Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multisensory Spatial Attention Deficits Are Predictive of Phonological Decoding Skills in Developmental Dyslexia

Although the dominant approach posits that developmental dyslexia arises from deficits in systems that are exclusively linguistic in nature (i.e., phonological deficit theory), dyslexics show a variety of lower level deficits in sensory and attentional processing. Although their link to the reading disorder remains contentious, recent empirical and computational studies suggest that spatial attention plays an important role in phonological decoding. The present behavioral study investigated exogenous spatial attention in dyslexic children and matched controls by measuring RTs to visual and auditory stimuli in cued-detection tasks. Dyslexics with poor nonword decoding accuracy showed a slower time course of visual and auditory (multisensory) spatial attention compared with both chronological age and reading level controls as well as compared with dyslexics with slow but accurate nonword decoding. Individual differences in the time course of multisensory spatial attention accounted for 31% of unique variance in the nonword reading performance of the entire dyslexic sample after controlling for age, IQ, and phonological skills. The present study suggests that multisensory “sluggish attention shifting”—related to a temporoparietal dysfunction—selectively impairs the sublexical mechanisms that are critical for reading development. These findings may offer a new approach for early identification and remediation of developmental dyslexia.
Reconfigurable Vector Extensions inside the DRAM

Near-data processing is emerging as a response to the low memory bandwidth and the high energy costs associated with the data transfer between the processor and the main memory. Proposals that move the execution of vector instructions to the DRAM device present good trade-offs in terms of performance, energy consumption and area. Since these previous proposals usually operate at the frequency of the DRAM, they lose opportunities for improvements due to the long clock period of the memory devices. In this paper, we propose Reconfigurable Vector Extensions (RVX), which use Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Arrays (CGRAs) to execute vector instructions inside the DRAM. Our mechanism reconfigures the functional units inside the memory in order to combine them and thereby reduce the operation time of the near-data instructions, fully leveraging the potential of near-data processing in the main memory. Comparing to previous near-data processing approaches that move vector instructions to the DRAM, our proposal enables performance gains of up to 31% and reduces the energy consumption by up to 76% of the functional units inside the memory device.
ELF: An Extensive, Lightweight and Flexible Research Platform for Real-time Strategy Games

In this paper, we propose ELF, an Extensive, Lightweight and Flexible platform for fundamental reinforcement learning research. Using ELF, we implement a highly customizable real-time strategy (RTS) engine with three game environments (Mini-RTS, Capture the Flag and Tower Defense). Mini-RTS, as a miniature version of StarCraft, captures key game dynamics and runs at 40K frame-per-second (FPS) per core on a Macbook Pro notebook. When coupled with modern reinforcement learning methods, the system can train a full-game bot against built-in AIs end-to-end in one day with 6 CPUs and 1 GPU. In addition, our platform is flexible in terms of environment-agent communication topologies, choices of RL methods, changes in game parameters, and can host existing C/C++-based game environments like Arcade Learning Environment. Using ELF, we thoroughly explore training parameters and show that a network with Leaky ReLU and Batch Normalization coupled with long-horizon training and progressive curriculum beats the rule-based built-in AI more than $70\%$ of the time in the full game of Mini-RTS. Strong performance is also achieved on the other two games. In game replays, we show our agents learn interesting strategies. ELF, along with its RL platform, is open-sourced at this https URL.
Effect of Shading on Organic Pepper Seedling Cultivation

The experiment was carried out in the temperature-controlled glass sera during July and August 2010. In order to create different light intensities for each period after seeding, material with 50 % shading property was used as 1, 2 and 3 layers also created an unshadow area for control purposes. Yalova Carliston pepper cultivar was used in the research. In the experiment, root dry weight, stem dry weight, leaf dry weight, leaf thickness and net assimilation rate were determined from seedling quality parameters. A statistically significant difference was found between all parameters in terms of the characteristics examined (p<0.01). Leaf thickness values decreased with shading. The highest net assimilation rate was determined in the control application in which the highest temperature values were determined. Keywords : Seedling, quality, light, temperature, dry weight.
In vitro and in vivo repeatability of abdominal diffusion-weighted MRI.

