Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Auditory Evoked Potentials as Measures of Plasticity in Humans

There is increasing evidence from animal studies for plasticity of auditory function. This has prompted research to determine whether such plastic changes occur in adults and children with hearing disorders. Behavioural measures such as speech perception scores do show improvements after hearing aid fitting and cochlear implantation. Several studies have also shown changes in cortical auditory evoked potentials after cochlear implantation and after auditory training. These studies indicate that improvements in speech perception ability are associated with changes in the central auditory system, particularly at the cortical level.
Putative Virulence Factor Expression by Clinical and Food Isolates of Bacillus spp. after Growth in Reconstituted Infant Milk Formulae

ABSTRACT Forty-seven strains representing 14 differentBacillus species isolated from clinical and food samples were grown in reconstituted infant milk formulae (IMF) and subsequently assessed for adherence to, invasion of, and cytotoxicity toward HEp-2 and Caco-2 cells. Cell-free supernatant fluids from 38 strains (81%) were shown to be cytotoxic, 43 strains (91%) adhered to the test cell lines, and 23 strains (49%) demonstrated various levels of invasion. Of the 21 Bacillus cereus strains examined, 5 (24%) were invasive. A larger percentage of clinically derivedBacillus species (20%) than of similar species tested from the food environment were invasive. Increased invasion occurred after growth of selected Bacillus species in reconstituted IMF containing glucose. While PCR primer studies revealed that many different Bacillus species contained DNA sequences encoding the hemolysin BL (HBL) enterotoxin complex andB. cereus enterotoxin T, not all of these isolates expressed these diarrheagenic genes after growth in reconstituted IMF. Of the 47 Bacillus isolates examined, 3 isolates of B. cereus and 1 isolate ofB. subtilis produced the HBL enterotoxin after 18 h of growth in brain heart infusion broth. However, eight isolates belonging to the species B. cereus,B. licheniformis, B. circulans, and B. megaterium were found to produce this enterotoxin after growth in reconstituted IMF when assessed with theB. cereus enterotoxin (diarrheal type) reversed passive latex agglutination (RPLA) kit. It is concluded that several Bacillus species occurring occasionally in clinical specimens and food samples are of potential medical significance due to the expression of putative virulence factors.
The CC-Chemokine RANTES Increases the Attachment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 to Target Cells via Glycosaminoglycans and Also Activates a Signal Transduction Pathway That Enhances Viral Infectivity

ABSTRACT We have studied the mechanisms by which the CC-chemokine RANTES can enhance the infectivities of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and other enveloped viruses, when present at concentrations in excess of 500 ng/ml in vitro. Understanding the underlying mechanisms might throw light on fundamental processes of viral infection, in particular for HIV-1. Our principal findings are twofold: firstly, that oligomers of RANTES can cross-link enveloped viruses, including HIV-1, to cells via glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) present on the membranes of both virions and cells; secondly, that oligomers of RANTES interact with cell-surface GAGs to transduce a herbimycin A-sensitive signal which, over a period of several hours, renders the cells more permissive to infection by several viruses, including HIV-1. The enhancement mechanisms require that RANTES oligomerize either in solution or following binding to GAGs, since no viral infectivity enhancement is observed with a mutant form of the RANTES molecule that contains a single-amino-acid change (glutamic acid to serine at position 66) which abrogates oligomerization.
Population genetic structure of Gasterophilus pecorum in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (COI) gene sequence

Gasterophilosis is a significant threat to equids in the desert steppe of Xinjiang, China, where Gasterophilus pecorum (Fabricius) (Diptera: Gasterophilidae) is the dominant botfly species. A population analysis was conducted on 195 individual G. pecorum larvae from three host species, Przewalski's horse, the domestic horse and the Asiatic wild ass. The distribution of haplotypes of the maternally inherited mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene was analysed to assess the population differentiation of G. pecorum. High haplotype diversity was observed among G. pecorum populations from all host species, indicating that the G. pecorum infecting one host had multiple maternal ancestors. A phylogenetic tree showed six clades, suggesting a high degree of genetic differentiation. A constructed haplotype network described both the origin of the haplotypes and the population structure. The findings indicated that G. pecorum infections within Przewalski's horses were mainly transmitted from Asiatic wild asses. Clade 1 was found to be the most primitive group and to have evolved to be highly adaptable to the desert steppe. Clade 2 originated from Clade 1, potentially as a result of the annual migration of domestic horses. Revealing the differentiation of the G. pecorum population is important for elucidating the aetiology of Gasterophilus infection in Xinjiang and for planning appropriate control measures.
On Medumba bilabial trills and vowels

The Medumba consonant inventory includes plain and prenasalized bilabial trills /ʙ, mʙ/, which contrast with bilabial stops. The trills occur most often before the central vowels /ʉ ə/, while they are not attested before /u/. The central vowel /ʉ/ has a vowel posture that is particularly conducive to trilling of the lips: it does not form a circular opening, the corners of the mouth are drawn slightly apart, the lips are tensed, particularly at the corners of the mouth, and there is a narrow aperture between the lips. This suggests that it is close lip aperture of the following vowel— rather than rounding—that provides the most conducive environment for bilabial trill production.
Temperature effects on electrotransfection of mammalian cells.

