pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
A brain imaging repository of normal structural MRI across the life course : Brain Images of Normal Subjects (BRAINS)

Acknowledgments Direct funding of BRAINS: SINAPSE-SPIRIT funded the main BRAINS project. D. Job, D. A. Dickie, D. Gonzales, and S. Shenkin were supported by the Brain Imaging Research Centre, the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; the BBSRC Sparking Impact scheme (BBSRC: — SI 2013-0210); Edinburgh & Lothians Health Foundation (ELHF, reference 53/311). A. Robson was supported by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC SPRI-NG, and SFC HR09021). Our funding sources had no involvement in this work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Decision-theoretic planning with generalized first-order decision diagrams

AbstractMany tasks in AI require representation and manipulation of complex functions. First-Order Decision Diagrams (FODD) are a compact knowledge representation expressing functions over relational structures. They represent numerical functions that, when constrained to the Boolean range, use only existential quantification. Previous work has developed a set of operations for composition and for removing redundancies in FODDs, thus keeping them compact, and showed how to successfully employ FODDs for solving large-scale stochastic planning problems through the formalism of relational Markov decision processes (RMDP). In this paper, we introduce several new ideas enhancing the applicability of FODDs. More specifically, we first introduce Generalized FODDs (GFODD) and composition operations for them, generalizing FODDs to arbitrary quantification. Second, we develop a novel approach for reducing (G)FODDs using model checking. This yields – for the first time – a reduction that maximally reduces the diagram for the FODD case and provides a sound reduction procedure for GFODDs. Finally we show how GFODDs can be used in principle to solve RMDPs with arbitrary quantification, and develop a complete solution for the case where the reward function is specified using an arbitrary number of existential quantifiers followed by an arbitrary number of universal quantifiers
Synchronous brain activity across individuals underlies shared psychological perspectives

AbstractFor successful communication, we need to understand the external world consistently with others. This task requires sufficiently similar cognitive schemas or psychological perspectives that act as filters to guide the selection, interpretation and storage of sensory information, perceptual objects and events. Here we show that when individuals adopt a similar psychological perspective during natural viewing, their brain activity becomes synchronized in specific brain regions. We measured brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from 33 healthy participants who viewed a 10-min movie twice, assuming once a ‘social’ (detective) and once a ‘non-social’ (interior decorator) perspective to the movie events. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to derive multisubject voxelwise similarity measures (inter-subject correlations; ISCs) of functional MRI data. We used k-nearest-neighbor and support vector machine classifiers as well as a Mantel test on the ISC matrices to reveal brain areas wherein ISC predicted the participants' current perspective. ISC was stronger in several brain regions—most robustly in the parahippocampal gyrus, posterior parietal cortex and lateral occipital cortex—when the participants viewed the movie with similar rather than different perspectives. Synchronization was not explained by differences in visual sampling of the movies, as estimated by eye gaze. We propose that synchronous brain activity across individuals adopting similar psychological perspectives could be an important neural mechanism supporting shared understanding of the environment
Medicinal plants in the diet of woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides, E. Geoffroy, 1806) – a bio-rational for the search of new medicines for human use?

AbstractThe present study aimed to compare the plant food diet of woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides) inhabiting Intervales State Park in São Paulo, Brazil, with medicinal plant species used by humans in the surrounding areas of the park. The diet of a group of woolly spider monkeys living in an Atlantic forest area was recorded during 43 months of fieldwork. Fifty-three species (87 food items) were recorded. Plant specimens were collected and identified at the University of São Paulo and the Botanical Institute of São Paulo State. Using semi-structured interviews, ethnomedicinal data were also collected from four preselected respondents regarding the human therapeutic value of these plants. The study showed that 24.5% (13/53) of these species are used by residents around the park for medicinal purposes. Of these thirteen, seven species also have validated pharmacological properties, and three are utilized by local residents for similar medicinal purposes. Overlap in the plant food/medicinal diet of woolly spider monkey populations elsewhere were also noted, suggesting potential overlap in their medicinal value for humans and primates. The similarities between the ingestion of plants by primates and their medicinal use by humans provide a bio-rational for the search of bioactive plants in the primate diet. Further detailed investigation of their pharmacological and phytochemical value is warranted
M5-brane as a Nambu–Poisson geometry of a multi-D1-brane theory

