Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blocking with Serial Compound Stimuli: The Role of Local Context and Second-Order Associations

Blocking was studied with rats in two serial conditioning experiments in which CS1 was followed by CS2 and then shock. Experiment 1 demonstrated that pretraining with CS1 was able to block conditioning to CS2 when the pretraining consisted of trace conditioning. But when serial conditioning was used for pretraining, with a third stimulus as the second element of the compound, then blocking was not detected during the subsequent phase. In Experiment 2 the effect of pretraining with CS2 on blocking with CS1 was examined. Blocking was effective, but only when steps were taken to minimize the growth of second-order associations resulting from the pairing of CS1 with CS2. These results are consistent with a principle stating that the ability of a pretrained stimulus to block the added stimulus in a compound depends on the relative contiguity of each stimulus to the US.
Decentralized robust sliding mode control for a class of interconnected nonlinear systems with strong interconnections

In this paper, a new decentralized fuzzy sliding mode control (DFSMC) strategy for a class of large-scale nonlinear systems (LSNS) with strong unknown interconnections is proposed. The main objective of our contribution is to reduce the used switching gains in the decentralized sliding mode controller (DSMC) to decrease the chattering amplitude in the presence of strong interconnections in each sub-system. To achieve this objective, the global system is decomposed into sub-systems, then, two fuzzy logic approximations are constructed, the first one is used to approximate the unknown interconnections terms in order to provide a better system modelling, and the second is used to generate the discontinuous part of the control law in the (DSMC). Finally, a Quadrotor attitude angles example is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.
Retinal Vessel Density in Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Optic Atrophy after Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy

Aims. To compare optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) retinal vasculature measurements between normal and optic atrophy after nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) subjects. Design. This prospective observational study was conducted between July 2015 and August 2016 at the ophthalmology outpatient department of a referral center in Taiwan. Peripapillary (4.5 × 4.5 mm) and parafoveal (6 × 6 mm) OCT-A scans were acquired. Measurements of the peripapillary region were obtained in two areas: (1) circumpapillary vessel density (cpVD) and (2) whole enface image vessel density (wiVD). Results. 13 participants with optic atrophy after NAION had lower peripapillary vessel density than the 18 age-matched participants in the healthy control (HC) group (p < 0.001 for both cpVD and wiVD). However, the parafoveal vessel density was not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.49). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the HC and NAION eyes were 0.992 for cpVD and 0.970 for wiVD. cpVD and wiVD were significantly correlated with the average retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (p < 0.001 for both). Conclusion. Peripapillary retinal perfusion is significantly decreased in optic atrophy after NAION. OCT-A may aid in the understanding of structure-function-perfusion relationships in NAION.
Ischemic Heart Disease in Women: Many Questions, Few Facts

After at least 2 decades of growing awareness on coronary heart disease in women, we are left with many questions, few answers, and plenty of opinions. Review articles, books, sessions at scientific meetings, and commentaries regarding various aspects of heart disease in women have proliferated. These reports have highlighted important sex differences in the pathophysiology, presentation, and treatment of ischemic heart disease and have denounced pervasive sex-related disparities in referral and treatment for heart disease as a major reason for outcome differences between the sexes. Such activities have been useful in driving attention to heart disease in women, an area largely ignored by the scientific community and the public just 15 to 20 years ago. However, we must recognize that to date, limited data substantiate many of these statements; such recognition is important to guide future research efforts. A careful look at recently published literature reveals only modest advancements toward clarifying sex-based differences in the pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease and sex-based differences in outcome. At the same time, key questions concerning strategies for prevention and treatment of heart disease in women remain unanswered, and cardiovascular clinical trials continue to include fewer women than men.1 A fundamental question is whether the mechanisms underlying ischemic heart disease in women differ from those in men. This is an important question because if pathophysiology differs in women, such differences can inform strategies for prevention, detection, and treatment that would be most effective for women. That pathophysiology may differ in women compared with men is suggested by several factors. First, despite having more symptoms and physical limitations,2,3 women have less obstructive coronary heart disease than men along the entire spectrum of acute coronary syndromes4 and when referred for revascularization.5,6 Second, the syndrome of chest pain without obstructive coronary artery disease …
SMOOTHING SQP ALGORITHM FOR NON-LIPSCHITZ OPTIMIZATION WITH COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS

