Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Computational Model for Epidural Electrical Stimulation of Spinal Sensorimotor Circuits

Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) of lumbosacral segments can restore a range of movements after spinal cord injury. However, the mechanisms and neural structures through which EES facilitates movement execution remain unclear. Here, we designed a computational model and performed in vivo experiments to investigate the type of fibers, neurons, and circuits recruited in response to EES. We first developed a realistic finite element computer model of rat lumbosacral segments to identify the currents generated by EES. To evaluate the impact of these currents on sensorimotor circuits, we coupled this model with an anatomically realistic axon-cable model of motoneurons, interneurons, and myelinated afferent fibers for antagonistic ankle muscles. Comparisons between computer simulations and experiments revealed the ability of the model to predict EES-evoked motor responses over multiple intensities and locations. Analysis of the recruited neural structures revealed the lack of direct influence of EES on motoneurons and interneurons. Simulations and pharmacological experiments demonstrated that EES engages spinal circuits trans-synaptically through the recruitment of myelinated afferent fibers. The model also predicted the capacity of spatially distinct EES to modulate side-specific limb movements and, to a lesser extent, extension versus flexion. These predictions were confirmed during standing and walking enabled by EES in spinal rats. These combined results provide a mechanistic framework for the design of spinal neuroprosthetic systems to improve standing and walking after neurological disorders.
Establishing System-Wide Evaluations : Program-Centered Evaluation and The National Science Foundation ' s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers

The new generation of "partnership-based" technology initiatives, including the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, invariably involve a variety of stakeholder groups, including: federal and state-level sponsors, local institutions and their program staff, and customers. Since each group tends to have different information needs, the ideal evaluation should incorporate diverse evaluation approaches including, monitoring, summative, and formative evaluations. Unfortunately, a variety of forces tend to produce evaluations which are "sponsor-centered", that is, they emphasize the information needs of sponsors, often to the neglect of program staff and customer needs. This paper will describe a technology program evaluation which has avoided this problem by stressing a "program-centered" approach. Centers (IUCRC) Program attempts to promote research development and technology transfer by creating university-based industrial consortia. The IUCRC's program-centered evaluation emphasizes: flexibility, a focus on critical program processes and outcomes and timely feedback of information. The overriding goal of this element of the evaluation effort is to aide continuous improvement. The linchpin of the IUCRC evaluation system is the on-site, local evaluator. This individual is responsible for collecting qualitative data via observation and quantitative data via a standardized process/outcome questionnaire. The "real-time reconnaissance" obtained through the participant-observer role can be feedback quickly and informally and serves as an "early warning system". Use of feedback based on the standardized process/outcome questionnaire has facilitated national benchmarking and identification of empirically-based "best-242 practices" on a variety of dimensions including: satisfaction with research and administration and technical and commercialization outcomes. The IUCRC evaluation effort demonstrates that program, as well as sponsor, information needs can be met within the same evaluation effort. For the IUCRC program the payoffs from this approach include the active support of program staff for the evaluation, a climate which encourages and reinforces continuous improvement, and feedback from "customers" which indicate the program continues to meet their needs. Efforts to support continuous improvement will be enhanced with the imminent release of an "management handbook", another spin-off of the evaluation effort.
Talking Nets : exploring a multi-agent , connectionist model of distributed communication and cognition

This research project is proposed by a multidisciplinary team led by F. Heylighen and F. Van Overwalle. Its members have expertise in cognitive science, psychology, AI, philosophy, economics, political science, and linguistics, and advanced research experience in connectionist simulation, multi-agent systems, computer-mediated communication and group experiments. The project aims to further test and develop our new " Talking Nets " simulation model of distributed cognition published in Psychological Review [Van Overwalle & Heylighen, 2006]. Distributed cognition concerns the information processing and learning that occurs on the social level, by the propagation of information from agent to agent across a social network. Our simulation has accurately replicated the results of half a dozen key experiments in social psychology, illustrating such effects like persuasion, polarization and the reinforcement of stereotypes during group communication. The simulation models individuals as recurrent connectionist networks who are themselves connected by a social network of trust-based links. Both individual and social networks learn from experience, by strenghtening links whose expectations are confirmed. While the model is relatively simple and apparently powerful in predicting known effects, its assumptions and implications are broad, abstract and complex, requiring extensive further testing and exploration. We propose to investigate the remaining issues using four complementary methodologies: 1) multi-agent simulations, 2) individual psychological experiments, 3) group experiments, 4) development and monitoring of Internet-based social software to support distributed cognition. These methods should clarify at least the following issues: What is the precise role of trust in communication? Which social structures emerge from trust-based links? Which information is preferentially propagated across such network? Under which circumstances is the eventual consensual belief better (" collective intelligence ") or worse (" groupthink ") than the individual beliefs?
Distinct roles of MLCK and ROCK in the regulation of membrane protrusions and focal adhesion dynamics during cell migration of fibroblasts

