Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Control Disruption and Quality of Life in Individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Cognitive Control Disruption and Quality of Life in Individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Isaac J. Hunt Department of Psychology, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with diminished quality of life and cognitive control dysfunction. Conflict adaptation is a reflection of cognitive control, and consists of the ability to detect conflict in previous trials and adjust performance on current trials. Conflict adaptation is thought to rely on interplay between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) for detecting conflict and signaling for increases in control, respectively. We hypothesized that individuals with OCD would show reduced conflict adaptation effects in response times, error rates, ACC activation, and dlPFC activation when compared with healthy control subjects. We also expected diminished conflict adaptation to be associated with poorer quality of life in those with OCD. Nineteen individuals with OCD and twenty psychiatrically-healthy controls completed a Stroop task while response times, error rates, and fMRI data were recorded. 2-Group (OCD, control) x 2-Previous Trial Congruency (congruent, incongruent), x 2-Current Trial Congruency (congruent, incongruent) ANOVAs were conducted for both behavioral and fMRI data. Indices of conflict adaptation were correlated with quality of life scores. There was a significant response time conflict adaptation effect collapsed across groups; however, there were no between-groups interactions or main effects. No error rate conflict adaptation was observed at any level of the analysis. On fMRI analyses, the dlPFC showed increased activation on incongruent relative to congruent trials collapsed across groups; however, no ACC activation differences were observed between current incongruent and congruent trials. Conflict adaptation-related activation was noted in the ACC collapsed across groups. The between-groups ANOVA revealed a significant cluster in the ACC with control participants showing greater ACC, medial prefrontal cortex, and left orbitofrontal cortex conflict adaptation activation-related activation relative to individuals with OCD. No between-groups differences were seen in the dlPFC. Conflict adaptation was not significantly related to quality of life. Individuals with OCD may use different neural processes to achieve similar behavioral results to those of healthy controls. Alternative explanations of conflict adaptation effects such as temporal learning theory are also discussed. Our hypothesized model for the ACC and dlPFC functioning as the evaluative and regulative components of cognitive control was only partly supported. ACC and dlPFC activation appeared to highlight different roles, but these roles may be independent rather than existing in a feedback loop. Although quality of life is significantly diminished in individuals with OCD, this loss of quality of life does not appear to be mediated by conflict adaptation differences.
On Some Fiscal Effects on Mortgage Debt Growth in the EU

This paper analyses some fiscal aspects of mortgage debt in the EU. It first describes the main fiscal instruments that governments use to affect mortgage-financed home-ownership. In the empirical part, real mortgage debt growth is analysed for 15 EU countries using pooled regressions. Fiscal effects are included via after-tax interest rates. Other factors shown to be relevant for mortgage debt growth are house prices, financial deregulation, and stock markets while the effects of household income and inflation are less evident. Finally, the role of structural fiscal measures in reducing housing market volatility is highlighted. JEL Classification: E51, E62, G21, H31, R21
Random walks on randomly oriented lattices 1

Simple random walks on various types of partially horizontally oriented regular lattices are considered. The horizontal orientations of the lattices ca n be of various types (deterministic or random) and depending on the nature of the orientation the asymptotic behaviour of the random walk is shown to be recurrent or transient. In particular, for randomly horizontally oriented lattices the random walk is almost surely transient.
Indexed Learning: Protagoras’s Computer

Information technology and communication in education have transformed the traditional school in digital classrooms. The adaptability of technological tools as teaching-learning resources facilitates the rationalization of educational work. Operate with a network computer, through digital information flows, allows us to opening choices for preparing and presenting educational contents. The practical utilities are perhaps the most visible aspect of this new form that takes the contemporary education. Deepening on changes that occur in schools, it is necessary ask ourselves on the model of learning that information and communication technologies (ICT) trigger. It is also necessary to realize the need of adjusting the educative offer to the student’s ways of receiving information, linking teaching contents to the learning style of students. This paper reflects on this topic of discussion, introducing as a debate the new learning styles that raise the digital technologies. Such a learning style is called here indexed.
Long-term changes in corneal structure and tear inflammatory mediators after orthokeratology and LASIK.

