Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered reward expectancy in individuals with recent methamphetamine dependence

Background: Chronic methamphetamine use may lead to changes in reward-related function of the ventral striatum and caudate nucleus. Whether methamphetamine-dependent individuals show heightened reactivity to positively valenced stimuli (i.e. positive reinforcement mechanisms), or an exaggerated response to negatively valenced stimuli (i.e. driven by negative reinforcement mechanisms) remains unclear. This study investigated neural functioning of expectancy and receipt for gains and losses in adults with (METH+) and without (METH−) histories of methamphetamine dependence. Methods: Participants (17 METH+; 23 METH−) performed a probabilistic feedback expectancy task during blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants were given visual cues probabilistically associated with monetary gain, loss, or neutral outcomes. General linear models examined the BOLD response to: (1) anticipation of gains and losses, and (2) gain and loss monetary outcomes. Results: METH+ had less BOLD response to loss anticipation than METH− in the ventral striatum and posterior caudate. METH+ also showed more BOLD response to loss outcomes than to gain outcomes in the anterior and posterior caudate, whereas METH− did not show differential responses to the valence of outcomes. Discussion: METH+ individuals showed attenuated neural response to anticipated gains and losses, but their response to loss outcomes was greater than to gain outcomes. A decreased response to loss anticipation, along with a greater response to loss outcomes, suggests an altered ability to evaluate future risks and benefits based upon prior experience, which may underlie suboptimal decision-making in METH+ individuals that increases the likelihood of risky behavior.
A Network Synthesis Model for Generating Protein Interaction Network Families

In this work, we introduce a novel network synthesis model that can generate families of evolutionarily related synthetic protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks. Given an ancestral network, the proposed model generates the network family according to a hypothetical phylogenetic tree, where the descendant networks are obtained through duplication and divergence of their ancestors, followed by network growth using network evolution models. We demonstrate that this network synthesis model can effectively create synthetic networks whose internal and cross-network properties closely resemble those of real PPI networks. The proposed model can serve as an effective framework for generating comprehensive benchmark datasets that can be used for reliable performance assessment of comparative network analysis algorithms. Using this model, we constructed a large-scale network alignment benchmark, called NAPAbench, and evaluated the performance of several representative network alignment algorithms. Our analysis clearly shows the relative performance of the leading network algorithms, with their respective advantages and disadvantages. The algorithm and source code of the network synthesis model and the network alignment benchmark NAPAbench are publicly available at http://www.ece. tamu.edu/bjyoon/NAPAbench/.
Public-Private Partnerships

Value of Partnerships Development is an ever-changing process with multiple factors that impact success. In a PPP, partners draw on each other’s strengths. For instance, increased access to market based information, financial resources, and community capitals often produce a more resilient development. Furthermore, access to staff, financial resources, and credibility can all boost the competitive advantage in a demanding marketplace. PPPs can also encourage effective municipal planning. For example, the provision of basic services in a PPP, such as sewer, water, and streets, can be distributed more efficiently and equitably to projects that meet the needs of many stakeholders.
Etiological role of human papillomavirus infection for inverted papilloma of the bladder

The status of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in urothelial inverted papilloma was examined in the present study. Formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded tissues from eight cases of inverted papilloma of the bladder were studied. The presence of HPV‐DNA was examined by modified GP5/6+PCR using archival tissue sections by microdissection. HPV genotype was determined with a Hybri‐Max HPV genotyping kit. Immunohistochemical analysis for p16‐INK4a, mcm7, HPV‐E4, and L1, and in situ hybridization for the HPV genome were performed. HPV was detected in seven of eight cases (87.5%) of inverted papilloma. Three cases were diagnosed as inverted papilloma with atypia, while the remaining five were typical cases. HPV‐18 was detected in two cases, including one inverted papilloma with atypia, and HPV‐16 was detected in four cases, including one inverted papilloma with atypia. Multiple HPV type infection was detected in one typical case and one atypical case. High‐risk HPV was present in all HPV‐positive cases. Cellular proteins, p16‐INK4a and mcm7, which are surrogate markers for HPV‐E7 expression, were detected in all HPV‐positive cases, and their levels were higher in inverted papilloma with atypia than in typical cases. In contrast, HPV‐E4 and L1, which are markers for HPV propagation, were observed in some parts of the typical inverted papilloma tissue. High‐risk HPV infection may be one of the causes of urothelial inverted papilloma, and inverted papilloma with atypia may have malignant potential. J. Med. Virol. 83:277–285, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Strategy to Manage Cache Consistency in a Disconnected Distributed Environment

