Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Different contributions of primary motor cortex, reticular formation, and spinal cord to fractionated muscle activation

Coordinated movement requires patterned activation of muscles. In this study, we examined differences in selective activation of primate upper limb muscles by cortical and subcortical regions. Five macaque monkeys were trained to perform a reach and grasp task, and electromyogram (EMG) was recorded from 10 to 24 muscles while weak single-pulse stimuli were delivered through microelectrodes inserted in the motor cortex (M1), reticular formation (RF), or cervical spinal cord (SC). Stimulus intensity was adjusted to a level just above threshold. Stimulus-evoked effects were assessed from averages of rectified EMG. M1, RF, and SC activated 1.5 ± 0.9, 1.9 ± 0.8, and 2.5 ± 1.6 muscles per site (means ± SD); only M1 and SC differed significantly. In between recording sessions, natural muscle activity in the home cage was recorded using a miniature data logger. A novel analysis assessed how well natural activity could be reconstructed by stimulus-evoked responses. This provided two measures: normalized vector length L, reflecting how closely aligned natural and stimulus-evoked activity were, and normalized residual R, measuring the fraction of natural activity not reachable using stimulus-evoked patterns. Average values for M1, RF, and SC were L = 119.1 ± 9.6, 105.9 ± 6.2, and 109.3 ± 8.4% and R = 50.3 ± 4.9, 56.4 ± 3.5, and 51.5 ± 4.8%, respectively. RF was significantly different from M1 and SC on both measurements. RF is thus able to generate an approximation to the motor output with less activation than required by M1 and SC, but M1 and SC are more precise in reaching the exact activation pattern required. Cortical, brainstem, and spinal centers likely play distinct roles, as they cooperate to generate voluntary movements. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Brainstem reticular formation, primary motor cortex, and cervical spinal cord intermediate zone can all activate primate upper limb muscles. However, brainstem output is more efficient but less precise in producing natural patterns of motor output than motor cortex or spinal cord. We suggest that gross muscle synergies from the reticular formation are sculpted and refined by motor cortex and spinal circuits to reach the finely fractionated output characteristic of dexterous primate upper limb movements.
EDAs cannot be Balanced and Stable

Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDAs) work by iteratively updating a distribution over the search space with the help of samples from each iteration. Up to now, theoretical analyses of EDAs are scarce and present run time results for specific EDAs. We propose a new framework for EDAs that captures the idea of several known optimizers, including PBIL, UMDA, λ -MMASIB, cGA, and (1, λ)-EA. Our focus is on analyzing two core features of EDAs: a balanced EDA is sensitive to signals in the fitness; a stable EDA remains uncommitted under a biasless fitness function. We prove that no EDA can be both balanced and stable. The LeadingOnes function is a prime example where, at the beginning of the optimization, the fitness function shows no bias for many bits. Since many well-known EDAs are balanced and thus not stable, they are not well-suited to optimize LeadingOnes. We give a stable EDA which optimizes LeadingOnes within a time of O(n log n).
Perceptual grouping for contour extraction

This paper describes an algorithm that efficiently groups line segments into perceptually salient contours in complex images. A measure of affinity between pairs of lines is used to guide group formation and limit the branching factor of the contour search procedure. The extracted contours are ranked, and presented as a contour hierarchy. Our algorithm is able to extract salient contours in the presence of texture, clutter, and repetitive or ambiguous image structure. We show experimental results on a complex line-set.
Improvement of laser induced residual stress distributions via shock waves

Laser materials processing normally induces a certain residual stress distribution in the target material. Distributions favoring microcrack propagation lead to reduced fatigue life of the material. This paper investigates the feasibility of altering the stress field by using underwater shock waves in the micron scale. Shock pressure was computed and the stress analysis was conducted, in which both pressure and strain rate dependence of the plastic deformation was considered. It was shown that laser induced underwater shock waves could impart compressive stresses about 40 microns into metallic materials such as aluminum when a 12 micron laser beam was used. Experimental results of shock processing and its combination with drilling at micron scale are also presented.Laser materials processing normally induces a certain residual stress distribution in the target material. Distributions favoring microcrack propagation lead to reduced fatigue life of the material. This paper investigates the feasibility of altering the stress field by using underwater shock waves in the micron scale. Shock pressure was computed and the stress analysis was conducted, in which both pressure and strain rate dependence of the plastic deformation was considered. It was shown that laser induced underwater shock waves could impart compressive stresses about 40 microns into metallic materials such as aluminum when a 12 micron laser beam was used. Experimental results of shock processing and its combination with drilling at micron scale are also presented.
A Rubber-Like Protein in Insect Cuticle

