Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered functional connectivity in seizure onset zones revealed by fMRI intrinsic connectivity

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate functional connectivity (FC) changes in epileptogenic networks in intractable partial epilepsy obtained from resting-state fMRI by using intrinsic connectivity contrast (ICC), a voxel-based network measure of degree that reflects the number of connections to each voxel. Methods: We measured differences between intrahemispheric- and interhemispheric-ICC (ICCintra−inter) that could reveal localized connectivity abnormalities in epileptogenic zones while more global network changes would be eliminated when subtracting these values. The ICCintra−inter map was compared with the seizure onset zone (SOZ) based on intracranial EEG (icEEG) recordings in 29 patients with at least 1 year of postsurgical follow-up. Two independent reviewers blindly interpreted the icEEG and fMRI data, and the concordance rates were compared for various clinical factors. Results: Concordance between the icEEG SOZ and ICCintra−inter map was observed in 72.4% (21/29) of the patients, which was higher in patients with good surgical outcome, especially in those patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) or lateral temporal seizure localization. Concordance was also better in the extratemporal lobe epilepsy than the TLE group. In 85.7% (18/21) of the cases, the ICCintra−inter values were negative in the SOZ, indicating decreased FC within the epileptic hemisphere relative to between hemispheres. Conclusions: Assessing alterations in FC using fMRI-ICC map can help localize the SOZ, which has potential as a noninvasive presurgical diagnostic tool to improve surgical outcome. In addition, the method reveals that, in focal epilepsy, both intrahemispheric- and interhemispheric-FC may be altered, in the presence of both regional as well as global network abnormalities.
A Fast Model-Free Morphology-Based Object Tracking Algorithm

This paper describes the multiple object tracking component of an automated CCTV surveillance system. The system tracks objects, and alerts the operator if unusual trajectories are discovered. Objects are detected by background differencing. Low contrast levels can present problems, leading to poor object segmentation and fragmentation, particularly on older analogue surveillance networks. The model-free tracking algorithm described in this paper addresses object fragmentation, and the object merging that occurs when proximate objects segment to the same connected component.
Recursive Algorithms for Modulated and Extended Lapped Transforms

Modulated and extended lapped transforms (MLT, ELT) are shift-orthogonal transforms generated from parametric window functions. In this paper, new recursive algorithms are presented for the MLT and ELT. These invertible sliding lapped transforms are non-decimated and thus oversampled subband systems. The analysis bank input signal can be complex-valued and the optional filtering modes are even/odd-stacked subchannelization and real/complex-valued subsignals. The developed filter structure is similar to sliding discrete cosine and Fourier transform (DFT) filters but provides better frequency selectivity. In the presented running-sum implementation, the computations can be carried out with a bank of simple recursive filters as the windowing is embedded into the structure. The second objective is to propose a Goertzel-type of recursive algorithm for critically-sampled exponentially-modulated filter bank (EMFB). Since the basic Goertzel algorithm is a recursive filter implementation for the DFT it requires the following modifications: modulation phase shifting to meet the perfect reconstruction requirement and frequency shifting to accommodate odd-stacked configuration. The Goertzel-EMFB suits well for problems where only a few subbands are processed from a much larger set of available subchannels.
Abnormal cerebellum density in victims of rape with post‐traumatic stress disorder: Voxel‐based analysis of magnetic resonance imaging investigation

Introduction: Based on early studies of non‐motor function in the cerebellum and dysfunction in the cerebellum of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients, we presumed that the cerebellum was involved in the neuropathology of cognitive and emotional processing of PTSD patients, while the density of some sub‐areas of the cerebellum of PTSD patients was most likely abnormal.
Comparative aspects of cerebral cortical development

This review aims to provide examples of how both comparative and genetic analyses contribute to our understanding of the rules for cortical development and evolution. Genetic studies have helped us to realize the evolutionary rules of telencephalic organization in vertebrates. The control of the establishment of conserved telencephalic subdivisions and the formation of boundaries between these subdivisions has been examined and the very specific alterations at the striatocortical junction have been revealed. Comparative studies and genetic analyses both demonstrate the differential origin and migratory pattern of the two basic neuron types of the cerebral cortex. GABAergic interneurons are mostly generated in the subpallium and a common mechanism governs their migration to the dorsal cortex in both mammals and sauropsids. The pyramidal neurons are generated within the cortical germinal zone and migrate radially, the earliest generated cell layers comprising preplate cells. Reelin‐positive Cajal–Retzius cells are a general feature of all vertebrates studied so far; however, there is a considerable amplification of the Reelin signalling with cortical complexity, which might have contributed to the establishment of the basic mammalian pattern of cortical development. Based on numerous recent observations we shall present the argument that specialization of the mitotic compartments may constitute a major drive behind the evolution of the mammalian cortex. Comparative developmental studies have revealed distinct features in the early compartments of the developing macaque brain, drawing our attention to the limitations of some of the current model systems for understanding human developmental abnormalities of the cortex. Comparative and genetic aspects of cortical development both reveal the workings of evolution.
AutoCITE: Automated Delivery of CI Therapy With Reduced Effort by Therapists

