Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional neuroimaging of short-term memory: The neural mechanisms of mental storage

Cowan argues that the true short-term memory (STM) capacity limit is about 4 items. Functional neuroimaging data converge with this conclusion, indicating distinct neural activity patterns depending on whether or not memory task-demands exceed this limit. STM for verbal information within that capacity invokes focal prefrontal cortical activation that increases with memory load. STM for verbal information exceeding that capacity invokes widespread prefrontal activation in regions associated with executive and attentional processes that may mediate chunking processes to accommodate STM capacity limits.
Comparative evaluation of anthropometric measures to predict cardiovascular risk factors in Tehranian adult women

Abstract Objective To compare the ability of waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) to predict cardiovascular risk factors in an urban adult population of Tehranian women. Design Population-based cross-sectional study. Setting Tehran, the capital of Iran. Subjects This study was conducted on 5073 women aged 18–74 years, participants of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Demographic data were collected. Anthropometric indices were measured according to standard protocols. Cut-off points of BMI, WC, WHR and WHtR were considered as 25 kg m−2, 80 cm, 0.8 and 0.5, respectively. Blood pressure was measured and hypertension was defined based on the sixth report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Biochemical analyses were conducted on fasting blood samples. Diabetes was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg dl−1 or 2-hour plasma glucose ≥200 mg dl−1 and dyslipidaemia based on the third report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel. The presence of ‘at least one risk factor’ from the three major cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes) was also evaluated. Results Mean (±standard deviation) age of women was 39.9 ± 14.6 years; mean BMI, WC, WHR and WHtR were 27.1 ± 1.5 kg m−2, 86.5 ± 13.5 cm and 0.83 ± 0.08 and 0.55 ± 0.08, respectively. Of the four anthropometric measures, WC had the highest sensitivity and specificity to identify subjects with risk factors in both the 18–39 year and the 40–74 year age categories. WC was seen to have a higher percentage of correct prediction than BMI, WHR and WHtR. Conclusion It is concluded that WC is the best screening measure for cardiovascular risk factors, compared with BMI, WHR and WHtR, in Tehranian adult women.
AMP‐activated protein kinase mediates glucocorticoid‐ induced metabolic changes: a novel mechanism in Cushing's syndrome

Chronic exposure to glucocorticoid hormones, resulting from either drug treatment or Cushing's syndrome, results in insulin resistance, central obesity, and symptoms similar to the metabolic syndrome. We hypothesized that the major metabolic effects of corticosteroids are mediated by changes in the key metabolic enzyme adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity. Activation of AMPK is known to stimulate appetite in the hypothalamus and stimulate catabolic processes in the periphery. We assessed AMPK activity and the expression of several metabolic enzymes in the hypothalamus, liver, adipose tissue, and heart of a rat glucocorticoid‐excess model as well as in in vitro studies using primary human adipose and primary rat hypothalamic cell cultures, and a human hepatoma cell line treated with dexamethasone and metformin. Glucocorticoid treatment inhibited AMPK activity in rat adipose tissue and heart, while stimulating it in the liver and hypothalamus. Similar data were observed in vitro in the primary adipose and hypothalamic cells and in the liver cell line. Metformin, a known AMPK regulator, prevented the corticosteroidinduced effects on AMPK in human adipocytes and rat hypothalamic neurons. Our data suggest that glucocorticoid‐induced changes in AMPK constitute a novel mechanism that could explain the increase in appetite, the deposition of lipids in visceral adipose and hepatic tissue, as well as the cardiac changes that are all characteristic of glucocorticoid excess. Our data suggest that metformin treatment could be effective in preventing the metabolic complications of chronic glucocorticoid excess. — Christ‐Crain M. , Kola, B. , Lolli F. , Fekete, C. , Seboek, D. , Wittmann, G. , Feltrin, D. , Igreja, S. C. , Ajodha, S. , Harvey‐White, J., Kunos, G. , Müller B. , Pralong, F. , Aubert, G. , Arnaldi, G. , Giacchetti, G. , Boscaro, M. , Grossman, A. B. , Korbonits M. AMP‐activated protein kinase mediates glucocorticoidinduced metabolic changes: a novel mechanism in Cushing's syndrome. FASEB J. 22, 1672–1683 (2008)
Possible Role of Arginase-1 in Concomitant Tumor Immunity

