Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The big g‐factor of national cognitive ability

The response deals with several controversial issues: theoretical concepts of cognitive abilities, their cultural relativity in definition or level, the meaning and validity of national cognitive ability, methodological questions like the ecological fallacy, the variance of intelligence at different levels of observation, multi‐level analysis, the correctness and importance of levels of analysis in cognitive‐ability research, the aggregation and adjustment process, and the similarities of different cognitive assessment approaches. Central to this research are questions of causality (the causes and consequences of national cognitive‐ability homogeneity and level), of malleability of these levels, and of ethical and political consequences of intelligence research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Baroreflex Sensitivity and Heart Rate Variability in the Identification of Patients at Risk for Life-Threatening Arrhythmias: Implications for Clinical Trials

BackgroundThe need for accurate risk stratification is heightened by the expanding indications for the implantable cardioverter defibrillator. The Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT) focused interest on patients with both depressed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the presence of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT). Meanwhile, the prospective study Autonomic Tone and Reflexes After Myocardial Infarction (ATRAMI) demonstrated that markers of reduced vagal activity, such as depressed baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and heart rate variability (HRV), are strong predictors of cardiac mortality after myocardial infarction. Methods and ResultsWe analyzed 1071 ATRAMI patients after myocardial infarction who had data on LVEF, 24-hour ECG recording, and BRS. During follow-up (21±8 months), 43 patients experienced cardiac death, 5 patients had episodes of sustained VT, and 30 patients experienced sudden death and/or sustained VT. NSVT, depressed BRS, or HRV were all significantly and independently associated with increased mortality. The combination of all 3 risk factors increased the risk of death by 22×. Among patients with LVEF<35%, despite the absence of NSVT, depressed BRS predicted higher mortality (18% versus 4.6%, P =0.01). This is a clinically important finding because this group constitutes 25% of all patients with depressed LVEF. For both cardiac and arrhythmic mortality, the sensitivity of low BRS was higher than that of NSVT and HRV. ConclusionsBRS and HRV contribute importantly and additionally to risk stratification. Particularly when LVEF is depressed, the analysis of BRS identifies a large number of patients at high risk for cardiac and arrhythmic mortality who might benefit from implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy without disproportionately increasing the number of false-positives.
Gender Homophily and Segregation Within Neighborhoods

Homophily generates segregation, reducing diversity in peer groups and leading to narrower social interactions. Using novel data from Foursquare, a popular mobile app that documents the activity of millions of people, we document robust, highly localized gender homophily: over half of the gender segregation of individuals’ recreational and commercial activities in thousands of venues (e.g., shops, restaurants, parks, museums) in eight major US cities occurs within census blocks. Gender segregation is mostly driven by venue offerings, not discriminatory preferences. A higher variety in the supply of venues on a block attracts more gender-balanced visitors, but, perversely, more intense sorting across those venues ultimately reduces the actual exposure of individuals to gender diversity in venues. Using employment data from the US Census, we find suggestive evidence that these homophilic forces may contribute to the gender gap in labor force participation. Our analysis also suggests that localized homophily along other demographic dimensions may be similarly prevalent. JEL: R1, R2, R3, J1, J3.
Shaping the Vertebrate Body Plan by Polarized Embryonic Cell Movements

Polarized cell movements shape the major features of the vertebrate body plan during development. The head-to-tail body axis of vertebrates is elongated in embryonic stages by “convergent extension” tissue movements. During these movements cells intercalate between one another transverse to the elongating body axis to form a narrower, longer array. Recent discoveries show that these polarized cell movements are controlled by homologs of genes that control the polarity of epithelial cells in the developing wing and eye of the fruit fly, Drosophila.
TRPV4 and the Regulation of Vascular Tone

