Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The 5-Choice Continuous Performance Test: Evidence for a Translational Test of Vigilance for Mice

Background Attentional dysfunction is related to functional disability in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer's disease. Indeed, sustained attention/vigilance is among the leading targets for new medications designed to improve cognition in schizophrenia. Although vigilance is assessed frequently using the continuous performance test (CPT) in humans, few tests specifically assess vigilance in rodents. Methods We describe the 5-choice CPT (5C-CPT), an elaboration of the 5-choice serial reaction (5CSR) task that includes non-signal trials, thus mimicking task parameters of human CPTs that use signal and non-signal events to assess vigilance. The performances of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice were assessed in the 5C-CPT to determine whether this task could differentiate between strains. C57BL/6J mice were also trained in the 5CSR task and a simple reaction-time (RT) task involving only one choice (1CRT task). We hypothesized that: 1) C57BL/6J performance would be superior to DBA/2J mice in the 5C-CPT as measured by the sensitivity index measure from signal detection theory; 2) a vigilance decrement would be observed in both strains; and 3) RTs would increase across tasks with increased attentional load (1CRT task<5CSR task<5C-CPT). Conclusions C57BL/6J mice exhibited superior SI levels compared to DBA/2J mice, but with no difference in accuracy. A vigilance decrement was observed in both strains, which was more pronounced in DBA/2J mice and unaffected by response bias. Finally, we observed increased RTs with increased attentional load, such that 1CRT task<5CSR task<5C-CPT, consistent with human performance in simple RT, choice RT, and CPT tasks. Thus we have demonstrated construct validity for the 5C-CPT as a measure of vigilance that is analogous to human CPT studies.
Localization of Association Signal from Risk and Protective Variants in Sequencing Studies

Aggregating information across multiple variants in a gene or region can improve power for rare variant association testing. Power is maximized when the aggregation region contains many causal variants and few neutral variants. In this paper, we present a method for the localization of the association signal in a region using a sliding-window based approach to rare variant association testing in a region. We first introduce a novel method for analysis of rare variants, the Difference in Minor Allele Frequency test (DMAF), which allows combined analysis of common and rare variants, and makes no assumptions about the direction of effects. In whole-region analyses of simulated data with risk and protective variants, DMAF and other methods which pool data across individuals were found to outperform methods which pool data across variants. We then implement a sliding-window version of DMAF, using a step-down permutation approach to control type I error with the testing of multiple windows. In simulations, the sliding-window DMAF improved power to detect a causal sub-region, compared to applying DMAF to the whole region. Sliding-window DMAF was also effective in localizing the causal sub-region. We also applied the DMAF sliding-window approach to test for an association between response to the drug gemcitabine and variants in the gene FKBP5 sequenced in 91 lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from white non-Hispanic individuals. The application of the sliding-window test procedure detected an association in a sub-region spanning an exon and two introns, when rare and common variants were analyzed together.
Whole-Genome Analysis of Multienvironment or Multitrait QTL in MAGIC

Multiparent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross (MAGIC) populations are now being utilized to more accurately identify the underlying genetic basis of quantitative traits through quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses and subsequent gene discovery. The expanded genetic diversity present in such populations and the amplified number of recombination events mean that QTL can be identified at a higher resolution. Most QTL analyses are conducted separately for each trait within a single environment. Separate analysis does not take advantage of the underlying correlation structure found in multienvironment or multitrait data. By using this information in a joint analysis—be it multienvironment or multitrait — it is possible to gain a greater understanding of genotype- or QTL-by-environment interactions or of pleiotropic effects across traits. Furthermore, this can result in improvements in accuracy for a range of traits or in a specific target environment and can influence selection decisions. Data derived from MAGIC populations allow for founder probabilities of all founder alleles to be calculated for each individual within the population. This presents an additional layer of complexity and information that can be utilized to identify QTL. A whole-genome approach is proposed for multienvironment and multitrait QTL analysis in MAGIC. The whole-genome approach simultaneously incorporates all founder probabilities at each marker for all individuals in the analysis, rather than using a genome scan. A dimension reduction technique is implemented, which allows for high-dimensional genetic data. For each QTL identified, sizes of effects for each founder allele, the percentage of genetic variance explained, and a score to reflect the strength of the QTL are found. The approach was demonstrated to perform well in a small simulation study and for two experiments, using a wheat MAGIC population.
Capacity analysis of reservation-based random access for broadband wireless access networks

