Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How does reward compete with goal-directed and stimulus-driven shifts of attention?

ABSTRACT In order to behave adaptively, attention can be directed in space either voluntarily (i.e. endogenously) according to strategic goals, or involuntarily (i.e. exogenously) through reflexive capture by salient or novel events. The emotional or motivational values of stimuli can also influence attentional orienting. However, little is known about how reward-related effects compete or interact with endogenous and exogenous attention mechanisms. Here we designed a visual search paradigm in which goal-driven and stimulus-driven shifts of attention were manipulated by classic spatial cueing procedures, while an irrelevant, but previously rewarded stimulus also appeared as a distractor and hence competed with both types of spatial attention during search. Our results demonstrated that stimuli previously associated with a high monetary reward received higher attentional priority in the subsequent visual search task, even though these stimuli and reward were no longer task-relevant, mitigating the attentional orienting induced by both endogenous and exogenous cues.
The Impact of X-Ray and Proton Irradiation on ${\rm HfO}_2/{\rm Hf}$-Based Bipolar Resistive Memories

This paper investigates total-ionizing dose effects on the electrical characteristics of HfO2/Hf-based bipolar resistive-random-access-memory (RRAM) devices. 10-keV x-ray irradiation does not cause significant changes in resistance at levels up to 7 Mrad( SiO2). Excess carriers generated by x-ray irradiation in the HfO2 layer recombine or are trapped at defect sites in the HfO2 layer or at interfaces between layers. They have no effect, however, on the conductive path of the RRAM devices. 1.8 MeV proton irradiation causes resistance degradation through simultaneous introduction of oxygen vacancies and displacement damage. TRIM simulations are used to explain the physical mechanisms of the radiation-induced damage. The devices are promising for radiation-hardened memory applications.
Statin use and intracerebral hemorrhage: evidence for safety in recurrent stroke prevention?

T HE 3-HYDROXY-3-METHYLGLUTARYL COENzyme A reductase inhibitors, or “statins,” are frequently prescribed in clinical practice for the prevention of stroke and cardiovascular disease. According to a nongeneric drug retail sales’ report of the top 200 drugs sold in 2009, one of the statins ranked number 1 and another ranked number 14 in overall sales. Statins are multimechanistic drugs with lipid-lowering properties and beneficial non–lipid-lowering effects such as modification of endothelial function, inflammatory responses, atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability, and thrombus formation. Although generally well tolerated, statins may be associated with adverse events such as muscle aches, hepatitis or hepatotoxicity, myopathy, and other complications. Furthermore, a safety announcement from the US Food and Drug Administration recently informed the public about the risk of muscle injury in patients taking the highest approved dose of simvastatin (80 mg), and based on a pooled analysis of data from 5 statin trials, concern has been raised that intensive-dose statin therapy may be associated with an increased risk of diabetes mellitus.
Immunosuppressive agents versus steroids in the treatment of IgA nephropathy-induced proteinuria: A meta-analysis

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is one of the most common types of primary glomerular disease. Immunosuppressive treatment for patients with IgAN remains controversial. The present meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of various immunosuppressive agents compared with steroids in patients with IgAN and moderate to severe proteinuria. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, Weipu, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and Qinghuatongfang were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 1990 and September 2013. All eligible studies (biopsy proven IgA nephropathy, use of immunosuppressive agents) measured urinary protein excretion and proteinuria remission. Data were analyzed with the random effects model using Review Manager. A total of 29 RCTs were included, involving 1,466 patients. Compared with steroids, immunosuppressive agents, including azathioprine (AZA) [complete response (CR)/partial response (PR); relative risk (RR), 3.43; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.92–6.12; P<0.0001], mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) (CR/PR; RR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.25–3.85; P=0.006) and leflunomide (LET) (CR/PR; RR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.80–3.86; P<0.00001) resulted in increased partial or complete proteinuria remission. Cyclophosphamide (CTX) resulted in a higher reduction of urinary protein excretion than steroids (SMD, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.41–1.41; P=0.0004)). Compared to CTX, LET showed higher effectiveness (CR/PR; RR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.08–3.75; P=0.03) with a lower incidence of adverse events. The present meta-analysis, which is based on IgAN patients, suggested that AZA, MMF, LET and CTX are effective in reducing proteinuria levels, with acceptable side effects. Therefore, immunosuppressive agents may be considered promising therapeutic agents for the treatment of IgAN and should be investigated further in large sample size, high-quality studies.
Measurement of current distribution on electrode surface of spherical electrode caused by micro gap ESD

