Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-Beta Oscillations Turn Up the Gain During Category Judgments

Synchrony between local field potential (LFP) rhythms is thought to boost the signal of attended sensory inputs. Other cognitive functions could benefit from such gain control. One is categorization where decisions can be difficult if categories differ in subtle ways. Monkeys were trained to flexibly categorize smoothly varying morphed stimuli, using orthogonal boundaries to carve up the same stimulus space in 2 different ways. We found evidence for category-specific patterns of low-beta (16-20 Hz) synchrony in the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). This synchrony was stronger when a given category scheme was relevant. We also observed an overall increase in low-beta LFP synchrony for stimuli that were near the category boundary and thus more difficult to categorize. Beta category selectivity was evident in partial field-field coherence measurements, which measure local synchrony, but the boundary enhancement was not. Thus, it seemed that category selectivity relied on local interactions while boundary enhancement was a more global effect. The results suggest that beta synchrony helps form category ensembles and may reflect recruitment of additional cortical resources for categorizing challenging stimuli, thus serving as a form of gain control.
Discrete Modeling of Heat Conduction in Granular Media

This thesis addresses heat conduction in granular systems both under static and slow flow conditions with and without the presence of astagnant interstitial fluid. A novel discrete simulation technique for granular heat transfer, the Thermal Particle Dynamics (TPD) method hasbeen developed. By modeling particle-particle interactions, bed heterogeneities -- e.g., mechanical and thermal -- are directly accountedfor and transient temperature distribution are obtained at the particle level. This technique, based on the Discrete Element Method, not onlysheds light on fundamental issues in heat conduction in particulate systems, but also provides a valuable test-bench for existingcontinuous theories. Computational results, as well as supporting experiments coupled with existing theoretical models are used to probethe validity of the proposed simulation technique. Studies on heat conduction through static beds of particles indicate that stress and contact heterogeneities -- due primarily to theexistence of localized ``chains' of particles which support the majority of an imposed load (stress chains) -- may cause dramaticchanges in the way that heat is transported by conduction. It is found that by matching the microstructure of an experimental system onlyqualitatively, quantitatively accurate estimates of effective properties are possible, without requiring adjustable parameters. Onekey result in this study reveals that an important consideration has been missing from previous granular conduction studies -- the stressdistribution in the particle bed. Extensions of TPD to incorporate the ability to model heat transfer in particulate systems in the presenceof an interstitial fluid indicate that a good qualitative and quantitative agreement between measured and calculated values of theeffective thermal conductivity for a wide variety of materials in the presence of both liquid and/or gas are possible. Simulation results for slow granular flows -- e.g., simple shear cell and a rotating drum -- indicate that in both cases there is anenhancement of the effective thermal conductivity with increase in the shear rate due to enhanced mixing of the particles. These results arein agreement with previous theoretical and experimental investigations. In contrast to the behavior found at high shear rates, where the thermal conductivity is proportional to the shear rate, a complex non-linear relation is found for the effective conductivity in granular flows at low shear rates. This observation has not beenpreviously reported. It is argued that a balance between heat conduction and convection is necessary to explain these observations.
Packing Patterns into Words

In this article we generalize packing density problems from permutations to patterns with repeated letters and generalized patterns. We are able to find the packing density for some classes of patterns and several other short patterns. The string 213322 contains three subsequences 233, 133, 122 each of which is orderisomorphic (or simply isomorphic) to the string 122, i.e. ordered in the same way as 122. In this situation we call the string 122 a pattern. Herb Wilf first proposed the systematic study of pattern containment in his 1992 address to the SIAM meeting on Discrete Mathematics. However, several earlier results on pattern containment exist, for example, those by Knuth [9] and Tarjan [15].
Clinical Expression of Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Clusters of Mutations of the LDL Receptor Gene That Cause a Receptor-Defective or Receptor-Negative Phenotype