Several methods have been developed to introduce DNA into mammalian cells such as calcium phosphate and microinjection, with, however, limits (side effects, price, time consuming), (1). Electropulsation, a physical method based on the use of electric fields pulses has now proven to be convenient for many cell types (2). Although the molecular mechanisms of electropulsation are still to be elucidated, its main effect is to induce locally a permeable state of the electropulsed cell membrane. This permeabilization is only transient. As its life-time is strongly increased by decreasing the temperature, the conditions most commonly prescribed in the literature are electropulsation at 4°C with a subsequent incubation of cells at 4°C before culturing (2). Nevertheless, conflicting data on the temperature dependence of electrotransfection have been reported (2, 3, 4). In the present report, this was systematically investigated with Chinese Hamster Ovary cells. For each transfection, 8 x105 cells (cultured in MEMOI11 medium supplemented with 8% FCS) were suspended in 100,d of pulsation medium (10 mM phosphate buffer pH:7.2, 250mM
The Peripheral Apparatus of Muscle Pain: Evidence From Animal and Human Studies

The peripheral apparatus of muscle pain consists of nociceptors that can be excited by endogenous substances and mechanical stimuli. Histologically, the nociceptors are free nerve endings supplied by group III (thin myelinated) and group IV (nonmyelinated) afferents with conduction velocities less than 30 m/s. At the molecular level, nociceptors have receptors for algesic substances, such as bradykinin, serotonin, and prostagladin E2. The purinergic receptors and tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channels might be new important targets for the treatment of muscle pain. Algesic substances (capsaicin, bradykinin, serotonin, potassium chloride, and hypertonic saline) and other stimuli (ischemia, strong mechanical stimuli, and electrical stimuli) have been shown to induce nociception from muscle in animals and muscle pain in humans. Muscle nociceptors can be sensitized to chemical and mechanical stimuli. Contrary to a former belief, the sensitization is not an unspecific process; rather, it is caused by endogenous algesic substances binding to highly specific receptor molecules in the membrane of the nociceptive ending. For example, animal studies showed that serotonin sensitizes muscle nociceptors to chemical and mechanical stimuli. Later, human studies showed that serotonin combined with bradykinin induces muscle hyperalgesia to pressure. The sensitization process by endogenous substances that are likely to be released during trauma or inflammatory injury is probably the best established peripheral mechanism for muscle tenderness and hyperalgesia.
Go for the Jugular: A 10-Year Experience With End-to-Side Anastomosis to the Internal Jugular Vein in 320 Head and Neck Free Flaps

Preferential use of end-to-side anastomosis to the internal jugular vein in head and neck reconstruction offers distinct advantages and has consistently yielded excellent outcomes. Presented is a series of 320 consecutive cases by a single surgeon at 1 institution over 10 years. The most common flaps employed were the rectus (33%), forearm (28%), and fibula (21%) flaps. The most common defects were the mandible +/− floor of mouth (27%), pharyngoesophagus (25%), and tongue or cheek (17% each). Minor wound-healing problems, infection, and hematoma were noted in 5% or less. Partial flap loss was seen in 2%. Total flap loss and arterial or venous thrombosis occurred in less than 1% of patients. The size, constant anatomy, patency, and possibility for multiple anastomoses make use of the internal jugular vein very advantageous. Kinking is not observed when the neck is rotated, and high patency rates can be expected.
An Effective Approach for AESOP and Guided Summarization Task

In this paper we, present an (1) unsupervised system for AESOP task and (2) a generic multi-document summarization system for guided summarization task. In devised systems we give emphasis on (1) roll & importance of words and sentences in document, (2) number & coverage strength of topics. Next we exploit the statistical features, simple heuristics and grammatical facts to capture important facts and information flow in document. Thus our devised system collects useful information from source or model summaries and uses it for evaluation of target summaries. Similarly it collects useful information from given text and use it for summarization. We believe that output of a good generic system may be able to answer the most of the general queries, which are used in guided summarization task. This is the main reason of development of a generic multi-document summarization system for guided summarization task. Part-1: AESOP Task
On the sensitivity of SMT systems to oscillator phase noise over doubly-selective channels

