Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coherent periodic activity in excitatory Erdös-Renyi neural networks: the role of network connectivity.

In this article, we investigate the role of connectivity in promoting coherent activity in excitatory neural networks. In particular, we would like to understand if the onset of collective oscillations can be related to a minimal average connectivity and how this critical connectivity depends on the number of neurons in the networks. For these purposes, we consider an excitatory random network of leaky integrate-and-fire pulse coupled neurons. The neurons are connected as in a directed Erdös-Renyi graph with average connectivity scaling as a power law with the number of neurons in the network. The scaling is controlled by a parameter γ, which allows to pass from massively connected to sparse networks and therefore to modify the topology of the system. At a macroscopic level, we observe two distinct dynamical phases: an asynchronous state corresponding to a desynchronized dynamics of the neurons and a regime of partial synchronization (PS) associated with a coherent periodic activity of the network. At low connectivity, the system is in an asynchronous state, while PS emerges above a certain critical average connectivity (c). For sufficiently large networks, (c) saturates to a constant value suggesting that a minimal average connectivity is sufficient to observe coherent activity in systems of any size irrespectively of the kind of considered network: sparse or massively connected. However, this value depends on the nature of the synapses: reliable or unreliable. For unreliable synapses, the critical value required to observe the onset of macroscopic behaviors is noticeably smaller than for reliable synaptic transmission. Due to the disorder present in the system, for finite number of neurons we have inhomogeneities in the neuronal behaviors, inducing a weak form of chaos, which vanishes in the thermodynamic limit. In such a limit, the disordered systems exhibit regular (non chaotic) dynamics and their properties correspond to that of a homogeneous fully connected network for any γ-value. Apart for the peculiar exception of sparse networks, which remain intrinsically inhomogeneous at any system size.
High Levels of Serum Ubiquitin and Proteasome in a Case of HLA-B27 Uveitis

In this paper, the authors describe a case of high serum levels of ubiquitin and proteasome in a woman under an acute attack of autoimmune uveitis. The woman was 52 years old, diagnosed as positive for the Human leukocyte antigen-B27 gene, and came to our observation in January 2013 claiming a severe uveitis attack that involved the right eye. During the acute attack of uveitis, this woman had normal serum biochemical parameters but higher levels of serum ubiquitin and proteasome 20S subunit, with respect to a healthy volunteer matched for age and sex. These levels correlated well with the clinical score attributed to uveitis. After the patient was admitted to therapy, she received oral prednisone in a de-escalation protocol (doses from 50 to 5 mg/day) for four weeks. Following this therapy, she had an expected reduction of clinical signs and score for uveitis, but concomitantly she had a reduction of the serum levels of ubiquitin, poliubiquitinated proteins (MAb-FK1) and proteasome 20S activity. Therefore, a role for ubiquitin and proteasome in the development of human autoimmune uveitis has been hypothesized.
rethinking research in early care and education

The article considers three domains of Sally Lubeck's scholarship as illustrations of her orientation to research on early care and education: her critique of positivism in general and the field of developmental psychology (and the sub-discipline of child development) specifically as the primary source of a `knowledge base' for the field of early childhood education; her concerns about globalization's increasing influence on educational goals and practices; and her quest to expand the potentials of research in a way that illuminates alternative perspectives on the period of early childhood and bridges the divide between the protagonists and subjects of social science. The article concludes with an invitation to others to pick up where Sally left off.
Rethinking assessment: managing behaviour and reducing disaffection

Disaffection and behaviour problems continue to be a cause of concern in many schools. Although many schemes and initiatives have attempted to address these issues, few have proved completely successful. It is suggested that in the light of the current phase of educational reforms, with its emphasis on raising standards and target setting, the role of increased assessment in the generation of these problems may have been overlooked. The experiences of a number of schools in exploring a different approach to pupil assessment emphasising the development of a number of generic ‘life skills’ are explored and the effects on these two issues discussed.
Channel Estimation for TFT-OFDM systems with reliable performance and synchronisation

