Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sleep deprivation selectively disrupts top–down adaptation to cognitive conflict in the Stroop test

Sleep deprivation is known to exert detrimental effects on various cognitive domains, including attention, vigilance and working memory. Seemingly at odds with these findings, prior studies repeatedly failed to evidence an impact of prior sleep deprivation on cognitive interference in the Stroop test, a hallmark paradigm in the study of cognitive control abilities. The present study investigated further the effect of sleep deprivation on cognitive control using an adapted version of the Stroop test that allows to segregate top–down (attentional reconfiguration on incongruent items) and bottom–up (facilitated processing after repetitions in responses and/or features of stimuli) components of performance. Participants underwent a regular night of sleep or a night of total sleep deprivation before cognitive testing. Results disclosed that sleep deprivation selectively impairs top–down adaptation mechanisms: cognitive control no longer increased upon detection of response conflict at the preceding trial. In parallel, bottom–up abilities were found unaffected by sleep deprivation: beneficial effects of stimulus and response repetitions persisted. Changes in vigilance states due to sleep deprivation selectively impact on cognitive control in the Stroop test by affecting top–down, but not bottom–up, mechanisms that guide adaptive behaviours.
Trade Costs

This paper surveys the measurement of trade costs --- what we know, and what we don't know but may usefully attempt to find out. Partial and incomplete data on direct measures of costs go together with inference on implicit costs from trade flows and prices. Total trade costs in rich countries are large. The ad valorem tax equivalent is about 170% when pushing the data very hard. Poor countries face even higher trade costs. There is a lot of variation across countries and across goods within countries, much of which makes economic sense. Theory looms large in our survey, providing interpretation and perspective on the one hand and suggesting improvements for the future on the other hand. Some new results are presented to apply and interpret gravity theory properly and to handle aggregation appropriately.
Relevant contextual features in XML retrieval

We present and analyze results of a collaborative user study carried out by the Interactive Track at INEX 2005 [4]. The overall goal of the Interactive Track is to investigate the behavior of users when interacting with components of XML documents. In this paper we use the data collected from this user study to investigate dependencies between several contextual features and the structural characteristics of the relevant components (e.g. type and number of relevant elements). The three contextual features analyzed are the user's familiarity with the topic, the request's type, and the user's motivation to perform the search. The dependencies found indicate that XML retrieval systems should also benefit from the use of contextual information.
Mild Renal Dysfunction and Subclinical Cardiovascular Damage in Primary Hypertension

Abstract—The presence of mild renal dysfunction is associated with high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rates in patients with primary hypertension. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this association are currently unknown. We investigated the relation between mild renal dysfunction and subclinical cardiovascular organ damage in 358 never previously treated patients with primary hypertension. Mild renal dysfunction was defined as a creatinine clearance <60 mL/min and/or the presence of microalbuminuria. Left ventricular mass index and carotid intima-media thickness were assessed by ultrasound scan. The prevalence of mild renal dysfunction, left ventricular hypertrophy, and carotid plaque was 18%, 48%, and 28%, respectively. Mild renal dysfunction was related to the presence of several risk factors, such as older age, higher blood pressure levels and lipid status, and smoking habits. Patients with the highest left ventricular mass and carotid intima-media thickness (upper quartiles) showed a higher prevalence of mild renal dysfunction (P <0.0001). After adjusting for duration of hypertension, mean blood pressure, smoking habits, and age, we found that the risk of left ventricular hypertrophy and/or carotid atherosclerosis increased by 43% with each SD reduction in creatinine clearance, and by 89% with each SD increase in albuminuria. Mild renal dysfunction is associated with preclinical end-organ damage in patients with primary hypertension. These data may help explain the high cardiovascular mortality rates reported in patients with low glomerular filtration rate or with increased albuminuria. The evaluation of creatinine clearance and urinary albumin excretion could be useful for identifying subjects at higher cardiovascular risk.
VARIASI PENAMBAHAN GLISERIN DAN ASAM ASETAT TERHADAP KUALITAS FISIK PLASTIK BIODEGRADABLE DARIPATI GADUNG (Dioscorea hispida Dennts)

The purpose of this research is to make biodegradable plastic from gadung starch and to know the effect of adding variation of gliceryn and acetic acid to make biodegradable plastic from gadung starch. Biodegradable plastic is plastic that will decompose in nature with the help of microorganisms. The use of starch as the main material of plastic manufacturing has great potential because in Indonesia there are many variety of starch plant. This research used gadung starch as raw material, glicerin as plasticizer, acetic acid, HCl, and NaOH. The concentration of gliceryn were various such as 1-5ml, and acetic acid 1ml, 3ml, dan 5ml. The result of this research were sheets of plastic that had been observed, the optimum condition for swelling was 1:5 gliceryn:acetic acid, and optimum condition of degradation was 1:1 glyceryn:acetic acid. Kata kunci : biodegradable, gadung starch, gliceryn, plastic, Acetic acid.
Reliability of all-to-all broadcast with network coding

