Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automated Visual Recognition of Individual African Penguins

African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) carry a pattern of black spots on their chests that does not change from season to season during their adult life. Further, as far as we can tell, no two penguins have exactly the same pattern. We have developed a real-time system that can confidently locate African penguins whose chests are visible within video sequences or still images. An extraction of the chest spot pattern allows the generation of a unique biometrical identifier for each penguin. Using these identifiers an authentication of filmed or photographed African penguins against a population database can be performed. This paper provides a detailed technical description of the developed system and outlines the scope and the conditions of application
Ryanodine releases calcium from sarcoplasmic reticulum in calcium‐tolerant rat cardiac myocytes.

1. The hypothesis tested in this study is that ryanodine depletes sarcoplasmic reticulum (s.r.) Ca2+ loading in suspensions of single adult rat cardiac myocytes by effecting Ca2+ release into the myoplasm resulting in an increase in myoplasmic free [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i). The latter was monitored by the fluorescent dye, quin2. 2. The competency of the technique to detect s.r. Ca2+ release was tested by using caffeine to induce Ca2+ release. The addition of 5‐10 mM‐caffeine to myocytes loaded with quin2 and incubated in a medium containing 1 mM‐Ca2+ gives a large, transient increase in fluorescence, which is interpreted as indicating an increase in [Ca2+]i. If the chelating agent EGTA is added to the cell suspension 1‐5 min prior to the caffeine, to a concentration sufficient to decrease extracellular Ca2+ to 0.1‐0.15 microM, then caffeine again gives a large, transient increase in fluorescence, indicative of the fact that sarcolemmal Ca2+ transport is not necessary for this response. The ionophore ionomycin also raises [Ca2+]i in a transient manner when added after EGTA. The addition of caffeine prior to ionomycin largely diminishes the response to the latter; however, addition of ionomycin prior to caffeine totally abolishes its effect to increase [Ca2+]i. This is taken to indicate that the intracellular store which is releasable by caffeine‐‐and which presumably reflects the s.r. ‐‐is also releasable by ionomycin: ionomycin, however, also gives access to another, minor intracellular pool. 3. The plant alkaloid, ryanodine, at concentrations of 10(‐8) to 10(‐6) M, consistently causes a slow and prolonged increase in [Ca2+]i when added to cell suspensions incubated with 1 mM‐extracellular Ca2+. Under conditions precluding net entry of Ca2+ into the cell, viz. 0.1 microM‐extracellular Ca2+, ryanodine causes a more limited, partially reversible, increase in [Ca2+]i. 4. When added prior to EGTA, ryanodine attenuates, or prevents, the subsequent response to caffeine: efficacy depends upon the time of pre‐incubation (1‐10 min) and the concentration of ryanodine (10(‐8) to 10(‐6) M). When the response to caffeine is largely prevented by ryanodine, the response to ionomycin is also severely attenuated, i.e. there is no evidence that ryanodine causes sequestration of Ca2+ within an ionomycin‐sensitive pool. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Sensitivity of Dynamical Quantities to Horizontal Resolution for a Climate Simulation Using the ECMWF (Cycle 33) Model

Abstract The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model (cycle 33) was integrated for a full seasonal cycle at four horizontal resolutions, T21, T42, T63, and T106. Within the limits imposed by the varying horizontal resolution all other aspects of the model were identical for each integration. In this paper a comparison is made of the dynamical aspects of the simulations. Fields of zonally averaged zonal wind, eddy heat and momentum fluxes, global divergent wind and vorticity, and stationary wave patterns are presented and compared for each resolution. The conclusions reached by this study are (i) T21 is qualitatively different from the higher resolutions; (ii) the highest resolution does not provide a simulation that is egregiously superior to T42. There are aspects of the T21 simulation, especially in tropical convection, that are clearly better than the higher resolutions; (iii) aside from differences in smaller-scale boundary forcing at the higher resolutions, the T42. T63, T106.
Benzamide-Type AMPA Receptor Modulators Form Two Subfamilies with Distinct Modes of Action

