Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transgenic Targeting of Recombinant Rabies Virus Reveals Monosynaptic Connectivity of Specific Neurons

Understanding how neural circuits work requires a detailed knowledge of cellular-level connectivity. Our current understanding of neural circuitry is limited by the constraints of existing tools for transsynaptic tracing. Some of the most intractable problems are a lack of cellular specificity of uptake, transport across multiple synaptic steps conflating direct and indirect inputs, and poor labeling of minor inputs. We used a novel combination of transgenic mouse technology and a recently developed tracing system based on rabies virus (Wickersham et al., 2007a,b) to overcome all three constraints. Because the virus requires transgene expression for both initial infection and subsequent retrograde transsynaptic infection, we created several lines of mice that express these genes in defined cell types using the tetracycline-dependent transactivator system (Mansuy and Bujard, 2000). Fluorescent labeling from viral replication is thereby restricted to defined neuronal cell types and their direct monosynaptic inputs. Because viral replication does not depend on transgene expression, it provides robust amplification of signal in presynaptic neurons regardless of input strength. We injected virus into transgenic crosses expressing the viral transgenes in specific cell types of the hippocampus formation to demonstrate cell-specific infection and monosynaptic retrograde transport of virus, which strongly labels even minor inputs. Such neuron-specific transgenic complementation of recombinant rabies virus holds great promise for obtaining cellular-resolution wiring diagrams of the mammalian CNS.
Myelography Using Flat Panel Volumetric Computed Tomography: A Comparative Study in Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Study Design. The technical feasibility of flat panel volumetric computed tomography (FPVCT) for lumbar myelographic imaging was evaluated in 20 patients and compared with multisclice computed tomography (MSCT). Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and sensitivity of FPVCT for myelographic imaging in lumbar spinal stenosis. Summary and Background Data. In the diagnosis of spinal stenosis, myelography and myelo-computed tomography (PCT) have been performed routinely for nearly 30 years. Rotational angiography is a new technique initially developed to visualize vessels but also allowing multiplanar reconstructed (MPR) CT images. The spatial resolution of FPCVT is even higher than in current MSCT. To date, this technique has not been evaluated for use in myelography. Methods. In 20 patients referred for CT for evaluation of low back pain, lumbar myelography was performed on a biplane angiography system equipped with flat panel detectors. FPVCT was provided from a volume data set out of a rotational acquisition and compared with MSCT performed on a 4-slice CT scanner. Hereby, for a total of 100 disc levels (range from L1–L2 to L5–S1), the narrowest dural cross-sectional diameter (D-CSD) and the dural cross-sectional area (D-CSA) referred to MSCT and FPVCT were calculated. Results. Mean D-CSD and C-CSA for all disc levels as measured by MSCT was 9.26 ± 3.0 mm and 63.2 ± 10.8 mm2, respectively. Compared with D-CSD and C-CSA measured by FPVCT, there was no statistically significant difference (9.48 ± 2.9 mm and 64.7 ± 11.2 mm2, respectively; P > 0.89). The most pronounced lumbar spinal stenosis was seen on L4/5 level with D-CSD of 6.6 ± 3.6 mm and 6.8 ± 3.2 mm and D-CSA of 53.7 ± 14.7 mm2 and 55.0 ± 14.3 mm2, respectively. Conclusion. In all patients, the diagnostic quality of the reconstructed FPVCT slice images is comparable to those acquired by MSCT. Using FPVCT, radiographic myelography and postmyelographic computed tomography can be performed with less radiation in a single session at the same imaging system.
Thread ID based power reduction mechanism for multi-thread shared set-associative caches

