Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First Workshop on Computational Neurolinguistics Learning Semantic Features for Fmri Data from Definitional Text Concept Classification with Bayesian Multi-task Learning Wordnet Based Features for Predicting Brain Activity Associated with Meanings of Nouns an Investigation on Polysemy and Lexical Or

This is the first workshop to be held on this emerging topic, which integrates recent advances in computational linguistics and cognitive neuroscience with the latest methods from machine learning. This new field promises to aid in the further development of cognitively plausible theories of language, to provide a third empirical basis as a benchmark for computational linguistics (besides corpora, and data elicited from informants), and to enrich the models of language used in neuroscience with the precision and breadth that computational linguistic methods provide. More ambitious blue-sky applications being pursued include language-based brain-computer interfaces, parsing of sentential structure from recordings of neural activity during language processing, and the derivation of language resources from neuroimaging data. We hope that this event will provide an interdisciplinary forum for the free exchange of ideas between the participants, whose expertise ranges across computational linguistics, cognitive psychology, brain decoding, psycholinguistics and other areas of cognitive science. In preparation for the workshop we released two neural recording data-sets and corresponding language models (the CMU fMRI set and the Trento EEG set, both on a lexical semantic processing task) to allow researchers from different specialties to contribute. The papers that will be presented at the workshop cover a range of neuroimaging techniques (EEG, fMRI, MEG), models of language phenomena (distributional models of lexical semantics, formal ontologies, word class distinctions, connectionist approaches), and of machine learning and data mining methods (Bayesian learning, source separation models, regression techniques, non-linear classifiers). In addition to the submitted papers we will have two additional talks. We are very happy to welcome Tom Mitchell to open the event. Over recent years Prof. Mitchell has chosen neuroimaging data, and language, as the two phenomena that he will focus on in his machine learning research. In addition we will give a mini-tutorial: a crash course for computational linguists in the neuroscience of language, and on basic principles of neuroimaging techniques. Hemispheric processing of Chinese polysemy in the disyllabic verb/ noun compounds: an event-related potential study Hemispheric processing of Chinese polysemy in the disyllabic verb/ noun compounds: an event-related potential study Abstract (Mitchell et al., 2008) showed that it was possible to use a text corpus to learn the value of hypothesized semantic features characterizing the meaning of a concrete noun. The authors also demonstrated that those features could be used to decompose the spatial pattern of fMRI-measured brain activation in response to a stimulus containing …
Association between Serum Soluble CD154 Levels and Mortality in Patients with Malignant Middle Cerebral Artery Infarction

Background: CD154 and its soluble counterpart (sCD154) are proteins of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family and exhibit proinflamatory and procoagulant properties. Higher circulating sCD154 levels have been found in ischemic stroke patients than in controls. However, the association between circulating sCD154 levels and mortality in ischemic stroke patients has not been reported, and was the focus of this study. Methods: This was a multicenter, observational and prospective study carried out in six Spanish Intensive Care Units. We measured serum sCD154 from 50 patients with severe malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (MMCAI), defined as Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) lower than 9, at the moment of the severe MMCAI diagnosis and from 50 healthy controls. The end-point of the study was 30-day mortality. Results: We found higher serum sCD154 levels in patients with severe MMCAI than in healthy controls (p < 0.001). We found higher serum sCD154 levels (p < 0.001) in non-surviving (n = 26) than in surviving MMCAI patients (n = 24). Multiple binomial logistic regression analysis showed that serum sCD154 levels >1.41 ng/mmL were associated with 30-day mortality (OR = 10.25; 95% CI = 2.34–44.95; p = 0.002). Conclusions: The new more important finding of our study was that serum sCD154 levels in MMCAI patients were associated with mortality.
Isolation of Pseudomonas fluorescens from rhizospheric soil of faba bean and assessment of their Phosphate solubility : in vitro study , Ethiopia

