Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Community structure and dispersal of mites (Acari, Mesostigmata) in nests of the white stork (Ciconia ciconia)

The fauna of Mesostigmata in nests of the white stork Ciconia ciconia was studied in the vicinity of Poznań (Poland). A total of 37 mite species was recovered from 11 of the 12 nests examined. The mite fauna was dominated by the family Macrochelidae. Macrocheles merdarius was the most abundant species, comprising 56% of all mites recovered. Most of the abundant mite species were associated with dung and coprophilous insects. It is likely that they were introduced into the nests by adult storks with dung as part of the nest material shortly before and after the hatching of the chicks.
Flicker Mitigation by Individual Pitch Control of Variable Speed Wind Turbines With DFIG

Due to the wind speed variation, wind shear and tower shadow effects, grid connected wind turbines are the sources of power fluctuations which may produce flicker during continuous operation. This paper presents a model of an MW-level variable-speed wind turbine with a doubly fed induction generatorto investigate the flicker emission and mitigation issues. An individual pitch control (IPC) strategy is proposed to reduce the flicker emission at different wind speed conditions. The IPC scheme is proposed and the individual pitch controller is designed according to the generator active power and the azimuth angle of the wind turbine. The simulations are performed on the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) 1.5-MW upwind reference wind turbine model. Simulation results show that damping the generator active power by IPC is an effective means for flicker mitigation of variable speed wind turbines during continuous operation.
Mallotus philippinensis Muell. Arg (Euphorbiaceae): Ethnopharmacology and Phytochemistry Review

Mallotus philippinensis Muell. Arg (Euphorbiaceae) are widely distributed perennial shrub or small tree in tropical and subtropical region in outer Himalayas regions with an altitude below 1,000 m and are reported to have wide range of pharmacological activities. Mallotus philippinensis species are known to contain different natural compounds, mainly phenols, diterpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, cardenolides, triterpenoids, coumarins, isocoumarins, and many more especially phenols; that is, bergenin, mallotophilippinens, rottlerin, and isorottlerin have been isolated, identified, and reported interesting biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiviral, cytotoxicity, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory activity protein inhibition against cancer cell. We have selected all the pharmacological aspects and toxicological and all its biological related studies. The present review reveals that Mallotus philippinensis is a valuable source of medicinally important natural molecules and provides convincing support for its future use in modern medicine. However, the existing knowledge is very limited about Mallotus philippinensis and its different parts like steam, leaf, and fruit. Further, more detailed safety data pertaining to the acute and subacute toxicity and cardio- and immunotoxicity also needs to be generated for crude extracts or its pure isolated compounds. This review underlines the interest to continue the study of this genus of the Euphorbiaceae.
Tracking characters in movies within logical story units

In this paper, we propose a methodology to allow movie character recognition and tracking within movie scenes. In detail, we present a combination of a tracking algorithm robust against the problems of the currently available face detection algorithms and a face recognition process. We test how effective the system is in terms of both face tracking effectiveness and precision-recall results obtained for the recognition of the main characters present in an input movie.
Advanced database methodology for the Collation of Connectivity data on the Macaque brain (CoCoMac).

The need to integrate massively increasing amounts of data on the mammalian brain has driven several ambitious neuroscientific database projects that were started during the last decade. Databasing the brain's anatomical connectivity as delivered by tracing studies is of particular importance as these data characterize fundamental structural constraints of the complex and poorly understood functional interactions between the components of real neural systems. Previous connectivity databases have been crucial for analysing anatomical brain circuitry in various species and have opened exciting new ways to interpret functional data, both from electrophysiological and from functional imaging studies. The eventual impact and success of connectivity databases, however, will require the resolution of several methodological problems that currently limit their use. These problems comprise four main points: (i) objective representation of coordinate-free, parcellation-based data, (ii) assessment of the reliability and precision of individual data, especially in the presence of contradictory reports, (iii) data mining and integration of large sets of partially redundant and contradictory data, and (iv) automatic and reproducible transformation of data between incongruent brain maps. Here, we present the specific implementation of the 'collation of connectivity data on the macaque brain' (CoCoMac) database (http://www.cocomac.org). The design of this database addresses the methodological challenges listed above, and focuses on experimental and computational neuroscientists' needs to flexibly analyse and process the large amount of published experimental data from tracing studies. In this article, we explain step-by-step the conceptual rationale and methodology of CoCoMac and demonstrate its practical use by an analysis of connectivity in the prefrontal cortex.
Performance of Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Using Multi-focus Fan Beam Collimator with Resolution Recovery Reconstruction in a Comparison with Conventional SPECT

