Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The neural correlates of fatigue: an exploratory imaginal fatigue provocation study in chronic fatigue syndrome

Background Fatigue is the central symptom in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and yet very little is known about its neural correlates. The aim of this study was to explore the functional brain response, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to the imaginal experience of fatigue in CFS patients and controls. Method We compared the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses of 12 CFS patients and 11 healthy controls to a novel fatigue provocation procedure designed to mimic real-life situations. A non-fatiguing anxiety-provoking condition was also included to control for the non-specific effects of negative affect. Results During the provocation of fatigue, CFS patients reported feelings of both fatigue and anxiety and, compared to controls, they showed increased activation in the occipito-parietal cortex, posterior cingulate gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus, and decreased activation in dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices. The reverse pattern of findings was observed during the anxiety-provoking scenarios. Conclusions The results may suggest that, in CFS patients, the provocation of fatigue is associated with exaggerated emotional responses that patients may have difficulty suppressing. These findings are discussed in relation to the cognitive-behavioural model of CFS.
Genetic Polymorphisms of Glutathione S-Transferase Genes GSTM1, GSTT1 and Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background A number of case-control studies were conducted to investigate the association of glutathione S-transferase (GST) genetic polymorphisms and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. However, these studies have yielded contradictory results. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to derive a more precise estimation of the association between polymorphisms on GSTM1, GSTT1 and HCC. Methodology/Prinicpal Findings PubMed, EMBASE, ISI web of science and the CNKI databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies. Data were abstracted independently by two reviewers. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to assess the strength of association. Potential sources of heterogeneity were also assessed by subgroup analysis and meta-regression. Funnel plots and Egger’s linear regression were used to test publication bias among the articles. A total of 34 studies including 4,463 cases and 6,857 controls were included in this meta-analysis. In a combined analysis, significantly increased HCC risks were found for null genotype of GSTM1 (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.06–1.58; P = 0.01) and GSTT1 (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.22–1.68; P<10−5). Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored by subgroup analysis and meta-regression. Significant results were found in East Asians and Indians when stratified by ethnicity; whereas no significant associations were found among Caucasians and African populations. By pooling data from 12 studies that considered combinations of GSTT1 and GSTM1 null genotypes, a statistically significant increased risk for HCC (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.41–2.50; P<10−4) was detected for individuals with combined deletion mutations in both genes compared with positive genotypes. Conclusions/Significance This meta-analysis suggests that the GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotype may slightly increase the risk of HCC and that interaction between unfavourable GSTs genotypes may exist.
Testing of Bridging Faults in AND-EXOR based Reversible Logic Circuits

Reversible circuits find applications in many areas of Computer Science including Quantum Computation. This paper examines the testability of an important subclass of reversible logic circuits that are composed of k-wire controlled NOT (k-CNOT with k >/- 1) gates. A reversible k-CNOT gate can be implemented using an irreversible k-input AND gate and an EXOR gate. A reversible k-CNOT circuit where each k-CNOT gate is realized using irreversible k-input AND and EXOR gate, has been considered. One of the most commonly used Single Bridging Fault model (both wired-AND and wired-OR) has been assumed to be type of fault for such circuits. It has been shown that an (n+p)-input AND-EXOR based reversible logic circuit with p observable outputs, can be tested for single bridging faults (SBF) using (3n + \lefthalfcap log2p \righthalfcap + 2) tests.
Disfluent fonts lead to more utilitarian decisions in moral dilemmas

Abstract Previous research suggests that utilitarian decisions to moral dilemmas often stem from analytic, controlled cognitive processes. Furthermore, processing disfluency can trigger analytic thinking and improve performance on tasks that require logic and cognitive reflection. In the present study we investigated how processing fluency affects the readiness with which people give utilitarian responses to both personal and impersonal dilemmas. Participants were presented in two different experimental blocks with dilemmas written in both easy- (fluent) and hard-to-read (disfluent) fonts. We expected that dilemmas written in a disfluent font would be associated with more utilitarian responses. Results supported this prediction, albeit only when the disfluent dilemmas appeared first, showing that participants endorsed more utilitarian actions in the disfluent condition than in the fluent condition across dilemma types. These data suggest that increasing processing disfluency by manipulating the font affects decisions in the moral domain.
The battle for rap: problems and possibilities in teacher education

Abstract This qualitative study examined preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) ideas and beliefs regarding the use of rap for instructional purposes in P-12 classrooms, and the ways in which they proposed to use rap in the teaching of middle and high school social studies. Participants included the instructor of a social studies methods course, and thirteen PSTs enrolled in the course. The findings suggest that PSTs view rap as a phenomenon that must be approached in a careful manner, and that is best suited to content areas other than social studies. The findings also suggest that PSTs’ proposed uses of rap represent P-12 education as an uncritical, teacher-centric endeavor which serves to perpetuate the status quo.
Pharmacokinetics, Tissue Distribution, and Anti-Lipogenic/Adipogenic Effects of Allyl-Isothiocyanate Metabolites

