Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling Grasp Motor Imagery Through Deep Conditional Generative Models

Grasping is a complex process involving knowledge of the object, the surroundings, and of oneself. While humans are able to integrate and process all of the sensory information required for performing this task, equipping machines with this capability is an extremely challenging endeavor. In this paper, we investigate how deep learning techniques can allow us to translate high-level concepts such as motor imagery to the problem of robotic grasp synthesis. We explore a paradigm based on generative models for learning integrated object-action representations and demonstrate its capacity for capturing and generating multimodal multifinger grasp configurations on a simulated grasping dataset.
Radiotherapy Decreases Vascular Density and Causes Hypoxia with Macrophage Aggregation in TRAMP-C1 Prostate Tumors

Purpose: To investigate how single or fractionated doses of radiation change the microenvironment in transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP)-C1 tumors with respect to vascularity, hypoxia, and macrophage infiltrates. Experimental Design: Murine prostate TRAMP-C1 tumors were grown in C57BL/6J mice to 4 mm tumor diameter and were irradiated with either 25 Gy in a single dose or 60 Gy in 15 fractions. Changes in vascularity, hypoxia, and macrophage infiltrates were assessed by immunohistochemistry and molecular assays. Results: Tumor growth was delayed for 1 week after both radiation schedules. Tumor microvascular density (MVD) progressively decreased over a 3-week period to nadirs of 25% and 40% of unirradiated tumors for single or fractionated treatment, respectively. In accord with the decrease in MVDs, mRNA levels of endothelial markers, such as CD31, endoglin, and TIE, decreased over the same time period after irradiation. Central dilated vessels developed surrounded by avascularized hypoxic regions that became infiltrated with aggregates of CD68+ tumor-associated macrophages, reaching a maximum at 3 weeks after irradiation. Necrotic regions decreased and were more dispersed. Conclusion: Irradiation of TRAMP-C1 tumors with either single or fractionated doses decreases MVD, leading to the development of disperse chronic hypoxic regions, which are infiltrated with CD68+ tumor-associated macrophages. Approaches to interfere in the development of these effects are promising strategies to enhance the efficacy of cancer radiotherapy.
ANALYSIS OF THE MX=G=1 QUEUEING SYSTEM WITH VACATION TIMES

Printed markers for identifying electrical cables are formed by winding an elongate plastics strip or flattened length of plastics tubing 19 onto a reel 30, which is then mounted for rotation to a thermal transfer printer 25. The printer then prints markings 14 onto the strip or tubing 19 as it advances past a print head 36 of the printer 25. The strip or tubing 19 may be formed with transverse lines of weakness at intervals along its length, to define successive markers. The thermal transfer printer 25 comprises a transfer ribbon 38 carrying a releasable printing composition, which print composition comprises a first pigmentation material capable of penetrating into the plastics of the strip or tubing 19, and a second pigmentation material capable of adhering to the surface of the plastics of the strip or tubing 19.
Slices Have More Synapses than Perfusion-Fixed Hippocampus from both Young and Mature Rats

Hippocampal slices have long been used to investigate properties of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Here, for the first time, synapses in slices have been compared quantitatively with synapses occurring in perfusion-fixed hippocampus, which is presumed to represent the natural in vivo state. Relative to perfusion-fixed hippocampus, a remarkable 40–50% increase in spine number occurs in adult hippocampal slices, and a 90% increase occurs in slices from postnatal day 21 rats. Serial EM shows that all of the dendritic spines have normal synapses with presynaptic and postsynaptic elements; however, not all spine types are affected uniformly. Stubby and mushroom spines increase in the adult slices, and thin, mushroom, and branched spines increase in the immature slices. More axonal boutons with multiple synapses occur in the slices, suggesting that the new synapses form on preexisting axonal boutons. The increase in spine and synapse number is evident within a couple of hours after preparing the slices. Once the initial spine induction has occurred, no further change occurs for up to 13 hr in vitro, the longest time investigated. Thus, the spine increase is occurring during a period when there is little or no synaptic activity during the first hour, and the subsequent stabilization in spine synapse numbers is occurring after synaptic activity returns in the slice. These findings suggest that spines form in response to the loss of synaptic activity when slices are removed from the rest of the brain and during the subsequent 1 hr recovery period.
Psychosurgery for schizophrenia: history and perspectives

Following the early studies of Moniz and Lima, psychosurgery had considerable scientific credibility until the advent of modern antipsychotics in the mid 1950s. Thereafter, psychosurgery was almost abandoned in large medical centers as a common treatment for schizophrenia, although is still used for some affective and anxiety disorders. We reviewed relevant papers cited in the Medline/Index Medicus, Cochrane, and Scielo databases from 1930 to 2012. In our review of the literature, we show from recent studies that there are still many patients with schizophrenia who have serious deficits even after being treated with current noninvasive therapies. The value of psychosurgery remains controversial. There are no data available to support the use of stereotactic procedures for schizophrenia. Well designed controlled trials are needed to establish the effectiveness of psychosurgery in patients with schizophrenia.
The comparative science of “self-control”: what are we talking about?

