Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Segregated Fronto-Cerebellar Circuits Revealed by Intrinsic Functional Connectivity

Multiple, segregated fronto-cerebellar circuits have been characterized in nonhuman primates using transneuronal tracing techniques including those that target prefrontal areas. Here, we used functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) in humans (n = 40) to identify 4 topographically distinct fronto-cerebellar circuits that target 1) motor cortex, 2) dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, 3) medial prefrontal cortex, and 4) anterior prefrontal cortex. All 4 circuits were replicated and dissociated in an independent data set (n = 40). Direct comparison of right- and left-seeded frontal regions revealed contralateral lateralization in the cerebellum for each of the segregated circuits. The presence of circuits that involve prefrontal regions confirms that the cerebellum participates in networks important to cognition including a specific fronto-cerebellar circuit that interacts with the default network. Overall, the extent of the cerebellum associated with prefrontal cortex included a large portion of the posterior hemispheres consistent with a prominent role of the cerebellum in nonmotor functions. We conclude by providing a provisional map of the topography of the cerebellum based on functional correlations with the frontal cortex.
Construction of Non-Blobby Surface from Particles

This paper presents a method that can construct a surface with a thin region or sharp edges from particles. The surface is constructed in two stages. An implicit surface is generated by assigning a density distribution to each particle in the first step and then the surface constructed from the density distribution is changed to a surface with a thin region or sharp edges. Furthermore, the method can generate various kinds of surfaces because a surface is controlled by several parameters. Therefore, the present technique increases the range of expression of particle-based simulations. In this paper, some calculation results are presented and finally an application from the results of particle-based fluid simulation is discussed.
Designing a new biosensor “DNA ELISA” to detect Escherichia coli using genomic DNA and comparison of this method to PCR-ELISA

Abstract In this experiment, DNA-ELISA biosensor was introduced, bearing the ability to detect specific bacteria in about 4 h. This is a more rapid system in comparison to conventional methods, like colony counting method. Moreover, this method does not require any amplification and directly detects genomic DNA of bacteria, giving a lower limit to the sensitivity of 40,000 bacteria. In this study, two specific probes capture (biotin labelled) and detector (dig labelled), were used against special regions of 16s rRNA gene of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. The capture probe has the ability to trap the target bacterial DNA from a pool of other kinds of bacteria under specific conditions. The detector probe then was used to hybridize to the genome of trapped bacteria. The detection proceeds by adding HRP-anti dig enzyme and its substrate, ABTS to emit light. Light absorbance is measured for verifying the detection.
Tonal constituents and meanings of yes-no questions in american English

We analyzed the different meanings associated with the tonal contours of 104 positive yes-no questions from the CallHome Corpus of American English. We take into consideration such broad constituents as the head, nucleus and tail of intonational phrases, as well as ToBI sequences of pitch accents, phrase accents and boundary tones. The meaning of a question as unmarked or marked in a variety of ways is shown to depend upon the intonational contours associated with these broad constituents, and even with the contour associated with the question as a whole. We first outline our method of reliably arriving at a ToBI notation for American English yes-no questions, and its correlates in terms of higher constituents such as head, nucleus, and tail. We then discuss and exemplify the meanings we have found to correlate with these categories. Finally we consider whether it is the intonational pattern stretching across the entire question that is most relevant for characterizing basic aspects of the meaning of the question, such as whether it is marked or unmarked in particular ways.
High Prevalence of Hypertension in Ethiopian and Non-Ethiopian HIV-Infected Adults

Objectives Prevalence of hypertension has not been studied in the Ethiopian HIV-infected population, which represents 60% of the patients in our AIDS unit. Our aim was to identify risk factors and characterize the prevalence of hypertension in the population monitored at our unit. Methods A retrospective chart review categorized subjects according to their blood pressure levels. Hypertension prevalence was determined and stratified according to variables perceived to contribute to elevated blood pressure. Results The prevalence of hypertension in our study population was significantly higher compared to the general population (53% versus 20%, P < 0.0001) and was associated with known risk factors and not with patients' viral load and CD4 levels. Ethiopian HIV-infected adults had a prominently higher rate of blood pressure rise over time as compared to non-Ethiopians (P = 0.016). Conclusions The high prevalence of hypertension in this cohort and the rapid increase in blood pressure in Ethiopians are alarming. We could not attribute high prevalence to HIV-related factors and we presume it is part of the metabolic syndrome. The lifelong cardiovascular risk associated with HIV infection mandates hypertension screening and close monitoring in this population.
TESTS ON CIRCULAR TAPERED HOLLOW STEEL TUBE REINFORCED CONCRETE STUB COLUMNS

