Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Approach to Probing Large-Scale Power with Peculiar Velocities

We propose a new strategy for probing the power spectrum on large scales using galaxy peculiar velocities. We explore the properties of surveys that cover only two small fields in opposing directions on the sky. Surveys of this type have several advantages over those that attempt to cover the entire sky; in particular, by concentrating on galaxies in narrow cones, these surveys are able to achieve the density needed to measure several moments of the velocity field with only a modest number of objects, even for surveys designed to probe scales ≳100 h-1 Mpc. We construct mock surveys with this geometry and analyze them in terms of the three moments to which they are most sensitive. We calculate window functions for these moments and construct a χ2 statistic that can be used to put constraints on the power spectrum. In order to explore the sensitivity of these surveys, we calculate the expectation values of the moments and their associated measurement noise as a function of the survey parameters such as density and depth for several popular models of structure formation. In addition, we have studied how well these kinds of surveys can distinguish between different power spectra and found that, for the same number of objects, cone surveys are as good as or better than full-sky surveys in distinguishing between popular cosmological models. We find that a survey with 200-300 galaxy peculiar velocities with distance errors of 15% in two cones with an opening angle of ~10° could put significant constraints on the power spectrum on scales of 100-300 h−1 Mpc, where few other constraints exist. We believe that surveys of the kind we describe here could provide a valuable tool for the study of large-scale structure on these scales and present a viable alternative to full-sky surveys.
External validation of the ProCaRS nomograms and comparison of existing risk-stratification tools for localized prostate cancer.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to perform a direct comparison of several existing risk-stratification tools for localized prostate cancer in terms of their ability to predict for biochemical failure-free survival (BFFS). Two large databases were used and an external validation of two recently developed nomograms on an independent cohort was also performed in this analysis. METHODS Patients who were treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and/or brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer were selected from the multi-institutional Genitourinary Radiation Oncologists of Canada (GUROC) Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification (ProCaRS) database (n=7974) and the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) validation database (n=2266). The primary outcome was BFFS using the Phoenix definition. Concordance index (C-index) reported from Cox proportional hazards regression using 10-fold cross validation and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to predict BFFS. RESULTS C-index identified Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment (CAPRA) score and ProCaRS as superior to the historical GUROC and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) risk-stratification systems. CAPRA modeled as five and three categories were superior to GUROC and NCCN only for the CHUM database. C-indices for CAPRA score, ProCaRS, GUROC, and NCCN were 0.72, 0.72, 0.71, and 0.72, respectively, for the ProCaRS database, and 0.66, 0.63, 0.57, and 0.60, respectively, for the CHUM database. However, many of these comparisons did not demonstrate a clinically meaningful difference. DCA identified minimal differences across the different risk-stratification systems, with no system emerging with optimal net benefit. External validation of the ProCaRS nomograms yielded favourable calibrations of R2=0.778 (low-dose rate [LDR]-brachytherapy) and R2=0.868 (EBRT). CONCLUSIONS This study externally validated two ProCaRS nomograms for BFFS that may help clinicians in treatment selection and outcome prediction. A direct comparison between existing risk-stratification tools demonstrated minimal clinically significant differences in discriminative ability between the systems, favouring the CAPRA and ProCaRS systems. The incorporation of novel prognostic variables, such as genomic markers, is needed.
The Effects of Wobble Board Training on the Eyes Open and Closed Static Balance Ability of Adolescents with Down Syndrome

[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of wobble board training on static balance, with and without vision, of adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). [Subjects] Ten adolescents with DS were recruited for this study. [Methods] Participants performed quiet standing with their eyes open and closed, pre- and post-wobble board training. During quiet standing, the center of pressure (COP) data was recorded using a force plate. To assess the static balance ability of the participants, the 95% confidence ellipse area of COP was calculated. The paired t-test was used to compare the 95% confidence ellipse area of COP between the eyes open and closed conditions, and between pre- and post-training. [Results] Although there was no significant difference in the 95% confidence ellipse area of COP between with and without vision, the 95% confidence ellipse area of COP decreased significantly after wobble board training. [Conclusion] These findings suggest that wobble board training is an effective at improving the static balance ability of adolescents with DS.
Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence 4155 Subseries of Lecture Notes in Computer Science Series Editors Searching in a Maze, in Search of Knowledge: Issues in Early Artificial Intelligence

" He possesses two of the three qualities for the ideal detective. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. He is wanting only in knowledge. " Abstract. Heuristic programming was the first area in which AI methods were tested. The favourite case-studies were fairly simple toy-problems, such as cryptarithmetic, games, such as checker or chess, and formal problems, such as logic or geometry theorem-proving. These problems are well-defined, roughly speaking, at least in comparison to real-life problems, and as such have played the role of Drosophila in early AI. In this chapter I will investigate the origins of heuristic programming and the shift to more knowledge-based and real-life problem solving.
Plasticity of Synapses in the Rat Neostriatum after Unilateral Lesion of the Nigrostriatal Dopaminergic Pathway