Allyl-isothiocyanate (AITC) is an organosulfur phytochemical found in abundance in common cruciferous vegetables such as mustard, wasabi, and cabbage. Although AITC is metabolized primarily through the mercapturic acid pathway, its exact pharmacokinetics remains undefined and the biological function of AITC metabolites is still largely unknown. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effects of AITC metabolites on lipid accumulation in vitro and elucidated the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of AITC metabolites in rats. We found that AITC metabolites generally conjugate with glutathione (GSH) or N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and are distributed in most organs and tissues. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed a rapid uptake and complete metabolism of AITC following oral administration to rats. Although AITC has been reported to exhibit anti-tumor activity in bladder cancer, the potential bioactivity of its metabolites has not been explored. We found that GSH-AITC and NAC-AITC effectively inhibit adipogenic differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and suppress expression of PPAR-γ, C/EBPα, and FAS, which are up-regulated during adipogenesis. GSH-AITC and NAC-AITC also suppressed oleic acid-induced lipid accumulation and lipogenesis in hepatocytes. Our findings suggest that AITC is almost completely metabolized in the liver and rapidly excreted in urine through the mercapturic acid pathway following administration in rats. AITC metabolites may exert anti-obesity effects through suppression of adipogenesis or lipogenesis.
Semantic Log Based Replication Model for Optimizing Heterogeneous DBMS Interaction

The growth of database application usage requires Database Management Systems (DBMS) that are accessible, reliable, and dependable. One approach to handle these requirements is replication mechanism.Replication mechanism can be divided into various categories. Some related works consider two categories for replication mechanisms: heterogeneous and homogenous however majority of them classify them in three groups: physical, trigger-based and log- based schema. Log-based replication mechanisms are the most widely used category among DBMS vendors.Adapting such approach for heterogeneous systems is a complex task, because of lack of log understanding in the other end. Semantic technologies provide a suitable framework to address heterogeneity problems in large scale and dynamic resources. In this paper we introduce a new approach to tackle replication problem in a heterogeneous environment by utilizing ontologies.
We present a detailed spectral and spatial analysis of the X-ray properties of the compact and unusual radio galaxy 3 C 346 , combining information from ROSAT and ASCA

We present a detailed spectral and spatial analysis of the X-ray properties of the compact and unusual radio galaxy 3C 346, combining information from ROSAT and ASCA. The dominant component of X-ray emission (∼ 10 44 ergs s −1 in each of the 0.5-3 keV and 2-10 keV bands) is unresolved and not heavily absorbed (intrinsic N H 2×10 21 cm −2), with evidence for variability of 32 ± 13% over 18 months. We relate the X-ray emission to radio structures on both milliarcsecond scales and the arcsecond scales which Chandra can resolve. The absence of X-ray absorption, and the radio/optical/X-ray colors, when combined with previous radio evidence that the source is a foreshortened FRII, suggest that the radio jets are seen at an angle to the line of sight of about 30 • , intermediate between the radio-galaxy and quasar classes. Roughly a third of the soft X-ray emission is from a cluster atmosphere, for which we measure a temperature of 1.9 +1.3 −0.7 keV, making this the second low-redshift (z < 0.2) powerful radio galaxy, after Cygnus A, with a measured cluster temperature. At a jet angle of ∼ 30 • , all the radio structures lie within the core radius of the cluster, for which the cooling time is sufficiently long that there is no reason to expect the presence of a cooling flow. The radio lobes of 3C 346 are roughly in pressure balance with the external medium under the assumptions that the energy densities in the magnetic field and radiating particles balance and that a source of excess pressure in the radio lobes, commonly invoked in other radio galaxies, is absent here.
UNSUPERVISED LANGUAGE MODEL ADAPTATION FOR LECTURE SPEECH RECOGNITION

This paper addresses speaker adaptation of language model in large vocabulary spontaneous speech recognition. In spontaneous speech, the expression and pronunciation of words vary a lot depending on the speaker and topic. Therefore, we present unsupervised methods of language model adaptation to a specific speaker by (1) making direct use of the initial recognition result for generating an enhanced model, and (2) selecting similar texts, utterance by utterance, based on the model. We also investigate the pronunciation variation modeling and its adaptation in the same framework. It is confirmed that all proposed adaptation methods and their combinations reduced the perplexity and word error rate in transcription of real lectures.
Space Bounds for Resolution

