Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-Level Cues and Ultra-Fast Face Detection

Recent experimental work has demonstrated the existence of extremely rapid saccades toward faces in natural scenes that can be initiated only 100 ms after image onset (Crouzet et al., 2010). These ultra-rapid saccades constitute a major challenge to current models of processing in the visual system because they do not seem to leave enough time for even a single feed-forward pass through the ventral stream. Here we explore the possibility that the information required to trigger these very fast saccades could be extracted very early on in visual processing using relatively low-level amplitude spectrum (AS) information in the Fourier domain. Experiment 1 showed that AS normalization can significantly alter face-detection performance. However, a decrease of performance following AS normalization does not alone prove that AS-based information is used (Gaspar and Rousselet, 2009). In Experiment 2, following the Gaspar and Rousselet paper, we used a swapping procedure to clarify the role of AS information in fast object detection. Our experiment is composed of three conditions: (i) original images, (ii) category swapped, in which the face image has the AS of a vehicle, and the vehicle has the AS of a face, and (iii) identity swapped, where the face has the AS of another face image, and the vehicle has the AS of another vehicle image. The results showed very similar levels of performance in the original and identity swapped conditions, and a clear drop in the category swapped condition. This result demonstrates that, in the early temporal window offered by the saccadic choice task, the visual saccadic system does indeed rely on low-level AS information in order to rapidly detect faces. This sort of crude diagnostic information could potentially be derived very early on in the visual system, possibly as early as V1 and V2.
The solution structure of the pentatricopeptide repeat protein PPR10 upon binding atpH RNA

The pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein family is a large family of RNA-binding proteins that is characterized by tandem arrays of a degenerate 35-amino-acid motif which form an α-solenoid structure. PPR proteins influence the editing, splicing, translation and stability of specific RNAs in mitochondria and chloroplasts. Zea mays PPR10 is amongst the best studied PPR proteins, where sequence-specific binding to two RNA transcripts, atpH and psaJ, has been demonstrated to follow a recognition code where the identity of two amino acids per repeat determines the base-specificity. A recently solved ZmPPR10:psaJ complex crystal structure suggested a homodimeric complex with considerably fewer sequence-specific protein–RNA contacts than inferred previously. Here we describe the solution structure of the ZmPPR10:atpH complex using size-exclusion chromatography-coupled synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SEC-SY-SAXS). Our results support prior evidence that PPR10 binds RNA as a monomer, and that it does so in a manner that is commensurate with a canonical and predictable RNA-binding mode across much of the RNA–protein interface.
The functional distribution of income: a review of the theoretical literature and of the empirical evidence around its recent pattern in European countries

The interest around the functional distribution has gained a new momentum since the late 1980s with new theoretical advances of Neo Classical economics and with the contemporary large swing in favour of capital incomes that characterized most European countries. This paper revises the theoretical literature on the interplay between factor shares and economic growth, and it describes the competing evidence around the determinants of the large and enduring fall in the labour share experienced in Europe. The literature has produced a shared consensus on the determinants of the wage push in the 1970s and on the decline of the labour share in the 1980s, but there is still a unsettled debate on the reasons for the enduring decline over the 1990s. The paper also focuses on the possible impact of this significant change in the functional distribution of income on the interpersonal income inequality, evidencing the role in this respect of labour market and welfare institutions.
An Overview of European Economic Indicators: Great Variety of Data on the Euro Area, Need for More Extensive Coverage of the New EU Member States

This contribution provides an overview of the most common short-term indicators of economic development in the euro area. These indicators are useful when official data are released with long time lags or if they are subject to major revisions. Indicators based on surveys among businesses, households, financial market analysts or forecasters have the advantage of providing detailed and timely information on individual sectors on a monthly basis and largely without later revision. As an additional instrument, composite indicators, which are calculated by combining a variety of measures into a single indicator with the help of regression and factor analysis, offer an attractive tool for drawing conclusions from different, often divergent signals. Even the most reliable economic indicators, however, can only be interpreted as constituent elements of comprehensive economic analysis. With regard to the new EU Member States, coverage is found to be limited as yet. This study also shows that the forecasting quality of the European Commission 's business and consumer surveys for the new Member States is not as high as for the other EU Member States. As the reliability of economic indicators increases as forecasting institutions and respondents gain more experience, coverage of established indicators should be extended early on to this group of countries, in particular as some of the new Member States may soon join the euro area. JEL classification: 0110, 520
Direct adaptive longitudinal control of vehicle platoons

