Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Animal Recognition and Identification with Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Automated Wildlife Monitoring

Efficient and reliable monitoring of wild animals in their natural habitats is essential to inform conservation and management decisions. Automatic covert cameras or "camera traps" are being an increasingly popular tool for wildlife monitoring due to their effectiveness and reliability in collecting data of wildlife unobtrusively, continuously and in large volume. However, processing such a large volume of images and videos captured from camera traps manually is extremely expensive, time-consuming and also monotonous. This presents a major obstacle to scientists and ecologists to monitor wildlife in an open environment. Leveraging on recent advances in deep learning techniques in computer vision, we propose in this paper a framework to build automated animal recognition in the wild, aiming at an automated wildlife monitoring system. In particular, we use a single-labeled dataset from Wildlife Spotter project, done by citizen scientists, and the state-of-the-art deep convolutional neural network architectures, to train a computational system capable of filtering animal images and identifying species automatically. Our experimental results achieved an accuracy at 96.6% for the task of detecting images containing animal, and 90.4% for identifying the three most common species among the set of images of wild animals taken in South-central Victoria, Australia, demonstrating the feasibility of building fully automated wildlife observation. This, in turn, can therefore speed up research findings, construct more efficient citizen sciencebased monitoring systems and subsequent management decisions, having the potential to make significant impacts to the world of ecology and trap camera images analysis.
Competing Particle Systems Evolving by I.I.D. Increments

We consider competing particle systems in $\mathbb{R}^d$, i.e. random locally finite upper bounded configurations of points in $\mathbb{R}^d$ evolving in discrete time steps. In each step i.i. d. increments are added to the particles independently of the initial configuration and the previous steps. Ruzmaikina and Aizenman characterized quasi-stationary measures of such an evolution, i.e. point processes for which the joint distribution of the gaps between the particles is invariant under the evolution, in case $d=1$ and restricting to increments having a density and an everywhere finite moment generating function. We prove corresponding versions of their theorem in dimension $d=1$ for heavy-tailed increments in the domain of attraction of a stable law and in dimension $d\geq 1$ for lattice type increments with an everywhere finite moment generating function. In all cases we only assume that under the initial configuration no two particles are located at the same point. In addition, we analyze the attractivity of quasi-stationary Poisson point processes in the space of all Poisson point processes with almost surely infinite, locally finite and upper bounded configurations.
Mother Nature versus the Walking Encyclopedia

In 1982, Feldman and Ballard published "Connectionist models and their properties" in Cognitive Science, helping to focus attention on a family of similarly inspired research strategies just then under way, by giving the family a name: "connectionism. " Now, seven years later, the connectionist nation has swelled to include such subfamilies as "PDP" and "neural net models. " Since the ideological foes of connectionism are keen to wipe it out in one fell swoop aimed at its "essence", it is worth noting the diversity of not only the models but also the aspirations of the modelers. There is no good reason to suppose that they all pledge allegiance to any one principle or set of principles that could be shown to be false or incoherent. Those who think they are making exciting progress on their chosen projects have no particular reason to declare their own brand orthodox, and other brands ("rival" brands) heretical. Let a thousand flowers bloom and soon enough the sickly plants will succumb, without need of ideological condemnation.
Local Control of Repeated-Dose Rectal Challenges in DNA/MVA-Vaccinated Macaques Protected against a First Series of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Challenges

ABSTRACT Here, we report the results of a late boost and three additional series of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) challenges in seven DNA/modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA)-vaccinated rhesus macaques who resisted a first series of rectal challenges. During 29 additional challenges delivered over 2.3 years, all animals became infected. However, 13 blips of virus in six macaques and anamnestic Env-specific rectal IgA responses in three of the six suggested that local control of infections was occurring during the serial challenge.
Experience with Technology and Preferences for Distance Education Delivery Methods in a Nurse Practitioner Program

In a study with students in a distance-delivered nurse practitioner program, researchers examined student preferences for delivery methods. As well as examining learning style preferences and content, we asked students to report their experiences, state their preferences, and indicate problems they had encountered with distance technologies. From possible technologies the students selected print-based materials significantly more often than any other delivery method. CD-ROM and video-teleconferencing were the next most highly rated methods, followed by videotape, computer conferencing, audio-teleconferencing, and audiotaped lectures. Technological breakdown, poor technical quality of materials, and lack of familiarity with computers were among the factors that led students to give lower ratings to the more highly technological methods. Implications of the findings for distance educators are discussed. Cette enquete porte sur un programme d’apprentissage a distance en soins infirmiers de premiere instance. La recherche s’est penchee sur les preferences des etudiants quant aux methodes de diffusion de l’enseignement et quant aux modes d’apprentissage pour chaque contenu. On a questionne les etudiants sur leur experience en tant qu’usagers des methodes de diffusion, sur leurs preferences et sur les difficultes qu’ils ont eprouvees en utilisant les diverses technologies. Les etudiants ont exprime une nette preference pour l’imprime, suivi du CD-ROM et de la videoconference; venaient ensuite les bandes video, les forums electroniques, les audioconferences et les cours reproduits sur des cassettes audio. Les problemes technologiques, la faible qualite technique du materiel, ainsi qu’un manque de familiarite avec l’ordinateur expliquent leur insatisfaction envers les methodes de diffusion utilisant les technologies complexes. L’article definit, a l’intention des educateurs a distance, les enjeux souleves par les resultats de cette enquete.
Adaptive First-Order Methods for General Sparse Inverse Covariance Selection

