Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling Brain Dynamics in Brain Tumor Patients Using the Virtual Brain

Abstract Presurgical planning for brain tumor resection aims at delineating eloquent tissue in the vicinity of the lesion to spare during surgery. To this end, noninvasive neuroimaging techniques such as functional MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging fiber tracking are currently employed. However, taking into account this information is often still insufficient, as the complex nonlinear dynamics of the brain impede straightforward prediction of functional outcome after surgical intervention. Large-scale brain network modeling carries the potential to bridge this gap by integrating neuroimaging data with biophysically based models to predict collective brain dynamics. As a first step in this direction, an appropriate computational model has to be selected, after which suitable model parameter values have to be determined. To this end, we simulated large-scale brain dynamics in 25 human brain tumor patients and 11 human control participants using The Virtual Brain, an open-source neuroinformatics platform. Local and global model parameters of the Reduced Wong–Wang model were individually optimized and compared between brain tumor patients and control subjects. In addition, the relationship between model parameters and structural network topology and cognitive performance was assessed. Results showed (1) significantly improved prediction accuracy of individual functional connectivity when using individually optimized model parameters; (2) local model parameters that can differentiate between regions directly affected by a tumor, regions distant from a tumor, and regions in a healthy brain; and (3) interesting associations between individually optimized model parameters and structural network topology and cognitive performance.
Associations between Components of Masculinity and Attitudes towards Psychological Help-seeking

Men report engaging in over 30 behaviors associated with increases in disease, injury, and death as well as poorer mental health outcomes. Results show that men who internalize and endorse traditional masculine stereotypes, roles, and norms to a greater degree (e.g., stoicism, strength, dominance) report more problem behaviors and less preventive health behaviors. These findings have led psychologists to examine the influence of gender roles and norms on a variety of social and behavioral outcomes related to men’s psychological health. The current study seeks to examine whether specific dimensions of masculinity are associated with psychological helpseeking with data collected from 385 men between the ages of 18 and 25. Consistent with previous research, higher scores on masculinity overall, as well as the dimensions of self-reliance and emotional control, were all associated with more negative attitudes towards psychotherapy. Results also extended previous research by examining unique associations between specific masculine norms and certain aspects of psychological help-seeking. These findings have implications for developing programs and creating alternative approaches aimed at decreasing barriers that exist for men to engage in psychotherapy.
Strong Migratory Connectivity in a Declining Arctic Passerine

Determining links between populations of migratory animals across the various stages of the annual cycle is necessary for understanding population dynamics and for effective wildlife conservation and management [1]. Long-distance migratory songbirds pose particular challenges as breeding and nonbreeding areas may be thousands of kilometers apart, migratory connectivity [2] has been determined for few species, and small body size has limited direct tracking using devices such as satellite transmitters [3]. Arctic-breeding migratory passerines may be the most difficult migrants to study because their polar breeding distribution represents a challenging environment that is relatively inaccessible to researchers. Additionally, nomadic winter movements may be unpredictable and cover great distances [4,5] making it difficult to define population boundaries or monitor population trends. As a result, the migratory connectivity of most Arctic-breeding passerines has never been assessed. These challenges have led to a poor understanding of declining population trends [6], which is of particular concern Strong Migratory Connectivity in a Declining Arctic Passerine
IN Tubifex tubifex AGAINST THALLIUM INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS

Thallium (Tl) impact on living systems has become an important issue in recent years. However very few data exist about the consequences of Tl exposure in freshwater aquatic systems. The aim of the present study is to investigate alterations in the levels of antioxidative biomarkers (metallothionein (MT), total glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT)) in the aquatic oligochaete Tubifex tubifex, in response to sublethal doses of Tl. Experimental groups were exposed to thallium acetate at 0.25, 0.5 and 1 μg l concentrations during 7 or 15 days. MT levels were observed to be interestingly decreased. 0.25 μg l concentration had no effect on total GSH, GPx and GST activities while 0.5 and 1 μg l concentrations induced total GSH and GPx activitiy after 7 days. Longer exposure time resulted in a decrease in total GSH along with GPx and GST activities at all concentrations of Tl. Despite the significant elevation of CAT activity in all experimental groups, lipid peroxidation (LP) was observed to be induced depending on the increasing exposure concentration and time. The results suggested the possible mechanism of action in the antioxidant system of T. tubifex in response to Tl induced oxidative stress (OS) and provide useful information for the future evaluation of Tl impact on aquatic ecosystems.
What to Do Next? The Case for Non-Predictive Strategy

