Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diversity and Distribution Patterns in High Southern Latitude Sponges

Sponges play a key role in Antarctic marine benthic community structure and dynamics and are often a dominant component of many Southern Ocean benthic communities. Understanding the drivers of sponge distribution in Antarctica enables us to understand many of general benthic biodiversity patterns in the region. The sponges of the Antarctic and neighbouring oceanographic regions were assessed for species richness and biogeographic patterns using over 8,800 distribution records. Species-rich regions include the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, South Georgia, Eastern Weddell Sea, Kerguelen Plateau, Falkland Islands and north New Zealand. Sampling intensity varied greatly within the study area, with sampling hotspots found at the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, north New Zealand and Tierra del Fuego, with limited sampling in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas in the Southern Ocean. In contrast to previous studies we found that eurybathy and circumpolar distributions are important but not dominant characteristics in Antarctic sponges. Overall Antarctic sponge species endemism is ∼43%, with a higher level for the class Hexactinellida (68%). Endemism levels are lower than previous estimates, but still indicate the importance of the Polar Front in isolating the Southern Ocean fauna. Nineteen distinct sponge distribution patterns were found, ranging from regional endemics to cosmopolitan species. A single, distinct Antarctic demosponge fauna is found to encompass all areas within the Polar Front, and the sub-Antarctic regions of the Kerguelen Plateau and Macquarie Island. Biogeographical analyses indicate stronger faunal links between Antarctica and South America, with little evidence of links between Antarctica and South Africa, Southern Australia or New Zealand. We conclude that the biogeographic and species distribution patterns observed are largely driven by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the timing of past continent connectivity.
Regulation of neural markers nestin and GFAP expression by cultivated bone marrow stromal cells

Bone marrow stromal cells can differentiate into many types of mesenchymal cells, i.e. osteocyte, chondrocyte and adipocyte, but can also differentiate into non-mesenchymal cells, i.e. neural cells under appropriate in vivo experimental conditions (Kopen et al., 1999; Brazelton et al., 2000; Mezey et al., 2000). This neural phenotypic plasticity allows us to consider the utilization of mesenchymal stem cells as cellular material in regenerative medicine. In this study, we demonstrate that cultured adult rat stromal cells can express nestin, an intermediate filament protein predominantly expressed by neural stem cells. Two factors contribute to the regulation of nestin expression by rat stromal cells: serum in the culture medium inhibits nestin expression and a threshold number of passages must be reached below which nestin expression does not occur. Only nestin-positive rat stromal cells are able to form spheres when they are placed in the culture conditions used for neural stem cells. Likewise, only nestin-positive stromal cells are able to differentiate into GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein)-positive cells when they are co-cultivated with neural stem cells. We thus demonstrated that adult rat stromal cells in culture express nestin in absence of serum after passaging the cells at least ten times, and we suggest that nestin expression by these cells might be a prerequisite for the acquisition of the capacity to progress towards the neural lineage.
The NTU Toolkit and Framework for High-Level Feature Detection at TRECVID 2007

In TRECVID 2007 high-level feature (HLF) detection, we extend the well-known LIBSVM and develop a toolkit speciflcally for HLF detection. The package shortens the learning time and provides a framework for researchers to easily conduct experiments. We e-ciently and efiectively aggregate detectors of training past data to achieve better performances. We propose post-processing techniques, concept reranking and temporal flltering, to exploit inter-concept contextual relationship and inter-shot temporal dependency. The overall improvement is 46% over that by our baseline in terms of infMAP. We brie∞y summarize our six submitted runs in this abstract. The run (runid: A nt20Giants 6) adopts multiple low-levels features (all visual features), SVM models, ensemble bagging classifler, and multi- modal fusion. We take this setting as our baseline. We then experiment with post-processing methods and the leverage of classiflers using past data. The proposed post-processing framework is flrstly applied to the baseline to obtain a new run (runid: A ntMonster 4). in terms of infMAP, this new run improves 16.7% over the baseline The runs, A ntTank05 1 and A ntTransformer 5, aggregate classiflers of using past data by averaging and weighted averaging their results, respectively. The results of these two runs, A ntTank05 1 and A ntTransformer 5, are respectively 17.3% and 25.0% higher than that of A ntMonster 4. Based the observation of our experimental results, we conclude that post-processing and using past data are helpful to improve HLE detection.
Entorhinal theta-frequency input to the dentate gyrus trisynaptically evokes hippocampal CA1 LTP

