Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetics of Trachylina (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) with new insights on the evolution of some problematical taxa

Some of the most interesting and enigmatic cnidarians are classified within the hydrozoan subclass Trachylina. Despite being relatively depauperate in species richness, the clade contains four taxa typically accorded ordinal status: Actinulida, Limnomedusae, Narcomedusae and Trachymedusae. We bring molecular data (mitochondrial 16S and nuclear small and large subunit ribosomal genes) to bear on the question of phylogenetic relationships within Trachylina. Surprisingly, we find that a diminutive polyp form, Microhydrula limopsicola (classified within Limnomedusae) is actually a previously unknown life stage of a species of Stauromedusae. Our data confirm that the interstitial form Halammohydra sp. (Actinulida) is derived from holopelagic direct developing ancestors, likely within the trachymedusan family Rhopalonematidae. Trachymedusae is shown to be diphyletic, suggesting that the polyp stage has been lost independently at least two times within trachyline evolution. Narcomedusae is supported as a monophyletic group likely also arising from trachymedusan ancestors. Finally, some data, albeit limited, suggest that some trachyline species names refer to cryptic species that have yet to be sorted taxonomically.
Can partisan voting lead to truth?

We study an extension of the voter model in which each agent is endowed with an innate preference for one of two states that we term as ‘truth’ or ‘falsehood’. Due to interactions with neighbors, an agent that innately prefers truth can be persuaded to adopt a false opinion (and thus be discordant with its innate preference) or the agent can possess an internally concordant ‘true’ opinion. Parallel states exist for agents that inherently prefer falsehood. We determine the conditions under which a population of such agents can ultimately reach a consensus for the truth, reach a consensus for falsehood, or reach an impasse where an agent tends to adopt the opinion that is in internal concordance with its innate preference with the outcome that consensus is never achieved.
Pulse Detection in Syncopated Rhythms Using Neural Oscillators

Pulse and meter are remarkable in part because these perceived periodicities can arise from rhythmic stimuli that are not periodic. This phenomenon is most striking in syncopated rhythms, found in many genres of music, including music of non-Western cultures. In general, syncopated rhythms may have energy at frequencies that do not correspond to perceived pulse or meter, and perceived metrical frequencies that are weak or absent in the objective rhythmic stimulus. In this paper, we consider syncopated rhythms that contain little or no energy at the pulse frequency. We used 16 rhythms (3 simple, 13 syncopated) to test a model of pulse/meter perception based on nonlinear resonance, comparing the nonlinear resonance model with a linear analysis. Both models displayed the ability to differentiate between duple and triple meters, however, only the nonlinear model exhibited resonance at the pulse frequency for the most challenging syncopated rhythms. This result suggests that nonlinear resonance may provide a viable approach to pulse detection in syncopated rhythms.
Mortality in a cohort of women given X‐ray therapy for metropathia haemorrhagica

Mortality to January 1, 1991, has been studied in 2,067 women in Scotland given X‐ray therapy for metropathia haemorrhagica during the period 1940–1960. Average follow‐up was 28 years. Overall, 1,313 deaths were observed compared with 1,297.01 expected from Scottish rates [standardized mortality ratio (SMR): 1.01]. Mortality was increased for cancers of heavily irradiated pelvic sites (SMR 5+ years after irradiation: 1.46) following mean doses to organs in the vicinity of the pelvis in the range 2.6–5.3 Gy. For these cancers the SMR was higher 30+ years after irradiation than at 5–29 years, indicating that the effects of exposure last for over 30 years, and in this period bladder cancer mortality was exceptionally high (SMR = 4.91). Mortality was also raised for leukaemia (SMR 2+ years after irradiation: 2.05), following a mean bone‐marrow dose of 1.3 Gy, and for multiple myeloma (SMR 5+ years after irradiation: 2.59). For leukaemia the SMR was lower 30+ years after irradiation than at earlier periods, but remained greater than unity. For other cancers mortality was similar to Scottish rates, except for breast cancer for which mortality was low (SMR 5+ years after irradiation: 0.53), even in women aged over 50 at irradiation (SMR 5+ years after irradiation: 0.14). The deficit was principally due to a large deficit of breast cancer in women with ovarian doses of at least 5 Gy.
Unsupervised robust Bayesian feature selection

In this paper, we proposed a generative graphical model for unsupervised robust feature selection. The model assumes that the data are independent and identically sampled from a finite mixture of Student-t distribution for dealing with outliers. The Student t-distribution works as the building block for robust clustering and outlier detection. Random variables that represent the features' saliency are included in the model for feature selection. As a result, the model is expected to simultaneously realise unsupervised clustering, feature selection and outlier detection. The inference is carried out by a tree-structured variational Bayes (VB) algorithm. The feature selection capability is realised by estimating the feature saliencies associated with the features. The adoption of full Bayesian treatment in the model realises automatic model selection. Experimental studies showed that the developed algorithm compares favourably against existing unsupervised Bayesian feature selection algorithm in terms of commonly-used internal and external cluster validity indices on controlled experimental settings and benchmark data sets. The controlled experimental study also showed that the developed algorithm is capable of exposing the outliers and finding the optimal number of components (model selection) accurately.
Functional characterization and stability improvement of a ‘thermophilic-like’ ene-reductase from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP

Ene-reductases (ERs) are widely applied for the asymmetric synthesis of relevant industrial chemicals. A novel ER OYERo2 was found within a set of 14 putative old yellow enzymes (OYEs) obtained by genome mining of the actinobacterium Rhodococcus opacus 1CP. Multiple sequence alignment suggested that the enzyme belongs to the group of ‘thermophilic-like’ OYEs. OYERo2 was produced in Escherichia coli and biochemically characterized. The enzyme is strongly NADPH dependent and uses non-covalently bound FMNH2 for the reduction of activated α,β-unsaturated alkenes. In the active form OYERo2 is a dimer. Optimal catalysis occurs at pH 7.3 and 37°C. OYERo2 showed highest specific activities (45-50 U mg-1) on maleimides, which are efficiently converted to the corresponding succinimides. The OYERo2-mediated reduction of prochiral alkenes afforded the (R)-products with excellent optical purity (ee > 99%). OYERo2 is not as thermo-resistant as related OYEs. Introduction of a characteristic intermolecular salt bridge by site-specific mutagenesis raised the half-life of enzyme inactivation at 32°C from 28 to 87 min and improved the tolerance toward organic co-solvents. The suitability of OYERo2 for application in industrial biocatalysis is discussed.
A finite difference non-matching domain decomposition algorithm for the parabolic equation

A finite difference domain decomposition algorithm on a non-overlapping non-matching grid for the parabolic equation is discussed. The basic procedure is to define the explicit scheme at the interface points with a larger mesh spacing H, then the implicit schemes with different mesh spacings are applied on the non-matching subdomains, respectively. The stability bound is released both for the one-dimensional and two-dimensional parabolic problem. Finally, numerical experiments are also presented.
Violence: a global public health problem

This article is a version of the Introduction to the World Report on Violence and Health, published by the World Health Organization (WHO). It presents a general description about this phenomenon and points some basic questions: concepts and definitions about the theme; the state of knowledge about it; nature and typology on violence; proposal of a quantitative and qualitative approach of an ecological model; responsibilities and functions of the public health sector and its potentiality to prevent and reduce violence in the world; the responsibilities of the nations and the policy makers in a intersetorial point of view; difficulties and obstacles for actuation and challenges for the health sector.
Oxidative and Nonoxidative Metabolism of Excited Neurons and Astrocytes

There is evidence that the metabolic responses to afferent and efferent nervous activity are dissociated at sites of neuronal excitation in brain. Whether efferent activity follows afferent activity depends on the responsiveness of postsynaptic neurons, which in turn depends on the summation of excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials. The afferent activity excites the presynaptic terminals and astrocytes, whereas the efferent activity arises from excitation of the dendrites of projection neurons. Measurements in vivo indicate that primary stimulation, elicited by simple stimuli, gives rise to limited increases of energy metabolism associated with afferent activity. Reports show that a major consequence of afferent activity, in addition to the release of excitatory neurotransmitters from presynaptic terminals and the import of glutamate by astrocytes, is the establishment of rates of blood flow commensurate with increased rates of oxidative energy metabolism associated with efferent activity projecting from the site of activation. Increased flow rates overcome the inherent diffusion limitation of oxygen delivery, while increased rates of glycolysis elevate tissue pyruvate contents, to which oxygen consumption rates are matched. In vivo, neurons in the baseline condition sustain no net import of pyruvate or lactate, and the reported changes of metabolism subserving afferent and efferent activity are additive rather than linked by significant additional transfer of pyruvate or lactate from astrocytes. The dissociation of blood flow changes from efferent activity weakens the identification of functional states by changes of blood flow alone. It raises the possibility that uncoupling of flow from oxidative metabolism occurs at sites of low efferent activity, such that dissociations of flow and glycolysis from oxygen consumption signify imbalances of afferent and efferent activity.
Age-Specific Trends in the Incidence and In-Hospital Mortality of Acute Myocardial Infarction Over 30 Years in Japan　- Report From the Miyagi AMI Registry Study.

