Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Texture discrimination in active touch: Effects of the extension of the exploration and their exploitation

The active control of exploratory movements is an integral part of active touch. We investigated how the spatio-temporal extension of an exploration affects texture discrimination via active touch and how participants spontaneously control the extension of their exploration. Participants stroke one to 8 times across a virtual grating. Half of the participants judged the grating according to ridge amplitude, the other half judged ridge period. In both tasks just noticeable differences (JNDs) decreased with an increasing number of strokes, down to a (presumably) minimum JND for stroke numbers of about 6–7 or higher (according to a model fit). This extends previous findings on the perceptual effects of extended stimulation to the domain of active touch. Further, for spontaneous exploration, 6–7 strokes may be regarded as being optimal, given that this extension results in minimal JNDs while using the smallest number of strokes necessary. Many participants tended to spontaneously use clearly more than this optimal number of strokes, before they had experience with the task. With experience, stroke numbers were, however, individually closer to and, on average slightly below this number. That is, participants seem to have adapted their exploration to the task. This supports the view that the active control of exploratory movements can be used in order to optimize performance-when participants have sufficient experience with the haptic task.
Addressing Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Natural Resources: Barriers and Priorities for Land-Grant Universities in the Northeastern United States

AbstractClimate change has serious implications for agricultural production, natural resource management, and food security. In the United States, land-grant universities and the U.S. Cooperative Extension System have a critical role to play in conducting basic and applied research related to climate change and translating findings into meaningful programming. However, land-grant universities and Extension have had difficulty maintaining their roles as the preeminent source of trusted information on complex topics like climate change. To help guide research and programming agendas of land-grant universities, the authors explored the barriers and priorities that researchers and Extension personnel at 16 northeastern land-grant universities perceive as they pursue climate change research and programming. Through an online survey, respondents indicated their perceptions of barriers related to information, workplace, and target audiences as well as the priorities they perceived as most important for land-gran.
Congenital NOS2 deficiency protects mice from LPS-induced hyporesponsiveness to inhaled nitric oxide.

BACKGROUND In animal models, endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) challenge impairs the pulmonary vasodilator response to inhaled nitric oxide (NO). This impairment is prevented by treatment with inhibitors of NO synthase 2 (NOS2), including glucocorticoids and L-arginine analogs. However, because these inhibitors are not specific for NOS2, the role of this enzyme in the impairment of NO responsiveness by lipopolysaccharide remains incompletely defined. METHODS To investigate the role of NOS2 in the development of lipopolysaccharide-induced impairment of NO responsiveness, the authors measured the vasodilator response to inhalation of 0.4, 4, and 40 ppm NO in isolated, perfused, and ventilated lungs obtained from lipopolysaccharide-pretreated (50 mg/kg intraperitoneally 16 h before lung perfusion) and untreated wild-type and NOS2-deficient mice. The authors also evaluated the effects of breathing NO for 16 h on pulmonary vascular responsiveness during subsequent ventilation with NO. RESULTS In wild-type mice, lipopolysaccharide challenge impaired the pulmonary vasodilator response to 0.4 and 4 ppm NO (reduced 79% and 45%, respectively, P < 0.001), but not to 40 ppm. In contrast, lipopolysaccharide administration did not impair the vasodilator response to inhaled NO in NOS2-deficient mice. Breathing 20 ppm NO for 16 h decreased the vasodilator response to subsequent ventilation with NO in lipopolysaccharide-pretreated NOS2-deficient mice, but not in lipopolysaccharide-pretreated wild-type, untreated NOS2-deficient or untreated wild-type mice. CONCLUSIONS In response to endotoxin challenge, NO, either endogenously produced by NOS2 in wild-type mice or added to the air inhaled by NOS2-deficient mice, is necessary to impair vascular responsiveness to inhaled NO. Prolonged NO breathing, without endotoxin, does not impair vasodilation in response to subsequent NO inhalation. These results suggest that NO, plus other lipopolysaccharide-induced products, are necessary to impair responsiveness to inhaled NO in a murine sepsis model.
Data Storage and Analysis in ArrayExpress and Expression Profiler

ArrayExpress at the European Bioinformatics Institute is a public database for MIAME‐compliant microarray and transcriptomics data. It consists of two parts: the ArrayExpress Repository, which is a public archive of microarray data, and the ArrayExpress Warehouse of Gene Expression Profiles, which contains additionally curated subsets of data from the Repository. Archived experiments can be queried by experimental attributes, such as keywords, species, array platform, publication details, or accession numbers. Gene expression profiles can be queried by gene names and properties, such as Gene Ontology terms, allowing expression profiles visualization. The data can be exported and analyzed using the online data analysis tool named Expression Profiler. Data analysis components, such as data preprocessing, filtering, differentially expressed gene finding, clustering methods, and ordination‐based techniques, as well as other statistical tools are all available in Expression Profiler, via integration with the statistical package R. Curr. Protoc. Bioinform. 23:7.13. 1‐7.13. 27. © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Macroprudential Policy: Promise and Challenges

