Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The computation of occluded contours in visual agnosia: Evidence for early computation prior to shape binding and figure-ground coding

We examined whether an agnosic patient with a deficit in early visual processing, HJA, completed occluded contours. We used matching tasks with stimuli composed of three superimposed or occluded shapes. Experiments 2 and 6 required superimposed or occluded shapes to be discriminated from distractors in which the position of one shape was changed. HJA was selectively impaired with occluded relative to superimposed shapes. His performance was affected by the spatial separation of the occluded contours rather than the area of the occluded surface. Experiments 3 and 5 required HJA to discriminate the central shape. Making occluded contours easier to compute (by reducing their spatial separation) facilitated discrimination of a central occluded shape (in the background), although it impaired discrimination of a central occluding shape (in the foreground). Free-choice shape judgements made to the central shape (Experiment 2) showed that HJA used both real and completed contours to segment foreground shapes inappropriately. When asked to copy overlapping shapes (Experiment 4), HJA drew in the occluded parts as if real contours were present, at least on some occasions. These drawings and a task requiring discrimination between real and occluded contours (Experiment 7), showed a tendency to continue contours inappropriately, an insensitiviy to junctions, and impaired integration of contours into more global shapes. The results suggest that occluded contours can be computed early on in visual processing, probably at the level where long-range mechanisms group collinear contour segments together. Our control experiment shows that HJA is not impaired in collinear contour grouping. These mechanisms are prior to processes in which contours are bound to shapes and in which foregroundbackground relationships between shapes are resolved. In visual agnosia, occluded contours can be computed even when there is impairment of both binding of contours to shapes and the computation of foreground-background relations in overlapping shapes.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN TITLE I PROGRAMS IN NEW MEXICO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) and subsequent reauthorizations require the United States Department of Education to distribute funding to states that ultimately goes to local school districts for the purpose of improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged students, including English Language Learners (ELLs). In New Mexico, 64% of public school students participate in Title I programs, and 16% of all New Mexico students are ELLs. However, no studies to date have explored how New Mexico public school districts are implementing Title I with respect to English Language Learners. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct document review and to survey and interview Title I Directors in New Mexico school districts to determine how Title I is implemented with respect to English Language Learners.
Thaumarchaeotes abundant in refinery nitrifying sludges express amoA but are not obligate autotrophic ammonia oxidizers

Nitrification is a core process in the global nitrogen cycle that is essential for the functioning of many ecosystems. The discovery of autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) within the phylum Thaumarchaeota has changed our perception of the microbiology of nitrification, in particular since their numerical dominance over ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in many environments has been revealed. These and other data have led to a widely held assumption that all amoA-encoding members of the Thaumarchaeota (AEA) are autotrophic nitrifiers. In this study, 52 municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants were screened for the presence of AEA and AOB. Thaumarchaeota carrying amoA were detected in high abundance only in four industrial plants. In one plant, thaumarchaeotes closely related to soil group I.1b outnumbered AOB up to 10,000-fold, and their numbers, which can only be explained by active growth in this continuous culture system, were two to three orders of magnitude higher than could be sustained by autotrophic ammonia oxidation. Consistently, 14CO2 fixation could only be detected in AOB but not in AEA in actively nitrifying sludge from this plant via FISH combined with microautoradiography. Furthermore, in situ transcription of archaeal amoA, and very weak in situ labeling of crenarchaeol after addition of 13CO2, was independent of the addition of ammonium. These data demonstrate that some amoA-carrying group I.1b Thaumarchaeota are not obligate chemolithoautotrophs.
Identifying relationships of information quality dimensions

Information and its quality are impacted by numerous internal and external sources and dynamic factors, most of which influence them continually. Since information is a multidimensional construct, information quality improvement in an organization is required to consider various dimensions that are associated with degree of information quality. Therefore information quality dimensions are the fundamental components and indicators to assess and improve information quality in organizations. However information quality dimensions research is still immature to cover or identify all information aspects. This is because despite the vast information quality research by researchers and practitioners over the last two decades, little is known about the mutual relationships of information quality dimensions. In order to address the mutual relationships of information quality dimensions, the authors have three objectives: (1) identifying what types of attributes are embedded to information quality dimensions; (2) analysing how differently combinations of information quality dimensions impact quality of information; (3) discussing the relative importance of information quality dimensions from real-world practice. In this research, the authors conducted a case study employing analytic hierarchy process to fulfil the objectives.
Selective induction of chemotherapy resistance of mammary tumors in a conditional mouse model for hereditary breast cancer

