Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A neural implementation of Bayesian inference based on predictive coding

ABSTRACT Predictive coding (PC) is a leading theory of cortical function that has previously been shown to explain a great deal of neurophysiological and psychophysical data. Here it is shown that PC can perform almost exact Bayesian inference when applied to computing with population codes. It is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm, based on PC, can: decode probability distributions encoded as noisy population codes; combine priors with likelihoods to calculate posteriors; perform cue integration and cue segregation; perform function approximation; be extended to perform hierarchical inference; simultaneously represent and reason about multiple stimuli; and perform inference with multi-modal and non-Gaussian probability distributions. PC thus provides a neural network-based method for performing probabilistic computation and provides a simple, yet comprehensive, theory of how the cerebral cortex performs Bayesian inference.
Sib risk of anencephaly and spina bifida in British Columbia.

The prevalence at birth of anencephaly or spina bifida cystica among sibs of individuals born in British Columbia with these defects was studied using routinely collected records of morbidity and mortality within the province. The population prevalence of these neural-tube defects in British Columbia is approximately 1.55 per thousand births, lower than in other areas where family studies have been carried out. A total of 1,028 affected individuals born in British Columbia during the period 1952–1970 was ascertained from health and vital documents collected on an ongoing basis by the Division of Vital Statistics of the British Columbia Ministry of Health. Information on the families of these cases was acquired using computer-linked groupings of British Columbia marriage, birth, and stillbirth records. The risk of affected individuals among the sibs was 2.4%, about 15 times the population prevalence at birth. The prevalence among subsequent sibs of the first affected individual in a family was 2.1%. There was no difference in risk when various factors that influence the population incidence of these conditions were considered. The risk of recurrence of either of these anomalies after two previously affected sibs was 4.8%, or double the risk after one affected sib. From these results and those of a recent New York survey of sib risks of neural-tube anomalies it would seem that the risk of anencephaly and spina bifida cystica to sibs of affected cases in North America is approximately half the risk in Great Britain, and it is this lower risk of 2% that should be used for genetic counseling in North America.
Regenerative Potential of Endometrial Stem Cells: A Mini Review

Recent findings in stem cell biology have opened a new window in regenerative medicine. The endometrium possesses mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) called endometrial stem cells (EnSCs) having specific regenerative properties linked to adult stem cells. They contribute in tissue remodeling and engineering and were shown to have immuno-modulating effects. Many clinical trials were undertaken to ascertain the therapeutic potential of EnSCS. In this mini review, we showed that EnSCs are readily available sources of adult stem cells in the uterus that can be highlighted for their renewable multipotent and differentiation properties. This cell population may be a practical solution of choice in reproductive biology, regenerative medicine and autologous stem cell therapy.
F-actin buckling coordinates contractility and severing in a biomimetic actomyosin cortex

Here we develop a minimal model of the cell actomyosin cortex by forming a quasi-2D cross-linked filamentous actin (F-actin) network adhered to a model cell membrane and contracted by myosin thick filaments. Myosin motors generate both compressive and tensile stresses on F-actin and consequently induce large bending fluctuations, which reduces their effective persistence length to <1 μm. Over a large range of conditions, we show the extent of network contraction corresponds exactly to the extent of individual F-actin shortening via buckling. This demonstrates an essential role of buckling in breaking the symmetry between tensile and compressive stresses to facilitate mesoscale network contraction of up to 80% strain. Portions of buckled F-actin with a radius of curvature ∼300 nm are prone to severing and thus compressive stresses mechanically coordinate contractility with F-actin severing, the initial step of F-actin turnover. Finally, the F-actin curvature acquired by myosin-induced stresses can be further constrained by adhesion of the network to a membrane, accelerating filament severing but inhibiting the long-range transmission of the stresses necessary for network contractility. Thus, the extent of membrane adhesion can regulate the coupling between network contraction and F-actin severing. These data demonstrate the essential role of the nonlinear response of F-actin to compressive stresses in potentiating both myosin-mediated contractility and filament severing. This may serve as a general mechanism to mechanically coordinate contractility and cortical dynamics across diverse actomyosin assemblies in smooth muscle and nonmuscle cells.
Contribution The Epidemiology of Interpandemic and Pandemic Influenza in Vietnam , 2007 – 2010 The Ha Nam Household Cohort Study I

a The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Vol. 175, No. 10 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kws121 Advance Access publication: March 12, 2012
Academic Achievement in Mathematics in Relation to Study-Habits

