Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of categorical similarity and feature-space proximity on visual working memory processing

ABSTRACT Two patterns of data predict that similarity has a positive effect and a negative effect on visual working memory (VWM) processing. We assume that these two empirical outcomes do not distinguish categorical similarity from feature-space proximity, resulting in this divergence. To investigate how categorical similarity and feature-space proximity modulate VWM, we tested memory for an array of pictures drawn from either mixed categories or a single category in which feature-space proximity varied along a morph continuum in a change-detection task. We found that memory under the mixed-category condition was better than that under the single-category condition, whereas memory under high feature-space proximity was superior to that under low feature-space proximity. These patterns were unaffected by manipulations of stimulus type (faces or scenes), encoding duration (limited or self-paced), and presentation format (simultaneous or sequential). These results are consistent with our hypotheses that categorical similarity inhibits VWM, whereas feature-space proximity facilitates VWM. We also found that memory for items with low feature-space proximity benefited more from mixed-category encoding than that for items with high feature-space proximity. Memory for faces benefited more from mixed-category encoding than scenes, whereas memory for scenes benefited more from feature-space proximity than faces. These results suggest that centre-surround inhibition organization might underlie similarity effects in VWM. Centre-surround inhibition organization for complex real-world objects could have both categorical level and feature-space level. The feature-space level might differ by category.
Regulatory role of BMP2 and BMP7 in spermatogonia and Sertoli cell proliferation in the immature mouse.

AIM The aim of this study was to determine the action of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) on testicular cell proliferation during early postnatal life, a definite developmental time at which crucial changes in germ cell and Sertoli cell maturation occur. METHODS We investigated the effect of BMP2 and BMP7, two factors which belong to the relatively distant decapentaplegic (DPP) and 60 A classes of the large BMP family, upon spermatogonial and Sertoli cell proliferation, and we examined the expression of activin/BMP type II and type I receptors. We used in vitro cultured testis fragments from 7-day-old mice, highly purified populations of somatic and germ cells and total testes from mice of different ages. Cell proliferation was assessed by BrdU labelling and [3H]-thymidine incorporation. Ribonuclease protection assays and Northern blotting were performed to analyse receptor expression. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS We have demonstrated a stimulatory action of BMP2 and BMP7 in spermatogonia and Sertoli cell proliferation respectively. ActRIIB is the type II receptor expressed most in spermatogonia, whereas Sertoli cells specifically expressed BMPRIIB, in addition to ActRIIB. By contrast, the presence of ActRIIA was undetectable in either germ or somatic cells. The type I receptors ActRIA, ActRIB and BMPRIA were all found in both cell types, indicating that the observed effect of BMP2 and BMP7 on testicular cell proliferation may be mediated by a number of combinatorial interactions in the receptor complexes. These findings suggest that BMPs are involved in physiological paracrine signalling during the first wave of spermatogenesis.
Towards Defining a Framework for the Automatic Derivation of 3D CityGML Models from Volunteered Geographic Information

High-quality geographic data sources are eminent for urban data management and the creation of detailed 3D city models. In the past two decades, Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) increasingly gained attractiveness to both amateur users and professionals, resulting in a broad availability of urban data within VGI communities and especially OpenStreetMap (OSM). OSM provides detailed information about urban regions and more buildings are also mapped. Existing 3D-VGI applications, e.g., KOSMOS Worldflier (Brejc, 2011) or the OSM-3D project (OSM-3D, 2011) only focus on visualization purposes, but a standardized usage for exchanging and sharing urban city models is not combined with VGI. Therefore, this paper presents a framework for an automatic VGI-based creation of 3D building models encoded as standardized CityGML models. The usage of VGI as a proper data source for the creation of standardized city models will be proven.
A Cutting-Surface Method for Uncertain Linear Programs with Polyhedral Stochastic Dominance Constraints

In this paper we study linear optimization problems with a newly introduced concept of multidimensional polyhedral linear second-order stochastic dominance constraints. By using the polyhedral properties of this dominance condition, we present a cutting-surface algorithm and show its finite convergence. The cut generation problem is a difference of convex functions (DC) optimization problem. We exploit the polyhedral structure of this problem to present a novel branch-and-cut algorithm that incorporates concepts from concave minimization and binary integer programming. A linear programming problem is formulated for generating concavity cuts in our case, where the polyhedra are unbounded. We also present duality results for this problem relating the dual multipliers to utility functions, without the need to impose constraint qualifications, which again is possible because of the polyhedral nature of the problem. Numerical examples are presented showing the nature of solutions of our model. (A corrected PDF has been appended to the original.)
Getting Upright : Migrating Concepts and Software from Four-Legged to Humanoid Soccer Robots