OBJECTIVE To study the in vitro and in vivo (abdomen) variability of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements at 1.5 T using a free-breathing multislice diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI sequence. METHODS DW MRI images were obtained using a multislice spin-echo echo-planar imaging sequence with b-values=0, 100, 200, 500, 750 and 1000 s mm(-2). A flood-field phantom was imaged at regular intervals over 100 days, and 10 times on the same day on 2 occasions. 10 healthy volunteers were imaged on two separate occasions. Mono-exponential ADC maps were fitted excluding b=0. Paired analysis was carried out on the liver, spleen, kidney and gallbladder using multiple regions of interest (ROIs) and volumes of interest (VOIs). RESULTS The in vitro coefficient of variation was 1.3% over 100 days, and 0.5% and 1.0% for both the daily experiments. In vivo, there was no statistical difference in the group mean ADC value between visits for any organ. Using ROIs, the coefficient of reproducibility was 20.0% for the kidney, 21.0% for the gallbladder, 24.7% for the liver and 28.0% for the spleen. For VOIs, values fall to 7.7%, 6.4%, 8.6% and 9.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION Good in vitro repeatability of ADC measurements provided a sound basis for in vivo measurement. In vivo variability is higher and when considering single measurements in the abdomen as a whole, only changes in ADC value greater than 23.1% would be statistically significant using a two-dimensional ROI. This value is substantially lower (7.9%) if large three-dimensional VOIs are considered.
Contrasts and Correlations in Effect-Size Estimation

This article describes procedures for presenting standardized measures of effect size when contrasts are used to ask focused questions of data. The simplest contrasts consist of comparisons of two samples (e.g., based on the independent t statistic). Useful effect-size indices in this situation are members of the g family (e.g., Hedges's g and Cohen's d) and the Pearson r. We review expressions for calculating these measures and for transforming them back and forth, and describe how to adjust formulas for obtaining g or d from t, or r from g, when the sample sizes are unequal. The real-life implications of d or g calculated from t become problematic when there are more than two groups, but the correlational approach is adaptable and interpretable, although more complex than in the case of two groups. We describe a family of four conceptually related correlation indices: the alerting correlation, the contrast correlation, the effect-size correlation, and the BESD (binomial effect-size display) correlation. These last three correlations are identical in the simple setting of only two groups, but differ when there are more than two groups.
Type I interferon dependence of plasmacytoid dendritic cell activation and migration

Differential expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR) by conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DC (pDCs) has been suggested to influence the type of immune response induced by microbial pathogens. In this study we show that, in vivo, cDCs and pDCs are equally activated by TLR4, -7, and -9 ligands. Type I interferon (IFN) was important for pDC activation in vivo in response to all three TLR ligands, whereas cDCs required type I IFN signaling only for TLR9- and partially for TLR7-mediated activation. Although TLR ligands induced in situ migration of spleen cDC into the T cell area, spleen pDCs formed clusters in the marginal zone and in the outer T cell area 6 h after injection of TLR9 and TLR7 ligands, respectively. In vivo treatment with TLR9 ligands decreased pDC ability to migrate ex vivo in response to IFN-induced CXCR3 ligands and increased their response to CCR7 ligands. Unlike cDCs, the migration pattern of pDCs required type I IFN for induction of CXCR3 ligands and responsiveness to CCR7 ligands. These data demonstrate that mouse pDCs differ from cDCs in the in vivo response to TLR ligands, in terms of pattern and type I IFN requirement for activation and migration.
NLS-dependent nuclear localization of p120ctn is necessary to relieve Kaiso-mediated transcriptional repression

The Armadillo catenin p120ctn regulates cadherin adhesive strength at the plasma membrane and interacts with the novel BTB/POZ transcriptional repressor Kaiso in the nucleus. The dual localization of p120ctn at cell-cell junctions and in the nucleus suggests that its nucleocytoplasmic trafficking is tightly regulated. Here we report on the identification of a specific and highly basic nuclear localization signal (NLS) in p120ctn. The functionality of the NLS was validated by its ability to direct the nuclear localization of a heterologous β-galactosidase-GFP fusion protein. Mutating two key positively charged lysines to neutral alanines in the NLS of full-length p120ctn inhibited both p120ctn nuclear localization as well as the characteristic p120ctn-induced branching phenotype that correlates with increased cell migration. However, while these findings and others suggested that nuclear localization of p120ctn was crucial for the p120ctn-induced branching phenotype, we found that forced nuclear localization of both wild-type and NLS-mutated p120ctn did not induce branching. Recently, we also found that one role of p120ctn was to regulate Kaiso-mediated transcriptional repression. However, it remained unclear whether p120ctn sequestered Kaiso in the cytosol or directly inhibited Kaiso transcriptional activity in the nucleus. Using minimal promoter assays, we show here that the regulatory effect of p120ctn on Kaiso transcriptional activity requires the nuclear translocation of p120ctn. Therefore, an intact NLS in p120ctn is requisite for its first identified regulatory role of the transcriptional repressor Kaiso.
Actomyosin sliding is attenuated in contractile biomimetic cortices

