Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activated glia induce neuron death via MAP kinase signaling pathways involving JNK and p38

Chronic glial activation in neurodegenerative diseases contributes to neuronal dysfunction and neuron loss through production of neuroinflammatory molecules. However, the molecular mechanisms, particularly the signal transduction pathways involved in glia‐dependent neuron death, are poorly understood. As a first step to address this question, we used a neuron‐glia co‐culture system that allows diffusion of soluble molecules between glia and neurons to test the potential importance of mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways in the glia‐induced neuron death. Activation of glia in co‐culture by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced apoptotic‐like neuron death. The MAPKs tested (p38, JNK, ERK1/2) were activated in both glia and neurons following LPS treatment, suggesting their involvement in both glial activation and neuronal response to diffusible, glia‐derived neurotoxic molecules. Inhibitors of p38 and JNK partially blocked neuron death in the LPS‐treated co‐culture, whereas an ERK1/2 pathway inhibitor did not protect neurons. These results show that p38 and JNK MAPKs, but not ERK1/2 MAPK, are important signal transduction pathways contributing to glia‐induced neuron death. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
VHDL-Based Simulation of a Parallel Implementation of a Phase-Based Algorithm for Optical Flow

The computation of optical flow can be an important part in a diverse number of applications. However, optical flow algorithms can be categorized as either very accurate and slow or very fast and highly inaccurate. None of the optical flow algorithms combined both accuracy and efficiency. Among these algorithms was the phase-based fleet and Jepson algorithm. Although this algorithm has proved to produce relatively accurate results, it can not be exploited in many real-life applications due to its relatively long run-time. The goal of this paper is to combine the accuracy of the phase-based optical flow algorithm by Fleet and Jepson and exploit the parallelism and high performance capabilities of the FPGAs to provide an accurate and efficient optical flow algorithm for FPGA-based applications.
The Relationships Between the Extent of Information Systems Adoption and Service Performance in the Public Hospital in Malaysia

Hospitals must implement information systems that can quantify every aspect of disease management, can track and preserve patient outcomes data, can capture information across multiple business segments, and can even provide predictive modeling formulas (Grazier, 1998). The need for technology investment in hospitals is clear. Technology is the key component of efforts to meet new standards and to ensure that those standards translate into meaningful clinical, operational and financial outcomes. That is, in addition to routine information demands, administrators often require specific types of information to address specific management issues. Because the quantity and types of information needed are constantly changing, keeping up with such change is an administrative challenge. At the same time, external demands for information from governmental agencies, insurers and so on are also on the rise and are also dynamic. These shifting dynamics are rapidly changing the healthcare industry. As Austin (1992) notes, the changing nature of the healthcare industry necessitates an increasing reliance on good management information
The Ca2+ Channel Subunit β2 Regulates Ca2+ Channel Abundance and Function in Inner Hair Cells and Is Required for Hearing

Hearing relies on Ca2+ influx-triggered exocytosis in cochlear inner hair cells (IHCs). Here we studied the role of the Ca2+ channel subunit CaVβ2 in hearing. Of the CaVβ1–4 mRNAs, IHCs predominantly contained CaVβ2. Hearing was severely impaired in mice lacking CaVβ2 in extracardiac tissues (CaVβ2−/−). This involved deficits in cochlear amplification and sound encoding. Otoacoustic emissions were reduced or absent in CaVβ2−/− mice, which showed strongly elevated auditory thresholds in single neuron recordings and auditory brainstem response measurements. CaVβ2−/− IHCs showed greatly reduced exocytosis (by 68%). This was mostly attributable to a decreased number of membrane-standing CaV1.3 channels. Confocal Ca2+ imaging revealed presynaptic Ca2+ microdomains albeit with much lower amplitudes, indicating synaptic clustering of fewer CaV1.3 channels. The coupling of the remaining Ca2+ influx to IHC exocytosis appeared unaffected. Extracellular recordings of sound-evoked spiking in the cochlear nucleus and auditory nerve revealed reduced spike rates in the CaVβ2−/− mice. Still, sizable onset and adapted spike rates were found during suprathreshold stimulation in CaVβ2−/− mice. This indicated that residual synaptic sound encoding occurred, although the number of presynaptic CaV1.3 channels and exocytosis were reduced to one-third. The normal developmental upregulation, clustering, and gating of large-conductance Ca2+ activated potassium channels in IHCs were impaired in the absence of CaVβ2. Moreover, we found the developmental efferent innervation to persist in CaVβ2-deficient IHCs. In summary, CaVβ2 has an essential role in regulating the abundance and properties of CaV1.3 channels in IHCs and, thereby, is critical for IHC development and synaptic encoding of sound.
Fast forced symbol method for distributed space-time turbo codes using complex orthogonal design

