Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-Voltage Wireless Analog CMOS Circuits toward 0.5 V Operation

This paper introduces several techniques for achieving RF and analog CMOS circuits for wireless communication systems under ultra-low-voltage supply, such as 0.5V. Forward body biasing and inverter-based circuit techniques were applied in the design of a feedforward Δ-Σ A/D modulator operating with a 0.5V supply. Transformer utilization is also presented as an inductor area reduction technique. In addition, application of stochastic resonance to A/D conversion is discussed as a future technology.
Density Sensitive Hashing

Nearest neighbor search is a fundamental problem in various research fields like machine learning, data mining and pattern recognition. Recently, hashing-based approaches, for example, locality sensitive hashing (LSH), are proved to be effective for scalable high dimensional nearest neighbor search. Many hashing algorithms found their theoretic root in random projection. Since these algorithms generate the hash tables (projections) randomly, a large number of hash tables (i.e., long codewords) are required in order to achieve both high precision and recall. To address this limitation, we propose a novel hashing algorithm called density sensitive hashing (DSH) in this paper. DSH can be regarded as an extension of LSH. By exploring the geometric structure of the data, DSH avoids the purely random projections selection and uses those projective functions which best agree with the distribution of the data. Extensive experimental results on real-world data sets have shown that the proposed method achieves better performance compared to the state-of-the-art hashing approaches.
What Would Socrates Say

My greatest fear about 21st century education is that Socrates' humility will be turned on its head. The noted philosopher once said, "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance. " My fear is that instead of knowing nothing except the fact of our own ignorance, we will know everything except the fact of our own ignorance. Google has given us the world at our fingertips, but speed and ubiquity are not the same as actually knowing something. Think of learning as a continuum of cognitive and expressive experiences that range from gathering data for the purpose of understanding the world; to organizing data into useful and coherent informational patterns; to applying information to real questions and problems and, in the process, creating knowledge; to developing wisdom that offers the hope of transcendent unity. As our minds travel along this learning continuum, our understanding and depth of awareness grow, reshape themselves, and continue to evolve. At the same time, the great unexpected disrupters—imagination, spontaneity, and revelation—enable us to see the world differently and change it. Socrates believed that we learn best by asking essential questions and testing tentative answers against reason and fact in a continual and virtuous circle of honest debate. We need to approach the contemporary knowledge explosion and the technologies propelling this new enlightenment in just that manner. Otherwise, the great knowledge and communication tsunami of the 21st century may drown us in a sea of trivia instead of lifting us up on a rising tide of possibility and promise.
Temporal binding in causal and non-causal event sequences

The malleability of our subjective perception of time has recently received a great amount of empirical attention with respect to the Temporal Binding of intentional actions to their subsequent effects (e.g. Haggard, Clark & Kalogeras, 2002). Given the number of studies utilizing the venerable Libet clock method, this thesis presents several novel methods for the investigation of the Temporal Binding phenomenon. Firstly, five experiments requiring the numerical estimation of intervals between operant action and subsequent effect, as well as intervals between superficially identical (based on stimulus properties) observed sequences showed that participants judged operant intervals to be shorter than relative observed intervals. This effect existed at intervals far longer than those previously reported (Haggard et al., 2002), whilst demonstrating a pattern of results similar to previous studies involving hypothesized changes of internal clock speeds (e.g. Penton-Voak, Edwards, Percival, & Wearden, 1996). This shortening of the reported interval between cause and effect also occurred when numerical estimation was replaced with the reproduction of the inter-event interval. Having demonstrated a Temporal Binding effect with these novel methods, I then investigate the Causality based explanation of Eagleman & Holcombe (2002), employing keypress timings as an indicator of the perceived timing of the awareness of events. In three experiments, when both conditions involve intentional action, a Binding effect only occurs when this intentional action results in a caused effect. Having thus demonstrated that Causality is an essential pre-requisite of Temporal Binding, two experiments involving the judgment of the length of an object between two classic Michottean launching stimuli show shorter reported lengths for causally related (instantaneous launch) relative to unrelated (delayed launch) trials. I therefore argue that Binding is an online process that influences our perception of the relationship between causal action and effect in both temporal and spatial domains.
Evaluation of spinosad in a two-generation dietary reproduction study using Sprague-Dawley rats.

