Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamics of a recurrent network of spiking neurons beforeand following learningDaniel

Extensive simulations of large recurrent networks of integrate-and-re exci-tatory and inhibitory neurons in realistic cortical conditions (before and after Hebbian unsupervised learning of uncorrelated stimuli) exhibit a rich phe-nomenology of stochastic neural spike dynamics, and in particular, coexistence between two types of stable states: spontaneous activity, upon stimulation by an unlearned stimulus; and`working memory' states strongly correlated with learned stimuli. Firing rates have very wide distributions, due to the variability in the connectivity from neuron to neuron. ISI histograms are exponential, except for small intervals. Thus the spike emission processes are well approximated by a Poisson process. The variability of the spike emission process is eeectively controlled by the magnitude of the post-spike reset potential relative to the mean depolarization of the cell. Cross-correlations (CC) exhibit a central peak near zero delay, anked by damped oscillations. The magnitude of the central peak in the CCs depends both on the probability that a spike emitted by a neuron aaects another randomly chosen neuron and on ring rates. It increases when average rates decrease. Individual CCs depend very weakly on the synaptic interactions between the pairs of neurons. The dependence of individual CCs on the rates of the pair of neurons is in agreement with experimental data. The distribution of ring rates among neurons is in very good agreement with a simple theory, indicating that correlations between spike emission processes in the network are eeectively small. 1 Modeling the dynamical activity in cortex is becoming increasingly realistic as to allow direct confrontation with data of single and of multiple electrode recordings. The confrontation includes, beyond mean spike rates in spontaneous and in selective activity, also single cell spike statistics and cross correlations The question that naturally poses itself is: how much complexity of the neural elements and how much speciic structure of the neural assembly are actually indispensable for the reproduction of the experimental data? Most of the work cited above has dealt with visual cortex, where data is more accessible and hypotheses about geometric connectivity structure are plausible. Moreover, in visual cortex neural dynamics is investigated in the presence of visual stimuli, which in turn relate to the assembly structure via receptive elds and tuning properties of cells. The present study has been motivated by delay activity in associative cortex delay activity could be sustained by the synaptic eecacies formed during training and hence its study relates directly to learning (Amit …
Individual differences in the shape bias in preschool children with specific language impairment and typical language development: theoretical and clinical implications.

We investigated whether preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) exhibit the shape bias in word learning: the bias to generalize based on shape rather than size, color, or texture in an object naming context ('This is a wek; find another wek') but not in a non-naming similarity classification context ('See this? Which one goes with this one? '). Fifty-four preschool children (16 with SLI, 16 children with typical language [TL] in an equated control group, and 22 additional children with TL included in individual differences analyses but not group comparisons) completed a battery of linguistic and cognitive assessments and two experiments. In Experiment 1, children made generalization choices in object naming and similarity classification contexts on separate days, from options similar to a target object in shape, color, or texture. On average, TL children exhibited the shape bias in an object naming context, but children with SLI did not. In Experiment 2, we tested whether the failure to exhibit the shape bias might be linked to ability to detect systematicities in the visual domain. Experiment 2 supported this hypothesis, in that children with SLI failed to learn simple paired visual associations that were readily learned by children with TL. Analyses of individual differences in the two studies revealed that visual paired-associate learning predicted degree of shape bias in children with SLI and TL better than any other measure of nonverbal intelligence or standard assessments of language ability. We discuss theoretical and clinical implications.
The Principal-Agent Approach to Testing Experts

