Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CSWA: Aggregation-Free Spatial-Temporal Community Sensing

In this paper, we present a novel community sensing paradigm CSWA –Community Sensing Without Sensor/Location Data Aggregation. CSWA is designed to obtain the environment information (e.g., air pollution or temperature) in each subarea of the target area, without aggregating sensor and location data collected by community members. CSWA operates on top of a secured peer-to-peer network over the community members and proposes a novel Decentralized Spatial-Temporal Compressive Sensing framework based on Parallelized Stochastic Gradient Descent. Through learning the low-rank structure via distributed optimization, CSWA approximates the value of the sensor data in each subarea (both covered and uncovered) for each sensing cycle using the sensor data locally stored in each member’s mobile device. Simulation experiments based on real-world datasets demonstrate that CSWA exhibits low approximation error (i.e., less than 0.2 centi-degree in city-wide temperature sensing task and 10 units of PM2.5 index in urban air pollution sensing) and performs comparably to (sometimes better than) state-of-the-art algorithms based on the data aggregation and centralized computation.
Discovery of a High Molecular Weight Complex of Calcium, Phosphate, Fetuin, and Matrix γ-Carboxyglutamic Acid Protein in the Serum of Etidronate-treated Rats*

In the present study we report the discovery of a novel protein-mineral complex in the serum of rats treated with doses of the bone-active bisphosphonate etidronate that inhibit normal bone mineralization. The composition of this high molecular mass protein-mineral complex consists of about 18% mineral, 80% fetuin, and 2% matrix Gla protein (MGP) by weight, and the presence of the complex in serum after an injection of 8 mg etidronate/100 g of body weight elevates calcium by 1.8-fold (to 4.3 mm), phosphate by 1.6-fold (to 5.6 mm), and MGP by 25-fold (to 12 μg/ml). The serum mineral complex reaches maximal levels at 6 h after subcutaneous injection of etidronate and is subsequently cleared from serum by 24 h. This highly specific complex of fetuin, MGP, and mineral prevents the growth, aggregation, and precipitation of the mineral component, which indicates that the previously reported calcification inhibitory activities of fetuin and MGP may be related to their ability to form stable complexes with nascent mineral nuclei. Treatment with the vitamin K-antagonist warfarin prevents the increase in serum MGP after etidronate injection, which shows that the increase in serum MGP is due to new synthesis and that the γ-carboxylation of MGP is necessary for its binding to the serum mineral complex.
A Graduated Nonconvex Regularization for Sparse High Dimensional Model Estimation

Many high dimensional data mining problems can be formulated as minimizing an empirical loss function with a penalty proportional to the number of variables required to describe a model. We propose a graduated non-convexification method to facilitate tracking of a global minimizer of this problem. We prove that under some conditions the proposed regularization problem using the continuous piecewise linear approximation is equivalent to the original 0 l regularization problem. In addition, a family of graduated nonconvex approximations are proposed to approximate its 1 l continuous approximation. Computational results are presented to illustrate the performance.
Optimal Input Design for Fault Identification of Overactuated Electric Ground Vehicles

The design of optimal input for fault identification in electric ground vehicles (EGVs) that use four independent in-wheel motors and four-wheel steering is presented in this paper. As the number of motors and steering actuators increases beyond the number of controlled variables, an EGV becomes an overactuated system, which provides actuator redundancy and the possibility of fault-tolerant control in the case of faults that occur in vehicle elements, such as its sensors and actuators. To ensure the reliability of the EGV during driving, online fault identification is needed, and its performance is directly dependent on the input signals. The input can be designed using the control allocation method, which is one approach to manage actuator redundancy. The proposed control allocation maximizes the sensitivity of the system output to parameters related to the fault position, while the system output is simultaneously controlled to maintain stability and follow the desired vehicle motions, even when faults occur. Simulations using the commercial software CarSim are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed optimal input design method for fault identification; the performance of the system is compared with the conventional white noise perturbation input with equal power.
Ric-8 regulation of heterotrimeric G proteins

Abstract Resistance to inhibitors of cholinesterase 8 proteins (Ric-8A and Ric-8B) collectively bind the four classes of heterotrimeric G protein α subunits. Ric-8A and Ric-8B act as non-receptor guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) toward the Gα subunits that each binds in vitro and seemingly regulate diverse G protein signaling systems in cells. Combined evidence from worm, fly and mammalian systems has shown that Ric-8 proteins are required to maintain proper cellular abundances of G proteins. Ric-8 proteins support G protein levels by serving as molecular chaperones that promote Gα subunit biosynthesis. In this review, the evidence that Ric-8 proteins act as non-receptor GEF activators of G proteins in signal transduction contexts will be weighed against the evidence supporting the molecular chaperoning function of Ric-8 in promoting G protein abundance. I will conclude by suggesting that Ric-8 proteins may act in either capacity in specific contexts. The field awaits additional experimentation to delineate the putative multi-functionality of Ric-8 towards G proteins in cells.
L'approche du genre pour comprendre l'achat des biens durables à gain de temps

