Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discriminative Learning of Propagation and Spatial Pattern for Motor Imagery EEG Analysis

Effective learning and recovery of relevant source brain activity patterns is a major challenge to brain-computer interface using scalp EEG. Various spatial filtering solutions have been developed. Most current methods estimate an instantaneous demixing with the assumption of uncorrelatedness of the source signals. However, recent evidence in neuroscience suggests that multiple brain regions cooperate, especially during motor imagery, a major modality of brain activity for brain-computer interface. In this sense, methods that assume uncorrelatedness of the sources become inaccurate. Therefore, we are promoting a new methodology that considers both volume conduction effect and signal propagation between multiple brain regions. Specifically, we propose a novel discriminative algorithm for joint learning of propagation and spatial pattern with an iterative optimization solution. To validate the new methodology, we conduct experiments involving 16 healthy subjects and perform numerical analysis of the proposed algorithm for EEG classification in motor imagery brain-computer interface. Results from extensive analysis validate the effectiveness of the new methodology with high statistical significance.
Visualizing Cybersecurity Events

The old adage “a picture is worth a 1,000 words” is relevant to cybersecurity because professionals must deal with large amounts of data in a very short period. It is also relevant to cybersecurity educators who must convey the complexity of cybersecurity events to students and to members of the general public who might have little or no background in cybersecurity. Fortunately, there are many fine tools now available for visualization and there will be more such tools in the future. This paper discusses some of the tools that are available and highlights some work that deserves to be better known by cybersecurity educators.
The Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Infants and Children Older Than 3 Months of Age: Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America

Abstract Evidenced-based guidelines for management of infants and children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were prepared by an expert panel comprising clinicians and investigators representing community pediatrics, public health, and the pediatric specialties of critical care, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, infectious diseases, pulmonology, and surgery. These guidelines are intended for use by primary care and subspecialty providers responsible for the management of otherwise healthy infants and children with CAP in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Site-of-care management, diagnosis, antimicrobial and adjunctive surgical therapy, and prevention are discussed. Areas that warrant future investigations are also highlighted.
Analyis of Lipids by Mass Spectrometry and Other Methods

A cell extract corresponding to 10 cells was used for these analyses. The following internal standards were added: 600 pmol each of 1,2-dipentadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3phosphoethanolamine, and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoinositol, before lipid extraction according to the method of Bligh and Dyer [1]. After evaporation of organic solvent under vacuum, the lipids were redissolved in 100 μl methanol/water (9:1, v/v) and injected into a high-performance liquid chromatograph equipped with a binary pump Hitachi LaChrom Elite L-2130 and a Hitachi Autosampler L-2200 (Merck). The column was a Supelcosil LC-18 (5-mm particle size, 250 x 2.1 mm) (Sigma-Aldrich) protected with a Supelguard LC-18 (20 x 2.1 mm) guard cartridge (Sigma-Aldrich). Mobile phase was a gradient of solvent A (methanol/water/n-hexane/32% ammonium hydroxide, 87.5:10.5:1.5:0.5, by vol.) and solvent B (methanol/nhexane/32% ammonium hydroxide, 87.5:12:0.5, by vol.). The gradient was started at 100% solvent A; it was decreased linearly to 65% solvent A, 35% solvent B in 20 min, to 10% solvent A, 90% solvent B in 5 min, and to 0% solvent A, 100% solvent B in an additional 5 min. Flow rate was 0.5 ml/min, and 80 μl of the lipid extract was injected. The liquid chromatography system was coupled online to a Bruker esquire6000 ion-trap mass spectrometer (Bruker Daltonics, Bremen, Germany). The total flow rate into the column was split and 0.2 ml/min entered into the electrospray interface of the mass spectrometer. Nebulizer gas was set to 30 pounds per square inch, dry gas to 8 l/min, and dry temperature to 365°C. Ethanolamine phospholipids (PE) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) were detected in negative ion mode with the capillary current set at +3500 V over the initial 25 min as [M–H] ions. Choline phospholipid (PC) species were detected over the elution interval from 25 to 35 min in positive ion mode, as [M+H]+ ions, with the capillary current set at –3500 V.
Dynamic event-triggered control under packet losses: The case with acknowledgements

In this paper, a dynamic ETC strategy for nonlinear state-feedback systems is proposed that results in guarantees for a finite ℒp-gain from disturbance input to performance output and a strictly positive lower bound on the inter-event times despite the presence of packet losses. The proposed dynamic ETC strategy has several advantages with respect to the commonly studied static ETC strategy including significantly larger average inter-event times. The proposed design methodology results in tradeoffs between the maximum allowable number of successive packet dropouts, (minimum and average) inter-event times and ℒp-gains, which will be illustrated by means of a numerical example.
Going Their Separate Ways: Dissociation of Hippocampal and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Activation during Episodic Retrieval and Post-retrieval Processing