Macroprudential policy holds the promise of becoming a powerful tool for preventing financial crises. Financial amplification in response to domestic shocks or global spillovers and pecuniary externalities caused by Fisherian collateral constraints provide a sound theoretical foundation for this policy. Quantitative studies show that models with these constraints replicate key stylized facts of financial crises, and that the optimal financial policy of an ideal constrained-efficient social planner reduces sharply the magnitude and frequency of crises. Research also shows, however, that implementing effective macroprudential policy still faces serious hurdles. This paper highlights three of them: (i) complexity, because the optimal policy responds widely and non-linearly to movements in both domestic factors and global spillovers due to regime shifts in global liquidity, news about global fundamentals, and recurrent innovation and regulatory changes in world markets, (ii) lack of credibility, because of time-inconsistency of the optimal policy under commitment, and (iii) coordination failure, because a careful balance with monetary policy is needed to avoid quantitatively large inefficiencies resulting from violations of Tinbergen’s rule or strategic interaction between monetary and financial authorities.
Norrie Disease Protein (Norrin) Forms Disulfide-linked Oligomers Associated with the Extracellular Matrix*

COS-7 cells transfected with a DNA construct encoding the 133 amino acids in norrin plus six histidine residues at its carboxyl terminus were pulse-labeled with [35S]cysteine, and the labeled norrin was examined in cell lysates, the medium, and the extracellular matrix. SDS-gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions showed that the norrin expressed had an apparent M r = 14,000 and was present only in cell lysates and the extracellular matrix. Under nonreducing conditions, most of the norrin in the extracellular matrix was oligomers that contained up to ∼20 monomers. One of the major extracellular species of norrin under reducing conditions after cross-linking of norrin oligomers with bis(sulfosuccinimidyl)suberate had an apparent M r = 28,000, consistent with covalent cross-linked dimers. Thus the covalently cross-linked dimers are key structural components of norrin oligomers. By site-directed mutagenesis, the codon for half-cystine 95 in norrin was changed to one encoding alanine. The norrin C95A found in the extracellular matrix of cells transfected with this mutant was the size of dimers, indicating that half-cystine 95 is involved in oligomer formation. The corresponding half-cystine residue in human prepro-von Willebrand factor is also involved in interchain disulfide bond formation, which is consistent with the sequence identity of the half-cystine residues in norrin and part of the half-cystine residues in a disulfide-rich domain of von Willebrand factor. Replacement of valine at residue 60 in norrin by glutamic acid, a mutation found in humans with a severe type of Norrie disease, results in a considerable reduction (50%) in the amount of norrin in the extracellular matrix of transfected COS-7 cells. Replacement of arginine at residue 121 by glutamine, which is associated with a less severe type of Norrie disease, results in a reduction in the amount of norrin R121Q in the extracellular matrix (26%). These studies suggest that norrin is a secreted protein that forms disulfide-bonded oligomers that are associated with the extracellular matrix upon secretion from cells. Moreover, the disulfide-rich motif of norrin and prepro-von Willebrand factor promotes interchain disulfide bond formation among polypeptides in which it is found.
Usefulness of measurement of lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of α-fetoprotein as a marker of prognosis and recurrence of small hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective:Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of α-fetoprotein (AFP-L3%) is a recently described marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and its usefulness has been demonstrated in many studies. We evaluated the usefulness of serial measurement of AFP-L3% as a marker of prognosis and recurrence after treatment of small HCC.Methods:AFP-L3% was measured before and after initial treatment in 60 patients with small HCC (maximum diameter ≤2 cm). AFP-L3% was taken as the ratio of AFP-L3 to total AFP and multiplied by 100%, and levels ≥10% were considered positive. Outcomes and recurrence were compared between patients AFP-L3%–negative after initial treatment (Group A, n = 43) and patients who were AFP-L3%–positive after initial treatment (Group B, n = 17). Results:Before treatment, AFP-L3% was positive in 14 (23.3%) of the 60 patients. The cumulative survival rate of Group A was significantly longer (p= 0.0091) than that of Group B. The recurrence rate was significantly higher in Group B (p= 0.0104) than in Group A. When recurrence was limited to intrahepatic metastasis, the recurrence rate was significantly higher in Group B (p= 0.0064). However, the recurrence rate of multicentric occurrence did not differ significantly between Groups A and B.Conclusion:Measurement of AFP-L3% after treatment may be useful for understanding prognosis and recurrence of HCC.
Relative contribution of footwear to the efficacy of ankle-foot orthoses

