Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synchronous Multiscale Neuroimaging Environment for Critically Sampled Physiological Analysis of Brain Function: Hepta-Scan Concept

Functional connectivity of the resting-state networks of the brain is thought to be mediated by very-low-frequency fluctuations (VLFFs <0.1 Hz) in neuronal activity. However, vasomotor waves and cardiorespiratory pulsations influence indirect measures of brain function, such as the functional magnetic resonance imaging blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal. How strongly physiological oscillations correlate with spontaneous BOLD signals is not known, partially due to differences in the data-sampling rates of different methods. Recent ultrafast inverse imaging sequences, including magnetic resonance encephalography (MREG), enable critical sampling of these signals. In this study, we describe a multimodal concept, referred to as Hepta-scan, which incorporates synchronous MREG with scalp electroencephalography, near-infrared spectroscopy, noninvasive blood pressure, and anesthesia monitoring. Our preliminary results support the idea that, in the absence of aliased cardiorespiratory signals, VLFFs in the BOLD signal are affected by vasomotor and electrophysiological sources. Further, MREG signals showed a high correlation coefficient between the ventromedial default mode network (DMNvmpf) and electrophysiological signals, especially in the VLF range. Also, oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin and vasomotor waves were found to correlate with DMNvmpf. Intriguingly, usage of shorter time windows in these correlation measurements produced significantly (p<0.05) higher positive and negative correlation coefficients, suggesting temporal nonstationary behavior between the measurements. Focus on the VLF range strongly increased correlation strength.
Experimental Proof for the Motivational Importance of Reciprocity

Video taped group decision experiments on a two-person investment game were used to elicit the motivational structure of subjects' behavior. A majority of investors trusted (invested) and a majority of receivers reciprocated (returned). Cognition and decision were focused on extremes: total or no investment and equitable or no return. Subjects exhibited motivational heterogeneity in both roles, but both materialism and reciprocity proved stronger than altruism. The qualitative model of motivational attractors is introduced to explain observations. The model is also applied to the ultimatum game and compared to utilitarian, behavioral, and evolutionary approaches to the question of economic motivation.
Short-Term Response of Soil Bacteria to Carbon Enrichment in Different Soil Microsites

ABSTRACT The response of bacteria in bulk soil and earthworm casts to carbon enrichment was studied by an RNA stable-isotope probing/terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism strategy with 13C-labeled glucose and acetate. Both the soil microsite status and the carbon enrichment selected rapidly for different active bacterial communities, which resulted in different degradation kinetics. Our study clearly illustrates the biases that are generated by adding C substrates to detect metabolically active bacteria in soil.
Learning Data-Efficient Rigid-Body Contact Models: Case Study of Planar Impact

In this paper we demonstrate the limitations of common rigid-body contact models used in the robotics community by comparing them to a collection of data-driven and data-reinforced models that exploit underlying structure inspired by the rigid contact paradigm. We evaluate and compare the analytical and data-driven contact models on an empirical planar impact data-set, and show that the learned models are able to outperform their analytical counterparts with a small training set.
Dicistronic regulation of fluorescent proteins in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fluorescent proteins are convenient tools for measuring protein expression levels in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Co‐expression of proteins from distinct vectors has been seen by fluorescence microscopy; however, the expression of two fluorescent proteins on the same vector would allow for monitoring of linked events. We engineered constructs to allow dicistronic expression of red and green fluorescent proteins and found that expression levels of the proteins correlated with their order in the DNA sequence, with the protein encoded by the 5′‐gene more highly expressed. To increase expression levels of the second gene, we tested four regulatory elements inserted between the two genes: the IRES sequences for the YAP1 and p150 genes, and the promoters for the TEF1 gene from both S. cerevisiae and Ashbya gossypii. We generated constructs encoding the truncated ADH1 promoter driving expression of the red protein, yeast‐enhanced Cherry, followed by a regulatory element driving expression of the green protein, yeast‐enhanced GFP. Three of the four regulatory elements successfully enhanced expression of the second gene in our dicistronic construct. We have developed a method to express two genes simultaneously from one vector. Both genes are codon‐optimized to produce high protein levels in yeast, and the protein products can be visualized by microscopy or flow cytometry. With this method of regulation, the two genes can be driven in a dicistronic manner, with one protein marking cells harbouring the vector and the other protein free to mark any event of interest. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KCNQ4, a K+ channel mutated in a form of dominant deafness, is expressed in the inner ear and the central auditory pathway.

