Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diverse Microbiota Identified in Whole Intact Nest Chambers of the Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis (Linnaeus 1758)

Microbial activity is known to have profound impact on bee ecology and physiology, both by beneficial and pathogenic effects. Most information about such associations is available for colony-building organisms, and especially the honey bee. There, active manipulations through worker bees result in a restricted diversity of microbes present within the colony environment. Microbial diversity in solitary bee nests remains unstudied, although their larvae face a very different situation compared with social bees by growing up in isolated compartments. Here, we assessed the microbiota present in nests and pre-adults of Osmia bicornis, the red mason bee, by culture-independent pyrosequencing. We found high bacterial diversity not comparable with honey bee colonies. We identified a variety of bacteria potentially with positive or negative interactions for bee larvae. However, most of the other diverse bacteria present in the nests seem to originate from environmental sources through incorporated nest building material and stored pollen. This diversity of microorganisms may cause severe larval mortality and require specific physiological or symbiotic adaptations against microbial threats. They may however also profit from such a diverse environment through gain of mutualistic partners. We conclude that further studies of microbiota interaction in solitary bees will improve the understanding of fitness components and populations dynamics.
Towards autonomous self-assessment of digital maps

Digital maps are becoming increasingly important for driver assistance systems: providing optimal lighting conditions in night scenarios, presenting the road geometry to the driver, or for usage in autonomous driving tasks. However, recorded digital maps own one drawback: due to road changes and inaccurate recordings, discrepancies between the map and the real world exist. Because these discrepancies can lead to severe application level failures, detection of map errors is essential to ensure overall system integrity. This work proposes a new approach to online verification of digital maps for automotive usage. In contrast to previous work, the described system is able to detect errors in front of the vehicle. On the basis of a large database of map geometry and sensor information, a neural network is trained to classify the digital map integrity by optimally fusing different information sources depending on their strength and reliability. Although generally applicable, it is shown that a combination of orthogonal measurement principles is greatly beneficial for this decision task. A radar sensor, infra-red imagery and road geometry information estimated from visible light images are employed as input for the neural fusion. Experiments on real-world data verify the proposed concepts.
Orthodontics: Bracket Materials, Adhesives Systems, and Their Bond Strength

Adhesive interfaces influence greatly clinical success of modern dentistry. Durability of the interface can be determined by using several in vitro testing methods. Shear bond strength tests are widely used in dentistry and they are well suitable for testing orthodontic materials bonded to teeth. The first study that analyzed shear bond strength of orthodontic appliances appeared in international literature in the late 1970s [1]. Nowadays, more than one thousand reports have been conducted in order to analyze various factors influencing shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets. Precise interpretation of the shear bond strength test results should, however, take into account other types of stress which are occurring at the interface during testing.
How emotional arousal raises the stakes of mental competition

Our everyday surroundings besiege us with information. The battle is for a share of our limited attention and memory, with the brain selecting the winners and discarding the losers. Previous research shows that both bottom–up and top–down factors bias competition in favor of high priority stimuli. We propose that arousal during an event increases this bias both in perception and in long-term memory of the event. Arousal-biased competition theory provides specific predictions about when arousal will enhance memory for events and when it will impair it, which accounts for some puzzling contradictions in the emotional memory literature.
Telephone Conversation Speaker Recogniton System Based on Speech Purify

In this paper, we present a telephone conversation speaker verification system. We use the most popular approaches which based on distance measure and then followed by a hierarchical clustering to segment the speaker from the conversation. In order to get cleaner speech, the approach based on Purity Criterion is introduced, it uses hierarchical clustering first and then scores the segment result again, the higher score speech segmentes are reserved while the other are discarded. we carry out experiments on the NIST’2006 SRE evaluation data set. The results show that the introduced method achieved better performance in equal error rate (EER).
Optimizing Topological Cascade Resilience Based on the Structure of Terrorist Networks

Complex socioeconomic networks such as information, finance and even terrorist networks need resilience to cascades - to prevent the failure of a single node from causing a far-reaching domino effect. We show that terrorist and guerrilla networks are uniquely cascade-resilient while maintaining high efficiency, but they become more vulnerable beyond a certain threshold. We also introduce an optimization method for constructing networks with high passive cascade resilience. The optimal networks are found to be based on cells, where each cell has a star topology. Counterintuitively, we find that there are conditions where networks should not be modified to stop cascades because doing so would come at a disproportionate loss of efficiency. Implementation of these findings can lead to more cascade-resilient networks in many diverse areas.
A new approach to simultaneous buffer insertion and wire sizing

