Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weighted iterative reconstruction for magnetic particle imaging

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a new imaging technique capable of imaging the distribution of superparamagnetic particles at high spatial and temporal resolution. For the reconstruction of the particle distribution, a system of linear equations has to be solved. The mathematical solution to this linear system can be obtained using a least-squares approach. In this paper, it is shown that the quality of the least-squares solution can be improved by incorporating a weighting matrix using the reciprocal of the matrix-row energy as weights. A further benefit of this weighting is that iterative algorithms, such as the conjugate gradient method, converge rapidly yielding the same image quality as obtained by singular value decomposition in only a few iterations. Thus, the weighting strategy in combination with the conjugate gradient method improves the image quality and substantially shortens the reconstruction time. The performance of weighting strategy and reconstruction algorithms is assessed with experimental data of a 2D MPI scanner.
Divergent Roles of Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 2 and Metabolic Traits during Interaction of S. enterica Serovar Typhimurium with Host Cells

The molecular mechanisms of virulence of the gastrointestinal pathogen Salmonella enterica are commonly studied using cell culture models of infection. In this work, we performed a direct comparison of the interaction of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) with the non-polarized epithelial cell line HeLa, the polarized cell lines CaCo2, T84 and MDCK, and macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells. The ability of S. Typhimurium wild-type and previously characterized auxotrophic mutant strains to enter host cells, survive and proliferate within mammalian cells and deploy the Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 2-encoded type III secretion system (SPI2-T3SS) was quantified. We found that the entry of S. Typhimurium into polarized cells was much more efficient than entry into non-polarized cells or phagocytic uptake. While SPI2-T3SS dependent intracellular proliferation was observed in HeLa and RAW cells, the intracellular replication in polarized cells was highly restricted and not affected by defective SPI2-T3SS. The contribution of aromatic amino acid metabolism and purine biosynthesis to intracellular proliferation was distinct in the various cell lines investigated. These observations indicate that the virulence phenotypes of S. Typhimurium are significantly affected by the cell culture model applied.
How to improve human-robot interaction with Conversational Fillers

Conversation Fillers (CFs), such as `um', `hmm', and `ah', may help to improve the human-robot interaction by smoothening the robot's responses. This paper presents the design and test of such CFs - alongside iconic pensive or acknowledging gestures - for Wizard of Oz (WoZ) controlled open-ended dialogues in child-robot interactions. A controlled experiment with 26 children showed that these CFs can improve the perceived speediness, aliveness, humanness, and likability of the robot, without decreasing perceptions of intelligence, trustworthiness, or autonomy.
Experience report: How do techniques, programs, and tests impact automated program repair?

Automated program repair can save tremendous manual efforts in software debugging. Therefore, a huge body of research efforts have been dedicated to design and implement automated program repair techniques. Among the existing program repair techniques, genetic-programming-based techniques have shown promising results. Recently, researchers found that random-search-based and adaptive program repair techniques can also produce effective results. In this work, we performed an extensive study for four program repair techniques, including genetic-programming-based, random-search-based, brute-force-based and adaptive program repair techniques. Due to the extremely large time cost of the studied techniques, the study was performed on 153 bugs from 9 small to medium sized programs. In the study, we further investigated the impacts of different programs and test suites on effectiveness and efficiency of program repair techniques. We found that techniques that work well with small programs become too costly or ineffective when applied to medium sized programs. We also computed the false positive rates and discussed the ratio of the explored search space to the whole search space for each studied technique. Surprisingly, all the studied techniques except the random-search-based technique are consistent with the 80/20 rule, i.e., about 80% of successful patches are found within the first 20% of search space.
Intact Microtubules Are Required for Natriuretic Responses to Nitric Oxide and Increased Renal Perfusion Pressure

