Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frontoparietal Cortex Mediates Perceptual Transitions in Bistable Perception

During bistable vision, perception oscillates between two mutually exclusive percepts despite constant sensory input. Greater BOLD responses in frontoparietal cortex have been shown to be associated with endogenous perceptual transitions compared with “replay” transitions designed to closely match bistability in both perceptual quality and timing. It has remained controversial, however, whether this enhanced activity reflects causal influences of these regions on processing at the sensory level or, alternatively, an effect of stimulus differences that result in, for example, longer durations of perceptual transitions in bistable perception compared with replay conditions. Using a rotating Lissajous figure in an fMRI experiment on 15 human participants, we controlled for potential confounds of differences in transition duration and confirmed previous findings of greater activity in frontoparietal areas for transitions during bistable perception. In addition, we applied dynamic causal modeling to identify the neural model that best explains the observed BOLD signals in terms of effective connectivity. We found that enhanced activity for perceptual transitions is associated with a modulation of top-down connectivity from frontal to visual cortex, thus arguing for a crucial role of frontoparietal cortex in perceptual transitions during bistable perception.
Personalizing initial calcineurin inhibitor dosing by adjusting to donor CYP3A-status in liver transplant patients.

AIMS Inter-individual variability in dose requirements of calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) has been linked to genetic polymorphisms of CYP3A enzymes. CYP3A5*3, CYP3A4*1B and CYP3A4*22 alleles of liver grafts may explain about one third of the inter-individual differences in pharmacokinetics of ciclosporin and tacrolimus in recipients. However, non-genetic factors, influencing CYP3A expression, can contribute to the variability of CYP3A function due to phenoconversion. The present study evaluated the association between CYP3A4 expression combined with CYP3A5 genotype of donor livers and recipients' CNI therapy after transplantation. METHODS The contribution of donors' CYP3A5 genotype and CYP3A4 expression to the blood concentrations and dose requirements of CNIs was evaluated in 131 liver transplant recipients. RESULTS The recipients with grafts from normal CYP3A4 expresser donors carrying CYP3A5*3/*3 required CNI maintenance doses more or less similar to the bodyweight-controlled starting doses (9.1 mg kg(-1) of ciclosporin and 0.1 mg kg(-1) of tacrolimus). The patients transplanted with grafts from low CYP3A4 expressers required substantial reduction (by about 50%, 4.2 mg kg(-1) of ciclosporin, 0.047 mg kg(-1) of tacrolimus, P < 0.001), while the recipients with grafts from high expressers or with grafts carrying at least one copy of the functional CYP3A5*1 allele required an increase (by about 50% [12.8-13.8 mg kg(-1)] for ciclosporin and 100% [0.21 mg kg(-1) ] for tacrolimus, P < 0.001) of the initial CNI dose for achieving target blood concentrations. CONCLUSIONS Donor livers' CYP3A-status, taking both CYP3A5 allelic variations and CYP3A4 expression into account, can better identify the risk of CNI over- or underexposure, and may contribute to the avoidance of misdosing-induced graft injury in the early post-operative period.
Neuropeptide Y is expressed by osteocytes and can inhibit osteoblastic activity

Osteocytes are the most abundant osteoblast lineage cells within the bone matrix. They respond to mechanical stimulation and can participate in the release of regulatory proteins that can modulate the activity of other bone cells. We hypothesize that neuropeptide Y (NPY), a neurotransmitter with regulatory functions in bone formation, is produced by osteocytes and can affect osteoblast activity. To study the expression of NPY by the osteoblast lineage cells, we utilized transgenic mouse models in which we can identify and isolate populations of osteoblasts and osteocytes. The Col2.3GFP transgene is active in osteoblasts and osteocytes, while the DMP1 promoter drives green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression in osteocytes. Real‐time PCR analysis of RNA from the isolated populations of cells derived from neonatal calvaria showed higher NPY mRNA in the preosteocytes/osteocytes fraction compared to osteoblasts. NPY immunostaining confirmed the strong expression of NPY in osteocytes (DMP1GFP+), and lower levels in osteoblasts. In addition, the presence of NPY receptor Y1 mRNA was detected in cavaria and long bone, as well as in primary calvarial osteoblast cultures, whereas Y2 mRNA was restricted to the brain. Furthermore, NPY expression was reduced by 30–40% in primary calvarial cultures when subjected to fluid shear stress. In addition, treatment of mouse calvarial osteoblasts with exogenous NPY showed a reduction in the levels of intracellular cAMP and markers of osteoblast differentiation (osteocalcin, BSP, and DMP1). These results highlight the potential regulation of osteoblast lineage differentiation by local NPY signaling. J. Cell. Biochem. 108: 621–630, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation: The protective role of mycophenolate mofetil

Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are recognized longterm causes of death after liver transplantation (LT). The objective of this multicenter study was to analyze the prevalence and the evolution of CV risk factors and CV morbidity and mortality in 1819 LT recipients along 5 years after LT. The influence of baseline variables on survival, morbidity, and mortality was studied. There was a continuous and significant increase of the prevalence of all the CV risk factors (except smoking) after LT. CV diseases were the fourth cause of mortality in the 5 years after LT, causing 12% of deaths during the follow‐up. Most CV events (39%) occurred in the first year after LT. Preexisting CV risk factors such as age, pre‐LT CV events, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and hyperuricemia, and mycophenolate‐free immunosuppressive therapy, increased post‐LT CV morbidity and mortality. The development of new‐onset CV risk factors after LT, such as dyslipidemia and obesity, independently affected late CV morbidity and mortality. Tacrolimus and steroids increased the risk of posttransplant diabetes, whereas cyclosporine increased the risk of arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, CV complications and CV mortality are frequent in LT recipients. Preexisting CV risk factors, immunosuppressive drugs, but also the early new onset of obesity and dyslipidemia after LT play an important role on late CV complications. A strict metabolic control in the immediate post‐LT period is advisable for improving CV risk of LT recipients. Liver Transplantation 23 498–509 2017 AASLD.
Serum resistin concentrations are higher in human obesity but independent from insulin resistance.

UNLABELLED Although obesity may be linked to resistin, the role of resistin in humans is still controversial. Conflicting results of the associations between resistin and BMI and measures of insulin resistance were reported. In view of the yet unexplained role of resistin in human obesity, the aim of this study was to examine correlations between serum resistin concentrations and the degree of human obesity and insulin sensitivity. For this purpose, we investigated 2 homogenous groups of obese and non obese humans, in whom the presence of obesity was the solely differentiating factor. The WHO definition of obesity was used. Study group consisted of 136 obese subjects (75 women and 61 men) and 48 non-obese controls (31 women, 17 men) aged 48.0 ± 10.1, and 48.8 ± 13.4 yrs, respectively. RESULTS Obese subjects showed higher resistin concentrations than non obese controls (24.89 ± 9.73 ng/mL, median 26.61 vs. 15.34 ± 4.68 ng/mL, median 14.76, P < 0.0001). Resistin concentrations correlated with BMI in the whole cohort (r = 0.4296, P < 0.0001), but not in obese and non-obese subjects separately (r = 0.1418, P = 0.0997; r = 0.2712, P = 0.0623, respectively). Moreover, serum resistin was not influenced by insulin resistance in either group examined. CONCLUSION Although concentrations of resistin differ between obese and non-obese humans, no relationship between resistin concentration and insulin resistance has been found. Correlations between resistin and BMI are present only in a mixed population but disappear in non obese and obese subjects when analyzed separately.
On the Linear Sharing Mechanism: The Unknown and Unlikely Cases

While most may believe that we have a good understanding of the linear sharing mechanism, we show that we may not. In a standard exchange economy with heterogeneous beliefs, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for Pareto efficient linear sharing rules and present the unknown and unlikely cases. We find that in a two-agent economy, for efficient sharing rules to be linear for an open set of weightings, HARA utility functions are not necessary, but agents' absolute risk aversion functions must all be linear fractionals; however, when there are three or more agents in the economy, HARA utility functions become necessary, but still, equicautious HARA utility functions are not necessary. The discovery of the special role of linear fractional risk aversion in the linear sharing mechanism is surprising, given that except for the HARA class, such linear fractional risk aversion is largely unheard of in the literature.
What change in isokinetic knee muscle strength can be detected in men and women with hemiparesis after stroke?

Objective: To assess the intra-rater (between occasions) test-retest reliability of isokinetic knee muscle strength measurements in subjects with chronic poststroke hemiparesis and to define limits for the smallest change that indicates real (clinical) improvements for stroke patients. Subjects: Fifty men and women (mean age 589±6.4 years) 6=±46 months post stroke, able to walk at least 300 m with or without a unilateral assistive device. Methods: Maximal concentric knee extension and flexion contractions at 608/s and 1208/s, and maximal eccentric knee extension contractions at 608/s, with the paretic and nonparetic limbs, were performed seven days apart using a Biodex dynamometer. Measures: Reliability of the maximum peak torque measurements was evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), the Bland and Altman analyses, the standard error of measurement (SEM and SEM%) and the smallest real difference (SRD and SRD%). Results: Test retest agreements were high (ICC2,1 0.89-0.96) with no discernible systematic differences between limbs, angular velocities and modes. The SEM%, representing the smallest change that indicates a real (clinical) improvement for a group of subjects, was relatively small (8-20%). The SRD%, representing the smallest change that indicates a real improvement for a single subject ranged from 26% to 33% for concentric knee extension, from 39% to 55% for concentric knee flexion, and from 22% to 25% for eccentric knee extension. Conclusion: Isokinetic knee muscle strength can be reliably measured and used to detect real improvements following an intervention for single subjects as well as for groups of subjects with chronic mild to moderate hemiparesis after stroke.
The meso-social benefits of VET for social groups and communities.

