Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Light: Nutrient Ratio in Lakes: The Balance of Energy and Materials Affects Ecosystem Structure and Process

The amounts of solar energy and materials are two of the chief factors determining ecosystem structure and process. Here, we examine the relative balance of light and phosphorus in a set of freshwater pelagic ecosystems. We calculated a ratio of light: phosphorus by putting mixed‐layer mean light in the numerator and total P concentration in the denominator. This light: phosphorus ratio was a good predictor of the C:P ratio of particulate matter (seston), with a positive correlation demonstrated between these two ratios. We argue that the balance between light and nutrients controls “nutrient use efficiency” at the base of the food web in lakes. Thus, when light energy is high relative to nutrient availability, the base of the food web is carbon rich and phosphorus poor. In the opposite case, where light is relatively less available compared to nutrients, the base of the food web is relatively P rich. The significance of this relationship lies in the fact that the composition of sestonic material is known to influence a large number of ecosystem processes such as secondary production, nutrient cycling, and (we hypothesize) the relative strength of microbial versus grazing processes. Using the central result of increased C:P ratio with an increased light: phosphorus ratio, we make specific predictions of how ecosystem structure and process should vary with light and nutrient balance. Among these predictions, we suggest that lake ecosystems with low light: phosphorus ratios should have several trophic levels simultaneously carbon or energy limited, while ecosystems with high light: phosphorus ratios should have several trophic levels simultaneously limited by phosphorus. Our results provide an alternative perspective to the question of what determines nutrient use efficiency in ecosystems.
Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age

Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition Acknowledgments Preface to the 1990 Edition Preface to the 1984 Edition Part I. Thin Democracy: The Argument Against Liberalism 1. Thin Democracy: Politics as Zookeeping 2. The Preconceptual Frame: Newtonian Politics 3. The Epistemological Frame: Cartesian Politics 4. The Psychological Frame: Apolitical Man 5. Thin Democracy in the Twentieth Century: The Potential for Pathology Part II. Strong Democracy: The Argument for Citizenship 6. Strong Democracy: Politics as a Way of Living 7. A Conceptual Frame: Politics in the Participatory Mode 8. Citizenship and Participation: Politics as Epistemology 9. Citizenship and Community: Politics as Social Being 10. The Real Present: Institutionalizing Strong Democracy in the Modern World Index
Working Theory into and Out of Design Experiments

In this response, I advocate for the value of considering theory in the design–based research that Gersten describes in “Behind the Scenes of an Intervention Research Study. ” I argue that such an emphasis: is consistent with the literature on design experiments, is integral to advancing knowledge building within domains, serves to advance the work of a field, and supports the dissemination of instructional research. I illustrate these points, drawing upon the research described in the article by Gersten.
How to Build a Sandcastle: An Analysis of the Genesis and Development of Masdar City

Fuelled by an increasing diffusion of “green-consciousness” in urban politics, the eco-city has recently gained momentum. In the last decade, several governments from different areas of the world have approved plans for the construction of new master-planned urban developments aiming to find a balance with nature. The eco-city phenomenon is inscribed in a critical spatio-temporal context and its effects will arguably have a strong influence on our near future. Today, cities drain most of the global resources, have a major impact on the environment, and attract an increasing percentage of the world's population. Should the mainstream projections on 2050 prove to be correct, what we build now is and will be of primary importance. Hence, it is time to bring our current paradigms into question. This paper acknowledges the popularity that the eco-city has achieved in planning and mainstream discourses on sustainable development and aims to develop an understanding of the phenomenon on the basis of empirical analysis. More specifically, the paper focuses on the nexus between eco-cities and sustainability ideology to show how the latter is understood and applied in the development of new settlements. Using Masdar City as a case study, the three canonic dimensions of sustainability: the economic, the social, and the environmental, are here explored, and their respective weight evaluated. Ultimately, it will be shown how the foundations of the eco-city are strongly grounded in economic concerns and how the social and environmental aspects form only a layer aiming to hide the real nature of the phenomenon.
Practical Anticipation of Human Efficacious Doses and Pharmacokinetics Using In Vitro and Preclinical In Vivo Data

