Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caspase-1/ASC Inflammasome-Mediated Activation of IL-1β–ROS–NF-κB Pathway for Control of Trypanosoma cruzi Replication and Survival Is Dispensable in NLRP3−/− Macrophages

In this study, we have utilized wild-type (WT), ASC−/−, and NLRP3−/− macrophages and inhibition approaches to investigate the mechanisms of inflammasome activation and their role in Trypanosoma cruzi infection. We also probed human macrophages and analyzed published microarray datasets from human fibroblasts, and endothelial and smooth muscle cells for T. cruzi-induced changes in the expression genes included in the RT Profiler Human Inflammasome arrays. T. cruzi infection elicited a subdued and delayed activation of inflammasome-related gene expression and IL-1β production in mφs in comparison to LPS-treated controls. When WT and ASC−/− macrophages were treated with inhibitors of caspase-1, IL-1β, or NADPH oxidase, we found that IL-1β production by caspase-1/ASC inflammasome required reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a secondary signal. Moreover, IL-1β regulated NF-κB signaling of inflammatory cytokine gene expression and, subsequently, intracellular parasite replication in macrophages. NLRP3−/− macrophages, despite an inability to elicit IL-1β activation and inflammatory cytokine gene expression, exhibited a 4-fold decline in intracellular parasites in comparison to that noted in matched WT controls. NLRP3−/− macrophages were not refractory to T. cruzi, and instead exhibited a very high basal level of ROS (>100-fold higher than WT controls) that was maintained after infection in an IL-1β-independent manner and contributed to efficient parasite killing. We conclude that caspase-1/ASC inflammasomes play a significant role in the activation of IL-1β/ROS and NF-κB signaling of cytokine gene expression for T. cruzi control in human and mouse macrophages. However, NLRP3-mediated IL-1β/NFκB activation is dispensable and compensated for by ROS-mediated control of T. cruzi replication and survival in macrophages.
Formal Analysis Techniques : A Basis for High-Quality Designs ( Invited Talk )

Many problems of high complexity such as verification and test generation arise during the design and manufacturing flow of industrial circuits and processors. Solving these problems is often crucial to guarantee the absence of errors and eventually a high quality product. However, due to the increased complexity of today’s circuits, classical methods often have problems to solve these problems. In this paper, we give an introduction to formal analysis techniques and show how the application of these techniques is able to increase the quality of the design for the particular problem of test generation.
The Effect of 10 Hz Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Posterior Parietal Cortex on Visual Attention

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) at frequencies lower than 5 Hz transiently inhibits the stimulated area. In healthy participants, such a protocol can induce a transient attentional bias to the visual hemifield ipsilateral to the stimulated hemisphere. This bias might be due to a relatively less active stimulated hemisphere and a relatively more active unstimulated hemisphere. In a previous study, Jin and Hilgetag (2008) tried to switch the attention bias from the hemifield ipsilateral to the hemifield contralateral to the stimulated hemisphere by applying high frequency rTMS. High frequency rTMS has been shown to excite, rather than inhibit, the stimulated brain area. However, the bias to the ipsilateral hemifield was still present. The participants’ performance decreased when stimuli were presented in the hemifield contralateral to the stimulation site. In the present study we tested if this unexpected result was related to the fact that participants were passively resting during stimulation rather than performing a task. Using a fully crossed factorial design, we compared the effects of high frequency rTMS applied during a visual detection task and high frequency rTMS during passive rest on the subsequent offline performance in the same detection task. Our results were mixed. After sham stimulation, performance was better after rest than after task. After active 10 Hz rTMS, participants’ performance was overall better after task than after rest. However, this effect did not reach statistical significance. The comparison of performance after rTMS with task and performance after sham stimulation with task showed that 10 Hz stimulation significantly improved performance in the whole visual field. Thus, although we found a trend to better performance after rTMS with task than after rTMS during rest, we could not reject the hypothesis that high frequency rTMS with task and high frequency rTMS during rest equally affect performance.
Turbulence-driven Polar Winds from T Tauri Stars Energized by Magnetospheric Accretion