The expression of Adenovirus serotype 2 or serotype 5 (Ad2/5) E1A in tumor cells reduces their tumorigenicity in vivo by enhancing the NK cell mediated and T cell mediated anti-tumor immune response, an activity that correlates with the ability of E1A to bind p300. We determined if E1A could be used as a molecular adjuvant to enhance antigen-specific T cell responses to a model tumor antigen, ovalbumin (OVA). To achieve this goal, we stably expressed a fusion protein of E1A and OVA (MCA-205-E1A-OVA), OVA (MCA-205-OVA) or a mutant version of E1A unable to bind p300 and OVA (E1A-Δp300-OVA) in the B6-derived, highly tumorigenic MCA-205 tumor cell line. MCA-205-E1A-OVA tumor cells were over 10,000 fold less tumorigenic than MCA-205-OVA, MCA-205-E1A-Δp300-OVA, or MCA-205 in B6 mice. However, immunization of B6 mice with live MCA-205-OVA, MCA-205-E1A-Δp300-OVA and MCA-E1A-OVA tumor cells induced nearly equivalent OVA-specific CD4 T cells and CD8 CTL responses. Further studies revealed that mice with primary, enlarging MCA-205-OVA or MCA-205-E1A-Δp300-OVA tumors on one flank exhibited OVA-specific anti-tumor T cell responses that rejected a tumorigenic dose of MCA-205-OVA cells on the contralateral flank (concomitant tumor immunity). Next we found that tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) in progressive MCA-205-OVA tumors, but not MCA-205-E1A-OVA tumors that expressed high levels of arginase-1, which is known to have local immunosuppressive activities. In summary, immunization of mice with MCA-205 cells expressing OVA, E1A-Δp300-OVA or E1A-OVA induced equivalent OVA-specific CD4 and CD8 anti-tumor responses. TAMs found in MCA-205-OVA, but not MCA-205-E1A-OVA, tumors expressed high levels of arginase-1. We hypothesize that the production of arginase-1 by TAMs in MCA-205-OVA or MCA-205-E1A-Δp300-OVA tumor cells leads to an ineffective anti-tumor immune response in the tumor microenvironment, but does not result in inhibition of a systemic anti-tumor immunity.
Influence of AC-DC-DC converter on radial/axial flux permanent magnet wind power generators with mechanical energy storage system

This paper deals with the influence of AC-DC-DC converter on permanent magnet (PM) wind power generators. Differently from AC load conditions, since the phase current in PM generators with the converter contains harmonic components, their influence on generators' performance is investigated. In particular, in this paper, two PM generator types, radial flux PM generator and axial flux PM generator, are considered for the comparative investigation. The generators are connected to a mechanical energy storage system consisted of a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a heavy wheel, and the generator performance characteristics are dealt with while the mechanical energy storage system is being operated.
Sporotrichosis: An Overview and Therapeutic Options

Sporotrichosis is a chronic granulomatous mycotic infection caused by Sporothrix schenckii, a common saprophyte of soil, decaying wood, hay, and sphagnum moss, that is endemic in tropical/subtropical areas. The recent phylogenetic studies have delineated the geographic distribution of multiple distinct Sporothrix species causing sporotrichosis. It characteristically involves the skin and subcutaneous tissue following traumatic inoculation of the pathogen. After a variable incubation period, progressively enlarging papulo-nodule at the inoculation site develops that may ulcerate (fixed cutaneous sporotrichosis) or multiple nodules appear proximally along lymphatics (lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis). Osteoarticular sporotrichosis or primary pulmonary sporotrichosis are rare and occur from direct inoculation or inhalation of conidia, respectively. Disseminated cutaneous sporotrichosis or involvement of multiple visceral organs, particularly the central nervous system, occurs most commonly in persons with immunosuppression. Saturated solution of potassium iodide remains a first line treatment choice for uncomplicated cutaneous sporotrichosis in resource poor countries but itraconazole is currently used/recommended for the treatment of all forms of sporotrichosis. Terbinafine has been observed to be effective in the treatment of cutaneous sporotrichosis. Amphotericin B is used initially for the treatment of severe, systemic disease, during pregnancy and in immunosuppressed patients until recovery, then followed by itraconazole for the rest of the therapy.
Adaptive window scheduling for a hierarchical agent system

