Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward a Cognitive Neural Prosthesis Using Focused Ultrasound

Non-invasive brain stimulation using focused ultrasound has many potential applications as a research and clinical tool, including its incorporation as either an extracorporeal or implantable neural prosthetic. To this end, we investigated the effect of focused ultrasound (FUS) combined with systemically administered microbubbles on visual-motor decision-making behavior in monkeys. We applied FUS to the putamen in one hemisphere to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and then tested behavioral performance 3–4 h later. On days when the monkeys were treated with FUS, their decisions were faster and more accurate than days without sonication. The performance improvement suggested both a shift in the decision criterion and an enhancement of the use of sensory evidence in the decision process. FUS also interacted with the effect of a low dose of haloperidol. The findings indicate that a two-minute application of FUS can have a sustained impact on performance of complex cognitive tasks, and may increase the efficacy of psychoactive medications. The results lend further support to the idea that the dorsal striatum plays an integral role in evidence- and reward-based decision-making, and provide motivation for incorporating FUS into cognitive neural prosthetic devices.
Lateral gene transfer and the evolution of plastid-targeted proteins in the secondary plastid-containing alga Bigelowiella natans

Chlorarachniophytes are amoeboflagellate algae that acquired photosynthesis secondarily by engulfing a green alga and retaining its plastid (chloroplast). An important consequence of secondary endosymbiosis in chlorarachniophytes is that most of the nuclear genes encoding plastid-targeted proteins have moved from the nucleus of the endosymbiont to the host nucleus. We have sequenced and analyzed 83 cDNAs encoding 78 plastid-targeted proteins from the model chlorarachniophyte Bigelowiella natans (formerly Chlorarachnion sp. CCMP621). Phylogenies inferred from the majority of these genes are consistent with a chlorophyte green algal origin. However, a significant number of genes (≈21%) show signs of having been acquired by lateral gene transfer from numerous other sources: streptophyte algae, red algae (or algae with red algal endosymbionts), as well as bacteria. The chlorarachniophyte plastid proteome may therefore be regarded as a mosaic derived from various organisms in addition to the ancestral chlorophyte plastid. In contrast, the homologous genes from the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii do not show any indications of lateral gene transfer. This difference is likely a reflection of the mixotrophic nature of Bigelowiella (i.e., it is photosynthetic and phagotrophic), whereas Chlamydomonas is strictly autotrophic. These results underscore the importance of lateral gene transfer in contributing foreign proteins to eukaryotic cells and their organelles, and also suggest that its impact can vary from lineage to lineage.
Immunohistochemical study of immunological markers: HLAG, CD16, CD25, CD56 and CD68 in placenta tissues in recurrent pregnancy loss.

INTRODUCTION Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) of unknown etiology is correlated with immunological alterations during pregnancy. Normally, changes in leukocyte subpopulations and HLA expression take place in pregnant uterus in order to tolerate the semi-allogenic embryo. OBJECTIVE Our research tries to enlighten the immunological changes that take place in the uterus of women with recurrent abortions of unknown etiology during first trimester of pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS The miscarriage group was obtained from 25 women who miscarried between the ages of 35 to 42 years and controls consisted of 25 healthy women between the ages of 27 to 39 years, who had electively terminated their pregnancies during the first trimester of pregnancy. The abortion was processed and specimens taken were studied using immunohistochemical methods. Specimens were taken from decidua basalis and decidua parietalis. Monoclonal antibodies were used against HLAG (Human Leukocyte Antigen G), CD68( Cluster of Differentiation 68), CD56, CD16 and CD25. The results were statistically analysed with Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS HLA-G expression in decidua basalis from miscarriage group was found to be decreased. CD25+ cell expression was found to be invariable in deciduas from both groups. CD16+ cell and CD68 + cell expression was found to be increased in deciduas from the miscarriage group. CD56+ cell expression was found to be increased in decidua parietalis from miscarriage group. Conclusion : Several differences in the immunological profile of deciduas from RPL group were observed. Changes in feto-protective HLA-G expression and a possible implication of macrophages and NK cells were found.
General ethical judgments, perceived organizational support, interactional justice, and workplace deviance