PURPOSE To monitor changes in corneal structure and level of inflammatory mediators in tears of myopic patients following orthokeratology (OK) and laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). METHODS Sixty-two myopic subjects were analyzed in this prospective study. Thirty-two had worn Paragon CRT contact lenses and 30 underwent standard LASIK. Thirty-two control subjects were also recruited. Pachometry and corneal topography were performed 12 months after both interventions. Tears were collected and assayed using ELISA for IL-6, IL-8, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and epidermal growth factor (EGF). RESULTS Corneal power decreased in the central area and increased in the paracentral area. Simultaneously, there was a central corneal thinning with mid-peripheral thickening for OK. No changes were observed for LASIK. In comparison with controls, IL-6, IL-8, MMP-9, and EGF levels were increased significantly for OK (P < 0.01). Only MMP-9 (P < 0.01) and EGF (P < 0.01) were increased for LASIK. Pro-inflammatory response was found to be associated with the degree of myopia in the OK group. The MMP-9 and EGF upregulation was linked to the presence of iron deposition in both groups, whereas increased levels of EGF were connected with the presence of myopic regression after LASIK. CONCLUSIONS Both interventions involved important tissue reshaping. The physical presence of a reverse geometry contact lens caused certain markers to change significantly in comparison with no lens wear or LASIK in the long-term response. MMP-9 was significantly higher in tears of subjects presenting iron deposition after OK or LASIK, and EGF levels seemed to play an important role in postoperative refractive outcomes after LASIK.
Procedural Learning: 1. Locus of Practice Effects in Speeded Choice Tasks Practice Effects in Speeded Tasks

When subjects perform 750 trials of a speeded choice task mapping different categories of symbols (e.g., letters, digits) onto different responses, excellent transfer is observed to new items in the trained categories (Experiment 1). However, when arbitrary sets of stimuli are mapped onto each response, introducing new stimuli substantially retards performance (Experiment 2), even when the size of the potential stimulus set remains constant (Experiment 3). Surprisingly, responses to already trained items are as slow as responses to new items in these transfer tests. When the mapping is categorical, shuffling the assignment of stimuli to responses drastically slows responses (Experiment 4). However, changing to a spatially homologous mapping with responses on the other hand produces excellent transfer (Experiment 5). Together, these results indicate that practice in speeded choice tasks affects primarily the response selection stage, rather than perceptual processing or motor responses. These data suggest that practice primarily strengthens links between category representations and spatially defined responses. Furthermore, when an arbitrary collection of symbols is mapped onto a given response, practice produces an ad hoc category representation and strengthens links between individual items and the category, as well as links between the category and the response. With practice, people become dramatically faster and more accurate in sensorimotor skills. Characterizing these changes is of major importance, for both applied and theoretical purposes. In applied situations, it would be useful to know how conditions of skill acquisition can be structured so that learning is most efficient and to know when one form of training will produce useful transfer to other, related tasks. For theoretical purposes, understanding the functional character of skill learning should provide a basis for developing detailed models of the changes that underlie such learning (such as neural net models). The present article focuses on the changes in performance that occur with modest amounts of practice in very simple sensorimotor tasks, namely those requiring speeded choice responses. In speeded choice tasks, subjects are presented with a single stimulus and must rapidly select and execute a response depending on the identity of the stimulus. This is one of the simplest paradigms in which one can examine procedural skills and their development, and it provides a useful laboratory model for the numerous human skills that involve retrieving and producing arbitrary responses to stimuli. Performance in speeded choice tasks is subject to various kinds of change as subjects perform repeated trials. Subjects' responses …
Formal Modeling and Verification of Safety-Critical Software

Rigorous quality demonstration is important when developing safety-critical software such as a reactor protection system (RPS) for a nuclear power plant. Although using formal methods such as formal modeling and verification is strongly recommended, domain experts often reject formal methods for four reasons: there are too many candidate techniques, the notations appear complex, the tools often work only in isolation, and output is often too difficult for domain experts to understand. A formal-methods-based process that supports development, verification and validation, and safety analysis can help domain experts overcome these obstacles. Nuclear engineers can also use CASE tools to apply formal methods without having to know details of the underlying formalism. The authors spent more than seven years working with nuclear engineers in developing RPS software and applying formal methods. The engineers and regulatory personnel found the process effective and easy to apply with the integrated tool support.
Single molecule imaging and FLIM show different structures for high and low-affinity EGFRs in A 431 cells

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) modulates mitosis and apoptosis through signalling by its high-affinity (HA) and low-affinity (LA) EGF-binding states. The prevailing model of EGFR activation derived from X-ray crystallography involves the transition from tethered ectodomain monomers to extended back-to-back dimers and cannot explain these EGFR affinities or their different functions. Here, we use single-molecule Förster resonant energy transfer analysis in combination with ensemble fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy to investigate the 3D architecture of HA and LA EGFR-EGF complexes in cells by measuring the inter-EGF distances within discrete EGF pairs and the vertical distance from EGF to the plasma membrane. Our results show that EGFR ectodomains form interfaces resulting in two inter-EGF distances (~8 nm and <5.5 nm), different to the back-toback EGFR ectodomain interface (~11nm). Distance measurements from EGF to the plasma membrane show that HA EGFR ectodomains are oriented flat on the membrane, while LA ectodomains stand proud from it. Their flat orientation confers HA EGFR ectodomains the exclusive ability to interact via asymmetric interfaces, head-to-head with respect to the EGFbinding site, while LA EGFRs must interact only side-by-side. Our results support a structural model in which asymmetric EGFR head-to-head interfaces may be relevant for HA EGFR oligomerisation.
Mindfulness Correlates with Stress and Coping in University Students.

