Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ConvSRC: SmartPhone based Periocular Recognition using Deep Convolutional Neural Network and Sparsity Augmented Collaborative Representation

Smartphone based periocular recognition has gained significant attention from biometric research community because of the limitations of biometric modalities like face, iris etc. Most of the existing methods for periocular recognition employ hand-crafted features. Recently, learning based image representation techniques like deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) have shown outstanding performance in many visual recognition tasks. CNN needs a huge volume of data for its learning, but for periocular recognition only limited amount of data is available. The solution is to use CNN pre-trained on the dataset from the related domain, in this case the challenge is to extract efficiently the discriminative features. Using a pertained CNN model (VGG-Net), we propose a simple, efficient and compact image representation technique that takes into account the wealth of information and sparsity existing in the activations of the convolutional layers and employs principle component analysis. For recognition, we use an efficient and robust Sparse Augmented Collaborative Representation based Classification (SA-CRC) technique. For thorough evaluation of ConvSRC (the proposed system), experiments were carried out on the VISOB challenging database which was presented for periocular recognition competition in ICIP2016. The obtained results show the superiority of ConvSRC over the state-of-the-art methods; it obtains a GMR of more than 99% at FMR = 10-3 and outperforms the first winner of ICIP2016 challenge by 10%.
Automatic Identification of Faked and Fraudulent Interviews in Surveys by Two Different Methods

This paper presents two new tools for the identification of faking interviewers in surveys. One method is based on Benford's Law, and the other exploits the empirical observation that fakers most often produce answers with less variability than could be expected from the whole survey. We focus on fabricated data, which were taken out of the survey before the data were disseminated in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). For two samples, the resulting rankings of the interviewers with respect to their cheating behavior are given. For both methods all of the evident fakers are identified.
Child Neglect: Its Causes and its Role in Delinquency

Parenting practices have been shown to be very important in determining whether a young person becomes involved in delinquent or criminal activity. The more interest a parent shows in a child, the more a parent gets involved with a child, the more a parent supervises a child, and the more warmth and affection a parent shows a child, the less likely the child is to become involved in delinquency. These findings suggest that it may be possible to reduce the number of juveniles who become involved in delinquency by developing strategies which address neglectful parenting. In order to do this though, it is helpful to know what factors give rise to neglectful parenting. The aim of this bulletin is to review the available evidence on this issue. The discussion proceeds in three parts. The first part examines some of the important methodological issues which affect the interpretation of research studies in this area. In the second part, research evidence bearing on the relationship between neglectful parenting and juvenile involvement in crime is briefly reviewed. In the third part, findings from recent research studies which have examined risk factors for neglectful parenting and child neglect are reviewed.
Mutations of mitochondrial DNA polymerase γA are a frequent cause of autosomal dominant or recessive progressive external ophthalmoplegia

One form of familial progressive external ophthalmoplegia with multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions recently has been associated with mutations in POLG1, the gene encoding pol γA, the catalytic subunit of mitochondrial DNA polymerase. We screened the POLG1 gene in several PEO families and identified five different heterozygous missense mutations of POLG1 in 10 autosomal dominant families. Recessive mutations were found in three families. Our data show that mutations of POLG1 are the most frequent cause of familial progressive external ophthalmoplegia associated with accumulation of multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions, accounting for approximately 45% of our family cohort.
Overexpression of Epidermal Growth Factor Induced Hypospermatogenesis in Transgenic Mice*

The in vivo role of epidermal growth factor (EGF) is not well defined even though its effects on culture cells were well studied. To understand the developmental, physiological, and pathological roles of EGF, we have generated transgenic mice widely expressing human EGF with the use of the β-actin promoter. EGF and transforming growth factor α (TGFα) bind with equal affinity to the EGF receptor, a transmembrane tyrosine kinase, to trigger various biological responses. EGF and TGFα signaling are implicated in the development of the reproductive system. EGF also plays a physiological role in reproduction. Removal of the salivary gland in rodents, which reduces circulating EGF, reduces spermatogenesis, which can be corrected by EGF replacement. Here we show that in our transgenic males, only few post-meiosis II gametes were found, and the mice were sterile. This resembles a common cause of infertility in humans. Furthermore, the transgenic males had reduced serum testosterone. Our findings contrast the previous report on transgenic mice overexpressing TGFα in testis, which showed normal spermatogenesis. These data suggest that EGF is the active ligand for EGF receptor reported in germ cells, and proper EGF expression is important for completion of spermatogenesis.
Toward First-Principle Simulations of Galaxy Formation : II. Shock-Induced Starburst at a Collision Interface during the First Encounter of Interacting Galaxies

