Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Numerical extrapolation of the species abundance distribution unveils the true species richness and the hierarchical structuring of a partially sampled marine gastropod community in the Andaman Islands (India).

Even when it remains substantially incomplete, the partial inventory of a species assemblage can provide much more information than could be expected at first. This can be achieved by applying a rigorous numerical extrapolation procedure that fully extends the incomplete sampling in numerical terms and, thereby, provides reliable estimates regarding not only the number but also the distribution of abundances for the whole set of the undetected species. As a result, this makes available the full range of the Species Abundance Distribution of the yet partially sampled assemblage and, thus, allows to address a series of interesting issues regarding the process and pattern of the hierarchical structuring of species abundances within the studied assemblage of species. Moreover, the same kind of numerical extrapolation may be applied separately to each subset of species, within the whole assemblage, that may have relevant interest (taxonomic subgroups, feeding guilds, etc…). Thus, deconstructing the Species Abundance Distribution can provide further detailed insights into the functional organisation of the studied assemblage. The mathematical and algorithmic basis for this extrapolating procedure has been developed recently, to be applied to the numerical extension of both the Species Accumulation Curve and the Species Abundance Distribution. The wide potential interest of this new methodological approach, when having to deal with substantially incomplete inventories of species (which is doomed to become inevitable with increasingly species-rich assemblages), is illustrated by a detailed case study of a marine gastropod assemblage on rocky shore under tropical climate.
Lists that are smaller than their parts: A coding approach to tunable secrecy

We present a new information-theoretic definition and associated results, based on list decoding in a source coding setting. We begin by presenting list-source codes, which naturally map a key length (entropy) to list size. We then show that such codes can be analyzed in the context of a novel information-theoretic metric, ϵ-symbol secrecy, that encompasses both the one-time pad and traditional rate-based asymptotic metrics, but, like most cryptographic constructs, can be applied in non-aymptotic settings. We derive fundamental bounds for ϵ-symbol secrecy and demonstrate how these bounds can be achieved with MDS codes when the source is uniformly distributed. We discuss applications and implementation issues of our codes.
Carbofuran-induced acute pancreatitis.

CONTEXT Carbamate insecticides are widely used in commercial agriculture and home gardening. A serious side effect of organophosphate and carbamate intoxication is the development of acute pancreatitis. CASE REPORT A 36-year-old Caucasian woman was admitted to our hospital with cholinergic crisis and pancreatitis soon after the ingestion of a carbamate insecticide (carbofuran). An abdominal CT scan disclosed pancreatic necrosis with intrapancreatic fluid collection, consistent with the development of a pancreatic pseudocyst in a subsequent CT scan. No predisposing factor for pancreatitis was evident. Pseudocholinesterase levels returned to normal 7 days later and the patient was discharged in good physical condition one month after admission. DISCUSSION Although acute pancreatitis is not infrequent after organophosphate intoxication, it is quite rare after carbamate ingestion and has not been previously reported after carbofuran intoxication.
Long-Term Results of Anterior versus Posterior Operations for Herniated Cervical Discs: Analysis of 6,000 Patients

Objective: To analyze the long-term outcomes of anterior versus posterior approaches for cervical disc herniation. Methods: The records of 6,000 patients who had operations for cervical disc herniation (radiating arm pain and/or motor symptoms involving the upper extremity) and who had been followed for at least 2 years (mean: 7.1 years) were culled from the world literature and included in this analysis. The outcome (good/excellent, according to the patient) of anterior versus posterior surgery was compared. Results: Of the 6,000 patients, 2,888 (48.1%) had anterior operations (anterior cervical discectomies, with or without fusion) and 3,112 (51.9%) patients were operated on posteriorly (laminoforaminotomies/‘keyhole' facetectomies). Although initially equal, in long-term follow-up, patients who had anterior operations had 80% good/excellent results, whereas patients with the posterior approach had 94% good/excellent results. The difference was significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The better long-term results with the posterior operation might be due to the more complete opening of the foramen for neural decompression at the time of the operation and thereafter.
Security and usability: the gap in real-world online banking

Online banking is one of the most sensitive tasks performed by general Internet users. Most traditional banks now offer online banking services, and strongly encourage customers to do online banking with 'peace of mind. ' Although banks heavily advertise an apparent '100% online security guarantee,' typically the fine print makes this conditional on users fulfilling certain security requirements. We examine some of these requirements as set by major Canadian banks, in terms of security and usability. We opened personal checking accounts at the five largest Canadian banks, and one online-only bank. We found that many security requirements are too difficult for regular users to follow, and believe that some marketing-related messages about safety and security actually mislead users. We are also interested in what kind of computer systems people really use for online banking, and whether users satisfy common online banking requirements. Our survey of 123 technically advanced users from a university environment strongly supports our view of an emerging gap between banks' expectations (or at least what their written customer policy agreements imply) and users' actions related to security requirements of online banking. Our participants, being more security-aware than the general population, arguably makes our results best-case regarding what can be expected from regular users. Yet most participants failed to satisfy common security requirements, implying most online banking customers do not (or cannot) follow banks' stated end-user security requirements and guidelines. The survey also sheds light on the security settings of systems used for sensitive online transactions. This work is intended to spur a discussion on real-world system security and user responsibilities, in a scenario where everyday users are heavily encouraged to perform critical tasks over the Internet, despite the continuing absence of appropriate tools to do so.
DNA Damage Due to Oxidative Stress in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

