Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unveiling gender differences in psychophysiological dynamics: support for a two-dimensional autonomic space approach

Introduction To date, studies focusing on the connection between psychological functioning and autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity usually adopted the one-dimensional model of autonomic balance, according to which activation of one branch of the ANS is accompanied by an inhibition of the other. However, the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches also activate independently; thus, co-activation and co-inhibition may occur, which is demonstrated by a two-dimensional model of ANS activity. Here, we apply such models to assess how markers of the autonomic space relate to several critical psychological constructs: emotional contagion (EC), general anxiety, and positive and negative affect (PA and NA). We also examined gender differences in those psychophysiological relations. Methods In the present study, we analyzed data from 408 healthy students, who underwent a 5-min group baseline period as part of their participation in several experiments and completed self-reported questionnaires. Electrocardiogram (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), and respiration were recorded. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), pre-ejection period (PEP), as well as cardiac autonomic balance (CAB) and regulation (CAR) and cross-system autonomic balance (CSAB) and regulation (CSAR), were calculated. Results Notably, two-dimensional models were more suitable for predicting and describing most psychological constructs. Gender differences were found in psychological and physiological aspects as well as in psychophysiological relations. Women's EC scores were negatively correlated with sympathetic activity and positively linked to parasympathetic dominance. Men's PA and NA scores were positively associated with sympathetic activity. PA in men also had a positive link to an overall activation of the ANS, and a negative link to parasympathetic dominance. Discussion The current results expand our understanding of the psychological aspects of the autonomic space model and psychophysiological associations. Gender differences and strengths and weaknesses of alternative physiological models are discussed.
Evolving virtual creatures

This paper describes a novel system for creating virtual creatures that move and behave in simulated three-dimensional physical worlds. The morphologies of creatures and the neural systems for controlling their muscle forces are both generated automatically using genetic algorithms. Different fitness evaluation functions are used to direct simulated evolutions towards specific behaviors such as swimming, walking, jumping, and following. A genetic language is presented that uses nodes and connections as its primitive elements to represent directed graphs, which are used to describe both the morphology and the neural circuitry of these creatures. This genetic language defines a hyperspace containing an indefinite number of possible creatures with behaviors, and when it is searched using optimization techniques, a variety of successful and interesting locomotion strategies emerge, some of which would be difficult to invent or built by design.
Fixed-outline thermal-aware 3D floorplanning

In this paper, we present a novel algorithm for 3D floorplanning with fixed outline constraints and a particular emphasis on thermal awareness. A computationally efficient thermal model that can be used to guide the thermal-aware floorplanning algorithm to reduce the peak temperature is proposed. We also present a novel white space redistribution algorithm to dissipate hotspot. Thermal through-silicon via (TSV) insertion is performed during the floorplanning process as a means to control the peak temperature. Experimental results are very promising and demonstrate that the proposed floorplanning algorithm has a high success rate at meeting the fixed-outline constraints while effectively limiting the rise in peak temperature.
Tumor-targeted in vivo gene silencing via systemic delivery of cRGD-conjugated siRNA

RNAi technology is taking strong position among the key therapeutic modalities, with dozens of siRNA-based programs entering and successfully progressing through clinical stages of drug development. To further explore potentials of RNAi technology as therapeutics, we engineered and tested VEGFR2 siRNA molecules specifically targeted to tumors through covalently conjugated cyclo(Arg-Gly-Asp-d-Phe-Lys[PEG-MAL]) (cRGD) peptide, known to bind αvβ3 integrin receptors. cRGD-siRNAs were demonstrated to specifically enter and silence targeted genes in cultured αvβ3 positive human cells (HUVEC). Microinjection of zebrafish blastocysts with VEGFR2 cRGD-siRNA resulted in specific inhibition of blood vessel growth. In tumor-bearing mice, intravenously injected cRGD-siRNA molecules generated no innate immune response and bio-distributed to tumor tissues. Continuous systemic delivery of two different VEGFR2 cRGD-siRNAs resulted in down-regulation of corresponding mRNA (55 and 45%) and protein (65 and 45%) in tumors, as well as in overall reduction of tumor volume (90 and 70%). These findings demonstrate strong potential of cRGD-siRNA molecules as anti-tumor therapy.
Variable-length coding of ACELP gain using Entropy-Constrained VQ

We designed variable length code for the vector quantization (VQ) gain parameter of the Algebraic Code-Excited Linear Prediction (ACELP) speech coding scheme, aiming at reduction of bit rate and distortion in the environment of IP communication. The code index is selected taking both quantization distortion and average code length into consideration. The VQ tables has been trained by the algorithm based on Entropy-Constrained VQ (ECVQ). It has been shown that this scheme can keep the quality and reduce the average bit rate by 0.2 kbit/s when applied to the state-of-the-art speech coding standard ITU-T G.718.
Experimental investigation of computed tomography sound velocity reconstruction using incomplete data

