Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automation of analysis of cardiovascular autonomic function from chronic measurements of arterial pressure in conscious rats

At present, there is no single software package that provides a comprehensive power spectral analysis of pulse interval (PI) and arterial blood pressure (BP), spontaneous cardiac baroreceptor reflex gain (sBRG) and respiratory rate. Furthermore, scientific validation of the software that is currently commercially available and employed has not been published. We introduce ‘Hey‐Presto’ software, which fully evaluates cardiovascular autonomic function from the BP signal obtained from rats. The program performs power spectral analysis of HR and BP variability, respiratory rate and, based on a time‐series method, spontaneous cardiac baroreceptor (sBRG). We have validated Hey‐Presto with conventional pharmacological agents to block cardiac vagal and cardiac sympathetic transmission in conscious rats fitted with a radio‐telemetery BP transducer. Following administration of atropine (1 mg kg−1, i.v.), high‐frequency (HF) power of the PI decreased (P < 0.01) and was associated with the expected increase in HR. Subsequent cardiac sympathetic blockade (atenolol, 1 mg kg−1, i.v.) reduced the low frequency (LF) to HF ratio (LF:HF) of the PI (P < 0.01), which was consistent with the observed reduction in HR. We also found that alterations in sBRG after blockade of cardiac autonomic transmission were highly comparable to values computed manually using vasoactive drugs administered intravenously. The software also detected circadian rhythms in sBRG, HF component of the PI, LF:HF of the PI and LF component of the BP as well as BP and HR during continuous 24 h recording. By demonstrating its application to humans, we found appropriate changes in the power of PI and the LF power of the BP during postural changes. These results demonstrate that Hey‐Presto allows a fully automated, reliable, fast and comprehensive evaluation of cardiovascular autonomic function based on chronic measurements of BP in rats. Moreover, we have confirmed its versatility by demonstrating its application to man.
A neural basis for inference in perceptual ambiguity

When looking at ambiguous visual stimuli, the observer experiences frequent spontaneous transitions between two competing percepts while physical stimulation remains unchanged. Despite recent advances in understanding the neural processes underlying such perceptual rivalry, a key question has remained unresolved: Does perceptual rivalry result merely from local bistability of neural activity patterns in sensory stimulus representations, or do higher-order areas play a causal role by shifting inference and, thus, initiating perceptual changes? We used functional MRI to measure brain activity while human observers reported successive spontaneous changes in perceived direction for an ambiguous apparent motion stimulus. In a control condition, the individual sequences of spontaneous perceptual switches during bistability were replayed by using a disambiguated version of the stimulus. Greater activations during spontaneous compared with stimulus-driven switches were observed in inferior frontal cortex bilaterally. Subsequent chronometric analyses of event-related signal time courses showed that, relative to activations in motion-sensitive extrastriate visual cortex, right inferior frontal cortex activation occurred earlier during spontaneous than during stimulus-driven perceptual changes. The temporal precedence of right inferior frontal activations suggests that this region participates in initiating spontaneous switches in perception during constant physical stimulation. Our findings can thus be seen as a signature of when and where the brain “makes up its mind” about competing perceptual interpretations of a given sensory input pattern.
An Environment for Word Prominence Classification in Slovenian Language

Besides phrasing, prominence is one of the most important parameters of speech prosody to model. The so called data driven approaches nowadays seem to be the appropriate solution for prosody modeling in current text to speech (TTS) systems. They allow prosodic regularities to be automatically extracted from a prosodic database of natural speech. In this paper we’ll present an evaluation of suitability for automatic word prominence classification of Slovenian language with a hierarchical approach. We classified the prominence of words into two groups, characterized by pitch movements (pitch accent) and stress (stress accent). Pitch movements have been detected from the interpolated syllable pitch contour, while syllable stress was classified from the quantity of energy in the high band of vowel spectra. We’ll also present an examination of the correlation between the hand labeled prominent words and the extracted prosody features of the mentioned two classes.
Explaining Behavior in the "11-20" Game

We investigate whether subjects’ behavior in the Arad and Rubinstein (2012) "11-20" game could be well explained by the k-level process described by the authors. We replicated their game in our baseline experiment and provided two other variations that retained the same mixed-strategy equilibrium but resulted in different predicted behavior by the k-level process. Our experiments results suggest that k-level process leads to inconsistent predictions. In contrast to the standard k-level process as in Arad and Rubinstein, we allow players to best respond stochastically in our "SK" model and compared the model’s statistical fit against the Quantal Response Equilibrium and Cognitive Hierarchy Model. The SK model and Cognitive Model were able to outperform the QRE in a statistical sense and performed as well as each other. In addition, the Cognitive Hierarchy and to lesser extend the SK model, demonstrate consistent estimates. Our findings suggest that the behavioral assumptions of Arad and Rubinstein k-level process does not fully explain behavior in the "11-20" and better explanations could be obtained when one allows for stochastic best responds as in the SK and Cognitive Hierarchy Models.
Network structure, Stakeholders' behavior and generation of risks in CoPS innovation

