Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Timing and velocity randomization similarly affect anticipatory pursuit

Smooth pursuit eye movements are guided largely by retinal-image motion. To compensate for neural conduction delays, the brain employs a predictive mechanism to generate anticipatory pursuit that precedes target motion (E. Kowler, 1990). A critical question for interpreting neural signals recorded during pursuit concerns how this mechanism is interfaced with sensorimotor processing. It has been shown that the predictor is not simply turned-off during randomization because anticipatory eye velocity remains when target velocity is randomized (E. Kowler & S. McKee, 1987; G. W. Kao & M. J. Morrow, 1994). This study was completed to compare pursuit behavior during randomized motion-onset timing with that occurring during direction or speed randomization. We found that anticipatory eye velocity persisted despite motion-onset randomization, and that anticipation onset time was between that observed in the different constant-timing conditions. This centering strategy was similar to the bias of eye velocity magnitude away from extremes observed when direction or speed was randomized. Such a strategy is comparable to least-squares error minimization, and could be used to facilitate acquisition of a target when it begins to move. Centering was in some observers accounted for by a shift of eye velocity toward that generated in the preceding trial. The results make unlikely a model in which the predictor is disengaged by randomizing stimulus timing, and suggest that predictive signals always interact with those used in sensorimotor processing during smooth pursuit.
Evolving enzyme technology: impact on commercial poultry nutrition

Abstract The use of exogenous enzymes to improve the nutritional value of poultry diets is a relatively new concept. The technology is rapidly evolving, with new enzymes, enzyme combinations, and novel applications being developed as rapidly as regulatory restrictions will allow. Most researchers in the field of poultry nutrition would consider phytase to be the last significant leap forward in terms of enzyme use in the animal feed industry. However, there is a great deal of ongoing research into the next generation of enzymes with a focus on ingredient quality, predictability of response via least-square models, improvements in food safety, effect of bird age, effect of various side activities and enzyme dose, maximisation of net income and reduction in environmental pollution. It is the purpose of the present review article to summarise the current research in the area of feed enzymes for poultry and to speculate on future applications of enzymes and new enzyme technologies that may be of value to the industry in the coming years.
“Structural Adjustment and Domestic Private Saving and Investment Interaction in Turkey : A Cointegration Analysis”

This study explores the direction of relationship, if there exists, between domestic private saving and investment in Turkey, with the primary focus on the impacts of structural adjustment reforms implemented in 1980. Using annual data over 1963-2002 periods and bivariate time series techniques, the study presents evidence that they are cointegrated in the pre-liberalization period, but not in its aftermath. Furthermore, the direction of the relationship between the two appears to run from savings to investment in the pre-reform period, pointing to the presence of a saving-driven investment process prior to 1980. However, the link between the two disappears after 1980 when Turkish economy became relatively open. Therefore, it seems that there does not exist an investment mechanism through which domestic saving rate enhances economic growth, at least in the Turkish case although the likely benefits of the policies that encourage saving may result from other mechanisms.
Septohippocampal cholinergic neurons are regulated trans-synaptically by endorphin and corticotropin neuropeptides

The content of acetylcholine (ACh) in nerve terminals or the dorsal hippocampus was examined after intraventricular, intraseptal, or intrahippocampal administration of a variety of endorphin/corticotropin neuropeptides. beta-Lipotropin, alpha-endorphin, gamma-endorphin, alpha- melanotropin, beta-melanotropin, adrenocorticotropin-1–39 (ACTH1–39), and ACTH4–10 (1, 3, 10, or 30 micrograms each) did not affect levels of ACh in the hippocampus 30 min after injection into the lateral ventricle. beta-Endorphin, administered intraventricularly (1, 3, 10, or 30 micrograms) or intraseptally (1 microgram), increased levels of ACh, while ACTH1–24, injected similarly, decreased levels of the neurotransmitter. ACh concentrations remained unchanged after direct application of beta-endorphin or ACTH1–24 (1, 3, 10, of 30 micrograms each) into Ammon's horn. Acute unilateral transection of the fimbria/superior fornix resulted in a time-related decrease in hippocampal ACh concentrations. Levels of ACh did not change 1 hr after transection; however, concentrations of hippocampal ACh decreased significantly 1 d or 1 week after deafferentation. ACh levels in the contralateral hippocampus remained unaffected at all times tested. Fimbrial transection blocked fully both endorphin- and corticotropin- induced changes in hippocampal ACh after the neuropeptides were injected into the lateral ventricle or the septal region. Naloxone, which, after subcutaneous (1 mg/kg) or intraventricular (100 micrograms) injection alone, failed to change levels of hippocampal ACh, antagonized the effects of intraventricular or intraseptal beta- endorphin or ACTH1–24 or hippocampal ACh levels. The results suggest a site of endorphin/corticotropin receptor interaction at the level of cholinergic cell bodies in the septal region for regulating the activity of septohippocampal cholinergic neurons.
Genetic and biochemical analysis of transformation-competent, replication-defective simian virus 40 large T antigen mutants

