Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nondeterministic Coverage Metrics as Key Performance Indicator for Model- and Value-based Testing

Assessing the testing or software development process by only using KPIs can easily be misleading. A better solution is a paradigm shift to value-based software engineering, which integrates value considerations into software engineering and offers a broader and more technical view on KPIs. Coverage metrics are such a technical view and a very helpful KPI. This paper combines value-based testing and model-based testing of nondeterministic systems and introduces new coverage metrics for this. Therewith, the quality of test suites is raised and value-based testing gets strongly supported, e.g., by KPIs derived from nondeterministic coverage metrics and better requirements-based and risk-based testing.
Presence in the environment: theories, methodologies and applications to video games

Many authors maintain in their work that the presence feeling in the virtual universe only survives if the player is unaware of the technical interference. The technical system is a mediation between the subject body and the virtual environment. There are many ways to theorise this mediation and therefore many types of explanations given to explain the fact that the user is no longer aware of the technical system. The more common is the "immersion theory". This is a technical theory. We propose a more psychological theory based on activity theories. We think that the transparency of the mediation appears with the subject practise and the increase of it. We propose a new methodology to assess the feeling of presence to show that this feeling varies during the activity. We don't find that the more a subject is experienced the more he feels present. We discuss this result and conclude that there's a complex relation between the feeling pf presence and the transparency of the mediation. We find that the feeling of presence varies according to the activity. This second result can't be explained by the theory of immersion. This result support our proposition but we need more results to conclude.
Enhanced responsiveness in asynchronous irregular neuronal networks

Networks of excitatory and inhibitory neurons display asynchronous irregular (AI) states, where the activities of the two populations are balanced. At the single cell level, it was shown that neurons subject to balanced and noisy synaptic inputs can display enhanced responsiveness. We show here that this enhanced responsiveness is also present at the network level, but only when single neurons are in a conductance state and fluctuation regime consistent with experimental measurements. In such states, the entire population of neurons is globally influenced by the external input. We suggest that this network-level enhanced responsiveness constitute a low-level form of sensory awareness.
An intrinsic 1/N expansion for many-Fermion systems

The 1/N expansion is a popular tool for investigating non-perturbative long-range phenomena. In many-body models, discretization of the Fermi surface naturally introduces a many-component picture. If, for example, number symmetry is broken, N ≈ (exp [1/λ])(d-1), where λ > 0 is the bare coupling constant. We expect that this intrinsic 1/N expansion appears whenever the "free propagator" of the system is singular along a hypersurface (for instance, in the Anderson model for localized and extended states).
Clinical Relevance of the Bezold–Jarisch Reflex

THE idea that reflexes originating in the heart can play a role in normal physiology dates to the 1860s. Until the 1950s, these reflexes, and the Bezold–Jarisch reflex (BJR) in particular, were regarded largely as pharmacological curiosities with the only practical application of the study of the BJR being the clinical use of a veratrum alkaloid as an antihypertensive agent. Since the 1860s, it had been known that injection of minute amounts (0.005 mg) of veratrine or its pure alkaloid components (veratrum) initiates a reflex which causes a rapid fall in blood pressure and heart rate in association with apnea. This “Von Bezold reflex” was classically defined in association with arrest of breathing, but more recently, it has been called the BJR and includes the triad of bradycardia, hypotension, and peripheral vasodilation. It is now understood that certain inhibitory reflexes, which have origin with cardiac sensory receptors, play a role in cardiovascular homeostasis. Activation of a subset of these receptors by diverse stimuli increases parasympathetic nervous system activity, inhibits sympathetic activity and is responsible for eliciting the BJR. Some anesthesiologists have suggested that the BJR may explain cardiovascular collapse reported during regional anesthesia techniques. This review focuses on the physiology of the BJR and its possible physiologic role in a number of clinical situations. It also provides discussion of the limited relevance of this reflex in regional anesthesia. The topic of clinical management will not be addressed given the paucity of data on this matter, but suggestions for future experimental direction are offered.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Enhances Long-Term Potentiation in Rat Visual Cortex

