Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interhemispheric Control of Unilateral Movement

To perform strictly unilateral movements, the brain relies on a large cortical and subcortical network. This network enables healthy adults to perform complex unimanual motor tasks without the activation of contralateral muscles. However, mirror movements (involuntary movements in ipsilateral muscles that can accompany intended movement) can be seen in healthy individuals if a task is complex or fatiguing, in childhood, and with increasing age. Lateralization of movement depends on complex interhemispheric communication between cortical (i.e., dorsal premotor cortex, supplementary motor area) and subcortical (i.e., basal ganglia) areas, probably coursing through the corpus callosum (CC). Here, we will focus on transcallosal interhemispheric inhibition (IHI), which facilitates complex unilateral movements and appears to play an important role in handedness, pathological conditions such as Parkinson's disease, and stroke recovery.
Biofilm formation by enteric pathogens and its role in plant colonization and persistence

The significant increase in foodborne outbreaks caused by contaminated fresh produce, such as alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, melons, tomatoes and spinach, during the last 30 years stimulated investigation of the mechanisms of persistence of human pathogens on plants. Emerging evidence suggests that Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli, which cause the vast majority of fresh produce outbreaks, are able to adhere to and to form biofilms on plants leading to persistence and resistance to disinfection treatments, which subsequently can cause human infections and major outbreaks. In this review, we present the current knowledge about host, bacterial and environmental factors that affect the attachment to plant tissue and the process of biofilm formation by S. enterica and E. coli, and discuss how biofilm formation assists in persistence of pathogens on the plants. Mechanisms used by S. enterica and E. coli to adhere and persist on abiotic surfaces and mammalian cells are partially similar and also used by plant pathogens and symbionts. For example, amyloid curli fimbriae, part of the extracellular matrix of biofilms, frequently contribute to adherence and are upregulated upon adherence and colonization of plant material. Also the major exopolysaccharide of the biofilm matrix, cellulose, is an adherence factor not only of S. enterica and E. coli, but also of plant symbionts and pathogens. Plants, on the other hand, respond to colonization by enteric pathogens with a variety of defence mechanisms, some of which can effectively inhibit biofilm formation. Consequently, plant compounds might be investigated for promising novel antibiofilm strategies.
Improving Security of Watermarking Algorithms via Parametric M-band Wavelet Transform

Robustness, Security, Imperceptibility and Data payload are the most important attributes that should be satisfied by a watermarking algorithm. A watermarking algorithm cannot satisfy all the required attributes for all applications. Best watermarking algorithms are chose, depending upon the application. Moreover, there is always a tradeoff between security versus robustness and capacity. This paper proposes a method to achieve security without the loss of robustness, imperceptibility and capacity. M-band wavelets possess the advantage of enjoying many degrees of freedom in spite of its richer parametric space. Achieving a highly secure transform domain is possible via parametric M-band wavelet transform, when the parameters used for designing are secret. This paper explains a design procedure for parametric M-band wavelets, its decomposition and reconstruction and a way to improve the security of existing robust watermarking algorithms without sacrificing any of its attributes.
The QoS mechanism for NoC router by dynamic virtual channel allocation and dual-net infrastructure

Network-on-chip (NoC) is a new solution for multi-core interconnection. The static virtual channel allocation and XY routing are regularly used by the 2D mesh NoC. But the inter-core transmission congestion increases the transmission delay and decrease the throughput, which depredates the cooperation of multiple cores. This paper proposes a QoS mechanism and designs the router architecture by dynamic virtural channel assignment and dual-subnet infrastructure, which increases the success rate of establishing guaranteed (GT) service path and decreases the packets transmission delay, simulations show that the QoS performance are improved for both GT packets and best-effort packets.
Toward Optimizing Stream Fusion in Multistream Recognition of Speech Running Title: Multistream Speech Recognition

A multistream phoneme recognition framework is proposed based on forming streams from different spectrotemporal modulations of speech. Phoneme posterior probabilities were estimated from each stream separately and combined at the output level. A statistical model of the final estimated posterior probabilities is used to characterize the system performance. During the operation, the best fusion architecture is chosen automatically to maximize the similarity of output statistics to clean condition. Results on phoneme recognition from noisy speech indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Test Scheduling and Control for VLSI Built-In Self-Test