Abstract: Recent studies have introduced the importance of transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 4 (TRPV4) channels in the regulation of vascular tone. TRPV4 channels are expressed in both endothelium and vascular smooth muscle cells and can be activated by numerous stimuli including mechanical (eg, shear stress, cell swelling, and heat) and chemical (eg, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, endocannabinoids, and 4&agr;-phorbol esters). In the brain, TRPV4 channels are primarily localized to astrocytic endfeet processes, which wrap around blood vessels. Thus, TRPV4 channels are strategically localized to sense hemodynamic changes and contribute to the regulation of vascular tone. TRPV4 channel activation leads to smooth muscle cell hyperpolarization and vasodilation. Here, we review recent findings on the cellular mechanisms underlying TRPV4-mediated vasodilation; TRPV4 channel interaction with other proteins including transient receptor potential channel 1, small conductance (KCa2.3), and large conductance (KCa1.1) calcium-activated potassium-selective channels; and the importance of caveolin-rich domains for these interactions to take place.
Attachment Style and Obesity: Disordered Eating Behaviors as a Mediator in a Community Sample of Canadian Youth

Objective: Obesity and overweight are associated with many negative health outcomes. Attachment style has been implicated in the development of obesity in youth. The present study examined if disordered eating behaviors mediate the relationship between attachment style and body mass index (BMI) in a large community sample of Canadian youth. Method: A total of 3,043 participants (1,254 males and 1,789 females, Mage = 14.20 years) completed self-report questionnaires including the Relationship Questionnaire and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, and BMI was objectively measured. Disordered eating behaviors (restrained, emotional, and external) were examined as possible mediating mechanisms in the relationship between attachment style and BMI z-score, using a multiple mediation model using bootstrapping while controlling for socio-demographic covariates. Results: Insecure attachment was significantly associated with higher BMI, and disordered eating mediated this relationship. Restrained eating was the strongest mediator of this pathway. Conclusion: Results suggest that it may be important to take attachment history and restrained eating into account when designing treatment and prevention strategies for obesity in youth.
Determinants for the Development of Visceral Leishmaniasis Disease

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease associated with a spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from self-healing cutaneous lesions to fatal visceral infections. Among the most important questions in Leishmania research is why some species like L. donovani infect visceral organs, whereas other species like L. major remain in the skin. The determinants of visceral leishmaniasis are still poorly understood, although genomic, immunologic, and animal models are beginning to provide important insight into this disease. In this review, we discuss the vector, host, and pathogen factors that mediate the development of visceral leishmaniasis. We examine the progression of the parasite from the initial site of sand fly bite to the visceral organs and its ability to survive there. The identification of visceral disease determinants is required to understand disease evolution, to understand visceral organ survival mechanisms, and potentially to develop better interventions for this largely neglected disease.
Self-Organizing TDMA MAC Protocol for Effective Capacity Improvement in IEEE 802.11 WLANs

This paper presents a MAC protocol named self- organizing time division multiple-access (SO-TDMA) aiming to enable quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning for delay-sensitive applications. Channel access operation in SO-TDMA is similar to carrier-sense multiple-access (CSMA) in the beginning, but quickly converges to TDMA with an adaptive pseudo-frame structure. This approach has the benefits of TDMA in a high-load traffic environment, while overcoming its disadvantages in low-load, heterogeneous traffic scenarios. Furthermore, it supports distributed and asynchronous channel-access operation as in CSMA. These are achieved by dynamically adapting the transmission opportunity duration based on the common idle/busy channel state information acquired by each node through learning, without explicit message passing. Performance comparison of CSMA, TDMA, and SO-TDMA in terms of effective capacity, system throughput, and collision probability is investigated.
Determination of the Role of the Human RNase H1 in the Pharmacology of DNA-like Antisense Drugs*

