Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extrafoveal capture of attention by emotional scenes: affective valence versus visual saliency

ABSTRACT Pairs of emotional (pleasant or unpleasant) and neutral scenes were presented peripherally (≥5° away from fixation) during a central letter-discrimination task. Selective attentional capture was assessed by means of eye movement orienting, i.e., probability of first fixating a scene and the time until first fixation. Static and dynamic visual saliency values of the scenes were computationally modelled. Results revealed selective orienting to both pleasant and unpleasant relative to neutral scenes. Importantly, such effects remained in the absence of visual saliency differences, even though saliency influenced eye movements. This suggests that selective attention to emotional scenes is genuinely driven by the processing of affective significance in extrafoveal vision.
Assessing collaborative learning: big data, analytics and university futures

Abstract Assessment in higher education has focused on the performance of individual students. This focus has been a practical as well as an epistemic one: methods of assessment are constrained by the technology of the day, and in the past they required the completion by individuals under controlled conditions of set-piece academic exercises. Recent advances in learning analytics, drawing upon vast sets of digitally stored student activity data, open new practical and epistemic possibilities for assessment, and carry the potential to transform higher education. It is becoming practicable to assess the individual and collective performance of team members working on complex projects that closely simulate the professional contexts that graduates will encounter. In addition to academic knowledge, this authentic assessment can include a diverse range of personal qualities and dispositions that are key to the computer-supported cooperative working of professionals in the knowledge economy. This paper explores the implications of such opportunities for the purpose and practices of assessment in higher education, as universities adapt their institutional missions to address twenty-first century needs. The paper concludes with a strong recommendation for university leaders to deploy analytics to support and evaluate the collaborative learning of students working in realistic contexts.
Broadcast news parsing using visual cues: a robust face detection approach

Automatic content-based analysis and indexing of broadcast news recordings or digitized news archives is becoming an important tool in the framework of many multimedia interactive services such as news summarization, browsing, retrieval and news-on-demand (NoD) applications. Existing approaches have achieved high performance in such applications but heavily rely on textual cues such as closed caption tokens and teletext transcripts. We present an efficient technique for temporal segmentation and parsing of news recordings based on visual cues that can either be employed as a stand-alone application for non-closed captioned broadcasts or integrated with audio and textual cues of existing systems. The technique involves robust face detection by means of color segmentation, skin color matching and shape processing, and is able to identify typical news instances like anchor persons, reports and outdoor shots.
Primary Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma of the Breast- A Rare Case Report

Primary breast lymphoma is a rare tumor that presents commonly as a large mass with an incidence of only 0.5%. It has no specific mammographic appearance and can be confused with poorly differentiated carcinoma on routine FNAC or frozen section. With appropriate treatment, this breast malignancy has a relatively good prognosis. We report a case of primary mammary non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a post-menopausal woman, initially misdiagnosed as a case of ductal carcinoma on FNAC. Subsequently mastectomy specimen revealed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which was confirmed by Immunohistochemistry.
Asymmetries in long‐term and short‐term plasticity at thalamic and cortical inputs to the amygdala in vivo

Converging lines of evidence suggest that synaptic plasticity at auditory inputs to the lateral amygdala (LA) is critical for the formation and storage of auditory fear memories. Auditory information reaches the LA from both thalamic and cortical areas, raising the question of whether they make distinct contributions to fear memory storage. Here we address this by comparing the induction of long‐term potentation (LTP) at the two inputs in vivo in anesthetized rats. We first show, using field potential measurements, that different patterns and frequencies of high‐frequency stimulation (HFS) consistently elicit stronger LTP at cortical inputs than at thalamic inputs. Field potential responses elicited during HFS of thalamic inputs were also smaller than responses during HFS of cortical inputs, suggesting less effective postsynaptic depolarization. Pronounced differences in the short‐term plasticity profiles of the two inputs were also observed: whereas cortical inputs displayed paired‐pulse facilitation, thalamic inputs displayed paired‐pulse depression. These differences in short‐ and long‐term plasticity were not due to stronger inhibition at thalamic inputs: although removal of inhibition enhanced responses to HFS, it did not enhance thalamic LTP and left paired‐pulse depression unaffected. These results highlight the divergent nature of short‐ and long‐term plasticity at thalamic and cortical sensory inputs to the LA, pointing to their different roles in the fear learning system.
Relationship of Possible Stress-Related Biochemical Markers to Oxidative/Antioxidative Status in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Free radicals have been found to play an important role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). So, we measured the oxidative/antioxidative status of OCD patients, and assessed its use as a biological marker. The study was carried out on 20 healthy and 20 OCD subjects, aged between 20 and 40 years. Biochemical parameters of all subjects were assessed and compared. A significant difference in superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels was observed between the OCD and control groups (p < 0.05); malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were also significantly higher in OCD subjects (p < 0.05). Our study found an overall oxidative imbalance in OCD, leaning towards the antioxidant side in sufferers (specifically towards SOD). SOD has a protective role in overcoming oxidative stress; therefore, oxidative stress could have a pathophysiological role in OCD. Therapy specifically targeting MDA production will have a beneficial effect in overcoming the oxidative stress, anxiety and affective disorder which may be associated with OCD.
Prophylactic administration of parenteral steroids for preventing airway complications after extubation in adults: meta-analysis of randomised placebo controlled trials

