Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Operational Cell Assemblies as a Paradigm for Brain-Inspired Future Computing Architectures

We present a prototypical modular spiking neuron network resembling cortical decision processes based on spatio-temporal relations of several sensory stimuli. The model is strongly motivated by theories about the distributed representation and associative processing of information in the neo-cortex. In especially, as the cortex with its architectonically similar but functionally specialised areas, it uses a single generic building block for various sub-tasks like preprocessing, spatio-temporal short-term memory and behavioural control. By means of its modular and cascadable nature, the generic circuit is particularly well suited for a potential mass production in form of, e.g., analog VLSI.
Pengaruh kepercayaan, motivasi dan niat terhadap golongan belia dalam aktiviti sukarela di Malaysia

Aktiviti sukarela bukanlah perkara baharu di Malaysia, malahan aktiviti tersebut telah melepasi fasa baharu yang melibatkan seluruh warganegara dalam pelbagai bentuk dan program sukarela. Peningkatan bilangan sukarelawan yang terdiri daripada golongan belia adalah jauh lebih menonjol berbanding dengan golongan lain. Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengetahui faktor yang menggalakkan penglibatan golongan belia dalam aktiviti sukarela; kepercayaan, motivasi dan niat melalui reka bentuk dan pengesahan model persamaan struktural. Seramai 251 responden yang berumur 15 hingga 25 tahun (M umur = 21.21, SD = .45) dipilih secara rawak. Ciri-ciri pemboleh ubah dan hubungan pemboleh ubah dalam model persamaan struktural ditentukan melalui pengumpulan data borang soal selidik (tadbir sendiri). Analisis model persamaan struktural menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara pemboleh ubah motivasi dan niat terhadap penglibatan golongan belia dalam aktiviti sukarela. Kajian juga menunjukkan elemen-elemen penting yang mendorong penglibatan untuk aktiviti sukarela. Implikasi dan cadangan penting penglibatan dalam aktiviti sukarela juga dibincangkan.
Expression of 17 Genes in Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405 during Fermentation of Cellulose or Cellobiose in Continuous Culture

ABSTRACT Clostridium thermocellum is a thermophilic, anaerobic, cellulolytic bacterium that produces ethanol and acetic acid as major fermentation end products. The effect of growth conditions on gene expression in C. thermocellum ATCC 27405 was studied using cells grown in continuous culture under cellobiose or cellulose limitation over a ∼10-fold range of dilution rates (0.013 to 0.16 h−1). Fermentation product distribution displayed similar patterns in cellobiose- or cellulose-grown cultures, including substantial shifts in the proportion of ethanol and acetic acid with changes in growth rate. Expression of 17 genes involved or potentially involved in cellulose degradation, intracellular phosphorylation, catabolite repression, and fermentation end product formation was quantified by real-time PCR, with normalization to two calibrator genes (recA and the 16S rRNA gene) to determine relative expression. Thirteen genes displayed modest (fivefold or less) differences in expression with growth rate or substrate type: sdbA (cellulosomal scaffoldin-dockerin binding protein), cdp (cellodextrin phosphorylase), cbp (cellobiose phosphorylase), hydA (hydrogenase), ldh (lactate dehydrogenase), ack (acetate kinase), one putative type IV alcohol dehydrogenase, two putative cyclic AMP binding proteins, three putative Hpr-like proteins, and a putative Hpr serine kinase. By contrast, four genes displayed >10-fold-reduced levels of expression when grown on cellobiose at dilution rates of >0.05 h−1: cipA (cellulosomal scaffolding protein), celS (exoglucanase), manA (mannanase), and a second type IV alcohol dehydrogenase. The data suggest that at least some cellulosomal components are transcriptionally regulated but that differences in expression with growth rate or among substrates do not directly account for observed changes in fermentation end product distribution.
Egg-laying hormone genes of Aplysia: evolution of the ELH gene family

