Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The interaction between prefrontal cortex and reward system in pathological gambling: evidence from neuroscientific data

Pathological gambling (PG) is a psychiatric disorder newly classified under the same category as substance use disorders in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Theories on addiction emphasize the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the mesolimbic reward system (especially the ventral striatum) in the development and maintenance of addictive behavior. Accordingly, neuroimaging studies on substance-related addictions reported functional and structural changes in fronto-striatal circuits. For PG, neuroimaging findings are not that extensive as for substance use disorders, but also demonstrate altered reward processing and prefrontal function. However, there is a lack of studies focusing on different aspects of functional and structural correlates within these areas in PG. This thesis investigated PG patients, alcohol dependent (AD) patients and healthy controls with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to fill this gap and to expand neurobiological findings in a behavioral addiction such as PG. Brain responses during reward processing in a reward paradigm, brain structural images and intrinsic brain responses during resting-state were acquired and analyzed in three steps: In analysis I, data of the task was compared between the three groups. In analysis II, local gray matter volume of PG patients and controls was processed via voxel-based morphometry. Resting-state data of PG patients and controls was analyzed via seed-based functional connectivity in analysis III. The following main results were observed: First, PG patients showed increased brain responses in right ventral striatum during the prospect of possible monetary loss compared to controls and AD patients, and decreased brain responses in right ventral striatum and right medial PFC during the notification of successful avoidance of monetary loss as compared to controls. Second, PG patients showed an increase in local gray matter volume in right ventral striatum and right PFC. Third, the functional connectivity between PFC and striatal areas was increased in PG patients. Our results add further evidence for an altered reward processing in PG and underline the importance of loss avoidance processing. Moreover, our findings of volumetric alterations within and increased connectivity between PFC and reward system, suggest an altered interaction between these brain regions. Since such alterations in cortico-striatal circuits resemble those reported for substance-related additions, our findings support the new classification of PG along with substance use disorders in the DSM-5. Substanzabhängigkeiten. Higher volume of ventral striatum and right prefrontal cortex in pathological gambling. cortex and reward system in pathological gambling.
The effect of ’ None of the Above ’ on multiple choice questions in a first year classroom

A variety of ’best practice’ guides to multiple choice question writing exist in the literature, each commonly containing a set of specific recommendations. One such recommendation entails the use of ’none of the above’ (NOTA), with some authors discouraging and others advocating its use on multiple choice tests. Empirical research on the use of NOTA has produced mixed results regarding its effects on a question’s difficulty and ability to discriminate between high-performing and low-performing students. Many of these empirical studies are conducted in the laboratory, or in relatively small classrooms. In the current study, we assess the effect of NOTA on question difficulty and discrimination in a large Introductory Psychology classroom. We find that NOTA increases question difficulty, but only when it is used as the correct response to the question. Moreover, we find no effect of NOTA on a question’s discrimination ability. These findings serve to clarify the effect of NOTA on multiple choice questions in true classroom environments.
Electric potential microelectrode for studies of electrobiogeophysics

Spatially separated electron donors and acceptors in sediment can be exploited by the so‐called “cable bacteria. ” Electric potential microelectrodes (EPMs) were constructed to measure the electric fields that should appear when cable bacteria conduct electrons over centimeter distances. The EPMs were needle‐shaped, shielded Ag/AgCl half‐cells that were rendered insensitive to redox‐active species in the environment. Tip diameters of 40 to 100 µm and signal resolution of approximately 10 μV were achieved. A test in marine sediments with active cable bacteria showed an electric potential increase by approximately 2 mV from the sediment‐water interface to a depth of approximately 20 mm, in accordance with the location and direction of the electric currents estimated from oxygen, pH, and H2S microprofiles. The EPM also captured emergence and decay of electric diffusion potentials in the upper millimeters of artificial sediment in response to changes in ion concentrations in the overlying water. The results suggest that the EPM can be used to track electric current sources and sinks with submillimeter resolution in microbial, biogeochemical, and geophysical studies.
Generalized Topic Modeling

Recently there has been significant activity in developing algorithms with provable guarantees for topic modeling. In standard topic models, a topic (such as sports, business, or politics) is viewed as a probability distribution $\vec a_i$ over words, and a document is generated by first selecting a mixture $\vec w$ over topics, and then generating words i.i. d. from the associated mixture $A{\vec w}$. Given a large collection of such documents, the goal is to recover the topic vectors and then to correctly classify new documents according to their topic mixture. In this work we consider a broad generalization of this framework in which words are no longer assumed to be drawn i.i. d. and instead a topic is a complex distribution over sequences of paragraphs. Since one could not hope to even represent such a distribution in general (even if paragraphs are given using some natural feature representation), we aim instead to directly learn a document classifier. That is, we aim to learn a predictor that given a new document, accurately predicts its topic mixture, without learning the distributions explicitly. We present several natural conditions under which one can do this efficiently and discuss issues such as noise tolerance and sample complexity in this model. More generally, our model can be viewed as a generalization of the multi-view or co-training setting in machine learning.
Basal Ganglia Activity Mirrors a Benefit of Action and Reward on Long-Lasting Event Memory