According to the American Thorasic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) Statement, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is defined as a preventable and treatable disease with a strong genetic component, characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible, but is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced inflammatory response of the lung to noxious particles or gases. The main features of COPD are chronic inflammation of the airways and progressive destruction of lung parenchyma and alveolar structure. The pathogenesis of COPD is complex due to the interactions of several mechanisms, such as inflammation, proteolytic/antiproteolytic imbalance, oxidative stress, DNA damage, apoptosis, enhanced senescence of the structural cells and defective repair processes. This review focuses on the effects of oxidative DNA damage and the consequent immune responses in COPD. In susceptible individuals, cigarette smoke injures the airway epithelium generating the release of endogenous intracellular molecules or danger-associated molecular patterns from stressed or dying cells. These signals are captured by antigen presenting cells and are transferred to the lymphoid tissue, generating an adaptive immune response and enhancing chronic inflammation.
Annual Hematocrit Profiles in Two Subspecies of White-Crowned Sparrow: A Migrant and a Resident Comparison

Hematocrit is an easily measured parameter that can be used to assess changes in oxygen carrying capacity necessitated by fluctuations in metabolic demands. Most hematocrit studies draw conclusions from changes in hematocrit that occur over a small sampling interval without an understanding of the variation that exists across the annual cycle. White-crowned sparrows provide an excellent model system due to the existence of a resident subspecies (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli) that serves as a natural control for a migrant subspecies (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii). Comparing these two subspecies allows for the investigation of adaptive physiological changes at each life-history stage (i.e., migration, breeding, molt, etc.) in response to changing metabolic demands. Of particular interest, this subspecies comparison, by both calendar month and life-history stage, allows for the separation of adaptive increases in hematocrit due to migration from the natural seasonal variation in hematocrit. Hematocrit levels for males and females ranged throughout the year between 42%–47% and 40%–47% in the resident and between 45%–58% and 45%–56% in the migrant. In both subspecies, hematocrit levels were elevated during the breeding season compared to the nonbreeding season, and levels were reduced in females during egg laying. When grouped by life-history stage, hematocrit levels were always higher in the migrant compared to the resident. During the months in which migration occurred, hematocrit levels were 10%–12% higher in the migrant compared to the resident subspecies. These data suggest differential regulation of hematocrit between the two subspecies that may be attributed to phenotypic plasticity or genetic differences.
Capacity growth of multi-element arrays in indoor and outdoor wireless channels

We demonstrate the capacity growth of multiple-element antenna arrays (MEAs) in a realistic propagation environment using WiSE, an experimental ray tracing tool. WiSE is used to construct the channel response for MEAs operating at 1.9 GHz for two situations: (a) (16-16)-MEAs located inside an office building and (b) (4, 4)-MEAs located in an outdoor fixed wireless loop. We define effective degrees of freedom (EDOFs) as parallel spatial modes of transmission for an MEA. We quantify the increase in both the number of EDOFs and capacity with transmit power, received SNR, and antenna spacing. More EDOFs are present when receiving MEAs are physically closer to the transmitting MEA, regardless of the scattering effect.
Imaging of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Part II: Ultrasonography and MRI

Abstract Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most common autoimmune systemic disease of the connective tissue affecting individuals in the developmental age. Radiography, which was described in the first part of this publication, is the standard modality in the assessment of this condition. Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging enable early detection of the disease which affects soft tissues, as well as bones. Ultrasound assessment involves: joint cavities, tendon sheaths and bursae for the presence of synovitis, intraand extraarticular fat tissue to visualize signs of inflammation, hyaline cartilage, cartilaginous epiphysis and subchondral bone to detect cysts and erosions, and ligaments, tendons and their entheses for signs of enthesopathies and tendinopathies. Magnetic resonance imaging is indicated in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis for assessment of inflammation in peripheral joints, tendon sheaths and bursae, bone marrow involvement and identification of inflammatory lesions in whole-body MRI, particularly when the clinical picture is unclear. Also, MRI of the spine and spinal cord is used in order to diagnose synovial joint inflammation, bone marrow edema and spondylodiscitis as well as to assess their activity, location, and complications (spinal canal stenosis, subluxation, e.g. in the atlantoaxial region). This article discusses typical pathological changes seen on ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. The role of these two methods for disease monitoring, its identification in the pre-clinical stage and establishing its remission are also highlighted.
Modeling and Docking Studies on Novel Mutants (K71L and T204V) of the ATPase Domain of Human Heat Shock 70 kDa Protein 1

