Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tracking climate change in a dispersal‐limited species: reduced spatial and genetic connectivity in a montane salamander

Tropical montane taxa are often locally adapted to very specific climatic conditions, contributing to their lower dispersal potential across complex landscapes. Climate and landscape features in montane regions affect population genetic structure in predictable ways, yet few empirical studies quantify the effects of both factors in shaping genetic structure of montane‐adapted taxa. Here, we considered temporal and spatial variability in climate to explain contemporary genetic differentiation between populations of the montane salamander, Pseudoeurycea leprosa. Specifically, we used ecological niche modelling (ENM) and measured spatial connectivity and gene flow (using both mtDNA and microsatellite markers) across extant populations of P. leprosa in the Trans‐Mexican Volcanic Belt (TVB). Our results indicate significant spatial and genetic isolation among populations, but we cannot distinguish between isolation by distance over time or current landscape barriers as mechanisms shaping population genetic divergences. Combining ecological niche modelling, spatial connectivity analyses, and historical and contemporary genetic signatures from different classes of genetic markers allows for inference of historical evolutionary processes and predictions of the impacts future climate change will have on the genetic diversity of montane taxa with low dispersal rates. Pseudoeurycea leprosa is one montane species among many endemic to this region and thus is a case study for the continued persistence of spatially and genetically isolated populations in the highly biodiverse TVB of central Mexico.
Isolation and characterization of neural progenitor cells from post‐mortem human cortex

Post‐mortem human brain tissue represents a vast potential source of neural progenitor cells for use in basic research as well as therapeutic applications. Here we describe five human neural progenitor cell cultures derived from cortical tissue harvested from premature infants. Time‐lapse videomicrography of the passaged cultures revealed them to be highly dynamic, with high motility and extensive, evanescent intercellular contacts. Karyotyping revealed normal chromosomal complements. Prior to differentiation, most of the cells were nestin, Sox2, vimentin, and/or GFAP positive, and a subpopulation was doublecortin positive. Multilineage potential of these cells was demonstrated after differentiation, with some subpopulations of cells expressing the neuronal markers β‐tubulin, MAP2ab, NeuN, FMRP, and Tau and others expressing the oligodendroglial marker O1. Still other cells expressed the classic glial marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). RT‐PCR confirmed nestin, SOX2, GFAP, and doublecortin expression and also showed epidermal growth factor receptor and nucleostemin expression during the expansion phase. Flow cytometry showed high levels of the neural stem cell markers CD133, CD44, CD81, CD184, CD90, and CD29. CD133 markedly decreased in high‐passage, lineage‐restricted cultures. Electrophysiological analysis after differentiation demonstrated that the majority of cells with neuronal morphology expressed voltage‐gated sodium and potassium currents. These data suggest that post‐mortem human brain tissue is an important source of neural progenitor cells that will be useful for analysis of neural differentiation and for transplantation studies. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pitch Canvas: Touchscreen Based Mobile Music Instrument

Mobile music applications are typically quite limiting to musicians, as they either attempt to mimic non-touchscreen interfaces or do not offer enough control. Pitch Canvas is a musical interface that was built specifically for the touchscreen, with the goal of providing the same depth and flexibility as traditional instruments without virtualizing an existing physical interface. Pitches are laid out in a hexagonal pattern that allow for easy scale, chord, and arpeggiation patterns, while notes are played by touch but sustained through continuous movement. Pitch bends can be achieved by passing through the space between the notes, allowing slides, slurs, and rudimentary vibrato. The current implementation of the interface runs only on Apple iPad tablet computers using libPd [1] to convert user interaction into audio. An iPad overlay offers physical feedback for the circles as well as the pitch bend area between the circles. A performable version of the application has been built, though several active developments allow alternative sonic interpretation of the gestures, enhanced visual response to user interaction, and the ability to control the instrument with multiple devices.
Greedy generation of non-binary codes

We get a B-ordering of all binary n-tuples V/sub n/ by choosing an ordered basis (y/sub 1/, ., y/sub n/) of V/sub n/ and ordering the n-tuples as follows: 0, y/sub 1/, y/sub 2/, y/sub 2/+y/sub 1/, y/sub 3/, y/sub 3/+y/sub 1/, y/sub 3/+y/sub 2/, y/sub 3/+y/sub 2/+y/sub 1/, y/sub 4/, . Given a minimum distance d, choose a set of vectors S with the zero vector first, then go through the vectors in their B-ordering and choose the next vector which has distance d or more from all vectors already chosen. The surprising result that S is linear has been shown in several different ways. Linear codes found in this fashion are called greedy codes. We also look at the non-binary case. One can generalize the concept of B-ordering to the case of an arbitrary base field. We also look at the parity check matrix.
Permutation-free convolutive blind source separation via full-band clustering based on frequency-independent source presence priors

