Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visualising the Multimedia Archives of Bourges's Institute of Electro-acoustic Music

This paper describes the properties and functionalities of the application we have created to retrace the story and evolution of international competitions organised by the Bourges’s Institute of Electroacoustic Music (IMEB) from 1973 to 2009 using a set of interactive data visualisations. This set of interactive data visualisations serve different purposes: it provides multiple views of the database it allows to browse but also gives insights about navigation paths that have been previously taken to assist their users in their browsing experience. This set of interactive data visualisations represent an attempt to give access to the content of a digital archive, not only by considering its main properties, but also by gathering information about its past exploration using multi-agent systems.
Body As Instrument: Performing with Gestural Interfaces

This paper explores the challenge of achieving nuanced control and physical engagement with gestural interfaces in performance. Performances with a prototype gestural performance system, Gestate, provide the basis for insights into the application of gestural systems in live contexts. These reflections stem from a performer's perspective, summarising the experience of prototyping and performing with augmented instruments that extend vocal or instrumental technique through gestural control. Successful implementation of rapidly evolving gestural technologies in real-time performance calls for new approaches to performing and musicianship, centred on a growing understanding of the body's physical and creative potential. For musicians hoping to incorporate gestural control seamlessly into their performance practice, a balance of technical mastery and kinaesthetic awareness is needed to adapt existing approaches to their own purposes. Within non-tactile systems, visual feedback mechanisms can support this process by providing explicit visual cues that compensate for the absence of haptic feedback. Experience gained through prototyping and performance can yield a deeper understanding of the broader nature of gestural control and the way in which performers inhabit their own bodies.
An Analysis of Electrical Impedance Measurements Applied for Plant N Status Estimation in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

Nitrogen plays a key role in crop yields. Hence, farmers may apply excessive N fertilizers to crop fields, inducing environmental pollution. Crop N monitoring methods have been developed to improve N fertilizer management, most of them based on leaf or canopy optical-property measurements. However, sensitivity to environmental interference remains an important drawback. Electrical impedance has been applied to determine the physiological and nutritional status of plant tissue, but no studies related to plant-N contents are reported. The objective of this article is to analyze how the electrical impedance response of plants is affected by their N status. Four sets of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) with a different N-source concentrations per set were used. Total nitrogen and electrical impedance spectra (in a 1 to 100 kHz frequency range) were measured five times per set, three times every other day. Minimum phase angles of impedance spectra were detected and analyzed, together with the frequency value in which they occurred, and their magnitude at that frequency. High and positive correlation was observed between plant N content and frequency values at minimum phase angle with no significant variations detected between days of measurement. These results suggest that electrical impedance can be sensitive to plant N status.
Bulimia Nervosa and Personality: A Review

A relatively new approach, which tends to be applied in order to subtype eating disorders, is based on the study of personality and its disturbances. A well-known statement is that anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are disorders with a high level of heterogeneity in terms of personality variables. Clinical observation has long found a link between personality and eating disorders. Despite the fact that a lot of personality profiles have been described among eating disorder patients, in case of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa the personality traits tend to be described within a dimension of impulsivity-compulsivity. The study of personality in eating disorder patients seems to be useful as a subtyping strategy, this being more effective than the traditional symptoms-based categorization (diagnostic criteria), mainly in order to predict the psychosocial functioning and different clinical features (Abbott, Wonderlich, et al., 2001; Steiger & Stotland, 1996; Westen & Harnden-Fischer, 2001; Wonderlich & Mitchell, 2001). The association between eating disorders and personality disorders has been studying mainly from the moment in which the personality disorders were included in the axis II of DSM. An improvement with regards to the study of personality disorders was the development of specific structured interviews and self-reported questionnaires in order to assess personality traits and its disturbances (Echeburua & Maranon, 2001; Loranger, 1995; Matsunaga, Kiriike, et al., 1998; Millon & Avila, 1998; Spitzer, Williams, et al., 1992). Personality disorders constitute rigid and maladaptive thoughts, feelings and behaviours, all related with poor learning of effective coping strategies. As a result, patients suffering from personality disorders usually have interpersonal conflicts and severe psychosocial limitations. Moreover, these disorders imply a psychological distress and they are stable throughout life (Echeburua & Corral, 1999; Sarason & Sarason, 1996; Vazquez, Ring, et al., 1990). There is a shortage of reliable studies on epidemiology of personality disorders due to several facts, as the heterogeneity of the studied populations and the scarce of valid and reliable instruments. Nevertheless, all the studies usually show a common conclusion, this being the high prevalence of personality disorders (ranging from 6% in general population to 20%-40% among psychiatric outpatients) and a slightly higher prevalence among women (Echeburua & Corral, 1999). The frequent comorbidity between personality disorders and other pathologies of the DSM axis I may be explained by different facts: a) personality disorders may be a risk factor for suffering from mental disorders; b) personality disorders may be a consequence of any mental disorders, and c) both, personality disorders and other mental disorders may follow
A broad-band active frequency doubler operating up to 120 GHz

