Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Peptide (PACAP) in the Retinohypothalamic Tract: A Potential Daytime Regulator of the Biological Clock

The retinohypothalamic tract (RHT) relays photic information from the eyes to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Activation of this pathway by light plays a role in adjusting circadian timing via a glutamatergic pathway at night. Here we report a new signaling pathway by which the RHT may regulate circadian timing in the daytime as well. We used dual immunocytochemistry for pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) and the in vivotracer cholera toxin subunit B and observed intense PACAP-immunoreactivity (PACAP-IR) in retinal afferents in the rat SCN as well as in the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) of the thalamus. This PACAP-IR in the SCN as well as in the IGL was nearly lost after bilateral eye enucleation. PACAP afferents originated from small ganglion cells distributed throughout the retina. The phase of circadian rhythm measured as SCN neuronal activity in vitro was significantly advanced (3.5 ± 0.4 hr) by application of 1 × 10−6m PACAP-38 during the subjective day [circadian time (CT)-6] but not at night (CT14 and CT19). The phase-shifting effect is channeled to the clock via a PACAP-R1 receptor, because mRNA from this receptor was demonstrated in the ventral SCN by in situhybridization. Furthermore, vasoactive intestinal peptide was nearly 1000-fold less potent in stimulating a phase advance at CT6. The signaling mechanism was through a cAMP-dependent pathway, which could be blocked by a specific cAMP antagonist, Rp-cAMPS. Thus, in addition to its role in nocturnal regulation by glutamatergic neurotransmission, the RHT may adjust the biological clock by a PACAP/cAMP-dependent mechanism during the daytime.
Programming contests

Programming contests and their relative merits have been discussed and debated for a number of years among the computer community. It is generally felt that, by competing, students are afforded the opportunity to perform as a team under very tight constraints along with a chance to sharpen their programming skills• A variety of other rewards are derived -all of which should prove useful in later years• Bryson and Roth [i] in their January 1981 paper presented to the Education Board of ACM, considered the impact of programming contests upon students at the elementary and secondary level• In their discussion, the following questions were raised:
A role for Chk2 in DNA damage induced mitotic delays in human colorectal cancer cells

Progression into mitosis in the presence of DNA damage leads to spindle checkpoint (SAC) dependent mitotic delays and cytokinesis failure. In Drosophila embryos, DNA damage does not delay mitotic entry but triggers Chk2 kinase dependent delays in mitotic exit. It is unclear if damage associated mitotic delays in human cells result from kinase signaling or breaks in centromere DNA that disrupt kinetochore function and activate the SAC. We show that transgenic expression of Human Chk2 in a Drosophila chk2 mutant background restores damage induced mitotic delays during early embryogenesis. Parental HCT116 colorectal cancer cells that progress into mitosis following DNA damage, due to either G2 checkpoint adaptation or G2 checkpoint abrogation by caffeine or the Chk1 inhibitor UCN-01, delay in mitosis and show high rates of cytokinesis failure. Significantly, these mitotic responses are suppressed in HCT116 chk2 knockout cells, and the response is restored by transgenic expression of wild type Chk2. However, both parental and chk2-/-HCT116 cells arrested in G2 for prolonged periods by DNA damage prior to release from the G2 block do show significant mitotic delays. Chk2 thus appears to have a conserved function in control of mitotic progression following G2/M transition with DNA damage. However, prolonged G2 arrest with DNA damage can trigger Chk2-independent mitotic delays that may be secondary to kinetochore disruption.
Predicting endothelial cell loss and long-term corneal graft survival.

PURPOSE To evaluate a biexponential decay model for describing the loss of corneal endothelial cells with age as well as the increased loss of cells after cataract surgery and penetrating keratoplasty. METHODS Data from previous studies were identified and the sum of two exponentials, d = p. exp(-at) + q. exp(-bt) (where d is cell density at time t, p and q are constants the sum of which is equal to the initial cell density, and a and b are exponential rate constants), fitted to each data set by a nonlinear least-squares algorithm. Goodness of fit was indicated by the residual standard deviation. Half times were calculated from the exponential rate constants. RESULTS The model identified in each instance a rapid and a slow component to the cell loss. The half time for the slow component of the loss with age was 224 years, underlining the excess endothelial capacity in normal eyes. After surgery, the rapid component of the cell loss was probably due to surgical trauma and, after penetrating keratoplasty, cell-mediated rejection and other complications. The half times of the slow component were only 26 years after cataract surgery and 21 years after penetrating keratoplasty. DISCUSSION The loss of endothelial cells followed a biexponential decay and could thus be described by a single equation. The half times of the slow component of the cell loss after surgery were substantially less than for the loss with age, indicating a markedly increased rate of cell loss that persisted for many years after surgery. A mechanism for this accelerated cell loss is suggested that involves a nonspecific, innate response initiated by the breakdown of the blood-ocular barrier. The model was used to calculate endothelial cell loss in the long term after penetrating keratoplasty and to predict when cell density would reach levels that are incompatible with maintenance of transparency and graft function. Thus, a rationale is presented for the setting of minimum donor cell densities by eye banks.
Chondroitinase ABC Promotes Sprouting of Intact and Injured Spinal Systems after Spinal Cord Injury

