Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insulin modulates food-related activity in the central nervous system.

CONTEXT Previous data suggest a key role of central nervous insulin action in regulating energy homeostasis. OBJECTIVE We therefore investigated whether insulin modulates brain responses to food and nonfood pictures in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. DESIGN AND PATIENTS Nine healthy, normal-weight subjects underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements to compare the effects of insulin and placebo administration during a visual recognition task with food and nonfood pictures. Insulin was administered intranasally to raise insulin concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid without altering systemic effects in the periphery. Metabolic parameters were continuously determined during the experiments. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE We measured the changes in brain activity after intranasal insulin administration. RESULTS Food pictures were detected faster when compared to nonfood pictures in all conditions without any effect of placebo or insulin. After insulin application, functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements showed a significantly reduced activity in the presence of food pictures compared to placebo in the right and left fusiform gyrus, the right hippocampus, the right temporal superior cortex, and the right frontal middle cortex. The brain activation induced by nonfood pictures remained unaffected by insulin. CONCLUSION We demonstrate that intranasal insulin led to a reduction of activity in brain areas related to object processing and memory and may have an effect on brain activation with regard to the processing of food pictures. This effect might be part of a mechanism that terminates food intake in the postprandial state.
National and international agricultural research and rural poverty: the case of rice research in India and China

The study attempts to measure the total benefits from rice varietal improvement research in China and India using variety adoption and performance data over the last two decades. It then uses genetic or pedigree information to partition the total benefits between these two countries and IRRI. Finally, the study uses reported elasticity of poverty reduction with respect to agricultural output growth to assess the effects of national and international research on poverty reduction in rural India and China. The results indicate that rice varietal improvement research has contributed tremendously to increase in rice production, accounting for 14-23 percent of total production value over the last two decades in both countries. Rice research has also helped reduce large numbers of rural poor. IRRI played a crucial role in these successes. In 1999, for every $1 million invested at IRRI, more than 800 and 15,000 rural poor were lifted above the poverty line in China and India, respectively. These poverty-reduction effects were even larger in the earlier years. " Authors' Abstract
THE SETTING AND MAINTENANCE OF CRITERIA REPRESENTING LEVELS OF CONFIDENCE

The theory of criterion setting developed by the 1st author and T. C. Williams (see record 1984-08523-001), which postulates control of decision criteria by a long- and 2 short-term mechanisms, can provide an account of sequential dependencies. The theory is applied to the question of whether criteria are all set and maintained in the same way or whether they fall into 2 groups, controlled in accordance with different rules. Evidence from 2 experiments, with 6 18–32 yr old Ss, using an auditory detection task indicates that (1) the short-term (tracking) mechanism that responds to momentary change in the probability of the signal primarily controls the (categorical) criterion that determines the category of response (yes or no) and (2) the criteria that determine levels of confidence are maintained at constant separations from the categorical criterion. A new sequential dependency, the criterion divergence effect, is reported. It is shown that this is mediated by sequentially determined changes in sensitivity, and a model for this is derived.
Neural Underpinnings of Working Memory in Adult Survivors of Childhood Brain Tumors

Abstract Adult survivors of childhood brain tumors are at risk for cognitive performance deficits that require the core cognitive skill of working memory. Our goal was to examine the neural mechanisms underlying working memory performance in survivors. We studied the working memory of adult survivors of pediatric posterior fossa brain tumors using a letter n-back paradigm with varying cognitive workload (0-, 1-, 2-, and 3-back) and functional magnetic resonance imaging as well as neuropsychological measures. Survivors of childhood brain tumors evidenced lower working memory performance than demographically matched healthy controls. Whole-brain analyses revealed significantly greater blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation in the left superior / middle frontal gyri and left parietal lobe during working memory (2-back versus 0-back contrast) in survivors. Left frontal BOLD response negatively correlated with 2- and 3-back working memory performance, Auditory Consonant Trigrams (ACT), and Digit Span Backwards. In contrast, parietal lobe BOLD response negatively correlated with 0-back (vigilance task) and ACT. The results revealed that adult survivors of childhood posterior fossa brain tumors recruited additional cognitive control resources in the prefrontal lobe during increased working memory demands. This increased prefrontal activation is associated with lower working memory performance and is consistent with the allocation of latent resources theory. (JINS, 2015, 21, 494–505)
Effects of Input Processing and Type of Personal Frequency Modulation System on Speech-Recognition Performance of Adults With Cochlear Implants

