Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caspase-6 Activity in a BACHD Mouse Modulates Steady-State Levels of Mutant Huntingtin Protein But Is Not Necessary for Production of a 586 Amino Acid Proteolytic Fragment

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by a mutation in the huntingtin (htt) gene encoding an expansion of glutamine repeats at the N terminus of the Htt protein. Proteolysis of Htt has been identified as a critical pathological event in HD models. In particular, it has been postulated that proteolysis of Htt at the putative caspase-6 cleavage site (at amino acid Asp-586) plays a critical role in disease progression and pathogenesis. However, whether caspase-6 is indeed the essential enzyme that cleaves Htt at this site in vivo has not been determined. To evaluate, we crossed the BACHD mouse model with a caspase-6 knock-out mouse (Casp6−/−). Western blot and immunocytochemistry confirmed the lack of caspase-6 protein in Casp6−/− mice, regardless of HD genotype. We predicted the Casp6−/− mouse would have reduced levels of caspase-6 Htt fragments and increased levels of full-length Htt protein. In contrast, we found a significant reduction of full-length mutant Htt (mHtt) and fragments in the striatum of BACHD Casp6−/− mice. Importantly, we detected the presence of Htt fragments consistent with cleavage at amino acid Asp-586 of Htt in the BACHD Casp6−/− mouse, indicating that caspase-6 activity cannot fully account for the generation of the Htt 586 fragment in vivo. Our data are not consistent with the hypothesis that caspase-6 activity is critical in generating a potentially toxic 586 aa Htt fragment in vivo. However, our studies do suggest a role for caspase-6 activity in clearance pathways for mHtt protein.
Dependent Co-origination and Inherent Existence: Dual-Aspect Framework

Nāgārjuna rejects ‘inherent existence’ or ‘essence’ in favor of co-dependent origination, and that is also why he rejects causality. Causality is a major issue in metaphysical views; for example, one could argue that consciousness causes/affects our brain/behavior/function/matter or vice-versa. My goals are as follows: (i) which entities lack ‘inherent existence’ or ‘essence’ and which ones inherently exist? (ii) Do the entities that lack inherent existence dependently co-arise and hence can we reject causality as in Nāgārjuna’s philosophy? (iii) Do the entities that exist inherently cause entities that lack inherent existence? (iv) Do structure, function, experience, and environment cause each other? And (v) we critically analyze, extend, and examine Nāgārjuna’s philosophy of dependent co-origination (Nāgārjuna & Garfield, 1995)with respect to the dual-aspect-dual-mode PE-SE framework (Vimal, 2008a, 2008b, 2009a, 2009c). Our analysis suggests that: (i)All conventional entities lack inherently existence, except subjective experiences (SEs)/proto-experiences (PEs) that are fundamental and irreducible and hence inherently exist. (ii) The entities that lack inherent existence dependently co-arise, and hence causality for them can be rejected but instead conditions (such as efficient, percept-object, immediate, and dominant conditions) might be necessary, as in Nāgārjuna’s philosophy. (iii) It is not clear that SEs that exist inherently cause entities that lack inherent existence, but one could argue that (a) superposed PEs/SEs in the mental aspect of stings or elementary particles might be the motivation for the evolution to form neural-nets to realize a specific SE, and (b) Nāgārjuna’s rejection of causality and ‘relational ontology’ (Caponigro & Prakash, 2009) need to be reconsidered for SEs. For example, the SE redness (redness-bhutatma (Vimal, 2009g)) inherently, independently, and eternally exists; and hence causality may not be rejected and the ‘relational ontology’ may not apply for any such SE. (iv) It is not clear that structure, function, experience, and environment cause each other, but they might be linked via conditions. (v) Furthermore, (a) an entity has double aspect: mental and material aspects, (b) string is a dual-aspect entity that dependently co-arises from string-vacuum or brane, and (c) the dual-aspect-dual-mode
Hippocampal volume predicts fluid intelligence in musically trained people

