Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel set of structures within the elasmobranch, ovarian follicle

Elasmobranch fishes produce some of the largest oocytes known, exceeding 10 cm in diameter. Using various microscopy techniques we investigated the structural adaptations which facilitate the production of these large egg cells in three species of shark: the Atlantic sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, dusky smoothound, Mustelus canis and the little gulper shark, Centrophorus uyato. The ovarian follicle of elasmobranchs follows the typical vertebrate pattern, with one notable exception; the zona pellucida reaches extreme widths, over 70 μm, during early oogenesis. Contact between the follicle cells and the oocyte across the zona pellucida is necessary for oogenesis. We describe here a novel set of large, tube‐like structures, which we named follicle cell processes that bridge this gap. The follicle cell processes are more robust than the microvilli associated with the follicle cells and the oocyte plasma membrane and much longer. During early oogenesis the follicle increases in size relatively quickly resulting in a wide zona pellucida. At this stage the follicle cell processes appear taut, uniform and radially oriented. As oogenesis continues the zona pellucida narrows and the follicle cell processes change their orientation, appearing to wrap around the oocyte. The presence of the contractile protein actin within the follicle cell processes and their change in orientation may well be an adaptation for maintaining the integrity of these large oocytes. The follicle cell processes also contain electron dense material, identical to material found within the follicle cells, suggesting a role in the transport of metabolites to the developing oocyte. J. Morphol. , 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
IP–Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) performance evaluation and benchmarking

Evaluating the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) Performance is very important due to the critical role it plays in the Next Generation Network (NGN) of the Fixed and Mobile Networks. This paper proposes three robust and scalable methods that can be used to evaluate the performance, the Compliance of the IMS controllers and benchmark their different vendors. These methods are, Performance Test, FUZZING Test and the test using Spectra 2|SE tool. These issues are studied experimentally, using Open SIP Express Router (OpenSER), a high performance open source SIP server and SIPp, the de-facto standard for SIP performance benchmarking. It also provides the test results for Open SIP Express Router (OpenSER).
Validation of a diagnostic approach to exclude recurrent venous thromboembolism

Summary. Introduction: The diagnosis of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a challenge in clinical practice. Our objective was to evaluate the safety of a diagnostic strategy utilizing comparison of diagnostic test results with baseline imaging results to rule out suspected recurrent VTE. Methods: The REVERSE study was a prospective cohort study whose primary aim was to develop a clinical prediction rule for recurrent VTE. We included and followed patients who completed 5–7 months of anticoagulant therapy after a first unprovoked VTE. Suspected cases of recurrent VTE were assessed according to standardized diagnostic criteria based on comparison of diagnostic test results with those obtained at the time of anticoagulant treatment withdrawal. Results: Out of the 398 suspected events, a recurrent VTE was diagnosed in 106 cases (26.6%) and excluded in 292 cases. In 76 cases (19%), the diagnosis of recurrent VTE was excluded on the basis of the fact that no significant change on diagnostic imaging was detected when compared to baseline imaging. During the ensuing 3 months, six patients received anticoagulant therapy after recurrent VTE was excluded, and two were lost to follow‐up. Eight of 284 remaining patients in whom recurrent VTE had been excluded, who were not treated and who were not lost to follow‐up were diagnosed with subsequent VTE (3‐month risk, 2.8%; 95% confidence interval, 1.4–5.5%). Six of these eight patients with subsequent recurrent VTE had a known superficial or distal thrombosis at the time of initial suspected recurrent VTE. Conclusion: A diagnostic strategy comparing diagnostic test results obtained at the time of the suspected recurrent event with those obtained at baseline can safely and effectively rule out recurrent VTE in a significant proportion of patients. Registered at http://www.clinicaltrials. gov identifier: NCT00261014.
Coordinated Qos Aware User Scheduling And Power Allocation Scheme For Ofdma System

In recent years many papers have been published for energy-efficient resource allocation in a cellular OFDMA system. In this paper we carried out combined user scheduling and power optimization based on per subcarrier or per base station for each with maximum transmits power in coordinated BS. Here three definitions of the energy efficiency are considered for system design with channel rate and the power level. The resources allocation and power allocation are optimized across a cluster of coordinated base stations with a constraint on the maximum transmit power (either per subcarrier or per base station). And we prove the efficiency of quality of service aware channel allocation gives better performance over conventional packet scheduling for OFDMA users. And the maximization of the energy efficiency is approximately equivalent to the maximization of the spectral efficiency for small values of the maximum transmit power and moderate reduction of the data rate leads a larger saving of energy. Also, the performance gap among the considered QOS aware resource allocation strategies over power level based user scheduling reduces the scope of energy centric OFDMA scheduling methods.
The design of a practical and reliable fall detector for community and institutional telecare

