Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Binding Temporal Context in Memory: Impact of Emotional Arousal as a Function of State Anxiety and State Dissociation

Abstract Encoding of stressful experiences plays an important role in the development of posttraumatic stress disorder. A crucial aspect of memory encoding is binding: the “gluing” of the temporal and spatial elements of an episode into a cohesive unit. This study investigated the effect of emotional arousal on temporal binding and examined whether temporal binding varied as a function of state anxiety and/or state dissociation. Participants saw picture sequences that varied in arousal and valence. After each sequence, participants were presented with all the pictures simultaneously and had to sort the pictures in the original order. Temporal context binding was indexed by sorting accuracy. Binding was generally lower for high than low arousing pictures. Reduced binding of arousing material was specifically pronounced in participants with high state anxiety, whereas it seemed independent of state dissociation. These findings point to the relevance of impaired temporal binding as a component of aberrant memory encoding in stressful situations.
Classification d'images à grande échelle avec des SVM

RÉSUMÉ. Nous présentons des améliorations de l’algorithme de Power Mean SVM (PmSVM) pour la classification d’ensembles d’images tels qu’ImageNet (14 millions d’images et 21 000 classes) qui rendent l’apprentissage beaucoup plus complexe (temps et coût mémoire). Les SVM ne sachant traiter que deux classes, les approches les plus utilisées sont un contre un ou un contre le reste. Avec les grands ensembles de données, l’approche un contre le reste est préférée pour des raisons de coût, mais implique des problèmes de déséquilibre. Pour le déséquilibre, nous proposons un algorithme de bagging équilibré de SVM, parallélisé pour obtenir les résultats dans un temps raisonnable. Sur les 1 000 plus grandes classes d’ImageNet (ILSVRC 2010) il est 286 fois plus rapide que le PmSVM original et 1 434 fois plus rapide que LIBLINEAR avec une amélioration relative de plus de 20 % de la précision par rapport à ce dernier.
A Highly Purified RNA Polymerase II Elongation Control System*

Studying the sensitivity of transcription to the nucleotide analog 5,6-dichloro-1-β-d-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole has led to the discovery of a number of proteins involved in the regulation of transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II. We have developed a highly purified elongation control system composed of three purified proteins added back to isolated RNA polymerase II elongation complexes. Two of the proteins, 5,6-dichloro-1-β-d-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole sensitivity-inducing factor (DSIF) and negative elongation factor (NELF), act as negative transcription elongation factors by increasing the time the polymerase spent at pause sites. P-TEFb reverses the negative effect of DSIF and NELF through a mechanism dependent on its kinase activity. TFIIF is a general initiation factor that positively affects elongation by decreasing pausing. We show that TFIIF functionally competes with DSIF and NELF, and this competition is dependent on the relative concentrations of TFIIF and NELF.
The deep structure of continents

The Lehmann discontinuity at 220-km depth is an important global feature which occurs under both oceans and continents. It is a barrier to penetration by young lithosphere and marks the base of seismicity in regions of continent-continent collision. The strong lateral variation in upper mantle velocities occurs mainly above this depth. Continental roots extend no deeper than about 150–200 km. The basalteclogite transformation and eclogite-harzburgite separation may be responsible for the geometry of intermediate depth earthquakes. Oceanic and continental geotherms converge above about 200 km and become less steep than the melting gradient at greater depth. This implies a low viscosity channel near 250 km. This would give a decoupling zone of maximum shear beneath continental shields. The Lehmann discontinuity may be the interface between two distinct geochemical reservoirs. The velocity jump, and the inferred density jump, at 220 km are consistent with an increase in garnet content. The mantle may be garnet lherzolite above and eclogite immediately below the Lehmann discontinuity. The transition region may be mainly eclogite and be the source region for oceanic tholeiites.
Cortical plasticity is preserved in nondemented older individuals with severe ischemic small vessel disease

