Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural blackboard architectures of combinatorial structures in cognition

Human cognition is unique in the way in which it relies on combinatorial (or compositional) structures. Language provides ample evidence for the existence of combinatorial structures, but they can also be found in visual cognition. To understand the neural basis of human cognition, it is therefore essential to understand how combinatorial structures can be instantiated in neural terms. In his recent book on the foundations of language, Jackendoff described four fundamental problems for a neural instantiation of combinatorial structures: the massiveness of the binding problem, the problem of 2, the problem of variables, and the transformation of combinatorial structures from working memory to long-term memory. This paper aims to show that these problems can be solved by means of neural "blackboard" architectures. For this purpose, a neural blackboard architecture for sentence structure is presented. In this architecture, neural structures that encode for words are temporarily bound in a manner that preserves the structure of the sentence. It is shown that the architecture solves the four problems presented by Jackendoff. The ability of the architecture to instantiate sentence structures is illustrated with examples of sentence complexity observed in human language performance. Similarities exist between the architecture for sentence structure and blackboard architectures for combinatorial structures in visual cognition, derived from the structure of the visual cortex. These architectures are briefly discussed, together with an example of a combinatorial structure in which the blackboard architectures for language and vision are combined. In this way, the architecture for language is grounded in perception. Perspectives and potential developments of the architectures are discussed.
Interactive Repositioning of Bone Fracture Segments

This paper presents an application for semiautomatic repositioning of bone fractures that allows the merging of several fragments. This application has been developed with regard to orthopaedic surgeons who want to simulate the position and orientation of bone fragments preoperatively. The interactive algorithm includes volumetric collision detection for intuitive navigation and coarse manual positioning. Additionally, an optimization process for the mathematically exact repositioning of the bone fragments is implemented. In order to accelerate the volumetric collision detection, octree structures are used that are efficiently implemented as an hierarchy of oriented bounding boxes (OBB). The collision test uses the separating axis theorem for a fast traversal of the octree. To improve the manual part of the repositioning process, the principal axes of each fragment are precalculated initially. Subsequently, the fragments are pre-justified by the user. Finally, an optimization process is performed based on Powell’s algorithm for multidimensional minimization. The optimal position of the bone fragments is determined by the use of a voxel-based metric, that exploits the same bounding box hierarchy.
High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging of the porcine temporomandibular joint disc.

OBJECTIVES Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an MRI modality for characterizing the property, microstructural organization and function in tissues such as the brain and spinal cord. Prior to this investigation, DTI had not been adapted for studies of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc. Objectives were to test the feasibility of DTI to evaluate the porcine TMJ disc and to use DTI to observe differences in magnitude of anisotropy of water diffusion between TMJ disc regions. METHODS Five adult pig TMJs were scanned on a 9.4 Tesla horizontal bore MRI scanner using an inductively coupled surface coil. High-resolution gradient-echo and diffusion-weighted spin-echo based images were obtained. The mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy (FA) were computed in different regions of the disc. Two observers were calibrated to review the two-dimensional and three-dimensional images. Polarized light microscopy was used as the gold standard for collagen fibre orientation. RESULTS In the sagittal plane, the mean diffusivity was higher in the posterior (1.28+/-0.10 x 10(-3) mm(-2) s(-1)) and anterior (1.27+/-0.08 x 10(-3) mm(-2) s(-1)) bands compared with the intermediate zone (0.96+/-0.01 x 10(-3) mm(-2) s(-1)), and the FA index was also lowest in the intermediate zone. In the coronal plane, the mean diffusivity was higher in the medial (1.42+/-0.01 x 10(-3) mm(-2) s(-1)) and lateral (1.21+/-0.12 x 10(-3) mm(-2) s(-1)) aspects than in the centre (1.09+/-0.08 x 10(-3) mm(-2) s(-1)), and the FA index was also lowest in the centre. CONCLUSIONS DTI is a useful method for non-invasively characterizing the structure/property relationships of the porcine TMJ disc.
Zener and avalanche breakdown in As-implanted low-voltage Si n-p junctions

Implanted-diffused As layers in Si have been well-characterized and have been used in fabricating low-voltage n-p junctions. It is shown that these As layers form linearly graded junctions with a uniform B-doped background (ρ ≃ 0.006 Ω.cm). The grade constant of the As profile at the junction is known sufficiently well as a function of As dose, diffusion time, and temperature to allow quantitative use of existing tunneling and avalanche theories for the calculation of the reverse I-V curves. Following a verification of the calculated I-V curves and their temperature dependence as a function of grade constant, calculated curves are presented which correlate As implant dose and diffusion with junction breakdown voltage, breakdown impedance, and temperature coefficient of reverse voltage. The temperature coefficient is shown to change from negative to positive as the transition from tunneling to avalanche occurs. In addition, the relative importance of tunneling and multiplied-generation current as a function of current density is elucidated for any particular As layer grade constant.
A scale invariant measure of clutter Psychology

