Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inferring common cognitive mechanisms from brain blood-flow lateralization data: a new methodology for fTCD analysis

Current neuroimaging techniques with high spatial resolution constrain participant motion so that many natural tasks cannot be carried out. The aim of this paper is to show how a time-locked correlation-analysis of cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) lateralization data, obtained with functional TransCranial Doppler (fTCD) ultrasound, can be used to infer cerebral activation patterns across tasks. In a first experiment we demonstrate that the proposed analysis method results in data that are comparable with the standard Lateralization Index (LI) for within-task comparisons of CBFV patterns, recorded during cued word generation (CWG) at two difficulty levels. In the main experiment we demonstrate that the proposed analysis method shows correlated blood-flow patterns for two different cognitive tasks that are known to draw on common brain areas, CWG, and Music Synthesis. We show that CBFV patterns for Music and CWG are correlated only for participants with prior musical training. CBFV patterns for tasks that draw on distinct brain areas, the Tower of London and CWG, are not correlated. The proposed methodology extends conventional fTCD analysis by including temporal information in the analysis of cerebral blood-flow patterns to provide a robust, non-invasive method to infer whether common brain areas are used in different cognitive tasks. It complements conventional high resolution imaging techniques.
Phylogeography and ecology of an endemic radiation of Hawaiian aquatic case-bearing moths (Hyposmocoma: Cosmopterigidae)

The endemic moth genus Hyposmocoma (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae) may be one of the most speciose and ecologically diverse genera in Hawaii. Among this diversity is the Hyposmocoma saccophora clade with previously unrecorded aquatic larvae. I present a molecular phylogeny based on 773 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 762 bp of the nuclear gene elongation factor 1-α. Topologies were constructed from data using maximum-parsimony, maximum-likelihood and Bayesian search criteria. Results strongly support the monophyly of the H. saccophora clade and the monophyly of the genus Hyposmocoma. The H. saccophora clade has single-island endemic species on Oahu, Molokai and West Maui. By contrast, there are three species endemic to Kauai, two being sympatric. The H. saccophora clade appears to follow the progression rule, with more basal species on older islands, including the most basal species on 11 Myr-old Necker Island, one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Aquatic behaviour either evolved recently in the species on the main Hawaiian Islands or was secondarily lost on the arid northwestern Necker Island. The phylogeny suggests that Hyposmocoma is older than any of the current main islands, which may, in part, explain Hyposmocoma's remarkable diversity.
Mass spectrometry-based analysis of whole-grain phytochemicals

ABSTRACT Whole grains are a rich source of several classes of phytochemicals, such as alkylresorcinols, benzoxazinoids, flavonoids, lignans, and phytosterols. A high intake of whole grains has been linked to a reduced risk of some major noncommunicable diseases, and it has been postulated that a complex mixture of phytochemicals works in synergy to generate beneficial health effects. Mass spectrometry, especially when coupled with liquid chromatography, is a widely used method for the analysis of phytochemicals owing to its high sensitivity and dynamic range. In this review, the current knowledge of the mass spectral properties of the most important classes of phytochemicals found in cereals of common wheat, barley, oats, and rye is discussed.
Bioavailability of Manufactured Nanomaterials in Terrestrial Ecosystems

