Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cholinergic modulation of distinct types of perisomatic region targeting interneurons and their involvement in carbachol- induced fast network oscillation in the CA3 region of the hippocampus

Information processing of p the control of various types of in networks including the hippoc preference cortical GABAergic innervating the perisomatic regi cells targeting their dendrites. inhibitory cells can effectively sodium-dependent action potentia activity of large assemblies of pyr The group of perisomatic consists of basket cells (BCs) with spiking (RSBCs) phenotype, as w cells (AACs). BCs innervate the pyramidal cells, whereas AACs s segments (AIS) of pyramidal neur Cholinergic neuromodulati effects on different cognitive func GABAergic interneurons are r cholinergic modulation in man transmit an overall influence o assemblies. Although several inve regarding the cholinergic recept and their sensitivity to cholinergi cholinergic receptor activation an tested specifically on distinct targeting interneurons. A typical example of chol switching of cortical networks be response to the changes of ace when the cholinergic tone is h gamma oscillation can be obse potential recording, reflecting the the hippocampus. A similar osci range (30-100 Hz) can be induc slices by using the cholinergic re
Effects of heavy metal pollution on ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids levels in tilapia fish from Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria

Winam Gulf is facing major pollution threats from anthropogenic input of pollutants such as heavy metals and agrochemical residues. This has deleterious effects on flora and fauna in the lake and consequently the quality of omega - 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) which have numerous health benefits in humans. In addition, heavy metal bioac- cumulation in fish poses a threat to human health. The major objective of the study was to establish whether there is a cor- relation between the heavy metal pollutants and the levels of omega - 3 PUFAs in fish. Levels of heavy metals - lead, cadmium, Zinc and chromium in sediments, water, and tilapia from selected sites in Winam Gulf were investigated. They were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Fish muscles were further analyzed for omega -3 PUFAs us- ing gas chromatography. Sediment samples accumulated the highest levels of heavy metals ranging from below detection limit to as high as 277 mg/kg on dry weight basis. Zinc levels in fish muscles were the highest whereas cadmium was the lowest. Heavy metal levels in water were found to be lowest compared to sediments and fish. Omega-3 PUFAs, particu- larly alpha-linolenic, eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids were in substantial amounts in fish. Oil contents were in the range of (2.47- 3.87) %. There was no clear link observed between the levels of heavy metals and omega-3 PUFAs in fish although the fish muscles showed presence of these metals.
DO NEIGHBORHOODS GENERATE FEAR OF CRIME? AN EMPIRICAL TEST USING THE BRITISH CRIME SURVEY*

For a long time, criminologists have contended that neighborhoods are important determinants of how individuals perceive their risk of criminal victimization. Yet, despite the theoretical importance and policy relevance of these claims, the empirical evidence base is surprisingly thin and inconsistent. Drawing on data from a national probability sample of individuals, linked to independent measures of neighborhood demographic characteristics, visual signs of physical disorder, and reported crime, we test four hypotheses about the mechanisms through which neighborhoods influence fear of crime. Our large sample size, analytical approach, and the independence of our empirical measures enable us to overcome some of the limitations that have hampered much previous research into this question. We find that neighborhood structural characteristics, visual signs of disorder, and recorded crime all have direct and independent effects on individual-level fear of crime. Additionally, we demonstrate that individual differences in fear of crime are strongly moderated by neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics; between-group differences in expressed fear of crime are both exacerbated and ameliorated by the characteristics of the areas in which people live.
A Review of Internship Opportunities in Online Learning: Building a New Conceptual Framework for a Self-regulated Internship in Hospitality.

The primary purpose of the article was to examine best practices in hospitality internships and apply them to build a framework for an innovative approach to online internships. In recent years, the literature is increasingly more focused on online internships and their value to students in different disciplines (Bayerlein 2015, DeWitt & Rogers 2009, Goldsmith & Martin 2009, Kruse, et al. 2013, Pike 2015, Weible & McClure 2015). Learning the ins and outs of an industry virtually, using contemporary internships methods strengthens the student’s expertise and better prepares them for future workplace environments. This article examines the best practices in online internships to develop a new conceptual framework for a self-regulated internship in hospitality. R e sum e Le but premier de l’article etait de construire un cadre favorable a une approche innovante des stages en ligne apres avoir examine les meilleures pratiques dans les stages d’hotellerie. Apprendre a connaitre virtuellement les moindres details d’une industrie en utilisant des methodes contemporaines de stage renforce l’expertise des etudiants et favorise leur preparation a leurs futurs environnements de travail. Des chercheurs font ressortir l’interet de la composante virtuelle de l’experience de stage, pourtant, aucun d’entre eux n’a etabli de lien entre l’experience realisee en ligne et celle conduite sur le terrain. Les modeles traitant de l’apprentissage autoregule comme ceux existants a propos des stages virtuels n’integrent pas de composante prenant en compte le terrain. Les cadres existant sur les stages dans l’hotellerie n’integrent pas d’elements en formation a distance. L’accroissement des stages virtuels est propice au developpement de la confiance des etudiants ainsi qu’a l’etablissement de relations et de liens avec leur experience reelle sur leur lieu de travail. De plus, les experiences sur le terrain peuvent etre plus importantes pour les etudiants en ligne lorsqu’ils sont diplomes et prennent part a la population active. Ainsi, un nouveau cadre devait etre cree pour associer la formation a distance avec les stages sur le terrain dans l’industrie hoteliere. Les ecoles utilisant ce modele offriront aux etudiants une experience precieuse et leur permettront de developper differentes competences et de gagner en confiance et professionnalisme pour chercher et trouver un stage qui corresponde a leur passion.
Characterizing Electrocochleography in Cochlear Implant Recipients with Residual Low-Frequency Hearing

