Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regulation of Synaptic Connectivity: Levels of Fasciclin II Influence Synaptic Growth in the Drosophila CNS

Much of our understanding of synaptogenesis comes from studies that deal with the development of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Although well studied, it is not clear how far the NMJ represents an adequate model for the formation of synapses within the CNS. Here we investigate the role of Fasciclin II (Fas II) in the development of synapses between identified motor neurons and cholinergic interneurons in the CNS of Drosophila. Fas II is a neural cell adhesion molecule homolog that is involved in both target selection and synaptic plasticity at the NMJ in Drosophila. In this study, we show that levels of Fas II are critical determinants of synapse formation and growth in the CNS. The initial establishment of synaptic contacts between these identified neurons is seemingly independent of Fas II. The subsequent proliferation of these synaptic connections that occurs postembryonically is, in contrast, significantly retarded by the absence of Fas II. Although the initial formation of synaptic connectivity between these neurons is seemingly independent of Fas II, we show that their formation is, nevertheless, significantly affected by manipulations that alter the relative balance of Fas II in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons. Increasing expression of Fas II in either the presynaptic or postsynaptic neurons, during embryogenesis, is sufficient to disrupt the normal level of synaptic connectivity that occurs between these neurons. This effect of Fas II is isoform specific and, moreover, phenocopies the disruption to synaptic connectivity observed previously after tetanus toxin light chain-dependent blockade of evoked synaptic vesicle release in these neurons.
Count-based PET method for predicting ischemic stroke in patients with symptomatic carotid arterial occlusion.

PURPOSE To test the ability of a count-based positron emission tomographic (PET) method, without arterial sampling, for the measurement of regional cerebral oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) to predict ischemic stroke in patients with symptomatic carotid arterial occlusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS The outcome analysis of a blinded prospective study designed to determine if increased OEF was an independent predictor of stroke in patients with symptoms and with carotid occlusion was repeated by substituting a count-based method of OEF measurement for the original quantitative technique. The performance of the quantitative and count-based methods was assessed by using Kaplan-Meier cumulative survival functions (log-rank, [p < .05]). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for both methods were generated. RESULTS Thirteen ipsilateral strokes occurred during a mean follow-up of 3.1 years for 81 patients. All ipsilateral strokes occurred in 50 patients with increased count-based OEF (P = .002, sensitivity 100%, specificity 46%). Sixty-eight patients underwent complete quantitative studies, which allowed comparison of OEF methods. Both the count-based and the quantitative methods were predictive of stroke in this subgroup (P = .005 and .025, respectively). ROC analysis demonstrated a greater area under the curve for the count-based OEF method. CONCLUSION Count-based PET measurement of OEF without arterial sampling accurately predicts stroke in patients with carotid occlusion.
A 0.06mm2 14nV/√Hz chopper instrumentation amplifier with automatic differential-pair matching

A small-area low-power low-noise instrumentation amplifier (IA) is desired in arrayed sensor devices that are used for high-spatial-resolution biomedical and environment monitoring systems. This paper presents a 0.06mm2 chopper-stabilized current-feedback IA with 13.5nV/√Hz input-referred noise and less than 3. 5μV offset voltage. For significantly reducing the ripple due to chopping, the proposed IA uses a novel digital calibration scheme, namely, automatic differential-pair matching (ADPM), which enables a small die area and low-power operation. The proposed IA is implemented in a standard 0. 18μm CMOS and achieves a noise efficiency factor (NEF) of 7.2 while drawing 194μA. The active area of the IA is 7.8× smaller than that of the state-of-the-art [1-5] while it maintains low output ripple, low noise, and low power.
Subtle structural variation in copper metal-organic frameworks: syntheses, structures, magnetic properties and catalytic behaviour.

