Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visuotactile Representation of Peripersonal Space: A Neural Network Study

Neurophysiological and behavioral studies suggest that the peripersonal space is represented in a multisensory fashion by integrating stimuli of different modalities. We developed a neural network to simulate the visual-tactile representation of the peripersonal space around the right and left hands. The model is composed of two networks (one per hemisphere), each with three areas of neurons: two are unimodal (visual and tactile) and communicate by synaptic connections with a third downstream multimodal (visual-tactile) area. The hemispheres are interconnected by inhibitory synapses. We applied a combination of analytic and computer simulation techniques. The analytic approach requires some simplifying assumptions and approximations (linearization and a reduced number of neurons) and is used to investigate network stability as a function of parameter values, providing some emergent properties. These are then tested and extended by computer simulations of a more complex nonlinear network that does not rely on the previous simplifications. With basal parameter values, the extended network reproduces several in vivo phenomena: multisensory coding of peripersonal space, reinforcement of unisensory perception by multimodal stimulation, and coexistence of simultaneous right- and left-hand representations in bilateral stimulation. By reducing the strength of the synapses from the right tactile neurons, the network is able to mimic the responses characteristic of right-brain-damaged patients with left tactile extinction: perception of unilateral left tactile stimulation, cross-modal extinction and cross-modal facilitation in bilateral stimulation. Finally, a variety of sensitivity analyses on some key parameters was performed to shed light on the contribution of single-model components in network behaviour. The model may help us understand the neural circuitry underlying peripersonal space representation and identify its alterations explaining neurological deficits. In perspective, it could help in interpreting results of psychophysical and behavioral trials and clarifying the neural correlates of multisensory-based rehabilitation procedures.
Biological Control of Soilborne Plant Pathogens with Rhizosphere Bacteria

Many of the agrochemicals used in controlling pests and diseases are also implicated in ecological, environmental and human health hazards. To find an effective alternative approach with minimum deleterious effects, biological control of soilborne pathogens by application of specific antagonistic microorganisms to seeds, soil or planting material has been studied intensively in the last two decades. Certain bacteria were characterized from rhizosphere of different crop plants that inhibited deleterious and pathogenic bacteria and fungi by producing antibiotics, bacteriocins, siderophores, hydrolytic enzymes and other secondary metabolites. However, the use of these bacteria to protect crops sometimes fails because antagonistic rhizobacteria are unable to compete or colonize the rhizosphere of inoculated plants. Tremendous progress made in characterizing the process of rhizosphere colonization and competence, identification and cloning of bacterial genes contributing to pathogen suppression will contribute to our current understanding of the mechanisms involved in biocontrol. The limitations of these biocontrol products can be addressed by enhancing biocontrol through manipulation of the environment, using mixtures of beneficial organisms, physiological and genetic enhancement of the biocontrol mechanisms, manipulation of formulations and integration of biocontrol with other alternative methods that provide additive effects. These biocontrol agents will subsequently be utilized in sustainable agriculture for improving growth of crop plants.
Are Health-Related Tweets Evidence Based? Review and Analysis of Health-Related Tweets on Twitter

Background Health care professionals are utilizing Twitter to communicate, develop disease surveillance systems, and mine health-related information. The immediate users of this health information is the general public, including patients. This necessitates the validation of health-related tweets by health care professionals to ensure they are evidence based and to avoid the use of noncredible information as a basis for critical decisions. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate health-related tweets on Twitter for validity (evidence based) and to create awareness in the community regarding the importance of evidence-based health-related tweets. Methods All tweets containing health-related information in the Arabic language posted April 1-5, 2015, were mined from Twitter. The tweets were classified based on popularity, activity, interaction, and frequency to obtain 25 Twitter accounts (8 physician accounts, 10 nonofficial health institute accounts, 4 dietitian accounts, and 3 government institute accounts) and 625 tweets. These tweets were evaluated by 3 American Board–certified medical consultants and a score was generated (true/false) and interobserver agreement was calculated. Results A total of 625 health-related Arabic-language tweets were identified from 8 physician accounts, 10 nonofficial health institute accounts, 4 dietician accounts, and 3 government institute accounts. The reviewers labeled 320 (51.2%) tweets as false and 305 (48.8%) tweets as true. Comparative analysis of tweets by account type showed 60 of 75 (80%) tweets by government institutes, 124 of 201 (61.7%) tweets by physicians, and 42 of 101 (41.6%) tweets by dieticians were true. The interobserver agreement was moderate (range 0.78-0.22). More than half of the health-related tweets (169/248, 68.1%) from nonofficial health institutes and dietician accounts (59/101, 58.4%) were false. Tweets by the physicians were more likely to be rated “true” compared to other groups (P<.001). Conclusions Approximately half of the medical tweets from professional accounts on Twitter were found to be false based on expert review. Furthermore, most of the evidence-based health-related tweets are posted by government institutes and physicians.
SAW strain sensors - high precision strain sensitivity investigation on chip-level