Falls are one of the greatest obstacles to independent living for frail and elderly people. Their early detection is an important step in providing people with the reassurance and confidence necessary to maintain an active lifestyle. We have investigated a worn fall detector linked to a community alarm system. A worn device is the only one which is satisfactory, provided that it generates few false alarms. The fall detector we have developed is the size of a small radio pager. It uses a two-stage detection process which senses shock and the orientation of the wearer. A fall is detected within 20 s and triggers a radio signal to a community alarm system. Tests were devised using a jointed mannequin to simulate five modes of falling to understand the effects of impact at different parts of the body. This allowed us to select the appropriate trigger threshold and wearing positions for the sensor. Prototypes were evaluated with 20 people to observe false alarms. The final design allowed reliable detection in 180 different falling scenarios.
Computational Characterization of 3′ Splice Variants in the GFAP Isoform Family

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is an intermediate filament (IF) protein specific to central nervous system (CNS) astrocytes. It has been the subject of intense interest due to its association with neurodegenerative diseases, and because of growing evidence that IF proteins not only modulate cellular structure, but also cellular function. Moreover, GFAP has a family of splicing isoforms apparently more complex than that of other CNS IF proteins, consistent with it possessing a range of functional and structural roles. The gene consists of 9 exons, and to date all isoforms associated with 3′ end splicing have been identified from modifications within intron 7, resulting in the generation of exon 7a (GFAPδ/ε) and 7b (GFAPκ). To better understand the nature and functional significance of variation in this region, we used a Bayesian multiple change-point approach to identify conserved regions. This is the first successful application of this method to a single gene – it has previously only been used in whole-genome analyses. We identified several highly or moderately conserved regions throughout the intron 7/7a/7b regions, including untranslated regions and regulatory features, consistent with the biology of GFAP. Several putative unconfirmed features were also identified, including a possible new isoform. We then integrated multiple computational analyses on both the DNA and protein sequences from the mouse, rat and human, showing that the major isoform, GFAPα, has highly conserved structure and features across the three species, whereas the minor isoforms GFAPδ/ε and GFAPκ have low conservation of structure and features at the distal 3′ end, both relative to each other and relative to GFAPα. The overall picture suggests distinct and tightly regulated functions for the 3′ end isoforms, consistent with complex astrocyte biology. The results illustrate a computational approach for characterising splicing isoform families, using both DNA and protein sequences.
Do Humans Optimally Exploit Redundancy to Control Step Variability in Walking?

It is widely accepted that humans and animals minimize energetic cost while walking. While such principles predict average behavior, they do not explain the variability observed in walking. For robust performance, walking movements must adapt at each step, not just on average. Here, we propose an analytical framework that reconciles issues of optimality, redundancy, and stochasticity. For human treadmill walking, we defined a goal function to formulate a precise mathematical definition of one possible control strategy: maintain constant speed at each stride. We recorded stride times and stride lengths from healthy subjects walking at five speeds. The specified goal function yielded a decomposition of stride-to-stride variations into new gait variables explicitly related to achieving the hypothesized strategy. Subjects exhibited greatly decreased variability for goal-relevant gait fluctuations directly related to achieving this strategy, but far greater variability for goal-irrelevant fluctuations. More importantly, humans immediately corrected goal-relevant deviations at each successive stride, while allowing goal-irrelevant deviations to persist across multiple strides. To demonstrate that this was not the only strategy people could have used to successfully accomplish the task, we created three surrogate data sets. Each tested a specific alternative hypothesis that subjects used a different strategy that made no reference to the hypothesized goal function. Humans did not adopt any of these viable alternative strategies. Finally, we developed a sequence of stochastic control models of stride-to-stride variability for walking, based on the Minimum Intervention Principle. We demonstrate that healthy humans are not precisely “optimal,” but instead consistently slightly over-correct small deviations in walking speed at each stride. Our results reveal a new governing principle for regulating stride-to-stride fluctuations in human walking that acts independently of, but in parallel with, minimizing energetic cost. Thus, humans exploit task redundancies to achieve robust control while minimizing effort and allowing potentially beneficial motor variability.
Hepatocyte transplantation in acute liver failure