We propose permutation-free frequency-domain blind source separation (BSS) via full-band clustering of the time-frequency (T-F) components based on time-varying signal presence priors. Frequency-domain methods of BSS usually process each frequency bin separately, and therefore necessitate the subsequent alignment of the permutation ambiguity that arises between frequency bins. In contrast, the proposed method simultaneously processes all frequency bins by using a mixture model with time-varying, frequency-independent mixture weights. We propose to assume non-sparse priors on the mixture weights to prevent the degradation of source separation performance by the time-varying mixture weights. We propose a customized expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation of the model parameters, to which we introduce a novel technique to avoid convergence to local maxima. For audio source separation, we use the normalized observation vector as the feature vector, and theWatson mixture model (WMM) as the mixture model. Evaluations confirm that the proposed permutation-free BSS results in source separation performance comparable to the state-of-the-art clustering-based BSS composed of bin-wise clustering and permutation alignment.
Super-Resolution Radar

In this paper we study the identication of a time-varying linear system from its response to a known input signal. More specically, we consider systems whose response to the input signal is given by a weighted superposition of delayed and Doppler shifted versions of the input. This problem arises in a multitude of applications such as wireless communications and radar imaging. Due to practical constraints, the input signal has nite bandwidth, and the received signal is observed over a nite time interval of length T only. This gives rise to a delay and Doppler resolution of 1=B and 1=T . We show that this resolution limit can be overcome, i.e., we can exactly recover the continuous delay-Doppler pairs and the corresponding attenuation factors, by solving a convex optimization problem. This result holds provided that the distance between the delay-Doppler pairs is at least 2:37=B in time or 2:37=T in frequency. Furthermore, this result allows the total number of delay-Doppler pairs to be linear up to a log-factor in BT , the dimensionality of the response of the system, and thereby the limit for identiability. Stated
Coexpression of δ- and μ-opioid receptors in nociceptive sensory neurons

Morphine-induced analgesia and antinociceptive tolerance are known to be modulated by interaction between δ-opioid receptors (DORs) and μ-opioid receptors (MORs) in the pain pathway. However, evidence for expression of DORs in nociceptive small-diameter neurons in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and for coexistence of DORs with MORs and neuropeptides has recently been challenged. We now report, using in situ hybridization, single-cell PCR, and immunostaining, that DORs are widely expressed not only in large DRG neurons but in small ones and coexist with MORs in peptidergic small DRG neurons, with protachykinin-dependent localization in large dense-core vesicles. Importantly, both DOR and MOR agonists reduce depolarization-induced Ca2+ currents in single small DRG neurons and inhibit afferent C-fiber synaptic transmission in the dorsal spinal cord. Thus, coexistence of DORs and MORs in small DRG neurons is a basis for direct interaction of opioid receptors in modulation of nociceptive afferent transmission and opioid analgesia.
Identity in foreign language learning and teaching : why listening to our students ’ and teachers ’ voices really matters

2 Introduction . 3 Background: identity in foreign language learning and teaching . 4 Key methodological details . 6 Key findings . 7 Discussion and implications . 16 References . 19 Appendix . 21
Analytical approach to parallel repetition

We propose an analytical framework for studying parallel repetition, a basic product operation for one-round twoplayer games. In this framework, we consider a relaxation of the value of projection games. We show that this relaxation is multiplicative with respect to parallel repetition and that it provides a good approximation to the game value. Based on this relaxation, we prove the following improved parallel repetition bound: For every projection game G with value at most ρ, the k-fold parallel repetition G⊗k has value at most [EQUATION] This statement implies a parallel repetition bound for projection games with low value ρ. Previously, it was not known whether parallel repetition decreases the value of such games. This result allows us to show that approximating set cover to within factor (1 --- ε) ln n is NP-hard for every ε > 0, strengthening Feige's quasi-NP-hardness and also building on previous work by Moshkovitz and Raz. In this framework, we also show improved bounds for few parallel repetitions of projection games, showing that Raz's counterexample to strong parallel repetition is tight even for a small number of repetitions. Finally, we also give a short proof for the NP-hardness of label cover(1, δ) for all δ > 0, starting from the basic PCP theorem.
Hardware-software-balanced resampling for the interactive visualization of unstructured grids

