Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The VTP test for transients of equal detectability

For detection of a permanent and precisely-modeled change in distribution of iid observations, Page's test is optimal. When employed to detect a transient change between known distributions, Page's test is a generalised likelihood ratio test (GLRT). However, the situation of interest here is of transient of unknown scale parameter: a fixed Page procedure tuned to a "short-and-loud" signal uses heavy biasing and low threshold, a combination ill-suited to a "long-but-quiet" signal. We offer an easy alternative to the standard Page: it uses a constant bias and a time-varying threshold. The idea is that the above short signals are detected quickly before post-termination data has a chance to refute them; and that evidence for a long signal is allowed to build, rather than being summarily discarded too early. Results show that the approach works quite well.
Neural Correlates of the Perception of Spoiled Food Stimuli

The elicitation of disgust by the view of spoiled and rotten foods is considered as an adaptation preventing the ingestion of harmful microorganisms and pathogens. To provide an effective behavioral defense, inedible food items need to be detected automatically, i.e., in the absence of explicit processing goals, early in the processing stream, and triggering an alarm response, i.e., increased attentional capture. To examine these hypotheses, a set of stimulus material consisting of images of perishable foods (i.e., dairies, meats, fruits, and vegetables) at various stages of natural decay ranging from appetitive to disgusting was developed. In separate sessions, functional imaging and dense sensor event related potential (ERP) data were collected while participants (N = 24) viewed the stimulus materials. Functional imaging data indicated larger activations in the extrastriate visual cortex during the processing of inedible as compared to edible food items. Furthermore, ERP recordings indicated that the processing of inedible food stimuli was associated with a relative positivity over inferior occipital sensor sites already at early stages of processing (<200 ms), and subsequently, an increased late positive potential (LPP) over parieto-occipital sensor regions. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the brain’s sensitivity to visual cues of foods that are spoiled or rotten.
The linearity of low frequency traffic flow: an intrinsic I/O property in queueing systems

Consider a class of queueing systems which can be modeled by a finite quasi-birth-death (QBD) process. In this paper we develop a powerful computational technique for spectral analyses (i.e. second-order statistics) of output, queue and loss. Emphasis is placed on output power spectrum and input-output coherence function in response to various input power spectral properties and system parameters. The coherence function is defined to measure linear relationship between input and output processes. A key technical contribution of this paper is the exploration of linearity of low frequency traffic flow. Through the evaluation of the coherence function, one can identify a so-called nonlinear break frequency, /spl omega//sub b/, under which the low frequency traffic stay intact via a queueing system. Such a low frequency I/O linearity plays an important role in characterizing the output process, which may form a partial input to other "downstream" queues of the network. After all, it is the "upstream" output low frequency characteristics that will have most impact on the "downstream" queueing performance. Our study further indicates that the link capacity required by an input process is essentially characterized by its maximum input rate filtered at /spl omega//sub b/.
Ultrasound evaluation on carpal tunnel syndrome before and after bariatric surgery

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in candidates for bariatric surgery comparing with the non-obese population and verify the effects on it of bariatric treatment. Methods: We studied three groups of individuals: 1) patients waiting for bariatric surgery (preoperative); 2) individuals who had already undergone the procedure (postoperative); and 3) control group. We collected demographic and clinical data of carpal tunnel syndrome. The Ultrasound examination was carried out to diagnose the syndrome by measuring the median nerve area. Results: We included 329 individuals (114 in the preoperative group, 90 in the postoperative group and 125 controls). There was a higher prevalence of paresthesias (p=0.0003), clinical tests (p=0.0083) on the preoperative group when compared with controls (p<0.00001). There were lowe levels of paresthesias (p=0.0002) and median nerve area (p=0.04) in postoperative patients but with no significant difference in general. A significant difference was found between the preoperative and postoperative groups (p=0.05) in those who performed non-manual work. Conclusion: There was a higher prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in the preoperative group compared with the control one, but no significant difference was observed between the pre and postoperative groups in general. There was difference between pre and postoperative groups for non-manual workers.
Cache partitioning strategies for 3-D stacked vector processors

An on-chip cache memory for vector processors, named vector cache, has been proposed to realize a high sustained memory bandwidth, which is balanced with the high computational performance of future vector processors. In our previous research, from the viewpoint of architectural design, it is clearly shown that the 3D die-stacking technology can increase the capacity of the vector cache and thereby the performance of vector processors. However, detailed design of vector caches with the 3D die-stacking technology has not been discussed well yet. Therefore it is still unclear how much the vector cache can benefit from the 3D die-stacking technology in terms of cost, latency, and energy consumption. In this paper, the vector caches are designed in detail so as to exploit the advantages of the 3D die-stacking technologies, such as reductions in long wires and energy consumption. In the cache design, this paper examines two strategies to partition the vector caches into some blocks and to place them onto multiple layers. One cache partitioning strategy places more emphasis on the reduction in the number of long wires. The other strategy reduces the number of through-silicon vias (TSVs). This paper evaluates latency, energy consumption, and the number of TSVs used in each cache partitioning strategy. This paper also discusses the 3D cache configuration suitable for vector processors.
Modulation of Fc receptors of mononuclear phagocytes by immobilized antigen-antibody complexes. Quantitative analysis of the relationship between ligand number and Fc receptor response