Although ribonuclease H activity has long been implicated as a molecular mechanism by which DNA-like oligonucleotides induce degradation of target RNAs, definitive proof that one or more RNase H is responsible is lacking. To date, two RNase H enzymes (H1 and H2) have been cloned and shown to be expressed in human cells and tissues. To determine the role of RNase H1 in the mechanism of action of DNA-like antisense drugs, we varied the levels of the enzyme in human cells and mouse liver and determined the correlation of those levels with the effects of a number of DNA-like antisense drugs. Our results demonstrate that in human cells RNase H1 is responsible for most of the activity of DNA-like antisense drugs. Further, we show that there are several additional previously undescribed RNases H in human cells that may participate in the effects of DNA-like antisense oligonucleotides.
Topography of Photoreceptors and Retinal Ganglion Cells in the Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

The spatial distributions of photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells were examined in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Two populations of cones were identified by immunocytochemical labeling. The hyena retina contains approximately 2.3 million middle- to long-wavelength sensitive (M/L) cones that reach peak densities of about 7,500/mm2 in the vicinity of the optic nerve head. A sparser population of short-wavelength sensitive (S) cones, totaling about 0.3 million, was also detected. There is a striking disparity in the spatial distributions of the two cone types with S cones achieving peak density in a region located well below the optic nerve head. The differences in the spatial distributions of the two cone types have implications both for visual sensitivity and for color vision. Hyena rods outnumber cones by about 100:1 with rod density falling off modestly along a central-peripheral gradient. Ganglion cells were identified in retinal wholemounts by Nissl staining patterns. Their distribution defines a prominent visual streak with highest spatial packing (approx. 4,200/mm2) in an area centralis that is located in the temporal retina. The total number of ganglion cells is estimated at about 260,000. Using standard assumptions the maximum spatial resolution of the spotted hyena is calculated to be about 8.4 cycles/degree, a value similar to estimates obtained for other terrestrial carnivores.
Emotional Communication in Mother-Toddler Relationships: Evidence for Early Gender Differentiation.

Recent theorists of self-development and some empirical evidence suggest that from early infancy mothers encourage greater relatedness in female than in male infants. In this study, patterns of emotional communication were explored, emphasizing both mother and child roles in affect regulation. Mother-child dyads (n = 70) were video-taped at ages 18 and 24 months in their homes during semistructured play. Shared and nonshared affect displays and two maternal dimensions were rated, sensitive/insensitive and nonintrusive/intrusive qualities. Display of maternal positive and negative affects decreased with age; child affects were unchanged. Gender-specific findings were salient. Maternal matching of child affects decreased over time for daughters. Maternal sensitivity was associated with maternal matching of son's affects and daughter's creation of shared states with her
Extracellular Micro-RNAs in Health and Disease: Basic Science, Biogenesis and Release

Small non-protein coding micro-RNAs are regularly exported out of cells, both in health and disease. More than ninety percent of extracellular miRNAs are associated with lower-molecular-mass complexes bound to Argonaute 2 (Ago2), nucleophosmin-1 (NPM1) and high density lipoproteins (HDL), whereas the rest (~10%) are membrane-vesicle-encapsulated within exosomes, shedding microvesicles and apoptotic bodies. Regardless of the debate of the nature of circulating miRNA as byproducts of routine cell activities or mediators of cell-cell communication, proper understanding of the molecular behaviors of miRNA in health and disease, is expected to open a new gate for the discovery of new diagnostic tools and possibly therapeutic implementation in the near future.
A herpesvirus saimiri membrane protein required for interleukin-2 independence forms a stable complex with p56lck

ORF-2, a 32-kDa viral protein expressed by herpesvirus saimiri-transformed lymphocytes, is essential for transformation and is expressed on the plasma membrane of transformed cells. The current work now shows that most (approximately 80%) of ORF-2 resides in the cytoplasm, while only a small portion protrudes from the cell surface. Expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein, ORF-2 was found to interact with a 56-kDa cellular protein in untransformed, herpesvirus saimiri-transformed, and Jurkat lymphocytes. Microsequencing proved that this protein is the lymphocyte-specific tyrosine protein kinase p56lck. Two regions of ORF-2 were found to be required for p56lck interaction. Current evidence suggests that the interaction of ORF-2 with p56lck plays a key role in the specific transformation of T lymphocytes to an interleukin-2-independent phenotype.
Novel applications of an injectable radiopaque hydrogel tissue marker for management of thoracic malignancies.