A broad-band monolithic integrated active frequency doubler operating in DC-120 GHz frequency range is presented and compared with several previous versions. The circuit is fabricated in a self-aligned InP DHBT process. Circuit measurements show sinusoidal output waveform at 120 GHz. For -8 dBm input power, the doubler has a maximum conversion gain of -0.25 dB at 50 GHz due to a peaking inductor on the doubler output.
Leigh syndrome caused by mutations in the flavoprotein (Fp) subunit of succinate dehydrogenase (SDHA)

Detailed clinical, neuroradiological, histological, biochemical, and genetic investigations were undertaken in a child suffering from Leigh syndrome. The clinical symptoms started at age five months and led to a severe progressive neurodegenerative disorder causing epilepsy, psychomotor retardation, and tetraspasticity. Biochemical measurement of skeletal muscle showed a severe decrease in mitochondrial complex II. Sequencing of SDHA revealed compound heterozygosity for a nonsense mutation in exon 4 (W119X) and a missense mutation in exon 3 (A83V), both absent in normal controls. In six additional patients—five with Leigh or Leigh-like syndrome and one with neuropathy and ataxia associated with isolated deficiency of complex II—mutations in SDHA were not detected, indicating genetic heterogeneity.
Role of Intestinal Epithelial Cells in Immune Effects Mediated by Gram-Positive Probiotic Bacteria: Involvement of Toll-Like Receptors

ABSTRACT The mechanisms by which probiotic bacteria exert their effects on the immune system are not completely understood, but the epithelium may be a crucial player in the orchestration of the effects induced. In a previous work, we observed that some orally administered strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) increased the number of immunoglobulin A (IgA)-producing cells in the small intestine without a concomitant increase in the CD4+ T-cell population, indicating that some LAB strains induce clonal expansion only of B cells triggered to produce IgA. The present work aimed to study the cytokines induced by the interaction of probiotic LAB with murine intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) in healthy animals. We focused our investigation mainly on the secretion of interleukin 6 (IL-6) necessary for the clonal expansion of B cells previously observed with probiotic bacteria. The role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in such interaction was also addressed. The cytokines released by primary cultures of IEC in animals fed with Lactobacillus casei CRL 431 or Lactobacillus helveticus R389 were determined. Cytokines were also determined in the supernatants of primary cultures of IEC of unfed animals challenged with different concentrations of viable or nonviable lactobacilli and Escherichia coli, previously blocked or not with anti-TLR2 and anti-TLR4. We concluded that the small intestine is the place where a major distinction would occur between probiotic LAB and pathogens. This distinction comprises the type of cytokines released and the magnitude of the response, cutting across the line that separates IL-6 necessary for B-cell differentiation, which was the case with probiotic lactobacilli, from inflammatory levels of IL-6 for pathogens.
Two Genomic Regions of Chromosomes 1 and 18 Explain Most of the Stroke Susceptibility under Salt Loading in Stroke-prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat/izm Materials and Methods Qtl Analysis Construction of Congenic Strains Whole Genome Sequencing

T he stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP) genetically has severe hypertension and cerebral stroke. 1 This strain has been thought to be a good model for cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases, such as lacu-nar infarction and deep white matter hyperintensity, at least in some aspects of their pathology. 2–5 Accordingly, information about the genetic mechanisms underlying cerebral stroke in SHRSP may provide important clues to understand the pathogenesis of cerebrovascular diseases based on severe hypertension. Several studies on genetic susceptibility to stroke have been performed in SHRSP; Rubattu et al 6,7 identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for stroke latency on chromosomes (chr) 1, 4, and 5 using a F2 cross between SHRSP/Bbb and SHR/ Bbb, of which the QTL on chr 1 was confirmed in congenic rats. Jeffs et al 8 performed a QTL analysis on infarction volume after middle-cerebral artery occlusion using a F2 cross between SHRSP/Gcrc and WKY/Gcrc and found a QTL on chr 5. Despite these pioneering works, the genetic mechanisms behind the stroke susceptibility in SHRSP have not been clarified yet. Here, we therefore performed a QTL analysis on stroke susceptibility in SHRSP/Izm. As a quantitative trait to evaluate stroke susceptibility, we used stroke latency under salt loading as in a previous study with a slight modification 6 ; the incidence of stroke differs greatly between SHRSP and SHR under salt loading, 1,6 which implies that salt-sensitive mechanisms are the key to understand the susceptibility to stroke in this model. In addition, baseline blood pressure (BP) of SHRSP/Izm differs significantly from that of SHR/Izm, which was in contrast to comparisons between SHRSP/Bbb and SHR/Bbb. This raises the possibility that another QTL for baseline BP would be identified when SHRSP and SHR of the Izm colony were used in the analysis. Consequently, we performed a QTL analysis on stroke latency under salt loading, as well as on BP before and after salt loading. In this study, we successfully identified 2 major QTLs for the stroke latency in SHRSP/Izm on chr 1 and 18 and confirmed their effects in reciprocal single and double congenic strains. Furthermore, a comprehensive genotype analysis in substrains of SHRSP and SHR in the target regions Abstract—To clarify the genetic mechanisms of stroke susceptibility in the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP), a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was performed. Using 295 F2 rats of a cross between SHRSP/Izm and SHR/Izm, 2 major …
A Kalman-PDA approach to soft-decision equalization for frequency selective MIMO channels

