Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electromagnetic Correlates of Recognition Memory Processes

Recognition memory is critically dependent on a hierarchically organized network of brain areas including the visual ventral stream, medial temporal lobe structures, frontal and parietal cortices. In recent years, cognitive theories of recognition memory have been helpful to further our understanding of the functional organization of this network. A prominent, although not unchallenged, set of theories proposes that recognition memory is not a unitary phenomenon, but can be based on the recollection of contextual information about events or on familiarity in the absence of recollection. A number of hemodynamic and electromagnetic studies have been undertaken to relate recollection and familiarity to neuronal substrates both in healthy subjects as well as in patients with brain lesions. Today, it is evident that both event-related potential and event-related field (ERP/ERF) data as well as data of oscillatory brain activity (e.g., theta oscillations) are necessary to fully understand the neural dynamics of recollection and familiarity and their relationship to functional anatomy. Ultimately, such data are required from patients with isolated brain injuries to designated components of the networks (such as the hippocampus) to obtain converging evidence for functional relationships between recollection and familiarity and respective neuroanatomic substrates. The complexity of this task is highlighted by findings indicating that recognition memory can already be affected by preparatory processes prior to stimulus onset.
Efficient Transmission Strategies Against Channel Time Variations in Multiuser MIMO Downlink Systems

Based on the analysis of the effect of the outdated channel state information (CSI) available at the transmitter (CSIT) on multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) downlink systems with block zero-forcing precoding (BZFP) method, two linear processing methods, BZFP at the transmitter with total MMSE decoding at the receiver (TBZF-RTMMSE) and BZFP at the transmitter with partial MMSE decoding at the receiver (TBZF- RPMMSE) are proposed. To fulfill them, a new pilot-sending and channel estimation architecture is introduced. Analysis and simulation results show that the two proposed methods can effectively reduce the impairment of the outdated CSIT and improve the system sum capacitv in the suitable time delav region of the CSIT.
Effects of Synthetic Blood Combined with Contrast Medium on Coronary Endothelium: An Experimental Study

The study described was carried out to evaluate endothelial injury following incubation of coronary material in contrast medium and in contrast medium diluted with fluorocarbon solution. Six porcine hearts were excised and isolated. Immediately thereafter, pieces of the main coronary arteries and ascending aortas were incubated in four different solutions: 1) blood, 2) contrast medium, 3) fluorocarbon solution, 4) fluorocarbon — contrast medium (1:1). Flow surfaces and coronary endothelial morphology were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Porcine blood (at room temperature) preserved endothelial structures intact but, in two samples, small patchy areas of denuded surface were found. Four minutes' immersion in contrast medium resulted in easily visible changes in the endothelial lining and individual cells. Denuded flow surface areas were common, the intact surface morphology was flattened. After 7 minutes, destruction was total. The addition of fluorocarbon solution to contrast medium (1:1) diminished the changes, which also occurred later than after incubation in pure contrast medium. After 7 minutes, separate endothelial cells were still identifiable but the microvilli had disappeared. Fluorocarbon solution preserved the endothelial lining well during a 10-minute follow-up period. The experimental protocol described confirmed the deleterious effect of con-trast medium on coronary endothelial lining, which could be reduced to some extent by adding fluorocarbon solution to contrast medium.
Expression of Prox1 defines regions of the avian otocyst that give rise to sensory or neural cells

The simple primordium of the inner ear (otocyst) differentiates into many cell types, including sensory neurons and hair cells. We examined expression of the divergent homeobox transcription factor, cProx1, during otocyst development in chickens. Nuclear cProx1 protein is not evident in the otic placode but emerges in the otic cup by stage 12. At stage 16, cProx1‐positive nuclei are scattered continuously throughout the neuroepithelium, from anteroventral to posteromedial. These labeled cells are neural precursors; they express βIII‐tubulin and migrate to the cochleovestibular ganglion between stages 13 and 21. By stage 18, two areas develop a dense pattern of cProx1 expression in which every nucleus is labeled. These areas emerge at the anterior and posterior extremes of the band of scattered cProx1 expression and express the sensory markers cSerrate1 and Cath1 by stage 23. Four discrete patches of dense cProx1 expression appear by stage 23 that correspond to the future superior crista, lateral crista, saccular macula, and posterior crista, as confirmed by immunolabeling for hair cell antigen (HCA) by stage 29. The remaining sensory epithelia display a dense pattern of cProx1 expression and label for HCA by stage 29. In the basilar papilla, nuclear cProx1 expression is down‐regulated in most hair cells by stage 37 and in many supporting cells by stage 40. Our findings show that regions of the otocyst that give rise to neurons or hair cells are distinguished by their relative density of cProx1‐positive nuclei, and suggest a role for cProx1 in the genesis of these cell types. J. Comp. Neurol. 460:487–502, 2003. Published 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
CD25+CD4+ Cells Contribute to Th2 Polarization during Helminth Infection by Suppressing Th1 Response Development1

Mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni develop polarized Th2 responses in which Th1 responses are prevented by IL-10-mediated suppression of IL-12 production. We show that dendritic cells from infected mice are primed to make IL-12 in response to CD40 ligation, and that IL-10 acts by inhibiting this process. In infected mice, two subpopulations of CD4+ cells, separable by their expression of CD25, make IL-10. CD25+CD4+ cells expressed forkhead box P3, inhibited proliferation of CD4+ T cells, and made IL-10, but little IL-5. In contrast, CD25−CD4+ cells failed to express forkhead box P3 or to inhibit proliferation and accounted for all the IL-5, IL-6, and IL-13 produced by unseparated splenic populations. Thus, CD25+ and CD25− subpopulations could be characterized as regulatory T cells (Treg cells) and Th2 cells, respectively. Consistent with their ability to make IL-10, both CD25+ and CD25−CD4+ T cells from infected mice were able, when stimulated with egg Ag, to suppress IL-12 production by CD40 agonist-stimulated dendritic cells. Additionally, in adoptive transfer experiments, both CD4+ subpopulations of cells were able to partially inhibit the development of Th1 responses in egg-immunized IL-10−/− mice. The relationship of Treg cells in infected mice to natural Treg cells was strongly suggested by the ability of CD25+CD4+ cells from naive mice to inhibit Th1 response development when transferred into egg-immunized or infected IL-10−/− mice. The data suggest that natural Treg cells and, to a lesser extent, Th2 cells play roles in suppressing Th1 responses and ensuring Th2 polarization during schistosomiasis.
Female Estrogen Receptor β−/− Mice Are Partially Protected Against Age‐Related Trabecular Bone Loss

Recently, it has been shown that inactivation of estrogen receptor β (ER‐β) by gene targeting results in increased cortical bone formation in adolescent female mice. To study the possible involvement of ER‐β in the regulation of the mature skeleton, we have extended the analyses to include 1‐year‐old ER‐β knockout mice (ER‐β−/−). Male ER‐β−/− mice did not express any significant bone phenotypic alterations at this developmental stage. However, the increase in cortical bone parameters seen already in the adolescent female ER‐β−/− mice was maintained in the older females. The aged female ER‐β−/− mice further exhibited a significantly higher trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) as well as increased bone volume/total volume (BV/TV) compared with wild‐type (wt) mice. This was caused by a less pronounced loss of trabecular bone during adulthood in female ER‐β−/− mice. The growth plate width was unaltered in the female ER‐β−/− mice. Judged by the expression of the osteoclast marker tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and cathepsin K (cat K; reverse‐transcription‐polymerase chain reaction [RT‐PCR]) as well as the serum levels of C‐terminal type I collagen cross‐linked peptide, bone resorption appeared unaffected. However, an increase in the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of the osteoblast marker core‐binding factor α1 (Cbfa1) suggested an anabolic effect in bones of old female ER‐β−/− mice. In addition, the mRNA expression of ER‐α was augmented, indicating a role for ER‐α in the development of this phenotype. Taken together, the results show that ER‐β is involved in the regulation of trabecular bone during adulthood in female mice and suggest that ER‐β acts in a repressive manner, possibly by counteracting the stimulatory action of ER‐α on bone formation.
Energy contribution in a DBD reactor

Summary form only given. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactors are widely used for such as ozone generation and pollution controls. The energy injected into a DBD reactor is used expectantly to generate ions, energized electrons, radicals and excited atoms/molecules to yield a non-thermal plasma. In such a plasma, generation or decomposition of chemicals via chemical reactions occurs. The evaluation of energy contribution to the generation of ions, energized electrons, radicals and excited atoms/molecules is of great interests in order to improve energy efficiency for the generation or decomposition of chemicals. In this study, experimental evaluation of the energy contribution to ozone generation has been carried out using a DBD reactor, a pulse power supply, a discharge voltage/current waveform measurement system, and an ozone monitor. Results will be presented.
Use of the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations in a clinically depressed sample: factor structure, personality correlates, and prediction of distress.

