Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strong surround antagonism in the dLGN of the awake rat

Classical center-surround antagonism in the early visual system is thought to serve important functions such as enhancing edge detection and increasing sparseness. The relative strength of the center and surround determine the specific computation achieved. For example, weak surrounds achieve low-pass spatial frequency filtering and are optimal for denoising when signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low. Balanced surrounds achieve band-pass spatial frequency filtering and are optimal for decorrelation of responses when SNR is high. Surround strength has been measured in the retina and dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (dLGN), primarily in anesthetized or ex vivo preparations. Here we revisit the center-surround architecture of dLGN neurons in the un-anesthetized rat. We report the spatial frequency tuning responses of N=47 neurons. We fit these tuning curves to a difference-of-Gaussians (DOG) model of the spatial receptive field. We find that some dLGN neurons in the awake rat (N=8/47) have weak surrounds. The majority of cells in our sample (N=29/47), however, have well-balanced center and surround strengths and band-pass tuning curves. We also observed several neurons (N=10/47) with notched or dual-band-pass tuning curves, a response class that has not been described previously. Within the space of circularly concentric DOG models, strong surrounds were necessary and sufficient to explain the dual-band-pass spatial frequency tuning of these cells. It remains to be determined what advantage if any is conferred by this novel response class, or by the heterogeneity of surround strength as such. We conclude that surround antagonism can be strong in the dLGN of the awake rat.
Progress and challenges in using stable isotopes to trace plant carbon and water relations across scales

Abstract. Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool for assessing plant carbon and water relations and their impact on biogeochemical processes at different scales. Our process-based understanding of stable isotope signals, as well as technological developments, has progressed significantly, opening new frontiers in ecological and interdisciplinary research. This has promoted the broad utilisation of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen isotope applications to gain insight into plant carbon and water cycling and their interaction with the atmosphere and pedosphere. Here, we highlight specific areas of recent progress and new research challenges in plant carbon and water relations, using selected examples covering scales from the leaf to the regional scale. Further, we discuss strengths and limitations of recent technological developments and approaches and highlight new opportunities arising from unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution of stable isotope measurements.
Neutralization sensitivity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 is determined in part by the cell in which the virus is propagated

Neutralizing antibody responses to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vary widely and have not been reproducibly associated with prognosis or disease progression. We have found that both low-passage clinical isolates and laboratory-adapted strains of HIV-1 have different sensitivities to neutralization by the same antiserum, depending on the host cell in which the viral stock is prepared. One such isolate (VL069) grown in H9 cells was neutralized by 20 human sera at a geometric mean titer of 1:2,047; this same isolate prepared in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) culture was neutralized at a mean titer of < 1:10 by the same sera. Adsorption and mixing experiments indicated that neither antibody to H9 cell components nor blocking by excess viral antigen was responsible for the differences observed. This host cell effect is rapidly reversible upon passage of the virus from PBMCs to H9 cells and back into PBMCs. In contrast, the neutralization characteristics remained remarkably stable over extended culture in PBMCs. Two laboratory strains and five clinical isolates were evaluated in expanded studies of this phenomenon. While the neutralization characteristics of most of the strains studied were affected by the host cell in which the strain was propagated, two of the strains (one clinical isolate and one laboratory strain) appeared antigenically unaffected by their cell of origin. Host cell effect was also evident in neutralization by monoclonal antibodies directed against the CD4-binding region and the V2, V3, and gp41 regions. Possible mechanisms for this host cell effect include (i) mutation during passaging; (ii) selection in different host cells of different subpopulations of the (uncloned) viral stock; and (iii) cell-specific posttranslational modifications. To explore these possibilities, the V3 through V5 region of gp120 was sequenced in preparations made by passing VL069 into H9 cells and into PBMCs; HIVMN grown in CEM-SS cells and in PBMCs was also sequenced. In both cases, a few amino acid changes outside the V3 region were found. Studies are currently under way to assess the significance of these changes.
The future of ancient DNA: Technical advances and conceptual shifts

Technological innovations such as next generation sequencing and DNA hybridisation enrichment have resulted in multi‐fold increases in both the quantity of ancient DNA sequence data and the time depth for DNA retrieval. To date, over 30 ancient genomes have been sequenced, moving from 0.7× coverage (mammoth) in 2008 to more than 50× coverage (Neanderthal) in 2014. Studies of rapid evolutionary changes, such as the evolution and spread of pathogens and the genetic responses of hosts, or the genetics of domestication and climatic adaptation, are developing swiftly and the importance of palaeogenomics for investigating evolutionary processes during the last million years is likely to increase considerably. However, these new datasets require new methods of data processing and analysis, as well as conceptual changes in interpreting the results. In this review we highlight important areas of future technical and conceptual progress and discuss research topics in the rapidly growing field of palaeogenomics.
Neuropsychological detection and characterization of preclinical Alzheimer's disease

