Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Panic Disorder: Is the PAG Involved?

Data from studies with humans have suggested that abnormalities of midbrain structures, including the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG), could be involved in the neurobiology of panic disorder (PD). The electrical stimulation of the PAG in neurosurgical patients induces panic-like symptoms and the effect of drugs that are effective in the treatment of PD in the simulation of public speaking model of anxiety is in agreement with data from animal models of PD. Structural neuroimaging studies have shown increases in gray matter volume of midbrain and pons of PD patients. There is also evidence of lower serotonin transporter and receptor binding, and increases of metabolism in the midbrain of PD patients. Nevertheless, these midbrain abnormalities can not be considered as specific findings, since neuroimaging data indicate that PD patients have abnormalities in other brain structures that process fear and anxiety.
Detection of OOV words using generalized word models and a semantic class language model

This paper describes an approach to detect out-of-vocabulary words in spontaneous speech using a language model built on semantic categories and a new type of generalized word models consisting of a mixture of specific and general acoustic units. We demonstrate the construction of the generalized word models as replacements for surnames in a German spontaneous travel planning task GSST [1]. We show that the use of our generalized word models improves recognition accuracy in cases where out-of-vocabulary words appear and does not lead to a degradation of the overall recognition accuracy. In our experiments we measured recall and precision rates of OOV-detection which are close to their theoretic optimum. Furthermore, we compared the effect of using cross-word-triphones vs. using context-independent cross-word models. We show that when using generalized word models with cross-word-triphones, the expected number of consequential errors following an OOV word can be reduced significantly by 37%.
Social welfare services staff burnout in Cyprus: Who is responsible?

This is the first study to explore among social welfare services staff in Cyprus the main stress factors that lead to burnout. Using focus groups, the study explored and analysed the perceptions of 120 social welfare services staff members. The aim of the focus group meetings was to identify methods that could minimise the risk of employee burnout. The main stressors that participants experienced were: inadequate appreciation from the management, lack of support and guidance, lack of autonomy, complex responsibilities, lack of recognition and respect in their workplace, low self-confidence, low self-respect and feelings of rejection. Participants suggested that continuous education and training could reduce work stress; for example, new knowledge, the development of new skills, the improvement of their ability to prioritise tasks and become organised and the improvement of self-criticism and self-knowledge.
Electric Vehicles integration in demand response programs

An important support in Demand Response (DR) programs can be provided by the Electric Vehicles (EVs). EVs may behave as a load to the grid, a supplier of electricity to the grid or an energy storage device. Thanks to the smart grid enabling technologies, Utilities can manage EVs charging time and rates, gather EVs-detailed meter data and, therefore, implement DR programs. In the present paper an overview on DR definitions and a classification of the types of customers involved and implementable programs is reported. Then a special focus on EVs integration in DR programs is given, stressing the valuable services that EVs in smart grid asset can provide.
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D ( 25-OH-D ) in obese adolescents Stężenie 25-hydroksywitaminy D ( 25-OH-D ) u otyłych nastolatków

Background: There is increasing evidence that vitamin D deficiency is common and has been associated with several non-bone related outcomes, including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The influences of gender, puberty, and adiposity on serum hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) levels and the relationship between 25-OH-D and insulin resistance in obese children were studied. Material and methods: Age, gender, pubertal stage, weight status (standard deviation score of body mass index: BMI-SDS, percentage body fat, waist circumference), 25-OH-D levels, and insulin resistance index calculated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) were evaluated in 64 obese adolescents. Multivariable linear regression was used to determine factors associated with decreased serum 25-OH-D levels and to study the relationship between 25-OH-D and HOMA-IR. Results: Median serum 25-OH-D level was 10.1 ng/mL (25.2 nmol/L). 14% of patients were vitamin D-sufficient (25-OH-D ≥ 20 ng/mL), 36% had intermediate values (11–19 ng/mL), and 50% were deficient (25-OH-D ≤ 10 ng/mL). In the multivariable model, older age, puberty, higher value of percentage of body fat, and the presence of acanthosis nigricans (AN) were all negatively associated with 25-OH-D. Lower 25-OH-D levels were also associated with higher blood glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR after adjustment for puberty and SDS-BMI. Summer positively correlated with 25-OH-D level. Conclusion: Our study confirms that obesity is a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency. Hypovitaminosis D, common in obese adolescents at risk for type 2 diabetes (older age, puberty, acanthosis nigricans) is associated with worse insulin resistance. (Pol J Endocrinol 2011; 62 (6): 506–511)
Building a theory of adaptive neuroticism

