Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is Attentional Blink a Byproduct of Neocortical Attractors?

This study proposes a computational model for attentional blink or “blink of the mind,” a phenomenon where a human subject misses perception of a later expected visual pattern as two expected visual patterns are presented less than 500 ms apart. A neocortical patch modeled as an attractor network is stimulated with a sequence of 14 patterns 100 ms apart, two of which are expected targets. Patterns that become active attractors are considered recognized. A neocortical patch is represented as a square matrix of hypercolumns, each containing a set of minicolumns with synaptic connections within and across both minicolumns and hypercolumns. Each minicolumn consists of locally connected layer 2/3 pyramidal cells with interacting basket cells and layer 4 pyramidal cells for input stimulation. All neurons are implemented using the Hodgkin–Huxley multi-compartmental cell formalism and include calcium dynamics, and they interact via saturating and depressing AMPA/NMDA and GABAA synapses. Stored patterns are encoded with global connectivity of minicolumns across hypercolumns and active patterns compete as the result of lateral inhibition in the network. Stored patterns were stimulated over time intervals to create attractor interference measurable with synthetic spike traces. This setup corresponds with item presentations in human visual attentional blink studies. Stored target patterns were depolarized while distractor patterns where hyperpolarized to represent expectation of items in working memory. Simulations replicated the basic attentional blink phenomena and showed a reduced blink when targets were more salient. Studies on the inhibitory effect of benzodiazepines on attentional blink in human subjects were compared with neocortical simulations where the GABAA receptor conductance and decay time were increased. Simulations showed increases in the attentional blink duration, agreeing with observations in human studies. In addition, sensitivity analysis was performed on key parameters of the model, including Ca2+-gated K+ channel conductance, synaptic depression, GABAA channel conductance and the NMDA/AMPA ratio of charge entry.
RATE OF ERGONOMICS HAZARD CONTROL MEASURES INCORPORATION INTO SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

This study assessed the level of ergonomics inclusions into small-scale industries (SSI) in Southwest Nigeria. The objective was to find out the type of ergonomics control measures (ECM) put in place to enhance occupational and health safety of workers. Machine hazard and safety checklists were used to carry out assessment of hazards control level of different machineries in 121 SSI. By observation, scores were assigned by research personnel team (RPT) to safety levels under engineering, administrative and personal protective measures of all operational machines and the workplace designs. Questionnaire was completed among 345 workers to measure occupation hazard (past or present) among the workers and various ECM adopted by the administrators and/or the workers to prevent injuries. SPSS version 16.0, was used to analyze the recorded data. 50.2% of all SSI were rated poor (insufficient HCM). Sandcrete block industry (SCBI) had the worse percentage (90.4%). 19.2% used engineering, 18.3% engaged personal protective while 10.2% used administrative measures. However, 1.6% used the combined measures. The mean of the rated SSI with poor ECM programme by RPT are significantly not different from that reported by SSI employees (t(24) = -0.563, p = 0.579). SCBI workers had the highest percentage (17.2%) of the reported work related injuries followed by printing press (17%), welding and/or metal cutting workshops (16.7%). The study concluded that ECM inclusion into SSI operations is very low and this may have lead to the high reported ergonomics hazards among the group of workers.
Effect of integrated nutrient management on quality parameters of sapota [Manilkara achrus (Mill) Forsberg] CV. Kalipatti

A field experiment was conducted at the Horticultural Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, B. A. College of Agriculture, Anand Agricultural University, Anand during the years 2015-16 and 2016-17. The fruit quality in terms of total soluble solids, acidity, ascorbic acid, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, total sugars, shelf life of fruits, fruit firmness and physiological loss in weight were recorded maximum in trees which were treated with (75% NPK + Vermicompost 15 kg + AAU Bio NPK 10 ml/tree).
How To Assess The Acceptability And Credibility Of Simulation Results

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive life cycle of a simulation study and guide the simulations in conducting 10 processes, 10 phases, and 13 credibility assessment stages of the life cycle. The guidelines assist the simulation practitioners in: formulating the problem; investigating solution techniques and the system under study; formulating, representing, and programming the simulation model; designing experiments; experimenting; redefining the model; and presenting the simulation results. The guidelines also assist the practitioners in: formulated problem verification, feasibility assessment of simulation, system and objectives definition verification, model qualification, communicative model verification, programmed model verification, experiment design verification, data validation, model validation, and presentation verification. The practitioners can follow the guidelines presented herein and significantly increase their chance of being successful in conducting a simulation study.
Effectiveness of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Compared With Digital Mammography: Outcomes Analysis From 3 Years of Breast Cancer Screening.

