Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brain Areas Specific for Attentional Load in a Motion-Tracking Task

Although visual attention is known to modulate brain activity in the posterior parietal, prefrontal, and visual sensory areas, the unique roles of these areas in the control of attentional resources have remained unclear. Here, we report a dissociation in the response profiles of these areas. In a parametric functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, subjects performed a covert motion-tracking task, in which we manipulated attentional load by varying the number of tracked balls. While strong effects of attentionindependent of attentional loadwere widespread, robust linear increases of brain activity with number of balls tracked were seen primarily in the posterior parietal areas, including the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and superior parietal lobule (SPL). Thus, variations in attentional load revealed different response profiles in sensory areas as compared to control areas. Our results suggest a general role for posterior parietal areas in the deployment of visual attentional resources.
An efficient Gaussian Noise Reduction Technique For Noisy Images using optimized filter approach

In the Multimedia era, removal of the Noises from an image becomes a key challenge in the field of Digital Image Processing (DIP) and Computer Vision. Noise may be mixed with an image during capturing time, transmission time or due to dust particle on the screen of capturing device. Therefore, removal of these unwanted signals from the image is urgently required for the better analysis of the image and the de-noised image is more meaningful for Object detection, Edge detection and many more. There are various types of image noise, however, Gaussian Noise and Impulse Noise are commonly found in the image. This work focuses on the outliers and Mean Filter to improve the performance for Gaussian noise reduction from the image. In experimental assessments, artificial noise has been mixed using MATLAB to MSRA (10k images) dataset, this dataset is used to evaluate our proposed technique. The experiment results show that the proposed approach improves the performance in noise reduction over other filter approaches.
Periodically Forced Chaotic System with Signum Nonlinearity

A sinusoidally-driven system with a simple signum nonlinearity term is investigated through an analytical analysis as well as dynamic simulation. To obtain the correct Lyapunov exponents, the signum function is replaced by a sharply varying continuous hyperbolic tangent function. By phase portraits, Poincare sections and bifurcation diagrams, the rich dynamic behaviors of this system are demonstrated, such as an onion-like strange attractor, pitchfork and attractor merging bifurcations, period-doubling routes to chaos, and chaotic transients in the case of small damping. Moreover, the chaos persists as the damping is reduced to zero.
DnaA Protein of Escherichia coli: oligomerization at the E. coli chromosomal origin is required for initiation and involves specific N‐terminal amino acids

Iterated DnaA box sequences within the replication origins of bacteria and prokaryotic plasmids are recognized by the replication initiator, DnaA protein. At the E. coli chromosomal origin, oriC, DnaA is speculated to oligomerize to initiate DNA replication. We developed an assay of oligomer formation at oriC that relies on complementation between two dnaA alleles that are inactive by themselves. One allele is dnaA46; its inactivity at the non‐permissive temperature is due to a specific defect in ATP binding. The second allele, T435K, does not support DNA replication because of its inability to bind to DnaA box sequences within oriC. We show that the T435K allele can complement the dnaA46(Ts) allele. The results support a model of oligomer formation in which DnaA box sequences of oriC are bound by DnaA46 to which T435K then binds to form an active complex. Relying on this assay, leucine 5, tryptophan 6 and cysteine 9 in a predicted alpha helix were identified that, when altered, interfere with oligomer formation. Glutamine 8 is additionally needed for oligomer formation on an oriC‐containing plasmid, suggesting that the structure of the DnaA‐oriC complex at the chromosomal oriC locus is similar but not identical to that assembled on a plasmid. Other evidence suggests that proline 28 of DnaA is involved in the recruitment of DnaB to oriC. These results provide direct evidence that DnaA oligomerization at oriC is required for initiation to occur.
Towards searching for Majorana fermions in topological insulator nanowires

Developing a gate-tunable, scalable, and topologically-protectable supercurrent qubit and integrating it into a quantum circuit are crucial for applications in the fields of quantum information technology and topological phenomena. Here we propose that the nano-hybrid supercurrent transistors, a superconducting quantum analogue of a transistor, made of topological insulator nanowire would be a promising platform for unprecedented control of both the supercurrent magnitude and the current-phase relation by applying a voltage on a gate electrode. We believe that our experimental design will help probing Majorana state in topological insulator nanowire and establishing a solid-state platform for topological supercurrent qubit.
Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein in Umbilical Cord Blood as Markers for Early Suspicion of Infection in Newborns of Women with Prenatal Urinary Tract Infection

