Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding language in autism spectrum disorder: the role of cognitive control

This study examined the hypothesis of an atypical interaction between attention and language in ASD. A dual-task experiment with three conditions was designed, in which sentences were presented that contained errors requiring attentional focus either at (a) low level, or (b) high level, or (c) both levels of language. Speed and accuracy for error detection were measured from 16 high-functioning adults with ASD, and 16 matched controls. For controls, there was an attentional cost of dual level processing for low level performance but not for high level performance. For participants with ASD, there was an attentional cost both for low level and for high level performance. These results suggest a compensatory strategic use of attention during language processing in ASD. This chapter has been published as: Koolen, S. , Vissers, C.Th. W.M. , Hendriks, A.W. C.J., Egger, J.I. M. , & Verhoeven, L. (2012). The interplay between attentional strategies and language processing in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42 (5), 805-814. Attentional strategies and language in ASD | 29
Effect of foraging material and food form on feather pecking in laying hens

1. The aim was to test whether provision of foraging material and food form influence feather pecking and feather damage in laying hens. 2. From week 19 of age, 16 groups of 11 hens (white Lohman Selected Leghorn hybrids) were kept in pens with or without access to long-cut straw as foraging material and fed on either mash or pellets. 3. Foraging behaviour was increased in hens with access to straw and time spent feeding was increased in hens fed on mash. In addition, hens fed on mash had longer feeding bouts and higher rates of pecking at the food during feeding than hens fed on pellets. 4. There were interaction effects of foraging material and food form on both feather pecking and feather damage. High rates of feather pecking and pronounced feather damage were only found in hens housed without access to straw and fed on pellets. In groups characterised by high rates of feather pecking the hens also showed more severe forms of this behaviour. 5. Differences in the time budgets of hens kept in different housing conditions suggested that birds fed on mash used the food not only for feeding but also as a substrate for foraging behaviour. 6. In order to avoid problems with feather pecking it is recommended that laying hens are provided with foraging material and fed on mash.
Reproduction Revisited: Comprehending Complex Educational Trajectories

Pierre Bourdieu's famous theory of educational reproduction is often depicted by critics in simplistic terms: individuals either have plenty of cultural capital, and thus symbolic mastery and school success, or they do not and develop practical mastery and vocational interests instead. Social mobility, deviant trajectories and resistance, on the other hand, are seemingly impossible. The nature of Bourdieu's writing fuelled this perception, but implicit in his early work, and elaborated in his later writings, is the idea that class and capital possession are fully relational, gradational and refracted by family dynamics, thereby suggesting the existence of all manner of possible shades of difference between the two poles of reproduction. This paper, whilst acknowledging that reproduction is still the major feature of the education system in the UK, thus revisits Bourdieu's thesis and sketches some of the manifestations of this intermediate zone of educational performance, namely social space travel, the Icarus effect, recovered trajectories and pathways born of dispersed family fields. In so doing it draws on a qualitative research project examining the life histories of adults from a variety of class positions in Bristol.
Coded TeraSort

We focus on sorting, which is the building block of many machine learning algorithms, and propose a novel distributed sorting algorithm, named CodedTeraSort, which substantially improves the execution time of the TeraSort benchmark in Hadoop MapReduce. The key idea of CodedTeraSort is to impose structured redundancy in data, in order to enable in-network coding opportunities that overcome the data shuffling bottleneck of TeraSort. We empirically evaluate the performance of CodedTeraSort algorithm on Amazon EC2 clusters, and demonstrate that it achieves 1.97× - 3.39× speedup, compared with TeraSort, for typical settings of interest.
Acquisition, Synthesis, and Rendering of Bidirectional Texture Functions

