Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First record of a Jurassic mammal (?"Peramura") from Ethiopia

The first record of Mesozoic mammals in Ethiopia is a fragment of a lower mammalian molar discovered in residues left after acid dissociation of a small (ca. 4 kg) geological hand sample of a fine−grained bone bed in the lower part of the Mugher Mudstone exposed in the valley of the Jema River. This bone bed is part of a series of estuarine to fluvial deposits that are thought to be of Late Jurassic (Tithonian) age. The fragment preserves the trigonid of a molar; the distal part of its crown is missing. Morphological characters of the trigonid indicate the specimen (JEM−5/21) documents the presence of a mammal with a dentition at either a derived pretribosphenic or primitive tribosphenic grade of evolution. Absence of a well developed basal cingulid around the mesial end of the crown argues against phylogenetic relationships to the australosphenidans. Loss of the distal portion of the crown removed characters critical for determining its grade of evolu− tion. The working hypothesis that JEM−5/21 represents a “peramuran” is advanced for testing. Hypotheses that it repre− sents a mammal with a more derived grade of molar evolution or a previously unknown group of mammals cannot be excluded. JEM−5/21 establishes the presence of mammals in Ethiopia during the Late Jurassic, and its discovery identifies a fossil locality warranting thorough future exploration.
Leveraging Textual Features for Best Answer Prediction in Community-based Question Answering

This paper addresses the problem of determining the best answer in Community-based Question Answering (CQA) websites by focussing on the content. In particular, we present a system, ACQUA [this http URL], that can be installed onto the majority of browsers as a plugin. The service offers a seamless and accurate prediction of the answer to be accepted. Previous research on this topic relies on the exploitation of community feedback on the answers, which involves rating of either users (e.g., reputation) or answers (e.g. scores manually assigned to answers). We propose a new technique that leverages the content/textual features of answers in a novel way. Our approach delivers better results than related linguistics-based solutions and manages to match rating-based approaches. More specifically, the gain in performance is achieved by rendering the values of these features into a discretised form. We also show how our technique manages to deliver equally good results in real-time settings, as opposed to having to rely on information not always readily available, such as user ratings and answer scores. We ran an evaluation on 21 StackExchange websites covering around 4 million questions and more than 8 million answers. We obtain 84% average precision and 70% recall, which shows that our technique is robust, effective, and widely applicable.
Analytical simulations of dynamic PET scans with realistic count rates properties

In any domain, simulations are of utmost importance for assessing and predicting the performance of post-processing methods by controlling the truth and all model's parameters. In PET, two simulation methods exist: analytical and Monte Carlo. While not being as realistic as Monte Carlo ones, analytical simulations are fast enough for generating statistical replicates and realistic enough for assessing data-processing methods, especially in regard with noise. In this work, our aim was to produce replicated simulations of dynamic PET brain scans with realistic count rates properties. We extended the methodology of the analytical simulator ASIM [1] to get (i) a different modeling of the partial volume effect (down-sampling and image-based PSF modeling), (ii) a projection model based on real crystal coordinates, (iii) a fan-sum based random distribution and (iv) an intrinsic modeling of the decay and count rates through the dynamic acquisition. Attenuation, normalization (from real crystal efficiencies), scatters (convolution-based) and randoms (fan-sum based) were taken into account. The Zubal brain phantom and the geometry of the Siemens Biograph Hirez 4-rings scanner were used. All other input parameters were extracted from real acquisitions of volunteers with the HRRT: frame durations, time-activity curves, scatter and random fractions and total number of prompts for the whole acquisition. Simulated count rates were compared to those from the acquisitions on a frame-by-frame basis, for three different tracers. Results showed good agreements and realistic reconstructed images. These data will be used for assessing reconstruction and post-processing methods in the context of dynamic PET brain scans.
Analysis of Synnre Chains

The biological implications of synnre chain neural networks are explored by studying two idealized models. In the rst a network model is proposed with binary ring neurons and parallel updating. This model can be solved exactly in the thermodynamic limit using mean eld theory. An explicit equation for the capacity is obtained. In the second model the synchrony of the pulse of activity along a synnre chain is investigated in the context of simple integrate-and-re neurons. It is found that under natural assumptions a near synchronous wave of activity can stably propagate along a synnre chain. The relevance of this result to real systems is discussed.
Quantitative Phosphoproteomics Analysis of Nitric Oxide–Responsive Phosphoproteins in Cotton Leaf

