Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Links Between Depressive Symptoms and Reactive and Effortful Temperament Mediated by Behavioral Activation

ii Dedication . iv Acknowledgements . v Vita . vi List of Tables . xi List of Figures . xiii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Temperament/Personality Theories of Depression . 2 Effortful Control . 4 Facets of Effortful Control . 11 Attentional control . 12 Inhibitory control. 14 Activation control . 15 Other Interactions . 17 Behavioral Activation Treatments for Depression . 19 Moderated Mediation . 23 The Present Study . 25 Summary . 29 ix Chapter 2: Methods . 30 Participants . 30 Study 1 . 30 Study 2 . 30 Measures . 31 Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) – Trait Form . 31 Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scales . 31 Affect Intensity Measure (AIM) . 31 Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ) – Short Form . 32 Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS). 32 Depression Anxiety Stress Schedule (DASS) . 33 Procedure . 34 Study 1 . 34 Study 2 . 34 Chapter 3: Study 1 Results . 36 Exploratory Factor Analysis . 36 Confirmatory Factor Analysis . 41 Model Variables . 42 Simple Mediation . 44 Moderated Mediation . 47 Exploration of Nonsignificant Results for Moderated Mediation . 48 Differences Between PE Measures . 49 Tests of NE x PE and Three-Way Interactions . 51
Immunomodulation via Novel Use of TLR4 by the Filarial Nematode Phosphorylcholine-Containing Secreted Product, ES-621

Filarial nematodes, parasites of vertebrates, including humans, secrete immunomodulatory molecules into the host environment. We have previously demonstrated that one such molecule, the phosphorylcholine-containing glycoprotein ES-62, acts to bias the immune response toward an anti-inflammatory/Th2 phenotype that is conducive to both worm survival and host health. For example, although ES-62 initially induces macrophages to produce low levels of IL-12 and TNF-α, exposure to the parasite product ultimately renders the cells unable to produce these cytokines in response to classic stimulators such as LPS/IFN-γ. We have investigated the possibility that a TLR is involved in the recognition of ES-62 by target cells, because phosphorylcholine, a common pathogen-associated molecular pattern, appears to be responsible for many of the immunomodulatory properties of ES-62. We now demonstrate that ES-62-mediated, low level IL-12 and TNF-α production by macrophages and dendritic cells is abrogated in MyD88 and TLR4, but not TLR2, knockout, mice implicating TLR4 in the recognition of ES-62 by these cells and MyD88 in the transduction of the resulting intracellular signals. We also show that ES-62 inhibits IL-12 induction by TLR ligands other than LPS, bacterial lipopeptide (TLR2) and CpG (TLR9), via this TLR4-dependent pathway. Surprisingly, macrophages and dendritic cells from LPS-unresponsive, TLR4-mutant C3H/HeJ mice respond normally to ES-62. This is the first report to demonstrate that modulation of cytokine responses by a pathogen product can be abrogated in cells derived from TLR4 knockout, but not C3H/HeJ mice, suggesting the existence of a novel mechanism of TLR4-mediated immunomodulation.
Chemical Composition of European Propolis: Expected and Unexpected Results

Ten propolis samples from Bulgaria, Italy and Switzerland were analyzed by GC-MS. As expected, most samples displayed the typical chemical pattern of “poplar” propolis: they contained pinocembrin, pinobanksin and its 3-O-acetate, chrysin, galangin, prenyl esters of caffeic and ferulic acids. Two samples differed significantly: one from the Graubünden Alpine region, Switzerland, rich in phenolic glycerides, and one from Sicily which contained only a limited number of phenolics and was rich in diterpenic acids.
Exact chiral ring of AdS3/CFT2

