Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TRANSFORMATIONS OF TASK-DEPENDENT PLASTICITY FROM A1 TO HIGHER-ORDER AUDITORY CORTEX

Title of dissertation: TRANSFORMATIONS OF TASK-DEPENDENT PLASTICITY FROM A1 TO HIGHER-ORDER AUDITORY CORTEX Diego E. Elgueda, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Shihab Shamma, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Everyday, humans and animals navigate complex acoustic environments, where multiple sound sources overlap. Somehow, they effortlessly perform an acoustic scene analysis and extract relevant signals from background noise. Constant updating of the behavioral relevance of ambient sounds requires the representation and integration of incoming acoustical information with internal representations such as behavioral goals, expectations and memories of previous sound-meaning associations. Rapid plasticity of auditory representations may contribute to our ability to attend and focus on relevant sounds. In order to better understand how auditory representations are transformed in the brain to incorporate behavioral contextual information, we explored task-dependent plasticity in neural responses recorded at four levels of the auditory cortical processing hierarchy of ferrets: the primary auditory cortex (A1), two higher-order auditory areas (dorsal PEG and ventral-anterior PEG) and dorso-lateral frontal cortex. In one study we explored the laminar profile of rapid-task related plasticity in A1 and found that plasticity occurred at all depths, but was greatest in supragranular layers. This result suggests that rapid task-related plasticity in A1 derives primarily from intracortical modulation of neural selectivity. In two other studies we explored task-dependent plasticity in two higher-order areas of the ferret auditory cortex that may correspond to belt (secondary) and parabelt (tertiary) auditory areas. We found that representations of behaviorallyrelevant sounds are progressively enhanced during performance of auditory tasks. These selective enhancement effects became progressively larger as you ascend the auditory cortical hierarchy. We also observed neuronal responses to non-auditory, task-related information (reward timing, expectations) in the parabelt area that were very similar to responses previously described in frontal cortex. These results suggests that auditory representations in the brain are transformed from the more veridical spectrotemporal information encoded in earlier auditory stages to a more abstract representation encoding sound behavioral meaning in higher-order auditory areas and dorso-lateral frontal cortex. TRANSFORMATIONS OF TASK-DEPENDENT PLASTICITY FROM A1 TO HIGHER-ORDER AUDITORY CORTEX
Social robots - emotional agents: Some remarks on naturalizing man-machine interaction

The construction of embodied conversational agents – robots as well as avatars – seem to be a new challenge in the field of both cognitive AI and human-computer-interface development. On the one hand, one aims at gaining new insights in the development of cognition and communication by constructing intelligent, physical instantiated artefacts. On the other hand people are driven by the idea, that humanlike mechanical dialog-partners will have a positive effect on human-machine-communication. In this contribution I put for discussion whether the visions of scientist in this field are plausible and which problems might arise by the realization of such projects.
Satisfaction Degree of the Supply Chain Network Time Risk Considering Degradable Characteristic

The response time problem of every sector is likely to result in the risk of time in the supply chain, and we call problems of these kinds the link degradation. This paper, based on the characteristics of the time risks of the supply chain, proposes the concept of supply chain degradation. Discrete and continuous are classified according to the characteristics of supply chain degradation. By analyzing the response of the two types of degradation, the methods to calculate the processing time risk are proposed for both the discrete and continuous degradation. Besides, it also offers the methods to calculate the satisfaction of risk processing of degradation network, and demonstrates their effectiveness through examples.
Virtual Interactomics of Proteins from Biochemical Standpoint