Objective To determine whether steroids are effective in preventing laryngeal oedema after extubation and reducing the need for subsequent reintubation in critically ill adults. Design Meta-analysis. Data sources PubMed, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Web of Science, and Embase with no limitation on language, study year, or publication status. Selection criteria Randomised placebo controlled trials in which parenteral steroids were compared with placebo for preventing complications after extubation in adults. Review methods Search, application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction, and assessment of methodological quality, independently performed in duplicate. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals, risk difference, and number needed to treat were calculated and pooled. Main outcome measures Primary outcome: laryngeal oedema after extubation. Secondary outcome: subsequent reintubation because of laryngeal oedema. Results Six trials (n=1923) were identified. Compared with placebo, steroids given before planned extubation decreased the odds ratio for laryngeal oedema (0.38, 95% confidence interval 0.17 to 0.85) and subsequent reintubation (0.29, 0.15 to 0.58), corresponding with a risk difference of −0.10 (−0.12 to −0.07; number needed to treat 10) and −0.02 (−0.04 to −0.01; 50), respectively. Subgroup analyses indicated that a multidose regimen of steroids had marked positive effects on the occurrence of laryngeal oedema (0.14; 0.08 to 0.23) and on the rate of subsequent reintubation (0.19; 0.07 to 0.50), with a risk difference of −0.19 (−0.24 to −0.15; 5) and −0.04 (−0.07 to −0.02; 25). In single doses there was only a trend towards benefit, with the confidence interval including 1. Side effects related to steroids were not found. Conclusion Prophylactic administration of steroids in multidose regimens before planned extubation reduces the incidence of laryngeal oedema after extubation and the consequent reintubation rate in adults, with few adverse events.
Identification of Arabidopsis thaliana upstream open reading frames encoding peptide sequences that cause ribosomal arrest

Abstract Specific sequences of certain nascent peptides cause programmed ribosomal arrest during mRNA translation to control gene expression. In eukaryotes, most known regulatory arrest peptides are encoded by upstream open reading frames (uORFs) present in the 5′-untranslated region of mRNAs. However, to date, a limited number of eukaryotic uORFs encoding arrest peptides have been reported. Here, we searched for arrest peptide-encoding uORFs among Arabidopsis thaliana uORFs with evolutionarily conserved peptide sequences. Analysis of in vitro translation products of 22 conserved uORFs identified three novel uORFs causing ribosomal arrest in a peptide sequence-dependent manner. Stop codon-scanning mutagenesis, in which the effect of changing the uORF stop codon position on the ribosomal arrest was examined, and toeprint analysis revealed that two of the three uORFs cause ribosomal arrest during translation elongation, whereas the other one causes ribosomal arrest during translation termination. Transient expression assays showed that the newly identified arrest-causing uORFs exerted a strong sequence-dependent repressive effect on the expression of the downstream reporter gene in A. thaliana protoplasts. These results suggest that the peptide sequences of the three uORFs identified in this study cause ribosomal arrest in the uORFs, thereby repressing the expression of proteins encoded by the main ORFs.
Dopaminergic Control of Sleep–Wake States

Dopamine depletion is involved in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease, whereas hyperdopaminergia may play a fundamental role in generating endophenotypes associated with schizophrenia. Sleep disturbances are known to occur in both schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease, suggesting that dopamine plays a role in regulating the sleep–wake cycle. Here, we show that novelty-exposed hyperdopaminergic mice enter a novel awake state characterized by spectral patterns of hippocampal local field potentials that resemble electrophysiological activity observed during rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. Treatment with haloperidol, a D2 dopamine receptor antagonist, reduces this abnormal intrusion of REM-like activity during wakefulness. Conversely, mice acutely depleted of dopamine enter a different novel awake state characterized by spectral patterns of hippocampal local field potentials that resemble electrophysiological activity observed during slow-wave sleep (SWS). This dopamine-depleted state is marked by an apparent suppression of SWS and a complete suppression of REM sleep. Treatment with D2 (but not D1) dopamine receptor agonists recovers REM sleep in these mice. Altogether, these results indicate that dopamine regulates the generation of sleep–wake states. We propose that psychosis and the sleep disturbances experienced by Parkinsonian patients result from dopamine-mediated disturbances of REM sleep.
Fibulin-3 as a biomarker of response to treatment in malignant mesothelioma

