Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Organophosphate Chlorpyrifos Interferes with the Responses to 17β-Estradiol in the Digestive Gland of the Marine Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Background Many pesticides have been shown to act as endocrine disrupters. Although the potencies of currently used pesticides as hormone agonists/antagonists are low compared with those of natural ligands, their ability to act via multiple mechanisms might enhance the biological effect. The organophosphate Chlorpyrifos (CHP) has been shown to be weakly estrogenic and cause adverse neurodevelopmental effects in mammals. However, no information is available on the endocrine effects of CHP in aquatic organisms. In the digestive gland of the bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis, a target tissue of both estrogens and pesticides, the possible effects of CHP on the responses to the natural estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2) were investigated. Methodology/Principal Findings Mussels were exposed to CHP (4.5 mg/l, 72 hrs) and subsequently injected with E2 (6.75 ng/g dw). Responses were evaluated in CHP, E2 and CHP/E2 treatment groups at 24 h p.i. by a biomarker/transcriptomic approach. CHP and E2 induced additive, synergistic, and antagonistic effects on lysosomal biomarkers (lysosomal membrane stability, lysosome/cytoplasm volume ratio, lipofuscin and neutral lipid accumulation). Additive and synergistic effects were also observed on the expression of estrogen-responsive genes (GSTπ, catalase, 5-HTR) evaluated by RT-Q-PCR. The use of a 1.7K cDNA Mytilus microarray showed that CHP, E2 and CHP/E2, induced 81, 44, and 65 Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs), respectively. 24 genes were exclusively shared between CHP and CHP/E2, only 2 genes between E2 and CHP/E2. Moreover, 36 genes were uniquely modulated by CHP/E2. Gene ontology annotation was used to elucidate the putative mechanisms involved in the responses elicited by different treatments. Conclusions The results show complex interactions between CHP and E2 in the digestive gland, indicating that the combination of certain pesticides and hormones may give rise to unexpected effects at the molecular/cellular level. Overall, these data demonstrate that CHP can interfere with the mussel responses to natural estrogens.
The Structure of Preschoolers’ Emotion Knowledge: Model Equivalence and Validity Using a Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Research Findings: A theory-based 2-factor structure of preschoolers’ emotion knowledge (i.e., recognition of emotional expression and understanding of emotion-eliciting situations) was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Compared to 1- and 3-factor models, the 2-factor model showed a better fit to the data. The model was found to be equivalent for gender, race, age, and socioeconomic risk. Theory and the high correlation between the 2 latent factors suggested a hierarchical nature of development, in which a higher level of emotion knowledge is built upon a lower level. In our validity model, we found significant paths from the recognition to the situation factor and from the situation factor to teachers’ reports of preschoolers’ learning behaviors and social competence. Results provide further evidence of the significant role emotion plays in preschoolers’ school readiness. Practice or Policy: Early childhood educators can benefit from knowing that recognition of expressions and understanding of emotion-eliciting situations are appropriately teachable in this age range and can focus such teaching upon negative emotions and those that may vary across individuals. Furthermore, relations between these aspects of emotion knowledge and school readiness add to accumulating evidence that early childhood programming focusing upon emotion knowledge has multiple benefits.
The Oldest Anatomically Modern Humans from Far Southeast Europe: Direct Dating, Culture and Behavior

Background Anatomically Modern Humans (AMHs) are known to have spread across Europe during the period coinciding with the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. Whereas their dispersal into Western Europe is relatively well established, evidence of an early settlement of Eastern Europe by modern humans are comparatively scarce. Methodology/Principal Finding Based on a multidisciplinary approach for the study of human and faunal remains, we describe here the oldest AMH remains from the extreme southeast Europe, in conjunction with their associated cultural and paleoecological background. We applied taxonomy, paleoecology, and taphonomy combined with geomorphology, stratigraphy, archeology and radiocarbon dating. More than 160 human bone remains have been discovered. They originate from a well documented Upper Paleolithic archeological layer (Gravettian cultural tradition) from the site of Buran-Kaya III located in Crimea (Ukraine). The combination of non-metric dental traits and the morphology of the occipital bones allow us to attribute the human remains to Anatomically Modern Humans. A set of human and faunal remains from this layer has been radiocarbon dated by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. The direct-dating results of human bone establish a secure presence of AMHs at 31,900+240/−220 BP in this region. They are the oldest direct evidence of the presence of AMHs in a well documented archeological context. Based on taphonomical observations (cut marks and distribution of skeletal elements), they represent the oldest Upper Paleolithic modern humans from Eastern Europe, showing post-mortem treatment of the dead as well. Conclusion/Significance These findings are essential for the debate on the spread of modern humans in Europe during the Upper Paleolithic, as well as their cultural behaviors.
Exosomes in bodily fluids are a highly stable resource of disease biomarkers

