Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chloride binding and cholesterol effects on high frequency complex nonlinear capacitance (cNLC) in the mouse outer hair cell: experiment and molecular dynamics

The function of prestin (SLC26a5), an anion transport family member, has evolved to enhance auditory sensitivity and frequency selectivity by providing mechanical feedback via outer hair cells (OHC) into the organ of Corti. The frequency extent of this boost is governed by the voltage-dependent kinetics of the protein’s charge movements, otherwise known as nonlinear capacitance (NLC) that we measure in membrane patches under voltage clamp. Here we extend our previous studies on guinea pig OHCs by studying the frequency response of NLC in the mouse OHC, a species with higher frequency auditory needs. We find that the characteristic frequency cut-off (Fis) for the mouse surpasses that of the guinea pig, being 27 kHz vs. 19 kHz, respectively; nevertheless, each shows significant activity in the ultrasonic range. We also evaluate the influence of anion binding on prestin frequency response. Several single point mutations within the chloride binding pocket of prestin (e.g., S396E, S398E) lack anion influence. In agreement, we show absence of anion binding through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. NLC Fis in the S396E knock-in mouse remains the same as controls, indicating that high frequency activity is likely governed by viscoelastic loads within the membrane characterized by stretched-exponential frequency roll-off. Accordingly, treatment with MβCD, which removes membrane cholesterol, possibly from prestin itself, and can alter membrane fluidity, augments NLC Fis out to 39 kHz. Although interactions between membrane lipid and prestin have been suggested from structural studies to arise at their interfacial boundaries within the membrane, our MD simulations suggest that phospholipids can insert within transmembrane domains of prestin during voltage perturbation. Such novel lipid-protein interactions could account for our observed changes in the phase of prestin’s voltage-sensor charge movements across frequency. We hypothesize that because prestin tertiary structures of all species studied to-date are indistinguishable, it is likely that any special auditory requirements of individual species for cochlear amplification have evolved to capitalize on prestin performance by modifying, not the protein itself, but the external loads on the protein, including those within the membrane and organ of Corti. Significance Prestin is believed to provide cochlear amplification in mammals that possess a wide range of frequency sensitivities, yet its tertiary structure is indistinguishable among those species studied. We find that prestin kinetics is faster in mice than in guinea pigs, mice showing higher frequency auditory capabilities. Chloride binding is not influential, but membrane lipids/viscosity is. We suggest that the evolution of prestin’s species performance involves modifications of impinging loads, not the protein itself.
Robust graph-based localization and mapping (Robuste Graph-basierte Lokalisierung und Kartierung)

Localization and mapping are fundamental requirements to enable mobile robots to operate robustly in their environments. The solution of these two problems will allow robots to assist humans in important tasks such as autonomous driving or hazardous search-and-rescue missions. These complex navigation tasks require a robot to build a map while simultaneously localizing itself in it. It is relatively straightforward to build a map with perfect sensors. The challenge arises when a mobile robot needs to perform both mapping and localization with noisy sensors. This requires a robot to reliably recognize a previously visited place, while being robust to noise in sensor measurements and perceptual aliasing due to repetitive structures in the environment. In this thesis, we have proposed novel simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms which are more robust to place recognition and sensor errors. Our methods can recover from errors resulting from visual aliasing due to ambiguity in the environment. Additionally, our methods are more robust to gross non-Gaussian errors in sensor measurements. As map building can be cast as an optimization problem, mapping algorithms should be robust to poor initialization. Furthermore, the methods we have developed enable robots to mitigate the effects of poor initializations. In contrast to other methods that first find a good initialization to seed the optimization or that remove outliers before optimization, our method is more elegant as it does not require an additional pre-processing step. We also survey several geodetic mapping methods with an aim at providing a geodetic perspective of SLAM, as both fields share similarities when it comes to building large maps. We show that many state-of-the-art robot mapping algorithms have a direct relation to geodetic mapping techniques developed many decades earlier. Our survey will possibly inspire new solutions to large-scale, autonomous robotic SLAM methods. Finally, we believe that robots should be able to navigate with already available maps even if they are built for humans or for other purposes. This will save significant computational and sensor requirements on the robot, reduce the setup time, and allow them to operate in environments without previously visiting them. In this regard, we outline a novel approach to metric localization that does not require the construction of a new map when one already exists. The central idea is to leverage geotagged imagery on Google Street View as an accurate source for global positioning and localize a robot using only a monocular camera with odometric estimates.
Destructive upper-crustal earthquakes of Central America since 1900

