Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial degradation of cold-water coral-derived organic matter: potential implication for organic C cycling in the water column above Tisler Reef

Cold-water corals release organic matter, in particular mucus, but its role in the ecolog- ical functioning of reef ecosystems is still poorly understood. The present study investigates the planktonic microbial degradation of mucus released by Lophelia pertusa colonies from Tisler Reef, Skagerrak. Results are compared to the degradation of dissolved and particulate organic substrates, including the carbohydrates glucose and starch, as well as gum xanthan and the cyanobacterium Spirulina spp. as the model organism for phytoplankton. Resulting microbial organic C degradation rates for the dissolved fraction of L. pertusa-derived mucus showed nearly linear progression over time and revealed similar degradation rates compared to glucose and starch. Degradation of the par- ticulate mucus fraction, in contrast, displayed exponential progression and was much faster than degradation of the dissolved fraction. In addition, particulate mucus degradation showed a 4-fold increase compared to that of the added Spirulina spp. suspension. Mucus-associated microbial com- munities apparently play a key role in organic matter recycling, as degradation rates more than dou- bled in untreated compared to sterile coral-derived mucus over 3 d of incubation. Quantification of O2 consumption in the water column above Tisler Reef showed significantly increased values in the direct vicinity of the reef. C-stable isotope signatures of suspended particulate organic matter close to Tisler were close to those of L. pertusa-derived mucus, and high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were detected above Tisler Reef. These findings demonstrate the stimulating effect of cold-water coral reefs on microbial activity in the adjacent water column and may indicate some con- trol over organic C cycling.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Utilization Rate, Hospital Volume, and Perioperative Outcomes After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND Previous studies of racial disparities in total joint replacement, particularly total knee arthroplasty, in the U.S. have predominantly focused on disparities between blacks and whites and were limited to Medicare patients or veterans, populations that are not representative of the entire U.S. POPULATION We sought to study racial disparities in the utilization of total knee arthroplasty, the use of high-volume hospitals, and total knee arthroplasty outcomes, including mortality and complications, using all-payer databases. METHODS We analyzed data from 8 years and 8 racially diverse states in the State Inpatient Databases (SID). Patient race was categorized according to the SID as white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and mixed race. Both crude and adjusted racial and/or ethnic disparities were evaluated. RESULTS In comparison with whites (4.65 per 1000 population per year), black (3.90), Hispanic (3.71), Asian (3.89), Native American (4.40), and mixed-race (3.69) populations had lower rates of total knee arthroplasty utilization (p < 0.0001). After risk adjustment, the rate of total knee arthroplasty utilization was significantly lower for blacks (odds ratio [OR] = 0.87 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.85 to 0.89]; p < 0.0001), Hispanics (OR = 0.76 [95% CI, 0.68 to 0.83]; p < 0.0001), Asians (OR = 0.83 [95% CI, 0.78 to 0.89]; p < 0.0001), Native Americans (OR = 0.87 [95% CI, 0.81 to 0.93]; p < 0.0001), and mixed race (OR = 0.84 [95% CI, 0.79 to 0.90]; p < 0.0001) compared with the rate for whites. Lower rates of total knee arthroplasty utilization for blacks, Hispanics, and mixed-race groups became worse over the years. Patients from minority groups were less likely to undergo total knee arthroplasty in high-volume hospitals than were whites. Moreover, the rates of mortality were significantly higher for blacks (OR = 1.52 [95% CI, 1.17 to 1.97]; p = 0.0017), Native Americans (OR = 6.52 [95% CI, 4.63 to 9.17]; p < 0.0001), and mixed-race patients (OR = 4.35 [95% CI, 3.24 to 5.84]; p < 0.0001). Blacks (OR = 1.08 [95% CI, 1.01 to 1.15]; p = 0.01) and mixed-race patients (OR = 1.17 [95% CI, 1.001 to 1.36]; p = 0.04) had higher rates of complications than whites. CONCLUSIONS Minorities had lower rates of total knee arthroplasty utilization but higher rates of adverse health outcomes associated with the procedure, even after adjusting for patient-related and health-care system-related characteristics. Utilization rates were based on overall population as the proportion of the population with osteoarthritis requiring arthroplasty is unknown. Future studies that consider specific patient-level information with psychosocial and behavioral factors are needed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Enhancing embedded AI-based object detection using multi-view approach

Object detection based on convolutional neural network (CNN) is widely used in multitude emergent applications. Yet, the deployment of CNNs on embedded devices at the edge with reduced resources and power budget poses a real challenge. In this paper, we address this issue by enhancing the detection performance without impacting the inference speed. We investigate the use of multi-view for the same scene to achieve better detection performance. A novel system of distributed smart cameras is proposed where each camera integrates a CNN for detection. Implementation results show that using light networks on the distributed cameras can lead to better detection performance and a reduction in the overall consumed power.
Accurate gunshot detection in urban environments using blind deconvolution

