrusion detection systems. The processing complexity is reduced and efficiency is increased if we can reduce the number of dimensions so that only the minimum number of dimensions is retained. This work mainly targets on achieving dimensional reduction for intrusion detection using a novel membership function. The membership function is used to cluster the features in iterative incremental manner and obtains a reduced dimensional representation which retains the original distribution of process data. A case study is discussed to explore working of proposed model.
Appraising and Using Social Research in the Human Services: An Introduction for Social Work and Health Professionals

Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Appraising and Using Social Research in the Human Services. 3. Some Key Issues in Appraising Social Research. 4. Questionnaire Design for Quantitative Research: Structured Instruments. 5. Surveys and Sampling. 6. Experimental and Quasi Experimental Designs. 7. The Qualitative Interview. 8. Ethnography and Practice. 9. Content Analysis and Grounded Theory. 10. Qualitative Evaluation. 11. Multimethod Research. 12. Afterword. Glossary of Key Terms in Social Research. References. Index.
LPS-Challenged TNFα Production, Prostaglandin Secretion, and TNFα/TNFRs Expression in the Endometrium of Domestic Cats in Estrus or Diestrus, and in Cats with Pyometra or Receiving Medroxyprogesterone Acetate

Progesterone (P4) derivatives which are commonly used to block the cyclicity of domestic cats disturb the endocrine balance in the endometrium. The aims of this study were (i) to examine whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is responsible for enhancement of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) secretion by the feline endometrial epithelial and stromal cells in vitro, (ii) to know whether immunolocalization of TNFα/TNFR1 and TNFR2 differs in cats at estrus or diestrus, receiving medroxyprogesterone acetate and suffering from pyometra, and (iii) to determine if TNFα-challenged prostaglandin secretion is stopped by prostaglandin synthases inhibitors. A total of 37 domestic adult cats in estrus or diestrus, receiving octane medroxyprogesterone or having clinical symptoms of pyometra, were enrolled in this study. The results obtained showed a distinct increase in LPS-challenged TNFα secretion in endometrial epithelial, but not stromal cells. TNFα augmented PG secretion was blocked by phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and cyclooxygeanase-2 (COX-2), but not by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor. TNFα/TNFR1 and 2 protein expressions were limited mostly to the surface and glandular epithelium. TNFα/TNFRs protein was upregulated in the inflammatory uterus and hence may be involved in development of pathologic changes in the endometrial glands in cats receiving exogenous P4 as a hormonal contraceptive.
Authentic leadership, psychological capital, job satisfaction and intention to leave in state-owned enterprises

This study investigated the relations among authentic leadership, psychological capital, job satisfaction and intention to leave within state-owned enterprises in Namibia. Participants were a convenience sample of 452 employees (females = 49.6%, mean age = 37.36, SD = 8.57) state-owned enterprises in Namibia. They completed the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and Turnover Intention Scale. Structural equation modelling was utilised to investigate the relations among authentic leadership, psychological capital, job satisfaction and intention to leave. The findings indicated that authentic leadership was positively associated with psychological capital (i.e. experiences of hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience) and job satisfaction. Authentic leadership affected job satisfaction indirectly via psychological capital. Psychological capital had a medium to large indirect effect on employees' intentions to leave. The findings suggest that authentic leadership and psychological capital explain job satisfaction and retention of employees in state-owned enterprises.
Cognitive search : evolution, algorithms, and the brain

Over a century ago, William James proposed that people search through memory much as they rummage through a house looking for lost keys. We scour our environments for territory, food, mates, and information. We search for items in visual scenes, for historical facts, and for the best deals on Internet sites; we search for new friends to add to our social networks, and for solutions to novel problems. What we find is always governed by how we search and by the structure of the environment. This book explores how we search for resources in our minds and in the world. The authors examine the evolution and adaptive functions of search; the neural underpinnings of goal-searching mechanisms across species; psychological models of search in memory, decision making, and visual scenes; and applications of search behavior in highly complex environments such as the Internet. As the range of information, social contacts, and goods continues to expand, how well we are able to search and successfully find what we seek becomes increasingly important. At the same time, search offers cross-disciplinary insights to the scientific study of human cognition and its evolution. Combining perspectives from researchers across numerous domains, this book furthers our understanding of the relationship between search and the human mind.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning

