Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
2018-12-17 cPLA 2 alpha-/-sympathetic neurons exhibit increased membrane excitability and loss of N-Type Ca 2 + current inhibition by M 1 muscarinic receptor signaling

Group IVa cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2α) mediates GPCR-stimulated arachidonic acid (AA) release from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) located in plasma membranes. We previously found in superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons that PLA2 activity is required for voltage-independent N-type Ca (N-) current inhibition by M1 muscarinic receptors (M1Rs). These findings are at odds with an alternative model, previously observed for M-current inhibition, where PIP2 dissociation from channels and subsequent metabolism by phospholipase C suffices for current inhibition. To resolve cPLA2α’s importance, we have investigated its role in mediating voltage-independent N-current inhibition (~40%) that follows application of the muscarinic agonist oxotremorine-M (Oxo-M). Preincubation with different cPLA2α antagonists or dialyzing cPLA2α antibodies into cells minimized N-current inhibition by Oxo-M, whereas antibodies to Ca-independent PLA2 had no effect. Taking a genetic approach, we found that SCG neurons from cPLA2α-/mice exhibited little N-current inhibition by Oxo-M, confirming a role for cPLA2α. In contrast, cPLA2α antibodies or the absence of cPLA2α had no effect on voltage-dependent N-current inhibition by M2/ M4Rs or on M-current inhibition by M1Rs. These findings document divergent M1R signaling mediating M-current and voltage-independent N-current inhibition. Moreover, these differences suggest that cPLA2α acts locally to metabolize PIP2 intimately associated with Nbut not M-channels. To determine cPLA2α’s functional importance more globally, we examined action potential firing of cPLA2α+/+ and cPLA2α-/SCG neurons, and found decreased latency to first firing and interspike interval resulting in a doubling of firing frequency in cPLA2α-/neurons. These unanticipated findings identify cPLA2α as a tonic regulator of neuronal membrane excitability. PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone. 0201322 December 17, 2018 1 / 22 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111
Research Statement Daniel Khashabi

My research focuses on the computational foundations of intelligent behavior, through the lens of natural language. Towards this end, I am interested in developing both theories and systems, using unified methodologies. My goal, in the long run, is to understand and develop capabilities for natural language understanding. In the short term, I am motivated by near-term applications in natural language processing (NLP), empowered by machinery like deep learning and information extraction.
Location Based Authentication: A New Approach towards Providing Security

Identifying communicating entities i.e. "users" is today"s need. The process of identifying these entities accurately is known as authentication. The conventional authentication mechanisms are based on three factors: knowledge, possession and biometrics. The geographical position of a user is an important attribute that can be used to authenticate a user. In this paper, we are trying to explain how location can be used as one of the credentials to give access to data only to legitimate user. This technique is relatively new approach towards information security.
Private pension funds : passivity at active fund prices

From 2005 to 2015, the total assets managed by open private pension funds increased more than six times in Brazil, where the Free Bene t Generating Plan (PGBL) and the Free Bene t Generating Life (VGBL) represent 90% of these assets. However, private pension institutions are characterized by the collection of high management fees, thus keeping for themselves much of the bene ts o ered by the government as incentive for investment in this modality. High management fees are justi ed only when there is active management of these funds, theoretically generating higher performance: this study indicates that this is not the case in this market segment. Similar problems have been faced in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden, which led investigation concerning funds that charge high management fees for active management, while they actually provide management that may be regarded as passive. is demonstrates the scale and relevance of this issue, which has been surveyed and addressed by this study. To do this, dynamic style analysis was performed, through rolling regressions, followed by Kalman lter analysis in funds from the topve private pension institutions in Brazil. Analyzing the exposure evolution of these funds to various asset classes and the R2 generated, passivity traces were found, mainly in composite variable income funds. Such funds are precisely those that should be more actively managed, as they charge the highest management fees. is article also demonstrates it is possible to build a passive portfolio, having a very similar style and returns without statistically signi cant di erences, but at a lower management fee (and aligned with passive funds).
DataSelfie: Empowering People to Design Personalized Visuals to Represent Their Data

Many personal informatics systems allow people to collect and manage personal data and reflect more deeply about themselves. However, these tools rarely offer ways to customize how the data is visualized. In this work, we investigate the question of how to enable people to determine the representation of their data. We analyzed the Dear Data project to gain insights into the design elements of personal visualizations. We developed DataSelfie, a novel system that allows individuals to gather personal data and design custom visuals to represent the collected data. We conducted a user study to evaluate the usability of the system as well as its potential for individual and collaborative sensemaking of the data.
Hue Histograms for Raster-to-Vector Conversion of Color Documents

