Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hummingbirds control hovering flight by stabilizing visual motion

Significance The avian brain has numerous specializations for navigation and processing visual information, but relatively little is known about how flying birds control their position in space. To study the role of vision in controlling hovering flight, we developed a virtual reality environment where visual patterns could be displayed to a freely flying hummingbird. Normal flight could only be performed if the visual background was completely stationary. In contrast, any motion in the background image caused the birds to lose stability. In natural settings, visual motion is constantly produced when objects and observers move relative to each other. This research demonstrates that flying birds are surprisingly sensitive to movements in their visual field and direct flight to respond to those movements. Relatively little is known about how sensory information is used for controlling flight in birds. A powerful method is to immerse an animal in a dynamic virtual reality environment to examine behavioral responses. Here, we investigated the role of vision during free-flight hovering in hummingbirds to determine how optic flow—image movement across the retina—is used to control body position. We filmed hummingbirds hovering in front of a projection screen with the prediction that projecting moving patterns would disrupt hovering stability but stationary patterns would allow the hummingbird to stabilize position. When hovering in the presence of moving gratings and spirals, hummingbirds lost positional stability and responded to the specific orientation of the moving visual stimulus. There was no loss of stability with stationary versions of the same stimulus patterns. When exposed to a single stimulus many times or to a weakened stimulus that combined a moving spiral with a stationary checkerboard, the response to looming motion declined. However, even minimal visual motion was sufficient to cause a loss of positional stability despite prominent stationary features. Collectively, these experiments demonstrate that hummingbirds control hovering position by stabilizing motions in their visual field. The high sensitivity and persistence of this disruptive response is surprising, given that the hummingbird brain is highly specialized for sensory processing and spatial mapping, providing other potential mechanisms for controlling position.
Susceptibilities of bacterial and fungal urinary tract isolates to desferrioxamine

Desferrioxamine, a safe and effective iron chelator, was evaluated for its antibacterial and antifungal activity. The susceptibilities of 124 urinary tract isolates and 28 clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to desferrioxamine concentrations that are readily achievable in urine were determined. Of all isolates, 27% were inhibited by a concentration of less than or equal to 12.5 mM. Proteus mirabilis and N. gonorrhoeae isolates were particularly susceptible to the chelator. Desferrioxamine appears to have limited potential as an antibacterial agent.
Exchanging ESAT6 with TB10.4 in an Ag85B Fusion Molecule-Based Tuberculosis Subunit Vaccine: Efficient Protection and ESAT6-Based Sensitive Monitoring of Vaccine Efficacy 1

Previously we have shown that Ag85B-ESAT-6 is a highly efficient vaccine against tuberculosis. However, because the ESAT-6 Ag is also an extremely valuable diagnostic reagent, finding a vaccine as effective as Ag85B-ESAT-6 that does not contain ESAT-6 is a high priority. Recently, we identified a novel protein expressed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis designated TB10.4. In most infected humans, TB10.4 is strongly recognized, raising interest in TB10.4 as a potential vaccine candidate and substitute for ESAT-6. We have now examined the vaccine potential of this protein and found that vaccination with TB10.4 induced a significant protection against tuberculosis. Fusing Ag85B to TB10.4 produced an even more effective vaccine, which induced protection against tuberculosis comparable to bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination and superior to the individual Ag components. Thus, Ag85B-TB10 represents a new promising vaccine candidate against tuberculosis. Furthermore, having now exchanged ESAT-6 for TB10.4, we show that ESAT-6, apart from being an excellent diagnostic reagent, can also be used as a reagent for monitoring vaccine efficacy. This may open a new way for monitoring vaccine efficacy in clinical trials.
[125I-His(9)]-ghrelin, a novel radioligand for localizing GHS orphan receptors in human and rat tissue: up-regulation of receptors with athersclerosis.

