Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Timescale-dependent shaping of correlation by olfactory bulb lateral inhibition

Neurons respond to sensory stimuli by altering the rate and temporal pattern of action potentials. These spike trains both encode and propagate information that guides behavior. Local inhibitory networks can affect the information encoded and propagated by neurons by altering correlations between different spike trains. Correlations introduce redundancy that can reduce encoding but also facilitate propagation of activity to downstream targets. Given this trade-off, how can networks maximize both encoding and propagation efficacy? Here, we examine this problem by measuring the effects of olfactory bulb inhibition on the pairwise statistics of mitral cell spiking. We evoked spiking activity in the olfactory bulb in vitro and measured how lateral inhibition shapes correlations across timescales. We show that inhibitory circuits simultaneously increase fast correlation (i.e., synchrony increases) and decrease slow correlation (i.e., firing rates become less similar). Further, we use computational models to show the benefits of fast correlation/slow decorrelation in the context of odor coding. Olfactory bulb inhibition enhances population-level discrimination of similar inputs, while improving propagation of mitral cell activity to cortex. Our findings represent a targeted strategy by which a network can optimize the correlation structure of its output in a dynamic, activity-dependent manner. This trade-off is not specific to the olfactory system, but rather our work highlights mechanisms by which neurons can simultaneously accomplish multiple, and sometimes competing, aspects of sensory processing.
Activation of polymorphonuclear neutrophilic granulocytes following burn injury: alteration of Fc-receptor and complement-receptor expression and of opsonophagocytosis.

Polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocytes (PMNLs) play a key role in host defense, and phagocyte dysfunction has been associated with increased susceptibility to infection in patients with thermal injury. We have used flow cytometric analysis (FCM) to longitudinally study PMNL expression of IgG Fc-receptor II (Fc gamma RII) and Fc-receptor III (Fc gamma RIII), as well as the complement receptors CR1 (receptor for C3b) and CR3 (receptor for C3bi) in 22 patients with large burns. Analyses of PMNL complement and immunoglobulin-mediated phagocytosis of Candida albicans were performed in parallel. Burn patient PMNL Fc gamma RIII expression was decreased to 58% of control values at admission, and remained low for the first 3 weeks. The expression of patient PMNL Fc gamma RII was not altered at admission or throughout the hospital stay. The CR1-dependent fluorescence was increased by 62% at admission, and reached a maximum at day 2, 138% greater than that of controls. The CR1 expression then gradually returned to normal at discharge. The PMNL CR3-dependent fluorescence showed an increase of 110% at admission and remained high during the first 3 weeks. The immunoglobulin-mediated phagocytosis was decreased by 12% at admission, whereas the lowest value was observed at day 10, with a reduction of 30% compared with controls. The patient PMNL complement-mediated phagocytosis of C. albicans was increased by about 160% at admission, and reached a maximum at day 2, before it gradually decreased to control levels at discharge. The expression of complement receptors correlated positively, whereas the expression of Fc gamma RIII correlated negatively, with total body surface area (TBSA) burn. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Real-time nonrigid surface detection

We present a real-time method for detecting deformable surfaces, with no need whatsoever for a priori pose knowledge. Our method starts from a set of wide baseline point matches between an undeformed image of the object and the image in which it is to be detected. The matches are used not only to detect but also to compute a precise mapping from one to the other. The algorithm is robust to large deformations, lighting changes, motion blur, and occlusions. It runs at 10 frames per second on a 2.8 GHz PC and we are not aware of any other published technique that produces similar results. Combining deformable meshes with a well designed robust estimator is key to dealing with the large number of parameters involved in modeling deformable surfaces and rejecting erroneous matches for error rates of up to 95%, which is considerably more than what is required in practice.
Coalitional Game Theory for Security Risk Management

Quantitative models for security risk management in organizations are recently receiving an increased attention in the research community. This paper investigates the possibility of cooperation among autonomous divisions of an organization with dependent security assets and/or vulnerabilities for reducing overall security risks. A coalitional game is formulated for modeling cooperation possibilities among these divisions based on their both positive (synergies) and negative (vulnerabilities) interdependencies. The proposed game constitutes a framework that allows to investigate how an organization can maximize its total utility through cooperation among its different divisions. The introduced utility accounts for the gains from cooperation, in terms of an improved synergy among the divisions, and the costs for cooperation that account for the friction among the divisions (e.g. due to social and human factors) as well as the difficulty of managing large-sized divisions. Using the proposed game model, the illustrative cases of two-coalition cooperation, two-division cooperation as well as a practical scenario when using an ideal cooperation protocol are analyzed
A nonstructural polypeptide encoded by immediate-early transcription unit 1 of murine cytomegalovirus is recognized by cytolytic T lymphocytes

