Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity to Perspective Structure While Walking without Vision

Experiments are reported of the nonvisual sensitivity of observers to their paths of locomotion and to the resulting changes in the structure of their perspectives, ie changes in the network of directions and distances spatially relating them to objects fixed in the surrounding environment. In the first experiment it was found that adults can keep up to date on the changing structure of their perspectives even in the absence of sights and sounds that specify changes in self-to-object relations. They do this rapidly, accurately, and, according to the subjects' reports, automatically, as if perceiving the new perspective structures. The second experiment was designed to investigate the role of visual experience in the development of sensitivity to occluded changes in perspective structure by comparing the judgments of sighted adults with those of late-blinded adults (who had extensive life histories of vision) and those of early-blinded adults (who had little or no history of vision). The three groups performed similarly when asked to judge perspective while imagining a new point of observation. However, locomoting to the new point greatly facilitated the judgments of the sighted and late-blinded subjects, but not those of the early-blinded subjects. The findings indicate that visual experience plays an important role in the development of sensitivity to changes in perspective structure when walking without vision.
On the impossibility of representing infinite utility

We introduce a new Pareto-type criterion for social welfare functions over infinite utility streams that is not necessarily sensitive to increments in just a finite number of components. We show that there is no social welfare function that satisfies both this criterion and Diamond's equity condition simultaneously. With our result, we extend the impossibility theorem of Basu and Mitra. Moreover, we show that, even under a weaker version of equity related to Zame's intergenerational equity condition, the impossibility results are obtained as well.
Nigella sativa: Reduces the Risk of Various Maladies

Coinage of terms like nutraceuticals, functional, and pharma foods has diverted the attention of human beings to where they are seeking more natural cures. Though pharmaceutical drugs have been beneficial for human health and have cured various diseases but they also impart some side effects. Numerous plants have been tested for their therapeutic potential; Nigella sativa, commonly known as black cumin, is one of them. It possesses a nutritional dense profile as its fixed oil (lipid fraction), is rich in unsaturated fatty acids while essential oil contains thymoquinone and carvacrol as antioxidants. N. sativa seeds also contain proteins, alkaloids (nigellicines and nigelledine), and saponins (α-hederin) in substantial amounts. Recent pharmacological investigations suggested its potential role, especially for the amelioration of oxidative stress through free radical scavenging activity, the induction of apoptosis to cure various cancer lines, the reduction of blood glucose, and the prevention of complications from diabetes. It regulates hematological and serological aspects and can be effective in dyslipidemia and respiratory disorders. Moreover, its immunopotentiating and immunomodulating role brings balance in the immune system. Evidence is available supporting the utilization of Nigella sativa and its bioactive components in a daily diet for health improvement. This review is intended to focus on the composition of Nigella sativa and to elaborate its possible therapeutic roles as a functional food to prevent an array of maladies.
Innate Immunity to Intraphagosomal Pathogens Is Mediated by Interferon Regulatory Factor 8 (IRF-8) That Stimulates the Expression of Macrophage-specific Nramp1 through Antagonizing Repression by c-Myc*

Macrophages are a central arm of innate immune defense against intracellular pathogens. They internalize microbes into phagosomes where the invaders are being killed by oxygen and nitrogen reactive species. Despite this battery of antimicrobial molecules, some are able to thrive within the phagosome thus termed intraphagosomal pathogens among which are Salmonella, Leishmania, and Mycobacteria. In mice, a single dominant gene termed Nramp1/Slc11a1 controls innate resistance to such pathogens. This gene is expressed exclusively in myeloid cells. Previously, we have shown that the restricted expression of Nramp1 is regulated by a myeloid cell-specific transcription factor termed IRF-8/ICSBP. It is demonstrated here that the induction of Nramp1 expression in activated macrophages is accompanied by a promoter shift from a repression state elicited by c-Myc to an activation state elicited by the induction of IRF-8 in activated macrophages. This transition from repression to activation is facilitated by a competitive protein-protein interaction with the transcription factor Miz-1. To show that IRF-8 is directly involved in the elimination of intraphagosomal pathogens through the regulation of Nramp1 gene expression, we bred wild type as well as IRF-8 and Nramp1 null mouse strains and examined macrophages derived from bone marrow and peritoneum. Our results clearly show that the absence of IRF-8 and Nramp1 leads to the same phenotype; defective killing of intraphagosomal Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium and Mycobacterium bovis. Thus, interplay between repression and activation state of the Nramp1 promoter mediated by IRF-8 provides the molecular basis by which macrophages resist intraphagosomal pathogens at early stage after infection.
Intermittent Low-Level Viremia in Very Early Primary HIV-1 Infection