This paper introduces and demonstrates a new approach to raster-to-vector conversion of color maps by identifying individual lines and features within the map based on the hue of the digitized pixels. This paper further demonstrates the effectiveness of using the HSI (hue, saturation, and intensity), as opposed to the more common RGB (red, green, and blue), color representation combined with a hue histogram for identifying different lines within a color cartographic map image. In addition to its effectiveness, this semi-automatic technique is able to successfully extract these lines from the image with significantly less processing and human interaction than the currently available methods and software. The application of this research significantly improves upon the standard methods of raster-to-vector conversion since it can simultaneously identify image components as well as significantly reduce processing time and manual labor. With only minor manual enhancements, the output of this raster-to-vector conversion technique are readily usable by GIS systems.
Analytical Model of Channel Electric Field Profile in FinFET

A simple analytical model for the lateral channel electric field profile in the velocity saturation region of the FinFET with undoped body is proposed and developed by solving the Poisson Equation in the velocity saturation region with a simplified boundary condition. The model has been verified with two-dimensional numerical device simulators and good agreement is obtained. Using the model, the impact of geometrical parameters including silicon film thickness, gate oxide thickness, and the terminal biases on the maximum lateral channel electric field in the FinFET can be predicted. Keywords-double-gate MOSFET; FinFET; channel electrical field; velocity saturation
University of Groningen A Taxonomy for In-depth Evaluation of Normalization for User Generated Content

In this work we present a taxonomy of error categories for lexical normalization, which is the task of translating user generated content to canonical language. We annotate a recent normalization dataset to test the practical use of the taxonomy and read a near-perfect agreement. This annotated dataset is then used to evaluate how an existing normalization model performs on the different categories of the taxonomy. The results of this evaluation reveal that some of the problematic categories only include minor transformations, whereas most regular transformations are solved quite well.
Tailoring molecular nano-architectures on metallic surfaces

One way to improve the performance of electronic devices is to make them smaller. Such approach has been used for the production of semiconductor electronic devices during the last decades. Nowadays this scaling down approach is reaching a level at which many physical phenomena, including insufficient insulation between comprising electronic components, adversely affect the performance of the devices. Therefore, it is important to find new approaches for production of electronic devices. The work described in this thesis elaborate on an alternative approach which could be used for production of molecular nanoelectronic devices. We successfully employ organic molecules as well as metal atoms as building blocks to fabricate functional metal-organic networks on metallic surfaces in a controllable manner. We show how the chemical and electronic properties of the surfaces can be modified by proper selection of the building blocks, thereby paving the path towards the fabrication of future molecular nanoelectronic devices.
Secured Authentication Method for Wireless Networks

There are huge number of validation systems for system access focused around declaration, biometric, smart card with pin, password and so forth. One of the new and more prevalent validation procedures is OTP. The principle focal point of that is it is more secure as every time new secret key is utilized so recalling the password is no more needed. Each time new OTP is produced so no password is used over and over. If OTP generator is good then it makes this technique more secure. This paper describes EAP protocol and proposed EAP method for authentication.
Postintensive care syndrome-family in Intensive Care Units: “What is it in the name?” A Scoping Definitive Review

Health and illness are family events therefore; an individual family member’s health affects the entire family functioning. A family can simply be defined as “who the member says it is,” implying that, it is not limited to people with ancestral linkages. In context, the family holds strong health practices, attitude and beliefs and interrelationships [1]. Why, however should we be concerned about family members of patients once admitted in ICU? Healthcare providers need to be concerned about the family members in the context of Intensive Care owing to advances in intensive care and the increasing graying population, there is increasing utilization of intensive care services. Eventually, the proportion of family caregivers and families having experiences of Intensive Care Units (ICU) is consequently growing [2].
SMF: Drift-Aware Matrix Factorization with Seasonal Patterns

