Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design of a Random-Pulse Computer for Classifying Binary Patterns

This paper proposes a novel design for a parallel nonadaptive binary pattern classifier. The structure employs random-pulse (stochastic) computing elements to economically realize multimodal nonlinear discriminant functions similar in form to those used in potential function classifiers. The technique achieves efficient hardware utilization by employing a READ-ONLY memory (ROM) without addressing circuits to store modes and simultaneously execute parallel stochastic multiplications required in discriminant function computations.
Selective attention to affective value alters how the brain processes taste stimuli

How does selective attention to affect influence sensory processing? In an fMRI investigation, when subjects were instructed to remember and rate the pleasantness of a taste stimulus, 0.1 m monosodium glutamate, activations were greater in the medial orbitofrontal and pregenual cingulate cortex than when subjects were instructed to remember and rate the intensity of the taste. When the subjects were instructed to remember and rate the intensity, activations were greater in the insular taste cortex. An interaction analysis showed that this dissociation of taste processing, depending on whether attention to pleasantness or intensity was relevant, was highly significant (P < 0.0002). Thus, depending on the context in which tastes are presented and whether affect is relevant, the brain responds to a taste differently. These findings show that, when attention is paid to affective value, the brain systems engaged to represent the sensory stimulus of taste are different from those engaged when attention is directed to the physical properties of a stimulus such as its intensity. This differential biasing of brain regions engaged in processing a sensory stimulus, depending on whether the cognitive demand is for affect‐related vs. more sensory‐related processing, may be an important aspect of cognition and attention. This has many implications for understanding the effects not only of taste but also of other sensory stimuli.
Absence of TLR4 Reduces Neurovascular Unit and Secondary Inflammatory Process after Traumatic Brain Injury in Mice

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) initiates a neuroinflammatory cascade that contributes to neuronal damage and behavioral impairment. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are signaling receptors in the innate immune system, although emerging evidence indicates their role in brain injury. We have therefore investigated the role played by TLR4 signaling pathway in the development of mechanisms of secondary inflammatory process in traumatic brain injury (TBI) differ in mice that lack a functional TLR4 signaling pathway. Methods/Principal Findings Controlled cortical impact injury was performed on TLR4 knockout (KO) mice (C57BL/10ScNJ) and wild-type (WT) mice (C57BL/10ScNJ). TBI outcome was evaluated by determination of infarct volume and assessment of neurological scores. Brains were collected at 24 h after TBI. When compared to WT mice, TLR4 KO mice had lower infarct volumes and better outcomes in neurological and behavioral tests (evaluated by EBST and rotarod test). Mice that lacked TLR4 had minor expression of TBI-induced GFAP, Chymase, Tryptase, IL-1β, iNOS, PARP and Nitrotyrosine mediators implicated in brain damage. The translocation of expression of p-JNK, IκB-α and NF-κB pathway were also lower in brains from TLR4 KO mice. When compared to WT mice, resulted in significant augmentation of all the above described parameters. In addition, apoptosis levels in TLR4 KO mice had minor expression of Bax while on the contrary with Bcl-2. Conclusions/Significance Our results clearly demonstrated that absence of TLR4 reduces the development of neuroinflammation, tissues injury events associated with brain trauma and may play a neuroprotective role in TBI in mice.
Thoracoscopic Lobectomy versus Open Lobectomy in Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

