Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PXR Pharmacogenetics: Association of Haplotypes with Hepatic CYP3A4 and ABCB1 Messenger RNA Expression and Doxorubicin Clearance in Asian Breast Cancer Patients

Purpose: To characterize pregnane X receptor (PXR) polymorphic variants in healthy Asian populations [Chinese, Malay and Indian (n = 100 each)], and to investigate the association between PXR haplotypes and hepatic mRNA expression of PXR and its downstream target genes, CYP3A4 and ABCB1, as well as their influence on the clearance of doxorubicin in Asian breast cancer patients. Experimental Design:PXR genotyping was done by direct DNA sequencing, and PXR haplotypes and haplotype clusters were derived by expectation-maximization algorithm. Genotype-phenotype correlations were done using Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Significant interethnic variations were observed in PXR pharmacogenetics among the three Asian ethnic groups. The expression of PXR mRNA in liver tissues harboring the PXR*1B haplotype clusters was 4-fold lower compared with the non-PXR*1B (*1A + *1C) haplotype clusters [PXR*1B versus PXR*1A; P = 0.015; PXR*1B versus PXR*1C; P = 0.023]. PXR*1B-bearing liver tissues were associated with significantly lower expression of CYP3A4 (PXR*1B versus non-PXR*1B, P = 0.030) and ABCB1 (PXR*1B versus non-PXR*1B, P = 0.060) compared with non–PXR*1B-bearing liver tissues. Doxorubicin clearance in breast cancer patients harboring the PXR*1B haplotypes was significantly lower compared with patients carrying the non-PXR*1B haplotypes [PXR*1B versus non-PXR*1B, CL/BSA (L h−1 m−2): 20.84 (range, 8.68-29.24) versus 24.85 (range, 13.80-55.66), P = 0.022]. Conclusions: This study showed that PXR*1B was associated with reduced hepatic mRNA expression of PXR and its downstream targets, CYP3A4 and ABCB1. Genotype-phenotype correlates in breast cancer patients showed PXR*1B to be significantly associated with lower doxorubicin clearance, suggesting that PXR haplotype constitution could be important in influencing interindividual and interethnic variations in disposition of its putative drug substrates.
Age-related positivity effects and autobiographical memory detail: Evidence from a past/future source memory task

This study investigated whether the age-related positivity effect strengthens specific event details in autobiographical memory. Participants retrieved past events or imagined future events in response to neutral or emotional cue words. Older adults rated each kind of event more positively than younger adults, demonstrating an age-related positivity effect. We next administered a source memory test. Participants were given the same cue words and tried to retrieve the previously generated event and its source (past or future). Accuracy on this source test should depend on the recollection of specific details about the earlier generated events, providing a more objective measure of those details than subjective ratings. We found that source accuracy was greater for positive than negative future events in both age groups, suggesting that positive future events were more detailed. In contrast, valence did not affect source accuracy for past events in either age group, suggesting that positive and negative past events were equally detailed. Although ageing can bias people to focus on positive aspects of experience, this bias does not appear to strengthen the availability of details for positive relative to negative past events.
Does invariant recognition predict tuning of neurons in sensory cortex ?

Tuning properties of simple cells in cortical V1 can be described in terms of a “universal shape” characterized by parameter values which hold across different species ([12], [33], [22]). This puzzling set of findings begs for a general explanation grounded on an evolutionarily important computational function of the visual cortex. We ask here whether these properties are predicted by the hypothesis that the goal of the ventral stream is to compute for each image a “signature” vector which is invariant to geometric transformations as postulated in [30] – with the the additional assumption that the mechanism for continuously learning and maintaining invariance consists of the memory storage of a sequence of neural images of a few objects undergoing transformations (such as translation, scale changes and rotation) via Hebbian synapses. For V1 simple cells the simplest version of this hypothesis is the online Oja rule which implies that the tuning of neurons converges to the eigenvectors of the covariance of their input. Starting with a set of dendritic fields spanning a range of sizes, simulations supported by a direct mathematical analysis show that the solution of the associated “cortical equation” provides a set of Gabor-like wavelets with parameter values that are in broad agreement with the physiology data. We show however that the simple version of the Hebbian assumption does not predict all the physiological properties. The same theoretical framework also provides predictions about the tuning of cells in V4 and in the face patch AL [17] which are in qualitative agreement with physiology data. 1 Computational goal and mechanism The original work of Hubel and Wiesel, as well as subsequent research, left open the questions of (1) what is the function of the ventral stream in visual cortex and (2) how are the properties of its neurons related to it. Poggio et al.’s so-called “magic” theory [29, 30] – here “M-theory” – proposes
Action and Emotion Recognition from Point Light Displays: An Investigation of Gender Differences