There exists substantial evidence that some forms of explicit learning in mammals require long-term potentiation (LTP) at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses. While CA1 LTP has been well characterized at the monosynaptic level, it still remains unclear how the afferent systems to the hippocampus can initiate formation of this neuroplastic phenomenon. Using voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) in a mouse brain slice preparation, we show that evoked entorhinal cortical (EC) theta-frequency input to the dentate gyrus highly effectively generates waves of neuronal activity which propagate through the entire trisynaptic circuit of the hippocampus (“HTC-Waves”). This flow of activity, which we also demonstrate in vivo, critically depends on frequency facilitation of mossy fiber to CA3 synaptic transmission. The HTC-Waves are rapidly boosted by the cognitive enhancer caffeine (5 μM) and the stress hormone corticosterone (100 nM). They precisely follow the rhythm of the EC input, involve high-frequency firing (>100 Hz) of CA3 pyramidal neurons, and induce NMDA receptor-dependent CA1 LTP within a few seconds. Our study provides the first experimental evidence that synchronous theta-rhythmical spiking of EC stellate cells, as occurring during EC theta oscillations, has the capacity to drive induction of CA1 LTP via the hippocampal trisynaptic pathway. Moreover, we present data pointing to a basic filter mechanism of the hippocampus regarding EC inputs and describe a methodology to reveal alterations in the “input–output relationship” of the hippocampal trisynaptic circuit.
The Baseline Ratio of Neutrophils to Lymphocytes Is Associated with Patient Prognosis in Advanced Gastric Cancer

Objective: In cancer patients, the balance between neutrophil (N) and lymphocyte (L) cell counts fluctuates with advancing disease. The objective of our study was to determine the prognostic implications of the N/L ratio in the peripheral blood of gastric cancer patients. Methods: Study participants were identified from a prospective cohort of patients with advanced gastric cancer in Japan (n = 1,220). Results: The median baseline N/L was 2.58 (range, 0.63–12.7). Univariate analysis revealed that patients with an N/L ≧2.5 (n = 644) had a significantly poorer prognosis than those with an N/L <2.5 (n = 576; log rank test, p = 0.019 × 10–12). The median survival times for these two groups were 239 (95% confidence interval, CI, 217–251 days) and 363 days (95% CI, 334–406 days), respectively, while the 1-year survival rates were 30 (95% CI, 26–34%) and 50% (95% CI, 45–54%), respectively. A multivariate Cox model established a significant relationship between the N/L ratio and survival (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.32–1.75; p = 0.077 × 10–8). Conclusions: These results suggest that the N/L ratio is an independent prognostic factor in advanced gastric cancer. Measurement of this ratio may serve as a clinically accessible and useful biomarker for patient survival.
Psychosocial Stress at Work Doubles the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Middle-Aged Women