Ischemic small vessel disease (SVD) is a common finding on routine scans in older people, but cognitive sequelae vary considerably. To improve understanding of mechanisms underlying decline or preservation of cognitive function in this condition, we assessed cognition and cortical plasticity in 20 elderly subjects with severe SVD and 20 age‐matched controls without SVD, as rated on conventional MRI. Cognitive status was determined with a neuropsychological test battery, cortical plasticity induced with a paired associative stimulation protocol. Microstructural white matter changes were further analyzed for fractional anisotrophy using diffusion tensor imaging. We found that cortical plasticity as well as memory functions were preserved in severe SVD, while executive functions showed trendwise or significant decreases. Within the SVD group, lower white matter integrity in parahippocampal regions and posterior parts of the corpus callosum was associated with larger cortical plasticity, an association not seen for prefrontal white matter tracts. Enhanced cortical plasticity in subjects with lower white matter integrity in memory‐relevant areas might thus indicate a compensatory mechanism to counteract memory decline in severe SVD. Hum Brain Mapp, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Using Genotype-Based Recall to Estimate the Effects of AMY1 Copy Number Variation in Substrate Metabolism

By the turn of the 21st century it had become evident that type 2 diabetes has a strong genetic basis (1), but very little was known about the specific loci causing the disease. Sixteen years on, hundreds of loci have been discovered at which DNA variation and cardiometabolic traits robustly correlate (2). But, as we well know, correlation and causation are not synonymous, and there is much that must now be done to characterize the mechanisms through which genetic variants raise disease risk. Although no single approach will be sufficient to achieve this, the use of advanced molecular assays has helped elucidate the key subphenotypes that underlie diseases such as type 2 diabetes. However, a key barrier to the application of these methods is that genetic effects are usually of small magnitude, making them difficult to estimate, and the simple solution of studying very large sample collections can prove prohibitively expensive. This has motivated studies that maximize power by selectively sampling biosamples or participants with starkly contrasting genetic characteristics from much larger cohorts and undertaking detailed phenotyping in these subsamples (Fig. 1). This approach, termed genotype-based recall (GBR) (3), can be considerably more powerful than randomly sampling participants for substudies of similar size and potentially more cost-effective than phenotyping the entire cohort. Figure 1 The genotype-based recall paradigm: biosamples or participants are recalled from existing biobanks or cohorts, respectively, for new substudies. For example, new “omic” analyses might be undertaken in recalled biosamples …
Neutralization of Chlamydia psittaci with Monoclonal Antibodies

Neutralization of Chlamydia (C.) psittaci avian strain P‐1041 was examined in vitro using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Of the 10 MAbs used, 6 were found to exhibit neutralizing capability. These include 3 against major outer membrane protein (MOMP), 1 against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and 2 against other protein molecules [90 kilodalton (kDa) and 90/50 kDa]. Most neutralizing MAbs were dependent on complement for efficient neutralization, while a strain‐specific MAb (2B5) against the 90 kDa protein displayed a different requirement for complement and neutralized the infectivity of the P‐1041 at high concentrations without complement. By competitive inhibition enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (competitive inhibition ELISA), all 3 neutralizing anti‐MOMP MAbs were demonstrated to recognize different epitopes found in very close proximity to each other on the outer membrane.
Epidemiology of critical care syndromes, organ failures, and life-support interventions in a suburban US community.