In this paper we propose a novel model for the capacity analysis on the reservation-based random multiple access system, which can be applied to the medium access control protocol of the emerging WiMax technology. In such a wireless broadband access system, in order to support QoS, the channel time is divided into consecutive frames, where each frame consists of some consequent mini-slots for the transmission of requests, used for the bandwidth reservation, and consequent slots for the actual data packet transmission. Three main outcomes are obtained: first, the upper and lower bounds of the capacity are derived for the considered system. Second, we found through the mathematical analysis that the transmission rate of reservation-based multiple access protocol is maximized, when the ratio between the number of mini-slots and that of the slots per frame is equal to the reciprocal of the random multiple access algorithm's transmission rate. Third, in the case of WiMax networks with a large number of subscribers, our analysis takes into account both the capacity and the mean packet delay criteria and suggests to keep such a ratio constant and independent of application-level data traffic arrival rate.
Towards quantitative modeling of task confirmations in human-robot dialog

We present a technique for robust human-robot interaction taking into consideration uncertainty in input and task execution costs incurred by the robot. Specifically, this research aims to quantitatively model confirmation feedback, as required by a robot while communicating with a human operator to perform a particular task. Our goal is to model human-robot interaction from the perspective of risk minimization, taking into account errors in communication, “risk” involved in performing the required task, and task execution costs. Given an input modality with non-trivial uncertainty, we calculate the cost associated with performing the task specified by the user, and if deemed necessary, ask the user for confirmation. The estimated task cost and the uncertainty measure are given as input to a Decision Function, the output of which is then used to decide whether to execute the task, or request clarification from the user. We test our system through human-interface experiments, based on a framework custom-designed for our family of amphibious robots, and demonstrate the utility of the framework in the presence of large task costs and uncertainties. We also present qualitative results of our algorithm from field trials of our robots in both open- and closed-water environments.
Resident involvement : the process and the perceived effects of the PARTNER intervention in residential care

Resident involvement is a new trend in care homes. The PARTNER intervention aims to involve residents through collective action to improve their community life and wellbeing. The purpose of this article is to provide insights into the process of resident involvement via the PARTNER intervention, and into its perceived effects. A qualitative evaluation study was conducted, using participant observations, semi-structured interviews with residents, volunteers and professionals (n=16), and three focus groups. The findings demonstrate that the intervention helped residents to develop actions (gallery parties and a buddy project) to strengthen social interactions. With the help of volunteers and professionals, the residents realized their plans. We conclude that structural partnerships between residents, volunteers and staff in residential care homes need to be developed further. They lead to empowerment of residents and positive effects on volunteers, professionals, and other parties such as resident councils.
Development of a Screening Tool for Pediatric Sexual Assault May Reduce Emergency-Department Visits

OBJECTIVE: To define the characteristics of a novel screening tool used to identify which prepubertal children should potentially receive an initial evaluation for alleged sexual assault in a nonemergent setting. METHODS: Electronic medical records were retrospectively reviewed from 2007 to 2008. Visits with a chief complaint or diagnosis of alleged sexual assault for patients aged 12 years or younger were identified. Complete records, those with no evaluation before pediatric emergency-department arrival, and those with child advocacy center follow-up were included. Records were reviewed to answer the following: (1) Did the incident occur in the past 72 hours, and was there oral or genital to genital/anal contact? (2) Was genital or rectal pain, bleeding, discharge, or injury present? (3) Was there concern for the child's safety? (4) Was an unrelated emergency medical condition present? An affirmative response to any of the questions was considered a positive screen (warranting immediate evaluation); all others were considered negative screens. Those who had positive physical examination findings of anogenital trauma or infection, a change in custody, or an emergency medical condition were defined as high risk (having a positive outcome). RESULTS: A total of 163 cases met study criteria; 90 of 163 (55%) patients had positive screens and 73 of 163 (45%) had negative screens. No patients with negative screens were classified as high risk. The screening tool has sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval: 93.5–100.0). CONCLUSIONS: This screening tool may be effective for determining which children do not require emergency-department evaluation for alleged sexual assault.
Unifying Boundary and Region-Based Information for Fuzzy-Based Active Region Tracking

In this paper we present a novel unifying boundary and region-based information under a fuzzy-based active region framework for tracking. The boundary information is determined by the geodesic model which finds the best minimal-length smooth curve for a fuzzy map to the difference frame, and the region information indicating the motion-based region properties is estimated by a class measure based on the fuzzy c-mean clustering. Here, we define a novel class measure and boundary membership. The defined objective function is minimized using a gradient descent method where a level sets approach is used to implement the resulting PDE system. And satisfactory results of this method are obtained in real sequences.
Practical Robust Adaptive Control : Benchmark Example Matthew Kuipers and

