Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Broad autism phenotype: theory of mind and empathy skills in unaffected siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Difficulties in social communication is core syptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and it is often present in first-degree relatives in varying degrees. However, these subclinical autistic traits, which are thought to be related to genetic susceptibility factors, may be heterogeneous in family members. This prospective, the aim of this study was to compare unaffected siblings of children with ASD in terms of theory of mind, empathy skills, and broad autism phenotype (BAP). METHODS: Fourty-one children who were diagnosed Autistic Disorder, Asperger Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-not otherwise specified according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition and their unaffected siblings and 43 controls of typically developing children were included. The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children – Present and Lifetime Version was conducted all children with the aim of excluding a psychiatric diagnosis. False-belief tasks and Emotion Recognition Scales were used to evaluate theory of mind and empathy skills. The Social Communication Questionnaire was administered by the clinician in order to evaluate subthreshold autistic symptoms. RESULTS: Unaffected siblings of ASD children exhibited worse performance in theory of mind and emotion recognition tasks. Additionally, these children had more autistic symptoms and there was a correlation with autism symptoms and social cognition tasks. DISCUSSION: In compatible with BAP, the results indicated that the siblings of children with ASD showed a neurocognitive profile associated with ASD at a slight level, and they had more subsyndromal autism symptoms compared with healthy children. The findings also indicated that there was a weakness in skills of empathy and theory of mind ability of siblings of ASD.
Classification of cancerous cells based on the one-class problem approach

One of the most important factors in reducing the effect of cancerous diseases is the early diagnosis, which requires a good and a robust method. With the advancement of computer technologies and digital image processing, the development of a computer-based system has become feasible. In this paper, we introduce a new approach for the detection of cancerous cells. This approach is based on the one-class problem approach, through which the classification system need only be trained with patterns of cancerous cells. This reduces the burden of the training task by about 50%. Based on this approach, a computer-based classification system is developed, based on the Fuzzy ARTMAP neural networks. Experimental results were performed using a set of 542 patterns taken from a sample of breast cancer. Results of the experiment show 98% correct identification of cancerous cells and 95% correct identification of non-cancerous cells.
Sensitivity to the Flavour-Changing Neutral Current Decay t → Zq

The sensitivity of the ATLAS experiment to the top-quark rare decay via flavorchanging neutral currents t → Zq (q represents c and u quarks) has been studied at √ s=14 TeV in two decay modes: 1.The pure leptonic decay of gauge bosons: tt̄ → ZqWb → lljlνb , (l=e, μ). 2.The leptonic decay of Z bosons and hadronic decay of W bosons: tt̄ → ZqWb → lljjjb , (l=e, μ). The dominant backgrounds Z + jets, WZ and tt̄ have been analysed. The signal and backgrounds were generated via PYTHIA 5.7, and simulated and analysed using ATLFAST 2.14. A branching ratio for t → Zq as low as 2.0x10 for the leptonic mode and 5.9x10 for hadronic mode could be discovered at the 5σ level with an integrated luminosity of 100 fb.
Immersive game with vibrotactile and thermal feedback

This paper proposes an immersive game system where a user haptically senses the state of a target object. To construct the game, we first present a vibrotactile signal generation method which provides variable vibrotactile effects according to a user's interaction and graphic environments. The generated vibrotactile effects are used for the input of vibration motors in order to convey vibrotactile information having a large bandwidth to the players. The player also feels the thermal sensation according to graphic environment. We conduct experiments to evaluate the proposed system. The experiment clearly shows that the proposed game with vibrotactile and thermal feedbacks provides realism and immersion to the players.
The Semantics of Metaphor in the Game Theoretic Semantics with at Least Two Coordination Equilibria

The objective of this paper is to present a new dimension of Game Theoretic Semantics (GTS) using the idea of the coordination problem game to explain the semantics of metaphor. A metaphorical expression such as 'man is a wolf' is a contradictory statement that insists all objects in the set of 'man' also falls under 'wolf'. The study of metaphorical expression should be on intentions of such contradictory language use, their intended effect, and the conditions to lead to the effects. This is the tradition of Rhetoric since Aristotle. It may be natural to characterize this approach as pragmatic in the tradition of the late 20th century paradigm of linguistics, which is the trichotomy of syntax, semantics and pragmatics. However the pragmatic approach cannot explain what Richards (1936) called 'tension' between two thoughts in a metaphorical expression. GTS has been developed as a possible substitute to the Tarskian truth conditional semantics. This paper explores a new possibility of GTS in the coordination problem game introduced by Lewis (1961) for a semantics, which admits the plurality of meanings.
A computational framework for the analysis of multi-species microarray data

