Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics and causes of vegetation variation in the source regions of the Yellow River, China

The eco-environment in the source region of the Yellow River in western China has been experiencing deterioration in the past decades. Vegetation affected by climate variables and anthropogenic activities is indicative of eco-environment well-being. To quantify temporal and spatial variations of vegetation coverage and analyse potential causes for the variations, we analysed the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), temperature and precipitation data from 2000 to 2007. We found that altitude and topographic aspects have a strong influence on vegetation coverage. Altitudes between 4500 and 4800 m and shady aspects provide more favourable environments for vegetation growth. Data show stronger vegetation growth within the temperature range of 4.5–5.5°C. Vegetation growth generally increases with precipitation. At higher elevations of 4800–5200 m, however, despite high precipitation rates, lower temperatures restrict growth. Local hydrology conditions are found to directly influence vegetation variations. Vegetation degradation increases with distance from surface water boundaries up to 4 km, but groundwater might serve as a reliable source for preventing vegetation from degrading. Finally, we found that the percentage of degradation decreases with increasing distance from residential loci up to 24 km, which suggests that overgrazing can be a lead cause for localized vegetation degradation. Findings of this study may have a broad implication in assessing vegetation variation and grassland restoration.
Well-Being and Social Capital on Planet Earth: Cross-National Evidence from 142 Countries

High levels of social trust and social support are associated with life satisfaction around the world. However, it is not known whether this association extends to other indicators of social capital and of subjective well-being globally. We examine associations between three measures of social capital and three indicators of subjective well-being in 142 low-, middle- and high-income countries. Furthermore, we explore whether positive and negative feelings mirror each other or if they are separate constructs that behave differently in relation to social capital. Data comes from the Gallup World Poll, an international cross-sectional comparable survey conducted yearly from 2005 to 2009 for those 15 years of age and over. The poll represents 95% of the world's population. Social capital was measured with self-reports of access to support from relatives and friends, of volunteering to an organization in the past month, and of trusting others. Subjective well-being was measured with self-reports of life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. We first estimate random coefficient (multi-level) models and then use multivariate (individual-level) Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression to model subjective well-being as a function of social support, volunteering and social trust, controlling for age, gender, education, marital status, household income and religiosity. We found that having somebody to count on in case of need and reporting high levels of social trust are associated with better life evaluations and more positive feelings and an absence of negative feelings in most countries around the world. Associations, however, are stronger for high- and middle-income countries. Volunteering is also associated with better life evaluations and a higher frequency of positive emotions. There is not an association, however, between volunteering and experiencing negative feelings, except for low-income countries. Finally, we present evidence that the two affective components of subjective well-being behave differently in relation to different indicators of social capital and social support across countries.
Plant-Available Calcium Varies Widely in Soils on Serpentinite Landscapes

Serpentinitic landscapes are characterized by unusual plant species composition and vegetation patchiness. We hypothesized that soil extractable Ca content is correlated with vegetation Ca concentration and may contribute to the unusual vegetation characteristics. Eleven pedons from California were sampled within soil survey mapping polygons containing the modal location for a classic "serpentine soil. " Soil NH 4 OAc-extractable Ca/Mg ratio varied from 0.1 to 1.5 and total elemental Ca/Mg ratio varied from 1.0 were derived from non-serpentinite parent materials, and soils with a Ca/Mg ratio from 0.2 to 1.0 were derived from serpentinite parent material that had minor amounts of accessory Ca-bearing minerals. Based on greenhouse studies, the Ca concentration of the leaf of the grass Vulpia microstachys (Nutt.) Monro correlated better with soil-extractable Ca (r 2 = 0.69, P 0.05). The shallow soil depths of the pedons, together with the generally high coarse fragment content, limit the soil volume available to roots. Pedons with the highest extractable Ca/Mg (1.34 and 1.89) also had the greatest extractable Ca pool, 1169 and 394 g m ―2 , respectively. Among the 11 pedons, extractable Ca/Mg ratio, extractable-Ca pool, and the distribution of the Ca pool within the pedon all varied, and these variables were important determinants of plant performance, as determined by leaf Ca content. Of these variables, soil extractable-Ca content was the best determinant of plant performance as indicated by leaf Ca concentration.
The effect of non-isothermality on the gravitational collapse of spherical clouds and the evolution of protostellar accretion