Macrophages plated on surfaces coated with antigen-IgG complexes lose the capacity to bind and ingest IgG-coated particles via their Fc receptors (FcR). Macrophages plated on surfaces containing a similar number of IgG molecules that are not complexed to antigen show little or no decrease in FcR activity. Using a rat monoclonal antibody (2.4G2 IgG) directed against the trypsin-resistant FcR (FcRII) of mouse macrophages we show that the decrease in receptor activity induced by substrate-adherent immune complexes is caused by the physical removal of 60 and 75% of FcRII from the nonadherent membrane surfaces of resident and thioglycollate broth-induced macrophages, respectively. Macrophages maintained on antigen-IgG-coated surfaces for up to 44 h show no recovery in FcRII activity or number, while macrophages on control surfaces exhibit two and threefold increases, respectively, in these parameters. Macrophages maintained for 72 h on antigen-IgG-coated surfaces show a small recovery in FcRII activity, and in the number of FcRII that is accessible to bind 125I-2.4G2 IgG. FcRII modulation, as measured by the binding of 125I-labeled 2.4G2 IgG, is initiated when the number of IgG molecules bound to the substrate is approximately equal to the total number of FcRII on the plasma membranes of all the macrophages on the substrate. FcRII activity and number decrease linearly as the number of substrate-bound IgG molecules increases exponentially, and are maximally reduced when the number of IgG molecules on the substrate is 20-fold greater than the total number of all FcRII on the surfaces of all the macrophages in the culture. Thus there is a stoichiometric relationship between the number of IgG molecules on the substrate and the extent of FcRII modulation.
Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Pain Severity and Mindful Awareness in Patients With Tension Headache: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Programs to improve the pain and health status in illnesses with pain such as headache are still in their infancy. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a new psychotherapy that appears to be effective in treating chronic pain. Objectives: This study evaluated efficacy of MBSR in improving pain severity and mindful awareness in patients with tension headache. Patients and Methods: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial that was conducted in 2012 in Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Kashan City. Sixty patients who were diagnosed with tension-type headache according to the International Headache Classification Subcommittee were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) or MBSR groups. The MBSR group received eight weekly treatments. Any session lasted 120 minutes. The sessions were based on MBSR protocol. Diary scale for measuring headache and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) were administered at pretreatment, and posttreatment, and three-month follow-up in both groups. The data was analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: The mean of pain severity was 7.36 ± 1.25 before intervention that was significantly reduced to 5.62 ± 1.74 and 6.07 ± 1.08 after the intervention and follow-up (P < 0.001). In addition, the MBSR group showed higher scores in mindful awareness in comparison with the control group at posttest session. The mean of mindful awareness before intervention was 34.9 ± 10.5 and changed to 53.8 ± 15.5 and 40.7 ± 10.9 after the intervention and follow-up sessions (P < 0.001). Conclusions: MBSR could reduce pain and improve mindfulness skills in patients with tension headache. It appears that MBSR is an effective psychotherapy for treatment of patients with tension headache.
Plasma immersion ion implantation for sub-22 nm node devices: FD-SOI and Tri-Gate

Here, we present and discuss the electrical characteristics of fully depleted MOSFET transistors of planar and tridimensional architecture, doped by Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII) or Beam Line Ion Implantation (BLII). Both techniques delivered similar and satisfactory results in considering the planar architecture. For tri-dimensional Tri-Gate transistors, the results obtained with PIII are superior.
Distributed Exploration in Multi-Armed Bandits

We study exploration in Multi-Armed Bandits in a setting where k players collaborate in order to identify an e-optimal arm. Our motivation comes from recent employment of bandit algorithms in computationally intensive, large-scale applications. Our results demonstrate a non-trivial tradeoff between the number of arm pulls required by each of the players, and the amount of communication between them. In particular, our main result shows that by allowing the k players to communicate only once, they are able to learn √k times faster than a single player. That is, distributing learning to k players gives rise to a factor √k parallel speedup. We complement this result with a lower bound showing this is in general the best possible. On the other extreme, we present an algorithm that achieves the ideal factor k speed-up in learning performance, with communication only logarithmic in 1/e.
Intuitive Logic Revisited: New Data and a Bayesian Mixed Model Meta-Analysis