In this thesis I present algorithms for the analysis of microarray expression data from multiple species. These algorithms are used to identify core genes in two biological systems, the cell cycle and the immune response. With data generated from high throughput biological experiments, it is now becoming possible to study organisms at the systems level. One of the first questions facing researchers is the identification of the core components of biological subsystems within an organism. This task is made difficult by the high levels of experimental and biological noise associated with these experiments. To address these problems I introduce a new computational framework for combining data from multiple species, for both improving prediction accuracy and identifying important subsets of genes involved in a given system. The computational framework is based on Markov random fields which allow the integration of microarray and sequence data from multiple species. Applying this framework to study cell cycle regulated genes, I have identified genes representing the core machinery of the cell cycle. These findings are supported by both complementary high-throughput data and motif analysis. In addition, I apply this computational framework to study immune response in human and mouse. I show that by using Gaussian random fields instead of discrete Markov random fields we are able to achieve better accuracy in predicting immune response genes. Finally, we identify a list of immune response genes that are conserved between cell types and species for further experimental study.
Fluid user models for personalized mobile apps Overview of the BrightNotes™ system

Augmenting media with helpful and interesting information has been the focus of various research projects in application areas ranging from collaborative work, where commentaries are added to documents by co-workers, to context and location based reminding applications, to reality augmentation, where images of reality are augmented with informative comments to help enhance the mobile user's experience. Tailoring the commentaries to fit the user's context and level of interest has been challenging. Most existing approaches to the modeling of user's interests and preferences cannot keep up with the minute-by-minute fluctuations in user focus and interests and are not sensitive enough to support or detect “serendipitous” items of interest. In this paper we describe a novel approach to constructing a user model. This model is inherently dynamic and is highly sensitive to the state of the user. In addition we describe BrightNotes™; a prototype system that demonstrates the fluidity of the model in the case of personalized augmentation of media such as movies, and conclude with a discussion of the applicability of fluid user models to location based services, augmented reality and other mobile apps.
A soft multi-axis force sensor

Thin, highly compliant sensing skins could provide valuable information for a host of grasping and locomotion tasks with minimal impact on the host system. We describe the design, fabrication and characterization of a novel soft multi-axis force sensor made of highly deformable materials. The sensor is capable of not only measuring normal force and but also 2D in-plane forces. This soft sensor is composed of an elastomer (modulus: 69 kPa) embedded with microchannels filled with conductive liquid. Depending on the intensity and the direction of an applied force, the cross-section of some of the channels will be compressed, changing its electrical resistance. The channel dimensions of the current prototype are 200 μm × 200 μm and the overall size of the sensor is 50 mm × 60 mm × 7 mm. Characterization results showed sensitivities in the two principal in-plane directions of 37.0 mV/N and -28.6 mV/N, respectively.
Photosynthesis Drives Oxygen Levels in Macrophyte-Associated Gastropod Egg Masses

Many aquatic animals deposit fertilized eggs in adherent clutches or gelatinous masses. Egg aggregation carries certain risks, including the potential for inadequate oxygen supply to embryos. Physical and biological conditions alter such risks. We examined the effects of light levels and associated photosynthetic organisms on the distribution of oxygen inside gelatinous egg masses of four temperate gastropod species. Egg masses of two species, the opisthobranchs Melanochlamys diomedea and Haminoea callidegenita, contained significant populations of diatoms but generally were not associated with macrophytes. Egg masses of the other two species, the opisthobranch Haminoea vesicula and the prosobranch Lacuna sp. , occurred commonly on subtidal macrophytes and appeared not to contain significant populations of diatoms. In the laboratory, we used microelectrodes to measure oxygen levels inside masses exposed to alternating dark and light conditions; light level had an enormous influence on oxygen profiles in egg masses of all four species. Masses of H. vesicula and Lacuna sp. , when experimentally separated from their macrophytes, showed only slight increases in oxygen upon light exposure, indicating that the main source of oxygen in situ was the macrophyte rather than associated microalgae. Our findings indicate that photosynthesis by macrophytes can drive large changes in internal oxygen profiles.
Empirical and substantive models, the Bayesian paradigm, and meta‐analysis in functional brain imaging