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are inhibitory extracellular matrix molecules that are upregulated after CNS injury. Degradation of CSPGs using the enzyme chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) can promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury. However, the mechanisms underlying this recovery are not clear. Here we investigated the effects of ChABC treatment on promoting plasticity within the spinal cord. We found robust sprouting of both injured (corticospinal) and intact (serotonergic) descending projections as well as uninjured primary afferents after a cervical dorsal column injury and ChABC treatment. Sprouting fibers were observed in aberrant locations in degenerating white matter proximal to the injury in regions where CSPGs had been degraded. Corticospinal and serotonergic sprouting fibers were also observed in spinal gray matter at and below the level of the lesion, indicating increased innervation in the terminal regions of descending projections important for locomotion. Spinal-injured animals treated with a vehicle solution showed no significant sprouting. Interestingly, ChABC treatment in uninjured animals did not induce sprouting in any system. Thus, both denervation and CSPG degradation were required to promote sprouting within the spinal cord. We also examined potential detrimental effects of ChABC-induced plasticity. However, although primary afferent sprouting was observed after lumbar dorsal column lesions and ChABC treatment, there was no increased connectivity of nociceptive neurons or development of mechanical allodynia or thermal hyperalgesia. Thus, CSPG digestion promotes robust sprouting of spinal projections in degenerating and denervated areas of the spinal cord; compensatory sprouting of descending systems could be a key mechanism underlying functional recovery.
Time-frequency analysis of random signals

A conjoint time-frequency representation of harmonizable random signals is defined as a generalization of the Wigner distribution of finite energy signals. It is shown that this conjoint time-frequency representation possesses properties analogous to those of finite energy signals. Furthermore, we state a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a random Wigner distribution as a stochastic integral in quadratic mean. Then, we can define a random instantaneous frequency and a random group delay, and give expressions of their expectation and variance. This is done without assuming narrow band conditions or stationarity of the random signal.
An Overview of Pest Species of Bactrocera Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the Integration of Biopesticides with Other Biological Approaches for Their Management with a Focus on the Pacific Region

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are among the most economically important pest species in the world, attacking a wide range of fruits and fleshy vegetables throughout tropical and sub-tropical areas. These species are such devastating crop pests that major control and eradication programs have been developed in various parts of the world to combat them. The array of control methods includes insecticide sprays to foliage and soil, bait-sprays, male annihilation techniques, releases of sterilized flies and parasitoids, and cultural controls. During the twenty first century there has been a trend to move away from control with organophosphate insecticides (e.g., malathion, diazinon, and naled) and towards reduced risk insecticide treatments. In this article we present an overview of 73 pest species in the genus Bactrocera, examine recent developments of reduced risk technologies for their control and explore Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Programs that integrate multiple components to manage these pests in tropical and sub-tropical areas.
Data Consistency Management in an Open Smart Home Management Platform

In this paper, the authors introduce a novel mechanism for data management in a middleware for smart home control, where a relational database and semantic ontology storage are used at the same time in a Data Warehouse. An annotation system has been designed for instructing the storage format and location, registering new ontology concepts and most importantly, guaranteeing the Data Consistency between the two storage methods. For easing the data persistence process, the Data Access Object (DAO) pattern is applied and optimized to enhance the Data Consistency assurance. Finally, this novel mechanism provides an easy manner for the development of applications and their integration with BATMP. Finally, an application named "Parameter Monitoring Service" is given as an example for assessing the feasibility of the system.
Linear Regression Constrained to a Ball,

Stoica, P., and Ganesan, G. , Linear Regression Constrained to a Ball, Digital Signal Processing11 (2001), 80? 90.A worst case lower bound (WCLB) result obtained by Nemirovskii suggests that a potentially significant estimation accuracy enhancement may be achieved provided the true parameter vector is known to belong to a ball. In this paper we discuss the many facets and implications of Nemirovskiirs result by using linear regression as a vehicle for illustration. In particular, we address briefly such issues as biased versus unbiased estimation, minimax optimal estimation, tightness of the WCLB, and comparison of WCLB with the performance of the least squares estimator constrained to the ball and that of the linear minimax estimator.
A Tactile Sensor for Ultrasound Imaging Systems