The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS; Endler & Parker, 1990) is a self-report measure of Emotion-, Task-, and Avoidance-oriented coping. The psychometric properties of the CISS were evaluated in a large sample of outpatients with major depressive disorder (N = 298). The CISS scales demonstrated good reliability and support for their factorial validity was obtained. Relationships between the CISS scales and the broad personality domains from the five-factor model of personality, as well as two measures of emotional distress, were examined. Less-adaptive coping strategies (i.e., Emotion-oriented coping) were associated with less-adaptive personality traits (i.e., Neuroticism) and with psychological distress (i.e., Depression), whereas the reverse was found regarding adaptive coping strategies (i.e., Task-orientated coping). The incremental validity of the CISS was demonstrated by multiple-regression analyses that found two CISS scales accounted for significant variance in psychological distress beyond that contributed by the demographic and personality variables.
Thermal Pathfinding for 3-D ICs

System architects traditionally use high-level models of component blocks to predict trends for various design metrics. However, with continually increasing design complexity and a confusing array of manufacturing choices, system-level design decisions cannot be made without considering physical-level details. This effect is more pronounced for 3-D integrated circuits (ICs) because it provides a plethora of physical-level design choices, such as the number of stacking layers and the type of 3-D bonding method, along with the choices provided by 2-D ICs. Thus, it is necessary for system-level flows to predict the complex interactions among system performance, power, temperature, floorplanning, process technology, computer architecture, and software/workloads. This is often called pathfinding. This paper presents a pathfinding flow that integrates SystemC transaction-level electrical and dynamic thermal simulations. The goal of this flow is to pass complex physical constraints to system architects in a convenient form. The applicability of the proposed flow is shown using an example stacking of two processor cores and L2 cache in two-tier 3-D stack.
Robust fuzzy control for vehicle lateral dynamic stability via Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy approach

This paper presents a robust fuzzy H∞ controller design for vehicle lateral dynamic stability control via a Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy modeling approach. As vehicle lateral dynamics possesses inherent nonlinearities, the main objective of this work is to deal with the nonlinear challenge in vehicle dynamics. First, the T-S fuzzy modeling approach is applied to represent the nonlinear Brush tire dynamics, and then the multi-model-based uncertain nonlinear vehicle lateral dynamics fuzzy system is established. In terms of the parallel-distributed compensation (PDC) strategy and defined premise variables, the robust fuzzy H∞ state-feedback controller is finally designed with Lyapunov theory and quadratic stabilization. Sufficient condition for the existence of such a robust fuzzy controller is derived and solved via a set of linear matrix inequalities. The simulations with a high-fidelity, CarSim®, full-vehicle model show the effectiveness of the proposed controller under a J turn-like maneuver.
An integrated approach to teaching introductory programming

Java Programming Laboratory (JPL) is a cloud based, integrated learning environment used for teaching introductory Java programming at Griffith University, Australia. JPL incorporates a number of features found in other successful programming learning environments and builds upon them with a range of innovative features. Learning to program is a threshold concept area for ICT students and success in this endeavour is paramount for student progression and retention. JPL provides a database that tracks individual students' successes and progression through scaffolded programming exercises and assessment items and gives students immediate feedback on their use of programming language syntax and correctness of problem solutions. A data querying and visualisation facility allows analysis of the database to provide real-time performance indicators from the overall course / problem level down to the individual student / specific problem level. Programming instructors and curriculum designers will find that this facility allows a responsive approach to student engagement, assistance and progression; as well as course problem tuning in a just-in-time manner.
On the key drivers of Brazilian household loan delinquency

We measure the significance and direction of main economic drivers of Brazilian household loan delinquency, using panel data during the period from 2004 to 2013 for all federal subnational entities. Addressing this issue for Brazil is relevant due to the recent crises in this economy. Our evidences about the role of poverty and unemployment in household decisions are useful to theoretical based models, because a source of inability of standard models to deal with household default behavior patterns in emerging economies can be due to the omission of relevant variables. As our main implications in practice, we invite policy makers to maintain fiscal austerity obtained in Brazil, giving priority to spending on social programs and maintaining employment, because the effect of the crisis on the social side may result in unsustainable levels of credit default, a collateral that seems to be forgotten by government decisions on resource allocation.
Telmisartan Treatment Decreases Visceral Fat Accumulation and Improves Serum Levels of Adiponectin and Vascular Inflammation Markers in Japanese Hypertensive Patients

Hypertension contributes to the occurrence and progression of cardiovascular diseases. The angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker telmisartan is reported to activate the peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ and improve insulin sensitivity. We investigated the effects of telmisartan treatment on visceral fat, serum adiponectin and vascular inflammation markers in Japanese hypertensive patients. This was an open-label, non-controlled study. Twenty-eight essential hypertensive patients (22 men and 6 women; age 60.6±1.9 years; body mass index [BMI] 25.5±0.6 kg/m2) participated. Fat area was assessed with computerized tomography. All the subjects were started on telmisartan 40 mg/day, which was increased to 80 mg/day to achieve the blood pressure target of less than 130/80 mmHg. We assessed the visceral and subcutaneous fat areas, serum adiponectin levels, and vascular inflammation markers at baseline and 24 weeks of telmisartan treatment. There were significant reductions in visceral fat area (from 103.1±7.9 to 93.3±8.4 cm2, p<0.01) and pulse wave velocity (from 1,706±52 to 1,587±51 cm/s, p<0.01) at 24 weeks. In contrast, significant increases in serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (from 5.06±0.15 to 5.32±0.13 mmol/L, p<0.05) and adiponectin levels (from 8.27±0.76 to 9.13±0.81 μg/mL, p<0.05) were observed. Also, there were reductions in the interleukin-6 level (from 2.26±0.27 to 1.60±0.14 pg/mL, p<0.01). We also conducted these investigations in male subjects alone and similar findings were obtained for all of these parameters. In conclusion, telmisartan treatment was associated with an improvement of vascular inflammation, reductions in visceral fat and increases in serum adiponectin.
Towards building a bus travel time prediction model for Metro Manila