Soil fertility improvement is an important area which needs attention since most of the hazardous inputs added into the agricultural system are in the form of chemicals. Since crop production and soil normal flora are affected by input of chemical fertilizer. Biofertilizer microorganisms make the nutrients available to plants. The present study was concerning to isolate of some Pseudomonas fluorescens species that possess a promising properties which make it a better bio-fertilizer bacteria. Twelve Pseudomonas fluorescens species was isolated from rhizospheric soil of faba bean and tested for phosphate solubilization. As result, all tested isolates Pseudomonas fluorescens species have a potential of phosphate solubilization on Pikovskaya media by formed a clear halo zone. So it could be summarized that all Pseudomonas fluorescens isolate species can be used as bio-fertilizers for soil fertiliy improvement, as a result increase crop growth and yield.
Arabidopsis TERMINAL FLOWER1 Is Involved in the Regulation of Flowering Time and Inflorescence Development through Transcriptional Repression[C][W][OA]

This work examines the function of TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) in transcription by fusing TFL1 to either a transcriptional activator or repressor domain, finding that the TFL1-repressor fusion replicates TFL1 function, but the TFL1-activator fusion produces a dominant-negative flowering phenotype, indicating that TFL1 acts as part of a transcriptional repression complex. TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) is a key regulator of flowering time and the development of the inflorescence meristem in Arabidopsis thaliana. TFL1 and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) have highly conserved amino acid sequences but opposite functions. For example, FT promotes flowering and TFL1 represses it; FT-overexpressing plants and TFL1 loss-of-function mutants have a similar phenotype production of terminal flowers in the shoot apex. FT is believed to function in a transcriptional activator complex by interacting with FD. Here, we demonstrate that TFL1 is involved in the transcriptional repression of genes that are activated by FT. We analyzed transgenic plants overexpressing TFL1 fused to a transcriptional repressor domain (TFL1-SRDX) or an activator domain (TFL1-VP16). Plants carrying 35S:TFL1-SRDX showed delayed flowering similar to 35S:TFL1 plants, and plants carrying 35S:TFL1-VP16 showed an early flowering phenotype and produced terminal flowers. Furthermore, the tfl1 and 35S:TFL1-VP16 plant phenotypes were strongly suppressed by the fd mutation, and TFL1 interacted with FD in the cell nucleus, as shown by bimolecular fluorescence complementation experiments. We conclude that TFL1 negatively modulates the FD-dependent transcription of target genes to fine-tune flowering time and the development of the inflorescence meristem.
Isolation and characterization of an avian isolate of Encephalitozoon hellem

Members of the phylum Microspora are a group of unusual, obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites that infect a wide range of hosts. However, there are a limited number of microsporidial infections reported in avian hosts, and no parasite species has been defined as an avian pathogen. A microsporidian organism was recovered from the droppings of a clinically normal peach-faced lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis) and established in in vitro culture. Intermittent parasite spore shedding was documented over a 2-month period using calcofluor M2R staining of cloacal swabs. The organism was identified as Encephalitozoon hellem based on protein and antigenic profiles and molecular sequencing of the small subunit and internal transcribed spacer regions of the ribosomal RNA gene.
Escherichia coli Isolates Causing Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Catheterized and Noncatheterized Individuals Possess Similar Virulence Properties