BACKGROUND We are now facing rapid population aging in Japan, which will affect the actual situation of cardiovascular diseases. However, age-specific trends in the incidence and mortality of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Japan remain to be elucidated.Methods and Results:We enrolled a total of 27,220 AMI patients (male/female 19,818/7,402) in our Miyagi AMI Registry during the past 30 years. We divided them into 4 age groups (≤59, 60-69, 70-79 and ≥80 years) and examined the temporal trends in the incidence and in-hospital mortality of AMI during 3 decades (1985-1994, 1995-2004 and 2005-2014). Throughout the entire period, the incidence of AMI steadily increased in the younger group (≤59 years in both sexes), while in the elderly groups (≥70 years in both sexes), the incidence significantly decreased during the last decade (all P<0.01). In-hospital cardiac mortality significantly decreased during the first 2 decades in elderly groups of both sexes (all P<0.01), whereas no further improvement was noted in the last decade irrespective of age or sex, despite improved critical care of AMI. CONCLUSIONS These results provide the novel findings that the incidence of AMI has been increasing in younger populations and decreasing in the elderly, and that improvement in the in-hospital mortality of AMI may have reached a plateau in all age groups in Japan.
Where is my Phone?: Personal Object Retrieval from Egocentric Images

This work presents a retrieval pipeline and evaluation scheme for the problem of finding the last appearance of personal objects in a large dataset of images captured from a wearable camera. Each personal object is modelled by a small set of images that define a query for a visual search engine.The retrieved results are reranked considering the temporal timestamps of the images to increase the relevance of the later detections. Finally, a temporal interleaving of the results is introduced for robustness against false detections. The Mean Reciprocal Rank is proposed as a metric to evaluate this problem. This application could help into developing personal assistants capable of helping users when they do not remember where they left their personal belongings.
Model of Maladaptive Control: Understanding the Link between Parents’ Psychological Control and Youth Aggression Problems

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Reducing Crowding by Weakening Inhibitory Lateral Interactions in the Periphery with Perceptual Learning

We investigated whether lateral masking in the near-periphery, due to inhibitory lateral interactions at an early level of central visual processing, could be weakened by perceptual learning and whether learning transferred to an untrained, higher-level lateral masking known as crowding. The trained task was contrast detection of a Gabor target presented in the near periphery (4°) in the presence of co-oriented and co-aligned high contrast Gabor flankers, which featured different target-to-flankers separations along the vertical axis that varied from 2λ to 8λ. We found both suppressive and facilitatory lateral interactions at target-to-flankers distances (2λ - 4λ and 8λ, respectively) that were larger than those found in the fovea. Training reduces suppression but does not increase facilitation. Most importantly, we found that learning reduces crowding and improves contrast sensitivity, but has no effect on visual acuity (VA). These results suggest a different pattern of connectivity in the periphery with respect to the fovea as well as a different modulation of this connectivity via perceptual learning that not only reduces low-level lateral masking but also reduces crowding. These results have important implications for the rehabilitation of low-vision patients who must use peripheral vision to perform tasks, such as reading and refined figure-ground segmentation, which normal sighted subjects perform in the fovea.
The use of recombinant factor VIIa in a patient with acquired haemophilia A undergoing surgery

An elderly woman with acquired haemophilia A secondary to a monoclonal gammopathy, required elective surgery for a parotid tumour but was unable to tolerate conventional treatment. Recombinant activated factor VII (rVIIa) was used successfully to cover a biopsy and then subsequent resection of the tumour. The use of rVIIa in the management of acquired inhibitors is discussed.
Recent research in analog placement considering thermal gradient

With the thermal effect, improper analog placements may degrade circuit performance because the thermal gradient can affect electrical characteristics of the thermally-sensitive devices. To mitigate the thermal effect in analog layout design, it is required to reduce thermally-induced mismatches among matched devices in addition to eliminating thermal hot spots. This paper presents major challenges for analog placement arising from the chip thermal gradient, introduces non-uniform and uniform thermal profiles as well as the corresponding placement configurations, surveys key existing techniques for analog placement under non-uniform and uniform thermal profiles, and provides the experimental results for analog placement with thermal consideration.
Nonuniform Distribution of Ca2+ Channel Subtypes on Presynaptic Terminals of Excitatory Synapses in Hippocampal Cultures

Several subtypes of Ca2+ channel support the release of glutamate at excitatory synapses. We investigated the pattern of colocalization of these subtypes on presynaptic terminals in hippocampal cultures. N-type (conotoxin GVIA-sensitive) or P/Q-type (agatoxin IVA-sensitive) Ca2+ channels were blocked selectively, and the reduction in transmitter release probability (Pr) was measured with MK-801. The antagonists completely blocked release at some terminals, reducedPr at others, and failed to affect the remainder. In contrast, nonselective reduction of presynaptic Ca2+ influx by adding Cd2+ or lowering external Ca2+ reduced Pr uniformly at all terminals. We conclude from these results that the mixture of N-type and P/Q-type channels varies markedly between terminals on the same afferent. The distribution of Ca2+ channel subtypes was the same for high and low Pr terminals. Given that Ca2+ channel subtypes are affected differentially by neuromodulators, these findings lead to the possibility of terminal-specific modulation of synaptic function.
TAE226 Inhibits Human Neuroblastoma Cell Survival

