Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fatty-Acid Preference Changes during Development in Drosophila melanogaster

Fatty-acids (FAs) are required in the diet of many animals throughout their life. However, the mechanisms involved in the perception of and preferences for dietary saturated and unsaturated FAs (SFAs and UFAs, respectively) remain poorly explored, especially in insects. Using the model species Drosophila melanogaster, we measured the responses of wild-type larvae and adults to pure SFAs (14, 16, and 18 carbons) and UFAs (C18 with 1, 2, or 3 double-bonds). Individual and group behavioral tests revealed different preferences in larvae and adults. Larvae preferred UFAs whereas SFAs tended to induce both a strong aversion and a persistent aggregation behavior. Adults generally preferred SFAs, and laid more eggs and had a longer life span when ingesting these substances as compared to UFAs. Our data suggest that insects can discriminate long-chain dietary FAs. The developmental change in preference shown by this species might reflect functional variation in use of FAs or stage-specific nutritional requirements, and may be fundamental for insect use of these major dietary components.
A detecting community method in complex networks with fuzzy clustering

Detection of community structure in complex networks is a significant aspect in social network analysis. A novel fuzzy clustering method is proposed in this paper, by which the community structure can be divided. In contrast to previous studies, the proposed method processes similarity of connecting vertices with fuzzy relation. In our method, we globally consider the fuzzy relation between vertices and the similarity in network topology to divide vertices into communities. In addition, smaller grained communities can be detected by adjusting fuzzy parameter. In order to avoid subjectivity in the selection of cluster number, a new modularity is introduced to evaluate the effectiveness of the clustering analysis. It's proved by experiments that the method is efficient in detecting both good communities and appropriate number of clusters.
Local radon descriptors for image search

Radon transform and its inverse operation are important techniques in medical imaging tasks. Recently, there has been renewed interest in Radon transform for applications such as content-based medical image retrieval. However, all studies so far have used Radon transform as a global or quasi-global image descriptor by extracting projections of the whole image or large sub-images. This paper attempts to show that the dense sampling to generate the histogram of local Radon projections has a much higher discrimination capability than the global one. In this paper, we introduce Local Radon Descriptor (LRD) and apply it to the IRMA dataset, which contains 14,410 x-ray images as well as to the INRIA Holidays dataset with 1,990 images. Our results show significant improvement in retrieval performance by using LRD versus its global version. We also demonstrate that LRD can deliver results comparable to well-established descriptors like LBP and HOG.
Advances in Seismic Data Compression via Learning from Data: Compression for Seismic Data Acquisition

The next generation of oil and gas exploration technology is moving toward large-scale seismic acquisition, automation, and flexibility. This phenomenon has accelerated the interest in moving away from traditional seismic acquisition systems that are heavily mechanical. Currently, on a daily basis, a seismic survey may require 800 or more crew members to place more than 200,000 prewired geophones over a field of several square miles. As such, the cost of cabling accounts for up to 50% of the total operating cost of a typical land survey, and up to 75% of the total equipment weight. This labor-intensive deployment of the prewired geophones, in addition to cost, prolongs the survey time and places a huge barrier on scaling the seismic acquisition and its adaptation/automation. Therefore, there has been a growing interest to switch from prewired geophones to wireless seismic acquisition. On the other hand, a typical seismic survey may generate tens of terabytes of raw seismic data per day. Hence, wireless communication faces great challenges in light of the enormous amounts of data that must be transmitted from geophones to on-site data collection centers.
Insights into the Transposable Mobilome of Paracoccus spp. (Alphaproteobacteria)

Several trap plasmids (enabling positive selection of transposition events) were used to identify a pool of functional transposable elements (TEs) residing in bacteria of the genus Paracoccus (Alphaproteobacteria). Complex analysis of 25 strains representing 20 species of this genus led to the capture and characterization of (i) 37 insertion sequences (ISs) representing 9 IS families (IS3, IS5, IS6, IS21, IS66, IS256, IS1182, IS1380 and IS1634), (ii) a composite transposon Tn6097 generated by two copies of the ISPfe2 (IS1634 family) containing two predicted genetic modules, involved in the arginine deiminase pathway and daunorubicin/doxorubicin resistance, (iii) 3 non-composite transposons of the Tn3 family, including Tn5393 carrying streptomycin resistance and (iv) a transposable genomic island TnPpa1 (45 kb). Some of the elements (e.g. Tn5393, Tn6097 and ISs of the IS903 group of the IS5 family) were shown to contain strong promoters able to drive transcription of genes placed downstream of the target site of transposition. Through the application of trap plasmid pCM132TC, containing a promoterless tetracycline resistance reporter gene, we identified five ways in which transposition can supply promoters to transcriptionally silent genes. Besides highlighting the diversity and specific features of several TEs, the analyses performed in this study have provided novel and interesting information on (i) the dynamics of the process of transposition (e.g. the unusually high frequency of transposition of TnPpa1) and (ii) structural changes in DNA mediated by transposition (e.g. the generation of large deletions in the recipient molecule upon transposition of ISPve1 of the IS21 family). We also demonstrated the great potential of TEs and transposition in the generation of diverse phenotypes as well as in the natural amplification and dissemination of genetic information (of adaptative value) by horizontal gene transfer, which is considered the driving force of bacterial evolution.
Evolving large-scale neural networks for vision-based reinforcement learning