A novel disturbance rejection solution for a benchmark mass-spring-damper (MSD) system is presented. The proposed design, adaptive mixing control (AMC,) is a deterministic multiple model adaptive control (MMAC) approach that mixes candidate controllers by monitoring real-time estimates of an unknown parameter. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to compare the performance of the AMC scheme with a stochastic robust MMAC (RMMAC) scheme, as well as a nonadaptive mixed-mu compensator.
A Generalized Model-Based Test Generation Method

In this paper we present a generalization to the W-method, which can be used for automatically generating test cases.In contrast to the W-method, this generalization allows for test case generation even in the absence of characterization sets for the specification.We give proofs of correctness for this generalization, and show how to derive the original W-method from it as a particular case.Proofs of correctness for the W-method, not given in the original paper, are also presented in a clear and detailed way.
Photoreceptor phosphodiesterase: interaction of inhibitory gamma subunit and cyclic GMP with specific binding sites on catalytic subunits.

The photoreceptor phosphodiesterase (PDE6) is the central effector enzyme in the phototransduction cascade of photoreceptor cells. It is the only known PDE isoform the activity of which is regulated by interaction with a heterotrimeric G protein. The rod PDE6 holoenzyme is a tetrameric protein consisting of two large catalytic alpha and beta subunits and two small gamma subunits, which serve as potent inhibitors of PDE6. In dark-adapted photoreceptors, the gamma subunits maintain PDE6 activity at a low level. When exposed to light the visual pigment rhodopsin activates the retinal G protein, transducin, leading to release of the inhibitory action of the gamma subunits. In addition to the active sites where cGMP is hydrolyzed, the alpha and beta catalytic subunits have high-affinity, noncatalytic cGMP binding sites. These noncatalytic sites do not directly regulate cGMP catalysis at the active site, but rather can modulate the affinity with which the gamma subunits bind to the catalytic subunits. This article describes a number of experimental approaches that have recently been developed for studying the interactions between catalytic and inhibitory subunits of PDE6, as well as the dynamics of cGMP binding to and dissociation from the PDE6 noncatalytic sites.
Extracorporeal albumin dialysis

Patients with liver failure still present a high mortality. It can only be significantly improved by the rare resource of liver transplantation. Extracorporeal liver support devices have been developed to temporarily support liver detoxification. Artificial devices without hepatocytes (“liver dialysis” or “albumin dialysis”) are already widely used in Europe. The two best‐known systems, MARS and Prometheus, use a different technical approach to remove water‐soluble as well as albumin‐bound toxins from the blood. In MARS, toxins diffuse along a concentration gradient through an albumin‐impermeable membrane into a secondary circuit that is pre‐filled with an albumin solution. The albumin is continuously “recycled” inside the secondary circuit by different adsorber and low flux dialysis. In contrast, Prometheus includes an albumin‐permeable filter allowing separation of the albumin fraction into the secondary circuit where the albumin‐bound toxins are directly removed by two adsorbers. Thereafter, high flux dialysis is performed inside the primary circuit. For both extracorporeal systems, an improvement of hepatic encephalopathy and biochemical markers such as bilirubin is consistently reported. In‐vivo comparisons of both systems showed significantly higher extraction capacities for protein‐bound and water‐soluble substances under Prometheus than under MARS treatment. Possible pathophysiological mechanisms could be a reduction of portal pressure or a removal of vasoactive cytokines. However, only few randomised controlled trials with low patient numbers and conflictive results regarding patient survival exist. Nevertheless, a Cochrane meta‐analysis revealed a significant survival benefit for extracorporeal liver support devices in patients with acute‐on‐chronic liver failure. Other promising indications are severe refractory cholestatic pruritus, intoxication with protein‐bound substances and graft dysfunction after liver transplantation. As large randomised controlled multi‐center trials are currently underway, better evidence will be available soon to define the clinical role of extracorporeal liver support devices.
DYNAMICS OF INTERNAL MOTION OF REDUNDANT MANIPULATORS

In the paper the dynamic properties of the internal motion of redundant manipulators are considered. The motion is decoupled into the end-effector motion and the internal motion. Next, the dynamic model of a redundant manipulator is derived. A special attention is given to the inertial properties of the system in the space where internal motion is taking place; we define a null space effective inertia and its inverse. Finally, a control method is proposed which completely decouples the motion of the manipulator into the task space motion and the internal motion, and enables the selection of dynamic characteristics in both subspaces separately.
Associations of major bleeding and myocardial infarction with the incidence and timing of mortality in patients presenting with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes: a risk model from the ACUITY trial.

