Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photographic identification of individuals of a free‐ranging, small terrestrial vertebrate

Abstract Recognition of individuals within an animal population is central to a range of estimates about population structure and dynamics. However, traditional methods of distinguishing individuals, by some form of physical marking, often rely on capture and handling which may affect aspects of normal behavior. Photographic identification has been used as a less‐invasive alternative, but limitations in both manual and computer‐automated recognition of individuals are particularly problematic for smaller taxa (<500 g). In this study, we explored the use of photographic identification for individuals of a free‐ranging, small terrestrial reptile using (a) independent observers, and (b) automated matching with the Interactive Individual Identification System (I3S Pattern) computer algorithm. We tested the technique on individuals of an Australian skink in the Egernia group, Slater's skink Liopholis slateri, whose natural history and varied scale markings make it a potentially suitable candidate for photo‐identification. From ‘photographic captures’ of skink head profiles, we designed a multi‐choice key based on alternate character states and tested the abilities of observers — with or without experience in wildlife survey — to identify individuals using categorized test photos. We also used the I3S Pattern algorithm to match the same set of test photos against a database of 30 individuals. Experienced observers identified a significantly higher proportion of photos correctly (74%) than those with no experience (63%) while the I3S software correctly matched 67% as the first ranked match and 83% of images in the top five ranks. This study is one of the first to investigate photo identification with a free‐ranging small vertebrate. The method demonstrated here has the potential to be applied to the developing field of camera‐traps for wildlife survey and thus a wide range of survey and monitoring applications.
Practical dynamic proofs of retrievability

Proofs of Retrievability (PoR), proposed by Juels and Kaliski in 2007, enable a client to store n file blocks with a cloud server so that later the server can prove possession of all the data in a very efficient manner (i.e., with constant computation and bandwidth). Although many efficient PoR schemes for static data have been constructed, only two dynamic PoR schemes exist. The scheme by Stefanov et. al. (ACSAC 2012) uses a large of amount of client storage and has a large audit cost. The scheme by Cash (EUROCRYPT 2013) is mostly of theoretical interest, as it employs Oblivious RAM (ORAM) as a black box, leading to increased practical overhead (e.g., it requires about 300 times more bandwidth than our construction). We propose a dynamic PoR scheme with constant client storage whose bandwidth cost is comparable to a Merkle hash tree, thus being very practical. Our construction outperforms the constructions of Stefanov et. al. and Cash et. al., both in theory and in practice. Specifically, for n outsourced blocks of beta bits each, writing a block requires beta+O(lambdalog n) bandwidth and O(betalog n) server computation (lambda is the security parameter). Audits are also very efficient, requiring beta+O(lambda^2log n) bandwidth. We also show how to make our scheme publicly verifiable, providing the first dynamic PoR scheme with such a property. We finally provide a very efficient implementation of our scheme.
The Effect of Tidal Stripping on Composite Stellar Populations in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

We use N-body simulations to study the effects of tides on the kinematical structure of satellite galaxies orbiting a Milky Way-like potential. Here we focus on the evolution of a spherical, dark matter dominated satellite, which is modelled with two stellar components set ab initio to be spatially and kinematically segregated, in a way that resembles the configuration of the metal poor and metal rich stellar populations in several dwarf spheroidals of the Local Group. We find that an important attenuation of the initial differences in the distribution of the two stellar components occurs for orbits with small pericentric radii. This is mainly due to (i) the loss of the gravitational support provided by the dark matter component after tidal stripping takes place and (ii) tides preferentially affect the more extended stellar component, leading to a net decrease in its velocity dispersion as a response for the mass loss, which thus shrinks the kinematical gap. We apply these ideas to the Sculptor and Carina dwarf spheroidals. Differences in their orbits might help to explain why in the former a clear kinematical separation between metal poor and metal rich stars is apparent, while in Carina this segregation is significantly more subtle.
Improving Energy Efficiency of Video on Demand Services

The energy consumption of the Internet is anticipated to be one of the main contributors to global energy consumption in the coming decades. As a result, renewed attention has been given to the energy efficient design and operation of network services. The video on demand (VoD) service is expected to be one of the most prominent services through the Internet in the near future. Due to the enormous energy consumption arising from storage and transport of movies, energy efficient design and operation of VoD systems are important considerations. In this paper, we formulate energy consumption models to analyze the energy consumption arising from storage and transport of movies in VoD systems. We consider five strategic content placement locations located at different levels of the video distribution network and we comparatively analyze the energy consumption of storage and transport when the movies are stored and delivered from these locations. Moreover, we derive thresholds for movie request arrival rates which determine whether replication of a movie in a given content placement location is energy efficient and whether turning ON a set of content storages located at a particular level of the network is energy efficient. By numerically analyzing the energy consumption models, we show that the energy efficiency of VoD services can be significantly improved by delivering movies from the most energy efficient content placement locations in the network. We show that this can be achieved by designing and operating VoD systems based on our derived thresholds which optimize the energy efficiency of VoD services for all user request arrival rates.
Religiöser Wandel in der Konsumgesellschaft