We examined the role of regulatory myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation of myosin II in cell migration of fibroblasts. Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) inhibition blocked MLC phosphorylation at the cell periphery, but not in the center. MLCK-inhibited cells did not assemble zyxin-containing adhesions at the periphery, but maintained focal adhesions in the center. They generated membrane protrusions all around the cell, turned more frequently, and migrated less effectively. In contrast, Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) inhibition blocked MLC phosphorylation in the center, but not at the periphery. ROCK-inhibited cells assembled zyxin-containing adhesions at the periphery, but not focal adhesions in the center. They moved faster and more straight. On the other hand, inhibition of myosin phosphatase increased MLC phosphorylation and blocked peripheral membrane ruffling, as well as turnover of focal adhesions and cell migration. Our results suggest that myosin II activated by MLCK at the cell periphery controls membrane ruffling, and that the spatial regulation of MLC phosphorylation plays critical roles in controlling cell migration of fibroblasts.
The technical demands of amateur boxing: Effect of contest outcome, weight and ability

As research to-date has typically considered the technical features of amateur boxing performance with respect to contest outcome only, this study examined the offensive and defensive technical demands with respect to the independent and interactive effects of contest outcome, weight class and ability. Appraising eight offensive and four defensive actions and their corresponding outcomes (successful/unsuccessful), the technical demands of competitive boxing from 92 English amateurs (age: 22.3 ± 3.9 y; body mass: 67.2 ± 13.0 kg) across 11 weight categories (48 – 91+ kg) and two standards of competition (regional and national) were notated using computerized software. Data analysis reinforced that amateur boxing produces high technical loads (e.g. ∼ 25 punches and ∼ 10 defences per minute) and that performance is influenced significantly by the study’s independent variables. In particular, boxing standard (ability) was positively associated with external load (frequency of offensive and defensive actions), and winning was associated with high offensive and low defensive frequencies, whereas weight class had an inconsistent impact on technical performance. It is recommended that appraisals of performance and approaches to training and competition should take heed of our observations and that future research considers the role of other independent variables, including opposition quality and ‘style’, likely to affect boxing performance.
A senescent cell bystander effect: senescence-induced senescence

Senescent cells produce and secrete various bioactive molecules including interleukins, growth factors, matrix‐degrading enzymes and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thus, it has been proposed that senescent cells can damage their local environment, and a stimulatory effect on tumour cell growth and invasiveness has been documented. However, it was unknown what effect, if any, senescent cells have on their normal, proliferation‐competent counterparts. We show here that senescent cells induce a DNA damage response, characteristic for senescence, in neighbouring cells via gap junction‐mediated cell–cell contact and processes involving ROS. Continuous exposure to senescent cells induced cell senescence in intact bystander fibroblasts. Hepatocytes bearing senescence markers clustered together in mice livers. Thus, senescent cells can induce a bystander effect, spreading senescence towards their neighbours in vitro and, possibly, in vivo.
Finding optimal Bayesian networks using precedence constraints

We consider the problem of finding a directed acyclic graph (DAG) that optimizes a decomposable Bayesian network score. While in a favorable case an optimal DAG can be found in polynomial time, in the worst case the fastest known algorithms rely on dynamic programming across the node subsets, taking time and space 2n, to within a factor polynomial in the number of nodes n. In practice, these algorithms are feasible to networks of at most around 30 nodes, mainly due to the large space requirement. Here, we generalize the dynamic programming approach to enhance its feasibility in three dimensions: first, the user may trade space against time; second, the proposed algorithms easily and efficiently parallelize onto thousands of processors; third, the algorithms can exploit any prior knowledge about the precedence relation on the nodes. Underlying all these results is the key observation that, given a partial order P on the nodes, an optimal DAG compatible with P can be found in time and space roughly proportional to the number of ideals of P, which can be significantly less than 2n. Considering sufficiently many carefully chosen partial orders guarantees that a globally optimal DAG will be found. Aside from the generic scheme, we present and analyze concrete tradeoff schemes based on parallel bucket orders.
Chronic blockade of endothelin A and B receptors using macitentan in experimental renovascular disease.