CX516 (BDP-12) and CX546, two first-generation benzamide-type AMPA receptor modulators, were compared with regard to their influence on AMPA receptor-mediated currents, autaptic responses in cultured hippocampal neurons, hippocampal excitatory postsynaptic currents, synaptic field potentials, and agonist binding. The two drugs exhibited comparable potencies in most tests but differed in their efficacy and in their relative impact on various response parameters. CX546 greatly prolonged the duration of synaptic responses, and it slowed 10-fold the deactivation of excised-patch currents following 1-ms pulses of glutamate. The effects of CX516 on those measures were, by comparison, small; however, the drug was equally or more efficacious than CX546 in increasing the amplitude of synaptic responses. This double dissociation suggests that amplitude and duration of synaptic responses are governed by different aspects of receptor kinetics, which are differentially modified by the two drugs. These effects can be reproduced in receptor simulations if one assumes that CX516 preferentially accelerates channel opening while CX546 slows channel closing. In binding tests, CX546 caused an approximately 2-fold increase in the affinity for radiolabeled agonists, whereas CX516 was ineffective. More importantly, even millimolar concentrations of CX516 did not influence the dose-response relation for CX546, suggesting the possibility that they bind to different sites. Taken together, the evidence suggests that benzamide modulators from the Ampakine family form two subgroups with different modes and sites of action. Of these, CX516-type drugs may have the greater therapeutic utility because of their limited efficacy in prolonging synaptic responses and in attenuating receptor desensitization.
Recent decay of a single palsa in relation to weather conditions between 1996 and 2000 in laivadalen, northern sweden

This study presents the decay of a small palsa complex between 1996 and 2000 in Sweden's southernmost major palsa bog. The outline of the palsa was mapped during three summers in 1996, 1999 and 2000 and an automatic weather station measured air temperature, precipitation, snow depth, wind speed and wind direction between 1997 and 2000. The decay of the palsa was enormous in the dome–shaped part of the palsa complex: the height decreased during the observation period from 2.3 m to 0.5 m. In 2000, the palsa dome had almost totally disappeared: only some peat blocks in a palsa pond were left. The decay of the palsa was complex with a number of degradational processes, of which the main processes were block erosion, thermokarst and wind erosion. Thermal melting has occurred along the edges of the palsa and possibly below the frozen core of the palsa since 1998/99. Wind erosion was observed during summer and the maximum estimated deflation was 80 cm. The decay of the palsa dome was especially large between 1999 and 2000, probably due to a high mean annual temperature, high summer precipitation and the warming influence of the large pond surrounding the palsa. The present climate in the palsa bog with a mean annual temperature of −0.8°C is not favourable for palsa development and maintenance, despite a strong wind regime which can provide suitable conditions for snowdrift.
CoRoT-7b: Convection in a Tidally Locked Planet

The number of terrestrial extrasolar planets found in the past few years is increasing rapidly. Some have masses ranging from 2 to 10 Earth masses, and the habitability of these planets is widely discussed in the planetary community. Due to observational limitations we will mostly be able to observe planets that are very close to its host star, resulting in a potentially tidally locked orbit. Our goal is to investigate if such planets can be habitable at all. But to do so, we first have to understand the convection behaviour of such planets.
Improving Efficiency and Fairness in P2P Systems with Effort-Based Incentives

Most P2P systems that have some kind of incentive mechanism reward peers according to their contribution, i.e. total bandwidth offered to the system. Due to the disparity in bandwidth capacity between P2P users on the Internet, the common effect of such mechanisms is that the fastest peers reap the highest benefits. We take a different approach and study how to incentivize cooperation in P2P systems based on effort, i.e. contribution relative to capacity. We make the following contributions: 1) we argue that contribution-based incentive schemes in P2P systems unnecessarily disfavor slow peers and decrease overall system performance; 2) we advocate the use of principles from an alternative economic vision, Participatory Economics (Parecon), to inspire systems to be fair and to ensure maximization of the social welfare while being efficient at the same time, and 3) we present the results of simulations in which we apply principles from Parecon to two popular real life systems: a) the popular file sharing BitTorrent protocol; b) a generic credit based sharing ratio enforcement scheme. Our approach yields a higher system performance and fairness and offers new insights into P2P incentive design.
Do oxysterols control cholesterol homeostasis?