Does the increasing proliferation of consumption opportunities changes the social routine activities of individuals, and thereby reduces attendance rates at religious services? Following Durkheim, religion provides symbols, rites and collective representations that enable individuals to act socially. By providing a range of socio-cultural-related products, services and infrastructures (trend sports, bars, holiday resorts, theme parks, shopping malls, museums), the market incrementally fulfills similar functions - that is, it enables individuals to engage socially -, and thereby supplants traditional religion as the central medium to reproduce social relations. The paper uses a sample of young German Catholics from the Socio-economic Panel Study (1984-2009) applying bivariate and multilevel-regression analyses. Results indicate that with waxing income, respondents increasingly engage in consumption-related leisure activities, while attendance rates at religious services significantly decrease.
Partial discharges in VPI winding insulations in dependence on the impregnating resin

In order to quantify the differences in partial discharge activity between various vacuum pressure impregnated winding insulations for rotating machines, the evolution of partial discharges activity during the ageing of these insulations has been investigated. In order to gain insight into the differences between various insulating materials, specimens impregnated with two different resins were tested. The mean apparent charge, the maximum apparent charge, the quadratic rate and the skewness were extracted from the phase resolved partial discharge patterns and trended over ageing time. None of these parameters showed a sudden rise or change as a consequence of imminent insulation breakdown. So the imminent failure of an insulation needs not always to be indicated by partial discharge quantities. The pattern skewness and the quadratic rate can be used to provide threshold values in order to estimate the severity of internal defects. However, one must account for the impact of the material characteristics on the dominating failure mechanisms in order to interpret partial discharge measurements
Immunohistochemical staining of ERG and SOX9 as potential biomarkers of docetaxel response in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

We aimed to evaluate ERG and SOX9 as potential biomarkers of docetaxel response in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. Seventy-one mCRPC patients were evaluated. Tissue microarrays were constructed and immunohistochemistry was performed. Treatment response was assessed by prostate specific antigen (PSA) response rate, PSA progression-free survival (PSA-PFS), clinical/radiologic PFS (C/R-PFS) and overall survival (OS). ERG and SOX9 were found in 13 (18.3%) and 62 (87.3%) patients, respectively. ERG-positive had lower PSA response rates than negative (15.4% vs 62.1%, p = 0.004), and SOX9 showed a same trend (46.8% vs 100.0%, p = 0.003). ERG positivity correlated with a lower PSA-PFS (3.2 mos vs 7.4 mos, p < 0.001), C/R-PFS (3.8 mos vs 9.0 mos, p < 0.001) and OS (10.8 mos vs 21.4 mos, p < 0.001). SOX9 positivity also showed a lower PSA-PFS, C/R-PFS and OS (p =0.006, p =0.012 and p =0.023, respectively). On multivariate analysis, ERG positivity was a significant risk factor for a lower PSA-PFS, C/R-PFS and OS (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p =0.001, respectively). SOX9 expression was also a risk factor for a lower PSA-PFS, C/R-PFS and OS (p = 0.018, p = 0.025 and p =0.047, respectively). These findings indicate that ERG and SOX9 is potential biomarkers for prediction to docetaxel treatment in mCRPC patients.
The Risk in Hedge Fund Strategies : Alternative Alphas and Alternative Betas

Hedge fund managers typically transact in similar asset markets to those used by conventional fund managers. Yet, there is much documented evidence that hedge funds have different return characteristics than those of conventional asset class managers. Some authors have attributed this apparent dilemma to the skill-based nature of hedge fund performance. However, this proposition is inconsistent with the convergence to poor performance of the hedge fund industry and conventional asset classes during stressful market conditions. Clearly, a model of hedge fund strategies that captures return behavior under different market environments is needed. In the absence of such a model, the opaqueness and the limited operating history of hedge fund organizations inhibits institutional investors’ confidence in the consistency of hedge fund performance.
Incidence, clinical presentation, and antimicrobial resistance trends in Salmonella and Shigella infections from children in Yucatan, Mexico