1. Ghrelin is the recently identified endogenous ligand for the cloned growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R). We have characterized for the first time the binding of human [125I-His(9)]-ghrelin to normal human and rat tissue and demonstrated expression of this 'orphan' receptor that has previously been predicted to exist from mRNA. Furthermore, we have discovered that [125I-His(9)]-ghrelin density is significantly increased in atherosclerosis. 2. [125I-His(9)]-Ghrelin bound to non-diseased human heart (left ventricle) with an association rate constant (k(obs)) of 0.16+/-0.004 min(-1), a dissociation rate constant of 0.068+/-0.0005 min(-1) (kinetically derived K(D) of 0.1 nM; n=5 individuals+/-s.e. mean), a K(D) of 0.43+/-0.08 nM and B(max) of 7.8+/-0.9 fmol mg(-1) protein (n=6 individual+/-s.e.mean). 3. Specific [125I-His(9)]-ghrelin binding was to the human vasculature including aorta, coronary, pulmonary, arcuate arteries in the kidney and saphenous veins. In rat tissues, binding sites were also localized to the vasculature in peripheral tissues as well as the granular layer of the cerebellum in the CNS. 4. [125I-His(9)]-Ghrelin binding was significantly up-regulated (3 - 4 fold) in both atherosclerotic coronary arteries and saphenous vein grafts with advanced intimal thickening, compared with normal vessels (P<0.05). 5. Our results suggest that the native receptor for [125I-His(9)]-ghrelin may be widely distributed in the human cardiovascular system. Furthermore, changes in the density of this proposed ghrelin receptor implicates this new transmitter system in the development of atherosclerosis and may therefore represent a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Future Directions for the Neuropsychological Assessment of Sports Concussion

This article argues in favor of using newly developed computerized, complex reaction time (RT)-based neuropsychological procedures for the study of sports-related concussion. Recent studies show that by using these complex RT procedures, significant differences between concussed and control samples can be observed. The magnitude of RT differences is 110 ms or less, levels that are not meaningfully measured with stopwatch-based procedures. RT-based procedures also have the advantage of permitting analysis of variability of RT, and several recent studies have shown that brain dysfunction is accompanied by erratic and inconsistent RT. A currently ongoing sports concussion study using measures of complex RT and variability of RT is described.
Oxidative stress in systemic lupus erythematosus and allied conditions with vascular involvement.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the occurrence and clinical significance of lipid peroxidation (oxidative stress) in rheumatic diseases characterized by vascular involvement. PATIENTS AND METHODS Plasma 8-epi-PGF2alpha (oxidative stress marker) was measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in 36 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 13 with systemic sclerosis (SSc), 13 with systemic vasculitis [Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), n = 4; Churg Strauss syndrome (CSS), n = 3; Behcet syndrome, n = 6], 12 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in 23 healthy controls (n = 23). RESULTS 8-epi-PGF2alpha levels were higher in patients with SLE (P = 0.007), SSc (P < 0.001) and vasculitis (P = 0.001) than in controls. In SLE, a positive Coombs' test and arterial hypertension independently predicted 8-epi-PGF2alpha concentrations (P = 0.004 and P = 0.001, respectively). SLE patients not taking prednisolone showed higher 8-epi-PGF2alpha concentrations than SLE patients on prednisolone (P = 0.02). In the latter group, a dose response relationship was noted between 8-epi-PGF2alpha and steroid dosage (r = 0.6, P = 0.0003). In WG and CSS, 8-epi-PGF2alpha concentrations correlated with disease activity (r = 0.8, P = 0.01) and were higher than in patients with Behcet disease (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS Oxidative stress may be pathogenetically relevant in some autoimmune rheumatic diseases with vascular involvement. Amelioration of some clinical manifestations of these diseases may be envisaged by targeting lipid peroxidation with dietary or pharmacological antioxidants.
A Survey on Semantic Sensor Web: Sensor Ontology, Mapping and Query