One of the main challenges in computer graphics is still the realistic rendering of complex materials such as fabric or skin. The difficulty arises from the complex meso structure and reflectance behavior defining the unique look‐and‐feel of a material. A wide class of such realistic materials can be described as 2D‐texture under varying light‐ and view direction, namely, the Bidirectional Texture Function (BTF). Since an easy and general method for modeling BTFs is not available, current research concentrates on image‐based methods, which rely on measured BTFs (acquired real‐world data) in combination with appropriate synthesis methods. Recent results have shown that this approach greatly improves the visual quality of rendered surfaces and therefore the quality of applications such as virtual prototyping. This state‐of‐the‐art report (STAR) will present the techniques for the main tasks involved in producing photo‐realistic renderings using measured BTFs in details.
Female hormonal exposures and neuromyelitis optica symptom onset in a multicenter study

Objective: To study the association between hormonal exposures and disease onset in a cohort of women with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Methods: Reproductive history and hormone use were assessed using a standardized reproductive survey administered to women with NMOSD (82% aquaporin-4 antibody positive) at 8 clinical centers. Using multivariable regression, we examined the association between reproductive exposures and age at first symptom onset (FS). Results: Among 217 respondents, the mean age at menarche was 12.8 years (SD 1.7). The mean number of pregnancies was 2.1 (SD 1.6), including 0.3 (SD 0.7) occurring after onset of NMOSD symptoms. In the 117 participants who were postmenopausal at the time of the questionnaire, 70% reported natural menopause (mean age: 48.9 years [SD 3.9]); fewer than 30% reported systemic hormone therapy (HT) use. Mean FS age was 40.1 years (SD 14.2). Ever-use of systemic hormonal contraceptives (HC) was marginally associated with earlier FS (39 vs 43 years, p = 0.05). Because HC use may decrease parity, when we included both variables in the model, the association between HC use and FS age became more significant (estimate = 2.7, p = 0.007). Among postmenopausal participants, 24% reported NMOSD onset within 2 years of (before or after) menopause. Among these participants, there was no association between age at menopause or HT use and age at NMOSD onset. Conclusions: Overall, age at NMOSD onset did not show a strong relationship with endogenous hormonal exposures. An earlier onset age did appear to be marginally associated with systemic HC exposure, an association that requires confirmation in future studies.
Cooperative Effects of Akt-1 and Raf-1 on the Induction of Cellular Senescence in Doxorubicin or Tamoxifen Treated Breast Cancer Cells

Escape from cellular senescence induction is a potent mechanism for chemoresistance. Cellular senescence can be induced in breast cancer cell lines by the removal of estrogen signaling with tamoxifen or by the accumulation of DNA damage induced by the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin. Long term culturing of the hormone-sensitive breast cancer cell line MCF-7 in doxorubicin (MCF-7/DoxR) reduced the ability of doxorubicin, but not tamoxifen, to induce senescence. Two pathways that are often upregulated in chemo- and hormonal-resistance are the PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR and Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathways. To determine if active Akt-1 and Raf-1 can influence drug-induced senescence, we stably introduced activated ΔAkt-1(CA) and ΔRaf-1(CA) into drug-sensitive and doxorubicin-resistant cells. Expression of a constitutively-active Raf-1 construct resulted in higher baseline senescence, indicating these cells possessed the ability to undergo oncogene-induced-senescence. Constitutive activation of the Akt pathway significantly decreased drug-induced senescence in response to doxorubicin but not tamoxifen in MCF-7 cells. However, constitutive Akt-1 activation in drug-resistant cells containing high levels of active ERK completely escaped cellular senescence induced by doxorubicin and tamoxifen. These results indicate that up regulation of the Ras/PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR pathway in the presence of elevated Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling together can contribute to drug-resistance by diminishing cell senescence in response to chemotherapy. Understanding how breast cancers containing certain oncogenic mutations escape cell senescence in response to chemotherapy and hormonal based therapies may provide insights into the design of more effective drug combinations for the treatment of breast cancer.
Telomerase in yeast.

