Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The absence of the calcium‐buffering protein calbindin is associated with faster age‐related decline in hippocampal metabolism

Although reductions in the expression of the calcium‐buffering proteins calbindin D‐28K (CB) and parvalbumin (PV) have been observed in the aging brain, it is unknown whether these changes contribute to age‐related hippocampal dysfunction. To address this issue, we measured basal hippocampal metabolism and hippocampal structure across the lifespan of C57BL/6J, calbindin D‐28k knockout (CBKO) and parvalbumin knockout (PVKO) mice. Basal metabolism was estimated using steady state relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), which is a variant of fMRI that provides the highest spatial resolution, optimal for the analysis of individual subregions of the hippocampal formation. We found that like primates, normal aging in C57BL/6J mice is characterized by an age‐dependent decline in rCBV‐estimated dentate gyrus (DG) metabolism. Although abnormal hippocampal fMRI signals were observed in CBKO and PVKO mice, only CBKO mice showed accelerated age‐dependent decline of rCBV‐estimated metabolism in the DG. We also found age‐independent structural changes in CBKO mice, which included an enlarged hippocampus and neocortex as well as global brain hypertrophy. These metabolic and structural changes in CBKO mice correlated with a deficit in hippocampus‐dependent learning in the active place avoidance task. Our results suggest that the decrease in CB that occurs during normal aging is involved in age‐related hippocampal metabolic decline. Our findings also illustrate the value of using multiple MRI techniques in transgenic mice to investigate mechanisms involved in the functional and structural changes that occur during aging. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PWM methods for two-phase inverters

This article focuses on simple space-vector PWM (SPWM) methods for two-leg, three-leg, and four-leg inverters that can be applied to three phase induction motor drives (TPIM). First, a carrier-based PWM method for a two-leg inverter was proposed on the basis of the conventional SPWM method. Second, a carrier-based PWM method for a four leg inverter that used a double triangular carrier wave was proposed. Third, a carrier-based PWM method for a three-leg inverter was proposed as a replacement for a conventional SVPWM method. Digital calculations using the PSIM software package are performed to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed PWM method
A Force-Controllable Compact Actuator Module for a Wearable Hand Exoskeleton

Abstract In this paper, a force-controllable compact actuator module for a wearable hand exoskeleton system is proposed. To interact with virtual objects naturally with a hand exoskeleton, a small actuator module, which can generate the desired force accurately, is highly required. In the proposed actuator module, a series elastic actuator (SEA) mechanism was applied for the force mode control. Based on the experimental analysis about grip forces, a spring was manually designed and a linear motor was selected. A manually designed motor driver was also embedded to the actuator module. The actually manufactured actuator module was compact enough to put five modules at the back of the hand. For precise force mode control, friction of the motor was identified and compensated. Using a PID controller with the friction compensation, the proposed actuator module could generate the desired force accurately with actual finger movements.
Reasonableness in situated discourse: fallacies as derailments of strategic manoeuvring

In the pragma-dialectical approach fallacies are defined as violations of rules for critical discussion which manifest themselves in derailments of strategic manoeuvring. These may easily escape attention because they can be very similar to sound instances of strategic manoeuvring. Strategic manoeuvring only derails into fallaciousness if it goes against the norms for having a reasonable exchange embodied in the rules for critical discussion. This means in practice that the argumentative moves that were made are not in agreement with the relevant criteria for complying with a particular norm. These criteria vary to some extent according to the argumentative context and, in so far as this is the case, they are determined by the soundness conditions the argumentative moves have to fulfill to remain within the bounds of dialectical reasonableness in the activity type concerned. Fallacy judgments are in the end contextual judgments that depend on the specific circumstances of situated argumentative acting. The criteria for determining whether or not a certain norm for critical discussion has been violated may depend on the institutional conventions of the argumentative activity type concerned. This does not mean that there are no clear criteria for determining whether the strategic manoeuvring has gone astray, but only that the specific shape these criteria take may vary from the one argumentative activity to the other.
Behavioral Economics and Macroeconomic Models

Over the past 20 years, macroeconomists have incorporated more and more results from behavioral economics into their models. We argue that doing so has helped fixed deficiencies with standard approaches to modeling the economy—for example, the counterfactual absence of inertia in the standard New Keynesian model of economic fluctuations. We survey efforts to use behavioral economics to improve some of the underpinnings of the New Keynesian model—specifically, consumption, the formation of expectations and determination of wages and employment that underlie aggregate supply, and the possibility of multiple equilibria and asset price bubbles. We also discuss more broadly the advantages and disadvantages of using behavioral economics features in macroeconomic models.
Structural estimation of RKHS models

