Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The neural basis of stop-signal inhibition in healthy individuals and in schizophrenia patients

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)%%%%The capacity to inhibit planned or on-going action enables individuals to flexibly control behaviour in response to changing task demands or a change in goals. This capacity, termed response inhibition, is a core function of the executive control system and is often studied in laboratory settings using the stop-signal paradigm, which was used for studying response inhibition throughout this thesis. The stop-signal paradigm (Logan & Cowan, 1984) is increasingly being used by research groups to study response inhibition largely due to the indices of behavioural control afforded by stop-signal procedures, notably the speed of response inhibition processes and the capacity to trigger these processes. Lesion, transcranial magnetic stimulation and neuroimaging experiments have linked stopping to activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and some evidence indicates a role for the subthalamic nucleus (STN). These brain areas are thought to form a network which acts by suppressing thalamo-cortical output to motor cortex. Event-related potential studies have linked stopping to amplitude enhancement of an N1-P3 complex during successful inhibition trials compared to unsuccessful inhibition trials. The primary aim of this thesis was to investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of stop-signal inhibition in healthy individuals using electrophysiological and neuroimaging methods, and secondly, to investigate the neural basis of impaired stopping in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia – the first of its kind using the stop-signal paradigm. Several previous behavioural studies have reported slowed stop-signal response inhibition processes in patients with schizophrenia, but an impaired capacity to trigger response inhibition processes has also been reported. In each of the three neuroimaging studies detailed herein, stopping was related to activation in right IFG and STN, and in one study a model for the difficulty of inhibition was proposed, which predicted activity in this network. Consistent with previous reports, stopping processes in patients with schizophrenia were slower compared to controls, and right IFG and STN were uniquely underactivated in the patient group. Additionally, one study revealed a link between response inhibition speed and both Stop-P3 amplitude, and the latency difference between N1 and P3 potential peaks elicited on stop-signal trials.
Probabilistic Common Spatial Patterns for Multichannel EEG Analysis

Common spatial patterns (CSP) is a well-known spatial filtering algorithm for multichannel electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis. In this paper, we cast the CSP algorithm in a probabilistic modeling setting. Specifically, probabilistic CSP (P-CSP) is proposed as a generic EEG spatiotemporal modeling framework that subsumes the CSP and regularized CSP algorithms. The proposed framework enables us to resolve the overfitting issue of CSP in a principled manner. We derive statistical inference algorithms that can alleviate the issue of local optima. In particular, an efficient algorithm based on eigendecomposition is developed for maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation in the case of isotropic noise. For more general cases, a variational algorithm is developed for group-wise sparse Bayesian learning for the P-CSP model and for automatically determining the model size. The two proposed algorithms are validated on a simulated data set. Their practical efficacy is also demonstrated by successful applications to single-trial © 2014 IEEE. Correspondence to: Wei Wu, auweiwu@scut.edu. cn. For information on obtaining reprints of this article, please send e-mail to: reprints@ieee.org, and reference the Digital Object Identifier below. HHS Public Access Author manuscript IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 May 22. Published in final edited form as: IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell. 2015 March 1; 37(3): 639–653. doi:10.1109/TPAMI. 2014.2330598. A uhor M anscript
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Iterative versus standard deferred acceptance: Experimental evidence by Inácio Bó and Rustamdjan Hakimov* We run laboratory experiments where subjects are matched to colleges, and colleges are not strategic agents. We test the Gale-Shapley Deferred Acceptance (DA) mechanism versus the Iterative Deferred Acceptance Mechanism (IDAM), a matching mechanism based on a new family of procedures being used in the field, in which information about tentative allocations is provided while students make choices. We consider two variations of IDAM: one in which they are only informed about whether they are tentatively accepted or not (IDAM-NC) and one in which students are additionally informed at each step of the tentative cutoff values for acceptance at each school (IDAM). A significantly higher proportion of stable outcomes is reached both under IDAM and IDAM-NC than under DA. The difference can be explained by a higher proportion of subjects following an equilibrium strategy akin to truthful behavior under IDAM and IDAM-NC than truthful behavior itself under DA. Moreover, the provision of intermediate cutoff values in IDAM leads to higher rates of equilibrium behavior than in IDAM-NC and a higher robustness of stability between the rounds of experiments. Our findings provide substantial support for the rising practice of using iterative mechanisms in centralized college admissions in practice.
Numerical simulation of friction in metal forming using a halfspace model