Spinosad, an insecticide derived from a naturally occurring bacterium via fermentation, represents a new class of insecticides acting by a novel mode of action. A dietary study was conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats in which groups of 30 rats/sex/dosage level were given diets that provided 0, 3, 10, or 100 mg spinosad/kg body weight/day, 7 days/week, for 2 successive generations. Following 10 weeks of dietary exposure, the P1 generation was mated twice to produce F1a and F1b litters. After weaning, groups of 30 rats/sex/dosage level were selected from the F1a litters, given diets containing spinosad for 12 weeks, and mated to produce the F2 generation. Dietary administration of spinosad to rats at a dosage of 100 mg/kg/day over 2 generations produced parental toxicity and effects on the offspring. Among adult males, body weights and weight gains were decreased 2-9% relative to controls, with P1 males more affected than P2. Absolute and relative liver, kidney, heart, spleen, and thyroid weights were increased by from 12% to as much as 240% of control values. Histologic changes consistent with cationic amphiphilic compounds were noted in the kidneys, lungs, mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, and thyroid of P1 and P2 males and females. In females given 100 mg/kg/day, though premating body weights were not affected, weight gains during the F1a and F1b gestation periods were depressed 15-16%. Increased incidences of dystocia, and vaginal bleeding and mortality occurred during parturition and lactation at 100 mg/kg/day. Effects on the offspring (decreased litter size and survival through day 4 of lactation) were limited to the high-dosage group. Signs indicative of poor maternal care noted in the pups (stomachs void of milk, cold, thin, etc.) were observed at 100 mg/kg/day. Early postnatal effects on the offspring were considered likely secondary to the effects in maternal animals around the time of parturition. At 100 mg/kg/day, weight gain in pups was depressed throughout lactation, with statistically significantly decreased weights noted toward the latter half of the lactation period. There were no treatment-related effects on adults or their offspring at 3 or 10 mg/kg/day in either generation. Based on these results, spinosad is not considered a selective reproductive toxicant, (i.e., no effects on reproductive parameters were noted below a level that produced toxicity in the adults) and the no observed effect level (NOEL) for both parental and reproductive/perinatal toxicity was 10 mg/kg/day.
Purification and characterization of an arginine-specific carboxypeptidase from Mycoplasma salivarium

The carboxypeptidase which had been shown to be present exclusively in nonfermentative mycoplasmas was found to be associated with cell membranes of Mycoplasma salivarium. The enzyme was released from the membranes with Triton X-100 and purified by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel, affinity chromatography on arginine-Sepharose 4B, and chromatofocusing. The purified enzyme had a molecular mass of 218 kilodaltons, as estimated by gel filtration through Sepharose CL-6B, and yielded one band of activity in analytical disc-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis performed in the presence of 0.5% (wt/vol) Triton X-100. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme treated in the presence or absence of 2-mercaptoethanol revealed one band with a molecular mass of 87 kilodaltons. The enzyme catalyzed selectively the cleavage of the C-terminal arginine residue of peptides such as N-benzoylglycyl-L-arginine, tuftsin, and bradykinin and was inhibited considerably by o-phenanthroline and EDTA but only slightly by NiCl2. The inhibition of the enzyme by EDTA was fully reversed by the addition of ZnCl2, whereas the addition of CoCl2 activated the enzyme.
The M 2 muscarinic receptor mediates in vitro bladder contractions from patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction

Pontari, Michel A. , Alan S. Braverman, and Michael R. Ruggieri, Sr. The M2 muscarinic receptor mediates in vitro bladder contractions from patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 286: R874–R880, 2004. First published January 29, 2004; 10.1152/ajpregu.00391. 2003. —Bladder muscle specimens from seven patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction were analyzed to determine whether the muscarinic receptor subtype mediating contraction shifts from M3 to the M2 subtype as found in the denervated, hypertrophied rat bladder. Seven bladder specimens were analyzed from six female and one male patients. Six of the patients had traumatic cervical spinal cord injuries (C4–C7), and the other patient had an L1 congenital myelomeningocele. This was compared with results from bladder specimens obtained from eight organ transplant donors. The affinities of three subtype-selective muscarinic receptor antagonists for inhibition of carbachol-induced contractions were determined. The affinity of the M3 selective antagonists darifenacin or p-fluoro-hexahydrosiladifenadol (p-F-HHSiD) was determined in six of the seven spinal injury patient specimens. The affinity was consistent with M2-mediated contractions in four of these six specimens, intermediate between M2 and M3 in one specimen, and within the M3 range in one specimen. The other specimen, tested only with the M2 selective antagonist methoctramine, showed an M3 affinity. In the organ donors, the affinity of p-F-HHSiD was within the M2 range for six of seven specimens, whereas the affinity of darifenacin was within the M3 range for five of six and intermediate between M2 and M3 for the other specimen tested. The affinity of methoctramine in both organ donor specimens tested was within the M3 range. Whereas normal detrusor contractions are mediated by the M3 receptor subtype, in patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction as well as certain organ transplant donors, contractions can be mediated by the M2 muscarinic receptor subtype.
Growing Together and Growing Apart: Regional and Sex Differences in the Lifespan Developmental Trajectories of Functional Homotopy

Functional homotopy, the high degree of synchrony in spontaneous activity between geometrically corresponding interhemispheric (i.e., homotopic) regions, is a fundamental characteristic of the intrinsic functional architecture of the brain. However, despite its prominence, the lifespan development of the homotopic resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the human brain is rarely directly examined in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Here, we systematically investigated age-related changes in homotopic RSFC in 214 healthy individuals ranging in age from 7 to 85 years. We observed marked age-related changes in homotopic RSFC with regionally specific developmental trajectories of varying levels of complexity. Sensorimotor regions tended to show increasing homotopic RSFC, whereas higher-order processing regions showed decreasing connectivity (i.e., increasing segregation) with age. More complex maturational curves were also detected, with regions such as the insula and lingual gyrus exhibiting quadratic trajectories and the superior frontal gyrus and putamen exhibiting cubic trajectories. Sex-related differences in the developmental trajectory of functional homotopy were detected within dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann areas 9 and 46) and amygdala. Evidence of robust developmental effects in homotopic RSFC across the lifespan should serve to motivate studies of the physiological mechanisms underlying functional homotopy in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.
Patterns and factors affecting dental utilisation among adolescents in Sri Lanka.

AIM To determine the patterns and factors affecting dental utilisation by adolescents in Sri Lanka. DESIGN The information was collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. SETTING Ten randomly selected secondary schools. PARTICIPANTS A total of 492 Year 11 students of which 257 were from urban and 235 were from rural schools. RESULTS Sixty one per cent of the rural and 54% of the urban students had used dental services. There was a significant difference in the care providers and the types of treatment received at the previous visit between the urban and the rural students. A majority of students in both groups utilised dental services for symptomatic reasons. According to logistic regression analysis, those students who had received advice about oral health were 1.9 times more likely to have used dental services than those who had not received advice. Also, female students were 1.5 times more likely to have used dental services than males. CONCLUSIONS Utilisation of dental services was low in adolescents and was mainly related to symptomatic reasons. Gender, perceived need and whether the adolescents had received information about oral health were significant predictors of utilisation of dental services by adolescents in Sri Lanka.
Retroviral GAG proteins recruit AGO2 on viral RNAs without affecting RNA accumulation and translation

