Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shape distortion illusion of flashed circles can be induced by dichoptic stimulation.

Flash presentation of a circle alternating with its inward gradation pattern induces an illusory shape distortion: the circle appears as a polygon (e.g. hexagon) in a short period (Sakurai, 2014 VSS, ECVP). We investigated whether this shape distortion illusion occurs before or after binocular combination in the visual pathway by measuring the induction time (latency) of the illusion in dichoptic and monoptic stimulation conditions. Stereoscopic stimuli consisted of a circle of 3.5 deg in diameter and its inward gradation pattern on a white background, alternating at 2 Hz and located at 4.5 deg on the left or right side of a central fixation cross surrounded by a 15 deg square frame for fusion lock. In the dichoptic condition, the circle was presented to one eye and the gradation pattern was presented to the other eye. In the monoptic condition, both the circle and the gradation pattern were presented to the same eye. In the control condition, the circle was solely presented to one eye flashing at 2 Hz. Observers had their head fixed on a chin-and-forehead rest and viewed the display through a mirror stereoscope. They were asked to press a response key as soon as they noticed the shape distortion in each trial. Results showed that the latencies of this illusion in both dichoptic and monoptic conditions were shorter than that in the control condition. No significant difference in latency was found between the dichoptic and monoptic conditions. These results suggest that the shape distortion illusion occurs after binocular combination and that some cortical process responsive to curvatures is involved in this illusion. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.
Supreme Court Oral Arguments and Institutional Maintenance

Debate within judicial politics scholarship continues to focus on whether, and to what extent, the separation of powers system affects U.S. Supreme Court decision making. While both formal and empirical work points to such an effect, the literature has not addressed a fundamental part of this process—namely, how justices learn about the preferences or possible reactions of Congress to potential Court decisions. In this article, we provide an answer by demonstrating justices use their limited time during oral arguments to seek such information. Specifically, using data from all orally argued cases between 1979 and 2003, we show that justices raise questions about Congress more often as the level of external constraint increases.
Nitric oxide induces stomatal closure and enhances the adaptive plant responses against drought stress.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a very active molecule involved in many and diverse biological pathways where it has proved to be protective against damages provoked by oxidative stress conditions. In this work, we studied the effect of two NO donors, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine SNP-treated on the response of wheat (Triticum aestivum) to water stress conditions. After 2 and 3 h of drought, detached wheat leaves pretreated with 150 microM SNP retained up to 15% more water than those pretreated with water or NO(2)(-)/NO(3)(-). The effect of SNP treatment on water retention was also found in wheat seedlings after 7 d of drought. These results were consistent with a 20% decrease in the transpiration rate of SNP-treated detached wheat leaves for the same analyzed time. In parallel experiments, NO was also able to induce a 35%, 30%, and 65% of stomatal closure in three different species, Tradescantia sp. (monocotyledonous) and two dicotyledonous, Salpichroa organifolia and fava bean (Vicia faba), respectively. In SNP-treated leaves of Tradescantia sp. , the stomatal closure was correlated with a 10% increase on RWC. Ion leakage, a cell injury index, was 25% lower in SNP-treated wheat leaves compared with control ones after the recovery period. Carboxy-PTIO (2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide), a specific NO scavenger, reverted SNP action by restoring the transpiration rate, stomatal aperture, and the ion leakage to the level found in untreated leaves. Northern-blot analysis showed that SNP-treated wheat leaves display a 2-fold accumulation of a group three late embryogenesis abundant transcript with respect to control leaves both after 2 and 4 h of drought periods. All together, these results suggest that the exogenous application of NO donors might confer an increased tolerance to severe drought stress conditions in plants.
Context and psychosocial intervention in mental health

