Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A System for Relational Reasoning in Human Prefrontal Cortex

The integration of multiple relations between mental representations is critical for higher level cognition. For both deductive- and inductive-reasoning tasks, patients with prefrontal damage exhibited a selective and catastrophic deficit in the integration of relations, whereas patients with anterior temporal lobe damage, matched for overall IQ but with intact prefrontal cortex, exhibited normal relational integration. In contrast, prefrontal patients performed more accurately than temporal patients on tests of both episodic memory and semantic knowledge. These double dissociations suggest that integration of relations is a specific source of cognitive complexity for which intact prefrontal cortex is essential. The integration of relations may be the fundamental common factor linking the diverse abilities that depend on prefrontal function, such as planning, problem solving, and fluid intelligence.
Bioactive Compounds from Bacteria Associated to Marine Algae

Since ancient times, humans have sought to satisfy their needs, one of which is, without a doubt, to stay alive. The fear of getting sick and dying, led man to study the organisms that surround him, discovering that the chemicals compounds present in some of them could be beneficial for treating illness. Thus; began the chemistry of the natural products; biotechnology area for human welfare. Several of these organisms produce secondary metabolites, which are part of a wide variety of natural compounds used by humans to combat diseases. Secondary metabolites are defined as organic compounds formed as bio products in organisms, not directly related to growth, development and normal reproduction of thereof. Some examples are fibers (cotton, silk, wool); fuels (oil and natural gas), and medicines (antibiotics, hormones, vaccines).
Role of sodium in mitochondrial membrane depolarization induced by P 2 X 7 receptor activation in submandibular glands

The effect of ATP on mitochondrial membrane depolarization in rat submandibular glands was investigated. Exposure of the cell suspension to high concentrations of ATP induced a sustained depolarization of mitochondrial membrane. This effect was blocked in the presence of magnesium and reproduced by low concentrations of 2 0,3 0-O-(4-benzoylbenzoyl)adenosine 5 0-triphosphate (BzATP), suggesting the implication of the P2X7 purinergic receptor. This point was confirmed by comparison of the response to ATP by wild-type and P2X7 knock-out (P2X7R / ) mice.Mitochondria took up calcium after ATP stimulation but the depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane by ATP was not affected by the removal of calcium from the extracellular medium. It was nearly fully suppressed in the absence of sodium and partially blocked by the mitochondrial Na/Ca exchanger inhibitor 7-chloro-5-(2-chlorophenyl)-1,5-dihydro-4,1-benzothiazepin-2(3H)-one (CGP-37157). Both ATP and monensin increased the uptake of extracellular sodium (as shown by the depolarization of the plasmamembrane) but the sodium ionophore did not affect the mitochondrial membrane potential. It is concluded that the activation of P2X7 receptors depolarizes the mitochondrial membrane. The uptake of extracellular sodium is necessary but not sufficient to induce this response. 2005 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Diagnostic, Therapeutic and Evolutionary Characteristics ofNasopharyngeal Cancer in Morocco

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a radiosensitive and radio curable cancer, the radiation therapy (RT) is the mainstay of treatment with significant improvement in survival of patients. The aim of this study was to report the experience of Military Hospital Mohamed V in the management of NPC and their results. Materials and methods: 83 no metastatic NPC patients managed at the radiotherapy department of Military Hospital Mohammed V of Rabat in Morocco, between January 2005 and December 2009, were included for investigation of their demographic, histological, therapeutic and follow-up characteristics. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out by the SPSS for Windows. Results: The mean age was 44.5 ± 12.5 years with sex ratio 4:1. At diagnosis, rhinologic symptoms represented the most common clinical presentation, reported by 56 (67, 5%) patients. Almost ninety percent (n=74) of patients presented UCNT histology. Most of the patients (85.5%) presented a locally advanced disease; stage III and IV. Therefore, forty patients (48.2%) were treated by concurrent chemoradiotherapy and 35 patients (42.2%) received induction chemotherapy. With a mean follow up of 70 ± 32 months, twenty nine patients (34.9%) died, 6 (7.2%) presented local or locoregional relapse. While 11 (13.2%) patients presented distant recurrences. The five years overall survival (OS) was 68% ranging from 91% for both stage I and II, 79.3% for stage III to 40% for stage IV. The five years disease free survival (DFS) was 81.1%, whereas distant failure free survival (DFFS) was 84.1%. In multivariate analysis, the disease stage according to the seventh edition of the AJCC system was an independent prognostic factor. Conclusion: Our outcomes in NPC are similar to the literature. Patients’ survival is directly impacted by the disease staging which is the most important prognostic factor. We hope to improve these results with the recent acquisition of volumetric-modulated arc therapy machines.
Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidants in Arterial Hypertension

