Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Range Expansion of the Jumbo Squid in the NE Pacific: δ15N Decrypts Multiple Origins, Migration and Habitat Use

Coincident with climate shifts and anthropogenic perturbations, the highly voracious jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas reached unprecedented northern latitudes along the NE Pacific margin post 1997–98. The physical or biological drivers of this expansion, as well as its ecological consequences remain unknown. Here, novel analysis from both bulk tissues and individual amino acids (Phenylalanine; Phe and Glutamic acid; Glu) in both gladii and muscle of D. gigas captured in the Northern California Current System (NCCS) documents for the first time multiple geographic origins and migration. Phe δ15N values, a proxy for habitat baseline δ15N values, confirm at least three different geographic origins that were initially detected by highly variable bulk δ15N values in gladii for squid at small sizes (<30 cm gladii length). In contrast, bulk δ15N values from gladii of large squid (>60 cm) converged, indicating feeding in a common ecosystem. The strong latitudinal gradient in Phe δ15N values from composite muscle samples further confirmed residency at a point in time for large squid in the NCCS. These results contrast with previous ideas, and indicate that small squid are highly migratory, move into the NCCS from two or more distinct geographic origins, and use this ecosystem mainly for feeding. These results represent the first direct information on the origins, immigration and habitat use of this key “invasive” predator in the NCCS, with wide implications for understanding both the mechanisms of periodic D. gigas population range expansions, and effects on ecosystem trophic structure.
Utility of NCCLS Guidelines for Identifying Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases in Non-Escherichia coli and Non-Klebsiella spp. of Enterobacteriaceae

ABSTRACT NCCLS screening and confirmation methods for detecting extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) apply only to Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. , yet ESBLs have been found in other members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. We evaluated the effectiveness of NCCLS methods for detecting ESBLs in 690 gram-negative isolates of Enterobacteriaceae that excluded E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Klebsiella oxytoca. Isolates were collected between January 1996 and June 1999 from 53 U.S. hospitals participating in Project ICARE (Intensive Care Antimicrobial Resistance Epidemiology). The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the isolates were determined by using the NCCLS broth microdilution method (BMD), and those isolates for which the MIC of ceftazidime, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, or aztreonam was ≥2 μg/ml or the MIC of cefpodoxime was ≥8 μg/ml (positive ESBL screen test) were further tested for a clavulanic acid (CA) effect by BMD and the disk diffusion method (confirmation tests). Although 355 (51.4%) of the isolates were ESBL screen test positive, only 15 (2.2%) showed a CA effect. Since 3 of the 15 isolates were already highly resistant to the five NCCLS indicator drugs, ESBL detection would have an impact on the reporting of only 1.7% of the isolates in the study. Only 6 of the 15 isolates that showed a CA effect contained a blaTEM, blaSHV, blaCTX-M, or blaOXA β-lactamase gene as determined by PCR (with a corresponding isoelectric focusing pattern). Extension of the NCCLS guidelines for ESBL detection to Enterobacteriaceae other than E. coli and Klebsiella spp. does not appear to be warranted in the United States at present, since the test has poor specificity for this population and would result in changes in categorical interpretations for only 1.7% of Enterobacteriaceae tested.
Dynamic Two-Sided Pricing under Sequential Innovation

Technology innovation engenders products of higher qualities and reduces production costs. This paper focuses on a two-sided platform tied with quality-improving hardware devices that are introduced sequentially. We analyze a monopolist’s dynamic pricing strategies facing decreasing future production cost and strategic buyers. Findings in both the traditional (buyer-side only) and two-sided business models show that future cost reductions raise the optimal price of the present product, which shifts the buyer-side demand forward and mitigates intertemporal cannibalization. Furthermore, future cost reductions may also lead to a higher optimal price for the future product, given a substantial quality improvement. Thus, the monopolist may leverage future cost reductions to position its product line to the high-end market. By comparing the traditional and two-sided business models, we find that the impact of future cost reductions is more pronounced for a two-sided platform.
Behavioral Level Power Estimation and Exploration

