Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Primate Prefrontal and Inferior Temporal Cortices during Visual Categorization

Previous studies have suggested that both the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and inferior temporal cortex (ITC) are involved in high-level visual processing and categorization, but their respective roles are not known. To address this, we trained monkeys to categorize a continuous set of visual stimuli into two categories, “cats” and “dogs. ” The stimuli were parametrically generated using a computer graphics morphing system (Sheltonelton, 2000) that allowed precise control over stimulus shape. After training, we recorded neural activity from the PFC and the ITC of monkeys while they performed a category-matching task. We found that the PFC and the ITC play distinct roles in category-based behaviors: the ITC seems more involved in the analysis of currently viewed shapes, whereas the PFC showed stronger category signals, memory effects, and a greater tendency to encode information in terms of its behavioral meaning.
Location-Probability Profiles for the Mouth Region of Human Primary Motor–Sensory Cortex: Model and Validation

The mouth representation of the human, primary motor cortex (M1) is not reliably identified by surface anatomy but may be reliably localized by means of spatial coordinates. For this report, three quantitative metanalyses were performed which jointly described the mean location, location variability and location-probability profiles of the human M1-mouth representation. First, a literature metanalysis of intersubject functional-area variability was performed using eleven, per-subject studies, each of which reported a coordinate-referenced measure of intersubject variability for one or more brain areas. From these data, a weighted-mean value for intersubject variability was computed, which proved to be small (5.6 mm, standard deviation), consistent across coordinate axes (x, y, z), and consistent across brain areas. Second, a literature metanalysis of the location of M1-mouth was performed using seven, coordinate-referenced, group-mean studies (71 subjects in all), each of which reported a grand-average location for M1-mouth. From this, a weighted-mean location and weighted values for total variability (interlaboratory plus interindividual) were determined. Using these two literature metanalyses as input data, location-probability profiles were computed for the cardinal axes (x, y, and z) of the reference space, using the functional volumes modeling (FVM) statistical model. Third, an original-data metanalysis was performed on in-house PET data from 30 normal subjects performing overt-speech tasks. M1-mouth's mean location, location variability, and location-probability profiles were consistent with those conjointly modeled by FVM from the two literature metanalyses. Collectively, these observations provide a detailed, consensus probabilistic description of the location of the human M1-mouth representation in standardized coordinates.
Optimization based design of heterogeneous truck fleet and electric propulsion

Many researches have been focused on vehicle routing problem during past decades where subject vehicles are previously fully designed and ready to start operation. Further, extensive studies have been done on powertrain design irrespective of the routes where the vehicle is going to be employed. In the present paper, we try to define a new branch of problems where the vehicle design, in particular its propulsion system and loading capacity, is treated simultaneously with the routing problem. The focus is on optimization based design of heterogeneous electric truck fleet to perform a prescribed task with a lowest cost on an available set of routes. The approach is illustrated in a simple case study problem. It is shown that long heavy combination vehicles are energy-efficient but not cost-optimal on short routes.
Oral Controlled Release Formulations of Rifampicin. Part II: Effect of Formulation Variables and Process Parameters on In Vitro Release

Hydrophilic controlled release matrix tablets of rifampicin, a poorly soluble drug, have been formulated using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) polymer (low, medium, and high viscosity) by direct compression method. Influence of formulation variables and process parameters such as drug:HPMC ratio, viscosity grade of HPMC, drug particle size, and compression force on the formulation characters and drug release has been studied. Our results indicated that the release rate of the drug and the mechanism of release from the HPMC matrices are mainly controlled by the drug:HPMC ratio and viscosity grade of the HPMC. In general, decrease in the drug particle size decreased the drug release. Lower viscosity HPMC polymer was found to be more sensitive to the effect of compression force than the higher viscosity. The formulations were found to be stable and reproducible.
Dynamic Modeling of Hydrogen Generation via Hydrolysis of Sodium Borohydride

This paper deals with the dynamic modeling of a hydrogen production system using gPROMS. The model includes mass balances, liquid-gas equilibrium relations, mass transfer laws and kinetic reaction equations. The initial reaction mixture is a sodium borohydride solution that reacts via a self-hydrolysis mechanism in the presence of water. The behavior of this system was measured in terms of produced hydrogen volume and solution pH. The kinetic parameters associated with each reaction mechanism step were estimated from experimental data. The validated model was then used to successfully predict the behavior of the system for different initial conditions.
Real-time sliding-mode observer and control of an induction motor