This chapter aims at giving a critical overview of the major oxidant and antioxidant changes in arterial hypertension, summarizing the experimental and clinical evidence about the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of hypertension, either as a cause or a consequence of this disease. This review also provides a description of the biomarkers commonly used to evaluate lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defenses in experimental and human hypertension. Finally, we review the strategies (antioxidants, antihypertensive drugs) known to prevent or ameliorate oxidative damage, both in animal models of hypertension and hypertensive patients.
Quantized spatial analysis : A new framework for analyzing the relations among the distributions of spatial objects

This paper develops a new framework for analyzing the relations among distributions of spatial objects. Existing analytical methods usually focus on the distribution of one or two specific types of spatial objects. This paper, on the other hand, deals with the relations among more than two distributions of spatial objects. The framework is applicable independent of the type of spatial objects. It consists of four steps: 1) quantization, 2) analysis, 3) visualization, and 4) evaluation. Quantization introduces the concept of parts, bodies, and tags to describe spatial objects as abstract elements. Analysis explores spatial relations among the distributions of objects. Visualization graphically presents the spatial relations among objects. Evaluation measures the significance of the result of analysis. The paper applies the framework to the analysis of the distributions of commercial facilities in Chiba City, Japan. The result supports the technical soundness of the method as well as provides empirical findings.
The Origin of the Metal-Poor Common Proper Motion Pair HD 134439/134440: Insights from New Elemental Abundances

The low [α/Fe] ratio in the metal-poor ([Fe/H] ∼ -1.50) common proper motion pair HD 134439 and HD 134440 has been variously attributed to chemical evolution in an extragalactic environment with an irregular star formation history, planetesimal accretion, and formation in an environment with an unusually high dust-to-gas ratio. We explore these various putative origins using CNO, Be, Ag, and Eu abundances derived from high-resolution near-UV Keck/HIRES spectroscopy. While we confirm a previously suggested correlation between elemental abundance ratios and condensation temperature at the 95% confidence level, these ratios lie within the continuum of values manifested by extant dSph data. We argue that the most plausible origin of our stars’ distinctive abundance distribution relative to the Galactic halo field is formation in an environment chemically dominated by products of Type II SN of low progenitor mass; such a progenitor mass bias has been previously suggested as an explanation of low α-element ratios of dSph stars. The proper motion pair’s heavy-to-light n-capture element ratio, which is ≥0.3–0.5 dex lower than in the Galactic halo field and dSph stars, is discussed in the context of the truncated r-process, phenomenological n-capture production models, and α-rich freezeout in a high neutron excess environment; the latter simultaneously provides an attractive explanation of the difference in [Ca, Ti/O, Mg, Si] ratio in HD 134439/134440 compared to in situ dSph stars.
PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE MANCHESTER DRIVER BEHAVIOUR QUESTIONNAIRE IN ROMANIA : VALIDATION OF A CROSS-CULTURAL VERSION

This research investigated the psychometric properties and the factorial structure of the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) in Romania. Although older versions of the DBQ were validated on the Romanian population, the cross-cultural version hasn’t been used so far. The non-experimental research was performed on a sample of 200 participants, aged between 19 and 33 years, using the DBQ. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported the original four-factor structure identified in Great Britain, Finland and The Netherlands. The factors reliability ranged from . 62 to . 78, thus showing satisfactory reliability. Overall, the results showed that the cross-cultural version of the DBQ is a valid and reliable tool for assessing driving behaviour in Romania.
Is Polarization a Myth?

