Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developmental Potential of Embryos Produced In Vitro by Sperm from Bulls ofContrasting In Vivo Fertility and Ovocytes Retrieved from a Same Donor

Laboratory assessments of sperm traits are poor indicators of fertility. Because the variability in the quality of oocytes collected from different donors drastically influence in vitro embryo production, the aim of this work was to implement an in vitro model to compare the developmental potential of embryos produced by bulls of contrasting in vivo fertility and ovocytes retrieved from the same donor in order to minimize the female related variability. For each trial (n=54), one pair of good quality ovaries of a same donor were split longitudinally and oocytes were recovered by slicing method. Thereafter, matured oocytes were fertilized with sperm of two bulls of low estimated relative conception rates (ERCR +2) contrasting field fertility (6 vs. 6 bulls). Cleavage and blastocyst formation rates were compared. Sperm of high fertility bulls (ERCR+) gave also higher fertilization rates (cleavage) in vitro when compared to low fertility (ERCR-) bulls (odd ratio=1.23). Conversely, the embryonic development to the blastocyst stage was reduced (odd ratio=0.84) in the ERCR+ with respect to the ERCR- bulls. This paradoxical result demonstrates that in vivo bull fertility hardly correlates with in vitro blastocyst yield, but confirms that early events occurring at fertilization are better indicators of the fertility potential. Furthermore, this experimental approach indicates that differences in embryo production rates between bulls of contrasting field fertility may not be outlined in vitro even when bulls are compared using oocytes with variability limited to the same donor.
Rle de la Nature de l'Information dans l'Intermdiation Bancaire

On etudie le role du traitement de l’information dans le cadre de l’intermediation financiere bancaire. Dans ce contexte, on s’interesse aux differentes solutions adoptees par les banques face aux differents types d’imperfections de l’information. On tente ensuite de mettre en evidence les differentes dimensions et natures de l’information disponible et produite, afin de degager une typologie de l’information soft vs l’information hard . Enfin, on discute alors les avantages et les inconvenients de ces deux types d’information, dans le cadre de l’intermediation bancaire.
XYLEM DYSFUNCTION IN FICUS CARICA INFECTED WITH WILT FUNGUS CERATOCYSTIS FICICOLA AND THE ROLE OF THE VECTOR BEETLE EUWALLACEA INTERJECTUS

Ceratocystis ficicola causes serious wilt disease in many fig orchards in Japan. The transmission of this pathogen is thought to occur via soil to host roots, and an ambrosia beetle, Euwallacea interjectus, has been reported as a vector of the pathogen. Anatomical investigations were made on the disease development process with a particular focus on the responses of host tissue to the activities of the vector beetle and the pathogen. Living 26- and 8-year-old Ficus carica trees that were naturally infected with C. ficicola and had holes excavated by E. interjectus were used for analysis. Dark brown discoloration was observed in the sapwood of specimens with poor shoot elongation and slight leaf wilt at harvest. Discolored sapwood coincided with the distribution of hyphae of the pathogen, which was verified by the presence of conidiophores. Most of the beetle’s gallery was distributed inside the discolored area. In the non-discolored sapwood adjacent to the border of the discolored area, some galleries were elongated and contained living new generation adults and larvae of E. interjectus. Hyphae of the pathogen and colored substances were identified also around those new galleries.The present study showed that elongation of galleries by E. interjectus in the functional sapwood induces the wide distribution of the pathogen and contributes to the expansion of the discolored area in which vessels were dysfunctional. This process causes a shortage of water supply and wilting in the infected trees. Euwallacea interjectus must be contributing to the symptom development of this wilt disease.
Motif and Superfamily in National Critical Transportation Networks

