Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic Determinants of Cognitive Function and Age-Related Brain Changes

textabstractThe brain is by far the most complicated structure of the human being, and its malfunction is characterized by various degrees and types of morbidity. Several brain functions deteriorate with increasing age during life. Cognitive decline and age-related brain pathology are common in the elderly, but these changes may also become manifest early in life and preceding the onset of clinical symptoms of disease. The detection of early changes may be relevant for therapeutic interventions to prevent disease, and are therefore also increasingly targeted in genetic research as endophenotypes. Endophenotypes are defined as heritable phenotypes that are related to the disease of interest, and are typically approached as quantitative outcomes, i.e., instead of hypertension, the endophenotype of interest is systolic or diastolic blood pressure. In contrast to classical risk factors in epidemiology, an endophenotype is by definition not uniquely associated to a single disease. Blood pressure for example, is consistently associated to various clinically relevant outcomes such as stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure. There is an increasing interest in the genetic research of endophenotypes, and genome-wide association studies of endophenotypes have been very successful. In this thesis I focus on cognitive function and age-related brain changes early in life as endophenotypes for late-life brain disease and as targets for early prevention. Cognitive deterioration can be seen in pre-clinical stages of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders like dementia, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Cognitive function is a broad concept referring to multiple cognitive domains, among which memory, language, executive function and visuospatial ability. Although the domains are highly correlated, it is known that specific domains are related to specific diseases. Cognitive function is in part determined by our genetic make-up. The heritability is estimated to around 40% and there have been various studies that have tried to identify genes explaining the heritability of cognitive functions. These included candidate gene studies, linkage studies and genome-wide association studies. The genes and chromosomal regions that have been found so far are partly explained by genes related to neuropsychiatric disease, and partly by genes related to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with the Apolipoprotein E gene as genetic factor with one of the strongest effects. In the studies presented here, we will focus on a cognitive test battery targeting AD. Dementia is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the Western society (prevalence of 25 million cases worldwide), in which Alzheimer disease accounts for over 70% of cases. Regarding the high prevalence and major impact of these diseases, early diagnosis and treatment strategies have a high priority in neuroscience. Identifying risk factors for cognitive decline would benefit our increasingly elderly population.
Cognitive Intervention and Reconciliation - NPC Believability in Single-Player RPGs

Characters in single role-playing games are often lacking plausibility. This is especially the case with Non Player Characters (NPCs) in single-player role-playing games. It does not take long for game players to sense that NPC behaviors are limited and improbable. Computer scientists working on Artificial Intelligence have recognized the importance of believable characters. However, studies of NPC believability in single-player RPGs have been relatively rare since the definition of believability has different meanings in different fields of studies. In this article, a new definition of NPC believability is suggested. This definition is based on theoretical frames, which offer diverse definitions of believability. Several suggestions on making believable NPC are addressed.
Some methodologies of wind speed prediction : A critical review

Accurate and precise wind speed prediction is a vital tool to be carried out during the preparation stage of wind energy project. Wind speed and power prediction present the first step in planning and developing of wind energy system. One of the most important tasks of wind power, exploitation is to accurately predict the wind speed values at different horizons. Based on the outcomes of such predictions, wind resources assessments can be performed using the most fitted model. Professional judgment indicates the main source of ambiguity in setting up of future capacity resources is the ability to predict wind speed values. This paper presents an overview of the past and up to date practice of wind speed prediction. It’s introduces methods such as neural networks, support vector machines, genetic algorithm and compare with traditional techniques in terms of accuracy.
DAILY LIFE WITH ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENT 1

Consumer behavior researchers are primarily interested in what happens in the real world. When are people likely to consume a product? How do decisions influence our emotions over time? Many questions such as these can only be answered by studying these topics in everyday life. That is, particular phenomena may not be able to be measured and studied in typical laboratory paradigms. Experiments are useful tools that can provide insights into why people behave in certain ways under various circumstances, but we are fundamentally interested in consumers’ behaviors, choices, emotions, and preferences as they occur in real life. Researchers often ask participants to reflect and introspect on their lives; they report how often they consume certain beverages, how satisfied they are with particular products, and how they view or feel about various brands (for the methodological issues involved, see Schwarz, this volume). Although such retrospective techniques can be informative, they unfortunately do not provide a means to understand dynamic processes as they unfold over time. In this chapter, we describe a technique known as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) that can capture life as it is lived. EMA has been particularly popular in the fields of health, clinical, social, and personality psychology, but has not been used as extensively in consumer behavior research. We describe what EMA is, the strengths and weaknesses of this technique, and how it can be applied to consumer behavior topics and settings.
SEROPREVALENCE OF HIV, HBV AND HCV IN THE DONOR EYES IN THE WESTERN REGIONAL INSTITUTE OF OPHTHALMOLOGY

