Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling directional spatio‐temporal processes in island biogeography

Abstract A key challenge in island biogeography is to quantity the role of dispersal in shaping biodiversity patterns among the islands of a given archipelago. Here, we propose such a framework. Dispersal within oceanic archipelagos may be conceptualized as a spatio‐temporal process dependent on: (1) the spatial distribution of islands, because the probability of successful dispersal is inversely related to the spatial distance between islands and (2) the chronological sequence of island formation that determines the directional asymmetry of dispersal (hypothesized to be predominantly from older to younger islands). From these premises, directional network models may be constructed, representing putative connections among islands. These models may be translated to eigenfunctions in order to be incorporated into statistical analysis. The framework was tested with 12 datasets from the Hawaii, Azores, and Canaries. The explanatory power of directional network models for explaining species composition patterns, assessed by the Jaccard dissimilarity index, was compared with simpler time‐isolation models. The amount of variation explained by the network models ranged from 5.5% (for Coleoptera in Hawaii) to 60.2% (for Pteridophytes in Canary Islands). In relation to the four studied taxa, the variation explained by network models was higher for Pteridophytes in the three archipelagos. By the contrary, small fractions of explained variation were observed for Coleoptera (5.5%) and Araneae (8.6%) in Hawaii. Time‐isolation models were, in general, not statistical significant and explained less variation than the equivalent directional network models for all the datasets. Directional network models provide a way for evaluating the spatio‐temporal signature of species dispersal. The method allows building scenarios against which hypotheses about dispersal within archipelagos may be tested. The new framework may help to uncover the pathways via which species have colonized the islands of a given archipelago and to understand the origins of insular biodiversity.
New non-invasive method for intima-media thickness and intima-media compression measurements

Intim a-media thickness (IMT) is considered as a valuable marker of early atherosclerosis. We suggest a new algorithm for simultaneous measurements of absolute diameter at diastole, distension (diameter change), IMT at diastole and the intima-media compression (IMC) with a new fast, robust, high-resolution, and automatic algorithm utilizing the ultrasonic gray-scale information. The new algorithm is evaluated in a limited in vivo study on the common carotid artery of 5 healthy volunteers. The standard deviation within an investigation was (8 ± 4 μm; range 4-14 μm) during IMC measurements, (8 ± 5 μm; range 4-16 μm) during the measurements of the IMT at diastole, (30 ±36 μm; range 6-92 μm) during the distension measurements and (48 ±49 μm; range 15-134 μm) during the measurements of the lumen diameter at diastole. The evaluation shows that the algorithm is fast and that the reproducibility and resolution are more than sufficient for in vivo studies. © 2005 IEEE. (Less)
Coated vesicles: a diversity of form and function

In every well‐characterized example, the small transport vesicles that mediate membrane trafficking between intracellular organelles are encased in a protein coat. In general, the coat proteins assemble from cytosolic pools onto the membrane and play a critical role in vesicle formation. Recent reviews have emphasized the clear similarities in the mechanisms that drive vesicle budding at distinjct cellular locations. Here we focus on the diversity of solutions to an apparently related biological task. These mechanistic differences are likely to be physiologically important determinants of the diversity in form and function of coated transport vesicles. —Schmid, S. L. , Damke, H. Coated vesicles: a diversity of form and function. FASEB J. 9, 1445‐1453; 1995.
NONLINEAR ECHO CANCELLATION FOR HANDS-FREE SPEAKERPHONES

Nonlinearities in the amplifier and loudspeaker of hands-free speakerphones limit the performance of linear adaptive acoustic echo cancellers, necessitating the use of nonlinear cancellation schemes. A nonlinear acoustic echo canceller based on the WienerHammerstein model structure of a cascade of linear, memoryless nonlinear, and linear elements is proposed. By modeling the true structure of the nonlinear system, the proposed canceller requires relatively few adaptive parameters, offering significantly lower storage and computational requirements than more general nonlinear adaptive filtering techniques. Experimental results on measured loudspeaker signals indicate that the proposed nonlinear echo canceller provides as much as an 8.4 dB improvement in Echo Return Loss Enhancement (ERLE) over a linear Normalized LMS canceller with little additional computation.
Identifying the neutrino mass spectrum from the neutrino burst from a supernova

The current data on solar and atmospheric neutrinos admit more than one solutions in terms of the oscillations between three neutrino species. We examine the consequences of these different masses-and-mixing schemes for the observable spectra of neutrinos from the burst of a Type II supernova. We point out the distinguishing features of these schemes, and discuss the prospects of identifying the scheme from the spectra with minimal dependence on supernova models. We consider both the conventional and the inverted mass hierarchy patterns. We also estimate the earth matter effects on the spectra.
Pharmacogenetic mechanisms (COMT and hSERT) modulating deleterious effects of MDMA and cannabis on cognitive performance in drug users

