Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A molecular analysis of relationships and biogeography within a species complex of Holarctic fish (genus Osmerus)

Episodes of trans‐Arctic faunal exchange and isolation between the north Pacific and Atlantic ocean basins have been implicated as important historic geological events contributing to extant patterns of genetic diversity and structure in Holarctic faunas. We made a further test of the significance of such biogeographic events by examining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) restriction fragment length and cytochrome b sequence polymorphism among north Pacific and Arctic, north‐western Atlantic (north‐eastern North American), and north‐eastern Atlantic (European) regional forms of the boreal smelt, genus Osmerus. Our analyses also assessed whether the regional forms within this ‘species complex’: (i) represent a single widely distributed and polytypic species, or is composed of three geographically distinct species, and (ii) resulted from a single split from north Pacific ancestral Osmerus or two independent Pacific‐Atlantic divergences. MtDNA sequence divergence estimates among forms ranged from 5.6–8.9% and from 6.1–8.5% based on restriction fragment and 300 base pairs of cytochrome b sequencing, respectively. Divergence within forms averaged less than 0.5% for fragment analysis and no differences were detected from sequence analysis. Provisional dating of lineage separations in Osmerus based on our sequence divergence estimates suggested a mid‐Pliocene to early Pleistocene time frame for diversification among the forms. These estimated lineage separation dates support the idea that geological events in ‘Beringia’ and the surrounding trans‐Arctic area (e.g. opening of the Bering Seaway, Pleistocene glacial advances), occurring over a similar time frame, have influenced radiation in Osmerus. Phenetic and parsimony analyses of the sequence divergence estimates and of sequence polymorphisms suggested that the north Pacific/Arctic form and the northwestern Atlantic form shared a common ancestor more recently than either has with the north‐eastern Atlantic form, thus supporting the hypothesis that the species complex has arisen from two independent Pacific‐Atlantic divergences probably beginning during the mid‐Pliocene.
The Impact of Southern Ocean Sea Ice in a Global Ocean Model

Abstract Most of the Southern Ocean (SO) is marginally stably stratified and thus prone to enhanced convection and possibly bottom-water formation whenever the upper ocean is cooled or made more saline by ice formation. Sea ice modifies the heat and freshwater fluxes, which in turn constitute a critical surface condition in this sensitive region of intense vertical exchange. The authors investigate the effect of SO sea ice in modifying these fluxes in a global, coarse-resolution, primitive-equation ocean general circulation model, which has been coupled to a comprehensive dynamic–thermodynamic sea ice model. Specifically, the long-term impact of a series of modifications in the formulation of the sea ice model and its forcing on quantities such as the overturning circulation, the deep ocean water-mass characteristics, the sea ice thickness, the strength of convection, as well as the strength of the major volume transports are investigated. The results indicate that the rate of Antarctic bottom-water forma.
A Noniterative Optimized Algorithm for Shunt Active Power Filter Under Distorted and Unbalanced Supply Voltages

In this paper, a single-step noniterative optimized algorithm for a three-phase four-wire shunt active power filter under distorted and unbalanced supply conditions is proposed. The main objective of the proposed algorithm is to optimally determine the conductance factors to maximize the supply-side power factor subject to predefined source current total harmonic distortion (THD) limits and average power balance constraint. Unlike previous methods, the proposed algorithm is simple and fast as it does not incorporate complex iterative optimization techniques (such as Newton-Raphson and sequential quadratic programming), hence making it more effective under dynamic load conditions. Moreover, separate limits on odd and even THDs have been considered. A mathematical expression for determining the optimal conductance factors is derived using the Lagrangian formulation. The effectiveness of the proposed single-step noniterative optimized algorithm is evaluated through comparison with an iterative optimization-based control algorithm and then validated using a real-time hardware-in-the-loop experimental system. The real-time experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of providing load compensation under steady-state and dynamic load conditions, thus making it more effective for practical applications.
OBJECT AND SPATIAL RECOGNITION IN THE ISCHEMIC GERBIL

This thesis has been read by each member of the thesis committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citation, bibliographic style, and consistency and is ready for submission to the Division of Graduate Education. In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master's degree at Montana State University, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. If I have indicated my intention to copyright this thesis by including a copyright notice page, copying is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with " fair use " as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this thesis in whole or in parts may be granted only by the copyright holder. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee for their support and feedback that contributed to this thesis. Most importantly, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. A. Michael Babcock, for his continual support throughout the process of completing these experiments and the writing of this thesis. I would also like to thank the members of Dr. Babcock's laboratory for their unwavering dedication and assistance throughout this entire project. Specifically, I would like to thank Cameron Robinson and John Old Elk for their help collecting the behavioral data. In addition, I would like to give a special thanks to Tim Brox for his help in designing and constructing the apparatus, as well as the Animal Resource Staff and Dr.
Biomechanical approach to the functional assessment of the use of crutches for ambulation.

