Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Threat Prediction from Schemas as a Source of Bias in Pain Perception

Our sensory impressions of pain are generally thought to represent the noxious properties of an agent but can be influenced by the predicted level of threat. Predictions can be sourced from higher-order cognitive processes, such as schemas, but the extent to which schemas can influence pain perception relative to bottom-up sensory inputs and the underlying neural underpinnings of such a phenomenon are unclear. Our sensory impressions of pain are generally thought to represent the noxious properties of an agent but can be influenced by the predicted level of threat. Predictions can be sourced from higher-order cognitive processes, such as schemas, but the extent to which schemas can influence pain perception relative to bottom-up sensory inputs and the underlying neural underpinnings of such a phenomenon are unclear. Here, we investigate how threat predictions generated from learning a cognitive schema lead to inaccurate sensory impressions of the pain stimulus. Healthy male and female participants first detected a linear association between cue values and stimulus intensity and rated pain to reflect the linear schema when compared with uncued heat stimuli. The effect of bias on pain ratings was reduced when prediction errors (PEs) increased, but pain perception was only partially updated when measured against stepped increases in PEs. Cognitive, striatal, and sensory regions graded their responses to changes in predicted threat despite the PEs (p < 0.05, corrected). Individuals with more catastrophic thinking about pain and with low mindfulness were significantly more reliant on the schema than on the sensory evidence from the pain stimulus. These behavioral differences mapped to variability in responses of the striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Thus, this study demonstrates a significant role of higher-order schemas in pain perception and indicates that pain perception is biased more toward predictions and less toward nociceptive inputs in individuals who report less mindfulness and more fear of pain. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study demonstrates that threat predictions generated from cognitive schemas continue to influence pain perception despite increasing prediction errors arising in pain pathways. Individuals first formed a cognitive schema of linearity in the relationship between the cued threat value and the stimulus intensity. Subsequently, the linearity was reduced gradually, and participants partially updated their evaluations of pain in relation to the stepped increases in prediction errors. Individuals who continued to rate pain based more on the predicted threat than on changes in nociceptive inputs reported high pain catastrophizing and less mindful-awareness scores. These two affects mapped to activity in the ventral and dorsal striatum, respectively. These findings direct us to a significant role of top-down processes in pain perception.
Photovoltaic systems are often described and marketed in terms of the DC power rating of their modules, expressed in $’s/Watt

The U.S. Department of Energy has supported development of the Solar Advisor Model (SAM) to provide a common platform for evaluation of the solar energy technologies being developed with the support of the Department. This report describes a detailed comparison of performance-model calculations within SAM to actual measured PV system performance in order to evaluate the ability of the models to accurately predict PV system energy production. This was accomplished by using measured meteorological and irradiance data as an input to the models, and then comparing model predictions of solar and PV system parameters to measured values from co-located PV arrays. The submodels within SAM which were examined include four radiation models, three module performance models, and an inverter model. The PVWATTS and PVMod models were also evaluated.
Peripherally administered KP-10 prevents development of insulin-induced hypoglycemic shock in diabetic rhesus monkeys.

AIM This study investigated whether kisspeptin-10 (KP-10) prevents diabetic rhesus monkeys from insulin-induced hypoglycemic shock. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-six adult male rhesus monkeys were used, six in each group. Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin (45 mg/kg b.w.; single dose i.v.). Groups were as: saline control, insulin alone, pre-insulin (treated with KP-10, 30 min before insulin), post-insulin (treated with KP-10, 30 min after insulin), treated with premix dose of KP-10 (50 μg) and insulin, and the group treated with the kisspeptin antagonist P234 (50 μg). Following an overnight fast, each animal was subjected to respective treatment, and blood glucose concentrations were recorded every 30-min interval for 3 h. RESULTS Intergroup comparisons demonstrated that treatment with KP-10 prior to insulin administration and kisspeptin-insulin premix treatment allowed blood glucose levels to rise to significantly higher levels (p < 0.001) by 180 min in diabetic and healthy animals compared to treatment with insulin alone. However, intragroup comparisons revealed a significant decrease in blood glucose level in diabetic animals only. Treatment with P234 antagonist followed by insulin administration abolished the preventive action of kisspeptin, whereby blood glucose decreased significantly (p < 0.001) in both diabetic and healthy animals. KP-10 post-insulin treatment, however, remained ineffective and led, instead, to significantly decreased glucose concentrations by 180 min in both diabetic and healthy animals when compared to animals treated with insulin alone. CONCLUSIONS KP-10 bears therapeutic potential to prevent hypoglycemic shock that may sometimes occur during intensive insulin therapy. Several pharmacological aspects of its interaction with insulin and other drugs, however, remain to be investigated.
FACTOR INVESTING: A NEW PARADIGM FOR SUPERANNUATION FUNDS AND INVESTMENT MANAGERS

