Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex-dependent behavioral effects and morphological changes in the hippocampus after prenatal invasive interventions in rats: implications for animal models of schizophrenia

OBJECTIVES Although schizophrenia affects both human genders, there are gender-dependent differences with respect to age of onset, clinical characteristics, course and prognosis of the disease. METHODS To investigate sex-dependent differences in motor coordination and activity as well as in cognitive and social behavior, we repeatedly tested female (n = 14) and male (n = 12) Fisher rats (postnatal days, PD 56–174) that had received intracerebroventricular injections of kainic acid as well as female (n = 15) and male (n = 16) control animals. The hippocampus was examined histologically. RESULTS Compared to male controls, in the alcove test both female controls and female animals with prenatal intervention spent less time in a dark box before entering an unknown illuminated area. Again, animals that received prenatal injection (particularly females) made more perseveration errors in the T-maze alternation task compared to controls. Female rats exhibited a higher degree of activity than males, suggesting these effects to be sex-dependent. Finally, animals that received prenatal intervention maintained longer lasting social contacts. Histological analyses showed pyramidal cells in the hippocampal area CA3 (in both hemispheres) of control animals to be longer than those found in treated animals. Sex-dependent differences were found in the left hippocampi of control animals and animals after prenatal intervention. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate important differences between males and females in terms of weight gain, response to fear, working memory and social behavior. We also found sex-dependent differences in the lengths of hippocampal neurons. Further studies on larger sample sets with more detailed analyses of morphological changes are required to confirm our data.
A new adaptive Kalman filter-based subspace tracking algorithm and its application to DOA estimation

This paper presents a new Kalman filter-based subspace tracking algorithm and its application to directions of arrival (DOA) estimation. An autoregressive (AR) process is used to describe the dynamics of the subspace and a new adaptive Kalman filter with variable measurements (KFVM) algorithm is developed to estimate the time-varying subspace recursively from the state-space model and the given observations. For stationary subspace, the proposed algorithm will switch to the conventional PAST to lower the computational complexity. Simulation results show that the adaptive subspace tracking method has a better performance than conventional algorithms in DOA estimation for a wide variety of experimental condition
Using the temperature dependence of resonator quality factor as a thermometer

Silicon micromechanical resonators have been designed to have a quality factor (Q) that is a strong function of temperature. This is an ideal sensor for the temperature of the resonator—it is instantaneous, consumes no power, and indicates the temperature of the resonator structure with high sensitivity. The authors present a practical implementation of an oscillator system using these resonators with a temperature resolution of better than 0.002°C. The Q(T) signal is uniquely suited for implementing feedback control of the resonator temperature, thereby stabilizing the frequency silicon micromechanical resonators and enabling their use in high-stability frequency reference applications.
School-Year Grammatical Development in Narrative Retells: Spanish-English Dual Language Learners

Oral narrative retells are rich sources of information for language development. Investigators collected English-language oral narrative retells during the fall and spring from 65 Spanish-English-speaking dual language learners (DLL) in kindergarten and first grade. Investigators examined transcripts of oral narratives for (a) inclusion and accuracy of microstructural elements using the Narrative Assessment Protocol (NAP; Pence, Justice, & Gosse, 2007), (b) percentage of grammatical utterances, and (c) types of verb errors. Prepositional phrases, elaborated noun phrases, irregular past tense verbs, and copula verbs were the most prevalent grammatical forms. Omission errors were the most prevalent verb error type. DLLs’ narrative retells revealed significantly increased number of total NAP codes and diversity of NAP codes. Grammaticality of utterances increased from approximately 77% to 87% from fall to spring. All verb errors types decreased over the academic year. Direct feature coding approaches are useful for tracking developmental progress in DLLs’ retells.
Genetic Analysis of the Cytoplasmic Dynein Subunit Families

Cytoplasmic dyneins, the principal microtubule minus-end-directed motor proteins of the cell, are involved in many essential cellular processes. The major form of this enzyme is a complex of at least six protein subunits, and in mammals all but one of the subunits are encoded by at least two genes. Here we review current knowledge concerning the subunits, their interactions, and their functional roles as derived from biochemical and genetic analyses. We also carried out extensive database searches to look for new genes and to clarify anomalies in the databases. Our analysis documents evolutionary relationships among the dynein subunits of mammals and other model organisms, and sheds new light on the role of this diverse group of proteins, highlighting the existence of two cytoplasmic dynein complexes with distinct cellular roles.
Dissipativity Analysis for Discrete-Time Stochastic Neural Networks With Time-Varying Delays

