Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The neuropsychopharmacology of reversal learning

Reversal learning deficits are a feature of many neuropsychiatric disorders, most notably schizophrenia. These deficits could be due, in part, to altered ability to dissipate either or both associations of previous positive (perseverance) and negative (learned non-reward) valence. Studies reported in this thesis developed an egocentric maze task and a visuospatial operant task for separate assessments of spatial reversal learning, perseverance and learned non-reward in mice. These tasks were subsequently used to assess the cognitive causes for altered performance after manipulations to brain systems recognised to be involved in reversal learning and relevant for human psychopathology, with a specific focus on schizophrenia. NMDA receptor (NMDAr) antagonism through acute phencyclidine did not affect reversal learning in the operant task, but caused general impairments in the maze task. Orbitofrontal (OFC) lesioned mice showed perseverative impairments in the operant task. Mice treated with the 5-HT2C receptor (5-HT2CR) antagonist SB242084 and 5-HT2CR KO mice showed facilitated reversal learning and decreased learned nonreward in the operant task. In the maze task, SB242084 decreased perseverance but increased learned non-reward, while 5-HT2CR KO mice showed perseverance and discrimination learning deficits. The final experimental chapter investigated the effect of SB242084 on touch-screen visual reversal learning in the rat. SB242084 retarded learning in this task. These studies demonstrate that previously non-reinforced associations can be of considerable importance in tasks of cognitive flexibility. The studies also show that the NMDAr, the 5-HT2CR, and the OFC, are involved in reversal learning and can modulate mechanisms related to both perseverance and learned non-reward. Moreover, in reversal learning, few effects of manipulations affecting PFC-functioning, or activity at the NMDAr and 5-HT2CR, generalise across the procedures in the visuospatial, egocentric spatial, and visual domains.
From the discovery to rationalization of others lies : how perceivers process and judge deception.

FROM THE DISCOVERY TO RATIONALIZATION OF OTHERS LIES: HOW PERCEIVERS PROCESS AND JUDGE DECEPTION FEBRUARY 2006 BRENT WEISS, B.A., HUNTER COLLEGE M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Robert Feldman The present project tested a theoretical framework for the deception judgment process. The framework argues that the deception judgment process begins when a perceiver first becomes suspicious of deception. This engages the perceiver to attempt to verify the speaker s claims. If the claims are deemed untrue, in an effort to classify the statement as a lie, the perceiver then examines the speaker s motives. If deemed a lie, the perceiver decides what to do about the deception, often taking into consideration the speaker s motives for lying. Three studies tested this framework. The first study examined the information perceivers used to distinguish lies from non-lies; the second study examined how the various forms of information were utilized and weighed in the deception judgment process; and finally, the third study examined the information processing strategies perceivers used to process deception. Overall, it was found that perceivers used several forms of information (e.g., logical inconsistencies, facts, and motives) when considering and judging deception. However, only facts were used to draw a conclusion regarding a statement s deceptiveness. In terms of processing
Pulp response to direct capping with an adhesive system.

PURPOSE To evaluate the pulp response following direct pulp capping with an adhesive system (Prime & Bond 2.0 - PB 2.0) and a zinc-oxide eugenol cement (ZOE) on pulp exposures in rat molar teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-eight Class I cavities were prepared on the occlusal surface of molar teeth of rats (Rattus Norvegicus, Holtzman). Pulp exposures performed on the cavity floor were capped either with the adhesive system P&B 2.0 or ZOE. After 7, 15, 30, and 60 days, the specimens were processed through H & E and Brown & Brenn staining techniques. RESULTS Both pulp capping materials allowed pulp repair, characterized by reorganization of a new odontoblast cell layer underlying the dentin bridge formation. However, P&B 2.0 promoted a large zone of cell-rich fibrodentin matrix deposition between the pulp capping material and the dentin bridge, which was deposited far from the pulp exposure site. On the other hand, pulps capped with ZOE showed dentin bridging immediately subjacent to the pulp capping material. In those samples in which microleakage occurred between dental material and cavity walls there was a persistent inflammatory reaction and lack of complete pulp repair.
School Counselor Collaboration with Language Interpreters: Results of a National Survey.

