Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skeletons in Motion, Ancestors in Action: Early Mesolithic Collective Tombs in Southern Belgium

Collective tombs are a characteristic feature of Neolithic societies of Western Europe. Some recent studies have suggested that they originated from an earlier tradition of individual burials at the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition. The concept of collective burial involving movement and manipulation of bodies and body parts is, however, entirely different. The former tries to preserve the integrity of the bodies and does not acknowledge the stages of metamorphosis of the corpse. The latter by contrast involves observation and assistance in the dissolution of the body. Recent discoveries of Early Mesolithic collective tombs in southern Belgium have underlined the fact that collective burials are far from restricted to Neolithic contexts in Western Europe. They themselves, however, are not merely a potential point of origin for Middle and Late Neolithic collective tombs but form part of a long-standing tradition reaching back into the Upper Palaeolithic.
Survey of gross anatomy, microscopic anatomy, neuroscience, and embryology courses in medical school curricula in the United States

Directors of courses in the basic anatomical sciences in allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in the United States were surveyed regarding the present composition of their courses. Results indicate the majority of gross anatomy courses are in the range of 126 to 200 total course hours, and that laboratory dissection is a key component of these courses. The majority of microscopic anatomy courses are in the range of 61 to 100 total course hours, generally divided equally between lecture and laboratory components. Additionally, despite the availability of computer technology, microscopes are still used in the vast majority of microscopic anatomy courses. The majority of neuroscience courses are in the range of 71 to 90 total course hours, with most of these hours devoted to lectures. Embryology is usually taught in conjunction with gross anatomy, although some schools present it with the microscopic anatomy course or as a separate course. Most embryology courses are in the range of 6 to 20 total course hours, with only a few having a laboratory component. Anat Rec (New Anat) 269:118–122, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fractionating the neural substrate of cognitive control processes

Psychological and neurobiological theories of cognitive control must account for flexible, seemless transitions among cognitive operations. When subjects switch between tasks, they must both inhibit the previous task and re-engage in a different task. Inhibition of the disengaged task remains active for a period of time and has to be overcome when re-engaging in the same task. Here we used a task-switching paradigm that allows distinction of two control processes: overcoming the inhibition of a previously performed task when re-engaging it and restarting a sequence of tasks after a period of interruption. Behaviorally, these processes were reflected in the facts that: (i) switching to a recently performed task, that is thus unlikely to have fully recovered from inhibition, takes longer than switching to a task less recently performed and (ii) re-engaging in a sequence of tasks after a period of interruption transiently increases response time. Using event-related functional MRI, we found that these two behavioral effects were accompanied by a double dissociation: the right lateral prefrontal cortex was more activated when switching to a task recently performed compared to a task less recently performed, while the anterior cingulate cortex was recruited when a sequence of tasks was initiated. These results provide insights into the functional organization of the frontal lobe in humans and its role in distinct processes involved in cognitive control.
Synchronous signal acquisition and processing in FMCW-radar applications

This paper introduces a new method of signal acquisition, processing and data representation for improved system performance in Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar systems. The method utilizes synchronization between ramp generation and baseband signal conversion to significantly improve target recognition in processing algorithms. Even under heavy noise situations the target frequency in the FFT spectrum can be isolated from the noise floor with an improvement of 6dB over conventional approaches. As a side effect the method helps to save processing time by dropping calculation steps of common signal processing chains.
Classics and Digital Humanities

