Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Network‐selectivity and stimulus‐discrimination in the primary visual cortex: cell‐assembly dynamics

Visual neurons coordinate their responses in relation to the stimulus; however, the complex interplay between a stimulus and the functional dynamics of an assembly still eludes neuroscientists. To this aim, we recorded cell assemblies from multi‐electrodes in the primary visual cortex of anaesthetized cats in response to randomly presented sine‐wave drifting gratings whose orientation tilted in 22.5° steps. Cross‐correlograms revealed the functional connections at all the tested orientations. We show that a cell‐assembly discriminates between orientations by recruiting a ‘salient’ functional network at every presented orientation, wherein the connections and their strengths (peak‐probabilities in the cross‐correlogram) change from one orientation to another. Within these assemblies, closely tuned neurons exhibited increased connectivity and connection‐strengths compared with differently tuned neurons. Minimal connectivity between untuned neurons suggests the significance of neuronal selectivity in assemblies. This study reflects upon the dynamics of functional connectivity, and brings to the fore the importance of a ‘signature’ functional network in an assembly that is strictly related to a specific stimulus. It appears that an assembly is the major ‘functional unit’ of information processing in cortical circuits, rather than the individual neurons.
Iterative joint source-channel decoding of variable length encoded video sequences exploiting source semantics

This paper proposes an iterative joint source-channel decoding of variable length codes (VLC) sequences exploiting the inherent redundancy in the source stream, namely (i) the VLC structure (ii) the sequence structure. An optimum soft-input soft-output (SISO) maximum likelihood (ML) decoder of VLC sequences which is able to exploit both types of redundancies is first proposed, and shown to be optimal. This algorithm is then used in an iterative joint source-channel decoding. Performance results for transmitting video over AWGN channels are presented and compared to the soft-output Viterbi algorithm (SOVA) VLC decoder.
Introduction and utility of liquid-based cytology on aspiration biopsy of peripheral nodular lesions of the lung

In the present study, aspiration biopsy cytology (ABC) was used for the diagnosis of peripheral nodular lesions in the lung (PNLL), and liquid-based cytology (LBC) was carried out on the material collected to evaluate it in comparison with the conventional method (CM). The subjects comprised 130 cases that underwent computed tomography (CT)-guided ABC for PNLL. A total of 73 cases received a tumor resection, with a diagnosis based on the pathology, while 57 cases were followed up, as the tumor showed no change on the radiological examinations. Biopsy samples from these patients and lavage fluid from the aspiration needles were used for analysis. Cellular material was obtained by centrifugation of the lavage fluid, and samples were prepared by two methods, direct smearing and LBC according to the ThinPrep method. The samples were categorized into three diagnoses: i) Benign, ii) suspicion of malignancy and iii) malignant. Appropriate samples were collected in 72% of cases by LBC, but only in 36% of cases by the CM. There was no marked difference in cellular images between the two methods, with the exception of a few specific cases. LBC on its own provided sensitivity at 68%, specificity at 61% and accuracy at 65%, while a combination of LBC and biopsy markedly improved these figures to 94, 81 and 84%, respectively. The introduction of LBC is considered useful for the cytopathological diagnosis of PNLL by CT-guided ABC. LBC enables the examination of appropriate samples rich in cellular components and supports a biopsy-based diagnosis. A combination of these two methods provides even higher diagnostic accuracy, and LBC is considered an excellent method to evaluate these pathological samples.
Elastic PMLs for resonator anchor loss simulation

Electromechanical resonators and filters, such as quartz, ceramic, and surface‐acoustic wave devices, are important signal‐processing elements in communication systems. Over the past decade, there has been substantial progress in developing new types of miniaturized electromechanical resonators using microfabrication processes. For these micro‐resonators to be viable they must have high and predictable quality factors (Q). Depending on scale and geometry, the energy losses that lower Q may come from material damping, thermoelastic damping, air damping, or radiation of elastic waves from an anchor. Of these factors, anchor losses are the least understood because such losses are due to a complex radiation phenomena in a semi‐infinite elastic half‐space. Here, we describe how anchor losses can be accurately computed using an absorbing boundary based on a perfectly matched layer (PML) which absorbs incoming waves over a wide frequency range for any non‐zero angle of incidence. We exploit the interpretation of the PML as a complex‐valued change of co‐ordinates to illustrate how one can come to a simpler finite element implementation than was given in its original presentations. We also examine the convergence and accuracy of the method, and give guidelines for how to choose the parameters effectively. As an example application, we compute the anchor loss in a micro disk resonator and compare it to experimental data. Our analysis illustrates a surprising mode‐mixing phenomenon which can substantially affect the quality of resonance. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Changes in Bone Density after Cancer Treatment in Patients with Cervical and Endometrial Cancer