The ribonucleoprotein enzyme telomerase synthesizes telomeric DNA by copying an internal RNA template sequence. The telomerase activities of the yeasts Saccharomyces castellii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae--with regular and irregular telomeric sequences, respectively--have now been identified and characterized. The S. cerevisiae activity required the telomerase RNA gene TLC1 but not the EST1 gene, both of which are required for normal telomere maintenance in vivo. This activity exhibited low processivity and produced no regularly repeated products. An inherently high stalling frequency of the S. cerevisiae telomerase may account for its in vitro properties and for the irregular telomeric sequences of this yeast.
Morphological and atomic analytical changes after CO2 laser irradiation emitted at 9.3 microns on human dental hard tissues.

OBJECTIVE The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of CO2 laser emitted at 9.3 microns on human sound and carious dental hard tissue ablation with a stereoscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDX) and to identify possible applications of this laser in clinical treatment. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA There has been no report of morphological changes or atomic analytical studies on carious hard tissues after laser irradiation with 9.3 microns CO2 laser. METHODS Sixty extracted human teeth with no caries and sixty teeth with enamel or dentin caries were used for this study. All teeth were horizontally sectioned into slices (approximately 3 mm in thickness) and the samples were irradiated with CO2 laser using the following two parameters: a fluence of 78 J/cm2 and 5 pps for 2 sec. After laser irradiation, half of the samples were observed by stereoscopy and SEM and the other half were analyzed by SEM-EDX. RESULTS The lased sound enamel and dentin surfaces showed crater-like structures which had been produced by the high laser energy. On the other hand, some portions of carious hard tissues were evaported by the laser. A slight amount of carbonization was observed by stereoscopy. Calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) content of sound or carious hard tissues was increased significantly (p < 0.01) after laser irradiation, but the ratio of Ca to P after laser irradiation was significantly increased (p < 0.01) on sound hard tissue only. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the 9.3 microns CO2 laser may be useful for the prevention or removal of caries in clinical situations.
Meiotic wave adds extra asymmetry to the development of female chicken gonads

Development of female gonads in the chicken is asymmetric. This asymmetry affects gene expression, morphology, and germ cell development; consequently only the left ovary develops into a functional organ, whereas the right ovary remains vestigial. In males, on the other hand, both gonads develop into functional testes. Here, we revisited the development of asymmetric traits in female (and male) chicken gonads between Hamburger Hamilton stage 16 (HH16) and hatching. At HH16, primordial germ cells migrated preferentially to the left gonad, accumulating in the left coelomic hinge between the gut mesentery and developing gonad in both males and females. Using the meiotic markers SYCP3 and phosphorylated H2AFX, we identified a previously undescribed, pronounced asymmetryc meiotic progression in the germ cells located in the central, lateral, and extreme cortical regions of the left female gonad from HH38 until hatching. Moreover, we observed that—in contrast to the current view—medullary germ cells are not apoptotic, but remain arrested in pre‐leptotene until hatching. In addition to the systematic analysis of the asymmetric distribution of germ cells in female chicken gonads, we propose an updated model suggesting that the localization of germ cells—in the left or right gonad; in the cortex or medulla of the left gonad; and in the central part or the extremities of the left cortex—has direct consequences for their development and participation in adult reproduction. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 82: 774–786, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. Molecular Reproduction and Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Without-Replacement Sampling for Stochastic Gradient Methods: Convergence Results and Application to Distributed Optimization

Stochastic gradient methods for machine learning and optimization problems are usually analyzed assuming data points are sampled \emph{with} replacement. In practice, however, sampling \emph{without} replacement is very common, easier to implement in many cases, and often performs better. In this paper, we provide competitive convergence guarantees for without-replacement sampling, under various scenarios, for three types of algorithms: Any algorithm with online regret guarantees, stochastic gradient descent, and SVRG. A useful application of our SVRG analysis is a nearly-optimal algorithm for regularized least squares in a distributed setting, in terms of both communication complexity and runtime complexity, when the data is randomly partitioned and the condition number can be as large as the data size per machine (up to logarithmic factors). Our proof techniques combine ideas from stochastic optimization, adversarial online learning, and transductive learning theory, and can potentially be applied to other stochastic optimization and learning problems.
Pyramiding and evaluation of both a foreign Bacillus thuringiensis and a Lysine-rich protein gene in the elite indica rice 9311