A total of 12 circular tapered hollow sreel tube reinforced concrete stub columns subjected to axial compression were tested. The main parameters were the tapered angle, the diameter of a crossing section and with or without embedding a hollow steel tube. The influences of different parameters on the compressive mechanical properties of these specimens are discussed. Based on this, a simplified formula is put forward to calculate stub column bearing capacity. The test results show that the influence of the three parameters on the compressive specimens are very obvious, and the calculated results show a good agreement with the experimental results, and the formula can reasonably evaluate the ultimate bearing capacity of circular tapered hollow steel tubes reinforced concrete stub columns.
Edge Inference with Applications to Antialiasing

An edge, when point-sampled for display by a raster device and not aligned with a display axis, appears as a stair-case.This common aliasing artifact often occurs in computer images generated by two- and three-dimensional algorithms. The precise edge information often is no longer available but, from the set of vertical and horizontal segments which form the staircase, an approximation to the original edge with a precision beyond that of the raster may be inferred. This constitutes a smoothing of the staircase edge. Among other applications, the inferred edges may be used to reshade the pixels they intersect, thereby antialiasing the inferred edges. The antialiased inferred edges prove a more attractive approximation to the real edges than their aliased counterparts. Presented here are algorithms for the detection and smoothing of edges and the filtering of an image in accordance with the inferred edges.
Memory-storming: externalizing and sharing designers' personal experiences

In this paper, we describe memory-storming, a design technique that combines oral storytelling with sketching to externalize designers' personal experiences. The proposition behind developing this method is that designers' personal experiences are a potential design resource that can trigger new design insights and ideas. This paper provides a description of our use of this method, shows how it helped us in our design research, and presents lessons learned. We claim that memory-storming is a design technique that focuses on designers' personal experiences yet complements the user focus of user-centered design.
Sensor Selection for Estimation with Correlated Measurement Noise

In this paper, we consider the problem of sensor selection for parameter estimation with correlated measurement noise. We seek optimal sensor activations by formulating an optimization problem, in which the estimation error, given by the trace of the inverse of the Bayesian Fisher information matrix, is minimized subject to energy constraints. Fisher information has been widely used as an effective sensor selection criterion. However, existing information-based sensor selection methods are limited to the case of uncorrelated noise or weakly correlated noise due to the use of approximate metrics. By contrast, here we derive the closed form of the Fisher information matrix with respect to sensor selection variables that is valid for any arbitrary noise correlation regime and develop both a convex relaxation approach and a greedy algorithm to find near-optimal solutions. We further extend our framework of sensor selection to solve the problem of sensor scheduling, where a greedy algorithm is proposed to determine non-myopic (multi-time step ahead) sensor schedules. Lastly, numerical results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of our approach, and to reveal the effect of noise correlation on estimation performance.
Parental Education and Family Dissolution: A Cross‐National and Cohort Comparison

This is the first study to systematically analyze whether the association between parental education and family dissolution varies cross‐nationally and over time. The authors use meta‐analytic tools to study cross‐national variation between 17 countries with data from the Generations and Gender Study and Harmonized Histories. The association shows considerable cross‐national variation, but is positive in most countries. The association between parental education and family dissolution has become less positive or even negative in six countries. The findings show that the association between parental education and family dissolution is generally positive or nil, even if the association between own education and family dissolution is in many countries increasingly negative. The authors find suggestive evidence that the association is related to the crude divorce rate, but not to the generosity of the welfare state in these countries. The implications of these findings for understanding the stratification in family dissolution are discussed.
A New Isoxazolic Compound Acts as α7 Nicotinic Receptor Agonist in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Recent evidence suggests that the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChRs) participate in the development of angiogenesis and could be a new endothelial target for revascularization in therapeutic angiogenesis. It has been shown that in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) α7 nAChR agonists increase the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i), thus inducing proliferation and vessel formation which are important stages of angiogenesis. In the present study we evaluated the effect of new isoxazole compounds on the cytosolic Ca2+ signal in HUVECs using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Fluo-3AM and probing the involvement of α7 nAChR by means of pharmacological tools. HUVECs expressed mainly α7 nAChR, since there was no significant difference in the increase in [Ca2+]i induced by nicotine, a non-selective nicotinic agonist, in relation to choline, a selective α7 nAChR agonist. The increase in [Ca2+]i induced by 1 mM choline was inhibited significantly (p = 0.014) in cells which had been pre-incubated for 15 min with methyllycaconitine (MLA), a selective α7 nAChR antagonist. The studied compounds 1, 2, and 3 induced an increase in [Ca2+]i in a dose-dependent manner. Compound 1 at 10 mM induced a greater increase in [Ca2+]i than compounds 2 and 3. The increase in [Ca2+]i induced by compound 1 was significantly inhibited by MLA (p = 0.013) and completely inhibited by mecamylamine, a non-selective nAChR antagonist, indicating that the isoxazolic compound 1 acts as an α7 nAChR agonist.
Orientation-Compensative Signal Registration for Owner Authentication Using an Accelerometer

