Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrast Adaptation and the Spatial Structure of Natural Images

Contrast (pattern-selective) adaptation influences perception by adjusting sensitivity to the prevailing pattern of stimulation. We asked how the state of adaptation might depend on the patterns of spatial contrast typical of the natural visual environment. In one set of experiments, we examined whether adaptation to the characteristic amplitude spectra of natural images (which tend to decrease with frequency as 1/f) induces characteristic changes in contrast sensitivity. Contrast thresholds and suprathreshold contrast matches were measured after adaptation to random samples from an ensemble of images of natural outdoor scenes, or synthetic images formed by filtering the amplitude spectra of noise over a range of slopes. Adaptation differentially reduced sensitivity at low to medium spatial frequencies, but losses were not strongly dependent on the slope of the adapting spectra. In a second set of experiments, we examined the figural aftereffects induced by adaptation to naturalistic stimuli, by adapting and testing with images of human faces, for which small configural changes are highly discriminable. Observers adapted to frontal-view images of faces that were distorted by local expansions or contractions about the centre, and then adjusted distortions in test images to try to select the original face. Adaptation strongly biased perception in a direction opposite to the adapting distortion, with strongest aftereffects when test and adapting stimuli were derived from the same face image. Our results suggest that adaptation to the stimuli encountered in the course of normal viewing may exert ubiquitous and selective influences that are important in characterising the normal operating state of the visual system.
Toward Understanding the Essence of Post-Translational Modifications for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Immunoproteome

CD4+ T cells are prominent effector cells in controlling Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection but may also contribute to immunopathology. Studies probing the CD4+ T cell response from individuals latently infected with Mtb or patients with active tuberculosis using either small or proteome-wide antigen screens so far revealed a multi-antigenic, yet mostly invariable repertoire of immunogenic Mtb proteins. Recent developments in mass spectrometry-based proteomics have highlighted the occurrence of numerous types of post-translational modifications (PTMs) in proteomes of prokaryotes, including Mtb. The well-known PTMs in Mtb are glycosylation, lipidation, or phosphorylation, known regulators of protein function or compartmentalization. Other PTMs include methylation, acetylation, and pupylation, involved in protein stability. While all PTMs add variability to the Mtb proteome, relatively little is understood about their role in the anti-Mtb immune responses. Here, we review Mtb protein PTMs and methods to assess their role in protective immunity against Mtb.
Can the Computer Learn to Play Music Expressively?

A computer system is described that provides a real-time musical accompaniment for a live soloist in a piece of non-improvised music. A Bayesian belief network is developed that represents the joint distribution on the times at which the solo and accompaniment notes are played as well as many hidden variables. The network models several important sources of information including the information contained in the score and the rhythmic interpretations of the soloist and accompaniment which are learned from examples. The network is used to provide a computationally e cient decision-making engine that utilizes all available information while producing a exible and musical accompaniment.
Gait Recognition using Shoulder Body Joint

This paper introduces a new gait recognition approach based on shoulder body joint using in intersection point. This approach is tested on a CASIA database of video sequences, corresponding 10 different subject of people. Obtained better recognition rate as compared to other methods. Consider two component of human body. The first component is shoulder and second component is feet. The second component is subdivided into two parts i.e. toe and heel of both right and left leg. Our proposed method increase the matching accuracy with 98 and 100 percent.
The Development of Underdevelopment in the Mid-South: Big Farmers and the Persistence of Rural Poverty *

This paper is the outgrowth of each of the authors' long term interests in the analysis of social and cultural arrangements underlying Poverty and in solutions that follow from such analysis. Six years ago, in order to promote an understanding of grassroots development in the Mid South, Ciaramitaro, Hyland and Kovarik established the Center for Voluntary Action Research in the Department of Anthropology at Memphis State University. Their action research methodology has focused on overcoming barriers in communication between large institutions and grassroots groups. l'heir work has focused on both urban and rural communities in the local region, with a special emphasis on improving opportunities for community economic development. Timberlake has been interested in learning more about the structural arrangements that reinforce economic and political oppression. Up to now his research has focused mainly on problems of development in Peripheral countries in relation to core countries in the modern World-system, but more recently he has turned to the political economy of underdevelopment in the local region of his residence.
Histopathological Changes Induced By Staphylococcal Enterotoxin Produced In Yoghurt

