Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patients with progressive multiple sclerosis have elevated antibodies to neurofilament subunit

ObjectiveThe cause of axonal loss, an important contributor to disability in MS, is poorly understood. This study investigated whether progression in MS is associated with CSF antibodies to the 68-kd light neurofilament subunit (NF-L), an axonal cytoskeletal protein, and compared this with antibodies against tubulin and the heavy neurofilament subunit (NF-H). Methods IgG to NF-L, tubulin, and NF-H was measured by immunoassay in matched CSF and serum samples from patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS; n = 39), primary progressive MS (PPMS; n = 10), and secondary progressive MS (SPMS; n = 18); patients with other inflammatory (n = 21) and noninflammatory (n = 40) neurologic diseases; and healthy controls (n = 12). Immunocytochemistry was performed to assess antibody binding to human brain sections, and isoelectric focusing with immunoblotting was performed to assess oligoclonal anti-NF-L production. Results Intrathecal production of anti-NF-L antibodies was significantly elevated in PPMS and SPMS. In contrast, there were no significant differences in CSF levels of antibodies to tubulin or NF-H between the groups. Anti-NF-L, antitubulin, and anti-NF-H levels correlated with the duration of disease before lumbar puncture and Expanded Disability Status Scale levels. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated binding of CSF or serum antibodies to axonal or neuronal components in six of seven RRMS patients, seven of seven PPMS patients, and eight of 10 SPMS patients tested. Isoelectric focusing demonstrated independent CSF oligoclonal bands reactive with NF-L in six of 13 specimens tested. Conclusions Anti-NF-L antibodies seem to be raised in progressive MS and may serve as a marker for axonal loss and disease progression. They may contribute to axonal loss and the accumulation of disability.
D2.3.8v2 Report and Prototype of Dynamics in the Ontology Lifecycle

Deliverable D2.3. 8v2 (WP2.3) presents a novel ontology integration technique that explicitly takes the dynamics and data-intensiveness of many practical application domains into account. This technique fully implements a crucial part of the dynamic ontology lifecycle scenario defined in D2.3. 8v1. In particular, we tackle semi-automatic integration of ontology learning results into a manually developed ontology. This integration is based on automatic negotiation of agreed alignments, inconsistency resolution, ontology diff computation and natural language generation methods. Their combination alleviates the end-user effort in the dynamic incorporation of new knowledge to large extent, thus conforming to the principles specified in D2.3. 8v1. As such, it allows for a basic application of all the dynamic ontology lifecycle features we have proposed. Keyword list: ontology, ontology dynamics, ontology lifecycle, ontology integration, inconsistency resolution, change operator implementation
Many-Core Real-Time Task Scheduling with Scratchpad Memory

This work is motivated by the demand for scheduling tasks upon the increasingly popular island-based many-core architectures. On such an architecture, homogeneous cores are grouped into islands, each of which is equipped with a scratchpad memory module (referred to as local memory). We first show the NP-hardness and the inapproximability of the scheduling problem. Despite the inapproximability, positive results can still be found when different cases of the problem are investigated. A <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(3-\frac{1}{F})$</tex-math> <alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="cheng-ieq1-2516519.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>- approximation algorithm is proposed for the minimization of the maximum system utilization, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$F$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="cheng-ieq2-2516519.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula> is the number of cores in the platform. When the technique of resource augmentation is considered, this paper further develops a <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(\gamma +1)$ </tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="cheng-ieq3-2516519.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-memory <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\frac{2\gamma -1}{\gamma -1}$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="cheng-ieq4-2516519.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-approximation algorithm, where <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\gamma$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="cheng-ieq5-2516519.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> represents the trade-off between CPU utilization and local memory space. On the other hand, a special case is also considered when the ratio of the worst-case execution time of a task without and with using the local memory is bounded by a constant. The capabilities of the proposed algorithms are then evaluated with benchmarks from MRTC, UTDSP, NetBench and DSPstone, where the maximum system utilization can be significantly reduced even when the local memory size is only 5 percent of the total footprint of all of the tasks.
Emotions and Moral Motivation

One question in moral psychology concerns the role of emotions to motivate moral action. This question has recently become more urgent, because it is now clearer that cognitive developmental theories cannot offer a complete explanation of moral functioning. This paper suggests that emotion, as is typically understood in psychology, cannot be seen as the basis for an acceptable explanation of moral behaviour and motivation. However, it is argued that it is possible to understand emotions as embedded in agentic processes, and regulated by conscious concerns. So understood, emotions acquire an important role in the person's moral life. These conclusions are reached through an extensive review of psychological and philosophical conceptions.
Genotyping, Drug Susceptibility and Prevalence Survey of Trichomonas vaginalis among Women Attending Gynecology Clinics in Hamadan, Western Iran, in 2014–2015

