Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Larval Anatomy of the Bee Tetragonula sapiens (Cockerell) (Meliponini); Further on the Larva of Melipona fallax Camargo and Pedro, with a Preliminary Characterization of Mature Larval Meliponini; and Analysis of Multipronged Spicules (Apoidea: Apidae)

ABSTRACT The small (length less than 6 mm) postdefecating larva of Tetragonula (Tetragonula) sapiens (Cockerell) from the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea is described and illustrated, the first representation of the immature stage for any member of this genus of stingless bees. A reexamination of the recently described larva of Melipona fallax Camargo and Pedro using a new technique reveals valuable insights regarding its integumental microstructures. On the basis of these findings and previously published accounts of larval representatives of five other genera (Melipona, Nogueirapis, Partamona, Plebeia, and Trigonisca), a preliminary description of the mature larva of the tribe Meliponini is presented. Multipronged spicules, recently discovered in meliponines, are investigated.
Effect of Irradiation on Quality and Fertility Parameters of Drosophila suzukii1 in Mexico

Abstract. Spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), is regulated in Mexico because of economic damage it causes to crops. Demands for export products in national and international markets are increasing, and compliance with mitigation measures in the field is required to minimize use of insecticide. It is necessary to develop environmentally friendly alternatives, such as the sterile insect technique, that also might be part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program. Effects of irradiation with Cobalt-60 on quality parameters (emergence rate, longevity, and flight ability) and fertility of D. suzukii adults were evaluated. Adults emerged from 5-day-old irradiated pupae reared on artificial diet. Doses of radiation evaluated were 60, 70, 80, 90, 180, and 200 Gy. No significant statistical differences between irradiated and non-irradiated flies were observed in quality parameters, emergence rate of 53.667–74% (F 8,12 = 1.55, P = 0.2433), longevity of 51.53–40.22 hours (F8,12 = 0.24, P = 0.9544), and flight percentage 36–54.30% (F6,14 = 2.05, P = 0.1258). One hundred percent of sterility induction was determined at 180 and 200 Gy, and fertility of D. suzukii females pre-confined with irradiated males and post-confined with fertile males gradually recovered. Data suggested the use of the sterile insect technique is promising as a component of an IPM program to control D. suzukii.
Distinct Neural Mechanisms Meet Challenges in Dynamic Visual Attention due to Either Load or Object Spacing

When engaged in dynamic visuospatial tasks, the brain copes with perceptual and cognitive processing challenges. During multiple-object tracking (MOT), the number of objects to be tracked (i.e., load) imposes attentional demands, but so does spatial interference from irrelevant objects (i.e., close encounters). Presently, it is not clear whether the effect of load on accuracy solely depends on the number of close encounters. If so, the same cognitive and physiological mechanisms deal with increasing load by preparing for and dealing with spatial interference. However, this has never been directly tested. Such knowledge is important to understand the neurophysiology of dynamic visual attention and resolve conflicting views within visual cognition concerning sources of capacity limitations. We varied the processing challenge in MOT task in two ways: the number of targets and the minimum spatial proximity between targets and distractors. In a first experiment, we measured task-induced pupil dilations and saccades during MOT. In a separate cohort, we measured fMRI activity. In both cohorts, increased load and close encounters (i.e., close spatial proximity) led to reduced accuracy in an additive manner. Load was associated with pupil dilations, whereas close encounters were not. Activity in dorsal attentional areas and frequency of saccades were proportionally larger both with higher levels of load and close encounters. Close encounters recruited additionally ventral attentional areas that may reflect orienting mechanisms. The activity in two brainstem nuclei, ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra and locus coeruleus, showed clearly dissociated patterns. Our results constitute convergent evidence indicating that different mechanisms underlie processing challenges due to load and object spacing.
Neural networks are a priori biased towards Boolean functions with low entropy

Understanding the inductive bias of neural networks is critical to explaining their ability to generalise. Here, for one of the simplest neural networks -- a single-layer perceptron with $n$ input neurons, one output neuron, and no threshold bias term -- we prove that upon random initialisation of weights, the a priori probability $P(t)$ that it represents a Boolean function that classifies $t$ points in $\{0,1\}^n$ as $1$ has a remarkably simple form: $ P(t) = 2^{-n} \,\, {\rm for} \,\, 0\leq t < 2^n$. Since a perceptron can express far fewer Boolean functions with small or large values of $t$ (low "entropy") than with intermediate values of $t$ (high "entropy") there is, on average, a strong intrinsic a-priori bias towards individual functions with low entropy. Furthermore, within a class of functions with fixed $t$, we often observe a further intrinsic bias towards functions of lower complexity. Finally, we prove that, regardless of the distribution of inputs, the bias towards low entropy becomes monotonically stronger upon adding ReLU layers, and empirically show that increasing the variance of the bias term has a similar effect.
Vegetable but not animal protein intake is associated to a better physical performance: a study on a general population sample of adults