Extracellular renal interstitial (RI) cGMP modulates NO- and pressure-induced natriuresis in vivo in the rat. The present study objective was to test the hypothesis that an intact microtubulin network is required for transport of cGMP from intracellular sites into the extracellular compartment in vivo and that this transport is required for natriuresis induced by NO and increased renal perfusion pressure. After a 1-hour control period, uninephrectomized rats received an RI infusion of NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), SNAP+microtubule inhibitor nocodazole (NOC), SNAP+NOC+cGMP, or NOC alone for 2 consecutive 1-hour collection periods. SNAP alone increased RI cGMP (P<0.05 during both experimental periods) and urinary sodium excretion (P<0.05 at 1 hour and P<0.005 at 2 hours). In contrast, when SNAP+NOC were coinfused, there was no increase in either RI cGMP or urinary sodium excretion. However, when cGMP was coinfused with SNAP+NOC, the natriuretic response to SNAP was fully restored. Similarly, NOC abolished SNAP-induced increases in the fractional excretion of Na+ and Li+. NOC also prevented the increase in both RI cGMP and natriuresis engendered by raising renal perfusion pressure in uninephrectomized rats, and pressure-natriuresis was re-established by coadministration of RI cGMP. As demonstrated by confocal microscopy after in vivo renal perfusion fixation, β-tubulin was disrupted in renal cortical nephrons of kidneys infused intrarenally with NOC. These observations indicate that a functioning microtubulin network is required for the transport of cGMP into the extracellular space to modulate NO- and pressure-induced natriuresis.
Learning non-negative sparse image codes by convex programming

Example-based learning of codes that statistically encode general image classes is of vital importance for computational vision. Recently non negative matrix factorization (NMF) was suggested to provide image code that was both sparse and localized, in contrast to established non local methods like PCA. In this paper, we adopt and generalize this approach to develop a novel learning framework that allows to efficiently compute sparsity-controlled invariant image codes by a well defined sequence of convex conic programs. Applying the corresponding parameter-free algorithm to various image classes results in semantically relevant and transformation-invariant image representations that are remarkably robust against noise and quantization
Personalized music emotion recognition via model adaptation

In the music information retrieval (MIR) research, developing a computational model that comprehends the affective content of music signal and utilizes such a model to organize music collections have been an essential topic. Emotion perception in music is in nature subjective. Consequently, building a general emotion recognition system that performs equally well for every user could be insufficient. In contrast, it would be more desirable for one's personal computer/device being able to understand his/her perception of music emotion. In our previous work, we have developed the acoustic emotion Gaussians (AEG) model, which can learn the broad emotion perception of music from general users. Such a general music emotion model, called the background AEG model in this paper, can recognize the perceived emotion of unseen music from a general point of view. In this paper, we go one step further to realize the personalized music emotion modeling by adapting the background AEG model with a limited number of emotion annotations provided by a target user in an online and dynamic fashion. A novel maximum a posteriori (MAP)-based algorithm is proposed to achieve this in a probabilistic framework. We carry out quantitative evaluations on a well-known emotion annotated corpus, MER60, to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method for personalized music emotion recognition.
15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 inhibits migration of human thyroid carcinoma cells by disrupting focal adhesion complex and adherens junction

Metastasis is frequently observed in human follicular thyroid carcinoma. The present study investigated the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ agonist, 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2), and its effect on the migration of CGTH W-2 human thyroid carcinoma cells. 15d-PGJ2 decreased the survival rate of CGTH W-2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The Transwell migration assay demonstrated that 15d-PGJ2 reduced the migration rate of CGTH W-2 cells by 35% following treatment with 30 µM 15d-PGJ2 compared with control cells. The cell adhesion assay indicated that, following 15d-PGJ2 treatment for 24 h, cell adhesion decreased by 26% compared with the control group. The expression levels of focal adhesion proteins, including integrin β1, phospho-focal adhesion kinase and p-paxillin, were downregulated following treatment with 15d-PGJ2. Immunostaining revealed that the puncta of vinculin were reduced and the actin stress fiber was disassembled following 15d-PGJ2 treatment. By contrast, p120-catenin (p120-ctn) and β-catenin levels staining accumulated in the region of the lamellipodium following 15d-PGJ2 treatment. Membrane fractionation revealed that p120-ctn and N-cadherin were decreased in the cell membrane, but increased in the cytoplasm of 15d-PGJ2-treated cells. Therefore, 15d-PGJ2 inhibited human thyroid carcinoma cell migration and this may be due to the impairment of focal adhesion complexes and the accumulation of p120-ctn in the cytoplasm in the region of the lamellipodium.
Somatic Mutation of the Cd95 Gene in Human B Cells as a Side-Effect of the Germinal Center Reaction

