Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Fagin's algorithm for merging ranked results in multimedia middleware

A distributed multimedia information system allows users to access data of different modalities, from different data sources, ranked by various combinations of criteria. Fagin (1996) gives an algorithm for efficiently merging multiple ordered streams of ranked results, to form a new stream ordered by a combination of those ranks. In this paper we describe the implementation of Fagin's algorithm in an actual multimedia middleware system, including a novel, incremental version of the algorithm that supports dynamic exploration of data. We show that the algorithm would perform well as part of a single multimedia server and can even be effective in the distributed environment (for a limited set of queries), but that the assumptions it makes about random access limit its applicability dramatically. Our experience provides a better understanding of an important algorithm, and exposes an open problem for distributed multimedia information systems.
Voltage‐gated calcium currents in the magnocellular neurosecretory cells of the rat supraoptic nucleus.

1. Whole‐cell patch‐clamp techniques were used to analyse voltage‐dependent calcium currents in acutely isolated somata of magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) from the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus of adult rats. Currents were characterized on the basis of their rates of inactivation and their sensitivity to a series of calcium channel blocking agents. 2. Curve fitting analysis of series of long lasting depolarizing voltage steps from a holding potential of ‐80 mV revealed three current components with different voltage dependences and rates of inactivation (n = 36). These include a low threshold (‐60 mV), rapidly inactivating (tau = 42 +/‐ 3 ms at ‐10 mV) component, a high threshold (‐30 mV), slowly inactivating (tau = 1790 +/‐ 70 ms) component and a component with an intermediate threshold (‐50 mV) and rate of inactivation (tau = 187 +/‐ 15 ms). There is also a non‐inactivating portion of evoked calcium current with a threshold of ‐50 mV. 3. Based on its voltage dependence, rate of inactivation, greater sensitivity to the divalent cation nickel than to cadmium and insensitivity to omega‐conotoxin GVIA (omega‐CgTX), the low threshold current appears to be a T‐type calcium current. The rate of inactivation, voltage dependence, and sensitivity to omega‐CgTX of the slowly inactivating component suggests that it is an N‐type current. The characteristics of the intermediate component do not correspond to any identified calcium current type. 4. Portions of the non‐inactivating calcium current are sensitive to nifedipine (23 +/‐ 2% of the total non‐inactivating current at ‐10 mV; n = 10), suggesting the presence of L‐type currents, omega‐agatoxin‐IVA (omega‐Aga‐IVA; 20 +/‐ 6% of total; n = 11), suggesting the presence of P‐type channels, and omega‐CgTX (39 +/‐ 3% of total; n = 19), suggesting the presence of a non‐inactivating N‐type current. The non‐inactivating component at low potentials (> or = ‐50 mV) was selectively blocked by nifedipine, suggesting the presence of a novel, low threshold L‐type current. 5. We conclude that MNC soma express T‐, N‐, L‐, and P‐type calcium currents, as well as a novel low threshold nifedipine‐sensitive current and an unidentified inactivating component. This complement of currents is different from that seen in the terminals of these cells, suggesting a spatial and functional segregation of calcium current types in MNCs.
Reliable voice activity detection algorithms under adverse environments

In this paper, two robust voice activity detection (VAD) algorithms are proposed for harsh environments. The first algorithm is based on supervised neural network (NN) using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. A feedforward NN with two layers operates on input features which are the mel-frequency cepstral coefficients extracted from noisy speech frames. The second algorithm is a threshold-based method that employs only single subband power distance feature calculated from wavelet coefficients at different wavelet subbands. A statistical percentile filtering technique based on long-term information is improved to estimate adaptive noise threshold more accurately. The proposed algorithms are tested with the TIMIT database which was artificially distorted by different additive noise types, and are compared with state-of-the-art VAD methods. The results show that they are very robust to different types of noise and mostly outperform the standard VADs such as the ETSI AFE ES 202 050 and ITU-T G.729 B.
Consensus algorithm with input constraints for swarm robots formation control

In this paper, a consensus algorithm with input constraints for swarm robots was introduced. The stability of the algorithm was proved via Lyapnov stability criterion. The algorithm of aggregation and dispersion behavior with input constraints was established by applying the algorithm to formation control. The simulation results of swarm robots formation control showed that the converge rate of the consensus with input constrains is slower and smoother than the consensus without input constrains.
The rest of the family: the role of fathers and siblings in early language development

