Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Core concepts of spatial prioritisation in systematic conservation planning

Systematic conservation planning (SCP) is a field of conservation biology concerned with delivering on‐the‐ground actions that achieve conservation goals. It describes a set of operational models that cover both design and implementation of conservation, with a strong focus on mobilising the collective action typically required to implement conservation. SCP, as it was originally described, was composed of six different stages: collection of data, identification of conservation goals, evaluation of the existing protected area network, design of expansions, implementation of conservation action, and long‐term maintenance of biodiversity in the network. Since then, the operational model has been expanded into several different variants. Conservation actions applied inside SCP include establishment and expansion of reserve networks and allocation of habitat restoration and management.
Concurrent Transmissions for Communication Protocols in the Internet of Things

Standard Internet communication protocols are key enablers for the Internet of Things (IoT). Recent technological advances have made it possible to run such protocols on resource-constrained devices. Yet these devices often use energy-efficient, low-level communication technologies, like IEEE 802.15. 4, which suffer from low-reliability and high latency. These drawbacks can be significantly reduced if communication occurs using concurrent transmissions - a novel communication paradigm for resource-constrained devices. In this paper, we show that Internet protocols like TCP/UDP and CoAP can run efficiently on top of a routing substrate based on concurrent transmissions. We call this substrate LaneFlood and demonstrate its effectiveness through extensive experiments on Flocklab, a publicly available testbed. Our results show that LaneFlood improves upon CXFS - a representative competitor - in terms of both duty cycle and reliability. Furthermore, LaneFlood can transport IoT traffic with an end-to-end latency of less than 300 ms over several hops.
Doubled Duplication of the Structural Gene for Cytosolic Phosphoglucose Isomerase in the Dactylis glomerata L. Polyploid Complex

Evolution of genes that specify cytosolic phosphoglucose isomerases (PGIs) has been studied in a natural intraspecific polyploid complex (Dactylis glomerata L.). Analyses of genetic control, polymorphism, and gene expression have been carried out in plants collected from numerous populations that belong to 14 diploid subspecies originating in the middle or at the end of the Tertiary period and to three tetraploid subspecies that very likely developed during the last Ice Age. The results show that in each one of the 17 Dactylis subspecies, cytosolic PGIs are specified by two tightly but not completely linked polymorphic loci. Moreover, these show considerable structural similarity since the numerous subunits that each locus specifies associate with those coded by the other locus and most of the dimeric enzymes formed by subunits specified at each locus show exactly the same electrophoretic mobilities. Consequently, one of the two genes is considered to have originated from the other by a process of gene duplication (very likely a tandem one). In this particular case, the duplicated gene has not been distinguished from the ancestral one. The PGI duplication is present in the whole Dactylis monospecific genus but has never been found in the other genera of the same tribe. Since the fixation of a particular gene duplication is considered to be a rare or even unique event, it might have occurred in the primitive forms of diploid Dactylis. Tetraploids show a doubled duplication consequent on the polyploidization process of diploids that already possessed the PGI duplication. The reasons why this duplication has been conserved with the full expression of all the genes throughout evolution of this polyploid complex are examined separately for the two ploidy levels. In diploids, the main reasons could be gene recombination that slows down the rate of gene silencing, unregulated enzyme synthesis, and also differences in enzyme properties. These may confer a selective advantage when distinct alleles can be present, because of the gene duplication, in a single individual. The quite recent origin of the tetraploids and their autopolyploid genetic structure-which does not show f&d heterozygosity and, consequently, possible negative heterodimeric interactions between homeoalleles such as would be the case in allopolyploids-could explain why full expression of the cytosolic PGIs’ doubled duplication is maintained in tetraploid Dactylis.
Comparison of Different Algorithms to Orthorectify WorldView-2 Satellite Imagery