There has been great interest in comparative cognitive science in a suite of behaviors that have come to be subsumed under the term “self-control. ” Historically in comparative psychology self-control was defined behaviorally as the choice of a larger or better but more delayed reinforcer over a smaller or less preferred but less delayed reinforcer (Rachlin and Green, 1972; Ainslie, 1974; Grosch and Neuringer, 1981; Logue, 1988). More recently, however, self-control has been discussed more in terms of being a capacity or ability rather than a behavioral pattern, even to the extent of some researchers suggesting that self-control may be a limited capacity resource that can be depleted, strengthened, or improved with practice (e.g., Baumeister et al., 2007). A terminological morass has emerged in this area, with varying definitions of this term, as well as other perhaps related terms such as patience, willpower, delay of gratification, and intertemporal choice. The goal here is not to untangle that mess of terminology, but to comment on two recent papers in comparative psychology that attempted to provide insights into the “evolution of self-control,” with varying degrees of success. I also will provide the beginnings of a framework for a terminology for assessing these behavioral forms of self-regulation and inhibition.
The Effect of Different Non-Metallic Inclusions on the Machinability of Steels

Considerable research has been conducted over recent decades on the role of non-metallic inclusions and their link to the machinability of different steels. The present work reviews the mechanisms of steel fractures during different mechanical machining operations and the behavior of various non-metallic inclusions in a cutting zone. More specifically, the effects of composition, size, number and morphology of inclusions on machinability factors (such as cutting tool wear, power consumption, etc.) are discussed and summarized. Finally, some methods for modification of non-metallic inclusions in the liquid steel are considered to obtain a desired balance between mechanical properties and machinability of various steel grades.
Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Trypanosoma brucei in Uganda: Implications for the Epidemiology of Sleeping Sickness and Nagana

Background While Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is in decline on the continent of Africa, the disease still remains a major health problem in Uganda. There are recurrent sporadic outbreaks in the traditionally endemic areas in south-east Uganda, and continued spread to new unaffected areas in central Uganda. We evaluated the evolutionary dynamics underpinning the origin of new foci and the impact of host species on parasite genetic diversity in Uganda. We genotyped 269 Trypanosoma brucei isolates collected from different regions in Uganda and southwestern Kenya at 17 microsatellite loci, and checked for the presence of the SRA gene that confers human infectivity to T. b. rhodesiense. Results Both Bayesian clustering methods and Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components partition Trypanosoma brucei isolates obtained from Uganda and southwestern Kenya into three distinct genetic clusters. Clusters 1 and 3 include isolates from central and southern Uganda, while cluster 2 contains mostly isolates from southwestern Kenya. These three clusters are not sorted by subspecies designation (T. b. brucei vs T. b. rhodesiense), host or date of collection. The analyses also show evidence of genetic admixture among the three genetic clusters and long-range dispersal, suggesting recent and possibly on-going gene flow between them. Conclusions Our results show that the expansion of the disease to the new foci in central Uganda occurred from the northward spread of T. b. rhodesiense (Tbr). They also confirm the emergence of the human infective strains (Tbr) from non-infective T. b. brucei (Tbb) strains of different genetic backgrounds, and the importance of cattle as Tbr reservoir, as confounders that shape the epidemiology of sleeping sickness in the region.
Neuroevolution on the edge of chaos

Echo state networks represent a special type of recurrent neural networks. Recent papers stated that the echo state networks maximize their computational performance on the transition between order and chaos, the so-called edge of chaos. This work confirms this statement in a comprehensive set of experiments. Furthermore, the echo state networks are compared to networks evolved via neuroevolution. The evolved networks outperform the echo state networks, however, the evolution consumes significant computational resources. It is demonstrated that echo state networks with local connections combine the best of both worlds, the simplicity of random echo state networks and the performance of evolved networks. Finally, it is shown that evolution tends to stay close to the ordered side of the edge of chaos.
Ovarian and Uterine Carcinosarcomas: A Comparative Analysis of Prognostic Variables and Survival Outcomes

