Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Balancing Energy Budget in a Central-Place Forager: Which Habitat to Select in a Heterogeneous Environment?

Foraging animals are influenced by the distribution of food resources and predation risk that both vary in space and time. These constraints likely shape trade-offs involving time, energy, nutrition, and predator avoidance leading to a sequence of locations visited by individuals. According to the marginal-value theorem (MVT), a central-place forager must either increase load size or energy content when foraging farther from their central place. Although such a decision rule has the potential to shape movement and habitat selection patterns, few studies have addressed the mechanisms underlying habitat use at the landscape scale. Our objective was therefore to determine how Ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) select their foraging habitats while nesting in a colony located in a heterogeneous landscape. Based on locations obtained by fine-scale GPS tracking, we used resource selection functions (RSFs) and residence time analyses to identify habitats selected by gulls for foraging during the incubation and brood rearing periods. We then combined this information to gull survey data, feeding rates, stomach contents, and calorimetric analyses to assess potential trade-offs. Throughout the breeding season, gulls selected landfills and transhipment sites that provided higher mean energy intake than agricultural lands or riparian habitats. They used landfills located farther from the colony where no deterrence program had been implemented but avoided those located closer where deterrence measures took place. On the other hand, gulls selected intensively cultured lands located relatively close to the colony during incubation. The number of gulls was then greater in fields covered by bare soil and peaked during soil preparation and seed sowing, which greatly increase food availability. Breeding Ring-billed gulls thus select habitats according to both their foraging profitability and distance from their nest while accounting for predation risk. This supports the predictions of the MVT for central-place foraging over large spatial scales.
Risk Arbitrage in Takeovers

The paper studies the role of risk arbitrage in takeover contests. We show that arbitrageurs have an incentive to accumulate non-trivial stakes in a company target of a takeover. For each arbitrageur, the knowledge of his own presence (and that he will tender a positive fraction of his shares) is an informational advantage which guarantees that there is a scope for trade with the other shareholders. In equilibrium, the number of arbitrageurs buying shares and the number of shares they buy are determined endogenously. The paper also presents a range of empirical implications, including the relationship between trading volume, takeover premium, bidder's toehold, liquidity of the shares and the probability that the takeover will succeed.
License plate reader, data acquisition and analysis

Because of the design diversity, elaborate color schemes, and artwork of the North American license plates, the license plate reader (LPR) systems used to monitor the inbound traffic at international borders become a subject of special interest. Unique problems arise in extracting the plate from a car's photographic image and then locating and reading the number of the plate and the name of its issuing jurisdiction for screening purposes. License plates used in other parts of the world do not pose as many problems in plate recognition as the North American plates do because of their simpler design and minimal design variations. The recent developments in cameras, microprocessors, image processing and pattern recognition capabilities, and secure high-data-rate data communication systems make it worthwhile to explore opportunities for improving the speed and accuracy of the American LPR systems. This paper is devoted to such an exploration.
Modeling temporal coherence for optical flow

Despite the fact that temporal coherence is undeniably one of the key aspects when processing video data, this concept has hardly been exploited in recent optical flow methods. In this paper, we will present a novel parametrization for multi-frame optical flow computation that naturally enables us to embed the assumption of a temporally coherent spatial flow structure, as well as the assumption that the optical flow is smooth along motion trajectories. While the first assumption is realized by expanding spatial regularization over multiple frames, the second assumption is imposed by two novel first- and second-order trajectorial smoothness terms. With respect to the latter, we investigate an adaptive decision scheme that makes a local (per pixel) or global (per sequence) selection of the most appropriate model possible. Experiments show the clear superiority of our approach when compared to existing strategies for imposing temporal coherence. Moreover, we demonstrate the state-of-the-art performance of our method by achieving Top 3 results at the widely used Middlebury benchmark.
Active and Dynamic Self-Regulation of Learning Processes

