Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimising Land-Sea Management for Inshore Coral Reefs

Management authorities seldom have the capacity to comprehensively address the full suite of anthropogenic stressors, particularly in the coastal zone where numerous threats can act simultaneously to impact reefs and other ecosystems. This situation requires tools to prioritise management interventions that result in optimum ecological outcomes under a set of constraints. Here we develop one such tool, introducing a Bayesian Belief Network to model the ecological condition of inshore coral reefs in Moreton Bay (Australia) under a range of management actions. Empirical field data was used to model a suite of possible ecological responses of coral reef assemblages to five key management actions both in the sea (e.g. expansion of reserves, mangrove & seagrass restoration, fishing restrictions) and on land (e.g. lower inputs of sediment and sewage from treatment plants). Models show that expanding marine reserves (a ‘marine action’) and reducing sediment inputs from the catchments (a ‘land action’) were the most effective investments to achieve a better status of reefs in the Bay, with both having been included in >58% of scenarios with positive outcomes, and >98% of the most effective (5th percentile) scenarios. Heightened fishing restrictions, restoring habitats, and reducing nutrient discharges from wastewater treatment plants have additional, albeit smaller effects. There was no evidence that combining individual management actions would consistently produce sizeable synergistic until after maximum investment on both marine reserves (i.e. increasing reserve extent from 31 to 62% of reefs) and sediments (i.e. rehabilitating 6350 km of waterways within catchments to reduce sediment loads by 50%) were implemented. The method presented here provides a useful tool to prioritize environmental actions in situations where multiple competing management interventions exist for coral reefs and in other systems subjected to multiple stressor from the land and the sea.
Atypical parkinsonism–associated retromer mutant alters endosomal sorting of specific cargo proteins

Mutations in the retromer complex, which is involved in sorting integral membrane proteins from endosomes to cellular compartments, are associated with atypical parkinsonism, but how these mutations affect retromer function remains unclear. Through a quantitative proteomic analysis of the retromer interactome, McMillan et al. reveal a new mechanism for perturbed endosomal sorting in parkinsonism.
Learning Semantics of Gestural Instructions for Human-Robot Collaboration

Designed to work safely alongside humans, collaborative robots need to be capable partners in human-robot teams. Besides having key capabilities like detecting gestures, recognizing objects, grasping them, and handing them over, these robots need to seamlessly adapt their behavior for efficient human-robot collaboration. In this context we present the fast, supervised Proactive Incremental Learning (PIL) framework for learning associations between human hand gestures and the intended robotic manipulation actions. With the proactive aspect, the robot is competent to predict the human's intent and perform an action without waiting for an instruction. The incremental aspect enables the robot to learn associations on the fly while performing a task. It is a probabilistic, statistically-driven approach. As a proof of concept, we focus on a table assembly task where the robot assists its human partner. We investigate how the accuracy of gesture detection affects the number of interactions required to complete the task. We also conducted a human-robot interaction study with non-roboticist users comparing a proactive with a reactive robot that waits for instructions.
Diel Oscillations in Whale Shark Vertical Movements Associated with Meso- and Bathypelagic Diving

A female whale shark Rhincodon typus satellite tagged off the coast of Mozambique and moving to the east coast of Madagascar where the tag popped off after 87 d showed increased meso- and bathypelagic diving while crossing the ba- thymetrically nonconstraining southern part of the Mozambique Channel. After three weeks with daily maximum diving depths in the epipelagic zone at the beginning of the track, when the whale shark stayed close to the Mozambique coast, 44 and 19 d with maximum diving depths in the meso- and bathypelagic zones, respectively, were recorded. On a total of 10 d the whale shark dived to the maximum depth (1,285.7 m) the pop-off tag could record. Quantitative analysis of the diving time series using Fast Fourier Transform identified a diel cycle of vertical movements, with deeper depths occupied during the day and shallower depths during daytime. Using a single bandpass filter to identify where in the time series the diel oscilla - tions were most pronounced showed that they were mostly associated with periods of meso- and bathypelagic diving during the oceanic phase of the long-distance movement. These data indicate that meso- and bathypelagic diving is common for whale sharks in bathymetrically nonconstraining habitat, expanding the habitat of this circumglobal species into the bathypelagic realm, and support the hypothesis that these were dives related to foraging behavior when crossing less productive deep oceanic waters.
Forty-four juvenile thieves: their characters and home-life.