Recently, age‐related hippocampal (HP) volume loss could be associated with a decrease in general fluid intelligence (gF). In the present study we investigated whether and how extensive musical training modulates human HP volume and gF performance. Previously, some studies demonstrated positive effects of musical training on higher cognitive functions such as learning and memory, associated with neural adaptations beyond the auditory domain. In order to detect possible associations between musical training and gF, we bilaterally segmented the HP formation and assessed the individual gF performance of people with different levels of musical expertise. Multiple regression analyses revealed that HP volume predicts gF in musicians but not in nonmusicians; in particular, bilaterally enhanced HP volume is associated with increased gF exclusively in musically trained people (amateurs and experts). This result suggests that musical training facilitates the recruitment of cognitive resources, which are essential for gF and linked to HP functioning. Musical training, even at a moderate level of intensity, can thus be considered as a potential strategy to decelerate age‐related effects of cognitive decline. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
"It's Never Too Late": A Narrative Inquiry of Older Polish Adults' English Language Learning Experiences.

Globally, the number of adults aged over 50 is increasing and this group is becoming more active in second language (L2) learning. Despite these demographic changes, little research has focused on the issues faced by older learners. They are either omitted from research studies or viewed as part of a homogenous group of adult learners. Several assumptions appear to exist about this group, for example, that they are too old to learn, or they are likely to have memory problems. These assumptions can impact the pedagogical approach taken by language instructors. This study aims to supplement existing research by exploring the L2 learning experiences of a group of Polish learners of English aged 55 to 68. We conducted a series of interviews using a narrative inquiry approach to uncover the participants’ L2 learning stories in order to understand their aims, challenges and aspirations. Our findings suggest that older adults can be highly motivated and aware of the challenges they face, but also eager to overcome them. This study emphasises that older learners are a neglected group within the field of second language acquisition (SLA) and pedagogical adjustments are needed to meet their learning needs.
Angular vertical comb-driven tunable capacitor with high-tuning capabilities

This paper reports on a novel tunable capacitor with electrostatic angular vertical comb-drive (AVC) actuators. The AVC tunable capacitor creates a large offset in comb fingers through a small rotation angle-an advantage not found in conventional lateral comb-drive devices. High capacitance and large continuous tuning ratio is achieved in a compact device area. The largest tuning varactor demonstrates capacitance values between 0.27-8.6 pF-a tuning ratio of more than 31:1, the highest ever reported. The maximum quality factor Q is 273 at 1 GHz near the minimum capacitance value.
The Motions of Clusters of Galaxies and the Dipoles of the Peculiar Velocity Field

In preceding papers of this series, TF relations for galaxies in 24 clusters with radial velocities between 1000 and 9200 km s-1 (SCI sample) were obtained, a Tully-Fisher (TF) template relation was constructed, and mean offsets of each cluster with respect to the template were obtained. Here, an estimate of the line-of-sight peculiar velocities of the clusters and their associated errors are given. It is found that cluster peculiar velocities in the cosmic microwave background reference frame do not exceed 600 km s-1 and that their distribution has a line-of-sight dispersion of 300 km s-1, suggesting a more quiescent cluster peculiar velocity field than previously reported. When measured in a reference frame in which the Local Group is at rest, the set of clusters at cz > 3000 km s-1 exhibits a dipole moment in agreement with that of the CMB, both in amplitude and apex direction. It is estimated that the bulk flow of a sphere of 6000 km s-1 radius in the CMB reference frame is between 140 and 320 km s-1.
BEACON: an adaptive set-membership filtering technique with sparse updates

This paper deals with adaptive solutions to the so-called set-membership filtering (SMF) problem. The SMF methodology involves designing filters by imposing a deterministic constraint on the output error sequence. A set-membership decision feedback equalizer (SM-DFE) for equalization of a communications channel is derived, and connections with the minimum mean square error (MMSE) DFE are established. Further, an adaptive solution to the general SMF problem via a novel optimal bounding ellipsoid (OBE) algorithm called BEACON is presented. This algorithm features sparse updating, wherein it uses about 5-10% of the data to update the parameter estimates without any loss in mean-squared error performance, in comparison with the conventional recursive least-squares (RLS) algorithm. It is shown that the BEACON algorithm can also be derived as a solution to a certain constrained least-squares problem. Simulation results are presented for various adaptive signal processing examples, including estimation of a real communication channel. Further, it is shown that the algorithm can accurately track fast time variations in a nonstationary environment. This improvement is a result of incorporating an explicit test to check if an update is needed at every time instant as well as an optimal data-dependent assignment to the updating weights whenever an update is required.
The abused drug MDMA (Ecstasy) induces programmed death of human serotonergic cells