Due to their level of spatial detail (pixel dimensions equal to or less than 1 m), very high-resolution satellite images (VHRSIs) need particular georeferencing and geometric corrections which require careful orthorectification. Although there are several dedicated algorithms, mainly commercial and free software for geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing applications, the quality of the results may be inadequate in terms of the representation scale for which these images are intended. This paper compares the most common orthorectification algorithms in order to define the best approach for VHRSIs. Both empirical models (such as 2D polynomial functions, PFs; or 3D rational polynomial functions, RPFs) and rigorous physical and deterministic models (such as Toutin) are considered. Ground control points (GCPs) and check points (CPs)—whose positions in the image as, well as in the real world, are known—support algorithm applications. Tests were executed on a WorldView-2 (WV-2) panchromatic image of an area near the Gulf of Naples in Campania (Italy) to establish the best-performing algorithm. Combining 3D RPFs with 2D PFs produced the best results.
A Minimum Risk Metric for Nearest Neighbor Classification

nale. Retrieval in a prototype-based case library: A case study in diabetes therapy revision. CH97] C. Cardie and N. Howe. Improving minority class prediction using case-speciic feature weight. CS93] Scott Cost and Steven Salzberg. A weighted nearest neighbor algorithm for learning with symbolic features. DP97] Pedro Domingos and Michael Pazzani. On the optimality of the simple bayesian clas-siier under zero-one loss.ing a local similarity metric for case-based reasoning. compression and local metrics for nearest neighbor classiication. IEEE Trans-A review and comparative evaluation of feature weighting methods for lazy learning algorithms.
Continuous Taurocholic Acid Exposure Promotes Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression Due to Reduced Cell Loss Resulting from Enhanced Vascular Development

Background Refluxogenic effects of smoking and alcohol abuse may be related to the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The present study attempts to clarify the effects of continuous taurocholic acid (TCA) exposure, which is neither mutagenic nor genotoxic, on ESCC progression. Methods A squamous carcinoma cell line (ESCC-DR) was established from a tumor induced in a rat model of gastroduodenal reflux. ESCC-DR cells were incubated with 2 mM TCA for ≥2 months. The effects of continuous TCA exposure were evaluated in vitro on cell morphology, growth, and invasion and in vivo on xenograft tumor growth in nude mice. Moreover, the mean level of secreted transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins in cell culture supernatants and mRNA synthesis of TGF-β1 and VEGF-A of ESCC cells were measured. The angiogenic potential was further examined by a migration assay using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Results Continuous TCA exposure induced marked formation of filopodia in vitro. Expression levels of angiogenic factors were significantly higher in the cells treated with TCA than in control cells. Tumor xenografts derived from cells pre-exposed to TCA were larger and more vascularized than those derived from control cells. In addition, TCA exposure increased HUVEC migration. Conclusion Continuous TCA exposure enhanced ESCC progression due to reduced cell loss in vivo. Cell loss was inhibited by TCA-induced vascular endothelial cell migration, which was mediated by TGF-β1 and VEGF-A released from ESCC cells.
Comparison of Aqueous Outflow Facility Measurement by Pneumatonography and Digital Schiøtz Tonography

Purpose It is not known if outflow facilities measured by pneumatonography and Schiøtz tonography are interchangeable. In this study we compared outflow facility measured by pneumatonography to outflow facility measured by digital Schiøtz tonography. Methods Fifty-six eyes from 28 healthy participants, ages 41 to 68 years, were included. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured in the sitting and supine positions with a pneumatonometer. With the subject in the supine position, IOP was recorded for 2 minutes by using a pneumatonometer with a 10-g weight and for 4 minutes by using a custom digital Schiøtz tonometer. Outflow facility was determined from the changes in pressure and intraocular volume and a standard assumed ocular rigidity coefficient for each instrument, respectively, and by using an ocular rigidity coefficient calculated by measuring pressure without and with a weight added to the pneumatonometer tip. Results The outflow facility was 0.29 ± 0.09 μL/min/mm Hg by Schiøtz tonography and 0.24 ± 0.08 μL/min/mm Hg by pneumatonography (P < 0.001) when using the standard assumed constant ocular rigidity coefficient. Mean calculated ocular rigidity coefficient was 0.028 ± 0.01 μL−1, and outflow facility determined by using this coefficient was 0.23 ± 0.08 μL/min/mm Hg by Schiøtz tonography and 0.21 ± 0.07 μL/min/mm Hg by pneumatonography (P = 0.003). Outflow facilities measured by the two devices were correlated when the ocular rigidity was assumed (r = 0.60, P < 0.001) or calculated (r = 0.70, P < 0.001). Conclusions Outflow facilities measured by pneumatonography were correlated with those measured by Schiøtz tonography, but Schiøtz tonography reported approximately 10% to 20% higher facilities when using the standard method. When ocular rigidity was determined for each eye, differences were smaller. Measurements from these devices cannot be compared directly.
A consistent approach to unstructured mesh generation for geophysical models