La neurotransmissio dopaminergica i serotonergica al cortex preforntal i a les regions del sistema limbic son un dels principals substrats cerebrals de les funcions executives (implicades en l’organitzacio i el control) i la regulacio emocinal. Tant la MDMA com el cannabis alteren la funcionalitat d’aquests sistemes de neurotransmissio. Certs polimorfismes funcionals de la catecol-Ometiltransferasa (COMT) i del transportador de serotonina (hSERT) s’han associat a diferencies individuals en el funcionament cognitiu. La interaccio entre ambdos gens juntament amb factors ambientals poden explicar la major o menor susceptibilitat dels consumidors a els efectes deleteris de les substancies psicoactives en les arees. L’objectiu es investigar la interaccio de diversos polimorfismes relacionats amb els sistemes serotonergic i amb el rendiment d’una poblacio de consumidors de MDMA i cannabis en la realitzacio de diverses tasques neuropsicologiques (memoria i funcions executives pricipalment).
The geology, landforms and topography of sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, Australia, as revealed by AIRSAR

Enhancements of AIRSAR data are revealing an extraordinary amount of land-surface and geological information relevant to the island's genesis at a midocean ridge, ongoing uplift and subsequent shaping of the surface by extensive faulting, wave action and active processes including freeze/thawing, wind and rain. Overlaying these enhancements on the TOPSAR DEM enables this active landscape to be analyzed in three dimensions. The level of detail indicates that the radar signals are penetrating the snow cover and being backscattered by the underlying surface of rock, lag gravels and vegetation. Drainage patterns, dammed lakes, levels of incision, fault structures, raised beach deposits and terraces, and possible evidence of glacial action can all be recognized in various enhancements of the AIRSAR data.
Misclassification and Identification of Emotional Facial Expressions in Depressed Youth: A Preliminary Study

Accurate processing of social and affective cues, especially facial cues, is important for human adaptation. Previous studies have examined depressed adults' sensitivity to identify emotional facial expressions, yet only one study has investigated this in depressed youth. In addition, very little is known about whether depressed individuals exhibit biases when incorrectly labeling, or misclassifying, emotional expressions. Therefore, this preliminary study explored whether sensitivity to, or misclassification of, emotional facial expressions differed among currently depressed youth, those with a history of depression, and never-depressed control participants. A community sample of 280 youth (7–16 years; M = 11.51, SD = 2.44; 56% girls) completed a forced-choice emotion identification task consisting of a series of randomly presented facial images that morphed an emotional expression (angry, happy, and sad) with a neutral expression in 10% increments (e.g., 10% sad/90% neutral; 20% sad/80% neutral). Findings demonstrated that currently depressed were more likely than remitted and never-depressed youth to misclassify happy and sad facial expressions as angry. No depression group differences were found in sensitivity to identify emotional expressions. Results suggest that currently depressed youth show biased perceptions of threat, which may contribute to the maintenance of their depressive symptoms.
Becoming ‘another brick in the wall’: A thematic analysis of Central and Eastern European immigrants’ experience of psychological distress and help-seeking

A great number of Central and Eastern European immigrants have moved to the UK since 2004, and a better understanding of their help-seeking behaviour is needed. This study aimed to explore how the experience of immigration had impacted on the wellbeing of some Central and Eastern European immigrants, whether these immigrants had sought help for any psychological distress, and to explore the support needs of this particular population.A qualitative design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four male and twelve female immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe living in the UK. Interview transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.Four overarching themes were identified in the analysis: immigration experience; views and meanings of mental health; help-seeking experience and addressing immigrants’ emotional needs. Participants in the study reported having good mental health and the ability to deal with distress, but highlighted that a lack of English proficiency, low job attainment and experiences of prejudice and discrimination negatively affected their psychological health.The results offered a thorough description and understanding of some immigrants’ experiences, the meanings attributed to these experiences, and their needs concerning psychological health. Some possible implications for working with this minority group are discussed from a social justice perspective, including the recommendation to apply contextual approaches such as relational cultural theory.
A Practical Application of Differential Privacy to Personalized Online Advertising