Two prescriptions dominate the topic of what firms should do next in uncertain situations; planning approaches and adaptive approaches. These differ primarily on the appropriate role of prediction in the decision process. Prediction is a central issue in strategy making due to the presumption that what can be predicted can be controlled. In this paper we argue for the independence of prediction and control, that the pursuit of successful outcomes can occur through either predictive or control oriented approaches. We further develop and highlight control oriented approaches to open new avenues for dealing with the uncertainty inherent to the question of what organizations should do next. These approaches significantly impact the costs and risk of firm strategy as well as their innovative efforts.
Fish Swarm Search Algorithm: A New Algorithm for Global Optimization

Optimization is amongst the most significant problems in mathematics and sciences and many researchers are investigating different aspects of this problem. In this paper, a novel algorithm has been proposed for optimization in continuous static environments based on the individual and social behaviors of fish in their swarms. The proposed algorithm, so called Fish Swarm Search Algorithm (FSSA), is a population-based algorithm that can considered among swarm intelligence, evolutionary and meta-heuristic approaches. In the proposed algorithm, there is a population of fish in which every individual fish moves toward better positions in the problem space by following better members of the population and performing a random search in the individual space. The proposed algorithm involves several advantages i.e. better intelligibility, simplicity, high convergence rate, high reliability, high balance between exploration and exploitation, and maintaining diversity in the swarm. There is only one parameter, namely population size, which needs to be initialized in the proposed algorithm in order to start the optimization process, which results in a considerable simplicity of the proposed. The proposed algorithm has been compared with nine other well-known algorithms in this domain on thirty benchmark functions with Unimodal, Multimodal, Shifted and Rotated characteristics. The experimental results and analysis reveals the superiority of the proposed method, compared to other comparative studies.
A locally nameless theory of objects

This paper presents the formalisation of an object calculus in Isabelle/HOL highlighting the binder technique called locally nameless1. This techniques has its origins already in a note at the end of de Bruijn’s paper [5] introducing the classical de Bruijn indices. In the last few years, with the advent of mechanized proofs in the domain of programming languages, e.g. [1], this technique attracted new attention. The most recent work on locally nameless technique [2] provides cofinite quantification, necessary for proving non-trivial properties. Indeed the de Bruijn indices are often criticised, as being too technical, that is why alternative techniques are investigated. The de Bruijn indices method, however, is known to be reliable, and is often chosen in order to focus on aspects of programming languages unrelated to variable bindings. With locally nameless techniques, one expects to spend less time proving auxiliary lemmas dealing with variable bind- ings, but also to obtain theorems that are more convincing because closer to the paper version. Our contributions are a formalisation in Isabelle/HOL of ς-calculus; and an in depth comparison of both locally nameless and de Bruijn complete mechanisations including specification and proofs.
Developing a 3D Gestural Interface for Anesthesia-Related Human-Computer Interaction Tasks Using Both Experts and Novices

Objective: The purpose of this research was to compare gesture-function mappings for experts and novices using a 3D, vision-based, gestural input system when exposed to the same context of anesthesia tasks in the operating room (OR). Background: 3D, vision-based, gestural input systems can serve as a natural way to interact with computers and are potentially useful in sterile environments (e.g., ORs) to limit the spread of bacteria. Anesthesia providers’ hands have been linked to bacterial transfer in the OR, but a gestural input system for anesthetic tasks has not been investigated. Methods: A repeated-measures study was conducted with two cohorts: anesthesia providers (i.e., experts) (N = 16) and students (i.e., novices) (N = 30). Participants chose gestures for 10 anesthetic functions across three blocks to determine intuitive gesture-function mappings. Reaction time was collected as a complementary measure for understanding the mappings. Results: The two gesture-function mapping sets showed some similarities and differences. The gesture mappings of the anesthesia providers showed a relationship to physical components in the anesthesia environment that were not seen in the students’ gestures. The students also exhibited evidence related to longer reaction times compared to the anesthesia providers. Conclusion: Domain expertise is influential when creating gesture-function mappings. However, both experts and novices should be able to use a gesture system intuitively, so development methods need to be refined for considering the needs of different user groups. Application: The development of a touchless interface for perioperative anesthesia may reduce bacterial contamination and eventually offer a reduced risk of infection to patients.
Plasma formation in water by picosecond and nanosecond Nd:YAG laser pulses. II. Transmission, scattering, and reflection