The purpose of this study was to determine if there exist any relationship between various levels and various dimensions of study habits of a student with academic achievement in mathematics. For study a sample of 600 students of XI and XII class was chosen from various senior secondary schools of Punjab to find the level of study habits and its relationship with academic achievement in mathematics. Study reveals that there is significant relationship between academic achievement in mathematics and students differ significantly on various levels of study habits.
Cofilin Phosphorylation and Actin Cytoskeletal Dynamics Regulated by Rho- and Cdc42-Activated Lim-Kinase 2

The rapid turnover of actin filaments and the tertiary meshwork formation are regulated by a variety of actin-binding proteins. Protein phosphorylation of cofilin, an actin-binding protein that depolymerizes actin filaments, suppresses its function. Thus, cofilin is a terminal effector of signaling cascades that evokes actin cytoskeletal rearrangement. When wild-type LIMK2 and kinase-dead LIMK2 (LIMK2/KD) were respectively expressed in cells, LIMK2, but not LIMK2/KD, phosphorylated cofilin and induced formation of stress fibers and focal complexes. LIMK2 activity toward cofilin phosphorylation was stimulated by coexpression of activated Rho and Cdc42, but not Rac. Importantly, expression of activated Rho and Cdc42, respectively, induced stress fibers and filopodia, whereas both Rho- induced stress fibers and Cdc42-induced filopodia were abrogated by the coexpression of LIMK2/KD. In contrast, the coexpression of LIMK2/KD with the activated Rac did not affect Rac-induced lamellipodia formation. These results indicate that LIMK2 plays a crucial role both in Rho- and Cdc42-induced actin cytoskeletal reorganization, at least in part by inhibiting the functions of cofilin. Together with recent findings that LIMK1 participates in Rac-induced lamellipodia formation, LIMK1 and LIMK2 function under control of distinct Rho subfamily GTPases and are essential regulators in the Rho subfamilies-induced actin cytoskeletal reorganization.
Risk perception and stages of smoking acquisition = Percepción de riesgo y etapas de iniciación en el consumo de tabaco

Resumen The purpose of this descriptive survey was to investigate the risk perceptions of smoking in a sample of 1,510 Spanish adolescents (49.1% males; mean age = 14.03; SD = 1.28). In addition, the present research categorised adolescents into one of the four stages of smoking acquisition, as described by the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TMC): Precontemplation (not thinking about trying smoking in the next 6 months), Contemplation (thinking about trying smoking in the next 6 months), Preparation (thinking about starting smoking in the next 30 days) and Action (smokers), by gender and age. The results showed that age and risk perceptions are important variables in the progression through the stages of change towards regular tobacco consumption (Action stage). These results clearly demonstrate the importance of starting antismoking campaigns at an early age to prevent smoking acquisition or the thought of starting in the near future. These findings also highlight the need to continuously remind adolescents about the negative consequences of smoking.
In Vitro Synergistic Effect of Psidium guineense (Swartz) in Combination with Antimicrobial Agents against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of aqueous extract of Psidium guineense Swartz (Araçá-do-campo) and five antimicrobials (ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cefoxitin, ciprofloxacin, and meropenem) against twelve strains of Staphylococcus aureus with a resistant phenotype previously determined by the disk diffusion method. Four S. aureus strains showed resistance to all antimicrobial agents tested and were selected for the study of the interaction between aqueous extract of P. guineense and antimicrobial agents, by the checkerboard method. The criteria used to evaluate the synergistic activity were defined by the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI). All S. aureus strains were susceptible to P. guineense as determined by the microdilution method. The combination of the P. guineense extract with the antimicrobial agents resulted in an eight-fold reduction in the MIC of these agents, which showed a FICI ranging from 0.125 to 0.5, suggesting a synergistic interaction against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. The combination of the aqueous extract of P. guineense with cefoxitin showed the lowest FICI values. This study demonstrated that the aqueous extract of P. guineense combined with beta lactamics antimicrobials, fluoroquinolones, and carbapenems, acts synergistically by inhibiting MRSA strains.
AGN self-regulation in cooling flow clusters