Biomarkers are measurable indicators of a biological state. As our understanding of diseases meliorates, it is generally accepted that early diagnosis renders the best chance to cure a disease. In the context of proteomics, the discovery phase of identifying bonafide biomarkers and the ensuing validation phase involving large cohort of patient samples are impeded by the complexity of bodily fluid samples. High abundant proteins found in blood plasma make it difficult for the detection of low abundant proteins that may be potential biomarkers. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have reignited interest in the field of biomarker discovery. EVs contain a tissue‐type signature wherein a rich cargo of proteins and RNA are selectively packaged. In addition, as EVs are membranous structures, the luminal contents are protected from degradation by extracellular proteases and are highly stable in storage conditions. Interestingly, an appealing feature of EV‐based biomarker analysis is the significant reduction in the sample complexity compared to whole bodily fluids. With these prescribed attributes, which are the rate‐limiting factors of traditional biomarker analysis, there is immense potential for the use of EVs for biomarker detection in clinical settings. This review will discuss the current issues with biomarker analysis and the potential use of EVs as reservoirs of disease biomarkers.
Robust Nonlinear Receding-Horizon Control of Induction Motors

A nonlinear robust receding-horizon control is designed and applied to fifth-order model of induction motor in cascade structure. The control uses only measurement of the rotor speed and stator currents. The rotor flux is estimated by Kalman filter. The controller is based on a finite horizon continuous time minimization of the predicted tracking errors and no online optimization is needed. An integral action is incorporated in external loop to increase the robustness with respect to unknown time-varying load torque. The proposed nonlinear controller permits to achieve asymptotic speed and flux tracking in presence of the unknown load torque and resistances variations. In addition, it assures asymptotic decoupling of the speed and flux subsystems. The controller is applied, via simulation, to a benchmark example.
Resveratrol: From Basic Science to the Clinic

Plants produce an extraordinary array of low-molecular-mass natural products endowed with biological activity. Among these molecules, resveratrol (3,5,4’-trihydroxystilbene) has been identified as an inhibitor of carcinogenesis with a pleiotropic mode of action. Extensive Literature on its anticancer activity, performed in cellular models, suggests a potential antiproliferative and apoptogenic use of the stilbene. Similarly, studies on implanted cancers and chemical-induced tumors confirm a potential chemotherapeutical interest of the compound. Moreover, recent intriguing studies have demonstrated, in mice, that the negative effects (insulin resistance and hyperglycemia) of a high-fat diet might be prevented by resveratrol treatment. Despite these promising observations, only few clinical trials have been performed on the compound due to the scarce interest of pharmaceutical industry. We suggest that resveratrol might be considered an interesting compound in association with more specific target-oriented drugs.
Focus of attention in minimal intergroup discrimination

Tested the hypothesis that the level of intergroup discrimination between minimal groups depends on the amount of attention that Ss are able to pay to the intergroup distinction. 60 11-yr-olds completed a self-attention scale. Ss were then assigned to either a standard, enhanced, or distracted condition and required to complete a set of pay-off matrices. Data indicate only partial support for the hypothesis. Ss who were encouraged to attend to group membership (enhanced condition) showed greater in-group favoritism on some measures than did those in standard and distracted conditions, respectively. Enhanced condition Ss were also slightly more consistent in their intergroup allocation of points than were Ss in the other conditions. Individual differences in self-attention and conformity only affected self-reported behavior and some affective measures but did not influence point allocations. Results are discussed in terms of task, motivation, salience, and attention.
Affect Listeners-From dyads to group interactions with affective dialog systems

Affect Listeners are applied as tools for studying the role of emotions in online communication. They need to interact both in dyads as well as in group settings with multiple users. In this paper, we present the evolution of such affective dialog systems from a focus on dyadic interaction to multi-party interaction on chat networks. Starting from experiments on the use of these dialog systems in virtual dyadic settings, we outline the requirements, design and implementation decisions necessary to apply the systems to affective interactions with multiple users. Finally, we introduce two realisations of Interactive Affective Bots designed for such interaction scenarios that integrate modelling of individuals and groups as part of their decision mechanism.
On the Contribution to the Field of the Nonphysical Characteristic Modes in Infinite Dielectric Circular Cylinders Under Normal Excitation

