Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence that smooth pursuit velocity, not eye position, modulates alpha and beta oscillations in human middle temporal cortex

Suppression of 5–25 Hz oscillations have been observed in MT+ during pursuit eye movements, suggesting oscillations that play a role in oculomotor control and/or the integration of extraretinal signals during pursuit. The amplitude of these rhythms appears to covary with head‐centered eye position, but an alternative is that they depend on a velocity signal that lags the movement of the eyes. To investigate, we explored how alpha and beta amplitude changes related to ongoing eye movement depended on pursuit at different eccentricities. The results revealed largely identical patterns of modulation in the alpha and beta amplitude, irrespective of the eccentricity at which the pursuit eye movement was performed. The signals we measured therefore do not depend on head‐centered position. A second experiment was designed to investigate whether the alpha and beta oscillations depended on the direction of pursuit, as opposed to just speed. We found no evidence that alpha or beta oscillations depended on direction, but there was a significant effect of eye speed on the magnitude of the beta suppression. This suggests distinct functional roles for alpha and beta suppression in pursuit behavior. Hum Brain Mapp 36:5220–5232, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Genetic Dissection of Dual Roles for the Transcription Factor six7 in Photoreceptor Development and Patterning in Zebrafish

The visual system of a particular species is highly adapted to convey detailed ecological and behavioral information essential for survival. The consequences of structural mutations of opsins upon spectral sensitivity and environmental adaptation have been studied in great detail, but lacking is knowledge of the potential influence of alterations in gene regulatory networks upon the diversity of cone subtypes and the variation in the ratio of rods and cones observed in numerous diurnal and nocturnal species. Exploiting photoreceptor patterning in cone-dominated zebrafish, we uncovered two independent mechanisms by which the sine oculis homeobox homolog 7 (six7) regulates photoreceptor development. In a genetic screen, we isolated the lots-of-rods-junior (ljrp23ahub) mutation that resulted in an increased number and uniform distribution of rods in otherwise normal appearing larvae. Sequence analysis, genome editing using TALENs and knockdown strategies confirm ljrp23ahub as a hypomorphic allele of six7, a teleost orthologue of six3, with known roles in forebrain patterning and expression of opsins. Based on the lack of predicted protein-coding changes and a deletion of a conserved element upstream of the transcription start site, a cis-regulatory mutation is proposed as the basis of the reduced expression of six7 in ljrp23ahub. Comparison of the phenotypes of the hypomorphic and knock-out alleles provides evidence of two independent roles in photoreceptor development. EdU and PH3 labeling show that the increase in rod number is associated with extended mitosis of photoreceptor progenitors, and TUNEL suggests that the lack of green-sensitive cones is the result of cell death of the cone precursor. These data add six7 to the small but growing list of essential genes for specification and patterning of photoreceptors in non-mammalian vertebrates, and highlight alterations in transcriptional regulation as a potential source of photoreceptor variation across species.
Neuropeptide Y Suppresses Anorexigenic Output from the Ventromedial Nucleus of the Hypothalamus

Output from the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus (VMN) is anorexigenic and is supported by the excitatory actions of leptin. The VMN is also highly sensitive to the orexigenic actions of Neuropeptide Y (NPY). We report that NPY robustly inhibits VMN neurons by hyperpolarizing them and decreasing their ability to fire action potentials. This action was mediated by Y1 receptors coupled to the activation of GIRKs (G-protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channels). Approximately 80% of VMN neurons expressing leptin receptors were sensitive to the actions of NPY, whereas 75% of NPY-sensitive neurons in VMN also responded to glucose by being uniformly inhibited by elevations in glucose. Interestingly, only ∼36% of NPY-sensitive, leptin receptor b-expressing neurons were also glucosensitive. We suggest that NPY inhibits VMN neurons that are excited by leptin, thereby arresting the anorexigenic tone exerted by VMN neurons. The results further suggest a dynamic interplay between anorexigenic and orexigenic neuromodulators within the VMN to directly affect energy balance.
Effects of interventions on adiponectin and adiponectin receptors

Adiponectin secreted from adipose tissue binds to two distinct adiponectin receptors (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2) identified and exerts its anti-diabetic effects in insulin-sensitive organs including liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue as well as amelioration of vascular dysfunction in the various vasculatures. A number of experimental and clinical observations have demonstrated that circulating levels of adiponectin are markedly reduced in obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease. Therapeutic interventions which can improve the action of adiponectin including elevation of circulating adiponectin concentration or up-regulation and/or activation of its receptors, could provide better understanding of strategies to ameliorate metabolic disorders and vascular disease. The focus of the present review is to summarize accumulating evidence showing the role of interventions such as pharmacological agents, exercise, and calorie restriction in the expression of adiponectin and adiponectin receptors.
Image and Depth from a Single Defocused Image Using Coded Aperture Photography

