Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synchronous dynamics of zooplankton competitors prevail in temperate lake ecosystems

Although competing species are expected to exhibit compensatory dynamics (negative temporal covariation), empirical work has demonstrated that competitive communities often exhibit synchronous dynamics (positive temporal covariation). This has led to the suggestion that environmental forcing dominates species dynamics; however, synchronous and compensatory dynamics may appear at different length scales and/or at different times, making it challenging to identify their relative importance. We compiled 58 long-term datasets of zooplankton abundance in north-temperate and sub-tropical lakes and used wavelet analysis to quantify general patterns in the times and scales at which synchronous/compensatory dynamics dominated zooplankton communities in different regions and across the entire dataset. Synchronous dynamics were far more prevalent at all scales and times and were ubiquitous at the annual scale. Although we found compensatory dynamics in approximately 14% of all combinations of time period/scale/lake, there were no consistent scales or time periods during which compensatory dynamics were apparent across different regions. Our results suggest that the processes driving compensatory dynamics may be local in their extent, while those generating synchronous dynamics operate at much larger scales. This highlights an important gap in our understanding of the interaction between environmental and biotic forces that structure communities.
Influence of Alevi-Sunni Intermarriage on the Spouses’ Religious Affiliation, Family Relations, and Social Environment: A Qualitative Study of Turkish Couples

What influence Alevi-Sunni intermarriage has on spouses’ individual religious affiliation after marriage was the initial research question addressed in this study. No official or unofficial data exist regarding the Alevi-Sunni intermarriage in Turkey. This study responded to the need to describe extant relationships by using a qualitative approach to gather detailed information from a sample of married couples in Corum city, Turkey. A case study method was applied to a sample of ten couples. Couples were selected using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. A team of researchers conducted forty face-to-face interviews. Each of the ten husbands and ten wives in Alevi-Sunni intermarriages were interviewed twice using semi-structured questionnaires. Additional demographic and observational data were gathered. Spouses in the Alevi-Sunni intermarriages sampled did not change their religious affiliation after marriage. The spouses reported few if any problems in their marital relationships and in child rearing. However, spouses did report many problems with parental families, in-laws, and other relatives. The disapproval and punishments from extended family members are related to the social stigma attached to Alevi-Sunni intermarriages. However, intermarriage, modernization including secularism and pluralism are challenging this stigma. Because of this transition further interdisciplinary studies on Alevi-Sunni intermarriage that explore different dimensions of intermarriage are needed.
Stabilization of Planar Collective Motion With Limited Communication

This paper proposes a design methodology to stabilize relative equilibria in a model of identical, steered particles moving in the plane at unit speed. Relative equilibria either correspond to parallel motion of all particles with fixed relative spacing or to circular motion of all particles around the same circle. Particles exchange relative information according to a communication graph that can be undirected or directed and time-invariant or time-varying. The emphasis of this paper is to show how previous results assuming all-to-all communication can be extended to a general communication framework.
Integrated, Distributed Traffic Control in Multidomain Networks

In this paper, we put forward an integrated traffic control structure and the associated control laws for multidomain networks. This control structure performs per-edge-to-edge-based multinext-hop or multipath rate adaptation and load balancing among domain edge nodes in a multidomain network. This control structure is underpinned by a large family of distributed control laws, with provable convergence and optimality properties. With any user-defined global design objective, a set of control laws can be selected from this family of control laws that track an operational point where the global design objective is achieved, while providing traffic engineering (TE) and fast failure recovery (FFR) features for class-of-service (CoS)-aware flow aggregates. The structure allows the user to have full control over how the domains should be created and whether to use point-to-multipoint and/or point-to-point multipath. The flexibility and versatility of the control structure makes it an ideal theoretical underpinning for the development of integrated traffic control solutions for large-scale networking systems, in particular, software-defined networks in which the data plane is fully programmable via a well-defined south-bound interface, such as OpenFlow. The simulation testing demonstrates the viability of the solution in providing TE, FFR, and CoS features.
A Bootstrapping Method for Building Subjectivity Lexicons for Languages with Scarce Resources

This paper introduces a method for creating a subjectivity lexicon for languages with scarce resources. The method is able to build a subjectivity lexicon by using a small seed set of subjective words, an online dictionary, and a small raw corpus, coupled with a bootstrapping process that ranks new candidate words based on a similarity measure. Experiments performed with a rule-based sentence level subjectivity classifier show an 18% absolute improvement in F-measure as compared to previously proposed semi-supervised methods.
Ion transport through biological channels