Objective: to investigate whether concentrations of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the umbilical cord blood (UCB) are valid biomarkers for the detection of infection in newborns of pregnant women with urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods: PCT and CRP were measured from UCB and were verified through a prospective study of newborns with appropriate birth weights, without asphyxia or signs of bacterial infection whose mothers were diagnosed with untreated or inadequately treated UTI during the final trimester of pregnancy. The blood of newborns was analyzed according to Rodwell criteria. Was calculated the relative risk to detect altered PCT and/or CRP concentration in UCB in newborn with positive Rodwell criteria. Results: samples from 97 newborns at term were analyzed according to Rodwell criteria. Fifty-six of them showed negative criteria. The RR was 2.0 (95% CI – 1.1 – 3.6 p = 0.03) according to PCT and 2.3 (95% CI – 1.1- 4.9) p = 0.03 according to CRP. Conclusion: A normal value to PCT or CRP available from UCB duplicate the possibility to Rodwell negative criteria result in peripheral blood of the neonate, away from the possibility of infection in newborn infants of mothers who had UTI in the pregnancy.
The Circle of Dispossession: Evicting the Urban Poor in Baltimore

Although tenant evictions are routine in impoverished urban communities throughout the USA, scholars of housing and urban poverty have consistently overlooked this social problem. Drawing predominantly upon participant observation on eviction crews in Baltimore, this study examines the social drama of eviction, focusing upon the orchestration and execution of the court-ordered physical removal of tenants and their property. I find that property managers delegate the ‘dirty work’ of dispossession to a dispossessed population and that laborers on eviction crews tend to differentiate and distance themselves from the people they are evicting, adopting the dominant belief that eviction is rooted in the individual, moral deficiencies of the tenant. These findings reveal that those who are excluded from the American ‘paradigm of propertied citizenship’ – the homeless – are used to enforce, and serve to legitimate, that very paradigm. I argue that evictions entail a circle of dispossession, reproduced both materially and ideologically.
C. elegans rrf-1 Mutations Maintain RNAi Efficiency in the Soma in Addition to the Germline

Gene inactivation through RNA interference (RNAi) has proven to be a valuable tool for studying gene function in C. elegans. When combined with tissue-specific gene inactivation methods, RNAi has the potential to shed light on the function of a gene in distinct tissues. In this study we characterized C. elegans rrf-1 mutants to determine their ability to process RNAi in various tissues. These mutants have been widely used in RNAi studies to assess the function of genes specifically in the C. elegans germline. Upon closer analysis, we found that two rrf-1 mutants carrying different loss-of-function alleles were capable of processing RNAi targeting several somatically expressed genes. Specifically, we observed that the intestine was able to process RNAi triggers efficiently, whereas cells in the hypodermis showed partial susceptibility to RNAi in rrf-1 mutants. Other somatic tissues in rrf-1 mutants, such as the muscles and the somatic gonad, appeared resistant to RNAi. In addition to these observations, we found that the rrf-1(pk1417) mutation induced the expression of several transgenic arrays, including the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16. Unexpectedly, rrf-1(pk1417) mutants showed increased endogenous expression of the DAF-16 target gene sod-3; however, the lifespan and thermo-tolerance of rrf-1(pk1417) mutants were similar to those of wild-type animals. In sum, these data show that rrf-1 mutants display several phenotypes not previously appreciated, including broader tissue-specific RNAi-processing capabilities, and our results underscore the need for careful characterization of tissue-specific RNAi tools.
Stable Throughput Analysis of Multi-User Cognitive Cooperative Systems

The cognitive cooperative system with coexisting scenario of multiple primary users and one secondary capable of relaying is considered. The primary users transmit packets in orthogonal sub-channels. According to the cognitive principle, the secondary activity cannot interfere with the primary performance. Therefore, in this paper, the secondary user makes use of the spectrum when sensed idle. Based on the proposed MAC protocol, we derive the stable throughput expressions of each primary user with secondary relaying. We also achieve the stable network constraints of relaying probability ε, the feasible range of primary arrival rates and the maximum allowed secondary transmitting power which is to make a tradeoff between the stable throughput of the primary and secondary user. Numerical simulations show that secondary relaying can increase the primary and secondary throughput when designing an appropriate ε.
CERAD practice effects and attrition bias in a dementia prevention trial

