Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blockade of Glutamate-Mediated Activity in the Developing Retina Perturbs the Functional Segregation of ON and OFF Pathways

The dendrites of ganglion cells initially ramify throughout the inner plexiform layer of the developing retina before becoming stratified into ON or OFF sublaminae. This ontogenetic event is thought to depend on glutamate-mediated afferent activity, because treating the developing retina with the glutamate analog 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB), which hyperpolarizes ON cone bipolar cells and rod bipolar cells, thereby preventing their release of glutamate, effectively arrests the dendritic stratification process. To assess the functional consequences of this manipulation, extracellular recordings were made from single cells in the A laminae of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and from the optic tract in mature cats that had received intraocular injections of APB during the first postnatal month. Such recordings revealed that stimulation of the APB-treated eye evoked both ON as well as OFF discharges in 37% of the cells tested. (As expected, when the normal eye was activated, virtually all cells yielded only ON or OFF responses.) The proportion of ON–OFF cells found here corresponds closely to the incidence of multistratified dendrites observed previously in anatomical studies of APB-treated cat retinas. This suggests that the ganglion cells with multistratified dendrites receive functional inputs from ON as well as OFF cone bipolar cells. This interpretation is further supported by the finding that the proportion of ON–OFF cells was very similar in the geniculate layer innervated by the treated eye and in the optic tract. The cells activated by the APB-treated eye were also found not to show response suppression when flashing stimuli of increasing size were used. This suggests that exposing the developing retina to APB perturbs the neural circuitry mediating the antagonistic center–surround organization found in normal receptive fields. The functional changes evident after treating the developing retina with APB suggest that it should now be feasible to assess how the segregation of ON and OFF retinal pathways relates to organizational features at higher levels of the visual system, such as orientation selectivity in cortical cells.
Behavior control of multi-robot using the prior-knowledge based reinforcement learning

In the partially known environment, it was hard to control the robot's behavior exactly and flexibly. The rule-based method can't cover all the possible conditions, and the traditional reinforcement learning method also has the problem of convergence. The prior-knowledge based reinforcement learning prompted here combines the advantages of these two methods and avoids the above disadvantages. It takes the determinately known rules as prior-knowledge to train the learner, so as to guarantee the direction and convergence of learning and speed up the learning. At the same time, the adaptive quality of learner makes it automatically exploit the unknown environment. This makes up the shortcoming of the incompletely known rules. When this method is applied to the action integration of robot's behavior control in the pursuit-evasion game, it overcomes the toothed problem of rule-based control and the unexpected cases of traditional reinforcement learning. The robot is proved experimentally to circumambulate the obstacles smoothly, and collide with the obstacle rarely.
EROS: A Principle-Driven Operating System from the Ground Up

Design principles are one of the most advocated ideas in software construction, but they are rarely systematically applied. They are particularly critical in secure, reliable systems. EROS, an operating system built from the ground up, provides formally verifiable security, practical reliability, and high performance. This article describes the primary design principles on which EROS is built, the impact these principles had on the design, the application structure that naturally emerged from the resulting system, and the how this affected the system's security and testability.
Stocks, Bonds and Hedge Funds: Not a Free Lunch!

We study the diversification effects from introducing hedge funds into a traditional portfolio of stocks and bonds. Our results make it clear that in terms of skewness and kurtosis equity and hedge funds do not combine very well. Although the inclusion of hedge funds may significantly improve a portfolio's mean-variance characteristics, it can also be expected to lead to significantly lower skewness as well as higher kurtosis. This means that the case for hedge funds includes a definite trade-off between profit and loss potential. Our results also emphasize that to have at least some impact on the overall portfolio, investors will have to make an allocation to hedge funds which by far exceeds the typical 1-5% that many institutions are currently considering.
On Becoming Aware: A pragmatics of experiencing

This book searches for the sources and means for a disciplined practical approach to exploring human experience. The spirit of this book is pragmatic and relies on a Husserlian phenomenology primarily understood as a method of exploring our experience. The authors do not aim at a neo-Kantian a priori ‘new theory’ of experience but instead they describe a concrete activity: how we examine what we live through, how we become aware of our own mental life. The range of experiences of which we can become aware is vast: all the normal dimensions of human life (perception, motion, memory, imagination, speech, everyday social interactions), cognitive events that can be precisely defined as tasks in laboratory experiments (e.g., a protocol for visual attention), but also manifestations of mental life more fraught with meaning (dreaming, intense emotions, social tensions, altered states of consciousness). The central assertion in this work is that this immanent ability is habitually ignored or at best practiced unsystematically, that is to say, blindly. Exploring human experience amounts to developing and cultivating this basic ability through specific training. Only a hands-on, non-dogmatic approach can lead to progress, and that is what animates this book. (Series B)
Monitoring of cardio-pulmonary activity with UWB radar: A circuital model

