Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial Communities of Conducting and Respiratory Zones of Lung-Transplanted Patients

Background: Lung transplantation (LT) is a recognized treatment for end-stage pulmonary disease. Bacteria from the recipient nasopharynx seed the new lungs leading to infections and allograft damage. Understanding the characteristics and topological variations of the microbiota may be important to apprehend the pathophysiology of allograft dysfunction. Objectives: To examine the characteristics and relationship of bacterial compositions between conducting and respiratory zones of the allograft. Methods: We performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing on bronchial aspirates (BAs) and bronchoalveolar lavages (BALs) collected in pairs in 19 patients at several time-points post-LT. Results: The respiratory zone was characterized independently of the time post-LT by a higher bacterial richness than the conducting zone (p = 0.041). The phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria dominated both sampling zones, with an inverse correlation between these two phyla (Spearman r = –0.830). Samples of the same pair, as well as pairs from the same individual clustered together (Pseudo-F = 3.8652, p < 0.01). Microbiota of BA and BAL were more closely related in samples from the same patient than each sample type across different patients, with variation in community structure being mainly inter-individual (p < 0.01). Both number of antibiotics administered (p < 0.01) and time interval post-LT (p < 0.01) contributed to the variation in global microbiota structure. Longitudinal analysis of BA–BAL pairs of two patients showed dynamic wave like fluctuations of the microbiota. Conclusions: Our results show that post-transplant respiratory zones harbor higher bacterial richness, but overall similar bacterial profiles as compared to conductive zones. They further support an individual microbial signature following LT.
SPC12-5: Relay Selection in Multi-Node Cooperative Communications: When to Cooperate and Whom to Cooperate with?

In this paper, we propose a new cooperative communication protocol, which achieves high bandwidth efficiency while guaranteeing full diversity order. The proposed scheme considers relay selection via the available partial channel state information (CSI) at the source and the relays. More precisely, the source determines when it needs to cooperate with one relay only among arbitrary N relays and which relay to cooperate with in case of cooperation, i.e., "When to cooperate? " and "Whom to cooperate with? ". In case of cooperation, the source employs the optimal relay, which has the maximum instantaneous scaled harmonic mean function of its source-relay and relay-destination channels' gains. For the symmetric scenario, we prove that full diversity is guaranteed and that a significant increase of the bandwidth efficiency is achieved. Furthermore, we show the tradeoff between the achievable bandwidth efficiency and the corresponding error rate. Finally, the obtained analytical results are verified through computer simulations.
Spatiotopic Coding of BOLD Signal in Human Visual Cortex Depends on Spatial Attention

The neural substrate of the phenomenological experience of a stable visual world remains obscure. One possible mechanism would be to construct spatiotopic neural maps where the response is selective to the position of the stimulus in external space, rather than to retinal eccentricities, but evidence for these maps has been inconsistent. Here we show, with fMRI, that when human subjects perform concomitantly a demanding attentive task on stimuli displayed at the fovea, BOLD responses evoked by moving stimuli irrelevant to the task were mostly tuned in retinotopic coordinates. However, under more unconstrained conditions, where subjects could attend easily to the motion stimuli, BOLD responses were tuned not in retinal but in external coordinates (spatiotopic selectivity) in many visual areas, including MT, MST, LO and V6, agreeing with our previous fMRI study. These results indicate that spatial attention may play an important role in mediating spatiotopic selectivity.
GABAergic Terminals Are Required for Postsynaptic Clustering of Dystrophin But Not of GABAA Receptors and Gephyrin

In rat hippocampal cultures, we show by multilabeling immunocytochemistry that pyramidal cells, which receive little or no GABAergic input, mistarget α2-GABAA receptors and gephyrin to glutamatergic terminals. This mismatch does not occur in neurons innervated by numerous GABAergic terminals. A similar phenomenon has been reported for isolated autaptic hippocampal neurons (Rao et al., 2000). GABAergic synapses typically form multiple release sites apposed to GABAA receptor and gephyrin clusters. Remarkably, dystrophin, a protein highly abundant in skeletal muscle membranes, is extensively colocalized with α2-GABAA receptors exclusively opposite GABAergic terminals. In addition, selective apposition of syntrophin and β-dystroglycan to GABAergic presynaptic terminals suggests that the entire dystrophin-associated protein complex (DPC) clusters at GABAergic synapses. In contrast to gephyrin and GABAAreceptors, DPC proteins are not mistargeted to glutamatergic synapses, indicating independent clustering mechanisms. This was confirmed in hippocampal neurons cultured from GABAA receptor γ2 subunit-deficient mice. Clustering of GABAA receptor and gephyrin in these neurons was strongly impaired, whereas clustering of dystrophin and associated proteins was unaffected by the absence of the γ2 subunit. Our results indicate that accumulation of dystrophin and DPC proteins at GABAergic synapses occurs independently of postsynaptic GABAAreceptors and gephyrin. We suggest that selective signaling from GABAergic terminals contributes to postsynaptic clustering of dystrophin.
Bayesian Hypothesis Testing for Sparse Representation

