Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using a Novel Absolute Ontogenetic Age Determination Technique to Calculate the Timing of Tooth Eruption in the Saber-Toothed Cat, Smilodon fatalis

Despite the superb fossil record of the saber-toothed cat, Smilodon fatalis, ontogenetic age determination for this and other ancient species remains a challenge. The present study utilizes a new technique, a combination of data from stable oxygen isotope analyses and micro-computed tomography, to establish the eruption rate for the permanent upper canines in Smilodon fatalis. The results imply an eruption rate of 6.0 millimeters per month, which is similar to a previously published average enamel growth rate of the S. fatalis upper canines (5.8 millimeters per month). Utilizing the upper canine growth rate, the upper canine eruption rate, and a previously published tooth replacement sequence, this study calculates absolute ontogenetic age ranges of tooth development and eruption in S. fatalis. The timing of tooth eruption is compared between S. fatalis and several extant conical-toothed felids, such as the African lion (Panthera leo). Results suggest that the permanent dentition of S. fatalis, except for the upper canines, was fully erupted by 14 to 22 months, and that the upper canines finished erupting at about 34 to 41 months. Based on these developmental age calculations, S. fatalis individuals less than 4 to 7 months of age were not typically preserved at Rancho La Brea. On the whole, S. fatalis appears to have had delayed dental development compared to dental development in similar-sized extant felids. This technique for absolute ontogenetic age determination can be replicated in other ancient species, including non-saber-toothed taxa, as long as the timing of growth initiation and growth rate can be determined for a specific feature, such as a tooth, and that growth period overlaps with the development of the other features under investigation.
Retrieval of tropospheric ozone from simulations of nadir spectral radiances as observed from space

The global remote sensing of tropospheric ozone profiles is a critical environmental measurement to be performed by future satellite experiments. We have applied the method of nonlinear least squares in conjunction with an efficient and accurate line-by-line radiative transfer model to directly retrieve vertical profiles of tropospheric ozone from simulated clear sky, nadir-viewing radiances covering the entire 9.6-μm ozone band. The simulations have been generated for the specifications of the tropospheric emission spectrometer (TES), a Fourier transform spectrometer with 0.032 cm−1 resolution (half width at half maximum (HWHM), unapodized) being developed for NASA's Earth Observing System. Profile retrieval errors for background tropospheric ozone levels are characterized as a function of measurement noise, spectral resolution, and vertical resolution based on a linear error analysis and an initial guess profile with minimal constraint, hence negligible potential profile bias at all altitudes. The main conclusions of the study are that (1) for the TES experiment design, ozone profiles are retrievable to approximately ±5% (1σ) for a vertical resolution of 5 km in the middle and upper troposphere, (2) the stratospheric portion of the profile must be retrieved directly from the measured nadir spectrum, (3) for equal measurement times and considering the effects of both systematic error and source radiance noise, an optimal spectral interferometer resolution exists that is close to the TES resolution (0.032 cm−1; HWHM unapodized), and (4) ozone boundary layer retrievals are highly dependent on the contrast between that layer and the surface. The results from an ozone retrieval utilizing simulated radiances from an atmosphere defined by a radiosonde observation at Ascension Island are considered in the context of the solution of the nonlinear problem and the linear error analysis. The ozone retrieval analyses presented in this paper are principally concerned with the effects of measurement error and thus represent the optimal retrieval capability for the assumed design. However, the availability of the full high-resolution spectrum will enable the detection and mitigation of the systematic errors.
A Comparison of Outlier Detection Procedures and Robust Estimation Methods in GPS Positioning

With more satellite systems becoming available there is currently a need for Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) to exclude multiple outliers. While the single outlier test can be applied iteratively, in the field of statistics robust methods are preferred when multiple outliers exist. This study compares the outlier test and numerous robust methods with simulated GPS measurements to identify which methods have the greatest ability to correctly exclude outliers. It was found that no method could correctly exclude outliers 100% of the time. However, for a single outlier the outlier test achieved the highest rates of correct exclusion followed by the MM-estimator and the L1-norm. As the number of outliers increased MM-estimators and the L1-norm obtained the highest rates of normal exclusion, which were up to ten percent higher than the outlier test.
Ghrelin mimics fasting to enhance human hedonic, orbitofrontal cortex, and hippocampal responses to food.