Hippocampal activity is modulated during episodic memory retrieval. Most consistently, a relative increase in activity during confident retrieval is observed. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is also activated during retrieval, but may be more generally activated during cognitive-control processes. The “default network,” regions activated during rest or internally focused tasks, includes the hippocampus, but not DLPFC. Therefore, DLPFC and the hippocampus should diverge during difficult tasks suppressing the default network. It is unclear, however, whether a difficult episodic memory retrieval task would suppress the default network due to difficulty or activate it due to internally directed attention. We hypothesized that a task requiring episodic retrieval followed by rumination on the retrieved item would increase DLPFC activity, but paradoxically reduce hippocampal activity due to concomitant suppression of the default network. In the present study, blocked and event-related fMRI were used to examine hippocampal activity during episodic memory recollection and postretrieval processing of paired associates. Subjects were asked to make living/nonliving judgments about items visually presented (classify) or items retrieved from memory (recall–classify). Active and passive baselines were used to differentiate task-related activity from default-network activity. During the “recall–classify” task, anterior hippocampal activity was selectively reduced relative to “classify” and baseline tasks, and this activity was inversely correlated with DLPFC. Reaction time was positively correlated with DLPFC activation and default-network/hippocampal suppression. The findings demonstrate that frontal and hippocampal activity are dissociated during difficult episodic retrieval tasks and reveal important considerations for interpreting hippocampal activity associated with successful episodic retrieval.
Role of Interferon-Like Viral Inhibitor in Endotoxin-Induced Corneal Resistance to Newcastle Disease Virus

Oh, J. O. (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada), and E. J. Gill. Role of interferon-like viral inhibitor in endotoxin-induced corneal resistance to Newcastle disease virus. J. Bacteriol. 91:251–256. 1966. —A state of marked resistance to the toxic corneal effects of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was observed in rabbit eyes after intravenous injection of 10 or 100 μg of typhoid endotoxin. By use of tissue cultures of rabbit corneal endothelial cells for assay, high titers of an interferon-like viral inhibitor were detected in serum and in ocular aqueous humor of these animals. The pretreatment of eyes with aqueous humor or serum containing the inhibitor markedly suppressed the production of corneal toxicity by NDV. The intravenous injection of 1 μg of the endotoxin had a negligible effect on the corneal reaction, and little or no inhibitor was found in either serum or aqueous humor. Normal aqueous humor or serum contained no inhibitor and had no suppressive effect on the NDV-induced reactions. The results indicated that the inhibitor played an important role in the induction of corneal resistance to NDV in vivo. The inhibitor in aqueous humor of endotoxin-injected rabbits was found to be derived from blood after an increase in the permeability of “blood-aqueous barrier” of iris due to the endotoxin. Therefore, intravenously administered typhoid endotoxin induced corneal resistance to NDV in rabbits through its dual action on host: (i) release of an interferon-like viral inhibitor into the blood stream and (ii) disruption of the blood-aqueous barrier of the iris, thus allowing the passage of the viral inhibitor from blood into the anterior chamber, where it modified the corneal endothelial cells to render them resistant to NDV.
The urokinase plasminogen activator receptor in blood from healthy individuals and patients with cancer

The cell surface plasminogen activation system functions in promoting tumor dissemination, and is facilitated by a glycolipid anchored three domain receptor for urokinase. This receptor can also be found in a soluble form (suPAR) in extracts of tumors, as well as in plasma from both healthy individuals and cancer patients. The suPAR in plasma consists of the intact three domain protein, but neither the precise mechanism of its release from cell surfaces, nor its biological function are understood. Increased levels of plasma suPAR have been found in patients with cancers of the lung, breast, ovary, and colon, and recent data now indicates that the level of the molecule is related to patient prognosis.
The International Urban Energy Balance Models Comparison Project: First Results from Phase 1

