Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of HIV gp120 protein increases sensitivity to the rewarding properties of methamphetamine in mice

Methamphetamine abuse and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection induce neuropathological changes in corticolimbic brain areas involved in reward and cognitive function. Little is known about the combined effects of methamphetamine and HIV infection on cognitive and reward processes. The HIV/gp120 protein induces neurodegeneration in mice, similar to HIV‐induced pathology in humans. We investigated the effects of gp120 expression on associative learning, preference for methamphetamine and non‐drug reinforcers, and sensitivity to the conditioned rewarding properties of methamphetamine in transgenic (tg) mice expressing HIV/gp120 protein (gp120‐tg). gp120‐tg mice learned the operant response for food at the same rate as non‐tg mice. In the two‐bottle choice procedure with restricted access to drugs, gp120‐tg mice exhibited greater preference for methamphetamine and saccharin than non‐tg mice, whereas preference for quinine was similar between genotypes. Under conditions of unrestricted access to methamphetamine, the mice exhibited a decreased preference for increasing methamphetamine concentrations. However, male gp120‐tg mice showed a decreased preference for methamphetamine at lower concentrations than non‐tg male mice. gp120‐tg mice developed methamphetamine‐induced conditioned place preference at lower methamphetamine doses compared with non‐tg mice. No differences in methamphetamine pharmacokinetics were found between genotypes. These results indicate that gp120‐tg mice exhibit no deficits in associative learning or reward/motivational function for a natural reinforcer. Interestingly, gp120 expression resulted in increased preference for methamphetamine and a highly palatable non‐drug reinforcer (saccharin) and increased sensitivity to methamphetamine‐induced conditioned reward. These data suggest that HIV‐positive individuals may have increased sensitivity to methamphetamine, leading to high methamphetamine abuse potential in this population.
Nonlinear Effects of an Aquatic Consumer: Causes and Consequences

The assumption that per capita consumer effects on prey density are independent of consumer and prey density is examined with a large‐scale manipulation of an aquatic herbivore (Daphnia). A gradient of consumer removal was maintained long enough to allow the abundances of both consumer and prey (phytoplankton) to equilibrate to the manipulation. Strong and unequivocal nonlinearities were found in the effect of Daphnia on total phytoplankton abundance and the abundance of most of the common phytoplankton species. Daphnia's suppression of phytoplankton was strong between 0 and ∼400 μg Daphnia L−1 but essentially nil from ∼400 to 900 μg Daphnia L−1. The sharp deceleration in Daphnia's effect was not caused by a shift within the phytoplankton community toward consumption‐resistant forms. The most likely explanation for the deceleration was a reduction in Daphnia's filtering effort at low phytoplankton abundance, that is, a Type III functional response. A review of experimental literature suggested that decelerating effects of consumers are the norm in aquatic systems. Nonlinear effects present problems for the estimation of interaction strength and the building of community interaction models from the results of predator manipulations. It is suggested that the role of field experiments in community ecology should be to test rather than to parameterize models.
Constructing bidding curves for a CHP producer in day-ahead electricity markets

The operation of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems in liberalized electricity markets depends both on uncertain electricity prices and uncertain heat demand. In the future, uncertainty is going to increase due to the increased intermittent power induced by renewable energy sources. Therefore, the need for improved planning and bidding tools is highly important for CHP producers. This paper applies an optimal bidding model under the uncertainties of day-ahead market prices and the heat demand. The problem is formulated in a stochastic programming framework where future scenarios of the random variables are considered in order to handle the uncertainties. A case study is performed and conclusions are derived about the CHP operation and the need for heat storage.
Radiation from Stellar Collapse to a Black Hole

Calculating the radiation from stellar collapse to a black hole requires a relativistic treatment of the gravitational field, hydrodynamical flow, and radiative transport. We adopt a model for a collapsing star in general relativity that is sufficiently simple that we can focus on the radiative transport and treat it essentially without approximation. The matter and gravitational field are described by the Oppenheimer-Snyder solution for the collapse of a spherical, homogeneous dust ball. Transport is calculated numerically by solving the radiation moment equations in conjunction with the complete angle-dependent Boltzmann equation for the intensity. The intensity can describe photons, neutrinos, or any other form of radiation. Thermal emission and absorption as well as coherent isotropic scattering sources are included. All opacities are chosen to be constant and gray. We present analytic solutions to our transport equations in both optically thick and transparent regimes and compare them to our numerical results. We also use our model to evaluate simplifications like the diffusion approximation in a relativistic setting. Our simple treatment can be used to explore a wide variety of stellar parameters and to test more sophisticated relativistic collapse codes containing radiation transport. For any given choice of parameters, our model can determine the comoving radiation field in a collapsing star in a few minutes on a typical workstation.
N-Best rescoring by adaboost phoneme classifiers for isolated word recognition