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare speech recognition in quiet and in noise for cochlear implant recipients using two different types of personal frequency modulation (FM) systems (directly coupled [direct auditory input] versus induction neckloop) with each of two sound processors (Cochlear Nucleus Freedom versus Cochlear Nucleus 5). Two different experiments were conducted within this study. In both these experiments, mixing of the FM signal within the Freedom processor was implemented via the same scheme used clinically for the Freedom sound processor. In Experiment 1, the aforementioned comparisons were conducted with the Nucleus 5 programmed so that the microphone and FM signals were mixed and then the mixed signals were subjected to autosensitivity control (ASC). In Experiment 2, comparisons between the two FM systems and processors were conducted again with the Nucleus 5 programmed to provide a more complex multistage implementation of ASC during the preprocessing stage. Design: This study was a within-subject, repeated-measures design. Subjects were recruited from the patient population at the Hearts for Hearing Foundation in Oklahoma City, OK. Fifteen subjects participated in Experiment 1, and 16 subjects participated in Experiment 2. Subjects were adults who had used either unilateral or bilateral cochlear implants for at least 1 year. Results: In this experiment, no differences were found in speech recognition in quiet obtained with the two different FM systems or the various sound-processor conditions. With each sound processor, speech recognition in noise was better with the directly coupled direct auditory input system relative to the neckloop system. The multistage ASC processing of the Nucleus 5 sound processor provided better performance than the single-stage approach for the Nucleus 5 and the Nucleus Freedom sound processor. Conclusions: Speech recognition in noise is substantially affected by the type of sound processor, FM system, and implementation of ASC used by a Cochlear implant recipient.
An evaluation of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ivabradine for the treatment of heart failure

Introduction: Ivabradine is a new heart-rate-lowering drug; the aim of this review was to analyze its role in heart failure (HF). Areas covered: This systematic review on the role of ivabradine in HF is based on material searched and obtained through Pubmed and Medline up to September 2013. Expert opinion: Heart rate (HR) is a risk factor in patients with HF, and its reduction is considered an important goal of therapy. The BEAUTIFUL trial demonstrated the benefits of ivabradine on prognosis (only on ischemic endpoints) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) and HR ≥ 60 bpm. In the SHIFT trial, which enrolled patients with LVSD, HF and HR ≥ 70 bpm, ivabradine administration (on top of guideline-based therapy, including β-blockers [BB]) was associated with a reduction of cardiovascular death and hospitalizations for HF, but BB were underutilized. Further studies are needed to test the efficacy of ivabradine in CAD patients with high HR and to shed light on the comparison between ivabradine and a more aggressive therapy with higher doses of BB in HF patients.
Morphology and physiology of single neurons in the medial interlaminar nucleus of the cat's lateral geniculate nucleus

Physiological studies have shown that the cat's retinogeniculocortical system is comprised of at least three parallel and independent pathways, the W-, X-, and Y-cell pathways. The morphological correlates of the constituent W-, X-, and Y-cells have been determined both in the retina and in the A and C laminae of the lateral geniculate nucleus. The aim of this study was to extend these structure/function relationships to neurons in laminae 1 and 2 of the medial interlaminar nucleus (MIN), which is a division of the cat's dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. We used intracellular injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into individual, physiologically identified MIN neurons. Since this procedure may yield an unrepresentative sample of MIN neurons, two controls were performed. First Nissl staining showed that the soma sizes of intracellularly labeled cells were representative of those of all MIN cells. Second, retrograde labeling following HRP injections into the optic radiations or specific visual cortical areas showed that the intracellularly labeled MIN cells were representative of MIN relay neurons. Many of the retrogradely labeled cells were so well filled that their entire dendritic arbors were revealed. Of 70 MIN neurons recorded physiologically, 22 were injected with HRP and successfully recovered. We also completely labeled the somata and dendrites of 114 MIN neurons from HRP injections into the optic radiations and retrogradely labeled 165 MIN neurons by injection of HRP into visual cortical areas. Our sample of intracellularly injected neurons, which were all Y-cells, were morphologically representative of all MIN relay cells. We thus conclude that laminae 1 and 2 of the MIN contain a nearly homogeneous population of Y-cells with properties essentially identical to those of Y-cells in the A and C laminae of the lateral geniculate nucleus. When viewed in the coronal plane, MIN projection neurons typically exhibited oval or elongated somata. In the medial and ventral parts of the MIN, these somata were smaller and more flattened. MIN soma sizes extended over the full range of those seen in the A laminae. Dendritic arbors of most MIN relay neurons radiated in a fairly spherical fashion. In the medial and ventral parts of the MIN, however, dendrites were oriented in a more bipolar fashion, but intermediate forms between spherical and bipolar arbors were also common. Dendrites of MIN projection neurons were typically smooth; most primary dendrites were straight, but secondary dendrites were more variable in structure. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Semi-blind identification of movement-related magnetoencephalogram components using a classification approach