Medical ultrasound systems are capable of monitoring a variety of health conditions while avoiding invasive procedures. However, this function is complicated by ultrasound contrast of the tissue varying with contact pressure exerted by the probe. The knowledge of the contact pressure is beneficial for a variety of screening and diagnostic procedures involving ultrasound. This paper introduces a solid-state sensor array, which measures the contact pressure distribution between the probe and the tissue marginally affecting the ultrasound imaging capabilities. The probe design utilizes the dielectrostriction mechanism, which relates the change in dielectric properties of the sensing layer to deformation. The concept, structure, fabrication, and performance of this sensor array are discussed. The prototype device is highly tolerant to overloads (>1 MPa tested) and provides stress measurements in the range of 0.14-10 kPa. Its loss of ultrasound transmissivity is less 3 dB at 9-MHz ultrasound frequency. This performance is satisfactory for clinical and biomedical research in ultrasound image formation and interpretation, however, for commercial product, a higher ultrasound transmissivity is desired. Directions for improving the sensor ultrasound transparency and electrical performance are discussed. The sensor array described in this paper has been specifically developed for ultrasound diagnosis during breast cancer screening. However, the same sensing mechanism, the similar configuration, and the sensor array structure can be applied to other applications involving ultrasound tools for medical diagnostics.
POLICE PROBLEMS: THE COMPLEXITY OF PROBLEM THEORY, RESEARCH AND EVALUATION

Advancement of problem-oriented policing has been stymied by over-attention to police organizations and under-attention to police problems. This paper develops a research agenda for understanding police problems by addressing four fundamental questions: What are problems? What causes problems? How can we find effective solutions to problems? And how can we learn from problem solving? For each question a possible direction for theory, research, or evaluation is sug- gested. The variety of police problems, their non-linear feedback sys- tems, the diversity of responses that can be applied to problems, and the difficulty of learning from problem-solving experiences highlight the complexity of police problems. The paper closes with a list of research questions designed to improve the science and practice of problem analysis and solution.
A 127 fps in full HD accelerator based on optimized AKAZE with efficiency and effectiveness for image feature extraction

Visual feature extraction is a fundamental technique in vision-based application. This paper proposes an effective and efficient VLSI architecture based on optimized accelerated KAZE (AKAZE) for real-time feature extraction. AKAZE is a new feature detection algorithm with strong robustness for object recognition. To extract feature more robustly and reduce hardware resource, a two-dimensional pipeline array named Loop-Snake Architecture is presented. It takes advantage of computational similarity in different octaves and provides flexibility in precision-speed tradeoff on the fly. Furthermore, Polar Local Difference Binary descriptor and the corresponding structure are proposed to greatly reduce the memory bandwidth requirement and improve the speed. The experimental results indicate the optimized algorithm keeps the same accuracy compared with the original algorithm. The whole hardware system achieves 127fps in 1080p resolution at 200 MHz frequency. The throughput is twice faster than the state-of-the-art solutions.
Character-Level System Combination: An Empirical Study for English-to-Chinese Spoken Language Translation

This paper proposes a character-level system combination strategy for English -- Chinese spoken language translation. For languages like Chinese that the word boundaries are not orthographically marked, word segmentation which segments a Chinese sentence into a sequence of words, is often required for many Natural Language Processing tasks. In this paper we evaluate the impact of segmentation (spoken data) on the performance of system combination, and show that using inappropriate segmentation in system combination can result in inferior performance compared to single systems. We further demonstrate that using characters as basic translation unit in system combination on IWSLT ASR translation task leads to significant gains in translation quality in terms of BLEU and NIST scores.
Social and Community Intelligence: Technologies and Trends

With the pervasiveness of sensors, Internet-enabled devices, mobile phones, Internet applications and services, and wireless communication, a new field of social and community intelligence (SCI) has emerged quite quickly. SCI aims to reveal individual and group behaviors, social interactions, and community dynamics by mining the digital traces that people leave while interacting with Web applications, static infrastructure, and mobile and wearable devices. Author Daqing Zhang and colleagues provide an introduction to this field and highlight the various technologies.
An improved bit-plane and pass dual parallel architecture for coefficient bit modeling in JPEG2000

Embedded block coding with optimized truncation (EBCOT) is a critical part in JPEG2000 systems. There are bit-plane and pass dual parallel methods that can speed up the encoding, but the acceleration is always accompanied with the complication of the circuit structure and the increase of the circuit resources. In this paper, we present an improved bit-plane and pass dual parallel architecture (IBPDP), which not only achieves a high encoding speed but also reduces the logic circuit requirement and the coding delay. Experimental results show that about 45% of the logic circuit is reduced and that the average fall of the delay per code-block is 10% compared with BPDP.
Polycaprolactone / bioactive glass hybrid scaffolds for bone regeneration