In this study, six Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from contaminated yoghurt were evaluated for enterotoxigenicity. Two o the strains were enterotoxigenic and caused fluid accumulation in rabbit ileal loops. Fluid aspirated from the loops was bloody and histopathological changes in sections collected from rabbit ileum, inoculated with crude enterotoxin, were characterized by circulatory disturbances, degenerative/ necrotic and inflammatory changes, including hyperaemia, fibrinous exudation and necrosis of villi epithelial cells. These findings showed that although SE are typically associated with vomiting and diarrhoea, which often abate within 24 hours, there was potential for more serious disturbances such as inflammation, tissue damage and toxic shock. Moreover, the producton of potent SEby strains isoated from commonly consumed products such as yoghurt emphasizes the need for complete elimination of staphylococcal contaminants from foods in order to protect consumers. Keywords : Staphylococcus aureus , Enterotoxins, Hyperaemia, Histopathological changes, Necrosis of villi Animal Research International Vol. 4 (1) 2007 pp. 587-590
Bridging Secure WebCom and European DataGrid security for multiple VOs over multiple grids

Secure job submission across multiple virtual organisations becomes more important as Grids proliferate. WebCom-G will bring together the condensed graph model of computing and existing Grid software from the European DataGrid (EDG) project to allow users to execute complex tasks involving multiple Grids. In this paper we discuss the security aspects of a system to allow users of existing Grids to securely execute condensed graphs containing Grid jobs. We outline the process that bridges the EDG security architecture and Secure WebCom to make this possible.
Combinatory Categorial Grammar – Introduction

A categorial grammar that includes only forward and backward functional application combinators is sometimes called a " pure categorial grammar. " A pure categorial grammar, however, can be extended by including additional combinators. For example, a combinatory categorial grammar is obtained by including functional composition and type-raising combinators. Type-raising can convert elementary syntactic types to functional types according to a rule such as the following: (1) Subject Type-raising: (>T) NP ⇒ T S/(S\NP) whereby the elementary NP type is turned into the functional S/(S\NP) type. This rule represents an instance of forward type-raising because the argument of the new function is to the right. Raising of this kind is also called subject type-raising because it is the subject NP that is raised to a functional type. The subscript 'T' on the derivation arrow '⇒' identifies a type-raising operation, and the '>T' notation distinguishes type-raising from functional application in a derivation. Example (2b) demonstrates the type-raising rule (1) in a derivation of the string 'birds fly. ' For comparison, (2a) shows a derivation of the same string that does not employ type-raising. (2) a. birds fly NP S\NP < S b. birds fly NP S\NP >T S/(S\NP) > S The word 'birds' is associated with the elementary syntactic type NP in both (2a) and (2b), and 'fly' is associated with the functional type S\NP. In (2a), backward application of the function S\NP to its argument on the left yields the result S. In (2b), the NP syntactic type of the subject 'birds' is converted by the forward type-raising rule in (1) to a function of the form S/(S\NP). Since the argument S\NP of the new function is the syntactic type of 'fly,' a forward functional application can be performed to yield the result S. Forward type-raising in (2b), followed by forward functional application, thus yields the same result as the backward functional application operation in (2a). Type-raising rules such as (1) have been described as operations that " turn arguments into functions over functions-over-such arguments. " In (2), the subject NP type is the argument of the functional S\NP type of the verb. Subject type-raising turns the NP argument into the S/(S\NP) type that is a function
Poster: DIEGO: a fine-grained access control for web browsers

Modern web applications combine content from several sources (with varying security characteristics), and incorporate significant portion of user-supplied contents to enrich browsing experience. However, the de facto web protection model, the same-origin policy (SOP), has not adequately evolved to manage the security consequences of this additional complexity. As a result, making web applications subject to a broad sphere of attacks (cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery and others). The fundamental problem is the failure of access control. To solve this, in this work, we present DIEGO, a new fine-grained access control model for web browsers. Our overall design approach is to combine mandatory access-control (MAC) principles of operating system with tag pairing isolation technique in order to provide stealthy protection. To support backwards compatibility, DIEGO defaults to the same-origin policy (SOP) for web applications.
Informal intercultural learning online: Yahoo! Answers community and students’ homework questions about the lessons of the Holocaust

This investigation suggests that apart from the discussions taking place within classrooms engaged in intercultural education, students' modes of learning are also potentially influenced informally by the reactions of members of social Questions and Answering (Q&A) communities, where advice is sought by students attempting to address their intercultural educational homework assignments. The analysis focuses on questions dealing with the lessons to be learnt from the Holocaust, answered by Yahoo! Answers community. While few of these answerers denied the existence of the Holocaust, the majority attempted to provide what they considered to be helpful comments, stressing mainly that the lessons of the Holocaust have not been learnt. Respondents point out that other cases of genocides and persecutions have occurred since 1945, that prejudice is alive and well, that by nature humans are cruel, that the world doesn’t want to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and that it is important to be cautious of individual leaders. A smaller number were positive, and suggested that some Holocaust lessons have been learnt. Intercultural educators are called upon to familiarize themselves with Q&A communities, and help their students to become critical of the views shared on these platforms.
An Evaluation of a Diploma in English Programme: Students' Performance in Industrial Training

