Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mass extinction in poorly known taxa

Significance Since the 1980s, many biologists have concluded that the earth is in the midst of a massive biodiversity extinction crisis caused by human activities. Yet fewer than 1,000 of the planet’s 1.9 million known species are officially recorded as extinct. Skeptics have therefore asked “Is there really a crisis? ” Mammals and birds provide the most robust data, because the status of almost all has been assessed. Invertebrates constitute over 99% of species diversity, but the status of only a tiny fraction has been assessed, thereby dramatically underestimating overall levels of extinction. Using data on terrestrial invertebrates, this study estimates that we may already have lost 7% of the species on Earth and that the biodiversity crisis is real. Since the 1980s, many have suggested we are in the midst of a massive extinction crisis, yet only 799 (0.04%) of the 1.9 million known recent species are recorded as extinct, questioning the reality of the crisis. This low figure is due to the fact that the status of very few invertebrates, which represent the bulk of biodiversity, have been evaluated. Here we show, based on extrapolation from a random sample of land snail species via two independent approaches, that we may already have lost 7% (130,000 extinctions) of the species on Earth. However, this loss is masked by the emphasis on terrestrial vertebrates, the target of most conservation actions. Projections of species extinction rates are controversial because invertebrates are essentially excluded from these scenarios. Invertebrates can and must be assessed if we are to obtain a more realistic picture of the sixth extinction crisis.
Evaluation of the Accumulation of 11C-Methionine with Standardized Uptake Value in the Normal Brain

The aim of this study was to determine the normal l-[methyl-11C]-methionine (11C-methionine) uptake and the extent of variation using standardized uptake value (SUV). Methods: Five healthy volunteers and 58 adult patients with normal 11C-methionine uptake were included in the interindividual analysis and 22 patients in the intraindividual analysis. SUVs in different brain regions, age-associated changes, correlation between 2 correction methods (for body weight [w-SUV] or body surface area [s-SUV]), and intraindividual reproducibility were examined. Results: w-SUVs were statistically different between the brain regions. The frontal or parietal cortex showed lower coefficients of variation than did the cerebellum or brain stem. There was no significant age-associated change. w-SUVs showed lower coefficients of variation in interindividual analysis and lower symmetric percentage change in intraindividual reproducibility than did s-SUVs. Conclusion: SUVs in the normal brain show inter- and intraindividual variation, and our proposed normal w-SUVs represent an important reference value.
The Effect of a Mediastinal Mass on the Initial Positioning of a Peripherally Inserted Central Venous Catheter

The purpose of this project was to assess if the presence of a mediastinal mass adversely influences peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) positioning. A retrospective review of all PICC placements over an 18-month period in a pediatric oncology hospital was conducted in which patients were categorized by the presence or absence of a mediastinal mass. A much higher proportion of patients with a mediastinal mass (8 of 13) had a malpositioned catheter than those without a mass (3 of 38; P = .0002). A significant proportion of the malpositioned catheters in patients with a mediastinal mass terminated in the right heart chambers. These findings show that clinicians must be vigilant about checking for PICC malpositioning in this patient population.
The effects of informal care on paid-work participation in Great Britain: a lifecourse perspective

Several recent studies have documented a negative relationship between informal care-giving and labour market attachment in Great Britain. This paper examines the relationship from a longitudinal perspective using data from the Great Britain 1994–95 Family and Working Lives Survey. The first part of the paper studies the timing of informal care-giving to a sick, disabled or elderly person. This information is used in the second part to examine the effects of caring on employment. The results show that most carers look after only one dependant during their lives, and only around one-fifth to one-third look after a second dependant before the age of 65 years. Of all informal carers, about one-third had not been employed when they started caring for the first time in their lives, another third said that caring had no effect on their work arrangements, and about one-third reported one or several effects on their work arrangements, most commonly that they stopped working. Multivariate analyses show that semi-routine and routine manual workers report the strongest effects of care-giving. Part-time workers were more likely than full-time workers to reduce their hours of paid employment when they started caring.
Robust Codes for Fault Attack Resistant Cryptographic Hardware

Hardware implementations of cryptographic algorithms are vulnerable to fault analysis attacks. To detect these attacks we propose an architecture based on robust nonlinear systematic (n,k)-error-detecting codes. These nonlinear codes offer advantages over linear codes since they are capable of providing uniform error detecting coverage independently of the error distributions. They make no assumptions about what faults or errors will be injected by an attacker. Architectures based on these codes have fewer undetectable errors than linear codes with the same (n,k). We also present several optimization approaches which provide for a tradeoff between the levels of robustness and required overhead for hardware implementations.
Cerebral hypoperfusion and impaired cerebral function in cardiac failure.

