Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual Cues for Helping People to Focus Important Information on a Visual Display : an Evaluation Using Subjective Measure

Masakura et al. (2005) found visual cues which are effective on guiding peoples’ attention to important information. However, it is possible that these cues may give them negative impressions and thus may not be appropriate for the application to a display in which information is presented. This study examined impressions on visual cues for guiding peoples’ attention to important information on an information display by using Semantic Differential method. We suggested that three factors (“evaluation”, “potency & activity”, and “novelty”) affected impression formation of the cues and the “evaluation” is an important factor to be considered in order to avoid negative impressions when the cues were applied to the display.
Hole analysis for functional coverage data

One of the main goals of coverage tools is to provide the user with informative presentation of coverage information. Specifically, information on large, cohesive sets of uncovered tasks with common properties is very useful. This paper describes methods for discovering and reporting large uncovered spaces (holes) for crossproduct functional coverage models. Hole analysis is a presentation method for coverage data that is both succinct and informative. Using case studies, we show how hole analysis was used to detect large uncovered spaces and improve the quality of verification.
Fire behaviour and external flames in corridor and tunnel‐like enclosures

This work investigates how the inflow, the burning and the outflow develop in a corridor open to one end having a fire at either the closed or open end. The situation of a corridor fire having a fire source at the close end is a situation similar to a tunnel having a fire source at the centre of the tunnel without ventilation. A gaseous propane burner is used to produce the fire at a prescribed fuel flow rate in a long corridor of aspect ratio up to 6:1 having a rectangular cross section and varying door‐like openings. Gas temperatures using thermocouple trees, heat fluxes in the corridor and on its façade, flame heights of emerging flames and total heat release rates (HRRs) are measured as the fuel flow rate of propane increases gradually and linearly with time to a preset maximum value. For over‐ventilated conditions, the flames remain near the fire source at the closed end of the corridor. Unexpectedly, it is established for under‐ventilated conditions that the inflow of air is not affected by the aspect ratio of the corridor or the location of the burner in the corridor and that the vertical distribution of gas temperatures inside the enclosure is nearly uniform with height everywhere. In addition, the flame heights and heat fluxes on the façade are the same as those for aspect ratios of the corridor from 1:1 to 3:1 examined in previous work. Moreover, as the conditions changed from over‐ventilated to under‐ventilated conditions, the flames migrated in a ghostly manner from the closed end to the open end of the corridor as soon as under‐ventilated conditions were established. The speed of migration of the flames from the back to the front has also been inferred from the thermocouple tree measurements, which also indicate that the flow conditions ahead and after the passing of the front are changed. These results can be applied to interpret some of the observed behaviours of fires in long corridors or tunnels without ventilation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quisqualic Acid‐Induced Seizures During Development: A Behavioral and EEG Study

Summary: Quisqualic acid (QA) is an excitatory amino acid analogue that binds to the glutamate ionotropic receptor subclass AMPA (a–amino–3 hydroxy‐5 methyl‐4 isoxazol propionic acid) and metabotropic receptor phos‐pholipase C. To study its epileptogenic properties, we administered QA through an intraventricular cannula to 23‐, 41‐, and 60‐day‐old rats with recording electrodes implanted in amygdala, hippocampus, and neocortex. The frequency power spectra of the recorded EEG was computed by fast fourier transform (FFT), and coherence between anatomic sites was computed. Seizures occurred in all animals receiving QA. The behavioral manifestations of the seizures varied as a function of age, with younger rats demonstrating rigidity and immobility followed by circling activity and intermittent forelimb clonus and 60‐day‐old animals exhibiting severe, wild running followed by generalized clonus. Ictal electrical discharges occurred in all animals. Neocortical ictal discharges occurred more prominently in the younger animals, and amygdala ictal discharges were more prominent in the older animals. Marked increases in spectral power occurred during the seizures in all anatomic structures and at all frequencies. Our results demonstrate that the clinical manifestations of QA seizures vary during development; results of the neurophysiologic studies suggested that neocortex may play an important role in genesis of QA seizures in immature brain.
Inhibition of StearoylCoA Desaturase Activity Blocks Cell Cycle Progression and Induces Programmed Cell Death in Lung Cancer Cells