We propose a measure of clutter for real images that can be used to predict search times. This measure uses an efficient segmentation algorithm (P. Felzenszwalb & D. Huttenlocher, 2004) to count the number of regions in an image. This number is not uniquely defined, however, because it varies with the scale of segmentation. The relationship between the number of regions and the scale of segmentation follows a power law, and the exponent of the power law is similar across images. We fit power law functions to the multiple scale segmentations of 160 images. The power law exponent was set to the average value for the set of images, and the constant of proportionality was used as a measure of image clutter. The same 160 images were also used as stimuli in a visual search experiment. This scale-invariant measure of clutter accounted for about 40% of the variance in the visual search times.
Choice Theory as a Model of Adult Development

Choice Theory is popularly recognized as a basis for the practice of Reality Therapy, Quality Education and Lead Management. There seems to be little thought given, however, to Choice Theory as a broader model for human development. This lack of perspective is surprising given the Institute's training emphasis on application of Choice Theory in practitioners' lives, as well as vocations. While some attempts have been made to expand the Basic Needs concept, through suggestions of additional Needs, there has been no real attempt to use Choice Theory as a frame for understanding human development through the lifespan. Development is understood as occurring within individuals who may be designated as more fully or less fully developed. Development in these individuals is contrasted and compared with other developed individuals. Although this is not intended to be an exhaustive thesis, by any means. Choice Theory is presented as an idea with richer veins to be mined, especially in the developmental area.
Adaptive homography-based visual servo tracking

In this paper, a homography-based adaptive visual servo controller is described to enable a robot end-effector to track a desired Euclidean space trajectory as determined by a sequence of images for the fixed camera configuration. To achieve the objective, a Lyapunov-based adaptive control strategy is employed to actively compensate for unknown depth measurements and the lack of an object model. The error systems are constructed as a hybrid of pixel information and reconstructed Euclidean variables obtained by comparing the images and decomposing a homographic relationship.
Scenario management—An approach for strategic foresight

Scenarios are an effective tool for helping a company to be successful in its competitive environment. The authors show how CI professionals can develop corporate, industry, market, and global scenarios. This is explained by the case study of the German pump industry. The authors also describe the integration of scenarios into the processes of competitive intelligence and strategic management. This includes specific methodological approaches to identify the consequences of certain scenarios, to develop new strategies, and to assess existing strategic guidelines and current strategic decisions. In addition, they show how to combine scenarios and early-warning systems within a process of strategic foresight. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Modulation of the Tumor Cell Phenotype by IFN-γ Results in Resistance of Uveal Melanoma Cells to Granule-Mediated Lysis by Cytotoxic Lymphocytes1

IFN-γ, a pleiotropic immune regulator, is implicated in both tumor immune surveillance and selection of tumor variants resistant to immune control, i.e., immunoediting. In uveal melanoma patients, elevated serum levels of IFN-γ correlate with the spread of metastasis and represent a negative prognostic marker. Treatment with IFN-γ boosted the MHC class I presentation machinery in uveal melanoma cells but suppressed their MHC class I-restricted CTL lysis. Tumor cells exposed to IFN-γ efficiently activated specific CTL but were less susceptible to permeabilization by perforin and exhibited a decreased capacity to bind and incorporate granzyme B. These results define a novel mechanism of resistance to granule-mediated CTL lysis in human tumors. Furthermore, the data suggest that immunoediting is not limited to genetic or epigenetic changes resulting in stable cellular phenotypes but also involves an inducible modulation of tumor cells in response to a microenvironment associated with immune activation.
Evaluation of dental socket healing after using of porous titanium granules: Histologic and histomorphometric assessment in dogs

Background: Different methods have been suggested to preserve bone architecture following traumatic events such as teeth extraction. The purpose of the study was to histologically and histomorphometrically evaluate the dental socket healing after applying porous titanium granules (PTG) in dogs. Materials and Methods: Four healthy male dogs were involved in the present 6-weeks experimental animal study. Three sockets were surgically created in each side of dog's mandible. One of the sockets in one side was randomly filled by PTG and covered by a resorbable membrane (Tigran + membrane group). Another socket was left unfilled and just covered by the same membrane (membrane group) and the last one was left unfilled and uncovered as the control group. The dogs were killed at two time intervals (2 weeks and 6 weeks, two dogs at each time point). All samples were histologically evaluated under an optical microscope for a new bone formation. Data were analyzed by SPSS ver. 16 and Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests were used to compare data in different groups (α = 0.05). Results: There was a significant difference between the Tigran + membrane and the control group in 2 and 6 weeks in the mean amount of total regenerated bone (P < 0.05). The mean amounts of woven, lamellar, and total regenerated bone showed significant differences between 2 weeks and 6 weeks for all three groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: It can be assumed that the use of Tigran bone substitute with membrane can promote the bone regeneration in bone defects.
Estimation of cortical dipole distributions for multiple signal sources based on ICA