reactivity can be measured by a variety of noninvasive methods that include the transcranial technique applied by Georgiadis. Newer near-infrared spectroscopic techniques can continuously record cerebral oxygenated and also deoxygenated haemoglobin. Modern neuro-imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), enable noninvasive determination of blood flow and metabolic changes in discrete brain regions; with increasing anatomical resolution, changes can be measured in areas as small as the amygdala. This enhanced resolution is of particular importance as specific brain regions, such as the amygdala, are likely to be involved in higher cortical control of cardiovascular autonomic function. Thus, study of the cerebral circulation in cardiac failure, before and after various therapeutic and pharmacological interventions, and in conjunction with assessments of cerebral function, is likely to provide valuable information that importantly, will also be of benefit to patients. C. J. MATHIAS Imperial College School of Medicine, and Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, U.K.
Social support and emotional exhaustion among hospital nursing staff

The role of three sources of social support (family as kin, co-workers as insiders, and supervisors as outsiders) on the emotional exhaustion were analyzed in a sample of 210 nurses at a general hospital in Seville, a city in the south of Spain. They were given an adaptation of the Nursing Stress Scale, (Gray-Toff & Anderson 1981), the Multidimensional Support Scale (Winefield, Winefield, Tiggemann 1992), previously adapted in a sample of nurses and the emotional exhaustion scale of the Spanish version of Maslach's Burnout Inventory (1997). After applying a hierarchical multiple regression analysis to the data, the results confirm the main effect of the three sources and the buffering effect in the case of outsiders and kin. It suggests the need to perform studies with wider samples, which allow the analysis of professionals' psychosocial characteristics and types of support, as well as demands in nursing job tasks.
Delay in onset of awareness of acute hypoglycemia and of restoration of cognitive performance during recovery.

OBJECTIVE To examine the time course for the onset of, and recovery from, acute hypoglycemia in healthy subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Eight healthy male volunteers were studied on 2 occasions in random order using a hyperinsulinemic (1.5 mU x kg(-1) x min(-1)) glucose clamp technique. During control studies, euglycemia (5.01 +/- 0.02 mmol/l) was maintained for 225 +/- 3 min. On the other occasion, after a euglycemic baseline period, arterialized plasma glucose was allowed to fall rapidly to 2.65 +/- 0.02 mmol/l, then maintained at this nadir for 90 min before euglycemia was rapidly restored. RESULTS Cognitive function assessed by a battery of sensitive tests (4-choice reaction time, Stroop word, and color-word test) became impaired immediately at onset of hypoglycemia (P < 0.05 for all in the hypoglycemic study vs. those in the euglycemic study). Counterregulatory hormone responses (epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucagon, cortisol, and growth hormone) and symptomatic awareness of hypoglycemia (assessed by a questionnaire) were relatively delayed, being detected 20 min after the onset of hypoglycemia. There was no diminution (adaptation) of any responses, cognitive, humoral, or symptomatic, during sustained hypoglycemia. During recovery, the 4-choice reaction time continued to be abnormal even after resolution of symptomatic awareness (P = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS During hypoglycemia, cognitive performance may become impaired before symptomatic awareness. During recovery from hypoglycemia, recovery of cognitive function lags behind the restoration of glucose levels and resolution of symptoms. Our findings have implications for the design of studies examining experimental hypoglycemia and need to be investigated in people with diabetes.
trajectories suggest a new paradigm for sea turtles Ontogenetic development of migration : Lagrangian drift

References http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing. org/content/7/50/1319.full. html#ref-list-1 This article cites 36 articles, 4 of which can be accessed free Rapid response http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing. org/letters/submit/royinterface;7/50/1319 Respond to this article Subject collections (394 articles) environmental science  (150 articles) computational biology  (10 articles) biogeography  Articles on similar topics can be found in the following collections
Control of the Inertia Wheel Pendulum by Bounded Torques