In an effort to increase knowledge of current school practices with regard to the use of language interpreters, experiences in collaborative work with interpreters were assessed through a national survey. Outcomes indicated a perceived need for more interpreter assistance, with many indicating a need for full-time language services. Bilingual staff members (e.g., secretaries or janitors) were most frequently identified as performing interpreter services. Primary challenges regarding the collaboration included limited interpreter skills or training, interpreter inability to manage emotional session content, and interpreter alteration of counselor commentary or assumption of control of counseling sessions.
The structures, goals and pedagogies of "variation problems" in the topic of addition and subtraction of 0-9 in Chinese textbooks and reference books

Different cultures with their own advantages and disadvantages are, rather than oppositional, complementary. In this paper, we attempted to articulate a Chinese “indigenous” pedagogical practice. This “indigenous” practice, “variation problems”, in the topic of addition and subtraction of 0-9 in Chinese textbook examples and their goals and pedagogies in their textbook reference books are presented. To grasp its distinctiveness, a comparison between Chinese and American textbooks is carried out. It might enable us to see which parts of the different educational systems can learn from each other.
The Effectiveness of Dimethyl Fumarate Monotherapy in the Treatment of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Dimethyl fumarate (BG-12, Tecfidera®) is a new oral drug approved by FDA and EMA in March 2013 for relapsing – remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The drug was much anticipated because of its possible superiority over currently available medications: fingolimod and teriflunomide as the only MS treatments currently available in oral form. Objective: The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy and safety of BG-12 in the treatment of RRMS. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in Medline/PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library up till 3rd November, 2013. We sought all published randomized clinical trials evaluating the use of dimethyl fumarate for the treatment of patients with RRMS. All included studies were critically appraised and analyzed with the use of Review Manager 5.1. 0. software according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement protocol. Results: Two trials, DEFINE and CONFIRM involved 2 651 patients and compared dimethyl fumarate taken either two or three times daily with placebo in patients with RRMS. Additionally in CONFIRM trial third group of patients received glatiramer acetate. The overall results of the meta-analysis showed that BG-12 (at both dosages) given to patients with RRMS is safe and statistically significantly more effective than placebo in reducing the proportion of patients who had a relapse by 2 years, the rate of disability progression and the mean number of gadolinium-enhancing lesions at 2 years. The comparison between BG-12 and glatiramer acetate revealed that the analyzed agent could potentially be more effective in the treatment of RRMS. Conclusions: Despite limited RCTs data available, both analyzed BG-12 regimens showed their efficacy on clinical disease parameters and other measures of disease activity in RRMS. The safety profile of the study agent was acceptable.
Zooplankton prey selection among three dominant ichthyoplankton species in the northwest Gulf of St Lawrence

The diets and feeding niches of early-stage larval sandlance (Ammodytes spp.), arctic shanny (Stichaeus punctatus), and snakeblenny (Lumpenus lampreytaeformis) were examined to study interactions among these dominant fish species and to better understand the ecological processes involved in structuring the ichthyoplankton community in the northwest Gulf of St Lawrence (GSL). Results indicate that sandlance and arctic shanny larvae have similar feeding niches but also that arctic shanny is more of a generalist and could be better adapted to cope with changes in the zooplankton community. The feeding incidence of sandlance larvae was lower than expected when compared with other similar studies. Snakeblenny larvae were larger and more developed at sampling time; they occupied a different feeding niche with larger prey species compared with sandlance and arctic shanny larvae. In the northwest GSL, the presence of Calanus glacialis and Calanus hyperboreus may be favourable for arctic shanny and snakeblenny since these copepod species are less exploited by sandlance larvae. This study is the first to describe diet selectivity and feeding niches of early-stage larval snakeblenny and arctic shanny in the natural environment. Our results demonstrate that detailed diet descriptions based on prey species and developmental stage identification should be used for a better interpretation of interactions within ichthyoplankton communities.
Searching for memory: The brain, the mind, and the past.