A large number of urban surface energy balance models now exist with different assumptions about the important features of the surface and exchange processes that need to be incorporated. To date, no comparison of these models has been conducted; in contrast, models for natural surfaces have been compared extensively as part of the Project for Intercomparison of Land-surface Parameterization Schemes. Here, the methods and first results from an extensive international comparison of 33 models are presented. The aim of the comparison overall is to understand the complexity required to model energy and water exchanges in urban areas. The degree of complexity included in the models is outlined and impacts on model performance are discussed. During the comparison there have been significant developments in the models with resulting improvements in performance (root-mean-square error falling by up to two-thirds). Evaluation is based on a dataset containing net all-wave radiation, sensible heat, and latent heat flux observations for an industrial area in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The aim of the comparison is twofold: to identify those modeling approaches that minimize the errors in the simulated fluxes of the urban energy balance and to determine the degree of model complexity required for accurate simulations. There is evidence that some classes of models perform better for individual fluxes but no model performs best or worst for all fluxes. In general, the simpler models perform as well as the more complex models based on all statistical measures. Generally the schemes have best overall capability to model net all-wave radiation and least capability to model latent heat flux.
[Advances in the physiopathology of epileptogenesis: molecular aspects].

OBJECTIVE We review the molecular basis of epileptogenesis and the new perspectives in the treatment of epilepsy. DEVELOPMENT Epileptogenesis are the molecular and cellular events producing the disordered firing of a subpopulation of neurons resulting in periodic seizures. Epilepsies may be due to genetic and acquired factors. Some idiopathic epilepsies are due to mutant genes coding voltage gated sodium and potassium channels, GABAA receptor chloride channels and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor sodium channels. Genetic defects also produce epilepsy secondary to either neuronal developmental or metabolic abnormalities, and may contribute to acquired epilepsy. Events observed in both animal and human acquired epilepsies are an increase in glutamate levels and NMDA receptor sensitivity, selective lost of pyramidal neurons, mossy fibre sprouting and neosinaptogenesis. There is also a reduction in inhibitory control due to lost of GABAergic interneurons, and a decrease in GABA levels and GABAA receptor sensitivity. Hyperexcitability may be also due to reduction in glial ATPasa activity, increase in astrocytes gap junctions, and decrease in extracellular calcium. Chandelier GABAergic interneuron microlesions and an hyperexcitable thalamus are key in spread of partial seizures. Absences may be caused by cortex hyperexcitability and genetic abnormalities in thalamic voltage gated T calcium channels. Brain stem is key in convulsive seizures. The role of voltage gated potassium, sodium and calcium channels, and GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission in epileptogenesis and treatment of epilepsies are revised. The role of other neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, second messengers, and immediate early genes and neurotrophins are also commented. CONCLUSION Understanding the molecular basis of epileptogenesis should lead to the rational design of drugs both to prevent the development of epilepsy, and minimize hyperexcitability which may be the result of a genetic or acquired disorder.
Design of Brain-computer interface platform for semi real-time commanding electrical wheelchair simulator movement

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) research has developed intensively during past years, especially in the assistive technology development for disabled people, e.g. electric wheelchair. This paper will propose our design of the BCI platform for commanding the electric wheelchair simulator. A wireless EEG device is used because of the need for mobile, comfortable, and user-friendly BCI platform. This paper will cover the design process to build the BCI platform prototype, and evaluation about the result achieved. Our BCI platform consists of Emotiv EPOC wireless EEG, and a computer for EEG acquisition, noise filtering, feature extraction, feature classification, and gives control command to wheelchair simulator that is connected via USB. Power spectral density is used as feature extraction of μ rhythm and artificial neural network with multi layer perceptron is used for classifying the idle and movement condition and for classifying between right hand and left hand movement. The first prototype of our BCI system has an interchangeable classification database that allows drastic modification of the system input, output, user recognition, and even the classification method.
An interface system based on multimodal principle for cardiological diagnosis assistance