Abstract Mindfulness has received significant attention in the empirical literature during the past decade, but few studies have focused on mindfulness in university students and how it may influence problematic behaviours. This study examined the relationships among mindfulness, coping, and physiological reactivity in a sample of university students. Participants completed questionnaires, and skin conductance measurements were collected during an interview where they recalled a personally stressful event. Correlation analyses tested relationships among these variables. There was a negative correlation between substance use and mindfulness. Specifically, those using substances as a coping mechanism were less likely to be mindful and displayed higher physiological reactivity. More mindful individuals were less likely to report misusing substances and were able to calm themselves more quickly than their counterparts following a stressful event. Thus, poor outcomes for distressed students may be reduced with mindfulness-based interventions. Resume Au cours des dernieres decennies, la pleine conscience a ete l’objet d’une attention importante dans la documentation empirique, mais peu d’etudes ont cible la pleine conscience chez les etudiants et sa facon d’influencer les comportements problematiques. Cette etude a etudie l’association entre la pleine conscience, les mecanismes d’adaptation et la reactivite physiologique chez un echantillon d’etudiants. En plus de repondre a des questionnaires, les participants ont du passer une entrevue ou il leur fallait raconter un souvenir personnel particulierement stressant pendant qu’on mesurait leur conductance cutanee. Des analyses de correlation ont evalue les liens entre ces variables. Ainsi, on a denote une correlation negative entre l’utilisation de substances nocives et la pleine conscience. Plus precisement, les participants qui avaient consomme des substances nocives comme mecanisme d’adaptation avaient moins tendance a posseder des traits conscients, et ont demontre une reactivite physiologique plus elevee que les autres etudiants. Les gens plus pleinement conscients avaient moins tendance a utiliser des substances nocives, et etaient capables de se calmer plus rapidement que leurs pairs apres un evenement stressant. Par consequent, des interventions basees sur la pleine conscience pourraient aider les etudiants stresses a ne pas adopter de comportements problematiques.
Middle Temporal Visual Area Microstimulation Influences Veridical Judgments of Motion Direction

Microstimulation of direction columns in the middle temporal visual area (MT, or V5) provides a powerful tool for probing the relationship between cortical physiology and visual motion perception. In the current study we obtained “veridical” reports of perceived motion from rhesus monkeys by permitting a continuous range of possible responses that mapped isomorphically onto a continuous range of possible motion directions. In contrast to previous studies, therefore, the animals were freed from experimenter-imposed “categories” that typify forced choice tasks. We report three new findings: (1) MT neurons with widely disparate preferred directions can cooperate to shape direction estimates, inconsistent with a pure “winner-take-all” read-out algorithm and consistent with a distributed coding scheme like vector averaging, whereas neurons with nearly opposite preferred directions seem to compete in a manner consistent with the winner-take-all hypothesis, (2) microstimulation can influence direction estimates even when paired with the most powerful motion stimuli available, and (3) microstimulation effects can be elicited when a manual response (instead of our standard oculomotor response) is used to communicate the perceptual report.
Out-of-plane structural flexibility of phosphorene

Phosphorene has been rediscovered recently, establishing itself as one of the most promising two-dimensional group-V elemental monolayers with direct band gap, high carrier mobility, and anisotropic electronic properties. In this paper, surface buckling and its effect on its electronic properties are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations together with density functional theory calculations. We find that phosphorene shows superior structural flexibility along the armchair direction allowing it to have large curvatures. The semiconducting and direct band gap nature are retained with buckling along the armchair direction; the band gap decreases and transforms to an indirect band gap with buckling along the zigzag direction. The structural flexibility and electronic robustness along the armchair direction facilitate the fabrication of devices with complex shapes, such as folded phosphorene and phosphorene nano-scrolls, thereby offering new possibilities for the application of phosphorene in flexible electronics and optoelectronics.
A FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING AND ASSESSING REASONING ABOUT VARIABILITY

