Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visuo-spatial perspective-taking, avatar embodiment and the ability to cultivate compassion using virtual reality and mental imagery

Aims This study explored whether allocentric visuo-spatial perspective-taking (VSPT) ability or sense of embodiment affect the ability to cultivate self-compassion in self-critical individuals using an immersive virtual reality (IVR) or mental imagery (MI) intervention. Change in self-compassion and self-criticism following the intervention was examined. Participants’ experience of the intervention and effects related to practicing imagining the intervention for two weeks were investigated. Method This was a parallel-groups, stratified randomisation, non-blinded study. Healthy adults high in trait self-criticism were randomly assigned to a one-off IVR (n = 20) or analogue MI (n = 20) intervention. Participants completed an allocentric VSPT task pre-intervention, an embodiment measure post-intervention and a state self-compassion and self-criticism measure pre-intervention, post-intervention and at two week follow-up. Ease of recall, frequency of practice and image vividness ratings were also completed at follow-up. Results Allocentric VSPT ability and embodiment were unrelated to change in state self-compassion or self-criticism following the interventions. State self-criticism reduced after both interventions but state self-compassion increased only after MI. The IVR intervention was experienced more negatively. Ease of recalling the MI intervention was positively related to allocentric VSPT ability. Reduction in state self-criticism after the IVR intervention was associated with greater image vividness. Conclusions Rather that VSPT ability or embodiment it may be the experience of the intervention that influenced state self-compassion and self-criticism. The MI intervention was more efficacious in cultivating self-compassion however the efficacy of the IVR intervention may be developed by addressing aspects that were experienced negatively. This study would benefit from replication and extension to investigate variations of the interventions.
Migration and differentiation of CD8+ T cells

Summary: Antigen‐specific responses by CD8+ T cells require direct cell–cell interactions between T cells and antigen‐presenting cells (APC). Initially, naïve T cells must communicate with APC in lymphoid organs. Once stimulated, the resulting effector cells interact with APC in peripheral tissues. To this end, T cells must migrate to discrete sites throughout the body where antigen may be found. Recent progress in the field has revealed that the migratory abilities of T cells are critically dependent on their differentiation state, which is shaped by a multitude of factors. Thus, naïve T cells are normally restricted to recirculate between the blood and secondary lymphoid tissues, although in some autoimmune diseases they may also accumulate in chronically inflamed tissues. When CD8+ T cells encounter antigen and differentiate into short‐lived effector CTL, they lose the ability to home to lymph nodes but gain access to peripheral tissues and sites of inflammation. Long‐lived memory cells exist in (at least) two flavors: central memory cells that migrate to both lymphoid organs and peripheral sites of inflammation, and effector memory cells that are preferentially localized in non‐lymphoid tissues. Our current understanding of the interplay of T cell differentiation and migration has been boosted by the development of T‐GFP mice, in which transgenic green fluorescent protein is expressed selectively in naïve and central memory T cells, but not in effector cytotoxic T cells (CTL). This review will focus on recent studies in which T‐GFP mice were used to dissect the traffic signals for naïve T cell homing to secondary lymphoid organs, the factors that influence the differentiation of naïve CD8+ T cells into cytotoxic and memory cells, as well as the in vivo trafficking routes of antigen‐experienced subsets.
Anticipatory Consonant-to-Vowel Coarticulation in the Production of VCV Sequences In Italian