We investigated the evolution of interacting disk galaxies using high-resolution N -body/SPH simulations, while taking into account the multiphase nature of the interstellar medium. In our high-resolution simulations, a large-scale starburst occurred naturally at the collision interface between two gas disks at the first encounter, resulting in the formation of star clusters. This is consistent with observations of interacting galaxies. The probability distribution function (PDF) of the gas density showed a clear change during the galaxy–galaxy encounter. The compression of gas at the collision interface between the gas disks first appears as an excess at nH � 10 cm � 3 in the PDF, and then it moves to higher densities (nH & 100 cm � 3 ) in a few times 10 7 years, where starburst takes place. After the
Understanding experts' attitudes towards functional flexibility

This study examined experts' motivation for functional flexibility and their willingness to participate in functional flexibility interventions if necessary for the organisation. One hundred and sixty experts in the field of electronics and physics completed a questionnaire. The results showed that the experts were generally positive toward flexibility development, and that both individual characteristics (i.e., field commitment, career anchors, tenure), and work-related characteristics (i.e., career support, work-overload) predicted functional flexibility attitudes. The findings indicate that organisations may be able to stimulate experts' functional flexibility by paying attention to individual career aspirations, and by creating thus a better fit between individuals' objectives and the organisation's flexibility needs.
The diarylquinoline TMC207 for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND The diarylquinoline TMC207 offers a new mechanism of antituberculosis action by inhibiting mycobacterial ATP synthase. TMC207 potently inhibits drug-sensitive and drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro and shows bactericidal activity in patients who have drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis. METHODS In the first stage of a two-stage, phase 2, randomized, controlled trial, we randomly assigned 47 patients who had newly diagnosed multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis to receive either TMC207 (400 mg daily for 2 weeks, followed by 200 mg three times a week for 6 weeks) (23 patients) or placebo (24 patients) in combination with a standard five-drug, second-line antituberculosis regimen. The primary efficacy end point was the conversion of sputum cultures, in liquid broth, from positive to negative. RESULTS The addition of TMC207 to standard therapy for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis reduced the time to conversion to a negative sputum culture, as compared with placebo (hazard ratio, 11.8; 95% confidence interval, 2.3 to 61.3; P=0.003 by Cox regression analysis) and increased the proportion of patients with conversion of sputum culture (48% vs. 9%). The mean log(10) count of colony-forming units in the sputum declined more rapidly in the TMC207 group than in the placebo group. No significant differences in average plasma TMC207 concentrations were noted between patients with and those without culture conversion. Most adverse events were mild to moderate, and only nausea occurred significantly more frequently among patients in the TMC207 group than among patients in the placebo group (26% vs. 4%, P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS The clinical activity of TMC207 validates ATP synthase as a viable target for the treatment of tuberculosis. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00449644.)
Comparison of Sugars, Iridoid Glycosides and Amino Acids in Nectar and Phloem Sap of Maurandya barclayana, Lophospermum erubescens, and Brassica napus

Background Floral nectar contains sugars and amino acids to attract pollinators. In addition, nectar also contains different secondary compounds, but little is understood about their origin or function. Does nectar composition reflect phloem composition, or is nectar synthesized and/or modified in nectaries? Studies where both, the nectar as well as the phloem sap taken from the same plant species were analyzed in parallel are rare. Therefore, phloem sap and nectar from different plant species (Maurandya barclayana, Lophospermum erubescens, and Brassica napus) were compared. Methodology and Principal Findings Nectar was collected with microcapillary tubes and phloem sap with the laser-aphid-stylet technique. The nectar of all three plant species contained high amounts of sugars with different percentages of glucose, fructose, and sucrose, whereas phloem sap sugars consisted almost exclusively of sucrose. One possible reason for this could be the activity of invertases in the nectaries. The total concentration of amino acids was much lower in nectars than in phloem sap, indicating selective retention of nitrogenous solutes during nectar formation. Nectar amino acid concentrations were negatively correlated with the nectar volumes per flower of the different plant species. Both members of the tribe Antirrhineae (Plantaginaceae) M. barclayana and L. erubescens synthesized the iridoid glycoside antirrhinoside. High amounts of antirrhinoside were found in the phloem sap and lower amounts in the nectar of both plant species. Conclusions/Significance The parallel analyses of nectar and phloem sap have shown that all metabolites which were found in nectar were also detectable in phloem sap with the exception of hexoses. Otherwise, the composition of both aqueous solutions was not the same. The concentration of several metabolites was lower in nectar than in phloem sap indicating selective retention of some metabolites. Furthermore, the existence of antirrhinoside in nectar could be based on passive secretion from the phloem.
Soil Microbial Community Responses to Multiple Experimental Climate Change Drivers

