Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Contribution of Spike Threshold to Acoustic Feature Selectivity, Spike Information Content, and Information Throughput

Hypotheses of sensory coding range from the notion of nonlinear “feature detectors” to linear rate coding strategies. Here, we report that auditory neurons exhibit a novel trade-off in the relationship between sound selectivity and the information that can be communicated to a postsynaptic cell. Recordings from the cat inferior colliculus show that neurons with the lowest spike rates reliably signal the occurrence of stereotyped stimulus features, whereas those with high response rates exhibit lower selectivity. The highest information conveyed by individual action potentials comes from neurons with low spike rate and high selectivity. Surprisingly, spike information is inversely related to spike rates, following a trend similar to that of feature selectivity. Information per time interval, however, was proportional to measured spike rates. A neuronal model based on the spike threshold of the synaptic drive accurately accounts for this trade-off: higher thresholds enhance the spiking fidelity at the expense of limiting the total communicated information. Such a constraint on the specificity and throughput creates a continuum in the neural code with two extreme forms of information transfer that likely serve complementary roles in the representation of the auditory environment.
Long‐Term Post‐Merger Announcement Performance. A Case Study of Australian Listed Real Estate

This study examines the long-term postmerger performance of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (A-REITs). The A-REIT sector is used as a case study being less vulnerable to agency issues due to its regulatory structure (Eichholtz and Kok, 2008; Ratcliffe et al., 2009). Research on conventional firms has shown, on average, shareholders are worse off in the long run (Alexandridis et al., 2012). In contrast, we find that shareholders experience significantly positive abnormal returns, after accounting for the financial crisis. This outcome suggests that when managers are restricted with the use of retained earnings and the type of investment, they may be less susceptible to hubris and/or agency issues.
Sedentary Behavior Predicts Changes in Cardiometabolic Risk in Professional Workers: A One-Year Prospective Study

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the longitudinal influence of sedentary behavior on the development of metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiometabolic risk in professional workers. Methods: Study participants were 203 professional workers (55.6% female; mean age = 41.9, SD = 11.2,) in low physical activity occupations. Participants’ height, weight, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein were measured at the baseline and follow-up over 12 months. Accelerometry was used to assess the sedentary time and moderate and vigorous physical activity. Results: High level of sedentary behavior at baseline significantly predicted incident MS (odds ratio 4.07, 95% confidence interval 1.69 to 9.76) at follow-up. Similarly, the change in sedentary behavior significantly predicted the change in the cardiometabolic risk score (B = 0.12, SE = 0.06, P = 0.03) from baseline to the follow-up. Conclusion: Professional workers in low physical activity occupations were engaged in an excessive amount of sedentary behavior that predisposed them to an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders.
Running head : MORALITY IN SPORT Morality in Sport : A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

This study used a sample of 314 British athletes (170 male, 144 female) to examine whether social-contextual and personal motivation variables proposed by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2002) can predict reported levels of sportspersonship and antisocial moral attitudes in sport. Structural equation modeling analysis showed that perceptions of coach autonomy support were positive predictors of athletes’ satisfaction of their psychological needs for competence, relatedness and autonomy. In turn, the three needs were positive predictors of autonomous motivation. Autonomous motivation positively predicted sportspersonship and negatively predicted antisocial moral attitudes in sport. The opposite pattern of results was observed between controlled motivation and the sportspersonship and antisocial moral attitudes variables. The findings emphasize the importance of autonomy supportive environments, psychological need satisfaction and autonomous motivation for fostering sportspersonship in sport.
Unsupervised Spatiotemporal Mining of Satellite Image Time Series Using Grouped Frequent Sequential Patterns