In this paper, we analyze the effects of oscillator phase noise and doubly-selective fading channel on the performance of the staggered multitone (SMT) system. Unlike the more familiar discrete multitone (DMT) systems, SMT is shown to be insensitive to self-interference effects due to phase noise. The impeding channel and phase noise interference coefficients are defined and theoretical expressions for the inter-carrier and intersymbol interference are derived to establish solid analytical basis. We demonstrate the resilience of SMT waveform to phase noise distortion and channel fading effects in numerical experiments using appropriate models and the theoretical considerations are shown to fit well with simulation findings. Our assessment indicates that SMT system performs nearly as well as the classical DMT modulation for non-dispersive channels, while it outperforms DMT system by 2 dB for the studied fading channel scenario and fixed equalization complexity for both systems.
Point-contact spectroscopic studies on normal and superconducting AFe2As2-type iron pnictide single crystals

Point-contact Andreev reflection spectroscopy is applied to investigate the gap structure in iron pnictide single-crystal superconductors of the AFe2As2 (A = Ba, Sr) family (‘Fe-122’). The observed point-contact junction conductance curves, G(V), can be divided into two categories: one where Andreev reflection is present for both (Ba0.6K0.4)Fe2As2 and Ba(Fe0.9Co0.1)2As2, and the other with a V2/3 background conductance universally observed, extending even up to 100 meV for Sr0.6Na0. 4Fe2As2 and Sr(Fe0.9Co0.1)2As2. The latter is also observed in point-contact junctions on the nonsuperconducting parent compound BaFe2As2 and superconducting (Ba0.6K0.4)Fe2As2 crystals. Mesoscopic phase-separated coexistence of magnetic and superconducting orders is considered to explain distinct behaviors in the superconducting samples. For Ba0.6K0. 4Fe2As2, double peaks due to Andreev reflection with a strongly sloping background are frequently observed for point contacts on freshly cleaved c-axis surfaces. If normalized using a background baseline and analyzed using the Blonder–Tinkham–Klapwijk model, the data show a gap size of ∼ 3.0–4.0 meV with 2Δ0/kBTc ∼ 2.0–2.6, consistent with the smaller gap size reported for the LnFeAsO family (‘Fe-1111’). For the Ba(Fe0.9Co0.1)2As2, the G(V) curves typically display a zero-bias conductance peak.
Parents’ empathic perspective taking and altruistic behavior predicts infants’ arousal to others’ emotions

Empathy emerges in children’s overt behavior around the middle of the second year of life. Younger infants, however, exhibit arousal in response to others’ emotional displays, which is considered to be a precursor to fully developed empathy. The goal of the present study was to investigate individual variability in infants’ arousal toward others’ emotional displays, as indexed by 12- and 15-month-old infants’ (n = 49) pupillary changes in response to another infant’s emotions, and to determine whether such variability is linked to parental empathy and prosociality, as indexed via self-report questionnaires. We found that increases in infants’ pupil dilation in response to others’ emotional displays were associated with aspects of parental empathy and prosociality. Specifically, infants who exhibited the greatest arousal in response to others’ emotions had parents who scored highly on empathic perspective taking and self-reported altruism. These relations may have been found because arousal toward others’ emotions shares certain characteristics with empathic and prosocial dispositions. Together, these results demonstrate the presence of early variability in a precursor to mature empathic responding in infancy, which is meaningfully linked to parents’ empathic dispositions and prosocial behaviors.
Trait Characteristic of Impaired Visuomotor Integration during Trail-Making Test B Performance in Schizophrenia

Using concurrent recording of eye and hand movements during the performance of the Trail-Making Test B (TMT-B), Wölwer and Gaebel have recently reported impaired visuomotor integration in patients with acute schizophrenia, which mainly accounted for patients’ poor test performance. In order to replicate these exploratory findings in an independent sample of patients and to further investigate their stability during different stages of the illness, the performance process during a computerized TMT-B was assessed in 22 remitted outpatients with schizophrenia, 12 unaffected first-degree relatives and 26 healthy controls. As an estimate of longitudinal stability, a partial sample of 12 patients and 19 controls was reassessed after a period of 3 months. Remitted schizophrenia patients showed exactly the same strategic problems during the performance process of TMT-B as previously found in acute patients. Compared with healthy controls, patients more often sequenced searching (‘planning’) and connecting targets instead of time-sparing parallel execution, and their planning periods contained more and longer planning fixations (i.e. fixations outside the cursor area), which was related to longer performance time. Unaffected relatives mostly scored between patients and healthy controls without statistically significant differences to either group. Thus, the abnormalities in the process of TMT-B performance proved to be reliable and stable trait characteristics in schizophrenia.
Journal of Enterprise Information Management Factors Influencing Erp Implementation in Retail Sector: an Empirical Study from India for Authors Factors Influencing Erp Implementation in Retail Sector: an Empirical Study from India

