Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Review of Research: Neuroscience and the Impact of Brain Plasticity on Braille Reading

In this systematic review of research, the author analyzes studies of neural cortical activation, brain plasticity, and braille reading. The conclusions regarding the brain's plasticity and ability to reorganize are encouraging for individuals with degenerative eye conditions or late-onset blindness because they indicate that the brain can make new connections that have implications for braille reading, tactile perception, and instruction.
Three‐Dimensional Sonography of the Endometrium and Adjacent Myometrium

Objective. By evaluating a series of patients undergoing pelvic sonography with routine 2‐dimensional (2D) as well as 3‐dimensional (3D) reconstructed images in the coronal plane, we attempted to characterize the types of additional information that can be obtained. Methods. Ninety randomly selected patients undergoing transvaginal pelvic sonography were imaged according to a standard 2D protocol. A 3D uterine volume was then acquired in the sagittal plane and reconstructed in the coronal plane. The endometrium and surrounding myometrium were evaluated for architecture, masses, the relationship of masses to the endometrial cavity, and the anatomic configuration of the cavity. Results. Ninety‐one studies were obtained. Additional findings were obtained on the coronal view in 28 studies (30.8%). No additional findings were obtained in 63 studies (69.2%). Normal endometrial and myometrial findings were obtained by conventional 2D imaging in 42 of 91 patients. Of this group, additional findings were shown in 2 (5%) patients. Forty‐nine of the 91 patients had abnormal findings by 2D imaging. Additional information was obtained in 26 (53%) of these patients. Added information included uterine anomalies, better definition of the endometrium, more accurate delineation and location of endometrial polyps, location of leiomyomas, visualization of cystic areas within the myometrium, and confirmation of the location of intrauterine devices. Conclusions. The 3D reconstructed view of the endometrium and adjacent myometrium appears to be most helpful after a conventional transvaginal study, showing abnormalities within the endometrium and myometrium but being of little added benefit if the conventional findings are normal.
Spirituality and the Therapeutic Recreation Practitioner: Exploring the Implications for Practice and Research

There is a growing body of literature that relates to spirituality and leisure. Within this corpus, several scholars continue to address the relationship between spirituality and therapeutic recreation. Much of the available literature chronicles the health and wellness benefits that accrue to the client/participant but little attention has been devoted to understanding the relationship between the personal spirituality of the therapeutic recreation (TR) professional and its influence on service delivery. The purpose of this essay was three-fold: (1) to examine the influence of spirituality in the work lives of TR practitioners; and (2) to chronicle existing literature that relates to spirituality and TR practitioners; and (3) to provide a discussion on the need for additional research to better understand the relationship between spirituality and the manner in which therapeutic recreation services are provided. We concluded that further exploring the relationship between the spirituality of TR professionals and its impact on practice is a viable line of scholarship that should be pursued vigorously.
Electrical Stimulation of Human Fusiform Face-Selective Regions Distorts Face Perception

Face-selective neural responses in the human fusiform gyrus have been widely examined. However, their causal role in human face perception is largely unknown. Here, we used a multimodal approach of electrocorticography (ECoG), high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and electrical brain stimulation (EBS) to directly investigate the causal role of face-selective neural responses of the fusiform gyrus (FG) in face perception in a patient implanted with subdural electrodes in the right inferior temporal lobe. High-resolution fMRI identified two distinct FG face-selective regions [mFus-faces and pFus-faces (mid and posterior fusiform, respectively)]. ECoG revealed a striking anatomical and functional correspondence with fMRI data where a pair of face-selective electrodes, positioned 1 cm apart, overlapped mFus-faces and pFus-faces, respectively. Moreover, electrical charge delivered to this pair of electrodes induced a profound face-specific perceptual distortion during viewing of real faces. Specifically, the subject reported a “metamorphosed” appearance of faces of people in the room. Several controls illustrate the specificity of the effect to the perception of faces. EBS of mFus-faces and pFus-faces neither produced a significant deficit in naming pictures of famous faces on the computer, nor did it affect the appearance of nonface objects. Further, the appearance of faces remained unaffected during both sham stimulation and stimulation of a pair of nearby electrodes that were not face-selective. Overall, our findings reveal a striking convergence of fMRI, ECoG, and EBS, which together offer a rare causal link between functional subsets of the human FG network and face perception.
Immunopathology in schistosomiasis is controlled by antigen‐specific regulatory T cells primed in the presence of TLR2

