Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anatomical inputs to sulcal portions of areas 9m and 8Bm in the macaque monkey

Neuronal activities recorded from the dorsal bank of the anterior cingulate sulcus have suggested that this cortical area is involved in control of search vs. repetition, goal-based action selection and encoding of prediction error regarding action value. In this study, to explore potential anatomical bases for these neuronal activities, we injected retrograde tracers (CTB-Alexa-488 and CTB-gold) into the dorsal bank of the anterior cingulate sulcus and examined the distribution of labeled cell bodies in macaque monkey brains. The Nissl staining showed that the cortex in the dorsal bank of the anterior cingulate sulcus has consistent layer 4 which means that the cortical region is a part of the granular prefrontal cortex. The injection site belonged to the sulcal portion of area 9m in two cases and the sulcal portion of area 8Bm in one case. In addition to the continuous distribution of labeled cells in the two areas (areas 9m and 8Bm) around the injection site, the labeled cells were densely distributed in the cingulate areas (areas 24, 32, and 23) in all the cases. The dense labeling of cells was also found in other prefrontal areas (areas 46, 10, 11, and 12) in the two cases with injection into the sulcal portion of area 9m, whereas the dense labeling of cells was found in pre-motor areas (F6 and F7) in the case with injection into the sulcal portion of area 8Bm. The dense labeling of cells in the prefrontal and premotor areas was more similar to those previously found after injections into dorsal parts of areas 9 and 8B. Subcortical distribution of labeled cells was found in the mediodorsal nucleus of thalamus, claustrum, and substantia nigra pars compacta in all the cases.
Self-diffusion analysis in a vibrated granular bed

Abstract The influences of flow parameters on self-diffusion in a vibrated granular bed were studied by simulation and experiment. Employing image processing technology and a particle tracking method, the local displacements and velocities of particles were measured. The self-diffusion coefficients were determined from the history of particles' diffusive displacements. Discrete element method simulation was performed to calculate the particles' self-diffusive displacements. The simulation results were compared to the experimental tests. The flow behavior of convection rolls in a vibrated bed occurred by the particles' self-diffusion induced by the energy input from vertical external vibration. The velocity fluctuations, granular temperature and self-diffusions were anisotropic with greatest components in the vertical direction. The dependence of the diffusion coefficients on the dimensionless acceleration amplitude, vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, velocity fluctuations, granular temperature, vibration velocity, restitution coefficient and solid fraction are discussed.
Collateral reinnervation of sweat glands

The collateral reinnervation of mouse sweat glands has been studied by a method that allows serial evaluation of the course of reinnervation in intact animals. The method is based on the finding that the activation of secretion from newly denervated sweat glands by pilocarpine or nerve stimulation is completely absent seven days after nerve section but returns with reinnervation. These characteristics allowed serial detection of footpad sweat glands newly reinnervated by collateral sprouting of the remaining intact saphenous nerve after section of the sciatic nerve. The number of saphenous innervated glands increased five‐to sevenfold and the total saphenous sweat territory was greatly expanded across the volar surface of the hind paw. There was less enlargement when the sciatic nerve was allowed to regenerate and participate in reinnervation of sweat glands. None of the reinnervated glands were dually innervated by saphenous and sciatic nerves, as is the case in normal glands. When the saphenous nerve was sectioned after saphenous collateral sprouting was complete and after sciatic regeneration had innervated an apparent maximal number of glands, the sciatic nerve reacted by advancing farther into the formerly enlarged saphenous territory and re‐reinnervated many of the glands. Collateral sprouting by sudomotor axons is more abundant and more widely dispersed than reported for larger nerve fibers to skeletal muscle and to low‐threshold mechanoreceptors, It more closely resembles sprouting of nociceptive axons.
A new hardware-in-the-loop platform for the evaluation of adaptive lighting systems

