Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Responses in area hMT+ reflect tuning for both auditory frequency and motion after blindness early in life

Significance When individuals lose a sense early in life, widespread neural reorganization occurs. This extraordinary plasticity plays a critical role in allowing blind and deaf individuals to make better use of their remaining senses. Here, we show that area hMT+, selective for visual motion in sighted individuals, responds to auditory frequency as well as auditory motion after early blindness. Remarkably, auditory frequency tuning persisted in two adult sight-recovery subjects, despite their recovered ability to see visual motion. Thus, auditory frequency selectivity coexists with the neural architecture required for visual motion processing. In blind individuals, selectivity for auditory motion and frequency seems to exist within a conserved neural architecture capable of supporting analogous computations in the visual domain should vision be restored. Previous studies report that human middle temporal complex (hMT+) is sensitive to auditory motion in early-blind individuals. Here, we show that hMT+ also develops selectivity for auditory frequency after early blindness, and that this selectivity is maintained after sight recovery in adulthood. Frequency selectivity was assessed using both moving band-pass and stationary pure-tone stimuli. As expected, within primary auditory cortex, both moving and stationary stimuli successfully elicited frequency-selective responses, organized in a tonotopic map, for all subjects. In early-blind and sight-recovery subjects, we saw evidence for frequency selectivity within hMT+ for the auditory stimulus that contained motion. We did not find frequency-tuned responses within hMT+ when using the stationary stimulus in either early-blind or sight-recovery subjects. We saw no evidence for auditory frequency selectivity in hMT+ in sighted subjects using either stimulus. Thus, after early blindness, hMT+ can exhibit selectivity for auditory frequency. Remarkably, this auditory frequency tuning persists in two adult sight-recovery subjects, showing that, in these subjects, auditory frequency-tuned responses can coexist with visually driven responses in hMT+.
A 2-Axis Optical Force–Torque Fingertip Sensor for Dexterous Grasping Using Linear Polarizers

This paper presents a two-axis force/torque sensor (one force and one torque) that uses light-intensity modulation techniques to measure the contact force and torque between a robotic finger and an object. The sensor has a diameter of 9 × 10-3 m and a height of 10 × 10-3 m. The sensor incorporates linearly aligned fiber-optic cables, linear polarizers, and nitinol wire strips into a rigid structure made of plastic. The nitinol wire strips allow certain parts of the structure to deform under applied forces. A model of the sensor is presented, and calibration experiments were conducted, validating the model. The sensor was also incorporated into the fingertip of a Barrett Hand, and experiments were conducted on three objects, i.e., a power adapter, a partially filled plastic bottle, and a curved paper punch to identify the sensor's response to different surface profiles. The sensor's data are also compared with data from a Nano17 force and torque sensor, and the results from the two sensors are discussed.
TREC-7 CLIR using a Probabilistic Translation Model

In this report, we describe the approach we used in TREC-7 Cross-Language IR (CLIR) track. The approach is based on a probabilistic translation model estimated from a parallel training corpus (Canadian HANSARD). The problem of translating a query from a language to another (between French and English) becomes the problem of determining the most probable words that may appear in the translation of the query. In this paper, we will describe the principle of building the probabilistic model, and the runs we submitted using the model as a translation tool.
Broadening Perspectives to Meet the Needs of Gifted Learners in Rural Schools

The purpose of this discussion is to demonstrate the importance of developing a broad perspective when meeting the needs of children and youth who are gifted and live in rural areas. A narrow perspective of one program for one type of giftedness restricts the usefulness of rural resources. Families who have inhabited places for generations have close connections to “place” and often feel emotional ties to the values of such places. Discovering and maximizing the resources specific to the rural area may help rural educators in providing educational plans and services for gifted learners, building a future that is as solid as the successes experienced in the earliest history of rural education. This discussion uses the lens of motivational theory, specifically the development of initiative for gifted learners, to broaden perspectives in thinking about the ways rural schools can connect to rural communities to provide differentiated services for gifted learners.
Decomposition of Intramuscular EMG Signals Using a Heuristic Fuzzy Expert System

Although increasingly sophisticated algorithms have been proposed to decompose intramuscular electromyography signals into the concurrent activities of individual motor units (MUs), the human operator is still able to improve decomposition results by visual inspection. The rationale for this paper was to combine components from previous decomposition procedures in an expert systems approach utilizing fuzzy logic and attempting to replicate the thought process of an accomplished decomposer in order to minimize the user interaction subsequently needed to enhance decomposition results. The decomposition procedure is discussed and examples are given of the type of information it can yield. The method has been used to identify the discharge activities of up to 15 MUs with up to 95% accuracy.
Exacting Beauty: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment of Body Image Disturbance

