Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dimensions of Psychopathy: A Factor Analytic Study of the MMPI Antisocial Personality Disorder Scale

We reviewed the current models of psychopathy that include both diagnostic systems (DSM-II, DSM-III, DSM-III-R, PCL) and psychometric methods (MCMI-II and MMPI). We focused on the recently developed ANT scale (Morey, Waugh, & Blashfield, 1985) and its importance to the assessment of psychopathy. We conducted two separate principal components analyses on samples of 289 nonforensic and 242 forensic patients. Two factor solutions evidenced moderate correspondence in factor loadings. For the nonforensic sample, the two factors (26.0% of the variance) were delinquency and dishonesty/dissatisfaction. For the forensic sample, the two factors (30.6% of the variance) were delinquency/substance abuse and dishonesty/contumacy. We discussed these findings in terms of larger conceptual issues posed by the DMS-I V revisions and offer recommendations for forensic evaluations.
Inhibition of DNA topoisomerase II alpha gene expression by the p53 tumor suppressor

DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) is an essential nuclear enzyme involved in major cellular functions such as DNA replication, transcription, recombination, and mitosis. While an elevated level of topo II alpha is associated with cell proliferation, wild-type (wt) p53 inhibits the expression of various growth-stimulatory genes. To determine if p53 downregulates topo II alpha gene expression, a murine cell line, (10)1val, that expresses a temperature-sensitive p53 was utilized. The (10)1val cells had significantly lower levels of topo II alpha mRNA and protein following incubation for 24 h at 32 degrees C (p53 with wt conformation) than at 39 degrees C (p53 with mutant conformation). The effect of p53 on the human topo II alpha gene promoter was determined by using luciferase reporter plasmids containing varying lengths of the topo II alpha promoter transiently cotransfected into p53-deficient (10)1 cells together with wt or mutant p53 expression plasmids. Transcription from the full-length (bp -557 to +90) topo II alpha promoter was decreased 15-fold by wt p53 in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas mutant p53 exerted much weaker inhibition. Consecutive deletion of the five inverted CCAAT elements (ICEs) from the topo II alpha promoter reduced both the basal promoter activity and wt p53-induced suppression. Transcription of the minimal promoter (-32 to +90), which contains no ICE, was slightly stimulated by wt or mutant p53 expression. When point mutations were introduced into the most proximal ICE (-68), the inhibitory effect of wt p53 was alleviated and stimulation of topo II alpha expression resulted. Our study suggests that wt p53 functions as a transcriptional repressor of topo II alpha gene expression, possibly through a functional interaction with specific ICEs. Inactivation of wt p53 may reduce normal regulatory suppression of topo II alpha and contribute to abortive cell cycle checkpoints, accelerated cell proliferation, and alterations in genomic stability associated with neoplasia.
Motion estimation in computer vision: optimization on Stiefel manifolds

Motion recovery from image correspondences is typically a problem of optimizing an objective function associated with the epipolar (or Longuet-Higgins) constraint. This objective function is defined on the so called essential manifold. In the paper, the intrinsic Riemannian structure of the essential manifold is thoroughly studied. Based on existing optimization techniques on Riemannian manifolds, in particular on Stiefel manifolds, we propose a Riemannian Newton algorithm to solve the motion recovery problem, making use of the natural geometric structure of the essential manifold. Although only the Newton algorithm is studied in detail, the same ideas also apply to other typical conjugate gradient algorithms. It is shown that the proposed nonlinear algorithms converge very rapidly (with quadratic rate of convergence) as long as the conventional SVD based eight-point linear algorithm has a unique solution. Such Riemannian algorithms have also been applied to the differential (or continuous) case where the velocities are recovered from optical flows.
virK, somA and rcsC are important for systemic Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection and cationic peptide resistance

Salmonella must express and deploy a type III secretion system located in Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI‐2) in order to survive in host phagocytic vacuoles and to cause systemic infection in mouse models of typhoid fever. A genome‐wide approach to screening for Salmonella genes that are transcriptionally co‐regulated in vitro with SPI‐2 genes was used to identify bacterial loci that might function in a mouse model of systemic disease. Strains with mutations in three SPI‐2 co‐expressed genes were constructed and tested for their ability to cause disease in mice. We found that virK , a homologue of a Shigella virulence determinant, and rcsC , a sensor kinase, are important at late stages of infection. A second Salmonella gene that has VirK homology, somA , is also important for systemic infection in mice. We have shown that expression of both virK and somA requires the transcription factor PhoP, whereas rcsC does not. Additionally, rcsC expression does not require the transcription factor OmpR, but expression of one of the known targets of RcsC, the yojN rcsB putative operon, does require OmpR. virK , somA and rcsC are expressed in tissue culture macrophages and confer Salmonella resistance to the cationic peptide polymyxin B. We conclude that virK , somA and rcsC are important for late stages of Salmonella enteric fever, and that they probably contribute to the remodelling of the bacterial outer membrane in response to the host environment.
Power-management strategies for a grid-connected PV-FC hybrid system