The idea of using evolutionary computation to train artificial neural networks, or neuroevolution (NE), for reinforcement learning (RL) tasks has now been around for over 20 years. However, as RL tasks become more challenging, the networks required become larger, as do their genomes. But, scaling NE to large nets (i.e. tens of thousands of weights) is infeasible using direct encodings that map genes one-to-one to network components. In this paper, we scale-up our compressed network encoding where network weight matrices are represented indirectly as a set of Fourier-type coefficients, to tasks that require very-large networks due to the high-dimensionality of their input space. The approach is demonstrated successfully on two reinforcement learning tasks in which the control networks receive visual input: (1) a vision-based version of the octopus control task requiring networks with over 3 thousand weights, and (2) a version of the TORCS driving game where networks with over 1 million weights are evolved to drive a car around a track using video images from the driver's perspective.
Diffraction Kernels for Interactive Sound Propagation in Dynamic Environments

We present a novel method to generate plausible diffraction effects for interactive sound propagation in dynamic scenes. Our approach precomputes a diffraction kernel for each dynamic object in the scene and combines them with interactive ray tracing algorithms at runtime. A diffraction kernel encapsulates the sound interaction behavior of individual objects in the free field and we present a new source placement algorithm to significantly accelerate the precomputation. Our overall propagation algorithm can handle highly-tessellated or smooth objects undergoing rigid motion. We have evaluated our algorithm's performance on different scenarios with multiple moving objects and demonstrate the benefits over prior interactive geometric sound propagation methods. We also performed a user study to evaluate the perceived smoothness of the diffracted field and found that the auditory perception using our approach is comparable to that of a wave-based sound propagation method.
Treatment adherence in patients with heart failure receiving nurse-assisted home visits

DOI http://dx.doi. org/10.1590/19820194201500008 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Conflicts of interest: there are no conflicts of interest. Abstract Objective: To assess treatment adherence in patients with heart failure receiving nurse-led home visits after hospital discharge. Methods: This was a before-and-after study involving patients who had been recently hospitalized for decompensated heart failure. Three home visits were conducted within 45 days of hospital discharge. Treatment adherence was assessed in the first and third visits through a 10-item questionnaire (cutoff point: 18 = 70% adherence). In the first and second visits, patients were educated as to their condition, treatment adherence and self-care. Results: There were 32 patients included, mean age 65±16 years, 18(58%) male. The 32 patients received a total of 96 home visits. Treatment adherence scores were of 16±2.6 vs 20.4±2.7 in the first and third visits, respectively (p=0,001). Weight monitoring and liquid restriction behaviors improved significantly following the intervention. Conclusion: The in-home educational intervention led to significant improvements in the treatment adherence of recently-hospitalized patients with heart failure.
A Hyper‐Stretchable Elastic‐Composite Energy Harvester

C. K. Jeong, G. -T. Hwang, D. Y. Park, J. H. Park, Dr. M. Byun, Prof. K. J. Lee Department of Materials Science and Engineering Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) 291 Daehak-ro , Yuseong-gu , Daejeon 305-701 , South Korea E-mail: keonlee@kaist.ac. kr Dr. J. Lee, Dr. S. Han, Prof. S. H. Ko Department of Mechanical Engineering Seoul National University 1 Gwanak-ro , Gwanak-gu , Seoul 151-742 , South Korea E-mail: maxko@snu.ac. kr Dr. J. Lee, Prof. S. S. Lee Department of Mechanical Engineering Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) 291 Daehak-ro , Yuseong-gu , Daejeon 305-701 , South Korea Dr. J. Ryu Functional Ceramic Group Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) 797 Changwon-daero Seongsan-gu Changwon , Gyeongsangnam-do 642–831 , South Korea
Do Leaf Cutting Ants Cut Undetected? Testing the Effect of Ant-Induced Plant Defences on Foraging Decisions in Atta colombica