Lung cancer is the most frequent form of cancer. The survival rate for patients with metastatic lung cancer is ∼5%, hence alternative therapeutic strategies to treat this disease are critically needed. Recent studies suggest that lipid biosynthetic pathways, particularly fatty acid synthesis and desaturation, are promising molecular targets for cancer therapy. We have previously reported that inhibition of stearoylCoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), the enzyme that produces monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), impairs lung cancer cell proliferation, survival and invasiveness, and dramatically reduces tumor formation in mice. In this report, we show that inhibition of SCD activity in human lung cancer cells with the small molecule SCD inhibitor CVT-11127 reduced lipid synthesis and impaired proliferation by blocking the progression of cell cycle through the G1/S boundary and by triggering programmed cell death. These alterations resulting from SCD blockade were fully reversed by either oleic (18:1n-9), palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7) or cis-vaccenic acid (18:1n-7) demonstrating that cis-MUFA are key molecules for cancer cell proliferation. Additionally, co-treatment of cells with CVT-11127 and CP-640186, a specific acetylCoA carboxylase (ACC) inhibitor, did not potentiate the growth inhibitory effect of these compounds, suggesting that inhibition of ACC or SCD1 affects a similar target critical for cell proliferation, likely MUFA, the common fatty acid product in the pathway. This hypothesis was further reinforced by the observation that exogenous oleic acid reverses the anti-growth effect of SCD and ACC inhibitors. Finally, exogenous oleic acid restored the globally decreased levels of cell lipids in cells undergoing a blockade of SCD activity, indicating that active lipid synthesis is required for the fatty acid-mediated restoration of proliferation in SCD1-inhibited cells. Altogether, these observations suggest that SCD1 controls cell cycle progression and apoptosis and, consequently, the overall rate of proliferation in cancer cells through MUFA-mediated activation of lipid synthesis.
Self-Adaptive Genetic Algorithm for LTE Backhaul Network

Mobile communication evolution from 2G, 3G to LTE shows a broadband and IP-oriented trend and the architecture of LTE backhaul network turns to be flat. In order to fit these new features, layer 3 routing technology has to be adopted in backhaul network and needs to be modified to fit it. In this paper, a new algorithm, named Self-Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (SAGA), is proposed to meet the demand of providing a highly efficient and QoS guaranteed routing scheme for LTE backhaul network. It can be used in Open Shortest Path First protocol (OSPF) as the core path selection algorithm. It is based on traditional genetic algorithm(GA) but improves the population initialization process in it as well as proposes a new fitness calculation function for it. Simulation verifies it can balance not only the traffic of network but also the load of MME pools, which improves the utility efficiency of the whole network.
Influence of Tempo and Rhythmic Unit in Musical Emotion Regulation

This article is based on the assumption of musical power to change the listener's mood. The paper studies the outcome of two experiments on the regulation of emotional states in a series of participants who listen to different auditions. The present research focuses on note value, an important musical cue related to rhythm. The influence of two concepts linked to note value is analyzed separately and discussed together. The two musical cues under investigation are tempo and rhythmic unit. The participants are asked to label music fragments by using opposite meaningful words belonging to four semantic scales, namely “Tension” (ranging from Relaxing to Stressing), “Expressiveness” (Expressionless to Expressive), “Amusement” (Boring to Amusing) and “Attractiveness” (Pleasant to Unpleasant). The participants also have to indicate how much they feel certain basic emotions while listening to each music excerpt. The rated emotions are “Happiness,” “Surprise,” and “Sadness. ” This study makes it possible to draw some interesting conclusions about the associations between note value and emotions.
An Autonomic Performance-Aware Workflow Job Management for Service-Oriented Computing

