Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alcohol selectively reduces brain activity during the affective processing of negative information.

BACKGROUND Although it has frequently been suggested that alcohol influences emotions such as anxiety and fear through the modulation of affective information processing, few studies addressed this topic using objective measures. OBJECTIVES The acute effects of alcohol on affective processing of pictorial stimuli were investigated using electrophysiological measures. METHODS Event-related brain potentials (ERP) resulting from watching pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral pictures were investigated in a group of participants receiving a beverage containing a moderate dose of alcohol (n=26) and a group of participants receiving a nonalcoholic placebo beverage (n=24). Both early [early posterior negativity (EPN)] and late [late positive potential (LPP)] ERP components were employed as index of emotional processing. RESULTS The results show that alcohol reduced brain activity during watching unpleasant information in a late stage (700-1000 ms). This suggests that alcohol selectively influences the processing of unpleasant information. CONCLUSIONS The findings are in concordance with theories linking alcohol administration to decreased processing of affective information. The results are discussed in the context of the role of the effect of alcohol on affective information processing, and its relevance to alcoholism.
The Splicing Factor, Prp40, Binds the Phosphorylated Carboxyl-terminal Domain of RNA Polymerase II*

We showed previously that the WW domain of the prolyl isomerase, Ess1, can bind the phosphorylated carboxyl-terminal domain (phospho-CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA Polymerase II. Analysis of phospho-CTD binding by four other WW domain-containingSaccharomyces cerevisiae proteins indicates the splicing factor, Prp40, and the RNA polymerase II ubiquitin ligase, Rsp5, can also bind the phospho-CTD. The identification of Prp40 as a phospho-CTD binding protein represents the first demonstration of direct interaction between a documented splicing factor and the phospho-CTD. Domain dissection studies reveal that phospho-CTD binding occurs at multiple locations in Prp40, including sites in both the WW and FF domain regions. Because the conserved repeats of the CTD make it an ideal ligand for multi-site binding events, the implications of multi-site binding are discussed. Our data suggest a mechanism by which the phospho-CTD of elongating RNA polymerase II facilitates commitment complex formation by juxtaposing the 5′ and 3′ splice sites.
Analysis of retrieval result on ontology-based query reformulation

Users normally facing difficulties to expresses their information needs into a query format that the search system can use to process. Therefore users frequently modify their query with intention to retrieve better results. The goal of this experiment is to compare the precision of the retrieved results by employing domain ontology to reformulate the user query. We proposed to reformulate the query (initially in natural language) by replacing it with the terms retrieved from ontology. Then we improve the approach by combining the terms from ontology with keyword/s extracted from the initial user's natural language query. Precision measure had been conducted for six queries and the results showed that the idea of combining ontology terms with keyword from query gave a promising result. It achieved higher precision in comparison when using ontology terms alone. This experimental result indicates that query reformulation is more efficient when ontology term/s combined with key element from the user's query.
Effects of nicotine and nicotine expectancy on attentional bias for emotional stimuli.

INTRODUCTION Nicotine's effects on mood are thought to enhance its addictive potential. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of nicotine on affect regulation have not been reliably demonstrated in human laboratory studies. We investigated the effects of nicotine abstinence (Experiment 1), and nicotine challenge and expectancy (Experiment 2) on attentional bias towards facial emotional stimuli differing in emotional valence. METHODS In Experiment 1, 46 nicotine-deprived smokers were randomized to either continue to abstain from smoking or to smoke immediately before testing. In Experiment 2, 96 nicotine-deprived smokers were randomized to smoke a nicotinized or denicotinized cigarette and to be told that the cigarette did or did not contain nicotine. In both experiments participants completed a visual probe task, where positively valenced (happy) and negatively valenced (sad) facial expressions were presented, together with neutral facial expressions. RESULTS In Experiment 1, there was evidence of an interaction between probe location and abstinence on reaction time, indicating that abstinent smokers showed an attentional bias for neutral stimuli. In Experiment 2, there was evidence of an interaction between probe location, nicotine challenge and expectation on reaction time, indicating that smokers receiving nicotine, but told that they did not receive nicotine, showed an attentional bias for emotional stimuli. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that nicotine abstinence appears to disrupt attentional bias towards emotional facial stimuli. These data provide support for nicotine's modulation of attentional bias as a central mechanism for maintaining affect regulation in cigarette smoking.
The Hepatitis B Virus X Protein Functionally Interacts with CREB-binding Protein/p300 in the Regulation of CREB-mediated Transcription*