We carry out an exact worldsheet computation of tree level three-point correlators of chiral operators in string theory on AdS(3) x S^3 x T^4 with NS-NS flux. We present a simple representation for the string chiral operators in the coordinate basis of the dual boundary CFT. Striking cancelations occur between the three-point functions of the H3+ and the SU(2) WZW models which result in a simple factorized form for the final correlators. We show, by fixing a single free parameter in the H3+ WZW model, that the fusion rules and the structure constants of the N=2 chiral ring in the bulk are in precise agreement with earlier computations in the boundary CFT of the symmetric product of T^4 at the orbifold point in the large N limit.
Cognitive impairment in children with hemoglobin SS sickle cell disease: relationship to MR imaging findings and hematocrit.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Children with hemoglobin SS sickle cell disease are known to suffer cognitive impairment if they have silent infarct, but recent evidence suggests that patients with hemoglobin SS sickle cell disease may be impaired even if they are free of infarction. We test a hypothesis that cognitive impairment in children with hemoglobin SS sickle cell disease is associated with low hematocrit and MR imaging abnormalities. METHODS A cohort of 49 patients was examined, all of whom had hemoglobin SS sickle cell disease but no history of clinical stroke. The Wechsler scales, which are standardized and age-adjusted, were used to assess cognitive function. Patients also underwent MR imaging examination of the brain, and hematocrit was measured in a subset of 45 patients. MR images were evaluated by at least two readers, and abnormal imaging findings were evaluated by at least three readers. Any lesion was sufficient to be classified as abnormal, with lesions defined to include lacunar infarction, encephalomalacia, or leukoencephalopathy. Hematocrit data were used if obtained within 3 months of psychometric testing and if there were no confounding events in the patients' charts. Wechsler test scores were then evaluated in relation to imaging findings and hematocrit values. RESULTS Patients with imaging abnormalities had more cognitive impairment than did patients with normal imaging findings in verbal intelligence quotient (P <.02) and verbal comprehension (P <.01). Patients with low hematocrit had cognitive impairment shown by many performance measures, including full-scale intelligence quotient (P <.006), verbal comprehension (P <.006), and freedom from distractibility (P <.02). Multivariate analysis showed that MR imaging and hematocrit were independent predictors of full-scale intelligence quotient. CONCLUSION Focal brain injury, revealed by MR imaging, is associated with cognitive impairment, but our data suggest that diffuse brain injury may also contribute to impairment. These findings show that impairment is multifactorial and suggest that chronic brain hypoxia is part of the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease.
The Influence of Infant Diet on Early Developmental Changes in Processing Human Voice Speech Stimuli: ERP Variations in Breast and Milk Formula-Fed Infants at 3 and 6 Months After Birth

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if processing of language stimuli during the first half year of life in breast-fed infants differs from that of formula-fed infants. This question was addressed by examining the brain event-related potentials of healthy infants receiving breast milk (n = 15) or milk-based formula (n = 18) recorded in response to consonant vowel syllables presented in an oddball paradigm. The same infants were studied when they were 3-months and 6-months-old. The two groups were comparable on several measures relating to biological and home environment variables previously reported to influence development, including gestation period, birth weight, mother's IQ, and family socioeconomic status, and did not differ in weight or mental or motor development at the times of the visits. In general, ERP response features previously documented in studies of syllable processing in 3–6-month-old infants were observed in this study, including positive components at ∼ 190 msec (P1), ∼ 370 msec (P2), and ∼ 600 msec (P600), and negative components at ∼ 250 msec (N250), ∼ 450 msec (N450), and a late, negative going slow wave between 655 and 995 msec (LSW). For both groups there were instances where specific components were either poorly defined, e.g., P1 and N250 to the infrequent syllable at 3 months, N450 and P600 to this syllable at both ages, or not present in many infants, e.g., the P600 to the frequent syllable at 6 months. These variations appeared to be related to individual differences in development or paradigm-related features, i.e., ISI and frequency of syllable occurrence. Developmental variations (changes from 3 to 6 months) common to both feeding groups included latency decreases for P1, decreased P2 amplitude, and increased amplitudes for N250 and LSW components. Within this framework, group differences were detected in areas involving the development of response components, the development of processing capabilities, and syllable discrimination. In all cases, these effects related to components following initial stimulus registration, i.e., to the processing of sound content rather than sound acoustic features. The pattern of these differences suggests advantages for BF infants in the development and processing of language stimuli during the first 6 months of life.
Oral N-acetylcysteine reduces selected humoral markers of inflammatory cell activity in BAL fluid from healthy smokers: correlation to effects on cellular variables.