To study the role of the biochemical and physiological activities of simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigen in the lytic and transformation processes, we have analyzed DNA replication-defective, transformation-competent T-antigen mutants. Here we describe two such mutants, C8/SV40 and T22/SV40, and also summarize the properties of all of the mutants in this collection. C8/SV40 and T22/SV40 were isolated from C8 and T22 cells (simian cell lines transformed with UV-irradiated SV40). Early regions encoding the defective T antigens were cloned into a plasmid vector to generate pC8 and pT22. The mutations responsible for the defects in viral DNA replication were localized by marker rescue, and subsequent DNA sequencing revealed missense and one nonsense mutation. The T22 mutation predicts a change of histidine to glutamine at residue 203. C8 has two mutations, one predicts lysine224 to glutamamic acid and the other changes the codon for glutamic acid660 to a stop codon; therefore, C8 T antigen lacks the 49 carboxy-terminal amino acids. pC8A and pC8B were constructed to contain the C8 mutations separately. Plasmids pT22, pC8, pC8A, and pC8B were able to transform primary rodent cell cultures. T22 T antigen is defective in binding to the SV40 origin. C8B (49-amino-acid truncation) is a host-range mutant defective in a late function in CV-1 but not BSC cells. Analysis of T antigens in mutant SV40-transformed mouse cells suggests that the replicative function of T antigen is important in generating SV40 DNA rearrangements that allow the expression of "100K" variant T antigens in the transformants.
Salivary alterations in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVES To examine the flow rate and composition of unstimulated whole saliva and of serum in children with newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and to compare these with values for a group of healthy controls. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING Diabetic Department of a University Hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The test group was made up of 10 recently diagnosed child patients with IDDM, aged 4-15 years and free of other systemic disease. Ten healthy children aged 5-17 years served as controls. Children were clinically examined before unstimulated saliva was collected over a 5 minute period and blood samples taken. Saliva and serum measurements included glucose, total proteins, albumin and immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG). RESULTS No significant difference was seen in salivary flow rate between the two groups. Significantly greater concentrations of glucose were seen in saliva and serum in children with IDDM. Neither total protein nor albumin differed significantly between the two groups. Salivary IgA concentration was higher in the test group as was serum IgG. CONCLUSIONS Findings in this sample suggest that changes in salivary composition may, together with estimated glucose levels, play a helpful diagnostic role in the early stages of IDDM in some children.
Protective Immunity Based on the Conserved Hemagglutinin Stalk Domain and Its Prospects for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development

Influenza virus surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA) is an excellent and chief target that elicits neutralizing antibodies during vaccination or natural infection. Its HA2 subunit (stem domain) is most conserved as compared to HA1 subunit (globular head domain). Current influenza vaccine relies on globular head domain that provides protection only against the homologous vaccine strains, rarely provides cross-protection against divergent strains, and needs to be updated annually. There is an urge for a truly universal vaccine that provides broad cross-protection against different subtype influenza A viruses along with influenza B viruses and need not be updated annually. Antibodies against the stem domain of hemagglutinin (HA) are able to neutralize a wide spectrum of influenza virus strains and subtypes. These stem-specific antibodies have great potential for the development of universal vaccine against influenza viruses. In this review, we have discussed the stem-specific cross-reactive antibodies and heterosubtypic protection provided by them. We have also discussed their epitope-based DNA vaccine and their future prospects in this scenario.
Forced Sexual Intercourse on Campus: Crime or Offensive Behavior?

A study conducted on a southern campus investigated victim labeling of forced sexual intercourse as rape. The findings indicated that victims tended to reject the label of rape even when they believed that their offenders labeled the acts as rape, that many continued to date their offenders, and that victims tended to label their offenders in positive rather than in negative terms.
Dept. for Speech, Music and Hearing Quarterly Progress and Status Report the Use of Speech Synthesis in Exploring Different Speaking Styles the Use of Speech Synthesis in Exploring Different Speak- Ing Styles*