Building a theory of adaptive neuroticism by Sara J. Weston Doctor of Philosophy in Psychological and Brain Sciences Washington University in St. Louis, 2017 Professor Joshua J. Jackson, Chair Neuroticism is widely believed to be detrimental to health, but the evidence is mixed. Many large-scale studies find null or positive effects of neuroticism on mortality and health. A theory of “healthy neuroticism” was generated to explain these discrepant results. According to this theory, neuroticism can lead an individual down one of two paths: an anxiety and stress-ridden path of maladaptive coping and poor outcomes, or a path of vigilance and proactivity. Trait conscientiousness is thought to be the defining feature of healthy neuroticism, although studies substantiating this claim are few and far between. Meanwhile, other important factors notably, external cues and emotions are omitted from these studies altogether. The current thesis examines the roles of situation and emotion on health in relationship to neuroticism. Specifically, a model of healthy neuroticism is proposed. In this model, individuals high in neuroticism respond to threatening situations by feeling greater anxiety, less depression and less anger. These emotions, in turn, propel individuals to act in adaptive ways. This model is tested in two studies. In the first, mid-life adults (N = 1, 499) provide daily reports of their affect (nervousness, depression and anger), health symptoms and health behaviors. Using a multi-level modeling approach, emotion scores and health behaviors are estimated from the interaction of trait neuroticism and daily health symptoms. The residuals of the emotion models are then used to estimate the residuals of the behavior models, effectively estimating the ‘b’ pathway in a mediation model. In the second study, freshman students at a private, Midwestern university
Regulation of TLR 7 / 9 responses in plasmacytoid dendritic cells by BST 2 and ILT 7 receptor interaction

The Rockefeller University Press $30.00 J. Exp. Med. Vol. 206 No. 7 1603-1614 www.jem. org/cgi/doi/10.1084/jem.20090547 1603 In humans and other mammals, plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) are specialized immune cells that selectively express Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR9, which are key endosomal sensors of microbial and self-RNA or DNA, respectively (Jarrossay et al., 2001; Kadowaki et al., 2001; Liu, 2005; Gilliet et al., 2008). Activation of TLR7 or TLR9 by nucleic acids in pDCs triggers signal transduction, leading to rapid and robust secretion of type I IFN, inflammatory cytokines, and chemokines (Colonna et al., 2004; Honda and Taniguchi, 2006; Kawai and Akira, 2006; Piqueras et al., 2006; Gilliet et al., 2008). The TLR-induced IFN response is regulated by several immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)– bearing signaling receptors on pDCs (Novak et al., 2004; Fuchs et al., 2005; Blasius et al., 2006a; Cao et al., 2006, 2007; Röck et al., 2007; Cho et al., 2008; Gilliet et al., 2008). One such receptor is ILT7, a member of the Ig-like transcript (ILT) family (also known as leukocyte Ig-like receptors) found in humans and primates (Brown et al., 2004). ILTs, which are expressed by a variety of immune cell types, are comprised of a group of inhibitory receptors bearing immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs and a group of stimulatory receptors that signal through their association with adaptor molecules containing ITAM (Brown et al., 2004). ILT7, also known as LILRA4 and CD85g, contains four extracellular Ig-like domains and a positively charged residue within the transmembrane region, allowing ILT7 to form a receptor complex with a signaling adaptor FcRI. Uniquely expressed by human pDCs, ILT7 suppresses TLR7/9-induced type I IFN secretion by pDCs when cross-linked by anti-ILT7 mAbs that trigger signaling activation (Cao et al., 2006; CORRESPONDENCE Wei Cao: wcao@mdanderson.org OR Yong-Jun Liu: yjliu@mdanderson.org
Barriers to the Take-up of Electronic Commerce among Small-Medium Sized Enterprises