Evolution of the egg-laying hormone (ELH) gene family was examined in the genus Aplysia using genomic Southern blotting, gene cloning, and immunocytochemical techniques to identify and characterize homologous sequences. Most of the species examined have fewer than the 4–5 ELH- related genes present in the A. californica genome (Mahon et al., 1985; Scheller et al., 1983). In A. parvula there are 2 ELH genes, and unlike A. californica, no sequences were found to encode the A or B peptides. The 2 A. parvula ELH genes share at least 90% DNA sequence homology, while the homology between the A. parvula and A. californica ELH genes is 71%. The structural organization of the A. parvula ELH precursor is quite similar to the ELH precursor of A. californica, with all but one of the potential proteolytic cleavage sites conserved. The overall amino acid homology between the A. parvula and A. californica ELH precursors is 66%; however, the alpha and beta bag cell peptides, as well as ELH, are more highly conserved, suggesting that these peptides have important physiological and behavioral roles within both Aplysia species. Immunocytochemical studies indicate that the A. parvula ELH genes are expressed in 2 bag-cell-like clusters of about 40 neurons each in the abdominal ganglion. There does not appear to be an atrial gland in A. parvula; however, ELH-immunoreactive peripheral neurons and their processes are observed along the perimeter of the large hermaphroditic duct.
Energy Cost Management for Geographically Distributed Data Centres under Time-Variable Demands and Energy Prices

We tackle a challenging problem arising in energy cost-aware data centre management. The problem focuses on the allocation of virtual machines with time-variable resource demands on data centres, which are geographically distributed and where local energy prices and temperatures are changing over time. The objective is to find a good compromise between the number of migrations, the loads of the servers and the energy cost reduction possible by following the lowest energy prices over time. We present an extremely rich model that not only considers migration of virtual machines, but also does a full assignment of virtual machines to individual servers, which are placed in racks, which are themselves organised in specific aisles of a data centre at a specific location. We present a scalable Constraint Programming-based Large Neighbourhood Search (CP-LNS) approach to solving this problem. Our CP-LNS approach significantly out-scales two commercial optimisation systems and provides a practical approach to lowering electricity costs for multiple geographically distributed data centres.
The Effects of Tissue Optical Parameters and Interface Reflectivity on Light Diffusion in Biological Tissues

In cancer progress, the optical properties of tissues like absorption and scattering coefficient change, so by these changes, we can trace the progress of cancer, even it can be applied for pre-detection of cancer. In this paper, we investigate the effects of changes of optical properties on light penetrated into tissues. The diffusion equation is widely used to simulate light propagation into biological tissues. In this study, the boundary integral method (BIM) is used to solve the diffusion equation. We illustrate that the changes of optical properties can modified the reflectance or penetrating light. Keywords—Diffusion equation, boundary element method, refractive index
Usage of spreading activation for content retrieval in an autonomous agent

For cognitive agents that decide based on experiences, memory retrieval is a significant issue. In this article a contribution to this field is made by introducing the concept of psychic spreading activation for memory retrieval in an autonomous agent. Using the psychoanalytical foundation of that as a constraint, a variant of spreading activation was created to regard perceptional as well as motivational inputs and considering the emotional component of a situation. Results show how this type of memory retrieval can influence the decision making process.
Integrated Approach of Malicious Website Detection

BSTRACT : With the advent and the rising popularity of Internet, security is becoming one of the focal point. At present, Web sites have become the attacker’s main target. The attackers uses the strategy of embedding the HTML tags, the script tag to include Web-based Trojan scripting or redirector scripting, the embedded object tag which activates the third-party applications to display the embedded object and the advanced strategy is the ARP spoofing method to build malicious website when the attackers cannot gain control of the target website. The attacker hijacks the traffic, then injects the malicious code into the HTML responses to achieve virtual malicious websites. The malicious code embedded in the web pages by the attackers; change the display mode of the corresponding HTML tags and the respective effects invisible to the browser users. The display feature setting of embedded malicious code is detected by the abnormal visibility recognition technique which increases efficiency and reduces maintenance cost. Inclusion of the honey client increases the malicious website detection rate and speed. Most of the malicious Web pages are hence detected efficiently and the malicious code in the source code is located accurately. It can also handle End-User requests to know whether their webpage is free of Malicious codes or not.
A New Algorithm for Computing Upper Bounds for Functional E-MAJSAT Knot

