Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Region of Interest Compressed Sensing MRI

Compressed Sensing (CS) based Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) reconstruction relies on data sparsity. Region of Interest Compressed Sensing (ROICS) is based on the hypothesis that superior CS performance can be obtained by limiting the sparsity objective and data consistency in CS to a Region of Interest (ROI). This relaxation is justified in most applications where the anatomy of interest such as the heart, has surrounding structures, typically not used for further analyses. ROICS has been proposed as an extension of CS that is ROI weighted CS. Current work demonstrates the implementation of ROICS for the first time on MR cardiac and brain data. Reconstructed images and performance evaluation metrics show that ROICS technique performs better than conventiona lCS technique. CS and Parallel Imaging (PI) are widely used to reduce MRI scan time and their combination yields better performance than used individually. The proposed method also implements the combination of ROICS and SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE), which applies weighted CSto a particular ROI, and the resulting output is then reconstructed using SENSE for arbitrary k-space. Proposed ROICS-PI performs better as comparedto PI and CS + PI.
SOCIO-TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY Scientific digital photography use by marine mammal researchers

from journals and the process of direct submission to journals, which he considers to be niches within a “broader ecology of biomolecular knowledge” that can support a variety of communication regimes. While Kling, Hilgartner, and Bohlin all use the concept of communication regimes to understand scientific communication, this research originally proposed that expanding the concept to other areas, including digital photography, may be a legitimate extension. The case for using the concept in this instance is described below. First, however, it is instructive to look at how the concept of a regime developed, and what elements of regimes may be useful to information science. Kling’s desire to bring the concept of a communication regime into information science was based at least partly on his familiarity with Hilgartner’s use of the phrase. Hilgartner, in turn, developed communication regimes “as a sort of grounded, or even 4 Although Kling has only one published reference to this concept, he and the author engaged in extensive discussions on this concept in the months before his death in 2003. Much of the definition developed in this paper arose from these conversations.
Soil permeability, aggregate stability and root growth: a pot experiment from a soil bioengineering perspective

Assessing the joint development of vegetation cover and soil properties is crucial to evaluate the efficiency of soil bioengineering techniques, especially during the most critical initial phase of vegetation colonization. We set up a laboratory experiment to quantify and disentangle the effect of Alnus incana roots on soil permeability and aggregate stability. Plants were grown in pots in a climate chamber for four different growing periods (1, 2, 4 and 8 months). Pots were filled with a soil coming from a moraine of a landslide area in Central Switzerland. After each growing period, surface permeability, soil volume permeability and soil aggregate stability were measured together with the development of the root systems. Our results show that alder roots significantly improve both surface and whole soil volume permeability already after 2 months of growth. Nevertheless, an increase in root length density does not necessarily correspond to an increase in permeability. We could set as a threshold a root length density of 0.1 cm/cm3 until which an increase in root development corresponds to an increase in soil permeability, whereas after this threshold we observed a decrease in soil permeability. A significant increase in soil aggregate stability could be observed only with a root length density of 2 cm/cm3. No obvious correlation between soil permeability and aggregate stability could be found. Future work should validate these laboratory results with field data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ostreococcus tauri Luminescent Reporter Lines as Biosensors for Detecting Pollution From Copper-Mine Tailing Effluents in Coastal Environments

Phytoplankton cells are excellent biosensors for environmental monitoring and toxicity assessments in different natural systems. Green algae, in particular, appear to be more responsive to copper (Cu) disturbances. This is interesting considering that Cu pollution in coastal environments has increased over the last century, with enormous repercussions to marine ecosystems. Unfortunately, no high-throughput method exists for the environmental monitoring of Cu toxicity in seawater. To assess potential uses as biosensors of Cu pollution, high-throughput screening was performed on five luminescence reporter lines constructed in the green algae Ostreococcus tauri RCC745. The reporter line expressing the iron storage ferritin protein fused to luciferase (Fer-Luc) was the most sensitive, responding to Cu concentrations in the µM range. Fer-Luc was also the most sensitive reporter line for detecting toxicity in mining-derived polluted seawater predominantly contaminated by soluble Cu. Nevertheless, the Cyclin-Dependent-Kinase A (CDKA) reporter was most suitable for detecting the toxicity of copper-mine tailing effluents containing other metals (e.g., iron). These results highlight that Ostreococcus biosensors can serve as a reliable, inexpensive, and automated, high-throughput laboratory approach for performing seawater analyses of coastal areas subjected to metal disturbances. When challenged with Cu, Ostreococcus tauri not only evidenced a rapid, transcriptional response for the tested genes, but also showed changes in a broad range of genes, especially as related to the stress response. Overall, the obtained results reinforce that a single biosensor is insufficient when dealing with complex mixtures of toxic compounds in natural environments.
The Role of Microphytobenthic Primary Production in a Mediterranean Mussel Culture Area

