Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
srDna‐based taxonomic affinities of algal symbionts from a planktonic foraminifer and a solitary radiolarian

Planktonic sarcodines (acantharia, radiolaria, and planktonic foraminifera) are oceanic amoeboid protozoa that often harbor a variety of microalgae as intracellular symbionts. The identity and function of these endosymbiotic algae have intrigued and perplexed biologists for more than a century. The most conspicuous and well‐studied symbiotic algae of planktonic foraminifera and radiolaria are dinoflagellates, but a variety of nondinoflagellate taxa have also been reported. Ultrastructural features have been used to characterize some of these nondinoflagellate algae, but rarely has this led to clear taxonomic affiliations. We analyzed the nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (srDNA) isolated from the symbionts of the spinose planktonic foraminiferan Globigerinella siphonifera d'Orbigny (=Globigerinella aequilateralis Brady) and a solitary radiolarian (Spongodrymus sp. Haeckel) in order to determine the identity of these symbionts. The small coccoid algae isolated from G. siphonifera correspond to the Type I symbionts described by Faber et al. (1988) . Phylogenetic analysis of the srDNA sequences places these symbionts within the prymnesiophyte (haptophyte) lineage, closer to Prymnesium Conrad than to Phaeocystis Lagerheim. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed case of a symbiotic prymnesiophyte. In addition, we were able to examine the level of sequence heterogeneity between symbionts isolated from different individuals of a single host species. The three isolates in this study had srDNA sequences that were almost identical, indicating that the three were all of the same species. Very green symbiotic algae were isolated from three solitary radiolaria identified as species of Spongodrymus. The symbiont srDNA sequences from the three individual hosts were identical to each other, again implicating a single species of algae in that symbiotic association. These symbionts are prasinophytes most closely related to the clade containing Tetaselmis convolutae Norris, Hori et Chihara. Tetraselmis convolutae is the algal symbiont of the marine flatworm, Convolutae roscoffensis Graff.
DISPERSION MODULATION USING ALLPASS FILTERS

Dispersion is a physical phenomenon that makes sound waves more or less inharmonic. Most physical sound synthesis models consider dispersion as a constant property that doe s not change during the course of a musical event. However, thes e models would be more expressive without such a restriction . This paper describes a dispersion amount parameter for precise control over inharmonicity, and then experiments with control an d audio rate modulation of that parameter. In this research we f ound that inharmonicity of a plucked string could be smoothly controlled in real-time, and that novel sonic material could b e synthesized when the modulation rate was raised into audio rang e. Instability of the string model with certain parameter values w as considered to be problematic.
Brain Modularity in Arthropods: Individual Neurons That Support “What” But Not “Where” Memories

Experiments with insects and crabs have demonstrated their remarkable capacity to learn and memorize complex visual features (Giurfa et al., 2001; Pedreira and Maldonado, 2003; Chittka and Niven, 2009). Such abilities are thought to require modular brain processing similar to that occurring in vertebrates (Menzel and Giurfa, 2001). Yet, physiological evidence for this type of functioning in the small brains of arthropods is still scarce (Liu et al., 1999, 2006; Menzel and Giurfa, 2001). In the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus, the learning rate as well as the long-term memory of a visual stimulus has been found to be reflected in the performance of identified lobula giant neurons (LGs) (Tomsic et al., 2003). The memory can only be evoked in the training context, indicating that animals store two components of the learned experience, one related to the visual stimulus and one related to the visual context (Tomsic et al., 1998; Hermitte et al., 1999). By performing intracellular recordings in the intact animal, we show that the ability of crabs to generalize the learned stimulus into new space positions and to distinguish it from a similar but unlearned stimulus, two of the main attributes of stimulus memory, is reflected by the performance of the LGs. Conversely, we found that LGs do not support the visual context memory component. Our results provide physiological evidence that the memory traces regarding “what” and “where” are stored separately in the arthropod brain.
Automatic Ship Detection in Remote Sensing Images from Google Earth of Complex Scenes Based on Multiscale Rotation Dense Feature Pyramid Networks