In this paper we consider estimating sparse inverse covariance of a Gaussian graphical model whose conditional independence is assumed to be partially known. Similarly as in [A. d'Aspremont, O. Banerjee, and L. El Ghaoui, SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. , 30 (2008), pp. 56-66; M. Yuan and Y. Lin, Biometrika, 94 (2007), pp. 19-35], we formulate it as an $l_1$-norm penalized maximum likelihood estimation problem. Further, we propose an algorithm framework, and develop two first-order methods, that is, the adaptive spectral projected gradient (ASPG) method and the adaptive Nesterov's smooth (ANS) method, for solving this estimation problem. Finally, we compare the performance of these two methods with glasso [J. Friedman, T. Hastie, and R. Tibshirani, Biostatistics, 9 (2008), pp. 432-441; J. Friedman, T. Hastie, and R. Tibshirani, Glasso: Graphical Lasso for R, Software package, Department of Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 2007] on a set of randomly generated instances. Our computational results demonstrate that our methods are capable of solving problems of size at least a thousand and number of constraints of nearly a half million within a reasonable amount of time, and moreover, that the ASPG method generally outperforms the ANS method and glasso.
Cognições antecipatórias: um estudo comparativo e correlacional

Our aim in this study was to evaluate the gender and marital status effect on anticipation. We hypothesise that both variables influence anticipatory cognitions and beyond that these two independent variables present a relevant interaction. In order to attain our objectives, two convenience samples were formed, based on gender and with ages between 15 and 59 years. A total of 350 subjects were interviewed. The Anticipatory Cognitions Questionnaire was applied to assess the negative anticipatory cognitions severity. The measures obtained allow a clear discrimination between the male and female groups and are also feigned by the marital status. The latter, viewed before as a risk factor for depression seems to further strike the male gender.
Control of human behavior, mental processes and consciousness : essays in honor of the 60th birthday of August Flammer

In this book, an international group of leading scientists present perspectives on the control of human behavior, awareness, consciousness, and the meaning and function of perceived control or self-efficacy in people's lives. The book breaks down the barriers between subdisciplines, and thus constitutes an occasion to reflect on various facets of control in human life. Each expert reviews his or her field through the lens of perceived control and shows how these insights can be applied in practice.
Strategy without Design: The Silent Efficacy of Indirect Action

Strategy exhibits a pervasive commitment to the belief that the best approach to adopt in dealing with affairs of the world is to confront, overcome and subjugate things to conform to our will, control and eventual mastery. Performance is about sustaining distinctiveness. This direct and deliberate approach draws inspiration from ancient Greek roots and has become orthodoxy. Yet there are downsides. This book shows why. Using examples from the world of business, economics, military strategy, politics and philosophy, it argues that success may inadvertently emerge from the everyday coping actions of a multitude of individuals, none of whom intended to contribute to any preconceived design. A consequence of this claim is that a paradox exists in strategic interventions, one that no strategist can afford to ignore. The more single-mindedly a strategic goal is sought, the more likely such calculated instrumental action eventually works to undermine its own initial success.
Inner Presence: Consciousness as a Biological Phenomenon

