Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of lipophilic dyes in studies of axonal pathfinding in vivo

Fluorescent lipophilic dyes are an ideal tool to study axonal pathfinding. Because these dyes do not require active axonal transport for their spreading, they can be used in fixed tissue. Here, we describe the method we have used to study the molecular mechanisms of commissural axon pathfinding in the embryonic chicken spinal cord in vivo. Based on in vitro studies, different families of molecules had been suggested to play a role in the guidance of developing axons. In order to test their function in vivo, we used the commissural neurons that are located at the dorsolateral border of the chicken spinal cord as a model system [Stoeckli and Landmesser (1995) Neuron 14:1165–1179]. Axonin‐1, NgCAM, and NrCAM, three members of the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), were shown to be important for the correct growth pattern of commissural axons. We studied the effect of perturbations of specific CAM/CAM interactions by injection of function‐blocking antibodies into the central canal of the spinal cord in ovo. After 2 days, the embryos were sacrificed and fluorescent tracers, such as Fast‐DiI, were used to visualize commissural axons, and thus, to analyze their response to these perturbations in two different types of fixed preparations: transverse vibratome sections and whole‐mount preparations of the spinal cord. Both pathfinding errors and defasciculation of axons were observed as a result of the perturbation of CAM/CAM interactions. Microsc. Res. Tech. 48:25–31, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Practical Very Large Scale CRFs

Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) are a widely-used approach for supervised sequence labelling, notably due to their ability to handle large description spaces and to integrate structural dependency between labels. Even for the simple linear-chain model, taking structure into account implies a number of parameters and a computational effort that grows quadratically with the cardinality of the label set. In this paper, we address the issue of training very large CRFs, containing up to hundreds output labels and several billion features. Efficiency stems here from the sparsity induced by the use of a l penalty term. Based on our own implementation, we compare three recent proposals for implementing this regularization strategy. Our experiments demonstrate that very large CRFs can be trained efficiently and that very large models are able to improve the accuracy, while delivering compact parameter sets.
The Anaphase-Promoting Complex or Cyclosome Supports Cell Survival in Response to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

The anaphase-promoting complex or cyclosome (APC/C) is a multi-subunit ubiquitin ligase that regulates exit from mitosis and G1 phase of the cell cycle. Although the regulation and function of APC/CCdh1 in the unperturbed cell cycle is well studied, little is known of its role in non-genotoxic stress responses. Here, we demonstrate the role of APC/CCdh1 (APC/C activated by Cdh1 protein) in cellular protection from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Activation of APC/CCdh1 under ER stress conditions is evidenced by Cdh1-dependent degradation of its substrates. Importantly, the activity of APC/CCdh1 maintains the ER stress checkpoint, as depletion of Cdh1 by RNAi impairs cell cycle arrest and accelerates cell death following ER stress. Our findings identify APC/CCdh1 as a regulator of cell cycle checkpoint and cell survival in response to proteotoxic insults.
Singing Voice Impersonator Application for PC

Abstract This paper presents the implementation aspects of a real-time system for morphing two voices in the context of a karaoke application. It describes the software design and implementation under a PC platform and it discusses platform specific issues to attain the minimum system delay. 1. Introduction Singing voice conversion can be defined as the conversion of the voice quality from one singer to another. The impersonator application we present in this paper makes use of a conversion that gives a specific individuality to the synthesized voice. The goal is to come up with a karaoke-type application for PC in which the user can sing like his/her favorite singers. In order to incorporate to the user’s voice the corresponding characteristics of the “target” voice, the “target” voice is recorded and analyzed beforehand. Then the system performs a real-time morphing between the user’s voice and the pre-stored analysis of the target voice. The user is able to control the degree of morphing, thus being able to choose the level of “impersonation” that he/she wants to accomplish. The application relies on two main algorithms that define and constrict the architecture: the Spectral Modeling Synthesis (SMS) (Serra, 1997) and a Speech Recognizer. This paper presents the practical implementation aspects of such an application. The theoretical background can be found in other papers (Cano, Loscos, 1999; Loscos, Cano, Bonada, 1999; Cano, Loscos, Bonada, de Boer, Serra, 2000).
Fail-safe components for rehabilitation robots - a reflex mechanism and fail-safe force sensor

Two components for reducing the risks associated with rehabilitation robots are proposed. First, a reflex mechanism, which is similar to the biological reflex, is proposed. The experimental results of a prototype prove its effectiveness for reducing impact force. A new reflex mechanism structure is also proposed for improving its reliability. A reflex system composed only of electrical circuits is also discussed. Second, a fail-safe force sensor is proposed, which realizes a safe force/torque feedback control for rehabilitation robots. It can be realized by various structures. Its application to autonomous wheelchairs is discussed for improving their safety and usability.
Immunohistochemical analysis of oxidative stress-related molecules and radiosensitivity of human esophageal cancer