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is widely recognized key challenge for the next generation Broadband Wireless Communication (BWC) systems. Besides high spectral efficiency, reliable performance over fading channel and long delay is becoming more and more important for OFDM based BWC systems. The time domain synchronous OFDM (TDS-OFDM) has high spectral efficiency than the standard cyclic prefix (CP-OFDM) but suffers from severe performance over high speed mobile channel since the required iterative interference cancellation between the training sequence and the OFDM data block. In this paper a distinct OFDM based transmission scheme called Time Frequency Training OFDM (TFT-OFDM) is proposed, whereby every TFTOFDM symbol has training information both in time and frequency domain. Firstly, exploiting the signal of proposed TFT-OFDM scheme the auxiliary channel information is obtained. Secondly we propose the auxiliary information based subspace pursuit algorithm to use a small amount of frequency domain pilots in the OFDM block for exact channel estimation. Simulation results also demonstrate that TFT -OFDM outperforms CP-OFDM and TDS-OFDM in high speed mobile environment and supports higher order modulations like 256-QAM to accommodate the emerging ultra-high definition television service.
Low‐Magnitude Mechanical Stimulation to Improve Bone Density in Persons of Advanced Age: A Randomized, Placebo‐Controlled Trial

Nonpharmacologic approaches to preserve or increase bone mineral density (BMD) include whole‐body vibration (WBV), but its efficacy in elderly persons is not clear. Therefore, we conducted the Vibration to Improve Bone in Elderly Subjects (VIBES) trial, a randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of 10 minutes of daily WBV (0.3g at 37 Hz) in seniors recruited from 16 independent living communities. The primary outcomes were volumetric BMD of the hip and spine measured by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and biochemical markers of bone turnover. We randomized 174 men and women (89 active, 85 placebo) with T‐scores –1 to –2.5 who were not taking bone active drugs and had no diseases affecting the skeleton (mean age 82 ± 7 years, range 65 to 102). Participants received daily calcium (1000 mg) and vitamin D (800 IU). Study platforms were activated using radio frequency ID cards providing electronic adherence monitoring; placebo platforms resembled the active platforms. In total, 61% of participants in the active arm and 73% in the placebo arm completed 24 months. The primary outcomes, median percent changes (interquartile range [IQR]) in total volumetric femoral trabecular BMD (active group (2.2% [–0.8%, 5.2%]) versus placebo 0.4% [–4.8%, 5.0%]) and in mid‐vertebral trabecular BMD of L1 and L2 (active group (5.3% [–6.9%, 13.3%]) versus placebo (2.4% [–4.4%, 11.1%]), did not differ between groups (all p values > 0.1). Changes in biochemical markers of bone turnover (P1NP and sCTX) also were not different between groups (p = 0.19 and p = 0.97, respectively). In conclusion, this placebo‐controlled randomized trial of daily WBV in older adults did not demonstrate evidence of significant beneficial effects on volumetric BMD or bone biomarkers; however, the high variability in vBMD changes limited our power to detect small treatment effects. The beneficial effects of WBV observed in previous studies of younger women may not occur to the same extent in elderly individuals. © 2015 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
P2Y1 and P2Y2 receptor distribution varies along the human placental vascular tree: role of nucleotides in vascular tone regulation