Introduction: The number of donor corneas procured by eye banks is steadily increasing all over the world. Proper evaluation of donor cornea is critical to the success of cornea transplantation. Objectives: To study the screening tests required before release of corneal tissue for transplantation. Methods: Blood samples were collected at the time of enucleation of the eye from 607 consecutive eye donors. The samples were tested for seromarkers of Human Immunodeficiency virus I& II (HIV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Results: In our study seroprevalence of HIV, HBV & HCV viruses in eye donors are 1.31%, 0.49% and 0.49% respectively. Conclusion: The study proves that it is mandatory to screen the potential cornea donors for HIV, HBV, HCV.
Liveliness as a design parameter for open plan offices

Human activity is crucial regarding the sound level in open plan offices. However, design and evaluation standards such as ISO 3382-3, as well as most measurements in office environments, do not take into account how much noise is being produced or acceptable to receive in actual work situations. The Liveliness index classifying sound environments as 'Quiet', 'Tranquil', 'Lively' or 'Turbulent' aims to fill this gap. Different types of work come with different requirements for, or sensitivity to sound production. Using a high density sensor grid, the Liveliness method allows for accurate sound activity measurements specific to each type of work present in a certain organisation. Combined with room acoustical parameters, these can be used as a design tool, indicating the desired privacy or nuisance distances specific to the types of work that characterise an organisation. Such dedicated design helps avoiding discomfort and productivity loss. Since the method uses descriptions rather than decibels to qualify the sound environment, communication with people unfamiliar with acoustics is also simplified. This paper suggests how to use Liveliness as a design input, and summarises our recent experience applying it in different office environments.
Predictive Coding, Variational Autoencoders, and Biological Connections

Abstract We present a review of predictive coding, from theoretical neuroscience, and variational autoencoders, from machine learning, identifying the common origin and mathematical framework underlying both areas. As each area is prominent within its respective field, more firmly connecting these areas could prove useful in the dialogue between neuroscience and machine learning. After reviewing each area, we discuss two possible correspondences implied by this perspective: cortical pyramidal dendrites as analogous to (nonlinear) deep networks and lateral inhibition as analogous to normalizing flows. These connections may provide new directions for further investigations in each field.
Thin Cell Layers : Application to Forestry Biotechnology

Thin cell layers or TCLs have been one of the most recent yet important techniques for the tissue culture and micropropagation of select forestry species. In this review, we abridge the current state of application of TCL technology to forest tree biotechnology, focusing on Pinus spp. , Paulownia spp. and Populus spp. Where conventional methods have not always produced ideal results in the micropropagation of forestry species, TCL technology has now perfected the ability to control developmental and morphogenetic processes in vitro at a finer scale than the use of conventional explants focusing the size and the origin of the explant to ensure successful regeneration for micropropagation and transformation studies. TCLs are fundamental in implementing lab-based experiments to larger scale field-based applications and its application and proven success with three select forestry and timber species provides a frame-work for the development of the technique for other forestry species. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Immunity Resource Molecular Signature of CD 8 + T Cell Exhaustion during Chronic Viral Infection

E. John Wherry,1,3,* Sang-Jun Ha,1 Susan M. Kaech,1,4 W. Nicholas Haining,2 Surojit Sarkar,1 Vandana Kalia,1 Shruti Subramaniam,1 Joseph N. Blattman,1,5 Daniel L. Barber,1,6 and Rafi Ahmed1,* 1Emory Vaccine Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, 1510 Clifton Road Room G211, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA 2Departments of Pediatric Oncology and Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA 3Present address: Immunology Program, The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street Room 251, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. 4Present address: Section of Immunobiology, Yale University Medical School, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. 5Present address: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. 6Present address: Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIH, Building 50, Room 6140, MSC 8003, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. *Correspondence: jwherry@wistar.org (E.J.W.), ra@microbio.emory. edu (R.A.) DOI 10.1016/j.immuni. 2007.09. 006
THE EMPIRICAL STUDY OF ONLINE MUSEUM VISITOR BEHAVIOR ON SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IMPLEMENTATION IN INDONESIA

