Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Multimodal Perspective on the Composition of Cortical Oscillations

An expanding corpus of research details the relationship between functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures and neuronal network oscillations. Typically, integrated electroencephalography and fMRI, or parallel magnetoencephalography (MEG) and fMRI are used to draw inference about the consanguinity of BOLD and electrical measurements. However, there is a relative dearth of information about the relationship between E/MEG and the focal networks from which these signals emanate. Consequently, the genesis and composition of E/MEG oscillations requires further clarification. Here we aim to contribute to understanding through a series of parallel measurements of primary motor cortex (M1) oscillations, using human MEG and in vitro rodent local field potentials. We compare spontaneous activity in the ∼10 Hz mu and 15–30 Hz beta frequency ranges and compare MEG signals with independent and integrated layers III and V (LIII/LV) from in vitro recordings. We explore the mechanisms of oscillatory generation, using specific pharmacological modulation with the GABA-A alpha-1 subunit modulator zolpidem. Finally, to determine the contribution of cortico-cortical connectivity, we recorded in vitro M1, during an incision to sever lateral connections between M1 and S1 cortices. We demonstrate that frequency distribution of MEG signals appear have closer statistically similarity with signals from integrated rather than independent LIII/LV laminae. GABAergic modulation in both modalities elicited comparable changes in the power of the beta band. Finally, cortico-cortical connectivity in sensorimotor cortex (SMC) appears to directly influence the power of the mu rhythm in LIII. These findings suggest that the MEG signal is an amalgam of outputs from LIII and LV, that multiple frequencies can arise from the same cortical area and that in vitro and MEG M1 oscillations are driven by comparable mechanisms. Finally, cortico-cortical connectivity is reflected in the power of the SMC mu rhythm.
Diet quality determines interspecific parasite interactions in host populations

The widespread occurrence of multiple infections and the often vast range of nutritional resources for their hosts allow that interspecific parasite interactions in natural host populations might be determined by host diet quality. Nevertheless, the role of diet quality with respect to multispecies parasite interactions on host population level is not clear. We here tested the effect of host population diet quality on the parasite community in an experimental study using Daphnia populations. We studied the effect of diet quality on Daphnia population demography and the interactions in multispecies parasite infections of this freshwater crustacean host. The results of our experiment show that the fitness of a low-virulent microsporidian parasite decreased in low, but not in high-host-diet quality conditions. Interestingly, infections with the microsporidium protected Daphnia populations against a more virulent bacterial parasite. The observed interspecific parasite interactions are discussed with respect to the role of diet quality-dependent changes in host fecundity. This study reflects that exploitation competition in multispecies parasite infections is environmentally dependent, more in particular it shows that diet quality affects interspecific parasite competition within a single host and that this can be mediated by host population-level effects.
Optimistic update bias increases in older age

Background Healthy older adults report greater well-being and life satisfaction than their younger counterparts. One potential explanation for this is enhanced optimism. We tested the influence of age on optimistic and pessimistic beliefs about the future and the associated structural neural correlates. Method Eighteen young and 18 healthy older adults performed a belief updating paradigm, measuring differences in updating beliefs for desirable and undesirable information about future negative events. These measures were related to regional brain volume, focusing on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) because this region is strongly linked to a positivity bias in older age. Results We demonstrate an age-related reduction in updating beliefs when older adults are faced with undesirable, but not desirable, information about negative events. This greater ‘update bias’ in older age persisted even after controlling for a variety of variables including subjective rating scales and poorer overall memory. A structural brain correlate of this greater ‘update bias’ was evident in greater grey matter volume in the dorsal ACC in older but not in young adults. Conclusions We show a greater update bias in healthy older age. The link between this bias and relative volume of the ACC suggests a shared mechanism with an age-related positivity bias. Older adults frequently have to make important decisions relating to personal, health and financial issues. Our findings have wider behavioural implications in these contexts because an enhanced optimistic update bias may skew such real-world decision making.
Pharmacological characterization of CGS 15943A: a novel nonxanthine adenosine antagonist.