We have constructed target cells by cotransfection of the MHC gene Ld and fragments of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) DNA coding for nonstructural immediate-early (IE) proteins. Transfectants were tested by using CTL clone IE1 with specificity for an IE epitope presented in association with Ld. Data show that clone IE1 recognizes a product of the ie1 transcription unit of MCMV, and that its specificity is shared by approximately 25% of polyclonal IE-specific CTL. The results provide the first definite evidence that expression of a herpes virus IE gene encoding a regulatory protein gives rise to antigen expression detectable by specific CTL.
Acute Kidney Injury in Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) significantly increases the overall morbidity and mortality, particularly by elevating the cardiovascular risk. The kidneys are severely affected as well, partly as a result of intrarenal athero- and arteriosclerosis but also due to noninflammatory glomerular damage (diabetic nephropathy). DM is the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease in our society. Acute kidney injury (AKI) remains a clinical and prognostic problem of fundamental importance since incidences have been increased in recent years while mortality has not substantially been improved. As a matter of fact, not many studies particularly addressed the topic “AKI in diabetes mellitus. ” Aim of this article is to summarize AKI epidemiology and outcomes in DM and current recommendations on blood glucose control in the intensive care unit with regard to the risk for acquiring AKI, and finally several aspects related to postischemic microvasculopathy in AKI of diabetic patients shall be discussed. We intend to deal with this relevant topic, last but not least with regard to increasing incidences and prevalences of both disorders, AKI and DM.
Up From The Grave

Sociohistorical reconstructions of African American communities in the Midwest are often dependent on diaries and letters that provide a wealth of detail but may not represent the collective pattern. Cemetery and burial records data are used to reconstruct a sociodemographic profile of a small 19th- and 20th-century African American community in the rural Midwest. Surnames of African Americans (and their ancestors) were disproportionately British, suggesting association with or ownership by those of British heritage. Although the mean age of the Black community was significantly younger than that of the White community, childhood mortality was no greater. Rather, Blacks generally did not live as long as Whites in adulthood. However, racial crossover was present. The Black community was disproportionately male, suggesting a frontier phenomenon and instability, and disproportionately experienced violent mortality. Seasonal death patterns among Blacks typified a younger population. Finally, familial measures suggest the Black community was tentative and tenuous.
Distributed Cooperative Control of Microgrid Storage

This paper proposes dynamic energy level balancing between distributed storage devices as a strategy to improve frequency regulation and reliability in droop controlled microgrids. This has been achieved with a distributed multi-agent cooperative control system which modifies the output power of droop controlled storage devices so that they reach a balanced energy state. As the storage devices approach a common energy level they are able to contribute their full power capacity to deal with generation and demand fluctuations in the microgrid. The cooperative control system also provides secondary frequency control, restoring the microgrid to the reference frequency. Simulations have been completed showing that the cooperative control system improves frequency regulation compared to traditional droop control strategies when the storage devices begin at different energy levels and the microgrid experiences generation or demand variability. A control input saturation constraint has been developed which ensures that the cooperative control system will not overload the storage devices.
The β‐1,3‐glucanosyltransferases (Gels) affect the structure of the rice blast fungal cell wall during appressorium‐mediated plant infection

The fungal wall is pivotal for cell shape and function, and in interfacial protection during host infection and environmental challenge. Here, we provide the first description of the carbohydrate composition and structure of the cell wall of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. We focus on the family of glucan elongation proteins (Gels) and characterize five putative β‐1,3‐glucan glucanosyltransferases that each carry the Glycoside Hydrolase 72 signature. We generated targeted deletion mutants of all Gel isoforms, that is, the GH72+, which carry a putative carbohydrate‐binding module, and the GH72− Gels, without this motif. We reveal that M. oryzae GH72+ GELs are expressed in spores and during both infective and vegetative growth, but each individual Gel enzymes are dispensable for pathogenicity. Further, we demonstrated that a Δgel1Δgel3Δgel4 null mutant has a modified cell wall in which 1,3‐glucans have a higher degree of polymerization and are less branched than the wild‐type strain. The mutant showed significant differences in global patterns of gene expression, a hyper‐branching phenotype and no sporulation, and thus was unable to cause rice blast lesions (except via wounded tissues). We conclude that Gel proteins play significant roles in structural modification of the fungal cell wall during appressorium‐mediated plant infection.
How delays affect neural dynamics and learning