Abstract Objective: Occupational therapy (OT) services have been provided for people with mental health conditions since the foundation of the profession, but OT practices are not clearly outlined. This paper presents the standard OT practices performed in the mental health area. The aim of the study is to quantitatively characterize domains of OT intervention in mental health. Specifically, OT intervention in community and inpatient-based mental health settings is described, further delineated by age groups and gender. Eighteen occupational therapists (OTs), who work in the area of mental health, participated in the study. Each OT had at least two years of experience, was between the ages of 26 and 40, and documented 2–4 treatment sessions. In total, 70 treatment sessions were recorded; half were recorded in hospitals and the majority of recorded sessions involved clients diagnosed with schizophrenia (n = 47). Significant differences were found in the intervention provided in the different settings. In addition, the intervention focus for men and women, and for age groups, was different. Despite these differences, many aspects of the intervention were similar in all contexts. The study results support previous notions that context influences intervention.
Has Consumption Inequality Mirrored Income Inequality

By M! "# A$%&! " ! '( M! "# B&)** We revisit to what extent the increase in income inequality since 1980 was mirrored by consumption inequality. We do so by constructing an alternative measure of consumption expenditure using a demand system to correct for systematic measurement error in the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Our estimation exploits the relative expenditure of high- and low-income households on luxuries versus necessities. This double differencing corrects for measurement error that can vary over time by good and income. We ! nd consumption inequality tracked income inequality much more closely than estimated by direct responses on expenditures. (JEL D31, D63, E21) We revisit the issue of whether the increase in income inequality over the last 30 years has translated into a quantitatively similar increase in consumption inequality. Contrary to several in+uential studies discussed below, we ,nd that consump tion inequality has tracked income inequality. Like most of the previous literature that argues the opposite, we base our conclusions on the Consumer Expenditure Survey’s (CE) interview survey. But rather than measure consumption inequality directly by summing household expenditures, we base our measure of consumption inequality on how richer versus poorer households allocate spending across goods. In particular, we estimate relative consumption growth across income groups by observing how households in these groups have shifted their expenditures toward luxuries versus necessities over time. We show our approach is robust to systematic trends in measurement error that may bias measures based on summing household spending. We ,nd a substantial increase in consumption inequality, similar in mag nitude to the increase in income inequality. An in+uential paper by Krueger and Perri (2006), building on related work by Slesnick (2001), uses the CE to argue that consumption inequality has not kept pace with income inequality. 1 In an exercise comparable to Krueger and Perri’s, we show that both relative before and after-tax income inequality increased by about 33 percent (0.33 log points) between 1980 and 2010, where our conservative measure of
Feedback between Wholesale and Consumer Price Inflation: A Reexamination of the Evidence

This paper reevaluates the theoretical and empirical debate surrounding the bivariate time series relationship between wholesale and consumer price inflation. Empirical work by Engle [3], Guthrie [7], and Silver and Wallace (S&W) [9] is based on a one-sided distributed lag model running from wholesale prices to consumer prices. Colclough and Lange (C&L) [1] and Granger, Robins and Engle (GR&E) [6] criticize this specification, arguing that it contradicts the standard theory of derived demand whereby changes in demand for final goods cause changes in demand for primary goods. S&W's finding that consumer prices fail to Granger cause wholesale price appears (to C&L and GR&E) to reject flexible price, demand led models in favor of cost-push, markup models of consumer price inflation. ' In this paper we demonstrate that the patterns of feedback in U.S. data are consistent with standard, flexible price models of derived demand with strong aggregate demand elements. First, using Geweke's [4] linear feedback methodology, we confirm the general pattern of feedback found in previous studies. The incremental predictive content of wholesale prices for consumer prices is approximately twice that of consumer prices for wholesale prices. However, half of the feedback between the two series is purely contemporaneous. We find this pattern to be robust in a larger system that includes money as a proxy for aggregate demand. The large contemporaneous feedback implies that any structural inferences will rely heavily on maintained assumptions concerning the contemporaneous error structure. In section III we present a stylized model of price determination in an economy with two stages of production. Supply disturbances in the primary goods market affect wholesale prices and, with a lag, consumer prices. Thus the model predicts feedback from wholesale to consumer prices whenever supply disturbances are present. The key insight from the model is that the converse does not hold in the presence of demand disturbances. The demand for primary goods depends, not on current or past retail demand, but on expected future demand. Even with
Receptor occupancy by a bovine sialoglycopeptide inhibitor correlates with inhibition of protein synthesis