The expectation of reward is known to enhance a consolidation of long-term memory for events. We tested whether this effect is driven by positive valence or action requirements tied to expected reward. Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm in young adults, novel images predicted gain or loss outcomes, which in turn were either obtained or avoided by action or inaction. After 24 h, memory for these images reflected a benefit of action as well as a congruence of action requirements and valence, namely, action for reward and inaction for avoidance. fMRI responses in the hippocampus, a region known to be critical for long-term memory function, reflected the anticipation of inaction. In contrast, activity in the putamen mirrored the congruence of action requirement and valence, whereas other basal ganglia regions mirrored overall action benefits on long-lasting memory. The findings indicate a novel type of functional division between the hippocampus and the basal ganglia in the motivational regulation of long-term memory consolidation, which favors remembering events that are worth acting for.
Believe it or not: A confirmatory study on predictors of paranormal belief, and a psi test

The major aim of this confirmatory study was to determine possible underlying causes of paranormal belief as discerned in the following four hypotheses: (i) 'social marginality' hypothesis, (ii) 'worldview' hypothesis, (iii) 'cognitive deficits' hypothesis, and (iv) 'psychodynamic functions' hypothesis. Paranormal belief was measured using Thalbourne's (1995) Rasch-scaled Australian Sheep- Goat Scale (ASGS), and Thalbourne's (2010) new measure, the Basic Limiting Principles Questionnaire (BLPQ). We hypothesized that paranormal belief (a) is higher in females compared to males, and (b) correlates positively with conceivability (imagination), locus of control (LOC), and depression. It was further hypothesised that a sheep-goat effect would be found in an online symbol-identification task, in which it was also hypothesised that a 'reactance' treatment (a threatening communication; Silvia, 2005) would negatively affect ESP performance. Participants (N = 149) completed the ASGS, BLPQ, Thalbourne's (1995) Conceivability Scale, Rotter's (1966) LOC Scale, and Beck's (Beck et al., 1996) Depression Inventory-II. The two belief scales correlated highly and significantly. On both paranormal belief measures, mean scores were significantly higher for females compared to males. Paranormal belief (both measures) correlated significantly with conceivability (imagination), but not with LOC and depression. In the psi task, neither a reactance main effect, nor a sheep-goat main effect was found, but the results were in the directions hypothesized. This research confirms two past findings, and has made some new contributions to the parapsychological literature.
Nurses’ Use of a Web-Based National Guide for Child Health Care

Rikshandboken i Barnhälsovård is a Swedish Web-based guide for child healthcare, providing quality-ensured guidelines and support contributing to equality in child healthcare among all children. In 2015, a new child healthcare program was implemented and made available in this Web-based guide. The aim of this study was to investigate how child healthcare nurses use Rikshandboken i Barnhälsovård and factors affecting its use. The study was a comprehensive Web survey of 2376 child healthcare nurses in Sweden answered by 1309. Statistical processing was performed using descriptive and analytical methods. Rikshandboken i Barnhälsovård was widely used by the respondents, but regional differences and number of years in the profession affected the use. Almost all nurses were satisfied with the usability, content, and design and felt that a national guide for child healthcare is important. This indicates that an established Web-based national guide is an appropriate setting when a new national program is implemented. In order to achieve an equal and equitable child healthcare, it is essential that all nurses use the national guide to provide evidence-based practice. The value of main child healthcare units as regional facilitators in the innovation process of Rikshandboken i Barnhälsovård should not be underestimated.
Astronomy and Astrophysics Detection of Spiral Magnetic Fields in Two Flocculent Galaxies

According to the classical axisymmetric dynamo concept, differentially rotating galaxies which lack organized optical spiral patterns and density wave flows should still have spiral magnetic fields with a substantial radial component. To check this hypothesis we observed two flocculent spirals, NGC 3521 and NGC 5055, in the radio continuum (total power and polarization) at 10.55 GHz with a resolution of 1. ′ 13. A search for traces of optical spiral patterns has also been made by observing them in the Hα line and by filtering their available blue images. NGC 3521 and NGC 5055 were found to possess a mean degree of magnetic field ordering similar to that in grand-design spirals. However, the polarized emission fills the central region of NGC 5055 while a minimum of polarized intensity was observed in the inner disk of NGC 3521. This can be explained by a more uniform star formation distribution in the centre of NGC 3521, while a higher concentration of star-forming activity in the nuclear region and in the rudimentary spiral " armlets " of NGC 5055 leaves broader interarm regions with unperturbed regular magnetic fields. Both galaxies possess regular spiral magnetic fields with a radial component amounting to 40% – 60% of the azimuthal field. The use of beam-smoothed polarization models demonstrates that this result cannot be produced by limited resolution and projection effects. Furthermore, a large magnetic pitch angle cannot be entirely due to the influence of rudimentary spiral-like features visible in our Hα and enhanced optical images. Thus it appears that the dynamo process is responsible for the radial magnetic field in flocculent galaxies. The measured radial magnetic field component as compared to the az-imuthal one is even stronger than predicted by a classical turbulent dynamo which provides arguments in support for modern, non-standard dynamo concepts.
Caught between sympathy and suspicion: journalistic perceptions and practices of telling asylum seekers’ personal stories