* Introduction: Memorys Fragile Power * On Remembering: A Telescope Pointed at Time * Building Memories: Encoding and Retrieving the Present and the Past * Of Time and Autobiography * Reflections in a Curved Mirror: Memory Distortion * Vanishing Traces: Amnesia and the Brain * The Hidden World of Implicit Memory * Emotional Memories: When the Past Persists * Islands in the Fog: Psychogenic Amnesia * The Memory Wars: Seeking Truth in the Line of Fire * Stories of Elders
Tight Bounds for Rumor Spreading with Vertex Expansion

We establish a bound for the classic PUSH-PULL rumor spreading protocol on general graphs, in terms of the vertex expansion of the graph. We show that O(log2(n)/α) rounds suffice with high probability to spread a rumor from any single node to all n nodes, in any graph with vertex expansion at least α. This bound matches a known lower bound, and settles the natural question on the relationship between rumor spreading and vertex expansion asked by Chierichetti, Lattanzi, and Panconesi (SODA 2010). Further, some of the arguments used in the proof may be of independent interest, as they give new insights, for example, on how to choose a small set of nodes in which to plant the rumor initially, to guarantee fast rumor spreading.
NMDA and Dopamine Converge on the NMDA-Receptor to Induce ERK Activation and Synaptic Depression in Mature Hippocampus

The formation of enduring internal representation of sensory information demands, in many cases, convergence in time and space of two different stimuli. The first conveys the sensory input, mediated via fast neurotransmission. The second conveys the meaning of the input, hypothesized to be mediated via slow neurotransmission. We tested the biochemical conditions and feasibility for fast (NMDA) and slow (dopamine) neurotransmission to converge on the Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase signaling pathways, crucial in several forms of synaptic plasticity, and recorded its effects upon synaptic transmission. We detected differing kinetics of ERK2 activation and synaptic strength changes in the CA1 for low and high doses of neurotransmitters in hippocampal slices. Moreover, when weak fast and slow inputs are given together, they converge on ERK2, but not on p38 or JNK, and induce strong short-term synaptic depression. Surprisingly, pharmacological analysis revealed that a probable site of such convergence is the NMDA receptor itself, suggesting it serves as a detector and integrator of fast and slow neurotransmission in the mature mammalian brain, as revealed by ERK2 activation and synaptic function.
Overcoming power/information tradeoffs in neural signal acquisition

This paper describes the power cost of high-resolution ADC arrays for neural signal acquisition, discusses techniques to estimate optimal ADC resolutions based on spike sorting and presents an adaptive resolution ADC array for an implantable prosthetic processor. A 100kS/s SAR ADC whose resolution can be varied from 3 to 8-bits with corresponding power consumption of 0. 23µW to 0. 90µW has been implemented in 0. 13µm CMOS. Adaptation of ADC resolutions according to neural data content reduces power consumption by a factor of 2.3 whilst maintaining an effective 7.8-bit resolution.
Testing Factor Models of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version and Their Association With Instrumental Aggression

Although there is a documented link between psychopathy and instrumental violence in adult offenders, the association between these constructs has not garnered significant attention in adolescent offenders. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between psychopathy and instrumental aggression in a sample of 122 male adolescents incarcerated in a state facility for serious and chronic offenders. We evaluated the primary (2-, 3-, and 4-factor) models of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth, Kosson, & Hare, 2003) and assessed their relationship to a separate 5-item measure of instrumental violence. CFA revealed good model fit for the 3- and 4-factor latent variable models of adolescent psychopathy and a single-factor model reflecting a 5-item measure of instrumental violence. Structural equation modeling results indicate that the 4-factor model accounted for 20% of the variance for instrumental violence. In contrast, the 3-factor model of the PCL:YV accounted for 8%, and the 2-factor model accounted for 5% of the variance associated with instrumental violence.
WRN helicase unwinds Okazaki fragment-like hybrids in a reaction stimulated by the human DHX9 helicase