J. KEVIN THOMPSON, LESLIE J. HEINBERG, MADELINE ALTABE, AND STACEY TANTELEFF-DUNN: Exacting Beauty: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment of Body Image Disturbance. American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., 1998, 396 pp., $39.95, ISBN 1-55798-541-3. The goal of this book-the third on body image that was either authored or edited by J. Kevin Thompson-is "to attempt to integrate theory, assessment, and treatment for the field of body image; to provide a guide for researchers and clinicians interested in the field of body image disturbance and to bridge research and practice. " After reading this text, the clinician would hope to come away with a clear sense of the etiology of body-image disturbances and then to be able to identify the best clinical treatment that would match patient diagnostic presentation. Although the research material is well handled, the treatment aspect is somewhat incomplete. The authors present a good overall view of the origin of body image and body-image disturbance, and an excellent historical review of research in the field of eating disorders, i.e., anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, as well as bingeeating disorder and obesity. The book also addresses the complexity of defining, measuring, and creating theoretical models while exploring the social and cultural aspects of body image and the public media emphasis on thinness. And it outlines the current thinking about making a differential diagnosis of body-dysmorphic disorder, often a difficult matter. Some important work in body-dysmorphic disorder is missing, however, such as that of Eric Hollander, M.D. The book's forte is presenting the reader with a strong array of models for measurements and assessment and different testing methodologies, as well as including helpful tables, appendices, and references. The 11 chapters are divided into five parts: 1. An Overview: Prevalence, Diversity, Assessment, and Treatment; 2. Societal and Social Approaches; 3. Interpersonal Approaches; 4. Feminist Approaches; and 5. Behavioral, Cognitive, and Integrative Approaches. The term "approaches" is somewhat misleading because it infers presentation of several different treatment methodologies that the book only partially delivers. The authors conclude that the cognitive-behavioral modality of treatment, supported by "empirical findings," has been the most successful in the treatment of body image thus far, and they are not nearly as exhaustive in covering other treatment modalities, such as the feminist perspective. …
Generation and characterization of mice bearing null alleles of nradd/Nrh2

The Neurotrophin receptor associated death domain gene (Nradd/Nrh2/Plaidd) is a type I transmembrane protein with a unique and short N‐terminal extracellular domain and a transmembrane and intracellular domain that bears high similarity to the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR/Ngfr). Initial studies suggested that NRADD regulates neurotrophin signaling but very little is known about its physiological roles. We have generated and characterized NRADD conditional and germ‐line null mouse lines. These mice are viable and fertile and dońt show evident abnormalities. However, NRADD deletion results in an increase in the proportion of dorsal root ganglion neurons expressing p75NTR. The NRADD conditional and complete knockout mouse lines generated are new and useful tools to study the physiological roles of NRADD. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:605–612, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An Efficient Similarity Search Framework for SimRank over Large Dynamic Graphs

SimRank is an important measure of vertex-pair similarity according to the structure of graphs. The similarity search based on SimRank is an important operation for identifying similar vertices in a graph and has been employed in many data analysis applications. Nowadays, graphs in the real world become much larger and more dynamic. The existing solutions for similarity search are expensive in terms of time and space cost. None of them can efficiently support similarity search over large dynamic graphs. In this paper, we propose a novel two-stage random-walk sampling framework (TSF) for SimRank-based similarity search (e.g., top-k search). In the preprocessing stage, TSF samples a set of one-way graphs to index raw random walks in a novel manner within O(NRg) time and space, where N is the number of vertices and Rg is the number of one-way graphs. The one-way graph can be efficiently updated in accordance with the graph modification, thus TSF is well suited to dynamic graphs. During the query stage, TSF can search similar vertices fast by naturally pruning unqualified vertices based on the connectivity of one-way graphs. Furthermore, with additional Rq samples, TSF can estimate the SimRank score with probability [EQUATION] if the error of approximation is bounded by 1 -- e. Finally, to guarantee the scalability of TSF, the one-way graphs can also be compactly stored on the disk when the memory is limited. Extensive experiments have demonstrated that TSF can handle dynamic billion-edge graphs with high performance.
Concordant and Discordant Regulation of Target Genes by miR-31 and Its Isoforms