A pilot interface system is developed for computer-aided diagnostic and interventional assistance of cardiologists based on clinical trials. The system includes optimized methods for processing and presentation of cardiological knowledge and data. The multimodal principle of the interface is based on know-how tests of a new magnetic microsensor for detection of catheter navigation in images from angiograms and intra-vascular ultrasound and on new investigations of the principle of operation of the electrocardiograph. The user interface includes interactive access to the clinical database and a cognitive approach to disease visualization.
Effect of intravenous nimodipine on blood pressure and outcome after acute stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Intravenous Nimodipine West European Stroke Trial (INWEST) found a correlation between nimodipine-induced reduction in blood pressure (BP) and an unfavorable outcome in acute stroke. We sought to confirm this correlation with and without adjustment for prognostic variables and to investigate outcome in subgroups with increasing levels of BP reduction. METHODS Patients with a clinical diagnosis of ischemic stroke (within 24 hours) were consecutively allocated to receive placebo (n=100), 1 mg/h (low-dose) nimodipine (n=101), or 2 mg/h (high-dose) nimodipine (n=94). The correlation between average BP change during the first 2 days and the outcome at day 21 was analyzed. RESULTS Two hundred sixty-five patients were included in this analysis (n=92, 93, and 80 for placebo, low dose, and high dose, respectively). Nimodipine treatment resulted in a statistically significant reduction in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) from baseline compared with placebo during the first few days. In multivariate analysis, a significant correlation between DBP reduction and worsening of the neurological score was found for the high-dose group (beta=0.49, P=0. 048). Patients with a DBP reduction of > or =20% in the high-dose group had a significantly increased adjusted OR for the compound outcome variable death or dependency (Barthel Index <60) (n/N=25/26, OR 10. 16, 95% CI 1.02 to 101.74) and death alone (n/N=9/26, OR 4.336, 95% CI 1.131 16.619) compared with all placebo patients (n/N=62/92 and 14/92, respectively). There was no correlation between SBP change and outcome. CONCLUSIONS DBP, but not SBP, reduction was associated with neurological worsening after the intravenous administration of high-dose nimodipine after acute stroke. For low-dose nimodipine, the results were not conclusive. These results do not confirm or exclude a neuroprotective property of nimodipine.
Reversible Inhibition of Spermatogenesis in Rats Using a New Male Contraceptive, 1-(2,4-Dichlorobenzyl)-Indazole-3-Carbohydrazide1

Abstract The oral male contraceptive agent 1-(2,4-dichlorobenzyl)-indazole-3-carbohydrazide (AF2364) is a new analogue of indazole-carboxylic acid. AF2364 was orally administered to rats at 50 mg/kg body weight once weekly for five consecutive weeks. The effects on fertility efficacy, hormonal profile, organ weights, tissue morphology, and serum microchemistry were examined. Complete infertility was noted in rats 29 days after the initial dose of AF2364 and continued until 90 days. Fertility resumed in 25% of the group after 104 days and had resumed in 75% of the rats by the last mating at 197 days. Morphological examination of the testis showed rapid exfoliation of elongated spermatids and the generation of large multinucleated cells 6 days after the first treatment, with depletion of most germ cells after 40 days. Normal spermatogenesis was noted in 95% of the tubules in the animals that were fertile at 210 days. Morphological analysis of the epididymal compartments revealed reduced lumen size, whereas the prostate exhibited an increase in the glandular lumen with a reduction in epithelium height. No morphological changes were detected in the kidney, liver, and cerebrum by light microscopy. Kidney and liver function, as evaluated by serum chemistry, were not affected by the drug treatment. AF2364 did not alter the levels of FSH, and only minimal changes were noted for LH and testosterone, suggesting that the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis was not affected. These results illustrate the potential of AF2364 as a male contraceptive.
Maintainability Predictors for Relational Database-Driven Software Applications: Extended Results from a Survey

Software maintainability is a very important quality attribute. Its prediction for relational database-driven software applications can help organizations improve the maintainability of these applications. The research presented herein adopts a survey-based approach where a survey was conducted with 40 software professionals aimed at identifying and ranking the important maintainability predictors for relational database-driven software applications. The survey results were analyzed using frequency analysis. The results suggest that maintainability prediction for relational database-driven applications is not the same as that of traditional software applications in terms of the importance of the predictors used for this purpose. The results also provide a baseline for creating maintainability prediction models for relational database-driven software applications.
Application of Self Organizing Maps to multi-resolution and multi-spectral remote sensed images

In this paper we investigate the performance of the Kohonen's self organizing map (SOM) as a strategy for the analysis of multi-spectral and multi-resolution remote sensed images. The paper faces the problem of data fusion, by extracting and combining multi-spectral and textural features. Moreover we address the problem of low-quantity and low-quality of labelled pixels in the training set, investigating a two-step strategy: in the first step (unsupervised training) we use a large unlabelled data set to train a SOM, in the second step a limited number of labelled data is used to assign each SOM node to one informative class. Self Organized Maps are shown to be effective way to discover the intrinsic structure of data. When the SOM is used as a classifier, as here, a majority voting technique is usually used to associate nodes with informative classes. This procedure allows to obtain a SOM output grid which contains labelled and unlabelled nodes. Particularly in the framework of remote sensing, the unlabelled nodes may be important, since they are associated with new classes present in the image, or with the so-called mixed pixels, which represent an area on the ground composed of more then one land-cover class. Comparing the results of the proposed SOM-based strategy and the results of a supervised network such as SVM we show that the unlabelled nodes of the SOM are associated with high percentage to mixed pixels.