Many biomedical signal processing applications involving the analysis of multi-channel electrophysiological recordings, such as the magnetoencephalogram (MEG) and electroencephalogram (EEG), increasingly employ blind source separation (BSS) techniques to estimate signal components reflecting artifacts and neurophysiological activity. While much research focuses on developing methods for automatic removal of artefact sources, comparatively little effort has been spent on trying to identify neurophysiological sources of interest, which is especially challenging in the absence of prior knowledge about their spatial or time-freqency characteristics. This work presents a method for identifying source signals exhibiting systematic and reliable time-frequency differences over clearly defined epochs associated with different “system-states”. The proposed method uses annotated data and a classification approach to identify those sources which individually reflect significant differences between epochs (classes). Applied to segments of 275-channel MEG data from a visuo-motor task in which left, right or no finger movements occurred, the method selects only a small number of sources whose scalp topographies are consistent with primary sensorimotor cortical areas.
Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein Allografting for Reconstruction of Femoral Nonunion

A composite inductive allograft consisting of an allogeneic, autolysed, antigen-free cortical bone carrier lyophilized with partially purified human bone morphogenetic protein was implanted in 30 consecutive femoral reconstructions that resulted from failure of fracture healing. There were 24 atrophic shortened femoral nonunions, four equal length femoral nonunions, and two femoral malunions. There were 10 men and 20 women with an average age of 47 years (range, 28-75 years). Allogeneic, autolysed antigen-free cortical bone was used as a structural alloimplant and as a delivery system for partially purified human bone morphogenetic protein. The composite implant of human bone morphogenetic protein/allogeneic, autolysed antigen-free cortical bone was used in conjunction with one-stage lengthening of the extremity, restoration of mechanical axis and rotational alignment. In 26 of 30 femurs, the human bone morphogenetic protein/allogeneic autolysed antigen-free cortical bone consisted of an allogeneic cortical bone implant incorporated into a one-stage lengthening of atrophic femoral nonunion. In four patients with equal length femoral nonunions, the human bone morphogenetic protein/allogeneic, autolysed antigen-free implant was placed as an medial femoral shaft onlay graft. Internal remodeling of the implant occurred within 8 to 12 weeks after implantation. Lengthening defects greater than 2 cm were supplemented with intercalary autogeneic bone graft. Twenty-four femurs healed at an average of 6 months at an average followup of 55 months. Four of six plate fatigue failures were salvaged with repeat plating. Two patients were lost to followup. The human bone morphogenetic protein/allogeneic, autolysed antigen-free bone allograft is an excellent structural and delivery system that induces host bone formation and implant remodeling allowing salvage of difficult femoral nonunions.
Study on coverage in Wireless Sensor Network using grid based strategy and Particle Swarm Optimization

The main idea of this paper is to solve the coverage problem in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) by increasing sensor nodes coverage percentages. Due to that, effect of number of sensor nodes, size of region of interest (ROI) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm are studied. PSO is an optimization method that can be deployed to achieve higher coverage percentage.
A Metaheuristic Approach for Propagation-Model Tuning in LTE Networks

When deploying a new mobile technology such as LTE, it is crucial to identify the factors that affect the radio network in terms of capacity and quality of service. In this context, network coverage is arguably the single most influential factor. This work presents a metaheuristic-optimization approach that automatically adapts the parameters of a signal-propagation model. The optimization procedure is performed per cell, enabling the calculation of accurate network-coverage predictions. The evaluation of the proposed approach is carried out on two different regions in Slovenia, where Telekom Slovenije, d.d. , provides LTE coverage. The results show radio-propagation predictions of improved quality when compared to manual and analytical methods.
Development of a photon-cell interactive monte carlo simulation for non-invasive measurement of blood glucose level by Raman spectroscopy

Turbidity variation is one of the major limitations in Raman spectroscopy for quantifying blood components, such as glucose, non-invasively. To overcome this limitation, we have developed a Raman scattering simulation using a photon-cell interactive Monte Carlo (pciMC) model that tracks photon migration in both the extra- and intracellular spaces without relying on the macroscopic scattering phase function and anisotropy factor. The interaction of photons at the plasma-cell boundary of randomly oriented three-dimensionally biconcave red blood cells (RBCs) is modeled using geometric optics. The validity of the developed pciMCRaman was investigated by comparing simulation and experimental results of Raman spectroscopy of glucose level in a bovine blood sample. The scattering of the excitation laser at a wavelength of 785 nm was simulated considering the changes in the refractive index of the extracellular solution. Based on the excitation laser photon distribution within the blood, the Raman photon derived from the hemoglobin and glucose molecule at the Raman shift of 1140 cm-1 = 862 nm was generated, and the photons reaching the detection area were counted. The simulation and experimental results showed good correlation. It is speculated that pciMCRaman can provide information about the ability and limitations of the measurement of blood glucose level.
Predictors of Relationship Abuse Among Young Men