Ship detection has been playing a significant role in the field of remote sensing for a long time, but it is still full of challenges. The main limitations of traditional ship detection methods usually lie in the complexity of application scenarios, the difficulty of intensive object detection, and the redundancy of the detection region. In order to solve these problems above, we propose a framework called Rotation Dense Feature Pyramid Networks (R-DFPN) which can effectively detect ships in different scenes including ocean and port. Specifically, we put forward the Dense Feature Pyramid Network (DFPN), which is aimed at solving problems resulting from the narrow width of the ship. Compared with previous multiscale detectors such as Feature Pyramid Network (FPN), DFPN builds high-level semantic feature-maps for all scales by means of dense connections, through which feature propagation is enhanced and feature reuse is encouraged. Additionally, in the case of ship rotation and dense arrangement, we design a rotation anchor strategy to predict the minimum circumscribed rectangle of the object so as to reduce the redundant detection region and improve the recall. Furthermore, we also propose multiscale region of interest (ROI) Align for the purpose of maintaining the completeness of the semantic and spatial information. Experiments based on remote sensing images from Google Earth for ship detection show that our detection method based on R-DFPN representation has state-of-the-art performance.
Tiotropium and exercise training in COPD patients: Effects on dyspnea and exercise tolerance

Background Exercise training improves exercise tolerance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Tiotropium 18 μg once daily induces sustained bronchodilation throughout the day and reduces hyperinflation, one of the pathophysiological factors contributing to exertional dyspnea in COPD patients. Aim To determine whether tiotropium enhances the effects of exercise training in patients with COPD. Design Multicenter, 25 week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. Setting Twelve Italian Pulmonary Units practicing pulmonary rehabilitation. Patients and intervention Two hundred thirty four COPD patients (196 males; mean age: 67.4 ± 7.6; forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1): 41.4 ± 13.0% predicted) were randomised to tiotropium 18 μg or placebo inhalation capsules taken once daily. Both groups underwent a 8 week pulmonary rehabilitation program (PR) consisting of 3 exercise training session per week. Measurements Baseline, at the end of PR and after 12 weeks, patients completed pulmonary function testing, six minute walking test (6MWT), the Baseline and Transition Dyspnea Index (BDI and TDI), and the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Results Relative to placebo, tiotropium had larger trough and post-study drug FEV1 responses on all test days. At the end of and 12 weeks following PR, patients on tiotropium showed no statistically significant differences in 6MWT compared to patients on placebo. Compared to the period immediately prior to PR, the mean improvement in 6MWT was only 29.7 meters (7.1%) for the combined cohort. Mean TDI focal scores at the end of PR were 3.60 for tiotropium and 2.25 for placebo (p < 0.01). At 12 weeks after PR, TDI focal scores were 2.71 for tiotropium and 2.11 for placebo (p = 0.16). Reduction in all four SGRQ component scores, indicating an improvement in health-related quality of life, was observed for the tiotropium group over the duration of the study compared to placebo but the differences were not statistically significant. During the study period, there were fewer exacerbations and exacerbation days in the tiotropium group. Conclusion Although significant improvements were observed with perceived dyspnea, compared to placebo, the addition of tiotropium to pulmonary rehabilitation did not improve the 6MWT.
Ebb: A DSL for Physical Simluation on CPUs and GPUs

Designing programming environments for physical simulation is challenging because simulations rely on diverse algorithms and geometric domains. These challenges are compounded when we try to run efficiently on heterogeneous parallel architectures. We present Ebb, a domain-specific language (DSL) for simulation, that runs efficiently on both CPUs and GPUs. Unlike previous DSLs, Ebb uses a three-layer architecture to separate (1) simulation code, (2) definition of data structures for geometric domains, and (3) runtimes supporting parallel architectures. Different geometric domains are implemented as libraries that use a common, unified, relational data model. By structuring the simulation framework in this way, programmers implementing simulations can focus on the physics and algorithms for each simulation without worrying about their implementation on parallel computers. Because the geometric domain libraries are all implemented using a common runtime based on relations, new geometric domains can be added as needed, without specifying the details of memory management, mapping to different parallel architectures, or having to expand the runtime's interface. We evaluate Ebb by comparing it to several widely used simulations, demonstrating comparable performance to hand-written GPU code where available, and surpassing existing CPU performance optimizations by up to 9$\times$ when no GPU code exists.
Neoteric Media as Tools for Process Intensification

Process intensification (PI) is a commonly used term in the chemical processing industry. When the concept of PI was first introduced in the late 1970s within the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) company, the main impetus was to reduce the processing cost without impairing the production rate. Neoteric media present as alternatives in chemical processing include gas-expanded liquids, ionic liquids, subcritical water, and combination of gas-expanded liquids and ionic liquids. The applications of neoteric media include particle engineering for improved bioavailability, controlled release of therapeutic implants, pharmaceutical formulations, extraction of natural products, nano-carriers for drug delivery, sterilisation of implants, and chemical reactions. This paper provides an overview of the use of these neoteric media.
Analyzing Transit Service Reliability Using Detailed Data from Automatic Vehicular Locator Systems