Summary form only given. This paper presents a method to operate a grid connected hybrid system. The hybrid system composed of a Photovoltaic (PV) array and a Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is considered. The PV array normally uses a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique to continuously deliver the highest power to the load when variations in irradiation and temperature occur, which make it become an uncontrollable source. In coordination with PEMFC, the hybrid system output power becomes controllable. Two operation modes, the unit-power control (UPC) mode and the feeder-flow control (FFC) mode, can be applied to the hybrid system. The coordination of two control modes, the coordination of the PV array and the PEMFC in the hybrid system, and the determination of reference parameters are presented. The proposed operating strategy with a flexible operation mode change always operates the PV array at maximum output power and the PEMFC in its high efficiency performance band, thus improving the performance of system operation, enhancing system stability, and decreasing the number of operating mode changes.
Compliance and Values Oriented Ethics Programs: Influenceson Employees’ Attitudes and Behavior

Abstract: Previous research has identified multiple approaches to the design and implementation of corporate ethics programs (Paine, 1994; Weaver, Treviño, and Cochran, in press b; Treviño, Weaver, Gibson, and Toffler, in press). This field survey in a large financial services company investigated the relationships of the values and compliance orientations in an ethics program to a diverse set of outcomes. Employees’ perceptions that the company ethics program is oriented toward affirming ethical values were associated with seven outcomes. Perceptions of a compliance orientation were associated with four of these outcomes. The interaction of values and compliance orientations was associated with employees’ willingness to report misconduct. In general, a values orientation makes a greater unique contribution to the measured outcomes when compared to a compliance orientation.
An enhanced conceptual framework to better handle business rules in process oriented applications

With the ubiquity of e-commerce, process oriented websites have increased in complexity associated with the growing volume of transactions and underlying business rules. A single business process involves a careful execution of rules in a specified order. Current conceptual design for such websites consists of a data, hypertext and presentation layer. It is in the hypertext layer where both navigation and functional elements are embedded. The functional elements are in turn rich in business rules that are hidden in the navigation elements. Consequently, there are no clear rule definitions, and thereby leading to erroneous results in websites generated from these models.In this study, we isolate the business rules from the hypertext layer and introduce a new process definition layer to capture these rules. The proposed layer acts as a centralized repository of well-defined rules and applies them against corresponding executable processes. We propose a hybrid model framework that combines WebML, a web modeling language for representing the informational elements, and W3C's Web Services Choreography Description Language (WS-CDL), a platform independent portable language based on XML for representing functional elements that encapsulates the business rules. We construct a sample bargain store case study rich in business rules in order to test the proposed model. In the implementation phase we use the Pi4SOA tool for the realization of the now isolated business rules written in WS-CDL. For each executed business process initiated by an associated scenario file, the process definition layer verifies it against the corresponding rules and returns an appropriate response accordingly. This approach reveals that WS-CDL can successfully be used to implement business rules. Moreover, the proposed hybrid approach enables the separation of business rules from the hypertext layer, and thereby provides an enhanced conceptual framework to better handle process oriented applications.
An Approach to Extending the Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are energy constrained. Every operation, particularly the use of radio, reduces the energy reserves of nodes. The aim of this work is to improve the useful network lifetime of a WSN, which we define as being from the time when the network is activated to the time at which it is no longer able to carry out its assigned task. Routing protocols try to preserve lifetime by being energy-aware or load-balancing. However, these approaches tend to behave noncooperative across multiple sources. We present a heuristic known as node reliance, which indicates the degree to which nodes are relied upon in routing messages from sources to sinks. We hypothesise that by using this heuristic and avoiding nodes of high reliance, the useful network lifetime of the network can be extended.
Working Effectively and Efficiently with Couples

The field of couples therapy suffers from a dearth of empirically supported materials. Anecdotes, conjecture, and hearsay abound. This article discusses several myths and underscores some active ingredients of effective couples counseling. The adjunctive value of bibliotherapy is presented and the interactions among such components as similarity, compatibility, mood, disposition, temperament, and communication are elucidated. Clinical vignettes illustrate and bring to life several crucial issues and principles.
Bovine Genome-wide Association Study for Genetic Elements to Resist the Infection of Foot-and-mouth Disease in the Field