Geophysical model domains typically contain irregular, complex fractal-like boundaries and physical processes that act over a wide range of scales. Constructing geographically constrained boundary-conforming spatial discretizations of these domains with flexible use of anisotropically, fully unstructured meshes is a challenge. The problem contains a wide range of scales and a relatively large, heterogeneous constraint parameter space. Approaches are commonly ad hoc, model or application specific and insufficiently described. Development of new spatial domains is frequently time-consuming, hard to repeat, error prone and difficult to ensure consistent due to the significant human input required. As a consequence, it is difficult to reproduce simulations, ensure a provenance in model data handling and initialization, and a challenge to conduct model intercomparisons rigorously. Moreover, for flexible unstructured meshes, there is additionally a greater potential for inconsistencies in model initialization and forcing parameters. This paper introduces a consistent approach to unstructured mesh generation for geophysical models, that is automated, quick-to-draft and repeat, and provides a rigorous and robust approach that is consistent to the source data throughout. The approach is enabling further new research in complex multi-scale domains, difficult or not possible to achieve with existing methods. Examples being actively pursued in a range of geophysical modeling efforts are presented alongside the approach, together with the implementation library Shingle and a selection of its verification test cases.
Abductive Inference for Combat: Using SCARE-S2 to Find High-Value Targets in Afghanistan

Recently, geospatial abduction was introduced by the authors in (Shakarian, Subrahmanian, and Sapino 2010) as a way to infer unobserved geographic phenomena from a set of known observations and constraints between the two. In this paper, we introduce the SCARE- S2 software tool which applies geospatial abduction to the environment of Afghanistan. Unlike previous work, where we looked for small weapon caches supporting local attacks, here we look for insurgent high-value targets (HVT’s), supporting insurgent operations in two provinces. These HVT’s include the locations of insurgent leaders and major supply depots. Applying this method of inference to Afghanistan introduces several practical issues not addressed in previous work. Namely, we are conducting inference in a much larger area (24, 940 sq km as compared to 675 sq km in previous work), on more varied terrain, and must consider the influence of many local tribes. We address all of these problems and evaluate our software on 6 months of real-world counter-insurgency data. We show that we are able to abduce regions of a relatively small area (on average, under 100 sq km and each containing, on aver- age, 4.8 villages) that are more dense with HVT’s (35× more than the overall area considered).
Synaptic Correlates of Low-Level Perception in V1