We have isolated from bovine cerebral cortex cells and purified to homogeneity an 18,000 dalton, pl 3.0 sialoglycopeptide that inhibits protein synthesis and DNA synthesis of nontransformed but not transformed cells without affecting uptake of radiolabeled precursors. In this paper, we examine the relationship between the binding of the sialoglycopeptide inhibitor to 3T3 cells and inhibition of protein synthesis. Binding of the sialoglycopeptide to 3T3 cells was rapid at 37°C and reached a maximum at 30 min; the binding at 37°C was shown to be saturable and specific. Scatchard analysis of the binding indicated that 3T3 cells contained about 2 × 104 receptors/cell with a dissociation constant of 1.0–1.5 nM. Several lines of evidence indicated that receptor occupancy on 3T3 cells correlated with the protein synthesis inhibitory activity of the sialoglycopeptide. A comparison of the kinetics of inhibitor binding with the kinetics of protein synthesis inhibition demonstrated that binding directly correlated with the inhibition of protein synthesis, concentration‐dependent inhibition of protein synthesis directly correlated with concentration‐dependent receptor occupancy, and a direct correlation was also observed between the kinetics of inhibitor dissociation from its specific cell surface receptor and the kinetics of recovery from protein synthesis inhibition.
Information sharing and value in construction supply chain

In order to improve information asymmetry in construction supply chain and keep effective information sharing seamlessly among parties involved, current narrow sense understanding of information sharing in construction industry was summarized firstly; then broaden content and essence of information sharing in construction supply chain was pointed out, that was not only information sharing which can be improved by information technology included, but certain asymmetric information which caused by different parties own interest also included in sharing scope. The essence of information sharing was making information symmetrical to each party; finally information value was calculated by setting up construction supply chain model. Conclusion is given that information sharing is basis for adding value to whole construction supply chain under the condition of risk & profit sharing.
Multiple targets tracking in radar system based on cross sector probability hypothesis density filter

Problems and solutions are discussed for the application of the Probability Hypothesis Density (PHD) filter in radar system. The results for engineering applications of the multiple target tracking based on PHD filtering in radar system are introduced. Results showed that the PHD filter can effectively solve the problems of Track initiation, organizing batch, and so on,.
Treatment of true developmental dysplasia of the hip using Pavlik's method

Ultrasound is the most sensitive method for detecting hip pathology in the first year of life. However, it has been shown that neonatal sonography, or combined sonographic–clinical screening, can cause some over-diagnosis which, when not used properly, can lead to over-treatment. We developed the concept of ‘true developmental dysplasia of the hip’ on the basis of our experience. Despite the still-growing popularity of Pavlik's method in the treatment of the condition, we were unable to find a study dealing with the relationship between sex, sonographic and clinical pathology, age at the start of treatment, and duration and outcome of treatment. To answer these questions, we assessed patients we had treated using Pavlik's method in a 5-year period at a special developmental dysplasia of the hip clinic. The influence of sex, clinical stability, severity of sonographic pathology and age when treatment was started was assessed according to duration, outcome of treatment and rate of avascular necrosis. In spite of the relatively small number of hips treated in this study, some conclusions can be drawn. The short period of treatment for clinically unstable hips can be surprising. As treatment was started before the age of 14 weeks, the favorable results can be attributed to this fact. There are hips which, according to our theory, will not improve spontaneously to normal; therefore, we believe that our figures reflect the real results of treatment using Pavlik's method. Practically 0% avascular necorosis for all the treated population (only one child had transient avascular necorosis of type 1) is, in our opinion, due to this fact. The high rate of success (98%) can also be attributed to early treatment.
Online Damping Strategy for Controlling Heaving Wave Energy Converters Using Three-Phase Bridge Boost Rectifier

