Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hierarchical categorization learning is associated with representational changes in the dorsal striatum and posterior frontal and parietal cortex

Learning and recognition can be improved by sorting novel items into categories and subcategories. Such hierarchical categorization is easy when it can be performed according to learned rules (e.g., “if car, then automatic or stick shift” or “if boat, then motor or sail”). Here, we present results showing that human participants acquire categorization rules for new visual hierarchies rapidly, and that, as they do, corresponding hierarchical representations of the categorized stimuli emerge in patterns of neural activation in the dorsal striatum and in posterior frontal and parietal cortex. Participants learned to categorize novel visual objects into a hierarchy with superordinate and subordinate levels based on the objects' shape features, without having been told the categorization rules for doing so. On each trial, participants were asked to report the category and subcategory of the object, after which they received feedback about the correctness of their categorization responses. Participants trained over the course of a one‐hour‐long session while their brain activation was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Over the course of training, significant hierarchy learning took place as participants discovered the nested categorization rules, as evidenced by the occurrence of a learning trial, after which performance suddenly increased. This learning was associated with increased representational strength of the newly acquired hierarchical rules in a corticostriatal network including the posterior frontal and parietal cortex and the dorsal striatum. We also found evidence suggesting that reinforcement learning in the dorsal striatum contributed to hierarchical rule learning.
The influence of executive functions on eye-hand span and piano performance during sight-reading

The ability to perform an unrehearsed piece of music, or sight-read, is a skill required by music performers. In sight-reading, the performer reads and plays the music simultaneously, which requires the coordination of visual, auditory, and motor processing. While performing, they display a characteristic called eye-hand span, in which the part of the score being looked at precedes the part being played. They must recognize, decipher, and process the score in the time between reading a note and playing it. An individual’s executive function (EF) that control their cognition, emotions, and behavior may be involved in overseeing these individual movements. However, no study has investigated how EF is related to the eye-hand span and performance during sight-reading. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to clarify the relationships among EF, eye-hand span, and piano performance. Thirty-nine Japanese pianists and college students aspiring to be pianists with an average of 33.3 years of experience participated in this study. They performed sight-reading of two types of music scores with different difficulty levels while their eye movements were measured using an eye tracker to obtain their eye-hand span. The core EFs of inhibition, working memory, and shifting, were measured directly for each participant. Piano performance was evaluated by two pianists who did not participate in the study. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the results. The results showed that auditory working memory predicted eye-hand span (β = .73, p < .001 in easy score; β = .65, p < .001 in difficult score), and eye-hand span predicted performance (β = .57, p < .001 in easy score; β = .56, p < .001 in difficult score). Auditory working memory did not directly affect performance, but through eye-hand span. The eye-hand span for easy scores was significantly greater than that for difficult scores. Furthermore, in a difficult music score, the shifting ability predicted higher piano performance. These suggest that the input of notes from the eyes becomes sound in the brain and activates the auditory working memory, which is then transmitted to finger movement, resulting in piano performance. In addition, it was suggested that shifting ability is also needed to perform difficult scores.
Measurement of Dietary Fiber: Which AOAC Official Method of AnalysisSM to Use