Abstract In this paper a new hardware-in-the-loop platform for the evaluation of adaptive lighting systems is presented. A standard industrial robot is actuated with input data from a vehicle dynamics simulation in order to position a pair of active frontlighting headlamps mounted at the tool center point. With this setup test drives can be simulated repeatedly under well-defined environmental conditions at any time. A visual measurement system is presented that tracks the dynamic light distribution and thus provides data that can be related to subjective impressions by means of statistical analysis tools.
Search Tactics of Images' Textual Descriptions

The images' textual descriptions from experts and the general public, subject headings and social tags, are provided to facilitate image search process. Search tactics represents a series of search choices and actions with the textual descriptions provided on the systems during the search process. However, integration of different textual descriptions for image finding have rarely been investigated. This study investigates whether and how two types of different textual descriptions in relation to subject headings and social tags affect user' search tactics. Thirty-six participants were recruited for this study. Multiple methods were employed to collect data, including questionnaires, interviews, and eye-tracking analysis. Eliciting participants' viewing behaviors, this study benefit benefits our understanding of different search tactics of various users and provide adaptive mechanisms to fulfill their search needs. The results of this study provided four guidelines for practitioners when designing adaptive image search interface to fulfill users search tactics.
High Levels of Miticides and Agrochemicals in North American Apiaries: Implications for Honey Bee Health

Background Recent declines in honey bees for crop pollination threaten fruit, nut, vegetable and seed production in the United States. A broad survey of pesticide residues was conducted on samples from migratory and other beekeepers across 23 states, one Canadian province and several agricultural cropping systems during the 2007–08 growing seasons. Methodology/Principal Findings We have used LC/MS-MS and GC/MS to analyze bees and hive matrices for pesticide residues utilizing a modified QuEChERS method. We have found 121 different pesticides and metabolites within 887 wax, pollen, bee and associated hive samples. Almost 60% of the 259 wax and 350 pollen samples contained at least one systemic pesticide, and over 47% had both in-hive acaricides fluvalinate and coumaphos, and chlorothalonil, a widely-used fungicide. In bee pollen were found chlorothalonil at levels up to 99 ppm and the insecticides aldicarb, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos and imidacloprid, fungicides boscalid, captan and myclobutanil, and herbicide pendimethalin at 1 ppm levels. Almost all comb and foundation wax samples (98%) were contaminated with up to 204 and 94 ppm, respectively, of fluvalinate and coumaphos, and lower amounts of amitraz degradates and chlorothalonil, with an average of 6 pesticide detections per sample and a high of 39. There were fewer pesticides found in adults and brood except for those linked with bee kills by permethrin (20 ppm) and fipronil (3.1 ppm). Conclusions/Significance The 98 pesticides and metabolites detected in mixtures up to 214 ppm in bee pollen alone represents a remarkably high level for toxicants in the brood and adult food of this primary pollinator. This represents over half of the maximum individual pesticide incidences ever reported for apiaries. While exposure to many of these neurotoxicants elicits acute and sublethal reductions in honey bee fitness, the effects of these materials in combinations and their direct association with CCD or declining bee health remains to be determined.
Oligodendrocyte-Specific Expression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Nef in Transgenic Mice Leads to Vacuolar Myelopathy and Alters Oligodendrocyte Phenotype In Vitro

ABSTRACT Vacuolar myelopathy (VM) is a frequent central nervous system complication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. We report here that transgenic (Tg) mice expressing even low levels of Nef in oligodendrocytes under the regulation of the myelin basic protein (MBP) promoter (MBP/HIVNef) developed VM similar to the human disease in its appearance and topography. The spinal cords of these Tg mice showed lower levels of the myelin proteins MAG and CNPase and of the 21-kDa isoform of MBP prior to the development of vacuoles. In addition, Tg oligodendrocytes in primary in vitro cultures appeared morphologically more mature but, paradoxically, exhibited a less mature phenotype based on O4, O1, CNPase, and MBP staining. In particular, mature CNPase+ MBP+ Tg oligodendrocytes were less numerous than non-Tg oligodendrocytes. Therefore, Nef appears to affect the proper differentiation of oligodendrocytes. These data suggest that even low levels of Nef expression in human oligodendrocytes may be responsible for the development of VM in HIV-1-infected individuals.
Constraints of tolerance: why are desiccation-tolerant organisms so small or rare?

