Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Propagating Activation during Oscillations and Evoked Responses in Neocortical Slices

Population activity in the cortex is poorly understood. In this report we use voltage-sensitive dye imaging to examine the spatiotemporal patterns of a 7–10 Hz oscillation in neocortical slices from rat somatosensory areas. This oscillation appeared as a component of spontaneous epochs when the preparation was bathed in low [Mg] artificial CSF (ACSF) (Silva et al., 1991). Each epoch started with a synchronized spike, and 3–200 cycles of oscillation emerged afterward. Voltage-sensitive dye imaging revealed that the oscillations in the local field potential recordings were actually caused by a propagating population activation. This activation propagated in a relatively uniform size (not expanding). We call this confined, propagating activation a “dynamic ensemble. ” During each oscillation cycle, one (occasionally two) dynamic ensemble(s) appeared in the slice and was sustained for 60–200 msec. Dynamic ensembles propagated at ∼30 mm/sec; the activity could propagate in both directions in cortical slices. The propagation consisted in part of “jumps,” the locations of which were not fixed. Dynamic ensembles were distinguishable from the epileptiform spikes that occurred in low [Mg] ACSF. Population events similar to dynamic ensembles were also evoked under conditions of unaltered excitability (slice in normal ACSF) by electrical stimulation that activated a low density of neurons in a large area. Our data suggest that self-sustained, spatially confined, and propagating dynamic ensembles might be related to the epoch oscillations in somatosensory cortex seen in vivo(Nicolelis et al., 1995) and thus resemble one form of population activation in the neocortex.
7. Gaze, positioning and identity in interpreter-mediated dialogues

Although very little has been published specifically on the study of gaze in interpreter-mediated dialogues, there has been some evidence that gaze direction is an important device for showing attention and for the distribution of turns. In this chapter, analysis of gaze shifts based on video recordings of immigration interviews reinforces previous findings in the field. It also shows that gaze not only has a function in signalling attention and co-ordinating turns to talk, it also regulates patterns of participation. In particular by their patterns of gaze and other non-verbal signals, all participants position themselves and others within the exchange. In this way, the interplay of patterns of gaze is closely bound up with role and status – and, therefore, with issues of identity and power.
Simple or Complex? Assessing the readability of Basque Texts

In this paper we present a readability assessment system for Basque, ErreXail, which is going to be the preprocessing module of a Text Simplification system. To that end we compile two corpora, one of simple texts and another one of complex texts. To analyse those texts, we implement global, lexical, morphological, morpho-syntactic, syntactic and pragmatic features based on other languages and specially considered for Basque. We combine these feature types and we train our classifiers. After testing the classifiers, we detect the features that perform best and the most predictive ones.
Evolution of segregation distortion: potential for a high degree of polymorphism.

By means of a population genetical model, we study the evolution of segregation distortion. Most models of segregation distortion focus on a single distorter allele. In contrast, we consider the competition between a large number of distorters. Motivated by systems as the t complex of the house mouse or the Sd complex of Drosophila melanogaster, we assume that there is some "complementation" between distorter alleles, i.e. that the fitness of individuals heterozygous for two distorter alleles is higher than the fitness of homozygous individuals. In the presence of complementation, the most efficient distorter allele with the highest segregation ratio often does not outcompete less efficient distorters. In fact, our results show that coexistence of a large number of distorter alleles is more typical than the competitive exclusion of less efficient distorters by a single superior allele. We first consider the analytically tractable system where all distorters show the same amount of complementation. In this case, all distorters with a segregation ratio higher than a certain critical value will persist, resulting in a polymorphic population where the average segregation ratio is only slightly larger than 0.5. If the degree of complementation varies, there may be more than one stable equilibrium, and the outcome of competition may depend on the initial conditions. Motivated by empirical examples, we also consider the case that the distorting ability of an allele is negatively related to its effects on individual fitness. Interestingly, the outcome of competition depends crucially on details of such a trade-off. We conclude that verbal arguments are insufficient to predict the evolution of segregation distortion.
Low-noise encoding of active touch by layer 4 in the somatosensory cortex

Cortical spike trains often appear noisy, with the timing and number of spikes varying across repetitions of stimuli. Spiking variability can arise from internal (behavioral state, unreliable neurons, or chaotic dynamics in neural circuits) and external (uncontrolled behavior or sensory stimuli) sources. The amount of irreducible internal noise in spike trains, an important constraint on models of cortical networks, has been difficult to estimate, since behavior and brain state must be precisely controlled or tracked. We recorded from excitatory barrel cortex neurons in layer 4 during active behavior, where mice control tactile input through learned whisker movements. Touch was the dominant sensorimotor feature, with >70% spikes occurring in millisecond timescale epochs after touch onset. The variance of touch responses was smaller than expected from Poisson processes, often reaching the theoretical minimum. Layer 4 spike trains thus reflect the millisecond-timescale structure of tactile input with little noise. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.06619. 001
Successful Hepatitis C Antiviral Therapy Induces Remission of Type 2 Diabetes: A Case Report

