Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Moving Beyond Conflict: Re-framing mobility in the African Great Lakes region

It is not surprising that conflict and crisis are often seen as the dominant features moving across the across the socio-political landscape in the African Great Lakes. As a result, many areas of life are analysed in its shadow – politics, economics, cultural norms, and, most pertinent for this paper, mobility. Here, we propose a framework that examines the extent to which crisis and conflict overlay, contravene, and inform mobility in the African Great Lakes; and that tentatively explores these underlying mobility dynamics, which might be expected to remain when conflict and crisis subside. The framework draws from sociological theories of ‘normal’ life and agency to examine mobility by looking along three analytical dimensions: aspirations, norms, and practices. It is then tentatively applied to analyse migration associated with three underlying social processes that continue within the Great Lakes: migration relating to education, urbanisation, and family formation. The paper concludes with a reflection upon the challenges of applying this framework for empirical research in the Great Lakes region. We argue that adopting a life-course approach that views movement related to ‘key, transitional events’ during the span of a person’s life may be particularly suited to operationalising this framework.
Gestión digital de información de prensa

espanolEl articulo presenta una novedosa forma de gestion digital de la informacion proveniente de fuentes impresas (periodicos). Se presenta un breve desarrollo historico del procesamiento de estas fuentes de informacion, describiendo el modelo logico del desarrollo de un nuevo sistema de procesamiento de informacion, para finalmente presentar un prototipo que permitio resolver el relacionamiento de dos fuentes diversas en forma totalmente automatica que permite el descubrimiento de nuevos patrones de informacion. EnglishThe paper presents a novel way of managing digital information from print sources (newspapers). A brief historical development of the processing of these data sources is presented. Then the logical model of the development of a new information processing system is described. Finally presents a prototype that allowed resolving the relationship of two different sources in a fully automated way and also enabling the discovery of new patterns of information
Molecular and Transcriptional Regulation of Megakaryocyte Differentiation

Megakaryocytes, among the rarest of hematopoietic cells, serve the essential function of producing numerous platelets. Genetic studies have recently provided rich insights into the molecular and transcriptional regulation of megakaryocyte differentiation and thrombopoiesis. Three transcription factors, GATA‐1, FOG‐1, and NF‐E2, are essential regulators of distinct stages in megakaryocyte differentiation, extending from the birth of early committed progenitors to the final step of platelet release; a fourth factor, Fli‐1, likely also plays an important role. The putative transcriptional targets of these regulators, including the NF‐E2‐dependent hematopoietic‐specific β‐tubulin isoform β1, deepen our understanding of molecular mechanisms in platelet biogenesis. The study of rare syndromes of inherited thrombocytopenia in mice and man has also refined the emerging picture of megakaryocyte maturation. Synthesis of platelet‐specific organelles is mediated by a variety of regulators of intracellular vesicle membrane fusion, and platelet release is coordinated through extensive and dynamic reorganization of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons. As in other aspects of hematopoiesis, characterization of recurrent chromosomal translocations in human leukemias provides an added dimension to the molecular underpinnings of megakaryocyte differentiation. Long regarded as a mysterious cell, the megakaryocyte is thus yielding many of its secrets, and mechanisms of thrombopoiesis are becoming clearer. Although this review focuses on transcriptional control mechanisms, it also discusses recent advances in broader consideration of the birth of platelets.
Fine-tuning the angiogenic response to vascular endothelial growth factor.

See related article, pages 261–268 Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important mediator of vascular development and postnatal angiogenesis.1,2 Homozygous deletion of VEGF gene leads to impaired vascular formation and early embryonic lethality.3 Interestingly, deletion of just one VEGF allele is sufficient to produce similar vascular abnormalities,3,4 suggesting that the strength and integrity of the VEGF signaling pathway are critical for the spatial–temporal formation of blood vessels in utero. These actions of VEGF are mediated predominantly by 2 tyrosine kinase receptors: VEGFR-1 (flt-1) and VEGFR-2 (flk-1/KDR). 5 Mice with homozygous mutations that inactivate either receptor die in utero with a similar phenotype as mice with VEGF deletion, indicating that both receptors are obligatory for the function of VEGF.1,6 Although the vascular phenotype between these VEGFR mutant mice are overlapping to some degree, they do differ in terms of showing that VEGFR-2 plays a greater role in vascular organization,7 whereas VEGFR-1 appears to be more important in mediating hemangioblast commitment and endothelial cell replication.8 Nevertheless, both VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 are essential in coordinating endothelial cell assembly and vascular formation during embryonic development. The upregulation of VEGF is also necessary for physiological and pathological neovascularization in response to hypoxia and for tumor …
Concurrent error detection in asynchronous burst-mode controllers

