Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extensive Neuronal Differentiation of Human Neural Stem Cell Grafts in Adult Rat Spinal Cord

Background Effective treatments for degenerative and traumatic diseases of the nervous system are not currently available. The support or replacement of injured neurons with neural grafts, already an established approach in experimental therapeutics, has been recently invigorated with the addition of neural and embryonic stem-derived precursors as inexhaustible, self-propagating alternatives to fetal tissues. The adult spinal cord, i.e., the site of common devastating injuries and motor neuron disease, has been an especially challenging target for stem cell therapies. In most cases, neural stem cell (NSC) transplants have shown either poor differentiation or a preferential choice of glial lineages. Methods and Findings In the present investigation, we grafted NSCs from human fetal spinal cord grown in monolayer into the lumbar cord of normal or injured adult nude rats and observed large-scale differentiation of these cells into neurons that formed axons and synapses and established extensive contacts with host motor neurons. Spinal cord microenvironment appeared to influence fate choice, with centrally located cells taking on a predominant neuronal path, and cells located under the pia membrane persisting as NSCs or presenting with astrocytic phenotypes. Slightly fewer than one-tenth of grafted neurons differentiated into oligodendrocytes. The presence of lesions increased the frequency of astrocytic phenotypes in the white matter. Conclusions NSC grafts can show substantial neuronal differentiation in the normal and injured adult spinal cord with good potential of integration into host neural circuits. In view of recent similar findings from other laboratories, the extent of neuronal differentiation observed here disputes the notion of a spinal cord that is constitutively unfavorable to neuronal repair. Restoration of spinal cord circuitry in traumatic and degenerative diseases may be more realistic than previously thought, although major challenges remain, especially with respect to the establishment of neuromuscular connections.
Design and Characterisation of Mucoadhesive Buccal Patch of Glimepride

The buccal region offers an attractive route of administration for systemic drug delivery. Glimepiride is a potent drug against Diabetes mellitus-II with a half life of 3-5 hours. Though Glimepride has 100% oral absorption, due to high first pass metabolism its bioavailability is less. The recommended dosage is 4 mg b.i. d leading to admistration of the drug twice a day. The present study is aimed to design sustained release mucoadhesive buccal patch formulation of Glimepride in order to by-pass GIT and release the drug for extended periods of time. Buccal patches were formulated using polymers Carbopol 934 P(CP 934 P), Ethyl Cellulose (EC) and Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose(HPMC) in various proportions and combinations. Tween 80 was used as permeation enhancer and glycerine as plasticizer. The patches were prepared by solvent casting method. The designed patches were evaluated for thickness uniformity, folding endurance, weight uniformity, content uniformity and swelling behaviour. In vitro diffusion studies were conducted for 24 hours in phosphate buffer (pH 6.6) solution using dialysis membrane. Formulation containing maximum amount of swellable and hydrophilic polymer HPMC K100M and CP 934 P, showed higher swelling index and could sustain for 24 hours. This occurred due to more hydrophilic polymeric matrix composition which retarded the release of the drug. The diffusion followed zero order kinetic model. ( R 2 = 0.9778)
Gaussian Word Embedding with a Wasserstein Distance Loss

Compared with word embedding based on point representation, distribution-based word embedding shows more flexibility in expressing uncertainty and therefore embeds richer semantic information when representing words. The Wasserstein distance provides a natural notion of dissimilarity with probability measures and has a closed-form solution when measuring the distance between two Gaussian distributions. Therefore, with the aim of representing words in a highly efficient way, we propose to operate a Gaussian word embedding model with a loss function based on the Wasserstein distance. Also, external information from ConceptNet will be used to semi-supervise the results of the Gaussian word embedding. Thirteen datasets from the word similarity task, together with one from the word entailment task, and six datasets from the downstream document classification task will be evaluated in this paper to test our hypothesis.
Assessing the Performance of the New IBM SP2 Communication Subsystem