DIET (distributed interactive engineering toolbox) is a toolbox for the construction of network enabled server (NES) systems. For most NES systems, as for most grid middleware systems, the scheduling system is centralized and can suffer from poor scalability. DIET provides an alternative: low-latency, scalable scheduling services based on a distributed hierarchy of scheduling agents. However, the online scheduling model used currently in DIET can overload interactive servers in high-load conditions and does not allow adaption to task or data dependencies. In this article we consider an alternative model based on active management of the flow of requests throughout the system. We have added support for (1) limiting the number of concurrent requests on interactive servers, (2) server and agent-level queues, and (3) window-based scheduling algorithms whereby the request release rate to servers can be controlled and some re-arrangement of request to host mappings is possible. We present experiments demonstrating that these approaches can improve performance and that the overheads introduced are not significantly different from those of the standard DIET approach
Treatment outcome in T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in adults – a population-based study from the Swedish Lymphoma Registry

Abstract Background. T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is a rare neoplasm of precursor lymphoblast origin, for which there is no standard treatment for adults. Results of current treatment strategies in selected populations do exist but are largely unreported for unselected series. Here, we aimed to investigate treatment outcome in a population-based cohort. Material and methods. Patients were identified through the Swedish Lymphoma Registry and data was retrospectively collected for all adult (≥ 18 years) Swedish T-LBL patients diagnosed during 2000–2009. Results. A total of 39 patients with median age 40 years (range 18–78) were identified with females being significantly older than males (median age 66 vs. 37, p = 0.027). The five-year overall survival for all patients was 42%. Female gender was associated with shorter survival also when adjusted for treatment strategy and age [hazard ratio (HR) 4.29; p = 0.002]. Thirty patients received intensive chemotherapy, otherwise used for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which resulted in an overall response rate of 97% and a five-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 49%. In this group only CNS involvement at diagnosis predicted shorter PFS (HR 13.3; p = 0.03). Among patients treated with hyper-CVAD the addition of mediastinal irradiation resulted in prolonged time to progression compared to patients receiving only chemotherapy (p = 0.047). The major reason for treatment failure was relapse and in this series 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) did not predict this risk. Conclusion. This population-based study indicates that all fit T-LBL patients should be considered for intensive treatment. Our results also suggest a beneficial effect of mediastinal irradiation in combination with hyper-CVAD treatment. Relapsing patients have a dismal outcome irrespective of salvage treatment.
Neuropathological changes in the brain of pigs with acute liver failure

Abstract Objective. Cerebral edema is a serious complication of acute liver failure (ALF), which may lead to intracranial hypertension and death. An accepted tenet has been that the blood-brain barrier is intact and that brain edema is primarily caused by a cytotoxic etiology due to hyperammonemia. However, the neuropathological changes in ALF have been poorly studied. Using a well characterized porcine model we aimed to investigate ultrastructural changes in the brain from pigs suffering from ALF. Materials and methods. Sixteen female Norwegian Landrace pigs weighing 27–35 kg were randomised into two groups: ALF (n = 8) and sham operated controls (n = 8). ALF was induced with an end-to-side portacaval shunt followed by ligation of the hepatic arteries. Biopsies were harvested from three different areas of the brain (frontal lobe, cerebellum, and brain stem) following eight hours of ALF and analyzed using electron microscopy. Results. Profound perivascular and interstitial edema were found in all three areas. Disruption of pericytic and astrocytic processes were seen, reflecting breakdown/lesion of the blood-brain barrier in animals suffering from ALF. Furthermore, neurons and axons were edematous and surrounded by vesicles. Severe damage to Purkinje neuron (necrosis) and damaged myelin were seen in the cerebellum and brain stem, respectively. Biopsies from sham operated animals were normal. Conclusions. Our data support the concept that vasogenic brain edema plays an important role in the development of intracranial hypertension in pigs with ALF.
Face categorization, graded priming, and the mediating influences of similarity

