Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Spatial Frequency Representation Predicts Category Coding in the Inferior Temporal Cortex

Understanding the neural representation of spatial frequency (SF) in the primate cortex is vital for unraveling visual processing mechanisms in object recognition. While numerous studies concentrate on the representation of SF in the primary visual cortex, the characteristics of SF representation and its interaction with category representation remain inadequately understood. To explore SF representation in the inferior temporal (IT) cortex of macaque monkeys, we conducted extracellular recordings with complex stimuli systematically filtered by SF. Our findings disclose an explicit SF coding at single-neuron and population levels in the IT cortex. Moreover, the coding of SF content exhibits a coarse-to-fine pattern, declining as the SF increases. Temporal dynamics analysis of SF representation reveals that low SF (LSF) is decoded faster than high SF (HSF), and the SF preference dynamically shifts from LSF to HSF over time. Additionally, the SF representation for each neuron forms a profile that predicts category selectivity at the population level. IT neurons can be clustered into four groups based on SF preference, each exhibiting different category coding behaviors. Particularly, HSF-preferred neurons demonstrate the highest category decoding performance for face stimuli. Despite the existing connection between SF and category coding, we have identified uncorrelated representations of SF and category. In contrast to the category coding, SF is more sparse and places greater reliance on the representations of individual neurons. Comparing SF representation in the IT cortex to deep neural networks, we observed no relationship between SF representation and category coding. However, SF coding, as a category-orthogonal property, is evident across various ventral stream models. These results dissociate the separate representations of SF and object category, underscoring the pivotal role of SF in object recognition.
More is Different: Constructing the Most Comprehensive Human Protein High-Order Interaction Dataset

In biological systems, protein-protein interactions (PPI) weave intricate network patterns that are fundamental to the structural and functional integrity of organisms. While the majority of existing research has been anchored in the study of pairwise PPIs, the realm of high-order interactions remains relatively untapped. This oversight could potentially obscure the deeper intricacies embedded within biological networks. To address this gap, this study formulates a scientific task aimed at predicting high-order protein-protein interactions and introduces a multi-level comprehensive dataset focused on triadic high-order interactions within PPI networks. This dataset incorporates more than 80% of the known human protein interaction relationships and partitions into 60 subsets across a diverse range of functional contexts and confidence. Through meticulous evaluation using cutting-edge high-order network prediction tools and benchmark PPI prediction methodologies, our findings resonate with the principle that “more is different”. Triadic high-order interactions offer a more enriched and detailed informational canvas than their pairwise counterparts, paving the way for a deeper comprehension of the intricate dynamics at play in biological systems. In summary, this research accentuates the critical importance of high-order PPI interactions in biological systems and furnishes invaluable resources for subsequent scholarly investigations. The dataset is poised to catalyze future research endeavors in protein-protein interaction networks, elucidating their pivotal roles in both health and disease states.
Theropod dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian–Bathonian) of Skye, Scotland

The Isle of Skye, Scotland, has yielded a diverse Middle Jurassic terrestrial vertebrate fauna, but little is known about the predatory dinosaurs (theropods) occupying the top and secondary carnivore roles in these ecosystems, as their fossils have been limited to rare footprints of small- to mid-sized taxa. We describe two isolated theropod body fossils, a tooth and a middle-posterior caudal vertebra, from the late Bajocian–Bathonian Valtos Sandstone Formation of northeastern Skye, and use a variety of quantitative techniques to determine their taxonomic affinities. We conservatively refer both specimens to Theropoda indet. , but suggest that the tooth most likely belonged to a megalosaurid, basal tyrannosauroid, or dromaeosaurid, and that the vertebra belonged to a small-bodied basal coelurosaur of approximately the same size as Coelurus (c. 2 m long, c. 30 kg mass). Although fragmentary, these fossils and the footprints demonstrate that both small and mid to large theropods were present in the Middle Jurassic of Scotland, and that these may have included some of the oldest coelurosaurs, and potentially some of the earliest-diverging tyrannosauroids and dromaeosaurids. Supplementary material Skye Theropod Tooth: Data and Analyses are available at www.geolsoc. org.uk/SUP18866
On the problem of granulometry for a degraded Boolean image model

