Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
eading words , seeing style : The neuropsychology of word , font and andwriting perception

The reading of text is predominantly a left hemisphere function. However, it is also possible to process text for attributes other than word or letter identity, such as style of font or handwriting. Anecdotal observations have suggested that processing the latter may involve the right hemisphere. We devised a test that, using the identical stimuli, required subjects first to match on the basis of word identity and second to match on the basis of script style. We presented two versions, one using various computer fonts, and the other using the handwriting of different individuals. We tested four subjects with unilateral lesions who had been well characterized by neuropsychological testing and structural and/or functional MRI. We found that two prosopagnosic subjects with right lateral fusiform damage eliminating the fusiform face area and likely the right visual word form area were impaired in completion times and/or accuracy
The Depoliticization of Inequality and Redistribution: Explaining the Decline of Class Voting

The collapse of the class basis of party choice in Britain since the 1980s has been assumed to result from the diminishing distinctiveness of social classes in the postindustrial world. We argue instead that class dealignment results from the impact of an ideologically restricted choice set on the electoral relevance of values concerning inequality and redistribution. As these values provide a mechanism through which class divisions translate into differences in party choice, their declining relevance produces a concomitant decline in the effect of class position. These propositions are tested using British survey data covering the period from 1983 to 2010. We show that a supply-side constriction in the choices presented to voters, rather than the weakening of class divisions, accounts for the declining political relevance of redistributive values and the class basis of party choice. The politics of class influences class voting, not vice versa.
Correlative Ultrastructural Distribution of Neurotensin Receptor Proteins and Binding Sites in the Rat Substantia Nigra

Neurotensin (NT) produces various stimulatory effects on dopaminergic neurons of the rat substantia nigra. To gain insight into the subcellular substrate for these effects, we compared by electron microscopy the distribution of immunoreactive high-affinity NT receptor proteins (NTRH) with that of high-affinity 125I-NT binding sites in this region of rat brain. Quantitative analysis showed a predominant association of immunogold and radioautographic labels with somata and dendrites of presumptive dopaminergic neurons, and a more modest localization in myelinated and unmyelinated axons and astrocytic leaflets. The distributions of immunoreactive NTRH and125I-NT binding sites along somatodendritic plasma membranes were highly correlated and homogeneous, suggesting that membrane-targeted NTRH proteins were functional and predominantly extrasynaptic. Abundant immunocytochemically and radioautographically labeled receptors were also detected inside perikarya and dendrites. Within perikarya, these were found in comparable proportions over membranes of smooth endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus, suggesting that newly synthesized receptor proteins already possess the molecular and conformational properties required for effective ligand binding. By contrast, dendrites showed a proportionally higher concentration of immunolabeled than radiolabeled intracellular receptors. A fraction of these immunoreactive receptors were found in endosomes, suggesting that they had undergone ligand-induced internalization and were under a molecular conformation and/or in a physical location that precluded their recognition by and/or access to exogenous ligand. Our results provide the first evidence that electron microscopic immunocytochemistry of the NT receptor identifies sites for both the binding and trafficking of NT in the substantia nigra.
Title: Auditory-induced Presence in Mediated Environments and Related Technology

1 Auditory induced presence. 2 1.1 Auditory presence . 2 1.2 Presence and a dual-process model . 3 2 Presence in auditory-visual virtual environments: previous findings . 5 3 Effects of levels of sound representation and technology on presence. 7 3.1 Multichannel reproduction . 7 3.2 Headphone reproduction . 8 3.3 Bone conducted sound and augmented reality applications. 8 3.4 Auditory telepresence applications . 9 3.5 Virtual acoustics synthesis and optimization . 9 4 Presence oriented design in spatial sound reproduction. 10 5 General conclusions . 13 6 Acknoledgements . 13 7 References . 13
Genetic Variability and Selection Criteria in Rice Mutant Lines as Revealed by Quantitative Traits