The hepatitis B virus infects more than 350 million people worldwide and is a leading cause of liver cancer. The virus encodes a multifunctional regulator, the hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx), that is essential for virus replication. HBx is involved in modulating signal transduction pathways and transcription mediated by various factors, notably CREB that requires the recruitment of the co-activators CREB-binding protein (CBP)/p300. Here we investigated the role of HBx and its potential interaction with CBP/p300 in regulating CREB transcriptional activity. We show that HBx and CBP/p300 synergistically enhanced CREB activity and that CREB phosphorylation by protein kinase A was a prerequisite for the cooperative action of HBx and CBP/p300. We further show that HBx interacted directly with CBP/p300 in vitro and in vivo. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we provide evidence that HBx physically occupied the CREB-binding domain of CREB-responsive promoters of endogenous cellular genes such as interleukin 8 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Moreover expression of HBx increased the recruitment of p300 to the interleukin 8 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen promoters in cells, and this is associated with increased gene expression. As recruitment of CBP/p300 is known to represent the limiting event for activating CREB target genes, HBx may disrupt this cellular regulation, thus predisposing cells to transformation.
Example-based water animation

We present the argument that video footage of real scenes can be used as input examples from which novel three-dimensional scenes can be created. We argue that the parameters used by traditional animation techniques based on the underlying physical properties of the water, do not intuitively relate to the resulting visual appearance. We will present a novel approach which allows a range of video examples to be used as a set of visual parameters to design the visible behaviour of a water animation directly. Our work begins with a method for reconstructing the perceived water surface geometry from video footage of natural scenes, captured with only a single static camera. We show that this has not been accomplished before, because previous approaches use sophisticated capturing systems which are limited to a laboratory environment. We will also present an approach for reconstructing the water surface velocities which are consistent with the reconstructed geometry. We then present a method of using these water surface reconstructions as building blocks which can be seamlessly combined to create novel water surface animations. We are also able to extract foam textures from the videos, which can be applied to the water surfaces to enhance their visual appearance. The surfaces we produce can be shaped and curved to fit within a user's three-dimensional scene, and the movement of external objects can be driven by the velocity fields. We present a range of results which show that our method can plausibly emulate a wide range of real-world scenes, different from those from which the water characteristics were captured. As the animations we create are fully three-dimensional, they can be rendered from any viewpoint, in any rendering style.
Standortplanung unter Wettbewerb - Teil 2: Integration diskreter Wahlentscheidungen

Ein Ansatz, wie kundenspezifische Wahlentscheidungen in die Standortplanung unter Wettbewerb integriert werden konnen, ist Gegenstand dieses zweiten Teil des Beitrags. Den Aufbau haben wir folgendermasen gegliedert: Wie Auswahlwahrscheinlichkeiten mit Hilfe eines Logit-Modells ermittelt werden konnen, zeigen wir in Kapitel 2. Zur Losung der Fragestellung stellen wir in Abschnitt 3.1 ein mathematisches Modell vor. Anhand eines praxisnahen Beispiels, der Filialnetzstandortplanung fur KEP-Dienstleister, demonstrieren wir in Abschnitt 3.2 die Anwendbarkeit des Ansatzes. Abschnitt 4 schliest mit einer Zusammenfassung und gibt einen Ausblick uber weitere Ideen fur die Modellierung der Problemstellung.
A Functional Role for the Switch 2 Region of Yeast RNA Polymerase II in Transcription Start Site Utilization and Abortive Initiation*

RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) is responsible for the synthesis of mRNA from eukaryotic protein-encoding genes. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis was employed to probe the function of residues within the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNAPII active center in the mechanism of transcription start site utilization. We report here the identification of two mutations in the switch 2 region, rpb1-K332A and rpb1-R344A, which conferred conditional growth properties and downstream shifts in start site utilization. Analyses of double mutant strains demonstrated functional interactions between these switch 2 mutations and a mutation in the largest subunit of transcription factor IIF (TFIIF) that confers upstream shifts in start site usage. Importantly, biochemical analyses demonstrated that purified Rpb1-R344A mutant polymerase exhibited impaired ability to stabilize a short RNA-DNA hybrid in the active center, an increased frequency of abortive transcription in runoff assays, and both a downstream shift and increased abortive initiation in reconstituted transcription assays. These results provide evidence for a role of switch 2 during start site utilization and indicate that RNA-DNA hybrid stability at the 3′-end of the transcript is a determinant in this process. We discuss these results within the context of a proposed model regarding the concerted roles of RNAPII, TFIIB, and TFIIF during mRNA 5′-end formation in S. cerevisiae.
Clinical course of postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans

We performed a prospective observational study to define the clinical course and the prognostic factors of 31 patients with postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans. All patients presented with an episode of acute bronchiolitis in the first 2 years of life, and respiratory symptoms and signs persisted since then. Other diseases which may cause chronic airflow obstruction were excluded. The patients were followed after their inclusion in the study and the clinical findings were recorded in a standardized questionnaire and form. Repeated chest radiographs and lung perfusion scans were obtained in all 31 patients and semiannual spirometry was performed in 8 older patients. Eight patients had lung biospies.
Ypt1 suppresses defects of vesicle trafficking and autophagy in Ypt6 related mutants

Ypt/Rab GTPases coordinately regulate vesicle trafficking in yeasts. Previously, Ypt1 was shown to suppress growth defects of Ypt6 and its related mutants (ypt6ts, ric1Δ, rgp1Δ, ric1Δrgp1Δ), but the physiological role of this suppression has not been well studied. We have investigated the effects of Ypt1 on two major trafficking pathways, vesicle trafficking and autophagy, in Ypt6 related mutants. Ypt1 restores Snc1 transport to the plasma membrane via Golgi in the exocytic pathway in Ypt6 related mutants under nutrient rich conditions. Overexpression of Ypt1 suppresses autophagic defects under nutrient starvation conditions with increased GFP‐Atg8 sorting to vacuoles and GFP‐Atg8 to GFP conversion in Ypt6 related mutants. However, overexpression of Ypt1 does not restore Ypt6 intracellular localisation in rgp1Δ cells. We propose that vesicle trafficking and autophagy are closely connected processes, and Ypt1 and Ypt6 have some similar functions in both cellular processes.
Complications of endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy.