Mutations in the potassium channel gene KCNQ4 underlie DFNA2, an autosomal dominant form of progressive hearing loss in humans. In the mouse cochlea, the transcript has been found exclusively in the outer hair cells. By using specific antibodies, we now show that KCNQ4 is situated at the basal membrane of these sensory cells. In the vestibular organs, KCNQ4 is restricted to the type I hair cells and the afferent calyx-like nerve endings ensheathing these sensory cells. Several lines of evidence suggest that KCNQ4 underlies the I(K,n) and g(K,L) currents that have been described in the outer and type I hair cells, respectively, and that are already open at resting potentials. KCNQ4 is also expressed in neurons of many, but not all, nuclei of the central auditory pathway, and is absent from most other brain regions. It is present, e.g., in the cochlear nuclei, the nuclei of the lateral lemniscus, and the inferior colliculus. This is the first ion channel shown to be specifically expressed in a sensory pathway. Moreover, the expression pattern of KCNQ4 in the mouse auditory system raises the possibility of a central component in the DFNA2 hearing loss.
Snips & Spaces: Managing Microlearning

Radically lowering "barriers to publish", wikis and weblogs are rapidly gaining acceptance as simple and hassle-free ways to share and link information in a community of interest (or overlapping communities of interest). Based on a working definition of microlearning as learning from microformats, we discuss the charac- teristics of both formats and outline problems that may arise in a microlearning context. We propose that by combining both formats to form an integrated whole, those problems can be largely solved. This is complemented by a description of several aspects of Vanilla, a system based on this idea.
A Rapid Process for Fabricating Gas Sensors

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a low-toxicity and environmentally-friendly material applied on devices, sensors or actuators for “green” usage. A porous ZnO film deposited by a rapid process of aerosol deposition (AD) was employed as the gas-sensitive material in a CO gas sensor to reduce both manufacturing cost and time, and to further extend the AD application for a large-scale production. The relative resistance change (ΔR/R) of the ZnO gas sensor was used for gas measurement. The fabricated ZnO gas sensors were measured with operating temperatures ranging from 110 °C to 180 °C, and CO concentrations ranging from 100 ppm to 1000 ppm. The sensitivity and the response time presented good performance at increasing operating temperatures and CO concentrations. AD was successfully for applied for making ZnO gas sensors with great potential for achieving high deposition rates at low deposition temperatures, large-scale production and low cost.
Heme-Biosynthetic Porphobilinogen Deaminase Protects Aspergillus nidulans from Nitrosative Stress

ABSTRACT Microorganisms have developed mechanisms to combat reactive nitrogen species (RNS); however, only a few of the fungal genes involved have been characterized. Here we screened RNS-resistant Aspergillus nidulans strains from fungal transformants obtained by introducing a genomic DNA library constructed in a multicopy vector. We found that the AN0121.3 gene (hemC) encodes a protein similar to the heme biosynthesis enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase (PBG-D) and facilitates RNS-tolerant fungal growth. The overproduction of PBG-D in A. nidulans promoted RNS tolerance, whereas PBG-D repression caused growth that was hypersensitive to RNS. PBG-D levels were comparable to those of cellular protoheme synthesis as well as flavohemoglobin (FHb; encoded by fhbA and fhbB) and nitrite reductase (NiR; encoded by niiA) activities. Both FHb and NiR are hemoproteins that consume nitric oxide and nitrite, respectively, and we found that they are required for maximal growth in the presence of RNS. The transcription of hemC was upregulated by RNS. These results demonstrated that PBG-D is a novel NO-tolerant protein that modulates the reduction of environmental NO and nitrite levels by FHb and NiR.
Deterministic Routing of �-relations on the Multibutterfly

In this paper we devise an optimal deterministic algorithm for routing -relations on-line on an -input/output multibutterfly. The algorithm, which is obtained by generalizing the circuit-switching techniques of [3], routes any -relation with messages of bits, in log steps in the bit model, and in log log communication steps in the word model. Unlike other recently developed algorithms, our algorithm does not need extra levels of expanders, hence minimizes the layout area. Moreover, the network topology does not depend on .
Two-way Learning in Correspondence between Pen-friend Pairs

