Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal Profiles of Response Enhancement in Multisensory Integration

Animals have evolved multiple senses that transduce different forms of energy as a way of increasing their sensitivity to environmental events. Each sense provides a unique and independent perspective on the world, and very often a single event stimulates several of them. In order to make best use of the available information, the brain has also evolved the capacity to integrate information across the senses (“multisensory integration”). This facilitates the detection, localization, and identification of a given event, and has obvious survival value for the individual and the species. Multisensory responses in the superior colliculus (SC) evidence shorter latencies and are more robust at their onset. This is the phenomenon of initial response enhancement in multisensory integration, which is believed to represent a real time fusion of information across the senses. The present paper reviews two recent reports describing how the timing and robustness of sensory responses change as a consequence of multisensory integration in the model system of the SC.
Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking in Photovoltaic Systems—Emerging Architectures and Control Methods

The interest in distributed maximum power point tracking increases along with increasing deployment of photovoltaic generators and the constant pressure to reduce the cost of photovoltaic generated energy. Distributed maximum point tracking facilitates a significant boost of captured photovoltaic power. In this paper we compare different distributed maximum power point architectures, and categorize them into two main groups; those which process the entire generated power and partial power processing based architectures. The first ones are found to be easier to control while the second ones exhibit higher efficiency. Some delicate control issues are emphasized; a distinction is made between maximum power point tracking and negative feedback control. For systems consisting of multiple power processors, we derive the required number of maximum point tracking units and their adequate location within a global architecture. Only the right number of units guarantees extraction of the entire potential power as well as system stability. In contrary, we demonstrate how instability occurs due to a redundant control structure.
Japanese consumers' need for uniqueness

Purpose – This study sets out to examine the causal relationships among consumers' need for uniqueness, brand perceptions, and purchase intention of a US apparel brand among Japanese Generation Y consumers.Design/methodology/approach – A self‐administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 175 students enrolled at two Japanese metropolitan universities. A structural equation model using correlation matrix with maximum likelihood was estimated using LISREL 8.53. Findings – Japanese consumers' need for uniqueness consisted of avoidance of similarity, unpopular choice and creative choice. The consumers' need for uniqueness was negatively related to the perceived quality, whereas the creative choice was positively related to the emotional value in perceptions of the US apparel brand. The perceived quality decreased purchase intention, while the emotional value increased purchase intention.Research limitations/implications – This study was limited to students at two Japanese metropolitan universities a.
Evaluation of the damage detection capability of a sparse-array guided-wave SHM system applied to a complex structure under varying thermal conditions

A sparse-array structural health monitoring (SHM) system based on guided waves was applied to the door of a commercial shipping container. The door comprised a corrugated steel panel approximately 2.4 m by 2.4 m surrounded by a box beam frame and testing was performed in a nonlaboratory environment. A 3-D finite element (FE) model of the corrugations was used to predict transmission coefficients for the A0 and S0 modes across the corrugations as a function of incidence angle. The S0 mode transmission across the corrugations was substantially stronger, and this mode was used in the main test series. A sparse array with 9 transducers was attached to the structure, and signals from the undamaged structure were recorded at periodic intervals over a 3-week period, and the resulting signal database was used for temperature compensation of subsequent signals. Defects in the form of holes whose diameter was increased incrementally from 1 to 10 mm were introduced at 2 different points of the structure, and signals were taken for each condition. Direct analysis of subtracted signals allowed understanding of the defect detection capability of the system. Comparison of signals transmitted between different transducer pairs before and after damage was used to give an initial indication of defect detectability. Signals from all combinations of transducers were then used in imaging algorithms, and good localization of holes with a 5-mm diameter or above was possible within the sparse array, which covered half of the area of the structure.
A Pint for a Pound? Reevaluating the Relationship Between Minimum Drinking Age Laws and Birth Outcomes

Previous research documents a substantive, positive, correlation between the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) and birth outcomes. Using an improved empirical framework, we reach a different conclusion: there is little or no relationship between the minimum legal drinking age and the health of infants born to young mothers. We do, however, find that MLDA policies are associated with the sex ratio at birth. Our estimates suggest that raising the MLDA may reduce fetal losses.
Vena cava filters in cancer patients: experience with 50 patients.

