Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ras Mediates Effector Pathways Responsible for Pre-B Cell Survival, Which Is Essential for the Developmental Progression to the Late Pre-B Cell Stage

Ras is essential for the transition from early B cell precursors to the pro-B stage, and is considered to be involved in the signal cascade mediated by pre-B cell antigen receptors. To examine the role of p21ras in the late stage of B cell differentiation, we established transgenic mice (TG) expressing a dominant-inhibitory mutant of Ha-ras (Asn-17 Ha-ras) in B lineage cells at high levels after the early B cell precursor stage. Expression of p21Asn-17 Ha-ras was associated with a prominent reduction in the number of late pre-B cells, but had little effect on proliferation of early pre-B cells. Inhibition of p21ras activity markedly reduced the life span of pre-B cells, due, at least in part, to downregulation of the expression of an antiapoptotic protein, Bcl-xL. Thus, the apparent role for p21ras activity in pre-B cell survival may explain the decreased numbers of late pre-B cells in Asn-17 Ha-ras TG. Consistent with this possibility, overexpression of Bcl-2 in Asn-17 Ha-ras TG reversed the reduction in the number of late pre-B cells undergoing immunoglobulin light chain gene (IgL) rearrangement and progressing to immature B cells. These results suggest that p21ras mediates effector pathways responsible for pre-B cell survival, which is essential for progression to the late pre-B and immature B stages.
Telecommunications and nonlinear device behavior: Is it a curse or is there a cure?

Nonlinear device behavior is one of the concerns in telecommunications because of the possible information interference and the reduction in effective bandwidth. Measurement systems and black box modeling techniques to characterize and simulate these nonlinear devices would be a valuable tool. This paper explains briefly a prototype of a measurement system for nonlinear RF and microwave devices, measuring both calibrated amplitudes and phases of signals on an arbitrary frequency grid and it introduces also black box modeling capabilities starting from these calibrated measurements.
The effect of vascular risk factors in dementia of the Alzheimer's type

The influence of vascular risk factors on Alzheimer’s disease and its clinical presentation is an area of intense scientific debate. There is now growing evidence to suggest that the presence of vascular risk factors in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease might accelerate its clinical presentation. Previous studies have also demonstrated that clinically healthy individuals with vascular risk factors perform below expectations on cognitive assessment. Further, the burden of vascular risk factors might be a predictor of future cognitive decline. However, the relationship between vascular risk factors and cognitive deterioration in healthy older adults has not been clearly established. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vascular risk factors and cognitive function in a large cohort of 768 cognitively healthy older individuals drawn from the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) Study of Ageing. This thesis addresses four main questions: (1) is there a difference in cognitive performance between individuals with and without vascular risk factors? , (2) does the presence of vascular risk factors affect the rate of cognitive change? (3) does the number of vascular risk factors influence cognition? and (4) does the presence of vascular risk factors increase the likelihood of developing Mild Cognitive Impairment? Participants were aged between 60–95 years, (M= 69.9 ± 6.9). All participants underwent a comprehensive baseline assessment and three additional serial
Identification and robust control of a quadratic DC/DC boost converter by Hammerstein model

This paper deals with the theoretical framework definition and the experimental application of the Hammerstein identification and related robust control technique to a quadratic DC-DC single switch boost converter. A set of 4th order transfer functions has been identified with the Hammerstein approach, on the basis of a PRBS excitation signal. The set of identified transfer functions has been then used to design a suitable robust control technique, able to properly deals with converter's parameters uncertainty and load variation. The proposed approach has been tested in numerical simulation and validated experimentally on suitably developed test set-up. It has been further compared with a classic PI controller.
Juvenile Netspeak and subgenre classification issues in Italian blogs

Blogs, like other kinds of electronic communication, are often cited as having distinctive genre features, including linguistic ones. This study examines a random collection of posts taken from Italian online personal journals, with the aim of confirming the claim that such texts are written mainly in juvenile ‘Netspeak’. The results of comparing the texts against a list of features reveal that only 10% of personal journal posts include even a single occurrence of the most marked ‘Netspeak’ features. On the other hand, such features do seem to occur in personal journals only, while a control corpus of thematic posts did not include any occurrence of them.
Rehabilitation Gaming

A recent innovation in rehabilitation is the use of serious gaming to train motor, cognitive, and social abilities. The main advantages of rehabilitation gaming are related to the motivation to engage in rehabilitation, the objectivity of rehabilitation measurements, and the personalization of the treatment. This chapter focuses on the use and effectiveness of serious gaming in rehabilitation and illustrates the possibilities and strengths in this new and exciting work field. Furthermore, a review of the literature and examples of rehabilitation games are presented. The state-of-the-art technologies and directions for future research are also discussed. Rehabilitation gaming has great potential for today’s and future health care, and despite the research gaps, there is increasing evidence that gaming can positively contribute to the rehabilitation and recovery process.
On the Two-User Multi-Carrier Joint Channel Selection and Power Control Game