Programme evaluation is an essential part of any specific teaching and learning programme. The results of the evaluation, among others, would inform the relevance of the courses offered to the students in relation to their future in the working world This research study was an evaluation conducted to determine the extent to which the structure of a Diploma in English programme prepares students for the working world as well as the extent to which the graduates produced meet the requirements of the industry. The evaluation was carried out by investigating the performance of 69 students undergoing their industrial training. The data were collected through surveys and interviews. In addition to the students, 35 site supervisors were also surveyed and interviewed. The results revealed that the Diploma in English students were prepared for the working world and they had the qualities required by the industry. The results of the study also highlighted some issues on the additional courses needed for the betterment of the programme. Based on the findings of this research study, some changes were introduced in the programme which enforces the significance of the evaluation conducted.
Helicobacter pylori Colonization Ameliorates Glucose Homeostasis in Mice through a PPAR γ-Dependent Mechanism

Background There is an inverse secular trend between the incidence of obesity and gastric colonization with Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that can affect the secretion of gastric hormones that relate to energy homeostasis. H. pylori strains that carry the cag pathogenicity island (PAI) interact more intimately with gastric epithelial cells and trigger more extensive host responses than cag− strains. We hypothesized that gastric colonization with H. pylori strains differing in cag PAI status exert distinct effects on metabolic and inflammatory phenotypes. Methodology/Principal Findings To test this hypothesis, we examined metabolic and inflammatory markers in db/db mice and mice with diet-induced obesity experimentally infected with isogenic forms of H. pylori strain 26695: the cag PAI wild-type and its cag PAI mutant strain 99–305. H. pylori colonization decreased fasting blood glucose levels, increased levels of leptin, improved glucose tolerance, and suppressed weight gain. A response found in both wild-type and mutant H. pylori strain-infected mice included decreased white adipose tissue macrophages (ATM) and increased adipose tissue regulatory T cells (Treg) cells. Gene expression analyses demonstrated upregulation of gastric PPAR γ-responsive genes (i.e., CD36 and FABP4) in H. pylori-infected mice. The loss of PPAR γ in immune and epithelial cells in mice impaired the ability of H. pylori to favorably modulate glucose homeostasis and ATM infiltration during high fat feeding. Conclusions/Significance Gastric infection with some commensal strains of H. pylori ameliorates glucose homeostasis in mice through a PPAR γ-dependent mechanism and modulates macrophage and Treg cell infiltration into the abdominal white adipose tissue.
V.S. Ramachandran Sharpening Up ‘The Science of Art’

Freeman: The article ‘The Science of Art’ by William Hirstein and yourself (Ramachandran and Hirstein, 1999) has proved one of the most stimulating ever published in JCS. Criticisms of it abound, so to focus your response I will put to you questions that summarize the chief points made by our formal commentators [see Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6 (6–7), 1999, and 7 (8–9), 2000] and also pick up other questions that are frequently asked about it. But first I should like to know what motivated you to write the paper — and did you anticipate the reaction it would provoke?
Development of automatic measurement system for fault detection for Ghz-band radio frequency devices

This paper proposes automatic fault measurement system for GH-band radio frequency (RF) devices. The system contains RF chip integrated with 0.18-µm BiCMOS SiGe process, control board, and PC with installed control program. The control board consists of RF Built-In Self-Test (BIST) circuit and digital signal processor (DSP). To verify performance of the measurement system we built a 1.8-GHz low noise amplifier (LNA). Proposed system helps it to provide DC output voltages, hence, making the RF system chain automatic.
Enhancing Couple Coping and Adjustment to Cancer

Cancer diagnosis and treatment affects the psychological wellbeing of both patients and their partners. Couples who adapt well to their cancer experience are said to engage in “couple-coping”, a process of conjoint coping and mutual support that forges a shared approach to managing the stressors they encounter. However, most psycho-oncology interventions focus on assisting the patients alone to cope with cancer. Little is known about how to help couples develop a unified stand against cancer, or whether couples who cope as a team are more successful in re-claiming their lives after cancer than patients who wage a solo battle. The present study examined the efficacy of promoting couple coping compared to enhancing the patients’ coping alone. Ninety-four married women with early stage cancer and their partners were randomly assigned to couple-based coping and support training (CanCOPE), individual coping training for the woman, or a medical education control. Couples’ observed support communication, and self-reported psychological distress, coping-effort and sexual adjustment were assessed at diagnosis, after cancer surgery, and at 6and 12-month follow-ups. Relative to the other conditions, CanCOPE produced significant improvements in couples’ supportive communication, reduced psychological distress and coping effort, and improved sexual adjustment. Training in couple coping rather than individual coping was more effective in facilitating adaptation to cancer. The findings have practical implications for the delivery of psychological support services to women with cancer, as well as broader theoretical implications for the way models of stress and coping have traditionally been conceptualised.
Tumour necrosis factor-alpha participates on the endothelin-1/nitric oxide imbalance in small arteries from obese patients: role of perivascular adipose tissue.