Depth from defocus and defocus deblurring from a single image are two challenging problems that are derived from the finite depth of field in conventional cameras. Coded aperture imaging is one of the techniques that is used for improving the results of these two problems. Up to now, different methods have been proposed for improving the results of either defocus deblurring or depth estimation. In this paper, a multi-objective function is proposed for evaluating and designing aperture patterns with the aim of improving the results of both depth from defocus and defocus deblurring. Pattern evaluation is performed by considering the scene illumination condition and camera system specification. Based on the proposed criteria, a single asymmetric pattern is designed that is used for restoring a sharp image and a depth map from a single input. Since the designed pattern is asymmetric, defocus objects on the two sides of the focal plane can be distinguished. Depth estimation is performed by using a new algorithm, which is based on image quality assessment criteria and can distinguish between blurred objects lying in front or behind the focal plane. Extensive simulations as well as experiments on a variety of real scenes are conducted to compare our aperture with previously proposed ones.
Exploring the diffeomorphism-invariant Hilbert space of a scalar field

As a toy model for the implementation of the diffeomorphism constraint, the interpretation of the resulting states and the treatment of ordering ambiguities in loop quantum gravity, we consider the Hilbert space of spatially diffeomorphism-invariant states for a scalar field. We give a very explicit formula for the scalar product on this space and discuss its structure. Then we turn to the quantization of a certain class of diffeomorphism-invariant quantities on that space and discuss in detail the ordering issues involved. On a technical level these issues bear some similarity to those encountered in full loop quantum gravity.
Fitness as Default: the evolutionary basis of cognitive complexity reduction

Given that knowledge consists of finite models of an infinitely complex reality, how can we explain that it is still most of the time reliable? Survival in a variable environment requires an internal model whose complexity (variety) matches the complexity of the environment that is to be controlled. The reduction of the infinite complexity of the sensed environment to a finite map requires a strong mechanism of categorization. A measure of cognitive complexity (C) is defined, which quantifies the average amount of trial-and-err or needed to find the adequate category. C can be minimized by "probability ordering" of the possible categories, where the most probable alternatives ("defaults") are explored first. The reduction of complexity by such ordering requires a low statistical entropy for the cognized environment. This entropy is automatically kept down by the natural selection of "fit" configurations. The high probability, "default" cognitive categorizations are then merely mappings of environmentally "fit" configurations.
Incipient Dynamics of Swelling of Gels

In this article, we analyze a model of the incipient dynamics of gel swelling and perform numerical simulations. The governing system consists of balance laws for a mixture of nonlinear elastic solid and solvent yielding effective equations for the gel. We discuss the multiscale nature of the problem and identify physically realistic regimes. The mixing mechanism is based on the Flory–Huggins energy. We consider the case that the dissipation mechanism is the solid-solvent friction force. This leads to a system of weakly dissipative nonlinear hyperbolic equations. After addressing the Cauchy problem, we propose physically realistic boundary conditions describing the motion of the swelling boundary. We study the linearized version of the free boundary problem. Numerical simulations of solutions are presented too.
Fluorescence Nanoscopy of Platelets Resolves Platelet‐State Specific Storage, Release and Uptake of Proteins, Opening up Future Diagnostic Applications

Dysregulation of how platelets store, sequester and release specific proteins seems to be implicated in many disease states, including cancer. Dual‐color immunofluorescence stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy with 40 nm resolution is used to map pro‐angiogenic VEGF, anti‐angiogenic PF‐4 and fibrinogen in >300 individual platelets. This reveals that these proteins are stored in a segmented, zonal manner within regional clusters, significantly smaller than the size of an α‐granule. No colocalization between the different proteins is observed. Upon platelet activation by thrombin or ADP, the proteins undergo significant spatial rearrangements, including alterations in the size and number of the protein clusters, and specific for a certain protein and the type of activation induced. Following these observations, a simple assignment procedure is used to show that the three distinct states of platelets (non‐, ADP‐ and thrombin‐activated) can be identified based on the average size, number and peripheral localization profiles of the regional protein clusters within the platelets. Thus, high‐resolution spatial mapping of specific proteins is a useful procedure to detect and characterize deviations in the selective storage, release and uptake of these proteins in the platelets. Since these deviations seem to be specific for, and may even underlie, certain patophysiological states, these findings may have interesting diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
Running over rough terrain: guinea fowl maintain dynamic stability despite a large unexpected change in substrate height

