Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemical and Statistical Analysis of Karst Groundwater Basin Signatures - Springfield, Mo

Springfield, MO is located on the Springfield Plateau physiographic province. The Springfield plateau contains a number of Mississippian aged units and is mainly capped by the Burlington-Keokuk Formation. The Burlington-Keokuk is a highly fossiliferous limestone with nodular and interbedded chert. Beneath the Burlington-Keokuk lies the Elsey, Reeds Spring, and Pierson Formations respectively which comprise the Springfield Plateau aquifer hydrostratigraphic unit. Within the Springfield Plateau aquifer, a welldeveloped karst system includes springs, sinkholes, and caves. The Springfield Plateau aquifer is the predominant source for springs and seeps in the Springfield area. The purpose of this study was to understand the differences in water chemistry of individual karst groundwater basins. Different land use surrounding these groundwater basins as well as minute differences in the Burlington-Keokuk may lead to different water chemistry for each basin. Sampling was conducted at 12 sites in Springfield, MO from within what are believed to be five separate groundwater basins. Samples were collected over six months, and 11 variables were measured. Field tests included pH, temperature, conductivity, bicarbonate (as CaCO3), and flow. Lab analyses included major cations (calcium, magnesium, and sodium) and anions (chloride, sulfate, and nitrate). Statistical analyses were run using SAS 9.4 and included discriminant function analysis, factor analysis, and miscellaneous variable analyses. Results from two models suggest that there is enough difference in water chemistry between groundwater basins to develop statistical models that could accurately classify samples to the correct basin based on water chemistry.
Crust and uppermost-mantle structure of Greenland and the Northwest Atlantic from Rayleigh wave group velocity tomography

The Greenland landmass preserves ∼4 billion years of tectonic history, but much of the continent is inaccessible to geological study due to the extensive inland ice cap. We map out, for the first time, the 3-D crustal structure of Greenland and the NW Atlantic ocean, using Rayleigh wave anisotropic group velocity tomography, in the period range 10–80 s, from regional earthquakes and the ongoing GLATIS/GLISN seismograph networks. 1-D inversion gives a pseudo-3-D model of shear wave velocity structure to depths of ∼100 km with a horizontal resolution of ∼200 km. Crustal thickness across mainland Greenland ranges from ∼25 km to over 50 km, and the velocity structure shows considerable heterogeneity. The large sedimentary basins on the continental shelf are clearly visible as low velocities in the upper ∼5–15 km. Within the upper continental basement, velocities are systematically lower in northern Greenland than in the south, and exhibit a broadly NW–SE trend. The thinning of the crust at the continental margins is also clearly imaged. Upper-mantle velocities show a clear distinction between typical fast cratonic lithosphere (Vs ≥4.6 km s−1) beneath Greenland and its NE margin and anomalously slow oceanic mantle (Vs ∼4.3–4.4 km s−1) beneath the NW Atlantic. We do not observe any sign of pervasive lithospheric modification across Greenland in the regions associated with the presumed Iceland hotspot track, though the average crustal velocity in this region is higher than that of areas to the north and south. Crustal anisotropy beneath Greenland is strong and complex, likely reflecting numerous episodes of tectonic deformation. Beneath the North Atlantic and Baffin Bay, the dominant anisotropy directions are perpendicular to the active and extinct spreading centres. Anisotropy in the subcontinental lithosphere is weaker than that of the crust, but still significant, consistent with cratonic lithosphere worldwide.
The Link Between Job Satisfaction and Firm Value, with Implications for Corporate Social Responsibility

How are job satisfaction and firm value linked? I tackle this long-standing management question using a new methodology from finance. I study the effect on firm-level value, rather than employee-level productivity, to take into account the cost of increasing job satisfaction. To address reverse causality, I measure firm value by using future stock returns, and control for risk, firm characteristics, industry performance, and outliers. Companies listed in the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" generated 2.3-3.8%/year higher stock returns than their peers from 1984-2011. These results have three main implications. First, consistent with HRM theories, job satisfaction is beneficial for firm value. Second, corporate social responsibility can improve stock returns. Third, the stock market does not fully value intangible assets, and so it may be necessary to shield the manager from short-term stock prices to encourage long-run growth.
Indinavir protein-free concentrations when used in indinavir/ritonavir combination therapy

