Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reconciling the role of central serotonin neurons in human and animal behavior

Abstract Animal research suggests that central serotonergic neurons are involved in behavioral suppression, particularly anxiety-related inhibition. The hypothesis linking decreased serotonin transmission to reduced anxiety as the mechanism in the anxiolytic activity of benzodiazepines conflicts with most clinical observations. Serotonin antagonists show no marked capacity to alleviate anxiety. On the other hand, clinical signs of reduced serotonergic transmission (low 5-HIAA levels in the cerebrospinal fluid) are frequently associated with aggressiveness, suicide attempts, and increased anxiety. The target article attempts to reconcile such human and animal findings by investigating whether anxiety reduction or increased impulsivity is more Likely to account for animal behavioral changes associated with decreased serotonergic transmission. The effects of manipulating central serotonin in experimental anxiety paradigms in animals (punishment, extinction, novelty) are reviewed and compared with the effects of antianxiety drugs. Anxiety seems neither necessary nor sufficient to induce control by serotonergic neurons on behavior. Further evidence suggests that behavioral effects of anxiolytics thought to be mediated by decreases in anxiety are not caused by the ability of these drugs to reduce serotonin transmission. Blockade of serotonin transmission, especially at the level of the substantia nigra, results in a shift of behavior toward facilitation of responding. This behavioral shift is particularly marked when there is competition between acting and restraining response tendencies and when obstacles prevent the immediate attainment of an anticipated reward. It is proposed that serotonergic neurons are involved not only in behavioral arousal but also in enabling the organism to arrange or tolerate delay before acting. Decreases in serotonin transmission seem to be associated with the increased performance of behaviors that are usually suppressed, though not necessarily because of the alleviation of anxiety, which might contribute to the suppression.
On Government Centralization and Fiscal Referendums: A Theoretical Model and Evidence from Switzerland

We propose and test a positive model of fiscal federalism in which centralization is less likely to occur in jurisdictions with referendum decisions on policy centralization. Citizens choose centralization of public spending and revenue in order to internalize spillovers if individual preferences in two jurisdictions are sufficiently homogeneous. Under representative democracy, centralization is inefficiently high because representatives can extract political rents by policy centralization. Referendums thus restrict representatives’ ability for rent extraction. An empirical analysis using a panel of Swiss cantons from 1980 to 1998 supports the hypothesis that centralization is less likely under referendum decision-making.
Herschel Observations of a Potential Core-Forming Clump: Perseus B1-E

We present continuum observations of the Perseus B1-E region from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey. These Herschel data reveal a loose grouping of substructures at 160 - 500 micron not seen in previous submillimetre observations. We measure temperature and column density from these data and select the nine densest and coolest substructures for follow-up spectral line observations with the Green Bank Telescope. We find that the B1-E clump has a mass of ~ 100 solar masses and appears to be gravitationally bound. Furthermore, of the nine substructures examined here, one substructure (B1-E2) appears to be itself bound. The substructures are typically less than a Jeans length from their nearest neighbour and thus, may interact on a timescale of ~ 1 Myr. We propose that B1-E may be forming a first generation of dense cores, which could provide important constraints on the initial conditions of prestellar core formation. Our results suggest that B1-E may be influenced by a strong, localized magnetic field, but further observations are still required.
European-American Children's Intergroup Attitudes about Peer Relationships.

Intergroup attitudes were assessed in European-American first grade (M = 6.8 years) and fourth grade (M = 9.9 years) boys and girls (N = 94) to test hypotheses about implicit racial biases, perceptions of similarity between peer dyads, and judgments about cross-race friendships. Two assessments, an ambiguous situations task and a perceptions of similarity task, were administered to all participants. Contrary to prior findings, participants did not display implicit racial biases when interpreting children's intentions to commit a negative moral transgression towards a peer. Implicit biases were revealed, however, when asking children to judge cross-race friendship potential. The findings on children's similarity perceptions revealed that children focused on shared interests and race when judging similarity. Given that previous metaanalyses of prejudice have pointed to cross-race friendships as a significant predictor of a reduction in prejudice, these findings help to understand what may account for the relative infrequency of intergroup friendships in childhood. Further, the findings indicate the ways in which, implicit racial biases influence friendship decisions.
Altering Fate: Why the Past Does Not Predict the Future

Chance and Necessity . Three Fixed Ideas.Traditional Models of Change. Development in Context. Progress and the Metaphor of Development. Behavior Serves Many Masters. Newton, Einstein, Piaget, and the Self. Consciousness and Being. Adaptation and the Nature of Social Life. Time, Sudden Change, and Catastrophe. Cure or Care.
Poor sleep quality is associated with increased cortical atrophy in community-dwelling adults