Objective: Lay the groundwork for using electrocochleography (ECochG) as a measure of cochlear health, by characterizing typical patterns of the ECochG response observed across the electrode array in cochlear implant recipients with residual hearing. Methods: ECochG was measured immediately after electrode insertion in 45 cochlear implant recipients with residual hearing. The Cochlear Response Telemetry system was used to record ECochG across the electrode array, in response to 100- or 110-dB SPL pure tones at 0.5-kHz, presented at 14 per second and with alternating polarities. Hair cell activity, as the cochlear microphonic (CM), was estimated by taking the difference (DIF) of the two polarities. Neural activity, as the auditory nerve neurophonic (ANN), was estimated by taking the sum (SUM) of the two polarities. Prior work in humans and animal studies suggested that the expected ECochG pattern in response to a 0.5-kHz pure tone is an apical-peak in CM amplitude and latency. Results: The most prevalent pattern was a peak in the DIF amplitude near the most apical electrode, with a prolongation of latency toward the electrode tip; this was found in 21/39 individuals with successful ECochG recordings. The 21 apical-peak recipients had the best low-frequency hearing. A low amplitude, long-latency DIF response that remained relatively constant across the electrode array was found in 10/39 individuals, in a group with the poorest low- and high-frequency hearing. A third, previously undescribed, pattern occurred in 8/39 participants, with mid-electrode peaks in DIF amplitude. These recipients had the best high-frequency hearing and a progressive prolongation of DIF latency around the mid-electrode peaks consistent with the presence of discrete populations of hair cells. Conclusions: The presence of distinct patterns of the ECochG response with relationships to pre-operative hearing levels supports the notion that ECochG across the electrode array functions as a measure of cochlear health.
The Consequences of Feminization in Breeding Groups of Wild Fish

Background The feminization of nature by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a key environmental issue affecting both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. A crucial and as yet unanswered question is whether EDCs have adverse impacts on the sustainability of wildlife populations. There is widespread concern that intersex fish are reproductively compromised, with potential population-level consequences. However, to date, only in vitro sperm quality data are available in support of this hypothesis. Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether wild endocrine-disrupted fish can compete successfully in a realistic breeding scenario. Methods In two competitive breeding experiments using wild roach (Rutilus rutilus), we used DNA microsatellites to assign parentage and thus determine reproductive success of the adults. Results In both studies, the majority of intersex fish were able to breed, albeit with varying degrees of success. In the first study, where most intersex fish were only mildly feminized, body length was the only factor correlated with reproductive success. In the second study, which included a higher number of more severely intersex fish, reproductive performance was negatively correlated with severity of intersex. The intersex condition reduced reproductive performance by up to 76% for the most feminized individuals in this study, demonstrating a significant adverse effect of intersex on reproductive performance. Conclusion Feminization of male fish is likely to be an important determinant of reproductive performance in rivers where there is a high prevalence of moderately to severely feminized males.
Rule-Based Cooperative Continuous Ant Colony Optimization to Improve the Accuracy of Fuzzy System Design

This paper proposes a cooperative continuous ant colony optimization (CCACO) algorithm and applies it to address the accuracy-oriented fuzzy systems (FSs) design problems. All of the free parameters in a zero- or first-order Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) FS are optimized through CCACO. The CCACO algorithm performs optimization through multiple ant colonies, where each ant colony is only responsible for optimizing the free parameters in a single fuzzy rule. The ant colonies cooperate to design a complete FS, with a complete parameter solution vector (encoding a complete FS) that is formed by selecting a subsolution component (encoding a single fuzzy rule) from each colony. Subsolutions in each ant colony are evolved independently using a new continuous ant colony optimization algorithm. In the CCACO, solutions are updated via the techniques of pheromone-based tournament ant path selection, ant wandering operation, and best-ant-attraction refinement. The performance of the CCACO is verified through applications to fuzzy controller and predictor design problems. Comparisons with other population-based optimization algorithms verify the superiority of the CCACO.
An Interactive Information Odometer and Applications