Wireless communication is notoriously lossy due to channel fading, interference and multi-path effects. This work investigates the reliability of all-to-all broadcast in lossy wireless networks where the reliability is measured by the probability that every node in the network receives or decodes the native packet of every other node. To improve the reliability, a novel network coding scheme, namely random neighbour network coding (RNNC) scheme is proposed, which is capable of adaptively generating encoding packets according to the packets received from lossy wireless channels. The network reliability is analysed theoretically and the optimal RNNC scheme that maximises the reliability of a given network is obtained. The theoretical analysis is validated using simulations and it is shown that RNNC can improve the network reliability significantly.
Different effection of p.1125Val>Ala and rs11954856 in APC on Wnt signaling pathway

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most common and fatal forms of solid tumors worldwide and more than two thirds of CRC and adenomas patients have APC gene mutations. APC is a key regulator in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway but its roles in CRC remains to be elucidated. In this study, we compared APC genes between CRC patients and controls to determine possible associations of nucleotide changes in the APC gene with the pathways involved in CRC pathogenesis. All participants received physical and enteroscopic examinations. The APC gene was sequenced for 300 Chinese Han CRC patients and 411 normal controls, and the expression levels of genes in the signaling pathway were analyzed using Western Blotting. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS (version 19.0) software. We found that rs11954856 in the APC gene was associated with colorectal cancer and could increase the expression levels of APC, β-catenin, TCF7L1, TCF7L2 and LEF1 genes in the pathway in the CRC patients, demonstrating the involvement of APC in the pathological processes leading to CRC.
Stock Market Information Production and Executive Incentives

This paper investigates the effect of stock market microstructure on managerial compensation schemes. We propose and empirically demonstrate that the sensitivity of chief executive officer's (CEO's) compensations to changes in stockholders' value is higher when the stock market facilitates the production and aggregation of private or public information. Using stock trading data and analysts' earnings forecast data, we construct five different measures of the information content in stock prices. These measures, separately and jointly, account for the cross-sectional variations in CEO pay-performance sensitivity well. Our results are robust to the choice of samples, incentive measures, model specifications, and estimation methods. We extend the analysis to non-CEO executives and executive teams and find similar results.
Algorithms for local sensor synchronization

In a wireless sensor network (WSN), each sensor monitors environmental parameters, and reports its readings to a base station, possibly through other nodes. A sensor works in cycles, in each of which it stays active for a fixed duration, and then sleeps until the next cycle. The frequency of such cycles determines the portion of time that a sensor is active, and is the dominant factor on its battery life. The majority of existing work assumes globally synchronized WSN where all sensors have the same frequency. This leads to waste of battery power for applications that entail different accuracy of measurements, or environments where sensor readings have large variability. To overcome this problem, we propose LS, a query processing framework for locally synchronized WSN. We consider that each sensor ni has a distinct sampling frequency fi, which is determined by the application or environment requirements. The complication of LS is that ni has to wake up with a network frequency Fi≥fi, in order to forward messages of other sensors. Our goal is to minimize the sum of Fi without delaying packet transmissions. Specifically, given a routing tree, we first present a dynamic programming algorithm that computes the optimal network frequency of each sensor; then, we develop a heuristic for finding the best tree topology, if this is not fixed in advance.
An Active SLAM Approach for Autonomous Navigation of Nonholonomic Vehicles

In this paper we propose a new approach for active SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) of nonholonomic vehicles. Both the environment and the vehicle model are unknown in advance, thus the path planner uses reinforcement learning to acquire the vehicle model, which is estimated by a reduced set of transitions. At the same time, the vehicle explores the environment creating a consistent map through optimal path motion. The mapping is represented by sets of ordered and weighted data points, named objects, that provide some advantages with respect to conventional methods. In order to guide the navigation and to build a map of the environment the planner employs a three-dimensional controller based on the concept of virtual wall following. Both simulation and experimental results are reported to show the satisfactory performance of the method.
Capri: A Control System for Approximate Programs