This paper proposes a novel technique to exploit generative and discriminative models for speech recognition. Speech recognition using discriminative models has attracted much attention in the past decade. In particular, a rescoring framework using discriminative word classifiers with generative-model-based features was shown to be effective in small-vocabulary tasks. However, a straightforward application of the framework to large-vocabulary tasks is difficult because the number of classifiers increases in proportion to the number of word pairs. We extend this framework to exploit generative and discriminative models in large-vocabulary tasks. N-best hypotheses obtained in the first pass are rescored using AdaBoost phoneme classifiers, where generative-model-based features, i.e. difference-of-likelihood features in particular, are used for the classifiers. Special care is taken to use context-dependent hidden Markov models (CDHMMs) as generative models, since most of the state-of-the-art speech recognizers use CDHMMs. Experimental results show that the proposed method reduces word errors by 32.68% relatively in a one-million-vocabulary isolated word recognition task.
Immediate-early transcription from the channel catfish virus genome: characterization of two immediate-early transcripts

With cDNA probes and by Northern (RNA) blot analysis, a region containing immediate-early (IE) genes in the channel catfish virus (CCV) genome was identified. IE transcription in CCV-infected cells appears to be restricted to the terminal repeat region, suggesting that CCV is most closely related to the alpha subfamily of herpesviruses. CCV DNA fragments from this region encoding IE transcripts were cloned. Northern analysis with one of these cloned fragments, a 3,927-bp EcoRI-XbaI fragment, indicates that it encodes two IE transcripts. Both transcripts (ie1 and ie2) were characterized by S1 nuclease analysis, primer extension analysis, and analysis of cDNAs. The ie2 transcript is a 1.3-kb bicistronic mRNA containing open reading frame (ORF) 8a and ORF 9. ORF 8a is a 5'-truncated version of ORF 8 which, along with ORF 9, was previously identified (A. J. Davison, Virology 186:9-14, 1992). The ie1 transcript is 0.6 kb in size, contains only ORF 9, and is expressed at a level approximately six times that of ie2 in cycloheximide-treated cells. The putative product of ORF 9 is predicted to have a basic pI and contains a potential zinc-binding domain, making it a probable transcription factor. ORF 8a encodes a putative product which is very hydrophobic, an unusual characteristic for an IE protein.
For deep vein thrombosis, follow the randomized trials.

For Deep Vein Thrombosis, Follow the Randomized Trials To the Editor We appreciate the efforts on the recent article by Bashir et al.1 However, we are concerned that the potential for bias in this nonrandomized study has been underestimated. Some associations drawn between catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) and adverse outcomes may not be attributable to CDT. First, propensity analysis cannot eliminate bias from retrospective observational comparison of a first-line treatment (anticoagulation) against a treatment reserved for selected patients with the most severe clinical presentations (CDT). Catheter-directed thrombolysis is often used as salvage therapy after physician-perceived failure of first-line anticoagulant therapy. Many factors that prompt a clinician to request CDT connote a higher risk of pulmonary embolism (PE), filter placement, and longer hospital stay and were not accounted for (eg, increase in pain and/or swelling despite anticoagulation, anatomic thrombus progression, or acute limb-threatening circulatory compromise). The administrative data, which rely entirely on correct coding for its accuracy, does not distinguish whether PE events occurred prior to, during, or after CDT, or whether “CDT” cohort patients truly received CDT for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) rather than systemic thrombolysis or CDT for other conditions. Hence, the observed increases in PE, filter placement, and hospital stay may simply represent native differences between the 2 cohorts rather than consequences of CDT. Second, the magnitude of the observed difference in bleeding may be inflated by the omission of low-risk outpatients and by the apparent inclusion of (1) patients in the non-CDT cohort who were not anticoagulated and (2) patients in the CDT cohort who had conditions that normally contraindicate CDT for DVT, such as recent surgery or trauma, thrombocytopenia, and shock—some of which were not included as propensity variables.2 Third, this study did not assess important patientcentered benefits of CDT, particularly its ability to prevent postthrombotic syndrome, a chronic, irreversible condition that causes substantial disability, as described by the results of 2 randomized trials.3,4 Hence, we agree with the authors that data from randomized clinical trials, including the large, ongoing, National Institutes of Health–sponsored ATTRACT (Acute Venous Thrombosis: Thrombus Removal with Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis) trial, may provide a more balanced assessment of CDT’s benefits, risks, and costs.5 Until then, to preserve access to quality care for patients with DVT, great caution is urged in drawing conclusions from nonrandomized studies, since the preponderance of randomized clinical trial data indicates a strong potential for CDT to prevent chronic disability.
Polymer-Graphene Nanocomposites: Preparation, Characterization, Properties, and Applications