In view of the widespread use of the axillary crutches as a temporary ambulatory device, and in some cases almost as a permanent rehabilitative measure, an objective evaluation of the performance level of leg amputees using axillary crutches was undertaken. Ten unilateral leg amputees constituting the test group were made to perform sitting, standing, level walking and stair ascending activities during which their energy expenditures, oxygen consumption, pulmonary ventilations and peak heart rates were measured by standard physiological procedures. The test group results were compared with the corresponding results of a control group, made-up of sixteen adult, healthy, able-bodied persons having sedentary habits. The metabolic costs of using axillary crutches were found to be unusually high in comparison with the normal standards: t tests performed clearly indicated the differences existing between the two groups for most of the test activities. The extra energy and effort required by the crutch-using uni.
The red death meets the abdominal bristle: Polygenic mutation for susceptibility to a bacterial pathogen in Caenorhabditis elegans

Understanding the genetic basis of susceptibility to pathogens is an important goal of medicine and of evolutionary biology. A key first step toward understanding the genetics and evolution of any phenotypic trait is characterizing the role of mutation. However, the rate at which mutation introduces genetic variance for pathogen susceptibility in any organism is essentially unknown. Here, we quantify the per‐generation input of genetic variance by mutation (VM) for susceptibility of Caenorhabditis elegans to the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa (defined as the median time of death, LT50). VM for LT50 is slightly less than VM for a variety of life‐history and morphological traits in this strain of C. elegans, but is well within the range of reported values in a variety of organisms. Mean LT50 did not change significantly over 250 generations of mutation accumulation. Comparison of VM to the standing genetic variance (VG) implies a strength of selection against new mutations of a few tenths of a percent. These results suggest that the substantial standing genetic variation for susceptibility of C. elegans to P. aeruginosa can be explained by polygenic mutation coupled with purifying selection.
Constructing an Anaphorically Annotated Corpus with Non-Experts: Assessing the Quality of Collaborative Annotations

This paper reports on the ongoing work of Phrase Detectives, an attempt to create a very large anaphorically annotated text corpus. Annotated corpora of the size needed for modern computational linguistics research cannot be created by small groups of hand-annotators however the ESP game and similar games with a purpose have demonstrated how it might be possible to do this through Web collaboration. We show that this approach could be used to create large, high-quality natural language resources.
Low‐density lipoprotein receptor‐related protein promotes amyloid precursor protein trafficking to lipid rafts in the endocytic pathway

The major defining pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the accumulation of amyloid β protein (Aβ), a small peptide derived from β‐ and γ‐secretase cleavages of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Recent studies have shown that β‐ and γ‐secretase activities of BACE1 and prese‐nilin, respectively, are concentrated in intracellular lipid raft microdomains. However, the manner in which APP normally traffics to lipid rafts is unknown. In this study, using transient transfection and immuno‐precip‐itation assays, we show that the cytoplasmic domain of low‐density lipoprotein receptor‐related protein (LRP) interacts with APP and increases Aβ secretion and APP β‐CTF (C‐terminal fragment) generation by promoting BACE1‐APP interaction. We also employed discontinuous sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation to show that the LRP cytoplasmic domain‐mediated effect was accompanied by greatly increased localization of APP and BACE1 to lipid raft membranes, where β‐ and γ‐secretase activities are highly enriched. Moreover, we provide evidence that endogenous LRP is required for the normal delivery of APP to lipid rafts and Aβ generation primarily in the endocytic but not secretory pathway. These results may provide novel insights to block Aβ generation by targeting LRP‐mediated delivery of APP to raft microdomains. —Yoon I. ‐S. , Chen, E. , Busse, T. , Repetto, E. , Lakshmana, M. K. , Koo, E. H. , Kang D. E. Low‐density lipoprotein receptor‐related protein promotes amyloid precursor protein trafficking to lipid rafts in the endocytic pathway. FASEB J. 21, 2742–2752 (2007)
Capacity Management and Equilibrium for Proportional QoS