Since small- medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role within many major economies throughout the world, their ability to successfully adopt and utilize the Internet and electronic commerce is of prime importance in ensuring their stability and future survival. In this paper, initial findings will be reported of a study carried out by the authors into the use made of the Internet and electronic commerce and key issues influencing its use by SMEs. In order to broaden the scope of this paper, the results gained from the study will be compared with figures relating to businesses in the rest of Scotland and the UK, as well as the US, Canada and Japan, and European countries that include Sweden, Germany, France and Italy. The issues raised from this study will be compared with similar studies carried out in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and British Columbia, as well as countries within the European Union in order to provide a wider meaningful international context for the results of the study.
Improving performance of network scanning detection through PCA-based feature selection

Transformation of the initial feature in NSL-KDD dataset based on principal component analysis (PCA), generates the new features in smaller dimension. In that dimension, network scanning (Ra-Probe) has a characteristic sign of the average value that is different from the normal activity. The selection used the characteristics of these factors result in two-dimensional subset of the 75% rate reduction. Detection performance testing using a multilayer perceptron (MLP) showed that Subset1 in which there are factors that represent SYN error and REJ error when connecting to the same IP and destination port and connections to the same IP on different services, the data byte sent from the IP source when that connection, and control files show a better performance. The measure of the performance based on the value of precision, recall, F-measure, false negative, and the area under the ROC curve. In the false positive rate of up to 2.5%, ROC curve shows the level of detection using MLP, Subset1 better than the initial feature.
A road sign detection and recognition system for mobile devices

We present an automatic road sign detection and recognition service system for mobile devices. The system is based on a client-server architecture which allows mobile users to take pictures of road signs and request detection and recognition service from a centralized server for processing. The preprocessing, detection and recognition take place at the server end and consequently, the result is sent back to the mobile device. For road sign detection, we use particular color features calculated from the input image. Recognition is implemented using a neural network based on normalized color histogram features. We report on the effects of various parameters on recognition accuracy. Our results demonstrate that the system can provide an efficient framework for locale-dependent road sign recognition with multilingual support.
On the central black hole mass in Mkn 501

We analyse the apparent disagreement between the mass estimates of the central black hole(s) in Mkn 501 based on (i) the observations of the host galaxy, (ii) the high energy (HE) emission mechanism, and (iii) the modulation of the beamed radiation by a black hole (BH) binary system. While method (i) seems to imply a central mass $\ga$ $ 5\times 10^8\, M_{\odot}$, method (ii) suggests a BH mass less than $\simeq$ $ 6 \times 10^7\, M_{\odot}$. We critically discuss the estimates inferred from (i) showing that current uncertainties may permit a central mass as low as $\simeq$(2–$3)\times 10^8\,M_{\odot}$. We demonstrate that in this case the estimates (i) and (ii) might be brought into agreement by assuming a binary BH system where the jet dominating the HE emission originates from the less massive (secondary) BH as suggested by method (iii). On the other hand, if Mkn 501 has in fact a high central BH mass of order $10^9\, M_{\odot}$, a change of fundamental assumptions seems to be required in the context of several HE emission models. We show, that in this case a binary scenario following (iii) may be still possible if the jet which dominates the emission emerges from the more massive (primary) BH and if the binary evolution passes through phases of super-Eddington accretion and/or decreased conversion efficiency.
Indoor people localization and tracking using an energy harvesting smart floor

