Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In situ marker‐based assessment of leaf trait evolutionary potential in a marginal European beech population

Evolutionary processes are expected to be crucial for the adaptation of natural populations to environmental changes. In particular, the capacity of rear edge populations to evolve in response to the species limiting conditions remains a major issue that requires to address their evolutionary potential. In situ quantitative genetic studies based on molecular markers offer the possibility to estimate evolutionary potentials manipulating neither the environment nor the individuals on which phenotypes are measured. The goal of this study was to estimate heritability and genetic correlations of a suite of leaf functional traits involved in climate adaptation for a natural population of the tree Fagus sylvatica, growing at the rear edge of the species range. Using two marker‐based quantitative genetics approaches, we obtained consistent and significant estimates of heritability for leaf phenological (phenology of leaf flush), morphological (mass, area, ratio mass/area) and physiological (δ13C, nitrogen content) traits. Moreover, we found only one significant positive genetic correlation between leaf area and leaf mass, which likely reflected mechanical constraints. We conclude first that the studied population has considerable genetic diversity for important ecophysiological traits regarding drought adaptation and, second, that genetic correlations are not likely to impose strong genetic constraints to future population evolution. Our results bring important insights into the question of the capacity of rear edge populations to evolve.
Edge-aware integration model for semantic labeling of rare classes

Rare class objects in natural images often convey semanti-cally important information than background for scene understanding, but they are often overlooked during image parsing due to their low occurrence frequency and limited spatial coverage. In this work, we present a superpixel-based and rare class-oriented scene labeling framework (sRCSL), which seamlessly incorporates edge features into an integration of global and local CNN models. A dual-mode coarse-to-fine superpixel representation is developed for accurate yet efficient labeling, where coarse and fine superpixels are applied to background and rare classes respectively. Furthermore, saliency detection is incorporated by the combination of probabilistic belief maps from local and global inference. Experimental results demonstrate promising performance of the proposed framework on the SIFTflow dataset both qualitatively and quantitatively for semantic labeling, especially for rare classes.
Improvement of Elite Female Athletes' Physical Performance With a 3-Week Unexpected Disturbance Program.

CONTEXT Sensorimotor training is commonly used in a rehabilitative setting; however, the effectiveness of an unexpected disturbance program (UDP) to enhance performance measures in uninjured elite athletes is unknown. OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of a 3-wk UDP program on strength, power, and proprioceptive measures. DESIGN Matched-group, pre-post design. SETTING National sport institute. PARTICIPANTS 21 international-level female field hockey athletes. INTERVENTION Two 45-min UDP sessions were incorporated into each week of a 3-wk training program (total 6 sessions). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES 1-repetition-maximum strength, lower-limb power, 20-m running speed, and proprioception tests were performed before and after the experimental period. RESULTS Substantial improvements in running sprint speed at 5-m (4.4 ± 2.6%; effect size [ES]: 0.88), 10-m (2.1 ± 1.9%; ES: 0.51), and 20-m (1.0 ± 1.6%; ES: 0.23) were observed in the UDP group. Squat-jump performance was also clearly enhanced when compared to the control group (3.1 ± 6.1%; ES: 0.23). Small but clear improvements in maximal strength were observed in both groups. CONCLUSIONS A 3-wk UDP can elicit clear enhancements in running sprint speed and concentric-only jump performance. These improvements are suggestive of enhanced explosive strength and are particularly notable given the elite training status of the cohort and relatively short duration of the intervention. Thus, the authors would reiterate the statement by Gruber et al (2004) that sensorimotor training is a "highly efficient" modality for improving explosive strength.
Low complexity video coding based on spatial resolution adaptation

In this paper, a novel spatial resolution adaptation approach for video compression is proposed. Its ability to dynamically apply downsampling to frames exhibiting low spatial detail delivers improved rate distortion performance, together with a reduction in computational complexity of the encoding process. This method is based on an experimental investigation of the dependence between the QP threshold, which determines when to encode lower resolution frames, and the distortion obtained after downsampling/upsampling. The proposed approach is integrated with the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) reference codec for intra coding, and evaluated on 15 high-resolution test sequences with varying levels of spatial detail. The results show a promising average bitrate savings of approximately 4% (B-D measurements), and significant complexity reduction (29% on average).
The Legalization of the Workplace

This study uses longitudinal data on nearly 300 American employmers over the period 1955-85 to analyze the adoption of disciplinary hearings and grievance procedures for nonunion salaried and hourly emplyees. Hypotheses are developed from an institutional perspective that focuses, first, on uncertainty arisin from government mandates concerning equal employment opportunity and affirmative action and, second, on the role of the human relations professsions in constructing employment-relations law and prescribing models of compliance. Event-history techniques are used to test these hypotheses against competing arguments concerning the internatural structure and labor market position of employing organizations. Results on all outcomes strongly support the institutionalist model.
Ranking Low, Feeling High: How Hierarchical Position and Experienced Power Promote Prosocial Behavior in Response to Procedural Justice