Gene pyramiding is an efficient approach for the genetic improvement of multiple agronomic traits simultaneously. In this study, we pyramided two foreign genes, cry1Ac driven by the rice Actin I promoter, and lysine-rich protein (LRP), driven by the endosperm-specific GLUTELIN1 (GT1) promoter, into the elite indica cultivar 9311. These two genes were chosen in an attempt to enhance insect-resistance and Lysine (Lys) content. In the pyramided line, the foreign gene cry1Ac was efficiently expressed in the leaves and stems, and exhibited highly efficient resistance to striped stem borer (SSB, Chilo suppressalis Walker) in the laboratory and rice leaf folder (RLF, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis Guenee) in the field. Furthermore, the LRP gene was highly expressed in the endosperm and produced a remarkable increase of Lys content in the seeds of the pyramided line. The data from field trials demonstrated that most of the agronomic traits including yield were well maintained in the pyramided line compared to the parental control. These results strongly suggest that the foreign cry1Ac and LRP genes have remarkable application potential in rice, and the resultant pyramided line serves as an ideal bridge material for the improvement of insect-resistance and high Lys rice in the future.
Gene Expression in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Is Distinguished by KIT Genotype and Anatomic Site

Purpose: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are specific KIT expressing and KIT-signaling driven mesenchymal tumors of the human digestive tract, many of which have KIT-activating mutations. Previous studies have found a relatively homogeneous gene expression profile in GIST, as compared with other histological types of sarcomas. Transcriptional heterogeneity within clinically or molecularly defined subsets of GISTs has not been previously reported. We tested the hypothesis that the gene expression profile in GISTs might be related to KIT genotype and possibly to other clinicopathological factors. Experimental Design: An HG-U133A Affymetrix chip (22,000 genes) platform was used to determine the variability of gene expression in 28 KIT-expressing GIST samples from 24 patients. A control group of six intra-abdominal leiomyosarcomas was also included for comparison. Statistical analyses (t tests) were performed to identify discriminatory gene lists among various GIST subgroups. The levels of expression of various GIST subsets were also linked to a modified version of the growth factor/KIT signaling pathway to analyze differences at various steps in signal transduction. Results: Genes involved in KIT signaling were differentially expressed among wild-type and mutant GISTs. High gene expression of potential drug targets, such as VEGF, MCSF, and BCL2 in the wild-type group, and Mesothelin in exon 9 GISTs were found. There was a striking difference in gene expression between stomach and small bowel GISTs. This finding was validated in four separate tumors, two gastric and two intestinal, from a patient with familial GIST with a germ-line KIT W557R substitution. Conclusions: GISTs have heterogeneous gene expression depending on KIT genotype and tumor location, which is seen at both the genomic level and the KIT signaling pathway in particular. These findings may explain their variable clinical behavior and response to therapy.
Wood colour variation in sapwood and heartwood of young trees of Tectona grandis and its relationship with plantation characteristics, site, and decay resistance