The objective of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate the survival, recurrence rate, and complications in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or open lobectomy. A literature search was conducted on June 31, 2012 using combinations of the search terms video-assisted thoracic surgery, open thoracotomy, lobectomy, and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Inclusion criteria were: 1) Compared video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy with open lobectomy. 2) Stage I NSCLC. 2) No previous treatment for lung cancer. 4) Outcome data included 5-year survival rate, complication, and recurrence rate. Tests of heterogeneity, sensitivity, and publication bias were performed. A total of 23 studies (21 retrospective and 2 prospective) met the inclusion criteria. VATS was associated with a longer 5-year survival (odds ratio [OR] = 1.622, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.272 to 2.069; P<0.001), higher local recurrence rate (OR = 2.152, 95% CI 1.349 to 3.434; P = 0.001), similar distant recurrence rate (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.33 to 2.48; P = 0.8560), and lower total complication rate (OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.84; P = 0.013) compared to open lobectomy. VATS was also associated with lower rates arrhythmias, prolonged air leakage, and pneumonia but it did not show any statistical significance. Patients with stage I NSCLC undergoing VATS lobectomy had longer survival and fewer complications than those who received open lobectomy.
The body language and emotion of dogs: a practical guide to the physical and behavioral displays owners and dogs exchange and how to use them to create a lasting bond. 1st ed.

Why do dogs and their woners, both social animals, often have problems? As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Milani found that many owners fail to understand the meaning of dogs' behavioral displays. By mistaking territoriality for spite, dominant behavior for love, and making other false interpretations, owners often respond inappropriately. Many owners also fail to grasp how their own emotions and body language affect their relationships with their pets. Here, based on fascinating case histories form her own practice, Dr. Milani offers a guide that goes beyond solving dog behavioral problems.The Body Language and Emotion of Dogs also explores the powerful emotions aroused in those of us who seek satisfactory bonds with our pets. Understanding both the social nature of dogs and also that our own emotional responses enhance the physical, mental, and emotional health of both owner and pet. Dr. Milani uses fact, practical experience, and above all, sensitivity and tolerance to help owners build better relationships with their dogs.
A Lifetime Maximization Relay Selection Scheme in Wireless Body Area Networks

Network Lifetime is one of the most important metrics in Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). In this paper, a relay selection scheme is proposed under the topology constrains specified in the IEEE 802.15. 6 standard to maximize the lifetime of WBANs through formulating and solving an optimization problem where relay selection of each node acts as optimization variable. Considering the diversity of the sensor nodes in WBANs, the optimization problem takes not only energy consumption rate but also energy difference among sensor nodes into account to improve the network lifetime performance. Since it is Non-deterministic Polynomial-hard (NP-hard) and intractable, a heuristic solution is then designed to rapidly address the optimization. The simulation results indicate that the proposed relay selection scheme has better performance in network lifetime compared with existing algorithms and that the heuristic solution has low time complexity with only a negligible performance degradation gap from optimal value. Furthermore, we also conduct simulations based on a general WBAN model to comprehensively illustrate the advantages of the proposed algorithm. At the end of the evaluation, we validate the feasibility of our proposed scheme via an implementation discussion.
Expression profiles and biological function.

Expression arrays facilitate the monitoring of changes in expression patterns of large collections of genes. It is generally expected that genes with similar expression patterns would correspond to proteins of common biological function. We assess this common assumption by comparing levels of similarity of expression patterns and statistical significance of biological terms that describe the corresponding protein functions. Terms are automatically obtained by mining large collections of Medline abstracts. We propose that the combined use of the tools for expression profiles clustering and automatic function retrieval, can be useful tools for the detection of biologically relevant associations between genes in complex gene expression experiments. The results obtained using publicly available experimental data show how, in general, an increase in the similarity of the expression patterns is accompanied by an enhancement of the amount of specific functional information or, in other words, how the selected terms became more specific following an increase in the specificity of the expression patterns. Particularly interesting are the discrepancies from this general trend, i.e. groups of genes with similar expression patterns but very little in common at the functional level. In these cases the similarity of their expression profiles becomes the first link between previously unrelated genes.
Transmission/disequilibrium tests for quantitative traits