BACKGROUND ICU services represent a significant and increasing proportion of medical care. Population-based epidemiologic studies are essential to inform physicians and policymakers about current and future ICU demands. We aimed to determine the incidence of critical care syndromes, organ failures, and life-support interventions in a defined US suburban community with unrestricted access to critical care services. METHODS This population-based observational cohort from January 1 to December 31, 2006, in Olmsted County, Minnesota, included all consecutive critically ill adult residents admitted to the ICU. Main outcomes were incidence of critical care syndromes, life-support interventions, and organ failures as defined by standard criteria. Incidences are reported per 100,000 population (95% CIs) and were age adjusted to the 2006 US population. RESULTS A total of 1,707 ICU admissions were identified from 1,461 patients. Incidences of critical care syndromes were respiratory failure, 430 (390-470); acute kidney injury, 290 (257-323); severe sepsis, 286 (253-319); all-cause shock, 194 (167-221); acute lung injury, 86 (68-105); all-cause coma, 43 (30-55); and overt disseminated intravascular coagulation, 18 (10-26). Incidence of mechanical ventilation was invasive, 310 (276-344); noninvasive, 180 (154-206); vasopressors and inotropes, 183(155-208). Renal replacement therapy incidence was 96 (77-116). Of the cohort, 1,330 patients (91%) survived to hospital discharge. Short- and long-term survival decreased by the number of failing organs. CONCLUSIONS In a suburban US community with high access to critical care services, cumulative incidences of critical care syndromes and life-support interventions were higher than previously reported. The results of this study have important implications for future planning of critical care delivery.
Epidemiology of suicide and parasuicide

The epidemiology of suicide (1970-1990) and parasuicide (1970-1989) in Great Britain is reviewed. A wide variation in suicide rates exists across Europe, and the rates in England and Wales fall considerably below the median. Although suicide accounted for only 0.7% of all deaths in 1990 in people aged over 15, it was the second most common cause of death among males aged 15-34 years. In 1990, the suicide rate for males was 19% above that in 1970, while in females the rate in 1990 was much lower than it had been during the 1970s. Male suicide rates exceed female rates in all 10-year age groups. The lowest rates of suicide in both sexes and in all age groups occur among married people, and the rates among semi-skilled (class IV) and unskilled (class V) manual workers are higher than those in the other four social classes. The leading methods of suicide are poisoning, hanging and domestic gas, though deaths by domestic gas poisoning had disappeared completely by 1990 with the detoxification of gas. Men use violent methods to a greater extent than women. Only two British centres, in Oxford and Edinburgh, have monitored episodes of hospital-treated parasuicide during the period of review. Both British cities have parasuicide rates greatly in excess of the European median. Between 1970 and 1989, annual parasuicide rates were higher for females than for males. Self- poisoning has been the predominant method used in parasuicide. Parasuicide is a behaviour mainly encountered during adolescence and young adulthood, and parasuicide rates decline with advancing age. The lowest rates of parasuicide are found among the married, and the highest among the divorced. A direct relationship exists between parasuicide and social class; the lower the social class, the higher the rate of parasuicide. The rates of parasuicide are considerably higher among the unemployed, with females at greater risk than males.
Unbiased estimation of relative reproductive success of different groups: evaluation and correction of bias caused by parentage assignment errors

Parentage assignment is widely applied to studies on mating systems, population dynamics and natural selection. However, little is known about the consequence of assignment errors, especially when some parents are not sampled. We investigated the effects of two types of error in parentage assignment, failing to assign a true parent (type A) and assigning an untrue parent (type B), on an estimate of the relative reproductive success (RRS) of two groups of parents. Employing a mathematical approach, we found that (i) when all parents are sampled, minimizing either type A or type B error insures the minimum bias on RRS, and (ii) when a large number of parents is not sampled, type B error substantially biases the estimated RRS towards one. Interestingly, however, (iii) when all parents were sampled and both error rates were moderately high, type A error biased the estimated RRS even more than type B error. We propose new methods to obtain an unbiased estimate of RRS and the number of offspring whose parents are not sampled (zWz), by correcting the error effects. Applying them to genotypic data from steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), we illustrated how to estimate and control the assignment errors. In the data, we observed up to a 30% assignment error and a strong trade‐off between the two types of error, depending on the stringency of the assignment decision criterion. We show that our methods can efficiently estimate an unbiased RRS and zWz regardless of assignment method, and how to maximize the statistical power to detect a difference in reproductive success between groups.
Parenting Practices and Adolescent Risky Driving: A Three-Month Prospective Study