The widely abused amphetamine analog 3,4‐methylenecdioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, also called “ecstasy”) induces hallucination and psychostimulation, as well as long‐term neuropsychiatric behaviors such as panic and psychosis. In rodents and monkeys, MDMA is cytotoxic to serotonergic neurons, but this is less clear with humans. Herein, MDMA was cytotoxic to human serotonergic JAR cells; it altered the cell cycle, increased G2/ M phase arrest, and induced DNA fragmentation in a cycloheximide‐sensitive way. This apoptosis was not observed in nonserotonergic human NMB cells. The stereospecific effect of amphetamines in JAR cells, and the key role of NO and dopamine in MDMA‐induced apoptosis were determined. The relevancy of MDMA‐induced cell death to drug users is discussed. —Simantov, R. , Tauber, M. The abused drug MDMA (Ecstasy) induces programmed death of human serotonergic cells. FASEB J. 11, 141‐146(1997)
Are Auditory Percepts Determined by Experience?

Audition–what listeners hear–is generally studied in terms of the physical properties of sound stimuli and physiological properties of the auditory system. Based on recent work in vision, we here consider an alternative perspective that sensory percepts are based on past experience. In this framework, basic auditory qualities (e.g., loudness and pitch) are based on the frequency of occurrence of stimulus patterns in natural acoustic stimuli. To explore this concept of audition, we examined five well-documented psychophysical functions. The frequency of occurrence of acoustic patterns in a database of natural sound stimuli (speech) predicts some qualitative aspects of these functions, but with substantial quantitative discrepancies. This approach may offer a rationale for auditory phenomena that are difficult to explain in terms of the physical attributes of the stimuli as such.
The “bomb” risk elicitation task

This paper presents the Bomb Risk Elicitation Task (BRET), an intuitive procedure aimed at measuring risk attitudes. Subjects decide how many boxes to collect out of 100, one of which contains a bomb. Earnings increase linearly with the number of boxes accumulated but are zero if the bomb is also collected. The BRET requires minimal numeracy skills, avoids truncation of the data, allows the precise estimation of both risk aversion and risk seeking, and is not affected by the degree of loss aversion or by violations of the Reduction Axiom. We validate the BRET, test its robustness in a large-scale experiment, and compare it to three popular risk elicitation tasks. Choices react significantly only to increased stakes, and are sensible to wealth effects. Our experiment rationalizes the gender gap that often characterizes choices under uncertainty by means of a higher loss rather than risk aversion.
Mindfulness-based interventions for youth in the criminal justice system: a review of the research-based literature

Mindfulness is a technique and sense of being present in the moment that incorporates aspects of acceptance, openness and meditation with the ultimate intention of improving well-being. Research indicates that mindfulness can significantly improve negative personality traits, reduce stress, increase attention, alleviate chronic pain and enhance mental health. Mindfulness-based interventions in correctional facilities have resulted in reduced hostility and improved self-esteem for adults, but less is known about its applicability amongst youth. This article reviews the research-based literature on the use of mindfulness-based interventions for youths (aged 13 to 24 years) involved in the justice system. A total of ten studies were located and synthesised into four themes of stress reduction, self-regulation, anger management and acceptance. The article concludes by considering the methodological rigour of the reviewed studies, providing recommendations for future research and contemplating the positive impact that mindfulness interventions might have on youth in the criminal justice system.
Accelerated In Vivo Proliferation of Memory Phenotype CD4+ T-cells in Human HIV-1 Infection Irrespective of Viral Chemokine Co-receptor Tropism

