Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activation of experimental epileptogenic foci. Action of increased K+ in extracellular spaces of the brain.

INVESTIGATIONS carried out in our laboratory during the past three years have demonstrated that relatively small increases in potassium (K + ) concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) perfused over the dorsal hippocampus 1 or neocortex 2 can initiate seizure activity in these structures. A latent period of 15 to 40 minutes elapses between the beginning of the perfusion and the start of seizure activity, indicating the presence in the normal brain of probably functional barriers protecting neurons against K + accumulation. Analysis of evoked responses 3 and slow potential (DC) shifts 4 during the period in which the epileptogenic phenomena are built up disclosed almost identical changes with those induced by rapid repetitive electrical epileptogenic stimulation of the same structures. These findings, along with data obtained by others, 5-11 have led to the hypothesis that a localized increase of potassium in the extracellular spaces of the brain could be able to
Visual Motorcycle Detection and Tracking Algorithms

Although the motorcycle is a popular and convenient means of transportation, it is difficult for researchers in intelligent transportation systems to detect and recognize, and there has been little published work on the subject. This paper describes a real-time motorcycle monitoring system to detect, recognize, and track moving motorcycles in sequences of traffic images. Because a motorcycle may overlap other vehicles in some image sequences, the system proposes an occlusive detection and segmentation method to separate and identify motorcycles. Since motorcycle riders in many countries must wear helmets, helmet detection and search methods are used to ensure that a helmet exists on the moving object identified as a motorcycle. The performance of the proposed system was evaluated using test video data collected under various weather and lighting conditions. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective for traffic images captured any time of the day or night with an average correct motorcycle detection rate of greater than 90% under various weather conditions. Key-Words: Motorcycle detection, Visual, Tracking, Occlusion, Segmentation, Traffic monitoring.
Modeling and Simulation of Offshore Wind Farms for Farm Level Control

This paper presents a procedure for wind farm model simulation. The simulation model serves as a benchmark for controller development and verification in the EU-FP7 project Aeolus. A generic dynamic flow modeling relates single turbine production and fatigue load to the map of wind speeds. The model integrates the wind farm aerodynamics to the dynamics of individual turbines by means of wake meandering. The model gives engineers the possibility to model different farm size and arrangements. Eventually, the OWEZ offshore wind farm is simulated by this model.
A note on the hermite basis computation of large integer matrices

A new algorithm is given and analyzed for the computation of the Hermite basis of a large integer matrix whose HNF has small essential part. The algorithm improves the results from [3] by dropping two key requirements on the matrix considered---sparsity and small kernel dimension---at the cost of relying on small determinant size.
LANDSAT-2 Data for Inventorying Rangelands in South Texas

A 81,000-ha ~angeland a~a in Kenedy and Willacy Counties, Texas, was used to test LANDSAT-2 MSS data from Octobe~ 17 and Decembe~ 10, 1975 fo~ invento~ing ~angeland and va~ious othe~ land-use catego~ies. Compute~ land-use classification pe~ent­ ages of land cove~ fo~ each ove~pass we~ compa~ed with photo-estimated pe~entages from a g~und co~elated 1:100,000 scale LANDSAT colo~ composite p~int. We found a highly significant co~elation (~ = 0.977**) between the photoand compute~-estimated hecta~ages fo~ the Octobe~ LANDSAT-2 ove~ass. The co~~elation was not significant fo~ the Decembe~ ove~ass la~gely because about half of the most extensive ~ange­ land catego~ (mixed b~ush) was misclassified as ~assland, p~obably because the woody species we~e do~nt and ~eeze damage had weakened the he~baceous vegetation ~eflectance. Compute~ estimates of level I land-use (~angeland, wetland, a~icultu~al land, wate~, and ba~en land) hecta~age from both ove~asses ~sembled photo-estimated hecta~ages, indicating the feasibility of estimating level I land-use catego~ies in eithe~ Octobe~ o~ Decembe~. Compute~ estimates of level II land-use (~asslands, mixed b~ush, and live oak ~angelands) hecta~ages a~eed with photo-estimated hecta~ages only in Octobe~, indicating that living vegetation is needed to spec~ally disc~iminate between level II ~angeland catego~ies.
A non-linear post filtering method for flicker reduction in H.264/AVC coded video sequences