Recently, museum management in Indonesia use social media for creating the museum profiles and sharing information about the exhibitions, services, museum activities, and collections. However, the research on the phenomenon of applying social media marketing to museums has been investigated by international researchers, but has never been done by researchers in Indonesia. This study has a focus on testing whether the Museum Facebook Fan Page User Experience is a mediator or moderator variable between user motivations and user expectations of intention to use Facebook Museum Fan page and whether the online community involvement moderates the relation between the Facebook Fan Page usage intention to the visit museum intention. The research design is the quantitative approach. Data was collected using a questionnaire distributed to followers of the museum Facebook Fan Page in Indonesia. The researchers was randomly select the museum Facebook Fan Page and online cultural community Facebook groups in Indonesia. The sample size was 270 respondents. The data analysis is the Structural Equation Modeling analysis method using AMOS Ver. 22. In this study, eight hypotheses are accepted and one hypothesis is rejected. The r 2 of the Facebook Fan Page usage intention is 0.446, it means that the variable can be explained by user expectations, user motivations, and Facebook Fan Page User Experience. The r 2 of the visit museum intention is 0.350, it means that the variable can be explained by the Facebook Fan Page User Experience and online community involvement. The contribution of this research is to contribute the Facebook Adoption model that accommodates the Facebook Fan Page usage experience and the online community involvement for marketing and cultural education in the Museum industry in Indonesia.
Perceived Leisure Functioning of Nursing Home Patients: Does Recreation Make a Difference?

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an organized recreation program on the perceived leisure functioning of six elderly, mentally ill patients living in a nursing home. The Comprehensive Leisure Rating Scale (CLEIRS) was used as the assessment instrument. The CLEIRS was completed by a licensed practical nurse who observed the subjects prior to implementation of an organized recreation program and two times during the recreation rogram. Results indicated that one patient improved in perceived reisure functioning, one patient decreased in perceived leisure functioning, one patient showed mixed results, and three patients remained the same in their perceived leisure functioning.
Theory on Neutrino Self-Energy and Neutrino Oscillation with Consideration of Superconducting Energy Gap and Fermi’s Golden Rule

We herein described an investigation of a theory, which describes the energies of neutrinos and the source of neutrino oscillations. A series of experiments were conducted to show evidences of the existence a neutrino mass. We also applied theories to explain the reason for the extremely small energy of a neutrino, mainly by employing a vacuum-derived superconducting energy gap from the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer ground state. Moreover, we succeeded in obtaining the transition probabilities of neutrinos’ flavors (i.e., in terms of neutrino oscillation). We focused on the fact that up- and down-quantized space pairs combine by the Lorentz forces, undertake Bose-Einstein condensation, and then create a superconducting energy gap at the energy level of the vacuum with quantum mechanics fluctuation. Eventually, the superconducting energy gap vanishes to form a real body of the neutrino. Furthermore, assuming that the speed of the neutrino is near the speed of light and exhibits Planck’s blackbody emissions, we derived many-body interactions of neutrinos and applied them in Fermi’s golden rule. As a result, the neutrino energy we calculated agreed well within the realms of the experimental results. The calculated transition probabilities of neutrino’s flavor also explain the experiment results very well.
Long-term treatment with 3 , 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine caused retina damage in C 57 BL / 6 mice

Submitted for publication: July 20, 2018 Accepted for publication: November 24, 2018 Funding: No specific financial support was available for this study. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest: None of the authors have any potential conflicts of interest to disclose. Corresponding author: Xiangqin Liu. E-mail: m13521122858@163.com Approved by the following research ethics committee: Anhui Medical University (# 2017-0512). ABSTRACT | Purpose: As a class of psychostimulant drugs, amphetamines are widely abused for their stimulant, euphoric, and hallucinogenic properties. Many of these effects result from acute increases in dopamine and serotonin neurotransmission. Following the onset of these effects, 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine produces persistent damage to dopamine and serotonin nerve terminals, resulting in long-lasting neurotoxicity. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the effects of treatment with low dose of methylenedioxymethamphetamine on retinal function of C57BL/6 mice and its underlying mechanisms. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were divided randomly into two groups (n=10): one group was treated with phosphate buffered saline by intraperitoneal injection daily; the other group was treated with 1 mg/kg methylenedioxymethamphetamine by intraperitoneal injection daily for three months. Electroretinography was used to test retinal function every month. H&E staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase assay were used to evaluate the retinal morphology and histology. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay assays were used to measure markers of oxidative stress and inflammatory factors. Gene and protein expression was detected by real-time PCR and western blot. Results: Three-month treatment with methylenedioxymethamphetamine induced significant retinal dysfunction via photoreceptor cell apoptosis by oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. Conclusions: These results suggest that long-term treatment with methylenedioxymethamphetamine increases inflammatory responses in photoreceptor cells resulting in retinal dysfunction in C57BL/6 mice. Thus, this investigation provides preclinical rationale for the retina damage caused by the methylenedioxymethamphetamine abuse.
Medical Family Therapy: A Biopsychosocial Approach To Families with Health Problems