Patient: Male, 49 Final Diagnosis: Type 2 diabetes Symptoms: — Medication: — Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Endocrinology and Metabolic Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Type 2 diabetes is a well described extra-hepatic manifestation of hepatitis C infection (HCV). Eradication of HCV has led to improvements in insulin resistance but to date has not been shown to induce remission of diabetes. Case Report: We report a case of a 49-year-old man with HCV and a 2-year history of T2DM on oral agents. He was initially treated with peg-interferon/ribavirin (peg-IFN/rib) but did not achieve a HCV treatment response. Four years later he was retreated with peg-IFN/rib plus an HCV protease inhibitor (boceprevir). His HbA1c at the start of treatment was 7.9%. Antiviral response to HCV-therapy correlated with a significant improvement in glucose control without a change in diabetes therapy or improvement in adherence. He achieved a sustained virological response and within a year of completing antiviral therapy he no longer required medical therapy for diabetes. Two years after the completion of HCV treatment, the patient has maintained an HbA1c of 5.8% without any diabetes medications. Conclusions: This case provides evidence of the important relationship between HCV and diabetes and highlights the potential reversibility of glucose abnormalities with successful eradication of HCV. Increased awareness of this association may improve detection of undiagnosed HCV infection, identify patients with reversible causes of diabetes, guide therapeutic decisions for HCV treatment, and improve outcomes in patients with both diseases.
Coordinating the use of GPU and CPU for improving performance of compute intensive applications

GPUs have recently evolved into very fast parallel co-processors capable of executing general purpose computations extremely efficiently. At the same time, multi-core CPUs evolution continued and today's CPUs have 4-8 cores. These two trends, however, have followed independent paths in the sense that we are aware of very few works that consider both devices cooperating to solve general computations. In this paper we investigate the coordinated use of CPU and GPU to improve efficiency of applications even further than using either device independently. We use Anthill runtime environment, a data-flow oriented framework in which applications are decomposed into a set of event-driven filters, where for each event, the runtime system can use either GPU or CPU for its processing. For evaluation, we use a histopathology application that uses image analysis techniques to classify tumor images for neuroblas-toma prognosis. Our experimental environment includes dual and octa-core machines, augmented with GPUs and we evaluate our approach's performance for standalone and distributed executions. Our experiments show that a pure GPU optimization of the application achieved a factor of 15 to 49 times improvement over the single core CPU version, depending on the versions of the CPUs and GPUs. We also show that the execution can be further reduced by a factor of about 2 by using our runtime system that effectively choreographs the execution to run cooperatively both on GPU and on a single core of CPU. We improve on that by adding more cores, all of which were previously neglected or used ineffectively. In addition, the evaluation on a distributed environment has shown near linear scalability to multiple hosts.
Boosting a Variable Neighborhood Search for the Periodic Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows by ILP Techniques

The PVRPTW is defined on a complete directed graph G = (V,A), where V = {0, 1, . , n} is the vertex set and A = {(i, j) : i, j ∈ V, i 6= j} is the arc set. The considered planning horizon shall be t days, also referred to as T = {1, . , t}. Vertex 0 represents the depot with time window [e0, l0] at which are based m vehicles having capacities Q1, . , Qm and maximal daily working times D1, . , Dm. Each vertex i ∈ VC , with VC = V \ {0}, corresponds to a customer and has an associated demand qi ≥ 0, a service duration di ≥ 0, a time window [ei, li], a service frequency fi and a set Ci of allowable combinations of visit days. Finally, each arc (i, j) ∈ A is assigned a travel time (cost) cij ≥ 0. The problem then consists of selecting a single visit combination per customer and designing (at most) m vehicle routes on each of the t days on G such that:
On the Use of the Sigma-Lognormal Model to Study Children Handwriting

This paper investigates the interest of using the Kinematic Theory of rapid human movements to analyse and evaluate the handwriting produced by young kindergarten children in typical classroom environment. A total of 66 children participated in this trial. For the preliminary results reported herein, movements from 15 children, taken evenly from three different levels (3, 4, and 5 years old), were analyzed. Our results confirm that 1) the sigmalognormal equation can model accurately childen’s movement and 2) that this modeling can differentiate between children of different school levels, hence supporting the relevance of pursuing along this original pathway.
Economic incentives for adopting congestion accountability protocols