Cortical dipole imaging is one of the spatial enhancement techniques from the scalp electroencephalogram. We investigated the cortical dipole imaging for multiple signal sources under time-varying non-uniform noise conditions. The effects of incorporating statistical information of noise into the spatiotemporal inverse filter were examined in three sphere volume conductor model. The parametric projection filter that incorporated with noise covariance was applied to the inverse problem of EEG measurements. The noise covariance matrix was estimated by applying independent component analysis to the scalp potentials. The spatial filter was expanded to apply to the time-varying non-uniform noise conditions such as eye blink artifact. Moreover, multiple dipole distributions were introduced to extract individual signal sources. The proposed imaging technique was applied to human experimental data of visual evoked potentials.
The effect of phospholipid composition of reconstituted HDL on its cholesterol efflux and anti-inflammatory properties[S]

The goal of this study was to understand how the reconstituted HDL (rHDL) phospholipid (PL) composition affects its cholesterol efflux and anti-inflammatory properties. An ApoA-I mimetic peptide, 5A, was combined with either SM or POPC. Both lipid formulations exhibited similar in vitro cholesterol efflux by ABCA1, but 5A-SM exhibited higher ABCG1- and SR-BI-mediated efflux relative to 5A-POPC (P < 0.05). Injection of both rHDLs in rats resulted in mobilization of plasma cholesterol, although the relative potency was 3-fold higher for the same doses of 5A-SM than for 5A-POPC. Formation of preβ HDL was observed following incubation of rHDLs with both human and rat plasma in vitro, with 5A-SM inducing a higher extent of preβ formation relative to 5A-POPC. Both rHDLs exhibited anti-inflammatory properties, but 5A-SM showed higher inhibition of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β release than did 5A-POPC (P < 0.05). Both 5A-SM and 5A-POPC showed reduction in total plaque area in ApoE−/− mice, but only 5A-SM showed a statistically significant reduction over placebo control and baseline (P < 0.01). The type of PL used to reconstitute peptide has significant influence on rHDL’s anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerosis properties.
Failing to attract males in foundation phase teaching: an issue of masculinities

Drawing on a qualitative interview-based study, this article foregrounds the perspectives of a group of male pre-service teachers at a South African university for choosing not to specialise in the teaching of young children. Male pre-service teachers in this study associate with teaching older learners in the senior phases, constructing it as more appropriate for men, with greater intellectual capacity and a higher status profession in contrast to the feminised caring roles associated with teaching young children in the Foundation Phase (FP). They disassociate with the FP of teaching, engage in oppositional and gendered discourses, claim power and construct a version of masculinity that has inequitable gendered effects. Understanding why men choose not to pursue the FP of teaching is a key issue of masculinities and power. Drawing attention to such issues becomes necessary in order to counteract positioning males and females into gender-specific roles within professions and in the context of this study, to attract more males into the largely feminised FP of teaching.
A passive mechanism for relocating payloads with a quadrotor

We present a passive mechanism for quadrotor vehicles and other hover-capable aerial robots based on the cam-follower. This mechanism has two mating parts, one attached to the quadrotor and the other attached to a payload. These two parts are joined by a toggle switch-push to connect, push to disconnect-that is easy to activate with the quadrotor by varying thrust. We discuss the design parameters and provide an inertial model for our mechanism. With hardware experiments, we demonstrate the use of this passive mechanism to autonomously place a wireless camera in several different locations on the underside of a steel beam. Our mechanism is open source and can be easily fabricated with a 3D printer.
Audio-visual attractors for capturing attention to the screens when walking in CAVE systems

In four-sided CAVE-like VR systems, the absence of the rear wall has been shown to decrease the level of immersion and can introduce breaks in presence. With this experiment we analyse how user attention is diverted while physically walking in a virtual environment, when audio and/or visual attractors are present. Key features of the experiment are the fact that auditory feedback was delivered through binaural audio rendering dependent on the user's head position and orientation and that the four-sided CAVE used for the experiment allowed users to walk up to 9m in straight line. In the experiment we analysed how different “attractors” (audio and/or visual, static or dynamic) modify the user's attention. Results of the experiment show that audio-visual attractors are the most efficient attractors in order to keep the user's attention toward the inside of the CAVE.
Prenatal Diagnosis Using Fetal Cells and Cell-Free Fetal DNA in Maternal Blood: What Is Currently Feasible?