The pen-friend correspondence described here had two purposes. One was that teacher education students would learn about the writing of elementary school students through first-hand personal involvement. The second was to provide sixth-graders with a real audience for their writing. Most students come to Language Arts or English methods classes well acquainted with traditional approaches to teaching composition. Traditional approaches characterized by a focus on written products and by concern for identifying and correcting errors remain the norm in a many classrooms despite more than a decade of emphasis on writing processes and recent emphasis on the influence of contextual factors on both processes and products. It is not surprising, then, that many education students should have been taught by traditional methods and should regard those methods as the appropriate way to teach based on their own experience as school students. Student teachers are often shocked when their first practicum experience introduces them to students' writing. They are appalled by the frequent spelling, punctuation, and usage errors they observe in students' writing. Schooled in traditional methodology, and believing in common with most people in the world at large that an important part of the teacher's job is to teach students to write correctly spelled and punctuated sentences without major grammatical errors, they regard the error-ridden sentences in student compositions as a problem requiring urgent attention. Comparatively few student teachers are able to look beyond errors to the meanings their young charges are trying to express. In my Language Arts methods course, I address the problem described above in a variety of ways. I talk about research on writing processes. I have them keep journals to which I respond so that they can experience the difference between response and evaluation. I have them engage in
Knowledge attitude and practice toward pertussis vaccination during pregnancy among pregnant and postpartum Italian women

Abstract In Italy, no specific recommendation toward maternal pertussis immunization during pregnancy has been issued. However, vaccination during pregnancy will be likely integrated in the Italian immunization program in the future. In order to identify barriers to achieving a sufficient vaccination coverage during pregnancy, we investigated knowledge, attitude and practice toward pertussis vaccination during pregnancy through a web-based survey. A total of 343 Italian pregnant women (N = 164) and women in the postpartum period (N = 183) completed the online questionnaire. More than a half of the study population was uncertain regarding the benefits of the vaccination during pregnancy. Only 1.7% of women in the postpartum had received the vaccination during pregnancy, and 21% of pregnant women declared the intention to be vaccinated in pregnancy. Only 34% would accept the vaccination in the current or in a future pregnancy, if recommended by a physician, and a half would remain uncertain. Perceiving the vaccine as harmful for the fetus’ development is associated to a decreased willingness to be vaccinated if recommended by a HCP, both in pregnant women (OR 0.25 p = 0.010 95% CI 0.09-0.72) and in women in the postpartum period (OR 0.32 p = 0.006 95% CI 0.15-0.72). Our study suggests that the vaccination recommendation by physicians might not be sufficient to adequately raise vaccination coverage against pertussis among Italian pregnant women. A combination of educational interventions and tailored communi-cation campaigns could be implemented to promote maternal immunization.
Reuse in reverse engineering

In this paper, we present a framework for reverse engineering allowing the integration and interaction of different analysis and visualization tools. The framework architecture that we propose uses a dynamic type system to guarantee the proper exchange of data between the tools and a set of wrapper classes to handle their communication. This allows for an easy and secure integration of tools that have originally not been designed to work together. In this sense, existing tools can be (re-)used and integrated. As a proof of concept we also present our own instantiation of the proposed framework architecture.
L'auto-référencement en physiothérapie : la mise de l'avant d'une culture éthique pour encadrer la pratique organisationnelle

Resume Summary L’auto-referencement en physiotherapie, soit le fait pour un professionnel de la sante de referer un patient vers une clinique privee de physiotherapie dans laquelle ce meme professionnel possede des interets financiers, comporte des implications ethiques importantes de nature organisationnelle. Cet article propose des pistes de solutions a cette pratique ethiquement condamnable. En plus de miser sur des strategies legislatives et deontologiques, les cliniques privees doivent adopter des balises et des activites formelles visant a ameliorer la culture ethique de leur entreprise, en impliquant les proprietaires, les actionnaires et les employes. Self-referral in physiotherapy, that is, a healthcare professional referring a patient to a private physiotherapy clinic in which the same professional has a financial interest, presents significant organizational ethical implications. This article offers potential solutions to this ethically reprehensible practice. In addition to focusing on legislative and ethical strategies, private clinics should adopt guidelines and formal activities to improve the ethical culture of their company, by involving owners, shareholders and employees.
Multi-agent Architecture Model for Driving Mobile Manipulator Robots

In this article, we present generic hierarchical behavior-based architecture model for driving mobile manipulator robots. Two behaviors are of high-level. They constitute the Supervisory agent, which manages the global system. Two others are of intermediate-level and finally one behavior is of low-level. These last ones constitute the Mobile Robot agent and the Manipulator Robot agent controlling, respectively, the mobile base and the manipulator arm. The choice of the suggested model is justified by the generic character of the proposed agent model and by the possibility of integrating the whole in a distributed robotic system. The model is formalized in Agent UML from the conceptual level to the implementation level. The interaction between the various agents is modeled by the use of the interaction diagrams of Agent UML (states and protocol diagrams).
Model-based availability analysis for automated production systems: a case study

