Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning to recognize objects through curiosity-driven manipulation with the iCub humanoid robot

In this paper we address the problem of learning to recognize objects by manipulation in a developmental robotics scenario. In a life-long learning perspective, a humanoid robot should be capable of improving its knowledge of objects with active perception. Our approach stems from the cognitive development of infants, exploiting active curiosity-driven manipulation to improve perceptual learning of objects. These functionalities are implemented as perception, control and active exploration modules as part of the Cognitive Architecture of the MACSi project. In this paper we integrate these functionalities into an active perception system which learns to recognise objects through manipulation. Our work in this paper integrates a bottom-up vision system, a control system of a complex robot system and a top-down interactive exploration method, which actively chooses an exploration method to collect data and whether interacting with humans is profitable or not. Experimental results show that the humanoid robot iCub can learn to recognize 3D objects by manipulation and in interaction with teachers by choosing the adequate exploration strategy to enhance competence progress and by focusing its efforts on the most complex tasks. Thus the learner can learn interactively with humans by actively self-regulating its requests for help.
Parallel Inhibition of Dopamine Amacrine Cells and Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells in a Non-Image-Forming Visual Circuit of the Mouse Retina

An inner retinal microcircuit composed of dopamine (DA)-containing amacrine cells and melanopsin-containing, intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (M1 ipRGCs) process information about the duration and intensity of light exposures, mediating light adaptation, circadian entrainment, pupillary reflexes, and other aspects of non-image-forming vision. The neural interaction is reciprocal: M1 ipRGCs excite DA amacrine cells, and these, in turn, feed inhibition back onto M1 ipRGCs. We found that the neuropeptide somatostatin [somatotropin release inhibiting factor (SRIF)] also inhibits the intrinsic light response of M1 ipRGCs and postulated that, to tune the bidirectional interaction of M1 ipRGCs and DA amacrine cells, SRIF amacrine cells would provide inhibitory modulation to both cell types. SRIF amacrine cells, DA amacrine cells, and M1 ipRGCs form numerous contacts. DA amacrine cells and M1 ipRGCs express the SRIF receptor subtypes sst2A and sst4 respectively. SRIF modulation of the microcircuit was investigated with targeted patch-clamp recordings of DA amacrine cells in TH–RFP mice and M1 ipRGCs in OPN4–EGFP mice. SRIF increases K+ currents, decreases Ca2+ currents, and inhibits spike activity in both cell types, actions reproduced by the selective sst2A agonist L-054,264 (N-[(1R)-2-[[[(1S*,3R*)-3-(aminomethyl)cyclohexyl]methyl]amino]-1-(1H-indol-3-ylmethyl)-2-oxoethyl]spiro[1H-indene-1,4′-piperidine]-1′-carboxamide) in DA amacrine cells and the selective sst4 agonist L-803,087 (N2-[4-(5,7-difluoro-2-phenyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-1-oxobutyl]-l-arginine methyl ester trifluoroacetate) in M1 ipRGCs. These parallel actions of SRIF may serve to counteract the disinhibition of M1 ipRGCs caused by SRIF inhibition of DA amacrine cells. This allows the actions of SRIF on DA amacrine cells to proceed with adjusting retinal DA levels without destabilizing light responses by M1 ipRGCs, which project to non-image-forming targets in the brain. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Amacrine cells form multiple microcircuits in the inner retina to mediate visual processing, although their organization and function remain incompletely understood. The somatostatin [somatotropin release inhibiting factor (SRIF)]- and dopamine (DA)-releasing amacrine cells act globally, and, in this study, they are shown to interact and modulate the light response of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). SRIF amacrine cells target both DA amacrine cells and M1 ipRGCs for inhibition. The parallel actions of SRIF may serve to compensate for the loss of DA-mediated inhibition of M1 ipRGCs. This inhibitory tuning is of particular importance because the DA system mediates a broad range of light adaptational actions in the retina and M1 ipRGCs project to brain areas that influence sleep, mood, cognition, circadian entrainment, and pupillary reflexes.
Evaluation of a newly developed office-based stool test for detecting Helicobacter pylori: an extensive pilot study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Several strategies have been used to detect Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection along two lines: 1) direct detection of the bacteria, and 2) detection of antigen-antibody assay against Hp. The non-invasive methods include ELISA test of serum, salivary and urine, urea breath test, and detection of Hp antigen in stool. The latter method (HpSA) has been proven reliable and better than the ELISA test, for it can detect current Hp infection and is suitable for post-treatment follow-up. Now, a new commercial kit, ImmunoCard STAT HpSA (Meridian Bioscience Europe) has been developed to detect stool Hp antigen. It is simpler and less time-consuming than HpSA. The aim was to examine whether ImmunoCard STAT HpSA is qualified for diagnosis of Hp infection. METHODOLOGY 253 patients (163 men, 90 women, mean age: 53.3 +/- 13.9 y/o, range: 19-89 y/o) were enrolled in this study. All of them had undergone gastroendoscopy and urea breath test. 207 patients were diagnosed with peptic ulcer and 46 with gastritis. Stool samples were collected within 3 days of their visit for gastroendoscopy and were sent for the Immunocard test. RESULTS 118 patients were diagnosed with Hp infection and of these, 113 were interpreted as positive by means of the Immunocard test. Among the other 135 patients without Hp infections, 123 were interpreted as negative by means of the Immunocard test. Sensitivity and specificity were 95.8% and 91.1%, and positive and negative predictive values were 90.4% and 96.1%. CONCLUSIONS The ImmunoCard STAT HpSA had high sensitivity, and specificity and could be used for mass screening. We concluded that it is a rapid, simple, cheap, reliable, and non-invasive strategy to detect current Hp infection and can be used in post-Hp eradication follow-up in Taiwan.
Protective Autoimmunity Is a Physiological Response to CNS Trauma