In the 6-hydroxydopamine model of Parkinson’s disease in the rat, there is a significant reduction in the number of dendritic spines on the principal projection neurons in the neostriatum, presumably attributable to loss of the nigrostriatal dopamine input. These spines invariably receive input from terminals forming asymmetric synapses that originate mainly from the cortex. The object of the present study was to determine the fate of those terminals after the loss of dendritic spines. Unbiased estimates of synaptic density and absolute numbers of synapses in a defined volume of the neostriatum were made using the “disector” and Cavalieri techniques. Numerical synaptic density of asymmetric synaptic contacts was 17% lower in the neostriatum deprived of dopamine innervation and, in absolute terms, there were 3 billion (19%) fewer contacts. The numerical density of a subpopulation of asymmetric contacts on dendritic spines that have complex or perforated synaptic specializations and normally make up 9% of the asymmetric population was 44% higher on the experimental side. Asymmetric synapses were found to be enriched in glutamate using postembedding immunogold labeling. The present observations demonstrate that the loss of spines previously reported after 6-hydroxydopamine lesions is accompanied by a loss of asymmetric synapses rather than by the movement of synapses from spines to other postsynaptic targets. The study also demonstrates that there is an increase in complex synaptic interactions that have been implicated in synaptic plasticity in other regions of the CNS after experimental manipulations.
A New Kind of Super-Resolution Reconstruction Algorithm Based on the ICM and the B-spline Interpolation

Super-resolution reconstruction of image is highly dependent on the data outliers. This work addresses the super-resolution reconstruction design of the intersecting cortical model (ICM) algorithm applied to the B-spline interpolation. Based on a simplification of the pulse-coupled neural network (PCNN), we propose a design strategy to reduce the effects of outliers on the reconstructed image. Intersecting cortical model (ICM) has gained widely research as a new artificial neural network. It derives directly from the studies of the small mammal's visual cortex. The theory analysis and the simulation experiments of the image processing indicate that this kind of super-resolution reconstruction algorithm can not only reduce the effects of outliers effectively but also keep the details of the image sufficiently.
Sleep disturbances in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND Sleep problems are frequent in chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The present study was conducted to determine frequency of sleep disturbances and their relations with disease severity. METHODS The present case-control study was performed on 100 rheumatoid patients who were referred to the rheumatology clinic at the Avicenna hospital. A hundred age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were recruited in the study as a control group. Pittsburgh Sleep, 1Quality questionnaire, Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire and Epworth Sleepiness Scale were used. The disease activity was caIculated with the disease activity score 28. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 19. RESULTS Mean scores of the sleep quality were 6.2 +/- 4.3 in patients and 4.6 +/- 2.5 in control group. 28% of the patients had good sleep quality whereas 72% had poor sleep quality. Daytime sleepiness was present in 24.8% of the patients and 15% of the control group. Multiple logistic regressions showed that insomnia, pain and disease intensity were the most important factors that determine patients' sleep quality. CONCLUSION The present study showed that sleep disturbances are frequent in patients with RA and may contribute to disease severity. It is recommended that rheumatoid patients be evaluated for sleep disturbances during routine examinations.
Exploiting Delay Correlation for Multi-Antenna-Assisted High Speed Train Communications

In High Speed Train Communications (HSTC), the most challenging issue is coping with the extremely fast fading channel. Compared with its static counterpart, channel estimation on the move consumes excessive energy and spectrum to achieve similar performance. To address this issue, we exploit the delay correlation inherent in the linear spatial-temporal structure of multi-antenna array, based on which the rapid fading channel may be approximated by a virtual slow-fading channel. Subsequently, error probability and spectral efficiency are re-examined for this staticized channel. In particular, we formulate the quantitative tradeoff between the two metrics of interest, by adjusting the pilot percentage in each frame. Numerical results verify the good performance of the proposed scheme and elucidate the tradeoff.
Applicability of second-generation upcyte® human hepatocytes for use in CYP inhibition and induction studies

