Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Functional Segregation and Integration Model: Mixture Model Representations of Consistent and Variable Group-Level Connectivity in fMRI

Abstract The brain consists of specialized cortical regions that exchange information between each other, reflecting a combination of segregated (local) and integrated (distributed) processes that define brain function. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is widely used to characterize these functional relationships, although it is an ongoing challenge to develop robust, interpretable models for high-dimensional fMRI data. Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) are a powerful tool for parcellating the brain, based on the similarity of voxel time series. However, conventional GMMs have limited parametric flexibility: they only estimate segregated structure and do not model interregional functional connectivity, nor do they account for network variability across voxels or between subjects. To address these issues, this letter develops the functional segregation and integration model (FSIM). This extension of the GMM framework simultaneously estimates spatial clustering and the most consistent group functional connectivity structure. It also explicitly models network variability, based on voxel- and subject-specific network scaling profiles. We compared the FSIM to standard GMM in a predictive cross-validation framework and examined the importance of different model parameters, using both simulated and experimental resting-state data. The reliability of parcellations is not significantly altered by flexibility of the FSIM, whereas voxel- and subject-specific network scaling profiles significantly improve the ability to predict functional connectivity in independent test data. Moreover, the FSIM provides a set of interpretable parameters to characterize both consistent and variable aspects functional connectivity structure. As an example of its utility, we use subject-specific network profiles to identify brain regions where network expression predicts subject age in the experimental data. Thus, the FSIM is effective at summarizing functional connectivity structure in group-level fMRI, with applications in modeling the relationships between network variability and behavioral/demographic variables.
In silico Assessment of Drug-like Properties of Alkaloids from Areca catechu L Nut

Purpose : To investigate in silico the drug-like properties of alkaloids (arecoline, arecaidine, guvacine, guvacoline, isoguvacine, arecolidine and homoarecoline) obtained from the fruits of Areca catechu L (areca nut). Methods : All chemical structures were re-drawn using Chemdraw Ultra 11.0. Furthermore, software including Bio-Loom for Windows - version 1.5, Molinspiration Property Calculator and ACD/I-LAB service were used to predict the drug-like properties of the alkaloids, including relative molecular mass (MW), partition coefficient log P (cLog P), number of hydrogen bond donors (HBD), number of hydrogen bond acceptors (HBA), topological polar surface area (TPSA), number of rotatable bonds (NROTB), pKa, and aqueous solubility at a given pH (LogS). In addition, Lipinski’s rule was used to evaluate druglike properties. Results : From our research, MWs of the seven compounds were all 7.5; furthermore, they possess good solubility at pH 1.0, 5.0, and 7.0. Conclusion : All the seven alkaloids possess good drug-like properties, and demonstrated good oral absorption and bioavailability. The results also suggest that these compounds can be further developed into new oral drugs for treating certain diseases. Keywords : Areca catechu L, Areca nut, Drug-like properties, Alkaloids, Arecoline, Arecaidine, Guvacine, Guvacoline, Isoguvacine, Arecolidine, Homoarecoline, In silico
Population based, controlled study of behavioural problems and psychiatric disorders in low birthweight children at 11 years of age

Objective: To evaluate the risk of long term behavioural problems and psychiatric disorders associated with being born with low birth weight. Design/study groups: A population based, controlled follow up study at 11 years of age of 130 low birthweight (LBW) children weighing less than 2000 g at birth who were without major handicaps, and a random sample of 131 normal birthweight (NBW) children born at term weighing over 3000 g. Main outcome measures: Validated questionnaires addressing behaviour completed by mothers and teachers and child evaluation by child psychiatrist using a semistructured interview. Results: Behavioural problems, as defined by abnormal scores on more than four of 32 measures, were found in 40% of LBW children compared with 7% of NBW children (odds ratio (OR) 8.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3 to 25, p = 0001). A psychiatric disorder was diagnosed in 27% of the LBW children compared with 9% of the NBW children (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.5 to 6.5, p = 0.001). The LBW children were more often inattentive, had social problems, and low self esteem. None of the pre-, neo-, or peri-natal variables in the LBW group were statistically significant predictors of behavioural outcomes or the presence of psychiatric disorders. Behavioural problems and psychiatric disorders were as common in those with birth weight less than 1500 g as those with birth weight 1500–2000 g. Conclusion: An increased risk of behavioural problems and psychiatric disorders persists in LBW adolescents.
Absence of integrin αvβ3 enhances vascular leak in mice by inhibiting endothelial cortical actin formation.

