Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Body density and diving gas volume of the northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)

ABSTRACT Diving lung volume and tissue density, reflecting lipid store volume, are important physiological parameters that have only been estimated for a few breath-hold diving species. We fitted 12 northern bottlenose whales with data loggers that recorded depth, 3-axis acceleration and speed either with a fly-wheel or from change of depth corrected by pitch angle. We fitted measured values of the change in speed during 5 s descent and ascent glides to a hydrodynamic model of drag and buoyancy forces using a Bayesian estimation framework. The resulting estimate of diving gas volume was 27.4±4.2 (95% credible interval, CI) ml kg−1, closely matching the measured lung capacity of the species. Dive-by-dive variation in gas volume did not correlate with dive depth or duration. Estimated body densities of individuals ranged from 1028.4 to 1033.9 kg m−3 at the sea surface, indicating overall negative tissue buoyancy of this species in seawater. Body density estimates were highly precise with ±95% CI ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 kg m−3, which would equate to a precision of <0.5% of lipid content based upon extrapolation from the elephant seal. Six whales tagged near Jan Mayen (Norway, 71°N) had lower body density and were closer to neutral buoyancy than six whales tagged in the Gully (Nova Scotia, Canada, 44°N), a difference that was consistent with the amount of gliding observed during ascent versus descent phases in these animals. Implementation of this approach using longer-duration tags could be used to track longitudinal changes in body density and lipid store body condition of free-ranging cetaceans. Summary: Body density and diving gas volume, two important but poorly understood physiological characteristics of beaked whales, are revealed through analysis of hydrodynamic performance during glides.
Removing sampling bias in networked stochastic approximation

We consider a stochastic approximation algorithm implemented on a network of computing elements corresponding to the nodes of a connected graph wherein each node polls one or more of its neighbors at random and pulls the relevant data from there. A blind implementation suffers from `sampling bias' whereby each node's contribution to the computation gets weighed by its frequency of being polled. We propose a modified step size schedule that works around this problem. As an example, we propose a modification of an existing scheme for reputation systems that removes such a bias therein.
Evaluation of a similarity-based elastography technique using four similarity metrics

This study uses a similarity-based elastography method to attempt to reconstruct elastic modulus values in a simulation of cancerous tumors in the breast. Four similarity metrics were compared as to their ability to resolve a single near field tumor, far field tumor and a multiple tumor scenario. Mutual information provided the best reconstruction for near field tumors while gradient correlation provided the best reconstruction for the far field and multiple tumor models. In all elasticity images, good tumor localization was achieved; however, the limited contrast resolution needs further investigation.
On the Notion and Implications of Organism-Environment System

The 5 papers in this special section examine the hypothesis that organism and environment constitute a single system. Timo Järvilehto and Barry Smith focus on the status of the hypothesis from the perspectives of experimental psychology and philosophy. Järvilehto addresses the precursors of the hypothesis and the reasons for adopting its implied methodology. Smith addresses the epistemological and ontological issues, historical and contemporary, surrounding the core notion of an organism-relative definition of environment. David Miller and Robert Lickliter focus on the status of the hypothesis from the perspectives of development and evolution. Miller addresses the limits on understanding development when organism-environment system and its implied (transactional) methodology are ignored. Likliter addresses the successes of the “epigenetic revolution” in relation to the traditionally dominant gene-centered view as confirmation of the hypothesis. Susan Oyama focuses on the nexus of ideas that define Developmental Systems Theory (DST), a primary conceptual embodiment of the one-system hypothesis. She addresses conceptual differences among proponents of DST and with proponents of related viewpoints that are seemingly accommodating of some version of the hypothesis—differences that are tied to the use, emphasis, and interpretation of “cause,” “information,” and “environment. ” In this introduction I take the opportunity to present a personal overview of the conceptual landscape that embeds the one-system hypothesis. My goal is to frame the issues addressed by the 5 authors and to set the stage for future deliberations.
Modeling Product-Line Legacy Assets using Multi-Level Theory

The use of non-systematic reuse techniques in Systems Engineering (SE) leads to the creation of legacy products comprised of legacy assets like software, hardware, and mechanical parts coupled with associated traceability links to requirements, testing artifacts, architectural fragments etc. The sheer number of different legacy assets and different technologies used to engineer such legacy products makes reverse engineering of PLs in this context a daunting task. One of the prerequisites for reverse engineering of PLs is to create a family model that captures implementation aspects of all the legacy products. In this paper, we evaluate the applicability of a modeling paradigm called Multi-Level Modeling, which is based on the class-instance relation, for the creation of a family model that captures all the implementation concerns in an SE PL. More specifically, we evaluate an approach called Multi-Level conceptual Theory (MLT) for capturing different legacy assets, their mutual relations and related variability information. Moreover, we map PL concepts like variants, presence conditions and product configurations to MLT concepts and provide formal interpretation of their semantics in the MLT framework. The illustrative example used throughout the paper comes from a real case from the automotive domain.
Young people's societal belonging and perception of social status within networks