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed on eleven healthy smokers before and after eight weeks of oral treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) 200 mg t.i. d. The concentrations of selected eosinophil and neutrophil granule constituents and of selected proteases and protease inhibitors, albumin and endotoxin were determined in the recovered BAL fluid and in plasma or serum samples. In addition, in vitro chemotactic activities for neutrophils and eosinophils were assessed in the BAL fluid. Significant reductions in BAL fluid content of lactoferrin (LF), eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), antichymotrypsin (ACT) and chemotactic activity for neutrophils were recorded after NAC treatment. The levels of other examined markers tended to be reduced or were not affected. In serum/plasma, the concentrations of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and elastase were reduced after NAC treatment whereas concentrations of other constituents examined were unaltered. These data, together with previously reported findings, suggest that oral NAC may influence the activity of "inflammatory" cells in the bronchoalveolar space of smokers.
A2L2: An Application Aware Flexible HPC Scheduling Model for Low-Latency Allocation

High-performance computing (HPC) is focused on providing large-scale compute capacity to scientific applications. HPC schedulers tend to be optimized for large parallel batch jobs and, as such, often overlook the requirements of other scientific applications. In this work, we propose a cloud-inspired HPC scheduling model that aims to capture application performance and requirement models (Application Aware - A2) and dynamically resize malleable application resource allocations to be able to support applications with critical performance or deadline requirements. (Low Latency allocation - L2). The proposed model incorporates measures to improve data-intensive applications performance on HPC systems and is derived from a set of cloud scheduling techniques that are identified as applicable in HPC environments. The model places special focus on dynamically malleable applications; data-intensive applications that support dynamic resource allocation without incurring severe performance penalties; which are proposed for fine-grained backfilling and dynamic resource allocation control without job preemption.
Extraction of elbow joint intention from sEMG signals in horizontal plane using cosine tuning functions

A human-robot interaction (HRI) system could be more effective if it is intelligent enough to accurately measure and predict humans' moving intention and adapt their behaviors accordingly. By means of measuring biomechanical signals of human body to make such predication has been a challenging research topic. This paper presents results of our investigation to extract human's elbow joint motion intention from surface electromyographic (sEMG) measurement. While a human subject's limb is kept still on a horizontal table but subject to certain force applied to the hand, by changing the direction of the force applied, the biomechanical signals are simultaneously recorded from three sEMGs mounted on superficial elbow and shoulder muscles in real-time. Based on the measurement obtained, we study the relation between static sEMG signals and movement trends of the elbow in eight directions using cosine tuning functions. Genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to determine multivariate nonlinear regression coefficient to improve the prediction accuracy.
Systematic Operant Bias Observed in Human Participants During Research on Choice

In experiments involving multiple operant behaviors, it is often assumed that the operants used are equivalent and neutral for the participants prior to the experiment. Otherwise the results can be affected by systematic operant bias that is not due to the intended independent variable. During a series of three studies designed to develop a new type of operant in order to study learning history variables, persistent systematic biases were observed; these could not be eradicated through methodological changes. The operants used required human participants to draw shapes on a computer graphics tablet; the biases that emerged were associated both with the hand motions involved in executing each operant and with the operant’s visual aspects. In some cases there was an interaction effect that combined the two sources of bias. Each experiment had a number of learning sessions in which participants practiced these operants different numbers of times, followed by a “test session” in which they were required to choose between them. The angle of lines drawn, the starting and ending point of each operant, the number of lines per operant, and the hand with which participants drew the lines were all varied, without elimination of operant bias; there remained persistent, classifiable preferences for certain operants over others. This type of detailed quantitative analysis of bias is potentially significant for any behavior research that assumes equivalence among operant behaviors.
α-Toxin is a mediator of Staphylococcus aureus–induced cell death and activates caspases via the intrinsic death pathway independently of death receptor signaling