In the recent years, different kind of intelligent floors have been proposed but they are expensive and in many cases difficult to install and manage. In this paper, we previously describe the state of the art concerning smart floors designed to satisfy different applications and then we present an intelligent floor realized for localizing and tracking people in an indoor environment. The aim of this work is to propose an innovative smart floor based on an energy harvesting system able to allow the localization and analysis of the movement of the users in a specific space. The solution presented in this paper involves the use of capacitive sensors on a polymeric support to insert between solid wood and a wooden part of a floating parquet. The proposed system is part of HDOMO, an Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) project developing smart solutions for active aging. A detailed architecture of the smart floor is proposed together with a preliminary test phase.
The Kha-cari Guidelines – Caring for Australasians with Renal Impairment Pre-emptive Treatment of Cytomegalovirus Suggestions for Clinical Care Implementation and Audit

Valganciclovir is equally efficacious in preventing CMV disease when used as prophylaxis or as pre-emptive treatment (Level 2 evidence but not designed for this outcome) Pre-emptive treatment of CMV infection results in significantly less leukopenia than prophylaxis, however, there is no difference in other adverse events. Pre-emptive treatment with ½ dose ganciclovir and ½ dose foscarnet results in increased drug toxicity compared with full dose ganciclovir alone. The cost of both prophylaxis and pre-emptive treatment is substantial and depends on the costing of the diagnostic test and medications in individual units. Pre-emptive treatment depends on an accurate diagnostic test. Both CMV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and pp65 antigenaemia testing appear efficacious in the detection of CMV infection when used in trials of pre-emptive therapy. All studies have used CMV testing at weekly or fortnightly intervals in patients treated with pre-emptive therapy. Renal units undertaking pre-emptive treatment should screen patients at appropriate intervals with either pp65 antigenaemia testing or PCR. All patients undergoing a pre-emptive treatment program should be audited to determine the efficacy of the screening test in an individual unit.
Blockade of Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptors Augments the Antiparkinsonian Action of Levodopa without Affecting Dyskinesias in 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-Treated Rhesus Monkeys

Drugs acting at cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB1) have modulatory effects on glutamate and GABA neurotransmission in basal ganglia; thus, they potentially affect motor behavior in the parkinsonian setting. Preclinical trials with diverse cannabinoid agents have shown varied results, and the precise effects of blocking cannabinoid CB1 receptors remain uncertain. We tested behavioral effects of the selective antagonist 1-[7-(2-chlorophenyl)-8-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-methylpyrazolo[1,5-a]-[1,3,5]triazin-4-yl]-3-ethylaminoazetidine-3-carboxylic acid amide benzenesulfonate (CE) as monotherapy and in combination with l-DOPA in treatment-naive and l-DOPA-primed 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated rhesus monkeys with moderate and severe parkinsonism. Motor disability and l-DOPA-induced dyskinesias were scored with a standardized scale after subcutaneous drug administration, and plasma levels of l-DOPA were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrochemical detection. CE doses ranged from 0.03 to 1 mg/kg, and l-DOPA methyl ester doses were selected as optimal and suboptimal doses (maximal and 50% of maximal responses, respectively). CE had no intrinsic effects on motor behavior regardless of the degree of parkinsonism (moderate or severe groups) or previous drug exposure (“de novo” or after l-DOPA priming). Initial CE administration did not affect development of l-DOPA antiparkinsonian responses. In coadministration trials, CE, in a dose-dependent manner, increased responses to l-DOPA (suboptimal doses). These effects were seen in both moderate and severely parkinsonian monkeys as a 30% increase of, predominantly, response duration with no effects on l-DOPA pharmacokinetics. CE did not modify levodopa-induced dyskinesias. These results suggest that selective cannabinoid CB1 antagonists may enhance the antiparkinsonian action of dopaminomimetics and possibly facilitate the use of lower doses, thereby reducing side effects.
Texture image retrieval based on a Gaussian mixture model and similarity measure using a Kullback divergence

