Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The nested structure of a scavenger community

Scavenging is a widespread phenomenon in vertebrate communities which has rarely been accounted for, in spite of playing an essential role in food webs by enhancing nutrient recycling and community stability. Most studies on scavenger assemblages have often presented an oversimplified view of carrion foraging. Here, we applied for the first time the concept of nestedness to the study of a species-rich scavenger community in a forest ecosystem (Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland) following a network approach. By analysing one of the most complete datasets existing up to now in a pristine environment, we have shown that the community of facultative scavengers is not randomly assembled but highly nested. A nested pattern means that species-poor carcasses support a subset of the scavenger assemblage occurring at progressively species-rich carcasses. This result contradicts the conventional view of facultative scavenging as random and opportunistic and supports recent findings in scavenging ecology. It also suggests that factors other than competition play a major role in determining community structure. Nested patterns in scavenger communities appear to be promoted by the high diversity in carrion resources and consumers, the differential predictability of the ungulate carcass types and stressful environmental conditions.
An Improved and Efficient Countermeasure against Power Analysis Attacks

Recently new types of differential power analysis attacks (DPA) against elliptic curve cryptosystems (ECC) and RSA systems have been introduced. Most existing countermeasures against classical DPA attacks are vulnerable to these new DPA attacks which include refined power analysis attacks (RPA), zero-value point attacks (ZPA), and doubling attacks. The new attacks are different from classical DPA in that RPA uses a special point with a zero-value coordinate, while ZPA uses auxiliary registers to locate a zero value. So, Mamiya et al proposed a new countermeasure against RPA, ZPA, classical DPA and SPA attacks using a basic random initial point. His countermeasure works well when applied to ECC, but it has some disadvantages when applied to general exponentiation algorithms (such as RSA and ElGamal) due to an inverse computation. This paper presents an efficient and improved countermeasure against the above new DPA attacks by using a random blinding concept on the message different from Mamiya’s countermeasure and show that our proposed countermeasure is secure against SPA based Yen’s power analysis which can break Coron’s simple SPA countermeasure as well as Mamiya’s one. The computational cost of the proposed scheme is very low when compared to the previous methods which rely on Coron’s simple SPA countermeasure. Moreover this scheme is a generalized countermeasure which can be applied to ECC as well as RSA system.
Microneedle Vaccination with Stabilized Recombinant Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin Induces Improved Protective Immunity

ABSTRACT The emergence of the swine-origin 2009 influenza pandemic illustrates the need for improved vaccine production and delivery strategies. Skin-based immunization represents an attractive alternative to traditional hypodermic needle vaccination routes. Microneedles (MNs) can deliver vaccine to the epidermis and dermis, which are rich in antigen-presenting cells (APC) such as Langerhans cells and dermal dendritic cells. Previous studies using coated or dissolvable microneedles emphasized the use of inactivated influenza virus or virus-like particles as skin-based vaccines. However, most currently available influenza vaccines consist of solubilized viral protein antigens. Here we test the hypothesis that a recombinant subunit influenza vaccine can be delivered to the skin by coated microneedles and can induce protective immunity. We found that mice vaccinated via MN delivery with a stabilized recombinant trimeric soluble hemagglutinin (sHA) derived from A/Aichi/2/68 (H3) virus had significantly higher immune responses than did mice vaccinated with unmodified sHA. These mice were fully protected against a lethal challenge with influenza virus. Analysis of postchallenge lung titers showed that MN-immunized mice had completely cleared the virus from their lungs, in contrast to mice given the same vaccine by a standard subcutaneous route. In addition, we observed a higher ratio of antigen-specific Th1 cells in trimeric sHA-vaccinated mice and a greater mucosal antibody response. Our data therefore demonstrate the improved efficacy of a skin-based recombinant subunit influenza vaccine and emphasize the advantage of this route of vaccination for a protein subunit vaccine.
The Power of Holomorphy -- Exact Results in 4D SUSY Field Theories

Holomorphy of the superpotential and of the coefficient of the gauge kinetic terms in supersymmetric theories lead to powerful results. They are the underlying conceptual reason for the important non-renormalization theorems. They also enable us to study the exact non-perturbative dynamics of these theories. We find explicit realizations of known phenomena as well as new ones in four dimensional strongly coupled field theories. These shed new light on confinement and chiral symmetry breaking. This note is based on a talk delivered at the PASCOS (94) meeting at Syracuse University.
An improved phase locking scheme for grid-connected-inverter under non-ideal grid conditions

