Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reelin Is Required for Class-Specific Retinogeniculate Targeting

Development of visual system circuitry requires the formation of precise synaptic connections between neurons in the retina and brain. For example, axons from retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) form synapses onto neurons within subnuclei of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) [i.e., the dorsal LGN (dLGN), ventral LGN (vLGN), and intergeniculate leaflet (IGL)]. Distinct classes of RGCs project to these subnuclei: the dLGN is innervated by image-forming RGCs, whereas the vLGN and IGL are innervated by non-image-forming RGCs. To explore potential mechanisms regulating class-specific LGN targeting, we sought to identify differentially expressed targeting molecules in these LGN subnuclei. One candidate targeting molecule enriched in the vLGN and IGL during retinogeniculate circuit formation was the extracellular matrix molecule reelin. Anterograde labeling of RGC axons in mutant mice lacking functional reelin (relnrl/rl) revealed reduced patterns of vLGN and IGL innervation and misrouted RGC axons in adjacent non-retino-recipient thalamic nuclei. Using genetic reporter mice, we further demonstrated that mistargeted axons were from non-image-forming, intrinsically photosensitive RGCs (ipRGCs). In contrast to mistargeted ipRGC axons, axons arising from image-forming RGCs and layer VI cortical neurons correctly targeted the dLGN in relnrl/rl mutants. Together, these data reveal that reelin is essential for the targeting of LGN subnuclei by functionally distinct classes of RGCs.
Enhanced Just Noticeable Difference Model for Images With Pattern Complexity

The just noticeable difference (JND) in an image, which reveals the visibility limitation of the human visual system (HVS), is widely used for visual redundancy estimation in signal processing. To determine the JND threshold with the current schemes, the spatial masking effect is estimated as the contrast masking, and this cannot accurately account for the complicated interaction among visual contents. Research on cognitive science indicates that the HVS is highly adapted to extract the repeated patterns for visual content representation. Inspired by this, we formulate the pattern complexity as another factor to determine the total masking effect: the interaction is relatively straightforward with a limited masking effect in a regular pattern, and is complicated with a strong masking effect in an irregular pattern. From the orientation selectivity mechanism in the primary visual cortex, the response of each local receptive field can be considered as a pattern; therefore, in this paper, the orientation that each pixel presents is regarded as the fundamental element of a pattern, and the pattern complexity is calculated as the diversity of the orientation in a local region. Finally, considering both pattern complexity and luminance contrast, a novel spatial masking estimation function is deduced, and an improved JND estimation model is built. Experimental results on comparing with the latest JND models demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model, which performs highly consistent with the human perception. The source code of the proposed model is publicly available at http://web.xidian. edu.cn/wjj/en/index.html.
Cognitive Disorganization in Hippocampus: A Physiological Model of the Disorganization in Psychosis

Cognitive coordination refers to processes that organize the timing of activity among neurons without altering individual discharge properties. Coordinating processes allow neural networks to coactivate related representations and prevent the coactivation of unrelated representations. Impaired cognitive coordination, also called cognitive disorganization, is hypothesized to be the core deficit in the disorganized syndrome of schizophrenia (Phillips and Silverstein, 2003), a condition characterized by hallucinations, disorganization, and thought disorder. This disorganization hypothesis is based on the observation that schizophrenic subjects are impaired at segregating relevant and irrelevant stimuli and selectively using associations between relevant cues. We report that injecting the neural activity blocker tetrodotoxin (TTX) into one hippocampus persistently coactivated pyramidal cells in the uninjected hippocampus that initially discharged independently. In accord with the definition of cognitive disorganization, pyramidal cell firing rates only changed for 15 min and did not accompany the coactivation. The TTX-induced coactivity was maximal at gamma periods, consistent with altered gamma oscillations and disorganization in schizophrenia. A network model confirmed that increasing the coupling of weakly associated cells impairs the selective activation and inhibition of stored spatial representations. This TTX-induced cognitive disorganization correctly predicted that the same TTX injection selectively impaired the ability of rats to segregate relevant associations among distal spatial stimuli from irrelevant local stimuli (Wesierska et al., 2005). The TTX-induced coactivity of hippocampal pyramidal cell discharge has construct and predictive validity as a physiological model of psychosis-related disorganization.
The role of biomass allocation in the growth response of plants to different levels of light, CO2, nutrients and water: a quantitative review