Cette recherche contribue a la comprehension du comportement d’achat de la femme a travers la perspective du genre. Particulierement, nous avons etudie l’influence de l’ideologie du genre de la femme tunisienne sur son intention d’achat des biens durables a gain de temps (BDGT). Notre hypothese principale de travail repose sur l’existence d’une relation entre l’ideologie du genre de la femme tunisienne et son intention d’achat des BDGT. La regression logistique (appliquee sur les quatre classes de femmes tunisiennes identifiees) a montre que les variables d’ideologie du genre influencent l’intention d’achat des BDGT mais n’interviennent pas de la meme maniere dans le processus. La perspective du genre est un cadre d’analyse pertinent pour comprendre les differences de comportement d’achat des femmes.
The neuronal substrate underlying order and interval representations in sequential tasks: A biologically based robot study

Sequence learning tasks depend on the ability to acquire and control the order of actions and their proper timing. Several studies have shown that in sequence learning different areas of the brain are involved when recalling the order of actions and their proper interval. One hypothesis proposes that two separate areas of the brain interact with each other, one computes order while the other would compute the interval. A second hypothesis proposes that one area computes both, order and interval. To better understand how this computation of order and interval might be realized by the brain, we developed a robot based architecture and investigated the behavioral and architectural implications of these two hypothesis: one or two neuronal areas computing order and interval. Using a sequence learning foraging task we show that performance is enhanced in case of distributed processes. However, we show that as a drawback, explicit interval information can not be reconstructed.
The electric image in weakly electric fish: physical images of resistive objects in Gnathonemus petersii.

The present study describes a measurement-based model of electric image generation in the weakly electric mormyrid fish Gnathonemus petersii. Measurements of skin impedance, internal resistivity and fish body dimensions have been used to generate an electrical-equivalent model of the fish and to calculate electrical images and equivalent dipole sources for elementary resistive objects. These calculations allow us to understand how exafferent and reafferent signals are sensed by electroreceptors. An object's electric image consists of the modulation of the transcutaneous voltage profile generated by the fish's own discharge. The results suggest a set of rules for electrolocation: (1) the side of the fish where modulation is larger indicates the side on which the object is situated; (2) the object's position in the electroreceptive field is indicated by the point of maximum modulation of the transcutaneous voltage; (3) the degree of focus of the image indicates the distance to the object. In addition, center-surround opposition originating at pre-receptor level is proposed. Both experimental measurements and modeling indicate that fish skin impedance is relatively low (400-11 000 cm2) and mainly resistive. This low skin impedance appears to enhance the local electric organ discharge modulation, the center-surround effect, the signal-to-noise ratio for electrolocation and the active space for electrocommunication.
Diarization of Telephone Conversations Using Factor Analysis

We report on work on speaker diarization of telephone conversations which was begun at the Robust Speaker Recognition Workshop held at Johns Hopkins University in 2008. Three diarization systems were developed and experiments were conducted using the summed-channel telephone data from the 2008 NIST speaker recognition evaluation. The systems are a Baseline agglomerative clustering system, a Streaming system which uses speaker factors for speaker change point detection and traditional methods for speaker clustering, and a Variational Bayes system designed to exploit a large number of speaker factors as in state of the art speaker recognition systems. The Variational Bayes system proved to be the most effective, achieving a diarization error rate of 1.0% on the summed-channel data. This represents an 85% reduction in errors compared with the Baseline agglomerative clustering system. An interesting aspect of the Variational Bayes approach is that it implicitly performs speaker clustering in a way which avoids making premature hard decisions. This type of soft speaker clustering can be incorporated into other diarization systems (although causality has to be sacrificed in the case of the Streaming system). With this modification, the Baseline system achieved a diarization error rate of 3.5% (a 50% reduction in errors).
Screening for Diosgenin in Rhizomes from 3 Costus Species (C. deistellii, C. igneus, C. lucanusianus)

Fritillaria imperialis L. (Liliaceae) is widely distributed in Iran, Afghanistan, and other parts of south-east Asia. The corms of this plant have a history of folkloric use as diuretic and emollient (1). The hypotensive, spasmolytic, and cardiotonic effects have also been mentioned in literature (2). In previous papers, the isolation of several alkaloids from this species was reported (2, 3).
Idiotypic identity of antibodies to streptococcal carbohydrate in inbred mice