Here, a detailed analysis of characteristic modes and fields of an infinite dielectric circular cylinder when computed through the Poggio-Miller–Chang-Harrington–Wu-Tsai formulation is carried out. The purpose is to determine their contribution to the total field, inside and outside the dielectric body and under two possible excitations: incident plane wave or electric line source within the cylinder. The study has been done analytically to provide necessary physical insight of the results obtained. New details about the so-called nonphysical modes are provided. It is found that these modes, that can be neglected outside the dielectric body, do have a significant contribution to the inner field when the excitation source is within the dielectric body. It is concluded that the terms physical and nonphysical characteristic modes should be replaced for radiating and nonradiating characteristic modes.
Utopianism and pragmatism in interprofessional education

Definitions of interprofessionalism tend either to be vague and ambiguous or to ignore key stakeholders such as service users. The authors suggest that a combination of unsound theorising and lack of empirical data mean it is time to introduce a new approach to the study of interprofessional education. They argue that the search for a single factor common to all members of the interprofessional 'family' should be abandoned in favour of a re-conceptualisation of interprofessionalism as a 'family' of similarities and differences. This Wittgensteinian approach is used to look at the different ways programmes of education and training address interprofessional identities and cross-boundary roles and relationships. The centrality of one or the other is seen as indicating a certain kind of philosophical scaffolding within the educational culture of a programme and two case studies are used to explore the impact of Pragmatism and Utopianism. The case studies are drawn from the authors' experiences as teachers and examine how educational culture is shaped by primary philosophical positions. Finally, the implications of this for the future development of social work education are briefly considered.
The interplexiform cell system II. Effects of dopamine on goldfish retinal neurones

The effects of atomized solutions of dopamine and certain related compounds have been tested on the intracellularly recorded activity of receptor, horizontal, bipolar and amacrine cells in the goldfish retina. Dopamine depolarizes the cone L-type horizontal cells and reduces the amplitude of light-evoked responses. These effects on L-type horizontal cells are completely abolished by the α-adrenergie blocker, phentolamine, but only partially depressed by the β-blocker, propanolol. L-Dopa, noradrenalin, and serotonin do not have effects on L-type horizontal cells when applied at concentrations similar to those that cause maximal dopamine effects. The results suggest that the effects of dopamine on L-type horizontal cells are specific, and we propose that they mimic the effects of interplexiform cell activity. Dopamine has no effects on rod horizontal cells in goldfish and variable effects on C-type horizontal cells. On bipolar cells, dopamine alters the dark membrane potential, enhances the central response to light, and depresses the surround response. Dopamine also decreases the horizontal cell feedback evident in cone responses. Finally, dopamine strongly depolarizes the transient type of amacrine cells, but it has no significant effect on the sustained type of amacrine cells. Assuming that dopamine is the transmitter of interplexiform cells, we suggest that these neurons regulate lateral inhibitory effects mediated by L-type horizontal cells in the outer plexiform layer and transient amacrine cells in the inner plexiform layer. In addition, it appears as if interplexiform cells have specific effects on bipolar cells and are capable of regulating centre-surround antagonism in these cells. The net effect of interplexiform cell activity is to isolate the bipolars from the influence of the surround.
How do environmental governance processes shape evaluation of outcomes by stakeholders? A causal pathways approach

Multi-stakeholder environmental management and governance processes are essential to realize social and ecological outcomes. Participation, collaboration, and learning are emphasized in these processes; to gain insights into how they influence stakeholders’ evaluations of outcomes in relation to management and governance interventions we use a path analysis approach to examine their relationships in individuals in four UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. We confirm a model showing that participation in more activities leads to greater ratings of process, and in turn, better evaluations of outcomes. We show the effects of participation in activities on evaluation of outcomes appear to be driven by learning more than collaboration. Original insights are offered as to how the evaluations of outcomes by stakeholders are shaped by their participation in activities and their experiences in management and governance processes. Understanding stakeholder perceptions about the processes in which they are involved and their evaluation of outcomes is imperative, and influences current and future levels of engagement. As such, the evaluation of outcomes themselves are an important tangible product from initiatives. Our research contributes to a future research agenda aimed at better understanding these pathways and their implications for engagement in stewardship and ultimately social and ecological outcomes, and to developing recommendations for practitioners engaged in environmental management and governance.
Aspect-oriented programming and modular reasoning