Personal stories in news reports serve multiple purposes, but at their core lie efforts at illustrating and authenticating a social or political issue through human experience, an illustration that is compelling in its affective appeal. Telling the personal stories of people belonging to minority groups may work as a potent journalistic vehicle in countering negative stereotypes and prejudices against them. This article examines how Finnish journalists incorporate the personal stories of asylum seekers into their coverage of the so-called ‘European refugee crisis’ of 2015–2016. Drawing on qualitative interviews, we inquire into how journalists understand the meaning and purpose of asylum seekers’ personal stories in their news reporting and reflect on the professional values and ethical dilemmas when telling them. Our findings reveal that while journalists tend to sympathise with the vulnerable and see it as important to combat xenophobia and racism, their relationship with asylum seekers becomes increasingly informed and constrained by socio-political and discursive structures that foster a culture of suspicion towards asylum seekers.
Shmaglena: Ethnic framework for problem mediating

ABSTRACT The article describes traditional mediators (in Amharic, shmaglotz meaning “elders”; shmagaleh in the singular) who fill a range of roles within the community of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel, as well as a mediation process (shmaglena in Amharic). The present research is a constructivist-qualitative study. Thirteen respondents participated in the study, all of whom were exposed to the shmaglena process. The data were collected through semi-structured content interviews. The research elicited that the shmaglena function has undergone transformation and adaptation to the target nation's culture. It was also found that the shmaglotz constitute an informal authority whose roles resemble those of conflict resolvers in other cultures.
Isometric sketching of any set via the Restricted Isometry Property

In this paper we show that for the purposes of dimensionality reduction certain class of structured random matrices behave similarly to random Gaussian matrices. This class includes several matrices for which matrix-vector multiply can be computed in log-linear time, providing efficient dimensionality reduction of general sets. In particular, we show that using such matrices any set from high dimensions can be embedded into lower dimensions with near optimal distortion. We obtain our results by connecting dimensionality reduction of any set to dimensionality reduction of sparse vectors via a chaining argument.
Effects of Protective Resin Coating on the Surface Roughness and Color Stability of Resin-Based Restorative Materials

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of nanofilled protective resin coating (RC) on the surface roughness (Ra) and color stability (ΔE) of resin-based restorative materials (RM) (compomer (C), nanofilled composite (NF), and microhybrid composite (MH)) after being submitted to the ultraviolet aging (UV) method. Thirty-six specimens were prepared (n = 6 for each group). The Ra and (ΔE) values and SEM images were obtained before and after UV. Significant interactions were found among the RM-RC-UV procedures for Ra (P < 0.001). After the specimens were submitted to UV, the Ra values were significantly increased, regardless of the RC procedure (with RC; P < 0.01 for all, without RC; C (P < 0.01), NF (P < 0.001), and MH (P < 0.001)) for each RM. Significant interactions were found between the RM-RC (P < 0.001) procedures for the ΔE values. The ΔE values were increased in each group after applying the RC procedures (P < 0.001). Protective RC usage for RM could result in material-related differences in Ra and ΔE as with used UV method.
Resource-Constrained Adaptive Search and Tracking for Sparse Dynamic Targets

This paper considers the problem of resource-constrained and noise-limited localization and estimation of dynamic targets that are sparsely distributed over a large area. We generalize an existing framework [Bashan et al, 2008] for adaptive allocation of sensing reso urces to the dynamic case, accounting for timevarying target behavior such as transitions to neighboring cells and varying amplitudes over a potentially long time horizon. The proposed adaptive sensing policy is driven by minimization of a surrogate function for mean squared error within locations containing targets. We provide theoretical upper bounds on the performance of adaptive sensing policies by analyzing solutions with oracle knowledge of target locations, gaining insight into the effect of target motion and amplitude variation as well as sparsity. Exact minimization of the multi-stage objective function is infeasible, but myopic optimization yields a closed-form solution. We propose a simple non-myopic extension, the Dynamic Adaptive Resource Allocation Policy (D-ARAP), that allocates a fraction of resources for exploring all locations rather than solely exploiting the current belief state. Our numeri cal studies indicate that D-ARAP has the following advantages: (a) it is more robust than the myopic policy to noise, missing data, and model mismatch; (b) it performs comparably to well-known approximate dynamic programming solutions but
Robust and Risk-Sensitive Output Feedback Control for Finite State Machines and Hidden Markov Models