ABSTRACT Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infectious diseases of humans, with Escherichia coli being responsible for >80% of all cases. Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) occurs when bacteria colonize the urinary tract without causing clinical symptoms and can affect both catheterized patients (catheter-associated ABU [CA-ABU]) and noncatheterized patients. Here, we compared the virulence properties of a collection of ABU and CA-ABU nosocomial E. coli isolates in terms of antibiotic resistance, phylogenetic grouping, specific UTI-associated virulence genes, hemagglutination characteristics, and biofilm formation. CA-ABU isolates were similar to ABU isolates with regard to the majority of these characteristics; exceptions were that CA-ABU isolates had a higher prevalence of the polysaccharide capsule marker genes kpsMT II and kpsMT K1, while more ABU strains were capable of mannose-resistant hemagglutination. To examine biofilm growth in detail, we performed a global gene expression analysis with two CA-ABU strains that formed a strong biofilm and that possessed a limited adhesin repertoire. The gene expression profile of the CA-ABU strains during biofilm growth showed considerable overlap with that previously described for the prototype ABU E. coli strain, 83972. This is the first global gene expression analysis of E. coli CA-ABU strains. Overall, our data suggest that nosocomial ABU and CA-ABU E. coli isolates possess similar virulence profiles.
Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Chronic Fatigue, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Community-Based Study

Using a randomly selected community-based sample, this investigation examined whether histories of childhood sexual, physical, and death threat abuse predicted adulthood outcomes of specific medical and psychiatric conditions involving chronic fatigue. This study also tested prior suggestions that most individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome report a past history of interpersonal abuse. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between abuse history and chronic fatigue group outcomes while controlling for the effects of sociodemographics. Compared with healthy controls, childhood sexual abuse was significantly more likely to be associated with outcomes of idiopathic chronic fatigue, chronic fatigue explained by a psychiatric condition, and chronic fatigue explained by a medical condition. None of the abuse history types were significant predictors of chronic fatigue syndrome. A closer examination of individuals in the chronic fatigue syndrome group revealed that significantly fewer individuals with CFS reported abuse as compared with those who did not. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Cardiovascular risk prediction: basic concepts, current status, and future directions.

Few topics have received as much attention in the cardiovascular literature over the last 5 years as risk prediction. The assessment of risk has been a key element in efforts to define risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), to identify novel markers of risk for CVD, to identify and assess potential targets of therapy, and to enhance the cost-effective implementation of therapies for both primary and secondary prevention of CVD. With the publication of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel (ATP-III)1 in 2001 and similar guidelines from other national and international bodies,2–5 risk prediction assumed a central role in the field of CVD prevention. Since then, numerous attempts have been made to refine and improve risk assessment methods. A basic review of the history and principles of risk prediction, their statistical underpinnings, and their clinical implications is thus required to help clinicians and researchers understand the increasingly complex approaches being undertaken to refine CVD risk prediction. Other articles in this series address the current adoption, utility, and effect of risk estimation algorithms in clinical prevention practice. Risk estimates can theoretically be used to raise population awareness of diseases (such as CVD) that cause a significant burden of morbidity and mortality, to communicate knowledge about that risk to individuals and subgroups, and to motivate adherence to recommended lifestyle changes or therapies. In clinical practice, risk prediction algorithms have been used most directly to identify individuals at high risk for developing CVD in the short term to select those individuals for more intensive preventive interventions. The prime example of this latter “high-risk” prevention strategy, which relies heavily on the quantitative prediction of CVD risk, is the approach promulgated by the ATP-III panel.1 In this algorithm, the stated underlying assumption is that the intensity …
Methyl CpG–binding proteins induce large-scale chromatin reorganization during terminal differentiation

Pericentric heterochromatin plays an important role in epigenetic gene regulation. We show that pericentric heterochromatin aggregates during myogenic differentiation. This clustering leads to the formation of large chromocenters and correlates with increased levels of the methyl CpG–binding protein MeCP2 and pericentric DNA methylation. Ectopic expression of fluorescently tagged MeCP2 mimicked this effect, causing a dose-dependent clustering of chromocenters in the absence of differentiation. MeCP2-induced rearrangement of heterochromatin occurred throughout interphase, did not depend on the H3K9 histone methylation pathway, and required the methyl CpG–binding domain (MBD) only. Similar to MeCP2, another methyl CpG–binding protein, MBD2, also increased during myogenic differentiation and could induce clustering of pericentric regions, arguing for functional redundancy. This MeCP2- and MBD2-mediated chromatin reorganization may thus represent a molecular link between nuclear genome topology and the epigenetic maintenance of cellular differentiation.
P3: Privacy Preservation Protocol for Automatic Appliance Control Application in Smart Grid

