Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SpeciesGeoCoder: Fast Categorization of Species Occurrences for Analyses of Biodiversity, Biogeography, Ecology, and Evolution

&NA; Understanding the patterns and processes underlying the uneven distribution of biodiversity across space constitutes a major scientific challenge in systematic biology and biogeography, which largely relies on effectively mapping and making sense of rapidly increasing species occurrence data. There is thus an urgent need for making the process of coding species into spatial units faster, automated, transparent, and reproducible. Here we present SpeciesGeoCoder, an open‐source software package written in Python and R, that allows for easy coding of species into user‐defined operational units. These units may be of any size and be purely spatial (i.e., polygons) such as countries and states, conservation areas, biomes, islands, biodiversity hotspots, and areas of endemism, but may also include elevation ranges. This flexibility allows scoring species into complex categories, such as those encountered in topographically and ecologically heterogeneous landscapes. In addition, SpeciesGeoCoder can be used to facilitate sorting and cleaning of occurrence data obtained from online databases, and for testing the impact of incorrect identification of specimens on the spatial coding of species. The various outputs of SpeciesGeoCoder include quantitative biodiversity statistics, global and local distribution maps, and files that can be used directly in many phylogeny‐based applications for ancestral range reconstruction, investigations of biome evolution, and other comparative methods. Our simulations indicate that even datasets containing hundreds of millions of records can be analyzed in relatively short time using a standard computer. We exemplify the use of SpeciesGeoCoder by inferring the historical dispersal of birds across the Isthmus of Panama, showing that lowland species crossed the Isthmus about twice as frequently as montane species with a marked increase in the number of dispersals during the last 10 million years.
Precision: precomputing environment semantics for contact-rich character animation

The widespread availability of high-quality motion capture data and the maturity of solutions to animate virtual characters has paved the way for the next generation of interactive virtual worlds exhibiting intricate interactions between characters and the environments they inhabit. However, current motion synthesis techniques have not been designed to scale with complex environments and contact-rich motions, requiring environment designers to manually embed motion semantics in the environment geometry in order to address online motion synthesis. This paper presents an automated approach for analyzing both motions and environments in order to represent the different ways in which an environment can afford a character to move. We extract the salient features that characterize the contact-rich motion repertoire of a character and detect valid transitions in the environment where each of these motions may be possible, along with additional semantics that inform which surfaces of the environment the character may use for support during the motion. The precomputed motion semantics can be easily integrated into standard navigation and animation pipelines in order to greatly enhance the motion capabilities of virtual characters. The computational efficiency of our approach enables two additional applications. Environment designers can interactively design new environments and get instant feedback on how characters may potentially interact, which can be used for iterative modeling and refinement. End users can dynamically edit virtual worlds and characters will automatically accommodate the changes in the environment in their movement strategies.
Test-piece design for experimental and numerical evaluation of damage in relation to spatial triaxial stress inversion

This work examines the effect of stress state on the nucleation and growth of damage during hot deformation of free cutting steel. A test-piece was designed to emulate stress states similar to those found in hot rolling. The novelty of the new design is its ability to maintain a constant spatial stress state during deformation, allowing a true correlation of the damage mechanism to the stress triaxiality; previous sample geometries had a large variation in stress during plastic deformation, which made it impossible to relate an observed damage mechanism to a particular stress state using a single sample. Continuum damage equations were calibrated using uniaxial tensile tests and implemented into finite element models of compressive test-pieces. The stress distributions in each test-piece geometry were compared and a single test-piece design was chosen with an optimised triaxial stress distribution. The test-piece was deformed at elevated temperatures, sectioned and the microstructure was evaluated. The combination of stress state and strain computed via finite element analysis was compared to the damage produced across the test-piece section. The predictions of the damage equations were compared to the results of physical tests and used to identify appropriate damage models. The effect of stress state on damage was evaluated, which can be used to update and improve existing material models. The stress triaxiality was found to be the dominant factor for damage around inclusions, with a minimum stress triaxiality required for damage growth to occur.
A high carbohydrate, but not fat or protein meal attenuates postprandial ghrelin, PYY and GLP-1 responses in Chinese men