Research shows that power can lead to prosocial behavior by facilitating the behavioral expression of dispositional prosocial motivation. However, it is not clear how power may facilitate responses to contextual factors that promote prosocial motivation. Integrating fairness heuristic theory and the situated focus theory of power, we argue that in particular, organization members in lower (vs. higher) hierarchical positions who simultaneously experience a high (vs. low) sense of power respond with prosocial behavior to 1 important antecedent of prosocial motivation, that is, the enactment of procedural justice. The results from a multisource survey among employees and their leaders from various organizations (Study 1) and an experiment using a public goods dilemma (Study 2) support this prediction. Three subsequent experiments (Studies 3–5) show that this effect is mediated by perceptions of authority trustworthiness. Taken together, this research (a) helps resolve the debate regarding whether power promotes or undermines prosocial behavior, (b) demonstrates that hierarchical position and the sense of power can have very different effects on processes that are vital to the functioning of an organization, and (c) helps solve ambiguity regarding the roles of hierarchical position and power in fairness heuristic theory.
Metal-polymer nanocomposites

Abstract: Polymers have low strength and stiffness, high dielectric strength and poor thermal properties. They are poor conductors of electricity and heat and are non-magnetic. Attempts have been made to change and improve some of these to increase the range of applications. Recently, researchers have shown interest in using nanoparticles. This chapter looks at metal nanoparticles, which exhibit uniquely different electronic and optical properties from their bulk counterparts. It is these interesting new properties that are one of the driving forces for their incorporation in polymer matrices. Methods of incorporation of metal nanoparticles into a polymer, the resultant properties, applications and future trends will be discussed.
LDM Versus FDM/TDM for Unequal Error Protection in Terrestrial Broadcasting Systems: An Information-Theoretic View

In this paper, power-based layer-division multiplexing (LDM) is studied as a means to provide unequal error protection in digital terrestrial television (DTT) systems by adopting an information-theoretic approach. LDM can potentially offer fundamental performance gains as compared to traditional time-division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency-division multiplexing due to the reuse by all information layers of all the available time-frequency resources. The main use case of LDM for terrestrial broadcasting is the simultaneous provision of fixed and mobile services in the same channel. Since most DTT networks worldwide are dimensioned for fixed rooftop reception, this paper illustrates the performance comparison between LDM and F/TDM in terms of the capacity-coverage tradeoff of the mobile service for a given reduction of the capacity of the fixed service while keeping the coverage of the fixed service constant. A mathematical formulation, and corresponding numerical results, are provided for different fading channels, including single-input single-output, single-input multiple-output, multiple-input single-output, and multiple-input multiple-output antenna systems, and accounting also for the impact of non-ideal channel coding.
Upholding the human right of children in New Zealand experiencing communication difficulties to voice their needs and dreams

Abstract New Zealand Ministry of Education’s proposal for an updated service to support children experiencing communication difficulties provides an opportunity to consider the essential criteria required for children to express their opinion, information and ideas as outlined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This commentary begins with a summary of key policies that provide strategic direction for enhancing children’s rights to be actively involved in the development of services designed to support them and to communicate and participate in inclusive environments. The authors use a human rights lens to inform the development of speech-language pathology services that facilitate individuals’ contribution and engagement and are responsive to their needs. A review of international literature describing the lived experience of children and young people identifies key factors related to accessible information, service coordination, holistic practice, and partnerships that facilitate co-constructed understanding and decision-making. The commentary concludes with suggested recommendations for structuring services, establishing partnership models, and capability building.
Individual versus pseudo‐repeatability in behaviour: Lessons from translocation experiments in a wild insect

