Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pre-attentive cortical processing of behaviorally perceptible spatial changes in older adults—a mismatch negativity study

From behavioral studies it is known that auditory spatial resolution of azimuthal space declines over age. To date, it is not clear how age affects the respective sensory auditory processing at the pre-attentive level. Here we tested the hypothesis that pre-attentive processing of behaviorally perceptible spatial changes is preserved in older adults. An EEG-study was performed in older adults (65–82 years of age) and a mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm employed. Sequences of frequent standard stimuli of defined azimuthal positions were presented together with rarely occurring deviants shifted by 10° or 20° to the left or to the right of the standard. Standard positions were at +5° (central condition) from the midsagittal plane and at 65° in both lateral hemifields (±65°; lateral condition). The results suggest an effect of laterality on the pre-attentive change processing of spatial deviations in older adults: While for the central conditions deviants close to MAA threshold (i.e., 10°) yielded discernable MMNs, for lateral positions the respective MMN responses were only elicited by spatial deviations of 20° toward the midline (i.e., ±45°). Furthermore, MMN amplitudes were found to be insensitive to the magnitude of deviation (10°, 20°), which is contrary to recent studies with young adults (Bennemann et al., 2013) and hints to a deteriorated pre-attentive encoding of sound sources in older adults. The discrepancy between behavioral MAA data and present results are discussed with respect to the possibility that under the condition of active stimulus processing older adults might benefit from recruiting additional attentional top-down processes to detect small magnitudes of spatial deviations even within the lateral acoustic field.
Communication Channels, Social Support and Satisfaction in Long Distance Romantic Relationships

Based on uses and gratification theory, media richness theory, and social presence theory, the present study explores the role of different communication channels and social support in relationship maintenance among long distance dating partners. Specifically, how social support is related to relational uncertainty, how the use of different communication channels is related to social support variables, and what are main factors of relationship satisfaction are examined in this study. A total of 311 respondents participated in the study. All of four social support variables, emotional support, socializing, advice/guidance and support appraisals were found to be negatively related to relational uncertainty. In addition, both phone call and webcam use were positively related to all support behaviors and support appraisals, while email use was positively
Probabilistic Group Nearest Neighbors query based on Voronoi diagram

In order to solve the problem of probabilistic group nearest neighbor query on uncertain data, we present an effective method based on Voronoi diagram. Probabilistic group nearest neighbor query on uncertain data is to find out the set of uncertain objects, in which each object has a higher probability to be the nearest neighbor of query set than the threshold specified by user. In this paper, first a candidate set of target objects is got by constructing the Voronoi diagram of uncertain objects and the convex hull of the set of the query points. Then further reduce the candidate set through using the space pruning algorithm. At last, calculate the probability value of each target object in the candidate set to be GNN result exactly. The uncertain objects whose probabilities greater than or equal to the user-specified threshold are put into the result set. The theoretical analysis and experiments show the effectiveness of our algorithm, which also has good performance and less query time.
Hacking A Consumer DSLR Camera for Computational Imaging

We built a hardware and software system for controlling a Canon EOS T5i and attached EF-S 18-55mm IS II lens. This system enables users to remotely program the camera to take a series of exposures with configurable settings. Via the addition of some custom external hardware, direct control of focus and the position of the lens stabilization element are also controllable. This is a highly flexible system with many possible uses, but in this paper we demonstrate depth-invariant image capture via single-exposure focal sweep and super-resolution via subpixel shifting sequential image capture.
Kynurenine Aminotransferase Isozyme Inhibitors: A Review

Kynurenine aminotransferase isozymes (KATs 1–4) are members of the pyridoxal-5’-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme family, which catalyse the permanent conversion of l-kynurenine (l-KYN) to kynurenic acid (KYNA), a known neuroactive agent. As KATs are found in the mammalian brain and have key roles in the kynurenine pathway, involved in different categories of central nervous system (CNS) diseases, the KATs are prominent targets in the quest to treat neurodegenerative and cognitive impairment disorders. Recent studies suggest that inhibiting these enzymes would produce effects beneficial to patients with these conditions, as abnormally high levels of KYNA are observed. KAT-1 and KAT-3 share the highest sequence similarity of the isozymes in this family, and their active site pockets are also similar. Importantly, KAT-2 has the major role of kynurenic acid production (70%) in the human brain, and it is considered therefore that suitable inhibition of this isozyme would be most effective in managing major aspects of CNS diseases. Human KAT-2 inhibitors have been developed, but the most potent of them, chosen for further investigations, did not proceed in clinical studies due to the cross toxicity caused by their irreversible interaction with PLP, the required cofactor of the KAT isozymes, and any other PLP-dependent enzymes. As a consequence of the possibility of extensive undesirable adverse effects, it is also important to pursue KAT inhibitors that reversibly inhibit KATs and to include a strategy that seeks compounds likely to achieve substantial interaction with regions of the active site other than the PLP. The main purpose of this treatise is to review the recent developments with the inhibitors of KAT isozymes. This treatise also includes analyses of their crystallographic structures in complex with this enzyme family, which provides further insight for researchers in this and related studies.
Significant elevation in serum CA 125 and CA 19-9 levels with torsion of the hydrosalpinx in a postmenopausal woman