: This paper addresses the problem of estimating, from a behavioral level description, the power consumed by a design. We propose a combination of analytical and stochastic estimation techniques and present comparisons with an architectural level power estimation tool. Average errors of about 20% have been obtained. Based on these estimates, an exploration tool, Explore, has been built to quickly scan the design space and provide estimates of performance metrics such as area and power as guidelines for selection of computational structures and high level design parameters.
A prototyping environment for interaction between a human and a robotic multi-agent system

In this paper we describe our prototyping environment to study concepts for empowering a single user to control robotic multi-agent systems. We investigate and validate these concepts by experiments with a fleet of hovering robots. Specifically, we report on a first experiment in which one robot is equipped with an RGB-D sensor through which the user is enabled to directly interact with a multi-agent system without the need to carry any device.
Auditor Conservatism and Quarterly Earnings

Auditors’ legal liability incentives to be conservative cause fourth quarter earnings to differ systematically from interim quarter earnings. We show that the frequencies and average magnitudes of losses, negative extraordinary items, negative special items and negative discontinued operations are highest in the fourth quarter. We show that earnings is more timely in recognizing bad news in the fourth quarter than in earlier quarters, and this greater timeliness for bad news is largely accomplished through operating accruals. Our conservatism measures are higher in periods of high auditor liability exposure consistent with auditors being more conservative when exposed to greater legal liability.
Group SLOPE – Adaptive Selection of Groups of Predictors

ABSTRACT Sorted L-One Penalized Estimation (SLOPE; Bogdan et al. 2013, 2015) is a relatively new convex optimization procedure, which allows for adaptive selection of regressors under sparse high-dimensional designs. Here, we extend the idea of SLOPE to deal with the situation when one aims at selecting whole groups of explanatory variables instead of single regressors. Such groups can be formed by clustering strongly correlated predictors or groups of dummy variables corresponding to different levels of the same qualitative predictor. We formulate the respective convex optimization problem, group SLOPE (gSLOPE), and propose an efficient algorithm for its solution. We also define a notion of the group false discovery rate (gFDR) and provide a choice of the sequence of tuning parameters for gSLOPE so that gFDR is provably controlled at a prespecified level if the groups of variables are orthogonal to each other. Moreover, we prove that the resulting procedure adapts to unknown sparsity and is asymptotically minimax with respect to the estimation of the proportions of variance of the response variable explained by regressors from different groups. We also provide a method for the choice of the regularizing sequence when variables in different groups are not orthogonal but statistically independent and illustrate its good properties with computer simulations. Finally, we illustrate the advantages of gSLOPE in the context of Genome Wide Association Studies. R package grpSLOPE with an implementation of our method is available on The Comprehensive R Archive Network.
Temporal variations in sun photometer measured precipitable water in near IR band and its comparison with model estimates at a tropical Indian station