The widespread adoption of automated vehicle location systems and automatic passenger counters in the transit industry has opened new venues in transit operations and system monitoring. Metro Transit, the primary transit agency in the Twin Cities, Minnesota region, has been testing various intelligent transportation systems (ITS) since 1999. In 2005, they fully implemented automatic vehicle location (AVL) technology and partially implemented an automatic passenger counter (APC) system. To date, however, there has been little effort to employ the data that has been collected to evaluate different aspects of performance. This research capitalizes on the availability of such data to better assess performance issues of one particular route in the Metro Transit system. The paper employs the archived data from the location systems of buses traversing on an example cross-town route to conduct a microscopic analysis of the reasons behind performance and reliability issues. We generate a series of analytical models to predict run time, schedule adherence and reliability of the transit route at two scales: the time point segment and the route level. The methodology includes multiple approaches to display ITS data within a geographic information system (GIS) environment to allow visual identification of problem areas along routes. The methodology also uses statistical models generated at the time point segment and bus route level of analysis to demonstrate ways of identifying reliability issues and what causes them. The analytical models show that while headways are maintained, schedule revisions are needed in order to improve run time. Finally, the analysis suggests that many scheduled stops along this route are underutilized and recommends stop consolidation as an effective strategy.
A Validated Brow Positioning Grading Scale

BACKGROUND One of the first areas to show facial aging is the periorbital region, where brow malposition contributes to the overall appearance of aging. Movement and positioning of the brows are also sex specific. Men may desire a low brow, whereas women may prefer high, arched brows. OBJECTIVES To develop the Brow Positioning Grading Scale for objective quantification of eyebrow position and to establish the reliability of this photonumeric scale for clinical research and practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS A 5-point photonumeric rating scale was developed to objectively quantify positioning of eyebrows at rest. Nine experts rated photographs of 35 subjects twice with regard to positioning of the eyebrow in comparison with morphed images. Inter- and intrarater variability was assessed by computing intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS Bubble plots (bivariate scatter plots) demonstrated linearity in judgment by the experts. The test–retest correlation coefficients were acceptable for each expert. CONCLUSION The 5-point photonumeric scale generated spans the positioning of the eyebrow for which patients commonly seek correction. The scale is well stratified for consistent rating.
A new access selection strategy in heterogeneous wireless networks based on traffic distribution

Today, we are in a world where several radio networks arise: we speak about mobile networks, wireless networks (IEEE 802.11, .15, .16, .20, .21.), networks of sensors, radio-frequency identification networks (RFID) and more generally networks of ldquoThings connected via radio interfacerdquo. In this heterogeneous environment, a user with a multi-interface terminal can have access to the networks of various technologies with a continuous connectivity; this is the notion of always best connected (ABC). Access selection is the key functional block in ABC networks, that's why the selection decision of a network must be based on several criteria or parameters and must be made in a dynamic way. This paper presents a new algorithm of selection based on the QoS needs of the user, by taking into consideration a better traffic distribution between the various networks of the same operator.
Fire detection based on flame color and area

Contour Extraction of Flame Object is a key problem in fire recognition Based on Video Sequences applications, which has a direct impact on improving fire recognition accuracy. To extract flame object precisely, this paper introduces a kind of the new method of extraction flame object based on the threshold of the area. Firstly, adaptive threshold generated by iterative method is used to segment the image, Secondly, we use knowledge of set theory to extract object contour, Finally, it can judge whether fire occurs from the fire flame color, fire spreading etc characteristic information. Experiments proved that the method is effective and robust, and that it can extract flame object effectively from a sequence of image, and that it is significant for improving accuracy and reducing false alarms. So it is good method of fire detection in the complex large outdoors situation.
Using the visual Words based on Affine-SIFT descriptors for face recognition

Video-based face recognition has drawn a lot of attention in recent years. On the other hand, Bag-of-visual Words (BoWs) representation has been successfully applied in image retrieval and object recognition recently. In this paper, a video-based face recognition approach which uses visual words is proposed. In classic visual words, Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) descriptors of an image are firstly extracted on interest points detected by difference of Gaussian (DoG), then k-means-based visual vocabulary generation is applied to replace these descriptors with the indexes of the closet visual words. However, in facial images, SIFT descriptors are not good enough due to facial pose distortion, facial expression and lighting condition variation. In this paper, we use Affine-SIFT (ASIFT) descriptors as facial image representation. Experimental results on UCSD/Honda Video Database and VidTIMIT Video Database suggest that visual words based on Affine-SIFT descriptors can achieve lower error rates in face recognition task.
Scanning Electron Microscopic study of Piper betle L. leaves extract effect against Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175