A control system for driving the inertia wheel pendulum to the upward position has been reported recently in the literature based on Interconnection and Damping Assignment Passivity–based Control. An important feature of this controller is that it swings up and balances the pendulum in the upward position without switching between two different controllers. This paper, enhances the control system by the practical capability of maintaining the control action (applied actuator torque) inside prescribed limits. The perfomance of the proposed controller is illustrated via simulations, which have been compared with those reported in the literature.
The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere

follows immediately are prefatory remarks that speak to my ambivalence about the evolution of digital culture and race. The focus of this project is on early instances of African diasporic engagements with cyberspace. I begin by acknowledging my ambivalence about the rhetorical terms of the nascent technocratic order, an ambivalence that seems justified each time I boot up my personal computer to compile my years of research into this topic. In powering up my PC, I am confronted with DOS-based text that gives me pause. Before access to the MMX technology powering my system is granted, I am alerted to this opening textual encoding: “Pri. Master Disk, Pri. Slave Disk, Sec. Master, Sec. Slave. ” Programmed here is a virtual hierarchy organizing my computer’s software operations. Given the nature of my subject matter, it might not be surprising that I am perpetually taken aback by the programmed boot-up language informing me that my access to the cyber frontier indeed is predicated upon a digitally configured “master/slave” relationship. As the on-screen text runs through its remaining string of required boot-up language and codes, I often wonder why programmers chose such signifiers that hark back to our nation’s ignominious past. I doubt that the Hegelian master/slave dialectic is the referent to which these programmers allude. Even though I do not assume a racial affront or intentionality in this peculiar deployment of the slave and master coupling, its appearance each time I turn on my computer nonetheless causes me concern.
Sexual Orientation Bias Experiences and Service Needs of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Two-Spirited American Indians

Summary Employing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this study examined: sexual orientation bias experiences among American Indians (AIs) who were gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgend-ered, or two-spirited (GLBTT-S); service provider attitudes toward AI GLBTT-S; and service barriers and needs with respect to AI GLBTT-S at one AI community-based organization. Among the 14 AI GLBTT-S surveyed, the percentages reporting various bias-related experiences were comparable or greater to those reported for non-AI GLBTT-S in other studies (e.g., 36% had been physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation). The 22 service providers surveyed revealed generally low levels of heterosexism, which was inversely related to contact and comfort with AI GLBTT-S as well as understanding of AI GLBTT-S terms. Data from 8 focus groups (7 with service providers and 1 with AI two-spirited men) yielded four main themes related to problems and barriers to service utilization for AI GLBTT-S (i.e., invisibility, discrimination, trauma, and identity) as well as ideas for community-based program planning with this population.
Software designs of image processing tasks with incremental refinement of computation

We propose software designs that perform incremental computation with monotonic distortion reduction for two-dimensional convolution and frame-by-frame block-matching tasks. In order to reduce the run time of the proposed designs, we combine bitplane-based computation with a packing technique proposed recently. In the case of block matching, we also utilize previously-computed motion vectors to perform localized search when incrementing the precision of the input video frames. The applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated by execution time measurements on the xo-laptop (“100$ laptop”) and on a mainstream laptop; our software is also made available online. In comparison to the conventional (non-incremental) software realization, the proposed approach leads to scalable computation per input frame while producing identical (or comparable) precision for the output results of each operating point. In addition, the execution of the proposed designs can be arbitrarily terminated for each frame with the output being available at the already-computed precision.
A Data-Driven, Factorization Parser for CCG Dependency Structures

This paper is concerned with building CCG-grounded, semantics-oriented deep dependency structures with a data-driven, factorization model. Three types of factorization together with different higherorder features are designed to capture different syntacto-semantic properties of functor-argument dependencies. Integrating heterogeneous factorizations results in intractability in decoding. We propose a principled method to obtain optimal graphs based on dual decomposition. Our parser obtains an unlabeled f-score of 93.23 on the CCGBank data, resulting in an error reduction of 6.5% over the best published result. which yields a significant improvement over the best published result in the literature. Our implementation is available at http://www.icst. pku.edu. cn/lcwm/grass.
Modeling Mental Contexts and Their Interactions

The ability to understand and process multiple mental contexts is an important aspect of human cognition. By “mental contexts” we mean different beliefs, states of knowledge, points of view, or suppositions, all of which may change over time. In this paper, we propose an approach for modeling and reasoning about the interactions among multiple mental contexts using the context activation scheme in Scone knowledge-base (KB) system. Our model factors the mental context representation into two separate components: (1) a dynamic mental context network (2) a set of rules which guides the activities among mental contexts and their evolution as a result of this. Our model is capable of combining newly available information and old memories stored in the context network to produce new mental states. We demonstrate the approach with a storyunderstanding task, in which the users feed information to the program, then ask questions about the newly updated beliefs or assumptions.
Perceived organizational barriers to women's career advancement in Lebanon

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the research gap on Lebanese female managers and to examine female managers' perceptions of their organizations in relation to women's career progression.Design/methodology/approach – The research was quantitative in nature. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 450 female managers. Measures included personal and demographic characteristics, organizational culture, organizational practices, organizational networks, mentoring and role modeling, tokenism, and the usage of wasta.Findings – Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used to explain the results. The results reveal that female managers perceive their career progression to be affected by organizational culture, practices, and networks, while mentoring and tokenism were shown to be less critical. In addition, the women in this sample perceived wasta to be a powerful determinant.Practical implications – The findings contribute to a wider appreciation of the implicit barrier.
Perception of Contrariety in Jokes