Sensor Network has been widely used in all fields, and a large number of heterogeneous data is produced. In order to make these data shared and integrated semantically, semantic web technology is introduced in the sensor network. In this paper, we make a comprehensive survey about Semantic Sensor Web (SSW) from the perspective of ontology, mapping and query respectively. Firstly, we present state of the art of SSW from three aspects: ontologies before SSN ontology, SSN ontology and the extensions of SSN ontology, in which the extensions of SSN ontology are introduced emphatically. Secondly, we discuss the mapping from the stream data to ontology and focus on the comparison of the mapping languages in order to find out the best mapping method of SSW. Thirdly, we describe the research status of stream data query languages and analyze the characteristics, the application fields, the related researches and tools of the query languages in detail. Finally, the future research directions of SSW are proposed.
Recent Active Fires under El Niño Conditions in Kalimantan, Indonesia

Analysis of the most recent 10-year periods (2002 to 2011) of MODIS hotspots data (fires) and precipitation in Palangkaraya and Pontianak was carried out to identify seasonal and spatial fire occurrence in Kalimantan under El Nino conditions, and to asses future forest condition in Kalimantan. Most data was tallied every 10-day to analyze seasonal and spatial fire occurrence. Seasonal and spatial analysis results for severe fire years, namely 2006 and 2009, under El Nino conditions were as follows: the severest fire incidents for whole Kalimantan occurred in October in 2006 under the driest conditions in both Palangkaraya and Pontianak. The severest fires for the Mega Rice Project (MRP) area and its vicinity occurred in late September in 2009 under the driest conditions for Palangkaraya. Fire activities in the last 10-year in south Central Kalimantan were severe than other areas in Kalimantan. This may be explained by different dry conditions of peat. Namely, the peat in the southern part of Central Kalimantan could become dryer under the relatively longer dry season (about 3-month) compared with other areas (dry season in West Kalimantan is only 2/3-month). One of spatial analysis results clearly showed a so-called a fire belt shape arising from severe fires that occurred mainly on the southern coastal peatlands from West to Central Kalimantan in mid October in 2006.
Registro de Procedência de Ligações RDF em Dados Ligados

As many tools have been created to support linked data consumption and publishing, there is a demand for quality assessment and to verify these data. To make this possible, data about this consumption should be recorded. This paper presents an extension to a framework with the goal to support the recording and publishing of the information about the creation and consumption of linked data, in order to provide input for later quality assessment. Resumo. Com a criacao de ferramentas para consumir, relacionar e publicar dados ligados, surge a demanda para avaliar e comprovar a qualidade destes dados. Para tal, e necessario que informacoes sobre este consumo sejam registradas. Este trabalho propoe a extensao de uma arquitetura a fim de suportar o registro e publicacao de informacoes sobre a criacao destes dados, a fim de prover insumos para posterior avaliacao. 1. Introducao Com o desenvolvimento e adocao da web semântica, vieram padroes e formatos para integrar dados e informacoes oriundos de diferentes fontes. Ha iniciativas para disponibilizar dados em formatos padronizados, para que estes possam ser consumidos (e relacionados) com dados de diferentes fontes. Uma destas iniciativas e o Linked Data (dados ligados) 1, que consiste em interligar dados de diversas fontes segundo alguns principios. Estes principios sao: disponibilizar os dados em um formato padronizado – no caso o RDF (Resource Description Framework) 2 – e fornecer meios para acessar e identificar os dados disponibilizados. E possivel criar aplicacoes mais ricas em informacao atraves do consumo dos dados e seus relacionamentos de diversas fontes. Para tal, e necessario considerar problemas como a obtencao do dado, mapeamento de esquemas e vocabularios, e analise de qualidade do dado. Diante destes problemas, diversas ferramentas foram criadas para facilitar a integracao e consumo dos dados ligados, algumas listadas em [Bizer et al. 2009]. Nao ha a preocupacao em registrar informacoes de como estas novas relacoes foram geradas, criando um problema para provar a confiabilidade e corretude do processo empregado. Este trabalho propoe uma arquitetura a fim de suportar o registro de informacoes sobre a criacao das interligacoes de recursos RDF, ou seja, registrar as informacoes de quais processos foram utilizados para criacao, quais parâmetros configuraram estes processos, quais os resultados destes processos. Acredita-se que tais informacoes podem ajudar em futura analise de qualidade dos dados, tornando-se um ativo tanto para quem con1http://www.w3. org/DesignIssues/LinkedData.html 2http://www.w3. org/TR/REC-rdf-syntax/
Information Technology Process Improvement Decision-Making: An Exploratory Study from the Perspective of Process Owners and Process Manager

