Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuronal assembly dynamics in the beta1 frequency range permits short-term memory

Cell assemblies have long been thought to be associated with brain rhythms, notably the gamma rhythm. Here, we use a computational model to show that the beta1 frequency band, as found in rat association cortex, has properties complementary to the gamma band for the creation and manipulation of cell assemblies. We focus on the ability of the beta1 rhythm to respond differently to familiar and novel stimuli, and to provide a framework for combining the two. Simulations predict that assemblies of superficial layer pyramidal cells can be maintained in the absence of continuing input or synaptic plasticity. Instead, the formation of these assemblies relies on the nesting of activity within a beta1 rhythm. In addition, cells receiving further input after assembly formation produce coexistent spiking activity, unlike the competitive spiking activity characteristic of assembly formation with gamma rhythms.
Communicating Safe Motherhood: Strategic Messaging in a Globalized World

ABSTRACT The practice of education as a tool of persuasive communication has been used in family planning and reproductive health for at least 50 years. However, the past three decades have seen a phenomenal evolution of communication as a social science; as a result there has been an increasingly systematic research-based application of mass media—particularly television, radio, newspapers, and internet—for enhancing the impact of health messaging. In this article I examine the theoretical underpinnings of behavior change communication in the context of the aforementioned mediating factors that influence the design and content of family planning and reproductive health programs. I look at three main types of behavior change communication strategies, entertainment education, social marketing, and advocacy, and describe how these three strategies have been applied to effect social change using a case study to describe and assist in reviewing the impact they have had on targeted behaviors. The descriptions of different programs and their impact have been taken from detailed reports procured from either organizational personnel who conducted those programs or from organizational websites. This chapter culminates with a discussion of key technical, administrative, and political challenges that affect the creation and implementation of such international collaborative programs, with insights from field experts.
An Application of Boosting to Graph Classification

This paper presents an application of Boosting for classifying labeled graphs, general structures for modeling a number of real-world data, such as chemical compounds, natural language texts, and bio sequences. The proposal consists of i) decision stumps that use subgraph as features, and ii) a Boosting algorithm in which subgraph-based decision stumps are used as weak learners. We also discuss the relation between our algorithm and SVMs with convolution kernels. Two experiments using natural language data and chemical compounds show that our method achieves comparable or even better performance than SVMs with convolution kernels as well as improves the testing efficiency.
Operationalizing Evidence-Based Practice

Although evidence-based practice (EBP) has received increasing attention in social work in the past few years, there has been limited success in moving from academic discussion to engaging social workers in the process of implementing EBP in practice. This article describes the challenges, successes, and future aims in the process of developing a university-based institute for evidence-based social work. Aspects of the development include attempting to address concerns and critiques through developing an inclusive model of EBP; engaging community agency partners as active participants in the process; developing collaborative research projects with community partners to further the research evidence available for practice; conducting systematic reviews; finding means of disseminating review and research findings broadly in order to effect social policy revisions and lead to the development of effective programs and practices; and training agency personnel and social work students in the process of EBP and conducting practice evaluation research.
Effects of aerobic exercise on lipid profiles and high molecular weight adiponectin in Japanese workers.

BACKGROUND The metabolic syndrome is characterized by the accumulation of several metabolic risk factors. It is important to improve physical activity and dietary habits to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in humans. METHODS The study participants participated in a weekly aerobic exercise program that included a session composed of a brief meeting, warm-up exercises, and primary exercises (low and high impact, stretch, muscle training, and cooling down). To evaluate the effect of this intervention we measured body fat composition, holding power, and quality of life assessment. Blood tests were also carried out before and every 3 months during the study. RESULTS Of the 37 participants enrolled in the exercise group, 31 (83.8%) completed the 12-week program. The control group consisted of 42 subjects, 36 (85.7%) of whom were available for follow-up at the end of the 12-week study period. In the exercise group, weight, body fat percentage, waist circumference, the World Health Organization quality of life 26 (WHO-QOL 26) score, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol had improved significantly at the end of three months. The high molecular weight adiponectin concentration of the participants in the exercise group increased during the 9-month period of the study, although this change did not reach statistical significance compared with pre-exercise. CONCLUSION Aerobic exercise led to an improvement in body composition and lipid profiles. High molecular weight adiponectin concentrations tended to improve compared with pre-aerobic exercise levels.
Internal factors related to relational aggressionin childhood and adolescence