Objective(s): IQ-SPECT is an advanced high-speed SPECT modality for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), which uses a multi-focus fan beam collimator with resolution recovery reconstruction. The aim of this study was to compare IQ-SPECT with conventional SPECT in terms of performance, based on standard clinical protocols. In addition, we examined the concordance between conventional and IQ_SPECT in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: Fifty-three patients, undergoing rest-gated MPI for the evaluation of known or suspected CAD, were enrolled in this study. In each patient, conventional SPECT (99mTc-tetrofosmin, 9.6 min and 201Tl, 12.9 min) was performed, immediately followed by IQ-SPECT, using a short acquisition time (4.3 min for 99mTc-tetrofosmin and 6.2 min for 201Tl). A quantitative analysis was performed on an MPI polar map, using a 20-segment model of the left ventricle. An automated analysis by gated SPECT was carried out to determine the left ventricular volume and function including end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The degree of concordance between conventional SPECT and IQ-SPECT images was evaluated according to linear regression and Bland-Altman analyses. Results: The segmental percent uptake exhibited a significant correlation between IQ-SPECT and conventional SPECT (P<0.05). The mean differences in 99mTc-tetrofosmin studies were 1.1±6.6% (apex), 2.8±5.7% (anterior wall), 2.9±6.2% (septal wall), 4.9±6.7% (lateral wall), and 1.8±5.6% (inferior wall). Meanwhile, regarding the 201Tl-SPECT studies, these values were 1.6±6.9%, 2.0±6.6%, 2.1±5.9%, 3.3±7.2%, and 2.4±5.8%, respectively. Although the mean LVEF in IQ-SPECT tended to be higher than that observed in conventional SPECT (conventional SPECT=64.8±11.8% and IQ-SPECT=68.3±12.1% for 99mTc-tetrofosmin; conventional SPECT= 56.0±11.7% and IQ-SPECT=61.5±12.2% for 201Tl), quantitative parameters were not significantly different between IQ-SPECT and conventional SPECT. Conclusion: According to the 99mTc-tetrofosmin and 201Tl protocols, IQ-SPECT images were comparable to and in agreement with conventional SPECT images. Our results suggest that IQ-SPECT is a useful technology for MPI SPECT, and can lead to an increase in scan efficiency and patient comfort.
Dynamic establishment of protection paths in WDM networks. Part I

In wavelength division multiplexed networks (WDM) with 1:1 path protection, a link-disjoint protection (backup) path is also set up at the time of setting up a working (primary) path. Hence, the failure of a single fiber-link does not cause huge data losses. This paper considers on-line routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) of protection paths in such networks. In particular, we study two strategies based on the 1:1 path protection scheme. The static strategy establishes protection paths such that once a route and wavelength have been chosen, they are not allowed to change. On the other hand, the dynamic strategy allows for re-arrangement of protection paths, that is, both the route and wavelength chosen for a protection path can change so as to accommodate a new request. With either strategy, we assume that the working paths cannot be re-arranged. This is to prevent the disruption of on-going traffic. The two strategies are compared on the basis of the number of connection requests that can be satisfied for a given number of wavelengths, assuming that the requests come one at a time, and wavelengths are assigned according to the first-fit policy. One of the results of our study is that, contrary to intuition, the static strategy performs better than the dynamic strategy.
Rent Dissipation, Political Viability, and the Strategic Adoption of Free Trade Agreements

This paper studies the political viability of free trade agreements (FTAs). The key element of the analysis is the "rent dissipation" that these arrangements induce: by eliminating intra-bloc trade barriers, an FTA lowers the incentives of the local firms to lobby for higher external tariffs, thereby inducing a reduction of the rents created in the lobbying process. The prospect of rent dissipation induces governments to support only FTAs that are "substantially" welfare improving, and no FTA that reduces national welfare. Accounting for the possibility of political turnover, rent dissipation also creates "strategic" motivations for the formation of FTAs. Specifically, a government facing a high enough probability of losing power may form a trading bloc simply to "tie the hands" of its successor. An FTA can affect the likelihood of political turnover as well. If the incumbent party has a known bias toward special interests, commitment to less distortionary policies would reduce its electoral disadvantage; the rent dissipation effect ensures that an FTA can serve as the vehicle for such a commitment.
Suicide among Major Mental Illnesses with Substance Use Disorders