Two new copper metal-organic frameworks containing 5-nitro-1,3-benzenedicarboxylate (5-nbdc) have been prepared from the reaction between Cu(NO(3))(2). 3H(2)O and H(2)(5-nbdc) in DMF at different temperatures. Single crystal X-ray structures of {[Cu(2)(5-nbdc)(2)(DMF)(2)]. 2DMF}(infinity) () and {[Cu(2)(5-nbdc)(2)(DMF)(2)]. 3(1/3)DMF}(infinity) () revealed similar sheet structures, containing triangular and hexagonal pores, but differences in the stacking of the sheets. Magnetic measurements on and are consistent with antiferromagnetic dimers containing a small quantity of paramagnetic impurity. The desolvated forms of and were applied as Lewis acid catalysts in the acetylation of methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate. When the reaction between Cu(NO(3))(2). 3H(2)O and H(2)(5-nbdc) was carried out in a mixture of DMF and water, the reaction gave metallomacrocycles of formula [Cu(6)(5-nbdc)(6)(H(2)O)(12)(DMF)(6)] (). These assemble through hydrogen-bonding interactions to form a gross structure in which the macrocycle pores align into channels. The reaction between Cu(NO(3))(2). 3H(2)O and 5-methylsulfanylmethyl-1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid, H(2)(5-msbdc), in DMF-water gave {[Cu(2)(5-msbdc)(2)(OH(2))(2)]. 3DMF}(infinity) (), which contains similar sheets to those in and , whereas the reaction with 5-amino-1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid, H(2)(5-abdc), gave {[Cu(2)(5-abdc)(2)(DMF)(2)]}(infinity) (), which has a previously reported network based on sheets containing rhombohedral pores. The reaction between Cu(NO(3))(2). 3H(2)O and 2-methoxy-1,3-benzenedicarboxylic acid, H(2)(2-mbdc), in DMF gave [Cu(2)(2-mbdc)(2)(DMF)(2)] (). The presence of the substituent in the 2-position removes the co-planarity of the carboxylate groups, and the sheet structure adopted by contains rhomboidal pores.
SecBus, a Software/Hardware Architecture for Securing External Memories

Embedded systems are ubiquitous nowadays. In many cases, they manipulate sensitive applications or data and may be the target of logical or physical attacks. On systems that contain a System-on-Chip connected to an external memory, which is the case of numerous medium to large-size embedded systems, the content of this memory is relatively easy to retrieve or modify. This attack can be performed by probing the memory bus, dumping the content of the memory (cold boot attack) or by exploiting flaws in DMA-capable devices. Thus, if the embedded system manipulates sensitive applications or data, the confidentiality and the integrity of data in memory shall be protected. SecBus is a combined hardware/software architecture that guarantees these two security properties. This paper describes the different software components that are in charge of the management of the SecBus platform, from the early initialization to their use by the sensitive applications.
Oral Mucosal Smokeless Tobacco Lesions among Adolescents in the United States

The presence of oral smokeless tobacco lesions among adolescents may be an early indicator of increased risk for oral cancers. Data from the 1986-1987 National Survey of Oral Health in US School Children were used to examine the cross-sectional relationship between the use of tobacco and alcohol and the presence of white or whitish oral soft-tissue lesions. The sample included 17,027 schoolchildren (aged 12 to 17 years) who provided information on the use of snuff, chewing tobacco, cigarettes, and alcohol and who received oral clinical examinations. Smokeless tobacco lesions were detected in 1.5% of students (projects to about 300,000 nationally), including 2.9% of males and 0.1% of females. These lesions were more prevalent among whites (2.0%) than among African-Americans (0.2%) or Hispanics (0.8%). Modeling with multivariate logistic regression revealed that, among white males, current snuff use was the strongest correlate of lesions [odds ratio (OR) = 18.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 8.5-39.8], followed by current chewing tobacco use [OR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.3-5.0]. Lesions were strongly associated with duration, monthly frequency, and daily minutes of use of snuff and chewing tobacco. These data suggest that snuff may be a stronger risk factor than chewing tobacco for smokeless tobacco lesions, but the use of either of these forms of oral tobacco exhibits a dose-response relationship with the occurrence of lesions. We found little evidence that the use of alcohol or cigarettes may increase the risk of smokeless tobacco lesions. Preventing smokeless tobacco lesions and their possible malignant transformation may be best accomplished among adolescents by preventing the use of snuff and chewing tobacco.
Treatment with anti-interleukin-10 monoclonal antibody enhances early resistance to but impairs complete clearance of Listeria monocytogenes infection in mice

