Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptual quality of hybrid echo canceler/suppressor

Acoustic echoes arise whenever there is acoustic coupling between a loudspeaker and a microphone. A traditional solution for eliminating the undesired echo signal is an acoustic echo canceler (AEC), which identifies the echo path between a loudspeaker and a microphone by means of an adaptive filter. The echo signal can be canceled successfully when the modeling filter approaches the true echo path. In practice, however, a modeling filter often differs from the true echo path due to complicated reasons such as environment changes, the lack of knowledge about the length of the echo path, and so on, resulting in residual echo signals. Another way to mitigate the echo effect is through echo suppression. Unlike an AEC, an acoustic echo suppressor (AES) achieves echo attenuation by means of spectral modification. This approach usually has a much lower complexity, and is robust against minor echo path changes. However, it sometimes introduces audible distortions to the processed signal. Many practical systems combine an AEC and an AES in a sequential way such that the former achieves major echo cancellation, and the latter attenuates the residual echoes. In this paper, we propose a novel hybrid approach for addressing the echo problem. The full-band signal is split into two frequency bands, with AEC being applied to the lower band, and an AES to the upper band, respectively. Through subjective tests we demonstrate the superior quality and robustness of this new method, compared to a full-band AEC or a full-band AES.
Interactive Animation of Structured Deformable Objects

In this paper, we propose a stable and efficient algorithm for animating mass-spring systems. An integration scheme derived from implicit integration allows us to obtain interactive realistic animation of any mass-spring network. We alleviate the need to solve a linear system through the use of a predictor-corrector approach: We first compute a rapid approximation of the implicit integration, then we correct this estimate in a post-step process to preserve momentum. Combined with an inverse dynamics process to implement collisions and other constraints, this method provides a simple, stable and tunable model for deformable objects suitable for virtual reality. An implementation in a VR environment demonstrates this approach.
Metaplastic Regulation of CA1 Schaffer Collateral Pathway Plasticity by Hebbian MGluR1a-Mediated Plasticity at Excitatory Synapses onto Somatostatin-Expressing Interneurons1,2,3

Abstract Cortical GABAergic interneurons represent a highly diverse neuronal type that regulates neural network activity. In particular, interneurons in the hippocampal CA1 oriens/alveus (O/A-INs) area provide feedback dendritic inhibition to local pyramidal cells and express somatostatin (SOM). Under relevant afferent stimulation patterns, they undergo long-term potentiation (LTP) of their excitatory synaptic inputs through multiple induction and expression mechanisms. However, the cell-type specificity of these different forms of LTP and their specific contribution to the dynamic regulation of the CA1 network remain unclear. Here we recorded from SOM-expressing interneurons (SOM-INs) in the O/A region from SOM-Cre-Ai3 transgenic mice in whole-cell patch-clamp. Results indicate that, like in anatomically identified O/A-INs, theta-burst stimulation (TBS) induced a Hebbian form of LTP dependent on metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1a (mGluR1a) in SOM-INs, but not in parvalbumin-expressing interneurons, another mainly nonoverlapping interneuron subtype in CA1. In addition, we demonstrated using field recordings from transgenic mice expressing archaerhodopsin 3 selectively in SOM-INs, that a prior conditioning TBS in O/A, to induce mGluR1a-dependent LTP in SOM-INs, upregulated LTP in the Schaffer collateral pathway of pyramidal cells. This effect was prevented by light-induced hyperpolarization of SOM-INs during TBS, or by application of the mGluR1a antagonist LY367385, indicating a necessity for mGluR1a and SOM-INs activation. These results uncover that SOM-INs perform an activity-dependent metaplastic control on hippocampal CA1 microcircuits in a cell-specific fashion. Our findings provide new insights on the contribution of interneuron synaptic plasticity in the regulation of the hippocampal network activity and mnemonic processes.
Extending the Methods for Computing the Importance of Entity Types in Large Conceptual Schemas