1. A new type of hyaline, colourless cuticle, called rubber-like cuticle, is described and analysed qualitatively with respect to mechanical behaviour, structure and composition. Externally it is covered by ordinary thin epicuticle, but otherwise it represents the simplest type of cuticle known and consists only of thin continuous lamellae of chitin (0-2 µ) separated and glued together by an elastic protein, resilin , not hitherto described. There are only traces of water-soluble substances present and resilin sometimes occurs as pure, hyaline patches more than 100 µ thick and suitable for macroscopic experiments. 2. In all physical respects, resilin behaves like a swollen isotropic rubber but the rigid experimental proof is given elsewhere (Weis-Fogh, 1961). An outstanding feature is the complete lack of flow not paralleled by other natural or synthetic rubbers. 3. Resilin resembles elastin but it is devoid of colour and has a different and characteristic amino-acid composition (Bailey & Weis-Fogh, 1961). The nature of the cross-linkages is unknown at present but they are extremely stable, of a co-valent type and different from other known cross-linkages in proteins. This accounts for its insolubility and resistance to all agents which do not break the peptide backbone. 4. Resilin is a structure protein in which the primary chains show little or no tendency to form secondary structures; they are bound together in a uniform three-dimensional network (the tertiary structure) with no potential limits as to size.
Augmented Echo State Networks with a feature layer and a nonlinear readout

Echo State Networks (ESNs) are an alternative to fully trained Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) showing State of the Art performance when applied to time series prediction. However, they have seldom been applied to abstract tasks and in the case of language modeling they require a number of units far superior to traditional RNNs in order to achieve similar performance. In this paper we propose a novel architecture by extending a conventional Echo State Network with a pre-recurrent feature layer and a nonlinear readout. The features are learned in a supervised way using a computationally cheap version of gradient descent and automatically capture grammatical similarity between words. They modify the dynamic of the network in a way that allows it to significantly outperform an ESN alone. The addition of a nonlinear readout is also investigated making the global system similar to a feed forward network with a memory layer.
Pulsed laser-induced transient currents in bulk and silicon-on-insulator FinFETs

Pulsed laser-induced current transient experiments are used to understand the mechanisms of single-event effects in bulk and fully depleted silicon-on-insulator p-channel FinFETs. The drain current transients are significantly larger in the bulk FinFETs than in the SOI devices. Bulk FinFETs collected 270 times more charge than SOI FinFETs. 98% of the charge collected in the bulk FinFETs is generated in the substrate. The rest of the collected charge (2%) is generated in the fins. Most of the collected charge in the SOI FinFets is generated in the fins.
Who Talks to Whom: Modeling Latent Structures in Dialogue Documents

Various forms of data that consist of sequential messages abound in social networks, such as citations, mail lists, chats, and forum discussions. A sequence of messages can be seen as a dialogue. We call the correlation among messages, namely the ’who-talks-to-whom’ relationship, the dialogue structure. Discovering dialogue structure is important for further studies on user behaviors.
Redox cycling at nanospaced electrodes: towards electrochemically amplified biomolecular sensing

Molecule synthesis is convenient on the small scale while electrode fabrication is more convenient on the large scale. In this project they meet each other halfway for the development of a twin electrode design featuring surface attached molecules undergoing redox cycling. Research has focused on novel applications of the redox cycling phenomena, fabrication of electrodes with an inter electrode spacing in the nanometer range, and the electrochemical behavior of surface attached ferrocene labeled polyethylene glycol (PEG). This knowledge is combined in experiments where the PEG molecules are cycling between two electrodes spaced < 100nm apart. This setup can be used as the transducing element of an electrochemical sensor if the molecules are labeled with an additional recognition element.
One-Time Spectrum Coexistence in Dynamic Spectrum Access When the Secondary User May Be Malicious

The reliable coordination of communication channels between two organizations is becoming an increasingly important problem as we move toward cognitive radio systems that support dynamic spectrum access. The benefit of such coordination is clear in scenarios when both participants are completely benign, but such benefits can be easily negated if one of the participants operates in a manner contrary to their channel assignment. In this paper, we develop and explore a maxmin transmission protocol for a primary user (PU) in a multiband wireless network, where the secondary user (SU) may be malicious and have an intent to cause interference. In this case, the threat that a SU may be an adversary changes the problem and places the PU in a dilemma: 1) if the SU is an adversary then to decrease the probability of interference it is better for the PU to select which channels it uses from a larger set of bands (i.e., possibly even including the bands reserved for the SU) and 2) if the SU turns out to be law obedient, then using a larger set of bands leads to an increased chance of being interfered with. Similarly, the SU also faces a dilemma if he is malicious: if the PU thinks that the SU is law obedient, then to increase the probability of jamming, the SU should target only the bands reserved for the PU; while, if the PU thinks that the SU is malicious, then by switching to the bands reserved for the SU, the probability of interference can be significantly or even totally reduced. Using game-theoretical tools, we formally explore these dilemmas and use the resulting analysis to explore the tradeoffs between different strategies in terms of payoffs to each user and knowledge of the SU's characteristics.
Trace distance measure of coherence

