Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of language use on lexical processing in bilinguals

ABSTRACT Bilingualism has been associated with slower lexical processing in both languages, but it remains unclear to what extent this effect may be modulated by language use. We compared older English monolinguals with two groups of older bilinguals on lexical processing tasks. Both acquired English and Gaelic during childhood, but while active bilinguals continued to use both languages, inactive bilinguals mostly used English. All three groups showed similar accuracy in English. However, in reaction times, active but not inactive bilinguals were slower than monolinguals. We conclude that language use can modulate effects of bilingualism on lexical tasks.
Topical delivery of plasmid DNA using biphasic lipid vesicles (Biphasix)

The development of non‐invasive methods for the delivery of vaccines through the skin will greatly improve the safety and the administration of human and veterinary vaccines. In this study we examined the efficiency of topical delivery of plasmids by assessing the localization of gene expression using luciferase as a reporter gene and induction of immune responses using a plasmid encoding for the bovine herpesvirus type‐1 glycoprotein D (pgD). Topical administration of plasmids in a lipid‐based delivery system (biphasic lipid vesicles – Biphasix) resulted in gene expression in the lymph node, whereas with intradermal injection, antigen expression was found in the skin. Following administration of plasmid with the gene gun, antigen expression was observed in both the skin as well as in the draining lymph nodes. Transcutaneous immunization with pgD formulated in biphasic lipid vesicles elicited gD‐specific antibody responses and a Th2‐type cellular response. In contrast, immunization by the intradermal route resulted in the stimulation of a Th1‐type response. These findings have implications for both vaccine design and tailoring of specific immune responses.
Using SPIN to Check Nondeterministic Simulink Stateflow Models

In this paper, we consider model checking of nondeterministic finite state machine. Such a machine can be specified as a Simulink Stateflow model, but cannot be directly checked for properties such as reach ability. We present tool chains that use SPIN for checking Markov state machines given as Simulink state flow models. Existing tools and languages as well as new tools introduced here are used in this work. Experimental results comparing our approach to a Prism2PROMELA tool are resented and demonstrate that our approach is more efficient. We also show how a three-valued abstraction can be used to further improve checking efficiency.
Increased Acute Inflammation, Leukotriene B4-Induced Chemotaxis, and Signaling in Mice Deficient for G Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase 6

Directed migration of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) is required for adequate host defense against invading organisms and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is one of the most potent PMN chemoattractants. LTB4 exerts its action via binding to BLT1, a G protein-coupled receptor. G protein-coupled receptors are phosphorylated by G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRK) in an agonist-dependent manner, resulting in receptor desensitization. Recently, it has been shown that the human BLT1 is a substrate for GRK6. To investigate the physiological importance of GRK6 for inflammation and LTB4 signaling in PMN, we used GRK6-deficient mice. The acute inflammatory response (ear swelling and influx of PMN into the ear) after topical application of arachidonic acid was significantly increased in GRK6−/− mice. In vitro, GRK6−/− PMN showed increased chemokinetic and chemotactic responses to LTB4. GRK6−/− PMN respond to LTB4 with a prolonged increase in intracellular calcium and prolonged actin polymerization, suggesting impaired LTB4 receptor desensitization in the absence of GRK6. However, pre-exposure to LTB4 renders both GRK6−/− as well as wild-type PMN refractory to restimulation with LTB4, indicating that the presence of GRK6 is not required for this process to occur. In conclusion, GRK6 deficiency leads to prolonged BLT1 signaling and increased neutrophil migration.
A Routing Metric for Load-Balancing in Wireless Mesh Networks

This paper proposes a routing metric known as weighted cumulative expected transmission time with load balancing (WCETT-LB) for wireless mesh net works. WCETTT-LB enhances the basic Weighted Cumulative Expected Transmission Time (WCETT) by incorporating load balancing into the routing metric. Unlike other existing schemes proposed for load balancing for wireless mesh networks, WCETT-LB implements load balancing at mesh routers. WCETT-LB provides a congestion aware routing and traffic splitting mechanism to achieve global load balancing in the network. The preliminary qualitative and quantitative analyses show the significance of the proposed scheme.
CO2nfession: engaging with values through urban conversations