Mental disorders are greatly associated with high rates of suicide[1]. In fact, suicides and attempted suicides are very rare in the absence of major mental illnesses[2-8]. The major risk factor for suicide is mostly an untreated and frequently undiagnosed mental disorder[9]. The key predictors of suicide comprises psychiatric risk factors such as an underlying depression, schizophrenia and substance use disorder along with the presence of psychosocial and demographic factors[2-4]. Harris and Barraclough[1] in their meta-analysis suggest that virtually all mental disorders, except mental retardation and dementia, have an increased risk of suicide. Research suggests the presence of atleast one untreated major mental disorder, mostly major depression (56-87%), Substance Use Disorder (SUD) (26-55%), and schizophrenia (6-13%) in more than 90% of suicide victims and attempters. Unipolar major depression and schizophrenia are the commonest psychiatric illnesses in the background of suicide[9]. Co morbid anxiety and personality disorders along with concomitant serious medical disorders are also frequently associated with an increased risk[2-8,10]. Based on data from 1921-1975 and on calculations performed before computerized modelling techniques became available, the lifetime risks of suicide are estimated to be 15% for affective disorder and alcoholism, and 10% for schizophrenia[11]. However, a recalculation of suicide risk using contemporary data and modern techniques by Inskip et al[11]. estimates the lifetime risk for affective disorder as 6% , 7% for alcohol dependence and 4% for schizophrenia. The authors suggest that the lifetime suicide risk figures often cited in the literature appear to be too high.
Contractual certainty in international trade : empirical studies and theoretical debates on institutional support for global economic exchanges

Global business interacts efficiently despite the heterogeneity of social, economic and legal cultures which, according to widespread assumptions, cause insecurities and uncertainties. Breaches of contracts may occur more frequently and business relationships may be terminated more often in international than in domestic trade. But most business people engaged in exporting or importing products or services seem to operate in a sufficiently predictable environment allowing successful ventures into the global market. The apparent paradox presented by cultural/institutional diversity and contractual efficiency in cross-border business transactions is the focus of this volume of essays. The wide range of approaches adopted by contributors to the volume include: the Weberian concept of law as a tool for avoiding the risk of opportunism; economic sociology, which treats networks and relationships between contractual parties as paramount; representatives of new institutional economics who discuss law as well as private governance institutions as most efficient responses to risk; comparative economic sociologists who point to the varieties of legal cultures in the social organisation of trust; and national and international institutions such as the World Bank which try to promote legal certainty in the economy. The purpose of the volume is to build on this interdisciplinary exercise by adding empirical evidence to ongoing debates regarding enabling structures for international business, and by critically reviewing and discussing some of the propositions in the literature which contain interesting hypotheses on the effects of the internationalisation of markets on market co-ordination institutions and on the role of the state in the globalising economy.
Pinning of Elastic Vortex Bundle by Large Defect in High-Temperature Superconductors

We present a model of flux pinning in a superconductor with relatively large nonsuperconducting spherical particles. Minimizing the total energy of a pinned vortex bundle we deduce equations for pinning force and critical current density. The calculated field dependencies of both quantities are in a good agreement with the earlier reported empirical formula and numerous experimental data for RE-Ba-Cu-O melt-textured superconductors.
Mirror Visual Feedback Training Improves Intermanual Transfer in a Sport-Specific Task: A Comparison between Different Skill Levels

Mirror training therapy is a promising tool to initiate neural plasticity and facilitate the recovery process of motor skills after diseases such as stroke or hemiparesis by improving the intermanual transfer of fine motor skills in healthy people as well as in patients. This study evaluated whether these augmented performance improvements by mirror visual feedback (MVF) could be used for learning a sport-specific skill and if the effects are modulated by skill level. A sample of 39 young, healthy, and experienced basketball and handball players and 41 novices performed a stationary basketball dribble task at a mirror box in a standing position and received either MVF or direct feedback. After four training days using only the right hand, performance of both hands improved from pre- to posttest measurements. Only the left hand (untrained) performance of the experienced participants receiving MVF was more pronounced than for the control group. This indicates that intermanual motor transfer can be improved by MVF in a sport-specific task. However, this effect cannot be generalized to motor learning per se since it is modulated by individuals' skill level, a factor that might be considered in mirror therapy research.
Wide-band polarimetric radar inversion studies for vegetation layers

The authors show how the entropy-alpha target decomposition scheme may be used for parametric inversion studies on random particle cloud models for vegetation layers. The decomposition is detailed first and then applied to a two-parameter model for backscatter from a random cloud of small anisotropic particles. The two main parameters used are the mean particle shape and the mean orientation angle of the cloud. An inversion algorithm is presented and applied to broad-band polarimetric radar data from the European Microwave Signature Laboratory (EMSL), Joint Research Center, Ispra, Italy. The results have been obtained from measurements of a fir tree and a ficus tree. They show a wavelength scale dependence of the shape and distribution of scatterers, which reflects the complex volume scattering nature of such problems. Moreover, the values and trends from these two trees as a function of the frequency are different, as expected from their physical structures. Consequently, this algorithm has the potential to be useful in the construction of classification schemes for vegetation.
The Use of DNA Barcoding in Identification and Conservation of Rosewood (Dalbergia spp.)