To address recently emerging concerns on privacy violations, this paper investigates possible sensitive information leakages and analyzes potential privacy threats in the automatic appliance control (AAC) application, which is one of the handiest applications in smart grids and one of the earliest examples in Internet of Things (IoT). Without an effective and consistent privacy preservation mechanism, the adversary can capture, model, and divulge customers' behavior, activities, and personal information at almost every level of society. Based on a set of existing cryptographic primitives, we propose an attribute-based encryption (ABE) key management variant and we also design and implement a fine-grained protocol named privacy preservation protocol (P3). We further present a practical automatic appliance control (AAC) system based on that protocol, and shows that it can fulfill the smart grid's requirements in privacy preservation. Experimental results demonstrate that our protocol merely incurs a substantially light overhead on the AAC application, yet is able to address and solve the formidable privacy challenges both customers and utility companies are facing.
Clinical Application of Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 for Delayed Fractures in Dogs

A 1-year-old, castrated male Yorkshire terrier (case 1) and a 7-year-old female Poodle (case 2) presented with delayed union fractures. In case 1, the dog had a fractured right distal radius and ulna. In case 2, the dog had a fractured left distal tibia and fibula. A physical examination and radiographs performed in both dogs revealed delayed union fractures with large gaps. The fracture sites were fixed by bone plate and screws. Autogenous cancellous bone graft was applied into the fracture gap. To encourage rapid bone union, we used matrigel containing 20 μg of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) in the fracture site. Radiographs were taken postoperatively to monitor healing. Rapid bone union was noted in both dogs in long-term radiographs. In case 1, the radiographs revealed that the fracture gaps of the radius and ulna were bridged at 2 weeks. Fracture lines were not observed and normal appearance was restored at 20 weeks. In case 2, the radiographs showed that fracture repair had progressed at 11 weeks. The fractures healed faster than expected in these two cases. The results indicate that rhBMP-2 and matrigel may be effective and useful materials to enhance healing of delayed fractures.
Should Psychological Distress Screening in the Community Account for Self-Perceived Health Status?

Objective: Psychological distress questionnaires are often used as screening instruments for mental disorders in clinical and epidemiologic settings. Poor physical health may affect the screening properties of a questionnaire. We evaluate the effect of self-perceived health status on the screening performance of the Kessler K10 and K6 scales in a community sample. Methods: We used data from the Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being (CCHS 1.2). Psychological distress was measured by the 6–item (K6) and the 10–item (K10) Kessler instrument. Depression and anxiety disorders were assessed using the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (1–month estimates). Optimal cut-off points regarding health status were determined by finding the K6 and K10 values that allowed for the best balance between sensitivity and specificity. Stratum-specific likelihood ratios (SSLRs) were computed to define strata with discriminating power. Results: There was a strong association between the screening performance of the K6 and K10 scales and self-perceived health status: for the K10 scale, a cut-off point of 5/6 yielded the best balance between sensitivity and specificity for subjects with excellent or very good health status, while a cut-off point of 14/15 yielded the best balance between sensitivity and specificity for subjects with poor health status. Conclusions: The combination of the K6 and K10 scales, with a self-rated health status item, may improve screening properties of the 2 scales.
What flowers do we like? The influence of shape and color on the rating of flower beauty