are probably few people who do not work in the court system who realize that in nine criminal cases out of ten the charge is theft. During 1938 for instance there were about 78,500 persons found guilty of an indictable offence, a category which excludes drunkenness, traffic offences and other minor delinquencies. Of these over 56,000 (or 72 per cent.) were found guilty of larceny and another 16,000 (or 20 per cent.) found guilty of breaking and entering, frauds or receiving stolen goods. This leaves only 6,500 (or 8 per cent.) for all other offences. Another fact perhaps little realized is that for some years past exactly half of those found guilty have been under 21 years of age and that over one. sixth of the total were under 14. Indeed of all age-groups in the population it is the thirteen-year-olds who appear most often in court. Thus theft, like rheumatic fever, is a disease of childhood and adolescence , and, as in rheumatic fever, attacks in later life are frequently in the nature of recurrences. Of the men and women sent to prison in 1930 not only had half been there before but nearly one quarter were going for at least their sixth time. Even at the age of 16, one-third of those charged in the courts had been charged before (5). These figures are remarkable and may do something to impress upon us the magnitude and social importance. of youthful stealing. But still they are inadequate, for what official statistics do not tell us is the age at which the offenders first developed delinquent habits. The evidence strongly suggests that in many, perhaps the majority, of serious cases it is well before puberty. It is in this period therefore that the origins of the trouble are to be sought. Many attempts have been made to find the causes of habitual delinquency, the most notable being the studies of Burt in this country and Healy in America. But despite these valuable researches much remains obscure. The great advances made in child psychology during the past decade have however suggested new lines of enquiry and these have been followed in the research reported in this paper. Almost all recent work on the emotional and social development of children has laid emphasis upon the child's relation to his mother. Consequently in this enquiry very great attention was given to the elucidation …
Arteriovenous Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Differences Across Selected Organs of the Rat

Background/Aims: Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lysosphingolipid that is found in high concentration in plasma. The majority of plasma S1P is transported bound to HDL and albumin. Although the major sources of circulating S1P have been identified, it remains obscure what is the contribution of different organs/tissues to S1P homeostasis in plasma. Answering this question was the major aim of the present study. Methods: The experiment was performed on male Wistar rats from whom blood samples were taken from either: 1) femoral vein, right ventricle of the heart, and abdominal aorta (n=15) or 2) hepatic vein, portal vein, and abdominal aorta (n=11). Plasma was fractionated by sequential flotation ultracentrifugation and sphingolipids were quantified by a HPLC method. Results: Compared to the mixed venous blood sampled from the right ventricle, total plasma and lipoprotein-depleted plasma (LPDP) concentration of S1P in the arterial blood was lower. On the other hand, the level of S1P increased across the leg both in plasma and LPDP. The concentration of S1P, sphingosine, and sphinganine in the plasma, HDL, and LPDP isolated from the blood taken from the hepatic vein was markedly higher compared to both arterial and portal blood. Conclusions: We conclude that, in contrast to HDL-bound S1P, albumin-associated S1P is very labile in the circulation. It is degraded in the pulmonary, and to a lesser extent, gastrointestinal circulation, and released across the liver and skeletal muscle. We also conclude that liver is an important source of HDL-bound S1P and circulating free sphingoid bases.
HERVs Expression in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder, resulting from complex interactions among genetic, genomic and environmental factors. Here we have studied the expression of Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs), non-coding DNA elements with potential regulatory functions, and have tested their possible implication in autism. Methods The presence of retroviral mRNAs from four HERV families (E, H, K and W), widely implicated in complex diseases, was evaluated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from ASD patients and healthy controls (HCs) by qualitative RT-PCR. We also analyzed the expression of the env sequence from HERV-H, HERV-W and HERV-K families in PBMCs at the time of sampling and after stimulation in culture, in both ASD and HC groups, by quantitative Real-time PCR. Differences between groups were evaluated using statistical methods. Results The percentage of HERV-H and HERV-W positive samples was higher among ASD patients compared to HCs, while HERV-K was similarly represented and HERV-E virtually absent in both groups. The quantitative evaluation shows that HERV-H and HERV-W are differentially expressed in the two groups, with HERV-H being more abundantly expressed and, conversely, HERV-W, having lower abundance, in PBMCs from ASDs compared to healthy controls. PMBCs from ASDs also showed an increased potential to up-regulate HERV-H expression upon stimulation in culture, unlike HCs. Furthermore we report a negative correlation between expression levels of HERV-H and age among ASD patients and a statistically significant higher expression in ASD patients with Severe score in Communication and Motor Psychoeducational Profile-3. Conclusions Specific HERV families have a distinctive expression profile in ASD patients compared to HCs. We propose that HERV-H expression be explored in larger samples of individuals with autism spectrum in order to determine its utility as a novel biological trait of this complex disorder.
Association of maternal stature with offspring mortality, underweight, and stunting in low- to middle-income countries.