In this paper, we propose a hierarchical game approach to model the energy efficiency maximization problem, where transmitters individually choose their channel assignment and power control. We conduct a thorough analysis of the existence, uniqueness, and characterization of the Stackelberg equilibrium. Interestingly, we formally show that a spectrum orthogonalization naturally occurs when users decide sequentially about their transmitting carriers and powers, delivering a binary channel assignment. Both analytical and simulation results are provided for assessing and improving the performances in terms of energy efficiency and spectrum utilization between the simultaneous-move game (with synchronous decision makers), the social welfare (in a centralized manner), and the proposed Stackelberg (hierarchical) game. For the first time, we provide tight closed-form bounds on the spectral efficiency of such a model, including correlation across carriers and users. We show that the spectrum orthogonalization capability induced by the proposed hierarchical game model enables the wireless network to achieve the spectral efficiency improvement while still enjoying a high energy efficiency.
Development of Neural Sensitivity to Face Identity Correlates with Perceptual Discriminability

Face perception is subserved by a series of face-selective regions in the human ventral stream, which undergo prolonged development from childhood to adulthood. However, it is unknown how neural development of these regions relates to the development of face-perception abilities. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses of ventral occipitotemporal regions in children (ages, 5–12 years) and adults (ages, 19–34 years) when they viewed faces that parametrically varied in dissimilarity. Since similar faces generate lower responses than dissimilar faces due to fMRI adaptation, this design objectively evaluates neural sensitivity to face identity across development. Additionally, a subset of subjects participated in a behavioral experiment to assess perceptual discriminability of face identity. Our data reveal three main findings: (1) neural sensitivity to face identity increases with age in face-selective but not object-selective regions; (2) the amplitude of responses to faces increases with age in both face-selective and object-selective regions; and (3) perceptual discriminability of face identity is correlated with the neural sensitivity to face identity of face-selective regions. In contrast, perceptual discriminability is not correlated with the amplitude of response in face-selective regions or of responses of object-selective regions. These data suggest that developmental increases in neural sensitivity to face identity in face-selective regions improve perceptual discriminability of faces. Our findings significantly advance the understanding of the neural mechanisms of development of face perception and open new avenues for using fMRI adaptation to study the neural development of high-level visual and cognitive functions more broadly. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Face perception, which is critical for daily social interactions, develops from childhood to adulthood. However, it is unknown what developmental changes in the brain lead to improved performance. Using fMRI in children and adults, we find that from childhood to adulthood, neural sensitivity to changes in face identity increases in face-selective regions. Critically, subjects' perceptual discriminability among faces is linked to neural sensitivity: participants with higher neural sensitivity in face-selective regions demonstrate higher perceptual discriminability. Thus, our results suggest that developmental increases in face-selective regions' sensitivity to face identity improve perceptual discrimination of faces. These findings significantly advance understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the development of face perception and have important implications for assessing both typical and atypical development.
Speaker Independent Vowel Recognition using Backpropagation Neural Network on Master-Slave Architecture

Objective of the work is speaker independent recognition of vowels of British English. Back propagation is one of the simplest and most widely used methods for supervised training of multi layer neural networks. In this paper we use parallel implementation of Backpropagation (BP) on Master – Slave architecture to recognize speaker independent eleven steady state vowels of British English. We perform the recognition task on both sequential and parallel implementation. The performance parameters speed-up, optimal number of processors and processing time are evaluated for both implementations. General Terms Vowel dataset from UCI, Backpropagation algorithm, Parallel implementation, Master-Slave architecture, Learning rate.
Evaluation of dynamic balance among community-dwelling older adult fallers: a generalizability study of the limits of stability test.

OBJECTIVE To establish reliability estimates of the 75% Limits of Stability Test (75% LOS test) when administered to community-dwelling older adults with a history of falls. DESIGN Generalizability theory was used to estimate both the relative contribution of identified error sources to the total measurement error and generalizability coefficients. A random effects repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess consistency of LOS test movement variables across both days and targets. SETTING A motor control research laboratory in a university setting. PARTICIPANTS Fifty community-dwelling older adults with 2 or more falls in the previous year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Spatial and temporal measures of dynamic balance derived from the 75% LOS test included average movement velocity, maximum center of gravity (COG) excursion, end-point COG excursion, and directional control. RESULTS Estimated generalizability coefficients for 2 testing days ranged from.58 to.87. Total variance in LOS test measures attributable to inconsistencies in day-to-day test performance (Day and Subject x Day facets) ranged from 2.5% to 8.4%. The ANOVA results indicated that no significant differences were observed in the LOS test variables across the 2 testing days. CONCLUSIONS The 75% LOS test administered to older adult fallers on 2 consecutive days provides consistent and reliable measures of dynamic balance.
Toll-like receptor expression in crypt epithelial cells, putative stem cells and intestinal myofibroblasts isolated from controls and patients with inflammatory bowel disease