BACKGROUND Emerging research has identified the endothelin (ET)-1 pathway as a potential target for novel renoprotective therapies. We recently showed that selective ET-A receptor antagonism in chronic renovascular disease (RVD) improves renal function and reduces renal injury. Although ET-A and -B have opposing roles, in some clinical situations they may induce similar effects. Thus, we hypothesized that simultaneous blockade of the ET-A and -B receptors would protect the kidney during RVD. METHODS Unilateral RVD was induced in pigs. After 6 weeks, single-kidney function was quantified in vivo using multi-detector computer tomography. Pigs were subsequently divided into untreated (RVD, n = 7) or daily-treated with the dual ET-A/B receptor antagonist macitentan (RVD + macitentan, n = 6) for 4 weeks. At 10 weeks, in vivo studies were repeated, then pigs were euthanized and ex vivo studies performed in the stenotic kidney to quantify inflammation, fibrosis, microvascular density and remodeling. RESULTS Four weeks of macitentan therapy modestly improved renal blood flow (29%, P = 0.06 versus pre-treatment) and showed protective effects on the renal parenchyma by attenuating inflammation and glomerulosclerosis, reducing apoptosis and tubular casts and improving albuminuria and cortical microvessel density. No overt adverse effects were observed. CONCLUSION Possibly by inducing a pro-survival renal microenvironment, macitentan increased renal microvascular density, promoted cell survival and decreased injury, which in turn improved stenotic kidney hemodynamics in our model. Our results further support the safety of using macitentan in patients with concomitant chronic renal disease and supported the feasibility of a new strategy that may preserve the stenotic kidney in RVD.
How to Secure a Wireless Sensor Network

The security of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a complex issue. While security research of WSNs is progressing at a tremendous pace, and many security techniques have been proposed, no comprehensive framework has so far emerged that attempts to tie the bits and pieces together to ease the implementors' adoption of the technologies. We answer the challenge by proposing a guidelines according to which WSN security can be implemented in practice.
Journal of Insect Science: Vol. 2006 | Article 28

A new virus that infects and causes increased mortality in leafhoppers was isolated from the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata (Say) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). The virus, named Homalodisca coagulata virus -1, HoCV-1, was associated with increased mortality of cultured 5th instar H. coagulata. To identify the presence of H. coagulata viral pathogens, cDNA expression libraries were made from adult and nymphs. Analysis using reverse transcriptase PCR demonstrated that the virus was present in midgut tissues. As the viral capsid proteins are commonly used in classification of newly discovered viruses, the capsid proteins (CP) of the virus discovered in H. coagulata was examined. The order of the polyprotein subunits of HoCV-1 capsid proteins was determined to be CP2, CP4, CP3, and CP1. The CP4/CP3 (AFGL/GKPK) cleavage boundary site was clearly identified when the sequences were aligned. The putative CP3/CP1 (ADVQ/SAFA) cleavage site and the putative CP2/CP4 (VTMQ/EQSA) cleavage site of HoCV-1, respectively, were located in the same region as that of the other viruses. After alignment, the CP3/CP1 cleavage sites and CP2/CP4 cleavage sites of the viruses analyzed fell within 50 amino acids of one another. As with the cricket paralysis virus, HoCV-1 was found to be mainly comprised of β-sandwiches in CP1-3 with a jelly roll topological motif. CP4 of HoCV-1 appeared to be mainly α-helical in structure. CP1-4 domains are most homologous to insect picorna-like virus coat proteins as was demonstrated by the Results of the BLASTP and PSI-BLAST tests, and is strongly supported by the structural modeling. While sequence homology between the cricket paralysis virus and HoCV-1 was low, the global structure of the proteins was conserved. Sequence identities were analyzed by in silico comparison to known genes in the public database, NCBI. Phylogenetic analysis performed using the optimized protein alignment generated a phylogram containing 5 clades. Clade 1 consisted of Drosophila C virus, Clade 2 consisted of cricket paralysis virus, Clade 3 of Triatoma virus, Plautia stali intestine virus, Himetobi P virus, black queen cell virus, and HoCV-1. Clade 4 encompassed acute bee paralysis virus and Kashmir bee virus, and Clade 5 consisted of Rhopalosiphum padi virus. Analysis of the capsid protein of this new leafhopper virus provided significant evidence that it is related to other ssRNA insect viruses within the Family, Dicistroviridae. The HoCV-1, capsid protein sequence has been deposited in GenBank, Accession number: DQ308403.
Efficient and Robust Congestion Estimation for Dynamic WDM Networks