The aim of this work is to present a circuital model to design an ultra wide band radar for the monitoring of cardio-pulmonary activity. The model takes into account the signal source, the transceiver antenna properties, and the dispersive behavior of the thorax tissues. The model has been validated by comparing its results with those achieved with a commercial electromagnetic software. Finally it has been used to study the signal variations, both in air and at the antenna feed point, produced by the cardio-pulmonary activity.
Impact of HIV-1 Subtype and Antiretroviral Therapy on Protease and Reverse Transcriptase Genotype: Results of a Global Collaboration

Background The genetic differences among HIV-1 subtypes may be critical to clinical management and drug resistance surveillance as antiretroviral treatment is expanded to regions of the world where diverse non-subtype-B viruses predominate. Methods and Findings To assess the impact of HIV-1 subtype and antiretroviral treatment on the distribution of mutations in protease and reverse transcriptase, a binomial response model using subtype and treatment as explanatory variables was used to analyze a large compiled dataset of non-subtype-B HIV-1 sequences. Non-subtype-B sequences from 3,686 persons with well characterized antiretroviral treatment histories were analyzed in comparison to subtype B sequences from 4,769 persons. The non-subtype-B sequences included 461 with subtype A, 1,185 with C, 331 with D, 245 with F, 293 with G, 513 with CRF01_AE, and 618 with CRF02_AG. Each of the 55 known subtype B drug-resistance mutations occurred in at least one non-B isolate, and 44 (80%) of these mutations were significantly associated with antiretroviral treatment in at least one non-B subtype. Conversely, of 67 mutations found to be associated with antiretroviral therapy in at least one non-B subtype, 61 were also associated with antiretroviral therapy in subtype B isolates. Conclusion Global surveillance and genotypic assessment of drug resistance should focus primarily on the known subtype B drug-resistance mutations.
THE PARASPORAL BODY OF BACILLUS LATEROSPORUS LAUBACH

On sporulation the slender vegetative rods swell and form larger spindle-shaped cells in which the spores are formed. When the spores mature they lie in a lateral position cradled in canoe-shaped parasporal bodies which are highly basophilic and can be differentiated from the surrounding vegetative cell cytoplasm with dilute basic dyes. On completion of sporulation the vegetative cell protoplasm and the cell wall lyse, leaving the spore cradled in its parasporal body. This attachment continues indefinitely on the usual culture medium and even persists after the spores have germinated. In thin sections of sporing cells the bodies are differentiated from the cell protoplasm by differences in structure. Whereas the protoplasm has a granular appearance, in both longitudinal and cross-sections the parasporal body comprises electron-dense lamellae running parallel with the membranes of the spore coat and less electron-dense material in the interstices of the lamellae. The inner surface of the body is contiguous with that of the spore coat as if it were part of the spore, rather than a separate body attached to the spore. The staining reactions of the parasporal body are not consistent with those of any substance described in bacteria. With Giemsa the bodies stain like chromatin, but the Feulgen reaction indicates that they do not contain the requisite nucleic acid. With an aqueous solution of toluidine blue they stain metachromatically, but with an acidified solution the results are variable. Neisser's stain for polyphosphate is negative. The basophilic substance is removed from the body with some organic solvents. This basophilic substance has not been specifically identified with any material seen in ultrathin sections, but it is suggested that it might be the less electron-dense material in the interstices of the lamellar structure. In contrast to the spore coat of B. laterosporus, those of its two relatives B. brevis and B. circulans take up basic stain like the parasporal body. Thin spore sections of these species have shown that the walls are thicker than those surrounding the spores of B. laterosporus, and it is suggested that the outer stainable layer of brevis and circulans spores is an accessory coat which in laterosporus may have been deformed to give a parasporal body.
A spread spectrum clock generator with phase-rotation algorithm for 6Gbps clock and data recovery

A low jitter phase-lock-loop (PLL) and a proposed spread-spectrum clock method for Serial ATA with phase rotation is presented. The low jitter PLL uses error amplifier to resolve the current mismatch in charge pump and the 3rd order loop filter is adopted to reduce the reference spur. A passive resistance is presented in our design to reduce the KVCO. Our spread spectrum clock generator (SSCG) for Serial ATA specification is down spread 5000 ppm with a triangular waveform and the modulation frequency is 30∼33KHz. Spread-spectrum technique using PLL with a Δ Σ modulator and phase rotation algorithm is reported. The proposed circuit has been designed in a 90-nm CMOS process. The non-spread spectrum clocking has a peak to peak jitter of 512fs and consumes 5.87mW at 1.4GHz. The EMI reduction is about 19.24dB.
Prevention of asthma: where are we in the 21st century?

