Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mapping fiber orientation spectra in cerebral white matter with Fourier-transform diffusion MRI

What diffusion tensor MRI gives with one hand it takes away with the other, awakening hopes of cerebral tractography but excluding any possibility of accurately resolving tract intersections. The present study describes methodology to image a distribution of fiber orienrations within each voxel, mapping within each MRI voxel the 3D probability density function (PDF) of proton diffusion with qspace diffusion MRI with Fourier transform (FT) encoding and reconstruction. We find that these distributions while consistent with diffusion tensor MRI frequently show multiple white matter orientations within each voxel and that these often correspond to known cerebral white matter tract intersections.
Behind the scenes: Lessons learned from the greatest intervehicular accident detection test ever

This paper describes a few aspects of the work that led to the first experiments ever carried out on the road with an accident warning system based on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. The mentioned experiments were performed in Los Angeles as part of a collaboration project between two teams, one from the University of Bologna and one from UCLA. In essence, driving along a few of the most crowded streets of LA and mounting on each vehicle an 802.11 based communication system, an accident warning dissemination algorithm was took for a test ride. The tested algorithm demonstrated being both in theory and simulation the optimal one, as it could successfully deal with realistic asymmetric links always choosing the optimal relay. However, a practical assessment was lacking. This required an important research and financial investment, as an accident warning system based on V2V technologies was never tested before. On the basis of that pioneering experience, we here revisit its “behind the scenes” results and the lessons we learned. In fact, we believe that those experiments provide new insights and point new possible directions of work. The contribution of this paper, hence, goes beyond the sharing of information, as its scope is also that of providing a vision of how vehicular research can be applied in practical terms when taken on the road.
Feedback influences children's reasoning about math equivalence: A meta-analytic review

ABSTRACT Decades of research have focused on children's reasoning about math equivalence problems for both practical and theoretical insights. Not only are math equivalence problems foundational in arithmetic and algebra, they also represent a class of problems on which children's thinking is resistant to change. Feedback is one instructional tool that can serve as a key trigger of cognitive change. In this paper, we review all experimental studies (N = 8) on the effects of feedback on children's (ages 6–11) understanding of math equivalence. Meta-analytic results indicate that feedback has positive effects for low-knowledge learners and negative effects for high-knowledge learners, and these effects are stronger for procedural outcomes than conceptual outcomes. Findings highlight the variable influences of feedback on math equivalence understanding and suggest that models of thinking and reasoning need to consider learner characteristics, learning outcomes, and learning materials, as well as the dynamic interactions among them.
Empirical Law and Economics Scholarship in China: Methodologies and Challenges

Abstract Providing a survey of empirical law and economics scholarship in China, this paper shows the binary categories of quantitative versus qualitative studies are inadequate. Instead, two paths for future research in empirical law and economics in China are identified, namely studies based upon individual cases and studies that apply social scientific tools to analyze data, such as statistical and experimental tools. This paper also emphasizes the unique value of empirical law and economics for Chinese scholars in the increasingly globalized academic world.
An fMRI compatible haptic interface with pneumatic actuation

A haptic interface compatible with the Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging technique allows tracking of the neural correlates of specific haptic interactions and investigations of reparative plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex, with the aid of functional MR imaging (fMRI). In this paper, we present an fMRI compatible haptic interface with pneumatic actuation that has been built up to perform sensorimotor tasks in the MR scanner. It has one translational degree of freedom and is equipped with position and force sensors enabling different position, force or impedance control modes. Pneumatic actuation is magnetic inert in nature, whereas it has high nonlinearity and parameter uncertainties. Stringent MR compatibility requirements limit material choices and thus also the mechanical properties of the hardware. Both aspects bring substantial challenges for the control. A nonlinear sliding mode controller has been designed and tested. fMRI experiments and detailed image analysis have been conducted, demonstrating that the haptic system is safe, brings no image artifact, and functions properly in the MR environment.
An N-terminal deletion variant of HCN1 in the epileptic WAG/Rij strain modulates HCN current densities