This study focused on the relationships between individual differences in ethical judgments and workplace deviance. In addition, the moderating roles of perceived organizational support (POS) and interactional justice (IJ) on the relationships were investigated. The results indicated that the judgments of actively benefiting from illegal activities and passively benefiting at the expense of others were positively related to interpersonal and organizational deviance. The judgments of actively benefiting from questionable actions were positively related to interpersonal deviance only. For the moderating effects, the higher the POS, the weaker the influence of the judgments of actively benefiting from questionable actions on interpersonal deviance; the higher the IJ that an employee perceived, the weaker the influence of the judgments of passively benefiting at the expense of others on interpersonal deviance. Some managerial implications were also discussed.
Dual effects of 5-HT4 receptor activation on GABA release from guinea pig hippocampal slices

The effects of BIMU-8, a 5-HT4 receptor agonist, were studied on GABA release in guinea pig hippocampal slices. BIMU-8 did not modify GABA outflow at rest but did display a complex action in electrically stimulated slices: at low concentrations it increased, and at higher concentrations inhibited, GABA release. These responses were competitively counteracted by GR 125487, a selective 5-HT4 receptor antagonist. The dual effects of BIMU-8 are consistent with its indirect cholinergic action since the M1 and M3 antagonist, 4-DAMP, prevented BIMU-8-elicited GABA facilitation, whereas the M2 antagonist AFDX-116 cancelled GABA inhibition. These results provide evidence that serotonin exerts a complex modulation on the GABAergic system, via 5-HT4 receptors, and suggest that the amine releases acetylcholine which, in turn, bidirectionally modulates GABA release.
Ten‐year survival and cardiovascular mortality in patients with advanced prostate cancer primarily treated by intramuscular polyestradiol phosphate or orchiectomy

The aim of the study was to evaluate overall and prostate cancer (PCa) specific survival with special attention to cardiovascular (CV) mortality in patients primarily treated by parenteral polyestradiol phosphate (PEP) 240 mg/month or with orchiectomy (OE), taking into account the effect of pretreatment diseases and medication, and later PCa therapies.
Large Shareholder's Heterogeneity and Loss Reversal of Listed Companies—Evidences Based on Loss Listed Companies in China from 2005 to 2008

This paper studies the effect of the heterogeneity of major shareholders of listed companies in China on the lossreversibility after they occur loss.The empirical results show that in the sample of all the losses listed companies,the extent of loss reversal occurred of non-controlling shareholders of listed companies after loss wassignificantly higher than the losses listed companies of controlling shareholders, that have dispersed ownershipand validity checks and balances to shareholders of listed companies to make proactive in losses after losses, buteven larger losses reversed, the losses of state-owned controlling shareholders of listed companies and the lossof other listed companies, the largest shareholder of the loss of state property, the largest shareholder of listedcompanies and the loss of other property companies listed on the extent of the loss is not significantly reversed.
Aberrant Assembly of RNA Recognition Motif 1 Links to Pathogenic Conversion of TAR DNA-binding Protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43)*