AIMS To evaluate the associations of myocardial infarction (MI) and major bleeding with 1-year mortality. Both MI and major bleeding predict 1-year mortality in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, the risk of each of these events on the magnitude and timing of mortality has not been well studied. METHODS AND RESULTS A multivariable Cox regression model was developed relating 13 independent baseline predictors to 1-year mortality for 13 819 patients with moderate and high-risk ACS enrolled in the Acute Catheterization and Urgent Intervention Triage strategy trial. After adjustment for baseline predictors, Cox models with major bleeding and recurrent MI as time-updated covariates estimated the effect of these events on mortality hazard over time. Within 30 days of randomization, 705 patients (5.1%) had an MI, 645 (4.7%) had a major bleed; 524 (3.8%) died within a year. The occurrence of an MI was associated with a hazard ratio of 3.1 compared with patients not yet having an MI, after adjustment for baseline predictors. However, MI within 30 days markedly increased the mortality risk for the first 2 days after the event (adjusted hazard ratio of 17.6), but this risk declined rapidly post-infarct (hazard ratio of 1.4 beyond 1 month after the MI event). In contrast, major bleeding had a prolonged association with mortality risk (hazard ratio of 3.5) which remained fairly steady over time throughout 1 year. CONCLUSION After accounting for baseline predictors of mortality, major bleeds and MI have similar overall strength of association with mortality in the first year after ACS. MI is correlated with a dramatic increase in short-term risk, whereas major bleeding correlates with a more prolonged mortality risk.
Utility of Host Delivered RNAi of Two FMRF Amide Like Peptides, flp-14 and flp-18, for the Management of Root Knot Nematode, Meloidogyne incognita

Root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is an obligate sedentary endoparasite that infects a large number of crop species and causes substantial yield losses. Non-chemical based control strategies for these nematodes are gaining importance. In the present study, we have demonstrated the significance of two FMRFamide like peptide genes (flp-14 and flp-18) for infection and development of resistance to M. incognita through host-derived RNAi. The study demonstrated both in vitro and in planta validation of RNAi-induced silencing of the two genes cloned from J2 stage of M. incognita. In vitro silencing of both the genes interfered with nematode migration towards the host roots and subsequent invasion into the roots. Transgenic tobacco lines were developed with RNAi constructs of flp-14 and flp-18 and evaluated against M. incognita. The transformed plants did not show any visible phenotypic variations suggesting the absence of any off-target effects. Bioefficacy studies with deliberate challenging of M. incognita resulted in 50-80% reduction in infection and multiplication confirming the silencing effect. We have provided evidence for in vitro and in planta silencing of the genes by expression analysis using qRT-PCR. Thus the identified genes and the strategy can be used as a potential tool for the control of M. incognita. This is the first ever report that has revealed the utility of host delivered RNAi of flps to control M. incognita. The strategy can also be extended to other crops and nematodes.
Preparing the Edge of the Network for Pervasive Content Delivery

In this paper, we address the problem of delivering content in a pervasive environment characterized by high variability in network conditions, client devices and user context (e.g. location and preferences). This variability results in non-uniform user experience due to high and variable latency and could lead to user frustration during service access. We propose a methodology to tackle this issue and present a test-bed system that we are currently developing to verify our hypotheses.
Life data analysis with applications to aircraft modeling

As demand for highly reliable complex systems increases, engineers are being forced to consider the risk implications of design decisions earlier in the conceptual phase of projects and with greater accuracy. Standard probabilistic risk assessments (PRA) usually employed to verify that a product meets requirements are too resource intensive and too slow to keep up with the speed at which the design is maturing; while classical qualitative methods do not provide the level of detail and granularity required by the designers to make high-quality risk informed decisions. Every company is dependent on some type of asset that keeps the business in business — be it a computer, a centrifuge or a megawatt transformer. In a large enterprise, reducing costs related to asset maintenance, repair and ultimate replacement is at the top of management concerns [1]. Downtime in any network, manufacturing or computer system ultimately results not only in high repair costs, but in customer dissatisfaction and lower potential sales. In response to these concerns, this paper presents a methodology for using Life Data Analysis (LDA) techniques for evaluating new product innovation and projecting product performance due to several failure modes. The paper presents an application for the airline industry where the technique was used in determining the right failure mode as well as enable the program to compare improvements to the fleet.
Energy and Cost Implications of a Traffic Aware and QoS Constrained Sleep Mode Mechanism

This paper considers the theoretical and realistic performance of a traffic aware sleep mode mechanism in the cellular network. The paper devises a sleep mode mechanism that maximises the energy saving of the network, whilst maintaining both the user throughput and reliability performance. The analysis combines recent developments in stochastic geometry and packet data modelling, as well as a simulation of a real cellular network. The main contribution is to show that accurate theoretical modelling of realistic network data can allow deterministic sleep mode triggers to be devised. This is shown to be highly applicable to a real network, reducing energy consumption by 15 to 60% throughout a day and the annual operational expenditure by 4%.