Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives.

Though violence against women has received increasing attention from scholars and the general public alike, much of the literature on the subject is scattered in monographs, journals, and books focusing on specific forms of gender violence. In their path-breaking anthology Gender Violence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, editors Laura L. O'Toole and Jessica Schiffman have brought together central articles and authors to construct a remarkably broad understanding of the gender-related manifestations of violence Gender Violence is composed of three sections--one examining the roots of male violence and victimization of women, another exploring forms of sexual coercion and violence, and a third offering a number of perspectives on promoting nonviolence in the context of gender relations. Chapters consider topics including sexual harassment, rape, children and gender violence, battering in intimate relationships, and pornography. The list of contributors includes such diverse and well known scholars as Friedrich Engels, bell hooks, Diana Scully, Harry Brod, and Linda Gordon, and poets such as Audre Lorde and Margaret Randall. The book also contains a number of original pieces with novel approaches to subjects such as domestic violence and its effects on children. With its interdisciplinary perspective and wide-ranging subject matter, Gender Violence is an excellent primary text as well as an invaluable reference for scholars in the field of women and violence.
Imagination and the Meaningful Brain

The ultimate goal of the cognitive sciences is to understand how the brain works -- how it turns "matter into imagination. " In Imagination and the Meaningful Brain, psychoanalyst Arnold Modell claims that subjective human experience must be included in any scientific explanation of how the mind/brain works. Contrary to current attempts to describe mental functioning as a form of computation, his view is that the construction of meaning is not the same as information processing. The intrapsychic complexities of human psychology, as observed through introspection and empathic knowledge of other minds, must be added to the third-person perspective of cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Assuming that other mammals are conscious and conscious of their feelings, Modell emphasizes evolutionary continuities and discontinuities of emotion. The limbic system, the emotional brain, is of ancient origin, but only humans have the capacity for generative imagination. By means of metaphor, we are able to interpret, displace, and transform our feelings. To bolster his argument, Modell draws on a variety of disciplines -- including psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, neurobiology, evolutionary biology, linguistics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. Only by integrating the objectivity of neuroscience, the phenomenology of introspection, and the intersubjective knowledge of psychoanalysis, he claims, will we be able fully to understand how the mind works.
The CD14 differentiation antigen mediates the development of endotoxin responsiveness during differentiation of mononuclear phagocytes

The CD14 antigen was originally described as a differentiation antigen on mononuclear cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the appearance of surface CD14 and the acquisition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) responsiveness during maturation of mononuclear phagocytes. Immature THP‐1 cells responded poorly to LPS in the absence or presence of serum. Treatment with the maturational agent calcitriol caused a dose‐ and time‐dependent increase in CD14 mRNA and surface CD14 and enhanced the responsiveness of THP‐1 cells to smooth and rough form LPS, complexes of LPS and lipopolysaccharide‐binding protein (LBP), and LPS in low concentrations of serum. Monoclonal antibodies to CD14 blocked the responses of THP‐1 to LPS, LPS‐LBP complexes and LPS in serum. Immunodepletion of LBP from serum also inhibited the effect of LPS in serum. The data show that maturation of the response of THP‐1 cells to LPS and LPS‐LBP complexes depends on the appearance of CD14 on the cell surface. Maturation of the response to LPS in serum depends in large part on the appearance of CD14 on the cell surface and the presence of LBP in serum. J. Leukoc. Biol. 56: 1–9; 1994.
A New Digital Image Analysis System for Measuring Blepharoptosis Patients’ Upper Eyelid and Eyebrow Positions