An approach for reconstructing the sound velocity distribution in the breast was previously proposed and verified by simulations, and the present study investigated the approach experimentally. The experimental setup comprised a 5-MHz, 128-channel linear array, a programmable digital array system, a phantom containing objects with differing physical properties, and a computer. The array system was used to collect channel data for simultaneous B-mode image formation and limited-angle tomographic sound velocity reconstruction. The phantom was constructed from materials mimicking the following tissues in the breast: glandular tissue, fat, cysts, high-attenuation tumors, and irregular tumors. The sound velocities in these materials matched those in the corresponding real tissues. The imaging setup is similar to that of X-ray mammography, in which a linear array is placed at the top of the breast and a metal plate is placed at the bottom for reflecting sound waves. Thus, both B-mode images and the sound velocity distribution can be acquired using the same setup. An algorithm based on a convex programming formulation was used to reconstruct the sound velocity images. By scanning the phantom at different positions, nine cases were evaluated. In each of the nine cases, the image object comprised a background (glandular tissue) and one or three regions of interest (fat, tumor, or cyst). The sound velocity was accurately estimated in the nine cases evaluated, with sound velocity errors being less than 5 m/s in 8 of 11 regions of interest. Thus, obtaining the sound velocity distribution is feasible with a B-mode imaging setup using linear arrays. Knowledge of the sound velocity distribution in the breast can be used to complement B-mode imaging and to enhance the detection of breast cancer.
Cytotoxicity and Multi-Enzyme Inhibition of Nepenthes miranda Stem Extract on H838 Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells and RPA32, Elastase, Tyrosinase, and Hyaluronidase Proteins

The carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes have long been known for their ethnobotanical applications. In this study, we prepared various extracts from the pitcher, stem, and leaf of Nepenthes miranda using 100% ethanol and assessed their inhibitory effects on key enzymes related to skin aging, including elastase, tyrosinase, and hyaluronidase. The cytotoxicity of the stem extract of N. miranda on H838 human lung carcinoma cells were also characterized by effects on cell survival, migration, proliferation, apoptosis induction, and DNA damage. The cytotoxic efficacy of the extract was enhanced when combined with the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), indicating a synergistic effect. Flow cytometry analysis suggested that the stem extract might suppress H838 cell proliferation by inducing G2 cell cycle arrest, thereby inhibiting carcinoma cell proliferation. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) enabled the tentative identification of the 15 most abundant compounds in the stem extract of N. miranda. Notably, the extract showed a potent inhibition of the human RPA32 protein (huRPA32), critical for DNA replication, suggesting a novel mechanism for its anticancer action. Molecular docking studies further substantiated the interaction between the extract and huRPA32, highlighting bioactive compounds, especially the two most abundant constituents, stigmast-5-en-3-ol and plumbagin, as potential inhibitors of huRPA32’s DNA-binding activity, offering promising avenues for cancer therapy. Overall, our findings position the stem extract of N. miranda as a promising source of natural compounds for anticancer therapeutics and anti-skin-aging treatments, warranting further investigation into its molecular mechanisms and potential clinical applications.
Improved Design and Analysis of Self-Powered Synchronized Switch Interface Circuit for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems

In piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH), with the use of the technique named synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI), the harvesting efficiency can be greatly enhanced. Furthermore, the introduction of its self-powered feature makes this technique more applicable for stand-alone systems. In this paper, a modified circuit and an improved analysis for the self-powered SSHI (SP-SSHI) are proposed. With the modified circuit, direct peak detection and better isolation among different units within the circuit are achieved, both of which result in the further removal on the dissipative components. In the improved analysis, details in the open circuit voltage, switching phase lag, and intermediate voltages among different phases are discussed, all of which lead to a better understanding on the working principle of SP-SSHI. The total power dissipation from the piezoelectric source is also investigated. It is of concern but has not been considered in the previous literatures. Both analyses and experiments show that, in terms of the harvested power, the higher the excitation level, the closer between SP-SSHI and ideal (externally powered) SSHI; at the same time, the more beneficial the adoption of SP-SSHI treatment in PEH, compared to the standard energy harvesting (SEH) technique. Under the four excitation levels investigated, the SP-SSHI can harvest up to 200% more power than the SEH interface circuit.
Physical, microscopic and chemical characterisation of industrial rye and wheat brans from the Nordic countries