IBM has recently launched an upgrade of the communication subsystem of its SP2 parallel computer. This change affects both hardware and software elements: high performance switch, message interface adapters, and a new implementation of the MPI message passing library. To characterize to what extent these changes will affect the execution times of parallel applications, the authors have run a collection of benchmarks on an SP2 with the old communication subsystem and on the same machine after upgrade. These benchmarks include point to point and collective communication tests as well as a set of complete parallel applications. The performance indicators are the latency and throughput exhibited by the basic communication tests, and the execution time in the case of real applications. Results indicate that only under certain circumstances does a significant performance increase result.
Early Holocene retreat of the George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula

The recent collapse of several Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves has been linked to rapid regional atmospheric warming during the twentieth century. New high-resolution lake sediment records of Holocene ice-shelf behavior show that the George VI Ice Shelf was absent beginning ca. 9595 calibrated (cal.) yr B.P., but reformed by ca. 7945 cal. yr B.P. This retreat immediately followed a period of maximum Holocene warmth that is recorded in some ice cores and occurred at the same time as an influx of warmer ocean water onto the Antarctic Peninsula shelf. The absence of the ice shelf suggests that early Holocene ocean-atmosphere variability in the Antarctic Peninsula was greater than that measured in recent decades.
A Multimedia System for the Management of Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO, in its 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, obliges State Parties to inventory cultural heritage and making those inventories accessible. This process is a rather complex activity, involving different skills and competences, such as ethnographers, social history experts, etc. who detect cultural heritage to be inserted in the catalog, identifying the best practices and defining what kind of information to keep track of. In this paper we will present three environments that compose a framework for the inventorying, cataloging, searching and browsing of multimedia digital objects related to ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage), developed to design and implement the AESS archive (Archive of Ethnography and Social History of Lombardy Region): the data concern mainly popular traditions handed down generation by generation, such as traditional fairs, popular songs, and customs.
EVOLUTION AND PHYLOGENETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF CARDIOIDEAN SHELL MICROSTRUCTURE (MOLLUSCA, BIVALVIA)

Abstract The shell microstructure of Carboniferous and Triassic permophorids; Triassic and Recent carditids; Devonian, Carboniferous, and Triassic crassatelloideans; and Jurassic through Recent cardioideans is examined in a phylogenetic context, using separate microstructural and morphologic data sets, as well as a combined data set. The microstructural and morphologic data sets are significantly incongruent, but the combined data set suggests that modiomorphoideans (modiomorphids and permophorids) are basal to crassatelloideans; crassatelloideans are basal to carditids (including Septocardia), and carditids are basal to cardiids. On the other hand, the possibility of direct permophorid ancestry for the carditid-cardiid clade cannot be excluded, as suggested by the retention of permophorid-like matted (transitional nacreous-porcelaneous) structure in some early carditids and cardiids. In the absence of stratigraphic data and other evidence for phylogenetic relationships, shell microstructure offers limited potential for assessing subfamily-level phylogenetic relationships within the Cardioidea. This is because of microstructural convergences reflecting biomechanical adaptations for fracture control and abrasion resistance, and possibly also selection for metabolic economy of secretion in tropical, oligotrophic habitats. General evolutionary trends in cardiid shell microstructure are nevertheless apparent: Cretaceous cardiids completely replaced an ancestral laminar, matted structure in their inner shell layer with non-laminar porcelaneous structures; evolved better defined CL structure, stronger reflection of the shell margins, and increased thickness or secondary loss of the ancestral prismatic outer shell layer; and, in Protocardia (Pachycardium) stantoni, added inductural deposition. Some Cenozoic cardiids then evolved wider first-order crossed lamellae, non-denticular composite prisms, composite fibrous prisms, ontogenetic submergence of a juvenile non-denticular composite prismatic outer shell layer into the CL middle shell layer, or ontogenetic submergence of the inner part of a juvenile fibrous prismatic outer shell layer into the CL middle shell layer. The shell microstructure of Hemidonax donaciformis is unusual for a cardioidean, and suggests closer affinities with the superfamily Tellinoidea than with the superfamily Cardioidea. Extensive inductural deposits in Protocardia (Pachycardium) stantoni raise the possibility that photosymbiosis evolved among some Mesozoic members of the Protocardiinae, thereby increasing the likelihood that this feature has evolved several times independently in the Cardiidae. Cemented, calcareous periostracal granules or spines are known to occur in modiolopsoideans, mytiloideans, modiomorphids, permophorids, trigonioids, astartids, cardiids, myoids, pholadomyoids, and septibranchoids. Consequently, the presence of these structures is not necessarily indicative of close anomalodesmatan affinities.
Positive matrix factorization of PM 2 . 5 – eliminating the effects of gas / particle partitioning of semivolatile organic compounds