In this paper, the problem of dissipativity analysis is discussed for discrete-time stochastic neural networks with time-varying discrete and finite-distributed delays. The discretized Jensen inequality and lower bounds lemma are adopted to deal with the involved finite sum quadratic terms, and a sufficient condition is derived to ensure the considered neural networks to be globally asymptotically stable in the mean square and strictly (Q, S, R)-y-dissipative, which is delay-dependent in the sense that it depends on not only the discrete delay but also the finite-distributed delay. Based on the dissipativity criterion, some special cases are also discussed. Compared with the existing ones, the merit of the proposed results in this paper lies in their reduced conservatism and less decision variables. Three examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness and benefits of our theoretical results.
A Hierarchical Architecture of N-Port Memory Based on FPGA

As FPGAs grow in logic capacity, they are being used to implement entire systems which require large amount of storage. Most commercial devices implement on-chip storage by providing several large arrays embedded into the FPGA. Scholars have done some research on implementing user logic memory models with single-port and dual-port physical arrays. However, their work is based on the assumption that user memory models are either single-port or dual- port. Thus, we need an efficient way to implement import memory on FPGA considering that most FPGA vendors do not provide N-port physical arrays (Nges3). In this paper, a novel hierarchical N-port memory architecture, which fits LUT-based FPGAs, is proposed. The principle of hierarchical architecture is mapping distributed memory resources of LUT as l-port Memory Banks. Data in different Memory Banks can be accessed simultaneously. Besides, extend port importance hierarchy (EPIH) algorithm is proposed for basic conflict handling, while block access control (BAC) algorithm is proposed for reducing conflict when processors carry block read/write. Experiment on Xilinx Virtex-II chips shows that this design saves almost 88% LUT resources compared to implementation of N ports in each memory cell.
Estimation of the neutral face shape using Gaussian Mixture Models

We present a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) fitting method for estimating the unknown neutral face shape for frontal facial expression recognition using geometrical features. Subtracting the estimated neutral face, which is related to the identity-specific component of the shape leaves us with the component related to the variations resulting from facial expressions. Experimental results on the Extended Cohn-Kanade (CK+) database show that subtracting the estimated neutral face shape gives better emotion recognition rates as compared to classifying the geometrical facial features directly, when the person-specific neutral face shape is not available. We also experimentally evaluate two different geometric facial feature extraction methods for emotion recognition. The average emotion recognition rates achieved with the proposed neutral shape estimation method and coordinate based features is 88%, which is higher than the baseline results presented in the literature, although we do not use the person-specific neutral shapes (94% if we use), and any appearance based features.
Does lean imply green?: a study of the power performance implications of Java runtime bloat

The presence of software bloat in large flexible software systems can hurt energy efficiency. However, identifying and mitigating bloat is fairly effort intensive. To enable such efforts to be directed where there is a substantial potential for energy savings, we investigate the impact of bloat on power consumption under different situations. We conduct the first systematic experimental study of the joint power-performance implications of bloat across a range of hardware and software configurations on modern server platforms. The study employs controlled experiments to expose different effects of a common type of Java runtime bloat, excess temporary objects, in the context of the SPECPower_ssj2008 workload. We introduce the notion of equi-performance power reduction to characterize the impact, in addition to peak power comparisons. The results show a wide variation in energy savings from bloat reduction across these configurations. Energy efficiency benefits at peak performance tend to be most pronounced when bloat affects a performance bottleneck and non-bloated resources have low energy-proportionality. Equi-performance power savings are highest when bloated resources have a high degree of energy proportionality. We develop an analytical model that establishes a general relation between resource pressure caused by bloat and its energy efficiency impact under different conditions of resource bottlenecks and energy proportionality. Applying the model to different "what-if" scenarios, we predict the impact of bloat reduction and corroborate these predictions with empirical observations. Our work shows that the prevalent software-only view of bloat is inadequate for assessing its power-performance impact and instead provides a full systems approach for reasoning about its implications.
Representation theories of some towers of algebras related to the symmetric groups and their Hecke algebras