This article uses data from the American National Election Studies and national exit polls to test Fiorina's assertion that ideological polarization in the American public is a myth. Fiorina argues that twenty-first-century Americans, like the midtwentieth-century Americans described by Converse, “are not very well-informed about politics, do not hold many of their views very strongly, and are not ideological” (2006, 19). However, our evidence indicates that since the 1970s, ideological polarization has increased dramatically among the mass public in the United States as well as among political elites. There are now large differences in outlook between Democrats and Republicans, between red state voters and blue state voters, and between religious voters and secular voters. These divisions are not confined to a small minority of activists—they involve a large segment of the public and the deepest divisions are found among the most interested, informed, and active citizens. Moreover, contrary to Fiorina's suggestion that polarization turns off voters and depresses turnout, our evidence indicates that polarization energizes the electorate and stimulates political participation.
Endothelium-Dependent Hyperpolarization (EDH) in Hypertension: The Role of Endothelial Ion Channels

Upon stimulation with agonists and shear stress, the vascular endothelium of different vessels selectively releases several vasodilator factors such as nitric oxide and prostacyclin. In addition, vascular endothelial cells of many vessels regulate the contractility of the vascular smooth muscle cells through the generation of endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization (EDH). There is a general consensus that the opening of small- and intermediate-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (SKCa and IKCa) is the initial mechanistic step for the generation of EDH. In animal models and humans, EDH and EDH-mediated relaxations are impaired during hypertension, and anti-hypertensive treatments restore such impairments. However, the underlying mechanisms of reduced EDH and its improvement by lowering blood pressure are poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that alterations of endothelial ion channels such as SKCa channels, inward rectifier K+ channels, Ca2+-activated Cl− channels, and transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 channels contribute to the impaired EDH during hypertension. In this review, we attempt to summarize the accumulating evidence regarding the pathophysiological role of endothelial ion channels, focusing on their relationship with EDH during hypertension.
Solar radiation prediction for dimensioning photovoltaic systems using artificial neural networks

The authors thank the Colombian Administrative Department of Science and Technology – Colciencias as financing entity of the project "Development and implementation of a comprehensive program evaluation and utilization of wind and solar resource in the Colombian Caribbean region with emphasis on La Guajira", which this work is part of it. We thank the teamwork of the Atlantic University, Bolivar Technology University, the University of La Guajira and IDEAM on its Barranquilla headquarter for providing the information used in this work.
Measuring Dynamics of Mimicry by Means of Prosodic Cues in Conversational Speech

This study presents a method for measuring the dynamics of mimicry in conversational speech by means of prosodic cues. It shows that the more speakers are involved in a conversation, the more they intend to mimic each other’s speech prosody. It supports that mimicry in speech is part of social interaction and that it may be implemented into spoken dialogue systems in order to improve their efficiency.
Experimental determination of the R(5d)-T(3d) hybridization in rare-earth intermetallics

This work was partially supported by Spanish CICYTMAT2005-06806-C04-04 grant. The synchrotron radiation experiments were performed at SPring-8 Proposals No. 2003B0064-NSc-np and No. 2005B0419. We are indebted to H. Maruyama and N. Kawamura for their help during the experimental work at Spring-8. M.A. Laguna-Marco acknowledges MEC for Ph.D. grant.
Investigation of Particulate Matter Pollutants in Parking Garages