The majority of patients with acute liver failure (ALF) die waiting for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). No other treatment modality is shown to improve survival. This study was conducted to assess the safety and feasibility of hepatocyte transplantation (HT) and subsequent engraftment and function of donor cells. Functional and structural integrity of cryopreserved and thawed human hepatocytes were assessed by their morphological characteristics, induction of P‐4501A1 transcription, and survival in vivo by xenotransplantation into rats. Five patients with severe ALF underwent intrasplenic (4 patients) and/or intrahepatic (2 patients) HT through angiography under cyclosporine immunosuppression. All patients had grade III to IV encephalopathy and factor V levels less than 0.5 U/mL, were ventilator and dialysis dependent, and were not OLT candidates. Three of the 5 patients who survived 48 hours after HT had substantial improvement in encephalopathy scores, arterial ammonia levels, and prothrombin times. Clinical improvement was paralleled by an increase in aminopyrine and caffeine clearances. All 3 patients lived substantially longer than expected based on clinical experience after HT (12, 28, and 52 days) but eventually died. Postmortem examination showed the presence of transplanted hepatocytes in liver and spleen by light microscopy and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Cryopreserved and thawed human hepatocytes can be transplanted into recipients with ALF with some acceptable but definite complications. Engraftment of donor hepatocytes was proven by histological examination and FISH by both transjugular biopsy and at autopsy. Improvement in brain edema, encephalopathy grade, and clearance of antipyrine and caffeine suggested function, albeit with a 24‐ to 72‐hour delay posttransplantation.
Geometry of information propagation in massively dense ad hoc networks

Using the fact that effective wireless range decreases in inverse function of local traffic density, we show that a variable traffic density impacts the curvature of paths in a dense wireless ad hoc network the same way a variable optical density bends light paths. We set up the general laws that paths must satisfy in presence of traffic flow density. We give some example of tractable network traffic topologies.
What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen—Detecting Auxin In Vivo

Auxins mediate various processes that are involved in plant growth and development in response to specific environmental conditions. Its proper spatio-temporal distribution that is driven by polar auxin transport machinery plays a crucial role in the wide range of auxins physiological effects. Numbers of approaches have been developed to either directly or indirectly monitor auxin distribution in vivo in order to elucidate the basis of its precise regulation. Herein, we provide an updated list of valuable techniques used for monitoring auxins in plants, with their utilities and limitations. Because the spatial and temporal resolutions of the presented approaches are different, their combination may provide a comprehensive outcome of auxin distribution in diverse developmental processes.
The psychology serious game prototype for preschool children

Computer games are more and more used for serious purposes not only for entertainment. In few last years we can observe very fast market development of serious games. They are used to education, simulation, research, health and therapy purposes. This paper describes the prototype of the game in psychology Mission — Master Your Fear. This game is a serious game based on a specialist scenario with some therapeutic goals. This game focuses on issues and problems of preschool children.
Understanding the experiences of women in jazz: A suggested model

Jazz has long been recognized as a male-dominated field, with females traditionally having only limited acceptance, often in the roles of singer and pianist. Researchers have explored sources of the gender imbalance in the field of jazz and jazz education, but there is no theory or framework to organize such findings. This directed content analysis of the journal Jazz Changes, the official magazine of the International Association of Schools of Jazz published from 1994 to 2000, analyzed published answers to the following question posited by the journal editors, “Women in Jazz: Why aren’t there more women in jazz education? ” Analysis suggests a model including three social-psychological theories to describe the female experience in jazz. The theories include Rosabeth Kanter’s theory of tokenism, which describes a learning environment that females might perceive or experience in jazz; Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson’s theory of stereotype threat, which offers insight into why female musicians might make a choice to not participate, or discontinue participation, in the jazz idiom; and Albert Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, which is offered as a possible guide to providing instruction in jazz that fosters female participation. These theories are offered together as a model framework for future study of both historical and present experiences in gender and jazz.
Fault-tolerance of basis function networks using tensor product stabilizers

Neural networks are intended to be used in future nanoelectronics since these architectures seem to be fault-tolerant to malfunctioning elements and robust to noise. In this paper, the robustness to noise of basis function networks using tensor product stabilizers is analyzed and upper bounds of the mean square error under noise contaminated weights or inputs are determined. Furthermore, consequences of permanently malfunctioning neurons are investigated and their impact on the mean squared error is analyzed. To achieve a reliable operation of the neural network necessary restrictions are introduced. Finally, the impact of technical realizations is investigated and its complexity is compared to radial basis functions.
La production institutionnelle du racisme : Le racisme à l'œuvre

On constate une participation croissante des institutions a la production du racisme. Celles-ci sont en effet amenees a gerer des situations en rapide changement, qu'elles ne sont pas preparees a affronter et qui ne sont pas en accord avec les ideaux sur lesquels elles sont fondees. Les diverses formes de racisme se nourissent de ces contradictions, particulierement perverses en France ou l'on discrimine des populations au pretexte de leur difference culturelle, difference qui n'a theoriquement pas d'existence dans l'espace public
N-type Calcium Channel in the Pathogenesis of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis*