According to the cognitive approach to humor, the comprehension of humorous texts implies recognizing an incongruity and resolving it. This article studies whether the cognitive process involved in the recognition of incongruity is affected by the conditions that make contrariety evident or only analytically recognizable in the perceptual domain. In study 1, participants were asked to choose (condition 1) or rank (condition 2) the best humorous text among three variations of the same jokes in which the critical incongruity was a global, additive, or intermediate contrariety. In studies 2 and 3, they were asked to recognize the critical property on which these three versions of the jokes played. The findings confirmed that the perception of humor and recognition of the critical element was easier when the elements involved in the jokes were opposite in terms of global contrariety (which is the type of contrariety that is perceptually more evident and more easily perceivable).
Research in corporate sustainability: The evolving theory and practice of organizations in the natural environment

Research in corporate sustainability - what really matters? , Sanjay Sharma globalization and environmental sustainability - an analysis of the impact of globalization using the natural step framework, Joyce S. Osland et al community sustainability comes to the Southern Appalachian region of the USA - the case of Johnson County, Tennessee, W. Edward Stead et al eco-sustainability orientation in China and Japan - differences between proactive and reactive firms, Oana Branzei and Ilan Vertinsky motivations for participating in a US voluntary environmental initiative - the multi-state working group and EPA's EMS pilot program, Nicole Darnall factors influencing successful and unsuccessful environmental changes initiatives, Linda C. Angell and Gordon P. Rands the altering of a firm's environmental management capability during the acquisition integration process, Kimberley M. Ellis et al strategic environmental human resource management and organizational performance - an exploratory study of the Canadian manufacturing sector, Carolyn P. Egri and Robert C. Hornal information disclosure in environmental policy and the development of secretly environmentally-friendly products, Trudy Heller and Jeanne Mroczko sustainable stakeholder accounting - beyond complementarity and towards integration in environmental accounting, W. Richard Sherman et al enhancing environmental management teaching through applications of toxic release information, Mark Cordano and Irene Hanson Frieze childhood's end? sustaining and developing the evolving field of organizations and the natural environment, Mark Starik.
Gender and interface agents in the on-line news

Abstract Interface agents are increasingly being used to enhance the user-friendliness of computers. In the new mobile technology of handheld computers, interface agents are also being used to present on-line news. The purpose of the study was to explore how the gender of the interface agent and the user affect evaluations of the agent and the news service. The results revealed that attitudes toward the interface agent significantly correlated with evaluations of the entire news service. Moreover, the gender of the participant and of the agent was significant for an evaluation of the credibility and entertainment value of the news service.
Technostress creators and job outcomes: theorising the moderating influence of personality traits

Although prior research has examined the influence of technostress creators on job outcomes, insights into the influence of personality traits on the perceptions of technostress creators and their consequent impacts on job outcomes are rather limited. Such insights would enable a deeper understanding about the effects of individual differences on salient job‐related outcomes. In this research, by leveraging the distinctions in personality traits offered by the big five personality traits in the five‐factor model and grounding the research in the transactional model of stress and coping, we theorise the moderating influence of personality traits on the relationships between technostress creators and job outcomes, namely job burnout and job engagement. Specifically, the study theorises the mechanisms through which each of the specific personality traits openness‐to‐experience, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness and extraversion interacts with technostress creators to differently influence job burnout and job engagement. We test the proposed model in a field study based on a survey of senior organisational managers who regularly use information and communication technologies for executing professional tasks. Although technostress creators are generally associated with negative job outcomes, our results also show that for individuals with certain personality traits, technostress creators may result in positive job outcomes. The study thus contributes to the technostress literature, specifically by incorporating the salient role of individual differences. The study also provides insights for managers who should pay special attention to allocating specific job roles to employees with particular personality traits in order to optimise job‐related outcomes.
A security architecture proposal for detection and response to threats in SDN networks

The Software Defined Networks (SDN) paradigm decouples control and data routing, offering high programmability and a global view of the network. The adoption of this approach is growing in enterprise networks, data centers and critical infrastructure such as smart grids. However, it is a challenge not only provide security in these next generation networks as well as allow a network attack is susceptible to an incident and forensic treatment procedure. Thus, this paper proposes a network architecture exploring new paradigms of SDN networks with detection and protection mechanisms, providing resources to perform intrusion analysis and attacks.