This paper deals with the control and observation of an induction motor using a sliding-mode technique. The authors' aim is to regulate the speed and the square of the rotor flux magnitude to specified references. Assuming that all the states are measured, sliding surfaces are proposed within a sliding-mode control framework. Then, the stator voltages are derived such that the sliding surfaces are asymptotically attractive since, in practice, the rotor fluxes are not usually measurable, a sliding-mode observer is derived to estimate the rotor fluxes. Furthermore, it is shown that their observer is robust against modeling uncertainties and measurement noise. To illustrate their purpose, they present experimental results for a 0.37-kW induction motor obtained on a digital-signal-processor-based system (TMS 320C31/40 MHz). The experimental results show that the proposed control system is robust against rotor resistance variations.
The Use of DNA Barcoding on Recently Diverged Species in the Genus Gentiana (Gentianaceae) in China

DNA barcoding of plants poses particular challenges, especially in differentiating, recently diverged taxa. The genus Gentiana (Gentianaceae) is a species-rich plant group which rapidly radiated in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains in China. In this study, we tested the core plant barcode (rbcL + matK) and three promising complementary barcodes (trnH-psbA, ITS and ITS2) in 30 Gentiana species across 6 sections using three methods (the genetic distance-based method, Best Close Match and tree-based method). rbcL had the highest PCR efficiency and sequencing success (100%), while the lowest sequence recoverability was from ITS (68.35%). The presence of indels and inversions in trnH-psbA in Gentiana led to difficulties in sequence alignment. When using a single region for analysis, ITS exhibited the highest discriminatory power (60%-74.42%). Of the combinations, matK + ITS provided the highest discrimination success (71.43%-88.24%) and is recommended as the DNA barcode for the genus Gentiana. DNA barcoding proved effective in assigning most species to sections, though it performed poorly in some closely related species in sect. Cruciata because of hybridization events. Our analysis suggests that the status of G. pseudosquarrosa needs to be studied further. The utility of DNA barcoding was also verified in authenticating ‘Qin-Jiao’ Gentiana medicinal plants (G. macrophylla, G. crassicaulis, G. straminea, and G. dahurica), which can help ensure safe and correct usage of these well-known Chinese traditional medicinal herbs.
Clinical Trials - A Practical Guide to Design, Analysis, and Reporting

This book is a friendly jargon buster, which aims to demystify clinical trials. It is divided into five sections: fundamentals of trial design, alternative trial designs, basics of statistical analysis, special trial issues in data analysis, and reporting of trials. Using simple language the book explains with illustrations of numerous trial examples, the conceptual and methodological issues that occur at all stages of clinical trial covering trial design, conduct, analysis and reporting. The book is an educational and approachable reference in a difficult area of medicine where clinicians often feel uncertain and this material helps them review, appraise and publish trials and clinical evidence. The audience for the book includes physicians, statisticians, pharmacists, medical students, clinical researchers, medical writers, data managers, study co-ordinators, pharmaceutical sales representatives, and financial (medical) analysts.
MASH{fifo}: A hardware-based multiple cache simulator for rapid FIFO cache analysis

Cache memories have become an essential component in modern processors. To find the cache configuration that best fits the targeted power, timing and cost criteria of the system, designers conventionally run a lengthy cache simulation in software. In this paper we present MASH{fifo}, the first Multiple cAche Simulator in Hardware (MASH) supporting the FIFO replacement policy. We measured a speedup of up to 11x when compared to the fastest software alternative, CIPARSim. We also investigate an in-system implementation where multiple cache simulation is performed in real time from within an embedded system.
Quality of life with palbociclib plus fulvestrant in previously treated hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: patient-reported outcomes from the PALOMA-3 trial

In treating HR+, HER2− metastatic breast cancer, novel agents that enhance endocrine therapy activity but do not worsen quality of life (QoL) are clinically desired. Patient-reported outcomes data from the PALOMA-3 study suggest palbociclib plus fulvestrant allow patients to maintain good QoL in the endocrine resistance setting while experiencing a substantially delayed disease progression.
Results of vitrectomy performed at the time of phacoemulsification complicated by intravitreal lens fragments

AIM To evaluate outcome of vitrectomy performed at the time of phacoemulsification complicated by intravitreal lens material. METHODS Clinical records associated with consecutive 8536 phacoemulsification procedures were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS 17 (0.20%) eyes had a posterior capsule rupture with retained lens material in the vitreous cavity that required vitrectomy. Final visual acuity was 0.5 or better in 14 eyes (82%) and 0.4 to 0.1 in three eyes (18%). Retinal detachment occurred in one eye during vitrectomy and two after the surgery. Cystoid macular oedema was observed in two eyes and none developed glaucoma. The corneal endothelial cell loss was 5.7% (SD 6.8 %) (n=15) at 3–6 months postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS Combined vitrectomy and intraocular lens implantation at the time of phacoemulsification complicated by intravitreal lens material is an option to be considered to reduce the risk of postoperative complications including secondary glaucoma and corneal endothelial cell damage.
Recurrence after treatment for high‐grade dysplasia: Should we modify our post‐treatment surveillance protocols?