Genetic based knowledge of different vegetative and yield traits play a major role in varietal improvement of rice. Genetic variation gives room for recombinants which are essential for the development of a new variety in any crop. Based on this background, this work was carried out to evaluate genetic diversity of derived mutant lines and establish relationships between their yield and yield components using multivariate analysis. To achieve this objective, two field trials were carried out on 45 mutant rice genotypes to evaluate their growth and yield traits. Data were taken on vegetative traits and yield and its components, while genotypic and phenotypic coefficients, variance components, expected genetic advance, and heritability were calculated. All the genotypes showed variations for vegetative traits and yield and its components. Also, there was positive relationship between the quantitative traits and the final yield with the exception of number of tillers. Finally, the evaluated genotypes were grouped into five major clusters based on the assessed traits with the aid of UPGMA dendrogram. So hybridization of group I with group V or group VI could be used to attain higher heterosis or vigour among the genotypes. Also, this evaluation could be useful in developing reliable selection indices for important agronomic traits in rice.
Survival, Classifications, and Desmosomal Plaque Genes in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Novel biomarkers are required to improve prognostic predictions obtained with lung cancer staging systems. This study of 62 surgically-treated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients had two objectives: i) to compare the predictive value of T-stage classifications between the 6th and 7th editions of the Tumor, Node, and Metastasis staging system (TNM); and ii) to examine the association of Pkp1 and/or Krt15 gene expression with survival and outcomes. Multivariate and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed, examining the relationship of survival with T-stage, recurrence, and TNM-stage (by each TNM edition) and with the single/combined expression of Pkp1 and/or Krt15 genes. Five-year survival rates only significantly differed as a function of T-stage in patients without recurrence when estimated using the 6th edition of the TNM classification and only in patients in pathologic TNM-stage IA using the 7th. Overall survival for patients with elevated expression of both genes was 13.5 months in those with adenocarcinoma and 34.6 months in those with squamous cell carcinoma. Overall survival was 30.4 months in patients with Pkp1 gene upregulation and 30.9 months in those with Krt15 gene upregulation. In conclusion, survival estimations as a function of T-staging differed between the 6th and 7th editions of TNM. Overall survival differed according to the expression of Pkp1 and/or Krt15 genes, although this relationship did not reach statistical significance.
Stability and Growth in Europe: Towards a Better Pact

The fiscal policy framework of the EMU is in a states of crisis. Since the start of EMU, fiscal conditions in some member states have slipped considerably beyond the limits set by the Maastricht Treaty and the Stability and Growth Pact. It is clear that the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact has failed to preclude excessive deficits. There is no shortage of proposals to reform the current fiscal framework in this crisis situation. They range from calls for softening their implementation, and to proposals for closer coordination of national fiscal policies. None of these proposals offers a convincing solution to the problem at the heart of the current crisis: how to balance the need for effective long-run fiscal stability in EMU with the need for short-run flexibility of fiscal policy in the member states. After a detailed analysis of the virtues and defects of the current fiscal framework, this report presents a proposal for reform that addresses this issue. The authors argue that EMU should move away from rigid fiscal rules for annual deficits towards a more judgmental process of monitoring the sustainability of fiscal policies. This approach is guided by three principles: independence, transparency, and legitimacy. Together wit the ability to assess the fiscal situation and outlook of each euro-area member state, they are the keys to designing a framework that provides enough flexibility and, at the same time, can build the required credibility and political support. The authors propose the creation of a Sustainability Council for the EMU, and independent body with the sole statutory task of safeguarding the sustainability of public finances in the euro area. The Sustainability Council regularly and openly reports to the public and the European Parliament its assessment of the member states' fiscal policies, taking into account past performance, current perspectives and the future course of fiscal policies. Its mandate is the counterpart of the ECB's principal task of maintaining price stability. However, the Sustainability Council has no operative role in fiscal policy; it relies solely on the pressure of informed public opinion to discipline national governments. The use of the instruments of fiscal policy is entirely left to the national governments, and the Sustainability Council can only be conceived as a judge of national public finances.
The Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Decent Work: The Case of the Philippine Sugar Mill Workers

The impact of trade liberalisation on the structure and nature of work is a divisive topic. On the one hand, there are those who support trade liberalisation by pointing to the potential employment generation (Kelly & Prokhovnik, 2004) and the upward pressure on workers’ skills levels (Mander & Goldsmith, 1996). In contrast, there are those who remain critical and argue that trade liberalisation results in job losses, downward pressure on working conditions and limited opportunity for unskilled workers (Solidar, 2007c; 2007e). Impacts that indicate an improvement in decent work are often framed as ‘social upgrading’ while any deterioration in decent work is seen to result in ‘social downgrading’. Research in this field, while growing, tends to assess the impact of trade liberalisation from a national, sectoral or organisational perspective, while little is known of the workers’ perspective. Adopting a worker perspective, this thesis examines the impact of trade liberalisation on decent work among sugar mill workers in the Philippines. Using a qualitative single case study method, the study draws on the changes in employment and work conditions in a sugar mill when liberal trade policies were introduced. The study uses both primary and secondary data. Primary data were taken from representatives of the workers, the employer and the government sector at national and workplace levels. The study highlights the trade-offs between indicators of decent work and finds that decent work can be influenced by institutional frameworks in addition to employment strategies. Trade liberalisation resulted in numerical flexibility where permanent workers were reduced while contractual workers were hired as cost reduction measures and a way of avoiding labour laws that are protective of permanent workers. A shift of employment demand toward semi-skilled or skilled workers was also found. Thus, this research directs the attention of future research on trade liberalisation and decent work towards more vulnerable workers such as contractual workers. Furthermore, it highlights the need to increase the coverage of legislative protection to include non-permanent workers. Lastly, it challenges the Philippine government to increase the skill level of its workforce to facilitate employment generation.
Current Situation and Perspectives of Clinical Study in Integrative Medicine in China