Higher traffic capacities require smaller intervehicular spacings. At such intervehicular separations, aerodynamic drag force changes significantly with the distance to be maintained. The mass of the vehicle varies with the number of passengers. In this paper, we present a Lyapunov-based decentralised adaptive control algorithm to compensate for such parametric variations. We examine this direct adaptive control algorithm for platoon performance and parameter convergence. We present the simulation and experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the adaptive controller. <<ETX>>
Journal of Central Nervous System Disease the Safety and Efficacy of Methylphenidate and Dexmethylphenidate in Adults with Attention Deficit/hyperactivity Disorder

Open Access Full open access to this and thousands of other papers at Abstract Objective: To review the literature on the safety and efficacy of methylphenidate, OROS-methylphenidate, methylphenidate ER, and dexmethylphenidate in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). To analyze the effects of different doses of meth-ylphenidate, it's various formulations, and methylphenidate on efficacy and safety in this population. Data sources: Literature retrieval was performed through Pubmed/MEDLINE (Up to May 2010) using the terms methylphenidate, dexmethylphenidate, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In addition, reference citations from publications identified were reviewed. Study selection and data extraction: Double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials, as well as crossover and open-label trials found using the search criteria listed above were included for review. Case reports were not included in this review. Data synthesis: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric condition that is commonly seen in children and adolescents , that persists into adulthood for about 50% of patients. Methylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate are often prescribed to treat the symptoms associated with ADHD. The literature validating the safety and efficacy of methylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate in children and adolescents with ADHD is substantial. However, the literature specifically addressing the safety and efficacy of these medications in the adult population is less extensive and prescribing is often anecdotal based on child and adolescent data. Understanding the literature regarding methylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate and its effects in adults can enhance evidence-based medicine (EBM) and improve treatment outcomes Conclusion: Methylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate are safe and effective medications to treat the symptoms of ADHD in adults. Based on the literature, increased doses are associated with better treatment response with moderate safety concerns. The different dosage forms available enable individualization of treatment.
Radon Exposure, IL-6 Promoter Variants, and Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Former Uranium Miners

Background: High radon exposure is a risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma, a major lung cancer histology observed in former uranium miners. Radon exposure can cause oxidative stress, leading to pulmonary inflammation. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pro-carcinogenic inflammatory cytokine that plays a pivotal role in lung cancer development. Objectives: We assessed whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IL6 promoter are associated with lung cancer in former uranium miners with high occupational exposure to radon gas. Methods: Genetic associations were assessed in a case–control study of former uranium miners (242 cases and 336 controls). A replication study was performed using data from the Gene Environment Association Studies (GENEVA) Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) of Lung Cancer and Smoking. Functional relevance of the SNPs was characterized using in vitro approaches. Results: We found that rs1800797 was associated with squamous cell carcinoma in miners and with a shorter time between the midpoint of the period of substantial exposure and diagnosis among the cases. Furthermore, rs1800797 was also associated with lung cancer among never smokers in the GENEVA dataset. Functional studies identified that the risk allele was associated with increased basal IL-6 mRNA level and greater promoter activity. Furthermore, fibroblasts with the risk allele showed greater induction of IL-6 secretion by hydrogen peroxide or benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide treatments. Conclusions: An IL6 promoter variant was associated with lung cancer in uranium miners and never smokers in two external study populations. The associations are strongly supported by the functional relevance that the IL6 promoter SNP affects basal expression and carcinogen-induced IL-6 secretion. Citation: Leng S, Thomas CL, Snider AM, Picchi MA, Chen W, Willis DG, Carr TG, Krzeminski J, Desai D, Shantu A, Lin Y, Jacobson MR, Belinsky SA. 2016. Radon exposure, IL-6 promoter variants, and lung squamous cell carcinoma in former uranium miners. Environ Health Perspect 124:445–451; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/ehp.1409437
Binary spectral minutiae representation with multi-sample fusion for fingerprint recognition

Biometric fusion is the approach to improve the biometric system performance by combining multiple sources of biometric information. The binary spectral minutiae representation is a method to represent a fingerprint minutiae set as a fixed-length binary string. This binary representation has the advantages of a fast operation and a small template storage. It also enables the combination of a biometric system with template protection schemes that require a fixed-length feature vector as input. In this paper, based on the spectral minutiae representation algorithm, we investigate the multi-sample fusion algorithms at the feature-, score-, and decision-level respectively. Furthermore, we propose different schemes to mask out unreliable bits. The algorithms are evaluated on the FVC2000-DB2 database and showed promising results.
The Interpretation of Dreams