PurposeTo accurately assess eyelid and eyebrow position, we have developed a new measurement method using a digital image analysis system. Materials and Methods(1) Plotting the corneal limbus by transferring to the software digital images of the patient’s eyes in the primary gaze position; (2) determining the corneal ring, center, and longitudinal diameter; and (3) measuring the upper eyelid and eyebrow position. The method was tested on 24 patients with senile blepharoptosis and 45 young healthy eyelids without ptosis. ResultsThe upper eyelid position of patients with blepharoptosis was significantly lower, and their eyebrow position is significantly higher than those of healthy subjects. The upper eyelid and eyebrow position of the patients with blepharoptosis corelated, but no correlation was observed in the healthy subjects. ConclusionOur measuring system is a simpler, easier, and more accurate way of measuring both upper eyelid and eyebrow position than are currently used techniques.
It’s Not My Fault: Postdictive Modulation of Intentional Binding by Monetary Gains and Losses

Sense of agency refers to the feeling that one’s voluntary actions caused external events. Past studies have shown that compression of the subjective temporal interval between actions and external events, called intentional binding, is closely linked to the experience of agency. Current theories postulate that the experience of agency is constructed via predictive and postdictive pathways. One remaining problem is the source of human causality bias; people often make misjudgments on the causality of voluntary actions and external events depending on their rewarding or punishing outcomes. Although human causality bias implies that sense of agency can be modified by post-action information, convincing empirical findings for this issue are lacking. Here, we hypothesized that sense of agency would be modified by affective valences of action outcomes. To examine this issue, we investigated how rewarding and punishing outcomes following voluntary action modulate behavioral measures of agency using intentional binding paradigm and classical conditioning procedures. In the acquisition phase, auditory stimuli were paired with positive, neutral or negative monetary outcomes. Tone-reward associations were evaluated using reaction times and preference ratings. In the experimental session, participants performed a variant of intentional binding task, where participants made timing judgments for onsets of actions and sensory outcomes while playing simple slot games. Our results showed that temporal binding was modified by affective valences of action outcomes. Specifically, intentional binding was attenuated when negative outcome occurred, consistent with self-serving bias. Our study not only provides evidence for postdictive modification of agency, but also proposes a possible mechanism of human causality bias.
Bioprospecting the Curculigoside-Cinnamic Acid-Rich Fraction from Molineria latifolia Rhizome as a Potential Antioxidant Therapeutic Agent

Increasing evidence from both experimental and clinical studies depicts the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Specifically, disruption of homeostatic redox balance in accumulated body fat mass leads to obesity-associated metabolic syndrome. Strategies for the restoration of redox balance, potentially by exploring potent plant bioactives, have thus become the focus of therapeutic intervention. The present study aimed to bioprospect the potential use of the curculigoside-cinnamic acid-rich fraction from Molineria latifolia rhizome as an antioxidant therapeutic agent. The ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) isolated from M. latifolia rhizome methanolic extract (RME) contained the highest amount of phenolic compounds, particularly curculigoside and cinnamic acid. EAF demonstrated glycation inhibitory activities in both glucose- and fructose-mediated glycation models. In addition, in vitro chemical-based and cellular-based antioxidant assays showed that EAF exhibited high antioxidant activities and a protective effect against oxidative damage in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Although the efficacies of individual phenolics differed depending on the structure and concentration, a correlational study revealed strong correlations between total phenolic contents and antioxidant capacities. The results concluded that enriched phenolic contents in EAF (curculigoside-cinnamic acid-rich fraction) contributed to the overall better reactivity. Our data suggest that this bioactive-rich fraction warrants therapeutic potential against oxidative stress-related disorders.
Rasagiline, Parkinson neuroprotection, and delayed-start trials

Rasagiline has been studied as a Parkinson disease (PD) neuroprotective agent in 2 major clinical trials, utilizing the delayed-start design in an attempt to separate symptomatic drug benefits from a disease-modifying effect. The ostensibly positive outcomes of these studies, however, are obscured by potential confounding factors that seem intrinsic to this trial design, including 1) very small changes in clinical outcome measures that could easily be overshadowed by other influences; 2) probable incomplete blinding to study end; 3) subjective components of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scoring system; and 4) practice influences from repeated scoring. Interpretation of the recent Attenuation of Disease Progression with Azilect Given Once-daily (ADAGIO) trials is especially problematic given 1) divergent results with the 2 symptomatically beneficial doses and 2) variability in UPDRS scores with active rasagiline, which was twice the magnitude of the major finding of the study. These studies further illustrate the difficulty in documenting a disease-modifying effect when considering a PD drug with symptomatic benefit.
Assessing the impact of Cry1Ab-expressing corn pollen on monarch butterfly larvae in field studies