Mice that received an anti-interleukin-10 (anti-IL-10) neutralizing monoclonal antibody (MAb) (SXC-1) prior to infection with Listeria monocytogenes initially demonstrated resistance to the infection, as indicated by reduced recovery of L. monocytogenes from their spleens and livers during the first 5 days after challenge. Anti-IL-10 MAb-treated mice then demonstrated reduced resistance during the later stage of infection, as indicated by persistent infection with L. monocytogenes in their livers 11 days after challenge. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels (a measure of liver damage) in the sera of control mice increased between 1 and 5 days after challenge, while anti-IL-10 MAb-treated mice maintained lower AST levels. At 7 days after challenge, AST levels in the sera of control mice decreased as the numbers of organisms declined. In contrast, AST levels increased as the infections persisted in anti-IL-10 MAb-treated mice. The AST levels in serum reflected liver histopathology as anti-IL-10 MAb-treated mice exhibited fewer granulomatous lesions and less necrosis of liver tissue than the control mice during the first 5 days after challenge. Anti-IL-10 MAb treatment altered the expression of inflammatory cytokine mRNAs during L. monocytogenes infection. Control MAb-treated mice exhibited increased expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor mRNA in their lives during L. monocytogenes infection, but this increase did not occur in anti-IL-10 MAb-treated mice. Gamma interferon mRNA expression in the livers of the control MAb-treated mice was increased between 1 and 5 days after L. monocytogenes challenge and then decreased at 7 days after challenge. In contrast, gamma interferon mRNA expression in the livers of anti-IL-10 MAb-treated mice was not decreased until 7 days after challenge. These results indicate that endogenous IL-10 has both beneficial and detrimental effects on the host response to L. monocytogenes infection in mice.
Versatile Tunable Current-Mode Universal Biquadratic Filter Using MO-DVCCs and MOSFET-Based Electronic Resistors

This paper presents a versatile tunable current-mode universal biquadratic filter with four-input and three-output employing only two multioutput differential voltage current conveyors (MO-DVCCs), two grounded capacitors, and a well-known method for replacement of three grounded resistors by MOSFET-based electronic resistors. The proposed configuration exhibits high-output impedance which is important for easy cascading in the current-mode operations. The proposed circuit can be used as either a two-input three-output circuit or a three-input single-output circuit. In the operation of two-input three-output circuit, the bandpass, highpass, and bandreject filtering responses can be realized simultaneously while the allpass filtering response can be easily obtained by connecting appropriated output current directly without using additional stages. In the operation of three-input single-output circuit, all five generic filtering functions can be easily realized by selecting different three-input current signals. The filter permits orthogonal controllability of the quality factor and resonance angular frequency, and no inverting-type input current signals are imposed. All the passive and active sensitivities are low. Postlayout simulations were carried out to verify the functionality of the design.
Introduction of H-2Dd determinants into the H-2Ld antigen by site- directed mutagenesis