SUMMARY In the natural world, animals must routinely negotiate varied and unpredictable terrain. Yet, we know little about the locomotor strategies used by animals to accomplish this while maintaining dynamic stability. In this paper, we perturb the running of guinea fowl with an unexpected drop in substrate height (ΔH). The drop is camouflaged to remove any visual cue about the upcoming change in terrain that would allow an anticipatory response. To maintain stability upon a sudden drop in substrate height and prevent a fall, the bird must compensate by dissipating energy or converting it to another form. The aim of this paper is to investigate the control strategies used by birds in this task. In particular, we assess the extent to which guinea fowl maintain body weight support and conservative spring-like body dynamics in the perturbed step. This will yield insight into how animals integrate mechanics and control to maintain dynamic stability in the face of real-world perturbations. Our results show that, despite altered body dynamics and a great deal of variability in the response, guinea fowl are quite successful in maintaining dynamic stability, as they stumbled only once (without falling) in the 19 unexpected perturbations. In contrast, when the birds could see the upcoming drop in terrain, they stumbled in 4 of 20 trials (20%, falling twice), and came to a complete stop in an additional 6 cases (30%). The bird's response to the unexpected perturbation fell into three general categories: (1) conversion of vertical energy (EV=EP+EKv) to horizontal kinetic energy (EKh), (2) absorption of EV through negative muscular work (-ΔEcom), or (3) converting EP to vertical kinetic energy (EKv), effectively continuing the ballistic path of the animal's center of mass (COM) from the prior aerial phase. However, the mechanics that distinguish these categories actually occur along a continuum with varying degrees of body weight support and actuation by the limb, related to the magnitude and direction of the ground reaction force (GRF) impulse, respectively. In most cases, the muscles of the limb either produced or absorbed energy during the response, as indicated by net changes in COM energy (Ecom). The limb likely begins stance in a more retracted, extended position due to the 26 ms delay in ground contact relative to that anticipated by the bird. This could explain the diminished decelerating force during the first half of stance and the exchange between EP and EK during stance as the body vaults over the limb. The varying degree of weight support and energy absorption in the perturbed step suggests that variation in the initial limb configuration leads to different intrinsic dynamics and reflex action. Future investigation into the limb and muscle mechanics underlying these responses could yield further insight into the control mechanisms that allow such robust dynamic stability of running in the face of large, unexpected perturbations.
Multi-task Dictionary Learning based Convolutional Neural Network for Computer aided Diagnosis with Longitudinal Images

Algorithmic image-based diagnosis and prognosis of neurodegenerative diseases on longitudinal data has drawn great interest from computer vision researchers. The current state-of-the-art models for many image classification tasks are based on the Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). However, a key challenge in applying CNN to biological problems is that the available labeled training samples are very limited. Another issue for CNN to be applied in computer aided diagnosis applications is that to achieve better diagnosis and prognosis accuracy, one usually has to deal with the longitudinal dataset, i.e., the dataset of images scanned at different time points. Here we argue that an enhanced CNN model with transfer learning for the joint analysis of tasks from multiple time points or regions of interests may have a potential to improve the accuracy of computer aided diagnosis. To reach this goal, we innovate a CNN based deep learning multi-task dictionary learning framework to address the above challenges. Firstly, we pre-train CNN on the ImageNet dataset and transfer the knowledge from the pre-trained model to the medical imaging progression representation, generating the features for different tasks. Then, we propose a novel unsupervised learning method, termed Multi-task Stochastic Coordinate Coding (MSCC), for learning different tasks by using shared and individual dictionaries and generating the sparse features required to predict the future cognitive clinical scores. We apply our new model in a publicly available neuroimaging cohort to predict clinical measures with two different feature sets and compare them with seven other state-of-the-art methods. The experimental results show our proposed method achieved superior results.
Técnicas de reconocimiento automático de emociones

In this paper we present a summary of the main techniques for the automatic recognition of human emotions. We study the most important kind of emotions, centering on the specific emotions. We focus on the two most relevant ways in which emotions are studied: facial expressions from a video, and phonetic expressions from a speech. Since the type of emotions obtained from these two approaches could be different, the fusion of these different sources of information is one of the most interesting areas of research. We present a review of the statistical techniques used in emotion recognition. A fundamental task is the development of an appropriate database, with real audio-visual data, focus on emotion learning.
Defending against Hit-and-Run Attackers in Collaborative Spectrum Sensing of Cognitive Radio Networks: A Point System

