Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hardware Acceleration for Accurate Stereo Vision System using Mini-Census Adaptive Support Region

Domain of stereo vision is highly important in the ﬁelds of autonomous cars, video tolling, robotics, and aerial surveys. The speciﬁc feature of this domain is that we should handle not only the pixel-by-pixel 2D processing in one image but also the 3D processing for depth estimation by comparing information about a scene from several images with diﬀerent perspectives. This feature brings challenges to memory resource utilization, because extra dimension of data has to be buﬀered. Due to the memory limitation, few of previous stereo vision implementations provide both accurate and high-speed processing for high resolution images at the same time. To achieve domain-speciﬁc acceleration for stereo vision, the memory limitation has to be addressed. This paper uses a Mini-Census Adaptive Support Region (MCADSR) stereo matching algorithm as a case study due to its high accuracy and representative operations in this domain. To relieve the memory limitation and achieve high-speed processing, the paper proposes several eﬃcient optimization methods including vertical-ﬁrst cost aggregation, hybrid parallel processing, and hardware-friendly integral image. The paper also presents a customizable system, which provides both accurate and high-speed stereo matching for high resolution images. The beneﬁts of applying the optimization methods to the system are highlighted. With the above optimization and speciﬁc customization implemented on FPGA, the demonstrated system can process 47.6 fps (frames per second) and 129 fps for video size of 1920 × 1080 with a large disparity range of 256 and 1024 × 768 with a disparity range of 128 respectively. Our results are up to 1.64 times better than previous work in terms of million disparity estimation per second (MDE/s). For accuracy, the 7.65% overall average error rate outperforms current work which can provide real-time processing with this high resolution and large disparity range.
Numerical Cognition in Bees and Other Insects

The ability to perceive the number of objects has been known to exist in vertebrates for a few decades, but recent behavioral investigations have demonstrated that several invertebrate species can also be placed on the continuum of numerical abilities shared with birds, mammals, and reptiles. In this review article, we present the main experimental studies that have examined the ability of insects to use numerical information. These studies have made use of a wide range of methodologies, and for this reason it is striking that a common finding is the inability of the tested animals to discriminate numerical quantities greater than four. Furthermore, the finding that bees can not only transfer learnt numerical discrimination to novel objects, but also to novel numerosities, is strongly suggestive of a true, albeit limited, ability to count. Later in the review, we evaluate the available evidence to narrow down the possible mechanisms that the animals might be using to solve the number-based experimental tasks presented to them. We conclude by suggesting avenues of further research that take into account variables such as the animals’ age and experience, as well as complementary cognitive systems such as attention and the time sense.
Development of learning and memory in Aplysia. II. Habituation and dishabituation

The defensive withdrawal reflex of the mantle organs of Aplysia californica exhibits a variety of forms of both nonassociative and associative learning, which can exist in both short- and long-term forms. In addition, the reflex can be readily elicited and quantified as soon as the effector organs (siphon and gill) emerge at their respective developmental stages. Thus, this reflex system provides a useful preparation in which to study the development of learning and memory. In the present series of experiments we investigated the development of 2 forms of nonassociative learning, habituation and dishabituation, in the siphon withdrawal component of the reflex. This reflex response could be examined throughout the juvenile life of the animal (stages 9–12) since the reflex is functionally intact as soon as the siphon emerges in stage 9 (Rankin et al., 1987). We studied the development of habituation in stages 9–12 using tactile stimuli to the siphon delivered at interstimulus intervals (ISIs) of 1, 5, 10, and 30 sec. Habituation of siphon withdrawal was evident as early as juvenile stage 9. However, it existed in an immature form: Significant habituation was produced only with a very short (1 sec) ISI. No significant habituation occurred in response to 5 or 10 sec ISIs. Approximately 4 d later, in stage 10, significant habituation occurred to both 1 and 5 sec ISIs but not to a 10 sec ISI. Finally, approximately 1–2 weeks later, in stage 11, significant habituation occurred to 1, 5, and 10 sec ISIs but not to a 30 sec ISI, whereas stage 12 juveniles and adults (stage 13) readily habituated to a 30 sec ISI. Thus, there was a systematic developmental trend in the ability of the animals to habituate: Progressively older animals were capable of habituation to stimuli presented at progressively longer intervals. The systematic development of habituation was also evident by examining the amount of habituation exhibited to comparable ISIs by animals at different developmental stages. For all 4 ISIs examined, older animals showed significantly greater habituation than younger animals. Thus, our results show that habituation is present as soon as the siphon response system emerges and that it develops progressively throughout the juvenile life of the animal. Whereas habituation was present in the earliest developmental stage we examined (stage 9), dishabituation (in response to tail shock) did not emerge until 4–7 d later, in stage 10. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Variables psicosociales relacionadas con el proceso de integración social de los estudiantes inmigrantes