Knowledge of phosphorylation events and their regulation is crucial to understanding the functional biology of plant proteins, but very little is currently known about nitric oxide–responsive phosphorylation in plants. Here, we report the first large-scale, quantitative phosphoproteome analysis of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) treated with sodium nitroprusside (nitric oxide donor) by utilizing the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) method. A total of 1315 unique phosphopeptides, spanning 1528 non-redundant phosphorylation sites, were detected from 1020 cotton phosphoproteins. Among them, 183 phosphopeptides corresponding to 167 phosphoproteins were found to be differentially phosphorylated in response to sodium nitroprusside. Several of the phosphorylation sites that we identified, including RQxS, DSxE, TxxxxSP and SPxT, have not, to our knowledge, been reported to be protein kinase sites in other species. The phosphoproteins identified are involved in a wide range of cellular processes, including signal transduction, RNA metabolism, intracellular transport and so on. This study reveals unique features of the cotton phosphoproteome and provides new insight into the biochemical pathways that are regulated by nitric oxide.
Exploiting Narrowband Efficiency for Broadband Convolutive Blind Source Separation

Based on a recently presented generic broadband blind source separation (BSS) algorithm for convolutive mixtures, we propose in this paper a novel algorithm combining advantages of broadband algorithms with the computational efficiency of narrowband techniques. By selective application of the Szegö theorem which relates properties of Toeplitz and circulant matrices, a new normalization is derived as a special case of the generic broadband algorithm. This results in a computationally efficient and fast converging algorithm without introducing typical narrowband problems such as the internal permutation problem or circularity effects. Moreover, a novel regularization method for the generic broadband algorithm is proposed and subsequently also derived for the proposed algorithm. Experimental results in realistic acoustic environments show improved performance of the novel algorithm compared to previous approximations.
Effect of Yb Filling on Thermoelectric Properties of Ge-Substituted CoSb3 Skutterudites

We report the effect of Yb filling on the thermoelectric properties of polycrystalline Ge-substituted CoSb 3 skutterudite compounds. Electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, Hall effect, and thermal conductivity measurements were performed on polycrystalline Yb y Co 4 Ge 0 . 5 Sb 1 1 . 5 (y = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5). In Yb y Co 4 Ge 0 . 5 Sb 1 1 . 5 , the Ge atom acts as an electron acceptor that charge compensates for the Yb ions, resulting in p-type carrier conductivity at low Yb compositions y = 0 and 0.1 and n-type one at high y = 0.2-0.5. Due to the effect of charge compensation for Yb ions by Ge substitution, the Yb filling fraction limit in Yb y Co 4 Ge 0 . 5 Sb 1 1 . 5 is larger than that in Yb y Co 4 Sb 1 2 . The lattice thermal conductivity for Yb y Co 4 Ge 0 . 5 Sb 1 1 . 5 drastically decreases from 8W/(m.K) (y = 0) to 2.4W/(m.K) (y = 0.5) with increasing Yb composition. The marked reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity can be attributed to the increase in the filling fraction of Yb, whose localized thermal vibration, "rattling" motion, substantially contributes to the scattering of phonons. The influence of Ge substitution on the thermoelectric properties in Yb y Co 4 Ge 0 . 5 Sb 1 1 . 5 is also discussed.
MUC15 inhibits dimerization of EGFR and PI3K-AKT signaling and is associated with aggressive hepatocellular carcinomas in patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Aberrant expression of MUC15 correlates with development of colorectal adenocarcinoma, and MUC15 has been reported to prevent trophoblast invasion of human placenta. However, little is known about the role of MUC15 in pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS We analyzed HCC samples and matched nontumor liver tissues (controls) collected from 313 patients who underwent hepatectomy in Shanghai, China, from January 2006 through September 2009. Levels of messenger RNAs and proteins were determined by immunohistochemical, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and immunoblot analyses. Statistical analyses were used to associate levels of MUC15 with tumor features and patient outcomes. RESULTS Levels of MUC15 messenger RNA and protein were reduced in a greater percentage of HCC samples than control tissues. Tumors with reduced levels of MUC15 were more likely to have aggressive characteristics (eg, high levels of α-fetoprotein, vascular invasion, lack of encapsulation, and poor differentiation) than those with low levels. Patients whose tumors had reduced levels of MUC15 had shorter overall survival times (24 months vs 46 months for patients with tumors with high levels of MUC15) and time to disease recurrence. Stable expression of MUC15 in HCC cell lines (SMMC-7721 and HCC-LM3) reduced their proliferation and invasive features in vitro, and ability to form metastatic tumors in mice. MUC15 reduced transcription of the matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 7 increased expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2, which required phosphoinositide 3-kinase-v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog signaling. Physical interaction between MUC15 and epidermal growth factor receptor led to its relocation and degradation within early endosomes and was required for inactivation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase-v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog signaling. CONCLUSIONS Reduced levels of MUC15 in HCCs are associated with shorter survival times of patients and reduced time to disease recurrence. Expression of MUC15 in HCC cells reduces their aggressive behavior in vitro and in mice by inducing dimerization of epidermal growth factor receptor and decreasing phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling via v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog.
Challenging assumptions about women's empowerment: social and economic resources and domestic violence among young married women in urban South India.