Introduction: Carcinosarcomas (malignant mixed Mullerian tumor) of the female genital tract are rare tumors associated with poor outcome. The objective of this study was to identify site-specific differences by comparing carcinosarcomas originating in the uterus and the ovaries. Methods: Data on patients with uterine and ovarian carcinosarcomas were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database between 1988 and 2005. Kaplan-Meier log rank and Cox proportional hazards models were used for survival analysis and for identification of possible predictors for survival. Results: The identified cohort included 3683 women of whom 2759 (75%) have uterine carcinosarcoma and 924 (25%) have ovarian carcinosarcomas. The patients with uterine carcinosarcoma were older than the patients with ovarian carcinosarcoma (median age, 67 vs 65 years; P < 0.001). The women with uterine carcinosarcoma compared with those with ovarian carcinosarcoma were more often African American (17.3% vs 6%; P < 0.001) and presented more often with localized disease (47% vs 10.8%; P < 0.001). Uterine carcinosarcoma compared with ovarian carcinosarcoma differed significantly with regard to the performance of lymphadenectomy (62.6% vs 41.2%; P < 0.001) and the administration of radiotherapy (38.2% vs 4.8%; P < 0.001). When controlled for the extent of disease spread, uterine carcinosarcoma had a more aggressive clinical course and shorter survival compared with ovarian carcinosarcoma. Although age (P < 0.001), race (P = 0.01), stage (P < 0.001), lymphadenectomy (P < 0.001), and radiation (P < 0.001) were all significant prognostic factors in uterine carcinosarcoma, only age (P < 0.001), stage (P < 0.001), and lymphadenectomy (P < 0.001) were significant predictors in ovarian carcinosarcoma. Conclusion: Although uterine carcinosarcoma presents at an earlier stage than ovarian carcinosarcoma, it has a worse prognosis compared with ovarian carcinosarcoma, with a similar extent of disease spread. Improved survival observed in lymphadenectomy group lends support to its routine performance in patients with uterine and ovarian carcinosarcomas.
Portal Combat: An Empirical Study of Competition in the Web Portal Industry

What determines a market leader when business models and technologies can be easily imitated? This work examines this question within the context of the market for free, consumer-oriented Web portals. Factors considered include the length of time a service has been offered, the brandrelated make-effects of various leading players, and product features that create virtual community and other switching costs. This analysis demonstrates that there are strong makerelated premiums among leading portal players, suggesting that brand value may be a critically important asset for industry players. The study also offers qualified support for the first-mover hypothesis, the benefits of chat and gaming features, and notes a lack of significant benefit from leadership in various technology-based service innovations.
Functional Comparison of Bacteria from the Human Gut and Closely Related Non-Gut Bacteria Reveals the Importance of Conjugation and a Paucity of Motility and Chemotaxis Functions in the Gut Environment

The human GI tract is a complex and still poorly understood environment, inhabited by one of the densest microbial communities on earth. The gut microbiota is shaped by millennia of evolution to co-exist with the host in commensal or symbiotic relationships. Members of the gut microbiota perform specific molecular functions important in the human gut environment. This can be illustrated by the presence of a highly expanded repertoire of proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism, in phase with the large diversity of polysaccharides originating from the diet or from the host itself that can be encountered in this environment. In order to identify other bacterial functions that are important in the human gut environment, we investigated the distribution of functional groups of proteins in a group of human gut bacteria and their close non-gut relatives. Complementary to earlier global comparisons between different ecosystems, this approach should allow a closer focus on a group of functions directly related to the gut environment while avoiding functions related to taxonomically divergent microbiota composition, which may or may not be relevant for gut homeostasis. We identified several functions that are overrepresented in the human gut bacteria which had not been recognized in a global approach. The observed under-representation of certain other functions may be equally important for gut homeostasis. Together, these analyses provide us with new information about this environment so critical to our health and well-being.
Genetic instability and divergence of clonal populations in colon cancer cells in vitro

The accumulation of multiple chromosomal abnormalities is a characteristic of the majority of colorectal cancers and has been attributed to an underlying chromosomal instability. Genetic instability is considered to have a key role in the generation of genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity in cancer cells. To shed light on the dynamics of chromosomal instability in colon cancer cells, we have analyzed genetic divergence in clonal and subclonal derivates of chromosomally unstable (SW480) and stable (HCT116, LoVo) cell lines. Conventional G-banding karyotyping and arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR) fingerprinting were used to calculate genetic distances among clones and parental cells, and to trace tree-type phylogenies among individual cells and clonal cell populations. SW480 cells showed enhanced karyotypic heterogeneity in clones as compared with parental cells. Moreover, genetic clonal divergence was also increased after two consecutive episodes of single-cell cloning, demonstrating that the homogeneity induced by the bottleneck of cloning is disrupted by genetic instability during clonal expansion and, as a consequence, heterogeneity is restored. These results demonstrate genetic drift in clonal populations originated from isolated cells. The generated cell heterogeneity coupled with selection provides the grounds for the reported feasibility of pre-neoplastic and neoplastic cells to generate new phenotypic variants with increased evolutionary potential.
An adaptive high-order neural tree for pattern recognition

