Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint Evolution of Dispersal and Inbreeding Load

Inbreeding avoidance is often invoked to explain observed patterns of dispersal, and theoretical models indeed point to a possibly important role. However, while inbreeding load is usually assumed constant in these models, it is actually bound to vary dynamically under the combined influences of mutation, drift, and selection and thus to evolve jointly with dispersal. Here we report the results of individual-based stochastic simulations allowing such a joint evolution. We show that strongly deleterious mutations should play no significant role, owing to the low genomic mutation rate for such mutations. Mildly deleterious mutations, by contrast, may create enough heterosis to affect the evolution of dispersal as an inbreeding-avoidance mechanism, but only provided that they are also strongly recessive. If slightly recessive, they will spread among demes and accumulate at the metapopulation level, thus contributing to mutational load, but not to heterosis. The resulting loss of viability may then combine with demographic stochasticity to promote population fluctuations, which foster indirect incentives for dispersal. Our simulations suggest that, under biologically realistic parameter values, deleterious mutations have a limited impact on the evolution of dispersal, which on average exceeds by only one-third the values expected from kin-competition avoidance.
How Much Is Enough? Minimal Responses of Water Quality and Stream Biota to Partial Retrofit Stormwater Management in a Suburban Neighborhood

Decentralized stormwater management approaches (e.g., biofiltration swales, pervious pavement, green roofs, rain gardens) that capture, detain, infiltrate, and filter runoff are now commonly used to minimize the impacts of stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces on aquatic ecosystems. However, there is little research on the effectiveness of retrofit, parcel-scale stormwater management practices for improving downstream aquatic ecosystem health. A reverse auction was used to encourage homeowners to mitigate stormwater on their property within the suburban, 1.8 km2 Shepherd Creek catchment in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA). In 2007–2008, 165 rain barrels and 81 rain gardens were installed on 30% of the properties in four experimental (treatment) subcatchments, and two additional subcatchments were maintained as controls. At the base of the subcatchments, we sampled monthly baseflow water quality, and seasonal (5×/year) physical habitat, periphyton assemblages, and macroinvertebrate assemblages in the streams for the three years before and after treatment implementation. Given the minor reductions in directly connected impervious area from the rain barrel installations (11.6% to 10.4% in the most impaired subcatchment) and high total impervious levels (13.1% to 19.9% in experimental subcatchments), we expected minor or no responses of water quality and biota to stormwater management. There were trends of increased conductivity, iron, and sulfate for control sites, but no such contemporaneous trends for experimental sites. The minor effects of treatment on streamflow volume and water quality did not translate into changes in biotic health, and the few periphyton and macroinvertebrate responses could be explained by factors not associated with the treatment (e.g., vegetation clearing, drought conditions). Improvement of overall stream health is unlikely without additional treatment of major impervious surfaces (including roads, apartment buildings, and parking lots). Further research is needed to define the minimum effect threshold and restoration trajectories for retrofitting catchments to improve the health of stream ecosystems.
A binary Particle Swarm Optimization for attacking knapsacks Cipher Algorithm

This paper presents a binary particle swarm optimization, PSO, for cryptanalysis of knapsack cipher algorithm so as to deduce the meaning of a ciphertext message (i.e. to determine a plaintext from the ciphertext). The implemented PSO has been characterized, in this paper, by a number of properties and operations that build up and evolve the swarmpsilas particles. These include particle representation, particle length, particle velocity, velocity and position updating, fitness evaluation, and new particle generation. The results of the PSO algorithm are compared with those of Grag et al. results that use genetic algorithm, GA, to discover the plaintext from the ciphertext. Experimental results show that binary particle swarm optimization algorithm is capable of finding correct results and, moreover, efficiently than GA.
Extracellular Vesicle Heterogeneity: Subpopulations, Isolation Techniques, and Diverse Functions in Cancer Progression

Cells release membrane enclosed nano-sized vesicles termed extracellular vesicles (EVs) that function as mediators of intercellular communication by transferring biological information between cells. Tumor-derived EVs have emerged as important mediators in cancer development and progression, mainly through transfer of their bioactive content which can include oncoproteins, oncogenes, chemokine receptors, as well as soluble factors, transcripts of proteins and miRNAs involved in angiogenesis or inflammation. This transfer has been shown to influence the metastatic behavior of primary tumors. Moreover, tumor-derived EVs have been shown to influence distant cellular niches, establishing favorable microenvironments that support growth of disseminated cancer cells upon their arrival at these pre-metastatic niches. It is generally accepted that cells release a number of major EV populations with distinct biophysical properties and biological functions. Exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies are EV populations most widely studied and characterized. They are discriminated based primarily on their intracellular origin. However, increasing evidence suggests that even within these EV populations various subpopulations may exist. This heterogeneity introduces an extra level of complexity in the study of EV biology and function. For example, EV subpopulations could have unique roles in the intricate biological processes underlying cancer biology. Here, we discuss current knowledge regarding the role of subpopulations of EVs in cancer development and progression and highlight the relevance of EV heterogeneity. The position of tetraspanins and integrins therein will be highlighted. Since addressing EV heterogeneity has become essential for the EV field, current and novel techniques for isolating EV subpopulations will also be discussed. Further dissection of EV heterogeneity will advance our understanding of the critical roles of EVs in health and disease.
Modeling the impacts of climate variability and hurricane on carbon sequestration in a coastal forested wetland in South Carolina

