Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Biologically Motivated Associative Memory Architecture

A synthesis of analytical techniques from the fields of biology, mathematics, computer science and engineering are used to model the information processing characteristics of the mammalian cerebellar cortex. By viewing anatomically different neurons as representing network elements whose input-output functions are different, a mechanism for distributing information throughout the memory is proposed. The functional circuitry developed to implement this feature is called the microcircuit. Overlapping microcircuit activity is used to describe the memory's read and write operations. Key features of the memory model include: (1) its use of a sparse interconnection network, (2) its ability to manipulate very large input patterns, (3) its distributed storage of input data patterns and (4) its statistical reconstruction of stored patterns during memory read operations. Quantitative measures for the memory's recall fidelity and storage capacity are derived and results of computer simulations are presented.
Medicinal Values of Tanner ’ s Cassia ( Cassia auriculata Linn . ) – A Review Dr .

Cassia auriculata Linn. Commonly known as Tanner’s Cassia is a wild and perennial plant. Ecologically it tolerates a wide range of climate and temperature. In Aryurveda, Naturopathy and Herbal therapy , this plant and its parts are being used traditionally for cure of various human diseases viz. liver toxicity, fungal and microbial infection, inflammation, pyrexia, constipation, conjunctivitis, skin diseases, rheumatism,etc. The medicinal properties of C. auriculata are due to presence of hydroxyanthraquinone derivatives. This plant is the main constituent of Kalp Herbal Tea, which is widely used in remedy of diabetes.
A Feminist Trade Union Agenda? The Continued Significance of Class, Gender and Race

During the 1990s attempts to identify a feminist trade union agenda have focused on both the content and process of such a potential agenda. In a period in which trade unions have changed significantly, the general national agenda appears to be changing, acknowledging issues of importance to women. UNISON, Britain's largest trade union, has enshrined proportionality and fair representation in its constitution, developing national initiatives aimed at improving opportunities in work and in the union for women, black workers, manual workers, disabled workers, etc. who traditionally have been less well represented. Many issues affecting women generally have moved to centre stage, yet issues affecting women ancillary workers seem as excluded as ever. Through a study of cleaners in the National Health Service this article argues that workplace interests reflect wider social divisions, but in a variety of patterns depending on the social organization of work. Despite thewidening trade union agenda, particular interests — more specifically the workplace interests of working-class women and black women — continue to be neglected.
Object-Oriented Components for High-speed Network Programming

This paper makes two contributions to the development and evaluation of object-oriented communication software. First, it reports performance results from benchmarking several network programming mechanisms (such as sockets and CORBA) on Ethernet and ATM networks. These results illustrate that developers of bandwidth-intensive and delay-sensitive applications (such as interactive medical imaging or teleconferencing) must evaluate their performance requirements and the efficiency of their communication infrastructure carefully before adopting a distributed object solution. Second, the paper describes the software architecture and design principles of the ACE object-oriented network programming components. These components encapsulate UNIX and Windows NT network programming interfaces (such as sockets, TLI, and named pipes) with C++ wrappers. Developers of object-oriented communication software have traditionally had to choose between high-performance, lower-level interfaces provided by sockets or TLI or less efficient, higher-level interfaces provided by communication frameworks like CORBA or DCE. ACE represents a midpoint in the solution space by improving the correctness, programming simplicity, portability, and reusability of performance-sensitive communication software.
SC of polar codes based normalized MS algorithm

In this paper, the principle of normalized minimum-sum (NMS) polar decoding process is explored. It is demonstrated that with one properly chosen parameters for NMS algorithm, performances approach to that of the sum-product (SP) algorithm can be achieved. As well, the complexity reduction is realized by calculating a linear function instead of nonlinear function. Simulation results for successive cancellation (SC) polar codes with code length moderately long validate the proposed approximation.
Partnership Working and Outcomes — A Case of the Hare and the Tortoise?

‘Slow and steady wins the race’ is the conclusion of Aesop's fable. In ensuring that we do not fall asleep on the way (like the hare), is there a danger that in the race to demonstrate improved outcomes we will miss the opportunity to build knowledge about how partnerships can deliver better results for people who use services? This article argues for an ambitious agenda, accompanied by a more patient, focused approach to evaluation that helps us to learn and develop new questions.
Distribution of Quinolones, Sulfonamides, Tetracyclines in Aquatic Environment and Antibiotic Resistance in Indochina