We consider a geometric coverage process consisting of a random number of disks, or grains, having random radii and positions in the plane. Our objective is granulometry: estimation of a parameter of the disk radius distribution, which is important in diverse applications such bio-assay, balistics, and numerical taxonomy. These disks are only incompletely observed due to mutual occlusion, spatial blurring and additive noise. We use a measurement channel paradigm to derive an expectation-maximization (EM) type estimation algorithm and a distortion-rate lower bound on estimation error.
A Discriminative Feature Representation Method Based on Dual Attention Mechanism for Remote Sensing Image Scene Classification

Considering the problem of low classification accuracy caused by large intra-class differences and high inter-class similarity in remote sensing image scene classification, a discriminative feature representation method based on dual attention mechanism is proposed. Due to the difference in the importance of the features contained in different channels and the significance of different local regions, the channel-wise and spatial-wise attention module are designed, based on the high-level features extracted by the Convolutional Neural Networks. Relying on the ability to extract contextual information, the Recurrent Neural Network is adopted to learn and output the importance weights of different channels and different local regions, paying more attention to the salient features and salient regions, while ignoring non-salience features and regions, to enhance the discriminative ability of feature representation. The proposed dual attention module can be connected to the last convolutional layer of any convolutional neural network, and the network structure can be trained end-to-end. Comparative experiments are conducted on the two public data sets AID and NWPU45. Compared with the existing methods, the classification accuracy has been significantly improved, and the effectiveness of the proposed method can be verified.
DisasterMM: Multimedia Analysis of Disaster-Related Social Media Data Task at MediaEval 2022

This paper describes the “DisasterMM: Multimedia Analysis of Disaster-Related Social Media Data” Task at MediaEval 2022. Social media data have been widely used in disaster management and have been proven valuable to all phases of a disaster: from early warning to nowcasting and from response to recovery. Nevertheless, the large streams of user-generated content can be very noisy and usually lack geoinformation, which is an essential attribute. The goal of DisasterMM is to tackle these challenges with two subtasks: RCTP (Relevance Classification of Twitter Posts), which asks participants to build a classifier that will predict whether a tweet is relevant or not to a disaster, in particular floods, and LETT (Location Extraction from Twitter Texts), which calls for a text analysis technique that detects which words inside a Twitter message refer to a location.
MEASURING THE EFFECTS OF SALMON PRESENCE ON FRESHWATER MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN STREAMS IN THURSTON COUNTY, WA

Salmon carcasses provide marine-derived nutrients and carbon to freshwater ecosystems, enhancing the diets of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Reciprocally, freshwater macroinvertebrates provide sustenance for juvenile salmon. In this study, we collected benthic macroinvertebrate samples and measured key water quality variables for 20 streams (10 salmon-bearing and 10 non-salmon streams). We hypothesized that macroinvertebrate total abundance, taxa diversity, and taxa richness would be greater in salmon-bearing versus non-salmon streams, and that community structure would differ between sites. We found that anadromous salmon presence or absence in streams had a significant influence on the structure of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and their taxa diversity. Taxa richness and Shannon’s Diversity Index values in salmon-bearing streams were both significantly greater than in non-salmon streams. Together, these results suggest salmon presence is a strong influence on macroinvertebrate communities in our study area.
Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders & Disorders

