Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NEUROPSYCHIATRY AND BEHAVIOURAL NEUROSCIENCE

NEUROPSYCHIATRY AND BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE By Jeffrey L. Cummings and Michael S. Mega 2003. Pp 428. Oxford: Oxford University Press Price £69.50. ISBN 0‐19‐513858‐9 Neuropsychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience is the successor to Jeffrey Cummings’s original work published in 1985. The authors’ preface and introduction styles it as a ‘progress report in the evolution of neuropsychiatry and of the authors’ understanding of neuropsychiatric disease and treatment’ (page ix). The authors therefore clearly set forth on an ambitious undertaking. One of the requirements of any critical review must therefore be to assess how successfully this aim has been achieved. The book is very large and heavy—certainly not one to contemplate as a handy pocket‐sized carry‐along for reference at the patient’s bedside. The cover is colourful and attractive, suitably adorned with a couple of brain sections from an FDG‐PET scan, which gives appeal and is perhaps a taster for more inside. The coverage of material over 414 pages (including the index) and 26 chapters, as set out on the contents page, is wide‐ranging. The chapter titles are an eclectic mix of anticipatable neurological topics, such as ‘Dementia’, ‘Epilepsy’,‘Movement disorders’; and more psychiatric fodder, such as ‘Anxiety disorders’, ‘Violence and aggression’ and ‘Hallucinations’. There is a curious, perhaps inconsistent, mix of chapter titles aimed at neurological brain dysfunction, e.g. ‘Frontal lobe dysfunction’, and symptom‐led discussion, e.g. ‘Disturbance of mood and affect’. Despite the images on the front cover from PET scans, one does not find a specific chapter devoted to neuroimaging as a single subject, i.e. a clear and thorough description and discussion around basic techniques (particularly for the novice in this area), examples of findings from different types of neuroimaging, the …
National study of microphthalmia, anophthalmia, and coloboma (MAC) in Scotland: investigation of genetic aetiology

We report an epidemiological and genetic study attempting complete ascertainment of subjects with microphthalmia, anophthalmia, and coloboma (MAC) born in Scotland during a 16 year period beginning on 1 January 1981. A total of 198 cases were confirmed giving a minimum live birth prevalence of 19 per 100 000. One hundred and twenty-two MAC cases (61.6%) from 115 different families were clinically examined and detailed pregnancy, medical, and family histories obtained. A simple, rational, and apparently robust classification of the eye phenotype was developed based on the presence or absence of a defect in closure of the optic (choroidal) fissure. A total of 85/122 (69.7%) of cases had optic fissure closure defects (OFCD), 12/122 (9.8%) had non-OFCD, and 25/122 (20.5%) had defects that were unclassifiable owing to the severity of the corneal or anterior chamber abnormality. Segregation analysis assuming single and multiple incomplete ascertainment, respectively, returned a sib recurrence risk of 6% and 10% in the whole group and 8.1% and 13.3% in the OFCD subgroup. Significant recurrence risks were found in both unilateral and bilateral disease. In four families, one parent had an OFCD, two of which were new diagnoses in asymptomatic subjects. All recurrences in first degree relatives occurred in the OFCD group with a single first cousin recurrence seen in the non-OFCD group. A total of 84/122 of the MAC cases were screened for mutations in the coding regions of PAX6, CHX10, and SIX3. No pathogenic mutations were identified in the OFCD cases. A single PAX6 homeodomain missense mutation was identified in a subject with partial aniridia that had been initially misclassified as coloboma.
Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors and Tonic Inhibition in Rat Auditory Thalamus

Background Neural inhibition plays an important role in auditory processing and attentional gating. Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors (GABAAR), containing α4and δ GABAAR subunits, are thought to be activated by GABA spillover outside of the synapse following release resulting in a tonic inhibitory Cl− current which could account for up to 90% of total inhibition in visual and somatosensory thalamus. However, the presence of this unique type of inhibition has not been identified in auditory thalamus. Methodology/Principal Findings The present study used gaboxadol, a partially selective potent agonist for δ-subunit containing GABAA receptor constructs to elucidate the presence of extrasynaptic GABAARs using both a quantitative receptor binding assay and patch-clamp electrophysiology in thalamic brain slices. Intense [3H]gaboxadol binding was found to be localized to the MGB while whole cell recordings from MGB neurons in the presence of gaboxadol demonstrated the expression of δ-subunit containing GABAARs capable of mediating a tonic inhibitory Cl− current. Conclusions/Significance Potent tonic inhibitory GABAAR responses mediated by extrasynaptic receptors may be important in understanding how acoustic information is processed by auditory thalamic neurons as it ascends to auditory cortex. In addition to affecting cellular behavior and possibly neurotransmission, functional extrasynaptic δ-subunit containing GABAARs may represent a novel pharmacological target for the treatment of auditory pathologies including temporal processing disorders or tinnitus.
3-Weight Pseudo-Random Test Generation Based on a Deterministic Test Set