The genus Dalbergia contains many valuable timber species threatened by illegal logging and deforestation, but knowledge on distributions and threats is often limited and accurate species identification difficult. The aim of this study was to apply DNA barcoding methods to support conservation efforts of Dalbergia species in Indochina. We used the recommended rbcL, matK and ITS barcoding markers on 95 samples covering 31 species of Dalbergia, and tested their discrimination ability with both traditional distance-based as well as different model-based machine learning methods. We specifically tested whether the markers could be used to solve taxonomic confusion concerning the timber species Dalbergia oliveri, and to identify the CITES-listed Dalbergia cochinchinensis. We also applied the barcoding markers to 14 samples of unknown identity. In general, we found that the barcoding markers discriminated among Dalbergia species with high accuracy. We found that ITS yielded the single highest discrimination rate (100%), but due to difficulties in obtaining high-quality sequences from degraded material, the better overall choice for Dalbergia seems to be the standard rbcL+matK barcode, as this yielded discrimination rates close to 90% and amplified well. The distance-based method TaxonDNA showed the highest identification rates overall, although a more complete specimen sampling is needed to conclude on the best analytic method. We found strong support for a monophyletic Dalbergia oliveri and encourage that this name is used consistently in Indochina. The CITES-listed Dalbergia cochinchinensis was successfully identified, and a species-specific assay can be developed from the data generated in this study for the identification of illegally traded timber. We suggest that the use of DNA barcoding is integrated into the work flow during floristic studies and at national herbaria in the region, as this could significantly increase the number of identified specimens and improve knowledge about species distributions.
Individuals' diet diversity influences gut microbial diversity in two freshwater fish (threespine stickleback and Eurasian perch)

Vertebrates' diets profoundly influence the composition of symbiotic gut microbial communities. Studies documenting diet-microbiota associations typically focus on univariate or categorical diet variables. However, in nature individuals often consume diverse combinations of foods. If diet components act independently, each providing distinct microbial colonists or nutrients, we expect a positive relationship between diet diversity and microbial diversity. We tested this prediction within each of two fish species (stickleback and perch), in which individuals vary in their propensity to eat littoral or pelagic invertebrates or mixtures of both prey. Unexpectedly, in most cases individuals with more generalised diets had less diverse microbiota than dietary specialists, in both natural and laboratory populations. This negative association between diet diversity and microbial diversity was small but significant, and most apparent after accounting for complex interactions between sex, size and diet. Our results suggest that multiple diet components can interact non-additively to influence gut microbial diversity.
Neighborhood Level Disadvantage, Race/Ethnicity and Infant Mortality in Washington DC

Title of Document: NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL DISADVANTAGE,RACE/ETHNICITY AND INFANT MORTALITY IN WASHINGTON DC Ndidiamaka Nneoma Amutah Doctor of Philosophy, 2010 Directed By: Dr. Sandra L. Hofferth Professor & Dr. Elaine A. Anderson, Professor, Co-Chairs Department of Family Science This study examines the effects of neighborhood level disadvantage and individual level characteristics such as race/ethnicity on infant mortality. Soci al determinants of health theory and ecological theory were used to construct a neighborhood advantage index for Washington DC. Secondary analyses were conducted using linked birth/death certificate and census data from the DC State Center for He alth Statistics. Live births (55,938) and infant deaths (607) occurring in Washington DC from 20012007 were examined. Multilevel modeling techniques were utilized to determine the relationship between individual and neighborhood level factors on infant mortality. The research questions were: (a) Do women who are comparable on factors such as maternal education and marital status experience different rates of i nfant mortality by race? (b) Do women living in areas of high disadvantage experience higher ra tes of infant mortality than women living in areas of low disadvantage? (c) Does the effect of race/ethnicity on infant mortality change if the mother lives in a plac e of high disadvantage versus low disadvantage? (d) Does having an infant born preterm or low birth weight increase the risk of infant mortality? Whites have the lowest r ates of infant mortality (2.8/1000), followed by Hispanics (7.4/1000), with Blacks having the highest rates (15.2/1000) after adjusting for age, education, and marital stat us. These findings are consistent with previous research affirming a relationship betw een race/ethnicity and infant mortality. Infants born in disadvantaged neighborhoods a re 1.63 times more likely to die before their first birthday than those born in advantaged neighborhoods. The odds for infant mortality compared to Whites decreases especially for Blacks (5.39 to 3.10; 42% change), living in disadvantaged communities even when race/ethnicity was interacted with the neighborhood disadvantage index. This suggests that disadvantage has different consequences for different race/ethnicity populations living in those neighborhoods. The importance of place (disadvantaged or advantaged neighborhood) in relation to infant mortality at the neighborhood level in addition to improving individual level factors is discussed for program development and policymakers. Implications for health disparities, maternal and child health, social support and future public health research are presented. NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL DISADVANTAGE, RACE/ETHNICITY AND INFANT MORTALITY IN WASHINGTON DC.