Abstract A broad range of AOAC Official Methods of AnalysisSM (OMA) have been developed and approved for the measurement of dietary fiber (DF) and DF components since the adoption of the Prosky method (OMA 985.29). OMA 985.29 and other OMA were developed to support the Trowell definition of DF. However, these methods do not measure DF as defined by the “new,” physiologically relevant, Codex Alimentarius definition. Methodology to support the Codex definition has been developed and updated in recent years. In this article, the relevance of each OMA in supporting the Codex definition of DF is described and suggestions are presented on the most appropriate method, together with proposals for changes in title and application statements for the “historic” OMA methods.
Capability of Children with Hearing Devices: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract We investigated 34 deaf and hard-of-hearing children with hearing devices aged 8–12 years and 30 typical hearing peers. We used the capability approach to assess well-being in both groups through interviews. Capability is “the real freedom people have to do and to be what they have reason to value. ” Speech perception, phonology, and receptive vocabulary data of the deaf and hard-of-hearing children, that were used retrospectively, showed a large variability. The analysis of the relation between clinical quantitative outcome measures and qualitative capability interview outcomes suggests that at this age, differences in clinical performance do not appear to translate into considerable differences in capability, including capability did offer insight into the factors that appeared to ensure this equivalence of capability. We argue that capability outcomes should be used to determine the focus of (auditory) rehabilitation and support, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Effect of CannEpil® on simulated driving performance and co-monitoring of ocular activity: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Medicinal cannabis products containing Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are increasingly accessible. Yet, policy guidelines regarding fitness to drive are lacking, and cannabinoid-specific indexations of impairment are underdeveloped. Aims: To determine the impact of a standardised 1 mL sublingual dose of CannEpil®, a medicinal cannabis oil containing 100 mg cannabidiol (CBD) and 5 mg THC on simulated driving performance, relative to placebo and whether variations in vehicle control can be indexed by ocular activity. Methods: A double-blind, within-subjects, randomised, placebo-controlled, crossover trial assessed 31 healthy fully licensed drivers (15 male, 16 female) aged between 21 and 58 years (M = 38.0, SD = 10.78). Standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP), standard deviation of speed (SDS) and steering variability were assessed over time and as a function of treatment during a 40 min simulated drive, with oculomotor parameters assessed simultaneously. Oral fluid and plasma were collected at 30 min and 2.5 h. Results: CannEpil did not significantly alter SDLP across the full drive, although increased SDLP was observed between 20 and 30 min (p < 0.05). CannEpil increased SDS across the full drive (p < 0.05), with variance greatest at 20–30 min (p < 0.001). CannEpil increased fixation duration (p < 0.05), blink rate (trend p = 0.051) and decreased blink duration (p < 0.001) during driving. No significant correlations were observed between biological matrices and performance outcomes. Conclusions: CannEpil impairs select aspects of vehicle control (speed and weaving) over time. Alterations to ocular behaviour suggest that eye tracking may assist in determining cannabis-related driver impairment or intoxication. Australian and New Zealand Clinician Trials Registry, https://anzctr.org. au(ACTRN12619000932167).
Mixed Convection Heat Transfer Analysis in an Enclosure with Two Hot Cylinders: A Lattice Boltzmann Approach

The aim of this work is to study laminar mixed convection heat transfer characteristics within an obstructed enclosure by using the Lattice Boltzmann method. Flow is driven by a top cold lid while other walls are stationary and adiabatic. Hot cylinders are located at different places inside the cavity to explore the best arrangement. Comparison of streamlines, isotherms, average Nusselt number are presented to evaluate the influence of Richardson number and location of cylinders on flow field and heat transfer. Results indicate that heat transfer decreases with a rise of Richardson number for all considered arrays of cylinders. Among them, horizontally-located cylinders at the top of the cavity have the greatest heat transfer at all Richardson numbers. Horizontally located cylinders at the bottom of the cavity have the lowest heat transfer at Richardson numbers of 0.1 and 1 while the lowest heat transfer rate belongs to cross diagonal located cylinders at a Richardson number of 10.
Uncertainty about Uncertainty in Communication

I study the impact of higher order uncertainty on communication outcomes when the sender's (he) preference is unknown to the receiver (she). I show that in every equilibrium, it happens with positive probability that the good sender cannot fully communicate his information, despite his interest is perfectly aligned with the receiver's, and the latter has been convinced about this. Moreover, under a 'contagion condition', the good sender can never fully reveal his information in any equilibrium. Therefore, higher order uncertainty drives a wedge between 'interim common knowledge of common interest' and 'ex ante common knowledge of common interest'. My result puts a caveat on selecting the most informative equilibrium in cheap talk games, and casts question on the robustness of full revelation in presence of higher order uncertainty.
Intestinal activating transcription factor 4 regulates stress-related behavioral alterations via paraventricular thalamus in male mice

Significance Stress and depression are related to intestinal dysfunction. However, the contribution of the intestinal signals to stress-induced behavioral alterations and its mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we found that gut epithelial activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) plays an important role in stress-related behaviors. In mice, intestinal ATF4 deficiency led to reduced peptide trefoil factor 3 levels, which activated paraventricular thalamic glutamatergic neurons to influence stress-related behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of gut signals to the stress-related behavioral alterations and provide possible therapeutic strategies for stress-related behavioral symptoms.
Effects of salt and stress on blood pressure parameters and antioxidant enzyme function in the heart and aorta of borderline hypertensive rats

What is the central question of this study? Although the involvement of reactive oxidative species in triggering hypertension has been documented, there are no data about the role of antioxidant enzymes in the heart and aorta of borderline hypertensive rats kept in baseline conditions or exposed to high salt with or without repeated stress. What is the main finding and its importance? In borderline hypertensive rats, high salt intake and stress contribute significantly to increase blood pressure and antioxidative defence in the aorta but decrease it in the heart. Elucidating the early changes that accompany elevated blood pressure could provide new therapeutical venues for prevention and treatment of the condition.
HYDROMORPHONE MITIGATES CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS-INDUCED ACUTE LUNG INJURY BY REPRESSING PYROPTOSIS OF ALVEOLAR MACROPHAGES