We investigate the role of non-isothermality in gravitational collapse and protostellar accretion by explicitly including the effects of molecular radiative cooling, gas‐dust energy transfer and cosmic ray heating in models of spherical hydrodynamic collapse. Isothermal models have previously shown an initial decline in the mass accretion rate ˙ M during the accretion phase of protostellar evolution, as a result of the gradient of the infall speed that develops in the prestellar phase. Our results show that: (1) in the idealized limit of optically thin cooling, a positive temperature gradient is present in the prestellar phase which effectively cancels out the effect of the velocity gradient, producing a near-constant (weakly increasing with time) ˙ M in the early accretion phase; and (2) in the more realistic case including cooling saturation at higher densities, ˙ M may initially be either weakly increasing or weakly decreasing with time, for the low dust temperature (T d ∼ 6K )and high dust temperature (T d ∼ 10 K) cases, respectively. Hence, our results show that the initial decline in ˙ M seen in isothermal models is definitely not enhanced by non-isothermal effects, and is often suppressed by them. In all our models, ˙ M does eventually decline rapidly due to the finite mass condition on our cores and a resulting inward-propagating rarefaction wave. Thus, any explanation for a rapid decline of ˙ M in the accretion phase probably needs to appeal to the global molecular cloud structure and possible envelope support, which results in a finite mass reservoir for cores.
Mozart K.545 Mimics Mozart K.448 in Reducing Epileptiform Discharges in Epileptic Children

Mozart K.448 has been shown to improve cognitive function, leading to what is known as the Mozart Effect. Our previous work reveals positive effects of Mozart K.448 in reducing epileptiform discharges in epileptic children. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Mozart K.545 and compared the effects with those of Mozart K.448 on epileptiform discharges in children with epilepsy. Thirty-nine epileptic children with epileptiform discharges were included in the study. They received electroencephalogram examinations before, during, and after listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545, one week apart, respectively. The frequencies of epileptiform discharges were compared. There was a significant decrease in the frequency of epileptiform discharges during and right after listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545 (reduced by 35.7 ± 32.7% during Mozart K.448 and 30.3 ± 44.4% after Mozart K.448; and 34.0 ± 39.5% during Mozart K.545 and 31.8 ± 39.2% after Mozart K.545). Spectrogrammatic analysis of the two pieces of music demonstrated that both share similar spectrogrammatic characteristics. Listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545 decreased the epileptiform discharges in epileptic children. This suggests that Mozart K.448 is not the only piece of music to have beneficial effects on children with epilepsy. Other music with lower harmonics may also decrease epileptiform discharges in epileptic children.
Model-Driven Validation of SystemC Designs

Functional test generation for dynamic validation of current system level designs is a challenging task. Manual test writing or automated random test generation techniques are often used for such validation practices. However, directing tests to particular reachable states of a SystemC model is often difficult, especially when these models are large and complex. In this work, we present a model-driven methodology for generating directed tests that take the SystemC model under validation to specific reachable states. This allows the validation to uncover very specific scenarios which lead to different corner cases. Our formal modeling is done entirely within the Microsoft SpecExplorer tool to formally describe the specification of the system under validation in the formal notation of AsmL. We also exploit SpecExplorer's abilities for state space exploration for our test generation, and its APIs for connecting the model to real programs to drive the validation of SystemC models with the generated test cases.
The Luminosity Function of Galaxies in SDSS Commissioning Data