Besides the construction of the robots, the development of control software and tools for simulation and debugging are major topics of interest in the domain of soccer playing humanoid robots. In the RoboCup Four-Legged League, the whole research has—due to the existence of a standard platform—been focused on software development since many years. Therefore, a migration of successful software solutions to humanoid soccer robots is an obvious advancement. In this paper, we point out the similarities between these two domains and describe how to use approved approaches in areas as e.g. vision, localization, or simulation. As a successful example, we describe the migration of GermanTeams’s Four-Legged software to the BreDoBrothers humanoid team.
Situational object boundary detection

Intuitively, the appearance of true object boundaries varies from image to image. Hence the usual monolithic approach of training a single boundary predictor and applying it to all images regardless of their content is bound to be suboptimal. In this paper we therefore propose situational object boundary detection: We first define a variety of situations and train a specialized object boundary detector for each of them using [10]. Then given a test image, we classify it into these situations using its context, which we model by global image appearance. We apply the corresponding situational object boundary detectors, and fuse them based on the classification probabilities. In experiments on ImageNet [35], Microsoft COCO [24], and Pascal VOC 2012 segmentation [13] we show that our situational object boundary detection gives significant improvements over a monolithic approach. Additionally, our method substantially outperforms [17] on semantic contour detection on their SBD dataset.
Professional and Non-Professional Social Media as Recruitment Tools: The Impact on Job Seekers’ Attraction and Intention to Apply

Abstract Purpose This chapter explores different strategies implemented by three companies using professional (LinkedIn) and non-professional (Facebook) social networking websites (SNWs) as a recruitment tool and investigates the influence of their perceived usability and attractiveness on job seekers’ attraction and their intention to apply. Methodology/approach First, a laboratory experiment involving 171 MBA students compares the effectiveness of three different social recruitment strategies. Second, a survey among 110 job seekers focuses on the most effective strategy in terms of attraction as an employer and the influence of perceived usability and attractiveness of professional SNW pages on job seekers’ intention to pursue the job. Findings The laboratory experiment confirms the key role of LinkedIn as an e-recruitment practice. The survey shows that the overall company image, the usability of the LinkedIn page and the interaction between the attractiveness of the page and the overall company image positively influence job seekers’ intention to pursue the job. Social implications The research offers insights on job seekers’ reactions to 2.0 Internet-based recruitment. Companies should focus on and invest in professional social medias, paying attention to the usability of their SNWs pages. Originality/value of the chapter Recruitment is a strategic HRM practice to attract talents; however, research lags behind practice and little is known about job seekers’ perceptions and reactions to Internet recruitment. This chapter sheds light on the use of social media for recruitment and identifies two features that contribute to an effective e-recruitment strategy.
T-ReX: Interactive Global Illumination of Massive Models on Heterogeneous Computing Resources

We propose several interactive global illumination techniques for a diverse set of massive models. We integrate these techniques within a progressive rendering framework that aims to achieve both a high rendering throughput and an interactive responsiveness. To achieve a high rendering throughput, we utilize heterogeneous computing resources consisting of CPU and GPU. To reduce expensive data transmission costs between CPU and GPU, we propose to use separate, decoupled data representations dedicated for each CPU and GPU. Our representations consist of geometric and volumetric parts, provide different levels of resolutions, and support progressive global illumination for massive models. We also propose a novel, augmented volumetric representation that provides additional geometric resolutions within our volumetric representation. In addition, we employ tile-based rendering and propose a tile ordering technique considering visual perception. We have tested our approach with a diverse set of large-scale models including CAD, scanned, simulation models that consist of more than 300 million triangles. By using our methods, we are able to achieve ray processing performances of 3 M~20 M rays per second, while limiting response time to users within 15~67 ms. We also allow dynamic modifications of light, and interactive setting of materials, while efficiently supporting novel view rendering.
The feedback technology for gain flatness and stability of UWB LNA

In this paper, based on small signal models of hetero-junction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with different feedback circuits, the expressions for S parameters of the device are derived to analyze the influence of different feedback technologies on amplifier performance, especially on the stability and the gain flatness of Ultra-Wideband Low Noise Amplifier(UWB LNA). When a serial inductor or a parallel capacitor is added into the feedback circuits to induce reactive feedback, the amplitude of S21 increases as the frequency increases, the HBT's gain inherent decreasing at high frequency is compensated, a good stability performance can also be reached simultaneously. Based on reactive feedback techniques, we design a 3GHz–10GHz UWB LNA. The simulation results show that throughout the whole frequency band, the amplifier remains unconditionally stable, has a high transmission gain, good gain flatness and low noise figure.
Global preferential consistency for the topological sorting-based maximal spanning tree problem