This paper proposes a new algorithm to estimate the minimal value of the parameter number defining the model developed in Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) and describing non linear processes. The estimated value which corresponds to the model order is equal to the number of input / output measurements contained in a learning set used to develop the model. The proposed algorithm consists on characterising the nonlinear process by an mth order model, incrementing this order and computing for each value a given criterion. The seaked value is obtained when the computed criterion jumps suddenly.
Evaluation of HOXB13 as a molecular marker of recurrent prostate cancer

Many patients with prostate cancer have disease recurrence following surgical removal of tumors and fail to respond to androgen ablation therapy. Despite the existence of a number of clinical/pathological factors, it is not possible to predict which patients will fall into this category. The results of our previous studies demonstrated that the HOXB13 homeodomain protein plays a key role in the development of prostate cancer and the progression of this malignancy. In addition, HOXB13 has been reported to predict estrogen-resistant breast cancer tumors. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether HOXB13 could be used as a molecular marker to predict prostate cancer recurrence. To examine the role of HOXB13 as a molecular marker with clinical/pathological data, the expression of HOXB13 was compared using immunohistochemistry in 57 organ-confined prostate cancer tumors obtained by radical prostatectomy. There was no significant correlation between the expression of HOXB13 and most clinical/pathological parameters, including tumor margin, invasion, pathological stage and risk level. The HOXB13 expression levels correlated with the Gleason score and there was a positive correlation with the pre-operative prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels. Accordingly, the tumor specimens from 4 patients who ultimately had biochemical failure (PSA >0.2 ng/ml), all showed a high expression of HOXB13, while their risk levels were either intermediate or high. This is the first study to report that HOXB13, together with other clinical/pathological factors, can be used as a molecular marker to predict the progression of prostate cancer.
Host country specific factors and the transfer of human resource management practices in multinational companies

This paper concerns the transfer of human resource management (HRM) practices by multinational companies (MNCs) to their overseas subsidiaries. It investigates how factors originating from the cultural and institutional framework of the host country impact on this transfer. Using data collected from MNC subsidiaries located in Greece and local Greek firms, we examine the degree to which several HRM practices in MNC subsidiaries resemble local practices. Our empirical findings indicate that subsidiaries have adapted their HRM practices to a considerable extent, although some practices are more localised than others. Specifically, practices that do not fit well with Greek culture or are in contrast to employee regulations show a low level of transfer. On the other hand, our interviews revealed that significant cultural changes are underway and that the institutional environment is gradually getting more relaxed, leaving more room to manoeuvre for MNCs.
Multi-modal human robot interaction for map generation

Describes an interface for multi modal human robot interaction, which enables people to introduce a newcomer robot to different attributes of objects and places in the room through speech commands and hand gestures. The robot makes an environment map of the room based on knowledge learned through communication with human and uses this map for navigation. The developed system consists of several sections including: natural language processing, posture recognition, object localization and map generation. This system uses a combination of multiple sources of information and model matching to detect and track a human hand so that the user can point toward an object of interest and guide the robot to go near to it or locate that object's position in the room. The position of objects in the room is located by a monocular camera vision and depth from focus method.
Dynamic instability of microtubules is regulated by force

Microtubules are long filamentous protein structures that randomly alternate between periods of elongation and shortening in a process termed dynamic instability. The average time a microtubule spends in an elongation phase, known as the catastrophe time, is regulated by the biochemical machinery of the cell throughout the cell cycle. In this light, observed changes in the catastrophe time near cellular boundaries (Brunner, D., and P. Nurse. 2000. Cell. 102:695–704; Komarova, Y.A., I.A. Vorobjev, and G.G. Borisy. 2002. J. Cell Sci. 115:3527–3539) may be attributed to regulatory effects of localized proteins. Here, we argue that the pushing force generated by a microtubule when growing against a cellular object may itself provide a regulatory mechanism of the catastrophe time. We observed an up to 20-fold, force-dependent decrease in the catastrophe time when microtubules grown from purified tubulin were polymerizing against microfabricated barriers. Comparison with catastrophe times for microtubules growing freely at different tubulin concentrations leads us to conclude that force reduces the catastrophe time only by limiting the rate of tubulin addition.
Joint Supervised-Unsupervised Nonlinear Unmixing of Hyperspectral Images Using Kernel Method

