Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Please Scroll down for Article Social Neuroscience Emotional States Influence the Neural Processing of Affective Language Emotional States Influence the Neural Processing of Affective Language

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. The present study investigated whether emotional states influence the neural processing of language. Event-related potentials recorded the brain's response to positively and negatively valenced words (e.g., love vs. death) while participants were directly induced into positive and negative moods. ERP electrodes in frontal scalp regions of the brain distinguished positive and negative words around 400 ms poststimulus. The amplitude of this negative waveform showed a larger negativity for positive words compared to negative words in the frontal electrode region when participants were in a positive, but not negative, mood. These findings build on previous research by demonstrating that people process affective language differently when in positive and negative moods, and lend support to recent views that emotion and cognition interact during language comprehension.
[Consumption of carbonated beverages with nonnutritive sweeteners in Latin American university students].

INTRODUCTION Consumption of carbonated beverages with nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS) is increasingly common in order to maintain a healthy weight, but the effect of NNS on body weight is controversial. MATERIALS AND METHODS University students (n=1,229) of both sexes aged 18 to 26, of which 472 were from Chile, 300 of Panama, 253 from Guatemala and 204 of Peru. Each student was applied a frequency survey of weekly food consumption supported by photographs of beverages with NNS from each country to determine the intake of them. Also they underwent anthropometric measurements. RESULTS 80% of these students consumed carbonated beverages with NNS, none of them exceeded the acceptable daily intake for sucralose, potassium acesulfame and aspartame. Increased consumption in both men and women was observed in chilean students (p.
Downlink Capacity of Distributed Antenna Systems in a Multi-Cell Environment

In this paper, the downlink performance of a distributed antenna system (DAS) with random antenna layout is investigated. We address the problem of characterizing the downlink capacity with the generalized assumptions: (a1) per distributed antenna power constraint, (a2) generalized mobile terminals equipped with multiple antennas, (a3) a multi-cell environment. Based on system scale-up, we derive a good approximation of the ergodic downlink capacity by adopting random matrix theory. We also propose an iterative method to calculate the unknown parameter in the approximation. The approximation is illustrated to be quite accurate and the iterative method is verified to be quite efficient by Monte Carlo simulations.
Domain-specific languages and program generation with meta-AspectJ

Meta-AspectJ (MAJ) is a language for generating AspectJ programs using code templates. MAJ itself is an extension of Java, so users can interleave arbitrary Java code with AspectJ code templates. MAJ is a structured metaprogramming tool: a well-typed generator implies a syntactically correct generated program. MAJ promotes a methodology that combines aspect-oriented and generative programming. A valuable application is in implementing small domain-specific language extensions as generators using unobtrusive annotations for syntax extension and AspectJ as a back-end. The advantages of this approach are twofold. First, the generator integrates into an existing software application much as a regular API or library, instead of as a language extension. Second, a mature language implementation is easy to achieve with little effort since AspectJ takes care of the low-level issues of interfacing with the base Java language. In addition to its practical value, MAJ offers valuable insights to metaprogramming tool designers. It is a mature metaprogramming tool for AspectJ (and, by extension, Java): a lot of emphasis has been placed on context-sensitive parsing and error reporting. As a result, MAJ minimizes the number of metaprogramming (quote/unquote) operators and uses type inference to reduce the need to remember type names for syntactic entities.
Photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy

The Sun provides approximately 100 000 terawatts to the Earth which is about 10 000 times more than the present rate of the world's present energy consumption. Photovoltaic cells are being increasingly used to tap into this huge resource and will play a key role in future sustainable energy systems. So far, solid-state junction devices, usually made of silicon, crystalline or amorphous, and profiting from the experience and material availability resulting from the semiconductor industry, have dominated photovoltaic solar energy converters. These systems have by now attained a mature state serving a rapidly growing market, expected to rise to 300 GW by 2030. However, the cost of photovoltaic electricity production is still too high to be competitive with nuclear or fossil energy. Thin film photovoltaic cells made of CuInSe or CdTe are being increasingly employed along with amorphous silicon. The recently discovered cells based on mesoscopic inorganic or organic semiconductors commonly referred to as ‘bulk’ junctions due to their three-dimensional structure are very attractive alternatives which offer the prospect of very low cost fabrication. The prototype of this family of devices is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC), which accomplishes the optical absorption and the charge separation processes by the association of a sensitizer as light-absorbing material with a wide band gap semiconductor of mesoporous or nanocrystalline morphology. Research is booming also in the area of third generation photovoltaic cells where multi-junction devices and a recent breakthrough concerning multiple carrier generation in quantum dot absorbers offer promising perspectives.
[Feasibility of using short form 36 in Chinese population].