Recent literature on testing experts shows that it is often impossible to determine whether an expert knows the stochastic process that generates data. Despite this negative result, we show that there often exist contracts that allow a decision maker to attain the first-best payoff without learning the expert's type. This kind of full-surplus extraction is always possible in infinite-horizon models in which future payoffs are not discounted. If future payoffs are discounted (but the discount factor tends to 7), the possibility of full-surplus extraction depends on a constraint involving the forecasting technology. (JEL D82) is difficult to ever know whether a probabilistic model is correct. The problem becomes even harder, if an individual who delivers forecasts and whose knowledge is tested, has incentives to behave strategically in order to pass the test. Suppose that an empirical test has the property that it is always passed by the correct model. A number of recent papers show that such a test can also be passed by an individual who knows nothing about the stochastic process that generates states, but who delivers forecasts strategically. (See Dean P. Foster and Rakesh V. Vohra 1998, Drew Fudenberg and David K. Levine 1999, Ehud Lehrer 2001, Alvaro Sandroni 2003, Sandroni, Rann Smorodinsky, and Vohra 2003, Vladimir Vovk and Glenn Shafer 2005, Olszewski and Sandroni 2008 and 2009, and Eran Shmaya 2008.) The previously existing literature does not focus on and hence does not specify in which way one benefits from learning the stochastic process. Statistical decision theory views information only as a tool for making better decisions. For example, Abraham Wald (1949, 1950) sees hypothesis testing as a decision maker's strategy in a game with uncertainty. With this idea in mind, we can now rephrase the problem of testing probabilistic models into one of taking advantage of information that could be contained in experts' advice. So, consider a decision maker faced with two types of experts: an expert who knows the stochastic process that generates states, and reports this knowledge truthfully, and an "expert" who knows nothing about the
Contextual Processing of Objects: Using Virtual Reality to Improve Abstraction and Cognitive Flexibility in Children with Autism

Background: The current study investigated the efficacy of a novel virtual reality-cognitive rehabilitation (VR-CR) intervention to improve contextual processing of objects in children with autism. Contextual processing is a cognitive ability thought to underlie the social and communication deficits of autism. Previous research supports that children with autism show deficits in contextual processing, as well as deficits in its basic component abilities: abstraction and cognitive flexibility. Methods: Four children with autism participated in a multiple baseline single-subject study. The children were taught how to see objects in context by reinforcing attention to pivotal contextual information. One-on-one teaching sessions occurred three times per week for approximately two weeks. Results: All children demonstrated significant improvements in contextual processing and cognitive flexibility. Mixed results were found on the control test. Changes in context-related behaviours were reported. Conclusions: Further studies using virtual reality to target specific cognitive impairments in children with autism are warranted.
Blaming in component-based real-time systems

In component-based safety-critical real-time systems it is crucial to determine which component(s) caused the violation of a required system-level safety property, be it to issue a precise alert, or to determine liability of component providers. In this paper we present an approach for blaming in real-time systems whose component specifications are given as timed automata. The analysis is based on a single execution trace violating a safety property P. We formalize blaming using counterfactual reasoning (“what would have been the outcome if component C had behaved correctly? ”) to distinguish component failures that actually contributed to the outcome from failures that had no impact on the violation of P. We then show how to effectively implement blaming by reducing it to a model-checking problem for timed automata, and demonstrate the feasibility of our approach on the models of a pacemaker and of a chemical reactor.
Antibiotic Selection and Outcome-Effective Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia : Year 2004 Update

51. 50. Fass RJ. Efficacy and safety of oral ciprofloxacin in the treatment of serious respiratory infections. Am J Med. 1986;82:202-207. 51. Davies BI, et al. Ciprofloxacin in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. Eur J Clin Microbiol. 1986;5:226-231. 52. Hoogkamp-Korstanje JA, Klein SJ. Ciprofloxacin in acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1986;18:
Relative clustering validity criteria: A comparative overview

Many different relative clustering validity criteria exist that are very useful in practice as quantitative measures for evaluating the quality of data partitions, and new criteria have still been proposed from time to time. These criteria are endowed with particular features that may make each of them able to outperform others in specific classes of problems. In addition, they may have completely different computational requirements. Then, it is a hard task for the user to choose a specific criterion when he or she faces such a variety of possibilities. For this reason, a relevant issue within the field of clustering analysis consists of comparing the performances of existing validity criteria and, eventually, that of a new criterion to be proposed. In spite of this, the comparison paradigm traditionally adopted in the literature is subject to some conceptual limitations. The present paper describes an alternative, possibly complementary methodology for comparing clustering validity criteria and uses it to make an extensive comparison of the performances of 40 criteria over a collection of 962,928 partitions derived from five well‐known clustering algorithms and 1080 different data sets of a given class of interest. A detailed review of the relative criteria under investigation is also provided that includes an original comparative asymptotic analysis of their computational complexities. This work is intended to be a complement of the classic study reported in 1985 by Milligan and Cooper as well as a thorough extension of a preliminary paper by the authors themselves. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining 3: 209‐235, 2010
The “Logic” of Specialization

