Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Cross-Sectional Voxel-Based Morphometric Study of Age- and Sex-Related Changes in Gray Matter Volume in the Normal Aging Brain

Objective The aim of the study was to carry out a cross-sectional study of 124 cognitively normal Chinese adults using the voxel-based morphometry approach to delineate age-related changes in the gray matter volume of regions of interest (ROI) in the brain and further analyze their correlation with age. Methods One hundred twenty-four cognitively normal adults were divided into the young age group, the middle age group, and the old age group. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging was performed with the Achieva 3.0 T system. Structural images were processed using VBM8 and SPM8. Regions of interest were obtained by WFU PickAtlas and all realigned images were spatially normalized. Results Females showed significantly greater total gray matter volume than males (t = 4.81, P = 0.0000, false discovery rate corrected). Compared with young subjects, old-aged subjects showed extensive reduction in gray matter volumes in all ROIs examined except the occipital lobe. In young- and middle-aged subjects, female and male subjects showed significant difference in the right middle temporal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, left angular gyrus, right middle occipital lobe, left middle cingulate gyrus, and the pars triangularis of the right inferior frontal gyrus, suggesting an interaction between age and sex (P < 0.001, uncorrected). Logistic regression analysis revealed linear negative correlation between the total gray matter volume and age (R2 = 0.529, P < 0.001). Conclusions Significant age-related differences are present in gray matter volume across multiple brain regions during aging. The VPM approach may provide an emerging paradigm in the normal aging brain that may help differentiate underlying normal neurobiological aging changes of specific brain regions from neurodegenerative impairments.
An adaptive, self-organizing dynamical system for hierarchical control of bio-inspired locomotion

In this paper, dynamical systems made up of locally coupled nonlinear units are used to control the locomotion of bio-inspired robots and, in particular, a simulation of an insect-like hexapod robot. These controllers are inspired by the biological paradigm of central pattern generators and are responsible for generating a locomotion gait. A general structure, which is able to change the locomotion gait according to environmental conditions, is introduced. This structure is based on an adaptive system, implemented by motor maps, and is able to learn the correct locomotion gait on the basis of a reward function. The proposed control system is validated by a large number of simulations carried out in a dynamic environment for simulating legged robots.
Manure nutrient management effects in the Leon River Watershed

The Leon River Watershed (LRW) in central Texas is a Benchmark and Special Emphasis watershed within the Conservation Effects Assessment Project located in central Texas. Model simulations from 1977 through 2006 were used to evaluate six manure nutrient management scenarios that reflect realistic strategies that could be employed to reduce nutrient and sediment loadings in the LRW. Due to the presence of several dairies and a relatively large number of cows, special attention within this watershed is necessary to determine beneficial adjustments that can be made to protect water quality. The nutrient management scenarios analyzed reduced total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) loading in nearly all of the subbasins. Total N and total P loading was also reduced at the watershed scale; sediment load reduction was minor due to effective management measures already existing within the LRW. The percentage change in total N and total P loadings varied from an increase of 3% to a decrease of 11% and an increase of 5% to a decrease of 12%, respectively. The percentage change in sediment loadings varied from an increase of 22% to a decrease of 12% per subbasin. Model simulations conducted over a 30-year period for six manure management scenarios indicated that both total N and total P can be significantly reduced by employing additional nutrient strategies. This is the case whether the nutrients are removed from the immediate vicinity of the dairy or are transported outside of the watershed.
Relationship of child psychopathology to parental alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the contributions of familial factors, including parental diagnoses of alcoholism and/or antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), to the risk of developing various child psychiatric diagnoses. METHOD Four hundred sixty-three children and their biological parents were interviewed with adult and child versions of the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism. Demographic and psychiatric data were compared across 3 groups of children on the basis of the presence of parental alcoholism and ASPD (no other parental diagnoses were examined). Generalized estimating equations analyses allowed the inclusion of multiple children from each family in the analyses. RESULTS Among offspring, parental alcoholism was associated with increased risks for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder (CD), and overanxious disorder. Parental alcoholism plus ASPD was associated with increased risk for oppositional defiant disorder. Dysfunctional parenting style was associated with increased risks for CD, alcohol abuse, and marijuana abuse. Low family socioeconomic status was associated with increased risk for CD. CONCLUSIONS Parental diagnoses of alcoholism and ASPD were associated with increased risks for a variety of childhood psychiatric disorders, and dysfunctional parenting style was associated with the diagnoses of CD, alcohol abuse, and marijuana abuse.
Structural insight into recognition of phosphorylated threonine-4 of RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain by Rtt 103 p