Objective: To examine the relationship between sleep quality and cortical and hippocampal volume and atrophy within a community-based sample, explore the influence of age on results, and assess the possible confounding effects of physical activity levels, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure. Methods: In 147 community-dwelling adults (92 female; age 53.9 ± 15.5 years), sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and correlated with cross-sectional measures of volume and longitudinal measures of atrophy derived from MRI scans separated by an average of 3.5 years. Exploratory post hoc analysis compared correlations between different age groups and included physical activity, BMI, and blood pressure as additional covariates. Results: Poor sleep quality was associated with reduced volume within the right superior frontal cortex in cross-sectional analyses, and an increased rate of atrophy within widespread frontal, temporal, and parietal regions in longitudinal analyses. Results were largely driven by correlations within adults over the age of 60, and could not be explained by variation in physical activity, BMI, or blood pressure. Sleep quality was not associated with hippocampal volume or atrophy. Conclusions: We found that longitudinal measures of cortical atrophy were widely correlated with sleep quality. Poor sleep quality may be a cause or a consequence of brain atrophy, and future studies examining the effect of interventions that improve sleep quality on rates of atrophy may hold key insights into the direction of this relationship.
Women’s leisure and leisure satisfaction in contemporary urban China

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the variables associated with Chinese women’s leisure satisfaction, investigate their preferences when participating in leisure and examine characteristics of women’s leisure engagement at different age groups. One hundred and fifty-two interviews were conducted from the summer of 2007 to the summer of 2008 in four cities in China. Leisure satisfaction among Chinese women was measured and analysed by testing a proposed model. Results indicated that there is a significant relationship between women’s leisure satisfaction and their perception of freedom to access leisure, the time they have for leisure, and their expectations of leisure in the future. When leisure activity participation was compared among different age groups (30 or younger; 31–50; and 50 plus), younger women were more likely to participate in entertainment-oriented (e.g., listening to music and going to a movie) and physically intensive (e.g., sports and travel) leisure activities. Older women were less likely to participate in these activities and more likely to prefer social-based leisure opportunities. Research implications and limitations are discussed.
The limits of automatic summarisation according to ROUGE

This paper discusses some central caveats of summarisation, incurred in the use of the ROUGE metric for evaluation, with respect to optimal solutions. The task is NP-hard, of which we give the first proof. Still, as we show empirically for three central benchmark datasets for the task, greedy algorithms empirically seem to perform optimally according to the metric. Additionally, overall quality assurance is problematic: there is no natural upper bound on the quality of summarisation systems, and even humans are excluded from performing optimal summarisation.
Objective measurement of cough during pulmonary exacerbations in adults with cystic fibrosis

Background: Little is known about cough frequency in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). This study aimed to determine (1) daytime and overnight cough rates in patients with CF at the beginning and end of a course of antibiotics for treatment of an exacerbation; (2) the relationship between cough frequencies and standard clinical measures of disease; and (3) the relationship between objective cough rates and the subjective assessment of cough. Methods: Nineteen adult patients admitted with a pulmonary exacerbation performed daytime and overnight sound recordings on admission; 13 had repeat recordings prior to discharge. Coughs were manually quantified in cough seconds (time spent coughing). Patients subjectively scored their cough using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and numerical score. Lung function, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and sputum weights were recorded. Results: Cough rates fell substantially with treatment; median fall in cough rate was 51.3% (IQR 32.3–77.5) (p<0.001) for daytime and 72.2% (28.6–90.1) (p = 0.049) for overnight. Multivariate regression analyses showed that forced expiratory volume in 1 second and CRP levels predicted overnight cough rates on admission. On discharge, sputum volume predicted daytime cough rates. Only the change in overnight VAS correlated with the change in objective cough rates. Conclusions: The cough rate significantly decreases with treatment of a pulmonary exacerbation in adults with CF. Lung function, sputum volume, and CRP influences the cough rate, with the effects differing from day to night and between admission and discharge. Subjective reporting of a nocturnal cough may indicate a pulmonary exacerbation of CF in adults.
Combination of Theory of Planned Behavior and Motivation: An Exploratory Study of Potential Beach-based Resorts in Vietnam

The decision-making process of travel destination choice is very complex. Understanding why people travel and what factors influence tourists' travel intentions has been paid much attention by tourism scholars. This study attempted to examine the predictive power of theory of planned behavior (TPB) with the addition of past behavior and travel motivation in predicting behavioral intention of choosing a beach-based resort in Vietnam. Data were collected in three cities in both northern and southern Vietnam from the end of January to post-middle of March 2010 with the participation of 327 international tourists. In general, the results aligned with previous studies which supported the applicability of the TPB model. Attitude and subjective norm but not perceived behavioral control was found to have made a made a significant contribution to the prediction of intention. The findings also indicated both extension factors had considerable impact on behavioral intention of choosing a beach-based resort in Vietnam. Implications and suggestions for future studies were also provided in the last part of the study.
Comparison of Polarimetric Algorithm With Other Algorithms in Detecting Radio Frequency Interference

