Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Structural Dynamics of the Janj Mixed Old-Growth Mountain Forest in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Are Conifers in a Long-Term Decline?

Regression of conifers in European mixed old-growth mountain forests has been observed for a long period and studied from different aspects. Old-growth (OG) forests in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have not experienced heavy air pollution and chronic overbrowsing that have affected many other European OG forests, while climatic and anthropogenic disturbances have been well documented. We analysed stand structure in the Janj OG forest, compared it with inventories of Lom and Perucica OG forests (BiH) and with earlier inventories of the same reserves. At present, OG forest Janj is characterized by a high growing stock (1215 m 3 ·ha −1 ). This is due to good site quality, prevalence of conifers (84%) and dominant endogenous processes in recent decades. In all three OG forests, indicators of structural change exhibited progression of European beech over time. Historical evidence revealed the occurrence of warm summers and droughts followed by
Cholinergic Inhibition of Neocortical Pyramidal Neurons

Acetylcholine (ACh) is a central neurotransmitter critical for normal cognitive function. Here we show that transient muscarinic acetylcholine receptor activation directly inhibits neocortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons. Using whole-cell and cell-attached recordings from neurons in slices of rat somatosensory cortex, we demonstrate that transient activation of M1-type muscarinic receptors induces calcium release from IP3-sensitive intracellular calcium stores and subsequent activation of an apamin-sensitive, SK-type calcium-activated potassium conductance. ACh-induced hyperpolarizing responses were blocked by atropine and pirenzepine but not by methoctramine or GABA receptor antagonists (picrotoxin, SR 95531 [2-(3-carboxypropyl)-3-amino-6-(4-methoxyphenyl)pyridazinium bromide], and CGP 55845 [(2S)-3-[[(15)-1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl]amino-2-hydroxypropyl](phenylmethyl)phosphinic acid]). Responses were associated with a 31 ± 5% increase in membrane conductance, had a reversal potential of -93 ± 1 mV, and were eliminated after internal calcium chelation with BAPTA, blockade of IP3 receptors, or extracellular application of cadmium but not by sodium channel blockade with tetrodotoxin. Calcium-imaging experiments demonstrated that ACh-induced hyperpolarizing, but not depolarizing, responses were correlated with large increases in intracellular calcium. Surprisingly, transient increases in muscarinic receptor activation were capable of generating hyperpolarizing responses even during periods of tonic muscarinic activation sufficient to depolarize neurons to action potential threshold. Furthermore, eserine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor similar to those used therapeutically in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, disproportionately enhanced the excitatory actions of acetylcholine while reducing the ability of acetylcholine to generate inhibitory responses during repeated applications of ACh. These data demonstrate that acetylcholine can directly inhibit the output of neocortical pyramidal neurons.
Advanced Segmentation Techniques for Lung Nodules, Liver Metastases, and Enlarged Lymph Nodes in CT Scans

This article presents advanced algorithms for segmenting lung nodules, liver metastases, and enlarged lymph nodes in CT scans. Segmentation and volumetry are essential tasks of a software assistant for oncological therapy monitoring. Our methods are based on a hybrid algorithm originally developed for lung nodules that combines a threshold-based approach with model-based morphological processing. We propose extensions that deal with particular challenges of each lesion type: lung nodules that are attached to non-convex parts of the pleura, rim-enhancing and peripheral liver metastases and lymph nodes with an extensive contact to structures of similar density. We evaluated our methods on several hundred lesions in clinical datasets and the quality of segmentations was rated by radiologists. The results were classified as acceptable or better in 81% to 92% of the cases for the different algorithms and readers.
Inhibition of projections from the basolateral amygdala to the entorhinal cortex disrupts the acquisition of contextual fear