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals and causes severe economic loss and devastating effect on international trade of animal or animal products. Since FMD outbreaks have recently occurred in some Asian countries, it is important to understand the relationship between diverse immunogenomic structures of host animals and the immunity to foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). We performed genome wide association study based on high-density bovine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip for identifying FMD resistant loci in Holstein cattle. Among 624532 SNP after quality control, we found that 11 SNPs on 3 chromosomes (chr17, 22, and 15) were significantly associated with the trait at the p.adjust <0.05 after PERMORY test. Most significantly associated SNPs were located on chromosome 17, around the genes Myosin XVIIIB and Seizure related 6 homolog (mouse)-like, which were associated with lung cancer. Based on the known function of the genes nearby the significant SNPs, the FMD resistant animals might have ability to improve their innate immune response to FMDV infection.
Recursive segmentation based on higher order statistics in thermal imaging pedestrian detection

Automatic pedestrian detection based on thermal imaging is currently performed in two steps. The segmentation step subdivides the image into multiple regions of interest (ROIs) discarding background regions, while the classification step discriminates pedestrians from non pedestrians in each candidate ROI. In this paper a computationally inexpensive new method is proposed for the segmentation step, which recursively subdivides the image into smaller and smaller rectangular ROIs until a candidate pedestrian is identified. ROI boundaries are found on the base of an adaptive threshold updated at each step of the algorithm, while threshold tuning relies on higher order statistics of gray level histograms. Tests performed on OTCBVS database demonstrate significant improvement over a recent literature method in terms of accuracy and efficiency of segmentation.
Insight into the pharmacokinetic behavior of tanshinone IIA in the treatment of Crohn’s disease: comparative data for tanshinone IIA and its two glucuronidated metabolites in normal and recurrent colitis models after oral administration

Abstract 1. Previous reports implied that tanshinone IIA (TSA) may offer potential benefits for Crohn’s disease (CD). However, the detailed pharmacokinetic behavior of TSA in the treatment of colitis remain unclear. Herein, a recurrent trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-colitis mouse model was used to investigate whether TSA possesses favorable pharmacokinetic and colonic distribution profiles to serve as a candidate drug. 2. Although the systemic TSA exposures were low (AUC0–t approximately 330 ng*h/ml) in both the normal and colitis models after oral administration TSA 20 mg/kg, high levels of TSA were found in the gastrointestinal tract (GI). Such a GI exposure of TSA in colitis mice is adequate to exert anti-inflammatory effects as observed in various in vitro studies. 3. Interestingly, colonic TSA exposure in the colitis mouse model was much lower than that in the normal mice, which may be explained by a significant upregulation of colonic UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (Ugt)1a9 expression and a higher plasma concentration of TSA glucuronides in the model mice at 0.5, 1 and 2 h after TSA administration. 4. Together, these results reveal high accumulation at the site of inflammation and minimal systemic concentration of TSA, which are favorable pharmacokinetic behaviors to meet the requirements for CD treatment.
The pragmatics of lexical specificity

Mainstream linguists have now begun to take an interest in the way the formal resources of language are put to use by people in communicative situations. A powerful impulse for this awakening interest came from Grice's paper ‘The logic of conversation’; (1975). Grice's work has begun to he examined, criticized, and developed (see, for example, Wilson, 1975; Kempson, 5975), and prospects are now emerging of a much more satisfying and comprehensive picture of language at work in a communicative setting. The present paper is intended as a contribution to this developing field.
Solid phase radioimmunoassay for typing herpes simplex viral antibodies in human sera

An indirect solid phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed for typing antibody to herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) in human sera. The test is based upon absorption of sera with uninfected, HSV-1-infected cells and testing for residual antibody. The high sensitivity of the RIA method for detecting HSV antibody permits examination of sera at high dilutions, and thus relatively small volumes of virus-infected cells are required for cross-absorption of antibodies. Results obtained in RIA typing of HSV antibodies showed good agreement with those obtained by microneutralization and inhibition of passive hemagglutination. The HSV antibody type(s) determined by RIA also showed good correlation with the virus type isolated from the individual, either from clinical specimens or sensory nerve ganglia. The technique was very sensitive for detection and typing of HSV antibdodies in cerebrospinal fluids. The RIA method was highly suitable for detecting two types of HSV antibody in the same serum specimen, and it was possible to show that a marked, type-specific antibody response to HSV-2 does occur in individuals with a primary HSV-2 infection who have experienced a prior infection with HSV-1.
On agreed actions without agreed notions