RATIONALE Sepsis and acute lung injury (ALI) have devastatingly high mortality rates. Both are associated with increased vascular leak, a process regulated by complex molecular mechanisms. OBJECTIVES We hypothesized that integrin αvβ3 could be an important determinant of vascular leak and endothelial permeability in sepsis and ALI. METHODS β3 subunit knockout mice were tested for lung vascular leak after endotracheal LPS, and systemic vascular leak and mortality after intraperitoneal LPS and cecal ligation and puncture. Possible contributory effects of β3 deficiency in platelets and other hematopoietic cells were excluded by bone marrow reconstitution experiments. Endothelial cells treated with αvβ3 antibodies were evaluated for sphingosine-1 phosphate (S1P)–mediated alterations in barrier function, cytoskeletal arrangement, and integrin localization. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS β3 knockout mice had increased vascular leak and pulmonary edema formation after endotracheal LPS, and increased vascular leak and mortality after intraperitoneal LPS and cecal ligation and puncture. In endothelial cells, αvβ3 antibodies inhibited barrier-enhancing and cortical actin responses to S1P. Furthermore, S1P induced translocation of αvβ3 from discrete focal adhesions to cortically distributed sites through Gi- and Rac1-mediated pathways. Cortical αvβ3 localization after S1P was decreased by αvβ3 antibodies, suggesting that ligation of the αvβ3 with its extracellular matrix ligands is required to stabilize cortical αvβ3 focal adhesions. CONCLUSIONS Our studies identify a novel mechanism by which αvβ3 mitigates increased vascular leak, a pathophysiologic function central to sepsis and ALI. These studies suggest that drugs designed to block αvβ3 may have the unexpected side effect of intensifying sepsis- and ALI-associated vascular endothelial leak.
ASSOCIATIONS OF AUTONOMY, COMPETENCE, AND RELATEDNESS WITH ENJOYMENT AND EFFORT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PHYSICAL EDUCATION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SELF-DETERMINED MOTIVATION

The extent to which self-determined motivation mediates the association of fulfillment of pupils' psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness with self-reported enjoyment and effort in elementary school Physical Education (PE) was examined. Self-report data were provided by 213 Greek fifth and sixth graders on the aforementioned variables. Using Preacher and Hayes (2008) mediation analysis, it was found that all three needs directly and positively predicted pupils' enjoyment and effort. Indirect effects emerged for autonomy and relatedness in regard to effort but not enjoyment. The findings support to a large extent the validity of self-determination theory motivational dynamics in elementary school PE.
Oil Price, Exchange Rate and Economic Growth in Russia: A Multiple Structural Break Approach

This study aims to investigate the relation between oil prices, exchange rate and economic growth in Russia from a multiple structural break approach. For this reason, quarterly series have been used for the period 1995:q1-2014:q3. In the study, first of all, the series have been subject to multiple structural break unit root test and multiple structural break cointegration test, and the effect of oil prices and exchange rate on economic growth has been estimated with dynamic least squares method. Two significant findings have been identified as a result. First of all, it has been observed that there are structural breaks in the series, and despite this, series move together in the long run. Secondly, it has been observed that increasing oil prices are an important factor for economic growth and that depreciation of rouble against dollar will have a limited effect on economic growth in the long run.
Interest of pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy in patients with stage IB and II cervical carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to evaluate the interest and the potential therapeutic value of systematic pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy in patients with stage Ib and II cervical carcinoma. METHODS This was a prospective study including 421 patients with cervical cancer treated, from 1985 to 1994, by combined radiation therapy and surgery with systematic pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy. RESULTS The overall rate of pelvic lymph-node involvement was 26% (106 patients), and the rate of paraaortic metastases was 8% (32 patients). Pelvic nodal involvement was unilateral in 14% (59 patients) and bilateral in 11% (47 patients). Macroscopic positive nodes were found in 12% (52 patients). In a univariate analysis, a young age (<30 years), a tumor size >/=4 cm, stage II disease, and nodal involvement were associated with significantly decreased survival. The nodal status and the characteristics of positive nodes (number and location) were the most significant prognostic factors. In the multivariate analysis, age, the tumor size, and the site of nodal involvement (pelvic or paraaortic) were prognostic factors. Three-year survival was 94% for patients with negative nodes compared to 64% for patients with positive pelvic nodes and 35% for patients with positive paraaortic nodes (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION These results confirm the diagnostic and prognostic value of systematic complete lymphadenectomy when planning adjuvant treatment and the therapeutic value of complete removal of bulky positive nodes.
The Contribution of Various Components to pH Buffering Capacity of Acrisols in Southeastern Vietnam