The computational role of primary visual cortex (V1) in low-level perception remains largely debated. A dominant view assumes the prevalence of higher cortical areas and top-down processes in binding information across the visual field. Here, we investigated the role of long-distance intracortical connections in form and motion processing by measuring, with intracellular recordings, their synaptic impact on neurons in area 17 (V1) of the anesthetized cat. By systematically mapping synaptic responses to stimuli presented in the nonspiking surround of V1 receptive fields, we provide the first quantitative characterization of the lateral functional connectivity kernel of V1 neurons. Our results revealed at the population level two structural-functional biases in the synaptic integration and dynamic association properties of V1 neurons. First, subthreshold responses to oriented stimuli flashed in isolation in the nonspiking surround exhibited a geometric organization around the preferred orientation axis mirroring the psychophysical “association field” for collinear contour perception. Second, apparent motion stimuli, for which horizontal and feedforward synaptic inputs summed in-phase, evoked dominantly facilitatory nonlinear interactions, specifically during centripetal collinear activation along the preferred orientation axis, at saccadic-like speeds. This spatiotemporal integration property, which could constitute the neural correlate of a human perceptual bias in speed detection, suggests that local (orientation) and global (motion) information is already linked within V1. We propose the existence of a “dynamic association field” in V1 neurons, whose spatial extent and anisotropy are transiently updated and reshaped as a function of changes in the retinal flow statistics imposed during natural oculomotor exploration. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The computational role of primary visual cortex in low-level perception remains debated. The expression of this “pop-out” perception is often assumed to require attention-related processes, such as top-down feedback from higher cortical areas. Using intracellular techniques in the anesthetized cat and novel analysis methods, we reveal unexpected structural-functional biases in the synaptic integration and dynamic association properties of V1 neurons. These structural-functional biases provide a substrate, within V1, for contour detection and, more unexpectedly, global motion flow sensitivity at saccadic speed, even in the absence of attentional processes. We argue for the concept of a “dynamic association field” in V1 neurons, whose spatial extent and anisotropy changes with retinal flow statistics, and more generally for a renewed focus on intracortical computation.
A Mixture Approach to Bayesian Goodness of Fit

We consider a Bayesian approach to goodness of fit, that is, to the problem of testing whether or not a given parametric model is compatible with the data at hand. We thus consider a parametric family ! #"%$ where denotes a cumulative distribution function with parameter . The null hypothesis is & ')(+*-,. for an unknown , that is, there exists such that /0*#12,435/768 :9 1 . If &)' does not hold, /0*#1 is a random variable on /768 :9 1 which is not distributed as 35/768 ;9 1 . The alternative nonparametric hypothesis can thus be interpreted as /0*#1 being distributed from a general cdf is infinite dimensional. Instead of using a functional basis as in Verdinelli and Wasserman (1998), we represent <%= as the (infinite) mixture of Beta distributions, ? '@35/768 :9 1BAC/D9FEG? ':1 HJI K L ? I MON /0P I DQ I 1SR Estimation within both parametric and nonparametric structures are implemented using MCMC algorithms that estimate the number of components in the mixture. Since we are concerned with a goodness of fit problem, it is more of interest to consider a functional distance to the tested model T /7 2 D 1 as the basis of our test, rather than the corresponding Bayes factor, since the later puts more emphasis on the parameters. We therefore propose a new test procedure based on U%V W T /YX D 1;Z *\[^] , with both an asymptotic justification and a finite sampler implementation.
Reduction algorithm of attribute based on discernibility degree

The effective reduct algorithm is the foundation to use the rough set theory in data mining and knowledge discovery in database. In this paper, the concept of discenribility degree with attribute sets is introduced. We also propose the algorithm about reducts of information system based on discernibility degree of attributes set. The experiments indicate that our algorithm is efficient and practical.
Performance Analysis of NAND Flash-Based SSD for Designing a Hybrid Filesystem

As density doubles with the rapidly dropping price each year for the past seven years (currently 32Gbits/chip), NAND flash memory has virtually replaced HDDs(hard disk drives) in battery-operated consumer devices such as cellular phones, PMPs, and PDAs. This trend has also enabled the introduction of so-called flash memory SSDs(solid state disks) that have an interface identical to that of HDDs but use NAN flash memory inside as storage media. The ordinary filesystems designed for HDDs are no longer suitable for SSDs because SSDs have many different features from HDDs.We designed a hybrid filesystem, called Hybrid FS,that uses two kinds of storages - HDDs and SSDs. This is accomplished by distributing data into two partitions based on their type. In Hybrid FS, the data blocks of a large regular file are stored in a data partition in HDDs, while the metadata being stored in the partition of SSDs. Separating data into the different storages of disk partitions makes it possible to produce high I/O performance by taking appropriate I/O approach,according to the data characteristics.
Decomposing Bjurek Productivity Indexes into Explanatory Factors