AIMS We assessed the impact of vascular and perivascular tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) on the endothelin (ET)-1/nitric oxide (NO) system and the molecular pathways involved in small arteries from visceral fat of obese patients (Obese) and Controls. METHODS AND RESULTS Isolated small arteries from 16 Obese and 14 Controls were evaluated on a pressurized micromyograph. Endogenous ET-1 activity was assessed by the ETA blocker BQ-123. TNF-α and NO were tested by anti-TNF-α infliximab (IFX) and N(ω)-nitro-l-arginine methylester (L-NAME). Gene and protein expression of TNF-α, ET-1, ETA, and ETB receptors were determined by RT-PCR and IHC on arterial wall and in isolated adipocytes. Obese showed a blunted L-NAME-induced vasoconstriction, which was potentiated by IFX, and an increased relaxation to BQ-123, unaffected by L-NAME but attenuated by IFX. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) removal reversed these effects. Obese showed intravascular superoxide excess, which was decreased by apocynin (NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor), L-NAME, and BQ-123 incubations, and abolished by IFX. An increased vascular expression of ET-1, ETA, and ETB receptors, and higher vascular/perivascular TNF-α and TNF-α receptor expression were also detected. The arterial expression and phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were higher in Obese vs. Controls, and downregulated by IFX. CONCLUSIONS In small arteries of Obese, PVAT-derived TNF-α excess, and an increased vascular expression of ET-1 and ETA receptor, contribute to the ET-1/NO system imbalance, by impairing tonic NO release. Reactive oxygen species excess, via NAD(P)H oxidase activation, induces the endothelial nitric oxide synthase uncoupling, which in turn generates superoxide and impairs NO production. The up-regulated JNK pathway represents a crucial molecular signalling involved in this process.
GALS at ETH Zurich: success or failure?

The Integrated Systems Laboratory (IIS) of ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) has been active in globally-asynchronous locally-synchronous (GALS) research since 1998. During this time, a number of GALS circuits have been fabricated and tested successfully on silicon. From a hardware designers point of view, this article summarizes the evolution from proof of concept designs over multi-point interconnects to applications that specifically take advantage of GALS operation to improve cryptographic security. In spite of the fact that they fail to address numerous idiosyncrasies of GALS (such as good partitioning into synchronous islands, port controller design, pausable clock generators, design for test, etc.), hierarchical design flows have been found to form a workable basis. What prevents GALS from gaining a wider acceptance mainly is the initial effort required to come up with a design flow that is efficient and dependable
Research for Neuron Classification Based on Support Vector Machine

In this paper, a new method is proposed for neurons classifying based on its spatial structure. The part of neuron is geometrically similar to the whole. Neurons can be regarded as fractal. Different types of neurons fill with different levels in space. So, their fractal dimensions are also different. First, fractal dimensions are calculated for neurons. Then the other 16 spatial structure indicators are added in the classifier. There are 44 neurons as the training samples to train Support Vector Machine and other 20 neurons as the test samples. Experiments show that the correct classification rate is almost over 70% for many cases. It provides a new method to classify neurons. Keywords-support vector machine; fractal geometry; spatial structure; classification
Apoptosis Induced by Inhibition of Cyclic AMP Response Element–Binding Protein in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Background—The balance between apoptosis and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is believed to contribute to the vascular remodeling process. Cyclic AMP response element–binding protein (CREB) is a critical transcription factor for the survival of neuronal cells and T lymphocytes. However, the role of CREB in blood vessels is incompletely characterized. Methods and Results—Nuclear staining with Hoechst 33258 or propidium iodine showed an increase in apoptotic cells with activation of caspase-3 in VSMCs infected with adenovirus expressing the dominant-negative form of CREB (AdCREBM1). Basal expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-2 promoter activity were decreased by infection with AdCREBM1. Immunohistochemistry revealed that CREB was mainly induced and activated in the neointimal &agr;-smooth muscle actin–positive cells of rat carotid artery after balloon injury. Infection with AdCREBM1 suppressed neointimal formation (intima-media ratio) by 33.8% after 14 days of injury, which was accompanied by an increase in apoptosis as indicated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP nick end-labeling–positive cells and a decrease in bromodeoxyuridine incorporation. Conclusions—These results suggest that CRE-dependent gene transcription might play an important role in the survival and proliferation of VSMCs. CREB might be a novel transcription factor mediating the vascular remodeling process and a potential therapeutic target for atherosclerotic disease.