ABSTRACT This paper examined the contribution of various soil components to pH buffering capacity (pHBC) of haplic Acrisols in an upland area of Southeastern Vietnam. Sampling was conducted in 2016 in Tan Bien district, Tay Ninh province at seven sites from the surface to 60-cm depth. Soils were very acidic (pHH2O 4.53 ± 0.05). The pHBC were very low, 0.46 ± 0.04 and 0.44 ± 0.05 cmol H+ kg−1 pH−1, respectively, for original samples and those from which soil organic carbon (SOC, 0.52 ± 0.09%) were removed. The contribution of Al3+ to pHBC was remarkable while that of SOC was of little significance. The contribution of clay minerals to pHBC was unclear due to the low (9.37 ± 0.76%) and kaolinite-dominated clay content. The current soil conditions indicated a potential for further soil acidification. Liming would be one of the measures to remediate soil acidity in the research area.
Seroprevalence and risk factors of Peste des Petits Ruminants in sheep and goats in Sudan

The seroprevalence and risk factors of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) were determined in unvaccinated sheep and goats in Sudan. A total of 480 sera samples were collected from the sheep (n=261) and goats (n=219) of Sennar, Gedarif, River Nile, and North Kordofan states during May, June, and October 2012 and February 2013, respectively. The sera were tested for the presence of antibodies against PPR using competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. The overall seroprevalence of PPR was recorded as 45.6% (n=219/480); whereas, 57.2% in Sennar, 46.2% in Gedarif, 34.9% in River Nile and 39.8% in North Kordofan. A total of 14 risk factors were investigated using structured questionnaire, of which 9 were found to be associated with PPR seroprevalence (p≤0.05). Among the localities, Abozabad located in North Kordofan had the highest prevalence (91.7%) of PPR followed by Barbar in River Nile. PPR seroprevalence was higher in pastoralists, animals housed in scarp fences, females, and Kwahla sheep. In addition, PPR was higher in the states that had high rainfall and wind-speed. The associated 9 factors were further analyzed multivariably by logistic regression, and finally 5 of them (states, localities, husbandry system, gender, and age) were found to be associated with PPR seroprevalence (p≤0.05).
Brenner microcirculation in the rat . Mechanisms of action of hisamine and histamine antagonists on the glomerular

microcirculation in the rat. Mechanisms of action of hisamine and histamine antagonists on the glomerular Print ISSN: 0009-7330. Online ISSN: 1524-4571 Copyright © 1979 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. is published by the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231 Circulation Research doi: 10.1161/01.RES.45.6. 737 1979;45:737-745 Circ Res. http://circres.ahajournals. org/content/45/6/737.citation World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is located on the
Crisis and Public Support for the Euro, 1990–2014

This article analyses the evolution of public support for the single European currency, the euro, from 1990 to 2014 for a 12‐country sample of the euro area (EA‐12), focusing on the most recent period of the financial and sovereign debt crisis, starting in 2008. We find that citizens' support for the euro on average was marginally reduced during the first six years of the crisis, and that support has remained at high levels. While the pronounced increase in unemployment in the EA‐12 throughout the crisis has led to a marked decline in trust in the European Central Bank (ECB), it is only weakly related to support for the euro.
Fiscal Adjustment in Slovakia: Findings from a Medium-Scale Econometric Model

Alternative fiscal consolidation strategies are examined in the context of a medium-scale econometric model estimated on Slovak data. The multipliers associated with adjustment on the spending side are generally larger than on the revenue side, which is not uncommon for this class of models. In particular, government spending on wages, goods and services, and investment are associated with strong real-economy consequences. On the revenue side, corporate income tax, social security contributions of employees and personal income tax increases are found to be most harmful for growth. Social contributions and personal income tax adjustments also have the most pronounced effect on employment. The policy implication is that a short-run growth-friendly consolidation strategy should avoid placing too much weight on these budgetary items.
A junction leakage mechanism and its effects on advance SRAM failure

Junction leakage is becoming an important reliability concern as shallow trench isolation (STI) continues to scale down. This junction leakage has to be considered to improve SRAM Vccmin degradation. The major index of junction leakage in SRAM cell is found to be off-state leakage current as the leakage phenomenon externally manifests as a current flow from butted contact (BCT) to lower pull down (LPD) transistor gate. Isolation test patterns (P+/N-well to P-Well) with well photo misalignments are designed to verify Si/STI interface damage effect on junction leakage. Process experiment with PW misalignment shows isolation leakage current (P+ to PW) increase after electrical stress. However, this type of leakage due to PW misalignment shows weak temperature and voltage dependence, indicating that the trap-assisted carrier hopping at STI Si/SiO2 interface and the PW misalignment are paramount of SRAM junction reliability. Using TCAD simulation, we have verified that carriers transport through the Si/STI interface traps along with poor PW misalignment is the root causes of the junction leakage current increase. HSPICE simulation results show that junction leakage worsen SRAM cell stability by degrading SRAM read margin (SNM) and may eventually lead to cell failure.
Distribution of Equilibrative, Nitrobenzylthioinosine‐Sensitive Nucleoside Transporters (ENT1) in Brain