A new neural tree model, called adaptive high-order neural tree (AHNT), is proposed for classifying large sets of multidimensional patterns. The AHNT is built by recursively dividing the training set into subsets and by assigning each subset to a different child node. Each node is composed of a high-order perceptron (HOP) whose order is automatically tuned taking into account the complexity of the pattern set reaching that node. First-order nodes divide the input space with hyperplanes, while HOPs divide the input space arbitrarily, but at the expense of increased complexity. Experimental results demonstrate that the AHNT generalizes better than trees with homogeneous nodes, produces small trees and avoids the use of complex comparative statistical tests and/or a priori selection of large parameter sets.
Modelling of impact behaviour of cold spray particles: review

Cold spraying (CS) is a coating technique, which has developed rapidly in the last two decades and shows great potential in the industrial community due to its advantages of low temperature deposition as well as no oxides forming in the coating. This review's focus is on the behaviour of particles impacting and the prediction of critical velocity for particle deposition during CS as calculated by numerical simulations according to the open literature. The first part presents an introduction of CS and its particle bonding mechanism. The second part briefly introduces the typically employed numerical computation methods and compares these methods. The third part discusses the effect of particle parameters on particle deformation behaviour. Finally, the current problems and prospects existing in numerical simulations of the impact of CS particles are explored.
Effect of Pretreatment on Adsorption of Nickel by Oil Palm Mesocarp Fiber

In this study, the usage of abundantly available oil palm mesocarp fiber as biosorbent for nickel removal from aqueous solution is discussed. The effect of NaOH and HCl pretreatment on the nickel removal by oil palm mesocarp fiber is one of the objectives. Varieties of NaOH concentration were examined to determine the effect of concentration on nickel removal. Other than pretreatment, effect of initial nickel concentration is also determined. XRD analysis was done in order to proof the existence of nickel phase on the oil palm mesocarp fiber. From the result, oil palm mesocarp fiber treated with NaOH results in higher nickel adsorption compared with the treatment using HCl and the nickel nitrate phases was successfully attached on the oil palm mesocarp fiber with crystalline size between 28-52 nm.
The developmental biology of genetic Notch disorders

Notch signaling regulates a vast array of crucial developmental processes. It is therefore not surprising that mutations in genes encoding Notch receptors or ligands lead to a variety of congenital disorders in humans. For example, loss of function of Notch results in Adams-Oliver syndrome, Alagille syndrome, spondylocostal dysostosis and congenital heart disorders, while Notch gain of function results in Hajdu-Cheney syndrome, serpentine fibula polycystic kidney syndrome, infantile myofibromatosis and lateral meningocele syndrome. Furthermore, structure-abrogating mutations in NOTCH3 result in CADASIL. Here, we discuss these human congenital disorders in the context of known roles for Notch signaling during development. Drawing on recent analyses by the exome aggregation consortium (EXAC) and on recent studies of Notch signaling in model organisms, we further highlight additional Notch receptors or ligands that are likely to be involved in human genetic diseases. Summary: This Review discusses the developmental processes underlying Notch-related congenital disorders in humans, drawing on data from model organisms and genome-sequencing projects.
Collaborative concept design as socio-construction

This research addresses the problem of lack of integration on decision-making caused by misunderstandings between team members during collaborative concept design. Previous research on collaborative design indicated relevant empirical evidence that current concepts of collaboration in design and construction focus on changing the context and the media, and have not properly addressed the socio-constructive nature of collaboration, failing to allow the development of particular abilities required to engage in collective creative situations. In this research it is argued that while the development of such new context and new media can contribute for integrating organizations, process, communication and coordination, they have limited capacity to support collective reasoning on decision-making, especially during concept design. The research approach is a synthesis of the literature, presenting a new model to study collaboration in concept design. The paper discusses the concept of collaboration in conceptual design, and explains collaboration as a socio-constructive act. Collaboration in design should be considered as dependent on the group ability to engage in self-reflective actions, allowing the group to conduct collective decision-making. Further development will provide ways of measuring this and investigating how a multidisciplinary design team can improve collaboration. Keywords: Collaboration, Multidisciplinary Team, Concept Design, Shared Understanding and Social-Constructive Interactions.
Bayesian Learning via Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics

In this paper we propose a new framework for learning from large scale datasets based on iterative learning from small mini-batches. By adding the right amount of noise to a standard stochastic gradient optimization algorithm we show that the iterates will converge to samples from the true posterior distribution as we anneal the stepsize. This seamless transition between optimization and Bayesian posterior sampling provides an inbuilt protection against overfitting. We also propose a practical method for Monte Carlo estimates of posterior statistics which monitors a "sampling threshold" and collects samples after it has been surpassed. We apply the method to three models: a mixture of Gaussians, logistic regression and ICA with natural gradients.