Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parental Determinants of Emotion Regulation in a Maltreated Sample

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Characteristics of workloads used in high performance and technical computing

This paper provides a systematic comparison of various characteristics of computationally-intensive workloads. Our analysis focuses on standard HPC benchmarks and representative applications. For the selected workloads we provide a wide range of characterizations based on instruction tracing and hardware counter measurements. Each workload is analyzed at the instruction level by comparing the dynamic distribution of executed instructions. We also analyze memory access patterns including various aspects of cache utilization and locality properties of address distributions. Since prefetching plays an important role in the performance of computational workloads, we explore the prefetching potential and for parallel workloads we study the sharing properties of memory accesses. For the purpose of completeness, HPC workloads are compared to two commonly used commercial computing benchmarks. The results of this work show that the HPC application space is surprisingly diverse, with some codes showing similar data sharing and locality properties with commercial applications. The wide range of studies presented in this paper are instrumental in uncovering the diversity of this application space.
Linking Immunity, Epigenetics, and Cancer in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract:Most of what is known about the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pertains to complex interplay between host genetics, immunity, and environmental factors. Epigenetic modifications play pivotal roles in intestinal immunity and mucosal homeostasis as well as mediating gene-environment interactions. In this article, we provide a historical account of epigenetic research either directly related or pertinent to the pathogenesis and management of IBD. We further collate emerging evidence supporting roles for epigenetic mechanisms in relevant aspects of IBD biology, including deregulated immunity, host–pathogen recognition and mucosal integrity. Finally, we highlight key epigenetic mechanisms that link chronic inflammation to specific IBD comorbidities, including colitis-associated cancer and discuss their potential utility as novel biomarkers or pharmacologic targets in IBD therapy.
A pilot study on effects of 4×1 High-Definition tDCS on motor cortex excitability

High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) using specialized small electrodes has been proposed as a focal, non-invasive neuromodulatory technique. Here we provide the first evidence of a change in cortical excitability after HD-tDCS of the motor cortex, using TMS motor evoked potential (MEP) as the measure of excitability. Stimulation for 20 minutes at 1 mA with an anode centered over the hand area of the motor cortex and four surrounding return electrodes (anodal 4×1 montage) produced a significant increase in MEP amplitude and variability after stimulation, compared to sham stimulation. Stimulation was well tolerated by all subjects with adverse effects limited to transient sensation under the electrodes. A high-resolution computational model confirmed predictions of increased focality using the 4×1 HD tDCS montage compared to conventional tDCS. Simulations also indicated that variability in placement of the center electrode relative to the location of the target (central sulcus) could account for increasing variability. These results provide support for the careful use of this technique where focal tDCS is desired.
AP-1 Is Involved in UTP-Induced Osteopontin Expression in Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells

Abstract— Osteopontin (OPN), an RGD-containing extracellular matrix protein, is associated with arterial smooth muscle cell (SMC) activation in vitro and in vivo. Many cytokines and growth factors involved in vessel wall remodeling induce OPN overexpression. Moreover, we recently demonstrated that the extracellular nucleotide UTP also induces OPN expression and that OPN is essential for UTP-mediated SMC migration. Thus, we set out to investigate the mechanisms of OPN expression. The aim of this study was to identify transcription factors involved in the regulation of OPN expression in SMCs. First, we explored the contribution of mRNA stabilization and transcription in the increase of UTP-induced OPN mRNA levels. We show that UTP induced OPN mRNA increases via both OPN mRNA stabilization and OPN promoter activation. Then, to identify transcription factors involved in UTP-induced OPN transcription, we located a promoter element activated by UTP within the rat OPN promoter using a gene reporter assay strategy. The −96 to +1 region mediated UTP-induced OPN overexpression (+276±60%). Sequence analysis of this region revealed a potential site for AP-1 located at −76. When this AP-1 site was deleted, UTP-induced activation of the −96 to +1 region was totally inhibited. Thus, this AP-1 (−76) site is involved in UTP-induced OPN transcription. A supershift assay revealed that both c-Fos and c-Jun bind to this AP-1 site. Finally, we demonstrate that angiotensin II and platelet-derived growth factor, two main factors involved in vessel wall pathology, also modulated OPN expression via AP-1 activation.
Extensible requirements patterns of web application for efficient web application development

Nowadays, web application has been going to be an e-business application. In the e-business environment, reducing time to market is a critical issue. Therefore, web application development process and time to market must be highly accelerated. On the other hand, a lot of redundant works actually occurred in the web application development. This paper presents the solutions for these problems, by proposing an extensible requirements pattern for efficient web application development. By reusing and reconstructing the extensible requirements patterns of web application, we can accelerate time to market and solve redundancy problems in web application development.
Bladder response to urethral flow in the awake ewe *