OBJECTIVE To explore the feasibility of using the SF-36 in Chinese population. METHODS We tested the reliability and validity of the SF-36 in 1603 rural residents, 646 urban residents, 70 high school girls, 122 patients with osteoporosis, and 150 stroke patients. RESULTS The reliability and validity of the SF-36 in general were acceptable, however, the reliability and validity varied among different domains and in different populations. The reliability and validity of the domains "limitations in physical activities", "limitations in usual role activities because of physical health problems", "bodily pain", and "general health perception" were better than those of the domains "vitality", "limitations in social activities", "limitations in usual role activities because of emotional problems", and "mental health". CONCLUSION The results indicate that we can use the SF-36 in Chinese population, but we have to pay attentions to the variance of the reliability and validity in different populations, especially for the interpretation of the results of the domains related to mental and social functions.
Efficient Tracking of Large Classes of Experts

In the framework of prediction of individual sequences, sequential prediction methods are to be constructed that perform nearly as well as the best expert from a given class. We consider prediction strategies that compete with the class of switching strategies that can segment a given sequence into several blocks, and follow the advice of a different “base” expert in each block. As usual, the performance of the algorithm is measured by the regret defined as the excess loss relative to the best switching strategy selected in hindsight for the particular sequence to be predicted. In this paper, we construct prediction strategies of low computational cost for the case where the set of base experts is large. In particular, we provide a method that can transform any prediction algorithm <i>A</i> that is designed for the base class into a tracking algorithm. The resulting tracking algorithm can take advantage of the prediction performance and potential computational efficiency of <i>A</i> in the sense that it can be implemented with time and space complexity only <i>O</i>(<i>n</i><sup>γ</sup> ln<i>n</i>) times larger than that of <i>A</i>, where <i>n</i> is the time horizon and γ ≥ 0 is a parameter of the algorithm. With <i>A</i> properly chosen, our algorithm achieves a regret bound of optimal order for γ >; 0, and only <i>O</i>(ln<i>n</i>) times larger than the optimal order for γ = 0 for all typical regret bound types we examined. For example, for predicting binary sequences with switching parameters under the logarithmic loss, our method achieves the optimal <i>O</i>(ln<i>n</i>) regret rate with time complexity <i>O</i>(<i>n</i><sup>1+γ</sup>ln<i>n</i>) for any γ ∈ (0,1).
WHY DO SOME SOCIAL INSECT QUEENS MATE WITH SEVERAL MALES? TESTING THE SEX‐RATIO MANIPULATION HYPOTHESIS IN LASIUS NIGER

Abstract Although multiple mating most likely increases mortality risk for social insect queens and lowers the kin benefits for nonreproductive workers, a significant proportion of hymenopteran queens mate with several males. It has been suggested that queens may mate multiply as a means to manipulate sex ratios to their advantage. Multiple paternity reduces the extreme relatedness value of females for workers, selecting for workers to invest more in males. In populations with female‐biased sex ratios, queens heading such male‐producing colonies would achieve a higher fitness. We tested this hypothesis in a Swiss and a Swedish population of the ant Lasius niger. There was substantial and consistent variation in queen mating frequency and colony sex allocation within and among populations, but no evidence that workers regulated sex allocation in response to queen mating frequency; the investment in females did not differ among paternity classes. Moreover, population‐mean sex ratios were consistently less female biased than expected under worker control and were close to the queen optimum. Queens therefore had no incentive to manipulate sex ratios because their fitness did not depend on the sex ratio of their colony. Thus, we found no evidence that the sex‐ratio manipulation theory can explain the evolution and maintenance of multiple mating in L. niger.
Planck intermediate results: XLVII. Planck constraints on reionization history

We investigate constraints on cosmic reionization extracted from the Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. We combine the Planck CMB anisotropy data in temperature with the low-multipole polarization data to ﬁt Λ CDM models with various parameterizations of the reionization history. We obtain a Thomson optical depth τ = 0 . 058 ± 0 . 012 for the commonly adopted instantaneous reionization model. This conﬁrms, with data solely from CMB anisotropies, the low value suggested by combining Planck 2015 results with other data sets, and also reduces the uncertain- ties. We reconstruct the history of the ionization fraction using either a symmetric or an asymmetric model for the transition between the neutral and ionized phases. To determine better constraints on the duration of the reionization process, we also make use of measurements of the amplitude of the kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich (kSZ) e ﬀ ect using additional information from the high-resolution Atacama Cosmology Telescope and South Pole Telescope experiments. The average redshift at which reionization occurs is found to lie between z = 7 . 8 and 8.8, depending on the model of reionization adopted. Using kSZ constraints and a redshift-symmetric reionization model, we ﬁnd an upper limit to the width of the reionization period of ∆ z < 2 . 8. In all cases, we ﬁnd that the Universe is ionized at less than the 10% level at redshifts above z (cid:39) 10. This suggests that an early onset of reionization is strongly disfavoured by the Planck data. We show that this result also reduces the tension between CMB-based analyses and constraints from other astrophysical sources.
Considering organisation structure and design from a complexity paradigm perspective