Online advertising plays an important role in supporting many Internet services. Personalized online advertising offers marketers a way to direct ads at very specific audiences. The vast body of Internet users combined with the ease of creating and monitoring personalized advertising campaigns make online advertising an extremely strong tool for marketers. However, many concerns arise regarding the implications of online advertising for the privacy of web users. Specifically, recent works show how the privacy of Internet users may be breached by attacks utilizing personalized advertising campaigns such as those provided by Facebook. Such attacks succeed even without the user ever noticing the attack or being able to avoid it (unless refraining from going on the Internet). In this work, we suggest practical and concrete measures for preventing the feasibility of such attacks on online advertising systems, taking Facebook as our case study. We present a mechanism for releasing statistics on advertising campaigns in a way that preserves the privacy of web users. The notion of privacy that we adopt is a mathematically rigorous definition of privacy called differential privacy. In addition, we show that the seemingly overly restrictive notion of differential privacy is in fact the one necessary here, and that weaker notions would not suffice.
The Complex Flagellar Torque Generator of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACT Flagella act as semirigid helical propellers that are powered by reversible rotary motors. Two membrane proteins, MotA and MotB, function as a complex that acts as the stator and generates the torque that drives rotation. The genome sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 contains dual sets of motA and motB genes, PA1460-PA1461 (motAB) and PA4954-PA4953 (motCD), as well as another gene, motY (PA3526), which is known to be required for motor function in some bacteria. Here, we show that these five genes contribute to motility. Loss of function of either motAB-like locus was dispensable for translocation in aqueous environments. However, swimming could be entirely eliminated by introduction of combinations of mutations in the two motAB-encoding regions. Mutation of both genes encoding the MotA homologs or MotB homologs was sufficient to abolish motility. Mutants carrying double mutations in nonequivalent genes (i.e., motA motD or motB motC) retained motility, indicating that noncognate components can function together. motY appears to be required for motAB function. The combination of motY and motCD mutations rendered the cells nonmotile. Loss of function of motAB, motY, or motAB motY produced similar phenotypes; although the swimming speed was only reduced to ∼85% of the wild-type speed, translocation in semisolid motility agar and swarming on the surface of solidified agar were severely impeded. Thus, the flagellar motor of P. aeruginosa represents a more complex configuration than the configuration that has been studied in other bacteria, and it enables efficient movement under different circumstances.
Control design with hard/soft performance specifications: a Q-parameter randomization approach

In this paper, we consider robust controller design problems where the design objectives are divided into two categories: hard specifications and soft specifications. Hard specifications need to be met robustly against uncertainties, and are addressed using a classical -synthesis approach. Soft specifications are given as average performance requirements with respect to uncertainty, and are addressed using a probabilistic design method. The key element in this approach is an algorithm for random generation of stable transfer matrices, with a bound on the norm.
The Therapeutic Effectiveness of the Coadministration of Weekly Risedronate and Proton Pump Inhibitor in Osteoporosis Treatment

This trial was conducted to investigate the long-term effects of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) coadministration on the efficacy of weekly risedronate treatment for osteoporosis. Ninety-six women over 50 years old with low bone mineral density (BMD) participated in this trial. Subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups: a 17.5 mg dose of sodium risedronate was administered weekly, with or without a daily 10 mg dose of sodium rabeprazole (n = 49 and 47 in the BP + PPI and BP groups, resp.). The following biomarkers were measured at the baseline and every 3 months: bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen corrected for creatinine, parathyroid hormone, BMD of the lumbar spine, and physical parameters evaluated according to the SF-36v2 Health Survey. Statistical comparisons of these parameters were performed after 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. The Δ values of improvement in physical functioning after 12 months and bodily pain after 6 and 12 months in the BP + PPI group were significantly larger than those in the BP group. These results suggest that PPI does not adversely affect bone metabolism. Alternatively, approved bone formation by concomitant PPI treatment may have had favorable effects on the improvement of bodily pain and physical functions.
A fast and secure method for anonymizing packet traffic and call traces

Various kinds of traffic traces, containing, e.g., packet headers, signaling messages, or authorization log-files, are needed to examine the status and performance of packet switching networks. In most cases, traces contain information that can be used identify subscribers and what kind of services they have been using. This kind of information can be usually handled only by network operator and only for certain reasons, i.e., troubleshooting and accounting. However, there is an increasing trend that many network management tasks are being outsourced and thus a method, that would allow for an external staff to monitor a public network, is needed. There have been some methods for anonymizing traffic traces but they are usually not fast enough, not suitable for on-line measurements, or not secure enough. The method proposed in this paper is based on using normal symmetric block coding encryption methods in cipher block chaining mode. The advantages of the supposed method are that it is cryptographically strong, suitable for multi-site on-line measurements and very fast. Furthermore, it supports existing hardware based encryption engines without any needs for modifications. The proposed method can be also extented to prefix-preserving IP address anonymization. This extension differs form earlier proposals by using IP address lookup to determine the real network part of the address. It is also resistant to known attacks to compromise prefix-preserving anonymization methods.
Ground reaction force analysis of biped locomotion

This paper aims to analyze the ground reaction force in terms of smooth transition and landing impact under the parametric change of frontal gait trajectory that is realized by inverted pendulum model and the parametric change in the proportional gain of PID feedback controller. Using a dynamic simulator, namely, SL simulator, the ground reaction force analysis is realized and the simulation results and comparison of them are presented.
Primary HIV infection: to treat or not to treat?