It is known that the macronutrient content of a meal has different impacts on the postprandial satiety and appetite hormonal responses. Whether obesity interacts with such nutrient-dependent responses is not well characterized. We examined the postprandial appetite and satiety hormonal responses after a high-protein (HP), high-carbohydrate (HC), or high-fat (HF) mixed meal. This was a randomized cross-over study of 9 lean insulin-sensitive (mean±SEM HOMA-IR 0.83±0.10) and 9 obese insulin-resistant (HOMA-IR 4.34±0.41) young (age 21–40 years), normoglycaemic Chinese men. We measured fasting and postprandial plasma concentration of glucose, insulin, active glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), total peptide-YY (PYY), and acyl-ghrelin in response to HP, HF, or HC meals. Overall postprandial plasma insulin response was more robust in the lean compared to obese subjects. The postprandial GLP-1 response after HF or HP meal was higher than HC meal in both lean and obese subjects. In obese subjects, HF meal induced higher response in postprandial PYY compared to HC meal. HP and HF meals also suppressed ghrelin greater compared to HC meal in the obese than lean subjects. In conclusion, a high-protein or high-fat meal induces a more favorable postprandial satiety and appetite hormonal response than a high-carbohydrate meal in obese insulin-resistant subjects.
Voluntary running depreciates the requirement of Ca2+-stimulated cAMP signaling in synaptic potentiation and memory formation

Mental health and cognitive functions are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Although having active lifestyle with physical exercise improves learning and memory, how it interacts with the specific key molecular regulators of synaptic plasticity is largely unknown. Here, we examined the effects of voluntary running on long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory formation in mice lacking type 1 adenylyl cyclase (AC1), a neurospecific synaptic enzyme that contributes to Ca2+-stimulated cAMP production. Following 1 mo of voluntary running-wheel exercise, the impaired LTP and object recognition memory in AC1 knockout (KO) mice were significantly attenuated. Running up-regulated exon II mRNA level of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), though it failed to increase exon I and IV mRNAs in the hippocampus of AC1 KO mice. Intrahippocampal infusion of recombinant BDNF was sufficient to rescue LTP and object recognition memory defects in AC1 KO mice. Therefore, voluntary running and exogenous BDNF application overcome the defective Ca2+-stimulated cAMP signaling. Our results also demonstrate that alteration in Ca2+-stimulated cAMP can affect the molecular outcome of physical exercise.
Impact of the Distribution Parameter of Data Sampling Approaches on Software Defect Prediction Models

Sampling methods are known to impact defect prediction performance. These sampling methods have configurable parameters that can significantly affect the prediction performance. It is however, impractical to assess the effect of all the possible different settings in the parameter space for all the several existing sampling methods. A constant and easy to tweak parameter present in all sampling methods is the distribution of the defective and non-defective modules in the dataset known as Pfp (% of fault-prone modules). In this paper, we investigate and assess the performance of defect prediction models where the Pfp parameter of sampling methods are tweaked. An empirical experiment and assessment of seven sampling methods on five prediction models over 20 releases of 10 static metric projects indicate that (1) Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristics Curve (AUC) performance is not improved after tweaking the Pfp parameter, (2) pf (false alarms) performance degrades as the Pfp is increased. (3) a stable predictor is difficult to achieve across different Pfp rates. Hence, we conclude that the Pfp parameter setting can have a large impact on the performance (except AUC) of defect prediction models. We thus recommend researchers experiment with the Pfp parameter of the sampling method since the distribution of training datasets vary.
Predicting Motor Sequence Learning in Individuals With Chronic Stroke

Background. Conventionally, change in motor performance is quantified with discrete measures of behavior taken pre- and postpractice. As a high degree of movement variability exists in motor performance after stroke, pre- and posttesting of motor skill may lack sensitivity to predict potential for motor recovery. Objective. Evaluate the use of predictive models of motor learning based on individual performance curves and clinical characteristics of motor function in individuals with stroke. Methods. Ten healthy and fourteen individuals with chronic stroke performed a continuous joystick-based tracking task over 6 days, and at a 24-hour delayed retention test, to assess implicit motor sequence learning. Results. Individuals with chronic stroke demonstrated significantly slower rates of improvements in implicit sequence-specific motor performance compared with a healthy control (HC) group when root mean squared error performance data were fit to an exponential function. The HC group showed a positive relationship between a faster rate of change in implicit sequence-specific motor performance during practice and superior performance at the delayed retention test. The same relationship was shown for individuals with stroke only after accounting for overall motor function by including Wolf Motor Function Test rate in our model. Conclusion. Nonlinear information extracted from multiple time points across practice, specifically the rate of motor skill acquisition during practice, relates strongly with changes in motor behavior at the retention test following practice and could be used to predict optimal doses of practice on an individual basis.
Writing Towards Promoting the Empowerment of Persons With Disabilities in Digital Inclusion Texts