Differentiated services architectures are scalable solutions for providing class-based quality of service (QoS) over packet switched networks. While qualitative attributes of the offered service classes are often well defined, the actual differentiation between classes is left as an open issue. We address here the proportional QoS model, which aims at maintaining pre-defined ratios between the service class delays (or related congestion measures). In particular, we consider capacity assignment among service classes as the means for attaining this design objective. Starting with a detailed analysis for the single hop model, we first obtain the required capacity assignment for fixed flow rates. We then analyze the scheme under a reactive scenario, in which self-optimizing users may choose their service class in response to capacity modifications. We demonstrate the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium in which the required ratios are maintained, and address the efficient computation of the optimal capacities. We further provide dynamic schemes for capacity adjustment, and consider the incorporation of pricing and congestion control to enforce absolute performance bounds on top of the proportional ones. Finally, we extend our basic results to networks with general topology.
Integration of NDE Reliability and Fracture Mechanics

The Pacific Northwest Laboratory is conducting a four-phase program for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness and reliability of in-service inspection (lSI} performed on the primary system piping welds of commercial light water reactors (LWRs). Phase I of the program is complete. A survey was made of the state of practice for ultrasonic rsr of LWR primary system piping welds. Fracture mechanics calculations were made to establish required nondestrutive testing sensitivities. In general, it was found that fatigue flaws less than 25% of wall thickness would not grow to failure within an inspection interval of 10 years. However, in some cases failure could occur considerably faster. Statistical methods for predicting and measuring the effectiveness and reliability of lSI were developed and will be applied in the "Round Robin Inspections" of Phase II. Methods were also developed for the production of flaws typical of those found in service. Samples fabricated by these methods wilI be used in Phase II to test inspection effectiveness and reliability. Measurements were made of the influence of flaw characteristics {i.e., roughness, tightness, and orientation) on inspection reliability. These measurernents, as well as the predictions of a statistical model for inspection reliability, indicate that current reporting and recordingmore » sensitivities are inadequate. « less
NT-proBNP Concentrations in Mountain Marathoners

Banfi, G, Lippi, G, Susta, D, Barassi, A, Melzi d'Eril, G, Dogliotti, G, and Corsi, MM. NT-proBNP concentrations in mountain marathoners. J Strength Cond Res 24(5): 1369-1372, 2010-The 76 amino acid N-terminal proB-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is proposed for evaluating and monitoring heart pathologies characterized by myocardial wall stress. Strenuous exercise might generate transitory ischemia, myocardial stress, and diastolic left ventricular dysfunction, possibly inducing an increase of some biochemical parameter concentrations. An alert has been claimed owing to biochemical and instrumental signs of heart dysfunction in recreational athletes during marathon races. We studied the behaviour of NT-proBNP in 15 mountain marathoners before and after a race. The concentrations of the parameter were lower than that observed in controls at rest and were similar to that observed in professional soccer and rugby players. The concentrations significantly increased after the race. NT-proBNP is low at rest in professional athletes, and the increase after physical exercise is physiological. The marathoners, even when performing races in a high-altitude environment, show NT-proBNP concentrations similar to those of athletes from other sports disciplines, characterized by low levels of effort and by a mix of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. The increase of NT-proBNP is linked to strenuous physical exercise and to heavy heart effort, testified also by an increase of troponin I. However, the role of the NT-proBNP could be important to screen recreational and professional marathoners to avoid possible heart problems and sudden cardiac death in subjects with occult heart disease. The results of the present study are relevant to the design and evaluation of training programs for improving strength and function of professional marathoners.
Optimal Power Allocation for Amplify-And-Forward Relay Networks via Conic Programming

Relay power allocation has been shown to provide substantial performance gain in wireless relay channels when perfect global channel state information (CSI) is available. In this paper, we show that by using a class of conic optimization theory, we can solve the relay power allocation problem for amplify-and-forward (AF) relay networks in a straightforward manner. The problem formulation is such that the achievable rate with perfect global CSI is maximized under both the aggregate and individual relay power constraints for coherent and noncoherent AF relay networks. Numerical results quantify the performance gain using the optimal relay power allocation for both the coherent and noncoherent AF relay networks.
Neuronal Activation in the Central Nervous System of Rats in the Initial Stage of Chronic Kidney Disease-Modulatory Effects of Losartan and Moxonidine