A model actin cortex is constituted in vitro and used to monitor the relative movements of actin and myosin under conditions that promote or abrogate network contraction. Myosin II molecular motors efficiently drive contraction of a disordered, cortical F-actin network with attenuated relative actomyosin sliding.
MetExplore: a web server to link metabolomic experiments and genome-scale metabolic networks

High-throughput metabolomic experiments aim at identifying and ultimately quantifying all metabolites present in biological systems. The metabolites are interconnected through metabolic reactions, generally grouped into metabolic pathways. Classical metabolic maps provide a relational context to help interpret metabolomics experiments and a wide range of tools have been developed to help place metabolites within metabolic pathways. However, the representation of metabolites within separate disconnected pathways overlooks most of the connectivity of the metabolome. By definition, reference pathways cannot integrate novel pathways nor show relationships between metabolites that may be linked by common neighbours without being considered as joint members of a classical biochemical pathway. MetExplore is a web server that offers the possibility to link metabolites identified in untargeted metabolomics experiments within the context of genome-scale reconstructed metabolic networks. The analysis pipeline comprises mapping metabolomics data onto the specific metabolic network of an organism, then applying graph-based methods and advanced visualization tools to enhance data analysis. The MetExplore web server is freely accessible at http://metexplore.toulouse. inra.fr.
Localization in sparse networks using sweeps

Determining node positions is essential for many next-generation network functionalities. Previous localization algorithms lack correctness guarantees or require network density higher than required for unique localizability. In this paper, we describe a class of algorithms for fine-grained localization called Sweeps. Sweeps correctly finitely localizes all nodes in bilateration networks. Sweeps also handles angle measurements and noisy measurements. We demonstrate the practicality of our algorithm through extensive simulations on a large number of networks, upon which it consistently localizes one-thousand-node networks of average degree less than five in less than two minutes on a consumer PC.
Fast Similarity Search in the Presence of Noise, Scaling, and Translation in Time-Series Databases

We introduce a new model of similarity of time sequences that captures the intuitive notion that two sequences should be considered similar if they have enough non-overlapping time-ordered pairs of subsequences thar are similar. The model allows the amplitude of one of the two sequences to be scaled by any suitable amount and its offset adjusted appropriately. Two subsequences are considered similar if one can be enclosed within an envelope of a specified width drawn around the other. The model also allows non-matching gaps in the matching subsequences. The matching subsequences need not be aligned along the time axis. Given this model of similarity, we present fast search techniques for discovering all similar sequences in a set of sequences. These techniques can also be used to find all (sub)sequences similar to a given sequence. We applied this matching system to the U.S. mutual funds data and discovered interesting matches.
Cardiorespiratory fitness changes in patients receiving comprehensive outpatient cardiac rehabilitation in the UK: a multicentre study

Background Exercise training is a key component of cardiac rehabilitation but there is a discrepancy between the high volume of exercise prescribed in trials comprising the evidence base and the lower volume prescribed to UK patients. Objective To quantify prescribed exercise volume and changes in cardiorespiratory fitness in UK cardiac rehabilitation patients. Methods We accessed n=950 patients who completed cardiac rehabilitation at four UK centres and extracted clinical data and details of cardiorespiratory fitness testing pre- and post-rehabilitation. We calculated mean and effect size (d) for change in fitness at each centre and converted values to metabolic equivalent (METs). We calculated a fixed-effects estimate of change in fitness expressed as METs and d. Results Patients completed 6 to 16 (median 8) supervised exercise sessions. Effect sizes for changes in fitness were d=0.34–0.99 in test-specific raw units and d=0.34–0.96 expressed as METs. The pooled fixed effect estimate for change in fitness was 0.52 METs (95% CI 0.51 to 0.53); or an effect size of d=0.59 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.60). Conclusion Gains in fitness varied by centre and fitness assessment protocol but the overall increase in fitness (0.52 METs) was only a third the mean estimate reported in a recent systematic review (1.55 METs). The starkest difference in clinical practice in the UK centres we sampled and the trials which comprise the evidence-base for cardiac rehabilitation was the small volume of exercise completed by UK patients. The exercise training volume prescribed was also only a third that reported in most international studies. If representative of UK services, these low training volumes and small increases in cardiorespiratory fitness may partially explain the reported inefficacy of UK cardiac rehabilitation to reduce patient mortality and morbidity.
Determinants of continuance intention to use the smartphone banking services: An extension to the expectation-confirmation model

Purpose – Existing research in the electronic banking area has not deeply investigated the determinants of continuance intention to use smartphone banking services. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to do so by investigating continuance use intention at the post-consumption phase. Design/methodology/approach – It developed and validated an extended framework based on the expectation-confirmation model (ECM). A total of 301 smartphone users who subscribed to online banking services participated in the study. Findings – The results revealed that users’ confirmation after the initial use of smartphone banking services has significant impact on perceived security, perceived usefulness, trust, and user satisfaction. Perceived security significantly influences trust while perceived usefulness significantly influences trust, user satisfaction, and continuance use intention. Both user satisfaction and self-efficacy also significantly influence continuance use intention. Trust exerts significant impact on us.
Poststroke depression: risk factors and potential effects on functional recovery