In this paper, we propose a brand-new cache power reduction mechanism, Thread ID Cache (TID Cache), aiming to reduce dynamic power consumption of set-associative caches shared by multiple threads. TID tables are implemented at different levels of cache hierarchy to record thread IDs. When a thread accesses a cache way, the thread ID is updated to the corresponding entry in TID table. When the same thread accesses cache again, irrelevant ways owned by other threads can be avoided being accessed through comparing thread IDs in TID table. Experiments are conducted on TID Cache with the configuration of a 32KB 8-way L1 cache and a 128KB 8-way L2 cache. The results reveal that, when caches are shared by 16 threads, the proposed TID cache achieves 34% dynamic power reduction of L1 and 36% of L2 under the CloudSuite benchmarks, and the corresponding results are 42% of L1 and 48% of L2 under the SPLASH-2 benchmarks. Accordingly, the same proportion of dynamic power can be saved at the price of less than 0.8% area overhead of cache data arrays.
On the Security of Two Ring Signcryption Schemes

Ring signcryption is a cryptographic primitive, that allows an user to send a message in confidential, authentic and anonymous way, i.e. the recipient of the message is convinced that the message is valid and it comes from one of the ring member, but does not know the actual sender. In this paper, we show attacks on ring signcryption schemes by Li et al. (Li et al., 2008b) and Chung et al. (Chung et al., 2006). We demonstrate anonymity and confidentiality attack on the scheme by Li et al. (Li et al., 2008b) and confidentiality attack on the scheme by Chung et al. (Chung et al., 2006). ∗Work supported by Project No. CSE/0506/076/DITX/CPAN on Protocols for Secure Communication and Computation sponsored by Department of Information Technology, Government of India
External cephalic version for breech presentation before term.

BACKGROUND External cephalic version (ECV) of the breech fetus at term (after 37 weeks) has been shown to be effective in reducing the number of breech presentations and caesarean sections, but the rates of success are relatively low. This review examines studies initiating ECV prior to term (before 37 weeks' gestation). OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness of a policy of beginning ECV before term (before 37 weeks' gestation) for breech presentation on fetal presentation at birth, method of delivery, and the rate of preterm birth, perinatal morbidity, stillbirth or neonatal mortality. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group Trials Register (April 2005), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2005), MEDLINE (1965 to April 2005), EMBASE (1988 to April 2005), and Controlled Clinical Trials randomised controlled trials registry (April 2005). SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised trials of ECV beginning before term (before 37 weeks' gestation) compared with a control group in women with breech presentation before term. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two review authors independently assessed eligibility and trial quality and extracted data. MAIN RESULTS Three studies are included. One study reported on ECV that was undertaken and completed before 37 weeks' gestation compared to no ECV. No difference was found in the rate of non-cephalic presentation at birth. One study reported on a policy of ECV that was initiated before term (33 weeks) and up until 40 weeks' gestation and which could be repeated up until delivery compared to no ECV. This study showed a decrease in the rate of non-cephalic presentation at birth (relative risk 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.45 to 0.77). One study reported on ECV started at between 34 to 35 weeks' gestation compared to beginning at 37 to 38 weeks' gestation. Although findings were not statistically significant, a 9.5% decrease in the rate of non-cephalic presentation at birth and a 7% decrease in the caesarean section rate were reported when ECV was started early. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Compared with no ECV attempt, ECV commenced before term reduces non-cephalic births. Compared with ECV at term, beginning ECV at between 34 to 35 weeks may have some benefit in terms of decreasing the rate of non-cephalic presentation, and caesarean section. Further trials are needed to confirm this finding and to rule out increased rates of preterm birth, or other adverse perinatal outcomes. A large pragmatic trial is ongoing (www.utoronto.ca/miru/eecv2).
Reusable Architectural Decision Models for Quality-Driven Decision Support: A Case Study from a Smart Cities Software Ecosystem

Architectural design decisions and architectural knowledge are becoming relevant in the current practice of software architecture. In addition, reusable architectural knowledge has gained much importance in the industrial practice. In the process of architectural decision making, quality attributes constitute key drivers for designing software systems, therefore, it is important to document quality attributes along with the decisions captured. However, most of the current tools for management of architectural decisions focus mainly on capturing or sharing of design decisions. We propose to enrich a reusable architectural decision meta-model with quality attributes and introduce a corresponding tool. Our goal is to support software architects during decision making based on reusable decisions driven by quality attributes. Our approach was motivated by and applied in an industrial case study on a large-scale software ecosystem for smart cities, that constitute a complex and challenging system-of-systems domain. We applied our proposal in a few scenarios in the smart cities domain, in which the consideration of quality attributes is required to model reusable architectural knowledge adequately.
Multilocus Sequence Typing for Interpreting Blood Isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis

Staphylococcus epidermidis is an important cause of nosocomial infection and bacteremia. It is also a common contaminant of blood cultures and, as a result, there is frequently uncertainty as to its diagnostic significance when recovered in the clinical laboratory. One molecular strategy that might be of value in clarifying the interpretation of S. epidermidis identified in blood culture is multilocus sequence typing. Here, we examined 100 isolates of this species (50 blood isolates representing true bacteremia, 25 likely contaminant isolates, and 25 skin isolates) and the ability of sequence typing to differentiate them. Three machine learning algorithms (classification regression tree, support vector machine, and nearest neighbor) were employed. Genetic variability was substantial between isolates, with 44 sequence types found in 100 isolates. Sequence types 2 and 5 were most commonly identified. However, among the classification algorithms we employed, none were effective, with CART and SVM both yielding only 73% diagnostic accuracy and nearest neighbor analysis yielding only 53% accuracy. Our data mirror previous studies examining the presence or absence of pathogenic genes in that the overlap between truly significant organisms and contaminants appears to prevent the use of MLST in the clarification of blood cultures recovering S. epidermidis.
Investigating Life Course Offender Subgroup Heterogeneity: An Exploratory Latent Class Analysis Approach

Within developmental criminology, a common classification of offender behavior is life course trajectories broken into discrete groups of early onseters, late onseters, persisters, or desisters. Yet some investigators state that this is an oversimplification of offending behavior and may not be applicable to females and males. The current study utilizes National Youth Survey data and exploratory latent class analysis to determine whether substantive latent classes exist within offender life course trajectories for females and males and to examine differences between the genders across these groups. The analyses reveal the presence of 4 types of latent subgroups: (a) female-majority de-escalators, (b) male-majority persistent de-escalators, (c) male-dominated persisters, and (d) male-majority chronic fluctuators. Post hoc analyses reveal similarities and differences among the latent groups. Research implications of this study suggest further explorations into whether strict 2-pronged developmental models are indeed appropriately tapping and capturing the full essence of criminal careers for both females and males. The results suggest that continued programming that disrupts delinquent peer associations and reduces consumption of drugs and/or alcohol may be promising in promoting desistance—particularly for females.
Sexual Perversion: Integrative Treatment Approaches for the Clinician

A Brief History of Sexual Perversions. The Prevalence of Sexual Perversions. The Diagnosis and Classification of Sexual Perversion. Biological Perspectives on Sexual Perversion. Behavioral and Cognitive Views on Sexual Perversion. Psychodynamic Perspectives of Sexual Perversions. The Assessment of Sexual Perversions. The Treatment of Sexual Perversions. Integrative Perspectives on Treating Sexual Perversions. Clinical Application of Treatment: Integrative Approaches. Summary and Conclusion. Index.
Legal policy and digital rights management

The paper, intended primarily to be a tutorial, informs readers of the important role that law and policy play in the development of new technologies. It also provides guidance with respect to the legal and policy issues that apply to digital rights management (DRM) techniques. The laws and policies that affect the development of DRM architectures are explained. The trends that affect the way international norms are developed are highlighted, focusing on the work of organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization. The paper concludes by providing insight on why the policy-making process is an important consideration the development of DRM systems and future progress in this area.
Salt Stress in Thellungiella halophila Activates Na+ Transport Mechanisms Required for Salinity Tolerance1