An important aspect of satellite image time series is the simultaneous access to spatial and temporal information. Various tools allow end users to interpret these data without having to browse the whole data set. In this paper, we intend to extract, in an unsupervised way, temporal evolutions at the pixel level and select those covering at least a minimum surface and having a high connectivity measure. To manage the huge amount of data and the large number of potential temporal evolutions, a new approach based on data-mining techniques is presented. We have developed a frequent sequential pattern extraction method adapted to that spatiotemporal context. A successful application to crop monitoring involving optical data is described. Another application to crustal deformation monitoring using synthetic aperture radar images gives an indication about the generic nature of the proposed approach.
Shirking, Endogenous Lay-off Rates and the A-cyclicality of the Real Wage

The paper extends the Shapiro-Stiglitz (1987) efficiency wage model by endogenising the probability of worker displacement as a function of the change in the firm's employment. This creates counter-cyclical variation in the wage mark-up and thereby generates real wage persistence. A New Keynesian DSGE model equipped with this extension replicates the empirical facts of a very limited response of the real wage to the business cycle together with a lagged hump-shaped response of employment to output.
Childhood socioeconomic position, educational attainment, and adult cardiovascular risk factors: the Aberdeen children of the 1950s cohort study.

OBJECTIVES We assessed the associations of childhood socioeconomic position with cardiovascular disease risk factors (smoking, binge alcohol drinking, and being overweight) and examined the roles of educational attainment and cognitive functioning in these associations. METHODS Data were derived from a cohort study involving 7184 individuals who were born in Aberdeen, Scotland, between 1950 and 1956; had detailed records on perinatal characteristics, childhood anthropometry, and cognitive functioning; and responded to a mailed questionnaire when they were aged 45 to 52 years. RESULTS Strong graded associations existed between social class at birth and smoking, binge drinking, and being overweight. Adjustment for educational attainment completely attenuated these associations. However, after control for adult social class, adult income and other potential confounding or mediating factors, some association remained. CONCLUSIONS Educational attainment is an important mediating factor in the relation between socioeconomic adversity in childhood and smoking, binge drinking, and being overweight in adulthood.
Development of pronuclei in pig oocytes activated by a single electric pulse.

Pig oocytes were matured in vitro in a modified M-199 medium for 44 h, subjected to electrical stimulation and scored for activation 6 h later. Sham pulsed oocytes, exposed to electroporation medium and an a.c. field, did not develop the female pronucleus any more frequently than occurs spontaneously (8.3% within 50 h of culture). However, a single d.c. pulse proved extremely efficient in activating pig oocytes. Pulses of 0.75-1.65 kV cm-1 lasting 30 or 100 microseconds activated at least 90% of matured oocytes. The developmental pathway taken by the activated oocytes depended on the parameters of the pulse. The lowest effective stimulation (0.45 and 0.60 kV cm-1 for 30 microseconds) frequently produced oocytes that remained in pre-pronuclear stages of activation (29.4 and 42.3%, respectively). Extrusion of the second polar body and creation of one pronucleus was the most frequent type of activation (in up to 88.2% among the activated oocytes). The strongest stimulations used (1.05-1.65 kV cm-1 for 100 microseconds) often yielded oocytes that failed to extrude the second polar body and formed two or more pronuclei (up to 56.3%). Under optimal stimulation (0.75 kV cm-1), the activated oocytes proceed synchronously to interphase of the first mitotic division. Anaphase II is reached within 30 min and telophase Ii at 1 h after application of the pulse. The second polar body is extruded about 2 h after activation. Well-defined swelling pronuclei were found in oocytes 5-6 h after activation. The relationship between the stage of oocyte maturation and susceptibility to activation was investigated. The period of culture in which the oocytes develop the activation competence (32-36 h of culture) overlapped with the period in which the oocytes complete meiosis (28-38 h). This suggests that ageing in meiotic arrest is not essential for pig oocytes to become activated by electric pulses. Activation of pig oocytes was accompanied by release of cortical granules. In sections of control (metaphase II) oocytes, an average of 7.3 intact cortical granules per 10 microns of overlying cytoplasmic membrane was found. This number dropped to 1.5 in 10 microns within 30 min after the pulse.
Moving towards gender equality : the case of female head teachers in Kenya