The effect of mild chronic renal failure (CRF) induced by 4/6-nephrectomy (4/6NX) on central neuronal activations was investigated by c-Fos immunohistochemistry staining and compared to sham-operated rats. In the 4/6 NX rats also the effect of the angiotensin receptor blocker, losartan, and the central sympatholyticum moxonidine was studied for two months. In serial brain sections Fos-immunoreactive neurons were localized and classified semiquantitatively. In 37 brain areas/nuclei several neurons with different functional properties were strongly affected in 4/6NX. It elicited a moderate to high Fos-activity in areas responsible for the monoaminergic innervation of the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, the thalamus and hypothalamus (e.g. noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus, serotonergic neurons in dorsal raphe, histaminergic neurons in the tuberomamillary nucleus). Other monoaminergic cell groups (A5 noradrenaline, C1 adrenaline, medullary raphe serotonin neurons) and neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (innervating the sympathetic preganglionic neurons and affecting the peripheral sympathetic outflow) did not show Fos-activity. Stress- and pain-sensitive cortical/subcortical areas, neurons in the limbic system, the hypothalamus and the circumventricular organs were also affected by 4/6NX. Administration of losartan and more strongly moxonidine modulated most effects and particularly inhibited Fos-activity in locus coeruleus neurons. In conclusion, 4/6NX elicits high activity in central sympathetic, stress- and pain-related brain areas as well as in the limbic system, which can be ameliorated by losartan and particularly by moxonidine. These changes indicate a high sensitivity of CNS in initial stages of CKD which could be causative in clinical disturbances.
Prudential Policy for Peggers

This paper shows that in a small open economy with downward nominal wage rigidity pegging the nominal exchange rate creates a pecuniary externality. The externality causes unemployment, overborrowing, and depressed consumption. Ramsey optimal capital controls are shown to be prudential in the sense that they tax capital inflows in good times and subsidize external borrowing in bad times. Under plausible calibrations, this type of macro prudential policy is shown to lower the average unemployment rate by 10 percentage points, to reduce average external debt by 10 to 50 percent, and to increase welfare by 2 to 5 percent of consumption per period.
The Security of Practical Two-Party RSA Signature Schemes

In a two-party RSA signature scheme, a client and server, each holding a share of an RSA decryption exponent d , collaborate to compute an RSA signature under the corresponding public key N, e known to both. This primitive is of growing interest in the domain of server-aided password-based security, where the client’s share of d is based on its password. To minimize cost, designers are looking at very simple, practical protocols based on the early ideas of Boyd, but their security is unclear. We analyze a class of these protocols. We suggest two notions of security for two-party signature schemes and provide proofs of security for the schemes in our class based on assumptions about RSA and the hash function underlying the scheme.
Learning, Experience, and Cognitive Factors in the Presence Experiences of Gamers: An Exploratory Relational Study

This paper presents a large scale (N = 101) exploratory relational study of computer gamers' gaming habits and their presence experiences. The study posited and examined the effect of two presence maximization strategies (controlling distracters and maintaining updated computer hardware) and two hypothetical cognitive styles (thematic inertia and capacity to integrate non-diagetic information) on gamers' rating of the importance of presence in their gaming experiences. The data show that frequency of game playing, but not game playing experience, affect self-rated presence importance, and that presence importance does not decline with experience. The data also suggest that presence maximization strategies are erratically effective in improving gaming experiences, and that the capacity to integrate non-diagetic information (but not thematic inertia) is a reliable predictor of self-rated presence importance. The paper closes with suggestions for improving the method in order to study cross-population effects.
Bounds on the Max-Flow Min-Cut Ratio for Directed Multicommodity Flows

The best-known theorem in combinatorial optimization is the classical max-flow min-cut theorem of Ford and Fulkerson. This theorem serves as the basis for deriving efficient algorithms for finding max-flows and min-cuts. Starting with the work of Leighton and Rao, significant effort was directed towards finding approximate analogs for the {\em undirected} multicommodity flow problem. In this paper we consider an approximate max-flow min-cut theorem for {\em directed} graphs. We prove a polylogarithmic bound on the worst case ratio between the minimum multicut and the value of the maximum multicommodity flow in the special case when the demands are symmetric. The method presented in this paper can be used to give polynomial time polylogarithmic approximation algorithms for the corresponding minimum directed multicut problems. The problem with symmetric demands extends the only previously known special case concerning directed graphs due to Leighton and Rao, who proved an $O(\log n)$ bound for the case when there is a unit demand between every pair of nodes. Computation of minimum cuts in directed multicommodity flow problems with symmetric demand is a basic step for approximation algorithms for a number of NP-complete problems. As an example, we show how to use our multicut approximation algorithm to approximately solve the minimum clause-deletion problem for 2-CNF formulae. We also consider a generalization of the minimum-cut problem where instead of separating pairs of terminals, we have to separate sets of terminals. Our main result is a polynomial-time polylogarithmic approximation algorithm for this generalized minimum-cut problem.