PARA INVESTIGAR LAS VARIACIONES ESTACIONALES Y TEMPORALES DEL CONTENIDO DE AGUA PRECIPITABLE (PWC, POR SUS SIGLAS EN INGLES) SE HICIERON OBSERVACIONES CON UN FOTOMETRO SOLAR MULTICANAL EN LA BANDA DEL INFRARROJO CERCANO EN LA ESTACION TROPICAL DE PUNE, EN LA INDIA, DURANTE EL PERIODO DE MAYO 1998 A MAYO 2006. PARA LA ESTACION MENCIONADA SE COMPARARON EL AGUA PRECIPITABLE ESTIMADA A PARTIR DE PARAMETROS METEOROLOGICOS DE SUPERFICIE (TEMPERATURA Y HUMEDAD RELATIVA) Y LA OBTENIDA DEL SATELITE MODIS. EXISTE UNA VARIACION ESTACIONAL BIEN DEFINIDA DEL CONTENIDO DE AGUA PRECIPITABLE CON UN MAXIMO DURANTE LOS MESES DEL MONZON DEL SUROESTE (JUNIO-SEPTIEMBRE) Y UN MINIMO DURANTE EL MES DE MARZO. LA VARIABILIDAD DEL PWC ES MAYOR DURANTE EL POST MONZON Y LOS MESES DE INVIERNO (OCTUBRE-FEBRERO) Y MENOR DURANTE LOS MESES DEL PRE MONZON Y MONZON (MARZO-SEPTIEMBRE). LA MEDIA TOTAL DEL PWC ESTIMADA CON EL FOTOMETRO SOLAR EN PUNE ES DE 13.27 MM. EL AGUA PRECIPITABLE CALCULADA CON LOS PARAMETROS METEOROLOGICOS Y LA OBTENIDA DE LOS DATOS DE SATELITE ES MAYOR EN MAGNITUD QUE LAS MEDICIONES OBTENIDAS CON EL FOTOMETRO SOLAR DESDE TIERRA. SIN EMBARGO, LAS VARIACIONES TEMPORALES EN TODAS LAS ESCALAS DE TIEMPO CONCUERDAN MUY BIEN Y SE ENCUENTRAN EN FASE. UN FOTOMETRO SOLAR PORTATIL BIEN CALIBRADO EN LAS LONGITUDES DE ONDA DEL INFRARROJO CERCANO PUEDE PROPORCIONAR OBSERVACIONES TEMPORALES MUY BUENAS DEL AGUA PRECIPITABLE EN CUALQUIER LOCALIDAD.
PLK1 Down-Regulates Parainfluenza Virus 5 Gene Expression

The paramyxoviruses are a family of negative-sense RNA viruses that includes many important human and animal pathogens. Paramyxovirus RNA synthesis requires the viral phosphoprotein (P) and the large (L) protein. Phosphorylation of P is thought to regulate viral gene expression, though direct proof remains elusive. Recently, we reported that phosphorylation of a specific residue (Ser157) of the P protein of parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5), a prototypical paramyxovirus, correlates with decreased viral gene expression and cytokine expression in infected cells. Here, we show that: Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a serine/theronine kinase that plays a critical role in regulating the cell cycle, interacts with PIV5 P through the S157 residue; PLK1 inhibition increases viral gene expression; PLK1 over-expression inhibits viral gene expression; and PLK1 directly phosphorylates P in vitro, indicating that PLK1 down-regulates viral gene expression by phosphorylating P. Furthermore, we have determined the PLK1 phosphorylation site on P and found that mutant recombinant PIV5 whose P proteins cannot either bind to or be phosphorylated by PLK1 have similar phenotypes. Increased viral gene expression in PIV5 with mutations in the PLK1 binding/phosphorylation sites correlates with increased induction of cell death and cytokine expression, suggesting that PIV5 limits its viral gene expression to avoid these host effects. It is possible that targeting PLK1 will enhance host innate immune responses, leading to a novel strategy of clearing paramyxovirus infections quickly.
Towards Performance Modeling as a Service by Exploiting Resource Diversity in the Public Cloud

Cloud computing platforms such as Amazon EC2, Google Computing Engine, and Microsoft Azure offer dozens of virtual machine (VM) types with a wide range of resource capacity vs. price trade-offs, requiring a customer to consider numerous resource configurations when evaluating service needs. This report investigates the possibility of using the diversity of VM types to predict the performance of new VM types using black box modeling. The performance model used is a multiple linear regression of the average server response time, server load (throughput in requests per second), the number of CPU cores, and the memory in the procured VM. For three commonly used database servers - Redis (key-value stores), Apache Cassandra (NoSQL) and MySQL - the model accuracy increases for larger sets of VMs. e.g., for Redis, the measure of model efficacy improves from 0.4-0.5 with 2 VM types for training and 0.7 for 3 VM types to 0.8 for 4 VM types. These results suggest further interesting research challenges, such as the possibility of automating the process of calibrating performance models using diverse resource types on a public cloud leading to "performance modeling as a service. "
The paradox of being on the glass cliff: why do women accept risky leadership positions?

