Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DBA/2J Mice Are Susceptible to Diabetic Nephropathy and Diabetic Exacerbation of IOP Elevation

Some pathological manifestations of diabetes in the eye include retinopathy, cataracts and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in non-proliferative stages of diabetic retinopathy and small increases in IOP in diabetic patients has raised the possibility that diabetes affects the development and progression of ocular hypertension and glaucoma. The Ins2Akita mutation is known to cause diabetes and retinopathy on a C57BL/6J (B6) background by as early as 3 months of age. Here, the impact of the Akita mutation on glaucoma was assessed using DBA/2J (D2) mice, a widely used mouse model of ocular hypertension induced glaucoma. In D2.Ins2Akita/+ mice, the contribution of diabetes to vascular permeability, IOP elevation, RGC loss, and glaucoma development was assessed. D2.Ins2Akita/+ mice developed a severe diabetic nephropathy and early mortality between 6–8 months of age. This agrees with previous reports showing that the D2 background is more susceptible to diabetes than the B6 background. In addition, D2.Ins2Akita/+ mice had vascular leakage, astrocyte reactivity and a significant increase in IOP. However no RGC loss and no anterograde axonal transport dysfunction were found at 8.5 months of age. Therefore, our data show that despite severe diabetes and an increased IOP compared to controls, RGCs do not lose axon transport or degenerate. This may be due to a DBA/2J-specific genetic modifier(s) that could provide novel and important avenues for developing new therapies for diabetic retinopathy and possibly glaucoma.
Approximately counting Hamilton cycles in dense graphs

We describe a fully polynomial randomized approximation scheme for the problem of determining the number of Hamiltonian cycles in an n-vertex graph with minimum degree (i+~)n, for any fixed E > 0. We show that the exact counting problem is #P-complete. We also describe a fully polynomial randomized approximation scheme for counting cycles of all sizes in such graphs.
Enhancing uplink throughput via local base station cooperation

Joint decoding at the base stations of a cellular wireless network enables inter-cell interference mitigation, thus enhancing the system throughput. However, deployment of joint multicell decoding depends critically on the availability of backhaul links connecting the base stations to a central processor. This work studies a scenario in which finite-capacity unidirectional backhaul links exist only between base stations belonging to adjacent cells. Relying on a linear Wyner-type cellular model with no fading, achievable rates are derived for the two scenarios in which the base stations are endowed only with the codebooks of local (in-cell) mobile stations, or also with the codebooks used in adjacent cells. The analysis sheds light on the impact of codebook information, decoding delay and network planning (frequency reuse), on the performance of multicell processing as enabled by local and finite-capacity backhaul links. Analysis in the high-SNR regime and numerical results validate the main conclusions.
Maternal Separation Enhances Conditioned Fear and Decreases the mRNA Levels of the Neurotensin Receptor 1 Gene with Hypermethylation of This Gene in the Rat Amygdala

Stress during postnatal development is associated with an increased risk for depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse later in life, almost as if mental illness is able to be programed by early life stressors. Recent studies suggest that such “programmed” effects can be caused by epigenetic regulation. With respect to conditioned fear, previous studies have indicated that early life stress influences its development in adulthood, whereas no potential role of epigenetic regulation has been reported. Neurotensin (NTS) is an endogenous neuropeptide that has receptors densely located in the amygdala and hippocampus. Recently, NTS systems have constituted an emerging target for the treatment of anxiety. The aim of the present work is to clarify whether the NTS system is involved in the disturbance of conditioned fear in rats stressed by maternal separation (MS). The results showed that MS enhanced freezing behaviors in fear-conditioned stress and reduced the gene expression of NTS receptor (NTSR) 1 but not of NTS or NTSR2 in the amygdalas of adult rats. The microinjection of a NTSR1 antagonist into the amygdala increased the percentage of freezing in conditioned fear, whereas the microinjection of NTSR1 agonist decreased freezing. These results suggest that NTSR1 in the amygdala may play a role in the effects of MS on conditioned fear stress in adult rats. Moreover, MS increased DNA methylation in the promoter region of NTSR1 in the amygdala. Taken together, MS may leave epigenetic marks in the NTSR1 gene in the amygdala, which may enhance conditioned fear in adulthood. The MS-induced alternations of DNA methylation in the promoter region of NTSR1 in the amygdala may be associated with vulnerability to the development of anxiety disorders and depression in adulthood.
Towards Controlling Chip Temperature by Dynamic Cache Reconfiguration in Multiprocessors