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of cancer treatment on bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine (LS) and femur in the postmenopausal women with cervical or endometrial cancer without bone metastasis compared to normal control postmenopausal women. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the BMD data in the LS, femur neck (FN) and trochanter (FT) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and laboratory data of bone turnover markers at baseline and after one year in 130 patients with cervical cancer, 68 patients with endometrial cancer, and 225 healthy controls. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the T-scores of basal BMD in LS and femur between patients with endometrial cancer and controls, and only T-score of basal BMD at the fourth lumbar vertebra (L4) was significantly lower in patients with cervical cancer compared to controls. One year later, T-scores of BMD at all LS sites and FN in patients with cervical cancer and T-scores of BMD at L3, L4, FN, and FT in those with endometrial cancer after cancer treatment were significantly lower compared to controls. Lower proportions of normal BMD at all skeletal sites except L2 in patients with endometrial cancer and those at L1, L4, and FN in patients with cervical cancer were observed compared to controls after cancer treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that cancer treatment increase bone loss in postmenopausal women with cervical and endometrial cancer.
Implicit CAPTCHAs

We propose a design methodology for "implicit" CAPTCHAs to relieve drawbacks of present technology. CAPTCHAs are tests administered automatically over networks that can distinguish between people and machines and thus protect web services from abuse by programs masquerading as human users. All existing CAPTCHAs' challenges require a significant conscious effort by the person answering them -- e.g. reading and typing a nonsense word -- whereas implicit CAPTCHAs may require as little as a single click. Many CAPTCHAs distract and interrupt users, since the challenge is perceived as an irrelevant intrusion; implicit CAPTCHAs can be woven into the expected sequence of browsing using cues tailored to the site. Most existing CAPTCHAs are vulnerable to "farming-out" attacks in which challenges are passed to a networked community of human readers; by contrast, implicit CAPTCHAs are not "fungible" (in the sense of easily answerable in isolation) since they are meaningful only in the specific context of the website that is protected. Many existing CAPTCHAs irritate or threaten users since they are obviously tests of skill: implicit CAPTCHAs appear to be elementary and inevitable acts of browsing. It can often be difficult to detect when CAPTCHAs are under attack: implicit CAPTCHAs can be designed so that certain failure modes are correlated with failed bot attacks. We illustrate these design principles with examples.
Perceived mental stress in women associated with psychosomatic symptoms, but not mortality: observations from the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, Sweden

Purpose To investigate possible association between mental stress and psychosomatic symptoms, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, as well as incident mortality in a middle-aged female population followed over 37 years. Methods A prospective observational study initiated in 1968–1969, including 1462 women aged 60, 54, 50, 46, and 38 years, with follow-ups in 1974–1975, 1980–1981, and 2000–2001, was performed. Measures included self-reported mental stress as well as psychosomatic symptoms and smoking, physical activity, total cholesterol, S-triglycerides, body mass index, waist–hip ratio, blood pressure, socioeconomic status and mortality. Results Smoking, not being single, and not working outside home were strongly associated with reported mental stress at baseline. Women who reported high mental stress in 1968–1969 were more likely to report presence of abdominal symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39–2.46), headache/migraine (OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.53–2.72), frequent infections (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.14–2.70), and musculoskeletal symptoms (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.30–2.23) than women who did not report mental stress. Women without these symptoms at baseline 1968–1969, but with perceived mental stress were more likely to subsequently report incident abdominal symptoms (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.39–3.34), headache/migraine (OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.48–3.48) and frequent infections (OR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.12–4.36) in 1974–1975 than women without mental stress in 1968–1969. There was no association between perceived mental stress at baseline and mortality over 37 years of follow-up. Conclusion Women reporting mental stress had a higher frequency of psychosomatic symptoms than women who did not report these symptoms. Not working outside home and smoking rather than low socioeconomic status per se was associated with higher stress levels. Perception of high mental stress was not associated with increased mortality.
Response of Ecological Services Value to Land Use Change in the Shiyang River Basin: A Case Study in Wuwei Region