We propose A low-complexity, near-optimal soft-decision equalization approach for frequency selective multiinput multioutput (MIMO) communication systems. With the help of iterative processing, two detection and estimation schemes based on second-order statistics are harmoniously put together to yield a two-part receiver structure: local multiuser detection (MUD) using soft-decision probabilistic data association (PDA) detection, and dynamic noise-interference tracking using Kalman filtering. The proposed Kalman-PDA approach performs local MUD to reduce the computational load, while all the interference affecting the local subblock is dynamically tracked by Kalman filtering, to maintain near-optimum detection performance. Two types of Kalman filters are designed, both of which are able to track a finite impulse response (FIR) MIMO channel of any memory length. The overall algorithms enjoy low complexity that is only polynomial in the number of information-bearing bits to be detected, regardless of the data block size. The near-optimum detection performance is testified via simulations.
Hashing Methods for Temporal Data

External dynamic hashing has been used in traditional database systems as a fast method for answering membership queries. Given a dynamic set S of objects, a membership query asks whether an object with identity k is in (the most current state of) S. This paper addresses the more general problem of temporal hashing. In this setting, changes to the dynamic set are time-stamped and the membership query has a temporal predicate, as in: "Find whether object with identity k was in set S at time t". We present an efficient solution for this problem that takes an ephemeral hashing scheme and makes it partially persistent. Our solution, also termed partially persistent hashing, uses a space that is linear on the total number of changes in the evolution of set S and has a small {O[log/sub B/(n/B)]} query overhead. An experimental comparison of partially persistent hashing with various straightforward approaches (like external linear hashing, the multi-version B-tree and the R*-tree) shows that it provides the faster membership query response time. Partially persistent hashing should be seen as an extension of traditional external dynamic hashing in a temporal environment. It is independent of the ephemeral dynamic hashing scheme used; while this paper concentrates on linear hashing, the methodology applies to other dynamic hashing schemes as well.
Advantages Of Using Memetic Algorithms In The N-Person Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma Game

Memetic algorithms are a type of genetic algorithms very valuable in optimization problems. They are based on the concept of “meme”, and use local search techniques, which allow them to avoid premature convergence to suboptimal solutions. Among these algorithms we can consider Lamarckian and Baldwinian models, depending on whether they modify (the former) or not (the latter) the agent’s genotype. In this paper we analyze the application of memetic algorithms to the NPerson Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma (NIPD). NIPD is an interesting game that has proved to be very useful to explore the emergence of cooperation in multi-player scenarios. The main contributions of this paper are related to setting the ground to understand the implications of the memetic model and the related parameters. We investigate to which extent these decisions determine the level of cooperation obtained as well as the memory and the execution performance.
Heligmosomoides polygyrus Infection Can Inhibit Colitis through Direct Interaction with Innate Immunity

Less developed countries have a low incidence of immunological diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), perhaps prevented by the high prevalence of helminth infections in their populations. In the Rag IL-10−/− T cell transfer model of colitis, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, an intestinal helminth, prevents and reverses intestinal inflammation. This model of colitis was used to explore the importance of innate immunity in H. polygyrus protection from IBD. Rag mice briefly exposed to H. polygyrus before reconstitution with IL-10−/− colitogenic T cells are protected from colitis. Exposure to H. polygyrus before introduction of IL-10−/− and OT2 T cells reduced the capacity of the intestinal mucosa to make IFN-γ and IL-17 after either anti-CD3 mAb or OVA stimulation. This depressed cytokine response was evident even in the absence of colitis, suggesting that the downmodulation in proinflammatory cytokine secretion was not just secondary to improvement in intestinal inflammation. Following H. polygyrus infection, dendritic cells (DCs) from the lamina propria of Rag mice displayed decreased expression of CD80 and CD86, and heightened expression of plasmacytoid dendritic cell Ag-1 and CD40. They were also less responsive to lamina proprias, producing less IL-12p40 and IL-10. Also diminished was their capacity to present OVA to OT2 T cells. These experiments infer that H. polygyrus does not require direct interactions with T or B cells to render animals resistant to colitis. DCs have an important role in driving both murine and human IBD. Data suggest that phenotypic alternations in mucosal DC function are part of the regulatory process.
Reserve Design under Climate Change: From Land Facets Back to Ecosystem Representation