Abstract. In this paper, we propose a smoothing sequential quadratic programming (SSQP) algorithm for solving a class of nonsmooth nonconvex, perhaps even non-Lipschitz minimization problems, which has wide applications in statistics and sparse reconstruction. At each step, the SSQP algorithm solves a strongly convex quadratic minimization problem with a diagonal Hessian matrix, which has a simple closed-form solution. The SSQP algorithm is easy to implement and has almost no time cost to solve the convex quadratic minimization subproblems. We show that the worst-case complexity of reaching an ε scaled stationary point is O(ε−2). Moreover, if the objective function is locally Lipschitz, the SSQP algorithm with a slightly modified updating scheme can obtain an ε Clarke stationary point at most O(ε−3) steps.
Additions to the ETArch control plane to support multimedia QoS-guaranteed content transport over OpenFlow-enabled SDN future internet systems

The Future Internet approach requires new solutions to support novel usage scenarios driven by the technological evolution and the new service demands. However, this paradigm shift requires deeper changes in the existing systems, which makes Internet providers reluctant in deploying the full transformation required for the Future Internet. The Entity Title Architecture (ETArch) is a holistic clean-slate Future Internet system embedding new services for these scenarios leveraging the Software Defined Networking (SDN) concept materialized by the OpenFlow. However, legacy ETArch deploys a fully per-flow approach to provision the same transport model for all sessions (equivalent to the Internet best-effort), while suffering with performance drawbacks and lacking Quality of Service (QoS) control. To that, we evolved ETArch with SMART (Support of Mobile Sessions with High Transport Network Resource Demand) QoS control approach, which coordinates admission control and dynamic control of super-dimensioned resources to accommodate multimedia sessions with QoS-guaranteed over time, while keeping scalability/performance and users with full Quality of Experience (QoE). The SMART-enabled ETArch system evaluation was carried out using a real Testbed of the OFELIA Brazilian Island, confirming its benefits in both data and control planes over the legacy ETArch.
Social Influence and the Generation of Joint Mental Attitudes in Multi-agent Systems

This work examines the social structural and cognitive foundations of joint mental attitudes in complexly differentated multi-agent systems, and incorporates insights from a variety of disciplines, including mainstream Distributed Artificial Intelligence, sociology, administrative science, social psychology, and organisational perspectives. At the heart of this work lies the understanding of the on-going processes by which socially and cognitively differentiated agents come to be socially and cognitively integrated. Here we claim that such understanding rests on the consideration of the nature of the influence processes that affect socialisation intensity. To this end, we provide a logic-based computational model of social influence and we undertake a set of virtual experiments to investigate whether and to what extent this process, when it is played out in a system of negotiating agents, results in a modification of the agents' mental attitudes and impacts on negotiation performance.
Adaptivity in GRAPPLE : Adaptation in

GRAPPLE is an EU funded IST FP7 project that brings together a group of researchers into adaptive learning technology and environments and developers of learning management systems (LMSs), in order to offer adaptive learning as a standard feature of future LMSs. This paper presents the adaptation engine used in GRAPPLE, and explains why we consider it to be a truly general-purpose adaptive learning environment (ALE). In particular the paper describes how the core adaptation component (or engine) can be configured to perform any kind of adaptation to any type of XML document, and how it is designed to communicate and work with other systems, in particular with (different) LMSs.
The Role of Context in the Perception of Stops

[Recent experiments with synthetic speech have shown that the perception of voiceless stops depends in large measure on the context, not on the characteristics of the consonants alone. The same phenomenon was investigated in actual speech by recording voiceless stops on tape before certain vowels, cutting them away, and splicing them back before other vowels. The change in context caused certain instances of [k] to be perceived as [p] or [t]. The experiment shows that in actual speech the context of an initial voiceless stop is an important factor in its perception; the results agree strikingly with those obtained for synthetic speech. It is further suggested that aspiration ought properly to be regarded as part of the following vowel rather than of the preceding consonant. ]
Kinetic Analysis of Bifidobacterial Metabolism Reveals a Minor Role for Succinic Acid in the Regeneration of NAD+ through Its Growth-Associated Production

ABSTRACT Several strains belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium were tested to determine their abilities to produce succinic acid. Bifidobacterium longum strain BB536 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strain Bb 12 were kinetically analyzed in detail using in vitro fermentations to obtain more insight into the metabolism and production of succinic acid by bifidobacteria. Changes in end product formation in strains of Bifidobacterium could be related to the specific rate of sugar consumption. When the specific sugar consumption rate increased, relatively more lactic acid and less acetic acid, formic acid, and ethanol were produced, and vice versa. All Bifidobacterium strains tested produced small amounts of succinic acid; the concentrations were not more than a few millimolar. Succinic acid production was found to be associated with growth and stopped when the energy source was depleted. The production of succinic acid contributed to regeneration of a small part of the NAD+, in addition to the regeneration through the production of lactic acid and ethanol.
Controlling cellular reactive responses around neural prosthetic devices using peripheral and local intervention strategies

