Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional over-redundancy and high functional vulnerability in global fish faunas on tropical reefs

Significance Our results indicate that, even in highly diverse systems like coral reefs, we can no longer assume that the erosion of species diversity can be discounted by the high probability of functional redundancy: i.e., that several species can support the same function. Indeed, we show that fish species tend to disproportionately pack into a few particular functions while leaving many functions highly vulnerable, i.e., they are supported by just one species. Even the Coral Triangle, which has a high concentration of tropical-reef fishes, may experience a loss of functional diversity following fisheries pressure and local species extirpation. Our results suggest that the promised benefits of functional insurance from high species diversity may not be as strong as we once hoped. When tropical systems lose species, they are often assumed to be buffered against declines in functional diversity by the ability of the species-rich biota to display high functional redundancy: i.e., a high number of species performing similar functions. We tested this hypothesis using a ninefold richness gradient in global fish faunas on tropical reefs encompassing 6,316 species distributed among 646 functional entities (FEs): i.e., unique combinations of functional traits. We found that the highest functional redundancy is located in the Central Indo-Pacific with a mean of 7.9 species per FE. However, this overall level of redundancy is disproportionately packed into few FEs, a pattern termed functional over-redundancy (FOR). For instance, the most speciose FE in the Central Indo-Pacific contains 222 species (out of 3,689) whereas 38% of FEs (180 out of 468) have no functional insurance with only one species. Surprisingly, the level of FOR is consistent across the six fish faunas, meaning that, whatever the richness, over a third of the species may still be in overrepresented FEs whereas more than one third of the FEs are left without insurance, these levels all being significantly higher than expected by chance. Thus, our study shows that, even in high-diversity systems, such as tropical reefs, functional diversity remains highly vulnerable to species loss. Although further investigations are needed to specifically address the influence of redundant vs. vulnerable FEs on ecosystem functioning, our results suggest that the promised benefits from tropical biodiversity may not be as strong as previously thought.
Soft X-ray transients in the Hertzsprung gap

We apply the disc instability model for soft X-ray transients to identify system parameters along evolutionary sequences of black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs) that are consistent with transient behaviour. In particular, we focus on the hitherto neglected group of BHXBs with intermediate-mass giant donor stars. These spend a significant fraction of their X-ray active phase crossing the Hertzsprung gap. Three case B binary sequences with a black hole accretor and 2.5-M⊙ initial donor mass are presented in detail. We formulate rules which summarize the behaviour of these sequences and provide an approximate description for case B mass-transfer in intermediate-mass BHXBs. Chiefly, the time-scale of the overall radius expansion is given by the initial donor mass, while the surface appearance is determined by the current donor mass. With these rules we obtain a general overview of transient and persistent behaviour of all intermediate-mass BHXBs by just considering single star sequences of different mass. We find that although systems in the process of crossing the Hertzsprung gap are in general persistently bright, with Eddington or super-Eddington transfer rates, there is a narrow instability strip where transient behaviour is possible. This strip extends over a secondary mass range 2.0 ≲ M2 ≲ 3.5 M⊙. GRO J1655–40 might be such a system. We predict that there are no BHXB transients with (sub)giant donors more massive than 3.5 M⊙, and no neutron star transients in the Hertzsprung gap.
The Venice system for the classification of marine waters according to salinity : Symposium on the classification of brackish waters, Venice, 8-14 April 1958

An international Symposium for the Classification of Brackish Waters, sponsored by the International Association of Limnology and the International Union of Biological Sciences, was held in Venice, 8-14 April 1958. From it derived the following statement on the classification of marine saline waters. The complete proceedings of the symposium are to be published soon, prcsumably as an IUBS colloquium.
A software tool for building a statistical prefix processor

Information Retrieval or Text Classification need to match words between the user's input and the documents in a collection of texts. Matching of words is not a trivial process since words have grammatical (inflectional and derivational) variations. There are two main approaches for matching between inflected words: Stemming (removing word suffixes based on ad-hoc selected suffixes) and Lemmatizing (replacing the inflected form with the base form of a word). However, these approaches normalize the word variations in their rightmost side. We claim it will be beneficial to additionally concentrate on word normalization at the left side, by removing word prefixes. In this report, we present the architecture and functioning of a software tool that can be used as the first stage of a Statistical Prefix Processor, a system that could effectively remove prefixes from words and act as a preprocessing stage of text analysis applications. The tool we present is comprised of two stages/subtools. During the first stage, possible prefixes of words within a collection of texts are identified. During the second stage, a number of users (native speakers) process the text collection, automatically locate words that contain each stem and characterize the prefixes used with each stemmed word. After the text collection has been processed by all users, statistical conclusions can be drawn for each stemmed word and its associated prefixes.
Curating Complex, Dynamic and Distributed Data: Telehealth as a Laboratory for Strategy