Integrative medicine is not only an innovative China model in clinical practice, but also the bridge for TCM toward the world. In the past thirty years, great achievements have been made in integrative medicine researches, especially in clinical practice. The clinical achievements mainly include the following three: innovating methodology of disease-syndrome combination, excavating the classical theory in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), preventing and curing refractory diseases. The development ideas and strategies of integrative medicine for future mainly include (a) standing on frontier field of international medicine and improving the capability of preventing and curing refractory diseases; (b) moving prevention and control strategy forward and improving the curative effect of common and frequent disease; (c) excavating the classical theory of TCM and broadening the treatment system of modern medicine; (d) improving the innovation level of new high effective drugs on the basis of classical prescriptions and herbs in TCM; (e) rerecognizing the theory of formula corresponding to syndrome in TCM and enhancing the level of clinical research evidence based on evidence-based medicine. Integrative medicine will do obtain greater achievements in creating new medicine and pharmacology and make more tremendous contributions for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and human health care.
Binary Matroids and Quantum Probability Distributions

We characterise the probability distributions that arise from quantum circuits all of whose gates commute, and show when these distributions can be classically simulated efficiently. We consider also marginal distributions and the computation of correlation coefficients, and draw connections between the simulation of stabiliser circuits and the combinatorics of representable matroids, as developed in the 1990s.
Asymptotically kn Strict Pseudocontractive Mappings in the Intermediate Sense

It is studied that the asymptotically kn-strict pseudo contractive mapping in the intermediate sense and proved the modnified Mann iteration process with errors converges weakly to a fixed point of which is not necessarily Lipschitzian. The results presented extend and improve the corresponding results of [1-6] and many others.
Structural breaks in the parameter estimates of the determinants of capital structure: Some evidence from the JSE

Purpose - This paper aims to test the effects of financial reforms on the structural stability of the parameter estimates in the determinants of capital structure. Design/methodology/approach - A panel of 100 non-financial companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is constructed, and a panel least squares estimation technique is used to test for lagged, current and leading structural breaks in the firm specific determinants of leverage. Findings - The results show that structural reforms have a significant role in influencing the empirical relationship between leverage and its determinants. Specifically, the lifting of international sanctions and stock market liberalisation have a significant impact on the stability of the profitability, growth and tax rate variables for the book and market values of the debt to equity ratio. Furthermore, when the total and short term debt ratios are considered, only stock market liberalisation appears to have a significant influence on the stability of the profitability parameter. Originality/value - This paper adds to the existing body of literature on capital structure by documenting the extent of structural breaks in the parameter estimates of the relationship between leverage and firm specific determinants of capital structure for listed non-financial firms in South Africa.
Mesangial matrix-activated monocytes express functional scavenger receptors and accumulate intracellular lipid.

BACKGROUND Monocyte recruitment into the mesangium and foam cell formation are recognized features of glomerular injury. External signals encountered by infiltrating mononuclear cells may determine their behaviour and thereby potentially influence disease outcome. Having previously demonstrated that monocytes are activated by exposure to matrix secreted by mesangial cells, we set out to determine whether matrix activation of monocytes led to expression of a macrophage phenotype. METHODS THP-1 mononuclear cells were incubated for up to 120 h (5 days) with 500 microg/ml solublized matrix extracted from cultured human mesangial cells or with phorbol myristate ester (PMA-positive control) or albumin (negative control). Expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) and of scavenger receptors was used as a marker of monocyte to macrophage differentiation. The presence of functional scavenger receptors was examined by assessing cellular uptake of Dil-labelled acetylated (Ac)-LDL by flow cytometry. Matrix-mediated LDL oxidation was assessed using agarose gel electrophoresis to determine mobility shifts. RESULTS Matrix activation was associated with an increase in the expression of PPAR-gamma, scavenger receptor-B (CD36) and scavenger receptor-A mRNA with a corresponding increase in PPAR-gamma protein. Matrix-activated cells incubated with Ac-LDL demonstrated foam cell formation, whilst incubation with Dil-labelled Ac-LDL led to an increase in mean fluorescence intensity of 373 +/- 34.8% (P < 0.005) as compared to albumin (100%) and PMA (423 +/- 55.8%) (P < 0.005). This could be inhibited by the addition of excess unlabelled ligand, suggesting specific involvement of scavenger receptors. Incubation of LDL with mesangial matrix in the absence of mesangial cells or monocytes led to enhanced electrophoretic mobility of the recovered lipoprotein on agarose gel, an effect that could be inhibited by the addition of anti-oxidants. CONCLUSION Exposure to mesangial cell matrix induces expression of monocyte characteristics associated with a macrophage phenotype and promotes oxidation of LDL, thereby converting this lipoprotein to a scavenger receptor ligand. These observations may help to explain foam cell formation in the mesangium in the context of glomerular disease.
Optimal Bin Number for Equal Frequency Discretizations in Supervized Learning