Introduction Previous studies have shown that Piper betle L. leaves extract inhibits the adherence of Streptococcus mutans to glass surface, suggesting its potential role in controlling dental plaque development. Objectives: In this study, the effect of the Piper betle L. extract towards S. mutans (with/without sucrose) using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and on partially purified cell-associated glucosyltransferase activity were determined. Material and Methods S. mutans were allowed to adhere to glass beads suspended in 6 different Brain Heart Infusion broths [without sucrose; with sucrose; without sucrose containing the extract (2 mg mL-1 and 4 mg mL-1); with sucrose containing the extract (2 mg mL-1 and 4 mg mL-1)]. Positive control was 0.12% chlorhexidine. The glass beads were later processed for SEM viewing. Cell surface area and appearance and, cell population of S. mutans adhering to the glass beads were determined upon viewing using the SEM. The glucosyltransferase activity (with/without extract) was also determined. One- and two-way ANOVA were used accordingly. Results It was found that sucrose increased adherence and cell surface area of S. mutans (p<0.001). S. mutans adhering to 100 µm2 glass surfaces (with/without sucrose) exhibited reduced cell surface area, fluffy extracellular appearance and cell population in the presence of the Piper betle L. leaves extract. It was also found that the extract inhibited glucosyltransferase activity and its inhibition at 2.5 mg mL-1 corresponded to that of 0.12% chlorhexidine. At 4 mg mL-1 of the extract, the glucosyltransferase activity was undetectable and despite that, bacterial cells still demonstrated adherence capacity. Conclusion The SEM analysis confirmed the inhibitory effects of the Piper betle L. leaves extract towards cell adherence, cell growth and extracellular polysaccharide formation of S. mutans visually. In bacterial cell adherence, other factors besides glucosyltransferase are involved.
Dead end1 is an essential partner of NANOS2 for selective binding of target RNAs in male germ cell development

RNA‐binding proteins (RBPs) play important roles for generating various cell types in many developmental processes, including eggs and sperms. Nanos is widely known as an evolutionarily conserved RNA‐binding protein implicated in germ cell development. Mouse NANOS2 interacts directly with the CCR4‐NOT (CNOT) deadenylase complex, resulting in the suppression of specific RNAs. However, the mechanisms involved in target specificity remain elusive. We show that another RBP, Dead end1 (DND1), directly interacts with NANOS2 to load unique RNAs into the CNOT complex. This interaction is mediated by the zinc finger domain of NANOS2, which is essential for its association with target RNAs. In addition, the conditional deletion of DND1 causes the disruption of male germ cell differentiation similar to that observed in Nanos2‐KO mice. Thus, DND1 is an essential partner for NANOS2 that leads to the degradation of specific RNAs. We also present the first evidence that the zinc finger domain of Nanos acts as a protein‐interacting domain for another RBP, providing a novel insight into Nanos‐mediated germ cell development.
Small RNAs in mycobacteria: an unfolding story

Mycobacteria represent a class of powerful pathogens, including those causing tuberculosis and leprosy, which continue to be worldwide health challenges. In the last 20 years, an abundance of non-coding, small RNAs (sRNAs) have been discovered in model bacteria and gained significant attention as regulators of cellular responses, including pathogenesis. Naturally, a search in mycobacteria followed, revealing over 200 sRNAs thus far. Characterization of these sRNAs is only beginning, but differential expression under environmental stresses suggests relevance to mycobacterial pathogenesis. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge of sRNAs in mycobacteria, including historical perspective and techniques used for identification and characterization.
3D Printing of Polymer Nanocomposites via Stereolithography

Additive manufacturing (AM) is still underutilized as an industrial process, but is quickly gaining momentum with the development of innovative techniques and materials for various applications. In particular, stereolithography (SLA) is now shifting from rapid prototyping to rapid manufacturing, but is facing challenges in parts performance and printing speed, among others. This review discusses the application of SLA for polymer nanocomposites fabrication to show the technology's potential in increasing the applicability of current SLA-printed parts. Photopolymerization chemistry, nanocomposite preparation, and applications in various industries are also explained to provide a comprehensive picture of the current and future capabilities of the technique and materials involved.