In a content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system, indexing feature vectors and the similarity measure between feature vectors are two key factors for retrieval performance. We present a new CBIR system with statistical-model based image feature extraction in the wavelet domain and a Kullback divergence based similarity measure. A two component Gaussian mixture model (GMM) in the wavelet domain is employed and the model parameters are used to form features for image indexing. A new Kullback divergence based similarity measure is then presented for image retrieval. The experimental results demonstrate that the similarity measure based on the Kullback divergence is more effective than conventional similarity measures, such as the city-block distance and the Euclidean distance. It is shown that the new CBIR system, with the combination of the GMM and the new Kullback divergence based similarity measure, outperforms most other methods in retrieval performance for texture images, while keeping a comparable level of computational complexity.
Exact Gravitational Threshold Correction in the FHSV Model

We consider the automorphic forms which govern the gravitational threshold correction F 1 in models of heterotic/IIA duality with N = 2 supersymmetry in four dimensions. In particular we derive the full nonperturbative formula for F 1 for the dual pair origi-nally considered by Ferrara, Harvey, Strominger and Vafa (FHSV). The answer involves an interesting automorphic product constructed by Borcherds which is associated to the “fake Monster Lie superalgebra. ” As an application of this result we rederive a result of Jorgenson & Todorov on determinants of ¯ ∂ operators on K 3 surfaces.
Mapping of coarse-grained applications onto workstation clusters

We present an environment for configuring and coordinating coarse grained parallel applications on workstation clusters. The environment named CoPA is based on PVM and allows an automatic distribution of functional modules as they occur in typical CAE-applications. By implementing link-based communication on top of PVM, CoPA is able to perform a “post-game” analysis of the communication load between different modules. Together with the computational load which is also determined automatically by CoPA, all necessary information is available to calculate an optimized mapping for the next run of the application. To optimize the distribution of modules onto workstations CoPA uses state-of-the-art partitioning heuristics as well as Simulated Annealing. Measurements show the large improvements in running time obtained by using optimization heuristics to determine the mapping.
Signal processing by the HOG MAP kinase pathway

Signaling pathways relay information about changes in the external environment so that cells can respond appropriately. How much information a pathway can carry depends on its bandwidth. We designed a microfluidic device to reliably change the environment of single cells over a range of frequencies. Using this device, we measured the bandwidth of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae signaling pathway that responds to high osmolarity. This prototypical pathway, the HOG pathway, is shown to act as a low-pass filter, integrating the signal when it changes rapidly and following it faithfully when it changes more slowly. We study the dependence of the pathway's bandwidth on its architecture. We measure previously unknown bounds on all of the in vivo reaction rates acting in this pathway. We find that the two-component Ssk1 branch of this pathway is capable of fast signal integration, whereas the kinase Ste11 branch is not. Our experimental techniques can be applied to other signaling pathways, allowing the measurement of their in vivo kinetics and the quantification of their information capacity.
Preliminary Evaluations of a WFST Speech Decoder ∗ 4

In this paper we present preliminary evaluations on the large vocabulary speech decoder we are currently developing at Tokyo Institute of Technology. Our goal is to build a scalable and flexible decoder to operate on weighted finite state transducer (WFST) search spaces. Even though the development of the decoder is still in its infancy we are already achieving good accuracy and speed on a large vocabulary spontaneous speech task.
Effects of Real-World and Virtual Openness and Internet Communication on Social Creativity: A Serial Mediation Analysis

We examined the effect of real-world and virtual openness and Internet communication on social creativity using data from 451 undergraduates in central China. They completed the Big Five Personality Inventory, the Social Creativity Questionnaire, and the Internet Interaction Questionnaire. Results of serial mediation analysis using a bias-corrected bootstrapping approach indicated that openness in real-world situations had a significant direct effect on social creativity. Virtual openness and Internet dependence, in combination, mediated the link between real-world openness and social creativity. Individuals’ use of the Internet directly affected their personality and communication. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.