Sheet and bulk metal forming are widely used manufacturing methods. The industrial trend towards function integration leads to a demand for workpieces having features of both methods. The new forming technology sheet‐bulk metal forming is a promising approach to manufacture workpieces with functional elements. Tribological aspects generally play an important role in metal forming processes. Especially for the formability of functional elements friction is very important. The coexistence of low and high contact pressures is characteristic of sheet‐bulk metal forming and presents a challenge for the friction modelling. The surfaces of tool and workpiece are always rough, so that initial contact only occurs at the asperities of surface roughness. Consequently for small and moderate loads the real contact area is smaller than the apparent contact area. Surface traction can only occur in the real contact area, so that it is necessary to determine the real contact area in order to study the tribological behaviour of contact pairs. In order to get an accurate determination of the real contact area it is necessary to calculate the surface deformation in a three‐dimensional model and to validate the simulation model by measurements. The halfspace approach has the significant advantage that only the surface has to be discretised, while in a Finite Element Analysis the whole bulk has to be discretised. Consequently the numerical effort, and thus the calculation time, in the halfspace model are much lower than in FE‐modelling. The numerical solution scheme based on the halfspace theory is presented in this paper. Results of the calculation of the real contact area of rough surfaces are compared to experimental data from ultrasonic inspection. Friction coefficients calculated with the halfspace model are compared to results of strip drawing tests.
Teacher Efficacy of Turkish Physical Education Teachers.

The main purpose of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the Teacher Efficacy Scale in Physical Education (TESPE) in Turkey's conditions, and to test if there are any differences in gender and teaching experience of Turkish PE teachers. Turkish version of the scale was administered to 257 physical education teachers (184 males and 73 females) from three cities in Turkey. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the scale consists of four dimensions similar to the original Cronbach's alpha . 89, while both Equal-Length Spearman Brown split-half coefficient (r=.74) and Guttman's split-half coefficient (r=.74) showed a good result. The independent t-test results revealed that there were no significant gender differences in TESPE subscales. Teaching experience is not statistically significant on PE teachers’ efficacy. These results indicated that the TESPE is a valid and reliable scale for Turkish culture. Key words: Teacher efficacy, physical education teachers, teaching experience.
Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC): A Review of Theoretical and Empirical literature

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) conjecture seeks to establish an inverted U-shaped nexus between income per capita and environmental degradation. It posits that at early stages of economic growth and development, environmental degradation rises or increases at an increasing rate. Nonetheless, after some threshold of economic development, the co-movement tends to reverse at higher levels of economic progress.
Investigating the effects of green marketing on development of brand fascination

Article history: Received July 28, 2013 Accepted March 24 2014 Available online March 26 2014 This paper investigates the effects of different green marketing on brand fascination for a south Korean electronic producer, Samsung. The proposed study designs two questionnaires, one for measuring the effects of green marketing and the other for brand fascination in Likert scale. Cronbach alphas for green marketing and brand fascination are calculated as 0.72 and 0.79, respectively. The study has been implemented among 385 regular customers of Samsung’s electronic devices. Using Spearman correlation ratio as well as stepwise regression analysis, the study has concluded that two components of green marketing including green product and green promotion influence positively on brand fascination, positively. © 2014 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
An empirically-based, tutorial dialogue system: design, implementation and evaluation in a first year health sciences course.

This paper presents one possible approach to providing individualised and immediate feedback to students' written responses to short-answer questions. The classroom context for this study is a large first-year undergraduate health sciences course. The motivation for our approach is explained through a brief history of intelligent tutoring systems, the philosophical and educational positions which inspired their development and the practical and epistemological issues which have largely prevented their uptake in a higher education context . The design and implementation of a new empirically-based tutorial dialogue system is described along with the results of in-class evaluation of the new system with 578 student volunteers.
Patterns of ecological segregation among forest and woodland birds in south-eastern Australia

Much information has been gathered on birds of eucalypt forests and woodlands in south-eastern Australia. This was examined to assess some of the mech- anisms of ecological segregation that may apply. A database was constructed of 209 species pairs (148 species from 48 genera). Most patterns resemble those reported overseas, with habitat and range featuring as major segregating mechanisms. Use of different strata and substrates was the dominant primary mechanism allowing use of identical space by congeners. Mechanisms such as specific food preferences, migra- tion and choice of nest sites contributed but rarely as primary factors. One species pair appears to show no ecological segregation, despite co-existence in varying pro- portions over a large geographical range. Indiscriminate interspecific aggression is used by some species to maintain high levels of resources for themselves, in environ- ments that can sustain such resources throughout the year. Communal breeding is a feature of those species. Implications for conservation are discussed.
Malaria-Induced Apoptosis in the Cells of Interlukine-6R" knockout Mice