This paper attempts to provide an overview of the extent of women leadership in schools in Kenya. It pays particular attention to importance of women in leadership; barriers to become women school leaders; the women and leadership in the Kenyan education sector; factors that would encourage women to scramble for leadership positions in Kenyan schools; and efforts to address gender disparities in school leadership. The findings reveal the commitment of the Kenyan government, through various policies, to eradicate gender disparities and the impact of gender stereotyping. With the under-presentation of women in educational leadership positions more in-depth national studies on school leadership and female representation in leadership in Kenya are necessary to guide policy and programme development on gender equality.
Rapid shifts in dispersal behavior on an expanding range edge

Dispersal biology at an invasion front differs from that of populations within the range core, because novel evolutionary and ecological processes come into play in the nonequilibrium conditions at expanding range edges. In a world where species’ range limits are changing rapidly, we need to understand how individuals disperse at an invasion front. We analyzed an extensive dataset from radio-tracking invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) over the first 8 y since they arrived at a site in tropical Australia. Movement patterns of toads in the invasion vanguard differed from those of individuals in the same area postcolonization. Our model discriminated encamped versus dispersive phases within each toad’s movements and demonstrated that pioneer toads spent longer periods in dispersive mode and displayed longer, more directed movements while they were in dispersive mode. These analyses predict that overall displacement per year is more than twice as far for toads at the invasion front compared with those tracked a few years later at the same site. Studies on established populations (or even those a few years postestablishment) thus may massively underestimate dispersal rates at the leading edge of an expanding population. This, in turn, will cause us to underpredict the rates at which invasive organisms move into new territory and at which native taxa can expand into newly available habitat under climate change.
CD71+ erythroid cells exacerbate HIV-1 infection by reactive oxygen species and trans-infect HIV to CD4+ T cells

CD71+ erythroid cells (CECs) have a wide range of immunomodulatory properties but their potential role in HIV has never been investigated before. Here, we demonstrate that CECs are abundant in the human cord blood, placental tissue and peripheral blood of pregnant mothers. We found that CECs exacerbate HIV-1 infection/replication when co-cultured with CD4+ T cells; and that pre-exposure of CD4+ T cells to CECs make them more permissible to HIV-infection. Our observations indicate how interactions of CECs with CD4+ T cells via reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent mechanism results in the upregulation of NF-kB, which affects the cell cycle machinery to facilitate HIV-1 replication. We found the complement receptor-1 (CD35) and the Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC) as potential HIV-target molecules are expressed significantly higher on CECs compared to mature red blood cells. However, blocking CD35 or DARC did not inhibit HIV-1 trans-infection to uninfected CD4+ T cells. We demonstrate that CECs bind to HIV-1 via CD235a and subsequently trans-infect the virus to uninfected CD4+ T cells. In addition, we found significant abundance of CECs in the blood of HIV-1 infected and anemic subjects, which enhanced HIV infection/replication in autologous CD4+ T cells similar to what we observed for the cord blood and placenta-derived CECs. In agreement, a positive correlation between the frequency of CECs with the plasma viral load in HIV-1 infected antiretroviral therapy naïve individuals was observed. In addition, we found that CECs even in the presence of Tenofovir, can trans-infect HIV-1 to CD4+ T cells. Our studies provide a novel insight into the role of CECs in HIV pathogenesis as potential contributing cells for viral persistence in the presence of antiretroviral therapy. Author summary Despite current antiretroviral therapy, HIV-1 persists in a small pool of infected cells. A better understanding of HIV-reservoirs and influence of other non-immune cells on HIV-1 replication and transmission is a pre-requisite to the development of HIV-eradication strategies. Immature red blood cells (CD71+ erythroid cells) are physiologically abundant in newborns, cord blood, placenta and blood of pregnant women, with a wide range of immunological properties. This study demonstrates that these cells not only enhance HIV-1 infection/replication by reactive oxygen species in HIV-target cells (CD4+ T cells) but also bind to HIV and trans-infect the virus to the target cells in the presence of Tenofovir, an HIV drug. We found that these immature red blood cells are abundant in the blood of HIV-patients and anemic individuals. In addition, we observed a positive correlation between the levels of plasma viral load with the frequency of immature red blood cells in HIV-infected individuals. Therefore, our studies discover a novel role for these immature red blood in HIV pathogenesis, which encourages efforts to target these cells as adjuncts of current treatment strategies.
[Ranibizumab as treatment for myopic choroidal neovascularization].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal Ranibizumab as treatment for choroidal neovascularisation due to pathological myopia. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective, non-comparative study of 18 eyes treated with intravitreal injections of Ranibizumab. Ten eyes had been treated previously with photodynamic therapy and eight received Ranibizumab as first therapy. After thorough ophthalmologic examination, fluorescein angiography (FAG) and optical coherence tomography (OCT), intraocular injection of Ranibizumab was performed. In subsequent monthly follow ups and taking into account visual acuity, presence or absence of metamorphopsia, biomicroscopy and OCT examination, further treatment was decided. RESULTS Eighteen eyes from 16 patients were finally included. Patients were followed up for a minimum of 6 months. The mean age at initial treatment was 56.4 years. Mean refractive error was -13.3 diopters. Regarding FAG, all neovascular membranes were classical and sub or juxtafoveal localised. At the end of the sixth month after treatment fourteen eyes (77.7%) showed better visual acuity ranging from one or more lines on the Snellen chart, eleven eyes (61.1%) improved two lines or more, three eyes (16.6%) did not show any change and one eye (5.5%) worsened by one line. At 6 months the mean best-corrected visual acuity improved from 0.25 to 0.46 (p= 0.001). The mean central macular thickness decreased from 344.9 to 212.6 (p=0.015). CONCLUSIONS Ranibizumab may be a good therapeutic option as treatment for choroidal neovascularisation due to pathological myopia; it improved visual acuity and anatomical features, even in non-responders to photodynamic therapy (Arch Soc Esp Oftalmol 2009; 84: 507-514).
Efficacy of Professional Development Schools in Developing Countries: Panama.