Background: Salmonella and Shigella cause significant morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. Increased antimicrobial resistance results in greater burden of disease. Materials and Methods: From 2005 to 2011, Salmonella and Shigella isolates collected from ill children at a major hospital in Yucatan, Mexico, were subjected to serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion and agar dilution. The identification of blaCTX, blaCMY, blaSHV, blaTEM, and blaOXA and qnr resistance genes was conducted by PCR and sequencing. Results: Among 2344 children with acute gastroenteritis, salmonellosis decreased from 17.7% in 2005 to 11.2% in 2011 (p < 0.001). In contrast, shigellosis increased from 8.3% in 2010 to 12.1% in 2011. Compared to children with Salmonella, those with Shigella had significantly more bloody stools (59 vs 36%, p < 0.001), dehydration (27 vs 15%, p = 0.031), and seizures (11 vs 3%, p = 0.03). In Salmonella (n = 365), there was a significant decrease in resistance to ampicillin (43 to 16%, p < 0.001), trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole (44 to 26%, p = 0.014), and extended-spectrum cephalosporins (27 to 10%, p = 0.009). Reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin in Salmonella rose from 30 to 41% (p < 0.001). All ceftriaxone-resistant isolates harbored the blaCMY-2 gene. qnr genes were found in 42 (36%) of the 117 Salmonella isolates with a ciprofloxacin MIC ≥ 0.125 μg/ml. Four were qnrA1 and 38 were qnrB19. Resistance to ampicillin (40%) and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole (58%) was common in Shigella (n = 218), but isolates remained fully susceptible to ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin. Conclusion: Illness from Salmonella has decreased while severe Shigella infections have increased among children with gastroenteritis in the Yucatan Peninsula. While Shigella resistance to clinically important antibiotics remained unchanged, resistance to most of these, except ciprofloxacin, declined in Salmonella. blaCMY-2 and qnr genes are common in Salmonella isolates.
The effects of cryopreservation on sperm morphology, motility and mitochondrial function.

BACKGROUND The effects of cryoinjury were determined simultaneously on the mitochondrial function, motility, morphology and viability of ejaculated human sperm. METHOD Rhodamine 123 (R123) uptake (% of sperm) and stain intensity were used to determine sperm mitochondrial activity before and after cryopreservation from the semen of 50 men attending for infertility investigation. Morphology was assessed using Tygerberg's strict criteria and viability was assessed by eosin Y. Sperm motility was measured using computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA). RESULTS Freeze-thawing caused a 37% (P = 0.001) reduction in normal morphological forms of sperm. All CASA sperm motility parameters except amplitude of lateral head displacement were similarly reduced. R123 uptake and intensity within sperm mitochondria decreased by 36 and 47% respectively (both P = 0.001). In addition, there was a similar significant decrease (31%, P = 0.001) in the viability of the sperm. CONCLUSIONS Sperm morphology, motility, mitochondrial activities and viability are equally susceptible to cryopreservation-induced damage. R123 intensity is a novel and robust indicator of mitochondrial function before and after such trauma.
A novel approach for automatic blood vessel extraction in retinal images: complex ripplet-I transform and complex valued artificial neural network

This study determined the features of line, curve, and ridge structures in images using complex ripplet-I and enabled extraction of blood vessel networks from retinal images through a complex valued articial neural network using those features. Forty color fundus images in the DRIVE database and 20 color fundus images in the STARE database were used to test the success of the proposed system. In this study, a complex version of ripplet-I transform was used for therst time. By presenting the directed image for the determination of the unique geometrical properties of the vessel regions, complex ripplet-I transforms showing better performance than other types of multiresolution analysis were combined with a complex valued ANN. The results in the study were reobtained using leave-one-out cross- validation method with bagging technique in order to ensure the stability and correctness of the performance. In the DRIVE database, the highest average accuracy of the system was found to be 98.44% for complex ripplet-I transform and complex valued ANN. For the STARE database (labeled by Adam Hoover), highest average accuracy rates were obtained as 99.25% for complex ripplet-I transforms and complex valued ANN. Similarly, for the other labeled data (by Valentina Kouznetsova), highest average accuracy rates were obtained as 98.03% for complex ripplet-I transforms and complex valued ANN.
Discrepancies in cancer incidence and mortality and its relationship to health expenditure in the 27 European Union member states.

BACKGROUND The European Union (EU) is a confederation of 27 member states, the institutions of which work according to negotiated decisions. The EU has implemented similar legislation and a common market, and has adopted the same currency in most of its member states. Although financing health systems is a responsibility of the national governments, the EU has enacted the Charter of Fundamental Rights to standardize public health policies. However, for historical reasons, health policy and health expenditure is not uniform across the 27 EU member states (EU-27). MATERIAL AND METHODS We hypothesized that increased health expenditure would be associated with better cancer outcome and that this would be most apparent in breast cancer, because of the availability of effective screening methods and treatments. Using publically available data from the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank, we assessed associations between cancer indicators and wealth and health indicators. To do so, we constructed scatter plots and used the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. RESULTS A marked difference in wealth and health expenditure indicators was observed between Eastern and Western European countries, with Western European being the higher. Higher wealth and higher health expenditures were associated both with increased cancer incidence and decreased cancer mortality. In breast cancer, the association with incidence was stronger. We created mortality/incidence ratios and observed that the more spent on health, the fewer the deaths after a cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSION Despite the initiatives to standardize public health policies of the EU-27, health expenditure continues to be higher in Western European countries and this is associated with better cancer outcome in these countries.
Distributed online submodular maximization in resource-constrained networks