Background The research was conducted in the frame of a population-based, case control study, called Genes Environment Interaction in Respiratory Disease. Objective To assess the association between protein intake and physical performance in a general population sample. Design Researchers investigated the association between the participants’ dietary information and their physical performance using the 6-min walking test and the distance walked in metres (6MWD) as main outcome measure. Information on dietary intake was collected using the validated European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition food frequency questionnaires (FFQs). Then, daily intake of energy and macronutrients was estimated by means of the NAF software (nutritional analysis of FFQ). Linear regression models were used to evaluate the associations between vegetable, animal and total protein intakes and the 6MWD. The models were adjusted for socio-demographic features, total fats and available carbohydrate intakes. Results The participants were 223 subjects (57% females) aged between 23 and 68 years. Their mean vegetable and animal proteins intake for gram/kg of body weight/day were, respectively, 0.4 and 0.7. After adjusting for all the potential confounders, there was a significant increase of 20.0 (95% CI 0.8; 39.2) m in the distance walked for an increase in 10 g/day of vegetable proteins and non-significant variations of −1.8 (95% CI −9.3; 5.7) m for an increase in 10 g/day of animal proteins and of 0.5 (95% CI −6.8; 7.7) for an increase in 10 g/day of total proteins. Discussion and conclusions Our result suggests a positive role of vegetable proteins on physical performance. Whether this result is related to the high protein intake itself or may be a consequence of the other properties of plant-based foods deserves further investigation.
Current Concepts in Rotator Cuff Repair Techniques: Biomechanical, Functional, and Structural Outcomes

There is substantial evidence indicating that double-row (DR) repair restores more of the anatomic rotator cuff footprint and is biomechanically superior to single-row (SR) repair. Transosseous-equivalent (TOE) techniques have shown biomechanical advantages when compared with traditional DR, including increased contact at the rotator cuff footprint, higher pressure at the tendon-bone interface, and increased failure strength. Several meta-analyses of evidence level 1 and 2 studies have shown a lower rate of failed/incomplete healing when DR repair was compared with SR repair types. There is some limited evidence that TOE techniques improve healing rates in large and massive tears as compared with SR and DR. Overall, most level 1 and 2 studies have failed to prove a significant difference between SR and DR repairs in terms of clinical outcomes. However, most studies include only short-term follow-up, minimizing the impact that the higher rate of retears/failed healing seen with SR repairs can have in the long term. There are no high-quality clinical studies comparing different DR configurations, and there are currently not enough clinical data to determine the functional advantages of various DR technique modifications over one another. Although numerous biomechanical and clinical studies comparing different rotator cuff repair techniques have been published in the past decade, none has achieved universal acceptance. It is essential for the orthopaedic surgeon to know in detail the available literature to be able to apply the most appropriate and cost-effective technique in terms of healing and functional outcomes. This review provides a critical analysis of the comparative biomechanical and clinical studies among SR, DR, and TOE techniques reported in the literature in the past decade.
High-fat or sugar intake Endocrine disorders Sedentary lifestyle Hereditary factors Medications Obesity NAFLD

Obesity has become a universal and major public health problem with increasing prevalence in both adults and children in the 21st century, even in developing countries. Extensive epidemiological studies reveal a strong link between obesity and development and progression of various types of cancers. The connection between obesity and liver cancer is particularly strong and obesity often results in liver diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the more severe non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH is characterized by fatty liver inflammation and is believed to cause fibrosis and cirrhosis. The latter is a known liver cancer risk factor. In fact due to its much higher prevalence, obesity may be a more substantial contributor to overall hepatocellular carcinoma burden than infection with hepatitis viruses. Here, we review and discuss recent advances in elucidation of cellular and molecular alterations and signaling pathways associated with obesity and liver inflammation and their contribution to hepatocarcinogenesis. 2011 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Symmetric Private Information Retrieval with Mismatched Coded Messages and Randomness

The capacity of symmetric private information retrieval (PIR) with N servers and K messages, each coded by an (N, M)-MDS code has been characterized as ${C_{{\text{MDS - SPIR}}}} = 1 - \frac{M}{N}$. A critical assumption for this result is that the randomness is similarly coded by an (N, M)-MDS code, i.e., the code parameters of the messages and randomness are matched. In this work, we are interested in the mismatched case, and as a preliminary result, we establish the capacity of the mismatched MDS coded symmetric PIR (SPIR) problem under an extreme setting, where the messages are coded by an (N, M)-MDS code and the randomness is replicated (i.e., coded by an (N, 1)-MDS code). The capacity is shown to be ${C_{{\text{mis}} - {\text{MDS}} - {\text{SPIR}}}} = \left( {1 - \frac{1}{N}} \right) \cdot {\left( {1 + \frac{{M - 1}}{N}\left( {1 + \frac{M}{N} + \cdots + {{\left( {\frac{M}{N}} \right)}^{K - 2}}} \right)} \right)^{ - 1}}$. Interestingly, Cmis-MDS-SPIR > CMDS-SPIR, so mismatched coded randomness (with more redundancy) is strictly beneficial. Further, mismatched SPIR exhibits properties that are similar to PIR.
A Novel IoT Protocol Architecture: Efficiency through Data and Functionality Sharing across Layers