The investment landscape for large superannuation funds and their investment managers is changing, and changing dramatically. Consider just some of the potential game-changers: the trend toward indexand rules-based investments, insourcing investment management, customisation requirements for risk, tax and ESG, and the separation of accumulation and pension mandates. Each of these trends shifts power from the manager to the superannuation fund. Both funds and investment managers need to carefully think through the ramifications of these changes to the “balance of power”.
Are there specific antibodies against Neu5Gc epitopes in the blood of healthy individuals?

Strong discrepancies in published data on the levels and epitope specificities of antibodies against the xenogenic N-glycolyl forms of sialo-glycans (Hanganutziu-Deicher Neu5Gcɑ2-3Galβ1-4Glc and related antigens) in healthy donors prompted us to carry out a systematic study in this area using the printed glycan array (PGA) and other methods. This article summarizes and discusses our published and previously unpublished data, as well as publicly available data from the Consortium for Functional Glycomics (CFG). As a result, we conclude that (1) the level of antibodies referred to as anti-Neu5Gc in healthy individuals is low; (2) there are antibodies that seem to interact with Neu5Gc-containing epitopes, but in fact they recognize internal fragments of Neu5Gc-containing glycans (without sialic acids), which served as antigens in the assays used; (3) a population capable of interacting specifically with Neu5Gc (it does not bind the corresponding NAc analogs) does exist, but it binds the monosaccharide Neu5Gc better than the entire glycans containing it. In other words, in healthy donors, there are populations of antibodies capable of binding the Neu5Gc monosaccharide or the inner core -Galβ1-4Glc, but very few true anti-Neu5Gcɑ2-3Galβ1-4Glc antibodies, i.e. antibodies capable of specifically recognizing the entire trisaccharide.
Efficient estimation of stereo thresholds: What slope should be assumed for the psychometric function?

Bayesian staircases are widely used in psychophysics to estimate detection thresholds. Simulations have revealed the importance of the parameters selected for the assumed subject’s psychometric function in enabling thresholds to be estimated with small bias and high precision. One important parameter is the slope of the psychometric function, or equivalently its spread. This is often held fixed, rather than estimated for individual subjects, because much larger numbers of trials are required to estimate the spread as well as the threshold. However, if this fixed value is wrong, the threshold estimate can be biased. Here we determine the optimal slope to minimize bias and maximize precision when measuring stereoacuity with Bayesian staircases. We performed 2- and 4AFC disparity detection stereo experiments in order to measure the spread of the disparity psychometric function in human observers assuming a Logistic function. We found a wide range, between 0.03 and 3.5 log10 arcsec, with little change with age. We then ran simulations to examine the optimal spread using the empirical data. From our simulations and for three different experiments, we recommend selecting assumed spread values between the percentiles 60–80% of the population distribution of spreads (these percentiles can be extended to other type of thresholds). For stereo thresholds, we recommend a spread around the value σ = 1.7 log10 arcsec for 2AFC (slope β = 4.3 /log10 arcsec), and around σ = 1.5 log10 arcsec for 4AFC (β = 4.9 /log10 arcsec). Finally, we compared a Bayesian procedure (ZEST using the optimal σ) with five Bayesian procedures that are versions of ZEST-2D, Psi, and Psi-marginal. In general, for the conditions tested, ZEST optimal σ showed the lowest threshold bias and highest precision.
Partial Genome Sequences of Human Norovirus Strains from Northeast Brazil