Objective:To describe the in vivo protein-binding characteristics of indinavir (IDV) in the presence of ritonavir (RTV) relative to total IDV plasma concentrations. Design:The ACTG protocol 5055 was a multicenter study comparing the safety and pharmacokinetics of IDV/RTV at doses of 800/200 and 400/400 mg twice daily in HIV-infected adults. Methods:Forty-four patients underwent a 12-h intensive pharmacokinetic assessment after 2 weeks of therapy. Three plasma samples from 35 patients at Cmax, 6 and 12 h post dose were used to determine the unbound IDV concentrations. Unbound IDV was separated in plasma samples using ultra-filtration and measured using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Results:Mean IDV protein-bound fraction across all time points in the 800/200 and 400/400 arm were 53.4 and 51.8%, respectively. In the 800/200 arm, percentage binding at Cmax was 50% compared with 56% at 12 h (P = 0.008). In the 400/400 arm, percentage binding at Cmax was 49% compared with 54% at 12 h (P = 0.008). Conclusions:The extent of plasma protein binding of IDV in this study was less than in previously published data with IDV alone. Although IDV concentrations differed across the arms, the percentage of IDV protein binding at all time points was not different between the 800/200 and 400/400 arms. However, the percentage of IDV protein binding at Cmax was significantly lower compared with 12 h in each arm, possibly suggesting that IDV protein binding is concentration-dependent. These data suggest that RTV affects IDV protein-binding characteristics and IDV also exhibits concentration dependent binding when administered with RTV.
Isoenzymes of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Phosphatase

Pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase (PDP) is one of the few mammalian phosphatases residing within the mitochondrial matrix space. It is responsible for dephosphorylation and reactivation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) and, by this means, is intimately involved in the regulation of utilization of carbohydrate fuels in mammals. PDP is a dimeric enzyme consisting of catalytic and regulatory subunits. The catalytic subunit of PDP is a Mg2+-dependent enzyme homologous to the cytosolic phosphatases of the 2C family. In the present study, we isolated two cDNAs encoding for mitochondrial phosphatases. The first cDNA is highly homologous to the previously identified cDNA encoding for the catalytic subunit of PDP (PDP1). The second cDNA encodes a previously unknown catalytic subunit of PDP (PDP2). The new phosphatase, expressed as the recombinant protein inEscherichia coli, shows strict substrate specificity toward PDC and does not use phosphorylated branched chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase as substrate. Like PDP1, PDP2 is a Mg2+-dependent enzyme, but its sensitivity to Mg2+ ions is almost 10-fold lower than that of PDP1. In contrast to PDP1, PDP2 is not regulated by Ca2+ ions. Instead, it is sensitive to the biological polyamine spermine, which, in turn, has no effect on the enzymatic activity of PDP1. Western blot analysis of PDP extracted from mitochondria isolated from liver and skeletal muscle revealed that PDP1 is predominantly expressed in mitochondria from skeletal muscle, whereas PDP2 is much more abundant in the liver rather than muscle mitochondria. Both isoenzymes are expressed in mitochondria from 3T3-L1 adipocytes, but the level of expression of PDP2 is considerably higher. These observations are consistent with previous findings on the enzymatic parameters of PDP in adipose tissue. Thus, our results provide the first evidence that there are at least two isoenzymes of PDP in mammals that are different with respect to tissue distribution and kinetic parameters and, therefore, are likely to be different functionally.
Articulated body motion capture by annealed particle filtering

The main challenge in articulated body motion tracking is the large number of degrees of freedom (around 30) to be recovered. Search algorithms, either deterministic or stochastic, that search such a space without constraint, fall foul of exponential computational complexity. One approach is to introduce constraints: either labelling using markers or colour coding, prior assumptions about motion trajectories or view restrictions. Another is to relax constraints arising from articulation, and track limbs as if their motions were independent. In contrast, we aim for general tracking without special preparation of objects or restrictive assumptions. The principal contribution of the paper is the development of a modified particle filter for search in high dimensional configuration spaces. It uses a continuation principle based on annealing to introduce the influence of narrow peaks in the fitness function, gradually. The new algorithm, termed annealed particle filtering, is shown to be capable of recovering full articulated body motion efficiently.
Assessing Sea Surface Salinity Derived by Aquarius in the Indian Ocean

The letter has been motivated by the need to validate the sea surface salinity (SSS) derived by Aquarius mission in the Indian Ocean. Validation has been performed on daily level-3 SSS data obtained by Aquarius in the Indian Ocean region during 2011-12. The in situ data sets available from Argo floats have been utilized for this purpose. The coefficient of determination between SSS and reference measurements is 0.84 and root mean square difference (RMSD) is about 0.45 psu. Spatial distributions of average salinity and variability of salinity have been found to agree reasonably well with the known features of SSS in this ocean basin. Under the assumption that the autocorrelation of SSS anomaly has anisotropic Gaussian characteristics, we also evaluated the space-time decorrelation scales of this anomaly, with the usual definition that decorrelation scales are the e-folding scales of SSS anomalies.
Distance Learning and Teacher Education in Botswana: Opportunities and Challenges