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a refutation text on conceptual knowledge of dyslexia among pre-professional undergraduate students in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). Undergraduate students (n = 60) majoring in CSD were randomly assigned to two groups. They completed a pre-test to evaluate their conceptual knowledge of dyslexia, then read a text about dyslexia. There were two texts: a refutation text and a control text. After reading the text, students completed a post-test to evaluate their conceptual knowledge of dyslexia. Four weeks after completing the post-test, students completed a maintenance test. The refutation text facilitated greater conceptual change about dyslexia than the control text in the short term (i.e., from pre-test to post-test). For both groups, participants’ conceptual knowledge of dyslexia decreased between the post-test and maintenance test. However, for both groups, conceptual knowledge of dyslexia was higher at the maintenance time point than it was at the pre-test time point. Refutation texts may be a viable option for facilitating conceptual change among pre-professional speech-language pathologists.
Finding reconnection lines and flux rope axes via local coordinates in global ion-kinetic magnetospheric simulations

Magnetic reconnection is a crucially important process for energy conversion in plasma physics, the substorm cycle of Earth’s magnetosphere and solar flares being prime examples. While 2D models have been widely applied to study reconnection, investigating reconnection in 3D is still in many aspects an open problem. Finding sites of magnetic reconnection in a 3D setting is not a trivial task, with several approaches from topological skeletons to Lorentz transformations proposed to tackle the issue. This work presents a complementary method by noting that the magnetic field structures near reconnection 5 lines exhibit two-dimensional features that can be identified in a suitably chosen local coordinate system. We present applications of this method to a hybrid-Vlasov Vlasiator simulation of the Earth’s magnetosphere, showing the complex magnetic topologies created by reconnection. We also overview the dimensionalities of magnetic field structures in the simulation to support the use of such coordinate systems.
Comparative life-history responses of lacewings to changes in temperature 2

8 Insects play a crucial role in all ecosystems, and are increasingly exposed to higher in 9 temperature extremes under climate change, which can have substantial effects on their 10 abundances. However, the effects of temperature on changes in abundances or population 11 fitness are filtered through differential responses of life-history components, such as 12 survival, reproduction, and development, to their environment. Such differential responses, 13 or trade-offs, have been widely studied in birds and mammals, but comparative studies on 14 insects are largely lacking, limiting our understanding of key mechanisms that may buffer or 15 exacerbate climate-change effects across insect species. Here, we performed a systematic 16 literature review of the ecological studies of lacewings (Neuroptera), predatory insects that 17 play a crucial role in ecosystem pest regulation, to investigate the impact of temperature on 18 life-cycle dynamics across species. We found quantitative information, linking stage-specific 19 survival, development, and reproduction to temperature variation, for 64 species from 39 20 locations. We then used multivariate generalized mixed models to assess how much 21 temperature accounts for the covariation in the latter life-history processes. We found that 22 developmental times consistently decreased with temperature for all species. Survival and 23 reproduction however showed a weaker and nonlinear response to temperature, with 24 highest survival and reproduction at optimal temperatures of 24-27 ºC. After accounting for 25 temperature and species-specific effects on life-history processes, the latter covaried 26 consistently across two main axes of variation related to development and reproductive 27 output, suggesting the presence of intrinsic life-history tradeoffs. Such tradeoffs appear to 28 differ to the ones observed in previous life-history analyses on vertebrates because, unlike 29 in vertebrates, higher survival to adult stages is positively associated with faster 30 developmental times. Our work highlights the importance of comparative studies of life-31 history responses of insects for climate-change and comparative demographic research and 32 points to important knowledge gaps, such as a better assessment of adult survival and 33 dormancy.
Improvement of in vitro method to screen for dry spell lenient banana assortments by sorbitol incited osmotic pressure