Modern distributed systems involving large number of nonstationary clients (mobile hosts, MH) connected via unreliable low-bandwidth communication channels are very prone to frequent disconnections. This disconnection may occur because of different reasons: The clients may voluntarily switch off (to save battery power), or a client may be involuntarily disconnected due to its own movement in a mobile network (hand-off, wireless link failures, etc.). A mobile computing environment is characterized by slow wireless links and relatively underprivileged hosts with limited battery powers. Still, when data at the server changes, the client hosts must be made aware of this fact in order for them to invalidate their cache, otherwise the host would continue to answer queries with the cached values returning incorrect data. The nature of the physical medium coupled with the fact that disconnections from the network are very frequent in mobile computing environments demand a cache invalidation strategy with minimum possible overheads. In this paper, we present a new cache maintenance scheme, called AS. The objective of the proposed scheme is to minimize the overhead for the MHs to validate their cache upon reconnection, to allow stateless servers, and to minimize the bandwidth requirement. The general approach is (1) to use asynchronous invalidation messages and (2) to buffer invalidation messages from servers at the MH's Home Location Cache (HLC) while the MH is disconnected from the network and redeliver these invalidation messages to the MH when it gets reconnected to the network. Use of asynchronous invalidation messages minimizes access latency, buffering of invalidation messages minimizes the overhead of validating MH's cache after each disconnection and use of HLC off-loads the overhead of maintaining state of MH's cache from the servers. The MH can be disconnected from the server either voluntarily or involuntarily. We capture the effects of both by using a single parameter: The percentage of time a mobile host is disconnected from the network. We demonstrate the efficacy of our scheme through simulation and performance modeling. In particular, we show that the average data access latency and the number of uplink requests by a MH decrease by using the proposed strategy at the cost of using buffer space at the HLC. We provide analytical comparison between our proposed scheme and the existing scheme for cache management in a mobile environment. Extensive experimental results are provided to compare the schemes in terms of performance metrics like latency, number of uplink requests, etc., under both a high and a low rate of change of data at servers for various values of the parameters. A mathematical model for the scheme is developed which matches closely with the simulation results.
Electrophysiological Effects of SN‐6, a Novel Na+/Ca2+ Exchange Inhibitor on Membrane Currents in Guinea Pig Ventricular Myocytes

Abstract: We examined the effect of SN‐6 on the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) current (INCX) and other membrane currents in isolated guinea pig ventricular myocytes using the whole‐cell voltage clamp technique. SN‐6 suppressed the bidirectional INCX in a concentration‐dependent manner. The IC50 values of SN‐6 were 2.3 μM and 1.9 μM for the outward and inward components of the bidirectional INCX, respectively. On the other hand, SN‐6 suppressed the unidirectional outward INCX more potently than the inward INCX, with an IC50 value of 0.6 μM. SN‐6 at 10 μM inhibited the unidirectional inward INCX by only 22.4 ± 3.1%. SN‐6 suppressed INCX more potentially when intracellular Na+ concentration became higher. SN‐6 inhibited INa, ICa, IKr, IKs, and IK1 by about 13%, 34%, 33%, 18%, and 13%, respectively. SN‐6 shortened the action potential duration (APD) by about 34% and 25% at APD50 and APD90, respectively. These results indicate that SN‐6 inhibits NCX in a similar manner to that of KB‐R7943. SN‐6 and KB‐R7943 inhibit the unidirectional outward INCX more potently than the unidirectional inward INCX. Both drugs inhibit NCX in an intracellular Na+ concentration‐dependent manner. However, SN‐6 affected other membrane currents less potently than KB‐R7943.
Peak efficiency and peak power point of wireless power transfer system for electromobility applications