It is generally assumed that learning is internalization of externally available knowledge and occurs under the active control of one internal source of self-regulation: executive self-regulation. This article argues that these assumptions undermine the creative and multisource nature of learning, limit its domain to incremental learning of facts and definitions, and are largely responsible for achievement and motivational problems children experience in schools. The article defines learning as creative reconceptualization of internal knowledge and proposes two different sources of internal self-regulation: one to regulate largely the sequential aspect of learning and another to coordinate its simultaneous aspect. To extend the domain of learning beyond incremental memorization of facts, both sources of internal self-regulation must be the target of cognitive and metacognitive instruction and research.
Aquaporin 2‐increased renal cell proliferation is associated with cell volume regulation

We have previously demonstrated that in renal cortical collecting duct cells (RCCD1) the expression of the water channel Aquaporin 2 (AQP2) raises the rate of cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms involved in this process, focusing on the putative link between AQP2 expression, cell volume changes, and regulatory volume decrease activity (RVD). Two renal cell lines were used: WT‐RCCD1 (not expressing aquaporins) and AQP2‐RCCD1 (transfected with AQP2). Our results showed that when most RCCD1 cells are in the G1‐phase (unsynchronized), the blockage of barium‐sensitive K+ channels implicated in rapid RVD inhibits cell proliferation only in AQP2‐RCCD1 cells. Though cells in the S‐phase (synchronized) had a remarkable increase in size, this enhancement was higher and was accompanied by a significant down‐regulation in the rapid RVD response only in AQP2‐RCCD1 cells. This decrease in the RVD activity did not correlate with changes in AQP2 function or expression, demonstrating that AQP2—besides increasing water permeability—would play some other role. These observations together with evidence implying a cell‐sizing mechanism that shortens the cell cycle of large cells, let us to propose that during nutrient uptake, in early G1, volume tends to increase but it may be efficiently regulated by an AQP2‐dependent mechanism, inducing the rapid activation of RVD channels. This mechanism would be down‐regulated when volume needs to be increased in order to proceed into the S‐phase. Therefore, during cell cycle, a coordinated modulation of the RVD activity may contribute to accelerate proliferation of cells expressing AQP2. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 3721–3729, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
When can odds ratios mislead?

Editor—Expressing the results of clinical trials and systematic reviews in terms of odds ratios can be more seriously misleading than Davies et al advise us.1 They gave a correct analysis of situations in which odds ratios are used to describe increases in event rates, but their consideration of the more common situation, in which treatments reduce event rates, is short sighted. Here, effectiveness is more commonly expressed as the percentage relative risk reduction (100×(1−relative risk)%) than the actual relative risk. The discrepancy between a relative risk reduction and the equivalent relative odds reduction (100×(1−odds ratio)%) can be misleading. When event rates are high (commonly the case in trials and systematic reviews) the relative odds reduction can be many times larger than the equivalent relative risk reduction. For example, Brent et al report results of a trial of a programme aimed at increasing the duration of breast feeding.2 By three months 32/51(63%) women had stopped breast feeding in the intervention group, compared with 52/57(91%) in the control group. Whereas the relative risk reduction is 31% the relative odds reduction is 84%: nearly three times as large. The same problem can occur in systematic reviews: a summary of the results of seven trials of antimicrobial treatment on premature rupture of membranes showed a 49% relative odds reduction of delivery by seven days, whereas the relative risk reduction was only 19%. 3 Although relative odds and relative risk reductions always go in the same direction, these discrepancies in magnitude are large enough to mislead. Good estimates of treatment effects are essential for clinicians to be able to balance the relative probabilities of the good and bad outcomes that could be caused by a treatment. The only safe use of odds ratios is in case-control studies and logistic regression analyses, where they are the best estimates of relative risks that can be obtained. Theoretical mathematical arguments for using odds ratios in other circumstances have not been supported by empirical studies. In clinical trials and systematic reviews of trials there is no reason for compromising interpretation by reporting results in terms of odds rather than risks.4,5 Authors and journal editors should ensure that the results of trials and systematic reviews are reported as relative risks unless there is a convincing argument otherwise.
‘Don’t you talk to your prosthetist?’ Communicational problems in the prescription of artificial limbs