Resumen En este estudio exploramos la relación de variables sociodemográficas como la semejanza cultural, y variables cognitivo-sociales como la autoeficacia social, las teorías implícitas de capacidad, las expectativas de futuro con las estrategias de aculturación seguidas y la satisfacción académica desde el marco de la Teoría Social Cognitiva y el modelo dinámico del Sistema de Procesamiento Cognitivo-Afectivo. Para ello, 17 estudiantes inmigrantes escolarizados en la ciudad de Córdoba, con una media de edad de 11.7 años (d.t.= 4.38), procedentes de distintos países latinoamericanos y africanos, cumplimentaron un cuestionario que recogía sus datos sociode-mográficos y sus respuestas a las variables medidas en el estudio. Diseñamos un estudio exploratorio transversal simple para poner a prueba las hipótesis planteadas. Los análisis realizados sobre los datos recogidos son de tipo correlacional bivariado. Además, se realizó un análisis de contenido sobre las respuestas dadas a la variable expectativas de futuro. Los resultados obtenidos indican que los estudiantes inmigrantes que poseen una cultura más semejante a la española optan mayoritariamente por la estrategia de aculturación “asimilación”. La integración de los estudiantes inmigrantes en el contexto escolar está relacionada con niveles elevados de autoeficacia social, unas creencias implícitas sobre su capacidad como algo adquirible y unas expectativas de futuro positivas. Desde el enfoque social cognitivo, consideramos que las estrategias de intervención pueden dirigirse a facilitar la integración de los estudiantes inmigrantes en el contexto escolar, fomentando su autoeficacia social, unas creencias implícitas sobre la capacidad como algo adquirible y unas expectativas de futuro positivas. Así mismo, incitamos a que en los centros escolares se desarrollen conductas que ayuden a mantener la identidad de los grupos minoritarios aceptando la cultura mayoritaria a través del contacto permanente.
A regenerative microchannel device for recording multiple single‐unit action potentials in awake, ambulatory animals

Despite significant advances in robotics, commercially advanced prosthetics provide only a small fraction of the functionality of the amputated limb that they are meant to replace. Peripheral nerve interfacing could provide a rich controlling link between the body and these advanced prosthetics in order to increase their overall utility. Here, we report on the development of a fully integrated regenerative microchannel interface with 30 microelectrodes and signal extraction capabilities enabling evaluation in an awake and ambulatory rat animal model. In vitro functional testing validated the capability of the microelectrodes to record neural signals similar in size and nature to those that occur in vivo. In vitro dorsal root ganglia cultures revealed striking cytocompatibility of the microchannel interface. Finally, in vivo, the microchannel interface was successfully used to record a multitude of single‐unit action potentials through 63% of the integrated microelectrodes at the early time point of 3 weeks. This marks a significant advance in microchannel interfacing, demonstrating the capability of microchannels to be used for peripheral nerve interfacing.
Prognostic value of Ki-67 expression in conversion therapy for colorectal liver-limited metastases.

