Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mitigating the Impacts of Climate Nonstationarity on Seasonal Streamflow Predictability in the U.S. Southwest

Seasonal streamflow predictions provide a critical management tool for water managers in the American Southwest. In recent decades, persistent prediction errors for spring and summer runoff volumes have been observed in a number of watersheds in the American Southwest. While mostly driven by decadal precipitation trends, these errors also relate to the influence of increasing temperature on streamflow in these basins. Here we show that incorporating seasonal temperature forecasts from operational global climate prediction models into streamflow forecasting models adds prediction skill for watersheds in the headwaters of the Colorado and Rio Grande River basins. Current dynamical seasonal temperature forecasts now show sufficient skill to reduce streamflow forecast errors in snowmelt‐driven regions. Such predictions can increase the resilience of streamflow forecasting and water management systems in the face of continuing warming as well as decadal‐scale temperature variability and thus help to mitigate the impacts of climate nonstationarity on streamflow predictability.
Design of an Inertial Motion Module

In this paper the authors introduce a smart module designed to provide, effortless, Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) capabilities to a host application processor on an embedded system. The underling idea is to combine digital processing and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) in a single module giving, not only sensors measurement, but especially a reliable orientation measure without any additional external computational power. In this way the target application should not face math operations and/or strict timing typical of this kind of algorithms.
SOLOW DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS ON TIME SCALES - A UNIFIED APPROACH TO CONTINUOUS AND DISCRETE SOLOW GROWTH MODEL

In this paper we reformulate the axioms of the well-known Solow macroeconomic growth model by means of the mathematical calculus on time scales. We derive a system of differential equations on a time scale T which is a generalization of the classical Solow funda- mental differential equation for the continuous case as well as its discrete version. We also prove sufficient conditions for the exponential stability of equilibrium points of this system having positive coordinates. Applications of these results to the case of the Cobb-Douglas production function are given.
IoTFuzzer: Discovering Memory Corruptions in IoT Through App-based Fuzzing

—With more IoT devices entering the consumer market, it becomes imperative to detect their security vulnerabilities before an attacker does. Existing binary analysis based approaches only work on ﬁrmware, which is less accessible except for those equipped with special tools for extracting the code from the device. To address this challenge in IoT security analysis, we present in this paper a novel automatic fuzzing framework, called I O TF UZZER , which aims at ﬁnding memory corruption vulnerabilities in IoT devices without access to their ﬁrmware images. The key idea is based upon the observation that most IoT devices are controlled through their ofﬁcial mobile apps, and such an app often contains rich information about the protocol it uses to communicate with its device. Therefore, by identifying and reusing program-speciﬁc logic (e.g., encryption) to mutate the test case (particularly message ﬁelds), we are able to effectively probe IoT targets without relying on any knowledge about its protocol speciﬁcations. In our research, we implemented I O TF UZZER and evaluated 17 real-world IoT devices running on different protocols, and our approach successfully identiﬁed 15 memory corruption vulnerabilities (including 8 previously unknown ones).
Multibranch Joint Representation Learning Based on Information Fusion Strategy for Cross-View Geo-Localization

Cross-view geo-localization refers to recognizing images of the same geographic target obtained from different platforms (such as drone-view, satellite-view, and ground-view). However, cross-view geo-localization is challenging as image capture using different platforms coupled with extreme viewpoint variations can cause significant changes to the visual image content. Existing methods mainly focus on mining the fine-grained features or the contextual information in neighboring areas, but ignore the complete information of the entire image and the association of contextual information of adjacent regions. Therefore, a multibranch joint representation learning network model based on information fusion strategies (IFSs) is proposed to solve this cross-view geo-localization problem. First, we obtained feature information from the image through global information fusion (GIF) branch and local information fusion (LIF) branch to help the network learn the discernable information in the different images. In addition, a local-guided-GIF (LGGIF) branch is introduced to make local information assist global features to enhance the learning of potential information in the images. Second, we introduced different IFSs in each branch to increase the extraction of contextual information through expanding the global receptive field, thus improving the performance of the model. Finally, a series of experiments is carried out on four prevailing benchmark datasets, namely University-1652, SUES-200, CVUAS, and CVACT datasets. The quantitative comparisons from the experiments clearly indicate that the proposed network framework has great performance. For example, compared with some state-of-the-art methods, the quantitative improvements of the R@1 and AP on the University-1652 datasets are 1.91%, 2.18%, and 1.55%, 2.99% in both tasks, respectively.
Improvement of skin condition by oral administration of collagen hydrolysates in chronologically aged mice.

