Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current questions on space and time encoding

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 celebrated the groundbreaking findings on place cells and grid cells by John O'Keefe and May‐Britt Moser and Edvard Moser. These findings provided an essential foothold for understanding the cognitive encoding of space and time in episodic memory function. This foothold provides a closer view of a broad new world of important research questions raised by the phenomena of place cells and grid cells. These questions concern the mechanisms of generation of place and grid cell firing, including sensory influences, circuit dynamics and intrinsic properties. Similar questions concern the generation of time cells. In addition, questions concern the functional role of place cells, grid cells and time cells in mediating goal‐directed behavior and episodic memory function. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Regret Minimization Algorithms for the Followers Behaviour Identification in Leadership Games

We study for the ﬁrst time, a leadership game in which one agent, acting as leader , faces another agent, acting as follower , whose behaviour is not known a priori by the leader, being one among a set of possible behavioural proﬁles. The main motivation is that in real-world applications the common game-theoretical assumption of perfect rationality is rarely met, and any speciﬁc assumption on bounded rationality models, if wrong, could lead to a signiﬁcant loss for the leader. The question we pose is whether and how the leader can learn the behavioural proﬁle of a follower in leadership games. This is a “natural” online identiﬁcation problem: in fact, the leader aims at identifying the follower’s behavioural proﬁle to exploit at best the potential non-rationality of the opponent, while minimizing the regret due to the initial lack of information. We propose two algorithms based on different approaches and we provide a regret analysis. Furthermore, we experimentally evaluate the pseudo-regret of the algorithms in concrete leadership games, showing that our algorithms outperform the online learning algorithms available in the state of the art.
Egg jelly proteins stimulate directed motility in Xenopus laevis sperm

Previously we have shown that extracts from Xenopus egg jelly (egg water) increase the passage of sperm through a porous membrane in a dose‐dependent manner. Although this assay has shown that sperm accumulation occurs only in the presence of an egg water gradient, it has not revealed the dynamic features of how Xenopus sperm swim in such gradients. Here, we use video microscopic observations to trace sperm trajectories in a Zigmond chamber. Our results show that Xenopus sperm swim in linear and gently curving paths and only infrequently perform turns. In the presence of an egg water gradient, however, the percent of sperm swimming up the gradient axis and the net distance traveled by each sperm along this axis was increased significantly. There was no change in curvilinear velocity. Rather, the orientation of sperm travel was shifted to more closely match that of the gradient axis. In addition, using a porous filter assay, we demonstrate that the egg water protein allurin, in both purified and recombinant forms, stimulates directed motility of sperm. Finally, we use Oregon Green 488‐conjugated allurin to show that this protein binds primarily to the sperm midpiece; binding of allurin to the entire head was observed in a minor subpopulation of sperm. Dose dependence of allurin binding occurred over the 0–1 µg/ml range and correlated well with previously published dose‐dependent sperm attraction data. Binding was rapid with a half‐time of about 10 sec. These data suggest that egg water proteins bind to sperm and modify sperm‐orienting behavior. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 78:450–462, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evidence of dispersion in a water-saturated granular sediment

An experiment was conducted to measure the sound speed in a water-saturated granular sediment within a range of frequencies where dispersion is predicted by a number of existing models. Between 2-4 kHz, the sound speed was inferred from measurements of the resonance frequencies of a right-circular-cylindrical container filled with the material. From 20-300 kHz, the sound speed was obtained directly from time-of-flight measurements within the same sediment. Dispersion consistent with the Williams Effective Density Fluid Model was observed.
Diabetes and ageing‐induced vascular inflammation

Diabetes and the ageing process independently increase the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Since incidence of diabetes increases as people get older, the diabetic older adults represent the largest population of diabetic subjects. This group of patients would potentially be threatened by the development of CVD related to both ageing and diabetes. The relationship between CVD, ageing and diabetes is explained by the negative impact of these conditions on vascular function. Functional and clinical evidence supports the role of vascular inflammation induced by the ageing process and by diabetes in vascular impairment and CVD. Inflammatory mechanisms in both aged and diabetic vasculature include pro‐inflammatory cytokines, vascular hyperactivation of nuclear factor‐кB, increased expression of cyclooxygenase and inducible nitric oxide synthase, imbalanced expression of pro/anti‐inflammatory microRNAs, and dysfunctional stress‐response systems (sirtuins, Nrf2). In contrast, there are scarce data regarding the interaction of these mechanisms when ageing and diabetes co‐exist and its impact on vascular function. Older diabetic animals and humans display higher vascular impairment and CVD risk than those either aged or diabetic, suggesting that chronic low‐grade inflammation in ageing creates a vascular environment favouring the mechanisms of vascular damage driven by diabetes. Further research is needed to determine the specific inflammatory mechanisms responsible for exacerbated vascular impairment in older diabetic subjects in order to design effective therapeutic interventions to minimize the impact of vascular inflammation. This would help to prevent or delay CVD and the specific clinical manifestations (cognitive decline, frailty and disability) promoted by diabetes‐induced vascular impairment in the elderly.
Substrate Specificities of Three Members of the Human UDP-N-Acetyl-α-d-galactosamine:Polypeptide N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferase Family, GalNAc-T1, -T2, and -T3*