The idea of Distributed Space-Time Codes (DSTCs) was proposed to achieve spatial and temporal diversity without having channel information at the relays in wireless networks. In that scheme, distributive relays cooperate with each other to generate a Space-Time Code (STC) at the receiver. However, DSTCs have poor error rate performances at low signal to noise ratios (SNRs) that may disqualify them from being used in next generation mobile communications systems. To overcome this issue, this paper proposes a novel scheme based on the joint use of DSTCs and turbo codes, which we call “Distributed Space-Time Turbo Codes (DST-TCs)”. We also propose a Fast Forced Symbol Method (FFSM) which significantly improves the coding gain of the proposed DST-TCs. The FFSM is based on repeated decoding operations and does not require any significant change in the design of encoder and decoder of DST-TC. The FFSM provides 0.9 dB of coding gain over simple DST-TC at frame error rate (FER) of 10-5.
LLMs in HCI Data Work: Bridging the Gap Between Information Retrieval and Responsible Research Practices

Efficient and accurate information extraction from scientific papers is significant in the rapidly developing human-computer interaction research in the literature review process. Our paper introduces and analyses a new information retrieval system using state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs) in combination with structured text analysis techniques to extract experimental data from HCI literature, emphasizing key elements. Then We analyze the challenges and risks of using LLMs in the world of research. We performed a comprehensive analysis on our conducted dataset, which contained the specified information of 300 CHI 2020-2022 papers, to evaluate the performance of the two large language models, GPT-3.5 (text-davinci-003) and Llama-2-70b, paired with structured text analysis techniques. The GPT-3.5 model gains an accuracy of 58\% and a mean absolute error of 7.00. In contrast, the Llama2 model indicates an accuracy of 56\% with a mean absolute error of 7.63. The ability to answer questions was also included in the system in order to work with streamlined data. By evaluating the risks and opportunities presented by LLMs, our work contributes to the ongoing dialogue on establishing methodological validity and ethical guidelines for LLM use in HCI data work.
An Improved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Unit Commitment

This paper presents a new approach via multi-particle swarm optimization (MPSO) to solve the unit commitment (UC) problem. A new strategy which can generate feasible particles and make the search space narrow within the feasible solutions is presented. Some particle swarms are generated by the new strategy, and location optimum solutions are searched in each particle swarm, then a new particle swarm is made up of location optimum solutions, and the global optimum solution is searching in this new particle swarm. The application of the new generating strategy in PSO can efficiently improve the global searching capability and escape from local minima. The simulation results show that the method is more efficient than genetic algorithm, and could obtain the global optimum solution more probably.
Virtual bass system based on a multiband harmonic generation

In this paper we propose a method of creating virtual bass based on a multiband harmonic generation. The proposed algorithm separately generates harmonics for each band whose bandwidth is adaptively adjusted according to the tonal distribution in the bass signal. Both even and odd harmonics are generated by combining two nonlinear devices. The proposed algorithm overcomes the intermodulation distortion and spectral smearing problem that are often encountered in the previous algorithms. Results of objective and subjective tests are presented to validate the proposed algorithm.
Releasing the SVM Classifier with Privacy-Preservation

Support vector machine (SVM) is a widely used tool in classification problem. SVM solves a quadratic optimization problem to decide which instances of training dataset are support vectors, i.e., the necessarily informative instances to form the classifier. The support vectors are intact tuples taken from the training dataset. Releasing the SVM classifier to public use or shipping the SVM classifier to clients will disclose the private content of support vectors, violating the privacy-preservation requirement in some legal or commercial reasons. To the best of our knowledge, there has not been work extending the notion of privacy-preservation to releasing the SVM classifier. In this paper, we propose an approximation approach which post-processes the SVM classifier to protect the private content of support vectors. This approach is designed for the commonly used Gaussian radial basis function kernel. By applying this post-processor on the SVM classifier, the resulted privacy-preserving SVM classifier can be publicly released without exposing the private content of support vectors and is able to provide comparable classification accuracy to the original SVM classifier.
Comparative study of visual human state classication; An application for a walker robot

The image data of upper body from a depth sensor is used to estimate the state of human focusing on the incidents that might happen while using a walker. Several falling cases along with sitting and normal walking are considered in this study. Two main features namely the centroid and the principal component analysis (PCA) values of the upper body are used to classify the data. The non-walking states are detected either by using a Gaussian Mixture Model of PCA features or training a Continuous Hidden Markov Model (CHMM) with centroid data. The CHMM is also used to detect the type of falling. The state estimation results are used to control the motion of a passive type walker referred to as “RT Walker”. Falling prevention and sitting/standing assistance are achieved using both methods. Performance of the methods are discussed and compared to each other from different aspect.
Offline Text-Independent Writer Identification Based on Scale Invariant Feature Transform