BACKGROUND Collagen hydrolysates (CHs) have been demonstrated to have positive effects on skin photoaging by topical application or oral ingestion. However, there has been little research on their influence on skin chronological aging. In this study, 9-month-old female ICR mice were given normal AIN-93M diets containing CHs (2.5, 5 and 10% w/w) from Nile tilapia scale. RESULTS After 6 months, the collagen content and antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase) activities increased significantly (P < 0.05), while the survival rate, viscera indices and contents of moisture, fat and non-collagenous protein in skin did not change (P > 0.05). The color, luster and quantity of hair were obviously ameliorated. Moreover, the structure of epidermis and dermis, the density and distribution of collagen fibers and the ratio of type I to type III collagen were improved in a dose-dependent manner as shown by histochemical staining. CONCLUSION Oral ingestion of CHs increased the collagen content and antioxidant enzyme activities and improved the appearance and structure of skin. These results suggest the potential of CHs as an anti-skin-aging ingredient in nutraceuticals or functional foods. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Evaluation of Annual Sediment Load Production in Kenyir Lake Reservoir, Malaysia

Kenyir Lake’s natural environment experienced significant changes over the past 20 years. Pressure from anthropogenic activities such as deforestation, construction, and sand mining around Sungai Terengganu, tourism, farming and agricultural has creating imbalance between environmental processes and response in Kenyir Lake. The aim of the study is to estimate the production of sediment yield (Muatan Sedimen) (MS) (tonnes/km2/year) in Kenyir Lake Basin. 21 sampling stations were chosen along Kenyir Lake to represent the upstream and downstream. The statistical analysis proved that the correlation and regression relationship between Total Suspended Solid (TSS), MS and area of catchment. MS showed a weak correlation and insignificant relationship of regression caused by the anthropogenic factors and uncertain climate changes. These sedimentation problems due to unsustainable land use changes, river bank erosion problems and active construction activity around the Kenyir Lake Basin. This study suggests the sedimentation management methods including land use settlement, cliff erosion problems, settlement and negotiable of uncontrolled development operations in Kenyir Lake and the integrated of river and lake management methods based on Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) in Kenyir Lake Basin is recommended.
Sematch: Semantic Entity Search from Knowledge Graph

As an increasing amount of the knowledge graph is published as Linked Open Data, semantic entity search is required to develop new applications. However, the use of structured query languages such as SPARQL is challenging for non-skilled users who need to master the query language as well as acquiring knowledge of the underlying ontology of Linked Data knowledge bases. In this article, we propose the Sematch framework for entity search in the knowledge graph that combines natural language query processing, entity linking, entity type linking and semantic similarity based query expansion. The system has been validated in a dataset and a prototype has been developed that translates natural language queries into SPARQL.
SemEval 2014 Task 5 - L2 Writing Assistant

We present a new cross-lingual task for SemEval concerning the translation of L1 fragments in an L2 context. The task is at the boundary of Cross-Lingual Word Sense Disambiguation and Machine Translation. It finds its application in the field of computer-assisted translation, particularly in the context of second language learning. Translating L1 fragments in an L2 context allows language learners when writing in a target language (L2) to fall back to their native language (L1) whenever they are uncertain of the right word or phrase.
External Beam Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Yields Favorable Outcomes in Patients with Prior Breast Augmentation

Purpose: To report outcomes in breast cancer patients with prior breast augmentation treated with external beam accelerated partial breast irradiation (EB-APBI) utilizing intensity-modulated radiotherapy or 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, both with IGRT. Materials and Methods: Sixteen stage 0/1 breast cancer patients with previous elective bilateral augmentation were treated post-lumpectomy on institutional EB-APBI trials (01185132 and 01185145 on clinicaltrials.gov). Patients received 38.5 Gy in 10 fractions over five consecutive days. Breast/chest wall pain and cosmesis were rated by patient; cosmesis was additionally evaluated by physician per RTOG criteria. Results: The median follow-up from accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) completion was 23.9 months (range, 1.2–58.6). Little to no change in cosmesis or pain from baseline was reported. Cosmetic outcomes at last follow-up were judged by patients as excellent/good in 81.2% (13/16), and by physicians as excellent/good in 93.8% (15/16). Ten patients (62.5%) reported no breast/chest wall pain, five (31.2%) reported mild pain, and one (6.2%) reported moderate pain. All patients remain disease free at last follow-up. The median ipsilateral breast, planning target volume (PTV), and implant volumes were 614, 57, and 333 cm3. The median ratios of PTV/ipsilateral breast volume (implant excluded) and PTV/total volume (implant included) were 9 and 6%. Conclusion: These 16 breast cancer cases with prior bilateral augmentation treated with EB-APBI demonstrate favorable clinical outcomes. Further exploration of EB-APBI as a treatment option for this patient population is warranted.
Effect of Data Skewness and Workload Balance in Parallel Data Mining