Background: In spite of sufficient knowledge about phenotypic variation of Trichomonas vaginalis, its genetic characteristics are poorly understood. We carried out a molecular epidemiology study in which in vitro metronidazole susceptibility of T. vaginalis isolates was considered. Methods: This study was conducted on 862 women admitted to Gynecology Clinics in Hamadan, west of Iran, during 2014–2015. After recording the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of participants, vaginal swab samples were taken and subjected to microscopic examination, culture, in vitro sensitivity testing and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Results: T. vaginalis was detected in 1.9% (16/862) of the samples using two parasitological methods. The all T. vaginalis isolates that subjected to drug susceptibility analysis were sensitive to metronidazole with MICs ranged from 0.4 to 12.8 μg/ml. T. vaginalis genotyping by using actin gene and PCR-RFLP analysis identified three actin type; A (9, 56%), I (6, 38%) and E (1, 6%). No significant correlation was observed between actin genotypes and their clinical manifestation (P>0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of T. vaginalis infection is not noticeable in the region and the most of isolates are hypersensitive to metronidazole. Further studies are needed to clarify the efficiency of the actin gene, as a reliable genetic marker, for molecular epidemiology of trichomoniasis.
A Novel Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Approach to Monitor Cardiac Metabolic Pathway Remodeling in Response to Sunitinib Malate

Sunitinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of multiple solid tumors. However, cardiotoxicity is of increasing concern, with a need to develop rational mechanism driven approaches for the early detection of cardiac dysfunction. We sought to interrogate changes in cardiac energy substrate usage during sunitinib treatment, hypothesising that these changes could represent a strategy for the early detection of cardiotoxicity. Balb/CJ mice or Sprague-Dawley rats were treated orally for 4 weeks with 40 or 20 mg/kg/day sunitinib. Cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) was implemented to investigate alterations in myocardial glucose and oxidative metabolism. Following treatment, blood pressure increased, and left ventricular ejection fraction decreased. Cardiac [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET revealed increased glucose uptake after 48 hours. [11C]Acetate-PET showed decreased myocardial perfusion following treatment. Electron microscopy revealed significant lipid accumulation in the myocardium. Proteomic analyses indicated that oxidative metabolism, fatty acid β-oxidation and mitochondrial dysfunction were among the top myocardial signalling pathways perturbed. Sunitinib treatment results in an increased reliance on glycolysis, increased myocardial lipid deposition and perturbed mitochondrial function, indicative of a fundamental energy crisis resulting in compromised myocardial energy metabolism and function. Our findings suggest that a cardiac PET strategy may represent a rational approach to non-invasively monitor metabolic pathway remodeling following sunitinib treatment.
Providing a Sense of Touch to Prosthetic Hands

Summary: Each year, approximately 185,000 Americans suffer the devastating loss of a limb. The effects of upper limb amputations are profound because a person’s hands are tools for everyday functioning, expressive communication, and other uniquely human attributes. Despite the advancements in prosthetic technology, current upper limb prostheses are still limited in terms of complex motor control and sensory feedback. Sensory feedback is critical to restoring full functionality to amputated patients because it would relieve the cognitive burden of relying solely on visual input to monitor motor commands and provide tremendous psychological benefits. This article reviews the latest innovations in sensory feedback and argues in favor of peripheral nerve interfaces. First, the authors examine the structure of the peripheral nerve and its importance in the development of a sensory interface. Second, the authors discuss advancements in targeted muscle reinnervation and direct neural stimulation by means of intraneural electrodes. The authors then explore the future of prosthetic sensory feedback using innovative technologies for neural signaling, specifically, the sensory regenerative peripheral nerve interface and optogenetics. These breakthroughs pave the way for the development of a prosthetic limb with the ability to feel.
Mapping Spanish settlement at Santa Elena, 1566–1587: An integrated archaeogeophysical approach

Santa Elena, located on Parris Island along the coast of South Carolina, was the first capital, and northernmost permanent settlement, of Spanish La Florida. Over two decades of occupation (ad 1566–1587), five forts were successively built while by ad 1569 a burgeoning Spanish settlement of over 200 people, complete with artisans, farmers, and Jesuit missionaries, flourished. Here, we articulate the results of recent, full‐coverage ground‐penetrating radar and magnetic gradiometry surveys with over 40 years of extant archaeological data to elucidate organizational characteristics of the Spanish settlement at Santa Elena. In particular, we use geophysical data to identify the potential locations of buried Spanish wells across the site. We identify roughly 200 potential well locations and compare these locations to the distribution of Spanish artifacts across the site yielded through a full‐coverage shovel test survey, the arrangement of Spanish structures known from large‐scale block excavations, and the likely position of roadways and house lots. This new data is used to contextualize and refine extant understandings of Santa Elena's town plan while also contributing to a broader research program devoted to exploring Spanish colonial life and settlement in 16th‐century North America (The Santa Elena Landscape Project). As Santa Elena is a National Historic Landmark currently threatened by rising sea levels, this work contributes to an efficient, minimally invasive research program devoted to exploring the Spanish settlement at Santa Elena and to documenting the range of cultural resources present at the site for the purposes of protection and remediation in the context of significant, ongoing shoreline erosion.
Health promoting schools and health promotion in schools: two systematic reviews.