In this study antibodies to the streptococcal carbohydrate of inbred strains of mice were investigated for the occurrence of shared idiotypes. Strain A/J produced high serum levels of antibodies with limited heterogeneity‐ to Group A streptococcal carbohydrate. A homogeneous antibody from one A/J mouse was obtained by cloning the hyper immune spleen cells into irradiated recipient mice. Idiotypic antisera to this antibody were made in A/J mice and in guinea pigs. These idiotypic antisera cross‐reacted with antibodies to Group A carbohydrate from all A/J mice, but not with that of two other strains. The idiotypes of 4 out of 5 A/J antibodies were indistinguishable. The selective expression or exclusion of idiotypes in different inbred strains raises the question whether v‐genes are inherited as allelic sets that can segregate.
Audio Authentication by Exploring the Absolute-Error-Map of ENF Signals

Recently, the electric network frequency (ENF), a natural signature embedded in many audio recordings, has been utilized as a criterion to examine the authenticity of audio recordings. ENF-based audio authentication system involves extraction of the ENF signal from a questioned audio recording, and matching it with the reference signal stored in an ENF database. This establishes a popular application of audio timestamp verification. In this paper, we explore another important application, i.e., ENF-based audio tampering detection, which has received less research attention. Specifically, we introduce the absolute-error-map (AEM) between the ENF signals obtained from the testing audio recording and the database. The AEM serves as an ensemble of the raw data associated with the ENF matching process. Through intensive analysis of the AEM, we propose two algorithms to jointly deal with timestamp verification and tampering detection, including insertion, deletion, and splicing attacks, respectively. The first algorithm is based on exhaustive point search and measurement, while the second algorithm leverages the image erosion technique to achieve fast detection of tampering type and tampered region, thus the second algorithm sacrifices some accuracy for speed. The authentication mechanism is that the system first determines if the testing data have been tampered with, and then outputs the timestamp information if no tampering is detected. Otherwise, it outputs the tampering type and tampered region. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution via both synthetic and practical examples from our practically deployed audio authentication system.
Genetic causes of maturity onset diabetes of the young may be less prevalent in American pregnant women recently diagnosed with diabetes mellitus than in previously studied European populations

Abstract Context: There are many causes of impaired glucose tolerance in pregnant women. It is unclear whether genetic etiologies are a source of impaired glucose tolerance in pregnant women. Objective: To prospectively determine the prevalence of maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) due to glucokinase (GCK) mutations in an American population of women with recent onset diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes. We hypothesized that based on America’s higher prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and Type 2 diabetes, there may be an increased prevalence of GK mutations in our population than in previously reported studies from European studies. Design: Over a three-year period, 72 pregnant women with recently diagnosed diabetes mellitus were prospectively assessed for presence of the most common pathogenic GCK mutations. Setting: This study was performed in a gestational diabetes clinic in Urban America and a high-risk pregnancy clinic that served the military and their families on an American military base in Germany. Patients: Seventy-two women; 65 with diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in this pregnancy (GDM/overt diabetes) and 7 with diagnosis in the last nine years prior to pregnancy were recruited during pregnancy and blood samples were obtained. Interventions: None. Main outcome measures: Each study participant’s blood sample was analyzed with restriction fragment length polymorphism to assess for mutations in the GCK gene. Results: There were 38 female and 34 male neonates born at 38 weeks gestation ±1.2 weeks. Mean birth weight was 3351 g ± 450 g. There were no patients with GCK mutations found in our population 0/72. This prevalence is not greater than that seen in previous a similar study in European women with gestational diabetes, but in fact significantly less (p = 0.03). Conclusion: American women with recently diagnosed diabetes mellitus likely have no higher prevalence of MODY than in previously studied European women with diabetes mellitus and may have a lower prevalence.
LTL Model Checking via Search Space Partition

The applicability of model checking is often limited by the size of the industrial system. This is known as state space explosion problem. Compositional verification has been particularly successful in this regard. This paper presents an approach based on a refinement of search space partition for reducing the complexity in verification of models with non-deterministic choices and open environment. The refinement depends on the representation of each portion of search space. Especially, search space can be refined stepwise to get better reduction. As reported in the case studies, search space partition improves the efficiency of verification with respect to the requirement of memory and obtains significant advantage over the use of the original one
Democratic design experiments: between parliament and laboratory

For more than four decades, participatory design has provided exemplars and concepts for understanding the democratic potential of design participation. Despite important impacts on design methodology, participatory design has, however, been stuck in a marginal position as it has wrestled with what has been performed and accomplished in participatory practices. In this article, we discuss how participatory design may be reinvigorated as a design research programme for democratic design experiments in the light of the decentring of human-centredness and the foregrounding of collaborative representational practices offered by the ANT tradition in the tension between a parliament of things and a laboratory of circulating references.
Germline Modification and Engineering in Avian Species

Production of genome-edited animals using germline-competent cells and genetic modification tools has provided opportunities for investigation of biological mechanisms in various organisms. The recently reported programmed genome editing technology that can induce gene modification at a target locus in an efficient and precise manner facilitates establishment of animal models. In this regard, the demand for genome-edited avian species, which are some of the most suitable model animals due to their unique embryonic development, has also increased. Furthermore, germline chimera production through long-term culture of chicken primordial germ cells (PGCs) has facilitated research on production of genome-edited chickens. Thus, use of avian germline modification is promising for development of novel avian models for research of disease control and various biological mechanisms. Here, we discuss recent progress in genome modification technology in avian species and its applications and future strategies.
Waterborne outbreak of viral gastroenteritis.

