Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synaptic connectivity of the diffuse bipolar cell type DB6 in the inner plexiform layer of primate retina

Diffuse bipolar cells in primate retina receive synaptic input from multiple cones and provide output to ganglion cells. Diffuse bipolar cells can be subdivided into six types (DB1–DB6) according to the stratification of their axon terminals in the inner plexiform layer, but their synaptic connectivity in the inner plexiform layer is not well understood. Here the stratification and synaptic connectivity of DB6 axon terminals were studied in the retinae of New World (marmoset) and Old World (macaque) monkeys. Immunohistochemical markers were applied to retinal sections. The sections were analyzed by confocal and deconvolution light microscopy as well as electron microscopy. The DB6 cells were identified with antibodies against CD15; rod bipolar cells were identified with antibodies against protein kinase Cα (PKCα); and AII amacrine cells were identified with antibodies against calretinin. The axons of DB6 and rod bipolar cells occupy distinct regions in stratum 5 of the inner plexiform layer. The distal processes of calretinin‐labeled AII cells are usually closely associated with rod bipolar axons but sometimes also with DB6 axons. Pre‐embedding immunoelectron microscopy showed that the vast majority (over 86%) of the synaptic output of DB6 cells is onto amacrine cell processes, whereas less than 14% goes to ganglion cell processes. In double‐labeled preparations DB6 axons occasionally made output onto calretinin‐labeled amacrine processes. Thus it is possible that AII cells receive some input from DB6 cells. J. Comp. Neurol. 469:494–506, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of direction of head movement on motion sickness caused by Coriolis stimulation.

BACKGROUND During constant speed rotation of the body, head rotation about an axis other than the axis of rotation of the body (i.e., Coriolis is stimulation) induces motion sickness. HYPOTHESES The position of the body relative to the center of rotation will influence the sickness caused by Coriolis stimulation; the direction of head movement will not affect the sickness caused by Coriolis stimulation. METHOD There were 24 seated subjects (12 male, 12 female) who made 30 degrees pitch motions of the head every 30 s while rotating about a vertical axis at 10 r.p.m. on a turntable at two separate locations: a) at the center of rotation; and b) 0.75 m from the center of rotation. After each head movement the subjects gave ratings of motion illness. RESULTS There was no significant difference between illness 0.75 m from the center of rotation and illness at the center of rotation, or between the illness ratings from male and female subjects. Moving the head up from the horizontal caused significantly fewer increases in ratings of motion illness than moving the head back down to the horizontal. CONCLUSIONS Precise location of the body at the center of rotation is not critical during Coriolis stimulation, but the direction of head movement has a large effect on nausea. An influence of somatosensory information on sickness caused by Coriolis stimulation is suggested.
An empirical analysis of the performance of Vietnamese higher education institutions

Abstract This article provides an analysis of the academic performance of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Vietnam with 50 universities and 50 colleges in 2011/12. The two-stage semiparametric data envelopment analysis is used to estimate the efficiency of HEIs and investigate the effects of various factors on their performance. The findings reveal that HEIs in the surveyed sample show that there are still potential avenues to improve their existing performance. There appears to be a difference in the efficiencies of public and private HEIs in the reported year. It is noted that the inefficiency of HEIs are not entirely a result of managerial performance, but also influenced by other factors such as location, age and the contribution of tuition fees. Our results are expected to provide more understanding of the operational efficiency of HEIs for educational managers and policymakers to find possible solutions to improve the performance of Vietnamese higher education.
Mortality in the German Porcelain Industry 1985–2005: First Results of an Epidemiological Cohort Study

Objectives: To evaluate mortality due to lung cancer, silicosis, renal cancer, renal disease and other causes among German porcelain production workers potentially exposed to crystalline silica. Methods: Seventeen thousand six hundred forty-four medical surveillance participants (1985–1987) were followed through 2005 for mortality. Cause-specific Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Results: Women (SMR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.78 to 0.93), but not men, demonstrated a healthy worker effect. Lung and renal cancers, and renal disease (non-malignant renal disease) were not associated with employment or exposure surrogates. Mortality was increased from silicosis (SMR = 7.20; 95% CI = 2.32 to 16.8) liver (SMR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.29 to 2.93) and pancreatic (SMR = 1.71; 95% CI = 1.18 to 2.41) cancers among men, and diabetes among women (SMR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.07 to 2.65). A sub-cohort of Bavarian workers generated similar but generally higher SMRs. Conclusions: Silicosis mortality was increased in this, among the largest studies to date. However, associations previously observed between crystalline silica exposure and renal or lung cancers or non-malignant renal disease were not supported.
Globalization and Entrepreneurship on Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis (1999–2006)