Searching The following databases were searched: ERIC (1980 to 1997), PsycINFO (1980 to 1997), MEDLINE (1966 to 1997), CINAHL (1982 to 1997), ASSIA (1980 to 1997), Sociofile (1974 to 1997), EMBASE (1980 to 1997), and the British Education Index (1980 to 1997). No time or language restrictions were applied. The following databases were searched for 'grey' literature: SIGLE (1980 to 1997), DHSS Data (1980 to 1997), and Dissertation Abstracts (1980 to 1997). The MEDLINE strategy was adapted for use with other databases. Relevant web pages were scanned, including those of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools. Reference lists of retrieved papers were examined to identify further relevant studies. Requests for unpublished data were made to individuals and organisations in the field of health promotion. Bibliographies of identified reviews were scanned for relevant studies. Search terms were listed in an appendix to the main report.
Discipline scientifique et discipline sociale : Réseaux de conseil, apprentissage collectif et innovation dans la recherche française sur le cancer (1997-1999)

Cet article presente les premiers resultats d'une recherche insistant sur l'importance des structures relationnelles pour la capacite collective d'innover. La science est le produit toujours temporaire d'une activite de recherche collective. Pour innover collectivement, il faut se co-orienter et apprendre collectivement. Nous proposons ici une approche structurale de cette co-orientation et de cet apprentissage collectifs dan la recherche sur le cancer en France, milieu dont nous avons observe les membres les plus performants (en termes de publications) entre 1997 et 1999. Notre hypothese es que la cooperation durable entre chercheurs potentiellement concurrents mais interdependants que Francois Bourricaud appelait les "associes-rivaux condamnes a vivre ensemble" depend de la discipline sociale qu'ils s'imposent. Apres avoir defini cette notion de discipline sociale, nous en examinons certains aspects dans l'analyse des reseaux de conseil entre les membres de cette elite de chercheurs. Notre mise en œuvre de l'approche structurale de la discipline sociale sous-jacente a l'activite scientifique s'appuie sur l'examen de la structure de ces reseaux de conseil. Les analyses suggerent que les sous-disciplines scientifiques (notamment l'hematologie- immunologie de cette periode) qui ont ete les plus performantes en termes de publications (dont la valeur est mesuree, meme imparfaitement, par les impact factor des publications des chercheurs) sont celles qui ont su creer et entretenir cette forme specifique de discipline sociale, une structure relationnelle permettant de cultiver et d'attenuer (simultanement) la concurrence de statut entre ces "associes-rivaux".
Counting at Large: Efficient Cardinality Estimation in Internet-Scale Data Networks

Counting in general, and estimating the cardinality of (multi-) sets in particular, is highly desirable for a large variety of applications, representing a foundational block for the efficient deployment and access of emerging internetscale information systems. Examples of such applications range from optimizing query access plans in internet-scale databases, to evaluating the significance (rank/score) of various data items in information retrieval applications. The key constraints that any acceptable solution must satisfy are: (i) efficiency: the number of nodes that need be contacted for counting purposes must be small in order to enjoy small latency and bandwidth requirements; (ii) scalability, seemingly contradicting the efficiency goal: arbitrarily large numbers of nodes nay need to add elements to a (multi-) set, which dictates the need for a highly distributed solution, avoiding server-based scalability, bottleneck, and availability problems; (iii) access and storage load balancing: counting and related overhead chores should be distributed fairly to the nodes of the network; (iv) accuracy: tunable, robust (in the presence of dynamics and failures) and highly accurate cardinality estimation; (v) simplicity and ease of integration: special, solution-specific indexing structures should be avoided. In this paper, first we contribute a highly-distributed, scalable, efficient, and accurate (multi-) set cardinality estimator. Subsequently, we show how to use our solution to build and maintain histograms, which have been a basic building block for query optimization for centralized databases, facilitating their porting into the realm of internet-scale data networks.
Optimum DMT-based transceivers for multiuser communications

