Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corticospinal tract insult alters GABAergic circuitry in the mammalian spinal cord

During perinatal development, corticospinal tract (CST) projections into the spinal cord help refine spinal circuitry. Although the normal developmental processes that are controlled by the arrival of corticospinal input are becoming clear, little is known about how perinatal cortical damage impacts specific aspects of spinal circuit development, particularly the inhibitory microcircuitry that regulates spinal reflex circuits. In this study, we sought to determine how ischemic cortical damage impacts the synaptic attributes of a well-characterized population of inhibitory, GABAergic interneurons, called GABApre neurons, which modulates the efficiency of proprioceptive sensory terminals in the sensorimotor reflex circuit. We found that putative GABApre interneurons receive CST input and, using an established mouse model of perinatal stroke, that cortical ischemic injury results in a reduction of CST density within the intermediate region of the spinal cord, where these interneurons reside. Importantly, CST alterations were restricted to the side contralateral to the injury. Within the synaptic terminals of the GABApre interneurons, we observed a dramatic upregulation of the 65-isoform of the GABA synthetic enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65). In accordance with the CST density reduction, GAD65 was elevated on the side of the spinal cord contralateral to cortical injury. This effect was not seen for other GABApre synaptic markers or in animals that received sham surgery. Our data reveal a novel effect of perinatal stroke that involves severe deficits in the architecture of a descending spinal pathway, which in turn appear to promote molecular alterations in a specific spinal GABAergic circuit.
High Speed True Random Number Generator Based on FPGA

TRN (True Random Number) plays a key role in the communication system and so on. The TRNG (True Random Number Generator) based on FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) usually has a high speed and quality. In this article, we study several existing ways to generate the TRN in the FPGA using the oscillator rings which consist of an odd number of NOT gates, the structure of the oscillator rings and the sampling frequency are analyzed. An improved structure based on the oscillator rings is introduced here by which we can get higher speed and quality TRNG with fewer resources compared with the several methods mentioned in the references. The TRNG consists of 16 oscillator rings, each contains 3 NOT gates. The sampling frequency can reach 300M (Million bits per second). The design is implemented on the Altera Stratix II FPGA. The results passed the tests of the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) randomness test suite. The restart experiments have shown that the TRNG outputs behaved truly random and not pseudorandom.
Más allá del centro y la periferia: la frontera sur de México a debate desde la globalización

The article analytically revisits the concept and reality lived in the southern border/ frontier of Mexico in the context of contemporary Borderlands debates, inquiring how peripheral the region continues to be today. Analyzing the so called borderless globalization thesis, it is argued that the mentioned thesis managed to extend the understanding of the border beyond the previous state-centrism and euro-centrism. This could permit to rethink what we understand as the Mexican southern border today beyond the national-geographic centers and peripheries.
The Why and How of Delegations in Distributed Security Systems

In this paper we address the main questions associated with delegations and the role they play in security architectures for distributed systems; why they are required and how they can be implemented. In distributed and dynamic systems like the Semantic Web or pervasive computing environments, describing comprehensive policies in terms of every possible resource and user is not always possible since neither resources nor users can be completed enumerated a-priori. Even if all users and resources can be pre-determined, it is not feasible to develop complete policies because it is not possible to account for every access right or task required in these dynamic environments. We believe that policies should be as simple as possible and control should be decentralized, that is authorization should be possible by more than just a few key entities and tasks/responsibilities should be delegate-able. We believe that delegations are the key as they allow policies to be less exhaustive and allow policies to be dynamically updated. We address two kinds of delegations: delegation of rights and delegation of responsibility. Delegation of rights allows access rights to be transferred whereas delegation of responsibility allows obligations to be transferred. We describe our policy language, which is based on deontic concepts and speech acts, that allows both these kinds of delegations to be represented and reasoned over. Speech acts like delegation, revocation, request and cancel are an integral part of the design as they provide decentralized control by allowing policies to be dynamically modified. We discuss the delegation protocols that we have developed and describe our integrated approach to policies and speech acts. We describe our prototype implementation of a security system, which supports decentralized control through policies and delegation statements represented in logic and a semantic language, Resource Description Language Schema.
The Big Bang: status and prospects