Based on the notion of network motif and the superfamily identification method,this paper systematically detects the characteristics of building blocks and superfamilies for several national critical transportation networks in China.Results show that transportation network motifs are pre-defined and non-random local patterns,which are more probable to represent economic cost,technological constraints,and geographical limits in network structures.Moreover,the 4-node subgraph concentration rank of the networks can be divided into two kinds,each corresponding to geography network or service network.Furthermore,based on 4-node subgraph ratio profile(SRP),the transportation networks can be classified into two types of families,which may allow an easily interpretable view of the transportation system.
Excitation of vertical coronal loop oscillations by impulsively driven flows

Context Flows of plasma along a coronal loop caused by the pressure difference between loop footpoints are common in the solar corona. Aims We aim to investigate the possibility of excitation of loop oscillations by an impulsively driven flow triggered by an enhanced pressure in one of the loop footpoints. Methods We carry out 2.5D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of a coronal loop with an impulsively driven flow and investigate the properties and evolution of the resulting oscillatory motion of the loop. Results The action of the centrifugal force associated with plasma moving at high speeds along the curved axis of the loop is found to excite the fundamental harmonic of a vertically polarised kink mode. We analyse the dependence of the resulting oscillations on the speed and kinetic energy of the flow. Conclusions We find that flows with realistic speeds of less than 100 km s−1 are sufficient to excite oscillations with observable amplitudes. We therefore propose plasma flows as a possible excitation mechanism for observed transverse loop oscillations.
Combining Morphology and DNA Barcoding Resolves the Taxonomy of Western Malagasy Liotrigona Moure, 1961 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

ABSTRACT The taxonomy of the western Malagasy stingless bees (Liotrigona spp.) has been complicated by the high degree of morphological similarity between the described species. This group includes one of the smallest bee species of the world, Liotrigona bitika (Brooks & Michener, 1988). However, the description of this species is solely based on size differences, and observation of individuals intermediate in size between Liotrigona bitika and Liotrigona madecassa (Saussure, 1890) have cast doubt on the distinctness of the former taxon. I examined specimens, collected in the dry deciduous forest of Kirindy, representing all three of the described Liotrigona species of western Madagascar using a combined approach of size measures and DNA sequence analysis of the cytochrome oxidase I barcoding region. The analysis revealed all described taxa to be valid and furthermore uncovered the existence of a fourth taxon, described as Liotrigona kinzelbachi sp. n. The sympatric species exhibit non-overlapping body size ranges, indicating a strong influence of body size in niche differentiation of this otherwise morphological highly similar clade.
Incorporating label and attribute information for enhanced network representation learning

Recently, network representation learning has shown its super performance in many network analysis tasks. Traditional network representation learning algorithms mainly mine unilateral network structure information. However, as we move to the age of big data, we can obtain rich auxiliary information from many real-world networks. In this paper, we propose an enhanced network representation learning algorithm by incorporating label and attribute Information. Inspired by natural language model, we propose two novel models: label enhanced attribute information representing model and label enhanced structure information representing model. Then, through parameter sharing strategy and jointly training based on a unified optimization objective function, we can obtain representations of nodes in network preserving network structure, attribute information and label information simultaneously. Experimental results demonstrate that representation vectors obtained by our model outperform state-of-art network representation learning methods on two real-world networks.
Quantitative analysis of Matthew effect and sparsity problem of recommender systems

Recommender systems have received great commercial success. Recommendation has been widely used in areas such as e-commerce, online music FM, online news portal, etc. However, several problems related to input data structure pose serious challenge to recommender system performance. Two of these problems are Matthew effect and sparsity problem. Matthew effect heavily skews recommender system output towards popular items. Data sparsity problem directly affects the coverage of recommendation result. Collaborative filtering is a simple benchmark ubiquitously adopted in the industry as the baseline for recommender system design. Understanding the underlying mechanism of collaborative filtering is crucial for further optimization. In this paper, we do a thorough quantitative analysis on Matthew Effect and sparsity problem in the particular context setting of collaborative filtering. We compare the underlying mechanism of user-based and item-based collaborative filtering and give insight to industrial recommender system builders.
A Varying-Parameter Convergent Neural Dynamic Controller of Multirotor UAVs for Tracking Time-Varying Tasks