Recent research on syllogistic reasoning suggests that the logical status (valid vs. invalid) of even difficult syllogisms can be intuitively detected via differences in conceptual fluency between logically valid and invalid syllogisms when participants are asked to rate how much they like a conclusion following from a syllogism (Morsanyi & Handley, 2012). These claims of an intuitive logic are at odds with most theories on syllogistic reasoning which posit that detecting the logical status of difficult syllogisms requires effortful and deliberate cognitive processes. We present new data replicating the effects reported by Morsanyi and Handley, but show that this effect is eliminated when controlling for a possible confound in terms of conclusion content. Additionally, we reanalyze three studies () without this confound with a Bayesian mixed model meta-analysis (i.e., controlling for participant and item effects) which provides evidence for the null-hypothesis and against Morsanyi and Handley's claim.
An Empirically Motivated Reinterpretation of Dependency Grammar

Dependency grammar is usually interpreted as equivalent to a strict form of X--bar theory that forbids the stacking of nodes of the same bar level (e.g., N' immediately dominating N' with the same head). But adequate accounts of _one_--anaphora and of the semantics of multiple modifiers require such stacking and accordingly argue against dependency grammar. Dependency grammar can be salvaged by reinterpreting its claims about phrase structure, so that modifiers map onto binary--branching X--bar trees rather than ``flat'' ones.
Production of L-DOPA(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine) from benzene by using a hybrid pathway.

As an alternative approach to the production of L-DOPA from a cheap raw material, we constructed a hybrid pathway consisting of toluene dioxygenase, toluene cis-glycol dehydrogenase, and tyrosine phenol-lyase. In this pathway, catechol is formed from benzene through the sequential action of toluene dioxygenase and toluene cis-glycol dehydrogenase, and L-DOPA is synthesized from the resulting catechol in the presence of pyruvate and ammonia by tyrosine phenol-lyase cloned from Citrobacter freundii. When the hybrid pathway was expressed in E. coli, production of L-DOPA was as low as 3 mM in 4 h due to the toxic effect of benzene on the cells. In order to reduce lysis of cells, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was employed as an alternative, which resulted in accumulation of about 14 mM L-DOPA in 9 h, showing a stronger resistance to benzene.
Analysis of factors associated with hesitation to restart farming after depopulation of animals due to 2010 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in Japan

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, in 2010. This epidemic was controlled with culling and vaccination, and resulted in the death of nearly 290,000 animals. This paper describes the factors associated with hesitation to restart farming after the epidemic. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the mental health of farmers one year after the end of the FMD epidemic in affected areas, and univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. Of 773 farms which had answered the question about restart farming, 55.4% (428/773) had resumed or were planning to resume operation. The farms hesitated restarting were characterized by small scale (P=0.06) and having multiple sources of income (P<0.01). Personal attributes associated with hesitation to restart were advanced age of the owner (P<0.01), with someone with bad physical conditions (P=0.04) and small family size (P<0.01). Factors related to disease control during the epidemic that were associated with hesitation to restart were vaccination of animals (P<0.01), not assisting with culling on other farms (P<0.01), and higher satisfaction with information provided by the government (P=0.02). We found that farmers hesitated to resume farming because they had a limited labor force, had an alternative business or were mentally distressed during disease control.
Syllables in speech production: Effects of syllable preparation and syllable frequency

The fluent production of speech is a very complex human skill. It requires the coordination of several articulatory subsystems. The instructions that lead articulatory movements to execution are the result of the interplay of speech production levels that operate above the articulatory network. During the process of word-form encoding, the groundwork for the articulatory programs is prepared which then serve the articulators as basic units. This thesis investigated whether or not syllables form the basis for the articulatory programs and in particular whether or not these syllable programs are stored, separate from the store of the lexical word-forms. It is assumed that syllable units are stored in a so-called 'mental syllabary'. The main goal of this thesis was to find evidence of the syllable playing a functionally important role in speech production and for the assumption that syllables are stored units. In a variant of the implicit priming paradigm, it was investigated whether information about the syllabic structure of a target word facilitates the preparation (advanced planning) of a to-be-produced utterance. These experiments yielded evidence for the functionally important role of syllables in speech production. In a subsequent row of experiments, it could be demonstrated that the production of syllables is sensitive to frequency. Syllable frequency effects provide strong evidence for the notion of a mental syllabary because only stored units are likely to exhibit frequency effects. In a last study, effects of syllable preparation and syllable frequency were investigated in a combined study to disentangle the two effects. The results of this last experiment converged with those reported for the other experiments and added further support to the claim that syllables play a core functional role in speech production and are stored in a mental syllabary.
The semantic measures library and toolkit: fast computation of semantic similarity and relatedness using biomedical ontologies

