Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrocorticogram encoding of upper extremity movement trajectories

Electrocorticogram (ECoG)-based brain computer interfaces (BCI) can potentially control upper extremity pros-theses to restore independent function to paralyzed individuals. However, current research is mostly restricted to the offline decoding of finger or 2D arm movement trajectories, and these results are modest. This study seeks to improve the fundamental understanding of the ECoG signal features underlying upper extremity movements to guide better BCI design. Subjects undergoing ECoG electrode implantation performed a series of elementary upper extremity movements in an intermittent flexion and extension manner. It was found that movement velocity, θ̇, had a high positive (negative) correlation with the instantaneous power of the ECoG high-γ band (80-160 Hz) during flexion (extension). Also, the correlation was low during idling epochs. Visual inspection of the ECoG high-γ band revealed power bursts during flexion/extension events that had a waveform that strongly resembled the corresponding flexion/extension event as seen on θ̇. These high-γ bursts were present in all elementary movements, and were spatially distributed in a somatotopic fashion. Thus, it can be concluded that the high-γ power of ECoG strongly encodes for movement trajectories, and can be used as an input feature in future BCIs.
A Joint Approach to Routing Metrics and Rate Adaptation in Wireless Mesh Networks

This paper presents MARA, a joint mechanism for automatic rate selection and route quality evaluation in wireless mesh networks. This mechanism targets at avoiding the problems of lack of synchronization between metric and rate selection decisions and inaccurate link quality estimates, common to main existing proposals of multihop wireless routing metrics and automatic rate adaptation. In this proposal, the statistics collected by the routing protocol are used by the rate adaptation algorithm to compute the best rate for each wireless link. This coordinated decision aims at providing better routing and rate choices. In addition to the basic MARA algorithm, two variations are proposed: MARA-P and MARA-RP. The first considers the size of each packet in the transmission rate decision. The second variation considers the packet size also for the routing choices. For evaluation purposes, experiments were conducted on both real and simulated environments. In these experiments, MARA was compared to a number of rate adaptation algorithms and routing metrics. Results from both environments indicate that MARA may lead to an overall network performance improvement.
Semantical interprocedural parallelization: an overview of the PIPS project

PIPS is an experhnental FORTRAN source-to-source parallelizer that combines the goal of exploring interprocedural and semantical analysis with a requirement for compilation speed. We present in this paper the main features of PIPS, i.e., demand-driven architecture, automatic support for multiple implementation languages, structured control graph, predicates and regions for interprocedural analysis and global nested loop paralle~lzation, with an emphasis on its core data structures and transformation phases. Some preliminary results on the practical impact of our design choices are discussed. This research is partially funded by DRET, under contract 87-017.
The Outsider’s Advantage: Distrust as a Deterrent to Exploitation1

Trust creates vulnerability to exploitation. This article approaches this paradox by comparing the exploitability of categorical trust within social groups to the deterrent effect of categorical distrust between rival groups. The empirical setting is a 2008 stockbrokerage fraud perpetrated on an ethnically diverse population of investors in Kenya’s Nairobi Securities Exchange. As expected, investors prefer brokerages operated by coethnics and avoid brokerages operated by ethnic rivals, but clients coethnic with the corrupt brokerage are not protected from victimization in the fraud. Instead, the brokerage’s rival-group clients receive this protection. Both patterns are primarily seen in high-conflict areas rather than being true across all settings. Mechanism tests suggest that monitoring stimulated by rivals’ distrust drives this result, but deepening relational embedding with the brokerage attenuates it. A concluding discussion positions these findings in the larger social capital literature and considers whether social homogeneity might be a causal factor in opportunism.
Unbiased simulation of structural transitions in calmodulin

We introduce an approach for performing "very long" computer simulations of the dynamics of simplified, folded proteins. Using an alpha-carbon protein model and a fine grid to mimic continuum computations at increased speed, we perform unbiased simulations which exhibit many large-scale conformational transitions at low cost. In the case of the 72-residue N-terminal domain of calmodulin, the approach yields structural transitions between the calcium-free and calcium-bound structures at a rate of roughly one per day on a single Intel processor. Stable intermediates can be clearly characterized. The model employs Go-like interactions to stabilize two (or more) experimentally-determined structures. The approach is trivially parallelizable and readily generalizes to more complex potentials at minimal cost.
Taming the torrent: a practical approach to reducing cross-isp traffic in peer-to-peer systems

Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems, which provide a variety of popular services, such as file sharing, video streaming and voice-over-IP, contribute a significant portion of today's Internet traffic. By building overlay networks that are oblivious to the underlying Internet topology and routing, these systems have become one of the greatest traffic-engineering challenges for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the source of costly data traffic flows. In an attempt to reduce these operational costs, ISPs have tried to shape, block or otherwise limit P2P traffic, much to the chagrin of their subscribers, who consistently finds ways to eschew these controls or simply switch providers. In this paper, we present the design, deployment and evaluation of an approach to reducing this costly cross-ISP traffic without sacrificing system performance. Our approach recycles network views gathered at low cost from content distribution networks to drive biased neighbor selection without any path monitoring or probing. Using results collected from a deployment in BitTorrent with over 120,000 users in nearly 3,000 networks, we show that our lightweight approach significantly reduces cross-ISP traffic and, over 33% of the time, it selects peers along paths that are within a single autonomous system (AS). Further, we find that our system locates peers along paths that have two orders of magnitude lower latency and 30% lower loss rates than those picked at random, and that these high-quality paths can lead to significant improvements in transfer rates. In challenged settings where peers are overloaded in terms of available bandwidth, our approach provides 31% average download-rate improvement; in environments with large available bandwidth, it increases download rates by 207% on average (and improves median rates by 883%
Performance Analysis of RLC/MAC Protocol in General Packet Radio Service

We analyze the throughput and delay performance of the radi o link control/media access control (RLC/MAC) protocol layers in General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks. Several time-slotte d uplink radio frequency channels are shared by the mobiles on a request reservation based multiple access scheme. Using the theory of Markov cha ins, we derive expressions for the uplink throughput and delay performance of the GPRS-MAC protocol. Further, we evaluate the performance ofthe RLC (Acknowledged mode) layer using block level retransmissio n (as defined in the current GPRS) and compare it with that of using slot level retransmission (which is in the proposal stage). We show that slot le v l retransmission at the RLC layer performs better than block level retransmission, particularly when the channel error rate is high.
Estimated global incidence of Japanese encephalitis: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To update the estimated global incidence of Japanese encephalitis (JE) using recent data for the purpose of guiding prevention and control efforts. METHODS Thirty-two areas endemic for JE in 24 Asian and Western Pacific countries were sorted into 10 incidence groups on the basis of published data and expert opinion. Population-based surveillance studies using laboratory-confirmed cases were sought for each incidence group by a computerized search of the scientific literature. When no eligible studies existed for a particular incidence group, incidence data were extrapolated from related groups. FINDINGS A total of 12 eligible studies representing 7 of 10 incidence groups in 24 JE-endemic countries were identified. Approximately 67,900 JE cases typically occur annually (overall incidence: 1.8 per 100,000), of which only about 10% are reported to the World Health Organization. Approximately 33,900 (50%) of these cases occur in China (excluding Taiwan) and approximately 51,000 (75%) occur in children aged 0-14 years (incidence: 5.4 per 100,000). Approximately 55,000 (81%) cases occur in areas with well established or developing JE vaccination programmes, while approximately 12,900 (19%) occur in areas with minimal or no JE vaccination programmes. CONCLUSION Recent data allowed us to refine the estimate of the global incidence of JE, which remains substantial despite improvements in vaccination coverage. More and better incidence studies in selected countries, particularly China and India, are needed to further refine these estimates.
A Taxonomy of Data Quality Problems

In today’s society the exploration of one or more databases to extract information or knowledge to support management is a critical success factor for an organization. However, it is well known that several problems can affect data quality. These problems have a negative effect in the results extracted from data, influencing their correction and validity. In this context, it is quite important to understand theoretically and in practice these data problems. This paper presents a taxonomy of data quality problems, derived from real-world databases. The taxonomy organizes the problems at different levels of abstraction. Methods to detect data quality problems represented as binary trees are also proposed for each abstraction level. The paper also compares this taxonomy with others already proposed in the literature.
Dynamical and Physical Properties of a Post-Coronal Mass Ejection Current Sheet

In the eruptive process of the Kopp-Pneuman type, the closed magnetic field is stretched by the eruption so much that it is usually believed to be "open" to infinity. Formation of the current sheet in such a configuration makes it possible for the energy in the coronal magnetic field to quickly convert into thermal and kinetic energies and cause significant observational consequences, such as growing postflare/CME loop system in the corona, separating bright flare ribbons in the chromosphere, and fast ejections of the plasma and the magnetic flux. An eruption on 2002 January 8 provides us a good opportunity to look into these observational signatures of and place constraints on the theories of eruptions. The event started with the expansion of a magnetic arcade over an active region, developed into a coronal mass ejection (CME), and left some thin streamer-like structures with successively growing loop systems beneath them. The plasma outflow and the highly ionized states of the plasma inside these streamer-like structures, as well as the growing loops beneath them, lead us to conclude that these structures are associated with a magnetic reconnection site, namely, the current sheet, of this eruptive process. We combine the data from the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer, Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment, EUV Imaging Telescope, and Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, as well as from the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Mark IV K-coronameter, to investigate the morphological and dynamical properties of this event, as well as the physical properties of the current sheet. The velocity and acceleration of the CME reached up to 1800 km s-1 and 1 km s-2, respectively. The acceleration is found to occur mainly at the lower corona (<2.76 R☉). The post-CME loop systems showed behaviors of both postflare loops (upward motion with decreasing speed) and soft X-ray giant arches (upward motion with constant speed, or acceleration) according to the definition of Švestka. In the current sheet, the presence of highly ionized ions, such as Fe+17 and Ca+13, suggests temperature as high as (3-4) × 106 K, and the plasma outflows have speeds ranging from 300 to 650 km s-1. Absolute elemental abundances in the current sheet show a strong first ionization potential effect and have values similar to those found in the active region streamers. The magnetic field strength in the vicinity of the current sheet is found to be of the order of 1 G.
Linear Processing for the Downlink in Multiuser MIMO Systems with Multiple Data Streams

