Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing for Spatially Divergent Selection: Comparing QST to FST

QST is a standardized measure of the genetic differentiation of a quantitative trait among populations. The distribution of QST's for neutral traits can be predicted from the FST for neutral marker loci. To test for the neutral differentiation of a quantitative trait among populations, it is necessary to ask whether the QST of that trait is in the tail of the probability distribution of neutral traits. This neutral distribution can be estimated using the Lewontin–Krakauer distribution and the FST from a relatively small number of marker loci. We develop a simulation method to test whether the QST of a given trait is consistent with the null hypothesis of selective neutrality over space. The method is most powerful with small mean FST, strong selection, and a large number (>10) of measured populations. The power and type I error rate of the new method are far superior to the traditional method of comparing QST and FST.
Password Rescue: A New Approach to Phishing Prevention

A phishing attack exploits both the enormous scale of the web and the fact that users are often enormously confused about what they can trust. Scale allows the phisher to get many responses to his attack, even though the probability of any given user responding is low (it costs the phisher no more to send a million emails than to send one). The enormous confusion about trust allows the phisher make a copy of a bank web-site look as trustworthy to the victim as the original. Previous approaches to this problem have tried to solve the problem by preventing useful information leaking to the phisher; for example by alerting the user to suspicious or low reputation sites. Generally this is done at the client (typically in a browser plugin or add-on). We propose a scheme that in several respects is a radical departure from previous approaches. First, we make no attempt to prevent information leakage. Rather, we try to detect and then rescue users from the consequences of bad trust decisions. Second, we harness scale against the attacker instead of trying to solve the problem at each client. Thus our scheme increases in efficacy with the scale of deployment: it offers very little protection if a small fraction of users participate, but makes phishing almost impossible as the deployment increases. Finally, we make clear that small trials of our system would prove little. The scale requirements of Password Rescue make it suitable for large deployment or not at all. HotSec seems like the best forum for such ideas.
The Importance of Microtopography and Nurse Canopy for Successful Restoration Planting of the Slow-Growing Conifer Pilgerodendron uviferum

Recent studies have shown that, owing to a lack of seed trees, the natural rate of recovery of fire-disturbed bog forests previously dominated by the endemic and endangered conifer Pilgerodendron uviferum (D. Don) Florin is extremely slow. Hence, increasing the number of seed trees in the landscape through restoration planting could remove the principal biotic filter, limiting recovery of these forests. Here, we analyzed how the success of restoration plantings may be improved through the choice or manipulation of microsites in P. uviferum forests on Chiloe Island in North Patagonia. For this purpose, we manipulated microtopography in water-logged sites in bogs (mounds, flat terrain, mineral soil) and changed canopy conditions (gaps, semi-open, closed canopy) in upland sites with better drainage. In bogs, there was no significant effect of microtopography on growth and survival of P. uviferum plantings. However, fluorescence measurements indicated lower stress in seedlings established on mounds. Seedlings in upland areas established beneath a nurse canopy had lower mortality and higher relative shoot growth, foliar nutrients, photosynthetic light use efficiency and chlorophyll fluorescence values than those planted in the open. This indicates that seedlings of the slow growing P. uviferum can tolerate extremely wet conditions, yet suffer from stress when grown in the open. Here, the removal of canopy appeared to have also removed or reduced mycorrhizal networks for seedlings, leading to poorer nutrition and growth. Based on these results, recommendations for restoration plantings in highly degraded P. uviferum forests are presented.
Twinfilin is required for actin-dependent developmental processes in Drosophila

The actin cytoskeleton is essential for cellular remodeling and many developmental and morphological processes. Twinfilin is a ubiquitous actin monomer–binding protein whose biological function has remained unclear. We discovered and cloned the Drosophila twinfilin homologue, and show that this protein is ubiquitously expressed in different tissues and developmental stages. A mutation in the twf gene leads to a number of developmental defects, including aberrant bristle morphology. This results from uncontrolled polymerization of actin filaments and misorientation of actin bundles in developing bristles. In wild-type bristles, twinfilin localizes diffusively to cytoplasm and to the ends of actin bundles, and may therefore be involved in localization of actin monomers in cells. We also show that twinfilin and the ADF/cofilin encoding gene twinstar interact genetically in bristle morphogenesis. These results demonstrate that the accurate regulation of size and dynamics of the actin monomer pool by twinfilin is essential for a number of actin-dependent developmental processes in multicellular eukaryotes.
Study on labour supply when tax evasion is an option with Box–Cox functional forms and random parameters

Labour supply when tax evasion is an option is analysed within a discrete choice framework which incorporates random parameters and Box–Cox functional forms, using mixed logit models. Deviates in parameters and, in some cases, correlation between alternatives in the evasion group are found to be significant. The models utilized yield good predictions in terms of labour supply and taxes paid by nonevaders. The goodness-of-fit and quality of prediction is improved by the introduction of correlation between random coefficients.
Interleukin-8 is increased in the membrane of circulating erythrocytes in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