We used site-directed mutagenesis to localize serologically defined (s) and CTL (c)-defined alloantigenic determinants to discrete amino acid sequences of a murine MHC class I antigen. Based on the prediction that amino acid position 63-73 of the H-2Dd antigen forms s- allodeterminants, the H-2Ld gene was mutated in a sequential fashion to replace codons for amino acid positions 63, 65, 66, 70, and 73 with those of the H-2Dd amino acids. Epitopes of the mutant antigens expressed in L-cells were examined by the binding of a series of mAbs specific for the H-2Dd antigen. The mutant antigen M66 had substitutions at residues 63, 65, and 66, and resulted in the acquisition of a number of H-2Dd-specific s-epitopes. Mutant M70 had an additional substitution at residue 70, which led to the gain of multiple additional H-2Dd s-epitopes. Together, more than half of all the relevant H-2Dd s-epitopes were mapped into amino acid position 63- 70 of the H-2Dd molecule, which was expressed in the mutant H-2Ld gene. The final mutation at residue 73 (M73) caused no new epitope gains, rather, a few Dd s-epitopes acquired by the preceding mutations were lost. All of the H-2Ld-specific s-determinants were retained in the mutant molecules, as were H-2Dd s-determinants specific for the alpha-2 or alpha-3 domains. Changes of these residues affected c-determinants defined by CTL. Anti-H-2Dd CTL cultures and an anti-H-2Dd CTL clone recognized the mutant H-2Ld molecules, M66 and M70. Some CTL clones generated against the Q10d molecule, which has an identical sequence to H-2Dd between residues 61 and 73, failed to recognize native H-2Dd or Ld but did crossreact with mutant Ld. While bulk-cultured anti-H-2Ld CTL cultures reacted strongly against M73, bulk-cultured H-2Ld restricted anti-vesicular stomatitis virus CTL did not. Finally, at the clonal level two of three anti-H-2Ld CTL clones lost reactivity with some or all of these mutant molecules. From these results we conclude that a stretch of amino acids from position 63 to 70 of the alpha-1 domain controls major s- and c-antigenic sites on the H-2Dd antigen and c-sites on H-2Ld antigen.
Judgment under uncertainty: A progress report on the training of probability assessors

In prescriptive analyses of decisions under uncertainty, decision makers and their expert advisors are often called upon to assess judgmental probability distributions of quantities whose values are unknown to them. This chapter discusses some empirical findings addressed to such questions as: How well can untrained individuals perform such assessments? Do they manifest certain recurrent biases? How can assessors be calibrated? How can they be taught to become better assessors? This chapter deals only with assessments of uncertain quantities that can be thought of as taking on a continuum of possible values. Hence we shall work exclusively with univariate density functions and their cumulative distribution functions. Several different procedures are available for assessing probability distributions of continuous, univariate random variables, but we shall consider only one particular procedure that we and our colleagues have often used in practice. It is called the method of direct fractile assessments .
Detecting sarcasm in customer tweets: an NLP based approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study sarcasm in online text – specifically on twitter – to better understand customer opinions about social issues, products, services, etc. This can be immensely helpful in reducing incorrect classification of consumer sentiment toward issues, products and services. Design/methodology/approach In this study, 5,000 tweets were downloaded and analyzed. Relevant features were extracted and supervised learning algorithms were applied to identify the best differentiating features between a sarcastic and non-sarcastic sentence. Findings The results using two different classification algorithms, namely, Naive Bayes and maximum entropy show that function words and content words together are most effective in identifying sarcasm in tweets. The most differentiating features between a sarcastic and a non-sarcastic tweet were identified. Practical implications Understanding the use of sarcasm in tweets let companies do better sentiment analysis and product recommendations for users. This could help businesses attract new customers and retain the old ones resulting in better customer management. Originality/value This paper uses novel features to identify sarcasm in online text which is one of the most challenging problems in natural language processing. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on sarcasm detection from a customer management perspective.
On the use of shadows in stance recovery

The image of an object and of the shadow it casts on a planar surface provides important cues for three‐dimensional (3D) stance recovery. We assume that the position of the plane on which the shadow lies with respect to a pinhole camera is known and that the position of the light source is unknown. If the light source is sufficiently far away that parallel projection may be assumed, then knowledge of two point correspondences between images of feature points and images of their shadows is enough to determine the position of the object and the direction of the light source. If the light source is close enough that the shadow points are obtained via perspective projection, then there is a one‐parameter infinite family of solutions for the position of the object and the light source. Determining the stance of an object is highly sensitive to noise, so we provide algorithms for stance recovery that take into account known information about the object. In our experiments, the errors for the location of the 3D feature points obtained by these algorithms are generally less than 0.2% times the error in pixels in the image points and the errors for the 3D directions of the links is roughly 0.04° times the error in pixels, normalized by the distance to the object from the camera and the length of the link. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 11, 315–330, 2000
A micro‐sphere‐based remodelling formulation for anisotropic biological tissues