Primary damage caused by injury to the CNS is often followed by delayed degeneration of initially spared neurons. Studies in our laboratory have shown that active or passive immunization with CNS myelin-associated self-antigens can reduce this secondary loss. Here we show, using four experimental paradigms in rodents, that CNS trauma spontaneously evokes a beneficial T cell-dependent immune response, which reduces neuronal loss. (1) Survival of retinal ganglion cells in rats was significantly higher when optic nerve injury was preceded by an unrelated CNS (spinal cord) injury. (2) Locomotor activity of rat hindlimbs (measured in an open field using a locomotor rating scale) after contusive injury of the spinal cord (T8) was significantly better (by three to four score grades) after passive transfer of myelin basic protein (MBP)-activated splenocytes derived from spinally injured rats than in untreated injured control rats or rats similarly treated with splenocytes from naive animals or with splenocytes from spinally injured rats activated ex vivo with ovalbumin or without any ex vivo activation. (3) Neuronal survival after optic nerve injury was 40% lower in adult rats devoid of mature T cells (caused by thymectomy at birth) than in normal rats. (4) Retinal ganglion cell survival after optic nerve injury was higher (119 ± 3.7%) in transgenic mice overexpressing a T cell receptor (TcR) for MBP and lower (85 ± 1.3%) in mice overexpressing a T cell receptor for the non-self antigen ovalbumin than in matched wild types. Taken together, the results imply that CNS injury evokes a T cell-dependent neuroprotective response.
Building a Large-scale Multimodal Knowledge Base System for Answering Visual Queries

The complexity of the visual world creates significant challenges for comprehensive visual understanding. In spite of recent successes in visual recognition, today's vision systems would still struggle to deal with visual queries that require a deeper reasoning. We propose a knowledge base (KB) framework to handle an assortment of visual queries, without the need to train new classifiers for new tasks. Building such a large-scale multimodal KB presents a major challenge of scalability. We cast a large-scale MRF into a KB representation, incorporating visual, textual and structured data, as well as their diverse relations. We introduce a scalable knowledge base construction system that is capable of building a KB with half billion variables and millions of parameters in a few hours. Our system achieves competitive results compared to purpose-built models on standard recognition and retrieval tasks, while exhibiting greater flexibility in answering richer visual queries.
Overexpression of the mitotic checkpoint genes BUB1, BUBR1, and BUB3 in gastric cancer—association with tumour cell proliferation

The mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint modulates the timing of anaphase initiation in response to improper alignment of chromosomes at the metaphase plate. The BUB gene family encodes proteins which are part of a large multi‐protein kinetochore complex and which are believed to be key components of the checkpoint regulatory pathway. Failure of this surveillance system can lead to genomic instability and could be responsible for the increased incidence of aneuploidy in gastric cancer. Since mutations of BUB genes have not been identified in gastric cancer to date, altered BUB expression levels may significantly impair mitotic checkpoint function. To explore this possibility, the expression levels of BUB1, BUBR1, and BUB3 were determined in 43 gastric carcinomas and corresponding normal gastric mucosa by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Gene expression levels were compared with histopathological parameters and DNA ploidy, as well as with proliferative activity, measured by Ki‐67 mRNA expression. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the expression levels of mitotic checkpoint genes together with DNA ploidy in gastric cancer. BUB1 was overexpressed in 84%, BUBR1 in 68%, and BUB3 in 79% of gastric cancers. This study also revealed that all three genes were simultaneously overexpressed in 61% of the tumours and that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between overexpression of BUB1, BUBR1 or BUB3 and Ki‐67 expression (p < 0.001). Eighty‐one per cent of the tumours were classified as aneuploid. However, no correlation was found between ploidy and BUB transcript expression levels. These results suggest that inactivation of the mitotic checkpoint genes BUB1, BUBR1, and BUB3 by epigenetic silencing does not seem to play a role in gastric carcinogenesis. The strong correlation of BUB expression level and tumour cell proliferation suggests that BUB overexpression is a proliferation‐dependent phenomenon in gastric cancer. However, overexpression due to lack of normal BUB protein function or due to a yet unknown additional BUB function has to be considered. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Increasing robustness of multimodal interaction via individual interaction histories

Multimodal input fusion can be considered a well researched topic and yet it is rarely found in real world applications. One reason for this could be the lack of robustness in real world situations, especially regarding unimodal recognition technologies like speech and gesture, that tend to produce erroneous inputs that can not be detected by the subsequent multimodal input fusion mechanism. Previous work implying the possibility to detect and overcome such errors through knowledge of individual temporal behaviors has neither provided a real-time implementation nor evaluated the real benefit of such an approach. We present such an implementation of applying individual interaction histories in order to increase the robustness of multimodal inputs within a smartwatch scenario. We show how such knowledge can be created and maintained at runtime, present evaluation data from an experiment conducted in a realistic scenario, and compare the approach to the state of the art known from literature. Our approach is ready to use in other applications and existing systems, with the prospect to increase the overall robustness of future multimodal systems.
Recurrence of Prolapse After Transvaginal Mesh Excision

Objective Recurrence of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a potential complication after mesh removal. We evaluated anatomical and functional outcomes preoperatively and postoperatively in patients undergoing mesh excision. Materials and Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of consecutive patients who underwent mesh excision from years 2005 to 2009. Anatomical outcomes were evaluated using the POP quantification (POP-Q) system. Recurrence of prolapse was defined as stage II or higher-stage prolapse on the POP-Q system, reoperation for prolapse, or postoperative use of a pessary for prolapse reduction. Functional outcomes were assessed using the pelvic floor distress inventory and pelvic floor impact questionnaire scores. Results Data were analyzed from 71 patients who underwent either partial or complete mesh excision. Most (44/70 [63%]) of the patients underwent partial mesh excision, and 26 patients (37%) underwent total mesh removal. Nineteen patients (26.7%) had preoperative prolapse and 27 (38.0%) of the 71 patients underwent concomitant native tissue prolapse repair. Overall change in POP-Q stage in women who underwent partial removal (median, 0 [−1 to 2]) was less advanced than in women with total excision. (median, −1 [−3 to 0]; P = 0.006) at 1 year postoperatively. Four patients prolapsed to the hymen, with all patients having defects in the anterior compartment. No patients required a second surgery, and one patient was treated with a pessary. Total pelvic floor distress inventory and pelvic floor impact questionnaire scores before mesh excision were significantly improved 6 months after mesh removal (P < 0.05). Dyspareunia improved significantly after mesh excision (P = 0.034). Conclusion In our patient population, total and partial mesh excision is associated with re-treatment of POP in 1.4% of the patients. Patient functional outcomes significantly improved after mesh removal.
Physiological Approaches for Weed Management in Soybean and Redgram (4:2 rp ) Intercropping System