The development of excessive fear and/or stress responses to environmental cues such as contexts associated with a traumatic event is a hallmark of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The basolateral amygdala (BLA) has been implicated as a key structure mediating contextual fear conditioning. In addition, the hippocampus has an integral role in the encoding and processing of contexts associated with strong, salient stimuli such as fear. Given that both the BLA and hippocampus play an important role in the regulation of contextual fear conditioning, examining the functional connectivity between these two structures may elucidate a role for this pathway in the development of PTSD. Here, we used optogenetic strategies to demonstrate that the BLA sends a strong glutamatergic projection to the hippocampal formation through the entorhinal cortex (EC). Next, we photoinhibited glutamatergic fibers from the BLA terminating in the EC during the acquisition or expression of contextual fear conditioning. In mice that received optical inhibition of the BLA-to-EC pathway during the acquisition session, we observed a significant decrease in freezing behavior in a context re-exposure session. In contrast, we observed no differences in freezing behavior in mice that were only photoinhibited during the context re-exposure session. These data demonstrate an important role for the BLA-to-EC glutamatergic pathway in the acquisition of contextual fear conditioning.
Does low temperature constrain the growth rates of heterotrophic protists? Evidence and implications for algal blooms in cold waters

Literature review and synthesis of growth rates of aquatic protists focused on the role of temperature in the formation of massive annual algal blooms in high‐latitude ecosystems. Maximal growth rates of herbivorous protists equaled or exceeded maximal growth rates of phototrophic protists at temperatures above 15°C. Maximal growth rates of herbivorous protists declined more rapidly with decreasing temperature than did those of phototrophic protists, and at the very low temperatures common to high‐latitude ecosystems, the maximal growth rates of herbivorous protists were less than half the maximal growth rates of phototrophic protists. Growth rates of herbivorous protists were consistently lower than those of bacterivorous protists and were unrelated to differences in cell volume between the two groups. Linear equations describing the relationship of the natural log of maximal growth rates of bacterivorous and herbivorous protists to temperature were generated and compared to published information for maximal growth rates of phototrophic protists and copepods. The three heterotrophic groups had similar slopes (0.12 for bacterivorous protists, 0.10 for herbivorous protists, and 0.13 for copepods) that were approximately double that of phototrophic protists (0.06). The massive annual algal blooms observed in high latitudes are due in part to a fundamental difference in the relationship between growth and temperature for phototrophic protists and their grazers.
Design by Analogy: A Study of the WordTree Method for Problem Re-Representation

This paper presents a novel approach, referred to as the WordTree design-by-analogymethod, for identifying distant-domain analogies as part of the ideation process. TheWordTree method derives its effectiveness through a design team’s knowledge and read-ily available information sources (e.g., patent databases, Google) and does not requirespecialized computational knowledge bases. A controlled cognitive experiment and anevaluation of the method with redesign projects illustrate the method’s inﬂuence in assist-ing engineers in design-by-analogy. Individuals using the WordTree method identiﬁedsigniﬁcantly more analogies and searched outside the problem domain as compared tothe control group. The team redesign projects demonstrate the WordTree method’s effec-tiveness in longer-term, more realistic, higher validity team projects and with a variety ofdifferent design problems. Teams successfully identiﬁed effective analogies, analogousdomains, and analogous patents. Unexpected and unique solutions are identiﬁed usingthe method. For example, one of the teams identiﬁed a dump truck and panning forgold as effective analogies for the design of a self-cleaning cat litter box. In thecontrolled experiment, a cherry pitter was identiﬁed and implemented as a solution fordesigning a machine to shell peanuts. The experimental results also highlight potentialimprovements for the method and areas for future research in engineering design theory. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4006145]Keywords: analogy, conceptual design, innovation, design method, idea generation
Downlink dual modes multiple user MIMO Cognitive radio system

This paper focuses on maximizing Cognitive radio (CR) system capacity by flexible Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system, while maintaining the interference to primary user (PU) within a limit. It is proposed that MIMO implemented in CR can not only increase throughput but also avoid interference to PU, so two corresponding multi-user MIMO schemes are given and a parameter called transition radius is defined to help select two schemes optimally. Simulation shows that by using the proposed scheme system can achieve higher throughput gain over single antenna system, while the interference to PU is limited and no matter where the PU receiver is.
An Impact Assessment of Paulo Freire on New Zealand Adult Literacy: Some Observations.