In this paper we solve the problem of linear precoding for the downlink in multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The transmitter and the receivers may be equipped with multiple antennas and each user may receive multiple data streams. Our objective is to jointly optimize the power allocation and transmit-receive filters for all users. We develop the optimization for two different criteria: (1) minimizing the total transmitted power while satisfying SINR constraints and (2) minimizing the sum mean squared error given a total power budget. We take advantage of the duality between the uplink and downlink to derive the solution.
Comparison of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion and multiple daily injection regimens using insulin lispro in type 1 diabetic patients on intensified treatment: a randomized study. The Study Group for the Development of Pump Therapy in Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of 2 intensified insulin regimens, continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and multiple daily injections (MDI), by using the short-acting insulin analog lispro in type 1 diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 41 C-peptide-negative type 1 diabetic patients (age 43.5+/-10.3 years; 21 men and 20 women, BMI 24.0+/-2.4 kg/m2, diabetes duration 20.0+/-11.3 years) on intensified insulin therapy (MDI with regular insulin or lispro, n = 9, CSII with regular insulin, n = 32) were included in an open-label randomized crossover study comparing two 4-month periods of intensified insulin therapy with lispro: one period by MDI and the other by CSII. Blood glucose (BG) was monitored before and after each of the 3 meals each day. RESULTS The basal insulin regimen had to be optimized in 75% of the patients during the MDI period (mean number of NPH injections per day = 2.65). HbA1c values were lower when lispro was used in CSII than in MDI (7.89+/-0.77 vs. 8.24+/-0.77%, P<0.001). BG levels were lower with CSII (165+/-27 vs. 175+/-33 mg/dl, P<0.05). The SD of all the BG values (73+/-15 vs. 82+/-18 mg/dl, P<0.01) was lower with CSII. The frequency of hypoglycemic events, defined as BG levels <60 mg/dl, did not differ significantly between the 2 modalities (CSII 3.9+/-4.2 per 14 days vs. MDI 4.3+/-3.9 per 14 days). Mean insulin doses were significantly lower with CSII than with MDI (38.5+/-9.8 vs. 47.3+/-14.9 U/day. respectively, P< 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS When used with external pumps versus MDI, lispro provides better glycemic control and stability with much lower doses of insulin and does not increase the frequency of hypoglycemic episodes.
Latent Variable Models of Concept-Attribute Attachment

This paper presents a set of Bayesian methods for automatically extending the WordNet ontology with new concepts and annotating existing concepts with generic property fields, or attributes. We base our approach on Latent Dirichlet Allocation and evaluate along two dimensions: (1) the precision of the ranked lists of attributes, and (2) the quality of the attribute assignments to WordNet concepts. In all cases we find that the principled LDA-based approaches outperform previously proposed heuristic methods, greatly improving the specificity of attributes at each concept.
Mini-Review on the Cellular Mechanisms of Disease

clinical case reconstructed by Guido Majno (1975) from the Hippocratic records describes a wrestler who visits the iatreion (out-patient clinic) to be treated for a shoulder dislocation. With less invasive procedures no longer working to tighten the dislocation, the clinic adopts the drastic measure of inducing wound contraction by poking a hot needle through the skin of the armpit, and "in this way the cavity, into which the humerous is mostly displaced, is best scarred over and cut off" In Greek medicine circa 400 B.C.E. , familiarity with wound contraction after burn injury already was commonplace. Closure of cutaneous wounds involves three processes: epithelization, connective tissue deposition, and contraction. The contribution of each process varies according to the type of wound. In general, epithelization results in resurfacing of the wound; connective tissue deposition results in replacement of damaged dermis; and contraction brings the margins of open wounds together (Peacock, 1984; Clark, 1988; Mast, 1992). In mammals with loose skin (meaning loosely attached to the underlying tissue layer), wound contraction leads to wound closure with little scarring or loss of function. In humans, whose skin is more firmly attached to underlying tissues, the consequences of contraction are less beneficial, ranging from minimal cosmetic scar in some cases to loss of joint motion or major body deformation in others. Consequently, a distinction has been made between contraction as a normal process of wound closure, and contracture as the abnormal result of the contraction process where signifcant scarring or loss of function occurs (Hunt and Dunphy, 1979). The pathologic consequences of tissue contraction include a variety of conditions ranging from contracture of the fibrous capsule surrounding breast implants to constricture of hollow organs (e.g., the esophagus) after injury (Skalli and Gabbiani, 1988; Rudolph et al., 1992). In contemporary cell biology, research on wound contraction focuses on the wound fibroblast. Skin fibroblasts normally are sessile and quiescent, but shortly after cutaneous wounding, they become activated. Activated fibroblasts migrate to the fibronectin-fibrin wound interface, proliferate, and synthesize a new collagen-containing matrix called granulation tissue. Around the same time, wound contraction begins. Once the wound defect is replaced, the expanded fibroblast population stops dividing and regresses and extracellular matrix remodeling commences (Peacock, 1984; Clark, 1993). Despite the importance of wound contraction for wound
S-T analysis of classroom teaching