We have compiled a catalog of 51 destructive upper-crustal earthquakes in Central America since 1900. An event is included if it caused casualties or heavy damage of Modified Mercalli (MM) intensity ≧ VII. All events larger than magnitude Ms 5.7 are found to be destructive. We believe the catalog is complete for events of Ms ≧ 6 along the volcanic front. The catalog includes estimates of epicentral coordinates, depth, magnitude, and casualties for all events and presents MM intensity VII contours for most events. Data in this catalog place severe constraints on the spatial, temporal, and magnitude distribution of destructive upper-crustal earthquakes in Central America. The catalog contains 30 events of Ms ≧ 6. Depths of well-constrained mainshock hypocenters range from 5 to 15 km. The most striking feature of the catalog is the spatial alignment along the volcanic front of 23 of the 30 events; volcanic-front earthquake-source mechanisms for such events show east-west tension and are compatible with a model of the volcanic front as a zone of right-lateral strike-slip faulting. Volcanic-front earthquake magnitudes do not exceed Ms 6.5, except in southeastern Guatemala where they reach Ms 6.9; maximum earthquake magnitudes are apparently related to the distance between adjacent Holocene volcanic centers. Destructive events occur at offsets in the volcanic chain as isolated mainshock-aftershock sequences. However, within linear segments, destructive earthquakes have a strong tendency to cluster and are often preceded by significant foreshock activity. Although the volcanic front is the locus of both destructive earthquakes and volcanism, we find no temporal correlation between the two. Of the seven events of Ms ≧ 6 that did not originate near the volcanic front, six originated near the transcurrent Caribbean-North American plate boundary, including the Ms 7.5 Guatemala earthquake of 1976. Along the volcanic front, destructive upper-crustal earthquakes have occurred at a rate of about one event every 212 years during this century, much more frequently than along either the Caribbean-North American plate boundary or the subduction zone. In Central America since 1900, about 17,000 people have died from volcanic-front earthquakes, but only about 2000 people are known to have died from subduction-zone earthquakes. Although subduction zone earthquakes can have larger magnitudes and produce more widespread damage, destructive volcanic-front earthquakes pose the greater hazard because they are more frequent and originate much closer to the bulk of Central America's population, which is concentrated along the volcanic front.
A Dynamic Engagement Model to Provide Ecological Awareness of the Climate Crisis through Video Games

We present an overview of elements that contribute to making successful video games that promote critical engagement with climate threats and sustainable futures. Major challenges exist in how to design engaging, serious games that target the climate crisis, including, for example, motivation, flow, learning outcomes, or even behavioral changes. Building on past research and different “ecological” games, we suggest a dynamic engagement model (DEM) that outlines four stages of engagement for video games, including before, during, and after gameplay and dis-or reengagement. We argue that more work should be spent on studying a holistic perspective of engagement, including the importance of engagement in the four stages, to improve our understanding of motivational factors for playing ecological games.
Infiltration in a Piedmont soil under three tillage systems

ABSTRACT: Rapid runoff from tilled Piedmont soils is a widespread problem contributing to drought stress and water quality problems. The long-term four years) effects of tillage on infiltration in Wedowee sandy clay loam (clayey, kaolinitic, thermics Typic Kanhapludult) were studied in 1988. Tillage treatments were no-tillage (NT) chisel plowing (CP), and moldboard plowing and disking (MD). A sprinkling in fathometer was used to apply 2.6 cm of water to 1 m2-plots in 30 minutes. Infiltration was measured before spring tillage (Run 1), immediately after spring tillage (Run 2), one to two weeks after tillage (Run 3), and after harvest (Run 4). Field traffic was restricted to alternate in terrors. At Run 1 the percentages of water added that infiltrated were 84 percent for (NT) 77 percent for CP and 68 percent for MD. me traffic effect on infiltration was greatest for CP with 94 percent infiltration in the non-trafficked, but only 59 percent in the trafficked position. After tillage, infiltration increased for MD and CP and cumulative infiltration differences among treatments diminished. me CP treatment infiltrated more water (88 percent) than (NT) (77 percent) while MD was intermediate (83 percent) and not different from the other treatments. Run 3 resembled Run 1 with (NT) again having greater infiltration (62 percent) than CP (54 percent) or MD (26 percent). me severe reduction in infiltration for MD appears to be more related to surface sealing caused by raindrop impact than to bulk density or porosity. Of the four runs, Run 3 best represents soil conditions during the critical period of silking and tasseling and may be an important factor contributing to the corn (Zea mays L.) grain yields of 6.46, 4.77, and 2.45 Mg ha−1 for (NT) CP and MD, respectively.
A mixed methods UTAUT2-based approach to understanding unified payments interface adoption among low-income users

