Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reconstruction for Colorings on Trees

Consider $k$-colorings of the complete tree of depth $\ell$ and branching factor $\Delta$. If we fix the coloring of the leaves, as $\ell$ tends to $\infty$, for what range of $k$ is the root uniformly distributed over all $k$ colors? This corresponds to the threshold for uniqueness of the infinite-volume Gibbs measure. It is straightforward to show the existence of colorings of the leaves which ``freeze'' the entire tree when $k\le\Delta+1$. For $k\geq\Delta+2$, Jonasson proved the root is ``unbiased'' for any fixed coloring of the leaves and thus the Gibbs measure is unique. What happens for a {\em typical} coloring of the leaves? When the leaves have a non-vanishing influence on the root in expectation, over random colorings of the leaves, reconstruction is said to hold. Non-reconstruction is equivalent to extremality of the free-boundary Gibbs measure. When $k<\Delta/\ln{\Delta}$, it is straightforward to show that reconstruction is possible and hence the measure is not extremal. We prove that for $C>1$ and $k =C\Delta/\ln{\Delta}$, that the Gibbs measure is extremal in a strong sense: with high probability over the colorings of the leaves the influence at the root decays exponentially fast with the depth of the tree. Closely related results were also proven recently by Sly. The above strong form of extremality implies that a local Markov chain that updates constant sized blocks has inverse linear entropy constant and hence $O(N\log N)$ mixing time where $N$ is the number of vertices of the tree.
Dimensional Ridge Preservation with a Novel Highly Porous TiO2 Scaffold: An Experimental Study in Minipigs

Despite being considered noncritical size defects, extraction sockets often require the use of bone grafts or bone graft substitutes in order to facilitate a stable implant site with an aesthetically pleasing mucosal architecture and prosthetic reconstruction. In the present study, the effect of novel TiO2 scaffolds on dimensional ridge preservation was evaluated following their placement into surgically modified extraction sockets in the premolar region of minipig mandibles. After six weeks of healing, the scaffolds were wellintegrated in the alveolar bone, and the convex shape of the alveolar crest was preserved. The scaffolds were found to partially preserve the dimensions of the native buccal and lingual bone walls adjacent to the defect site. A tendency towards more pronounced vertical ridge resorption, particularly in the buccal bone wall of the nongrafted alveoli, indicates that the TiO2 scaffold may be used for suppressing the loss of bone that normally follows tooth extraction.
Novel neuroimaging technique and measurement of contrast sensitivity with wide-view stimuli in human visual cortex

Using a novel wide-view visual presentation system for vision research developed by us and visual retinotopic mapping functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We have investigated the variation of BLOD response, in three visual areas (V1–V3), as a function of visual retintotopic areas and five contrast levels (96%, 48%, 24%, 12% and 6%). Each visual area was identified in each subject using a combination of retinotopic mapping methods and cortical flattening techniques. A checkerboard patterns with five level contrasts were used as the stimuli in this study. We also constructed BLOD responses amplitude tuning curves, averaged across subjects, for three visual areas (V1–V3) and three eccentricities (0–20°, 20–40°, 40– 60°). The result indicated that the peripheral stimulation would lead to lower BLOD responses, compared with the visual areas relative to central field stimulation. The present signal change of each visual area is consistent with the known physiological properties of cells in the corresponding macaque visual areas in previous functional imaging studies. In presented study, we confirmed visual areas V3 showed more sensitivity to contrast, than V2, and than V1 in central and peri-central visual area. More importantly, we revealed the biological responses for peripheral visual areas (40–60°), which the V1–V3 had BLOD signal change only for higher contrast (96%and 48%), but no BLOD response for lower contrast (24%, 12% and 6%).
Fast Simulation of Binary Neural Network onMessage Passing Parallel

This paper proposes an eecient method for the implementation of the ADAM binary neural network on a message passing parallel computer. Performance examples obtained by testing an implementation on a Transputer based system are presented. It is shown that simulation of an ADAM network can be eeciently sped-up by parallel computation. It is also shown how the overlapping of the computation and communication positively innuences performance issues.
Improving Quality-of-Service in Wireless Sensor Networks by Mitigating “Hidden-Node Collisions”