The expression of purinergic P2Y receptors (P2YRs) along the cord, superficial chorionic vessels and cotyledons of the human placenta was analysed and functional assays were performed to determine their vasomotor activity. Immunoblots for the P2Y1R and P2Y2R revealed a 6‐ to 8‐fold increase in receptor expression from the cord to the chorionic or cotyledon vessels. In the cord and chorionic vessels the receptor distribution was mainly in the smooth muscle, whereas in the cotyledon vessels these receptors were equally distributed between the endothelium and smooth muscle cells. An exception was the P2Y2R at the umbilical artery, which was distributed as in the cotyledon. mRNA coding for the P2Y1R and P2Y2R were detected by RT‐PCR and the mRNA coding for the P2Y4R, P2Y6R and P2Y11R was also identified. Application of 2‐MeSADP and uridine triphosphate (UTP), preferential P2Y1R and P2Y2R ligands, respectively, resulted in contraction of isolated rings from umbilical and chorionic vessels. The vasoconstriction was blocked in a concentration‐dependent manner by 10–100 nm indomethacin or 10 nm GR32191, suggesting the involvement of thromboxane receptors. MRS 2179, a selective P2Y1R antagonist, reduced the 2‐MeSADP‐ but not the UTP‐evoked contractions. Perfusion of cotyledons with 2‐MeSADP or UTP evoked concentration‐dependent reductions in perfusion pressure mediated by the NO–cGMP pathway. Blockade of NO synthase abolished the vasodilatation and the rise in luminal NO elicited by either agonist. MRS 2179 antagonized the dilatation and rise in luminal NO evoked by 2‐MeSADP but not by UTP. In summary, P2Y1R and P2Y2R are unevenly distributed along the human placental vascular tree; both receptors are coupled to different signalling pathways in the cord/chorionic vessels versus the cotyledon leading to opposing vasomotor responses.
Labor force participation of married women in contemporary Korea.

"This paper presents some results from the 1986 Family Life Survey of Korea. This survey was the first that was conducted in Korea with the specific purpose of understanding women's life cycle beyond marriage and fertility.A probability sample of 3,400 households representing the whole country were selected, [including] interviews of ever-married women of ages 15 to 64. The survey collected information on household composition, with basic characteristics of members of household including health status.marriage history, including how husbands were selected, pregnancy history including the age of children when they first left home and reason for leaving home, contraceptive use, health, and women's employment at different stages of life. " (SUMMARY IN KOR)
Data Criticality in Network-On-Chip Design

Many network-on-chip (NoC) designs focus on maximizing performance, delivering data to each core no later than needed by the application. Yet to achieve greater energy efficiency, we argue that it is just as important that data is delivered no earlier than needed. To address this, we explore data criticality in CMPs. Caches fetch data in bulk (blocks of multiple words). Depending on the application's memory access patterns, some words are needed right away (critical) while other data are fetched too soon (non-critical). On a wide range of applications, we perform a limit study of the impact of data criticality in NoC design. Criticality-oblivious designs can waste up to 37.5% energy, compared to an idealized NoC that fetches each word both no later and no earlier than needed. Furthermore, 62.3% of energy is wasted fetching data that is not used by the application. We present NoCNoC, a practical, criticality-aware NoC design that achieves up to 60.5% energy savings with no loss in performance. Our work moves towards an ideally-efficient NoC, delivering data both no later and no earlier than needed.
Evaluation of VITEK 2 and RapID Yeast Plus Systems for Yeast Species Identification: Experience at a Large Clinical Microbiology Laboratory

ABSTRACT A total of 750 clinical yeast isolates were evaluated by two identification systems, VITEK 2 and RapID Yeast Plus, using sequence analysis of the rRNA gene internal transcribed spacer regions as the reference method. The VITEK 2 and RapID systems correctly identified 737 (98.2%) and 716 (95.5%) isolates, respectively.
An Incremental Multi-Centroid, Multi-Run Sampling Scheme for k-medoids-based Algorithms - Extended Report

Data clustering has become an important task for discovering significant patterns and characteristics in large spatial databases. The Mufti- Centroid, Multi-Run Sampling Scheme (MCMRS) has been shown to be effective in improving the k-medoids-based clustering algorit hms in our previous work. In this paper, a more advanced sampling scheme termed Incremental MultiCentrozd, Multi-Run Sampling Scheme (IMCMRS) is proposed for k-medoidsbased clustering algorithms. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed scheme can not only reduce by more than 80’ZOcomputation time but also reduce the average distance per object compared with CLARA and CLARANS. IMCMRS is also superior to MCMRS.
Kognitive Verhaltenstherapie depressiven Grübelns