For pt.I see ibid., vol.2, no.4, p.847-60 (1996) We investigated the transmission, scattering, and reflection of plasmas produced in water by Nd:YAG laser pulses of 6-ns and 30-ps duration. The transmission measurements comprise a large energy range at wavelengths of 1064 and 532 nm and various focusing angles between 1.7/spl deg/ and 22/spl deg/. This parameter range covers the parameters used for intraocular microsurgery, but also allows one to assess the influence of self-focusing on plasma shielding, which is only relevant at small focusing angles. We found that most of the laser light is either absorbed or transmitted; scattering and reflection amount to only a few percent of the incident laser energy. The transmission is considerably higher for picosecond pulses than for nanosecond pulses, regardless of the focusing angle. The plasma transmission increases with decreasing focusing angle. Self-focusing, which occurs at focusing angles below 2/spl deg/, leads to a further increase of transmission. The experimental results were compared with the predictions of the moving breakdown distributed shielding model. Only partial agreement could be achieved, because the model assumes a spatially and temporally constant absorption coefficient within the plasma which is not realistic. The model can, however, be used to determine the average absorption coefficient. Fits of calculated transmission curves to the experimental data at /spl theta/=22/spl deg/ yielded 900 cm/sup -1//spl les//spl alpha//spl les/1800 cm/sup -1/ nanosecond plasmas and 360 cm/sup -1//spl les//spl alpha//spl les/570 cm/sup -1/ picosecond plasmas. The efficacy of plasma-mediated intraocular laser surgery is higher with 6-ns pulses than with 30-ps pulses, because with the nanosecond pulses nearly 50% of the laser pulse energy is absorbed already at threshold, whereas it is only 8% with the picosecond pulses.
Association of porcine STIM 1 gene with litter size traits *

In commercial pig production, litter size has always been one of the most important production traits. Stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) is a transmembrane-spanning Ca2+-binding protein, which is essential for oocyte maturation and fertilization, as well as proper embryo development. The objectives of this study were to identify mutations in the porcine STIM1 gene and investigate the association between genetic variations and litter size traits in pigs. A novel 1bp deletion/insertion in intron 10 (g.199893-delT) and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in exon 10 (g.1969037T>C) were found by sequencing. Association results showed that these two mutations significantly affected litter size traits in both the DIV line and Large White pigs (P<0.05). In all parities sows with the TT genotype of g.1969037T>C had significantly more piglets than those of the CC genotype (P<0.01), and the number of piglets decreased in the following order of genotypes TT>CT>CC. The sows with the NN genotype of g.199893-delT had significantly more piglets than those of the MM genotype (P<0.01), and the number of piglets decreased in the following order of genotypes NN>MN>MM. Here we provide evidence that the mutations in the porcine STIM1 gene affected litter size of sows, and that this gene might be a potential important candidate gene related to litter size in pigs.
Isolation, characterization and identification of endophytic bacteria by 16S rRNA partial sequencing technique from roots and leaves of Prosopis cineraria plant

Plant roots are potential hosts to a plethora of beneficial microorganisms including mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobia bacteria, antagonistic yeasts and endophytic fungi. Endophytic bacteria live symbiotically with the plant and in turn helping the plant in number of ways. The present investigations were undertaken to isolate and identify bacterial endophytes in root and leaf tissue of Prosopis cineraria plant growing at Pune, India. A total of two endophytic bacteria were isolated from the parts of the plant . On the basis of the morphological and biochemical characterization of the endophytes as well as 16S rRNA sequencing technique they are identified as Bacillus subtilis and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Both the isolates Bacillus subtilis & Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were present in root tissue while only one i.e. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolated from leaf tissue. Studies on the optimization of growth of the isolates were performed by varying pH & temperature conditions. The ability of bacterial isolates were tested for different enzyme activity and also screened for sensitivity of different antibiotics.
Fiscal Implications of the Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet Normalization

The paper surveys the recent literature on the fiscal implications of central bank balance sheets, with a special focus on political economy issues. It then presents the results of simulations that describe the effects of different scenarios for the Federal Reserve's longer-run balance sheet on its earnings remittances to the U.S. Treasury and, more broadly, on the government's overall fiscal position. We find that reducing longer-run reserve balances from $2.3 trillion (roughly the current amount) to $1 trillion reduces the likelihood of posting a quarterly net loss in the future from 30 percent to under 5 percent. Further reducing longer-run reserve balances from $1 trillion to pre-crisis levels has little effect on the likelihood of net losses.
Solvent and supercritical fluid extraction of catechin from Camellia Sinensis (tea) leaves for utilization as functional food ingredient

Supercritical fluid and solvent extraction of catechin from green tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves was studied. Response surface methodology was used to design the experiment and optimize the operating variables (pressure, temperature and dynamic time). The optimum recovery of the extractable crude yield (6.65%), TPC (28.07g/100gGAE), EGCG (263.06mg/100ml), and total catechin (844.25mg/100ml) were obtained at pressure (30Mpa), temperature (47.99oC and dynamic time (40 minutes) with a co-solvent (50% v/v water :ethanol) and CO2 flow rates of 1,5 and 1.0ml/ minute respectively. When organic solvent was used, the extractable components were in the range of: total crude extract (2.05 -3.57%), TPC (153.22 -94.95g/(100gGAE), and TC (285.27mg/100ml) respectively. (With methanol 70 % (v/v), ethanol 50% (v/v), and ethanol 70% (v/v) being the most effective in term of extracts. The result of the extracts obtained by SFE extraction when compared to that of solvent shows that SFE was more effective in the recovery of catechin polyphenols from green tea leaves. By comparing conventional solvent and SFE extraction we were able to identify the abundance of green tea polyphenol from Malaysia which can compete favourably with those obtained from other tea producing countries. The knowledge can be useful to functional food manufacturers.
Validated numerics for equilibria of analytic
 vector fields; Invariant manifolds and connecting
 orbits

