Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Amphibian teeth: current knowledge, unanswered questions, and some directions for future research

Elucidation of the mechanisms controlling early development and organogenesis is currently progressing in several model species and a new field of research, evolutionary developmental biology, which integrates developmental and comparative approaches, has emerged. Although the expression pattern of many genes during tooth development in mammals is known, data on other lineages are virtually non‐existent. Comparison of tooth development, and particularly of gene expression (and function) during tooth morphogenesis and differentiation, in representative species of various vertebrate lineages is a prerequisite to understand what makes one tooth different from another. Amphibians appear to be good candidates for such research for several reasons: tooth structure is similar to that in mammals, teeth are renewed continuously during life ( = polyphyodonty), some species are easy to breed in the laboratory, and a large amount of morphological data are already available on diverse aspects of tooth biology in various species. The aim of this review is to evaluate current knowledge on amphibian teeth, principally concerning tooth development and replacement (including resorption), and changes in morphology and structure during ontogeny and metamorphosis. Throughout this review we highlight important questions which remain to be answered and that could be addressed using comparative morphological studies and molecular techniques. We illustrate several aspects of amphibian tooth biology using data obtained for the caudate Pleurodeles waltl. This salamander has been used extensively in experimental embryology research during the past century and appears to be one of the most favourable amphibian species to use as a model in studies of tooth development.
The Role of Depression and Attachment Styles in Predicting Students’ Addiction to Cell Phones

Background The present study aimed at investigating the role of depression and attachment styles in predicting cell phone addiction. Methods In this descriptive correlational study, a sample including 100 students of Payame Noor University (PNU), Reyneh Center, Iran, in the academic year of 2013-2014 was selected using volunteer sampling. Participants were asked to complete the adult attachment inventory (AAI), Beck depression inventory-13 (BDI-13) and the cell phone overuse scale (COS). Findings Results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that depression and avoidant attachment style were the best predictors of students’ cell phone addiction (R2 = 0.23). Conclusion The results of this study highlighted the predictive value of depression and avoidant attachment style concerning students’ cell phone addiction.
Effect of event sequence on intragroup dynamics: Simulation using modified Hopfield neural network

This paper proposes use of modified Hopfield neural network to simulate the effect of event sequence on intragroup dynamics. Each node in the network represents an individual, with unique personality; the network as a whole models a group of N number of individuals. The network is subjected to sequence of events in different chronological order, the effect of changing the chronological order on intra-group dynamics is observed with the help of network analysis tools. The results demonstrate that both individual's personality and his connections in group are important in shaping the entire group dynamics. Our results show that Hopfield neural network can model social groups and group dynamics; also group dynamics is affected by the chronological order of events.
Progressive scalable interactive region-of-interest image coding using vector quantization

We have developed novel progressive scalable region-of-interest (ROI) image compression schemes with rate-distortion-complexity tradeoff based on vector quantization. Residual vector quantization (RVQ) equips the encoder with a multi-resolution apparatus which is useful for rate-distortion tradeoff. Having all advantages of RVQ, jointly suboptimized RVQ provides a distortion-complexity adjustment. The systems are unbalanced in the sense that the decoder has less computational requirements than the encoder. The proposed jointly suboptimized RVQ method provides an interactive tool for fast ROI-based browsing from image archives.
Jackendoff's conceptualism

In this commentary, I concentrate upon Ray Jackendoff's view of the proper foundations for semantics within the context of generative grammar. Jackendoff (2002) favors a form of internalism that he calls “conceptualism. ” I argue that a retreat from realism to conceptualism is not only unwarranted, but even self-defeating, in that the issues that prompt his view will inevitably reappear if the latter is adopted.
Chronic Kidney Disease As a Potential Indication for Renal Denervation

Renal denervation is being used as a blood pressure lowering therapy for patients with apparent treatment resistant hypertension. However, this population does not represent a distinct disease condition in which benefit is predictable. In fact, the wide range in effectiveness of renal denervation could be a consequence of this heterogeneous pathogenesis of hypertension. Since renal denervation aims at disrupting sympathetic nerves surrounding the renal arteries, it seems obvious to focus on patients with increased afferent and/or efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity. In this review will be argued, from both a pathophysiological and a clinical point of view, that chronic kidney disease is particularly suited to renal denervation.
Does laparoscopic excision of endometriotic ovarian cysts significantly affect ovarian reserve? Insights from IVF cycles.

