Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ouroboros: early identification of at-risk students without models based on legacy data

This paper focuses on the problem of identifying students, who are at risk of failing their course. The presented method proposes a solution in the absence of data from previous courses, which are usually used for training machine learning models. This situation typically occurs in new courses. We present the concept of a "self-learner" that builds the machine learning models from the data generated during the current course. The approach utilises information about already submitted assessments, which introduces the problem of imbalanced data for training and testing the classification models. There are three main contributions of this paper: (1) the concept of training the models for identifying at-risk students using data from the current course, (2) specifying the problem as a classification task, and (3) tackling the challenge of imbalanced data, which appears both in training and testing data. The results show the comparison with the traditional approach of learning the models from the legacy course data, validating the proposed concept.
A one-step tone recognition approach using MSD-HMM for continuous speech

There are two types of methods for tone recognition of continuous speech: one-step and two-step approaches. Two-step approaches need to identify the syllable boundaries ﬁrstly, while one-step approaches do not. Previous studies mostly focus on two-step approaches. In this paper, a one-step approach using Multi-space distribution HMM (MSD-HMM) is investigated. The F0, which only exists in voiced speech, is modeled by MSD-HMM. Then, a tonal syllable network is built based on the reference and Viterbi search is carried out on it to ﬁnd the best tone sequence. Two modiﬁcations to the conventional tri-phone HMM models are investigated: tone-based context expansion and syllable-based model units. The experimental re-sults proved that tone-based context information is more important for tone recognition and syllable-based HMM models are much better than phone-based ones. The ﬁnal tone correct rate result is 88.8%, which is much higher than the state-of-the-art two-step approaches.
Remote measurement of algal chlorophyll in surface waters: The case for the first derivative of reflectance near 690 nm

Remote sensing is an important technology for measuring algal-chlorophyll concentrations in su$xe waters. Our paper provides hyperspectral signatures, in fhe visible and near-infrored, associated with two experiments conducted outdoors in large water tanks; one involving relatively low amounts of chlorophyll over a narrow range and a second involving relatively high amounts over a wide range. The principal finding was that the commonly used near-infraredlred ratio is best for estimating pigment amounts when the concentration of chlorophyll is relatively low, and the first derivative of reflectance around 690 nm is best when the concentration is relatively high.
Modes of religiosity at Çatalhöyük

Introduction Social and cultural phenomena are organized and transmitted in highly patterned ways. Understanding the nature and causes of these patterns can help us to reconstruct some features of prehistoric societies that might otherwise remain undiscovered. The patterns we consider in this chapter concern the relationship between certain features of ritual performance (especially emotionality, frequency and exegetical thinking), on the one hand, and certain features of social morphology (especially the scale, structure and cohesiveness of ancient cults), on the other. We will show that from comparatively fragmentary information concerning the nature of prehistoric rituals at Catalhoyuk we can infer a surprisingly rich picture of how religious knowledge may have been constituted, transmitted and transformed over the lifetime of the settlement and how ritually based coalitions formed, interacted and changed. Our aim is to use a broad understanding of modes of religiosity to throw light on the evidence from Catalhoyuk and to open up discussion of some of the causal links between ritual performance and social and political structure at the site. By combining broad anthropological understanding with the specific data from Catalhoyuk, we believe that some interpretations can be shown to be more plausible than others. The theory of modes of religiosity The patterns we seek to investigate at Catalhoyuk stem from two rather different ways of conducting and experiencing rituals. A striking observation from the cross-cultural study of contemporary and historical rituals is that the intensity of emotional arousal experienced by participants in a ritual is inversely proportional to the frequency of performance. Rituals that are only very rarely performed are usually quite exciting and dramatic occasions, punctuated by a great deal of sensory pageantry. By contrast, rituals that are performed on a regular basis are on the whole comparatively tame affairs. Thus, rituals tend to occur in two main varieties: (1) low-frequency, high-arousal (typical examples would be rites of passage, royal and state rituals, millenarian cults) and (2) high-frequency, low-arousal rituals (e.g., liturgical rituals, blessings, propitiatory rites).
Towards a field test for fracture propagation propensity in weak snowpack layers