It has been suggested that future directions of HCI would need to place human values at its core. One approach towards this complex endeavor is to build an understanding of these values through examining systems designed to address them. This paper focuses on an urban installation---CO2nfession/CO2mmitment---that deals with one such (societal) value: environmental sustainability. Designed to solicit personal opinions about climate change, we found the 'confessional' aspect of the installation encouraged strong reflexivity amongst 'users' with regards to this value and precipitated personal considerations about future actions. More importantly this reflexivity exposes people's lived and felt experiences about this societal value, unearthing their ambivalences, hindrances but also motivations. This installation highlights an alternate approach that can complement current efforts without taking a 'big stick' approach. Instead, urban media technologies can be harnessed to engage people with this value on their own terms, through encouraging conversations and supporting reflexivity.
Tonic vasomotor control by the rostral ventrolateral medulla: effect of electrical or chemical stimulation of the area containing C1 adrenaline neurons on arterial pressure, heart rate, and plasma catecholamines and vasopressin

We have studied the responses to electrical and chemical stimulation of the ventrolateral medulla in the chloralose-anesthetized, paralyzed, artificially ventilated rat. Locations of most active pressor responses were compared to regions containing neurons labeled immunocytochemically for phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT), the enzyme catalyzing the synthesis of adrenaline. Elevations of arterial pressure (+81.6 +/- 2.5 mm Hg) and cardioacceleration (+73 +/- 13.6 bpm) were elicited with low current (5 times threshold of 9.5 +/- 1.1 microA) electrical stimulation in a region of rostral ventrolateral medullary reticular formation we have termed the nucleus reticularis rostroventrolateralis (RVL). Electrical stimulation of the RVL increased plasma catecholamines (16.8-fold for adrenaline, 5.3-fold for noradrenaline, and 1.9-fold for dopamine) and vasopressin (1.7-fold before spinal transection, 4.7-fold after). The location of the most active pressor region in the ventrolateral medulla corresponded closely with the location of C1 adrenaline-synthesizing (PNMT-containing) neurons. In addition, the location of the most active pressor region in the dorsomedial medulla corresponded with the location of a bundle of PNMT-containing axons. Unilateral injections into the RVL of the excitatory amino acid monosodium L-glutamate (50 pmol to 10 nmol), but not saline, caused transient dose-dependent and topographically specific elevations (maximum +71.6 +/- 4.9 mm Hg) of arterial blood pressure and tachycardia. Injections of the rigid structural analogue of glutamate, kainic acid, caused large, prolonged (at least 15 min) pressor responses and tachycardia. Unilateral injections of the inhibitory amino acid gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) into the RVL caused transient dose-dependent hypotension (maximum -40.8 +/- 6.6 mm Hg) and bradycardia, whereas the specific GABA antagonist bicuculline caused prolonged (10 to 20 min) elevations (+64.2 +/- 6.8 mm Hg) of arterial pressure and tachycardia. By contrast, injections of the glycine antagonist strychnine had no significant effect. Bilateral injections of the neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin, dropped arterial pressure to low levels (51.7 +/- 4.7) not changed by subsequent spinal cord transection at the first cervical segment (52.5 +/- 6.2). We propose the following. (1) Neurons within the RVL, most probably C1 adrenaline- synthesizing neurons, exert an excitatory influence on sympathetic vasomotor fibers, the adrenal medulla, and the posterior pituitary. (2) These neurons are tonically active and under tonic inhibitory control, in part via GABAergic mechanisms--perhaps via the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Reproducibility of different methods to measure the endothelial function

This study compares the reliability and reproducibility of flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) to assess endothelial function. Eighteen volunteers with coronary heart disease underwent simultaneous testing of FMD by means of brachial artery ultrasound scanning and PAT with the EndoPAT 2000. The subjects underwent both tests twice with an interval of 30 minutes and the same protocol was repeated 2 days later. The within-day variability was lower for the FMD measurements than for the PAT measurements (10% versus 18%; p < 0.05). The between-day variability was similar (11%). A significant correlation was found between PAT and FMD (r = 0.57, p < 0.001). The typical errors of measurements for FMD were lower than those for PAT. In conclusion, in this study, FMD demonstrated the best reliability for the within- and between-day and separate day measurements when compared to PAT.
A Comprehensive Instruction Fetch Mechanism For A Processor Supporting Speculative Execution

A superscalar processor supporting speculative execution requires an instruction fetch mechanism that can provide instruction fetch addresses as nearly correct as possible and as soon as possible in order to reduce the likelihood of throwing away speculative work. In this paper we propose a comprehensive instruction fetch mechanism to satisfy that need. Implementation issues are identified, possible solutions and designs for resolving those issues are simulated, and the results of these simulations are presented. A metric for measuring the average penalty of executing a branch instruction is introduced and used to evaluate the performance of our instruction fetch mechanism. We achieve an average performance of 1.19 IPC on the original SPEC benchmarks in a machine which can execute five instructions ideally by using the proposed mechanism.
Sensory Protection of Rat Muscle Spindles following Peripheral Nerve Injury and Reinnervation