BACKGROUND Residual ovarian function after laparoscopic excision of endometriotic ovarian cysts is a major and still unsolved topic. Ultrasonographic evaluation of ovarian response to ovulation stimulation represents a simple yet poorly employed tool to assess residual ovarian function after surgery. METHODS Data from patients referred for IVF or ICSI between January 2001 and December 2002 were reviewed. Patients were included who previously underwent laparoscopic excision of a monolateral endometriotic ovarian cyst. The operated ovary and contralateral intact ovary were compared in terms of number of follicles with a mean diameter >15 mm at the time of hCG administration. Basal volume of the two ovaries before initiating stimulation was also compared. A paired Student's t-test was used to investigate differences between the two ovaries. RESULTS In total, 32 patients and 46 cycles were identified. The mean (+/- SD) number of follicles >15 mm was 4.2 +/- 2.5 in the control ovary and 2.0 +/- 1.5 in the previously operated ovary (P < 0.001); this corresponded to a mean reduction of 53% (95% CI 35-72%) but did not seem to be related to the dimension of the excised ovarian cyst. The basal volume of the operated ovaries was also statistically significantly diminished, though this reduction was less relevant. CONCLUSIONS Excision of endometriotic ovarian cysts is associated with a significant reduction in ovarian reserve. Further studies are required to clarify whether the damage is related to the surgical procedure or to the previous presence of a cyst.
Computation of Core Losses in Electrical Machines Using Improved Models for Laminated Steel

Two new models for specific power losses in cold-rolled motor lamination steel are described together with procedures for coefficient identification from standard multifrequency Epstein or single sheet tests. The eddy-current and hysteresis loss coefficients of the improved models are dependent on induction (flux density) and/or frequency, and the errors are substantially lower than those of conventional models over a very wide range of sinusoidal excitation, from 20 Hz to 2 kHz and from 0.05 up to 2 T. The model that considers the coefficients to be variable, with the exception of the hysteresis loss power coefficient that has a constant value of 2, is superior in terms of applicability and phenomenological support. Also included are a comparative study of the material models on three samples of typical steel, mathematical formulations for the extension from the frequency to the time domain, and examples of validation from electrical machine studies.
Does Health Education Promote Eating Disorders

Recent research evidence suggests an increase in the incidence of eating disorders. Some studies emphasize a particular increase in children and young adult males. Health education material promotes diets low in fat and cholesterol as generally beneficial. Disturbing evidence is emerging, however, suggesting some link between such diets and an increase in aggression, depression and suicide. Animal studies have demonstrated higher levels of aggression in monkeys fed a ‘prudent’ (low fat) diet than those fed a ‘luxury’ (high fat) diet. It is suggested that individuals vulnerable to eating disorders may be particularly susceptible to advice which offers a specific route to perfection. This paper reviews current literature associating low fat, low cholesterol diets with mood changes and self-injurious behaviour, suggesting some tentative links with the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
What do students learn from a role-play simulation of an international negotiation?

This article uses pre- and post-surveys to assess learning outcomes associated with a role-play simulation set within a fictionalized extension of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Quantitative and qualitative data suggest that the simulation increased student appreciation of the complexity of international negotiation, but decreased student interest and self-assessment of skill proficiency. These results underscore the learning potential of the role-play simulation: it challenges notions of student idealism, leaving students with a more realistic sense of why Multilateral Environmental Agreements are so difficult to negotiate in the real-world.
Acquisition of Relative Performance Information

This study investigated the joint impact of intrapersonal and interpersonal performance information on comparison bahavior. Subjects (elementary-school children) worked on a perceptual task and had the opportunity to look at their own and others' performance after each trial A 2 X 2 design was used in which (1) subjects' performance increased or decreased over trials, and (2) others' performance changed in the same direction but at a faster or slower rate. It was predicted and found that subjects whose performance increased looked equally often at superior and inferior others, whereas subjects whose performance decreased looked more often at inferior others. Also as expected, when subjects' performance decreased, their preference for inferior others was affected by the absolute difference between their own and others' scores. Implications of these findings for a related-attributes analysis of social comparison were discussed.
Population geographies, gender, and the migration-development nexus

This review considers how international migration is related to development, and focuses on how knowledge about the so-called ‘migration-development nexus’ has been expanded through analyses of gender. My specific objective is to understand the ways in which the migration-development nexus is understood to be ‘gendered’ through the intersecting activities of multiple agents as they negotiate and transform transnational and postcolonial contexts of mobility and development. The contemporary migration-development nexus appears distinctive, and is growing and commanding a portfolio of resources sufficient to hardwire relations between societies, economies, and generations for a long time.
Effect of Ego and Task Instructions on Cognitive Performance