ABSTRACT Researchers agree that climate change factors such as rising atmospheric [CO2] and warming will likely interact to modify ecosystem properties and processes. However, the response of the microbial communities that regulate ecosystem processes is less predictable. We measured the direct and interactive effects of climatic change on soil fungal and bacterial communities (abundance and composition) in a multifactor climate change experiment that exposed a constructed old-field ecosystem to different atmospheric CO2 concentration (ambient, +300 ppm), temperature (ambient, +3°C), and precipitation (wet and dry) might interact to alter soil bacterial and fungal abundance and community structure in an old-field ecosystem. We found that (i) fungal abundance increased in warmed treatments; (ii) bacterial abundance increased in warmed plots with elevated atmospheric [CO2] but decreased in warmed plots under ambient atmospheric [CO2]; (iii) the phylogenetic distribution of bacterial and fungal clones and their relative abundance varied among treatments, as indicated by changes in 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA genes; (iv) changes in precipitation altered the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria, where Acidobacteria decreased with a concomitant increase in the Proteobacteria in wet relative to dry treatments; and (v) changes in precipitation altered fungal community composition, primarily through lineage specific changes within a recently discovered group known as soil clone group I. Taken together, our results indicate that climate change drivers and their interactions may cause changes in bacterial and fungal overall abundance; however, changes in precipitation tended to have a much greater effect on the community composition. These results illustrate the potential for complex community changes in terrestrial ecosystems under climate change scenarios that alter multiple factors simultaneously.
A Highly Sensitive Immunofluorescence Procedure for Analyzing the Subcellular Distribution of GABAA Receptor Subunits in the Human Brain

We designed a protocol to improve the immunohistochemical analysis of human brain structures, which overcomes the limited detection sensitivity, high background, and intense autofluorescence commonly associated with human tissue. This procedure was evaluated by using antibodies against major GABAA receptor subunits (α1, α2, α3, γ2) in autopsy and surgical specimens. Tissue blocks were briefly fixed by immersion and pretreated with microwave irradiation in sodium citrate buffer. Immunoperoxidase staining revealed a marked enhancement of cell surface immunoreactivity and reduction of background in microwave- irradiated tissue, irrespective of its origin. For confocal laser scanning microscopy, immunofluorescence staining was optimized with the tyramide signal amplification (TSA) technique. This procedure not only dramatically increased the sensitivity for antigen detection but also totally suppressed autofluorescence, thus revealing the cellular and subcellular distribution of GABAA receptor subunits. A distinct neuron-specific expression pattern of the α-subunit variants was observed in cerebral cortex and hippocampal formation, along with widespread expression of the γ2-subunit. Of particular interest was the prominent α2- and α3-subunit staining on the initial axon segment of pyramidal neurons. This protocol represents a major improvement for high-resolution studies of human brain tissue aimed at investigating morphological alterations underlying neurological diseases.
Validación de la versión modificada de la Conflicts Tactics Scale (M-CTS) en población juvenil española

Validation of the modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (M-CTS) in a Spanish population of youths. The modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (M-CTS), originally created by Straus in 1979, is one of the most extensively used instruments to detect violent verbal and physical behaviours in youths’ and adolescents’ dating relations. The aim of the present work was to analyze the psychometric properties of the instrument and to validate its adequacy in the Spanish population. The sample was made up of 5,355 Spanish youths from the Community of Madrid, ages between 16 and 26 years. By means of confirmatory factor analysis, four factors that were consistent with the theory and with previous research were identified: arguments, psychological/verbal aggression, slight physical aggression, and severe physical aggression. It is concluded that the scale assesses the presence of various types of aggression in youths’ and adolescents’ dating relationships with sufficient psychometric guarantees.
Searching for massive clusters in weak lensing surveys

We explore the ability of weak lensing surveys to locate massive clusters. We use both analytic models of dark matter haloes and mock weak lensing surveys generated from a large cosmological N-body simulation. The analytic models describe the average properties of weak lensing haloes and predict the number counts, enabling us to compute an effective survey selection function. We argue that the detectability of massive haloes depends not only on the halo mass but also strongly on the redshift where the halo is located. We test the model prediction for the peak number counts in weak lensing mass maps against mock numerical data, and find that the noise resulting from intrinsic galaxy ellipticities causes a systematic effect which increases the peak counts. We develop a correction scheme for the systematic effect in an empirical manner, and show that, after correction, the model prediction agrees well with the mock data. The mock data is also used to examine the completeness and efficiency of the weak lensing halo search by fully taking into account the noise and the projection effect by large-scale structures. We show that the detection threshold of S/N = 4 ∼ 5 gives an optimal balance between completeness and efficiency. Our results suggest that, for a weak lensing survey with a galaxy number density of n g = 30 arcmin -2 with a mean redshift of z = 1, the mean number of haloes which are expected to cause lensing signals above S/N = 4 is N balo (S/N > 4) = 37 per 10 deg 2 , whereas 23 of the haloes are actually detected with S/N > 4, giving the effective completeness as good as 63 per cent. Alternatively, the mean number of peaks in the same area is N peak = 62 for a detection threshold of S/N = 4. Among the 62 peaks, 23 are caused by haloes with the expected peak height S/N >4, 13 result from haloes with 3 < S/N < 4 and the remaining 26 peaks are either the false peaks caused by the noise or haloes with a lower expected peak height. Therefore the contamination rate is 44 per cent (this could be an overestimation). Weak lensing surveys thus provide a reasonably efficient way to search for massive clusters.
In Situ Coral Reef Oxygen Metabolism: An Eddy Correlation Study