Anthropogenic radio frequency interference (RFI) is an increasing problem in microwave remote sensing radiometry. Therefore, there is growing interest in RFI counteraction methods, including detection and blanking. In this study, the performance of polarimetric algorithm has been studied and compared with several other detection algorithms with respect to their capability to detect different potential types of RFI, such as continuous wave (CW), pulse modulated, and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulated. The mission scenario and parameters applied correspond to a typical space-borne, polar-orbiting, conically scanning microwave radiometer. Therefore, the results obtained help to estimate the achievable RFI detection limits (in terms of the brightness temperature) for similar future satellite instruments if polarimetry or other algorithms analyzed here were applied. The results obtained suggest that the RFI detection limit in the 1-K range can be achieved in the scenario under study. Incorporating multiple and complementary RFI detection algorithms in the overall system, e.g., in a digital RFI processor, enables a wide range of different RFI types to be detected. The results suggest that polarimetry and spectral density estimation are sensitive in detecting constant envelope signals (such as CW or QPSK), while kurtosis and spectral kurtosis are effective in detecting pulsed RFI. A detection limit as low as 0.1 K can be achieved for pulsed RFI with low duty cycles. These findings confirm and extend earlier results. To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first quantitative study on the performance of the RFI detection algorithms to include polarimetry.
Constructivism and Problem‐based Learning

Abstract Constructivism is a philosophy based on the fundamental assumption that knowledge cannot exist outside our minds. Knowledge cannot be given from one mind to another. New knowledge is ‘constructed’ or created from within individuals through experience. In higher education, problem‐based learning (PBL) is an accepted instructional method or strategy for structuring learners’ experiences. We apply constructivist philosophy to PBL and incorporate the following variables: prior knowledge, quality of problems, tutor performance, group functioning, time spent in individual study, interest in subject matter, and assessment in a model of students’ learning in a medical course. Regardless of the specific teaching methods adopted in higher education, students’ creation of high levels of understanding and competence are promoted when arousal is optimised, self‐efficacy is maximised and anxiety is minimised. An optimal learning environment in a PBL course includes teaching that supports reflection and coopera.
Scale for the Phase Diagram of Quantum Chromodynamics

The temperature scale for the breakdown of protons and neutrons can be determined from high-energy ion collisions and calculations. Matter described by quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of strong interactions, may undergo phase transitions when its temperature and the chemical potentials are varied. QCD at finite temperature is studied in the laboratory by colliding heavy ions at varying beam energies. We present a test of QCD in the nonperturbative domain through a comparison of thermodynamic fluctuations predicted in lattice computations with the experimental data of baryon number distributions in high-energy heavy ion collisions. This study provides evidence for thermalization in these collisions and allows us to find the crossover temperature between normal nuclear matter and a deconfined phase called the quark gluon plasma. This value allows us to set a scale for the phase diagram of QCD.
Organizational Structures and Data Use in Volunteer Monitoring Organizations (VMOs)

Complex environmental problems call for unique solutions to monitoring efforts alongside developing a more environmentally literate citizenry. Community-based monitoring (CBM) through the use of volunteer monitoring organizations helps to provide a part of the solution, particularly when CBM groups work with research scientists or government managers. This study of volunteer monitoring organizations (VMOs) active in 2009 in the United States was conducted via survey in order to better understand the organizational structure, data collection procedures and data use of water-quality monitoring by volunteers, focusing on North Carolina. Organizational structures and origins of monitoring groups are discussed and reveal a wide variety of types and history of programs. Data collection procedures including required training and quality assurance were explored and discussed through the survey. Many groups require training of a varied type, but fewer complete quality assurance plans. Multiple types of volunteer monitoring data uses were indicated, including management and research. This study suggests a lack of structure at the state level may hinder the usefulness of data collected for purposes other than local information and environmental education. Cooperation between research scientists and VMOs may aid organizations in publishing more of their data and developing a quality assurance plan.
Using Separate Answer Sheets with Grade 3 Students

ABSTRACT The authors compared the performance of third-grade students testing on answer sheets with those testing on machine-scored test booklets. The 1,832 students in the nationally representative sample were assigned at the campus level to complete the Stanford Achievement Test Series, Tenth Edition in 1 of 4 conditions: (a) Form A answer sheet, (b) Form A booklet, (c) Form B answer sheet, and (d) Form B booklet. After controlling for scholastic ability, no significant differences in performance on total reading, total mathematics, and total language strands were found between students using booklets and those using answer sheets. The results of this study provide no evidence to support the need to use separate test booklets with general education third-grade students. States may consider using separate answer sheets with these students to realize potential cost and schedule efficiencies.
Cultural values from managers' and academicians' perspectives: the case of Turkey