Southeast Asia has become the center of rapid industrial development and economic growth. However, this growth has far outpaced investment in public infrastructure, leading to the unregulated release of many pollutants, including wastewater-related contaminants such as antibiotics. Antibiotics are of major concern because they can easily be released into the environment from numerous sources, and can subsequently induce development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Recent studies have shown that for some categories of drugs this source-to-environment antibiotic resistance relationship is more complex. This review summarizes current understanding regarding the presence of quinolones, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines in aquatic environments of Indochina and the prevalence of bacteria resistant to them. Several noteworthy findings are discussed: (1) quinolone contamination and the occurrence of quinolone resistance are not correlated; (2) occurrence of the sul sulfonamide resistance gene varies geographically; and (3) microbial diversity might be related to the rate of oxytetracycline resistance.
Three‐dimensional spatial configuration of tumour cells confers resistance to chemotherapy independent of drug delivery

Anticancer drug discovery has been hampered by the lack of reliable preclinical models, which routinely use cells grown in two‐dimensional (2D) culture systems. However, many of the characteristics of cells in 2D culture do not translate into the findings in animal xenografts. Three‐dimensional (3D) growth may be responsible for some of these changes, and models using cells grown in 3D may form a more representative step in tumouricidal validation prior to animal implantation and human testing. For the 3D model, we cultured 143.98. 2, SaOS2 or U2OS osteosarcoma cells seeded in porous Bombyx mori silk sponges. We conducted real‐time PCR on cells grown in 2D culture and 3D scaffolds for the proliferation markers cyclin B1 and E2F1 and the actin regulator RhoA, and found a significant decrease in expression levels for the 3D tumour models (p = 0.02, < 0.001 and 0.008 for cyclin B1, E2F1 and RhoA for 143.98.2; p = 0.02, 0.002 and 0.02 for cyclin B1, E2F1 and RhoA for U2OS, respectively). In contrast, p21 was upregulated when SaOS2 and U2OS were cultured in the 3D scaffolds (p < 0.001) and there was no increase in DNA quantity during the culture period. We correspondingly observed G1 arrest when cell cycle analysis was conducted. Cytotoxicity results for cells treated with serial dilutions of doxorubicin and cisplatin showed that cells in 3D scaffolds were less sensitive to drug treatment than in 2D culture, and the difference was more pronounced for cell cycle specific agents. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Toward a theory of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia—its nature, etiology, and the kind of therapy to use for it—remains one of the most puzzling of the mental illnesses. The theory of schizophrenia presented here is based on communications analysis, and specifically on the Theory of Logical Types. From this theory and from observations of schizophrenic patients is derived a description, and the necessary conditions for, a situation called the “double bind”—a situation in which no matter what a person does, he “can't win. ” It is hypothesized that a person caught in the double bind may develop schizophrenic symptoms. How and why the double bind may arise in a family situation is discussed, together with illustrations from clinical and experimental data.
Mainline Protestantism 2000

For much of its history, mainline Protestantism has sought to mediate or bridge tensions present in the wider culture. In an increasingly polarized society, its churches struggle to find ways to provide moral leadership while holding themselves together. The postwar period has been difficult for mainline Protestantism's institutions. Membership declines and financial pressures continue. New communities of reference are replacing the denominational seminary as the primary locus of theological inquiry. Nonetheless, congregations are reemerging as centers of religious vitality, and there are signs of progress as mainline Protestantism adapts to a rapidly changing social context.
Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Dementia: Neuropsychological Differentiation in Clinical Practice

Even when well-defined patient groups are studied, neuropsychological differentiation between Alzheimer's disease (dementia of the Alzheimer's type [DAT]) and vascular dementia (VaD) is far from clear. How useful are the results of these investigations when a differential diagnosis has to be established with non–pre-selected individual patients? In the present research we worked with a group of patients pre-diagnosed as having either DAT or VaD. Within the learning abilities, we focused on the status of the encoding system in each condition. Neuropsychological data were compared with PET data. We concluded that within certain limits a few neuropsychological data can contribute substantially to such differentiation, as long as they are contrasted with the rest of the relevant information available.
The Role of Eyes and Mouth in the Memory of a Face.