Leaf-cutting ants (LCAs) are polyphagous, yet highly selective herbivores. The factors that govern their selection of food plants, however, remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that the induction of anti-herbivore defences by attacked food plants, which are toxic to either ants or their mutualistic fungus, should significantly affect the ants' foraging behaviour. To test this “induced defence hypothesis,” we used lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), a plant that emits many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) upon herbivore attack with known anti-fungal or ant-repellent effects. Our results provide three important insights into the foraging ecology of LCAs. First, leaf-cutting by Atta ants can induce plant defences: Lima bean plants that were repeatedly exposed to foraging workers of Atta colombica over a period of three days emitted significantly more VOCs than undamaged control plants. Second, the level to which a plant has induced its anti-herbivore defences can affect the LCAs' foraging behaviour: In dual choice bioassays, foragers discriminated control plants from plants that have been damaged mechanically or by LCAs 24 h ago. In contrast, strong induction levels of plants after treatment with the plant hormone jasmonic acid or three days of LCA feeding strongly repelled LCA foragers relative to undamaged control plants. Third, the LCA-specific mode of damaging leaves allows them to remove larger quantities of leaf material before being recognized by the plant: While leaf loss of approximately 15% due to a chewing herbivore (coccinelid beetle) was sufficient to significantly increase VOC emission levels after 24 h, the removal of even 20% of a plant's leaf area within 20 min by LCAs did not affect its VOC emission rate after 24 h. Taken together, our results support the “induced defence hypothesis” and provide first empirical evidence that the foraging behaviour of LCAs is affected by the induction of plant defence responses.
Scalable MAC protocol for D2D communication for future 5G networks

Device-to-device communication (D2D) will be an integral part of 5G wireless networks. Device-to-Device (D2D) communication provide the additional resources to the cellular users for spatially reusing licensed/unlicensed spectrum by establishing direct communication. Although, D2D communication is gaining significant attention towards offloading traffic in heterogeneous networks in licensed band, no attention has been given to offload traffic in an unlicensed band in a centralized manner. However, a major challenge of D2D communication is managing resources in an efficient manner in a heterogeneous network. This paper will direct a new approach to D2D Communication and will present a scalable MAC protocol for D2D communications based on Point Coordination Function (PCF) access mechanism. The importance of PCF access mechanism is that it operates in a centralized manner and highly suitable for the dense environment, hence, can create a centralized control in a distributive manner. In this article, we propose an innovative three tier 5G architecture for D2D communication, which will offload cellular traffic from the cellular network to the WLAN in a dense environment. Moreover, we will present a new centralized scalable MAC protocol for D2D communication between WLAN users, based on the IEEE 802.11 Point Coordination Function (PCF) access mechanism. Our simulation results show that the proposed MAC scheme can increase the capacity of the network and perform better relative to the legacy Distributed coordination Function (DCF) defined in IEEE 802.11.
Temporal evolution of the degree distribution of alters in growing networks

Abstract The degree distribution of the neighbors of nodes in a network is a theoretically important tool that is invoked in diverse studies in network science, such as epidemics, network resilience, network search and observability, network synchronization, random walks, opinion dynamics, and other dynamical systems on networks. Many real networks grow, and their properties pertaining to the said phenomena evolve. There is a paucity of theoretical research on how the evolution of these properties depend upon time and upon the structure of the initial network. This paper addresses this problem by providing the first theoretical study of the temporal evolution of the nearest-neighbor degree distribution for arbitrary networks (with any size) in arbitrary times. The posited results enable the analysis of the structural properties of growing networks in the short-time and intermediary time regimes, which are typically ignored in favor of the steady state. We corroborate the solutions via Monte Carlo simulations on various topologies. As a byproduct of the obtained solutions, we also demonstrate that the existing result in the literature on the asymptotic behavior of the Pearson coefficient of growing networks under the preferential attachment mechanism is incorrect, and we present the correct solution.
Myocardial Performance Index for Patients with Overt and Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Background Hypothyroid has several effects on the cardiovascular system. Global myocardial performance index (MPI) is used in assessment of both left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function. We compared MPI in hypothyroidism patients vs. normal control subjects. Material/Methods Eighty-two hypothyroid patients were divided into 2 groups: a subclinical hypothyroid (SH) group (n=50), and an overt hypothyroid (OH) group (n=32). The healthy control group (CG) constituted of 37 patients. TSH, FT3, and FT4, anti-TPO, anti-TG, insulin, lipid values, and fasting glucose levels were studied. All patients underwent an echocardiographic examination. Myocardial performance indexes were assessed and standard echocardiographic examinations were investigated. Results MPI averages in OH, SH, and control groups were 0.53±0.06, 0.51±0.05, and 0.44±0.75 mm, respectively. MPI was increased in the OH and SH groups in comparison to CG (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions MPI value was significantly higher in hypothyroid patients in comparison to the control group, showing that regression in global left ventricular functions is an important echocardiographic finding. Future studies are required to determine the effects of this finding on long-term cardiovascular outcomes.
The practices, challenges and recommendations of South African audiologists regarding managing children with auditory processing disorders