The study of the spatio-temporal interactions between contiguous segments in speech is a means for a better understanding of how segments are serially organized. This research explores the relation between a vowel and the following consonant by studying the anticipatory C-to-V coarticulatory effects by means of electropalatography. The materials were ‘VCV utterances produced in isolation and in connected speech by three Italian speakers, with /a/ and /i/ as vowels and the coronals /t, d, l, z, ∫/ as intervocalic consonants. The results show that the consonants affect both the vocal tract configuration of the preceding vowel and its acoustic duration. The spatial effects increase from laterals to stops to fricatives. The tongue body position is raised during /a/ and lowered during /i/. The effects are much larger for /a/ than for /i/ and larger in connected speech than in isolated words. As for temporal coarticulatory effects, the data indicate that vowels tend to be shorter before /∫/ than before /z/, and shorter before /t/ than before /d/ than before /l/. Spatial and temporal measurements of change in tongue body contact from vowel to the consonantal closure/constriction suggest that the consonants differ among each other in the dynamics as well as in the timing of their gestures, with ampler/longer movements (e.g., for /∫/) starting earlier than smaller/shorter movements (e.g., for /d/ or /l/). These patterns result in smaller differences between the durations of the total VC sequences than between the individual durations of V or C segments, and suggest that intersegmental organization between vowels and following consonants may have the rhythmic function of reducing the variability of vowel-to-vowel temporal intervals.
Evidence for a Distinction between Judged and Perceived Causality

Two experiments investigated Michotte's launch event, in which successive motion of two objects appears to evoke an immediate perception that the first motion caused the second, as in a collision. Launching was embedded in event sequences where a third event (a colour change of the second object) was established as a competing predictor of the second motion, in an attempt to see whether subjects’ learning of alternative predictive relationships would influence their causal impressions of launch events. In Experiment 1 subjects saw launch events in which temporal contiguity at the point of impact was varied so that an impact was varied so that an impact itself did not reliably predict when the second object would move. Half of these scenes, however, contained a colour change of the second object which did reliably predict when it would move. In accordance with Michotte's theory, subjects’ ratings of the degree of perceived causality were not affected by the colour change. In Experiment 2 subjects saw scenes that contained launch events with or without temporal contiguity and a colour change. These were interspersed with events in which a colour change alone did or did not precede the second motion. Thus, movement of the second object was either contingent on or independent of the impact. Subjects repeatedly (a) rated perceived causality in single launch events and (b) judged the necessity of collisions for movement in the overall set of events. These responses dissociated, in that ratings type (a) showed only a substantial contiguity effect, whereas judgements of type (b) showed both a contingency and a much smaller contiguity effect. These results appear to support a distinction between judged and perceived causality and are discussed with respect to Michotte's theory of direct causal perception.
Altered fiber distribution and fiber-specific glycolytic and oxidative enzyme activity in skeletal muscle of patients with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE We investigated whether alterations of glycolytic and oxidative enzyme capacity in skeletal muscle of patients with type 2 diabetes pertain to specific muscle fibers and are associated with changes in muscle fiber composition. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Vastus lateralis muscle was obtained by percutaneous biopsy from 10 patients with type 2 diabetes and 15 age- and BMI-matched healthy volunteers. Using cytophotometry, muscle fiber composition and fiber type-specific glycolytic and oxidative enzyme activities were measured in slow oxidative, fast oxidative glycolytic, and fast glycolytic fibers. RESULTS In the whole muscle, oxidative activity was decreased in patients with type 2 diabetes. The slow oxidative fiber fraction was reduced by 16%, whereas the fast glycolytic fiber fraction was increased by 49% in skeletal muscle from the diabetic patients. Both oxidative and glycolytic enzyme activities were significantly increased in fast glycolytic and fast oxidative glycolytic fibers of type 2 diabetic patients. However, the fiber-specific ratio of glycolytic enzyme activity relative to oxidative activity was not different between type 2 diabetic patients and the control subjects. The myofibrillic ATP activity was significantly lower in all fiber types of patients with type 2 diabetes and correlates with glucose infusion rate during the steady state of a euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp and maximal aerobic capacity and negatively with HbA(1c) values. CONCLUSIONS Reduced oxidative enzyme activity in muscle of type 2 diabetic patients is most likely due to a reduction in slow oxidative fibers. Increased glycolytic and oxidative enzyme activities in individual muscle fibers are closely related to measures of long-term glycemic control and whole-body insulin sensitivity and could therefore represent a compensatory mechanism of the muscle in function of the altered glucose metabolism.
Antecedents of the stage-based knowledge management evolution