The goal of these notes is to illustrate the use of validated numerics as a tool for studying the dynamics near and between equilibrium solutions of ordinary differential equations. We examine Taylor methods for computing local stable/unstable manifolds and also for expanding the flow in a neighborhood of a given initial condition. The Taylor methods discussed here have the advantage that the first N terms in the series are computed by recursion relations. Bounds on the tail of the series follow from a contraction mapping argument. As an application we apply these validated local computations to prove the existence of a heteroclinic connecting orbit in the Lorenz system.
Model Optimal Control of the Four Tank System

The four tank system is a widely used mechatronic laboratory system in control theory. This work is aimed to choose the best controller for the four tank system (4TS) with two input force. The optimal control is one of the best techniques in a sense of performance, and is demonstrated for the level control of 4TS. There are several controller systems in optimal control for this purpose which are Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR), Linear Quadratic Gaussian Regulator (LQGR), H2, and H∞ controller system. These controllers will be applied to this important mechatronic system (4TS) separately, and compared the performance for disturbance rejection with each other to study the effect of these controller systems on the 4TS controlled state. On the other hand the performances of the optimal control systems are compared with other controller performances available in literatures for the same case study. The results indicate that the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) provides significant improvement over completely controllers. The simulations were carried out in MATLAB-Simulink.
Association of Cholinergic Muscarinic 2 Receptor Gene Polymorphisms with Learning Aptitude among Medical and Fine Arts Students.

Background Cholinergic muscarinic 2 receptor (CHRM2) is believed to be involved in neuronal excitability, synaptic plasticity and feedback regulation of acetylcholine release. Polymorphism in the CHRM2 gene had been shown a significant association with intelligence. Objective To investigate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CHRM2 gene with the learning aptitude among medical and fine arts students at Srinakharinwirot university, Thailand. Material and Method A total of two hundred blood samples were withdrawn from medical (100) and fine arts (100) students. DNAs were extracted using DNA extraction kit. SNP primers were designed and screened. Genotyping was performed by real-time PCR and high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis and confirmed by sequencing. The difference in genotypic distribution was analyzed using Pearson’s Chi-square test implemented in SPSS program version 11.5. Significant level was set at p<0.05. Results Two SNPs in CHRM2 gene, rs2061174 and rs6948054, showed significant difference in genotype distribution between medical and fine arts students (p<0.05). The rs2061174 showed significant at p = 0.001, OR and 95% CI were 3.78 (2.00-7.14), whereas the rs6948054 was significant at p = 0.012, OR and 95% CI were 2.50 (1.32-4.77). Conclusion Two SNPs in CHRM2 gene, rs2061174 and rs6948054, may be used as biomarker to distinguish the learning aptitude among Thai individual.
Prey selection of "Perla grandis" (Rambur, 1841) nymphs (Plecoptera: Perlidae) in Borbera stream (NW, Italy)

Feeding habits of Perla grandis nymphs have been investigated in the Borbera stream, an Apenninic water course of Northwestern Italy. In this study, we analyzed gut contents of 80 nymphs of this species, with the aim of detecting feeding pref- erences. Nymphs were collected from a single riffle, whose benthic coenosis was also determined. We detected the existence of an evident trophic selection: diet was almost entirely dominated by Chironomidae, independently from their availability on the substrate. This finding is discussed and compared with data previously obtained for this species from other populations.
Effect of Saharan dust inputs on bacterial activity and community composition in Mediterranean lakes and reservoirs

We assessed the effects of Saharan dust inputs of particulate matter (PM), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen, and water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) on bacterial abundance (BA) in two alpine lakes and two reservoirs in the Mediterranean region. We also experimentally assessed the effects of dust inputs on bacterial activity and community composition and explored the presence of airborne bacteria. We found synchronous BA dynamics at least in one of the study years for each corresponding pair of ecosystems, suggesting an external control. The link between BA dynamics and inputs of PM, WSOC, or TP occurred only in those ecosystems with severe P‐limitation and low dissolved organic carbon. The response was most intense in the most P‐limited ecosystem. Dust addition had a significant positive effect on bacterial growth and abundance, but not on richness, diversity, or composition of the indigenous bacterial assemblages. We also obtained experimental evidence that some airborne bacteria could develop in oligotrophic waters by observing the growth of gamma‐proteobacteria, a group poorly represented in natural aquatic environments.