Virtual interactomics represents a rapidly developing scientific area on the boundary line of bioinformatics and interactomics. Protein-related virtual interactomics then comprises instrumental tools for prediction, simulation, and networking of the majority of interactions important for structural and individual reproduction, differentiation, recognition, signaling, regulation, and metabolic pathways of cells and organisms. Here, we describe the main areas of virtual protein interactomics, that is, structurally based comparative analysis and prediction of functionally important interacting sites, mimotope-assisted and combined epitope prediction, molecular (protein) docking studies, and investigation of protein interaction networks. Detailed information about some interesting methodological approaches and online accessible programs or databases is displayed in our tables. Considerable part of the text deals with the searches for common conserved or functionally convergent protein regions and subgraphs of conserved interaction networks, new outstanding trends and clinically interesting results. In agreement with the presented data and relationships, virtual interactomic tools improve our scientific knowledge, help us to formulate working hypotheses, and they frequently also mediate variously important in silico simulations.
Adherence to local hospital guidelines for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis: a multicentre audit in Dutch hospitals.

OBJECTIVE To study the adherence to local hospital guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery, and explore reasons for non-adherence. METHODS A prospective, multicentre audit of elective procedures, without prior suspicion of infection, was carried out in 13 Dutch hospitals. By reviewing medical, anaesthetic and nursing records, and medication charts, the prescription of antibiotics was compared with the local hospital guideline on antibiotic choice, duration of prophylaxis, dose, dosing interval and timing of the first dose. RESULTS Between January 2000 and January 2001, 1763 procedures were studied. Antibiotic choice, duration, dose, dosing interval and timing of the first dose were concordant with the hospital guideline in 92%, 82%, 89%, 43% and 50%, respectively. Overall adherence to all aspects of the guideline, however, was achieved in only 28%. The most important barriers to local guideline adherence were lack of awareness due to ineffective distribution of the most recent version of the guidelines, lack of agreement by surgeons with the local hospital guidelines, and environmental factors, such as organizational constraints in the surgical suite and in the ward. CONCLUSION This study shows that, although adherence to separate aspects of local hospital guidelines for surgical prophylaxis in the Netherlands is favourable, overall adherence to all parameters is hard to achieve. Adherence to guidelines on dosing interval and timing needs improvement, in particular. To increase the quality of antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery, effort should be put into developing guidelines acceptable to surgeons, in adequately distributing the guidelines and to facilitating logistics. Audits of surgical prophylaxis may help hospitals identify barriers to guideline adherence.
An Imaging and Spectroscopic Study of the zabs = 3.38639 Damped Lyα System in Q0201+1120: Clues to Star Formation at High Redshift

We present the results of a series of imaging and spectroscopic observations aimed at identifying and studying the galaxy responsible for the zabs = 3.38639 damped Lyα system in the zem = 3.61 quasar Q0201+1120. We find that the damped Lyα systems (DLA) is part of a concentration of matter that includes at least four galaxies (probably many more) over linear comoving dimensions greater than 5 h-1 Mpc. The absorber may be a 0.7L* galaxy at an impact parameter of 15 h-1 kpc, but follow-up spectroscopy is still required for positive identification. The gas is turbulent, with many absorption components distributed over ~270 km s-1 and a large spin temperature, Ts ≳ 4000 K. The metallicity is relatively high for this redshift, ZDLA ≃ 1/20 Z☉. From consideration of the relative ratios of elements that have different nucleosynthetic timescales, it would appear that the last major episode of star formation in this DLA occurred at z ≳ 4.3, more than ~500 Myr prior to the time when we observe it.
Importance of Suitable Reference Gene Selection for Quantitative Real-Time PCR: Special Reference to Mouse Myocardial Infarction Studies