We use three-dimensional high-resolution adaptive-mesh-refinement simulations to investigate if mechanical feedback from active galactic nucleus jets can halt a massive cooling flow in a galaxy cluster and give rise to a self-regulated accretion cycle. We start with a 3 x 10 9 M ⊙ black hole at the centre of a spherical halo with the mass of the Virgo cluster. Initially, all the baryons are in a hot intracluster medium in hydrostatic equilibrium within the dark matter's gravitational potential. The black hole accretes the surrounding gas at the Bondi rate, and a fraction of the accretion power is returned into the intracluster medium mechanically through the production of jets. The accretion, initially slow (∼2 x 10 -4 M ⊙ yr -1 ), becomes catastrophic, as the gas cools and condenses in the dark matter's potential. Therefore, it cannot prevent the cooling catastrophe at the centre of the cluster. However, after this rapid phase, where the accretion rate reaches a peak of ∼0.2M ⊙ yr -1 , the cavities inflated by the jets become highly turbulent. The turbulent mixing of the shock-heated gas with the rest of the intracluster medium puts a quick end to this short-lived rapid-growth phase. After dropping by almost two orders of magnitudes, the black hole accretion rate stabilizes at ∼0.006 M ⊙ yr -1 , without significant variations for several billions of years, indicating that a self-regulated steady state has been reached. This accretion rate corresponds to a negligible increase of the black hole mass over the age of the Universe, but is sufficient to create a quasi-equilibrium state in the cluster core.
Sign Me Up! A Model and Field Experiment on Volunteering

We develop and model a two-stage incentivized intervention to promote pro-sociality. In the first stage, participants are incentivized to complete a compound task consisting of a targeted pro-social activity and a complement activity. In the second stage, participants are incentivized to complete repeatedly only the complement activity. The model predicts that, conditional on compliance with the first-stage compound task, intrinsic interest in the target activity is promoted regardless of compliance with the second-stage task. To test this we design and implement a field experiment on volunteering. The results are consistent with our model. Moreover, in the one year subsequent to our experiment, those who participated in our compound-task mechanism reported volunteering systematically more than those who participated in alternative mechanisms we investigated. Our approach has useful implications for promoting positive individual and social outcomes in many behavioral domains. Length: 41
Learning Network of Multivariate Hawkes Processes: A Time Series Approach

Learning the influence structure of multiple time series data is of great interest to many disciplines. This paper studies the problem of recovering the causal structure in network of multivariate linear Hawkes processes. In such processes, the occurrence of an event in one process affects the probability of occurrence of new events in some other processes. Thus, a natural notion of causality exists between such processes captured by the support of the excitation matrix. We show that the resulting causal influence network is equivalent to the Directed Information graph (DIG) of the processes, which encodes the causal factorization of the joint distribution of the processes. Furthermore, we present an algorithm for learning the support of excitation matrix (or equivalently the DIG). The performance of the algorithm is evaluated on synthesized multivariate Hawkes networks as well as a stock market and MemeTracker real-world dataset.
Change in Psychotherapy: A Unifying Paradigm