To meet the ever increasing processing demand, we have more number of components in modern Chip MultiProcessors (CMPs). This leads to increased on-chip power density resulting in prohibitive chip temperatures. The increased chip temperature not only increases the cooling cost, but it also increases leakage power dissipation, which in turn increases chip temperature. On-chip caches that occupy the largest onchip area are usually assumed as a cooler on-chip portion. However, this is a misconception as a recent study shows 30°C spatial temperature variance in modern large on-chip caches. This paper attempts to reduce the effective chip temperature by intelligently turning off/on some on-chip Last Level Cache (LLC) banks in a tiled CMP during process execution. The turned off cache banks will act as on-chip thermal buffers helping to reduce the effective chip temperature. Resizing decision will be taken based upon generated cache hotspots or performance. With a negligible performance overhead simulation results show a reduction of 4°C in the chip temperature with 52% maximum savings in cache leakage.
Bacterial Community Dynamics during Swine In vitro Fermentation Using Starch as a Substrate with Different Feed Additives for Odor Reduction

The experiment was conducted by in vitro fermentation and bacterial community analysis to investigate the reduction of odorous compounds in response to the use of feed additives (FA) during carbohydrate overload in growing pigs. Soluble starch at 1% (control) and various FA at 0.1% Ginseng meal (FA1); Persimmon leaf (FA2); Gingko nut (FA3) and Oregano lippia (FA4) were added to fecal slurry and incubated anaerobically for 12 and 24 h. In vitro parameters and microbial diversity of the dominant bacteria following fermentation were analyzed using Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), band cloning and sequencing of the V3 region. Results showed that total gas production increased with the advancement of incubation (p<0.05). pH values of FAs and control groups were decreased except the FA4 group which increased somewhat from 12 to 24 h (p<0.05). Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and H2S gas concentrations were comparatively lower in both stages in FA4 treatment than in the other groups (p<0.05). Hence, NH3-N concentrations in liquid phases were increased (p<0.05) from 12 to 24 h, but the trend was lowest in FA4 than in the other groups at both stages. The total VFA production was comparatively lower and butyrate levels were moderate in FA4 group than in the the other groups during both stages (p<0.05). Indirect odor-reducing compounds such as NO2, NO3 and SO4 concentrations were higher in the FA4 and FA3 than in the other groups at 24 h (p<0.05). After fermentation, ten dominant bands appeared, six of which appeared in all samples and four in only the FA4 treated group. The total number of DGGE bands and diversity was higher in the FA4-group compared to other groups. Additionally, similarity indices were lowest (71%) in the FA4, which represented a different bacterial community compared with the other groups. These findings indicate that NH3-N, H2S and VFA production was minimal, and pH was also better in the FA4 group than in the other groups. Furthermore, the conversion of odor-reducing indirect compounds or their intermediates was higher in the FA4 group in compared to the other groups. FA4 group generated less odorous products and more indirect products by in vitro fermentation at 24 h, and their microbial pattern appeared to differ from that of the other groups. These findings suggest that this particular FA could change the microbial population, which may have a beneficial effect on odor reduction. It is recommended that the oregano lippia may be supplied to growing pigs as FA along with excess carbohydrate sources to reduce the production of odorous compounds.
Preservice Teacher Learning to Help ELS Understand Mathematical Problems

There is a common belief that teachers do not need to differentiate their instruction for English Learners (ELs) and that helping ELs adjust in school culture is not a teacher’s responsbility (Walker, Shafer, & Liams, 2004). This belief is due to their lack of proper training to teach ELs, as statistics show only 13% of teachers are adequately prepared to teach ELs while more than 40% of teachers have ELs in their classrooms (NCES, 2002). Responding to the great need for an adequate teacher preparation for EL in mathematics education, this study was designed to investigate preservice teacher (PSTs) learning to help ELs understand mathematics.
Improving of Mean Shift Tracking Algorithm Using Adaptive Candidate Model

Mean shift tracking is used widely for object tracking. However, one of the main problems is that the background on a current frame has the same color as the target (object) which can reduce the correctness of tracking. This paper proposes Improving of Mean Shift Tracking Algorithm Using Adaptive Candidate (MST_AC) Model. This algorithm uses the background positions on the previous frame and the current frame to compute the new candidate model. The window size is fixed. The dataset is received from Performance Evaluation of Tracking and Surveillance (PETS) 2006 Benchmark. The experimental results show that the proposed MST_AC model receives higher correctness than those of the traditional mean shift algorithm (MS) and ICA mean shift algorithm (MS_ICA).
Social Control of the Family on Juvenile Post-Drug Rehabilitation Relapse Behavior