Background Epidemiological studies show inverse relationship between intake of wholegrain cereals and several chronic diseases. Components and mechanisms behind possible protective effects of wholegrain cereals are poorly understood. Objective To characterise commercial rye bran preparations, compared to wheat bran, regarding structure and content of nutrients as well as a number of presumably bioactive compounds. Design Six different rye brans from Sweden, Denmark and Finland were analysed and compared with two wheat brans regarding colour, particle size distribution, microscopic structures and chemical composition including proximal components, vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds. Results Rye brans were generally greener in colour and smaller in particle size than wheat brans. The rye brans varied considerably in their starch content (13.2–;28.3%), which reflected variable inclusion of the starchy endosperm. Although rye and wheat brans contained comparable levels of total dietary fibre, they differed in the relative proportions of fibre components (i.e. arabinoxylan, β-glucan, cellulose, fructan and Klason lignin). Generally, rye brans contained less cellulose and more β-glucan and fructan than wheat brans. Within small variations, the rye and wheat brans were comparable regarding the contents of tocopherols/tocotrienols, total folate, sterols/stanols, phenolic acids and lignans. Rye bran had less glycine betaine and more alkylresorcinols than wheat brans. Conclusions The observed variation in the chemical composition of industrially produced rye brans calls for the need of standardisation of this commodity, especially when used as a functional ingredient in foods.
Learning and Transferring Relational Instance-Based Policies

A Relational Instance-Based Policy can be defined as an action policy described following a relational instancebased learning approach. The policy is represented with a set of state-goal-action tuples in some form of predicate logic and a distance metric: whenever the planner is in a state trying to reach a goal, the next action to execute is computed as the action associated to the closest state-goal pair in that set. In this work, the representation language is relational, following the ideas of Relational Reinforcement Learning. The policy to transfer (the set of state-goal-action tuples) is generated with a planning system solving optimally simple source problems. The target problems are defined in the same planning domain, have different initial and goal states to the source problems, and could be much more complex. We show that the transferred policy can solve similar problems to the ones used to learn it, but also more complex problems. In fact, the policy learned outperforms the planning system used to generate the initial state-action pairs in two ways: it is faster and scales up better.
Content-based indexing and retrieval-by-example in audio

This paper presents a system for audio content-based indexing and retrieval-by-example. An unsupervised method to automatically index the audio content is proposed. To realize a retrieval system where the on-line query can be performed efficiently, a new parametric distance metric is used to allow faster identification of the audio segments that are similar to the given query example. Preliminary experimental results show that the proposed new approach can serve as an effective means in content based indexing and retrieval in audio streams.
Feature Level Fusion the Performance of Multimodal Biometric Systems

paper proposed the use of multimodal feature-level fusion to prove the improvement performance of multimodal authentication. Different algorithm used for features extraction, LG for extracting FKP features, LPQ for iris and Palmprint features extraction, and PCA for extracting face features. Results brought to light that the multimodal authentication process gained higher performance than single modality. The biometric performance using feature-level fusions under "Z-score", "Tanh", "Median", and Min-Max normalization has been demonstrated in this paper.
Anatomy of dicotyledonous climber from Darjeeling, West Bengal, India

Climbers sprout on the forest story and grow up into the forest by winding around, leaning on, anchoring, or adhering to other plants and are typically notable into two categories: lianas (woody climbers) and vines (herbaceous climbers). In climber, the shift from self-supporting phase to non self-supporting phase is accompanied by various changes in anatomical characters. In climbers the mechanical tissue is centrally arranged core to assist twisting and climbing. Regarding the study of mechanical adaptation of Indian climber in general and Eastern Himalayas in particular, no such attention has been given. We have examined 26 species of climbing plants from 19 families collected from Darjeeling, West Bengal. The study aimed to characterize the mechanical behavior of the stem; to analyze the comparative stem anatomy of the collected species; to analyze the structure, position and function of mechanical tissues which facilitate twisting and climbing growth forms; to inquiry whether these species present cambial variants or not. The present study will be useful for folks who are paying attention in mechanical parasitism and mechanical adjustment of climbing plant species.
Predictors of the Treatment Response of Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension to an Epidural Blood Patch

AbstractSpontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is characterized by postural headache because of low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and radioisotope (RI) cisternography can be used to identify the site of a CSF leakage. Although autologous epidural blood patch (EBP) is a very effective treatment modality, some patients require a repeat autologous EBP. We investigated whether autologous EBP responses correlate with surrogate markers of quantitative findings.All cases of autologous EBP for SIH from January 2006 to December 2014 were enrolled. The demographic variables, number of EBPs, pain scores, RI cisternography (early visualization of bladder activity), and MRI findings (subdural fluid collections, pachymeningeal enhancement, engorgement of venous structures, pituitary hyperemia, and sagging of the brain) were reviewed.Patients with early bladder activity on RI cisternography had a tendency to need a higher number of autologous EBPs. Only sagging of the brain and no other variables showed a statistically significant negative correlation with the number of autologous EBPs.The response to autologous EBP may be related to the radiologic findings of early bladder activity on RI cisternography and sagging of the brain on MRI.
Serving the enterprise and beyond with informatics for integrating biology and the bedside (i2b2)

Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) is one of seven projects sponsored by the NIH Roadmap National Centers for Biomedical Computing (http://www.ncbcs.org). Its mission is to provide clinical investigators with the tools necessary to integrate medical record and clinical research data in the genomics age, a software suite to construct and integrate the modern clinical research chart. i2b2 software may be used by an enterprise's research community to find sets of interesting patients from electronic patient medical record data, while preserving patient privacy through a query tool interface. Project-specific mini-databases ("data marts") can be created from these sets to make highly detailed data available on these specific patients to the investigators on the i2b2 platform, as reviewed and restricted by the Institutional Review Board. The current version of this software has been released into the public domain and is available at the URL: http://www.i2b2. org/software.
Effect of Different Dilution Methods and Ratios of Ram Semen on Sperm Parameters after Cryopreservation

Simple Summary The appropriate dilution rate is crucial for the spermatozoa’s survival. Both excessively large and excessively small dilution rates will diminish the effectiveness of semen preservation. However, the dilution method and ratio for preserving Hu ram semen through cryopreservation are currently unclear. Therefore, the study aimed to analyze the effects of various dilution methods and ratios on the spermatozoa motility parameters and functional integrity of Hu ram semen after cryopreservation. The results showed that employing the correct dilution method and ratio (two-step dilution 1:3, 1:2) could improve the preservation effect of semen. Abstract The dilution method and ratio were tested to assess their effects on the Hu ram semen after cryopreservation. Experiment I aimed to explore the effect of various dilution ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4) of diluent I (Tris-based and egg yolk) under the condition of 1:1 dilution of diluent II (diluent I and glycerol) on the Hu ram semen preserved in liquid nitrogen regarding spermatozoa motility and kinetic parameters. Experiment II aimed to investigate the effect of various dilution ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4) of diluent I under the condition of 1:2 dilution of diluent II to the Hu ram semen for cryopreservation on spermatozoa motility and kinetic parameters. The purpose of experiment III is to assess the effect of various dilution methods and ratios on the cryopreservation of Hu ram semen by detecting spermatozoa motility, kinetic parameters, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. Experiment III includes four groups: one-step dilution method and two-step dilution method. The two-step dilution method includes two groups: 1:2, 1:1 and 1:3, 1:2, and the one-step dilution method includes two groups: 1:5 and 1:11. The results indicated that the post-thawed spermatozoa total motility (TM), progressive motility (PM) and average motion degree (MAD) were highest in the 1:2 group and significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the 1:1 and 1:4 groups under the condition of 1:1 dilution of diluent II. The post-thawed spermatozoa TM and PM of the 1:3 group were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of the other groups under the condition of 1:2 dilution of diluent II. The post-thawed spermatozoa TM, PM, plasma membrane integrity and acrosome integrity of the two-step group (1:3, 1:2) were the highest and significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the other groups. Additionally, the post-thawed spermatozoa ROS level of the two-step group (1:3, 1:2) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than that in the one-step groups (1:5 and 1:11). Therefore, a two-step dilution (1:3, 1:2) was found to be the most suitable method and ratio for diluting the Hu ram semen after cryopreservation.
User Experience of Enterprise Social Networks and Collaboration

Collaborative activities enabled through technology are an essential element in the modern work day. Thus, examining factors that can impact the efficiency and effectiveness of collaboration are of great importance to companies. As the first step in a larger project, in this paper, we explore the connection between employees’ experience of a collaboration technology (CT) and their evaluation of collaboration quality. Our investigation was conducted via an experiment in a Fortune 500 company.
A Secure Anonymous Identity-based Key Agreement Protocol for Distributed Computer Networks

Recently, Hsu and Chuang proposed an efficient user identification scheme with key preserving user anonymity for distributed computer networks. Their protocol addressed an identity disclosure attack on the Yang et al. and Mangipudi-Katti schemes. Unfortunately, Hsu and Chuang’s new scheme posed vulnerability that the service provider could compute the private key of the user and imitate the user to send the service request to other service provider. In this paper, we analyzed Hsu-Chuang scheme and presented the vulnerability. We further secured their protocol by proposing a novel protocol that overcomes the above limitation while achieving the same security features. Besides, we made a demonstration of the correctness of our new scheme and analyzed the security properties. After compared Hsu-Chuang scheme and the new scheme, we also illustrated an example to illustrate the application of our improved protocol.