We show that trace distance measure of coherence is a strong monotone for all qubit and, so called, $X$ states. An expression for the trace distance coherence for all pure states and a semi definite program for arbitrary states is provided. We also explore the relation between $l_1$-norm and relative entropy based measures of coherence, and give a sharp inequality connecting the two. In addition, it is shown that both $l_p$-norm- and Schatten-$p$-norm-based measures violate the (strong) monotonicity for all $p\in(1,\infty)$.
Alteration of melatonin secretion in patients with type 2 diabetes and proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of plasma melatonin secretion in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy. Methods: Plasma melatonin levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography in 56 patients. Patients were divided into a diabetic group (30 patients) and a nondiabetic group (26 patients). The diabetic group was divided further into a proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) group (n = 14) and a nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) group (n = 16). Plasma melatonin levels obtained at midnight and 3 am were compared between the groups. Results: Nighttime melatonin levels were significantly lower in the diabetic group than in the nondiabetic group (P < 0.03) and lower in the PDR group than in the nondiabetic and NPDR groups (P < 0.01 and P < 0.03, respectively), but no significant difference was found between the nondiabetic and NPDR groups. The daytime melatonin level did not significantly differ between the nondiabetic and diabetic groups or between the nondiabetic, NPDR, and PDR groups. Conclusion: The nighttime melatonin level is altered in patients with diabetes and PDR but not in diabetic patients without PDR. Although patients with PDR may have various dysfunctions that affect melatonin secretion more severely, advanced dysfunction of retinal light perception may cause altered melatonin secretion. Alteration of melatonin secretion may accelerate further occurrence of complications in diabetic patients.
Nut Consumption and Cardiovascular Risk in Older Chinese: The Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study

Objectives In Western contexts nut consumption is associated with better health. We examined the associations of nut consumption with cardiovascular disease risk in the non-Western setting of Southern China. Methods In the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study we used multivariable linear regression to examine the associations of baseline nut (mainly peanuts) consumption (none (n = 6688), <3 portions/week (n = 2596) and ≥3 portions/week (n = 2444)) with follow-up assessment of Framingham cardiovascular disease score (excluding smoking) and its components in older Chinese (≥50 years) (follow-up 57.8%). Results Nut consumption was not associated with Framingham score (≥3 portions/week compared to none: 0.02 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.11 to 0.15), systolic blood pressure (-0.66 mmHg 95% CI -1.94, 0.62), diastolic blood pressure (-0.69 mmHg 95% CI -1.44, 0.07), HDL-cholesterol (-0.01 mmol/L 95% CI -0.02, 0.005), LDL-cholesterol (-0.01 mmol/L 95% CI -0.05, 0.02) or fasting glucose (0.04 mmol/L 95% CI -0.02, 0.09), adjusted for baseline values, energy intake, age, sex, phase of recruitment, socio-economic position, lifestyle and baseline health status. Conclusions Observations concerning the benefits of nut consumption may be contextually specific, perhaps depending on the type of nut consumed.
Robust tracking via saliency-based appearance model

We propose a novel local-based saliency measure (LBSM) method for object tracking problem. In LBSM method, salient patches are defined as the patches having great local changes. Then we apply the saliency information derived from LBSM to appearance model by giving weights to patches according to their saliency levels. The patches with higher saliency levels are given larger weights. As a result, the appearance model is improved owing to the use of saliency information. Extensive experiments conducted on various challenging sequences demonstrate the effectiveness of LB-SM in tracking procedure, and our saliency-based tracker performs well against state-of-the-art algorithms.
Learning proprioceptive and motor features

Learning features from sensory and motor information is an important step towards the autonomous acquisition of internal models in cognitive robotics. Here we study a neural model of orientation selective cells in the primary visual cortex, and ask whether it can also function as a feature detector for other somatosensory modalities. We apply this model to proprioceptive and motor information generated by a simulated walking robot and examine the resulting features.
Diversity of Single Small Subcortical Infarctions According to Infarct Location and Parent Artery Disease: Analysis of Indicators for Small Vessel Disease and Atherosclerosis