Rats of the Wistar Albino Glaxo/Rij (WAG/Rij) strain show symptoms resembling human absence epilepsy. Thalamocortical neurons of WAG/Rij rats are characterized by an increased HCN1 expression, a negative shift in Ih activation curve, and an altered responsiveness of Ih to cAMP. We cloned HCN1 channels from rat thalamic cDNA libraries of the WAG/Rij strain and found an N-terminal deletion of 37 amino acids. In addition, WAG-HCN1 has a stretch of six amino acids, directly following the deletion, where the wild-type sequence (GNSVCF) is changed to a polyserine motif. These alterations were found solely in thalamus mRNA but not in genomic DNA. The truncated WAG-HCN1 was detected late postnatal in WAG/Rij rats and was not passed on to rats obtained from pairing WAG/Rij and non-epileptic August Copenhagen Irish rats. Heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes revealed 2.2-fold increased current amplitude of WAG-HCN1 compared to rat HCN1. While WAG-HCN1 channels did not have altered current kinetics or changed regulation by protein kinases, fluorescence imaging revealed a faster and more pronounced surface expression of WAG-HCN1. Using co-expression experiments, we found that WAG-HCN1 channels suppress heteromeric HCN2 and HCN4 currents. Moreover, heteromeric channels of WAG-HCN1 with HCN2 have a reduced cAMP sensitivity. Functional studies revealed that the gain-of-function of WAG-HCN1 is not caused by the N-terminal deletion alone, thus requiring a change of the N-terminal GNSVCF motif. Our findings may help to explain previous observations in neurons of the WAG/Rij strain and indicate that WAG-HCN1 may contribute to the genesis of absence seizures in WAG/Rij rats.
Modeling Business Diagnosis with Dynamic Workflow Construction

Mapping workflow (WF) modeling with real-life business process management has become key problem on today's service-based economy. Such real time delivery would give them a competitive lead, and is considered an asset on most scenarios. For the most part, small and medium sized businesses lack the resources to achieve this goal. We propose that a first step to achieving the desired realism is to build global knowledge on businesses. This may be achieved through interactive diagnosing of small and medium sized companies. Such diagnosis must be equivalent to the business it wants to model. For this purpose, we propose a model for dynamic construction of a workflow (DCW), describes the diagnosis process as a workflow that is built dynamically as an entrepreneur answers an online questionnaire. We propose that semantic actions within context-free grammars will enable the dynamic construction process. The model serves as the foundation for true interdisciplinary work
Retrieval Effectiveness Of Various Indexing Techniques On Indonesian News Articles

The performance of various indexing techniques, namely, manual i ndexing, automatic indexing, and combined manual and automatic indexing in retrieving Indonesian n ews articles is evaluated. The result of using structured and Boolean queries s how that t he combined indexing technique is more e ffective than the other techniques. The results demonstrate that t he indexing techniques and qu ery methods which work with English texts are also applicable to Indonesian texts.
An algorithm for detecting brain tumors in MRI images

In this paper, a computer-based method for defining tumor region in the brain using MRI images is presented. A classification of brain into healthy brain or a brain having a tumor is first done which is then followed by further classification into begnin or malignant tumor. The algorithm incorporates steps for preprocessing, image segmentation, feature extraction and image classification using neural network techniques. Finally the tumor area is specified by region of interest technique as confirmation step. A user friendly Matlab GUI program has been constructed to test the proposed algorithm.
Risk of Parkinson's Disease in the Users of Antihypertensive Agents: An Evidence from the Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

Background. Antihypertensive agents have been shown to inhibit oxidative stress and inflammatory response and thus neuroprotection in Parkinson's disease (PD). Epidemiological evidence suggests inconsistency between use of antihypertensives and risk of PD. This study is aimed to examine the association between antihypertensive use and risk of PD. Methods. Literature search in PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO database was undertaken through February 2012 looking for observational studies evaluating the association between antihypertensive drug use and risk of PD. Before meta-analysis, the studies were evaluated for publication bias and heterogeneity. Pooled relative risk (RR) estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random-effects model (DerSimonian and Laird method). Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analysis were also performed. Results. Seven relevant studies including a total of 28,32,991 subjects were included. Pooled RR of overall use of antihypertensive agents was found to be 0.95 (95% CI 0.84–1.05). A significant reduction in the risk of PD was observed among users of calcium channel blockers (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.71–0.93). Significant heterogeneity (I 2 = 76.2%) but no publication bias was observed. Conclusions. Overall use of antihypertensive agents showed no significant association with the risk of PD. CCBs provided significant protective role. However, studies with large sample size and dose relationships are required to strengthen our hypothesis.
EBV Reactivation and Chromosomal Polysomies: Euphorbia tirucalli as a Possible Cofactor in Endemic Burkitt Lymphoma