CGS 15943A is a potent adenosine receptor antagonist with a novel nonxanthine heterocyclic ring structure. In vitro, CGS 15943A competitively inhibited the 2-chloroadenosine-induced A2 receptor-mediated relaxation of dog coronary artery strips contracted with KCl (25 mM). Similarly, CGS 15943A blocked 2-chloroadenosine- and N-ethylcarboxamideadenosine-induced A2 receptor-mediated relaxation of histamine-contracted guinea pig tracheal strips. Schild analysis of these results yielded pA2 values of 10.8 and 10.1 for the coronary arteries and the tracheal smooth muscle strips, respectively. In comparison, 8-phenyltheophylline blocked 2-chloroadenosine-induced tracheal response with a pA2 value of 7.0. CGS 15943A was devoid of intrinsic activity, and did not affect either histamine- or KCl-induced contractions of the smooth muscle strips. In the electrically stimulated guinea pig left atrial preparation, CGS 15943A antagonized the A1 receptor-mediated negative inotropic effects of R-phenylisopropyladenosine with a pA2 value of 7.4. In vivo, i.v. administration of CGS 15943A blocked the vasodepressor response to 2-chloradenosine in anesthetized normotensive rats with an ID50 of 0.024 mg/kg. In addition, p.o. administration of CGS 15943A (4.0 mg/kg) to conscious rats inhibited 2-chloroadenosine-induced decreases in diastolic blood pressure; maximal effects were observed 30 min after dosing, with a T1/2 of approximately 103 min. Therefore suggesting that CGS 15943A is an orally active antagonist of adenosine receptors. These results indicate that CGS 15943A antagonized both A1 and A2 receptor-mediated responses with a greater affinity toward the A2 than the A1 receptor subtype.
Fast depth estimation from single image using structured forest

Depth estimation from single image is an important component of many vision systems, including robot navigation, motion capture and video surveillance. In this paper, we propose to apply a structure forest framework to infer depth information from single RGB image. The core idea of our approach is to exploit the structure properties exhibit in local patches of depth map to learn the depth level for each pixel. We formulate the problem of depth estimation in a structured learning framework based on random decision forests. Each trained forest infers a patch of structured labels that are accumulated across the image to obtain the final depth map. Moreover, we systematically investigate a variety of depth-relevant features and the regression forest framework automatically determines the best feature combination and uses as input of structure forest. Our approach achieves quasi real-time performance that is orders of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art approaches, while also achieving state-of-the-art depth estimation results on the Make3D dataset.
The impact of pegylated interferon and ribavirin combination treatment on lipid metabolism and insulin resistance in chronic hepatitis C patients

Background/Aims Lipid profile and insulin resistance (IR) are associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and may predict the chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treatment response. The aim of this study was to determine the association between CHC treatment response and lipid profile and IR change during treatment. Methods In total, 203 CHC patients were reviewed retrospectively between January 2005 and December 2011 at Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital. The lipid profile, homeostasis model for assessment (HOMA) of IR (HOMA-IR), and HOMA of β cells (HOMA-β) were evaluated before interferon plus ribavirin therapy (BTx), at the end of treatment (DTx), and 24 weeks after the end of treatment (ATx). Results A sustained virologic response (SVR) was achieved by 81% of all patients (49/60), 60% (n=36) of whom possessed genotype 1, with the remainder being non-genotype-1 (40%, n=24). Apart from age, which was significantly higher in the non-SVR group (SVR, 48.0±11.2 years, mean±SD; non-SVR, 56.6±9.9 years; P<0.01), there were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the SVR and non-SVR groups. In the SVR group, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) had significantly changed at DTx and ATx compared to BTx. In addition, HOMA-IR and HOMA-β were significantly changed at DTx in the SVR group. Among those with a high baseline insulin resistance (HOMA-IR >2.5), HOMA-IR was significantly changed at DTx in the SVR group. Conclusions LDL-C appears to be associated with HCV treatment in SVR patients. Furthermore, eradication of HCV may improve whole-body IR and insulin hypersecretion, as well as high baseline insulin resistance (HOMA-IR >2.5).
Finite sample adjustments in estimating equations and covariance estimators for intracluster correlations

Bias‐corrected covariance estimators are introduced in the context of an estimating equations approach for intracluster correlations among binary outcomes. Simulation study results show that the bias‐corrected covariance estimators perform better than uncorrected sandwich estimators in terms of bias and coverage probabilities. Additionally, introduction of a matrix‐based bias‐correction into the estimating equations considerably improves point and interval estimation for the intracluster correlations. The methods are illustrated using data from a nested cross‐sectional cluster trial on reducing underage drinking. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Complexity Analysis of the Lasso Regularization Path

The regularization path of the Lasso can be shown to be piecewise linear, making it possible to "follow" and explicitly compute the entire path. We analyze in this paper this popular strategy, and prove that its worst case complexity is exponential in the number of variables. We then oppose this pessimistic result to an (optimistic) approximate analysis: We show that an approximate path with at most O(1/sqrt(epsilon)) linear segments can always be obtained, where every point on the path is guaranteed to be optimal up to a relative epsilon-duality gap. We complete our theoretical analysis with a practical algorithm to compute these approximate paths.
Method of Removing Single-Side Doped Layer While Maintaining Pyramid Textured Surface of n-Type Bifacial Solar Cells

