Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
fMRI identifies the right inferior frontal cortex as the brain region where time interval processing is altered by negative emotional arousal

The reason why human beings are inclined to overestimate the duration of highly arousing negative events remains enigmatic. The issue about what neurocognitive mechanisms and neural structures support the connection between time perception and emotion was addressed here by an event‐related neuroimaging study involving a localizer task, followed by the main experiment. The localizer task, in which participants had to categorize either the duration or the average color of visual stimuli aimed at identifying the neural structures constitutive of a duration‐specific network. The aim of the main experiment, in which participants had to categorize the presentation time of either neutral or emotionally negative visual stimuli, was to unmask which parts of the previously identified duration‐specific network are sensitive to emotionally negative arousal. The duration‐specific network that we uncovered from the localizer task comprised the cerebellum bilaterally as well as the orbitofrontal, the anterior cingulate, the anterior insular, and the inferior frontal cortices in the right hemisphere. Strikingly, the imaging data from the main experiment underscored that the right inferior frontal cortex (IFC) was the only region within the duration‐specific network whose activity was increased in the face of emotionally negative pictures compared to neutral ones. Remarkably too, the extent of neural activation induced by emotionally negative pictures (compared to neutral ones) in this region correlated with a behavioral index reflecting the extent to which emotionally negative pictures were overestimated compared to neutral ones. The results are discussed in relation to recent models and studies suggesting that the right anterior insular cortex/IFC is of central importance in time perception. Hum Brain Mapp 36:981–995, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PRESERVICE AND EARLY CAREER TEACHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD INCLUSION, INSTRUCTIONAL ACCOMMODATIONS, AND FAIRNESS: THREE PROFILES

This investigation examined the attitudes of beginning general education teachers (preservice and early career) with respect to teaching in inclusion classrooms. Sixty graduate students, taking a survey at the conclusion of a special education course, completed Q-sorts constructed to evaluate responses regarding attitude toward (a) inclusion, (b) instructional accommodations, and (c) fairness, along two dimensions: positive/negative and anxious/confident. A three-factor solution resulted in profiles of three groups of teachers: keen, but anxious, beginners (mostly preservice teachers with positive attitudes, but who worried about being effective inclusion teachers); positive doers (more experienced teachers whose struggles with the challenges of inclusion had not deterred their positive attitudes); and resisters (mostly experienced teachers whose concerns about fairness signified their resistance to inclusion). Teacher educators may find these profiles useful in preparing teachers to teach in inclusion classrooms.
International Organisations and the Shared Construction of Policy ‘Problems’: Problematisation and Change in Education Governance in Europe

Over recent years, research has shown the ways that national governments have seemingly ceded some of their autonomy in education policy development to international organisations (IOs) in the context of globalisation and one of its conduits, Europeanisation. This article develops the idea that IOs, and particularly the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have had significant policy influence within the context of education policy development in the European education space. The article focuses on an examination of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the more recent Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in order to discuss processes of problematisation and normalisation of the notions of ‘skills' and ‘competencies' by the two major European IOs, the OECD and the European Commission. It examines the ways both concepts have turned into a policy problem in need of soft governance through new data, standards and policy solutions. The article presents work in progress as part of the new project Transnational Policy Learning: a comparative study of OECD and EU education policy in constructing the skills and competencies agenda, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. It is therefore a speculative article, setting out the research agenda and explaining the reasons why the construction of policy problems at the European education policy level needs to be further problematised itself by the research community.
Assembly, Purification, and Pre-steady-state Kinetic Analysis of Active RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase Elongation Complex*

Background: Previous studies have failed to reconstitute an active replication complex with hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Results: The replication complex from HCV was assembled, purified, and characterized. Conclusion: A highly active replication complex can be formed with HCV polymerase that catalyzes fast and processive RNA replication. Significance: A purified and active replication complex is essential for mechanistic studies and drug discovery. NS5B is the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase responsible for replicating hepatitis C virus (HCV) genomic RNA. Despite more than a decade of work, the formation of a highly active NS5B polymerase·RNA complex suitable for mechanistic and structural studies has remained elusive. Here, we report that through a novel way of optimizing initiation conditions, we were able to generate a productive NS5B·primer·template elongation complex stalled after formation of a 9-nucleotide primer. In contrast to previous reports of very low proportions of active NS5B, we observed that under optimized conditions up to 65% of NS5B could be converted into active elongation complexes. The elongation complex was extremely stable, allowing purification away from excess nucleotide and abortive initiation products so that the purified complex was suitable for pre-steady-state kinetic analyses of polymerase activity. Single turnover kinetic studies showed that CTP is incorporated with apparent Kd and kpol values of 39 ± 3 μm and 16 ± 1 s−1, respectively, giving a specificity constant of kpol/Kd of 0.41 μm−1 s−1. The kinetics of multiple nucleotide incorporation during processive elongation also were determined. This work establishes a novel way to generate a highly active elongation complex of the medically important NS5B polymerase for structural and functional studies.
Why the “Transmission Gap” in Attachment Research: Differential Susceptibilitiy to Rearing Influence