Collaborative spectrum sensing is an important technique to combat many random factors in cognitive radio systems. However, it is vulnerable to attacks like false reports of spectrum situation. Particularly, a hit-and-run attack policy is proposed in this paper, which cannot be be mitigated by traditional approaches of attacker detection in cognitive radio systems. Motivated by the system of points for penalizing reckless drivers in DMV, a point based attacker detection algorithm is proposed, whose effectiveness is demonstrated by numerical simulations.
Why a Multinational Firm Chooses Expatriates: Integrating Resource-Based, Agency and Transaction Costs Perspectives

This paper develops an integrative organizational economics framework explaining and predicting multinational firms' managerial resource deployments based on resource-based, agency, and transaction costs theories. Our empirical findings suggest that the governance decision for managerial services of multinational firms is influenced not only by the comparative capabilities of managers, but also by the economic costs to the firm of influencing the behaviours of managers through managerial contracting.
Social and regional variations in health status and health behaviours among Swiss young adults.

OBJECTIVE To provide nationwide data on health status and health behaviours among young adults in Switzerland, and to illustrate social and regional variations. METHODS Data came from the Swiss Federal Surveys of Adolescents, conducted in 2010/11. The sample consisted of 32,424 young men and 1,467 young women. We used logistic regression models to examine patterns of social inequality for three measures of health status and three measures of health behaviour. RESULTS Among men, lower self-rated health, overweight and lower physical fitness levels were associated with lower educational and fewer financial resources. Patterns were similar among young women. Unfavourable self-rated health (odds ratio [OR]: men 0.83, women 0.75) and overweight (OR: men 0.84, women 0.85; p >0.05) were less common in the French- than in the German-language region. Low physical fitness was more common in the French- than in the German-language region. In both sexes, daily smoking was associated with fewer educational resources, and physical inactivity was associated with lower educational and fewer financial resources. Males from the Italian-language region were three times more likely to be physically inactive than their German-speaking counterparts (OR 2.95). Risk drinking was more widespread among males in the French- than in the German-speaking language region (OR 1.47). CONCLUSIONS Striking social and moderate regional differences exist in health status and health behaviours among young Swiss males and females. The current findings offer new empirical evidence on social determinants of health in Switzerland and suggest education, material resources and regional conditions to be addressed in public health practice and in more focused future research.
Mothering Through Domestic Violence

Acknowldegements. 1. Introduction. 2. Walking on Eggshells - Mothering Through Domestic Violence. 3. Resisting Mother Blaming. 4. Domestic Violence and the Maltreatment of Children. 5. Children Living with Domestic Violence - Impacts and Resilience. 6. Re-asserting Power and Control in Child Visitation and Contact. 7. Mother Blaming in the Courts 8. Improving Safety for Women and Children after Separation. 9. From Blaming Mothers to Providing Positive Support - The Role of Welfare Agencies. 10. Conclusion - Linking the Three Planets. References. Subject Index. Author Index.
Muslims in Eastern Africa - Their Past and Present *

1. EARLY HISTORY The earliest concrete evidence of Islam and Muslims in eastern Africa is a mosque foundation in Lamu where gold, silver and copper coins dated AD 830 were found during an excavation in 1984. The oldest intact building in eastern Africa is a functioning mosque at Kizimkazi in southern Zanzibar Island dated AD 1007. It appears that Islam was common in the Indian Ocean by AD 1300. When Ibn Batuta of Morocco visited the East African coastlands in 1332, all the way down to the present border between Mozambique and South Africa, most of the coastal settlements were Muslim, and Arabic was the common literary and commercial language spoken all over the Indian Ocean - Batuta worked as a Kadhi, Supreme Muslim Jurist, in the Maldive Islands for one year using Arabic as his working language. Islam thus seems to have arrived quite early to East Africa through traders. It certainly did not spread through conquest or settlement, but remained an urban and coastal phenomenon for quite long. Later it spread to the interior after 1729 when the Portuguise were pushed beyond the Ruvuma River that forms the present Tanzania-Mozambique border. It would be erroneous to consider Islamic practices in eastern Africa as Arabic practices, and associate Islam with Arabs, since Islam did not arabise East Africans; on the contrary, Arab immigrants, Islam and Islamic practices got africanised or swahilised, thereby developing Islam as an indigenous African religion! This is also linguistically evidenced by the fact that Arab immigrants became Swahili speaking, adopted the Swahili dress, food and eating habits and other cultural elments. Islam is therefore not a foreign but rather a local religion on the coast, and along the old trade/caravan routes. It is more of an urban religion also in the interior (as in Tabora, Morogoro, Moshi) and inland ports (Kigoma, Ujiji, Mwanza) of Tanzania and the rest of East Africa.