Folk psychology advocates the existence of gender differences in socio-cognitive functions such as ‘reading’ the mental states of others or discerning subtle differences in body-language. A female advantage has been demonstrated for emotion recognition from facial expressions, but virtually nothing is known about gender differences in recognizing bodily stimuli or body language. The aim of the present study was to investigate potential gender differences in a series of tasks, involving the recognition of distinct features from point light displays (PLDs) depicting bodily movements of a male and female actor. Although recognition scores were considerably high at the overall group level, female participants were more accurate than males in recognizing the depicted actions from PLDs. Response times were significantly higher for males compared to females on PLD recognition tasks involving (i) the general recognition of ‘biological motion’ versus ‘non-biological’ (or ‘scrambled’ motion); or (ii) the recognition of the ‘emotional state’ of the PLD-figures. No gender differences were revealed for a control test (involving the identification of a color change in one of the dots) and for recognizing the gender of the PLD-figure. In addition, previous findings of a female advantage on a facial emotion recognition test (the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test’ (Baron-Cohen, 2001)) were replicated in this study. Interestingly, a strong correlation was revealed between emotion recognition from bodily PLDs versus facial cues. This relationship indicates that inter-individual or gender-dependent differences in recognizing emotions are relatively generalized across facial and bodily emotion perception. Moreover, the tight correlation between a subject's ability to discern subtle emotional cues from PLDs and the subject's ability to basically discriminate biological from non-biological motion provides indications that differences in emotion recognition may - at least to some degree – be related to more basic differences in processing biological motion per se.
Tidal signatures of the thermospheric mass density and zonal wind at midlatitude: CHAMP and GRACE observations

Abstract. By using the accelerometer measurements from CHAMP and GRACE satellites, the tidal signatures of the thermospheric mass density and zonal wind at midlatitudes have been analyzed in this study. The results show that the mass density and zonal wind at southern midlatitudes are dominated by a longitudinal wave-1 pattern. The most prominent tidal components in mass density and zonal wind are the diurnal tides D0 and DW2 and the semidiurnal tides SW1 and SW3. This is consistent with the tidal signatures in the F region electron density at midlatitudes as reported by Xiong and Luhr (2014). These same tidal components are observed both in the thermospheric and ionospheric quantities, supporting a mechanism that the non-migrating tides in the upper atmosphere are excited in situ by ion–neutral interactions at midlatitudes, consistent with the modeling results of Jones Jr. et al. (2013). We regard the thermospheric dynamics as the main driver for the electron density tidal structures. An example is the in-phase variation of D0 between electron density and mass density in both hemispheres. Further research including coupled atmospheric models is probably needed for explaining the similarities and differences between thermospheric and ionospheric tidal signals at midlatitudes.
Budgeted Bandit Problems with Continuous Random Costs

We study the budgeted bandit problem, where each arm is associated with both a reward and a cost. In a budgeted bandit problem, the objective is to design an arm pulling algorithm in order to maximize the total reward before the budget runs out. In this work, we study both multi-armed bandits and linear bandits, and focus on the setting with continuous random costs. We propose an upper condence bound based algorithm for multi-armed bandits and a condence ball based algorithm for linear bandits, and prove logarithmic regret bounds for both algorithms. We conduct simulations on the proposed algorithms, which verify the eectiveness of our proposed algorithms.
Examining the relationship between personality, organizational political skill and perceived team performance in a multinational military staff exercise context

Abstract Military staffs are composed of many smaller teams that are interdependent upon each other for a positive functioning level of the whole staff. Many factors can improve or harm the harmony of the staff. Recently, there has been an increased interest in the soft factors that may affect team performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions, political skill and perceived team performance in a multinational staff training event. The sample included 185 military staff officers (49% response rate). The results indicated that the personality dimension Emotional stability and Political skill had a limited, yet statistically significant, predictive power on team performance. Practical considerations and future research directions are suggested.
Scumbags! An ethnography of the interactions between street-based youth and police officers