Article abstract—We attempted to characterize the changes in cognition associated with the earliest, or preclinical, stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by administering a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery to a group of initially nondemented older adults participating in a prospective epidemiologic study of dementia. Using Cox regression analyses, we examined the associations between baseline neuropsychological test scores and subsequent development of AD. Results confirmed preliminary findings that baseline scores on the Boston Naming Test, Immediate Recall on the Selective Reminding Test, and the Similarities subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised were significantly and independently associated with later diagnosis of AD. Analyses controlled for the effects of age, education, sex, and language of test administration. These results lend support to the notion of a preclinical phase of AD and indicate that this very early stage of AD is characterized by poor word-finding ability, abstract reasoning, and memory.
Hemodynamic correlates of proteinuria in chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Brachial artery measures of BP are associated with increasing degrees of proteinuria. Whether central measures of BP or vascular stiffness are associated with increased risk of proteinuria in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Measurements of central and brachial artery BP, and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) were performed in a cross-sectional cohort of patients with CKD (n = 2144) from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study to determine factors which predict increased risk of proteinuria. Multivariate analysis stratified by diabetes included age, ethnicity, gender, estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR), waistline, smoking, heart rate, and medications to evaluate the relationship of hemodynamic factors and proteinuria. RESULTS Brachial artery systolic BP (SBP) was important as an explanatory factor for variations in proteinuria among both diabetics (R(2) = 0.40, P < 0.0001) and non diabetics (R(2) = 0.38, P < 0.001). Measures of peripheral pulse pressure (PP), central SBP, and central pulse pressure added little to the explained variation in proteinuria beyond brachial artery SBP, whereas PWV as a measure of vascular stiffness incrementally accounted for a significant portion of variation in proteinuria beyond that explained by brachial artery SBP in diabetics (R(2) = 0.42, P < 0.001) but not non diabetics. CONCLUSIONS Brachial artery SBP and PWV are both associated with variations in proteinuria in patients with CKD.
Code-Switching event detection based on delta-BIC using phonetic eigenvoice models

This paper presents a new paradigm for code-switching event detection based on delta Bayesian Information Criterion ( ∆ BIC). First, an automatic speech recognizer (ASR) and an articulatory feature (AF) detector are constructed. The inter-syllable boundaries obtained from the ASR are regarded as the potential code-switching boundaries. To estimate the language likelihood, eigenvoice models (EVMs) are employed to model the relationship between the senones/articulatory attributes and their corresponding eigenvoices constructed from the training data for different languages. The Euclidean distance and the inner product-based direction between the eigenvoice vector of the input sentence and the eigenvoice vector of a senone or an articulatory attribute in the EVMs for different languages are calculated for ∆ BIC-based language likelihood estimation. Then, an n syllable Bayesian mask centered at each potential boundary is then employed to output the likelihood of language change for the potential boundary. Finally, the dynamic programming algorithm is employed to search the best language sequence given the inter-syllable boundaries from the ASR. The proposed approach was evaluated on a Chinese-English code-switching speech database and the results show that 71 . 93% accuracy for code-switching event detection can be obtained.
Interleukin-5, eosinophils and the control of helminth infections in man and laboratory animals

The immune response to infection normally results in the expansion of T helper 1 (Thl) or Th2 lymphocyte populations. These mature lymphocytes are probably derived from a common native precursor capable of alternate phenotypic differentiation through an antigen specific intermediate ThO cell stage (Reiner, 1994; Brown et al, 1993; Chensue et ah, 1993). ThO cells secrete interferon gamma (INF-gamma), interleukin 2 (IL2) and IL4 (Brown et ah, 1993; Chensue et ah, 1993). A successful Thl response results in cells that secrete INF-gamma, tumour necrosis factor beta (TNF beta) and IL2. This type of immune response results in delayed type hypersensitivity reactions and the overall inhibition of antibody production but in some experimental studies in mice, an increased synthesis of IgG2a has been described (Cher & Mosmann, 1987; Else et al, 1990; Else & Grencis 1991; Finkelman & Urban, 1992). Activated Th2 cells secrete IL5, IL4, IL9 and IL10. These secretions result in the induction of intestinal mastocytosis, the growth and maturation of blood and tissue eosinophils, and immunoglobulin secretion by B cells, particularly IgE and IgGl, (Mosmann & Coffman, 1989; Mosmann, 1991; Finkelman et al, 1991; Thompson-Snipes et ah, 1991). In some host-parasite relationships, the type and magnitude of these mutually inhibitory immune responses are important determinants of immune protection (Horowitz et al, 1986; Fiorentino et al, 1989). Recent analysis of the cytokine secretion patterns of mouse and human Th cell clones has revealed the existence of other phenotypes which may represent various intermediate stages
Frequency, severity and duration of immune reconstitution events in HIV-related tuberculosis.