To stably control the position and attitude angles of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a varying-parameter convergent neural dynamic (VP-CND) method is proposed and applied. First, the dynamic models of multirotor UAVs are presented. Second, to meet the requirements of high accuracy and real-time control, a VP-CND method is proposed based on an error function to derive the position and attitude angle controllers. The existing fixed-parameter CND methods (e.g., the triple-Zhang dynamics or the Zhang dynamics and gradient dynamics) and the corresponding controllers are presented, and their limitations are analyzed. The proposed VP-CND control method not only can track time-varying target values but also possesses super-exponential convergence performance. Third, simulation comparisons verify the effectiveness, stability, and fast convergence of the VP-CND controllers.
Performance analysis of user influence algorithm under big data processing framework in social networks

Social influence plays an essential role in spreading information within online social networks, and can be modeled or measured by analyzing various social networking data, such as published content, users' attributes or interactions among them. Because of the massive social data, researchers often fail to quantify user influence in an accurate and high efficient way. Big data technique can be adopted to alleviate this problem. In this paper, we introduce a kind of classical individual influence algorithm, and implement two parallel versions of this algorithm based on different big data processing framework. Experiment results on a large-scale real dataset demonstrate that the computational efficiency of influence algorithm can be improved significantly in massive data sets by virtue of big data processing framework.
MCMI-III Personality Disorders, Traits, and Profiles in Adult ADHD Outpatients

Objective: To assess prevalence of personality traits and disorders according to Millon’s evolution-based model and to identify the most representative personality profiles among adult ADHD outpatients. Method: Personality traits and disorders were evaluated using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory–III (MCMI-III) and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in a consecutive sample of adult ADHD outpatients (N = 70) diagnosed by the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale–version 1.1 (ASRS-v1.1) and the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults (DIVA 2.0). Results: More than half of our sample (57.1%) showed at least one personality disorder (PD). The most prevalent PDs were paranoid, schizotypal and negativistic (18.6% for all three PDs), depressive (17.1%), and sadistic (11.4%). No patient had a borderline PD. The EFA identified three personality profiles (“sadistic-antisocial-negativistic,” “masochistic-depressive-dependent-avoidant,” and “antihistrionic-schizoid”). Conclusion: High prevalence of PDs among adult ADHD patients was confirmed. The personality profiles seemed to reflect the persistence of ADHD and related childhood comorbidities in adulthood.
Evidence-based proposal for the number of ambulatory readings required for assessing blood pressure level in research settings: an analysis of the IDACO database

Abstract Background: Guidelines on the required number of ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) readings focus on individual patients. Clinical researchers often face the dilemma of applying recommendations and discarding potentially valuable information or accepting fewer readings. Methods: Starting from ABP recordings with ≥30/≥10 awake/asleep readings in 4277 participants enrolled in eight population studies in the International Database on Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Relation to Cardiovascular Outcomes (IDACO), we randomly selected a certain number of readings (from 30 to 1 awake and 10 to 1 asleep readings) at a time over 1000 bootstraps at each step. We evaluated: (i) concordance of the ABP level; (ii) consistency of the cross-classification based on office blood pressure and ABP; and (iii) accuracy in predicting cardiovascular complications. For each criterion, we fitted a regression line joining data points relating outcome to the number of readings covering the ranges of 30-20/10-7 for awake/asleep readings. Results: Reducing readings widened the SD of the systolic/diastolic differences between full (reference) and selected recordings from 1.7/1.2 (30 readings) to 14.3/10.3 mm Hg (single reading) during wakefulness, and from 1.9/1.4 to 10.3/7.7 mm Hg during sleep; lowered the κ statistic from 0.94 to 0.63, and decreased the hazard ratio associated with 10/5 mm Hg increments in systolic/diastolic ABP from 1.21/1.14 to 1.06/1.04 during wakefulness and from 1.26/1.17 to 1.14/1.08 during sleep. The first data points falling off these regression lines during wakefulness/sleep corresponded to 8/3 and 8/4 readings for criteria (i) and (iii) and to 5 awake readings for criterion (ii). Conclusions: 24-h ambulatory recordings with ≥8/≥4 awake/asleep readings yielded ABP levels similar to recordings including the guideline-recommended ≥20/≥7 readings. These criteria save valuable data in a research setting, but are not applicable to clinical practice.
Vehicle Risk Assessment and Control for Lane-Keeping and Collision Avoidance at Low-Speed and High-Speed Scenarios