The transport of ions across single-molecule protein nanochannels is important both in the biological context and in proposed nanotechnological applications. Here we discuss these systems from the perspective of non-equilibrium physics, and in particular, whether the concepts underlying the physics of diffusive and electrokinetic transport can be employed to predict and understand these systems. [Contrib Sci 11(2): 181-188 (2015)]
Subcellular adaptation of the human diaphragm in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Pulmonary hyperinflation impairs the function of the diaphragm in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, it has been recently demonstrated that the muscle can counterbalance this deleterious effect, remodelling its structure (i.e. changing the proportion of different types of fibres). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the functional impairment present in COPD patients can be associated with structural subcellular changes of the diaphragm. Twenty individuals (60+/-9 yrs, 11 COPD patients and 9 subjects with normal spirometry) undergoing thoracotomy were included. Nutritional status and respiratory function were evaluated prior to surgery. Then, small samples of the costal diaphragm were obtained and processed for electron microscopy analysis. COPD patients showed a mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of 60+/-9% predicted, a higher concentration of mitochondria (n(mit)) in their diaphragm than controls (0.62+/-0.16 versus 0.46+/-0.16 mitochondrial transections (mt) x microm(-2), p<0.05). On the other hand, subjects with air trapping (residual volume (RV)/total lung capacity (TLC) >37%) disclosed not only a higher n(mit) (0.63+/-0.17 versus 0.43+/-0.07 mt x microm(-2), p<0.05) but shorter sarcomeres (L(sar)) than subjects without this functional abnormality (2.08+/-0.16 to 2.27+/-0.15 microm, p<0.05). Glycogen stores were similar in COPD and controls. The severity of airways obstruction (i.e. FEV1) was associated with n(mit) (r=-0.555, p=0.01), while the amount of air trapping (i.e. RV/TLC) was found to correlate with both n(mit) (r=0.631, p=0.005) and L(sar) (r=-0.526, p<0.05). Finally, maximal inspiratory pressure (PI,max) inversely correlated with n(mit) (r=-0.547, p=0.01). In conclusion, impairment in lung function occurring in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with subcellular changes in their diaphragm, namely a shortening in the length of sarcomeres and an increase in the concentration of mitochondria. These changes form a part of muscle remodelling, probably contributing to a better functional muscle behaviour.
Efficacy of a self-help manual in increasing resilience in carers of adults with depression in Thailand.

Caring for a person with a mental illness can have adverse effects on caregivers; however, little is known about how best to help such caregivers. The aim of the present study was to examine the efficacy of a cognitive behaviour therapy-guided self-help manual in increasing resilience in caregivers of individuals with depression, in comparison to caregivers who receive routine support only. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted, following CONSORT guidelines, with 54 caregivers allocated to parallel intervention (self-help manual) (n = 27) or control (standard support) (n = 27) groups. Resilience was assessed at baseline, post-test (week 8), and follow up (week 12). Intention-to-treat analyses were undertaken. Repeated-measures ANOVA indicated a significant difference in resilience scores between the three time points, showing a large effect. Pairwise comparisons between intervention and control groups indicated resilience to be significantly different between baseline and post-test, and between baseline and follow up, but not between post-test and follow up. Overall, the intervention group showed a slightly greater increase in resilience over time than the control group; however, the time-group interaction was not significant. Guided self-help is helpful in improving caregivers' resilience and could be used as an adjunct to the limited support provided to carers by mental health nurses and other clinicians.
Proportional Delay Differentiation in Wireless LAN

Providing service differentiation in wireless networks has attracted much attention in recent research. Existing studies so far have focused on the design of MAC layer protocols to achieve distributed priority scheduling. While these works have been shown to achieve certain differentiation (higher throughput or lower delay for higher priority packets) at MAC layer, they did not consider the problem of service differentiation from end-to-end perspective. Moreover, these approaches did not present a formalized service differentiation model that quantifies the degree of differentiation, which is critical for service class selection and provision. This paper addresses above problems by introducing a clear service differentiation model, proportional service differentiation, to the domain of wireless network and targeting at providing proportional delay differentiation in wireless LAN. Due to the unique characteristic of distributed medium sharing, the scheduling algorithm employed in wireline networks can not be applied directly to the context of the wireless network. We argue that delay differentiation in wireless LAN can be only achieved through a joint packet scheduling at network layer and distributed coordination at MAC layer. Hereby, we present a distributed waiting time priority scheduling (DWTP) algorithm which is deployed on a cross-layer architecture. DWTP consists of two tiers: an intra-node predictive WTP scheduler at network layer and an inter-node priority-based distributed coordination at MAC layer. These two tiers coordinate via cross-layer priority mapping to achieve proportional delay differentiation. Simulation results show that the cross-layer DWTP algorithm can effectively achieve proportional delay differentiation in wireless LAN.
Morphology control in a multirobot system