Abstract The production and biomass of microphytobenthos in a Mediterranean mussel farm was studied during 1991–92. Gross and net microphytobenthic production and respiration were calculated from oxygen fluxes in transparent and black bell jars at two stations; sediments under a mussel table and reference sediments, both located at 5 m depth. Net oxygen fluxes were mainly negative under the mussel tables (average −19·5 mg O 2 m −2 h −1 , CV=132%), and microphytobenthos production could not meet the sediment oxygen demand; in the reference sediments, microphytobenthos production was responsible for net oxygen production (average +13·0 mg O 2 m −2 h −1 , CV=118%). Benthic respiration rates were, on average, 47·3 mg O 2 m −2 h −1 (CV=82%) under the tables and 27·7 mg O 2 m −2 h −1 (CV=45%) in reference sediments. Aerobic respiration could remineralize less than 2% of the biodeposited carbon under the tables, implying that a large amount of organic material is accumulating under the tables, and that most of the degradation will be anaerobic. Gross microbenthic production showed sharp changes between 1991 and 1992 under the mussel tables and for reference sediments (averages 20·98 mg O 2 m −2 h −1 , CV=135% and 33 mg O 2 m −2 h −1 , CV=48%, respectively). Despite the negative oxygen balance in the sediments under the tables, microphytobenthos was more productive than phytoplankton in bottom waters. Per unit area, phytoplankton was more productive than microphytobenthos at both stations, especially in the area of the mussel tables, where phytoplanktonic production was enhanced by the excretion products of mussels. Microphytobenthos was composed mainly of diatoms in the sediments under the tables, while in reference sediments, the population was more diverse, with algae containing chlorophyll b also present. Chlorophyll a concentration in sediments under the tables was 207 mg m −2 (CV=73%) and 95 mg m −2 (CV=28%) in reference sediments; the stock of plant pigments was increased under the tables by biodeposition. Microphytobenthos constitutes a compartment with an important contribution in biomass, but also in oxygen production.
Precise Positioning and Estimation of Crustal Movement in King Sejong Station, King George Island, Antarctica

King Sejong Station in King George Island plays a great role in the expansion of the human activities due to its geographical characteristics as an advance post and gateway to the mainland of Antarctica. This study addressed the precise positioning of King Sejong Station’s GPS CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Station) and the estimation of the crustal movement of Barton Peninsula, King George Island. The GPS data for 32 months (January 2007 to August 2009) were used for the study, and the relative positioning method was used for precise positioning. The observation data of O’Higgins, which is closest to King Sejong Station, were used as the fixed points among the IGS (International GNSS Service) CORSs. Precise positioning with a maximum of ±0.0172 m RMSE was possible for the X, Y, and Z components. The precise point positioning (PPP) of the GPS data showed that Barton Peninsula is moving at a speed of 19 mm/year northeast (30° azimuth).
The range-through method and first-last appearance data in paleontological surveys

THE QUALITY of the information yielded by stratigraphic and paleoecologic studies based on microfossils is often poor due to spotty recovery of taxa. Thus, downcore sequences contain many null records between the first appearance (FA) and the last appearance (LA) of the species. Cheetham and Deboo (1963) suggested the use of the range-through method (i.e., a species is considered present in a sample if found both above and below it, even if it was not found within the sample) as a means of smoothing these spotty data sets and, when biostratigraphic conclusions are sought, to counteract the effect of environmental influences (Hazel, 1970). The technique was subsequently adopted in many reports and incorporated in numerical methods for biostratigraphic work (e.g., see review in Brower, 1985). This procedure, however, has a distorting effect on the data in such a way that faunal similarities between the samples compared are artificially increased toward the middle of the column. This is due to the fact that, while in the original species x samples array the probability of filling any cell is mainly a function of the species' abundance and of the number of specimens scanned in that particular sample, in the matrix resulting from the range-through principle it also depends upon the number of samples checked both above and below the level in question. Since the number of these samples is highest for the central part of the sequence and decreases toward the top and bottom, the central section will have artificially enhanced specific co-occurrences and, hence, faunal similarities. This distortion is subsequently reflected in the results attained after processing the
HPLC analysis of Amoxicillin using AccQ-fluor reagent for pre-column derivatization

A simple procedure to perform for the determination of amoxicillin is presented, based on reaction with 1-[(quinolin-6-ylcarbamoyl)oxy]pyrrolidine-2,5-dione (AccQ-Fluor) in borate buffer medium at pH of 7.4. The resulting amoxicillin+AccQ-Fluor derivative was determined by reversed-phase chromatography with combined fluorescence (λex=245 nm/λem=368 nm) and UV detection (λ=245 nm) for control. The calibration graph was linear (r=0.9992 ) over the range 5.0-30 μg/mL. The method was applied to the determination of amoxicillin in pharmaceutical formulations with acceptable precision and accuracy.
The cytoproct of Paramecium caudatum: structure and function, microtubules, and fate of food vacuole membranes.