Deep into behavior level is the new trend of Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) research. This paper takes the first attempt to introduce the perspective of stakeholders' behavior to CoPS innovation risk formation mechanism analysis, constructing the logic chain of risk formation mechanism of “network structure-stakeholders' behavior-CoPS innovation risk” and expanding it in a dynamic process. Subsequently, this mechanism was refined into three theses to be tested yet. Finally, the future research of the formation mechanism of CoPS innovation risk is discussed from a behavior perspective.
Congruence of circular cylinders on three given points

A method to determine the two parameter set of circular cylinders, whose surfaces contain three given points, is presented in the context of an efficient algorithm, based on the set of two parameter projections of the points onto planar sections, to compute radius and a point where the axes intersect the plane of the given points. The geometry of the surface of points, whose position vectors represent cylinder radius, r, and axial orientation, is revealed and described in terms of symmetry and singularity inherent in the triangle with vertices on the given points. This strongly suggests that, given one constraint on the axial orientation of the cylinder, there are up to six cylinders of identical radius on the three given points. A bivariate function, in two of the three line direction Plücker coordinates, is derived to prove this. By specifying r and an axis direction, say, perpendicular to a given direction, one obtains a sixth order univariate polynomial in one of the line coordinates which yields six axis directions. These ideas are needed in the design of parallel manipulators
Propensity to Trust and the Impact on Social Exchange

This study investigated the influence of individuals' propensity to trust on the relationship between supervisors and their subordinates. Specifically, the authors tested both the direct and interactional effects of supervisors' and employees' propensity to trust and perceptions of social exchange quality. Results indicated that managerial propensity to trust did not have a direct influence on perceptions of social exchange, but employees' propensity to trust was positively related to their perceived social exchange quality. Additionally, the interaction between managerial and employee propensity to trust indicated that the most positive exchange relationships were perceived to exist when both managers and employees were high in propensity to trust.
Identifying prognostic factors for survival in advanced cancer patients: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE To identify potential prognostic factors affecting the survival in patients with advanced cancer in a local palliative care unit. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Palliative Care Unit of a regional hospital in Hong Kong. PATIENTS All advanced cancer in-patients and out-patients who were enrolled into the palliative care service of the United Christian Hospital between January and December 2002 were recruited. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Potential prognostic factors including demographic data, tumour characteristics, blood parameters, functional status, co-morbidities, total symptom score, and psychosocial parameters were recorded upon enrollment. RESULTS A total of 170 patients were eligible for analysis; their mean age was 69 (standard deviation, 12) years, of which 106 (62%) were male. Overall median survival was 77 (interquartile range, 31-160) days. The most frequent primary malignancy was lung (n=58, 34%), followed by liver (n= 24, 14%) and lower gastro-intestinal tract (n=24, 14%). By univariate analysis, 11 factors affected survival, including: age (P=0.040), number of metastatic sites involved (P=0.001), peritoneal metastases (P=0.009), skin metastases (P=0.011), tachycardia (P=0.009), serum albumin concentration (P<0.001), white cell count (P=0.002), Karnofsky Performance Status score (P<0.001), Hamilton Depression Scale score (P=0.004), Edmonton Symptom Assessment System score (P=0.003), and McGill Quality of Life (Hong Kong)-single item score (P=0.002). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that only age (hazard ratio=0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.73-0.96), number of metastatic sites involved (1.33; 1.13-1.56), serum albumin concentration (0.95; 0.92-0.98), Karnofsky Performance Status score (0.86; 0.78-0.96), and Edmonton Symptom Assessment System score (1.22; 1.05-1.41) were independent prognosticators. CONCLUSION Age, number of involved metastatic sites, serum albumin, Karnofsky Performance Scale score, and Edmonton Symptom Assessment System score were independent prognosticators. Further studies are needed to provide a prognostic instrument applicable in local clinical settings.
A Revisit of the Integration of Metamorphic Testing and Test Suite Based Automated Program Repair