INTRODUCTION The objective of this study was to examine the prognostic value of Ki-67 expression in conversion therapy for colorectal liver-confined metastases. METHODS We enrolled a total of 96 patients including 54 patients who received oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based chemotherapy and curative hepatectomy for initially unresectable metastases (conversion group) and 42 patients with initially resectable liver metastases (straight hepatectomy group). Ki-67 expression was examined in 96 resected specimens but excluded the 2 specimens that revealed no residual cancer cells in conversion group. RESULTS Conversion therapy leads to greater survival that is equivalent to that straight hepatectomy group. In conversion group, high Ki-67 expression (> 30%) levels were detectable in 33 patients (64%) after chemotherapy prior to conversion therapy. High Ki-67 expression was significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival and worse overall survival (P < 0.01 in both), and was an independent worse prognostic factor of disease-free survival and overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] and P-values were 5.608, 0.001 and 5.366, 0.04, respectively) in patients with conversion therapy. Interestingly, even in the patients with RECIST PR (n = 32), high Ki-67 expression was significantly shorter disease-free survival compared to low Ki-67 expression (P < 0.001). In contrast to conversion group, there was no significant difference in disease free survival and overall survival between low (n = 14, 33%) and high (n = 28, 67%) Ki-67 expressions in patients with straight hepatectomy (P = 0.14 and 0.74, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Residual Ki-67 expression is a useful biomarker for worse prognostic outcomes after conversion therapy. High Ki-67 expression may be a biomarker of micrometastases containing aggressive cancer cells.
The Spectrum of Psychiatric Pathology in a Patient with Genetically Verified Huntington's Disease

Psychiatric and behavioral disturbances are common in Huntington's disease (HD) and contribute significantly to its morbidity and mortality. We herein present the case of a 43-year-old woman with genetically verified HD, whose deteriorating psychiatric condition necessitated multiple inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations and featured a clinical spectrum of neuropsychiatric disturbances classically associated with HD. This paper reviews the literature concerning Huntington's psychopathology and provides an illustrative case example of its clinical nature.
Robust full-motion recovery of head by dynamic templates and re-registration techniques

This paper presents a method to recover the full-motion (3 rotations and 3 translations) of the head using a cylindrical model. The robustness of the approach is achieved by a combination of three techniques. First, we use the iteratively re-weighted least squares (IRLS) technique in conjunction with the image gradient to deal with non-rigid motion and occlusion. Second, while tracking, the templates are dynamically updated to diminish the effects of self-occlusion and gradual lighting changes and keep tracking the head when most of the face is not visible. Third, because the dynamic templates may cause error accumulation, we re-register images to a reference frame when head pose is close to a reference pose. The performance of the real-time tracking program was evaluated in three separate experiments using image sequences (both synthetic and real) for which ground truth head motion is known. The real sequences included pitch and yaw of as large as 40/spl deg/ and 75/spl deg/ respectively. The average recovery accuracy of the 3D rotations was found to be about 3/spl deg/.
EXPLAINING EVOLUTIONARY INNOVATION AND NOVELTY: A HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL STUDY OF BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS

Explaining evolutionary novelties (such as feathers or neural crest cells) is a central item on the research agenda of evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-devo). Proponents of Evo-devo have claimed that the origin of innovation and novelty constitutes a distinct research problem, ignored by evolutionary theory during the latter half of the 20th century, and that Evo-devo as a synthesis of biological disciplines is in a unique position to address this problem. In order to answer historical and philosophical questions attending these claims, two philosophical tools were developed. The first, conceptual clusters, captures the joint deployment of concepts in the offering of scientific explanations and allows for a novel definition of conceptual change. The second, problem agendas, captures the multifaceted nature of explanatory domains in biological science and their diachronic stability. The value of problem agendas as an analytical unit is illustrated through the examples of avian feather and flight origination. Historical research shows that explanations of innovation and novelty were not ignored. They were situated in disciplines such as comparative embryology, morphology, and paleontology (exemplified in the research of N.J. Berrill, D.D. Davis, and W.K. Gregory), which were overlooked because of a historiography emphasizing the relations between genetics and experimental embryology. This identified the origin of Evo-devo tools (developmental genetics) but missed the source of its problem agenda. The structure of developmental genetic explanations of innovations and novelties is compared and contrasted with those of other disciplinary approaches, past and present. Applying the tool of conceptual clusters to these explanations reveals a unique form of conceptual change over the past five decades: a change in the causal and evidential concepts appealed to in explanations. Specification of the criteria of explanatory adequacy for the problem agenda of innovation and novelty indicates that Evo-devo qua disciplinary synthesis requires more attention to the construction of integrated explanations from its constituent disciplines besides developmental genetics. A model for explanations integrating multiple disciplinary contributions is provided. The phylogenetic approach to philosophy of science utilized in this study is relevant to philosophical studies of other sciences and meets numerous criteria of adequacy for analyses of conceptual change.
Simulation of nanoparticle transport in airways using Petrov–Galerkin finite element methods

The transport and deposition properties of nanoparticles with a range of aerodynamic diameters ( 1 nm ⩽ d ⩽150 nm) were studied for the human airways. A finite element code was developed that solved both the Navier–Stokes and advection–diffusion equations monolithically. When modeling nanoparticle transport in the airways, the finite element method becomes unstable, and, in order resolve this issue, various stabilization methods were considered in terms of accuracy and computational cost. The stabilization methods considered here include the streamline upwind, streamline upwind Petrov–Galerkin, and Galerkin least squares approaches. In order to compare the various stabilization approaches, the approximate solution from each stabilization approach was compared to the analytical Graetz solution, which is a model for monodispersed, dilute particle transport in a straight cylinder. The optimal stabilization method, especially with regard to accuracy, was found to be the Galerkin least squares approach for the Graetz problem when the Péclet number was larger than 10 4. In the human airways geometry, the Galerkin least squares stabilization approach once more provided the most accurate approximate solution for particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 nm or larger, but mesh size had a much greater effect on accuracy than the choice of stabilization method. The choice of stabilization method had a greater impact than mesh size for particles with an aerodynamic diameter 10 nm or smaller, but the most accurate stabilization method was streamline upwind Petrov–Galerkin in these cases. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Analysis of Altered Baseline Brain Activity in Drug-Naive Adult Patients with Social Anxiety Disorder Using Resting-State Functional MRI

Objective We hypothesize that the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) is involved in the altered regional baseline brain function in social anxiety disorder (SAD). The aim of the study was to analyze the altered baseline brain activity in drug-naive adult patients with SAD. Methods We investigated spontaneous and baseline brain activities by obtaining the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 20 drug-naïve adult SAD patients and 19 healthy controls. Voxels were used to analyze the ALFF values using one- and two-sample t-tests. A post-hoc correlation of clinical symptoms was also performed. Results Our findings show decreased ALFF in the bilateral insula, left medial superior frontal gyrus, left precuneus, left middle temporal gyrus, right middle temporal pole, and left fusiform gyrus of the SAD group. The SAD patients exhibited significantly increased ALFF in the right inferior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, bilateral middle occipital gyrus, orbital superior frontal gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, right medial superior frontal gyrus, and left parahippocampal gyrus. Moreover, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale results for the SAD patients were positively correlated with the mean Z values of the right middle occipital and right inferior occipital but showed a negative correlation with the mean Z values of the right superior temporal gyrus and right medial superior frontal gyrus. Conclusion These results of the altered regional baseline brain function in SAD suggest that the regions with abnormal spontaneous activities are involved in the underlying pathophysiology of SAD patients.
FTY720-induced human pulmonary endothelial barrier enhancement is mediated by c-Abl