Oxysterols are oxygenated derivatives of cholesterol with a very short half-life relative to cholesterol. As a consequence they are present in very low concentrations in all mammalian systems, almost invariably accompanied by 103- to 106-fold excess of cholesterol. Oxysterols are important intermediates in a number of hepatic and extrahepatic catabolic pathways, most of which generate water-soluble bile acids as final products. Based on largely indirect evidence, and in spite of their low levels in vivo, oxysterols are generally believed to be important physiological mediators of cholesterol-induced effects. Perhaps the best support for this model is the existence of nuclear receptors that bind these compounds with high affinity and the fact that oxysterols potently regulate the expression of sterol-sensitive genes in vitro. Here I consider the role of oxysterols as intermediates in different catabolic pathways, and I weigh the evidence for and against the “oxysterol hypothesis” of cholesterol homeostasis.
Eigenvalue Estimates of the spin c Dirac Operator and Harmonic Forms on Kahler{Einstein Manifolds

We establish a lower bound for the eigenvalues of the Dirac operator defined on a compact Kahler{Einstein manifold of positive scalar curvature and endowed with particular spin c structures. The limiting case is characterized by the existence of Kahlerian Killing spin c spinors in a certain subbundle of the spinor bundle. Moreover, we show that the Clifford multiplication between an effective harmonic form and a Kahlerian Killing spin c spinor field vanishes. This extends to the spin c case the result of A. Moroianu stating that, on a compact Kahler{Einstein manifold of complex dimension 4'+3 carrying a complex contact structure, the Clifford multiplication between an effective harmonic form and a Kahlerian Killing spinor is zero.
Antiretroviral therapy: now "it just works".

poor, and largely African American population. In that study, only 37% achieved virologic suppression (defined as a viral load ,500 copies/mL) 1 year after initiation of therapy. Of importance, this was approximately half the rate of treatment success achieved in contemporaneous clinical trials [3]. The authors cited several potential explanations for this difference, most prominently poor adherence to clinic visits, a phenomenon strongly linked to demographic factors that were highly prevalent in their clinic. One group in the cohort was an extreme example of the discordance between clinical trials results and what was happening in actual patient care: younger, non-white patients had a 1-year virologic suppression rate of only 25%. The results of this study were sobering and had a major impact on clinical
Alternative treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS . 9 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 22 1.1 OVERVIEW OF ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) . 22 1.1.1 Historical background . 22 1.1.2 Diagnostic classification . 22 1.1.3 Emotional lability . 25 1.1. 4 Prevalence. 25 1.1. 5 Comorbidity . 26 1.1. 6 Impairment. 28 1.1. 7 Heritability. 29 1.1. 8 Categorical versus dimensional approaches to diagnosis . 29 1.1. 9 Aetiology of ADHD. 30 1.1.10 Cognitive deficits in ADHD . 34 1.1.11 Treatments in ADHD . 38 1.1.12 Interim summary . 41 1.2 ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS IN ADHD: OMEGA-3 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACID SUPPLEMENTATION . 42 1.2. 1 Physiological effects on n-3 PUFA . 42 1.2. 2 PUFA in the pathophysiology of ADHD . 45 1.2. 3 Effects of n-3 PUFA deficiency . 45 1.2. 4 PUFA and other psychiatric disorders . 46 1.2. 5 Intervention studies . 46 1.2. 6 Interim summary . 49 1.3 ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS IN ADHD: CANNABINOID MEDICATION . 50 1.3. 1 Properties and effects of cannabis . 50 1.3. 2 Self-medication . 51
Volume Rendering - Mathematicals Models and Algorithmic Aspects.