SETTING Patients were enrolled in a prospective trial of rifabutin-based tuberculosis (TB) treatment for human immunodeficiency virus related TB. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) was encouraged, but not required. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the frequency, risk factors and duration of immune reconstitution events. DESIGN Patients were prospectively evaluated for immune reconstitution events, and all adverse event reports were reviewed to identify possible unrecognized events. RESULTS Of 169 patients, 25 (15%) developed immune reconstitution events related to TB. All 25 were among the 137 patients who received ART during TB treatment, so the frequency in this subgroup was 18% (25/137). Risk factors for an immune reconstitution event in multivariate analysis were Black race, the presence of extra-pulmonary TB and a shorter interval from initiation of TB treatment to initiation of ART. The most common clinical manifestations were fever (64%), new or worsening adenopathy (52%) and worsening pulmonary infiltrates (40%). Twelve patients (48%) were hospitalized for a median of 7 days, six underwent surgery and 11 had needle aspiration. The median duration of events was 60 days (range 11-442). CONCLUSION Immune reconstitution events were common among patients receiving ART during TB treatment, produced substantial morbidity and had a median duration of 2 months.
Design equations for sub-optimum operation of class-E amplifier with nonlinear shunt capacitance

Design equations for satisfying sub-optimum operating conditions of class E amplifier with a nonlinear shunt capacitance with a grading coefficient of 0.5 at the duty cycle D = 0.5 are derived. By exploiting sub-optimum class E operation, various amplifier parameters such as input voltage, operating frequency, output power, and load resistance can be set as design specifications. An example of a design procedure of the class E amplifier is given. The theoretical results were verified with PSpice simulation.
Managing oral anticoagulation therapy by pharmacists in a specialty heart hospital.

Warfarin is effective in reducing risks for primary and secondary thromboembolic events [1,2]; however, the medication requires continuous monitoring for drug–drug interactions, food–drug interactions and therapeutic assessment. Inappropriate monitoring of oral anticoagulants can be inimical to patient health, leading to side effects such as bleeding episodes as high as 10–16% and treatment failures such as stroke, deep vein and arterial thrombosis, and myocardial infarction [3]. Given the potential risks associated with anticoagulant use, the Food and Drug Administration directed attention to the importance of warfarin monitoring with a black box warning issued for warfarin in October 2006 stating that ‘regular monitoring of INR should be performed on all treated patients [4]’. To improve monitoring, an anticoagulation clinic was established according to American College of Chest Physicians guidelines that specifically encouraged a concerted effort in the coordination of patient care, international normalized ratio (INR) testing, tracking, follow-up and patient education [5]. Besides the need to determine clinical effectiveness, more information was needed to evaluate the impact of pharmacist-managed anticoagulation monitoring on patients in a clinical setting where pharmacists have direct patient contact and access to doctors, nurses and other professionals responsible for patient care. The purpose of this study was to compare patient anticoagulation monitoring by pharmacists with usual care provided by cardiologists in an outpatient setting. Methods
Comparaison Internationale En Matière De Gouvernement D'Entreprise

Cet article compare les modeles canadiens, francais et allemands ainsi que les principes promulgues par l'OCDE en matiere de gouvernement d'entreprise. Cette analyse est effectuee a l'aide d'une typologie fondee sur le modele integrateur de Zhara et Pierce 1989 et d'une recension des pratiques suivies par les entreprises, telles que divulguees dans leurs rapports annuels.
Generic icons – yes or no?

The information society has become increasingly dependant on programs that are subjected to frequent evolutive, basic and logical changes for a variety of reasons whereas the visual design of the program/program interface mostly remains the same or gets slightly modified. The development of technology has become to such an extent a commonplace that the use of redesigned programs implies icons that are visually acceptable although representing obsolete technologies and that are eventually hard to change due to the habits developed by the program users. The research presents a study into the personal preference as to a particular icon, “Save” for example, and into the perception of the visual identities of today's programs under the circumstance of program icons being not compliant with the technological state-of-the-art. Based on the obtained results, the survey that included students attending web design and media technician courses and ECDL course participants who come in contact with computers and programming tools for the first time should enlighten both teachers and designers of programming interfaces about the way of linking the formal knowledge with a constructivist approach to designing and redesigning programs.
Two-dimensional modeling of channel hot-electron effects in silicon MOSFETS