We have studied in vivo responses of “spontaneous” Brca1- and p53-deficient mammary tumors arising in conditional mouse mutants to treatment with doxorubicin, docetaxel, or cisplatin. Like human tumors, the response of individual mouse tumors varies, but eventually they all become resistant to the maximum tolerable dose of doxorubicin or docetaxel. The tumors also respond well to cisplatin but do not become resistant, even after multiple treatments in which tumors appear to regrow from a small fraction of surviving cells. Classical biochemical resistance mechanisms, such as up-regulated drug transporters, appear to be responsible for doxorubicin resistance, rather than alterations in drug-damage effector pathways. Our results underline the promise of these mouse tumors for the study of tumor-initiating cells and of drug therapy of human cancer.
d–f hybridization and quantum criticality in weakly-itinerant ferromagnets

We investigate the unusual magnetic, thermodynamic and transport properties of nearly-critical, weakly-itinerant ferromagnets with the general formula UTX, where T=Rh, Co and X=Ge, Si. As a unique feature of these systems, we show how changes in the Vdf hybridization, which controls their proximity to a ferromagnetic instability, determine the evolution of the ground state magnetization, M0, the Curie temperature, TC, the density of states at the Fermi level, N(EF), the T2 resistivity coefficient, A, and the specific heat coefficient, γ. The universal aspect of our findings comes from the dependence on only two parameters: the transition metal Td bandwidth, Wd, and the distance between the Td and Uf band centers, CTd − CUf. We discuss our results in connection to data for URh1−xCoxGe.
Control of DNA replication: A new facet of Hox proteins?

Hox proteins are well‐known as developmental transcription factors controlling cell and tissue identity, but recent findings suggest that they are also part of the cell replication machinery. Hox‐mediated control of transcription and replication may ensure coordinated control of cell growth and differentiation, two processes that need to be tightly and precisely coordinated to allow proper organ formation and patterning. In this review we summarize the available data linking Hox proteins to the replication machinery and discuss the developmental and pathological implications of this new facet of Hox protein function.
Herpes simplex virus variants restraint to high concentrations of acyclovir exist in clinical isolates

Acyclovir (ACV) has been shown to inhibit the replication of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in vitro. We examined a wide variety of HSV clinical isolates for the presence of naturally occurring ACV-resistant (ACVr) variants. Although the ACV doses that inhibited 50% of these isolates were within the range of doses inhibiting 50% of the ACV-susceptible wild-type strains, we successfully isolated variants resistant to high ACV concentrations (25 to 75 microM) from each virion population even in the absence of prior drug exposure. Furthermore, we demonstrated, by fluctuation analysis of two encephalitis strains, that the ACVr variants were clonally distributed in the virus populations before exposure to ACV and did not result from rapid adaptation to ACV. All variants isolated after a single exposure to a high dose of ACV were true ACVr variants, as demonstrated by their plating efficiencies in the presence of ACV. We found that 36 and 50% of the ACVr variants of the two strains examined in detail displayed plating efficiencies in phosphonoacetic acid of greater than 0.1, possibly indicating that many of the ACVr variants contained alterations in the DNA polymerase gene locus. Because the distribution of ACVr variants in natural populations is relatively high (10(-4), these results suggest that selection of ACVr strains during ACV therapy is possible.
The influence of ribosome‐binding‐site elements on translational efficiency in Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli in vivo

A method is described to determine simultaneously the effect of any changes in the ribosome‐binding site (RBS) of mRNA on translational efficiency in Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli in vivo. The approach was used to analyse systematically the influence of spacing between the Shine‐Dalgarno sequence and the initiation codon, the three different initiation codons, and RBS secondary structure on translational yields in the two organisms. Both B. subtilis and E. coli exhibited similar spacing optima of 7–9 nucleotides. However, B. subtilis translated messages with spacings shorter than optimal much less efficiently than E. coli. In both organisms, AUG was the preferred initiation codon by two‐ to threefold. In E coli GUG was slightly better than (JUG while in B. subtilis UUG was better than GUG. The degree of emphasis placed on initiation codon type, as measured by translational yield, was dependent on the strength of the Shine‐Dalgarno interaction in both organisms. B. subtilis v/as also much less able to tolerate secondary structure in the RBS than E. coli. While significant differences were found between the two organisms in the effect of specific RBS elements on translation, other mRNA components in addition to those elements tested appear to be responsible, in part, for translational species specificity. The approach described provides a rapid and systematic means of elucidating such additional determinants.
Factors affecting the viscosity of sodium hypochlorite and their effect on irrigant flow.