Ecosystem distributions are expected to shift as a result of global warming, raising concerns about the long-term utility of reserve systems based on coarse-filter ecosystem representation. We tested the extent to which proportional ecosystem representation targets would be maintained under a changing climate by projecting the distribution of the major ecosystems of Alberta, Canada, into the future using bioclimatic envelope models and then calculating the composition of reserves in successive periods. We used the Marxan conservation planning software to generate the suite of reserve systems for our test, varying the representation target and degree of reserve clumping. Our climate envelope projections for the 2080s indicate that virtually all reserves will, in time, be comprised of different ecosystem types than today. Nevertheless, our proportional targets for ecosystem representation were maintained across all time periods, with only minor exceptions. We hypothesize that this stability in representation arises because ecosystems may be serving as proxies for land facets, the stable abiotic landscape features that delineate major arenas of biological activity. The implication is that accommodating climate change may not require abandoning the conventional ecosystem-based approach to reserve design in favour of a strictly abiotic approach, since the two approaches may be largely synonymous.
Efficiencies of translation in three reading frames of unusual non‐ORF sequences isolated from phage display

An unusual nucleotide sequence, called H10, was previously isolated by biopanning with a random peptide library on filamentous phage. The sequence encoded a peptide that bound to the growth hormone binding protein. Despite the fact that the H10 sequence can be expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion to the gene III minor coat protein of the M13 phage, the sequence contained two TGA stop codons in the zero frame. Several mutant derivatives of the H10 sequence carried not only a stop codon, but also showed frameshifts, either +1 or –1 in individual isolates, between the H10 start and the gene III sequences. In this work, we have subcloned the H10 sequence and three of its derivatives (one requiring a +1 reading frameshift for expression, one requiring a –1 reading frame‐shift, and one open reading frame) in gene fusions to a reporter β‐galactosidase gene. These sequences have been cloned in all three reading frames relative to the reporter. The non‐open reading frame constructs gave (surprisingly) high expression of the reporter (10–40% of control vector expression levels) in two out of the three frames. A site‐directed mutant of the TGA stop codon (to TTA) in the + 1 shifter greatly reduced the frameshift and gave expression primarily in the zero frame. By contrast, a site‐directed mutant of the TGA in the –1 shifter had little effect on the pattern of expression, and alteration of the first TGA (of two) in H10 itself paradoxically reduced expression by half. We believe these phenomena to reflect a translational recoding mechanism in which ribosomes switch reading frames or read past stop codons upon encountering a signal encoded in the nucleotide sequence of the mRNA, because both the open reading frame derivative (which has six nucleotide changes from parental H10) and the site‐directed mutant of the + 1 shifter, primarily expressed the reporter only in the zero frame. —Goldman, E. , Korus, M. , Mandecki, W. Efficiencies of translation in three reading frames of unusual non‐ORF sequences isolated from phage display. FASEB J. 14, 603–611 (2000)
Isoproterenol Enhances Myofilament Ca2+ Sensitivity During Hypothermia in Isolated Guinea Pig Beating Hearts

Isoproterenol is often required to treat acute left ventricular dysfunction during separation from cardiopulmonary bypass for cardiac surgery. We hypothesized that heart rate and intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) homeostasis may be important factors when isoproterenol improves the cardiac function during hypothermia. Accordingly, we investigated the effect of isoproterenol on the cardiac functional variables, [Ca2+]i, and myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity under spontaneous beating during hypothermia. Intact guinea pig hearts were perfused with a modified Krebs-Ringer solution (baseline) and Krebs-Ringer solution containing isoproterenol (1 nM) at 37°C, 32°C, and 27°C while all cardiac variables and [Ca2+]i were recorded. Isoproterenol increased developed left ventricular pressure (LVP), maximum rate of increase in LVP, and coronary inflow at 27°C, and it also increased heart rate and maximum rate of decrease in LVP at each temperature (P < 0.05). Isoproterenol produced a leftward shift of the curve of developed LVP as a function of available [Ca2+]i at 32°C and 27°C (P < 0.05), without changing available [Ca2+]i. Isoproterenol improves the cardiac function, especially systolic ventricular function, by enhancement of myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity under spontaneous beating during hypothermia in intact guinea pig hearts.