ABSTRACT The interactions between young, disadvantaged, urban men and the rank-and-file officers who police them should be understood as layered structural, cultural and emotional phenomena. Using data from a multi-dimensional ethnographic project, this paper demonstrates that structural issues manifest in cultural scripts which place both groups in confrontation with each other. Within a tightly bound geographic district, competitiveness between them can be animated by intense emotionality. Frustration, humiliation, disdain and the potential for elation push both parties into behaviours that cannot be understood through discretion and confidence models of decision-making alone. Ultimately, through recognising how questions of inclusion/exclusion play out in simultaneously structural, cultural and emotive ways, the problems generated by negative interactions between the two groups might be meaningfully understood.
Consistent Shape Maps via Semidefinite Programming

Recent advances in shape matching have shown that jointly optimizing the maps among the shapes in a collection can lead to significant improvements when compared to estimating maps between pairs of shapes in isolation. These methods typically invoke a cycle‐consistency criterion — the fact that compositions of maps along a cycle of shapes should approximate the identity map. This condition regularizes the network and allows for the correction of errors and imperfections in individual maps. In particular, it encourages the estimation of maps between dissimilar shapes by compositions of maps along a path of more similar shapes.
Artificial neural networks applied to arc welding process modeling and control

The authors explain some basic concepts relating to neural networks and discuss how they can be used to model weld bead geometry in terms of the parameters of the equipment selected to produce the weld. Approaches to utilization of neural networks in process control are discussed as well. The need for modeling transient as well as static characteristics of physical systems for closed-loop control is pointed out, and an approach for achieving this is presented. The performance of neural networks for modeling is presented and evaluated using actual welding data. It is concluded that the accuracy of neural network modeling is fully comparable to the accuracy achieved by more traditional modeling schemes. <<ETX>>
Instantly decodable network coding for delay reduction in cooperative data exchange systems

This paper investigates the use of instantly decodable network coding (IDNC) for minimizing the mean decoding delay in multicast cooperative data exchange systems, where the clients cooperate with each other to obtain their missing packets. Here, IDNC is used to reduce the decoding delay of each transmission across all clients. We first introduce a new framework to find the optimum client and coded packet that result in the minimum mean decoding delay. However, since finding the optimum solution of the proposed framework is NP-hard, we further propose a heuristic algorithm that aims to minimize the lower bound on the expected decoding delay in each transmission. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is assessed through simulations.
Modulatory effects of inhibition on persistent activity in a cortical microcircuit model

Neocortical network activity is generated through a dynamic balance between excitation, provided by pyramidal neurons, and inhibition, provided by interneurons. Imbalance of the excitation/inhibition ratio has been identified in several neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia, autism and epilepsy, which also present with other cognitive deficits and symptoms associated with prefrontal cortical (PFC) dysfunction. We undertook a computational approach to study how changes in the excitation/inhibition balance in a PFC microcircuit model affect the properties of persistent activity, considered the cellular correlate of working memory function in PFC. To this end, we constructed a PFC microcircuit, consisting of pyramidal neuron models and all three different interneuron types: fast-spiking (FS), regular-spiking (RS), and irregular-spiking (IS) interneurons. Persistent activity was induced in the microcircuit model with a stimulus to the proximal apical dendrites of the pyramidal neuron models, and its properties were analyzed, such as the induction profile, the interspike intervals (ISIs) and neuronal synchronicity. Our simulations showed that (a) the induction but not the firing frequency or neuronal synchronicity is modulated by changes in the NMDA-to-AMPA ratio on FS interneuron model, (b) removing or decreasing the FS model input to the pyramidal neuron models greatly limited the biophysical modulation of persistent activity induction, decreased the ISIs and neuronal synchronicity during persistent activity, (c) the induction and firing properties could not be altered by the addition of other inhibitory inputs to the soma (from RS or IS models), and (d) the synchronicity change could be reversed by the addition of other inhibitory inputs to the soma, but beyond the levels of the control network. Thus, generic somatic inhibition acts as a pacemaker of persistent activity and FS specific inhibition modulates the output of the pacemaker.
Chitosan-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles Prepared in One Step by Reverse Microemulsion Precipitation

Chitosan-coated magnetic nanoparticles (CMNP) were obtained at 70 °C and 80 °C in a one-step method, which comprises precipitation in reverse microemulsion in the presence of low chitosan concentration in the aqueous phase. X-ray diffractometry showed that CMNP obtained at both temperatures contain a mixture of magnetite and maghemite nanoparticles with ≈4.5 nm in average diameter, determined by electron microscopy, which suggests that precipitation temperature does not affect the particle size. The chitosan coating on nanoparticles was inferred from Fourier transform infrared spectrometry measurements; furthermore, the carbon concentration in the nanoparticles allowed an estimation of chitosan content in CMNP of 6%-7%. CMNP exhibit a superparamagnetic behavior with relatively high final magnetization values (≈49-53 emu/g) at 20 kOe and room temperature, probably due to a higher magnetite content in the mixture of magnetic nanoparticles. In addition, a slight direct effect of precipitation temperature on magnetization was identified, which was ascribed to a possible higher degree of nanoparticles crystallinity as temperature at which they are obtained increases. Tested for Pb2+ removal from a Pb(NO3)2 aqueous solution, CMNP showed a recovery efficacy of 100%, which makes them attractive for using in heavy metals ion removal from waste water.
Perceived Triad Distance: Evidence Supporting the Psychological Reality of Neo-Riemannian Transformations