Purpose – To enhance one's understanding of the evolution of knowledge management (KM), this study seeks to develop a research model to examine the impact of individual (knowledge self‐efficacy, openness in communication, reciprocal benefits), organizational (top management support, organizational rewards, and sharing culture), and information technology contexts (KM system infrastructure and KM system quality) on the KM evolution along three stages (KM initiation, implementation, and institutionalization). Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from 241 managers (in charge of KM practices in their companies) in large Taiwanese firms were collected and used to test the research model using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach.Findings – The results reveal that the attributes for individual‐organizational‐technological contexts have different impacts on three stages of KM evolution. In particular, knowledge self‐efficacy, top management support, and KM system quality have positive effects on a.
Vascular enhancement and image quality of CT venography: comparison of standard and low kilovoltage settings.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to investigate the vascular enhancement and image quality of CT venography (CTV) with a lower peak kilovoltage (kVp) setting than the standard setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this retrospective study, the clinical records of 100 consecutive patients with suspected pulmonary embolism were analyzed. All patients underwent pulmonary CT angiography and CTV of the abdomen, pelvis, and lower extremities using 64-MDCT with automatic tube current modulation: 50 patients underwent CT at 120 kVp, the standard kVp setting, and 50 patients were scanned at 100 kVp; we refer to these groups as the "standard-kVp group" and the "low-kVp group," respectively. Vessel enhancement and image noise were assessed in the inferior vena cava (IVC), femoral vein, and popliteal vein. Two radiologists who were blinded to the kVp setting placed the regions of interest on vessels by consensus and assessed image quality using a 5-point visual scale. Effective dose was estimated using the dose-length product. The Wilcoxon rank test was used to evaluate differences between the two groups using statistics software (JMP, version 5.1). A p value of less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS Mean vascular enhancement was significantly higher in the low-kVp group than in the standard-kVp group: IVC, 138.4 ± 12.2 (SD) HU versus 164.5 ± 17.4 HU, respectively; femoral vein, 130.2 ± 18.0 HU versus 152.0 ± 24.5 HU; and popliteal vein, 136.7 ± 17.5 HU versus 158.3 ± 26.0 HU. Although the images of the low-kVp group had significantly higher image noise, there were no significant differences in image quality in the IVC and popliteal vein. The mean effective dose for the low-kVp protocol was significantly lower than that for the standard-kVp protocol. CONCLUSION Lowering the kVp setting for CTV examinations improved vascular enhancement while providing sufficient image quality.
Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Relationship Between Changes in Emotion Regulation During Treatment and Abstinence Among Women With Alcohol Use Disorders

Women with alcohol use disorders (AUD) experience high rates of co-occurring conditions, such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can complicate treatment engagement and response. Therefore, identifying factors that underlie alcohol use, depression, and PTSD symptoms in women with AUD has important treatment implications. The current study investigated emotion regulation as one such underlying factor. We tested a model that examined the extent to which changes in emotion regulation during treatment predicted women’s depression and PTSD symptom severity at treatment completion and subsequent alcohol use following treatment. The study included 48 participants enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy versus usual care for women with co-occurring alcohol dependence and major depression. Assessments were conducted at baseline, posttreatment (16 weeks), and follow-up (24 weeks). Descriptive statistics of baseline data revealed heightened levels of emotion dysregulation in this sample, which were related to fewer days abstinent from alcohol, more negative consequences from alcohol, and greater PTSD symptom severity. Women’s lower depressive symptoms at the end of treatment were found to mediate the relationship between improved emotion regulation during the treatment period and greater abstinence following treatment. Posttreatment PTSD symptoms, however, were not found to mediate that relationship. These results suggest that improvements in depressive symptoms during treatment are associated with emotion regulation at the end of treatment, which may contribute to greater abstinence from alcohol following treatment.
New Delhi Metallo-beta lactamase (NDM-1) in Enterobacteriaceae: treatment options with carbapenems compromised.