In this paper, we propose a Bayesian Hypothesis Testing Algorithm (BHTA) for sparse representation. It uses the Bayesian framework to determine active atoms in sparse representation of a signal. The Bayesian hypothesis testing based on three assumptions, determines the active atoms from the correlations and leads to the activity measure as proposed in Iterative Detection Estimation (IDE) algorithm. In fact, IDE uses an arbitrary decreasing sequence of thresholds while the proposed algorithm is based on a sequence which derived from hypothesis testing. So, Bayesian hypothesis testing framework leads to an improved version of the IDE algorithm. The simulations show that Hard-version of our suggested algorithm achieves one of the best results in terms of estimation accuracy among the algorithms which have been implemented in our simulations, while it has the greatest complexity in terms of simulation time.
Higher Prevalence of Epstein–Barr Virus DNA in Deeper Periodontal Pockets of Chronic Periodontitis in Japanese Patients

Periodontitis, a complex chronic inflammatory disease caused by subgingival infection, is among the most prevalent microbial diseases in humans. Although traditional microbiological research on periodontitis has focused on putative bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, the herpes virus is proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of periodontitis because bacterial etiology alone does not adequately explain various clinical aspects. In this study, we established for the first time, more Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) DNA is found deeper in periodontal pockets of chronic periodontitis in Japanese patients. Subgingival samples were collected from 85 patients with chronic periodontitis having two periodontal sites with probing depths (PD) of ≤3 mm (shallow) or ≥5 mm (deep) and were subjected to a nested polymerase chain reaction. EBV DNA was more frequently detected in patients with deeper PD sites (66%) than in those with shallow PD sites (48%) or healthy controls (45%). Coexistence of EBV DNA and P. gingivalis was significantly higher in patients with deeper PD sites (40%) than in those with shallow PD sites (14%) or healthy controls (13%). Although no difference in clinical index for periodontitis, the odds ratio of EBV DNA in patients with deeper PD sites was 2.36, which was 2.07-fold higher than that in those with shallow PD sites. Interestingly, the odds of acquiring chronic periodontitis (PD ≥5 mm) were higher in the presence of both EBV DNA and P. gingivalis compared with either EBV DNA or P. gingivalis only. In addition, we also observed that EBV-encoded small RNA (EBER) in positive cells of human gingival tissues. These results would suggest that EBV DNA may serve as a pathogenic factor leading to chronic periodontitis among Japanese patients.
RIGHT VENTRICULAR MONOPHASIC ACTION POTENTIALS IN MAN

Right ventricular monophasic action potential (MAP) has been recorded during abrupt changes of cycle length and during atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing heart catheterization. The abrupt cycle length changes were initiated by sudden changes of stimulation rate using right atrial pacing. A sudden prolonged cycle is terminated by a MAP with increased duration and decreased repolarization rate of phase 3. An acute shortening of the cycle is followed by a MAP with decreased duration. The repolarization rate of phase 3 of such a MAP is not generally increased as expected from in vitro studies. In atrial fibrillation a short cycle is followed by a MAP with short duration and rapid repolarization rate of phase 3, whilst a long cycle is terminated by a MAP with long duration and slower phase 3 repolarization. The similarity between the adaptation of the MAP configuration after abrupt changes of cycle length and during atrial fibrillation suggests that rate‐dependent adaptation of the contractile force—known from earlier in vitro studies—might also occur during atrial fibrillation in man.
Morphological and physiological retinal degeneration induced by intravenous delivery of vitamin A dimers in rabbits

The eye uses vitamin A as a cofactor to sense light and, during this process, some vitamin A molecules dimerize, forming vitamin A dimers. A striking chemical signature of retinas undergoing degeneration in major eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Stargardt disease is the accumulation of these dimers in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Bruch’s membrane (BM). However, it is not known whether dimers of vitamin A are secondary symptoms or primary insults that drive degeneration. Here, we present a chromatography-free method to prepare gram quantities of the vitamin A dimer, A2E, and show that intravenous administration of A2E to the rabbit results in retinal degeneration. A2E-damaged photoreceptors and RPE cells triggered inflammation, induced remolding of the choroidal vasculature and triggered a decline in the retina’s response to light. Data suggest that vitamin A dimers are not bystanders, but can be primary drivers of retinal degeneration. Thus, preventing dimer formation could be a preemptive strategy to address serious forms of blindness.
A Two-Stage Multi-Feature Integration Approach to Unsupervised Speaker Change Detection in Real-Time News Broadcasting