Background: Skeletal muscle structure and function are dependent on intact innervation. Prolonged muscle denervation results in irreversible muscle fiber atrophy, connective tissue hyperplasia, and deterioration of muscle spindles, specialized sensory receptors necessary for proper skeletal muscle function. The protective effect of temporary sensory innervation on denervated muscle, before motor nerve repair, has been shown in the rat. Sensory-protected muscles exhibit less fiber atrophy and connective tissue hyperplasia and maintain greater functional capacity than denervated muscles. The purpose of this study was to determine whether temporary sensory innervation also protects muscle spindles from degeneration. Methods: Rat tibial nerve was transected and repaired with either the saphenous or the original transected nerve. Negative controls remained denervated. After 3 to 6 months, the electrophysiologic response of the nerve to stretch in the rat gastrocnemius muscle was measured (n = 3 per group). After the animals were euthanized, the gastrocnemius muscle was removed, sectioned, stained, and examined for spindle number (n = 3 per group) and morphology (one rat per group). Immunohistochemical assessment of muscle spindle innervation was examined in four additional animals. Results: Significant deterioration of muscle spindles was seen in denervated muscle, whereas in muscle reinnervated with the tibial or the saphenous nerve, spindle number and morphology were improved. Histologic and functional evidence of spindle reinnervation by the sensory nerve was obtained. Conclusion: These findings add to the known means by which motor or sensory nerves exert protective effects on denervated muscle, and further promote the use of sensory protection for improving the outcome after peripheral nerve injury.
On the displacement of fluid bridges from solid surfaces in viscous pressure-driven flows

The yield conditions for the displacement of three-dimensional fluid bridges from solid boundaries are studied in pressure-driven Stokes flows. The study seeks the optimal shape of the contact line that yields the maximum flow rate for which a fluid bridge can adhere to the surfaces. The contact line contours show fore-and-aft asymmetry with a distorted shape not well represented by simple circular/elliptical planforms. The critical shear rate is shown to be sensitive to viscosity ratio; as the viscosity of the bridge increases, the critical shear rate decreases facilitating the displacement. The effects of the contact angles are found to be similar for both viscous and inviscid bridges, in direct contrast with our earlier results for drop displacement from a single substrate. The critical flow rate is strongly affected by the plate spacing; bridges with moderate height are shown to withstand the highest flow rate. This behavior is readily explained employing scaling analysis.
Protein Antioxidant Response to the Stress and the Relationship between Molecular Structure and Antioxidant Function

Background Proteins have long been considered a principal target for oxidants as a result of their abundance in biological systems. However, there is increasing evidence about the significant antioxidant activity in proteins such as albumin. It is leading to new concepts that even consider albumin not only as an antioxidant but as the major antioxidant in plasma known to be exposed to continuous oxidative stress. Evidence presented here establishes a previously unrecognized relationship between proteins' antioxidant capacity and structural stress. Methodology/Principal Findings A chemiluminiscence based antioxidant assay was achieved to quantify the antioxidant capacity of albumin and other proteins. The capabilities of proteins as antioxidants were presented, but in addition a new and powerful component of the protein antioxidant capacity was discovered. The intrinsic component, designated as Response Surplus (RS), represents a silent reserve of antioxidant power that awakens when proteins face a structural perturbation (stressor) such as temperature, short wave UV light, the same reactive oxygen species, and more extreme changes like glucose or aldehyde-mediated structural modifications. The work also highlights the importance of structural changes in protein antioxidant properties and the participation of sulfhydryl groups (SHs) in the RS antioxidant component. Based on recent evidence about the SH group chemistry, a possible model for explaining RS is proposed. Conclusions/Significance The data presented show the significant antioxidant behavior of proteins and demonstrate the existence of a previously unrecognized antioxidant response to the stress. Several implications, including changes in elementary concepts about antioxidants and protein function, should emerge from here.
Prepositional Attachment Disambiguation Using Bilingual Parsing and Alignments

In this paper, we attempt to solve the problem of Prepositional Phrase (PP) attachments in English. The motivation for the work comes from NLP applications like Machine Translation, for which, getting the correct attachment of prepositions is very crucial. The idea is to correct the PP-attachments for a sentence with the help of alignments from parallel data in another language. The novelty of our work lies in the formulation of the problem into a dual decomposition based algorithm that enforces agreement between the parse trees from two languages as a constraint. Experiments were performed on the English-Hindi language pair and the performance improved by 10% over the baseline, where the baseline is the attachment predicted by the MSTParser model trained for English.
Microscopic imaging of cerebral blood flow with optical coherence tomography