Isolated torsion of the fallopian tube in postmenopausal women is rare. In this case report, we detail the case of a 53-year-old patient who presented with adenomyosis and a left hydrosalpinx with high levels of CA 125 and CA 19-9. The isolated torsion of the left hydrosalpinx was observed during the operation. The serum levels of CA 125 and CA 19-9 were reduced from 129.62 and 348 to 58.2 and 12.41 U/mL, respectively, after total laparoscopic hysterectomy with salpingectomy. On radiologic evaluation, there were no other factors that may have influenced the increase in serum levels of CA 125 and CA 19-9 in this patient, which were reduced after operation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of association between perioperative changes in CA 19-9 levels and isolated torsion of the fallopian tube.
Formación de habilidades y logros cognitivos en los niños de México

We use structural equation modeling, with latent variables to study the influence of parental inversion in cognitive skill formation in Mexican children. We use data coming from the ENNVIH 1 and 2. We study the influence of parental skills and the lag of the child’s skills, and we found that the latter is the only statistically significant input. We introduce a new element, in a more conventional exercise, studying the technology of formation of cognitive achievements (not latent), while we still consider inversion as latent; we found that, as the cognitive achievement lagged, parental inversion and parental cognitive achievement are statistically significant in producing cognitive achievements. When we split the sample into two age groups, we found evidence of sensitive periods for the inputs of the cognitive achievements production function.
CSCI 1950 V Project 4 : Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Due

Your SPH simulation can either be 2D or 3D. As with all other projects, computation should be done in GLSL, however for the 3D visualization we only require point sprites (for 2D) or spheres (for 3D). You do not need to compute an explicit uid surface for this project a particle visualization is su cient. However, we encourage you to color the particles or spheres according to some metric (ie. pressure).
Pursuing an Evolving Object: A Case Study in Object Formation and Identification

The notion of object is a central, but frequently misunderstood, element of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). From what, where, and when does the object of an activity system come? How does an activity theorist identify an activity's multifaceted, evolving object? This article presents a rearticulation of object in CHAT perspective, illustrated by a case study of object formation in a network of conflict monitors in the post-Soviet sphere-the Network for Ethnological Monitoring and Early Warning (EAWARN). Through participant-observation field notes, transcripts of recorded discussions among EAWARN participants and of interviews with Network members and directors, and postings to the EAWARN Listserv, the author demonstrates how an activity system's object can be identified through the varying perspectives of multiple participants in an activity system.
Wnt signals across the plasma membrane to activate the β-catenin pathway by forming oligomers containing its receptors, Frizzled and LRP

Wnt-induced signaling via β-catenin plays crucial roles in animal development and tumorigenesis. Both a seven-transmembrane protein in the Frizzled family and a single transmembrane protein in the LRP family (LDL-receptor-related protein 5/6 or Arrow) are essential for efficiently transducing a signal from Wnt, an extracellular ligand, to an intracellular pathway that stabilizes β-catenin by interfering with its rate of destruction. However, the molecular mechanism by which these two types of membrane receptors synergize to transmit the Wnt signal is not known. We have used mutant and chimeric forms of Frizzled, LRP and Wnt proteins, small inhibitory RNAs, and assays for β-catenin-mediated signaling and protein localization in Drosophila S2 cells and mammalian 293 cells to study transmission of a Wnt signal across the plasma membrane. Our findings are consistent with a mechanism by which Wnt protein binds to the extracellular domains of both LRP and Frizzled receptors, forming membrane-associated hetero-oligomers that interact with both Disheveled (via the intracellular portions of Frizzled) and Axin (via the intracellular domain of LRP). This model takes into account several observations reported here: the identification of intracellular residues of Frizzled required forβ -catenin signaling and for recruitment of Dvl to the plasma membrane; evidence that Wnt3A binds to the ectodomains of LRP and Frizzled; and demonstrations that a requirement for Wnt ligand can be abrogated by chimeric receptors that allow formation of Frizzled-LRP hetero-oligomers. In addition, the β-catenin signaling mediated by ectopic expression of LRP is not dependent on Disheveled or Wnt, but can also be augmented by oligomerization of LRP receptors.
Social Contract and Perceived Justice of Workplace Practices to Cope With Financial Crisis