Noroviruses are the leading cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide. Here, we sequenced the open reading frame 1 (ORF1)-ORF2 junction region of norovirus strains isolated from 20 human stool samples. Samples were collected between 2014 and 2017 in Pernambuco State, Brazil. Phylogenetic analyses identified four norovirus GII genotypes circulating in this area of the country. ABSTRACT Noroviruses are the leading cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide. Here, we sequenced the open reading frame 1 (ORF1)-ORF2 junction region of norovirus strains isolated from 20 human stool samples. Samples were collected between 2014 and 2017 in Pernambuco State, Brazil. Phylogenetic analyses identified four norovirus GII genotypes circulating in this area of the country.
Electrostatic control of photoisomerization pathways in proteins

Electrostatics guide chromophore twist Photoisomerization—the twisting of bonds in a molecule in response to absorption of light—is exploited in biology to sense light and can influence the photophysical properties of fluorescent proteins used in imaging applications. Romei et al. studied this behavior by introducing unnatural amino acids into the photoswitchable green fluorescent protein Dronpa2, thus systematically altering the electronic properties of the chromophore (see the Perspective by Hu et al.). Crystal structures and spectroscopic analyses of a series of these variants support a model in which the electrostatic interactions between the chromophore and its environment influence the barrier heights for twisting around different bonds during photoisomerization. These insights may guide future design of photoswitchable proteins with desired properties. Science, this issue p. 76; see also p. 26 Chromophore charge-transfer character and protein electrostatics bias photoisomerization pathways. Rotation around a specific bond after photoexcitation is central to vision and emerging opportunities in optogenetics, super-resolution microscopy, and photoactive molecular devices. Competing roles for steric and electrostatic effects that govern bond-specific photoisomerization have been widely discussed, the latter originating from chromophore charge transfer upon excitation. We systematically altered the electrostatic properties of the green fluorescent protein chromophore in a photoswitchable variant, Dronpa2, using amber suppression to introduce electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups to the phenolate ring. Through analysis of the absorption (color), fluorescence quantum yield, and energy barriers to ground- and excited-state isomerization, we evaluate the contributions of sterics and electrostatics quantitatively and demonstrate how electrostatic effects bias the pathway of chromophore photoisomerization, leading to a generalized framework to guide protein design.
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy during Right Hemicolectomy-A Systematic Review

Right hemicolectomy and Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) is an alternative to standard right hemicolectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy. Right hemicolectomy and SLNB may potentially increase lymph node harvest; however current techniques may offer a low sensitivity. The aim of this systematic review was to review the literature in relation to right hemicolectomy and SLNB and compare it’s outcomes to those of standard right hemicolectomy to determine if right hemicolectomy and SLNB could lead to improved patient outcomes in right colonic cancer. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed in undertaking this study [14]. MEDLINE was searched to identify all studies describing right hemicolectomy with SLNB from 2008-2018. Statistical analysis was performed using the ‘Meta’ and ‘Metafor’ packages in R statistical software [18,19]. Results: Nine studies with a total of 5096 patients were included in this review of right hemicolectomy with SLNB. SLNB is associated with high lymph node harvests (mean 28.8); however concerns exist regarding its sensitivity in patients with elevated body mass indexes. Conclusion: Right hemicolectomy with SLNB may upstage and potentially improve prognosis in colorectal cancer, however this procedure may increase patient morbidity and mortality. Further research is necessary to definitively evaluate this technique.
Perioperative Probiotics or Synbiotics in Adults Undergoing Elective Abdominal Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Reply: We thank Wu et al, 1 for their interest in our systematic review and meta-analysis and for their comments. Our primary end point was postoperative infectious complications, and to achieve this aim, we ensured that studies met the criterion of reporting infectious complications. Indeed, if the primary aim of using probiotics or synbiotics is to reduce infectious complications, then any study that failed to report this fundamental outcome was not deemed appropriate for inclusion. Based on the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.0 (section 3.2.4.1), the measurement of certain outcomes in a study may be an eligibility criterion; especially when the review addresses the potential for an intervention (probiotics or synbiotics) to prevent a particular outcome (infectious complications). In accordance with this rationale, studies that used the intervention (probiotics or synbiotics) for purposes other than preventing infectious complications and, therefore, did not record infectious complications were ineligible. Moreover, Berman and Parker recommended that meta-analyses should address only 1 or 2 primary outcomes to focus the analytic process. It is unlikely that all studies relating to secondary outcomes would be obtained from the initial electronic search as they were not the initial purpose of our analysis. Therefore, a completely different protocol and search strategy would be required to perform a rigorous meta-analysis
MENU-GUIDED NATURAL LANGUAGE INTERFACE