CONTEXT Although maternal stature has been associated with offspring mortality and health, the extent to which this association is universal across developing countries is unclear. OBJECTIVE To examine the association between maternal stature and offspring mortality, underweight, stunting, and wasting in infancy and early childhood in 54 low- to middle-income countries. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Analysis of 109 Demographic and Health Surveys in 54 countries conducted between 1991 and 2008. Study population consisted of a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of children aged 0 to 59 months born to mothers aged 15 to 49 years. Sample sizes were 2,661,519 (mortality), 587,096 (underweight), 558,347 (stunting), and 568,609 (wasting) children. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Likelihood of mortality, underweight, stunting, or wasting in children younger than 5 years. RESULTS The mean response rate across surveys in the mortality data set was 92.8%. In adjusted models, a 1-cm increase in maternal height was associated with a decreased risk of child mortality (absolute risk difference [ARD], 0.0014; relative risk [RR], 0.988; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.987-0.988), underweight (ARD, 0.0068; RR, 0.968; 95% CI, 0.968-0.969), stunting (ARD, 0.0126; RR, 0.968; 95% CI, 0.967-0.968), and wasting (ARD, 0.0005; RR, 0.994; 95% CI, 0.993-0.995). Absolute risk of dying among children born to the tallest mothers (> or = 160 cm) was 0.073 (95% CI, 0.072-0.074) and to those born to the shortest mothers (< 145 cm) was 0.128 (95% CI, 0.126-0.130). Country-specific decrease in the risk for child mortality associated with a 1-cm increase in maternal height varied between 0.978 and 1.011, with the decreased risk being statistically significant in 46 of 54 countries (85%) (alpha = .05). CONCLUSION Among 54 low- to middle-income countries, maternal stature was inversely associated with offspring mortality, underweight, and stunting in infancy and childhood.
Development of Alkali Activated Geopolymer Masonry Blocks

Cement masonry units are not considered as sustainable since their production involves consumption of fuel, cement and natural resources and therefore it is essential to find alternatives. This paper reports on making of geopolymer solid & hollow blocks and masonry prisms using non conventional materials like fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and manufactured sand and curing at ambient temperature. They were tested for water absorption, initial rate of water absorption, dry density, dimensionality, compressive, flexural and bond-strength which were tested for bond strength with and without lateral confinement, modulus of elasticity, alternative drying & wetting and masonry efficiency. The properties of geopolymer blocks were found superior to traditional masonry blocks and the masonry efficiency was found to increase with decrease in thickness of cement mortar joints. There was marginal difference in strength between rendered and unrendered geopolymer masonry blocks. The percentage weight gain after 7 cycles was less than 6% and the percentage reduction in strength of geopolymer solid blocks and hollow blocks were 26% and 28% respectively. Since the properties of geopolymer blocks are comparatively better than the traditional masonry they can be strongly recommended for structural masonry.
Magnetic particle imaging for in vivo blood flow velocity measurements in mice