Background and Purpose— To evaluate the effectiveness of a device that automates Constraint-Induced Movement therapy (CI therapy), termed AutoCITE, when only partially supervised by therapists. Methods— Twenty-seven participants with chronic stroke trained with AutoCITE for 3 hours per day for 10 consecutive weekdays. Participants were assigned to 1 of 3 groups in a fixed irregular order (ie, in alternating blocks): supervision from a therapist for 100%, 50%, or 25% of training time. Results— The effect sizes of the treatment gains for the 3 groups on the Motor Activity Log (MAL) were very large and for the Wolf Motor Function Test they were large (all P<0.001) but were not significantly different from one another. Gains were comparable to those previously reported for participants who received an equal amount of standard one-on-one CI therapy without the device. At 1-month and long-term follow-up, gains from pretreatment on the MAL were also significant (P<0.001). Conclusion— These results demonstrate that AutoCITE training with greatly reduced supervision from a therapist is as effective as standard one-on-one CI therapy.
Automatic segmentation of multiple sclerosis lesions in brain MRI using constrained GMM and genetic algorithm

The Segmentation is a fundamental technique used in image processing to extract suspicious regions from a given image. Quantitative assessment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) lesion load of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most objective approach for a better understanding of the history of the pathology, either natural or modified by therapies. Recently, numerous methods have been introduced for the segmentation of MS lesions in MR images. In this work, we propose to segment the images based on a constrained Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and using Genetic Algorithm to determine the optimal parameters of this highly non-linear model. We use this method for automatic segmentation of MS lesions in fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) of magnetic resonance images. Moreover, a preprocessing step is also performed to suppress artifacts and to remove the unwanted skull portions from brain MRI. The proposed method has been tested on real patients' MR images. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively segment MS lesions in the brain MR images.
Features of a Spatially Constrained Cystine Loop in the p10 FAST Protein Ectodomain Define a New Class of Viral Fusion Peptides*

The reovirus fusion-associated small transmembrane (FAST) proteins are the smallest known viral membrane fusion proteins. With ectodomains of only ∼20–40 residues, it is unclear how such diminutive fusion proteins can mediate cell-cell fusion and syncytium formation. Contained within the 40-residue ectodomain of the p10 FAST protein resides an 11-residue sequence of moderately apolar residues, termed the hydrophobic patch (HP). Previous studies indicate the p10 HP shares operational features with the fusion peptide motifs found within the enveloped virus membrane fusion proteins. Using biotinylation assays, we now report that two highly conserved cysteine residues flanking the p10 HP form an essential intramolecular disulfide bond to create a cystine loop. Mutagenic analyses revealed that both formation of the cystine loop and p10 membrane fusion activity are highly sensitive to changes in the size and spatial arrangement of amino acids within the loop. The p10 cystine loop may therefore function as a cystine noose, where fusion peptide activity is dependent on structural constraints within the noose that force solvent exposure of key hydrophobic residues. Moreover, inhibitors of cell surface thioreductase activity indicate that disruption of the disulfide bridge is important for p10-mediated membrane fusion. This is the first example of a viral fusion peptide composed of a small, spatially constrained cystine loop whose function is dependent on altered loop formation, and it suggests the p10 cystine loop represents a new class of viral fusion peptides.
Our Labeled Children: what Every Parent And Teacher Needs To Know About Learning Disabilities