IMPORTANCE Breast cancer screening with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) combined with digital mammography (DM) decreases false-positive examinations and increases cancer detection compared with screening with DM alone. However, the longitudinal performance of DBT screening is unknown. OBJECTIVES To determine whether the improved outcomes observed after initial implementation of DBT screening are sustainable over time at a population level and to evaluate the effect of more than 1 DBT screening at the individual level. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Retrospective analysis of screening mammography metrics was performed for all patients presenting for screening mammography in an urban, academic breast center during 4 consecutive years (DM, year 0; DBT, years, 1-3). The study was conducted from September 1, 2010, to September 30, 2014 (excluding September 2011, which was the transition period from DM to DBT), for a total of 44 468 screening events attributable to a total of 23 958 unique women. Differences in screening outcomes between each DBT year and the DM year, as well as between groups of women with only 1, 2, or 3 DBT screenings, were assessed, and the odds of recall adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, breast density, and prior mammograms were estimated. Data analysis was performed between February 16 and October 26, 2015. EXPOSURE Digital mammography screening supplemented with DBT. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Recall rates, cancer cases per recalled patients, and biopsy and interval cancer rates were determined. RESULTS Screening outcome metrics were evaluated for a total of 44 468 examinations attributable to 23 958 unique women (mean [SD] age, 56.8 [11.0] years) over a 4-year period: year 0 cohort (DM0), 10 728 women; year 1 cohort (DBT1), 11 007; year 2 cohort (DBT2), 11 157; and year 3 cohort (DBT3), 11 576. Recall rates rose slightly for years 1 to 3 of DBT (88, 90, and 92 per 1000 screened, respectively) but remained significantly reduced compared with the DM0 rate of 104 per 1000 screened. Reported as odds ratios (95% CIs), the findings were DM vs DBT1, 0.83 (0.76-0.91, P < .001); DM vs DBT2, 0.85 (0.78-0.93, P < .001); and DM vs DBT3, 0.87 (0.80-0.95, P = .003). The cancer cases per recalled patients continued to rise from DM0 rate of 4.4% to 6.2% (P = .06), 6.5% (P = .03), and 6.7% (P = .02) for years 1 to 3 of DBT, respectively. Outcomes assessed for the most recent screening for individual women undergoing only 1, 2, or 3 DBT screenings during the study period demonstrated decreasing recall rates of 130, 78, and 59 per 1000 screened, respectively (P < .001). Interval cancer rates, determined using available follow-up data, decreased from 0.7 per 1000 women screened with the use of DM to 0.5 per 1000 screened with the use of DBT1. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Digital breast tomosynthesis screening outcomes are sustainable, with significant recall reduction, increasing cancer cases per recalled patients, and a decline in interval cancers.
The Fine Structure of Muscle Spindles in the Lumbrical Muscles of the Rat

Lumbrical muscles of young rats were fixed with OsO4 and embedded in methacrylate for electron microscopy. The spindle capsule was found to be continuous with and similar in structure to the sheath of Henle surrounding the nerves supplying the spindle. The capsule consists of several closely applied concentric cytoplasmic sheets. Each sheet is about 1,000 A thick and has no fenestrations. Many caveolae and vesicles in the cytoplasm suggest active transport through the sheets. The periaxial space fluid contains much solid material. It is suggested that the capsule and periaxial space regulate internal chemical environment. The interfibrillar structures are less evident in the polar regions of intrafusal fibres than in extrafusal fibres. Simple motor end-plates occur on the polar regions of intrafusal fibres. In the myotube region of the intrafusal fibre a peripheral zone of myofibrils surrounds a cytoplasmic core containing nuclei, mitochondria, Golgi bodies, reticulum, and a few lipid-like granules. Naked sensory endings lie on the myotube "in parallel" with the underlying myofilaments. Naked processes of the primary sensory ending deeply indent the muscle plasma membrane and the underlying wisps of myofilament in the nuclear bag region. The plasma membranes of sensory nerve ending and intrafusal muscle fibre are about 200 A apart.
Cellular Cholesterol Efflux Mediated by Cyclodextrins