Abstract Background. Fibulin-3 is a new potential biomarker for malignant mesothelioma (MM). This study evaluated the potential applicability of fibulin-3 plasma levels as a biomarker of response to treatment and its prognostic value for progressive disease within 18 months. The potential applicability of fibulin-3 in comparison with or in addition to soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) was also assessed. Patients and methods. The study included 78 MM patients treated at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana between 2007 and 2011. Fibulin-3 levels in plasma samples obtained before treatment and in various responses to treatment were measured with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. In patients evaluated before the treatment, fibulin-3 levels were not influenced by histopathological sub-types, tumour stages or the presence of metastatic disease. Significantly higher fibulin-3 levels were found in progressive disease as compared to the levels before treatment (Mann-Whitney [U] test = 472.50, p = 0.003), in complete response to treatment (U = 42.00, p = 0.010), and in stable disease (U = 542.00, p = 0.001). Patients with fibulin-3 levels exceeding 34.25 ng/ml before treatment had more than four times higher probability for developing progressive disease within 18 months (odds ratio [OR] = 4.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.56–12.13). Additionally, patients with fibulin-3 levels above 34.25 ng/ml after treatment with complete response or stable disease had increased odds for progressive disease within 18 months (OR = 6.94, 95% CI 0.99–48.55 and OR = 4.39, 95% CI 1.63–11.81, respectively). Conclusions. Our findings suggest that in addition to SMRP fibulin-3 could also be helpful in detecting the progression of MM.
Analyzing Delay Performance of Multi-hop Wireless Networks

In this paper a multi-hop wireless network is considered to analyze the delay performance. We assume that there is a fixed route between a given source and destination pair. The multi-hop nature of network may cause complex correlations of the service process. In order to handle them, we propose a queue grouping technique. An interference model is assumed which is set based. With the help of interference constraints the lower bound of delay performance is obtained. To achieve this systematic methodology is used. The simple-path delay-optimal policy we designed is used for wireless networks. Empirical studies revealed that our approach is good to optimize scheduling policies and analyzing delay in multi-hop wireless networks.
Mobility of Spatial Parallel Manipulators

This chapter focuses on the mobility analysis of spatial parallel manipulators. It first develops an analytical methodology to investigate the instantaneous degree of freedom (DOF) of the end-effector of a parallel manipulator. And then, the instantaneous controllability of the end-effector is discussed from the viewpoint of the possible actuation schemes which will be especially useful for the designers of the parallel manipulators. Via comparing the differences and essential mobility of a set of underactuated, over actuated and equally actuated manipulators, this chapter demonstrates that the underactuated, over actuated and equally actuated manipulators are all substantially fully actuated mechanisms. This work is significantly important for a designer to contrive his or her manipulators with underactuated or over actuated structures. Based on the analytical model of the DOF of a spatial parallel manipulator, this chapter develops a general process to synthesize the manipulators with the specified mobility. The outstanding characteristics of the synthesis method are that the whole process is also analytical and each step can be programmed at a computer. Because of the restrictions of the traditional general mobility formulas for spatial mechanisms, a lot of mechanisms having special manoeuvrability might not be synthesized. However, any mechanism can be synthesized with this analytical theory of degrees of freedom for spatial mechanisms.
An effect of formant amplitude in vowel perception

A psycho-acoustical experiment was conducted using synthetic vowel-like stimuli to examine effect of formant amplitude in vowel perception. Nine combinations of formant frequencies were examined. For each combination, relative amplitude of the third to the second formants was modified in seven degrees. In eight of the nine combinations, perceived vowels were changed according to the formant amplitude although every formant frequency kept constant. Furthermore, this amplitude effect was observed even when frequency separation of the neighboring formants was greater than 3.5 Bark. The result suggested that formant amplitude is effective cue for vowel perception as well as formant frequency.
Measurement of replication structures at the nanometer scale using super-resolution light microscopy

DNA replication, similar to other cellular processes, occurs within dynamic macromolecular structures. Any comprehensive understanding ultimately requires quantitative data to establish and test models of genome duplication. We used two different super-resolution light microscopy techniques to directly measure and compare the size and numbers of replication foci in mammalian cells. This analysis showed that replication foci vary in size from 210 nm down to 40 nm. Remarkably, spatially modulated illumination (SMI) and 3D-structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM) both showed an average size of 125 nm that was conserved throughout S-phase and independent of the labeling method, suggesting a basic unit of genome duplication. Interestingly, the improved optical 3D resolution identified 3- to 5-fold more distinct replication foci than previously reported. These results show that optical nanoscopy techniques enable accurate measurements of cellular structures at a level previously achieved only by electron microscopy and highlight the possibility of high-throughput, multispectral 3D analyses.
Efficient integration of bimodal branch prediction and pipeline analysis