Abstract : Nucleoside transport processes may play a role in regulating endogenous levels of the inhibitory neuromodulator adenosine in brain. The cDNAs encoding species homologues of one member of the equilibrative nucleoside transporter (ENT) gene family have recently been isolated from rat (rENT1) and human (hENT1) tissues. The current study used RT‐PCR, northern blot, in situ hybridization, and [3H]nitrobenzylthioinosine autoradiography to determine the distribution of mRNA and protein for ENT1 in rat and human brain. Northern blot analysis indicated that hENT1 mRNA is widely distributed in adult human brain. 35S‐labeled sense and antisense riboprobes, transcribed from a 153‐bp segment of rENT1, were hybridized to fresh frozen coronal sections from adult rat brain and revealed widespread rENT1 mRNA in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, granule neurons of the dentate gyrus, Purkinje and granule neurons of the cerebellum, and cortical and striatal neurons. Regional localization in rat brain was confirmed by RT‐PCR. Thus, ENT1 mRNA has a wide cellular and regional distribution in brain, indicating that this nucleoside transporter subtype may be important in regulating intra‐ and extracellular levels of adenosine in brain.
Sensitivity analysis of technical efficiency using bootstrap DEA and matrix based approach: with application to the Australian banking industry

i List of Tables.ix List of Figures.x 1 Chapter One: Introduction. 1 1.1 Background . 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem and Objectives . 3 1.3 Contributions of the Study . 6 1.4 Organisation of the Study . 8 2 Chapter Two: An Overview of the Australian Financial Institutions . 10 2.
Molecular Evaluation of Antibiotic Susceptibility: Tropheryma whipplei Paradigm

ABSTRACT Tropheryma whipplei, the agent of Whipple's disease, grows fastidiously only in cell cultures without plaque production, and only three strains have been passaged. The formation of bacterial clumps in the supernatant precludes enumeration of viable bacteria and MIC determination. We evaluated the bacteriostatic effects of fluoroquinolones against two T. whipplei isolates by measuring the inhibition of the DNA copy number increase by real-time quantitative PCR. The analysis of the T. whipplei genome database allowed the identification not only of the gyrA gene but also the parC gene encoding the alpha subunit of the natural fluoroquinolone targets DNA gyrase (GyrA) and topoisomerase IV (ParC), respectively. The parC gene was detected in actinobacteria for the first time. High ciprofloxacin MICs (4 and 8 μg/ml) were correlated with the presence in T. whipplei GyrA and ParC sequences with an alanine residue at positions 83 and 80 (Escherichia coli numbering), respectively. Alanines at these positions have previously been associated with increased fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli and mycobacteria. However, the MIC of levofloxacin was low (0.25 μg/ml). The same T. whipplei GyrA and ParC sequences were found in two other cultured strains and in nine uncultured tissue samples from Whipple's disease patients, allowing one to speculate that T. whipplei is naturally relatively resistant to fluoroquinolones.
Sensorless direct power and torque control of PWM back-to-back converter-fed induction motor

A novel control scheme for PWM rectifier-inverter system is proposed. Fast control strategies such as line voltage sensorless virtual flux (VF) based direct power control with space vector modulator (DPC-SVM) for PWM rectifier and direct torque control with space vector modulator (DTC-SVM) for PWM inverter side are used. These strategies lead to good dynamic and static behaviors of the proposed control system-direct power and torque control-space vector modulated (DPT-SVM). Simulations and experiment results obtained show good performances of the proposed system. Additional power feedforward loop from a motor to PWM rectifier control side improved dynamic behaviors of the power flow control. As a result, better input-output energy matching allows decreasing the size of the DC-link capacitor.
Optical coherence tomography: A new tool for glaucoma diagnosis

&NA; Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel technique that allows cross‐sectional imaging of the anterior and posterior eye. OCT has a resolution of ˜ 10 &mgr;m, with extremely high sensitivity (approximately 10‐10 of incident light). OCT is analogous to computed tomography, which uses x‐rays, magnetic resonance imaging, which uses spin resonance, or B‐scan ultrasound, which uses sound waves, but OCT uses only light to derive its image. OCT is a noncontact, noninvasive system by which retinal substructure may be analyzed in vivo. OCT is useful in the evaluation of retinal pathologies and glaucoma. In retinal disease, entities such as macular holes, macular edema, central serous chorioretinopathy, retinal vascular occlusion and other factors have been examined. Separation between the posterior vitreous and retina, or lack thereof, are seen and quantitated. In glaucoma, retinal nerve fiber layer (NFL) thickness is measured at standardized locations around the optic nerve head. A circular scan produces a cylindrical cross‐section of the retina, from which the NFL can be analyzed. In addition, radial scans through the optic nerve head are used to evaluate cupping and juxtapapillary NFL thickness. OCT, a new imaging technology by which the anterior and posterior segment are seen in cross‐section, may permit the early diagnosis of glaucoma, and the early detection of glaucomatous progression.