In einer Vielzahl von Untersuchungen konnte gezeigt werden, dass eine grüblerische Auseinandersetzung mit depressiven Symptomen sowie deren Ursachen und Konsequenzen zur Entstehung, Aufrechterhaltung und Wiederkehr depressiver Stimmungen und Störungen beiträgt. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser Befunde wurden in den vergangenen Jahren drei kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutische Behandlungsansätze entwickelt, die über eine gezielte Modifikation depressiven Grübelns das Behandlungsangebot für depressive Patienten zu erweitern versuchen. In der vorliegenden Überblicksarbeit werden die theoretischen Annahmen, das praktisch-therapeutische Vorgehen und die empirische Fundierung dieser Therapieansätze vorgestellt und diskutiert. Einleitend werden empirische Befunde zu Konsequenzen und theoretische Annahmen zu Ursachen des Grübelns referiert.
Fracture of the middle third of the clavicle and dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint. A report of four cases.

Fracture of the middle third of the clavicle and dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint occur commonly as separate injuries. The combined injury to the ipsilateral shoulder is quite rare, however. Mauro described such a case with a delay in diagnosis due to the unique anatomical features of the injured area. We report the cases of four patients, two men and two women, nineteen to thirty-six years old, who sustained this combined injury. Our four patients were seen between 1984 and 1989, and two of them (Cases 3 and 4) had initial treatment at graded according to the system of classification of Rockwood (Table II)’5’8.Three ofthe fourpatients (Cases 1,2, and 3) had a Type-IV dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint: hence, the distal end of the clavicle was displaced posteriorly into the substance of the trapezius muscle (Figs. 1-A and 1-B). In these three patients, the injury was treated operatively by internal fixation with acromioclavicular transfixation pins3”3 or a special coracoclavicular cancellous-bone screw (Fig. 1-C)48’6. Because of a six-week delay in the diagnosis of the dual
Outer Membrane Permeabilization Is an Essential Step in the Killing of Gram-Negative Bacteria by the Lectin RegIIIβ

The C-type lectin RegIIIβ can kill certain Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The susceptibility of S. Typhimurium depends on the bacterial growth phase, i.e., bacteria from the logarithmic growth phase do bind RegIIIβ and are subsequently killed. Lipid A is one of the bacterial targets for RegIIIβ. However, at the molecular level, it is not understood how RegIIIβ interacts with and kills Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we show that RegIIIβ interacts with Gram-negative bacteria in two distinct steps. Initially, it binds to surface-exposed lipid A. The lipid A can be shielded by the O-antigen of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), as indicated by the exquisite susceptibility of wbaP mutants to RegIIIβ-mediated killing. Increased cell viability after incubation with an anti-lipid A antibody also supports this conclusion. This RegIIIβ-binding permeabilizes the outer membrane to hydrophobic dyes like Ethidium bromide or to bulky bacteriolytic enzymes like lysozyme. Conversely, compromising the outer membrane integrity by the mild detergent Triton X-100 enhances the antibacterial effect of RegIIIβ. Based on our observations, we conclude that RegIIIβ interacts with Gram-negative bacteria in two subsequent steps. Initially, it binds to the outer membrane thus leading to outer membrane permeabilization. This initial step is necessary for RegIIIβ to reach a second, still not well understood target site (presumably localized in the periplasm or the cytoplasmic membrane), thereby triggering bacterial death. This provides novel insights into the outer membrane-step of the bactericidal mechanism of RegIIIβ.
Does Micro-Credit Empower Women? Evidence from Bangladesh