This chapter argues that the nature and importance of organisation structure and the underpinning design principles are not well understood and yet they play a key role in organisational performance. Existing organisational forms and their design principles are examined via a brief history of the development of modern forms of organisation. There is evidence to suggest that classical science has provided many of the underlying principles for organisation design. Comparisons are made between design principles derived from the classical scientific (Newtonian–Cartesian) paradigm and the complexity science paradigm. A speculative model of an organisation structure based on design principles drawn from the complexity paradigm: ‘The Fractal Web’, is presented. In concluding it is suggested that the use of design principles derived from the complexity paradigm offer a way forward that will facilitate the development of new structural forms that are resilient and more resonant with the times.
Plausible Cooperation

There is a large repeated games literature illustrating how future interactions provide incentives for cooperation. Much of the earlier literature assumes public monitoring. Departures from public monitoring to private monitoring that incorporate differences in players’ observations may dramatically complicate coordination and the provision of incentives, with the consequence that equilibria with private monitoring often seem unrealistically complex or fragile. We set out a model in which players accomplish cooperation in an intuitively plausible fashion. Players process information via a mental system — a set of psychological states and a transition function between states depending on observations. Players restrict attention to a relatively small set of simple strategies, and consequently, might learn which perform well.
Effectiveness of varenicline and counselling for smoking cessation in an observational cohort study in China

Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of varenicline for smoking cessation in Chinese smokers in a real world cessation clinic practice. Design A prospective observational study. Setting Beijing, China. Participants A total of 924 smokers (883 men and 41 women) who attended a smoking cessation clinic of a large general hospital were assessed with data from structured questionnaires at baseline and follow-up at 1, 3 and 6 months. Trained physician counsellors provided free individual counselling for all subjects and follow-up interviews with brief counselling. 332 subjects additionally prescribed varenicline according to their own choice were compared with those without varenicline. Main Outcome Measures Primary outcomes were self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence rate and 3-month continuous abstinence rate at 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes were 7-day point prevalence abstinence rates at 1 and 3-month follow-up, and 1-month continuous abstinence rate at 3-month follow-up. Results By intention-to-treat, the 7-day point prevalence abstinence rate with varenicline and counselling at 6 months was significantly higher than counselling only (37.0% vs 23.1%; OR, 1.75; 95% CI 1.46 to 2.62; p=0.001). The 3-month continuous abstinence rate at 6 months was higher with varenicline (33.1% vs 18.4%; OR, 2.04; 95% CI 1.61 to 2.99; p<0.001). Varenicline also showed better secondary outcomes. Conclusions Varenicline prescription in the smoking cessation clinic appeared to be effective with doubling of quit rates in Chinese smokers in a real world cessation clinic practice. Clinical trial registration NCT01935505; Results.
Lenalidomide Synergistically Enhances the Effect of Dendritic Cell Vaccination in a Model of Murine Multiple Myeloma

We investigated the efficacy of lenalidomide (LEN) in combination with dendritic cell (DC) vaccination in the MOPC-315 murine myeloma model. After tumor growth, LEN was injected intraperitoneally for 4 consecutive days in combination with DC vaccination. The combination of LEN and vaccination efficiently inhibited tumor growth compared with the single agents alone. A cytotoxic assay revealed that the anticancer effects of DC vaccination plus LEN involved not only generation of antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes but also NK cells. Vaccinated mice had reduced numbers of suppressor cells, including both myeloid-derived suppressor cells and regulatory T cells, in the spleen. The proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells increased in the spleen, and a Th1 cytokine (interferon-&ggr;) rather than a Th2 cytokine (interleukin-10) was synthesized in response to tumor antigens. LEN enhanced the innate immune response by modulating NK cell numbers and function. In addition, LEN reduced the production levels of angiogenesis-inducing factors in tumor-bearing mice. Together, these results suggest that a combination of LEN and DC vaccination may synergistically enhance anticancer immunity in the murine myeloma model, by inhibiting immunosuppressor cells and stimulating effector cells, as well as effectively polarizing the Th1/Th2 balance in favor of a Th1-specific immune response.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation induces oscillatory power changes in chronic tinnitus