A method for weighted pseudo-random test generation based on a deterministic test set is described. The main advantages of the method over existing methods are: (1) only three easily generated weights, {0,0.5,1), are used, (2) minimal length LFSR is used, thus leading to minimal hardware for built-in-test applications, and (3) the weights are selected to allow the same coverage of target faults, attained by the deterministic test set, to be attained by weighted random patterns. The weights are computed by walking through the range of test generation approaches from pure random at one extreme to deterministic at the other extreme, dynamically selecting the weight assignments to correspond to the remaining faults at every stage. Hardware for the generation of random patterns under the proposed method is described. Experimental results are provided for ISCAS-85 benchmarks.
Disambiguating Syntactic Triggers

We present data from an artificial language domain that suggest new contributions to the theory of syntactic triggers. Whether a learning algorithm is capable of matching the achievements of child learners depends in part on how much parametric ambiguity there is in the input. For practical reasons this cannot be established for the domain of all natural languages. Our tactic is to estimate the incidence of unambiguous triggers by examining a constructed domain of languages whose syntactic parameters and structural properties are precisely specified. We succeeded in identifying unambiguous triggers for all non-default parameter values in all languages in this domain. In order to do so, we had to invoke between-parameter relations which disambiguate triggers that otherwise would have been parametrically ambiguous. The discovery of unambiguous triggers in this artificial domain does not prove a sufficiency in natural languages, but it may revive investigation of the psychological plausibility of deterministic models of human language acquisition.
Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging Detects Microstructural Changes in the Brain after Acute Alcohol Intoxication in Rats

The aim of this study was to test the technical feasibility of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in the brain after acute alcohol intoxication. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and DKI during 7.0 T MRI were performed in the frontal lobe and thalamus before and 30 min, 2 h, and 6 h after ethyl alcohol administration. Compared with controls, mean kurtosis values of the frontal lobe and thalamus first decreased by 44% and 38% within 30 min (p < 0.01 all) and then increased by 14% and 46% at 2 h (frontal lobe, p > 0.05; thalamus, p < 0.01) and by 29% and 68% at 6 h (frontal lobe, p < 0.05; thalamus, p < 0.01) after acute intake. Mean diffusivity decreased significantly in both the frontal lobe and the thalamus at various stages. However, fractional anisotropy decreased only in the frontal lobe, with no detectable change in the thalamus. This demonstrates that DKI possesses sufficient sensitivity for tracking pathophysiological changes at various stages associated with acute alcohol intoxication and may provide additional information that may be missed by conventional DTI parameters.
Imagining Intergroup Contact Can Improve Intergroup Attitudes

We investigated whether simply imagining contact with outgroup members can improve intergroup attitudes. In Experiment 1, young participants who imagined talking to an elderly person subsequently showed lower levels of intergroup bias than participants who imagined an outdoor scene. In Experiment 2, young participants who imagined talking to an elderly person subsequently showed lower levels of intergroup bias than participants who simply thought about elderly people, ruling out a priming explanation for our findings. In Experiment 3, heterosexual men who imagined talking to a homosexual man subsequently evaluated homosexual men more positively, perceived there to be greater variability among them, and experienced less intergroup anxiety compared to a control group. The effect of imagined contact on outgroup evaluations was mediated by reduced intergroup anxiety. These findings suggest that imagining intergroup contact could represent a viable alternative for reducing prejudice where actual contact between groups is impractical.
Performance Monitoring and Tuning Using Intelligent Agent Assistants

Fast databases are a necessity in today’s Ecommerce environment. Information from the database has to be provided at fast rates to impatient customers, otherwise they will move on to competitors with more attentive services. Corporations needing up-to-date internal information cannot wait for long running queries that process numbers and produce detailed statistics. Instead, they need databases capable of providing data in fractions of seconds to compete in today’s economy. Database performance tuning has always been one of the most important tasks for database administrators (DBAs). This research presents an intelligent agent assistant to aid DBAs in performance monitoring tasks and the automation of resolution actions. The assistant notifies DBAs when performance problems are detected and resolved. DBAs are expected to provide the agent assistant with definitions for the performance problem conditions and the possible resolution actions. They must also develop a notification communication mechanism for the problems the assistant agent monitors.
Living in Sandwell: An Exploratory Study into the Key Issues and Challenges that Affect a Small Group of People with Mild Learning Disabilities

