Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The beguines of medieval Paris: Gender, patronage, and spiritual authority

Subversion by the Right’; and Carlos de la Torre’s article ‘The Contested Meanings of Populist Revolutions in Latin America’. This edited volume on questions and practices of populism worldwide is important for several reasons. First of all, its transnational and comparative character is in line with recent trends of examining and explaining various nation-based historical developments by employing comparative methods and situating these case studies in a broader transnational framework. In this sense, the volume presents an up-to-date example of such an approach. Secondly, by providing a reader with various, often unknown, examples of different case studies from various regions this edited volume presents unavoidable reading material to any scholar interested in questions of populism and its various manifestations across the world, from the nineteenth through the twentieth century and beyond. In this sense, the book Transformations of Populism in Europe and Americas: History and Recent Trends presents one of the first comparative and transnational examinations of populism, its ideas and its practices, through examination of its various national, transnational or regional manifestations.
Stabilization of Two-dimensional Single-input Bilinear Systems with a Finite Number of Constant Feedback Control Laws Presentation: Oral Presentation in a Lecture Section

In the present paper, we address the stabilization problem of two-dimensional bilinear systems, using a nite number of constant feedback control laws, along with appropriate switchings. We show that a two-dimensional bilinear system is stabilizable either by one constant feedback control law, or by two such laws or that it is not stabilizable by a nite number of such laws.
Accelerating Content-Based Image Retrieval via GPU-Adaptive Index Structure

A tremendous amount of work has been conducted in content-based image retrieval (CBIR) on designing effective index structure to accelerate the retrieval process. Most of them improve the retrieval efficiency via complex index structures, and few take into account the parallel implementation of them on underlying hardware, making the existing index structures suffer from low-degree of parallelism. In this paper, a novel graphics processing unit (GPU) adaptive index structure, termed as plane semantic ball (PSB), is proposed to simultaneously reduce the work of retrieval process and exploit the parallel acceleration of underlying hardware. In PSB, semantics are embedded into the generation of representative pivots and multiple balls are selected to cover more informative reference features. With PSB, the online retrieval of CBIR is factorized into independent components that are implemented on GPU efficiently. Comparative experiments with GPU-based brute force approach demonstrate that the proposed approach can achieve high speedup with little information loss. Furthermore, PSB is compared with the state-of-the-art approach, random ball cover (RBC), on two standard image datasets, Corel 10 K and GIST 1 M. Experimental results show that our approach achieves higher speedup than RBC on the same accuracy level.
Field emission from individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes prepared in an electron microscope

Individual multiwalled carbon nanotube field emitters were prepared in a scanning electron microscope. The angular current density, energy spectra, and the emission stability of the field-emitted electrons were measured. An estimate of the electron source brightness was extracted from the measurements. The results show that carbon nanotubes are promising candidates to replace existing sources in high-resolution electron beam instruments. r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 07.77. K; 61.16. F; 85.45. B
Tuning of the sequence technique

The sequence method was first described by Di Rienzo in cats and applied in different species including humans. Until now, no systematic study of spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) has been performed by the sequence method in mice. This study aimed to characterize the best estimates of BRS using the sequence method by tuning all the possible parameters, specifically, the number of beats involved in a sequence, the minimal changes in blood-pressure (BP) ramps, and the minimal changes in pulse-interval (PI) ramps. Also, the relevance to set a minimal correlation coefficient in the regression line between BP and PI was tested. An important point was the delay to be applied between BP and PI. This delay represents the physiological time for the baroreflex loop to efficiently correct the BP variations.
A Simple Synchronization and Communication Multi-threaded Library for Automatic Distribution of Irregular Sequential Code 1

We present a data-driven parallelization technique for sequential programs. The main originality of our approach is an absorption mechanism using specific wait/signal synchronizations based on special purpose counters called structural clocks. This mechanism allows to perform unmatching send/receive operations. Our parallelization technique can express unpredictable communications involved by irregular control structures and irregular data accesses. The granularity of the generated parallel code can be easily adapted tothe algorithm and to the architecture. Tests performed on Cray T3D provide encouraging results.
Study on fast fault diagnosis of capacitor with tolerance based on BIST

This paper presents a novel and practical method for the fault diagnosis of capacitor with tolerance based on the technique of BIST (Built-In Self-Test). An easily achievable square-wave is used as the test pattern. The method adopts the detecting circuit for the interpretation of test response and after filtering, uses the direct current signal as the output of test response. We obtain the results of the test from the output of a comparator, which is a part of the analog circuits. The proposed method has the advantages of simple test vector, rapid diagnosis and high diagnosis accuracy.
T-Type Calcium Channels Consolidate Tonic Action Potential Output of Thalamic Neurons to Neocortex