Gas-phase concentrations of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) were calculated from gas/particle (G/P) partitioning theory using their measured particle-phase concentrations. The particle-phase data were obtained from an existing filter measurement campaign (27 January 2003– 2 October 2005) as a part of the Denver Aerosol Sources and Health (DASH) study, including 970 observations of 71 SVOCs (Xie et al., 2013). In each compound class of SVOCs, the lighter species (e.g. docosane in n alkanes, fluoranthene in PAHs) had higher total concentrations (gas + particle phase) and lower particle-phase fractions. The total SVOC concentrations were analyzed using positive matrix factorization (PMF). Then the results were compared with source apportionment results where only particle-phase SVOC concentrations were used (particle only-based study; Xie et al., 2013). For the particle only-based PMF analysis, the factors primarily associated with primary or secondary sources ( n alkane, EC/sterane and inorganic ion factors) exhibit similar contribution time series ( r = 0.92–0.98) with their corresponding factors ( n alkane, sterane and nitrate +sulfate factors) in the current work. Three other factors (light n alkane/PAH, PAH and summer/odd n alkane factors) are linked with pollution sources influenced by atmospheric processes (e.g. G/P partitioning, photochemical reaction), and were less correlated ( r = 0.69–0.84) with their corresponding factors (light SVOC, PAH and bulk carbon factors) in the current work, suggesti g hat the source apportionment results derived from particle-only SVOC data could be affected by atmospheric processes. PMF analysis was also performed on three temperature-stratified subsets of the total SVOC data, representing ambient sampling during cold (daily average temperature < 10C), warm (≥ 10C and≤ 20C) and hot (> 20C) periods. Unlike the particle only-based study, in this work the factor characterized by the low molecular weight (MW) compounds (light SVOC factor) exhibited strong correlations ( r = 0.82–0.98) between the full data set and each sub-data set solution, indicating that the impacts of G/P partitioning on recept r-based source apportionment could be eliminated by using total SVOC concentrations.
The influence of spatial processes at multiple scales on local community structure and function

ii PREFACE . iv TABLE OF CONTENTS . v LIST OF TABLES.vi LIST OF FIGURES.vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . viii 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 1 Study Sites . 7 2. FOOD WEB COMPLEXITY AND STABILITY ACROSS GRADIENTS OF HABITAT CONNECTIVITY . 11 3. GEOGRAPHIC SHIFTS IN HOW HABITAT SIZE AFFECTS TROPHIC STRUCTURE AND DECOMPOSITION.35 4. METACOMMUNITY SIZE INFLUENCES AQUATIC COMMUNITY COMPOSITION IN A NATURAL MESOCOSM LANDSCAPE . 49 5. BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS DRIVE CONTEXT DEPENDENCY OF TOPDOWN CONTROL IN BROMELIAD-DWELLING COMMUNITIES . 72 6. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS . 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 103 APPENDIX . 128
Optimal Controller Design using Evolutionary Algorithm with Convergence Properties