A cohort of women, having undergone an excisional procedure for high‐grade cervical dysplasia, was studied to identify those patients who developed recurrent high‐grade cervical dysplasia post‐treatment. We have confirmed that recurrent histologically confirmed high‐grade cervical dysplasia is uncommon after complete excision and appears not to occur within the first 6 months post‐treatment. Post‐treatment surveillance protocols should incorporate these findings.
Differential LINE-1 Hypomethylation of Gastric Low-Grade Dysplasia from High Grade Dysplasia and Intramucosal Cancer

Background/Aims Gastric epithelial dysplasia is considered a precancerous lesion with a variable clinical course. There is disagreement, however, regarding histology-based diagnoses, which has led to confusion in choosing a therapeutic plan. New objective markers are needed to determine which lesions progress to true malignancy. We measured LINE-1 methylation levels, which have been reported to strongly correlate with the global methylation level in gastric epithelial dysplasia and intramucosal cancer. Methods A total of 145 tissue samples were analyzed by two histopathologists. All tissues were excised by therapeutic endoscopic mucosal resection and paired with adjacent normal tissue samples. A modified long interspersed nucleotide elements-combined bisulfite restriction analysis (COBRA-LINE-1) method was used. Results Gastric epithelial dysplasia and intramucosal cancer tissues had significantly lower levels of LINE-1 methylation than adjacent normal gastric tissues. High-grade dysplasia and intramucosal cancer were distinguishable from low-grade dysplasia based on LINE-1 methylation levels. Furthermore, the distinction could be determined with high sensitivity and specificity, as shown by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.74 to 0.88). Conclusions LINE-1 methylation levels may provide a diagnostic tool for identifying high-grade dysplasia and intramucosal cancer.
Evolution of the microstructure of cobalt during diffusionless transformation cycles

Differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscopy have been used to study thermal fatigue due to diffusionless phase transformation cycling in pure cobalt. Thermal cycling through the allotropic (hcp ↔ fcc) transformation results in a temperature shift of the calorimetric peaks, which means a delay of the transformation. In addition, the transformation enthalpy, which is greater on heating than on cooling, diminishes when the number of transformation cycles increases. This is interpreted as being due to an evolution of the microstructure. Transmission electron microscopy shows the appearance of transformation-induced defects, which are mainly sessile dislocations. We can interpret the calorimetry results (enthalpy evolution and transformation delay) as due to the interactions between interface dislocations and these sessile dislocations.
Learning Sociocultural Knowledge via Crowdsourced Examples

Computational systems can use sociocultural knowledge to understand human behavior and interact with humans in more natural ways. However, such systems are limited by their reliance on hand-authored sociocultural knowledge and models. We introduce an approach to automatically learn robust, script-like sociocultural knowledge from crowdsourced narratives. Crowdsourcing, the use of anonymous human workers, provides an opportunity for rapidly acquiring a corpus of examples of situations that are highly specialized for our purpose yet sufficiently varied, from which we can learn a versatile script. We describe a semiautomated process by which we query human workers to write natural language narrative examples of a given situation and learn the set of events that can occur and the typical even ordering.
Novel Sensor Design Using Photonic Crystal Fibres for Monitoring the Onset of Corrosion in Reinforced Concrete Structures

In this paper, a novel sensing technique has been designed and investigated for the direct, in situ detection of steel corrosion distributed in reinforced concrete structures. At present, structural health monitoring in reinforced concrete structures is generally focused on monitoring the corrosion risk of the reinforcing steel. It is of significant importance, however, to inform industry of both the onset of corrosion and the corrosion rate as these are key contributors to structural degradation and thus evaluating the service life of the structures. This paper aims to address the above challenges by describing a novel corrosion sensor design using birefringent photonic crystal fibres. The technique exploits fully both the birefringence of the fibres for force/pressure measurement and their very low temperature sensitivity to detect the onset of corrosion. This new type of sensor not only determines the onset of corrosion but also allows for better monitoring along the length of a reinforcement bar.
Impact of the Timing of Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy During Primary HIV-1 Infection on the Decay of Cell-Associated HIV-DNA.

