Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence for visuomotor priming effect

‘WHILE seated, the patient took a glass, gave it to the examiner and then picked up a jug. He poured water into the glass and, having put down the jug, took the glass …’. This compulsive behaviour, described by Lhermitte in patients with frontal lobe lesions, is an example of how, without any internal motivation, visual stimuli may impel a patient to act and ‘grasp the objects presented and use them’. We investigated whether this behaviour is a pathological manifestation of a normal, automatic object to action transformation. To test this, we primed normal subjects, while ready to execute a grasping movement, by visually presenting them with drawings irrelevant to the task to be executed. Drawings visually congruent with the object to be grasped markedly reduced the reaction time for grasping. These data represent the first evidence for the existence of a visuomotor priming. Seeing an object facilitates an action congruent with the visual properties of that object.
Comparison of the Effects of Environmental Parameters on Growth Rates of Vibrio vulnificus Biotypes I, II, and III by Culture and Quantitative PCR Analysis

ABSTRACT Vibrio vulnificus is a natural inhabitant of estuarine waters. The three known biotypes include (i) most human pathogens, (ii) primarily eel pathogens, and (iii) pathogens associated with fish and with human wound infections in Israel. Despite the frequently lethal consequences of V. vulnificus infections, the growth rates of the various biotypes and their response to environmental changes are not well characterized. We compared the specific growth rates (μ) of a representative of each biotype by culture and quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis in a defined medium under varied pH, temperature, and salinity. Growth rates based on culturable concentrations were always higher than those based on qPCR estimates; however, both enumeration methods yielded comparable results on the influence of environmental factors on growth rates. Temperature (25°C, 30°C, 37°C), pH (7.0, 8.0), and salinity (5 to 40‰) all had significant effects on the μ of each biotype. Temperature had the greatest effect on the μ of biotype 1 (CMCP6), whereas salinity had the greatest effect on the μ of biotypes 2 (ATCC 33147) and 3 (302/99). The biotypes' growth rates varied significantly; biotype 1 grew most rapidly, while biotype 3 grew most slowly. The highest growth rates were achieved at 37°C, pH 7.0, and salinities of 15 to 30‰ (μ = 4.0, 2.9, and 2.4 generations h−1 for biotypes 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Other strains of the biotypes yielded comparable results, suggesting that the physiological responses of the biotypes are differentially affected by parameters that are highly variable both in estuarine environments and between the free-living and pathogen states of V. vulnificus.
Sequential Closed-Form Semiblind Receiver for Space-Time Coded Multihop Relaying Systems

In this letter, we present a sequential closed-form semiblind receiver for a one-way multihop amplify-and-forward relaying system. Assuming Khatri–Rao space-time coding at each relay, it is shown that the system with <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula> relays can be modeled by means of a generalized nested PARAFAC model. Decomposing this model into <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K+1$ </tex-math></inline-formula> third-order PARAFAC models, we develop a closed-form semiblind receiver for jointly estimating the information symbols and the individual channels, at the destination node. Each step consists of a Khatri–Rao factorization. Parameter identifiability conditions are given, and simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed semiblind receiver.
Mode selection and resource allocation for device-to-device communications in 5G cellular networks

To meet the increasing demand of wireless broadband applications in future 5G cellular networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) communications serve as a candidate paradigm to improve spectrum efficiency. Considering the challenges after D2D transmission is introduced for future cellular networks, this paper deals with mode selection and resource allocation issues related with D2D communications. First, we propose a mode selection scheme which aims at guaranteeing the transmission of cellular users and also considering the potential interference. We analyze the condition under which D2D underlay mode should be used. Second, we answer the question of “how to effectively reuse cellular resource once underlaying mode is adopted”. We further present a resource allocation scheme that focuses on minimizing overall interference as well as a power control method to improve the performance of D2D systems. Simulation results demonstrate that system parameters greatly affect the switching condition of mode selection and probability of choosing underlay mode. Furthermore, for D2D underlaying scenario, the proposed resource allocation algorithm guarantees the transmission of cellular users with consideration of transmission requirements of D2D users. Hence, the proposed scheme can achieve better user experience.
Electrochemical and spectroscopic characterization of a dicobalt macrocyclic Pacman complex in the catalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction in acid media