Burkitt lymphoma is endemic in the Equatorial Belt of Africa, its molecular hallmark is an activated, MYC gene mostly due to a chromosomal translocation. Especially in its endemic clinical variant, Burkitt lymphoma is associated with the oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and holoendemic malaria acts as an amplifier. Environmental factors may also cooperate in Burkitt lymphomagenesis in the endemic regions, such as plants used as traditional herbal remedies. Euphorbia tirucalli, a plant known to possess EBV-activating substances, has a similar geographical distribution to endemic Burkitt's Lymphoma and is used as a hedge, herbal remedy and toy in the Lymphoma BeltI. In this study we aimed at determining if exposure to Euphorbia tirucalli could contribute to lymphomagenesis, and at which extent. Lymphoblastoid and cord blood-derived cell lines were treated with plant extracts, and the expression of EBV-coded proteins was checked, to assess EBV reactivation. The occurrence of chromosomal translocations was then investigated by FISH. Our preliminary results suggest that E. tirucalli is able to reactivate EBV and determine chromosomal alterations, which leads to c-MYC altered expression. The existence of genomic alterations might determine the accumulation of further genetic alteration, which could eventually lead to a transformed phenotype.
High performance triangle versus box intersection checks

Checking if a triangle intersects a box is a fundamental part of computer graphics algorithms and should be both robust and highly optimized for higher level algorithms to work correctly and efficiently. This paper analyzes and presents an improved and more robust version of the current state-of-the-art algorithm for determining intersection between a triangle and a box. This algorithm has been rewritten so that it makes use of the instructions found in current processors. This decreases the time it takes to perform a single intersection check by 25%. Furthermore, we analyze how parallel intersection checks can be performed. We measure the parallel performance using several parallel hardware platforms. The results show that using parallel intersection checks, the throughput can be improved by a total of 72%.
PIOUS: a scalable parallel I/O system for distributed computing environments

PIOUS is a parallel file system architecture that provides cost-effective, scalable bandwidth in a network computing environment. PIOUS employs data declustering, to exploit the combined file I/O and buffer cache capacities of networked computing resources, and transaction-based concurrency control, to guarantee access consistency without explicit synchronization. This paper presents preliminary results from a prototype PIOUS implementation. <<ETX>>
Taking into account the evolution of users social profile: Experiments on Twitter and some learned lessons

Incorporating user interests evolution over time is a crucial problem in user profiling. We particularly focus on social profiling process that uses information shared on user social network to extract his/her interests. In this work, we apply our existing time-aware social profiling method on Twitter. The aim of this study is to measure the effectiveness of our approach on this kind of social network platform, which has different characteristics from those of other social networking sites. Although the improvement compared to the time-agnostic baseline method is still low, the experiments using a parametric study showed us the benefit of applying a time-aware social profiling process on Twitter. We also found that our method performs well on sparse networks and that the information dynamic influences more the quality of our proposed time-aware method than the relationships dynamic while building the social profile on Twitter. This observation will lead us to a more complex study to find out meaningful factors to incorporate user interests evolution on social profiling process in such a network.
Induction and patterning of the cement gland during Xenopus laevis embryogenesis

The cement gland is a secretory organ that is the most anterior structure in the developing Xenopus laevis embryo. Despite its apparent simplicity, the induction and patterning of the cement gland is a complex process involving multiple tissue interactions. The initial step in cement gland induction is mediated by signal(s) from the dorsal mesoderm which can induce the expression of cement gland specific genes in the dorsal ectoderm. This induction takes place during gastrulation and can occur in vitro when the mesoderm is either underlying (appositional induction) or adjacent (planar induction) to the ectoderm. Planar signals alone can specify cement gland tissue in the appropriate anteroposterior position with respect to neural tissue. Anteroposterior patterning within the cement gland itself can be seen by the localized expression of the gene XA-1. Microdissection experiments provide evidence that this patterning occurs later in development during neurula stages and may be influenced by both suppressive and inductive signals from other tissues. Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Hazel L. Sive Title: Associate Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Assistant Professor of Biology
Signal Classification in Fading Channels Using Cyclic Spectral Analysis

Cognitive Radio (CR), a hierarchical Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) model, has been considered as a strong candidate for future communication systems improving spectrum efficiency utilizing unused spectrum of opportunity. However, to ensure the effectiveness of dynamic spectrum access, accurate signal classification in fading channels at low signal to noise ratio is essential. In this paper, a hierarchical cyclostationary-based classifier is proposed to reliably identify the signal type of a wide range of unknown signals. The proposed system assumes no a priori knowledge of critical signal statistics such as carrier frequency, carrier phase, or symbol rate. The system is designed with a multistage approach to minimize the number of samples required to make a classification decision while simultaneously ensuring the greatest reliability in the current and previous stages. The system performance is demonstrated in a variety of multipath fading channels, where several multiantenna-based combining schemes are implemented to exploit spatial diversity.
A product features mining method based on association rules and the degree of property co-occurrence