The article deals with the analysis of series - series-compensated circuit for systems of contactless charging of electricity in electromobility applications. The article introduces an analysis of the transfer characteristics of the system depending on change of the distance and of the transmitted power. Mathematical analysis will be used for the purposes of implementation of simulation experiments. Operating points for different operating distances that are characterized by a maximum value of power efficiency and high value of the transmitted power are determined on the basis of simulation results. Confirmation of results of numerical and mathematical analysis through experimental verification is provided in the conclusion.
Using historic mutinies to understand defiance in modern organizations

Purpose – Guided by voice and leadership theory, this paper aims to articulate the underpinnings of upward defiance (competence deficiency; ignorance of concerns; structural gaps between echelons) and to describe the managerial actions that help depose those underpinnings.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes 30 historic narrative accounts of actual mutinies. The journalistic accounts from bygone eras provide unparalleled insight into the basic dynamics of mutiny and provide novel insights into organizational defiance.Findings – The principal findings show that the underpinnings of mutiny in organizations derive from three foundations: disconnections between authority echelons, modes of addressing member disgruntlement, and the need for management to develop continuous competencies.Originality/value – The paper goes beyond reports of mutinies in the popular press and lore by applying the findings to modern organizations.
Inductive Modelling of Temporal Sequences by Means of Self-organization

In this paper we present a new self-organizing neural network, which builds a spatiotemporal model of an input temporal sequence inductively. The network is an extension of Kohonen’s Self-organizing Map with a modified Hebb’s rule for update of temporal synapses. The model building behavior is shown on inductive learning of a transition matrix from a data generated by a Markov Chain.
Theorizing “Difficult Knowledge” in the Aftermath of the “Affective Turn”: Implications for Curriculum and Pedagogy in Handling Traumatic Representations

Abstract This essay draws on the concept of “difficult knowledge” to think with some of the interventions and arguments of affect theory and discusses the implications for curriculum and pedagogy in handling traumatic representations. The author makes an argument that affect theory enables the theorization of difficult knowledge as an intersection of language, desire, power, bodies, social structure, materiality, and trauma. To show the possibilities of this theorization of difficult knowledge, the essay puts in conversation Judith Butler's work on vulnerability, affect, and grievable lives with scholarship on difficult knowledge. The essay leans on Butler's work and affect theory to make a political and pedagogical intervention into the terrain of learning and acting in the face of difficult knowledge. This intervention offers a conceptual, curricular, and pedagogical way out of dilemmas of representation and it is rooted in a political project of social action that does not disavow the psychical problematics residing therein.
Socio-economic impacts of rural electrification in Rwanda: An ex-ante assessment of GTZ activities