The dicobalt complex [Co2(L2)] of a Schiff-base pyrrole macrocycle adopts a Pacman structure in solution and the solid state and shows much greater catalytic activity and selectivity for the four-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) than the mononuclear cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) counterpart. Soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) shows that the Co center in Co2(L2) is of the same valence as mononuclear CoPc. However, the former complex shows higher unoccupied Co 3d density which is believed to be beneficial for electron transfers. Furthermore, the XAS data suggests that the crystal fields for Co2(L2) and CoPc are different, and that an interaction remains between two Co atoms in Co2(L2). DFT calculations imply that the sterically hindered, cofacial structure of the dicobalt complex is critical for the operation of the four-electron reaction pathway during the ORR.
Wnt Signaling and Survival of Women With High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer: A Brief Report

Objective Ovarian cancer is the gynecologic malignancy with the highest case-fatality rate due to the development of chemotherapy resistance. Predictors of chemotherapy response are needed to guide chemotherapy selection and improve survival for patients with ovarian cancer. Wnt signaling may impact chemoresistance in ovarian cancer. Methods We studied The Cancer Genome Atlas patients with ovarian cancer treated with intraperitoneal or intravenous-only adjuvant chemotherapy. Cox regression tested associations of expression of 26 Wnt pathway genes with progression-free survival and overall survival. Permutation tests compared survival between chemotherapy groups stratified by expression. P values are two-tailed. Results Increased FZD3 was associated with increased survival (intraperitoneal group, overall survival: hazard ratio [HR], 0.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.11–0.72, P = 0.009; progression-free survival: HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.37–0.92, P = 0.020) (intravenous-only group, overall survival: HR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.72–0.99, P = 0.039; progression-free survival: HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73–0.95, P = 0.006). Low FZD3 predicted decreased overall survival after intraperitoneal versus intravenous-only chemotherapy (21.7 vs 33.3 months, P < 0.0001). Increased APC2 was associated with decreased overall survival (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.05–1.42; P = 0.009) and progression-free survival (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.12–1.45; P = 0.0002). Conclusions Up-regulated tumor Wnt signaling predicts increased ovarian cancer survival. FZD3 may predict benefit from intraperitoneal chemotherapy.
Life expectancy and health expenditure evolution in Eastern Europe—DiD and DEA analysis

ABSTRACT Background: Exploration of long-term health expenditure and longevity trends across three major sub-regions of Eastern Europe since 1989. Methods: 24 countries were classified as EU 2004, CIS, or SEE. European Health for All Database (HFA-DB) 1989–2012 data were processed using difference-in-difference (DiD) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). Results: The strongest expenditure growth was recorded in EU 2004 followed by SEE and the CIS. A surprisingly similar longevity increase was present in SEE and EU 2004. In 1989, countries that joined EU in 2004 were relatively inefficient in the number of life-years gained yet had a lower life expectancy than the SEE region and was only slightly higher than the CIS region (DEA). By 2012 the revenue spent was roughly linear to additional life-year expectancies. Conclusion: EU 2004 members were the best performers in terms of balanced longevity increase followed by health expenditure growth. The SEE economies’ longevity gains were lagging slightly behind at a far lower cost. An extrapolated CIS expenditure to longevity increase ratio has the fastest-growing long-term promise.
Richards Equation–Based Modeling to Estimate Flow and Nitrate Transport in a Deep Alluvial Vadose Zone

Heterogeneity in unsaturated soils and sediments is well known to exist at different scales, from microscopic scale to macroscopic scale. Characterization of different types of heterogeneity in deep vadose zones is challenging because of the usual lack of information at such sites. In this paper, we considered a site with detailed geological, chemical, and hydraulic properties measurements throughout an approximately 16‐m deep vadose zone consisting of unconsolidated, alluvial deposits typical for the alluvial fans of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California. At the agricultural site, data were also available for a 7‐yr long field fertilization experiment that we used to independently estimate the amount of nitrate stored within the vadose zone at the end of the experiment. Simple mass balance calculations were performed and compared to six conceptually different two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional vadose zone numerical models that were implemented to represent varying degrees of hierarchical details of heterogeneity. Despite widely differing structure and heterogeneity of unsaturated flow, all models resulted in a narrow range of estimated nitrate storage in the deep vadose zone for near‐cyclically repeated water and nitrogen fertilizer applications. Simulated nitrate storage was found to be approximately six to eight times larger than the measured storage at the field. Simulated nitrate variability, while qualitatively similar in pattern, was considerably lower than measured, despite the large simulated hydraulic variability. This study underscores that physical heterogeneity of deep vadose zones may have limited effects on the transfer of conservative contaminants applied repeatedly to the land surface. It also raises questions about our understanding of the chemical fate of nitrate in the vadose zone; and suggests the presence of a significant immobile moisture domain within the deep vadose zone that is not explainable by heterogeneity of Richards equation parameters, yet needs to be considered for simulating nitrate transport under conditions of cyclical infiltration with gravity dominated convective flux.
Basic Science for the Clinical Electrophysiologist The Pathophysiologic Basis of Fractionated and Complex Electrograms and the Impact of Recording Techniques on Their Detection and Interpretation