OF DISSERTATION BIOAVAILABILITY OF MANUFACTURED NANOMATERIALS IN TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS Manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) from the rapidly increasing number of consumer products that contain MNMs are being discharged into waste streams. Increasing evidence suggests that several classes of MNMs may accumulate in sludge derived from wastewater treatment and ultimately in soil following land application as biosolids. Little research has been conducted to evaluate the impact of MNMs on terrestrial ecosystems, despite the fact that land application of biosolids from wastewater treatment will be a major pathway for the introduction of MNMs to the environment. To begin addressing this knowledge gap, we have conducted a series of experiments designed to test how bioavailable MNMs are to terrestrial ecoreceptors when exposed through a variety of pathways. First, we used the model organisms Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Xanthi (tobacco) and Triticum aestivum (wheat) to investigate plant uptake of 10, 30 and 50 nm diameter gold (Au) MNMs coated with either tannate (T-MNMs) or citrate (C-MNMs). Both C-MNMs and T-MNMs of each size treatment bioaccumulated in tobacco, but no bioaccumulation of MNMs was observed for any treatment in wheat. In a second exposure, we investigated the potential for bioaccumulation of MNMs from contaminated plant surfaces by a terrestrial secondary consumer, tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). We found that hornworms bioaccumulate Au MNMs, but that the assimilation efficiency of bioaccumulation was low. Hornworms eliminate ingested Au MNMs rapidly from 0-24 h, but very slowly from 1 d to 7 d. Finally, we used the model organisms tobacco and tobacco hornworm to investigate the potential for trophic transfer of Au MNMs. Biomagnification of Au MNMs was observed in the hornworms. We have demonstrated that MNMs of a wide range of size and with different surface chemistries are bioavailable to plants, that MNMs resuspended by wind, rain, biota, and mechanical disturbance from soil onto plant surfaces are bioavailable to terrestrial consumers, and that trophic transfer and biomagnification of plant accumulated MNMs can occur. These results have important implications for risks associated with nanotechnology, including the potential for human exposure
Generating Incidental Word-Learning Tasks via Topic-Based and Load-Based Profiles

Compared to intentional word learning, incidental word learning better motivates learners, integrates development of more language skills, and provides richer contexts. The effectiveness of incidental word learning tasks can also be increased by employing materials that learners are more familiar with or interested in. Here, the authors present a framework to generate incidental word learning tasks via load-based profiles measured through the involvement load hypothesis, and topic-based profiles obtained from social media. They also conduct an experiment on real participants and find that the proposed framework promotes more effective and enjoyable word learning than intentional word learning. This article is part of a special issue on social media for learning.
Density evolution-based analysis and design of LDPC codes with a priori information

In this paper, we consider multiple access schemes with correlated sources, where a priori information, in terms of source correlation, is available at the access point (AP). In particular, we assume that each source uses a proper low-density parity-check (LDPC) code to transmit, through an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel, its information sequence to the AP. At the AP, the information sequences are recovered by an iterative decoder, with component decoders associated with the sources, which exploit the available a priori information. In order to analyze the behaviour of the considered multiple access coded system, we propose a density evolution-based approach, which allows to determine a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) transfer chart and compute the system multi-dimensional SNR feasible region. The proposed technique, besides characterizing the performance of LDPC-coded multiple access scheme, is expedient to design optimized LDPC codes for this application.
Mineralogical characterization of clays used in the structural ceramic industry in west of S. Paulo State, Brazil

Plasticity and the grain-size distribution of the raw material used to make structural bricks and roof tiles are very important to the production process. These two parameters and the mineral composition will define the quality and properties of the final product: color, mechanical resistance, water absorption, cracks, swell and shrink during drying and firing the ceramic pieces etc. In the Brazilian ceramic industry it is very common to mix together two or more different kinds of raw material to achieve the ceramic mass with the desired grain-size distribution. The objective of this work was to characterize the raw material collected at the floodplains of the Parana and Paranapanema Rivers and the ceramic mass used by the ceramic industry in western Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Particle size distribution, organic matter and X-ray diffraction were used to study this material. The textural analysis indicates that the raw materials have the clay fraction ranging from 38.2% to 66.3%, the silt from 22.2% to 49.7% and the sand from 3.1% to 34.1%. The results indicate that all mixed raw materials have more clay in its composition than would be necessary. The organic matter ranges from 5 to 7%. All samples have kaolinite and many of them have smectites, HIV and mica. Gibbsite, iron and titanium oxides, and quartz are also identified. One of the samples (yellow) is rich in goethite.
Minimizing the Driving Distance in Ride Sharing Systems