“Digital Humanities” is the current umbrella term, one which is gaining wide currency, despite its relatively recent popularization, for a variety of activities at the intersection of humanities and computing. Though the field itself is well over fifty years old, Digital Humanities seems to have recently caught the attention of the popular press. The New York Times’ series, entitled “Humanities 2.0,” explores “how digital tools are changing scholarship in history, literature and the arts. ” One such piece earlier this year highlighted work like that of Stanford’s Dan Edelstein on the intellectual networks of Enlightenment thinkers. (In classical circles, the Hestia Project is doing analogous work on spatial networks in Herodotus.) A more recent piece shows off the use of Second Life and the 3–D models of the Theatron project for teaching and research. The attention is great, but there is of course a certain blindness in these reports. One report in the New York Times seems astounded that humanities scholars – they’re the pale ones hanging out near the library, right? – even know how to use computers. (The piece is framed with an appraisal of the whole digital project by Anthony Grafton which misleadingly makes Grafton’s sober assessment sound like partial condemnation.) The popular press’s rhetoric of “cutting edge” distorts the situation, illustrated easily enough within our own discipline. Classics boasts some of the longest-running projects in the digital realm, many of which are now so familiar that it is difficult to think of them as “Digital Humanities. ” The Bryn Mawr Classical Review, for example, is the second-oldest online academic journal. The Perseus Digital Library started up in 1985 and the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae some forty years ago, in 1972. Computer analysis of classical texts extends back to the earliest days of humanities computing. It is worth recalling that the very first project in Digital Humanities was the work of Father Roberto Busa, beginning in 1949, to construct a concordance to the works of Thomas Aquinas with the aid of early computers, a project which, if not strictly “classical,” has at least linguistic kinship. So even if the Grey Lady is oblivious to the history of Digital Humanities, this most recent percolation into the popular press captures something essential and distinctive about Digital Humanities at this particular moment (and in distinction to the modes of doing humanities computing over the past decades). Matthew Kirschenbaum, in a recent genre piece on the perennial Digital Humanities question, “What is Digital Humanities,” ends with this public dimension:
L’apprentissage émotionnel à distance de l’échec

Cette recherche etudie l’effet d’un echec sur l’attitude ulterieure des individus face a un nouveau projet. A l’aide de l’analyse des liens, dans la duree, entre deux equipements bordelais consacres au vin, les auteurs montrent l’existence d’un apprentissage emotionnel a distance de l’echec, qui est le fruit des demarches heuristiques utilisees par des professionnels pourtant competents dans leur domaine. Ces raisonnements simplifies sont lies a leur faible implication dans le projet ayant echoue.
Das endogene Cannabinoidsystem: ein neuer Akteur in der Gehirn-Darm-Fett-Achse

Das "Endocannabinoid-Rezeptorsystem" (ECBR-System) besteht aus spezifischen Rezeptoren und mehreren endogenen Liganden. Das ECBR-System ist an vielen physiologischen Funktionen, inklusive Immunabwehr, Entzundungen, Neurotoxizitat und Verletzungen des Nervensystems, Epilepsie, Depressionen und Stress, Appetit, Nahrungsaufnahme und Energiebalance, HerzkreislaufRegulation, Fortpflanzung und Knochenumbau beteiligt. Das Gehirn und das Magendarmsystem zeigen bei der Regulierung der Verdauungsprozesse, der Nahrungsaufnahme und der Energiebalance eine beidseitige Wechselwirkung (die "Gehirn-Darm-Achse"). Emotionaler Stress und das Belohnungszentrum im Gehirn beeinflussen die Gehirn-Darm-Achse. Das Vorkommen des ECBR-Systems im Gehirn, Magendarmtrakt sowie im Fettgewebe, als auch seine Beteiligung an Stress und emotionalen Prozessen weisen ihm eine wichtige Rolle bei der Nahrungsaufnahme, Verdauung und bei der Regulierung der Fettgewebsmasse und der hormonellen Funktion der Fettzellen zu. Cannabinoidrezeptoren und Endocannabinoide sind bereits in den fruhen embryonalen Stadien und in der Muttermilch vorhanden, und das ECBR-System scheint eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Milchaufnahme von Neugeborenen zu spielen. Es wird gefolgert, dass (1) das ECBR-System ein wichtiger Vermittler zwischen dem Gehirn und dem Verdauungssystem ist, (2) die Rolle des ECBR-Systems bei der Regulierung von Nahrungsprozessen von Erwachsenen ein Uberbleibsel seiner entscheidenden Rolle beim Beginn der Nahrungsaufnahme von Neugeborenen ist, und (3) der uberall vorhandene Einfluss des ECBRSystems auf die Kontrolle der Nahrungsaufnahme machen es zu einem hochst interessanten Ziel fur therapeutische Entwicklungen fur Erkrankungen wie entzundliche Darmerkrankungen, Reizdarm, Magengeschwure, Ubelkeit, Fettleibigkeit, Appetitlosigkeit und fruhkindliche Entwicklungsstorungen. Stichworter: CB1, CB2, Entwicklung, Nahrungsaufnahme, Appetit, Magendarmtrakt, Fettgewebe
DysWebxia 2.0!: more accessible text for people with dyslexia