There are many factors that determine growth. Author in the present paper intends to point out empirically that globalization (measured by trade) as well as entrepreneurship can be two of them having a positive impact on economic growth. Panel Data cover Western world and Japan (1999–2006). The econometric model is estimated by the Eviews software package.
An audit of the results of a triplet metronomic chemotherapy regimen incorporating a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancers patients

Abstract Background: Addition of erlotinib to metronomic chemotherapy (MCT) may lead to further improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival in head and neck cancers. The aim of this study was to study the PFS with MCT + erlotinib combination in our setting. Methods: A single-arm prospective observational study conducted at Malabar Cancer Center. Patients warranting palliative chemotherapy for head and neck cancers, having adequate organ function, not-affording cetuximab and not willing for intravenous chemotherapy were included in this study. Oral methotrexate (15 mg/m 2 /week), oral celecoxib (200 mg twice daily), and erlotinib (150 mg once daily) were administered till the progression of the disease or till intolerable side-effects. Patients underwent toxicity (CTCAE version 4.02) and response (RECIST version 1.1) assessment every 30 days. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16 (IBM, New York, USA). Descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier analysis have been performed. Results: A total of 15 patients received MCT. The median age of these patients was 65 years (range: 48-80). The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status was 0-1 in seven patients (46.7%), while it was 2 in eight patients (53.3%). The primary sites of tumor were predominantly oral cavity, 11 (73.4%). Prior to MCT, treatment with palliative radiation therapy was given in 11 patients and curative treatment in two patients. The best response post-MCT was complete remission in two patients, partial remission in seven patients, stable disease in four patients, and progressive disease in two patients. The median estimated PFS was 148 days (95% confidence interval 95.47-200.52 days). For a median follow-up of 181 days, there were only three deaths. Grade 3-4 toxicity was seen in six patients (40%). Dose reduction was required in four patients (26.7%). Conclusion: The addition of erlotinib to an MCT schedule of methotrexate and celecoxib resulted in a promising PFS and should be tested in future studies.
Maximum Principle for Totally Umbilical Null Hypersurfaces and Time-dependent Null Horizons

In this paper we modify the maximum principal of (Galloway, 2000) for totally geodesic null hypersurfaces by proving a geometric maximum principle which obeys mean curvature inequalities of a family of totally umbilical null hypersurfaces of a spacetime manifold (Theorem~6). As a physical interpretation we show that, in particular, for a prescribed class of spacetimes the geometric inequality of the Theorem~6 for totally umbilical null hypersurfaces is valid as well as it establishes a link with Galloway's vanishing mean curvature totally geodesic null hypersurfaces that arise most naturally in general relativity, such as black hole event horizons (Theorem 7).
Cell lysis with dimethyl sulphoxide produces stable homogeneous solutions in the dichlorofluorescein oxidative stress assay

The oxidation of 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein (2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin, DCFH) to a fluorescent product, 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein (DCF), is commonly used to quantitatively measure oxidative stress in cells using a fluorescence microplate reader. However, many cell lines tend to grow non-uniformly in the wells. This non-uniform distribution results in a high degree of variability in the fluorescence signal and decreases the precision of the method. Also, samples treated in large culture plates, dishes or flasks cannot be assayed directly in fluorescence microplate readers. This study reports an improved DCF assay method that lyses cells with DMSO/PBS (90% dimethyl sulphoxide/10% phosphate buffered saline). Oxidative stress was induced with either hydrogen peroxide or an hypoxia-reoxygenation treatment. Cell lysis with DMSO/PBS resulted in highly stable fluorescence signals in comparison to Triton X-100/PBS lysed cells. The precision of DCF fluorescence measurements of DMSO/PBS lysed cells was much better than for attached cells measured directly in 96-well plates. While DCF fluorescence in PBS was strongly quenched by albumin, no quenching occurred in DMSO/PBS. In conclusion this study describes a more convenient and accurate method for measuring cellular oxidative stress that also makes it possible to assay cells treated in large culture plates.
A 2.84 Mb deletion at 21q22.11 in a patient clinically diagnosed with marden–walker syndrome