BBr3 and POCl3 thermal diffusion is a widely used technique for p- and n-type emitter formation in bifacial solar cell fabrication. However, single-side doping of BBr3 or POCl3 is difficult to achieve through gas diffusion carried out at high temperatures. Thus, removal of the unexpected doped layer on one side is undertaken in the fabrication of bifacial solar cells. We have implemented a spin-etching technique to remove the doped layer; however, the removal leads to a planar surface, and the related optical losses affect the bifaciality of the cell through a lowering of the short-circuit current. In this paper, we demonstrate a new procedure to maintain the pyramid texture on the side from which the doped layer is removed. The effect of the texture-maintaining removal process was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and reflectance measurements. SEM images show that the edges of the texture pyramids become wider. The optical losses due to the wider edges were investigated through reflection measurements. To investigate the potential of this new procedure, an n-type bifacial cell was fabricated on a 156 mm × 156 mm 180-μm-thick n-type pseudo Czochralski-Si wafer, and the current–voltage parameters were compared with the single-side planar n-type bifacial solar cell.
A low-power variable length decoder for MPEG-2 based on successive decoding of short codewords

This paper presents a low-power variable length decoder exploiting the statistics of successive codewords. The decoder employs small look-up tables working as fixed caches to reduce the number of activations of a variable length code detector where considerable power is consumed. The power simulation results estimated using PowerMill show that 35% energy is reduced on the average compared to the previous low-power scheme.
WALKING WALKing walking: Action Recognition from Action Echoes

Recognizing human actions represented by 3D trajectories of skeleton joints is a challenging machine learning task. In this paper, the 3D skeleton sequences are regarded as multivariate time series, and their dynamics and multiscale features are efﬁ-ciently learned from action echo states. Speciﬁcal-ly, ﬁrst the skeleton data from the limbs and trunk are projected into ﬁve high dimensional nonlinear spaces, that are randomly generated by ﬁve dynamic, training-free recurrent networks, i.e., the reservoirs of echo state networks (ESNs). In this way, the history of the time series is represented as non-linear echo states of actions. We then use a single multiscale convolutional layer to extract multiscale features from the echo states, and maintain multi-scale temporal invariance by a max-over-time pooling layer. We propose two multi-step fusion strategies to integrate the spatial information over the ﬁve parts of the human physical structure. Finally, we learn the label distribution using softmax. With one training-free recurrent layer and only layer of convolution, our Convolutional Echo State Network (ConvESN) is a very efﬁcient end-to-end model, and achieves state-of-the-art performance on four skeleton benchmark data sets.
SGD-QN: Careful Quasi-Newton Stochastic Gradient Descent

The SGD-QN algorithm is a stochastic gradient descent algorithm that makes careful use of second-order information and splits the parameter update into independently scheduled components. Thanks to this design, SGD-QN iterates nearly as fast as a first-order stochastic gradient descent but requires less iterations to achieve the same accuracy. This algorithm won the "Wild Track" of the first PASCAL Large Scale Learning Challenge (Sonnenburg et al., 2008).
Reliable Offline Signature Verification with Cascade Classifier Ensemble

Signature verification has been widely applied in financial and legal transactions for authentication and has attracted much attention in the academia and industries. In this paper, a two-stage cascade verification system is proposed to minimize the cost of wrong verifications. In the first stage, an improved local mean K-Nearest Neighbor is applied with two reliable parameters to measure the confidence level of the judgment for a testing sample. At the second stage, a multiple expert system is formed with Random Subspace method and the reliability of decisions is evaluated by majority voting. With a testing sample, the first stage classifier will make an evaluation about the confidence level of the verification. If it is reliable enough, the result will be final; otherwise, the sample is rejected by the first stage and passed on to the second for further assessment. In this case, the final result will be the outcome of the second stage when the result has been accepted. Otherwise, this testing sample will be rejected by the whole system. Comparing to a single classifier, the cascade system can reduce the rejection rate with a slight sacrifice of accuracy. The performance of the cascade model is evaluated in terms of the trade-off between the classification accuracy and rejection rate, and the results confirm its effectiveness.
Virions during the Late Stage Infection and Is Entrapped in the Egressing Human Cytomegalovirus In Vitro of into the Cytoplasm during the Early Stage Innate Nuclear Sensor IFI 16 Translocates

Intrinsic immune mechanisms mediated by constitutively expressed proteins termed “restriction factors” provide frontline antiviral defense. We recently demonstrated that the DNA sensor IFI16 restricts human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication by downregulating viral early and late but not immediate-early mRNAs and their protein expression. We show here that at an early time point during the in vitro infection of low-passage-number human embryonic lung fibroblasts, IFI16 binds to HCMV DNA. However, during a later phase following infection, IFI16 is mislocalized to the cytoplasmic virus assembly complex (AC), where it colocalizes with viral structural proteins. Indeed, upon its binding to pUL97, IFI16 undergoes phosphorylation and relocalizes to the cytoplasm of HCMV-infected cells. ESCRT (endosomal sorting complex required for transport) machinery regulates the translocation of IFI16 into the virus AC by sorting and trafficking IFI16 into multivesicular bodies (MVB), as demonstrated by the interaction of IFI16 with two MVB markers: Vps4 and TGN46. Finally, IFI16 becomes incorporated into the newly assembled virions as demonstrated by Western blotting of purified virions and electron microscopy. Together, these results suggest that HCMV has evolved mechanisms to mislocalize and hijack IFI16, trapping it within mature virions. However, the significance of this IFI16 trapping following nuclear mislocalization remains to be established.
Novel N-1,2-Dihydroxypropyl Analogs of Lobelane Inhibit Vesicular Monoamine Transporter-2 Function and Methamphetamine-Evoked Dopamine Release