Introducing sociocultural theory 1. Sociocultural contributions to understanding the foreign and second language classroom 2. Rethinking interaction in SLA: Developmentally appropriate assistance in the zone of proximal development and the acquisition of L2 grammar 3. Subjects speak out: How learners position themselves in a psycholinguistic task 4. The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue 5. Playfulness as mediation in communicative language teaching in a Vietnamese classroom 6. Social discursive constructions of self in L2 learning 7. Second language learning as participation and the (re)construction of selves 8. Side affects: The strategic development of professional satisfaction 9. The appropriation of gestures of the abstract by L2 learners 10. Second language acquisition theory and the truth(s) about relativity 11. From input to affordance: Social-interactive learning from an ecological perspective Bibliography Index
Selective Inhibition of Phosphodiesterase-4 Ameliorates Chronic Colitis and Prevents Intestinal Fibrosis

The phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitors may be an important target in the treatment of several inflammatory conditions. The anti-inflammatory effect of PDE4 inhibitors bears similarities with that of steroids, without interfering with the hypophysary-adrenal-axis. We compared the effect of rolipram, a selective PDE4 inhibitor, with steroids on the clinical course of experimental colitis induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS). Three groups of rats (n = 20) received TNBS. One group received methylprednisolone from day 7, another group received rolipram from the same day, and control group received no further treatment. On days 14 and 21 after TNBS instillation, sets of 10 rats underwent colonic dialysis to measure eicosanoid release. Colonic lesions were blindly scored, and colons were homogenized for quantification of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and collagen content. Concentration of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) in colonic tissue was also measured. Both treatments reduced significantly the eicosanoid release and MPO activity. On day 14, both rolipram and methylprednisolone significantly reduced TNF-α content, but TGF-β1 was only inhibited by rolipram. On day 21, lesion scores and collagen content were significantly reduced only in rolipram-treated group. In conclusion, PDE4 inhibition by rolipram markedly ameliorates the course of chronic colitis and it is superior to methylprednisolone in preventing late collagen deposition.
Distinct and sequential tissue-specific activities of the LIM-class homeobox gene Lim1 for tubular morphogenesis during kidney development

Kidney organogenesis requires the morphogenesis of epithelial tubules. Inductive interactions between the branching ureteric buds and the metanephric mesenchyme lead to mesenchyme-to-epithelium transitions and tubular morphogenesis to form nephrons, the functional units of the kidney. The LIM-class homeobox gene Lim1 is expressed in the intermediate mesoderm, nephric duct, mesonephric tubules, ureteric bud, pretubular aggregates and their derivatives. Lim1-null mice lack kidneys because of a failure of nephric duct formation, precluding studies of the role of Lim1 at later stages of kidney development. Here, we show that Lim1 functions in distinct tissue compartments of the developing metanephros for both proper development of the ureteric buds and the patterning of renal vesicles for nephron formation. These observations suggest that Lim1 has essential roles in multiple steps of epithelial tubular morphogenesis during kidney organogenesis. We also demonstrate that the nephric duct is essential for the elongation and maintenance of the adjacent Müllerian duct, the anlage of the female reproductive tract.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae MGS1 is essential in strains deficient in the RAD6‐dependent DNA damage tolerance pathway

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mgs1 protein, which possesses DNA‐dependent ATPase and single strand DNA annealing activities, plays a role in maintaining genomic stability. We found that mgs1 is synthetic lethal with rad6 and exhibits a synergistic growth defect with rad18 and rad5, which are members of the RAD6 epistasis group important for tolerance of DNA damage during DNA replication. The mgs1 mutant is not sensitive to DNA‐damaging agents, but the mgs1 rad5 double mutant has increased sensitivity to hydroxyurea and a greatly increased spontaneous mutation rate. Growth defects of mgs1 rad18 double mutants are suppressed by a mutation in SRS2, encoding a DNA helicase, or by overexpression of Rad52. More over, mgs1 mutation suppresses the temperature sensitivity of mutants in POL3, encoding DNA polymerase δ. mgs1 also suppresses the growth defect of a pol3 mutant caused by expression of Escherichia coli RuvC, a bacterial Holliday junction resolvase. These findings suggest that Mgs1 is essential for preventing genome instability caused by replication fork arrest in cells deficient in the RAD6 pathway and may modulate replication fork movement catalyzed by yeast polymerase δ.
Behavioral / Systems / Cognitive Selective Movement Preparation Is Subserved by Selective Increases in Corticomuscular Gamma-Band Coherence