The H.264/AVC coding standard reduces the blocking artifact by applying a spatial loop-filter in the encoder and in the decoder. However, the temporal fluctuation or flickering artifact is still noticeable between intra-coded frames or between an intra (I) frame and the preceding or subsequent inter prediction (P) frames. This paper proposes a non-linear temporal filter to reduce the flickering artifact and preserve image sharpness of the reconstructed video, by using a robust prior model. Performance of the flickering reduction with proposed filter is evaluated by a temporal metric, namely the sum of square difference (SSD), and the traditional measure, the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR).
Evolutionary Algorithms, Multiobjective Optimization, and Applications

This paper gives an introduction into evolutionary computation, in particular in the light of multiobjective optimization, and demonstrates how evolutionary algorithms can be used to tackle a highly demanding application in telecommunications , namely the design of a network processor. To illustrate the basic principles of multiobjective optimization and evolutionary algorithms , consider the following example: given is a set of items together with a profit and a weight associated with each item; the goal is to determine a subset of items such that the overall profit, i.e., the sum of the profits of the selected items, is maximum, while the overall weight, i.e., the sum of the weights of the selected items, is minimal. This problem is generally denoted as knapsack problem. Now assume that four items are available: a camera (weight = 750, profit = 5), a thermos flask (weight = 1500, profit = 8), a pocket knife (weight = 300, profit = 7), and a book (weight = 1000, profit = 3). The set of all possible selections contains 16 possible subsets (cf. Fig. 1), in general 2 n where n is the number of items. In this context, two observations can be made: there is no single optimal selection of items, and some subsets are better than others. With respect to the first issue, the empty subset minimizes the overall weight, while the set containing all items maximizes the overall profit. We say the two optimization criteria are conflicting. Nevertheless, subsets for which there exists another subset that is better in at least one criterion, while not being worse in the other criterion, can be neglected. As a consequence, a set of optimal trade-offs emerges as shown in Fig. 1 at the bottom. At the end, though, we are interested in a single solution, and therefore a decision making process is necessary: which of the optimal trade-offs represents the best compromise for our needs? In practice, the search for optimal solutions by using an appropriate optimization algorithm and the decision making process can be integrated in different ways. One possibility is to aggregate the multiple optimization criteria into a single one. That means the decision is made before the search. In our example, one could transform the second objective into a constraint and look for the selection with maximum profit that does not exceed a given weight bound. Alternatively, we can first search for all optimal …
Festival speaks Italian!

Finally Festival speaks Italian. In this work, the development of the first Italian version of the Festival TTS system is described. One male and one female voice for three different speech engines are considered: the Festival-specific residual LPC synthesizer, the OGI residual LPC Plug-In for Festival and the MBROLA synthesizer. The new Italian voices will be freely available for download for non-commercial purposes together with specific software modules at http://nts.csrf. pd.cnr. it/IFD/Pages/Italian-TTS.htm. This paper is devotedly dedicated to the memory of Mike Macon, whose recent passing on was really a shock to all of his friends.
Efficient Power Management Circuit: From Thermal Energy Harvesting to Above-IC Microbattery Energy Storage

An autonomous power generator unit including two micropower sources and their management IC has been fabricated: a RF power receiver and a 1 V miniature thermogenerator combined with a micropower DC/DC up-converter are combined with a 78% efficiency manager and charger, and a 5 nW discharge monitor to manage and store the harvested energy in a 30 above-IC deposited microbattery.
Changes in Spectral Properties, Chlorophyll Content and Internal Mesophyll Structure of Senescing Populus balsamifera and Populus tremuloides Leaves