Transient characteristics of discharge current were examined to clear the mechanism of electromagnetic radiation caused by ESD (electrostatic discharge). In this study, a pair of spherical electrode was used as the discharge electrode as a model of the ESD experiment and the current distribution on the electrode surface at the discharge occurrence was measured. The current distribution on the electrode surface was measured by a wideband oscilloscope with a shielded loop antenna. As a result of the experiment, the current distribution on the surface of spherical electrode showed a maximum value near the spark gap and decreased with increasing the distance from the spark gap. Furthermore, the measured current value was in inverse proportion to the electrode diameter.
[The effect of low dose methotrexate treatment on bone mineral density in patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with MTX or SF. The study consisted of 56 premenopausal women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Bone mineral density (BMD) of the lower lumbar spine was assessed before starting treatment, and again after 12 months of treatment. DEXA scanning was used to evaluate BMD. Corticosteroids or other substances known to affect bone metabolism were not administered. 45 women completed the study, of whom 23 were treated using SF and 22 MTX. The average dosage of MTX used was calculated to be 590 mg. A significant difference in the BMD of SF and MTX patients was not observed in the pretreatment phase, nor after 12 months of treatment. However, in all patients a significant reduction of BMD was observed, irrelevant of the choice of drug. The average loss of bone mass was 1.7% and 1.4% in the MTX and SF groups, respectively. MTX therapy administered in low doses as assessed after 12 months did not cause a rapid decrease of bone density in patients with RA.
A new method to assess the deformations of internal organs of the abdomen during impact

During an automotive accident, the abdomen can be subjected to rapid and large deformations leading to internal organ injury. While the external response of the abdomen to impact has been extensively studied (e.g. Hardy et al. 2001), internal organ kinematics during the impact is largely unknown as standard observation methods for soft tissues, such as MRI, are too slow for such loading. This makes the validation of the internal response of human abdominal models for impact difficult. This is an issue as these models are getting more detailed (e.g. Beillas and Berthet 2012), requiring more local validation. Recently, Howes et al. (2012) have quantified the trajectories of radio-opaque targets implanted on abdominal organs using high-speed bi-planar X-ray imaging techniques. While these results are valuable and that their application for model validation is ongoing, the approach also has some limitations: the number of targets that can be implanted is limited by the invasive nature of the process and by the difficulty to separate numerous targets on the X-ray projections. This makes difficult the calculation of strains, the observation of sliding between organs or the study of multiple regions with the same specimen. In this study, a recent ultrasound technique, i.e. ultrafast ultrasonography (Bercoff et al. 2002), was used to develop a protocol to observe the internal response of the abdomen to impact.
Ca2+ influx through CRAC channels activates cytosolic phospholipase A2, leukotriene C4 secretion, and expression of c‐fos through ERK‐dependent and independent pathways in mast cells

Cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) is a Ca2+‐dependent enzyme that mediates agonist‐dependent arachidonic acid release in most cell types. Arachidonic acid can then be metabolized by the 5‐lipoxygen‐ase enzyme to generate the proinflammatory signal leukotriene C4 (LTC4). Here we report that Ca2+ entry through store‐operated CRAC (Ca2+ release‐activated Ca2+) channels activates the extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERKs), members of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase family, within minutes and this is necessary for stimulation of cPLA2. Ca2+ entry activates ERK indirectly, via recruitment of Ca2+‐dependent protein kinase C α and βI. Ca2+ influx also promotes translocation of cytosolic 5‐lipoxygenase to the nuclear membrane, a key step in the activation of this enzyme. Translocation is dependent on ERK activation. A role for gene activation is shown by the finding that CRAC channel opening results in increased transcription and translation of c‐fos. Inhibition of ERK activation failed to prevent c‐fos expression. Our results show that CRAC channel activation elicits short‐term effects through the co‐coordinated regulation of two metabolic pathways (cPLA2 and 5‐lipoxygenase), which results in the generation of both intra‐ and intercellular messengers within minutes, as well as longer term changes involving gene activation. These short‐term effects are mediated via ERK, whereas, paradoxically, c‐fos expression is not. Ca2+ influx through CRAC channels can therefore activate different signaling pathways at the same time, culminating in a range of temporally diverse responses. —Chang, W. ‐C. , Nelson, C. , Parekh, A. B. Ca2+ influx through CRAC channels activates cytosolic phospholipase A2, leukotriene C4 secretion, and expression of c‐fos through ERK‐dependent and ‐independent pathways in mast cells. FASEB J. 20, E1681–E1693 (2006)
Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa : vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart

»The encyclopedia of European migration and minorities. From the seventeenth century to the present. Foreword / Introduction«. Facing migration and integration many Europeans feel confronted with exceptional challenges today. However, historical migration research shows that these processes have always been central elements of European social and cultural history, and it also reveals that many ‘native’ insiders who today feel anxious about assimilation or even integration of immigrants are themselves the descendants of foreign outsiders. Apart from some well-known exceptions – e.g. the Huguenots – little is known about the multitude and diversity of groups who have moved across political, social, and cultural borders in modern European history. It is the purpose of the Encyclopedia to illuminate the broad spectrum of these migrations by presenting selected examples. Special significance is attached to permanent immigrations within Europe and from outside regions into Europe. Of particular interest are the resulting intergenerational processes of assimilation lasting for at least two generations. They include many forms of social and cultural composition as well as decomposition, ranging from the gradual disappearance and dissolution of group identities in assimilation processes to minority formations and diaspora situations.
Differential contribution of prosodic cues in the native and non-native segmentation of French speech

This study investigates the use of prosodic information in the segmentation of French speech by mid-level and high-level English second/foreign language (L2) learners of French and native French listeners. The results of two word- monitoring tasks, one with natural stimuli and one with resynthesized stimuli, show that as L2 learners become more proficient in French, they go from parsing accented syllables as word-initial to parsing them as word-final, but unlike native listeners, they use duration increase but not fundamental frequency (F0) rise as a cue to wordfinal boundaries. These results are attributed to: (1) the L2 learners’ native language, in which F0 rise is a reliable cue to word-initial boundaries but not wordfinal boundaries; (2) the co-occurrence of F0 and duration cues in word-final syllables in French, rendering L2 learners’ use of F0 rise unnecessary for locating word-final boundaries; and (3) the optional marking of word-initial boundaries by F0 cues in French, thus making it difficult for non-native listeners to tease the two types of F 0 rise apart. We argue that these factors prevent English listeners from attending to F0 rise as a cue to word-final boundaries in French, irrespective of their proficiency in French.
A New System Architecture for Future Long-Term High-Density Neural Recording

This brief presents a new system architecture for neural recording to allow higher recording density and more tolerance to interface degeneration and artifacts. Compared with its conventional counterpart, the proposed architecture has a frequency-dependent gain stage that inherently rejects dc offset and attenuates low-frequency interferences. In the digital domain, frequency compensation is used to restore the signals “seen” by an electrode. Powered by a switched-capacitor design, the proposed architecture can lead to major improvements on system performance metrics, including input impedance, distortion, and dynamic range. In simulations with different electrode sizes and degeneration levels, the proposed architecture consistently gives high-fidelity recording data. We argue that the proposed architecture is more suitable for long-term high-density invasive brain-computer interface experiments as a replacement to better support a mimicked “Moore's Law” on recording density.
Paleoclimatic interpretation of the Elk Lake pollen record