BACKGROUND Although considerable research has documented the widespread prevalence of spousal violence in India, little is known about specific risk or protective factors. This study examines the relationships between factors that are often considered to be social and economic resources for women and recent occurrence of domestic violence. METHODS Data were collected from 744 young married women in slum areas of Bangalore, India. Unadjusted and adjusted multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with having been hit, kicked or beaten by one's husband in the past 6 months. RESULTS Over half (56%) of the study participants reported having ever experienced physical domestic violence; about a quarter (27%) reported violence in the past 6 months. In a full multivariable model, women in 'love' marriages (OR=1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.5) and those whose families were asked for additional dowry after marriage (OR=2.3, 95% CI 1.5-3.4) were more likely to report domestic violence. Women who participated in social groups (OR=1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.4) and vocational training (OR=3.1, 95% CI 1.7-5.8) were also at higher risk. CONCLUSIONS Efforts to help women empower themselves through vocational training, employment opportunities and social groups need to consider the potential unintended consequences for these women, such as an increased risk of domestic violence. The study findings suggest that the effectiveness of anti-dowry laws may be limited without additional strategies that mobilize women, families and communities to challenge the widespread acceptance of dowry and to promote gender equity. Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the complex causal relationships between 'love' marriages and domestic violence.
Underdetermined blind speech separation with directivity pattern based continuous mask and ICA

We propose a method for separating speech signals when sources outnumber the sensors. In this paper we mainly concentrate on the case of three sources and two sensors. Some existing methods employ binary masks to extract the signals, and therefore, the extracted signals contain loud musical noise. To overcome this problem, we propose the utilization of a directivity pattern based continuous mask, which removes a single source from the observations, and independent component analysis (ICA) to separate the remaining mixtures. Experimental results show that our proposed method can separate signals with little distortion even in a real reverberant environment of TR=130 ms.
Grating Lobe Suppression in Sparse Array-Based Ultrawideband Through-Wall Imaging Radar

The use of a sparse through-wall radar array can significantly reduce the complexity and the costs of a radar system. However, due to insufficient spatial sampling, a sparse array often suffers from strong grating lobes that seriously degrade image quality. To suppress grating lobes, we first divided the whole array aperture into two subapertures to examine the method of aperture difference. However, this method suppressed only the grating lobes in the edge region rather than in the middle region. Thus, cross-correlation of the two subapertures was proposed, which would mainly reduce grating lobes in the middle region. In this letter, a novel method of cross-correlation weighting of aperture difference is proposed, which shows great feasibility in suppressing grating lobes in both regions. Results from experiments are in agreement with the theory and simulation outcomes and show a dramatic improvement in image quality.
Potentials of Using One-Class SVM for Detecting Protocol-Specific Anomalies in Industrial Networks

Support Vector Machines (SVM) have been considered for real-life machine learning applications in various fields. Security concerns in modern industrial networks, also used in critical infrastructures, require novel monitoring techniques applicable for these constrained, real-time environments. Characteristics of these networks' traffic indicate that SVM can be a powerful tool for realizing a self-configuring monitoring for industrial infrastructures regarding attacks as kind of anomalies. This paper presents the experimental results of applying one-class SVM (OCSVM) on a number of real-world industrial traffic traces from very different industrial control systems (ICS). Initially focusing on a few network packet attributes, the results are discussed in terms of f-score, precision, and recall for different mappings of the features. The results demonstrate the high potential of using one-class SVM for monitoring packets and packet sequences in these networks.
The developmental transcriptome of contrasting Arctic charr ( Salvelinus alpinus) morphs