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to portray societal/cultural values of Turkish people as perceived by managers and academicians. The study also aims to provide an understanding of the cultural context of the Turkish society in terms of socio-cultural dimensions such as high and low context, monochronic vs polychronic, self-determined, and temporal orientation. Design/methodology/approach - Instead of using Schwartz's 56-item questionnaire, the authors used seven cultural and ten individual dimensions as individual items. Cultural values were captured from managers' and academicians' perspectives by changing the frame of reference from self to others. The questionnaire was designed for two different age groups to find the magnitude of change in connection with cultural values. Findings - Results indicate that Turkey can be defined as a conservative country. Hierarchy is ranked as the second most important polar dimension, and the order of cultural values indicates a reverse direction compared to the findings of similar studies with reference to European countries. It also deserves to emphasize the fact that the younger group of respondents is much more conservative and seeks more power over people and resources than the older group of respondents. Originality/value - This paper, to some extent, may serve as a guide in reflecting today's cultural values in Turkey. It also makes a modest contribution to the relevant literature due to both the portraying cultural values of Turkish people, and the usage of methodological considerations for data collection purposes.
Psychological Control During Early Adolescence

The present study examined the association between adolescent perceptions of parental psychological control and adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms across four dyadic relationships (mother/daughter, mother/son, father/daughter, and father/eson) cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Participants were 306 sixth- and seventh-grade students,287 mothers, and 115 fathers, interviewed at two time points one year apart. Cross-sectionally, father psychological control predicted higher adolescent-reported internalizing both for boys and for girls only when mothers also were perceived as high in psychological control. Similarly, but only among girls, father psychological control predicted higher externalizing only when mothers also were perceived as high in psychological control. Longitudinal analyses indicated that adolescents with higher internalizing symptoms at one time are especially likely to perceive parents as using psychological control one year later; earlier psychological control did not predict later internalizing. For externalizing, longitudinal analyses indicated that higher psychological control at one time predicts higher externalizing one year later.
Cross-language speaker identification using spectral moments

By using forensic speaker identification the number of suspects in a criminal investigation can be reduced. This paper presents a method of evaluation of forensic phonetic evidence by using spectral moments. In order to increase the validity and credibility, the method has been applied to two languages: English and Swedish. Results show similar tendencies between the languages implying that the method is language independent.
Antimony Resistant Leishmania donovani but Not Sensitive Ones Drives Greater Frequency of Potent T-Regulatory Cells upon Interaction with Human PBMCs: Role of IL-10 and TGF-β in Early Immune Response

In India the sand fly, Phlebotomus argentipes, transmitted parasitic disease termed kala-azar is caused by Leishmania donovani (LD) in humans. These immune-evading parasites have increasingly developed resistance to the drug sodium antimony gluconate in endemic regions. Lack of early diagnosis methods for the disease limits the information available regarding the early interactions of this parasite with either human tissues or cell lineages. We reasoned that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy human beings could help compare some of their immune signatures once they were exposed for up to 8 days, to either pentavalent antimony sensitive (SbS-LD) or resistant (SbR-LD) Leishmania donovani isolates. At day 2, PBMC cultures exposed to SbS-LD and SbR-LD stationary phase promastigotes had four and seven fold higher frequency of IL-10 secreting monocyte-macrophage respectively, compared to cultures unexposed to parasites. Contrasting with the CD4+CD25−CD127− type-1 T-regulatory (Tr1) cell population that displayed similar features whatever the culture conditions, there was a pronounced increase in the IL-10 producing CD4+CD25+CD127low/− inducible T-regulatory cells (iTregs) in the PBMC cultures sampled at day 8 post addition of SbR-LD. Sorted iTregs from different cultures on day 8 were added to anti-CD3/CD28 induced naïve PBMCs to assess their suppressive ability. We observed that iTregs from SbR-LD exposed PBMCs had more pronounced suppressive ability compared to SbS-LD counterpart on a per cell basis and is dependent on both IL-10 and TGF-β, whereas IL-10 being the major factor contributing to the suppressive ability of iTregs sorted from PBMC cultures exposed to SbS–LD. Of note, iTreg population frequency value remained at the basal level after addition of genetically modified SbR-LD lacking unique terminal sugar in surface glycan. Even with limitations of this artificial in vitro model of L. donovani-human PBMC interactions, the present findings suggest that SbR-LD have higher immunomodulatory capacity which may favour aggressive pathology.