Subjects were presented 27 photographs of faces for inspection with or without transformation (the faces' eyes or mouths masked) and tested for recognition with or without the same transformation. Subjects were just as confident, just as quick to respond, but made more errors when the eyes were masked than when the mouths were. Masking the eyes caused significantly more difficulty on 13 faces than masking the mouths; the converse never did. Subjects performed better by all three measures when inspection and test were in the same mode (transformed or untransformed) than in different modes. It is concluded that the eyes are more important than the mouth in the representation in memory of a face.
Alveolar fluid clearance is impaired in the majority of patients with acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Because experimental studies have shown that intact alveolar epithelial fluid transport function is critical for resolution of pulmonary edema and acute lung injury, we measured net alveolar fluid clearance in 79 patients with acute lung injury or the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Pulmonary edema fluid and plasma were sampled serially in the first 4 hours after intubation. Net alveolar fluid clearance was calculated from sequential edema fluid protein measurements. Mean alveolar fluid clearance was 6%/h. Of the patients, 56% had impaired alveolar fluid clearance (< 3%/h), 32% had submaximal clearance (> or = 3%/h, < 14%/h), and 13% had maximal clearance (> or = 14%/h). These findings are contrasted to our recent report of 65 patients with hydrostatic pulmonary edema, in whom mean alveolar fluid clearance was 13%/h; only 25% had impaired clearance whereas 75% had submaximal or maximal clearance (J Appl Physiol 1999;87:1301-1312). Acute lung injury with maximal alveolar fluid clearance were more likely to be female (p = 0.03), and less likely to have sepsis (p = 0.01). Endogenous and exogenous catecholamines did not correlate with alveolar fluid clearance. Patients with maximal alveolar fluid clearance had significantly lower mortality and a shorter duration of mechanical ventilation. In summary, in contrast to hydrostatic pulmonary edema, alveolar fluid clearance in patients with acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome is impaired in the majority of patients, and maximal alveolar fluid clearance is associated with better clinical outcomes.
Effects of cholera toxin on the potential difference and motor responses induced by distension in the rat proximal small intestine in vivo.

Cholera toxin (CT) may induce uncontrolled firing in recurrent networks of secretomotor neurons in the submucous plexus. This hypothesis was tested in chloralose-anesthetized rats in vivo. The secretory reflex response to graded intestinal distension was measured with or without prior exposure to luminal CT. The transmural potential difference (PD) was used as a marker for electrogenic chloride secretion. In controls, distension increased PD, and this response was reduced by the neural blocker tetrodotoxin given serosally and the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) receptor antagonist [4Cl-d-Phe(6),Leu(17)]VIP (2 mug.min(-1). kg(-1) iv) but unaffected by the serotonin 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist granisetron, by the nicotinic receptor antagonist hexamethonium, by the muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine, or by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. Basal PD increased significantly with time in CT-exposed segments, an effect blocked by granisetron, by indomethacin, and by [4Cl-d-Phe(6),Leu(17)]VIP but not by hexamethonium or atropine. In contrast, once the increased basal PD produced by CT was established, [4Cl-d-Phe(6),Leu(17)]VIP and indomethacin had no significant effect, whereas granisetron and hexamethonium markedly depressed basal PD. CT significantly reduced the increase in PD produced by distension, an effect reversed by granisetron, indomethacin, and atropine. CT also activated a specific motility response to distension, repeated cluster contractions, but only in animals pretreated with granisetron, indomethacin, or atropine. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that CT induces uncontrolled activity in submucous secretory networks. Development of this state depends on 5-HT(3) receptors, VIP receptors, and prostaglandin synthesis, whereas its maintenance depends on 5-HT(3) and nicotinic receptors but not VIP receptors. The motility effects of CT (probably reflecting myenteric activity) are partially suppressed via a mechanism involving 5-HT(3) and muscarinic receptors and prostaglandin synthesis.
Insulin Activates CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Proteins and Proinflammatory Gene Expression through the Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Pathway in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells*

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is a key molecule mediating signals of insulin in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). To examine the effect of chronic activation of PI3K on the gene expression of VSMCs, membrane-targeted p110CAAX, a catalytic subunit of PI3K, was overexpressed in rat VSMCs by adenovirus-mediated gene transfer. Similar to insulin's effects, cells overexpressing p110CAAX exhibited a 10- to 15-fold increase in monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) mRNA expression as compared with the control cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay analysis showed that the overexpression of p110CAAX activated neither the NF-κB binding nor the activator protein (AP-1) binding activities. We found that two CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) binding sites located between 2.6 and 3.6 kb upstream of the MCP-1 gene were responsible for the induction by p110CAAX. The overexpression of C/EBP-β and C/EBP-δ but not C/EBP-α caused 6- to 8-fold induction of MCP-1 promoter activity. Consistently, the overexpression of p110CAAX as well as insulin induced mRNA expression and nuclear expression of C/EBP-β and C/EBP-δ in VSMCs. These results clearly indicate that the activation of PI3K induced proinflammatory gene expression through activating C/EBP-β and C/EBP-δ but not NF-κB, which may explain the proinflammatory effect of insulin in the insulin-resistant state.
Overview of the ASBGo++ Smart Walker

This paper introduces the latest prototype developed by the Adaptive System Behaviour Group, after six years of research and clinical trials. The prototype named ASBGo++ (Plus Plus) Smart Walker presents new mechatronic and ergonomic design improvements. This paper also presents a brief overview analysis through a mechatronic point of view with an analogy between the smart walkers developed in an academic environment that most resemble the ABSGo++. This overview enhances the positive aspects of this smart walker emphasizing the features that are most highlighted in its design, structure, and functionality.
Discourse, cultural knowledge and ideology: a critical analysis of Chinese language textbooks