We present a new method for computing upper bounds for an optimization version of the E-MAJSAT problem. This new approach is based on the use of the compilation language d-DNNF that underlies several state-of-the-art algorithms for solving problems related to EMAJSAT. We show that the new bound values dominate those produced by the standard algorithm based on the same approach. Moreover, we present a technique for pruning values from the branch-and-bound search tree based on the information available after each bound computation. We integrate our new techniques into a probabilistic conformant planner ComPlan and demonstrate significant empirical improvements.
Repackaging the “Package Deal”

In the 1996 overhaul of federal welfare legislation, Congress included provisions to promote employment, marriage, and responsible fatherhood to prevent poverty among low-income families. Little previous research has focused on how marriage promotion policies construct paternal identity. Drawing on data from an 18-month study of a federally funded relationship skills program for low-income, unmarried parents, I analyze how responsible fatherhood policies attempt to shape ideas of successful fatherhood and masculinity in the service of the government’s pro-marriage, antipoverty agenda. The program promoted a class-specific version of what I call marital masculinity, one that seeks to redefine marriageability for low-income men by claiming that marriage comes before financial success and encourages fathers to earn more. It did this by targeting fathers’ masculine identities in two ways: first, by emasculating fathers who only provide financially for their children, and second, by promoting a highly gendered conception of paternal caregiving. By analyzing how this strategy can be understood as both empowering and controlling for low-income men, this research adds to the sociological literature on how welfare policies shape paternal identity and gendered family practices.
Illuminating Clay: A Tangible Interface with potential GRASS applications

The development of cheaper and faster computation and the multiplying effect of open source initiatives such as GRASS have led to an increasing sophistication is GIS landscape analysis algorithms. However, little research has focused on the design of the computer interface through which users interact with GIS simulations. The conventional interface comprising of screen, keyboard and mouse is used by default and as such has an enormous impact on the process of computational landscape analysis. This paper introduces Illuminating Clay, an alternative interface for manipulating and navigating landscape representations that has been designed according to the specific needs of the landscape analyst.
Venous Thrombosis in Multiple Sclerosis Patients after High-Dose Intravenous Methylprednisolone: The Preventive Effect of Enoxaparin

Aim. This study was designed to examine the possible role of high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) in the development of venous thrombosis (VT). The cerebral one anecdotally had been reported in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in acute attacks and the possible preventive role of enoxaparin. Material and Methods. From a pool of 520 patients, 388 patients with definite RRMS who fulfilled entry characteristics were selected and randomly received either a 5-day course of daily 1 gr IVMP or the aforementioned plus 5 days of daily subcutaneous 40 units of enoxaparin according to a predefined protocol. Results. Mean age, gender ratio, mean relapse rate, and EDSS were similar in both groups of patients (P > 0.05). Finally, 366 patients remained in the study. Of 188 patients treated with IVMP with 855 relapses, 5 developed VT (0.37% per patient per year and 0.58% per each course of IVMP) within 3 to 15 days of starting therapy. None of the 178 patients who experienced 809 relapses who received IVMP plus enoxaparin developed such complications. Conclusion. The study implies that high-dose IVMP in MS exacerbation may increase the risk of VT and prophylactic anticoagulant treatment in this setting is warranted.
Parking Space Detection Using Textural Descriptors