Purpose. Neuroblastoma is one of the most devastating pediatric solid tumors and is unresponsive to many interventions. TAE226 is a novel small molecule FAK inhibitor. We investigated the effects of TAE226 on neuroblastoma cells in vitro. Materials and Methods. Human neuroblastoma cell lines were treated with varying concentrations of TAE226. Following treatment, cell viability, cell cycle, and apoptosis were evaluated. Results. Treatment of human neuroblastoma cell lines with TAE226 resulted in a concentration dependent decrease in FAK phosphorylation, decrease in cellular viability, cell cycle arrest, and an increase in apoptosis. Conclusions. Targeting FAK provides potential therapeutic options for the treatment of neuroblastoma and deserves further investigation.
Position control of a ducted fan VTOL UAV in crosswind

This paper describes a control strategy to stabilize the position of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in crosswind despite unknown aerodynamic effects. The proposed approach overcomes the problem of gyroscopic coupling by taking advantage of both the structure of the thrust mechanism, which is made of two counter rotating propellers, and the control strategy which involves a decoupling of the yaw rate dynamics from the rest of the system dynamics. The controller is designed by means of backstepping techniques that allow the stabilization of the vehicle's position while online estimating the unknown aerodynamic effects.
Pregnancy-related weight gain and retention: implications of the 1990 Institute of Medicine guidelines.

OBJECTIVES Guidelines from the Institute of Medicine's 1990 report call for weight gains during pregnancy that are higher than those previously recommended. This study examines the potential implications of compliance with these guidelines for postpartum weight retention. METHODS Weight retention 10 to 18 months following delivery was examined for selected women who had live births in the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey. Women's actual weight gains during pregnancy were retrospectively classified according to the Institute of Medicine's guidelines. RESULTS Weight retention following delivery increased as weight gain increased, and Black women retained more weight than White women with comparable weight gain. The median retained weight for White women who gained the amount now being recommended was 1.6 lb whereas that for Black women was 7.2 lb. CONCLUSIONS If pregnant White women gain weight according to the institute's guidelines, they need not be concerned about retaining a substantial amount of weight postpartum. Our findings suggest, however, that Black women are in need of advice about how to lose weight following delivery.
PageRank as a discrete Green ’ s function

Originally, PageRank was a way to assign quantitative ranking to webpages by Web search engines. In general, PageRank can be viewed as a measure of relative “importance” defined on any given graph. In this paper, we establish the relationship of PageRank with a family of discrete Green’s functions. Through this connection, we examine the relationship of the Laplacian, eigenvalues, Cheeger’s constants and PageRank. In particular, we investigate the conditions under which the PageRank of an induced subgraph can be used to approximate the PageRank of the whole graph. We also examine the hitting time of a modified random walk and its connection with PageRank via Green’s functions.
An action research study of promoting students’ confidence in speaking English

This study investigated students’ attitudes towards language learning, especially speaking, at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, North Bangkok, Thailand. One of the important factors needing change in Thai education is the improvement of language teaching, especially speaking. The aims of the research are to improve Thai students’ motivation to speak English through a range of materials and activities used for promoting students’ confidence in speaking English. Action research procedures (plan, act, observe, reflect and revise) were used to study the processes and participant Three English teachers took part in the project to assist in its implementation and to observe the outcomes. The study was conducted in two cycles: the first cycle involved teaching a program to a class of engineering students for one semester. The teacher used new student centred techniques to teach differently from traditional teaching using six activities as a tool to motivate students to speak. These were: Self- Introduction, an English Movie, a Popular Song, My Favourite Story, Foreigner Interview and a Coffee-break Discussion. The second cycle followed the reflection on the first cycle to further develop materials, activities, teaching techniques and teacher’s roles. It involved a further semester teaching the six activities to a new class Data from Cycle I were analysed and used to make improvements for Cycle II. Observers played a role in evaluating, suggesting and revising the program. Data from Cycle II were presented to show the final outcomes and changes. Data were collected through the teacher’s journal, observers’ sheets, students’ worksheets, students’ diaries and self-rating scales. The data are presented through narrative and through interpretation of students’ responses. Data were also used to construct a model for promoting students’ confidence in speaking English for King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, North Bangkok. The results of the research indicated that students’ increased confidence in speaking English was influenced by teaching learning strategies, using authentic materials and presenting the activity in non-threatening terms. Student centred approaches including pair and group work, cooperative learning, giving the opportunity to practise, time to rehearse and promoting positive attitudes towards language learning also contributed to improve outcomes. Further factors included a general interactive approach to teaching and teacher roles, using communication strategies, promoting positive attitudes and a positive atmosphere. Finally, the action research process itself helped students and teachers to reflect on their successes and failures in teaching and learning.