This paper reports on a study at Molepolole College of Education (MCE) involving teachers and tutors in the Diploma in Primary Education (DPE) program by distance mode, an in-service program aimed at upgrading academic and professional qualifications of primary school teachers in Botswana. The study sought to understand the level of access and the challenges faced by teachers and tutors. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, survey, and document analysis. Findings showed that teachers should be enrolled in the program at a younger age, and issues that lead to delays in completion must be addressed. The paper recommends that the Ministry of Education (MOE) should hire full-time tutors to support teachers at their bases, provide resources for practical subjects, organize workshops to familiarize tutors with appropriate strategies for adult learners, increase the duration of residential sessions, explore the use of alternative instructional technologies, and institute regular customer evaluations.
Efficient Markov feature extraction method for image splicing detection using maximization and threshold expansion

Abstract. We propose an efficient Markov feature extraction method for color image splicing detection. The maximum value among the various directional difference values in the discrete cosine transform domain of three color channels is used to choose the Markov features. We show that the discriminability for slicing detection is increased through the maximization process from the point of view of the Kullback–Leibler divergence. In addition, we present a threshold expansion and Markov state decomposition algorithm. Threshold expansion reduces the information loss caused by the coefficient thresholding that is used to restrict the number of Markov features. To compensate the increased number of features due to the threshold expansion, we propose an even–odd Markov state decomposition algorithm. A fixed number of features, regardless of the difference directions, color channels and test datasets, are used in the proposed algorithm. We introduce three kinds of Markov feature vectors. The number of Markov features for splicing detection used in this paper is relatively small compared to the conventional methods, and our method does not require additional feature reduction algorithms. Through experimental simulations, we demonstrate that the proposed method achieves high performance in splicing detection.
Processing political misinformation: comprehending the Trump phenomenon

This study investigated the cognitive processing of true and false political information. Specifically, it examined the impact of source credibility on the assessment of veracity when information comes from a polarizing source (Experiment 1), and effectiveness of explanations when they come from one's own political party or an opposition party (Experiment 2). These experiments were conducted prior to the 2016 Presidential election. Participants rated their belief in factual and incorrect statements that President Trump made on the campaign trail; facts were subsequently affirmed and misinformation retracted. Participants then re-rated their belief immediately or after a delay. Experiment 1 found that (i) if information was attributed to Trump, Republican supporters of Trump believed it more than if it was presented without attribution, whereas the opposite was true for Democrats and (ii) although Trump supporters reduced their belief in misinformation items following a correction, they did not change their voting preferences. Experiment 2 revealed that the explanation's source had relatively little impact, and belief updating was more influenced by perceived credibility of the individual initially purporting the information. These findings suggest that people use political figures as a heuristic to guide evaluation of what is true or false, yet do not necessarily insist on veracity as a prerequisite for supporting political candidates.
Activity-Dependent Dynamics of the Transcription Factor of cAMP-Response Element Binding Protein in Cortical Neurons Revealed by Single-Molecule Imaging

Transcriptional regulation is crucial for neuronal activity-dependent processes that govern neuronal circuit formation and synaptic plasticity. An intriguing question is how neuronal activity influences the spatiotemporal interactions between transcription factors and their target sites. Here, using a single-molecule imaging technique, we investigated the activity dependence of DNA binding and dissociation events of cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB), a principal factor in activity-dependent transcription, in mouse cortical neurons. To visualize CREB at the single-molecule level, fluorescent-tagged CREB in living dissociated cortical neurons was observed by highly inclined and laminated optical sheet microscopy. We found that a significant fraction of CREB spots resided in the restricted locations in the nucleus for several seconds (dissociation rate constant: 0.42 s−1). In contrast, two mutant CREBs, which cannot bind to the cAMP-response element, scarcely exhibited long-term residence. To test the possibility that CREB dynamics depends on neuronal activity, pharmacological treatments and an optogenetic method involving channelrhodopsin-2 were applied to cultured cortical neurons. Increased neuronal activity did not appear to influence the residence time of CREB spots, but markedly increased the number of restricted locations (hot spots) where CREB spots frequently resided with long residence times (>1 s). These results suggest that neuronal activity promotes CREB-dependent transcription by increasing the frequency of CREB binding to highly localized genome locations. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The transcription factor, cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) is known to regulate gene expression in neuronal activity-dependent processes. However, its spatiotemporal interactions with the genome remain unknown. Single-molecule imaging in cortical neurons revealed that fluorescent-tagged CREB spots frequently reside at fixed nuclear locations in the time range of several seconds. Neuronal activity had little effect on the CREB residence time, but increased the rapid and frequent reappearance of long-residence CREB spots at the same nuclear locations. Thus, activity-dependent transcription is attributable to frequent binding of CREB to specific genome loci.
WebGazer: Scalable Webcam Eye Tracking Using User Interactions