UNLABELLED The semantic measures library and toolkit are robust open-source and easy to use software solutions dedicated to semantic measures. They can be used for large-scale computations and analyses of semantic similarities between terms/concepts defined in terminologies and ontologies. The comparison of entities (e.g. genes) annotated by concepts is also supported. A large collection of measures is available. Not limited to a specific application context, the library and the toolkit can be used with various controlled vocabularies and ontology specifications (e.g. Open Biomedical Ontology, Resource Description Framework). The project targets both designers and practitioners of semantic measures providing a JAVA library, as well as a command-line tool that can be used on personal computers or computer clusters. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Downloads, documentation, tutorials, evaluation and support are available at http://www.semantic-measures-library.org.
RSSVM-based Multi-Instance Learning for Image Categorization

Focusing on the problem of natural image categorization, a novel multi-instance learning (M IL) algorithm based on rough set (RS) attribute reduction and support vector machine (SVM ) is proposed. This algorithm regards each image as a bag, and lowlevel visual features of the segmented regions as instances. Firstly, a collection of "visual-words" is generated by Gaussian mixture model (GM M ) clustering method, then based on the fuzzy membership function between instance and “vi sual-word”, a fuzzy histogram is computed to represent bag. As a result, every bag is transform into a single sample, which converts M IL problem to a standard supervised learning problem. Finally, RS method is used to reduce the redundant features in the fuzzy histogram, and then standard SVM classifiers are trained for image categorization. Experimental results on the COREL image set show that this algorithm is robust, and the performance is superior to other key existing M IL algorithms.
Silencing of essential genes by RNA interference in Haemonchus contortus

SUMMARY In this study we assessed three technologies for silencing gene expression by RNA interference (RNAi) in the sheep parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus. We chose as targets five genes that are essential in Caenorhabditis elegans (mitr-1, pat-12, vha-19, glf-1 and noah-1), orthologues of which are present and expressed in H. contortus, plus four genes previously tested by RNAi in H. contortus (ubiquitin, tubulin, paramyosin, tropomyosin). To introduce double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into the nematodes we tested (1) feeding free-living stages of H. contortus with Escherichia coli that express dsRNA targetting the test genes; (2) electroporation of dsRNA into H. contortus eggs or larvae; and (3) soaking adult H. contortus in dsRNA. For each gene tested we observed reduced levels of mRNA in the treated nematodes, except for some electroporation conditions. We did not observe any phenotypic changes in the worms in the electroporation or dsRNA soaking experiments. The feeding method, however, elicited observable changes in the development and viability of larvae for five of the eight genes tested, including the ‘essential’ genes, Hc-pat-12, Hc-vha-19 and Hc-glf-1. We recommend the E. coli feeding method for RNAi in H. contortus and provide recommendations for future research directions for RNAi in this species.
On the Use of Domain Terms in Source Code

Information about the problem domain of the software and the solution it implements is often embedded by developers in comments and identifiers. When using software developed by others or when are new to a project, programmers know little about how domain information is reflected in the source code. Programmers often learn about the domain from external sources such as books, articles, etc. Hence, it is important to use in comments and identifiers terms that are commonly known in the domain literature, as it is likely that programmers will use such terms when searching the source code. The paper presents a case study that investigated how domain terms are used in comments and identifiers. The study focused on three research questions: (1) to what degree are domain terms found in the source code of software from a particular problem domain? ; (2) which is the preponderant source of domain terms: identifiers or comments? ; and (3) to what degree are domain terms shared between several systems from the same problem domain? Within the studied software, we found that in average: 42% of the domain terms were used in the source code; 23% of the domain terms used in the source code are present in comments only, whereas only 11% in the identifiers alone, and there is a 63% agreement in the use of domain terms between any two software systems.
Design, Manufacture, and Characterization of a Carbon Fiber‐Reinforced Silicon Carbide Nozzle Extension

Nozzle extensions made of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) have shown the potential to replace heavy superalloy nozzles and improve the performance of future upper-stage and orbital rocket engines. Gas permeability has been reported to be a critical issue during the manufacture for CMC nozzles. This work shows the manufacture of a dense radiation-cooled C/C-SiC nozzle demonstrator. A multi-angle fiber architecture was applied using filament winding technique to reduce the incidence of delaminations during the manufacturing process under high temperatures. Additional efforts were made to improve the final gas tightness and reduce the amount of residual silicon by means of an adapted liquid silicon infiltration process. The manufacture, the material, and structural characterization as well as a finite element analysis of a performed internal pressure test are presented.