Jan-Mathijs Schoffelen,1 Jasper Poort,2 Robert Oostenveld,1 and Pascal Fries1,3 1Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 2Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and 3Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, D-60528 Frankfurt, Germany
Predicting and Eliciting Addressee’s Emotion in Online Dialogue

While there have been many attempts to estimate the emotion of an addresser from her/his utterance, few studies have explored how her/his utterance affects the emotion of the addressee. This has motivated us to investigate two novel tasks: predicting the emotion of the addressee and generating a response that elicits a specific emotion in the addressee’s mind. We target Japanese Twitter posts as a source of dialogue data and automatically build training data for learning the predictors and generators. The feasibility of our approaches is assessed by using 1099 utterance-response pairs that are built by five human workers.
Contracting with Diversely Naive Agents

In standard contract-theoretic models, the underlying assumption is that agent types differ in their preference or cost parameters, and the principal's objective is to design contracts in order to screen this type. We study a contract-theoretic model in which the heterogeneity among agent types is of a “cognitive” nature. In our model, the agent has dynamically inconsistent preferences. Agent types differ only in their degree of “sophistication”, that is, their ability to forecast the change in their future tastes. We fully characterize the menu of contracts which the principal offers in order to screen the agent's sophistication. The menu does not exclude any type: it provides a perfect commitment device for relatively sophisticated types, and “exploitative” contracts which involve speculation with relatively naive types. More naive types are more heavily exploited and generate a greater profit for the principal. Our results allow us to interpret real-life contractual arrangements in a variety of industries. Copyright 2006, Wiley-Blackwell.
Multi-Asset Noisy Rational Expectations Equilibrium with Contingent Claims

We consider a noisy rational expectations equilibrium in a multi-asset economy populated by informed and uninformed investors, and noise traders. Informed investors privately observe an aggregate risk factor affecting the probabilities of different states of the economy. Uninformed investors attempt to extract that information from asset prices, but full revelation is prevented by noise traders. We relax the usual assumption of normally distributed asset payoffs and allow for assets with more general payoff distributions, including contingent claims, such as options and other derivatives. We show that assets reveal information about the risk factor only if they help span the exposure of probabilities of states to the risk factor. When the market is complete, we provide equilibrium asset prices and optimal portfolios of investors in closed form. In incomplete markets, we derive prices and portfolios in terms of easily computable inverse functions.
Macrophage inflammatory protein-2 predicts acute lung injury in endotoxemia.

BACKGROUND Proinflammatory mediators that include tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and anti-inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-10 (IL-10) modulate the immune response to endotoxemia. IL-10 downregulates the production of TNF-alpha and MIP-2. Acute lung injury may occur secondary to neutrophil chemotaxis mediated by chemokine MIP-2. We studied the temporal relationship of TNF-alpha, MIP-2, and IL-10 in rat endotoxemia and correlation of MIP-2 concentrations with acute lung injury. METHODS Ten ventilated rats were randomized to receive an intravenous infusion of 2 mg/kg Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (n = 6) or saline placebo (n = 4). Blood pressure was continuously monitored and arterial blood was obtained for lactate, blood gas, TNF-alpha, IL-10, and MIP-2 measurements at baseline, 2, 4, and 5.5 hours after LPS or saline infusion. RESULTS Endotoxemia resulted in hypotension, lactic acidemia, and increased alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient (A-a O2 gradient) compared with the placebo group. TNF-alpha, MIP-2, and IL-10 levels were increased 2 hours after endotoxemia. Subsequently, TNF-alpha levels declined while IL-10 and MIP-2 levels remained elevated. Control rats had no significant increase in cytokine production at any time point. MIP-2 concentrations correlated with A-a O2 gradient, an indicator of lung injury (r = 0.56, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS MIP-2, possibly released by TNF-alpha stimulation of macrophages, is associated with acute lung injury possibly by inducing neutrophil chemotaxis. IL-10 may exert its counter-inflammatory response by inhibiting the release of TNF-alpha in endotoxemia.