The 20th century saw the establishment of the first quantitative theory seeking to describe the behaviour of the Universe as a whole – the Big Bang. This sets up a framework within which there has been great success in interpreting a wide range of observations, including the abundances of light chemical elements, the existence and spectrum of the cosmic microwave radiation, and the formation and evolution of galaxies. At the end of the 20th century, the surprising conclusion of the Big Bang theory is that 95% of the Universe is made of two different unknown types of material whose nature remains unclear: dark matter and dark energy. Needless to say, this is a major challenge for science. At the beginning of the 21st century, cosmology appears poised to enter a high-precision era, where the key quantities of cosmology will be determined to two or more significant figures. If cosmologists are on the right track, this will confirm the existence of dark matter and dark energy; if not, it will force us to revise our current picture of the Universe. Either way, the prospect is for exciting years ahead in cosmology.
Superpixel-based classification using semantic information for polarimetric SAR imagery

Polarimetric SAR classification is an effective approach in image understanding. This paper proposes a novel semantic method for classification of Polarimetric SAR data. The method combines superpixels and semantic model to benefit from both the object-oriented classification and the high-level semantic information. Firstly, pixels was grouped into superpixels via Simple Linear Iterative Clustering (SLIC). Secondly, the feature vector was generated within the superpixels by considering both polarimetric information and textures. To incorporate semantic information, the feature vectors were further processed via probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis (pLSA). Finally, Supporting Vector Machine (SVM) was utilized to obtain classification results. The results were evaluated with respect to the accuracy of classification and spatial preservation. The results of this work were analyzed by means of RADARSAT-2 data.
Tobacco consumption and the poor: An ethnographic analysis of hand-rolled cigarette (bidi) use in Bangladesh

Bidis, or hand-rolled, filterless tobacco cigarettes, are largely marketed to and consumed by the poor in Bangladesh. In exploring perceived rationales and the situational contexts of smoking, this study identifies the crucial connections between bidi smoking and the social and economic forces that influence choices and shape the contexts of individual suffering. Ethnographic research in Netrakona District revealed that inexpensive bidis were used to gain relief from physical ailments specific to the poor, such as hunger, indigestion and constipation. Bidis were found to be a socially accepted mood-altering drug that symbolizes relief from their everyday tensions, angers, perceived exploitations and disappointments. I argue that both cultural norms of reciprocity and hierarchy as well as the socio-economic structure of Bangladesh with its inequality, poverty and exploitation contribute to the tobacco consumption and related health problems of the poor.
Alcohol Abuse Treatment for Older Adults

Abstract As the population continues to age, social work practitioners and researchers will increasingly confront the needs of elders with alcohol use disorders. Alcohol abuse poses special risks for increased morbidity and mortality among older adults, contributing to the heightened use of medical resources and the related increase in medical costs. Although, the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in the elderly is generally less than that found in younger groups, it is expected to increase with the aging of the “baby-boom” generation. The purpose of this article is to enhance social work practitioners and researchers' understanding of the nature of elder alcohol abuse, the needs of elders with alcohol abuse disorders, and the availability of effective treatment strategies by reviewing the epidemiological and outcomes research literatures related to alcohol abuse and the elderly. The few empirical studies that examine outcomes associated with the treatment of elderly substance abusers reveal positive outcomes, especially when “age-specific,” cognitive-behavioral, and less confrontational treatment approaches are employed. However, further research needs to be conducted concerning the nature of alcohol abuse among this population and the impact of specific alcohol treatment strategies on older adults. Such research must consider the needs and experiences of specific sub-populations of elders such as women, minorities, and those with late onset disorders.
Research challenges of autonomic computing

Autonomic computing is a grand-challenge vision in which computing systems manage themselves in accordance with high-level objectives specified by humans. The IT industry recognizes that meeting this challenge is imperative; otherwise, IT systems will soon become virtually impossible to administer. But meeting this challenge is also extremely difficult, and requires a worldwide collaboration among the best minds of academia and industry. In the hope of motivating researchers in relevant areas to apply their expertise to this vitally important problem, the author outlines some of the main scientific and engineering challenges that collectively make up the grand challenge of autonomic computing, and provide pointers to initial efforts to address these challenges.
Modelling and control of obstacle-aided snake robot locomotion based on jam resolution

A snake robot can traverse cluttered and irregular environments by using irregularities around its body as push-points to aid the propulsion. This characteristic feature of snake locomotion, denoted obstacle-aided locomotion, has received limited focus in previous literature. This paper presents a model of this phenomenon and a control strategy employing measured contact forces to maintain propulsion while simultaneously preventing the snake robot from being jammed between obstacles in its path. The simulation results validate the contact modelling approach and the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.
On the control of radiation directivity of elementary source coupled in electromagnetic crystals