BACKGROUND Endoscopic sphincterotomy is commonly used to remove bile-duct stones and to treat other problems. We prospectively investigated risk factors for complications of this procedure and their outcomes. METHODS We studied complications that occurred within 30 days of endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy in consecutive patients treated at 17 institutions in the United States and Canada from 1992 through 1994. RESULTS Of 2347 patients, 229 (9.8 percent) had a complication, including pancreatitis in 127 (5.4 percent) and hemorrhage in 48 (2.0 Percent). There were 55 deaths from all causes within 30 days; death was directly or indirectly related to the procedure in 10 cases. Of five significant risk factors for complications identified in a multivariate analysis, two were characteristics of the patients (suspected dysfunction of the sphincter of Oddi as an indication for the procedure and the presence of cirrhosis) and three were related to the endoscopic technique (difficulty in cannulating the bile duct achievement of access to the bile duct by "precut" sphincterotomy, and use of a combined percutaneous-endoscopic procedure). The overall risk of complications was not related to the patient's age, the number of coexisting illnesses, or the diameter of the bile duct. The rate of complications was highest when the indication for the procedure was suspected dysfunction of the sphincter of Oddi (21.7 percent) and lowest when the indication was removal of bile-duct stones within 30 days of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (4.9 percent). As compared with those who performed fewer procedures, endoscopists who performed more than one sphincterotomy per week had lower rates of all complications (8.4 percent vs. 11.1 percent, P=0.03) and severe complications (0.9 percent vs. 2.3 percent, P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS The rate of complications after endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy can vary widely in different circumstances and is primarily related to the indication for the procedure and to endoscopic technique, rather than to the age or general medical condition of the patients.
Ultradian corticosterone pulses balance glutamatergic transmission and synaptic plasticity

Significance A pulse of the adrenal hormone corticosterone (CORT) changes hippocampal glutamate transmission for many hours. CORT is normally released in hourly pulses, with a steeply rising amplitude just before awakening. How organisms can be prepared for imminent danger if the first high-amplitude pulse of CORT would lastingly change glutamate transmission—thus potentially deadlocking the system—has remained an enigma. We show that exposure of hippocampal cells to a second high-amplitude CORT pulse completely normalizes all aspects of glutamate transmission (including synaptic plasticity), thus lifting the potential deadlock caused by a first pulse. This ensures that the system remains fully responsive to any stressful event that requires encoding of information, an important principle that promotes survival of individuals. The rodent adrenal hormone corticosterone (CORT) reaches the brain in hourly ultradian pulses, with a steep rise in amplitude before awakening. The impact of a single CORT pulse on glutamatergic transmission is well documented, but it remains poorly understood how consecutive pulses impact on glutamate receptor trafficking and synaptic plasticity. By using high-resolution imaging and electrophysiological approaches, we report that a single pulse of CORT to hippocampal networks causes synaptic enrichment of glutamate receptors and increased responses to spontaneously released glutamatergic vesicles, collectively abrogating the ability to subsequently induce synaptic long-term potentiation. Strikingly, a second pulse of CORT one hour after the first—mimicking ultradian pulses—completely normalizes all aspects of glutamate transmission investigated, restoring the plastic range of the synapse. The effect of the second pulse is precisely timed and depends on a nongenomic glucocorticoid receptor-dependent pathway. This normalizing effect through a sequence of CORT pulses—as seen around awakening—may ensure that hippocampal glutamatergic synapses remain fully responsive and able to encode new stress-related information when daily activities start.
Architectural Mechanisms for Handling Human Instructions for Open-World Mixed-Initiative Team Tasks and Goals

One important challenge for cognitive systems research is to develop an integrated architecture that can enable effective, natural human-robot interactions in open worlds where new concepts, entities, and actions can be introduced through natural language during task performance. In this paper, we claim that in order to allow for such open-world tasking in natural language, all components in the robotic architecture that processes and executes human instructions require mechanisms for learning new information and applying it immediately. We focus on two aspects of open worlds – new goals and new objects – and describe the architectural machinery required to handle them: from representations and processing schemes for human utterances to open world quantified goals that involve novel objects introduced during task execution. We then present a proof-of-concept demonstration of these mechanisms implemented in the DIARC architecture on an autonomous robot and show in simulated scenarios the necessity of mechanisms for open-world tasking.
Cannabis and schizophrenia: a longitudinal study of cases treated in Stockholm County