We introduce a novel technique which enables two players to maintain an estimate of the internal information cost of their conversation in an online fashion without revealing much extra information. We use this construction to obtain new results about communication complexity and information-theoretic privacy. As a first corollary, we prove a strong direct product theorem for communication complexity in terms of information complexity: If I bits of information are required for solving a single copy of f under μ with probability 2/3, then any protocol attempting to solve n independent copies of f under μn using o(n • I) communication, will succeed with probability 2-Ω(n). This is tight, as Braverman and Rao [BR11] previously showed that O(n • I) communication suffice to succeed with probability ~(2/3)n. We then show how the information odometer can be used to achieve the best possible information-theoretic privacy between two untrusted parties: If the players' goal is to compute a function f(x,y), and f admits a protocol with information cost is I and communication cost C, then our odometer can be used to produce a "robust" protocol which: (i) Assuming both players are honest, computes f with high probability, and (ii) Even if one party is malicious, then for any k∈N, the probability that the honest player reveals more than O(k • (I+log C)) bits of information to the other player is at most 2-Ω(k). Finally, we outline an approach which uses the odometer as a proxy for breaking state of the art interactive compression results: We show that our odometer allows to reduce interactive compression to the regime where I=O(log C), thereby opening a potential avenue for improving the compression result of [BBCR10] and to new direct sum and product theorems in communication complexity.
miR-155 regulates the proliferation and invasion of clear cell renal cell carcinoma cells by targeting E2F2

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as critical modulators of carcinogenesis and tumor progression. In the present work, we sought to identify the biological function of miR-155 as well as its underlying mechanism in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). We examined the expression of miR-155 in clear cell RCC (ccRCC) and adjacent normal tissues and then explored the roles of miR-155 both in vitro and in vivo. The results of this analysis indicated that miR-155 activity was significantly upregulated in ccRCC tissues compared with the corresponding normal tissues. miR-155 was associated with ccRCC aggressiveness in both cell lines and clinical specimens, and a specific and inverse correlation between miR-155 and E2F2 expression was found in human ccRCC samples. Overexpression of miR-155 in 786-O cells decreased E2F2 expression while reduction of miR-155 by anti-miR-155 in ACHN cells elevated E2F2 expression. Re-expression of E2F2 in 786-O cells repressed the cell migration/invasion abilities elevated by miR-155, whereas knockdown of E2F2 in ACHN cells restored these cellular functions hampered by the miR-155 inhibitor. Using Western blot and luciferase reporter assays, we determined that E2F2 was a direct target of miR-155. Taken together, the in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that miR-155 functions as a tumor-promoting miRNA by targeting E2F2 in ccRCC.
The Cost of Debt Capital and Corporate Governance Practices

This study examines the association between the cost of debt capital and corporate governance practices. Utilizing a unique data set of firm-level corporate governance practices that is provided by the Korea Corporate Governance Service (KCGS), this study examines whether sound corporate governance practices reduce agency costs and thus the default risk and cost of debt capital of a firm. The findings indicate that corporate governance practices are negatively related to the cost of debt capital after controlling for relevant control variables and that the association between the cost of debt capital and corporate governance practices is more pronounced in firms that have assets of more than 2 trillion won (approximately US$2 billion). Thus, the results strongly suggest that sound corporate governance practices work favorably to lower the cost of external debt financing.
Thyroid Hormones, Autoantibodies, Ultrasonography, and Clinical Parameters for Predicting Thyroid Cancer

Our objective was to evaluate thyroid nodule malignancy prediction using thyroid function tests, autoantibodies, ultrasonographic imaging, and clinical data. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in 1400 patients with nodular thyroid disease (NTD). The thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration was significantly higher in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) versus benign thyroid nodular disease (BTND) (p = 0.004). The receiver operating characteristic curve of TSH showed an AUC of 0.58 (95% CI 0.53–0.62, p = 0.001), sensitivity of 74%, and specificity of 57% at a cut-off of 1.59 mIU/L. There was an incremental increase in TSH concentration along with the increasing tumor size (p < 0.001). Thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) concentration was associated with an increased risk of malignancy (p = 0.029), but this association was lost when the effect of TSH was taken into account (p = 0.11). Thyroid ultrasonographic characteristics, including fewer than three nodules, hypoechoic appearance, solid component, poorly defined margin, intranodular or peripheral-intranodular flow, and punctate calcification, can be used to predict the risk of thyroid cancer. In conclusion, our study suggests that preoperative serum TSH concentration, age, and ultrasonographic features can be used to predict the risk of malignancy in patients with NTD.
Avaliação da Propensão a Empreender: Uma Proposta de Mensuração Desse Constructo