Pre-main-sequence stars are observed to be surrounded by both accretion flows and some kind of wind or jetlike outflow. Recent work by Matt and Pudritz has suggested that if classical T Tauri stars exhibit stellar winds with mass-loss rates about 0.1 times their accretion rates, the wind can carry away enough angular momentum to keep the stars from being spun up unrealistically by accretion. This paper presents a preliminary set of theoretical models of accretion-driven winds from the polar regions of T Tauri stars. These models are based on recently published self-consistent simulations of the Sun’s coronal heating and wind acceleration. In addition to the convection-driven MHD turbulence (which dominates in the solar case), we add another source of wave energy at the photosphere that is driven by the impact of plasma in neighboring flux tubes undergoing magnetospheric accretion. This added energy, determined quantitatively from the far-field theory of MHD wave generation, is sufficient to produce T Tauri-like mass-loss rates of at least 0.01 times the accretion rate. While still about an order of magnitude below the level required for efficient angular momentum removal, these are the first self-consistent models of T Tauri winds that agree reasonably well with a range of observational mass-loss constraints. The youngest modeled stellar winds are supported by Alfvén wave pressure, they have low temperatures (“extended chromospheres”), and they are likely to be unstable to the formation of counterpropagating shocks and clumps far from the star.
Enhanced Knowledge-Leverage-Based TSK Fuzzy System Modeling for Inductive Transfer Learning

The knowledge-leverage-based Takagi--Sugeno--Kang fuzzy system (KL-TSK-FS) modeling method has shown promising performance for fuzzy modeling tasks where transfer learning is required. However, the knowledge-leverage mechanism of the KL-TSK-FS can be further improved. This is because available training data in the target domain are not utilized for the learning of antecedents and the knowledge transfer mechanism from a source domain to the target domain is still too simple for the learning of consequents when a Takagi--Sugeno--Kang fuzzy system (TSK-FS) model is trained in the target domain. The proposed method, that is, the enhanced KL-TSK-FS (EKL-TSK-FS), has two knowledge-leverage strategies for enhancing the parameter learning of the TSK-FS model for the target domain using available information from the source domain. One strategy is used for the learning of antecedent parameters, while the other is for consequent parameters. It is demonstrated that the proposed EKL-TSK-FS has higher transfer learning abilities than the KL-TSK-FS. In addition, the EKL-TSK-FS has been further extended for the scene of the multisource domain.
Increasing Trends of Herpes Zoster in Australia

Background Increasing trends in incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) have been reported in Australia and internationally. This may reflect the impact of childhood VZV vaccination programs introduced universally in Australia in late 2005. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in incidence of HZ and PHN in Australia over time, and associated healthcare resource utilisation. Methods Australian data on general practice (GP) encounters for HZ, specific antiviral prescribing data from the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, emergency department presentations from the states of NSW and Victoria and national hospitalisation data for HZ were analysed for time trends using regression models. Two time periods (2000-2006 and 2006-2013) were compared which correspond broadly with the pre- and post- universal VZV vaccination period. Results All data sources showed increasing rates of HZ with age and over time. The GP database showed a significant annual increase in encounters for HZ of 2.5 per 100,000 between 1998 and 2013, and the rates of prescriptions for HZ increased by 4.2% per year between 2002 and 2012. In the 60+ population HZ incidence was estimated to increase from 11.9 to 15.4 per 1,000 persons using GP data or from 12.8 to 14.2 per 1,000 persons using prescription data (p<0.05, between the two periods). Hospitalisation data did not show the same increasing trend over time, except for the age group ≥80 years. Most emergency visits for HZ were not admitted, and showed significant increases over time. Discussion The burden of HZ in Australia is substantial, and continues to increase over time. This increase is seen both pre- and post-universal VZV vaccination in 2005, and is most prominent in the older population. The substantial burden of HZ, along with ageing of the Australian population and the importance of healthy ageing, warrants consideration of HZ vaccination for the elderly.
Confiabilidad de la Entrevista de Recaídas para Usuarios de Sustancias Adictivas (ERSA) Reliability of the Interview of Relapses for Users of Addictive Substances (ERSA)

Relapse is a phenomenon that affects users of addictive substances and appears at high rates after periods of abstinence. The increasing demand for effective treatments to control the addictive behaviors imposes the necessity to count on reliable measuring instruments that allow a better understanding of relapses. Based on the Relapse Taxonomy proposed by Marlatt & Gordon (1985), the Interview of Relapses for Users of Addictive Substances (ERSA) was developed (Garcia, Oropeza y Vazquez, 2006) as an instrument to identify relapses triggers in users of substances subject to treatment in order to try to stop their consumption. The objective of this research was to asses the reliability of the ERSA. The sample consisted on 73 participants, users of diverse addictive substances. With test V of Cramer (through contingency tables) general scores were obtained (from all the questions) whose rank goes from V=0.719 to V=1.000. These results show that the relation between test and retest is significant (p< 0.0001), showing a high temporary stability of the instrument
Technology : Furthering Human Performance – Augmented Reality in Sport 2011-2012 Interactive Multimedia Systems Conference

