Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A neuromorphic VLSI grid cell system

Neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex of rats have been found to respond in a two-dimensional hexagonal “grid” pattern anchored to the environment. “Grid cells” with different spatial frequencies are thought to contribute to the creation of unimodal “place” cell responses useful for spatial navigation. In this paper we present results from an analog VLSI circuit that generates a hexagonal grid of activity using continuous attractor dynamics and transmits this pattern via neuron-like spikes. This circuit is a component of a larger system for modeling the neural circuits underlying mammalian spatial navigation.
Antimicrobial peptides enhance the candidacidal activity of antifungal drugs by promoting the efflux of ATP from Candida cells.

OBJECTIVES To establish a novel strategy of fungal infection control. METHODS We examined the influences of antimicrobial peptides including a synthesized short lactoferrin peptide (FKCRRWQWRM, Peptide 2; Pep2) on the synthesis of Candida cell wall polysaccharides, ergosterol synthesis, membrane permeability and the efflux of ATP. RESULTS Colony formation of Candida albicans was synergistically suppressed by a combination of low concentrations of each drug and peptide. All peptides and amphotericin B, but not itraconazole, revealed weak inhibitory activities against ergosterol synthesis and the peptides weakly suppressed the synthesis of Candida cell wall components, glucan, mannan and chitin. Cell membrane permeability was not only increased by these peptides but also clearly increased by both amphotericin B and itraconazole. ATP efflux was however up-regulated by low concentrations of the peptides, especially by Pep2 and Hst5, although both antifungal drugs did not exert any influence on ATP efflux. The expression of the Candida drug resistance genes 1 and 2 (CDR1 and CDR2) was increased by both drugs, but this increase was suppressed by each peptide. In addition, larger amounts of amphotericin B and itraconazole remained in Candida cells in the presence of Pep2 or Hst5 due to the lower excretion. The effects of both peptides on ATP efflux and increase of intercellular amphotericin B and itraconazole were blocked by anion channel inhibitors 4,4'-diisothiocyanatestilbene-2, 2'-disulphonic acid and 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid. CONCLUSIONS The examined peptides, especially Pep2 and Hst5, enhance the candidacidal activity of antifungal drugs by promoting anion channel-associated ATP efflux from Candida cells and decreasing efflux of the drugs, which could be useful clinical applications.
Minority split and gain ratio for a class imbalance

A decision tree is one of most popular classifiers that classifies a balanced data set effectively. For an imbalanced data set, a standard decision tree tends to misclassify instances of a class having tiny number of samples. In this paper, we modify the decision tree induction algorithm by performing a ternary split on continuous-valued attributes focusing on distribution of minority class instances. The algorithm uses the minority variance to rank candidates of the high gain ratio, then it chooses the candidate with the minimum minority entropy. From our experiments with data sets from UCI and Statlog repository, this method achieves the better performance comparing with C4.5 using only gain ratio for imbalanced data sets.
Evaluation of a Performance Model of Lustre File System

As a large-scale global parallel file system, Lustre file system plays a key role in High Performance Computing (HPC) system, and the potential performance of such systems can be difficult to predict because the potential impact to application performance is not clearly understood. It is important to gain insights into the deliverable Lustre file system IO efficiency. In order to gain a good understanding on what and how to impact the performance of Lustre file system. This paper presents a study on performance evaluation of Lustre file systems and we propose a novel relative performance model to predict overhead under different performance factors. In our previous experiments, we discover that different performance factors have a closed correlation. In order to mining the correlations, we introduce relative performance model to predict performance differences between a pair of Lustre file system equipped with different performance factors. On average, relative model can predict bandwidth within 17%-28%. The results show our relative prediction model can obtain better prediction accuracy.
Investigating the Transition Process for Students with Special Needs

iii Acknowledgments . iv Table of
Reportrapport Turning Sos Rules into Equations Turning Sos Rules into Equations