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) represents a revolutionary advancement in mobile payment systems and has been primarily embraced by the middle and high-income segments of the Indian population. Its uptake among the low-income or those at the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP), characterized by individuals with an annual income less than USD 3,175, remains notably low, necessitating prompt investigation. This study endeavors to explore and validate contextual determinants influencing the development of behavioral intention to use UPI among BOP users. Under the mixed method approach, 26 interviews with active UPI users were conducted in the first phase. The collected data were subjected to deductive thematic analysis and the resulting factors were fused with the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model to adapt it to the BOP requirements. In the second phase, responses from 423 potential UPI users were collected and scrutinized using structural equation modelling. The data analysis unveiled that the path coefficients for social influence (0.527), performance expectancy (0.242), perceived security risk (–0.166), knowledge (0.138), price value (0.123), facilitating conditions (0.119), and social benefits (0.096) were statistically significant in impacting user intentions. The model fit measures of the structural model fell within an acceptable range, and collectively, these factors elucidated 52% of the variance in behavioral intentions. It is recommended that marketers should leverage the interconnected nature of BOP communities to enhance awareness on functionality, subjective utility, social benefits, word-of-mouth, and security issues. This strategy aims to overcome barriers and boost UPI adoption among the BOP.
Point-source inertial particle dispersion

The dispersion of inertial particles continuously emitted from a point source is analytically investigated in the limit of small but finite inertia. Our focus is on the evolution equation of the particle joint probability density function p(x, v, t), x and v being the particle position and velocity, respectively. For arbitrary inertia, position and velocity variables are coupled, with the result that p(x, v, t) can be determined by solving a partial differential equation in a 2d-dimensional space, d being the physical-space dimensionality. For small (but nevertheless finite) inertia, (x, v)-variables decouple and the determination of p(x, v, t) is reduced to solve a system of two standard forced advection–diffusion equations in the space variables x. The latter equations are derived here from first principles, i.e., from the well-known Lagrangian evolution equations for position and particle velocity.
The relationship between Green Investment and Eco-innovation in Europe

It is universally acknowledged that environmental protection has become one of the most pressing global issues in the last decades. Green technology is indispensable to finding less damaging alternatives, and no innovation is carried out without investment. In contribution to environmental economics, the purpose of this thesis is to provide empirical evidence on whether green investment has a relationship with eco-innovation in the European Union (EU). The study draws on a theoretical framework that combines Romer's endogenous growth theory and the Ecological Modernization theory. Based on this framework, the hypothesis expected is a positive impact of green investment on eco-innovation. The analysis utilizes data on environmental protection investment as a measure of green investment, and environmental-related technology patents as a measure of eco-innovation. A panel data analysis is conducted from the years 2013 to 2019 on EU countries, employing random effects model to regress the relationship between the two variables. The results provide statistically significant evidence that green investment has a positive impact on eco-innovation.
Numerical methods for white matter microstructure and brain structural connectivity in diffusion MRI

The diffusion-weighted signal attenuation depends on the encoding gradient and is related to the diffusion properties of water molecules and the microscopic organization of biological tissues within which they diffuse. To exploit information in the signal, different families of mathematical models have been proposed, some of which aim at estimating general properties such as the ensemble average propagator or the diffusion tensor distribution. For these methods, we have shown that proposing an adapted, continuous signal expansion in q -space is important since it may provide a compact representation useful for denoising, inverse problem solving and efficient sampling ( Caruyer and Deriche, 2012 b; Merlet et al., 2011 ; Caruyer et al., 2013 ; Fick et al., 2016 ; Truffet et al., 2019 ). More recently, we have extended these q - space representations to the context of multidimensional diffusion encoding, to study the properties of the signal and give recommendations for sampling the space of axisymmetric B -tensors (Bates et al., 2020 ). Last, observing that commonly used metrics are derived from rotation-invariant features, we proposed a mathematical framework to systematically characterize a family of such features ( Caruyer and Verma, 2015 ), which could be used as building blocks for elaborating new biomarkers.
THE STEVENS FLOOD ADVISORY SYSTEM: OPERATIONAL H3E FLOOD FORECASTS FOR THE GREATER NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY METROPOLITAN REGION