Aspects cut new interfaces through the primary decomposition of a system. This implies that in the presence of aspects, the complete interface of a module can only be determined once the complete configuration of modules in the system is known. While this may seem anti-modular, it is an inherent property of crosscutting concerns, and using aspect-oriented programming enables modular reasoning in the presence of such concerns.
Answering Environmental European Directives through information systems

Since the seventies, European Commission has developed diverse legislative tools to control quality status and varied impacts and pressures to fluvial, estuarine and coastal systems. Amongst them, the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Nature 2000 Network centralize the most significant environmental policies. WFD aims to provide a common framework for the protection and improvement of surface waters (rivers, lakes, transitional waters and coastal waters) and groundwaters in Europe. Consequently, Member States of the European Union establish the current status of water bodies through systematic monitoring networks that generate temporal series of huge amount of environmental information that must be managed efficiently. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been a key component of the management process during the implementation of the WFD and Natura 2000 Network in Cantabria. The evolution of Geographic Information software over the last decades has been evident; from isolated desktop GI software to European Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI), allowing scientists, managers, environmental experts and partners to obtain new GIS capabilities to manage environmental information. This paper is based on the development of a management infrastructure specially focused on answering Environmental European Directives. The environmental data is managed through a Relational DataBase Management System (RDBMS) and a GIS Server. These two components allow the centralization of data and creation of services that can be exploited from different applications. Scientists and managers are able to access the information through heavier-weight desktop clients or through web clients that have been developed specifically. Consequently, a management infrastructure has been built to manage all the environmental information of the Cantabria region. Environmental professionals can access specific web sites that answer the needs of European Directives whereas public web sites retrieve environmental information provided by the system. The Environmental Information System presented allows researchers and managers to manage large amounts of environmental information, implement methodological procedures to answer Environmental European Directives and provide interoperability protocols to share environmental information. As a future line of work, one of the most important goals is the implementation of new methodologies and provide new services to the public sector through a Spatial Data Infrastructure, following the Inspire Directive initiative.
On Evolution and the Origin Language

This is the equivalent of saying that large parts of the human brain evolved by chance, and later man discovered a use for them. Such an argument runs counter to all that is known about the evolution of complex adaptations. It is the success of behaviors which determines the course of evolution, and, because of natural selection, the behaviors and the structures making them possible evolve in a feedback relation to each other. The method of thought may best be introduced by evolutionary interrelations of tools, hands, and brain, because in that case there is some direct fossil evidence which is lacking in the case of language. Stone tools of simple forms date back more than 2.5 million years (Howell, personal communication, 1969) . The creatures which made such tools had small brains (Tobias 1967). The single adult hand from Olduvai retained many apelike features (Tuttle 1967), and the thumb was intermediate between that of a knuckle-walking ape and modern man (Napier 1962). From this evidence it appears that the form of the human hand, the large area of the brain directly related to the hand (Penfield and Rasmussen 1950), the much larger areas of cortex related to skillful motor activity (Luria 1970), and the greatly expanded human cerebellum (Eccles, Ito, and Szentagothai 1967), also related to skillful activity, all evolved long after initial tool use and in response to new selection pressures arising from the success of implements of many kinds. There is no evidence to suggest that such a behavioral-structural complex could arise by chance, and the fossil record (scanty as it is) shows that it did not (Lancaster 1968a). In the case of language, large parts of the brain are directly related to language (Penfield and Roberts 1966, Lancaster 1968b, Masland 1968, Geschwind 1965, Sperry 1968). Just as
Predicting success from music sales data: a statistical and adaptive approach

Musical taste is highly individualized and evolves over time in seemingly unpredictable ways. However popular trends emerge as collective and potentially predictable patterns of preference for genre and style. The goal of this paper is to reveal these patterns and extrapolate how a statistically 'average' populace responds to new stimuli.This paper addresses three questions. One is to find statistically meaningful patterns within the data. The next question is if we can predict how long an album will stay in chart, given the first few weeks' sales data, using statistical patterns found from the first question. The last question is to see if a new album's position in chart can be predicted on a certain week in the future (such as the 5th week or 12th week), with the first few weeks' sales data. For this, we used LMS (least mean square) algorithm, a well known adaptive algorithm.This paper uses published bi-weekly sales data from the Billboard magazine, more specifically, the Top Jazz chart. The results show some interesting correlations, one of which emphasizes the role of marketing. According to our findings, it is probably worth a good investment on marketing before starting sales of an album, since the data shows that the higher the starting position of an album is, the longer it is likely to stay in chart.