With the rapid development of e-commerce, excavating network consumer reviews is more and more important nowadays. This paper proposes a product features mining method based on association rules and the degree of property co-occurrence. Excavating candidate features by Apriori algorithm first, then pruning the candidate features by the degree of property co-occurrence between specifiers and product features, finally excavating Non-frequent features through opinion words to supplement Apriori algorithm. Experimental results prove that the method is effective.
Mechanism of H. pylori Intracellular Entry: An in vitro Study

The majority of Helicobacter pylori reside on gastric epithelial cell surfaces and in the overlying mucus, but a small fraction of H. pylori enter host epithelial and immune cells. To explore the role of the nudA invasin in host cell entry, a ΔnudA deletion derivative of strain J99 was constructed and transformants were verified by PCR and by fluorescence in situ hybridization. AGS cells were inoculated with either wild type (WT) strain J99 or its ΔnudA mutant to determine the fraction of bacteria that were bound to the cells and were present inside these cells using the gentamicin protection assay. We observed no significant difference between either the density of H. pylori bound to AGS cell membranes or the density of intracellular H. pylori. To further explore this finding, separate chambers of each culture were fixed in glutaraldehyde for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunogold TEM. This addition to the “classical” gentamicin assay demonstrated that there were significantly more intracellular, and fewer membrane-bound, H. pylori in WT-infected AGS cells than in ΔnudA allele infected cells. Thus, the sum of intracellular and membrane-bound H. pylori was similar in the two groups. Since no other similar TEM study has been performed, it is at present unknown whether our observations can be reproduced by others Taken together however, our observations suggest that the “classical” gentamicin protection assay is not sufficiently sensitive to analyze H. pylori cell entry and that the addition of TEM to the test demonstrates that nudA plays a role in H. pylori entry into AGS cells in vitro. In addition, deletion of the invasin gene appears to limit H. pylori to the AGS cell surface, where it may be partly protected against gentamicin. In contrast, this specific environment may render H. pylori more vulnerable to host defense and therapeutic intervention, and less prone to trigger normal immune, carcinogenic, and other developmental response pathways.
Joint Source Channel Coding for Fading Channel : The Broadcast Approach-Expected Distortion , Gaussian Source and Channel

We consider the problem of transmitting a Gaussian source on a slowly fading Gaussian channel, subject to the mean squared error distortion measure. The channel state information is known only at the receiver but not the transmitter. The source is assumed to be encoded in a successive refinement manner, and then transmitted over the channel using the broadcast strategy. In order to minimize the expected distortion at the receiver, optimal power allocation is essential. We propose an efficient algorithm to compute the optimal solution in linear time O(M). Moreover, we provide a derivation of the optimal power allocation when the fading state is a continuum, using the classical variational method. The proposed algorithm as well as the continuous solution is based on an alternative representation of the capacity region of the Gaussian broadcast channel.
Value-centred HCI

HCI is misdefined. We need to redefine it. HCI is misfocused. We need to refocus it. HCI has a window of opportunity to recreate itself as a design discipline. It must focus on the intention of gifted design, which is to improve the world by delivering new sources of value. A focus on value creates a paradoxical discipline that fuses subjectivity and objectivity in a single process. HCI must be objectively systematic and reliable in the pursuit of subjective value. Traditional disciplines have delivered truth. The goal of HCI is to deliver value. In my invited presentation, I will outline why we can and must change within HCI, where we are now (and how we got there), what I believe we should change to. I close with a research agenda for value-centred HCI.
Dwq : Esprit Long Term Research Project, No 22469 Active Change Notification in Advanced Knowledge Base Servers Active Change Notification in Advanced Knowledge Base Servers

" Intelligent " behavior of database systems is often seen restricted to comfortable support for query answering (including limited forms of reasoning) and navigating within the stored data. However, active notification for clients about changes in the database is an important requirement for advanced interaction between the database and its client applications. These usually hold (derived) subsets of the database contents under their control. The incre-mental maintenance of such externally materialized views is an important open problem. In addition to some necessary changes in the known view maintenance procedures the issue of translating updates through an API and a way for clients to accept such updates have to be defined. We describe the main features of a solution to this problem implemented in the knowledge base server ConceptBase.
Achieving Internet of Things security via providing topological sustainability

Internet of things is fast-paced global phenomenon, based on the concept of heterogeneous networks. Modern heterogeneous networks are characterized by hardly predictable behaviour, hundreds of parameters of network nodes and connections, and lack of single basis for development of control methods and algorithms. In this paper authors propose basic theoretical framework that will allow achieving IoT security via providing its topological sustainability in order to confront security threats, aimed at disrupting, degrayding or destroying IoT components and services.