ABSTRACT Introduction: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a devastating pulmonary illness with diffuse inflammatory responses. Hydromorphone (Hyd) is an opioid agonist used for relieving moderate-to-severe pain. The present work investigated the effect of Hyd on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)–induced ALI by regulating pyroptosis of alveolar macrophages (AMs). Methods: Rats were subjected to CPB, followed by Hyd treatment. The lung injury in rat lung tissues was appraised by the ratio of lung wet/dry weight (weight), histological staining, and the total protein concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and lung function was assessed by oxygenation index and respiratory index, and lung macrophage pyroptosis was observed by fluorescence staining. Alveolar macrophages were separated and pyroptosis was determined by western blot assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression patterns of nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2/heme oxygenase 1 (Nrf2/HO-1), nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), N-terminal gasdermin-D, and cleaved caspase-1 were examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and immunohistochemistry assays. The impact of NLRP3 or Nrf2 on pyroptosis of AMs and CPB-induced ALI was observed after treatment of nigericin (NLRP3 agonist) or ML385 (Nrf2 inhibitor). Results: Hyd attenuated CPB-induced lung injury as manifested by reductions in lung inflammation and edema, the scores of lung injury, the ratio of lung wet/dry weight, and the total protein concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Besides, Hyd repressed NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis of AMs after CPB treatment. Hyd upregulated Nrf2/HO-1 expression levels to repress NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis. Treatment of nigericin or ML385 counteracted the role of Hyd in ameliorating pyroptosis of AMs and CPB-induced ALI. Conclusions: Hyd alleviated NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis and CPB-induced ALI via upregulating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, which may be achieved by AMs.
Synthetic biology tools to promote the folding and function of RNA aptamers in mammalian cells

ABSTRACT RNA aptamers are structured RNAs that can bind to diverse ligands, including proteins, metabolites, and other small molecules. RNA aptamers are widely used as in vitro affinity reagents. However, RNA aptamers have not been highly successful as bioactive intracellular molecules that can bind target molecules and influence cellular processes. We describe how poor RNA aptamer expression and especially poor RNA aptamer folding have limited the use of RNA aptamers in RNA synthetic biology applications. We discuss innovative new approaches that promote RNA aptamer folding in living cells and how these approaches have improved the function of aptamers in mammalian cells. These new approaches are making RNA aptamer-based synthetic biology and RNA aptamer therapeutic applications much more achievable.
Founder personality and entrepreneurial outcomes: A large-scale field study of technology startups

Significance Technology startups are essential to the global economy. Yet, predicting their short- and long-term outcomes remains difficult. This is particularly true in the early stages of a venture’s lifecycle when little to no performance data are available. We offer large-scale, ecologically valid evidence for the importance of a startup feature that is available from the moment of conception: founder personality. Our findings suggest that while some traits consistently predict startup outcomes across all stages (i.e., emotional stability), others reverse their associations with entrepreneurial outcomes as the startup matures from conception to exit (i.e., conscientiousness). By doing so, they offer novel insights into the role of founder personality in technology startups.
Design considerations for silicon micro-ring modulators

This submission describes the operational principles of silicon-based Micro Ring resonators (MRRs) for use in optical communication using OOK, particularly with regard to WDM. The importance of accurate device modeling is emphasized. Experimental results are provided for Si MRRs fabricated to provide high extinction ratio and low-insertion loss suitable for operation at a 10Gbps transfer rate.
The Relationship of Anthropometric and Physical Performance Characteristics on Competitive Success in Amateur, Elite, and Professional Rodeo Athletes