The ability to drive and increase human performance is greatly sought after. Reaching high levels of performance, in many areas has seen the use of technology to maximize efficiency of a variety of tasks. This paper will look at the more recent research in the field of Augmented Reality (AR) in relation to sport, focusing on how it is being used to improve human performance. It will investigate pioneering and notable recent technologies used in three main areas of sport (Training, Analysis and Officiating) and using a set of criteria, attempt to evaluate the use of AR in such fields.
Comparison of methods for the perturbed trajectory prediction based on wide area measurements

With the wide use of phasor measurement unit (PMU) and Wide Area Measurement System (WAMS), the transient instability real time prediction has been one of hot issues in power systems. The perturbed rotor angle trajectory prediction is a key step for transient instability prediction. The curve fitting based perturbed trajectory extrapolation methods had been paid widely attention since they do not need the knowledge of the network topology, model and parameters of power system and do not need network equivalence. Only a few post-fault measurements are required. The existed methods, such as the polynomial model, the trigonometric function model, the auto-regressive model and the angular velocity prediction & integration based method, are overviewed in this paper respectively. The experimental simulations on both IEEE 39-bus system and China Southern Power Grid are done to test the effectiveness of these models. An analysis and comparison is presented in terms of the fault condition, the sampling period, the number of the required measurements and the forecasting accuracy. The numerical results show that the polynomial model based prediction method has best effects for perturbed rotor angle trajectory prediction in terms of stability, rapidity and accuracy.
Self-consistent theory of turbulent transport in the solar tachocline - III. Gravity waves

Aims. To understand the fundamental physical processes important for the evolution of solar rotation and distribution of chemical species, we provide theoretical predictions for particle mixing and momentum transport in the stably stratified tachocline. Methods. By envisioning that turbulence is driven in the tachocline, we compute the amplitude of turbulent flow, turbulent particle diffusivities, and eddy viscosity, by incorporating the effect of a strong radial differential rotation and stable stratification. We identify the different roles that the shear flow and stable stratification play in turbulence regulation and transport. Results. Particle transport is found to be severely quenched due to stable stratification, as well as radial differential rotation, especially in the radial direction with an effectively more efficient horizontal transport. The eddy viscosity is shown to become negative for parameter values typical of the tachocline, suggesting that turbulence in the stably stratified tachocline leads to a non-uniform radial differential rotation. Similar results also hold in the radiative interiors of stars, in general.
A Tree for All Seasons

The performance of in-memory databases is significantly affected by the number of data blocks fetched from memory into the processor-resident cache. In recent years, various tree-based indexes have been proposed for main memory databases. A common assumption in the analysis of these indexes is that there is no data in the cache that can be reused between key lookups, i.e. the system has a cold cache for each lookup. In practice, though, the "temperature" of the cache is strongly dependent on the application. For example, a warm cache is typical for OLTP applications that query the same index over and over with little computation in between lookups. In this paper, we present a comparative study of the cache behavior of various B+-tree-based indexes which shows that none of them performs best in all cases. Also, we propose a lightweight technique for improving the cache behavior of any B+-tree based index that performs best in all settings
From Genes to Memes: Optimization by Problem-aware Evolutionary Algorithms

Memetic algorithms are population-based metaheuristics aimed to solve hard optimization problems. These techniques are explicitly concerned with exploiting available knowledge in order to achieve the most effective resolution of the target problem. The rationale behind this optimization philosophy, namely the intrinsic theoretical limitations of problem-unaware optimization techniques, is presented in this work. A glimpse of the main features of memetic algorithms, and a brief overview of the numerous applications of these techniques is provided as well.
Nonconscious motivations: Their activation, operation, and consequences.

Self-regulation is one of the most important aspects of human existence. Deciding which goals to pursue and then engaging in goal-directed action is a fundamental process underlying many of a person’s daily thoughts, feelings, and actions. The first half of the 20th century was dominated by Freudian and behavioristic models of behavior regulation, which held that behavior was determined either by biological impulses and the unconscious or by the external environment, respectively. In reaction to this, the humanistic movement, in particular Rogers’s (195 1) self theory, placed the conscious “self” as the most important causal agent in selfregulation. Behavior regulation was driven not by the unconscious or by the environment but rather by the self, a critical mediator between the environment and behavior. Many current models of motivation and goal pursuit continue the tradition of maintaining continuous, conscious choice and guidance of be-
Light Mobile Robot Power Common Technique Research

Light mobile robot has many servo motors in it. A removal explosion robot has 11 motors. These motors are heavy and expensive. Robot over weight leads to slow velocity and low cross ability. In this paper, a common motor power technique is advanced. This technique uses friction wheel, belt-wheel system, clutch, brake, etc. Power is send to vary long distance position. This technique needs only one big servomotor. All rotate and move joints are droved by this motor. It needs solve contact, leave, maintain, long distance transmit, turn direction, position servo problems. This technique reduces motor number, reduce robot weight, raise robot move and cross ability, reduce price. It is a very good method for light mobile robot.
Context-Free Grammar Analysis for Arabic Sentences