In this paper we assess the use of textural de-scriptors for the problem of parking space detection. We focus our experiments on two descriptors (Local Binary Patterns and Local Phase Quantization) that have attracted a great deal of attention because of their outstanding performance in a number of applications. We show through a series of comprehensive experiments that both descriptors are able to achieve very low error rates on a database composed of 105,837 images of parking spaces. We also show that the combination of the diverse classifiers developed in this work can bring further improvement achieving an error rate of 0.16%. The results reached in this work compare favorably to other published methods.
Sprouty2 and ‐4 hypomorphism promotes neuronal survival and astrocytosis in a mouse model of kainic acid induced neuronal damage

Sprouty (Spry) proteins play a key role as negative feedback inhibitors of the Ras/Raf/MAPK/ERK pathway downstream of various receptor tyrosine kinases. Among the four Sprouty isoforms, Spry2 and Spry4 are expressed in the hippocampus. In this study, possible effects of Spry2 and Spry4 hypomorphism on neurodegeneration and seizure thresholds in a mouse model of epileptogenesis was analyzed. The Spry2/4 hypomorphs exhibited stronger ERK activation which was limited to the CA3 pyramidal cell layer and to the hilar region. The seizure threshold of Spry2/4+/− mice was significantly reduced at naive state but no difference to wildtype mice was observed 1 month following KA treatment. Histomorphological analysis revealed that dentate granule cell dispersion (GCD) was diminished in Spry2/4+/− mice in the subchronic phase after KA injection. Neuronal degeneration was reduced in CA1 and CA3 principal neuron layers as well as in scattered neurons of the contralateral CA1 and hilar regions. Moreover, Spry2/4 reduction resulted in enhanced survival of somatostatin and neuropeptide Y expressing interneurons. GFAP staining intensity and number of reactive astrocytes markedly increased in lesioned areas of Spry2/4+/− mice as compared with wildtype mice. Taken together, although the seizure threshold is reduced in naive Spry2/4+/− mice, neurodegeneration and GCD is mitigated following KA induced hippocampal lesions, identifying Spry proteins as possible pharmacological targets in brain injuries resulting in neurodegeneration. The present data are consistent with the established functions of the ERK pathway in astrocyte proliferation as well as protection from neuronal cell death and suggest a novel role of Spry proteins in the migration of differentiated neurons. © 2015 The Authors Hippocampus Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Investigation of Cross-Coupling and Parasitic Effects in Microelectromechanical Devices on Device and System Level

With progressing monolithic integration of entire microelectromechanical systems on one chip fabricated by standard IC technology we have to cope with the problem that the operation of embedded transducer elements is considerably affected by cross-coupling and parasitic effects. Referring to a BiCMOS-integrated capacitive pressure sensor as an illustrative example, we demonstrate that a detailed coupled-field analysis on the device level is indispensable to understand the interplay of various effects which contribute to the sensor output. On the basis of this analysis we are able to build a physically-based macromodel for the predictive simulation of the system performance.
Digital Signal Processing for in-Vehicle and mobile systems , Istanbul , Turkey , June 2007 . MACHINE LEARNING SYSTEMS FOR DETECTING DRIVER DROWSINESS

The advance of computing technology has provided the means for building intelligent vehicle systems. Drowsy driver detection system is one of the potential applications of intelligent vehicle systems. Previous approaches to drowsiness detection primarily make pre-assumptions about the relevant behavior, focusing on blink rate, eye closure, and yawning. Here we employ machine learning to datamine actual human behavior during drowsiness episodes. Automatic classifiers for 30 facial actions from the Facial Action Coding system were developed using machine learning on a separate database of spontaneous expressions. These facial actions include blinking and yawn motions, as well as a number of other facial movements. In addition, head motion was collected through automatic eye tracking and an accelerometer. These measures were passed to learningbased classifiers such as Adaboost and multinomial ridge regression. The system was able to predict sleep and crash episodes during a driving computer game with 96% accuracy within subjects and above 90% accuracy across subjects. This is the highest prediction rate reported to date for detecting real drowsiness. Moreover, the analysis revealed new information about human behavior during drowsy driving.
Doubly labelled water: Multi-point and two-point methods in pre-school children.