Writing technical texts that promote the empowerment of persons with disabilities is an important step towards the social inclusion of persons with diverse needs and conditions. However, few Computer Science events and journals present guidelines for writing about them - even those whose topics of interest involve persons with disabilities - and those that present guidelines often are limited to the adjustment of terminology or digital document accessibility. We review current and emergent practices of writing technical texts about digital accessibility and inclusion of persons who use accessibility resources, and we propose means to direct technical communication towards the promotion of empowerment when writing about persons with disabilities, reviewing not only terminology and document accessibility, but also approaches, and concepts, for user involvement, as well as the creation of narratives that are aware of the users' personal power. We expect this paper to provide directions for technical communicators on writing texts that are more aligned with the fact that each person has power to make a change on their own lives, and that artifacts can be used as means for furthering these choices and enabling persons towards their own objectives.
Prediction of early-age creep and cracking age of concrete: a proposed modification for AS3600 provisions

Abstract Early-age thermal and shrinkage-induced cracking is a major problem in concrete structures. The risk of early-age thermal cracking is increased if the degree of restraint to early-age contraction is increased. At this early age, tensile creep plays a key role in relaxing shrinkage-induced stresses and delaying the time to cracking. However, limited data are available concerning tensile creep of concrete and the magnitude and rate of development of the early-age shrinkage of Australian concrete. As a consequence, tensile creep is often poorly modelled in predictions of early-age cracking. The current method to calculate creep in the Australian Standard AS3600 is based on compressive creep data obtained from specimens loaded at ages generally greater than 14 days and cannot be used to predict very early-age creep confidently. In order to accurately quantify the early-age shrinkage and creep of concrete, a comprehensive experimental programme is being conducted at the UNSW Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety. Creep and shrinkage strains were measured on different specimens subjected to sustained loading. Tests were conducted on two different concrete mixes of normal strength concrete (32 and 45 MPa). Restrained ring specimens were tested to observe the cracking age of concrete. A model is proposed to predict the early-age tensile creep of concrete.
Classification Bayesian models of orientation identification with the known reference

Humans may integrate the information of cues into target identification. We investigate how better the human brain identifies the orientation in the presence of the known reference. We first design a psychophysical experiment of orientation identification. The subjects estimate the orientation of a line which is intersected by a known oriented reference line. Four subjects performed the identification task. Estimates of the orientations exhibit the systematic increasing biases with the angle between the target line and the reference line increasing, and then the estimation precision of tilt orientations is obviously improved. We expound the identification process by Bayesian inference theory. We assume that the subjects first classify the stimuli and subsequently identify them. Then we put forward two classification Bayesian identification models: Directly Identifying Classification Bayesian Model (DCB) and Indirectly Identifying Classification Bayesian Model (ICB), in which the Equal-precision and Variable-precision encoding are considered. We compare our models' predictions to the experimental data. The results show that the variable-precision indirectly identifying classification Bayesian model fit better to the performance.
Impact of Target Arterial Residual Stenosis on Outcome After Endovascular Revascularization

Background and Purpose— Acute intracranial occlusion can be associated with in situ thrombo-occlusion in relation to preexisting intracranial atherosclerotic disease. We aimed to assess residual stenosis at the site of a target arterial lesion (TAL) to determine whether residual stenosis at the TAL is associated with underlying intracranial atherosclerotic disease. Methods— One hundred and sixty-three patients who underwent endovascular therapy for M1 middle cerebral artery occlusion and achieved angiographic reperfusion were selected for analysis. The presence of residual stenosis at the TAL was classified using the Arterial Occlusive Lesion (AOL) scale at postprocedural angiography, and the severity of stenosis was grouped into none, mild (<50%), moderate (50%–69%), severe (70%–99%), and occlusion on postprocedural and follow-up angiography. We also recorded the incidence of instant reocclusion occurring during the procedure and delayed reocclusion detected on follow-up angiography. Results— Seventy-four patients (45.5%) showed target arterial residual stenosis (AOL 2). As to the TAL pathogenesis, 40 patients were classified into in situ thrombo-occlusion (54.1% of AOL 2 and 24.5% of M1 occlusion). The occurrence of instant or delayed reocclusion was independently associated with a low chance of favorable 3-month outcome. Furthermore, the occurrence of delayed reocclusion was associated with excellent pretreatment collateral flow and early neurological worsening, but not the severity of residual stenosis at the TAL. Conclusions— In population with a high prevalence of intracranial atherosclerotic disease, residual stenosis may be attributed to in situ thrombo-occlusion with underlying intracranial atherosclerotic disease in ≈25% of cases, hindering functional recovery via the occurrence of instant or delayed reocclusion.
A new method for analysing transition to psychosis: Joint modelling of time‐to‐event outcome with time‐dependent predictors