It has been shown that imprecise cleavage of a primary or precursor RNA by Drosha or Dicer, respectively, may yield a group of microRNA (miRNA) variants designated as “isomiR”. Variations in the relative abundance of isoforms for a given miRNA among different species and different cell types beg the question whether these isomiRs might regulate target genes differentially. We compared the capacity of three miR-31 isoforms (miR-31-H, miR-31-P, and miR-31-M), which differ only slightly in their 5′- and/or 3′-end sequences, to regulate several known targets and a predicted target, Dicer. Notably, we found isomiR-31s displayed concordant and discordant regulation of 6 known target genes. Furthermore, we validated a predicted target gene, Dicer, to be a novel target of miR-31 but only miR-31-P could directly repress Dicer expression in both MCF-7 breast cancer cells and A549 lung cancer cells, resulting in their enhanced sensitivity to cisplatin, a known attribute of Dicer knockdown. This was further supported by reporter assay using full length 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of Dicer. Our findings not only revealed Dicer to be a direct target of miR-31, but also demonstrated that isomiRs displayed similar and disparate regulation of target genes in cell-based systems. Coupled with the variations in the distribution of isomiRs among different cells or conditions, our findings support the possibility of fine-tuning gene expression by miRNAs.
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome: clinical disease, pathology and immunosuppression

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) was first known as blue-eared pig disease in the United Kingdom and the causative agent as 'Lelystad virus'. The disease is characterised by very variable clinical signs, including reproductive failure and respiratory disease. The respiratory syndrome is often associated with severe infection with secondary bacterial agents including Pasteurella multocida, Haemophilus parasuis and Streptococcus suis. However, some seropositive herds show no clinical signs of disease. The secondary infections may be facilitated by the destruction of circulating lymphocytes, by the destruction of the mucociliary clearance system and, most importantly, by a large reduction in the numbers of alveolar macrophages. The clinical syndrome observed in a herd may therefore depend in part upon the other diseases present.
A mamdani-takagi-sugeno based linguistic neural-fuzzy inference system for improved interpretability-accuracy representation

Existing fuzzy and neural-fuzzy systems in the literature can be classified into three main categories, i.e. Mam-dani, Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) or Tsukamoto systems based on their implemented fuzzy rule structures. Furthermore, depending on the intended modeling objective, there are two main approaches to fuzzy and neural-fuzzy modeling; namely: linguistic fuzzy modeling (LFM) and precise fuzzy modeling (PFM). In general, Mamdani fuzzy models are more interpretive but less accurate than T-S fuzzy models, and improving the output accuracy of Mamdani fuzzy models usually implies using a larger rule-base with increased complexity and reduced interpretability. This paper presents a linguistic neural-fuzzy architecture that combines the explanatory trait of Mamdani-typed fuzzy models with the output accuracy of T-S fuzzy systems in a hybrid approach referred to as Mamdani-Tagaki-Sugneo (MTS) fuzzy modeling. The resultant network is named the MTS linguistic neural-fuzzy inference system (MTS-LiNFIS). The improved trade-off between the interpretability and accuracy demands of Mamdani-based fuzzy approximation is demonstrated through the evaluation of the learning and modeling performances of MTS-LiNFIS using a simple benchmark application.
The Interaction of Syntactic Theory and Computational Psycholinguistics

Typically, current research in psycholinguistics does not rely heavily on results from theoretical linguistics. In particular, most experimental work studying human sentence processing makes very straightforward assumptions about sentence structure; essentially only a simple context-free grammar is assumed. The main text book in psycholinguistics, for instance, mentions Minimalism in its chapter on linguistic description (Harley, 2001, ch. 2), but does not provide any details, and all the examples in this chapter, as well as in the chapters on sentence processing and language production (Harley, 2001, chs. 9, 12), only use context-free syntactic structures with uncontroversial phrase markers (S, VP, NP, etc.). The one exception is traces, which the textbook discusses in the context of syntactic ambiguity resolution.
Executive Functioning, Barriers to Adherence, and Nonadherence in Adolescent and Young Adult Transplant Recipients.

