Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Deficits and Associated ERP N400 Abnormalities in FXTAS With Parkinsonism

Objective: To examine cognitive deficits and associated brain activity in fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) patients with parkinsonism (FXTp+), in relation to FXTAS patients without parkinsonism (FXTp-), and normal elderly controls (NC). Methods: Retrospective reviews were performed in 65 FXTAS patients who participated in the event-related brain potential (ERP) study and also had either a videotaped neurological examination or a neurological examination for extrapyramidal signs. Parkinsonism was defined as having bradykinesia with at least one of the following: rest tremor, postural instability, hypermyotonia, or rigidity. Eleven FXTp+ patients were identified and compared to 11 matched FXTp- and 11 NC. Main ERP measures included the N400 congruity effect, N400 repetition effect, and the late positive component (LPC) repetition effect. Results: When compared with FXTp- and NC, the FXTp+ group showed more severe deficits in executive function, cued-recall, recognition memory, along with a significantly reduced N400 repetition effect (thought to index semantic processing and verbal learning/memory) which was correlated with poorer verbal memory. Across all patients, FMR1 mRNA levels were inversely correlated with delayed recall on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Interpretation: The findings of more prominent executive dysfunction and verbal learning/memory deficits in FXTp+ than FXTp- are consistent with findings in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and may indicate that concomitant and/or synergistic pathogenetic mechanisms associated with PD play a role in FXTAS. These results have implications not only for understanding the cognitive impairments associated with the parkinsonism subtype of FXTAS, but also for the development of new interventions for these patients.
The Extreme Benchmark Suite: High-Performance Embedded Systems

The Extreme Benchmark Suite (XBS) is designed to support performance measurement of highly parallel "extreme" processors, many of which are designed to replace custom hardware implementations. XBS is designed to avoid many of the problems that occur when using existing benchmark suites with nonstandard and experimental architectures. In particular, XBS is intended to provide a fair comparison of a wide range of architectures, from general-purpose processors to hard-wired ASIC implementations. XBS has a clean modular structure to reduce porting effort, and is designed to be usable with slow cycle-accurate simulators. This work presents the motivation for the creation of XBS and describes in detail the XBS framework. Several benchmarks implemented with this framework are discussed, and these benchmarks are used to compare a standard platform, an experimental architecture, and custom hardware. Thesis Supervisor: Krste Asanovi6 Title: Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
LFDS: Scalable and High Performance Logging for Mission Critical Real Time Applications

In the world of connected enterprises and Internet of Things (IOT), millions of users and devices are connecting and transacting online simultaneously. Further, introduction of multi-core hardware platforms resulted in multi-fold increase in processing speed and volumes. To support the increasing volumes generated, building end-end-end scalable business applications has become the key focus of these service organizations. The reliability expectation of these systems is 100% and hence persisting of transaction information and key activities information is crucial to the success of the business applications. However, the performance of such software applications is inherently limited by disk input/output (I/O). Often, CPU activity gets suspended till I/O activity completes. Redesigning and tuning I/O can enhance application performance significantly. This paper presents our approach of ‘Log Flush Daemon Service’ (LFDS) in which application takes control of the I/O by taking it off the main transaction path along with hybrid of approaches from the techniques for optimization of the ancillary tasks of logging. This helps to enhance the performance, reduce the jitter and outliers.
Role for Nuclear Factor- (cid:1) B and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1/Interferon Regulatory Factor-1 in Cytokine-Induced Endothelin-1 Release in Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent vasoconstrictor and growth- promoting mediator that is involved in the maintenance of vascular tone within the healthy circulation. However, a patho- genic role has been implicated by its overproduction in a number of cardiovascular diseases, which include pulmonary hy- pertension, congestive heart failure, atherosclerosis, and coronary vasospasm. ET-1 mRNA expression and peptide pro- duction in human vascular smooth muscle cells (HVSMCs) are markedly increased by exposure to tumor necrosis factor- (cid:2) and interferon- (cid:3) . The intracellular signaling mechanism involved in this pathway is not known. Because the transcription factors nuclear factor- (cid:1) B (NF- (cid:1) B), signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), and interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) often mediate the effects of cytokines in target cells the aim of this study was to determine whether the production of ET-1 after exposure of
Angiotensin II AT 1 Receptor Blockade Decreases Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation in the Rat Adrenal Gland