Regulatory T cells (Treg) are vital in maintaining the homeostasis of immune reactions. In chronic infections, such as schistosomiasis, it remains unclear whether engagement of the TLR family is required to induce Treg activity. Thus, we performed in vivo studies using TLR2–/– mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni and found elevated immunopathology, decreased egg burden and extended antigen‐specific Th1 responses. Simultaneously, the population of Treg failed to expand. To evaluate the role of Treg during infection, we functionally inactivated CD4+CD25+ T cells and observed that the resulting immunopathology mirrored that in TLR2–/– mice. Egg burden was also reduced in anti‐CD25‐treated mice, indicating that without Treg eggs are more efficiently destroyed. In addition, antigen‐specific T cells from both TLR2–/– and anti‐CD25‐treated mice displayed an extended Th1 phase. Finally, adoptive transfer of schistosome‐primed, but not naive CD4+CD25+ T cells was able to resolve the immunopathology in TLR2–/– recipients and interestingly, this amelioration was independent of TLR2 being present on the transferred Treg. We conclude that TLR2 is necessary for priming active Treg and their expansion during schistosomiasis.
Mitochondrial Function / Dysfunction in Health and Disease The PGC-1-related coactivator promotes mitochondrial and myogenic adaptations in C 2 C 12 myotubes

Philp A, Belew MY, Evans A, Pham D, Sivia I, Chen A, Schenk S, Baar K. The PGC-1 -related coactivator promotes mitochondrial and myogenic adaptations in C2C12 myotubes. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 301: R864–R872, 2011. First published July 27, 2011; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00232. 2011. —The transcriptional coactivator PGC-1 is a potent regulator of skeletal muscle metabolism. Less is known about the structurally similar PGC-1 -related coactivator (PRC) that is enriched in myoblasts and adult skeletal muscle. The present study was designed to determine the effect of PRC on the metabolic profile of C2C12 myotubes. Overexpression of full-length PRC increased PRC gene expression by 2.7 0.3-fold and protein content by 108 5.3%. This modest elevation in PRC resulted in an increased rate of myoblast proliferation (61.5 2.7%) and resulted in myotubes characterized by increased MyoD (18.2 0.52%) and myosin heavy chain (15.4 3.13%) protein. PRC overexpressing myotubes showed increases in mRNA for some—COX4 (2.6 0.18-fold), ATP5B (2.7 0.34-fold) cytochrome c (5.1 0.68fold)—but not all, MTCO1 (0.61 0.18-fold) and HAD (0.98 0.36-fold) mitochondrial genes, as well as a significant increase in cytochrome–c (28.7 7.02%) protein content. The enzyme activity of the electron transport chain (ETC) complex IV (3.7 0.01-fold) and citrate synthase (2.1 0.14-fold) was increased by PRC, as was the mtDNA:nucDNA ratio (11 0.3%). PRC increased cellular respiration (142%), basal (197%) and insulin-stimulated (253%) glucose uptake, as well as palmitate uptake (28.6 3.31%) and oxidation (31.1 2.17%). Associated with these changes in function, PRC overexpression increased GLUT4 mRNA (4.5 0.22-fold) and protein (13.8 2.08%) and CPT1 protein (28.9 4.23%). Electrical stimulation of C2C12 myotubes resulted in a transient increase in PRC mRNA that was smaller (2.1 0.3-fold vs. 4.4 0.23-fold) and occurred earlier (3 h vs. 6 h) than PGC-1 . Collectively, our data show that PRC promotes skeletal muscle myogenesis and metabolism in vitro, thus identifying PRC as a functional skeletal muscle coactivator capable of regulating mitochondrial substrate utilization and respiration.
Frontiers of Mass Spectrometry in Nucleic Acids Analysis