Survival and growth of monarch larvae, Danaus plexippus (L.), after exposure to either Cry1Ab-expressing pollen from three Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn (Zea mays L.) events differing in toxin expression or to the insecticide, λ-cyhalothrin, were examined in field studies. First instars exposed to low doses (≈22 grains per cm2) of event-176 pollen gained 18% less weight than those exposed to Bt11 or Mon810 pollen after a 5-day exposure period. Larvae exposed to 67 pollen grains per cm2 on milkweed leaves from within an event-176 field exhibited 60% lower survivorship and 42% less weight gain compared with those exposed to leaves from outside the field. In contrast, Bt11 pollen had no effect on growth to adulthood or survival of first or third instars exposed for 5 days to ≈55 and 97 pollen grains per cm2, respectively. Similarly, no differences in larval survivorship were observed after a 4-day exposure period to leaves with 504–586 (within fields) or 18–22 (outside the field) pollen grains per cm2 collected from Bt11 and non-Bt sweet-corn fields. However, survivorship and weight gain were drastically reduced in non-Bt fields treated with λ-cyhalothrin. The effects of Bt11 and Mon810 pollen on the survivorship of larvae feeding 14 to 22 days on milkweeds in fields were negligible. Further studies should examine the lifetime and reproductive impact of Bt11 and Mon810 pollen on monarchs after long-term exposure to naturally deposited pollen.
The roles of chronological age and time perspective in memory positivity

ABSTRACT The observation that older adults show enhanced cognition for emotionally positive information has been labeled the positivity effect (Reed, Chan, & Mikels, 2014). According to the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST, Carstensen, 1991), a prominent lifespan development theory, cognition is strongly influenced by motivational goals, and these goals are impacted by subjective time perspective. Although the positivity effect is most commonly observed in older adults, as age usually co-varies with time perspective, the SST posits that time perspective, not age, is the key explanatory factor of positivity. We examined the effects of these predictors on positivity in an episodic memory task in younger and older adults and found that age, not time perspective, was a key predictor of memory positivity. Our results add to the growing literature that challenge the notion that time perspective is the driving force behind age-related differences in emotional processing and functioning.
Acquisition and Registration using Two Opposing Kinects

We present an automatic, open source data acquisition and calibration approach using two opposing RGBD sensors (Kinect V2) and demonstrate its efficacy for dynamic object reconstruction in the context of monitoring for remote lung function assessment. First, the relative pose of the two RGBD sensors is estimated through a calibration stage and rigid transformation parameters are computed. These are then used to align and register point clouds obtained from the sensors at frame level. We validated the proposed system by performing experiments on known-size box objects with the results demonstrating accurate measurements. We also report on dynamic object reconstruction by way of human subjects undergoing respiratory functional assessment.
Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems ( PACIS ) 2014 DOES POWER MATTER IN IMPLEMENTING IOS INTEGRATION ? THE “ TRANSALATION ” AND THE OBLIGATORY PASSAGE POINT PERSPECTIVE