Even if dyslexia is neurological in origin, certain text modifications could make texts more accessible for people with dyslexia. We introduce DysWebxia 2.0, a model that integrates our findings from research conducted with this target group. It alters content and presentation of the text to make it more readable. We also present the current integrations of DysWebxia in different reading software applications.
Convergence of Kohonen's learning vector quantization

It is shown that the learning vector quantization (LVQ) algorithm (T. Kohonen, 1986), converges to locally asymptotic stable equilibria of an ordinary differential equation. It is shown that the learning algorithm performs stochastic approximation. Convergence of the vectors is guaranteed under the appropriate conditions on the underlying statistics of the classification problem. Also presented is a modification to the learning algorithm which results in more robust convergence. With this modification, it is possible to show that as the appropriate parameters go to infinity, the decision regions associated with the modified LVQ algorithm approach the Bayesian optimal
Carcinome hépatocellulaire et maladie ferroportine

La surcharge en fer est un facteur de risque demontre de carcinome hepatocellulaire (CHC). Les mutations du gene SLC40A1, codant pour la ferroportine (FPN), conduisent a des surcharges martiales majeures. Des cas isoles de sujets atteints de maladie ferroportine et de CHC ont ete rapportes. Le but de cette etude est de preciser la frequence des mutations du gene SLC40A1 chez les malades ayant une surcharge en fer hepatique majeure et un CHC. Tous les malades ayant un CHC, pris en charge consecutivement entre janvier 2009 et septembre 2010 (234 malades) ont ete etudies dans ce travail prospectif. Douze malades ayant un genotype HFE C282Y homozygote ont ete exclus. 109 malades avaient des perturbations du bilan martial serique (elevation de la ferritinemie ou du coefficient de saturation de la transferrine). Ces patients ont eu une determination de la concentration hepatique en fer (CHF) par IRM ou methode biochimique. Chez les 13 malades ayant une CHF > 100 μmol/g un sequencage a ete realise des 8 exons, des leurs jonctions et de la region 5'UTR du gene SLC40A1 par la methode Single Condition Amplification. Aucune alteration de sequence majeure n'a ete observee. Le polymorphisme c.44-24 G>C (IVS1) dont l'effet pathogene est controverse, est retrouve chez tous ces patients a l'etat homozygote ou heterozygote. Il apparait que les mutations du gene SLC40A1, ne sont qu'une cause marginale de CHC mais le role du polymorphisme c.44-24 G>C (IVS1) reste a preciser.
Overviews on the cellular uptake mechanism of polysaccharide colloidal nanoparticles

Nanoparticulate drug/gene carriers have gained much attention in the past decades because of their versatile and tunable properties. However, efficacy of the therapeutic agents can be further enhanced using naturally occurring materials‐based nanoparticles. Polysaccharides are an emerging class of biopolymers; therefore, they are generally considered to be safe, non‐toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable. Considering that the target of nanoparticle‐based therapeutic strategies is localization of biomedical agents in subcellular compartments, a detailed understanding of the cellular mechanism involved in the uptake of polysaccharide‐based nanoparticles is essential for safe and efficient therapeutic applications. Uptake of the nanoparticles by the cellular systems occurs with a process known as endocytosis and is influenced by the physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles such as size, shape and surface chemistry as well as the employed experimental conditions. In this study, we highlight the main endocytosis mechanisms responsible for the cellular uptake of polysaccharide nanoparticles containing drug/gene.
Nanoparticules à luminescence persistante pour l'imagerie optique in vivo