To mine association rules efficiently, we have developed a new parallel mining algorithm FPM on a distributed share-nothing parallel system in which data are partitioned across the processors. FPM is an enhancement of the FDM algorithm, which we previously proposed for distributed mining of association rules (Cheung et al., 1996). FPM requires fewer rounds of message exchanges than FDM and, hence, has a better response time in a parallel environment. The algorithm has been experimentally found to outperform CD, a representative parallel algorithm for the same goal (Agrawal and Srikant, 1994). The efficiency of FPM is attributed to the incorporation of two powerful candidate sets pruning techniques: distributed and global prunings. The two techniques are sensitive to two data distribution characteristics, data skewness, and workload balance. Metrics based on entropy are proposed for these two characteristics. The prunings are very effective when both the skewness and balance are high. In order to increase the efficiency of FPM, we have developed methods to partition a database so that the resulting partitions have high balance and skewness. Experiments have shown empirically that our partitioning algorithms can achieve these aims very well, in particular, the results are consistently better than a random partitioning. Moreover, the partitioning algorithms incur little overhead. So, using our partitioning algorithms and FPM together, we can mine association rules from a database efficiently.
Wavelet approach for detecting clouds and their shadows

This Survey focuses on detection of clouds and their shadows applying wavelet approach. Wavelet method is based on the analysis of the energy of the image. Lastly, the wavelet image fusion is applied to fill the missing information the wavelet approach is applied to detect clouds and their shadows and subsequently fill out the missing information of the satellite images.
Comparing different stimulus configurations for population receptive field mapping in human fMRI

Population receptive field (pRF) mapping is a widely used approach to measuring aggregate human visual receptive field properties by recording non-invasive signals using functional MRI. Despite growing interest, no study to date has systematically investigated the effects of different stimulus configurations on pRF estimates from human visual cortex. Here we compared the effects of three different stimulus configurations on a model-based approach to pRF estimation: size-invariant bars and eccentricity-scaled bars defined in Cartesian coordinates and traveling along the cardinal axes, and a novel simultaneous “wedge and ring” stimulus defined in polar coordinates, systematically covering polar and eccentricity axes. We found that the presence or absence of eccentricity scaling had a significant effect on goodness of fit and pRF size estimates. Further, variability in pRF size estimates was directly influenced by stimulus configuration, particularly for higher visual areas including V5/MT+. Finally, we compared eccentricity estimation between phase-encoded and model-based pRF approaches. We observed a tendency for more peripheral eccentricity estimates using phase-encoded methods, independent of stimulus size. We conclude that both eccentricity scaling and polar rather than Cartesian stimulus configuration are important considerations for optimal experimental design in pRF mapping. While all stimulus configurations produce adequate estimates, simultaneous wedge and ring stimulation produced higher fit reliability, with a significant advantage in reduced acquisition time.
Individualisation in crisis planning for people with psychotic disorders

Background. In England, people with a serious mental illness are offered a standardized care plan under the Care Programme Approach (CPA). A crisis plan is a mandatory part of this standard; however, the quality and in particular the level of individualisation of these crisis plans are unknown. In this context, the aim of this study was to assess the quality of crisis planning and the impact of exposure to a specialized crisis planning intervention. Method. The crisis plans of 424 participants were assessed, before and after exposure to the Joint Crisis Plan (JCP) intervention, for ‘individualisation’ (i.e., at least one item of specific and identifiable information about an individual). Associations of individualisation were investigated. Results. A total of 15% of crisis plans were individualised at baseline. There was little or no improvement following exposure to the JCP. Individualised crisis plans were not associated with a history of prior crises or incidences of harm to self and others. Conclusions. Routine crisis planning for individuals with serious mental illness is not influenced by clinical risk profiles. ‘Top down’ implementation of the policy is unlikely to generate the best practice and compliance if clinicians do not perceive the clinical value in the process.
Light-dependent and circadian clock-regulated activation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein, X-box-binding protein 1, and heat shock factor pathways