Many real-world applications require minimization of a cost function. This function is the criterion that figures out optimally. In the control engineering, this criterion is used in the design of optimal controllers. Cost function optimization has difficulties including calculating gradient function and lack of information about the system and the control loop. In this article, for the first time, gradient memetic evolutionary programming is proposed for minimization of non-convex cost functions that have been defined in control engineering. Moreover, stability and convergence of the proposed algorithm are proved. Besides, it is modified to be used in online optimization. To achieve this, the sign of the gradient function is utilized. For calculating the sign of the gradient, there is no need to know the cost-function’s shape. The gradient functions are estimated by the algorithm. The proposed algorithm is used to design a PI controller for nonlinear benchmark system CSTR (Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor) by online and offline approaches. KEYWORD: Nonlinear Optimal Controller, GMEP (Gradient Memetic Evolutionary Programming), Sign of Gradient Function, Online Optimization, Nonlinear Benchmark CSTR.
Later Holocene vegetation history of the Isles of Scilly, UK: coastal influence and human land use in a small island context

Small islands tend to experience exacerbated environmental/social vulnerabilities, due to isolation, size and a small resource base. The response of social communities to environmental stress can be addressed by compiling palaeoecological proxies for land management alongside archaeological records. This paper presents pollen data from four new late Holocene sequences that lie around sea‐level on the Isles of Scilly (south‐west England), to understand the impact of coastal change on island communities. Interpretation of sequences near the coastal zone can be confounded by problems in disentangling human impact from maritime and wetland influence. Multivariate analysis is used to separate samples influenced by maritime conditions and wetland development from ‘inland’ human land management practices. During the Bronze Age clearance of woodland resulted in an intensively managed pastoral system and archaeological datasets indicate that maritime resources formed an important part of the subsistence economy. Despite coastal change that resulted in loss of land area and reduced the extent of the intertidal zone, the pollen data and evidence from existing archaeological data show continuity through later prehistory and into the medieval period. The archaeological data and pollen evidence point towards a highly resilient community that employed a mixed and varied subsistence base.
Alcohol Research & Health: Preventing Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism—An Update

Alcohol consumption is prevalent among college students and can become problematic for some. Numerous randomized controlled trials have evaluated the efficacy of individual preventive interventions in reducing alcohol use and alcohol­related problems in college student populations. Consistent with earlier reviews, the balance of the evidence from studies conducted during the past 3 years strongly supports the efficacy of brief motivational interventions combined with personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) and personalized normative feedback (PNF), as well as of stand­alone PFI/PNF interventions. Recent analyses also continue to support the efficacy of alcohol expectancy challenge interventions, although the findings are less consistent. In addition, recent analyses offer mixed support for feedback­based interventions focused solely on blood alcohol concentration and for multicomponent, alcohol education–focused interventions that include elements of PFI/PNF. No evidence of efficacy was found for programs that only included alcohol education.
Evaluating the Raz-Rru System for Use in Florida Springs

ue to more than 50 years of rapid population growth and increased agricultural activity, nitrate (NO3) concentrations in Florida’s groundwater, springs, and rivers have increased dramatically. Shifts from macrophytic to algal cover in many of these systems are thought to result from this change in nutrient loading; however the linkages between hydrology, microbial communities, and nutrient processing are not well understood. In-stream nitrate concentrations are typically determined by autotrophic uptake as well as denitrification in biofilms and sediments of the hyporheic zone (HZ). While the hyporheic zone has been identified as a biogeochemical processing “hot spot,” its contribution to overall nitrate removal is debated (Chapman et al., 1995; Heffernan & Cohen, 2010). Numerous studies have shown that respiration in the HZ accounts for 40-90% of total stream ecosystem respiration and Hinkle et al (2001) showed that on the 1-2 km reach scale, 1/3 of hyporheic zones showed almost complete nitrate removal either by plants or denitrification (Pusch, et al, 1998). As shown in Figure 1, these transient storage and removal zones occur as a result of water transferring from the water column to the sediment and reappearing further downstream (Mulholland et al., 2008). Overall, biogeochemical reactions are controlled by the flow of carbon and electron acceptors into the hyporheic zone where this exchange is increased by pressure changes induced near geomorphic structures (Briggs et al., 2013, Engelhardt et al., 2011). In terms of impacts on water chemistry, residence time dictates the extent to which oxidationreduction (redox) reactions occur and is positively correlated with aerobic respiration (Briggs et al., 2013).
Estimation of Catchment‐Scale Soil Moisture Patterns Based on Terrain Data and Sparse TDR Measurements Using a Fuzzy C‐Means Clustering Approach