Carbon the 6th element in the periodic tables has always remains a fascinating material to the researcher and technologist. Diamond, graphite, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and newly dis‐ covered graphene are the most studied allotropes of the carbon family. The significance of the these material can be understand as the discovery of fullerene and graphene has been awarded noble prizes in the years 1996 and 2010 to Curl, Kroto & Smalley and Geim & Novalec, respec‐ tively. After the flood of publications on graphite intercalated [1], fullerenes (1985) [2], and car‐ bon nanotubes (1991) [3], graphene have been the subject of countless publications since 2004 [4,5]. Graphene is a flat monolayer of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice, completely conjugated sp2 hybridized planar structure and is a basic build‐ ing block for graphitic materials of all other dimensionalities (Figure 1). It can be wrapped up into 0D fullerenes, rolled into 1D nanotube or stacked into 3D graphite.
Evaluating the Effect of Domestic Price on Rice Production in an African Setting: A Typical Evidence of the Sierra Leone Case

Rice, which is the staple food in Sierra Leone, is consumed on a daily basis. It is the most imperative food crop extensively grown by farmers across all ecologies in the country. Though much attention is now given to rice grain production through the Small Holder Commercialization Programme (SHCP), however, no attention has been given in investigating the limitations faced by rice producers. This paper will contribute to attempts to overcome the development challenges caused by food insecurity. The objective of this paper is thus, to analysis the relationship between rice production and the domestic retail price of rice. The study employed a log linear model in which, the quantity of rice produced is the dependent variable, quantity of rice imported, price of imported rice and price of domestic rice as explanatory variables. Findings showed that, locally produced rice is even more expensive than the imported rice per ton, and almost all the inhabitants in the capital city which hosts about 65% of the entire population of the country favor imported rice, as it is free from stones with other impurities. On the other hand, to control price and simultaneously increase rice production, the government should purchase the rice from the farmers and then sell to private retailers. Keywords—Domestic price of rice, Econometric model, Rice production, Sierra Leone.
A Cross-Cultural Item-Analysis of Bender-Gestalt Protocols Administered to Ghetto and Suburban Children

The Bender-Gestalt (Bender) designs were administered to 325 third-grade Ss of diverse cultural backgrounds and the Koppitz scoring system was applied to determine Ss' visual-perceptual-motor reproduction “errors. ” Two comparisons were made: the first, between 654 first graders previously studied and the third-grade Ss considered in this study; the second, between the two third-grade groups. In this study, it is shown that: difficulty in reproducing Bender designs accurately tends to diminish from Grade 1 to Grade 3 but remains a problem in perceptual-visual maturation for culturally disadvantaged children. Additionally, there is a different developmental sequence for the two groups and certain visual-perceptual-motor reproduction tasks continue to be difficult for one group whereas others do not.
Total biomass and essential oil composition of Ocimum gratissimum L. in response to broiler litter and phosphorus

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the biomass yield and chemical composition of the essential oil of clove basil in response to doses of broiler litter (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 t ha-1) added in presence of triple superphosphate (200 kg ha-1) or without it. Before the first harvest, the height of the plants increased significantly (34.42 cm) when 15 tonnes ha-1 broiler litter were added to the soil. However, after resprouting, the plant heights ranged only as a function of the vegetative cycle, with maximum height (76.0 cm) observed at 60 days. Phosphate fertilization also significantly influenced the leaf area (1.771 cm2 plant-1) during the first harvest. The fresh weight of leaves increased linearly in response to the addition of broiler litter (20 ton ha-1) with maximum yields of 1,709 and 7,140 kg ha-1 during the first harvest and regrowth, respectively. On average, the oil content of the leaves was 0.7%, with maximum performance (3.8 L ha-1) when 20 tonnes ha-1 of broiler litter were added on the soil. Eugenol was found to be the major compound of the essential oil (71.65%).
Guideline of Guidelines: Imaging of Localized Prostate Cancer