This report for CEDEFOP considers the meso-social benefits for social groups and communities. This is a subject of considerable interest both academically in terms of the contribution of VET at the community level, and in policy terms, as agendas in European countries are orientated towards community cohesion and active, participatory citizenship. This report can be contextualised in terms of a long history of VET as being implicated in mitigating against the disruption of community due to changes in economy and society. Indeed, the focus on community, social groups and VET has been long standing, arising from major shifts in the nature of the global economy in the 21st century (Winch, 2000) from an industrial to a knowledge based economy. We consider that VET has two benefits for groups at the meso-level being social capital formation and psycho-social benefits (group identity and quality of life). We also consider that the benefits of VET might accrue differently to different social groups on the basis of characteristics such as income, gender, household type and citizenship. We would expect people who engage in VET to benefit differentially according to their membership of different social groups. In this report we look at the differential benefits for social groups and communities. For quantitative purposes the five social groups identified are: income groups, gender, household type, citizenship (nationals, EU nationals, and non-national), and birth place groups.
Ecological and evolutionary impacts of changing climatic variability

While average temperature is likely to increase in most locations on Earth, many places will simultaneously experience higher variability in temperature, precipitation, and other climate variables. Although ecologists and evolutionary biologists widely recognize the potential impacts of changes in average climatic conditions, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential impacts of changes in climatic variability and extremes. We review the evidence on the impacts of increased climatic variability and extremes on physiological, ecological and evolutionary processes at multiple levels of biological organization, from individuals to populations and communities. Our review indicates that climatic variability can have profound influences on biological processes at multiple scales of organization. Responses to increased climatic variability and extremes are likely to be complex and cannot always be generalized, although our conceptual and methodological toolboxes allow us to make informed predictions about the likely consequences of such climatic changes. We conclude that climatic variability represents an important component of climate that deserves further attention.
Journalists and mental health: The psychological toll of covering everyday trauma

Journalists are often first responders and eyewitnesses to violent news events. Trauma reporting can take its toll, resulting in mental health effects. Addressing the solution requires understanding the problem. This multimethod study used a national survey of journalists (N = 254) that shows that as trauma coverage frequency and intensity increase, so does the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. In-depth interviews offer personal narratives of effects from traumatic reporting. Common coping mechanisms include disconnecting from work in various ways, purging emotions, talking about trauma, and remembering their jobs’ higher purposes. Suggestions include humanizing the newsroom and teaching about trauma reporting.
Economic Freedom, Financial Crisis and Stock Volatilities in Emerging Markets

This paper explores how equity market volatility are related with the Index of Economic Freedom for 22 emerging countries over 1995-2010 by considering the impacts of financial crisis. Consistent with theory, we find the overall economic freedom index and it components exert significant impacts on equity market volatility. Specifically, the index components within the categories of regulatory efficiency (such as business freedom and monetary freedom) and limited government (fiscal freedom, and government spending) exhibit strong significant explaining powers to the stock market volatilities. However, the other index components within the categories of rule of law and open markets are not significant. In addition, the stock market volatilities are significantly higher when the country confronts either one of the currency crisis, inflation crisis, stock market crash, domestic sovereign debt crisis, external sovereign debt crisis, or banking crisis. The results are consistent across different levels of inflation and wealth in emerging markets.
Length and fin number dependence of ionizing radiation-induced degradation in bulk FinFETs

Ultra-small bulk FinFETs (dual-well and triple-well) from a commercial process have been exposed to total ionizing dose. The devices have varying numbers of fins and channel length. The devices show a significant increase in off-state leakage current, threshold voltage shift, transconductance and subthreshold slope degradation after irradiation to 300 krad(SiO2). The results also show a strong dependence of fin-to-fin variation and trapped charge in the STI on the radiation response of the devices.
The Atypical Homeodomain Transcription Factor Mohawk Controls Tendon Morphogenesis