SUMMARY Drying to equilibrium with the air kills nearly all animals and flowering plants, including livestock and crops. This makes drought a key ecological problem for terrestrial life and a major cause of human famine. However, the ability to tolerate complete desiccation is widespread in organisms that are either <5 mm long or found mainly where desiccation-sensitive organisms are scarce. This suggests that there is a trade-off between desiccation tolerance and growth. Recent molecular and biochemical research shows that organisms tolerate desiccation through a set of mechanisms, including sugars that replace water and form glasses, proteins that stabilize macromolecules and membranes, and anti-oxidants that counter damage by reactive oxygen species. These protections are often induced by drying, and some of the genes involved may be homologous in microbes, plants and animals. Understanding how mechanisms of desiccation tolerance may constrain growth might show how to undo the constraint in some economically important macroorganisms and elucidate the much-studied but elusive relationship between tolerance of stress and productivity.
A Parallel On-Demand Algorithm for Computing Interprocedural Dominators

We present a new algorithm for computing interprocedural dominators. The algorithm identifies a set of special nodes, which are the only ones that can have interprocedural dominance edges, and extends the intraprocedural dominator trees by deriving those edges. The computation of the dominators of each node is independent of the computation of any other node, and therefore can be done on demand for each node as required. For the same reason, the algorithm lends itself naturally to parallelization. The algorithm has been implemented, and is shown to be practical for large programs. Because of its cooperative caching behavior, the algorithm gains a large performance boost when running on parallel hardware. We also present an efficient way of extending the algorithm for computing interprocedural dominance frontiers and control dependence.
Development of catalytic etching using dual materials

In this study we presents an effective and simple process for forming multi-level vertical structures on a (100) silicon wafer. The dual materials including gold and platinum was employed as catalytic material in the etching process. We employed an etchant solution consisting of 4.6 M hydrofluoric acid, 0.44 M hydrogen peroxide, and isopropyl alcohol to produce microstructures at an etching rate of 0.294 μm/min and 0.648 μm/min during only gold (Au) and platinum (Pt) film, respectively. For the catalytic etching process with 10 nm-thick Au and Pt, the etching rate yield from Au film was increased to that generated from the etching process with single Pt film. In the meantime, the etching structure under Pt film became not obvious in the dual materials etching process. For the sample with 10 nm Au and 11 nm Pt, the significant etching produced on both Au and Pt region.
A comparison of shape constrained facial feature detectors

We consider the problem of robustly and accurately locating facial features. The relative positions of different feature points are represented using a statistical shape model. We construct an individual detector for each feature point, which is used to generate a feature response image. The quality of a given hypothesised shape can be evaluated quickly by combining values from each response image. We use global search to predict the approximate position of the face, and then refine the hypothesis using non-linear optimisation. The result is an algorithm capable of robustly and accurately matching a face model to new images, which we refer to as shape optimised search (SOS). We describe SOS in detail and compare the performance of the algorithm when three different classes of feature detectors are used. We demonstrate that the approach is capable of outperforming the well known active appearance model method.
Indoor Localization Algorithm and Appropriate Implementation Using Wireless Sensor Networks