Extracellular electrograms, recorded directly from the heart, are the hallmarks of invasive cardiac electrophysiology and provide information about the electric status of the underlying myocardium. These electrograms are generated by depolarization of cardiomyocytes that generates transmembrane currents in extracellular space and potential differences due to electric resistance of the extracellular medium. In healthy myocardium, the basic configuration of the extracellular electrogram is simple. Under pathological conditions, however, electrograms may consist of multiple components and long duration, which have been attributed to abnormal conduction and arrhythmogenicity. Although complex and fractionated electrograms are presently considered to be a real phenomenon, this was not the case some 20 years ago. Debates about the “fact or artifact” of complex and fractionated electrograms were common.1 At that time, electrograms consisting of multiple “high frequency” components with low amplitudes and long duration, termed “fractionated,” were recorded in patients with healed myocardial infarction during endocardial mapping. Several investigators presumed that fractionated electrograms were artifacts, resulting from movements between electrode and myocardium, filter characteristics of amplifiers, or represented far field effects. A classic example to support the “artifact theory” was the recording of continuous activity from the jello brain.2 In those days, much attention had been paid to fractionated electrograms in healed myocardial infarction to guide catheter ablation or antiarrhythmic surgery.3–5 Although artifacts indeed may cause complex electrograms, most of the complex and fractionated electrograms are a “fact” and caused by the peculiar behavior of activation fronts, due to structural and electric complexity of the underlying myocardium. This article delineates the origin of the unipolar extracellular electrogram, reviews the circumstances that cause fractionated and complex electrograms, and discusses the impact of the recording technique on detection and interpretation of multifaceted electrograms.
Migratory Activation of Primary Cortical Microglia upon Infection with Toxoplasma gondii

ABSTRACT Disseminated toxoplasmosis in the central nervous system (CNS) is often accompanied by a lethal outcome. Studies with murine models of infection have focused on the role of systemic immunity in control of toxoplasmic encephalitis, while knowledge remains limited on the contributions of resident cells with immune functions in the CNS. In this study, the role of glial cells was addressed in the setting of recrudescent Toxoplasma infection in mice. Activated astrocytes and microglia were observed in the close vicinity of foci with replicating parasites in situ in the brain parenchyma. Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites were allowed to infect primary microglia and astrocytes in vitro. Microglia were permissive to parasite replication, and infected microglia readily transmigrated across transwell membranes and cell monolayers. Thus, infected microglia, but not astrocytes, exhibited a hypermotility phenotype reminiscent of that recently described for infected dendritic cells. In contrast to gamma interferon-activated microglia, Toxoplasma-infected microglia did not upregulate major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules and the costimulatory molecule CD86. Yet Toxoplasma-infected microglia and astrocytes exhibited increased sensitivity to T cell-mediated killing, leading to rapid parasite transfer to effector T cells in vitro. We hypothesize that glial cells and T cells, besides their role in triggering antiparasite immunity, may also act as “Trojan horses,” paradoxically facilitating dissemination of Toxoplasma within the CNS. To our knowledge, this constitutes the first report of migratory activation of a resident CNS cell by an intracellular parasite.
The New Vision: Photography Between the World Wars : Ford Motor Company Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

A broad historical study of the provocative innovations of European and American photography between the World Wars. This volume presents more than 160 images from the Ford Motor Company Collection, a group of about 500 photographs formed by John C. Waddell, which Ford Motor Company and the collector recently gave to the Metropolitan Museum. The photographs illustrated here by Man Ray, Walker Evans, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Andre Kertesz, Alfred Stieglitz, Berenice Abbott and some 70 other artists chart the urban, technological and psychological revolutions of the modern age.
Unexpected Stability of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes Communities in Laboratory Biogas Reactors Fed with Different Defined Substrates