L'objectif de cette these a ete de developper et d'utiliser une nouvelle classe de sondes optiques ayant des proprietes de luminescence persistante. La luminescence persistante, plus connue du grand public sous le terme phosphorescence, est la propriete que possedent certains materiaux de continuer a emettre de la lumiere apres la fin de l'excitation. Le developpement rapide de nombreuses techniques d'imagerie durant les dernieres decennies (IRM, echo-doppler, scanner, PET.) repond a un besoin croissant d'images des biologistes et des medecins . De la simplification des travaux experimentaux a une detection precoce de maladies, une dynamique s'est creee autour des recherches en imagerie. Chaque technique possede avantages et inconvenients, rendant ainsi complementaires l'ensemble des imageries. L'imagerie optique est un domaine en pleine expansion avec des retombees directes en pharmacologie, dans le developpement d'outils d'aide au diagnostique et de recherches en biologie moleculaire et cellulaire. Malgre une utilisation toujours croissante de la fluorescence dans des etudes in vivo, cette technique souffre toutefois de limitations dues notamment a l'autofluorescence des tissus et a la faible penetration de la lumiere excitatrice. Ces contraintes limitent la capacite a imager des tissus profonds Pour pallier a ces contraintes, un procede base sur l'utilisation de nanomateriaux a luminescence persistante (phenomene communement appele phosphorescence) a ete developpe. Ces particules presentent l'avantage de pouvoir etre excitees prealablement a l'injection dans le milieu biologique et de pouvoir emettre de la lumiere durant plusieurs heures. Ceci permet d'eviter l'excitation des sondes a l'interieur de l'animal, supprimant ainsi les problemes d'autofluorescence des tissus. En utilisant ces sondes en imagerie du petit animal, nous avons montre qu'il est possible de suivre la biodistribution des nanoparticules en temps reel pendant plus d'une heure sans recourir a une quelconque excitation externe. Des modifications chimiques de surface nous ont permis d'etudier les differences de biodistribution des nanoparticules selon leurs charges de surface (positives, negatives ou neutres). Des experiences portant sur la localisation de tumeurs chez la souris ont egalement ete realisees avec succes.
Modeling of L-band Foam Emissivity and Impact on Surface Salinity Retrieval

This paper focuses on a detailed computation of foam/whitecap characteristics at L-band (1.4 GHz). The emphasis of our study is on the impact of so-called whitecap bubble plumes, which are the most abundant high-contrast oceanic objects at microwave frequencies. An advanced physics-based model is presented. The task is considered in connection with the retrieval of sea surface salinity using L-band microwave radiometry.
Mapping land use cover in Amazon region with COSMO SkyMed data

The Amazon region has intense clouds coverage and the use of radar images becomes an option for land use and land cover mapping to better characterize the deforestation areas already mapped by PRODES Project. This work analyses the potential of COSMO-SkyMed image to discriminate four classes of land use. It has used the original and filtered (Frost and Lee filters) data and the higher confusion occurred between woody vegetation and undergrowth classes. Among the 20 classifications, the results with the filtered image by Lee filter with window of 7×7 pixels presented a better performance, but other techniques should be evaluated.
&#x3bc;SDN: An SDN-Based Routing Architecture for Wireless Sensor Networks

Recently, the SDN paradigm, which splits the control and data planes, initially defined for wired networks, has been considered as a solution for the management of WSNs (Wireless Sensor Networks). However, the adoption of OpenFlow protocol, the most widely deployed SDN standard, directly into the WSNs may require novel / customized hardware or incur significant signaling overhead. This paper proposes a novel routing architecture for WSN, based on SDN principles, by extending existing protocols, which allows its deployment in legacy motes. A testbed based evaluation demonstrates the comparable performance results regarding signaling overheads and energy consumption to AODV and LQRP, routing protocols widely used in WSN and extended in this papers as a means of demonstrating the feasibility of a smooth transition to the future all-SDN WSNs. Although a case study has been conducted on a proprietary platform, the paper shows a viable path for similar extensions on other solutions to benefit from flexible management and programmability provided by the SDN paradigm.
Dilated Intercellular Spaces and Shunt Permeability in Nonerosive Acid-Damaged Esophageal Epithelium