Relational aggression refers to non-physical behaviors that harm others by damage or threat of damage to peer relationships, either directly or indirectly. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the primary potential internal factors that are related to relational aggression in children and adolescents. Based on the results of the twin studies, circadian rhythms investigation, and survey study, it is suggested that children and adolescents may act more or less innately aggressive. A high percentage of children and adolescents involved in relational aggression behavior express a belief that they have a common and natural tendency. Emotions may underlie children’s desire or need to use social aggression by either promoting or inhibiting aggression. Anger, envy/jealousy drive and encourage children’s aggressive impulses; on the other hand, empathy works on aggressive behaviors in the opposite way by decreasing the probability of aggression. Social cognition including hostile attribution, positively biased self-perception, social intelligence is related to relational aggression: relationally aggressive children hold significantly more hostile attributions for relational provocation than do nonaggressive children; positively biased self-perception (i.e., the level of perceived peer acceptance is higher than the level of actual peer acceptance) is linked positively with relational aggression. The more a child uses relational/indirect aggression, the higher the individual’s level of social intelligence. Emphasizing the internal factor related to relational aggression will call for more attention to broader and deeper investigation of the cause of relational aggression.
Minimal vertex degree sum of a 3-path in plane maps

Let wk be the minimum degree sum of a path on k vertices in a graph. We prove for normal plane maps that: (1) if w2 = 6, then w3 may be arbitrarily big, (2) if w2 > 6, then either w3 ≤ 18 or there is a ≤ 15-vertex adjacent to two 3-vertices, and (3) if w2 > 7, then w3 ≤ 17.
Difficulties in Metaphor Comprehension Faced by International Students whose First Language is not English

This article reports a study on metaphor comprehension by the international students whose first language is not English, while attending undergraduate lectures at a British university. Study participants identified words or multiword items that they found difficult in extracts from four academic lectures, and they interpreted metaphors from those extracts. Among the items reported as difficult, we established the proportion of metaphorical items, plus the proportion of items composed only of words familiar to the students. We developed a measure of the extent of students’ awareness of their metaphor interpretation difficulties, plus a scheme for categorizing the most common types of metaphor misinterpretations. We found that, of the items that were difficult though composed of familiar words, ∼40 per cent involved metaphor. Further, when the students misinterpreted metaphors, they only seemed aware of having difficulty in ∼4 per cent of cases. As university lecturers use metaphors for important functions, such as explaining and evaluating, such international students may thus be missing valuable learning opportunities. Our error categorization scheme could be used in helping English learners with metaphor comprehension.
To Do or Not to Do? Noncooperative Behavior by Commission and Omission in Interfirm Ventures

This article contributes to researchers’ understanding of interfirm collaboration by examining the interpartner relationship in terms of cooperative behavior. In particular, this article focuses on the effect that a firm’s perception of its partner’s behavior has on the firm’s own behavior. Noncooperative behavior is distinguished by omission and by commission. By analyzing questionnaire data from a sample of 81 companies, it is shown that a firm’s perception of its partner’s behavior has a stronger association with the firm’s own behavior when the partner is perceived to behave noncooperatively by commission than by omission.
Evaluation of Trajectory Clustering Based on Information Criteria for Human Activity Analysis

In this paper, we discuss statistical analysis of human trajectories measured by GPS-like positioning devices. Our goal is to develop a system of trajectory analysis that distributes information optimized for each user. For such a system, we need a method to estimate a user's status from his/her trajectories. First, a trajectory needs to be divided into short temporal segments, which will be matched to action model patterns, to estimate a user's status. Second, we tried dividing actual human trajectories using a conventional trajectory-clustering method. Moreover, we adjusted parameters of the trajectory clustering by using information criteria experimentally. After the experiment, we confirmed that only a criterion in which noise data are counted worked well. However, we also confirmed that the number of clusters generated by the method is too small. Therefore, we conclude that an improvement in deciding which data are noise in trajectory clustering is necessary for estimating the status of users.
Phase Differences in Expression of Circadian Clock Genes in the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala, Dentate Gyrus, and Suprachiasmatic Nucleus in the Rat

We performed a high temporal resolution analysis of the transcript level of two core clock genes, Period2 (Per2) and Bmal1, and a clock output gene, Dbp, in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the master circadian clock, and in two forebrain regions, the lateral part of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEAl), and dentate gyrus (DG), in rats. These regions, as we have shown previously, exhibit opposite rhythms in expression of the core clock protein, PERIOD2 (PER2). We found that the expression of Per2, Bmal1 and Dbp follow a diurnal rhythm in all three regions but the phase and amplitude of the rhythms of each gene vary across regions, revealing important regional differences in temporal dynamics underlying local daily rhythm generation in the mammalian forebrain. These findings underscore the complex temporal organization of subordinate circadian oscillators in the forebrain and raise interesting questions about the functional connection of these oscillators with the master SCN clock.
Purification and partial amino acid sequence of plantaricin S, a bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus plantarum LPCO10, the activity of which depends on the complementary action of two peptides