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), members of the nerve growth factor (NGF) gene family, have been suggested to play a role in experience-dependent modification of neural networks in the developing nervous system. In this study we addressed the question of whether these neurotrophins are involved in long-term potentiation (LTP) in developing visual cortex. We recorded layer II/III field potentials and whole-cell currents evoked by test stimulation of layer IV at 0.1 Hz in visual cortical slices prepared from young rats (postnatal day 15–25) and observed effects of BDNF, NT-3, and NGF on these responses. Then we analyzed the effects of these neurotrophins on LTP induced by tetanic (Θ-burst type) stimulation of layer IV. We found that BDNF at 200 ng/ml potentiated field potentials and EPSCs in most cases and that this potentiation lasted after cessation of the BDNF application. At the concentration of 20 ng/ml, BDNF did not show such an effect, but it enhanced the magnitude of expressed LTP. On the other hand, NT-3 and NGF had none of these effects. Immunohistochemical staining of slices with antibody against BDNF showed that exogenous BDNF penetrated into the whole slice within ∼5 min of its application. The actions of BDNF were blocked by preincubation of slices with TrkB-IgG fusion protein, a BDNF scavenger, or coapplication of K252a, an inhibitor for receptor tyrosine kinases. TrkB-IgG or K252a itself completely blocked LTP, suggesting that endogenous BDNF or another TrkB ligand plays a role in LTP in the developing visual cortex.
Linear Spatial Weighting for Single Trial Detection in Encephalography

Conventional electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) analysis often rely on averaging over multiple trials to extract statistically relevant differences between two or more experimental conditions. We demonstrate that by linearly integrating information over multiple spatially distributed sensors within a predefined time window, one can discriminate conditions on a trial-by-trial basis with high accuracy. We restrict ourselves to a linear integration as it allows the computation of a spatial distribution of the discriminating source activity. In the present set of experiments the resulting source activity distributions correspond to functional neuroanatomy consistent with the task (e.g. contralateral sensory-motor cortex and anterior cingulate).
Functional genomics in osteoarthritis: Past, present, and future

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common complex disease of high public health burden. OA is characterized by the degeneration of affected joints leading to pain and reduced mobility. Over the last few years, several studies have focused on the genomic changes underpinning OA. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of genome‐wide, non‐hypothesis‐driven functional genomics (methylation, gene, and protein expression) studies of knee and hip OA in humans. Individual studies have generally been limited in sample size and hence power, and have differed in their approaches; nonetheless, some common themes have started to emerge, notably the role played by biological processes related to the extracellular matrix, immune response, the WNT pathway, angiogenesis, and skeletal development. Larger‐scale studies and streamlined, robust methodologies will be needed to further elucidate the biological etiology of OA going forward. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society. J Orthop Res 34:1105–1110, 2016.
Mast cell-dependent excitation of visceral-nociceptive sensory neurons in irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Intestinal mast cell infiltration may participate to abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We assessed the effect of mast cell mediators released from the colonic mucosa of IBS patients on the activation of rat sensory neurons in vitro. METHODS Colonic mast cell infiltration and mediator release were assessed with quantitative immunofluorescence and immunoenzymatic assays. The effect of mucosal mediators was tested on mesenteric sensory nerve firing and Ca(2+) mobilization in dorsal root ganglia in rats. RESULTS Mediators from IBS patients, but not controls, markedly enhanced the firing of mesenteric nerves (14.7 +/- 3.2 imp/sec vs 2.8 +/- 1.5 imp/sec; P < .05) and stimulated mobilization of Ca(2+) in dorsal root ganglia neurons (29% +/- 4% vs 11% +/- 4%; P < .05). On average, 64% of dorsal root ganglia responsive to mediators were capsaicin-sensitive, known to mediate nociception. Histamine and tryptase were mainly localized to mucosal mast cells. IBS-dependent nerve firing and Ca(2+) mobilization were correlated with the area of the colonic lamina propria occupied by mast cells (r = 0.74; P < .01, and r = 0.78; P < .01, respectively). IBS-dependent excitation of dorsal root ganglia was inhibited by histamine H(1) receptor blockade and serine protease inactivation (inhibition of 51.7%; P < .05 and 74.5%; P < .05; respectively). CONCLUSIONS Mucosal mast cell mediators from IBS patients excite rat nociceptive visceral sensory nerves. These results provide new insights into the mechanism underlying visceral hypersensitivity in IBS.
The SCOT weighted adaptive time delay estimation algorithm based on minimum dispersion criterion

A novel adaptive time delay estimation algorithm based on SCOT weighted and minimum dispersion criterion is proposed in this paper. It is the estimator independent of priori knowledge and has the dynamic tracking ability. Theoretic analysis and the results of computer simulation indicate that the new algorithm performs robustly under both Gaussian and fractional lower order alpha stable environments.
Quick Object Detection and Localization using Dynamic Active Search

Abstract:This paper proposes a method for detecting known objects quickly in 3D environments and estimating the object positions with multiple pan-tilt-zoom cameras. Our search method, Dynamic Active Search, reduces the number of camera operations by predicting the existence of a target in wide angles, zooming in on a promising area, and confirming the target. Even when many reference images taken under various camera angles and various scales need to be searched for, Dynamic Active Search is devised to detect the object efficiently. With multiple cameras, object detection and object localization become more efficient. Experiments show that by Dynamic Active Search using four cameras both search speed and position estimation accuracy are improved six times compared with a single-camera/active-search-without-prediction configuration.
Right Cervical Vagotomy Aggravates Viral Myocarditis in Mice Via the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway

The autonomic nervous system dysfunction with increased sympathetic activity and withdrawal of vagal activity may play an important role in the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis. The vagus nerve can modulate the immune response and control inflammation through a ‘cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway’ dependent on the α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR). Although the role of β-adrenergic stimulation on viral myocarditis has been investigated in our pervious studies, the direct effect of vagal tone in this setting has not been yet studied. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the effects of cervical vagotomy in a murine model of viral myocarditis. In a coxsackievirus B3 murine myocarditis model (Balb/c), effects of right cervical vagotomy and nAChR agonist nicotine on echocardiography, myocardial histopathology, viral RNA, and proinflammatory cytokine levels were studied. We found that right cervical vagotomy inhibited the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, aggravated myocardial lesions, up-regulated the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, and worsened the impaired left ventricular function in murine viral myocarditis, and these changes were reversed by co-treatment with nicotine by activating the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. These results indicate that vagal nerve plays an important role in mediating the anti-inflammatory effect in viral myocarditis, and that cholinergic stimulation with nicotine also plays its peripheral anti-inflammatory role relying on α7nAChR, without requirement for the integrity of vagal nerve in the model. The findings suggest that vagus nerve stimulation mediated inhibition of the inflammatory processes likely provide important benefits in myocarditis treatment.
[The relationship between chronic hip pain and femoroacetabular impingement: an evaluation with clinical signs and radiography].

OBJECTIVES In this study, we investigated the rate of the clinical and radiographic findings of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) in patients with chronic hip pain and compared the findings with those of a control group. PATIENTS AND METHODS The clinical and radiographic findings of FAI in 38 patients (group 1) having hip pain for more than three months were analyzed and compared with 42 controls (group 2). Internal rotation degrees were measured while the hips were at 90° flexion and impingement test was performed by rotating the hips internally at 90° flexion and adduction. The FAI findings were investigated on anteroposterior pelvis radiographs and cross-table lateral radiographs of the hip joint in both groups. The collum-diaphyseal angle, alpha angle and anterior offset ratio on the femoral side and the center-edge angle, acetabular index, extrusion index and crossover sign on the acetabular side were evaluated. RESULTS The internal rotation degree of the painful hips were less than 20 degree in 18 (47.4%) patients in group 1 and in one (2.4%) patient in group 2 (p<0.001). The impingement sign was positive in 15 (39.5%) patients in group 1 and in one (2.4%) patient in group 2 (p<0.001). While the rate of radiographic findings that can cause pincer type FAI were same in both groups, the rate of patients with radiographic findings that can cause cam type FAI was 76.3% (n=29) in group 1 and 42.9% (n=18) in group 2 (p=0.002). CONCLUSION Femoroacetabular impingement is one of the causes of chronic hip pain and if evaluated with suitable clinical and radiographic parameters, the rates of diagnosis may increase.
Using the Gfarm File System as a POSIX Compatible Storage Platform for Hadoop MapReduce Applications

MapReduce is a promising parallel programming model for processing large data sets. Hadoop is an up-and-coming open-source implementation of MapReduce. It uses the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) to store input and output data. Due to a lack of POSIX compatibility, it is difficult for existing software to directly access data stored in HDFS. Therefore, it is not possible to share storage between existing software and MapReduce applications. In order for external applications to process data using MapReduce, we must first import the data, process it, then export the output data into a POSIX compatible file system. This results in a large number of redundant file operations. In order to solve this problem we propose using Gfarm file system instead of HDFS. Gfarm is a POSIX compatible distributed file system and has similar architecture to HDFS. We design and implement of Hadoop-Gfarm plug-in which enables Hadoop MapReduce to access files on Gfarm efficiently. We compared the MapReduce workload performance of HDFS, Gfarm, PVFS and Gluster FS, which are open-source distributed file systems. Our various evaluations show that Gfarm performed just as well as Hadoop's native HDFS. In most evaluations, Gfarm performed bettar than twice as well as PVFS and Gluster FS.
Clarifying the role of fire in the deciduous forests of eastern North America: reply to Matlack

Fire is an important disturbance in ecosystems across the eastern deciduous forests of North America (Brose et al. 2014). Matlack (2013) provided an interpretation of historical and contemporary fire in this region. Although we applaud Matlack for correcting simplistic assumptions that fire was ubiquitous and all plant communities need to burn regularly to maintain biodiversity, we believe his interpretation of the role of fire is erroneous on several counts. Most problematic is his statement “ . it seems prudent to limit the use of prescribed burning east of the prairie-woodland transition zone. ” Adherence to this overgeneralized advice would inevitably result in losses of native diversity across the eastern deciduous forest.
Wavelet based multi-focus image fusion using adaptive sized blocks