Functional neuroimaging research is currently rediscovering and adapting established statistical methods for its use, including design of experiments, the general linear model, contrasts, random field theory, longitudinal models, Fourier analysis, and general signal and image processing methods. This brief paper gives an example of comparative performance of five different statistical models applied to the same set of data generated in an fMRI study of motor cortex. These methods include a two‐sample t‐statistic, a Kolmogorov‐Smirnov statistic, a principal component/canonical variates approach, a pruned feed‐forward artificial neural network with one hidden layer, and a frequency domain regression convolution model allowing for spatially varying hemodynamic responses. Produced by essentially empirical statistical models, there appear to be more similarities than differences in these spatial activation patterns, yet all lack explicit incorporation of substantive prior information. Distinctions are drawn between exploratory models for hypothesis generation and confirmatory models for hypothesis testing. In addition, the Bayesian paradigm helps to combine empirical and substantive models, and meta‐analysis provides a rational means by which to combine information over a range of similar results affected minimally by publication bias. Hum. Brain Mapping 5:259–263, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
FGMOS four-quadrant analog multiplier

This paper presents a four-quadrant analog multiplier. The architecture of the multiplier is designed with floating-gate CMOS transistors formed by squaring and current mirrors circuits. The results shown are accurate and appropriate. It is based on the square-law dependence of the MOS-transistor drain current on the gate-to-source voltage. To demonstrate the relevance of the design, aspect rations of the transistors is taken into account such that all the transistors are operating in saturation region. Also, in order to provide a linear behavior for the multiplier, the proposed design, present benefits in terms of linearity, threshold voltage mismatch, bandwidth, dynamic range and low power and low voltage. The multiplier is designed for SCN 0. 13μm technology, the power supply is 0.5V and the power consumption is 1. 56μW.
An Oversampled Filter Bank Approach to Independent Component Analysis for Convolved Mixtures

We present a new approach to perform independent component analysis (ICA) for convolved mixtures. This approach is based on filter banks, and its decimation provides much less computational complexity and faster convergence speed than the time domain approach. In addition, the approach does not have a performance limitation unlike the frequency domain approach. One can select the number of filters in the filter bank regardless of reverberation and implement the method to fit for parallel processing. Simulation results indicate that the proposed approach achieves a better performance than the frequency domain approach and faster convergence speed than the time domain approach.
ERP system database environment configuration using a web application

Implementing ERP systems is a high risk activity for every company. All implementations give rise to many open questions concerning the two primary issues of data and process. This paper focuses on the issue of data and investigates how to automate some key implementation activities. Authors propose a solution for identified problems in the form of a web application for data management. Although the authors' primary focus is in the academic perspective of ERP system implementation our results are also usable in industry, to automate key database settings implementation activities, which makes the scientific contribution of this article more valuable.
The DIMA web resource - exploring the protein domain network

UNLABELLED Conserved domains represent essential building blocks of most known proteins. Owing to their role as modular components carrying out specific functions they form a network based both on functional relations and direct physical interactions. We have previously shown that domain interaction networks provide substantially novel information with respect to networks built on full-length protein chains. In this work we present a comprehensive web resource for exploring the Domain Interaction MAp (DIMA), interactively. The tool aims at integration of multiple data sources and prediction techniques, two of which have been implemented so far: domain phylogenetic profiling and experimentally demonstrated domain contacts from known three-dimensional structures. A powerful yet simple user interface enables the user to compute, visualize, navigate and download domain networks based on specific search criteria. AVAILABILITY http://mips.gsf. de/genre/proj/dima
Pixel-wise based image watermarking by ignoring edges and its neighbor pixels

In this paper, we propose a method used to improve the performance of the digital watermarking based on the modification in the blue channel of the image pixels. The main objective is to reduce the error prediction caused by the high different values of neighbor pixels. In the proposed method, the edge detection technique takes place in order to find out the high different values of neighbor pixels, so that on the embedding side, the watermark bits are embedded into the blue component of the image pixels ignoring the edges and neighbor of 3×3 pixel positions. The same process is also applied on the extraction side. The experimental results show the improved performance in terms of average NC, compared with the previous methods. The improved robustness of the proposed method against various common imaging processing based attacks e.g. additive Gaussian noise, JPEG compression standard and image cropping at various strengths is also presented and compared.
Adenosin: ein Purinnukleosid mit neuromodulatorischen Wirkungen

Adenosine: a purine nukleoside with neuromodulatory effects. The neuromodulator adenosine gains access to the extracellular space in part by translocation from the cytoplasm of glial cells and neurones by nucleoside transport proteins, and, in part from dephosphorylation of extracellular adenine nucleotides. It acts through binding to G protein coupled A1, A2A, A28 and A3 receptors on adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase C activity, conductance of K• and Ca2• channels and signal transduction properties of various neurotransmitter receptors. Adenosine promotes sleep by inhibitory actions on ascending cholinergic projections ofthe basal forebrain which are mediated predominantly by A1-receptors. The sleep disrupting effects of caffeine are largely attributable to its activity as an unselective A/A2-antagonist. Adenosineis also involved in control of motor activity, in particular by actions on A2A receptors within the basal ganglia. A2A receptor antagonists are effective in animal models of Parkinson's disease suggesting that they might be useful as novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of this basal ganglia disorder. In nuclei of the reward circuit adenosine modulates neuronal activity underlying appetitive behaviour. Also, some drugs of abuse interfere with adenosinergic modulation in nuclei of the reward circuit. At present it is not known whether these drug actions contribute to their abuse potential. Adenosine has also neuroprotective actions in some pathophysiological conditions: for instance, it reduces neuronal excitability and increases blood supply during ischemia.
How to be human