Somatic hypermutation specifically modifies rearranged immunoglobulin (Ig) genes in germinal center (GC) B cells. However, the bcl-6 gene can also acquire somatic mutations during the GC reaction, indicating that certain non-Ig genes can be targeted by the somatic hypermutation machinery. The CD95 gene, implicated in negative selection of B lymphocytes in GCs, is specifically expressed by GC B cells and was recently identified as a tumor suppressor gene being frequently mutated in (post) GC B cell lymphomas. In this study, the 5′ region (5′R) and/or the last exon coding for the death domain (DD) of the CD95 gene were investigated in naive, GC, and memory B cells from seven healthy donors. About 15% of GC and memory, but not naive, B cells carried mutations within the 5′R (mutation frequency 2.5 × 10−4 per basepair). Mutations within the DD were very rare but could be efficiently selected by inducing CD95-mediated apoptosis: in 22 apoptosis-resistant cells, 12 DD mutations were found. These results indicate that human B cells can acquire somatic mutations of the CD95 gene during the GC reaction, which potentially confers apoptosis resistance and may counteract negative selection through the CD95 pathway.
Suggestive evidence for association of the circadian genes PERIOD3 and ARNTL with bipolar disorder

Bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) is suspected to arise in part from malfunctions of the circadian system, a system that enables adaptation to a daily and seasonally cycling environment. Genetic variations altering functions of genes involved with the input to the circadian clock, in the molecular feedback loops constituting the circadian oscillatory mechanism itself, or in the regulatory output systems could influence BPAD as a result. Several human circadian system genes have been identified and localized recently, and a comparison with linkage hotspots for BPAD has revealed some correspondences. We have assessed evidence for linkage and association involving polymorphisms in 10 circadian clock genes (ARNTL, CLOCK, CRY2, CSNK1ε, DBP, GSK3β, NPAS2, PER1, PER2, and PER3) to BPAD. Linkage analysis in 52 affected families showed suggestive evidence for linkage to CSNK1ε. This finding was not substantiated in the association study. Fifty‐two SNPs in 10 clock genes were genotyped in 185 parent proband triads. Single SNP TDT analyses showed no evidence for association to BPAD. However, more powerful haplotype analyses suggest two candidates deserving further studies. Haplotypes in ARNTL and PER3 were found to be significantly associated with BPAD via single‐gene permutation tests (PG = 0.025 and 0.008, respectively). The most suggestive haplotypes in PER3 showed a Bonferroni‐corrected P‐value of PGC = 0.07. These two genes have previously been implicated in circadian rhythm sleep disorders and affective disorders. With correction for the number of genes considered and tests conducted, these data do not provide statistically significant evidence for association. However, the trends for ARNTL and PER3 are suggestive of their involvement in bipolar disorder and warrant further study in a larger sample. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Reliable Global Navigation System using Flower Constellation

For many space missions using satellite constellations, symmetry of satellites distribution plays usually a key role. Symmetry may be considered in space and/or in time distribution. Examples of required symmetry in space distribution are in Earth observation missions (either, for local or global) as well as in navigation systems. It is intuitive that to optimally observe the Earth a satellite constellation should be synchronized with the Earth rotation rate. If a satellite constellation must be designed to constitute a communication network between Earth and Jupiter, then the orbital period of the constellation satellites should be synchronized with both Earth and Jupiter periods of revolution around the Sun. Another example is to design satellite constellations to optimally observe specific Earth sites or regions. Again, this satellites constellation should be synchronized with Earth’s rotational period and (since the time gap between two subsequent observations of the site should be constant) also implies time symmetry in satellites distribution. Obtaining this result will allow to design operational constellations for observing targets (sites, borders, regions) with persistence or assigned revisit times, while minimizing the number of satellites required. Constellations of satellites for continuous global or zonal Earth coverage have been well studied over the last twenty years, are well known and have been well documented [1], [2], [7], [8], [11], [13]. A symmetrical, inclined constellation, such as a Walker constellation [1], [2] provides excellent global coverage for remote sensing missions; however, applications where target revisit time or persistent observation are important lead to required variations of traditional designs [7], [8]. Also, few results are available that affect other figures of merit, such as continuous regional coverage and the systematic use of eccentric orbit constellations to optimize“hang time” over regions of interest. Optimization of such constellations is a complex problem and the general-purpose constellation design methodology used today is largely limited to Walker-like constellations. As opposed to Walker Constellations [1], [2], which were looking for symmetries in inertial reference frame, Flower Constellations [11] were devised to obtain symmetric distributions of satellites on rotating reference frames (e.g., Earth, Jupiter, satellite orbit). Since the theory of Flower Constellations has evolved with time the next section is dedicated to the summary of the theory up to the current status. The FCs solution space has been recently expanded with the Lattice theory [13], [14], encompassing all possible symmetric solutions.
HOW TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION USING THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF ATTRACTION