The test scheduling problem for equal length and unequal length tests for VLSI circuits using built-in self-test (BIST) has been modeled. A hierarchical model for VLSI circuit testing is introduced. The test resource sharing model from C. Kime and K. Saluja (1982) is employed to exploit the potential parallelism. Based on this model, very efficient suboptimum algorithms are proposed for defining test schedules for both the equal length test and unequal length test cases. For the unequal length test case, three different scheduling disciplines are defined, and scheduling algorithms are given for two of the three cases. Data on algorithm performance are presented. The issue of the control of the test schedule is also addressed, and a number of structures are proposed for implementation of control. >
Observations of Student Competency in a CS1 Course

Two issues of related interest are investigated in this paper. The first issue is associated with the statement that "Learning to program is a key objective in most introductory computing courses, yet many computing educators have voiced concern over whether their students are learning the necessary programming skills in those courses" (McCracken et al. 2001). The second issue considers which task CS1 students find more difficult: code generation or code comprehension. To investigate this, we analysed our CS1 course results in terms of laboratory exercises, comprehension, generation, factual/conceptual, and multiple-choice exam questions. Contrary to our initial expectations, the code comprehension and generation skills of our students appear to be tracking each other.
Enumeration of directed animals on an infinite family of lattices

A fluid filter is formed by producing an air laid nonwoven batt comprising a randomly arranged mixture of thermoplastic fibers and fibers which are not thermoplastic. The batt is then cut into sections, and portions of the batt are heated to a temperature sufficient to partially fuse the fibers, thereby increasing the density of the portion of the batt which is heated. Accordingly, a gradient density filter may be produced having a progressively greater density from the fluid receiving side to the fluid expressing side, so that larger particles are trapped at the fluid receiving side and progressively smaller particles are trapped as the fluid flows through the media, with the finest particles being trapped at the fluid expressing side.
A Match Made in Heaven or Down Under? The Effectiveness of Matching Visual and Verbal Horizons in Advertising

According to construal level theory, consumers' processing styles become more abstract as psychological distance increases, but they grow more concrete when psychological distance decreases. This study provides evidence that panoramic pictures in which the horizon appears in the lower versus upper part of the frame trigger a different level of construal. As such, this study raises a novel source of construal. In addition, this study shows that when both visual (e.g., horizon height) and verbal (e.g., temporal benefit) advertising elements induce the same level of construal, advertising effectiveness increases. This work differs from previous research in that it focuses on the construal fit evoked by two advertisement features rather than a fit in construal between an external stimulus and the internal mindset of the consumer.
The electronic RFP: changing the way the government does business

The paperwork burden is a term coined to describe the massive flux of documents and information transferred between federal govermnent agencies and the private companies who do business with them. While some agencies can boast sophisticated information systems, the Request for Proposal [RFP] intetiace is usually a paper-oriented system, with hundreds or thousands of pages of requirements and regulations for even a modest RFP.
Differential accumulation of phenolic compounds and expression of related genes in black- and yellow-seeded Brassica napus

Developing yellow-seeded Brassica napus (rapeseed) with improved qualities is a major breeding goal. The intermediate and final metabolites of the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathways affect not only oil quality but also seed coat colour of B. napus. Here, the accumulation of phenolic compounds was analysed in the seed coats of black-seeded (ZY821) and yellow-seeded (GH06) B. napus. Using toluidine blue O staining and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, histochemical and biochemical differences were identified in the accumulation of phenolic compounds between ZY821 and GH06. Two and 13 unique flavonol derivatives were detected in ZY821 and GH06, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed significant differences between ZY821 and GH06 in the expression of common phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes (BnPAL and BnC4H), common flavonoid biosynthetic genes (BnTT4 and BnTT6), anthocyanin- and proanthocyandin-specific genes (BnTT3 and BnTT18), proanthocyandin-specific genes (BnTT12, BnTT10, and BnUGT2) and three transcription factor genes (BnTTG1, BnTTG2, and BnTT8) that function in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. These data provide insight into pigment accumulation in B. napus, and serve as a useful resource for researchers analysing the formation of seed coat colour and the underlying regulatory mechanisms in B. napus.
A Parametric Space Approach to the Computation of Multi-scale Geometric Features

In this paper we present a novel generic method for the fast and accurate computation of geometric features at multiple scales. The presented method works on arbitrarily complex models and operates in the parametric space. The majority of the existing methods compute local features directly on the geometric representation of the model. Our approach decouples the computational complexity from the underlying geometry and in contrast to other parametric space methods, it is not restricted to a specific feature or parameterization of the surface. We show that the method performs accurately and at interactive rates, even for large feature areas of support, rendering the method suitable for animated shapes.
Effect of Stress in Drawn Wires on Magnetization Curves in the Saturation Region