This article is derived from a qualitative multicase study with two settings that explored the way decisions are made in two IT organizations regarding process improvement initiatives by using face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 20 IT process owners and managers. The two participating organizations are a healthcare insurance company and a manufacturer of electronic interconnects. The study sought to uncover a how IT process improvements are prioritized and how approvals are attained, b how senior leadership is involved in decision making, c how security and risk are considered, d if and how formal process improvement methodologies are used, e if and how estimated and actual cost benefit analysis are conducted associated with decisions, and f how alignment with organizational goals is attained. The topic of IT governance was narrowed to explore the perspective of IT process owners and process managers, and their approaches and methodologies used with IT process improvement initiatives. The study found that pre-decision stages take place in IT investment decision making, and that process owners and process managers, participants other than senior leadership, and executive level decision makers are involved in these pre-decision stages and may be involved in the final decision stages.
Central Carbon Metabolism and Electron Transport in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: Metabolic Constraints for Carbon Partitioning between Oil and Starch

ABSTRACT The metabolism of microalgae is so flexible that it is not an easy task to give a comprehensive description of the interplay between the various metabolic pathways. There are, however, constraints that govern central carbon metabolism in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that are revealed by the compartmentalization and regulation of the pathways and their relation to key cellular processes such as cell motility, division, carbon uptake and partitioning, external and internal rhythms, and nutrient stress. Both photosynthetic and mitochondrial electron transfer provide energy for metabolic processes and how energy transfer impacts metabolism and vice versa is a means of exploring the regulation and function of these pathways. A key example is the specific chloroplast localization of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and how it impacts the redox poise and ATP budget of the plastid in the dark. To compare starch and lipids as carbon reserves, their value can be calculated in terms of NAD(P)H and ATP. As microalgae are now considered a potential renewable feedstock, we examine current work on the subject and also explore the possibility of rerouting metabolism toward lipid production.
A Struggle for Influence : The Role of the European Parliament in EU Foreign Policy

Guri Rosén is a Postdoctoral Fellow at ARENA Centre for European Studies. Her main areas of academic interest include the EU's external trade policy, the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and the European Parliament. Abstract This article examines the relationship between the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the European Parliament (EP.) The author ask why would member states, in such a sensitive area as foreign policy, be willing to share their powers with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) over whom they have little control. The essay considers two possible explanations – one pointing to the Parliament’s successful bargaining strategy, the other underlining the importance of the EP’s arguments – while referring to the need for a more democratic foreign policy. November 2016
The Interplay Between Forward-Looking Measures and Target Setting

We examine whether financial targets are based on both forward-looking and financial information, rather than on financial information only. We collect sales and performance appraisal data of store managers in a retail chain. The firm issues directives focused on the provision of excellent customer service and assesses store managers’ compliance with these directives subjectively. We demonstrate that, controlling for current sales, compliance with directives scores predicts future sales performance. We find that, next to objective sales information, this forward-looking information is impounded in the next year’s sales target. Finally, we find some evidence that suggests that incorporating forward-looking information improves the accuracy of sales targets.
Pathogenesis of catheter sepsis: a prospective study with quantitative and semiquantitative cultures of catheter hub and segments

Our purpose was to study prospectively the causes, routes of infection, and frequency of catheter-related sepsis in patients on total parenteral nutrition. From January 1981 to January 1984, cultures of 135 subclavian catheters from 135 adult patients were done by quantitative and semiquantitative methods. Twenty patients (14.8%) had catheter-related sepsis. Fourteen episodes (70%) stemmed from an colonized hub. Skin infection (Staphylococcus aureus, 2 cases), total parenteral nutrition mixture contamination (Enterobacter cloacae, 2 cases), and hematogenous seeding of the catheter tip (Yersinia enterocolitica, 1 case, and Streptococcus faecalis, 1 case) accounted for the remaining six septic episodes. The catheter hub is, in our experience, the most common site of origin of organisms causing catheter tip infection and bacteremia.
Klinische Pharmakologie von Disulfiram - eine aktuelle Übersicht1