We introduce a new type of fully computable problems, for DSS dedicated to maximal spanning tree problems, based on deduction and choice: preferential consistency problems. To show its interest, we describe a new compact representation of prefer - ences specific to spanning trees, identifying an efficient maxi mal spanning tree sub-problem. Next, we compare this problem with the Pareto-based multiobjective one. And at last, we propose an ef - ficient algorithm solving the associated preferential consistency problem.
Ketamine-based Treatment of MDD: A Biologist’s Perspective

Ketamine’s potential as a fast-acting reagent to treat MDD, especially treatment-resistant depression has caught much attention recently. Although much has been learned about the biological mechanisms underlying ketamine’s effect, there are a few critical issues remained to be resolved. This mini review will briefly discuss several controversial issues that warrant further studies, regarding the molecular, physiological, psychopharmacological, and behavioral effects of ketamine. Understand how ketamine works as an antidepressant will open the door to better understanding of MDD and its treatment. DOI : 10.14302/issn.2476-1710.jdt-17-1673 Corresponding author: Dr. Shupeng Li, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Drug Discovery Center, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. Email: lisp@@pkusz.edu. cn; zhouqiang@pkusz.edu. cn Tel: (+86) 755 8618 4985
SRAM lifetime improvement by using adaptive proactive reconfiguration

Modern generations of CMOS technology nodes are facing critical causes of hardware reliability failures, which were not significant in the past. Such vulnerabilities make it essential to investigate new robust design strategies at the Nano-scale circuit system level. In this paper we have introduced an adaptive proactive reconfiguration technique that considers the inherent process variability (variability-aware) and BTI aging, and effectively enlarges the SRAM lifetime.
A hot topic? Immigration on the agenda in Western Europe

The party politics of immigration is one of the fastest growing bodies of research within the study of West European politics. Within this literature, an underlying assumption is that immigration has become one of the most salient issues. However, this is rarely documented, let alone explained. Drawing on a new coding of party manifestos in seven West European countries, this article shows that party attention to immigration has grown in all countries since 1980 but only in Denmark has the issue become one of the most salient issues of party politics. We find that the general increase in attention reflects the rising number of immigrants and rise of radical right-wing parties. In terms of the issue becoming a top issue of party politics, a comparative analysis of the politicization of immigration in Denmark and the Netherlands shows that the interest of mainstream right-wing parties and coalition dynamics are the crucial factors.
Functional Outcomes and Participation in Young Adulthood for Very Preterm and Very Low Birth Weight Infants: The Dutch Project on Preterm and Small for Gestational Age Infants at 19 Years of Age

OBJECTIVE. Young adults who were born very preterm or with a very low birth weight remain at risk for physical and neurodevelopmental problems and lower academic achievement scores. Data, however, are scarce, hospital based, mostly done in small populations, and need additional confirmation. METHODS. Infants who were born at <32 weeks of gestation and/or with a birth weight of <1500 g in the Netherlands in 1983 (Project on Preterm and Small for Gestational Age Infants) were reexamined at age 19. Outcomes were adjusted for nonrespondents using multiple imputation and categorized into none, mild, moderate, or severe problems. RESULTS. Of 959 surviving young adults, 74% were assessed and/or completed the questionnaires. Moderate or severe problems were present in 4.3% for cognition, 1.8% for hearing, 1.9% for vision, and 8.1% for neuromotor functioning. Using the Health Utility Index and the London Handicap Scale, we found 2.0% and 4.5%, respectively, of the young adults to have ≥3 affected areas in activities and participation. Special education or lesser level was completed by 24%, and 7.6% neither had a paid job nor followed any education. Overall, 31.7% had ≥1 moderate or severe problems in the assessed areas. CONCLUSIONS. A total of 12.6% of young adults who were born very preterm and/or with a very low birth weight had moderate or severe problems in cognitive or neurosensory functioning. Compared with the general Dutch population, twice as many young adults who were born very preterm and/or with a very low birth weight were poorly educated, and 3 times as many were neither employed nor in school at age 19.
An accurate two-tier classifier for efficient duty-cycling of smartphone activity recognition systems