This paper presents a simple parser to parse Arabic sentences. The aim of this parser is to check whether the syntax of an Arabic sentence is grammatically correct or not by constructing new efficient Context-Free Grammar that makes Top-Down technique much valuable. A set of experiments were ran on a dataset contains 150 Arabic sentence. The system achieved an average accuracy of 95%.
On Threshold Models over Finite Networks

We study a model for cascade effects over finite networks based on a deterministic binary linear threshold model. Our starting point is a networked coordination game where each agent's payoff is the sum of the payoffs coming from pairwise interactions with each of the neighbors. We first establish that the best response dynamics in this networked game is equivalent to the linear threshold dynamics with heterogeneous thresholds over the agents. While the previous literature has studied such linear threshold models under the assumption that each agent may change actions at most once, a study of best response dynamics in such networked games necessitates an analysis that allows for multiple switches in actions. In this paper, we develop such an analysis and construct a combinatorial framework to understand the behavior of the model. To this end, we establish that the agents behavior cycles among different actions in the limit and provide three sets of results. We first characterize the limiting behavioral properties of the dynamics. We determine the length of the limit cycles and reveal bounds on the time steps required to reach such cycles for different network structures. We then study the complexity of decision/counting problems that arise within the context. Specifically, we consider the tractability of counting the number of limit cycles and fixed-points, and deciding the reachability of action profiles. We finally propose a measure of network resilience that captures the nature of the involved dynamics. We prove bounds and investigate the resilience of different network structures under this measure.
Code performance improvement scheme for X264 based on SSIM

X264 takes objective metric as distortion criteria to perform Rate Distortion Optimization (RDO)-based mode decision, which cannot acquire optimal subjective quality. This paper applies Structural Similarity (SSIM) based subjective distortion to RDO-based inter mode decision in X264 video coding, and puts forward a method of adaptive analysis of Lagrange multipliers to measure the relation of rate and SSIM in macro-block level. We also take motion vector of macro-block into account and apply methods of information theory, combined with the uncertainty of visual speed perception, to make further improvements of lagrange multiplier. Our experiments show that this correct solution gets a better subjective rate-distortion performance and subjective image quality.
Sparse Coding Based Fisher Vector Using a Bayesian Approach

A recently proposed sparse coding based Fisher vector extends traditional GMM based Fisher Vector with a sparse term. Our experiments revealed that the addition of this sparse term alone significantly outperforms GMM based Fisher Vector by almost 20% improvement on small sized datasets (15-Scene, Caltech-10) and up to 5% improvement on medium sized datasets (MIT-67). In the original work, sparse coding based Fisher vector requires an off-the-shelf Sparse Coding solver. From a statistical perspective, an off-the-shelf solver may appear as a black-box. A more elegant way is to use a probabilistic model to learn Sparse Coding. We propose a probabilistic model known as sparse coding based GMM. It differs from GMM by an additional sparse coefficient hidden variable. The prior model of the sparse term is assumed Gaussian distributed for tractability. Inference of the model is performed by iteratively computing a set of closed-form solution obtained via variational method. Experimental results on several well-cited datasets show that our probabilistic based solver obtained on-par learning performance to an off-the-shelf solver as far as sparse coding based Fisher vector is concerned.
Transcription Initiation Activity Sets Replication Origin Efficiency in Mammalian Cells

Genomic mapping of DNA replication origins (ORIs) in mammals provides a powerful means for understanding the regulatory complexity of our genome. Here we combine a genome-wide approach to identify preferential sites of DNA replication initiation at 0.4% of the mouse genome with detailed molecular analysis at distinct classes of ORIs according to their location relative to the genes. Our study reveals that 85% of the replication initiation sites in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells are associated with transcriptional units. Nearly half of the identified ORIs map at promoter regions and, interestingly, ORI density strongly correlates with promoter density, reflecting the coordinated organisation of replication and transcription in the mouse genome. Detailed analysis of ORI activity showed that CpG island promoter-ORIs are the most efficient ORIs in ES cells and both ORI specification and firing efficiency are maintained across cell types. Remarkably, the distribution of replication initiation sites at promoter-ORIs exactly parallels that of transcription start sites (TSS), suggesting a co-evolution of the regulatory regions driving replication and transcription. Moreover, we found that promoter-ORIs are significantly enriched in CAGE tags derived from early embryos relative to all promoters. This association implies that transcription initiation early in development sets the probability of ORI activation, unveiling a new hallmark in ORI efficiency regulation in mammalian cells.