While chronic use of indwelling micromachined neural prosthetic devices has great potential, the development of reactive responses around them results in a decrease in electrode function over time. Since the cellular events responsible for these responses may be anti-inflammatory in nature, we have tested the effectiveness of dexamethasone and cyclosporin A as potential drugs for developing intervention strategies following insertion of single-shank micromachined silicon devices. Peripheral injection of dexamethasone was effective in attenuating increased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and astrocyte hyperplasia observed during both initial- and sustained-reactive responses observed at one and six weeks post insertion, respectively. Peripheral injection of cyclosporin A had no positive effect. If anything, application of this drug increased the early reactive response. Effectiveness of local release of dexamethasone in rat neocortex was tested by inserting ribbons of poly (ethyl-vinyl) acetate containing 35% (w/w) dexamethasone. Initial concentrations of dexamethasone were similar to those obtained by peripheral injection. Local drug release provided continued control of cellular reactive responses during the six-week study period. These results demonstrate that peripheral delivery of dexamethasone can be used to control reactive responses and that local drug delivery by slow-release from biocompatible polymers may be a more effective method of drug intervention. Incorporating these strategies on micromachined devices may provide an intervention strategy that will insure the chronic functioning of electrodes on intracortical neuroprosthetic devices.
A comparison between heparin and low-dose aspirin as adjunctive therapy with tissue plasminogen activator for acute myocardial infarction. Heparin-Aspirin Reperfusion Trial (HART) Investigators.

BACKGROUND We report the results of the Heparin-Aspirin Reperfusion Trial, a collaborative study comparing early intravenous heparin with oral aspirin as adjunctive treatment when recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is used for coronary thrombolysis during acute myocardial infarction. METHODS Two hundred five patients were randomly assigned to receive either immediate and then continuous intravenous heparin (starting with a 5000-unit bolus; n = 106) or immediate and then daily oral aspirin (80 mg; n = 99) together with rt-PA (100 mg intravenously over a six-hour period) initiated within six hours of the onset of symptoms. We evaluated the patency of the infarct-related artery by angiography 7 to 24 hours after beginning rt-PA infusion, the frequency of reocclusion of the artery by repeat angiography on day 7, and ischemic or hemorrhagic complications during the hospital stay. RESULTS At the time of the first angiogram, 82 percent of the infarct-related arteries in the patients assigned to heparin were patent, as compared with only 52 percent in the aspirin group (P less than 0.0001). Of the initially patent vessels, 88 percent remained patent after seven days in the heparin group, as compared with 95 percent in the aspirin group (P not significant). The numbers of hemorrhagic events (18 in the heparin and 15 in the aspirin group) and recurrent ischemic events (8 in the heparin and 2 in the aspirin group) were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Coronary patency rates associated with rt-PA are higher with early concomitant systemic heparin treatment than with concomitant low-dose oral aspirin. This observation has important implications for clinical practice and should be considered in the design and interpretation of clinical trials involving coronary thrombolytic therapy.
Investigating the role of the HLTA in supporting learning in English schools

Abstract The development of support staff was a key aspect of the Labour government’s reform of the school workforce in England. As part of this strategy approximately 25,000 Teaching Assistants (TAs) gained Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) status and were deployed in schools in a variety of roles, often operating in a quasi-teaching role. The research re-visits individuals who had acquired HLTA status between 2006 and 2009 and had participated in a questionnaire survey regarding their role at that time. A duplicate questionnaire was distributed in 2013 to 305 of these HLTAs and was followed up in 2014 by focus groups with self-selecting individuals from the original sample. To date there has been little research relating to the development of the HLTA role and the implications this has for both teachers and pupils, particularly in terms of provision for the most vulnerable learners.
The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion: Contents

List of tables and figures Preface 1. Introduction: the fragmented state of opinion research 2. Information, predispositions, and opinion 3. How citizens acquire information and convert it into public opinion 4. Coming to terms with response instability 5. Making it up as you go along 6. The mainstream and polarization effects 7. Basic processes of 'attitude change' 8. Tests of the one-message model 9. Two-sided information flows 10. Information flow and electoral choice 11. Evaluating the model and looking toward future research 12. Epilogue: the question of elite domination of public opinion Measures appendix References Index.
Efficacy of antiseptic-impregnated central venous catheters in preventing catheter-related bloodstream infection: a meta-analysis.