The identification of drought tolerant banana varieties under natural environment is complicated by difficulties in field management, variation in phenotype and unexpected rainfall events. A study to develop an alternative and rapid technique to screen for drought tolerant banana varieties by an in vitro technique was carried out. Effects of 0.09 M sucrose, 0.09 M sorbitol and 0.0 M sugar on growth of banana plantlets were compared under in vitro conditions. Results from this experiment proved that sorbitol is not a source of energy for in vitro banana plantlets and it could be used as a neutral osmotic inducer. Exploration of different levels of osmotic stress induced by 0.1 to 0.5 M sorbitol in the media and their effects on the growth of banana plantlets proved that the concentration of 0.2 M sorbitol is the highest concentration to reveal different growth parameters. The application of this concentration on banana varieties of Williams, Popoulou, Obino l'Ewai, Lep Chang Kut, Mbwazirume (negative control: drought sensitive), and Cachaco (positive control: drought tolerant) showed that all varieties were affected by sorbitol osmotic stress but the degree of sensitivity is different. Significant differences in reduction of gain of fresh and dry weight, new roots and leaves, and leaf area were observed between Cachaco and Mbwazirume. For most growth parameters, Cachaco showed the lowest reduction and Mbwazirume presented the highest reduction due to osmotic stress. The varieties Williams and Lep Chang Kut showed a level of drought tolerance after Cachaco. Lep Chang Kut had the lowest reduction of gain of new root and fresh weight, and water content; whereas, Williams occupied the second position of low reduction of gain of leaf area, number of leaves, and the third position in low reduction of gain of new root and dry weight. After, Obino l'Ewai occupied the fourth position and Popoulou came as the fifth position. Mbwazirume was the last in the tolerance of sorbitol induced osmotic stress with high reduction in many growth parameters evaluated. From this study, an in vitro technique to screen drought tolerant banana varieties was developed, and the drought tolerance of Cachaco and Lep Chang Kut and drought sensitivity of Mbwazirume were proved. The total gain of fresh and dry weight, number of new leaves and leaf area were identified to be appropriate growth parameters for identifying drought tolerant banana varieties under in vitro condition.
Focus on the ethnobotany of north Moroccan sage, false yellowhead, and carrot: insights into their pharmacological potential

Introduction: Medicinal plants, including spontaneous or cultured herbaceous and forest products, represent an inexhaustible source of traditional and effective remedies thanks to their active major compounds. The present work consists of an ethnobotanical study of three species namely, Daucus carota, Dittrichia viscosa, and Salvia officinalis, commonly used in Taounate region (Northern Morocco) to treat various diseases. Methods: An ethnopharmacological survey was conducted in Taounate region during a period of three months from January to March 2022, using semi-structured individual interviews. Then, the collected data were analyzed statistically using Microsoft Office software "Excel 2013" and System Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: Leaves, flowers, and stems were the most common parts used to prepare traditional remedies. Decoction, infusion, and cataplasm were the most used preparation methods, and the oral route was the most common method of administration for the studied plants. Moreover, the plants intervened in the treatment of digestive, genito-urinary, dermatological, neurological, and metabolic diseases. Conclusion: Information collected during this study shed light on the interesting know-how in traditional herbal medicine in the study area, and on the frequent use of medicinal plants as an alternative to synthetic drugs by the population of Taounate, to treat different diseases. Thereafter, the study’s results can constitute an important database for pharmacologists, phytochemists, toxicologists, and clinical researchers for the development of new drugs based on natural substances.
Optimizing a Regional White Spruce Tree Improvement Program: SNP Genotyping for Enhanced Breeding Values, Genetic Diversity Assessment, and Estimation of Pollen Contamination