AbstractWe introduce a Nambu–Poisson bracket in the geometrical description of the D=11 M5-brane. This procedure allows us, under some assumptions, to eliminate the local degrees of freedom of the antisymmetric field in the M5-brane Hamiltonian and to express it as a D=11 p-brane theory invariant under symplectomorphisms. The explicit expression of the Hamiltonian is obtained. The existence of nontrivial physical configurations annihilating the energy density is shown. Finally, a regularization of the M5-brane in terms of a multi D1-brane theory invariant under the SU(N)×SU(N) group in the limit when N→∞ is constructed
Signaling pathway of ginsenoside-Rg1 leading to nitric oxide production in endothelial cells

AbstractWe here provide definitive evidence that ginsenoside-Rg1, the pharmacologically active component of ginseng, is a functional ligand of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) as determined by fluorescence polarization assay. Rg1 increased the phosphorylation of GR, phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K), Akt/PKB and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) leading to increase nitric oxide (NO) production in human umbilical vein endothelial cell. Rg1-induced eNOS phosphorylation and NO production were significantly reduced by RU486, LY294,002, or SH-6. Also, knockdown of GR completely eliminated the Rg1-induced NO production. This study revealed that Rg1 can indeed serve as an agonist ligand for GR and the activated GR can induce rapid NO production from eNOS via the non-transcriptional PI3K/Akt pathway
Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE): Explanation and elaboration

AbstractMuch medical research is observational. The reporting of observational studies is often of insufficient quality. Poor reporting hampers the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of a study and the generalisability of its results. Taking into account empirical evidence and theoretical considerations, a group of methodologists, researchers, and editors developed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) recommendations to improve the quality of reporting of observational studies. The STROBE Statement consists of a checklist of 22 items, which relate to the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results and discussion sections of articles. Eighteen items are common to cohort studies, case–control studies and cross-sectional studies and four are specific to each of the three study designs. The STROBE Statement provides guidance to authors about how to improve the reporting of observational studies and facilitates critical appraisal and interpretation of studies by reviewers, journal editors and readers. This explanatory and elaboration document is intended to enhance the use, understanding, and dissemination of the STROBE Statement. The meaning and rationale for each checklist item are presented. For each item, one or several published examples and, where possible, references to relevant empirical studies and methodological literature are provided. Examples of useful flow diagrams are also included. The STROBE Statement, this document, and the associated Web site (http://www.strobe-statement.org/) should be helpful resources to improve reporting of observational research
Numerical study of the enlarged O(5) symmetry of the 3D antiferromagnetic RP2 spin model

AbstractWe investigate by means of Monte Carlo simulation and finite-size scaling analysis the critical properties of the three-dimensional O(5) non-linear σ model and of the antiferromagnetic RP2 model, both of them regularized on a lattice. High accuracy estimates are obtained for the critical exponents, universal dimensionless quantities and critical couplings. It is concluded that both models belong to the same universality class, provided that rather non-standard identifications are made for the momentum-space propagator of the RP2 model. We have also investigated the phase diagram of the RP2 model extended by a second-neighbor interaction. A rich phase diagram is found, where most of the phase transitions are of the first order
Modification of the ρ meson detected by low-mass electron–positron pairs in central PbAu collisions at 158A GeV/c

AbstractWe present a measurement of e+e− pair production in central PbAu collisions at 158A GeV/c. As reported earlier, a significant excess of the e+e− pair yield over the expectation from hadron decays is observed. The improved mass resolution of the present data set, recorded with the upgraded CERES experiment at the CERN-SPS, allows for a comparison of the data with different theoretical approaches. The data clearly favor a substantial in-medium broadening of the ρ spectral function over a density-dependent shift of the ρ pole mass. The in-medium broadening model implies that baryon induced interactions are the key mechanism to the observed modifications of the ρ meson at SPS energy
Measuring θ12 despite an uncertain reactor neutrino spectrum