Radiation therapy exerts antitumor effects by increasing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress in cancer cells. In this study, we evaluated the role of the oxidative stress-related molecules CAT, MnSOD, MPO, and eNOS in increasing the sensitivity of human esophageal cancer to radiation therapy. In addition, we evaluated the feasibility of using these biomarkers for selecting patients for radiation therapy at initial diagnosis. The study included 142 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent preoperative radiotherapy (36-70 Gy), followed by surgical resection of the cancer. Based on their pathological response to radiotherapy, the patients were classified into 2 groups: sensitive to radiation (SR group, no residual tumor cells in surgical specimens, 49 patients) and resistant to radiation (RR group, viable residual tumor cells in surgical specimens, 93 patients). CAT, MnSOD, MPO, and eNOS expression were determined by immunohistochemical analysis in biopsied tumor specimens obtained during the surgery. Expression of CAT, which neutralizes ROS, was low in 75.3% (37/49) SR patients and in 55.1% (51/93) RR patients. eNOS, which generates ROS, was expressed in 69.72% of patients with esophageal cancer, with high expression in 65.3% (32/49) and 41.9% (39/93) of SR and RR patients, respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed in MnSOD and MPO expression between SR and RR patients. We found that the CAT low expression and the eNOS high expression were significantly associated with radiosensitivity (P = 0.026 and P = 0.013, respectively). Moreover, CAT and eNOS expression are significant independent markers for predicting radiotherapy sensitivity.
Dynamic multi-swarm particle swarm optimizer with sub-regional harmony search

In this paper, the dynamic multi-swarm particle swarm optimizer (DMS-PSO) and a sub-regional harmony search (SHS) are hybridized to obtain DMS-PSO-SHS. A Modified multi-trajectory search (MTS) algorithm is also applied frequently on several selected solutions. Effective diversity maintaining properties of the dynamic multiple swarms in the DMS-PSO without crossover operation and strong exploitative properties of the HS with multi-parent crossover operation strengthen the overall search behavior of the proposed DMS-PSO-SHS. The whole PSO population is divided into a large number sub-swarms which is also the individual HS population. These sub-swarms are regrouped frequently by using various regrouping schedules and information is exchanged among the particles in the whole swarm. Therefore, different from the existing multi-swarm PSOs or local versions of PSO, our sub-swarms are dynamic and its size is small which is also appropriate to be the population of the harmony search. In addition, an external memory of selected past solutions is used to enhance the diversity of the swarm. The DMS-PSO-SHS is employed to solve the 20 numerical optimization problems for the CEC'2010 Special Session and Competition on Large Scale Global Optimization and competitive results are presented.
QoS-aware content management in P2P networks

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing applications consist of nodes that share part of their local memory. A node can download a file (also called content,) from another node participating to the P2P community, and must allow others to download files stored in its own shared local memory. Since nodes join and leave the P2P community at their will in an uncoordinated way, copies of the same file must be stored in many nodes. By means of this redundancy, the probability that a given content cannot be retrieved because all nodes storing it are temporary inactive can be kept small. Content management policies are the distributed strategies implemented at the nodes to decide the set of files to be stored in the local memory. In this paper, we describe, analyze and compare different content management policies. The considered performance indices include the probability that a content cannot be retrieved due to lack of available copies of the content, the amount of traffic generated in the network and the efficiency of the search mechanism, i.e., the probability that a content is successfully downloaded if a peer looks for it in the network.
The build dependency perspective of Android's concrete architecture

Android is an operating system designed specifically for mobile devices. It has a layered architecture. In this paper, we extract Android's concrete layered architecture by analyzing the build dependency relation between Android sub-projects and use it to validate the proposed conceptual architecture. Our experiment shows that Android's concrete architecture conforms to the conceptual architecture. Apart from that, we also show the extracted architecture can help developers and users better understand the Android system and further demonstrate its potential benefits in studying the impact of changes.
Precompetition Training Sessions Enhance Competitive Performance of High Anxiety Junior Weightlifters

The effect of a precompetition training session on competitive performance was studied in 19 male Olympic-style weightlifters (mean age 17.3 yrs). Using a randomly assigned crossover experimental design, all subjects performed a low volume, moderate intensity (85% 1-RM) training session at 10:30 a.m. one test day, or no training at this time on the other test day. A simulated weightlifting contest was performed at 4 p.m. on both test days to determine maximal performance on the snatch and the clean and jerk, as well as maximal vertical jump performance. An abridged profile of mood states (POMS) was administered prior to all lifting sessions. A subgroup of 6 subjects, labeled responders, demonstrated significantly greater lifting and jumping performance on the test day that included the morning training session. The other 13 subjects were labeled nonresponders. No differences were observed between the responders and nonresponders on any other variables except for anxiety levels reported on the POMS, with the responders reporting significantly greater perceptions of anxiety. This suggests that weightlifters who exhibit high levels perceived anxiety may enhance competitive performance by performing a low volume, moderate intensity training session 5 to 6 hrs prior to competition.
Working Papers Working Papers Working Papers Working Papers