In 1909, G. Stanley Hall invited me to Clark University, in Worcester, to give the first lectures on psychoanalysis. In the same year, Dr Brill published the first of his translations of my writings, which were soon followed by further ones. If psychoanalysis now plays a role in American intellectual life, or if it does so in the future, a large part of this result will have to be attributed to this and other activities of Dr Brill's. His first translation of The Interpretation of Dreams appeared in 1913. Since then, much has taken place in the world, and much has been changed in our views about the neuroses. This book, with the new contribution to psychology which surprised the world when it was published (1900), remains essentially unaltered. It contains, even according to my present-day judgment, the most valuable of all the discoveries it has been my good fortune to make. Insight such as this falls to one's lot but once in a lifetime.
16 9 v 3 2 4 A pr 2 00 0 String Partition Functions and Infinite Products

We continue to explore the conjectural expressions of the Gromov-Witten potentials for a class of elliptically and K3 fibered Calabi-Yau 3-folds in the limit where the base P of the K3 fibration becomes infinitely large. At least in this limit we argue that the string partition function (= the exponential generating function of the Gromov-Witten potentials) can be expressed as an infinite product in which the Kähler moduli and the string coupling are treated somewhat on an equal footing. Technically speaking, we use the exponential lifting of a weight zero Jacobi form to reach the infinite product as in the celebrated work of Borcherds. However, the relevant Jacobi form is associated with a lattice of Lorentzian signature. A major part of this work is devoted to an attempt to interpret the infinite product or more precisely the Jacobi form in terms of the bound states of D2and D0-branes using a vortex description and its suitable generalization.
A Unified Model for Multi-genome Synteny and Gene Cluster Inference

Inferring evolutionarily related genomic regions among multiple genomes is an important and well-studied problem in comparative genomics. Existing models fail to fully capture the various evolutionary events and typically model multiple genome comparisons through what can be inferred from constituent pairwise comparisons. In this paper, we present a unified model for gene cluster and synteny detection that simultaneously captures multiple genomic regions related through genomic inversions, gene duplications, insertions and losses, which may occur in one or multiple genomic sequences. We then present an algorithm to deduce all multi-syntenies within a given set of genomic sequences, and demonstrate its effectiveness by identifying gene clusters across two microbial genomes and multi-syntenies among the 12 chromosomes of the rice genome. Our method achieves better sensitivity and specificity in identifying documented operons when compared with HomologyTeams model.
Energy consumption evaluation in trust and reputation models for Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, popular trust and reputation models for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is studied. Accuracy, scalability and power consumption are the main challenges during the routing of data. High power consumption reduces network lifetime. Due to the lack in researches that compare between trust and reputation models especially in terms of energy efficiency this paper presents comparison between several proposed trust and reputation models in terms of average path length, average accuracy and energy consumption rate.
A gene expression profile of the developing human retinal pigment epithelium

Purpose The molecular mechanisms associated with human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) development constitute the basis for cell replacement therapy for the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases. In the current study, gene expression analysis of the human fetal RPE during development was performed and was compared with the human native RPE. Methods Microdissection of the human RPE at three time points (13 weeks and 16 weeks of gestation and in mature adult eyes) was performed, and total RNA was isolated. Equal amounts of RNA were pooled from two or three independent donor eyes for each time point in each group. Gene expression was analyzed by hybridization to microarray chips. Validation was accomplished by comparing the microarray expression proﬁles with quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT2-PCR) analysis of selected genes and by comparing selected expression proﬁles with predicted proﬁles based on previous studies. Results Of the 45,033 probe sets on the microarray, 30,736 were detected. A total of 3,498 differentially expressed genes could be clustered into eight patterns of expression that were statistically significant. Analysis of the expression patterns of genes coding for key functions (pigment synthesis, visual cycle, phagocytosis, adherens and tight junctions, and transcellular transport) indicated that the human RPE achieves a high degree of maturity during early pregnancy. Compared with 154 signature genes in the RPE, 148 candidate genes were identified in this study, including 53 downregulated genes and 5 upregulated genes. The qRT2-PCR results showed similar expression trends to those obtained by microarray analysis at the three time points. Conclusions This study demonstrated gene expression profiles in the human RPE during normal development. These ﬁndings indicate that the human RPE has different expression patterns than those of other animals. The results of this study may be helpful in furthering the understanding of the developmental processes occurring in humans and of the differentiation of RPE cells derived from human embryonic stem cells and from human induced pluripotent stem cells.
Some Results on the Identification and Estimation of Vector ARMAX Processes

This paper addresses the problem of identifying echelon canonical forms for a vector autoregressive moving average model with exogenous variables using finite algorithms. For given values of the Kronecker indices a method for estimating the structural parameters of a model using ordinary least squares calculations is presented. These procedures give rise, rather naturally, to a technique for the determination of the structural indices based on the use of conventional model selection criteria. A detailed analysis of the statistical properties of the estimation and identification procedures is given and some evidence on the practical significance of the results obtained is also provided. Modifications designed to improve the performance of the methods are presented. Some discussion of the practical significance of the results obtained is also provided.
Comprehension and engagement in survey interviews with virtual agents