Human upcyte® hepatocytes are proliferating hepatocytes that retain many characteristics of primary human hepatocytes. We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the application of second‐generation upcyte® hepatocytes from four donors for inhibition and induction assays using a selection of reference inhibitors and inducers. CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4 were reproducibly inhibited in a concentration‐dependent manner and the calculated IC50 values for each compound correctly classified them as potent inhibitors. Upcyte® hepatocytes were responsive to prototypical CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4 inducers, confirming that they have functional AhR‐, CAR‐, and PXR‐mediated CYP regulation. A panel of 11 inducers classified as potent, moderate or noninducers of CYP3A4 and CYP2B6 were tested. There was a good fit of data from upcyte® hepatocytes to three different predictive models for CYP3A4 induction, namely the Relative Induction Score (RIS), AUCu/F2, and Cmax,u/Ind50. In addition, PXR (rifampicin) and CAR‐selective (carbamazepine and phenytoin) inducers of CYP3A4 and CYP2B6 induction, respectively, were demonstrated. In conclusion, these data support the use of second‐generation upcyte® hepatocytes for CYP inhibition and induction assays. Under the culture conditions used, these cells expressed CYP activities that were equivalent to or higher than those measured in primary human hepatocyte cultures, which could be inhibited or induced by prototypical CYP inhibitors and inducers, respectively. Moreover, they can be used to predict in vivo CYP3A4 induction potential using three prediction models. Bulk availability of cells from multiple donors makes upcyte® hepatocytes suitable for DDI screening, as well as more in‐depth mechanistic investigations.
Production of Resurgent Current in NaV1.6-Null Purkinje Neurons by Slowing Sodium Channel Inactivation with β-Pompilidotoxin

Voltage-gated tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium channels of Purkinje neurons produce “resurgent” current with repolarization, which results from relief of an open-channel block that terminates current flow at positive potentials. The associated recovery of sodium channels from inactivation is thought to facilitate the rapid firing patterns characteristic of Purkinje neurons. Resurgent current appears to depend primarily on NaV1.6 α subunits, because it is greatly reduced in “med” mutant mice that lack NaV1.6. To identify factors that regulate the susceptibility of α subunits to open-channel block, we voltage clamped wild-type and med Purkinje neurons before and after slowing conventional inactivation with β-pompilidotoxin (β-PMTX). β-PMTX increased resurgent current in wild-type neurons and induced resurgent current in med neurons. In med cells, the resurgent component of β-PMTX-modified sodium currents could be selectively abolished by application of intracellular alkaline phosphatase, suggesting that, like in NaV1.6-expressing cells, the open-channel block of NaV1.1 and NaV1.2 subunits is regulated by constitutive phosphorylation. These results indicate that the endogenous blocker exists independently of NaV1.6 expression, and conventional inactivation regulates resurgent current by controlling the extent of open-channel block. In Purkinje cells, therefore, the relatively slow conventional inactivation kinetics of NaV1.6 appear well adapted to carry resurgent current. Nevertheless, NaV1.6 is not unique in its susceptibility to open-channel block, because under appropriate conditions, the non-NaV1.6 subunits can produce robust resurgent currents.
Convergence Properties of Some Spike-Triggered Analysis Techniques

We analyze the convergence properties of three spike-triggered data analysis techniques. All of our results are obtained in the setting of a (possibly multidimensional) linear-nonlinear (LN) cascade model for stimulus-driven neural activity. We start by giving exact rate of convergence results for the common spike-triggered average (STA) technique. Next, we analyze a spike-triggered covariance method, variants of which have been recently exploited successfully by Bialek, Simoncelli, and colleagues. These first two methods suffer from extraneous conditions on their convergence; therefore, we introduce an estimator for the LN model parameters which is designed to be consistent under general conditions. We provide an algorithm for the computation of this estimator and derive its rate of convergence. We close with a brief discussion of the efficiency of these estimators and an application to data recorded from the primary motor cortex of awake, behaving primates.
Model-based behavioral attestation

Remote attestation is an important characteristic of trusted computing technology which provides reliable evidence that a trusted environment actually exists. Existing approaches for the realization of remote attestation measure the trustworthiness of a target platform from its binaries, configurations, properties or security policies. All these approaches are low-level attestation techniques only, and none of them define what a trusted behavior actually is and how to specify it. In this paper, we present a novel approach where the trustworthiness of a platform is associated with the behavior of a policy model. In our approach, the behavior of a policy model is attested rather than a software or hardware platform. Thus, the attestation feature is not tied to a specific software or hardware platform, or to a particular remote attestation technique, or to an individual type of security policy. We select usage control (UCON) as our target policy model as it is a comprehensive and exible model. We propose a framework to identify, specify, and attest different behaviors of UCON.
Effect of interaction between poly(ethylene terephthalate) and carbon nanotubes on the morphology and properties of their nanocomposites