Purpose: People with lower-limb amputations are routinely fitted with an artificial limb. Good communication with prosthetists is vital in meeting patients’ needs in this process. The present study aimed to identify the salient issues surrounding problematic interaction between patients and prosthetists from the point of view of patients. Method: Three on-line discussion groups for people with lower-limb amputations were searched for all posts which discussed such issues. A total of 527 electronic messages comprised the data set, from 155 authors. All data served as the basis for analysis. Results: A phenomenologically-informed thematic analysis identified three themes: ‘Becoming a prosthesis user: Not knowing what to expect’; ‘Unmet expectations: Trying to get the prosthetist to do something’; and ‘Working with your prosthetist: The need to communicate well’. The presented results are illustrated with posts from 25 participants. Conclusions: The results indicate the need to improve communication between prosthetists and patients, including that prosthetists should strive to share more information, to communicate in more understandable language and to provide more opportunities for patients to make choices in the prosthesis prescription process. Implications for Rehabilitation Following amputation people are routinely fitted with an artificial limb as part of the rehabilitative process. The present study indicates the need to improve communication between prosthetists and patients. Patients need to receive more information and to be better supported in making choices in the prosthesis prescription process. There is a difficulty in bridging the gap between prosthetists’ and patients’ understandings of the embodied experience of prosthesis use and the prescription process which warrants further attention.
Family-Centered Care As a Western-Centric Model in Developing Countries: Luxury Versus Necessity

Family-centered care (FCC) is a model of care that emerged over many years and is broadly defined as promoting a partnership between the parents and health care professionals in the care of the child. Although recognized by many as the ideal way to care for children and families, previous reviews showed a lack of evidence for its efficacy. A recent Cochrane review recommended further rigorous research to assess the model's effect. Other reports emerged to ascertain FCC poor implementation. There is also a paucity of studies investigating the model outside the Western context. This article dissects the literature and provides a comprehensive summary on FCC in the context of limited resources versus best practice. Lessons learned from the literature for the reproducibility of the model in the developing world are provided. Considered a luxury, the autocratic health systems in most of these countries will not easily accept such a model of care except with a greater understanding and support for the model and high-quality research that can guide hospitals, health systems, and policy makers.
Rickettsia parkeri in Amblyomma maculatum Ticks, North Carolina, USA, 2009–2010

We detected Rickettsia parkeri in 20%−33% of Amblyomma maculatum ticks sampled in North Carolina. Results highlight the high frequencies of R. parkeri–infected ticks in the state with the highest annual incidence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Epidemiologic studies are needed to definitively link R. parkeri to cases of spotted fever rickettsiosis.
Bilateral conductive hearing impairment with hyperostosis of the temporal bone: a new finding in Robinow syndrome.

Robinow syndrome (RS) is characterized by hypertelorism, wide palpebral fissures with a short upturned nose, shortening of forearms and forelegs, and genital hypoplasia. The syndrome is classified into dominant (DRS) and recessive (RRS) types, each with distinguishing clinical findings. We evaluated a patient who was diagnosed as having RS with persistent hearing loss. Computed tomographic (CT) images showed ossicular chain changes and thickeningoftheskullandpetrousbones,withappositionalbonegrowth,causinganarrowingofthe middle ear cavity and oval and round window niches. These findings were confirmed during an exploratory tympanotomy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of conductive hearing loss in RS.
Diminishing Willingness to Pay per Quality‐Adjusted Life Year: Valuing Acute Foodborne Illness