Family Therapy and Medical Illness Foundations of Medical Family Therapy Collaboration with Medical Providers Techniques for Medical Family Therapy Health Behaviours That Harm Somatizing Patients and Their Families Pregnancy Loss, Infertility, and Reproductive Technology The Challenges of Chronic Illness Childhood Chronic Illness Caring for Dying Patients and Grieving Families Practice Issues in Medical Family Therapy
THE EGG AND INCUBATION PERIOD OF THE PERUVIAN ANTPITTA ( GRALLARICULA PERUVIANA )

Little is known about any species of ground antbird (Formicariidae) and, in fact, new species are still being discovered (Krabbe et al. 1999). In particular, published descriptions of breeding behavior are scarce. Despite recent advances in our knowledge for a number of species (Protomastro 2000, Holley et al. 2001, Dobbs et al. 2001, 2003; Barber & Robbins 2002, Price 2003, Greeney et al. 2004) there remain large gaps in our knowledge of the breeding biology for all five genera of antpittas (Grallaria, Grallaricula, Hylopezus, Myrmothera, and Pittasoma). The Peruvian Antpitta (Grallaricula peruviana) was, until recently, “seemingly unknown in life” (Ridgely & Tudor 1994) and has been listed as “near threatened” by BirdLife International (2000). A recent range extension (Greeney et al. 2004) expanded its known distribution from northeastern Peru to northeastern Ecuador (Ridgely & Greenfield 2001). Greeney et al. (2004) described the nest and vocalizations for the first time, but the egg remained undescribed. Here we provide brief observations at a second nest of the Peruvian Antpitta, including a description of the egg, and a further assesment of its abundance and habitat use at the private bird preserve of Cabañas San Isidro and the Yanayacu Biological Station (00°35.949S, 77°53.403W) in northeastern Ecuador. On 20 April 2003, a nest of Peruvian Antpitta was discovered in the large flat area northwest of the Cosanga River, at an elevation of 2000 m, approximately 300 m from the location of another Peruvian Antpitta nest found previously (Greeney et al. 2004). The canopy height in this area ranges from 20 to 30 m, with a predominance of Miconia (Melastomataceae), Vismia (Clusiaceae), Nectandra (Lauraceae), and Solanum (Solanaceae) trees. The understory is mossy and relatively dense, with scarce patches of Chusquea sp. bamboo (see Greeney et al. 2004 for a more complete description of the area). The nest was empty at the time of discovery. Both adults were seen bringing and adding material to the mostly formed nest. The
Hydrothermal Carbonization of Biomass: Design of a Bench- Scale Reactor for Evaluating the Heat of Reaction

HydroThermal Carbonization (HTC) is a thermochemical process capable of converting wet biomass into a carbon-enriched solid, commonly referred to as hydrochar. Hydrochar finds application as bio-fuel, soil improver and for the production of carbon-advanced materials. In recent years, interest in HTC technology has grown significantly, in terms of both scientific research and industrial development. The HTC process consists of several reactions occurring both in series and in parallel: hydrolysis, dehydration, decarboxylation, condensation, aromatization, and others. Some reactions are known to be exothermic, while others are endothermic. Knowing the enthalpy of the “whole” HTC reaction would be beneficial in terms of both process design and energy calculations, in particular to evaluate the process heat duty. Unfortunately, such kind of information is barely available in the literature: some data have been obtained at the “micro-scale” using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), with the limits of using a few milligrams of (usually heterogeneous) biomass per trial, while punctual data at larger scale are actually missing. In order to fill this gap, we designed and constructed in-house a 2 L batch reactor equipped with four thermocouples - placed at different heights inside the reactor - and capable to withstand pressures up to 140 bar and temperatures up to 300 °C. The reactor, controlled in temperature, is heated by four electrical resistances (1 kW each) and thermally insulated. An electric power meter allows monitoring and recording the electrical consumption during HTC trials.Thermal trials were performed with the bench-scale reactor fed with only water to provide a baseline for calculations. HTC trials were then performed using biomasses, namely organic fraction of municipal solid waste and agave pulp. At the different HTC operating conditions investigated (residence time: 3 h; reactor filling degree: 67 %; temperatures: 180, 220, and 250 °C; dry biomass to water ratio: 0.10 and 0.15), our data testify that the “whole” HTC reaction is exothermic, and the heat released by the reaction increases with temperature. The design of such a reactor and the data obtained so far encourage an in-depth analysis of the enthalpy of the HTC reaction for different biomasses and at various operating conditions.