Objective: To examine the relative effects of footwear and an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) on hemiplegic gait. Design: A case series with three contrasting conditions: walking without footwear, with footwear alone, and with footwear and an AFO. Spatio-temporal parameters reflecting walking performance were analysed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Patients: Five patients with hemiplegia and reduced mobility following stroke. Setting: A specialist rehabilitation centre. Intervention: Wearing either footwear alone, or footwear with an AFO. Measures: Video recordings of gait were subjected to a kinematic analysis to determine spatio-temporal parameters. Results: Stride length was increased by an average of 5 cm when wearing footwear. An additional 5-cm increase was also observed when wearing an AFO. Swing velocity was also affected by the manipulation. Conclusions: The appropriate comparative baseline for assessing the efficacy of an AFO is subjects walking with existing footwear and not barefoot.
Chemical Processing in High-Pressure Aqueous Environments. 7. Process Development for Catalytic Gasification of Wet Biomass Feedstocks

Through the use of a metal catalyst, gasification of wet algae slurries can be accomplished with high levels of carbon conversion to gas at relatively low temperature (350 °C). In a pressurized-water environment (20 MPa), near-total conversion of the organic structure of the algae to gases has been achieved in the presence of a supported ruthenium metal catalyst. The process is essentially steam reforming, as there is no added oxidizer or reagent other than water. In addition, the gas produced is a medium-heating value gas due to the synthesis of high levels of methane, as dictated by thermodynamic equilibrium. As opposed to earlier work, biomass trace components were removed by processing steps so that they did not cause processing difficulties in the fixed catalyst bed tubular reactor system. As a result, the algae feedstocks, even those with high ash contents, were much more reliably processed without plugging the feeding systems or the fixed catalyst bed. High conversions were obtained even with high .
Improved network selection for multimedia applications

Fifth generation mobile networks are being developed to compensate the explosive growth of data traffic and shortage of spectrum. Fifth generation networks consist of multi‐tier heterogeneous network in which multi cells and multi networks are involved. The heterogeneity of different classes of base station improves spectral efficiency and provides flexible coverage area. Hence, in the heterogeneous network environment, deciding to which one mobile should connect is called network selection problem. In this paper, network selection problem in heterogeneous network is simulated by multi attribute decision making algorithm, game theory, and prospect theory. Prospect theory is new in the field of network selection. The weights for different network attributes are computed by analytical hierarchical process, standard deviation, and entropy method. The 4 different applications, i.e., video, voice, web browsing, and email transfer are considered for which available bandwidth, packet jitter, packet loss, and cost per byte are taken as most important attributes, respectively. The weights for different applications are calculated by analytical hierarchical process method. The selection is done in environment composed of heterogeneous networks such as Wi‐Fi, WiMAX, WLAN, LTE, UMTS, and GPRS. So different networks are selected for different applications because only 1 network cannot fulfill the requirement of the all applications. The performance of different methods is shown in relative standard deviation and accuracy. Prospect theory gives the maximum values of relative standard deviation and accuracy.
Individual and organizational predictors of depression in general practitioners.

BACKGROUND High levels of stress and depression are seen in both general practitioners (GPs) and hospital doctors, and this has implications for patient care. It is therefore important to discover the individual and organizational causes of elevated symptoms so they can be tackled. AIM To discover the relative importance of individual characteristics measured 10 years earlier compared with current organizational stressors in predicting depression in GPs. METHOD Longitudinal questionnaire study, using data from those of the original cohort of 318 medical students who are now GPs (n = 131), considering perceptions of current stressors and comparing through regression analyses the relative strength of early personality and mood with current organizational factors of sleep, hours worked, and practice size in predicting current depression levels. RESULTS There were 22 (17%) stressors scoring above threshold for depression. Relationships with senior doctors and patients are the main reported stressors, followed by making mistakes and conflict of career with personal life. The predictors of symptom levels varied for men and women. In men, depression and self-criticism as students, and current sleep levels; and in women, sibling rivalry and current alcohol use, were the main predictors: in men, 27% of the variance was accounted for by early dispositional factors alone compared with 14% in women. A model is suggested linking sleep loss with workplace stressors, self-critical cognitions, and depression. CONCLUSION Interventions can be made throughout training, targeting self-criticism and recognizing early depression, while later addressing the organizational stressors, particularly work relationships and sleep patterns.
Financial transactions taxation in the European Union and Croatia