Workflow job is composed of several ordered subtasks which invoke different computing services. These computing services are deployed on geographically distributed servers. Towards Workflow Job Management, how to schedule workflow jobs to achieve high server resource utilization and how to ensure Quality of Service (QoS) pose several challenges. In the paper, an autonomic Performance-Aware Workflow Job Management is proposed. It firstly decomposes workflow jobs into subtasks, and then adopts Virtual Allocation Strategy, which utilizes the concept of virtual queue, to allocate them to the servers. We also apply a Detection Adjustment Approach for Virtual Allocation to dynamically adjust workload of each computing server according to the real-time system workload changes. Additionally, it also utilizes Occupy Allocation to ensure the QoS. These capacities enable our Workflow Job Management adaptable and autonomic. Finally we establish simulations to demonstrate system performance and QoS.
Analysis of the respiratory response to carbon dioxide inhalation in varying clinical states of hypercapnia, anoxia, and acid-base derangement.

Individuals with cor pulmonale secondary to chronic pulmonary emphysema tend to have pulmonary ventilation which is less than normal both at rest and during exercise, despite the presence of factors ordinarily making for increased ventilation such as anoxemia and acidosis (1), and despite the fact that these ventilatory levels may be appreciably less than the observed maximum breathing capacity. Moreover, the ventilatory response to increased CO2 in the inspired air may be less than normal in certain patients with pulmonary emphysema (2-5). These observations
Polymer therapeutics to modify cellular responses in impaired human wound healing

Chronic ulceration of the lower limb represents a significant clinical challenge in today's aging society. Depletion of growth factors at the chronic wound site by proteinases and reactive oxygen species, can lead to a protracted non-healing wound. Growth factors are known to act in concert to promote wound repair, but their topical application rarely leads to a significant clinical improvement in chronic wounds, due to premature inactivation in the wound environment. The aim of this Study was to synthesise and characterise a polymer-growth factor conjugate and to investigate whether the novel concept, called Polymer-masking-UnMasking-Protein Therapy (PUMPT), may be used to generate bioresponsive, polymer therapeutics, promoting tissue repair. Dextrin and recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) were chosen as a first model combination. Dextrin was first modified by succinoylation and conjugated to rhEGF. The synthesised dextrin-rhEGF conjugate exhibited increased stability towards proteolytic degradation by the clinically relevant enzyme, neutrophil elastase. The dextrin component was degraded on exposure to physiological levels of a-amylase, leading to sustained release of free rhEGF. Biological activity was assessed in proliferation assays in vitro, using cells involved in the normal healing response. Polymer conjugation reduced rhEGF bioactivity, however, after exposure to physiological concentrations of a-amylase, dextrin degradation led to restoration of bioactivity of rhEGF, to the level observed with unmodified rhEGF. Dextrin-rhEGF was demonstrated to induce phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and confirmed a mechanism of action by stimulation of classical signal transduction pathways. Analysis of ex vivo acute and chronic wound fluids, confirmed the presence of a-amylase, at levels similar to those used in vitro. Chronic wound fluid also contained active neutrophil elastase. In an ex vivo organotypic model of acute corneal wound healing, a-amylase-exposed dextrin-rhEGF was demonstrated to enhance wound healing, above that of free rhEGF. In an in vivo model of impaired wound healing in the genetically diabetic (db/db) mouse, dextrin-rhEGF was observed to significantly enhance dermal wound healing, on topical application, at delayed intervals. This is the first application of the PUMPT hypothesis in vivo, and supports the further development of polymer-protein conjugates as bioresponsive nanomedicines for tissue repair.
Improved frequency offset estimation technique in IEEE 802.11p environments

For inter-vehicle communications, the IEEE 802.11p standard has been employed in the U.S. and Europe. This configuration is an OFDM-based system, so it still has to cope with the issue of frequency synchronization. In this paper, a pilot-aided estimation technique is developed for the compensation of frequency offset in the IEEE 802.11p environments. The proposed synchronization algorithm utilizes the correlation between two identical halves of a training sequence after the appropriate usage of coarse compensation. As a result, the proposed estimation method indeed has the potentials to further enhance the mean square error (MSE) performance compared with the other conventional schemes. Some simulation results are given to illustrate the advantages of the proposed frequency offset estimation technique.
Is the preference of natural versus man-made scenes driven by bottom–up processing of the visual features of nature?