Soft biological tissues possess a pronounced composite‐type multi‐scale structure together with strongly anisotropic mechanical properties. A fibre‐like network structure is characteristic for this kind of materials. If the tissue is exposed to mechanical loading, the initially possibly unstructured collagen fibre network tends to reorient with the local dominant stretch direction – it adapts according to the particular loading conditions. In general, biological tissues exhibit changes in mass, also denoted as growth, and internal structure, which is commonly referred to as remodelling. In this regard, an anisotropic micromechanically motivated model that incorporates such time‐dependent remodelling effects will be discussed in this contribution. (© 2009 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Steady finite-Reynolds-number flows in three-dimensional collapsible tubes

A fully coupled finite-element method is used to investigate the steady flow of a viscous fluid through a thin-walled elastic tube mounted between two rigid tubes. The steady three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations are solved simultaneously with the equations of geometrically nonlinear Kirchhoff–Love shell theory. If the transmural (internal minus external) pressure acting on the tube is sufficiently negative then the tube buckles non-axisymmetrically and the subsequent large deformations lead to a strong interaction between the fluid and solid mechanics. The main effect of fluid inertia on the macroscopic behaviour of the system is due to the Bernoulli effect, which induces an additional local pressure drop when the tube buckles and its cross-sectional area is reduced. Thus, the tube collapses more strongly than it would in the absence of fluid inertia. Typical tube shapes and flow fields are presented. In strongly collapsed tubes, at finite values of the Reynolds number, two ’jets‘ develop downstream of the region of strongest collapse and persist for considerable axial distances. For sufficiently high values of the Reynolds number, these jets impact upon the sidewalls and spread azimuthally. The consequent azimuthal transport of momentum dramatically changes the axial velocity profiles, which become approximately $\uTheta$-shaped when the flow enters the rigid downstream pipe. Further convection of momentum causes the development of a ring-shaped velocity profile before the ultimate return to a parabolic profile far downstream.
Relative importance of growth and behaviour to elasmobranch suction-feeding performance over early ontogeny

Development of the ability to capture prey is crucial to predator survival. Trends in food-capture performance over early ontogeny were quantified for leopard sharks Triakis semifasciata and whitespotted bamboosharks Chiloscyllium plagiosum by measuring suction pressure and flow in front of the mouth during feeding. At any size, C. plagiosum produce greater subambient pressure and ingest more rounded water parcels. Maximum subambient pressure scaled with negative allometry in T. semifasciata and was accompanied by an increase in the time to reach maximum gape. Despite a similar trend in buccal expansion timing, maximum pressure in C. plagiosum scaled with isometry and was accompanied by an earlier onset of hyoid depression and a positive allometric increase in buccal reserve volume. Growth was the primary factor responsible for developmental trends in both species, with size-independent behavioural changes contributing little to overall performance variability. Ontogenetic dietary shifts are predicted for both species as a consequence of size-dependent changes in performance. Chiloscyllium plagiosum becomes anatomically and behaviourally canalized towards suction feeding, limiting the effective range of prey capture and possibly necessitating stalking. Triakis semifasciata, by contrast, retains the flexibility to employ both ram and suction and therefore captures more elusive prey with age.
An ultra-low-power VAD hardware implementation for intelligent ubiquitous sensor networks

We propose a power management method using a digital voice activity detection (VAD) module for intelligent ubiquitous sensor systems. When this VAD module detects a speech signal, a main signal processing circuit is connected to a power source. When no speech signal is detected, most circuits except VAD are blocked off, thereby reducing stand-by power for the specialized sensor nodes used for speech signal processing. We implemented the VAD algorithm, using zero crossing of input signals to an FPGA, thereby achieving 2.10 mW operation. We synthesized this VAD module using CMOS 0.18-µm process, achieving 3.49 µW power consumption for operation at 1.8 V and 100 kHz.