Emerging applications require high-bandwidth network connectivity on demand, exacerbating the already bursty nature of data traffic and motivating the development of new dynamic management techniques for the wavelengthbased optical backbones underlying the Internet. This paper focuses on the problem of routing new connection requests in such an environment, introducing efficient algorithms as well as models that help to provide a deeper understanding of the algorithms’ benefits. We first introduce a threshold-based Congestion Aware Routing (CAR) algorithm that leverages quick congestion estimation and admission control techniques to dynamically shift between lowand high-load strategies. Using the link load information from a prospective path, the congestion estimator responds effectively to localized congestions. By adapting to observed congestion levels, this algorithm provides reductions in blocking that are robust to variations in offered load and traffic. We also develop a model that illuminates the choice of threshold used by our algorithm to determine the level of congestion, and build improved routing algorithms (CAR-C/M) with robust congestion estimation techniques. Simulation results show that our algorithms, at a low cost, not only reduce call blocking over a wide range of loads, but provide better admission probability for long connections. We also compare several routing algorithms under the influence of network scaling and misdimensioning. Our algorithms are simpler in implementation and threshold parameter selection compared with previous admission control algorithms, sustaining good performance under various network conditions.
Named Entity Recognition as a House of Cards: Classifier Stacking

This paper presents a classifier stacking-based approach to the named entity recognition task (NER henceforth). Transformation-based learning (Brill, 1995), Snow (sparse network of winnows (Munoz et al., 1999)) and a forward-backward algorithm are stacked (the output of one classifier is passed as input to the next classifier), yielding considerable improvement in performance. In addition, in agreement with other studies on the same problem, the enhancement of the feature space (in the form of capitalization information) is shown to be especially beneficial to this task.
Contemporary Web Service Discovery Mechanisms

The introduction of software development via Web Services has been the most significant web engineering paradigm, in the last years. The widely acknowledged importance of the Web Services' concept lies in the fact that they provide a platform independent answer to the software component development question. Equally important are the mechanisms that allow for Web Service discovery, especially as the latter has turn to an arduous task. This paper critically presents the latest methods, architectures, models and concerns that have arisen in the Web Service Discovery area.
PRONET: Proactive context-aware support for mobility in heterogeneous access networks

This paper presents a blueprint for proactive context-aware mobility support architecture for heterogeneous access networks called PRONET. In particular, we leverage upon the principles of cognitive networking to support proactive context-awareness for user-centric application adaptation via quality-of-experience (QoE) provisioning. Our proposed architecture is built upon port-based multi-homed mobile IPv6 (PM-MIPv6) solution to support several applications via path diversity. In this paper our contributions are two-fold. Firstly, we identify and present gaps in our research domain related to mobility, QoE, cognitive networks and cross-layer design. We then present our architecture for providing seamless mobility in heterogeneous access networks. Currently, we are in the process of collecting results via our test bed and prototype implementation for 802.11g and HSDPA wireless networks.
A framework for integrating perception, action, and trial-and-error learning

Meliora is a system being developed at the University of Rochester that learns to assemble objects from random piles of blocks. It is a testbed for exploring issues in Integrated Architectures. It is based on a control architecture that is reactive, adaptive, has an active -but limited- sensory system, has a limited internal representation, and does not depend on a priori domain knowledge. In these working notes, we describe Meliora's control architecture, discuss its features and limitations, and describe how it can be integrated with more "intelligent" mechanisms that improve its performance. The notes are organized around the question set laid out by the Program Committee.
Design of distributed honeypot system based on intrusion tracking

Nowdays firewall technology in the field of the network security has been used widely, however, facing to various means of attacks, the vulnerability and limitations of firewall technology are more obvious. The paper discusses the honeypot technology in the field of the network security technology. According to the existed shortage of honeypot system, the distributed honeypot intrusion system based on intrusion tracking was proposed. The system uses distributed deployment. It expands the network area, and uses the package marking technology to identify sources of real attacks. The existed network is protected better.
Integration testing criteria for mobile robotic systems

Testing activity applied to mobile robotic systems is a challenge because new features, such as non-determinism of inputs, communication among components and time constraints must be considered. Simulation has been used to support the development and validation of these systems. Coverage testing criteria can contribute to this scenario adding mechanisms for measuring quality during the development of systems. This paper presents a test model and a set of coverage criteria to test the interaction among the components of mobile robotic systems. The model and criteria focus on robotic systems developed in ROS, a Robotic Operational System in which communication is established through publish/subscribe interaction schema. The testing criteria were evaluated using a robotic application. The results confirm that the use of coverage testing criteria has advantages for integration testing of mobile robotic systems.
Computationally Convenient Distributional Assumptions for Common-Value Auctions

Although the mathematical foundations of common-value auctions have been well understood since Milgrom and Weber (1982), equilibrium bidding strategies are computationally complex. Very few calculated examples can be found in the literature, and only for highly specialized cases. This paper introduces two sets of distributional assumptions that are flexible enough for theoretical and empirical applications, yet permit straightforward calculation of equilibrium bidding strategies.