SUMMARY Gait-based owner authentication using accelerometers has recently been extensively studied owing to the development of wearable electronic devices. An actual gait signal is always subject to change due to many factors including variation of sensor attachment. In this research, we tackle to the practical sensor-orientation inconsistency, for which signal sequences are captured at different sensor orientations. We present an iterative signal matching algorithm based on phase-registration technique to simultaneously estimate relative sensor-orientation and register the 3D acceleration signals. The iterative framework is initialized by using 1D orientation-invariant resultant signals which are computed from 3D signals. As a result, the matching algorithm is robust to any initial sensororientation. This matching algorithm is used to match a probe and a gallery signals in the proposed owner authentication method. Experiments using actual gait signals under various conditions such as different days, sensors, weights being carried, and sensor orientations show that our authentication
The origin of fibroblasts and mechanism of cardiac fibrosis

Fibroblasts are at the heart of cardiac function and are the principal determinants of cardiac fibrosis. Nevertheless, cardiac fibroblasts remain poorly characterized in molecular terms. Evidence is evolving that the cardiac fibroblast is a highly heterogenic cell population, and that such heterogeneity is caused by the distinct origins of fibroblasts in the heart. Cardiac fibroblasts can derive either from resident fibroblasts, from endothelial cells via an endothelial–mesenchynmal transition or from bone marrow‐derived circulating progenitor cells, monocytes and fibrocytes. Here, we review the function and origin of fibroblasts in cardiac fibrosis.NB. The information given is correct. J. Cell. Physiol. 225: 631–637, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multidimensional Analysis of the Learning Curve for Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in Peritoneal Surface Malignancies

Objective: To evaluate the learning curve of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in treating peritoneal surface malignancies (PSM). Summary and Background: CRS and HIPEC to treat PSM is a complex procedure with a significant morbidity. A long-lasting training program is required to acquire expertise in this type of operation. Methods: We performed CRS using peritonectomy procedures. HIPEC through the closed abdomen technique employed cisplatin and mitomycin-C or cisplatin and doxorubicin. Risk-adjusted sequential probability ratio test was used to assess the learning curve on a series of 420 cases of PSM on the basis of rates of incomplete cytoreduction and G3-5 morbidity (NCI-CTCAE v3). We determined control limits setting the type I/II error rates and unacceptable odds ratios (ORs) for the outcomes being studied. We performed the risk adjustment using logistic regression model. Results: Rates of incomplete cytoreduction, G3-5 morbidity, and postoperative mortality rates were 10.2%, 28.5%, and 2.1%, respectively. The risk-adjusted sequential probability ratio test curve crossed the lower control limit at the 137th and 149th case, respectively, for incomplete cytoreduction and G3-5 morbidity. At those points, the actual ORs are lower than the prespecified ORs for outcomes being studied. Therefore, we estimated that approximately 140 cases are necessary to ensure surgical proficiency in CRS and HIPEC. Conclusions: CRS and HIPEC to treat PSM has a steep learning curve requiring 140 procedures to acquire expertise.
Object Movements Synopsis viaPart Assembling and Stitching

Video synopsis aims at removing video's less important information, while preserving its key content for fast browsing, retrieving, or efficient storing. Previous video synopsis methods, including frame-based and object-based approaches that remove valueless whole frames or combine objects from time shots, cannot handle videos with redundancies existing in the movements of video object. In this paper, we present a novel part-based object movements synopsis method, which can effectively compress the redundant information of a moving video object and represent the synopsized object seamlessly. Our method works by part-based assembling and stitching. The object movement sequence is first divided into several part movement sequences. Then, we optimally assemble moving parts from different part sequences together to produce an initial synopsis result. The optimal assembling is formulated as a part movement assignment problem on a Markov Random Field (MRF), which guarantees the most important moving parts are selected while preserving both the spatial compatibility between assembled parts and the chronological order of parts. Finally, we present a non-linear spatiotemporal optimization formulation to stitch the assembled parts seamlessly, and achieve the final compact video object synopsis. The experiments on a variety of input video objects have demonstrated the effectiveness of the presented synopsis method.
Noise Analysis of Programmable Gain Analog to Digital Converter for Integrated Neural Implant Front End

Integrated neural implant interface with the brain using biocompatible electrodes to provide high yield cell recordings, large channel counts and access to spike data and/or field potentials with high signal-to-noise ratio. By increasing the number of recording electrodes, spatially broad analysis can be performed that can provide insights into how and why neuronal ensembles synchronize their activity. However, the maximum number of channels is constrained with noise, area, bandwidth, power, thermal dissipation and the scalability and expandability of the recording system. In this paper, we characterize the noise fluctuations on a circuit-architecture level for efficient hardware implementation of programmable gain analog to digital converter for neural signal-processing. This approach provides key insight required to address signal-to-noise ratio, response time, and linearity of the physical electronic interface. The proposed methodology is evaluated on a prototype converter designed in standard single poly, six metal 90-nm CMOS process.
First-episode psychosis at the West Bologna Community Mental Health Centre: results of an 8-year prospective study