Mucin-type O-glycosylation is initiated by UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine:polypeptideN-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (GalNAc-transferases). The role each GalNAc-transferase plays in O-glycosylation is unclear. In this report we characterized the specificity and kinetic properties of three purified recombinant GalNAc-transferases. GalNAc-T1, -T2, and -T3 were expressed as soluble proteins in insect cells and purified to near homogeneity. The enzymes have distinct but partly overlapping specificities with short peptide acceptor substrates. Peptides specifically utilized by GalNAc-T2 or -T3, or preferentially by GalNAc-T1 were identified. GalNAc-T1 and -T3 showed strict donor substrate specificities for UDP-GalNAc, whereas GalNAc-T2 also utilized UDP-Gal with one peptide acceptor substrate. Glycosylation of peptides based on MUC1 tandem repeat showed that three of five potential sites in the tandem repeat were glycosylated by all three enzymes when one or five repeat peptides were analyzed. However, analysis of enzyme kinetics by capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry demonstrated that the three enzymes react at different rates with individual sites in the MUC1 repeat. The results demonstrate that individual GalNAc-transferases have distinct activities and the initiation of O-glycosylation in a cell is regulated by a repertoire of GalNAc-transferases.
The timing, specificity and clinical prediction of tricyclic drug effects in depression

Synopsis This research was aimed at studying the rate of action of tricyclic drugs in depressive disorders, specifying the behavioural effects associated with recovery, and predicting clinical response. The research design involved comparison of a recovered group with a group treated for the equivalent four weeks, who showed minimal to no response. The findings indicated significant differences in baseline characteristics between responders and non-responders. Further, the drugs were found to act early in the responders, within the first week of treatment. Specific changes at one week which distinguished responder and non-responder groups occurred in the disturbed affects, and in cognitive functioning. Improvements also occurred in somatic symptoms, but these latter changes were general and not associated with later recovery. At 2½ weeks, all facets of the depressed condition showed positive change in the responders. Implications of the results for assessing rate of tricyclic drug actions, their effects on the interaction of affect and neurochemistry, and the practical application of the results for the clinical situation, are discussed.
Evidence for Cryptic Genetic Discontinuity in a Recently Expanded Sika Deer Population on the Boso Peninsula, Central Japan

The genetic structure of populations is not necessarily reflected in the geographical proximity of individuals, because environmental gradients such as those of vegetation or climate can function as cryptic barriers to gene flow. We examined polymorphisms at nine microsatellite loci to determine and discuss whether a distinctive genetic structure was detectable in a spatially continuous population of the sika deer (Cervus nippon) on the Boso Peninsula of central Japan. Spatially explicit Bayesian analysis revealed that two genetically distinctive clusters exist in the Boso population. The spatial boundary of the two clusters approximately conformed to the border defined previously from a mitochondrial DNA dataset. By combining information on the geomorphic features surrounding the boundary and that on the lineage of 1970s population, we propose a schematic scenario for characterizing the population genetic structure to the present. The current population consists of genetically different lineages, and spatially discontinuous clusters have come into contact in the vicinity of a local road running along a steep-walled ravine that could act as principal barrier to gene flow. Biological factors such as distribution of vegetation and philopatric behavior might also have helped strengthen the cryptic genetic structure of the Boso population.
Infertility: Prognostic variables in predicting pregnancy. A prospective follow up study of 907 couples with an infertility problem