OBJECTIVE To study the immediate and late results obtained from the implantation of vena cava filters in cancer patients with deep vein thrombosis concomitant with neoplasia. METHODS This was a retrospective evaluation of 50 patients with an association of cancer and deep venous thrombosis who underwent interruption of the inferior vena cava and the insertion of permanent vena cava filters. The indications for the procedure, filter implantation technique, early and late complications related to the operation, and the clinical evolution were evaluated. RESULTS The most frequent indication for filter implantation was the contraindication for full anticoagulant treatment (80%). The femoral vein was the preferred access route (86% of the patients). There were no complications related to the surgical procedure. During the follow-up, the following complications were observed: 1 episode of nonfatal pulmonary thromboembolism, 2 cases of occlusion of the inferior vena cava, and 1 case of thrombus retained in the device. Twenty patients (40%) died due to progression of the neoplasm. CONCLUSIONS Interruption of the inferior cava vein using an endoluminal filter is a procedure with a low rate of complications. It is a safe and efficient measure for preventing pulmonary embolism in cancer patients who have deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs.
The UCON ABC Usage Control Model JAEHONG

In this paper, we introduce the family of UCONABC models for usage control (UCON) which integrate Authorizations (A), oBligations (B), and Conditions (C). We call these core models because they address the essence of usage control, leaving administration, delegation and other important but second-order issues for later work. The term usage control is a generalization of access control to cover authorizations, obligations, conditions, continuity (ongoing controls) and mutability. Traditionally, access control has dealt only with authorization decisions on users’ access to target resources. Obligations are requirements that have to be fulfilled by obligation subjects for allowing access. Conditions are subject and object-independent environmental or system requirements that have to be satisfied for access. In today’s highly dynamic, distributed environment, obligations and conditions are also crucial decision factors for richer and finer controls on usage of digital resources. Although they have been discussed occasionally in recent literature, most authors have been motivated from specific target problems and thereby limited in their approaches. The UCONABC model integrates these diverse concepts in a unified framework. Traditional authorization decisions are generally made at the time of requests but hardly recognize ongoing controls for relatively long-lived access or for immediate revocation. Moreover, mutability issues that deal with updates on related subject or object attributes as a consequence of access have not been systematically studied. Unlike other studies that have targeted on specific problems or issues, the UCONABC model seeks to enrich and refine the access control discipline in its definition and scope. UCONABC covers traditional access controls such as mandatory, discretionary and role-based access control. Digital rights management and other modern access controls are also covered. UCONABC lays the foundation for next generation access controls that are required for today’s real world information and systems security. This paper articulates the core of this new area of usage control and develops several detailed models.
The Orthogonal Decomposition Theorems for Mimetic Finite Difference Methods

Accurate discrete analogs of differential operators that satisfy the identities and theorems of vector and tensor calculus provide reliable finite difference methods for approximating the solutions to a wide class of partial differential equations. These methods mimic many fundamental properties of the underlying physical problem including conservation laws, symmetries in the solution, and the nondivergence of particular vector fields (i.e., they are divergence free) and should satisfy a discrete version of the orthogonal decomposition theorem. This theorem plays a fundamental role in the theory of generalized solutions and in the numerical solution of physical models, including the Navier--Stokes equations and in electrodynamics. We are deriving mimetic finite difference approximations of the divergence, gradient, and curl that satisfy discrete analogs of the integral identities satisfied by the differential operators. We first define the natural discrete divergence, gradient, and curl operators based on coordinate invariant definitions, such as Gauss's theorem, for the divergence. Next we use the formal adjoints of these natural operators to derive compatible divergence, gradient, and curl operators with complementary domains and ranges of values. In this paper we prove that these operators satisfy discrete analogs of the orthogonal decomposition theorem and demonstrate how a discrete vector can be decomposed into two orthogonal vectors in a unique way, satisfying a discrete analog of the formula $\vec{A} = \ggrad \, \varphi + \curl \, \vec{B}$. We also present a numerical example to illustrate the numerical procedure and calculate the convergence rate of the method for a spiral vector field.
The WARPS Survey. III. The Discovery of an X-Ray Luminous Galaxy Cluster at z = 0.833 and the Impact of X-Ray Substructure on Cluster Abundance Measurements