In hyper spectral images pixels are mixtures of spectral components associated to pure materials. Nonlinear unmixing of observed pixels is a challenging task in hyper spectral imagery. In this paper, a joint supervised unsupervised nonlinear unmixing scheme is proposed based on the recent advance of kernel based regression and analysis techniques. The proposed scheme takes advantage of high quality training data from the unsupervised kernel algorithm and fast learning and inference speed of the supervised learning algorithm. Experiments on synthetic and real data show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
High-Resolution Proper Motions in a Sunspot Penumbra

Local correlation tracking techniques are used to measure proper motions in a series of high angular resolution (~0.″1) penumbra images. If these motions trace true plasma motions, then we have detected converging flows that arrange the plasma in long narrow filaments cospatial with dark penumbral filaments. Assuming that these flows are stationary, the vertical stratification of the atmosphere and the conservation of mass suggest downflows in the filaments on the order of 200 m s-1. The association between downflows and dark features may be a sign of convection, as it happens with the nonmagnetic granulation. Insufficient spatial resolution may explain why the estimated vertical velocities are not fast enough to supply the radiative losses of penumbrae.
Ensuring Safety of Nonlinear Sampled Data Systems through Reachability1

Abstract In sampled data systems the controller receives periodically sampled state feedback about the evolution of a continuous time plant, and must choose a constant control signal to apply between these updates; however, unlike purely discrete time models the evolution of the plant between updates is important. In contrast, for systems with nonlinear dynamics existing reachability algorithms–-based on Hamilton-Jacobi equations or viability theory–-assume continuous time state feedback and the ability to instantaneously adjust the input signal. In this paper we describe an algorithm for determining an implicit surface representation of minimal backwards reach tubes for nonlinear sampled data systems, and then construct switched, set-valued feedback controllers which are permissive but ensure safety for such systems. The reachability algorithm is adapted from the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation proposed in Ding and Tomlin [2010]. We show that this formulation is conservative for sampled data systems. We implement the algorithm using approximation schemes from level set methods, and demonstrate it on a modified double integrator.
Toward a Conceptual Framework for the Knowledge Bank

This paper proposes some basic elements of a conceptual framework to help organize the thinking about policies that can strengthen the knowledge mission of the World Bank. It first argues that the Bank occupies a unique and prominent subset of the social and economic development "knowledge space" that ranges from abstract basic research to codified knowledge solutions. The fact that this niche centrally includes the provision of public good-intensive knowledge weakens organizational analogies between the Bank and private consulting firms. The range of products coupled with an increasing emphasis on just-in-time advisory services dictate the need for not more generalists, but rather an increased range and depth of very specific and high quality human capital. However, this increased specialization in turn creates the need for "hinge" actors who can communicate and operate well across different knowledge communities -- academics, policy makers, practitioners, etc. The necessary changes in human resource and incentive policies, in particular the critical development of better means of ensuring the quality of knowledge production, are an essential complement to any organizational restructuring.
System of particles with interaction and the cluster formation in condensed matter

We investigate the behaviour of a system of particles with the different character of interaction. The approach makes it possible to describe systems of interacting particles by statistical methods taking into account a spatial nonhomogeneous distribution of particles, i.e. cluster formation. For these clusters are evaluated: their size, the number of particles in a cluster, and the temperature of phase transition to the cluster state. Three systems are under consideration: electrons on the liquid helium surface, particles interacting by the shielding Coulomb potential, which are found under the influence of an elastic field (e.g. nucleons in a nucleus), and gravitating masses with the Hubble expansion.
When nutrition interacts with osteoblast function: molecular mechanisms of polyphenols

Recent research has provided insights into dietary components that may optimise bone health and stimulate bone formation. Fruit and vegetable intake, as well as grains and other plant-derived food, have been linked to decreased risk of major chronic diseases including osteoporosis. This effect has been partially attributed to the polyphenols found in these foods. Thus, it has been suggested that these compounds may provide desirable bone health benefits through an action on bone cell metabolism. The present review will focus on how some polyphenols can modulate osteoblast function and reports which cellular signalling pathways are potentially implicated. However, to date, despite numerous investigations, few studies have provided clear evidence that phenolic compounds can act on osteoblasts. Polyphenols cited in the present review seem to be able to modulate the expression of transcription factors such as runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx2) and Osterix, NF-κB and activator protein-1 (AP-1). It appears that polyphenols may act on cellular signalling such as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), oestrogen receptor and osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (OPG/RANKL) and thus may affect osteoblast functions. However, it is also important to take in account the possible interaction of these compounds on osteoclast metabolism to better understand the positive correlation reported between the consumption of fruit and vegetables and bone mass.
Film Review: Concussion