The allocation of biomass to different plant organs depends on species, ontogeny and on the environment experienced by the plant. In this paper we first discuss some methodological tools to describe and analyse the allocation of biomass. Rather than the use of shoot:root ratios, we plead strongly for a subdivision of biomass into at least three compartments: leaves, stems and roots. Attention is drawn to some of the disadvantages of allometry as a tool to correct for size differences between plants. Second, we tested the extent to which biomass allocation of plants follows the model of a ‘functional equilibrium’. According to this model, plants respond to a decrease in above-ground resources with increased allocation to shoots (leaves), whereas they respond to a decrease in below-ground resources with increased allocation to roots. We carried out a meta-analysis of the literature, analysing the effect of various environmental variables on the fraction of total plant biomass allocated to leaves (leaf mass fraction), stem (stem mass fraction) and roots (root mass fraction). The responses to light, nutrients and water agreed with the (qualitative) prediction of the ‘functional equilibrium’ theory. The notable exception was atmospheric CO2, which did not affect allocation when the concentration was doubled. Third, we analysed the quantitative importance of the changes in allocation compared to changes in other growth parameters, such as unit leaf rate (the net difference between carbon gain and carbon losses per unit time and leaf area), and specific leaf area (leaf area: leaf biomass). The effects of light, CO2 and water on leaf mass fractions were small compared to their effects on relative growth rate. The effects of nutrients, however, were large, suggesting that only in the case of nutrients, biomass allocation is a major factor in the response of plants to limiting resource supply.
A Climatology of Hurricane Eye Formation

AbstractThis paper presents a climatology of the initial eye formations of a broad set of Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs) during 1989–2008. A new dataset of structure and intensity parameters is synthesized from the vortex data messages transmitted by routine aircraft reconnaissance. Using these data together with satellite imagery and other established datasets, the times when each TC achieved various stages of eye development are tabulated to form the basis of the climatology. About 60% of Atlantic TCs form eyes. Most often, aircraft observe the eye structure before it appears in IR satellite imagery. Eyes tend to form in high potential intensity environments characterized by high sea surface temperatures and low-to-moderate environmental vertical wind shear. A notable discovery is that most (67%) TCs that form eyes tend to do so within 48 h of the cyclone’s reaching tropical storm strength. This suggests the existence of an opportune time window during which a TC can readily form an eye. From the leng.
A fuzzy logic based bio-inspired system for mobile robot navigation

This paper presents a new path planning method for mobile robots in unknown environments. The structure of the proposed algorithm is a hybrid fuzzy logic neural networks, and hence it benefits from the potentials of these two techniques. For modeling the mobile robot, the proposed system adopts the Braitenberg's automata models that were developed for agents. Wheels of the robot are represented by a bio-inspired neuron of a neural network, where each wheel receives different sensor inputs indicating different signals from either excitatory or inhibitory synapses. Training of the neural network weighting is automatically achieved through the fuzzy system that is developed to adjust the weighting between each synapse and neuron of the network. To assess the performance of the developed algorithm, simulation results are presented. It was shown that the proposed method can successfully navigate the robot to the target, and turn the robot at corners for given desired angles. The methodology proposed herein improves the Braitenberg navigation scheme and offers insights into using biologically inspired systems for path planning.
Limited Asset Market Participation: Does it Really Matter for Monetary Policy?

We study the design of monetary policy in an economy characterized by staggered wage and price contracts together with limited asset market participation (LAMP). Contrary to previous results, we find that once nominal wage stickiness, an incontrovertible empirical fact, is considered: i) the Taylor Principle is restored as a necessary condition for equilibrium determinacy for any empirically plausible degree of LAMP; ii) the effect of LAMP for the design of optimal monetary policy are minor; iii) optimal interest rate rules become active no matter the degree of asset market participation. For this reasons we argue that LAMP does not matter much for monetary policy.
Differential regulation of senescence and in vitro differentiation by 17β-estradiol between mesenchymal stem cells derived from male and female mini-pigs

The characterization and potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are gender dependent and estrogen influences these properties. This study demonstrated that supplementation with 17β-estradiol (E2) increases the proliferation of bone marrow-MSCs derived from male and female mini-pigs (Mp- and Fp-BMSCs) in a concentration-dependent manner, with 10-12 M E2 suggested as the optimal dose of E2 that led to the greatest improvement in BMSCs proliferation. Supplementation of 10-12 M E2 resulted in down-regulation of β-galactosidase activity and pro-apoptotic activity in both BMSCs, while anti-apoptotic activity was up-regulated in only Fp-BMSCs. Further, E2 increased the osteogenic ability of Fp-BMSCs. Based on these findings, optimal utilization of E2 can improve cellular senescence and apoptosis, as well as in vitro osteogenesis of BMSCs, and could therefore be useful in stem cell therapy, particularly in bone regeneration for adult females.
Neutrophil NETs in reproduction: from infertility to preeclampsia and the possibility of fetal loss