AbstractThe recently discovered 5–7 MeV excess in the reactor neutrino spectral structure, corresponding to a prompt energy of 4–6 MeV, highlights that the uncertainty in the reactor neutrino spectrum is far greater than some theoretical estimates. Medium baseline (about 50 km) reactor neutrino experiments will deliver by far the most precise ever measurements of θ12. However, the theoretical reactor neutrino spectra, as they were recalculated in 2011, do not reproduce this excess. As a result, if a medium baseline experiment attempted to determine sin2⁡(2θ12) using the theoretical spectrum, the result would have a systematic upward bias of 1%, much larger than the expected uncertainty. We show that by using recent measurements of the reactor neutrino spectrum the precision of a measurement of θ12 at a medium baseline reactor neutrino experiment can be improved appreciably. We estimate this precision as a function of the 9Li spallation background veto efficiency and dead time
The neural basis of theory of mind and its relationship to social functioning and social anhedonia in individuals with schizophrenia

AbstractTheory of mind (ToM), the ability to attribute and reason about the mental states of others, is a strong determinant of social functioning among individuals with schizophrenia. Identifying the neural bases of ToM and their relationship to social functioning may elucidate functionally relevant neurobiological targets for intervention. ToM ability may additionally account for other social phenomena that affect social functioning, such as social anhedonia (SocAnh). Given recent research in schizophrenia demonstrating improved neural functioning in response to increased use of cognitive skills, it is possible that SocAnh, which decreases one's opportunity to engage in ToM, could compromise social functioning through its deleterious effect on ToM-related neural circuitry. Here, twenty individuals with schizophrenia and 18 healthy controls underwent fMRI while performing the False-Belief Task. Aspects of social functioning were assessed using multiple methods including self-report (Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Social Adjustment Scale), clinician-ratings (Global Functioning Social Scale), and performance-based tasks (MSCEIT—Managing Emotions). SocAnh was measured with the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale. Region-of-interest and whole-brain analyses revealed reduced recruitment of medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) for ToM in individuals with schizophrenia. Across all participants, activity in this region correlated with most social variables. Mediation analysis revealed that neural activity for ToM in MPFC accounted for the relationship between SocAnh and social functioning. These findings demonstrate that reduced recruitment of MPFC for ToM is an important neurobiological determinant of social functioning. Furthermore, SocAhn may affect social functioning through its impact on ToM-related neural circuitry. Together, these findings suggest ToM ability as an important locus for intervention
Virtual Sign – A Real Time Bidirectional Translator of Portuguese Sign Language

AbstractPromoting equity, equal opportunities to all and social inclusion of people with disabilities is a concern of modern societies at large and a key topic in the agenda of European Higher Education. Despite all the progress, we cannot ignore the fact that the conditions provided by the society for the deaf are still far from being perfect. The communication with deaf by means of written text is not as efficient as it might seem at first. In fact, there is a very deep gap between sign language and spoken/written language. The vocabulary, the sentence construction and the grammatical rules are quite different among these two worlds. These facts bring significant difficulties in reading and understanding the meaning of text for deaf people and, on the other hand, make it quite difficult for people with no hearing disabilities to understand sign language. The deployment of tools to assist the daily communication, in schools, in public services, in museums and other, between deaf people and the rest may be a significant contribution to the social inclusion of the deaf community. The work described in this paper addresses the development of a bidirectional translator between Portuguese Sign Language and Portuguese text. The translator from sign language to text resorts to two devices, namely the Microsoft Kinect and 5DT Sensor Gloves in order to gather data about the motion and shape of the hands. The hands configurations are classified using Support Vector Machines. The classification of the movement and orientation of the hands are achieved through the use of Dynamic Time Warping algorithm. The translator exhibits a precision higher than 90%. In the other direction, the translation of Portuguese text to Portuguese Sign Language is supported by a 3D avatar which interprets the entered text and performs the corresponding animations
An above-barrier narrow resonance in 15F