Purpose Recent evidence from glass cliff research suggests that women are more willing than men to accept risky leadership positions. The purpose of this paper (based on three studies) is to reveal and resolve the apparent paradox that women are more risk averse than men yet end up in risky leadership positions. Design/methodology/approach In Study I, risk attitudes of 125 participants were surveyed to understand gender differences in risk taking. In two experimental vignette studies, 119 university students (Study II) and 109 working adults (Study III) were offered a leadership position in either a risky or successful company and asked to rate their willingness to accept the job. Findings Together, the results showed that although women are generally more risk averse than men, women who scored low on career self-efficacy were more likely to perceive a risky job as a promotional opportunity and were therefore more willing to accept such a job. These findings shed light on the role of women’s career decision making in the glass cliff phenomenon. Originality/value Glass cliff research has focused almost exclusively on organizational decision makers. The authors aim to better understand the glass cliff phenomenon by incorporating the perspective of job seekers.
Polyamine-Induced Rapid Root Abscission in Azolla pinnata

Floating ferns of the genus Azolla detach their roots under stress conditions, a unique adaptive response termed rapid root abscission. We found that Azolla pinnata plants exhibited dose-dependent rapid root abscission in response to the polyamines spermidine and spermine after a substantial time lag (>20 min). The duration of the time lag decreased in response to high pH and high temperature whereas high light intensity increased the time lag and markedly lowered the rate of abscission. The oxidation products of polyamines, 1,3-diaminopropane, β-alanine and hydrogen peroxide all failed to initiate root abscission, and hydroxyethyl hydrazine, an inhibitor of polyamine oxidase, did not inhibit spermine-induced root abscission. Exposure of A. pinnata to the polyamines did not result in detectable release of NO and did not affect nitrite-dependent NO production. The finding of polyamine-induced rapid root abscission provides a facile assay for further study of the mode of action of polyamines in plant stress responses.
A hybrid approach in TADE for derivation of execution time bounds of program-segments in distributed real-time embedded computing

Guaranteeing response times of real-time (RT) distributed computing systems has been recognized as one of the biggest challenges by the RT software research community for three decades. The concept of a hybrid approach that combines analytical derivation approaches and testing-based statistical derivation approaches in a symbiotic form for meeting this challenge was presented in recent years. However, concrete practical hybrid approaches are still in early stages of development. One such approach pursued by the authors and their collaborators is presented here. This paper focuses on the cases of deriving tight execution time bounds of the segments of object methods which do not involve calls for services from the operating system kernel and middleware. A case-study that demonstrates how the adopted approach works in handling a simple practical application is also presented
Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit

The theoretical distinction between goal intentions ("I intend to achieve -c") and implementation intentions ("I intend to perform goal-directed behavior y when I encounter situation z"; P. M. Gollwitzer, 1993) is explored by assessing the completion rate of various goal projects. In correlational Study 1, difficult goal intentions were completed about 3 times more often when participants had furnished them with implementation intentions. In experimental Study 2, all participants were assigned the same difficult goal intention, and half were instructed to form implementation intentions. The beneficial effects of implementatio n intentions paralleled diose of Study 1. In experimental Study 3, implementatio n intentions were observed to facilitate the immediate initiation of goaldirected action when the intended opportunity was encountered. Implementation intentions are interpreted to be powerful self-regulatory tools for overcoming the typical obstacles associated with the initiation of goal-directed actions. Whether people meet their goals depends on both how goal content is framed and how people regulate the respective goaldirected activities (Gollwitzer & Moskowitz, 1996). Content theories focus on the thematic properties of set goals and how these affect the regulation of goal pursuit and actual goal achievement. Such theories attempt to explain differences in goal-directed behaviors in terms of what is specified as the goal by the individual, as the content characteristics of the goal are expected to affect a person's successful goal pursuit. Goal content has been considered both in terms of the different needs on which it is based (e.g., autonomy needs vs. materialistic needs; Deci & Ryan, 1991; Kasser & Ryan, 1994) as well as in terms of implicit theories (e.g., entity theories vs, incremental theories
On the throughput performance of CSMA-based wireless local area network with directional antennas and capture effect: a cross-layer analytical approach