Infections with Staphylococcus aureus, a common inducer of septic and toxic shock, often result in tissue damage and death of various cell types. Although S. aureus was suggested to induce apoptosis, the underlying signal transduction pathways remained elusive. We show that caspase activation and DNA fragmentation were induced not only when Jurkat T cells were infected with intact bacteria, but also after treatment with supernatants of various S. aureus strains. We also demonstrate that S. aureus–induced cell death and caspase activation were mediated by α-toxin, a major cytotoxin of S. aureus, since both events were abrogated by two different anti–α-toxin antibodies and could not be induced with supernatants of an α-toxin–deficient S. aureus strain. Furthermore, α-toxin–induced caspase activation in CD95-resistant Jurkat sublines lacking CD95, Fas-activated death domain, or caspase-8 but not in cells stably expressing the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. Together with our finding that α-toxin induces cytochrome c release in intact cells and, interestingly, also from isolated mitochondria in a Bcl-2-controlled manner, our results demonstrate that S. aureus α-toxin triggers caspase activation via the intrinsic death pathway independently of death receptors. Hence, our findings clearly define a signaling pathway used in S. aureus–induced cytotoxicity and may provide a molecular rationale for future therapeutic interventions in bacterial infections.
The Impact of Smoking on Complications After Operatively Treated Ankle Fractures—A Follow-Up Study of 906 Patients

Objectives: This study on patients with operatively treated ankle fractures aimed to investigate the impact of smoking on postoperative complications and especially deep wound infections. Design: Cohort study with prospective follow-up. Setting: University-associated teaching hospital with advanced trauma care. Patients: A consecutive series of patients (n = 906) operatively treated for an acute ankle fracture during a 3-year period was identified. For the analysis, the patients were categorized as nonsmokers (n = 721) and smokers (n = 185). Data were collected from the department database and completed with a review of the patients' medical charts. Main Outcome Measures: Postoperative complications. Results: Follow-up data at 6 weeks were available for 98.2% of the patients. Postoperative complications of any kind (30.1% versus 20.3%, P = 0.005) as well as deep wound infections (4.9% versus 0.8%, P < 0.001) were more common among smokers than nonsmokers. Multivariable analyses showed that smokers had six times higher odds of developing a deep infection compared with nonsmokers. A more complicated fracture, associated diabetes mellitus, and unsatisfactory operative fracture reduction also enhanced the risk of postoperative complications. Conclusions: We conclude that cigarette smoking increases the risk of postoperative complications in patients operatively treated for an ankle fracture. Smoking is a considerable risk factor. Therefore, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals should strive to support patients to stop smoking while still under acute treatment.
QUANTITATIVE METHOD FOR DETERMINING A REPRESENTATIVE ALGAL SAMPLE COUNT 1

A method for determining a representative count of a sample dependent on number of species is presented for application to various algal communities. Constant species curves are calculated as efficiency = (number of individuals–number of species)/number of individuals and diagrammed on a plot of efficiency versus number of individuals counted. Efficiency is defined as the probability that a new species encountered is minimal. That is, as the ratio of number of species to number of individuals approaches 1, more individuals will need to be counted in order to achieve a representative count. Data and calculations of efficiency from two algal communities are presented for illustration.
Effect of passive muscle length change on apparent diffusion coefficient: detection with clinical MR imaging.