The aim of our studies was to investigate the expression of Toll‐like receptor (TLR)‐2 and TLR‐4 (and in some studies TLR‐5) in myofibroblasts and small and large intestinal crypt epithelial cells from control patients and those affected by Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Isolated and disaggregated crypt epithelial cells and monolayers of myofibroblasts were used for studies by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR), real‐time RT–PCR, flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis. Compared to control cells, crypt epithelial cells isolated from active ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease colonic mucosal samples showed significantly higher expression of TLR‐2 and TLR‐4 transcripts and protein (on the cell surface). There was also enhanced expression of TLR‐4 in crypt cells from ileal Crohn's disease. Expression of TLR‐2 and TLR‐4 transcripts in crypt epithelial cells isolated from inflamed mucosa of distal ulcerative colitis did not differ significantly from such cells obtained from the normal proximal colon. Crypt epithelial cells with side population characteristics (putative stem cells) also expressed transcripts and protein for TLR‐2, TLR‐4 and TLR‐5. Colonic myofibroblast expression of these TLRs was much weaker than in crypt epithelial cells. In conclusion, enhanced TLR‐2 and TLR‐4 expression by crypt epithelial cells in active inflammatory bowel disease likely reflects greater ability to respond to microbial products. Results from our studies using mucosal samples from patients with distal ulcerative colitis suggest that the enhanced expression of these TLRs could be constitutive. TLR‐2, TLR‐4 and TLR‐5 expression by stem cells imply ability to respond to distinct bacterial products.
A Coverage-Based Maximum Lifetime Data Gathering Algorithm in Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks have emerged recently as an effective way of gathering useful information from areas of interest. Prolonging the network lifetime has become the primary concern in data gathering due to the limited battery power of sensors. An underlying assumption of most existing work is that all the sensors are working simultaneously during the whole process of data gathering. In this paper, we introduce a new definition of the network lifetime in view of the coverage condition, and then investigate the coverage-based maximum lifetime data gathering problem theoretically. Two critical issues are how to selectively organize part of sensors to work and how to execute routing in a single working set. Considering both of these two problems together, we propose the algorithm CODAG. CODAG employs the tree structured routing scheme and enables the routing effects of two different sets theoretically comparable. Based on the maximal increased weight in the routing tree, it divides all the sensors into disjoint cover sets without redundant ones, which in turn leads to the better routing effect. Experimental results show that our algorithm has the good performance for prolonging the lifetime of the whole sensor network.
Multimedia sensor fusion for retrieving identity in biometric access control systems

In this article, we propose a novel multimedia sensor fusion approach based on heterogeneous sensors for biometric access control applications. The proposed fusion technique uses multiple acoustic and visual sensors for extracting dominant biometric cues, and combines them with nondominant cues. The performance evaluation of the proposed fusion protocol and a novel cascaded authentication approach using a 3D stereovision database shows a significant improvement in performance and robustness, with equal error rates of 42.9% (audio only), 32% (audio + 3D face + 2D lip features), 15% (audio + 3D face + 2D eye features), and 7.3% (audio-3D face + 2D lip + 2D eye-eyebrows) respectively.
Relationships as a basis of engagement? Self-efficacy and school engagement of pupils in school

Este E-Book reune um conjunto de investigacoes apresentadas no “I Congresso Internacional Envolvimento dos Alunos na Escola: Perspetivas da Psicologia e Educacao” (ICIEAE), organizado no âmbito do “Projeto PTDC/CPE-CED/114362/2009 - Envolvimento dos Alunos na Escola: Diferenciacao e Promocao” (EAE-DP), financiado pela Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT).
Automatically Finding the Average Output of a Steadily Beating Ventricle

The repetitive behavior of a device or system can be described in two ways: a detailed description of one iteration of the behavior, or a summary description of the behavior over many repetitions. In this paper, an implemented program called AIS is applied to a model of a steadily beating ventricle (part of the heart). AIS transforms the first type of description into the second type. The output consists of the symbolic average rates of change in parameter values and how those rates would be different if various constants and functions had been different. AIS's results are compared to results in the literature.
FP-scheduling for mode-controlled dataflow: A case study

Dual-Radio Simultaneous Access (DRSA) is an emerging topic in Software Defined Radio (SDR) in which two SDRs are running simultaneously on a shared hardware, typically a heterogeneous Multi-Processor System-on-Chip (MPSoC). Each SDR has a independent hard latency and/or throughput requirement and needs rigorous timing analysis. Moreover, SDRs are often modeled in enriched variants of dataflow to accommodate the growing dynamic execution of SDRs, making it a challenge to perform timing analysis on them. This paper considers the preemptive Fixed Priority Scheduling (FPS) of SDRs modeled in Mode-Controlled Dataflow. To the best of our knowledge this is the first attempt on static timing analysis of FPS for a (semi-)dynamic variant of synchronous dataflow. We propose a two-phase algorithm to determine the worst-case response time of an actor. We demonstrate our analysis results for a DRSA case study of two 4G-LTE receivers.
A Game Theoretic Optimization Framework for Home Demand Management Incorporating Local Energy Resources