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a new imaging technology. It is a potential candidate to be used for angiographic purposes, to study perfusion and cell migration. The aim of this work was to measure velocities of the flowing blood in the inferior vena cava of mice, using MPI, and to evaluate it in comparison with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A phantom mimicking the flow within the inferior vena cava with velocities of up to 21 cm s−1 was used for the evaluation of the applied analysis techniques. Time–density and distance–density analyses for bolus tracking were performed to calculate flow velocities. These findings were compared with the calibrated velocities set by a flow pump, and it can be concluded that velocities of up to 21 cm s−1 can be measured by MPI. A time–density analysis using an arrival time estimation algorithm showed the best agreement with the preset velocities. In vivo measurements were performed in healthy FVB mice (n = 10). MRI experiments were performed using phase contrast (PC) for velocity mapping. For MPI measurements, a standardized injection of a superparamagnetic iron oxide tracer was applied. In vivo MPI data were evaluated by a time–density analysis and compared to PC MRI. A Bland–Altman analysis revealed good agreement between the in vivo velocities acquired by MRI of 4.0 ± 1.5 cm s−1 and those measured by MPI of 4.8 ± 1.1 cm s−1. Magnetic particle imaging is a new tool with which to measure and quantify flow velocities. It is fast, radiation-free, and produces 3D images. It therefore offers the potential for vascular imaging.
Multimodal Imaging of Macular Telangiectasia Type 2: Focus on Vascular Changes Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

PURPOSE To report morphologic features of idiopathic macular telangiectasia (MacTel) type 2 by means of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and to compare these findings to fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA), fundus autofluorescence (FAF), confocal blue reflectance (CBR), and spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT). In addition, foveal vessel density and parafoveal vascular density (PFVD), and foveal retinal thickness and parafoveal retinal thickness (PFRT) were compared between MacTel 2 patients and normal aged-matched controls. METHODS Eight patients (15 eyes) with MacTel 2 and 17 normal controls (17 eyes) underwent retinal multimodal imaging assessment and grading. Results from different imaging techniques were used to compare interimaging modalities. Objective quantification of retinal vessel density and macular thickness was evaluated in MacTel 2 patients (15 eyes). RESULTS In MacTel 2 eyes a comparison of OCTA to the other imaging techniques showed that the strongest correlations were present with SD-OCT, early FFA, and late FFA. Moderate correlations were found between OCTA and CBR and FAF. Foveal vessel density was significantly lower in MacTel 2 eyes than control eyes both in the superficial plexus (23.74% vs. 33.14%; P = 0.003) and in the deep plexus (24.63% vs. 34.21%; P = 0.005). Superficial PFVD was significantly different in the two groups (47.06% vs. 51.40%; P = 0.005) but not the deep PFVD. Foveal retinal thickness was 214.13 μm in MacTel 2 eyes and 258.18 μm in normal controls, and PFRT was 279.60 and 323.29 μm, respectively (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Optical coherence tomography angiography is useful for retinal vasculature characterization in MacTel type 2 patients and showed a high correlation with well-established imaging techniques.
Clinical Practice Guideline on Management of Sleep Disorders in the Elderly

Elderly subjects have initial insomnia, wake up earlier than usual, have higher time spent in bed, have nighttime awakenings, nap more, and have decreased total sleep as compared to younger adults. With increasing age lighter stages of sleep becomes more, whereas, REM and slow-wave sleep reduce; up to 6 years of age there is 2% decrease in slow-wave sleep every decade. Slow-wave sleep does not change much from 60 to 90 years of age. However, sleep efficiency, i.e. the duration of sleep relative to total time in bed, continue to decrease over time. Sleep in the elderly is fragmented, lighter and is characterized by episodes of arousals and awakenings.
Paracrine Neuroprotective Effects of Neural Stem Cells on Glutamate-Induced Cortical Neuronal Cell Excitotoxicity.