We would thus like to invite you to revise the manuscript with the understanding that the referee concerns must be fully addressed and their suggestions taken on board. Please address all referee concerns in a complete point-by-point response. Acceptance of the manuscript will depend on a positive outcome of a second round of review. It is EMBO reports policy to allow a single round of revision only and acceptance or rejection of the manuscript will therefore depend on the completeness of your responses included in the next, final version of the manuscript.
Incentives for knowledge production with many producers

In this paper, I briefly review the motivations for inventive behavior and describe two common incentive systems that harness and encourage such behavior. This review of well-trodden ground is performed only so that the implications of the rise of the networked knowledge economy for the effectiveness of these incentive systems can be noted. Some theoretical results on the operation and stability of the two incentive systems for the production of knowledge are presented with a discussion of how they might apply in the networked economy. The paper concludes with suggestions on open research questions.
Opinion mining in a telephone survey corpus

Telephone surveys are often used by Customer Services to evaluate their clients' satisfaction and to improve their services. Large amounts of data are collected to observe the evolution of custo-mers' opinions. Within this context, the automatization of the process of these databases becomes a crucial issue. This paper addresses the automatic analysis of audio messages where customers are asked to give their opinion over several dimensions about a Customer Service. Interpretation methods that integrate automatically and manually acquired knowledge are proposed. Experimental results, done on a database collected from a deployed Customer Service in real conditions with real customers are given.
Toward Microtask Crowdsourcing Software Design Work

The use of crowdsourcing as an approach for performing software engineering work is slowly but surely gaining foothold. Different models of crowdsourcing, however, have had varying levels of success to date. This paper contributes to the discussion a preliminary exploration of microtask crowdsourcing and its potential to generate design solutions. We specifically report on an experiment with Amazon Mechanical Turk workers, who each provided one or more solution alternatives to a small, partial user interface design problem. Early analysis of the results indicates that: (1) it is feasible for a crowd to generate a broad range of alternative solutions, (2) quality of those solutions varies considerably, and (3) the task, despite being small, is seen as difficult by many workers.
What Sticks With Whom? Twitter Follower-Followee Networks and News Classification

In this paper we analyze Twitter as a news channel in which the network of followers and followees significantly corresponds with the message content. We classified our data into twelve topics analogous to traditional newspaper sections and investigated whether the spread of information depended upon the Twitter network of followers and followees. To test this, we mapped the social network related to each topic and calculated the occurrence of retweet and mention mes-sages whose senders and receivers were interconnected as followers and followees. We found that on average 10% of retweets (RT-messages) and 5% of direct mentions between users (AT-messages) in Twitter hashtags are sent and received by users interconnected as followers and followees. These figures vary considerably from topic to topic, ranging from 15%-19% within Technology, Special Events and Politics to 3%-5% within the categories Personalities and Twitter-Idioms. The results show that hard-news messages are retweeted by a considerably larger community of users interconnected as followers and followees. We then performed a statistical correlation analysis of the dataset to validate the classification of hashtag in news sections based on retweet connectivity.
A geochemical study of the Ashanti gold deposit at Obuasi, Ghana

The Ashanti gold deposit at Obuasi occurs in the Early Proterozoic Birimian formation. The orebodies consist of gold-sulphides disseminated in metasediments and metavolcanics, and gold-bearing quartz veins. Gold occurs mainly as native gold normally with arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite and pyrite in the metasediments and metavolcanics. In the quartz veins, however, it is associated with tetrahedrite and sphalerite. Microprobe analysis of gold grains gave an Ag content of about 8 wt. %. Textural relationships among the various mineral associations suggest that pyrrhotite, pyrite, arse-nopyrite and possibly gold may have been formed esrlier in the paragenetic sequence. The precipitation of some amounts of gold may have occurred during the later stages of the mineralisation sequence. Average arsenopyrite composition determined from electron microprobe study is: Fe: 33.6 ± 0.5 at. %, As: 29.3 ± 1.2 at. %, S: 37.1 ± 1.1 at. %, This suggests an average temperature of formation of less than 300℃ for the sulphides and possibly the gold assuming equilibrium was attained between pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenpopyrite. The δ34S values for sulphide mineral separates are in the range between -4.1 and -10.8%. The values were, however, constrained between -4.1 and -7.0%. The narrow range and the depleted nature of the δ34S values may suggest a sedimentary sourcc of sulphur which may have undergone high temperature homegenisation before deposition. Sulphides from quartz vein samples had the most depleted δ34S values. This may indicate a different mineralisation history of the sulohides in the quartz veins from those dissemi-nated in metasediments and metavolcanics.
The Amphibian (Xenopus laevis) Type I Interferon Response to Frog Virus 3: New Insight into Ranavirus Pathogenicity