Although there is anecdotal evidence that fetal cells in the maternal circulation were first alluded to in the late 19th Century by the German pathologist Schmorl, who discovered trophoblasts in the lungs of pregnant women who had died of eclampsia, the vast body of research performed in the twentieth century has served to reiterate that fetal cells in the maternal periphery are so rare (in the order of 1 in 10 or 10 maternal nucleated cells) that they have to be enriched for. It was only in the 1980s that technologies in the form of fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) in the United States and magnetic cell sorting (MACS) in Germany were developed that permitted the retrieval of these rare cells. A further hurdle that had to be overcome was the development of molecular biologic techniques that permitted the analysis of few nondividing cells to examine the chromosomal ploidy and presence of mendelian genetic disorders. This challenge was met by the development of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which permitted the analysis of chromosomes in resting interphase cells, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which facilitated the examination of genetic traits in single cells. By the use of a combination of these respective enrichment and analytic technologies, several research groups, including ours, have reported on the detection of both fetal aneuploidies and single gene disorders from fetal cells in the maternal circulation. Correspondence: Sinuhe Hahn, PhD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Department of Research, University of Basel, Schanzenstrasse 46, CH–4031 Basel, Switzerland. E-mail: shahn@uhbs.ch PROD. # GRF20334
Randomized controlled trial of exercise training in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors: cardiopulmonary and quality of life outcomes.

PURPOSE To determine the effects of exercise training on cardiopulmonary function and quality of life (QOL) in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors who had completed surgery, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy with or without current hormone therapy use. METHODS Fifty-three postmenopausal breast cancer survivors were randomly assigned to an exercise (n = 25) or control (n = 28) group. The exercise group trained on cycle ergometers three times per week for 15 weeks at a power output that elicited the ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide. The control group did not train. The primary outcomes were changes in peak oxygen consumption and overall QOL from baseline to postintervention. Peak oxygen consumption was assessed by a graded exercise test using gas exchange analysis. Overall QOL was assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast scale. RESULTS Fifty-two participants completed the trial. The exercise group completed 98.4% of the exercise sessions. Baseline values for peak oxygen consumption (P =.254) and overall QOL (P =.286) did not differ between groups. Peak oxygen consumption increased by 0.24 L/min in the exercise group, whereas it decreased by 0.05 L/min in the control group (mean difference, 0.29 L/min; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18 to 0.40; P <.001). Overall QOL increased by 9.1 points in the exercise group compared with 0.3 points in the control group (mean difference, 8.8 points; 95% CI, 3.6 to 14.0; P =.001). Pearson correlations indicated that change in peak oxygen consumption correlated with change in overall QOL (r = 0.45; P <.01). CONCLUSION Exercise training had beneficial effects on cardiopulmonary function and QOL in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors.
Monomethylation of Histone H4-Lysine 20 Is Involved in Chromosome Structure and Stability and Is Essential for Mouse Development

ABSTRACT PR-Set7/Set8/KMT5A is the sole enzyme known to catalyze monomethylation of histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20) and is present only in multicellular organisms that compact a large fraction of their DNA. We found that mouse embryos that are homozygous null mutants for the gene PR-Set7 display early embryonic lethality prior to the eight-cell stage. Death was due to the absence of PR-Set7 catalytic activity, since microinjection of the wild type, but not a catalytically inactive version, into two-cell embryos rescued the phenotype. A lack of PR-Set7 activity resulted not only in depletion of H4K20me1 but also in reduced levels of the H4K20me2/3 marks catalyzed by the Suv4-20h1/h2 enzymes, implying that H4K20me1 may be essential for the function of these enzymes to ensure the dimethylated and trimethylated states. Embryonic stem cells that were inducibly deleted for PR-Set7 passed through an initial G2/M phase, but the progeny were defective at the subsequent S and G2/M phases, exhibiting a delay in their cell cycle, accumulation at G2/M, massive DNA damage, and improper mitotic chromosome condensation. Cell cycle analysis after synchronization indicated that the defects were a consequence of decreased H4K20me1 due to the absence of PR-Set7. Most importantly, the lack of H4K20me1 also resulted in defects in chromosome condensation in interphase nuclei. These results demonstrate the critical role of H4K20 monomethylation in mammals in a developmental context.