Background: The role of RRM1 in the pathogenesis of TDP-43 proteinopathy is unclear. Results: RRM1 was aggregate-prone, mediated by a self-assembly at newly identified amyloidogenic β-strands containing cysteines; cysteine substitution(s) replicated diverse cytopathologies of TDP-43 in ALS. Conclusion: RRM1 misfolding may underlie TDP-43 proteinopathy. Significance: This study proposes a novel mechanism and a new in vitro model for TDP-43 proteinopathy. Aggregation of TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) is a pathological signature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) in TDP-43 proteinopathy, it remains unclear how native TDP-43 is converted to pathogenic forms. To elucidate the role of homeostasis of RRM1 structure in ALS pathogenesis, conformations of RRM1 under high pressure were monitored by NMR. We first found that RRM1 was prone to aggregation and had three regions showing stable chemical shifts during misfolding. Moreover, mass spectrometric analysis of aggregated RRM1 revealed that one of the regions was located on protease-resistant β-strands containing two cysteines (Cys-173 and Cys-175), indicating that this region served as a core assembly interface in RRM1 aggregation. Although a fraction of RRM1 aggregates comprised disulfide-bonded oligomers, the substitution of cysteine(s) to serine(s) (C/S) resulted in unexpected acceleration of amyloid fibrils of RRM1 and disulfide-independent aggregate formation of full-length TDP-43. Notably, TDP-43 aggregates with RRM1-C/S required the C terminus, and replicated cytopathologies of ALS, including mislocalization, impaired RNA splicing, ubiquitination, phosphorylation, and motor neuron toxicity. Furthermore, RRM1-C/S accentuated inclusions of familial ALS-linked TDP-43 mutants in the C terminus. The relevance of RRM1-C/S-induced TDP-43 aggregates in ALS pathogenesis was verified by immunolabeling of inclusions of ALS patients and cultured cells overexpressing the RRM1-C/S TDP-43 with antibody targeting misfolding-relevant regions. Our results indicate that cysteines in RRM1 crucially govern the conformation of TDP-43, and aberrant self-assembly of RRM1 at amyloidogenic regions contributes to pathogenic conversion of TDP-43 in ALS.
Impact analysis of time-delay and data dropout on three-phase inverter parallel operation with networked control

In this paper, a kind of networked control of power-sharing for inverter parallel operation is presented. To increase the participation of communication and improve the system performance, both autonomous mode and master-slave of communication mode in networked control are investigated. Nevertheless, communication actions may bring some unpredictable outcome due to the negative factors such as time-delay and data dropouts during the transmission. The theoretical and experimental methods are proposed to investigate the impact of these factors on system stability and performance. The experimental results show that the networked control proposed in this paper has strong robustness against the disturbances inherently exists in communications.
Organizational Flexibility and Cooperative Task Allocation among Agents

We compare rigid and flexible organizations when side contracting among agents is possible. Within a rigid organization, each agent can produce only one component of the final product, whereas within a flexible organization, the agents can reallocate their tasks during the production period. In our model, the principal can only observe the joint output produced by the agents. Our analysis reveals that within a flexible organization, side transfers are exchanged between the agents in equilibrium, and not only an efficient agent but also an inefficient agent may acquire a rent. Yet, the principal's payoff is higher when the organization is flexible, as the agents' rent-seeking behavior generates a more efficient production technology.
High-Gain Circularly Polarized Microstrip Patch Antenna With Loading of Shorting Pins

A single-fed microstrip patch antenna (MPA) with loading of shorting pins for high-gain circularly polarized (CP) radiation is proposed in this paper. Two sets of metallic pins are symmetrically placed along the two orthogonal diagonals of a square patch radiator at first. Due to the shunt inductive effect brought by these shorting pins, the resonant frequency of the dominant mode in this MPA is progressively tuned up so as to enlarge the electrical size of this pin-loaded patch resonator and to enhance its radiation directivity. After the optimal loading position is investigated for maximum directivity of linear polarization, one pair of the inner pins is slightly shifted in an offset to properly separate the two degenerate modes, so that the CP radiation can be excited. Moreover, upon request, either left-handed or right-handed circular polarization can be obtained by means of different position-offset scheme of the inner pins along the diagonals. After extensive analysis is executed, two equal-size CP MPAs with and without shorting pins are fabricated and tested. Simulated and measured results show good agreement and demonstrate that the CP directivity is enhanced from 8.0 (conventional MPA) to 10.8 dBic, indicating a 2.8-dB increment by means of the proposed approach.
Multi-trait Selection, Adaptation, and Constraints on the Evolution of Burst Swimming Performance1