The paper considers discrete multitone (DMT) modulation for multiuser communications when multiple users are supported by the same system, a zero-padding redundancy is employed at the transmitter output, and linear redundancy removal is used at the channel output. These users may have differing quality of service (QoS) requirements, as quantified by bit rate and symbol-error rate specifications, and are each assigned an equal number of subchannels. Our goal is to minimize the transmitted power, given the QoS specifications and subject to the knowledge of the channel and the second-order statistics of the colored interference at the receiver input. In particular, we find an optimum bit-loading scheme that distributes the bit rate transmitted across the various subchannels belonging to each user, and, subject to this bit allocation, we determine the precise subchannels assigned to each user, the optimum transceiver characterized by the input/output block transforms, and the redundancy removal operation. A major conclusion is that even though the optimum bit-rate allocation differs from the single-user case, the optimum transceiver does not. Further, it is determined entirely by the channel and interference conditions, and is unaffected by the QoS requirements.
Lingusitic Analysis of Multi-Modal Recurrent Neural Networks

Recurrent neural networks (RNN) have gained a reputation for beating state-of-the-art results on many NLP benchmarks and for learning representations of words and larger linguistic units that encode complex syntactic and semantic structures. However, it is not straight-forward to understand how exactly these models make their decisions. Recently Li et al. (2015) developed methods to provide linguistically motivated analysis for RNNs trained for sentiment analysis. Here we focus on the analysis of a multi-modal Gated Recurrent Neural Network (GRU) architecture trained to predict image-vectors extracted from images using a CNN trained on ImageNet from their corresponding descriptions. We propose two methods to explore the importance of grammatical categories with respect to the model and the task. We observe that the model pays most attention to head-words, noun subjects and adjectival modifiers and least to determiners and coordinations.
Towards Synthesis from Assume-Guarantee Contracts involving Infinite Theories: A Preliminary Report

In previous work, we have introduced a contract-based realizability checking algorithm for assume-guarantee contracts involving infinite theories, such as linear integer/real arithmetic and uninterpreted functions over infinite domains. This algorithm can determine whether or not it is possible to construct a realization (i.e. an implementation) of an assume-guarantee contract. The algorithm is similar to k-induction model checking, but involves the use of quantifiers to determine implementability. While our work on realizability is inherently useful for virtual integration in determining whether it is possible for suppliers to build software that meets a contract, it also provides the foundations to solving the more challenging problem of component synthesis. In this paper, we provide an initial synthesis algorithm for assume-guarantee contracts involving infinite theories. To do so, we take advantage of our realizability checking procedure and a skolemization solver for ∀∃-formulas, called AE-VAL. We show that it is possible to immediately adapt our existing algorithm towards synthesis by using this solver, using a demonstration example. We then discuss challenges towards creating a more robust synthesis algorithm.
Can Differences in Partner Availability Explain Differences in Interracial/Ethnic Matching between Same- and Different-Sex Couples?

Previous research has found that same-sex couples are more likely to be in interracial/ethnic partnerships than are different-sex couples. Drawing on search theory, we evaluate the plausibility of a common explanation for the higher likelihood of interracial/ethnic partnership among same-sex couples—that those seeking same-sex partners must widen their search because of the smaller pool of available partners. We use data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. censuses and the 2005-7 American Community Survey to compare patterns of interracial/ethnic partnership among same-sex male cohabiting couples, same-sex female cohabiting couples, different-sex cohabiting couples, and different-sex married couples. We present multiple pieces of evidence that raise doubts about the availability hypothesis. Most of our measures indicate that in times and places where the availability of same-sex partners is greater, same-sex couples are more likely to be interracial/ethnic, a result opposite of what the availability hypothesis would predict. Our findings suggest the plausibility of other explanations for differences in interracial/ethnic matching between sameand different-sex couples, such as differences in preferences for partners, differences in the venues in which those seeking sameand different-sex partners meet, and differences in pressure from friends and family to form endogamous unions.
Supporting Personalized Top-k Skyline Queries in High-dimensional Web Data

As near-infinite amount of data are becoming accessible on the Web, it is getting more and more important to support intelligent query mechanisms, to help each user to identify the ideal results of manageable size. As such mechanism, skyline queries have gained a lot of attention lately for its intuitive query formulation. This intuitiveness, however, has a side-effect of generating too many results, especially for high-dimensional data, to satisfy a wide range of user’s needs. Our goal is to support personalized skyline queries as identifying “truly interesting” objects based on user-specific preference and retrieval size k. While this problem has been studied previously, the proposed solution identifies top-k results by navigating a “skycube”, which incurs exponential storage overhead to data dimensionality and excessive onetime computational overhead for skycube construction. In contrast, we develop novel techniques to significantly reduce these storage and computation overheads. Our extensive evaluation results validate this framework on both real-life and synthetic data.
Irregularity Detection in Categorized Document Corpora

The paper presents an approach to extract irregularities in document corpora, where the documents originate from different sources and the analyst's interest is to find documents which are atypical for the given source. The main contribution of the paper is a voting-based approach to irregularity detection and its evaluation on a collection of newspaper articles from two sources: Western (UK and US) and local (Kenyan) media. The evaluation of a domain expert proves that the method is very effective in uncovering interesting irregularities in categorized document corpora.