major challenge to students of attachment theory is what van A IJzendoorn (1995) has referred to as the “transmission gap”-the gap between what can and cannot be explained about the determinants of attachment security in infancy. Theory suggests that the most important determinants of attachment security should be the sensitivity with which mother cares for the child, yet the predictive power of measured sensitivity appears to be modest (de Wolfe and van IJzendoorn 1997), even though experimental research clearly demonstrates that sensitivity causally contributes to the development of attachment security (van den Boom 1994, van IJzendoorn et al. 1995). Relatedly, while mothers’ own state of mind with respect to attachment, as measured by the adult attachment interview, has proven to be rather strong (van IJzendoorn 1995), the presumed mediating mechanism-namely, maternal sensitivity-has not. So again we are confronted with the reality that our power to predict attachment security via maternal sensitivity is nowhere near what we would expect on the basis of theory. Why is that? Three possible-and nonmutually exclusive-explanations to this conundrum are considered in this chapter. First I will consider what might be labeled “the measurement gap,” that is, that limitations of measurement may result in underestimates of the effects of sensitivity on attachment security. Next I will consider the possibility that insufficient attention has been paid by students of attachment theory to what might be regarded, from the mother’s perspective, as “time on task,” and from the infants as the sheer
Motion as a reference for positions

Abstract Is the position of a moving target “predicted”? I argue that we should regard moving targets as the natural (veridical) position references. Motion is probably perceptually absolute, whereas position and time are relative quantities, as in physics. According to this view, processing delays are incorporated in the abstract local signs of motion signals. The flash-lag effect is one case in point.
4 Vascular Access for Hemodialysis

A progressive rise in the number of patients accepted for renal replacement therapy has been reported world wide [1]. Permanent vascular access (VA) is the life-line for the majority of these patients, when hemodialysis is the treatment of choice. Thus, the successful creation of permanent vascular access and the appropriate management to decrease the complications is mandatory. A well functional access is also vital in order to deliver adequate hemodialysis therapy in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Unfortunately, despite the advances in hemodialysis technology, the introduction of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft and the cuffed double lumen silicone catheter were the only changes in the field of vascular access in the last years. However the cost of vascular access related care was found to be more than fivefold higher for patients with arteriovenous graft (AVG) compared with patients with a functional arteriovenous fistula (AVF) [2]. It seems that the native arteriovenous fistula that Brescia and Cimino described in 1966, still remains the first choice VA [3]. Thereafter, vascular access still remains the “Achilles’ heel” of the procedure [4] and hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction is one of the most important causes of morbidity in this population [5]. It has been estimated that vascular access dysfunction is responsible for 20% of all hospitalizations; the annual cost of placing and looking after dialysis vascular access in the United States exceeds 1 billion dollars per year [6, 7]. Nowadays, three types of permanent vascular access are used: arteriovenous fistula (AVF), arteriovenous grafts (AVG) and cuffed central venous catheters. They all have to be able to provide enough blood flow in order to deliver adequate hemodialysis, have a long use-life and low rate of complications. The native forearm arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) have the longest survival and require the fewest interventions. For this reason the forearm AV is the first choice, followed by the upper-arm AVF, the arteriovenous graft (AVG) and the cuffed central venous catheter as a final step [8-10].
Polymorphisms of PXK are associated with autoantibody production, but not disease risk, of systemic lupus erythematosus in Chinese mainland population

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex immune disease. The genetic variation in the PXK gene was found to associate with SLE in Caucasian populations. However, the association of rs6445975 with SLE has not been extensively studied in a Chinese mainland population. A total of 288 SLE patients and 357 controls were recruited. Unlabeled probe-based high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) was used in genotyping. HRMA with unlabeled probe successfully distinguished all genotypes. Neither genotype nor allele frequencies of SNP rs6445975 showed statistically significant differences between SLE patients and controls. The association of SNP rs6445975 with the diagnostic criteria of SLE was also examined. No obvious association was observed between rs6445975 and the incidence of clinical symptoms. However, the minor allele (G) of rs6445975 was found to significantly associate with increased abnormalities of anti-Smith (p = 0.004, odds ratio (OR) = 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.22–3.09), anti-Ro (p = 0.015, OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.10–2.58), anti-La (p = 0.008, OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.17–2.93) and C3C4 (p = 0.007, OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.17–2.74). Polymorphisms of rs6445975 in the PXK gene were associated with autoantibody production, but not disease risk, of systemic lupus erythematosus in a Chinese population.
A prospective randomized trial comparing MVAC and CISCA chemotherapy for patients with metastatic urothelial tumors.