Caves, Christensen, Diewert introduced Malmquist output, input and productivity indexes into production theory in a systematic way. This paper revisits the debate on how to decompose Bjurek’s concept of a Malmquist productivity index into explanatory factors, with a focus on extracting technical progress, technical efficiency change, and returns to scale components. In order to define these components, a reference technology is required. The paper does not make any convexity assumptions on the reference technology but instead follows the example of Tulkens and his coauthors in assuming that the reference technology satisfies free disposability assumptions. The existence and properties of the underlying distance functions of the productivity decomposition are proven under relatively unrestrictive assumptions. The paper provides for the first time a theoretical justification for the geometric average form of the Bjurek productivity index.
Fragile Mental Retardation Protein Interacts with the RNA-Binding Protein Caprin1 in Neuronal RiboNucleoProtein Complexes

Fragile X syndrome is caused by the absence of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein. FMRP is associated with messenger RiboNucleoParticles (mRNPs) present in polyribosomes and its absence in neurons leads to alteration in synaptic plasticity as a result of translation regulation defects. The molecular mechanisms by which FMRP plays a role in translation regulation remain elusive. Using immunoprecipitation approaches with monoclonal Ab7G1-1 and a new generation of chicken antibodies, we identified Caprin1 as a novel FMRP-cellular partner. In vivo and in vitro evidence show that Caprin1 interacts with FMRP at the level of the translation machinery as well as in trafficking neuronal granules. As an RNA-binding protein, Caprin1 has in common with FMRP at least two RNA targets that have been identified as CaMKIIα and Map1b mRNAs. In view of the new concept that FMRP species bind to RNA regardless of known structural motifs, we propose that protein interactors might modulate FMRP functions.
Sparse Representation With Spatio-Temporal Online Dictionary Learning for Promising Video Coding

Classical dictionary learning methods for video coding suffer from high computational complexity and interfered coding efficiency by disregarding its underlying distribution. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal online dictionary learning (STOL) algorithm to speed up the convergence rate of dictionary learning with a guarantee of approximation error. The proposed algorithm incorporates stochastic gradient descents to form a dictionary of pairs of 3D low-frequency and high-frequency spatio-temporal volumes. In each iteration of the learning process, it randomly selects one sample volume and updates the atoms of dictionary by minimizing the expected cost, rather than optimizes empirical cost over the complete training data, such as batch learning methods, e.g., K-SVD. Since the selected volumes are supposed to be independent identically distributed samples from the underlying distribution, decomposition coefficients attained from the trained dictionary are desirable for sparse representation. Theoretically, it is proved that the proposed STOL could achieve better approximation for sparse representation than K-SVD and maintain both structured sparsity and hierarchical sparsity. It is shown to outperform batch gradient descent methods (K-SVD) in the sense of convergence speed and computational complexity, and its upper bound for prediction error is asymptotically equal to the training error. With lower computational complexity, extensive experiments validate that the STOL-based coding scheme achieves performance improvements than H.264/AVC or High Efficiency Video Coding as well as existing super-resolution-based methods in rate-distortion performance and visual quality.
Some numerical experiments on the inversion of discrete travel-time data

abstract Some numerical experiments are performed in the application of the classical Herglotz-Wiechert method to the inversion of discrete travel-time data. The problem is restricted to the simplest form of travel-time curve and it is illustrated how these restrictions can be included in the more general methods developed recently. An envelope containing all possible models is obtained. The velocity model can be averaged over a range of ray parameters. The envelope of the averaged models (which is different from the averaged envelope of models) is dependent on the averaging window. Hence, a trade-off curve is obtained between the averaging window and the envelope width (velocity uncertainty).