Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current system east of the Ryukyu Islands

[1] The Ryukyu Current System (RCS) is a northeastward current southeast of the Ryukyu Islands. The variation of current structure in the RCS region was investigated on the basis of the absolute geostrophic velocity estimated by inverse calculation using hydrographic data. Three realizations of the RCS are examined from cruises in May, September, and October 2002. It was found that the current structure in the RCS region is divided into upper and lower layers by an isopycnal surface of 26 σθ. The currents in both layers proceed northeastward along the eastern slope, east of the Ryukyu Islands. The current in the upper layer merges with the inflow from the interior region, resulting in larger northeastward volume transport southeast of Amami-Oshima Island than southeast of Okinawa Island. The volume transport from the east reaches more than 40% of that southeast of Amami-Oshima Island. On the other hand, the current in the lower layer is not affected by inflow from the east. It is also found that the upper RCS gains heat mainly through the advection of warm water from the east, resulting in an increase in the downstream temperature by about 0.5°C on average.
PSGL-1 is an evolutionarily conserved antiviral restriction factor

ABSTRACT The arms race between viruses and their hosts shaped the evolutionary history and the genome composition of both parties. Restriction factors are the first-line antiviral effectors encoded by the host genomes and are often conserved through evolution to protect the hosts from morbidity, mortality, and even extinction associated with viral infections. There are a number of restriction factors identified so far to counteract HIV infection of the humans. PSGL-1 is a recently characterized human restriction factor that acts both early and late in the viral life cycle, the latter of which is antagonized by the HIV-1 Vpu protein. Here we show in vitro and in a knockout mouse model that PSGL-1’s antiviral function is conserved in mice for combating the murine leukemia virus (MLV). In counter-strike, the glycogag or glycoMA proteins encoded by MLV can interact with mouse PSGL-1, which leads to Cul3-KLHL20 E3 ligase-dependent ubiquitination and degradation of PSGL-1. The amino acids involved in this interaction demonstrate the evidence of positive selection, manifesting the evolution pressure from the antagonism between PSGL-1 and glycogag/glycoMA. Our data support that PSGL-1 is an evolutionarily conserved antiviral restriction factor. Importance Studying the co-evolution between viruses and humans is important for understanding why we are what we are now as well as for developing future antiviral drugs. Here we pinned down an evolutionary arms race between retroviruses and mammalian hosts at the molecular level by identifying the antagonism between a host antiviral restriction factor PSGL-1 and viral accessory proteins. We show that this antagonism is conserved from mouse to human and from mouse retrovirus to HIV. Further studying this antagonism might provide opportunities for developing new antiviral therapies. Studying the co-evolution between viruses and humans is important for understanding why we are what we are now as well as for developing future antiviral drugs. Here we pinned down an evolutionary arms race between retroviruses and mammalian hosts at the molecular level by identifying the antagonism between a host antiviral restriction factor PSGL-1 and viral accessory proteins. We show that this antagonism is conserved from mouse to human and from mouse retrovirus to HIV. Further studying this antagonism might provide opportunities for developing new antiviral therapies.
Pure Cultures of Algae from Soil

The soil is a habitat for both autotrophic and heterotrophic micro flora. ' In a majority of cases, the latter outnumber the former many times, and attempts to separate the autotrophs from other organisms usually result in failure. Occasionally it may be desirable to have available in pure culture small autotrophic chlorophyll-bearing plants. These lend themselves readily to experimental conditions. Large numbers may be grown in a small space at comparatively little expense, and it might be desirable at times to study such plants in pure culture conditions. An easy method of obtaining algae free from contamination is highly desirable. This article describes, a method that has been employed for this purpose. The procedure consists in employing a selective medium for the.algae, a subsequent enrichment of the cells by incubation, a differential separation of cells, and finally, a plating on a solid medium. The selective medium for this purpose consists of any nutrient solution in which the algae will grow and which contains no organic carbon. The following was employed in this work:
The Impact of Occlusion on Depth Perception at Arm's Length