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of psychosocial stress at work on risk of type 2 diabetes, adjusting for conventional risk factors, among a sample of British, white-collar, middle-aged men and women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a prospective analysis (1991–2004) from the Whitehall II cohort study. The current sample consists of 5,895 Caucasian middle-aged civil servants free from diabetes at baseline. Type 2 diabetes was ascertained by an oral glucose tolerance test supplemented by self-reports at baseline and four consecutive waves of data collection including two screening phases. The job strain and iso-strain models were used to assess psychosocial work stress. RESULTS Iso-strain in the workplace was associated with a twofold higher risk of type 2 diabetes in age-adjusted analysis in women but not in men (hazard ratio 1.94 [95% CI 1.17–3.21). This effect remained robust to adjustment for socioeconomic position and outside work stressors and was only attenuated by 20% after adjustment for health behaviors, obesity, and other type 2 diabetes risk factors. CONCLUSIONS Psychosocial work stress was an independent predictor of type 2 diabetes among women after a 15-year follow-up. This association was not explained by potential confounding and mediating factors. More evidence from prospective studies using the same work stress models is needed to support the current findings and provide further information on sex differences.
Voltage‐ and Use‐Dependent Modulation of Cardiac Calcium Channels by the Dihydropyridine (+)‐202‐791

The modulation of L-type voltage sensitive calcium channels in isolated guinea pig ventricular myocytes by the dihydropyridine (+)-202-791 was examined with the whole-cell voltage-clamp technique with 1.8 mM Ba or Ca as the charge carrier. Striking voltage- and use-dependent effects of the dihydropyridine calcium channel "agonist" (+)-202-791 were revealed. From a holding potential of -60 mV, depolarizing test pulses in the presence of (+)-202-791 demonstrated a concentration-dependent (EC50, 177 nM) increase in the measured peak inward barium current compared to control. In contrast, more depolarized holding potentials (±-30 mV) (+)-202-791 caused a biphasic effect on the peak inward current resulting in a transient enhancement followed by a steady-state block. A saturable, concentration-dependent hyperpolarizing shift in the voltage dependence of current inactivation was observed in the presence of (+)-202-791 with an EC50 of 10.2 nM. The voltage dependence of current activation was also shifted in the hyperpolarizing direction in the presence of (+)-202-791. A use-dependent relative block by (+)-202-791 was observed after repetitive depolarizing test pulses at a frequency of 2 Hz. Thus, the single enantiomer (+)-202-791 can result in either an increase in the whole cell calcium channel current (favored by hyperpolarized holding potentials and low rates of stimulation) or block of calcium channel current (favored by depolarized holding potentials and high rates of stimulation). Various combinations of (-)-202-791, a reported calcium channel antagonist, and (+)-202-791 resulted in intermediate effects on voltage sensitive calcium or barium currents compared with the presence of either enantiomer alone, and no clear cooperative interactions between the enantiomers were observed in contrast to a previous single channel study (Kokuban S, Prod'ham B, Becker C, Porzig H, Reuter H: Studies on Ca channels in intact cardiac cells: Voltage-dependent effects and cooperative interaction of dihydropyridine enantiomers. Mol Pharmacol 1986; 30: 571-584). The results are discussed in relation to the possible presence of multiple dihydropyridine receptors associated with the voltage sensitive calcium channel.
Purification and Characterization of C. maculatus α αα α-amylase

Callosobruchus maculatus causes damaging of storage mungbean seeds. Understanding control mechanism of a-amylase activity is essential for developing method for the insect control. In this study, C. maculatus a-amylase was purified and characterized. Purification was carried out using self-coupled β-cyclodextrin sepharose 6B affinity column. It was found that C. maculatus α-amylase had one isoform with a molecular weight of 50 kDa. The purified enzyme with specific activity of 182.78 U mg protein -1 , showing optimum pH at around 5-6 and optimum temperature at 50-60 °C.
Bloom's taxonomy for CS assessment

Bloom's Taxonomy is difficult to apply consistently to assessment tasks in introductory programming courses. The Bloom taxonomy is a valuable tool that could enable analysis and discussion of programming assessment if it could be interpreted consistently. We discuss each of the Bloom classification categories and provide a consistent interpretation with concrete exemplars that will allow computer science educators to utilise Bloom's Taxonomy for programming assessment. Using Bloom's Taxonomy to help design examinations could greatly improve the quality of assessment in introductory programming courses.
Impulse Control Disorders in Parkinson's Disease Are Associated with Dysfunction in Stimulus Valuation But Not Action Valuation