The experiment was carried out during Kharif 2001 at the Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad to study the effect of weed management practices on weed control efficiency, morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters in soybean and redgram (4:2 RP) intercropping system. The experiment consisted of five pre-emergence herbicides viz., alachlor butachlor, pendimethalin, metolachlor, and oxadiazon as sole application and in combination with cultural practices (inter cultivation and hand weeding) along with weed free check and unweeded control. The maximum weed control rating was recorded for metolachlor applied @ 1.0 kg ai/ha coupled with cultural pratices. Among the herbicides metolachlor, oxadiazon and alachlor recorded higher plant height, chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate. The higher soybean and redgram yields were noticed with metolachlor, oxadiozon, alachlor treatments in combination with cultural pratices and weed free check. However the B:C ratio was highest in metolachlor coupled with cultural practices.
Specification and Misspecification of Theoretical Foundations and Logic Models for Health Communication Campaigns

While increasingly widespread use of behavior change theory is an advance for communication campaigns and their evaluation, such theories provide a necessary but not sufficient condition for theory-based communication interventions. Such interventions and their evaluations need to incorporate theoretical thinking about plausible mechanisms of message effect on health-related attitudes and behavior. Otherwise, strategic errors in message design and dissemination, and misspecified campaign logic models, insensitive to campaign effects, are likely to result. Implications of the elaboration likelihood model, attitude accessibility, attitude to the ad theory, exemplification, and framing are explored, and implications for campaign strategy and evaluation designs are briefly discussed. Initial propositions are advanced regarding a theory of campaign affect generalization derived from attitude to ad theory, and regarding a theory of reframing targeted health behaviors in those difficult contexts in which intended audiences are resistant to the advocated behavior or message.
Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic evolution of Yukon Territory, Canada

The supercontinent Columbia existed from approximately 1.8 to 1.3 Ga. During this time, complex tectonic interactions occurred between northwestern Laurentia and Australia. This thesis concerns three geologic events on northwestern. The first event is the development of a post-collisional sedimentary overlap assemblage herein called the Wernecke-Ogilvie unlithified succession (WOUS). The second event is the formation of the Wernecke Breccia, a set of 1.60 Ga hydrothermal breccia zones. The third is the emplacement of the 1.38 Ga Hart River sills.
A PILOT STUDY OF NORMATIVE DATA FOR MACULAR THICKNESS AND VOLUME MEASUREMENTS USING CIRRUS HIGH-DEFINITION OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY

Purpose: To establish preliminary normative data for macular thickness (MT) and macular volume (MV) by Cirrus high-definition optical coherence tomography (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA). Methods: Retrospective case series of 192 eyes of 192 subjects (age, 20–90 years) without retinal disease or surgery with best-corrected visual acuity ≥20/25, intraocular pressure <21 mmHg, and cup-to-disc ratio ≤0.5 were enrolled. Retinal thicknesses in nine Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study subfields (including central subfield thickness [CST]), MT, and MV were measured with Cirrus high-definition optical coherence tomography. Effects of age, gender, lens status, and diabetic status on these measurements were analyzed. Results: The mean ±SD CST, MT, and MV were 262.4 ± 22.8 μm, 281.3 ± 14.5 μm, and 10.1 ± 0.6 mm3, respectively. Although CST and age were not associated (P = 0.45), both mean MT and mean MV declined with age (P < 0.0001). Central subfield thickness (P = 0.002), mean MT (P = 0.021), and MV (P = 0.041) were higher in men compared with women. Neither lens status nor diabetic status affected CST, MT, or MV. Conclusion: A pilot study showed that preliminary normative CST, MT, and MV values were obtained by Cirrus high-definition optical coherence tomography. The authors propose that CST ranges from 216.8 μm to 308 μm in normal eyes. Older age and female gender were associated with thinner MT.
A Critical Role for Dorsal Progenitors in Cortical Myelination