The efflux of cholesterol from cells in culture to cyclodextrin acceptors has been reported to be substantially more rapid than efflux induced by other known acceptors of cholesterol (Kilsdonk, E. P. C., Yancey, P., Stoudt, G., Bangerter, F. W., Johnson, W. J., Phillips, M. C., and Rothblat, G. H. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 17250-17256). In this study, we compared the kinetics of cholesterol efflux from cells with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrins and with discoidal high density lipoprotein (HDL) particles to probe the mechanisms governing the remarkably rapid rates of cyclodextrin-mediated efflux. The rate of cholesterol efflux was enhanced by shaking cells growing in a monolayer and further enhanced by placing cells in suspension to achieve maximal efflux rates. The extent of efflux was dependent on cyclodextrin concentration, and maximal efflux was observed at concentrations >50 mM. For several cell types, biexponential kinetics of cellular cholesterol efflux were observed, indicating the existence of two kinetic pools of cholesterol: a fast pool (half-time (t1/2) ∼19-23 s) and a slow pool with t1/2 of 15–30 min. Two distinct kinetic pools of cholesterol were also observed with model membranes (large unilamellar cholesterol-containing vesicles), implying that the cellular pools are in the plasma membrane. Cellular cholesterol content was altered by incubating cells with solutions of cyclodextrins complexed with increasing levels of cholesterol. The number of kinetic pools was unaffected by raising the cellular cholesterol content, but the size of the fast pool increased. After depleting cells of the fast pool of cholesterol, this pool was completely restored after a 40-min recovery period. The temperature dependence of cyclodextrin-mediated cholesterol efflux from cells and model membranes was compared; the activation energies were 7 kcal/mol and 2 kcal/mol, respectively. The equivalent activation energy observed with apo-HDL-phospholipid acceptor particles was 20 kcal/mol. It seems that cyclodextrin molecules are substantially more efficient than phospholipid acceptors, because cholesterol molecules desorbing from a membrane surface can diffuse directly into the hydrophobic core of a cyclodextrin molecule without having to desorb completely into the aqueous phase before being sequestered by the acceptor.
On the jet structure and magnetic field configuration of GRB 020813

The polarization curve of GRB 020813 is discussed and compared to different models for the structure, evolution and magnetisation properties of the jet and the interstellar medium onto which the fireball impacts. GRB 020813 is best suited for this kind of analysis for the smoothness of its afterglow light curve, ensuring the applicability of current models. The polarization dataset allows us to rule out the standard GRB jet, in which the energy and Lorentz factor have a well defined value inside the jet opening angle and the magnetic field is generated at the shock front. We explore alternative models finding that a structured jet or a jet with a toroidal component of the magnetic field can fit equally well the polarization curve. Stronger conclusions cannot be drawn due to the incomplete sampling of the polarization curve. A more dense sampling, especially at early times, is required to pin down the structure of the jet and the geometry of its magnetic field.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Cerro Paranal (Chile), ESO programmes 69.D-0461(A) and 69.D-0701(A).
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN PRESENCE IN A MARINE FISH FARM FROM THE NORTH WESTERN COAST OF SARDINIA PRESENZA DEL TURSIOPE PRESSO UN IMPIANTO DI MARICOLTURA NELLA COSTA NORD OCCIDENTALE

The objective of this study was to determine the main variables that can influence presence and abundance of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821) near an offshore marine fish farm of the North western coast of Sardinia (Gulf of Alghero, Italy). Based on the results obtained in this study, we can evidence that same factors influence the seasonal presence of dolphins in offshore fish farm: water temperature, water transparency and anthropogenic impact (presence of recreational boats).
Comparing different definitions of chronic conditions in a national data set.

OBJECTIVES To compare the application of 4 different definitions of chronic conditions and disabilities in children using a large national database. METHODS The study used data on children 0-17 years of age from the 1994 and 1995 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Core Interview and Disability Supplement. We selected items to create algorithms that operationalized 4 extant definitions and compared the proportions of children identified by each. For each definition we conducted bivariate and logistic regression analyses of age and sociodemographic and health-related characteristics potentially related to presence of disability. We then compared the results across definitions to determine if they were equally likely to identify children across a full range of sociodemographic variables, ages, and health-related characteristics. We also examined the level of agreement among definitions and determined the degree to which they identified the same or different children. RESULTS Using a single data set, the 4 operational definitions identified somewhat different proportions of children as having chronic conditions or disability overall (the range was 13.7%-17%). However, the ways in which the definitions identified children along a spectrum of variables did not differ substantially across the definitions. The percent agreement in identification between any two individual definitions was > or = 95%. In general, a higher proportion of children were identified among males, whites, those in older age groups, and among those whose parents had lower levels of education and those who were living below the poverty level. Although the same set of variables identified children with conditions who fit all 4 definitions compared with children who met the criteria for 1 to 3 definitions, higher rather than lower parent education was associated with agreement across all definitions. CONCLUSIONS Little has been known about the comparability of different definitions for identifying children with chronic conditions, special health care needs, and disability. Our findings suggest substantial overlap in the numbers and characteristics of the children that several different conceptual definitions identify. It remains unclear whether subgroups with higher or lower proportions of children with chronic disorders represent a substantive finding or whether they result from methodological problems shared by the ways in which the definitions are operationalized.
Microneurographic studies of the mechanisms of sympathetic nerve responses to static exercise in humans.