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) emerge as underlying infrastructures for new classes of large-scale networked embedded systems. However, WSNs system designers must fulfill the quality-of-service (QoS) requirements imposed by the applications (and users). Very harsh and dynamic physical environments and extremely limited energy/computing/memory/communication node resources are major obstacles for satisfying QoS metrics such as reliability, timeliness, and system lifetime. The limited communication range of WSN nodes, link asymmetry, and the characteristics of the physical environment lead to a major source of QoS degradation in WSNs-the ldquohidden node problem.rdquo In wireless contention-based medium access control (MAC) protocols, when two nodes that are not visible to each other transmit to a third node that is visible to the former, there will be a collision-called hidden-node or blind collision. This problem greatly impacts network throughput, energy-efficiency and message transfer delays, and the problem dramatically increases with the number of nodes. This paper proposes H-NAMe, a very simple yet extremely efficient hidden-node avoidance mechanism for WSNs. H-NAMe relies on a grouping strategy that splits each cluster of a WSN into disjoint groups of non-hidden nodes that scales to multiple clusters via a cluster grouping strategy that guarantees no interference between overlapping clusters. Importantly, H-NAMe is instantiated in IEEE 802.15. 4/ZigBee, which currently are the most widespread communication technologies for WSNs, with only minor add-ons and ensuring backward compatibility with their protocols standards. H-NAMe was implemented and exhaustively tested using an experimental test-bed based on ldquooff-the-shelfrdquo technology, showing that it increases network throughput and transmission success probability up to twice the values obtained without H-NAMe. H-NAMe effectiveness was also demonstrated in a target tracking application with mobile robots over a WSN deployment.
Exploring the Influence of Smallholders' Perceptions Regarding Water Availability on Crop Choice and Water Allocation Through Socio‐Hydrological Modeling

While it is known that farmers adopt different decision‐making behaviors to cope with stresses, it remains challenging to capture this diversity in formal model frameworks that are used to advance theory and inform policy. Guided by cognitive theory and the theory of bounded rationality, this research develops a novel, socio‐hydrological model framework that can explore how a farmer's perception of water availability impacts crop choice and water allocation. The model is informed by a rich empirical data set at the household level collected during 2013 in Kenya's Upper Ewaso Ng'iro basin that shows that the crop type cultivated is correlated with water availability. The model is able to simulate this pattern and shows that near‐optimal or “satisficing” crop patterns can emerge also when farmers were to make use of simple decision rules and have diverse perceptions on water availability. By focusing on farmer decision making it also captures the rebound effect, i.e., as additional water becomes available through the improvement of crop efficiencies it will be reallocated on the farm instead of flowing downstream, as a farmer will adjust his (her) water allocation and crop pattern to the new water conditions. This study is valuable as it is consistent with the theory of bounded rationality, and thus offers an alternative, descriptive model in addition to normative models. The framework can be used to understand the potential impact of climate change on the socio‐hydrological system, to simulate and test various assumptions regarding farmer behavior and to evaluate policy interventions.
High resolution passive facial performance capture

We introduce a purely passive facial capture approach that uses only an array of video cameras, but requires no template facial geometry, no special makeup or markers, and no active lighting. We obtain initial geometry using multi-view stereo, and then use a novel approach for automatically tracking texture detail across the frames. As a result, we obtain a high-resolution sequence of compatibly triangulated and parameterized meshes. The resulting sequence can be rendered with dynamically captured textures, while also consistently applying texture changes such as virtual makeup.
Mature results of a randomized phase II multicenter study of exemestane versus tamoxifen as first-line hormone therapy for postmenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND Women with hormone-responsive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) may respond to or have stable disease with a number of hormone therapies. We explored the efficacy and safety of the steroidal aromatase inactivator exemestane as first-line hormonal therapy in MBC in postmenopausal women. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with measurable disease were eligible if they had received no prior hormone therapy for metastatic disease and had hormone receptor positive disease or hormone receptor unknown disease with a long disease-free interval from adjuvant therapy. They were randomized to tamoxifen 20 mg/day or exemestane 25 mg/day in this open-label study. RESULTS Blinded independently reviewed response rates for exemestane and tamoxifen were 41% and 17%, respectively. Fifty-seven per cent of exemestane- and 42% of tamoxifen-treated patients experienced clinical benefit, defined as complete or partial response, or disease stabilization lasting at least 6 months. There was a low incidence of severe flushing, sweating, nausea and edema in women who received exemestane. One exemestane-treated patient had a pulmonary embolism with grade 4 dyspnea. CONCLUSIONS Exemestane is well tolerated and active in the first-line treatment of hormone-responsive MBC. An ongoing EORTC phase III trial is comparing the efficacy, measuring time-to-disease progression, of exemestane and tamoxifen.
The RpoT Regulon of Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E and Its Role in Stress Endurance against Solvents