Previous research has shown that viewing images of nature scenes can have a beneficial effect on memory, attention, and mood. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the preference of natural versus man-made scenes is driven by bottom–up processing of the low-level visual features of nature. We used participants’ ratings of perceived naturalness as well as esthetic preference for 307 images with varied natural and urban content. We then quantified 10 low-level image features for each image (a combination of spatial and color properties). These features were used to predict esthetic preference in the images, as well as to decompose perceived naturalness to its predictable (modeled by the low-level visual features) and non-modeled aspects. Interactions of these separate aspects of naturalness with the time it took to make a preference judgment showed that naturalness based on low-level features related more to preference when the judgment was faster (bottom–up). On the other hand, perceived naturalness that was not modeled by low-level features was related more to preference when the judgment was slower. A quadratic discriminant classification analysis showed how relevant each aspect of naturalness (modeled and non-modeled) was to predicting preference ratings, as well as the image features on their own. Finally, we compared the effect of color-related and structure-related modeled naturalness, and the remaining unmodeled naturalness in predicting esthetic preference. In summary, bottom–up (color and spatial) properties of natural images captured by our features and the non-modeled naturalness are important to esthetic judgments of natural and man-made scenes, with each predicting unique variance.
Using expressive rendering for remote visualization of large city models

In this paper, we present a new approach for remote visualization of large 3D cities. Our approach is based on expressive rendering (also known as Non-Photorealistic Rendering), and more precisely, on feature lines. By focusing on characteristic features, this solution brings a more legible visualization and reduces the amount of data transmitted on the network. We also introduce a client-server system for remote rendering, as well as the involved pre-processing stage that is required for optimization. Based on the presented system, we perform a study on the usability of such an approach in the context of mobile devices.
Targeted Disruption of the mPer3 Gene: Subtle Effects on Circadian Clock Function

ABSTRACT Neurons in the mammalian suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) contain a cell-autonomous circadian clock that is based on a transcriptional-translational feedback loop. The basic helix-loop-helix–PAS proteins CLOCK and BMAL1 are positive regulators and drive the expression of the negative regulators CRY1 and CRY2, as well as PER1, PER2, and PER3. To assess the role of mouse PER3 (mPER3) in the circadian timing system, we generated mice with a targeted disruption of the mPer3 gene. Western blot analysis confirmed the absence of mPER3-immunoreactive proteins in mice homozygous for the targeted allele. mPer1,mPer2, mCry1, and Bmal1 RNA rhythms in the SCN did not differ between mPER3-deficient and wild-type mice. Rhythmic expression of mPer1 and mPer2 RNAs in skeletal muscle also did not differ between mPER3-deficient and wild-type mice. mPer3 transcripts were rhythmically expressed in the SCN and skeletal muscle of mice homozygous for the targeted allele, but the level of expression of the mutant transcript was lower than that in wild-type controls. Locomotor activity rhythms in mPER3-deficient mice were grossly normal, but the circadian cycle length was significantly (0.5 h) shorter than that in controls. The results demonstrate that mPer3 is not necessary for circadian rhythms in mice.
Comparison of Visual Field Training for Hemianopia With Active Versus Sham Transcranial Direct Cortical Stimulation