The cytoproct or cell anus of Paramecium caudatum was studied, using light optics and electron microscopy, at known times before, during and following food vacuole egestion. This was accomplished by microscopically observing single cells, fixing these cells at specific times and finally serial sectioning these individually processed cells. The cytoproct, at rest, is a long narrow ridge along the posterior suture. It contains 2 uniquely positioned components which identify this structure as the cytoproct: piles of fibres along the inside surfaces of the ridge, and microtubules passing from the epiplasm at the summit of the ridge down into the cytoplasm. The plasma membrane is continuous over the top of the ridge. The cortical basal bodies adjacent to the ridge have bundles of microtubules passing into the cytoplasm from an opaque plaque at their proximal ends. These 2 sets of microtubules may function in guiding the food vacuoles to the cytoproct. A model is presented in which motive forces generated between the microtubules and the food vacuole membrane bring the food vacuole to the cytoproct and, in addition, pull the cytoproct lips apart so that the food vacuole membrane and plasma membrane come into contact and fuse together, thus opening the food vacuole to the outside. The plasma membrane increases in area between the parting lips, possibly, as the result of intercalation of membrane vesicles into the plasma membrane at the top of the ridge. Immediately after this opening is formed the food vacuole membrane changes from a smooth topography to a highly convoluted one. The membrane is engulfed through a process of endocytosis resulting in an accumulation of membranous fragments in the cytoplasm below the cytoproct. The endocytic forces probably bring about the restitution of the cytoproct ridge by pulling the lips back together as the membrane is engulfed. A filamentous meshwork underlying the food vacuole membrane may be active in this endocytic process.
Morphology control of rutile TiO2 hierarchical architectures and their excellent field emission properties

Titanium dioxide nanoarchitectures with well-defined morphologies have been successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal process at temperature 180 °C for 4 h using titanium butoxide, oleic acid and hydrochloric acid as precursor materials. Different hierarchical morphologies such as cauliflower, 3D microsphere, densely-packed nanorod array, step edge faceted nanorod, branched structures of the rutile TiO2 nanostructures could be easily controlled by varying the volume fraction of the added hydrochloric acid. The structural, photoluminescence and field emission properties of the as-prepared nanoarchitectures were investigated. Among the different morphologies, dense nanorod arrays and multilevel branched architectures showed good field emission properties. Morphology, surface-related defects and oxygen vacancies were found to be the major responsible factors for the observed variations of field emission properties. Compared to any previously reported TiO2 based field emitter, lower turn-on field at 2.76 V μm−1 and higher field-enhancement factors 7.44 × 103 were observed for the hierarchically dense TiO2 nanorods array. Therefore, these nanoarchitectures can be used in vacuum microelectronic applications.
The Social Security Earnings Test Revisited: Information, Distortions, and Costs

The labor supply and benet claiming incentives provided by the early retirement rules of the Social Security Old Age benets program are of growing importance as the Normal Retirement Age (NRA) increases to 67, the labor force participation of older Americans rises, and a variety of reforms to the Social Security system are considered. Any reform needs to take into account the effects and rationale of the Social Security Earnings Test and the Actuarial Adjustment Factor, which are widely misunderstood due to the relatively little attention paid by policy makers and researchers to the fact that Americans are willing to work while receiving benets. We describe these incentives, and emphasize that individuals who claim benets before the NRA but continue to work, or return to the labor force, can reduce the early retirement penalty by suspending the collection of monthly benets if they earn above the Earnings Test limit. We then argue that the Earnings Test can be distortionary and is costly to administer, and that these characteristics are inated by the lack of information given to older Americans regarding the consequences of working while receiving retirement benets. We discuss reform scenarios including the removal of the Earnings Test. We conclude that removing the Earnings Test, while giving individuals the option to suspend benets to increase the rate of benets after the NRA, is likely to be a welfare improving policy option from both the administrative and the individual perspective, unless the Social Security Administration is willing to invest more in informing the public about the fairly complex trade-offs linked to the decision of working while receiving benets.
Extraction of vertical cylinder contacting area for motorcycle safety verification