Brief description The two-dimensional model of attraction (TDMA) posits that affective and behavioral attraction responses are determined by two cognitive assessments: willingness (perception of the target person's willingness to facilitate the perceiver's interests) and ability (perception of the target person's ability to facilitate/hinder the perceiver's interests). As a general rule, with a more positive willingness and/or ability assessment, the more affective and behavioral attraction that results. However, fun and interesting effects (e.g., high affective attraction but low behavioral attraction) can result when forces are present to generate the absence of attraction given high ability or high willingness (e.g., fear of rejection from an attractive person). The goal of this document is to provide: (a) an overview of the TDMA, (b) a description of common manipulations of attraction given TDMA, (c) a "roadmap" for developing constructs necessary to test attraction given TDMA, (d) an informal evaluation of some popular measures as they relate to TDMA, and (e) a discussion of a few issues important to testing attraction given this framework.
Special Education Teacher Preparation in Belgium, Russia, and United States: A Comparative Study

This article describes the nature and current status of special education teacher preparation in Belgium, Russian, and United States. Findings from in-depth qualitative interviews, observations and analysis of documents were used to examine the difference perspectives on the preparation of special educators within higher education settings. Cross-national differences were found among the programs due to special education reform efforts and the cultural, sociopolitical, and historical beliefs of each country. Common features and content of study programs in special education are discussed.
Past and contemporary introgression between two strongly

24 Biological introductions bring into contact species that can still hybridize. The 25 evolutionary outcomes of such secondary contacts may be diverse (e.g. adaptive introgression 26 from or into the introduced species) but are not yet well examined in the wild. The recent 27 secondary contact between the non-native sea squirt Ciona robusta (formerly known as C. 28 intestinalis type A) and its native congener C. intestinalis (formerly known as C. intestinalis 29 type B), in the western English Channel, provides an excellent case study to examine. We 30 developed a panel of 310 ancestry-informative SNPs developed from a population 31 transcriptomic study. Hybridization rate was examined by studying 449 individuals sampled 32 in 8 sites from the sympatric range and 5 sites from allopatric ranges. The results clearly 33 showed an almost complete absence of contemporary hybridization between the two species 34 in syntopic localities, with only one first generation hybrid and no other genotype compatible 35 with recent backcrosses. Despite lack of contemporary hybridization between the two species, 36 shared polymorphisms were observed in sympatric and allopatric populations of both species. 37 Furthermore, one allopatric population from SE Pacific exhibited a higher rate of 38 introgression compared to all other C. robusta populations. Altogether, these results indicate 39 that the observed level of shared polymorphism is the more probably the outcome of ancient 40 gene flow spread afterwards at a worldwide scale. They also emphasise efficient reproductive 41 barriers preventing hybridization between introduced and native species; this suggests that 42 hybridization should not impede too much the expansion wave of the non-native species in its 43 introduction range. 44 not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was . http://dx.doi. org/10.1101/030346 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online Oct. 30, 2015;
Sex Selling and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Impaired Capacity, Free Enterprise, or Sexual Victimization?

Sexual behavior is a complex phenomenon. While appetitive and linked to reproduction, it also has a strong hedonic component to it. Like other human behaviors, it is dimensional and, although it may fall along a continuum of normality, it may also deviate in a variety of directions. Selling and buying sex is one of said deviations. We report the case of a young man with an autism spectrum disorder who began to sell himself in exchange for money in a country where sex selling, or prostitution, is not in and of itself illegal. The case is noteworthy as it explores issues of freedom of will, capacity to consent to sexual relations in an individual with a clinically diagnosed psychiatric condition at risk for victimization, exploitation of the disabled, and medico-legal responsibility. We likewise underscore the clinical complexity of assessing the relationship between moral understanding, cognitive skills, and sanctionable and risky behaviors.
Discriminative Common Spatial Pattern Sub-bands Weighting Based on Distinction Sensitive Learning Vector Quantization Method in Motor Imagery Based Brain-computer Interface

Common spatial pattern (CSP) is a method commonly used to enhance the effects of event-related desynchronization and event-related synchronization present in multichannel electroencephalogram-based brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. In the present study, a novel CSP sub-band feature selection has been proposed based on the discriminative information of the features. Besides, a distinction sensitive learning vector quantization based weighting of the selected features has been considered. Finally, after the classification of the weighted features using a support vector machine classifier, the performance of the suggested method has been compared with the existing methods based on frequency band selection, on the same BCI competitions datasets. The results show that the proposed method yields superior results on "ay" subject dataset compared against existing approaches such as sub-band CSP, filter bank CSP (FBCSP), discriminative FBCSP, and sliding window discriminative CSP.