We design and conduct a stated‐preference survey to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) to reduce foodborne risk of acute illness and to test whether WTP is proportional to the corresponding gain in expected quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs). If QALYs measure utility for health, then economic theory requires WTP to be nearly proportional to changes in both health quality and duration of illness and WTP could be estimated by multiplying the expected change in QALYs by an appropriate monetary value. WTP is elicited using double‐bounded, dichotomous‐choice questions in which respondents (randomly selected from the U.S. general adult population, n = 2,858) decide whether to purchase a more expensive food to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Health risks vary by baseline probability of illness, reduction in probability, duration and severity of illness, and conditional probability of mortality. The expected gain in QALYs is calculated using respondent‐assessed decrements in health‐related quality of life if ill combined with the duration of illness and reduction in probability specified in the survey. We find sharply diminishing marginal WTP for severity and duration of illness prevented. Our results suggest that individuals do not have a constant rate of WTP per QALY, which implies that WTP cannot be accurately estimated by multiplying the change in QALYs by an appropriate monetary value.
Simplification of antiretroviral therapy with tenofovir-emtricitabine or abacavir-Lamivudine: a randomized, 96-week trial.

BACKGROUND There are 2 once-daily, fixed-dose-combination, dual-nucleoside analogue tablets: tenofovir 300 mg-emtricitabine 200 mg (TDF-FTC) and abacavir 600 mg-lamivudine 300 mg (ABC-3TC). Which fixed-dose-combination tablet is more effective and safe is uncertain. METHODS We compared TDF-FTC and ABC-3TC in a randomized, open-label, 96-week trial in which either fixed-dose-combination was substituted for current nucleoside treatments in human leukocyte antigen-B*5701-negative adults with human immunodeficiency virus loads <50 copies/mL. The primary end point was virological failure (consecutive viral load measurements >400 copies/mL, by intention-to-treat). Secondary end points included death, AIDS, adverse events, serious non-AIDS events, metabolic parameters, and body composition. We used exact statistics for differences in proportions, T tests to compare means, and Cox regression for hazard ratios. RESULTS Of 441 patients who were screened, 357 were treated; 98% were men, the mean age was 45 years, 30% were receiving TDF, 20% were receiving ABC, and 24% were receiving a protease inhibitor. Virological failure was uncommon (5.6% for ABC-3TC and 3.9% for TDF-FTC; difference, 1.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.8% to 6.1%; P = .62). No participant developed AIDS, whereas 18 (5%) participants developed a serious non-AIDS event (rate, 2.79 events per 100 person-years; 95% CI, 1.76-4.43), of which 4 were fatal. TDF-FTC was associated with significantly fewer serious non-AIDS events than ABC-3TC (1.2 vs 4.8 events per 100 patient-years; hazard ratio [HR], 0.24; 95% CI, 0.08-0.73; P = .012), influenced mostly by a lower rate of cardiovascular events (0.3 vs 2.2 events per 100 patient-years; HR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.02-0.98; P = .048). TDF-FTC resulted in significantly lower bone mineral density (mean difference in hip t score, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.08-0.23; P < .001) but not in more fractures. CONCLUSIONS In this population, TDF-FTC and ABC-3TC had similar virological efficacy, but ABC-3TC was associated with more serious non-AIDS events, particularly cardiovascular events. Clinical trials registration. NCT00192634 .
Differenzielle Benotungen von Mädchen und Jungen

Zusammenfassung. Wir gehen der Frage nach, inwiefern Geschlechtsunterschiede in Noten darauf zuruckgefuhrt werden konnen, dass Lehrkrafte bei Jungen eine geringere Selbststeuerung im Lernen wahrnehmen als bei Madchen. Bei 1533 Madchen und Jungen aus 78 vierten Grundschulklassen wurden Halbjahresnoten fur Deutsch und Mathematik, standardisierte Testleistungen im Lesen und in Mathematik sowie Einschatzungen der Selbststeuerung im Lernen durch die Klassenlehrkraft erhoben. In Deutsch konnten die besseren Noten, die Madchen auch nach Kontrolle ihrer Lesekompetenz-Testleistungen hatten, teilweise durch die starkere von der Lehrkraft wahrgenommene Selbststeuerung im Lernen erklart werden. Fur Mathematik waren die Ergebnisse weniger klar interpretierbar. Nach Kontrolle des Einflusses der Testleistungen ergab sich keine Ungleichbenotung der Geschlechter. Wurden jedoch zusatzlich die Einschatzungen der Lehrkrafte zur Selbststeuerungsfahigkeit ihrer Schulerinnen und Schuler herauspartialisiert, so wurden Jungen in .
Influence of cultivar and ripening time on bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties in Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.).