Purpose of review The aim of this article is to review new data on the use of antiretroviral therapy in primary HIV infection. Recent findings The concept of ‘hit HIV hard and early’ supporting the use of antiretroviral therapy to treat the early stages of HIV infection has been revisited. Recent demonstration of massive, rapid and largely irreversible HIV-mediated destruction of memory CD4+ T cells predominantly occurring in the gut suggests that primary HIV infection may be the only time that intervention could confer lasting immunological benefit. There are no data, however, from randomized controlled trials supporting the use of antiretroviral therapy in primary HIV infection, although a number of observational studies have demonstrated limited, transient improvements in measured immunological outcomes. The first randomized controlled trials powered to address whether antiretroviral therapy of a limited duration in primary HIV infection can influence long-term CD4 decline (SPARTAC) is now fully recruited but will report in 2–3 years. In addition, given that individuals with primary HIV infection contribute disproportionately towards onward HIV transmission, there may be an additional public health impetus for earlier diagnosis and intervention in primary HIV infection. Summary In the absence of randomized controlled trials data demonstrating clinical benefit of antiretroviral therapy intervention in primary HIV infection, clinical guidelines remain unclear. Intervention seems a logical strategy to counter the high viraemia, enhanced onward transmissibility, and immunological destruction which occurs during primary HIV infection. The nature, duration and timing of that intervention after HIV acquisition remains unknown.
Perceptron learning for classification problems: Impact of cost-sensitivity and outliers robustness

In learning approaches for classification problem, the misclassification error types may have different impacts. To take into account this notion of misclassification cost, cost sensitive learning algorithms have been proposed, in particular for the learning of multilayer perceptron. Moreover, data are often corrupted with outliers and in particular with label noise. To respond to this problem, robust criteria have been proposed to reduce the impact of these outliers on the accuracy of the classifier. This paper proposes to associate a cost sensitivity weight to a robust learning rule in order to take into account simultaneously these two problems. The proposed learning rule is tested and compared on a simulation example. The impact of the presence or absence of outliers is investigated. The influence of the costs is also studied. The results show that the using of conjoint cost sensitivity weight and robust criterion allows to improve the classifier accuracy.
Behaviour of spectral entropy, spectral edge frequency 90%, and alpha and beta power parameters during low-dose propofol infusion.

BACKGROUND In this study we analyse the behaviour, potential clinical application and optimal cortical sampling location of the spectral parameters: (i) relative alpha and beta power; (ii) spectral edge frequency 90%; and (iii) spectral entropy as monitors of moderate propofol-induced sedation. METHODS Multi-channel EEG recorded from 12 ASA 1 (American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1) patients during low-dose, target effect-site controlled propofol infusion was used for this analysis. The initial target effect-site concentration was 0.5 microg ml(-1) and increased at 4 min intervals in increments of 0.5 to 2 microg ml(-1). EEG parameters were calculated for 2 s epochs in the frequency ranges 0.5-32 and 0.5-47 Hz. All parameters were calculated in the channels: P4-O2, P3-O1, F4-C4, F3-C3, F3-F4, and Fp1-Fp2. Sedation was assessed clinically using the OAA/S (observer's assessment of alertness/sedation) scale. RESULTS Relative beta power and spectral entropy increased with increasing propofol effect-site concentration in both the 0.5-47 Hz [F(18, 90) = 3.455, P<0.05 and F(18, 90) = 3.33, P<0.05, respectively] and 0.5-32 Hz frequency range. This effect was significant in each individual channel (P<0.05). No effect was seen of increasing effect-site concentration on relative power in the alpha band. Averaged across all channels, spectral entropy did not outperform relative beta power in either the 0.5-32 Hz [Pk=0.79 vs 0.814 (P>0.05)] or 0.5-47 Hz range [Pk=0.81 vs 0.82 (P>0.05)]. The best performing indicator in any single channel was spectral entropy in the frequency range 0.5-47 Hz in the frontal channel F3-F4 (Pk=0.85). CONCLUSIONS Relative beta power and spectral entropy when considered over the propofol effect-site range studied here increase in value, and correlate well with clinical assessment of sedation.
Assessment of Floodplain Wetlands of the Lower Missouri River Using an EMAP Study Approach , Phase II : Verification of Rapid Assessment Tools Kansas Biological Survey Report No

Executive Summary This project sought to identify a number of Missouri River floodplain wetlands for monitoring and assessment of wetland condition using several assessment tools developed in this and a previous project entitled " Assessment of Floodplain Wetlands of the Lower Missouri River Using an EMAP Study Approach " (A number of randomly selected wetlands were identified using the probability-based sampling design of the EMAP program