In the era before the widespread adoption of PSA screening for prostate cancer, most incident cases were already advanced stage. Because treatment options, such as surgery or radiation, are thought mainly to benefit patients with localised disease, prostate cancer imaging was necessary before treatment of almost all patients. However, in the PSA era >90% of incident cases are localised, making the need for routine imaging with CT, MRI, or bone scan obsolete [1]. Numerous studies show a relatively low rate of positive staging imaging in low- and intermediate-risk patients. Recognising these trends, several professional societies issued prostate cancer imaging guidelines in the mid-1990s in an effort to curb the overuse of imaging. However, despite these longstanding guidelines, a great number of patients undergo improper imaging [2]. Given how stubborn this problem has been to eradicate, there has been a renewed interest in finding ways to decrease unnecessary imaging, including a Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) quality measure and a highlighting of the problem in the ‘Choosing Wisely’ campaign [3–5]. In addition to the guidelines regarding the staging of incident prostate cancer, some groups have also presented guidelines on the use of imaging to follow men with advanced disease [6]. The purpose of the present article is to summarise the main points from multiple professional society guidelines on imaging in prostate cancer to help clarify when patients with prostate cancer should be imaged and with which modalities.
Quantitative expression analysis of the apoptosis-related gene, BCL2L12, in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND BCL2L12 is a recently identified gene belonging to the BCL2 family, members of which are implicated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We have recently shown that BCL2L12 mRNA expression is an unfavorable prognostic indicator in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and that BCL2L12 can be regarded as a novel, useful tissue biomarker for the prediction of NPC patients' short-term relapse. The aim of this study was to analyze the mRNA expression of the novel apoptosis-related gene BCL2L12 in patients with HNSCC. METHODS Total RNA was isolated from 53 malignant tumors originating in larynx, pharynx, tongue, buccal mucosa, parotid glands, and nasal cavity, as well as from 34 adjacent non-cancerous tissue specimens, resected from patients with HNSCC. A highly sensitive real-time PCR method for BCL2L12 mRNA quantification in head and neck tissues was developed using the SYBR(®) Green chemistry. After preparing cDNA by reverse transcription, relative quantification was performed using the comparative C(T) () method. RESULTS BCL2L12 mRNA levels were lower in laryngeal tumors of advanced tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) stage or bigger size and in well-differentiated malignant tongue neoplasms, compared with early-stage laryngeal tumors or poorly differentiated tongue tumors. Interestingly, the BCL2L12 expression showed significant discriminatory value, distinguishing efficiently patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from non-cancerous population. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study examining the BCL2L12 mRNA expression in HNSCC. Our results suggest that BCL2L12 mRNA expression may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker in tongue and/or larynx SCC, which principally constitute the great majority of HNSCC cases worldwide.
Why Jesus and Job spoke bad Welsh : the origin and distribution of V2 orders in Middle Welsh

This thesis covers a wide range of topics from historical to computational and corpus linguistics as well as synchronic and diachronic syntax and information structure. The latest insights in each of these sub-fields of linguistics are necessary to address what has been a vexed problem in the study of Middle Welsh for a long time. Middle Welsh word order is particularly puzzling, because there is a wide range of verb-second patterns and the distribution of those is not at all clear. Secondly, these so-called 'Abnormal Orders' are only found in the Middle Welsh period; Old and Modern Welsh mainly exhibit verb-initial patterns. Verb-second orders are shown to have developed from earlier patterns with hanging topics and focussed cleft constructions by carefully reconstructing their syntactic history in Old Welsh and related Celtic languages. A detailed analysis of a syntactically and pragmatically annotated corpus, built especially for this thesis, reveals that a combination of these features explains which word-order pattern appears in which particular context. From a diachronic syntactic point of view, Middle Welsh shares some crucial developments in the rise of V2 with Early Romance, but it differs in others.
IN PRESS CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE What Mind-Wandering Reveals About Executive-Control Abilities and Failures

People’s minds sometimes wander from their ongoing activities. Although these experiences can be pleasant and useful, they are often unintentional and precipitate mistakes. This article adopts an individual-differences perspective in considering unwanted mind-wandering as indicating both a momentary failure of, and an enduring deficiency in, executive-control functions. We describe research that associates normal variation in working memory capacity (WMC) – a cognitive ability that broadly predicts intellectual capabilities and accomplishments – with off-task thinking. In laboratory and daily-life assessments, people with lower WMC mind-wander more frequently than do those with higher WMC, at least during demanding tasks. Moreover, the error-proneness of lower-WMC subjects seems to arise partly from their vulnerability to mind-wandering. Executive control over thoughts therefore seems to contribute to effective regulation of behavior.
A demonstration of androgen and estrogen receptors in a human breast cancer using a new protamine sulfate assay

Separate receptors for estrogen and androgen are demonstrated in cells from metastic human breast cancer. By criteria of binding affinity, number of binding sites, and specificity of the receptor for different steroids, the receptors are shown to be distinguishable. The protamine sulfate receptor assay technique employed allows both kinds of receptor to be quantified conveniently and reproducibly without interference by plasma steroid‐binding components.