The question of consciousness is perhaps the most significant problem still unsolved by science. In Inner Presence, Antti Revonsuo proposes a novel approach to the study of consciousness that integrates findings from philosophy, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience into a coherent theoretical framework. Arguing that any fruitful scientific approach to the problem must consider both the subjective psychological reality of consciousness and the objective neurobiological reality, Revonsuo proposes that the best strategy for discovering the connection between these two realities is one of "biological realism," using tools of the empirical biological sciences. This approach, which he calls the "biological research program," provides a theoretical and philosophical foundation that contemporary study of consciousness lacks.Revonsuo coins the term "world simulation metaphor" and uses this metaphor to develop a powerful way of thinking about consciousness as a biological system in the brain. This leads him to propose that the dreaming brain and visual consciousness are ideal model systems for empirical consciousness research. He offers a comprehensive overview and critical analysis of consciousness research and defends his approach against currently popular philosophical views, in particular against approaches that deny or externalize phenomenal consciousness, or claim that brain activity is not sufficient for consciousness. He systematically examines the principal issues in the science of consciousness -- the contents of consciousness, the unity of consciousness and the binding problem, the explanatory gap and the neural correlates of consciousness, and the causal powers and function of consciousness.Revonsuo draws together empirical data from a wide variety of sources, including dream research, brain imaging, neuropsychology, and evolutionary psychology, into the theoretical framework of the biological research program, thus pointing the way toward a unified biological science of consciousness. Applying imaginative thought experiments, Inner Presence reaches beyond the current state-of-the-art, revealing how the problem of consciousness may eventually be solved by future science.
Coping and quality of life in Turkish women living with ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND This study investigated the utilization of both problem and emotion focused coping strategies and their association with aspects of quality of life among Turkish women with ovarian cancer undergoing chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS The convenience sample consisted of 228 patients in all disease stages. The data were collected using the brief COPE, QOL-Cancer patient tool, sociodemographic sheet, and medical variables were gathered from patients' medical charts. RESULTS Findings reveal that quality of life is moderately high for this group of cancer patients, despite some specific negative facets of the illness and treatment experience. Acceptance, emotional support and religion were the most frequently used problem-focused coping strategies and self-distraction, venting and behavioral disengagement were the most frequently used emotion-focused coping strategies reported by patients. Overall quality of life and, particularly, psychological and spiritual well- being scores of younger patients were lower. Patients reported using significantly more problem-focused coping than emotion-focused coping, and more problem-focused and less emotion-focused coping predicted greater quality of life. Problem-focused coping was related to patients' physical and spiritual well-being and emotion- focused coping was related inversely with psychological and social well-being. CONCLUSIONS Coping strategies are influential in patient quality of life and their psychosocial adaptation to ovarian cancer. Psycho-oncology support programs are needed to help patients to frequent use of problem-focused coping and reduce emotion- focused coping strategies to improve overall quality of life.
A review of modeling ageing behavior and condition monitoring of zinc Oxide Surge Arrester

The gapless Metal Oxide Surge Arresters (MOSA) have been available in the market for many years. Its primary function is to protect the equipment in the system against various electrical over stresses. A reliable condition monitoring of zinc oxide surge arrester is vital to its performance to ensure the continuity and reliability of power supply. It is known that voltage-current characteristics of zinc oxide varistors become degraded due to a series of stresses. Leakage current of the surge arrester can be increased by any increase of ageing level. This paper presents a review and comparison of various techniques for condition monitoring of MOSA. A comparative analysis is carried out in which the advantages and disadvantages for each technique are assessed. Previous review demonstrates some techniques which are simple in setup and measurement but its accuracy depends on the sensitivity and accuracy of the measuring instruments. Furthermore, moreover, some methods are used to simultaneously record the voltage and leakage current waveforms, but these techniques are usually hard to apply in practice.
Using information mining of the medical literature to improve drug safety

OBJECTIVE Prescription drugs can be associated with adverse effects (AEs) that are unrecognized despite evidence in the medical literature, as shown by rofecoxib's late recall in 2004. We assessed whether applying information mining to PubMed could reveal major drug-AE associations if articles testing whether drugs cause AEs are over-represented in the literature. DESIGN MEDLINE citations published between 1949 and September 2009 were retrieved if they mentioned one of 38 drugs and one of 55 AEs. A statistical document classifier (using MeSH index terms) was constructed to remove irrelevant articles unlikely to test whether a drug caused an AE. The remaining relevant articles were analyzed using a disproportionality analysis that identified drug-AE associations (signals of disproportionate reporting) using step-up procedures developed to control the familywise type I error rate. MEASUREMENTS Sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) for empirical drug-AE associations as judged against drug-AE associations subject to FDA warnings. RESULTS In testing, the statistical document classifier identified relevant articles with 81% sensitivity and 87% PPV. Using data filtered by the statistical document classifier, base-case models showed 64.9% sensitivity and 42.4% PPV for detecting FDA warnings. Base-case models discovered 54% of all detected FDA warnings using literature published before warnings. For example, the rofecoxib-heart disease association was evident using literature published before 2002. Analyses incorporating literature mentioning AEs common to the drug class of interest yielded 71.4% sensitivity and 40.7% PPV. CONCLUSIONS Results from large-scale literature retrieval and analysis (literature mining) compared favorably with and could complement current drug safety methods.
Lactic Acid Bacteria Convert Human Fibroblasts to Multipotent Cells