Introduction At one time there was a simple picture of the role of the linguistic environment in child language acquisition. The classic motherese hypothesis – as embodied, for example, in many of the papers in the inaugural Snow and Ferguson (1977) volume – went something like this. Just as children cannot learn to ride a bicycle by simply being given one, they cannot learn to speak a language by simply being exposed to one. In both cases adults must provide some training wheels. In the case of language this means addressing children directly, in a high pitch, with child-friendly utterances – morphologically and semantically simple words put together into short and simple sentences – that are tuned in to the child's current focus of attention or conversational topic. In general, empirical research with Western middle-class mothers has confirmed that how well adults do these things is reliably associated with such outcomes as children's early vocabulary size and mean length of utterance (MLU); and there are even some experimental results that suggest a causal role for motherese (see Bohannon and Warren-Leubecker 1988 for an overall review). The complications with this hypothesis that have emerged in recent years are twofold. First, mothers in some other cultures do not interact with their children in the same way that Western middle-class mothers do.
Covenant Cog or Functional Fourth Estate. A Survey of Malaysian Journalists’ Attitudes towards their Profession

In Malaysia, the idealistic notion of the news media as ‘watchdog’ is largely redundant due to the external and institutional realities associated with its functioning in a heavily regulated, monitored and controlled media system. There has been little analysis of Malaysian journalists’ perceptions of their profession. Operating within an authoritarian mediascape, Malaysian journalists have to surrender their journalistic values and principles of practice thereby pervading a culture of self-censorship.
A New International Division of Labor in Europe: Offshoring and Outsourcing to Eastern Europe

Europe is reorganizing its international value chain. I document these changes in Europe’s international organization of production with new survey data of Austrian and German firms investing in Eastern Europe. I show estimates of the share of intra-firm trade between Austria and Germany on the one hand and Eastern Europe on the other. Furthermore, I present empirical evidence of the drivers of the new division of labor in Europe. I find among other things that falling trade costs and falling corruption levels as well as improvements in the contracting environment in Eastern Europe are affecting the level of intra-firm imports from Eastern Europe. They are also favoring outsourcing over offshoring. Low organizational costs of hierarchies and large costs of hold-up (when there are no alternative investors in Old Europe or no alternative suppliers in Eastern Europe) are favoring offshoring over outsourcing. Tax holidays granted by host countries in Eastern Europe also mildly affect the organizational choice.
Verification of program computations

Formal verification of complex algorithms is challenging. Verifying their implementations in reasonable time is infeasible using current verification tools and usually involves intricate mathematical theorems. Certifying algorithms compute in addition to each output a witness certifying that the output is correct. A checker for such a witness is usually much simpler than the original algorithm – yet it is all the user has to trust. The verification of checkers is feasible with current tools and leads to computations that can be completely trusted. We describe a framework to seamlessly verify certifying computations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by presenting the verification of typical examples of the industrial-level and widespread algorithmic library LEDA. We present and compare two alternative methods for verifying the C implementation of the checkers. Moreover, we present work that was done during an internship at NICTA, Australia’s Information and Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence. This work contributes to building a feasible framework for verifying efficient file systems code. As opposed to the algorithmic problems we address in this thesis, file systems code is mostly straightforward and hence a good candidate for automation.
The role of emotion in practical rationality

In this thesis I argue that emotion is integral to practical rationality, contrary to the dominant tradition that has held that emotions are irrational and dangerous disruptive influences that we? d be better off without. In Chapter 1 I argue that practical rationality consists in doing what one has most normative reason to do, and in Chapter 2 that an agent is practically rational to the extent that she responds to her reasons; this is how she guides her actions in line with the norm of doing what she has most reason to do. This can be done in ways other than by the employment of practical reasoning. In Chapter 3 I argue for a picture of practical reasoning that stands against the division of emotion and rationality. This account makes room for the overwhelming evidence that challenges the traditional view of emotions as the enemy of practical rationality. Chapter 4 gives a brief overview of the philosophical literature of emotions, and their place in practical rationality. In Chapter 5 I argue that emotions provide us with the necessary access to our reasons for action which we need in order to be able to respond to them, and thereby to be practically rational. Further, as I argue in Chapter 6, emotions play vital roles in the process of practical reasoning itself. Thus practical rationality would not be better off without emotion. In Chapter 7 I argue that we should distinguish between two types of incontinent action (acting against ones all things considered judgement about what one has most reason to do) and that one of these ? weakness of will ? is necessarily irrational, but the other ? akrasia ? is not. In Chapter 8 I apply my thesis to the question in the practical domain of what it means to ? lose self-control? in the context of killing in response to a provocation, which is a defence to murder. I argue that the ? control? that is lost is the regulative guiding control characteristic of the reason-responder. Understanding practical agency as reason-responsiveness, and understanding the role that emotions play within it as per my thesis, enables this coherent understanding. Thus I am arguing for neither a pro-emotion nor anti-emotion view of the role of emotion in practical rationality. Emotions should not be seen as either ? for? rationality nor ? against? rationality: they are simply part of rationality.
Mechanism of Auxiliary Subunit Modulation of Neuronal α1E Calcium Channels