Nucleic acids research is a highly competitive field of research. A number of well established methods are available. The current output of high throughput (“next generation”) sequencing technologies is impressive, and still technologies are continuing to make progress regarding read lengths, bp per second, accuracy and costs. Although in the 1990s MS was considered as an analytical platform for sequencing, it was soon realized that MS will never be competitive. Thus, the focus shifted from de novo sequencing towards other areas of application where MS has proven to be a powerful analytical tool. Potential niches for the application of MS in nucleic acids research include genotyping of genetic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms, short tandem repeats, and combinations thereof), quality control of synthetic oligonucleotides, metabolic profiling of therapeutics, characterization of modified nucleobases in deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid molecules, and the study of non covalent interactions among nucleic acids as well as interactions of nucleic acids with drugs and proteins. The diversity of possible applications for MS highlights its significance for nucleic acid research.
Effects of Inhalation Exposure to Propylene Oxide on Respiratory Tract, Reproduction and Development in Rats

Effects of Inhalation Exposure to Propylene Oxide on Respiratory Tract, Reproduction and Development in Rats: Hirokazu Okuda, et al. Japan Bioassay Research Center, Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association—Nasal, respiratory, reproductive and developmental toxicities of propylene oxide (PO) were examined by exposing male and female Sprague‐Dawley rats to PO vapor by inhalation at a concentration of 0 (control), 125, 250, 500 or 1,000 ppm for 6 h/d, 7 d/wk, during a 5‐ to 6‐wk period, including premating, mating and postmating or gestation. The inhalation exposure to 1,000 ppm PO seriously affected parental survival, the upper and lower respiratory tract, male and female reproductive systems, motor function, and fetal survival and development, whereas the exposure to 500 ppm or less primarily caused nasal lesions without any sign of reproductive or developmental toxicity. Because atrophy of the olfactory epithelium in the male rats exposed to 250 ppm was the most sensitive endpoint for PO toxicity, the NOAEL was determined to be 125 ppm for the nasal endpoint. An additional inhalation experiment was carried out to further examine developmental toxicity by exposing pregnant rats to 0, 125, 250, 500, 750 or 1,000 ppm PO during a 2‐wk period of gestation, Day 6 through Day 19. The 2‐wk inhalation experiment revealed that reduced fetal body weights and delayed ossification occurred in association with significantly reduced body weights of the dams exposed to 750 and 1,000 ppm, whereas neither fetal death nor teratogenicity occurred at those two exposure levels. It was concluded that the developmental toxicity of fetal death was manifested at parentally toxic exposure levels above 500 ppm, a level which seriously affected parental survival, the upper and lower respiratory tracts and reproductive system.
Why Do We Need Probabilistic Approaches to Ontologies and the Associated Data?

Conventional ontologies comprise deterministically organized concepts. Certain ontological relations (e.g., those between diseases and causes, symptoms, treatments, or prognosis) cannot be represented faithfully without handling uncertainty. Biomedical ontologies are useful, only if they point to outcomes of the phenomena of interest. Such outcomes are usually associated with probabilistic data. This study is built upon Bayesian probability theory and machine learning where determinism is treated as a special case over a set of probabilistic ontological relations.
Vector Precoding for Gaussian MIMO Broadcast Channels: Impact of Replica Symmetry Breaking

The “replica method” of statistical physics is employed for the large-system analysis of vector precoding for the Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output broadcast channel. The transmitter comprises a linear front-end combined with nonlinear precoding, minimizing transmit energy by means of input alphabet relaxation. For the common discrete lattice-based relaxation, the problem violates replica symmetry and a replica symmetry breaking (RSB) ansatz is taken. The limiting empirical distribution of the precoder's output and the limiting transmit energy are derived for one-step RSB. Particularizing to a “zero-forcing” (ZF) linear front-end, a decoupling result is derived. For discrete lattice-based relaxations, the impact of RSB is demonstrated for the transmit energy. The spectral efficiencies of the aforementioned precoding methods are compared to linear ZF and Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP). Focusing on quaternary phase shift-keying (QPSK), significant performance gains of both lattice and convex relaxations are revealed for medium to high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) when compared to linear ZF precoding. THP is shown to be outperformed as well. Comparing certain lattice-based relaxations for QPSK against a convex counterpart, the latter is found to be superior for low and high SNRs but slightly inferior for medium SNRs in terms of spectral efficiency.
Do urbanicity and familial liability coparticipate in causing psychosis