In this paper we address the problem of interactively resampling unstructured grids. Three algorithms are presented. They all allow adaptive resampling of an unstructured grid on a multiresolution hierarchy of arbitrarily sized cartesian grids according to a varying element size. Two of the algorithms presented take advantage of hardware accelerated polygon rendering and 2D texture mapping. In exploiting new features of modem PC graphics adapters, the first algorithm tries to significantly minimize the number of polygons to be rendered. Reducing rasterization requirements is the main goal of the second algorithm, which distributes the computational workload differently between the main processor and the graphics chip. By comparing them to a new pure software approach, an optimal software-hardware balance is studied. We end up with a hybrid approach which greatly improves the performance of hardware assisted resampling by involving the main processor to a higher degree and thus enabling resampling at nearly interactive rates.
Exposure Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Their Metabolites in the Aquatic Environment: Application to the French Situation and Preliminary Prioritization

ABSTRACT Low levels of pharmaceuticals have been detected in many countries in surface waters. As a wide range of pharmaceuticals can reach aquatic environments, a selection of molecules to survey is the first step before implementing a monitoring program. We used a simple equation to calculate Predicted Environmental Concentrations (PECs), adapted from the European Medicine Agency model used for the Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) of human pharmaceutical. Excretion fractions for pharmaceuticals were determined for 76 compounds. Using year 2004 French drug consumption data, we determined aquatic PECs for 112 parent molecules and several metabolites. Considering excretion fractions of pharmaceuticals can lead to drastically reduce predicted concentrations reaching the aquatic environment and help to target environmentally relevant pharmaceuticals and metabolites. Calculated PECs using the described methodology are consistent with French field measurements. The simple model for calculating PECs can be used as a valuable estimation of the exposure. Risk quotient ratios were also calculated. Due to the lack of ecotoxicological data, the use of PEC/PNEC ratios is not enough informative to prioritize pharmaceuticals likely to pose a risk for surface waters. Alternative ways to prioritize risk to pharmaceuticals, combining PEC, pharmacological, and ecotoxicological data available from the literature, should be implemented.
A feedback linearizing control scheme for a PWM converter-inverter having a very small DC-link capacitor

This paper addresses a control method of reducing the size of the DC link capacitors of a power converter-inverter system. The main idea is to utilise the inverter operation status in the current control of the power converter. Specifically, information on the load power is incorporated in synthesizing the converter current control input so that a proper DC voltage level is maintained. The authors describe the dynamics of load current and apply feedback linearization theory to obtain an input output linearized system. Theoretically, this control strategy is effective in regulating the DC voltage level even though the DC link capacitor is arbitrarily small and load varies abruptly. The superior performance is demonstrated through simulation and experiment. Experiment was performed with a 9 kW PWM power converter-vector inverter system having a 75 /spl mu/F DC-link capacitor.
Nonlinear GARCH Models for Highly Persistent Volatility 1

In this paper we study a new class of nonlinear GARCH models. Special interest is devoted to models that are similar to previously introduced smooth transition GARCH models except for the novel feature that a lagged value of conditional variance is used as the transition variable. This choice of the transition variable is mainly motivated by the desire to find useful models for highly persistent volatility. The underlying idea is that high persistence in conditional variance is related to relatively infrequent changes in regime which can be captured by a suitable specification of the new model. Using the theory of Markov chains we provide sufficient conditions for the stationarity and existence of moments of various smooth transition GARCH models and even more general nonlinear GARCH models. Empirical applications to two exchange rate return series demonstrate the differences between the new model and conventional GARCH models. We would like to thank Mika Meitz for useful comments. The usual disclaimer applies. Financial support from the Research Unit of Economic Structures and Growth (RUESG) in the University of Helsinki, the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, and the European Comission under the Training and Mobility of Researchers Programme is gratefully acknowledged. Part of this research was done while the first author was visiting the Institute of Statistics and Econometrics at the Humboldt University in Berlin, whose hospitality is gratefully acknowledged.
Dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors: A model for examining the effects of pathology versus seizures on cognitive dysfunction in epilepsy

Dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNTs) provide a unique model for studying the effects of seizures on cognitive development. Epilepsy and antiepileptic medications are prominent features in the lives and schooling of people who develop seizures in childhood. People with an adult onset share the same underlying brain pathology, but their childhood development is unaffected by seizures. Therefore, DNTs provide a model to examine the specific influence of seizures and their treatment on cognitive development, over and above the effects of the underlying pathology in epilepsy.
Spatial and temporal variation in littoral-zone fish communities: a new statistical approach