Arlow J (1969). Fantasy, memory and reality testing. Psychoanal Q 38:28–51. Bolognini S (2004). Psychoanalytic empathy, Garfield M, translator. London: Free Association Books. Bolognini S (2006). Like wind, like wave: Fables from the land of the repressed, Garfield M, translator. New York, NY: Other Press. Deutsch H (1926). Occult processes occurring during psychoanalysis. In: Devereux G, editor. Psychoanalysis and the occult. New York, NY: International UP, 1953. Gabbard GO, Westen D (2003). Rethinking therapeutic action. Int J Psychoanal 84:823–41. Isakower O (1963). Minutes of the New York Psychoanalytic Institute Faculty Meeting, 20 November. (Unpublished)
Efficacy of an Intervention to Improve Fluency in Children With Developmental Dyslexia in a Regular Orthography

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a method to improve reading fluency in children with dyslexia. The method, which we named “subsyllabic,” was aimed at automatizing the recognition of syllables within words in connected texts, presented by ad hoc software. Two versions of this method—one self-paced and the other one with automatic syllable identification—were compared to a method based on phonemic awareness, assisted reading, and other psycholinguistic exercises. The efficacy of the two versions of the subsyllabic method was further studied by repeating the first version twice and the second version three times using an AB design, with each phase lasting approximately 3 months. This part of the study provided not only follow-up data but also useful information on if and how fluency may change after repeated treatment. Outcomes obtained by a total of 63 children with dyslexia suggested that the subsyllabic method was superior to the control method and that the use of an automatic presentation of target syllables produced better results. Furthermore, we observed that fluency improved approximately at the same rate after each treatment repetition. Our data support the possibility of improving reading fluency at a significant clinical level, at least for regular orthographies. The crucial component of the subsyllabic method seems to be the facilitation of syllable recognition within words in connected texts and the emphasis on their rapid recognition using an automatized procedure.
Pengembangan Integrated Science Worksheet Berbasis Guided Inquiry Learning dalam Rangka Menyongsong Kurikulum 2013

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menghasilkan worksheet of integrated science berbasis guided inquiry learning yang layak digunakan dalam pembelajaran kurikulum 2013, khususnya untuk mengembangkan keterampilan berpikir dan scientific attitude siswa SMP. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian pengemba-ngan dengan memodifikasi langkah-langkah penelitian 4-D (four-D models) Borg dan Gall namun dibatasi pada tahap develop (3-D dari 4-D). Pelaksanaan penelitian dimulai dari bulan Juli 2013 s/d November 2013. Instrumen pengumpulan data berupa lembar penilaian kelayakan perangkat pembelajaran serta lembar iden-tifikasi ketercakupan keterampilan berpikir dan scientific attitude . Teknik analisis data dilakukan secara deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa LKS IPA terpadu yang dikembangkan layak digunakan dalam pembelajaran kurikulum 2013 dan berpotensi untuk mengembangkan keterampilan berpi-kir serta scientific attitude siswa SMP . Kata kunci: integrated science, guided inquiry, kurikulum 2013
The Pedagogy of the Marginalized: Understanding How Historically Disadvantaged Students Negotiate Their Epistemic Access in a Diverse University Environment

This article explores how successful undergraduate students from marginalized communities or historically disadvantaged backgrounds negotiate their performance within a university environment. It addresses one important question: How did they make their way up the academic ladder in the face of hardship determined by their unique historical circumstances? By ‘‘marginalized’’ we mean those individuals or social groups who, by virtue of their race, gender, geographical location (rural, township or poor neighborhood), etc., have historically been placed on the margins or periphery of the mainstream social and economic hierarchy. According to this definition, we targeted students who suffered a considerable degree of marginalization by virtue of being black, originating from poor families, and who graduated from relatively under resourced schools in rural areas, including gender given the lower status of girls compared to boys in these areas. As such, their experiences have become either a blind spot in current academic scholarship, or an object of knowledge misrepresentation that contributes to the perpetuation of their marginalization. This article challenges the assumption common in current South African literature that students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds are doomed to failure because of a lack, or inadequate forms, of social capital (Naidoo 2004; Jones et al. 2008; Czerniewicz and Brown 2011; Fataar 2012). Within this literature, Bourdieu’s theory of social capital and habitus is popular. Drawing on the same theory, we show that some of these students offer different forms of assets that facilitate their academic integration and success at university, which are not easily intelligible when approached strictly within Bourdieu’s conceptualization. We confine the idea of student ‘‘success’’ to productive use of accurate plans, development, and learning opportunities resulting in the completion of their academic goals. Broadly, we conceptualize academic integration and success as ‘‘epistemic access. ’’
Would We Be Able to Vaildate Diagnostic Criteria and Pave the Way for Discerning Causality in Trigeminal Neuralgia?