CONTEXT Central venous catheters impregnated with chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine have recently been introduced for the prevention of catheter-related infections. However, there remains some uncertainty regarding the efficacy of these catheters because of conflicting reports in the literature. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine-impregnated central venous catheters in the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infection. DATA SOURCES Studies identified from a computerized search of the MEDLINE database from January 1966 to January 1998, reference lists of identified articles, and queries of principal investigators and the catheter manufacturer. STUDY SELECTION Randomized trials comparing chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine-impregnated central venous catheters with nonimpregnated catheters were included. The outcomes assessed were catheter colonization and catheter-related bloodstream infection confirmed by catheter culture. DATA EXTRACTION Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria for catheter colonization and included a total of 2611 catheters. Eleven studies with a total of 2603 catheters met the inclusion criteria for catheter-related bloodstream infection. Most patients in these studies were from groups considered to be at high risk for catheter-related infections. Summary statistics were calculated using Mantel-Haenszel methods under a fixed-effects model. DATA SYNTHESIS The summary odds ratio for catheter colonization was 0.44 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36-0.54; P<.001), indicating a significant decrease in catheter colonization associated with impregnated catheters. The studies examining the outcome of primary interest, catheter-related bloodstream infection, had a summary odds ratio of 0.56 (95% CI, 0.37-0.84; P = .005). CONCLUSIONS Central venous catheters impregnated with a combination of chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine appear to be effective in reducing the incidence of both catheter colonization and catheter-related bloodstream infection in patients at high risk for catheter-related infections.
High Emergence of ESBL-Producing E. coli Cystitis: Time to Get Smarter in Cyprus

Background: Widespread prevalence of extended-spectrum βeta-lactamase producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-producing E. coli) limits the infection therapeutic options and is a growing global health problem. In this study our aim was to investigate the antimicrobial resistance profile of the E. coli in hospitalized and out-patients in Cyprus. Results: During the period 2010–2014, 389 strains of E. coli were isolated from urine samples of hospitalized and out-patients in Cyprus. ESBL-producing E. coli, was observed in 53% of hospitalized and 44% in out-patients, latest one being in 2014. All ESBL-producing E. coli remained susceptible to amikacin, carbapenems except ertapenem (in-patients = 6%, out-patients = 11%). Conclusion: High emerging ESBL-producing E. coli from urine samples in hospitalized and out-patients is an extremely worrisome sign of development of untreatable infections in the near future on the island. We therefore emphasize the immediate need for establishment of optimal therapy guidelines based on the country specific surveillance programs. The need for new treatment strategies, urgent prescription habit changes and ban of over-the-counter sale of antimicrobials at each segment of healthcare services is also discussed in this research.
Racial Blindsight: The Absurdity of Color-Blind Criminal Justice

There is a phenomenon known as blindsight in which a supposedly blind person accurately answers questions about what he insists he cannot see. Blindsight can have physical causes, beyond the sufferer's control, and psychological causes. In the latter situation blindness is, in a sense, chosen. This article uses the blindsight phenomenon as a metaphor for understanding one role of race in the criminal justice system: a form of subconscious bias, a truthful insistence by many of the actors in the system that they see no injustice when, in fact, they do. The article explores the temporal component of racial blindsight too, examining hindsight, now-sight, foresight, and faux-sight. The article offers illustrations involving racial impact statements, anti-integrationist violence, facial profiling, and lower court resistance to modestly progressive death penalty decisions concerning race by the United States Supreme Court. This brief piece serves as an introduction to a symposium on race and criminal justice for which the author has served as editor.
La normativité dans la responsabilité sociale de l'entreprise : une lecture néo-institutionnaliste

Neo-institutional sociological theory addresses two central issues in the analysis of corporate social responsibility: legitimacy and normativeness. Our approach emphasizes this second dimension. We attempt to show to what extent this notion adjusts itself to several normative registers whose logic systems present varying degrees of normative institutionalization, density, and intensity. For our purposes, we view the normativeness of CSR through the study of the devices used in its implementation rather than its underlying rationalities (instrumental, ethical, political, etc.). We believe this perspective is closer to the spirit of management research - with its focus on collective action - and it allows us to avoid philosophizing excursions into its essence. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Drug receptor interactions.

The effects of a drug, the response you observe after administration, usually result from changes in physiological functions that lie well “downstream” from the primary site of drug action. In addition, the signaling pathways are making network in human body, so changing one system can affect the function of many other systems. Therefore the observed responses may represent both “direct” effects of the drug and compensatory changes that may results from these primary effects. The time course of both the direct and the compensatory changes may be immediate or delayed.