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and, in the latter part of the 20th century, reached epidemic proportions. Asthma is generally believed to result from gene-environment interactions. There is consensus that a ‘window of opportunity’ exists during pregnancy and early in life when environmental factors may influence its development. We review multiple environmental, biologic and sociologic factors that may be important in the development of asthma. Meta-analyses of studies have demonstrated that multifaceted interventions are required in order to develop asthma prevention. Multifaceted allergen reduction studies have shown clinical benefits. Asthma represents a dysfunctional interaction with our genes and the environment to which they are exposed, especially in fetal and early infant life. The increasing prevalence of asthma also may be an indication of increased population risk for the development of other chronic non-communicable autoimmune diseases. This review will focus on the factors which may be important in the primary prevention of asthma. Better understanding of the complex gene–environment interactions involved in the development of asthma will provide insight into personalized interventions for asthma prevention.
Fast Em Learning of a Family of Pcfgs Kameya, Yoshitaka (ns Solutions)

The purpose of this report is to optimize the Inside-Outside algorithm and realize fast EM learning of various extensions of PCFGs. The point of our optimization is the introduction of a new data structure called support graphs hierarchically representing a set of parse trees and a new EM learning algorithm called the graphical EM algorithm that runs on them. Learning experiments with PCFGs using Japanese corpora of moderate size with contrasting characters indicate that in terms of updating time per iteration , the graphical EM algorithm can learn parameters of PCFGs orders of magnitude faster than the Inside-Outside algorithm. We also experimentally show that the graph-ical EM algorithm requires at most about twice as much time as a pure PCFG to learn parameters of extended PCFGs (a Pseudo PCSG and and a lexicalized PCFG).
MobiLearn: competence development for Nomads

Organizations in the new economy are dependent on organizational knowledge and competence. Workers in these organizations are to a large extent mobile. They need new competence development opportunities unrestrained by time and space. We have developed and successfully tested models, applications and activities (e.g. multimedia scenarios) supporting competence development. We are transferring this competence development activity to mobile settings to achieve successful competence development for nomads. The goal is identifying applications and services in the competence development realm suitable for 3G (third generation cellular networks). Combining our models and activities with the new technology we rethink how competence development can be conducted and managed.
A non-linear model for analysis of limit cycle behavior in CDR with bang-bang phase detector

Analysis of the control loop of clock-data recovery circuits (CDR) that use bang-bang phase detector is complicated by the fact that the loop behavior is determined by the jitter profile of the input signal. We present a method for constructing a non-linear average deviation model that permits fast simulation of the limit cycle behaviors. In addition, linear AC analysis performed on the model allow observing the control loop transfer functions. The main idea is to model the average behavior of the non-linear phase detector using the cumulative density function (CDF) of the total jitter. The random jitter (RJ) component is assumed Gaussian and the deterministic jitter (DJ) is modeled using a histogram approach. The total jitter CDF is obtained by convolving the RJ and DJ components. For ease of implementation in VerilogA, we use a polynomial approximation for the Gaussian CDF. Finally we present simulation results that show correlation with the long time consuming full circuit simulations.
One Case Each of Recurrent Meningitis and Hemoperitoneum Infection with Ralstonia mannitolilytica

ABSTRACT Two clinical cases of infection with Ralstonia mannitolilytica are described: a recurrent meningitis on an implanted intraventricular catheter and an infected hemoperitoneum as a complication of a cholangiocarcinoma. The strains were first misidentified as Pseudomonas fluorescens andBurkholderia cepacia. Further testing lead to the identification as Ralstonia pickettii biovar 3/“thomasii,” which was recently shown to represent a separate species, R. mannitolilytica (List editor N. Weiss, Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 51:795–796, 2001), originally described as R. mannitolytica (De Baere et al., Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 51:547–558, 2001). R. mannitolilytica can be distinguished from all described Ralstonia species by its acidification of d-arabitol and mannitol and by its lack of nitrate reduction and of alkalinization of tartrate. In order to determine the true prevalence of infections with this species, colistin-resistant “P. fluorescens” strains and strains growing on B. cepacia selective medium deserve further attention.
Winds and Chromospheres of Cool (Super‐) Giants

We summarise the CS15 splinter session dealing with the winds and chromospheres of cool giant and supergiant stars. The motivation behind the session was to bring together various researchers in the field with the purpose of forming some important common goals for future work, as well as to hear some of the latest results. We provide an overview of the results that were presented and highlight some of the main outcomes of the discussions.
Mammalian hibernation: a naturally reversible model for insulin resistance in man?