Abstract Slab avalanche release requires fracture initiation and propagation in a weak snowpack layer. While field tests of weak-layer strength are useful for fracture initiation, the challenge remains to find a verified field test for fracture propagation. We introduce the two current versions of a field test for fracture propagation propensity, and report results of testing conducted in the Columbia Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, during the winter of 2005. By extending the column of a stability test approximately 3 m in the downslope direction, the test method allows for the development of a flexural wave in the slab, and thereby maintains the contribution of this wave and the associated weak-layer collapse to the fracture process. Fracture lengths collected on a day and location where the propagation propensity of the snowpack was locally high show a bimodal distribution, with approximately 50% of observed fractures similar to those collected in stable snowpacks, and approximately 50% with much longer fracture lengths.
Generation of Fronts by Mixing and Mutual Intrusion

Abstract In this paper a mechanism is proposed which could be responsible for the formation of sharp horizontal density gradients such as those observed in shallow seas, from fluid which initially has weak horizontal density gradients. The sharp density gradients result from the mutual intrusion of several stratified bodies of water which were exposed to various degrees of vertical mixing for a limited amount of time. The dynamics of the intrusion are examined by a simplified nonrotating, frictionless multilayer model. The results are compared quantitatively to laboratory experiments and qualitatively to field observations. The theoretical model contains an upper and lower portion, each of which consists of several bodies of fluids with different densities corresponding to various degrees of mixing. It predicts that in both the upper and the lower portions, fluids which were exposed to intermediate mixing sink rapidly from the surface, rise from the bottom, and after a finite amount of time concentrate in.
Slip rate of the Calico fault: Implications for geologic versus geodetic rate discrepancy in the Eastern California Shear Zone

[1] Long-term (10 5 years) fault slip rates test the scale of discrepancy between infrequent paleoseismicity and relatively rapid geodetic rates of dextral shear in the Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ). The Calico fault is one of a family of dextral faults that traverse the Mojave Desert portion of the ECSZ. Its slip rate is determined from matching and dating incised Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits and surfaces displaced by fault slip. A high-resolution topographic base acquired via airborne laser swath mapping aids in identification and mapping of deformed geomorphic features. The oldest geomorphically preserved alluvial fan, unit B, is displaced 900 ± 200 m from its source at Sheep Springs Wash in the northern Rodman Mountains. This fan deposit contains the first preserved occurrence of basalt clasts derived from the Pipkin lava field and overlies Quaternary conglomerate deposits lacking these clasts. The 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of two flows from this field yields consistent ages of 770 ± 40 ka and 735 ± 9 ka. An age of 650 ± 100 ka is assigned to this fan deposit based on these ages and on the oldest cosmogenic 3 He exposure date of 653 ± 20 ka on a basalt boulder from the surface of unit B. This assigned age and offset together yield a mid-Pleistocene to present average slip rate of 1.4 ± 0.4 mm/yr. Ayounger fan surface, unit K, records 100 ± 10 m of dextral displacement and preserves original depositional morphology of its surface. Granitic boulders and pavement samples from this surface yield an average age of 56.4 ± 7.7 ka after taking into account minimal cosmogenic inheritance of granitic clasts. The displaced and dated K fans yield a slip rate of 1.8 ± 0.3 mm/yr. Distributed deformation of the region surrounding the fault trace, if active, could increase the overall displacement rate to 2.1 ± 0.5 mm/yr. Acceleration of slip rate from an average of 1.4 mm/yr prior to � 50 ka to 1.8 mm/yr since � 50 ka is possible, though a single time-averaged slip rate of 1.6 ± 0.2 mm/yr satisfies the data. These rates are faster than any other paleoseismic or long-term slip rate yet determined for other dextral faults in the Mojave Desert and imply that fault slip rates and earthquake productivity are heterogeneous across this portion of the ECSZ. Total displacement across the Calico fault diminishes northward as shear is distributed into folding and sinistral faults in the Calico Mountains. This pattern is consistent with an approximately threefold drop in geologic slip rate as the Calico fault steps over onto the Blackwater fault and demonstrates the significance of fault interaction for understanding the pattern of present-day strain accumulation in the ECSZ.
Plasma Gelsolin Depletion and Circulating Actin in Sepsis—A Pilot Study