The impacts of hurricane disturbance and climate variability on carbon dynamics in a coastal forested wetland in South Carolina of USA were simulated using the Forest-DNDC model with a spatially explicit approach. The model was validated using the measured biomass before and after Hurricane Hugo and the biomass inventories in 2006 and 2007, showed that the ForestDNDC model was applicable for estimating carbon dynamics with hurricane disturbance. The simulated results indicated that Hurricane Hugo in 1989 substantially influenced carbon storage immediately after the disturbance event. The simulated net ecosystem exchange (NEE) for the 58-year period (1950-2007) indicated that the hurricane reduced CO2 sequestration due primarily to the increased decomposition of a large amount of litter and woody debris, including fallen trees (over 80% of pre-hurricane trees), debris and branches, and dead roots. The inter-annual fluctuation of soil CO2 flux showed that the climate variability interfered substantially soil carbon dynamics in the forest. The results showed that there were substantial spatial and temporal differences in CO2 flux (3.2 - 4.8 Mg·C·ha −1 ) and wood biomass due to the differences in physical and biogeochemical characteristics in the forest.
The Effect of Feedback by Text Message (SMS) and Email on Household Electricity Consumption: Experimental Evidence

This paper analyzes the effect of supplying feedback by text messages (SMS) and email about electricity consumption on the level of total household electricity consumption. An experiment was conducted in which 1,452 households were randomly allocated to three experimental groups and two control groups. Feedback was supplied throughout 2007 to members of the experiment groups who accepted the invitation, and data on consumption of electricity for 2006 and 2007 collected for all participants and control group members. 30% of the households invited to receive feedback accepted the invitation. Results suggest that email and SMS messaging that communicated timely information about a household’s ‘exceptional’ consumption periods (e.g. highest week of electricity use in past quarter) produced average reductions in total annual electricity use of about 3%. The feedback technology is cheap to implement and therefore likely to be cost-effective.
Reduced Dopaminergic Function Related to Severe Dependence in Alcoholics Is

With a view to the role of dopamine (DA) systems in reward processes and considering recent studies linking specific alleles at the DA-D2 receptor gene locus with alcoholism (especially with severe types) dopaminergic functions were evaluated in 49 alcoholics using growth hormone (GH) response to DA receptor agonist apomorphine (0.01 mg/kg subcutaneously). Neuroendocrine testing was performed (during intoxication) at the time of admission to an inpatient alcohol treatment program and was repeated 7 days later (in a postintoxicated state). Patients underwent clinical examination, detoxification treatment and a subsequent rehabilitation program for abstinence including follow-up evaluation of outcome for 6 months. A two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA ) revealed a significant change of GH response (peak values corrected for baseline) over time (between intoxication and postintoxication; p < 0.001) and between abstainers and relapsers (p = 0.032). Relapse was also associated with paternal alcoholism, early onset of disease, and a more complete dependence syndrome and cerebellar atrophy. Standardized canonical discriminant coefficient was highest for reduced GH response compared to other relapse predictors in the model used. It is concluded that reduced GH response to dopaminergic stimulation corresponds to a progressed stage or syndrome of severe alcohol dependence; however, if reduced, dopaminergic function is one cause or consequence of addiction in this particular subgroup of patients that remains to be elucidated.
Designing Ambient Musical Information Systems

In this work we describe our initial explorations in building a musical instrument specifically for providing listeners with simple, but useful, ambient information. The term Ambient Musical Information Systems (AMIS) is proposed to describe this kind of research. Instruments like these differ from standard musical instruments in that they are to be perceived indirectly from outside one’s primary focus of attention. We describe our rationale for creating such a device, a discussion on the appropriate qualities of sound for delivering ambient information, and a description of an instrument created for use in a series of experiments that we will use to test out ideas. We conclude with a discussion of our initial findings, and some further directions we wish to explore.
Planning motions for shape-memory alloy sheets

Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are smart materials that can remember predefined shapes. A deformed SMA can transition to a trained shape by applying temperature changes to portions of the material. This reconfigurable property allows SMAs to be used in aeronautics, medicine, and other fields where dynamic re-engineering or actuation of components is required. In this work, we plan the motion of an SMA robot modeled as inflexible regions connected by flexible joints. In this work, we adapt an existing state-of-the-art motion planning algorithm to model the folding of an SMA robot from an unfolded flat state to a folded shape under feasibility constraints such as collision free motion and gravitational stability. Our results validate our model and algorithm by folding interesting 3D shapes using gravitationally stable motions, show flexibility in modeling various planning problems and significantly improved motions in comparable time to not using stability constraints.
Three Distinct Types of Microautophagy Based on Membrane Dynamics and Molecular Machineries

Microautophagy is originally defined as lysosomal (vacuolar) membrane dynamics to directly enwrap and transport cytosolic components into the lumen of the lytic organelle. Molecular details of microautophagy had remained unknown until genetic studies in yeast identified a set of proteins required for the process. Subsequent studies with other experimental model organisms resulted in a series of discoveries that accompanied an expansion of the definition of microautophagy to also encompass endosomal membrane dynamics. These findings, however, still impose puzzling, non‐integrated images as to the molecular mechanism of microautophagy. By reviewing recent studies on microautophagy in various experimental systems, we propose the classification of microautophagy into three types, as the basis for developing a comprehensive view of the process.
A Triangulation-based Hierarchical Image Matching Method for Wide-Baseline Images

This paper presents a triangulation-based hierarchical image matching method for wide-baseline images. The method includes the following three steps: (a) image orientation by incorporating the SIFT algorithm with the RANSAC approach, (b) feature matching based on the self-adaptive triangle constraint, which includes point-to-point matching and subsequent point-to-area matching, and (c) triangulation constrained dense matching based on the previous matched results. Two new constraints, the triangulation-based disparity constraint and triangulation-based gradient orientation constraint, are developed to alleviate the matching ambiguity for wide-baseline images. A triangulation based affine-adaptive cross-correlation is developed to help find correct matches even in the image regions with large perspective distortions. Experiments using Mars ground wide-baseline images and terrestrial wide-baseline images revealed that the proposed method is capable of generating reliable and dense matching results for terrain mapping and surface reconstruction from the wide-baseline images.
Dynamics of gravitational clustering - IV. The probability distribution of rare events

Using a non-perturbative method developed in a previous article ([CITE]) we investigate the tails of the probability distribution ${\cal P}(\rho_R)$ of the overdensity within spherical cells. Since our approach is based on a steepest-descent approximation which should yield exact results in the limit of rare events it applies to all values of the rms linear density fluctuation σ , from the quasi-linear up to the highly non-linear regime. First, we derive the low-density tail of the pdf. We show that it agrees with perturbative results when the latter are finite up to the first subleading term, that is for linear power-spectra $P(k) \propto k^n$ with $-3<n<-1$. Over the range $-1<n<1$ some shell-crossing occurs (which leads to the break-up of perturbative approaches) but this does not invalidate our approach. In particular, we explain that we can still obtain an approximation for the low-density tail of the pdf. This feature also clearly shows that perturbative results should be viewed with caution even when they are finite. We point out that our results can be recovered by a simple spherical model (this is related to the spherical symmetry of our problem). On the other hand, we show that this low-density tail cannot be derived from the stable-clustering ansatz in the regime $\sigma \gg 1$ since it involves underdense regions which are still expanding. Second, turning to high-density regions we explain that a naive study of the radial spherical dynamics fails. Indeed, a violent radial-orbit instability leads to a fast relaxation of collapsed halos (over one dynamical time) towards a roughly isotropic equilibrium velocity distribution. Then, the transverse velocity dispersion stabilizes the density profile so that almost spherical halos obey the stable-clustering ansatz for $-3<n<1$. We again find that our results for the high-density tail of the pdf agree with a simple spherical model (which takes into account virialization). Moreover, they are consistent with the stable-clustering ansatz in the non-linear regime. Besides, our approach justifies the large-mass cutoff of the Press-Schechter mass function (although the various normalization parameters should be modified). Finally, we note that for $\sigma \ga 1$ an intermediate region of moderate density fluctuations appears which calls for new non-perturbative tools.
Collaborating Globally : Cultures in the Social Interactions in Organizational Computer-Mediated Communications