In his plea for consensual democracy in Africa, Kwasi Wiredu recommends unanimity about what is to be done, not what ought to be done, or unanimity on action rather than unanimity of values, beliefs and opinion. I caution the use of this procedural instrument by showing that some issues are so value-laden that a group decision cannot be value-neutral. It may sometimes be more productive to entertain value differences to keep them from going underground and becoming dangerous. However, the ability to locate some common interest or ground seems to be crucial for such value confrontation.
The role of models of language processing in rehabilitation of language impairments

Abstract The results of treatment for acquired dyslexia in a patient, P.S. , are presented, cognitive analysis of the patient's performance provides evidence for proposing relatively selective impairments within the reading process to the orthographic input lexicon and to one or more components of sublexical processes for converting print to sound. Results of several contrasting treatment programmes for his deficits are reported, along with results of the same treatment approaches for patients with the same «diagnosis» (i.e. proposed locus of impairment in the cognitive processes underlying reading) or with different «diagnoses». The results illustrate that the relationship between the «diagnosis» and successful treatment is not simple. Rather, the reported results indicate the following departures from a 1:1 relationship between the locus of damage and the effective intervention: (1) contrasting treatment approaches can be equally appropriate for a given locus of damage, but the approaches may affect diff.
Assessment of the autonomic control of heart rate variability in healthy and spinal-cord injured subjects: contribution of different complexity-based estimators

We investigated how complexity-based estimators of heart rate variability can detect changes in cardiovascular autonomic drive with respect to traditional measures of variability. This was done by analyzing healthy subjects and paraplegic patients with different autonomic impairment due to low (vascular impairment only) or high (cardiac and vascular impairment) spinal cord injury, during progressive autonomic activations. While traditional techniques only quantified the effects of the autonomic activation, not distinguishing the effects of the lesion level, some recently proposed complexity estimators could also reveal the pathologic alterations in the autonomic control of heart rate. These estimators included the detrended fluctuation analysis coefficient (sensitive to both low and high autonomic lesions), sample entropy (sensitive to low-level lesions) and the largest Lyapunov exponent (sensitive to high-level lesions). Thus complexity-based methods provide information on the autonomic function from the heart rate dynamics that cannot be obtained by traditional techniques. This finding supports the combined use of both complexity-based and traditional methods to investigate the autonomic cardiovascular control from a more comprehensive perspective.
Nonlinear virtual flux oriented control for sensorless active filters

This paper presents the development of a control strategy for active filters, without measuring of grid voltages and load currents. The strategy uses the virtual flux to obtain the grid synchronization angle. The input currents are transformed and controlled in the synchronous coordinate system, allowing operation with high power factor. The converter model is nonlinear and multivariable, thus, the technique of feedback linearization to design compensators is used. Experimental results obtained in the laboratory from a prototype converter are presented in order to validate the proposed control, covering the analysis of stationary and transient responses.
The role of a single nucleotide polymorphism of MDM2 in glioblastoma multiforme.

OBJECT Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor in adults, with a 5-year survival rate of < 5%. Aberrant function of TP53 is common in GBM. Although mutational inactivation of p53 is found in many cases, there remain tumors in which genetic alterations of p53 are absent. Negative regulators of the TP53 pathway such as MDM2, which directly inhibits TP53 expression and activity, may influence the pathogenesis of GBM. To understand its potential function in gliomagenesis, the authors analyzed a novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the MDM2 promoter that enhances MDM2 expression. METHODS The investigators isolated DNA from 98 patients with GBM and 102 healthy, cancer-free controls. A polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed to determine the MDM2 SNP309 genotype by using distinct primer pairs for the wild-type (T) and mutant (G) alleles. RESULTS The frequency of the mutant MDM2 polymorphism was found to be higher (p = 0.0092) in patients with GBM (54.6%) compared with healthy controls (41.2%); the TT and GG genotypes were more common in healthy controls and patients with GBM (p = 0.0004 and p = 0.02, respectively). Although there was no association between the MDM2 SNP309 and overall survival, the GG genotype was associated with development of GBM at a younger age in patients with tumors harboring wild-type p53, which may mitigate the effect of the MDM2 SNP. CONCLUSIONS Although the MDM2 SNP309 does not portend decreased survival, the increased incidence of the mutant G allele in patients with GBM and its influence on age of onset suggest a potential role in the molecular pathogenesis of GBM, and may be a therapeutic target.