Acoustic gunshot detection systems when deployed in urban environments need to account for reverberations in the acoustic channels. In order to improve the detection performance in such environments, we investigate the potential deployment of a two-stage methodology comprising of a blind system identification and deconvolution (BSID) stage followed by a support vector machine (SVM)-based classification stage. Given that gunshot detection systems are typically equipped with a microphone array, BSID module makes use of the spatial diversity achieved through multiple recordings of the same acoustic event and implements a maximum likelihood approach to the estimation and subsequent mitigation of the reverberation effects. In order to simulate gunshots' audio recordings in an urban environment, we use audio clips of gunshots with negligible reverberations that were recorded in an open area, and pass them through experimentally measured channel responses corresponding to a semi-enclosed outdoor courtyard. Using an extensive database of gunshots as well as outsider signals, our results indicate that introducing the BSID module achieves a dramatic improvement in detection performance, albeit under constraints necessary for working of the BSID approach. We achieve an impressive detection performance of more than 99% and a negligible false alarm rate even in the face of strong reverberations.
Improved real-time PCR assay for homogeneous multiplex genotyping of four CYP2C9 alleles with hybridization probes.

The human cytochrome P450 2C (CYP2C) subfamily consists of four members (CYP2C8, -9, -18, and -19), which share >82% amino acid identity (1). The enzyme CYP2C9 metabolizes ∼10% of therapeutically important drugs (e.g., phenytoin and warfarin). The gene CYP2C9 is very polymorphic, with >10 alleles resulting from coding single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (2). CYP2C9*1 is the wild-type allele. Other well-characterized variant alleles produce proteins with lower enzymatic activities and hence give rise to poor metabolizers. Interestingly, given the known effect of CYP2C9 genotype on warfarin hypersensitivity, use of the CYP2C9 genotype to predict clinical events is still a subject of debate (3). Variant alleles include CYP2C9*2 (430C>T; Arg144Cys), * 3 (1075A>C; Ile359Leu), * 4 (1076T>C; Ile359Thr), and * 5 (1080C>G; Asp360Glu). To date, allele * 4 has been found only in one Japanese patient, whereas the other three alleles have been reported …
VIX Option Pricing in a Jump-Diffusion Model

We first discuss the positive volatility skew observed in the implied volatilities of VIX options. To model this feature, we apply the square root stochastic variance model with variance jumps for the evolution of the S&P500 index volatility. Then we develop a robust method for unified pricing and hedging of different volatility products on the implied and realized variance of the S&P500 index and show how to apply this formula for pricing the VIX futures and options.
Financial Reporting Quality, Debt Maturity, and the Cost of Debt: Evidence from China

This paper investigates the influence of different financing channels—bond issuance or bank loans—as well as debt maturity and the quality of financial reporting on the cost of debt in China. The authors find that conservative accounting is an important characteristic of high-quality financial reporting that can reduce the cost of longer maturity debt such as bank loans and bonds. Even state-owned enterprises, which have fewer financial constraints than non-state-owned enterprises, benefit from accounting conservatism's ability to reduce financial costs. Moreover, the findings indicate that bond investors are concerned about the issuer's fundamentals, while banks are more likely to focus on the operation and bankruptcy risk of borrowers.
Capacitor allocation and sizing in distribution feeders using interval mathematics

The paper presents the application of Interval Mathematics as a new method to, rigorously, address uncertainties associated with capacitor installation in distribution feeders. While several methods exist to determine optimal capacitor sizes and locations in distribution feeders, these methods usually require data which may be uncertain in nature. To account for such uncertainties a heuristic method coupled with interval mathematics is developed with the aim of maximizing the cost saving by placing single node-located capacitors at a selected sequence of nodes. The method determines a set of nodes to be compensated with their associated interval capacitor sizes; followed by a local search loop, at any one node, to determine the final standard capacitor size at this node. While catering for uncertainties, the method also offers utilities with alternatives for selecting the standard capacitor sizes to be used and the associated costs to be saved. This should enable utilities to make informed decisions regarding installing capacitors for reactive power compensation in their distribution systems. A procedure is devised in order to produce sharp bounds of the interval outcomes. Successful implementation of the proposed method is described using a nine buses example distribution feeder.
Ejaculation does not contribute to the stress response to electroejaculation in sheep