AbstractIntense and purified radioactive beam of post-accelerated 14O was used to study the low-lying states in the unbound 15F nucleus. Exploiting resonant elastic scattering in inverse kinematics with a thick target, the second excited state, a resonance at ER=4.757(6)(10) MeV with a width of Γ=36(5)(14) keV was measured for the first time with high precision. The structure of this narrow above-barrier state in a nucleus located two neutrons beyond the proton drip line was investigated using the Gamow Shell Model in the coupled channel representation with a 12C core and three valence protons. It is found that it is an almost pure wave function of two quasi-bound protons in the 2s1/2 shell
Intermediate and Long-term Outcomes of Survivors of Acute Kidney Injury Episodes: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study

BackgroundThe long-term prognosis after acute kidney injury (AKI) is variable. It is unclear how the prognosis of AKI and its relationship to prognostic factors (baseline kidney function, AKI severity, prior AKI episodes, and recovery of kidney function) change as follow-up progresses.Study DesignObservational cohort study.Setting & ParticipantsThe Grampian Laboratory Outcomes Morbidity and Mortality Study II (GLOMMS-II) is a large regional population cohort with complete serial biochemistry and outcome data capture through data linkage. From GLOMMS-II, we followed up 17,630 patients hospitalized in 2003 through to 2013.PredictorsAKI identified using KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) serum creatinine criteria, characterized by baseline kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] ≥ 60, 45-59, 30-44, and <30mL/min/1.73m2), AKI severity (KDIGO stage), 90-day recovery of kidney function, and prior AKI episodes.OutcomesIntermediate- (30-364 days) and long-term (1-10 years) mortality and long-term renal replacement therapy.MeasurementsPoisson regression in time discrete intervals. Multivariable Cox regression for those at risk in the intermediate and long term, adjusted for age, sex, baseline comorbid conditions, and acute admission circumstances.ResultsOf 17,630 patients followed up for a median of 9.0 years, 9,251 died. Estimated incidences of hospital AKI were 8.4% and 17.6% for baseline eGFRs≥60 and <60mL/min/1.73m2, respectively. Intermediate-term (30-364 days) adjusted mortality HRs for AKI versus no AKI were 2.48 (95% CI, 2.15-2.88), 2.50 (95% CI, 2.04-3.06), 1.90 (95% CI, 1.51-2.39), and 1.63 (95% CI, 1.20-2.22) for eGFRs≥60, 45 to 59, 30 to 44, and <30mL/min/1.73m2, respectively. Among 1-year survivors, long-term HRs were attenuated: 1.44 (95% CI, 1.31-1.58), 1.25 (95% CI, 1.09-1.43), 1.21 (95% CI, 1.03-1.42), and 1.08 (95% CI, 0.85-1.36), respectively. The excess long-term hazards in AKI were lower for lower baseline eGFRs (P for interaction = 0.01).LimitationsNonprotocolized observational data. No adjustment for albuminuria.ConclusionsThe prognostic importance of a discrete AKI episode lessens over time. Baseline kidney function is of greater long-term importance
Pulmonary ORMDL3 is critical for induction of Alternaria-induced allergic airways disease