Abstract Bioactive glasses (BG) bond to bone and stimulate bone regeneration, but they are brittle. Inorganicorganic hybrids appear as promising bone substitutes since they associate the bone mineral forming ability of BG with the toughness of polymers. Hybrids comprised of polycaprolactone (PCL) and SiO2-CaO BG were produced by sol-gel chemistry and processed into porous scaffolds with controlled pore and interconnection sizes. The obtained scaffolds are highly flexible, meaning that PCL effectively introduces toughness. Apatite formation is observed within 24 hours of immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) and is not limited to the surface as the entire hybrid progressively changes into bone-like minerals. The degradation rate is suitable for bone regeneration with a 13.2% weight loss after 8 weeks of immersion. Primary osteoblasts cultured in scaffolds demonstrate that the samples are not cytotoxic and provide good cell adhesion. The in vivo study confirms the bioactivity, biocompatibility and suitable degradation rate of the hybrid. A physiological bone made of trabeculae and bone marrow regenerates. The structure and kinetic of bone regeneration was similar to the implanted commercial standard based on bovine bone, demonstrating that this new synthetic PCL-BG hybrid could perform as well as animal-derived bone substitutes.
Towards emotional regulation through neurofeedback

This paper discusses the potential of Brain-Computer Interfaces based on neurofeedback methods to support emotional control and pursue the goal of emotional control as a mechanism for human augmentation in specific contexts. We illustrate this discussion through two proof-of-concept, fully-implemented experiments: one controlling disposition towards virtual characters using pre-frontal alpha asymmetry, and the other aimed at controlling arousal through activity of the amygdala. In the first instance, these systems are intended to explore augmentation technologies that would be incorporated into various media-based systems rather than permanently affect user behaviour.
God Does Play Dice: Diagnosis and Validation for Autonomous Systems

Randomized algorithms have been known to outperform their deterministic counterpart over a wide range of problems. In this paper, we use randomized techniques for validating and diagnosing autonomous intelligent systems. Such techniques provide efficient approximate solutions to both the diagnosability and the validation problems. In particular, we show the effectiveness of LURCH, a randomized inference engine that we have developed in validating and diagnosing autonomous systems. LURCH uses random search methods that use (1) a fast partial search, (2) a random selection amongst options, and (3) the occasional reset/restart. We have conducted case studies on an optical navigation system, a camera control system and several components a propulsion system all written in a Reactive Model Programming Language (RMPL).
Algebraic structures for capturing the provenance of SPARQL queries

We show that the evaluation of SPARQL algebra queries on various notions of annotated RDF graphs can be seen as particular cases of the evaluation of these queries on RDF graphs annotated with elements of so-called spm-semirings. Spm-semirings extend semirings, used for positive relational algebra queries on annotated relational data, with a new operator to capture the semantics of the non-monotone SPARQL operator OPTIONAL. Furthermore, spm-semiring-based annotations ensure that desired SPARQL query equivalences hold when querying annotated RDF. In addition to introducing spm-semirings, we study their properties and provide an alternative characterization of these structures in terms of semirings with an embedded boolean algebra (or seba-structure for short). This characterization allows to construct spm-semirings and to identify a universal object in the class of spm-semirings. Finally, we show that this universal object provides a concise provenance representation and can be used to evaluate SPARQL queries on arbitrary spm-semiring-annotated RDF graphs.
Morphology assessment and fluorescence in situ hybridization of the same spermatozoon using a computerized cell-scanning system.

BACKGROUND Poor sperm morphology is statistically associated with an increase in the incidence of chromosome abnormalities. Our aim was to examine the possible correlation between chromosomal aberrations and sperm morphology in the same cell. METHODS 12349 spermatozoa from 7 teratozoospermic and one globozoospermic patients, and from 3 fertile donors were analyzed using a system which scans for cell morphology and chromosomal ploidy in the same cell using digital technology. RESULTS Chromosomal aberrations were detected in 5.3% of teratozoospermic cases and in 6.7% in the globozoospermic patient compared with 1.6% in donors (P < 0.0001). Chromosomal aberrations were more common in abnormally formed sperm compared with normal spermatozoa: 4.5% vs 1.3% in the teratozoospermic group and 2.0% vs 0.3% in the control group (NS), especially frequent among sperm with two heads or two tails (52.1-77.2%) or extreme head deformations (10.6-11.1%) irrespective of grouping, and in mild amorphous heads in the globozoospermic patients (20.2%). The frequency of chromosomal aberrations in morphologically normal sperm was comparable whether derived from teratozoospermic or normospermic patients. CONCLUSIONS The computerized cell-scanning system demonstrated the relationship between chromosomal aberrations and sperm morphology in the same spermatozoon. The incidence of chromosomal aberrations was positively linked to abnormal sperm morphology, the more severe the abnormality, the higher the incidence of aneuploidy.