One of the main research questions in the field of wave energy technologies concerns the development of an efficient control strategy that can enhance the economic competitiveness of these technologies. Numerous control strategies have been proposed in the past three decades of which only a few are deemed practical. This paper proposes a novel online damping control strategy that is based on the development of an explicit relation for controlling the damping force of a permanent magnet linear generator (PMLG) in real time. The strategy controls the duty cycle of a single-switch three-phase boost rectifier connected at the output terminals of the PMLG. Simulations were conducted to assess the performance of the wave energy converter after applying the proposed strategy under different operating conditions. The results showed satisfactory performances for different sea-state and electrical-loading conditions.
Does the family status of the CFO matter to enhance family firm performance? Evidence from a sample of small and medium-sized Italian family firms

This paper analyses the effects that the family status (family vs. non-family) of the chief financial officer (CFO) has on small and medium-sized family firms (SMFFs) performance. We analyse these effects also considering the family status of the chief executive officer (CEO) and across generations. Using data from 630 Italian SMFFs during the period 2011-2013, our results show that: 1) a non-family CFO has a positive effect on firm performance; 2) the best performance is achieved when the CEO is a family member and the CFO is not; 3) across generations, a non-family CFO has always a positive effect on firm performance and reduces the agency costs.
HER-2 protein concentrations in breast cancer cells increase before immunohistochemical and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis turn positive

Abstract Background: The level of HER-2/neu in breast cancer cells is normally measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). It determines whether patients should be treated with trastuzumab (Herceptin®). In this study, HER-2 protein in breast cancer tissue was measured using a quantitative method. Methods: Tissue samples of malignant and adjacent benign breast tissue were collected from 118 consecutive women admitted for surgical treatment of breast cancer. The HER-2 protein concentration was determined by 2 HER-2 assays: ELISA and the Bayer ADVIA Centaur assay. Paraffin-embedded tissue sections of the corresponding tumors were analyzed by IHC and FISH. Results: Increased HER-2 concentrations in cancer tissue were found compared to autologous reference tissue (p<0.0001, Wilcoxon test) and normal breast tissue (p<0.0001, Mann-Whitney test). Good concordance rates were observed between the methods: 95.8% for IHC and FISH; 86.4% for IHC and ELISA; and 87.3% for FISH and ELISA. The HER-2 positivity rate was determined to 26.3% by ELISA, 12.7% by IHC and 16.9% by FISH. No correlation was found with tumor grade, axillary node status or serum HER-2 levels. Conclusions: Detection of HER-2 overexpression by measuring HER-2 in tissue extracts by ELISA seems to be more sensitive than IHC and FISH. This suggests that some patients deprived of Herceptin treatment may benefit from this treatment and may also explain the conversion phenomenon from HER-2-negative to HER-2-positive observed in relapse and metastatic disease. Clin Chem Lab Med 2007;45:177–82.
Dynamic thresholds for self-organizing predictive cells

It has become increasingly popular to view the brain as a prediction machine. This view has informed a number of theories of brain function, the most prominent being predictive processing, where generative hypotheses are iteratively updated by error signals. In this treatment we take a lower level approach by examining the hierarchical temporal memory framework, which views individual pyramidal cells as the primary predictive unit of a self-organizing networked sequence learning system. Within this computational framework, the cell behaviour is constrained by a number of parameters which are static and shared across all cells. To further increase the adaptability of the cells, we shift away from this paradigm by introducing the concept of dynamic thresholds. This allows for the activation threshold (the amount of activity on a distal dendrite needed to form a prediction) to be adjusted continuously and individually for each cell. As a metric we use the prior, or unconditional, probability of activity on t.
Long-Term Renal Function in Liver Transplant Recipients After Conversion From Calcineurin Inhibitors to mTOR Inhibitors.