We discuss the problem of concurrent error detection (CED) in a popular class of asynchronous controllers, namely burst-mode machines. We first outline the particularities of these clock-less circuits, including the use of redundancy to ensure hazard-free operation, and we explain how they limit the applicability and effectiveness of traditional CED methods, such as duplication. We then demonstrate how duplication can be enhanced to resolve these limitations through additional hardware for comparison synchronization and detection of error-induced hazards, which jeopardize the interaction of the circuit with its environment. Finally, we propose a transition-triggered CED method which employs a transition prediction junction to eliminate the need for hazard detection circuitry and hazard-free implementation of the duplicate. As indicated by experimental results, the proposed method reduces significantly the cost of CED, with an average of 22% in hardware savings.
Exfoliation syndrome and the effect of phenylephrine and pilocarpine on pupil size

Abstract The horizontal diameter of the pupil was measured on 20 eyes with exfoliation syndrome and 20 control eyes before and after the instillation of 10% phenylephrine and 4% pilocarpine eye drops. Pupil dilation induced by topical application of the alpha, adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine was significantly smaller in eyes with exfoliation syndrome compared to controls. The cholinergic agonist pilocarpine decreased pupil diameter and this effect was significantly less in cases with exfoliation syndrome. We conclude from these data that the pharmacological response to both adrenergic and cholinergic stimulation is weaker in eyes with exfoliation syndrome compared to controls.
Magnetic resonance angiographic evidence of sex-linked variations in the circle of willis and the occurrence of cerebral aneurysms.

OBJECT In this study the authors investigated the relationship between variations in the circle of Willis observed on magnetic resonance (MR) angiograms and locations of cerebral aneurysms, and evaluated the risk of aneurysm formation. METHODS One hundred thirty-one patients with cerebral aneurysms were retrospectively selected from a series of 4518 patients who underwent MR angiography at one neurosurgical institute. Variations in the anatomy of the circle of Willis were simply classified into Type A, in which there was no visualization of a unilateral A1 segment, and Type P, in which there was a fetal type of posterior cerebral artery that was continuously delineated from the internal carotid artery (ICA) through the posterior communicating artery. All other variations in the circle of Willis were defined as Type O (ordinary type of variations). An additional 440 patients who did not harbor cerebral aneurysms were randomly selected for a comparison. Anterior communicating artery aneurysms were significantly related to the Type A anatomy and ICA aneurysms to Type P anatomy. Male patients who did not harbor aneurysms tended to have Type A anatomy, whereas women had a significantly greater incidence of Type P. CONCLUSIONS This sex-linked difference in anatomical variations may be correlated to the well-known sex-linked difference in aneurysm distribution.
Parallel Volume Rendering for Large Scientific Data

PARALLEL VOLUME RENDERING FOR LARGE SCIENTIFIC DATA by Thomas Fogal University of New Hampshire, December, 2011 Data sets of immense size are regularly generated by large scale computing resources. Even among more traditional methods for acquisition of volume data, such as MRI and CT scanners, data which is too large to be effectively visualized on standard workstations is now commonplace. One solution to this problem is to employ a 'visualization cluster,' a small to medium scale cluster dedicated to performing visualization and analysis of massive data sets generated on larger scale supercomputers. These clusters are designed to fulfill a different need than traditional supercomputers, and therefore their design mandates different hardware choices, such as increased memory, and more recently, graphics processing units (GPUs). While there has been much previous work on distributed memory visualization as well as GPU visualization, there is a relative dearth of algorithms which effectively use GPUs at a large scale in a distributed memory environment. In this work, we study a common visualization technique in a GPU-accelerated, distributed memory setting, and present performance characteristics when scaling to extremely large data sets.
Downregulation of ventricular contractile function during early ischemia is flow but not pressure dependent

He, Miao-Xiang, and H. Fred Downey. Downregulation of ventricular contractile function during early ischemia is flow but not pressure dependent. Am. J. Physiol. 275 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 44): H1520–H1523, 1998. —The mechanism responsible for the abrupt fall in myocardial contractile function following coronary artery obstruction is unknown. The ‘‘vascular collapse theory’’ hypothesizes that the fall in coronary perfusion pressure after coronary artery obstruction is responsible for contractile failure during early ischemia. To test the role of vascular collapse in downregulating myocardial contractile force at the onset of ischemia, coronary flow of isolated rat hearts was abruptly decreased by 50, 70, 85, and 100% of baseline, and subsequent changes in coronary perfusion pressure and ventricular function were recorded at 0.5-s intervals. At 1.5 s after flow reductions ranging from 50 to 100%, decreases in contractile function did not differ, although perfusion pressure varied significantly from 45 6 1 to 20 6 2 mmHg. When function fell to 50% of baseline, perfusion pressures ranged from 35 6 0.5 to 2.5 6 1 mmHg for flow reductions ranging from 50 to 100%. Identical contractile function at widely differing coronary perfusion pressures is incompatible with the vascular collapse theory.
Destination and route attributes associated with adults' walking: a review.