����������� �������� �������� ����������� � �� ���� ����������� ��������������� ���������������� ����������������� ������������������������ � ���������������� ���������������� ���������� ���������������� ������������ ������������������������ � ���������������� ���� ��������������������������������� ����������� �������� ������� ���������� ������� ���������� �������������� � ��������� ������� ��� ��� ��� ��� ��� ��������� ������� �������� �� ���������� ������� ���������� �������������� � ���� ��������� ��������� ������������ ��� ��� ��� ��� ��� +
A Review on Printed Circuit Boards Waste Recycling Technologies and Reuse of Recovered Nonmetallic Materials

From the use of renewable resources and environmental protection viewpoints, recycling of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) receives wide concerns as the amounts of scrap PCBs increases dramatically In recent years there has been increasing concern about the growing volume of end of life electronics and the fact that much of it is consigned to landfill w ithout any attempt being made to recycle the nonmetallic materials it contains. The production of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) is grow ing rapidly in most developed countries. Waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) is significantly increasing. A large amount of nonmetallic materials in printed circuit board (PCBs) are disposed of by combustion and disposal in landfill as the main method for treating nonmetals in PCBs, but it may cause secondary pollution and resource wasting. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a proper recycling technology for waste PCBs. Several recycling technologies and potential reuses of recovered nonmetallic PCBs were reviewed in this paper. From the review, it can be said that, PCBs recycling process usually includes three process which is pretreatment, physical recycling, and chemical recycling and the recovered nonmetals w ere used to make models, construction materials and composite boards. The PCB nonmetal products have better mechanical characteristics and durability than traditional materials and fillers. Products derived from PCB w aste processing have been brought into industrial production. The study shows that PCB nonmetals can be reused in profitable and environmentally f riendly ways.
Improving question retrieval in community question answering with label ranking

Community question answering services (CQA), which provides a platform for people with diverse backgrounds to share information and knowledge, has become an increasingly popular research topic recently as made popular by sites such as Yahoo! Answers1, answerbag2, zhidao3, etc. Question retrieval (QR) in CQA can automatically find the most relevant and recent questions that have been solved by other users. Current QR approaches typically consider using diverse retrieval models, but they fail to analyze users' intention. User intentions such as finding facts, interacting with others, seeking reasons, etc. reflect what the users really want to know. Hence, we propose to integrate user intention analysis into QR. Firstly, we classify questions into different and multiple types of users' intentions. Another practical problem is that there naturally exist some preferences among the possible questions types. The more relevant type should be ranked higher than types which are not so relevant. Therefore, we propose to utilize a novel label ranking method, which is a machine learning algorithm that aims to predict a ranking among all the possible labels, to perform question classification. Secondly, based on the result of question classification, we integrate user intentions with translation-based language models to explore whether a user's intention does help to improve the performance. We conduct a series of experiments with Yahoo data, and the experimental results demonstrate that our proposed improved question retrieval can indeed enhance the performance of traditional question retrieval model.
Interaction of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 12/CrkRS with Cyclin K1 Is Required for the Phosphorylation of the C-Terminal Domain of RNA Polymerase II

ABSTRACT CrkRS (Cdc2-related kinase, Arg/Ser), or cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CKD12), is a serine/threonine kinase believed to coordinate transcription and RNA splicing. While CDK12/CrkRS complexes were known to phosphorylate the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II), the cyclin regulating this activity was not known. Using immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry, we identified a 65-kDa isoform of cyclin K (cyclin K1) in endogenous CDK12/CrkRS protein complexes. We show that cyclin K1 complexes isolated from mammalian cells contain CDK12/CrkRS but do not contain CDK9, a presumed partner of cyclin K. Analysis of extensive RNA-Seq data shows that the 65-kDa cyclin K1 isoform is the predominantly expressed form across numerous tissue types. We also demonstrate that CDK12/CrkRS is dependent on cyclin K1 for its kinase activity and that small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown of CDK12/CrkRS or cyclin K1 has similar effects on the expression of a luciferase reporter gene. Our data suggest that cyclin K1 is the primary cyclin partner for CDK12/CrkRS and that cyclin K1 is required to activate CDK12/CrkRS to phosphorylate the CTD of RNA Pol II. These properties are consistent with a role of CDK12/CrkRS in regulating gene expression through phosphorylation of RNA Pol II.
Induction of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 and type 1 collagen expression in rat cardiac microvascular endothelial cells by interleukin-1 and its dependence on oxygen-centered free radicals.