In this paper various algorithms for rendering gaseous phenomena are reviewed. In computer graphics such algorithms are used to model natural scenes containing clouds, fog, flames and so on. On the other hand it has become an important technique in scientific visualization to display three dimensional scalar datasets as cloudy objects. Our emphasis is on this latter subject of so-called {\em direct volume rendering}. All algorithms will be discussed within the framework of linear transport theory. The equation of transfer is derived. This equation is suitable to describe the radiation field in a participating medium where absorption, emission, and scattering of light can occur. Almost all volume rendering algorithms can be shown to solve special cases of the equation of transfer. Related problems like the mapping from data values to model parameters or possible parallelization strategies will be discussed as well.
Field and monitoring data of debris-flow events in the Swiss Alps

Debris flow is a common process in the Swiss Alps and in other mountainous parts of the world. The under- standing of debris-flow behaviour is essential to assess the hazards they present. An important approach towards im- proving the knowledge of debris-flow processes is the gathering of real-time data by debris-flow observation stations. Observation stations were established in three Swiss debris flow prone watersheds and equipped with video cameras, ultrasonic devices, a radar device, geophones, and rain gauges. In 2000, four significant debris flows were observed. The data provided useful information on the mechanics of debris flows and on the efficiency of the measuring devices. The observed debris flows are characterized by volumes between 5 000 and 35 000 m 3 , front velocities ranging from 2 to 5 m/s, and peak discharges between 20 and 125 m 3 /s. The analysis of the monitoring data revealed that ultrasonic and radar devices are very helpful tools, whereas the quality of the geophone signal strongly depends on the substrate on which the instrument is installed (i.e., bedrock versus unconsolidated material). Video images are useful to verify the data obtained by the other devices. A dynamic analysis of one debris flow was carried out and the simulated re- sults are in fair agreement with the observed data.
Implementing an efficient method of check-pointing on CPU-GPU

In this paper, we describe the design, implementation, verification and analysis of providing finegrained architectural support for efficient check-pointing and restart on a CPU-GPU heterogeneous system. We use Multi2sim, a simulator, capable of emulating a CPU-GPU system. The simulator is capable of emulating a 32 bit x86 CPU that launches OpenCl Kernels on the GPU model emulating the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Southern Islands Architecture. We choose this configuration since this is one of the only known commercial GPU architectures. This helps demonstrate that the architectural changes proposed in this paper are feasible with low complexity on real GPU architectures. The AMDAPP benchmark suite with OpenCl kernels are used as tests for verification and analysis. Our implementation leverages the underlying micro-architecture and the execution model to save only the required state, at a much finer granularity, hence reducing the overhead of checkpoint and restart. The design is verified for correctness by comparing the traces generated by checkpoint and restart with golden execution traces for each of the AMDAPP workloads. We then estimate the size of the files generated during checkpoint and restart to compare them with the size of the complete Kernel state of the GPU at any given instant. Our design significantly reduces the memory overhead. Even though this paper does not discuss timing overhead, our design does not make drastic changes to the execution model, so we estimate low timing overhead.
Are You Charlie or Ahmed? Cultural Pluralism in Charlie Hebdo Response on Twitter

We study the response to the Charlie Hebdo shootings of January 7, 2015 on Twitter across the globe. We ask whether the stances on the issue of freedom of speech can be modeled using established sociological theories, including Huntington's culturalist Clash of Civilizations, and those taking into consideration social context, including Density and Interdependence theories. We find support for Huntington's culturalist explanation, in that the established traditions and norms of one's "civilization" predetermine some of one's opinion. However, at an individual level, we also find social context to play a significant role, with non-Arabs living in Arab countries using #JeSuisAhmed ("I am Ahmed") five times more often when they are embedded in a mixed Arab/non-Arab (mention) network. Among Arabs living in the West, we find a great variety of responses, not altogether associated with the size of their expatriate community, suggesting other variables to be at play.
Application of an Artificial Neural Network for Modeling the Mechanical Behavior of Carbonate Soils