BACKGROUND Radiopaque markers (otherwise known as fiducials) are used clinically to mark sites of biopsy or resection, which aids with targeting of local therapy, including surgery and radiation therapy. We performed a human cadaveric imaging series with a novel, injectable, radiopaque, absorbable hydrogel marker to demonstrate its potential in the management of thoracic malignancies. METHODS Baseline CT imaging was performed on three unfixed cadaveric specimens. Hydrogel marker implants were placed in the submucosa of the esophagus, the mediastinum, and lung parenchyma by an endoscopic approach with real-time endobronchial and esophageal ultrasound guidance. Subpleural implants in peripheral lung parenchyma were also performed through an anterolateral thoracotomy. Postimplant simulation CT imaging, T2-weighted MRI, and cone-beam CT imaging were performed. Gross dissection of the lung parenchyma was used to evaluate localization of the hydrogel. RESULTS Transthoracic and endoscopic marker placement was readily achieved. The hydrogel appeared hyperechoic by ultrasound, hyperenhancing on T2-weighted MRI, and demonstrated radiopacity of ~300 Hounsfield Units in simulation CT imaging and cone-beam CT imaging. Gross dissection of the lung revealed well-localized blebs of hydrogel marker within lung parenchyma. CONCLUSIONS This cadaveric series demonstrates the excellent visibility of a radiopaque injectable hydrogel marker in the human thorax by multiple common imaging techniques. The hydrogel marker forms a well-localized bleb within tissue, which can assist with triangulation of disease during minimally invasive thoracic surgery. Esophageal applications include radiographic delineation of tumor defined by endoscopy and image guidance for radiotherapy. Future in vivo studies are warranted because radiopaque injectable compounds are promising alternatives to metal fiducials.
An Efficient and Generic Hybrid Framework for High Dimensional Data Clustering

Clustering in high dimensional space is a difficult problem which is recurrent in many fields of science and engineering, e.g., bioinformatics, image processing, pattern reorganization and data mining. In high dimensional space some of the dimensions are likely to be irrelevant, thus hiding the possible clustering. In very high dimensions it is common for all the objects in a dataset to be nearly equidistant from each other, completely masking the clusters. Hence, performance of the clustering algorithm decreases. In this paper, we propose an algorithmic framework which combines the (reduct) concept of rough set theory with the k-means algorithm to remove the irrelevant dimensions in a high dimensional space and obtain appropriate clusters. Our experiment on test data shows that this framework increases efficiency of the clustering process and accuracy of the results.
A new high-gain coupled-inductor SEPIC converter for a microgrid system

In this paper, a new high-gain SEPIC converter with two coupled-inductors and a voltage multiplier technique is presented. This topology has high voltage gain without large duty cycle and low voltage stress across the single power switch. In the proposed converter, a high step-up voltage gain is achieved using the voltage multiplier cell. The diodes of voltage multiplier cell turn on and off under ZCS (Zero Current Switching) condition. Thus, this part of circuit has low conduction loss. All operational principles and steady state analysis in continuous conduction mode are discussed in details. Finally, the proposed converter analysis is justified using detailed simulation in MATLAB/Simulink.
Socio-technical evolution of the Ruby ecosystem in GitHub