Plantaricin S, one of the two bacteriocins produced by Lactobacillus plantarum LPCO10, which was isolated from a green-olive fermentation (R. Jim�nez-D�az, R.M. R�os-S�nchez, M. Desmazeaud, J.L.Ruiz-Barba, and J.-C. Piard, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 59:1416-1424, 1993), has been purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, by binding to SP-Sepharose fast-flow, phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B, and C2/C18 reverse-phase chromatographies. The purification resulted in a final yield of 91.6% and a 352,617-fold increase in the specific activity. The bacteriocin activity was associated with two distinct peptides, termed alpha and beta, which were separated by C2/C18 reverse-phase chromatography. Although beta alone appeared to retain a trace of inhibitory activity, the complementary action of both the alpha and beta peptides was required for full bacteriocin activity, as judged by both the agar well diffusion and the microtiter plate assays. From the N-terminal end, 26 and 24 amino acids residues of alpha and beta, respectively, were sequenced. Further attempts at sequencing revealed no additional amino acids residues, suggesting that either modifications in the next amino acid residue blocked the sequencing region or that the C-terminal end had been reached. The amino acid sequences of alpha and beta show no apparent homology to each or to other bacteriocins purified from lactic acid bacteria.
Targeting mixed lineage kinases in ER-positive breast cancer cells leads to G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis

Estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors represent the most common type of breast cancer, and ER-targeted therapies such as antiestrogens and aromatase inhibitors have therefore been widely used in breast cancer treatment. While many patients have benefited from these therapies, both innate and acquired resistance continue to be causes of treatment failure. Novel targeted therapeutics that could be used alone or in combination with endocrine agents to treat resistant tumors or to prevent their development are therefore needed. In this report, we examined the effects of inhibiting mixed-lineage kinase (MLK) activity on ER-positive breast cancer cells and non-tumorigenic mammary epithelial cells. Inhibition of MLK activity with the pan-MLK inhibitor CEP-1347 blocked cell cycle progression in G2 and early M phase, and induced apoptosis in three ER-positive breast cancer cell lines, including one with acquired antiestrogen resistance. In contrast, it had no effect on the cell cycle or apoptosis in two non-tumorigenic mammary epithelial cell lines. CEP-1347 treatment did not decrease the level of active ERK or p38 in any of the cell lines tested. However, it resulted in decreased JNK and NF-κB activity in the breast cancer cell lines. A JNK inhibitor mimicked the effects of CEP-1347 in breast cancer cells, and overexpression of c-Jun rescued CEP-1347-induced Bax expression. These results indicate that proliferation and survival of ER-positive breast cancer cells are highly dependent on MLK activity, and suggest that MLK inhibitors may have therapeutic efficacy for ER-positive breast tumors, including ones that are resistant to current endocrine therapies.
Genome-Wide Binding of Posterior HOXA/D Transcription Factors Reveals Subgrouping and Association with CTCF

Homeotic genes code for key transcription factors (HOX-TFs) that pattern the animal body plan. During embryonic development, Hox genes are expressed in overlapping patterns and function in a partially redundant manner. In vitro biochemical screens probing the HOX-TF sequence specificity revealed largely overlapping sequence preferences, indicating that co-factors might modulate the biological function of HOX-TFs. However, due to their overlapping expression pattern, high protein homology, and insufficiently specific antibodies, little is known about their genome-wide binding preferences. In order to overcome this problem, we virally expressed tagged versions of limb-expressed posterior Hox genes (Hoxa9-13, and Hoxd9-13) in primary mesenchymal limb progenitor cells (micromass). We determined the effect of each HOX-TF on cellular differentiation (chondrogenesis) and gene expression and found that groups of HOX-TFs induce distinct regulatory programs. We used ChIP-seq to determine their individual genome-wide binding profiles and identified between 12,540 and 27,466 binding sites for each of the nine HOX-TFs. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of binding profiles revealed that the HOX-TFs are clustered in two subgroups (Group 1: HOXA/D9, HOXA/D10, HOXD12, and HOXA13 and Group 2: HOXA/D11 and HOXD13), which are characterized by differences in their sequence specificity and by the presence of cofactor motifs. Specifically, we identified CTCF binding sites in Group 1, indicating that this subgroup of HOX-proteins cooperates with CTcf. We confirmed this interaction by an independent biological assay (proximity ligation assay) and showed that CTCF is a novel HOX cofactor that specifically associates with Group 1 HOX-TFs, pointing towards a possible interplay between HOX-TFs and chromatin architecture.
ATTENTIONAL FOCUS AND MOTOR LEARNING: GABRIELE WULF ON TARGET