BACKGROUND Ghrelin, which is a stomach-derived hormone, increases with fasting and energy restriction and may influence eating behaviors through brain hedonic reward-cognitive systems. Therefore, changes in plasma ghrelin might mediate counter-regulatory responses to a negative energy balance through changes in food hedonics. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether ghrelin administration (exogenous hyperghrelinemia) mimics effects of fasting (endogenous hyperghrelinemia) on the hedonic response and activation of brain-reward systems to food. DESIGN In a crossover design, 22 healthy, nonobese adults (17 men) underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) food-picture evaluation task after a 16-h overnight fast (Fasted-Saline) or after eating breakfast 95 min before scanning (730 kcal, 14% protein, 31% fat, and 55% carbohydrate) and receiving a saline (Fed-Saline) or acyl ghrelin (Fed-Ghrelin) subcutaneous injection before scanning. One male subject was excluded from the fMRI analysis because of excess head motion, which left 21 subjects with brain-activation data. RESULTS Compared with the Fed-Saline visit, both ghrelin administration to fed subjects (Fed-Ghrelin) and fasting (Fasted-Saline) significantly increased the appeal of high-energy foods and associated orbitofrontal cortex activation. Both fasting and ghrelin administration also increased hippocampus activation to high-energy- and low-energy-food pictures. These similar effects of endogenous and exogenous hyperghrelinemia were not explicable by consistent changes in glucose, insulin, peptide YY, and glucagon-like peptide-1. Neither ghrelin administration nor fasting had any significant effect on nucleus accumbens, caudate, anterior insula, or amygdala activation during the food-evaluation task or on auditory, motor, or visual cortex activation during a control task. CONCLUSIONS Ghrelin administration and fasting have similar acute stimulatory effects on hedonic responses and the activation of corticolimbic reward-cognitive systems during food evaluations. Similar effects of recurrent or chronic hyperghrelinemia on an anticipatory food reward may contribute to the negative impact of skipping breakfast on dietary habits and body weight and the long-term failure of energy restriction for weight loss.
A novel geometric approach for camera calibration

In this paper, we propose a novel geometric approach for solving camera calibration efficiently. Our camera calibration procedure is implemented on planar objects with rectangles on them. Images of the planar object are taken from different views where corner features are extracted. The geometric relationship between the rectangle corners is utilized to reduce the number of extrinsic unknown parameters. This process can further reduce the complexity of the optimization space greatly and thus enable our approach to be more accurate and more efficient than other geometric approaches. Experimental results on synthetic images and real images witness the advantage of our approach over state-of-the-art approaches.
Global Assessment of OMI Aerosol Single-scattering Albedo Using Ground-based AERONET and SKYNET Inversions