Culture shapes interpersonal communication. However, little is known about how culture interacts with computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools in a business context. We present a large-scale empirical study of cultural differences in social interactions through CMC tools by using data from a global company. Our dataset includes 9,000 volunteer users and more than 20 million records of their email and Instant Messaging conversations. We compared people working in eight countries in terms of their social network within the organization, preferences for CMC tools, and sentiments expressed in English conversations. Significant cultural differences emerged and the patterns are consistent with the inherent cultural characteristics as suggested by cultural theories. In addition, we reveal the complex interactions between culture and different communication contexts (e.g., hierarchy relationship, and IM vs. email) as well as the divergences within East Asian or Western culture groups. The overall picture suggests the pervasive existence and complexity of cultural differences, thus requiring sufficient investigation and consideration in cross-cultural CSCW design.
Fault tolerant control for bimodal piecewise affine systems

This thesis addresses the design of fault-tolerant controllers and a fault identification technique for bimodal piecewise affine systems. A new fault-tolerant control methodology is presented. Fault-tolerant, state feedback controllers are synthesized for piecewise-affine (PWA) systems while minimizing an upper bound on the expected value of a quadratic cost function. The controllers are designed to deal with partial loss of control authority in the closed loop PWA system. The proposed controller design technique stabilizes and satisfies performance bounds for both the nominal and faulty systems. Another contribution is the development of a fault identification technique for bimodal piecewise affine (PWA) systems. A Luenberger-based observer structure is applied to estimate partial loss of control authority in PWA systems. More specifically, the unknown value of the fault parameter is estimated by an observer equation obtained from a Lyapunov function. The design procedure is formulated as a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) and guarantees asymptotic stability of the estimation error, provided the norm of the input is upper and lower bounded by positive constants. The new PWA identification method is illustrated in a numerical example. Asa third contribution, an active fault-tolerant controller structure is proposed for bimodal PWA systems. The new active fault-tolerant controller structure is illustrated in a numerical example.
Family structure and substance use problems in adolescence and early adulthood: examining explanations for the relationship.

AIMS Our study has two goals: to evaluate variation in symptoms of substance abuse/dependence by family structure and to examine several potential explanations for this association, including differences in socio-economic status, social support, social stress and perceived approval and use of substances by family and friends. DESIGN Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is used to examine the association between family type and problematic substance use and to assess the hypothesized mediators. SETTING Data were collected between 1998 and 2000 as part of a study of the prevalence and social distributions of psychiatric and substance use disorders. The study involved face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of young adults in a South Florida community. PARTICIPANTS Respondents (n = 1760) were between 18 and 23 years of age. Approximately 25% were of Cuban origin, 25% other Caribbean basin Hispanic, 25% African American and 25% non-Hispanic white. MEASUREMENTS Four family types are examined: mother-father families, single-parent families, single-parent families that include other adult relative(s) and stepfamilies. Problematic substance use is measured by a set of 22 substance abuse/dependence symptoms. FINDINGS Controlling for race-ethnicity and gender, respondents from single-parent families report a significantly higher level of problematic substance use than those from mother-father families. Although nearly all explanations receive support, we find the strongest evidence for differential association with deviant peers and exposure to stress. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that--rather than representing a unique and independent predictor of substance use problems--family structure can be viewed as a marker of the unequal distribution of factors influencing the risk of problematic substance use.
Health and Quality of Life Health-related Quality of Life of Patients following Selected Types of Lumbar Spinal Surgery: a Pilot Study

Background: Over 500,000 spinal surgeries are performed annually in the United States. Although pain relief and improved health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are expectations following lumbar spinal surgery, there is limited research regarding this experience from the individual's perspective. In addition, no studies have examined the HRQOL of persons who have had this surgery using a comprehensive approach. The intent of this study was to address this deficiency by an assessment of both the individual and environmental factors that impact perceived HRQOL using the Wilson and Cleary Model for Health-Related Quality of Life in persons who have undergone lumbar spinal surgery.
Two New Third Tone Sandhi Rules in Tianjin Dialect: A Critical Re-analysis

Wee et al.propose that tone 3 changes to tone 1 before tone 2 or tone 4 in Tianjin dialect.With regards to these two third tone sandhi rules,the present paper conducts two experiments: an acoustic experiment and a perception experiment.In the acoustic experiment we find that the tone contours for disyllabic sequences of tone 3 and tone 1 can't be displayed clearly by the five-scale tonal system,but from the specific tone pitch values the differences are obvious.The results drawn from the following perception experiment we conducted reveal that the fine distinction between these two tones in dysyllabic phrases can be discerned by the native Tianjin speakers,and thus clearly shows that tone 3 does not undergo a categorical change to tone 1 when it precedes tone 2 or tone 4.
Chordlength Texturing of Spline Surfaces

This paper presents an inexpensive way to provide (s, t)texture co-ordinates of a spline surface, which mitigates texture compression and stretching artifacts. The approach employs a chordlength approximation based on the original spline-surface parameterization. Its success can be seen in existing Alias|Wavefront renderers since 1991.