We present a completely new approach to the problem of delay minimization by simultaneous buffer insertion and wire sizing for a wire. We show that the problem can be formulated as a convex quadratic program, which is known to be solvable in polynomial time. Nevertheless, we explore some special properties of our problem and derive on optimal and very efficient algorithm to solve the resulting program. Given m buffers and a set of n discrete choices of wire width, the running time of our algorithm is O(mn/sup 2/) and is independent of the wire length in practice. For example, an instance of 100 buffers and 100 choices of wire width can be solved in 3 seconds. Besides, our formulation is so versatile that it is easy to consider other objectives like wire area or power dissipation, or to add constraints to the solution. Also, wire capacitance lookup tables, or very general wire capacitance models which can capture area capacitance, fringing capacitance, coupling capacitance, etc. can be used.
AI Planning with Time and Resource Constraints

Planning deals with the problem of finding a partially ordered sequence of actions (plan) that transfers the world from some initial state to a desired state. Causal relations between actions play a critical role here. Introduction of explicit time and resources into planning is an important step towards modeling real-life problems. In this paper we propose a suboptimal domainindependent planning system Filuta that focuses on planning, where time plays a major role and resources are constrained. We benchmark Filuta on the planning problems with time and resources from the International Planning Competition 2008 and compare our results with the competition participants.
Serotonin, Amygdala and Fear: Assembling the Puzzle

The fear circuitry orchestrates defense mechanisms in response to environmental threats. This circuitry is evolutionarily crucial for survival, but its dysregulation is thought to play a major role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric conditions in humans. The amygdala is a key player in the processing of fear. This brain area is prominently modulated by the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT). The 5-HT input to the amygdala has drawn particular interest because genetic and pharmacological alterations of the 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) affect amygdala activation in response to emotional stimuli. Nonetheless, the impact of 5-HT on fear processing remains poorly understood.The aim of this review is to elucidate the physiological role of 5-HT in fear learning via its action on the neuronal circuits of the amygdala. Since 5-HT release increases in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) during both fear memory acquisition and expression, we examine whether and how 5-HT neurons encode aversive stimuli and aversive cues. Next, we describe pharmacological and genetic alterations of 5-HT neurotransmission that, in both rodents and humans, lead to altered fear learning. To explore the mechanisms through which 5-HT could modulate conditioned fear, we focus on the rodent BLA. We propose that a circuit-based approach taking into account the localization of specific 5-HT receptors on neurochemically-defined neurons in the BLA may be essential to decipher the role of 5-HT in emotional behavior. In keeping with a 5-HT control of fear learning, we review electrophysiological data suggesting that 5-HT regulates synaptic plasticity, spike synchrony and theta oscillations in the BLA via actions on different subcellular compartments of principal neurons and distinct GABAergic interneuron populations. Finally, we discuss how recently developed optogenetic tools combined with electrophysiological recordings and behavior could progress the knowledge of the mechanisms underlying 5-HT modulation of fear learning via action on amygdala circuits. Such advancement could pave the way for a deeper understanding of 5-HT in emotional behavior in both health and disease.
Semiflexible Chains at Surfaces: Worm-Like Chains and beyond

We give an extended review of recent numerical and analytical studies on semiflexible chains near surfaces undertaken at Institut Charles Sadron (sometimes in collaboration) with a focus on static properties. The statistical physics of thin confined layers, strict two-dimensional (2D) layers and adsorption layers (both at equilibrium with the dilute bath and from irreversible chemisorption) are discussed for the well-known worm-like-chain (WLC) model. There is mounting evidence that biofilaments (except stable d-DNA) are not fully described by the WLC model. A number of augmented models, like the (super) helical WLC model, the polymorphic model of microtubules (MT) and a model with (strongly) nonlinear flexural elasticity are presented, and some aspects of their surface behavior are analyzed. In many cases, we use approaches different from those in our previous work, give additional results and try to adopt a more general point of view with the hope to shed some light on this complex field.
Involvement of CCR9 at multiple stages of adult T lymphopoiesis