Magnetic measurements are becoming an important group of nondestructive testing methods for metallurgical products. In the present paper we focus on the possibility to avail of the so-called law of approach to magnetic saturation for determination of variations of mechanical properties (residual stress) in drawn wires. The measured M = f(H) dependences are reasonably well fitted with the simplest Weiss relationship. The value of model parameter a depends significantly on processing conditions.
The Screening of Antiphospholipid Antibodies in Obstetric Antiphospholipid Syndrome-Like Events: A Regional Perspective

Objective: Obstetric antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is clinically recognized by adverse obstetric outcomes. To determine which antibody level best corresponds to the risk of these clinical outcomes is difficult. Obstetric antiphospholipid antibody syndrome-like adverse obstetric outcomes with single (n=108) and repeat (n=79) documented antiphospholipid antibody titers were evaluated.Study Design: Serum samples of 108 Obstetric antiphospholipid antibody syndrome cases and 50 healthy gestational matched controls with no history of thrombosis and congenital anomalies were subjected to testing for antiphospholipid antibodies with ELISA after the events. Of this obstetric antiphospholipid antibody syndrome group, only 79 cases underwent repeat testing within 12 weeks. Quantitative data were described by values and percentages at the levels of (>10) and (>40 U). Results: By one documented antiphospholipid test, the mean values of anticardiolipin, and anti-β2 glycoprotein1 (aβ2GP1) of obstetric antiphospholipid antibody syndrome versus controls were significantly different (p<0.001). Of 79 women who came for repeat sampling, a total number of women with persistent antiphospholipid antibody positivity was only 43 (54.43%). The number of obstetric antiphospholipid antibody syndrome cases with >40 U of antiphospholipid antibody was only 8 (18.60%). Conclusion: Not all obstetric antiphospholipid antibody syndrome associated pregnancy morbidities may own high (>40U) antiphospholipid antibody titers, but low antiphospholipid antibodies (>10U) also accompany to this clinical picture. Obstetric antiphospholipid antibody syndrome should always be taken into account clinically prior to laboratory findings. Besides, long persistence of antiphospholipid-M positivity in these placenta-mediated disorders may make sense in terms of trophoblastic damage.
Effects of Data and Model Simplification on the Results of a Wetland Water Resource Management Model

This paper presents the development of a wetland water balance model for use in a large river basin with many different wetlands. The basic model was primarily developed for a single wetland with a complex water management system involving large amounts of specialized input data and water management details. The aim was to simplify the model structure and to use only commonly available data as input for the model, with the least possible loss of accuracy. Results from different variants of the model and data adaptation were tested against results from a detailed model. This shows that using commonly available data and unifying and simplifying the input data is tolerable up to a certain level. The simplification of the model has greater effects on the evaluated water balance components than the data adaptation. Because this simplification was necessary for large-scale use, we suggest that, for reasons of comparability, simpler models should always be applied with uniform data bases for large regions, though these should only be moderately simplified. Further, we recommend using these simplified models only for large-scale comparisons and using more specific, detailed models for investigations on smaller scales.
Optimal Filtering for Linear System States over Polynomial Observations

In this paper, the optimal filtering problem for linear system states over polynomial observations is treated proceeding from the general expression for the stochastic Ito differential of the optimal estimate and the error variance. As a result, the Ito differentials for the optimal estimate and error variance corresponding to the stated filtering problem are first derived. The procedure for obtaining a closed system of the filtering equations for a linear state over observations with any polynomial drift is then established. In the example, the obtained optimal filter is applied to solution of the optimal third order sensor filtering problem, assuming a Gaussian initial condition for the third order state. The resulting filter yields a reliable and rapidly converging estimate
Different early and late processing of emotion-label words and emotion-laden words in a second language: An ERP study

Although increasing literature has suggested that emotion-label words (e.g., anger, delight) and emotion-laden words (e.g., thief, bride) were processed differently in native language (L1), there was a lack of neuroimaging evidence showing such differences in second language (L2). The current study compared the cortical responses to emotion-label words and emotion-laden words in L2 using event-related potentials (ERPs) technique. Sixteen Chinese–English bilingual college students were asked to finish a lexical decision task with their brain activations recorded. Overall, emotion-label words and emotion-laden words showed diverse processing characteristics. Specifically, such differences were evidenced by the results that (1) larger N170 was elicited by negative emotion-label words than by negative emotion-laden words while positive emotion-laden words evoked larger N170 than positive emotion-label words at occipito-temporal sites, and (2) emotion-laden words evoked larger Late Positive Complex (LPC) than emotion-label words at parietal sites over the right hemisphere. The implication of the current findings was also discussed.
Applied Behaviour Analysis and Educational Psychology (EP) : exploring the role of the EP within Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI)