Artikel ini membahas mengenai kontrol sosial keluarga pada anak pasca rehabilitasi narkoba. Anak yang keluar dari program rehabilitasi akan mengalami proses resosialisasi yaitu sosialisasi kembali pada lingkungan baru atau lingkungan lama yang ditinggalkannya. Studi sebelumnya menjelaskan bahwa dalam proses resosialisasi anak pasca rehabilitasi narkoba dipengaruhi oleh faktor lingkungan sosial dan keluarga. Proses resosialisasi yang berdampingan dengan kontrol sosial keluarga dapat mencegah terjadinya perilaku anak kembali menggunakan narkoba atau relapse . Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan metode kualitatif. Penelitian ini mengambil data primer pada anak kategori usia (12-18 tahun), belum menikah, dan sudah pernah melaksanakan rehabilitasi narkoba. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa terdapat hubungan antara ikatan emosional dengan kontrol disiplin love-oriented . Ikatan emosional yang ditemukan dalam penelitian ini cenderung negatif dengan kontrol disiplin love-oriented sehingga mendorong perilaku anak kembali relapse . Lebih lanjut, hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa bentuk metode disiplin yang digunakan orangtua dapat berimplikasi berbeda bagi setiap anak, sehingga tidak dapat ditentukan bentuk metode kontrol apa yang tepat dalam mengontrol perilaku anak.
Association between ADHD symptoms and adolescents' psychosocial well-being: a study of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986

Abstract Objectives. To investigate the psychosocial well-being of adolescents with and without symptoms of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). Study design. A cross-sectional study. Methods. Adolescents who were 15 and 16 years old with (n=487) and without (n=5988) ADHD symptoms were drawn from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n=9432). ADHD symptoms were assessed by the parents on the SWAN scale while the adolescents completed a questionnaire on their current life situation. Results. The adolescents with ADHD symptoms more often attended a special school and had repeated a grade than those without. Over one-third of those with symptoms were uncertain about their educational plans while 44% of them preferred vocational education. They also reported their health as being poorer and they visited a physician or a nurse more often than the others. Most adolescents reported that they were satisfied with their life, but there were a larger proportion of adolescents with ADHD symptoms among the fairly dissatisfied ones. As well, boys with ADHD symptoms reported the lack of close friends. Adverse psychosocial factors accumulated in those adolescents with greater ADHD symptoms. Conclusions. The adolescents with ADHD symptoms considered their psychosocial well-being to be poorer than those without ADHD symptoms. In clinical work, it is essential to recognize the most impaired adolescents who need special attention and support at school as well as in their social interactions with their peers and families. From a public health perspective, this information is necessary in order to focus society’s limited resources on those with a higher risk of experiencing complicated outcomes.
Characterization of SWCNT Bundle Based VLSI Interconnect with Self-heating Induced Scatterings

Performance of single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) bundle- based VLSI interconnects has been studied under the strong influence of scatterings induced by self-heating. Landauer Büttiker formalism along with Fourier heat transfer equation have been used to compute interconnect scattering parameters at various cross sectional areas of the interconnection. Cross sectional temperature calculation was performed using finite difference method considering temperature dependent thermal conductivity for primitive defect-less SWCNT bundles. Using the relaxation time approximation, we have studied scattering dynamics in calculating equivalent resistance. Electronic and thermal transport equations have been coupled and solved iteratively to get accurate estimation of temperatures and resistances. Study of scattering parameters shows low backscattering however significant transmission loss. Below 100GHz, for a 1µm long interconnect with 10 nm by10 nm cross sectional area shows S21 as high as 80dB. In terahertz regime transmission parameter S21 is in the range of few hundreds dB.
MANAGING TECHNOSTRESS ON THE JOB

This thesis will go through three empirical studies conducted in the past three years. The first study aims at deepening our understanding on how different technology-related stressors indirectly create negative outcomes. I specifically focus on work exhaustion as outcome because it has been demonstrated that it is a key detrimental state for employees’ wellbeing. Focusing on this outcome, I propose a model that explains how adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies influence it, and how they are indirectly informed by key technostress creators, namely techno-invasion and techno-overload. The second study will take in exam the action of two hypothetical technostress moderators: leadership climate and perceived competition on the job. Two distinct moderation effects techniques are tested using SPSS AMOS. The third study aims to statistically separate eustress construct (positive stress) from distress one (negative stress) since both concept are actually considered to be on the same continuum of the general stress measurement.
Appropriateness of Using Patient-Derived Xenograft Models for Pharmacologic Evaluation of Novel Therapies for Esophageal/Gastro-Esophageal Junction Cancers