IOS integration (IOSI) is becoming a competitive necessity in an industrial environment that emphasizes competition between supply chains. In the supply chain, dominant firms often try to exert their power to influence their dependent firms to implement IOSI. Misunderstanding about how power operates will impede firms for developing IOSI. Based on the circuits of power framework and the concept of obligatory passage point (OPP), this study identifies three factors that should mediate the effect of power on the implementation of IOSI, including competitive necessity, expected benefits, and firm readiness. We accordingly develop a theoretical model with nine hypotheses. Based on a sample of 135 manufacturing firms, seven out of the nine hypotheses receive empirical support using PLS. The findings show that the flows of exercised power and potential power into IOSI indeed circulate through those mediators. The theoretical and practical implications of the results contribute a better understanding of how power operates in developing IOSI.
The Mediating Role of Workplace Attachment in the Relationship between Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Le role mediateur de l’attachement au lieu de travail dans la relation entre l’engagement organisationnel et les comportements de citoyennete organisationnelleLes processus en jeu au sein de la relation entre l’engagement organisationnel et les comportements de citoyennete organisationnelle sont tres peu documentes. De plus, les etudes s’interessants aux roles des variables issues de la psychologie environnementales tel que l’attachement au lieu de travail dans l’etude des comportements de citoyennete organisationnelle en sont encore a leur balbutiements. L’objectif de cet article est d’associer ces trois concepts dans une approche causale pour examiner la nature de leurs relations. Une etude empirique a ete realisee sur un echantillon de 118 salaries. Les donnees montrent que l’attachement au lieu de travail predit les comportements d’entraide organisationnelle. Les analyses de regressions nous permettent d’observer le role mediateur de l’attachement au lieu de travail sur les relations entre les engagements affectifs et normatifs et l’entraide organisationnelle. Les consequences theoriques et manageriales des resultats de la presente recherche sont discutees et les principales limites degagees.
Passive path following control for port-Hamiltonian systems

This paper is devoted to path following control for port-Hamiltonian systems. The control law presented here is extension of an existing passive velocity field controller for fully actuated mechanical systems. The proposed method employs vector fields on the phase (co-tangent) spaces instead of those on the velocity (tangent) spaces. Since port-Hamiltonian systems can describe a wider class of systems than conventional mechanical ones, the proposed method is applicable to various systems. Furthermore, by making use of the port-Hamiltonian structure of the closed loop system, we can obtain a novel controller to assign the desired total energy. Moreover, a numerical simulation of a simple nonholonomic system exhibits the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Competition regulates the efficacy of an identified synapse in crickets

The efficacy of the synaptic contact between an identified sensory neuron and an identified interneuron in crickets is increased when neighboring afferent synapses are removed early in postembryonic life. The physiological changes are correlated with changes in the structure of the presynaptic neuron's axonal arborizations: When neighboring axons are destroyed, there is a shift of the remaining axonal arbors into deafferented regions and an increase in the number of putative contacts with the postsynaptic neuron. Changes in the structure of the presynaptic neuron also directly affect the probability of formation of this synaptic connection. The connection was found in 67% of the control specimens, but it was present in 100% of the partially deafferented specimens. The results demonstrate that interactions between growing sensory neurons can influence both the probability of synapse formation and the strength of those connections. This is the first case in which the effects of competition on the structure of a single, identified, presynaptic neuron can be directly related to its synaptic efficacy.
The digestion of fibre by pigs

1. The aim of the study was to determine the relative effects of feeding growing pigs with graded amounts of neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) from various sources on the empty wet weight of segments of the pig gastrointestinal tract, on the weight and moisture content of their digesta, and on the pattern of digesta movement in them. 2. Increased NDF intakes were associated with significantly higher wet weights of all gastrointestinal segments and increased lengths of the caecum. The lengths of both the small and the large intestines were unaffected by the ingestion by the pigs of different amounts of NDF from various sources. However, the caecum responded to these increased intakes of NDF by significant increases in length. The source of NDF in the diet was a factor that markedly influenced both the length and the weight of the distal colon. The nature of these increases in weight and length morphologically and their biological significance have not been determined. 3. Despite some significant differences, neither the type nor the level of dietary NDF had any appreciable effect on the dry weight and on the proportion of dry matter (DM) of the contents in the stomach. As the level of NDF intake was increased, more undigested dietary material was found in all segments of the digestive tract of the pigs. The proportion of DM in the residues decreased progressively from the caecal contents to the contents of the distal colon. In most cases the degree to which the level of NDF intake affected the weight of the contents and the proportion of DM in them was highly dependent on the source of NDF in the diet. 4. The distribution of the feed consumed in the morning and in the evening, as measured with stained feed particles and polyethylene beads, was extremely variable. It is concluded that prolonged intakes by pigs of diets containing high levels of fibre may lead to a hypertrophy and hence increased weight of segments of the gastrointestinal tract.
First-principles calculations of Na and K impurities in CuInSe2 and their effect on Cd incorporation