JOPERD • Volume 81 No. 8 • October 2010 I t was not too long ago that the best athlete was the one who played multiple sports and had all-around skills. Lettering in three sports was an admired feat in high schools, and the decathlete who could sprint, jump, run, and endure was the epitome of athletic achievement. But definitions of athletic excellence have changed over the past two generations. An all-around athlete today is often pressured to specialize in one sport, or even in one position. Not to do so might elicit accusations of lacking motivation or having a fear of commitment and success. Youth programs that encourage year-round specialization in a single sport have become so quickly and thoroughly normalized in United States culture that their historical novelty is often overlooked. How did we get here? Why are we scrambling to find research on the developmental consequences of specialization and its usefulness in producing elite athletes? Although I am concerned about the consequences of specialization among young people today, I also want to know how and why we have reached this point. Most people know that positive child development requires diverse experiences across a range of situations, so how has year-round specialization in a single sport become common for so many children without evoking serious objections from parents and educators? And how has it become the norm in certain sports and even mandated by some coaches who no doubt know that the overall development of young people would be better served if they participated in multiple physical activities and sports? After studying youth sports over four decades, I believe that sport specialization has emerged in connection with two changes in the larger society: (1) the privatization and commercialization of youth sports, and (2) the development of unique ideas about parenting, especially the definition of what constitutes a good parent (Coakley, 2009).
The Full Globin Repertoire of Turtles Provides Insights into Vertebrate Globin Evolution and Functions

Globins are small heme proteins that play an important role in oxygen supply, but may also have other functions. Globins offer a unique opportunity to study the functional evolution of genes and proteins. We have characterized the globin repertoire of two different turtle species: the Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) and the western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii). In the genomes of both species, we have identified eight distinct globin types: hemoglobin (Hb), myoglobin, neuroglobin, cytoglobin, globin E, globin X, globin Y, and androglobin. Therefore, along with the coelacanth, turtles are so far the only known vertebrates with a full globin repertoire. This fact allows for the first time a comparative analysis of the expression of all eight globins in a single species. Phylogenetic analysis showed an early divergence of neuroglobin and globin X before the radiation of vertebrates. Among the other globins, cytoglobin diverged first, and there is a close relationship between myoglobin and globin E; the position of globin Y is not resolved. The globin E gene was selectively lost in the green anole, and the genes coding for globin X and globin Y were deleted in chicken. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction experiments revealed that myoglobin, neuroglobin, and globin E are highly expressed with tissue-specific patterns, which are in line with their roles in the oxidative metabolism of the striated muscles, the brain, and the retina, respectively. Histochemical analyses showed high levels of globin E in the pigment epithelium of the eye. Globin E probably has a myoglobin-like role in transporting O2 across the pigment epithelium to supply in the metabolically highly active retina.
A Novel Hypovirus Species From Xylariaceae Fungi Infecting Avocado

The white rot root disease caused by Rosellinia necatrix is a major concern for avocado cultivation in Spain. Healthy escapes of avocado trees surrounded by diseased trees prompted us to hypothesize the presence of hypovirulent R. necatrix due to mycovirus infections. Recently, we reported the presence of another fungal species, Entoleuca sp. , belonging to the Xylariaceae, that was also found in healthy avocado trees and frequently co-infecting the same roots than R. necatrix. We investigated the presence of mycoviruses that might explain the hypovirulence. For that, we performed deep sequencing of dsRNAs from two isolates of Entoleuca sp. that revealed the simultaneous infection of several mycoviruses, not described previously. In this work, we report a new member of the Hypoviridae, tentatively named Entoleuca hypovirus 1 (EnHV1). The complete genome sequence was obtained for two EnHV1 strains, which lengths resulted to be 14,958 and 14,984 nt, respectively, excluding the poly(A) tails. The genome shows two ORFs separated by a 32-nt inter-ORF, and both 5′- and 3′-UTRs longer than any other hypovirus reported to date. The analysis of virus-derived siRNA populations obtained from Entoleuca sp. demonstrated antiviral silencing activity in this fungus. We screened a collection of Entoleuca sp. and R. necatrix isolates and found that EnHV1 was present in both fungal species. A genetic population analysis of EnHV1 strains revealed the presence of two main clades, each of them including members from both Entoleuca sp. and R. necatrix, which suggests intra- and interspecific virus transmission in the field. Several attempts failed to cure Entoleuca sp. from EnHV1. However, all Entoleuca sp. isolates collected from avocado, whether harboring the virus or not, showed hypovirulence. Conversely, all R. necatrix isolates were pathogenic to that crop, regardless of being infected by EnHV1.
Learning networks of academic spin-offs - A spatial perspective