Motivated by the need to accommodate IoT devices that have limited power, processing, storage, and communication capabilities, this work introduces IoTUS, or IoT Unified Services (IoTUS), a novel network protocol architecture that targets energy efficiency and compact memory footprint. IoTUS uses an extensible service layer that facilitates cross-layer sharing. It promotes sharing of both network control information, (e.g., number of transmissions, receptions, collisions at the data-link layer) and functionality (e.g., neighbor discovery, aggregation) by different layers of the protocol stack. Additionally, IoTUS can be used by existing network stacks without having to modify the basic operation of their protocols. We implemented IoTUS on the Cooja-Contiki network simulator/emulator. Our experimental results show improved energy efficiency resulting in longer network lifetime, as well as more compact memory footprint resulting when compared to current IoT protocol architectures.
Grammatical Error Checking Systems: A Review of Approaches and Emerging Directions

Grammatical error checking is a process of detecting and sometimes correcting erroneous words in a text. Various approaches have been used for detecting and correcting text in numerous languages. Techniques that have been used include rule-based, syntax-based, statistical-based, classification and neural networks. This paper presents previous works of Grammatical Error Correction or Detection systems, challenges associated with these systems, and, finally, suggested future directions.
Convolutional LPDC codes for Distributed Storage Systems

We study convolutional LDPC codes over the binary erasure channel for immutable distributed storage systems. These codes allow the archival of data objects in a sequential fashion on an increasing number of storage nodes as they arrive in the system, as well as fast repair using a simple message passing decoder. We further target systematic codes, high code rates and low locality, which are paramount in this setting. We describe a family of codes that split each archived data object in s blocks, entangle them with t = s + p blocks already archived, and generate p parity blocks per archived data object. We carefully choose the parity-check matrix and the blocks already archived to maximize the repair capability of the resulting codes, and describe the best constructions for 1 ≤ s ≤ 5 and p = 2. A Markov analysis shows that for the same storage overhead, our codes are orders of magnitude more reliable than state-of-the-art Reed-Solomon and locally repairable codes.
Development of Practical Air-floating-type Active Scope Camera and User Evaluations for Urban Search and Rescue

Flexible serpentine robots have high potential in the exploration of narrow spaces inside debris. To use these robots in actual search and rescue missions, they should not only have sufficient mobility but also exhibit various characteristics, such as information-gathering ability, operability, and durability. However, only a few robots have been developed focused on operability and durability. Therefore, this paper presents a flexible serpentine robot that realizes mobility, operability, and durability; further, it is capable of gathering information. The robot was evaluated in field experiments and feedback was obtained from rescue workers. In particular, we improved the mobility of a conventional Active Scope Camera (ASC) by installing a developed active air jet nozzle on the head. The thrust from the nozzle enables the ASC to move over a step of 22 cm height and quickly changes the head direction (580 mm in 0.4 s). In addition, a high operability is ensured by compacting the system components using an air cylinder. The entire robot system can be carried and operated by 2 people and the time for setup is approximately 3 min. The field experiments in a simulated disaster site showed that the developed ASC was able to explore a wider rubble environment in a shorter time than a conventional ASC. In addition, we confirmed that the system enables three operators to search for and locate a hidden object inside an unknown debris environment. Furthermore, 14 members of a rescue party operated the robot system and evaluated the system through a survey. The survey reveals which situations the proposed system was able to work properly in, which revealed the aspects in which the robot can be improved.
Optimal Streaming Erasure Codes over the Three-Node Relay Network

This paper investigates low-latency streaming codes for a three-node relay network. The source transmits a sequence of messages (streaming messages) to the destination through the relay between them, where the first-hop channel from the source to the relay and the second-hop channel from the relay to the destination are subject to packet erasures. Every source message must be recovered perfectly at the destination subject to a maximum decoding delay of T time slots, meaning that a message generated at a time slot must be recovered within the subsequent T time slots. In any sliding window of T +1 time slots, we assume no more than N1 and N2 erasures are introduced by the first-hop channel and second-hop channel respectively. Under this channel loss assumption, we fully characterize the maximum achievable rate in terms of T, N1 and N2.
Lifting Robot Exploration to 3D Environments