Mutations in the Werner gene promote the segmental progeroid Werner syndrome (WS) with increased genomic instability and cancer. The Werner gene encodes a DNA helicase (WRN) that can engage in direct protein–protein interactions with DHX9, also known as RNA helicase A or nuclear DNA helicase II, which represents an essential enzyme involved in transcription and DNA repair. By using several synthetic nucleic acid substrates we demonstrate that WRN preferably unwinds RNA-containing Okazaki fragment-like substrates suggesting a role in lagging strand maturation of DNA replication. In contrast, DHX9 preferably unwinds RNA–RNA and RNA–DNA substrates, but fails to unwind Okazaki fragment-like hybrids. We further show that the preferential unwinding of RNA-containing substrates by WRN is stimulated by DHX9 in vitro, both on Okazaki fragment-like hybrids and on RNA-containing ‘chicken-foot’ structures. Collectively, our results suggest that WRN and DHX9 may also cooperate in vivo, e.g. at ongoing and stalled replication forks. In the latter case, the cooperation between both helicases may serve to form and to dissolve Holliday junction-like intermediates of regressed replication forks.
Cost Evaluation for Intrusion Response Using Dependency Graphs

The cost evaluation for attacks and/or responses (further called security incidents) in an IT system is a challenging issue. The high rate of service dependencies increases this challenge as the impact on a target service often spreads to its dependent services. This paper evaluates the effect of security incidents using service dependency graphs. It defines security- related properties which are used to propagate impacts in a dependency graph and thus to quantify the real cost of a security incident. The graph-based model described in this paper manages Confidentiality (C), Integrity (I) and Availability (A) propagations. It introduces matrix dependency weights in order to correlate these propagations. It also examines the effect of availability on both C and / propagations as these may exist only when the underlying components are available. This model provides common metrics for both attack and response costs evaluation. It thus enables balancing attack and response costs. An implementation of this model is proposed using CVSS base vectors. The performance of the model is measured according to the graph size and the rate of dependencies in this graph.
Ossifying fibromyxoid tumour of soft parts, with focus on unusual clinicopathological features

Aims: Ossifying fibromyxoid tumour is a rare lesion that generally occurs in the soft tissues of proximal limbs/girdle, or head and neck. Histologically, it usually consists of bland, mitotically inactive, S100+ cells in a fibromyxoid matrix with a characteristic peripheral ossification. However, we present two cases that deviated from this pattern.
Psychological and social aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting after assisted conception: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND It is known that infertility affects emotional well-being, satisfaction with life and self-esteem and that failed assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment is associated with diminished life satisfaction, reduced self-confidence and substantial psychological distress. Investigations of whether these persist when treatment results in a pregnancy and live birth have been undertaken. METHODS A systematic search for English-language research articles on psychological and social aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and the first post-partum year after ART conception. RESULTS Of 466 retrieved papers, 46 met inclusion criteria. These reported data from 28 studies. There is consistent evidence that marital satisfaction, emotional well-being and self-regard in pregnancy, attachment to the fetus and parent-infant relationship in ART groups are similar to comparison groups. Anxiety about the survival of the fetus and early parenting difficulties appear to be higher and post-natal self-confidence lower. Evidence about adjustment to pregnancy and parenthood and the experience of childbirth is inconclusive and reports of parental perceptions of infant temperament and behaviour are contradictory. Between-study methodological differences may explain the lack of consistency in findings of the influence of infertility and ART on some aspects of the transition to parenthood. CONCLUSIONS Overall, this body of evidence is best described as emergent. It is possible that in pregnancy after ART, parenthood might be idealized and this might then hinder adjustment and the development of a confident parental identity.
Brain Regions Engaged by Part- and Whole-task Performance in a Video Game: A Model-based Test of the Decomposition Hypothesis