Through the use of principal coordinates analysis, a technique is presented that allows the quantitative partitioning of the total variation within a data set into its spatial and temporal components. The graphical nature of this technique, in combination with the quantitative results, aids in the examination of specific hypotheses regarding the structure of the variation. These hypotheses are tested against null or model matrices of the structure of the variation with statistical significance assessed using Mantelis test. This approach is applied to a data set of speciesi abundances from the littoral-zone fish communities of three Ontario lakes sampled three separate times. The variation was partitioned and the influence of different similarity measures was explored. Among-lake (spatial) variation accounted for 67n81% of the total variation. The time of sampling represented 1n3% of the total. There was significant among-lake variation for all three sampling periods whereas only one lake showed a significant temporal component. Together, both lake and time of sampling accounted for 74n86% of the variation, the remainder being within-lake variation (i.e., among-site or site-by-time interactions). The structure of the variation was sensitive to the similarity measure used as a result of differing emphasis on particular attributes (e.g., relative versus absolute abundance).
Which difficulties and resources do vocational teachers perceive? An exploratory study setting the stage for investigating teachers’ resilience in Switzerland

ABSTRACT Based on an ecological view of teacher resilience, the paper investigates perceived difficulties and resources among vocational education and training (VET) teachers as a first step for investigating teachers’ resilience. Given the substantial shortage of theoretical and empirical studies on this population, more research on resilience among VET teachers is necessary and relevant. In this exploratory qualitative study, interviews with VET teachers in Switzerland (n = 37) sought to identify the specific challenges faced by teachers, the resources to be addressed. As well as confirming the different critical challenges and protective factors emerging from the literature review, the results identify difficulties and resources specific to VET teachers in Switzerland. In terms of critical challenges at a macro-contextual level, teachers’ low social recognition is emphasised. Moreover, exposure to curricular reforms generates stress and pressure related to the required standardisation of content and subject changes. At a micro-system level, we detected teachers’ frustration in relation to students’ low vocational motivation and maturity and specific emerging instructional challenges in vocational subject teaching. In terms of resources, teachers perceived the possibility of diversifying their professional role by alternating school and extracurricular activities as a supportive factor. The results provide a basis for more extensive quantitative study investigating relationship among adversities and resources and resilient strategies.
The Mellow Years?: Neural Basis of Improving Emotional Stability over Age

Contrary to the pervasive negative stereotypes of human aging, emotional functions may improve with advancing age. However, the brain mechanisms underlying changes in emotional function over age remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that emotional stability improves linearly over seven decades (12–79 years) of the human lifespan. We used both functional magnetic resonance imaging and event-related potential recording to examine the neural basis of this improvement. With these multimodal techniques, we show that better stability is predicted by a shift toward greater medial prefrontal control over negative emotional input associated with increased activity later in the processing sequence (beyond 200 ms after stimulus) and less control over positive input, related to a decrease in early activity (within 150 ms). This shift was independent from gray matter loss, indexed by structural magnetic resonance data. We propose an integrative model in which accumulated life experience and the motivation for meaning over acquisition in older age contribute to plasticity of medial prefrontal systems, achieving a greater selective control over emotional functions.
Probability Bounds for Two-Dimensional Algebraic Lattice Codes

In this paper we provide easily computable probability bounds for the correct decision for an eavesdropper, over a fast fading channel, when coset coding using two-dimensional algebraic lattices is employed. These bounds are stated in terms of the group of units and Dedekind zeta function of the underlying number field.
The Things that Help, the Things that Get in the Way: Working Together to Improve Outcome Following Acquired Brain Injury

Working in neurological rehabilitation brings with it numerous opportunities to gain an understanding of the factors that contribute to shaping meaningful living and wellbeing for those tackling the major life changes encountered following acquired brain injury (ABI). These opportunities come in many forms: challenging and brave clients, wise and worrying families, questioning and inspiring colleagues, empowering and limiting work environments and rigid and advancing policy and legislative contexts. Our personal and collective understanding of the things that help and the things that get in the way of effective rehabilitation continuously emerges from the convergence of the experience and knowledge afforded by these opportunities. The aim of this paper is to consider the things that help and the things that get in the way as they have been identified by people with ABI, their families and those who work with them and have been further evidenced through research targeted towards improving short, medium and long-term outcomes for those living with the consequences of ABI. These things as discussed in this paper capture the essential role of the self, the importance of rights and access to rehabilitation, the impact of the family and the contribution of social connection.