This study investigates how an onscreen virtual agent's dialog capability and facial animation affect survey respondents' comprehension and engagement in “face-to-face” interviews, using questions from US government surveys whose results have far-reaching impact on national policies. In the study, 73 laboratory participants were randomly assigned to respond in one of four interviewing conditions, in which the virtual agent had either high or low dialog capability (implemented through Wizard of Oz) and high or low facial animation, based on motion capture from a human interviewer. Respondents, whose faces were visible to the Wizard (and videorecorded) during the interviews, answered 12 questions about housing, employment, and purchases on the basis of fictional scenarios designed to allow measurement of comprehension accuracy, defined as the fit between responses and US government definitions. Respondents answered more accurately with the high-dialog-capability agents, requesting clarification more often particularly for ambiguous scenarios; and they generally treated the high-dialog-capability interviewers more socially, looking at the interviewer more and judging high-dialog-capability agents as more personal and less distant. Greater interviewer facial animation did not affect response accuracy, but it led to more displays of engagement—acknowledgments (verbal and visual) and smiles—and to the virtual interviewer's being rated as less natural. The pattern of results suggests that a virtual agent's dialog capability and facial animation differently affect survey respondents' experience of interviews, behavioral displays, and comprehension, and thus the accuracy of their responses. The pattern of results also suggests design considerations for building survey interviewing agents, which may differ depending on the kinds of survey questions (sensitive or not) that are asked.
Incidence and Risk Factors for Retinopathy of Prematurity in North of Iran

Purpose: To report the incidence and risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) among preterm infants referred to Amiralmomenin Eye Hospital, Rasht, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional retrospective study included all preterm infants with birth weight ≤2500 g and/or gestational age ≤36 weeks who had been referred to our facility for ROP screening over a five year period from September 2005 to September 2010. Possible risk factors and findings related to eye examinations were extracted and analyzed. Results: Among 310 infants, ROP was diagnosed in 64 (20.6%) of referred preterm infants (95% CI: 17.7%-23.5%); these included stage I in 48%, stage 2 in 29%, and stage 3 or higher disease in 23% of subjects. Mean gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW) in the ROP–affected infants was 30.18 ± 2.28 weeks and 1,422.8 ± 420.8 g, respectively. Low BW, low GA, oxygen therapy, phototherapy, blood transfusion and apnea were risk factors for ROP. After logistic regression analysis, only low GA and low BW were independently associated with the condition. Conclusion: ROP is a relatively common finding in preterm infants of Guilan Province in the North of Iran. Low BW and low GA were significant risk factors for the disease.
Pri-Mir-34b/C and Tp-53 Polymorphisms are Associated With The Susceptibility of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

AbstractTumor suppressor p53 directly regulated the abundance of the miR-34b/c. The interaction might contribute to certain cancer. We hypothesized that rs4938723 in the promoter region of pri-miR-34b/c and TP-53 Arg72Pro may be related to the risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). A total of 784 patients with PTC and 1006 healthy controls were recruited to participate in this study. The variants were discriminated using a polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism method (PCR-RFLP). Additionally, the relative expression levels of miR-34b/c and TP-53 in 44 paired samples were revealed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A significantly increased risk of PTC was observed in the miR-34b/c rs4938723 CT, CC, and CT/CC genotypes compared with the TT genotype (CT vs TT: adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.51, 95%confidence interval [CI] = 1.23–1.85; CC vs TT: adjusted OR = 1.89, 95%CI = 1.39–2.63; CT/CC vs TT: adjusted OR = 1.59, 95%CI = 1.30–1.92, respectively). Significantly increased PTC susceptibility was also associated with the TP-53 Arg72Pro CC and CG/CC genotypes compared with the GG genotype (CC vs GG: adjusted OR = 2.04, 95%CI = 1.54–2.70; CG/CC vs GG: adjusted OR = 1.35, 95%CI = 1.11–1.67, respectively). Stratification analysis revealed that patients carrying the TP-53 Arg72Pro C allele and CC genotype had a significantly increased risk for developing N1 (C vs. G: OR = 1.27, 95%CI = 1.03–1.56; CC vs. GG: OR = 1.62, 95%CI = 1.07–2.46, respectively). Combined analysis showed that the genotypes of rs4938723 CT/CC + TP-53CG/CC increased the risk of PTC compared with rs4938723TT + TP-53GG (OR = 2.25, 95%CI = 1.67–3.03). Additionally, level of miR-34b was significantly upregulated in PTC patients.These findings indicate that the miR-34b/c rs4938723 and TP-53 Arg72Pro polymorphisms may contribute to the susceptibility of PTC.