To evaluate the relative efficacy of cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, and Adriamycin (doxorubicin; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH) (CISCA) versus methotrexate, vinblastine, Adriamycin, and cisplatin (MVAC), a prospective randomized trial was performed in patients with advanced metastatic urothelial tumors. Patients were stratified by histologic disease type and degree of tumor dissemination. Equal distribution of the clinical characteristics was achieved. One hundred ten patients with metastatic disease of the urinary tract (86 bladder, 16 renal pelvis, seven ureter, one prostatic urethra) met eligibility criteria and were enrolled on study. These represented 82% of the total patients seen during the study period in the Section of Genitourinary Oncology who met the eligibility criteria. The combined complete and partial response rate was significantly higher for patients treated with MVAC than for those treated with CISCA (65% v 46%; P less than .05). The survival duration of MVAC-treated patients was significantly longer than that of CISCA-treated patients (mean, 62.6 weeks; median, 48.3; range, 5.0+ to 162.3+ v mean, 40.4 weeks; median, 36.1; range, 7+ to 147.1+). We conclude that MVAC chemotherapy is superior to CISCA chemotherapy, achieving a higher response rate and a longer survival for equivalent patients with metastatic urothelial tumors.
VLSI implementation of a reversible variable length encoder/decoder

Variable length codes (VLCs) are known for their efficient compression, but are susceptible to noisy environments due to synchronization losses that can occur from bit error propagation. The interest in reversible variable length codes (RVLCs) has come about due to the growing need for wireless exchange of compressed image and video signals over noisy channels and the ability for RVLCs to provide greater error robustness than their non-reversible counterparts (VLCs). With the current ITU H.263+ and ISO MPEG-4 standards already using RVLCs, low power implementations of the RVLC are essential in providing error robustness in real-time systems, while minimizing power consumption. This paper presents the first published VLSI architectures of a low power reversible variable length encoder and decoder. Results show power consumption of less than 1 mW for both encoder and decoder, with an additional 65% increase in area for the decoder over that of a conventional VLD design.
The Discrepancy Hypothesis of Affect and Association Value of Nonsense Syllables

McClelland, et a2. ( 2 ) write that large discrepancies from an adaptation level should produce negative affect and small ones, positive affect. Assuming that an adaptation level is developed for words used in everyday language, "one would predict on the basis of the discrepancy hypothesis that an artificial language consisting of probable syllabic combinations would be more amusing than one consisting of highly improbable syllabic combinations or that nonsense syllables that sounded like English (NOQ) would be more amusing than ones that didn't (VOQ)" ( 2 , p. 61). The present study was designed to explore this prediction from the discrepancy hypothesis, in the specific form that nonsense syllables which have a higher association value should be judged more pleasant than syllables which have a lower association value and hence can presumably be considered more discrepant from English words. Four lists of five nonsense syllables each were selected from Hilgard's lists in Stevens' Handbook ( 1 ) . List 1 contained syllables of 0 % association value; List 2, 47%; List 3, 80%; and List 4, 100%. The syllables within each list were chosen at random, except for the stipulations that no consonant should appear more than three times in the initial or the final position in the entire list, and that no consonant should occur more than twice within a given list. The entire series of 25 syllables was read aloud one at a time by letters in a randomized order counterbalanced for order effects to a group of 25 Ss, who were told to rate them on a pleasant-unpleasant scale ranging from 1 (very unpleasant) to 5 (very pleasant) . The list of 0% association value received an overall mean rating of 2.59; the standard error of this mean was 0.11. Comparable statistics for the 475% list were 2.66 and 0.11; for the 80% list, 3.17 and 0.13; and for the 1005% list, 3.28 and 0.1 1. Individual rankings of the four groups of syllables, according to a Friedman two-way analysis of variance by ranks, differed significantly at the . 001 level of confidence. These results support the experimental hypothesis, in that syllables tended to be perceived as more pleasant the more nearly they approached actual English words. The finding can be considered to provide further evidence for the assumption of some sort of adaptation process in the determination of affect.
A Novel Technology: Percutaneous Injection of Fibrin Glue as a Treatment for Frontal Sinus Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea

Abstract In this study, we examined the effectiveness of percutaneous injected fibrin glue as a treatment for frontal sinus cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea in a series of 4 cases. All 4 patients had fracture in the posterior wall of the frontal sinus. The anterior wall of the frontal sinus was punctured following high-resolution computed tomography imaging. In 3 out of 4 patients with defective skull due to prior frontal craniotomy, direct percutaneous puncture of the frontal sinus was used. Fibrin glue was injected to close the fistula and to seal the rhinorrhea. Surgery procedures lasted for 15–35 minutes (average 27.6 min). Rhinorrhea was stopped in all patients after the surgery, with no recurrence at a 10-month follow-up visit. In 1 case, the glue was expelled by coughing at 2 days after the surgery but was completely stopped with no recurrence after a second attempt. One patient with no recurrence at a 10-month follow-up died of tumor relapse at 12 months. In summary, fibrin glue could be used as a novel treatment for frontal sinus CSF rhinorrhea.
Characterization of an ATP‐modulated large conductance Ca(2+)‐activated K+ channel present in rat cortical neurones.