BACKGROUND Carbapenems are among the few useful antibiotics against multidrug resistant gram negative bacteria particularly those with extended spectrum beta lactamase. However resistance to carbapenems occurs and is mediated by mechanisms like loss of outer membrane proteins and production of beta lactamase that is capable of hydrolyzing carbapenems. An alert issued in the UK in 2009 warned of an increasing number of carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae strains identified in UK hospital patients. Many of them were recently hospitalized in India and Pakistan and had new type of metallo beta lactamase designated as New Delhi Metallo-1 (NDM-1). OBJECTIVE To assess the production of NDM-1 type Metallo beta lactamase enzyme in Enterobacteriaceae at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai. MATERIALS AND METHODS Consecutive carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates were collected from August 2009 to November 2009. Susceptibility testing for carbapenems was performed by the disc diffusion method. Carbapenemase production was confirmed by Modified Hodge test. These strains were then subjected to single target PCR. A 475bp product was amplified by the NDM primers and visualized on 3% agarose gel. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Modified Hodge test was positive for all carbapenem resistant isolates. Of 24 carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae 22 were NDM producers while 2 were NDM non producers. Amongst the 22 NDM producing organisms 10 were Klebsiella spp, 9 were Escherichia coli, 2 were Enterobacter spp and 1 was Morganella morganii. This high number in a relatively short span is a worrisome trend that compromises the treatment options with the carbapenems.
fos and jun interaction: The role of the leucine zipper

Jun and fos oncoproteins form a complex which regulates transcription from promoters containing AP‐I binding sites. The “leucine zipper” domain of both fos and jun is necessary for the formation of the heterodimer, but the role of specific leucine residues is unclear. We have used site‐specific mutagenesis to examine the contribution of individual leucine residues to the formation of a stable fos/jun protein complex and the binding of this complex to the AP‐1 site. Mutation of a single leucine in either fos or jun had no effect on protein complex formation. Furthermore, mutations of two consecutive leucines in jun did not interfere with heterodimer formation; however, in the case of fos, two consecutive mutations resulted in an inability to form a heterodimer. Although mutagenesis of the first leucine of the heptad repeat had no effect on protein complex formation, this mutation in either fos or jun drastically reduced the affinity of the complex for DNA. Thus, both fos and jun contribute directly to the DNA binding potential of the heterodimer.
A general approach for comparing metastable behavior of digital CMOS gates

In digital CMOS essentially all sequential function blocks may get metastable in one way or another, when provided with marginal inputs. Most often the result is a delayed reaction at the output, which, in a synchronous design, potentially violates the timing assumptions. Therefore metastable behavior is often characterized by the Mean Time Between Upset (MTBU), which reflects the expected interval between such violations on a statistical base. However, not all designs are synchronous - there are even sequential elements specifically intended for use in context with elastic timing, such as the mutual exclusion element or the Muller C-element. For these a characterization via MTBU is not useful; but on the other hand there seem to be no reasonable alternatives. Therefore in this paper we propose the use of the delay graph (over the relevant quantity that causes metastability when becoming marginal) for this purpose. We elaborate its correspondence with the usual MTBU graph and the metastability parameters, namely tau and T0. As a proof of concept we apply our strategy to a set of sequential elements, like D-latch, RS-latch, Muller C-element and mutex and discuss the differences we identified.
Real-time detection of muscle thickness changes during isometric contraction from ultrasonography: A feasibility study