Dear Editor, Trigeminal neuralgia, a disabling painful disease affects approximately 4-5 per 100,000 individuals per year (1). More recent studies report a much higher incidence of 26 -29 per 100,000 (2, 3). It affects mainly those in the 40-80 years range and when occurring in those younger, secondary causes for trigeminal neuralgia are sought. The American census bureau reported a 15% increase in those 65 years and older between the years 2000-2010 (www.census.gov; last accessed 11/17/11, 7:55pm). With its predilection for the elderly, the incidence of this disease may be expected to rise. Validity of any research is based on establishing consistent diagnostic criteria. Presently the diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia, classical versus symptomatic (when a structural abnormality, like multiple sclerosis or tumors, other than vascular compression is identified), is based on the international classification of headache disorder, second edition, diagnostic criteria for classical and symptomatic trigeminal neuralgia (4). As there are no objective tests, the diagnostic criteria have not yet been validated. Neurophysiological tests may help identify the symptomatic from classical trigeminal neuralgia. In this issue of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Bangash set out to study the laterality and the common branches of the trigeminal nerve involved in trigeminal neuralgia (1). The diagnosis was established in 100 patients, based on history, clinical examination and therapeutic response to carbamazepine. Subsequent confirmation with imaging and local anesthetic injections, despite limited utility, provided data for analysis. The results, consistent with prior studies with regards to laterality and the commonly affected nerves in trigeminal neuralgia, reiterates the established (5, 6). The author’s novel utilisation of nerve blocks for establishing the involved nerves has certain merits, if localisation can be achieved with certainty. The conclusion of right sided laterality and the mandibular distribution being the commonest for trigeminal neuralgia points to a feature, not yet determined, which may provide a clue to establishing the diagnostic criteria for trigeminal neuralgia. Neurophysiologic testing may reveal trigeminal pathology when not present on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Neurophysiologic testing of blink, corneal, and jaw reflexes along with somatosensory evoked potentials, with near nerve stimulation, have shown to be sensitive and reliable indicators of both peripheral and central dysfunction with regards to the trigeminal nerve. Thermal quantitative sensory testing can also be used for detection of trigeminal small fiber dysfunction (7). Improving specificity of diagnostic interventions and the use of right tools i.e. magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and/or neurophysiological tests, for establishing the diagnostic criteria for trigeminal neuralgia may provide further insight into the reasons behind laterality.
Classification Based on Consistent Itemset Rules

We propose an approach to build a classifier composing consistent (100% confident) rules. Recently, associative classifiers that utilize association rules have been widely studied, and it has been shown that the associative classifiers often outperform traditional classifiers. In this case, it is important to collect high-quality (association) rules. Many algorithms find only rules with high support values, because reducing the minimum support to be satisfied is computationally demanding. However, it may be effective to collect rules with low support values but high confidence values. Therefore, we propose an algorithm that produces a wide variety of 100% confident rules including low support rules. To achieve this goal, we adopt a specific-to-general rule searching strategy, in contrast to previous approaches. Our experimental results show that the proposed method achieves higher accuracies in several datasets taken from UCI machine learning repository.