The purpose of exploring protein interactions between human adenovirus and heat shock protein 70 is to exploit a potentially synergistic interaction to enhance anti-tumoral efficacy and decrease toxicity in cancer treatment. However, the protein interaction of Hsp70 with E1A32 kDa of human adenovirus serotype 5 remains to be elucidated. In this study, two residues of ATPase domain of human heat shock 70 kDa protein 1 (PDB: 1 HJO) were mutated. 3D mutant models (K71L and T204V) using PyMol software were then constructed. The structures were evaluated by PROCHECK, ProQ, ERRAT, Verify 3D and ProSA modules. All evidence suggests that all protein models are acceptable and of good quality. The E1A32 kDa motif was retrieved from UniProt (P03255), as well as subjected to docking interaction with NBD, K71L and T204V, using the Autodock 4.2 program. The best lowest binding energy value of −9.09 kcal/mol was selected for novel T204V. Moreover, the protein-ligand complex structures were validated by RMSD, RMSF, hydrogen bonds and salt bridge analysis. This revealed that the T204V-E1A32 kDa motif complex was the most stable among all three complex structures. This study provides information about the interaction between Hsp70 and the E1A32 kDa motif, which emphasizes future perspectives to design rational drugs and vaccines in cancer therapy.
Effect of Non-Ground-Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag as Fine Aggregate on Shrinkage Cracking of Mortars

This study investigated the effect of non-ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (n-GGBS) as fine aggregate in mortars on shrinkage cracking. The n-GGBS replaced fine aggregate by weight. The replacement ratios ranged from 0-100% in increments of 10%. Unit weight, ultrasonic pulse velocity, flexural strength, compressive strength, and length change due to free shrinkage were determined by producing prismatic mortar specimens for each series. The moduli of elasticity were also determined by producing cubic mortar specimens. The ring test was conducted to determine the effect of n-GGBS on shrinkage cracking. The length and width of the cracks that occurred during the ring test were measured using an optical microscope and a caliper. Consequently, it was observed that the increase in n-GGBS content decreased shrinkage cracking because of the porous structure of mortar specimens related to the structure of n-GGBS. Furthermore, the flexural strength, compressive strength, and modulus of elasticity also decreased for the same reason.
Category variability effect in category learning with auditory stimuli

The category variability effect refers to that people tend to classify the midpoint item between two categories as the category more variable. This effect is regarded as evidence against the exemplar model, such as GCM (Generalized Context Model) and favoring the rule model, such as GRT (i.e., the decision bound model). Although this effect has been found in conceptual category learning, it is not often observed in perceptual category learning. To figure out why the category variability effect is seldom reported in the past studies, we propose two hypotheses. First, due to sequence effect, the midpoint item would be classified as different categories, when following different items. When we combine these inconsistent responses for the midpoint item, no category variability effect occurs. Second, instead of the combination of sequence effect in different categorization conditions, the combination of different categorization strategies conceals the category variability effect. One experiment is conducted with single tones of different frequencies as stimuli. The collected data reveal sequence effect. However, the modeling results with the MAC model and the decision bound model support that the existence of individual differences is the reason for why no category variability effect occurs. Three groups are identified by their categorization strategy. Group 1 is rule user, placing the category boundary close to the low-variability category, hence inducing category variability effect. Group 2 takes the MAC strategy and classifies the midpoint item as different categories, depending on its preceding item. Group 3 classifies the midpoint item as the low-variability category, which is consistent with the prediction of the decision bound model as well as GCM. Nonetheless, our conclusion is that category variability effect can be found in perceptual category learning, but might be concealed by the averaged data.
Estimating Human Trabecular Meshwork Stiffness by Numerical Modeling and Advanced OCT Imaging