OBJECTIVES:It has recently been established that patients with nonerosive reflux disease have on biopsy within esophageal epithelium a lesion known as dilated intercellular spaces (DIS). METHODS:To further explore the nature and implications of this lesion, in vitro models of nonerosive acid and acid-pepsin damage were created in Ussing chamber-mounted rabbit esophageal epithelium. Using these models circuit analysis and permeability studies were carried out, the latter using dextran of varying size and human epidermal growth factor (EGF). RESULTS:Luminal HCl, pH 1.1, or HCl, pH 2.0 + pepsin, 1 mg/ml, for 30 min significantly reduced transepithelial electrical resistance (RT) but produced no gross erosions or histologic evidence of cell necrosis. Transmission electron microscopy, however, documented the presence of DIS. Circuit analysis on healthy esophageal epithelium showed that shunt resistance (RS) was much lower than apical membrane, basolateral membrane and transcellular resistances (Ra, Rb, and Rcell, respectively) and approached that of RT. Further, circuit analysis on acid and acid-pepsin damaged tissues showed that the declines in RT resulted from declines in RS. Moreover, the declines in RT (and so RS) were associated with a linear increase in permeability to 4 kD dextrans as well as an increase in permeability to 6 kD EGF and dextrans as large as 20 kD.CONCLUSIONS:In nonerosive acid-damaged esophageal epithelium DIS develop in association with and as a marker of reduced transepithelial resistance and increased shunt permeability. This change in shunt permeability upon acid or acid-pepsin exposure is substantial, permitting dextran molecules as large as 20 kD (33 Å) to diffuse across the epithelium. Also, this shunt leak enables luminal EGF at 6 kD to diffuse across the acid-damaged epithelium and by so doing enables it to access its receptors on epithelial basal cells. We hypothesize that the shunt leak of EGF may in part account for the development of a reparative phenomenon on esophageal biopsy in patients with nonerosive reflux disease known as basal cell hyperplasia.
A new device to inseminate cows at the base of the uterine horns

A new device (Chapingo device) to deposit semen at the base of the uterine horns of cattle was developed at Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Mexico. Nine Holstein heifers were inseminated by transvaginal laparoscopy, using a laparoscope for cattle and the Chapingo device. A dose of sexed semen (2.1 × 106 spermatozoa) was deposited at the base of the uterine horn ipsilateral to the ovary where the preovulatory follicle was identified. Insemination was achieved in all the heifers, taking on average 13.7 ± 3.1 min per animal. In all cases, it was possible to see both ovaries, the base of the uterine horns and the oviducts. After the procedure, none of the heifers showed any type of complications such as haemorrhage, adhesions or trauma. On days 21 and 22 after insemination, four of the nine heifers (44.4%) returned into oestrus; on day 30 after insemination, one heifer was found to be pregnant by ultrasound. The results show the feasibility of generating pregnancies by transvaginal laparoscopy in heifers inseminated with sexed semen.
Magnetic and structural properties of FePt-FeRh exchange spring films for thermally assisted magnetic recording media

Recently a novel media structure for thermally assisted magnetic recording was proposed consisting of a layer of FePt exchange coupled to a FeRh layer. The FePt forms a high magnetocrystalline anisotropy, high coercivity ferromagnetic layer. The FeRh layer is antiferromagnetic at room temperature, but upon heating above a transition temperature becomes ferromagnetic with a large magnetic moment and low magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The coupled ferromagnetic FePt and FeRh layers form an exchange-spring system significantly lowering the coercive field of the composite system compared to a single layer of FePt. This feature opens intriguing possibilities for media applications for thermally assisted magnetic recording where the ferromagnetic phase of FeRh is exploited to help write the media while the low-temperature antiferromagnetic phase supports the long-term stability. Here temperature-dependent structural and magnetic measurements of undoped and doped FeRh single layer and FePt-FeRh bilayer films are presented and the promises and challenges of the exchange spring media structure are discussed.
The Nucleus Basalis of Meynert

ABSTRACT: The nucleus basalis of Meynert has been studied extensively in the recent literature. Interest in this nucleus has resulted from the discovery that it is a major source of cortical cholinergic input and that there is neuronal loss in the nucleus basalis in some dementing illnesses. Consistent and severe involvement of the nucleus basalis of Meynert has been found in Alzheimer's disease and in the dementia accompanying Parkinson's disease. Occasional involvement is present in other dementing illnesses, such as progressive supranuclear palsy, Parkinsonism-Dementia complex of Guam, dementia pugilistica, Pick's disease, Korsakoff's syndrome, Down's Syndrome and Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease. Huntington's disease spares this nucleus. However, the role of the nucleus in cognitive function is as yet undetermined. Even its alteration with normal aging remains controversial. This review details the pathological studies of this region to date, with particular emphasis on the dementias. Its role in the dementias of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease is specifically addressed.