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas putida encodes 20 extracytoplasmic sigma factors (ECFs). In this study, we show that one of these ECFs, known as ECF-Pp12 (PP3006), plays a role in tolerance of toluene and other organic solvents. Based on this finding, we have called the gene that encodes this new ECF rpoT. The rpoT gene forms an operon with the preceding gene and with the gene located downstream. The translated gene product of the open reading frame PP3005 is an inner membrane protein, whereas the PP3007 protein is periplasmic. A nonpolar ΔrpoT mutant was generated by homologous recombination, and survival of the mutant was tested under various stress conditions. The mutant strain was hypersensitive to toluene and other solvents but just as tolerant as the wild type of stress imposed by heat, antibiotics, NaCl, paraquat, sodium dodecyl sulfate, H2O2, and benzoate. In the ΔrpoT mutant background, expression of around 50 transcriptional units was affected: 31 cistrons were upregulated, and 23 cistrons were downregulated. This indicates that about 1% of all P. putida genes are under the direct or indirect influence of RpoT. The rpoT gene controls the expression of a number of membrane proteins, including components of the respiratory chains, porins, transporters, and multidrug efflux pumps. Hypersensitivity of the P. putida RpoT-deficient mutant to organic solvents can be attributed to the fact that in the ΔrpoT strain, expression of the toluene efflux pump ttgGHI genes is severalfold lower than in the parental strain.
From “What is Reading?” to What is Literacy?

In their 1985 report, Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading, Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, and Wilkinson defined reading and proposed five principles that guide its successful enactment: (1) reading is a constructive process, (2) reading must be fluent, (3) reading must be strategic, (4) reading requires motivation, and (5) reading is a continuously developing skill. In this article we revise the definition from reading to literacy and rethink the principles in response to theoretical and empirical developments in the intervening years with regard to the processes of, and contexts for, reading. Our updated principles include: (1) literacy is a constructive, integrative, and critical process situated in social practices; (2) fluent reading is shaped by language processes and contexts; (3) literacy is strategic and disciplinary; (4) literacy entails motivation and engagement; and (5) literacy is a continuously developing set of practices. We redefine each principle and offer new explanations in light of what we now know.
Managers' Perceptions of Information System Project Success

The adequate measurement of information system project success is a yet unsolved problem. Although researchers agree on the concept's multi-dimensionality, a generally accepted definition does still not exist. This article presents findings from a confirmatory study with 86 projects to test three alternative approaches to measure information system project success using the project managers' subjective perceptions of project success and its potential dimensions. Our results suggest that the traditional way of assessing project success is inadequate to assess the overall success of an information system project. Project management should focus on process efficiency and on best satisfying customers' needs instead of solely on keeping plans.
Association of a polymorphism near CREB1 with differential aversion processing in the insula of healthy participants.

CONTEXT Previous functional neuroimaging studies have identified a network of brain regions that process aversive stimuli, including anger. A polymorphism near the cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein gene (CREB1) has recently been associated with greater self-reported effort at anger control as well as risk for antidepressant treatment-emergent suicidality in men with major depressive disorder, but its functional effects have not been studied. OBJECTIVE To determine whether this genetic variant is associated with altered brain processing of and behavioral avoidance responses to angry facial expressions. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS A total of 28 white participants (mean age, 29.2 years; 13 women) were screened using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV to exclude any lifetime Axis I psychiatric disorder and were genotyped for rs4675690, a single-nucleotide polymorphism near CREB1. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Blood oxygenation level-dependent signal by functional magnetic resonance imaging in the amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortex during passive viewing of photographs of faces with emotional expressions. To measure approach and avoidance responses to anger, an off-line key-press task that traded effort for viewing time assessed valuation of angry faces compared with other expressions. RESULTS The CREB1-linked single-nucleotide polymorphism was associated with significant differential activation in an extended neural network responding to angry and other facial expressions. The CREB1-associated insular activation was coincident with activation associated with behavioral avoidance of angry faces. CONCLUSIONS A polymorphism near CREB1 is associated with responsiveness to angry faces in a brain network implicated in processing aversion. Coincident activation in the left insula is further associated with behavioral avoidance of these stimuli.
Identification of a Role for the PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathway in Innate Immune Cells

The innate immune system is the first line of host defense against infection and involves several different cell types. Here we investigated the role of the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway in innate immune cells. By blocking this pathway with pharmacological inhibitors, we found that the production of proinflammatory cytokines was drastically suppressed in monocytes and macrophages. Further study revealed that the suppression was mainly related to the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/p70S6K signaling. In addition, we found that the PI3K pathway was involved in macrophage motility and neovascularization. Our data provide a rationale that inhibition of the PI3K signaling pathway could be an attractive approach for the management of inflammatory disorders.
Relationship between lower limb position and pelvic floor muscle surface electromyography activity in menopausal women: a prospective observational study