Two experiments are reported that contrast instance-based and abstraction-based models of categorization within a priming paradigm. In both experiments, target person photos were preceded by prime photos that varied in their degree of similarity to the target photo to test how inter-item similarity influences gender and race categorization efficiency of the target photo. Results consistently indicate that, the more similar the prime item is to the target item, the greater the facilitation of categorical processing. The findings are robust across race and gender question types, independent of perceiver group membership. The results support the conclusion that categorical judgments are at least partially mediated by specific item comparisons. The findings are discussed for their relevance to models of priming and for models of person perception and decision making.
Definition and Implementation of Logical Function Blocks Compliant to ForCES Specification

IETF ForCES (forwarding and control element separation) is defining specifications for interfaces and modular resources abstractions in open programmable network equipments. According to drafts from ForCES, resources in the forwarding element are described in the form of logical function blocks (LFBs), each of which has a single specific function of processing packets. In this paper, we first design the taxonomy of LFBs. Second, we design basic LFB classes and associated types. Designed LFBs have been submitted to IETF ForCES working group. Thirdly, we systematically analyze various aspects in the implementation of LFBs. Finally, our experiments show LFBs can be successfully operated.
Historical Roots of Inequality in Latin America

Following Engerman and Sokoloff (1997, 2000, 2002) and Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001, 2002), the authors of this chapter argue that the contemporary situation cannot be understood without recognizing that extreme inequality emerged soon after the Europeans began to colonize the Americas half a millennium ago, and has been reflected in the institutions they put in place. Both this initial inequality and institutions were shaped largely by the factor endowments that the Europeans found in Central and South America, rather than the nature of the colonial powers themselves. Although these colonies ultimately gained independence and the development of technology and the world economy brought about important changes, extreme inequality persisted into the 19 and 20 centuries because the evolution of political and economic institutions tended to reproduce and reinforce highly unequal distributions of wealth, human capital, and political influence.
Real time ERP DSSS/CCK baseband WLAN receiver design

Nowadays, the wireless local area networks (WLAN) grows rapidly with the advantages such as easy installation, widening and mobility in wireless technology world. In this paper, low-cost WLAN receiver prototype are presented in real-time. National Instruments (NI) LabVIEW software is used to design the ERP-DSSS/CCK baseband receiver functionality. The receiver consist of a dipole antenna, the universal software radio peripheral 2 (USRP2), and a PC setup NI USRP2 driver. To validate the real-time receiver, real wireless channel conditions are evaluated in the Univ. of Texas at Dallas. The results show that the designed receiver successfully implements all physical layer functions. and detects the IEEE 802.11b signals.
Long-Term Neuroadaptations Produced by Withdrawal from Repeated Cocaine Treatment: Role of Dopaminergic Receptors in Modulating Cortical Excitability

Dopamine (DA) modulates neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and is necessary for optimal cognitive function. Dopamine transmission in the PFC is also important for the behavioral adaptations produced by repeated exposure to cocaine. Therefore, we investigated the effects of repeated cocaine treatment followed by withdrawal (2–4 weeks) on the responsivity of cortical cells to electrical stimulation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and to systemic administration of DA D1 or D2 receptor antagonists. Cortical cells in cocaine- and saline-treated animals exhibited a similar decrease in excitability after the administration of D1 receptor antagonists. In contrast, cortical neurons from cocaine-treated rats exhibited a lack of D2-mediated regulation relative to saline rats. Furthermore, in contrast to saline-treated animals, VTA stimulation did not increase cortical excitability in the cocaine group. These data suggest that withdrawal from repeated cocaine administration elicits some long-term neuroadaptations in the PFC, including (1) reduced D2-mediated regulation of cortical excitability, (2) reduced responsivity of cortical cells to phasic increases in DA, and (3) a trend toward an overall decrease in excitability of PFC neurons.
Vehicle power flow simulations based on trajectories with inductive charging systems: A case study