Background Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is a widely used technique for gene expression analysis. Its reliability is highly dependent upon selection of the appropriate reference genes for accurate gene expression normalization. In this study, we investigated the expression stability of 10 commonly used reference genes in a mouse myocardial infarction model. Methods & Results The expression stability of the 10 reference genes (Actb, B2m, Eef1a1, Gapdh, Hprt, Polr2a, Ppia, Rpl13a, Tbp, Tpt1) was analyzed using the geNorm software. Overall, the combination of Hprt, Rpl13a and Tpt1 was the most stable reference gene set in our experiments. Gapdh, Polr2a and Actb consistently showed the highest gene expression variability and the expression levels of Gapdh, Polr2a, Actb, B2m and Eef1a1 were found to be selectively up- or downregulated after myocardial infarction. We normalized the expression of Nppb and Vcam1, using different reference gene strategies and demonstrated that their induction after myocardial infarction was most clearly revealed with the optimal reference gene combination. However, the use of suboptimal reference gene combinations resulted in detrimental effects on gene expression levels and variability with a gradual loss of the expression differences and a significant reduction in statistical power. Conclusions Hprt, Rpl13a and Tpt1 are a set of stably expressed reference genes for accurate gene expression normalization in myocardial infarction studies in mice. We found that Gapdh, Polr2a and Actb display high expression variability in mouse myocardial infarction tissues and that loss of statistical power and increase in sample size are the evident consequences of choosing suboptimal combinations of reference genes. We furthermore caution against the use of Gapdh, Polr2a, Actb, B2m and Eef1a1 for gene expression normalization in myocardial infarction studies because of selective up- or downregulation after myocardial infarction, which could potentially lead to biased study outcomes.
Modelling LDO voltage regulator REG 104–5V

Many electronic circuits and systems operating at low voltages are battery-powered. As a linear voltage regulator is used to this end, it has to be characterized by a high power efficiency, which can be achieved by a low voltage drop (LDO) across a pass element. In this paper a d.c. model of the voltage regulator LDO REG 104-5 V is presented. The theoretical considerations are illustrated by the results of measurements and calculations.
Towards realistic codon models: among site variability and dependency of synonymous and non-synonymous rates

Codon evolutionary models are widely used to infer the selection forces acting on a protein. The non-synonymous to synonymous rate ratio (denoted by Ka/Ks) is used to infer specific positions that are under purifying or positive selection. Current evolutionary models usually assume that only the non-synonymous rates vary among sites while the synonymous substitution rates are constant. This assumption ignores the possibility of selection forces acting at the DNA or mRNA levels. Towards a more realistic description of sequence evolution, we present a model that accounts for among-site-variation of both synonymous and non-synonymous substitution rates. Furthermore, we alleviate the widespread assumption that positions evolve independently of each other. Thus, possible sources of bias caused by random fluctuations in either the synonymous or non-synonymous rate estimations at a single site is removed. Our model is based on two hidden Markov models that operate on the spatial dimension: one describes the dependency between adjacent non-synonymous rates while the other describes the dependency between adjacent synonymous rates. The presented model is applied to study the selection pressure across the HIV-1 genome. The new model better describes the evolution of all HIV-1 genes, as compared to current codon models. Using both simulations and real data analyses, we illustrate that accounting for synonymous rate variability and dependency greatly increases the accuracy of Ka/Ks estimation and in particular of positively selected sites. Finally, we discuss the applicability of the developed model to infer the selection forces in regulatory and overlapping regions of the HIV-1 genome.
Land Cover Classification based on the Universal Pattern Decomposition Method

* Corresponding author. E-mail: zhanglifu01@yahoo.com. cn Abstract – The universal pattern decomposition method (UPDM) has been successfully applied to simulated data for Landsat/ETM+, Terra/MODIS, ADEOS-II/GLI and others using ground-measured data. The UPDM is tailored to decrease dimensions of hyper multi-spectral data that have sensor-independent characteristics and thus exploit hyper multi-spectral remotely sensed data classification. In this study, we classified Landsat/ETM+ data via a transformation of the original reflectance spectral space to the UPDM subspace. Classification accuracy was compared using results from UPDM and the primary component transformation (PCT). Classification results for ETM+ data were also compared using several traditional classifiers. The UPDM and the PCT showed similar classification accuracy. The UPDM sub-space has definitive physical meanings. Classification results using UPDM are sensor-independent, which are very significant for comparison of results derived from different data.
The Comparison of response inhibition , planning and reconstitution of thought in ADHD and normal children

Attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity (ADHD) is the most common childhood disorders. In explaining ADHD is referred to deficits in executive functions. Hence, the objective of the current study is to compare some executive functions in ADHD and normal children. In this present study, 25 ADHD children of combined subtype, 25 ADHD children of inattentive subtype and 25 normal children were selected. In this study, the children symptom inventory, Raven’s Coloure Progressive Matricies Test (RCPM), Stroop ColorWord Test, Tower of Hanoi puzzle, and Vygotsky’s test were used. In order to analyze data, the researcher used MANOVA and follow-up test. The results indicated that there is significant difference between response inhibition, planning and reconstitution of thought in ADHD and normal children. The result also indicates that the function of ADHD children with combined subtype were weaker than attention ADHD children with inattentive subtype. It can be concluded that ADHD children have deficit in executive functions. But it is necessary to note that there are different executive functions in subtypes of this disorder. [Esmail Kheirjoo, Farnaz farshbaf manei sefat, Sarvin ansar hosien. The Comparison of response inhibition, planning and reconstitution of thought in ADHD and normal children. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):1383-1388] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 209
A Generalized Context-aware Architecture in Heterogeneous Mobile Computing Environments

The rapid development in the mobile computing domain has significantly expedited the utilization of context-aware systems. Present approaches utilizing awareness of context specialize on their unique domain of employment. Although similarities between those approaches exist, the correspondent concepts and systems are vastly heterogeneous. Another aspect of the rapid evolution of mobile computing is the emergence of a highly heterogeneous spectrum of technologies. This issue complicates the demand for interoperability, which is inherent in mobile computing environments. However, as with context-aware research, most of present approaches addressing heterogeneity are specializing on solving the problem domain-specifically. In this paper, we present a conceptualization on generalizing both context-awareness and heterogeneity-handling in mobile computing environments. Concluding, we derive a general architecture, which overcomes the heterogeneity issues present in both context-awareness and interoperability domains.
Fluvial sedimentary deposits on Mars: Ancient deltas in a crater lake in the Nili Fossae region

New spacecraft observations in the Nili Fossae region of Mars reveal two valley networks (∼80 and ∼200 km long) that each formed distributary fans as they entered an ancient 40‐km diameter impact crater. An outlet channel on the eastern crater rim, lying at an elevation above the fans, suggests these fans formed as subaqueous deltas in a crater lake. Water flowing in the valley networks entered the crater and deposited the fans, and ponded to a maximum depth of about 450 m. The lake then overtopped and breached the crater rim, incising it and dropping the lake level by ∼100 m. Geological evidence, combined with the volume of water necessary to fill the crater, suggests the duration of flow through this system was prolonged. The existence of the deposits described here implies that the early Martian environment supported overland flow and ponding of water for an extended period of time.
Rho/ROCK-dependent inhibition of 3T3-L1 adipogenesis by G-protein-deamidating dermonecrotic toxins: differential regulation of Notch1, Pref1/Dlk1, and β-catenin signaling

The dermonecrotic toxins from Pasteurella multocida (PMT), Bordetella (DNT), Escherichia coli (CNF1-3), and Yersinia (CNFY) modulate their G-protein targets through deamidation and/or transglutamination of an active site Gln residue, which results in activation of the G protein and its cognate downstream signaling pathways. Whereas DNT and the CNFs act on small Rho GTPases, PMT acts on the α subunit of heterotrimeric Gq, Gi, and G12/13 proteins. We previously demonstrated that PMT potently blocks adipogenesis and adipocyte differentiation in a calcineurin-independent manner through downregulation of Notch1 and stabilization of β-catenin and Pref1/Dlk1, key proteins in signaling pathways strongly linked to cell fate decisions, including fat and bone development. Here, we report that similar to PMT, DNT, and CNF1 completely block adipogenesis and adipocyte differentiation by preventing upregulation of adipocyte markers, PPARγ and C/EBPα, while stabilizing the expression of Pref1/Dlk1 and β-catenin. We show that the Rho/ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 prevented or reversed these toxin-mediated effects, strongly supporting a role for Rho/ROCK signaling in dermonecrotic toxin-mediated inhibition of adipogenesis and adipocyte differentiation. Toxin treatment was also accompanied by downregulation of Notch1 expression, although this inhibition was independent of Rho/ROCK signaling. We further show that PMT-mediated downregulation of Notch1 expression occurs primarily through G12/13 signaling. Our results reveal new details of the pathways involved in dermonecrotic toxin action on adipocyte differentiation, and the role of Rho/ROCK signaling in mediating toxin effects on Wnt/β-catenin and Notch1 signaling, and in particular the role of Gq and G12/13 in mediating PMT effects on Rho/ROCK and Notch1 signaling.
Determining general term weighting schemes for the Vector Space Model of Information Retrieval using Genetic Programming