We investigate the effects of delays on the dynamics and, in particular, on the oscillatory properties of simple neural network models. We extend previously known results regarding the effects of delays on stability and convergence properties. We treat in detail the case of ring networks for which we derive simple conditions for oscillating behavior and several formulas to predict the regions of bifurcation, the periods of the limit cycles and the phases of the different neurons. These results in turn can readily be applied to more complex and more biologically motivated architectures, such as layered networks. In general, the main result is that delays tend to increase the period of oscillations and broaden the spectrum of possible frequencies, in a quantifiable way. Simulations show that the theoretically predicted values are in excellent agreement with the numerically observed behavior. Adaptable delays are then proposed as one additional mechanism through which neural systems could tailor their own dynamics. Accordingly, we derive recurrent backpropagation learning formulas for the adjustment of delays and other parameters in networks with delayed interactions and discuss some possible applications.
Late onset transfusion-dependent anaemia with thrombocytopenia secondary to marrow fibrosis and hypoplasia associated with chronic graft-versus-host disease.

Late onset transfusion-dependent anaemia is very rare in the presence of sustained engraftment after HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplantation. The only previously described consistent cause is pyridoxine-responsive sideroblastic anaemia. We describe here a second cause, marrow hypoplasia and fibrosis, occurring in association with extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). A 20-year-old Caucasian male who received cyclophosphamide and fractionated total body irradiation followed by an unmanipulated HLA-identical sibling marrow transplant from his sister for acute nonlymphoblastic leukaemia in first remission developed chronic GVHD of the skin and mouth at day 101 post-transplant. At day 689 post-transplant, he developed leuco-erythroblastic anaemia with thrombocytopenia, due to patchy marrow hypoplasia and fibrosis. Between days 689 and 1987 post-transplant he received 71 units of packed red cells, requiring transfusion approximately monthly. He remains well although still on prednisone for chronic GVHD of skin and is receiving desferrioxamine 4 g five nights/week i.v. as prophylaxis for iron overload.
Investigation of harmonic filtering for the state-of-the-art variable speed drives

State-of-the-art low voltage (LV) medium and high power variable speed drives are voltage source converters. Frequently, frond-end stage is a diode rectifier. To reduce the amount of input current harmonics multi-pulse rectifiers are used. Due to the high cost of active front-end and the specific transformer requirements of multi-pulse rectification, alternative harmonic filtering solutions are sought. In this paper, the performance of several techniques, proposed for harmonic filtering, is analyzed in view of LV drive application. It is shown that regardless of the proposed solution, harmonic filtering presents additional design requirements to the drive system and compliance with harmonic standards challenges the harmonic filter design in terms of capacitor current capability.
Influence of dietary organic acid blend supplementation and interaction with delayed feed access after hatch on broiler growth performance and intestinal health

A trial was conducted to investigate the effects of a dietary organic acid blend for a period of 35 days on the growth performance, intestinal histomorphology and microflora of male broiler chicks with delayed access to feed. One hundred and ninety two one day old broiler chicks (ROSS 308) were randomly distributed into 4 groups housed in four replicate pens with 12 birds in each. A 2 × 2 factorial design was implemented. Four experimental groups were formed by two levels of dietary organic acid blend supplementation (Control and Fysal Dry ® ) and two periods of delayed feed access (0 and 36 h). At 36 h after hatching body weight and body weight change of chicks were significantly (P < 0.001) lower than groups fed immediately after hatching. Delayed feed access had an adverse impact (P < 0.001) on the body weight and feed consumption of broiler chickens on days 14 and 28. Between the days 28 and 35 of the feeding period, these differences disappeared. The relative weight of gizzard (P < 0.05), pancreas (P < 0.01) on day 6 and intestine (P < 0.05) on day 10, and gizzard (P < 0.01) on day 10 were reduced in birds subjected to delayed feed access. Dietary organic acid blend inclusion increased villus length (P < 0.001), whereas delayed feed access decreased villus length (P < 0.05) and increased the incidence of epithelial degeneration and basal membrane separation of the propria mucosa of villus in the jejenum. A significant decrease in Enterobacteriaceae count (P < 0.01) was noted in organic acid blend supplemented groups on day 25. Pectoral muscle malondialdehyde levels were decreased (P < 0.01) with dietary organic acid blend supplementation at
A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present