The chemokine CCL25 is constitutively expressed in the thymus, and its receptor CCR9 is expressed on subsets of developing thymocytes. Nevertheless, the function of CCL25/CCR9 in adult thymopoiesis remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that purified CCR9−/− hematopoietic stem cells are deficient in their ability to generate all major thymocyte subsets including double‐negative 1 (DN1) cells in competitive transfers. CCR9−/− bone marrow contained normal numbers of lineage− Sca‐1+c‐kit+, common lymphoid progenitors, and lymphoid‐primed multipotent progenitors (LMPP), and CCR9−/− LMPP showed similar T cell potential as their wild‐type (WT) counterparts when cultured on OP9–δ‐like 1 stromal cells. In contrast, early thymic progenitor and DN2 thymocyte numbers were reduced in the thymus of adult CCR9−/− mice. In fetal thymic organ cultures (FTOC), CCR9−/− DN1 cells were as efficient as WT DN1 cells in generating double‐positive (DP) thymocytes; however, under competitive FTOC, CCR9−/− DP cell numbers were reduced significantly. Similarly, following intrathymic injection into sublethally irradiated recipients, CCR9−/− DN cells were out‐competed by WT DN cells in generating DP thymocytes. Finally, in competitive reaggregation thymic organ cultures, CCR9−/− preselection DP thymocytes were disadvantaged significantly in their ability to generate CD4 single‐positive (SP) thymocytes, a finding that correlated with a reduced ability to form TCR‐MHC‐dependent conjugates with thymic epithelial cells. Together, these results highlight a role for CCR9 at several stages of adult thymopoiesis: in hematopoietic progenitor seeding of the thymus, in the DN‐DP thymocyte transition, and in the generation of CD4 SP thymocytes.
An Evolved Wavelet Library Based on Genetic Algorithm

As the size of the images being captured increases, there is a need for a robust algorithm for image compression which satiates the bandwidth limitation of the transmitted channels and preserves the image resolution without considerable loss in the image quality. Many conventional image compression algorithms use wavelet transform which can significantly reduce the number of bits needed to represent a pixel and the process of quantization and thresholding further increases the compression. In this paper the authors evolve two sets of wavelet filter coefficients using genetic algorithm (GA), one for the whole image portion except the edge areas and the other for the portions near the edges in the image (i.e., global and local filters). Images are initially separated into several groups based on their frequency content, edges, and textures and the wavelet filter coefficients are evolved separately for each group. As there is a possibility of the GA settling in local maximum, we introduce a new shuffling operator to prevent the GA from this effect. The GA used to evolve filter coefficients primarily focuses on maximizing the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR). The evolved filter coefficients by the proposed method outperform the existing methods by a 0.31 dB improvement in the average PSNR and a 0.39 dB improvement in the maximum PSNR.
Vacancy induced phonon properties of hydrogen passivated graphene

The phonon properties of hydrogen passivated graphene with vacancy defects are studied using the forced vibrational method. The phonon density of states (PDOS) and typical mode patterns are calculated over a broad range of vacancies. We find that phonon properties of graphene strongly depend on the system size. We observe a broadening and softening of the PDOS peaks with the increase of vacancy concentrations. We find an increasing C-H stretching mode with the increase of defect density. Our numerical experiments reveal that the typical mode pattern for K point in-plane TO modes phonon show the spatial localized vibrations persuaded by vacancy defects, which are in conceptually good agreement with the experimental results of the large D band peak of the Raman spectra comes from the imperfections of crystal. The typical displacement pattern for C-H stretching mode shows a random displacement of H atoms in contrast to C atoms. Our simulation results show the significant impact of vacancy defects on the vibrational properties of graphene.
Characteristic Change of Activated Carbon under Microwave Irradiation

Microwave heating technology coupling with adsorption performance and reduction capability of activated carbon can achieve high removal efficiencies for SO2 and NOx. In this paper, experimental studies of the nature of activated carbon in microwave field, including the temperature elevation of activated carbon and some factors influencing on the carbon mass loss, such as microwave power, oxygen content, activated carbon mass and irradiation time etc., were carried out. The temperature elevation behavior of activated carbon in microwave field depends mainly on the microwave power. The rate of activated carbon loss increases along with the improvement of microwave power, and the longer the irradiation time, the higher the mass loss rate of activated carbon, the activated carbon wears down seriously in 150 seconds. The rate of activated carton loss also increases gradually with the rising of oxygen content. In the range of 2% and 4% of oxygen content, the increasing gradient of the rate of activated carbon loss is significant. The rate of activated carbon loss decreases linearly with the increase of activated carbon loss. Microwave treatment reduces the specific surface area from 1674.13 m2/g to 1598.17 m2/g while the pore volume is slightly reduced.
Persistent store-based dual replication system for distributed SDN controller

In Software Defined Networking, the role of the centralized controller is paramount. Some SDN controllers adopt a distributed clustering mechanism for keeping normal operation of the whole network. Unfortunately, the data loss and the lack of consistency are unavoidable in this approach, because many controllers depend on volatile memory to store most of the important data. In case of restarting or machine failure, all data in memory can't be recovered. Therefore, we propose persistent store-based dual replication system for maintaining and backing a data of distributed SDN controller. Storing data in the persistent store can reduce Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) and consequently enhance the reliability and availability of the system.
A web of concepts