Cellular micro(mi)RNAs are able to recognize viral RNAs through imperfect micro-homologies. Similar to the miRNA-mediated repression of cellular translation, this recognition is thought to tether the RNAi machinery, in particular Argonaute 2 (AGO2) on viral messengers and eventually to modulate virus replication. Here, we unveil another pathway by which AGO2 can interact with retroviral mRNAs. We show that AGO2 interacts with the retroviral Group Specific Antigen (GAG) core proteins and preferentially binds unspliced RNAs through the RNA packaging sequences without affecting RNA stability or eliciting translation repression. Using RNAi experiments, we provide evidences that these interactions, observed with both the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) and the primate foamy virus 1 (PFV-1), are required for retroviral replication. Taken together, our results place AGO2 at the core of the retroviral life cycle and reveal original AGO2 functions that are not related to miRNAs and translation repression.
Development of a novel robotic catheter system for endovascular minimally invasive surgery

Utilizing catheters with unchangeable distal tip, traditional endovascular minimally invasive surgery is manually performed by surgeons present in an operating room filled with X-ray radiation. It has many disadvantages, such as poor maneuverability, radiation injury and undesirable interactivity, Thus it is difficult to guarantee the safety and efficiency. In order to improve these limitations, this paper develops a novel robotic catheter system with master-slave control, including the steerable catheter integrated with two magnetic tracking sensors, interventional mechanisms with force feedback and 3D guiding image with the collision test. The results demonstrate that the constructed system can reduce the usage of X-rays; surgeons can be located in the control room away from the operating room in the master-slave way; catheterization can be performed successfully and safely to the target point with high maneuverability.
Neurocysticercosis and Epilepsy

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a biological marker of poverty and underdevelopment [1]. The frequency of this brain parasitic disease is probably high worldwide, as well as epilepsy; however, little is known about the natural history of the infection in humans. Both, NCC and epilepsy, are an increasing burden on the welfare and economy of developing countries [2]. This is why knowledge of these diseases should be improved, in order to prevent them.
Motivational interviewing in the treatment of psychological problems

Arkowitz, Miller, Learning, Applying, and Extending Motivational Interviewing. Westra, Dozois, Integrating Motivational Interviewing into the Treatment of Anxiety. Murphy, Enhancing Combat Veterans' Motivation to Change Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Other Problem Behaviors. Tolin, Maltby, Motivating Treatment-refusing Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Zuckoff, Swartz, Grote, Motivational Interviewing as a Prelude to Psychotherapy of Depression. Arkowitz, Burke, Motivational Interviewing as an Integrative Framework for the Treatment of Depression. Zerler, Motivational Interviewing and Suicidality. Treasure, Schmidt, Motivational Interviewing in the Management of Eating Disorders. Hodgins, Diskin, Motivational Interviewing and the Treatment of Problem and Pathological Gambling. McCracken, Corrigan, Motivational Interviewing for Medication Adherence in Individuals with Schizophrenia. Martino, Moyers, Motivational Interviewing with Dually Diagnosed Patients. Farbring, Johnson, Motivational Interviewing in the Correctional System: An Attempt to Implement Motivational Interviewing in Criminal Justice. Arkowitz, Miller, Westra, Rollnick, Motivational Interviewing in the Treatment of Psychological Problems: Conclusions and Future Directions.
Carnivore Repatriation and Holarctic Prey: Narrowing the Deficit in Ecological Effectiveness