Background Depletion of the circulating actin-binding protein, plasma gelsolin (pGSN) has been described in septic patients and animals. We hypothesized that the extent of pGSN reduction correlates with outcomes of septic patients and that circulating actin is a manifestation of sepsis. Methodology/Principal Findings We assayed pGSN in plasma samples from non-surgical septic patients identified from a pre-existing database which prospectively enrolled patients admitted to adult intensive care units at an academic hospital. We identified 21 non-surgical septic patients for the study. Actinemia was detected in 17 of the 21 patients, suggesting actin released into circulation from injured tissues is a manifestation of sepsis. Furthermore, we documented the depletion of pGSN in human clinical sepsis, and that the survivors had significantly higher pGSN levels than the non-survivors (163±47 mg/L vs. 89±48 mg/L, p = 0.01). pGSN levels were more strongly predictive of 28-day mortality than APACHE III scores. For every quartile reduction in pGSN, the odds of death increased 3.4-fold. Conclusion We conclude that circulating actin and pGSN deficiency are associated with early sepsis. The degree of pGSN deficiency correlates with sepsis mortality. Reversing pGSN deficiency may be an effective treatment for sepsis.
Fossil leaves from the last interglacial in central-southern Chile: Inferences regarding the vegetation and paleoclimate

The continental equivalent of the most temperate part of the last interglacial (MIS 5e) is called Valdivia in southern Chile. It is characterised by extensive terraces mostly composed of detrital sediments and pyroclastic flows. Peat deposits are found within these terraces. In this paper we analyze the leaf architecture of fossil leaves collected from a peat layer at the base of the Mancera interglacial sequence, on Mancera Island, off the coast of Valdivia (near 40oS). The stratigraphic position, the presence of in situ logs and the composition of the plant species found therein suggest that the accumulation of plant remains occurred in a continental, palustrine environment. The plant morphotypes reveal an unusual mixture of species belonging to the cool temperate North Patagonian Forest and to the more thermophilous vegetation, represented by Valdivian Rain Forest. Both types of forest are currently found in the Coastal Range at different altitudes. The Mancera flora associations suggest a gradual response of the vegetation to the glacial-interglacial transition, and indicate that this coastal area could have been a refuge during the penultimate glacial period. A similar situation has been described for the last glaciation-Holocene transition.
The Role of Risk Aversion in Non-Conscious Decision Making

To what extent can people choose advantageously without knowing why they are making those choices? This hotly debated question has capitalized on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), in which people often learn to choose advantageously without appearing to know why. However, because the IGT is unconstrained in many respects, this finding remains debated and other interpretations are possible (e.g., risk aversion, ambiguity aversion, limits of working memory, or insensitivity to reward/punishment can explain the finding of the IGT). Here we devised an improved variant of the IGT in which the deck-payoff contingency switches after subjects repeatedly choose from a good deck, offering the statistical power of repeated within-subject measures based on learning the reward contingencies associated with each deck. We found that participants exhibited low confidence in their choices, as probed with post-decision wagering, despite high accuracy in selecting advantageous decks in the task, which is putative evidence for non-conscious decision making. However, such a behavioral dissociation could also be explained by risk aversion, a tendency to avoid risky decisions under uncertainty. By explicitly measuring risk aversion for each individual, we predicted subjects’ post-decision wagering using Bayesian modeling. We found that risk aversion indeed does play a role, but that it did not explain the entire effect. Moreover, independently measured risk aversion was uncorrelated with risk aversion exhibited during our version of the IGT, raising the possibility that the latter risk aversion may be non-conscious. Our findings support the idea that people can make optimal choices without being fully aware of the basis of their decision. We suggest that non-conscious decision making may be mediated by emotional feelings of risk that are based on mechanisms distinct from those that support cognitive assessment of risk.
Extension and basin formation in the southern Andes caused by increased convergence rate: A mid‐Cenozoic trigger for the Andes