AIMS Studies have shown that erythrocyte membranes are present within necrotic cores in atherosclerotic plaques, and that circulating erythrocytes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have increased total cholesterol content (CEM). Interleukin-8 (IL-8) binds to erythrocytes and during intraplaque haemorrhage it is released into the plaque and thus may contribute to inflammatory cascade and atherosclerotic plaque instability. The present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that erythrocyte membrane IL-8 is elevated in patients with ACS compared with those with chronic stable angina (CSA). METHODS AND RESULTS Consecutive patients who presented with CSA (n = 120, 92 men, 62 +/- 9 years), ACS (n = 118, 90 men, 62 +/- 10 years) or with chest pain who had normal coronary arteries (n = 36, 26 men, 60 +/- 7 years), were studied prospectively. IL-8 concentrations in erythrocyte membranes (rIL-8) and in plasma (pIL-8), C-reactive protein (CRP) and CEM were measured. rIL-8 levels [mean +/- 1 SD (standard deviation)] were higher in ACS (102.9 +/- 70.1 pg/mL) compared with CSA (44.7 +/- 22.8 pg/mL) (P < 0.001). No difference in pIL-8 levels between the two coronary artery disease groups was observed (P = 0.280). Serum CRP levels were correlated with rIL-8 levels (r = 0.294, P < 0.001); no association was found between CRP and pIL-8 levels (r = 0.025, P = 0.706). Further, rIL-8 had an independent association with ACS, when CRP and CEM were taken into consideration. CONCLUSION This study shows for the first time that rIL-8 content was significantly higher in ACS, compared with CSA. These findings endorse results from our previous studies suggesting that erythrocytes may play an important role in the development of unstable atherosclerotic plaque.
A New Preemption Algorithm for Diffserv-Aware Traffic Engineering in MPLS Networks

The preemption policy with three main preemption optimization criteria is proposed in many literatures and the choice of LSPs to be preempted is an NP-complete problem. We propose a heuristic algorithm called B-PREPT to solve the problem. Simulation results indicate that our algorithm has higher choice accuracy than the well-known heuristic algorithm recently cited by many other papers. Moreover, the computational complexity of our algorithm is acceptable for router's online computing in large scale networks.
Implementation of virtual forest park interactive walkthrough system

The technology of three-dimensional virtual reality walkthrough has been one of the research hotspots recently. Taking the Jiufeng National Forest Park in Beijing as an example, we will discuss the process of constructing the virtual scene and the realization of the interactive walkthrough system in this paper. The essential technical problems involved in the construction of model, design of materials, environmental simulation and virtual interaction for accomplishing system are explored. The system has achieved digital reproduction and three dimension walkthrough for park's trees, ancient architecture and attractive landscapes. An approach which fits the implementation of natural scene walkthrough system is presented, which uses 3D modeling software 3ds max for scene model construction and uses on Virtools for real-time rendering and walkthrough.
8 Metabolic Pathways as Targets for Drug Screening

In the drug development process, candidate compounds are first screened for desirable biological properties such as effects on gene expression, signal transduction, or enzyme activity. The genetic and metabolic pathways used in the readouts are known as targets of the drug screening process. Despite advances in molecular targeting, proteomics and metabolomics, drug screening with molecular or metabolic targets have not produced the results that meet the need of the pharmaceutical industry in the selection of small molecules leads/targets for clinical testing. The relative lack of success in applying the -omics in drug screening is partly due to the inability of the –omics to account for metabolic regulation, a property of the cellular metabolic network. More recently, tracer-based metabolomics has been developed as an experimental approach for the study of cellular metabolic networks. Interconversion of metabolites are measured in terms of “extreme pathways” of the metabolic network which can be used for drug screening purposes. In this paper, these approaches for drug screening targeting genetic pathways (transcriptomics), biochemical pathways (metabolomics and fluxomics) and ‘extreme pathways” (tracer-based metabolomics) are compared. The advantages and limitations of these approaches for metabolic research and drug screening are discussed.
Development of a cloud microphysical model and parameterizations to describe the effect of CCN on warm cloud