We present a girl with the characteristic clinical picture associated with Marden–Walker syndrome (MWS; OMIM 248700), including mask‐like face with blepharophimosis, joint contractures, intellectual disability, a multicystic dysplastic kidney and cerebral dysgenesis. The long‐term follow‐up allowed us to monitor the evolution of the phenotype in this patient, and among the main findings we highlight the following: demyelination of the pyramidal tract demonstrated by transcranial magnetic stimulation and the involvement of the levator muscles of angle of mouth in fixed facial expression with relative integrity of the rest of the facial expression muscles. A 244 k array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) was carried out and showed a de novo interstitial deletion of approximately 2.84 Mb affecting only the cytoband 21q22.11 (genome coordinates chr21:31,874,016–34,711,763). We selected 10 of the most recent published cases with either total or partial deletions of cytoband 21q22.11 that provided good characterization of the genomic size or the genes in the deleted regions. We observed that in nine of the 10 cases the deleted regions included the RUNX1 gene in 21q22.12, which is not affected in the current patient's deletion or in that of Patient 3 from Roberson et al. [2011]. After a comparison of shared deleted genes between cases, and correlation of their potential phenotypes, we concluded that the pattern of defects considered for a diagnosis of MWS may represent part of the phenotypic expression of a partial or total deletion of 21q22.11. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Characterization of a unique cell population marked by transgene expression in the adult cochlea of nestin‐CreERT2/tdTomato‐reporter mice

Hair cells in the adult mammalian cochlea cannot spontaneously regenerate after damage, resulting in the permanency of hearing loss. Stem cells have been found to be present in the cochlea of young rodents; however, there has been little evidence for their existence into adulthood. We used nestin‐CreERT2/tdTomato‐reporter mice to trace the lineage of putative nestin‐expressing cells and their progeny in the cochleae of adult mice. Nestin, an intermediate filament found in neural progenitor cells during early development and adulthood, is regarded as a multipotent and neural stem cell marker. Other investigators have reported its presence in postnatal and young adult rodents; however, there are discrepancies among these reports. Using lineage tracing, we documented a robust population of tdTomato‐expressing cells and evaluated these cells at a series of adult time points. Upon activation of the nestin promoter, tdTomato was observed just below and medial to the inner hair cell layer. All cells colocalized with the stem cell and cochlear‐supporting‐cell marker Sox2 as well as the supporting cell and Schwann cell marker Sox10; however, they did not colocalize with the Schwann cell marker Krox20, spiral ganglion marker NF200, nor glial fibrillary acidic acid (GFAP)‐expressing supporting cell marker. The cellular identity of this unique population of tdTomato‐expressing cells in the adult cochlea of nestin‐CreERT2/tdTomato mice remains unclear; however, these cells may represent a type of supporting cell on the neural aspect of the inner hair cell layer. J. Comp. Neurol. 523:1474–1487, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: SDO Asymmetrically Predicts Perceived Ethnic Victimization Among White and Latino Students Across Three Years

Dominant groups have claimed to be the targets of discrimination on several historical occasions during violent intergroup conflict and genocide.The authors argue that perceptions of ethnic victimization among members of dominant groups express social dominance motives and thus may be recruited for the enforcement of group hierarchy. They examine the antecedents of perceived ethnic victimization among dominants, following 561 college students over 3 years from freshman year to graduation year. Using longitudinal, cross-lagged structural equation modeling, the authors show that social dominance orientation (SDO) positively predicts perceived ethnic victimization among Whites but not among Latinos, whereas victimization does not predict SDO over time. In contrast, ethnic identity and victimization reciprocally predicted each other longitudinally with equal strength among White and Latino students. SDO is not merely a reflection of contextualized social identity concerns but a psychological, relational motivation that undergirds intergroup attitudes across extended periods of time and interacts with the context of group dominance.
Emotionally enhanced memory for negatively arousing words: storage or retrieval advantage?

ABSTRACT People typically remember emotionally negative words better than neutral words. Two experiments are reported that investigate whether emotionally enhanced memory (EEM) for negatively arousing words is based on a storage or retrieval advantage. Participants studied non-word–word pairs that either involved negatively arousing or neutral target words. Memory for these target words was tested by means of a recognition test and a cued-recall test. Data were analysed with a multinomial model that allows the disentanglement of storage and retrieval processes in the present recognition-then-cued-recall paradigm. In both experiments the multinomial analyses revealed no storage differences between negatively arousing and neutral words but a clear retrieval advantage for negatively arousing words in the cued-recall test. These findings suggest that EEM for negatively arousing words is driven by associative processes.
Improving Collaboration of Bali Cattle Supply Chain and Its Impact on Cattle Farmer Income in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

This study aims to identify collaboration problems cause of low income of cattle farmers in Bali cattle supply and to determine a root of the problems that vital to be improved. As many as 126 main actors of Bali cattle supply chain, consists of 96 cattle farmers and 26 traders (the dyadic relationship) in South Sulawesi Province used as the sample of respondents . Data collected using interview techniques with instrument questionnaires and focus group discussions (FGD). The data collected was analyzed with a relatively important index (RII) and cause-and-effect (fish bone diagram). Results of RII analysis show that the first important rank of collaboration problem cause low income farmers according to perception of cattle farmers was incentive alignment, while according to the traders was decision synchronization. From the focus group discussion, results of cause-and-effect analysis show that a root of the collaboration problem was decision synchronizing with incentives alignment. This a root of collaboration problem has agreed by the FGD participants that vital for improving and they recommended action plans such are developing trust and communication to reduce costs and increase revenue, and incentives alignment can be improved by applying a system based prices quality. The results of this study have important implications for the way in which to give contribution to the development of a collaboration theory in the local beef cattle industry and become a reference for the supply chain actors and local governments to improve Bali cattle supply chain management.
PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT OF 30 CHRONIC CANNABIS USERS AND 30 MATCHED CONTROLS