We investigate an international monetary business-cycle model in which agents face monetary policy processes that incorporate regime shifts. In any given period agents cannot directly observe the policy regime, but instead form beliefs that are updated via Bayesian learning. As a result, expectation adjustment displays inertia that adds persistence to the e®ects of monetary shocks. Monetary policy process for the U.S. and an aggregate of OECD countries are estimated using Hamilton's Markov-switching model. We then solve and calibrate a version of the model and examine its quantitative properties.
Simbrain: A visual framework for neural network analysis and education

urn:nbn:de:0009-3-14114 Abstract: Simbrain is a visually-oriented framework for building and analyzing neural networks. It emphasizes the analysis of networks which control agents embedded in virtual environments, and visualization of the structures which occur in the high dimensional state spaces of these networks. The program was originally intended to facilitate analysis of representational processes in embodied agents, however it is also well suited to teaching neural networks concepts to a broader audience than is traditional for neural networks courses. Simbrain was used to teach a course at a new university, UC Merced, in its inaugural year. Experiences from the course and sample lessons are provided.
Exposing click-fraud using a burst detection algorithm

The explosive growth in the size and use of the World Wide Web continuously creates new great challenges and needs. One such need is dealing with click fraud, which aims at increasing clicks on certain ads and thus the profit of the websites which display them. In this work, we extend the concept of click fraud and redefine it as any pattern of clicks whose goal is to alternate the normal operation of a website in order to produce specific results. An indication of a click fraud may be a burst of clicks that can be simulated by an automated program or script. We deal with the problem of efficient real-time Click Fraud detection utilizing advanced data structures and exploiting their advantages concerning space and time required.
A spatial decision support tool for estimating population catchments to aid rural and remote health service allocation planning

There is mounting pressure on healthcare planners to manage and contain costs. In rural regions, there is a particular need to rationalize health service allocation to ensure the best possible coverage for a dispersed population. Rural health administrators need to be able to quantify the population affected by their allocation decisions and, therefore, need the capacity to incorporate spatial analyses into their decision-making process. Spatial decision support systems (SDSS) can provide this capability. In this article, we combine geographical information systems (GIS) with a web-based graphical user interface (webGUI) in a SDSS tool that enables rural decision-makers charged with service allocation, to estimate population catchments around specific health services in rural and remote areas. Using this tool, health-care planners can model multiple scenarios to determine the optimal location for health services, as well as the number of people served in each instance.
Face recognition via weighted sparse representation using metric learning

Face recognition methods utilizing Sparse Representation based Classification (SRC) and Collaborative Representation based Classification (CRC) have recently attracted a great deal of attention due to inherent simplicity and efficiency. In this paper, we introduce the Large Margin Nearest Neighbor (LMNN), which learns a Mahalanobis distance metric that is applied, to SRC and CRC as the locality constraint. Next, a locality LMNN Weighted Sparse Representation based Classification (LMNN-WSRC) and a locality LMNN Weighted Collaborative Representation based Classification (LMNN-WCRC) are proposed. Our methods utilize both linearity and data locality. For a query face image, our target is to exploit the appropriate distance metric as the locality constraint that could focus more on those truly related images in the code book. Experimental results on the Extended Yale B database and the AR database show that our methods are more effective than SRC, Weighted SRC (WSRC) and CRC.
Hallervorden‐spatz syndrome: Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging correlations

Two women with a presumptive diagnosis of Hallervor‐den‐Spatz syndrome had a combination of dystonia and parkinsonism. One had retinitis pigmentosa. Neuropsychological testing revealed Decemberreased verbal fluency and visuoconstructional and motor deficits. Magnetic resonance imaging performed with a high‐field‐strength unit (1.5 Tesla) showed striking abnormalities in the globus pallidus bilaterally (“eye‐of‐the‐tiger” sign). Magnetic resonance imaging may prove useful in the diagnosis of Hallervorden‐Spatz syndrome.
Peptide biosensor for recognition of cross‐species cell surface markers