Reducing the number of cars driving on roads is an important objective for smart sustainable cities, for reducing emissions and improving traffic flow. To assist with this aim, ride-sharing systems match intending drivers with prospective passengers. The matching problem becomes more complex when drivers can pick-up and drop-off several passengers, both drivers and passengers have to travel within a time-window and are willing to switch roles. We present a mixed integer programming model for this switching rider problem, with the objective of minimizing the total distance driven by the population. We exhibit how the potential saving in kilometers increases as the driver flexibility and the density of the distribution of participants increases. Further, we show how breaking symmetries among the switchers improves performance, gaining over an order of magnitude speed up in solving time, and allowing approximately 50% more participants to be handled in the same computation time.
Comparison of Wearable Activity Tracker with Actigraphy for Sleep Evaluation and Circadian Rest-Activity Rhythm Measurement in Healthy Young Adults

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of data obtained from a wearable activity tracker (Fitbit Charge HR) to medical research. This was performed by comparing the wearable activity tracker (Fitbit Charge HR) with actigraphy (Actiwatch 2) for sleep evaluation and circadian rest-activity rhythm measurement. Methods Sixteen healthy young adults (female participants, 62.5%; mean age, 22.8 years) wore the Fitbit Charge HR and the Actiwatch 2 on the same wrist; a sleep log was recorded over a 14-day period. We compared the sleep variables and circadian rest-activity rhythm measures with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and Spearman's correlations. Results The periods and acrophases of the circadian rest-activity rhythms and the sleep start times did not differ and correlated significantly between the Fitbit Charge HR and the Actiwatch 2. The Fitbit Charge HR tended to overestimate the sleep durations compared with the Actiwatch 2. However, the sleep durations showed high correlation between the two devices for all days. Conclusion We found that the Fitbit Charge HR showed high accuracy in sleep evaluation and circadian rest-activity rhythm measurement when compared with actigraphy for healthy young adults. The results suggest that the Fitbit Charge HR could be applicable on medical research as an alternative tool to actigraphy for sleep evaluation and measurement of the circadian rest-activity rhythm.
14 MEV NEUTRON IRRADIATION EFFECT ON CRITICAL CURRENT AND CRITCAL MAGNETIC FIELD OF NB3SN AND NB3AL WIRES

To investigate the effect of neutron irradiation on superconducting properties, a collaboration network was established among superconducting material engineering and neutronics fields. Within the framework, irradiation test of Nb3Sn and Nb3Al wires by 14 MeV fusion neutron was planned and carried out at Fusion Neutronics Source in Japan Atomic Energy Agency. After the irradiation, critical current and critical magnetic field were measured with 28 T hybrid magnet at Institute for Metals Research in Tohoku University. The irradiation to 3.52×1020 n/m2 showed a slight increase of the critical current of the Nb3Sn wire, and the irradiation to 1.78×1021 n/m2 made the critical current appreciably larger. Regarding the critical magnetic field, no clear change was observed. In the case of Nb3Al wire, a sample irradiated to 1.78×1021 n/m2 showed no increase of the critical current below 200 A which was the limit of the power supply. As for the critical magnetic field, there was no clear improvement similar to the.
Crystal structure of dUTPase from equine infectious anaemia virus; active site metal binding in a substrate analogue complex.