Earlier models have successfully modeled currents associated with device degradation caused by channel hot electrons. In this work, a high accuracy two-dimensional model of a silicon MOSFET is combined with a model of the SiO2- Si interface which includes both the energy dependence of the interface traps within the silicon bandgap and the dependence of the oxide charge and the interface traps along the channel of the transistor. This model allows modeling of the effects of channel hot electrons on the subthreshold, linear, and saturation region after injection of the device to be modeled without introducing free parameters.
Single parametric fuzzy adaptive PID control and robustness analysis based on the queue size of network node

Due to its proruption characteristic, the available-bit-rate (ABR) traffic flow in asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks often causes network overload and network congestion. To provide solutions to the overload and congestion problems, a single parametric fuzzy adaptive PID control mechanism, which is based on the queue size at the network node, is proposed and analyzed. Simulation that runs on the OPNET software is carried out on the single node traffic model. The simulation results show that the mechanism proposed works well in terms of convergence speed of PED parameters, stability of the queue size, and system robustness.
EFFECTS OF MOUSE TUMOR TRANSPLANTATION ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Mammalian tumors were first grown successfully on the chorio-allantoic membrane of the chick embryo by M ~ r p h y . ~ The recent development of this technique has been surveyed by Karnofsky, et a1.7 The first intraembryonic transplants of normal mouse tissue were performed by Rawles.lo Bueker2 has combined both techniques: he implanted mouse tumor in the body wall of three-day embryos. This experiment was performed in connection with certain neuro-embryological problems. Previous experiments had shown that the differentiation of primary sensory and motor systems in amphibia and in chick embryos is to a large extent under the control of extrinsic factors: The effect exerted by the periphery is not a speciesspecific; transplantations in Amphibia (Harrison,6 Detwiler3) had proved the capacity of nerve fibers to invade heteroplastic structures. The same compatibility was demonstrated by Buekerl to exist between nerve fibers of the chick embryo and the peripheral field provided by the guinea hen embryo. By transplanting mouse tumors intra-embryonically, Bueker wanted to test the capacity of nerve fibers to invade tissue of a different class. In addition, it was his intention to confront the nerve fibers with a homogeneous tissue, rather than with a set of heterogeneous and complex structures, as represented by a limb. He performed transplantations of three different tumors: mouse adeno-carcinoma which completely failed to grow, fowl Rous sarcoma which caused extensive hemorrhage and had no effect on the nerve structures, and mouse sarcoma 180, which grew vigorously and was invaded by nerve fibers of the host. The attention was then focused on sarcoma 180. The characteristics of tumor growth and the response of the spinal nerve centers were investigated in embryos between six and nine days of incubation, that is, between three and six days after the implantation of the tumor. In this short lapse of time, the tumor had infiltrated the somatopleure of the body wall of the embryo and bulged as a conspicuous mass in the coelomic cavity. The mesonephros was partly invaded and destroyed. In eightto nine-day embryos, nerve bundles were found inside the tumor. The sensory ganglia on the side and at the level of the tumor were considerably enlarged in comparison with the contralateral ganglia. The size increase was 33 per cent on the average. The motor column at the same level was, on the contrary, hypoplastic. The increase in size of the sensory ganglia and the coincident reduction of the motor column were taken as evidence for the sensory nature of the nerve fibers in the tumor. The author concluded that histochemical properties of the tumor favored the branching of sensory nerve fibers, whereas somatic motor fibers were refractory to these agents. Three important facts were thus established: (1) the sensory ganglia are responsive not only to tissues of the same class, but also to structures of a
Improving navigation support by taking care of drivers' situational needs

Current in-car navigation systems provide only a limited level of adaption to the driver and driving conditions. The driver's actual information need while interacting with the navigation interface is not taken into account. This paper aims at investigating the impact of situational features on the drivers' support need as well as proposing modes of adaptation for situation-aware navigation support. Therefore, three studies were conducted. It became evident that the driver's need for more or less navigation support depends on the complex interplay of different characteristics of the driver, the vehicle, and the driving environment. Based on our findings, a set of driving situation related adaption rules for a more user centered navigation support is proposed.
Resource management issues in future wireless multimedia networks

Broadband multimedia services and wireless services are becoming very popular. They are presently the two major drivers in the telecommunication industry. It is expected that wireless mobile users' demands for multimedia mobile services will rapidly increase in the future. The paper starts by presenting the evolution of wireless networks to support future integrated multimedia wireless personal services and highlight the need for efficient resource management. The limited resources in wireless systems, such as spectrum resource and transmitter power also stress the need for efficient resource management. Emphasis is given in the paper to the discussion of the channel allocation, mobility management, and bandwidth distribution problems. A review of some approaches proposed in the literature to solve these problems is presented. Finally, the paper discusses some of the key resource management issues that need to be addressed in the context of future wireless mobile networks that support multimedia communications while ensuring quality of service guarantees.