PURPOSE Glutamate is a major excitatory neurotransmitter in mammalian central nervous system. Excessive glutamate releasing overactivates its receptors and changes calcium homeostasis that in turn leads to a cascade of intracellular events causing neuronal degeneration. In current study, we used neural stem cells conditioned medium (NSCs-CM) to investigate its neuroprotective effects on glutamate-treated primary cortical neurons. METHODS Embryonic rat primary cortical cultures were exposed to different concentrations of glutamate for 1 hour and then they incubated with NSCs-CM. Subsequently, the amount of cell survival in different glutamate excitotoxic groups were measured after 24 h of incubation by trypan blue exclusion assay and MTT assay. Hoechst and propidium iodide were used for determining apoptotic and necrotic cell death pathways proportion and then the effect of NSCs-CM was investigated on this proportion. RESULTS NSCs conditioned medium increased viability rate of the primary cortical neurons after glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. Also we found that NSCs-CM provides its neuroprotective effects mainly by decreasing apoptotic cell death rate rather than necrotic cell death rate. CONCLUSION The current study shows that adult neural stem cells could exert paracrine neuroprotective effects on cortical neurons following a glutamate neurotoxic insult.
Asphalt and Bitumen

The article contains sections titled: 1. Introduction 2. Native Asphalt 3. Testing 4. Bitumen Production from Crude Oil 4.1. Distillation 4.2. Solvent Separation Methods 4.3. Continuous Air Blowing 4.4. Manufacturing Routes for Cement Grades 4.5. Road Bitumen Compositions 4.6. Batch Air Blowing 5. Composition of Bitumen 5.1. Elemental Analysis and Molecular Mass 5.2. Physical, Structural, and Colloidal Aspects 6. Physical Properties 7. Chemical Reactions of Bitumen Surfaces 8. Handling and Storage 9. Uses of Bitumen 9.1. Bitumen in Road Building 9.2. Industrial Uses 9.3. Economic Aspects 10. Environmental and Workplace Exposure
A Reconfigurable Wideband and Multiband Antenna Using Dual-Patch Elements for Compact Wireless Devices

A reconfigurable wideband and multiband C-Slot patch antenna with dual-patch elements is proposed and studied. It occupies a compact volume of 50 × 50 × 1.57 (3925 mm3), including the ground plane. The antenna can operate in two dual-band modes and a wideband mode from 5 to 7 GHz. Two parallel C-Slots on the patch elements are employed to perturb the surface current paths for excitation of the dual-band and the wideband modes. Two switches, implemented using PIN diodes, are placed on the connecting lines of a simple feed network to the patch elements. Dual-band modes are achieved by switching “ON” either one of the two patch elements, while the wideband mode with an impedance bandwidth of 33.52% is obtained by switching “ON” both patch elements. The frequencies in the dual-band modes can be independently controlled using positions and dimensions of the C-Slots without affecting the wideband mode. The advantage of the proposed antenna is that two dual-band operations and one wideband operation can be achieved using the same dimensions. This overcomes the need for increasing the surface area normally incurred when designing wideband patch antennas. Simulation results are validated experimentally through prototypes. The measured radiation patterns and peak gains show stable responses and are in good agreements. Coupling between the two patch elements plays a major role for achieving the wide bandwidth and the effects of mutual coupling between the patch elements are also studied.
Relative Thinking and Markups

In experiments subjects regularly trade off time and money at inconsistent rates, apparently becoming less sensitive to money when considering the purchase of a more-expensive item. In this paper I introduce a demand function that matches this behaviour, and derive the predictions for equilibrium market structure, and then finally discuss market evidence. The demand function is derived from a utility function which has contextdependent sensitivity to different goods (e.g., time, money). In market equilibrium with unit total demand the model predicts three phenomena: higher cost goods tend to have higher markups; higher cost goods tend to have greater price dispersion; and higher cost goods will have a larger number of sellers. The first two facts are commonly observed in the empirical IO literature. Finally I introduce a novel dataset of 3,500 markups from a branch of a chain drugstore, with cross-section evidence in support of the theory.