Based on the detailed survey of land use change in Shiyang river basin, referencing Costanza, and Xie et al’ research results of the value of ecosystem services, this article probed the variation of land use and value of ecosystem service in Wuwei region. The results are: from 1997 to 2006, the area of woodland, construction land and garden land are increasing, while farmland, grassland, water and unused land are continuing to decrease. Land-use intensity is gradually increasing, the land use pattern towards to a centralized style. The values of ecosystem services are overall upward, and change faster than ever. The main part of the value of ecosystem service is constituted by the value of grassland, woodland and farmland. So it’s important to control the expansion of urban construction, strength the protection of the water, restore and enhance regional ecosystem services in the future.
Deriving behavioural phenotypes in an international, multi-centre study of eating disorders

Background. An international, multi-site study funded by the Price Foundation has collected 237 affected relative pairs to identify potential genetic factors that may contribute to the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa (AN). The current report utilized this sample to derive phenotypes from the personality and behavioural traits assessed in a large number of individuals with eating disorders. Methods. Multivariate analytical techniques were used to characterize the relationships among personality (e.g. trait anxiety, perfectionism, harm avoidance, novelty seeking) and behavioural traits (obsessions and compulsions) in individuals with eating disorders (primarily AN; N = 348) and assess the effectiveness of these traits in classifying subjects into diagnostic subtypes. Results. Factor analysis revealed that the most influential factor was one of trait anxiety, harm avoidance, perfectionism, obsessive–compulsive behaviours, and diminished self-directedness, although the precise nature of this factor differed slightly across sites. Discriminant analysis was used to evaluate the utility of these personality/behavioural factors in predicting subdiagnosis. Overall, the misclassification rate was 34 %; however, there was an 80 % rate of accurate classification of those individuals with a diagnosis of restricting-type AN. Conclusions. Trait anxiety, harm avoidance, perfectionism, obsessive–compulsive behaviours and diminished self-directedness may best be conceptualized as parts of the same underlying construct among individuals with eating disorders, particularly AN. These personality and behavioural traits were also found to be of some utility in classifying eating disordered individuals into diagnostic subgroups, particularly those with restricting-type AN. We expect these phenotypic findings to benefit our ongoing search for genetic loci underlying the liability to eating disorders.
Health, wartime stress, and unit cohesion: Evidence from Union Army veterans

We find that Union Army veterans of the American Civil War who faced greater wartime stress (as measured by higher battlefield mortality rates) experienced higher mortality rates at older ages, but that men who were from more cohesive companies were statistically significantly less likely to be affected by wartime stress. Our results hold for overall mortality, mortality from ischemic heart disease and stroke, and new diagnoses of arteriosclerosis. Our findings represent one of the first long-run health follow-ups of the interaction between stress and social networks in a human population in which both stress and social networks are arguably exogenous.
The electrical and photoluminescence characteristics of thermally deposited ALQ[3] films / Koay Jan Yeong

Low molecules organic materials are attracting much attention as a candidate for flat panel displays and semiconductor applications. The tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (III) complex (Alq3), is the most important and widely studied material. However, there are still many things which remain to be studied. In this work, the effects of various surface treatments using CH4, He, Ar, O2 plasma and UV/O3 treatments on anode material surfaces (c-Si and ITO) have been studied on the photoluminescence and electrical properties of Alq3 films prepared by vacuum evaporation technique using an in-house designed and built deposition system. Photoluminescence (PL) and current-voltage (I-V) measurements were done to investigate these properties. The PL results demonstrated that the PL peak intensity and peak position of the deposited film was effected by the surface treatments done on the anode material surfaces. The Fowler-Nordheim (FN) model was used on the I-V plots to estimate the barrier height of the deposited films. The results showed that threshold voltage (VT), threshold current (JT), OLEDs driving voltage (Vd) and barrier height (ΦB) were effected on the various surface treatments done on the anode material surfaces. In general, the electrical and PL properties of Alq3 films on ITO are enhanced with UV/O3 treatment which is an establish technique used for cleaning ITO in ITO/Alq3/Al heterostructure. PL emission intensity of Alq3 films on ITO substrates also is enhanced with increase in O2 plasma treatment time on the ITO substrates. Electrical properties of ITO/Alq3/Al heterostructures improve with short duration O2 plasma treatment time on the ITO but are downgraded for long treatment time. Short duration He and Ar and plasma treatments remove hydrocarbon contamination on the ITO and c-Si substrate surfaces and this has the effect of increasing hole injection in ITO/Alq3/Al and p-type c-Si/Alq3/Al heterostructures. Long duration He and Ar plasma treatments on these substrates expose the treated substrate surface to prolonged ion bombardments producing a decrease in the PL emission intensity and hole injection in the ITO and c-Si anode heterostructures. The CH4 plasma treatment produces adverse effects on the electrical and PL properties of Alq3 films on these substrates as result of the formation of hydrocarbon layer.
Discordant changes in cortical TrkC mRNA and protein during the human lifespan