Ganja is used extensively in the working-class population of Jamaica, particularly in certain agricultural and fishing communities. Ganja, smoking is illegal but can be accepted as part of the culture in these areas. Sixty male subjects were chosen for assessment, 30 chronic smokers and 30 controls from comparable social, economic, and cultural backgrounds, and were matched for height and age. A chronic smoker had somked a minimum of three spliffs per day for a minimum of 10 years. The subjects were admitted to the hospital for 1 week for psychologic and physical assessment. The physical assessment included a detailed medical history and examination, heart and lung radiography, electrocardiograms, respiratory, liver, and renal function tests, hematology, treponemal serology, and chromosomal studies. No significant physical abnormalities were found, except in two smokers, and there was no reason to suspect that these disabilities were related to ganja. No significant differences between the two groups were demonstrated in the wide range of tests administered.
A comparison of gastroenteritis in a general practice-based study and a community-based study

We compared gastroenteritis cases that consulted a general practitioner (GP) with those who did not in a community-based study and also with those in a GP-based study. We aimed to identify factors associated with consultation, and with inclusion of cases by GPs, and secondly to study the effects on the frequency of detection of pathogens. Furthermore, we estimated the under-ascertainment by GPs. Both studies were performed in The Netherlands in the same population in an overlapping time-period. Overall, 5% of community cases consulted a GP. Cases who consulted suffered from more severe episodes than non-consulting cases. Inclusion of cases by GPs, instead of a study team, caused a selection of more severe cases with more chronic symptoms. When extrapolating data from GP-based studies, it should be taken into account that, in general practice, gastroenteritis due to bacteria and Giardia lamblia is a relatively large proportion of that in the community and gastroenteritis due to Norwalk-like viruses is a relatively small proportion. The incidence of gastroenteritis in general practices was estimated between 14 and 35 per 1000 person years.
STT-RAM based energy-efficiency hybrid cache for CMPs

Modern high performance Chip Multiprocessor (CMP) systems rely on large on-chip cache hierarchy. As technology scales down, the leakage power of present SRAM based cache gradually dominates the on-chip power consumption, which can severely jeopardize system performance. The emerging nonvolatile Spin Transfer Torque RAM (STT-RAM) is a promising candidate for large on-chip cache because of the ultra low leakage power. However, the write operations on STT-RAM suffer from considerably higher energy as well as longer latency compared with SRAM which will make STT-RAM in trouble for write-intensive workloads. In this paper, we propose to integrate SRAM with STT-RAM to construct a novel hybrid cache architecture for CMPs. We also propose dedicated microarchitectural mechanisms to make the hybrid cache robust to workloads with different write patterns. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid scheme is adaptive to variations of workloads. Overall power consumption is reduced by 37.1% and performance is improved by 23.6% on average compared with SRAM based static NUCA under the same area configuration.
New narcissism scales for the California Psychological Inventory and MMPI.

New Narcissism scales for the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were developed on the basis of DSM-III criteria and the writings of Akhtar and Thomson (1982), Kernberg (1975) and Kohut (1971, 1977). Self-report protocols from 152 adults and 198 college students were utilized. Rationally selected preliminary items were retained or discarded according to their alignment with the total score on these items. The resulting 49-item CPI and 39-item MMPI scales correlated . 81 with each other, and significantly so at p less than . 01 with ratings of narcissism, the Raskin-Hall Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and the MMPI Narcissism scale of Morey, Waugh, and Blashfield. Personological implications of the two new scales were examined in relation to other measures and to observers' adjectival and Q-sort descriptions. Intrascale factor analyses identified five common themes: Cathexis of Power, Risk-Seeking Propensity, Need for Attention, Disesteem for Others, and Impatient Willfulness.
Suburbanization of Indian Cities

In this article, we make an attempt to understand the population and employment suburbanization of a mid-tier Indian city—Gulbarga, Karnataka. We estimate population and employment density gradients for the city for two periods and find the evidence of suburbanization. While we are unable to explain the suburbanization, our anecdotal examination of the ratio of unemployment rate in the central city to that of the suburbs indicate the suburbanization of the city due to central city blight. The effects of suburbanization were also seen from the spatial distribution of working population.