Serial samples from source plasma donors with confirmed new HIV infection were investigated for low-level viremia (LLV) (ie, <100 genome copies [cp]/mL) at time points preceding the period of steadily rising viremia above 100 cp/mL (ramp-up viremia). Fifteen of 44 plasma donor panels previously studied for the dynamics of HIV viremia during primary infection contained 70 samples with undetectable HIV-1 RNA by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). On retesting with a sensitive qualitative reverse transcriptase PCR assay (95% detection at 4 cp/mL), we identified LLV in 13 of 15 panels and 23 of 69 retested samples. In 6 panels, a total of 11 samples (1-3 per panel) were consistent with LLV before ramp-up viremia. These samples preceded the first sample with >100 cp/mL HIV by 9 to 25 days (median = 18 days) and were separated from the latter by at least 1 sample with undetectable viremia by the qualitative PCR assay. We conclude that LLV is not uncommon during the very early period of primary HIV infection preceding ramp-up viremia. It is not known if blood is infectious during this period; however, given the low viral concentrations and transient nature of the observed viremic “blips,” the risk of infectivity can be assumed to be small.
The effects of iron fortification on the gut microbiota in African children: a randomized controlled trial in Cote d'Ivoire.

BACKGROUND Iron is essential for the growth and virulence of many pathogenic enterobacteria, whereas beneficial barrier bacteria, such as lactobacilli, do not require iron. Thus, increasing colonic iron could select gut microbiota for humans that are unfavorable to the host. OBJECTIVE The objective was to determine the effect of iron fortification on gut microbiota and gut inflammation in African children. DESIGN In a 6-mo, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial, 6-14-y-old Ivorian children (n = 139) received iron-fortified biscuits, which contained 20 mg Fe/d, 4 times/wk as electrolytic iron or nonfortifoed biscuits. We measured changes in hemoglobin concentrations, inflammation, iron status, helminths, diarrhea, fecal calprotectin concentrations, and microbiota diversity and composition (n = 60) and the prevalence of selected enteropathogens. RESULTS At baseline, there were greater numbers of fecal enterobacteria than of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria (P < 0.02). Iron fortification was ineffective; there were no differences in iron status, anemia, or hookworm prevalence at 6 mo. The fecal microbiota was modified by iron fortification as shown by a significant increase in profile dissimilarity (P < 0.0001) in the iron group as compared with the control group. There was a significant increase in the number of enterobacteria (P < 0.005) and a decrease in lactobacilli (P < 0.0001) in the iron group after 6 mo. In the iron group, there was an increase in the mean fecal calprotectin concentration (P < 0.01), which is a marker of gut inflammation, that correlated with the increase in fecal enterobacteria (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Anemic African children carry an unfavorable ratio of fecal enterobacteria to bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which is increased by iron fortification. Thus, iron fortification in this population produces a potentially more pathogenic gut microbiota profile, and this profile is associated with increased gut inflammation. This trial was registered at controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN21782274.
Identification of a Novel Arsenite Oxidase Gene, arxA, in the Haloalkaliphilic, Arsenite-Oxidizing Bacterium Alkalilimnicola ehrlichii Strain MLHE-1

ABSTRACT Although arsenic is highly toxic to most organisms, certain prokaryotes are known to grow on and respire toxic metalloids of arsenic (i.e., arsenate and arsenite). Two enzymes are known to be required for this arsenic-based metabolism: (i) the arsenate respiratory reductase (ArrA) and (ii) arsenite oxidase (AoxB). Both catalytic enzymes contain molybdopterin cofactors and form distinct phylogenetic clades (ArrA and AoxB) within the dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) reductase family of enzymes. Here we report on the genetic identification of a “new” type of arsenite oxidase that fills a phylogenetic gap between the ArrA and AoxB clades of arsenic metabolic enzymes. This “new” arsenite oxidase is referred to as ArxA and was identified in the genome sequence of the Mono Lake isolate Alkalilimnicola ehrlichii MLHE-1, a chemolithoautotroph that can couple arsenite oxidation to nitrate reduction. A genetic system was developed for MLHE-1 and used to show that arxA (gene locus ID mlg_0216) was required for chemoautotrophic arsenite oxidation. Transcription analysis also showed that mlg_0216 was only expressed under anaerobic conditions in the presence of arsenite. The mlg_0216 gene is referred to as arxA because of its greater homology to arrA relative to aoxB and previous reports that implicated Mlg_0216 (ArxA) of MLHE-1 in reversible arsenite oxidation and arsenate reduction in vitro. Our results and past observations support the position that ArxA is a distinct clade within the DMSO reductase family of proteins. These results raise further questions about the evolutionary relationships between arsenite oxidases (AoxB) and arsenate respiratory reductases (ArrA).
Association of a monoamine oxidase B allele with Parkinson's disease