OBJECTIVE: The urban environment and familial liability are risk factors for psychotic illness, but it is not known whether a biological synergism exists between these two proxy causes. METHOD: The amount of biological synergism between familial liability (defined as a family history of delusions and/or hallucinations necessitating psychiatric treatment) and a five-level rating of population density of place of residence was estimated from the additive statistical interaction in a general population risk set of 5,550 individuals. RESULTS: Both the level of urbanicity (adjusted summary odds ratio=1.57, 95% CI=1.30–1.89) and familial liability (adjusted odds ratio=4.59, 95% CI=2.41–8.74) increased the risk for psychotic disorder, independently of each other. However, the effect of urbanicity on the additive scale was much larger for individuals with evidence of familial liability (risk difference=2.58%) than in those without familial liability (risk difference=0.40%). An estimated 60%–70% of the individuals.
PKC and PKA Regulate AChR Dynamics at the Neuromuscular Junction of Living Mice

The steady state of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) density at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is critical for efficient and reliable synaptic transmission. However, little is known about signaling molecules involved in regulating the equilibrium between the removal and insertion of AChRs that establishes a stable postsynaptic receptor density over time. In this work, we tested the effect of activities of two serine/threonine kinases, PKC and PKA, on the removal rate of AChRs from and the re-insertion rate of internalized recycled AChRs into synaptic sites of innervated and denervated NMJs of living mice. Using an in vivo time-lapse imaging approach and various pharmacological agents, we showed that PKC and PKA activities have antagonistic effects on the removal and recycling of AChRs. Inhibition of PKC activity or activation of PKA largely prevents the removal of pre-existing AChRs and promotes the recycling of internalized AChRs into the postsynaptic membrane. In contrast, stimulation of PKC or inactivation of PKA significantly accelerates the removal of postsynaptic AChRs and depresses AChR recycling. These results indicate that a balance between PKA and PKC activities may be critical for the maintenance of the postsynaptic receptor density.
Risk Factors in Childhood Anti-social Behavior and Adulthood Criminal Career

The aim of this paper is to espouse what is known about human development and criminal careers. The study of criminal careers is of increasing interest in criminology. It is now generally recognized that it is important to try to understand criminal behavior across the life-course rather than focusing on fragmented incidents which provide only a partial picture of criminal behavior. This paper clarifies the crucial theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the study of criminal careers. It focuses on some major longitudinal studies discussing the onset, persistence, desistance and the duration of a criminal career. The important issues of prediction, risk and specialization are addressed. Criminal career has important implications, given that significant criminal justice, social and health policies such as crime control, and correctional treatment and management are predicated on achieving the reduction of criminal careers of serious and repeat offenders. The challenging question that points the way forward is: ‘when do ex-offenders become like non-offenders? ’
An Empirical Research of China's Foreign Exchange Risk Management

This article applys GARCH model to Chinese commercial banks exchange rate risk model-based, through empirical analysis of the USD / CNY exchange rate day volatility VaR value show that: (1) Residual items obey t distribution not suitable for distribution of China's foreign exchange market exchange rate yield sequence. Residual items obey GED distribution can be better characterize the distribution of China's foreign exchange market exchange rate yields sequences; (2) The difference of the conclusions of TARCH (1,1)-G model and the EGARCH (1,1)-G model shows that whether there is leverage effect in China foreign exchange market rate yield sequence is not clear.
Using learning from demonstration to generate real-time guidance for haptic shared control