This article describes the study of power flows inside an electric commuter bus with a propulsion system that is powered wirelessly while the vehicle drives along its realistic trajectory in the context of public transportation. A dedicated bus model, that has been validated, is built in Matlab/Simulink incorporating inductive powering capability. The simulation method is based primarily on a `backward-looking' calculation approach. A passenger bus and different bus drive cycles are simulated considering different wireless powering strategies: basic approach, charging at bus stops, powering when the vehicle's energy storage system reaches a low charge level. Energy impact and requirements for the different situations are investigated.
Scheduling algorithms for arbitrary communication networks

We consider the problem of designing scheduling schemes for networks with arbitrary topology and scheduling constraints. We address the optimality of scheduling schemes for packet networks in terms of throughput, delay and fairness. Specifically, we design two scheduling schemes. The first one achieves simultaneous throughput and delay optimization. The second scheme provides fairness. We design a scheduling scheme that guarantees a per-flow average delay bound of O(number of hops), with a constant factor loss of throughput. We derive the constants for a network operating under primary interference constraints. Our scheme guarantees an average delay bound of , where dj is the number of hops and pj is 1-pj the effective loading along flow j. This delay guarantee comes at a factor 5 loss of throughput. We also provide a counter-example to prove the essential optimality of our result. For the fair scheduling scheme, we define a packet-based notion of fairness by establishing a novel analogy with the ranked election problem. The election scheme of Goodman and Markowitz (1952) [14] yields a maximum weight style scheduling algorithm. We then prove the throughput optimality of the scheme for a single-hop network. Standard methods for proving the stability of queuing systems fail us and hence we introduce a non-standard proof technique with potential wider applications. Thesis Supervisor: Devavrat Shah Title: Assistant Professor
Asymmetry in Farm-Retail Price Transmission for Major Dairy Products

An econometric model is used to estimate the net relationship between changes in the farm-level price of milk and changes in the retail prices of four major dairy products—fluid milk, butter, cheese, and ice cream. Results indicate that the farm-retail price transmission process in the dairy sector is asymmetric. Retail dairy product prices adjust more rapidly and more fully to increases in the farm price of milk than to decreases. The role in pricing asymmetry of retail demand versus farm supply shifts is tested via a Chow-type test. Asymmetry is tested using the Houck procedure for estimating nonreversible functions.
The Information Content of Advertising: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract The amount of information contained in advertising is an important issue to scholars, critics, and users of advertising. Almost 60 studies have used a procedure introduced in 1977 by Resnik and Stern to measure the information content of advertising. The results, reported in a wide variety of outlets, are conflicting. Metaanalysis of that literature helps to (1) develop norms for information levels and research procedures, (2) reveal systematic sources of variation in reported information levels across studies, and (3) identify areas that have been examined in depth and call attention to other areas that warrant further research. Because study findings are found to depend on several method factors, controlling for the effects of those factors through the meta-analysis procedure helps to clarify how media type, country economic development, and product durability influence measured information levels.
Analysis of FPGA and software approaches to simulate unconventional computer architectures

The design of new computer architectures relies heavily on simulation. New architectures that incorporate unconventional features or novel designs cannot usually use established simulators and, therefore, designers have to develop their own. Traditionally, software simulators have been the main platform for architectural design, based on the conventional wisdom that software is flexible and easy to program, albeit slow, while hardware is fast but difficult to develop. The introduction of high-level hardware description languages (HDLs), such as Bluespec, together with improvements in FPGAs, provide an opportunity to challenge the traditional notion and consider hardware simulators for this purpose. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the performance and the implementation effort of two simulators, one FPGA based and one software based, developed to simulate a novel, unconventional architecture. The analysis uses the interconnection network of the SpiNNaker massively-parallel computer as a case study which allows a comparison with the real system.