The southern Andes between 33° and 45°S latitude are characterized by a series of complex basins that spanned the contemporaneous active continental margin, which itself was characterized by volcanic activity. The basins are filled with thick (up to 3000 m) accumulations of interbedded sedimentary and volcanic strata of late Oligocene‐early Miocene age. We interpret that these basins developed during a phase of moderate extension within the plate margin system, triggered by an increased rate of convergence of the Farallon (Nazca) and South American plates between 28 and 26 Ma. This history is inconsistent with models of convergence that link high rates of convergence of a continental margin and an oceanic plate to strong compressional coupling. Although extensional basins of this age are only well‐described in the southern Andes, the convergence history and volcanic chronology are similar farther north in the central Andes (18°–33°S), leading to the speculation that extension may have characterized the late Oligocene‐early Miocene interval regionally. We hypothesize that this extension was a necessary condition to subsequent building of the modern Andes Mountains.
Safety and Immunogenicity from a Phase I Trial of Inactivated Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Vaccine

Background Emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) from the winter of 2002 to the spring of 2003 has caused a serious threat to public health. Methods To evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the inactivated SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) vaccine, 36 subjects received two doses of 16 SARS-CoV units (SU) or 32 SU inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine, or placebo control. Results On day 42, the seroconversion reached 100% for both vaccine groups. On day 56, 100% of participants in the group receiving 16 SU and 91.1% in the group receiving 32 SU had seroconverted. The geometric mean titre of neutralizing antibody peaked 2 weeks after the second vaccination, but decreased 4 weeks later. Conclusion The inactivated vaccine was safe and well tolerated and can elicit SARS-CoV-specific neutralizing antibodies.
A clinical and radiological profile of neuromyelitis optica and spectrum disorders in an Indian cohort

Background: There is insufficient data on the clinical and radiological features of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) from India. Objective: The objective of the following study is to examine the clinico-radiological features of NMO and NMOSD in an Indian cohort. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 44 consecutive patients who (1) satisfied the 2006 Wingerchuk criteria for NMO (16 seropositive and 7 seronegative); or (2) had isolated or recurrent optic neuritis (ON) with seropositivity (n = 4); or (3) had isolated or recurrent myelitis with seropositivity (n = 17). Results: The female:male ratio was 7.8:1 with median age of onset 26.5 (range 8-72). Annualized relapse rate (ARR) was comparable across all groups (F [3, 40] = 0.938 and P = 0.431). Various presentations other than ON and myelitis were noted. All 40 patients with myelitis had spinal cord lesions involving ≥3 vertebral segments during the course of the disease. Cervicomedullary involvement was seen in 32.5% (13/40) patients. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was available for 40 patients; eight of these (20%) had brain lesions in locations described in multiple sclerosis (MS), 27.5% (11/40) had lesions at sites unusual for MS and 52.5% (21/40) had normal brain imaging. Conclusion: NMO and NMOSD patients in this cohort have comparable ARR regardless of clinical presentation, supporting the emerging trend of treating all patients with immunotherapeutic agents at an early stage. Varied presentations seen in NMO and NMOSD highlight the need for a high index of suspicion for NMO in demyelinating episodes not classical for MS.
Functional Cross-Talk Between Aldosterone and Angiotensin-(1-7) in Ventricular Myocytes