Air pollution is getting more emphasis in recent research and legislations due to its impact on human health and overall environmental quality. Particulate matter (PM) is one of the most important ambient air pollutants involved in a number of adverse health effects. In the case of parking garages, there are high levels of mobile PM pollutants due to air pollution coming from operation of vehicles engines. This study presents indoor PM measurements performed at three different enclosed parking garages A, B and C in two cities of Belgium with varying vehicle intensity and varying layout. Garages A and B are located in the ground floor and basement respectively of different multi-storey buildings in Brussels, while Garage C is in the ground floor of a multi-storey building in Leuven. Garage A is equipped with natural ventilation, whereas B and C have a combined mechanical and natural ventilation. Parking capacity of the garages A, B and C is 50, 130 and 185 car spaces respectively. Particle mass concentrations, number concentrations and their size distributions were measured continuously using an Electrical Low Pressure Impactor Plus (ELPI+) instrument. The impactor has 14 stages in the range of 6 nm to 10 μm. Three sizes of particles including PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 were characterized under this study. The ELPI+ device was placed on a table at a height of 0.85 m from the floor. All samples were collected inside the garages for several hours during workdays for each measurement. The results indicated that the average particles mass concentrations in the garages ranged from 28 μg/Nm 3 to 50 μg/Nm 3 for PM1, 43 μg/Nm 3 to 60 μg/Nm 3 for PM2.5 and 58 μg/Nm 3 to 90 μg/Nm 3 for PM10 respectively. The number concentrations were in the range of 28e+03 particles/cm 3 to 47e+03 particles/cm 3 . Two distinct particle sizes of coarse and fine modes were observed in the particle mass size distributions in all examined garages, while the observed number size distributions showed dominant quantities of fine particles.
Higher efficacy of nevirapine than efavirenz to achieve HIV-1 plasma viral load below 1 copy/ml

Objectives:To compare the level of HIV-1 residual viremia, defined by a viral load below 50 copies/ml in patients receiving a tenofovir/emtricitabine and nevirapine (NVP) or efavirenz (EFV)-containing regimen. Design:One hundred and sixty-five HIV-1-infected patients were retrospectively included since they achieved virological suppression (viral load <50 copies/ml) for at least 6 months with a tenofovir/emtricitabine and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-containing regimen (NVP, n = 75 and EFV, n = 90). Methods:Residual plasma viremia was measured using an ultrasensitive assay with a limit of quantification of 1 copy/ml. A Fisher's exact test was used to compare the percentage of patients with HIV-1 RNA below 1 copy/ml between the two treatment groups. Logistic regression was used to search for factors associated with a viral load below 1 copy/ml among the different patient characteristics. Results:Patients in the NVP group had more frequently a viral load below 1 copy/ml than patients in the EFV group (81.3 vs. 55.6%, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, only NVP vs EFV (P = 0.005) and duration of viral suppression under antiretroviral treatment (P = 0.005) were independently associated with viral load below 1 copy/ml. Conclusions:It is well known that NVP has a good penetration in anatomic compartments that could explain a deep control of virus replication in some compartments and consequently decrease the residual level of viral load. The clinical relevance of having a viral load below 1 copy/ml has now to be studied for example on systemic inflammatory or immune activation markers.
AlInN HEMT grown on SiC by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy for millimeter‐wave applications

In this work we present the epitaxial and device results of AlInN/GaN HEMTs grown on SiC by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. High quality AlInN/GaN HEMT structures with sub‐10 nm AlInN barrier were grown with very low Ga background level (<1%). The low Rsh of 215 Ω/sq was obtained with an excellent standard deviation of 1.1% across 3″ wafers. Lehighton RT contactless Hall tests show a high mobility of 1617 cm2/V s and sheet charge density of 1.76 × 1013/cm2. DC characteristics of an AlInN/GaN HEMT with a gate length of 0.1 µm and 25 nm Al2O3 passivation show maximum drain current (IDS,max) of 2.36 A/mm at VGS = 2 V. Gate recessed devices with 0.15 µm gate length and 25 nm Al2O3 passivation resulted in maximum transconductance (gm) of 675 mS/mm, the highest value ever reported in AlInN transistors. Excellent frequency response was obtained. The maximum fT is 86 GHz and fmax is 91.7 GHz.
Pyomyositis in north - eastern Nigeria: a 10-year review