The possibility to vary speaker type and speaking style will be a feature of the next generation text-to-speech systems. Already today, the need for these possibilities is apparent, in dialogue systems and when speech synthesis is used as prostheses for persons with a communication handicap. Much of the information needed is not yet available. In this contribution we argue that speech synthesis itself is an efficient tool to study and understand the variability in speech. Some different methods are reviewed, representing both analysis/synthesis techniques and signal manipulations as well as text-to-speech. The main emphasis is, on the work at KTH, to study the variation of speaker and speaking styles in the context of our text-to-speech system. INTRODUCTION As speech synthesis technology is maturing, the demand on quality and functionality is increased. In many present and future applications it is not enough for the synthetic speech to be merely intelligible. Variation in speech, similar to the variability found in natural speech, will be requested to match many applications and to compete with alternative solutions, like huge prerecorded message banks. The range of applications asks for a variation close to the one found in human speakers. Reading stock quotations, weather reports, electronic mail, or warning messages are examples where humans would choose rather different styles of reading. In future translating speech-to-speech systems, like translating telephony (Abe, Shikano, & Kuwabara, 1990), ideally the speaker characteristics as well as the speaking style should be preserved in the translation. The most common application today is in aids for the handicapped. Visually impaired persons have several distinctively different demands on the function of a text-to-speech device (Carlson & Granstrom, 1986). On one extreme end of the style continuum, they want hypercorrect speech that gives them maximally exact information about how the text is written. Spelling is in this case a possibility, but it is too slow and gives hardly any understanding of the text content. The other extreme is very fast speech for information scanning, something that we will report on below. Using the speech synthesis device as a speech prosthesis, implies the general need of variation that any human feels. There is, however, a problem to make the variation convenient to use by the handicapped person in this case, since communication speed is the primary concern. Much of the variation found in natural speech is not controlled deliberately, at least not at a very conscious …
Protein and carbohydrate intake influence sperm number and fertility in male cockroaches, but not sperm viability

It is commonly assumed that because males produce many, tiny sperm, they are cheap to produce. Recent work, however, suggests that sperm production is not cost-free. If sperm are costly to produce, sperm number and/or viability should be influenced by diet, and this has been documented in numerous species. Yet few studies have examined the exact nutrients responsible for mediating these effects. Here, we quantify the effects of protein (P) and carbohydrate (C) intake on sperm number and viability in the cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea, as well as the consequences for male fertility. We found the intake of P and C influenced sperm number, being maximized at a high intake of diets with a P : C ratio of 1 : 2, but not sperm viability. The nutritional landscapes for male fertility and sperm number were closely aligned, suggesting that sperm number is the major determinant of male fertility in N. cinerea. Under dietary choice, males regulate nutrient intake at a P : C ratio of 1 : 4.95, which is midway between the ratios needed to maximize sperm production and pre-copulatory attractiveness in this species. This raises the possibility that males regulate nutrient intake to balance the trade-off between pre- and post-copulatory traits in this species.
Self-regulation in Children Born With Extremely Low Birth Weight at 2 Years Old: A Comparison Study

Survival rates for children born with extremely low birth weight (ELBW) are increasing; however, many of these children experience later problems with learning. This study adopted an integrated approach to these problems, involving the self-regulatory tasks of inhibition and delay of gratification and relevant individual factors including cognitive and language skills. Thirty children born with ELBW and 36 full-term children at 2 years of age completed the self-regulatory tasks. Results indicated no differences between groups for the inhibition task; however, comparison children were better able to delay gratification than children with ELBW. Performance on both self-regulatory tasks improved as cognitive and language abilities increased and all self-regulatory tasks were correlated with cognitive and language abilities. Performance on the inhibition task was predicted by cognitive ability and language abilities, and all variables were approaching significance for predicting performance on the delay of gratification task. It is expected that the small sample size and wide variations in the developmental progression of self-regulation and associated factors at 2 years of age may have limited the strength of relationships found in this study.
Internet research: privacy, ethics and alienation: an open source approach

This paper examines some of the ethical problems involved in undertaking Internet research and draws on historical accounts as well as contemporary studies to offer an analysis of the issues raised. It argues that privacy is a misleading and confusing concept to apply to the Internet, and that the concept of non‐alienation is more resourceful in addressing the many ethical issues surrounding Internet research. Using this as a basis, the paper then investigates the Free/Libre and Open Source research model and argues for the principles of “open source ethics” in researching the online world, which includes a participatory and democratic research method.
Sex and Psyche: Gender and Self Viewed Cross-Culturally