Approximate computing trades off accuracy of results for resources such as energy or computing time. There is a large and rapidly growing literature on approximate computing that has focused mostly on showing the benefits of approximation. However, we know relatively little about how to control approximation in a disciplined way. This document briefly describes our published work of controlling approximation for non-streaming programs that have a set of "knobs" that can be dialed up or down to control the level of approximation of different components in the program. The proposed system, Capri, solves this control problem as a constrained optimization problem. Capri uses machine learning to learn cost and error models for the program, and uses these models to determine, for a desired level of approximation, knob settings that optimize metrics such as running time or energy usage. Experimental results with complex benchmarks from different problem domains demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. This report outlines improvements and extensions to the existing Capri system to address its limitations, including a complete rewrite of the software, and discusses directions for follow up work. The document also includes instructions and guidelines for using the new Capri infrastructure.
Genome-Wide Association Meta-analysis of Neuropathologic Features of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias are a major public health challenge and present a therapeutic imperative for which we need additional insight into molecular pathogenesis. We performed a genome-wide association study and analysis of known genetic risk loci for AD dementia using neuropathologic data from 4,914 brain autopsies. Neuropathologic data were used to define clinico-pathologic AD dementia or controls, assess core neuropathologic features of AD (neuritic plaques, NPs; neurofibrillary tangles, NFTs), and evaluate commonly co-morbid neuropathologic changes: cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), Lewy body disease (LBD), hippocampal sclerosis of the elderly (HS), and vascular brain injury (VBI). Genome-wide significance was observed for clinico-pathologic AD dementia, NPs, NFTs, CAA, and LBD with a number of variants in and around the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE). GalNAc transferase 7 (GALNT7), ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family G (WHITE), Member 1 (ABCG1), and an intergenic region on chromosome 9 were associated with NP score; and Potassium Large Conductance Calcium-Activated Channel, Subfamily M, Beta Member 2 (KCNMB2) was strongly associated with HS. Twelve of the 21 non-APOE genetic risk loci for clinically-defined AD dementia were confirmed in our clinico-pathologic sample: CR1, BIN1, CLU, MS4A6A, PICALM, ABCA7, CD33, PTK2B, SORL1, MEF2C, ZCWPW1, and CASS4 with 9 of these 12 loci showing larger odds ratio in the clinico-pathologic sample. Correlation of effect sizes for risk of AD dementia with effect size for NFTs or NPs showed positive correlation, while those for risk of VBI showed a moderate negative correlation. The other co-morbid neuropathologic features showed only nominal association with the known AD loci. Our results discovered new genetic associations with specific neuropathologic features and aligned known genetic risk for AD dementia with specific neuropathologic changes in the largest brain autopsy study of AD and related dementias.
Heat shock factor‐4 (HSF‐4a) is a repressor of HSF‐1 mediated transcription *

Heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) regulate the expression of heat shock proteins and other molecular chaperones that are involved in cellular processes from higher order assembly to protein degradation and apoptosis. Among the human HSFs, HSF‐4 is expressed as at least two splice variants. One isoform (HSF‐4b) possesses a transcriptional activation domain, but this region is absent in the other isoform (HSF‐4a). We have recently shown that the HSF‐4a isoform represses basal transcription from heterologous promoters both in vitro and in vivo. Here we show that HSF‐4a and HSF‐4b have dramatically different effects on HSF‐1‐containing nuclear bodies, which form after heat shock. While the expression of HSF‐4b colocalizes with nuclear granules, the expression of HSF‐4a prevents their formation. In addition, there is a concurrent reduction of HSF‐1 in the nucleus, and there is reduction in its DNA binding activity and in HSE‐dependent transcription of a reporter gene. To better understand the mechanism by which HSF‐4a represses transcription, we inducibly expressed HSF‐4a in cells and found that HSF‐4a binds to the heat shock element (HSE) during attenuation of the heat shock response. Thus HSF‐4a is an active repressor of HSF‐1‐mediated transcription. This repressor function makes the HSF‐4a isoform unique within the HSF family. J. Cell. Biochem. 82: 692–703, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On the magnitude of parameters of RBMs being universal approximators

This paper concentrates on the magnitude of parameters of restricted Boltzmann machines (RBMs) being universal approximators. It is known that when an RMB is used to compute a probability distribution with sufficient high accuracy, the magnitude of its parameters must tends to infinite unless the probability has a positive lower bound. In this paper, for any given error and probability, we provide a bound, by which there exits an RBM computing the the probability up to the error with parameters bounded. And the bound depends on the error and the input probability.
Learning a Macroscopic Model of Cultural Dynamics

A fundamental open question that has been studied by sociologists since the 70s and recently started being addressed by the computer-science community is the understanding of the role that influence and selection play in shaping the evolution of socio-cultural systems. Quantifying these forces in real settings is still a big challenge, especially in the large-scale case in which the entire social network between the users may not be known, and only longitudinal data in terms of masses of cultural groups (e.g., political affiliation, product adoption, market share, cultural tastes) may be available. We propose an influence and selection model encompassing an explicit characterization of the feature space for the different cultural groups in the form of a natural equation-based macroscopic model, following the approach of Kempe et al. [EC 2013]. Our main goal is to estimate edge influence strengths and selection parameters from an observed time series. To do an experimental evaluation on real data, we perform learning on real datasets from Last. FM and Wikipedia.
From Object‐Z specifications to ClassBench test suites