Autonomous mobile robots are a commonly agreed solution when it comes to explore environments that are inaccessible to humans such as search and rescue scenarios, plant and infrastructure inspection, or planetary exploration. In such environments the robot needs to deal with challenging 3D environments and needs to show advanced 3D exploration capabilities. While there exists excellent research for the individual aspects such as mapping, path planning, or exploration fully integrated systems that are able to master the 3D exploration are rare. In this paper we present an integrated robot system that is able to autonomously explore complex 3D environments in a safe way. Moreover, we present results of simulated and real experiments that show the skills of the proposed system.
On the Capacity Scalability of Line Networks with Buffer Size Constraints

The communication capacity of a network of line topology is studied, where only two adjacent nodes are connected by communication channels, and the intermediate network nodes have a buffer size constraint. Let L be the number of hops from the source node to the destination node. For general channels, we provide schemes to achieve Ω(1/ ln L) rates using a buffer of size B1 + B2 bits, where B1 does not change with L and B2 = O(ln ln L). In particular, B1 bits of the buffer are used to store the data generated from the communication messages, and the other B2 bits of the buffer are used to store the status of counters with the maximum value O(ln L).
From Studying Real Hummingbirds to Designing Hummingbird-Like Robots—A Literature Review

In this paper, the interpretation of hovering flight for hummingbirds is studied from a hummingbird morphology perspective (muscle and skeleton) including weight distribution, followed by a discussion of hovering aerodynamics. Next, by studying the scale laws, geometry similarity, and statistical analysis on wing parameters, the parametric relation between wing performances and weight is studied, followed by flapping wing micro autonomous drones (FWMADs) design. The efficiency of the designed wings based on the scaling law is verified by flying test. Material difference and methods of design are summarized. Last, the morphology of bird’s tails is presented, and then the designs of tails are introduced, followed by discussion of tail performances. The results show that the tail could be predicted to apply to the stability of hovering twin-wing FWMADs. The current studies provide a simple but powerful guideline for biologists and engineers who study the morphology of hummingbirds and design FWMADs.
A Variational Signal-Space Distance Measure for Nondispersive Optical Fiber

The nondispersive per-sample channel model for the optical fiber channel is considered. Under some smoothness assumptions, the problem of finding the minimum amount of noise energy that can render two different input points indistinguishable is formulated. The necessary conditions for the noise trajectory that has the minimum energy are described as a system of nonlinear differential equations. It is suggested that this model can be generalized to consider dispersion and to design new communication schemes for fiber-optic communication systems.
Speeding up decoding a code with a non-trivial automorphism group up to an exponential factor

We give an algorithm that is able to speed up the decoding of a code with a non-trivial automorphism group, by summing for the word that has to be decoded, all its entries belonging to a same orbit and decoding the resulting word in a reduced code. For a certain range of parameters, this results in a decoding that is faster by an exponential factor in the codelength when compared to the best algorithms for decoding generic linear codes. This algorithm is then used to break several proposals of public-key cryptosystems based on codes with a non-trivial automorphism group.
Joint Source-Channel Coding for Gaussian Sources over AWGN Channels using Variational Autoencoders

In this paper, we study joint source-channel coding of gaussian sources over multiple AWGN channels where the source dimension is greater than the number of channels. We model our system as a Variational Autoencoder and show that its loss function takes up a form that is an upper bound on the optimization function got from rate-distortion theory. The constructed system employs two encoders that learn to split the source input space into almost half with no constraints. The system is jointly trained in a data-driven manner, end-to-end. We achieve state of the art results for certain configurations, some of which are 0.7dB better than previous works. We also showcase that the trained encoder/decoder is robust, i.e., even if the channel conditions change by +/-5dB, the performance of the system does not vary by more than 0.7dB w.r. t. a system trained at that channel condition. The trained system, to an extent, has the ability to generalize when a single input dimension is dropped and for some scenarios it is less than 1dB away from the system trained for that reduced dimension.
Stochastic Unit Commitment of a Distribution Network with Non-ideal Energy Storage

The need for secure and flexible operation of distribution power systems with renewable generation and the decline in battery prices have made energy storage projects a viable option. The storage characterization currently utilized for power system models relies on two significant assumptions: the storage efficiency and power limits are constant. This approach can lead to an overestimation of the available battery power and energy, thus, threatening the system reliability. We introduce a stochastic operating model for distribution systems with non-ideal energy storage, that allows the purchasing of energy and reserves from the electricity market through the interconnection with the transmission system. The model's objective is the centralized minimization of the operational costs derived from the energy and reserves purchase at the electricity market, as well as those incurred while operating the system's fuel-based and renewable generation, and energy storage system. The proposed energy storage model is computationally validated and compared on a modified IEEE 33-bus electric distribution system.