The X-ray structures of dUTPase from equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) in unliganded and complexed forms have been determined to 1.9 and 2.0 A resolution, respectively. The structures were solved by molecular replacement using Escherichia coli dUTPase as search model. The exploitation of a relatively novel refinement approach for the initial model, combining maximum likelihood refinement with stereochemically unrestrained updating of the model, proved to be of crucial importance and should be of general relevance.EIAV dUTPase is a homotrimer where each subunit folds into a twisted antiparallel beta-barrel with the N and C-terminal portions interacting with adjacent subunits. The C-terminal 14 and 17 amino acid residues are disordered in the crystal structure of the unliganded and complexed enzyme, respectively. Interactions along the 3-fold axis include a water-containing volume (size 207 A3) which has no contact with bulk solvent. It has earlier been shown that a divalent metal ion is essential for catalysis. For the first time, a putative binding site for such a metal ion, in this case Sr2+, is established. The positions of the inhibitor (the non-hydrolysable substrate analogue dUDP) and the metal ion in the complex are consistent with the location of the active centre established for trimeric dUTPase structures, in which subunit interfaces form three surface clefts lined with evolutionary conserved residues. However, a detailed comparison of the active sites of the EIAV and E. coli enzymes reveals some structural differences. The viral enzyme undergoes a small conformational change in the uracil-binding beta-hairpin structure upon dUDP binding not observed in the other known dUTPase structures.
TS-fuzzy predictor observer design for trajectory tracking of wheeled mobile robot

This paper presents a new technique for tracking-error model-based Parallel Distributed Compensation (PDC) control for non-holonomic vehicles. We take into account the delay in the outputs (measurements) in the case of a constant delay. Briefly, this technique consists of rewriting the kinematic error model of the mobile robot tracking problem into a TS fuzzy representation and finding a stabilizing controller by solving LMI conditions for the tracking-error model as it is presented in [1]. The state variables are estimated by a TS fuzzy predictor observer in order to compensate the delay produced by the sensor (camera in our case) and the stability of the observer is proved by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMI) conditions. To illustrate the efficiency of the proposed approach a comparison between the TS fuzzy observer and the nonlinear predictor observer is shown. For this study the reference trajectory is a C3 Bezier curve. All experiments are implemented on simulation.
Fracture at compression

Fracture processes under compressive loading are considered from two points of view: 1) specific fracture mechanisms at compression and their influence on the material strength and fracture resistance; 2) an influence of the geometric constraints on the stress-deformation state and fracture conditions of bodies (natural objects) with cracks and cracklike faults (in particular, effects of a crack surfaces contact, friction, loading hystory; features of thin bodies fracture).
Modeling and analysis of watchful sleep mode with different sleep period variation patterns in PON power management

Reducing power consumption in an access network has become an increasingly imperative design goal, due to the fact that information and telecommunication technologies contribute to an increasingly large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. The passive optical network (PON) is considered as the most attractive and promising technology to provide low-cost services to end users in a power-efficient way due to the passive nature of remote nodes. However, it is necessary to further reduce the energy consumption of PONs, with the wide deployment of PONs and the rapid growth of data transfer rates in PONs. In this paper, we focus on the watchful sleep mode with different sleep period variation patterns for multiple optical network units (ONUs). This is because, in the traditional operational mode, ONUs have to continually listen to and inspect traffic from the OLT and hence always remain active even when there is no/light traffic, which contributes to the majority of energy wastage to the PON. We first modeled the watchful sleep mode based on the Markov chain model in order to analyze the effect of each key parameter on system performances in terms of the energy-saving efficiency and data packet delay. Due to the fact that the sleep state is the key to power-saving, we designed four different sleep period variation patterns (e.g., constant, linear_1, linear_2, and exponential patterns) to study the impact of these different patterns on the integrated performance in terms of the normalized cost value. Through extensive simulations, we found that, in the watchful sleep mode, the effect of the number (n) of (sleep, listen) state pairs would be insignificant, and the effects of other parameters on the performances are analyzed comprehensively. The minimum normalized cost value can be obtained under the four different sleep period variation patterns, which represent the optimal trade-off between the above two conflicting performances indexes.
Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Injury-Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport scale to Persian language