The research explored young people's social status identification within social networks and how it influenced societal belonging, self-perception and future aspirations. The focus was on social status identity as it is anticipated that a person's social status identity affects an individual's perception of their social status to a greater extent than an actual socio-economic classification. Social status perception is created within the family's social and cultural capital, but also by agency in directing engagement in societal activities, social identity and future aspirations. Findings from the survey of 751 Australian high-school students living in geographically isolated and sparsely populated residential areas indicated strong relationships between social status identification and sense of societal belonging, involvement in community events and confidence in achieving future aspirations. The students who classified themselves as having a high social status identity felt more at home and engaged in the community and confident to express independent views.
Persistent scatterer InSAR for ground deformation mapping using ALOS PALSAR data: A case study in Singapore

Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PS-InSAR) technique provides ground deformation monitoring in an accuracy of millimeter, due to its capability of overcoming the atmospheric disturbance, geometrical and temporal decorrelation. The Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) of ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite) provides better capability to penetrate vegetation, which is especially useful in tropical area. In this paper, we have conducted the preliminary study on ground surface change monitoring in Singapore. 18 ascending PALSAR FBS/FBD level 1.1 data are used for this study, and the first result has identified several spots that might have small deformation, which need to be further investigated.
STUDIES ON MICROPEROXISOMES II. A CYTOCHEMICAL METHOD FOR LIGHT AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

A modification of the Novikoff-Goldfischer alkaline 3,3'-diaminobenzidine medium for visualizing peroxisomes is described. It makes possible light microscopic as well as electron microscopic studies of a recently described class of peroxisomes, the microperoxisomes. Potassium cyanide (5 x 10–3 M) is included in the medium to inhibit mitochondrial staining, the pH is 9.7 and there is a high concentration of H2O2 (0.05%). Two cell types have been chosen to illustrate the advantages of the new procedure for demonstrating the microperoxisomes: the absorptive cells in the human jejunum and the distal tubule cells in the guinea pig kidney. Suggestive relations of microperoxisomes and lipid are described in the human jejunum. The microperoxisomes are strategically located between smooth endoplasmic reticulum that radiates toward the organelles and contains lipid droplets and "central domains" of highly specialized endoplasmic reticulum which do not show the lipid droplets. The microperoxisomes are also present at the periphery of large lipid-like drops. In the guinea pig kidney tubule there is a striking difference between the thick limb of Henle and distal tubule. The distal tubule has a population of cells with large numbers of microperoxisomes readily visible by light microscopy; these cells are not present in the thick limb of Henle. Other differences between the two are also described.
Implementation of Low Phase Noise Wide-Band VCO with Digital Switching Capacitors

This paper presents a low phase noise of the complementary cross-coupled voltage-controlled oscillator, which oscillates at a range of 3.64 ~ 5.37 GHz. This VCO utilizes switching capacitor modules in which eight channels are able to be selected. Moreover, MOS varactors are used as fine tuning. The fully integrated VCO provides excellent performance. The bandwidth of frequency is 1.73 GHz and the tuning range is 38%. The power dissipation of the core circuit is 13.7 mW under 1.8 V supply and phase noises all are smaller than -122 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset. This VCO was made by TSMC 0.18 mum 1P6M CMOS standard process and the chip area is 0.96 times 0.83 (mm2).
Learning Outcomes as understood by 'Publishing Research' facilitators at a South African university

Accepted: 18.04. 2013 This article draws on a case study of six facilitators who were teaching Publishing Research in 2011 at one of the universities in South Africa. Publishing Research was offered by two campuses of this institution. This article gives these facilitators a voice and also identifies and defines the intended, implemented and attained learning outcomes for the module. The six facilitators claimed to be using the same learning outcomes in helping students to achieve the aims in the module but the results of the module tell different stories about the facilitators’ awareness and achievement of the learning outcomes. Data collection occurred through document analysis and semi-structured interviews. A priori analysis theory (Samuel, 2009) was used as a framework for the study and this produced three themes, while this article itself is framed by Bloom’s Taxonomies of learning. This article prioritises the alignment of the intended, implemented and attained learning outcomes; as well as the use of the three domains of Bloom’s Taxonomies (cognitive, skills and value / attitude) in formulating learning outcomes of the module in order to contribute positively towards the well-being of the module.
Don't you dare look at me, or else: Negative and aggressive interpretation bias, callous unemotional traits and type of aggression