The intention of this review is to provide an overview of the potential role of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in mammalian reproduction. Neutrophil NETs appear to be involved in various stages of the reproductive cycle, starting with fertility and possibly ending with fetal loss. The first suggestion that NETs may play a role in pregnancy-related disorders was in preeclampsia, where vast numbers were detected in the intervillous space of affected placentae. The induction of NETosis involved an auto-inflammatory component, mediated by the increased release of placental micro-debris in preeclampsia. This report was the first indicating that NETs may be associated with a human pathology not involving infection. Subsequently, NETs have since then been implicated in bovine or equine infertility, in that semen may become entrapped in the female reproductive tract during their passage to the oocyte. In this instance interesting species-specific differences are apparent, in that equine sperm evade entrapment via expression of a DNAse-like molecule, whereas highly motile bovine sperm, once free from seminal plasma (SP) that promotes interaction with neutrophils, appear impervious to NETs entrapment. Although still in the realm of speculation it is plausible that NETs may be involved in recurrent fetal loss mediated by anti-phospholipid antibodies, or perhaps even in fetal abortion triggered by infections with microorganisms such as L. monocytogenes or B. abortus.
Exploring the remarkable subpulse drift and polarization properties of PSR B0818−41

PSR B0818 41 is one of the few pulsars which show multiple drift regions having well defined phase relationship. In this paper we report new resul ts from the multifrequency observations of this pulsar with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). We determine the mean flux of the pulsar at multiple frequencies and find eviden ce for a low frequency turnover in its spectrum. Significant linear polarization is obs erved with depolarization at the edge of the profile, which is likely to be due to orthogonal polariz ation mode jumps. Circular polarization changes sign near the middle of the pulse profile at 10 60 MHz which is not observed at 325 and 610 MHz. Remarkable frequency evolution of polarization angle (PA) is observed for this pulsar, which is commonly not seen in other pulsars. Based on the frequency evolution of average profile, observed PA swing and results from su bpulse drifting, we propose two possible emission geometries, � �11 ◦ , � � 5.4 ◦ and � �175.4 ◦ , � � 6.9 ◦ . Simulation of the pulsar radiation pattern with both these geometries r eproduces the observed features in the drift pattern quite well. In addition to the remarkable s ubpulse drifting observed at 325 MHz, we report subpulse drifting at 244 and 610 MHz. At 244 MHz we observe drifting in the outer regions but not in the inner region whereas at 610 MHz subpulse drift is observed in both inner and outer regions. Sometimes, we see changes of drift rates, transitions from negative to stationary and stationary to negative drift rates, many of which appear to have some connection with nulls. We determine P m 3 (the measured time interval between the recurrence of successive drift bands at a given pulse longitude), P m 2 (the measured longitude separation between two adjacent drift bands) and �� (subpulse width) values at different frequencies for both inner and outer drift regions. Though P m 3 is the same for all the drift regions, P m 2 and �� values are different. The peak emission from the leading and the trailing outer regions are offset by � 9 P1. Utilising this information, we solve the aliasing problem and argue that drifting is first order aliased with corresponding carousel rotation period P4 � 10 s, which makes it the fastest known carousel. The drift pattern from the two rings are phase locked for PSR B0818 41. The same is found to be true for, all pulsars showing drifting in multiple rings of emission. This finding puts constraints on the theor etical models of pulsar emission mechanism and, favors a pan magnetospeheric radiation mechanism.
Plant-Herbivore Interaction: Dissection of the Cellular Pattern of Tetranychus urticae Feeding on the Host Plant

The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), is one of the most polyphagous herbivores feeding on cell contents of over 1100 plant species including more than 150 crops. It is being established as a model for chelicerate herbivores with tools that enable tracking of reciprocal responses in plant-spider mite interactions. However, despite their important pest status and a growing understanding of the molecular basis of interactions with plant hosts, knowledge of the way mites interface with the plant while feeding and the plant damage directly inflicted by mites is lacking. Here, utilizing histology and microscopy methods, we uncovered several key features of T. urticae feeding. By following the stylet path within the plant tissue, we determined that the stylet penetrates the leaf either in between epidermal pavement cells or through a stomatal opening, without damaging the epidermal cellular layer. Our recordings of mite feeding established that duration of the feeding event ranges from several minutes to more than half an hour, during which time mites consume a single mesophyll cell in a pattern that is common to both bean and Arabidopsis plant hosts. In addition, this study determined that leaf chlorotic spots, a common symptom of mite herbivory, do not form as an immediate consequence of mite feeding. Our results establish a cellular context for the plant-spider mite interaction that will support our understanding of the molecular mechanisms and cell signaling associated with spider mite feeding.
X-ray luminosities of galaxies in groups