This paper presents a strain and stress sensitivity investigation of surface acoustic wave (SAW) strain sensors on chip-level. Longitudinal and transversal orientated SAW strain sensors are homogeneously loaded. The sensors response is measured and analyzed with a network analyzer while the sensor substrate stripes are strained precisely. An optical 3D deformation analysis system is used for reference strain measurements. The determined strain on chip-level is compared with strain calculations. High precision strain and stress sensitivities are presented without the cross effects of multilayer measurement setups.
Conceptual Models and Cross-Domain Mapping: New Perspectives on Theories of Music and Hierarchy

structure of the VERTICALITY experiences, images, and perceptions. Our concept of verticality is based on this schema, and this concept is in turn the basis for the spatial orientation of up and down so crucial to conceptual models such as HEIGHT. The theory of image schemata is also fundamental to current explanations of what makes cross-domain mapping possible. As George Lakoff and Mark Turner have suggested in their writings on the Invariance Principle, mappings are not about the imposition of the structure of the source domain on the target domain, but are instead about the establishment of correspondences between the two domains (Lakoff 1990, 1993; Turner 1990, 1993). These correspondences are not haphazard, but instead preserve the image-schematic structure latent in each domain. For instance, mapping the simple spatial relationship up-down onto the domain of emotions relies on our repeated experiences with what we ourselves feel and what we observe in others: buoyancy ("up") when exhilarated ("she walked with a spring in her step;" "I was floating on air"); deflation ("down") when depressed ("he walked as though he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders"). Mapping up-down onto the domain of emotions preserves the image-schematic structure of the physical states we associate with emotions, and imports the spatial orientation of the underlying VERTICALITY schema in order to provide a coherent account of these states. We also map up-down onto the domain of musical pitch: we typically speak of "high" notes and "low" notes. We needn't look far to find a correspondence of up-down in our experience of musical pitch: when we make "low" sounds, our chest resonates; when we make "high" sounds,
A method for deriving homogenous population of oligodendrocytes from mouse embryonic stem cells

There is a pressing need for new therapeutics for the generation and transplantation of oligodendrocyte to the white matter to help replace and render injured cells that are lost in demyelinating disease. There are a few protocols describing a homogenous derivation of non‐manipulated mouse embryonic stem cells to oligodendrocytes (ES‐OL). Moreover, protocols that are successful in producing ES‐OL do so with low efficiency. Therefore, we describe clear methodology for differentiation of mouse ES cells to oligodendrocyte to a high degree of homogenity and reproducibility in vitro. In addition, taking advantage of three defined media, we can generate a defined ES to oligodendrocyte lineage while selecting against neurons and astrocytes. More specifically, (1) Glial stem cell defining media (GSCDM), supplemented with appropriate combination of SHH and RA support pro‐oligodendrocyte developing neural spheres from ES cells, (2) Oligodendrocyte differentiating media, induces lineage selection of oligodendrocytes progenitors from neural stem cells, and (3) Oligodendrocyte maturation media, supports oligodendrocytes progenitor maturation. Moreover, the ES cell derived oligodendrocytes display mature properites in the prescence of rat dorsal root gangila in vitro. Thus confirming thier potential for use to invesitgate developmental pathways and future potential use of cells in transplantation towards myelin repair. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 72: 777–788, 2012
Securing SCADA systems

Purpose – Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are widely used by utility companies during the production and distribution of oil, gas, chemicals, electric power, and water to control and monitor these operations. A cyber attack on a SCADA system cannot only result in a major financial disaster but also in devastating damage to public safety and health. The purpose of this paper is to survey the literature on the cyber security of SCADA systems and then suggest two categories of security solutions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposes the use of secure socket layer/transport layer security (SSL/TLS) and IP security (IPsec) solutions, implemented on the test‐bed at the University of Louisville, as the optimal choices when considering the level of security a solution can provide and the difficulty of implementing such a security measure. The paper analyzes these two solution choices, discuss their advantages and disadvantages, and present details on efficient ways of implement.
From an Archaeology of Iconoclasm to an Anthropology of the Body

The attack on images in England in the sixteenth and seventeenth century was not random destruction. Particular parts of the body, namely, the head and the hands, were the focus of attack. These were the same foci against which capital and the severest forms of corporal punishment were aimed. Distinct from the theological reasons for iconoclasm, these persistent foci and forms of attack reveal something about attitudes to the body in this period and the privileging of the head and hands in a number of social and cultural discourses. Iconoclasm both informs and was informed by an understanding of bodies as they were constructed in the later medieval and early modern periods.
Controlled Attenuation Parameter and Liver Stiffness Measurements for Steatosis Assessment in the Liver Transplant of Brain Dead Donors