Salinity is considered one of the major limiting factors for plant growth and agricultural productivity. We are using salt cress (Thellungiella halophila) to identify biochemical mechanisms that enable plants to grow in saline conditions. Under salt stress, the major site of Na+ accumulation occurred in old leaves, followed by young leaves and taproots, with the least accumulation occurring in lateral roots. Salt treatment increased both the H+ transport and hydrolytic activity of salt cress tonoplast (TP) and plasma membrane (PM) H+-ATPases from leaves and roots. TP Na+/H+ exchange was greatly stimulated by growth of the plants in NaCl, both in leaves and roots. Expression of the PM H+-ATPase isoform AHA3, the Na+ transporter HKT1, and the Na+/H+ exchanger SOS1 were examined in PMs isolated from control and salt-treated salt cress roots and leaves. An increased expression of SOS1, but no changes in levels of AHA3 and HKT1, was observed. NHX1 was only detected in PM fractions of roots, and a salt-induced increase in protein expression was observed. Analysis of the levels of expression of vacuolar H+-translocating ATPase subunits showed no major changes in protein expression of subunits VHA-A or VHA-B with salt treatment; however, VHA-E showed an increased expression in leaf tissue, but not in roots, when the plants were treated with NaCl. Salt cress plants were able to distribute and store Na+ by a very strict control of ion movement across both the TP and PM.
Cutting Edge: Productive HIV-1 Infection of Dendritic Cells via Complement Receptor Type 3 (CR3, CD11b/CD18)

In the present study, we demonstrate that macrophage-tropic HIV-1 opsonized by complement and limited amounts of anti-HIV-IgG causes up to 10-fold higher productive infection of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells than HIV treated with medium or HIV opsonized by Ab only. Enhanced infection is completely abolished by a mAb specific for the ligand-binding site of CD11b (i.e., α-chain of complement receptor 3, receptor for iC3b), proving the importance of complement receptor 3 in this process. Inhibition of complement activation by EDTA also prevents enhanced infection, further demonstrating the role of complement in virus uptake and productive infection. Since HIV is, even in the absence of Abs, regularly opsonized by complement, most probably the above-described mechanism plays a role during in vivo primary infection.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Treatment-Naive and -Experienced HIV-1-Infected Patients

Objective:To improve the utility of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) by defining the proportion of patients with and predictors of above or below target protease inhibitor (PI) or nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) concentrations. Methods:This 48-week, multicenter, open-label clinical trial randomized patients to TDM versus standard of care (SOC). Serial pharmacokinetics, including a week-2 3-sample sparse collection, and expert committee TDM recommendations were given to TDM-arm patients' providers. Results:Seventy-four (39%) of 190 patients had week-2 concentrations outside of targets and 122 (64%) of 190 had nontarget exposure at least once over 48 weeks. Providers accepted 75% of TDM recommendations. Among patients with below-target concentrations, more TDM-arm than SOC-arm patients achieved targets (65% vs. 45%; P = 0.09). Increased body weight and efavirenz or lopinavir/ritonavir use were significant predictors of nontarget concentrations. Patients at target and patients who achieved targets after TDM-directed dose modifications trended toward greater viral load reductions at week 48 than patients with below-target exposures (HIV RNA reductions: 2.4, 2.3, and 1.9 log10 copies/mL, respectively; P = 0.09). Conclusions:Most patients had nontarget PI and/or NNRTI concentrations over 48 weeks. TDM recommendations were well accepted and improved exposure. Patients below TDM targets trended toward worse virologic response.
Linkage Analysis in a Large Family from Pakistan with Depression and a High Incidence of Consanguineous Marriages

Objectives: A genome wide scan for linkage was performed in a five generation family with a high incidence of depression and high average coefficient of inbreeding ascertained in a rural area of Pakistan. The effect of inbreeding on linkage analysis in an extended pedigree is discussed. Methods: 372 microsatellite markers were used in a genome wide linkage study. Inbreeding coefficients were measured by two methods using both genealogical and genotype data. Results: Of 111 family members with phenotypic information, 82 were diagnosed with recurrent major depression. Linkage analysis using the program Superlink online generated LOD scores of less than one at all loci. A model free analysis with SimWalk did not result in any significant linkage score. The mean inbreeding coefficient was 0.038 estimated from genealogical data and 0.02 estimated from the genotype data. These results did not differ significantly. The effects of inbreeding included a reduction in the polymorphism information content of markers and an overestimate of marker allele frequencies. Conclusion: The analysis of very large families is computationally demanding. Problems encountered in this analysis, including loss of power due to reduced polymorphism information content and sensitivity of the LOD score method to estimates of allele frequencies, severely limited the chance of detecting linkage.
A Pneumatic Tactile Sensor for Co-Operative Robots