Electroejaculation procedures (EEPs) provoke stress; nevertheless, ejaculation produces physiological changes similar as those usually used to measure stress responses. The application of EEP to animals that cannot ejaculate-as ewes-may be useful to discriminate the responses induced by ejaculation from those provoked by EEP. The aim was to determine the stress response to EEP in rams and ewes. The EEPs were applied to 10 rams and 10 ewes during the non-breeding season, and the number of vocalizations, the heart rate, rectal temperature, serum cortisol concentration, biochemical and haematological parameters were measured. Overall, EEP provoked increases in cortisol concentration, glycaemia, rectal temperature and concentration of creatine kinase (all them: p < .0001) as well as relative concentration of granulocytes (p = .003) and absolute granulocyte concentration (p = .0002) in both, rams and ewes. Heart rate, relative concentration of lymphocytes (p = .001), haematocrit (p = .02) and haemoglobin (p = .045) decreased in animals from both genders after EEP. Besides, cortisol (p < .0001), rectal temperature (p = .002) and glycaemia (p = .001) were greater in ewes than rams, and creatine kinase also tended to be greater in ewes than rams (p = .054). On the other hand, the number of animals that vocalized (p = .006), white blood cells (p = .02) and absolute lymphocytes (p = .02) were greater in rams than ewes. The general trends show a similar pattern of stress responses in animals from both genders. Therefore, we concluded that ejaculation does not contribute to the stress response provoked by the EEP. This procedure also provokes muscular damage and probably pain.
PTSD and trauma in Austria's elderly: influence of wartime experiences, postwar zone of occupation, and life time traumatization on today's mental health status—an interdisciplinary approach

Background : While in recent years epidemiological1 1Tobias M. Glück and Ulrich S. Tran contributed equally to this work. They wrote the paper and conducted the statistical analysis, Brigitte Lueger-Schuster designed and supervised the project and contributed in writing and revising the paper. studies on World War (WW) II-related traumatization and prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in elderly persons have been conducted for various European countries, for Austria, these numbers are unknown. Objective : The focus of this epidemiologic study was to picture the current mental health status and prevalence of PTSD and lifetime traumatic events in Austria's elderly with respect to WWII and subsequent occupation. Method : In an interdisciplinary approach of psychologists and historians, 316 elderly Austrians (born before 1946) were interviewed for symptoms of PTSD and lifetime traumatization (Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire, PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version), current mental health (Brief Symptom Inventory), wartime-related trauma, and traumatic experiences with occupational forces. These factors were also compared regarding the zone of occupation (Allied vs. Soviet). Data were collected between March and September 2010. Results : 97.5% of the sample reported at least one lifetime trauma. War-related traumata were reported by 92.7% and non-war-related traumata by 82.3%; 40.2% experienced traumatic events with occupational forces. PTSD was present in 1.9% of the sample and up to 13.9% taking subthreshold PTSD into account. Both, the presence of symptoms indicative of PTSD and subthreshold PTSD implied weaker current mental health (regarding General Distress: odds ratios up to 25.51; 95% CI = 9.82 to 66.27). Independent of PTSD diagnosis persons from the Soviet occupied zone showed higher levels of Interpersonal Sensitivity, Global Distress, and Phobic Anxiety. Prevalence of PTSD was independent of gender. Conclusions : Our results corroborate findings from other European countries that PTSD is a common disorder in the elderly due to WWII experience and that PTSD and trauma affect mental health even across long periods of time. Postwar distressing conditions also pose a further risk factor for symptomatology and distress in later years. For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files under Reading Tools online
A Generalized Model for Monitoring Accounts Receivable

sive literature [5, 8, 9, 12] showing that both days sales outstanding (DSO) and the aging schedule of accounts receivable depend on sales and, therefore, are not reliable measures for monitoring and controlling changes in accounts receivable. But while customer payment patterns have been identified as the key information source for monitoring and controlling accounts receivable [1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12], the literature has made only modest reference to the effect changes in sales patterns have on changes in accounts receivable. In 1979 Carpenter and Miller (CM) [2] presented a framework that relates changes in receivables to sales pattern and/or collection experience effects. The CM analytical framework was based on a weighted DSO
Production Gains In Cost-Effective- Ness Analyses - A Welfare-Theoreti- Cal Approach

In the literature on cost-effectiveness analyses, there has recently been considerable debate on the way of measuring the production gain caused by a new treatment as well as its proper evaluation. In this paper, we propose a general framework for the discussion of such questions in the form of a general equilibrium model with separate health variables. It is shown how the standard methods of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis are derived from basic assumptions. Also, the question of whether to choose the human capital or the frictional method in evaluating production gains can be given an answer in this model.
Tourists taking photographs: the long tail in tourists' perceived image of Barcelona

This study examines photographs taken by tourists of Barcelona in order to identify the perceived image of the city. Specifically, the study analyses 3100 photographs uploaded by tourist photographers on the social network Flickr. The method of analysis used was content analysis. The findings demonstrate that Barcelona's perceived image is dominated by a few very popular sights, but also contains a large number of new sights and spaces. These new elements are not of much individual value, but collectively account for a large volume and therefore have the capacity to expand the city's image. This is the long tail of Barcelona's tourist image, providing the city with a new image created by tourists themselves.
Learning mixtures of smooth, nonuniform deformation models for probabilistic image matching