Strategies to improve pulmonary endothelial barrier function are needed to reverse the devastating effects of vascular leak in acute respiratory distress syndrome. FTY720 is a pharmaceutical analogue of the potent barrier-enhancing phospholipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). FTY720 decreases vascular permeability by an incompletely characterised mechanism that differs from S1P. Here, we describe its barrier-promoting effects on intracellular signalling and junctional assembly formation in human pulmonary endothelium. Permeability of cultured human pulmonary endothelial cells was assessed using transendothelial electrical resistance and dextran transwell assays. Junctional complex formation was assessed using membrane fractionation and immunofluorescence. Pharmacological inhibitors and small interfering (si)RNA were utilised to determine the effects of individual components on permeability. Unlike S1P, FTY720 failed to induce membrane translocation of adherens junction or tight junction proteins. &bgr;-catenin, occludin, claudin-5 or zona occludens protein (ZO)-1/ZO-2 siRNAs did not alter FTY720-induced barrier enhancement. FTY720 induced focal adhesion kinase (FAK) phosphorylation and focal adhesion formation, with FAK siRNA partially attenuating the prolonged phase of barrier enhancement. Inhibition of Src, protein kinase (PK)A, PKG, PKC or protein phosphatase 2A failed to alter FTY720-induced barrier enhancement. FTY720 increased c-Abl tyrosine kinase activity and c-Abl siRNA attenuated peak barrier enhancement after FTY720. FTY720 enhances endothelial barrier function by a novel pathway involving c-Abl signalling.
Aero-Optical Measurements Using Malley Probe and High-Bandwidth 2-D Wavefront Sensors

Two analog high-bandwidth wavefront devices to obtain temporally resolved wavefronts are presented. The first device is called a Malley probe which provides one-dimensional slices of optical wavefronts in the streamwise direction; the second device is a high-bandwidth two-dimensional wavefront sensor capable of sampling wavefronts on a continuous basis with sampling rates up to 125 kHz. These devices were compared against a commercially-available, two-dimensional wavefront sensor for laser propagation through an acoustically forced planar heated jet. The comparison demonstrated that the two high-temporal-bandwidth wavefront sensors provided essentially the same information about the aberrating flow structure. Feasibility of significantly reducing optical aberrations using feed-forward adaptive optics is discussed.
Phase II study of carboplatin-paclitaxel combination chemotherapy in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND More than 30% of cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) arise in patients aged > or =70 years. The efficacy and safety of carboplatin-paclitaxel combination chemotherapy in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC were evaluated in a phase II trial. METHODS Twenty-five patients aged > or =70 years (median, 76; range, 70-83) with chemotherapy-naive advanced NSCLC were enrolled between January 2001 and July 2003. Additional criteria included the presence of measurable lesions, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1, and adequate organ function. Patients received carboplatin at an area under the curve of 5 mg/ml/min and paclitaxel at 180 mg/m(2) on the first day of consecutive 3 week periods. RESULTS The patients included four with stage IIIB, 19 with stage IV and two with recurrent disease. The median number of treatment cycles was three (range, 1-4). One complete response and six partial responses, yielding an objective response rate of 28%, were obtained. The median survival time was 12.3 months and the 1-year survival rate was 52%. Hematological toxicities of grade 3 or 4 included leukopenia (40%), neutropenia (68%) and anemia (4%). Non-hematological toxicities of grade 3 included arthralgia-myalgia (16%) and neuropathy (12%). The objective response rate for patients aged > or =75 years (n = 15) was 26%, and no evidence of excessive toxicity in these patients was apparent compared with those aged <75 years. CONCLUSION The combination carboplatin-paclitaxel at these doses is a feasible treatment option with a favorable toxicity profile for fit elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.
Bilinear multipliers and transference

We give de Leeuw-type transference theorems for bilinear multipliers. In particular, it is shown that bilinear multipliers arising from regulated functions m ( ξ , η ) in ℝ × ℝ can be transferred to bilinear multipliers acting on 𝕋 × 𝕋 and ℤ × ℤ . The results follow from the description of bilinear multipliers on the discrete real line acting on L p -spaces.