We compare the aerosol single-scattering albedo (SSA) retrieved by the near-UV two-channel algorithm (OMAERUV) applied to the Aura-Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) measurements with an equivalent inversion made by the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). This work is the first comprehensive effort to globally compare the OMI-retrieved SSA with that of AERONET using all available sites spanning the regions of biomass burning, dust, and urban pollution. An analysis of the co-located retrievals over 269 sites reveals that about 46 percent (69 percent) of OMI-AERONET matchups agree within the absolute difference of plus or minus 0.03 (plus or minus 0.05) for all aerosol types. The comparison improves to 52 percent (77 percent) when only 'smoke' and 'dust' aerosol types were identified by the OMAERUV algorithm. Regionally, the agreement between the two inversions was robust over the biomass burning sites of South America, Sahel, Indian subcontinent, and oceanic-coastal sites followed by a reasonable agreement over north-east Asia. Over the desert regions, OMI tends to retrieve higher SSA, particularly over the Arabian Peninsula. Globally, the OMI-AERONET matchups agree mostly within plus or minus 0.03 for the aerosol optical depth (440 nanometers) and UV-aerosol index larger than 0.4 and 1.0, respectively. We also compare the OMAERUV SSA against the inversion made by an independent network of ground-based radiometer called SKYNET with its operating sites in Japan, China, South-East Asia, India, and Europe. The advantage of the SKYNET database over AERONET is that it performs retrieval at near-UV wavelengths which facilitate the direct comparison of OMI retrievals with the equivalent ground-based inversion. Comparison of OMI and SKYNET over currently available sites reveals a good agreement between the two where more than 70 percent of matchups agree within the absolute difference of 0.05.
Catch a Breath: Non-invasive Respiration Rate Monitoring via Wireless Communication

Radio signals are sensitive to changes in the environment, which for example is reflected on the received signal strength (RSS) measurements of low-cost wireless devices. This information has been used effectively in the past years e.g. in device-free localization and tracking. Recent literature has also shown that the fading information of the wireless channel can be exploited to estimate the breathing rate of a person in a non-invasive manner; a research topic we address in this paper. To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrate for the first time that the respiration rate of a person can be accurately estimated using only a single IEEE 802.15. 4 compliant TX-RX pair. We exploit channel diversity, low-jitter periodic communication, and oversampling to enhance the breathing estimates, and make use of a decimation filter to decrease the computational requirements of breathing estimation. In addition, we develop a hidden Markov model (HMM) to identify the time instances when breathing estimation is not possible, i.e., during times when other motion than breathing occurs. We experimentally validate the accuracy of the system and the results suggest that the respiration rate can be estimated with a mean error of 0.03 breaths per minute, the lowest breathing rate error reported to date using IEEE 802.15. 4 compliant transceivers. We also demonstrate that the breathing of two people can be monitored simultaneously, a result not reported in earlier literature.
Application of Omori’s Decay Law to the 2001 Bhuj Aftershock Sequence for Kachchh Region of Western India

In the present study, the temporal behavior of 2001 Bhuj aftershock sequence in Kachchh region of western peninsular India is studied by the modified Omori law. The Omori law parameters p, c and K are determined with the standard errors by the maximum likelihood estimates using ZMAP algorithm in MatLab environment. The entire aftershock sequence is analyzed by diving it into three separate series with respect to time to weigh up the bigger earthquake of magnitude M 5.7 occurring on March 7, 2006 at Gedi fault. This study helps to understand the cumulative effect of the aftershocks generated by this bigger earthquake of the mainshock sequence. The results of this analysis are discussed with other studies of the different earthquake sequence for the different parts of the world and suggest that all the three series of Bhuj aftershock sequence follow the Omori relation. Values of parameter p vary significantly from series 1 to series 3, i.e., p-value varies significantly with time. Similarly, other two Omori law parameters K and c are also found to change significantly with time. These parameters are useful to describe temporal behavior of aftershocks and to forecast aftershock activity in time domain. Aftershock decay rate provides insight into stress release processes after the mainshock, thus helping to understand the heterogeneity of the fault zone properties and evaluate time-dependent seismic hazard analysis over the region.
Tracing sediment redistribution across a break in slope using rare earth elements