The aim of the present study was to examine whether there is a relation between a negative/aggressive interpretation bias, different types of aggression, and callous-unemotional traits in (delinquent) juveniles. We examined this research question in 2 different studies. The first study examines the relationship between a social negative interpretation bias with different types of aggression and callous-unemotional traits in 42 juvenile delinquent boys from a Juridical Youth Institution Centre and 29 healthy juvenile controls from a local high school in the Netherlands. Results showed that a negative interpretation bias was related to callous-unemotional traits, but specifically within the delinquent group. In the second study we examined this research question in more detail, using 3 different groups and two different measurements of a negative and aggressive interpretation bias (i.e., explicit vs. implicit measurement, respectively). This second study included 88 male participants ranging from 13 to 25 years. Subjects were now recruited from a local high school (healthy controls), an education project (at risk group) and from a Juridical Youth Institution (juvenile group). In the three different groups, there emerged different meaningful correlates. While in the healthy control group there were no significant correlates of a negative interpretation bias, for the two other groups some meaningful correlates were found. Within the at risk group, an aggressive interpretation bias was related to reactive aggression. Within the delinquent group, a negative interpretation bias was significantly related to reactive aggression, while an aggressive interpretation bias was significantly related to proactive aggression. So over the two studies, specifically within the delinquent groups, a negative interpretation bias seems positively related to aggression and callous-unemotional traits. These findings might indicate that the tendency to make negative or aggressive interpretations of potential innocuous situations might form an important mechanism underlying the relation between aggressive acts and the presence of elevated aggression and callous unemotional traits.
A space-sweep approach to true multi-image matching

The problem of determining feature correspondences across multiple views is considered. The term "true multi-image" matching is introduced to describe techniques that make full and efficient use of the geometric relationships between multiple images and the scene. A true multi-image technique must generalize to any number of images, be of linear algorithmic complexity in the number of images, and use all the images in an equal manner. A new space-sweep approach to true multi-image matching is presented that simultaneously determines 2D feature correspondences and the 3D positions of feature points in the scene. The method is illustrated on a seven-image matching example from the aerial image domain.
Approximate Conditional Mean Particle Filtering for Linear/Nonlinear Dynamic State Space Models

We consider linear systems whose state parameters are separable into linear and nonlinear sets, and evolve according to some known transition distribution, and whose measurement noise is distributed according to a mixture of Gaussians. In doing so, we propose a novel particle filter that addresses the optimal state estimation problem for the aforementioned class of systems. The proposed filter, referred to as the approximate conditional mean particle filter (ACM-PF), is a combination of the approximate conditional mean filter and the sequential importance sampling particle filter. The algorithm development depends on approximating a mixture of Gaussians distribution with a moment-matched Gaussian in the weight update recursion. A condition indicating when this approximation is valid is given. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, we address the blind signal detection problem for an impulsive flat fading channel and the tracking of a maneuvering target in the presence of glint noise. Extensive computer simulations were carried out. For computationally intensive implementations (large number of particles), the proposed algorithm offers performance that is comparable to other state-of-the-art particle filtering algorithms. In the scenario where computational horsepower is heavily constrained, it is shown that the proposed algorithm offers the best performance amongst the considered algorithms for these specific examples.
Intra-arterial Prourokinase for Acute Ischemic Stroke: The PROACT II Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ContextIntravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator can be beneficial to some patients when given within 3 hours of stroke onset, but many patients present later after stroke onset and alternative treatments are needed.ObjectiveTo determine the clinical efficacy and safety of intra-arterial (IA) recombinant prourokinase (r-proUK) in patients with acute stroke of less than 6 hours' duration caused by middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion.DesignPROACT II (Prolyse in Acute Cerebral Thromboembolism II), a randomized, controlled, multicenter, open-label clinical trial with blinded follow-up conducted between February 1996 and August 1998.SettingFifty-four centers in the United States and Canada.PatientsA total of 180 patients with acute ischemic stroke of less than 6 hours' duration caused by angiographically proven occlusion of the MCA and without hemorrhage or major early infarction signs on computed tomographic scan.InterventionPatients were randomized to receive 9 mg of IA r-proUK plus heparin (n = 121) or heparin only (n = 59). Main Outcome MeasuresThe primary outcome, analyzed by intention-to-treat, was based on the proportion of patients with slight or no neurological disability at 90 days as defined by a modified Rankin score of 2 or less. Secondary outcomes included MCA recanalization, the frequency of intracranial hemorrhage with neurological deterioration, and mortality.ResultsFor the primary analysis, 40% of r-proUK patients and 25% of control patients had a modified Rankin score of 2 or less (P = .04). Mortality was 25% for the r-proUK group and 27% for the control group. The recanalization rate was 66% for the r-proUK group and 18% for the control group (P<.001). Intracranial hemorrhage with neurological deterioration within 24 hours occurred in 10% of r-proUK patients and 2% of control patients (P = .06). ConclusionDespite an increased frequency of early symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, treatment with IA r-proUK within 6 hours of the onset of acute ischemic stroke caused by MCA occlusion significantly improved clinical outcome at 90 days.
Three Dimensional Terrain Visualization on the Internet Using NURBS Method