Mammalian hibernators such as ground squirrels store massive amounts of fat each autumn. These fat depots serve as the main source of metabolic fuel throughout the winter, gradually decreasing over a period of months until the animals emerge from hibernation each spring. Fat deposition occurs on an approximately annual, i.e. on a circannual, basis. Although this rhythm occurs in the absence of environmental temperature and light cues, it is entrained by the length of daylight, with peak fat deposition occurring as days shorten in the autumn. Here we examine the circannual cycle of hibernation, and then explore the similarities and differences between the obligatory, yet reversible, natural obesity and accompanying insulin resistance of natural hibernation, and the pandemic of human obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Nuclear Localization Signal and Protein Context both Mediate Importin α Specificity of Nuclear Import Substrates

ABSTRACT The “classical” nuclear protein import pathway depends on importin α and importin β. Importin α binds nuclear localization signal (NLS)-bearing proteins and functions as an adapter to access the importin β-dependent import pathway. In humans, only one importin β is known to interact with importin α, while six α importins have been described. Various experimental approaches provided evidence that several substrates are transported specifically by particular α importins. Whether the NLS is sufficient to mediate importin α specificity is unclear. To address this question, we exchanged the NLSs of two well-characterized import substrates, the seven-bladed propeller protein RCC1, preferentially transported into the nucleus by importin α3, and the less specifically imported substrate nucleoplasmin. In vitro binding studies and nuclear import assays revealed that both NLS and protein context contribute to the specificity of importin α binding and transport.
Gelucire 44/14 based immediate release formulations for poorly water-soluble drugs

Here, we aim to evaluate Gelucire 44/14 as non-ionic surface-active excipient to produce immediate-release solid dosage forms for poorly water-soluble drugs. Gelucires are polyethylene glycol (PEG) glycerides composed of mono-, di- and triglycerides and mono- and diesters of PEG. They are inert semi-solid waxy amphiphilic excipients with surface-active properties that spontaneously form a fine dispersion or emulsion upon contact with water. Monolithic Gelucire 44/14 structures are prone to prolonged erosion times, thereby slowing down drug dissolution. To overcome this issue, we combine either granulation or spray-drying, followed by compression into tablets, with an optimized composition of disintegration promoting agents. This formulation strategy allows obtaining nearly 100% drug release within 10 min dissolution time.
Ultrafast phase-change logic device driven by melting processes

Significance The ever-increasing demand for faster computers is tackled by reducing the size of devices, but this is becoming almost impossible to continue. To improve the speed of computers, a solution is to increase the number of operations performed per device. Numerous operations in phase-change–based “in-memory” logic devices have previously been achieved using crystallization, but they show slow speeds, mostly due to a trade-off between the crystallization speed and stability of the initialized-glassy states. Here, we instead control melting processes to perform logic operations. Ultrafast melting speeds and diverse operations were achieved. Computer simulations and electrical measurements show the origin and kinetics of melting. These advances open the doorway for developing computers that can perform calculations at well beyond current processing rates. The ultrahigh demand for faster computers is currently tackled by traditional methods such as size scaling (for increasing the number of devices), but this is rapidly becoming almost impossible, due to physical and lithographic limitations. To boost the speed of computers without increasing the number of logic devices, one of the most feasible solutions is to increase the number of operations performed by a device, which is largely impossible to achieve using current silicon-based logic devices. Multiple operations in phase-change–based logic devices have been achieved using crystallization; however, they can achieve mostly speeds of several hundreds of nanoseconds. A difficulty also arises from the trade-off between the speed of crystallization and long-term stability of the amorphous phase. We here instead control the process of melting through premelting disordering effects, while maintaining the superior advantage of phase-change–based logic devices over silicon-based logic devices. A melting speed of just 900 ps was achieved to perform multiple Boolean algebraic operations (e.g., NOR and NOT). Ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations and in situ electrical characterization revealed the origin (i.e., bond buckling of atoms) and kinetics (e.g., discontinuouslike behavior) of melting through premelting disordering, which were key to increasing the melting speeds. By a subtle investigation of the well-characterized phase-transition behavior, this simple method provides an elegant solution to boost significantly the speed of phase-change–based in-memory logic devices, thus paving the way for achieving computers that can perform computations approaching terahertz processing rates.