We study the representation theory of three towers of algebras which are related to the symmetric groups and their Hecke algebras. The first one is constructed as the algebras generated simultaneously by the elementary transpositions and the elementary sorting operators acting on permutations. The two others are the monoid algebras of nondecreasing functions and nondecreasing parking functions. For these three towers, we describe the structure of simple and indecomposable projective modules, together with the Cartan map. The Grothendieck algebras and coalgebras given respectively by the induction product and the restriction coproduct are also given explicitly. This yields some new interpretations of the classical bases of quasi-symmetric and noncommutative symmetric functions as well as some new bases. Resume. Nous etudions la theorie des representations de trois tours d’algebres liees aux groupes symetriques et a leurs algebres de Hecke. La premiere est formee des algebres engendrees par les transpositions elementaires ainsi que les operateurs de tris elementaires agissant sur les permutations. Les deux autres sont formees des algebres des monoides des fonctions croissantes et des fonctions de parking croissantes. Pour ces trois tours, nous donnons la structure des modules simples et projectifs indecomposables ainsi que l’application de Cartan. Nous calculons egalement explicitement les algebres et cogebres de Grothendieck pour le produit d’induction et le coproduit de restriction. Il en decoule de nouvelles interpretations de bases connues des fonctions quasi-symetriques et symetriques noncommutatives ainsi que des nouvelles bases.
Antenna Selection with Differential Modulation Based on Quasi-Orthogonal Space-Time Block Code

In this paper, in order to reduce the complexity of the receiver, the receive antenna selection (AS) is applied to the systems with the differential space-time modulation (DSTM) scheme based on quasi-orthogonal space-time block coding (QO-STBC), in which four transmit-antennas and multiple receive-antennas are equipped at the transmitter and receiver, respectively. Then a novel selection rule for this system is derived based on the maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) criterion. The corresponding simulations are carried out to prove the performance of our proposed scheme with our derived selection rule. Results show that: (1) our proposed scheme combined with our derived selection rule can obtain better performance compared with the single receive antenna systems; (2) it has the same diversity and only a little loss in coding gain but much lower complexity compared with the multiple receive-antennas systems without receive antenna selection.
PERFORMANCE OF THE KOREAN CHAEBOL : GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF THE FIRM APPROACH

The Chaebol in Korea has become the focal point of debates as the Korean economy sharply declines in 1997 due to the Asian financial crisis. There are five theories to define the boundaries of the firms such as Chaebols: transaction cost theory, property rights approach, agency theory, evolution theory, and neoclassical theory. Based on extant theories, the current study develops a new theoretical framework which is called “the grand unified theory of the firm”. Thus study is to examine the boundaries of the Korean Chaebol based on the grand unified theory and to find out reasons for the diversification and to investigate the function of the Korean Chaebol.
Rhythmus, Störung und Reenactment

Abstract This chapter presents “Scenic Narrative Microanalysis” and its potential contribution to research on significant interactive moments. It discusses the method’s roots at the intersection of two paradigm shifts. The first is the interactive turn in psychoanalysis, which itself is situated within the overarching cultural context of a performative turn. Second, as an approach addressing short-term interactions (moments), SNMA points to the temporal turn in sociology, economics and technology, the background for microanalytic infant research approaches that have been influential since the 1970s. Finally, the future prospects of interdisciplinary method triangulation within the research group are discussed.
Dynamic Generation of SMIL-Based Multimedia Interfaces

The current heterogeneous world of networks and terminals combined with the generalized mobility of users pose telecommunications operators and service providers the challenge of dynamically adapt the services they provide. This paper presents a proposal to solve the problem of the adaptation of multimedia services in mobile contexts. The paper combines context-awareness techniques with user interface modeling and description to dynamically adapt telecommunications services to user resources, in terms of terminal and network conditions. The solution is mainly characterized by the approach used for resolving the existing dependencies among user interface variables, which is based on the constraints theory, and by the mechanism for acquiring the user context information, which uses the Parlay/OSA interfaces. The experiments and tests carried out with these techniques demonstrate a general improvement of the adaptation of multimedia services in mobile environments, in comparison to systems that do not dynamically integrate the user context information in the adaptation process.
Enabling the heterogeneous accelerator model on ultra-low power microcontroller platforms

The stringent power constraints of complex microcontroller based devices (e.g. smart sensors for the IoT) represent an obstacle to the introduction of sophisticated functionality. Programmable accelerators would be extremely beneficial to provide the flexibility and energy efficiency required by fast-evolving IoT applications; however, the integration complexity and sub-10mW power budgets have been considered insurmountable obstacles so far. In this paper we demonstrate the feasibility of coupling a low power microcontroller unit (MCU) with a heterogeneous programmable accelerator for speeding-up computation-intensive algorithms at an ultra-low power (ULP) sub-10mW budget. Specifically, we develop a heterogeneous architecture coupling a Cortex-M series MCU with PULP, a programmable accelerator for ULP parallel computing. Complex functionality is enabled by the support for offloading parallel computational kernels from the MCU to the accelerator using the OpenMP programming model. We prototype this platform using a STM Nucleo board and a PULP FPGA emulator. We show that our methodology can deliver up to 60× gains in performance and energy efficiency on a diverse set of applications, opening the way for a new class of ULP heterogeneous architectures.
A Probabilistic Boolean Logic for energy efficient circuit and system design