Many process algebras are deened by structural operational semantics (SOS). Indeed , most such deenitions are nicely structured and t the GSOS format of 15]. We give a procedure for converting any GSOS language deenition to a nite complete equa-tional axiom system (possibly with one innnitary induction principle) which precisely characterizes strong bisimulation of processes.
Upmixing from Mono : a Source Separation Approach

We present a system for upmixing mono recordings to stereo through the use of sound source separation techniques. The use of sound source separation has the advantage of allowing sources to be placed at distinct points in the stereo ﬁeld, resulting in more natural sounding upmixes. The system separates an input signal into a number of sources, which can then be imported into a digital audio workstation for upmix-ing to stereo. Considerations to be taken into account when upmixing are discussed, and a brief overview of the various sound source separation techniques used in the system are given. The effectiveness of the proposed system is then demonstrated on real-world mono recordings.
Oscillating behavior of Clostridium difficile Min proteins in Bacillus subtilis

In rod‐shaped bacteria, the proper placement of the division septum at the midcell relies, at least partially, on the proteins of the Min system as an inhibitor of cell division. The main principle of Min system function involves the formation of an inhibitor gradient along the cell axis; however, the establishment of this gradient differs between two well‐studied gram‐negative and gram‐positive bacteria. While in gram‐negative Escherichia coli, the Min system undergoes pole‐to‐pole oscillation, in gram‐positive Bacillus subtilis, proper spatial inhibition is achieved by the preferential attraction of the Min proteins to the cell poles. Nevertheless, when E.coli Min proteins are inserted into B.subtilis cells, they still oscillate, which negatively affects asymmetric septation during sporulation in this organism. Interestingly, homologs of both Min systems were found to be present in various combinations in the genomes of anaerobic and endospore‐forming Clostridia, including the pathogenic Clostridium difficile. Here, we have investigated the localization and behavior of C.difficile Min protein homologs and showed that MinDE proteins of C.difficile can oscillate when expressed together in B.subtilis cells. We have also investigated the effects of this oscillation on B.subtilis sporulation, and observed decreased sporulation efficiency in strains harboring the MinDE genes. Additionally, we have evaluated the effects of C.difficile Min protein expression on vegetative division in this heterologous host.
Characterization of a Pore-Forming Cytotoxin Expressed by Salmonella enterica Serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A

ABSTRACT Cytolysin A (ClyA) is a pore-forming cytotoxic protein encoded by the clyA gene that has been characterized so far only in Escherichia coli. Using DNA sequence analysis and PCR, we established that clyA is conserved in the human-specific typhoid Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A and that the entire clyA gene locus is absent in many other S. enterica serovars, including Typhimurium. The gene products, designated ClyASTy and ClyASPa, show ≥90% amino acid identity to E. coli cytolysin A, ClyAEC, and they are immunogenically related. The Salmonella proteins showed a pore-forming activity and are hence functional homologues to ClyAEC. The chromosomal clyASTy gene locus was expressed at detectable levels in the serovar Typhi strains S2369/96 and S1112/97. Furthermore, in the serovar Typhi vaccine strain Ty21a, expression of clyASTy reached phenotypic levels, as detected on blood agar plates. The hemolytic phenotype was abolished by the introduction of an in-frame deletion in the clyASTy chromosomal locus of Ty21a. Transcomplementation of the mutant with a cloned clyASTy gene restored the hemolytic phenotype. To our knowledge, Ty21a is the first reported phenotypically hemolytic Salmonella strain in which the genetic determinant has been identified.
Spinal muscular atrophy: from tissue specificity to therapeutic strategies