This paper is concerned with a small group of people with a mild learning disability; who they are and what their lives are like. This group is not typically known by the label of mild learning disability in research, social policy or in service provision, due to a lack of suitable assessment or identification methods. This small study, using focus groups as a data collection method and undertaken as a pilot study for further research, has shown this group experienced wide ranging social disadvantage, and difficulties and challenges in daily living due to their learning disability. These included travel, shopping, parenting, lack of IT skills, plus experiencing local anti-social behaviour on a regular basis. Lack of recognition and appropriate support can leave them vulnerable to a range of difficulties and issues including social isolation and harassment.
Modeling unstructured environments with dynamic persistence grids and object delimiters in urban traffic scenarios

Modeling dynamic environments is an essential research topic in any driving assistance system. The complexity of the surrounding world, the measurement uncertainties or the unpredictable behavior of the traffic participants are the main factors that influence the detection and tracking process. In this paper we present a vision-based method for modeling and tracking unstructured dynamic environments. The proposed solution relies on raw information provided by a classified grid computed from a digital elevation map and employs two separate representation levels: a local dynamic persistence grid (DyPerGrid) that is generated as an intermediate representation level and a map of delimiters as a higher level obstacle description. A fast tracking solution is proposed by using the two models. The result is a geometrically consistent and accurate representation of the dynamic environment.
Sedation with Inhaled Anaesthetics in Intensive Care Units: Intravenous Route is not the Only Way

The action and side effects of intravenous anesthetics are difficult to control in critical patients. The inhaled anaesthetic agents are, at the moment, an alternative to intravenous drugs for sedation in these patients. The Anesthetic Conserving Device (AnaConDa®) facilitates the use of volatile anesthetics in critical care units as part of prolonged sedation. This device (AnaConDa®) is a vaporizer that is integrated into the respiratory circuit, between the -piece and the patient. It consists of a heat-moisture exchanger filter. The volatile anaesthetic gas is applied continuously in liquid form using a syringe pump. During inspiration, the volatile substance is released via the evaporator and transported in such a way to the patient. During the expiration phase, the anaesthetic is exhaled by the patient and is stored in the carbon layer, followed by a rerelease into the gas mixture during the next inspiratory cycle. More than 90% of the anaesthetic gas is recirculated in such a way. 10% of the anaesthetic agent passes through the filter and is released outside through the fan expiratory outlet. The use of volatile anesthetics in critical patients could adopt a permanent position in various intensive care analog sedation concepts in future.
The Fission Yeast Stress-Responsive MAPK Pathway Promotes Meiosis via the Phosphorylation of Pol II CTD in Response to Environmental and Feedback Cues

The RRM-type RNA-binding protein Mei2 is a master regulator of meiosis in fission yeast, in which it stabilizes meiosis-specific mRNAs by blocking their destruction. Artificial activation of Mei2 can provoke the entire meiotic process, and it is suspected that Mei2 may do more than the stabilization of meiosis-specific mRNAs. In our current study using a new screening system, we show that Mei2 genetically interacts with subunits of CTDK-I, which phosphorylates serine-2 residues on the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II (Pol II CTD). Phosphorylation of CTD Ser-2 is essential to enable the robust transcription of ste11, which encodes an HMG-type transcription factor that regulates the expression of mei2 and other genes necessary for sexual development. CTD Ser-2 phosphorylation increases under nitrogen starvation, and the stress-responsive MAP kinase pathway, mediated by Wis1 MAPKK and Sty1 MAPK, is critical for this stress response. Sty1 phosphorylates Lsk1, the catalytic subunit of CTDK-I. Furthermore, a feedback loop stemming from activated Mei2 to Win1 and Wis4 MAPKKKs operates in this pathway and eventually enhances CTD Ser-2 phosphorylation and ste11 transcription. Hence, in addition to starting meiosis, Mei2 functions to reinforce the commitment to it, once cells have entered this process. This study also demonstrates clearly that the stress-responsive MAP kinase pathway can modulates gene expression through phosphorylation of Pol II CTD.
The Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Sensor IRE1α Protects Cells from Apoptosis Induced by the Coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus

ABSTRACT The unfolded-protein response (UPR) is a signal transduction cascade triggered by perturbation of the homeostasis of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). UPR resolves ER stress by activating a cascade of cellular responses, including the induction of molecular chaperones, translational attenuation, ER-associated degradation, and other mechanisms. Under prolonged and irremediable ER stress, however, the UPR can also trigger apoptosis. Here, we report that in cells infected with the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), ER stress was induced and the IRE1α-XBP1 pathway of UPR was activated. Knockdown and overexpression experiments demonstrated that IRE1α protects infected cells from IBV-induced apoptosis, which required both its kinase and RNase activities. Our data also suggest that splicing of XBP1 mRNA by IRE1α appears to convert XBP1 from a proapoptotic XBP1u protein to a prosurvival XBP1s protein. Moreover, IRE1α antagonized IBV-induced apoptosis by modulating the phosphorylation status of the proapoptotic c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the prosurvival RAC–alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (Akt). Taken together, the data indicate that the ER stress sensor IRE1α is activated in IBV-infected cells and serves as a survival factor during coronavirus infection. IMPORTANCE Animal coronaviruses are important veterinary viruses, which could cross the species barrier, becoming severe human pathogens. Molecular characterization of the interactions between coronaviruses and host cells is pivotal to understanding the pathogenicity and species specificity of coronavirus infection. It has been well established that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is closely associated with coronavirus replication. Here, we report that inositol-requiring protein 1 alpha (IRE1α), a key sensor of ER stress, is activated in cells infected with the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). Moreover, IRE1α is shown to protect the infected cells from apoptosis by modulating the unfolded-protein response (UPR) and two kinases related to cell survival. This study demonstrates that UPR activation constitutes a major aspect of coronavirus-host interactions. Manipulations of the coronavirus-induced UPR may provide novel therapeutic targets for the control of coronavirus infection and pathogenesis.
Long term recovery of IgG and IgM production during HIV infection in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID).

