Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linking structure and function: Development of lateral spatial interactions in macaque monkeys

Abstract Lateral spatial interactions among elements of a scene, which either enhance or degrade visual performance, are ubiquitous in vision. The neural mechanisms underlying lateral spatial interactions are a matter of debate, and various hypotheses have been proposed. Suppressive effects may be due to local inhibitory interactions, whereas facilitatory effects are typically ascribed either to the function of long-range horizontal projections in V1 or to uncertainty reduction. We investigated the development of lateral spatial interactions, facilitation and suppression, and compared their developmental profiles to those of potential underlying mechanisms in the visual system of infant macaques. Animals ranging in age from 10 weeks to 3 years were tested with a lateral masking paradigm. We found that suppressive interactions are present from very early in postnatal life, showing no change over the age range tested. However, facilitation develops slowly over the first year after birth. Our data suggest that the early maturation of suppressive interactions is related to the relatively mature receptive field properties of neurons in early visual cortical areas near birth in infant macaques, whereas the later maturation of facilitation is unlikely to be explained by development of local or long-range connectivity in primary visual cortex. Instead our data favor a late developing feedback or top-down cognitive process to explain the origin of facilitation.
802.11 Tracking and surveillance - A forensic perspective

This paper introduces a study on utilizing 802.11 client device traces for forensic purposes. The passive nature in which these traces can be collected presents a number of opportunities to the digital investigator. However, a forensically sound system must exhibit certain attributes not necessarily present in existing open-source tools that employ the associated collection techniques. Additional legal implications and difficulties in linking wireless devices back to their owners present a challenging research area.
Processing of Stress Related Acoustic Cues as Indexed by ERPs

The present paper investigated the event-related brain potential correlates of the processing of word stress related acoustic changes. We studied the processing of non-speech stimuli containing similar intensity and f0 changes as speech stimuli in a passive oddball paradigm. Contrary to our previous results using speech stimuli with a trochaic stress pattern contrasted with a iambic stress pattern, non-speech stimuli elicited a single MMN component. This result was interpreted as showing that the processing of stress information is based on speech specific mechanisms, instead of solely acoustic mechanisms.
How Home Equity Extraction and Reverse Mortgages Affect the Credit Outcomes of Senior Households

This paper examines how the extraction of home equity, including but not limited to equity extracted through reverse mortgages, affects credit outcomes of senior households. We use data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York/Equifax Consumer Credit Panel, supplemented with our unique credit panel dataset of reverse mortgage borrowers. We track credit outcomes for seniors who extracted equity through cash-out refinancing, home equity lines of credit or home equity loans between 2008 and 2011, and a random sample of nonextractors. We estimate differences-in-differences by extraction channel using individual, fixed-effects panel regression. We find that seniors extracting equity through reverse mortgages have greater reductions in consumer debt, and are less likely to become delinquent or foreclose three years post origination relative to other extractors and nonextractors. These effects are greater among households who experienced a credit shock within the two years prior to loan origination. To help isolate the effect of the extraction channel on credit outcomes, we re-estimate our models with a matched sample of consumers at the time of extraction. We find that otherwise similar HECM borrowers have larger reductions in credit card debt post-extraction than other equity borrowers and non-borrowers, with no significant difference in the rates of delinquency on non-housing debt post extraction. For HECM borrowers, we find that increased initial withdrawal and increased monthly cash flow contribute to the reduction in credit card debt.
A novel antimicrobial activity of a Paenibacillus polymyxa strain isolated from regional fermented sausages

A strain isolated from Argentinean regional fermented sausages was found to produce and secrete a compound that inhibited growth of Lactobacillus strains used as indicators. It was characterized as Paenibacillus polymyxa (P13). The antimicrobial activity, named polyxin, was obtained from culture supernatant fluid of late stationary phase and was inhibitory to actively growing cells. It was effective against a wide range of Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacterial species tested including food‐borne pathogens. Bacteriocin‐like properties such as proteinaceous nature (sensitive to proteases), insensitivity to organic solvents and chelators, stability to heat (up to 10 min at 90 °C), and acidic pH but instability in alkaline conditions, were determined. A molecular mass of 10 kDa was estimated by molecular gel filtration.
Population Viability Analysis with Species Occurrence Data from Museum Collections