Background : Pyomyositis is a suppurative disease of skeletal Muscle and a well-known disease with frequent occurrence in the tropics and subtropics, which continues to cause significant morbidity. Despite several studies of the disease in various regions of the tropics, there has been none from the northeast region of Nigeria, consisting of a largely rural population where the climate is hot and dry with little annual rainfall. Methods : A retrospective study of all patients seen and treated for pyomyositis in the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital from April 1990 to April 2000 was undertaken. Results : Fifty four patients with pyomyositis were seen and managed comprising 36 Males and 18 Females (M: F ratio 2:1). Two peak age incidences of 6-10 years and 31-40 years were noted. Most were from a labouring population and presented with a fully evolved disease affecting the large and powerful muscles of the thigh and calf in 59.7% of cases, the glutei in 12.9% and the trunk in 9.7%. The smaller muscles of the arm and forearm and head and neck were rarely affected. 8 patients had multiple lesions. Staphylococcus aureus was cultured in 91.8% of cases sensitive to cloxacillin, augmentin, chloramphenicol and erythromycin in that order. Conclusion : Prompt diagnosis, appropriate supportive therapy, effective antibiotic therapy and early drainage of abscesses have resulted in minimal mortality despite late presentation although hospital stay was prolonged.
Washing table eggs: a review of the scientific and engineering issues

Current European Union legislation prohibits the washing of Class A eggs. This is in stark contrast to countries such as the United States of America and, more recently Japan, which have embraced egg-washing technology. The emergence in the UK of egg associated Salmonella enteritidis as a significant cause of food poisoning has, combined with the increase in non-cage egg production systems, increased interest in technologies that might improve the microbial quality of the egg. This paper reviews the history of egg washing in the European Union and more specifically its restricted use in the UK and contrasts this with its uptake in the United States among other countries. Similarly the technological advances in egg washing are reviewed, in the context of the underpinning science.
Cognitive conflict and situational interest as factors influencing conceptual change

In this study, we investigated the relationships among cognitive conflict and situational interest induced by a discrepant event, attention and effort allocated to learning, and conceptual change in learning the concept of density. Subjects were 183 seventh graders from six middle schools in Seoul, Korea. A preconception test, a test of responses to a discrepant event, and a questionnaire of situational interest were administered as pretests. Computer-assisted instruction was then provided to the students as a conceptual change intervention. Questionnaires regarding attention and effort, and a conception test were administered as posttests. The conception test was administered once more as a retention test four weeks later. The results of path analysis indicated that both cognitive conflict and situational interest induced by a discrepant event respectively had an indirect effect on students‘ conceptual understanding, which were mediated by attention and effort allocated to concept learning. Situational interest, however, was found to exert a stronger influence on conceptual change than cognitive conflict. It was also found that attention, either directly or indirectly through effort, influenced students‘ conceptual understanding.
Performance analysis of PUM codes

Partial unit memory (PUM) codes are low complexity, nonbinary, multimemory codes with competitive performance to standard recursive systematic convolutional (RSC) codes. We design turbo codes using parallel concatenation of two identical systematic recursive PUM codes and compare their performance to equivalent standard RSC-based turbo codes. Our analysis of extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts shows that the designed PUM-based turbo codes outperform equivalent standard turbo codes at the error-floor region, with comparable performance in the waterfall region. Simulated bit error rate (BER) performance curves of the two codes confirm the behavior predicted using EXIT charts. For example, our PUM-based turbo code design outperforms the standard Inmarsat turbo code by 0.5 dB for the same number of decoder iterations. Similarly, the UMTS standardized turbo code loses roughly 0.5 dB in the error-floor region compared to the PUM-based turbo code of same complexity.