In this paper we compare leaf traits and spectral reflectance for sunlit and shafded leaves of Populus tremuloides and Populus balsamifera during autumn senescence using information derived from an Analytical Spectral Devise (ASD) Full Range spectrometer. The modified simple ratio (mSR705) and modified normalized difference index (mND705) were effective in describing changes in chlorophyll content over this period. Highly significant (P<0.01) correlation coefficients were found between the chlorophyll indices (mSR705, mND705)) and chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a/b. Changes in mesophyll structure were better described by the plant senescence reflectance index (PSRI) than by near-infrared wavebands. Overall, P. balsamifera exhibited lower total chlorophyll and earlier senescence than P. tremuloides. Leaves of P. balsamifera were also thicker, had a higher proportion of intercellular space in the spongy mesophyll, and higher reflectance at 800 nm. Further research, using larger sample sizes over a broader range of sites will extend our understanding of the spectral and temporal dynamics of senescence in P. tremuloides and P. balsamifera and will be particularly useful if species differences are detectable at the crown level using remotely sensed imagery.
Software project planning for robustness and completion time in the presence of uncertainty using multi objective search based software engineering

All large-scale projects contain a degree of risk and uncertainty. Software projects are particularly vulnerable to overruns, due to the this uncertainty and the inherent difficulty of software project cost estimation. In this paper we introduce a search based approach to software project robustness. The approach is to formulate this problem as a multi objective Search Based Software Engineering problem, in which robustness and completion time are treated as two competing objectives. The paper presents the results of the application of this new approach to four large real-world software projects, using two different models of uncertainty.
The neurobiological basis for partial agonist treatment of nicotine dependence: varenicline

Smoking cessation has major health benefits for men and women of all ages. However, most smokers are addicted to nicotine and fail repeatedly in their attempts to quit. Stimulation of nicotinic receptors in the brain, particularly α4β2 receptors, releases dopamine in the meso‐limbic area of the brain and is reinforcing. Nicotine abstinence reduces dopamine release, and this is associated with withdrawal symptoms and craving for nicotine. Eight current pharmacotherapies – bupropion, nortriptyline, clonidine and nicotine patch, gum, inhaler, lozenge and nasal spray – are moderately effective aids to smoking cessation. Each is significantly better than placebo, but approximately 80% of patients using one of these medications return to smoking within the first year. Varenicline, a specific α4β2 nicotinic receptor partial agonist, is a new pharmacotherapy that stimulates dopamine and simultaneously blocks nicotine receptors. Phase II and III trials have yielded promising results suggesting that varenicline could be an important advance in the treatment of nicotine dependence.
Mechanism of action of injection therapy for bleeding peptic ulcer

The effects of intramucosal injection of 1: 100 000 adrenaline, 5 per cent ethanolamine and normal saline were determined in experimentally created, acutely bleeding gastric mucosal wounds in rabbits. The mean(s.d.) bleeding rate was decreased from 2.3(0.4) to 0.2(0.02) ml/min by adrenaline (P < 0.01), but increased by 1 ml 5 per cent ethanolamine to 4.0(0.6) ml/min (P < 0.05). Normal saline had no haemostatic effect, suggesting that local tamponade is not important. In separate experiments endoscopic injections of 5 per cent ethanolamine, 1: 100 000 adrenaline and normal saline were made in the gastric antrum of rabbits. After 48 h the degree of inflammation was greatest with ethanolamine but, despite tissue necrosis and venous thrombosis, neither endarteritis nor arterial thrombosis occurred. Injections of 5 per cent ethanolamine and 80 per cent ethanol placed next to the ear arteries of rabbits caused local ulceration and necrosis, but endarteritis and arterial thrombosis were again absent.
Social exclusion: Cultural dissonance between Travellers and non-Travellers in British secondary schools

The British government aims to provide education for all and meet every student’s basic learning needs. The school system is the main avenue for educating pupils in Britain, but it is based on dominant cultures in the UK and does not always enable pupils from subordinate cultures to learn and develop their principles and values, especially students from Romani backgrounds. Such practices could lead to social exclusion. This paper looks at the cultural dissonance between Travellers and non-Travellers in British secondary schools. It analyses cultural discord between Traveller and non-Traveller pedagogies, traditions, behaviour, beliefs, expectations and values. The discordance could lead to Traveller pupils’ social exclusion, and the paper concludes by suggesting ways that schooling could improve the system, so that Travellers are more likely to be included. In doing so, there is more chance of a successful education for all that meets basic learning needs and enriches more students’ lives.
Acute haemodynamic response to sleeping head-up at 6 inches in older inpatients