New Internet protocols such as ECN, re-ECN and Conex, provide valuable information to ISPs about the congestion within a network. Such information could be useful in allocating network resources more equitably, as well as to employ new pricing schemes. However, in designing a new protocol one must take proper account of the incentive issues that thereby arise for its adoption. In this paper, we consider a duopoly market consisting of two access ISPs and formulate a noncooperative game over their choices of pricing strategies when one of them uses volume-based and the other congestion-based pricing. We prove, under mild conditions, the existence of a pure strategy Nash equilibrium for the competing providers. We further examine how the different types of transit charges affect the pricing strategies of the access ISPs. We find cases where the volume charging ISP is forced to leave the access market. We conclude that ISPs have economic incentives to adopt congestion accountability mechanisms, since they become more competitive due to the smoother and more predictable traffic they have to accommodate and to the lower transit charges they incur.
Electrocortical responses in reward paradigms and their variation related to personality

This thesis was conducted in order to investigate two issues: (1) how sensitive event related potentials (ERPs), and more specifically the medial frontal negativity and the P3 components, are to the valence and magnitude of reward-related stimuli, and (2) whether individual differences have an effect on the sensitivity of these ERP components to these characteristics. This was investigated using two reward-related paradigms. In the "pure gambling task" participants were asked to choose between two cards, each containing varying dollar amounts (large or small). The outcome of the choice (i.e., win or loss) was revealed after the choice was made. Additionally, participants were shown whether the non-chosen card would have been a win or a loss. In the "simple response task", participants were presented with five cues (large win, large loss, small win, small loss or zero) that labelled the trial as either a potential win, a potential loss or no change. Following the cue, a target appeared on the screen and the participant's task was to press the response key while the target was still visible. A success led to a win (gain in money) or no loss (no change) depending on the cue. Thirty participants completed both tasks; afterwards they filled out a set of questionnaires measuring personality and other individual differences relating to risk-taking behaviour. The results of both tasks showed that ERP components can differentiate between the valence and magnitude of reward-related stimuli, although no single component was uniquely related to either of the characteristics as previous suggested in the literature. Additionally, the context of the stimulus presentation (e.g., the task structure, condition within the task) affected the relationships between the ERP components and stimulus characteristics. The relations among differences across participants in the ERP components and personality characteristics were inconsistent and, thus, no firm conclusions could be drawn. However, it must be noted that some of the relations were consistent within the tasks but not between tasks, suggesting that these are also affected by the context of the stimulus, potentially due to the role of individual differences on the psychological set at the moment of the stimulus presentation. The implications of these results for understanding the cognitive electrophysiology of reward processing are discussed. In summary, results of the current thesis suggest that the task structure and goals determine the meaning of the stimulus to an individual, leading to specific psychological sets. Any relations observed between ERP components, their sensitivity to the stimulus and individual differences are moderated by these psychological sets.
Anti-social Behaviour and Urban Configuration: Using Space Syntax to Understand Spatial Patterns of Socio-environmental Disorder

This paper explores spatial properties of urban environments in relation to the occurrence of antisocial behaviour (ASB). This is a new approach depart from previous research which considers ASB predominantly from the socio-economic perspective. ASB, in contrast to crime, is a phenomenon which lacks clear formal definition - its borders to 'normal' or acceptable behaviour on the one end of the spectrum and criminal behaviour on its other end are blurred. What is perceived as 'antisocial' by the individual is typically highly subjective and depends on the observer's personal background (age, cultural background, gender etc). Sensitivity to disorder is also dependent on the backdrop of the urban scene - certain behaviour appears acceptable in certain environments whereas in others it is not. Any data set of reported ASB incidents is therefore inherently affected not only by lack of definition / definability of ASB and the reporting and recording practices, but also biased by the type of urban environment in which it takes place. Our findings suggests that, controlling for social differences, that patterns of ASB incidents can be correlated to physical properties of the environment, if we consider the environment in terms of its syntactical properties. We find generic patterns of incidents in different types of spatial layouts. We suggest that these patterns can be explained in the light of co-presence for pedestrians on the street and surveillance from residential entrances on the streets, with ASB withdrawing from both. This links our work to findings in the research on crime, and also to findings in the field of the social sciences: our findings might contribute to an understanding how communities organise in space and become 'socially effective' against disorder and crime.
Effectiveness of a multifaceted podiatry intervention to prevent falls in community dwelling older people with disabling foot pain: randomised controlled trial