Monoamine oxidase B(MAO‐B) is implicated in the cause of Parkinson's disease(PD) because of its role in metabolizing the neurotoxin 1‐methyl–4‐phenyl–1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine, and forming H2O2 during dopamine metabolism. Altered MAO‐B activity has been observed in PD platelets. Polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify a portion of the MAO‐B gene. Polymerase chain reaction products were screened with restriction enzymes to identify fragments useful for single‐stranded conformational polymorphism analysis. A single‐stranded conformational polymorphism was identified in an MAO‐B polymerase chain reaction product after Hae III digestion. One hundred twenty‐one control individuals were allelotyped with frequencies of 0.45 and 0.55 for alleles 1 and 2, respectively. Frequencies of 0.62 and 0.38 (1 and 2, respectively) were observed in a population of 46 patients with PD. The presence of MAO‐B allele 1 is associated with a relative risk for PD of 2.03‐fold (confidence interval, 1.44–2.61; p < 0.02). For comparison, a monoamine oxidase A polymorphism was used to determine allelic frequencies in these same populations and no statistically significant differences were found. These results suggest that an inherited variant of MAO‐B may be involved in a genetic predisposition for PD.
Essays in collective decision making

ESSAYS IN COLLECTIVE DECISION MAKING Ayşe Mutlu Derya Ph.D. in Mathematics Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azer Kerimov Co-Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Semih Koray October, 2014 Four different problems in collective decision making are studied, all of which are either formulated directly in a game-theoretical context or are concerned with neighboring research areas. The first two problems fall into the realm of cooperative game theory. In the first one, a decomposition of transferable utility games is introduced. Based on that decomposition, the structure of the set of all transferable utility games is analyzed. Using the decomposition and the notion of minimal balanced collections, a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for a transferable utility game to have a singleton core is given. Then, core selective allocation rules that, when confronted with a change in total cost, not only distribute the initial cost in the same manner as before, but also treat the remainder in a consistent way are studied. Core selective rules which own a particular kind of additivity that turns out to be relevant in this context are also characterized. In the second problem, different notions of merge proofness for allocation rules pertaining to transferable utility games are introduced. Relations between these merge proofness notions are studied, and some impossibility as well as possibility results for allocation rules are established, which are also extended to allocation correspondences. The third problem deals with networks. A characterization of the Myerson value with two axioms is provided. The first axiom considers a situation where there is a change in the value function at a network g along with all networks containing g. At such a situation, the axiom requires that this change is to be divided equally between all the players in g who are not isolated. The second axiom requires that if the value function assigns zero to each network, then each iv player gets zero payoff at each network. Modifying the first axiom, along a characterization of the Myerson value, a characterization of the position value is also provided. Finally, the fourth problem is concerned with social choice theory which deals with collective decision making in a society. A characterization of the Borda rule for a given set of alternatives with a variable number of voters is studied on the domain of weak preferences, where indifferences between alternatives are allowed at agents’ preferences. A new property, which we refer to as degree equality, is introduced. A social choice rule satisfies degree equality if and only if, for any two profiles of two finite sets of voters, equality between the sums of the degrees of every alternative under these two profiles implies that the same alternatives get chosen at both of them. The Borda rule is characterized by the conjunction of faithfulness, reinforcement, and degree equality on the domain of weak preferences.
Polynomial self-similarity for object classification

Objects in an image may be semantically similar not because they share common photometric properties, but because they share common recurring patterns of internal self-similarities. In this paper, a polynomial self-similarity approach for object classification is proposed. Extending the global self-similarity framework, polynomial self-similarity enables greater flexibility in matching details with similar structure but intensity differences, and details under different ambient illumination. Experiments show that the proposed approach provides classification accuracy that is competitive with standard global self-similarity, even under challenging non-uniform illumination conditions.
Sugar substitutes: Health controversy over perceived benefits

Sugar is an inseparable part of the food we consume. But too much sugar is not ideal for our teeth and waistline. There have been some controversial suggestions that excessive sugar may play an important role in certain degenerative diseases. So artificial sweeteners or artificially sweetened products continue to attract consumers. A sugar substitute (artificial sweetener) is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, but usually has less food energy. Besides its benefits, animal studies have convincingly proven that artificial sweeteners cause weight gain, brain tumors, bladder cancer and many other health hazards. Some kind of health related side effects including carcinogenicity are also noted in humans. A large number of studies have been carried out on these substances with conclusions ranging from “safe under all conditions” to “unsafe at any dose”. Scientists are divided in their views on the issue of artificial sweetener safety. In scientific as well as in lay publications, supporting studies are often widely referenced while the opposing results are de-emphasized or dismissed. So this review aims to explore the health controversy over perceived benefits of sugar substitutes.
The Terms Used in Gifted and Talented Education in Turkey, Relevant Legal Framework and Educational Practices