Availability is among the most important characteristics of manufacturing systems since it affects the productivity of the system. Yet, we argue that current approaches are inadequate for thoroughly analyzing availability of such systems. In this paper, we present a novel approach for analyzing availability of automated production systems. This approach extends the system's normative specification with deviation models to represent the occurrence and effects of faults in system components, and specific models to precisely capture failure definitions and availability requirements. Based thereon, we show how the system's conformance to availability requirements can be verified automatically using the probabilistic model-checker Prism. To facilitate applicability of the approach, we provide basic building blocks for common fault occurrences, effects, and availability metrics. Moreover, we illustrate its applicability and benefits by evaluating the effects of using different positioning sensors on the availability of the Pick-and-Place Unit, a lab-scale demonstrator considered suitable for evaluations of novel research approaches. We argue that our approach is able to verify quantitative availability requirements while reducing redundant models, and thereby, potential inconsistencies.
A Mixed Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression: Exploring Spatial-Temporal Variations from Global and Local Perspectives

To capture both global stationarity and spatiotemporal non-stationarity, a novel mixed geographically and temporally weighted regression (MGTWR) model accounting for global and local effects in both space and time is presented. Since the constant and spatial-temporal varying coefficients could not be estimated in one step, a two-stage least squares estimation is introduced to calibrate the model. Both simulations and real-world datasets are used to test and verify the performance of the proposed MGTWR model. Additionally, an Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) is adopted as a key model fitting diagnostic. The experiments demonstrate that the MGTWR model yields more accurate results than do traditional spatially weighted regression models. For instance, the MGTWR model decreased AIC value by 2.7066, 36.368 and 112.812 with respect to those of the mixed geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model and by 45.5628, −38.774 and 35.656 with respect to those of the geographical and temporal weighted regression (GTWR) model for the three simulation datasets. Moreover, compared to the MGWR and GTWR models, the MGTWR model obtained the lowest AIC value and mean square error (MSE) and the highest coefficient of determination (R2) and adjusted coefficient of determination (R2adj). In addition, our experiments proved the existence of both global stationarity and spatiotemporal non-stationarity, as well as the practical ability of the proposed method.
EditionLocal convergence of the ( exact and inexact ) iterative aggregation method for linear systemsand

The iterative aggregation method for the solution of linear systems is extended in several directions: to operators on Banach spaces; to the method with inexact correction, i.e., to methods where the (inner) linear system is in turn solved iteratively; and to the problem of nding stationary distributions of Markov operators. Local convergence is shown in all cases. Convergence results apply to the particular case of stochastic matrices. Moreover, an argument is given which suggests why the iterative aggregation method works so well for nearly uncoupled Markov chains, as well as for Markov chains with other zero-nonzero structures.
Additive Interaction of MTHFR C677T and MTRR A66G Polymorphisms with Being Overweight/Obesity on the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Although both methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) A66G polymorphisms have been associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), their interactions with being overweight/obesity on T2D risk remain unclear. To evaluate the associations of the two polymorphisms with T2D and their interactions with being overweight/obesity on T2D risk, a case-control study of 180 T2D patients and 350 healthy controls was conducted in northern China. Additive interaction was estimated using relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion due to interaction (AP) and synergy index (S). After adjustments for age and gender, borderline significant associations of the MTHFR C677T and MTRR A66G polymorphisms with T2D were observed under recessive (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 0.98–2.10) and dominant (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.00–2.06) models, respectively. There was a significant interaction between the MTHFR 677TT genotype and being overweight/obesity on T2D risk (AP = 0.404, 95% CI: 0.047–0.761), in addition to the MTRR 66AG/GG genotypes (RERI = 1.703, 95% CI: 0.401–3.004; AP = 0.528, 95% CI: 0.223–0.834). Our findings suggest that individuals with the MTHFR 677TT or MTRR 66AG/GG genotypes are more susceptible to the detrimental effect of being overweight/obesity on T2D. Further large-scale studies are still needed to confirm our findings.
Digital watermarking using zerotree of DCT

A watermarking technique has been proposed as a method to embed an invisible signal into multimedia data so as to attest the owner identification and discourage the unauthorized copying. In this paper, an efficiently DCT based watermarking technique is proposed. In the proposed method, we take advantage of the zerotree in the rearranged DCT coefficients to embed watermark into image and extract the watermark from the watermarked image more efficiently. The proposed method can directly extract the embedded watermark from the watermarked image without using the original image, so it is feasible to implement it in a real time system. A scheme for spreading the watermarking information is also used to provide the robustness of the digital watermark. The experimental results show that the imperceptibility and robustness of the digital watermark can be guaranteed.