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to develop and provide validation statistics for the Persian Injury-Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport scale (I-PRRS) following a cross-sectional and prospective cohort study design. The I-PRRS was forward/back-translated and culturally adapted into Persian language. The Persian I-PRRS was administered to 100 injured athletes (93 male; age 26.0 ± 5.6 years; time since injury 4.84 ± 6.4 months) and 50 healthy athletes (36 male; mean age 25.7 ± 6.0 years). The Persian I-PRRS was re-administered to 50 injured athletes at 1 week to examine test–retest reliability. There were no floor or ceiling effects confirming the content validity of Persian I-PRRS. The internal consistency reliability was good. Excellent test–retest reliability and agreement were demonstrated. The statistically significant difference in Persian I-PRRS total scores between the injured athletes and healthy athletes provides an evidence of discriminative validity. The Persian I-PRRS total scores were positively correlated with the Farsi Mood Scale (FARMS) total scores, showing construct validity. The principal component analysis indicated a two-factor solution consisting of “Confidence to play” and “Confidence in the injured body part and skill level”. The Persian I-PRRS showed excellent reliability and validity and can be used to assess injured athletes’ psychological readiness to return to sport among Persian-speaking populations.
Stresses in Adhesively Bonded Bi-Material Assemblies Used in Electronic Packaging

The magnitude and the distribution of stresses in elongated adhesively bonded bi-material assemblies subjected to uniform heating or cooling are determined and discussed. The suggested approach enables one to evaluate the stresses in the assembly components themselves, as well as the shearing and normal (peeling) stresses in the interface, with consideration of the attachment compliance. The case of an epoxy bonded assembly is used to illustrate the developed theory.
Energy Efficient TCP Transmission for IEEE 802.15.3 WPAN

Recently, ultra-wideband (UWB) technologies have attracted considerable attention for its capability, high data rate to achieve 480 Mbps, to wireless personal communications. In this paper, the problem of TCP and energy efficient transmission in IEEE 802.15. 3 WPAN based on UWB technologies are addressed. Also, a simple power-efficient scheme for TCP transmission in accordance with IEEE 802.15. 3 WPAN standard is proposed and NS2 is used for evaluating the performance of this proposal. The scheme design is driven by two major factors. The first one is that the scheme should provide high TCP throughput in a piconet and low end-to-end delay for TCP packets. The second one is that the scheme should be energy efficient since most mobile devices typically are powered by battery and have limited power capacity. In order to meet these requirements, the energy efficient design at the MAC layer and transport layer is taken into account by the proposed schema
Analytic Programming In The Task Of Evolutionary Synthesis Of The Robust Controller For Selected Discrete Chaotic Systems

This research deals with a utilization of a tool for symbolic regression, which is analytic programming, for the purpose of the synthesis of a new robust control law. This universal synthesized robust chaotic controller secures the fully stabilization of selected set of discrete chaotic systems. The paper consists of the descriptions of analytic programming as well as selected chaotic systems, used heuristic and cost function. For experimentation, Self-Organizing Migrating Algorithm (SOMA) and Differential evolution (DE) were used.
Birds of a feather, or friend of a friend? using exponential random graph models to investigate adolescent social networks*

In this article, we use newly developed statistical methods to examine the generative processes that give rise to widespread patterns in friendship networks. The methods incorporate both traditional demographic measures on individuals (age, sex, and race) and network measures for structural processes operating on individual, dyadic, and triadic levels. We apply the methods to adolescent friendship networks in 59 U.S. schools from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We model friendship formation as a selection process constrained by individuals’ sociality (propensity to make friends), selective mixing in dyads (friendships within race, grade, or sex categories are differentially likely relative to cross-category friendships), and closure in triads (a friend’s friends are more likely to become friends), given local population composition. Blacks are generally the most cohesive racial category, although when whites are in the minority, they display stronger selective mixing than do blacks when blacks are in the minority. Hispanics exhibit disassortative selective mixing under certain circumstances; in other cases, they exhibit assortative mixing but lack the higher-order cohesion common in other groups. Grade levels are always highly cohesive, while females form triangles more than males. We conclude with a discussion of how network analysis may contribute to our understanding of sociodemographic structure and the processes that create it.