The utilization of genotyping has gained significant popularity in tree improvement programs, aiding in enhancing the precision of breeding values, removing pedigree errors, the assessment of genetic diversity, and evaluating pollen contamination. Our study explores the impact of utilizing 5308 SNP markers to genotype seed orchard parents (166), progeny in progeny trials (667), and seedlot orchard seedlings (780), to simultaneously enhance variance components, breeding values, genetic diversity estimates, and pollen flow in the Region I white spruce (Picea glauca) breeding program in central Alberta (Canada). We compared different individual tree mixed models, including pedigree-based (ABLUP), genomic-based (GBLUP), and single-step pedigree-genomic-based (ssGBLUP) models, to estimate variance components and predict breeding values for the height and diameter at breast height traits. The highest heritability estimates were achieved using the ssGBLUP approach, resulting in improved breeding value accuracy compared to the ABLUP and GBLUP models for the studied growth traits. In the six orchard seedlots tested, the genetic diversity of the seedlings remained stable, characterized by an average of approximately 2.00 alleles per SNP, a Shannon Index of approximately 0.44, and an expected and observed heterozygosity of approximately 0.29. The pedigree reconstruction of seed orchard seedlings successfully identified consistent parental contributions and equal genotype contributions in different years. Pollen contamination levels varied between 11% and 70% using SNP markers and 8% to 81% using pollen traps, with traps both over- and under-estimating contamination. Overall, integrating genomic information from parents and offspring empowers forest geneticists and breeders in the Region I white spruce breeding program to correct errors, conduct backward and forward selections with greater precision, gain a deeper understanding of the orchard’s genetic structure, select superior seedlots, and accurately estimate the genetic worth of each orchard lot, which can ultimately result in increased and more precise estimates of genetic gain in the studied growth traits.
) gB

Interaction with host cell receptors initiates internalization of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) particles via endocytosis or macropinocytosis. Fusion of viral and host cell membranes, which is followed by release of the viral capsid into the cytoplasm, is executed by the core fusion machinery composed of gH, gL, and gB, that is common to all herpesviruses. KSHV infection has been shown to be sensitive to inhibitors of vacuolar acidification, suggestive of low pH as a fusion trigger. To analyze KSHV entry at the single particle level we developed single-and dual-fluorescent recombinant KSHV strains that incorporate tagged glycoproteins, capsid proteins or a combination thereof. In addition, we generated a hybrid rhesus monkey rhadinovirus (RRV) that expresses KSHV gB in place of RRV gB to analyze gB-dependent differences in infection pathways.
Strong and Precise Modulation of Human Percepts via Robustified ANNs

The visual object category reports of artificial neural networks (ANNs) are notoriously sensitive to tiny, adversarial image perturbations. Because human category reports (aka human percepts) are thought to be insensitive to those same small-norm perturbations – and locally stable in general – this argues that ANNs are incomplete scientific models of human visual perception. Consistent with this, we show that when small-norm image perturbations are generated by standard ANN models, human object category percepts are indeed highly stable. However, in this very same “human-presumed-stable” regime, we find that robustified ANNs reliably discover low-norm image perturbations that strongly disrupt human percepts. These previously undetectable human perceptual disruptions are massive in amplitude, approaching the same level of sensitivity seen in robustified ANNs. Further, we show that robustified ANNs support precise perceptual state interventions : they guide the construction of low-norm image perturbations that strongly alter human category percepts toward specific prescribed percepts. In sum, these contemporary models of biological visual processing are now accurate enough to guide strong and precise interventions on human perception.
A Study on Evaluation Method for Beam Proﬁle of Phased Array by Using Two-Dimensional Measurement Equipment

SUMMARY Recently, “Both-Side Retrodirective System” was proposed, as a beam convergence technique, for microwave high power transmission. To demonstrate the e ﬀ ectiveness of the both-side retrodirective system by experiment, the authors propose a 2-dimensional measurement equipment. Propagation in the parallel plate waveguide was analogized based on free-space propagation, and the theory and characteristics were clariﬁed by simulation. The electric ﬁeld distribution in the waveguide was measured by electric probe with the proposed equipment. Two types of measurement equipment were developed. One is a 4-element experiment system, which is a small-scale device for principle veriﬁcation. The other is a 16-element measurement equipment, which is intended to evaluate beam convergence of a both-side retrodirective system in the next step. The measured results were compared with simulation results. As a result, it was conﬁrmed that the beam formed in the waveguide was successfully measured. Thus, the e ﬀ ectiveness of 2-dimensional measurement equipment for evaluation of beam convergence was shown.