Abstract: The most comprehensive data on many species come from scientific collections. Thus, we developed a method of population viability analysis (PVA) in which this type of occurrence data can be used. In contrast to classical PVA, our approach accounts for the inherent observation error in occurrence data and allows the estimation of the population parameters needed for viability analysis. We tested the sensitivity of the approach to spatial resolution of the data, length of the time series, sampling effort, and detection probability with simulated data and conducted PVAs for common, rare, and threatened species. We compared the results of these PVAs with results of standard method PVAs in which observation error is ignored. Our method provided realistic estimates of population growth terms and quasi‐extinction risk in cases in which the standard method without observation error could not. For low values of any of the sampling variables we tested, precision decreased, and in some cases biased estimates resulted. The results of our PVAs with the example species were consistent with information in the literature on these species. Our approach may facilitate PVA for a wide range of species of conservation concern for which demographic data are lacking but occurrence data are readily available.
An investigation of tourism stakeholder networks and cluster sustainability in Samui Island, Thailand

I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . III TABLE OF CONTENTS . IV LIST OF FIGURES . XI LIST OF TABLES . XIII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . XIV CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Existing Research on Island Tourism. 1 1.1.1 Key gaps in the literature . 7 1.2 Research Context. 8 1.2. 1 An Overview of the Tourism Industry in Samui Island . 12 1.3 Research aim and objectives . 18 1.4 Conceptual framework . 19 1.5 Research methodology . 21 1.6 Thesis structure . 23 1.7 Contributions of this research . 25 1.8 Summary . 27 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 28 2.
Flu Near You: Crowdsourced Symptom Reporting Spanning 2 Influenza Seasons.

OBJECTIVES We summarized Flu Near You (FNY) data from the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 influenza seasons in the United States. METHODS FNY collects limited demographic characteristic information upon registration, and prompts users each Monday to report symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI) experienced during the previous week. We calculated the descriptive statistics and rates of ILI for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons. We compared raw and noise-filtered ILI rates with ILI rates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ILINet surveillance system. RESULTS More than 61 000 participants submitted at least 1 report during the 2012-2013 season, totaling 327 773 reports. Nearly 40 000 participants submitted at least 1 report during the 2013-2014 season, totaling 336 933 reports. Rates of ILI as reported by FNY tracked closely with ILINet in both timing and magnitude. CONCLUSIONS With increased participation, FNY has the potential to serve as a viable complement to existing outpatient, hospital-based, and laboratory surveillance systems. Although many established systems have the benefits of specificity and credibility, participatory systems offer advantages in the areas of speed, sensitivity, and scalability.
An analysis of translational complexity in two text types

This article presents an empirical study where translational complexity is related to a notion of computability. Samples of English-Norwegian parallel texts have been analysed in order to estimate to what extent the given translations could have been produced automatically, assuming a rule-based approach to machine translation. The study compares two text types, fiction and law text, in order to see how these differ with respect to the question of automatisation. A central assumption behind the empirical method is that a specific translation of a given source expression can be predicted, or computed, provided that the linguistically encoded information in the original, together with information about source and target languages, and about their interrelations, provides the information needed to produce that specific target expression. The results of the investigation indicate that automatic translation tools may be helpful in the case of the law texts, and the study concurs with the view that the usefulness of such tools is limited with respect to fiction. Finally, an extension of the analysis method is proposed in order to make it relevant as a diagnostic tool for the feasibility of automatic translation in relation to specific text types.
Reliability and determinants of retinal vessel oximetry measurements in healthy eyes.