BACKGROUND Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation during primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (PHI) yields a larger decrease in cell-associated HIV-DNA (CA-HIV-DNA) than initiation during the chronic phase. Our objective was to model the short and long-term decay of CA-HIV-DNA blood reservoir in patients initiating cART during PHI and to assess the impact of the timing of cART initiation on CA-HIV-DNA decay. METHODS We included patients enrolled during PHI in the Agence Nationale de Recherche sur le Sida PRIMO cohort, treated within the month following enrollment and achieving sustained virologic response. The decay of CA-HIV-DNA over time while on successful cART was modeled with a 3-slope linear mixed-effects model according to the delay between estimated date of infection and cART initiation. RESULTS Three hundred twenty-seven patients were included, accounting for 1305 CA-HIV-DNA quantifications. Median time between infection and cART initiation was 41 days (interquartile range, 33-54 days). Median follow-up under cART was 2.3 years (range, 0.4-16.6 years). The timing of cART initiation had significant impact on the first slope of decrease: The earlier cART was initiated after HIV infection, the faster CA-HIV-DNA level decreased during the first 8 months of cART: -0.171, -0.131, and -0.068 log10 copies/10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) per month when cART was initiated 15 days, 1 month, and 3 months after infection, respectively (P < .0001). The predicted mean CA-HIV-DNA level achieved after 5 years of successful cART was 1.62 and 2.24 log10 copies/10(6) PBMCs when cART was initiated 15 days and 3 months after infection, respectively (P = .0006). CONCLUSIONS This study provides strong arguments in favor of cART initiation at the earliest possible time point after HIV infection.
Scalable and Passive Wireless Network Clock Synchronization in LOS Environments

Clock synchronization is ubiquitous in wireless systems for communication, sensing, and control. In this paper, we design a scalable system in which an indefinite number of passively receiving wireless units can synchronize to a single master clock at the level of discrete clock ticks. Accurate synchronization requires an estimate of the node positions to compensate the time-of-flight transmission delay in line-of-sight environments. If such information is available, the framework developed here takes position uncertainties into account. In the absence of such information, as in indoor scenarios, we propose an auxiliary localization mechanism. Furthermore, we derive the Cramer–Rao bounds for the system, which show that it enables synchronization accuracy at sub-nanosecond levels. Finally, we develop and evaluate an online estimation method, which is statistically efficient.
The inward rectifier current inhibitor PA‐6 terminates atrial fibrillation and does not cause ventricular arrhythmias in goat and dog models

The density of the inward rectifier current (IK1) increases in atrial fibrillation (AF), shortening effective refractory period and thus promoting atrial re‐entry. The synthetic compound pentamidine analogue 6 (PA‐6) is a selective and potent IK1 inhibitor. We tested PA‐6 for anti‐AF efficacy and potential proarrhythmia, using established models in large animals.
Aetiology and Pathogenesis of Trigeminal Neuralgia: a Comprehensive Review

ABSTRACT Objectives The aim of present paper was to discuss issues related to trigeminal neuralgia with strong emphasis on the aetiology and pathogenesis of this problem. Material and Methods An electronic search of 5 databases (1965 - Oct 2012) and a hand search of peer-reviewed journals for relevant articles were performed. In addition, experience acquired from treating 3263 patients in the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, were also summarized. Results Generally, aetiological factors can be classified into 3 most popular theories that were based on: 1) Related to other disease, 2) Direct injury to the trigeminal nerve, and 3) Propagates the polyetiologic origin of the disease. In addition, two pathogenesis mechanisms of trigeminal neuralgia were proposed. First: the peripheral pathogenetic mechanism that is often induced by progressive dystrophy around the peripheral branches of the trigeminal nerve. Second, central pathogenetic mechanism which often triggered by peripheral pathogen that causes long-lasting afferent impulsation and the formation of a stable pathologic paroxysmal type irritation focus on the central nerve system (CNS). Conclusions Patients with susceptive trigeminal neuralgia should be examined carefully by specialists who have expertise in assessing and diagnosing of possible pathological processes and be able to eliminate the contributing factors so the trigeminal neuralgia can be properly managed.
I-seismograph: Observing and measuring Internet earthquakes

Disruptive events such as large-scale power outages, undersea cable cuts, or Internet worms could cause the Internet to deviate from its normal state of operation. This deviation from normalcy is what we refer to as the “impact” on the Internet, or an “Internet earthquake. ” As the Internet is a large, complex moving target, to date there has been little successful research on how to observe and quantify the impact on the Internet, whether it is during specific event periods or in real time. In this paper, we devise an Internet seismograph, or I-seismograph, to provide a “Richter scale” for the Internet. Since routing is the most basic function of the Internet and the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the de facto standard inter-domain routing protocol, we focus on BGP. After defining what “impact” means with respect to BGP, we describe how I-seismograph measures the impact, exemplify its usage with several disruptive events, and further validate its accuracy and consistency. We show that we can evaluate the impact on BGP during an arbitrary period, including doing so in real time.
Children's Environmental Health Research—Highlights from the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health

Abstract: A growing body of evidence has been generated indicating that the fetus, infant, and young child are especially susceptible to environmental toxicants as diverse as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Exposures to these toxicants may be related to the increases in recent decades in childhood asthma, cancer, and developmental disability. The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH), located in New York City, has developed four cohorts around the world to elucidate the relationships between these exposures and childhood illness. This article summarizes the recent findings from the Center's projects in the context of current research in children's environmental health.