Menu-based natural language interfaces to databases are software systems that allow their users to edit a query by composing fragments of generated natural language. The fragments available for this purpose are provided by the system through contextual menus. This thesis discusses the development of such a system which relies on a description logic reasoner to determine the available fragments, and on natural language generation to produce them. The logic of the interface, along with the query interaction model, are defined by the Query Tool framework. The focus of this work is on the language model and on the resources needed to represent a query in any knowledge domain, meeting the constraints imposed by the query language and the interaction model of Query Tool. This thesis also documents two experimental techniques to produce automatically the resources needed to interface the system with a new knowledge base. The first technique mines a corpus for natural language expressions describing a semantic relation. The second technique produces a generation template from a natural language expression assembling the appropriate lexical and syntactic elements.
Seeking for tipping point in the housing market : evidence from a field experiment

This study econometrically asses the presence of a tipping point on ethnic discrimination in the rental housing market. We measure discrimination and access to housing in New Caledonia by a large field experiment. Between 2015 and 2017, we sent six applications in response to 741 real-estate rental ads, for a total of 3,616 responses. Applicants have European, Kanak (the indigenous people) and Wallisian name and various signal of stability. Using data from the local census, we link the location of the offer and the neighbourhood composition. Probit random intercept regressions show that ethnic discrimination is stronger in neighbourhoods that are around the tipping point in ethnic composition.
Linguistics Vanguard

While rarely difficult for the average speaker/listener, the ubiquity of variation at all levels of linguistic production is a challenge for modern psycholinguistic models of language processing. Variation is perhaps most extreme at the levels of phonetics and phonology, but many models of language processing all but eschew these levels altogether. The current paper posits that cognitive control mechanisms, when divided into proactive and reactive control via a dual mechanisms framework may effectively describe the strategies individuals use to process linguistic variation and, when incorporated into language processing models, can generate novel, testable predictions regarding the origin and propagation of individual differences. By means of example, I illustrate how dual mechanisms of control could be incorporated into a connectionist model of language production. I then describe how dual mechanisms of cognitive control might be relevant for the Adaptive Control Hypothesis and how individual differences in processing strategies may modulate participation in language changes-inprogress.
AI Accelerator Latencies in Hybrid Vehicular Simulation

Anton Debner Aalto University Espoo, Finland anton.debner@aalto.fi Vesa Hirvisalo Aalto University Espoo, Finland vesa.hirvisalo@aalto.fi Abstract We study the use of accelerators for vehicular AI (Artificial Intelligence) applications. Managing the computation is complex as vehicular AI applications call for high performance computations in a real-time distributed environment, in which low and predictable latencies are essential. We have used the CARLA simulator together with machine learning based on CNNs (Convolutional Neural Networks) in our research. In this paper, we present the latency behavior with GPU acceleration for CNN processing. Our experimentation is motivated by using the simulator to find the corner cases that are demanding for the accelerated CNN processing.
MANUSCRIPT UNDER REVIEW PLEASE DO NOT CITE OR DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION Affective forecasting for future consumption improves across the life span