Seventy-one mutations of the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene were identified in 282 unrelated Italian familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) heterozygotes. By extending genotype analysis to families of the index cases, we identified 12 mutation clusters and localized them in specific areas of Italy. To evaluate the impact of these mutations on the clinical expression of FH, the clusters were separated into 2 groups: receptor-defective and receptor-negative, according to the LDL receptor defect caused by each mutation. These 2 groups were comparable in terms of the patients’ age, sex distribution, body mass index, arterial hypertension, and smoking status. In receptor-negative subjects, LDL cholesterol was higher (+18%) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol lower (−5%) than the values found in receptor-defective subjects. The prevalence of tendon xanthomas and coronary artery disease (CAD) was 2-fold higher in receptor-negative subjects. In patients >30 years of age in both groups, the presence of CAD was related to age, arterial hypertension, previous smoking, and LDL cholesterol level. Independent contributors to CAD in the receptor-defective subjects were male sex, arterial hypertension, and LDL cholesterol level; in the receptor-negative subjects, the first 2 variables were strong predictors of CAD, whereas the LDL cholesterol level had a lower impact than in receptor-defective subjects. Overall, in receptor-negative subjects, the risk of CAD was 2.6-fold that of receptor-defective subjects. Wide interindividual variability in LDL cholesterol levels was found in each cluster. Apolipoprotein E genotype analysis showed a lowering effect of the &egr;2 allele and a raising effect of the &egr;4 allele on the LDL cholesterol level in both groups; however, the apolipoprotein E genotype accounted for only 4% of the variation in LDL cholesterol. Haplotype analysis showed that all families of the major clusters shared the same intragenic haplotype cosegregating with the mutation, thus suggesting the presence of common ancestors. (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2000;20:e41-e52.)
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Teichoic acids of group D streptococci with special reference to strains from pig meningitis (Streptococcus suis)

Immunoelectrophoresis revealed in phenol extracts from S. faecalis and S. faecium a mixture of free and lipid-bound teichoic acids, both reactive with Group D antisera. In phenol extracts from S. suis only lipid-bound teichoic acid, also reactive with Group D antiserum, was seen. This difference probably accounts for the low yield of Group D antigen from S. suis as compared with S. faecalis and S. faecium when heating at pH 2 is used for extraction. When phenol is used good yields are obtained from S. suis as well as from S. faecalis and S. faecium. Lipoteichoic acids from S. faecalis and S. faecium have a backbone structure the same as or similar to that of Group A streptococcal teichoic acid. Lipoteichoic acid from S. suis has a structure differing from that of S. faecalis and S. faecium, e.g., possibly in the attachment of its glucosyl substituents. Precipitation reactions between S. suis lipoteichoic acid and Group D antisera were specifically inhibited by glucose. Reactions between S. bovis phenol extracts and some Group D antisera were also specifically inhibited by glucose, but extracts from S. faecalis and S. faecium were not. This may indicate a monosaccharide glucosyl substituent in teichoic acid from S. suis and S. bovis instead of the di- or trisaccharide previously postulated as the glucosyl substituent in the teichoic acid of S. faecalis.
Robust non-local multi-atlas segmentation of the optic nerve

Labeling or segmentation of structures of interest on medical images plays an essential role in both clinical and scientific understanding of the biological etiology, progression, and recurrence of pathological disorders. Here, we focus on the optic nerve, a structure that plays a critical role in many devastating pathological conditions – including glaucoma, ischemic neuropathy, optic neuritis and multiple-sclerosis. Ideally, existing fully automated procedures would result in accurate and robust segmentation of the optic nerve anatomy. However, current segmentation procedures often require manual intervention due to anatomical and imaging variability. Herein, we propose a framework for robust and fully-automated segmentation of the optic nerve anatomy. First, we provide a robust registration procedure that results in consistent registrations, despite highly varying data in terms of voxel resolution and image field-of-view. Additionally, we demonstrate the efficacy of a recently proposed non-local label fusion algorithm that accounts for small scale errors in registration correspondence. On a dataset consisting of 31 highly varying computed tomography (CT) images of the human brain, we demonstrate that the proposed framework consistently results in accurate segmentations. In particular, we show (1) that the proposed registration procedure results in robust registrations of the optic nerve anatomy, and (2) that the non-local statistical fusion algorithm significantly outperforms several of the state-of-the-art label fusion algorithms.
Using agents and autonomic computing to build next generation seamless mobility services

Next generation networks seek to integrate wide-area and local-area wireless and wired systems in order to provide seamless services to the end user, providing freedom of movement between metropolitan/enterprise and indoor/outdoor coverage while maintaining continuity of applications experience. Seamless Mobility, and its vision of seamless service delivery, requires significant changes to existing wired and wireless network management systems. Seamless Mobility is an experiential architecture, predicated on providing mechanisms that enable a user to accomplish his or her tasks without regard to technology. This talk will describe a novel autonomic architecture that uses a variety of different types of agents to synthesize knowledge about the environment, the context of users and their service and resource needs, and the capabilities and constraints placed on the network at any given time. Agents act according to a unique context-aware policy governance approach, and work autonomously to orchestrate system behavior according to business goals. This talk will conclude with a summary of research directions at Motorola Labs and future work to be undertaken.
Incentive Mechanisms for Agent-Based Peer-to-Peer Systems