Peripheral administration of bacterial endotoxin [lipopoly- saccharide (LPS)] to rodents produces an innate immune response and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stimulation. Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibition by angiotensin II AT 1 receptor blockade has antiinflammatory effects in the vasculature. We studied whether angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) prevent the LPS response. We focused on the adrenal gland, one organ responsive to LPS and express-ing a local renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. LPS (50 (cid:1) g/ kg, ip) produced a generalized inflammatory response with increased release of TNF- (cid:2) and IL-6 to the circulation, en- hanced adrenal aldosterone synthesis and release, and enhanced adrenal cyclooxygenase-2, IL-6, and TNF- (cid:2) gene ex- pression. ACTH and corticosterone release were also increased by LPS. Pretreatment with the ARB candesartan (1 mg/kg (cid:1) d, sc for 3 d before the LPS administration) decreased LPS-induced cytokine release to the circulation, adrenal al- dosterone synthesis and release, and cyclooxygenase-2 and IL-6 gene expression. Candesartan did not prevent the LPS-inducedACTHandcorticosteronerelease.OurresultssuggestthatAT 1 receptorsareessentialforthedevelopmentofthefull innate immune and stress responses to bacterial endotoxin. ARB decreased the general peripheral inflammatory re- sponse to LPS, partially decreased the inflammatory response in the adrenal gland, prevented the release of the pro-inflam- matory hormone aldosterone, and protected the antiinflammatory effects of glucocorticoid release. An unrestricted in- nate immune response to the bacterial endotoxin may have deleterious effects for the organism and may lead to develop- ment of chronic inflammatory disease. We postulate that the ARBs may have therapeutic effects on inflammatory conditions. ( Endocrinology 149: 5177–5188, 2008)
Gain in patients' knowledge of diabetes management targets is associated with better glycemic control.

Optimal glycemic, lipid, and blood pressure control has been shown to decrease the microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes (1–10). However, the status of control of these cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with diabetes is far from optimal (11,12). Lack of patients' knowledge of the targets of diabetes care might be one of the reasons for the low level of control of risk factors. Some studies showed that only 23–25% of individuals with diabetes know what the target A1C level is (<7%), and about the same percent of patients know how to interpret A1C values in relation to their own glycemic control (13,14). Improving patients' knowledge might help attain the goals of diabetes management, but the supporting studies are limited (14–18). We investigated whether the gain in the knowledge of the targets of diabetes care after receiving diabetes self-management education (DSME) predicts the achievement of target A1C levels (<7%) at 6 months. This is a retrospective study of adult diabetic subjects who received DSME in the American Diabetes Association–certified Diabetes Center of John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County between 2001 and 2004. Patients with baseline A1C levels ≥7% measured within 1 month of receiving DSME and with an ∼6-month follow-up A1C measurement (ranging 3–12 months and at least 3 months from the baseline A1C) were selected for this study. A1C was measured by the high-performance liquid chromatography method throughout the study period. After the educational sessions, patients received follow-up medical care by endocrinologists in conjunction with their primary …
University of Birmingham Prestimulus Oscillatory Phase at 7 Hz Gates Cortical Information Flow and Visual Perception

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A Tool Evaluation Framework based on Fitness to Process and Practice A usability driven approach

— Most current and traditional research on software development tool evaluation focuses on tool capabilities and features following the traditional approach for generic software evaluation. Existing evaluation frameworks and methods address functional and non-functional requirements, constraints, technology, knowledge domain, costs and other acquisition aspects, but such approaches do not account for the context in which work is done. We propose a usability-based framework for tool evaluation in terms of fitness to the development process and practice of their users. Our contribution is a framework for relating ways of working to tool evaluation, and a concrete checklist for performing that evaluation. We present this paper as proof-of-concept of our framework and validate its applicability (but not the evaluation results) by using it to evaluate tools with which we have hands-on experience.
AI-Based Situation Awareness Assessment

Navigational Safety in maritime operations is a high priority issue. In a recent collaboration between IHPC and SP, an AI-based Behaviour Competency Assessment Tool prototype was developed to aid instructors in assessing soft-skill competencies of watchkeepers conducting navigation, and a proof-of-concept demonstration was performed for Situational Awareness at SP’s Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA) training simulator. Use of our tool can help remove human bias by providing detailed behaviour-specific analysis to aid instructors in making their assessments.
core assembled from full-length core protein.