Voltage-gated calcium channels are composed of a main pore-forming α1 moiety, and one or more auxiliary subunits (β, α2δ) that modulate channel properties. Because modulatory properties may vary greatly with different channels, expression systems, and protocols, it is advantageous to study subunit regulation with a uniform experimental strategy. Here, in HEK 293 cells, we examine the expression and activation gating of α1E calcium channels in combination with a β (β1–β4) and/or the α2δ subunit, exploiting both ionic- and gating-current measurements. Furthermore, to explore whether more than one auxiliary subunit can concomitantly specify gating properties, we investigate the effects of cotransfecting α2δ with β subunits, of transfecting two different β subunits simultaneously, and of COOH-terminal truncation of α1E to remove a second β binding site. The main results are as follows. (a) The α2δ and β subunits modulate α1E in fundamentally different ways. The sole effect of α2δ is to increase current density by elevating channel density. By contrast, though β subunits also increase functional channel number, they also enhance maximum open probability (Gmax/Qmax) and hyperpolarize the voltage dependence of ionic-current activation and gating-charge movement, all without discernible effect on activation kinetics. Different β isoforms produce nearly indistinguishable effects on activation. However, β subunits produced clear, isoform-specific effects on inactivation properties. (b) All the β subunit effects can be explained by a gating model in which subunits act only on weakly voltage-dependent steps near the open state. (c) We find no clear evidence for simultaneous modulation by two different β subunits. (d) The modulatory features found here for α1E do not generalize uniformly to other α1 channel types, as α1C activation gating shows marked β isoform dependence that is absent for α1E. Together, these results help to establish a more comprehensive picture of auxiliary-subunit regulation of α1E calcium channels.
Genetic analysis of simulated oligogenic traits in nuclear and extended pedigrees: Summary of GAW10 contributions

Participants of GAW10 had available simulated data on phenotypic and marker data for 200 replicates of each of two different collections of pedigrees. The simulated phenotype was multivariate and oligogenic, and included a number of complexities. Participants took widely different approaches to analysis. We compare their results to identify analysis approaches and use of the data that had the greatest impact on the conclusions, accuracy of estimates, and power to identify genetic factors. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Neuroplasticity in respiratory motor control.

Although recent evidence demonstrates considerable neuroplasticity in the respiratory control system, a comprehensive conceptual framework is lacking. Our goals in this review are to define plasticity (and related neural properties) as it pertains to respiratory control and to discuss potential sites, mechanisms, and known categories of respiratory plasticity. Respiratory plasticity is defined as a persistent change in the neural control system based on prior experience. Plasticity may involve structural and/or functional alterations (most commonly both) and can arise from multiple cellular/synaptic mechanisms at different sites in the respiratory control system. Respiratory neuroplasticity is critically dependent on the establishment of necessary preconditions, the stimulus paradigm, the balance between opposing modulatory systems, age, gender, and genetics. Respiratory plasticity can be induced by hypoxia, hypercapnia, exercise, injury, stress, and pharmacological interventions or conditioning and occurs during development as well as in adults. Developmental plasticity is induced by experiences (e.g., altered respiratory gases) during sensitive developmental periods, thereby altering mature respiratory control. The same experience later in life has little or no effect. In adults, neuromodulation plays a prominent role in several forms of respiratory plasticity. For example, serotonergic modulation is thought to initiate and/or maintain respiratory plasticity following intermittent hypoxia, repeated hypercapnic exercise, spinal sensory denervation, spinal cord injury, and at least some conditioned reflexes. Considerable work is necessary before we fully appreciate the biological significance of respiratory plasticity, its underlying cellular/molecular and network mechanisms, and the potential to harness respiratory plasticity as a therapeutic tool.
Modeling of Retinal Ganglion Cell Responses to Electrical Stimulation with Multiple Electrodes

Introduction Since work on epiretinal electrical stimulation for vision restoration began in the 1980s, it has become clear that development of an implantable epiretinal prosthesis that can restore vision to a level at which significant visual tasks, such as face recognition and reading, is feasible. The transmission of meaningful visual information from the prosthesis to the central nervous system is central to the success of such prostheses. This transmission can be achieved by controlling the firing of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) using electrical fields created by current injected on the inner surface of the retina. In order to induce the same activity that occurs during normal vision, this control must have single-cell specificity. Individual RGCs have been stimulated using single micron-scale electrodes in isolated mammalian retina. However, it is unlikely that stimulation with single electrodes will be capable of specifically stimulating each RGC in the retina due to the high density of RGCs, particularly in the central regions of the retina. In order to selectively stimulate cells with an electrode array that has a lower electrode density than the density of the targeted cells, specific combinations of electrodes must be chosen that maximize selectivity of the targeted cells. However, the effect of stimulation with combinations of electrodes on the response of RGCs is unknown. Experimental evidence (not shown) suggests that the response of a retinal ganglion cell to current injection through a pair of electrodes may not be predictable based only the responses of the cell to stimulation by each of the electrodes individually. The purpose of this study was to model the effects of using combinations of micron-scale disc electrodes to stimulate an individual RGC. In particular, the study will examine the relationship between the sensitivity of an RGC to current injection through individual electrodes and through pairs of electrodes.
For Better and For Worse