BACKGROUND Ischemia with or without reperfusion induces the release of diverse products from monocytes, including cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1). To determine whether these phenomena modulate fibrinolysis and potentially exacerbate impairment of the macrocirculation, microcirculation, or both, we characterized the effects of IL-1 on the expression of fibrinolytic system and matrix proteins in rat cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs). METHODS AND RESULTS Confluent CMECs were exposed to IL-1 in serum-free medium for 24 hours, and cell-conditioned medium was assayed for plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), the primary physiological inhibitor of plasminogen activators, and for type 1 collagen with Western blotting. IL-1 (2 ng/mL) specifically increased the accumulation of PAI-1 (4.4 +/- 0.6-fold; mean +/- SD; n = 9) without affecting tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) or urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA) levels, which remained unchanged. IL-1 increased the accumulation of collagen in conditioned media by 3.5 +/- 0.7-fold (n = 6). Conversely, the accumulation of both PAI-1 and collagen induced by IL-1 was inhibited with an IL-1 receptor antagonist (200 ng/mL; n = 6) and with cycloheximide (10 micrograms/mL; n = 6), implying that protein synthesis was a requirement for the effect. To determine whether the IL-1 effect was mediated by induction of oxygen-centered free radical production, known to be induced by IL-1, we exposed the cells to the hydroxyl radical scavenger tetramethylthiourea (10 mmol/L) and observed abolition of the IL-1-induced increase in the expression of PAI-1 and collagen (n = 6). Conversely, superoxides (generated with 10 mU/mL xanthine oxidase plus 0.6 mmol/L hypoxanthine, and 100 mumol/L hydrogen peroxide) induced the accumulation of PAI-1 and collagen (n = 6). IL-1 (1 microgram/kg body wt) and lipopolysaccharide (50 micrograms/kg body wt) administered in vivo increased PAI-1 protein in rat hearts as detected with Western blotting and PAI-1 immunostaining of rat heart microvessels, indicating the effects delineated in vitro were paralleled by effects in vivo. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that IL-1-induced oxygen-centered free radicals stimulate elaboration of PAI-1 and collagen by CMECs. Accordingly, microvascularly mediated inhibition of fibrinolysis may predispose to the persistence of microvascular thrombi, thereby contributing to impaired microcirculatory function, the no-reflow phenomenon, and cardiac dysfunction after ischemia and reperfusion.
Rapid, Active Hair Bundle Movements in Hair Cells from the Bullfrog’s Sacculus

Hair bundles, the mechanically sensitive organelles of hair cells in the auditory and vestibular systems, are elastic structures that are deflected by sound or acceleration. To examine rapid mechanical events associated with mechanoelectrical transduction, we stimulated individual hair bundles with flexible glass fibers and measured their responses with a temporal resolution of 400 μsec. When a hair bundle from the bullfrog’s sacculus was abruptly deflected in the positive direction, the bundle’s motion in the direction of stimulation was interrupted within the initial few milliseconds by an active movement, or twitch. This response was biphasic, with an initial component in the direction of the stimulus and a second component in the opposite direction. The amplitude and duration of the twitch depended on the bundle’s initial position and the size and rise time of the stimulus; the twitch was largest over the range of bundle deflections in which transduction was most sensitive. Under displacement clamp conditions, in which a hair bundle’s position was changed and then held constant with negative feedback, the twitch manifested itself as a biphasic force exerted by the bundle. Some hair bundles produced twitches in response to negatively directed stimuli, exhibited stimulus-evoked damped oscillations, or twitched spontaneously. The hair bundle’s ability to perform work against an external load and to oscillate in response to stimulation indicates that the bundle could supply feedback for mechanical amplification in vertebrate auditory organs.
NaVβ Subunits Modulate the Inhibition of NaV1.8 by the Analgesic Gating Modifier μO-Conotoxin MrVIB

Voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) consist of a pore-forming α-subunit and regulatory β-subunits. Several families of neuroactive peptides of Conus snails target VGSCs, including μO-conotoxins and μ-conotoxins. Unlike μ-conotoxins and the guanidinium alkaloid saxitoxin (STX), which are pore blockers, μO-conotoxins MrVIA and MrVIB inhibit VGSCs by modifying channel gating. μO-MrVIA/B can block NaV1.8 (a tetrodotoxin-resistant isoform of VGSCs) and have analgesic properties. The effect of NaVβ-subunit coexpression on susceptibility to block by μO-MrVIA/B and STX has, until now, not been reported. Here, we show that β1-, β2-, β3-, and β4-subunits, when individually coexpressed with NaV1.8 in Xenopus laevis oocytes, increased the kon of the block produced by μO-MrVIB (by 3-, 32-, 2-, and 7-fold, respectively) and modestly decreased the apparent koff. Strong depolarizing prepulses markedly accelerated MrVIB washout with rates dependent on β-subunit coexpression. Thus, coexpression of β-subunits with NaV1.8 can strongly influence the affinity of the conopeptide for the channel. This observation is of particular interest because β-subunit expression can be dynamic, e.g., β2-expression is up-regulated after nerve injury (J Neurosci, 25:10970–10980, 2005); therefore, the effectiveness of a μO-conotoxin as a channel blocker could be enhanced by the conditions that may call for its use therapeutically. In contrast to MrVIB's action, the STX-induced block of NaV1.8 was only marginally, if at all, affected by coexpression of any of the β-subunits. Our results raise the possibility that μO-conotoxins and perhaps other gating modifiers may provide a means to functionally assess the β-subunit composition of VGSC complexes in neurons.
Precoding Strategy Selection for Cognitive MIMO Multiple Access Channels Using Learning Automata

In this paper, we study the quantized precoding strategy selection for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multiple access channels (MAC) in cognitive radio (CR) networks through a game-theoretic perspective. Since the secondary users in such system are difficult to be coordinated by a centralized authority, they are noncooperative and attempt to maximize their own payoffs selfishly in a distributed method. We propose a noncooperative precoding strategy selection game and find that it is a potential game which possesses at least one pure strategy Nash equilibrium. A decentralized learning algorithm with a small amount of feedback is proposed to obtain Nash equilibrium. We prove that the proposed algorithm can converge to a pure strategy Nash equilibrium. Simulation results are provided to verify our analysis.
Implicit Associations and Alcohol: What Grabs Our Attention?

The Incentive Sensitization Theory of Addiction claims that drug induced sensitization of the mesocorticolymbic system increases the salience of the drug related stimuli. In so doing, drug related stimuli become attention grabbing for an addictive person. We tried to understand the socio-cognitive underpinnings of this process in case of alcohol addiction. The present study involves a group of participants that had alcohol related problems and a non clinical sample. We suggest that two implicit automatic mechanisms could predict the attention towards alcohol related stimuli: the self relevance of the alcohol related stimuli and the evaluation attributed to the same stimuli. The Implicit Association Task was used to determine the strength of these mechanisms (i.e., self-relevance and alcohol evaluation). The attention toward alcohol related stimuli was assessed with the Visual Dot Probe Task. Results showed that the two groups significantly differed on the IAT scores, indicating stronger associations between self and alcohol, and between alcohol and positive words for participants that had alcohol related problems. Moreover a stronger association between the self and the alcohol was a significant and positive predictor of the attentional salience of the alcohol stimuli for the clinical sample, but not for the control group.
Improved reversely a star path search algorithm based on the comparison in valuation of shared neighbor nodes