ABSTRACT Background: The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) set of tests is frequently used for tracking cognition longitudinally in both clinical and research settings. Repeated cognitive assessments are an important component in measuring such changes; however, practice effects and attrition bias may obscure significant clinical change over time. The current study sought to examine the presence and magnitude of practice effects and the role of attrition bias in a sample of cognitively normal older men enrolled in a prevention trial. Method: Participants were grouped according to whether they completed five years of follow-up (n = 182) or less (n = 126). Practice effects were examined in these participants as a whole (n = 308) and by group. Results: Findings indicate that moderate practice effects exist in both groups on the CERAD T-score and that attrition bias likely does not play a contributing role in improved scores over time. Conclusion: The current study provides additional evidence and support for previous findings that repeated cognitive assessment results in rising test scores in longitudinally collected data and demonstrates that these findings are unlikely to be due to attrition.
Grief Experiences of 3 Caregiving Wives of Veterans With Dementia

Three wives share their experiences of caregiving for husbands with dementia. The 3 husbands, aged 51, 71, and 84, developed dementia following years of devoted military service. To present lived experiences of caregiving wives’, meanings attributed to caregiving are investigated, variations in caregiving and grieving experiences are explored, and therapeutic implications are offered. Through case study approach and with issues of caregiver grief considered, we introduce life course and ambiguous loss theoretical perspectives. Emergent qualitative themes and quantitative inventory ratings indicate significant differences in caregiver grief response depend on care-recipient age. Practice implications and directions for future care recipient, age-related research are presented.
Detection of independently moving objects through stereo vision and ego-motion extraction

Vision-based autonomous vehicles must face numerous challenges in order to be effective in practical areas. Among these lies the detection and localization of independent-moving objects, so as to track or avoid them. In this paper a method that address this particular issue is presented. Information from stereo and motion is used to extract the ego-motion of the vehicle. Known defects of this estimation are exploited to detect independent-moving obstacles. This method allows an early and reliable detection, even for objects partially occluded. Besides, it highlights the errors in the disparity map, which can be used, in future works, to correct depth-estimation, through motion-estimation.
Answering the Correct Question

The first step in writing code is understanding the problem to be solved. When this step is not properly completed, students can waste time developing a solution to the wrong problem. Arguably, this tendency is exacerbated by online automatically-tested code submission systems where students work in isolation and sometimes appear to focus more on passing the instructor testcases than on understanding the problem or its solution. We report on an randomized A/B test with 831 CS1 students using an online submission system. Students in the control group wrote small Python functions based on a written description including a docstring with one example. Before the treatment-group students solved the same exercise, they were given a description of the same functions and were asked to provide the corresponding output for three sets of input. We hypothesized that this would decrease the time and attempts required to correctly write the code because students in the treatment group would not waste time on an incorrectly-conceived problem. We found support for this hypothesis on one of the problems but not on the other, and we offer some suggestions as to how this might be explained.
Visualizing Hyperactivation in Neurodegeneration Based on Prefrontal Oxygenation: A Comparative Study of Mild Alzheimer's Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Healthy Controls

Background: Cognitive performance is relatively well preserved during early cognitive impairment owing to compensatory mechanisms. Methods: We explored functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) alongside a semantic verbal fluency task (SVFT) to investigate any compensation exhibited by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). In addition, a group of healthy controls (HC) was studied. A total of 61 volunteers (31 HC, 12 patients with MCI and 18 patients with mild AD) took part in the present study. Results: Although not statistically significant, MCI exhibited a greater mean activation of both the right and left PFC, followed by HC and mild AD. Analysis showed that in the left PFC, the time taken for HC to achieve the activation level was shorter than MCI and mild AD (p = 0.0047 and 0.0498, respectively); in the right PFC, mild AD took a longer time to achieve the activation level than HC and MCI (p = 0.0469 and 0.0335, respectively); in the right PFC, HC, and MCI demonstrated a steeper slope compared to mild AD (p = 0.0432 and 0. 0107, respectively). The results were, however, not significant when corrected by the Bonferroni-Holm method. There was also found to be a moderately positive correlation (R = 0.5886) between the oxygenation levels in the left PFC and a clinical measure [Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score] in MCI subjects uniquely. Discussion: The hyperactivation in MCI coupled with a better SVFT performance may suggest neural compensation, although it is not known to what degree hyperactivation manifests as a potential indicator of compensatory mechanisms. However, hypoactivation plus a poorer SVFT performance in mild AD might indicate an inability to compensate due to the degree of structural impairment. Conclusion: Consistent with the scaffolding theory of aging and cognition, the task-elicited hyperactivation in MCI might reflect the presence of compensatory mechanisms and hypoactivation in mild AD could reflect an inability to compensate. Future studies will investigate the fNIRS parameters with a larger sample size, and their validity as prognostic biomarkers of neurodegeneration.
Personalized Real Time Human Activity Recognition