This article examines two sets of empirical data for the psychological reality of neo-Riemannian transformations. Previous research (summarized, for example, in Krumhansl 1990) has established the influence of parallel, P, relative, R, and dominant, D, transformations on cognitive representations of musical pitch. The present article considers whether empirical data also support the psychological reality of the Leittonweschsel, L, transformation. Lewin (1982, 1987) began working with the D P R L family to which were added a few other diatonic operations. Subsequently, Hyer (1989) reduced the transformations to the family consisting of only the D P R L transformations. Cohn (1996, 1997) has provided an extensive theoretical analysis of neo-Riemannian transformations excluding the dominant, D, transformation. Thus, one of the issues that arises out of this literature is whether the D transformation is needed given that, as will be shown next, it is equivalent to a combination of R and L transformations.
Call Cultures in Orang-Utans?

Background Several studies suggested great ape cultures, arguing that human cumulative culture presumably evolved from such a foundation. These focused on conspicuous behaviours, and showed rich geographic variation, which could not be attributed to known ecological or genetic differences. Although geographic variation within call types (accents) has previously been reported for orang-utans and other primate species, we examine geographic variation in the presence/absence of discrete call types (dialects). Because orang-utans have been shown to have geographic variation that is not completely explicable by genetic or ecological factors we hypothesized that this will be similar in the call domain and predict that discrete call type variation between populations will be found. Methodology/Principal Findings We examined long-term behavioural data from five orang-utan populations and collected fecal samples for genetic analyses. We show that there is geographic variation in the presence of discrete types of calls. In exactly the same behavioural context (nest building and infant retrieval), individuals in different wild populations customarily emit either qualitatively different calls or calls in some but not in others. By comparing patterns in call-type and genetic similarity, we suggest that the observed variation is not likely to be explained by genetic or ecological differences. Conclusion/Significance These results are consistent with the potential presence of ‘call cultures’ and suggest that wild orang-utans possess the ability to invent arbitrary calls, which spread through social learning. These findings differ substantially from those that have been reported for primates before. First, the results reported here are on dialect and not on accent. Second, this study presents cases of production learning whereas most primate studies on vocal learning were cases of contextual learning. We conclude with speculating on how these findings might assist in bridging the gap between vocal communication in non-human primates and human speech.
Formal Distributional Semantics: Introduction to the Special Issue

Formal Semantics and Distributional Semantics are two very influential semantic frameworks in Computational Linguistics. Formal Semantics is based on a symbolic tradition and centered around the inferential properties of language. Distributional Semantics is statistical and data-driven, and focuses on aspects of meaning related to descriptive content. The two frameworks are complementary in their strengths, and this has motivated interest in combining them into an overarching semantic framework: a “Formal Distributional Semantics. ” Given the fundamentally different natures of the two paradigms, however, building an integrative framework poses significant theoretical and engineering challenges. The present issue of Computational Linguistics advances the state of the art in Formal Distributional Semantics; this introductory article explains the motivation behind it and summarizes the contributions of previous work on the topic, providing the necessary background for the articles that follow.
The Solow Model in the Empirics of Cross-Country Growth

Translated to a cross-country context, the Solow model (Solow 1956) would predict that international differences in steady state output per person are due to international differences in technology such that the capital output ratio is constant for international differences in steady state capital intensities. Most of the cross-country growth literature that refers to the Solow model has employed a specification where steady state differences in output per person are due to international differences in the capital output ratio for a constant level of technology. My empirical results show that the cross-country data can also be summarized by an alternative empirical specification of the Solow model that uses a measure of institutional technology as an explanatory variable and treats the capital output ratio as part of the regression constant. The steady state implications of the Solow model with regard to international technology differences also appear to matter for empirical studies of trade. In contrast to Hicks neutral technology differences, Harrod neutral technology differences may explain why countries have different factor intensities and end up in different cones of specialization.