The flowing of fluid along the urethra can facilitate the bladder micturition contraction, a reflex appropriate to achieve complete bladder emptying. The response has been observed in animals studied in the decerebrate, spinal, or anesthetized intact state but is difficult to demonstrate in awake, healthy humans. The aim of this study was to investigate this reflex in the awake, intact state using urodynamics in the ewe. The animals were fully awake and lay gently restrained on a recording table. The bladder was catheterized, and urethral flows were obtained by slowly injecting saline at the level of the proximal urethra. Bladder and rectal pressure were monitored, and the responses to urethral flow were tested at various bladder volumes. Urethral flows consistently evoked detrusor contractions in all animals. The response started approximately 2 seconds after the beginning of the flow and largely outlasted the stimulus. Its amplitude was similar to that of the bladder‐to‐bladder micturition reflex, and, like the latter, it always required some degree of bladder filling to appear. The reflex was selectively suppressed by local anesthesia of the urethral mucosa, indicating that the effect must originate from urethral receptors. Small urethral flows thus appear to elicit large bladder micturition contractions in awake healthy animals, and the reflex could be quite significant during the normal micturition. That this reflex is found in all studied species further supports the notion that the negative results in normal awake humans are owing to descending inhibitory controls rather than to the lack of appropriate pathways. Neurourol. Urodynam. 20:641–649, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Exploiting Two-Dimensional Group Sparsity in 1-Bit Compressive Sensing

We propose a new approach, {\it two-dimensional fused binary compressive sensing} (2DFBCS) to recover 2D sparse piece-wise signals from 1-bit measurements, exploiting 2D group sparsity for 1-bit compressive sensing recovery. The proposed method is a modified 2D version of the previous {\it binary iterative hard thresholding} (2DBIHT) algorithm, where the objective function includes a 2D one-sided $\ell_1$ (or $\ell_2$) penalty function encouraging agreement with the observed data, an indicator function of $K$-sparsity, and a total variation (TV) or modified TV (MTV) constraint. The subgradient of the 2D one-sided $\ell_1$ (or $\ell_2$) penalty and the projection onto the $K$-sparsity and TV or MTV constraint can be computed efficiently, allowing the appliaction of algorithms of the {\it forward-backward splitting} (a.k.a. {\it iterative shrinkage-thresholding}) family. Experiments on the recovery of 2D sparse piece-wise smooth signals show that the proposed approach is able to take advantage of the piece-wise smoothness of the original signal, achieving more accurate recovery than 2DBIHT. More specifically, 2DFBCS with the MTV and the $\ell_2$ penalty performs best amongst the algorithms tested.
An Examination of the Relationships between Self-consciousness Emotion, Empathy and Anger/Aggression of Male Marital Violence Offenders in Taiwan

In this study, two groups of male adults, marital violence offenders and a comparison group, were recruited to investigate (1) the differences in empathy, shame, and guilt between offenders and comparisons, (2) impacts of empathy, shame, and guilt on the expression of anger/aggression, (3) mediating role of empathy between self-consciousness emotions and anger/aggression expression. The results were, firstly, marital violence offenders showed less guilt, perspective-taking, empathetic concern, but scored higher in anger/aggression expression. Additionally, shame, guilt and perspective-taking were significant in predicting anger/aggression expression for comparison samples. Guilt, perspective-taking and personal distress were significant in predicting anger/aggression expression for marital violence offenders. Thirdly, only for marital violence offenders, both empathy and perspective-taking do mediate the impact of self-consciousness emotion on anger/aggression expression. On the whole, the supporting results suggested that marital violence offenders have deficit in self-consciousness emotions, certain components of empathy, and greater tendency of anger/aggression expression. Both self-consciousness emotions and some empathic components are good predictors for anger/aggression expression. In particular, results substantially support self-conscious emotions-empathy-aggression path model. However, the pathway would vary according to certain types of empathic components and specific population. Both theoretical and practical implications were discussed for future study and clinical works.
Interactive performance monitoring of a composite OLTP and OLAP workload