AIMS Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common serious primary immunodeficiency. This paper describes the immunological consequences of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in a patient with familial CVID subsequently treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS Serial measurements over 11 years of serum immunoglobulins, specific antibodies to tetanus toxoid and pneumococcal polysaccharides, lymphocyte phenotypes, and HIV viral load were made. RESULTS The patient recovered total serum IgG and IgM, but not IgA production, with adequate concentrations of specific antibodies, allowing withdrawal of intravenous immunoglobulin without an increase in infections. T cell numbers gradually declined and the patient developed a high grade B cell lymphoma. After successful chemotherapy, HAART was commenced, viral load fell from 472 000 to < 50 copies/ml, and CD4+ T cell numbers increased from 13 to 661 x 10(6)/litre. Antibody production was maintained after suppression of viral load. CONCLUSIONS This is the first definitive report of reversal of IgG and IgM deficiency in familial CVID after HIV infection. Failure to normalise IgA supports the concept of separate predisposing genetic factors for selective IgA deficiency, which when combined with others lead to CVID. Furthermore, a persistently high viraemia is not required to maintain the recovery of immunoglobulin values, suggesting this depends either on a transitory effect of a high viral load, or a persistence of low amounts of virus.
Programmable firewall using Software Defined Networking

Software Defined Networking is an exciting technology that enables innovation and flexibility in designing and managing networks, but it also introduces new security issues. Our Major challenge is to build powerful and flexible firewall applications for protecting software defined based networks. In this paper we focus on designing and developing OpenFlow based firewall application. The implementation shows that most of the firewall functionalities can be built using software, without need of dedicated hardware. We are using open source POX Controller based on python for our experiments. To perform experiment, we have used VMPlayer virtualization solution and installed Mininet emulator for creating network topologies. In this paper, we present the implementation details as well as experimentation results of firewall application.
Scaffolding Cognitive Processes in a Marketing Curriculum

This article highlights the importance of improving the cognitive processes of students in business studies today. When developing a curriculum in business studies at higher education level, thorough consideration should be given to all components of the learning and assessment processes. They should be tailored to real world dynamics so that they benefit students when they enter the world of work, and thus become a yardstick of successful changes in the management of higher education marketing programmes themselves.
Improving Business Intelligence: The Six Sigma Way

Business Intelligence has never been examined with the same rigor as demanded for any other organization investments. Although global investment in Business Intelligence has reached over 6 billion dollars, business managers continue to follow tradition and leave the management of business intelligence to the technocrats. In this paper, the author proposes that a critical need exists to apply the same six sigma methods, which have worked for the rest of the organization to business intelligence operations and products. This proven structured approach, including the associated rigor and metrics, can be customized and integrated into a program which will allow effective management of business intelligence. The proposed Six Sigma program for business intelligence will ensure that an organization can gain control, improve understanding of operations and products, and improve the value of this crucial organization investment.
360 degree feedback: its role in employee development

Focuses on 360 degree feedback which is defined as a contrived method of providing a flow of feedback to employees from all directions. Addresses the purposes of feedback within the organization, with special emphasis on its use for employee development and careeµr development; the benefits of such feedback to the organization and the individuals involved; the mechanisms used to obtain feedback; and, finally, the pitfalls of 360 degree feedback.
Variable Selection through Cart Variable Selection through Cart Sélection De Variables À Travers Cart

This paper deals with variable selection in the regression or binary classification frameworks. It proposes an automatic and exhaustive procedure which relies on the use of the CART algorithm and on model selection via penalization. This work, of theoretical nature, aims at determining adequate penalties, i.e. penalties which allow to get "oracle type inequalities" justifying the performances of the proposed procedure. A simulation study completes the theoretical results. Résumé : Ce papier aborde le thème de la sélection de variables en proposant une procédure auto-matique et exhaustive qui repose d'une part sur l'utilisation de CART et d'autre part sur la sélection de modèle par minimisation d'un contraste empirique pénalisé.