OBJECTIVE We compared the multi-sample and two-sample methods for measuring total energy expenditure (TEE) using doubly labelled water (DLW) in pre-school children to establish whether taking multiple samples provides any advantage in free-living conditions. METHODS Sixty-five children (32 boys; aged 2-6 years) were recruited from Aberdeen, UK. TEE was measured over 7 and 14 days using the multi-point and two-point methods by DLW. Total body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the mean TEE estimated using the multi-point and two-point methods. Independent of sampling technique, there was no significant difference in the TEE estimated over 7 and 14 days. Correlation of the deviations of the day-to-day enrichments suggests that the major factors driving isotope affected both isotopes. Association between fat-free mass (FFM) and TEE over 14 days was higher when using the multi-point method (r(2)=57.7%, P<0.001) compared with the two-point method (r(2)=41.1%, P < 0.001). There was no systematic bias in the difference between the two methods. CONCLUSIONS Multi- and two-point approaches give similar results for calculation of daily TEE in pre-school children. For studies aiming to establish a population level of TEE the two-sample method is a cost effective approach. However, the multi-point method appears to have greater accuracy and precision based on the better relationship to FFM (or FFM and FM combined). Consequently where maximum precision is required, in particular when energy expenditure of individual subjects is needed, this approach may be more appropriate.
To appear in Neurocomputing The development of corpus-callosum connections in primary visual cortex

The role of the corpus-callosum in processing information i n the brain is still unclear. In order to understand what effect callosal connec tions have in cortical processing, this paper analyses the factors influencing the dev lopment of both intraand interhemispherical connections. Experimental ly it has been observed that short-range pyramidal connections in visual cortex ar l rgely orientation nonspecific, whilst longer range connections preferentially c ontact cells of the same orientation. Using a computational model of cat visual cort ex it is shown that this connectivity pattern can be accounted for by assuming t he probability of connection between two cells is dependent primarily on two fact ors receptive field overlap and orientation selectivity. The same factors can a lso account for many experimental observations of callosal connectivity pattern s. These include the extent of the ipsilateral representation of the visual field in the i psilateral hemisphere and the distribution of callosal cells along the V17/V18 border . The role of the corpuscallosum in the lateralization of hemispherical functions is discussed in view of these results.
The Perils and Pitfalls of Mining SourceForge

SourceForge provides abundant accessible data from Open Source Software development projects, making it an attractive data source for software engineering research. However it is not without theoretical peril and practical pitfalls. In this paper, we outline practical lessons gained from our spidering, parsing and analysis of SourceForge data. SourceForge can be practically difficult: projects are defunct, data from earlier systems has been dumped in and crucial data is hosted outside SourceForge, dirtying the retrieved data. These practical issues play directly into analysis: decisions made in screening projects can reduce the range of variables, skewing data and biasing correlations. SourceForge is theoretically perilous: because it provides easily accessible data items for each project, tempting researchers to fit their theories to these limited data. Worse, few are plausible dependent variables. Studies are thus likely to test the same hypotheses even if they start from different theoretical bases. To avoid these problems, analyses of SourceForge projects should go beyond project level variables and carefully consider which variables are used for screening projects and which for testing hypotheses.
Approaches of high school instrumental music educators in response to student challenges

The purpose of this multiple instrumental case study was to explore approaches of four high school instrumental music educators assuming the role of facilitative teacher in responding to challenges affecting the social and emotional well-being of their students. This study utilized the framework of social emotional learning as a lens to view the educators’ interactions. The four participants represented diverse demographic settings and had at least 10 years of instrumental music teaching experience. Findings and implications include strategies for providing support, unique elements of the instrumental music classroom, and perceived outcomes from providing support.