The authors tested a social learning model of men's (N = 585) relationship abuse among a sample of first- and second-year university students. As predicted, structural equation model (SEM) analyses confirmed that violence in the family of origin was associated with men's negative beliefs about gender roles and acceptance of interpersonal violence. These beliefs in turn were associated with reports of friends who also had negative beliefs about gender roles and were abusive in their relationships with peers. Having abusive friends was associated with the participants' own levels of violence in their relationships. Family-of-origin violence was also found to have a direct effect on the levels of violence in participants' own relationships with women. Participants' negative beliefs regarding gender and interpersonal violence were found to have a direct effect on their use of violence in their relationships. This model accounted for 79% of the variance in men's relationship abuse.
Lower clinical effectiveness of oseltamivir against influenza B contrasted with influenza A infection in children.

BACKGROUND Recently, many Japanese physicians have claimed that oseltamivir is less effective in children with influenza B virus infection. This study assesses the effectiveness of oseltamivir against influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B in children on the basis of the duration of febrile illness. METHODS We used oseltamivir to treat 127 children with influenza A (H3N2; mean age, 6.97 years [range, 1-15 years]) and 362 children with influenza B (mean age, 5.16 years [range, 1-15 years]) in outpatient clinics. The duration of fever after the start of oseltamivir therapy was compared in the influenza A group and the influenza B group. RESULTS The mean duration of fever after the start of oseltamivir therapy was significantly greater in the influenza B group than in the influenza A (H3N2) group (2.18 days vs. 1.31 days, respectively; P<.001). The difference was marked in young children (1-5 years old; 2.37 days for the influenza B group vs. 1.42 days for the influenza A group) but was not significant among older children (11-15 years old). The 50% inhibitory concentration of oseltamivir against influenza B virus was 75.4+/-41.7 nmol/L and was substantially higher than that for type A (H3N2) virus (0.3+/-0.1 nmol/L). Only 3 (1.6%) of 192 influenza B viruses were resistant to oseltamivir. CONCLUSIONS Oseltamivir is much less effective against influenza B virus infection in young children, probably because of the low sensitivity of influenza B viruses to oseltamivir. The effectiveness of oseltamivir against influenza B is influenced by age and host immunity. A few oseltamivir-resistant influenza B strains were isolated before the start of oseltamivir therapy.
Anger : A Disruption of Order or a Signal of Underlying Disorder ?

In this essay, we oppose current conceptualizations of anger as, at least, a temporary individual psychological disorder and as the cause of a social disorder. We develop the view that anger can be a profoundly moral emotion aimed at maintaining moral order and restoring social order when this has been ruptured. Moral anger is distinguished from other types of anger, like the ones arising from routine frustration, break-downs of communication and ego violations. Through a close reading of the jury drama Twelve Angry Men, we demonstrate that moral anger has an information dimension, signaling a rupture of a moral code, as well as an energic dimension, as a source of energy aimed at putting right a wrong. We conclude that a world without anger would be, possibly, a compliant and quiescent world but not a just world.
Viewpoint-Based Risk Assessment and Prioritization

For software projects, different stakeholders may place different emphasis on the same risk. Risks that are important to one stakeholder may be less important or irrelevant to other stakeholders and vice versa. In the overall prioritization of risks for a software project, we need to consider this viewpoint-based difference. This paper first introduces the concept of viewpoint-based assessment of risks and then presents three methods for generating the overall risk prioritization based on the separated viewpoint-based prioritizations. We also present a case study of an outsourced project by applying the proposed methods and illustrate their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Combination of Warping Robust Elastic Graph Matching and Kernel-Based Projection Discriminant Analysis for Face Recognition

In this paper, a robust face recognition algorithm is proposed, which is based on the elastic graph matching (EGM) and discriminative feature analysis algorithm. We introduce a cost function for the EGM taking account of variations in face pose and facial expressions, and propose its optimization procedure. Our proposed cost function uses a set of Gabor-wavelet-based features, called robust jet, which are robust against the variations. The robust jet is defined in terms of discrete Fourier transform coefficients of Gabor coefficients. To cope with the difference between face poses of test face and reference faces, 2 x 2 warping matrix is incorporated in the proposed cost function. For the discriminative feature analysis, linear projection discriminant analysis and kernel-based projection discriminant analysis are introduced. These methods are motivated to solve the small-size problem of training samples. The basic idea of PDA is that a class is represented by a subspace spanned by some training samples of the class instead of using sample mean vector, that the distance from a pattern to a class is defined by using the error vector between the pattern and its projection to the subspace representing the class, and that an optimum feature selection rule is developed using the distance concept in a similar way as in the conventional linear discriminant analysis. In order to evaluate the performance of our face recognition algorithm, we carried out some experiments using the well-known FERET face database, and compared the performance with recently developed approaches. We observed that our algorithm outperformed the compared approaches.