The thalamic output during different behavioral states is strictly controlled by the firing modes of thalamocortical neurons. During sleep, their hyperpolarized membrane potential allows activation of the T-type calcium channels, promoting rhythmic high-frequency burst firing that reduces sensory information transfer. In contrast, in the waking state thalamic neurons mostly exhibit action potentials at low frequency (i.e., tonic firing), enabling the reliable transfer of incoming sensory inputs to cortex. Because of their nearly complete inactivation at the depolarized potentials that are experienced during the wake state, T-channels are not believed to modulate tonic action potential discharges. Here, we demonstrate using mice brain slices that activation of T-channels in thalamocortical neurons maintained in the depolarized/wake-like state is critical for the reliable expression of tonic firing, securing their excitability over changes in membrane potential that occur in the depolarized state. Our results establish a novel mechanism for the integration of sensory information by thalamocortical neurons and point to an unexpected role for T-channels in the early stage of information processing.
Exploratory Modeling of Complex Information Processing Systems

A widely adopted approach to study and understand complex systems such as ant colonies or economic systems consists in their modeling and simulation. In contrast to the predominat use of models and simulation in science as a substitute for the real system in order to predict the system’s beaviour, the methodology of exploratory modeling uses modeling and simulation as a tool to increase knowledge and understanding of the systems themselves, for example to better understand the dynamic properties of a system. In this paper we propose a model which was specifically devised to support this process of exploratory modeling. The model defines four lightweight building blocks such as information processing entities that can be freely combined to model a particular complex system. Furthermore, the model provides an explicit state representation that comprises the entire model including an explicit representation of the information that is individually available to every information processing entity of the model. We illustrate our introduction of the proposed model by means of short examples of a concrete system for the simulation of motions in a flock of birds.
Political And Agrarian Development In Guatemala

The Jorge Ubico regime - an oligarch restructures the countryside the Juan Jose Arevalo government - the dawning of democracy the Jacobo Arbenz government - the structure of radical reform the Castillo Armas regime - the renovation of traditional policies the Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes regime - the modernization of the agrarian sector the Enrique Peralta Azurdia regime - the costly development of the Northern provinces the Julio Mendez Montonegro regime - the factionalization of state and policy the Carlos Arana Osorio regime - the coming of age of the military the Kjell Laugerud Garcia regime - the failure of moderate reformism political and agrarian development reconsidered.
Spatial metaphors in thinking about other people

ABSTRACT Spatial metaphors contribute to our capacity for abstract thought. Consistent with this idea, it has been shown that processing semantic information (related to valence, power, etc.) can bias performance in a spatial task. Advancing this line of work, the present study examined whether spatial metaphors have a role in thinking about other people. Participants read short vignettes about academic performance, health or social life, which described students in superior and inferior states. In Experiment 1, after reading each vignette, participants were explicitly asked to assign a location to each protagonist using a pen-and-paper task. Findings from this experiment provided initial indication that thinking about the protagonists could recruit spatial metaphors. In Experiments 2 and 3, each vignette was immediately followed by an implicit test of spatial association. In Experiment 2, participants performed a name-recognition task in response to the protagonists’ names presented above or below the central fixation. In this experiment, metaphorical congruency facilitated performance. In Experiment 3, participants were presented with names at central fixation, followed by a visual discrimination target (“X”/”O”) above or below fixation. In this experiment, metaphorical congruency interfered with performance. The diverging patterns of results are explained in terms of the conjunction and separation of the conceptual and perceptual components of the recognition task, respectively, in Experiments 2 and 3. Overall, the findings support the role of spatial metaphors in thinking about other people and, more generally, for the spontaneous use of space in conceptual processes.
Mast cell degranulation by a hemolytic lipid toxin decreases GBS colonization and infection