This paper investigates the accuracy of Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, particularly commercially available optical see-through displays, in depicting virtual content inside the human body for surgical planning. Their inherent limitations result in inaccuracies in perceived object positioning. We examine how occlusion, specifically with opaque surfaces, affects perceived depth of virtual objects at arm's length working distances. A custom apparatus with a half-silvered mirror was developed, providing accurate depth cues excluding occlusion, differing from commercial displays. We carried out a study, contrasting our apparatus with a HoloLens 2, involving a depth estimation task under varied surface complexities and illuminations. In addition, we explored the effects of creating a virtual “hole” in the surface. Subjects' depth estimation accuracy and confidence were a ssessed. Results showed more depth estimation variation with HoloLens and significant depth error beneath complex occluding surfaces. However, creating a virtual hole significantly reduced depth errors and increased subjects' confidence, irrespective of accuracy enhancement. These findings have important implications for the design and use of mixed-reality technologies in surgical applications, and industrial applications such as using virtual content to guide maintenance or repair of components hidden beneath the opaque outer surface of equipment. A free copy of this paper and all supplemental materials are available at https://bit.ly/3YbkwjU.
Different Mechanisms for Supporting Mental Imagery and Perceptual Representations: Modulation Versus Excitation

Recent research suggests imagery is functionally equivalent to a weak form of visual perception. Here we report evidence across five independent experiments on adults that perception and imagery are supported by fundamentally different mechanisms: Whereas perceptual representations are largely formed via increases in excitatory activity, imagery representations are largely supported by modulating nonimagined content. We developed two behavioral techniques that allowed us to first put the visual system into a state of adaptation and then probe the additivity of perception and imagery. If imagery drives similar excitatory visual activity to perception, pairing imagery with perceptual adapters should increase the state of adaptation. Whereas pairing weak perception with adapters increased measures of adaptation, pairing imagery reversed their effects. Further experiments demonstrated that these nonadditive effects were due to imagery weakening representations of nonimagined content. Together these data provide empirical evidence that the brain uses categorically different mechanisms to represent imagery and perception.
The scientific reinvention of forensic science

Forensic science is undergoing an evolution in which a long-standing “trust the examiner” focus is being replaced by a “trust the scientific method” focus. This shift, which is in progress and still partial, is critical to ensure that the legal system uses forensic information in an accurate and valid way. In this Perspective, we discuss the ways in which the move to a more empirically grounded scientific culture for the forensic sciences impacts testing, error rate analyses, procedural safeguards, and the reporting of forensic results. However, we caution that the ultimate success of this scientific reinvention likely depends on whether the courts begin to engage with forensic science claims in a more rigorous way.
Influence of eruption parameters on the thermofluid dynamics of collapsing volcanic columns

A complex two-phase flow model was employed to study the influence of eruption parameters on the thermofluid dynamics of collapsing volcanic columns. The physical model accounts for thermal and mechanical nonequilibrium between the gas and solid phases and for mixing of water vapor leaving the vent with the pressure- and temperature-stratified atmosphere. The effects of particle collisions and pressure were modeled by a kinetic theory of granular flow. Depending on the eruption, the simulations were performed from several to tens of minutes after the beginning of the eruptions. Initial conditions for simulations involved different vent diameters, exit velocities, and temperatures of the two phases, particle diameters, and water vapor contents of the flow mixture. After an initial period of fountain building, characterized by column collapse and formation of pyroclastic flows and material recycling from the collapsed column into the fountain, the simulated columns developed different structures, producing stationary or oscillatory behaviors which depend on the geometry and physical parameters of the gas and pyroclasts at the vent. Such behaviors of the collapsed columns may strongly influence the dynamics of pyroclastic flows, causing variations of the flow properties and strong pulsations of their mass flow rates. The application of spectral analysis to timewise distributions of some properties at different points in the fountains and pyroclastic flows permitted identification of the main frequencies associated with the nonstationary column phenomena. The columns at the transition between the collapsing and plinian behaviors developed characteristic suspended flows that spread radially at the fountain height level for several kilometers from the vent and their heads intermittently collapsed due to the changing atmospheric dynamics above and below the suspended flows. The results from computer simulations of collapsing volcanic columns are consistent with previous simple and complex modeling approaches, laboratory experiments, and field observations. The results also show that the thermofluid dynamics of collapsing volcanic columns may produce very complex depositional structures in pyroclastic flows and should therefore provide important clues in the interpretations of field deposits associated with explosive volcanic eruptions.
Image resolution effects for vegetation mapping from Landsat 7 ETM+ and Terra MODIS data