This article attempts to describe the creation and implementation of the first Professional Development School (PDS) model of teacher education in Panama. The authors set the context within brief histories of international education and PDSs and provide operational definitions of the critical terminology. To be sure, the scope and scale of the project was small, and although the implementation met some criteria for PDS models, it exhibited deficiencies in others. Nonetheless, the narrative reveals distinct local impacts, and suggests possibilities for international collaboration for the purpose of developing and implementing teacher education programs. NAPDS Essentials Addressed: #1/A comprehensive mission that is broader in its outreach and scope than the mission of any partner and that furthers the education profession and its responsibility to advance equity within schools and, by potential extension, the broader community; #2/A school–university culture committed to the preparation of future educators that embraces their active engagement in the school community; #4/A shared commitment to innovative and reflective practice by all participants; #8/Work by college/university faculty and P–12 faculty in formal roles across institutional settings; #9/Dedicated and shared resources and formal rewards and recognition structures.
Continuing Systemic Discrimination: Indigenous Australian Women Exiting Prison

Experiences and concepts of, and approaches to women ‘transitioning’ from prison to the community in contemporary Australia, are examined in this chapter. In particular, expressed needs and experiences of Indigenous women and women with mental and cognitive impairment are discussed in relation to post-release contexts. The reality of the period of post-release for women in vulnerable circumstances, the personal, social and physical spaces to which most women return and ongoing colonial patriarchal human and criminal justice arrangements are considered critically against the practices of risk management, throughcare, rehabilitation and desistance. Whilst acknowledging their agency, it is clear that Indigenous women have been and are subject to controlling systemic racism and discrimination with prison and post-prison an integral part of this control.
Beauveria Keratitis and Biopesticides: Case Histories and a Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA Comparison