Objective To determine the effectiveness of a multifaceted podiatry intervention in preventing falls in community dwelling older people with disabling foot pain. Design Parallel group randomised controlled trial. Setting University health sciences clinic in Melbourne, Australia. Participants 305 community dwelling men and women (mean age 74 (SD 6) years) with disabling foot pain and an increased risk of falling. 153 were allocated to a multifaceted podiatry intervention and 152 to routine podiatry care, with 12 months’ follow-up. Interventions Multifaceted podiatry intervention consisting of foot orthoses, advice on footwear, subsidy for footwear ($A100 voucher; £65; €74), a home based programme of foot and ankle exercises, a falls prevention education booklet, and routine podiatry care for 12 months. The control group received routine podiatry care for 12 months. Main outcome measures Proportion of fallers and multiple fallers, falling rate, and injuries resulting from falls during follow-up. Results Overall, 264 falls occurred during the study. 296 participants returned all 12 calendars: 147 (96%) in the intervention group and 149 (98%) in the control group. Adherence was good, with 52% of the participants completing 75% or more of the requested three exercise sessions weekly, and 55% of those issued orthoses reporting wearing them most of the time. Participants in the intervention group (n=153) experienced 36% fewer falls than participants in the control group (incidence rate ratio 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.45 to 0.91, P=0.01). The proportion of fallers and multiple fallers did not differ significantly between the groups (relative risk 0.85, 0.66 to 1.08, P=0.19 and 0.63, 0.38 to 1.04, P=0.07). One fracture occurred in the intervention group and seven in the control group (0.14, 0.02 to 1.15, P=0.07). Significant improvements in the intervention group compared with the control group were found for the domains of strength (ankle eversion), range of motion (ankle dorsiflexion and inversion/eversion), and balance (postural sway on the floor when barefoot and maximum balance range wearing shoes). Conclusions A multifaceted podiatry intervention reduced the rate of falls in community dwelling older people with disabling foot pain. The components of the intervention are inexpensive and relatively simple to implement, suggesting that the programme could be incorporated into routine podiatry practice or multidisciplinary falls prevention clinics. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12608000065392.
The Two-Component Regulators GacS and GacA Influence Accumulation of the Stationary-Phase Sigma Factor ςS and the Stress Response in Pseudomonas fluorescensPf-5

ABSTRACT Three global regulators are known to control antibiotic production by Pseudomonas fluorescens. A two-component regulatory system comprised of the sensor kinase GacS (previously called ApdA or LemA) and GacA, a member of the FixJ family of response regulators, is required for antibiotic production. A mutation inrpoS, which encodes the stationary-phase sigma factor ςS, differentially affects antibiotic production and reduces the capacity of stationary-phase cells of P. fluorescens to survive exposure to oxidative stress. ThegacA gene of P. fluorescens Pf-5 was isolated, and the influence of gacS and gacA onrpoS transcription, ςS levels, and oxidative stress response of Pf-5 was determined. We selected a gacAmutant of Pf-5 that contained a single nucleotide substitution within a predicted α-helical region, which is highly conserved among the FixJ family of response regulators. At the entrance to stationary phase, ςS content in gacS and gacAmutants of Pf-5 was less than 20% of the wild-type level. Transcription of rpoS, assessed with anrpoS-lacZ transcriptional fusion, was positively influenced by GacS and GacA, an effect that was most evident at the transition between exponential growth and stationary phase. Mutations ingacS and gacA compromised the capacity of stationary-phase cells of Pf-5 to survive exposure to oxidative stress. The results of this study provide evidence for the predominant roles of GacS and GacA in the regulatory cascade controlling stress response and antifungal metabolite production in P. fluorescens.
Replicon RNA Viral Vectors as Vaccines

Single-stranded RNA viruses of both positive and negative polarity have been used as vectors for vaccine development. In this context, alphaviruses, flaviviruses, measles virus and rhabdoviruses have been engineered for expression of surface protein genes and antigens. Administration of replicon RNA vectors has resulted in strong immune responses and generation of neutralizing antibodies in various animal models. Immunization of mice, chicken, pigs and primates with virus-like particles, naked RNA or layered DNA/RNA plasmids has provided protection against challenges with lethal doses of infectious agents and administered tumor cells. Both prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy has been achieved in cancer immunotherapy. Moreover, recombinant particles and replicon RNAs have been encapsulated by liposomes to improve delivery and targeting. Replicon RNA vectors have also been subjected to clinical trials. Overall, immunization with self-replicating RNA viruses provides high transient expression levels of antigens resulting in generation of neutralizing antibody responses and protection against lethal challenges under safe conditions.