High serum levels of aldosterone have been linked to the development of cardiac disease. In contrast, angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7) was extensively shown to possess cardioprotective effects, including the attenuation of cardiac dysfunction induced by excessive mineralocorticoid activation in vivo, suggesting possible interactions between these 2 molecules. Here, we investigated whether there is cross-talk between aldosterone and Ang-(1-7) and its functional consequences for calcium (Ca2+) signaling in ventricular myocytes. Short-term effects of aldosterone on Ca2+ transient were assessed in Fluo-4/AM-loaded myocytes. Confocal images showed that Ang-(1-7) had no effect on Ca2+ transient parameters, whereas aldosterone increased the magnitude of the Ca2+ transient. Quite unexpectedly, addition of Ang-(1-7) to aldosterone-treated myocytes further enhanced the amplitude of the Ca2+ transient suggesting a synergistic effect of these molecules. Aldosterone action on Ca2+ transient amplitude was mediated by protein kinase A, and was related to an increase in Ca2+ current (ICa) density. Both changes were not altered by Ang-(1-7). When cardiomyocytes were exposed to aldosterone, increased Ca2+ spark rate was measured. Ang-(1-7) prevented this change. In addition, a NO synthase inhibitor restored the effect of aldosterone on Ca2+ spark rate in Ang-(1-7)-treated myocytes and attenuated the synergistic effect of these 2 molecules on Ca2+ transient. These results indicate that NO plays an important role in this cross-talk. Our results bring new perspectives in the understanding of how 2 prominent molecules with supposedly antagonist cardiac actions cross-talk to synergistically amplify Ca2+ signals in cardiomyocytes.
Atorvastatin delays progression of pancreatic lesions to carcinoma by regulating PI3/AKT signaling in p48Cre/+ LSL‐KrasG12D/+ mice

Pancreatic cancer is the one of most common causes of cancer deaths and has the worst prognosis. Clinical observational studies suggest that statins may reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. The chemopreventive efficacy of the statin atorvastatin (Lipitor®) and the role of the phosphatidyl‐inositol 3‐kinase (PI3/AKT) signaling pathway were evaluated for the progression of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasms (PanINs) to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in conditional p48Cre/+‐LSL‐KrasG12D/+ transgenic mice. Six‐week‐old male p48Cre/+‐LSL‐KrasG12D/+ (20/group) mice were fed AIN‐76A diets containing 0, 200 and 400 ppm atorvastatin for 35 weeks. At termination, pancreata were evaluated histopathologically for PanINs and PDAC, and for various PI3/AKT signaling markers, and inflammatory cytokines, by immunohistochemistry/immunohistoflourscence, ELISA, Western blotting and/or reverse transcription‐PCR methods. Control diet‐fed mice showed 85% incidence of PDAC; whereas, mice fed with atorvastatin showed PDAC incidence of 65 and 35%, respectively (p < 0.0001). Similarly, significant suppression of PanIN‐3 (22.6%) was observed in mice fed 400 ppm atorvastatin. Importantly, pancreata from atorvastatin‐treated mice were ∼68% free from ductal lesions. Furthermore, pancreas of mice administered with atorvastatin had significantly reduced expressions levels of PCNA, p2X7, p‐ERK, RhoA, cyclin D1, survivin, Akt, pAKT, β‐catenin, cyclin E, cdK2 and caveolin‐1. Also, atorvastatin‐treated mice had shown dose‐dependent suppression of inflammatory cytokines and a significant increase in tunnel‐positive cells, p21 and PARP expression levels in pancreas. Atorvastatin significantly delays the progression of PanIN‐1 and ‐2 lesions to PanIN‐3 and PDAC by modulating PI3/AKT signal molecules in a preclinical model, suggesting potential clinical benefits of statins for high‐risk pancreatic cancer patients.
Evaluation of rapid radiometric method for drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A total of 106 isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were tested for drug susceptibility by the conventional 7H11 plate method and by a new rapid radiometric method using special 7H12 liquid medium with 14C-labeled substrate. Results obtained by the two methods were compared for rapidity, sensitivity, and specificity of the new test method. There was 98% overall agreement between the results obtained by the two methods. Of a total of 424 drug tests, only 8 drug results did not agree, mostly in the case of streptomycin. This new procedure was found to be rapid, with 87% of the tests results reportable within 4 days and 98% reportable within 5 days as compared to the usual 3 weeks required with the conventional indirect susceptibility test method. The results of this preliminary study indicate that the rapid radiometric method seems to have the potential for routine laboratory use and merits further investigations.