A precise frequency and phase angle observation of the utility grid voltage is essential to the grid-connected-inverter control. In order to improve performance of the conventional phase locked loop algorithm under non-ideal grid conditions, a positive sequence filtering network based phase locking scheme is proposed. Owing to the positive sequence filtering network, only positive sequence component can be passed on to the phase detection stage. Furthermore, a feed-forward loop of angular frequency observation is introduced to make the phase locking scheme utility grid frequency adaptive. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can operate in an even heavily polluted grid environment and continue to generate a precise utility grid frequency and phase angle information.
Analysis of Blood Glucose Distribution Characteristics and Its Risk Factors among a Health Examination Population in Wuhu (China)

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) represent serious threats to human health, and as a result, this study was aimed at understanding the blood glucose distribution characteristics and the risk factors among a large health examination population in China. Methods: An investigation with physical and biochemical examinations and questionnaires was conducted in the physical examination center from 2011 to 2014 and as a result 175,122 physical examination attendees were enrolled in this study. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the factors influencing blood sugar levels. Results: The rates of IFG and DM were 6.0% and 3.8%. Prevalence were 7.6%/5.1% in males and 5.1%/2.8% in females for IFG and DM, respectively. The prevalence of IFG and DM were thus higher in males than in females. In the normal group, except high density lipoprotein (HDL) that was significantly higher than in the IFG and DM group, the other indexes (age, body mass index (BMI), glucose (Glu), total cholesterol (TC) and total glycerides (TG) were lower than those in the IFG and DM group. The proportion of IFG and DM also increased with the increases in proportion of abnormal blood pressure, smoking and alcohol consumption. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increasing age, high BMI, high TC, high TG and low HDL increased the risk of diabetes, while in males, in addition to the above factors, the smoking and drinking factors also increased the risk of diabetes. After the age of 65, the blood glucose level reached a peak in males, while in females, the increasing trends was on the rise. The inflexion age of the fast rise was younger in males than in females. Conclusion: The study population showed a high prevalence of DM and IFG among the adults. Regular physical examination for the early detection of diabetes is recommended in the high-risk population.
Imitation faculty based on a simple visuo-motor mapping towards interaction rule learning with a human partner

Imitation has been regarded as one of the key technologies indispensable for communication since the mirror neuron made a sensation not only in physiology but also in other disciplines such as cognitive science, and even robotics. This paper is aimed at building a human-robot communication system and proposes an observation-to-motion mapping system as the first step towards the final goal of learning natural communication. This system enables a humanoid platform to imitate the observed human motion, that is, a mapping from observed human motion data to its own motor commands. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed system, we examine whether the robot can acquire the interaction rule in an environment in which a human motion occurs under an artificial interaction rule
Series or Parallel Elasticity-Which is Better ?

There is broad agreement that elastic elements are similarly useful in legged robotic systems [1] as they are in nature [2]. The two primary ways of incorporating springs in the actuators of legged robots are to place them either in parallel or in series (Fig 1). While both types of actuator have been implemented in robots [3–5], it is still unclear which is the better choice from an energy consumption standpoint.
Antisense Reduction of Tau in Adult Mice Protects against Seizures

Tau, a microtubule-associated protein, is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in regard to both neurofibrillary tangle formation and neuronal network hyperexcitability. The genetic ablation of tau substantially reduces hyperexcitability in AD mouse lines, induced seizure models, and genetic in vivo models of epilepsy. These data demonstrate that tau is an important regulator of network excitability. However, developmental compensation in the genetic tau knock-out line may account for the protective effect against seizures. To test the efficacy of a tau reducing therapy for disorders with a detrimental hyperexcitability profile in adult animals, we identified antisense oligonucleotides that selectively decrease endogenous tau expression throughout the entire mouse CNS—brain and spinal cord tissue, interstitial fluid, and CSF—while having no effect on baseline motor or cognitive behavior. In two chemically induced seizure models, mice with reduced tau protein had less severe seizures than control mice. Total tau protein levels and seizure severity were highly correlated, such that those mice with the most severe seizures also had the highest levels of tau. Our results demonstrate that endogenous tau is integral for regulating neuronal hyperexcitability in adult animals and suggest that an antisense oligonucleotide reduction of tau could benefit those with epilepsy and perhaps other disorders associated with tau-mediated neuronal hyperexcitability.
Kein Grund für therapeutischen Pessimismus: Kognitive Verhaltenstherapie der Negativsymptomatik schizophrener Psychosen