Tactile sensors of comprehensive functions are urgently needed for the advanced robot to co-exist and co-operate with human beings. Pneumatic tactile sensors based on air bladder possess some noticeable advantages for human-robot interaction application. In this paper, we construct a pneumatic tactile sensor and apply it on the fingertip of robot hand to realize the sensing of force, vibration and slippage via the change of the pressure of the air bladder, and we utilize the sensor to perceive the object’s features such as softness and roughness. The pneumatic tactile sensor has good linearity, repeatability and low hysteresis and both its size and sensing range can be customized by using different material as well as different thicknesses of the air bladder. It is also simple and cheap to fabricate. Therefore, the pneumatic tactile sensor is suitable for the application of co-operative robots and can be widely utilized to improve the performance of service robots. We can apply it to the fingertip of the robot to endow the robotic hand with the ability to co-operate with humans and handle the fragile objects because of the inherent compliance of the air bladder.
Mediating Dangerously: The Frontiers of Conflict Resolution

THE INNER FRONTIERS. The Dangers of Mediation. Suppression, Settlement, and Resolution. Honesty and Empathy: Speaking the Unspeakable. When Helping Becomes a Hindrance. Exploring the Conflicts Within Ourselves. Fear, Apathy, Insanity, and Dishonesty. Dismantling the Desire for Revenge. The Magic of Forgiveness. The Significance of Spirit. Conflict as a Spiritual Path. THE OUTER FRONTIERS. Mediating Fascism and Oppressive Relationships. Power, Rights, and Interests. Creating Responsible Communities. What's Better Than the Rule of Law. Shifting from Debate to Dialogue. Improving the Way We Fight. Transforming the System. The Politics of Conflict. Conflict Resolution Systems Design and the United Nations. Where Inner and Outer Frontiers Meet.
The Exopolysaccharide Matrix Modulates the Interaction between 3D Architecture and Virulence of a Mixed-Species Oral Biofilm

Virulent biofilms are responsible for a range of infections, including oral diseases. All biofilms harbor a microbial-derived extracellular-matrix. The exopolysaccharides (EPS) formed on tooth-pellicle and bacterial surfaces provide binding sites for microorganisms; eventually the accumulated EPS enmeshes microbial cells. The metabolic activity of the bacteria within this matrix leads to acidification of the milieu. We explored the mechanisms through which the Streptococcus mutans-produced EPS-matrix modulates the three-dimensional (3D) architecture and the population shifts during morphogenesis of biofilms on a saliva-coated-apatitic surface using a mixed-bacterial species system. Concomitantly, we examined whether the matrix influences the development of pH-microenvironments within intact-biofilms using a novel 3D in situ pH-mapping technique. Data reveal that the production of the EPS-matrix helps to create spatial heterogeneities by forming an intricate network of exopolysaccharide-enmeshed bacterial-islets (microcolonies) through localized cell-to-matrix interactions. This complex 3D architecture creates compartmentalized acidic and EPS-rich microenvironments throughout the biofilm, which triggers the dominance of pathogenic S. mutans within a mixed-species system. The establishment of a 3D-matrix and EPS-enmeshed microcolonies were largely mediated by the S. mutans gtfB/gtfC genes, expression of which was enhanced in the presence of Actinomyces naeslundii and Streptococcus oralis. Acidic pockets were found only in the interiors of bacterial-islets that are protected by EPS, which impedes rapid neutralization by buffer (pH 7.0). As a result, regions of low pH (<5.5) were detected at specific locations along the surface of attachment. Resistance to chlorhexidine was enhanced in cells within EPS-microcolony complexes compared to those outside such structures within the biofilm. Our results illustrate the critical interaction between matrix architecture and pH heterogeneity in the 3D environment. The formation of structured acidic-microenvironments in close proximity to the apatite-surface is an essential factor associated with virulence in cariogenic-biofilms. These observations may have relevance beyond the mouth, as matrix is inherent to all biofilms.