Spielman et al. [1993] proposed a transmission‐disequilibrium test (TDT), based on marker data collected on affected offspring and their parents, to test for linkage between a genetic marker and a binary trait provided there is allelic association. It has been shown that this TDT is powerful and is not affected by allelic association due to population stratification in the absence of linkage. For quantitative traits, George and Elston [1987] proposed a likelihood method to detect the effect of a candidate gene in pedigree data when familial correlations are present. This test will detect allelic association but will do so in the absence of linkage. In this paper, we investigate two new likelihood‐ratio test statistics for multi‐generational quantitative traits to test either for linkage in the presence of allelic association or for allelic association in the presence of linkage, such as may be due to linkage disequilibrium. We compare these two tests analytically and by simulation with respect to 1) the sample size required for the asymptotic null distributions to be valid and 2) their power to detect association in those cases in which they are not sensitive to population stratification unless linkage is present. In general, 80 nuclear families with two children each and at least one heterozygous parent, or the equivalent number of children in large pedigrees, are enough for the asymptotic null distribution of the proposed conditional and TDT methods to be valid. The theoretical power is close to the simulated power except for the case of a recessive allele with low frequency. A sampling strategy is proposed that dramatically improves power. Genet. Epidemiol. 20:57–74, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Enhancing performance of a motor imagery based brain–computer interface by incorporating electrical stimulation-induced SSSEP

Objective. We proposed a novel simultaneous hybrid brain–computer interface (BCI) by incorporating electrical stimulation into a motor imagery (MI) based BCI system. The goal of this study was to enhance the overall performance of an MI-based BCI. In addition, the brain oscillatory pattern in the hybrid task was also investigated. Approach. 64-channel electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded during MI, selective attention (SA) and hybrid tasks in fourteen healthy subjects. In the hybrid task, subjects performed MI with electrical stimulation which was applied to bilateral median nerve on wrists simultaneously. Main results. The hybrid task clearly presented additional steady-state somatosensory evoked potential (SSSEP) induced by electrical stimulation with MI-induced event-related desynchronization (ERD). By combining ERD and SSSEP features, the performance in the hybrid task was significantly better than in both MI and SA tasks, achieving a ~14% improvement in total relative to the MI task alone and reaching ~89% in mean classification accuracy. On the contrary, there was no significant enhancement obtained in performance while separate ERD feature was utilized in the hybrid task. In terms of the hybrid task, the performance using combined feature was significantly better than using separate ERD or SSSEP feature. Significance. The results in this work validate the feasibility of our proposed approach to form a novel MI-SSSEP hybrid BCI outperforming a conventional MI-based BCI through combing MI with electrical stimulation.
A Critical Survey on Secure Data Aggregation (SDA) in Wireless Sensor Networks

Data aggregation is commonly used method to reduce communication overhead in wireless sensor networks by combining data received from different sensors and by removing redundancies. The intermediate nodes perform data aggregation task called aggregator nodes. In open and hostile environment aggregator nodes are target for attackers to falsify the aggregation result, and base station accepting incorrect aggregation data. Therefore, security of aggregated data becomes a critical requirement. Various protocols have been presented for data aggregation with security in WSNs. In the paper, we present a survey on secure data aggregation protocols with their advantages and limitations.
Reach for A*: Shortest Path Algorithms with Preprocessing

We study the point-to-point shortest path problem with preprocessing. Given an input graph, we preprocess it so as to be able to answer a series of source-to-destination queries efficiently. Our work is motivated by an algorithm of Gutman [ALENEX’04], based on the notion of reach, which measures how important each vertex is with respect to shortest paths. We present a simplified version of his algorithm that does not require explicit lower bounds during queries. We also show how the addition of shortcuts to the graph greatly improves the performance of both preprocessing and queries. Finally, we combine a reach-based algorithm with landmark-based A search to obtain a wide range of space-time trade-offs. For our motivating application, driving directions for road networks, the resulting algorithm is very efficient and practical. The road networks of the USA and Western Europe have roughly 20 million vertices, but on average our algorithm must visit fewer than a thousand to find the distance between two points. Our algorithm also works reasonably well on 2-dimensional grid graphs with random arc weights.
Fast-Reset of Pacemaking and Theta-Frequency Resonance Patterns in Cerebellar Golgi Cells: Simulations of their Impact In Vivo