Accurate predictions of human pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) profiles are critical in early drug development, as safe, efficacious, and “developable” dosing regimens of promising compounds have to be identified. While advantages of successful integration of preclinical PK/PD data in the “anticipation” of human doses (AHD) have been recognized, pharmaceutical scientists have faced difficulties with practical implementation, especially for PK/PD profile projections of compounds with challenging absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and formulation properties. In this article, practical projection approaches for formulation-dependent human PK/PD parameters and profiles of Biopharmaceutics Classification System classes I-IV drugs based on preclinical data are described. Case examples for “AHD” demonstrate the utility of preclinical and clinical PK/PD modeling for formulation risk identification, lead candidate differentiation, and prediction of clinical outcome. The application of allometric scaling methods and physiologically based pharmacokinetic approaches for clearance or volume of distribution projections is described using GastroPlus™. Methods to enhance prediction confidence such as in vitro–in vivo extrapolations in clearance predictions using in vitro microsomal data are discussed. Examples for integration of clinical PK/PD and formulation data from frontrunner compounds via “reverse pharmacology strategies” that minimize uncertainty with PK/PD predictions are included. The use of integrated softwares such as GastroPlus™ in combination with established PK projection methods allow the projection of formulation-dependent preclinical and human PK/PD profiles required for compound differentiation and development risk assessments.
Rendezvous Planning in Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Elements

Recent research shows that significant energy saving can be achieved in wireless sensor networks by using mobile elements (MEs) capable of carrying data mechanically. However, the low movement speed of MEs hinders their use in data-intensive sensing applications with temporal constraints. To address this issue, we propose a rendezvous-based approach in which a subset of nodes serve as the rendezvous points (RPs) that buffer data originated from sources and transfer to MEs when they arrive. RPs enable MEs to collect a large volume of data at a time without traveling long distances, which can achieve a desirable balance between network energy saving and data collection delay. We develop two rendezvous planning algorithms, RP-CP and RP-UG. RP-CP finds the optimal RPs when MEs move along the data routing tree while RP-UG greedily chooses the RPs with maximum energy saving to travel distance ratios. We design the rendezvous-based data collection protocol that facilitates reliable data transfers from RPs to MEs in presence of significant unexpected delays in ME movement and network communication. Our approach is validated through extensive simulations.
Post-seismic damage assessment of steel structures instrumented with self-interrogating wireless sensors

Wireless sensors have been proposed for use in structural health monitoring systems because they offer low-installation costs and automated data processing functionality. A wireless sensor prototype is described for use in large-scale civil structures situated in zones of high seismic activity. When networked together, the distributed computational resources of the wireless sensor network can be leveraged to automate the process of screening post-seismic ambient response data for signs of structural damage. To validate the performance of the proposed wireless monitoring system, a three-story half-scale steel structure is instrumented with a wireless monitoring system assembled from a network of six wireless sensors. Attached to the wireless monitoring system is a heterogeneous array of sensing transducers including strain gages and accelerometers. White noise and seismic ground motion records are applied to the base of the structure using a shaking table. Autoregressive time series models are calculated by the wireless sensors using structural response data. Pattern classification methods are then adopted to classify the structure as damaged or undamaged using the autoregressive time series coefficients as feature vectors. To simulate damage in the structure, the steel columns are modified at the base of the structure with reduced column sections. The proposed damage detection methodology is shown to be capable of identifying the reduced column sections as damage.
Characterization of epithelial phenotypes in mortal and immortal human breast cells

We have previously described the mortal human breast epithelial culture MCF‐10M, that was derived from fibrocystic breast tissue, was cultivated in medium with low calcium content for over 2 years, and spontaneously gave rise to the immortal MCF‐10 cell line. The emergence of immortalized cells, characterized by growth in conventional calcium levels, from mortal cells has proven to be a reproducible event. Here we report the establishment of a second immortal line from MCF‐10M, designated MCF‐10‐2, and establishment of the MCF‐12 immortal line after long‐term cultivation of MCF‐12M mortal cells from reduction mammoplasty tissue. DNA fingerprinting demonstrated the independent, human origin and lineage of the MCF‐10‐2 and MCF‐12 cell lines. Both lines require cortisol and EGF for maximal growth. The expression in these cultures of in vivo breast epithelial phenotypes was analyzed using 2‐dimensional gel Western blots and immunoper‐ oxidase staining with antibodies to cytokeratins and polymorphic epithelial mucin. MCF‐10M and MCF‐12M retain the cytokeratin profile of the luminal cell (7, 8, 18, 19), and also express cytokeratin 14, found predominantly in basal cells. The immortal lines express a similar profile, except that cytokeratin 19, a component of the fully differentiated luminal cell, is not expressed in the more uniform population seen in MCF‐10 and MCF‐12, but is retained in the morphologically mixed, less‐ selected population of MCF‐10‐2. Epitopes on the polymorphic epithelial mucin, recognized by antibodies HMFG 1, HMFG 2 and SM‐3, were detected in the mortal cultures and in the immortal lines, indicating the occurrence of both normal and abnormal mucin processing. MCF‐10, MCF‐10‐2 and MCF‐12 cells do not form tumors in nude mice, but appear to organize as duct‐like structures before regressing in the 5th week post injection.
Application of bootstrap techniques for the estimation of Target Decomposition parameters in RADAR polarimetry