The application of Behaviour Analysis as an early intervention for children with Autistic Spectrum Condition is increasing within the United Kingdom (Lambert, 2013). Although there is evidence to suggest that Educational Psychologists (EPs) are involved in some capacity with Early Intensive Behavioural Therapy (EIBI), there is a lack of research to inform the profession. Semi-structured interviews were held with four parents who have a child receiving EIBI and two EPs with experience of EIBI. The questions asked were related to the role of the EP within EIBI. The data was analysed using Thematic Analysis as described by Braun and Clarke (2006). The eleven themes identified portrayed the difficult relationship between the Local Authority Services and parents. Recommendations are made to the role of the EP as to how to work effectively and inclusively with cases involving EIBI.
Discrete super twisting control algorithm for the nonholonomic mobile robots tracking problem

The tracking control of nonholonomic mobile robots has been an important class of control problems. This paper deals with the design and real-time implementation of a discrete-time super twisting control algorithm for nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots, without the previous knowledged of the plant model or its parameters. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller experimental results are included for a nonholonomic mobile robot QBot®3.
Determining the Similarity of Geometric Models

The development of systems which recover geometric models of objects and environments from sensed data require effective measures of modeling accuracy. Even relatively simple geometric measures of shape similarity are computationally complex and difficult to define with precision. We argue that more meaningful measures of modeling accuracy must be developed within the context of the functions served by the entities being modeled.
Benefits and Impact of Cloud Computing on 5G Signal Processing: Flexible centralization through cloud-RAN

Cloud computing draws significant attention in the information technology (IT) community as it provides ubiquitous on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources with minimum management effort. It gains also more impact on the communication technology (CT) community and is currently discussed as an enabler for flexible, cost-efficient and more powerful mobile network implementations. Although centralized baseband pools are already investigated for the radio access network (RAN) to allow for efficient resource usage and advanced multicell algorithms, these technologies still require dedicated hardware and do not offer the same characteristics as cloud-computing platforms, i.e., on-demand provisioning, virtualization, resource pooling, elasticity, service metering, and multitenancy. However, these properties of cloud computing are key enablers for future mobile communication systems characterized by an ultradense deployment of radio access points (RAPs) leading to severe multicell interference in combination with a significant increase of the number of access nodes and huge fluctuations of the rate requirements over time. In this article, we will explore the benefits that cloud computing offers for fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks and investigate the implications on the signal processing algorithms.
EFFECTIVE POPULATION SIZES AND TEMPORAL STABILITY OF GENETIC STRUCTURE IN RANA PIPIENS, THE NORTHERN LEOPARD FROG

Abstract Although studies of population genetic structure are very common, whether genetic structure is stable over time has been assessed for very few taxa. The question of stability over time is particularly interesting for frogs because it is not clear to what extent frogs exist in dynamic metapopulations with frequent extinction and recolonization, or in stable patches at equilibrium between drift and gene flow. In this study we collected tissue samples from the same five populations of leopard frogs, Rana pipiens, over a 22–30 year time interval (11–15 generations). Genetic structure among the populations was very stable, suggesting that these populations were not undergoing frequent extinction and colonization. We also estimated the effective size of each population from the change in allele frequencies over time. There exist few estimates of effective size for frog populations, but the data available suggest that ranid frogs may have much larger ratios of effective size (Ne) to census size (Nc) than toads (bufonidae). Our results indicate that R. pipiens populations have effective sizes on the order of hundreds to at most a few thousand frogs, and Ne/Nc ratios in the range of 0.1–1.0. These estimates of Ne/Nc are consistent with those estimated for other Rana species. Finally, we compared the results of three temporal methods for estimating Ne. Moment and pseudolikelihood methods that assume a closed population gave the most similar point estimates, although the moment estimates were consistently two to four times larger. Wang and Whitlock's new method that jointly estimates Ne and the rate of immigration into a population (m) gave much smaller estimates of Ne and implausibly large estimates of m. This method requires knowing allele frequencies in the source of immigrants, but was thought to be insensitive to inexact estimates. In our case the method may have failed because we did not know the true source of immigrants for each population. The method may be more sensitive to choice of source frequencies than was previously appreciated, and so should be used with caution if the most likely source of immigrants cannot be identified clearly.