Repeatability represents a key parameter in ecological and evolutionary research. Repeatability is underpinned by developmental plasticity and genetic variation but may become biased upwards by repeatable differences in environments to which individuals respond plastically. The extent of upward bias caused by the latter mechanism (causing "pseudo-repeatability") is important yet rarely investigated in ecological research. We repeatedly assayed a key behaviour (flight initiation distance) affecting longevity in a wild cricket population (Gryllus campestris). We used naturally moving, translocated and forced-stationary individuals to study bias in repeatability caused by spatial variability in environmental conditions. Our experiments acknowledged that translocations might themselves bias repeatability estimates if animals respond to handling procedures (a necessary component of translocations). Individuals were, therefore, either (i) repeatedly translocated and assayed or (ii) assayed at multiple burrows as part of natural movements. This enabled estimation of behavioural variance attributable to individual, burrow and residual components within each treatment; comparison across treatments addressed whether translocations caused bias. We also calculated repeatability for individuals that were forced to be stationary to investigate whether this led to upward bias of repeatability. For adult crickets, individual explained 17.8% versus 17.2%, and burrow 8.7% versus 10.3%, of the behavioural variance in translocated versus natural-movement treatments. Repeatability for forced-stationary adults was 31.1%, thereby demonstrating experimentally that certain study designs bias repeatability upwards. For translocated juveniles, individual explained 10.0% and burrow 6.0% of the variance, while in the natural-movement treatment, those components could not be separated as juveniles do not switch burrows. Translocations did not lead to detectable biases in behavioural mean or variance. Repeatability was not biased for adults subjected to the natural-movement treatment because individuals were assayed under many different environments, facilitating the separation of individual from burrow effects. Upward bias would have occurred with less optimal sampling schemes: if individuals had been assayed repeatedly at the same burrow. We, therefore, recommend that translocation experiments are more commonly applied, particularly in stationary species, to ensure the unbiased estimation of repeatability.
Her2 oncogene transformation enhances 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated protoporphyrin IX production and photodynamic therapy response

Enhanced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) production in tumors derived from the administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) enables the use of ALA as a prodrug for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and fluorescence-guided tumor resection. Although ALA has been successfully used in the clinic, the mechanism underlying enhanced ALA-induced PpIX production in tumors is not well understood. Human epidermal growth receptor 2 (Her2, Neu, ErbB2) is a driver oncogene in human cancers, particularly breast cancers. Here we showed that, in addition to activating Her2/Neu cell signaling, inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition and upregulating glycolytic enzymes, transfection of NeuT (a mutated Her2/Neu) oncogene in MCF10A human breast epithelial cells significantly enhanced ALA-induced PpIX fluorescence by elevating some enzymes involved in PpIX biosynthesis. Furthermore, NeuT-transformed and vector control cells exhibited drastic differences in the intracellular localization of PpIX, either produced endogenously from ALA or applied exogenously. In vector control cells, PpIX displayed a cell contact-dependent membrane localization at high cell densities and increased mitochondrial localization at low cell densities. In contrast, no predominant membrane localization of PpIX was observed in NeuT cells and ALA-induced PpIX showed a consistent mitochondrial localization regardless of cell density. PDT with ALA caused significantly more decrease in cell viability in NeuT cells than in vector cells. Our data demonstrate that NeuT oncogene transformation enhanced ALA-induced PpIX production and altered PpIX intracellular localization, rendering NeuT-transformed cells increased response to ALA-mediated PDT. These results support the use of ALA for imaging and photodynamic targeting Her2/Neu-positive tumors.
Microsurgical Engineering: Bilateral Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator Flap with Flow-Through Intraflap Anastomosis

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck affects a significant number of people around the world every year. Treatment generally entails surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or some combination of the three. Following resection, microsurgical reconstruction can provide definitive coverage, replace many tissue types simultaneously, and bring healthy tissue to irradiated wound beds. Microsurgical engineering, the manipulation and reorganization of native vascular tissue, can further augment the adaptability of free tissue transfer to complex, compromised wound beds. We present one such case. The patient described in the following report was treated for a recurrent SCC of the left face, which required extensive resection resulting in a complex, composite tissue defect with compromised vascular supply. Using the principals of microsurgical engineering, definitive coverage of the defect, with accept- able aesthetic result, was achieved via bipedicle, DIEP flap with flow-through intraflap anastomosis.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SENSITIVITY AND STABILITY OF MULTIVARIABLE FEEDBACK SYSTEMS.

Both comparison sensitivity and robust stability analysis attempt to extend concepts which are well understood in scalar feedback systems to multivariable control system design. Although the two bodies of work have developed about a decade apart, the basic philosophies are similar. Both attempt to maintain a system property (sensitivity reduction versus stability) in the presence of plant modeling errors. This paper demonstrates how the similarity in philosophy translates into a similarity in results and interpretations.
Local optimization of a Sierpinski carpet fractal antenna

This paper proposes applying local optimization on fractal antennas to design a miniature multiband microstrip antenna. A carpet fractal of fourth iteration is designed within a patch area of 40.5 mm × 40.5 mm on a substrate with a relative permittivity of 3.38 and a thickness of 1.52mm. Local optimization is applied to fine-tune the location and size of each slot as well as the location of the feed position. The design objectives were to allocate the antenna resonance at a frequency less than 2 GHz, ensure a broadside radiation at the resonant frequency and increase the antenna directivity. The results indicate that the performance of the fractal antenna can be considerably improved by local adjustment of its geometry parameters. The optimized fractal antenna has been fabricated and its performance has been measured.
Path reestablishment in Wireless Sensor Networks