In this article, we propose a distributed control mechanism for a self-propelled, self-assembling robotic system that allows robots to form specific, connected morphologies. Global morphologies are grown using only local visual perception. Robots that are part of the connected entity indicate where new robots should attach to grow the local structure appropriately. We demonstrate the efficacy of the mechanism by letting groups of seven real robots self-assemble into four different morphologies: line, star, arrow, and rectangle.
Discriminative Models for Multi-instance Problems with Tree Structure

Modelling network traffic is gaining importance to counter modern security threats of ever increasing sophistication. It is though surprisingly difficult and costly to construct reliable classifiers on top of telemetry data due to the variety and complexity of signals that no human can manage to interpret in full. Obtaining training data with sufficiently large and variable body of labels can thus be seen as a prohibitive problem. The goal of this work is to detect infected computers by observing their HTTP(S) traffic collected from network sensors, which are typically proxy servers or network firewalls, while relying on only minimal human input in the model training phase. We propose a discriminative model that makes decisions based on a computer's all traffic observed during a predefined time window (5 minutes in our case). The model is trained on traffic samples collected over equally-sized time windows for a large number of computers, where the only labels needed are (human) verdicts about the computer as a whole (presumed infected vs. presumed clean). As part of training, the model itself learns discriminative patterns in traffic targeted to individual servers and constructs the final high-level classifier on top of them. We show the classifier to perform with very high precision, and demonstrate that the learned traffic patterns can be interpreted as Indicators of Compromise. We implement the discriminative model as a neural network with special structure reflecting two stacked multi instance problems. The main advantages of the proposed configuration include not only improved accuracy and ability to learn from gross labels, but also automatic learning of server types (together with their detectors) that are typically visited by infected computers.
Happiness and Beliefs in Criminal Environments

This paper uses newly available data to describe the distribution of crime victimization and other criminal activities (including drug trafficking and corruption) around the world. The paper then documents a negative (positive) correlation between measures of criminal activity and happiness and measures of positive (negative) emotions. The paper also studies the correlation between ideological beliefs and criminal activity, finding that crime victims are more likely to believe that hard work does not pay and that the government should increase the amount of redistribution to the poor.
Crystal structure of new organically templated copper sulfate with 2-aminopyridinium

The title compound, (C5H7N2)2[Cu(H2O)6](SO4)2·4H2O [systematic name: bis(2-aminopyridinium) hexaaquacopper(II) bis(sulfate) tetrahydrate], comprises axially elongated hexaaqua-coordinated octahedral CuII ions located on an inversion centre, non-coordinating sulfate anions, 2-aminopyridinium cations and lattice water molecules. The crystal structure is built of successive inorganic and organic layers extending parallel to (001) that are connected by an extensive three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network of the type O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O, as well as π–π interactions [centroid–centroid distance 3.4140 (14) Å, offset 0.277 Å].
Simulation study of new TCP variants

Using simulations, we analyze the performance of new TCP variants currently used in the Internet and that gradually replacing TCP NewReno, as they are already activated by default in operating systems or network equipment. We compare these new variants using some metrics that have been recently standardized in order to evaluate new congestion control mechanisms. We observe a trade-off between more aggressive variants that have good performances but a bad impact on the network state and the other flows, and fairer variants with lower performances.
Familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 and increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and coronary artery calcification in the old order amish.

BACKGROUND Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels are a major cardiovascular disease risk factor. Genetic factors are an important determinant of LDL-C levels. METHODS To identify single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with LDL-C and subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, we performed a genome-wide association study of LDL-C in 841 asymptomatic Amish individuals aged 20 to 80 years, with replication in a second sample of 663 Amish individuals. We also performed scanning for coronary artery calcification (CAC) in 1018 of these individuals. RESULTS From the initial genome-wide association study, a cluster of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the region of the apolipoprotein B-100 gene (APOB) was strongly associated with LDL-C levels (P < 10(-68)). Additional genotyping revealed the presence of R3500Q, the mutation responsible for familial defective apolipoprotein B-100, which was also strongly associated with LDL-C in the replication sample (P < 10(-36)). The R3500Q carrier frequency, previously reported to be 0.1% to 0.4% in white European individuals, was 12% in the combined sample of 1504 Amish participants, consistent with a founder effect. The mutation was also strongly associated with CAC in both samples (P < 10(-6) in both) and accounted for 26% and 7% of the variation in LDL-C levels and CAC, respectively. Compared with noncarriers, R3500Q carriers on average had LDL-C levels 58 mg/dL higher, a 4.41-fold higher odds (95% confidence interval, 2.69-7.21) of having detectable CAC, and a 9.28-fold higher odds (2.93-29.35) of having extensive CAC (CAC score ≥400). CONCLUSION The R3500Q mutation in APOB is a major determinant of LDL-C levels and CAC in the Amish.
S-Nitrosoglutathione Reductase Deficiency Enhances the Proliferative Expansion of Adult Heart Progenitors and Myocytes Post Myocardial Infarction