Accurate characterization of spatial soil moisture patterns and their temporal dynamics is important to infer hydrological fluxes and flow pathways and to improve the description and prediction of hydrological models. Recent advances in ground‐based and remote sensing technologies provide new opportunities for temporal information on soil moisture patterns. However, spatial monitoring of soil moisture at the small catchment scale (0.1–1 km2) remains challenging and traditional in situ soil moisture measurements are still indispensable. This paper presents a strategic soil moisture sampling framework for a low‐mountain catchment. The objectives were to: (i) find a priori a representative number of measurement locations, (ii) estimate the soil moisture pattern on the measurement date, and (iii) assess the relative importance of topography for explaining soil moisture pattern dynamics. The fuzzy c‐means sampling and estimation approach (FCM SEA) was used to identify representative measurement locations for in situ soil moisture measurements. The sampling was based on terrain attributes derived from a digital elevation model (DEM). Five time‐domain reflectometry (TDR) measurement campaigns were conducted from April to October 2013. The TDR measurements were used to calibrate the FCM SEA to estimate the soil moisture pattern. For wet conditions the FCM SEA performed better than under intermediate conditions and was able to reproduce a substantial part of the soil moisture pattern. A temporal stability analysis shows a transition between states characterized by a reorganization of the soil moisture pattern. This indicates that, at the investigated site, under wet conditions, topography is a major control that drives water redistribution, whereas for the intermediate state, other factors become increasingly important.
Stemming the Tide of Plastic Marine Litter: A Global Action Agenda

An estimated 20 million tons of plastic litter enters the ocean each year. This litter has a wide range of adverse environmental and economic impacts, from wildlife deaths and degraded coral reefs to billions of dollars in cleanup costs, damage to sea vessels, and lost tourism and fisheries revenues. Despite increased attention to the problem and general agreement about the need for reduction and cleanup of marine plastic litter, there is presently no overarching action plan that would effectively address the problem.This paper, fifth in the Emmett Center's Pritzker Brief series, reviews the universe of studies, policies and international agreements relevant to the problem and provides a suite of recommendations to achieve meaningful reductions in plastic marine litter by the year 2025.
Wind shear effects on cloud‐radiation feedback in the western Pacific warm pool

Upper tropospheric stratiform clouds associated with deep convection are important to global radiation budgets and to cloud‐radiation feedbacks on climate variability and change. Several recent observational studies indicate that vertical wind shear is an important factor affecting stratiform cloud fraction and cloud overlap. This study further examines wind shear effects on cloud properties (including cloud fraction and cloud optical depth) and associated top of atmosphere (TOA) and surface radiative fluxes, using observations from the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere program's Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) experiment and long‐term satellite measurements. Wind shear affects cloud‐radiative fluxes, through both the cloud fraction and optical thickness, in a strong and systematic way. In typical convecting conditions, shear‐induced additional cloudiness can reduce outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) by 10s of Wm−2, implying longwave radiative changes on the order of 10% of the total latent heating. Such cloud also reflects shortwave radiation, reducing surface downward flux (energy input to the ocean) by 10s of Wm−2. Current climate models lack these effects.