The pollen record from Elk Lake is interpreted in climatic terms by three different numerical approaches. The paleoclimatic record inferred for Elk Lake can be described as a sequence of climatic zones, separated by short transitional intervals: (1) the cold and dry late glacial zone (11,600-11,000 varve yr), (2) the cool and moist early Holocene zone (10,000-8500 varve yr), (3) the warm and dry middle Holocene zone (7800-4500 varve yr), and (4) the warm and moist late Holocene zone (3500 varve yr to present). Two large-scale controls of this climatic sequence can be inferred from paleoclimatic model experiments. The first is the effect of the Laurentide ice sheet on surface winds and temperatures; this influence was strongest prior to 9 ka. This control was replaced by the amplified seasonal cycle of solar radiation between 12 and 6 ka that increased summer temperature and net radiation and decreased effective moisture. Mesoscale controls on the climate of the Itasca region possibly include a lake effect during the various stages of Lake Agassiz and subtle changes in atmospheric circulation during the prairie period (about 8000 to 4000 varve yr).
Prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in women attending one of three general practices for routine cervical cytology

A prospective observational study of asymptomatic women from three different general practices was set up to establish the incidence of bacterial vaginosis (BV). The study group comprised 287 women recalled to their general practitioner's surgery for routine cervical smears. The prevalence of an abnormal vaginal flora was about the same in women attending the 3 practices. Nearly 14% of women had abnormal vaginal flora and about 9% had BV on Gram stain examination of vaginal secretions. This was 2-3 times more common than findings consistent with vaginal candidiasis (3.8%). Significant numbers of women with BV had received antifungal therapy suggesting a misdiagnosis. Because of its potential complications, women should be offered screening for BV in a well-women setting and, if found, should be treated if symptomatic or at risk of adverse obstetric or gynaecological sequelae.
Krukenberg tumors of the ovary. A clinicopathologic analysis of 27 cases

A series of 27 typical Krukenberg tumors of the ovary were analyzed. By definition, all examples were characterized by the presence of mucinous signet‐ring carcinoma cells within a cellular, nonneoplastic ovarian stroma. The patients' ages ranged from 20–70 years; almost one‐half were 40 years of age or younger. A primary carcinoma of the stomach (16 cases) or colon (four cases) was found in 20 (90.9%) of 22 patients with available follow‐up data. The primary gastrointestinal carcinomas had been diagnosed before emergence of the ovarian tumors in only five cases. The ovarian and gastrointestinal tumors were synchronously diagnosed in ten cases, while in five instances the primary carcinomas were not discovered until after the ovarian tumors had been treated. An acceptable primary extraovarian cancer was not detected in two women. Both had bilateral Krukenberg tumors and died with widespread carcinomatosis less than two years postoperatively. Typically, the ovarian tumors were bilateral, asymmetrically large and solid. Important histologic features included a greater abundance of intracellular neutral glycoproteins than acidic mucins, a storiform pattern of hyperplastic cortical stromal cells (44.4%) and carcinomatous emboli (51.6%). While the entity of “primary” Krukenberg tumor cannot be unequivocally denied, all women with typical Krukenberg tumors should be considered as having metastatic carcinoma, usually from the stomach, until proven otherwise.
Deciding on cadaveric organ donation in Black African families

This study explores factors that have affected the decision of Black African families to donate cadaveric organs. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with ten families living in greater Cape Town, South Africa. Addresses were obtained from records of the transplant co‐ordinators at Groote Schuur Hospital. The data were analysed according to broad themes emerging from the interviews. The most important themes were the influence of violent, criminal deaths; the need for a longer period of consultation among family members; belief in the integrity of the ancestor's body; lack of understanding of brain death; and experiences of grief and loss.
Positive futures? The impact of HIV infection on achieving health, wealth and future planning