Abstract Whole organism performance represents the integration of numerous physiological, morphological, and behavioral traits. How adaptive changes in performance evolve therefore requires an understanding of how selection acts on multiple integrated traits. Two approaches that lend themselves to studying the evolution of performance in natural populations are the use of quantitative genetics models for estimating the strength of selection acting on multiple quantitative traits and ecological genetic comparisons of populations exhibiting phenotypic differences correlated with environmental variation. In both cases, the ultimate goal is to understand how suites of traits and trade-offs between competing functions respond to natural selection. Here we consider how these two complimentary approaches can be applied to study the adaptive evolution of escape performance in fish. We first present an extension of Arnold's (1983) quantitative genetic approach that explicitly considers how trade-offs between different components of performance interact with the underlying genetics. We propose that such a model can reveal the conditions under which multiple selection pressures will cause adaptive change in traits that influence more than one component of fitness. We then review work on the Atlantic silversides and Trinidadian guppies as two case studies where an ecological genetics approach has been successfully applied to evaluate how the evolution of escape performance trades-off with other components of fitness. We conclude with the general lesson that whole organism performance is embedded in a complex phenotype, and that the net outcome of selection acting on different aspects of the organism will often result in a compromise among competing influences.
Effective AP Association in SDWN Based on Signal Strength and Occupancy Rate

The association of wireless clients based on the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) does not necessarily result in better network performance. An Access Point (AP), even presenting high signal level to clients, can be so congested that a new association degrades network performance. By using the Software Defined Wireless Networking (SDWN) paradigm, this work presents a centralized solution to the problem of AP selection. It is based on client's RSSI and also on the occupancy rate, through a Scoring Matrix that allows APs to increase their flows. Joining clients into an AP with the highest score results in increased overall network performance, as confirmed by testing. The major contribuition of this work was a heuristic of efficient association with AP. Its additional contribution was the methodology used to generate the Scoring Matrix itself.
Current Account Imbalances in ASEAN Countries: Are They a Problem?

Applying a consumption-smoothing model to five ASEAN countries reveals that excessive private consumption has not tended to characterize their widening external imbalances in recent years, except to a small degree in Indonesia and Malaysia. Beyond consumption smoothing, however, a number of factors influence the desirability of running large external deficits, including the level and composition of external liabilities, the flexibility of macroeconomic policies, and the health of banking systems. Even when the current account deficit appears sustainable, there is a case to reduce them in order to lower the risks arising from such factors.
A Reconfigurable Polarization Converter Using Active Metasurface and Its Application in Horn Antenna

This paper proposes a reconfigurable polarization converter based on a p-i-n diode controlled active metasurface (AMS). The AMS consists of a thin dielectric substrate and is tuned by two identical layers of elliptic split rings loaded with p-i-n diodes. The p-i-n diodes are positioned between the split gaps and biased through the interconnected elliptic split rings without extra bias network. The active design achieves conversion from linear to circular polarization when the p-i-n diodes are OFF, whereas no conversion takes place when the diodes are ON. A prototype of the proposed design is fabricated, and the operational characteristics are measured. Both the simulated and the experimental results verify the viability of the design. Subsequently, the converter is applied to a linearly polarized horn antenna as a superstrate, making the polarization of the antenna reconfigurable.
Expression changes in EZH2, but not in BMI-1, SIRT1, DNMT1 or DNMT3B are associated with DNA methylation changes in prostate cancer