In the course of its commissioning observations, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has produced one of the largest redshift samples of galaxies selected from CCD images. Using 11,275 galaxies complete to r* = 17.6 over 140 deg2, we compute the luminosity function of galaxies in the r* band over a range -23 < M < -16 (for h = 1). The result is well-described by a Schechter function with parameters ϕ* = (1.46 ± 0.12) × 10-2 h3 Mpc-3, M* = -20.83 ± 0.03, and α = -1.20 ± 0.03. The implied luminosity density in r* is j ≈ (2.6 ± 0.3) × 108h L⊙ Mpc-3. We find that the surface brightness selection threshold has a negligible impact for M < -18. Using subsets of the data, we measure the luminosity function in the u*, g*, i*, and z* bands as well; the slope at low luminosities ranges from α = -1.35 to α = -1.2. We measure the bivariate distribution of r* luminosity with half-light surface brightness, intrinsic g*-r* color, and morphology. In agreement with previous studies, we find that high surface brightness, red, highly concentrated galaxies are on average more luminous than low surface brightness, blue, less concentrated galaxies. An important feature of the SDSS luminosity function is the use of Petrosian magnitudes, which measure a constant fraction of a galaxy's total light regardless of the amplitude of its surface brightness profile. If we synthesize results for RGKC band or bj band using these Petrosian magnitudes, we obtain luminosity densities 2 times that found by the Las Campanas Redshift Survey in RGKC and 1.4 times that found by the Two Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey in bj. However, we are able to reproduce the luminosity functions obtained by these surveys if we also mimic their isophotal limits for defining galaxy magnitudes, which are shallower and more redshift dependent than the Petrosian magnitudes used by the SDSS.
Neuroticism and conscientiousness as predictors of emotional, external, and restrained eating behaviors.

OBJECTIVE We investigated the extent to which different forms of eating behavior as assessed by the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire are related to facets of the Big Five personality domains. METHOD Respondents were 167 psychology students (126 females and 41 males) who volunteered for the study. RESULTS Body mass index (BMI) and gender had significant main effects on eating behaviors. These results were moderated by a significant BMI x Gender interaction on emotional eating. Eating behaviors were significantly related to the personality facets associated with Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. DISCUSSION The results are discussed with reference to previous research on eating behaviors and the nature of Neuroticism and Conscientiousness.
Annotating a Corpus to Develop and Evaluate Discourse Entity Realization Algorithms: Issues and Preliminary Results

We are annotating a corpus with information relevant to discourse entity realization, and especially the information needed to decide which type of NP to use. The corpus is being used to study correlations between NP type and certain semantic or discourse features, to evaluate hand-coded algorithms, and to train statistical models. We report on the development of our annotation scheme, the problems we have encountered, and the results obtained so far.
Induction of the Staphylococcal Proteolytic Cascade by Antimicrobial Fatty Acids in Community Acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Community acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), and the USA300 strain of CA-MRSA in particular, are known for their rapid community transmission, and propensity to cause aggressive skin and soft tissue infections. To assess factors that contribute to these hallmark traits of CA-MRSA, we evaluated how growth of USA300 and production of secreted virulence factors was influenced on exposure to physiologic levels of unsaturated free fatty acids that would be encountered on the skin or anterior nares, which represent the first sites of contact with healthy human hosts. There was a sharp threshold between sub-inhibitory and inhibitory concentrations, such that 100 µM sapienic acid (C16∶1) and linoleic acid (C18∶1) were sufficient to prevent growth after 24 h incubation, while 25 µM allowed unrestricted growth, and 50 µM caused an approximate 10–12 h lag, followed by unimpeded exponential growth. Conversely, saturated palmitic or stearic acids did not affect growth at 100 µM. Although growth was not affected by 25 µM sapienic or linoleic acid, these and other unsaturated C16 and C18 fatty acids, but not their saturated counterparts, promoted robust production of secreted proteases comprising the Staphylococcal proteolytic cascade. This trait was also manifested to varying degrees in other CA-MRSA, and in genetically diverse methicillin susceptible S. aureus strains. Therefore, induction of the Staphylococcal proteolytic cascade by unsaturated fatty acids is another feature that should now be evaluated as a potential contributing factor in the aggressive nature of skin and soft tissue infections caused by USA300, and as a general virulence mechanism of S. aureus.
Concentrations of Valuable Elements of the Coals from the Pingshuo Mining District, Ningwu Coalfield, Northern China