Term weighting schemes play a vital role in the performance of many Information Retrieval models. The vector space model is one such model in which the weights applied to the document terms are of crucial importance to the accuracy of the retrieval system. This paper outlines a procedure using genetic programming to automatically determine term weighting schemes that achieve a high average precision. The schemes are tested on standard test collections and are shown to perform consistantly better than the traditional tf-idf weighting schemes. We present an analysis of the evolved weighting schemes to explain their increase in performance. These term weighting schemes are shown to be general across various collections and are shown to adhere to Luhn’s theory as both high and low frequency terms are assigned a low weight.
Risk Evaluation of Human-Care Robots

Human-care robots must be realized to nurse aged and disabled persons. These robots will need to work around elderly people and give them touches; therefore conventional safety strategies for industrial robots can not be applied to human-care robots. It is now necessary to make a new study of safety in the space where a human and a machine will exist together. In this chapter, I carry out a Case Study of assessing several human-care robots according to ISO/TR 12100-1:1992 and ISO 14121:1999. Next, I propose a risk evaluation method of human-care robots and define evaluation measures which describe the degree of safety. Next, I apply my method to evaluate several safety design and control strategies, and then I prove the viability of my risk evaluation method. These proposed methods enable us to optimally distribute cost among several safety strategies, and to derive suitable approaching motion of a multi-link manipulator to a human. The validity and effectiveness of these methods are demonstrated by numerical analysis. As a result, the design and control to increase safety are successfully obtained.
Incorporation of silver nanoparticles on the surface of orthodontic microimplants to achieve antimicrobial properties

Objective Microbial aggregation around dental implants can lead to loss/loosening of the implants. This study was aimed at surface treating titanium microimplants with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to achieve antibacterial properties. Methods AgNP-modified titanium microimplants (Ti-nAg) were prepared using two methods. The first method involved coating the microimplants with regular AgNPs (Ti-AgNP) and the second involved coating them with a AgNP-coated biopolymer (Ti-BP-AgNP). The topologies, microstructures, and chemical compositions of the surfaces of the Ti-nAg were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Disk diffusion tests using Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans were performed to test the antibacterial activity of the Ti-nAg microimplants. Results SEM revealed that only a meager amount of AgNPs was sparsely deposited on the Ti-AgNP surface with the first method, while a layer of AgNP-coated biopolymer extended along the Ti-BP-AgNP surface in the second method. The diameters of the coated nanoparticles were in the range of 10 to 30 nm. EDS revealed 1.05 atomic % of Ag on the surface of the Ti-AgNP and an astounding 21.2 atomic % on the surface of the Ti-BP-AgNP. XPS confirmed the metallic state of silver on the Ti-BP-AgNP surface. After 24 hours of incubation, clear zones of inhibition were seen around the Ti-BP-AgNP microimplants in all three test bacterial culture plates, whereas no antibacterial effect was observed with the Ti-AgNP microimplants. Conclusions Titanium microimplants modified with Ti-BP-AgNP exhibit excellent antibacterial properties, making them a promising implantable biomaterial.