This paper proposes a novel offline text-independent writer identification method based on scale invariant feature transform (SIFT), composed of training, enrollment, and identification stages. In all stages, an isotropic LoG filter is first used to segment the handwriting image into word regions (WRs). Then, the SIFT descriptors (SDs) of WRs and the corresponding scales and orientations (SOs) are extracted. In the training stage, an SD codebook is constructed by clustering the SDs of training samples. In the enrollment stage, the SDs of the input handwriting are adopted to form an SD signature (SDS) by looking up the SD codebook and the SOs are utilized to generate a scale and orientation histogram (SOH). In the identification stage, the SDS and SOH of the input handwriting are extracted and matched with the enrolled ones for identification. Experimental results on six public data sets (including three English data sets, one Chinese data set, and two hybrid-language data sets) demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms.
Chromosome 22qII deletions. An under-recognised cause of idiopathic learning disability.

BACKGROUND Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS), a syndrome of multiple congenital abnormalities including characteristic dysmorphology, congenital heart defects and learning disability, is associated with small interstitial deletions of chromosome 22qII. We tested the hypothesis that VCFS may be significantly under-diagnosed by screening a learning disabled population for chromosome 22qII deletions. METHOD Two hundred and sixty-five people with learning disability residing in two learning disability hospitals in South Wales were reviewed. They were selected for inclusion in the study if they fulfilled any of the following criteria: psychotic disorder (schizophrenia or affective disorder), family history of psychotic disorder, cleft palate and/or lip, congenital heart disease, broadly defined facial dysmorphism or a history of hypocalcaemia. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation studies were performed on 74 selected individuals. RESULTS Cytogenetic analysis revealed that two people demonstrated a previously undetected chromosome 22qII deletion. A third person demonstrated a previously undetected cytogenetically visible deletion on chromosome 15. CONCLUSIONS VCFS appears to be aetiologically significant in a proportion of individuals with idiopathic learning disability, especially in those where psychosis is associated with mild learning disability. We suggest that clinicians should consider a chromosome 22qII deletion in people who meet selection criteria.
GSM phase 2+ general packet radio service GPRS: Architecture, protocols, and air interface

The general packet radio service (GPRS) is a new bearer service for GSM that greatly improves and simplifies wireless access to packet data networks, e.g., to the Internet. It applies a packet radio principle to transfer user data packets in an efficient way between mobile stations and external packet data networks. This tutorial gives an introduction to GPRS. The article discusses the system architecture and its basic functionality. It explains the offered services, the session and mobility management, the routing, the GPRS air interface including channel coding, and the GPRS protocol architecture. Finally, an interworking example between GPRS and IP networks is shown.
Climate variability in the SE Alps of Italy over the past 17 000 years reconstructed from a stalagmite record

Stalagmite SV1 from Grotta Savi, located at the SE margin of the European Alps (Italy), is the first Alpine speleothem that continuously spans the past c. 17kyr. Extension rate and δ18Oc record for the Lateglacial probably reflect a combination of temperature and rainfall, with rainfall exerting the dominant effect. Low speleothem calcite δ18 Oc values were recorded from c. 14.5 and 12.35 kyr, during GI‐1 (Bølling— Allerød) interstadial, which in our interpretation, was warm and wet. The GS‐1 (Younger Dryas) was characterized by a shift to heavier δ18 Oc, coinciding with δ13Cc enrichment and extremely low extension rate (<8 μm/year). These characteristics indicate that GS‐1 climate was cool and dry in the SE Alps. Calibration using historical data revealed that there is a positive δ18Oc/dT relationship. A 1°C rise in mean annual temperature should correspond to c. 2.85% increase of SV‐1 δc18Oc. We reconstructed a slow and steady temperature rise of c. 0.5°C since 10 kyr BP, in broad agreement with reconstructions from pollen data for SE Europe. Stalagmite SV1 indicates that climate variability in the SE Alps has been influenced by the Mediterranean Sea for the past c. 17 kyr.
The Effects of Acute Dopamine Precursor Depletion on the Reinforcing Value of Exercise in Anorexia Nervosa