We introduce WebGazer, an online eye tracker that uses common webcams already present in laptops and mobile devices to infer the eye-gaze locations of web visitors on a page in real time. The eye tracking model self-calibrates by watching web visitors interact with the web page and trains a mapping between features of the eye and positions on the screen. This approach aims to provide a natural experience to everyday users that is not restricted to laboratories and highly controlled user studies. WebGazer has two key components: a pupil detector that can be combined with any eye detection library, and a gaze estimator using regression analysis informed by user interactions. We perform a large remote online study and a small in-person study to evaluate WebGazer. The findings show that WebGazer can learn from user interactions and that its accuracy is sufficient for approximating the user's gaze. As part of this paper, we release the first eye tracking library that can be easily integrated in any website for real-time gaze interactions, usability studies, or web research.
Earlier Intervention Leads to Better Sound Localization in Children with Bilateral Cochlear Implants

We present sound localization results from 30 children with bilateral cochlear implants. All children received their implants sequentially, at ages from 6 months to 9 years for the first implant and 1.5–12 years for the second implant, with delays of 10 months to 9 years. Localization was measured in the sound field, with a broadband bell-ring presented from 1 of 9 loudspeakers positioned in the frontal horizontal plane. The majority of the children (63%) were able to localize this signal significantly better than chance level. Mean absolute error scores varied from 9 to 51° (root mean square error scores from 13 to 63°). The best scores were obtained by children who received their first implant before the age of 2 years and by children who used hearing aids prior to implantation for a period of 18 months or longer. Age at second implantation was important in the group of children who did not use a contralateral hearing aid during the unilateral implant period. Additionally, children who attended a mainstream school had significantly better localization scores than children who attended a school for the deaf. No other child or implantation variables were related to localization performance. Data of parent questionnaires derived from the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale were significantly correlated with localization performance. This study shows that the sound localization ability of children with bilateral cochlear implants varies across subjects, from near-normal to chance performance, and that stimulation early in life, acoustically or electrically, is important for the development of this capacity.
Effects of nitrogen deposition on growing-season soil methane sink
across global forest biomes

Abstract. Anthropogenic alteration of global nitrogen (N) deposition has resulted in profound impacts on soil fluxes of greenhouse gases in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the response of soil methane (CH4) flux to N deposition remains poorly quantified in global forest. Based on a synthesis of experimental results from literature, we evaluated the effects of N deposition on growing-season soil CH4 flux across forest biomes. A distinction was made between low-level N addition that is comparable with the worldwide range in N deposition ( 60 kg N−1 yr−1. The results showed that growing-season soil CH4 flux was significantly affected by N additions, the value being dependent on the N addition level and forest biome. Low-level N addition significantly increased growing-season soil CH4 uptake in boreal forest, while an opposite effect occurred in temperate and subtropical forests. However, high-level N addition significantly decreased growing-season soil CH4 uptake across boreal, temperate, and subtropical forests. At biome scale, current N deposition was estimate to increase growing-season soil CH4 sink by 0.029 Tg CH4 in boreal forest, while it decreased growing-season soil CH4 sink by 0.025 Tg CH4 and 0.051 Tg CH4 in temperate and subtropical forests, respectively. This work improves our understanding of biome-specific effect of N deposition on soil CH4 uptake and identifies knowledge gaps in the effect of N deposition on soil CH4 flux in tropical forest.
Character-Aware Neural Language Models

We describe a simple neural language model that relies only on character-level inputs. Predictions are still made at the word-level. Our model employs a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a highway net work over characters, whose output is given to a long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network language model (RNN-LM). On the English Penn Treebank the model is on par with the existing state-of-the-art despite having 60% fewer parameters. On languages with rich morphology (Arabic, Czech, French, German, Spanish, Russian), the model outperforms word-level/morpheme-level LSTM baselines, again with fewer parameters. The results suggest that on many languages, character inputs are sufficient for language modeling. Analysis of word representations obtained from the character composition part of the model reveals that the model is able to encode, from characters only, both semantic and orthographic information.
Broad-Scale Hypotheses do not Account for Species Richness Patterns of Central American Mayflies

I performed an exploratory analysis of four broad-scale hypotheses (area availability, energy availability, habi- tat heterogeneity and geometric constraints) for changes in species richness over Central American mayfly species, and compared their outcomes at different taxonomic levels. I employed an eigenvector-based spatial filtering to control spatial autocorrelation effects and conducted multiple spatial eigenvector regressions to identify the strongest predictors of spe- cies, genus and family richness. The usefulness of higher-taxa as surrogates for species richness was assessed by Pearson correlations. Mayfly species richness is characterized by a patchy pattern. None of the variables accounted for observed patterns. Only area availability was an effective predictor of mayfly genus and family richness, although both habitat het- erogeneity and energy presented marginal effects on genus richness. I did not observe any relationship between species and higher-taxa richness. Broad-scale hypotheses did not explain species richness patterns of mayflies, which instead can be explained by interactions among studied variables and spatial structure.