A directivity of radiation from a line source coupled to 2D electromagnetic crystals is investigated using a Fabry-Perot resonator model for the coupled radiating structure. It is shown that the directivity is characterized by the transmission windows of the electromagnetic crystals in the frequency and angular spectral domains and the transverse resonance condition in the space surrounded by the electromagnetic crystals. A directivity diagram that relates the transmission and reflection spectra of electromagnetic crystals and the size of the resonator to the radiation patterns attainable by a line source is presented. Several numerical examples validate the usefulness of the diagram for designing unique electromagnetic crystal antennas.
The role of music therapy in an interdisciplinary approach to address functional communication in complex neuro-communication disorders: A case report

Purpose. This paper presents a case report of collaborative work between speech and language therapy (SLT) and music therapy (MT) in the case of an individual presenting with complex communication difficulties and lability caused by pseudo-Parkinsonian vascular disease. Design. MT intervention was used to investigate whether participation could be enabled in a client presenting with complex problems as well as facilitate change in communication parameters which remained unresponsive to conventional SLT intervention. A single case design measured communication and well-being parameters using pre-, during and post-intervention measures. In addition, analysis of the client's musical responses was undertaken to examine changes in vocal functioning which are involved in communication. Results. Analysis of the client's performance during MT intervention revealed improvements in prosody and phonation, with positive reports of participation, reduced incidence of lability and improvements in measures of well-being. Conclusions. The results indicate the value of such collaborative working in addition to making recommendations for the modification of existing treatment protocols. The findings highlight that fatigue is a major consideration when working with people with severe and complex clinical presentations.
Modeling performance variation due to cache sharing

Shared cache contention can cause significant variability in the performance of co-running applications from run to run. This variability arises from different overlappings of the applications' phases, which can be the result of offsets in application start times or other delays in the system. Understanding this variability is important for generating an accurate view of the expected impact of cache contention. However, variability effects are typically ignored due to the high overhead of modeling or simulating the many executions needed to expose them. This paper introduces a method for efficiently investigating the performance variability due to cache contention. Our method relies on input data captured from native execution of applications running in isolation and a fast, phase-aware, cache sharing performance model. This allows us to assess the performance interactions and bandwidth demands of co-running applications by quickly evaluating hundreds of overlappings. We evaluate our method on a contemporary multicore machine and show that performance and bandwidth demands can vary significantly across runs of the same set of co-running applications. We show that our method can predict application slowdown with an average relative error of 0.41% (maximum 1.8%) as well as bandwidth consumption. Using our method, we can estimate an application pair's performance variation 213× faster, on average, than native execution.
A COMPARISON OF SEGMENTATION PROGRAMS FOR HIGH RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSING DATA

: Methods of image segmentation become more and more important in the field of remote sensing image analysis – in particular due to the increasing spatial resolution of imagery. The most important factor for using segmentation techniques is segmentation quality. Thus, a method for evaluating segmentation quality is presented and used to compare results of presently available segmentation programs. Firstly, an overview of the software used is given. Moreover the quality of the individual segmentation results is evaluated based on pan-sharpened multi-spectral IKONOS data. This is done by visual comparison, which is supplemented by a detailed investigation using visual interpreted reference areas. Geometrical segment properties are in the focus of this quantitative evaluation. The results are assessed and discussed. They show the suitability of the tested programs for segmenting very high resolution imagery.
Radial Localization of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate–sensitive Ca2+ Release Sites in Xenopus Oocytes Resolved by Axial Confocal Linescan Imaging

The radial localization and properties of elementary calcium release events (“puffs”) were studied in Xenopus oocytes using a confocal microscope equipped with a piezoelectric focussing unit to allow rapid (>100 Hz) imaging of calcium signals along a radial line into the cell with a spatial resolution of <0.7 μm. Weak photorelease of caged inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP 3) evoked puffs arising predominantly within a 6-μm thick band located within a few micrometers of the cell surface. Approximately 25% of puffs had a restricted radial spread, consistent with calcium release from a single site. Most puffs, however, exhibited a greater radial spread (3.25 μm), likely involving recruitment of radially neighboring release sites. Calcium waves evoked by just suprathreshold stimuli exhibited radial calcium distributions consistent with inward diffusion of calcium liberated at puff sites, whereas stronger flashes evoked strong, short-latency signals at depths inward from puff sites, indicating deep InsP 3-sensitive stores activated at higher concentrations of InsP 3. Immunolocalization of InsP 3 receptors showed punctate staining throughout a region corresponding to the localization of puffs and subplasmalemmal endoplasmic reticulum. The radial organization of puff sites a few micrometers inward from the plasma membrane may have important consequences for activation of calcium-dependent ion channels and “capacitative” calcium influx. However, on the macroscopic (hundreds of micrometers) scale of global calcium waves, release can be considered to occur primarily within a thin, essentially two-dimensional subplasmalemmal shell.
The Role of Foxg1 and Dorsal Midline Signaling in the Generation of Cajal-Retzius Subtypes