This presentation will introduce three techniques that we have recently developed for microscopic imaging of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in both large vessels and capillaries. The techniques are based on optical coherence tomography (OCT). First, we integrated OCT with dynamic light scattering analysis, enabling us to measure both axial and transverse velocities at every voxel of OCT. Meanwhile, as red blood cells (RBCs) flow one by one in capillaries, the traditional decorrelation-based methods may not be suitable for quantifying the RBC flow properties of capillaries. Here, we developed another technique based on the finding that individual RBC passage can be captured in the OCT intensity signal time course. This technique enabled volumetric estimation of capillary RBC speed, flux, and density. Finally, we developed the third technique for rapid volumetric imaging of RBC flux over a capillary network, with a high temporal resolution of ~1 s that is essential for tracing fast hemodynamic responses.
Energy-aware hierarchical scheduling of applications in large scale data centers

With the rapid advance of cloud computing, large scale data center plays a key role in cloud computing. Energy consumption of such distributed systems has become a prominent problem and received much attention. Among existing energy-saving methods, application scheduling can reduce energy consumption by replacing and consolidating applications to decrease the number of running servers. However, most application scheduling approaches did not consider the energy cost on network devices, which is also a big portion of power consumption in large data centers. In this paper we propose a Hierarchical Scheduling Algorithm for applications, namely HSA, to minimize the energy consumption of both servers and network devices. In HSA, a Dynamic Maximum Node Sorting (DMNS) method is developed to optimize the application placement on servers connected to a common switch. Hierarchical crossing-switch adjustment is applied to further reduce the number of running servers. As a result, both the number of running servers and the amount of data transfer can be greatly reduced. The time complexity of HSA is Θ(n ∗ log(logn)), where n is the total number of the severs in the data center. Its stability is verified via simulations. Experiments show that the performance of HSA outperforms existing algorithms.
Development of the Korean Affective Word List

Department of Psychiatry, Gongju National Hospital, Gongju, KoreaObjectivesZZAs interest in the field of affective science continues to increase, research into the arousal of emotions by the use of facial stimuli, event pictures, and stimulus words is now being actively pursued. The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean Affective Word List for elic-iting emotional reactions.MethodsZZThe preliminary selection process was more carefully divided into the primary pro-cess when the words were extracted which the author thought elicited the emotions of happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust from the Korean-Language Dictionary according to vocabulary frequency, the secondary process when the words were extracted which the Affective Words Selection Committee judged elicited only a single category of emotion. The affective words select-ed in the two-stage preliminary process were then presented to normal, young subjects, who were asked to allocate each word on the basis of their emotional reaction to one of the following emo-tional categories: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise. After the selected words caused the intended-emotional response with inter-rater agreement in more than 80%, a total of 166 words were selected except surprise. The complementary selection process was carried out following the preliminary process in order to make up for the lack of surprise words and the relative want of anger words.ResultsZZA total of 184 words were finally selected: 83 words for happiness, 36 for sadness, 24 for fear, 10 for anger, 20 for disgust, and 11 for surprise.ConclusionZZThese Korean affective words are expected to be widely used for eliciting emotions in future Korean research on emotion. ;J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 2010 49:468-479KEY WORDSZZEmotion · Affective words · Korean · Happiness · Sadness · Fear · Threat · Anger · Disgust · Surprise.
Improving human reactivity to trauma exposure using affect labeling

Author(s): Brown, Lily Anna | Advisor(s): Craske, Michelle G | Abstract: Background: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is of tremendous public health significance given high prevalence rates, chronicity, and resulting functional impairment. While a number of empirically-supported treatments have been developed, these treatments are not widely available, nor are they universally efficacious. The current studies translate a traditional assessment technique, Script-Driven Imagery, into a computerized training for individuals with elevated trauma reactivity. This imaginal-exposure based training was supplemented with Affect Labeling to determine whether inhibitory learning was enhanced with this augmentation strategy. Methods: Participants (n=107) were college students and community members who were recruited for two studies. The first compared augmentation Task (Affect Labeling vs. a control task, Shape Labeling) and Order of Task (During vs. After labeling) on physiological and self-report outcomes at Pre- and Post-Training. The second compared Condition (Affect Labeling vs. a control active task, Distraction Labeling vs. a control inactive task, Exposure Only) on Pre- to Post-Training changes in physiological and self-report measures.Results: The trainings provided in both studies were effective at reducing self-reported distress and physiological activation from Pre- to Post-Training, though there were no consistent differences based on Condition. There was some evidence that Labeling (including Affect and Distract Labeling) conferred a benefit over No Labeling.Conclusions: This study provides initial support for the acceptability and efficacy of this independently-operated computerized training for PTSD. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.