This report describes a prospective follow-up study on 907 infertile men presenting as partners of infertile couples. Couples who conceived were compared to those who remained infertile during a 3-year follow up. A univariate life table analysis showed that the duration of infertility, the age of both spouses, a history of male urethritis, the body mass index, the percentage of motile spermatozoa, the quality of motility, the motile sperm density, the total motile count, the sperm morphology, and the pH of semen were significant predictors of fertility. Another eleven socio-demographic and nine semen variables were not associated with fertility. Cox multiple regression analysis identified the duration of infertility, percentage total motility, the quality of motility combined, a history of male urethritis, the wife's age, and the morphology of the spermatozoa to be independent predictors of the reproductive outcome. A prognostic 'risk' ratio (chance for achieving pregnancy) was calculated as a function of these variables for each couple and a life table analysis was made between three classified subgroups of couples with different risk ratios. These life table curves make it possible to define the probability of an individual couple to achieve pregnancy at any given time.
Analysis of HLA-A, -B, -C, -DR, -DQ polymorphisms in the South Tunisian population and a comparison with other populations

Background: The Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) system is often used as a genetic marker for analysing populations. HLA antigen distribution among the Tunisian population is not well defined because of the lack of a general population study. Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the polymorphism of HLA-A, -B, -C, -DR and -DQ loci in the South Tunisian population. Subjects and methods: This study has investigated HLA-A, -B, -C, -DR and -DQ polymorphisms in 123 unrelated healthy individuals originating from the south of Tunisia. HLA class I was studied by serology and completed by polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP). HLA class II was performed using PCR-SSP. Results: The most common alleles were A-2 (0.2154), B-44 (0.1179), C7 (0.2114), DR4 (0.1626) and DQ2 (0.313). A1-B-8-C7-DR3-DQ2 (2.84%) was the predominant haplotype in this population. Comparisons with data of other worldwide populations based on phylogenetic tree and multidimensional scaling analysis were done. This study suggests that both HLA class I and class II polymorphism specificities demonstrate a high diversity in this South Tunisian population, which reflects ancient and recent admixture with neighbouring populations. Conclusion: The results provide useful information for further studies of Tunisian population evolution, anthropology and for resolving HLA frequencies when searching for HLA-compatible donors in transplantation and for the analysis of disease associations.
Diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry of the Boxgrove 1 Middle Pleistocene human tibia.

Cross-sectional geometric analysis of the early Middle Pleistocene human tibia from Boxgrove, West Sussex, U.K. reveals a mosaic pattern relative to other archaic Homo tibiae. The specimen has relatively low percent cortical area within its cross sections. However, it exhibits the high mediolateral strength characteristic of archaic Homo tibiae. Scaled solely to tibial length it is robust, similar to those of the Neandertals and above those of early modern and pre-Late Pleistocene African and Asian humans. However, given ecogeographically-patterned variance in relative tibial length and body laterality, it is most likely that it exhibits a level of robusticity within the range encompassed by Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene archaic Homo combined with arctic body proportions. Given its association with late interglacial cool temperate climatic indicators, the inferred body proportions of the Boxgrove hominid were probably promoted by their minimal level of cultural buffering, requiring a significant biological conservation of body heat.
Chemokine Receptor Antagonist Peptide, Viral MIP-II, Protects the Brain against Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Mice

The authors previously reported that mRNA for macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1 α), a member of the CC chemokines, was expressed in glial cells after focal cerebral ischemia in rats. However, the function of chemokines in the ischemic brain remains unclear. Recently, viral macrophage inflammatory protein-II (vMIP-II), a chemokine analogue encoded by human herpesvirus-8 DNA, has been demonstrated to have antagonistic activity at several chemokine receptors. In the present study, the effects of vMIP-II and MIP-1α on ischemic brain injury were examined in mice to elucidate the roles of chemokines endogenously produced in the ischemic brain. Intracerebroventricular injection of vMIP-II (0.01–1 μg) reduced infarct volume in a dose-dependent manner when examined 48 hours after 1-hour middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by reperfusion. However, 1 μg MIP-1α increased infarct volume in the cortical region. These results supported the possibility that chemokines endogenously produced in the brain are involved in ischemic injury, and that chemokine receptors are potential targets for therapeutic intervention of stroke.
Bicriteria Distributed Submodular Maximization in a Few Rounds

We study the problem of efficiently optimizing submodular functions under cardinality constraints in distributed setting. Recently, several distributed algorithms for this problem have been introduced which either achieve a sub-optimal solution or they run in super-constant number of rounds of computation. Unlike previous work, we aim to design distributed algorithms in multiple rounds with almost optimal approximation guarantees at the cost of outputting a larger number of elements. Toward this goal, we present a distributed algorithm that, for any ε > 0 and any constant r, outputs a set S of O(rk/ε1/r) items in r rounds, and achieves a (1-ε)-approximation of the value of the optimum set with k items. This is the first distributed algorithm that achieves an approximation factor of (1-ε) running in less than log 1/ε number of rounds. We also prove a hardness result showing that the output of any 1-ε approximation distributed algorithm limited to one distributed round should have at least Ω(k/ε) items. In light of this hardness result, our distributed algorithm in one round, r = 1, is asymptotically tight in terms of the output size. We support the theoretical guarantees with an extensive empirical study of our algorithm showing that achieving almost optimum solutions is indeed possible in a few rounds for large-scale real datasets.
Improved multi-modal genetic algorithms and its application on portfolio investment model