A total of 840 coal samples were taken from the Pingshuo (Pinglu-Shuoxian) Mining District, Ningwu Coalfield, northern China. The samples were analysed by optical microscopy, sequential chemical extraction procedure, SEM–EDX analysis, X-ray powder diffraction and ICP-MS techniques. The results indicate that the Li, Ga and Al contents of the coals have reached an economically valuable level. Total Li reserves reached 100000, 558400 and 382600 tons in the Nos. 4, 9 and 11 seams, respectively. Total Ga reserves reached 28600, 80700 and 40900 tons in the Nos. 4, 9 and 11 seams, respectively. Total Al reserves reached 206000000 tons in the No. 9 seam. The sequential chemical extraction procedure results indicate that the element concentrations are mainly related to inorganic matter. The minerals are kaolinite, boehmite, chlorite-group mineral, quartz, calcite, pyrite, siderite and amorphous clay material. The kaolinite, boehmite and chlorite phase could be the most likely host of the Li, Ga and Al. These elements could be migrated from the Yinshan Oldland or bauxite of the Benxi formation by absorption. The bauxite of the Benxi formation should be the most possible source of Li, Ga and Al of the coal in the Pingshuo district.
Integrated archeomagnetic and micro-Raman spectroscopy study of pre-Columbian ceramics from the Mesoamerican formative village of Cuanalan, Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico

[1] We report a detailed archeomagnetic and micro–Raman spectroscopy investigation on pre-Columbian pottery fragments from Cuanalan (a formative village in the valley of Teotihuacan, central Mexico). Available radiocarbon ages range from 2320 ± 80 to 2060 ± 90 B.P. Continuous low-field susceptibility versus temperature curves performed in air indicate Ti-poor titanomagnetites as magnetization carriers. Few samples, however, show two ferrimagnetic phases with Curie temperatures compatible with both Ti-poor and Ti-rich titanomagnetites. Hysteresis parameter ratios fall essentially in the pseudosingle-domain region, which may indicate a mixture of multidomain and a significant amount of single-domain grains. Mineralogical composition of the Teotihuacan ceramics has been investigated using micro–Raman spectroscopy. Samples are characterized by highly heterogeneous body matrix mineralogy due to the presence of a large variety of minerals with several mineralogical phases. Observed titanomagnetite and magnetite bands shift toward higher wave numbers, confirming a reducing atmosphere and a relatively high temperature (about 800–900°C) during the ceramic production. This definitively indicates the thermoremanent origin of magnetic magnetization. Archeointensity values have been determined from 7 pottery fragments (47 samples) out of 10 (70 samples) analyzed. Anisotropy of thermoremanent magnetization and the cooling rate effect upon thermoremanent magnetization intensity acquisition have been investigated in all the samples. The mean archeointensity values obtained in this study range from 24.2 ± 3.2 to 40.0 ± 1.7 μT, and corresponding virtual axial dipole moments range from 4.8 ± 0.6 to 8.0 ± 0.4 (1022 A m2). This corresponds to a mean virtual dipole moment value of 5.9 ± 1.1 × 1022 A m2, which is lower than the present-day field strength and the predicted values by global models and the latest data compilation. However, our data agree well with currently available absolute intensity values from Mesoamerica. The archeointensity values uncorrected for cooling rate and anisotropy are systematically higher than the corrected values. These uncorrected values agree with the CALS7K model, which may be biased by the fact that such corrections were not applied to most of the previous data.
Flatland: an immersive theatre experience centered on shape changing haptic navigation technology