By means of the Stockholm County inpatient care register we identified all cases treated with a diagnosis of cannabis dependence and psychosis, not necessarily at the same occasion, during 1971–1983. By scrutinizing medical records, we evaluated the diagnosis according to DSM‐III‐R and we assessed the history of substance abuse as well as the psychiatric history and clinical course. We identified 229 cases during the follow‐up; 112 of these cases (49%) fulfilled the DSM‐III‐R criteria for schizophrenia. The majority of the schizophrenics had prominent positive symptoms and a sudden onset of disease, and 69% of the cases had a record of heavy cannabis abuse at least 1 year before onset of psychotic symptoms. The high number of verified DSM‐III‐R cases of schizophrenia in this cohort and the temporal relation between cannabis abuse and schizophrenia further support the hypothesis that cannabis abuse may be a risk factor for schizophrenia. We confirmed previous observations that cannabis‐associated schizophrenia often has a sudden onset and prominent positive symptoms.
Astroglial differentiation is required for support of neurite outgrowth

Models of astrocyte differentiation stress a lineage program that involves a progressive loss of astroglial support of neuronal differentiation. These models predict that astroglial promotion of neurite extension declines with the “age” of the astrocyte. An alternative view is that astroglial support of neurite growth is regulated by epigenetic factors that induce the cells either to differentiate and support neuronal functions or to undergo cell proliferation and fail to support neurons. To compare the contribution of astroglial cell “age” to astroglial support of neurite extension, mouse cerebellar astroglia were maintained in vitro for 3–90 d, and assayed for their ability to support neurite formation. When cultured in isolation, astroglial support of neurite extension declined with time in vitro, as assayed by quantifying outgrowth from explants of pontine nuclei, falling from a robust level just after the astroglia were harvested to negligible levels 21–90 d later. Since previous studies have shown that neurons can change the state of astroglial cells (Hatten, 1985), we tested the neurite promoting activity of astroglia that were cultured for 21–90 d in vitro and subsequently induced to differentiate by the addition of neurons. When granule neurons were added to aged astroglia and pontine explants plated 2 d later, neurite growth from the explants was exuberant, regardless of the time astroglia spent in vitro prior to the addition of neurons. The state of astroglia that were growth promoting or growth inhibiting was examined by bromodeoxyuridine staining and with antisera to glial filament protein. Aged astroglia cultured alone and thus inhibitory to axon growth, proliferated at high rates and had polygonal shapes. In contrast, aged astroglia to which neurons had been added, proliferated at low rates and developed process-bearing stellate shapes. To test further whether proliferation levels related to the growth-supporting properties of astroglia, astroglia were plated alone in medium without serum, or with the addition of transforming growth factor-beta 1, each treatment known to arrest proliferation. In both cases, promotion of neurite growth was restored in aged astroglia, but the morphology of astroglia did not correlate with the ability to support neurite growth. Finally, the growth-inhibiting properties of aged astroglia do not appear to be mediated by diffusible factors, and require close apposition with living astroglial cells. We conclude that astroglial support of neurite extension depends on the state of differentiation of astroglial cells, and that these properties can be modified by coculture with neurons or conditions that arrest of astroglial proliferation, irrespective of astroglial “age”.
A Kinect-Based Virtual Rehabilitation System through Gesture Recognition

Stroke is one of the most common causes of death and long-term disability worldwide. People with motor disabilities caused by stroke experience limitations in performing daily tasks independently, and traditional rehabilitation programs have tediousness and accessibility problems for the patients. It is essential to develop novel and convenient rehabilitation systems to help people with motor impairment overcome these deficiencies. In this paper, we present a Microsoft Kinect sensor (Kinect) based virtual rehabilitation system, which allows a human operator to transmit his gesture information to the virtual environment by performing specified actions designed for our verification tasks. We verify the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed system in two user studies. In the first study, we carried out a left hand and right hand dexterity comparison experiment, in which the characteristic data of normal individuals have been obtained as assessment criteria during their accomplishing designed tasks such as upper limb raising and elbow bending. In the second study, we presented a six-level recovery assessment criterion through a body parts motion monitoring based recovery assessment method. Results suggest that it is effective for our proposed virtual rehabilitation system to assist patients in conducting home-based rehabilitation without physician's supervision.