First, a hybrid cloud microphysical model was developed that incorporates both Lagrangian and Eulerian frameworks to study quantitatively the effect of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) on the precipitation of warm clouds. A parcel model and a grid model comprise the cloud model. The condensation growth of CCN in each parcel is estimated in a Lagrangian framework. Changes in cloud droplet size distribution arising from condensation and coalescence are calculated on grid points using a two-moment bin method in a semi-Lagrangian framework. Sedimentation and advection are estimated in the Eulerian framework between grid points. Results from the cloud model show that an increase in the number of CCN affects both the amount and the area of precipitation. Additionally, results from the hybrid microphysical model and Kessler's parameterization were compared. Second, new parameterizations were developed that estimate the number and size distribution of cloud droplets given the updraft velocity and the number of CCN. The parameterizations were derived from the results of numerous numerical experiments that used the cloud microphysical parcel model. The input information of CCN for these parameterizations is only several values of CCN spectrum (they are given by CCN counter for example). It is more convenient than conventional parameterizations those need values concerned with CCN spectrum, C and k in the equation of N=CS k , or, breadth, total number and median radius, for example. The new parameterizations' predictions of initial cloud droplet size distribution for the bin method were verified by using the aforesaid hybrid microphysical model. The newly developed parameterizations will save computing time, and can effectively approximate components of cloud microphysics in a non-hydrostatic cloud model. The parameterizations are useful not only in the bin method in the regional cloud-resolving model but also both for a two-moment bulk microphysical model and for a global model. The effects of sea salt, sulfate, and organic carbon particles were also studied with these parameterizations and global model.
CS264: Beyond Worst-Case Analysis Lecture #6: Clustering in Approximation-Stable Instances

In some optimization problems, the objective function can be taken quite literally. If one wants to maximize profit or accomplish some goal at minimum cost, then the goal translates directly into a numerical objective function. In other applications, an objective function is only a means to an end. Consider, for example, the problem of clustering. Given a set of data points, the goal is to cluster them into “coherent groups,” with points in the same group being “similar” and those in different groups being “dissimilar. ” There is not an obvious, unique way to translate this goal into a numerical objective function, and as a result many different objective functions have been studied (k-means, k-median, k-center, etc.) with the intent of making the fuzzy notion of a “good/meaningful clustering” into a concrete optimization problem. In this case, we do not care about the objective function value per se; rather, we want to discover interesting structure in the data. So we’re perfectly happy to compute a “meaningful clustering” with suboptimal objective function value, and would be highly dissatisfied with an “optimal solution” that fails to indicate any patterns in the data (which suggests that we were asking the wrong question, or expecting structure where none exists). The point is that if we are trying to cluster a data set, then we are implicitly assuming that interesting structure exists in the data. This perspective suggests that an explicit model of data could sharpen the insights provided by a traditional worst-case analysis framework (cf., modeling locality of reference in online paging). This lecture begins our exploration of the conjecture that clustering is hard only when it doesn’t matter. That is, clustering
Cell decomposition for the table in document image based on analysis of texts and lines distribution

This paper proposes a method to extract table cells from document images. In standard cases, we can extract the cells using the ruling lines. But, there are also cases where the ruling lines are omitted. In such cases, the existing lines, if any, and the distribution of text blocks is the only information to decompose the table. In our method, the input image is divided into text and lines images. And then, we decompose the table from those two images separately. Finally, we analyze the cells obtained from the previous step and decide the final result of the table decomposition.
PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED BY TEACHERS DURING THEIR POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION IN TURKEY

The purpose of this study was to reveal the problems encountered by teachers during their postgraduate education in Turkey. The participants involved 43 teachers who completed their master or doctoral education in different cities and universities in Turkey and who worked at schools affiliated to Ministry of National Education (MONE). The participants were chosen on a volunteer basis. A semi-structured interview form was developed in order to reveal the problems encountered by teachers during their postgraduate education. Content analysis was conducted on the data and themes were interpreted using tables. As a result of the study, it was observed that teachers encountered problems sourcing from university/institute, their school, and their close environment. The teachers began their postgraduate education with high expectations and assumed that postgraduate education was a process in which academic knowledge would be gained, discussed, and developed. However, considering their problems during the postgraduate education, it was observed that their expectations were not fulfilled. Article visualizations:
Network online comments and sentiment features analysis

With the rapid development of Internet technology, it is more convenient for people to communicate with each other at any time, public opinion is created on Internet and influences people's daily life deeply, for example the decision-making of government, organization and person. Network online comments which carry public opinion become a hotspot for researching during these years. In this paper, we summarize network online comments and sentiment features analysis. We get the extraction, expression and quantification of sentiment features. We look for the law of sentiment changes in the sequence, in order to provide a basis for decision-making. In the future we will research the stock index prediction algorithm based on sentiment features extracted from network online comments.
Digital Scholarly Editing : Theories and Practices