The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of muscle afferents and central command in regulating sympathetic nerve activity during static exercise in humans. In 20 healthy subjects, we recorded heart rate, arterial pressure, and efferent sympathetic nerve activity in the leg during arm exercise. Microelectrodes were inserted percutaneously into a fascicle of the peroneal nerve to measure sympathetic discharge to muscle. Measurements were obtained in nine subjects during sustained handgrip (30% maximal voluntary contraction) followed by relaxation or by arrested circulation of the forearm. Heart rate and arterial pressure increased during the first and second minutes of handgrip. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity increased from 261 +/- 46 to 504 +/- 97 units (mean +/- SE; units = burst frequency X amplitude; P less than 0.05) during the second minute of handgrip. During forearm ischemia following handgrip, heart rate returned promptly to control, whereas arterial pressure and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (631 +/- 115 units) remained elevated. In contrast, muscle sympathetic nerve activity returned toward control during relaxation without arrested circulation. These data indicate that muscle sympathetic nerve activity is increased by stimulation of chemically sensitive muscle afferents. To determine the influence of central command on muscle sympathetic nerve activity, we compared responses during an involuntary and a voluntary biceps contraction, each at 20% maximal voluntary contraction. Both maneuvers raised arterial pressure, but heart rate increased only during voluntary contraction. More importantly, muscle sympathetic nerve activity rose during involuntary contraction, but fell during voluntary effort. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Insulin-like growth factor-I increases trabecular bone formation and osteoblastic cell proliferation in unloaded rats.

We previously found that the inhibition of bone formation and trabecular osteopenia induced by skeletal unloading in rats are associated with reduced proliferation of osteoblastic cells lining the bone surface. In this study, we examined the effects of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) on trabecular bone formation, bone mineral density, and proliferation of marrow-derived osteoblastic cells in unloaded rats. Skeletal unloading of hind limbs was induced by tail suspension, and recombinant human IGF-I was administered at two different doses (1.3 or 2.0 mg/kg.day) in control and unloaded rats by continuous infusion for 14 days. Treatment with IGF-I had no effect on plasma glucose levels, body weight, or longitudinal bone growth. The double calcein-labeled surface, bone formation rate, and trabecular number measured at the tibial metaphysis were lower in unloaded rats compared to controls and were increased after IGF-I treatment. The increased number of bone-forming sites induced by IGF-I was associated with partial prevention of trabecular bone loss in unloaded rats. In contrast to the beneficial effects of IGF-I on bone formation and bone mineral content in unloaded rats, IGF-I had no effect in control rats. To evaluate the cellular mechanisms of action of IGF-I, marrow stromal cells were derived from the tibia of unloaded and control rats and studied in vitro. Unloading was associated with a decreased proliferation of alkaline phosphatase-positive (ALP+) marrow stromal cells. Treatment with IGF-I increased the number of ALP+ cells in unloaded rats, but not in control rats. IGF-I treatment increased ALP activity and osteocalcin production by marrow-derived cells in suspended and control rats, suggesting that IGF-I stimulated the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblast precursor cells. These results indicate that IGF-I infusion enhanced the recruitment of osteoblastic cells, increased trabecular bone formation, and partially prevented trabecular bone loss in unloaded rats, which supports the hypothesis that IGF-I may mediate in part the effects of loading on bone formation.
Management of Cardiovascular Risk Associated with Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, and the Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that function as risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and its key components—diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension—form a lethal combination. The incidence of obesity and other components of the metabolic syndrome is now at epidemic proportions, and current lifestyle trends suggest that it will continue to increase worldwide. In order to avert a major health crisis, physicians must take immediate steps to recognize and treat the metabolic syndrome and its components. Early diagnosis and therapeutic lifestyle changes should go hand-in-hand with individual and composite therapy for metabolic syndrome components to reduce CVD risk in affected individuals. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the diagnosis and treatment of the metabolic syndrome with a particular emphasis on reducing CVD risk.
On degraded two message set broadcasting

We consider the two message set problem, where a source broadcasts a common message W1 to an arbitrary set of receivers U and a private message W2 to a subset of the receivers P ⊆ U. Transmissions occur over linear deterministic channels. For the case where at most two receivers do not require the private message, we give an exact characterization of the capacity region, where achievability is through linear coding.
An evaluation of an abstinence education curriculum series: sex can wait.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of an abstinence education curriculum series on student outcomes. METHODS The series was taught at upper elementary, junior high, and high school levels. A questionnaire was administered to all intervention and comparison students before and after implementation of the curriculum. RESULTS At the upper elementary level, the curriculum group had better outcomes on knowledge, self-efficacy, and a more hopeful outlook; at the middle school level no differences; at the high school level, findings favored the curriculum group on attitude, behavioral intent, and sexual behavior variables. CONCLUSION Results are encouraging and should be considered by those interested in helping young people postpone sexual involvement.