AIM To assess the influence of concentration, temperature and surfactant addition to a sodium hypochlorite solution on its dynamic viscosity and to calculate the corresponding Reynolds number to determine the corresponding flow regimen. METHODOLOGY The dynamic viscosity of the irrigant was assessed using a rotational viscometer. Sodium hypochlorite with concentrations ranging from 0.6% to 9.6% was tested at 37 and 22 °C. A wide range of concentrations of three different surfactants was mixed in 2.4% sodium hypochlorite for viscosity measurements. The Reynolds number was calculated under each condition. Data were analysed using two-way anova. RESULTS There was a significant influence of sodium hypochlorite concentration (P < 0.001) and temperature (P < 0.001) on dynamic viscosity: the latter significantly increased with sodium hypochlorite concentration and decreased with temperature. A significant influence of surfactant concentration on dynamic viscosity (P < 0.001) occurred, especially for high surfactant concentrations: 6.25% for benzalkonium chloride, 15% for Tween 80 and 6.25% for Triton X-100. Reynolds number values calculated for a given flow rate (0.14 mL s(-1)), and root canal diameter (sizes 45 and 70) clearly qualified the irrigant flow regimen as laminar. CONCLUSIONS Dynamic viscosity increased with sodium hypochlorite and surfactant concentration but decreased with temperature. Under clinical conditions, all viscosities measured led to laminar flow. The transition between laminar and turbulent flow may be reached by modifying different parameters at the same time: increasing flow rate and temperature whilst decreasing irrigant viscosity by adding surfactants with a high value of critical micellar concentration.
Quo vadis nateglinide? Ten-year perspective

Introduction: It has been hypothesized that reducing postprandial glucose spikes would result both in improved overall glycemic control and long-term (especially cardiovascular) outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. Nateglinide, a short-acting insulin secretagogue of the meglitinide class of antidiabetic agents, has been marketed for the past decade specifically to address the diminished postprandial insulin secretion. It is thus timely to review our experience with this agent. Areas covered: This review summarizes findings from the key preclinical and pivotal clinical research studies that eventually led to drug approval. The literature search involved both original experimental studies and subsequent comprehensive reviews of the subject. The search included the databases (in English language) in the PubMed (maintained by the US Library of Medicine) domain as well as review of the articles in the author's files spanning the years 1995 – 2011. Expert opinion: The author's subjective feelings about our understanding of the importance of controlling postprandial glucose excursions and what, if any, effect nateglinide has had in that respect since its introduction are given. Despite promising animal and human research data, no evidence has accumulated to date to suggest that addressing postprandial hyperglycemia with nateglinide (or any other antidiabetic medication for that matter) leads to improved outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Coronary microvascular dysfunction in patients without myocardial diseases and obstructive atherosclerosis

Many patients undergoing coronary angiography because of chest pain syndromes, believed to be indicative of obstructive atherosclerosis of the epicardial coronary arteries, are found to have normal angiograms. In the past two decades, a number of studies have reported that abnormalities in the function and structure of the coronary microcirculation may occur in patients without obstructive atherosclerosis, but with risk factors or with myocardial diseases as well as in patients with obstructive atherosclerosis; furthermore, coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) can be iatrogenic. In some instances, CMD represents an epiphenomenon, whereas in others it is an important marker of risk or may even contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and myocardial diseases, thus becoming a therapeutic target. This review article provides an update on the clinical relevance of CMD in different clinical settings and also the implications for therapy.
Technological Distance and Bilateral Trade in Asia