BACKGROUND Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana) is an exotic fruit highly valued for its organoleptic properties and bioactive compounds. Considering that the presence of phenolics and ascorbic acid could contribute to its functional capacity, it is important to investigate the quality parameters, bioactive contents and functional properties with respect to genotype and ripening time. In this study the genotype effect was evaluated in 15 cultivars for two different harvest times. Changes during maturation were recorded in two commercial cultivars within seven levels of maturity. RESULTS Multivariate statistical analysis suggested that phenolic content and ORAC value were mainly affected by harvest time and that ascorbic acid content and DPPH level were mainly affected by genotype. In addition, acidity, phenolic content, ORAC value and inhibition of LDL oxidation decreased with maturity, but soluble solids content, ascorbic acid content, β-carotene content and DPPH-scavenging activity were higher in mature fruits. CONCLUSION The phenolic content, ascorbic acid content and antioxidant properties of Cape gooseberry fruit were strongly affected by cultivar, harvest time and maturity state. Consequently, the harvest time must be scheduled carefully to gain the highest proportion of bioactive compounds according to the specific cultivar and the environment where it is grown.
Acute hospital admissions of hospice patients.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS Research into acute hospital admissions (AHAs) of hospice patients is relatively underdeveloped. The goal of this study, based on the electronic health records (EHR) of a large Midwestern hospice service over a 3-year period, was to identify characteristics of new hospice patients that are associated with an increased risk of later AHAs. RESULTS Our study of a large and undifferentiated hospice population revealed several important new findings regarding AHA. We found these previously unreported factors associated with elevated AHA rates: 1) hospice diagnoses of terminal heart and lung disease compared with other diagnoses; and 2) the home care setting compared with the nursing home setting. Moreover, previous studies had not looked in detail at the timing of AHA over the course of hospice care or related the timing of AHA to the reason for AHA. CONCLUSIONS The future agenda for research on AHA of hospice patients should include studies of large and undifferentiated hospice populations like our own, but designed to capture data on socioeconomic status (SES), religion, race/ethnicity, the details of supportive care in place, and a look at specific factors surrounding individual AHAs.
Caveolae Localize Protein Kinase A Signaling to Arterial ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channels

Arterial ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels are critical regulators of vascular tone, forming a focal point for signaling by many vasoactive transmitters that alter smooth muscle contractility and so blood flow. Clinically, these channels form the target of antianginal and antihypertensive drugs, and their genetic disruption leads to hypertension and sudden cardiac death through coronary vasospasm. However, whereas the biochemical basis of KATP channel modulation is well-studied, little is known about the structural or spatial organization of the signaling pathways that converge on these channels. In this study, we use discontinuous sucrose density gradients and Western blot analysis to show that KATP channels localize with an upstream signaling partner, adenylyl cyclase, to smooth muscle membrane fractions containing caveolin, a protein found exclusively in cholesterol and sphingolipid-enriched membrane invaginations known as caveolae. Furthermore, we show that an antibody against the KATP pore-forming subunit, Kir6.1 co-immunoprecipitates caveolin from arterial homogenates, suggesting that Kir6.1 and caveolin exist together in a complex. To assess whether the colocalization of KATP channels and adenylyl cyclase to smooth muscle caveolae has functional significance, we disrupt caveolae with the cholesterol-depleting agent, methyl-&bgr;-cyclodextrin. This reduces the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A–sensitive component of whole-cell KATP current, indicating that the integrity of caveolae is important for adenylyl cyclase–mediated channel modulation. These results suggest that to be susceptible to protein kinase A–dependent activation, arterial KATP channels need to be localized in the same lipid compartment as adenylyl cyclase; the results also provide the first indication of the spatial organization of signaling pathways that regulate KATP channel activity.