This study investigated whether dopaminergic systems are involved in the motivation to engage in behaviours associated with anorexia nervosa (AN), specifically, the drive to exercise. Women recovered from AN (AN REC, n = 17) and healthy controls (HC, n = 15) were recruited. The acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion (APTD) method was used to transiently decrease dopamine synthesis and transmission. The effect of dopamine precursor depletion on drive to exercise was measured using a progressive ratio (PR) exercise breakpoint task. Both groups worked for the opportunity to exercise, and, at baseline, PR breakpoint scores were higher in AN REC than HC. Compared to values on the experimental control session, APTD did not decrease PR breakpoint scores in AN REC, but significantly decreased scores in HC. These data show that women recovered from AN are more motivated to exercise than HC, although in both groups, activity is more reinforcing than inactivity. Importantly, decreasing dopamine does not reduce the motivation to exercise in people recovered from AN, but in contrast, does so in HC. It is proposed that in AN, drive to exercise develops into a behaviour that is largely independent of dopamine mediated reward processes and becomes dependent on cortico-striatal neurocircuitry that regulates automated, habit- or compulsive-like behaviours. These data strengthen the case for the involvement of reward, learning, habit, and dopaminergic systems in the aetiology of AN.
Texture Analysis of Abnormal Cell Images for Predicting the Continuum of Colorectal Cancer

Abnormal cell (ABC) is a markedly heterogeneous tissue area and can be categorized into three main types: benign hyperplasia (BH), carcinoma (Ca), and intraepithelial neoplasia (IN) or precursor cancerous lesion. In this study, the goal is to determine and characterize the continuum of colorectal cancer by using a 3D-texture approach. ABC was segmented in preprocessing step using an active contour segmentation technique. Cell types were analyzed based on textural features extracted from the gray level cooccurrence matrices (GLCMs). Significant texture features were selected using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) of ABC with a p value cutoff of p < 0.01. Features selected were reduced with a principal component analysis (PCA), which accounted for 97% of the cumulative variance from significant features. The simulation results identified 158 significant features based on ANOVA from a total of 624 texture features extracted from GLCMs. Performance metrics of ABC discrimination based on significant texture features showed 92.59% classification accuracy, 100% sensitivity, and 94.44% specificity. These findings suggest that texture features extracted from GLCMs are sensitive enough to discriminate between the ABC types and offer the opportunity to predict cell characteristics of colorectal cancer.
Evaluating the Performance of Continuous Test-Based Cloud Service Certification

Continuous test-based cloud certification uses tests to automatically and repeatedly evaluate whether a cloud service satisfies customer requirements over time. However, inaccurate tests can decrease customers' trust in test results and can lead to providers disputing results of test-based certification techniques. In this paper, we propose an approach how to evaluate the performance of test-based cloud certification techniques. Our method allows to infer conclusions about the general performance of test-based techniques, compare alternative techniques, and compare alternative configurations of test-based techniques. We present experimental results on how we used our approach to evaluate and compare exemplary test-based techniques which support the certification of requirements related to security, reliability and availability.
Loss of Cdc42 leads to defects in synaptic plasticity and remote memory recall

Cdc42 is a signaling protein important for reorganization of actin cytoskeleton and morphogenesis of cells. However, the functional role of Cdc42 in synaptic plasticity and in behaviors such as learning and memory are not well understood. Here we report that postnatal forebrain deletion of Cdc42 leads to deficits in synaptic plasticity and in remote memory recall using conditional knockout of Cdc42. We found that deletion of Cdc42 impaired LTP in the Schaffer collateral synapses and postsynaptic structural plasticity of dendritic spines in CA1 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus. Additionally, loss of Cdc42 did not affect memory acquisition, but instead significantly impaired remote memory recall. Together these results indicate that the postnatal functions of Cdc42 may be crucial for the synaptic plasticity in hippocampal neurons, which contribute to the capacity for remote memory recall. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.02839. 001
A Semi-supervised SVM for Manifold Learning

Many classification tasks benefit from integrating manifold learning with semi-supervised learning. By formulating the learning task in a semi-supervised manner, we propose a novel objective function that combines the manifold consistency of whole dataset with the hinge loss of class label prediction. This formulation results in a SVM-alike task operating on the kernel derived from the graph Laplacian, and is capable of capturing the intrinsic manifold structure of the whole dataset and maximizing the margin separating labelled examples. Results on face and handwritten digit recognition tasks show significant performance gain. The performance gain is particularly impressive when only a small training set is available, which is often the true scenario of many real-world problems
Participatory programming and the scope of mutual responsibility: balancing scientific, design and software commitment

Over the past seven years, we have been conducting a variety of participatory design activities with research biologists, programmers, and bioinformaticians at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. We first describe the history of these activities and how they have created the beginnings of a participatory design culture. We introduce participatory programming, which integrates participatory design and end-user programming, and examine how it acts as a medium for forging scientific ideas. Finally, we reflect on three poles of activity: the computational medium, scientific hypotheses and participatory design.