This paper examines the effects of men's and women's participation in group-based micro-credit programs on a large set of qualitative responses to questions that characterize women's autonomy and gender relations within the household. The data come from a special survey carried out in rural Bangladesh in 1998-99. The results are consistent with the view that women's participation in micro-credit programs helps to increase women's empowerment. Credit program participation leads to women taking a greater role in household decisionmaking, having greater access to financial and economic resources, having greater social networks, having greater bargaining power compared with their husbands, and having greater freedom of mobility. Female credit also tended to increase spousal communication in general about family planning and parenting concerns. The effects of male credit on women's empowerment were, at best, neutral, and at worse, decidedly negative. Male credit had a negative effect on several arenas of women's empowerment, including physical mobility, access to savings and economic resources, and power to manage some household transactions.
A Study on Training Criteria for Financial Time Series Forecasting

Traditional backpropagation neural networks training criterion is based on goodness-of-fit which is also the most popular criterion forecasting. How ever, in the context of financial time series forecasting, we are not only concerned at how good the forecasts fit their target. In order to increase the forecastability in terms of profit earning, we propose a profit based adjusted weight factor for backpropagation network training. Instead of using the traditional least squares error, we add a factor which contains the profit, direction, and time information to the error function. This article reports the analysis on the performance of several neural network training criteria. The results show that the new approach does improve the forecastability of neural network models, for the financial application domain
Structure of outcome beliefs in condom use

To study the structure of beliefs about condom use outcomes, the authors derived and tested 4 psychosocial hypothetical models: (a) a 2-factor model of the personal and social outcomes of condom use; (b) a 2-factor model of the pros and cons of the behavior; (c) a 3-factor model (i.e., physical, self-evaluative, and social) of outcome expectancies; and (d) a thematic 4-factor model of the protection, self-concept, pleasure, and interaction implications of the behavior. All 4 models were studied with a confirmatory factor analysis approach in a multisite study of 4,638 participants, and the thematic solution was consistently the most plausible. Self-concept and pleasure were most strongly associated with attitudes toward using condoms, intentions to use condoms, and actual condom use, whereas protection and interaction generally had little influence.
The Multiple Influences on Nonformal Instructional Practices in Rural Mozambique: Exploring the Limits of World Culture Theory

This article presents findings from 12 months of ethnographic observations of nonformal adult education classes offered by an internationally funded nonprofit, referred to in this article as Comunidades de Poder (CDP). The primary objective of this article is to examine the various contextual factors that influenced CDP teachers’ instruction and to explore the applicability of world culture theory as a framework that can explain these phenomena. This article finds that CDP teachers’ classroom practice was more heavily influenced by teachers’ personal experiences in teacher-centered formal classrooms than by their training in Freirean pedagogy. It also finds that world culture theory has limited applicability in explaining these phenomena, as it fails to account for changes in world culture over time and the role of power in its dissemination. This article argues that a modified version of the theoretical construct of the educational project accounts for these areas in which world culture theory is insufficient.
Resource Availability in Enterprise Desktop Grids

Desktop grids, which use the idle cycles of many desktop PC's, are currently the largest distributed systems in the world. Despite the popularity and success of many desktop grid projects, the heterogeneity and volatility of hosts within desktop grids has been poorly understood. Yet, host characterization is essential for accurate simulation and modelling of such platforms. In this paper, we present application-level traces of four real desktop grids that can be used for simulation and modelling purposes. In addition, we describe aggregate and per host statistics that reflect the heterogeneity and volatility of desktop grid resources.
Dental fluorosis classification using multi-prototypes from fuzzy C-means clustering

Dental fluorosis occurs in many parts of the world because of highly exposure to high concentration of fluoride in the teeth development stage. To help the health policy makers developing the prevention and treatment plans, a manual or automatic image-based dental fluorosis classification system is needed. In this paper, we develop an automatic dental fluorosis classification system using multi-prototypes derived from the fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm. The values from red, green, blue, hue, saturation, and intensity channels are utilized as features in the algorithm. We also set the dental fluorosis classification criteria from the amount of pixels belonging to each class. We found that the pixel correct classification rate is around 92% on the training data set and around 90% on the blind test data set when comparing the results with two experts. Three out of seven images in the training data set and eight out of fifteen images in the blind test data set are correctly classified into dental fluorosis classes.