BACKGROUND Increasing adults' physical activity through environmental initiatives that promote walking as a public health priority. To this end, evidence relevant to the urban planning and transport sectors is required. This review synthesized findings on destination and route attributes associated with utilitarian and recreational walking. METHODS A literature search was conducted in April 2011 using Web of Science, PubMed, Transport Research Information Services, GEOBASE, and SPORTDiscus. Environmental attributes were classified into the domains of utilitarian and recreational destinations (presence, proximity, quality) and route (sidewalks, connectivity, aesthetics, traffic, safety). Forty-six studies examining associations of these attributes with utilitarian and/or recreational walking were identified. Specific destination and route attributes associated with each type of walking were summarized. RESULTS Adults' utilitarian walking was consistently associated with presence and proximity of retail and service destinations (in 80% of the studies reviewed). It was also associated with functional aspects of routes (sidewalks and street connectivity) in 50% of studies. Recreational walking was associated with presence, proximity, and quality of recreational destinations (35% of studies) and route aesthetic (35% of studies). Both types of walking were found unrelated to route safety and traffic in most studies. CONCLUSIONS There is consistent evidence that better access to relevant neighborhood destinations (e.g., local stores, services, transit stops) can be conducive to adults' utilitarian walking. Some evidence also suggests that availability of sidewalks and well-connected streets can facilitate utilitarian walking. To better inform initiatives to promote adults' walking in the planning and transport sectors, future studies need to examine how accessible such destinations should be, as well as the effect of the quality of recreational destinations.
Recommender Systems Using Category Correlations Based on WordNet Similarity

Recently, many internet users are not only information consumers but also information providers. There is lots of information on the Web and most people can search information what they want through the Web. One problem of the large number of data in the Web is that we often spend most of our time to find a correct result from search results. Thus, people start looking for a better system that can suggest relevant information instead of letting users go through all search results: We call such systems recommendation systems. Conventional recommendation systems are based on collaborative filtering (CF) approaches. The CF approaches have two problems: sparsity and cold-start. Some researchers have studied to alleviate the problems in CF approaches. One of them is the recommendation algorithm based on category correlations. In this study, researchers utilize genre information in movie domain as category. They have drawn genre correlations using genre counting method. This approach can alleviate the user-side cold-start problems, however, there exists one problem that extensions of the approach are less likely. If a domain has singular category, then we cannot apply previous approaches. It means that we cannot draw category correlations. Because of this reason, we propose a novel approach that can draw category correlations for not only multiple categories but also singular one. We utilize word similarities provided by WordNet.
Rapid ionic modifications during the aequorin-detected calcium transient in a skinned canine cardiac Purkinje cell

A microprocessor-controlled system of microinjections and microaspirations has been developed to change, within approximately 1 ms, the [free Ca2+] at the outer surface of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) wrapped around individual myofibrils (0.3-0.4 micron radius) of a skinned canine cardiac Purkinje cell (2.5-4.5 micron overall radius) at different phases of a Ca2+ transient. Simultaneously monitoring tension and aequorin bioluminescence provided two methods for estimating the peak myoplasmic [free Ca2+] reached during the spontaneous cyclic Ca2+ release from the SR obtained in the continuous presence of a bulk solution [free Ca2+] sufficiently high to overload the SR. These methods gave results in excellent agreement for the spontaneous Ca2+ release under a variety of conditions of pH and [free Mg2+], and of enhancement of Ca2+ release by calmodulin. Disagreement was observed, however, when the Ca2+ transient was modified during its ascending phase. The experiments also permitted quantification of the aequorin binding within the myofibrils and determination of its operational apparent affinity constant for Ca2+ at various [free Mg2+] levels. An increase of [free Ca2+] at the outer surface of the SR during the ascending phase of the Ca2+ transient induced further release of Ca2+. In contrast, an increase of [free Ca2+] during the descending phase of the Ca2+ transient did not cause further Ca2+ release. Varying [free H+], [free Mg2+], or the [Na+]/[K+] ratio had no significant effect on the Ca2+ transient during which the modification was applied, but it altered the subsequent Ca2+ transient. Therefore, Ca2+ appears to be the major, if not the only, ion controlling Ca2+ release from the SR rapidly enough to alter a Ca2+ transient during its course.
Importance of mitochondrial and nuclear sperm DNA in sperm quality assessment and assisted reproduction outcome