One of the family of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC), the N-type Ca2+ channel, is located predominantly in neurons and is associated with a variety of neuronal responses, including neurodegeneration. A precise mechanism for how the N-type Ca2+ channel plays a role in neurodegenerative disease, however, is unknown. In this study, we immunized N-type Ca2+ channel α1B-deficient (α1B−/−) mice and their wild type (WT) littermates with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 35–55 and analyzed the progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The neurological symptoms of EAE in the α1B−/− mice were less severe than in the WT mice. In conjunction with these results, sections of the spinal cord (SC) from α1B−/− mice revealed a reduction in both leukocytic infiltration and demyelination compared with WT mice. No differences were observed in the delayed-type hypersensitivity response, spleen cell proliferation, or cytokine production from splenocytes between the two genotypes. On the other hand, Western blot array analysis and RT-PCR revealed that a typical increase in the expression of MCP-1 in the SC showed a good correlation with the infiltration of leukocytes into the SC. Likewise, immunohistochemical analysis showed that the predominant source of MCP-1 was activated microglia. The cytokine-induced production of MCP-1 in primary cultured microglia from WT mice was significantly higher than that from α1B−/− mice and was significantly inhibited by a selective N-type Ca2+ channel antagonist, ω-conotoxin GVIA or a withdrawal of extracellular Ca2+. These results suggest that the N-type Ca2+ channel is involved in the pathogenesis of EAE at least in part by regulating MCP-1 production by microglia.
Differential Inhibition of Nuclear Hormone Receptor-Dependent Hepatitis B Virus Replication by the Small Heterodimer Partner

ABSTRACT The nuclear hormone receptors hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 (HNF4) and retinoid X receptor α (RXRα) plus peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) heterodimer support hepatitis B virus (HBV) pregenomic RNA synthesis and viral replication in nonhepatoma cells. Small heterodimer partner (SHP), an orphan nuclear hormone receptor lacking a DNA binding domain, inhibits nuclear hormone receptor-mediated viral transcription and replication. The inhibition of HBV replication by SHP is dependent on the presence of nuclear hormone receptors. HBV replication that is dependent on HNF4 is considerably more sensitive to SHP-mediated inhibition than RXRα/PPARα-directed viral biosynthesis. SHP inhibition of HBV biosynthesis in HepG2 cells suggests that multiple nuclear hormone receptors mediate viral replication in this human hepatoma cell line. These observations suggest that the physiological regulation of HBV biosynthesis by SHP in the liver will depend on both the level of SHP expression and the relative contribution of HNF4 and RXRα/PPARα, plus potentially additional nuclear hormone receptors, to HBV RNA synthesis and replication.
Quantifying Variation of Soil Arthropods Using Different Sampling Protocols: Is Diversity Affected?

In ecological studies, the use of different sampling methods for the same purpose influence data quality and thus the resulting conclusions (Coddington et al. 1996; Fisher 1999). For example, to collect arthropods from soil and litter samples a soil corer or a shovel may be used. Soil corers compact the soil (Meyer 1996) making difficult for organisms to leave the sample while shovels create a large disturbance (Longino et al. 2002) promoting mobile organisms to leave and reducing their apparent abundance in the sample. As a consequence the diversity of collected arthropods will vary between these two procedures, resulting in either an underor overestimate of the diversity of the collected fauna (Andre et al. 2002). These different results will lead the researcher to infer different conclusions. Therefore it is essential to assess how different procedures affect the abundance, richness and species composition of the retrieved arthropods.
The Value Learning Problem

Autonomous AI systems’ programmed goals can easily fall short of programmers’ intentions. Even a machine intelligent enough to understand its de-signers’ intentions would not necessarily act as intended. We discuss early ideas on how one might design smarter-than-human AI systems that can inductively learn what to value from labeled training data, and highlight questions about the construction of systems that model and act upon their operators’ preferences.
Joint Beamforming and Scheduling for a MIMO Downlink with Random Arrivals

We study a number of downlink signaling strategies under perfect and non-perfect channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) for the case of random packet arrivals. Under this setting, the relevant fairness criterion is the stabilization of all buffer queues which guarantees a bounded average delay for all users. In the case of perfect CSIT, different linear beamforming schemes are compared with the stability optimal policy based on dirty-paper coding (DPC). It is found that simple linear beamforming schemes with greedy user selection achieve near DPC performance in terms of the average delay. In the case of non-perfect CSIT due to a delayed feedback, we propose a novel greedy beamforming (heuristic) scheme together with "analog feedback" of CSI, where each user sends back its estimated channel vector without quantizing and coding. The proposed scheme outperforms the previously proposed schemes such as opportunistic beamforming and requires a similar feedback overhead