The relationship dependence between RSS and distance in an enclosed environment is an important consideration because it is a factor that can influence the reliability of any localization algorithm founded on RSS. Several algorithms effectively reduce the variance of RSS to improve localization or accuracy performance. Our proposed algorithm essentially avoids this pitfall and consequently, its high adaptability in the face of erratic radio signal. Using 3 anchors in close proximity of each other, we are able to establish that RSS can be used as reliable indicator for localization with an acceptable degree of accuracy. Inherent in this concept, is the ability for each prospective anchor to validate (guarantee) the position or the proximity of the other 2 anchors involved in the localization and vice versa. This procedure ensures that the uncertainties of radio signals due to multipath effects in enclosed environments are minimized. A major driver of this idea is the implicit topological relationship among sensors due to raw radio signal strength. The algorithm is an area based algorithm; however, it does not trade accuracy for precision (i.e the size of the returned area). Keywords—Anchor nodes, centroid algorithm, communication graph, received signal strength (RSS).
A parallel-line detection algorithm based on HMM decoding

The detection of groups of parallel lines is important in applications such as form processing and text (handwriting) extraction from rule lined paper. These tasks can be very challenging in degraded documents where the lines are severely broken. In this paper, we propose a novel model-based method which incorporates high-level context to detect these lines. After preprocessing (such as skew correction and text filtering), we use trained hidden Markov models (HMM) to locate the optimal positions of all lines simultaneously on the horizontal or vertical projection profiles, based on the Viterbi decoding. The algorithm is trainable so it can be easily adapted to different application scenarios. The experiments conducted on known form processing and rule line detection show our method is robust, and achieves better results than other widely used line detection methods.
A search for pulsations from the compact object of GRB 060218

Aims. A fraction of massive stars are expected to collapse into compact objects (accreting black holes or rapidly rotating neutron stars) that successfully produce gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We examine the possibility of directly observing these gamma-ray burst compact objects (GCOs) using post-explosion observations of past and future GRB sites. Methods. We present a search for early pulsations from the nearby (z = 0.0335) gamma-ray burst GRB 060218, which exhibited features possibly consistent with a rapidly spinning neutron star as its underlying GCO. We also consider alternative techniques that could potentially achieve a detection of GCOs either in the Local Volume or near the plane of our own Galaxy. Results. We report the non-detection of pulsations from the GCO of GRB 060218. In particular, fast fourier transform analysis applied to the light curve shows no significant power over the range of frequencies 0.78 mHz < f < 227 Hz with an upper limit on the pulsed fraction of ∼2%. In addition, we present detection limits of current high-resolution archival X-ray images of galaxies within the Local Volume. The existing data could be harnessed to rule out the presence of any background contaminants at the GRB position of future nearby events. Conclusions. The null detection of pulsations from the GCO of GRB 060218 is most likely explained by the fact that the afterglow emission occurs near the head of the jet and should be far removed from the compact object. We also find that the comparison of preand post-explosion explosion images of future GRBs within the Local Volume, as well as the firm identification of a GCO within an ancient GRB remnant near the Galactic plane are extremely challenging with current GeV/TeV capabilities. Finally, we conclude that only under some very exceptional circumstances will it be possible to directly detect the compact object responsible for gamma-ray bursts.
Catecholamine-Induced Vascular Wall Growth Is Dependent on Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species