The importance of new knowledge in innovative activities of firms and the impact of these activities on economic development of regions have been acknowledged in many studies. In particular, universities and firms that are established on university knowledge, spin-off firms, function as nodes and channels through which new knowledge is diffused into the wider (regional) economy. New knowledge is a strategic resource of competitive advantage for young high-tech firms. Of course, many of these firms are based on new technical knowledge but they may lack market and managerial knowledge and skills. An important way of learning on these different aspects is through social networks and business networks, with a local (national) and/or international coverage. Many studies have attempted to understand the characteristics of networks of young high-tech firms, but a detailed picture and understanding of the time and space dimension of models of learning relationships are rare. What may be true is that a well-developed local learning network performs as an important condition for establishing international learning relationships, indicating a stepwise model. The theory of 'born globals' indicates, however, international learning from the start of the firm. This paper explores the learning models of university spin-off firms, including some aspects of absorptive capacity, with a focus on various combinations of local and global knowledge networks and changes in these combinations by age of the firms. The analysis draws on a sample of 100 spin-offs from two universities: TU Delft University in the Netherlands and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim in Norway. Resource based views and organizational learning theory will be applied to design an analytical model of young high-tech firms shaping of learning connections and improving of innovation performance. The empirical part of the paper will include descriptive and explanatory results, the latter derived from correlation analysis.
Risk Factors for Illicit Drug Disorders during Adolescence : An Analysis According To Substance of Preference

Most of the available information about risk factors for specific illicit drug related disorders (cannabis, cocaine powder and crack cocaine) during adolescence comes from studies that analyze the use of illegal substances as a single group. This study evaluated several risk factors for illicit drug related disorders separately, in a clinical sample of Brazilian adolescents. Post-traumatic symptoms were strongly associated with crack use disorder, paternal neglect was moderately associated with cocaine use disorder, and maternal suicidal behaviour was moderately associated with cannabis use disorder. The risk factors for illicit drug-related disorder among adolescents were different according to the substance of preference. Central Bringing Excellence in Open Access   de Araújo et al. (2017) Email: J Subst Abuse Alcohol 5(2): 1057 (2017) 2/11 The prevalences of opportunity to use a drug and the actual use are similar [17]. However, most individuals that experience illicit drugs do not become addicted. Risk factors can increase a person’s chances for drug abuse, whereas protective factors can reduce the risk. These factors can be characterized in five domains (individual, family, peer, school and community), despite their close inter-relationship. Early aggressive behaviour, lack of parental supervision, peer and parental substance abuse, drug availability, poverty, and depressive symptoms are risk factors for the experimentation of illicit drugs in youth [18]. On the other hand, the most often studied protective psychosocial factors are: familial environment and monitoring, religiosity, selfcontrol, self-esteem, future perspective, academic competence, risk perception, anti-drug use policies, information about drugs, and strong neighbourhood attachment [10]. The research on risk factors for drug (licit and illicit) use in adolescence is extensive, mainly for alcohol and nicotine. However, in Brazilian samples, most previous studies about this topic have only analyzed the risk factors for experimentation (lifetime use) [15,19-22] and a few analyzed regular use [23]. Moreover, in general they analyzed the use of illegal substances as single group, so they did not analyze the risk factor for each substance [23-25]. Besides, the risk factors for illicit drug related disorders (frequent or heavy use) in adolescent samples have not been properly studied, mainly for crack cocaine. In fact, most of the available information about the theme is from studies involving adolescents living in high-income countries [26], or carried out with adult and mixed (adult and adolescent) samples [15,20]. We hypothesize that the risk factors for illicit drug related disorders are different in adolescents from those in adults, and may vary according to substance of preference. The main objective of this study is analyzing several risk factors for substance use disorders, involving three illicit drugs (cannabis, cocaine powder and crack cocaine), in a clinical sample of Brazilian adolescents.