Most of the existing research in peer-to-peer systems focuses on protocol design and doesn’t consider the rationality of each peer. One phenomenon that should not be ignored is free riding. Some peers simply consume system resources but contribute nothing to the system. In this paper we present an agentbased peer-to-peer system, in which each peer is a software agent and the agents cooperate to search the whole system through referrals. We present a static and a dynamic pricing mechanism to motivate each agent to behave rationally while still achieving good overall system performance. We study the behavior of the agents under two pricing mechanisms and evaluate the impact of free riding using simulations.
Point set labeling with sliding labels

This paper discusses algorithms for labeling sets of points in the plane, where labels are not restricted to some finite number of positions. We show that continuously sliding labels allows more points to be labeled both in theory and in practice, WC define six different models of labeling, and analyze how much better-more points get a label-ne model can be than another. Maximizing the number of labeled points is N&hard, but we show that all models have a polynomiallimo approximation scheme, and all models have a simple and eflicient factor-4 approximation algorithm. Finally, we give experimental results based on the factor-i approximation algorithm to compare the models in practice.
Pacific Influences on the Meridional Temperature Transport of the Indian Ocean

In this study, low-frequency variability of the meridional temperature transport in the Indian Ocean is examined using a mesoscale-eddy-resolving global ocean circulation model for the period 1979–2014. The dominant empirical orthogonal function (EOF) of the meridional temperature transport is found to be highly influenced by Pacific El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) through both oceanic and atmospheric waveguides, with the southward temperature transport being stronger during La Niña and weaker during El Niño. A dynamical decomposition of the meridional streamfunction and temperature transport shows that the relative importance of different dynamic modes varies with latitude; these modes act together to contribute to the coherent ENSO response. The Ekman mode explains a larger part of low-frequency variability in overturning and temperature transport north of the equator. Between 25° and 3°S, variations associated with vertical shear mode are of greater importance. The external mode has an important contribution between 30° and 25°S where the western boundary currents impinge on topography. South of 25°S, the variability of the external mode contribution has significant negative correlations with the vertical shear mode, suggesting that the large variability of external mode depends on the joint effects of baroclinicity and topography, such that hydrographic sections alone may not be suitable for deducing changes in the meridional temperature transport at these latitudes.
Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease and pathways to molecular based therapies

The discovery in 1991 that chromosome 17p12 duplication is associated with Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT) disease marked the beginning of an era of molecular insight into this disorder, which encompasses the peripheral motor and sensory neuropathies. A mere two decades later, over 40 subtypes of CMT have been molecularly defined and many have been extensively studied in vitro and in animal models, providing the framework for a more comprehensive understanding of the biological pathways dictating myelination, axonal dynamics, and axon–glia interactions. The advent of next‐generation sequencing technologies offers opportunities in both research and clinical settings for gene discovery, further molecular understanding and diagnosis, and calls for modifications of the existing algorithms guiding genetic testing. Although treatment is mainly supportive at this time, advances in this field are anticipated as the molecular basis of CMT is unraveled.
DREADD in Parvalbumin Interneurons of the Dentate Gyrus Modulates Anxiety, Social Interaction and Memory Extinction

Parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons in the hippocampus play a critical role in animal memory, such as spatial working memory. However, how PV-positive interneurons in the subregions of the hippocampus affect animal behaviors remains poorly defined. Here, we achieved specific and reversible activation of PV-positive interneurons using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) technology. Inducible DREADD expression was demonstrated in vitro in cultured neurons, in which co-transfection of the hM3D-Gq-mCherry vector with a Cre plasmid resulted in a cellular response to hM3Dq ligand clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) stimulation. In addition, the dentate gyrus (DG) of PV-Cre mice received bilateral injection of control lentivirus or lentivirus expressing double floxed hM3D-Gq-mCherry. Selective activation of PV-positive interneurons in the DG did not affect locomotor activity or depression-related behavior in mice. Interestingly, stimulation of PV-positive interneurons induced an anxiolytic effect. Activation of PV-positive interneurons appears to impair social interaction to novelty, but has no effect on social motivation. However, this defect is likely due to the anxiolytic effect as the exploratory behavior of mice expressing hM3D-Gq is significantly increased. Mice expressing hM3D-Gq did not affect novel object recognition. Activation of PV-positive interneurons in the DG maintains intact cued and contextual fear memory but facilitates fear extinction. Collectively, our results demonstrated that proper control of PV interneurons activity in the DG is critical for regulation of the anxiety, social interaction and fear extinction. These results improve our fundamental understanding of the physiological role of PV-positive interneurons in the hippocampus.
A Multi-relational Association Mining Algorithm for Screening Suspected Adverse Drug Reactions