The word “humane” conjures the best we can be: kind, empathetic, considerate. Yet as a species we are uniquely competitive and warlike. Is this who we really are, and the source of our success? Should we encourage competition in our culture? Or seek to eradicate it as the likely cause of our own demise? The Panel Author of Booker Prize Shortlisted The Lives of Others Neel Mukherjee, senior policy advisor to Tony Blair Julian Le Grand, London Feminist Network founder Finn Mackay investigate the heart of humanity.
Set of t-uples expansion by example

Set expansion is the task of finding elements of a set given example members. We are interested in the design of algorithms and techniques for a set expansion tool that expands a set by searching, finding and extracting candidates from the World Wide Web. Existing approaches mostly consider sets of atomic data. We extend this idea to the expansion of sets of t-uples, that is relation instances or tables. We propose an approach for extracting relation instances from the World Wide Web given a handful set of t-uple seeds. For instance, when the user proposes the set of seeds , , the system returns a relation containing currency codes with their corresponding country and capital city. We show how a random walk in a heterogeneous graph of Web pages, wrappers, seeds and candidates is able to rank the candidates according to their relevance to the seeds. We evaluate the performance of the approach and show that it is efficient, effective and practical.
TLR2 and TLR4 as Potential Biomarkers of Environmental Particulate Matter Exposed Human Myeloid Dendritic Cells

In many subjects who are genetically susceptible to asthma, exposure to environmental stimuli may exacerbate their condition. However, it is unknown how the expression and function of a family of pattern-recognition receptors called toll-like receptors (TLR) are affected by exposure to particulate pollution. TLRs serve a critical function in alerting the immune system of tissue damage or infection—the so-called “danger signals”. We are interested in the role that TLRs play in directing appropriate responses by innate immunity, particularly dendritic cells (DC), after exposing them to particulate pollution. Dendritic cells serve a pivotal role in directing host immunity. Thus, we hypothesized that alterations in TLR expression could be further explored as potential biomarkers of effect related to DC exposure to particulate pollution. We show some preliminary data that indicates that inhaled particulate pollution acts directly on DC by down-regulating TLR expression and altering the activation state of DC. While further studies are warranted, we suggest that alterations in TLR2 and TLR4 expression should be explored as potential biomarkers of DC exposure to environmental particulate pollution.
Immune Modulation in Primary Vaccinia virus Zoonotic Human Infections

In 2010, the WHO celebrated the 30th anniversary of the smallpox eradication. Ironically, infections caused by viruses related to smallpox are being increasingly reported worldwide, including Monkeypox, Cowpox, and Vaccinia virus (VACV). Little is known about the human immunological responses elicited during acute infections caused by orthopoxviruses. We have followed VACV zoonotic outbreaks taking place in Brazil and analyzed cellular immune responses in patients acutely infected by VACV. Results indicated that these patients show a biased immune modulation when compared to noninfected controls. Amounts of B cells are low and less activated in infected patients. Although present, T CD4+ cells are also less activated when compared to noninfected individuals, and so are monocytes/macrophages. Similar results were obtained when Balb/C mice were experimentally infected with a VACV sample isolated during the zoonotic outbreaks. Taking together, the data suggest that zoonotic VACVs modulate specific immune cell compartments during an acute infection in humans.
A Spatial Explanation for the Balassa-Samuelson Effect

We propose a simple spatial model to explain why the price level is higher in rich countries. There are two sectors: manufacturing, which is freely tradable, and non-tradable services, which have to locate near customers in big cities. As countries develop, total factor productivity increases simultaneously in both sectors. However, because services compete with the population for scarce land, labor productivity will grow slower in services than in manufacturing. Services become more expensive, and the aggregate price level becomes higher. The model hence provides a theoretical foundation for the Balassa--Samuelson assumption that productivity growth is slower in the non-tradable sector than in the tradable sector. Empirical results confirm two key implications of the theory. First, we compare countries where land is scarce (densely populated, highly urban countries) to rural countries. The Balassa--Samuelson effect is stronger among urban countries. Second, we compare sectors that locate at different distance to consumers. The Balassa--Samuelson effect is stronger within sectors that locate closer to consumers.