This article examines the influence of Paulo Freire's philosophy of adult education on adult literacy in New Zealand. Freire's philosophy is based on the construction of knowledge, power relations and liberatory education and it is suggested that his greatest contribution has been the provision of a comprehensive model with which those involved in adult literacy can describe, analyse and debate their work. However, participation in this debate and evidence of Freire's philosophy in practice have been minimal in the New Zealand context. The author argues that in New Zealand the conservative nature of adult literacy, a low level of awareness of Freire's work, and structural barriers to the implementation of Freirean programs, have lessened Freire's influence.
An Evaluation of Parameterized Gradient Based Routing With QoE Monitoring for Multiple IPTV Providers

Future communication networks will be faced with increasing and variable traffic demand, due largely to various services introduced on the Internet. One particular service that will greatly impact resource management of future communication networks is IPTV, which aims to provide users with a multitude of multimedia services (e.g. HD and SD) for both live and on demand streaming. The impact of this will be higher, when we consider multiple IPTV services overlaid on the same network. In this paper we propose a resource management scheme for a network provider that supports multiple IPTV providers. The proposed solution incorporates a new distributed routing mechanism in the underlying network that incorporates QoE monitoring. Through this monitoring process, network providers are able to provide timely updates of quality of flows for each IPTV provider. Simulation work has been conducted to validate the efficiency of the proposed solution in comparison to standard approaches.
Designing a portal for older users: A case study of an industrial/academic collaboration

A multidisciplinary team from industry, government, and academia developed prototype email, Web search, and navigation systems for users over 60 years old who were inexperienced in using computers and had never used the Internet. The academics encountered problems in persuading other team members of the specific challenges of designing for and working with older people. A number of ways of overcoming such challenges were implemented, and the final “radically simple” systems evaluated by a team of older people. The collaboration highlighted the conflicting pressures of the commercial world and the time and patience needed to design for older users.
BRCA1 Is Required for Maintenance of Phospho-Chk1 and G2/M Arrest during DNA Cross-Link Repair in DT40 Cells

ABSTRACT The Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway is pivotal for the efficient repair of DNA interstrand cross-links. Here, we show that FA-defective (Fancc−) DT40 cells arrest in G2 phase following cross-link damage and trigger apoptosis. Strikingly, cell death was reduced in Fancc− cells by additional deletion of the BRCA1 tumor suppressor, resulting in elevated clonogenic survival. Increased resistance to cross-link damage was not due to loss of toxic BRCA1-mediated homologous recombination but rather through the loss of a G2 checkpoint. This proapoptotic role also required the BRCA1-A complex member ABRAXAS (FAM175A). Finally, we show that BRCA1 promotes G2 arrest and cell death by prolonging phosphorylation of Chk1 on serine 345 after DNA damage to sustain arrest. Our data imply that DNA-induced cross-link death in cells defective in the FA pathway is dependent on the ability of BRCA1 to prolong cell cycle arrest in G2 phase.
Predator-prey vision metaphor for multi-tasking virtual environments

Narrow field of view of common Head Mount Displays, coupled with lack of adaptive camera accommodation and vergence make it impossible to view virtual scenes using familiar eye-head-body coordination patterns and reflexes. This impediment of natural habits is most noticeable in applications where users are facing multiple tasks, which require frequent switching between viewing modes, from wide range visual search to object examination at close distances. We propose a new technique for proactive control of the virtual camera by utilizing a predator-prey vision metaphor. We describe the technique, the implementation, and preliminary results.
Modeling Politics with Economic Tools: A Critical Survey of the Literature