Background and Purpose— Single small subcortical infarctions (SSSIs), so-called lacunae, are typically caused by lipohyalinosis of a perforator artery. However, SSSIs can be caused by underlying large parent arterial disease or microatheroma of the proximal portion of a perforator artery. We sought to investigate whether indicators for small vessel disease (SVD) and atherosclerosis in patients with SSSI differ according to lesion location and the presence of parent artery disease. Methods— We assessed 449 patients who had an SSSI (lesion diameter ≤20 mm) in the perforator territory of middle cerebral artery (n=244), basilar artery (n=141), and vertebral artery (n=64) on diffusion-weighted imaging performed within 48 hours of stroke onset. We divided SSSI into 3 groups according to lesion location and the presence of parent artery disease: (1) SSSI with parent artery disease (SSSI+PAD); (2) proximal SSSI without PAD (pSSSI-PAD); and (3) distal SSSI without PAD (dSSSI-PAD). The prevalence of SVD indicators (leukoaraiosis and microbleeds) and atherosclerosis indicators (cerebral atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease) were compared among the groups. Results— SSSI+PAD had the highest prevalence of atherosclerosis indicators and the lowest prevalence of SVD indicators, whereas dSSSI-PAD had the lowest prevalence of atherosclerosis indicators and the highest prevalence of SVD indicators. pSSSI-PAD showed intermediate features. Atherosclerosis indicators significantly increased and SVD indicators significantly decreased as the vascular territory became lower (from middle cerebral artery, basilar artery to vertebral artery). Conclusion— Differences in SVD and atherosclerosis indicators suggest that SSSI has a heterogeneous pathogenesis according to lesion location and the presence of PAD.
A Unified Forward/Inverse Transform Architecture for Multi-Standard Video Codec Design

SUMMARY This paper describes a unified VLSI architecture which can be applied to various types of transforms used in MPEG-2/4, H.264, VC-1, AVS and the emerging new video coding standard named HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding). A novel design named configurable butterfly array (CBA) is also proposed to support both the forward transform and the inverse transform in this unified architecture. Hadamard transform or 4/8-point DCT/IDCT are used in traditional video coding standards while 16/32-point DCT/IDCT are newly introduced in HEVC. The proposed architecture can support all these transform types in a unified architecture. Two levels (architecture level and block level) of hardware sharing are adopted in this design. In the architecture level, the forward transform can share the hardware resource with the inverse transform. In the block level, the hardware for smaller size transform can be recursively reused by larger size transform. The multiplications of 4 or 8-point transform are implemented with Multiplierless MCM (Multiple Constant Multiplication). In order to reduce the hardware overhead, the multiplications of 16/32 point DCT are implemented with ICM (input-muxed constant multipliers) instead of MCM or regular multipliers. The proposed design is 51% more area efficient than previous work. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first published work to support both forward and inverse 4/8/16/32-point
Getting Agents to Negotiate Good Deals: A Progress Report

negotiation, bargaining, negotiation strategies One aspect of web services is automating processes formerly done by people. One such process is negotiation. Automating negotiations requires that we be able to specify what we want, and the software needs a strategy for achieving a good result. This work focuses on developing a negotiating strategy, but problems in description, defining utility, and estimating the other party's goals are also addressed. Although much work remains to be done, this report describes the progress made to date.
Increased presence of Epstein–Barr virus DNA in ocular fluid samples from HIV negative immunocompromised patients with uveitis

AIMS To investigate whether routine testing for Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is necessary in the examination of a patient with uveitis. METHODS Intraocular EBV DNA was determined in 183 ocular fluid samples taken from patients with AIDS and uveitis, HIV negative immunocompromised uveitis, acute retinal necrosis, toxoplasma chorioretinitis, intraocular lymphoma, anterior uveitis, and miscellaneous uveitis of unknown cause. In 82 samples from this group of patients paired serum/ocular fluid analysis was performed to detect local antibody production against EBV. Controls (n=46) included ocular fluid samples taken during surgery for diabetic retinopathy, macular pucker, or cataract. RESULTS Serum antibody titres to EBV capsid antigen proved to be significantly increased in HIV negative immunocompromised patients with uveitis (p<0.01) compared with controls. Local antibody production revealed only three positive cases out of 82 patients tested, two results were borderline positive and one patient had uveitis caused by VZV. EBV DNA was detected in three out of 46 control ocular fluid samples. In the different uveitis groups EBV DNA was noted, but was not significantly higher than in the controls, except in six out of 11 HIV negative immunocompromised patients (p=0.0008). In four out of these six cases another infectious agent (VZV, HSV, CMV, or Toxoplasma gondii) had previously been identified as the cause of the uveitis. CONCLUSIONS When comparing various groups of uveitis patients, EBV DNA was found more often in HIV negative immunocompromised patients with uveitis. Testing for EBV does not have to be included in the routine management of patients with uveitis, since indications for an important role of this virus were not found in the pathogenesis of intraocular inflammation.