While real data often comes in mixed format, discrete and continuous, many supervised induction algorithms require discrete data. Although efficient supervised discretization methods are available, the unsupervised Equal Frequency discretization method is still widely used by the statistician both for data exploration and data preparation. In this paper, we propose an automatic method, based on a Bayesian approach, to optimize the number of bins for Equal Frequency discretizations in the context of supervised learning. We introduce a space of Equal Frequency discretization models and a prior distribution defined on this model space. This results in the definition of a Bayes optimal evaluation criterion for Equal Frequency discretizations. We then propose an optimal search algorithm whose runtime is super-linear in the sample size. Extensive comparative experiments demonstrate that the method works quite well in many cases.
Phosphocreatine Interacts with Phospholipids, Affects Membrane Properties and Exerts Membrane-Protective Effects

A broad spectrum of beneficial effects has been ascribed to creatine (Cr), phosphocreatine (PCr) and their cyclic analogues cyclo-(cCr) and phospho-cyclocreatine (PcCr). Cr is widely used as nutritional supplement in sports and increasingly also as adjuvant treatment for pathologies such as myopathies and a plethora of neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, Cr and its cyclic analogues have been proposed for anti-cancer treatment. The mechanisms involved in these pleiotropic effects are still controversial and far from being understood. The reversible conversion of Cr and ATP into PCr and ADP by creatine kinase, generating highly diffusible PCr energy reserves, is certainly an important element. However, some protective effects of Cr and analogues cannot be satisfactorily explained solely by effects on the cellular energy state. Here we used mainly liposome model systems to provide evidence for interaction of PCr and PcCr with different zwitterionic phospholipids by applying four independent, complementary biochemical and biophysical assays: (i) chemical binding assay, (ii) surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR), (iii) solid-state 31P-NMR, and (iv) differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). SPR revealed low affinity PCr/phospholipid interaction that additionally induced changes in liposome shape as indicated by NMR and SPR. Additionally, DSC revealed evidence for membrane packing effects by PCr, as seen by altered lipid phase transition. Finally, PCr efficiently protected against membrane permeabilization in two different model systems: liposome-permeabilization by the membrane-active peptide melittin, and erythrocyte hemolysis by the oxidative drug doxorubicin, hypoosmotic stress or the mild detergent saponin. These findings suggest a new molecular basis for non-energy related functions of PCr and its cyclic analogue. PCr/phospholipid interaction and alteration of membrane structure may not only protect cellular membranes against various insults, but could have more general implications for many physiological membrane-related functions that are relevant for health and disease.
An Integrated Model of Lexico-Semantic and Conceptual Processing for the Treatment of Natural Language Metaphors

Research into the computational properties of the human metaphor faculty can be categorized according to two different perspectives: the lexico-semantic approach, most favoured by linguists, which sees metaphor as a predominantly linguistic phenomenon and thus attempts to model it as such; and the conceptual approach, which sees metaphor as a deep-seated cognitive agency that systematically organizes much, if not all, of our conceptual architecture. Both of these perspectives have brought different algorithmic and representational apparatus to bear on the task of metaphor interpretation and generation, but each is incomplete in itself. The lexico-semantic approach provides a good account of how different word combinations can give rise to creative figurality, while the conceptual approach explicates the deep structural mechanics of metaphor and analogy, connecting both into the breadth of world knowledge. This paper presents an integrated view of metaphor that unifies the lexico-semantic and conceptual approaches, explaining how metaphor is governed both by word and world knowledge. Emerging from this synthesis is a new role for metaphor in the workings of case grammars and the issue of case / filler compatibility.