This research has two objectives: to identify the entrepreneurial attributes related to entrepreneurship projects in undergraduate students and make a comparative analysis between the entrepreneurial behavioral characteristics (CCE) and these attributes. This research is applied regarding its nature and it has an exploratory objective with quantitative character. The QEMP research tool was used to identify the entrepreneurial attributes and the McClelland Model (1961) for entrepreneurial behavioral characteristics (CCE) was used too. Although they are distinct instruments of evaluation of the entrepreneur, the research sought to identify if both can perceive the degree of propensity to undertake of the target population, since each of them evaluates the entrepreneurship from a set of multiple variables. The results of data processing led to the proposition of two scales (EMP_QEMP and EMP_CCE) that can synthesize this propensity. Two samples were collected at the same institution of higher education (IES), one with 193 respondents in the period 2014-2015 with the CCE and another, the QEMP, with 60 students, in 2016. The K-Means Cluster Analysis of both samples resulted two characteristic groups, the students in the larger group (with 70% of the respondents) presents a greater orientation and propensity to be entrepreneur in contrast to the other group with less propensity, but do not present aversion to be entrepreneur. What appears commonly in the two largest groups of both samples are young people highly inclined to entrepreneurship and in need for self-realization.
Population densities and genetic diversity of actinomycetes associated to the rhizosphere of Theobroma cacao

In spite of the acknowledged importance of growth-promoting bacteria, only a reduced number of studies were conducted with these microorganisms on Theobroma cacao. The objectives of this work were to study the population densities and genetic diversity of actinomycetes associated with the rhizosphere of cacao as a first step in their application in plant growth promotion and biological control. The populations densities of actinomycetes in soil and cacao roots were similar, with mean values of 1,0 x 106 CFU/g and 9,6 x 105 CFU/g, respectively. All isolates selected and used in this study were identified through sequencing analyses of a fragment of the rpoB gene that encodes the β-subunit of the RNA polymerase as species of the genus Streptomyces. In vitro cellulolytic, xilanolytic and chitinolytic activity, indolacetic acid production and phosphate solubilization activities were observed in most of the isolates tested. The data obtained in this study demonstrate that actinomycetes account for a higher percentage of the total population of culturable bacteria in soil than on cacao roots. Additionally, actinomycetes from the cacao rhizosphere are genetically diverse and have potential applications as agents of growth promotion.
English and communication skills for the global engineer

Engineering graduates require an ever-increasing range of skills to maintain relevance with the global environment of the new millennium. Communication skills are an vital component of this, recognised by academia and industry alike. English language skills are also important given its widespread status across the globe as a lingua franca. Indeed, multilingual skills are considered a salient element in the make-up of the new global engineer. English for specific purposes focuses the learner's attention on the particular terminology and communication skills required in the international professional field. Communication skills development is discussed in the paper, with examples given of different methods of teaching and assessment. The impacts on communication skills development include various elements, including gender equality. A lack of sufficient communication skills serves only to undermine the image of the engineer, but this can be tackled by engaging features of emotional intelligence (EQ) in the education of engineers. EQ offers various components that can improve communication skills and emphasise a more experiential approach to learning.
Dissemination of Chest Compression–Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Survival After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Background— The best cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) technique for survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) has been intensively discussed in the recent few years. However, most analyses focused on comparison at the individual level. How well the dissemination of bystander-initiated chest compression–only CPR (CCCPR) increases survival after OHCAs at the population level remains unclear. We therefore evaluated the impact of nationwide dissemination of bystander-initiated CCCPR on survival after OHCA. Methods and Results— A nationwide, prospective, population-based, observational study covering the whole population of Japan and involving consecutive OHCA patients with resuscitation attempts was conducted from January 2005 through December 2012. The main outcome measure was 1-month survival with favorable neurological outcome. The incidence of survival with favorable neurological outcome attributed to types of bystander CPR (CCCPR and conventional CPR with rescue breathing) was estimated. Among 816 385 people experiencing OHCAs before emergency medical services arrival, 249 970 (30.6%) received CCCPR, 100 469 (12.3%) received conventional CPR, and 465 946 (57.1%) received no CPR. The proportion of OHCA patients receiving CCCPR or any CPR (either CCCPR or conventional CPR) by bystanders increased from 17.4% to 39.3% (P for trend <0.001) and from 34.6% to 47.3% (P for trend <0.001), respectively. The incidence of survival with favorable neurological outcome attributed to CCCPR per 10 million population significantly increased from 0.6 to 28.3 (P for trend=0.010), and that by any bystander-initiated CPR significantly increased from 9.0 to 43.6 (P for trend=0.003). Conclusion— Nationwide dissemination of CCCPR for lay-rescuers was associated with the increase in the incidence of survival with favorable neurological outcome after OHCAs in Japan.