The high morbidity and mortality of patients with esophageal (E) and gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ) cancers, warrants new pre-clinical models for drug testing. The utility of primary tumor xenografts (PTXGs) as pre-clinical models was assessed. Clinicopathological, immunohistochemical markers (p53, p16, Ki-67, Her-2/neu and EGFR), and global mRNA abundance profiles were evaluated to determine selection biases of samples implanted or engrafted, compared with the underlying population. Nine primary E/GEJ adenocarcinoma xenograft lines were further characterized for the spectrum and stability of gene/protein expression over passages. Seven primary esophageal adenocarcinoma xenograft lines were treated with individual or combination chemotherapy. Tumors that were implanted (n=55) in NOD/SCID mice had features suggestive of more aggressive biology than tumors that were never implanted (n=32). Of those implanted, 21/55 engrafted; engraftment was associated with poorly differentiated tumors (p=0.04) and older patients (p=0.01). Expression of immunohistochemical markers were similar between patient sample and corresponding xenograft. mRNA differences observed between patient tumors and first passage xenografts were largely due to loss of human stroma in xenografts. mRNA patterns of early vs late passage xenografts and of small vs large tumors of the same passage were similar. Complete resistance was present in 2/7 xenografts while the remaining tumors showed varying degrees of sensitivity, that remained constant across passages. Because of their ability to recapitulate primary tumor characteristics during engraftment and across serial passaging, PTXGs can be useful clinical systems for assessment of drug sensitivity of human E/GEJ cancers.
Efficient video resolution adaptation using scalable H.265/HEVC

Dynamically changing the spatial resolution in a video conferencing session is useful for seamlessly adapting the bitrate to changing network conditions and for improving the user experience. Similar to earlier standards, the emerging High Efficiency Video Coding (H.265/HEVC) standard does not allow prediction across different resolutions, so an Instantaneous Decoding Refresh (IDR) picture must be sent to reinitialize the stream when a resolution change happens. IDR pictures take significantly more bits compared to predictively coded pictures. Thus, using them for resolution switching significantly reduces coding efficiency and increases the delay. In this paper we propose a method to support efficient adaptive resolution change using the emerging scalable H.265/HEVC standard. The proposed approach utilizes the inter-layer predicted random access pictures at the enhancement layer for resolution switching, instead of IDR pictures. The experimental results show that when the proposed method was used, the bitrate was reduced at the switching point by 34% on average for the tested video sequences. In addition, visual examples are shown demonstrating the improved visual quality with the proposed method.
Deep CNNs Along the Time Axis With Intermap Pooling for Robustness to Spectral Variations

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with convolutional and pooling operations along the frequency axis have been proposed to attain invariance to frequency shifts of features. However, this is inappropriate with regard to the fact that acoustic features vary in frequency. In this paper, we contend that convolution along the time axis is more effective. We also propose the addition of an intermap pooling (IMP) layer to deep CNNs. In this layer, filters in each group extract common but spectrally variant features, then the layer pools the feature maps of each group. As a result, the proposed IMP CNN can achieve insensitivity to spectral variations characteristic of different speakers and utterances. The effectiveness of the IMP CNN architecture is demonstrated on several LVCSR tasks. Even without speaker adaptation techniques, the architecture achieved a WER of 12.7% on the SWB part of the Hub5'2000 evaluation test set, which is competitive with other state-of-the-art methods.
Look and turn: landmark-based goal navigation in honey bees

SUMMARY This report describes the piloting mechanisms employed by honey bees during their final approach to a goal. Conceptually applying a bottom-up approach, we systematically varied the position, number and appearance landmarks associated with a rewarded target location within a large, homogenous flight tent. The flight behavior measured under various conditions is well explained with visuo-motor control loops that link perceived landmarks with appropriate turning responses. This view is consistent with the requirement of prolonged reinforcement learning for efficient goal navigation. A simple model is able to provide a comprehensive explanation for diverse flight patterns that range from convoluted searching behavior to highly idiosyncratic approaches, depending on the experimental context. Our results challenge the prevalent notion that honey bees employ image matching for visual guidance toward a goal site. Basic visuo-motor control loops may better meet the high demands for robust and fast flight control, which could serve as a powerful bio-mimetic design principle for micro-robotic aircraft.
Client Engagement in Psychotherapy: The Roles of Client and Beginning Therapist Attachment Styles

Client Engagement in Psychotherapy: The Roles of Client and Beginning Therapist Attachment Styles Nicole Aelise Yoskowitz Client engagement in psychotherapy has been identified as a significant component of the therapeutic process, and research has found compelling links to psychotherapy outcomes. Attachment theory has been used to explore the various domains of client engagement in therapy. Specifically, the development of the therapy relationship and the client’s engagement in therapy can be understood as reflecting how a client forms new relationships in general. The primary aim of this dissertation is to explore how the attachment styles of adult clients and beginning therapists (still in training) influence clients’ engagement in individual psychotherapy, in terms of regularity of attendance, self-disclosure of important/relevant topics to the therapist, and the client’s perception of the working alliance. More specifically, this study explores the roles of client and therapist attachment style in client attendance and client self-disclosure, over and above what is explained by the alliance’s relationship with these other engagement measures. Data used in this dissertation were collected as part of an ongoing longitudinal study conducted at the Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services, a communitybased outpatient training clinic at Teachers College. Participants were 181 adult individual psychotherapy clients and their masters and doctoral level student-therapists (n = 118). In this study, client and therapist attachment style (attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety) was measured using the Experiences in Close Relationships ScaleShort Form. The client