There is no doubt that people find flowers beautiful. Surprisingly, we know very little about the actual properties which make flowers so appealing to humans. Although the evolutionary aesthetics provides some theories concerning generally preferred flower traits, empirical evidence is largely missing. In this study, we used an online survey in which residents of the Czech Republic (n = 2006) rated the perceived beauty of 52 flower stimuli of diverse shapes and colors. Colored flowers were preferred over their uncolored versions. When controlling for flower shape, we found an unequal preference for different flower colors, blue being the most and yellow the least preferred. In the overall assessment of beauty, shape was more important than color. Prototypical flowers, i.e., radially symmetrical flowers with low complexity, were rated as the most beautiful. We also found a positive effect of sharp flower contours and blue color on the overall rating of flower beauty. The results may serve as a basis for further studies in some areas of the people-plant interaction research.
Detection of subclinical mastitis in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries) using somatic cell counts, california mastitis test and udder pathogen

A total of 120 quarter milk samples from 30 clinically healthy dromedary camel from Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia were cultured to detect subclinical udder infection. The milk samples were screened by somatic cell count (SCC) and California mastitis test (CMT). Gram-positive cocci were the dominant recovered udder pathogen. The mean value of SCC was 125,000 cells/ mm 3 . Infected quarter had generally higher mean values for SCC and CMT scores. Both SCC and CMT were of value in predicting the infection status of the udder.
Potential synergy between lipid-lowering and blood-pressure-lowering in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial.

AIMS A prespecified objective of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT) was to assess whether any synergistic effects were apparent between the lipid-lowering and blood-pressure-lowering regimens in preventing cardiovascular events. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 19 257 hypertensive subjects were randomized to an amlodipine-based regimen or an atenolol-based regimen. Of these, 10 305 subjects with total cholesterol < or =6.5 mmol/L were further randomized to atorvastatin 10 mg daily or placebo. In this analysis, the effects of atorvastatin were compared with placebo on coronary heart disease (CHD), cardiovascular and stroke events in those assigned amlodipine-based and atenolol-based regimens. In the ASCOT lipid-lowering arm (LLA), overall, atorvastatin reduced the relative risk of the primary endpoint of non-fatal myocardial infarction and fatal CHD events by 36% (HR 0.64, CI 0.50-0.83, P=0.0005), total cardiovascular events by 21% (HR 0.79, CI 0.69-0.90, P=0.0005), and stroke by 27% (HR 0.73, CI 0.56-0.96, P=0.024). However, atorvastatin reduced the relative risk of CHD events by 53% (HR 0.47, CI 0.32-0.69, P<0.0001) among those allocated the amlodipine-based regimen, and by 16% (HR 0.84, CI 0.60-1.17, p: n.s.) among those allocated the atenolol-based regimen (P=0.025 for heterogeneity). There were no significant differences between the effects of atorvastatin on total cardiovascular events or strokes among those assigned amlodipine (HR 0.73, CI 0.60-0.88, P<0.005 and HR 0.69, CI 0.45-1.06, P: n.s., respectively) or atenolol (HR 0.85, CI 0.71-1.02, P: n.s and HR 0.76, CI 0.53-1.08, P: n.s, respectively). Differences in blood pressure and lipid parameters (placebo corrected) between the two antihypertensive treatment limbs could not account for the differences observed in CHD outcome. CONCLUSION These findings of an apparent interaction between atorvastatin and an amlodipine-based regimen in the prevention of CHD events are of borderline significance, and hence generate an hypothesis that merits independent evaluation in other trials.
Compression Behavior of Single Carbon Filaments Embedded in an Epoxy Polymer

The compression loading of single carbon filaments embedded in an epoxy polymer was investigated to determine the micro-mechanisms of failure. The fibers were observed using transmission polarized light microscopy. Failure invariably occurred by transverse shear with no evidence of microbuckling. A distinctive stress birefringence pattern was observed around the fibers which suggests a systematic variation in fiber modulus but with dimensions much larger than the crystallographic dimensions character istic of carbon fibers. The specimens were etched with acid to reveal the regions of fiber fracture. Although a variety of fracture morphologies were observed, they are all believed to be post-failure damage subsequent to the initial shear failure. The acid etching also revealed etch patterns in the matrix near the fiber/matrix boundary which are probably the result of chemical inhomogeneities in the interphase region.