Consider a stream of time-stamped events, such as taxi rides, where we record the start and end locations of each ride. How do we learn a matrix factorization model which takes into account seasonal patterns (such as: rides toward office areas occur more frequently in the morning), and use it to forecast taxi rides tomorrow? Also, how can we model drift (such as population growth), and detect sudden changes (or anomalies)? Existing matrix factorization algorithms do not take seasonal patterns into account. We propose SMF (Seasonal Matrix Factorization), a matrix factorization model for seasonal data, and a streaming algorithm for fitting it. SMF is (a) accurate in forecasting: outperforming baselines by 13% to 60% in RMSE; (b) online: requiring fixed memory even as more data is received over time, and scaling linearly; (c) effective: providing interpretable results. In addition, we propose SMF-A, an algorithm which detects anomalies in a computationally feasible way, without forecasting every observation in the matrix.
A Survey and Comparison of Fault Isolation Approaches for Operating System Kernel Extensions

Over the years many researchers have investigated the impact of device drivers on the reliability of computer systems and identified drivers as a major cause for system failures [52, 8]. They have searched for solutions that stabilize systems and at the same time do not reduce performance. In this thesis several different approaches to prevent driver failures from affecting overall system reliability are being evaluated and compared. They are organized according to a taxonomy proposed in a survey of isolation techniques at University of Southern California[63]. For an expedient rating six evaluation criteria covering performance, intrusiveness, recovery support, fault isolation, extensibility, and portability are proposed in this thesis. Our results show that the driver problem is not yet solved satisfactorily and given reliability is still only achieved at the expense of performance in present fault isolation mechanisms for commodity operating systems.
Coping with outsourcing: an interaction and network perspective

Many companies that have undertaken outsourcing projects have found themselves struggling to control the activity they once controlled in-house. This paper proposes that the root of the problem is often that companies fail to recognise the importance of managing the relationship between the outsourcing organisation and the service provider, or supplier, which performs the outsourcing activity. Adopting an interaction and network perspective on outsourcing, the authors argue that both parties involved need to take appropriate measures to manage the outsourcing Relationship and focus on developing trust and commitment as a key part of the outsourcing process. The authors draw on an illustrative case study of two companies involved in a complex outsourcing relationship that eventually failed. The case illustrates how trust and commitment supported by an atmosphere and culture conducive to developing close, strong relationships, is required to achieve long-term, mutually beneficial outsourcing relationships. The paper concludes with a discussion of key factors in the outsourcing process.
APPROACHES TO THE FILTERING OF LASER SCANNER DATA

Recently several papers have been published on the precision of Digital Terrain Models (DTM) which were produced by airborne laser-scanning. This precision is influenced by several factors, like navigation accuracy, quality of reference data but also by the way the "raw" laser scanner data is filtered. For the latter task mathematical models as well as algorithms can be used. A specific problem in quantifying the accuracy is the typical asymmetric error distribution of laser measurements when compared to reference data. The data show only small negative deviations to the terrain-surface (below the terrainsurface), however, relatively large positive deviations due to vegetation or buildings (above the terrain-surface). This general problem must be taken into account. Two different approaches for the filtering of laser-scanner data are presented in this paper, namely the use of linear prediction and the use of dual rank filters. Both methods are presented and their results are compared. If linear prediction is used as filtering method, it must be applied iteratively, because otherwise the results are strongly influenced by height points lying far above the mid-terrain-level. The use of linear prediction shows satisfactory results in forest areas, whereas other areas with steep terrain show problems which makes it necessary to locally adapt the method to the shape of the terrain. Using the above approach of dual rank filtering some pre-knowledge of the area of concern is required and very often the process of filtering is influenced by interactive procedures like restricting the filter process to special areas of interest, to avoid a smoothing of the "natural" terrain. Dual rank filters show very promising results especially when filtering artificial objects like buildings but require interactive control and some pre-knowledge in order to properly set the necessary parameters.
Chapter 9 Evidence of Neglect from Immature Human Skeletal Remains : An Auxological Approach from Bones and Teeth

Child neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment and failure to thrive is one of its most common manifestations. Although growth failure has many etiologies, recognizing it is very important in aiding the identification of neglect in living children and in fatality cases, particularly in the detection of severe malnutrition. Although the forensic anthropologist may deal with a fatal case of child neglect, the assessment of growth failure from osteological observations is considerably limited. The expert relies on the assessment of dental and skeletal growth and development for the estimation of age and the assessment of growth failure. Although dental development is susceptible to environmental insults, such as malnutrition, it is more stable than skeletal growth and maturation, which is more susceptible. This chapter cautions the use of dental development for age estimation in suspected cases of child neglect and offers two general approaches for the detection of growth failure from observations in bone and teeth. One approach relies on comparing height estimates and long bone lengths to sex and age-specific references of height and long bone length, while the other relies on assessing the discrepancy between dental and skeletal age. A sample of identified Portuguese human immature skeletons is used to illustrate the consistency of results between the two approaches. Although an auxological approach to the study of bones and teeth can provide important insights into the growth status of individuals represented by their hard tissues, it cannot be definite about the diagnosis of malnutrition and, particularly, neglect as the cause of the child’s death.
XPS study of the adsorption mechanisms of DNA onto polypyrrole particles