ABSTRACT In the present study, bacterial communities in 200-liter biogas reactors containing liquid manure consecutively fed with casein, starch, and cream were investigated over a period of up to 33 days. A 16S rRNA gene clone library identified Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes as the most abundant bacterial groups in the starting material, at 58.9% and 30.1% of sequences, respectively. The community development of both groups was monitored by real-time PCR and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. The Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes communities were unexpectedly stable and hardly influenced by batch-feeding events. The continuous feeding of starch led to community shifts that nevertheless contributed to a stable reactor performance. A longer starving period and a change in the pH value resulted in further community shifts within the Bacteroidetes but did not influence the Firmicutes. Predominant DNA bands from SSCP gels were cloned and sequenced. Sequences related to Peptococcaceae, Cytophagales, and Petrimonas sulfuriphila were found in all samples from all experiments. Real-time PCR demonstrated the abundance of members of the phylum Bacteroidetes and also reflected changes in gene copy numbers in conjunction with a changing pH value and acetate accumulation.
A new variable step-size normalized subband adaptive filter algorithm employing dynamic selection of subband filters

This paper presents a new variable step-size normalized subband adaptive filter (VSS-NSAF) algorithm with dynamic selection (DS) of subband filters. The selection strategy is performed to achieve the largest decrease between the successive mean square deviations at every iteration. The proposed VSS-DS-NSAF has fast convergence speed and low steady-state mean square error (MSE). Also due to DS feature, the VSS-DS-NSAF has lower computational complexity than VSS-NSAF. We demonstrate the good performance of the proposed algorithm through several simulations in system identification scenario.
Content Delivery Networks as a Virtual Network Function: A Win-Win ISP-CDN Collaboration

The switch in video delivery from traditional medium to Over-The-Top (OTT) based services has been a game changer for stakeholders of the media delivery ecosystem. It has changed the value chain enabling Content Delivery Networks and Content Providers to take the lion's share at the expense of Internet/Network Service Providers. Even if establishing collaboration between them naturally appears as the key to provide good Quality of Service to the end-users, they struggle in finding efficient and fair ways to do so. This paper directly tackles this problem and proposes a new model for content delivery actors to collaborate over a Virtualized Infrastructure, fairly balancing the revenue stream created. We list the main challenges and the new technical opportunities to solve them, among which the deployment of a distributed Network Function Virtualization (NFV) platform at the edge of the Internet Service Provider's network where a virtual Content Delivery Network (vCDN) is proposed to be deployed. Furthermore, we apply a game-theoretic analysis to study different ISP-CDN collaboration models and identify optimality conditions for our proposed CDN-as-a-Virtual-Network-Function approach.
Behavior control for robotic exploration of planetary surfaces

This paper describes a series of robots developed at JPL to demonstrate the feasibility of using a behavior-control approach to control small robots on planetary surfaces. The round-trip light-time delay makes direct teleoperation of a mobile robot on a planetary surface impossible. Planetary rovers must therefore possess a certain degree of autonomy. However, small robots can only support small computers (due mostly to power, not size constraints). Behavior control provides a means of autonomous control that requires very little computation. The robots described in this paper all used 8-bit, 1-MIP microprocessors with as little as 4 k and no more than 40 k of memory, and extremely simple sensors. Despite these limitations they reliably perform both autonomous navigation and manipulation in both indoor and outdoor rough-terrain environments. >
Computing phylogenetic trees using topologically related minimum spanning trees

Choi et al. [2] introduced a minimum spanning tree (MST)-based method called CLGrouping, for constructing tree-structured probabilistic graphical models, a statistical framework that is commonly used for inferring phylogenetic trees. While CLGrouping works correctly if there is a unique MST, we observe an indeterminacy in the method in the case that there are multiple MSTs. We demonstrate the indeterminacy of CLGrouping using a synthetic quartet tree and a tree over primate genera. The indeterminacy of CLGrouping can be removed if the input MST shares a topological relationship with the corresponding phylogenetic tree. We introduce so-called vertex order based MSTs (VMSTs) that are guaranteed to have the desired topological relationship. We relate the number of leaves in the VMST to the degree of parallelism that is oﬀered by CLGrouping. We provide polynomial-time algorithms for constructing VMSTs and for selecting a VMST with the optimal number of leaves.
Learning the Cultural Consistent Facial Aesthetics by Convolutional Neural Network

Studying facial aesthetics has stimulated great interests in psychology and computer science due to a constant debate on whether it is cross-culture coherent or culture specific. Most computational models follow the cross-culture coherence theory and quantify the facial aesthetics by handcrafted geometry and appearance features, however, which are not directly derived from the raw data. In this work, we develop an end-to-end Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model to recognize the facial aesthetics, which is able to learn the aesthetics attributes automatically from data. By visualizing the attributes in the last fully connected layer, we find that they are largely consistent with the cross-culture coherence theory. Furthermore, the learned attributes in the sallower layer illustrate a potential correlation with the culture specific theory. This research demonstrates a case study of the complicated facial aesthetics cognition.