Based upon true events, the plot of the 2015 multi-award-winning film Concussion outlines the discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in deceased Hall-ofFame American Football player and Pittsburg Steelers’ legend, Mike Webster (Omalu et al., 2005; Omalu, 2017). On 24 September 2002, Webster died of a cardiac arrest aged just 50 years. Recognising that elite athletes should not be suffering from such severe cognitive decline at 50-years of age, newly qualified neuropathologist Bennet Omalu (played by Will Smith) examined Webster’s brain. Omalu found further evidence of a unique structuring of tau proteins in the micro-pathology of the brain’s structures (Omalu et al., 2005). Although CTE was not new in 2005, initially seen in boxers (Martland, 1928), it was the first documentation of such pathology from team sports, particularly American Football (Nowinski, 2012). Initially named as CTE in the 1960s by Miller (1966), it grew in prominence after the subsequent autopsies in American Football (Omalu et al., 2005, 2006), which Concussion is based upon.
Antimicrobial peptide defensin: Identification of novel isoforms and the characterization of their physiological roles and their significance in the pathogenesis of diseases

Defensins comprise a family of cationic antimicrobial peptides containing a specific six-cysteine motif. Their contribution to the host defense against microbial invasion and the control of normal flora have been previously described. Some of the β-defensin isoforms are predominantly expressed in the epididymis and showed a region-specific expression pattern in the epididymis, which thus suggested that these isoforms may possess epididymis-specific functions in addition to antimicrobial activities. A sequence variant of the β-defensin 126 gene has been shown to be associated with reductions in the human sperm function, thus supporting this hypothesis. Furthermore, defensins have the capacity to chemoattract immune cells and induce the secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Mice expressing human neutrophil α-defensin showed more severe lung injuries after the aspiration of acidic contents than did control mice. Recent investigations regarding copy number variations of human defensin genes also suggest the significance of defensin in the pathogenesis or the worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, sepsis and psoriasis.
Implementation and quality evaluation of video telephony using Session Initiation Protocol

Video telephony is a big change of communication technologies and becomes a standard-based technology available on personal computers and mobile phones for today. Video telephony technology has been developed using several advanced technologies which can be simplified into two fundamental parts, i.e., server and client. The server enables the clients to keep connect to each other while the client captures the audio and video data for transmission and converts the transmission of data back to the form of audio and video signals. For our implemented systems, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server is used as video telephony server. Video codec such as VP8, MPEG4, H263, and H264 are used as video compression in the client. The performances of codec are evaluated by objective and subjective quality tests. The result shows that the implemented system can work properly and the video quality of each codec is also evaluated.
An Error Analysis of the Scattering Matrix Renormalization Transform

By characterizing the condition number as an indicator of accuracy, an error analysis is performed to determine how different auxiliary terminations affect the accuracy of the scattering matrix renormalization transform. Such an error analysis plays an essential role in enhancing the accuracy and widening the applicability of the port renormalization method for measuring multiport devices with a two-port vector network analyzer.
Forest Fire Severity Assessment Using ALS Data in a Mediterranean Environment

Mediterranean pine forests in Spain experience wildland fire events with different frequencies, intensities, and severities which result in diverse socio-ecological consequences. In order to predict fire severity, spectral indices derived from remotely sensed images have been used extensively. Such spectral indices are usually used in combination with ground sampling to relate detected radiometric changes to actual fire effects. However, the potential of the tridimensional information captured by Airborne Laser Scanners (ALS) to severity mapping has been less explored. With the objective of addressing this question, in this paper, explanatory variables extracted from ALS point clouds are related to field estimations of the Composite Burn Index collected in four fires located in Aragon (Spain). Logistic regression models were developed and statistically tested and validated to map fire severity with up to 85.5% accuracy. The canopy relief ratio and the percentage of all returns above one meter height were the most significant variables and were therefore used to create a continuous map of severity levels.