Background One of the main selection criteria of the quality of a liver graft is the degree of steatosis, which will determine the success of the transplantation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of FibroScan and its related methods Controlled Attenuation Parameter and Liver Stiffness to assess objectively steatosis and fibrosis in livers from brain-dead donors to be potentially used for transplantation. Methods Over a period of 10 months, 23 consecutive brain dead donors screened for liver procurement underwent a FibroScan and a liver biopsy. Results The different predictive models of liver retrievability using liver biopsy as the gold standard have led to the following area under receiver operating characteristic curve: 76.6% (95% confidence intervals [95% CIs], 48.2%-100%) when based solely on controlled attenuation parameter, 75.0% (95% CIs, 34.3%-100%) when based solely on liver stiffness, and 96.7% (95% CIs, 88.7%-100%) when based on combined indices. Conclusions Our study suggests that a preoperative selection of brain-dead donors based on a combination of both Controlled Attenuation Parameter and Liver Stiffness obtained with FibroScan could result in a good preoperative prediction of the histological status and degree of steatosis of a potential liver graft.
Nicotinic α5 subunit deletion locally reduces high‐affinity agonist activation without altering nicotinic receptor numbers

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit α5 mRNA is widely expressed in the CNS. An α5 gene polymorphism has been implicated in behavioral differences between mouse strains, and α5‐null mutation induces profound changes in mouse acute responses to nicotine. In this study, we have examined the distribution and prevalence of α5* nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in mouse brain, and quantified the effects of α5‐null mutation on pre‐synaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor function (measured using synaptosomal 86Rb+ efflux) and overall [125I]epibatidine binding site expression. α5* nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression was found in nine of fifteen regions examined, although < 20% of the total nicotinic acetylcholine receptor population in any region contained α5. Deletion of the α5 subunit gene resulted in localized loss of function (thalamus, striatum), which was itself confined to the DHβE‐sensitive receptor population. No changes in receptor expression were seen. Consequently, functional changes must occur as a result of altered function per unit of receptor. The selective depletion of high agonist activation affinity sites results in overall nicotinic function being reduced, and increases the overall agonist activation affinity. Together, these results describe the receptor‐level changes underlying altered behavioral responses to nicotine in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α5 subunit‐null mutants.
Beyond the bag-of-words paradigm to enhance information retrieval applications

The typical IR-approach to indexing, clustering, classification and retrieval, just to name a few, is the one based on the bag-of-words paradigm. It eventually transforms a text into an array of terms, possibly weighted (with tf-idf scores or derivatives), and then represents that array via points in highly-dimensional space. It is therefore syntactical and unstructured, in the sense that different terms lead to different dimensions. Co-occurrence detection and other processing steps have been thus proposed (see e.g. LSI, Spectral analysis [7]) to identify the existence of those relations, but yet everyone is aware of the limitations of this approach especially in the expanding context of short (and thus poorly composed) texts, such as the snippets of search-engine results, the tweets of a Twitter channel, the items of a news feed, the posts of a blog, or the advertisement messages, etc.
A quasiminimax approach to robust adaptive antenna array design

The problem of robust adaptive antenna array construction is formulated and resolved as a problem of finding of some compressing operator. For finding the compressing operators a quasiminimax approach is used, so obtaining the value of the output signal/(interference plus noise) ratio exceeding a required (threshold) value at a priori data maximum error.
Hierarchical multi-label classification with SVMs: A case study in gene function prediction

Hierarchical multi-label classification is a relatively new research topic in the field of classifier induction. What dis- tinguishes it from earlier tasks is that it allows each example to belong to two or more classes at the same time, and by assuming that the classes are mutually related by generalization/specialization operators. The paper first investigates the problem of per- formance evaluation in these domains. After this, it proposes a new induction system, HR-SVM, built around support vector machines. In our experiments, we demonstrate that this system's performance compares favorably with that earlier attempts, and then we proceed to an investigation of how HR-SVM's individual modules contribute to the overall system's behavior. As a testbed, we use a set of benchmark domains from the field of gene-function prediction.
Radiocarbon determinations, luminescence dating and Australian archaeology

The September 1993 editorial (ANTIQUITY 65: 44–5) made comment on recent Australian dates, by luminescence techniques, significantly older than radiocarbon determinations from elsewhere in Australia and New Guinea, which formed a single continent in the late Pleistocene. (There are hints also from the Americas of a discrepancy between dates by the two methods.) The period involved, c. 30-60,000 years ago, is crucial also in the Old World mainland, where the beginning of the European Upper Palaeolithic is usually set at c. 35,000 years ago by radiocarbon determinations.
Requirements Development Life Cycle with Respect to Geographically Distributed Stakeholders: The "V" Model