Lobelane, a chemically defunctionalized saturated analog of lobeline, has increased selectivity for the vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) compared with the parent compound. Lobelane inhibits methamphetamine-evoked dopamine (DA) release and decreases methamphetamine self-administration. Unfortunately, tolerance develops to the ability of lobelane to decrease these behavioral effects of methamphetamine. Lobelane has low water solubility, which is problematic for drug development. The aim of the current study was to determine the pharmacological effect of replacement of the N-methyl moiety with a chiral N-1,2-dihydroxypropyl (N-1,2-diol) moiety, which enhances water solubility, altering the configuration of the N-1,2-diol moiety and incorporating phenyl ring substituents into the analogs. To determine VMAT2 selectivity, structure-activity relationships also were generated for inhibition of DA and serotonin transporters. Analogs with the highest potency for inhibiting DA uptake at VMAT2 and at least 10-fold selectivity were evaluated further for ability to inhibit methamphetamine-evoked DA release from superfused striatal slices. (R)-3-[2,6-cis-di(4-methoxyphenethyl)piperidin-1-yl]propane-1,2-diol (GZ-793A), the (R)-4-methoxyphenyl-N-1,2-diol analog, and (R)-3-[2,6-cis-di(1-naphthylethyl)piperidin-1-yl]propane-1,2-diol (GZ-794A), the (R)-1-naphthyl-N-1,2-diol analog, exhibited the highest potency (Ki ∼30 nM) inhibiting VMAT2, and both analogs inhibited methamphetamine-evoked endogenous DA release (IC50 = 10.6 and 0.4 μM, respectively). Thus, the pharmacophore for VMAT2 inhibition accommodates the N-1,2-diol moiety, which improves drug-likeness and enhances the potential for the development of these clinical candidates as treatments for methamphetamine abuse.
Epidemiology, Treatment Patterns, and Outcomes of Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcoma in a Community-Based Oncology Network

Purpose. To assess epidemiology, treatment patterns, and outcomes of metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (mSTS) patients in USA community oncology practices. Methods. This retrospective, descriptive study used US Oncology's iKnowMed electronic health records database. Adults (≥18 years) with mSTS and at least two visits between July 2007 and June 2010 were included. Key outcomes were practice patterns, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS). Results. 363 mSTS patients (174 treated and 189 untreated) met the prespecified exclusion/inclusion criteria. The most common subtypes were leiomyosarcoma (n = 104; 29%), liposarcoma (n = 40; 11%), and synovial sarcoma (n = 12; 3%); the remainder (n = 207; 57%) comprised 27 histologic subtypes. Treated patients were younger and had lower ECOG scores; 75% and 25% received first-line combination or monotherapy, respectively. Median OS of treated and untreated patients was 22 and 17 months, respectively, and 29 months in patients with the three most common subtypes. Before controlling for effects of covariates, younger age and lower ECOG scores were associated with better OS and PFS. Conclusion. This study provides insights into mSTS epidemiology, treatment patterns, and outcomes in a large community-based oncology network. These results warrant further studies with larger cohorts.
Relationship Between the Leachability Characteristics of Unique Energetic Compounds and Soil Properties

Abstract : The object of this project was to develop a soil sorption model for hexahydro-1,3,5trinitro-1 3,5-triazine (RDX) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) based on physical-chemical properties of soils in the absence of biotic and abiotic transformation/degradation of the solutes. This was accomplished by conducting a series of batch and column studies with TNT and RDX on a variety of sterilized soils. Abiotic transformation of TNT to several amino compounds, of which 2 amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene was the most common, necessitated direct analysis of the solute in the aqueous phase and extraction/analysis of the sorbed material to be performed on all batch studies to allow for mass balance calculations. RDX was poorly sorbed to all soils, and steady-state conditions were obtained within 6 h. Linear sorption coefficients (Kd) were generally < 1ML/g. The sorption and desorption limbs of the breakthrough curves were symmetrical and solute breakthrough could be well described by the use of a transport code that accounted for dispersion and fast, reversible sorption described by a linear isotherm. Munitions, RDX, TNT, Soil sorption, Soil transport, TNT Transformation