Online transaction processing (OLTP) and online analytical processing (OLAP) are thought of as two separate domains, despite sharing the same business data to operate on. This is the result of performance impairments encountered in the past when running on the same system, the workloads becoming ever more sophisticated, leading to contradictory optimization in database design. Recent developments in hardware and database systems are bringing forth research prototypes supporting mixed OLTP and OLAP workloads, challenging this separation. At the same time new benchmarks are proposed to assess these mixed workload systems. In the demonstration, we show an interactive performance monitor and benchmark driver developed for the Composite Benchmark for Transaction Processing and Reporting. The performance monitor allows us to directly determine the impact of changing shares within the workload and to interactively assess behavioral characteristics of different database systems under changing mixed workload conditions.
RPT2: A Signal Transducer of the Phototropic Response in Arabidopsis

The blue light receptor NPH1 (for nonphototropic hypocotyl) has been considered to be the only UV-A/blue light receptor that induces a phototropic response by the hypocotyl and root of Arabidopsis. By analysis of root phototropism (rpt) mutants, we show, however, the involvement of another blue light receptor as well as the existence of two separate signaling pathways working downstream of these receptors in the phototropic response. A newly isolated gene, RPT2, controls one of these pathways. The RPT2 gene is light inducible; encodes a novel protein with putative phosphorylation sites, a nuclear localization signal, a BTB/POZ domain, and a coiled-coil domain; and belongs to a large gene family that includes the recently isolated NPH3 gene. From genetic, physiological, and biochemical evidence, we propose a genetic model of the signaling pathways that induce the phototropic response in Arabidopsis.
Transcriptional Repressor HipB Regulates the Multiple Promoters in Escherichia coli

HipB is a DNA-binding protein in Escherichia coli and negatively regulates its own promoter by binding to the palindromic sequences [TATCCN8GGATA (N represents any nucleotides)] on the hipBA promoter. For such sequences, bioinformatic analysis revealed that there are a total of 39 palindromic sequences (TATCCN(x)GGATA: N is any nucleotides and x is the number of nucleotides from 1 to 30) in the promoter regions of 33 genes on the E. coli genome. Notably, eutH and fadH have two and three TATCCN(x)GGATA palindromic sequences located in their promoters, respectively. Another significant finding was that a palindromic sequence was also identified in the promoter region of hipAB locus, known to be involved in the RelA-dependent persister cell formation in bacteria. Here, we demonstrated that HipB binds to the palindromic structures in the eutH, fadH, as well as the relA promoter regions and represses their expressions. We further demonstrated that HipA enhances the repression of the relA promoter activity by HipB. This effect was not observed with D291A HipA mutant which was previously shown to lack an ability to interact with HipB, indicating that HipA enhances the HipB's repressor activity through direct interaction with HipB.
Global Patterns of Influenza A Virus in Wild Birds

The outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N1 subtype in Asia, which has subsequently spread to Russia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, has put increased focus on the role of wild birds in the persistence of influenza viruses. The ecology, epidemiology, genetics, and evolution of pathogens cannot be fully understood without taking into account the ecology of their hosts. Here, we review our current knowledge on global patterns of influenza virus infections in wild birds, discuss these patterns in the context of host ecology and in particular birds' behavior, and identify some important gaps in our current knowledge.
In vivo technique for determining transcriptional mutagenesis.

When an elongating RNA polymerase encounters DNA damage on the template strand of a transcribed gene it can either be arrested by or be transcribed through the lesion. Lesions that arrest RNA polymerases are thought to be subject to transcription-coupled repair, whereas that damage that is bypassed can cause miscoding, resulting in "mutations" in the transcript (transcriptional mutagenesis). We have developed a technique using a plasmid-based luciferase reporter assay to determine the extent to which a particular type of DNA base modification is capable of causing transcriptional mutagenesis in vivo. The system uses Escherichia coli strains with different DNA repair backgrounds and is designed to detect phenotypic changes caused by transcriptional mutagenesis under nongrowth conditions. In addition, this method is capable of indicating the extent to which a particular DNA repair enzyme (or pathway) suppresses the occurrence of transcriptional mutagenesis. Thus, this technique provides a tool with which the effects of various genes on non-replication-dependent pathways resulting in the generation of mutant proteins can be gauged.
Exploring the effects of gaze and pauses in situated human-robot interaction

In this paper, we present a user study where a robot instructs a human on how to draw a route on a map, similar to a Map Task. This setup has allowed us to study user reactions to the robot’s conversational behaviour in order to get a better understanding of how to generate utterances in incremental dialogue systems. We have analysed the participants' subjective rating, task completion, verbal responses, gaze behaviour, drawing activity, and cognitive load. The results show that users utilise the robot’s gaze in order to disambiguate referring expressions and manage the flow of the interaction. Furthermore, we show that the user’s behaviour is affected by how pauses are realised in the robot’s speech.
Universum learning for SVM regression