This paper introduces a new Learning from Demonstration (LfD)-based method that makes usage of robot effector forces and torques recorded during expert demonstrations, to generate force-based haptic guidance reference trajectories on-line, that are intended to be used during haptic shared control for additional operator ‘guidance’. Derived haptic guidance trajectories are superimposed to master-device inputs and feedback forces within a bilateral control experiment, to assist an operator by the guidance during peg-in-hole insertion. We show that 96 peg-in-hole expert demonstrations were sufficient to obtain a good model of the task, which was used on-line to generate haptic guidance trajectories in real-time with a 1kHz sampling rate.
Modelling Self-Organization Processes in Socio- Economic and Ecological Systems for Supporting the Adaptive Management of Forests

Managing the numerous and interrelated processes between man and nature in order to use renewable resources in a sustainable way is confronted with conflicting objectives, external effects, complex interdependencies, uncertainty and other features that make it nearly impossible to come to unambiguous optimal decisions. Self-organization in socio-economic and ecological systems the process of structuring a system by the elements of the system themselves without hierarchical or external control is often the reason for ambiguity and uncertainty. Adaptive management is an approach to deal with these challenges. This natural resource management method is permanently monitoring both socio-economic and ecological systems in order to be able to react rapidly on any development pushing the systems into an undesired direction. Understanding and simulating the underlying self-organization processes helps to make the adaptive management of renewable resources both more effective and more efficient. In this paper we present a simple conceptual model of self-organization in socio-economic and ecological systems to understand better their effects on the interrelations between them, applied to the special case of forestry.
Physical topology discovery in large Ethernet networks

Recent developments in Ethernet technology are pushing Ethernet from the local area network environment to metropolitan and wide area network environments. Automatic discovery of physical topology plays a crucial role in enhancing the manageability of modern Large Ethernet networks. Despite the importance of the problem, earlier research and commercial network management tools have typically concentrated on either discovering logical topology, or proprietary solutions targeting specific product families. Recent works [1], [2], [3] has demonstrated that physical topology can be determined using standard SNMP MIBs, but these algorithms depend on AFT entries and can find only spanning tree paths in the Ethernet network. The previous work [1] requires that AFT entries are complete, however it is very critical assumption in the true Ethernet network. In this paper, we have discarded the critical assumption because we divide Large Ethernet networks into bridged networks and host networks in order to overcome another AFT's limitation, an enormous size of AFT in core bridges [1], [3]. Most of all, our algorithm is the first solution to be able to discover real physical topology including inactive interfaces eliminated by the spanning tree protocol in Large Ether networks.
Pharmacological Analysis of Locomotion and Heart Contraction During the Development of Helisoma (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

We investigated involvement of different 5-HT receptors in regulation of ciliary rotation, gliding locomotion and heartbeat of Helisoma embryo at pre- and post-metamorphic stages. Pharmacological analysis suggested that activation of 5-HT_1 receptor enhance ciliary rotation but do not affect gliding locomotion. Activation of 5-HT_4 receptor depresses both types of locomotion. Before metamorphosis heart contraction is depressed by activation of 5-HT_4 and enhanced by activation of 5-HT_7 receptor. However, the heart became insensitive to all agonists by hatching. We hypothesized that alterations in affinity or expression of particular 5-HT receptors can underlie the well-coordinated character of serotonin-dependent larval behavior.
Effects of hyperbaric oxygen on GDNF expression and apoptosis in spinal cord injury

The effects of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on the progress of secondary damage following traumatic spinal cord injury were investigated. The early onset of hyperbaric oxygen treatment significantly diminished the number of apoptotic cells 1 day after the injury. However, hyperbaric oxygen did not influence the proliferation of macrophages or activated microglia. The gene expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) was significantly attenuated 1 day after the injury in the hyperbaric oxygen groups compared with the control group. The down-regulation was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. Early hyperbaric oxygen treatment was shown to effectively suppress the progress of apoptosis perhaps via the inhibition of iNOS gene despite the down-regulation of the GDNF gene.