This paper presents a two-stage multi-feature integration approach for unsupervised speaker change detection in real-time news broadcasting. We integrate MFCC and LSP features (i.e. a perceptual feature plus a articulatory feature) in the metric-based potential speaker change detection stage to collect speaker boundary candidates as many as possible. We adopt a weighted Bayesian information criterion (BIC) to integrate boundary decisions from MFCC and LSP features in the speaker boundary confirmation stage. This multi-feature integration strategy makes use of the complementarity between perceptual features and articulatory features to achieve a performance gain. Speaker change detection experiments show that the multi- feature integration approach significantly outperforms the individual features with relative improvements of 26% over the LSP-only approach and 6% over the MFCC-only approach.
Investigation of passive component size in VRMs

The performance of three different VRM circuit topologies is presented to compare the size of magnetic components involved. It is shown that the smallest solution is produced using a synchronous buck; with interleaved circuits having similar size. transformer circuits are shown to have the greatest potential for miniaturisation, but current planar magnetic technologies are limited in terms of winding utilisation area. Practical component designs are presented for comparison of the buck, interleaved and push-pull forward converters.
The Typicality Ranking Task: A New Method to Derive Typicality Judgments from Children

An alternative method for deriving typicality judgments, applicable in young children that are not familiar with numerical values yet, is introduced, allowing researchers to study gradedness at younger ages in concept development. Contrary to the long tradition of using rating-based procedures to derive typicality judgments, we propose a method that is based on typicality ranking rather than rating, in which items are gradually sorted according to their typicality, and that requires a minimum of linguistic knowledge. The validity of the method is investigated and the method is compared to the traditional typicality rating measurement in a large empirical study with eight different semantic concepts. The results show that the typicality ranking task can be used to assess children’s category knowledge and to evaluate how this knowledge evolves over time. Contrary to earlier held assumptions in studies on typicality in young children, our results also show that preference is not so much a confounding variable to be avoided, but that both variables are often significantly correlated in older children and even in adults.
Do Endangered Razorback Suckers Have Poor Larval Escape Performance Relative to Introduced Rainbow Trout

Abstract Poor recruitment has generated the hypothesis that the endangered razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus is particularly vulnerable to predation early in its life history. We compared the escape responses of razorback suckers, which are adapted to the historically warm waters of the Colorado River, with those of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, an introduced coldwater species, throughout early development at water temperatures of 12°C and 18°C. We quantified escape performance using maximum velocity, acceleration, and time to maximum velocity and acceleration. Both species showed complete temperature compensation for escape performance; individuals reared at 12°C performed as well as those reared at 18°C. Performance was also similar between species, although two variables exhibited a species × size interaction. Small razorback suckers were faster (greater maximum velocity and acceleration) than small rainbow trout, while large larvae performed similarly. We also determined that razorback sucker la.
The Effectiveness of Alternative Instructional Media: A Survey1

This survey provides an overview of research on the effectiveness of alternative instructional media. The media discussed are traditional classroom instruction (TI), instructional radio (IR), instructional television (ITV), programmed instruction (PI), and computer-assisted instruction (CAI). The effectiveness of these media is examined from a reasonably macroscopic point of view; the psychology of pupil-teacher interaction or the 'content variables' of ITV, to take two examples, are at a micro-level not considered. Achievement test scores constitute the measure of effectiveness most frequently used in this survey though, where available, results concerning the affective impact of the various media of instruction are included. Achievement test data, in most cases, were collected only on an annual basis, so they reveal no fine-grained detail about the learning process. Since this survey is relatively brief and its scope broad, a few caveats are in order. First, where literature surveys are available, their results have been cited to the extent possible and, frequently, original sources remain unchecked. Second, available knowledge of the effectiveness of the various media varies considerably; much more is known about TI and ITV than about the others. For this reason a survey such as this is inherently spotty in its conclusions. The third warning, related to the second, is that many of the evaluations fall short of (or lack entirely) scientific standards of analysis and reporting. For this reason, it was sometimes necessary to attempt to cull conclusions from essentially journalistic accounts of projects. Fourth, it should be noted that this survey is limited to instruction within a school setting. Finally, the survey excludes information on costs. Before beginning the literature survey, we present a paradigm for measurement of effectiveness and then discuss several less desirable alternatives that have actually been employed. In the surveys of the individual methods where adequate prior surveys are unavailable, results from a representative sample of individual evaluations are discussed.
The impact of pre-recorded video and closed circuit television testimony by adult sexual assault complainants on jury decision-making: an experimental study

A mock sexual assault jury trial research project investigated whether the impact of adult sexual assault complainant testimony on juror perceptions and decisions differed if presented via CCTV, pre-recorded videotape or face-to-face in the courtroom. Natalie Taylor and Jacqueline Joudo also investigated the impact of emotional versus neutral testimony. Eighteen mock trials were held in a mock courtroom in which 210 members of the public participated as jurors. The report outlines the methodology used, the key findings, issues arising from juror feedback and the difficulties encountered by jurors in trying to reach unanimous verdicts.
Rethinking the Youth Phase of the Life-course: The Case for Emerging Adulthood?