OBJECTIVE : To evaluate levels of executive functioning in a sample of adolescent and young adult (AYA) transplant recipients, and to examine executive functioning in association with barriers to adherence and medication nonadherence. METHOD : In all, 41 caregivers and 39 AYAs were administered self- and proxy-report measures. RESULTS : AYA transplant recipients have significant impairments in executive functioning abilities. Greater dysfunction in specific domains of executive functioning was significantly associated with more barriers to adherence and greater medication nonadherence. CONCLUSION : AYA transplant recipients are at increased risk for executive dysfunction. The assessment of executive functioning abilities may guide intervention efforts designed to decrease barriers to adherence and promote developmentally appropriate levels of treatment responsibility.
A novel classification learning framework based on estimation of distribution algorithms

Estimation of distribution algorithms abbr. EDAs is a relatively new branch of evolutionary algorithms. EDAs replace search operators with the estimation of the distribution of selected individuals + sampling from the population. In an EDAs, this explicit representation of the population is replaced with a probability distribution over the choices available at each position in the vector that represents a population member. In this paper, an estimation of distribution learning framework and the corresponding learning algorithm are proposed and the relevant properties of the framework are analysed on the basis of probability. The framework provides a basis and a principle criterion for designing and analysing evolutionary learning algorithms based on EDAs. The probability is the core tool of EDAs. EDA-based learning algorithms are required to estimate the population distribution by the sample distributions. The learning framework proposed can guide and regulate the design processes of learning algorithms and strategies based on EDAs. The framework involved in relevant learning problems is analysed from the perspectives of probability by properties analysis, proof and verification. The experiment results show that the framework proposed is feasible for realising learning from datasets and has better learning performances than some other relevant evolutionary learning methods.
Prognostic factors and therapeutic outcome of isolated symptomatic middle cerebral artery stenosis

To analyze the prognostic factors and therapeutic outcome of adult patients with isolated symptomatic stenosis of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Forty‐nine patients were retrospectively verified with isolated symptomatic stenosis of the MCA through both magnetic resonance angiogram and transcranial color‐coded duplex sonography. Therapeutic outcome at 1 year or more was determined using a modified Barthel index (BI). For the purpose of analysis, the patients were divided into two groups: a good outcome group (BI ≥ 12) and a poor outcome group (BI < 12 or recurrent stroke). The association between different therapeutic regimens and the percent free of recurrent stroke after the first event of cerebral infarction was assessed with Kaplan–Meier plots compared by a log‐rank test. These patients accounted for 2.8% of all patients with the first event of cerebral infarction during the same period. At follow‐up of 1 year or more, 63% had good outcomes whilst the other 37% had poor outcomes. Overall, 26.5% suffered from recurrent strokes during the follow‐up period. According to the statistical analysis, the stepwise logistic regression revealed that only the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at the time of admission was independently associated with a poor outcome. Furthermore, Kaplan–Meier analysis showed a significantly higher percentage of patients free of recurrent stroke events amongst those who were treated with warfarin. The NIHSS at the time of admission was a predictor of outcome amongst our patients, and stenosis of the MCA implies the danger of recurrent cerebral events. Our study also demonstrates the efficacy of oral anticoagulants in the secondary prevention in this specific group of patients. Therefore, we look forward to more prospective multicenter investigations in evaluating the efficiency of therapy in the future.
A Novel Interpolation Chip for Real-Time Multimedia Applications

Image scaling is an important technique that is widely used in many image processing applications. This paper presents a novel scaling algorithm for the implementation of 2-D image scalar. The proposed interpolation method is based on the interpolation error theorem often mentioned in numerical analysis. A bilateral error-amender is used to make the interpolation more precise, and an edge-weighted scheme enhances the edge features of the scaled images. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can obtain better performance than previous methods in both quantitative evaluation and visual quality. This paper also presents an efficient very large-scale integrated architecture for the proposed method. The cooperation and hardware sharing techniques greatly reduce hardware cost requirements. Using a nine-stage pipeline, the proposed scaling circuit contains 13 k gate counts and yields a processing rate of approximately 278 MHz using TSMC 0.13- μm technology. The hardware cost of the proposed circuit is low, making it a good candidate for high-quality image scaling applications.
Cloud and aerosol properties, precipitable water, and profiles of temperature and water vapor from MODIS

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is an Earth-viewing sensor that flies on the Earth Observing System Terra and Aqua satellites, launched in 1999 and 2002, respectively. MODIS scans a swath width of 2330 km that is sufficiently wide to provide nearly complete global coverage every two days from a polar-orbiting, Sun-synchronous, platform at an altitude of 705 km. MODIS provides images in 36 spectral bands between 0.415 and 14.235 /spl mu/m with spatial resolutions of 250 m (two bands), 500 m (five bands), and 1000 m (29 bands). These bands have been carefully selected to enable advanced studies of land, ocean, and atmospheric properties. Twenty-six bands are used to derive atmospheric properties such as cloud mask, atmospheric profiles, aerosol properties, total precipitable water, and cloud properties. We describe each of these atmospheric data products, including characteristics of each of these products such as file size, spatial resolution used in producing the product, and data availability.