Chronic tinnitus is associated with neuroplastic changes in auditory and non-auditory cortical areas. About 10 years ago, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of auditory and prefrontal cortex was introduced as potential treatment for tinnitus. The resulting changes in tinnitus loudness are interpreted in the context of rTMS induced activity changes (neuroplasticity). Here, we investigate the effect of single rTMS sessions on oscillatory power to probe the capacity of rTMS to interfere with tinnitus-specific cortical plasticity. We measured 20 patients with bilateral chronic tinnitus and 20 healthy controls comparable for age, sex, handedness, and hearing level with a 63-channel electroencephalography (EEG) system. Educational level, intelligence, depressivity and hyperacusis were controlled for by analysis of covariance. Different rTMS protocols were tested: Left and right temporal and left and right prefrontal cortices were each stimulated with 200 pulses at 1 Hz and with an intensity of 60% stimulator output. Stimulation of central parietal cortex with 6-fold reduced intensity (inverted passive-cooled coil) served as sham condition. Before and after each rTMS protocol 5 min of resting state EEG were recorded. The order of rTMS protocols was randomized over two sessions with 1 week interval in between. Analyses on electrode level showed that people with and without tinnitus differed in their response to left temporal and right frontal stimulation. In tinnitus patients left temporal rTMS decreased frontal theta and delta and increased beta2 power, whereas right frontal rTMS decreased right temporal beta3 and gamma power. No changes or increases were observed in the control group. Only non-systematic changes in tinnitus loudness were induced by single sessions of rTMS. This is the first study to show tinnitus-related alterations of neuroplasticity that were specific to stimulation site and oscillatory frequency. The observed effects can be interpreted within the thalamocortical dysrhythmia model assuming that slow waves represent processes of deafferentiation and that high frequencies might be indicators for tinnitus loudness. Moreover our findings confirm the role of the left temporal and the right frontal areas as relevant hubs in tinnitus related neuronal network. Our results underscore the value of combined TMS-EEG measurements for investigating disease related changes in neuroplasticity.
Characterization of a Defined 2,3,5,6-Tetrachlorobiphenyl-ortho-Dechlorinating Microbial Community by Comparative Sequence Analysis of Genes Coding for 16S rRNA

ABSTRACT Defined microbial communities were developed by combining selective enrichment with molecular monitoring of total community genes coding for 16S rRNAs (16S rDNAs) to identify potential polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-dechlorinating anaerobes that orthodechlorinate 2,3,5,6-tetrachlorobiphenyl. In enrichment cultures that contained a defined estuarine medium, three fatty acids, and sterile sediment, a Clostridium sp. was predominant in the absence of added PCB, but undescribed species in the δ subgroup of the class Proteobacteria, the low-G+C gram-positive subgroup, the Thermotogales subgroup, and a single species with sequence similarity to the deeply branching speciesDehalococcoides ethenogenes were more predominant during active dechlorination of the PCB. Species with high sequence similarities to Methanomicrobiales andMethanosarcinales archaeal subgroups were predominant in both dechlorinating and nondechlorinating enrichment cultures. Deletion of sediment from PCB-dechlorinating enrichment cultures reduced the rate of dechlorination and the diversity of the community. Substitution of sodium acetate for the mixture of three fatty acids increased the rate of dechlorination, further reduced the community diversity, and caused a shift in the predominant species that included restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns not previously detected. Although PCB-dechlorinating cultures were methanogenic, inhibition of methanogenesis and elimination of the archaeal community by addition of bromoethanesulfonic acid only slightly inhibited dechlorination, indicating that the archaea were not required for ortho dechlorination of the congener. Deletion of Clostridium spp. from the community profile by addition of vancomycin only slightly reduced dechlorination. However, addition of sodium molybdate, an inhibitor of sulfate reduction, inhibited dechlorination and deleted selected species from the community profiles of the class Bacteria. With the exception of one 16S rDNA sequence that had the highest sequence similarity to the obligate perchloroethylene-dechlorinating Dehalococcoides, the 16S rDNA sequences associated with PCB ortho dechlorination had high sequence similarities to the δ, low-G+C gram-positive, andThermotogales subgroups, which all include sulfur-, sulfate-, and/or iron(III)-respiring bacterial species.
Discriminative Restricted Boltzmann Machines are Universal Approximators for Discrete Data

This report proofs that discriminative Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs) are universal approximators for discrete data by adapting existing universal approximation proofs for generative RBMs. Discriminative Restricted Boltzmann Machines are Universal Approximators for Discrete Data Laurens van der Maaten Pattern Recognition & Bioinformatics Laboratory Delft University of Technology