The Golgi cells are inhibitory interneurons of the cerebellar granular layer, which respond to afferent stimulation in vivo with a burst-pause sequence interrupting their irregular background low-frequency firing (Vos et al., 1999a. Eur. J. Neurosci. 11, 2621–2634). However, Golgi cells in vitro are regular pacemakers (Forti et al., 2006. J. Physiol. 574, 711–729), raising the question how their ionic mechanisms could impact on responses during physiological activity. Using patch-clamp recordings in cerebellar slices we show that the pacemaker cycle can be suddenly reset by spikes, making the cell highly sensitive to input variations. Moreover, the neuron resonates around the pacemaker frequency, making it specifically sensitive to patterned stimulation in the theta-frequency band. Computational analysis based on a model developed to reproduce Golgi cell pacemaking (Solinas et al., 2008 Front. Neurosci., 2:2) predicted that phase-reset required spike-triggered activation of SK channels and that resonance was sustained by a slow voltage-dependent potassium current and amplified by a persistent sodium current. Adding balanced synaptic noise to mimic the irregular discharge observed in vivo, we found that pacemaking converts into spontaneous irregular discharge, that phase-reset plays an important role in generating the burst-pause pattern evoked by sensory stimulation, and that repetitive stimulation at theta-frequency enhances the time-precision of spike coding in the burst. These results suggest that Golgi cell intrinsic properties exert a profound impact on time-dependent signal processing in the cerebellar granular layer.
Interleukin 4 expressed in situ selectively alters thymocyte development

Using a transgenic mouse model we show that increased intrathymic expression of interleukin 4 (IL-4) significantly perturbs the development of thymocytes. Transgenic double-positive (CD4+CD8+) thymocytes, which are present in dramatically reduced numbers, exhibit increased T cell receptor (TCR) expression and increased mobilization of calcium mediated by these receptors. In contrast, transgenic single- positive (CD4+CD8- and CD4-CD8+) thymocytes and peripheral T cells exhibit decreased TCR-mediated calcium mobilization. The development of CD4-CD8+ thymocytes is significantly perturbed by IL-4 expressed in vivo; only peripheral CD4+ T cells are found in significant numbers in transgenic mice, while CD4-CD8+ thymocytes are present in increased numbers, apparently because of their failure to emigrate to the periphery. In contrast to these selective effects on T cell development, no significant differences in the numbers of B cells or mast cells, or in the plasma levels of IgE and IgG1 are observed between transgenic and control mice. These observations suggest that IL- 4 in vivo exerts its major effects locally rather than systemically, even when its expression is constitutively increased.
Using basic fibroblast growth factor nanoliposome combined with ultrasound-introduced technology to early intervene the diabetic cardiomyopathy

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-loaded liposome (bFGF-lip) combined with ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) technique was investigated to prevent diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Cardiac function and myocardial ultrastructure were assessed. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining, immunohistochemistry staining, and Western blot assay were used to investigate the signal pathway underlying the expression of bFGF in DCM treatment. From Mason staining and TUNEL staining, bFGF-lip + UTMD group showed significant differences from the diabetes group and other groups treated with bFGF or bFGF-lip. The diabetes group showed similar results (myocardial capillary density, collagen volume fraction, and cardiac myocyte apoptosis index) to other bFGF treatment groups. Indexes from transthoracic echocardiography and hemodynamic evaluation also proved the same conclusion. These results confirmed that the abnormalities including diastolic dysfunctions, myocardial fibrosis, and metabolic disturbances could be suppressed by the different extents of twice-weekly bFGF treatments for 12 consecutive weeks (free bFGF or bFGF-lip +/− UTMD), with the strongest improvements observed in the bFGF-lip + UTMD group. The group combining bFGF-lip with UTMD demonstrated the highest level of bFGF expression among all the groups. The bFGF activated the PI3K/AKT signal pathway, causing the reduction of myocardial cell apoptosis and increase of microvascular density. This strategy using bFGF-lip and UTMD is a potential strategy in early intervention of DCM in diabetes.
THE HYPOMANIC ALERT: A PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR GREATER THERAPEUTIC CONTROL.