BACKGROUND Renal dysfunction often occurs in liver transplant (LT) recipients receiving calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based immunosuppressive regimens, increasing morbidity and mortality rates. Replacement of CNIs by mTOR inhibitor-based immunosuppressive protocols may prevent renal impairment in LT recipients. MATERIAL/METHODS Outcomes in patients who underwent LT between 1996 and 2010 at our center and who were switched from CNI-based to mTOR inhibitor-based immunosuppression were retrospectively analyzed. Renal course, hyperlipidemia, and graft rejection were assessed in patients maintained on this CNI-free regimen for at least 24 months. RESULTS Of the 85 patients switched from CNI-based to mTOR inhibitor-based, CNI-free immunosuppression, 78 met the inclusion criteria. Within the first 6 weeks after switching, the covariable adjusted estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) increased 5.6 mL/min [95% confidence interval 2.6-8.7 mL/min, p<0.001], but there were no further statistically noticeable changes in eGFR. Concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides increased statistically, noticeable within the first 12 months after drug conversion. Histologically proven graft rejection was observed in 4 patients (5.1%) after conversion. CONCLUSIONS Conversion from CNI-based to CNI-free, mTOR inhibitor-based immunosuppression after LT is safe and can result in significant renal recovery. CNI-free, mTOR inhibitor-based immunosuppression is a potential option for patients with contraindications for CNIs and for LT recipients with rapid reduction in kidney function due to CNIs.
New Applications of an Automated System for High-Power LEDs

An automatic system based on thermoelectric cooler (TEC), a microfan, and microcontroller is first applied to thermal management of high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Its hardware is composed of microcontroller as a control core, K-type thermocouples as acquisition devices, and TEC and a microfan with heatsink as cooling vehicles. The experiment confirms that the LEDs substrate temperature can be controlled effectively, and indicates that the LED chips are operating reliably. Specifically, in high-temperature environments of 43 °C, the system can automatically drop to the low set temperature (30 °C) due to thermoelectric effect driven by TEC. Heat transfer analysis shows that maximum LED power cooled by the system is 106.7 W, and the total power consumption of the automatic cooling system is only 8.85 W. The automatic cooling system has a high cooling efficiency.
Evaluation of genetic variants in microRNA biosynthesis genes and risk of breast cancer in Chinese women

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a class of small, noncoding RNA molecules involved in a diversity of cellular functions. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA biosynthesis genes may affect the biogenesis of miRNAs and consequently affect the miRNAs regulation. In this study, we systematically selected 24 functional SNPs located in eight key biosynthesis genes of miRNA (DROSHA, DGCR8, RAN, DICER, AGO2, GEMIN3, GEMIN4 and HIWI) and investigated the association between these SNPs and the risk of breast cancer in a Chinese population. All 24 SNPs were firstly genotyped in stage 1 (878 cases and 900 controls) and three promising SNPs (DROSHA rs2291109, RAN rs7301722 and DGCR8 rs417309) were selected for further validation in stage 2 (914 cases and 967 controls). We found that only one SNP (rs417309) located in the 3′‐UTR of DGCR8 was consistently associated with an increased breast cancer risk in two stages with a combined odds ratio (OR) of 1.50 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16–1.93]. Based on the bioinformatics prediction, rs417309 is located at the binding sites of miR‐106b and miR‐579 in the 3′‐UTR of DGCR8. To evaluate whether rs417309 variant affects the binding capacity of miRNAs, we cotransfected luciferase reporter plasmids of DGCR8 3′‐UTR and miR‐106b/miR‐579 in three cell lines. Luciferase activity assay showed a higher expression level with rs417309 A allele compared with G allele in MCF‐7 cell lines (p = 3.31 × 10–7, 9.29 × 10–7 for miR‐106b and miR‐579, respectively). Our findings suggested that DGCR8 rs417309 G > A might affect breast cancer risk through the interruption of miRNA binding.