GBS hemolytic lipid/pigment and hyperpigmented GBS activate mast cells triggering the release of preformed and proinflammatory mediators. Ascending infection of microbes from the lower genital tract into the amniotic cavity increases the risk of preterm birth, stillbirth, and newborn infections. Host defenses that are critical for preventing ascending microbial infection are not completely understood. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) are Gram-positive bacteria that frequently colonize the lower genital tract of healthy women but cause severe infections during pregnancy, leading to preterm birth, stillbirth, or early-onset newborn infections. We recently described that the GBS pigment is hemolytic, and increased pigment expression promotes GBS penetration of human placenta. Here, we show that the GBS hemolytic pigment/lipid toxin and hyperpigmented GBS strains induce mast cell degranulation, leading to the release of preformed and proinflammatory mediators. Mast cell–deficient mice exhibit enhanced bacterial burden, decreased neutrophil mobilization, and decreased immune responses during systemic GBS infection. In a vaginal colonization model, hyperpigmented GBS strains showed increased persistence in mast cell–deficient mice compared to mast cell–proficient mice. Consistent with these observations, fewer rectovaginal GBS isolates from women in their third trimester of pregnancy were hyperpigmented/hyperhemolytic. Our work represents the first example of a bacterial hemolytic lipid that induces mast cell degranulation and emphasizes the role of mast cells in limiting genital colonization by hyperpigmented GBS.
A Low Overhead and Reliable Nested Virtualization VMM for Cloud Computing

Commodity operating systems have already gained functionality of virtual machine monitor. Nested virtualization is needed to run these commodity operating systems as virtual machines. Furthermore, with nested virtualization technology, users can run a self-configured virtual machine monitor (VMM) in Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud computing model, and live migration of VMM can be realized with the help of nested virtualization. In this paper, we present a new VMM nOSV, based on OSV VMM. nOSV is a lightweight VMM and can host multiple Xen VMMs, with little runtime overhead. Compared to traditional nested virtualization VMM, i) its performance overhead is significant low, ii) and with verified interfaces provided by OSV, nOSV is more robust and secure. The performance overhead of nOSV is less than 4%. With dedicated devices allocation policy, guest Xen VMM has a comparable network performance to Xen on bare metal.
Automatic Generation of Content-Based User Profiles Compared to Rule-Based Profiles for Information Filtering

In this paper content-based filtering approach is compared with rule-based filtering approach. The research goals are to study the effectiveness of automatic generation of contentbased user profiles as a function of the number of examples given to the system, and to compare it with the effectiveness of a rule-based user profile. The study shows that rulebased profiles tend to outperform content-based profiles when the latter are generated from a small number of positive examples, but as the number of examples increases, content-based profiles are more advantageous. We conclude that both approaches can be combined, thus minimizing the users’ initial effort of building filtering profiles and enabling incremental improvements based on user feedback later on.
Bursting Oscillations Induced by Small Noise

We consider a model of a square-wave bursting neuron residing in the regime of tonic spiking. Upon introduction of small stochastic forcing, the model generates irregular bursting. The statistical properties of the emergent bursting patterns are studied in the present work. In particular, we identify two principal statistical regimes associated with the noise-induced bursting. In the first case, type I, bursting oscillations are created mainly due to the fluctuations in the fast subsystem. In the alternative scenario, type II bursting, the random perturbations in the slow dynamics play a dominant role. We propose two classes of randomly perturbed slow-fast systems that realize type I and type II scenarios. For these models, we derive the Poincare maps. The analysis of the linearized Poincare maps of the randomly perturbed systems explains the distributions of the number of spikes within one burst and reveals their dependence on the small and control parameters present in the models. The mathematical analy.
Energetics of endurance exercise in young horses determined by nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics

Long-term endurance exercise severely affects metabolism in both human and animal athletes resulting in serious risk of metabolic disorders during or after competition. Young horses (up to 6 years old) can compete in races up to 90 km despite limited scientific knowledge of energetic metabolism responses to long distance exercise in these animals. The hypothesis of this study was that there would be a strong effect of endurance exercise on the metabolomic profiles of young horses and that the energetic metabolism response in young horses would be different from that of more experienced horses. Metabolomic profiling is a powerful method that combines Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometry with supervised Orthogonal Projection on Latent Structure (OPLS) statistical analysis. 1H-NMR spectra were obtained from plasma samples drawn from young horses (before and after competition). The spectra obtained before and after the race from the same horse (92 samples) were compared using OPLS. The statistical parameters showed the robustness of the model (R2Y = 0.947, Q2Y = 0.856 and cros-validated ANOVA p < 0.001). For confirmation of the predictive value of the model, a test set of 104 sample spectra were projected by the model, which provided perfect predictions as the area under the receiving-operator curve was 1. The metabolomic profile determined with the OPLS model showed that glycemia after the race was lower than glycemia before the race, despite the involvement of lipid and protein catabolism. An OPLS model was calculated to compare spectra obtained on plasma taken after the race from 6-year-old horses and from experienced horses (cross-validated ANOVA p < 0.001). The comparison of metabolomic profiles in young horses to those from experienced horses showed that experienced horses maintained their glycemia with higher levels of lactate and a decrease of plasma lipids after the race.
“Sculpting the Response Space”—An Account of Left Prefrontal Activation at Encoding