Japanese motorcycle manufacturers define a safety regulation regarding the motorcycle shape to prevent injury to pedestrians in the event of a crash. To satisfy the regulation, the external surface of the motorcycle must have a sufficient degree of roundness if there is any chance that it could contact a vertical cylinder having a diameter of 300 mm approximating the human body. In this paper, we propose a novel method for assisting in the safety regulation inspection. This method extracts the surface regions of the tessellated motorcycle body where the vertical cylindrical column contacts and the surface region radius is less than 4mm. The parallel processing capability of a graphics processing unit (GPU) is used to accelerate the extraction task of identifying the column contacting area. A systemusing our algorithm candetect surface areas on themotorcycle bodywhere the safety regulation is not satisfied.
Estimation of Temperature, Pressure and Oxygen Fugacity of the Cal-Alkaline Basin-Type Granitoids in the Winneba Area, Ghana

In Ghana, the granitoids rocks are in two different groups, thus the basin type granitoid and the belt type granitoids. These granitoids have been studied petrographycally mineralogically and geochemically, especially the belt-type granitoids since it is the major host of gold occurrences in Ghana, however there are little studies on the petrogenesis and emplacement conditions of this important rock. In this paper we present the lacking knowledge on the emplacement conditions (temperature, pressure and the oxygen fugacity) of the basin-type granitoids in the winneba area of Ghana.The calc-alkaline basin-type granitoids in the Winneba area is composed of quartz+ plagioclase +potash feldspar+ alkali feldspar+ Biotite+ Hornblende +amphibole+ titanite. The plagioclase composition ranges from Ab58 An1.7 Or0.45 to Ab98 An41 Or41 and mainly in the field of albite and oligoclase. The amphiboles however have a compositional range of Mg/(Mg +Fe) ranging from 0.52 to 0.62 and a Si content of 7.1 to 7.4 atom per formula unit (afu). Their end-member compositions in the classification diagram are controlled by Magnesio-Hornblend, tschermakitic-Hornblend, and tschemakite substitution types. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analyses of coexisting hornblende and plagioclase (hornblende-plagioclase thermometry), Al content in hornblende (aluminum-in-hornblende barometry) and the assemblage titanite-magnetite-quartz were used to constrain the P, T and fO2 during the crystallization of the parent magmas. The estimated temperature indicated an average temperature of crystallization of 677oC reflecting late crystallization from highly oxidized magma (log fO2 -20 bars). The rocks were emplaced at an average pressure of 2.2 kbars corresponding to approximately 8 km depth of below the crust.
Aging and cell death in the other yeasts, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Candida albicans.

How do cells age and die? For the past 20 years, the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been used as a model organism to uncover the genes that regulate lifespan and cell death. More recently, investigators have begun to interrogate the other yeasts, the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and the human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, to determine if similar longevity and cell death pathways exist in these organisms. After summarizing the longevity and cell death phenotypes in S. cerevisiae, this mini-review surveys the progress made in the study of both aging and programed cell death (PCD) in the yeast models, with a focus on the biology of S. pombe and C. albicans. Particular emphasis is placed on the similarities and differences between the two types of aging, replicative aging, and chronological aging, and between the three types of cell death, intrinsic apoptosis, autophagic cell death, and regulated necrosis, found in these yeasts. The development of the additional microbial models for aging and PCD in the other yeasts may help further elucidate the mechanisms of longevity and cell death regulation in eukaryotes.
Neuro-Feedback Training For Overweight Women: Improvement of Food Craving And Mental Health

Major risk factors for diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and cancer (prostate, intestine, breast, etc.) are obesity and being overweight. This study aims to investigating the effect of neurofeedback training to food craving and mental health in overweight women. To this aim, thirty overweight women were divided into two groups; neurofeedback and control groups, using a simple random method. In this experiment, which was accompanied with pre-test and post-test with the control group, women in the experimental group received 10 sessions of neurofeedback. Both experimental and control subjects filled the food craving and general health questionnaire before and after the intervention. Univariate analysis of covariance was used for data analysis. The results showed a significant difference in food craving and mental health between the neurofeedback group and control group. The results showed that neurofeedback training can be considered as one of the complementary therapy intervention, in the field of obesity and overweight.
The Relative Influence of Diapycnal Mixing and Hydrologic Forcing on the Stability of the Thermohaline Circulation

Abstract Scaling analysis of the oceanic thermohaline circulation has been done under two types of surface boundary conditions: (i) Under “relaxation” conditions (sea surface temperature and salinity are relaxed to prescribed values), there is a two-thirds power law dependence of the meridional overturning (and the poleward heat transport) on the diapycnal diffusivity. For any given external forcing, there is only one equilibrium state for the thermohaline circulation. (ii) Under “mixed” boundary conditions (temperature is relaxed to prescribed values and a virtual salt flux condition is used for salinity), multiple equilibria become possible. For a given thermal forcing, the existence of multiple equilibria depends on the relative contributions of diapycnal diffusivity and the hydrologic forcing: for each diapycnal diffusivity K, there is a threshold freshwater flux Ec = CK2/3 (C is a constant) below which three modes are possible with one stable thermal mode, one unstable thermal mode, and a stable hali.