Recent experimental work has revealed the distinct and beneficial role of K incorporation on the fabrication of increasingly efficient thin-film photovoltaic devices with Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) absorber layers. This has been attributed, in part, to improved CdS/CIGS heterojunction quality due to the enhanced diffusion of Cd into the near-interface region of CIGS. In this work, we try to distinguish the role of K compared to Na in enhancing Cd incorporation in CuInSe2 (CIS) based on first-principles calculations. Using a canonical method for calculating defect concentrations as a function of temperature and material stoichiometry, we identify experimentally relevant conditions under which a simple model for Na and K kinetics can lead to such an effect. We argue that a sufficiently low migration barrier for K diffusion mediated by Cu vacancies can lead to Cu-depletion near the CdS interface, allowing Cd to occupy greater numbers of vacant Cu sites.
Designing High-Fidelity Single-Shot Three-Qubit Gates: A Machine Learning Approach

Three-qubit quantum gates are key ingredients for quantum error correction and quantum information processing. We generate quantum-control procedures to design three types of three-qubit gates, namely Toffoli, Controlled-Not-Not and Fredkin gates. The design procedures are applicable to a system comprising three nearest-neighbor-coupled superconducting artificial atoms. For each three-qubit gate, the numerical simulation of the proposed scheme achieves 99.9% fidelity, which is an accepted threshold fidelity for fault-tolerant quantum computing. We test our procedure in the presence of decoherence-induced noise as well as show its robustness against random external noise generated by the control electronics. The three-qubit gates are designed via the machine learning algorithm called Subspace-Selective Self-Adaptive Differential Evolution (SuSSADE).
Plasmodium AdoMetDC/ODC bifunctional enzyme is essential for male sexual stage development and mosquito transmission

ABSTRACT Polyamines are positively-charged organic molecules that are important for cellular growth and division. Polyamines and their synthesizing enzymes are particularly abundant in rapidly proliferating eukaryotic cells such as parasitic protozoa and cancer cells. Polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors, such as Elfornithine, are now being considered for cancer prevention and have been used effectively against Trypanosoma brucei. Inhibitors of polyamine biosynthesis have caused growth arrest of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages in vitro, but in P. berghei only partial inhibition has been observed. While polyamine biosynthesis enzymes are characterized and conserved in Plasmodium spp. , little is known on the biological roles of these enzymes inside malaria parasite hosts. The bifunctional polyamine biosynthesis enzyme S-adenosyl methionine decarboxylase/ornithine decarboxylase (AdoMetDC/ODC) was targeted for deletion in P. yoelii. Deletion of AdoMetDC/ODC significantly reduced blood stage parasitemia but Anopheles transmission was completely blocked. We showed that male gametocytogenesis and male gamete exflagellation were abolished and consequently no ookinetes or oocyst sporozoites could be generated from adometdc/odc(–) parasites. Supplementation of putrescine and spermidine did not rescue the defective phenotypes of male gametocytes and gametes of the knockout parasites. These results highlight the crucial role of polyamine homeostasis in the development and functions of Plasmodium erythrocytic stages in the blood and in the mosquito vector and validate polyamine biosynthesis pathway enzymes as drug targeting candidates for malaria parasite transmission blocking. Summary: We provide the first genetic evidence for the crucial roles of de novo polyamine biosynthesis in the development of Plasmodium male sexual stages and in the transmission of malaria parasite to mosquito.