A waterborne epidemic took place in a Finnish municipality in April 1994. Some 1500-3000 people, i.e. 25-50% of the population, had symptomatic acute gastroenteritis. Laboratory findings confirmed adenovirus, a Norwalk-like agent, small round viruses (SRV), and group A and C rotaviruses as causative agents, Norwalk virus being the main cause of the outbreak. The epidemic was most probably associated with contaminated drinking water. The groundwater well, situated in the embankment of a river, was contaminated by polluted river water during the spring flood. A back flow from the river to the well had occurred via a forgotten drainage pipe.
A New Method for Lowering the Error Floors of Non-binary LDPC Codes

In this paper, we propose a new method for improving the performance of non-binary low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes of short block lengths at the high signal-to-no ise ratio (SNR) region. In addition to the standard short cycle removal methods, we consider two new optimization criteria unique t o non-binary codes. For each individual short cycle, we assig n nonbinary values to the associated non-zero elements in the par itycheck matrix in order to optimize the decoding performance. For overlapped short cycles, the non-zero elements are assi gned by first improving the minimum distance and then optimizing the decoding performance. The additional optimization requires only moderate increase in the code design complexity. For ra te1/2, short-block-length (1008-bit) LDPC codes over GF(16) and GF(32), simulations show that, using the proposed method, the error floor can be considerably lowered without any performance degradation in the waterfall region.
A Refined Notion of Memory Usage for Minimalist Parsing

Recently there has been a lot of interest in testing the processing predictions of a specific top-down parser for Minimalist grammars (Stabler, 2013). Most of this work relies on memory-based difficulty metrics that relate the shape of the parse tree to processing behavior. We show that none of the difficulty metrics proposed so far can explain why subject relative clauses are more easily processed than object relative clauses in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. However, a minor tweak to how memory load is determined is sufficient to fully capture the data. This result thus lends further support to the hypothesis that very simple notions of resource usage are powerful enough to explain a variety of processing phenomena.
Homeoboxes in sea anemones (Cnidaria:Anthozoa): a PCR-based survey of Nematostella vectensis and Metridium senile.

Homeobox genes belong to a phylogenetically widespread family of regulatory genes that play important roles in pattern formation and cell-fate specification in several model systems (e.g., Drosophila, mouse, and C. elegans). Although the evolution of many classes of homeobox genes predates the diversification of the Bilateria, comparatively little is known about homeobox genes in outgroups to the Bilateria, such as the Cnidaria. We used the polymerase chain reaction to recover 12 partial homeoboxes from 2 species of sea anemones, Metridium senile and Nematostella vectensis (phylum Cnidaria; class Anthozoa). These homeoboxes appear to represent 9 distinct, mutually paralogous homeobox genes, 5 of which belong to previously identified cnidarian homeobox classes, and 4 of which appear to represent previously unidentified classes. The evolutionary relationships between the homeodomains of sea anemones and of bilaterian animals were assessed through database searches and phylogenetic analyses. As many as 5 of the anemone homeoboxes may belong to the Hox class, which suggests that the Hox gene complement of cnidarians is larger than previously expected. Homologs of the even-skipped gene of Drosophila were also identified in both Metridium and Nematostella.
Increased sensitivity to the aversive effects of ethanol in PKCε null mice revealed by place conditioning

: Determining the intracellular signaling pathways that mediate the rewarding effects of ethanol may help identify drug targets to curb excessive alcohol consumption. Mice lacking the epsilon isoform of protein kinase C (PKCepsilon) voluntarily consumed less ethanol than wild-type mice in two-bottle choice and operant self-administration assays. Decreased consumption may reflect either increased or decreased sensitivity to the rewarding effects of ethanol. Alternatively, decreased voluntary consumption may reflect a change in sensitivity to the aversive effects of ethanol. The authors used place conditioning to determine that PKCepsilon null mice have an increased sensitivity to the aversive effects of ethanol but a decreased sensitivity to the rewarding effects of ethanol. Together these data suggest that PKCepsilon null mice voluntarily consume less ethanol because they derive less reward and are more sensitive to the aversive effects of ethanol.