The evolution dynamics of a software ecosystem depend on the activity of the developer community contributing to projects within it. Both social and technical changes affect an ecosystem's evolution and the research community has been investigating the impact of these modifications over the last few years. Existing studies mainly focus on temporary modifications, often ignoring the effect of permanent changes on the software ecosystem. We present an empirical study of the magnitude and effect of permanent modifications in both the social and technical parts of a software ecosystem. More precisely, we measure permanent changes with regard to the ecosystem's projects, contributors and source code files and present our findings concerning the effect of these modifications. We study the Ruby ecosystem in GitHub over a nine-year period by carrying out a socio-technical analysis of the co-evolution of a large number of base projects and their forks. This analysis involves both the source code developed for these projects as well as the developers having contributed to them. We discuss our findings with respect to the ecosystem evolution according to three different viewpoints: (1) the base projects, (2) the forks and (3) the entire ecosystem containing both the base projects and forks. Our findings show an increased growth in both the technical and social aspects of the Ruby ecosystem until early 2014, followed by an increased contributor and project abandonment rate. We show the effect of permanent modifications in the ecosystem evolution and provide preliminary evidence of contributors migrating to other ecosystems when leaving the Ruby ecosystem.
Automatic Construction of Ontology from Arabic Texts

The work which will be presented in this paper is related to the building of an ontology of domain for the Arabic linguistics. We propose an approach of automatic construction that is using statistical techniques to extract elements of ontology from Arabic texts. Among these techniques we use two; the first is the "repeated segment" to identify the relevant terms that denote the concepts associated with the domain and the second is the "co-occurrence" to link these new concepts extracted to the ontology by hierarchical or non- hierarchical relations. The processing is done on a corpus of Arabic texts formed and prepared in advance.
Effects of a discursive course on two science teachers' perceptions of the nature of science

Abstract South Africa's Curriculum 2005 (C2005) for the natural sciences stresses that learners develop a valid understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS). This presupposes that teachers possess a valid understanding of the NOS. This paper describes a case study which explored the relative effects of a semester-long NOS Course (NOSC) on two science teachers' perceptions of the NOS. The course used a discursive approach, centred on argumentation and drawing not only from the History and Philosophy, but also from the Sociology of Science. The findings show that based on their experiences in the course, the teachers were more inclined to present science not as an immutable body of knowledge but as a dynamic, tentative, dubitable, revisionary and a multifaceted human enterprise. Likewise, the teachers were more sceptical of scientism and more aware not only of the psychosocial contexts of scientific practices but also the controversies, fierce competition and sometimes vitriolic wrangling that arise among members of the scientific community. The study points to the value for teachers of approaches that bring together historical, philosophical and sociological perspectives of the nature of science, and centre on processes of argumentation.
MicroRNA-26b Modulates the NF-κB Pathway in Alveolar Macrophages by Regulating PTEN

NF-κB is one of the best-characterized transcription factors, providing the link between early membrane–proximal signaling events and changes in many inflammatory genes. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. In this study, we evaluated the role of miR-26b in the LPS-induced inflammatory response in bovine alveolar macrophages (bAMs). LPS stimulation of bAMs upregulated miR-26b at 1 h and downregulated it at 6 and 36 h. Overexpression of miR-26b in bAMs enhanced the LPS-induced mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, and IL-10, but it directly inhibited that of IL-6. A similar trend was observed for the release of these cytokines and chemokines from bAMs. miR-26b directly bound the 3′-untranslated region of PTEN, leading to the reduction of PTEN protein in bAMs. miR-26b also enhanced the LPS-induced NF-κB signaling pathway, as revealed by increased NF-κB transcriptional activity and phosphorylation of p65, IκBα, IκB kinase, and Akt. Moreover, PTEN silencing increased the LPS-induced mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 and upregulated the NF-κB pathway. Taken together, we conclude that miR-26b participates in the inflammatory response of LPS-stimulated bAMs by modulating the NF-κB pathway through targeting PTEN.
Formally specifying electronic instruments

This paper shows how formal specification techniques can be beneficially applied in the develop ment of electronic instrumentation. As an example of our approach we present a specification of a simple electronic instrument, written in the Z specification language. We argue that such specifications can be used to gain insight into software/hardware systems and to clarify the resulting design. A consequence is that formal specifications can assume a pivotal role in system design as non-executable prototypes and lead to a cost-effect application of formal techniq,ues in industrial settings.