In in-network data aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), selection of communication paths and aggregation points are critical network requirements. They enable efficient use of network resources in constrained environments. Base Station (BS) driven routing protocols are prime enablers to implement such network requirements. In Base Station (BS) driven routing protocols the BS proactively finds a path to communicate with each node in the network. However, if a node in the network fails or goes to sleep; the communication path between the BS and some nodes in the network is disabled and these nodes are disconnected from the BS. In this paper, an algorithm to reestablish a communication path between these disconnected nodes and the BS, is proposed. The reestablishment of paths add fault-tolerance; and facilitate retention of connectivity of the nodes in the network to enable communication with the BS. The results demonstrate the merit of the proposed algorithm.
Key Human-Centered Transition Issues for Future Oceanic Air Traffic Control Systems

Communication, navigation, surveillance, and decision support capabilities in Oceanic air traffic control are evolving significantly. It is important to consider the effect of the changes on the controller’s task. In this paper the results from multi-disciplinary studies performed at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and the University of Iceland are presented. At MIT, a human-centered systems analysis was used to identify key human factors issues for the future Oceanic air traffic control environment to be experimentally investigated. At the University of Iceland, a prototype for a future air traffic control display was designed and evaluated. Both studies identified three key human factors issues that require consideration. The first is a mismatch between time and space separation restrictions imposed and information support provided, requiring the controller to cognitively resolve temporal/spatial mismatches to meet restrictions. The second issue is the effects of mixed communication and surveillance equipage, which complicates the control task and requires the controller to cognitively integrate asynchronous information. The final is the importance of cultivating controller trust and understanding issues of complacency and automation disuse when implementing highly automated conflict probes that are being considered in the future Oceanic environments.
Tensor Field Networks: Rotation- and Translation-Equivariant Neural Networks for 3D Point Clouds

We introduce tensor field neural networks, which are locally equivariant to 3D rotations, translations, and permutations of points at every layer. 3D rotation equivariance removes the need for data augmentation to identify features in arbitrary orientations. Our network uses filters built from spherical harmonics; due to the mathematical consequences of this filter choice, each layer accepts as input (and guarantees as output) scalars, vectors, and higher-order tensors, in the geometric sense of these terms. We demonstrate the capabilities of tensor field networks with tasks in geometry, physics, and chemistry.
Oscilloscope Probes for Power Electronics: Be Sure to Choose the Right Probe for Accurate Measurements

Oscilloscopes are the go-to instruments for designing and debugging power electronics circuits of all types. However, probing in the realm of power electronics is not as simple as plugging in a probe and poking around in the circuit. Whenever you're working with power electronics, there's a high likelihood that you will encounter potentially lethal voltages, higher than 60 V, or the safety extra-low voltage. It is important to use a probe with an appropriate safety rating to avoid harm to the operator and damage to the device being tested, but a probe's safety rating doesn't ensure an accurate measurement of the in-circuit signal. It is best to choose a probe with an appropriate safety rating and topology for accurate measurements in the specific measurement application.
Top-Down Prioritization of Salient Items May Produce the So-Called Stimulus-Driven Capture

The current study proposes that top-down attentional prioritization of salient items may produce the so-called stimulus-driven capture. To test this proposal, the “expectation-based paradigm” was designed on the basis of a visual search task. In Experiment 1, a task-irrelevant singleton frame was presented at the same location in 70% of the trials. The target was either presented at chance level within the singleton location, or away from it. In line with the singleton capture phenomenon, participants were faster in identifying the target when it appeared in the singleton location compared to non-singleton locations. However, leaving out the singleton frame in 30% of the trials led to a similar effect; participants were faster in identifying the target when it appeared in the expected singleton location compared to expected non-singletons locations (a “quasi-capture” effect). These results suggest that the participants allocated their attention to the expected singleton location, rather than that the singleton itself captured attention. In Experiment 2, the same task-irrelevant color singleton was presented in a random position in 70% of the trials. This color frame was shown as a non-singleton in all of the 30% singleton-absent multicolored trials. A similar facilitation effect was obtained when the target appeared in the expected singleton color frame compared to other frames, in singleton-absent trials as in singleton-present trials. These results further support the idea that instances of singleton capture can be explained by top-down attentional shifts toward singleton items. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed. Mostly, the study calls to consider the possibility that all sources of attentional control may be represented by a continuous variable of top-down control, including the category of “physical salience. ”