Ultrasonography is a convenient and widely-used technique to look into the muscle contraction as it is non-invasive and real-time. Muscle thickness has been investigated in many aspects and for various purposes. However, there are few studies on automatic estimation of changes of muscle thickness in cross-sectional plane during contraction. In this study we proposed a coarse-to-fine method based on compressive tracking algorithm for real-time estimation of muscle thickness during isometric contraction on ultrasound images. The real-time performance and precision are investigated with data from quadriceps muscle in five subjects. The detection results were compared with those obtained from both cross-correlation algorithm and manual measurement. It is shown that the proposed method agrees well with the manual measurement and outperforms the cross-correlation method in the sense of both accuracy and computation cost.
AXR3 and SHY2 interact to regulate root hair development

Signal transduction of the plant hormone auxin centres on the regulation of the abundance of members of the Aux/IAA family of transcriptional regulators, of which there are 29 in Arabidopsis. Auxin can influence Aux/IAA abundance by promoting the transcription of Aux/IAA genes and by reducing the half-life of Aux/IAA proteins. Stabilising mutations, which render Aux/IAA proteins resistant to auxin-mediated degradation, confer a wide range of phenotypes consistent with disruptions in auxin response. Interestingly, similar mutations in different family members can confer opposite phenotypic effects. To understand the molecular basis for this functional specificity in the Aux/IAA family, we have studied a pair of Aux/IAAs, which have contrasting roles in root hair development. We have found that stabilising mutations in AXR3/IAA17 blocks root hair initiation and elongation, whereas similar mutations in SHY2/IAA3 result in early initiation of root hair development and prolonged hair elongation, giving longer root hairs. The phenotypes resulting from double mutant combinations, the transient induction of expression of the proteins, and the pattern of transcription of the cognate genes suggest that root hair initiation is controlled by the relative abundance of SHY2 and AXR3 in a cell. These results suggest a general model for auxin signalling in which the modulation of the relative abundance of different Aux/IAA proteins can determine which down-stream responses are induced.
Scaling of Hydrogen-Terminated Diamond FETs to Sub-100-nm Gate Dimensions

We present the dc operation of hydrogen-terminated diamond field-effect transistors (FETs) with gate lengths of 1 μm to 50 nm. The 50-nm device metrics include a maximum drain current of 290 mA/mm and a peak extrinsic transconductance of 95 mS/mm. As the device gate length is reduced, peak intrinsic transconductance is increased substantially to a value of 650 mS/mm for the 50-nm device. A minimum Ion/Ioff ratio of ~ 1.5 × 104 is maintained at this reduced gate dimension. These results appear highly promising for the improvement of hydrogen-terminated diamond FET high-frequency performance through reduction of the device gate length to sub-100-nm dimensions.
The pharmacology of psilocybin

Psilocybin (4‐phosphoryloxy‐N,N‐dimethyltryptamine) is the major psychoactive alkaloid of some species of mushrooms distributed worldwide.These mushrooms represent a growing problem regarding hallucinogenic drug abuse. Despite its experimental medical use in the 1960s, only very few pharmacological data about psilocybin were known until recently. Because of its still growing capacity for abuse and the widely dispersed data this review presents all the available pharmacological data about psilocybin.
Session-affinity aware request allocation for Web clusters

Persistent connections are increasingly being used in Web retrieval due to wide adoption of HTTP/1.1 standards. With persistent connections, the request allocation algorithm used by Web clusters is often session-grained. This article studies the caching performance of Web clusters under session-grained request allocation. It is shown that although content-based algorithms considerably improve caching performance over content-blind algorithms at the request-grained level, most performance gain is offset by the allocation dependency that arises when the requests are allocated at the session-grained level. The performance loss increases with cluster size and connection holding time. An optimization problem is then formulated for improving the caching effectiveness of session-grained allocation. The problem is proven to be NP-complete. Based on a heuristic approach, a session-affinity aware algorithm is presented that makes use of the correlation between the requests in a session. The new algorithm is shown to significantly outperform the content-based algorithm under session-grained allocation. It is also shown that optimizing session-grained allocation cannot fully compensate for the performance loss caused by allocation dependency.