In this paper, an approach is presented for terrain visualization on the Internet, in which the NURBS method is used for surface fitting conforming to the X3D standard. On the basis of centripetal and cross-sectional models, the DEM can be transformed to an X3D model for Internet transmission. The approach is able to compress data but increase display resolution which can be viewed as the fundamental step of Web3D modeling and transmission.
Decentralised binary detection with non-constant SNR profile at the sensors

In this paper, we consider the problem of decentralised binary detection in sensor networks characterised by non-constant observation Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNRs) at the sensors. In general, SNRs at the sensors could have a generic non-constant distribution. In order to analyse the performance of these decentralised detection schemes, we introduce the concept of sensor SNR profile, and we consider four possible profiles (linear, quadratic, cubic and hyperbolic) as representative of a large number of realistic scenarios. Furthermore, we show how the impact of communication noise in the links between the sensors and the Access Point (AP) depends on the sensor SNR profile (i.e. the spatial distribution of the observation noise). More precisely, different sensor SNR profiles are compared under two alternative assumptions: (i) common maximum sensor SNR or (ii) common average sensor SNR. Finally, we propose an asymptotic (for a large number of sensors) performance analysis, deriving a simple expression for the limiting probability of decision error. We validate our theoretical analysis with experimental results.
Insulin sensitivity in Belgian horses with polysaccharide storage myopathy.

OBJECTIVE To determine insulin sensitivity, proportions of muscle fiber types, and activities of glycogenolytic and glycolytic enzymes in Belgians with and without polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM). ANIMALS 10 Quarter Horses (QHs) and 103 Belgians in which PSSM status had been determined. PROCEDURES To determine insulin sensitivity, a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp (HEC) technique was used in 5 Belgians with PSSM and 5 Belgians without PSSM. Insulin was infused i.v. at 3 mU/min/kg for 3 hours, and concentrations of blood glucose and plasma insulin were determined throughout. An i.v. infusion of glucose was administered to maintain blood glucose concentration at 100 mg/dL. Activities of glycogenolytic and glycolytic enzymes were assessed in snap-frozen biopsy specimens of gluteus medius muscle obtained from 4 Belgians with PSSM and 5 Belgians without PSSM. Percentages of type 1, 2a, and 2b muscle fibers were determined via evaluation of >or= 250 muscle fibers in biopsy specimens obtained from each Belgian used in the aforementioned studies and from 10 QHs (5 with PSSM and 5 without PSSM). RESULTS Belgians with and without PSSM were not significantly different with respect to whole-body insulin sensitivity, muscle activities of glycogenolytic and glycolytic enzymes, or proportions of muscle fiber types. However, Belgians had an increased proportion of type 2a and decreased proportion of type 2b muscle fibers, compared with proportions in QHs, regardless of PSSM status. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE PSSM in Belgians may be attributable to excessive glycogen synthesis rather than decreased glycogen utilization or enhanced glucose uptake into muscle cells.
The Early Impact Program: Strengthening Child Competencies

Abstract Challenging behaviours in young children impact upon schools and families and can lead to more serious challenges in adolescence and adulthood. In the last decade, there has been an increasing trend towards the development of early intervention and prevention programs that serve to draw on child competencies to ameliorate some of the factors that may increase a child's susceptibility to ongoing challenging behaviours. This article reports on a recently evaluated program titled the Early Impact (EI) Program. Some of the unique features of the program are examined, including the home and school components of the intervention that emphasise the strength-based philosophy that underpins the program. A summary of key findings of a recent evaluation of the EI program are also presented that highlight the program's effectiveness and utility for early childhood practitioners working with at-risk children in regular school communities. Finally, recommendations for specific practices in the implementation of intervention programs as well as areas for future research are identified that would serve to extend the current body of knowledge focussing on effective early intervention and prevention frameworks for young children and their families.