This paper examines a symbolic numerical approach to optimize a vehicles track for autonomous driving and collision avoidance. The new approach uses the classical cost function definition incorporating the essential aspects of the dynamic state of the vehicle as position, orientation, time sampling, and constraints on slip angles of tires. The optimization processes minimize the cost function and simultaneously determine the optimal track by varying steering and breaking amplitudes. The current velocity of the vehicle is limited to a maximal velocity, thus, allowing a stable search of the optimal track. The parametric definition of obstacles generates a flexible environment for low and high speed simulations. The minimal number of influential optimization variables guarantees a stable and direct generation of optimal results. By the current new approach to control a vehicle on an optimal track, we are able to autonomously move the vehicle on an arbitrary track approximated by low order polynomials. The optimization approach is also able to deal with a variety of different obstacles and the corresponding optimal smooth obstacle path. The computations demonstrate the effective control of a four wheel vehicle in normal operation and exceptional obstacle avoidance with continuously differentiable obstacle avoidance tracks. Simulation tests are done using vehicles velocities of 3, 6, 7.6, 10, 12, and 18 m/s. At higher vehicles velocities, a mathematical-only approach is not sufficient and a mechanical intervention for tires is needed as a complimentary part to control the slip angle. The results shows that the cost function reached a considerably high average convergence-to-zero rate success in most of the tested scenarios.
Evaluation of by-pass diode and DMPPT under partial shade condition of photovoltaic systems

Partial shade and mismatching among PV modules in a PV system are common phenomenon caused by trees, passing clouds, manufacturing tolerances, etc. Due to mismatching/partial shading, the P-V characteristic curve usually comprises of multiple local and a global peak. To extract the maximum energy, usually three techniques are proposed. The first one and widely used is to use central MPPT technique (use of by-pass diodes) to track the global peak, the second is use of distributed per module/ sub-module MPPT (DMPPT) and the third is reconfiguration of modules in an array. The second and third options can increase the extracted PV power. However, the increase in cost and implementation complexity and control are some of the challenges of the techniques. In this paper, performance evaluation of by-pass diode and DMPPT per module technique for PV system under partial shade has been done.
A new minute ectosymbiotic harpacticoid copepod living on the sea cucumber Eupentacta fraudatrix in the East/Japan Sea

The ectosymbiotic copepods, Vostoklaophonte eupenta gen. & sp. nov. associated with the sea cucumber Eupentacta fraudatrix, was found in the subtidal zone of Peter the Great Bay, East/Japan Sea. The new genus, Vostoklaophonte, is similar to Microchelonia in the flattened body form, reduced mandible, maxillule and maxilla, but with well-developed prehensile maxilliped, and in the reduced segmentation and setation of legs 1–5. Most appendages of the new genus are more primitive than those of Microchelonia. The inclusion of the symbiotic genera Microchelonia and Vostoklaophonte gen. nov. in Laophontidae, as well as their close phylogenetic relationships, are supported by morphological observations and molecular data. This is the third record of laophontid harpacticoid copepods living in symbiosis with sea cucumbers recorded from the Korean and Californian coasts.
Molecular diagnosis of Anaplasma marginale in cattle : quantitative evaluation of a real-time PCR ( Polymerase Chain Reaction ) based on msp 5 gene 1