PART ONE: BACKGROUND Issues and Strategies in Cross-Cultural Psychology Gender, Self-Concept, and Sex Role Ideology PART TWO: TACTICS Research Plan and Methods PART THREE: DISCOVERIES Sex Role Ideology Affective Meanings of Self-Concepts Masculinity/Femininity of Self-Concepts Diversity in Masculinity/Femininity of Self-Concepts PART FOUR: OUTCOMES Summary Of Findings Cross-Cultural Similarities and Differences Retrospect and Prospect A Broader View
PENGARUH KECERDASAN EMOSIONAL DAN KECERDASAN SPIRITUAL AUDITOR TERHADAP KINERJA AUDITOR PADA KANTOR AKUNTAN PUBLIK DI SURABAYA

This research was aimed to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence and spiritual auditor on the performance of auditors in public accounting office in Surabaya. The analysis was based on respondents' answers obtained through a questionnaire distributed in Surabaya. The population of this research is a public accountant who was in Surabaya. This study uses a Multiple Linear Regression, F test used to determine the effect of intelligence and spiritual emosional auditor, and the t test used to determine the effect of emotional intelligence and spiritual auditor separately to the performance of auditors. The analysis showed that emotional and spiritual intelligence auditor significant effect on the performance of auditors.
Empirical and mechanistic models for the particle export ratio

We present new empirical and mechanistic models for predicting the export of organic carbon out of the surface ocean by sinking particles. To calibrate these models, we have compiled a synthesis of field observations related to ecosystem size structure, primary production and particle export from around the globe. The empirical model captures 61% of the observed variance in the ratio of particle export to primary production (the pe ratio) using sea‐surface temperature and chlorophyll concentrations (or primary productivity) as predictor variables. To describe the mechanisms responsible for pe‐ratio variability, we present size‐based formulations of phytoplankton grazing and sinking particle export, combining them into an alternative, mechanistic model. The formulation of grazing dynamics, using simple power laws as closure terms for small and large phytoplankton, reproduces 74% of the observed variability in phytoplankton community composition wherein large phytoplankton augment small ones as production increases. The formulation for sinking particle export partitions a temperature‐dependent fraction of small and large phytoplankton grazing into sinking detritus. The mechanistic model also captures 61% of the observed variance in pe ratio, with large phytoplankton in high biomass and relatively cold regions leading to more efficient export. In this model, variability in primary productivity results in a biomass‐modulated switch between small and large phytoplankton pathways.
Long-term gaze cueing effects: Evidence for retrieval of prior states of attention from memory

When people observe other individuals shift gaze to a particular location, the observer's attention automatically and rapidly shifts to the same location. Initial studies provided evidence in support of the idea that such gaze-evoked shifts of attention were transient, no longer being observed after about 1000 ms. However, in contrast to the idea that gaze shifts of attention are transitory, the current work suggests that under certain conditions long-term gaze cueing effects can be detected over a period of 3 minutes. We propose that attention states that are activated when encoding an object such as a face can be retrieved from memory when the face is re-encountered some minutes later.
Quantifying and comparing dynamic predictive accuracy of joint models for longitudinal marker and time‐to‐event in presence of censoring and competing risks

Thanks to the growing interest in personalized medicine, joint modeling of longitudinal marker and time‐to‐event data has recently started to be used to derive dynamic individual risk predictions. Individual predictions are called dynamic because they are updated when information on the subject's health profile grows with time. We focus in this work on statistical methods for quantifying and comparing dynamic predictive accuracy of this kind of prognostic models, accounting for right censoring and possibly competing events. Dynamic area under the ROC curve (AUC) and Brier Score (BS) are used to quantify predictive accuracy. Nonparametric inverse probability of censoring weighting is used to estimate dynamic curves of AUC and BS as functions of the time at which predictions are made. Asymptotic results are established and both pointwise confidence intervals and simultaneous confidence bands are derived. Tests are also proposed to compare the dynamic prediction accuracy curves of two prognostic models. The finite sample behavior of the inference procedures is assessed via simulations. We apply the proposed methodology to compare various prediction models using repeated measures of two psychometric tests to predict dementia in the elderly, accounting for the competing risk of death. Models are estimated on the French Paquid cohort and predictive accuracies are evaluated and compared on the French Three‐City cohort.
iSpot: your place to share nature

Learning happens anywhere, anytime, anyhow, and the iSpot network has been created to capitalize on these learning moments of everyday life. iSpot is an British-based social network developed by the UK Open University (OU) as part of a larger project called Open Air Laboratories (OPAL). The iSpot website brings together those who enjoy the thrill of observing and identifying natural species, irrespective of their level of expertise or interest. Whether it is a child exploring the environment with parents, an adult interested in informally learning about new species, an enrolled student from the OU or an expert biologist, the iSpot learning network caters for everyone with an interest in the natural world.