The technique of metamorphic testing (MT) has been integrated with test suite based automated program repair (APR) to alleviate the test oracle problem of APR. The proposed integration yields APR-MT techniques, which can be applied regardless of the existence of a test oracle. In a previous study, the feasibility and effectiveness of the APR-MT technique have been demonstrated via GenProg-MT, an integration of MT and the APR technique GenProg. This paper aims to complement our previous study to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of APR-MT across different categories of APR techniques. We present the integration of MT with CETI, an APR technique belonging to a different category to GenProg, and conductexperimental analysis on the integrated technique CETI-MT, showing that CETI-MT is comparable to CETI in terms of the repair effectiveness. These results not only demonstrate the feasibility of integrating MT with different categories of APR techniques, but also consolidate the effectiveness of APR-MT techniques, hence increasing the practical benefits of APR-MT techniques.
An Evolutionary-based Real-time Updating Technique for an Operational Rainfall-Runoff Forecasting Model

Error-correction is widely known to be one of the effective methods of real-time updating and tends to be the easiest method to implement and cou ple with existing simulation models. Methods such a s autoregressive (AR) or autoregressive integrated mo ving average (ARIMA) have been widely used but the main disadvantage of such approaches is the prior a ssumption of the form of error correlation. Genetic programming (GP), a relatively new evolutionary-bas ed technique, can be used to generate a suitable expression linking the observations, simulation mod el results and the error in the simulation for the purpose of error correction. In this study, GP functions as n error correction scheme to complement runoff forecasting model used by the UK Environment Agency (Southwest region) known as WRIP. WRIP is a transfer function-based operational forecasting sof tware which uses radar rainfall as input. The propo sed method is tested on a flashy catchment in Devon, UK . Hourly runoff forecasts of different updating int ervals are performed for forecast horizons of up to six ho urs. The results show that the proposed updating sc heme is able to forecast the runoff quite accurately for al l updating intervals considered and particularly fo r those updating intervals not exceeding the time of concen tration of the catchment. These results formed part of an ongoing feasibility studies by the UK Environment A gency and the proposed method will be tested on oth er catchments in the future.
Identification of NOG as a Specific Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis-supporting Gene*♦

Background: NOG gene is required for accumulation of mature osteoclasts and proper skeletal development. Results: NOG mediates breast cancer metastatic bone colonization by osteoclast differentiation and self-renewal metastatic properties. Conclusion: Expression of NOG in breast metastatic cancer cells provides them with bone colonization capabilities. Significance: The interplay of bone microenvironment and cancer cell autonomous functions define the selection of genes that lead to bone metastasis development. Metastasis requires numerous biological functions that jointly provide tumor cells from a primary site to seed and colonize a distant organ. Some of these activities are selected for in the primary site, whereas others are acquired at the metastatic niche. We provide molecular evidence showing that the BMP inhibitor, NOG, provides metastatic breast cancer cells with the ability to colonize the bone. NOG expression is acquired during the late events of metastasis, once cells have departed from the primary site, because it is not enriched in primary tumors with high risk of bone relapse. On the contrary, breast cancer bone metastatic lesions do select for high levels of NOG expression when compared with metastasis to the lung, liver, and brain. Pivotal to the bone colonization functions is the contribution of NOG to metastatic autonomous and nonautonomous cell functions. Using genetic approaches, we show that when NOG is expressed in human breast cancer cells, it facilitates bone colonization by fostering osteoclast differentiation and bone degradation and also contributes to metastatic lesions reinitiation. These findings reveal how aggressive cancer cell autonomous and nonautonomous functions can be mechanistically coupled to greater bone metastatic potential.
Fabrication and Analysis of a MEMS NIR Fabry–Pérot Interferometer

We report the design and fabrication of a tunable MEMS Fabry-Pérot étalon for use in microscale spectroscopic applications. The reflective elements of the interferometer are dielectric mirror stacks optimized for 1500-nm light and the tunability arises via capacitive attraction of a translatable mirror on a spring. The mirror reflectivity was measured to be 97.3%, corresponding to a calculated finesse of 115, while the measured linewidth and FSR are 70 cm-1 and 334 cm-1, respectively, corresponding to a measured finesse of 5.
The language of labor export in political discourse: “modern-day heroism” and constructions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)

This article argues that the bagong bayani (new hero) representation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) justifies labor export. Specifically, it seeks to account for the manner in which such a discursive label was shaped by political discourse surrounding the much publicized case of Flor Contemplacion, a domestic helper hanged for double murder in Singapore in 1995. Using textual analysis of Senate hearings and news reports, this paper shows that shared discursive themes found in the texts resonate with the heroic discourse of migrants. These themes are likewise argued to be inter-discursively linked with gendered and globalized discourses in society. Overall, the findings indicate that the heroic discourse and its linguistic elements downplay the state's fundamental role as a labor exporter and the contradictions associated with state sponsorship of overseas migration.
Speciation genomics and a role for the Z chromosome in the early stages of divergence between Mexican ducks and mallards