We make the case for developing a web of concepts by starting with the current view of web (comprised of hyperlinked pages, or documents, each seen as a bag of words), extracting concept-centric metadata, and stitching it together to create a semantically rich aggregate view of all the information available on the web for each concept instance. The goal of building and maintaining such a web of concepts presents many challenges, but also offers the promise of enabling many powerful applications, including novel search and information discovery paradigms. We present the goal, motivate it with example usage scenarios and some analysis of Yahoo! logs, and discuss the challenges in building and leveraging such a web of concepts. We place this ambitious research agenda in the context of the state of the art in the literature, and describe various ongoing efforts at Yahoo! Research that are related.
Eclipse maps of spiral shocks in the accretion disc of IP Pegasi in outburst

Eclipse light curves of the dwarf nova IP Peg during the 1996 November outburst are analysed with eclipse mapping techniques to constrain the location and investigate the spatial structure of the spiral shocks observed in the Doppler tomograms of Harlaftis et al. Eclipse maps in the blue continuum and in the C iii+N iiiλ4650 emission line show two asymmetric arcs of ∼90° in azimuth, extending from the intermediate to the outer disc regions R≃(0.2–0.6)RL1, where RL1 is the distance from the disc centre to the inner Lagrangian point], which are interpreted as being the spiral shocks seen in the Doppler tomograms. The He iiλ4686 eclipse map also shows two asymmetric arcs diluted by a central brightness source. The central source probably corresponds to the low-velocity component seen in the Doppler tomogram, and is understood in terms of gas outflow in a wind emanating from the inner parts of the disc. We estimate that the spirals contribute about 16 and 30 per cent of the total line flux, respectively, for the He ii and C iii+N iii lines. Comparison of the Doppler and eclipse maps reveals that the Keplerian velocities derived from the radial position of the shocks are systematically larger than those inferred from the Doppler tomography, indicating that the gas in the spiral shocks has sub-Keplerian velocities. We undertake simulations with the aim of investigating the effect of artefacts on the image reconstruction of the spiral structures.
Cognitive Radio Prototyping

Future wireless systems have been evolving toward a broadband and open architecture for efficient multi-service operation, which will have a great impact on the terminal and infrastructure component design methodology for supporting multiple radio schemes. Cooperation in wireless networks, requiring cognitive radio implementations, will facilitate a new dimension in the evolution of multimedia communications. The growing price pressure requires ever increasing high levels of integration efficiency, of flexibility and of future proofness at the same time, setting out in the digital baseband domain. In this communication, the authors will illustrate a platform based prototyping process, setting out from the paradigm developed in the IST-27960 STREP URANUS (UNIVERSAL RADIO-LINK PLATFORM FOR EFFICIENT USER-CENTRIC ACCESS). URANUS investigates the design of a universal radio link platform able to be incorporated in any existing proprietary and standardized wireless system in a seamless way, to ease the introduction of future personalized communications and reconfigurable air interfaces.
Abnormal salience signaling in schizophrenia: The role of integrative beta oscillations

Aberrant salience attribution and cerebral dysconnectivity both have strong evidential support as core dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Aberrant salience arising from an excess of dopamine activity has been implicated in delusions and hallucinations, exaggerating the significance of everyday occurrences and thus leading to perceptual distortions and delusional causal inferences. Meanwhile, abnormalities in key nodes of a salience brain network have been implicated in other characteristic symptoms, including the disorganization and impoverishment of mental activity. A substantial body of literature reports disruption to brain network connectivity in schizophrenia. Electrical oscillations likely play a key role in the coordination of brain activity at spatially remote sites, and evidence implicates beta band oscillations in long‐range integrative processes. We used magnetoencephalography and a task designed to disambiguate responses to relevant from irrelevant stimuli to investigate beta oscillations in nodes of a network implicated in salience detection and previously shown to be structurally and functionally abnormal in schizophrenia. Healthy participants, as expected, produced an enhanced beta synchronization to behaviorally relevant, as compared to irrelevant, stimuli, while patients with schizophrenia showed the reverse pattern: a greater beta synchronization in response to irrelevant than to relevant stimuli. These findings not only support both the aberrant salience and disconnectivity hypotheses, but indicate a common mechanism that allows us to integrate them into a single framework for understanding schizophrenia in terms of disrupted recruitment of contextually appropriate brain networks. Hum Brain Mapp 37:1361‐1374, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.