Cajal-Retzius (CR) cells, the earliest-born neurons in the neocortex, arise from discrete sources within the telencephalon, including the dorsal midline and the pallial–subpallial boundary (PSB). In particular, the cortical hem, a region of high bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and Wnt (wingless-type MMTV integration site family) expression but lacking in Foxg1 (forkhead box G1) is a major source of CR neurons. Whether CR cells from distinct origins arise from disparate developmental processes or share a common mechanism is unclear. To elucidate the molecular basis of CR cell development, we assessed the role of both Foxg1 and dorsal midline signaling in the production of cortical hem- and PSB-derived CR cells. We demonstrate that the loss of Foxg1 results in the overproduction of both of these CR populations. However, removal of Foxg1 at embryonic day 13, although expanding the number of CR cells with a PSB phenotype, does not result in an expansion of BMPs or Wnts in the dorsomedial signaling center. Conversely, loss of the dorsal midline ligands as observed in Gli3 (glioma-associated oncogene homolog 3) mutants results in the loss of the cortical hem-derived CR character but does not affect the specification of PSB-derived CR cells. Hence, our findings demonstrate that, although the specification of cortical hem-derived CR cells is dependent on signaling from the dorsal midline, Foxg1 functions to repress the generation of both cortical hem- and PSB-derived CR cells.
On perfect integer codes

A general construction for perfect integer codes is provided, which allows to efficiently compute such codes. The method is applied to investigate in detail the special error set {plusmn1, plusmna, plusmnb, plusmnc,} interesting for single error correction of peak shifts and codes defined on lattices
Distance Learning: Closing the Gap between Remote Labs and Learning Management Systems

In this paper, we discuss the leap distance learning has to make in the near future. We take it for granted that students need hands-on approaches in addition to annotated lectures and simulations in the distance learning process. For now, distance learning relies mostly on "top-bottom" teaching methods such as streaming lectures, but also on practical experiments that let students discover by themselves how appliances are to be used. Nevertheless, our purpose is that online laboratories suffer from the lack of coupling with learning management systems (henceforth LMS). We state the gap between LMS and online laboratories platform has to be closed for the leverage of assistance to students, dynamic adaptation to user abilities, and assessments of hands-on approaches by teachers
Multiple Evaluation: A New Testing Paradigm That Exorcizes Guessing

The crux in psychometrics is how to estimate the probability that a respondent answers an item correctly on one occasion out of many. Under the current testing paradigm this probability is estimated using all kinds of statistical techniques and mathematical modeling. Multiple evaluation is a new testing paradigm using the person's own personal estimates of these probabilities as data. It is compared to multiple choice, which appears to be a degenerated form of multiple evaluation. Multiple evaluation has much less measurement error than multiple choice, and this measurement error is not in favor of the examinee. When the test is used for selection purposes as it is with multiple choice, the probability of a Type II error (unjustified passes) is almost negligible. Procedures for statistical item-and-test analyses under the multiple evaluation paradigm are presented. These procedures provide more accurate information in comparison to what is possible under the multiple choice paradigm. A computer program that implements multiple evaluation is also discussed.
Seeing It Their Way: What Children's Definitions of Reading Tell Us About Improving Teacher Education

The purposes of this article are to describe the results of an investigation of first-grade students' definitions of reading and to suggest implications of the study for teacher educators. A 4-month long naturalistic study was conducted in one first-grade classroom. Analysis of observations, interviews, and documents revealed that students in the low- and high-reading groups constructed different understandings about the nature and purpose of reading. Students' definitions of reading were the result of interaction between their prior knowledge about reading and the reading experiences they had in the classroom. The study's implications for teacher educators are discussed.
Adolescents' Identity Experiments on the Internet

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of adolescents' online identity experiments on their social competence and self-concept unity. An online survey was conducted among 1,158 Dutch adolescents between 10 and 17 years of age. Using structural equation modeling, the authors investigated the validity of four opposing effects hypotheses in an integrative antecedents-and-effects model. Adolescents who more often experimented with their identity on the Internet more often communicated online with people of different ages and cultural backgrounds. This communication, in turn, had a positive effect on adolescents' social competence but did not affect their self-concept unity. In particular, lonely adolescents used the Internet to experiment with their identity. The social competence of lonely adolescents benefited significantly from these online identity experiments.