Human activity recognition is possible using small top K compressed personalized training dataset. However, unavailability of personalized dataset weakens the personalization of human activity. To address the shortage of personalized dataset an integrated training and testing algorithm was implemented. The algorithm extract and label top K time domain feature used to train the implemented hybrid Naïve Bayes Nearest Neighbor algorithm to detect human activity in real time. The hybrid algorithm was implemented using HTML5, JavaScript and Cordova multi-platform for Android. Three subjects were recruited and requested to put in the Samsung Smartphone their front pocket as they train and test the model. Each subject was requested to perform human activities during training and testing. During testing each subject was requested to perform each human activity three times, therefore 21 comma separated values files were collected and analyzed using confusion matrix based on precision, recall and accuracy. Overall the results reveal a balanced precision, recall, f-measure and accuracy of 79%, 75%, 75% and 70% respectively for all subjects. Also the results indicate that it possible to train and test the data intensive algorithm with small training dataset.
Combining multimodal preferences for multimedia information retrieval

Representing and fusing multimedia information is a key issue to discover semantics in multimedia. In this paper we address more specifically the problem of multimedia content retrieval by first defining a novel preference-based representation particularly adapted to the fusion problem, and then, by investigating the RankBoost algorithm to combine those preferences and a learn multimodal retrieval model. The approach has been tested on annotated images and on the complete TRECVID 2005 corpus and compared with SVM-based fusion strategies. The results show that our approach equals SVM performance but, contrary to SVM, is parameter free and faster.
Gestão de processos aplicada à realização de convênios internacionais bilaterais em uma instituição de ensino superior pública brasileira

As possibilidades da globalizacao tem proporcionado a intensificacao do processo de internacionalizacao na educacao superior. Tal processo e caracterizado por complexidade e dificuldades de gestao. Uma abordagem de gestao recomendada para processos complexos e a gestao de processos de negocio (BPM). Este estudo objetiva contribuir atraves da avaliacao e proposta da aplicabilidade do BPM na internacionalizacao de uma instituicao de ensino superior (IES) publica brasileira. O estudo restringiu-se ao processo de realizacao de convenios bilaterais internacionais da escola de negocios de um dos campi da instituicao. O processo de convenios bilaterais foi modelado em sua forma vigente e, a partir da analise desse modelo, foram propostas melhorias, um novo modelo e indicadores de desempenho.
A New Color Image Database for Benchmarking of Automatic Face Detection and Human Skin Segmentation Techniques

— This paper presents a new color face image database for benchmarking of automatic face detection algorithms and human skin segmentation techniques. It is named the VT-AAST image database, and is divided into four parts. Part one is a set of 286 color photographs that include a total of 1027 faces in the original format given by our digital cameras, offering a wide range of difference in orientation, pose, environment, illumination, facial expression and race. Part two contains the same set in a different file format. The third part is a set of corresponding image files that contain human colored skin regions resulting from a manual segmentation procedure. The fourth part of the database has the same regions converted into grayscale. The database is available on-line for noncommercial use. In this paper, descriptions of the database development, organization, format as well as information needed for benchmarking of algorithms are depicted in detail.
Promoting Reflexivity and Inclusivity in Archival Education, Research, and Practice1

The area of archival studies today transcends the professional field of archival science. It encompasses an ever‐broadening array of disciplinary discussions and methodological approaches that are identifying, critiquing, and addressing the shifting social, cultural, philosophical, and political, as well as the technological, imperatives of record keeping and remembering in the twenty‐first century. Reporting on two recent research projects and three ongoing educational initiatives, this article suggests ways in which research and education in archival studies can play a central role in promoting more reflexive and inclusive ideas, practices, and research, not only within the archival profession, but also within the various library and information science (LIS) and iSchool settings in which archival education and research might be situated.