Biosensors based on phage display‐derived peptides as biorecognition molecules were used for the detection of cell surface cross‐species markers in tissue homogenates. The peptide selected for murine myofibers was immobilized onto the surface of an acoustic wave sensor by biotin–streptavidin coupling. To detect peptide–receptor interaction, the sensors were exposed to muscle and control (kidney, liver, brain) tissue homogenates. The sensor showed a strong response to murine muscle. The amplitudes of the responses to the feline muscle homogenates were lower compared to those of the murine muscle, while the same Kd indicated that the peptide has cross‐species affinity. In contrast, murine kidney, liver and brain homogenates produced insignificant responses. Specificity of the sensor was shown in a blocking experiment, as reduced signal was detected when muscle preparations were preincubated with free peptide. Additionally, when muscle‐specific peptide was replaced with two different random control peptides, the sensors produced no response to murine muscle. Suitability of peptide ligands for a variety of species can be evaluated using this technology. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Polymorphisms in the Reduced Folate Carrier, Thymidylate Synthase, or Methionine Synthase and Risk of Colon Cancer

Folate metabolism supports the synthesis of nucleotides as well as the transfer of methyl groups. Polymorphisms in folate-metabolizing enzymes have been shown to affect risk of colorectal neoplasia and other malignancies. Using data from a population-based incident case-control study (1,600 cases and 1,962 controls), we investigated associations between genetic variants in the reduced folate carrier (RFC), thymidylate synthase (TS), methionine synthase (MTR), and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and colon cancer risk. The TS enhancer region (TSER) variant was associated with a reduced risk among men [2rpt/2rpt versus 3rpt/3rpt wild-type; odds ratio (OR), 0.7; 95% confidence interval, 0.6-0.98] but not women. When combined genotypes for both TS polymorphisms (TSER and 3′-untranslated region 1494delTTAAAG) were evaluated, ORs for variant genotypes were generally below 1.0, with statistically significantly reduced risks among women. Neither MTR D919G nor RFC 80G>A polymorphisms were associated with altered colon cancer risk. Because folate metabolism is characterized by interrelated reactions, we evaluated gene-gene interactions. Genotypes resulting in reduced MTHFR activity in conjunction with low TS expression were associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer. When dietary intakes were taken into account, individuals with at least one variant TSER allele (3rpt/2rpt or 2rpt/2rpt) were at reduced risk in the presence of a low folate intake. This study supports findings from adenoma studies indicating that purine synthesis may be a relevant biological mechanism linking folate metabolism to colon cancer risk. A pathway-based approach to data analysis is needed to help discern the independent and combined effects of dietary intakes and genetic variability in folate metabolism.
The evolution of the institutional frameworks of economies: ideological wishes vs. politico-economic sustainability

Darwinian evolution has endowed humans, like the other social species, with the need and the abilities to form societies, but, unlike most of these species, not with sufficiently complete genomic instructions on what form of societies. Instead, humans are genomically endowed with creativity, flexibility and learning abilities that allow them to invent, form, and at least temporarily adapt to a broad variety of forms, which makes them apparently free to choose, by a combination of fantasy, chance and imperfect reasoning, the actual form themselves. But this freedom often proved short-lived. In the long run, many of these forms failed, having lost in competition with other forms and/or internally decayed. Limiting attention to the forms of economies, the central question of this paper is: Which of the forms that people may ideologically prefer and are free to choose in the short run can also be evolutionarily sustainable in the long run? To provide the search for the answer with a well-defined terminology, the form of an economy is represented by its institutional framework, meaning the collection of all of its formal and informal institutional rules. The elements of the answer that are found include the inevitable evolutionary failure of all forms of socialism and many forms of capitalism. Possibly sustainable appear only those forms of capitalism that can keep economic inequalities within politically acceptable limits and prevent both the government and the financial sector from over-expanding. While ideological wishes may be useful as conjectures generating trials in socioeconomic evolution, they become harmful if they can hinder analysis from producing reasons for their refutation. An important property of analysis of evolutionary sustainability is to be difficult to hinder.
The Validity of the Howard Maze Test as a Measure of Stimulus-Seeking in Preschool Children

HOWARD (1961) developed the Maze Test to measure the personality variable of stimulus-seeking as discussed by White (1959) and Fiske and Maddi (1961). A paper and pencil maze is presented several times to an S to complete by drawing a line on any of a number of clear paths from the start to the goal. There are no blind alleys and all paths are equally &dquo;correct. &dquo; The S has the option to vary his routes through the maze on each trial or to repeat his initial route totally or in part. The amount of change in paths to the goal across several presentations of the maze indicates the amount of stimulus-seeking behavior. Thus, the presentation of several mazes constitutes a repetitive task that must be structured by S according to his customary way of seeking interaction in his environment. It is assumed that his response in the test situation mirrors his response in other situations. Evidence of the validity of this measure of stimulus-seeking behavior in adults has been reported. Domino (1965) found a correlation of . 42 (p < .01) between a rough index of college Ss’ actual stimulus-seeking behavior (number of activities attended on campus) and performance on the Maze Test. Howard (1961), Howard and Diesenhaus (1965b), and Sidle, Acker, and McReynolds (1963) found that psychiatric patients did not show as much stimulusseeking behavior on the Maze Test as general medical patients, college students, and employment counselors.