Whereas the economics discipline possesses a highly refined theoretical apparatus to analyze the effects of government behaviour on the economy, it has not (yet) managed to fully develop a positively formulated "economic theory of politics" that would permit the integration of the decision-making processes of voters, parties and governments with those of consumers and firms. Considerable recent advances notwithstanding, the large and heterogeneous body of literature has (so far) remained outside the economic mainstrain. The paper surveys the main approaches used to endogenize democratic elements and assesses the underlying reasons for researchers' renewed interest in this field.
Analysis of the structural heterogeneity and polymorphism of human Ia antigens. Four distinct subsets of molecules are coexpressed in the Ia pool of both DR1,1 homozygous and DR3,W6 heterozygous B cell lines

Four monoclonal antibodies reacting with distinct human Ia antigenic determinants have been used to demonstrate the coexpression of four distinct subsets, NG1, NG2, H40+-3/4+, and DC1 H40--3/4+, in the Ia pool of DR heterozygous or homozygous B cell lines. By two-dimensional peptide mapping the four subsets within the same Ia pool displayed structurally different beta as well as alpha subunits. The beta chain of the NG1 subset was shown to display considerable structural polymorphism when analyzed in two cell lines with distinct DR but similar DC phenotype, LG2 (DR1,1-DC1) and Raji (DR3, W6-DC1). In contrast, the beta chains of NG2, DC1 H40+-3/4+, and DC1 H40--3/4+ subsets of LG2 cells were shown to be very similar to their homologous Raji cell counterparts, thus indicating a relatively low structural polymorphism. Furthermore, the alpha chains of either one of the four subsets expressed in LG2 cells displayed very high structural similarities to the homologous counterparts in the Raji Ia pool, thus suggesting a relatively low polymorphism for the large Ia subunits described in this study. A striking feature deduced from this study was the selective subunit association of the distinct alpha-beta heterodimers.
Color consistency classification system based on fuzzy neural network

Tile color consistency inspection and classification is the most difficult problem in tile online surface quality inspection. This paper constructed a fuzzy neural network which combined artificial neural network and fuzzy technique and solved this problem. Artificial neural network was applied to solve the problem that there is no certain rule because the type of tile is various and the result needs accord to the ones of human vision. Fuzzy technique which can simulate abstract thinking was applied in the input and output of artificial neural network to offset the shortage of the method that only applied artificial neural network which can only simulate virsulizying thinking. The result showed that this method performed better in speed and precision than traditional method or only using neural network techniques.
A software engineering approach and tool set for developing Internet applications

If a business built a plant to produce products without first designing a process to manufacture them, the risk would be lack of capacity without significant plant redesign. Similarly, lacking a software engineering approach and tools for designing e-business connections before creating them, can risk: designing the business partnership incorrectly; not implementing the connection quickly enough; or having operations that cannot adapt to changes in business direction. This paper presents a software engineering tool for developing process-oriented Internet applications that implement e-business connections. It gives an approach for using this tool in conjunction with standard commercial IDEFO tools to create adaptable connections. It is organized to match a formal demonstration that shows the step-by-step usage of these tools, and cites software engineering principles that, when applied, ensure adaptability.
Parity Correlates with the Timing of Developing Endometrial Cancer, But Not Subtype of Endometrial Cancer

Parity is one of well-known risk factors of endometrial cancer, but it is less clear whether parity is associated with the timing of developing endometrial cancer, and with the incidence of subtype of endometrial cancer. Data on 902 patients including age at diagnosis, age at menarche and menopause, parity and age at last birth from two obstetrics and gynaecology hospitals in China was analysed. 5.6% patients were nulliparous, 53.4% patients had one live birth, 27.7% patients had two live births and 13.3% patients had three or more live births. Patients at diagnosis who had three or more live births were significantly older than patients who were nulliparous or had one or two live births with the median age at diagnosis of 63 versus 51 or 52 or 59 years respectively. The percentage of patients with three or more live births at diagnosis before menopause was significantly lower than patients who were nulliparous, had one live birth or had two live births (10% versus 52%, or 51.9% or 22.4%). Furthermore, time from last birth to endometrial cancer was significantly longer in patients who had three or more live births than patients who had two live births or had one live birth (35 versus 31, or 24 years). However, there was no difference in the incidence of subtypes of endometrial cancer according to parity. Our data suggests parity is negatively correlated with the time onset of endometrial cancer and not associated with the incidence of endometrial cancer subtypes.
B-trees with relaxed balance