1. Single channel current recordings were used to study the characteristics of a large conductance Ca(2+)‐activated K+ (BKCa) channel present in neurones acutely dissociated from the rat motor cortex. Application of ATP to the intracellular surface of excised inside‐out patches produced a large, concentration‐dependent increase in BKCa channel activity. 2. This ATP‐mediated activation was dependent upon the presence of Mg2+ in the intracellular bathing solution and was diminished by the phosphatases 2,3‐butanedione monoxime (BDM) or alkaline phosphatase and by the protein kinase inhibitors staurosporine, H‐7 and PKI. 3. ADP stimulated BKCa channel activity in a Mg(2+)‐dependent manner, an action also inhibited by the concomitant application of PKI or BDM. The effect of ADP was reduced by application of hexokinase and glucose or by application of the adenylate kinase inhibitor Ap5A. 4. Of other nucleotides tested, only CTP consistently activated BKCa channel activity. 5. Using the cell‐attached configuration, bath application of forskolin or dibutyryl cAMP stimulated BKCa channel activity. 6. It is concluded that BKCa channel activity in the rat motor cortex is subject to modulation by the activity of a closely associated kinase. The ability of cAMP activators to stimulate BKCa channel activity in the intact cell suggests that this system may be of physiological importance.
Picking up litter: an application of theory-based communication to influence tourist behaviour in protected areas

Tourism to protected areas worldwide has increased rapidly, prompting management agencies to seek enhanced visitor management including communication aimed at influencing tourists' behaviour to reduce impacts and strengthen conservation viability. Research has shown that the greatest success in influencing visitors' actions comes from understanding what they think about a particular behaviour. This notion was investigated in this study in Mt Field National Park, Tasmania, using the theory of planned behaviour and the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion in a three-stage research process to design specific persuasive messages that were then evaluated for their impact on visitors' beliefs, attitude and behaviour. Of four salient beliefs found through survey, one offered much promise. Two experimental treatments based on that belief resulted in a 15%–20% increase in litter pickup compared with a control condition, and were also found to positively affect targeted beliefs and attitudes relating to this pro-environmental behaviour. Potential benefits include cost savings on litter collection for the park, fewer detrimental impacts on wildlife and less aesthetic degradation. Conclusions are drawn about the efficacy of a theory-based approach to influencing problem visitor behaviours in protected areas and the nature of the cognitive process which might be involved.
Risk Factors for Hepatitis C Infection Among Sexually Transmitted Disease-Infected, Inner City Obstetric Patients

Objective: To test the hypothesis that our inner city obstetric patients who have been infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) will have a higher prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection than the general population and to identify specific risk factors and high-risk groups. Methods: All patients in our prenatal clinic (July 1997–April 1999) who tested positive for one or more STDs were asked to return for hepatitis C antibody testing. Medical charts of all patients who returned for hepatitis C testing were reviewed. Results: A total of 106 patients with STDs were tested for hepatitis C. Positive screening tests for anti-hepatitis C antibody were found in 6.6% (7/106) of the patients (95% CI = 2.7–13.1%). This frequency is significantly higher than the hepatitis C prevalence (1.8%) in the general United States population (p = 0.006). Multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed only older age (p = 0.016) and positive HIV status (p = 0.023) to be significant predictors of hepatitis C infection. Conclusions: Inner city STD-infected obstetric patients are at high risk for hepatitis C infection compared with the general population. Increasing age and HIV-positive status are risk factors which are significantly associated with hepatitis C infection.
Phonological Acquisition and Phonological Theory

Contents: Preface. J. Archibald, Introduction: Phonological Competence. B.E. Dresher, H. van der Hulst, Global Determinacy and Learnability in Phonology. K. Rice, P. Avery, Variability in a Deterministic Model of Language Acquisition: A Theory of Segmental Elaboration. E.J. Fee, Segments and Syllables in Early Language Acquisition. D. Ingram, The Acquisition of Negative Constraints, the OCP and Underspecified Representations. J. Archibald, The Acquisition of Stress. K. Demuth, The Acquisition of Tonal Systems. D.A. Dinnsen, S.B. Chin, On the Naural Domain of Phonological Disorders. E. Broselow, H-B. Park, Mora Conservation in Second Language Prosody. T. Scovel, Differentiation, Recognition and Identification in the Discrimination of Foreign Accents.