Facilitated by advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure and optimization techniques, smart grid has the potential to bring significant benefits to the energy consumption management. This paper presents a game theoretic consumption scheduling framework based on the use of mixed integer programming (MIP) to schedule consumption plan for residential consumers. In particular, the optimization framework incorporates integration of locally generated renewable energy in order to minimize dependency on conventional energy and the consumption cost. The game theoretic model is designed to coordinatively manage the scheduling of appliances of consumers. The Nash equilibrium of the game exists and the scheduling optimization converges to an equilibrium where all consumers can benefit from participating in. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the proposed approach and the benefits of home demand management.
Optimal storage capacity of neural networks at finite temperatures

Gardner's analysis (1989) of the optimal storage capacity of neural networks is extended to study finite-temperature effects. The typical volume of the space of interactions is calculated for strongly diluted networks as a function of the storage ratio alpha , temperature T and the tolerance parameter m, from which the optimal storage capacity alpha c is obtained as a function of T and m. At zero temperature it is found that alpha c=2 regardless of m while alpha c in general increases with the tolerance at finite temperatures. The authors show how the best performance for given alpha and T is obtained, which reveals a first-order transition from high-quality performance to a low-quality one at low temperatures. An approximate criterion for recalling, which is valid near m=1, is also discussed.
Rapid evolution of a native species following invasion by a congener

during the learning phase exhibited higher de-coding power for odor samples than in the well-trainedphase(fig.S33),whichcriticallydependedon the neurons with significant delay-period ac-tivity (fig. S34). We then analyzed whether the delay-periododor selectivity of neurons is correlated with thebehavioral performance of mice. The Euclideandistance between delay-period activity after dif-ferent odor samples was calculated for a givenneuron and then averaged for all neurons simul-taneously recorded to represent neuronal selec-tivityforeachmouseinoneday.Althoughonly2 to13neurons(medianof8)weresimultaneous-ly recorded each day from a mouse, significantcorrelationbetweenbehavioralperformanceandneuronal selectivity was observed during thelearning (days 2 to 5) but not well-trained phase(Fig. 4H and fig. S35). The importance of mPFC delay-period activityin the learning phase of a WM task is consistentwith its central role in flexible cognitive controlin changing environments (2, 3, 12). However,the DL-PFC activity in primates is important inWM tasks after subjects are well trained ( 3, 12). Because mPFC appeared earlier than DL-PFCduring evolution (12),the functional differencebetweenmPFCandDL-PFCsuggeststhatmemo-ryretentioninnovelsituationsmayrepresentanevolutionarily more primitive function. It is notclear which brain region in rodents is homolo-gous or analogous to DL-PFC in primates ( 3, 12),but delay-period activity in brain regions otherthanmPFC(3,5,19,27–30)couldmediateWMinwell-trained mice. Activity of mPFC in other pe-riods during the behavioral task may underlieinhibitorycontrol(14),decision-making(15),andmotor selection (16). Nevertheless, the presentfinding underscores the notion that properlyregulateddelay-periodactivityofmPFCiscriticalfor memory retention in attention-demandingWM tasks in novel situations.
“He's a Nice Man, but it Doesn't Help”: Principal Leadership, School Culture, and the Status of Deaf Children

Building principals are confronted with a host of challenges, particularly when serving children who live outside of the stereotypical mainstream. This article, drawn from a larger ethnographic study, examines the leadership behavior of one building principal who was the administrator for a program serving deaf and nondeaf children. Although students and teachers saw the principal as a caring and highly skilled administrator who made verbal commitments to building an integrated and caring school community, the school culture was ultimately exclusive. The norms of the dominant nondeaf culture went largely unquestioned, and the deaf students were reminded daily of their diminished status. This article concludes with a discussion of deaf education, educational administration, oppressive niceness, and how leadership practices can be moved toward a social justice ethic for students with special needs in general and for deaf students in particular.
Cognates and Word Alignment in Bitexts

We evaluate several orthographic word similarity measures in the context of bitext word alignment. We investigate the relationship between the length of the words and the length of their longest common subsequence. We present an alternative to the longest common subsequence ratio (LCSR), a widely-used orthographic word similarity measure. Experiments involving identification of cognates in bitexts suggest that the alternative method outperforms LCSR. Our results also indicate that alignment links can be used as a substitute for cognates for the purpose of evaluating word similarity measures.