To evaluate whether motivation is influenced by the way a task is presented, 80 college students were randomly assigned to receiving either ego or task instructions for an anagram and a coding task. Attributional beliefs were assessed. Scores on the anagram task were related to instructions and attributional beliefs. Persons receiving task instructions and persons with beliefs indicating ability to control academic outcomes had higher scores. Performance on the coding task was not related to beliefs and instructions. Finally, persons receiving task instructions rated themselves as performing better, enjoying the tasks more, and being more willing to participate in similar research again. It was concluded that performance in a difficult verbal task can be supported by the use of task-oriented instructions.
Social support within an on-line cancer community: an assessment of emotional support, perceptions of advantages and disadvantages, and motives for using the community from a communication perspective

This study investigated an on-line cancer support community emphasizing communication concerns important to the community administrators. The researcher conducted an on-line survey of participants (N v = v 103) focused on their on-line communication activities and social support. The results indicate a modest negative correlation between emotional support received on-line and perceived stress, differences in emotional support scores based on perceptions of disadvantages of on-line support groups, and different motives for using the community between people with cancer and family members. The study also describes suggestions based on the results that were made to community administrators and which could be used by other on-line support communities.
Governance of the London 2012 Olympic Games legacy

This study addresses the governance of the London 2012 Olympics legacy. It presents legacy not as a retrospective but a prospective concept concerned with shaping the future through interactions between the state, market and society. This entails designing systems of governance to guide and steer collective actions towards a consensus amongst various parties concerned. Four modes of governance and a range of policy instruments were examined in the delivery of sustainable London Olympics sport legacy including coercive, voluntarism, targeting and framework regulation. The British government actively created a new policy space and promoted institutional conduct consistent with its legacy visions. The current global legacy framework is lacking the governance dimension and its logic needs to be reconsidered. A meaningful sport legacy requires not top-down approaches but locally informed strategies supported by a developmental design of the Olympic Games informed by sustainable principles.
Behavior of bats at wind turbines

Significance Bats are dying in unprecedented numbers at wind turbines, but causes of their susceptibility are unknown. Fatalities peak during low-wind conditions in late summer and autumn and primarily involve species that evolved to roost in trees. Common behaviors of “tree bats” might put them at risk, yet the difficulty of observing high-flying nocturnal animals has limited our understanding of their behaviors around tall structures. We used thermal surveillance cameras for, to our knowledge, the first time to observe behaviors of bats at experimentally manipulated wind turbines over several months. We discovered previously undescribed patterns in the ways bats approach and interact with turbines, suggesting behaviors that evolved at tall trees might be the reason why many bats die at wind turbines. Wind turbines are causing unprecedented numbers of bat fatalities. Many fatalities involve tree-roosting bats, but reasons for this higher susceptibility remain unknown. To better understand behaviors associated with risk, we monitored bats at three experimentally manipulated wind turbines in Indiana, United States, from July 29 to October 1, 2012, using thermal cameras and other methods. We observed bats on 993 occasions and saw many behaviors, including close approaches, flight loops and dives, hovering, and chases. Most bats altered course toward turbines during observation. Based on these new observations, we tested the hypotheses that wind speed and blade rotation speed influenced the way that bats interacted with turbines. We found that bats were detected more frequently at lower wind speeds and typically approached turbines on the leeward (downwind) side. The proportion of leeward approaches increased with wind speed when blades were prevented from turning, yet decreased when blades could turn. Bats were observed more frequently at turbines on moonlit nights. Taken together, these observations suggest that bats may orient toward turbines by sensing air currents and using vision, and that air turbulence caused by fast-moving blades creates conditions that are less attractive to bats passing in close proximity. Tree bats may respond to streams of air flowing downwind from trees at night while searching for roosts, conspecifics, and nocturnal insect prey that could accumulate in such flows. Fatalities of tree bats at turbines may be the consequence of behaviors that evolved to provide selective advantages when elicited by tall trees, but are now maladaptive when elicited by wind turbines.
The role of Brutonˈs tyrosine kinase in the development and BCR/TLR‐dependent activation of AM14 rheumatoid factor B cells