This study examined the influence of type of social contract (i.e., transactional vs. relational) on how organizations responded to financial crisis in Turkey. Moreover, it examined the role of social contracts in moderating the relationship between type of response strategies organizations used and justice perceptions of employees. Participants were 132 full-time employees from 85 different business organizations. Results showed that as the social contract tended to be more transactional, there was less focus on cost-cutting strategies in production, marketing, and financial practices (PMF), whereas when the social contract tended to be more relational, there was less focus on cost-cutting strategies in human resource management practices (HRM). Cost-cutting in PMF areas yielded low procedural justice when employees were in organizations that were high rather than low on transactional contracts, whereas cost-cuttingin HRM areas resulted in low distributive justice when employees were in organizations that were high rather than low on relational contracts.
Immune surveillance against virus-induced tumors and nonrejectability of spontaneous tumors: contrasting consequences of host versus tumor evolution.

Spontaneous tumours are defined as tumors that develop in the absence of all experimental interference. In contrast to the widely documented, strong rejection reactions against most virus-induced tumors, spontaneous tumors evoke little or no detectable rejection reaction in intact or preimmunized syngeneic hosts. The difference can be viewed in relation to the contrasting natural history of the two conditions. Spontaneous tumors evolve in several steps, as a fule. "Tumor progression" is a microevolutionary process at the level of the somatic tissue where successive clonal variants replace each other. Each new variant gains the upper hand due to its greater independence of some restricting host mechanism. Independence of immune restrictions must be part of this process. Host selection for immune resistance apparently plays no major role here, presumably because most of the naturally occurring tumors arise after the host has passed the peak of its reproductive period. Protection against the oncogenic effects of ubiquitous tumor viruses is, on the other hand, the result of host selection for immune mechanisms favoring prompt rejection of virus-transformed cells. This is neither synonymous with nor related to protection against the viral infection per se, which is frequently successful and usually quite harmless. A certain relationship can be perceived between the degree of viral ubiquity and the strength of immune protection against the corresponding tumor cells. Natural selection for host recognition of commonly occurring, virally induced changes in neoplastic cell membranes can be surmised to occur, at least in part, by the fixation of appropriate immune responsiveness (Ir) genes. The role of Ir genes for tumor recognition can be approached by the genetic analysis of the F1 hybrid resistance effect. Unresponsiveness to spontaneous tumors may be overcome by target-cell modification, e.g., by chemical coupling, somatic cell hybridization, or viral "xenogenization".
Self-implication and heart rate variability during simulated exposure to flight-related stimuli

In the present study, the relationship between self-implication during simulated exposure to feared stimuli and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) was explored within the framework of the dynamical systems model of emotion regulation proposed by Thayer and Lane (Thayer, J.F., and Lane, R.D. (2000). A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 61, 201–216. ). An analogue sample of flight phobics (n=15) and a matched non-phobic control group (n=15) were presented with flight-related pictures, flight-related sounds or flight-related pictures and sounds. Significant differences on self-implication during exposure to flight-related sounds were found between low and high HRV fearful flyers, the former being more self-implied. However, the expected HRV decreases in the phobic participants exposed to feared stimuli were not found. These results emphasize the need to distinguish between high and low HRV fearful flyers in order to make a better use of the simulated exposure treatments.
A Cognitive Perspective on Entrepreneurship and the Firm

I propose to examine the theme of this Special Issue from the perspective of its treatment and, of especial significance, its lack of treatment within economics. In the course of this examination we shall observe that the concepts of entrepreneurship and the firm are generally kept separate, and attempt to explain why. I shall avoid any discussion of recent work, which is more productively left to my fellow contributors, choosing instead to devote the first half of my contribution to providing an analytical basis for the second half by exploring the problem of knowledge in economic systems, and relating this problem to the evolved nature of human beings and their relationship with their environment. In this exploration I shall rely almost entirely on the work of economists, though much of it was not directed to conventional economic issues.
Effects of tacrolimus on hyperlipidemia after successful renal transplantation: a Southeastern Organ Procurement Foundation multicenter clinical study.