By representing images and image prototypes by linear subspaces spanned by “tangent vec-tors” (derivatives of an image with respect to translation, rotation, etc. ), impressive invariance to known types of uniform distortion can be built into feedforward discriminators. We describe a new probability model that can jointly cluster data and learn mixtures of nonuniform, smooth deformation ﬁelds. Our ﬁelds are based on low-frequency wavelets, so they use very few parameters to model a wide range of smooth deformations (unlike, e.g. , factor analysis, which uses a large number of parameters to model deformations). We give results on handwritten digit recognition and face recognition.
AUDITORY AND VESTIBULAR SYSTEMS: Temporal and spatial dependency of the ventriloquism effect

The perception of the spatial location of an auditory stimulus can be captured by a spatially disparate visual stimulus, a phenomenon known as the ventriloquism effect. This study investigated the temporal and spatial dependency of this illusion. In the temporal domain, only disparities of 50±100 ms were perceived as simultaneous, and disparities where the visual stimulus occurred before the auditory stimulus were more effective in creating the illusion. In the spatial domain, the illusion was elicited most strongly at spatial disparities below spatial discrimination thresholds. There was also a signi®cant interaction between temporal and spatial disparities. These results indicate that both temporal and spatial parameters are critical in the perception of real world objects in extrapersonal space. NeuroReport 12:7±10 & 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Income Rank and Upward Comparisons

Many studies have argued that relative income predicts individual well-being. More recently, it has been suggested that the relative rank of an individual’s income, rather than how that income compares to a mean or reference income, is important. Here the relative rank hypothesis is examined along with the additional hypothesis that individuals compare their incomes predominantly with those of slightly higher earners. A study of over 12,000 British adults using the British Household Panel Survey (a) confirms the importance of rank and (b) finds evidence that individuals compare upwards and to those most similar. This paper appears to be the first to show in fixed effect well-being equations that the influence of rank is more important than the influence of relative pay.
Do Catholic Schools Make a Difference? Evidence from Australia

This paper examines whether the substantial benefits reported for attending Catholic schools in the United States also exist for students of Catholic schools in Australia. We find that despite its relatively low cost, attendance at Australian Catholic schools increases the probability of completing high school by 17 percentage points. The evidence also suggests that attendance at Australian Catholic schools increases the probability of obtaining higher education and is associated with a superior performance in the labor market.
InP HBT voltage controlled oscillator for 300-GHz-band wireless communications

We present a 300-GHz-band fundamental voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) for wireless communications using 0.25-μm InP HBT technology. The VCO exhibits about -2-dBm differential output power and 10-GHz frequency tuning range with dc power consumption of 46.2 mW. The oscillation frequency band of the VCO can be extended over 360 GHz in the same structure.
Insights into the Early Epidemic Spread of Ebola in Sierra Leone Provided by Viral Sequence Data

Background and Methodology: The current Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa has been spreading at least since December 2013. The first confirmed case of Ebola virus in Sierra Leone was identified on May 25. Based on viral genetic sequencing data from 72 individuals in Sierra Leone collected between the end of May and mid June, we utilize a range of phylodynamic methods to estimate the basic reproductive number (R0). We additionally estimate the expected lengths of the incubation and infectious periods of the virus. Finally, we use phylogenetic trees to examine the role played by population structure in the epidemic. Results: The median estimates of R0 based on sequencing data alone range between 1.65-2.18, with the most plausible model yielding a median R0 of 2.18 (95% HPD 1.24-3.55). Importantly, our results indicate that, at least until mid June, relief efforts in Sierra Leone were ineffective at lowering the effective reproductive number of the virus. We estimate the expected length of the infectious period to be 2.58 days (median; 95% HPD 1.24-6.98). The dataset appears to be too small in order to estimate the incubation period with high certainty (median expected incubation period 4.92 days; 95% HPD 2.11-23.20). While our estimates of the duration of infection tend to be smaller than previously reported, phylodynamic analyses support a previous estimate that 70% of cases were observed and included in the present dataset. The dataset is too small to show a particular population structure with high significance, however our preliminary analyses suggest that half the population is spreading the virus with an R0 well above 2, while the other half of the population is spreading with an R0 below 1. Conclusions: Overall we show that sequencing data can robustly infer key epidemiological parameters. Such estimates inform public health officials and help to coordinate effective public health efforts. Thus having more sequencing data available for the ongoing Ebola virus epidemic and at the start of new outbreaks will foster a quick understanding of the dynamics of the pathogen.