The precise estimation of the eigenvalues of PolSAR reponses is essential in the derivation of Target Decomposition parameters such as the Cloude-Pottier parameters (Entropy, Anisotropy and average angle Alpha). However, sample eigenvalues are strongly biased for small sample sizes leading to underestimated Entropy and overestimated Anisotropy values. In this paper, we investigate the use of a particular bootstrap technique for the correction of the bias. Bootstrap techniques are attractive because they can deal with very small sample sizes under minimal assumptions on the signal distribution. Here, we are using the jackknife bias correction technique which has been successfully applied to various signal processing problems. Monte-Carlo simulations reveal that the jackknife bias correction directly applied on the Cloude-Pottier parameters lead to better bias reduction.
Relay Techniques for MIMO Wireless Networks with Multiple Source and Destination Pairs

A multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay network comprises source, relay, and destination nodes, each of which is equipped with multiple antennas. In a previous work, we proposed a MIMO relay scheme for a relay network with a single source and destination pair in which each of the multiple relay nodes performs QR decompositions of the backward and forward channel matrices in conjunction with phase control (QR-P-QR). In this paper, we extend this scheme to a MIMO relay network employing multiple source and destination pairs. Towards this goal, we use a group nulling approach to decompose a multiple S-D MIMO relay channel into parallel independent S-D MIMO relay channels, and then apply the QR-P-QR scheme to each of the decomposed MIMO relay links. We analytically show the logarithmic capacity scaling of the proposed relay scheme. Numerical examples confirm that the proposed relay scheme offers higher capacity than existing relay schemes.
A Music Information Retrieval System Based on Singing Voice Timbre

We developed a music information retrieval system based on singing voice timbre, i.e., a system that can search for songs in a database that have similar vocal timbres. To achieve this, we developed a method for extracting feature vectors that represent characteristics of singing voices and calculating the vocal-timbre similarity between two songs by using a mutual information content of their feature vectors. We operated the system using 75 songs and confirmed that the system worked appropriately. According to the results of a subjective experiment, 80% of subjects judged that compared with a conventional method using MFCC, our method finds more appropriate songs that have similar vocal timbres.
Pattern-Oriented Design for Multi-Agent System: A Conceptual Model

Design patterns represent solutions to specific problem of developing one application that have evolved over time. They leverage the reuse level to the design phase by providing a common vocabulary of design, means of understanding designs and proven building blocks from which more complex applications are built. Much of the research work on design patterns in agent world has primarily focused on discovering and documenting patterns. To reap the benefits of deploying these proven design solutions, patterns should be used as a first-class modelling blocks in designing the agent application. This paper proposes a conceptual model based on patterns and agent abstraction.
Carer‐rated personality changes associated with senile dementia

Although adult personality traits have been shown to be stable with age, a recent study in the USA showed changes in a group of elderly people with memory disorders, as perceived by caregivers. The aim of this study was to replicate these findings in individuals suffering from senile dementia and to examine interactions with other emotional and physical stresses experienced by the carer. Thirty‐six subjects caring for an elderly person with dementia were visited twice in their own homes to assess the problems they had and how they were coping with them. NEO Personality Inventories were used to identify perceived personality changes. Individuals with senile dementia were regarded as becoming more neurotic, less extravert and less conscientious. These personality changes had more effect on carer morale than the physical burden of caring.
A Multivalent and Cross-Protective Vaccine Strategy against Arenaviruses Associated with Human Disease

Arenaviruses are the causative pathogens of severe hemorrhagic fever and aseptic meningitis in humans, for which no licensed vaccines are currently available. Pathogen heterogeneity within the Arenaviridae family poses a significant challenge for vaccine development. The main hypothesis we tested in the present study was whether it is possible to design a universal vaccine strategy capable of inducing simultaneous HLA-restricted CD8+ T cell responses against 7 pathogenic arenaviruses (including the lymphocytic choriomeningitis, Lassa, Guanarito, Junin, Machupo, Sabia, and Whitewater Arroyo viruses), either through the identification of widely conserved epitopes, or by the identification of a collection of epitopes derived from multiple arenavirus species. By inoculating HLA transgenic mice with a panel of recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVACVs) expressing the different arenavirus proteins, we identified 10 HLA-A02 and 10 HLA-A03-restricted epitopes that are naturally processed in human antigen-presenting cells. For some of these epitopes we were able to demonstrate cross-reactive CD8+ T cell responses, further increasing the coverage afforded by the epitope set against each different arenavirus species. Importantly, we showed that immunization of HLA transgenic mice with an epitope cocktail generated simultaneous CD8+ T cell responses against all 7 arenaviruses, and protected mice against challenge with rVACVs expressing either Old or New World arenavirus glycoproteins. In conclusion, the set of identified epitopes allows broad, non-ethnically biased coverage of all 7 viral species targeted by our studies.
Representative Freshwater Bacterioplankton Isolated from Crater Lake, Oregon