Purpose The purpose of this study was to estimate human trabecular meshwork (hTM) stiffness, thought to be elevated in glaucoma, using a novel indirect approach, and to compare results with direct en face atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. Methods Postmortem human eyes were perfused to measure outflow facility and identify high- and low-flow regions (HF, LF) by tracer. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were obtained as Schlemm's canal luminal pressure was directly manipulated. TM stiffness was deduced by an inverse finite element modeling (FEM) approach. A series of AFM forcemaps was acquired along a line traversing the anterior angle on a radially cut flat-mount corneoscleral wedge with TM facing upward. Results The elastic modulus of normal hTM estimated by inverse FEM was 70 ± 20 kPa (mean ± SD), whereas glaucomatous hTM was slightly stiffer (98 ± 19 kPa). This trend was consistent with TM stiffnesses measured by AFM: normal hTM stiffness = 1.37 ± 0.56 kPa, which was lower than glaucomatous hTM stiffness (2.75 ± 1.19 kPa). None of these differences were statistically significant. TM in HF wedges was softer than that in LF wedges for both normal and glaucomatous eyes based on the inverse FEM approach but not by AFM. Outflow facility was significantly correlated with TM stiffness estimated by FEM in six human eyes (P = 0.018). Conclusions TM stiffness is higher, but only modestly so, in glaucomatous patients. Outflow facility in both normal and glaucomatous human eyes appears to associate with TM stiffness. This evidence motivates further studies to investigate factors underlying TM biomechanical property regulation.
Stability Properties of Empirical Risk Minimization over Donsker Classes

We study some stability properties of algorithms which minimize (or almost-minimize) empirical error over Donsker classes of functions. We show that, as the number n of samples grows, the L2-diameter of the set of almost-minimizers of empirical error with tolerance ξ(n)=o(n-1/2) converges to zero in probability. Hence, even in the case of multiple minimizers of expected error, as n increases it becomes less and less likely that adding a sample (or a number of samples) to the training set will result in a large jump to a new hypothesis. Moreover, under some assumptions on the entropy of the class, along with an assumption of Komlos-Major-Tusnady type, we derive a power rate of decay for the diameter of almost-minimizers. This rate, through an application of a uniform ratio limit inequality, is shown to govern the closeness of the expected errors of the almost-minimizers. In fact, under the above assumptions, the expected errors of almost-minimizers become closer with a rate strictly faster than n-1/2.
Regulation of Organelle Acidity

Intracellular organelles have characteristic pH ranges that are set and maintained by a balance between ion pumps, leaks, and internal ionic equilibria. Previously, a thermodynamic study by Rybak et al. (Rybak, S., F. Lanni, and R. Murphy. 1997. Biophys. J. 73:674–687) identified the key elements involved in pH regulation; however, recent experiments show that cellular compartments are not in thermodynamic equilibrium. We present here a nonequilibrium model of lumenal acidification based on the interplay of ion pumps and channels, the physical properties of the lumenal matrix, and the organelle geometry. The model successfully predicts experimentally measured steady-state and transient pH values and membrane potentials. We conclude that morphological differences among organelles are insufficient to explain the wide range of pHs present in the cell. Using sensitivity analysis, we quantified the influence of pH regulatory elements on the dynamics of acidification. We found that V-ATPase proton pump and proton leak densities are the two parameters that most strongly influence resting pH. Additionally, we modeled the pH response of the Golgi complex to varying external solutions, and our findings suggest that the membrane is permeable to more than one dominant counter ion. From this data, we determined a Golgi complex proton permeability of 8.1 × 10−6 cm/s. Furthermore, we analyzed the early-to-late transition in the endosomal pathway where Na,K-ATPases have been shown to limit acidification by an entire pH unit. Our model supports the role of the Na,K-ATPase in regulating endosomal pH by affecting the membrane potential. However, experimental data can only be reproduced by (1) positing the existence of a hypothetical voltage-gated chloride channel or (2) that newly formed vesicles have especially high potassium concentrations and small chloride conductance.
MANGROVE BRACHYURAN CRABS IN WORI, NORTH SULAWESI, INDONESIA

The study for faunal diversity from mangrove sites in Wori were very less work carried out, especially on brachyuran crab taxa. Healthy mangrove forests provide a critical for many species of Crabs in intertidal and estuarine areas are keys to healthy marine ecology. Mangroves are the most suitable feeding, breeding and nursery grounds for crabs and other crustaceans. In this study, the habitat distribution and diversity of crabs in Wori mangrove environment was recorded from October 2015 and August 2016. In view of the significance of the mangrove habitat, in present study we selected three station with different habitat specifications as in Wori Seaward (WSW), Wori Middle zone (WMZ) and Wori Landward (WLW). Total 15 species and 307 individuals of brachyuran crabs were recorded belonging to 10 genera and 6 families. Crabs belonging to family Sesarmidae was most dominant with 7 species. The other major outcome of study was maximum diversity was found at Wori Landward (WLW) site with 13 species, followed by Middle Zone (WMZ) site with 11 species and Wori Seaward (WSW) site with 10 species.
Identifying Codes of Cartesian Product of Two Cliques of the Same Size

We determine the minimum cardinality of an identifying code of $K_n\square K_n$, the Cartesian product of two cliques of same size. Moreover we show that this code is unique, up to row and column permutations, when $n\geq 5$ is odd. If $n\geq 4$ is even, we exhibit two distinct optimal identifying codes.