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the most frequent genetic cause of death in infants and toddlers. All cases of spinal muscular atrophy result from reductions in levels of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein, and so SMN upregulation is a focus of many preclinical and clinical studies. We examine four issues that may be important in planning for therapeutic success. First, neuromuscular phenotypes in the SMNΔ7 mouse model closely match those in human patients but peripheral disease manifestations differ, suggesting that endpoints other than mouse lifespan may be more useful in predicting clinical outcome. Second, SMN plays important roles in multiple central and peripheral cell types, not just motor neurons, and it remains unclear which of these cell types need to be targeted therapeutically. Third, should SMN-restoration therapy not be effective in all patients, blocking molecular changes downstream of SMN reduction may confer significant benefit, making it important to evaluate therapeutic targets other than SMN. Lastly, for patients whose disease progression is slowed, but who retain significant motor dysfunction, additional approaches used to enhance regeneration of the neuromuscular system may be of value.
Improving pocket paint usability via material design compliance and internationalization & localization support on application level

This paper discusses the implementation of Google's Material Design guidelines, internationalization, and localization for mobile applications in the case of Pocket Paint, an Android painting application. The intended goal of this redesign is to broaden the user base by improving overall usability and supporting right-to-left written languages such as Arabic. The main challenges of the redesign are the intricacies to thoroughly support both right-to-left and left-to-right scripts, e.g., the positioning, translation, mirroring of text and graphical elements, the 'when' and 'when not' to mirror. Related to the Material Design guideline compliance we carried out a user experience test with six users (age 13) of our target group. All participants rated the redesigned application being simpler, more appealing and concise in comparison to the previous version.
Clues to the nature of damped Lyman α systems from chemical evolution models

The evolution of the metallicity of damped Lyman a systems (DLAs) is investigated in order to explore several scenarios for the nature of these systems. The observational data on chemical abundances of DLAs are analysed with robust statistical methods, and the abundances are corrected for dust depletion. The results of this analysis are compared with predictions of several classes of chemical evolution models describing a variety of scenarios for DLAs: one-zone dwarf galaxy models, multizone disc models and chemodynamical models representing dwarf galaxies. In order to settle constraints for star formation time-scales and metal production in DLAs, we compare the observational data on the [α/Fe] and [N/α] ratios to the predictions from the models. In DLAs, these ratios are only partially reproduced by the dwarf galaxy one-zone model and by the disc model. On the other hand, the chemodynamical model for dwarf galaxies reproduces the properties of nearly all DLAs. The connection between the gas flow evolution and the star formation rate is the reason for the ability of this model in reproducing the range of abundance ratios seen in DLAs. The comparison of the observed [α/Fe] and [N/a] trends with the predictions of the chemodynamical model is used to derive the formation epoch of dwarf galaxies. The chemodynamical model predicts that dwarf galaxies make a significant contribution to the observed total neutral gas density in DLAs, and that this contribution is more important at high redshifts (z ≥ 2-3). This is consistent with a scenario in which the DLA population is dominated by dwarf galaxies at high redshifts and by discs at lower redshifts. The relation between DLAs and Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) is investigated with chemodynamical models describing LBGs. Our results calls for a smoother progression in the evolutionary history of DLAS and LBGs rather than a sharp dichotomy between the two populations. LBGs and DLAs may constitute a sequence of increasing star formation rate, with the LBGs being systems with typically short star formation time-scales (∼10 8 yr), and the DLAs having slower star formation. We also raise the possibility that we could be missing a whole population of high H t density column objects, with metallicities intermediate between those of DLAs and LBGs. Finally, we discuss the possibility that relying only on the observations of DLAs could lead to an underestimate of the metal content of the high-redshift Universe.
A novel symmetrical carrier PWM based sensorless drives for audible noise reduction with switching frequencies up to 16kHz

Recently, the demand of the position sensorless control is increasing in motor drive. At low speed range, the saliency-based methods are proposed. In this paper, using the modified symmetrical carrier PWM with switching frequencies up to 16kHz, we achieve to reduce the audible noise that human can be heard.
Multimodal Deep Learning Library

The Neural Network is a directed graph consists of multiple layers of neurons, which is also referred to as units. In general there is no connection between units of the same layer and there are only connections between adjacent layers. The first layer is the input and is referred to as visible layer v. Above the visible layer there are multiple hidden layers {h1, h2, . , hn}. And the output of the last hidden layer forms the output layer o.
DOES BCGA SIMPLE CROSSOVER HASTEN RCGA CONVERGENCE?