The circadian clock is phase-delayed or -advanced by light when given at early or late subjective night, respectively. Despite the importance of the time-of-day–dependent phase responses to light, the underlying molecular mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of light-inducible genes in the chicken pineal gland, which consists of light-sensitive clock cells representing a prototype of the clock system. Light stimulated expression of 62 genes and 40 ESTs by >2.5-fold, among which genes responsive to the heat shock and endoplasmic reticulum stress as well as their regulatory transcription factors heat shock factor (HSF)1, HSF2, and X-box-binding protein 1 (XBP1) were strongly activated when a light pulse was given at late subjective night. In contrast, the light pulse at early subjective night caused prominent induction of E4bp4, a key regulator in the phase-delaying mechanism of the pineal clock, along with activation of a large group of cholesterol biosynthetic genes that are targets of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) transcription factor. We found that the light pulse stimulated proteolytic formation of active SREBP-1 that, in turn, transactivated E4bp4 expression, linking SREBP with the light-input pathway of the pineal clock. As an output of light activation of cholesterol biosynthetic genes, we found light-stimulated pineal production of a neurosteroid, 7α-hydroxypregnenolone, demonstrating a unique endocrine function of the pineal gland. Intracerebroventricular injection of 7α-hydroxypregnenolone activated locomotor activities of chicks. Our study on the genome-wide gene expression analysis revealed time-of-day–dependent light activation of signaling pathways and provided molecular connection between gene expression and behavior through neurosteroid release from the pineal gland.
iPQF: a new peptide-to-protein summarization method using peptide spectra characteristics to improve protein quantification

MOTIVATION Isobaric labelling techniques such as iTRAQ and TMT are popular methods for relative protein abundance estimation in proteomic studies. However, measurements are assessed at the peptide spectrum level and exhibit substantial heterogeneity per protein. Hence, clever summarization strategies are required to infer protein ratios. So far, current methods rely exclusively on quantitative values, while additional information on peptides is available, yet it is not considered in these methods. METHODS We present iPQF ( I: sobaric P: rotein Q: uantification based on F: eatures) as a novel peptide-to-protein summarization method, which integrates peptide spectra characteristics as well as quantitative values for protein ratio estimation. We investigate diverse features characterizing spectra reliability and reveal significant correlations to ratio accuracy in spectra. As a result, we developed a feature-based weighting of peptide spectra. RESULTS A performance evaluation of iPQF in comparison to nine different protein ratio inference methods is conducted on five published MS2 and MS3 datasets with predefined ground truth. We demonstrate the benefit of using peptide feature information to improve protein ratio estimation. Compared to purely quantitative approaches, our proposed strategy achieves increased accuracy by addressing peptide spectra reliability. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The iPQF algorithm is available within the established R/Bioconductor package MSnbase (version ≥ 1.17.8). CONTACT renardB@rki.de SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
HTRF: A Technology Tailored for Drug Discovery –A Review of Theoretical Aspects and Recent Applications

HTRF (Homogeneous Time Resolved Fluorescence) is the most frequently used generic assay technology to measure analytes in a homogenous format, which is the ideal platform used for drug target studies in high-throughput screening (HTS). This technology combines fluorescence resonance energy transfer technology (FRET) with time-resolved measurement (TR). In TR-FRET assays, a signal is generated through fluorescent resonance energy transfer between a donor and an acceptor molecule when in close proximity to each other. Buffer and media interference is dramatically reduced by dual-wavelength detection, and the final signal is proportional to the extent of product formation. The HTRF assay is usually sensitive and robust that can be miniaturized into the 384 and 1536-well plate formats. This assay technology has been applied to many antibody-based assays including GPCR signaling (cAMP and IP-One), kinases, cytokines and biomarkers, bioprocess (antibody and protein production), as well as the assays for protein-protein, proteinpeptide, and protein-DNA/RNA interactions. Since its introduction to the drug-screening world over ten years ago, researchers have used HTRF to expedite the study of GPCRs, kinases, new biomarkers, protein-protein interactions, and other targets of interest. HTRF has also been utilized as an alternative method for bioprocess monitoring. The first-generation HTRF technology, which uses Europium cryptate as a fluorescence donor to monitor reactions between biomolecules, was extended in 2008 through the introduction of a second-generation donor, Terbium cryptate (Tb), enhancing screening performance. Terbium cryptate possesses different photophysical properties compared to Europium, including increased quantum yield and a higher molar extinction coefficient. In addition to being compatible with the same acceptor fluorophors used with Europium, it can serve as a donor fluorophore to green-emitting fluors because it has multiple emission peaks including one at 490 nm. Moreover, all Terbium HTRF assays can be read on the same HTRF-compatible instruments as Europium HTRF assays. Overall, HTRF is a highly sensitive, robust technology for the detection of molecular interactions in vitro and is widely used for primary and secondary screening phases of drug development. This review addresses the general principles of HTRF and its current applications in drug discovery.