This paper presents the automation, website interface, and verification of the Stevens Flood Advisory System (SFAS, http://stevens.edu/SFAS). The fully-automated, ensemble-based flood advisory sys- tem dynamically integrates real-time observations and river and coastal flood models forced by an ensemble of meteorological models at various scales to produce and serve street scale flood forecasts over urban terrain. SFAS is applied to the Greater NY/NJ Metropolitan region, and is used routinely by multiple forecast offices and departments within the US National Weather Service (NWS), regional and municipal Offices of Emergency Management, as well as the general public. Every six hours, the underlying H 3 E (Hydrologic–Hydraulic–Hydrodynamic Ensemble) modelling framework, prepares, runs, data-assimilates, and integrates results from 375 dynamic model simulations to produce actionable, probabilistic ensemble forecasts of upland and coastal (storm surge) flooding conditions with an 81-h forecast horizon. Meteorological forcing to the H 3 E models is provided by 125 weather model ensemble members as well as deterministic weather models from major weather agencies (NCEP, ECMWF, CMC) and academia. The state-of-the-art SFAS, a replacement of the well-known, but deterministic, Storm Surge Warning System (SSWS) that was highlighted during Hurricanes Irene and Sandy and more recently extratropical cyclone Jonas, has been operational since the end of 2015.
The effects of recent storms on the exposed coastline of Tocra

Abstract This paper, prepared at the request of the Department of Antiquities of Benghazi, reports on severe erosion of the exposed seaward escarpment of the ancient site of Tocra after recent winter storms. A brief measured survey by the authors and comparison with a plan of the site made in 1966, demonstrated that up to 20 m of the coastline has been lost in 40 years. A photographic survey made at the same time records a number of new discoveries, exposed as a consequence of increasing erosion of the escarpment. The authors believe that continuing annual erosion of the seaward facing part of the town is a serious problem requiring urgent action by the highest authorities.
Migration from Central America and Mexico to the US: Does the Movement of People Affect the Economies of the Sending Countries?

This research intends to study the effect of migration flows and migrant networks hypothesizing that freer migration leading to bigger migrant networks are beneficial for the economies of the sending countries, using the New Economics of Labor Migration theory which views migration as an economic decision made by migrants and whose return can be seen as remittances. The data covers a period from 1980 to 2010 and is analyzed through Cross-Sectional Time-Series Feasible Generalized Least Squares. The countries analyzed are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and Mexico, as the sending countries, finding that the very moment when migrants leave their home countries, these economies do not seem to experience a statistically significant shock, while once migrants have established themselves in their new host country as part of migrant networks, the effects on the economies of the sending countries becomes positive and statistically significant, as well as the remittances they send.
Validation and Cultural Adaptation of Persian Version of Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a multidimensional disease. In addition to quantitative factors, qualitative factors play an important role in the progress and outcome of the diseases. One of the most effective meth-ods of collecting qualitative information is questionnaires reported by patients. The data obtained from the questionnaires are as important as the clinical criteria. Multidimensional health assessment questionnaire (MDHAQ) is one of the latest questionnaires that provide useful information in a short time. Objectives: To investigate the reliability and validity of the Persian form of MDAHAQ for the use of Iranian patients. Method: Two groups of participants were selected for this study. The validity test group included 110 patients, and the reliability test group included 140 patients. Translation and adaption of MDHAQ were performed by using Guillemin guidelines. The reliability was tested by using test-retest and Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency. Persian version of the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) was used for assessing the criterion validity. The correlation between the MDHAQ score and Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28), Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), and the Persian version of the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) was evaluated using the Spearman coefficient. Discriminant validity was tested in groups of patients based on two varied disease activities based on CDAI and DAS28. Results
The Use of Flipped Learning in EFL Grammar Instruction

: Although grammar has been central to L2 research and methodology over the years, the approaches to teaching grammar have long been a controversial topic in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) even today when we are introduced with innovative methods especially with technology. Considered as an innovative and effective instructional approach, Flipped Learning (FL) might have the potential to transform the instructional design of the traditional teacher-led classes through the integration of technology and active learning strategies. To explore the role of flipped learning in the EFL context, the researchers investigated the impact of flipped learning on students’ development of grammar proficiency and their attitudes towards the new instructional model. A total of 37 students (19 subjects in the experimental group, 18 subjects in control group), who learn English as a foreign language at a state university in East Europe, participated in this study. The study employed a quasi-experimental mixed-methods research design using a variety of data collection instruments including pre-and post-tests on grammar proficiency, a questionnaire (Flipped Grammar Class Attitude Questionnaire) and semi-structured interviews. The results showed that learners trained through FL considerably surpassed the non-flipped group in terms of their success in English grammar. Furthermore, FL was found to have notably enhanced the students’ involvement, engagement, and performance. The results provide insights into the implementation of FL in the EFL context. Further studies might investigate the efficiency of multimedia materials, including animations or video lectures in the use of flipped instruction.