Recently, we have been observing an increase in prescription of Disulfiram requiring medical knowledge concerning the overall effects, side effects and drug interactions of this substance. In the following report, we give an overview about the pharmacology and the side effects of Disulfiram. As an example we demonstrate a case, in which an acute neurological deficit was misjudged as a side effect of Disulfiram. Furthermore, the potential of Disulfiram as a promising treatment in addiction medicine will be discussed.
Development and implementation of LOD-CPML for efficient electromagnetics simulations

The generality and simplicity of the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method makes wide applications and popularity, however, the Courant Friedrich Levy (CFL) limit is constraint in its computational efficiency for fine mesh required structures. Recently, a new unconditionally stable locally one-dimensional (LOD)-FDTD method is introduced. The two-step implementation of the LOD-FDTD method is similar to the conventional ADI-FDTD method, but with less computational time. In this paper, we focused on the LOD- FDTD method for open structures. We applied the convolutional perfectly matched layer (CPML) to the LOD- FDTD method. For simplicity it is applied to two-dimensional TE mode, and on the similar pattern it can be extended to three-dimensional case.
Considering PTSD for DSM‐5

This is a review of the relevant empirical literature concerning the DSM‐IV‐TR diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Most of this work has focused on Criteria A1 and A2, the two components of the A (Stressor) Criterion. With regard to A1, the review considers: (a) whether A1 is etiologically or temporally related to the PTSD symptoms; (b) whether it is possible to distinguish “traumatic” from “non‐traumatic” stressors; and (c) whether A1 should be eliminated from DSM‐5. Empirical literature regarding the utility of the A2 criterion indicates that there is little support for keeping the A2 criterion in DSM‐5. The B (reexperiencing), C (avoidance/numbing) and D (hyperarousal) criteria are also reviewed. Confirmatory factor analyses suggest that the latent structure of PTSD appears to consist of four distinct symptom clusters rather than the three‐cluster structure found in DSM‐IV. It has also been shown that in addition to the fear‐based symptoms emphasized in DSM‐IV, traumatic exposure is also followed by dysphoric, anhedonic symptoms, aggressive/externalizing symptoms, guilt/shame symptoms, dissociative symptoms, and negative appraisals about oneself and the world. A new set of diagnostic criteria is proposed for DSM‐5 that: (a) attempts to sharpen the A1 criterion; (b) eliminates the A2 criterion; (c) proposes four rather than three symptom clusters; and (d) expands the scope of the B–E criteria beyond a fear‐based context. The final sections of this review consider: (a) partial/subsyndromal PTSD; (b) disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified (DESNOS)/complex PTSD; (c) cross‐ cultural factors; (d) developmental factors; and (e) subtypes of PTSD. Depression and Anxiety, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Collaborative Study to Assess the Suitability of an HCV RNA Reference Sample for Detection of an HCV RNA in Plasma Pools by PCR

A collaborative study was undertaken to examine the sensitivity and reproducibility of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA PCR assays of plasma pools in order to establish a reference sample for HCV PCR testing of plasma pools. Samples consisting of an HCV‐RNA‐positive donation diluted tenfold in an HCV‐RNA‐negative cryosupernatant were sent to 16 participating laboratories (including blood product manufacturers and control authorities). The results of the in‐house assays indicate that a lo‐4 dilution of the positive donation in the cryosupernatant could be used as the reference sample as this was the highest dilution of the positive donation that was detected in all assays. In contrast, the results obtained with a commercially available assay, designed for use with single‐donation plasma or serum (Roche AmplicorTM HCV test), were not so clear‐cut and the assay appeared to be ten‐fold less sensitive than the in‐house assays.