Abstract Although HIV is now cast as a chronic condition with favourable clinical outcomes under new treatments, it is unclear how living with HIV affects expectations and planning for the future.This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate UK gay men's expectations of their own future when living with HIV, and to identify the heath and social interventions required to enhance roles, participation and personal fulfilment.A preliminary focus group identified relevant domains of enquiry for a subsequent online cross-sectional survey.A total of 347 gay men living in the UK with HIV participated in the survey, and 56.6% were currently on treatment. However, high 7-day prevalence of psychological and physical symptoms was identified (42.6% in pain, 80.2% worrying); 57.8% perceived reduced career options due to their infection and 71.8% reduced life expectancy. Being on treatment was not significantly associated with perceived life expectancy.Coded open-ended survey data identified eight principle themes related to goal planning and attainment.The integrated open and closed data items offer an understanding of barriers and challenges that focus on poor mental health due to clinical inattention, discrimination and stigma, poor career and job opportunities due to benefit and workplace inflexibility and lack of understanding, a lack of personal goals and associated skills deficit related to confidence and self esteem. Gay men living with HIV require an integrated holistic approach to wellbeing that incorporates clinical, social and individual intervention in order to lead productive lives with maximum benefit from treatment gains.
Electrical Current Leakage during Hemodialysis May Increase Blood-Membrane Interaction

During hemodialysis blood - membrane interaction causes complement activation. During dialysis there may be an electrical current leakage to the dialyzer, especially if there is a broken ground or a defect in another electrical device coupled to the patient. This study investigated whether an electric current of 1.5 mA DC could alter blood membrane interaction as measured by changes in C3d in the blood. Such a high current leakage could occur because there is no protection in the dialysis machine (Class 1B) against auxiliary current leakage. Such a current could come from a defective external device in contact with the patient during hemodialysis. Materials A dialysis machine (Fresenius 2008C) with a filled blood-line system containing about 350 ml whole blood from each of 8 different donors was used in vitro. Each of the eight test-runs also contained 1000 U added heparin. The dialysis procedure was performed using hemophan membranes (GFS +12, Gambro) with bicarbonate and potassium 3.0 (D210, Gambro) as dialysate. Two electric poles were placed in the blood line, before and after the dialyzer (connected in parallel) and the ground was placed at entry and exit of the dialysate fluid coming from the machine to the dialysis filter. C3d was measured before the start of “dialysis” and at 15, 30, 45 and 60 min, during dialysis. Thereafter the 1.5 mA current was switched on and additional samples were drawn at 75 and 90 min. The mean C3d values were calculated. Paired non-parametric statistical analyses were performed. Results There was a significant and continuous increase in C3d as compared to the “predialysis” level. The increase during 0 to 30 minutes was greater than that from 30 to 60 minutes (p=0.018); the increase in C3d during 60 to 90 min, was greater than that from 30 to 60 min (p=0.018) and there was no difference between the 0 to 30 and the 60 to 90 min increases. Conclusions A current, used in this study, was able to induce a blood membrane interaction during in vitro dialysis. Even a weaker current leakage might have such adverse effects and similar interactions seem possible during regular dialysis depending on the extent of the leakage.
‘A model for the country’: letters from Florence Nightingale to the architect, Thomas Worthington, on hospitals and other matters 1865–1868

Between 1865 and 1868 the Manchester architect, Thomas Worthington and Florence Nightingale corresponded about hospital design. Worthington was involved in building hospitals for two Poor Law Unions in Manchester. The designs of both hospitals were based on the ‘pavilion’ principle of which Nightingale became a vocal national champion. Through five letters written by Nightingale to Worthington, the paper explores Nightingale's views focussing on her admiration for the designs, and examines the importance of these commissions for Worthington's career as a hospital architect.