Affective forecasting plays a major role in consumer choice but suffers from many systematic errors. However, little is known about how forecasting accuracy changes over the adult life span. We present four studies that investigate age differences in consumers’ ability to forecast how they will feel about upcoming events (e.g., receiving a gift basket). We show one way that affective forecasting improves across the life span: Older adults are less likely than younger adults to wrongly predict that their affective response to an event will be less intense if the event occurs later in time—a reduction of future anhedonia. We find this age-related improvement for predictions about money as well as consumer goods, but not for predictions about losses. An examination of underlying mechanisms suggests that the age difference in future anhedonia is driven by age differences in the perceived psychological connectedness between one’s current and future self. Further, we show that less susceptibility to future anhedonia may contribute to older adults’ more patient temporal discounting. These results have implications for age-related changes in an array of consumer judgments including product evaluation, consumer satisfaction, and purchase regret.
Title: Reported pre-stroke physical activity is associated with VEGF expression and good outcomes after stroke

Author’s affiliations: 1. Department of Neuroscience, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Universidad Autónoma Barcelona (UAB), Badalona, Barcelona, Spain 2. Clinical Neurosciences Research Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Hospital Clínico Universitario, University of Santiago de Compostela, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain 3. Department of Biostatistics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain 4. Department of Neurology, Hospital Clínico, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
K.P. KALIRAJAN AND R.T. SHAND"

In the literature, technical efficiency is measured as the ratio of observed output to potential output. Although there is no a priori theoretical reasoning, in the stochastic framework of measuring technical efficiency, the potential output is defined as a neutral shift from the observed output. The objective in this paper is to suggest a method to measure technical efficiency without having to consider the potential output as a neutral shift from the observed output.
Ergebnisse der Strahlenschutzüberwachung mit Filmen

Seit Mai 1951 werden von dem Radiologischen Institut der Universität Freiburg und der Beratungsstelle für Strahlenschutz und Dosimetrie an der Medizinischen Klinik Erlangen gemeinsam Strahlenschutzmessungen nach der Filmschwärzungsmethode durchgeführt. Das Verfahren besteht, wie bereits beschrieben wurde (1), darin, daß den Instituten und den mit Röntgenstrahlen arbeitenden Personen, die dies wünschen, monatlich Strahlenschutzplaketten mit Filmen zugesandt werden. Diese Plaketten werden jeweils einen Monat lang getragen und dann an die Meßstelle zur Auswertung zurückgesandt. Die Plaketten [Näheres vgl. DBP. 830229 und Langendorff, Spiegler und Wachsmann (1)] zeichnen sich gegenüber ähnlichen in England und den USA. verwendeten (2-6) dadurch aus, daß sie eine Reihe abgestufter Filter enthalten, mit deren Hilfe es möglich ist, die Qualität der Strahlung, die den Film getroffen hat, zu ermitteln. Dies ist erforderlich, um die Abhängigkeit der Schwärzung der Filmemulsion von der Strahlenqualität eliminieren zu können und die Dosis in Röntgeneinheiten zu ermitteln. Als Filmmaterial wird eine gemeinsam mit den Schleussner Fotowerken G. m. b. H. , Frankfurt a. M. , entwickelte und ausgewählte Spezialemulsion verwendet, deren Empfindlichkeit so bemessen ist, daß sich aus der Schwärzungskurve Dosen von 1/lo der zulässigen Wochendosis bis zum lOfachen dieser genau und nochmals um je etwa eine Zehnerpotenz niedriger bzw. höher liegende Dosen angenähert herauslesen lassen. Der Kostenaufwand für die Durchführung von Strahlenschutzmessungen mit Filmen beträgt je überwachte Person monatlich etwa DM 2. Die erzielbare Meßgenauigkeit liegt normalerweise innerhalb der Fehlergrenzeri von ± 10% und erreicht nur unter ungünstigen Bedingungen, d. h. bei sehr heterogenen Zahl der versandten Wochendosen Strahlungen und bei sehr