PURPOSE We investigated whether change in muscle microstructure associated with passive extension and contraction affects proton diffusivity. MATERIAL AND METHODS In 6 male subjects, we compared apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) along the posterior-to-anterior (ADC-PA), right-to-left (ADC-RL) and superior-to-inferior (ADC-SI) directions of the right tibialis anterior muscle with the ankle joint in passive plantar flexion and passive dorsiflexion. RESULTS Compared to the respective ADCs at plantar flexion, the ADC-PA (P=0.002) and ADC-RL (P=0.008) were significantly greater, but ADC-SI (P=0.008) significantly lower at dorsiflexion. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that change in muscle microstructure associated with passive extension and contraction would affect proton diffusivity, and this alteration of proton diffusivity could be detected by measuring ADC with a clinical magnetic resonance scanner.
Twin gradients in APOBEC3 edited HIV-1 DNA reflect the dynamics of lentiviral replication

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Vif protein blocks incorporation of two host cell cytidine deaminases, APOBEC3F and 3G, into the budding virion. Not surprisingly, on a vif background nascent minus strand DNA can be extensively edited leaving multiple uracil residues. Editing occurs preferentially in the context of TC (GA on the plus strand) and CC (GG) depending on the enzyme. To explore the distribution of APOBEC3F and –3G editing across the genome, a product/substrate ratio (AA + AG)/(GA + GG) was computed for a series of 30 edited genomes present in the data bases. Two highly polarized gradients were noted each with maxima just 5′ to the central polypurine tract (cPPT) and LTR proximal polypurine tract (3′PPT). The gradients are in remarkable agreement with the time the minus strand DNA remains single stranded. In vitro analyses of APOBEC3G deamination of nascent cDNA spanning the two PPTs showed no pronounced dependence on the PPT RNA:DNA heteroduplex ruling out the competing hypothesis of a PPT orientation effect. The degree of hypermutation varied smoothly among genomes indicating that the number of APOBEC3 molecules packaged varied considerably.
Image processor for visual prosthesis based on ARM

Visual prosthesis is designed and developed to help the blind people to restore vision [1]. Image processor is an essential part of visual prosthesis. It receives image data from a camera, and fulfills specific image processing strategy to transfer image information to data forms that can be recognized by implanted stimulator. To extract useful information from original image and provide satisfying image processing ability are the basic requirements for the image processor. In this article, an image processor based on ARM Cortex-A9 processor running mobile operating system Android is introduced. Image processing algorithms such as edge detection are applied to provide vital information of the scene to the following components. Software optimizations like using native code and hardware acceleration are made to reduce the processing time. After optimization, this image processor can process a 640*480 image within 50ms. This work could become the foundation of future researches to build visual prosthesis with impressive processing ability and flexibility.
Metabolic associations with archaea drive shifts in hydrogen isotope fractionation in sulfate‐reducing bacterial lipids in cocultures and methane seeps

Correlation between hydrogen isotope fractionation in fatty acids and carbon metabolism in pure cultures of bacteria indicates the potential of biomarker D/H analysis as a tool for diagnosing carbon substrate usage in environmental samples. However, most environments, in particular anaerobic habitats, are built from metabolic networks of micro‐organisms rather than a single organism. The effect of these networks on D/H of lipids has not been explored and may complicate the interpretation of these analyses. Syntrophy represents an extreme example of metabolic interdependence. Here, we analyzed the effect of metabolic interactions on the D/H biosignatures of sulfate‐reducing bacteria (SRB) using both laboratory maintained cocultures of the methanogen Methanosarcina acetivorans and the SRB Desulfococcus multivorans in addition to environmental samples harboring uncultured syntrophic consortia of anaerobic methane‐oxidizing archaea (ANME) and sulfate‐reducing Deltaproteobacteria (SRB) recovered from deep‐sea methane seeps. Consistent with previously reported trends, we observed a ~80‰ range in hydrogen isotope fractionation (εlipid–water) for D. multivorans grown under different carbon assimilation conditions, with more D‐enriched values associated with heterotrophic growth. In contrast, for cocultures of D. multivorans with M. acetivorans, we observed a reduced range of εlipid–water values (~36‰) across substrates with shifts of up to 61‰ compared to monocultures. Sediment cores from methane seep settings in Hydrate Ridge (offshore Oregon, USA) showed similar D‐enrichment in diagnostic SRB fatty acids coinciding with peaks in ANME/SRB consortia concentration suggesting that metabolic associations are connected to the observed shifts in εlipid–water values.