This study examined relations between risky driving, parenting, and deviance, and the stability of risky driving over time. Two hundred and sixty-one licensed adolescents completed telephone interviews about risky driving, parenting practices, and orientations toward deviance at baseline and about risky driving at follow-up 3 months later. The results indicated that risky driving at follow-up was predicted by risky driving at baseline, parental restrictions on driving, and sensation seeking. In addition, risky driving was stable within 80% of teens. When compared with adolescents with low risky driving over time (n = 129), adolescents with high risky driving over time (n = 79) were 3 times more likely to report low parental monitoring, 2 times more likely to report low parental restrictions, and almost 5 times more likely to report high deviance acceptance. The results suggest that high levels of risky driving are related to parenting.
The challenges of psychiatry

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(1) Divining a purpose in life, giving life direction, and understanding the origin and ending of life are perennial problems of the human condition. This first issue of 2015 touches on these profound matters with an extensive discussion of the phenomenon of suicide and with a call for academic psychiatrists to engage new young scholars to consider the rewards of devoting their own lives to the pursuit of research and teaching in psychiatry.
Love Song Blues: DEHP Alters Courtship Vocalizations in Mice

Due to its prevalence and known endocrine-disrupting properties, DEHP [di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate] has been subject to extensive research into potential human health effects, especially related to the reproductive system.34 An article in Environmental Health Perspectives reports evidence that even small doses of DEHP may alter the courtship behavior of otherwise healthy adult male mice by reducing the number of androgen receptors in the brain. These receptors perform vital functions related to reproduction and sexuality. Phthalates, including DEHP, are widespread in modern life. About a dozen variants are commonly used worldwide to make the plastics in consumer products, packaging, and medical devices more flexible or durable. DEHP, by far the most common of these, represents more than a third of the global plasticizer market and has been detected in more than 75% of analyzed individuals in industrial countries. Over the years, experimental and epidemiological studies have implicated DEHP in a range of health effects, leading some countries, including the United States, to ban or limit its use in certain applications.141516 Less is known about the chemical’s potential effects on the brain, but recent research has suggested associations between developmental exposure to DEHP and impaired neurodevelopment,1718 behavioral problems, anxiety and depression, and altered stress responses. In this new experimental study, researchers from France’s National Center for Scientific Research fed healthy adult mice 0.5, 5, or 50 lg=kg=day DEHP. The highest dose corresponds to the tolerable daily intake for humans established by the European Food Safety Authority, while the lower two are in the range of global exposure levels documented in previous studies. After a period of 4 weeks, the researchers performed a series of tests to assess reproductive behavior in the DEHP-dosed mice and nonexposed controls. They found all three doses to be associated with altered courtship vocalizations—key to the reproductive behavior of not only mice, but also many fish, amphibian, bird, and mammal species. The two higher doses of 50 and 5 lg=kg=day also were associated with delayed initiation of mating by the male mice.
Incorporating Domain-Independent Planning Heuristics in Hierarchical Planning

Heuristics serve as a powerful tool in modern domain-independent planning (DIP) systems by providing critical guidance during the search for high-quality solutions. However, they have not been broadly used with hierarchical planning techniques, which are more expressive and tend to scale better in complex domains by exploiting additional domain-specific knowledge. Complicating matters, we show that for Hierarchical Goal Network (HGN) planning, a goal-based hierarchical planning formalism that we focus on in this paper, any poly-time heuristic that is derived from a delete-relaxation DIP heuristic has to make some relaxation of the hierarchical semantics. To address this, we present a principled framework for incorporating DIP heuristics into HGN planning using a simple relaxation of the HGN semantics we call Hierarchy-Relaxation. This framework allows for computing heuristic estimates of HGN problems using any DIP heuristic in an admissibility-preserving manner. We demonstrate the feasibility of this approach by using the LMCut heuristic to guide an optimal HGN planner. Our empirical results with three benchmark domains demonstrate that simultaneously leveraging hierarchical knowledge and heuristic guidance substantially improves planning performance.
Functional Difference Between Membrane-bound and Soluble Human Thrombomodulin