Experimentally determined spatial patterns of soil redistribution across a break in slope derived using 10 rare earth element (REE) oxides as sediment tracers are presented. An erosion experiment was conducted using simulated rainfall within a laboratory slope model measuring 2·5 m wide by 6 m long with a gradient of 15° declining to 2°. Soil was tagged with multiple REE and placed in different locations over the slope and at the end of the experiment REE concentrations were measured in samples collected spatially. A new method was developed to quantify the erosion and deposition depths spatially, the relative source contributions to deposited sediment and the sediment transport distances. Particle‐size selectivity over an area of net deposition was also investigated, by combining downslope changes in particle‐size distributions with changes in sediment REE composition within a flow pathway. During the experiment, the surface morphology evolved through upslope propagation of rill headcuts, which gradually incised the different REE‐tagged zones and led to sediment deposition at the break in slope and the development of a fan extending over the shallow slope segment. The spatial patterns in REE concentrations, the derived erosion and deposition depths, the relative source contributions to deposition zones and the sediment transport distances, corroborate the morphological observations and demonstrate the potential of using REE for quantifying sediment transport processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Plasmon lasers: coherent light source at molecular scales

Plasmon lasers are a new class of coherent optical frequency electromagnetic wave amplifiers that deliver intense, coherent and directional surface plasmons well below the diffraction barrier. The strongly confined electric fields in plasmon lasers can enhance significantly light‐matter interactions and bring fundamentally new capabilities to bio‐sensing, data storage, photolithography and optical communications.
Filopodia: The Fingers That Do the Walking

Filopodia are actin-based structures composed of parallel bundles of actin filaments and various actin-associated proteins, and they play important roles in cell-cell signaling, guidance toward chemoattractants, and adhesion to the extracellular matrix. Two mechanisms for the formation of filopodia have been suggested, each using different sets of actin-regulating proteins, creating some controversy in the field. New molecules, some of unknown functions, have also been implicated in filopodium formation, suggesting that other possible mechanisms of filopodium formation exist. We discuss established and novel proteins that mediate the formation and dynamics of filopodia, different mechanisms of filopodium formation, and the various functions that distinct filopodia perform. The actin cytoskeleton is regulated by a vast number of proteins that modulate the types of actin-based structures formed in the cell. The filopodium, one such actin-based structure, is composed of bundles of parallel, filamentous actin that extend from the edge of the cell and is thought to act as a sensor of the extracellular environment. Filopodia are involved in many cellular functions, including cell-cell signaling, cell migration toward extracellular guidance factors, and adhesion to the extracellular environment. Several of the molecules that modulate the actin cytoskeleton, such as the Arp2/3 (actin-related protein 2 and 3) complex, Enabled (Ena)/VASP (vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein) proteins, Dia2, and fascin, have been implicated in filopodium formation, leading to two proposed mechanisms of filopodium formation. However, with progress in the field and the identification of several new molecular players that stimulate filopodium formation, the possible mechanisms involved need to be reevaluated. We review established and novel molecules involved in filopodium formation and dynamics and discuss possible mechanisms of filopodium formation and the possible functions that filopodia formed by distinct mechanisms may play in different cell types.
CLASSIFICATION OF URBAN AERIAL DATA BASED ON PIXEL LABELLING WITH DEEP CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS AND LOGISTIC REGRESSION

Abstract. The recent success of deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) on a large number of applications can be attributed to large amounts of available training data and increasing computing power. In this paper, a semantic pixel labelling scheme for urban areas using multi-resolution CNN and hand-crafted spatial-spectral features of airborne remotely sensed data is presented. Both CNN and hand-crafted features are applied to image/DSM patches to produce per-pixel class probabilities with a L1-norm regularized logistical regression classifier. The evidence theory infers a degree of belief for pixel labelling from different sources to smooth regions by handling the conflicts present in the both classifiers while reducing the uncertainty. The aerial data used in this study were provided by ISPRS as benchmark datasets for 2D semantic labelling tasks in urban areas, which consists of two data sources from LiDAR and color infrared camera. The test sites are parts of a city in Germany which is assumed to consist of typical object classes including impervious surfaces, trees, buildings, low vegetation, vehicles and clutter. The evaluation is based on the computation of pixel-based confusion matrices by random sampling. The performance of the strategy with respect to scene characteristics and method combination strategies is analyzed and discussed. The competitive classification accuracy could be not only explained by the nature of input data sources: e.g. the above-ground height of nDSM highlight the vertical dimension of houses, trees even cars and the nearinfrared spectrum indicates vegetation, but also attributed to decision-level fusion of CNN’s texture-based approach with multichannel spatial-spectral hand-crafted features based on the evidence combination theory.
Analyzing the layout of composite textures