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the function of IL-6R" during malaria infection by investigating the responses of Plasmodium chabaudi malaria in hepatocytes and spleenocytes of IL-6R" + / + and IL-6R" ! /! female C57BL/6 mice via evaluation of mRNA expression of apoptotic genes (Bax, Bcl-2 and Caspase-3). Mice were injected intraperitoneally (ip) with 10 6 P. chabaudi-infected erythrocytes and then scarified at days (0, 1, 4 and 8, respectively). RT-PCR was used to quantify apoptotic genes level. In the IL- 6R" + / + the levels of liver Bax were significantly increased at days 1 and 8 while they were significantly decreased only at day 1 in the IL-6R" ! /! compared with day 0. In contrast, the IL-6R" + / + levels of spleen Bax were significantly increased only at day 8. In the IL-6R" + / + the levels of liver Bcl-2 were significantly increased at all days after infection while significantly decreased only at day 1 in the spleen IL-6R" ! /! compared with day 0. In the IL-6R" + / + the levels of liver caspase-3 were significantly increased at days 1 and 8 while significantly decreased in the IL-6R" ! /! at day 8 compared with day 0. However, in the IL-6R" + / + the levels of spleen caspase-3 were significantly increased at day 8 only while significantly decreased at day 8 in the IL- 6R" ! /! compared with day 0. In conclusion, this data has shown that the absence of IL-6R" plays an important role in decreasing the severity of apoptosis during malaria disease. Thus, this study suggests that after further investigation the role of IL-6R" could be the therapeutic key for determining the outcome of malaria in liver cells.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF ADSORPTION PROCESS IN ZEOLITE

As nanomaterial applications in industry grow, particular nanostructures become better understood, widening the horizons for research. Achievements in mathematical modeling for predictive purposes significantly boost the capabilities for manufacturing research, and expedite unprecedented developments in hi-tech composites. The focus of the research being presented was adsorption properties of Zeolites manufactured to render selective properties for separating mixture components, based on differences in molecular size, shape, and polarity. Whether multicomponent adsorption isotherms can be obtained from single and binary mixture simulations was also investigated. Experimental determination of multicomponent adsorption parameters is far more difficult and time consuming compared to that for single component adsorption. Furthermore, determinations by experimental methods are far costlier and slower than computer-based numerical methods. Numerical models were developed for pure component and subsequently multicomponent adsorption processes. Using Configurational Biased Monte Carlo (CBMC) approach in grand canonical ensemble, both process types were simulated numerically, replicating benchmark experimental data. Classical theoretical models based on application of ideal (IAST) and real adsorbed solution theory (RAST) to predict mixture adsorption in nanopores, were also used and are presented for comparison purposes. The reported are computer simulations on the adsorption of alkanes in the all-silica zeolites MFI (channel type) and DDR (cage type), which match experimental data on adsorption of light hydrocarbons - alkanessuch as methane, ethane, propane and butane. Included are binary and ternary mixtures. The numerical approach developed can be an accurate, powerful, cost and time saving tool to predict process characteristics for different molecular-structure configurations.
Enhancing Students’ Ability to Write Procedure Text through YouTube Video

This study was aimed at finding out how YouTube Video as the media are employed to enhance the students’ ability in writing procedure text of SMP Negeri 3 Barebbo. This research used quantitative research method named quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test in analyzing students’ writing achievement. The research was conducted in eight meetings, in which it includes pre-test, four times of treatment, and post-test. The subject of this research were the third year students which consist of 24 students. This research finding indicated that The YouTube video was significantly effective enhancing students’ procedure text writing, include all aspects of writing; content, organization, vocabulary, language use and mechanic. It can be seen from the results that were analyzed using descriptive statistic. The mean score of experimental groups’ pre-test is 53.33, meanwhile post-test is 84.46 and the frequency and percentage of pre-test,students were very poor level and in post-test 50.00% of students got very good level. It is indicated that the use of YouTube video as media can enhance students writing achievement of the third-year of SMP Negerri 3 Barebbo in the 2018/2019 academic year. Based on the research finding, the teacher are recommended to have better competencies in selecting and presenting procedure text video in teaching writing. Keywords: Writing, Procedure Text, YouTube Video
Evaluation of foot arch in adult women: comparison between five different footprint parameters