Abstract This article examines discourses of cultural knowledge and ideology in Chinese language textbooks currently used for primary school students nationwide in China. Within the framework of critical curriculum theory and using critical discourse analysis, this article critically investigates how discourses of cultural knowledge are constructed and what ideological forces are manifested in the textbooks. First, it identifies a matrix of discourses that construct areas of knowledge through an inter-textual analysis. Then it analyses how textual features, such as lexical choices, grammatical elements and generic structures, are manipulated in the construction of a particular version of cultural knowledge for the child reader. The article concludes that the discourses constructed in the textbooks are a closed system that serves the purpose of social control but not the interest of children.
Introductory Science and Mathematics Education for 21st-Century Biologists

Galileo wrote that “the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics”; his quantitative approach to understanding the natural world arguably marks the beginning of modern science. Nearly 400 years later, the fragmented teaching of science in our universities still leaves biology outside the quantitative and mathematical culture that has come to define the physical sciences and engineering. This strikes us as particularly inopportune at a time when opportunities for quantitative thinking about biological systems are exploding. We propose that a way out of this dilemma is a unified introductory science curriculum that fully incorporates mathematics and quantitative thinking.
Supporting Information Single Molecule Nanocontainers Made Porous Using a Bacterial Toxin

Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 Department of Physics and Center for the Physics of Living Cells, Urbana, IL 61801 Department of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Faßberg 11 D-3707, Göttingen, Germany Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL 61801 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Urbana, IL 61801
3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a reductase inhibitors and the presence of age-related macular degeneration in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate both the use of cholesterol-lowering medications as a group and the use of statins specifically with regard to the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS A case-control study was conducted using data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population-based prospective study of adults enrolled from 4 communities in the United States in 1989 and 1990. Individuals with AMD (cases) and those without AMD (controls) were compared with regard to their use of cholesterol-lowering medications and statins. RESULTS Nearly equal proportions of cases and controls used cholesterol-lowering medications, both before adjustment (odds ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-1.21) and after adjustment for selected confounding variables (age, sex, and race) (odds ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-1.87). Statin use was also found to be similar among cases and controls (odds ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.73-1.30). After controlling for the aforementioned 3 confounders (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 0.99-1.98), we noted a modest trend for statin users to have an increased risk of AMD. CONCLUSION The results suggest that no association exists between having used cholesterol-lowering medications and AMD. However, there was a suggestion that statin use might increase the risk of AMD.
Ieee Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems 1 Pseudo Trust: Zero-knowledge Authentication in Anonymous P2ps

—Most trust models in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems are identity based, which means that in order for one peer to trust another, it needs to know the other peer's identity. Hence, there exists an inherent tradeoff between trust and anonymity. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no P2P protocol that provides complete mutual anonymity as well as authentication and trust management. We propose a zero-knowledge authentication scheme called Pseudo Trust (PT), where each peer, instead of using its real identity, generates an unforgeable and verifiable pseudonym using a one-way hash function. A novel authentication scheme based on Zero-Knowledge Proof is designed so that peers can be authenticated without leaking any sensitive information. With the help of PT, most existing identity-based trust management schemes become applicable in mutual anonymous P2P systems. We analyze the security and the anonymity in PT, and evaluate its performance using trace-driven simulations and a prototype PT-enabled P2P network. The strengths of our design include 1) no need for a centralized trusted party or CA, 2) high scalability and security, 3) low traffic and cryptography processing overheads, and 4) man-in-middle-attacks resistance.
Evolution of the study of left ventricular function: everything old is new again.

The science of cardiology has evolved parallel to most medical sciences, first emphasizing anatomy, then physiology, and now molecular biology. In the 1960s, when it had become obvious that effective medical and surgical therapies were available for cardiac diseases, there developed a heightened interest in measuring cardiac function as a way of evaluating the heart’s response to those therapies. Because the heart is a muscle, it was logical that measurements of muscle function would be prognostic indicators of the success or failure of a given therapy. See Circulation . 2002;105:1602–1608 The cardiac muscle translates force into motion, generating cardiac output that is the product of heart rate and stroke volume. Stroke volume is dependent upon contractility (the innate ability of the muscle to generate force), preload, and afterload. Because contractility is the fundamental ability of the heart muscle to do its job, this property generated the greatest focus for measurement. The ideal measure of contractility would have the characteristics listed in Table 1. Unfortunately, despite literally hundreds of investigations, this ideal measure was never developed. Each index of function went through a typical evolution of discovery, enthusiasm, concern for imperfections, and eventual abandonment. The strengths and weaknesses of many of the indexes are listed in Table 2.1–20⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓ The result has been that ejection fraction was chosen by the …