The capsid shell of infectious hepatitis B virus (HBV) is composed of 240 copies of a single protein called HBV core antigen (HBc). An atomic model of a core assembled from truncated HBc was determined previously by X-ray crystallography. In an attempt to obtain atomic structural information of HBV core in a near native, non-crystalline environment, we reconstructed a 3. 5Å-resolution structure of a recombinant core assembled from full-length HBc by cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) and derived an atomic model. The structure shows that the 240 molecules of full- length HBc form a core with two layers. The outer layer, composed of the N-terminal assembly domain, is similar to the crystal structure of the truncated HBc, but has three differences. First, unlike the crystal structure, our cryoEM structure shows no disulfide bond between the Cys61 residues of the two subunits within the dimer building block, indicating such bond is not required for core formation. Second, our cryoEM structure reveals up to four more residues in the linker region (amino acids 140-149). Third, the loops in the cryoEM structures containing this linker region in subunits B and C are oriented differently (~30° and ~90°) from their counterparts in the crystal structure. The inner layer, composed of the C-terminal arginine-rich domain (ARD) and the ARD-bound RNAs, is partially-ordered and connected with the outer layer through linkers positioned around the two-fold axes. Weak densities emanate from the rims of positively charged channels through the icosahedral three-fold and local three-fold axes. We attribute these densities to the exposed portions of some ARDs, thus explaining ARD’s accessibility by proteases and antibodies. Our data supports a role of ARD in mediating communication between inside and outside of the core during HBV maturation and envelopment. sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation at 30,000 rpm for 2.5 hours using an SW41 rotor on a Beckman L8-80M ultracentrifuge. The band corresponding to HBV core was visualized by illuminating the gradient tube, after which the sample was carefully collected by side puncture. The purified HBV core sample was buffer-exchanged and concentrated to ~20mg/mL in PBS by ultra-filtration with a MW cutoff of 100kD (Millipore, USA).
From captain to button-presser: operators’ perspectives on navigating highly automated ferries

Teaming with Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way seafarers work. We show that a new kind of seafaring is emerging, characterized by cooperation with AI systems. In this format of seafaring, navigation tasks are controlled automatically while human operators manage the automation, always “in the loop” and ready to take over control if necessary. Ideally, this arrangement sees improvements in overall system performance and safety. However, little is known today about how this format of work will unfold in real-world operations. We investigate this topic by interviewing operators (n = 5) on ferries recently outfitted with state-of-the-art automated navigation technology. We used a mixed-methods approach to analyze the case study interviews, combining quantitative text analysis with Grounded Theory qualitative analysis techniques. The results show that operators perceived a shift towards a backup role coincident with increasing agency of machine autonomy. This role shift was characterized by “button-pressing” to start the machine autonomy and subsequently intervening to stop it when things go wrong. We observed that this shift led to boredom, deskilling, stretched resources, and compromised organizational harmony – effects running counter to the intention of improved system performance and safety. Synthesizing the findings, we present (1) effects across three operational dimensions: (i) tasks, (ii) human-computer interaction, (iii) organization; and (2) a definition of collaborative (human-AI) seafaring. By identifying issues in the early implementation of highly automated ship navigation, we hope to guide designers of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASSs) away from potential pitfalls and towards development more in tune with real-world demands of collaborative work.
Load Frequency Control of Multi-Area Hydro Thermal Power System Using Elephant Herding Optimization Technique

This paper presents a novel approach to design a PID controller for load frequency control (LFC) of a hydro-thermal power plant. In the modern power system, the load frequency control of hydro-thermal power plants has widely used in frequency control due to having the fast responses. The PID controller parameters are designed using the elephant herding optimization (EHO) as an optimization technique under the minimization of error. The objective function is considered as minimization of the Integral Squared Error (ISE) for optimal design of PID parameters of the system. The prototype of hydro-thermal power plant with PID controller is simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK platform. The dynamic responses of load frequency control using proposed controller is compared with the responses of LFC without controller and the other method of frequency control of hydro-thermal power plant in literature. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is better in terms of settling time, rise time, peak and peak time.
Synthesis of Cerium and Gallium Doped Mesoporous Bioactive Glass Nanoparticles