The Wide Angle ROSAT Pointed Survey team reviews the properties and history of the discovery of Cl J0152.7-1357, an X-ray luminous, rich cluster of galaxies at a redshift of z = 0.833. At LX = 8 × 1044 h ergs s-1 (0.5-2.0 keV) Cl J0152.7-1357 is the most X-ray luminous cluster known at redshifts z > 0.55. The high X-ray luminosity of the system suggests that massive clusters may begin to form at redshifts considerably greater than unity. This scenario is supported by the high degree of optical and X-ray substructure in Cl J0152.7-1357, which is similarly complex as that of other X-ray-selected clusters at comparable redshift and consistent with the hypothesized picture of cluster formation by mass infall along large-scale filaments. X-ray emission from Cl J0152.7-1357 was detected already in 1980 with the Einstein IPC. However, because the complex morphology of the emission caused its significance to be underestimated, the corresponding source was not included in the cluster sample of the Einstein Extended Medium-Sensitivity Survey (EMSS) and hence was not previously identified. Simulations of the EMSS source detection and selection procedure performed by us suggest a general, mild bias of the EMSS cluster sample against X-ray luminous clusters with pronounced substructure. If highly unrelaxed, merging clusters are common at intermediate-to-high redshift (as is suggested by the current data), they could create a bias in some samples as the morphological complexity of mergers may cause them to fall below the flux limit of surveys that make the implicit or explicit assumption of a unimodal spatial source geometry. Conversely, the enhanced X-ray luminosity of mergers might cause them to, temporarily, rise above the flux limit. Either effect could lead to erroneous conclusions about the evolution of the comoving cluster space density. A high fraction of morphologically complex clusters at high redshift would also call into question the validity of evolutionary studies (and, specifically, cosmological conclusions) which implicitly or explicitly assume that the systems under investigation are virialized.
Robust control of horizontal formation dynamics for autonomous underwater vehicles

This paper presents a novel robust controller design for formation control of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). We consider a nonlinear three-degree-of-freedom dynamic model for the horizontal motion of each AUV. By using the Jacobi transform, the horizontal dynamics of AUVs are explicitly expressed as dynamics for formation shape and formation center, and are further decoupled by feedback control. We treat the coupling terms as perturbations to the decoupled system. An H∞ state feedback controller is designed to achieve robust stability of the closed loop formation and translation dynamics. By incorporating an orientation controller, the formation shape under control converges and the formation center tracks a desired trajectory simultaneously. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the controllers.
Information-theoretic analysis of molecular (co)evolution using graphics processing units

We present a massively-parallel implementation of the computation of (co)evolutionary signals from biomolecular sequence alignments based on mutual information (MI) and a normalization procedure to neutral evolution. The MI is computed for two- and three-point correlations within any multiple-sequence alignment. The high computational demand in the normalization procedure is efficiently met by an implementation on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) using NVIDIA's CUDA framework. GPU computation serves as an enabling technology here insofar as MI normalization is also possible using traditional computational methods but only GPU computation makes MI normalization for sequence analysis feasible in a statistically sufficient sample and in acceptable time. In particular, the normalization of the MI for three-point 'cliques' of amino acids or nucleotides requires large sampling numbers in the normalization, that can only be achieved using GPUs. We illustrate a) the computational efficiency and b) the biological usefulness of two- and three-point MI by an application to the well-known protein calmodulin. Here, we find striking coevolutionary patterns and distinct information on the molecular evolution of this molecule.
Cost-effectiveness studies of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines

The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is licensed in many countries for the prevention of pediatric pneumococcal disease. The vaccine is known to be highly immunogenic in infants and young children, and has been shown to be efficacious not only in decreasing disease in pediatric age groups but also in adults through herd immunity. Cost-effectiveness analyses of this vaccine have been performed in a number of countries. The present review compiles, summarizes and critiques these analyses. The range of values for cost-effectiveness, as measured in cost per life-years gained, in the studies reviewed, ranges from US$14,000 to $147,000 with one outlier at $504,000. For cost per quality-adjusted life years the range is US$26,000 to $66,000. Recommendations for the use of the vaccine will take account not only of these ratios but also of the absolute burden of disease. Performing cost-effectiveness analyses for healthcare interventions in infants and children is one means of redressing inequalities.
A Database for Handwritten Text Recognition Research

An image database for handwritten text recognition research is described. Digital images of approximately 5000 city names, 5000 state names, 10000 ZIP Codes, and 50000 alphanumeric characters are included. Each image was scanned from mail in a working post office at 300 pixels/in in 8-bit gray scale on a high-quality flat bed digitizer. The data were unconstrained for the writer, style, and method of preparation. These characteristics help overcome the limitations of earlier databases that contained only isolated characters or were prepared in a laboratory setting under prescribed circumstances. Also, the database is divided into explicit training and testing sets to facilitate the sharing of results among researchers as well as performance comparisons. >
Macrophage-lymphocyte interaction. II. Antigen-mediated physical interactions between immune guinea pig lymph node lymphocytes and syngeneic macrophages