A whole flurry of new thinking and research about young people in the USA has been stimulated by Jeffery Arnett's theory of ‘Emerging Adulthood’. This argues for recognition of a new stage of the life-course between adolescence and adulthood reflecting the extension of youth transitions to independence brought about by globalization and technological change. Although the perspective aligns with developmental psychology's conception of ‘stages of development’, its appeal extends across the social science disciplines and policy domains. However, the rich theorizing of the same manifestations of social change in young people's experience in European Youth Studies appear to have been largely overlooked by Arnett. This paper attempts to redress this balance by drawing into the framework of Emerging Adulthood a wider set of theoretical concerns with structural factors and exclusion mechanisms to which (late) modern youth are subjected. The argument is exemplified by age-30 cohort comparisons across three British longitudinal studies starting in 1946, 1958 and 1970, demonstrating rising opportunities accompanied by increased social inequality. The paper concludes with a re-appraisal of the concept of youth as a phase of the late modern life-course in which the properties Arnett attributes to Emergent Adulthood are just one significant feature.
Methods for qualitative analysis of genetic networks

The diagram of interactions of a genetic regulatory network is represented in a natural and intuitive way by Boolean or other discrete models. Based largely on the structure of the network, rather than on more detailed kinetic properties of the system, discrete models are very useful to study the qualitative dynamics of the genetic network. Several methods for analysis of genetic networks combine a basic Boolean model of the diagram of interactions with other techniques, to generate a more realistic biological model. In this mini-tutorial, some of these methods will be briefly reviewed. These include specifying a matrix of transition probabilities, or the construction of a hybrid, piecewise linear model by adding continuous degradation rates.
The Application of Single-Case Research Designs to Study Elite Athletes’ Conditioning: An Update

Sport scientists have recommended to use of single-subject research designs to understand how well an intervention works and to predict performance for an elite athlete. In the present paper, the latest studies on elite athletes’ conditioning using single-subject research designs are reviewed. Although some case studies in elite athletes are reported in the literature, there are still very few studies using single-subject research designs. Rigorous and practical approaches using magnitude-based inferences such as effect size and likelihoods of substantial effects are suggested. Recommendations are also provided to facilitate further studies using single-subject research designs.
A Study of the Student Drop-Out Problem at Indiana University

STUDENT WITHDRAWAL has for years been one of the p e r s i s tent problems confronting colleges and universities. In a study made by McNeely1, it was found that out of every 1000 students who entered publicly controlled colleges, 513 graduated. This meant that 487 stu dents, or 48.7 percent, withdrew from the institutions of higher edu cation represented in the investigation prior to completing the require ments for graduation. This investigation of the student drop-out problem at Indiana Univer sity was primarily concerned with a study of the characteristics of those persons who enrolled as freshmen students, but who withdrew prior to the completion of graduation requirements. Delimitations restricted the scope of the study to one specific class cycle, from matriculation in September, 1948, to graduation in June, 1952. Those students who transferred to other colleges and who trans ferred to Indiana University were eliminated from consideration.
Crowdsourcing the Public Participation Process for Planning Projects

Public involvement is a central concern for urban planners, but the challenge for planners is how best to implement such programs, given many difficulties inherent in the typical public involvement process. The medium of the Web enables us to harness collective intellect among a population in ways face-to-face planning meetings cannot. This article argues that the crowdsourcing model, a successful, Web-based, distributed problem solving and production model for business, is an appropriate model for enabling the citizen participation process in public planning projects. This article begins with an exploration of the challenges of public participation in urban planning projects, particularly in the harnessing of creative solutions. An explanation of the theories of collective intelligence and crowd wisdom follows, arguing for the medium of the Web as an appropriate technology for harnessing far-flung genius. An exploration of crowdsourcing in a hypothetical neighborhood planning example, along with a consideration of the challenges of implementing crowdsourcing, concludes the article.
Efficient document retrieval using text clustering

Similar document retrieval is the problem of finding documents that are most similar to a given query document. In this work, we present a retrieval based on clustering of the documents that approximates the nearest neighbor search. It is done by determining the clusters that are most similar to the query document and restricting the search to the documents in these clusters. Cluster representation has an important role in the effectiveness of the search procedure, since the inclusion of a cluster in the restricted search space depends on whether its representation matches the query document. We analyse three cluster representations and their role in the performance of the proposed search procedure.