Left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is consistently activated in neuroimaging studies of memory encoding. Its role, however, remains unclear. We describe two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies addressing this question. In the first we used a blocked experimental design to explore the effect of repeated encoding of word paired associates. Initial presentation of word pairs was associated with left ventrolateral PFC activation that attenuated with subsequent presentations of the same lists. When well-learned lists were presented with word pairs rearranged, a left PFC activation, greater than that associated with the initial presentation, was observed. In a second experiment, the formation of these associative relationships was explored using an event-related design. Two types of word pairs were presented: closely related (e.g., King.Queen) and distantly related (e.g., Net.Ship). The same region of left PFC was differentially sensitive to these two event-types, showing a greater response for distantly related pairs. We suggest that left PFC activity, at memory encoding, reflects operations necessary to the formation of meaningful associations in the service of optimal learning. A crucial feature of such associative processing lies in selecting appropriate, and inhibiting inappropriate, semantic attributes of the study material.
Academic outcomes of adolescents and young adults with hearing loss who received auditory-verbal therapy

ABSTRACT Auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) is an instructional approach for children with hearing loss (HL) that emphasizes auditory learning. Studies relating to the effectiveness of AVT usually relate to speech and language outcomes of young children receiving AVT. Little is known about outcomes of these children later on, such as academic achievements. The purpose of the present study was to fill this void by examining academic achievements of AVT graduates (study group) in comparison to individuals with HL who did not receive AVT (control group). Parents of 52 adolescents and young adults participated in a telephone survey. Information was merged with administrative data of the National Insurance Institute of Israel. Results indicate positive correlations between receiving AVT and academic variables. Significant differences were found between the study and control groups in all grades. AVT had a positive contribution to Hebrew and literature grades. These results suggest that AVT graduates outperform adolescents and young people with HL who were not rehabilitated via this rehabilitative approach.
Automating Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Icosahedral Virus Structure with Condensed Graphs

We present a visual executable workflow for the three-dimensional reconstruction of icosahedral virus structure using the Traditional Model (TM) method. This workflow is implemented using WebCom, a metacomputer platform based on the Condensed Graph (CG) model. The CG model allows the application to be constructed with a structure that closely mirrors an abstract description of the workflow. By utilising WebCom's Integrated Development Environment, we also create a workbench environment that facilitates construction of related workflows through the reuse of components developed for the TM workflow. As an example of this component reuse, we outline the construction of a workflow for the alternative Unbiased Model reconstruction method.
Knowledge about a Common Source Can Promote Visual — Haptic Integration

The brain integrates object information from multiple sensory systems to form a unique representation of our environment. Temporal synchrony and spatial coincidence are important factors for multisensory integration, indicating that the multisensory signals come from a common source. Spatial separations can lead to a decline of visual – haptic integration (Gepshtein et al, 2005 Journal of Vision 5 1013–1023). Here we tested whether prior knowledge that two signals arise from the same object can promote integration even when the signals are spatially discrepant. In one condition, participants had direct view of the object they touched. In a second condition, mirrors were used to create a spatial separation between the seen and the felt object. Participants saw the mirror and their hand in the mirror exploring the object and thus knew that they were seeing and touching the same object. To determine the visual — haptic interaction we created a conflict between the seen and the felt shape using an optically distorting lens that made a rectangle look like a square. Participants judged the shape of the probe by selecting a comparison object matching in shape. We found a mutual biasing effect of shape information from vision and touch, independent of whether participants directly looked at the object they touched or whether the seen and the felt object information was spatially separated with the aid of a mirror. This finding suggests that prior knowledge about object identity can promote integration, even when information from vision and touch is provided at spatially discrepant locations.
A System for Unsupervised Extraction of Orthopaedic Parameters from CT Data

: The request for software assistance is increasingly gaining importance in the ﬁeld of orthopedic surgery. In the near future more people will need implants, which have to last longer. New developments in computer assisted therapy planning promise to signiﬁcantly reduce the number of revisions and increase the longevity of an implant. For example the computation of the functional outcome of a total knee replacement by prediction of kinematics may provide important guidance during surgery. Speed, accuracy and as little manual interaction as possible are the key factors to make those new developments available to the clinical routine. To reach this goal we present a software assistant for the reconstruction of individual anatomical models (e.g. geometry and landmarks) from medical image data, which is an essential step in this effort. We will present and discuss present and future application scenarios.