Speciation is a continuous and dynamic process, and studying organisms during the early stages of this process can aid in identifying speciation mechanisms. The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Mexican duck (A. [p.] diazi) are two recently diverged taxa with a history of hybridization and controversial taxonomy. To understand their evolutionary history, we conducted genomic scans to characterize patterns of genetic diversity and divergence across the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region, 3523 autosomal loci and 172 Z‐linked sex chromosome loci. Between the two taxa, Z‐linked loci (ΦST = 0.088) were 5.2 times more differentiated than autosomal DNA (ΦST = 0.017) but comparable to mtDNA (ΦST = 0.092). This elevated Z differentiation deviated from neutral expectations inferred from simulated data that incorporated demographic history and differences in effective population sizes between marker types. Furthermore, 3% of Z‐linked loci, compared to <0.1% of autosomal loci, were detected as outlier loci under divergent selection with elevated relative (ΦST) and absolute (dXY) estimates of divergence. In contrast, the ratio of Z‐linked and autosomal differentiation among the seven Mexican duck sampling locations was close to 1:1 (ΦST = 0.018 for both markers). We conclude that between mallards and Mexican ducks, divergence at autosomal markers is largely neutral, whereas greater divergence on the Z chromosome (or some portions thereof) is likely the product of selection that has been important in speciation. Our results contribute to a growing body of literature indicating elevated divergence on the Z chromosome and its likely importance in avian speciation.
The Syntactic Regularity of English Noun Phrases

Approximately, 10,000 naturally occurring noun phrases taken from the LOB corpus were used firstly, to evaluate the NP component of the Alvey ANLT grammar (Grover et al., 1987, 1989) and secondly, to retest Sampson's (1987a) claim that this data provide evidence for the lack of a clear-cut distinction between grammatical and 'deviant' examples. The examples were sorted and classified on the basis of the lexical and syntactic analysis undertaken as part of the LOB corpus project (Sampson, 1987b). Tokens of each resulting type were parsed using the ANLT grammar and the results analysed to determine the success rate of the parses and the generality of the rules employed.
Cross-metathesis–based approaches to heteroaromatics: Combining catalysts for furan formation

Ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM) is an effective method for the formation of cyclic alkenes (1). Recently, the aromatization of RCM products has emerged as a topic of intensive investigation (2). In this context, a variety of regiocontrolled protocols have been developed for the synthesis of diverse heteroaromatic compounds, such as pyridines, pyridazines, pyrroles, quinolines, and furans (2). In all reported approaches, a key strategic consideration relates to the requirement of intermolecular fragment union in advance of the key RCM event. Strategies based on the use of intermolecular alkene metathesis, termed cross-metathesis, would potentially streamline access to aromatic structures by uniting the key steps of fragment coupling and alkene formation. However, the use of cross-metathesis in the synthesis of aromatic heterocycles is prohibited by the fact that trans-alkene products predominate (3, 4), which are unsuitable for cycloaromatization. A report by Donohoe and Bower (3) in this issue of …
Characterization of a TFIIH homologue from Trypanosoma brucei

Trypanosomes are protozoans showing unique transcription characteristics. We describe in Trypanosoma brucei a complex homologous to TFIIH, a multisubunit transcription factor involved in the control of transcription by RNA Pol I and RNA Pol II, but also in DNA repair and cell cycle control. Bioinformatics analyses allowed the detection of five genes encoding four putative core TFIIH subunits (TbXPD, TbXPB, Tbp44, Tbp52), including a novel XPB variant, TbXPBz. In all cases sequences known to be important for TFIIH functions were conserved. We performed a molecular analysis of this core complex, focusing on the two subunits endowed with a known enzymatic (helicase) activity, XPD and XPB. The involvement of these T. brucei proteins in a bona fide TFIIH core complex was supported by (i) colocalization by immunofluorescence in the nucleus, (ii) direct physical interaction of TbXPD and its interacting regulatory subunit Tbp44 as determined by double‐hybrid assay and tandem affinity purification of the core TFIIH, (iii) involvement of the core proteins in a high molecular weight complex and (iv) occurrence of transcription, cell cycle and DNA repair phenotypes upon either RNAi knock‐down or overexpression of essential subunits.
Children's Life Transition Following Sexual Abuse

&NA; The life transition of children 6 to 13 years old was studied for 1 to 3 years following sexual abuse. Data included transcripts from in‐depth interviews about the children's daily living experiences and drawings were analyzed using the ADOPT analysis procedure. Implications for nursing include the use of drawings as a research technique and the effectiveness of strategies used by participants to manage the aftermath of the trauma.
Making Japanese Citizens: Civil Society and the Mythology of the Shimin in Postwar Japan

Simon Andrew Avenell, Berkeley, University of California Press, 2010, viii +333 pp., index, $60.00, ISBN 978-0-520-26270-6 (hardback);, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-520-26271-3 (paperback) Making Japanese Ci.