Background Research mostly conducted in the UK and northern Europe has established that there are high rates of first-episode psychosis (FEP) in large cities and immigrant populations; moreover, psychosis has been found to be associated with cannabis use and early trauma. The present study aimed to evaluate the incidence rate of FEP and the distribution of several risk factors (e.g. age, ethnicity, substance abuse) in Bologna, Italy. Method The Bologna FEP (BoFEP) study is an 8-year prospective study. All FEP patients, 18–64 years old, consecutively referred to the West Bologna Community Mental Health Centre (CMHC) from 2002 to 2009 were evaluated. Sociodemographic information, migration history and clinical data were collected through an ad-hoc schedule. Psychiatric diagnoses were recorded using the Schedule for Clinical Assessment of Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). Results The overall incidence rate (IR) in the BoFEP study was 16.4 per 100 000 person-years [95% confidence interval (CI) 13.9–18.9]. The incidence was higher in young people, men and migrants (MI). Conclusions The IR of FEP found by the Bologna study is lower than that found by other European studies. However, as in other studies, the incidence was higher in certain groups. This heterogeneity has implications for policy and mental health service development, and for understanding the aetiology of psychosis.
Structure of scpB-lmb intergenic Region as Criterion for Additional Classification of Human and Bovine Group B Streptococci

Dmitriev A. , A. D. Shen, a. Tkaaikova, I. Mikula, Y. H. Yang: Structure of scpBlmb Intergenic Region as Criterion for Additional Classification of Human and Bovine Group B streptococci. Acta vet. Brno 2004, 73: 215-220. The relative location of scpB and lmb genes in group B streptococcal (GBS) strains was studied. These genes were found in all the strains isolated from human and only in 9% of strains isolated from dairy cows. The scpB gene was located upstream of the lmb gene, however, three different structures of scpB-lmb intergenic region were identified. These genes could be separated by the 164 bp spacer region (type 1), by this spacer region with insertion sequence IS1548 (type 2) or by this spacer region with intron GBSi1 (type 3). The presence of different insertion sequences (IS861, IS1548, ISSa4 and IS1381) was compared with serological types of GBS strains and the types of scpB-lmb intergenic region structure. As a result, 10 different genetic variants were identified in GBS. The genetic variants No. 1 - No. 9 were found in human strains while the variant No.10 was found only in bovine strains. The mutually exclusive presence of insertion sequences IS1548, ISSa4 and the type 3 structure of scpB-lmb intergenic region was demonstrated. The structure of scpB-lmb intergenic region was found to be useful criterion for additional classification of GBS strains.
A Combined Constraint Approach for Inference of Sparse Large-Scale Biomolecular Networks

In this paper, we address the problem of inferring sparse biomolecular networks from a limited number of noisy measurements. We model the gene expression dynamics using a system of ordinary differential equations corrupted by additive white noise. We derive the gene interactions that maximize the likelihood function while constraining the network to be sparse. We consider a convex combination of three l1, l2 regularization terms that take into account (i) the sparsity of the network, (ii) irrelevant predictors and (iii) irrelevant responses. The last two constraints are especially important when inferring largescale networks. We further propose a procedure to recover weak interactions based on the Bayesian information criterion. It has been shown that weak interactions are important to preserve the structure of functional linkages among pathways. We conduct Monte Carlo simulations to study the effect of the model parameters and the number of measurements on the error rate. Our simulation results show that the proposed approach to estimate the strength of molecular interactions from noisy measurements outperforms the l1-constrained maximum likelihood method.
Strain sensing using a multiwalled carbon nanotube film

The effectiveness of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as strain sensors is investigated. The key contribution of this paper is the study of real-time strain response at the macroscale of MWCNT film under tensile load. In addition, real-time voltage change as a function of temperature is examined. MWCNT films attached to a brass specimen by epoxy using vacuum bonding have been studied. The brass specimen is subjected to tensile loading, and voltage output from the MWCNT film is obtained using a four-point probe and a sensitive voltage measurement device. Experimental results show that there is a linear change in voltage across the film when subjected to tension, and the MWCNT film both fully recovers its unstressed state upon unloading and exhibits stable electromechanical properties. The effect of temperature on the voltage output of the nanotube film under no load condition is investigated. From the results obtained it is evident that MWCNT films exhibit a stable and predictable voltage response as a function of temperature. An increase in temperature leads to an increase in conductivity of the nanotube film. The study of MWCNT film for real-time strain sensing at the macroscale is very promising, and the effect of temperature on MWCNT film (with no load) can be reliably predicted.