We have derived the X-ray luminosities of a sample of galaxies in groups, making careful allowance for contaminating intragroup emission. The L X :L B and L X :L FIR relations of spiral galaxies in groups appear to be indistinguishable from those in other environments, however the elliptical galaxies fall into two distinct classes. The ﬁrst class is central-dominant group galaxies which are very X-ray luminous, and may be the focus of group cooling ﬂows. All other early-type galaxies in groups belong to the second class, which populates an almost constant band of L X /L B over the range 9.8 < log L B < 11.3. The X-ray emission from these galaxies can be explained by a superposition of discrete galactic X-ray sources together with a contribution from hot gas lost by stars, which varies a great deal from galaxy to galaxy. In the region where the optical luminosity of the non-central group galaxies overlaps with the dominant galaxies, the dominant galaxies are over an order of magnitude more luminous in X-rays.We also compared these group galaxies with a sample of isolated early-type galaxies, and used previously published work to derive L X :L B relations as a function of environment. The non-dominant group galaxies have mean L X /L B ratios very similar to that of isolated galaxies, and we see no signiﬁcant correlation between L X /L B and environment. We suggest that previous ﬁndings of a steep L X :L B relation for early-type galaxies result largely from the inclusion of group-dominant galaxies in samples.
A Constant-Time Algorithm for Vector Field SLAM using an Exactly Sparse Extended Information Filter

The constraints of a low-cost consumer product pose a major challenge for designing a localization system. In previous work, we introduced Vector Field SLAM [5], a system for simultaneously estimating robot pose and a vector field induced by stationary signal sources present in the environment. In this paper we show how this method can be realized on a low-cost embedded processing unit by applying the concepts of the Exactly Sparse Extended Information Filter [15]. By restricting the set of active features to the 4 nodes of the current cell, the size of the map becomes linear in the area explored by the robot while the time for updating the state can be held constant under certain approximations. We report results from running our method on an ARM 7 embedded board with 64 kByte RAM controlling a Roomba 510 vacuum cleaner in a standard test environment.
Information fusion of Vehicular Ad hoc Networks based Bayesian Networks

Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANET) is an open ad hoc network which has been a research focus, and plays an important role on road safety, traffic information service and so on. There is diverse information in VANET such as spatial information, GPS data which can be used to obtain better traffic service. In the paper, the Bayesian Networks (BN) is utilized to fuse different information to get accurate traffic status estimate. The information fusion not only includes spatial topology information and time information, but also the most common GPS speed information. The case and experimental results shows that the method can acquire more accurate traffic information, and perform well under insufficient scenes.
Understanding Informal Control Modes on Software Platforms - The Mediating Role of Third-Party Developers' Intrinsic Motivation

Software ecosystem platforms such as Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store rely heavily on highly motivated third-party developers who are eager to invest their time and effort into developing and updating apps for platforms. Platform owners are challenged to find a balance between developers’ need for autonomy and a platform’s integrity. Despite the widely acknowledged importance of informal control modes in such contexts, limited empirical work exists on how and why clan and self-control affect developers’ behaviors and performance outcomes on software platforms. Drawing on control theory and motivation literature, we conducted an online survey with 230 Android developers to examine how developers’ intrinsic motivation mediates the effects of informal control modes on developer performance. Our findings show that while intrinsic motivation plays an important role in mediating both informal control modes’ effects, clan control exhibits predominantly stronger downstream effects than selfcontrol. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
A comparative study of 6T, 8T and 9T decanano SRAM cell

Data retention and leakage current reduction are among the major area of concern in today's CMOS technology. In this paper 6T, 8T and 9T SRAM cell have been compared on the basis of read noise margin (RNM), write noise margin (WNM), read delay, write delay, data retention voltage (DRV), layout and parasitic capacitance. Corner and statistical simulation of the noise margin has been carried out to analyze the effect of intrinsic parameter fluctuations. Both 8T SRAM cell and 9T SRAM cell provides higher read noise margin (around 4 times increase in RNM) as compared to 6T SRAM cell. Although the size of 9T SRAM cell is around 1.35 times higher than that of the 8T SRAM cell but it provides higher write stability. Due to single ended bit line sensing the write stability of 8T SRAM cell is greatly affected. The 8T SRAM cell provides a write “1” noise margin which is approximately 3 times smaller than that of the 9T SRAM cell. The data retention voltage for 8T SRAM cell was found to be 93.64mV while for 9T SRAM cell it was 84.5mV and for 6T SRAM cell it was 252.3mV. Read delay for 9T SRAM cell is 98.85ps while for 6T SRAM cell it is 72.82ps and for 8T SRAM cell it is 77.72ps. The higher read delay for 9T SRAM cell is attributed to the fact that dual threshold voltage technology has been in it in order to reduce the leakage current. Write delay for 9T SRAM cell was found to be 10ps, 45.47ps for 8T SRAM cell and 8.97ps for 6T SRAM cell. The simulation has been carried out on 90nm CMOS technology.