We introduce a new way to measure the space needed in a resolution refutation of a CNF formula in propositional logic. With the former definition [6] the space required for the resolution of any unsatisfiable formula in CNF is linear in the number of clauses. The new definition allows a much finer analysis of the space in the refutation, ranging from constant to linear space. Moreover, the new definition allows to relate the space needed in a resolution proof of a formula to other well studied complexity measures. It coincides with the complexity of a pebble game in the resolution graphs of a formula, and as we show, has strong relationships to the size of the refutation. We also give upper and lower bounds on the space needed for the resolution of unsatisfiable formulas.
Cross-stream observation dependencies for multi-stream speech recognition

This paper extends prior work in multi-stream modeling by introducing cross-stream observation dependencies and a new discriminative criterion for selecting such dependencies. Experimental results combining short-term PLP features with long-term TRAP features show gains associated with a multi-stream model with partial state asynchrony over a baseline HMM. Frame-based analyses show signiﬁcant discriminant information in the added cross-stream dependencies, but so far there are only small gains in recognition accuracy.
Effects of Two Listening Strategies for Melodic Dictation

The purpose of this research was to examine effects of two listening strategies on melodic dictation scores. Fifty-four undergraduate music majors completed short tonal melodic dictations in a within-subjects design with three conditions: (a) no specified strategy in the instructions, (b) required listening before writing, and (c) required writing while listening. The purpose of the first condition was to determine subjects’ preference for listening before writing or writing while listening prior to requiring each. Two repeated measures t tests revealed no significant difference in test scores between the second and third conditions and no significant difference in test scores between subjects’ demonstrated preferred strategy and nonpreferred strategy. Results corroborate prior research suggesting that both may be viable strategies for melodic dictation, each offering unique benefits to aural memory and musical comprehension. Implications for high school and college aural skills instructors include the need to offer students options for dictation strategies and help them choose when and how to use them. Students who have tried multiple strategies in practice and considered their relative benefits might be better prepared to make wise decisions during dictation.
Texture classification for rail surface condition evaluation

Rail surface defects threaten train and passenger safety. Hence rail surfaces must be restored using different processes depending on measurement of the severity of the defects. In this paper, we propose a new method for automatic classification of rail surface defect severity from images collected by rail inspection vehicles. It contains 2 components: a rail surface segmentation module, which utilizes structured random forests to generate an edge map and a Generalized Hough Transform to locate the boundaries of the rail surface; and a defect severity classification module, which combines multiple classifiers through a stacked ensemble model. The first-level learners are trained using descriptors of the rail surface images extracted by texton forests and texton dictionaries, with x2-kernel SVM classifiers. The probability estimation output of the first-level learners is the input to a second level linear-kernel SVM. Our experiments on a dataset of 939 images categorized into 8 severity levels achieved 82% accuracy.
Methylation of HOXA9 and ISL1 Predicts Patient Outcome in High-Grade Non-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Introduction Inappropriate DNA methylation is frequently associated with human tumour development, and in specific cases, is associated with clinical outcomes. Previous reports of DNA methylation in low/intermediate grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) have suggested that specific patterns of DNA methylation may have a role as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. In view of the aggressive and clinically unpredictable nature of high-grade (HG) NMIBC, and the current shortage of the preferred treatment option (Bacillus:Calmette-Guerin), novel methylation analyses may similarly reveal biomarkers of disease outcome that could risk-stratify patients and guide clinical management at initial diagnosis. Methods Promoter-associated CpG island methylation was determined in primary tumour tissue of 36 initial presentation high-grade NMIBCs, 12 low/intermediate-grade NMIBCs and 3 normal bladder controls. The genes HOXA9, ISL1, NKX6-2, SPAG6, ZIC1 and ZNF154 were selected for investigation on the basis of previous reports and/or prognostic utility in low/intermediate-grade NMIBC. Methylation was determined by Pyrosequencing of sodium-bisulphite converted DNA, and then correlated with gene expression using RT-qPCR. Methylation was additionally correlated with tumour behaviour, including tumour recurrence and progression to muscle invasive bladder cancer or metastases. Results The ISL1 genes’ promoter-associated island was more frequently methylated in recurrent and progressive high-grade tumours than their non-recurrent counterparts (60.0% vs. 18.2%, p = 0.008). ISL1 and HOXA9 showed significantly higher mean methylation in recurrent and progressive tumours compared to non-recurrent tumours (43.3% vs. 20.9%, p = 0.016 and 34.5% vs 17.6%, p = 0.017, respectively). Concurrent ISL1/HOXA9 methylation in HG-NMIBC reliably predicted tumour recurrence and progression within one year (Positive Predictive Value 91.7%), and was associated with disease-specific mortality (DSM). Conclusions In this study we report methylation differences and similarities between clinical sub-types of high-grade NMIBC. We report the potential ability of methylation biomarkers, at initial diagnosis, to predict tumour recurrence and progression within one year of diagnosis. We found that specific biomarkers reliably predict disease outcome and therefore may help guide patient treatment despite the unpredictable clinical course and heterogeneity of high-grade NMIBC. Further investigation is required, including validation in a larger patient cohort, to confirm the clinical utility of methylation biomarkers in high-grade NMIBC.
Problems with Network Coding in Overlay Networks