To evaluate accuracy of low resolution vegetation mapping for hydrological purposes, a comparative study of NDVI images derived from MODIS and Landsat 7 ETM+ data has been done. Main goal is to understand how effective MODIS images can be for vegetation characterization on large areas, as compared to the Landsat 7 ETM+ ones. This paper presents: a) a methodology aimed at measuring the difference between NDVI values derived from the two sources, considering synthetic parameters and investigating their dependency on the geometric resolution of the images. The proposed approach considers correspondences between the NDVI values computed in the MODIS pixel and statistics (e.g. mean value) extracted from the group of Landsat pixels belonging to the MODIS pixel polygons. In this comparison, a systematic bias was found, and corrected, in the computed MODIS NDVI b) a new resampling method for MODIS NDVI imagery, that allows its spatial resolution to be improved by using geometric reference information obtained from a classification of the main land covers derived from Landsat ETM+ data. The basic idea is that the geometric clustering of the territory does not change over time, even though its radiometry does. It is therefore possible to consider using a single ETM+ classification map to drive a continuous resampling process of the MODIS NDVI time series to a better geometric resolution. Some comparisons and tests are presented to demonstrate the added value of this approach in the exploitation of high frequency and low resolution satellite acquisitions (MODIS). In particular, NDVI images resampled to the geometric Landsat 7 ETM+ resolution and images obtained following the traditional approach (nearest neighbour) are compared, demonstrating the good performances of the resampling procedure. ∗ DITAG, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24 10129 TORINO ** DITIC, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24 10129 TORINO P. Boccardo, E. Borgogno Mondino, P. Claps, F. Perez
Emotional intelligence, spelling performance and intelligence quotient differences based on the executive function profile of schoolchildren

The aim of this study was to determine the correlation of intelligence quotient with spelling performance, executive functions and emotional intelligence and to analyse the profiles in executive functions presented by the participants and the differences at the level of intelligence quotient, spelling performance and emotional intelligence. The sample consisted of 125 Spanish primary school students (58 girls and 67 boys) in a rural environment, with a mean age of 10.92 (±.68) years. Intelligence quotient and spelling performance were measured using the BADyG test; executive functions were assessed using the NIH EXAMINER battery and emotional intelligence was assessed using the Bar‐On questionnaire. The results show a high correlation of intelligence quotient with spelling performance, executive functions and two emotional intelligence dimensions (adaptability and interpersonal). Two clusters were observed: a high executive functions profile (n = 74, 59.7%), with high scores on all measured variables (working memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, inhibition and verbal fluency), and a low executive functions profile (n = 50, 40.3%) with low scores on all executive functions‐related variables. The multivariate analysis of variance (MANCOVA) found variations between the different clusters in the intelligence quotient, spelling performance and interpersonal emotional intelligence variables, showing that students with a higher executive functions profile had a higher intelligence quotient, spelling performance and interpersonal emotional intelligence values. This study could help to better define what kind of teaching methodology favours the development of academic performance in schoolchildren and the connections between important educational aspects such as emotional intelligence and executive functions.
Beyond the challenge to research integrity: imposter participation in incentivised qualitative research and its impact on community engagement

ABSTRACT Participant recruitment for qualitative research often offers incentives (honoraria; financial compensation) to increase participation and to recognise lived expertise and time involved in research. While not necessarily a new concern for survey and other quantitative based research, ‘spam', ‘bot', and other inauthentic forms of research participation has rarely been an apparent issue for qualitative research, given it often involves levels of interaction with potential participants prior to the conduct of in-depth interviews and other methods of data generation. This is no longer the case. A troubling new occurrence has meant that recruitment calls for qualitative research with incentives on public-facing social media have attracted ‘imposter’ expressions of interest and research participation. In this commentary, we explore this challenge that goes beyond research integrity. In particular, we consider the risks of employing strategies to screen for legitimate participants and the importance of building trust and maintaining community engagement.
MagLoc-AR: Magnetic-Based Localization for Visual-Free Augmented Reality in Large-Scale Indoor Environments

Accurate localization of a display device is essential for AR in large-scale environments. Visual-based localization is the most commonly used solution, but poses privacy risks, suffers from robustness issues and consumes high power. Wireless signal-based localization is a potential visual-free solution, but its accuracy is not enough for AR. In this paper, we present MagLoc-AR, a novel visual-free localization solution that achieves sufficient accuracy for some AR applications (e.g. AR navigation) in large-scale indoor environments. We exploit the location-dependent magnetic field interference that is ubiquitous indoors as a localization signal. Our method requires only a consumer-grade 9-axis IMU, with the gyroscope and acceleration measurements used to recover the motion trajectory, and the magnetic measurements used to register the trajectory to the global map. To meet the accuracy requirement of AR, we propose a mapping method to reconstruct a globally consistent magnetic field of the environment, and a localization method fusing the biased magnetic measurements with the network-predicted motion to improve localization accuracy. In addition, we provide the first dataset for both visual-based and geomagnetic-based localization in large-scale indoor environments. Evaluations on the dataset demonstrate that our proposed method is sufficiently accurate for AR navigation and has advantages over the visual-based methods in terms of power consumption and robustness. Project page: https://github.com/zju3dv/MagLoc-AR/
Policy instruments facilitate China’s COVID-19 work resumption