ABSTRACT The increasing prevalence of ranavirus (RV; Iridoviridae) infections of wild and commercially maintained aquatic species is raising considerable concerns. While Xenopus laevis is the leading model for studies of immunity to RV, amphibian antiviral interferon (IFN) responses remain largely uncharacterized. Accordingly, an X. laevis type I interferon was identified, the expression of the gene for this IFN was examined in RV (frog virus 3 [FV3])-infected tadpoles and adult frogs by quantitative PCR, and a recombinant form of this molecule (recombinant X. laevis interferon [rXlIFN]) was produced for the purpose of functional studies. This rXlIFN protected the kidney-derived A6 cell line and tadpoles against FV3 infection, decreasing the infectious viral burdens in both cases. Adult frogs are naturally resistant to FV3 and clear the infection within a few weeks, whereas tadpoles typically succumb to this virus. Hence, as predicted, virus-infected adult X. laevis frogs exhibited significantly more robust FV3-elicited IFN gene expression than tadpoles; nevertheless, they also tolerated substantially greater viral burdens following infection. Although tadpole stimulation with rXlIFN prior to FV3 challenge markedly impaired viral replication and viral burdens, it only transiently extended tadpole survival and did not prevent the eventual mortality of these animals. Furthermore, histological analysis revealed that despite rXlIFN treatment, infected tadpoles had considerable organ damage, including disrupted tissue architecture and extensive necrosis and apoptosis. Conjointly, these findings indicate a critical protective role for the amphibian type I IFN response during ranaviral infections and suggest that these viruses are more pathogenic to tadpole hosts than was previously believed, causing extensive and fatal damage to multiple organs, even at very low titers. IMPORTANCE Ranavirus infections are threatening wild and commercially maintained aquatic species. The amphibian Xenopus laevis is extensively utilized as an infection model for studying ranavirus-host immune interactions. However, little is known about amphibian antiviral immunity and, specifically, type I interferons (IFNs), which are central to the antiviral defenses of other vertebrates. Accordingly, we identified and characterized an X. laevis type I interferon in the context of infection with the ranavirus frog virus 3 (FV3). FV3-infected adult frogs displayed more robust IFN gene expression than tadpoles, possibly explaining why they typically clear FV3 infections, whereas tadpoles succumb to them. Pretreatment with a recombinant X. laevis IFN (rXlIFN) substantially reduced viral replication and infectious viral burdens in a frog kidney cell line and in tadpoles. Despite reducing FV3 loads and extending the mean survival time, rXlIFN treatments failed to prevent tadpole tissue damage and mortality. Thus, FV3 is more pathogenic than was previously believed, even at very low titers.
The Level of Desirability of Information Technology Systems and Its Relation with Organizational Commitment

Purpose – This paper aims to define Information Technology (IT) desirability and determine IT relationship with organizational commitment. The existence of such a relationship between IT & organizational commitment can guide the organizational leaders to promote and to develop the IT potentials in order to improve the performance of employees, and elevate job satisfaction, commitment and organizational effectiveness. Design /methodology /approach –The design of the research is descriptive – correlational and the statistical sample consists of 84 educational service experts working at educational service offices in the University of Isfahan. They were selected based on purposeful sampling. Findings – The results showed that among IT desirability components, two components of training and fitness had a significant relationship with continuance commitment (one of the organizational commitment dimensions). Research limitations – since the statistical sample was selected purposefully and the research was done on educational service experts, any generalization of the results to other organizations and employees requires caution. Practical implications – Since the results of the research show the existence of only one of the dimensions of organizational commitment ( continuance commitment ) and two components of desirability of IT ( fitness and training), managers can try to improve the levels of these dimensions of IT. Originality / value – many researchers have investigated different effects and relations between IT and employees, but in this research the aim has been to investigate a more complete account as well as different aspects of employees’ perceptions about IT (i.e. desirability of the system).
Instrumentation for fast functional optical tomography