In this paper we develop a cross-layer analytical approach from both the physical layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer to evaluate the performance of the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN). From the physical layer, this analytical approach incorporates the effects of both capture and directional antenna, while from the MAC layer, our model takes account of the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol. Through a cross-layer modeling technique, this analytical framework can provide valuable insights of the physical layer impact on the throughput performance of the CSMA/CA MAC protocol. These insights can be helpful in developing a MAC protocol to fully take advantage of directional antennas for enhancing the performance of the WLAN.
Comparative Evaluation of Speech Parameterizations for Speech Recognition

In this work, we present comparative evaluation of the practical value of some recently proposed speech parameterizations on the speech recognition task. Specifically, in a common experimental setup we evaluate recent discrete wavelet-packet transform (DWPT)-based speech features against traditional techniques, such as the Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) and perceptual linear predictive (PLP) cepstral coefficients that presently dominate the speech recognition field. The relative ranking of eleven sets of speech features is presented.
Biopsychosocial Determinants of Visual Inspection Acetic-Acid Test Uptake in Sragen, Central Java

Background : Cervical cancer ranks second among the top ten leading causes of death in women in the world, especially in developing countries. Cervical cancer can be cured if detected early. A simple and common method in early detection of cervical cancer is a visual inspection acetatic-acid (VIA) test. This study aimed to analyze the biopsychosocial factors associated with use of VIA test, using health belief model and a path analysis model. Subje cts and Met hod : This was an analytic observational study with a cross-sectional design. The study was carried out in Sragen, Central Java, from October 2017 to May 2018. A sample of 200 women was selected by fixed disease sampling. The dependent variable was utilization of VIA test. The dependent variables were intention, self-efficacy, perceived benefit, perceived barrier, attitude, subjective norm, knowledge, education, perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, and number of children. Data on VIA test were obtained from medical record. The other variables were measured by questionnaire and analyzed by path analysis. Results : Use of VIA test was directly and positively affected by intention (b= 3.50; 95% CI= 1.20 to 5.79; p=0.003), perceived benefit (b= 5.21; 95% CI= 1.98 to 8.44; p= 0.002), and number of children (b= 4.23; 95% CI= 1.61 to 6.86; p<0.001). Use of VIA test was directly and negatively affected by perceived barrier (b=-5.98; 95% CI= -8.83 to -3.13; p<0.001). Use of VIA test was indirectly affected by attitude, subjective norm, self-efficacy, knowledge, education, perceived susceptibility, and perceived seriousness. Conclusion : Use of VIA test is directly and positively affected by intention, perceived benefit, and number of children, but negatively affected by perceived barrier. Keywords : visual inspection acetic-acid test, determinants, biopsychosocial, health belief model Correspondence: Dewi Saptowati. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Jl. Ir. Sutami No. 36 A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: dewi.saptowati@gmail.com. Journal of Maternal and Child Health (2018), 3(3): 197-206 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejmch.2018. 03.03. 04
The prompt to late-time multiwavelength analysis of GRB 060210

Aims.We present our analysis of the multiwavelength photometric & spectroscopic observations of GRB 060210 and discuss the results in the overall context of current GRB models. Methods: All available optical data underwent a simultaneous temporal fit, while X-ray and gamma-ray observations were analysed temporally & spectrally. The results were compared to each other and to possible GRB models. Results: The X-ray afterglow is best described by a smoothly broken power-law with a break at 7.4 h. The late optical afterglow has a well constrained single power-law index which has a value between the two X-ray indices, though it does agree with a single power-law fit to the X-ray. An evolution of the hardness of the high-energy emission is demonstrated and we imply a minimum host extinction from a comparison of the extrapolated X-ray flux to that measured in the optical. Conclusions: We find that the flaring gamma-ray and X-ray emission is likely due to internal shocks while the flat optical light curve at that time is due to the external shock. The late afterglow is best explained by a cooling break between the optical and X-rays and continued central engine activity up to the time of the break. The required collimation corrected energy of ~2×1052 erg, while at the high end of the known energy distribution, is not unprecedented.