Neurotrophin‐3 (NT‐3) exerts its trophic effects in brain via tyrosine kinase receptor C (trkC) signaling. TrkC splice variants produce receptors with (full‐length) and without (truncated) a tyrosine kinase domain. The relative abundance of trkC isoforms and the anatomical localization of trkC in the human prefrontal cortex (PFC) in relationship to development and maturation are currently unknown. We have examined the temporo‐spatial expression of trkC protein and mRNA during the development of the human PFC. We have found two major isoforms, a full‐length (150 kDa) and a truncated (50 kDa) form of the trkC protein in the human PFC. We report that the full‐length form is expressed at low levels throughout development while the truncated form is expressed at moderate levels early in development and increases to reach mature levels by adolescence. In contrast, trkC mRNA levels are uniformly expressed throughout most of postnatal life, but decline in ageing. TrkC protein and mRNA are expressed in both pyramidal and non‐pyramidal neurons; additionally, trkC protein is detected in glia and neuropil. Our results suggest that truncated trkC is prevalent in the human PFC and that neurons and glia may be responsive to NT‐3 in the PFC throughout life.
A game-theoretic model and algorithm for load balancing in distributed systems

In this paper we present a game theoretic framework for obtaining a user-optimal load balancing scheme in heterogeneous distributed systems. We formulate the static load balancing problem in heterogeneous distributed systems as a noncooperative game among users. For the proposed non-cooperative load balancing game, we present the structure of the Nash equilibrium. Based on this structure we derive a new distributed load balancing algorithm. Finally, the performance of our noncooperative load balancing scheme is compared with that of other existing schemes. Our scheme guarantees the optimality of allocation for each user in the distributed system.
A learning-based logo recognition algorithm using SIFT and efficient correspondence matching

In this paper, a novel method for recognizing logos in natural images is presented. The difficulties lie in: (1) the logos in different images are highly variated in shape and location; (2) images will usually have several different kinds of logos; (3) the logo will be occluded by other objects, which traditional methods usually fail. Therefore, a learning-based logo recognition method is proposed to detect and classify the logos in natural image. First, the SIFT matching solution is applied in a set of training data to reliably detect the interest region in images and extract the discriminate features, which is used as the signature of each logo. Second, the approximate nearest neighbor searching strategy is build up by formulating the data into tree-based structure, for the purpose of efficient matching. Finally, to recognize the logos in test image, the corresponding SIFT features will be computed in the interest regions of test image and matched in the database which is achieved in the training stage. Promising results have been obtained in robustly classifying thousands of logos in the images captured by mobile phones, which the recognition accuracy is 95%.
Rapid Evolution of Recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Xylose Fermentation through Formation of Extra-chromosomal Circular DNA

Circular DNA elements are involved in genome plasticity, particularly of tandem repeats. However, amplifications of DNA segments in Saccharomyces cerevisiae reported so far involve pre-existing repetitive sequences such as ribosomal DNA, Ty elements and Long Terminal Repeats (LTRs). Here, we report the generation of an eccDNA, (extrachromosomal circular DNA element) in a region without any repetitive sequences during an adaptive evolution experiment. We performed whole genome sequence comparison between an efficient D-xylose fermenting yeast strain developed by metabolic and evolutionary engineering, and its parent industrial strain. We found that the heterologous gene XylA that had been inserted close to an ARS sequence in the parent strain has been amplified about 9 fold in both alleles of the chromosomal locus of the evolved strain compared to its parent. Analysis of the amplification process during the adaptive evolution revealed formation of a XylA-carrying eccDNA, pXI2-6, followed by chromosomal integration in tandem arrays over the course of the evolutionary adaptation. Formation of the eccDNA occurred in the absence of any repetitive DNA elements, probably using a micro-homology sequence of 8 nucleotides flanking the amplified sequence. We isolated the pXI2-6 eccDNA from an intermediate strain of the evolutionary adaptation process, sequenced it completely and showed that it confers high xylose fermentation capacity when it is transferred to a new strain. In this way, we have provided clear evidence that gene amplification can occur through generation of eccDNA without the presence of flanking repetitive sequences and can serve as a rapid means of adaptation to selection pressure.