Abstract: The continuing global decline of large carnivores has catalyzed great interest in reintroduction to restore populations and to reestablish ecologically functional relationships. I used variation in the distribution of four Holarctic prey species and their behavior as proxies to investigate the pace and intensity by which responses are lost or reinvigorated by carnivore repatriation. By simulating the presence of wolves (Canis lupus), tigers (Panthera tigris), and brown bears (Ursus arctos) at 19 transcontinental sites, I assayed three metrics of prey performance in areas with no large terrestrial carnivores (the polar islands of Greenland and Svalbard), extant native carnivores (Eastern Siberian Shield, boreal Canada, and Alaska); and repatriated carnivores (the Yellowstone region and Rocky Mountains). The loss and reestablishment of large carnivores changed the ecological effectiveness of systems by (1) dampening immediate group benefits, diminishing awareness, and diminishing flight reaction in caribou (Rangifer tarandus) where predation was eliminated and (2) reinstituting sensitivity to carnivores by elk (Cervus elaphus) and moose (Alces alces) in the Yellowstone region to levels observed in Asian elk when sympatric with Siberian tigers and wolves or in Alaskan moose sympatric with wolves. Behavioral compensation to reintroduced carnivores occurred within a single generation, but only the vigilance reaction of bison (Bison bison) in Yellowstone exceeded that of their wolf‐exposed conspecifics from boreal Canada. Beyond these overt responses by prey, snow depth and distance to suitably vegetated habitat was related to heightened vigilance in moose and elk, respectively, but only at sites with carnivores. These findings are insufficient to determine whether similar patterns might apply to other species or in areas with alien predators, and they suggest that the presumed excessive vulnerability of naïve prey to repatriated carnivores may be ill‐founded. Although behavior offers a proxy to evaluate ecological effectiveness, a continuing challenge will be to understand how naïve prey respond to novel or introduced predators.
A Tripartite Interaction Among the Calcium Channel α1- and β-Subunits and F-Actin Increases the Readily Releasable Pool of Vesicles and Its Recovery After Depletion

Neurotransmitter release is initiated by the influx of Ca2+ via voltage-gated calcium channels. The accessory β-subunit (CaVβ) of these channels shapes synaptic transmission by associating with the pore-forming subunit (CaVα1) and up-regulating presynaptic calcium currents. Besides CaVα1, CaVβ interacts with several partners including actin filaments (F-actin). These filaments are known to associate with synaptic vesicles (SVs) at the presynaptic terminals and support their translocation within different pools, but the role of CaVβ/F-actin association on synaptic transmission has not yet been explored. We here study how CaVβ4, the major calcium channel β isoform in mamalian brain, modifies synaptic transmission in concert with F-actin in cultured hippocampal neurons. We analyzed the effect of exogenous CaVβ4 before and after pharmacological disruption of the actin cytoskeleton and dissected calcium channel-dependent and -independent functions by comparing the effects of the wild-type subunit with the one bearing a double mutation that impairs binding to CaVα1. We found that exogenously expressed wild-type CaVβ4 enhances spontaneous and depolarization-evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) without altering synaptogenesis. CaVβ4 increases the size of the readily releasable pool (RRP) of SVs at resting conditions and accelerates their recovery after depletion. The enhanced neurotransmitter release induced by CaVβ4 is abolished upon disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. The CaVα1 association-deficient CaVβ4 mutant associates with actin filaments, but neither alters postsynaptic responses nor the time course of the RRP recovery. Furthermore, this mutant protein preserves the ability to increase the RRP size. These results indicate that the interplay between CaVβ4 and F-actin also support the recruitment of SVs to the RRP in a CaVα1-independent manner. Our studies show an emerging role of CaVβ in determining SV maturation toward the priming state and its replenishment after release. We envision that this subunit plays a role in coupling exocytosis to endocytosis during the vesicle cycle.
Jury Representativeness: A Mandate for Multiple Source Lists

Most of the unrepresentativeness in our jury systems is attributable to the unrepresentativeness of the source lists, which are usually compiled only from voter registration lists. This Article argues that the Constitution mandates representative and inclusive jury selection processes. It attempts to quantify standards for inclusiveness and representativeness, and suggests inexpensive means by which these goals can be achieved through the use of multiple lists.
Knowledge-Rich Word Sense Disambiguation Rivaling Supervised Systems

One of the main obstacles to high-performance Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) is the knowledge acquisition bottleneck. In this paper, we present a methodology to automatically extend WordNet with large amounts of semantic relations from an encyclopedic resource, namely Wikipedia. We show that, when provided with a vast amount of high-quality semantic relations, simple knowledge-lean disambiguation algorithms compete with state-of-the-art supervised WSD systems in a coarse-grained all-words setting and outperform them on gold-standard domain-specific datasets.