Diese Baseline-Studie portratiert die von der Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) in Ruanda durchgefuhrte Elektrifizierungsmasnahme 'PSP Hydro' und stellt umfassend die sozio-okonomischen Bedingungen in der Projektregion vor Beginn der Intervention dar. Die erhobenen Daten dienen dem Zweck einer spateren Ex-post-Wirkungsevaluierung dieser Masnahme, die auf die Beteiligung der Privatwirtschaft bei der Kleinwasserkraftnutzung zur landlichen Entwicklung abzielt und im Rahmen der Deutsch-Niederlandischen Partnerschaft Energising Development (EnDev) stattfindet. Haushalte aus bereits elektrifizierten Kontrolldorfern, die anhand von Vergleichskriterien ausgewahlt worden sind, erganzen den Baseline-Ansatz um einen Querschnittsvergleich zu ermoglichen, der eine Wirkungseinschatzung der Elektrifizierungsmasnahme bereits vor Projektimplementierung ermoglicht. Aufgrund der Bedeutung, die EnDev der Ermittlung der Anzahl direkter Nutznieser ihrer Masnahmen beimisst, untersucht der Bericht im Besonderen die zu erwartende Anzahl an Personen, die dank des Projektes Zugang zu moderner Energie erlangt haben werden. Hierzu wurden unter anderem Berechnungsansatze weiterentwickelt, die auch die Elektrifizierung von Kleinunternehmen und Einrichtungen der sozialen Infrastruktur wie Schulen und Krankenhauser mit einbeziehen.
Curricular Studies and their Relation with the Political Agenda for Education

Since the end of the 20th century Portugal has witnessed the rise of a movement promoting curriculum changes. In basic and secondary education this has meant the adoption of policies seeking the equality of opportunities to school access and success. This was first stated in the Law 46 of 1986. Since then (predominantly between 1997 and 2008), a number of political measures have been taken to achieve this goal. However, few studies establish a relation between scientific production and curricular policies. This paper aims to answer the question: What is the relationship between educational politicies and the foci of curricular studies? Accordingly, this paper begins by situating the main features of the curricular policies that have characterised this period, while also considering international policies influences. This constitutes the basis of empirical research developed in three consecutive phases: i) systematisation of the curricular studies produced in Portugal between 1997 and 2008; ii) identification of the studies’ foci; iii) establishment of relationships between those foci and curricular political measures. The analysis allowed concluding that the production of studies focusing on the curriculum in Portugal was determined by the curricular political agenda and that the international agenda significantly influences the curricular political agenda.
Mastery Motivation in Children with Intellectual Disability: Is there Evidence for a Down Syndrome Behavioural Phenotype?

The main purpose of the current study was to provide empirical evidence to support or refute assumptions of phenotypic deficits in motivation for children with Down syndrome (DS). Children with moderate intellectual disability (MID) associated with etiologies other than DS were recruited in an extension of a previous study that involved children with DS and typically developing children. The participants were 29 children with MID and 33 children with DS who were matched on mental age to 33 typically developing children, aged 3–8 years. Mastery motivation was assessed on task measures of curiosity, preference for challenge and persistence, as well as parental reports. There were no significant group differences on the mastery motivation tasks. Parental ratings of mastery motivation differed, with typically developing children generally being rated more highly than each of the disability groups. The view that motivational deficits are part of the DS behavioural phenotype was not supported.
Single-Mode versus multimode interferometry: a performance study

We compare performances of ground-based single-mode and multimode (speckle) interferometers in the presence of partial Adaptive Optics correction of atmospheric turbulence. It is first shown that for compact sources (i.e. sources smaller than the Airy disk of a single telescope) not entirely resolved by the interferometer, the remarkable property of spatial filtering of single-mode waveguides coupled with AO correction significantly reduces the speckle noise which arises from residual wavefront corrugations. Focusing on those sources, and in the light of the AMBER experiment (the near infrared instrument of the VLTI), we show that single-mode interferometry produces a better Signal-to-Noise Ratio on the visibility than speckle interferometry. This is true for bright sources (K < 5), and in any case as soon as Strehl ratio of 0.2 is achieved. Finally, the fiber estimator is much more robust - by two orders of magnitude - than the speckle estimator with respect to Strehl ratio variations during the calibration procedure. The present analysis theoretically explains why interferometry with fibers can produce visibility measurements with a very high precision, 1% or less.
Rapid regulation of microRNA following induction of long-term potentiation in vivo