Abstract• Wood colour of Tectona grandis produced from fast-growth plantations is highly variable and the causes of this variation are relatively unknown. • With the purpose of understanding the colour variation, different fast-growth plantations were sampled with different growth rates, tree ages, and sites. • Wood colour was measured with a CIELab system, where three variables are estimated: coordinate L* for lightness, coordinate a* defines redness and coordinate b* defines yellowness. • Results showed only a negative correlation between L* and a*. L* and a* were negatively and positively respectively correlated with pith distance in heartwood, but not for b*. No correlations were found between L* and b* in sapwood and plantation characteristics, while a* was positively correlated with age and height of tree and growth rate. In heartwood, tree age and diameter at breast height were correlated with all colour parameters, but tree height and plantation density were correlated with a* and b*. Cluster site had correlation with L*. Multiple correlation analysis showed that the heartwood is increasing darker (L*) and redder (a*) when the trees are older and bigger. Correlation coefficient shown that sapwood and heartwood with lighter colour (L*) is less resistance to fungal attack, but redness colour (a*) increasing decay resistance. Résumé• Il y a une grande variabilité de la couleur du bois de Tectona grandis produit à partir de plantations à croissance rapide et les causes de ces variations sont relativement inconnues. • Pour comprendre l’origine des variations de couleur nous avons échantillonné dans des plantations à croissance rapide qui diffèrent entre elles en termes de vitesse de croissance, d’âge et de site. • La couleur du bois a été mesurée avec le système CIELab qui permet la mesure de trois variables colorimétriques : la luminance L* allant du noir au blanc, a* et b* allant respectivement du vert au rouge et du bleu au jaune. • Les résultats montrent une corrélation négative entre L* et a*. Dans le bois le cœur il y a une corrélation négative entre L* et la distance à la moelle et une corrélation positive entre a* et la distance à la moelle : aucune corrélation n’apparaît pour b*. Dans l’aubier, on ne trouve aucune corrélation entre L* et b* et les caractéristiques des plantations. Cependant a* est corrélé positivement avec l’âge, la hauteur et la vitesse de croissance des arbres. Dans le bois de cœur, l’âge et le diamètre à 1,3 m des arbres sont corrélés avec les trois coordonnées chromatiques mais la hauteur des arbres et la densité de plantation sont corrélées avec a* et b*. Il y a une corrélation entre le site et L*. On montre que le bois de cœur est d’autant plus sombre et rouge que les arbres sont plus vieux et plus gros. Les corrélations obtenues montrent que les bois d’aubier et de cœur qui sont les plus clairs résistent moins bien aux attaques fongiques et que les bois de tendance plus rougeâtre ont une meilleure résistance aux pourritures.
Do Career and Technical Education Programs of Study Improve Student Achievement? Preliminary Analyses from a Rigorous Longitudinal Study

This longitudinal study examines the impact of programs of study on high school academic and technical achievement. Two districts are participating in experimental and quasi-experimental strands of the study. This article describes the sample selection, baseline characteristics, study design, career and technical education and academic achievement results of 9th and 10th graders, and qualitative findings from site visits. Few differences existed across groups in 9th grade, but by the end of 10th grade, students’ test scores, academic grade point averages, and progress to graduation tended to be better for the students in programs of study (i.e., treatment students) than for control/comparison students. Qualitative results suggest that treatment schools have created school cultures around programs of study that appear to explain improved engagement and achievement.
A coherent semiclassical transport model for pure-state quantum scattering

We present a time-dependent semiclassical transport model for coherent pure-state scattering with quantum barriers. The model is based on a complex-valued Liouville equation, with interface condition at quantum barriers using complex-valued scattering coefficients computed from the steady-state Schrodinger equation. By retaining the phase information at the barrier, this coherent model is adequate in describing quantum scattering and interference at quantum barriers, with a computational cost comparable to that of the classical mechanics. We construct both Eulerian and Lagrangian numerical methods for this model, and validate it using several numerical examples, including resonant multiple quantum barriers.
Intranasal Delivery of Influenza Subunit Vaccine Formulated with GEM Particles as an Adjuvant

Nasal administration of influenza vaccine has the potential to facilitate influenza control and prevention. However, when administered intranasally (i.n.), commercially available inactivated vaccines only generate systemic and mucosal immune responses if strong adjuvants are used, which are often associated with safety problems. We describe the successful use of a safe adjuvant Gram-positive enhancer matrix (GEM) particles derived from the food-grade bacterium Lactococcus lactis for i.n. vaccination with subunit influenza vaccine in mice. It is shown that simple admixing of the vaccine with the GEM particles results in a strongly enhanced immune response. Already after one booster, the i.n. delivered GEM subunit vaccine resulted in hemagglutination inhibition titers in serum at a level equal to the conventional intramuscular (i.m.) route. Moreover, i.n. immunization with GEM subunit vaccine elicited superior mucosal and Th1 skewed immune responses compared to those induced by i.m. and i.n. administered subunit vaccine alone. In conclusion, GEM particles act as a potent adjuvant for i.n. influenza immunization.