An active area in psychosis research is the identification of predictors of transition to a psychotic state among those who are assessed as being at high risk of psychosis. Many of the potential predictors are time dependent in the sense that they may change over time and are measured at a number of assessment time points. Examples are various psychopathological measures such as negative symptoms, positive symptoms, depression, and anxiety. Most research in transition to psychosis has not made use of the dynamic nature of these measures, probably because suitable statistical methods and software have not been easily available. However, a relatively new statistical methodology is well suited to include such time‐dependent predictors in transition to psychosis analysis. This methodology is called joint modelling and has recently been incorporated in mainstream statistical software. This paper describes this methodology and demonstrates its usefulness using data from one of the pioneering studies on transition to psychosis.
Multi-Destination Trips and Tourism Statistics: Empirical Evidences in Sicily

Abstract The knowledge of the actual magnitude and main features of tourism flows in a given destination is an essential prerequisite for the evaluation of tourism impacts and externalities. Indeed, many pleasure trips are often characterized by the visit to more than a single destination. Although the topic is well-documented in literature, the empirical results are limited to a few pioneering studies. The lack may be attributable to the failure of tourism organizations to collect data on multi-destination trip behaviour. This can be seen, for example, in the system of European statistics on tourism (according to the Council Directive 95/57 EC), where information on the average number of visited destinations within a single trip is not provided. This paper aims at discussing the main implications of multi-destination trips, both on tourism statistics and on destination management. It also proposes to describe the research design and main preliminary results of a survey on incoming tourism in Sicily. Some remarks dealing with the positive and negative impacts of unobserved tourism and of multi-destination trips are reported at the end.
Low pH SCC: Environmental effects on crack propagation

The general objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of environmental variables on TGSCC, so that operational parameters can be optimized. The specific objectives at the outset of the project were to define: effects of pH and CO{sub 2} on crack growth in a gravel-type soil, and effects of cathodic polarization on SCC crack propagation. In the course of the project, it was realized that the crack growth rate could be changed by polarizing the potential to an anodic level. Therefore, the study on cathodic polarization was extended to include polarization in both anodic and cathodic directions. In order to achieve these objectives, full-scale SCC tests were carried out. Testing full-size pre-cracked pipes has the advantage of closely simulating the environmental and loading conditions of pipelines. Coating can be replaced on top of cracks to produce disbonded conditions. By using artificial cracks on full-size pipe, the crack length-to-depth ratio (the aspect ratio) can be made to represent that of natural cracks. It avoids the specimen-thickness difficulties commonly associated with testing pre-cracked compact-tension specimens of linepipe steel. Full-size hot-rolled Grade 359 (X-52) pipes of 508 (20 inches) in diameter and 2.43 m (8 feet) in length were used inmore » the full-scale tests. « less
Chemical characterization and source apportionment of submicron aerosols measured in Senegal during the 2015 SHADOW campaign

Abstract. The present study offers the first chemical characterization of the submicron (PM1) fraction in western Africa at a high time resolution, thanks to collocated measurements of nonrefractory (NR) species with an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM), black carbon and iron concentrations derived from absorption coefficient measurements with a 7-wavelength Aethalometer, and total PM1 determined by a TEOM-FDMS (tapered element oscillating microbalance–filtered dynamic measurement system) for mass closure. The field campaign was carried out over 3 months (March to June 2015) as part of the SHADOW (SaHAran Dust Over West Africa) project at a coastal site located in the outskirts of the city of Mbour, Senegal. With an averaged mass concentration of 5.4 µg m−3, levels of NR PM1 in Mbour were 3 to 10 times lower than those generally measured in urban and suburban polluted environments. Nonetheless the first half of the observation period was marked by intense but short pollution events (NR PM1 concentrations higher than 15 µg m−3), sea breeze phenomena and Saharan desert dust outbreaks (PM10 up to 900 µg m−3). During the second half of the campaign, the sampling site was mainly under the influence of marine air masses. The air masses on days under continental and sea breeze influences were dominated by organics (36–40 %), whereas sulfate particles were predominant (40 %) for days under oceanic influence. Overall, measurements showed that about three-quarters of the total PM1 were explained by NR PM1, BC (black carbon) and Fe (a proxy for dust) concentrations, leaving approximately one-quarter for other refractory species. A mean value of 4.6 % for the Fe ∕ PM1 ratio was obtained. Source apportionment of the organic fraction, using positive matrix factorization (PMF), highlighted the impact of local combustion sources, such as traffic and residential activities, which contribute on average to 52 % of the total organic fraction. A new organic aerosol (OA) source, representing on average 3 % of the total OA fraction, showed similar variation to nonrefractory particulate chloride. Its rose plot and daily pattern pointed to local combustion processes, i.e., two open waste-burning areas located about 6 and 11 km away from the receptor site and to a lesser extent a traditional fish-smoking location. The remaining fraction was identified as oxygenated organic aerosols (OOA), a factor that prevailed regardless of the day type (45 %) and was representative of regional (approximately three-quarters) but also local (approximately one-quarter) sources due to enhanced photochemical processes.