Species showing repeated evolution of similar traits can help illuminate the molecular and developmental basis of diverging traits and specific adaptations. Following the last glacial period, dwarfism and specialized bottom feeding morphology evolved rapidly in several landlocked Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) populations in Iceland. To initiate study of the genetic divergence between small benthic morphs and larger morphs with limnetic morphotype, we conducted an RNA-seq transcriptome analysis of developing charr. We sequenced mRNA from whole embryos at four stages in early development of two stocks with contrasting morphologies, the small benthic (SB) charr from Lake Thingvallavatn and Holar aquaculture (AC) charr. The data reveal significant differences in expression of several biological pathways during charr development. There was also an expression difference between SB- and AC-charr in genes involved in energy metabolism and blood coagulation genes. We confirmed expression difference of five genes in whole embryos with qPCR, including lysozyme and natterin like which was previously identified as a fish-toxin of a lectin family that may be a putative immunopeptide. We also verified differential expression of 7 genes in developing heads, that associated consistently with benthic v.s. limnetic craniofacial morphology (studied in 4 morphs total). Comparison of Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) frequencies reveals extensive genetic differentiation between the SB- and AC-charr (60 fixed SNPs and around 1300 differing by more than 50% in frequency). In SB-charr the high frequency derived SNPs are in genes related to translation and oxidative processes. Curiously, three derived alleles in the otherwise conserved 12s and 16s mitochondrial ribosomal RNA genes are found in benthic charr. The data implicate multiple genes and molecular pathways in divergence of small benthic charr and/or the response of aquaculture charr to domestication. Functional, genetic and population genetic studies on more freshwater and anadromous populations are needed to confirm the specific loci and mutations relating to specific ecological or domestication traits in Arctic charr.
An Ontology-based Framework for Text Mining

Structuring of text document knowledge frequently appears either by ontologies and metadata or by automatic (un-)unsupervised text categorization. This paper describes our integrated framework OTTO (OnTology-based Text mining framewOrk). OTTO uses text mining to learn the target ontology from text documents and uses then the same target ontology in order to improve the effectiveness of both supervised and unsupervised text categorization approaches.
Vertical silicon nanowires as a universal platform for delivering biomolecules into living cells

A generalized platform for introducing a diverse range of biomolecules into living cells in high-throughput could transform how complex cellular processes are probed and analyzed. Here, we demonstrate spatially localized, efficient, and universal delivery of biomolecules into immortalized and primary mammalian cells using surface-modified vertical silicon nanowires. The method relies on the ability of the silicon nanowires to penetrate a cell’s membrane and subsequently release surface-bound molecules directly into the cell’s cytosol, thus allowing highly efficient delivery of biomolecules without chemical modification or viral packaging. This modality enables one to assess the phenotypic consequences of introducing a broad range of biological effectors (DNAs, RNAs, peptides, proteins, and small molecules) into almost any cell type. We show that this platform can be used to guide neuronal progenitor growth with small molecules, knock down transcript levels by delivering siRNAs, inhibit apoptosis using peptides, and introduce targeted proteins to specific organelles. We further demonstrate codelivery of siRNAs and proteins on a single substrate in a microarray format, highlighting this technology’s potential as a robust, monolithic platform for high-throughput, miniaturized bioassays.
Congruences in residuated lattices

The aim of this paper is to study congruences in residuated lattices. A congruence in an algebra in a universal sense is an equivalence which preserves all the algebraic operations. In every residuated lattice (L, ∧, V, ⊗, →), we show that an equivalence is a universal congruence, iff it preserves both → and ∧, iff it is respect to both → and ∧. If the residuated lattice is divisible, then an equivalence is a universal congruence iff it preserves both → and ⊗. Further, if the residuated lattice is an MV-algebra, then an equivalence is a universal congruence iff it just preserves →. A potential mistake in [8] is pointed out.
Microhabitat comparisons of transpiration and photosynthesis in three subalpine conifers

Differences in water and photosynthetic relations were compared for three codominant conifers (Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanii), subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) at microhabitats within a subalpine forest (central Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.) that were considered representative of different successional stages. Diumal measurements of photosynthesis, leaf conductance, and transpiration were taken at microhabitats considered early-successional (open), intermediate (forest gap), and late-successional (forest understory) environments to evaluate possible influences of gas-exchange physiology in observed distributional and successional patterns. Pine had greater water-use efficiency (photosynthesis/transpiration) in early- versus late-successional environments, primarily as a result of a lower leaf conductance and transpiration. Photosynthetic performance was similar among all three species at each respective microhabitat and increased as the openness of the microhabitat inc.
Biopharmaceutical Characterization of Nebulized Antimicrobial Agents in Rats: 3. Tobramycin

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the biopharmaceutical characteristics of tobramycin (TOB) after nebulization in rats. TOB was administered by intravenous (i.v.) bolus or intratracheal nebulization (3 mg · kg−1), and concentrations were determined in plasma and epithelial lining fluid (ELF) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The ratio of the TOB concentration in ELF to the plasma area under the curve (AUC) was more than 200 times as high after NEB as after i.v. bolus administration, indicating that TOB nebulization offers a biopharmaceutical advantage over i.v. administration.