PURPOSE To assess the reliability and determinants of retinal vessel oximetry measurements with the Oxymap T1 Retinal Oximeter in normal Asian eyes. METHODS Subjects older than 40 years without a history of stroke and heart disease were recruited from a community-based clinic. Subjects underwent standardized systemic and ocular examinations. Normal eyes were defined as eyes without major eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, or retinopathy. Retinal vessel oximetry levels were measured by using the Oxymap T1 Retinal Oximeter. Intra- and intergrader reliability of retinal vessel oximetry measurements were assessed by using 50 images. Intravisit repeatability of retinal vessel oximetry measurements was assessed by using 20 paired images. Univariable linear regression was performed to examine the associations between retinal vessel oximetry measurements and systemic determinants. RESULTS A total of 118 retinal oximetry images were included in the final analysis. Intra- (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] values: 0.89-0.99) and intergrader (ICC values: 0.77-0.94) reliability, and intravisit (ICC values: 0.85-0.96) repeatability were both high. In the linear regression analysis, older age was associated with reduced overall retinal venular oximetry levels (β: -2.61%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -4.92 to -0.29) and reduced inferior-nasal retinal venular oximetry levels (β: -3.53%; 95% CI: -6.07 to -0.99). CONCLUSIONS The Oxymap Retinal Oximeter allows reliable and repeatable retinal vessel oximetry measurements. Age is the main factor that influences retinal venular oximetry levels and should be taken into account when retinal oximetry measurements are interpreted.
Desarrollo de un Analizador Sintáctico Estadístico basado en Dependencias para el Euskera

This paper presents the first steps towards a statistical syntactic analyzer for Basque. The system is based on a syntactically dependency annotated treebank and an adaptation of the deterministic syntactic analyzer of Nivre et al. (2007), which relies on a shift/reduce deterministic analyzer together with a machine learning module that determines which one of 4 analysis options to take, giving a unique syntactic dependency analysis of an input sentence. The results are near to those obtained by similar systems.
SUMO-Specific Proteases and the Cell Cycle

Post-translational modification by SUMO is a dynamic and reversible process and several SUMO-specific proteases that remove SUMO from substrates have been identified. We have recently described the activities of a new SUMO-specific protease, SENP5. We found that SENP5 discriminates between SUMO-1 and SUMO-2/3 and cells depleted of SENP5 by RNAi failed to proliferate. Our findings support the idea that differential substrate selection by the mammalian SUMO-specific proteases underlies their regulation of distinct biological processes. Furthermore, our finding of a non-redundant function for SENP5 in cell proliferation provides further support for the model that, analogous to phosphorylation, cycles of SUMOylation and deSUMOylation regulate orderly progression through cell division.
JAK 2 Gene Mutation Associated with Cerebral Infarction : a case report and literature review

Reprint requests to: Dr. Chih-Ming Lin Department of Neurology, Cathay General Hospital, Hsinchu Branch. No. 678, Sec. 2, Chung Hua Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan, R.O. C. We report a 71-year-old Taiwanese woman with polycythemia vera (PV) presenting with repeated ischemic cerebral infarctions culminating in total occlusion of the right internal carotid artery despite antiplatelet prophylaxis and regular phlebotomy to reduce blood viscosity. Only after the treatment was changed from antiplatelet therapy to anticoagulation for secondary prophylaxis was the chain of recurrent cerebrovascular events was broken. JAK2 gene mutation is hypothesized to play a major role in the interaction between blood hyperviscosity and ischemic stroke. Weather, it can enhance cascade of coagulopathy resulting susceptibility toward stroke, is still unclear and under close investigation. This report delineates the necessity of using anticogualant medication to treat PV patients with positive JAK2 mutation. Its complex interplay in hypercoagulopathy and possible thromboembolic event is dicussed. Cerebrovascular disease of ten ar ises f rom events related to malignancy, although the exact incidence is unknown [1]. Cerebrovascular disease can result from direct tumor embolization; treatmentrelated complications from chemotherapy, radiation, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; and hematological abnormalities such as hypercoagulopathic states in disseminated intravascular coagulation, polycythemia vera from erythropoietin (EPO)producing tumors, and nonbacter ial thrombotic endocarditis. Cestari et al [2] reported that cancer is the most common (30%) primary source of embolic strokes based on Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) classification. Management of ischemic stroke depends on whether the underlying hematological disorder is pr imary in or igin or secondary to malignancy.
PROPOSTA DE METODOLOGIA EMPÍRICA PARA O SETOR AUTOMOTIVO BRASILEIRO - GESTÃO DA QUALIDADE