The polycomb proteins BMI-1, EZH2, and SIRT1 are characteristic components of the PRC1, PRC2, and PRC4 repressor complexes, respectively, that modify chromatin. Moreover, EZH2 may influence DNA methylation by direct interaction with DNA methyltransferases. EZH2 expression increases during prostate cancer progression, whereas BMI-1 and SIRT1 are not well investigated. Like EZH2 expression, DNA methylation alterations escalate in higher stage prostate cancers, raising the question whether these epigenetic changes are related. Expression of EZH2, BMI-1, SIRT1, and the DNA methyltransferases DNMT1 and DNMT3B measured by qRT-PCR in 47 primary prostate cancers was compared to APC, ASC, GSTP1, RARB2, and RASSF1A hypermethylation and LINE-1 hypomethylation. SIRT1 and DNMT3B were overexpressed in cancerous over benign tissues, whereas BMI-1 was rather downregulated and DNMT1 significantly diminished. Nevertheless, cancers with higher DNMT1 and BMI-1 expression had worse clinical characteristics, as did those with elevated EZH2. In particular, above median DNMT1 expression predicted a worse prognosis. EZH2 and SIRT1 overexpression were well correlated with increased MKI67. Immunohistochemistry confirmed limited EZH2 and heterogeneous DNMT3B overexpression and explained the decrease in BMI-1 by pronounced heterogeneity among tumor cells. EZH2 overexpression, specifically among all factors investigated, was associated with more frequent hypermethylation, in particular of GSTP1 and RARB2, and also with LINE-1 hypomethylation. Our data reveal complex changes in the composition of polycomb repressor complexes in prostate cancer. Heterogeneously expressed BMI-1 and slightly increased EZH2 may characterize less malignant cancers, whereas more aggressive cases express both at higher levels. SIRT1 appears to be generally increased in prostate cancers. Intriguingly, our data suggest a direct influence of increased EZH2 on altered DNA methylation patterns in prostate cancer.
Stealth mechanism analysis of the Phase-Modulated Surface

There are two stealth mechanisms of conventional radar absorbing materials, which operate either by phase cancellation or by absorbing incident electromagnetic energy and converting it to heat. A novel microwave absorber is presented in this paper, called Phase-Modulated Surface (PMS). The PMS differs from passive radar absorbing materials, which does not absorb any electromagnetic energy, but makes a frequency spectrum excursion of reflected wave, so that most electromagnetic energy falls out of pass-band of the receiver. The PMS is a single layer structure based on the topology of a Salisbury screen, while in which the conventional resistive layer is replaced by a switchable impedance sheet. In this paper, the PMS will be analyzed by frequency spectrum and reflectivity.
Consumer Reaction to Beef Safety Scares

This study examines the impact of two beef safety scares on retail-level meat per capita consumption and prices in Japan. The objective is to investigate the Japanese consumer reactions to the news of FMD and BSE discoveries, as reflected in the quantity and price changes in the immediate neighborhood of each event. Better understanding of consumer reactions to beef safety scares helps the beef industry restore consumer confidence after food safety crises and provides opportunities for national-level product differentiation based on beef quality and traceability.
Bank efficiency and share performance: evidence from Greece

This article examines for the first time the association between the efficiency of Greek banks and their share price performance. Our analysis consists of three parts. First, we calculate the annual share price returns of the banks for each year between 2001 and 2005. Then we use data envelopment analysis to estimate the efficiency of the banks between 2000 and 2005. Finally, we regress the annual share price returns over the annual change of efficiency while controlling for changes in banks’ size and risk. We find that the average technical efficiency under constant returns to scale is 0.931 and increases to 0.977 under variable returns to scale, resulting in a scale efficiency of 0.953. The regression results indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between annual changes in technical efficiency and stock returns, while changes in scale efficiency have no impact on stock returns.
Are Healthy Foods Really More Expensive? It Depends on How You Measure the Price

Most Americans consume diets that do not meet Federal dietary recommendations. A common explanation is that healthier foods are more expensive than less healthy foods. To investigate this assumption, the authors compare prices of healthy and less healthy foods using three different price metrics: the price of food energy ($/calorie), the price of edible weight ($/100 edible grams), and the price of an average portion ($/average portion). They also calculate the cost of meeting the recommendations for each food group. For all metrics except the price of food energy, the authors find that healthy foods cost less than less healthy foods (defined for this study as foods that are high in saturated fat, added sugar, and/or sodium, or that contribute little to meeting dietary recommendations).