Due to importance and verity of usage image fusion has become a valuable field of research. Improving the quality of sensors to collect all information about a scene has technical limitations. Image fusion is applied to integrate multiple images of the scene having focus on different objects and to present cumulative clear view of the scene. Discrete wavelet transform is applied on every image block with the assumption that images have focused or blurred areas rather than individual pixels. Prewitt edge detector is applied on wavelet coefficients to find clearer blocks from source images. A hierarchy of decision maps is constructed for clear blocks from each of the source images. Using this decision map clearer non-boundary blocks are copied from the source images to the resulting fused image, whereas boundary blocks are fused using ‘Maximum Wavelet Coefficients Method’. The proposed scheme assures better performance when put to test using image quality evaluation metrics.
A flexible , policy driven , architecture for electronic documents exchange ∗

With the expansion of the Information Society, we are coping everyday with electronic document transfert issues. Various adhoc protocols have been developed for specific transfert properties or constraints. However, for a given electronic document transfert specification, how users are able to choose the more suitable protocol ? This work in progress paper presents a new architecture for electronic document transfert, where the system is able to select the best protocol among a protocols database. This selection is driven by security policies specified by the user and is performed by a Decision Engine which use a Trust Engine to perform Trust-related decisions.
Rapid Simultaneous Cloning of Drug Targets from Multiple Mammalian Species

A method for the routine, rapid and simultaneous cloning of drug targets from multiple mammalian species is described. This expedites the generation of recombinant proteins and cell lines that can provide alternatives to animal experiments. This was achieved by the collection of RNA from a comprehensive range of tissues from a variety of species, and the optimisation of cDNA synthesis. This “zooplate” has been successfully used for the simultaneous amplification and cloning of drug targets from multiple species. These products have subsequently been used to develop in vitro assays that support efficacy and safety studies in new drug discovery programmes. Within the framework of the Three Rs, these reagents can reduce the number of animals required to provide material for ex vivo assays and can refine the in vivo studies that are still necessary.
Patterns of metal distribution in hypersaline microbialites during early diagenesis: Implications for the fossil record

The use of metals as biosignatures in the fossil stromatolite record requires understanding of the processes controlling the initial metal(loid) incorporation and diagenetic preservation in living microbialites. Here, we report the distribution of metals and the organic fraction within the lithifying microbialite of the hypersaline Big Pond Lake (Bahamas). Using synchrotron‐based X‐ray microfluorescence, confocal, and biphoton microscopies at different scales (cm–μm) in combination with traditional geochemical analyses, we show that the initial cation sorption at the surface of an active microbialite is governed by passive binding to the organic matrix, resulting in a homogeneous metal distribution. During early diagenesis, the metabolic activity in deeper microbialite layers slows down and the distribution of the metals becomes progressively heterogeneous, resulting from remobilization and concentration as metal(loid)‐enriched sulfides, which are aligned with the lamination of the microbialite. In addition, we were able to identify globules containing significant Mn, Cu, Zn, and As enrichments potentially produced through microbial activity. The similarity of the metal(loid) distributions observed in the Big Pond microbialite to those observed in the Archean stromatolites of Tumbiana provides the foundation for a conceptual model of the evolution of the metal distribution through initial growth, early diagenesis, and fossilization of a microbialite, with a potential application to the fossil record.
Cellular Immune Response to Parasitization in Drosophila Requires the EBF Orthologue Collier

Drosophila immune response involves three types of hemocytes (‘blood cells’). One cell type, the lamellocyte, is induced to differentiate only under particular conditions, such as parasitization by wasps. Here, we have investigated the mechanisms underlying the specification of lamellocytes. We first show that collier (col), the Drosophila orthologue of the vertebrate gene encoding early B-cell factor (EBF), is expressed very early during ontogeny of the lymph gland, the larval hematopoietic organ. In this organ, Col expression prefigures a specific posterior region recently proposed to act as a signalling centre, the posterior signalling centre (PSC). The complete lack of lamellocytes in parasitized col mutant larvae revealed the critical requirement for Col activity in specification of this cell type. In wild-type larvae, Col expression remains restricted to the PSC following parasitization, despite the massive production of lamellocytes. We therefore propose that Col endows PSC cells with the capacity to relay an instructive signal that orients hematopoietic precursors towards the lamellocyte fate in response to parasitization. Considered together with the role of EBF in lymphopoiesis, these findings suggest new parallels in cellular immunity between Drosophila and vertebrates. Further investigations on Col/EBF expression and function in other phyla should provide fresh insight into the evolutionary origin of lymphoid cells.