CD4+ T-cell loss is the hallmark of HIV-1 infection. CD4 counts fall more rapidly in advanced disease when CCR5-tropic viral strains tend to be replaced by X4-tropic viruses. We hypothesized: (i) that the early dominance of CCR5-tropic viruses results from faster turnover rates of CCR5+ cells, and (ii) that X4-tropic strains exert greater pathogenicity by preferentially increasing turnover rates within the CXCR4+ compartment. To test these hypotheses we measured in vivo turnover rates of CD4+ T-cell subpopulations sorted by chemokine receptor expression, using in vivo deuterium-glucose labeling. Deuterium enrichment was modeled to derive in vivo proliferation (p) and disappearance (d*) rates which were related to viral tropism data. 13 healthy controls and 13 treatment-naive HIV-1-infected subjects (CD4 143–569 cells/ul) participated. CCR5-expression defined a CD4+ subpopulation of predominantly CD45R0+ memory cells with accelerated in vivo proliferation (p = 2.50 vs 1.60%/d, CCR5+ vs CCR5−; healthy controls; P<0.01). Conversely, CXCR4 expression defined CD4+ T-cells (predominantly CD45RA+ naive cells) with low turnover rates. The dominant effect of HIV infection was accelerated turnover of CCR5+CD45R0+CD4+ memory T-cells (p = 5.16 vs 2.50%/d, HIV vs controls; P<0.05), naïve cells being relatively unaffected. Similar patterns were observed whether the dominant circulating HIV-1 strain was R5-tropic (n = 9) or X4-tropic (n = 4). Although numbers were small, X4-tropic viruses did not appear to specifically drive turnover of CXCR4-expressing cells (p = 0.54 vs 0.72 vs 0.44%/d in control, R5-tropic, and X4-tropic groups respectively). Our data are most consistent with models in which CD4+ T-cell loss is primarily driven by non-specific immune activation.
Interference and Indoor Channel Propagation Modeling Based on GPS Satellite Signal Measurements

The Global Navigation Satellite system (GNSS) is experiencing an exponential growth of the consumer segment demand. Many applications emerged after the E-911/E-112 regulations. Positioning needs to be carried out in all the environments covered by the wireless communication services, including the most constraining areas such as obstructed indoor environments. Different techniques have emerged already in the market claiming some navigation capabilities indoors. However, they usually have an accuracy of some tens of meters, at best. In some cases, with the deployment of pseudolites, indoor navigation shows decent performance, but there is still a question of whether GPS has a ”good enough” signal structure for such applications in the first place. In this paper, measurement-based modeling results with the purpose of giving further insight on the real satellite-to-indoor channel characteristics are described.
Emotional Energy, Relational Energy, and Organizational Energy: Toward a Multilevel Model

The concept of emotional energy generates increasing scholarly and popular interest. Research spans multiple disciplines (psychology, sociology, organization behavior, network science) and levels of analysis: micro (individual-level emotional energy), meso (dyadic or relational energy), and macro (group emotion, energy networks). I impose order on this sprawling and disparate literature by defining core concepts and conducting a broad but selective review with a focus on mechanisms. This review identifies key empirical findings but also reveals critical ambiguities and disagreements in the conceptualization (and therefore measurement) of energy. Theorizing has outpaced empirical testing. One implication is that practice may be unmoored from a solid empirical grounding. I offer a critique that points to several promising areas of empirical research. I conclude with practical implications for individuals and organizations, summary points, and future issues.
On the Effects of Idiotypic Interactions for Recommendation Communities in Artificial Immune Systems

It has previously been shown that a recommender based on immune system idiotypic principles can outperform one based on correlation alone. This paper reports the results of work in progress, where we undertake some investigations into the nature of this beneficial effect. The initial findings are that the immune system recommender tends to produce different neighbourhoods, and that the superior performance of this recommender is due partly to the different neighbourhoods, and partly to the way that the idiotypic effect is used to weight each neighbour’s recommendations.
Risk adjusted output feedback Receding Horizon control of constrained Linear Parameter Varying Systems

In the past few years, control of Linear Parameter Varying Systems (LPV) has been the object of considerable attention, as a way of formalizing the intuitively appealing idea of gain scheduling control for nonlinear systems. However, currently available LPV techniques are both computationally demanding and (potentially) very conservative. In this paper we propose to address these difficulties by combining Receding Horizon and risk-adjusted techniques. The resulting controllers are guaranteed to stabilize the plant and have computational complexity that increases polynomially, rather than exponentially, with the prediction horizon.
Mass and gas profiles in A1689: joint X-ray and lensing analysis