Abstract— &agr;1-Adrenoceptor–dependent proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is strongly augmented by vascular injury, and may contribute to intimal growth and lumen loss. Because reactive oxygen species (ROS) are increased by injury and have been implicated as second messengers in proliferation of VSMCs, we investigated the role of ROS in catecholamine-induced VSMC growth. Rat aortae were isolated 4 days after balloon injury, maintained in organ culture under circumferential wall tension, and exposed to agents for 48 hours. The antioxidants N-acetylcysteine (NAC, 10 mmol/L) and Tiron (5 mmol/L) and the flavin-inhibitor diphenylene iodonium (DPI, 20 &mgr;mol/L) abolished norepinephrine-induced increases in protein synthesis and DNA content in media. In aortic sections, norepinephrine augmented ROS production (dihydroethidium confocal microscopy), which was dose-dependently inhibited by NAC, Tiron, and DPI. In cultured VSMCs, phenylephrine caused time- and dose-dependent ROS generation (aconitase activity), had similar efficacy to thrombin (1 U/mL), and was eliminated by the superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic Mn-(III)-tetrakis-(4-benzoic-acid)-porphyrin-chloride (200 &mgr;mol/L) and Tiron. Phenylephrine-induced ROS production and increases in DNA and protein content were blocked by prazosin (0.3 &mgr;mol/L) and abolished in p47phox−/− cells. PEG-SOD (25 U/mL) had little effect, whereas PEG-catalase (50 U/mL) eliminated phenylephrine-induced proliferation in VSMCs. DPI (10 &mgr;mol/L) and apocynin (30 &mgr;mol/L) abolished phenylephrine-stimulated mitogenesis, whereas inhibitors of other intracellular ROS sources had not effect. Furthermore, PE increased p47phox expression (RT-PCR). These data demonstrate that the trophic effect of catecholamines on vascular wall cells is dependent on a ROS-sensitive step that we hypothesize consists of activation of the NAD(P)H-dependent vascular oxidase.
Design and analysis of a bionic quadruped robot

In this article, design of bionic quadruped, mainly focusing on leg design, is given and force analysis of the mechanism is calculated and simulated. To better improve the design, force on sole and torque on joints should be diminished to increase the mobility and capacity of the robot. Therefore, a design method based on biomechanics and bionic control strategy is proposed for this quadruped robotic system considering compliance. This design method, including mainly mechanical compliance element and control compliance element, can decrease the contact force and torque of both hip and knee joints. This first prototype of leg design is aimed to achieve a general concept about optimizing force and torque of robot leg and prepares for further experiments on complex terrain condition.
Detection of Pulmonary Nodules in Thoracic CT images using Image Processing and Data Mining Techniques

Pulmonary nodules are soft tissue masses present in the lung that can be seen in thoracic CT images. When the size of the nodules is large, immediate attention is required. Automatic detection of these large nodules would be appreciated by the medical professionals as it reduces labor and time. The lung nodules are usually extracted through image processing and classification techniques. In this work, lung nodules are detected through image clustering followed by classification of candidate nodules as either nodules or non-nodules. K-Means clustering is performed to delineate the candidate nodules. The features of the candidate nodules are extracted and fed as input to bagged random tree classifier for classification of nodules as true or not. The proposed system was tested on ELCAP dataset and an accuracy of 95.31% was achieved. The system has a social cause.
On the performance of the constant modulus array restricted to the signal subspace

The Constant Modulus Array has a slow rate of convergence mainly due to both the nonconvex nature of its cost function and the well known behavior of stochastic steepest descent algorithms for environments with a large eigenvalue spread. In this paper we analyze the solutions of the Constant Modulus Cost Functions, showing that the weight vectors associated to its minima lie on the signal subspace. From that information we develop a modified version of the Constant Modulus Array, which speeds up the convergence and reduces the final misadjustment error. The proposed method is specially useful for arrays having a large number of sensors and low Signal to Noise Ratio for the Source of Interest.
An Open Cultural Digital Content Infrastructure

We present an Open Cultural Digital Content Infrastructure, a platform providing a coherent suite of loosely-coupled services that aim to promote metadata quality in repositories and facilitate metadata data and digital content reuse. The key functions of the infrastructure are the aggregation of metadata and digital files and the automatic validation of metadata records and digital material for compliance with desired quality specifications. The system that has recently moved to production, is currently being employed to ensure the quality standards of the output of more than 70 projects that support Greek cultural heritage organisations and are funded by the European Union structural funds. These projects are expected to produce more than 1.5 million digitized and born-digital items accompanied with detailed metadata. The validation is based on a set of quality and interoperability specifications that have been developed for the purpose. The infrastructure has been developed using an open source technology stack and tools and in particular reuses a number of components of the publicly available Europeana aggregator and portal software platform.