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Abstract Oranchuk, DJ, Gullett, LK, Kicia, M, Thome, B, and Game, A. The relationship of anthropometric and physical performance characteristics on competitive success in amateur, elite, and professional rodeo athletes. J Strength Cond Res 37(7): 1495–1506, 2023—Reference anthropometric and physical performance qualities can improve understanding of sporting needs and streamline preparation and rehabilitation programs. However, these data and their relationships with competitive success are absent in rodeo athletes. We hypothesized that riding performance would be most correlated with hip adductor, neck, and grip strength, whereas jump, reactive strength index (RSI), and change of direction abilities would best predict bull-fighting performance. Forty-three amateur (n = 9), professional (n = 23), or internationally ranked (n = 11) male rodeo athletes (bareback = 9, bull riders = 16, saddle bronc = 7, bullfighters = 11) (26.8 ± 5.6 years) volunteered for this study. Anthropometrics included body mass, height, and body fat percentage. Performance measures included isometric hip adduction and abduction, neck flexion and extension, handgrip strength, squat and countermovement jump heights, eccentric utilization ratio, reactive strength index, change of direction, bike sprints, and several pneumatic power measures. Bullfighters were taller and heavier than bull riders (effect size [ES] = 0.84–0.87, p = 0.008–0.017). Bull riders were leaner than bullfighters (ES = 0.74, p = 0.012). Fighters had greater RSI than riders (ES = 0.73–1.47, p < 0.001–0.030). Competitive level of rodeo riders (n = 32) correlated with age, rodeo experience (ρ = 0.37–0.43, p = 0.013–0.049), bent-leg abduction (ρ = 0.43, p = 0.014), straight-leg hip adduction and abduction (ρ = 0.49–0.56, p < 0.001–0.005), neck flexion force (ρ = 0.43, p = 0.016), and rotational power (ρ = 0.50, p = 0.004). The competitive level of the fighters correlated with age (ρ = 0.64, p = 0.036) and time trial performance (ρ = −0.76, p = 0.006). This is the first study providing normative and correlational strength and power performance data in a rodeo population. These data highlight the need for more event-specific physical preparation. Riders should focus their physical preparation on hip and neck strength and rotational power. Bullfighters should prioritize stiffness and anaerobic power.
An improved estimation in stratified random sampling

ABSTRACT The article suggests a class of estimators of population mean in stratified random sampling using auxiliary information with its properties. In addition, various known estimators/classes of estimators are identified as members of the suggested class. It has been shown that the suggested class of estimators under optimum condition performs better than the usual unbiased, usual combined ratio, usual combined regression, Kadilar and Cingi (2005), Singh and Vishwakarma (2006) estimators and the members belonging to the classes of estimators envisaged by Kadilar and Cingi (2003), Singh, Tailor et al. (2008), Singh et al. (2009), Singh and Vishwakarma (2010) and Koyuncu and Kadilar (2010).
Conversion efficiency of flight power is low, but increases with flight speed in the migratory bat Pipistrellus nathusii

The efficiency with which flying animals convert metabolic power to mechanical power dictates an individual's flight behaviour and energy requirements. Despite the significance of this parameter, we lack empirical data on conversion efficiency for most species as in vivo measurements are notoriously difficult to obtain. Furthermore, conversion efficiency is often assumed to be constant across flight speeds, even though the components driving flight power are speed-dependent. We show, through direct measurements of metabolic and aerodynamic power, that conversion efficiency in the migratory bat (Pipistrellus nathusii) increases from 7.0 to 10.4% with flight speed. Our findings suggest that peak conversion efficiency in this species occurs near maximum range speed, where the cost of transport is minimized. A meta-analysis of 16 bird and 8 bat species revealed a positive scaling relationship between estimated conversion efficiency and body mass, with no discernible differences between bats and birds. This has profound consequences for modelling flight behaviour as estimates assuming 23% efficiency underestimate metabolic costs for P. nathusii by almost 50% on average (36–62%). Our findings suggest that conversion efficiency may vary around an ecologically relevant optimum speed and provide a crucial baseline for investigating whether this drives variation in conversion efficiency between species.
Seed size variation impacts local adaptation and life-history strategies in a perennial grass

Seed mass is an ecologically important trait that often differs considerably among ecotypes. Yet, because few studies examine the impacts of seed mass on adult life-history traits, its role in local adaptation is unclear. In this study, using accessions of Panicum hallii that spanned the two major ecotypes, we examined whether covariation between seed mass, seedling and reproductive traits impacts ecotypic divergence and local adaptation. The perennial grass P. hallii has two distinct ecotypes—a large-seeded upland ecotype adapted to xeric environments and a small-seeded lowland ecotype adapted to mesic environments. In the greenhouse, seed mass varied greatly across P. hallii genotypes in a manner consistent with ecotypic divergence. Seed mass covaried significantly with several seedling and reproductive traits. At field sites representing the habitats of the two ecotypes, seed mass had different impacts on seedling and adult recruitment: selection favoured large seeds in upland habitat and small seeds in lowland habitat, which was consistent with local adaptation. By demonstrating the central role of seed mass in ecotypic differences in P. hallii and its importance to seedling and adult recruitment under field conditions, these studies show that early life-history traits can promote local adaptation and potentially explain ecotype formation.