The human gastrointestinal tract is colonized by a vast community of symbionts and commensals. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) form a group of related, low-GC-content, gram-positive bacteria that are considered to offer a number of probiotic benefits to general health. While the role of LAB in gastrointestinal microecology has been the subject of extensive study, little is known about how commensal prokaryotic organisms directly influence eukaryotic cells. Here, we demonstrate the generation of multipotential cells from adult human dermal fibroblast cells by incorporating LAB. LAB-incorporated cell clusters are similar to embryoid bodies derived from embryonic stem cells and can differentiate into endodermal, mesodermal, and ectodermal cells in vivo and in vitro. LAB-incorporated cell clusters express a set of genes associated with multipotency, and microarray analysis indicates a remarkable increase of NANOG, a multipotency marker, and a notable decrease in HOX gene expression in LAB-incorporated cells. During the cell culture, the LAB-incorporated cell clusters stop cell division and start to express early senescence markers without cell death. Thus, LAB-incorporated cell clusters have potentially wide-ranging implications for cell generation, reprogramming, and cell-based therapy.
Prediagnostic plasma folate and the risk of death in patients with colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE Although previous studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between folate intake and colorectal cancer risk, a recent trial suggests that supplemental folic acid may accelerate tumorigenesis among patients with a history of colorectal adenoma. Therefore, high priority has been given to research investigating the influence of folate on cancer progression in patients with colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS To investigate whether prediagnostic levels of plasma folate are associated with colorectal cancer-specific and overall mortality, we performed a prospective, nested observational study within two large US cohorts: the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. We measured folate levels among 301 participants who developed colorectal cancer 2 or more years after their plasma was collected and compared participants using Cox proportional hazards models by quintile of plasma folate. RESULTS Higher levels of plasma folate were not associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer-specific or overall mortality. Compared with participants in the lowest quintile of plasma folate, those in the highest quintile experienced a multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for colorectal cancer-specific mortality of 0.42 (95% CI, 0.20 0.88) and overall mortality of 0.46 (95% CI, 0.24 0.88). When the analysis was limited to participants whose plasma was collected within 5 years of cancer diagnosis, no detrimental effect of high plasma folate was noted. In subgroup analyses, no subgroup demonstrated worse survival among participants with higher plasma folate levels. CONCLUSION In two large prospective cohorts, higher prediagnostic levels of plasma folate were not associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer-specific or overall mortality.
Leader attitudes and group effectiveness : final report of ONR project NR170-106, N6-ori-07135

This monograph summarizes the research of the project Social Perception and Group Effectiveness, which was initiated in September, 1951, and terminated in August, 1957. This research program was designed to identify psychological factors underlying group effectiveness. Its specific aim was the development of a theory regarding the part which interpersonal perception plays in making groups productive.
Inflammatory markers associated with osteoarthritis after destabilization surgery in young mice with and without Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE)

It has been shown that HtrA1, Ddr‐2 and Mmp‐13 are reliable biomarkers for osteoarthritis (OA), yet the exact mechanism for the upregulation of HtrA‐1 is not known. Some have shown that chondrocyte hypertrophy is associated with early indicators of inflammation including TFG‐β and the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products (RAGE). The objective of this research is to examine the effects of TFG‐β and RAGE on the progression of osteoarthritis. Samples of wild type (WT) and RAGE knockout (KO) were assayed for Mmp‐13, Ddr‐2, HtrA‐1 and TGF‐β, and evaluated for cartilage degradation four weeks after a knee destabilization procedure. We observed consistent positive staining for Mmp‐13, Ddr‐2, and HtrA‐1 in both WT and RAGE KO mice with late OA, while TGF‐β staining was only positive in samples with early OA. Despite similar IHC staining profiles, RAGE KO mice exhibited significantly less cartilage degradation as compared to WT mice. In subsequent analyses, RAGE KO mice exhibited more chondrocytes and a lower percentage of cells staining positive for OA biomarkers. From our results, we hypothesize that TGF‐β is involved in the upregulation of HtrA‐1 and is subsequently inhibited by HtrA‐1, and further that the chondroprotection in RAGE KO samples is due to a decreased presence of Mmp‐13 and HtrA‐1 and consequent protection against cell death. This research has been supported by FAMRI and BYU MEG grants.
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Among Child Welfare–Involved Youth: An Exploratory Study of Correlates

Our research team used the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II to explore relationships between demographic factors, domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) status, and several psychosocial dependent variables for children and youth in the child welfare system who affirm that they have been paid for sex within the past 6 months. The sample included a total of 814 children and youth, 38 of whom reported DMST victimization. Results revealed that youth with a history of DMST victimization were more likely than their nonexploited peers to report runaway behavior, demonstrate externalizing behaviors, and test in the clinical range for a substance abuse problem. Research and practice implications are discussed.