ABSTRACT High-throughput culturing (HTC) methods that rely on dilution to extinction in very-low-nutrient media were used to obtain bacterial isolates from Crater Lake, Oregon. 16S rRNA sequence determination and phylogenetic reconstruction were used to determine the potential ecological significance of isolated bacteria, both in Crater Lake and globally. Fifty-five Crater Lake isolates yielded 16 different 16S rRNA gene sequences. Thirty of 55 (55%) Crater Lake isolates had 16S rRNA gene sequences with 97% or greater similarity to sequences recovered previously from Crater Lake 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. Furthermore, 36 of 55 (65%) Crater Lake isolates were found to be members of widely distributed freshwater groups. These results confirm that HTC is a significant improvement over traditional isolation techniques that tend to enrich for microorganisms that do not predominate in their environment and rarely correlate with 16S rRNA gene clone library sequences. Although all isolates were obtained under dark, heterotrophic growth conditions, 2 of the 16 different groups showed evidence of photosynthetic capability as assessed by the presence of puf operon sequences, suggesting that photoheterotrophy may be a significant process in this oligotrophic, freshwater habitat.
Becoming a member of a school community while working toward science education reform: Teacher induction from a cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) perspective

The first years of teaching can be demanding, as the novice works to gain familiarity with many aspects of professional work. Often, what they have been prepared to do in teacher education programs is not aligned with what is expected at them in schools. As a consequence, many teachers leave the profession or move away from the reform-minded practice emphasized in their preparation as they accept the norms of their new community of practice. Using cultural historical activity theory, this comparative case study explored two beginning science teachers' transition into the teaching profession and the roles a community of practice played in this transition. Findings suggest that these science teachers were influenced by the social and professional structures at their schools and by the level of institutional and interpersonal support they received from peer teachers and administrators. The extent to which these teachers became involved in the community of practices at their schools greatly influenced their instructional practice. Implications suggest that science teacher preparation and induction programs must go beyond simply emphasizing teaching and learning—they must also address strategies young teachers can use to access the support they need to be able to consistently enact reform-based practices. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed93:996–1025, 2009
A Linear Algebraic Approach for Loss Tomography in Mesh Topologies Using Network Coding

Loss tomography aims to infer link loss rates using end-to-end measurements. We investigate active loss tomography on mesh topologies. When network coding is applied, based on the content of the received probe packet, a receiver should distinguish which paths have successfully transmitted a probe and which paths have not. We establish a lower bound on probe size which is necessary for obtaining such end-to-end observations. Furthermore, we propose a linear algebraic (LA) approach to developing consistent estimators of link loss rates. Our approach exploits the inherent correlation between the losses on links and the losses on different sets of paths, so that the estimators converge to the actual loss rates as the number of probes increases. We also prove that the identifiability of a link is a necessary and sufficient condition for the consistent estimation of its loss rate. Simulation results show that the LA approach achieves better estimation accuracy than the belief propagation (BP) algorithm, after sending reasonably sufficient probes.
A humid corridor across the Sahara for the migration of early modern humans out of Africa 120,000 years ago

It is widely accepted that modern humans originated in sub-Saharan Africa ≈150–200 thousand years ago (ka), but their route of dispersal across the currently hyperarid Sahara remains controversial. Given that the first modern humans north of the Sahara are found in the Levant ≈120–90 ka, northward dispersal likely occurred during a humid episode in the Sahara within Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (130–117 ka). The obvious dispersal route, the Nile, may be ruled out by notable differences between archaeological finds in the Nile Valley and the Levant at the critical time. Further west, space-born radar images reveal networks of—now buried—fossil river channels that extend across the desert to the Mediterranean coast, which represent alternative dispersal corridors. These corridors would explain scattered findings at desert oases of Middle Stone Age Aterian lithic industries with bifacial and tanged points that can be linked with industries further to the east and as far north as the Mediterranean coast. Here we present geochemical data that demonstrate that water in these fossil systems derived from the south during wet episodes in general, and penetrated all of the way to the Mediterranean during MIS 5e in particular. This proves the existence of an uninterrupted freshwater corridor across a currently hyperarid region of the Sahara at a key time for early modern human migrations to the north and out of Africa.