Land Transportation Sector is one of the key sectors in the Philippine economy particularly in Metro Manila. With the rapid urbanization of the Philippines, the urban transport infrastructure is expected to experience pressures posing a major risk of urban transport degradation resulting into longer travel times, economic and productivity losses. In light of this, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) along with DOST-ASTI has initiated a project on implementing a bus management system for Public Utility Vehicles utilizing real time GPS location data. This study takes on establishing a travel time prediction for the buses given a specific route. The travel time estimation was performed using Extremely Randomize Trees, a supervised machine learning algorithm. The resulting prediction set had a correlation of determination score indicative of a good predictive performance for travel time prediction.
Structured light camera base 3D visual perception and tracking application system with robot grasping task

3D vision-based recognition as well as grasping of complex objects is required not only for detection and categorization but also for pose estimation and robotic pick-and-place operations. In this paper, we propose a structured light camera based 3D visual perception and tracking system application with robot arm grasping for manufacturing. In the first step, we use a geometric surface primitive patch segmentation approach based on Hough transforms to obtain accurate surface normal estimations from 3D point clouds for the identification of patch primitives. The most relevant primitives for our application include planar and cylindrical surface patches. We extract primitive surface patches from automotive CAD models in DXF or 3DS format. The models are then decomposed to simple entities such as planar polygons, vertexes and lines. Our system takes advantage of the available CAD data for both object recognition and for pose estimation. In the final step, we propose point based KLT tracking method with dominant features from object recognition results both raw data and CAD. Our experimental results demonstrate that we can show application results from YASKAWA MOTOMAN robots demonstration. Whole processes perform within few seconds, an accurate pose and reasonable tracking.
Underweight, overweight and obesity as risk factors for mortality and hospitalization

Aims: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in many countries. We aimed to investigate differences in mortality and severe morbidity between underweight people (body mass index (BMI)<18.5), overweight people (BMI 25 to <30), obese people (BMI≥30), and those with normal weights (BMI 18.5 to <25). Methods: Random samples of the Swedish population aged 16—74 years in 1980—81 and 1988—89 were followed for 12 years with regard to all-cause mortality and mortality from circulatory diseases, all inpatient care, and inpatient care for circulatory and musculoskeletal diseases. Relative risks (RRs) for different levels of BMI were adjusted for age, longstanding illness, smoking, and educational level at baseline. In addition, analyses were made with delayed entry until the fourth-year after interview. Results: Obesity and underweight, but not overweight, was associated with higher all-cause mortality. Among underweight men, the adjusted RR for all-cause mortality was 2.4 (95% confidence interval 1.6—3.6), and among underweight women it was 2.0 (1.5—2.7), but population attributable risks (PARs) were small, at 1.2% and 2.7%, respectively. Overweight was associated with increased risks for inpatient care for circulatory diseases, with PARs being 13.4% among men and 8.1% among women, and musculoskeletal diseases (PARs were 12.7% and 12.9%, respectively). Obese men and women had about 50% higher risks of all-cause mortality than normal-weight people, PARs being 3.2% and 3.8% respectively. Conclusions: This study supports the findings of other studies, in that overweight seems to be an exaggerated risk factor for all-cause mortality, but is related to other chronic disease. Underweight and obesity generally implies greater increases of RRs, but avoidance of overweight may have greater effect on the population level with regard to reduced cardiovascular and locomotor disease.
A New Dynamic Selector Based on the Bipolar RRAM for the Crossbar Array Application

Crossbar array architecture is usually used for the high-density integration of the RRAM device. However, the large sneak current in the passive crossbar array limits the increase in the integration density. In this brief, the bipolar TiN/TaOx/Pt RRAM device is proposed as the dynamic selector for the unipolar Pt/TaOx/Pt RRAM device to suppress the sneak current in the crossbar array. The testing results show that the bipolar RRAM can act as a good selector, and the sneak current is reduced by about two orders estimated by the 1/2 Vread voltage scheme. With the suppressed sneak current, the maximum size of the crossbar array with the bipolar RRAM selector can be increased to more than 1 Mb according to the simulation results, indicating that the bipolar RRAM selector has great potential for the high-density memory applications.