ABSTRACT The Mohawk homeobox (Mkx) gene encodes a new atypical homeodomain-containing protein with transcriptional repressor activity. Mkx mRNA exhibited dynamic expression patterns during development of the palate, somite, kidney, and testis, suggesting that it may be an important regulator of multiple developmental processes. To investigate the roles of Mkx in organogenesis, we generated mice carrying a null mutation in this gene. Mkx−/− mice survive postnatally and exhibit a unique wavy-tail phenotype. Close examination revealed that the mutant mice had smaller tendons than wild-type littermates and that the rapid postnatal growth of collagen fibrils in tendons was disrupted in Mkx−/− mice. Defects in tendon development were detected in the mutant mouse embryos as early as embryonic day 16.5 (E16.5). Although collagen fibril assembly initially appeared normal, the tendons of Mkx−/− embryos expressed significantly reduced amounts of collagen I, fibromodulin, and tenomodulin in comparison with control littermates. We found that Mkx mRNA was strongly expressed in differentiating tendon cells during embryogenesis and in the tendon sheath cells in postnatal stages. In addition to defects in tendon collagen fibrillogenesis, Mkx−/− mutant mice exhibited abnormal tendon sheaths. These results identify Mkx as an important regulator of tendon development.
The Volatility of Return Revisions and Financial Statement Literacy in Emerging Markets: The Case of Cross‐Listed Chinese Firms

Are foreign investors in emerging markets more financial statement literate than domestic investors? If so, this conjecture implies that foreign (domestic) investors are more likely to revise their return expectations to cash flow (discount rate) news. It also implies that cash flow news and discount rate news are likely to be uncorrelated when evaluating return revisions by domestic investors, whereas cash flow news and discount rate news are likely to be negatively correlated when evaluating return revisions by foreign investors. The Chinese equity markets yield robust empirical results that are consistent with both hypotheses.
Disentangling Contributions of Process Elements to the Fair Process Effect: A Policy-Capturing Approach

(ABSTRACT) Recent research on organizational justice suggests 3 elements of process-related justice: procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice. Early research on the fair process effect indicates that fair procedures in general can help to ameliorate the effects of negative outcomes. This study examined the relative importance of each specific process element in accounting for the fair process effect. In addition, this study examined whether there are substitutable effects among the process elements such that high fairness on one element substitutes for low fairness on another element. Administrative Assistants working at a university read 48 hypothetical profiles describing a supervisor's procedural, interpersonal and informational justice behaviors in handling a negative job-related outcome. Administrative Assistants provided overall judgments of the fairness of the situation. The policy capturing analysis indicated that the weights given to the fairness cues varied somewhat across individuals. Hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that participants' fairness policies could be grouped into 3 homogenous clusters: two "main effects clusters" and an "interaction cluster. " The first main effects cluster equally weighted procedural, interpersonal and informational justice in their overall fairness evaluations. The second main effects cluster favored procedural justice over the other two forms of justice. Finally, participants in the interaction cluster utilized the three two-way interactions between the forms of justice. Between-subject analyses indicated that the available demographic and background variables were not related to the judges' policies. Research and practical implications are discussed. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I extend my deepest thanks to Neil Hauenstein, my advisor for nearly the past five years. When I look back to my first year in the program, I am truly amazed at all I have learned. The knowledge I have gained is a direct result of the countless hours Neil has spent working with me. In addition to molding me into a scholar of I/O psychology, Neil has helped me to increase my tolerance for ambiguity. As much as I would like to see everything as black and white, Neil has helped me to realize that more often the answers lie somewhere in the shades of gray. Thank you Neil for always making time for me, and for making me feel like a priority. I would like to thank Roseanne Foti who has served on my thesis, prelim, and dissertation committees. Roseanne has been a valuable committee member and has always given much thought and consideration to the feedback she has given me. Moreover, Roseanne has …
Developmental dyscalculia: assessment of number representation by the ZAREKI-R

This study investigated which aspects of number processing and calculation and working memory are related to arithmetic deficits. The participants were children aged from 9 to 10 years, both gender, divided in two groups based on their calculation score: a group without arithmetic disability (SDA; N=11) and with arithmetic disability (CDA; N=19); assessed by the instruments: ZAREKI-R, Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices, Block Span, Digit Span, and BCPR (pseudowords repetition). CDA children exhibited slightly lower scores than SDA on intellectual level and Block Span, and deficits in dictation of numbers, mental calculation, and problem solving tasks of the ZAREKI-R. The results indicate that CDA children have specific deficits in visuospatial working memory and performed poorly in number representation tasks, which fulfill criteria for Developmental Dyscalculia.