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between technological distance and bilateral trade flows in the selected Asian countries. Despite the majority of empirical analysis, we have explored the relationship between trade and technological distance through a nonparametric analysis. We thus specify an innovative version of a semi-parametric gravity model, which has been focused on explaining the role of technological distance in bilateral trade relations. Specified trade model keeps the interpretability of parametric effects of the gravity variables (such as GDP, population) and flexibility of nonparametric effects arising from, for instance, technological distance. The empirical results, which have been obtained by estimating a semi-parametric gravity model of trade over the period 1996-2013, imply the significant role of technology distance in trade flows for the Asian countries. More specifically, the relationship between technological distance and trade in a semi-parametric framework varies depending on the level of technological distance in Asia, that is, a low difference between technology levels in some Asian trading partners has led to an increase in trade flows, whereas a contrary result for some other partners.
Suspicion of obstructive sleep apnea by Berlin Questionnaire predicts events in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND From a mechanistic standpoint, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may further disturb cardiovascular homeostasis in the setting of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). OBJECTIVE We sought to investigate if a standardized clinical diagnosis of OSA, in acute coronary syndrome patients, predicts the risk of cardiovascular events during hospitalization. METHODS In a prospective cohort study, a group of 200 patients diagnosed with ACS between September 2005 and November 2007 were stratified by the Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) regarding the risk for OSA (high or low risk). We tested if the subgroup of high risk for OSA was prone to a higher frequency of cardiovascular events. The primary endpoint evaluated was a composite outcome of cardiovascular death, recurrent cardiac ischemic events, acute pulmonary edema and stroke during hospitalization. RESULTS Ninety four (47%) patients assessed by the BQ were likely to have OSA. High risk for OSA was associated with a non-significant higher mortality (4.25% vs 0.94%; p=0.189), but a significant higher incidence of composite cardiovascular events (18.08% vs 6.6%; p=0.016). In the logistic regression model, multivariate predictors of composite cardiovascular events were age (OR= 1.048; 95% CI 1.008 to 1.090; p=0.019), left ventricular ejection fraction (OR= 0.954; 95% CI 0.920 to 0.989; p=0.010), and higher risk for OSA (OR= 3.657; 95% CI 1.216 to 10.996; p=0.021). CONCLUSION The use of a simple and validated questionnaire (BQ) to identify patients with higher risk for OSA may help in the prediction of cardiovascular outcome during hospitalization. Moreover, our data suggests that OSA is very common in patients with ACS.
The effects of the Common Agricultural Policy on the European Community wheat-washing industry and grain trade.

The wheat-washing industry in the European Community (EC) increased the separation of wheat flour into vital wheat gluten and wheat starch from 360,000 tons (wheat equivalent) in 1980 to over 1 million tons in 1985. This expansion was facilitated by trends in relative grain prices in the EC, which are insulated from movements in world prices by a variable levy system, and by the use of better fractionation techniques. The expansion of the wheat-washing industry was responsible for most of the 2-million-ton decline in EC hard wheat imports between 1980 and 1985, and reduced EC wheat exports and corn imports by about 3.3 and 0.5 million tons. EC hard wheat imports could be totally eliminated and EC wheat exports could be further reduced by as much as 4.9 million tons annually by the mid-1990's, if EC agricultural policies favor the further expansion of this industry. In the absence of a further expansion of the EC wheat-washing industry, however, these latter trade effects for wheat would not occur and EC corn imports would increase by an additional 2 million tons.
A Comparison of the Performance of 5-year-old Children with Typical Development using Iconic Encoding in AAC Systems with and without Icon Prediction on a Fixed Display

Iconic encoding, or the use of a sequence of icons to retrieve a word or phrase from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies, has previously been shown to be challenging for young children to learn to use. It is possible that the use of icon prediction may facilitate learning in such systems by providing additional visual cues. The goal of the current study was to determine the effect of using icon prediction on the performance of 5-year-old children with typical development who were learning to locate and generalize vocabulary prestored in AAC technologies using iconic encoding. Twenty 5-year-old children were introduced to 30 vocabulary items and asked to locate them using iconic encoding during four learning and testing sessions. Ten of the children completed this task without iconic prediction, and 10 completed the task with icon prediction. They were also asked to locate an additional 30 vocabulary items, not previously introduced, during one generalization session. The results indicated that the children in the icon prediction group did not perform more accurately than the children who did not have prediction available. There was some evidence, however, that using icon prediction may help to facilitate generalization of the use of iconic encoding to novel vocabulary. Potential implications, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.
A Subset of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons in the Ovine Medial Basal Hypothalamus Is Activated during Increased Pulsatile Luteinizing Hormone Secretion1.

GnRH neurons active in the preovulatory LH surge have been identified in several species using the early intermediate gene product, Fos, but the GnRH neurons active during episodic LH secretion remain unknown. In this study, we have used Fos and Fos-related antigens (FRA) to determine whether a subset of GnRH neurons is active when pulsatile LH secretion is acutely stimulated in sheep. In experiment 1, episodic LH secretion was stimulated in five of six ewes by injection of an opioid antagonist to luteal phase ewes. These five ewes had a 6-fold increase in the percentage of GnRH neurons in the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) expressing Fos/FRA, compared with control ewes that had no LH pulses before death. Fos/FRA expression was not increased in GnRH neurons found in any other area. In experiment 2, episodic LH secretion was induced in rams by introduction of estrous ewes. This treatment increased Fos/FRA expression in MBH GnRH neurons approximately 10-fold compared with control rams. Again, this increase.