Existing association mining algorithms generally assume that the data is in a single table (relation). One approach to mining multi-relational data tables is to convert the data into a single table and then apply the existing algorithms. However, the converted table may be too large to fit into memory. Moreover, these algorithms often need structures to store large intermediate data, which further restricts them by available memory. In this study, we developed an efficient SQL-based algorithm that directly dealt with multi-relational data tables that need less allocated memory. We also investigated how database indexes and the number of connections affect the performance of such an algorithm. The proposed algorithm was tested using data from the FDA's (Food and Drug Administration) spontaneous reporting system. The data collected was used for detecting potential adverse drug reactions (ADRs) which represent a serious worldwide problem. Our experiment results indicate that the algorithm performs well and is scalable in terms of the number of association rules that are evaluated and the size of the data.
Green Link Weights for Disruption-Free Energy-Aware Traffic Engineering

Energy-aware traffic engineering (ETE) has been gaining increasing research attentions due to the cost reduction benefits that it can offer to network operators and for environmental reasons. While numerous approaches exist which attempt to provide energy reduction benefits by intelligently manipulating network devices and their configurations, most of them suffer from one fundamental shortcoming: however, minor adaptations to a given IP network topology configuration all lead to temporal service disruptions incurred by routing reconvergence, which makes these schemes less appealing to network operators. The more frequently the IP topology reconfigurations take place in order to optimize the network performance against dynamic traffic demands, the more frequently service disruptions will occur to end users. Motivated by the essential requirement for network operators to enable seamless service assurance, we put forward a framework for disruption-free ETE, which leverages on selective link sleeping and wake-up operations in a disruption-free manner. The framework allows for maximizing the opportunities for disruption-free reconfigurations based on intelligent IGP link weight settings, assisted by a dynamic scheme that optimizes the reconfigurations in response to changing traffic conditions. As our simulation-based evaluation show, the framework is capable of achieving significant energy saving gains while at the same time ensuring robustness in terms of disruption avoidance and resilience to congestion.
Cool and save: Cooling aware dynamic workload scheduling in multi-socket CPU systems

Traditionally CPU workload scheduling and fan control in multi-socket systems have been designed separately leading to less efficient solutions. In this paper we present Cool and Save, a cooling aware dynamic workload management strategy that is significantly more energy efficient than state-of-the art solutions in multi-socket CPU systems because it performs workload scheduling in tandem with controlling socket fan speeds. Our experimental results indicate that applying our scheme gives average fan energy savings of 73% concurrently with reducing the maximum fan speed by 53%, thus leading to lower vibrations and noise levels.
Effects of Stress and Relaxation on Central Pain Modulation in Chronic Whiplash and Fibromyalgia Patients Compared to Healthy Controls.

BACKGROUND Compelling evidence has demonstrated that impaired central pain modulation contributes to persistent pain in patients with chronic whiplash associated disorders (WAD) and fibromyalgia (FM). However, there is limited research concerning the influence of stress and relaxation on central pain modulation in patients with chronic WAD and FM. OBJECTIVES The present study aims to investigate the effects of acute cognitive stress and relaxation on central pain modulation in chronic WAD and FM patients compared to healthy individuals. STUDY DESIGN A randomized crossover design was employed. SETTING The present study took place at the University of Brussels, the University Hospital Brussels, and the University of Antwerp. METHODS Fifty-nine participants (16 chronic WAD patients, 21 FM, 22 pain-free controls) were enrolled and subjected to various pain measurements. Temporal summation (TS) of pain and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) were evaluated. Subsequently, participants were randomly allocated to either a group that received progressive relaxation therapy or a group that performed a battery of cognitive tests (= cognitive stressor). Afterwards, all pain measurements were repeated. One week later participant groups were switched. RESULTS A significant difference was found between the groups in the change in TS in response to relaxation (P = 0.008) and cognitive stress (P = 0.003). TS decreased in response to relaxation and cognitive stress in chronic WAD patients and controls. In contrast, TS increased after both interventions in FM patients. CPM efficacy decreased in all 3 groups in response to relaxation (P = 0.002) and cognitive stress (P = 0.001). LIMITATIONS The obtained results only apply for a single session of muscle relaxation therapy and cognitive stress, whereby no conclusions can be made for effects on pain perception and modulation of chronic cognitive stress and long-term relaxation therapies. CONCLUSIONS A single relaxation session as well as cognitive stress may have negative acute effects on pain modulation in patients with FM, while cognitive stress and relaxation did not worsen bottom-up sensitization in chronic WAD patients and healthy persons. However, endogenous pain inhibition, assessed using a CPM paradigm, worsened in chronic WAD and FM patients, as well as in healthy people following both interventions.