Commentaries Ryan Brydges, Adam Dubrowski, & Heather Carnahan: Attentional Focus and Motor Learning: Possible Applications to Health Professions Education . 15 Andreas Bund, Josef Wiemeyer, & Regine Angert: Attentional Focus and Motor Learning: Notes on Some Problems of a Research Paradigm . 17 Felix Ehrlenspiel: Constraining Action Through Attentional Focusing Happens at Points in Time . 19 Mathias Hegele & Daniel Erlacher: Focusing Along Multiple Dimensions: Spatial, Temporal, and Modal Aspects of Distality . 21 Nicola J. Hodges & Paul Ford: Skillful Attending, Looking and Thinking . 23 Bernhard Hommel: Goals, Attention, and the Dynamics of Skill Acquisition: Commentary on Wulf . 25 Stefan Künzell: Optimal Attentional Focus in Practical Sport Settings: Always External or Task Specific? 27 David Marchant: Staying Focused: Additional Questions and Issues for Future Attentional Focus Research . 29 Heiko Maurer & Karen Zentgraf: On the How and Why of the External Focus Learning Advantage . 31 Franz Mechsner: How Does the Distribution of Spatial Attention Affect the Quality of Movement Performance? 33 Adina Mornell: Opening Musicians’ Ears to Attentional Focus . 35 Hermann Müller: De-Automization in Motor Learning? Answers and Open Questions . 37 Richard Mullen: Attentional Focus and Motor Learning: Some Caveats and Cautions . 39 Raôul R. D. Oudejans, Johan M. Koedijker, & Peter J. Beek: An Outside View on Wulf’s External Focus: Three Recommendations . 41 Jamie M. Poolton, Jonathan P. Maxwell, Richard S. W. Masters, & John van der Kamp: Moving With an External Focus: Automatic or Simply Less Demanding? 43 Markus Raab: On the Value of the Attentional Focus Concept: Elaborate and Specify! 45 Daniel M. Russell: Attentional Focus on the Invariant Control Variables . 47 John Toner & Aidan Moran: The Influence of Attentional Focus on Motor Performance and Learning: A Brief Critique of Gabriele Wulf's Article . 49 Matthias Weigelt, Thomas Schack, & Wilfried Kunde: Attentional Focus Effects Highlight the Role of Mental Representations in Motor Control . 51 Craig A. Wrisberg: An Applied Sport Psychological Perspective on the Relative Merits of an External and Internal Focus of Attention . 53 Michael Ziessler: Effect Codes Are Important for Learning and Control of Movement Patterns . 55
Exploiting the Passive Dynamics of a Compliant Leg to Develop Gait Transitions

In the area of bipedal locomotion, the spring-loaded inverted pendulum model has been proposed as a unified framework to explain the dynamics of a wide variety of gaits. In this paper, we present an analysis of the mathematical model and its dynamical properties. We use the perspective of hybrid dynamical systems to study the dynamics and define concepts such as partial stability and viability. With this approach, on the one hand, we identify stable and unstable regions of locomotion. On the other hand, we find ways to exploit the unstable regions of locomotion to induce gait transitions at a constant energy regime. Additionally, we show that simple nonconstant angle of attack control policies can render the system almost always stable.
Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia: evidence of a specific, shared molecular background

Evaluation of: Horesh Y, Katsel P, Haroutunian V, Domany E: Gene expression signature is shared by patients with Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia at the superior temporal gyrus. Eur. J. Neurol. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468–1331.2010. 03166.x (2010) (Epub ahead of print). This study tried to detect any molecular substrate that might be shared by brain disorders in general, comparing gene expression profiles across multiple brain areas determined by post-mortem samples from 83 patients affected by well-characterized diseases of the brain with marked differences in neuropathology, etiology and symptoms, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD; n = 55) and schizophrenia (n = 28). Brodmann area 22, namely the superior temporal gyrus, had a greater number of abnormally expressed genes in both diseases; moreover, genes that differentiated AD and schizophrenia patients from normal elders (n = 22) were principally downregulated and more present in Brodmann area 8, part of the superior frontal cortex. The findings point to a sp.
Storageless value prediction using prior register values

This paper presents a technique called register value prediction (RVP) which uses a type of locality called register-value reuse. By predicting that an instruction will produce the value that is already stored in the destination register we eliminate the need for large value buffers to enable value prediction. Even without the large buffers, register-value prediction can be made as or more effective than last-value prediction, particularly with the aid of compiler management of values in the register file. Both static and dynamic register value prediction techniques are demonstrated to exploit register-value reuse, the former requiring minimal instruction set architecture changes and the latter requiring a set of small confidence counters. We show an average gain of 12% with dynamic RVP and moderate compiler assistance on a next generation processor and 15% on a 16-wide processor.
Some Thoughts on Using Annotated Suffix Trees for Natural Language Processing

The paper defines an annotated suffix tree (AST) - a data structure used to calculate and store the frequencies of all the fragments of the given string or a collection of strings. The AST is associated with a string to text scoring, which takes all fuzzy matches into account. We show how the AST and the AST scoring can be used for Natural Language Processing tasks.