Dr. C. -W. Fan, MB, MRCPI (&) D. Gasparro, BSc, MSc Æ V. Crowley, MRCPath, FFPath (RCPI) C.J. Cunningham, MD, FRCPI Mercer’s Institute for Research on Ageing (MIRA) Hospital 4 Top Floor St James’s Hospital Dublin 8, Ireland Tel. : +353-1/428-4095 Fax: +353-1/410-3454 E-Mail: cfan@stjames.ie j Abstract Objective Our aim was to investigate the effect of monotherapy of sleeping head-up (SHU) at 6 in. in a group of older inpatients with OH from all causes. Methods We recruited nine consecutive inpatients (mean age (SD) 76(5) years) with persistent, symptomatic OH with a mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) drop on standing and nadir SBP of 68 (27.8) and 94 (19.2) mmHg respectively. All patients underwent SHU for 1 week. Beat-to-beat haemodynamics during lying and standing, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, supine haematocrit, urea/ electrolytes, plasma renin activity and aldosterone were measured before and after intervention. Results One week after SHU, SBP, stroke volume and cardiac output increased significantly (all P < 0.05) by 12 mmHg, 15 ml and 1.3 l/minutes respectively while heart rate and total peripheral resistance were significantly reduced by 3.6 bpm and 0.355 dynes/s/cm respectively during 2 minute of standing. Serum creatinine was also significantly lower. Five patients improved in their mobility following SHU. Interpretations SHU for 1 week at 6 in. was well tolerated by older inpatients with OH, associated with improved orthostatic tolerance, and with haemodynamic changes in keeping with increased extracellular volume. SHU at 6 in. has a role in the acute treatment of OH for patients in hospital, but its longerterm effects and in the out-patient setting require further study.
Optical detection of neuromodulatory effects of conditioned taste aversion in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis.

Multiple site optical recording was used to analyze the neural activity changes caused by conditioned taste aversion (CTA) training in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. In response to electrical stimulation of the median lip nerve, which transmits chemosensory signals of appetitive taste to the central nervous system, we optically detected large numbers of spikes in several parts of the buccal ganglion. The effects of CTA training on the spike responses were examined in two areas of the ganglion where the most active neural responses occurred. In one area (termed Area I) that included the N1 medial (N1M) cells, a class of central pattern generator interneurons involved in feeding behavior, the number of spikes in a period 1500-2000 ms after median lip nerve stimulation was significantly reduced in conditioned animals compared to control animals. In another area (termed Area II) positioned between buccal motoneurons, the B3 and B4CL (cluster) cells, the evoked spike responses were unaffected by CTA training. These results, taken together with our previous results indicating an enhancement of an inhibitory input to the N1M cells during CTA, suggest that an appetitive taste signal transmitted to the N1M cells through the median lip nerves is suppressed during CTA, resulting in a decrease of the feeding response.
Reducing power consumption of dedicated processors through instruction set encoding

With the increased clock frequency of modern, high-performance processors (over 500 MHz, in some cases), limiting the power dissipation has become the most stringent design target. It is thus mandatory for processor engineers to resort to a large variety of optimization techniques to reduce the power requirements in the hot zones of the chip. In this paper, we focus on the power dissipated By the instruction fetch and decode logic, a portion of the processor architecture where a lot of capacitance switching normally takes place. We propose a methodology for determining an encoding of the instruction set that guarantees the minimization of the number of bit transitions occurring inside the registers of the pipeline stages involved in instruction fetching and decoding. The assignment of the binary patterns to the op-codes is driven by the statistics concerning instruction adjacency collected through instruction-level simulation of typical software applications; therefore, the technique is best exploited when applied to encode the instruction set of core processors and microcontrollers, since components of these types ore commonly used to execute fixed portions of machine code within embedded systems. We illustrate the effectiveness of the methodology through the experimental data we have obtained on an existing microprocessor.
Seasonal Change in Trophic Niche of Adfluvial Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus) and Coexisting Fishes in a High-Elevation Lake System