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanocomposites were prepared by melt-extruding mixtures of PET and functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with some interaction with PET molecules. For the functionalization of MWNTs, benzyl isocyanate and phenyl isocyanate with different molecular flexibility were employed on the surface of the MWNTs via chemical modification, respectively. The reaction for functionalization of MWNTs was confirmed by FTIR and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. TEM observations indicated that both benzyl and phenyl isocyanate groups covered the surface of the MWNTs after functionalization. The PET nanocomposites containing isocyanate groups showed improved mechanical properties, including the tensile strength and tensile modulus, compared with those with pristine and acid-treated nanotubes. These improvements were ascribed to π-π interactions between the aromatic rings of PET molecules and the isocyanate group in MWNTs. The functionalized MWNTs showed a better dispersion of carbon nanotubes in the matrix polymer and a different fractured cross-section morphology in scanning electron microscope measurements relative to the pristine MWNTs. The crystallinity of the functionalized MWNT-PET nanocomposites was significantly higher than that of the pristine and acid-treated MWNTs. FTIR results indicated that the presence of carbon nanotubes induced trans-conformation of PET chains, and trans conformation was particularly dominant in PET composites incorporating MWNT-phenyl.
A Method to Reduce Power Consumption of Active-Clamped Flyback Converter at No-Load Condition

A method for lower power consumption of active-clamped flyback converter at no-load condition is proposed in this study. The active-clamped flyback converter is one of the most well known converters, which can reduce the switching losses and EMI noises. However this converter is more than conventional flyback converter with respect to power consumption in the no-load condition. This is due to high conduction current of resonant converter. To reduce conduction loss at no-load condition, the converter turns off the auxiliary switch and operates only flyback mode. Some experimental results are included to verify the system performances in this paper. The test result showed that the power loss is 0.75 W at no-load condition. This result is the compliance with the European Code of Conduct limits regarding the no-load power consumption
Scattering matrix approach to multilayer crossed gratings diffraction

It has already been shown that the dif- ferential method of Chandezon is well suited for analysing multilayer diffraction gratings [1]. Lifeng Li has reported significant improvments to this method [2] . He used the R-matrix propagation algo- rithm to remove the limitation on the layer thickness and on the number of layers. As far as we are con- cerned, we have allowed for different interface pro- files within the grating structure although all must share the same periodicity [3]. Preist et al have done it also [4]. Boundary conditions were expressed with the scattering matrix approach which is an alterna- tive to the R-matrix approach. The aim of this paper is to analyze multi- layer crossed gratings with the Chandezon method and the S-matrix formulation. It consists of a genera- lization of the formalism already used for 2D multi- coated gratings. The basic features lies in the use of a coordinate system that maps the interface onto a plane. In the new frame, the structure is analogous to a planar stratified medium. As in the 2D case, we are led to a linear system of differential equations whose solution is obtained through the calculation of the ei- genvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix dependant on the geometry and on the index of the medium. As an example, we shall consider cases where "anomalies" in the diffracted efficiencies occur, that is when a suitable phase matching between the incident wave and the guided wave is achieved.
Estimating radiation doses from multidetector CT using Monte Carlo simulations: effects of different size voxelized patient models on magnitudes of organ and effective dose

The purpose of this work is to examine the effects of patient size on radiation dose from CT scans. To perform these investigations, we used Monte Carlo simulation methods with detailed models of both patients and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scanners. A family of three-dimensional, voxelized patient models previously developed and validated by the GSF was implemented as input files using the Monte Carlo code MCNPX. These patient models represent a range of patient sizes and ages (8 weeks to 48 years) and have all radiosensitive organs previously identified and segmented, allowing the estimation of dose to any individual organ and calculation of patient effective dose. To estimate radiation dose, every voxel in each patient model was assigned both a specific organ index number and an elemental composition and mass density. Simulated CT scans of each voxelized patient model were performed using a previously developed MDCT source model that includes scanner specific spectra, including bowtie filter, scanner geometry and helical source path. The scan simulations in this work include a whole-body scan protocol and a thoracic CT scan protocol, each performed with fixed tube current. The whole-body scan simulation yielded a predictable decrease in effective dose as a function of increasing patient weight. Results from analysis of individual organs demonstrated similar trends, but with some individual variations. A comparison with a conventional dose estimation method using the ImPACT spreadsheet yielded an effective dose of 0.14 mSv mAs−1 for the whole-body scan. This result is lower than the simulations on the voxelized model designated ‘Irene’ (0.15 mSv mAs−1) and higher than the models ‘Donna’ and ‘Golem’ (0.12 mSv mAs−1). For the thoracic scan protocol, the ImPACT spreadsheet estimates an effective dose of 0.037 mSv mAs−1, which falls between the calculated values for Irene (0.042 mSv mAs−1) and Donna (0.031 mSv mAs−1) and is higher relative to Golem (0.025 mSv mAs−1). This work demonstrates the ability to estimate both individual organ and effective doses from any arbitrary CT scan protocol on individual patient-based models and to provide estimates of the effect of patient size on these dose metrics.