BACKGROUND Tacrolimus has been shown to have a less adverse effect on the lipid profiles of transplant patients when the drug is started as induction therapy. In order to determine the effect tacrolimus has on lipid profiles in stable cyclosporine-treated renal transplant patients with established hyperlipidemia, a randomized prospective study was undertaken by the Southeastern Organ Procurement Foundation. METHODS Patients of the 13 transplant centers, with cholesterol of 240 mg/dl or greater, who were at least 1 year posttransplant with stable renal function, were randomly assigned to remain on cyclosporine (control) or converted to tacrolimus. Patients converted to tacrolimus were maintained at a level of 5-15 ng/ml, and control patients remained at their previous levels of cyclosporine. Concurrent immunosuppressants were not changed. Levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, total high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very-low-density lipoprotein, and apoproteins A and B were monitored before conversion and at months 1, 3, and 6. Renal function and glucose control were evaluated at the beginning and end of the study (month 6). RESULTS A total of 65 patients were enrolled; 12 patients failed to complete the study. None were removed as a result of acute rejection or graft failure. Fifty-three patients were available for analysis (27 in the tacrolimus group and 26 controls). Demographics were not different between groups. In patients converted to tacrolimus treatment, there was a -55 mg/dl (-16%) (P=0.0031) change in cholesterol, a -48 mg/dl (-25%) (P=0.0014) change in LDL cholesterol, and a -36 mg/dl (-23%) (P=0.034) change in apolipoprotein B. There was no change in renal function, glycemic control, or incidence of new onset diabetes mellitus in the tacrolimus group. CONCLUSION Conversion from cyclosporine to tacrolimus can be safely done after successful transplantation. Introduction of tacrolimus to a stable renal patient does not effect renal function or glycemic control. Tacrolimus can lower cholesterol, LDL, and apolipoprotein B. Conversion to tacrolimus from cyclosporine should be considered in the treatment of posttransplant hyperlipidemia.
Pour une évaluation sensible à l’environnement des interventions : l’analyse de l’implantation

Dans cet article, les auteurs exposent une methode pour faciliter l'analyse de l'implantation des interventions. Cette forme d'evaluation a son origine dans les limites reconnues du modele de la « boite noire », modele predominant dans l'analyse des effets des interventions. Elle vise a expliquer les conditions de mise en oeuvre et les processus de production des effets des interventions. Plus precisement, l'analyse de l'implantation comprend trois composantes, soit l'analyse de l'influence : 1) des determinants contextuels sur le degre de mise en oeuvre des interventions, 2) de l'interaction entre le contexte d'implantation et l'intervention sur les effets observes, et 3) des variations dans l'implantation sur son efficacite. L'utilite de ce type d'evaluation est d'accroitre la validite externe des recherches evaluatives.
Transfer of IgG in the female genital tract by MHC class I-related neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) confers protective immunity to vaginal infection

IgG is a major Ig subclass in mucosal secretions of the human female genital tract, where it predominates over the IgA isotype. Despite the abundance of IgG, surprisingly little is known about where and how IgG enters the lumen of the genital tract and the exact role local IgG plays in preventing sexually transmitted diseases. We demonstrate here that the neonatal Fc receptor, FcRn, is expressed in female genital tract epithelial cells of humans and mice and binds IgG in a pH-dependent manner. In vitro we show that FcRn mediates bidirectional IgG transport across polarized human endometrial HEC-1-A monolayers and primary human genital epithelial cells. Furthermore, endosomal acidification appears to be a prerequisite for FcRn-mediated IgG transcytosis; IgG transcytosis was demonstrated in vivo by translocation of systemically administered IgG into the genital lumen in WT but not FcRn-KO mice. The biological relevance of FcRn-transported IgG was demonstrated by passive immunization using herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2)–specific polyclonal serum, which conferred significantly higher protection against intravaginal challenge infection by the HSV-2 186 strain in WT mice than in FcRn-KO mice. These studies demonstrate that FcRn-mediated transport is a mechanism by which IgG can act locally in the female genital tract in immune surveillance and in host defense against sexually transmitted diseases.
The Effect of Detraining and Intensive Training on Asymmetric Dimethylarginine and Homocysteine: A Study of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Elite Young Athletes

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a 12 week detraining after a 16 week multicomponent training program including strength, anaerobic and aerobic exercises on the main determinants of Asymmetric Dimethylarginine (ADMA), homocysteine (Hcy) and some physiological markers. For this purpose, twenty-three well-trained young wrestlers (14.9±1.1 yr, 46.6 ± 9.9- 49.4 ± 9.6kg, 18.7± 2.3- 19.1 ± 2.0kg/m2) volunteers were assigned into training (n = 24) and control (n =13) groups. ADMA and Hcy were significantly higher during training season in wrestlers compared to control (P < 0.05). However, ADMA and Hcy were not significantly in control group compared to detraining season. There was no significant difference in training season between detraining season in wrestlers (P>0.05).