AbstractCarbonate soils have some distinctive features such as compressibility and skeletal particle crushability that make them distinguishable from other types of soils. Many experimental models have been developed to describe the complex behavior of carbonate soils, but despite these numerous works, there is no unified approach that can model the behavior of various types of these soils. In this paper, a new approach based on artificial neural networks is presented to predict the mechanical behavior of different carbonate soils. The network had five input neurons, namely, relative density, axial strain, maximum void ratio, calcium carbonate content, and confining pressure; ten neurons in the hidden layer; and two neurons in the output layer, namely, deviatoric stress and volumetric strain at the end of each increment. The network was trained and tested using a database that included results from a comprehensive set of triaxial tests on three carbonate soils. Comparison of the model prediction and exper.
A Review of the Use of Medicare Claims Data in Plastic Surgery Outcomes Research

Summary: With a growing national emphasis in data transparency and reporting of public health data, it is essential for researchers to know more about Medicare claims data, the largest and most reliable source of health-care utilization and expenditure for individuals older than 65 years in the United States. This article provides an overview of Medicare claims data for plastic surgery outcomes research. We highlight essential information on various files included in Medicare claims data, strengths and limitations of the data, and ways to expand the use of existing data for research purposes. As of now, Medicare data are limited in providing adequate information regarding severity of diagnosed conditions, health status of individuals, and health outcomes after certain procedures. However, the data contain all health-care utilization and expenditures for services that are covered by Medicare Parts A, B, and D (inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory-based and physician-based services, and prescription drugs). Additionally, Medicare claims data can be used for longitudinal analysis of variations in utilization and cost of health-care services at the patient level and provider level. Linking Medicare claims data with other national databases and utilizing the ICD-10 coding system would further expand the use of these datasets in health services research.
Transplanted Oligodendrocytes and Motoneuron Progenitors Generated from Human Embryonic Stem Cells Promote Locomotor Recovery After Spinal Cord Transection

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) hold great promise for the treatment of patients with many neurodegenerative diseases particularly those arising from cell loss or neural dysfunction including spinal cord injury. This study evaluates the therapeutic effects of transplanted hESC‐derived oligodendrocyte progenitors (OPC) and/or motoneuron progenitors (MP) on axonal remyelination and functional recovery of adult rats after complete spinal cord transection. OPC and/or MP were grafted into the site of injury in the acute phase. Based on Basso‐Beattie‐Bresnahan scores recovery of locomotor function was significantly enhanced in rats treated with OPC and/or MP when compared with control animals. When transplanted into the spinal cord immediately after complete transection, OPC and MP survived, migrated, and differentiated into mature oligodendrocytes and neurons showing in vivo electrophysiological activity. Taken together, these results indicate that OPC and MP derived from hESC could be a useful therapeutic strategy to repair injured spinal cord. STEM CELLS 2010; 28:1541–1549.
The Application of Linear Quasigeostrophic Dynamics to Gulf Stream Rings

Abstract We have used linear quasigeostrophic dynamics to calculate the motion, decay and dispersion rates of radially symmetric initial disturbances with scales appropriate to Gulf Stream Rings. Baroclinic rings translate westward at 1–3 km day−1; asymmetries in the initial shape can give northward or southward components. The pressure maximum decays to half its value in about 6 months. Both short-time and long-time estimates of the translational speed and strength of the central pressure minimum are obtained. The dispersed waves can spread over much of the northwestern Atlantic (for linear dynamics). Using estimates of the number of Gulf Stream Rings present at any time, their ages, their average strength and their distribution, we have calculated the distribution of fluctuation kinetic energy from the Rings and the associated dispersed wave field. This order-of-magnitude estimate suggests that Rings and the near-neighbor dispersed waves from the Rings may be responsible for fluctuation energies compara.
Observer-based reset law design for linear uncertain systems based on model predictive strategy

In reset control systems, the reset law determines reset values at reset time instants. This paper considers the observer-based reset law design for uncertain systems. Model predictive strategy based approach is proposed to design the reset law by minimizing a quadratic cost function, the optimization problem is transformed into linear matrix inequality (LMI) form which can be easily solved by LMI technique. Several examples are given to show the effectiveness of the obtained results.