Audiologists managing children with auditory processing disorders (APD) encounter challenges that include conflicting definitions, several classification profiles, problems with differential diagnosis and a lack of standardised guidelines. The heterogeneity of the disorder and its concomitant childhood disorders makes diagnosis difficult. Linguistic and cultural issues are additional challenges faced by South African audiologists. The study aimed to describe the practices, challenges and recommendations of South African audiologists managing children with APD. A quantitative, non-experimental descriptive survey was used to obtain data from 156 audiologists registered with the Health Professions of South Africa. Findings revealed that 67% screened for APD, 42% assessed while 43% provided intervention. A variety of screening and assessment procedures were being administered, with no standard test battery identified. A range of intervention strategies being used are discussed. When the relationship between the number of years of experience and the audiologists’ level of preparedness to practice in the field of APD was compared, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.049) was seen in that participants with more than 10 years of experience were more prepared to practice in this area. Those participants having qualified as speech-language therapists and audiologists were significantly more prepared (p = 0.03) to practice than the audiologists who comprised the sample. Challenges experienced by the participants included the lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate screening and assessment tools and limited normative data. Recommendations included reviewing the undergraduate audiology training programmes, reinstituting the South African APD Taskforce, developing linguistically and culturally appropriate normative data, creating awareness among educators and involving them in the multidisciplinary team.
Needs of people with advanced dementia in their final phase of life: A multi-perspective qualitative study in nursing homes

Background: People with advanced dementia present an important target group for palliative care. They suffer a range of symptoms, and their verbal communication abilities are highly restricted. At present, little is known about their needs in the final phase of life. Aim: To identify the needs of people with advanced dementia in their final phase of life and to explore the aspects relevant to first recognize and then meet these needs. Design: Multi-perspective qualitative study using grounded theory methodology conducting group discussions, individual interviews, and participant observation. Setting/participants: The study encompassed nursing homes and involved health professionals, relatives, and residents with advanced dementia. Results: Data were collected in six nursing homes. Nine group discussions and three individual interviews were conducted comprising 42 health professionals and 14 relatives. Participant observations aided in giving the perspective of 30 residents with advanced dementia. Data analysis generated a total of 25 physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs divided into 10 categories. Physical needs were classified as follows: “food intake,” “physical well-being,” and “physical activity and recovery. ” Categories of psychosocial needs were classified as follows: “adaptation of stimuli,” “communication,” “personal attention,” “participation,” “familiarity and safety,” as well as “self-determination. ” Spiritual needs addressed “religion. ” The results revealed a multitude of key aspects for recognizing and meeting these needs, stressing the importance of personhood. Conclusion: People with advanced dementia in their final phase of life have a multitude of individual and complex needs. This evidence contributes to narrowing the current research gap, offering an orientation framework for research and practice.
Finding Your Mate at a Cocktail Party: Frequency Separation Promotes Auditory Stream Segregation of Concurrent Voices in Multi-Species Frog Choruses

Vocal communication in crowded social environments is a difficult problem for both humans and nonhuman animals. Yet many important social behaviors require listeners to detect, recognize, and discriminate among signals in a complex acoustic milieu comprising the overlapping signals of multiple individuals, often of multiple species. Humans exploit a relatively small number of acoustic cues to segregate overlapping voices (as well as other mixtures of concurrent sounds, like polyphonic music). By comparison, we know little about how nonhuman animals are adapted to solve similar communication problems. One important cue enabling source segregation in human speech communication is that of frequency separation between concurrent voices: differences in frequency promote perceptual segregation of overlapping voices into separate “auditory streams” that can be followed through time. In this study, we show that frequency separation (ΔF) also enables frogs to segregate concurrent vocalizations, such as those routinely encountered in mixed-species breeding choruses. We presented female gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) with a pulsed target signal (simulating an attractive conspecific call) in the presence of a continuous stream of distractor pulses (simulating an overlapping, unattractive heterospecific call). When the ΔF between target and distractor was small (e.g., ≤3 semitones), females exhibited low levels of responsiveness, indicating a failure to recognize the target as an attractive signal when the distractor had a similar frequency. Subjects became increasingly more responsive to the target, as indicated by shorter latencies for phonotaxis, as the ΔF between target and distractor increased (e.g., ΔF = 6–12 semitones). These results support the conclusion that gray treefrogs, like humans, can exploit frequency separation as a perceptual cue to segregate concurrent voices in noisy social environments. The ability of these frogs to segregate concurrent voices based on frequency separation may involve ancient hearing mechanisms for source segregation shared with humans and other vertebrates.