The paper provides a systematic review of what is known about the financial transactions tax, its practical application in EU countries and elsewhere in the world and its impacts on financial markets. A special emphasis is placed on the outlook for the taxation of financial transactions in the EU and the possibilities and constraints in the Republic of Croatia. The results of the analysis show the propensity of countries to the taxation of financial transactions, particularly because speculations on the financial markets before the outbreak of the crisis enabled high economic rents to be generated, while during the crisis period, failed speculations were paid for with ample government support because of the fear that the stability of the financial sector would be distorted. Analysis of the possibility of taxing the Croatian capital market according to the proposed European model shows that the inclusion of the Republic of Croatia in the common taxation procedure would be justified, although the revenue from such a tax would be relatively small.
Toward high solids loading process for lignocellulosic biofuel production at a low cost

High solids loadings (>18 wt%) in enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation are desired for lignocellulosic biofuel production at a high titer and low cost. However, sugar conversion and ethanol yield decrease with increasing solids loading. The factor(s) limiting sugar conversion at high solids loading is not clearly understood. In the present study, we investigated the effect of solids loading on simultaneous saccharification and co‐fermentation (SSCF) of AFEX™ (ammonia fiber expansion) pretreated corn stover for ethanol production using a xylose fermenting strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae 424A(LNH‐ST). Decreased sugar conversion and ethanol yield with increasing solids loading were also observed. End‐product (ethanol) was proven to be the major cause of this issue and increased degradation products with increasing solids loading was also a cause. For the first time, we show that with in situ removal of end‐product by performing SSCF aerobically, sugar conversion stopped decreasing with increasing solids loading and monomeric sugar conversion reached as high as 93% at a high solids loading of 24.9 wt%. Techno‐economic analysis was employed to explore the economic possibilities of cellulosic ethanol production at high solids loadings. The results suggest that low‐cost in situ removal of ethanol during SSCF would significantly improve the economics of high solids loading processes. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 980–989. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
In vitro Antiseptic Susceptibility of Clinical Isolates from Nosocomial Infections

To evaluate the susceptibility of a large number of strains to various antiseptics, we elaborated a simple, qualitative broth turbidity method in which we could quickly judge the efficacy visually. For this method, we prepared a modified neutralizer broth, consisting of trypticase soy broth containing 15% Tween 80, 1% soybean lecithin and 0.5% sodium thiosulfate. The susceptibilities of Serratia marcescens No. 26 to 4 antiseptics obtained from the turbidity method showed a good agreement with those obtained from the colony-counting method; the 4 antiseptics tested were povidone-iodine (PVP-I), chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and alkyldiaminoethylglycine hydrochloride (AEG). Both PVP-I and BAC had complete efficacy in 0.5 min against all isolates tested [100 isolates of S. marcescens, 103 of Klebsiella pneumoniae, 99 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 19 of Alcaligenes faecalis and 30 of A. xylosoxidans subsp. xylosoxydans (A. xylosoxydans)]. In contrast, the effectiveness of CHG was weak compared with PVP-I, BAC and AEG. Strong resistance against AEG was noted even after 3-min exposure in 1 isolate each of A. faecalis and A. xylosoxydans. It is concluded that the turbidity test is a simple and accurate method to evaluate susceptibility to various antiseptics and that it is suitable for a screening of a large number of strains. Among the 4 antiseptics tested, PVP-I and BAC showed a consistently high activity against all isolates, confirming PVP-I and BAC to be clinically useful antiseptics.
Biomarkers for the early detection of acute kidney injury

Purpose of review Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious condition, the diagnosis of which depends on serum creatinine, which is a delayed and unreliable indicator of AKI. Fortunately, understanding the early stress response of the kidney to acute injuries has revealed a number of potential biomarkers. The current status of the most promising of these novel AKI biomarkers, including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), liver-type fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP), and interleukin (IL)-18, is reviewed. Recent findings In particular, NGAL is emerging as an excellent biomarker in the urine and plasma, for the early prediction of AKI, for monitoring clinical trials in AKI, and for the prognosis of AKI in several common clinical scenarios. However, biomarker combinations may be required to improve our ability to predict AKI and its outcomes in a context-specific manner. Summary It is vital that additional large future studies demonstrate the association between biomarkers and hard clinical outcomes independent of serum creatinine concentrations and that randomization to a treatment for AKI based on high biomarker levels results in an improvement in clinical outcomes.