Requirements engineering activities act as a backbone of software development. The more efforts devoted in Requirements engineering activities results in a better software product. Requirements engineering activities are difficult when it is done locally and it is even more difficult when cross cultural stakeholder influence it. These stakeholders have their own perception and expectation of the requirements. This paper presents a model called V model which can be used for requirements development with respect to geographically distributed stakeholder. The activities in this model can be followed in order to develop requirements with respect to geographically distributed stakeholder for a software product.
Trypanosoma cruzi nucleoside diphosphate kinase 1 (TcNDPK1) has a broad nuclease activity

SUMMARY Here, we present the characterization of a trypanosomatid nucleoside diphosphate kinase (TcNDPK1) exhibiting nuclease activity. This is the first identification of a NDPK with this property in trypanosomatid organisms. The recombinant TcNDPK1 protein cleaves not only linear DNA, but also supercoiled plasmid DNA. Additionally, TcNDPK1 is capable of degrading Trypanosoma cruzi genomic DNA. ATP or ADP did not affect the nuclease activity, while the absence of Mg2+ completely inhibits this activity. NDPK and nuclease activities were inhibited at the same temperature, suggesting the presence of related catalytic sites. Furthermore, phenogram analysis showed that TcNDPK1 is close to Drosophila melanogaster and human NDPKs. The unspecific nuclease activity could suggest a participation in cellular processes such as programmed cell death.
Environmental stresses induce the expression of putative glycine‐rich insect cuticular protein genes in adult Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)

The deposition of cuticular proteins in insects usually occurs during the moulting process. Three putative glycine‐rich insect cuticular proteins, Ld‐GRP1 to 3, were identified and characterized from the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. The Ld‐GRPs contained conserved GXGX and/or GGXG sequence repeats. Ld‐GRP1 also contained a conserved AAPA/V motif commonly found in cuticular proteins. The transcripts of Ld‐GRP1 and Ld‐GRP2 were detected in the epidermal cell layer by in situ hybridization, making them putative insect cuticular proteins. The putative cuticular protein genes were highly induced by the insecticide azinphosmethyl (organophosphorous) 2–3 weeks after adult moulting. Putative cuticular protein gene expression level was higher in azinphosmethyl‐resistant beetles than in susceptible beetles. Furthermore, two of the putative cuticular protein genes were highly induced by dry environmental conditions. These results suggest that the insect might increase cuticular component deposition in the adult stage in response to environmental stresses. This ability may allow the insect to adapt to new or changing environments.
Differential Effects of Tri‐n‐Butylstannyl Benzoates on Induction of Apoptosis in K562 and MCF‐7 Cells

Tributyltin compounds have been shown to induce apoptosis by causing extracellular Ca2+ influx and generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). Several organotin compounds were reported to have differential cytotoxicity on various human cell lines depending on the length of the alkyl chain. In this report, the cytotoxic effects of three tri‐n‐butylstannyl (halo)benzoate compounds‐tri‐n‐butylstannyl benzoate (TBSB), tri‐n‐butylstannyl 2,6‐difluorobenzoate (TBSDFB) and tri‐n‐butylstannyl‐2‐iodobenzoate (TBSIB)‐were studied on lymphocytic cells of human leukemic K562 lineage and epithelial cells of human breast cancer MCF‐7 cells lineage. K562 cells were found to be more sensitive to these compounds than MCF‐7 cells. Although the induction of apoptosis by the above compounds in K562 cells resulted from the extracellular Ca2+ influx and the generation of ROS, the initial amount of extracellular Ca2+ influx was greater in TBSB‐treated K562 cells than the cells treated with either TBSDFB or TBSIB. Similarly, DNA fragmentation by endonucleases was observed as an early event in TBSB‐treated K562 cells, which might be correlated with the initially greater extracellular Ca2+ influx. In contrast, MCF‐7 cells were found to undergo apoptosis mainly because of the generation of ROS. The present results suggest that the differential effects of tributyltin compounds on induction of apoptosis in K562 and MCF‐7 cells are largely attributable to the extent of extracellular Ca2+ influx.
Sustainability in Business Process Management Research - a Literature Review

Sustainability and business process management (BPM) are both on today’s IS research agenda. BPM on the one hand is even seen as one of the core aspects of the discipline. Sustainability on the other hand is a practical problem for business managers around the globe. In this paper we investigate if and how aspects of this trend towards more sustainable enterprises have been adopted and incorporated into current BPM research. We do so in form of a structured literature review. This literature review should help to discuss if today’s BPM research provides the right tools and methods to green the underlying business activities or if it is rather embracing sustainability only on a descriptive/argumentative level without true incorporation into its methodological foundations. Based on the literature review the paper closes with some ideas for a future research agenda at the intersection of BPM and sustainability.