Telehealth monitoring data is now being collected across large populations of patients with chronic diseases such as stroke, hypertension, COPD and dementia. These large, complex and heterogeneous datasets, including distributed sensor and mobile datasets, present real opportunities for knowledge discovery and re-use, however they also generate new challenges for curation. This paper uses qualitative research with stakeholders in two nationally-funded telehealth projects to outline the perceptions, practices and preferences of different stakeholders with regard to data curation. Telehealth provides a living laboratory for the very different challenges implicit in designing and managing data infrastructure for embedded and ubiquitous computing. Here, technical and human agents are distributed, and interaction and state change is a central component of design, rather than an inconvenient challenge to it. The authors argue that there are lessons to be learned from other domains where data infrastructure has been radically rethought to address these challenges.
Efficient Proxy Selection in Cooperative Web Caching

In cooperative P2P Web caching if the Web cache first receiving a request does not have the document in its memory, it starts searching for it in other nearby cooperating Web caches, retrieving and sending it to the client before contacting the origin (content) server. The advantages of cooperative caching are clear: it reduces the network bandwidth consumption, actual traffic on the origin servers, and average latency experienced by the clients of these caches. Although several cooperative caching protocols have been proposed, few studies have examined how to select the best proxy server that would offer the best response time to a Web client. In this paper, we propose to dynamically measure the data transfer rates between proxy servers to facilitate efficient server selection. However, the main goal of the paper is to study the performance benefits of integrating efficient server selection mechanism. Our analysis shows that attempts to choose the fastest server can be hugely beneficial as file transfer time is significantly better as compared to conventional cooperative proxy mechanisms where selection is largely random.
The Surface Roughness Measurement for Textiles Fabrics by a Non-Contact Method for Tactile Perception

The research for objectifying the handle of textile fabrics is a very important factor in the textile and garment manufacturing and retailing industries. Handle is influenced by mechanical properties of textile fabrics and the surface roughness. The KES-F system is standard objectified method among different measurement methods. But the measurement of surface roughness applied the KES-F which is contact method disturbs an accurate measurement for analysis of tactile perception. Hence we measure the surface roughness of textile fabrics without deformation by a non-contact method applied the laser displacement sensor with a resolution of 1 μm and a accuracy of 0.01% and high precisely controlled linear motor for translated at constant speed. Since the textile fabrics are woven and knitted with various colored yarn and its surface treated with chemical treatment to make luster, we analyze the effect of color and luster in order to reduce the optical errors. And the results of surface roughness of various textile fabrics compared with the surface characteristic values (MIU, MMD) measured by KES-F system. The data is controlled on computer and executed FFT by using MATLAB for obtain roughness, the mean values and mean deviation from thirty plain and twill woven fabrics for men’s suit in winter. We will present the comparison between the surface roughnesses of textile fabrics measured by a non-contact method with the subjective adjective tactile expression to understand the tactile perception.
Evolutionary Analysis of Functional Divergence among Chemokine Receptors, Decoy Receptors, and Viral Receptors

Chemokine receptors (CKRs) function in the inflammatory response and in vertebrate homeostasis. Decoy and viral receptors are two types of CKR homologs with modified functions from those of the typical CKRs. The decoy receptors are able to bind ligands without signaling. On the other hand, the viral receptors show constitutive signaling without ligands. We examined the sites related to the functional difference. At first, the decoy and viral receptors were each classified into five groups, based on the molecular phylogenetic analysis. A multiple amino acid sequence alignment between each group and the CKRs was then constructed. The difference in the amino acid composition between the group and the CKRs was evaluated as the Kullback–Leibler (KL) information value at each alignment site. The KL information value is considered to reflect the difference in the functional constraints at the site. The sites with the top 5% of KL information values were selected and mapped on the structure of a CKR. The comparisons with decoy receptor groups revealed that the detected sites were biased on the intracellular side. In contrast, the sites detected from the comparisons with viral receptor groups were found on both the extracellular and intracellular sides. More sites were found in the ligand binding pocket in the analyses of the viral receptor groups, as compared to the decoy receptor groups. Some of the detected sites were located in the GPCR motifs. For example, the DRY motif of the decoy receptors was often degraded, although the motif of the viral receptors was basically conserved. The observations for the viral receptor groups suggested that the constraints in the pocket region are loose and that the sites on the intracellular side are different from those for the decoy receptors, which may be related to the constitutive signaling activity of the viral receptors.
Pasting Behaviour Suggests Cryptic Sociality in the Striped Hyaena, Hyaena hyaena