According to the IUPAC definition, porous materials are divided into three classes: microporous (pore size < 2 nm), mesoporous (2–50 nm) and macroporous (>50 nm) [1]. Ordered mesoporous silica was first discovered in 1992 [2], and proposed as a drug delivery system in 2001 [3]. Since then silica-based glass microspheres, such as MCM-41, SBA-15 or MCM-48 representing ordered mesoporous inorganic materials, have been considered as ideal materials for incorporation of drugs, genes and other therapeutic agents acting as carrier and control release systems. In this study, the synthesis of mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles, consisting of a silicate network modified by Ca and Ce or Ga ions, has been studied for possible applications in cancer treatment or incorporation into nanocomposite scaffolds for bone regeneration. Tetraethylorthosilicate - Cerium starting materials for synthesis of mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGNPs). Synthesis of nanoparticles with up to 1 mol% of Ce and Ga yielded nanoparticles of size, shape, and surface pore structure similar to those of the undoped MBGNPs. Increasing the content of dopants up to 3 and 5 mol % resulted in deformation of the spherical shape of the nanoparticles and yielded elongated pineal shaped particles with aspect ratio 5:3. In addition, calcium content decreased significantly (down to 4.4 mol% CaO for gallium and 0.7 mol CaO for cerium), most likely due to replacement of Ca in the glass structure with the ions of the dopants. The influence of doping on specific surface and mesoporosity of synthesized nanoparticles has been evaluated and critically discussed. Specific surface area increased with 1 mol% of doping, 345 m 2 /g to 412 m 2 /g for Ce and 486 m 2 /g for Ga. Increasing the content of dopants up to 3 and 5 mol% resulted in decreasing surface area and increasing the size of the mesoporous. The micro-emulsion assisted sol-gel method yielded monodispersed mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles in the system CaO-SiO 2 doped with up to 5 mol % of Ce and Ga, and with low or no agglomeration. Incorporation of higher concentrations of dopants resulted in distortion of the MBGNPs spherical shape and marked decrease of Ca content. The influence of doping specific surface and mesoporosity of synthesized nanoparticles has been studied.
Functional Interplay between Acetylation and Methylation of the RelA Subunit of NF- (cid:1) B (cid:1)

Posttranslational modiﬁcations of the RelA subunit of NF- (cid:1) B, including acetylation and methylation, play a key role in controlling the strength and duration of its nuclear activity. Whether these modiﬁcations are functionally linked is largely unknown. Here, we show that the acetylation of lysine 310 of RelA impairs the Set9-mediated methylation of lysines 314 and 315, which is important for the ubiquitination and degradation of chromatin-associated RelA. Abolishing the acetylation of lysine 310 either by the deacetylase SIRT1 or by mutating lysine 310 to arginine enhances methylation. Conversely, enhancing the acetylation of lysine 310 by depleting SIRT1 or by replacing lysine 310 with acetyl-mimetic glutamine inhibits methylation, thereby decreasing ubiquitination, prolonging the stability of chromatin-associated RelA, and enhancing the tran- scriptional activity of NF- (cid:1) B. The acetylation of lysine 310 of RelA interferes with its interaction with Set9. Based on structural modeling of the SET domain of Set9 with RelA, we propose that the positive charge of lysine 310 is critical for the binding of RelA to a negatively charged “exosite” within the SET domain of Set9. Together, these ﬁndings demonstrate for the ﬁrst time an interplay between RelA acetylation and methylation and also provide a novel mechanism for the regulation of lysine methylation by acetylation. of while ﬁeld During all optimization as ﬁxed in in As side chains of the modeled conformationally manipulated during these steps.
Man, with the traits of lion and goat: courage and compassion in Sikhism

Humans and animals have some common dimensions of personality which induce them to behave similarly. Considering this present study is aimed to determine that man from Sikh community are composed of personality traits which are similar to the lion and goat, namely, courage and compassion respectively. For conducting a study cross-sectional survey has been performed on 1207 Sikhs living at India. For hypothesis testing structural equation modeling on Amos with SPSS has been performed. Results have revealed that Sikh man have personality of lion and goat as they are courageous and compassionate in personality. Further present study has also highlighted the profound role of religion which contributes in raising personality of individual.
Digital ‘solutions’ to unhealthy lifestyle ‘problems’

In this article, we critically interrogate the discourses used during the development of eCoaches. We draw on data from a four-phase qualitative study about the ethical, legal and social aspects of using digital technologies to encourage lifestyle changes that was conducted in the Netherlands between March 2014 and May 2015. The four phases of this study included interviews, document analysis, participant observation, interven- tionist workshops on legal issues and a forward-looking techno-ethical scenarios workshop. We use data from the first three phases to identify how both health- related and technology-related risks for individuals and society were constructed. There were multiple, concurrent references to risk in the programme and project documents, as well as in the various discussions we observed among designers. We discuss three major constructions of risk found in these discourses: risks to the health system, risks of developing an ineffective eCoach and new risks to the individual user. We argue that these three constructions feed particular norms and values into the design of the resultant eCoaches, whereby notions such as effectiveness, social solidarity, responsibility for health and individual autonomy (and thus, our understanding of what constitutes ‘ risk ’ ) are redefined. Understandings of risk may shift once users begin engaging with these eCoaches in practice. Future research should therefore also examine (discursive) constructions and understandings of digital risk from the perspective of the users of such technologies. goals that are related to healthy behaviour. At any rate, preventing further increase in rates of obesity and decreasing the number of cardio-pulmonary illnesses.