This volume presents the state of the art in digital scholarly editing. Drawing together the work of established and emerging researchers, it gives pause at a crucial moment in the history of technology in order to offer a sustained reflection on the practices involved in producing, editing and reading digital scholarly editions—and the theories that underpin them. The unrelenting progress of computer technology has changed the nature of textual scholarship at the most fundamental level: the way editors and scholars work, the tools they use to do such work and the research questions they attempt to answer have all been affected. Each of the essays in Digital Scholarly Editing approaches these changes with a different methodological consideration in mind. Together, they make a compelling case for re-evaluating the foundation of the discipline—one that tests its assertions against manuscripts and printed works from across literary history, and the globe. The sheer breadth of Digital Scholarly Editing, along with its successful integration of theory and practice, help redefine a rapidly-changing field, as its firm grounding and future-looking ambit ensure the work will be an indispensable starting point for further scholarship. This collection is essential reading for editors, scholars, students and readers who are invested in the future of textual scholarship and the digital humanities.
Bilateral Synchronous Sporadic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Retroperitoneoscopic Strategies and Intermediate Outcomes of 60 Patients

Objective To evaluate the presentation, management, pathology, and functional and oncological outcomes of patients undergoing retroperitoneoscopic treatment of bilateral synchronous sporadic RCC at our institution. Methods We retrospectively evaluated the records of 60 patients with bilateral synchronous sporadic RCC who underwent retroperitoneoscopic treatment at the General Hospital of People's Liberation Army from 2008 to 2014. The estimated glomerular filtration rate was calculated and compared among different surgical procedures. The overall survival and recurrence free survival were assessed based on information from recent follow-up. Results Fifty-six patients underwent bilateral retroperitoneoscopic surgeries in staged procedures, and four patients underwent bilateral retroperitoneoscopic surgeries in simultaneous procedures. Among the former group of patients, 34 underwent bilateral partial nephrectomy, 12 underwent radical nephrectomy followed by partial nephrectomy, and 10 underwent partial nephrectomy followed by radical nephrectomy. Bilateral partial nephrectomy can better preserve renal function (p = 0.040) and the sequence of partial nephrectomy and radical nephrectomy did not affect functional outcomes (p = 0.790). One patient undergoing simultaneous procedures developed acute renal failure and required temporary hemodialysis. At 3 and 5 years, overall survival rates were 93.0% and 89.4%, and recurrence free survival rates were 90.5% and 81.6%. High nuclear grade (p = 0.014) was related to disease recurrence. Conclusions Staged bilateral partial nephrectomy was efficient in preserving renal function. The survival of patients with bilateral synchronous sporadic renal tumors was similar to that of patients with unilateral nonmetastatic tumors. Nuclear grade was an independent prognostic factor of disease recurrence.
FPGA Implementation and Simulation of Guided Image Filtering

: Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology has become a viable target for the implementation of real time algorithms suitable to video image processing applications. The exclusive architecture of the FPGA has allowed the technology to be used in many applications encompassing all aspects of video image processing. In this paper, we propose a novel type of explicit image filter-guided filter. Resulting from a local linear model, the guided filter produces the filtering amount fashioned by considering the content of a guidance image, which can be the input image itself. The guided filter has a fast and non-approximate linear-time algorithm, whose computational intricacy is independent of the filtering kernel size. The guided filter is together effective and efficient in a great variety of computer vision and computer graphics applications including noise reduction, detail smoothing/enhancement, image matting/feathering. In this work, an implementation guided image filtering using a FPGA Xilinx Spartan 3E, with educational purposes, is obtainable. The system is connected to a USB port of a personal computer, in that way it forms a authoritative and low-cost intend station.The FPGA-based system is accessed through a Matlab graphical user interface, which handles the communication arrangement. A similarity between results obtained from MATLAB simulations and the described FPGA-based implementation is obtained.
Cortical Control of Striatal Dopamine Transmission via Striatal Cholinergic Interneurons

Corticostriatal regulation of striatal dopamine (DA) transmission has long been postulated, but ionotropic glutamate receptors have not been localized directly to DA axons. Striatal cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) are emerging as major players in striatal function, and can govern DA transmission by activating nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) on DA axons. Cortical inputs to ChIs have historically been perceived as sparse, but recent evidence indicates that they strongly activate ChIs. We explored whether activation of M1/M2 corticostriatal inputs can consequently gate DA transmission, via ChIs. We reveal that optogenetic activation of channelrhodopsin-expressing corticostriatal axons can drive striatal DA release detected with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry and requires activation of nAChRs on DA axons and AMPA receptors on ChIs that promote short-latency action potentials. By contrast, DA release driven by optogenetic activation of intralaminar thalamostriatal inputs involves additional activation of NMDA receptors on ChIs and action potential generation over longer timescales. Therefore, cortical and thalamic glutamate inputs can modulate DA transmission by regulating ChIs as gatekeepers, through ionotropic glutamate receptors. The different use of AMPA and NMDA receptors by cortical versus thalamic inputs might lead to distinct input integration strategies by ChIs and distinct modulation of the function of DA and striatum.