Ward Churchill has achieved an unparalleled reputation as a scholar-activist and analyst of indigenous issues in North America. Here, he explores the history of holocaust and denial in this hemisphere, beginning with the arrival of Columbus and continuing on into the present. He frames the matter by examining both "revisionist" denial of the nazi-perpatrated Holocaust and the opposing claim of its exclusive "uniqueness," using the full scope of what happened in Europe as a backdrop against which to demonstrate that genocide is precisely what has been-and still is-carried out against the American Indians. Churchill lays bare the means by which many of these realities have remained hidden, how public understanding of this most monstrous of crimes has been subverted not only by its perpetrators and their beneficiaries but by the institutions and individuals who perceive advantages in the confusion. In particular, he outlines the reasons underlying the United States's 40-year refusal to ratify the Genocide Convention, as well as the implications of the attempt to exempt itself from compliance when it finally offered its "endorsement. " In conclusion, Churchill proposes a more adequate and coherent definition of the crime as a basis for identifying, punishing, and preventing genocidal practices, wherever and whenever they occur. Ward Churchill (enrolled Keetoowah Cherokee) is Professor of American Indian Studies with the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. A member of the American Indian Movement since 1972, he has been a leader of the Colorado chapter for the past fifteen years. Among his previous books have been Fantasies of a Master Race, Struggle for the Land, Since Predator Came, and From a Native Son.
Epitope mapping of a monoclonal antibody against human thrombin by H/D‐exchange mass spectrometry reveals selection of a diverse sequence in a highly conserved protein

The epitope of a monoclonal antibody raised against human thrombin has been determined by hydrogen/deuterium exchange coupled to MALDI mass spectrometry. The antibody epitope was identified as the surface of thrombin that retained deuterium in the presence of the monoclonal antibody compared to control experiments in its absence. Covalent attachment of the antibody to protein G beads and efficient elution of the antigen after deuterium exchange afforded the analysis of all possible epitopes in a single MALDI mass spectrum. The epitope, which was discontinuous, consisting of two peptides close to anion‐binding exosite I, was readily identified. The epitope overlapped with, but was not identical to, the thrombomodulin binding site, consistent with inhibition studies. The antibody bound specifically to human thrombin and not to murine or bovine thrombin, although these proteins share 86% identity with the human protein. Interestingly, the epitope turned out to be the more structured of two surface regions in which higher sequence variation between the three species is seen.
The effects of early childbearing on schooling over time.

CONTEXT In recent studies, the effects of teenage childbearing on the schooling of young women have been smaller than those in earlier research. The discrepancy has been attributed to the use in the later studies of controls for unmeasured differences between young women who start childbearing early and those who do not, but could instead reflect changes in the effect of early childbearing over time. METHODS Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the Labor Market Experience of Youth and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics are used to identify the reasons for this difference. Logistic regression, ordinary least-squares regression and fixed-effects models examine the impact of early childbearing on rates of high school graduation and college attendance, and number of years of schooling completed through age 29. RESULTS The two data sets show a significant negative impact of a teenage birth on rates and years of completed schooling. For example, teenage mothers complete 1.9-2.2 fewer years of education than do women who delay their first birth until age 30 or older. Moreover, compared with women who give birth at age 30 or older, teenage mothers have odds of high school completion 10-12% as high and odds of postsecondary schooling 14-29% as high. Unobserved differences between young mothers and their childless peers reduce, but do not eliminate, the effects of early births. Effects on high school completion declined in recent periods because more young women completed high school, regardless of the timing of their first birth. However, the gap between early and later childbearers in postsecondary school attendance widened from 27 to 44 percentage points between the early 1960s and the early 1990s. CONCLUSIONS Given the current importance of a college education, teenage childbearers today are at least as disadvantaged as those of past generations.
Correlação entre as restrições de participação em atividades de vida diária e o benefício do uso de próteses auditivas em adultos e idosos

PURPOSE: To study the benefit obtained by the use of hearing aids in environments acoustically favorable to communication, reverberant, noisy and with aversive sounds, and to correlate the benefit with the handicap of adults and elderly with hearing loss. METHODS: Participants were 42 individuals attended at the institution where the study was carried. They answered the questionnaires Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly or for Adults, and Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit both when they received the hearing aids and after three months of its effective use. The participation constraints, hearing difficulties and the benefit brought by the use of hearing aids were studied. The results were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: There were differences between the scores from the questionnaires Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly and Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults and the subscales Ease of Communication, Reverberation and Background Noise from the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit, comparing the conditions with and without hearing aids. There was a positive correlation between the benefit measured by the subscale Ease of Communication, for the elderly subjects, and Background Noise, for the adult subjects, with decrease of the participation constraint. CONCLUSION: Adult and elderly subjects showed a reduction of handicap in daily activities with the use of hearing aids. The bigger the benefit obtained in the subscale Ease of Communication for the elderly and in the subscale Background Noise for the adults, the greater the handicap reduction.