This paper describes a method for specification‐based class testing that incorporates test case generation, execution, and evaluation based on formal specifications. This work builds on previous achievements in the areas of specification‐based testing and class testing by integrating the two within a single framework. The initial step of the method is to generate test templates for individual operations from a specification written in the Object‐Z specification language. These test templates are combined to produce a finite state machine for the class that is used as the basis for test case execution using the ClassBench test execution framework. An oracle derived from the Object‐Z specification is used to evaluate the outputs. The method is explained using a simple example and its application to a more substantial case study is also discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cardioprotective effects of KBR 7943 : a novel inhibitor of the reverse mode of Na 1 / Ca 2 1 exchanger

Ladilov, Y. , S. Haffner, C. Balser-Schäfer, H. Maxeiner, and H. M. Piper. Cardioprotective effects of KB-R7943: a novel inhibitor of the reverse mode of Na1/Ca21 exchanger. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 45): H1868–H1876, 1999. —The novel inhibitor of the reverse mode of the Na1/ Ca21 exchanger (NCE) KB-R7943 (KB) was tested in isolated rat cardiomyocytes exposed to 80 min of simulated ischemia [substrate-free anoxia, extracellular pH (pHo) of 6.4] and 15 min of reoxygenation (pHo 7.4). At pHo 6.4, 20 μmol/l KB was required for complete inhibition of the reverse mode of NCE. Treatment with 20 μmol/l KB only during anoxia did not influence the onset of rigor contracture and intracellular pH (pHi) (monitored with 28,78-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein) but significantly reduced the cytosolic accumulation of Ca21 (monitored with fura 2) and Na1 (monitored with sodium-binding benzofuran isophthalate). During reoxygenation, cardiomyocytes developed hypercontracture. This was significantly reduced by anoxic KB treatment. To investigate this protection against reoxygenation-induced injury in the whole heart, we exposed Langendorff-perfused rat hearts to 110 min of anoxia (pHo 6.4) and 50 min of reoxygenation (pHo 7.4). Application of 20 μmol/l KB during anoxia significantly reduced the reoxygenation-induced enzyme release. We conclude that KB offers significant protection of cardiomyocytes against Ca21 and Na1 overload during anoxia and hypercontracture or enzyme release on reoxygenation.
Role of the chemokines RANTES, monocyte chemotactic proteins‐3 and ‐4, and eotaxins‐1 and ‐2 in childhood asthma

Eosinophil recruitment into the airways is a feature of asthma in children. However, the mechanisms by which these cells migrate into the airways are not fully understood. The present study investigated the presence of the eosinophil-activating chemokines regulated on activation, normal T‐cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCP)‐3 and ‐4, and eotaxins‐1 and ‐2 in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid obtained from both asthmatic (n=10, age 6–10 yrs) and normal children (n=10, age 5–10 yrs). Measurements of chemokines in BAL fluid showed that levels of RANTES, MCPs‐3 and ‐4, and eotaxins‐1 and ‐2 were significantly increased in fluid obtained from asthmatic children when compared with normal children. Among the different chemokines, RANTES was the cytokine released in greatest quantities in BAL fluid from asthmatic children. There was a significant correlation between the concentrations of MCP‐4 and eosinophil numbers in BAL fluid and a trend between both chemokines MCP‐3 and eotaxin‐2 and eosinophils. Interestingly, the levels of most chemokines correlated with one another. These findings suggest that RANTES monocyte chemotactic proteins‐3 and ‐4, and eotaxins‐1 and ‐2 may regulate eosinophil trafficking into the airways of asthmatic children in a coordinated manner.
The Effect of Nanosilica Extracted from Sugarcane Bagasse on Formulation of Flat Sheet Nanofiltration Membrane

Today, nanosilica finds use in a variety of different areas such as biomedical, pharmaceutical, polymer, cosmetic, concrete, environmental and material applications. This work presented a laboratory studies on the preparation and extraction of nanosilica from sugarcane bagasse ash by precipitation method. The morphological analysis of sugarcane bagasse nanosilica (SCBN) was carrying out to be used as the additive in formulation of nanofiltration flat sheet membrane. Flat sheet membrane was fabricated via phase inversion technique. The effect of SCBN on the surface properties were observed and investigated. Membrane cross-section area and SCBN distribution were determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The analysis of SEM shows that the addition of different percentage of SCBN apparently changed the surface structure of the membrane particularly at sub layer and top layer. The performance of membranes was measured using flux pure water test and NaCl rejection test. The results indicate that the addition of 3% SCBN give the best rejection of 75.35 % and 42.65 L/mhr water flux.