Part- and whole-task conditions were created by manipulating the presence of certain components of the Space Fortress video game. A cognitive model was created for two-part games that could be combined into a model that performed the whole game. The model generated predictions both for behavioral patterns and activation patterns in various brain regions. The activation predictions concerned both tonic activation that was constant in these regions during performance of the game and phasic activation that occurred when there was resource competition. The model's predictions were confirmed about how tonic and phasic activation in different regions would vary with condition. These results support the Decomposition Hypothesis that the execution of a complex task can be decomposed into a set of information-processing components and that these components combine unchanged in different task conditions. In addition, individual differences in learning gains were predicted by individual differences in phasic activation in those regions that displayed highest tonic activity. This individual difference pattern suggests that the rate of learning of a complex skill is determined by capacity limits.
Research on Clarity-Evaluation-Method for Iris Images

In iris recognition system, the iris image definition is crucial to recognition effect. The blurred image may increase the rate of false rejection, and also increase the risk of error matching. So it’s necessary to evaluate the definition of the iris image. Only when the definition of the image fits our request, we can use it. Considered the previous researches on clarity evaluation method for iris image, we propose a fast and efficient method, which composed of the wavelet-based method and the square- energy-gradient, to value the definition of the iris image in this paper. Through a lot of experiments, this real-time method is tested to be effective and same with the results by subjective evaluation.
Repeated Exposures to Subthreshold Doses of Chlorpyrifos in Rats: Hippocampal Damage, Impaired Axonal Transport, and Deficits in Spatial Learning

Organophosphorus (OP) compounds are detectable in the environment for years after use and endanger many populations. Although the effects of acutely toxic doses of many OP compounds are well described, much less is known about repeated low-level exposures. The purpose of these studies was to further evaluate potential toxicological effects of the extensively used OP pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) in rats. CPF, across a range of subthreshold doses (i.e., for acute toxicity), reduced rearing and sniffing activity and the magnitude of weight gain over 14 days of repeated exposure. Performance in a spatial learning task was impaired after 14 days of exposure to CPF (18.0 and 25.0 mg/kg) when testing was initiated 24 h after the last injection but not after a 14-day washout. However, inhibition of both fast anterograde and retrograde axonal transport was observed for up to 20 days after exposure to 25.0 mg/kg CPF. Studies using hippocampal cultures indicated that 8 days of continuous exposure to the parent compound, CPF (≥100 μM), resulted in cell toxicity and death. Furthermore, a dose (2.5 mg/kg) of CPF that had no effects on weight gain or memory performance when administered 5 days per week over 38 days impaired forelimb grip strength in the later days of testing. Collectively, these results indicate that repeated exposures to subthreshold doses of CPF may lead to growth retardation, behavioral abnormalities, and muscle weakness. Some of these symptoms may be attributed to effects of the OP on axonal transport.
The transformation of the photo-thermo sensitive genic male-sterile line 261S of rice via an expression vector containing the anti-Waxy gene

Transgenic photo-thermo sensitive genic male sterility Oryza sativa L. cv. “261S” plants with the anti-Waxy gene were successfully obtained using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated co-transformation method. Marker-free homozygous transgenic lines with the anti-Waxy gene were obtained. The setting seed rates of the transgenic plants via self-pollination or via crossing with the restorer line WX99075 rice and the 1000-grain weight of the transgenic plants and the F2 hybrid seeds obtained by crossing the transgenic or non-transgenic plants with the restorer line WX99075 rice, and the number of panicles of the transgenic plants and yields of the F2 hybrid rice, were analysed. Quality indexes of the transgenic plants and of the F2 hybrid seeds were analysed. Our researches results indicate that hybrid female and hybrid descendant edibility could be improved via the introduction of the anti-Waxy gene, but the grain yields of the reserve seeds via self-pollination of the transgenic photo-thermo sensitive genic sterile lines and of the hybrid rice were not affected.