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to describe 2 contact lens-associated Beauveria keratitis cases and to compare the isolates of 3 contact lens-associated Beauveria keratitis cases with Beauveria-based biopesticides using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Methods: A 55-year-old diabetic woman from New Mexico and a 31-year-old healthy woman from southern Wisconsin developed soft contact lens-related corneal ulcers unresponsive to topical moxifloxacin and prednisolone acetate drops. Their corneal cultures grew B. bassiana. These isolates, an isolate from a third soft contact lens-related Beauveria keratitis case, and Beauveria-based biopesticides sold in the United States were analyzed using morphological features, DNA sequencing, and RAPD. A PubMed, Cochrane Library, OVID, UpToDate, and Google search using the term “Beauveria” found only 9 reported Beauveria keratitis infections. Results: Patient 1 responded to topical natamycin, ketoconazole, and 200 mg oral ketoconazole twice daily before developing a secondary bacterial infection requiring penetrating keratoplasty. After subsequent cataract surgery, the best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20. Patient 2 was treated with topical natamycin, topical amphotericin, and 200 mg oral voriconazole twice daily for 1 month with residual scarring and a best-corrected visual acuity of 20/25. RAPD showed that all isolates were unrelated. Conclusions: Although earlier reported Beauveria keratitis cases occurred after corneal injury in patients who did not wear contact lenses, 3 recent patients wore soft contact lenses and denied trauma, mirroring a changing trend in microbial keratitis. RAPD analysis showed that the Beauveria isolates were unrelated to one another and to Beauveria-based biopesticides. In Patient 2, oral voriconazole worked well.
Effect of restricted caloric intake on azoxymethane-induced colon tumor incidence in male F344 rats.

The effect of 30% caloric restriction on azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colon carcinogenesis was investigated in male F344 rats. Starting at 5 weeks of age, groups of animals were fed ad libitum a high-fat (23.5%) semipurified diet. At 7 weeks of age, all animals except the vehicle-treated groups were s.c. injected with AOM (15 mg/kg body wt, once weekly for 2 weeks). Four days after the second AOM injection, groups of animals were continued on high-fat diet and fed ad libitum (ad libitum group) whereas other groups were restricted to 70% of total calories (calorie-restricted group) consumed by the ad libitum group, but received same amounts of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Thirty-two weeks after AOM injections, all animals were necropsied. The animals in the calorie-restricted group developed significantly fewer colon tumors and had a lower colon tumor incidence than did the rats in the ad libitum group. The size of colon tumors was also reduced in the calorie-restricted group.
CD8 T Cell Responses to Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein-Derived Peptides in Humanized HLA-A*0201-Transgenic Mice1

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating inflammatory disease of the CNS. Though originally believed to be CD4-mediated, additional immune effector mechanisms, including myelin-specific CD8+ T cells, are now proposed to participate in the pathophysiology of MS. To study the immunologic and encephalitogenic behavior of HLA-A*0201-binding myelin-derived epitopes in vivo, we used a humanized HLA-A*0201-transgenic mouse model. Eight HLA-A*0201-binding peptides derived from myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), an immunodominant myelin self-Ag, were identified in silico. After establishing their relative affinity for HLA-A*0201 and their capacity to form stable complexes with HLA-A*0201 in vitro, their immunological characteristics were studied in HLA-A*0201-transgenic mice. Five MOG peptides, which bound stably to HLA-A*0201 exhibited strong immunogenicity by inducing a sizeable MOG-specific HLA-A*0201-restricted CD8+ T cell response in vivo. Of these five candidate epitopes, four were processed by MOG-transfected RMA target cells and two peptides proved immunodominant in vivo in response to a plasmid-encoding native full-length MOG. One of the immunodominant MOG peptides (MOG181) generated a cytotoxic CD8+ T cell response able to aggravate CD4+-mediated EAE. Therefore, this detailed in vivo characterization provides a hierarchy of candidate epitopes for MOG-specific CD8+ T cell responses in HLA-A*0201 MS patients identifying the encephalitogenic MOG181 epitope as a primary candidate.