Normal 0 false false false BS-LATN-BA X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:. 0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} Giftedness/talentedness is one of the areas that is not fully defined yet, and its meaning and scope are highly debated in parallel with the concept of intelligence. Discussions about how giftedness/talentedness can be conceptualized, identified, supported and predicted are still ongoing. The concept of giftedness/talentedness and the initial studies on the education of talented and gifted pupils seem to extend to Plato. In this study, firstly the definitions of leading names in the field about giftedness were examined and then field-specific terms were tried to be described. Many documents especially The Constitution of Turkish Republic, laws, decree laws, by laws, circulars and the Convention on the Rights of the Child have been examined in relation to the topic. In terms of the practices in the field of education, the Ottoman Empire period was briefly reviewed and information about the practices in Turkey was given. As a result, despite all the work mentioned, it has been found that there are various problems in the education of gifted and talented children and in supporting their skills. In order to solve the problems experienced by talented and gifted children in Turkey, it is necessary to develop a government policy regarding the education of talented and gifted children.
Activation of a Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor and Protein Kinase C Reduce the Extent of Inactivation of the K+Channel Kv1.1/Kvβ1.1 via Dephosphorylation of Kv1.1*

Various brain K+ channels, which may normally exist as complexes of α (pore-forming) and β (auxiliary) subunits, were subjected to regulation by metabotropic glutamate receptors. Kv1.1/Kvβ1. 1 is a voltage-dependent K+ channel composed of α and β proteins that are widely expressed in the brain. Expression of this channel inXenopus oocytes resulted in a current that had fast inactivating and noninactivating components. Previously we showed that basal and protein kinase A-induced phosphorylation of the α subunit at Ser-446 decreases the fraction of the noninactivating component. In this study we investigated the effect of protein kinase C (PKC) on the channel. We showed that a PKC-activating phorbol ester (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)) increased the noninactivating fraction via activation of a PKC subtype that was inhibited by staurosporine and bisindolylmaleimide but not by calphostin C. However, it was not a PKC-induced phosphorylation but rather a dephosphorylation that mediated the effect. PMA reduced the basal phosphorylation of Ser-446 significantly in plasma membrane channels and failed to affect the inactivation of channels having an α subunit that was mutated at Ser-446. Also, the activation of coexpressed mGluR1a known to activate phospholipase C mimicked the effect of PMA on the inactivation via induction of dephosphorylation at Ser-446. Thus, this study identified a potential neuronal pathway initiated by activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1a coupled to a signaling cascade that possibly utilized PKC to induce dephosphorylation and thereby to decrease the extent of inactivation of a K+ channel.
Facilities Planning for a creative company

This article presents a Facilities Planning project for fostering creative performance in the workplace of an IT developing company. The study of workspaces designed for encouraging creative and innovative outcomes in organizations is a developing field that still receives little academic attention despite the possible gains it can bring to workers and organizations. In order to address this issue we use a new approach for studying the design of physical environments that foster organizational creativity, combining the results of psychological studies on the impact of physical environment on creativity with the facilities planning body of knowledge applied by industrial engineers. Factories have been using plant layout tools for planning and acting on their work environment for decades now and it has been shown that changes in the physical work environment may have great impacts on process performance. By acting on the work environment of the company we believe that the developers creative processes can be boosted and facilitated. It is also shown that both industrial engineering and creativity research have much to contribute to each other and future research topics in the field are presented.
Clinical and Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Cognitive Impairment and Neuroprotection in Diabetes Patients

Abstract The aim of this study is to analyze the potential impact of factors (clinical and demographic variables and comorbidities) associated with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) on certain mental processes related to cognitive impairment, with special attention to the analysis of parameters that define processing speed and executive function. Neuropsychological examination of elderly Spanish patients (N = 59, 33 females, M age 70.98 years) diagnosed with DM, in addition to application of an ad hoc questionnaire to collect information on comorbidities and other relevant demographic variables. Based on a cross-sectional design, correlational analysis was carried out. Cognitive performance showed an inverse relationship to age and cardiopathology while years of schooling and regular physical activity appeared as neuroprotective factors. DM is an illness which, linked to other variables, can be regarded as a risk factor for the development of cognitive impairment. Certain factors (physical activity and cognitive stimulation) have the potential to mitigate this tendency. There is a need to further our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms involved.