Flatland was a large scale immersive theatre production completed in March 2015 that made use of a novel shape-changing haptic navigation device, the ‘Animotus’. Copies of this device were given to each audience member in order to guide them through a 112m2 dark space to large tactile structures accompanied by audio narration from the production’s plot. The Animotus was designed to provide unobtrusive navigation feedback over extended periods of time, via modification of its natural cube shape to simultaneously indicate proximity and heading information to navigational targets. Prepared by an interdisciplinary team of blind and sighted specialists, Flatland is part performance, part in-the wild user study. Such an environment presents a unique opportunity for testing new forms of technology and theatre concepts with large numbers of participants (94 in this case). The artistic aims of the project were to use sensory substitution facilitated exploration to investigate comparable cultural experiences for blind and sighted attendees. Technical goals were to experiment with novel haptic navigational concepts, which may be applied to various other scenarios, including typical outdoor pedestrian navigation. This short paper outlines the project aims, haptic technology design motivation and initial evaluation of resulting audience navigational ability and qualitative reactions to the Animotus.
Regulation of DNA Methylation in Human Breast Cancer

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is a member of the serine protease family and can break down various components of the extracellular matrix to promote growth, invasion, and metastasis of several malignancies including breast cancer. In the current study we examined the role that the DNA methylation machinery might be playing in regulating differential uPA gene expression in breast cancer cell lines. uPA mRNA is expressed in the highly invasive, hormone-insensitive human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 but not in hormone-responsive cell line MCF-7. Using methylation-sensitive PCR, we show that 90% of CpG dinucleotides in the uPA promoter are methylated in MCF-7 cells, whereas fully demethylated CpGs were detected in MDA-MB-231 cells. uPA promoter activity, which is directly regulated by the Ets-1 transcription factor, is inhibited by methylation as determined by uPA promoter-luciferase reporter assays. We then tested whether the state of expression and methylation of the uPA promoter correlates with the global level of DNA methyltransferase and demethylase activities in these cell lines. We show that maintenance DNA methyltransferase activity is significantly higher in MCF-7 cells than in MDA-MB-231 cells, whereas demethylase activity is higher in MDA-MB-231 cells. We suggest that the combination of increased DNA methyltransferase activity with reduced demethylase activity contributes to the methylation and silencing of uPA expression in MCF-7 cells. The converse is true in MDA-MB-231 cells, which represents a late stage highly invasive breast cancer. The histone deacetylase inhibitor, Trichostatin A, induces the expression of the uPA gene in MDA-MB-231 cells but not in MCF-7 cells. This supports the hypothesis that DNA methylation is the dominant mechanism involved in the silencing of uPA gene expression. Taken together, these results provide insight into the mechanism regulating the transcription of the uPA gene in the complex multistep process of breast cancer progression.
Estabilidad y resiliencia en comunidades marinas un enfoque alométrico

The benthic and demersal communities in the Colombian Caribbean Sea (CCS) are heavily fished by the shrimp trawling fishery, which presents very high discard levels. Here, we conducted an analysis of the size structure of these benthic and demersal communities in the northern and southern zones of the CCS. Sampling was conducted onboard shrimp trawlers throughout an entire year. No significant differences were found in the size distributions of the two zones, among sites within southern ecoregions, or among the analyzed cruises. This homogeneity in size structure is remarkable since the zones analyzed possess very different species compositions and environmental conditions. The observed size structures were adequately described by non-linear distributions rather than the traditionally employed linear normalized biomass size spectra. It is hypothesized that the non-linearity is due to the effect of fishing and particularly, of discarding. This study emphasizes the need for a greater understanding of the impacts that trawl fishing has on community size structure and the applicability of this knowledge towards fishery resource management in ecosystems with high diversity.