Coordinated regulation of gene expression is essential for consolidation of the memory mechanism, long-term potentiation (LTP). Triggering of LTP by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activation rapidly activates constitutive and inducible transcription factors, which promote expression of genes responsible for LTP maintenance. As microRNA (miRNA) coordinate expression of genes related through seed sites, we hypothesize that miRNA contribute to the regulation of the LTP-induced gene response. MiRNA function primarily as negative regulators of gene expression. As LTP induction promotes a generalized rapid up-regulation of gene expression, we predicted a complementary rapid down-regulation of miRNA levels. Accordingly, we carried out global miRNA expression profiling in the rat dentate gyrus 20 min post-LTP induction in vivo. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found a large number of differentially expressed miRNA, the majority down-regulated. Detailed analysis of miR-34a-5p and miR-132-3p revealed this down-regulation was transient and NMDAR-dependent, whereby block of NMDARs released an activity-associated inhibitory mechanism. Furthermore, down-regulation of mature miR-34a-5p and miR-132-3p occurred solely by post-transcriptional mechanisms, occurring despite an associated up-regulation of the pri-miR-132 transcript. To understand how down-regulation of miR-34a-5p and miR-132-3p intersects with the molecular events occurring following LTP, we used bioinformatics to identify potential targets. Previously validated targets included the key LTP-regulated genes Arc and glutamate receptor subunits. Predicted targets included the LTP-linked kinase, Mapk1, and neuropil-associated transcripts Hn1 and Klhl11, which were validated using luciferase reporter assays. Furthermore, we found that the level of p42-Mapk1, the protein encoded by the Mapk1 transcript, was up-regulated following LTP. Together, these data support the interpretation that miRNA, in particular miR-34a-5p and miR-132-3p, make a surprisingly rapid contribution to synaptic plasticity via dis-inhibition of translation of key plasticity-related molecules.
Secure Design Flow using 1-of-n Encoding

This paper presents a new design flow for security using 1-of-n encoding. Initially high-level SystemC Galois descriptions are compiled into an intermediate format. The design flow passes though several stages of refinement, including subfield-breakdown and change of basis, to generate small, regular logic blocks. These are converted into 1-of-n represention and subsequently passed to optimization and mapping tools for mapping to a new library of power-balanced components. The new library consists of novel mixed 1-of-2 and 1-of-4 components based on N-nary logic. Finally logic optimization tools are applied to generate secure synchronous circuits for layout generation. The paper shows that the circuits generated are more efficient than those generated by alternative techniques.
The Stroop Color and Word Test

The Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) is a neuropsychological test extensively used to assess the ability to inhibit cognitive interference that occurs when the processing of a specific stimulus feature impedes the simultaneous processing of a second stimulus attribute, well-known as the Stroop Effect. The aim of the present work is to verify the theoretical adequacy of the various scoring methods used to measure the Stroop effect. We present a systematic review of studies that have provided normative data for the SCWT. We referred to both electronic databases (i.e., PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar) and citations. Our findings show that while several scoring methods have been reported in literature, none of the reviewed methods enables us to fully assess the Stroop effect. Furthermore, we discuss several normative scoring methods from the Italian panorama as reported in literature. We claim for an alternative scoring method which takes into consideration both speed and accuracy of the response. Finally, we underline the importance of assessing the performance in all Stroop Test conditions (word reading, color naming, named color-word).
Fuzzy local means clustering segmentation algorithm for intensity inhomogeneity image

Segmentation for images with intensity inhomogeneity is very difficult. In this paper, a fuzzy clustering-based method to segment intensity inhomogeneity images is presented. Firstly, a new expression of the fuzzy C-means(FCM) object function is derived through altering the prototype of every clustering to a point-wise function. Then, a weight function defined on the local window is introduced into the objective function. The local weight makes the prototype for every pixel depends only on the information of its local region, which is more reasonable for the considered problem. The proposed method has been applied to artificial and real-world images, e.g. X-ray vessel images and MRI brain images. The comparison segmentation results have shown the proposed model is very applicable for image segmentation with intensity inhomogeneity.