The effect of specific antigen on the development of physical interactions between lymph node lymphocytes (LNL) obtained from animals which had been immunized to that antigen and macrophages was examined. We found that the presence of antigen, either limited to the macrophage () or free in the medium, profoundly increased the degree of ) or free in the medium, profoundly increased the degree of Mphi-LNL interaction observed. This enhanced interaction was dependent on the coincidence in the cultures of Mphi bearing antigen and LNL from animals specifically immunized to that antigen. Although antigen-independent interactions developed equally well between syngeneic and allogeneic combinations of lymphocytes and macrophages, antigen mediated interactions required that macrophages and lymphocytes be syngeneic. Prolongation of antigen- mediated Mphi-LNL interactions resulted in the induction of LNL DNA synthesis, initially involving those lymphocytes physically associated with antigen-bearing Mphi. These studies are interpreted to indicate that physical interaction between immune lymphocytes and antigen- bearing Mphi represents a morphological correlate of the functional activation of immune lymphocytes. Further, it is suggested that the physical events involved in lymphocyte proliferation may proceed sequentially from antigen-independent reversible binding of lymphocytes by macrophages to prolonged antigen-stabilized interaction eventuating in the triggering of specifically immune lymphocytes.
A LOCAL BASELINE OF THE BLACK HOLE MASS SCALING RELATIONS FOR ACTIVE GALAXIES. III. THE MBH–σ RELATION

We create a baseline of the black hole (BH) mass ( M BH ? > )—stellar-velocity dispersion (σ) relation for active galaxies, using a sample of 66 local ( 0.02 < z < 0.09 ? > ) Seyfert-1 galaxies, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Analysis of SDSS images yields AGN luminosities free of host-galaxy contamination, and morphological classification. 51/66 galaxies have spiral morphology. Out of these, 28 bulges have Sérsic index n < 2 ? > and are considered candidate pseudo-bulges, with eight being definite pseudo-bulges based on multiple classification criteria met. Only 4/66 galaxies show signs of interaction/merging. High signal-to-noise ratio Keck spectra provide the width of the broad Hβ emission line free of Fe ii emission and stellar absorption. AGN luminosity and Hβ line widths are used to estimate M BH ? > . The Keck-based spatially resolved kinematics is used to determine stellar-velocity dispersion within the spheroid effective radius ( &sgr; spat , reff ? > ). We find that σ can vary on average by up to 40% across definitions commonly used in the literature, emphasizing the importance of using self-consistent definitions in comparisons and evolutionary studies. The M BH ? > –σ relation for our Seyfert-1 galaxy sample has the same intercept and scatter as that of reverberation-mapped AGNs as well as that of quiescent galaxies, consistent with the hypothesis that our single epoch M BH ? > estimator and sample selection function do not introduce significant biases. Barred galaxies, merging galaxies, and those hosting pseudo-bulges do not represent outliers in the M BH ? > –σ relation. This is in contrast with previous work, although no firm conclusion can be drawn on this matter due to the small sample size and limited resolution of the SDSS images.
One, two, three . . . infinity: lower bounds for parallel computation

In this paper we compare the power of the two most commonly used concurrent-write models of parallel computation, the COMMON PRAM and the PRIORITY PRAM. These models differ in the way they resolve write conflicts. If several processors want to write into the same shared memory cell at the same time, in the COMMON model they have to write the same value. In the PRIORITY model, they may attempt to write different values; the processor with smallest index succeeds. We consider PRAM's with <italic>n</italic> processors, each having arbitrary computational power. We provide the first separation results between these two models in two extreme cases: when the size <italic>m</italic> of the shared memory is small (<italic>m</italic> ≤ <italic>n</italic><supscrpt>ε</supscrpt>, ε < 1), and when it is infinite. In the case of small memory, the PRIORITY model can be faster than the COMMON model by a factor of &THgr;(log <italic>n</italic>), and this lower bound holds even if the COMMON model is probabilistic. In the case of infinite memory, the gap between the models can be a factor of &OHgr;(log log log <italic>n</italic>). We develop new proof techniques to obtain these results. The technique used for the second lower bound is strong enough to establish the first tight time bounds for the PRIORITY model, which is the strongest parallel computation model. We show that finding the maximum of <italic>n</italic> numbers requires &THgr;(log log <italic>n</italic>) steps, generalizing a result of Valiant for parallel computation trees.
Targeting Costimulatory Molecules to Improve Antitumor Immunity

The full activation of T cells necessitates the concomitant activation of two signals, the engagement of T-cell receptor by peptide/major histocompatibility complex II and an additional signal delivered by costimulatory molecules. The best characterized costimulatory molecules belong to B7/CD28 and TNF/TNFR families and play crucial roles in the modulation of immune response and improvement of antitumor immunity. Unfortunately, tumors often generate an immunosuppressive microenvironment, where T-cell response is attenuated by the lack of costimulatory molecules on the surface of cancer cells. Thus, targeting costimulatory pathways represent an attractive therapeutic strategy to enhance the antitumor immunity in several human cancers. Here, latest therapeutic approaches targeting costimulatory molecules will be described.