We carry out a comprehensive joint analysis of high-quality HST/ACS and Chandra measurements of A1689, from which we derive mass, temperature, X-ray emission and abundance profiles. The X-ray emission is smooth and symmetric, and the lensing mass is centrally concentrated indicating a relaxed cluster. Assuming hydrostatic equilibrium we deduce a 3D mass profile that agrees simultaneously with both the lensing and X-ray measurements. However, the projected temperature profile predicted with this 3D mass profile exceeds the observed temperature by ∼30 per cent at all radii, a level of discrepancy comparable to the level found for other relaxed clusters. This result may support recent suggestions from hydrodynamical simulations that denser, more X-ray luminous small-scale structure can bias observed temperature measurements downward at about the same (∼30 per cent) level. We determine the gas entropy at 0.1r vir (where r vin is the virial radius) to be ∼800 keV cm 2 , as expected for a high-temperature cluster, but its profile at >0.1r vir has a power-law form with index ∼0.8, considerably shallower than the ∼ 1.1 index advocated by theoretical studies and simulations. Moreover, if a constant entropy 'floor' exists at all, then it is within a small region in the inner core, r < 0.02r vir , in accord with previous theoretical studies of massive clusters.
On the reported magnetic precursor of the 1993 Guam earthquake

Using 1‐second magnetometer data recorded 67 km from the epicenter of the 1993 Mw 7.7 Guam earthquake, Hayakawa et al. (1996) and Miyahara et al. (1999) identify anomalous precursory changes in ultra‐low frequency magnetic polarization (the ratio of vertical to horizontal field components). In a check of their results, we compare their data (GAM) with 1‐second data from the Kakioka observatory (KAK) in Japan and the global magnetic activity index Kp. We also examine log books kept by USGS staff working on the Guam magnetic observatory. We find (1) analysis problems with both Hayakawa et al. and Miyahara et al., (2) significant correlation between the GAM, KAK, and Kp data, and (3) an absence of identifiable localized anomalous signals occurring prior to the earthquake. The changes we do find in polarization are part of normal global magnetic activity; they are unrelated to the earthquake.
Subject Knowledge and Perceptions of Bioenergy among School Teachers in India: Results from a Survey

Teachers’ knowledge and perceptions of bioenergy, and their motivation to teach such a topic, can largely determine the success of implementing bioenergy related education in schools. The study aimed to explore science teachers’ knowledge and perceptions of bioenergy in India. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 28 science teachers from four urban schools in India. Results indicated that the science teachers were fairly knowledgeable regarding bioenergy and they also demonstrated positive perceptions of bioenergy. In addition, they were positive towards the prospect of receiving more information to increase their own knowledge of bioenergy. However, the science teachers appeared to have some misconceptions regarding the issue of CO2 emission from using bioenergy. It also emerged that although the existing Science syllabus for Grade X in Indian schools includes a topic on bioenergy, the majority of the science teachers were not aware of it. Policy makers and educators are recommended to provide science teachers more support to improve their capacity for teaching energy and environmental topics in schools in India. In addition, an improvement of the current learning and teaching environment in Indian schools could help teachers to deliver energy and environmental education more effectively to their students.
Founder-CEOs and Stock Market Performance

Eleven percent of the largest public U.S. firms are headed by the CEO who founded the firm. Founder-CEO firms differ systematically from successor-CEO firms. They have a higher accounting performance and a higher firm valuation. Founder-CEO firms invest more in R&D, have higher capital expenditures, and make more focused mergers and acquisitions. Moreover, an equal-weighted investment strategy that had invested in founder-CEO firms from 1993–2002 would have earned a benchmarkadjusted return of 8.3% annually. A value-weighted investment strategy would have earned an abnormal return of 10.7%. The excess return is robust; after controlling for a wide variety of firm characteristics, CEO characteristics, and industry affiliation, the abnormal return is still 4.4% annually.