Social evolution in the order Carnivora may be investigated through comparative studies of behaviourally diverse extant carnivores. The family Hyaenidae serves as a useful model in such interspecies comparisons, as its member species display various degrees of sociality. However, the behaviour of one of the hyaenids, the striped hyaena, Hyaena hyaena, is poorly understood. Further research into its social ecology will enhance the utility of the family Hyaenidae in elucidating the origins of sociality in carnivores. This research is also critical in conserving this rare and globally declining species. To better understand social behaviour in striped hyaenas, we examined chemical signaling in a population of striped hyaenas in southern Kenya. Although often overlooked in behavioural studies, chemical communication plays a central role in the sensory world of many carnivores, including hyaenids. We tested three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses about the function of “pasting,” a scent-marking behaviour unique to hyaenids, in striped hyaenas. We found that pasting did not function to control food or den resources. We found no evidence that females pasted to demarcate territories. Females pasted at higher rates where their home ranges overlapped with multiple conspecific home ranges; that is, females
High-throughput genotyping of oncogenic human papilloma viruses with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the major cause of cervical cancer. Use of HPV genotyping in cervical screening programs and for monitoring the effectiveness of HPV vaccination programs requires access to economical, high-throughput technology. METHODS We used the Sequenom MassARRAY platform to develop a high-throughput mass spectrometric (MS) method for detecting 14 specific oncogenic HPV genotypes in multiplex PCR products. We compared results from 532 cervical cell samples to the comparison method, reverse dot blot hybridization (RDBH). RESULTS The MS method detected all samples found positive by RDBH. In addition, the MS method identified 5 cases of cervical disease (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade I or higher) that RDBH analysis had missed. Discrepancies in specific genotypes were noted in 20 samples, all positive by MS, with an overall concordance of kappa = 0.945. CONCLUSIONS The MS high-throughput method, with a processing capacity of 10 x 384 samples within 2 working days and at a consumables cost of about US$2 per sample, performed as well as or better than the comparison method.
Effects of OnabotulintoxinA on Habituation of Laser Evoked Responses in Chronic Migraine

Onabotulintoxin A (BontA) is an efficacious preventive treatment for chronic migraine, though the specific mechanism of action is still under discussion. The study aims: (1) To evaluate pain processing modifications in chronic migraine patients (CM) under single BontA administration in pericranial muscles, by means of CO2 Laser Evoked Potentials (LEPs) obtained by the stimulation of the skin over the right frontal and trapezius injection sites and hand dorsum, in a double blind placebo controlled crossover design. (2) To correlate main LEPs findings with clinical outcome after one year of BontA treatment. Twenty refractory CM patients were included in the analysis. The LEPs were recorded in basal conditions and seven days after BontA (PREEMPT protocol) and saline solution injection. The N1, N2 and P2 amplitude and latencies and N2P2 habituation index were evaluated and correlated with the percent change of headache frequency after one year of toxin treatment. After seven days of BontA treatment, a normalization of the trigeminal habituation index was observed, which was correlated with the clinical outcome after one year of BontA therapy. Patients displaying trigeminal LEPs facilitation at T0 time showed a more efficient therapeutic outcome. Neurotoxin may exert a modulating effect on trigeminal nociception, normalizing central neurotransmission.
Quantitative versus qualitative in neuromarketing research

Marketing research methods continuously develop and over the last decade technology offered solutions to improve this area. Traditional marketing research methods fail at some point in certain cases, and since emotions are mediators of how consumers process marketing messages, understanding of cognitive responses to advertisements have always been a challenge in methodology. Neuromarketing is the branch of neuroscience research that aims to better understand the consumer through his unconscious processes and has application in marketing, explaining consumer's preferences, motivations and expectations, predicting his behavior and evaluating successes or failures of advertising messages. In this context, this study aims to analyze relatively new alternative techniques in neuromarketing research, from quantitative and qualitative perspectives. After presenting the common space between quantitative research and neuromarketing research, respectively between qualitative research and neuromarketing research, the study will conclude on whether neuromarketing research is closer to a quantitative approach, or to a qualitative one.
Shape optimization for viscous flows by reduced basis methods and free‐form deformation