B-trees with relaxed balance have been defined to facilitate first updating on shared-memory asynchronous parallel architectures. To obtain this, rebalancing has been uncoupled from the updating such that extensive locking can be avoided in connection with updates. We analyze B-trees with relaxed balance, and prove that each update gives rise to at most [log/sub a/(N/2)]+1 rebalancing operations, where a is the degree of the B-tree, and N is the bound an its maximal size since it was last in balance. Assuming that the size of nodes are at least twice the degree, we prove that rebalancing can be performed in amortized constant time. So, in the long run, rebalancing is constant time on average, even if any particular update could give rise to logarithmic time rebalancing. We also prove that the amount of rebalancing done at any particular level decreases exponentially going from the leaves towards the root. This is important since the higher up in the tree a lock due to a rebalancing operation occurs, the larger a subtree which cannot be accessed by other processes for the duration of that lock. All of these results are in fact obtained for the more general (a, b)-trees, so we have results for both of the common B-tree versions as well as 2-3 trees and 2-3-4 trees. <<ETX>>
A Model of Computation for Source Code Analysis and Transformations

Detailed information needed by algorithms that operate on source code is hidden in the code and hard to find. To support the algorithms, various ad hoc code models have been proposed, but the resulting tools are still limited and have language dependencies and poor interoperability. Some contain bugs, perhaps a consequence of the difficulty in developing a tool and a model simultaneously. To address the problem, we propose the Relational Model of Computation (RMC). The RMC consists of two sparse matrices, each representing a set of relations where each tuple is in turn an RMC submodel of finer granularity. The model is a virtual machine, a relational database, and a container for code at the same time. The concept originated in mathematical notation. The RMC is strongly typed and can model OO entities and concepts such as user types, subtypes, single and multiple inheritance for types and behavior, classes of objects, methods, and overloading and overriding. Polymorphism can be described as conditional logic in one of the matrices. Using the hierarchy of submodels, the RMC can model program entities at any detail, including UML designs, functions, three-address code, statements, tokens, even architecture or machine instructions should the need arise. Partial models are possible for local algorithms such as refactoring. In this paper, we formally define the RMC, prove its Turing completeness, discuss its modeling capabilities and possible applications, and illustrate the mechanics of modeling and analysis with examples. Index Terms – Virtual machines, program representation and analysis, coding tools and techniques, object-oriented design, software maintenance and evolution, refactoring.
VMCSnap: Taking Snapshots of Virtual Machine Cluster with Memory Deduplication

Virtualization is one of the main technologies currently used to deploy computing systems due to the high reliability and rapid crash recovery it offers in comparison to physical nodes. These features are mainly achieved by continuously producing snapshots of the status of running virtual machines. In earlier works, the snapshot of each individual VM is performed independently, ignoring the memory similarities between VMs within the cluster. When the size of the virtual cluster becomes larger or snapshots are frequently taken, the size of snapshots can be extremely large, consuming large amount of storage space. In this paper, we introduce an innovative snapshot approach for virtual cluster that exploits shared memory pages among all the component VMs to reduce the size of produced snapshot and mitigate the I/O bottleneck. The duplicate memory pages are effectively discovered and stored only once when the snapshot is taken. In addition, our approach can be not only applied to the stop-copy snapshot but also to the pre-copy mechanism as well. Experiments on both snapshot methods are conducted and the result shows our method can reduce the total memory snapshot files by an average of 30% and reach 63% reduction of the snapshot time compared with the default KVM approach with little overhead of rollback time.