Teaching is a complicated social system with human's actions and thinking actions. To have specific cognition, understanding and evaluation to teaching system, we must record, analyze, study the teaching process efficiently to make the evaluation of teaching process perfect. Based on some concrete cases, this paper discusses the theory and methods on how to use S-T analyzing methods of education information processing to collect, deal with and analyze the teaching information in class.
Single-dose fluconazole versus standard 2-week therapy for oropharyngeal candidiasis in HIV-infected patients: a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy trial.

BACKGROUND Oropharyngeal candidiasis is the most common opportunistic infection affecting patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Because of convenience, cost, and reluctance to complicate antiretroviral treatment regimens, single-dose fluconazole may be a favorable regimen for treatment of moderate to severe oropharyngeal candidiasis. We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to compare the clinical and mycological responses, relapse rates, and safety of a single 750-mg dose and a 14-day course of treatment with fluconazole. METHODS A total of 220 HIV-infected patients with clinical and mycological evidence of oropharyngeal candidiasis were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either a 750-mg single dose of orally administered fluconazole (110 patients) or 150 mg of orally administered fluconazole once per day for 2 weeks (110 patients). The primary efficacy analysis was based on clinical and mycological responses at the end of treatment. Secondary parameters were safety and relapse rate. RESULTS Single-dose fluconazole was equivalent to a 14-day course of fluconazole in achieving clinical and mycological cure, with clinical cure rates of 94.5% and 95.5%, respectively (odds ratio, 0.825; 95% confidence interval, 0.244-2.789; P= .99), and mycological cure rates of 84.5% and 75.5%, respectively (odds ratio, 1.780; 95% confidence interval, 0.906-3.496; P= .129). Drug-related adverse events were uncommon and were not different between the treatment groups. CONCLUSION A single dose of 750 mg of fluconazole was safe, well tolerated, and as effective as the standard 14-day fluconazole therapy in patients with HIV infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who had oropharyngeal candidiasis coinfection.
The radial velocity dispersion profile of the Galactic halo : constraining the density profile of the dark halo of the Milky Way

We have compiled a new sample of 240 halo objects with accurate distance and radial velocity measurements, including globular clusters, satellite galaxies, field blue horizontal branch (FHB) stars and red giant stars from the Spaghetti survey. The new data lead to a significant increase in the number of known objects for Galactocentric radii beyond 50 kpc, which allows a reliable determination of the radial velocity dispersion profile out to very large distances. The radial velocity dispersion shows an almost constant value of 120 km s −1 out to 30 kpc and then continuously declines down to 50 km s −1 at about 120 kpc. This fall-off puts important constraints on the density profile and total mass of the dark matter halo of the Milky Way. Fo ra constant velocity anisotropy, the isothermal profile is ruled out, while both a dark halo ∞
Seizures – just the tip of the iceberg: Critical care management of super-refractory status epilepticus

Super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) is defined as status epilepticus (SE) that continues or recurs 24 h or more after the onset of anesthetic therapy, including those cases where SE recurs on the reduction or withdrawal of anesthesia. Although SRSE is a rare clinical problem, it is associated with high mortality and morbidity rates. This article reviews the treatment approaches and the systemic complications commonly encountered in patients with SRSE. As evident in our search of literature, therapy for SRSE and its complications have been based on clinical reports and expert opinions since there is a lack of controlled and randomized trials. Even though this complex condition starts as a neurological disorder, because of the associated systemic complications, it can be considered as a multisystem disorder requiring scrupulous attention and deliberate efforts to prevent, detect, and treat these systemic effects. We have critically reviewed the intensive care management for SRSE per se as well as its associated systemic complications. We believe that a good recovery can occur even after prolonged and severe SRSE as long as the systemic complications are detected early and managed appropriately.