Objectives In physiotherapeutic practice, special attention is being given to the reciprocal anatomical, physiological, and biomechanical relationship of the pelvis and the structures connected to it. However, the scientific literature shows mainly the theoretical information about their mutual connections. The lack of information about these relations from a practical aspect coupled with the paucity of scientific papers on the impact of posture changes on the pelvic floor led the authors to conduct this study. The primary aim of this study was to compare the resting and functional bioelectrical activities of pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) depending on three different positions of the lower limbs (positions A, B, and C) in the supine position. Materials and methods This was a prospective observational study evaluating resting and functional activities of the PFM depending on the position of the lower limbs. The study was carried out at the Department and Clinic of Urology, University Hospital in Wroclaw, Poland and the target group were women in the menopausal period. Bioelectrical activity of PFM was recorded using a surface electromyographic instrument in the supine position. Results of the values obtained in A, B, and C positions were compared using a one-way analysis of variance. Results In position A, the average resting surface electromyography (sEMG) activity of PFM was 6.9±2.6 µV; in position B, the result was 6.9±2.5 µV and in position C, the resting sEMG activity was 5.7±1.8 µV (P=0.0102). The results of the functional bioelectrical activity of PFM were as follows: position A – 20.3±11.8 µV, position B – 19.9±10.6 µV, and position C – 25.3±10.9 µV (P=0.0104). Conclusion The results showed that in the supine position, the PFM achieved the lowest resting activity and the highest functional activity. Therefore, the supine position can be recommended for the diagnosis and therapy of weakened PFM.
A Reliable 3D MLC PCM Architecture with Resistance Drift Predictor

In this paper, we study the problem of resistance drift in an MLC Phase Change Memory (PCM) and propose a solution to circumvent its thermally-affected accelerated rate in 3D CMPs. Our scheme is based on the observation that instead of alleviating the problem of resistance drift by using large margins or error correction codes, the PCM read circuit can be reconfigured for tolerating most of the resistance drift errors in a dynamic manner. Through detailed characterization of memory access patterns for 22 applications, we propose an efficient mechanism to facilitate such reliable read scheme via tolerating (a) early-cycle resistance drifts by using narrow margins so that considerably saving energy of writes and improving cell endurance, and (b) late-cycle resistance drifts by accurately estimating resistance thresholds that separate states for sensing. Evaluations on a true 3D architecture, consisting of a 4-core CMP and a banked 2-bit PCM memory, show that our proposal provides 106 × lower error rate compared to the state-of-the-art designs of PCMs.
Caspase-8 inhibition represses initial human monocyte activation in septic shock model

In septic patients, the onset of septic shock occurs due to the over-activation of monocytes. We tested the therapeutic potential of directly targeting innate immune cell activation to limit the cytokine storm and downstream phases. We initially investigated whether caspase-8 could be an appropriate target given it has recently been shown to be involved in microglial activation. We found that LPS caused a mild increase in caspase-8 activity and that the caspase-8 inhibitor IETD-fmk partially decreased monocyte activation. Furthermore, caspase-8 inhibition induced necroptotic cell death of activated monocytes. Despite inducing necroptosis, caspase-8 inhibition reduced LPS-induced expression and release of IL-1β and IL-10. Thus, blocking monocyte activation has positive effects on both the pro and anti-inflammatory phases of septic shock. We also found that in primary mouse monocytes, caspase-8 inhibition did not reduce LPS-induced activation or induce necroptosis. On the other hand, broad caspase inhibitors, which have already been shown to improve survival in mouse models of sepsis, achieved both. Thus, given that monocyte activation can be regulated in humans via the inhibition of a single caspase, we propose that the therapeutic use of caspase-8 inhibitors could represent a more selective alternative that blocks both phases of septic shock at the source.
Schizotypy and mental health in women and men from the general population

Abstract Schizotypy is a construct that has been connected both to psychosis disorders and to variation in general behavior. There is a dispute whether schizotypy should be viewed as something connected to mental ill-health, or can be viewed as personality traits not automatically connected to mental ill-health. Therefore, the present study investigated the relations between schizotypy factors and mental health in a randomized sample from the general population (n = 764, 58% women). A simultaneous multiple regression analysis of the total sample showed that negative and disorganized schizotypy predicted mental health, whereas positive schizotypy and impulsive nonconformity did not. Higher levels of negative and disorganized schizotypy were associated with worse mental health. Separate regression analyses for women and men showed that the pattern for women was the same as for the total sample, whereas only disorganized schizotypy predicted mental health (negative relation) for men. The main gender difference was that the regression model for women explained a larger amount of variance than that for men. The fact that positive schizotypy did not predict worse mental health supports the notion of “healthy” schizotypy.