A substantial subset of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients suffers from impulse control disorders (ICDs), which are side effects of dopaminergic medication. Dopamine plays a key role in reinforcement learning processes. One class of reinforcement learning models, known as the actor-critic model, suggests that two components are involved in these reinforcement learning processes: a critic, which estimates values of stimuli and calculates prediction errors, and an actor, which estimates values of potential actions. To understand the information processing mechanism underlying impulsive behavior, we investigated stimulus and action value learning from reward and punishment in four groups of participants: on-medication PD patients with ICD, on-medication PD patients without ICD, off-medication PD patients without ICD, and healthy controls. Analysis of responses suggested that participants used an actor-critic learning strategy and computed prediction errors based on stimulus values rather than action values. Quantitative model fits also revealed that an actor-critic model of the basal ganglia with different learning rates for positive and negative prediction errors best matched the choice data. Moreover, whereas ICDs were associated with model parameters related to stimulus valuation (critic), PD was associated with parameters related to action valuation (actor). Specifically, PD patients with ICD exhibited lower learning from negative prediction errors in the critic, resulting in an underestimation of adverse consequences associated with stimuli. These findings offer a specific neurocomputational account of the nature of compulsive behaviors induced by dopaminergic drugs.
The initial design and manufacturing process of a low cost hand for the robot iCub

This paper describes the design of a new hand for the robot iCub. Developed as part of the European project RobotCub the iCub is a robot baby based on an 18 month to 2.5 year old child. The current iCub hands are under-actuated which means they are not as dexterous as a true childpsilas hand. The hand designed in this work has a total of 22 degrees of freedom of which 18 are independently drivable. In order to minimise weight and cost the hand has been produced from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) using 3D printing techniques. This removes the need for extensive machining which would add significantly to the overall cost of the hand. A prototype finger has been produced and tested and a full mechanical design is presented.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Pediatric Patients with Aplastic Anemia: Isolation, Characterization, Adipogenic, and Osteogenic Differentiation

Aplastic anemia is a syndrome of bone marrow (BM) failure characterized by peripheral pancytopenia and marrow hypoplasia. Its exact pathophysiology is still not clear. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an important role in providing the specialized BM microenvironment for hematopoietic stem cells survival and differentiation. MSCs were isolated from BM of five patients with aplastic anemia and five controls. MSCs were characterized by morphology and immunophenotyping. Their viability, proliferative capacity, and adipogenic as well as osteogenic differentiation potentials were assessed. MSCs from aplastic anemia patients and controls shared similar spindle-shaped morphology and surface marker expression. MSCs derived from patients with aplastic anemia showed lower viability (74.2 ± 4.44% vs. 97.0 ± 1.58, p < 0.0001) and slower expansion rate as indicated by smaller population doubling and smaller cumulative population doubling from passages 1 to 4 (0.70 ± 0.22 vs. 2.34 ± 0.84; p = 0.009). Besides, aplastic anemia MSCs had poor capacity to differentiate into adipocytic and osteocytic lineages.
An Approach to News Event Detection and Tracking Based on Stream of Online News

once an event occurs, usually there are a large number of online news to be released. How to quickly and accurately detect the hot events from the huge amount of online news is the focus and hotspot. Event detection and tracking technology is as a key technology to solve this problem. In this paper, we propose an approach to detect hot events from the online news stream in a timely manner and track the hot events. Based on the idea of single-pass clustering algorithm, this approach address the weight of keywords and proposes a new method to calculate similarity among news to track event. Through the analysis of the experimental results, we can find that this algorithm has a good effect on hot event detection.
Nonverbal Leakage and Clues to Deception †.