Bacanelli G.M. , Ramos C.A. N. & Araújo F.R. 2014. Molecular diagnosis of Anaplasma marginale in cattle: quantitative evaluation of a real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) based on msp5 gene. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira 34(1):29-33. Embrapa Gado de Corte, Avenida Rádio Maia 830, Campo Grande, MS 79106-550, Brazil. E-mail: flabio.araujo@embrapa.br The rickettsia Anaplasma marginale is considered the main agent of bovine anaplasmosis. Due the nonspecific clinical signs of the anaplasmosis, the diagnosis of infection depends of laboratory confirmation. In recent years, molecular diagnostic methods have been used to detect A. marginale in cattle. However, the existence of a large number of assays of different sensitivity and cost makes the choice of an appropriate test difficult. In the present study, a real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) based on the msp5 target gene was quantitatively assessed and compared to an end point PCR. Both reactions were subjected to sensitivity and specificity evaluation using plasmid DNA and samples from cattle experimentally infected with A. marginale. A comparative field trial of the tests was carried out using samples of cattle from a stable enzootic area for A. marginale. The real-time PCR showed a higher sensitivity than the end point PCR. This reaction (i.e. real-time PCR) was able to detect one copy of the msp5 gene in 100 ηg of plasmidial DNA, and more than 80% of its results were positive among experimentally infected animals seven days after infection. In addition, based on in silico analysis, the real-time PCR evaluated in the present study appears to be useful for the detection of A. ovis.
VAET-STT: Variation Aware STT-MRAM Analysis and Design Space Exploration Tool

Spin transfer torque magnetic random access memory is a promising candidate to replace CMOS based on-chip memories due to its advantages, such as nonvolatility, high density, and scalability. However, its stochastic switching and higher sensitivity to process variation compared to CMOS memories can significantly affect its performance, energy, and reliability. Although a few works exist which analyze the impact of process variation at the bit-cell level, such analysis at the system-level is missing. We have bridged this gap by developing a tool which can quantify the effect of stochasticity and process variations from the cell level to the overall memory system. The tool can perform a variation-aware design space exploration and memory configuration optimization for energy or performance while meeting reliability constraints. It also reports various failure rates and can evaluate the effectiveness of different error correcting code schemes. The results show that our framework can provide more realistic margins and the optimized variation-aware memory configuration could be significantly different from the conventional framework.
EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE ENSATINA ESCHSCHOLTZII COMPLEX CONFIRM THE RING SPECIES INTERPRETATION

Sequences (644-681 bp) from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were obtained for 24 individuals representing the geographic range and morphological diversity of the polytypic salamander ring species Ensatina eschscholtzii. These data were used to estimate the phylogeny of components of the ring to test the biogeographic scenario underlying current interpretations of speciation in this complex. The analysis revealed high levels of nucleotide variation among subspecies. Strong subdivision was evident within the subspecies platensis and oregonensis. The phylogenetic hypothesis of minimum length that is best supported by the data contains one monophyletic group that includes populations from the southern Sierra Nevada and mountains of southern California (croceater, klauberi, and southern platensis) and another that includes populations of the southern and central coastal regions (xanthoptica and eschscholtzii). Samples of oregonensis were typically basal, but their precise branching order was unstable. Both oregonensis and platensis were paraphyletic, with several disparate lineages in oregonensis and a strong north- south dichotomy in platensis. The data were incompatible with a biogeographic model that required all subspecies to be monophyletic but were compatible with slightly modified predictions of a model assuming stepwise colonizations from north to south down the Sierra Nevada and independently down the coastal ranges. These features provide strong support for the biogeographic scenario central to the interpretation of Ensatina eschscholtzii as a ring species. Division of this complex into separate species on the basis of the observed patterns of monophyly for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is unwarranted because further sampling could reveal additional instances of paraphyly across subspecies and, more generally, because mtDNA alone should not be used to infer species boundaries.