The factors that may cause poststroke depression were investigated in the literature focusing on lesion localization, age, stroke severity, and impairments in physical and cognitive function. The aim of this study was to examine the risk factors influencing the development of poststroke depression and to determine the effect of depression on the patients’ functional improvement after rehabilitation. Patients in the first 6-month period after stroke who were hospitalized in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic were included in this study. Patients who were admitted to the hospital within 0–30 and 30–120 days from the date of stroke were considered early and late rehabilitation entrants, respectively. The sample of this study included 93 patients. Patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics, complications, and medical history were recorded. Upper extremity motor function, ambulation, and mood were evaluated according to the Frenchay Arm Test, the Functional Ambulation Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was applied to patients at admission to the hospital, at discharge, and 1 month after discharge (follow-up). The mean age of the patients was 58 years and the mean disease duration was 53 days. Depression was diagnosed in 49 (53%) patients. Except for age and disease duration, none of the factors of sex, hemiplegic side, stroke severity, stroke etiology, neglect, spasticity, sedentary lifestyle, poststroke immobility, and early-onset or late-onset to rehabilitation was found to induce statistically significant differences in the development of depression. Statistically significant changes occurred in total FIM levels between the groups with and without depression between admission and discharge, admission and follow-up, and discharge and follow-up. The levels were significantly higher in patients without depression than in patients with depression. Depression was found in a high frequency in stroke patients. Younger age and long disease duration were found to be factors affecting the development of depression. FIM scores were observed to be lower in stroke patients with depression.
The Impact of the Number of Neurons in the Hidden Layer on the Performance of MLP Neural Network: Application to the Fast Identification of Toxic Gases

 Abstract — In this work, neural networks methods MLP type were applied to a database from an array of six sensors for the detection of three toxic gases. The choice of the number of hidden layers and the weight values are influential on the convergence of the learning algorithm. We proposed, in this article, a mathematical formula to determine the optimal number of hidden layers and good weight values based on the method of back propagation of errors. The results of this modeling have improved discrimination of these gases and optimized the computation time. The model presented here has proven to be an effective application for the fast identification of toxic gases.
Existence of the diffusion-perfusion mismatch within 24 hours after onset of acute stroke: dependence on proximal arterial occlusion.

PURPOSE To assess the existence of a mismatch between lesions on diffusion-weighted (DW) and perfusion-weighted (PW) magnetic resonance (MR) images obtained within 24 hours after onset of acute stroke and to use mismatch data and angiographic evidence of proximal arterial occlusion (PAO) to investigate whether the existence of the mismatch depends on the existence of PAO. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this institutional review board-approved, HIPAA-compliant study, 109 retrospectively identified patients had undergone DW and PW imaging within 24 hours of stroke onset. Relative mismatch was computed as the difference between lesion volumes on mean transit time maps and DW images, divided by DW lesion volume. Computed tomographic (CT) angiography or MR angiography distinguished patients with PAO (n = 68) from those with no PAO (NPAO; n = 41). Eligibility for hypothetical thrombolysis was assessed with two different criteria: (a) one derived from the successful Desmoteplase in Acute Ischemic Stroke Trial (DIAS) and Dose Escalation of Desmoteplase for Acute Ischemic Stroke Trial (DEDAS), and (b) another requiring 160% mismatch. RESULTS Of the 109 patients, 77 (71%) satisfied the DIAS-DEDAS eligibility criteria, and 61 (56%) satisfied the 160% criterion. The NPAO patients demonstrated decreasing eligibility with increasing time after onset by using DIAS-DEDAS criteria (P = .015) and showed a similar trend with the 160% criterion (P = .078). The NPAO patients were less likely to be eligible after 9 hours than before 9 hours (17% for >9 hours vs 72% for <9 hours with DIAS-DEDAS criteria, P = .002; and 8% for >9 hours vs 45% for <9 hours with 160% criterion, P = .033). However, PAO patients demonstrated a trend toward increasing eligibility with the DIAS-DEDAS criteria (P = .099) and no significant difference for after 9 hours versus before 9 hours (84% for >9 hours vs 78% for <9 hours with DIAS-DEDAS criteria, P = .742; and 68% for >9 hours vs 69% for <9 hours with 160% criterion, P > .999). CONCLUSION Persistence of mismatch after 9 hours is common and occurs most often in patients with PAO.