In this article, we describe the design rationale and performance features of an integrated multichannel continuous wave (cw) near-infrared (NIR) optical tomographic imager capable of collecting fast tomographic measurements over a large dynamic range. Fast data collection (∼70 Hz/channel/wavelength) is achieved using time multiplexed source illumination (up to 25 illumination sites) combined with frequency encoded wavelength discrimination (up to four-wavelength capability) and parallel detection (32 detectors). The described system features a computerized user interface that allows for automated system operation and is compatible with various previously described measuring heads. The results presented show that the system exhibits a linear response over the full dynamic measuring range (180 dB), and has excellent noise (∼10 pW noise equivalent power) and stability performance (<1% over 30 min). Recovered images of laboratory vessels show that dynamic behavior can be accurately defined and spatially loca.
The VIS Framework: Analyzing Counterpoint in Large Datasets

TheVISFrameworkforMusicAnalysisisamodularPython library designed for “big data” queries in symbolic musical data. Initially created as a tool for studying musical style change incounterpoint, we havebuiltonthemusic21and pandas libraries to provide the foundation for much more. We describe the musicological needs that inspired the creation and growth of the VIS Framework, along with a survey of similar previous research. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our analytic approach and software, we present a sample query showing that the most commonly repeated contrapuntal patterns vary between three related style periods. We also emphasize our adaptation of typical n-gram-based research in music, our implementation strategy in VIS, and the flexibility of this approach for future researchers.
Protein Kinase C (cid:2) Is Required for Macrophage Activation and Defense Against Bacterial Infection

To assess directly the role of protein kinase C (PKC) (cid:2) in the immune system, we generated mice that carried a homozygous disruption of the PKC (cid:2) locus. PKC (cid:2) (cid:3) / (cid:3) animals appeared normal and were generally healthy, although female mice frequently developed a bacterial infection of the uterus. Macrophages from PKC (cid:2) (cid:3) / (cid:3) animals demonstrated a severely attenuated response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon (IFN) (cid:4) , characterized by a dramatic reduction in the generation of NO, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- (cid:5) , and interleukin (IL)-1 (cid:6) . Further analysis revealed that LPS-stimulated macrophages from PKC (cid:2) (cid:3) / (cid:3) mice were deficient in the induction of nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-2, demonstrating a decrease in the activation of I (cid:7) B kinase, a reduction in I (cid:7) B degradation, and a decrease in nuclear factor (NF) (cid:7) B nuclear translocation. After intravenous administration of Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria, PKC (cid:2) (cid:3) / (cid:3) mice demonstrated a significantly decreased period of survival. This study provides direct evidence that PKC (cid:2) is critically involved at an early stage of LPS-mediated signaling in activated macrophages. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in the absence of PKC (cid:2) , host defense against bacterial infection is severely compromised, resulting in an increased incidence of mortality. IL-1 (cid:6) in response to LPS and IFN (cid:4) stimulation. We demonstrate that LPS-treated macrophages from PKC (cid:2) (cid:3) / (cid:3) mice failed to induce nitric oxide synthase-2 (NOS-2) expression and showed a significant reduction in the activation of both I (cid:7) B kinase (IKK) and NF (cid:7) B. The p44 and p42 extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) kinases and the p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases were also activated to a considerably lesser extent in PKC (cid:2) (cid:3) / (cid:3) cells. In addition, we demonstrate that PKC (cid:2) (cid:3) / (cid:3) mice displayed a significant increase in sensitivity and mortality in response to either an intravenous Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacterial infection. Taken together, these data implicate PKC (cid:2) as a critical component of the LPS signaling cascade in activated macrophages, and highlights the importance of this gene in mounting an effective immune response to various bacterial pathogens.
Cascaded migrations: Improving the accuracy of finite‐difference migration

The accuracy of time migrations done with finite‐difference schemes deteriorates with increasing reflector dip. Some properties of migration in general, and of finite‐difference approaches in particular, suggest a way of improving the accuracy of finite‐difference schemes for migrating steep dips. First, although data will be undermigrated when too low a velocity is used in migration, a correctly migrated result can be obtained by migrating again, this time with the previously undermigrated result as input. In fact, a sequence of undermigrations will yield the correct result as long as the sum of the squares of the migration velocities used in the different migration stages equals the square of the correct migration velocity. A second property is that the apparent spatial dip of a reflector perceived by the migration process is a function of not only the time dip of the unmigrated reflection, but also the velocity used in the migration. In a sequence of low‐velocity migrations, the apparent spatial dip pe.
Morphometric study of liver cell nuclei in hepatomas using an interactive computer technique: (i) nuclear size and shape

Liver cells from 20 normal livers and 20 hepatomas have been studied in histological sections using an interactive computer method which measures nuclear size and shape. The variables which gave best discrimination between malignant and benign nuclei were the standard deviations of nuclear shape measurements. Though the liver is an ideal tissue for computer study it is considered that such measurements may act as a model for analysis of nuclei of other tissues.