Background For successful xenotransplantation, in addition to &agr;1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knockout and human complement regulatory protein (CD46, CD55, CD59) gene insertion, cloned pigs expressing human thrombomodulin (hTM) have been produced to solve the problem of molecular incompatibility in their coagulation system. Recombinant soluble hTM (S-hTM) which has been recently approved for treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation might be potentially available. The purpose of this study is to examine the functional difference in endothelial cells between membrane-bound hTM (MB-hTM) and S-hTM and to elucidate effective strategy using both types of hTM. Methods The following factors regarding coagulation and inflammation were compared between hTM-expressing pig aortic endothelial cells (PAEC) derived from cloned pig and nontransgenic PAEC in the presence of S-hTM under tumor necrosis factor-&agr;–activated conditions; (i) clotting time (ii) pig tissue factor (TF), (iii) pig E-selectin, (iv) direct prothrombinase activity, (v) activated protein C (APC), and (vi) prothrombinase activity. Results The MB-hTM significantly suppressed the expression of pig TF and E-selectin and direct prothrombinase activity in tumor necrosis factor-&agr;–activated PAEC, suggesting strong anti-inflammatory effect, compared to S-hTM. In contrast, S-hTM had more potent capacity to inhibit thrombin generation and to produce APC than MB-hTM, although MB-hTM had the same level of capacity as human endothelial cells. Conclusions It was speculated that S-hTM treatment would be of assistance during high-risk periods for excessive thrombin formation (e.g., ischemia reperfusion injury or severe infection/rejection). Considering the properties of MB-hTM exhibiting anti-inflammatory function as well as APC production, hTM-expressing cloned pigs might be indispensible to long-term stabilization of graft endothelial cells.
An Improved NLMS Algorithm in Sparse Systems Against Noisy Input Signals

This brief proposes a novel normalized least mean square algorithm that is characterized by robustness against noisy input signals. To compensate for the bias caused by the input noise that is added at the filter input, a derivation method based on reasonable assumptions finds a bias-compensating vector. Moreover, the proposed algorithm has a fast convergence rate when applied to sparse systems, owing to its L0-norm cost in the proposed update equation. The simulation results verify that the proposed algorithm improves the performance of the filter, in terms of system identification in sparse systems, in the presence of noisy input signals.
Adding a real-time current profile to NDBC TAO moorings for enhanced ocean boundary layer observations

A known characteristic of the Tropical Pacific is the interaction between the zonal winds and the equatorial thermocline, which allows coupled variability like ENSO to evolve. However, this fundamental feedback is the least understood and most poorly modeled element of the tropical climate system. To increase our knowledge of the mechanisms controlling this feedback process, NOAA's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) have collaborated on a joint project to enhance operational NDBC Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) moorings. The four-year project is part of a larger internationally coordinated effort, TPOS 2020, to refine components of the Tropical Pacific Observing System. The goal of this project is to develop the methodologies to better resolve near surface stratification in real-time to support operational climate forecasting and ENSO research. To this end, eight TAO moorings, in regimes that span the phenomena of the mixed layer processes in the tropical Pacific, will be upgraded with new capabilities and added value. Some of these new capabilities include a real-time current profile for the upper 70 meters, and enhanced vertical resolution of the temperature-salinity structures in the upper 50 meters. To easily integrate these new measurements into the existing array, each enhanced station is deployed with a secondary data acquisition payload, the Self Contained Ocean Observing Payload (SCOOP). The SCOOP payload communicates with the subsurface instruments through an augmentation to the inductive technology. This augmentation implemented by NDBC allows numerous payloads or buoy controllers to share a single inductive communication loop. The initial results indicate this is a robust method for collecting real-time current profile data, with a data return of almost 100% and minor signal interference from fish and other sensors.