SUMMARY This article is a discussion of and reaction to two collections of papers on research on Reasoning about Variation: Five papers appeared in November 2004 in a Special Issue 3(2) of the Statistics Education Research Journal (by Hammerman and Rubin, Ben-Zvi, Bakker, Reading, and Gould), and three papers appear in a Special Section on the same topic in the present issue (by Makar and Confrey, delMas and Liu, and Pfannkuch). These papers show that understanding of variability is much more complex and difficult to achieve than prior literature has led us to believe. Based on these papers and other pertinent literature, the present paper, written by the Guest Editors, outlines seven components that are part of a comprehensive epistemological model of the ideas that comprise a deep understanding of variability: Developing intuitive ideas of variability, describing and representing variability, using variability to make comparisons, recognizing variability in special types of distributions, identifying patterns of variability in fitting models, using variability to predict random samples or outcomes, and considering variability as part of statistical thinking. With regard to each component, possible instructional goals as well as types of assessment tasks that can be used in research and teaching contexts are illustrated. The conceptual model presented can inform the design and alignment of teaching and assessment, as well as help in planning research and in organizing results from prior and future research on reasoning about variability.
Performance of PCC-OFDM in multipath fading channels

Polynomial cancellation coding (PCC) is a very effective technique that reduces the sensitivity of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) to frequency errors at the cost of reduced spectral efficiency. This paper investigates the effect of PCC on the fading characteristics of multipath channels and on the error performance OFDM in a two-path fading channels. Channel coding is employed for forward error correction (FEC). It is shown that PCC improves the error performance of OFDM. Moreover, the overall effect of PCC and the channel coding is taken into consideration while analyzing the spectral efficiency of OFDM.
An approach to Robust Partial Parsing and Evaluation Metrics

In this paper, we present a new technique called Lightweight Dependency Analysis which in conjunctionwith Supertag disambiguation provides a method for Robust Partial Parsing, called Almost Parsing. An overview is given of the XTAG system in which this technique is being developed. In addition, we propose alternate metrics for evaluation of partial parsers that can also serve to evaluate full parsers.
The electrophysiology of photoreceptors in the nudibranch mollusc, Tritonia diomedia.

1. Tritonia has two eyes, each lying beneath the integument at the base of the rhinophore. Three cell types are present in the eye: large photoreceptors with nuclei up to 50 fizn. in diameter, pigment cells, and epithelial cells. A count of nuclei revealed a total of five receptors in each eye. 2. All receptors produced depolarizing generator potentials in the presence of light, regardless of intensity within the responsive range. Responses usually consisted of a fast early depolarization followed by a more slowly rising component. Spikes were uncommon in receptor somata. When present, spikes were superimposed on the slower phase of the response and measured no more than 12 mV. Depolarization was maintained at a steady level when illumination was sustained. 3. The receptors are coupled electrotonically, and synaptic inhibition was evident in a few cells. The functional consequences of these interactions are considered to be minimal. 4. Morphologically, the eye of Tritonia is very similar to that of the nudibranch, Hernissenda . But there are significant differences in the electrophysiology of the two eyes, particularly with respect to cell interactions. 5. Although the maximum recorded sensitivity was about five orders of magnitude less than that considered to be necessary for the detection of sunlight in Tritonia's natural habitat, a visual role in the regulation of periodic behavioural patterns cannot be definitely excluded. The eye may also function in the location or identification of luminescent pennatulids, the major source of food for Tritonia .
Estimation and Pricing with the Cairns-Blake-Dowd Model of Mortality

Parametric forecasts of future mortality improvements can be based on models with a small number of factors which summarise both the improvement in mortality and changes in the relationship between mortality and age. I extend the analysis of the two‐factor model of Cairns, Blake and Dowd (2006) to a more general dynamic process for the factors and also consider the problems arising from modelling estimated rather than observed factors. The methods are applied to mortality data for sixteen countries and are used to estimate the value of an annuity and measures of risk. The consequences for the money's worth of an annuity and reserving are also considered.
Compressed-domain reverse play of MPEG video streams

We present several compressed-domain methods for reverse- play transcoding of MPEG video streams. A reverse-play transcoder takes any original MPEG IPB bitstream as input and creates an output MPEG IPB bitstream which, when decoded by a generic MPEG decoder, displays the original video games in reverse order. A baseline spatial-domain method requires decoding the MPEG bitstream, storing and reordering the decoded video frames, and re-encoding the reordered video. The proposed compressed-domain transcoding methods achieve an order of magnitude reduction in computational complexity over the baseline spatial-domain approach. Much of the savings are achieved by using the forward motion vector fields available in the forward-play MPEG bitstream to efficiently generate the reverse motion vector fields used in the reverse-play MPEG bitstream. Furthermore, the storage requirements of the compressed-domain methods are reduced and the resulting image quality is within 0.6 dB of the baseline spatial-domain approach for a difficult highly detailed computer-generated video sequence. For more typical video sequences, the resulting image quality is even closer to the baseline spatial-domain approach.