Maximization of submodular set functions arises in wireless applications such as scheduling, caching, and leader selection. For a centralized entity with oracle access to the submodular function, submodular maximization can be approximated up to a constant factor using polynomial-time algorithms; such an entity, however, may be unavailable in decentralized wireless networks. In this paper, we consider maximization of a time-varying submodular function by distributed, resource-constrained nodes. We present algorithms for unconstrained distributed submodular maximization, as well as monotone submodular maximization subject to cardinality constraints. For the unconstrained submodular maximization problem, our algorithm achieves an expected optimality gap of 1/3. For cardinality-constrained submodular maximization, our algorithm achieves an expected optimality gap of 1/2, while reducing the storage and communication overhead, as well as the computation requirements of the nodes, compared to existing techniques. We evaluate our approach through an experimental study using sensor scheduling data, and find that our approach is within ten percent of the best achievable utility in the unconstrained case and within five percent in the constrained case.
Archaeal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases interact with the ribosome to recycle tRNAs

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) are essential enzymes catalyzing the formation of aminoacyl-tRNAs, the immediate precursors for encoded peptides in ribosomal protein synthesis. Previous studies have suggested a link between tRNA aminoacylation and high-molecular-weight cellular complexes such as the cytoskeleton or ribosomes. However, the structural basis of these interactions and potential mechanistic implications are not well understood. To biochemically characterize these interactions we have used a system of two interacting archaeal aaRSs: an atypical methanogenic-type seryl-tRNA synthetase and an archaeal ArgRS. More specifically, we have shown by thermophoresis and surface plasmon resonance that these two aaRSs bind to the large ribosomal subunit with micromolar affinities. We have identified the L7/L12 stalk and the proteins located near the stalk base as the main sites for aaRS binding. Finally, we have performed a bioinformatics analysis of synonymous codons in the Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus genome that supports a mechanism in which the deacylated tRNAs may be recharged by aaRSs bound to the ribosome and reused at the next occurrence of a codon encoding the same amino acid. These results suggest a mechanism of tRNA recycling in which aaRSs associate with the L7/L12 stalk region to recapture the tRNAs released from the preceding ribosome in polysomes.
Simulation of Ectopic Pacemakers in the Heart: Multiple Ectopic Beats Generated by Reentry inside Fibrotic Regions

The inclusion of nonconducting media, mimicking cardiac fibrosis, in two models of cardiac tissue produces the formation of ectopic beats. The fraction of nonconducting media in comparison with the fraction of healthy myocytes and the topological distribution of cells determines the probability of ectopic beat generation. First, a detailed subcellular microscopic model that accounts for the microstructure of the cardiac tissue is constructed and employed for the numerical simulation of action potential propagation. Next, an equivalent discrete model is implemented, which permits a faster integration of the equations. This discrete model is a simplified version of the microscopic model that maintains the distribution of connections between cells. Both models produce similar results when describing action potential propagation in homogeneous tissue; however, they slightly differ in the generation of ectopic beats in heterogeneous tissue. Nevertheless, both models present the generation of reentry inside fibrotic tissues. This kind of reentry restricted to microfibrosis regions can result in the formation of ectopic pacemakers, that is, regions that will generate a series of ectopic stimulus at a fast pacing rate. In turn, such activity has been related to trigger fibrillation in the atria and in the ventricles in clinical and animal studies.
Personality disorders as disorganisation of attachment and affect regulation

occur and why and how certain treatments work, and further options for treatment. In this article, we suggest that the major feature of personality dis­ orders is a failure of affect regulation. We present evidence on the neurobiology of affect regulation and on its development within attachment relation­ ships in a heuristic model that explains both the symptoms of and effective treatment strategies for personality disorders. Being heuristic in nature, this model will, we hope, form the basis of further empirical research.
A Conceptual Framework of RFID Adoption in Retail Using TOE Framework

Motivated by the need to understand the underlying antecedents of RFID adoption in retail, this study proposes and tests a framework predicting RFID adoption intent. Based on the TOE technology-organization-environment framework, this research develops and validates the research framework to examine the influence of twelve contextual factors under four broad categories technological, organizational, environmental, and value-chain on RFID adoption in retail. A structured study instrument is developed to measure these variables and data are collected from 74 experts spread across different business associations through Delphi technique. Multivariate discriminant analysis MDA is used to develop the conceptual framework for RFID adoption. The results indicate that relative advantage, competitive pressure, catalyst agent, and value chain complexity are significant determinants of RFID adoption in retail. It suggests that environmental characteristics are very important to be considered in RFID adoption studies along with technological and value chain characteristics.