The Brazilian Automotive Industry have presented a deep revolution since your beginning in the 50th decade. The increase of competitiveness through by new investments have elevated the quality/productivity metrics. In this process, The programs of quality management have showed as a alternative for the competitiveness and diversity market. The aim of this article is to proceed a brief discussion about of the knowledge theory, particularly of the research methods, then to propose a empirical methodology to analyze the main topics checked about the programs of quality management adopted by the companies vendors of automotive sector. The obtained results showed that quantitative and qualitative research methods used together can be extremely important for this kind of research.
Initial Linkage and Subsequent Retention in HIV Care for a Newly Diagnosed HIV-Infected Cohort in Denver, Colorado

This is a retrospective cohort study of 352 newly diagnosed HIV-infected individuals in Denver, from 2005 to 2007. Utilizing data from 3 health care systems, 2 clinical trials units, and statewide Colorado HIV laboratory reporting databases, we tracked initial linkage to HIV care, retention in care, loss to follow-up, and transitions between HIV care providers. After more than 2.6 years of follow-up, 256 (73%) individuals linked to HIV care within 180 days. Of the 301 individuals who eventually linked to care, 168 (56%) had at least one 180-day gap in care, while 49 (16%) had a 360-day gap. Transitions in care were common, with 131 (37%) individuals accessing care from 2 different providers and 15% having evidence of living outside of Colorado. In this newly diagnosed HIV-infected cohort, linkage to care was slow and long-term retention in care was poor. Transitions between HIV care providers were common and may impair engagement in care over time. Out-of-state migration was frequent and may cause an underestimation of engagement in care.
Effects of a patient oriented decision aid for prioritising treatment goals in diabetes: pragmatic randomised controlled trial

Objective To assess the effects of a patient oriented decision aid for prioritising treatment goals in diabetes compared with usual care on patient empowerment and treatment decisions. Design Pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Setting 18 general practices in the north of the Netherlands. Participants 344 patients with type 2 diabetes aged ≤65 years at the time of diagnosis and managed in primary care between April 2011 and August 2012: 225 were allocated to the intervention group and 119 to the usual care group. Intervention The intervention comprised a decision aid for people with diabetes, with individually tailored risk information and treatment options for multiple risk factors. The aid was intended to empower patients to prioritise between clinical domains and to support treatment decisions. It was offered to participants before a regular diabetes check-up and to their healthcare provider during the consultation. Four different formats of the decision aid were included for additional explorative analyses. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was the effects on patient empowerment for setting and achieving goals. The secondary outcomes were changes in the prescribing of drugs to regulate glucose, blood pressure, lipids, and albuminuria. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and automated data extraction from electronic health records during six months before and after the intervention. Results Of all intervention participants, 103 (46%) reported to have received the basic elements of the intervention. For the primary outcome analysis, 199 intervention and 107 control patients with sufficient baseline and follow-up data could be included. The mean empowerment score increased 0.1 on a 5 point scale in the overall intervention group, which was not significantly different from that of the control group (mean difference after adjusting for baseline 0.039, 95% confidence interval −0.056 to 0.134). Lipid regulating drug treatment was intensified in 25% of intervention and 12% of control participants with increased cholesterol levels, which did not reach significance when the intervention was compared with the usual care group (odds ratio 2.54, 95% confidence interval 0.89 to 7.23). Prespecified explorative analyses showed that this effect was significant for the printed version of the decision aid in comparison to usual care (3.90, 1.29 to 11.80). No relevant or significant changes were seen for other treatments. Conclusion We found no evidence that the patient oriented treatment decision aid improves patient empowerment by an important amount. The aid was not used to its full extent in a substantial number of participants. Trial registration Dutch trial register NTR1942.
Major histocompatibility complex‐linked and t cell‐dependent selection of antibody repertoires. quantitation of i‐e‐related specificities in normal mice*