Much controversy regarding the anatomical sources of oligodendrocytes in the spinal cord and hindbrain has been resolved. However, the relative contribution of dorsal and ventral progenitors to myelination of the cortex is still a subject of debate. To assess the contribution of dorsal progenitors to cortical myelination, we ablated the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Olig2 in the developing dorsal telencephalon. In Olig2-ablated cortices, myelination is arrested at the progenitor stage. Under these conditions, ventrally derived oligodendrocytes migrate dorsally into the Olig2-ablated territory but cannot fully compensate for myelination deficits observed at postnatal stages. Thus, spatially restricted ablation of Olig2 function unmasks a contribution of dorsal progenitors to cortical myelination that is much greater than hitherto appreciated.
Performance of Garden Pea (Pisum sativum var hortense L.) Varieties under Conventional and Organic Nutrient Sources under Sub-Himalayan Foot Hills of West Bengal

Garden pea (Pisum sativum var. hortense L.) is one of the important cool season vegetable crop belongs to family leguminosae, grown all over the world for fresh and processed forms. It is originated in the near East and Mediterranean regions, and has been grown since early Neolithic times. India is the highest vegetable pea producing country in the world. In India, it is cultivated in an area of 4.20 lakh ha with a production of 40.06 lakh MT and a productivity is 9.50MT/ha. In West Bengal, it is cultivated in an area of 0.22 lakh ha with a International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 07 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Bilingual Infants Demonstrate Advantages in Learning Words in a Third Language.

Prior research suggests that bilingualism may endow infants with greater phonological flexibility. This study investigated whether this flexibility facilitates word learning in additional languages (n = 96). Experiment 1 compared 18- to 20-month-old monolingual (English) and bilingual (English/Mandarin) infants on their ability to learn words distinguished by click consonants from a Southern African language, Ndebele. English-Mandarin bilingual infants were sensitive to Ndebele click contrasts, but monolingual English infants were not. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we investigated whether enhanced bilingual sensitivity extended to analogous nonlinguistic labels: hand claps and finger snaps. Although discriminated by infants, neither group distinguished words labeled by hand claps and finger snaps. Results suggest that bilingual infants' sustained openness to non native contrast may facilitate the uptake of words in distant languages.
Cell Death-Autophagy Loop and Glutamate-Glutamine Cycle in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Although we know that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is correlated with the glutamate-mediated corticomotor neuronal hyperexcitability, detailed ALS pathology remains largely unexplained. While a number of drugs have been developed, no cure exists so far. Here, we propose a hypothesis of neuronal cell death—incomplete autophagy positive-feedback loop—and summarize the role of the neuron-astrocyte glutamate-glutamine cycle in ALS. The disruption of these two cycles might ideally retard ALS progression. Cerebrovascular injuries (such as multiple embolization sessions and strokes) induce neuronal cell death and the subsequent autophagy. ALS impairs autophagosome-lysosome fusion and leads to magnified cell death. Trehalose rescues this impaired fusion step, significantly delaying the onset of the disease, although it does not affect the duration of the disease. Therefore, trehalose might be a prophylactic drug for ALS. Given that a major part of neuronal glutamate is converted from glutamine through neuronal glutaminase (GA), GA inhibitors may decrease the neuronal glutamate accumulation, and, therefore, might be therapeutic ALS drugs. Of these, Ebselen is the most promising one with strong antioxidant properties.