Real Coded Genetic Algorithm is the type of GA which operates on chromosomes with real valued parameters. Different mutation and crossover operations are defined for RCGA. One usable crossover for this kind of GA is to consider its chromosomes simply as bit strings and utilize same operations as Binary Coded GA. In this paper we attempt to show that this kind of crossover can not hasten the convergence process unless the break points are the boundaries of parameters in the chromosome.
Homoharringtonine mediates myeloid cell apoptosis via upregulation of pro‐apoptotic bax and inducing caspase‐3‐mediated cleavage of poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP)

Homoharringtonine (HHT) is a plant alkaloid with antileukemia activity that is currently being used for treatment of acute, chronic leukemias and MDS. In this study, we show that HHT can induce apoptosis in a variety of human myeloid leukemia cell lines (U937, HL‐60, HEL, THP, and K562). U937 and HL60 cells undergo rapid apoptosis on treatment with HHT, as indicated by increased annexin V binding capacity, caspase‐3 activation, and cleavage of poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP). In addition, the expression of bax is upregulated during HHT‐induced cell death, whereas the expression of bcl‐2 is only slightly decreased. Importantly, treatment of primary leukemic cells, obtained from acute myeloid leukemia patients, resulted in rapid apoptosis. Thus, our data provide the mechanism of HHT and justify the use of HHT in the treatment of human myeloid leukemia. Am. J. Hematol. 76:199–204, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Extraction of evolution descriptions from the web

The evolution of named entities affects exploration and retrieval tasks in digital libraries. An information retrieval system that is aware of name changes can actively support users in finding former occurrences of evolved entities. However, current structured knowledge bases, such as DBpedia or Freebase, do not provide enough information about evolutions, even though the data is available on their resources, like Wikipedia. Our Evolution Base prototype will demonstrate how excerpts describing name evolutions can be identified on these Web sites with a promising precision. The descriptions are classified by means of models that we trained based on a recent analysis of named entity evolutions on Wikipedia.
Connectionist neuropsychology: uncovering ultimate causes of acquired dyslexia

Acquired dyslexia offers a unique window on to the nature of the cognitive and neural architecture supporting skilled reading. This paper provides an integrative overview of recent empirical and computational work on acquired dyslexia within the context of the primary systems framework as implemented in connectionist neuropsychological models. This view proposes that damage to general visual, phonological or semantic processing abilities are the root causes of different forms of acquired dyslexia. Recent case-series behavioural evidence concerning pure alexia, phonological dyslexia and surface dyslexia that supports this perspective is presented. Lesion simulations of these findings within connectionist models of reading demonstrate the viability of this approach. The commitment of such models to learnt representations allows them to capture key aspects of performance in each type of acquired dyslexia, particularly the associated non-reading deficits, the role of relearning and the influence of individual differences in the premorbid state of the reading system. Identification of these factors not only advances our understanding of acquired dyslexia and the mechanisms of normal reading but they are also relevant to the complex interactions underpinning developmental reading disorders.
Progressive Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Normal Vestibular Function in a Dutch DFNB7/11 Family with a Novel Mutation in TMC1

In a Dutch family with autosomal recessive hearing loss, genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis mapped the genetic defect to the DFNB7/11 locus. A novel homozygous A-to-G change in the TMC1 gene was detected near the splice donor site of intron 19 (c.1763+3A→G) segregating with the hearing loss in this family. One of the 6 transmembrane domains and the actual TMC channel domain are predicted to be absent in the mutant protein. The sensorineural hearing impairment in this DFNB7/11 family has a postlingual onset. Audiometric analysis initially showed a steeply downward-sloping threshold configuration. The progressive phenotype in this family resembles the phenotype previously described for families with dominant TMC1 mutations (DFNA36) rather than that of families with recessive TMC1 mutations (DFNB7/11) which invariably cause severe-to-profound prelingual hearing impairment.
Efficient and Provably-Secure Group Key Management Scheme Using Key Derivation