A hard-hitting look at the problems ofand solutions fordiagnosing and teaching children with learning disabilities. }Twenty percent of all school aged children in this country have been labeled Learning Disabled. But what is a genuine learning disability and how does it differ from garden-variety poor learning? How can we more accurately assess and then teach to learning strengths instead of to weaknesses? In this passionately argued yet clear-headed book, internationally acclaimed cognitive psychologist Robert Sternberg and research scientist Elena Grigorenko tackle these controversial issues, urging that we must first understand the full range of factors that contribute to learning disabilities (and sometimes to their misdiagnosis) in order to improve the American educational and diagnostic systems.From the biological bases of dyslexia and other disabilities, to the tests that do and do not accurately assess learning abilities, to the social and educational pressures that contribute to misdiagnosis in this country, Our Labeled Children clearly outlines the issues that concern both parents and teachers, ultimately pointing to clear strategies for improving our system to help children with all manner of learning problems. }
Algorithms for Reducing Crosstalk in Two-Layer Channel Routing

Crosstalk minimization is one of the most important high performance aspects in interconnecting VLSI circuits. With advancement of fabrication technology, devices and interconnecting wires are placed in closer proximity and circuits operate at higher frequencies. This results in crosstalk between wire segments. Crosstalk minimization problem for the reserved two-layer Manhattan channel routing is NP-hard, even if the channel instances are free from any vertical constraint (simplest channel instances). In this paper we have developed heuristic algorithms for computing reduced crosstalk two-layer channel routing solutions for simplest as well as general channel instances. In general, the results obtained are highly encouraging.
Statistical testing of covariate effects in conditional copula models

Abstract: In conditional copula models, the copula parameter is deterministically linked to a covariate via the calibration function. The latter is of central interest for inference and is usually estimated nonparametrically. However, in many applications it is scientifically important to test whether the calibration function is constant or not. Moreover, a correct model of a constant relationship results in significant gains of statistical efficiency. We develop methodology for testing a parametric formulation of the calibration function against a general alternative and propose a generalized likelihood ratio-type test that enables conditional copula model diagnostics. We derive the asymptotic null distribution of the proposed test and study its finite sample performance using simulations. The method is applied to two data examples.
Comparison of affinity chromatography and adsorption to vaccinia virus recombinant infected cells for depletion of antibodies directed against respiratory syncytial virus glycoproteins present in a human immunoglobulin preparation

Antibodies directed against human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) glycoproteins were depleted from a commercial immunoglobulin preparation (RespiGam) by two different methods. The first method consisted of repeated adsorption of RespiGam to Sepharose beads with covalently bound soluble forms of the two major viral glycoproteins (F or G). The second method consisted of adsorption of immunoglobulins to live cells expressing F or G glycoproteins on their surfaces after infection with vaccinia virus recombinants. While the first method removed efficiently antibodies that reacted with F and/or G glycoproteins by ELISA, it was inefficient in the elimination of anti‐HRSV neutralizing antibodies. In contrast, the second method removed efficiently anti‐HRSV antibodies that both reacted by ELISA and neutralized virus infectivity. These results confirm that human neutralizing antibodies are directed exclusively against HRSV F and G glycoproteins, and, they raise the possibility that F and G glycoproteins inserted into cell membranes differ antigenically from their soluble forms linked covalently to Sepharose beads. J. Med. Virol. 76:248–255, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Modelling Asynchronous Systems using Probability Distribution Functions

Asynchronous systems are attracting the interest of a growing number of designers. However, the lack of simulation tools devoted to asynchronous microarchitectures is a gap that is not narrowed today. One of the main obstacles on the simulation of asynchronous systems is the variable computation delays of their modules, which compute as fast as possible under the actual conditions of the system because there is no clock signal. In this paper we present a modelling method that describes the variable computation delay of an asynchronous circuit by using probability distribution functions that return the probability of a given delay to be spent on the computation of a data. This method was integrated in an architectural simulator of a 64-bit superscalar asynchronous microarchitecture where the computation delay of each one of the modules of the microarchitecture was characterized through a probability distribution function. The experimental results showed that the asynchronous behavior was successfully modeled, and the architectural simulations of standard benchmarks were affordable in terms of wall-clock simulation time.
Facial expression in patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in response to emotional stimuli: a partially shared cognitive and social deficit of the two disorders