Autoreactive B cell repertoires with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II (I‐E)‐related specificities were investigated by quantitating frequencies of specific B lymphocyte clonal precursors in unmanipulated normal and athymic BALB/c mice and in I‐E‐negative, MHC‐congenic BALB.B10 mice. Clonal culture supernatants containing anti‐I‐E antibodies were identified by their selective binding to I‐Ekα Edβ‐transfected fibroblasts, and those containing anti‐anti‐I‐E antibodies were detected by their selective binding to anti‐I‐E monoclonal antibodies. Analysis of splenic B lymphocytes from BALB/c mice revealed high frequencies of both specificities in the compartment of large, naturally activated cells, but not among small, resting lymphocytes. The selection of such clones was found to be MHC linked because of their absence in BALB.B10 mice, and T cell dependent because of their reduced frequency in athymic BALB/c mice. The positive selection of V regions representing complementarities and mimicries of self‐class II antigens may suggest a set of mechanisms participating in the maintenance of natural tolerance.
Novel Processes for Anaerobic Sulfate Production from Elemental Sulfur by Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria

Sulfate reducers and related organisms which had previously been found to reduce Fe(III) with H2 or organic electron donors oxidized S0 to sulfate when Mn(IV) was provided as an electron acceptor. Organisms catalyzing this reaction in washed cell suspensions included Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, Desulfomicrobium baculatum, Desulfobacterium autotrophicum, Desulfuromonas acetoxidans, and Geobacter metallireducens. These organisms produced little or no sulfate from S0 with Fe(III) as a potential electron acceptor or in the absence of an electron acceptor. In detailed studies with Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, the stoichiometry of sulfate and Mn(II) production was consistent with the reaction S0 + 3 MnO2 + 4H+→SO42- + 3Mn(II) + 2H2O. None of the organisms evaluated could be grown with S0 as the sole electron donor and Mn(IV) as the electron acceptor. In contrast to the other sulfate reducers evaluated, Desulfobulbus propionicus produced sulfate from S0 in the absence of an electron acceptor and Fe(III) oxide stimulated sulfate production. Sulfide also accumulated in the absence of Mn(IV) or Fe(III). The stoichiometry of sulfate and sulfide production indicated that Desulfobulbus propionicus disproportionates S0 as follows: 4S0 + 4H2O→SO42- + 3HS- + 5 H+. Growth of Desulfobulbus propionicus with S0 as the electron donor and Fe(III) as a sulfide sink and/or electron acceptor was very slow. The S0 oxidation coupled to Mn(IV) reduction described here provides a potential explanation for the Mn(IV)-dependent sulfate production that previous studies have observed in anoxic marine sediments. Desulfobulbus propionicus is the first example of a pure culture known to disproportionate S0.
HRM Practices and Knowledge Transfer in MNCs

This chapter introduces HRM practices that help MNCs to overcome knowledge transfer barriers (knowledge-driven HRM practices). It argues that MNCs can institute various HRM practices that impact knowledge transfer barriers associated with behavior of knowledge senders and receivers. HRM practices relevant for absorptive capacity of subsidiary employees form two groups - cognitive (job analysis, recruitment, selection, international rotation, career management, training and performance appraisal) and stimulative (promotion, performance-based compensation, internal transfer, orientation programs, job design and flexible working practices). The application of cognitive HRM practices enhances the ability of knowledge receivers to absorb transferred knowledge, while the use of stimulative HRM practices increases their motivation. Temporary and permanent types of international assignments respectively influence the ability and motivation of expatriate managers to share their knowledge.