Background Mammalian heart regenerative activity is lost before adulthood but increases after cardiac injury. Cardiac repair mechanisms, which involve both endogenous cardiac stem cells (CSCs) and cardiomyocyte cell-cycle reentry, are inadequate to achieve full recovery after myocardial infarction (MI). Mice deficient in S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR−⁄−), an enzyme regulating S-nitrosothiol turnover, have preserved cardiac function after MI. Here, we tested the hypothesis that GSNOR activity modulates cardiac cell proliferation in the post-MI adult heart. Methods and Results GSNOR−⁄− and C57Bl6/J (wild-type [WT]) mice were subjected to sham operation (n=3 GSNOR−⁄−; n=3 WT) or MI (n=41 GSNOR−⁄−; n=65 WT). Compared with WT,GSNOR−⁄− mice exhibited improved survival, cardiac performance, and architecture after MI, as demonstrated by higher ejection fraction (P<0.05), lower endocardial volumes (P<0.001), and diminished scar size (P<0.05). In addition, cardiomyocytes from post-MI GSNOR−⁄− hearts exhibited faster calcium decay and sarcomeric relaxation times (P<0.001). Immunophenotypic analysis illustrated that post-MI GSNOR−⁄− hearts demonstrated enhanced neovascularization (P<0.001), c-kit+ CSC abundance (P=0.013), and a ≈3-fold increase in proliferation of adult cardiomyocytes and c-kit+/CD45− CSCs (P<0.0001 and P=0.023, respectively) as measured by using 5-bromodeoxyuridine. Conclusions Loss of GSNOR confers enhanced post-MI cardiac regenerative activity, characterized by enhanced turnover of cardiomyocytes and CSCs. Endogenous denitrosylases exert an inhibitory effect over cardiac repair mechanisms and therefore represents a potential novel therapeutic target.
Square AR: Using Augmented Reality for Urban Planning

In this paper we describe the design and implementation of SquareAR, an Augmented Reality authoring application which enables virtual restoration of public, unexploited, spaces in cities. The aim of this application is to involve the local residents into the decision making process that affects their everyday life in an intuitive and user friendly manner. We also evaluate the application and discuss potential extensions and applications in different contexts.
The Arrival of a Second Child: Family Tasks and Rhythms of Mutual Adaptation.

The interplay between the infant's development and its family context during the early years has been studied in a longitudinal approach. The family was conceptualized as a problem solvina group trying to integrate a new child and to find a new balance. Sixteen normal families having one child at the age of one to three and a second child born at the beginning of the study were observed monthly in unstructured situations in their homes during a two year period, Three years later, when the second children were about five years old, both children of each family were given intelligence tests. Tape recorded observations were split up into short episodes lasting between 20 and 40 seconds each and scored according to categories covering different domains of family interaction such as family constellation, family dynamics. and socialization activities. Data from seven families were cross classified and analyzed as to aeneral trends of chances and continuities during the two year period according to the method of log-linear models (study 1); verbal intelligence scores of each families' two children in preschool/school age were used as guidelines for a longitudinal follow down approach: four families whose both children had high scores on verbal intelligence tests and four families with low scoring children were selected from the total sample. The two contrasting groups were used for exploring salient differences in family-specific socialization activities during the early years (study 2). Results of general trend analyses point to an age specific adaptation rhythm of family dynamics durino the two year period. Results from the study of contrasting groups point to both familyand age-specific socialization patterns during the early years.
Signature-based activity detection based on Bayesian networks acquired from expert knowledge

The maritime industry is experiencing one of its longest and fastest periods of growth. Hence, the global maritime surveillance capacity is in a great need of growth as well. The detection of vessel activity is an important objective of the civil security domain. Detecting vessel activity may become problematic if audit data is uncertain. This paper aims to investigate if Bayesian networks acquired from expert knowledge can detect activities with a signature-based detection approach. For this, a maritime pilot-boat scenario has been identified with a domain expert. Each of the scenario's activities has been divided up into signatures where each signature relates to a specific Bayesian network information node. The signatures were implemented to find evidences for the Bayesian network information nodes. AIS-data with real world observations have been used for testing, which have shown that it is possible to detect the maritime pilot-boat scenario based on the taken approach.