Evidence that adverse rearing environments exert negative effects particularly on children presumed “vulnerable” for temperamental or genetic reasons may actually reflect something else: heightened susceptibility to the negative effects of risky environments and to the beneficial effects of supportive environments. Building on Belsky's (1997, 2005) evolutionary-inspired proposition that some children are more affected—both for better and for worse—by their rearing experiences than are others, we consider recent work on child vulnerability, including that involving measured genes, along with evidence showing that putatively vulnerable children are especially susceptible to both positive and negative rearing effects. We also consider methodological issues and unanswered questions in the differential-susceptibility equation.
Cationic Immune Stimulating Complexes Containing Soluble Leishmania Antigens: Preparation, Characterization and in Vivo Immune Response Evaluation.

BACKGROUND Cationic immune stimulating complexes (PLUSCOMs) are particulate antigen delivery systems. PLUSCOMs consist of cationic immunostimulatory complexes (ISCOMs) derivatives and are able to elicit in vivo T cell responses against an antigen. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of PLUSCOMs containing Leishmania major antigens (SLA) on the type of immune response generated in the murine model of leishmaniasis. METHODS PLUSCOMs consisting of 1, 2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) were used as antigen delivery system/immunoadjuvants for soluble SLA. BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously, three times in 2-week intervals. Footpads swellings at the site of challenge and parasite loads were assessed as a measure of protection. The immune responses were also evaluated by determination of IgG subclasses and the level of IFN-γ and IL-4 in cultured splenocytes. RESULTS There was no significant difference (p<0.05) between the sizes of lesions in mice immunized with different formulations. Also, there was no significant difference in the number of parasites in the footpad or spleen of all groups compared with the control group. The highest level of IFN-γ secretion was observed in the splenocytes of mice immunized with PLUSCOM/SLA (p<0.001) and lower amounts of IL-4 was observed in PLUSCOM group (p<0.001) as compared to negative control. CONCLUSION Our results indicated that SLA in different formulations generated an immune response with mixed Th1/Th2 response that was not protective enough despite the activation of CD4+ T cells with secreting IFN-γ in groups which received PLUSCOM with antigen.
Recherche de microblogs : quels critères pour raffiner les résultats des moteurs usuels de RI ?

RESUME. Depuis quelques annees, les services de microblogs, comme Twitter, attirent l’attention des internautes. Cet attrait peut s’expliquer par la facilite et la rapidite avec laquelle les internautes peuvent partager des informations, le plus souvent en temps reel. Les microbloggeurs, en parallele de leur publication de microblogs, cherchent egalement souvent a collecter des informations recentes sur leurs derniers sujets d’interet. Trouver les meilleurs resultats pour un sujet demeure dependant des caracteristiques des microblogs (comme par exemple la longueur tres faible des messages, la qualite du langage utilise, la fiabilite du diffuseur. . . ). Dans cet article, nous proposons d’evaluer l’impact de certains criteres sur la qualite des resultats renvoyes sur un sujet donne. Nous considerons trois groupes de criteres : ceux lies au contenu des microblogs, ceux lies a leur hypertextualite et enfin ceux lies aux auteurs des microblogs. Nos resultats experimentaux utilisent la collection TREC Tweets 2011 et montrent l’interet de criteres tels que l’hypertextualite.
Random forests in non-invasive sensorimotor rhythm brain-computer interfaces: a practical and convenient non-linear classifier

Abstract There is general agreement in the brain-computer interface (BCI) community that although non-linear classifiers can provide better results in some cases, linear classifiers are preferable. Particularly, as non-linear classifiers often involve a number of parameters that must be carefully chosen. However, new non-linear classifiers were developed over the last decade. One of them is the random forest (RF) classifier. Although popular in other fields of science, RFs are not common in BCI research. In this work, we address three open questions regarding RFs in sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) BCIs: parametrization, online applicability, and performance compared to regularized linear discriminant analysis (LDA). We found that the performance of RF is constant over a large range of parameter values. We demonstrate – for the first time – that RFs are applicable online in SMR-BCIs. Further, we show in an offline BCI simulation that RFs statistically significantly outperform regularized LDA by about 3%. These results confirm that RFs are practical and convenient non-linear classifiers for SMR-BCIs. Taking into account further properties of RFs, such as independence from feature distributions, maximum margin behavior, multiclass and advanced data mining capabilities, we argue that RFs should be taken into consideration for future BCIs.