The protein kinase Btk has been implicated in the development, differentiation, and activation of B cells through its role in the BCR and TLR signaling cascades. These receptors and in particular, the BCR and either TLR7 or TLR9 also play a critical role in the activation of autoreactive B cells by RNA‐ or DNA‐associated autoantigens. To explore the role of Btk in the development of autoreactive B cells, as well as their responses to nucleic acid‐associated autoantigens, we have now compared Btk‐sufficient and Btk‐deficient mice that express a prototypic RF BCR encoded by H‐ and L‐chain sdTgs. These B cells bind autologous IgG2a with low affinity and only proliferate in response to IgG2a ICs that incorporate DNA or RNA. We found that Btk‐sufficient RF+ B cells mature into naïve FO B cells, all of which express the Tg BCR, despite circulating levels of IgG2a. By contrast, a significant proportion of Btk‐deficient RF+ B cells acquires a MZ or MZ precursor phenotype. Remarkably, despite the complete inability of RF+ Xid/y B cells to respond to F(ab′)2 anti‐IgM, RF+ Xid/y B cells could respond well to autoantigen‐associated ICs. These data reveal unique features of the signaling cascades responsible for the activation of autoreactive B cells.
2-D Non-Separable Wavelet Bases for Texture Classification with Genetic Feature Selection

In this paper. the performances of testure classification based on pyramidal and uniform decomposition are comparatively studied with and without feature selection. This comparison using the subband variance as feature explores the dependence among features. It is shown that the main problem when employing 2-D non-separable wavelet transforms for testure classification is the determination of the suitable features and that yields the best classification results. A Mas-Mas algorithm which is a novel evaluation function based on genetic algorithms is presented to evaluate the classification performance of each subset of selected features. Esperimental results have shown the selectivity of the proposed approach and do capture the testure characteristics.
Genome-wide study of resistant hypertension identified from electronic health records

Resistant hypertension is defined as high blood pressure that remains above treatment goals in spite of the concurrent use of three antihypertensive agents from different classes. Despite the important health consequences of resistant hypertension, few studies of resistant hypertension have been conducted. To perform a genome-wide association study for resistant hypertension, we defined and identified cases of resistant hypertension and hypertensives with treated, controlled hypertension among >47,500 adults residing in the US linked to electronic health records (EHRs) and genotyped as part of the electronic MEdical Records & GEnomics (eMERGE) Network. Electronic selection logic using billing codes, laboratory values, text queries, and medication records was used to identify resistant hypertension cases and controls at each site, and a total of 3,006 cases of resistant hypertension and 876 controlled hypertensives were identified among eMERGE Phase I and II sites. After imputation and quality control, a total of 2,530,150 SNPs were tested for an association among 2,830 multi-ethnic cases of resistant hypertension and 876 controlled hypertensives. No test of association was genome-wide significant in the full dataset or in the dataset limited to European American cases (n = 1,719) and controls (n = 708). The most significant finding was CLNK rs13144136 at p = 1.00x10-6 (odds ratio = 0.68; 95% CI = 0.58–0.80) in the full dataset with similar results in the European American only dataset. We also examined whether SNPs known to influence blood pressure or hypertension also influenced resistant hypertension. None was significant after correction for multiple testing. These data highlight both the difficulties and the potential utility of EHR-linked genomic data to study clinically-relevant traits such as resistant hypertension.
Identification of Common Predictive Markers of In vitro Response to the Mek Inhibitor Selumetinib (AZD6244; ARRY-142886) in Human Breast Cancer and Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Lines

Selumetinib (AZD6244; ARRY-142886) is a tight-binding, uncompetitive inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (MEK) 1 and 2 currently in clinical development. We evaluated the effects of selumetinib in 31 human breast cancer cell lines and 43 human non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines to identify characteristics correlating with in vitro sensitivity to MEK inhibition. IC50 <1 μmol/L (considered sensitive) was seen in 5 of 31 breast cancer cell lines and 15 of 43 NSCLC cell lines, with a correlation between sensitivity and raf mutations in breast cancer cell lines (P = 0.022) and ras mutations in NSCLC cell lines (P = 0.045). Evaluation of 27 of the NSCLC cell lines with Western blots showed no clear association between MEK and phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway activation and sensitivity to MEK inhibition. Baseline gene expression profiles were generated for each cell line using Agilent gene expression arrays to identify additional predictive markers. Genes associated with differential sensitivity to selumetinib were seen in both histologies, including a small number of genes in which differential expression was common to both histologies. In total, these results suggest that clinical trials of selumetinib in breast cancer and NSCLC might select patients whose tumors harbor raf and ras mutations, respectively. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(7); 1985–94. ©2010 AACR.