In this paper, we further develop an approach previously introduced in Lassila and Rozza, 2010, for shape optimization that combines a suitable low‐dimensional parametrization of the geometry (yielding a geometrical reduction) with reduced basis methods (yielding a reduction of computational complexity). More precisely, free‐form deformation techniques are considered for the geometry description and its parametrization, whereas reduced basis methods are used upon a FE discretization to solve systems of parametrized partial differential equations. This allows an efficient flow field computation and cost functional evaluation during the iterative optimization procedure, resulting in effective computational savings with respect to usual shape optimization strategies. This approach is very general and can be applied to a broad variety of problems. In this paper, we apply it to find the optimal shape of aorto‐coronaric bypass anastomoses based on vorticity minimization in the down‐field region. Blood flows in the coronary arteries are modeled using Stokes equations; afterwards, results have been verified in feedback using Navier–Stokes equations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fe b 20 02 QMUL-PH-02-04 hep-th / 0202184 M-Theory solutions with AdS factors

Solutions of D = 7 maximal gauged supergravity are constructed with metrics that are a product of a n-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, with n = 2, 3, 4, 5, and certain Einstein manifolds. The gauge fields have the same form as in the recently constructed solutions describing the near-horizon limits of M5-branes wrapping supersymmetric cycles. The new solutions do not preserve any supersymmetry and can be uplifted to obtain new solutions of D = 11 supergravity, which are warped and twisted products of the D = 7 metric with a squashed four-sphere. Some aspects of the stability of the solutions are discussed. 1 E-mail: j.p.gauntlett@qmul.ac. uk 2 E-mail: kim@aei-potsdam.mpg. de 3 E-mail: s.pakis@qmul.ac. uk 4 E-mail: d.j.waldram@qmul.ac. uk
Features composition for proficient and real time retrieval in content based image retrieval system

Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) systems employ colour as primary feature with texture and shape as secondary features. Very few systems exploit spatial features. None of the available systems combines all three visual features, texture, shape and location, for organization and retrieval. In this paper a simple, image retrieval system is presented. The proposed system uses weighted combination of integrated texture features, shape features of texture regions.
Control of an IPMC actuated robotic surgical tool with embedded interaction sensing

An active robotic surgical instrument using Ionic Polymer-metal Composite (IPMC) actuation and integrated sensing for force control has been developed and tested. Results described in this paper show the device has the capabilities to operate capably as a robotic surgical tool. With the recent progression of research and applications in robotic aided surgery instrument, it is generally accepted that robotic surgical tools, in some area, have actually surpassed human in performance. Among them, the application of IPMC in medical practice has shown its potential to undertake precise surgical procedures in delicate environments because of its inherently force compliant and bio-compatible nature, and also because IPMC has similar actuation characteristics to real biological systems. Nevertheless, little work has been done exploring the using IPMC as an actuator for a rotary joint mechanism, and applying this to a surgical instrument. This research presents the development of a fully integrated single degree of freedom robotic surgical device with embedded force and position sensing for feedback control. Even with the simplicity of the system, it is proven to be capable of conducting certain surgical procedures. This device has a rotary joint with a scalpel attached which is actuated by an IPMC, with a strain gauge embedded as a feedback unit, and controlled by a PI controller has shown to capable of maintaining a 1gf cutting force.
Your mitochondria are what you eat: a high‐fat or a high‐sucrose diet eliminates metabolic flexibility in isolated mitochondria from rat skeletal muscle

Extreme diets consisting of either high fat (HF) or high sucrose (HS) may lead to insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, often associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. However, it is not known if these diets alter normal interactions of pyruvate and fatty acid oxidation at the level of the mitochondria. Here, we report that rat muscle mitochondria does show the normal Randle‐type fat‐carbohydrate interaction seen in vivo. The mechanism behind this metabolic flexibility at the level of the isolated mitochondria is a regulation of the flux‐ratio: pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH)/β‐oxidation to suit the actual substrate availability, with the PDH flux as the major point of regulation. We further report that this regulatory mechanism of carbohydrate‐fat metabolic interaction surprisingly is lost in mitochondria obtained from animals exposed for 12 weeks to a HF‐ or a HS diet as compared to rats given a normal chow diet. The mechanism seems to be a loss of the PDH flux decrease seen in controls, when fatty acid is supplied as substrate in addition to pyruvate, and vice versa for the supply of pyruvate as substrate to mitochondria oxidizing fatty acid. Finally, we report that the calculated TCA flux in the isolated mitochondria under these circumstances shows a significant reduction (~50%) after the HF diet and an even larger reduction (~75%) after the HS diet, compared with the chow group. Thus, it appears that obesogenic diets as those applied here have major influence on key metabolic performance of skeletal muscle mitochondria.