A new A star path finding algorithm(named SNA star) was proposed to solve the problem of path finding and optimization by comparing the valuation of shared neighbor nodes, which is based on the reverse improved A star path search algorithm. The characteristics of this algorithm in the paper take the use of the valuation of shared neighbor nodes to verify the search direction, and reversely search from the target to starting, which used the way of local evaluation instead of the way of global evaluation. Taking two simulation experiments as examples to show that the algorithm is effective both on speed and applicability in complex environment. The validity of the algorithm was demonstrated from the comparison and results of the simulation experiment. The evaluation function of this algorithm in the multi-obstacles environment was optimized and evaluation speed was increased at the same time.
Changes of lower-limb trabecular bone density after sciatic nerve transection in immature rats

Purpose: The changes in the bone density of immature Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats whose sciatic nerve was cut were investigated to understand the patterns of bone density deterioration and to establish the rationale for preventive managements. Materials and Methods: Eighteen six-day-old SD rats were randomly divided into the right sciatic neurectomy and sham-operation group. The trabecular bone densities at the 3rd lumbar spine (L3), L4, and L5, bilateral proximal and distal femoral bones, and proximal and distal tibia at weeks 4, 8, and 12 were measured through a CT scan. Results: In both the surgery and control groups, statistically significant changes in body weight were observed at weeks 4, 8, and 12. The trabecular bone density of the surgery group at week 4 significantly decreased in the right proximal and distal tibia; and at week 8, a significant decrease was observed in the right tibia and the distal femur. At week 12, no statistically significant difference in the trabecular bone density was found between the groups. Conclusions: In immature SD rats, the reduction of trabecular BMD caused by sciatic neurectomy began in the 4th week after surgery, and proceeded from the distal part to the proximal part. The earlier reduction in the trabecular BMD of the tibia is explained by the thickness of the femur and the quadriceps femoris muscle, which are not affected by a sciatic nerve lesion. Further studies on cortical bone changes and bone metabolism markers may be needed to provide data on bone density deterioration caused by the neural damage during the growing period.
Coesão e hierarquia em famílias com história de abuso físico

This thesis covers the family structure and functions based on the history of physical abuse by analyzing cohesion and the hierarch in these microsystems. Therefore, it exams the phenomenon of the violence intrafamilial, more specific the parents abuse against their children, through the Bioecological Theory of Human Development and Positive Psychology. Twenty low-income families that have a history of intrafamilial physical abuse participated in this study. The method used is knows as ecological engagement, as it includes the research group in the family context (home, hospital, school and non-governmental organizations). Semi-structured interviews and the Family System Test – FAST were applied and the results are shown in three studies. The first study analyzes the profile of these families, considering the bioecological aspects (socio-economic conditions and family configuration) and their related factors (risk indicators, protection, future expectations), and analyzes the violence profile (involved member, motives, severity, frequency, and intensity). The second study analyzes the family members’ representations about the cohesion and hierarch, obtained through FAST. The third study presents three cases. The results showed severe risk factors in the family members’ healthy development and the system as a whole, as well as the related roles for formal education, pathologies, rearing practices and aggressive behavior. The protection factors identified in the families, as a net of support, the will for change and the achievement value are not enough to promote the resilience, and to prevent violence, and its severity. The conflicting perceptions between the family members about the cohesion and the hierarch also contribute for this. The aggressors do not see themselves as involved and in most cases represent the family as cohesive, even on conflicting situations. Also demonstrate how the violence role is associated with the necessity of the abusers to maintain the control over the relationship system.
Modeling information fit: a tool for interface design

This demonstration illustrates a computational analysis method using information theoretic attributes to quantitatively characterize information need for task performance, as well as information conveyed by a candidate display. Once represented in this way, various computational algorithms can provide a "mismatch" analysis of the "fit" between the two. This approach has been implemented in a prototype user interface analysis tool: MAID (Multi-modal Aid for Interface Design). MAID supports user interface design and redesign in response to procedure revisions for NASA applications. MAID has been demonstrated on examples of designs for the International Space Station, Space Shuttle (both current interfaces and proposed upgrades) and for hypothetical designs for the Crew Exploration Vehicle Orion. At least one of these examples will be presented.