Background. Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT) aims to improve visual field function by systematically training regions of residual vision associated with the activity of suboptimal firing neurons within the occipital cortex. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to modulate cortical excitability. Objective. Assess the possible efficacy of tDCS combined with VRT. Methods. The authors conducted a randomized, double-blind, demonstration-of-concept pilot study where participants were assigned to either VRT and tDCS or VRT and sham. The anode was placed over the occipital pole to target both affected and unaffected lobes. One hour training sessions were carried out 3 times per week for 3 months in a laboratory. Outcome measures included objective and subjective changes in visual field, recording of visual fixation performance, and vision-related activities of daily living (ADLs) and quality of life (QOL). Results. Although 12 participants were enrolled, only 8 could be analyzed. The VRT and tDCS group demonstrated significantly greater expansion in visual field and improvement on ADLs compared with the VRT and sham group. Contrary to expectations, subjective perception of visual field change was greater in the VRT and sham group. QOL did not change for either group. The observed changes in visual field were unrelated to compensatory eye movements, as shown with fixation monitoring. Conclusions. The combination of occipital cortical tDCS with visual field rehabilitation appears to enhance visual functional outcomes compared with visual rehabilitation alone. TDCS may enhance inherent mechanisms of plasticity associated with training.
Increase in cerebral aerobic metabolism by normobaric hyperoxia after traumatic brain injury.

OBJECT Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with depressed aerobic metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction. Normobaric hyperoxia (NBH) has been suggested as a treatment for TBI, but studies in humans have produced equivocal results. In this study the authors used brain tissue O(2) tension measurement, cerebral microdialysis, and near-infrared spectroscopy to study the effects of NBH after TBI. They investigated the effects on cellular and mitochondrial redox states measured by the brain tissue lactate/pyruvate ratio (LPR) and the change in oxidized cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) concentration, respectively. METHODS The authors studied 8 adults with TBI within the first 48 hours postinjury. Inspired oxygen percentage at normobaric pressure was increased from baseline to 60% for 60 minutes and then to 100% for 60 minutes before being returned to baseline for 30 minutes. RESULTS The results are presented as the median with the interquartile range in parentheses. During the 100% inspired oxygen percentage phase, brain tissue O2 tension increased by 7.2 kPa (range 4.5-9.6 kPa) (p < 0.0001), microdialysate lactate concentration decreased by 0.26 mmol/L (range 0.0-0.45 mmol/L) (p = 0.01), microdialysate LPR decreased by 1.6 (range 1.0-2.3) (p = 0.02), and change in oxidized CCO concentration increased by 0.21 mumol/L (0.13-0.38 micromol/L) (p = 0.0003). There were no significant changes in intracranial pressure or arterial or microdialysate glucose concentration. The change in oxidized CCO concentration correlated with changes in brain tissue O(2) tension (r(s)= 0.57, p = 0.005) and in LPR (r(s)= -0.53, p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS The authors have demonstrated oxidation in cerebral cellular and mitochondrial redox states during NBH in adults with TBI. These findings are consistent with increased aerobic metabolism and suggest that NBH has the potential to improve outcome after TBI. Further studies are warranted.
Multimodal Prostate Registration Using Thin-Plate Splines from Automatic Correspondences

Registration is an important step during prostate biopsy with interventional Ultrasound (US) to project the Magnetic Resonance (MR) information of the corresponding slice of a pre-acquired MR volume of the same patient. This paper presents a method of deformable registration between US and MR prostate modalities using Thin-Plate Splines (TPS). The use of radial-basis functions such as splines is a typical approach for deformable registration wherein, TPS are more computationally efficient than Bsplines. However, registration with TPS employs strategic choice of correspondence points in the moving and reference images and therefore, has been rarely used by researchers for prostate registration. Aiming to deal with this issue, a novel method to automatically choose correspondence points (control points) based on the prostate geometry is presented in this paper. Shepard’s interpolation is used with the TPS in order to deal with the interpolation artifacts produced by reverse TPS transform. To evaluate the accuracy of our correspondence generation method, two intuitive geometric methods for prostate contour sampling are also implemented. Our registration results are validated using 4 patient datasets obtaining an average DSC of 0.97 ± 0.01.