—The synthesis of many textures can be simpliﬁed if they are ﬁrst decomposed into simpler subtextures. Such bootstrap procedure allows to ﬁrst consider a ‘label texture’, that captures the layout of the sub-textures, after which the subtextures can be ﬁlled in. A companion paper focuses on this latter aspect. This paper describes an approach to arrive at the label texture. Pairwise pixel similarities are computed by matching simple color and texture features histograms in pixel neighbourhoods, using efﬁcient mean-shift search. A graph-based, unsupervised algorithm segments the image into subtextures, based on the similarities.
A Model of Storage I/O Performance Interference in Virtualized Systems

In this paper, we propose simple performance models to predict the impact of consolidation on the storage I/O performance of virtualized applications. We use a measurement-based approach based on tools such as blktrace and tshark for storage workload characterization in a commercial virtualized solution, namely VMware ESX server. Our approach allows a distinct characterization of read/write performance attributes on a per request level and provides valuable information for parameterization of storage I/O performance models. In particular, based on measures of quantities such as the mean queue-length seen upon arrival by requests, we define simple linear prediction models for the throughput, response times, and mix of read/write requests in consolidation based only on information collected in isolation experiments for the individual virtual machines.
Novel agents for the medical treatment of endometriosis

Purpose of review Current medical treatments for endometriosis-associated pain, including oral contraceptives, progestins and GnRH agonists, are partially effective and have significant side-effects. The purpose of this review is to present new hormonal and nonhormonal treatment for endometriosis. Recent findings At present, the ideal drug that can prevent, inhibit or stop development of endometriosis, reduce associated pain or infertility and allow conception does not exist. New drugs in development for endometriosis modulate GnRH, estrogen and/or progesterone receptors, or target endometriosis-associated inflammation, angiogenesis, adhesion and/or tissue invasion. Most have been tested in rodents, and have been evaluated in more relevant animal models like nonhuman primates (baboons), but only a few, that is GnRH antagonists, have been tested in human randomized controlled trials. Important safety and efficacy issues remain a concern, as steroid receptors, inflammation, adhesion, angiogenesis and tissue invasion are key factors in physiological events like ovulation, menstruation and embryo implantation. Summary New drugs for the medical treatment of endometriosis targeting both hormonal (GnRH, estrogen and progesterone receptors) and nonhormonal pathways (inflammation, angiogenesis, adhesions, tissue invasion) are promising, but their efficacy and safety need to be established in randomized human trials before they can be used in clinical practice.
Models of rock varnish formation constrained by high resolution transmission electron microscopy

Nanometre‐scale transmission electron microscope imagery of manganiferous rock varnishes from Death Valley, California, Peru, Antarctica, and Hawaii confirms prior infrared mineralogy studies. The building blocks of rock varnish are clay minerals that are cemented to the rock by oxyhydroxides of manganese and iron. Rock varnish is layered on the scale of nanometres, with the basic structure defined by the subparallel alignment of detrital clay minerals. Although only a few examples of bacteria were found, possible cell‐wall encrustations are ubiquitous and aligned with the clay minerals. Mn–Fe oxides appear to be mobilized from bacterial casts and then reprecipitate on clay minerals that weather into monolayers. These observations have implications for varnish dating and palaeoenvironmental techniques: K–Ar and uranium‐series dating of rock‐varnish oxides can only yield minimum ages; however, this small spatial scale of mobilization would not alter the signal from micron‐scale microchemical laminations.