DNA adsorption onto polypyrrole (PPy) powder particles has been monitored, ex situ, by X-ray photoelectron spec- troscopy (XPS) technique. DNA adsorption isotherms were determined by the quantitative analysis of the XPS spectra, and by plotting the X/N atomic ratios (X = C, O, Cl, P and Na) versus DNA equilibrium concentration. All XPS isotherms are of high affinity type, showing high adsorption amounts at low DNA concentrations in the suspension. Moreover, inspection of the C1s peak structure of the PPy-DNA complex revealed that it gradually gets wider and less tailing as DNA adsorbs, clearly showing the DNA contribution to the peak enlargement. In addition, the changes observed in the Cl2p structure bring a strong supporting evidence of anion-exchange mechanism that takes place at initial stages of the interaction. Actually, the polypyrrole backbone loses part of its residual chlorides as the first DNA fragments adsorb and neutralize the PPy positive charges at the interface. Moreover, at relatively high amounts of adsorbed DNA, the PPy surface becomes screened necessitating thus that sodium cations co-adsorb in order to compensate for the excess of DNA negative charges. As a consequence of such screening of the PPy surface, DNA adsorption results in a positive spectral shift of all peaks of approximately 2.0 eV, a value that leads to the conclusion that DNA partially covers the PPy.
Watershed Science Title Three-Dimensional Modeling of Hydrodynamics and Salinity in the San Francisco Estuary : An Evaluation of Model Accuracy , X 2 , and the Low – Salinity Zone Permalink

The three-dimensional UnTRIM San Francisco Bay– Delta model was applied to simulate tidal hydrodynamics and salinity in the San Francisco Estuary (estuary) using an unstructured grid. We compared model predictions to observations of water level, tidal flow, current speed, and salinity collected at 137 locations throughout the estuary. A quantitative approach based on multiple model assessment metrics was used to evaluate the model's accuracy for each comparison. These comparisons demonstrate that the model accurately predicted water level, tidal flow, and salinity during a 3-year simulation period that spanned a large range of flow and salinity conditions. The model is therefore suitable for detailed investigation of circulation patterns and salinity distributions in the estuary. The model was used to investigate the location, and spatial and temporal extent of the low-salinity zone (LSZ), defined by salinity between 0.5 and 6 psu. We calculated X2, the distance up the axis of the estuary to the daily-averaged 2-psu near-bed salinity, and the spatial extent of the LSZ for each day during the 3-year simulation. The location, area, volume, and average depth of the low-salinity zone varied with X2; however this variation was not monotonic and was largely controlled by the geometry of the estuary. We used predicted daily X2 values and the corresponding daily Delta outflow for each day during the 3-year simulation to develop a new equation to relate X2 to Delta outflow. This equation provides a conceptual improvement over previous equations by allowing the time constant for daily changes in X2 to vary with flow conditions. This improvement resulted in a smaller average error in X2 prediction than previous equations. These analyses demonstrate that a well-calibrated three-dimensional (3-D) hydrodynamic model is a valuable tool for investigating the salinity distributions in the estuary, and their influence on the distribution and abundance of physical habitat. Volume 13, Issue 1 | April 2015 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.15447/sfews.2015v13iss1art2 * Corresponding author: michael@deltamodeling.com 1 Delta Modeling Associates, Inc., 870 Market Street, Suite 1074, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA 2 Resource Management Associates, Inc., Berkeley, CA 94704 USA 3 Romberg Tiburon Center, San Francisco State University, Tiburon CA 94920 USA Three-Dimensional Modeling of Hydrodynamics and Salinity in the San Francisco Estuary: An Evaluation of Model Accuracy, X2, and the Low-Salinity Zone Michael L. MacWilliams*1, Aaron J. Bever1, Edward S. Gross2, Gerard S. Ketefian2, and Wim J. Kimmerer3 SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY & WATERSHED SCIENCE