Introduction It has recently been highlighted that patients affected by schizophrenia (SCZ) and those affected by bipolar disorder (BD) undergo gradual chronic worsening of cognitive and social functioning. The objective of the current study was to evaluate and compare (using the Facial Action Coding System [FACS]) the way by which patients with the two disorders experience and display emotions in relation to specific emotional stimuli. Materials and methods Forty-five individuals participated in the study: 15 SCZ patients, 15 BD patients, and 15 healthy controls. All participants watched emotion-eliciting video clips while their facial activity was videotaped. The congruent/incongruent feeling of emotions and the facial expression in reaction to emotions were evaluated. Results SCZ and BD patients presented similar incongruent emotive feelings and facial expressions (significantly worse than healthy participants); SCZ patients expressed the emotion of disgust significantly less appropriately than BD patients. Discussion BD and SCZ patients seem to present a similar relevant impairment in both experiencing and displaying emotions; this impairment may be seen as a behavioral indicator of the deficit of social cognition present in both the disorders. As the disgust emotion is mainly elaborated in the insular cortex, the incongruent expression of disgust of SCZ patients can be interpreted as a further evidence of a functional deficit of the insular cortex in this disease. Specific remediation training could be used to improve emotion and social cognition in SCZ and BD patients.
A randomized distributed ellipsoid algorithm for uncertain feasibility problems

In this paper, we consider a network of processors aiming at cooperatively solving a convex feasibility problem in which the constraint set is the intersection of local uncertain sets, each one known only by one processor. We propose a randomized, distributed method — using concepts borrowed from a centralized ellipsoid algorithm — having finite-time convergence and working under asynchronous, time-varying and directed communication topologies. At every communication round, each processor maintains a “candidate” ellipsoid for the global problem and performs two tasks. First, it verifies— in a probabilistic sense — if the center of the candidate ellipsoid is robustly feasible for its local set and, if not, constructs a new ellipsoid with smaller volume. Second, it exchanges its ellipsoid with neighbors, and then selects the one with smallest volume among the collected ones. We show that in a finite number of communication rounds, the processors reach consensus on a common ellipsoid whose center is — with high confidence— feasible for the entire set of uncertainty except a subset having an arbitrary small probability measure. We corroborate the theoretical results with numerical computations in which the algorithm is tested on a multi-core platform of processors communicating asynchronously.
Cellular Uptake, Cytotoxicity, and Metabolic Profiling of Human Cancer Cells Treated with Ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl Complexes [Ru(bpy)2(NN)]Cl2 with NN=bpy, phen, dpq, dppz, and dppn

A series of five ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes [Ru(bpy)2(NN)]Cl2 was tested against human HT‐29 and MCF‐7 cancer cell lines. Cellular uptake efficiency and cytotoxicity were found to increase with the size of the aromatic surface area of the NN ligand. The most active compound carrying the dppn ligand exhibits a low micromolar IC50 value against both cell lines comparable to that of cisplatin under similar conditions. Continuous measurement of oxygen consumption, extracellular acidification rate, and impedance of the cell layer with a chip‐based sensor system upon exposure to the complexes showed only small changes for the first two parameters throughout the series. A significant and irreversible decrease in impedance was, however, found for the dppn compound. This suggests that its biological activity is related to modifications in cell morphology or cell–cell and cell–matrix contacts.
Climate change in literature and literary criticism

This article provides an overview of climate change in literature, focusing on the representation of climate change in Anglophone fiction. It then evaluates the way in which these fictional representations are critiqued in literary studies, and considers the extent to which the methods and tools that are currently employed are adequate to this new critical task. We explore how the complexity of climate change as both scientific and cultural phenomenon demands a corresponding degree of complexity in fictional representation. For example, when authors represent climate change as a global, networked, and controversial phenomenon, they move beyond simply employing the environment as a setting and begin to explore its impact on plot and character, producing unconventional narrative trajectories and innovations in characterization. Then, such creative complexity asks of literary scholars a reassessment of methods and approaches. For one thing, it may require a shift in emphasis from literary fiction to genre fiction. It also particularly demands that environmental criticism, or ecocriticism, moves beyond its long‐standing interest in concepts of ‘nature’ and ‘place’, to embrace a new understanding of the local in relation to the global. We suggest, too, that there are synergies to be forged between these revisionary moves in ecocriticism and developments in literary critical theory and historicism, as these critical modes begin to deal with climate change and reimagine themselves in turn. WIREs Clim Change 2011 2 185–200 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.105
Node recovery schemes for minimizing repair time in distributed storage system with network coding

It is significant to repair (or rebuilt) the damaged storage node in the distributed storage system (DSS). Recently, the network coding technique is applied to DSS to decrease the repair bandwidth. In practice, in addition to repair bandwidth, repair time is usually one of the key concerns in the DSS, which has not been investigated in the existing DSSs in which network coding is applied. In this paper, we propose the minimum-time repair (MTR) scheme, which is able to achieve the lower bound of repair time while considerably decreasing repair bandwidth. Numerical results show that MTR outperforms some available node recovery approaches in terms of repair time.