This paper extends the idea of Universum learning to regression problems. We propose new Universum-SVM formulation for regression problems that incorporates a priori knowledge in the form of additional data samples. These additional data samples, or Universum samples, belong to the same application domain as the training samples, but they follow a different distribution. Several empirical comparisons are presented to illustrate the utility of the proposed approach.
Evolutionary Path to Biological Kernel Machines

A neural implementation of a support vector machine is described and applied to one-shot trainable pattern recognition. The model is compared to anatomical and dynamical properties of the olfactory system. In the olfactory model, inputs from the olfactory bulb are captured and stabilized in the anterior olfactory cortex and the kernel is computed in the posterior piriform cortex. The anterior piriform cortex contains associative memory populated by support vectors. The associative memory oscillates incessantly between support vector states. Misclassified odours are imprinted as new support vector candidates and the machinery is tuned in sleep. It is demonstrated that there is a plausible evolutionary path from a simple hardwired pattern recognizer to a full implementation of a biological kernel machine. Simple and individually beneficial modifications are accumulated in each step along this path. 1 One-shot Trainable Pattern Recognition While an increasing mass of data on brain systems is compiled there is still need for integrative theories of overall function. Learning to recognize new patterns in sensory inputs and to act on such classifications is a key cognitive skill. One single exposure can be sufficient for learning a lesson of high survival interest. Even simple animals such as snails learn food aversion from one exposure [1]. Such one-shot learning is difficult to implement in feed-forward artificial neural networks since vigorous repetition typically is required to build useful skills. Associative memories can, however, learn new patterns instantly [2]. We describe therefore an architecture [3] where significant and surprising experiences are captured to an oscillating associative memory. Memories are tuned and pruned in slow-wave sleep and used for feed-forward pattern recognition in the waking state. It turns out that the system imMagnus Jändel Swedish Defence Research Agency, SE-164 90 Stockholm, Sweden, e-mail: magnus@jaendel.se
Is there publication bias in the reporting of cancer risk in Barrett's esophagus?

BACKGROUND & AIMS The published risk of adenocarcinoma in the setting of Barrett's esophagus (BE) varies. Publication bias, the selective reporting of studies featuring positive or extreme results, may result in overestimation of this cancer risk in the literature. The aim of this study was to assess those publications reporting a cancer risk in BE for evidence of publication bias. METHODS A MEDLINE search for all published estimates between 1966 and 1998 of cancer risk in BE was performed. All studies reporting a cancer risk expressible in cancers per patient-year of follow-up were retrieved. Bibliographies of these studies were surveyed for additional estimates. All publications that required an initial endoscopy with histologic confirmation of BE and any cancer were included. The relationship of reported cancer risk to size of the study was assessed. Multivariable regression controlling for differences in definition of BE, as well as other study characteristics, was performed. The data were also analyzed by means of a funnel diagram, an epidemiologic method to assess publication bias. RESULTS Five hundred fifty-four abstracts were reviewed. Twenty-seven publications met the stated criteria for inclusion. There was a strong correlation between cancer risk and the size of the study, with small studies reporting much higher risks of cancer than larger studies. This association persisted when differences in the definition of BE, retrospective vs. prospective nature of the study, surveillance interval, and the effect of cancer detected in the first year were considered. The funnel diagram analysis suggested publication bias. CONCLUSIONS The cancer risk in BE may be overestimated in the literature due to publication bias.
Fuzzy Logic Based Flow Controller of Dam Gates

This paper presents the design and simulation of flow controller of dams gates using fuzzy logic based control system. A new way of controlling the opening and closing of dam gates has been proposed in this study. The system has been developed firstly in MATLAB using fuzzy logic Mamdani model and then the system is checked by developing a simple C language code using Microcontroller. Two input parameters have been selected like water level and water speed. The three membership functions to these parameters have been assigned. The one output parameter is selected as flow controller. Three membership functions are also assigned to the output. In this study the system works according to the rules defined in the fuzzy inference system. The simulation results are compared with the calculated results of mamdani formula. A pseudo code is developed from the rules defined in the FIS and code is generated in C language. The C language code is then burnt in the Atmel 89C51 microcontroller and a simple control circuit is developed to check the software results on practical basis. The basic concept of the study is that this system will show extreme response on extreme condition otherwise it will show normal results. When both inputs are in the higher (high water level and fast speed) region the output results will also be in the higher region (dam gates full open). This system showed great efficiency and robustness as it can be easily seen from the observations. This system is much different from the conventional systems as it involves simple microcontroller circuit.