Significance In the aftermath of COVID-19, the pressing challenge for governments worldwide is reigniting their labor forces amid economic downturns. China’s unique containment strategies and systematic work resumption efforts offer a crucial lens for addressing this global concern. By scrutinizing human mobility patterns of 320 million workers and sifting through half a million policy documents, our study reframes work resumption as a multifaceted behavioral transition influenced by capacity, motivation, and strategic policy choices. We highlight that the harmony of these elements—rather than their isolated presence—holds the key to accelerating postcrisis workforce revitalization, a takeaway that holds implications for recovery strategies globally.
SelfGraphVQA: A Self-Supervised Graph Neural Network for Scene-based Question Answering

The intersection of vision and language is of major interest due to the increased focus on seamless integration between recognition and reasoning. Scene graphs (SGs) have emerged as a useful tool for multimodal image analysis, showing impressive performance in tasks such as Visual Question Answering (VQA). In this work, we demonstrate that despite the effectiveness of scene graphs in VQA tasks, current methods that utilize idealized annotated scene graphs struggle to generalize when using predicted scene graphs extracted from images. To address this issue, we introduce the SelfGraphVQA framework. Our approach extracts a scene graph from an input image using a pretrained scene graph generator and employs semantically-preserving augmentation with self-supervised techniques. This method improves the utilization of graph representations in VQA tasks by circumventing the need for costly and potentially biased annotated data. By creating alternative views of the extracted graphs through image augmentations, we can learn joint embeddings by optimizing the informational content in their representations using an un-normalized contrastive approach. As we work with SGs, we experiment with three distinct maximization strategies: node-wise, graph-wise, and permutation-equivariant regularization. We empirically showcase the effectiveness of the extracted scene graph for VQA and demonstrate that these approaches enhance overall performance by highlighting the significance of visual information. This offers a more practical solution for VQA tasks that rely on SGs for complex reasoning questions.
Control of Soft Pneumatic Actuators with Approximated Dynamical Modeling

This paper introduces a full system modeling strategy for a syringe pump and soft pneumatic actuators(SPAs). The soft actuator is conceptualized as a beam structure, utilizing a second-order bending model. The equation of natural frequency is derived from Euler’s bending theory, while the damping ratio is estimated by fitting step responses of soft pneumatic actuators. Evaluation of model uncertainty underscores the robustness of our modeling methodology. To validate our approach, we deploy it across four prototypes varying in dimensional parameters. Furthermore, a syringe pump is designed to drive the actuator, and a pressure model is proposed to construct a full system model. By employing this full system model, the Linear-Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller is implemented to control the soft actuator, achieving high-speed responses and high accuracy in both step response and square wave function response tests. Both the modeling method and the LQR controller are thoroughly evaluated through experiments. Lastly, a gripper, consisting of two actuators with a feedback controller, demonstrates stable grasping of delicate objects with a significantly higher success rate.
Fox-H densities and completely monotone generalized Wright functions

Due to their flexibility, Fox-$H$ functions are widely studied and applied to many research topics, such as physics, statistics, viscoelasticity, etc. The special cases represented by the Mittag-Leffler and Wright functions prove their great impact. In this paper, we focus on certain explicit assumptions that allow us to use the Fox-$H$ functions as densities. We then provide a subfamily of the latter, called Fox-$H$ densities with moments of any order, and give their Laplace transforms as entire generalized Wright functions. The class of r.v. 's with these densities is proved to possess a monoid structure. We present eight subclasses of special cases of such densities (together with their Laplace transforms) that are particularly relevant in applications. To analyze the existence conditions of Fox-$H$ functions, we derive asymptotic results and their analytic extension.
Kinetic gases in static spherically symmetric modified dispersion relations

We study the dynamics of a collisionless kinetic gas in the most general static, spherically symmetric dispersion relation. For a static, spherically symmetric kinetic gas, we derive the most general solution to these dynamics, and find that any solution is given by a one-particle distribution function which depends on three variables. For two particular solutions, describing a shell of monoenergetic orbiting particles and a purely radial inflow, we calculate the particle density as a function of the radial coordinate. As a particular example, we study a κ-Poincaré modification of the Schwarzschild metric dispersion relation and derive its influence on the particle density. Our results provide a possible route towards quantum gravity phenomenology via the observation of matter dynamics in the vicinity of massive compact objects.