Our vision is a smartphone service that accurately tracks users' physical activities and transportation modes using accelerometer-based activity recognition carried out on the phone. A key challenge that needs to be addressed to realize this vision is the high power consumption of keeping the smartphone awake in order to perform sensor sampling, feature extraction, and activity classification. In this paper, we propose a two-tier classifier for reducing the wake time percentage of the activity recognition system, which we define as the percentage of time the activity recognition system keeps the smartphone awake. We compare our two-tier classifier to (i) a conventional single-tier classifier, and (ii) a confidence-based multi-tier classifier designed to reduce wake time. We evaluate our approaches using activity-labeled smartphone accelerometer data traces from 2 subjects over a total of 60 hours performing 7 different physical activities. Given an accuracy lower bound of 91%, our two-tier approach achieves the lowest wake times and is able to reduce the wake time percentage of the best single-tier classifier by 93.0% and 70.1% respectively for the 2 subjects.
Amino Acid Substitutions in the V Domain of Nectin-1 (HveC) That Impair Entry Activity for Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2 but Not for Pseudorabies Virus or Bovine Herpesvirus 1

ABSTRACT The entry of herpes simplex virus (HSV) into cells requires the interaction of viral glycoprotein D (gD) with a cellular gD receptor to trigger the fusion of viral and cellular membranes. Nectin-1, a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, can serve as a gD receptor for HSV types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2, respectively) as well as for the animal herpesviruses porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV) and bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1). The HSV-1 gD binding domain of nectin-1 is hypothesized to overlap amino acids 64 to 104 of the N-terminal variable domain-like immunoglobulin domain. Moreover, the HSV-1 and PRV gDs compete for binding to nectin-1. Here we report that two amino acids within this region, at positions 77 and 85, are critical for HSV-1 and HSV-2 entry but not for the entry of PRV or BHV-1. Replacement of either amino acid 77 or amino acid 85 reduced HSV-1 and HSV-2 gD binding but had a lesser effect on HSV entry activity, suggesting that weak interactions between gD and nectin-1 are sufficient to trigger the mechanism of HSV entry. Substitution of both amino acid 77 and amino acid 85 in nectin-1 significantly impaired entry activity for HSV-1 and HSV-2 and eliminated binding to soluble forms of HSV-1 and HSV-2 gDs but did not impair the entry of PRV and BHV-1. Thus, amino acids 77 and 85 of nectin-1 form part of the interface with HSV gD or influence the conformation of that interface. Moreover, the binding sites for HSV and PRV or BHV-1 gDs on nectin-1 may overlap but are not identical.
Cutting Edge PBPK Models and Analyses: Providing the Basis for Future Modeling Efforts and Bridges to Emerging Toxicology Paradigms

Physiologically based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models are used for predictions of internal or target dose from environmental and pharmacologic chemical exposures. Their use in human risk assessment is dependent on the nature of databases (animal or human) used to develop and test them, and includes extrapolations across species, experimental paradigms, and determination of variability of response within human populations. Integration of state-of-the science PBPK modeling with emerging computational toxicology models is critical for extrapolation between in vitro exposures, in vivo physiologic exposure, whole organism responses, and long-term health outcomes. This special issue contains papers that can provide the basis for future modeling efforts and provide bridges to emerging toxicology paradigms. In this overview paper, we present an overview of the field and introduction for these papers that includes discussions of model development, best practices, risk-assessment applications of PBPK models, and limitations and bridges of modeling approaches for future applications. Specifically, issues addressed include: (a) increased understanding of human variability of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the population, (b) exploration of mode of action hypotheses (MOA), (c) application of biological modeling in the risk assessment of individual chemicals and chemical mixtures, and (d) identification and discussion of uncertainties in the modeling process.
Yersinia pestis Ail: multiple roles of a single protein

Yersinia pestis is one of the most virulent bacteria identified. It is the causative agent of plague—a systemic disease that has claimed millions of human lives throughout history. Y. pestis survival in insect and mammalian host species requires fine-tuning to sense and respond to varying environmental cues. Multiple Y. pestis attributes participate in this process and contribute to its pathogenicity and highly efficient transmission between hosts. These include factors inherited from its enteric predecessors; Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis, as well as phenotypes acquired or lost during Y. pestis speciation. Representatives of a large Enterobacteriaceae Ail/OmpX/PagC/Lom family of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) are found in the genomes of all pathogenic Yersiniae. This review describes the current knowledge regarding the role of Ail in Y. pestis pathogenesis and virulence. The pronounced role of Ail in the following areas are discussed (1) inhibition of the bactericidal properties of complement, (2) attachment and Yersinia outer proteins (Yop) delivery to host tissue, (3) prevention of PMNL recruitment to the lymph nodes, and (4) inhibition of the inflammatory response. Finally, Ail homologs in Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis are compared to illustrate differences that may have contributed to the drastic bacterial lifestyle change that shifted Y. pestis from an enteric to a vector-born systemic pathogen.