With the rapid development of the Internet, many commercial and network-based services, such as pay-TV and on-line games, have become popular. To control access to these services for legal members only, a common way is to use a cryptographic key to protect the communication and disclose the key only to the group of legal members. The group key management (GKM) is for a group manager to maintain a common cryptographic (group) key for a dynamic group of legal members through a network channel. A GKM scheme can also be used to provide communication privacy and transmitted message integrity. In this paper, we first demonstrate a collusion attack against Chen, et al.'s concrete RSA-based GKM scheme [1]. Then, we propose an efficient and provably-secure GKM scheme using the key derivation method. Our GKM scheme has some attractive features. Firstly, the proposed scheme are very efficient since the key derivation method uses simple keyed hash plus XOR operations. Secondly, the proposed scheme have an efficient rekey mechanism for a member who may become off-line and miss group key updates in his off-line period. Finally, the proposed scheme can be proved secure based on the pseudorandom function family assumption and one-way property of a hash function.
Reliability and validity of a Mental Health System Responsiveness Questionnaire in Iran

Background The Health System Responsiveness Questionnaire is an instrument designed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2000 to assess the experience of patients when interacting with the health care system. This investigation aimed to adapt a Mental Health System Responsiveness Questionnaire (MHSRQ) based on the WHO concept and evaluate its validity and reliability to the mental health care system in Iran. Design In accordance with the WHO health system responsiveness questionnaire and the findings of a qualitative study, a Farsi version of the MHSRQ was tailored to suit the mental health system in Iran. This version was tested in a cross-sectional study at nine public mental health clinics in Tehran. A sample of 500 mental health services patients was recruited and subsequently completed the questionnaire. Item missing rate was used to check the feasibility while the reliability of the scale was determined by assessing the Cronbach's alpha and item total correlations. The factor structure of the questionnaire was investigated by performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results The results showed a satisfactory feasibility since the item missing value was lower than 5.2%. With the exception of access domain, reliability of different domains of the questionnaire was within a desirable range. The factor loading showed an acceptable unidimentionality of the scale despite the fact that three items related to access did not perform well. The CFA also indicated good fit indices for the model (CFI=0.99, GFI=0.97, IFI=0.99, AGFI=0.97). Conclusions In general, the findings suggest that the Farsi version of the MHSRQ is a feasible, reliable, and valid measure of the mental health system responsiveness in Iran. Changes to the questions related to the access domain should be considered in order to improve the psychometric properties of the measure.
RealME: the influence of body and hand representations on body ownership and presence

The study presented in this paper extends earlier research involving body continuity by investigating if the presence of real body cues (legs that look like and move like one's own) alters one's sense of immersion in a virtual environment. The main hypothesis is that real body cues increase one's sense of body ownership and spatial presence, even when those body parts are not essential to the activity on which one is focused. To test this hypothesis, we developed an experiment that uses a virtual human hand and arm that are directly observable but clearly synthetic, and a lower body seen through a virtual mirror, where the legs are sometimes visually accurate and personalized, and other times accurate in movement but not in appearance. The virtual right hand and arm are the focus of our scenario; the lower body, only visible in the mirror, is largely irrelevant to the task, providing only perceptually contextual information. By looking at combinations of arm-hand continuity (2 conditions), freedom or lack of it to move the hand (2 conditions), and realism or lack of it of the virtually reflected lower body (2 conditions), we are able to study the effects of each combination on the perceptions of body ownership and presence, critical features in virtual environments involving a virtual surrogate.