Abstract : Research relevant to psychotherapy regarding facial expression and body movement, has shown that the kind of information which can be gleaned from the patients words - information about affects, attitudes, interpersonal styles, psychodynamics - can also be derived from his concomitant nonverbal behavior. The study explores the interaction situation, and considers how within deception interactions differences in neuroanatomy and cultural influences combine to produce specific types of body movements and facial expressions which escape efforts to deceive and emerge as leakage or deception clues.
The CPD needs of mentors in post‐compulsory Initial Teacher Training in England

This paper discusses the compulsory professional development (CPD) needs of mentors within post‐compulsory Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provision in England. The discussion applies the ideas of Weber, Foucault, Habermas and Bourdieu in interpreting the implications for post‐compulsory ITT mentor CPD training. The paper’s primary and secondary research findings appear to indicate that mentors within this field of education struggle to gain the professional acceptance that Weber has popularised. Alongside struggling to achieve professional recognition it can also be argued that post‐compulsory ITT mentors may not use the same ‘discourse’ or ‘way of talking’ about teaching as their mentees. This finding is relevant to the work of Foucault. The subsequent attempt to achieve ‘collaboration’ and the potential ‘contestation’ that may be experienced links to the work of Habermas and Bourdieu.
New Advances in Compiling CNF into Decomposable Negation Normal Form

We describe a new algorithm for compiling conjunctive normal form (CNF) into Deterministic Decomposable Negation Normal (d-DNNF), which is a tractable logical form that permits model counting in polynomial time. The new implementation is based on latest techniques from both the SAT and OBDD literatures, and appears to be orders of magnitude more efficient than previous algorithms for this purpose. We compare our compiler experimentally to state of the art model counters, OBDD compilers, and previous CNF2dDNNF compilers.
Accuracy of Harmonic Mean Approximation in Performance Analysis of Multihop Amplify-and-Forward Relaying

The accuracy of the harmonic mean approximation (HMA) of the exact end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in multihop amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying systems is analyzed. A lower bound for the exact end-to-end SNR is obtained as a function of the HMA. It is shown that HMA overestimates the exact value but no more than 0.5, regardless of the number of hops and the fading model being used. Then, performance bounds for multihop AF relaying systems, including upper and lower bounds for the exact outage probability, average symbol error probability, and ergodic capacity, are obtained using HMA.
Capacity analysis for finite-state Markov mapping of flat-fading channels

In this paper, time-varying flat-fading channels are modeled as first-order finite-state Markov channels (FSMC). The effect of this modeling on the channel information capacity is addressed. The approximation accuracy of the first-order memory assumption in the Markov model is validated by comparing the FSMC capacity with the channel capacity assuming perfect state information at the receiver side. The results indicate that the first-order Markovian assumption is accurate for normalized Doppler frequencies f/sub d/T /spl lsim/ 0.01, in amplitude-only quantization of the channel gain for noncoherent binary signaling. In phase-only and joint phase and amplitude quantization of the channel gain for coherent binary signaling, the first-order Markovian assumption is accurate for f/sub d/T /spl lsim/ 0.001. Furthermore, the effect of channel quantization thresholds on the FSMC capacity is studied. In high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions, nonuniform two-level amplitude quantization scheme outperforms equiprobable quantization method by 0.8-1.5 dB.
Academic Brilliance: Through the Eyes of Hong Kong Adolescents

ABSTRACT The study explored whether attitudes of Hong Kong Chinese adolescents towards academic brilliance, studiousness and athleticism mirrored the importance of education, and hard work associated with Asian values. Tannenbaum's (1962) methodological framework and instrumentation was adapted to enable cross-cultural comparison of Hong Kong results with Western ones. A total of 223 Hong Kong secondary school students participated in the study. Adolescents' reactions towards eight stimulus characters differing in ability, effort and athleticism were analysed. The three-way analysis of variance showed that Hong Kong adolescents expressed very clear preference for athleticism and non-studiousness. Academic brilliance was favoured over average ability. A statistically significant interactive effect was found between academic brilliance and studiousness, and brilliance and athleticism.