Foot arch determines the shape of the foot, whether it is normal, flat or high. Excessive body weight is known to be the main factor in altering the foot arches. The foot arches of adult women were determined based on five different footprint parameters (Clarke index, Chippaux-Smirak index, Staheli index, Arch index and the Harris-imprint index) and the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and foot arches were studied. A total of 309 adult women from the age of 20 to 60 years were recruited in this study. The shape of participants’ feet were obtained and their left and right foot arches were determined using five different footprint parameters. Body weight and height were measured and BMI was calculated. Paired t-test and one-way ANOVA were applied to perform the statistical analysis. Our analysis showed that two third of the participants have different foot arches between the left and right feet. The Harris-imprint index exhibited the most significant (p=0.004) differences between the left (mean=0.168) and right (mean=1.011) foot arches. Most of the overweight (53%) and obese (15%) participants have normal arches; however the prevalence of flat and high arches is still higher in overweight (flat arch= 51%; high arch= 52% ) and obese (flat arch= 18%; high arch= 12%) compared to other BMI categories. Harris-imprint index was successfully studied as a suitable parameter in determining the left and right foot arches.
Helicobacter pylori hrgA, A Novel Discriminatory Biomarker for Duodenal Ulcer Patients

Background: Helicobacter pylori is a major human gastric for various gastro duodenal diseases. A number of putative virulence factors such as dupA, homB, tnpA have been described. To date, none were found to be significantly associated with specific H. pylori-related diseases (e.g. gastric cancer and duodenal ulcer). Methods: the primary aim of this study was to test the H. pylori hrgA genotype isolated from 253 Iranian symptomatic patients to investigate possible association with clinical outcomes. The positive culture results were confirmed by glmM (genetic control for H. pylori) PCR assay. Results: The results showed hrgA gene was detected in 44/253 strains (17.3%). Prevalence of the hrgA gene was relatively high in strains isolated from duodenal ulcer patients (P=0.0063; Odd ratio: 3.54; CI 95%: 1.42-8.77). Conclusions: In contrast our findings showed that the prevalence of hrgA in our control group (gastritis patients) was 22.7% (P>0.05). Conclusively, hrgA gene is a good candidate as a discriminatory biomarker for patients with duodenal ulcer
Current food web models cannot explain the overall topological structure of observed food webs

Topological food webs illustrating "who eats whom" in different systems exhibit similar, non-random, structures suggesting that general rules govern food web structure. Current food web models correctly predict many measures of food web topology from knowledge of species richness and connectance (fraction of possible predator-prey links that actually occur), together with assumptions about the ecological rules governing "who eats whom". However, current measures are relatively insensitive to small changes in topology. Improvement of, and discrimination among, current models requires development of new measures of food web structure. Here I examine whether current food web models (cascade, niche, and nested hierarchy models, plus a random null model) can predict a new measure of food web structure, structural stability. Structural stability complements other measures of food web topology because it is sensitive to changes in topology that other measures often miss. The cascade and null models respectively over- and underpredict structural stability for a set of 17 high-quality food webs. While the niche and nested hierarchy models provide unbiased predictions on average, their 95% confidence intervals frequently fail to include the observed data. Observed structural stabilities for all models are overdispersed compared to model predictions, and predicted and observed structural stabilities are uncorrelated, indicating that important sources of variation in structural stability are not captured by the models. Crucially, poor model performance arises because observed variation in structural stability is unrelated to variation in species richness and connectance. In contrast, almost all other measures of food web topology vary with species richness and connectance in natural webs. No model that takes species richness and connectance as the only input parameters can reproduce observed variation in structural stability. Further progress in predicting and explaining food web topology will require fundamentally new models based on different input parameters.
The fate of O+ ions observed in the plasma mantle and cusp: particle tracing modelling and Cluster observations

Abstract. Ion escape is of particular interest for studying the evolution of the atmosphere on geological time scales. Previously, using Cluster-CODIF data, we investigated the oxygen ion outflow from the plasma mantle for different solar wind conditions and geomagnetic activity. We found significant correlations between solar wind parameters, geomagnetic activity (Kp index) and the O+ outflow. From these studies, we suggested that O+ ions observed in the plasma mantle and cusp have enough energy and velocity to escape the magnetosphere and be lost into the solar wind or in the distant magnetotail. Thus, this study aims to investigate where do the ions observed in the plasma mantle end up. In order to answer this question, we numerically calculate the trajectories of O+ ions using a tracing code to further test this assumption and determine the fate of the observed ions. Our code consists of a magnetic field model (Tsyganenko T96) and an ionospheric potential model (Weimer 2001) in which particles initiated in the plasma mantle and cusp regions are launched and traced forward in time. We analysed 136 observations of plasma mantle or cusp events in Cluster data between 2001 and 2007, and for each event 200 O+ particles were launched with an initial parallel and perpendicular velocity corresponding to the bulk velocity observed by Cluster. From the observations, our results show that 93 % of the events have an initial parallel velocity component twice the initial perpendicular velocity. After the tracing, we found that 96 % of the particles are lost into the solar wind or in the distant tail. Out of these 96 %, 20 % escape into the dayside magnetosphere.