Introduction of non-native species is a leading threat to global aquatic biodiversity. Competition between native and non-native species is often influenced by changes in suitable habitat or food availability. We investigated diet breadth and degree of trophic niche overlap for a fish assemblage of native and non-native species inhabiting a shallow, high elevation lake system. This assemblage includes one of the last remaining post-glacial endemic populations of adfluvial Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in the contiguous United States. We examined gut contents and stable isotope values of fish taxa in fall and spring to assess both short- (days) and long-term (few months) changes in trophic niches. We incorporate these short-term (gut contents) data into a secondary isotope analysis using a Bayesian statistical framework to estimate long-term trophic niche. Our data suggest that in this system, Arctic grayling share both a short- and long-term common food base with non-native trout of cutthroat x rainbow hybrid species (Oncorhynchus clarkia bouvieri x Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). In addition, trophic niche overlap among Arctic grayling, hybrid trout, and brook trout appeared to be stronger during spring than fall. In contrast, the native species of Arctic grayling, burbot (Lota lota), and suckers (Catostomus spp.) largely consumed different prey items. Our results suggest strong seasonal differences in trophic niche overlap among Arctic grayling and non-native trout, with a potential for greatest competition for food during spring. We suggest that conservation of endemic Arctic grayling in high-elevation lakes will require recognition of the potential for coexisting non-native taxa to impede well-intentioned recovery efforts.
Responses to converting enzyme and renin inhibition. Role of angiotensin II in humans.

We compared the renal vascular responses to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition and renin inhibition to assess the influence of angiotensin II (Ang II). We examined the renal and endocrine responses to the renin inhibitor enalkiren, to captopril, and to placebo in nine healthy and nine hypertensive men on a 10-mmol sodium diet. Ang II was infused to assess effects of the agents on renal and adrenal responsiveness to Ang II. Plasma Ang II concentration was suppressed similarly with enalkiren and captopril--an identical level of blockade was achieved. Although renal plasma flow was stable during placebo, a substantial rise was seen with both enalkiren (+133 +/- 26 mL/min per 1.73 m2) and captopril (+99.4 +/- 22.6). There was remarkable intrasubject concordance between the renal plasma flow responses to renin inhibition and converting enzyme inhibition (r = .90, P < .004). The vasodilator response to both agents correlated inversely with the fall in renal plasma flow induced by Ang II alone (r = -.66, P < .05). Both agents significantly enhanced the renal vascular response to Ang II (P = .01), and, furthermore, the renal vasodilator response to captopril predicted the potentiation of the renal plasma flow response to Ang II after either agent (enalkiren: r = .91, P < .001; captopril: r = .56, P < .05). Concordance of the maximal renal plasma flow response to the two agents appeared in the hypertensive men as well. Our results indicate that the acute renal response to captopril largely reflects a reduction in Ang II formation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Robust Adaptive Beamforming Based on Interference Covariance Matrix Reconstruction and Steering Vector Estimation

Adaptive beamformers are sensitive to model mismatch, especially when the desired signal is present in training snapshots or when the training is done using data samples. In contrast to previous works, this correspondence attempts to reconstruct the interference-plus-noise covariance matrix instead of searching for the optimal diagonal loading factor for the sample covariance matrix. The estimator is based on the Capon spectral estimator integrated over a region separated from the desired signal direction. This is shown to be more robust than using the sample covariance matrix. Subsequently, the mismatch in the steering vector of the desired signal is estimated by maximizing the beamformer output power under a constraint that prevents the corrected steering vector from getting close to the interference steering vectors. The proposed adaptive beamforming algorithm does not impose a norm constraint. Therefore, it can be used even in applications where gain perturbations affect the steering vector. Simulation results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed adaptive beamformer is almost always close to the optimal value across a wide range of signal to noise and signal to interference ratios.