(2014),"An integrated decision support system for ERP implementation in small and medium sized enterprises", If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight. com/authors for more information. Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors influencing the enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation success in Indian retail sector. Additionally, the study also addresses the relationship between factors that influence ERP implementation and the success of ERP implementation empirically. Strategic, Technological, People and Project management are the examined factors. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data were collected through survey questionnaire from practitioner like project sponsors, project managers, implementation consultants and team members who were involved in ERP implementation in retail sector. Findings – The results of the study has empirically verified that Strategic, Technological, People and Project management factors are positively influencing ERP implementation success. All four hypotheses were supported by results of the study. Practical implications – This study will provide valuable insights to researchers, practicing managers and those who are planning to implement ERP in retail organization. Originality/value – Very few empirical studies have been performed to investigate the influencing factor of ERP implementation and types of relationships between factors that influence ERP implementation and the success of ERP implementation in Indian retail sector. This study examines how Strategic, Technological, People, and Project management factors are influencing ERP implementation success in retail sector of India. Therefore, the research can make a useful contribution. 1. Introduction Enterprise resource planning (ERP) has become a key business driver in today's world. An ERP system is a software architecture that connects information among the different functions of an enterprise, when implemented successfully. The different organizational silos (which often function separately irrespective of dependencies) are then able to use the …
Effect of Employee Branding on Customer Satisfaction, Favorable Reputation and Employee Satisfaction

In recent decades, the role of human resources in building brand in organization has increased, because they are internal customer of organization. Despite of this viewpoint, reports show that more managers do not know how they can use them to achieve a competitive advantage for their organization. Therefore, present study aimed to identify employee branding and utilize of it in organization. In the present study, employee branding and outcomes of it was used in Mellat Bank. Research statistical population consisted of employees of Mellat Bank in Qom and Arak cities. Sampling method for employees was cluster method. Data collection instrument was questionnaire. Partial Least Square (PLS) was used to analyze the data. The results of Partial Least Square confirmed model fitness in studied population. Likewise, the results from path analysis showed that employee branding had significant influences on customer satisfaction, favorable reputation and employee satisfaction.
State Dependence of Spike Timing and Neuronal Function in a Motor Pattern Generating Network

When sustained firing of a neuron is similar in different types of motor programs, its role in the generation of these programs is often similar. We investigated whether this is also the case for neurons involved in phase transition. In the Aplysia feeding central pattern generator (CPG), identified interneuron B64 starts firing at the transition between the protraction and the retraction phases of all types of motor programs, and its firing is sustained during the retraction phase. It was thought that B64 functions as a protraction terminator as it provides strong inhibitory input to protraction interneurons and motoneurons. Furthermore, premature activation of B64 can lead to premature termination of the protraction phase. Indeed, as we show here, B64 can terminate the protraction phase regardless of the type of motor program. However, B64 actually only functions as a protraction terminator in ingestive-like but not in egestive-like programs. This differential role of B64 results from a differential timing of the initiation of B64 spiking in the two types of programs. In turn, this differential timing of the initiation of B64 firing is determined by the internal state of the CPG. Thus, this study indicates the importance of the timing of initiation of firing in determining the functional role of a neuron and demonstrates that this role depends on the activity-dependent state of the network.
Tactile Stimulation Evokes Long-Lasting Potentiation of Purkinje Cell Discharge In Vivo

In the cerebellar network, a precise relationship between plasticity and neuronal discharge has been predicted. However, the potential generation of persistent changes in Purkinje cell (PC) spike discharge as a consequence of plasticity following natural stimulation patterns has not been clearly determined. Here, we show that facial tactile stimuli organized in theta-patterns can induce stereotyped N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA-A) receptor-dependent changes in PCs and molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) firing: invariably, all PCs showed a long-lasting increase (Spike-Related Potentiation or SR-P) and MLIs a long-lasting decrease (Spike-Related Suppression or SR-S) in baseline activity and spike response probability. These observations suggests that tactile sensory stimulation engages multiple long-term plastic changes that are distributed along the mossy fiber-parallel fiber (MF-PF) pathway and operate synergistically to potentiate spike generation in PCs. In contrast, theta-pattern electrical stimulation (ES) of PFs indistinctly induced SR-P and SR-S both in PCs and MLIs, suggesting that tactile sensory stimulation preordinates plasticity upstream of the PF-PC synapse. All these effects occurred in the absence of complex spike changes, supporting the theoretical prediction that PC activity is potentiated when the MF-PF system is activated in the absence of conjunctive climbing fiber (CF) activity.