Quantitative studies of coral reefs are challenged by the three-dimensional hard structure of reefs and the high spatial variability and temporal dynamics of their metabolism. We used the non-invasive eddy correlation technique to examine respiration and photosynthesis rates, through O2 fluxes, from reef crests and reef slopes in the Florida Keys, USA. We assessed how the photosynthesis and respiration of different reef habitats is controlled by light and hydrodynamics. Numerous fluxes (over a 0.25 h period) were as high as 4500 mmol O2 m−2 d−1, which can only be explained by efficient light utilization by the phototrophic community and the complex canopy structure of the reef, having a many-fold larger surface area than its horizontal projection. Over diel cycles, the reef crest was net autotrophic, whereas on the reef slope oxygen production and respiration were balanced. The autotrophic nature of the shallow reef crests implies that the export of organics is an important source of primary production for the larger area. Net oxygen production on the reef crest was proportional to the light intensity, up to 1750 µmol photons m−2 s−1 and decreased thereafter as respiration was stimulated by high current velocities coincident with peak light levels. Nighttime respiration rates were also stimulated by the current velocity, through enhanced ventilation of the porous framework of the reef. Respiration rates were the highest directly after sunset, and then decreased during the night suggesting that highly labile photosynthates produced during the day fueled early-night respiration. The reef framework was also important to the acquisition of nutrients as the ambient nitrogen stock in the water had sufficient capacity to support these high production rates across the entire reef width. These direct measurements of complex reefs systems yielded high metabolic rates and dynamics that can only be determined through in situ, high temporal resolution measurements.
Wider than the sky : the phenomenal gift of consciousness

How does the firing of neurons give rise to subjective sensations, thoughts, and emotions? How can the disparate domains of mind and body be reconciled? The quest for a scientifically based understanding of consciousness has attracted study and speculation across the ages. In this direct and non-technical discussion of consciousness, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman draws on a lifetime of scientific inquiry into the workings of the brain to formulate answers to the mind-body questions that intrigue every thinking person.Concise and understandable, the book explains pertinent findings of modern neuroscience and describes how consciousness arises in complex brains. Edelman explores the relation of consciousness to causation, to evolution, to the development of the self, and to the origins of feelings, learning, and memory. His analysis of the brain activities underlying consciousness is based on recent remarkable advances in biochemistry, immunology, medical imaging, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, yet the implications of his book extend fartherbeyond the worlds of science and medicine into virtually every area of human inquiry. "
Discovery of C-Glycosylpyranonaphthoquinones in Streptomyces sp. MBT76 by a Combined NMR-Based Metabolomics and Bioinformatics Workflow

Mining of microbial genomes has revealed that actinomycetes harbor far more biosynthetic potential for bioactive natural products than anticipated. Activation of (cryptic) biosynthetic gene clusters and identification of the corresponding metabolites has become a focal point for drug discovery. Here, we applied NMR-based metabolomics combined with bioinformatics to identify novel C-glycosylpyranonaphthoquinones in Streptomyces sp. MBT76 and to elucidate the biosynthetic pathway. Following activation of the cryptic qin gene cluster for a type II polyketide synthase (PKS) by constitutive expression of its pathway-specific activator, bioinformatics coupled to NMR profiling facilitated the chromatographic isolation and structural elucidation of qinimycins A–C (1–3). The intriguing structural features of the qinimycins, including 8-C-glycosylation, 5,14-epoxidation, and 13-hydroxylation, distinguished these molecules from the model pyranonaphthoquinones actinorhodin, medermycin, and granaticin. Another novelty lies in the unusual fusion of a deoxyaminosugar to the pyranonaphthoquinone backbone during biosynthesis of the antibiotics BE-54238 A and B (4, 5). Qinimycins showed weak antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Our work shows the utility of combining bioinformatics, targeted activation of cryptic gene clusters, and NMR-based metabolic profiling as an effective pipeline for the discovery of microbial natural products with distinctive skeletons.