We introduce probabilistic design, a methodology to design circuits using gates with probabilistic behavior. Probabilistic design is of great value, since the international technology roadmap for semiconductors (ITRS) forecasts that devices and interconnect are likely to suffer from frequent transient and permanent failures, as a consequence of technology scaling. We first provide the theoretical basis for probabilistic design, rooted in a novel Probabilistic Boolean Logic (pbl). By combining the properties of pbl with the properties of noise susceptible cmos devices, we derive design principles and demonstrate that probabilistic design is a viable methodology to design circuits using gates with probabilistic behavior, which has been shown to be a useful approach for implementing ultra low-energy circuit designs.
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners: the United States experience

Physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) were introduced in the United States in 1967. As of 2006, there are 110 000 clinically active PAs and NPs (comprising approximately one sixth of the US medical workforce). Approximately 11 200 new PAs and NPs graduate each year. PAs and NPs are well distributed throughout primary care and specialty care and are more likely than physicians to practise in rural areas and where vulnerable populations exist. The productivity of NPs and PAs, based on traditional doctor services, is comparable, and the range of services approaches 90% of what primary care physicians provide. The education time is approximately half that of a medical doctor and entry into the workforce is less restrictive. The interprofessional skill mix provided by PAs and NPs may enhance medical care in comparison with that provided by a doctor alone.
Code-aided iterative channel estimation for OFDM signals with non-binary LDPC codes

This work considers the problem of channel estimation in the context of non-binary-LDPC-coded OFDM transmission over doubly-selective multipath channels. The potential of channel encoding is exploited to derive an iterative Wiener-filter-based estimation method using both time and frequency autocorrelation of the channel. The proposed algorithm can use either the soft information or the hard decisions fed back by the non-binary LDPC decoder to refine the channel estimation, so as to improve the system performance at the expense of an increased receiver complexity. Simulation results under typical working conditions are presented to compare the performance of the proposed method with respect to classical techniques.
Association between XRCC1 and XRCC3 Polymorphisms with Lung Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis from Case-Control Studies

Many studies have reported the association of X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) Arg399Gln, Arg194Trp, Arg280His, −77T>C, and X-ray repair cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3) T241M polymorphisms with lung cancer risk, but the results remained controversial. Hence, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the association between lung cancer risk and XRCC1 Arg399Gln (14,156 cases and 16,667 controls from 41 studies), Arg194Trp (7,426 cases and 9,603 controls from 23 studies), Arg280His (6,211 cases and 6,763 controls from 16 studies), −77T>C (2,487 cases and 2,576 controls from 5 studies), and XRCC3 T241M (8,560 cases and 11,557 controls from 19 studies) in different inheritance models. We found that −77T>C polymorphism was associated with increased lung cancer risk (dominant model: odds ration [OR] = 1.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27–1.66, recessive model: OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.14–2.62, additive model: OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.24–1.94) when all the eligible studies were pooled into the meta-analysis. In the stratified and sensitive analyses, significantly decreased lung cancer risk was observed in overall analysis (dominant model: OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.78–0.89; recessive model: OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.81–1.00; additive model: OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.74–0.92), Caucasians (dominant model: OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.76–0.87; recessive model: OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.80–0.99; additive model: OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.73–0.91), and hospital-based controls (dominant model: OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.76–0.88; recessive model: OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.79–1.00; additive model: OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.71–0.90) for XRCC3 T241M. In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that XRCC1 −77T>C shows an increased lung cancer risk and XRCC3 T241M polymorphism is associated with decreased lung cancer risk, especially in Caucasians.
TennisMaster: an IMU-based online serve performance evaluation system

Tennis sport has become more popular all over the world in recent years. While tennis lovers wish to improve their tennis skill set for better performance, unfortunately only few of them could be guided under professional training. Especially, serve is probably the most important skill in tennis skill set. In this paper, we present TennisMaster, an online diagnosis and feedback system, that aims at performing online assessment of tennis serve during the training process using IMU sensors. In particular, we propose a hierarchical evaluation approach based on the fusion of two IMU sensors mounted on the racket and shank of the player. In order to achieve online serve assessment, we first develop an online serve extraction algorithm to identify the serve segments and filter the non-serve events. Then we use Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to segment the serve process into eight stages. By extracting unique features on the basis of the serve segmentation, we build a regression model which outputs the score of a serve. We conduct experiments to collect 1,030 serves involving 12 subjects at various professional levels. Evaluation results show that our system achieves high accuracy of performance assessment for tennis serves.