A program is described for the rapid detection and control of hypomanic episodes. This program has four salient features. 1. A systematic search for a pathognomonic tell-tale sign in each patient which heralds the onset of an attack. 2. The education of the patient and his family to the importance of detecting and reporting such signs or even suspicions of impending signs without delay. 3. The use of ancillary personnel to maintain regular monthly contacts with the patient and the family during symptom-free periods and to provide additional clinical observations. This program provides a financial saving for the patient and a reduction of the time demand on the psychiatrist while maintaining therapeutic efficiency. 4. The carefully controlled, intensive and early use of LiCO3 as the primary approach to alleviate hypomanic states. Lithium therapy approaches 100 percent effectiveness if used at the first sign of a hypomanic attack. This program has proven both successful and practical for the management of a.
Uplink Interference Reduction in Large-Scale Antenna Systems

A massive MIMO system entails a large number (tens or hundreds) of base station antennas serving a much smaller number of terminals. These systems demonstrate large gains in spectral and energy efficiency compared with the conventional MIMO technology. As the number of antennas grows, the performance of a massive MIMO system gets limited by the interference caused by pilot contamination. Ashikhmin and Marzetta proposed (under the name of Pilot Contamination Precoding) large scale fading precoding (LSFP) and large scale fading decoding (LSFD) based on limited cooperation between base stations. They showed that zero-forcing LSFP and LSFD eliminate pilot contamination entirely and lead to an infinite throughput as the number of antennas grows. In this paper, we focus on the uplink and show that even in the case of a finite number of base station antennas, LSFD yields a very large performance gain. In particular, one of our algorithms gives a more than 140 fold increase in the 5% outage data transmission rate! We show that the performance can be improved further by optimizing the transmission powers of the users. Finally, we present decentralized LSFD that requires limited cooperation only between neighboring cells.
Down-Regulation of Regulatory Subunit Type 1A of Protein Kinase A Leads to Endocrine and Other Tumors

Mutations of the human type Iα regulatory subunit (RIα) of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA; PRKAR1A) lead to altered kinase activity, primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease, and tumors of the thyroid and other tissues. To bypass the early embryonic lethality of Prkar1a−/− mice, we established transgenic mice carrying an antisense transgene for Prkar1a exon 2 (X2AS) under the control of a tetracycline-responsive promoter. Down-regulation of Prkar1a by up to 70% was achieved in transgenic mouse tissues and embryonic fibroblasts, with concomitant changes in kinase activity and increased cell proliferation, respectively. Mice developed thyroid follicular hyperplasia and adenomas, adrenocortical hyperplasia, and other features reminiscent of primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease, histiocytic and epithelial hyperplasias, lymphomas, and other mesenchymal tumors. These were associated with allelic losses of the mouse chromosome 11 Prkar1a locus, an increase in total type II PKA activity, and higher RIIβ protein levels. This mouse provides a novel, useful tool for the investigation of cyclic AMP, RIα, and PKA functions and confirms the critical role of Prkar1a in tumorigenesis in endocrine and other tissues.
Induction of decision trees from partially classified data using belief functions

A new tree-structured classifier based on the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence is presented. The entropy measure classically used to assess the impurity of nodes in decision trees is replaced by an evidence-theoretic uncertainty measure taking into account not only the class proportions, but also the number of objects in each node. The resulting algorithm allows the processing of training data whose class membership is only partially specified in the form of a belief function. Experimental results with EEG data are presented.