Network coding is recently proposed mechanism [6] in which intermediate network nodes are not only limited to routing the data, but can also encode or decode it. Network coding is interesting because if network coding is allowed, multicast can achieve the theoretical throughput upper bound, which is generally not possible without network coding. In this paper, we discuss some problems that arise when network coding is used in overlay networks, and identify some possible solutions. We primarily focus on performance of coding the data, and on throughput benefits in realistic model of overlay networks.
Stage-Specific Regulation of Oligodendrocyte Development by Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

Oligodendrocytes are myelin-forming glia that ensheath the axons of neurons in the CNS. Recent studies have revealed that Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays important roles in oligodendrocyte development and myelin formation. However, there are conflicting reports on the specific function of Wnt signaling components in oligodendrocyte specification and differentiation. In the present study, we demonstrate that activation of β-catenin in neural progenitor cells before gliogenesis inhibits the generation of oligodendrocyte progenitors (OLPs) in mice. Once OLPs are formed, β-catenin becomes necessary for oligodendrocyte differentiation. Disruption of β-catenin signaling instead leads to a significant delay of oligodendrocyte maturation. These findings suggest that Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulates oligodendrocyte development in a stage-dependent manner.
Speeding up classification of multi-channel brain-computer interfaces: common spatial patterns for slow cortical potentials

During the last years interest has been growing to find an effective communication channel which translates human intentions into control signals for a computer, the so called brain-computer interface (BCI). One main goal of research is to help patients with severe neuromuscular disabilities by substituting normal motor outputs. Various cortical processes were identified which are suitable for implementing such a system on basis of scalp recorded electroencephalogram (EEG), e.g., slow cortical potentials (SCP) and event-related desynchronisation (ERD) of 10-20 Hz brain rhythms. Until quite recently BCI systems used only few EEG channels but by use of advanced machine learning techniques it became possible to exploit the spatial information provided by multi-channel EEG. While the use of such high density spatial sampling increases the accuracy of the system, it may (depending on the computational effort of the signal processing), pose a problem for the implementation of the feedback in real-time. We propose a method that offers a substantial speed-up for classification of SCP features as used in the Berlin brain computer interface (BBCI). Instead of applying the time consuming low-pass filtering to all, say 120 EEG channels, a suitable spatial projection extracts only 2 or 4 new channels which can be used without any loss of classification accuracy in our experiments. Our approach is based on the technique of common spatial patterns (CSP) which were suggested by Ramoser et al. (2000) to extract ERD features from EEG. While in its original form, CSP is only applicable to oscillatory features, we present a new variant which allows one to use CSP for SCP features without regularisation even in case of large channel numbers or few training samples.
The Dipeptidyl-Peptidase-Like Protein DPP6 Determines the Unitary Conductance of Neuronal Kv4.2 Channels

The neuronal subthreshold-operating A-type K+ current regulates electrical excitability, spike timing, and synaptic integration and plasticity. The Kv4 channels underlying this current have been implicated in epilepsy, regulation of dopamine release, and pain plasticity. However, the unitary conductance (γ) of neuronal somatodendritic A-type K+ channels composed of Kv4 pore-forming subunits is larger (∼7.5 pS) than that of Kv4 channels expressed singly in heterologous cells (∼4 pS). Here, we examined the putative novel contribution of the dipeptidyl-peptidase-like protein-6 DPP6-S to the γ of native [cerebellar granule neuron (CGN)] and reconstituted Kv4.2 channels. Coexpression of Kv4.2 proteins with DPP6-S was sufficient to match the γ of native CGN channels; and CGN Kv4 channels from dpp6 knock-out mice yielded a γ indistinguishable from that of Kv4.2 channels expressed singly. Moreover, suggesting electrostatic interactions, charge neutralization mutations of two N-terminal acidic residues in DPP6-S eliminated the increase in γ. Therefore, DPP6-S, as a membrane protein extrinsic to the pore domain, is necessary and sufficient to explain a fundamental difference between native and recombinant Kv4 channels. These observations may help to understand the molecular basis of neurological disorders correlated with recently identified human mutations in the dpp6 gene.