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for designing controllers for nite state systems which are robust with respect to uncertainties. A deterministic model for uncertainties is introduced, leading to a dynamic game formulation of the robust control problem. This problem is solved using an appropriate information state. A risk-sensitive stochastic control problem is formulated and solved for Hidden Markov Models, corresponding to situations where the model for the uncertainties is stochastic. The two problems are related using small noise limits.
Strikes and startles of northern pike (Esox lucius): a comparison of muscle activity and kinematics between S-start behaviors

SUMMARY S-starts are a major class of fast-start behaviors that serve diverse locomotor functions in fishes, playing roles in both feeding strike and escape startle events. While movement patterns are similar during strike and startle, their motor control mechanisms have not been compared. To investigate heterogeneity in S-start responses and to test the hypothesis that S-starts are generated by the same patterns of muscle activity regardless of the behavioral context in which they function, we examined kinematic and muscle activity patterns of northern pike (Esox lucius) performing feeding and escape S-starts. Movements were recorded with high-speed video (250 Hz). Muscle activity was recorded from seven electrodes, one in the left adductor mandibulae and bilaterally in the anterior, midbody and posterior epaxial white muscle. Although S-shaped movements are produced in both feeding and escape, kinematics and electromyogram (EMG) patterns differ. Stage 1 (pre-propulsive movement) is significantly slower and more variable during feeding strikes and involves caudal bending with less rostral movement than recorded for startle behaviors. Correspondingly, there is strong caudal muscle activity prior to rostral activity during strikes, whereas in startles caudal muscle activity had near simultaneous onset with contralateral rostral activity. Onset of jaw muscle activity occurred significantly after the onset of axial muscle activity during feeding strikes. By contrast, during startles, jaw activity onset was nearly simultaneous with the onset of axial muscle activity. Stage 2 kinematics generally did not differ between the strike and startle; however, EMGs indicate that stage 2 movements are generated by different patterns of muscle activity for the two behaviors. Although strikes and startles are similar in their propulsive performance, they appear to be initiated and driven by fundamentally different motor control mechanisms. We suggest that S-start startle behavior is mediated by a simple system of descending reticulospinal input to spinal neurons while the S-start strike involves a more complex neural circuit, allowing greater modulation of stage 1 movements while maintaining high stage 2 performance.
The Invisible Hand: Toddlers Connect Probabilistic Events With Agentive Causes

Children posit unobserved causes when events appear to occur spontaneously (e.g., Gelman & Gottfried, 1996). What about when events appear to occur probabilistically? Here toddlers (M = 20.1 months) saw arbitrary causal relationships (Cause A generated Effect A; Cause B generated Effect B) in a fixed, alternating order. The relationships were then changed in one of two ways. In the Deterministic condition, the event order changed (Event B preceded Event A); in the Probabilistic condition, the causal relationships changed (Cause A generated Effect B; Cause B generated Effect A). As intended, toddlers looked equally long at both changes (Experiment 1). We then introduced a previously unseen candidate cause. Toddlers looked longer at the appearance of a hand (Experiment 2) and novel agent (Experiment 3) in the Deterministic than the Probabilistic conditions, but looked equally long at novel non-agents (Experiment 4), suggesting that by 2 years of age, toddlers connect probabilistic events with unobserved agents.
Apparent clearance of valproic acid in elderly epileptic patients: estimation of the confounding effect of albumin concentration

Abstract Background. Valproic acid (VPA) apparent clearance (CL) estimated from total serum concentrations is analogous in elderly and non-elderly adult patients. As drug–protein binding decreases in old age, the aim of our study was to evaluate the confounding effect of the serum albumin concentration on the VPA apparent CL in elderly patients. Methods. In 102 epileptic out-patients treated with VPA in monotherapy, serum total steady-state trough concentrations (Css) were determined. Css concentrations were normalized for a 42 g/L albumin concentration (CssN), and the apparent CL and normalized apparent CLN were calculated. Results. A poor concordance of 53% was found in the classification of Css and CssN levels of VPA as subtherapeutic, therapeutic, or supratherapeutic dose. In the elderly (≥65 years) and non-elderly adult patients, the VPA apparent CL was similar; however, normalized apparent CLN was significantly lower in older patients (P < 0.01), with a 40% median decrease. Conclusions. Total VPA concentrations should be interpreted with caution, mainly in older patients, in which determination of unbound or normalized total drug concentrations may be clinically useful. Normalization of total concentrations permits an estimation of the masking effect of serum albumin concentrations on the VPA apparent CL in elderly patients.