A new approach to find investing scheme with multi-modal genetic algorithm is proposed. In view of the fact that the traditional portfolio investment model does not meet the demands of different venture capitalist, a new model that fits the circumstances of Chinese securities business is developed. A new approach is presented to find the solution that incorporates Niche GA with "Migrating Operator" which can overcome the unstability of Niche GA and find effectively all good solutions without the information of the distances between the good solutions. The method is tested and the expected results are obtained.
Paced finger-tapping abnormalities in bipolar disorder indicate timing dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that impaired time perception and the neural circuitry contributing to internal timing mechanisms may contribute to severe psychiatric disorders, including mood disorders. The structures that are involved in subsecond timing, i.e., cerebellum and basal ganglia, have also been implicated in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. However, the timing of subsecond intervals has infrequently been studied in this population. METHODS Paced finger-tapping tasks have been used to characterize internal timing processes in neuropsychiatric disorders. A total of 42 bipolar disorder patients (25 euthymic, 17 manic) and 42 age-matched healthy controls completed a finger-tapping task in which they tapped in time with a paced (500-ms intertap interval) auditory stimulus (synchronization), then continued tapping without auditory input while attempting to maintain the same pace (continuation). This procedure was followed using the dominant index finger, then with alternating thumbs. RESULTS Bipolar disorder participants showed greater timing variability relative to controls regardless of pacing stimulus (synchronization versus continuation) or condition (dominant index finger versus alternating thumbs). Decomposition of timing variance into internal clock versus motor implementation components using the Wing-Kristofferson model showed higher clock variability in the bipolar disorder groups compared to controls, with no differences between groups on motor implementation variability. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that internal timing mechanisms are disrupted in bipolar disorder patients, independent of symptom status. Increased clock variability in bipolar disorder may be related to abnormalities in cerebellar function.
Increased H1N1 infection rate in children with asthma.

RATIONALE The 2009 H1N1 flu appeared to cause more severe cold symptoms during the 2009-2010 flu season. OBJECTIVES We evaluated H1N1 infections during peak viral season in children with and without asthma to determine whether the H1N1 infectivity rate and illness severity were greater in subjects with asthma. METHODS One hundred and eighty children, 4-12 years of age, provided eight consecutive weekly nasal mucus samples from September 5 through October 24, 2009, and scored cold and asthma symptoms daily. Viral diagnostics were performed for all nasal samples. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS One hundred and sixty-one children (95 with asthma, 66 without asthma) completed at least 6 of the 8 nasal samples. The incidence of H1N1 infection was significantly higher in children with asthma (41%) than in children without asthma (24%; odds ratio, 4; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-9; P < 0.001), but rates of human rhinovirus infection (90% each) and other viral infections (47 vs. 41%) were similar. In children with asthma, there was a nonsignificant trend for increased loss of asthma control during H1N1 infections compared with human rhinovirus infections (38 vs. 21%; odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-7.2; P = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS During peak 2009 H1N1 flu season, children with asthma were infected almost twice as often with H1N1 compared with other respiratory viruses. H1N1 infection also caused increased severity of cold symptoms compared with other viral infections. Given the increased susceptibility of children with asthma to infection, these findings reinforce the need for yearly influenza vaccination to prevent infection, and raise new questions about the mechanism for enhanced susceptibility to influenza infection in asthma.
Medium and Long-term Forecasting of Energy Consumption Based on Log-GMDH Model

This paper provides a new model,Log-GMDH model,by introducing logistic function as the transfer function of autoregressive two-level algorithm of GMDH model.According to the historical data of Chinese total energy consumption from 1979 to 1999,back propagation(BP) neural network model,autoregressive moving average(ARMA) model and Log-GMDH model are compared on the test dataset(2000-2010). The results show that the Log-GMDH model is more accurate and stable.It forecasts China's energy consumption in the following 30 years(2011-2040) and the results of Log-GMDH fit the energy sustainable development strategy better than ARMA's.The results show that China's energy consumption will keep a rapid growth.The total energy consumption of China will be 6255 million tons of standard coal in 2030,and then that number will be controlled in 6570 million tons of standard coal in 2040 when energy demand reaches the "zero growth".