BackgroundGenome-wide association studies have identified the ORM (yeast)-like protein isoform 3 (ORMDL3) gene locus on human chromosome 17q to be a highly significant risk factor for childhood-onset asthma.ObjectiveWe sought to investigate in vivo the functional role of ORMDL3 in disease inception.MethodsAn Ormdl3-deficient mouse was generated and the role of ORMDL3 in the generation of allergic airways disease to the fungal aeroallergen Alternaria alternata was determined. An adeno-associated viral vector was also used to reconstitute ORMDL3 expression in airway epithelial cells of Ormdl3 knockout mice.ResultsOrmdl3 knockout mice were found to be protected from developing allergic airways disease and showed a marked decrease in pathophysiology, including lung function and airway eosinophilia induced by Alternaria. Alternaria is a potent inducer of cellular stress and the unfolded protein response, and ORMDL3 was found to play a critical role in driving the activating transcription factor 6–mediated arm of this response through Xbp1 and downstream activation of the endoplasmic reticulum–associated degradation pathway. In addition, ORMDL3 mediated uric acid release, another marker of cellular stress. In the knockout mice, reconstitution of Ormdl3 transcript levels specifically in the bronchial epithelium resulted in reinstatement of susceptibility to fungal allergen–induced allergic airways disease.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that ORMDL3, an asthma susceptibility gene identified by genome-wide association studies, contributes to key pathways that promote changes in airway physiology during allergic immune responses
Ca2+ microdomains organized by junctophilins

AbstractExcitable cells typically possess junctional membrane complexes (JMCs) constructed by the plasma membrane and the endo/sarcoplasmic reticulum (ER/SR) for channel crosstalk. These JMCs are termed triads in skeletal muscle, dyads in cardiac muscle, peripheral couplings in smooth and developing striated muscles, and subsurface cisterns in neurons. Junctophilin subtypes contribute to the formation and maintenance of JMCs by serving as a physical bridge between the plasma membrane and ER/SR membrane in different cell types. In muscle cells, junctophilin deficiency prevents JMC formation and functional crosstalk between cell-surface Ca2+ channels and ER/SR Ca2+ release channels. Human genetic mutations in junctophilin subtypes are linked to congenital hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, growing evidence suggests that dysregulation of junctophilins induces pathological alterations in skeletal and cardiac muscle
Characterization of graphs and digraphs with small process numbers

AbstractWe introduce the process number of a digraph as a tool to study rerouting issues in wdm networks. This parameter is closely related to the vertex separation (or pathwidth). We consider the recognition and the characterization of (di)graphs with small process numbers. In particular, we give a linear time algorithm to recognize (and process) graphs with process number at most 2, along with a characterization in terms of forbidden minors, and a structural description. As for digraphs with process number 2, we exhibit a characterization that allows one to recognize (and process) them in polynomial time
Detecting Frog Calling Activity Based on Acoustic Event Detection and Multi-label Learning

AbstractFrog population has been declining the past decade for habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, and so forth. Therefore, it is becoming ever more important to monitor the frog population. Recent advances in acoustic sensors make it possible to collect frog vocalizations over large spatio-temporal scale. Through the detection of frog calling activity with collected acoustic data, frog population can be predicted. In this paper we propose a novel method for detecting frog calling activity using acoustic event detection and multi-label learning. Here, frog calling activity consists of frog abundance and frog species richness, which denotes number of individual frog calls and number of frog species respectively. To be specific, each segmented recording is first transformed to a spectrogram. Then, acoustic event detection is used to calculate frog abundance. Meanwhile, those recordings without frog calls are filtered out. For frog species richness, three acoustic features, linear predictive coefficients, Mel-frequency Cepstral coefficients and wavelet-based features are calculated. Then, multi-label learning is used to predict frog species richness. Lastly, statistical analysis is used to reflect the relationship between frog calling activity (frog abundance and frog species richness) and weather variables. Experiment results show that our proposed method can accurately detect frog calling activity and reflect its relationship with weather variables
“Feeling tipsy” A project for preventing alcohol-related behaviours

AbstractAddressing the issue of prevention from alcohol abuse, the realized project was not built with reference to a typical medical or sanitary perspective on health, but mainly adopting the perspective of developmental and socio-cultural psychology. We were primarily interested in knowing the meanings adolescents attach to their prevailing experiences and their representations of drinking alcohol. We also assumed that adolescents use alcohol to test themselves and to challenge themselves into possible identities. So we designed the survey as an action research, collecting information from participants to the project and discussing the data with them, both on their alcohol representations and their identities conceptions. We will show the main results, in terms of the collected data