Advanced micro-architectural features such as caches and branch prediction mechanisms supporting speculative execution are becoming commonplace within modern microprocessors. For developers of real-time systems, these mechanisms present predictability problems. Previous work has demonstrated accurate analysis for instruction caches, data caches, and branch prediction mechanisms are possible. However, the integration of these individual analysis methods is difficult to do without large increases in computational complexity or the introduction of pessimism regarding the worst-case execution time (WCET) estimate. In this paper, we discuss how a previously published analysis method for branch predictors can be integrated with instruction pipeline analysis.
GESTÃO POR PROCESSOS: CONFIGURAÇÕES EM ORGANIZAÇÕES PÚBLICAS

O presente estudo buscou identificar as configuracoes da gestao por processos em organizacoes publicas. Para tanto, o artigo foi estruturado em quatro secoes: (i) abordagem do referencial teorico sobre a gestao por processos em sua essencia; (ii) apresentacao do potencial de alinhamento entre a gestao por processos e o contexto das organizacoes publicas; (iii) apresentacao de casos de implementacao e; (iv) investigacao do modo como as publicacoes academicas recentes tem se configurado quanto a tematica. A pesquisa permitiu inferir que existe uma similaridade entre os modelos para analise e melhoria de processos: a compreensao da situacao atual dos processos de trabalho por meio de mapeamentos e fundamental para uma possivel remodelagem. Os estudos que inserem a gestao por processos no contexto das organizacoes publicas sao enfaticos ao aludir que a mesma e apontada com uma metodologia capaz de contribuir para a desburocratizacao do servico publico, com enfoque inovador e com vistas ao atendimento das necessidades do cidadao com eficiencia.
Perceived Benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Whole Systems Research Perspective

The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits associated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments from the patients' perspective using a whole systems research approach as a guiding framework. We conducted five focus groups of six to eight participants each, with users of CAM recruited through experienced CAM providers and clinics. Eligible participants were aged 21 or older, had used CAM in the last 12 months, and believed the treatment to be beneficial. The focus group discussions were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through a quali- tative content analysis. Responses were inductively coded for common themes, and then placed into broader conceptual categories reflecting the CAM outcome domains suggested by Verhoef and colleagues. Participants described physical health benefits including symptom relief and improved function, and positive psychological benefits such as improved coping and resilience. Social health benefits that arose from the positive aspects of the patient-practitioner relationship were also reported, including support and advocacy. In addition, participants identified empowerment, increased hope and spiritual growth as results of receiving CAM treatments. A new behavioral health outcome domain emerged as partici- pants reported that CAM use had fostered behavioral changes such as increased exercise, smoking cessation and improv- ing their diets. These patient-reported benefits of CAM treatment are consistent with the outcome model proposed by Verhoef and col- leagues, and extend this model by identifying a new outcome domain—behavioral health outcome. The findings provide insight and direction for the development of outcome and process measures to evaluate CAM treatment effects.
Telling Something we can't Know: Experimental Approaches to Verbs Exhibiting Implicit Causality

An interpersonal verb such as annoy or admire can be categorized according to whether its grammatical subject or grammatical object initiates the interaction described by the verb Such a verb can also be categorized according to whether a derived adjective describes its grammatical subject (e g, annoying) or its grammatical object (e g, admirable) Although there has been much speculation (e g, Brown & Fish, 1983) that these and other characteristics of these verbs shed light on basic principles of human social interaction, we argue that research to date has failed to demonstrate directly any real-time consequences of these verbs during language comprehension We present evidence that the initiating-reacting distinction predicts on-line changes in the accessibility of these verbs' arguments, but that the existence of a derived adjective does not We conclude that tasks that question subjects explicitly about language may fail to reflect the ordinary processes of language comprehension
Sweep System Design for a Heavy Ion Beam Probe on the MST

The sweep system for the HIBP (Heavy Ion Beam Probe) on the Madison Symmetric Torus is described. The two components of the system are the primary sweep optics and secondary collimation plates. Key issues in the sweep system design are the small entrance and exit ports available on MST, the signi cant toroidal beam motion induced by the strong poloidal magnetic eld and the excessive current loading due to plasma and UV. The design accommodates these issues using a crossover sweep plate design in two dimensions for the primary beam as well as two dimensional sweeping on the secondary beam. The primary beam sweep design results in a sweep range of 20 degrees in one direction and 5 degrees in the perpendicular direction. The secondary beam sweep design results in entrance angles to the energy analyzer of < 3 degrees in radial and zero degree in toroidal directions. The procedure for calculating sweep performance including fringe elds, a system for active trajectory control, and initial experiments on plasma and UV loading are also discussed.