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has made irrelevant the conventional criteria of concentration, motility and morphology for assessment of sperm quality and so we urgently need new assays by which to gauge sperm ‘health’. ICSI may be facilitating the transfer of genetic disorders to future generations by bypassing all the natural hurdles for sperm selection without imposing more pertinent criteria of selection. Sperm DNA quality is vital to the future offspring irrespective of whether the child is conceived naturally, by in vitro fertilization (IVF) or by ICSI. The DNA integrity of sperm can be determined quickly and accurately using a range of techniques that also have strong prognostic power in predicting successful IVF and ICSI outcomes with ejaculated sperm. Moreover, there is a close correlation between testicular nuclear DNA integrity and pregnancy rates in ICSI. Mitochondrial DNA can be measured using long PCR in ejaculated and testicular sperm and is also useful for predicting success in assisted conception. This review discusses how the integrity of both nuclear and mitochondrial affect the choice of sperm for assisted conception.
Performance Analysis over Software Router vs . Hardware Router : A Practical Approach

For implementation of layer 3 connectivity, it is possible to use multiple vendor equipments with hardware and software based solutions. Performance results between close source and open source routing solutions are important parameters for network designers. Performance analysis in convergence time, throughput and delay between routing solution based on virtual software router (VSR) and routing solution based on proprietary hardware router (PHR) is presented. Results show that a VSR have a better convergence time in comparison with hardware router and the throughput performance is better on PHR.
Resultados da reabilitao neuropsicolgica em paciente com doena de Alzheimer leve

Binoculars have a pair of objective units for forming an image separated with a fixed spacing, a pair of erecting prism units for transforming the image received from the pair of objective units to an erect image, and a pair of eyepiece units. Each of the pair of erecting prism units has a Pechan roof prism having a roof face, a disparity existing between luminous flux center incident on each of said pair of erecting prisms and an optical axis along which light exits from each of said pairs of erecting prisms. Each one of the pair of prisms rotates around an optical axis of a corresponding one of the pair of objective units. The eyepiece units receive the erect image from the erecting prism units, respectively, with each of the pair of eyepiece units being rotatable around an optical axis of a corresponding one of the pair of objective units.
Visual-Based Human Action Recognition on Smart phones Based on 2D and 3D Descriptors

The aim of this work is to present a visual-based human action recognition system which is adapted to constrained embedded devices, such as smart phones. Basically, vision-based human action recognition is a combination of feature-tracking, descriptor-extraction and subsequent classification of image representations, with a color-based identification tool to distinguish between multiple human subjects. Simple descriptors sets were evaluated to optimize recognition rate and performance and two dimensional (2D) descriptors were found to be effective. These sets installed on the latest phones can recognize human actions in videos in less than one second with a success rate of over 82%.
The Effect of Program and Model Structure on the Effectiveness of MC/DC Test Adequacy Coverage

Test adequacy metrics defined over the structure of a program, such as Modified Condition and Decision Coverage (MC/DC), are used to assess testing efforts. However, MC/DC can be “cheated” by restructuring a program to make it easier to achieve the desired coverage. This is concerning, given the importance of MC/DC in assessing the adequacy of test suites for critical systems domains. In this work, we have explored the impact of implementation structure on the efficacy of test suites satisfying the MC/DC criterion using four real-world avionics systems. Our results demonstrate that test suites achieving MC/DC over implementations with structurally complex Boolean expressions are generally larger and more effective than test suites achieving MC/DC over functionally equivalent, but structurally simpler, implementations. Additionally, we found that test suites generated over simpler implementations achieve significantly lower MC/DC and fault-finding effectiveness when applied to complex implementations, whereas test suites generated over the complex implementation still achieve high MC/DC and attain high fault finding over the simpler implementation. By measuring MC/DC over simple implementations, we can significantly reduce the cost of testing, but in doing so, we also reduce the effectiveness of the testing process. Thus, developers have an economic incentive to “cheat” the MC/DC criterion, but this cheating leads to negative consequences. Accordingly, we recommend that organizations require MC/DC over a structurally complex implementation for testing purposes to avoid these consequences.
Optimal Pulse Shaping for Pulse Position Modulation UWB Systems with Sparsity-Driven Signal Detection

In this paper, we study the problem of optimal pulse shaping for pulse position modulation (PPM) ultra-wideband (UWB) systems with a recently proposed sparsity-driven signal detection method. This signal detection method offers superior performance over traditional matched filter based detection through the representation of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and the UWB pulses via atoms from a Hadamard Walsh matrix and a pulse constellation dictionary, respectively. Recognizing the possibility to further improve the performance with sparsity-driven signal detection through shaping the UWB pulses to be dissimilar to AWGN, we formulate an optimal pulse shaping problem considering the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) emission mask. We also develop a relaxation method to approximate the objective function, and solve the relaxed problem with classical nonlinear programming. Design examples are given to show the resulting pulse shape, its dissimilarity to the channel noise, and its compliance with the mandatory FCC emission mask