Diagnose: Die folgende Kasuistik berichtet von der Symptomatik, der Fallkonzeption und der Behandlung einer 38-jährigen Patientin mit moderater Negativsymptomatik, einer schizophrenen Psychose, diagnostiziert mithilfe eines strukturierten klinischen Interviews (SKID I/DSM IV). Therapie: Die Therapie begann mit einer symptomspezifischen Psychoedukation und einer rückfallpräventiven Therapieeinheit. Die Zielfindung überforderte die Patientin partiell und aktualisierte Defizite. Zwei Therapieschwerpunkte wurden gemeinsam ausgewählt: der soziale Rückzug und der Emotionsausdruck. Für beide Themenbereiche wurden mit der Patientin ein Krankheitsmodell und ein Therapieplan herausgearbeitet. Die Reattribution der Affektverflachung sowie Rollenspiele zum Emotionsausdruck und zur Formulierung eigener Bedürfnisse waren die wichtigsten Interventionstechniken. Es gelang der Patientin, sich besser anzunehmen, und sie bemerkte positive Rückmeldungen von anderen. Das ermutigte sie, eigene Bedürfnisse und negative Emotionen auszudrücken. Ergebnisse: Die Negativsymptomatik, gemessen mit der Positive- and Negative-Syndrome Scale (PANSS) durch unabhängige und verblindete Rater, ist von 14 auf 8 Punkte zurückgegangen, der Schwerpunkt lag im Bereich des sozialen Rückzugs. Die Werte in der Symptomcheckliste (SCL) 90-R zeigten keine wesentliche Veränderung. Es gelang der Patientin, einen Arbeitsplatz auf dem zweiten Arbeitsmarkt zu erlangen. In den Patientenbeurteilungen gegen Ende der Therapie wurde von höherer Emotionalität und Zufriedenheit in den Therapiestunden berichtet. Schlussfolgerung: Die kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutische Behandlung, die auf der Basis einer individuellen Fallkonzeption störungs- und symptomspezifische Interventionsstrategien realisierte, zeigte sich als erfolgreich bei der Behandlung von Negativsymptomatik im Rahmen einer schizophrenen Psychose.
Perception of speech disorders: Difference between the degree of intelligibility and the degree of severity

Abstract Objective: In the clinical practice of speech disorders, trained listeners are often used as judges for scaling procedures in the perceptual assessment of a speech signal. The aim of this paper is to study how a group of experts performs a task of severity judgment compared with a task of intelligibility judgment. Study design: During an off-line experiment, 33 stimuli were presented as icons on a Powerpoint slide. Each icon was associated with a line allowing scoring of each stimulus heard by a simple click on it; each stimulus was judged in terms of voice, resonance, prosody and phonemic qualities. With an analogical scale placed at the bottom of the screen, the judges were asked to put a copy of the icon along the line; the space above the line was used for severity and the one under the line for the deterioration of intelligibility, the arrow being oriented on the right side for the ‘most severe’ or ‘the least intelligible’ and representing a range from 1 to 30. Results: The mean scores of severity and deterioration of intelligibility were 9.8 (+/− 1.72) and 8.2 (+/− 1.59), respectively. Three judges differed in the distribution of the scores, whereas two others gave a similar score distribution. Where a difference exists, the trend is, in the mid-range of severity, to give a lower score for the deterioration of intelligibility. This is associated with a difference as to how the judges use the characteristics of speech analysed just before performing the judgment. Conclusion: There is an argument for measuring intelligibility at the surface code level with a word recognition test or ordinal scales and for allowing the use of interval scales for severity judgment.
A model of attention and its relation to ADHD

We present a neuropsychological model of attention in normal and disordered states, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The model is based on a factor analysis of data derived from more than 600 children and adults. The robustness of the model is supported by its replication in a number of studies and its application in numerous investigations. It divides attention into a number of elements or factors including the capacities of encoding, focusing, and executing responses, sustaining attention, shifting attention, as well as a measure of response stability. The factors are assessed by measures derived from neuropsychological tests; we have posited a system of brain structures that maintains the elements of attention, each of which may be supported by a distinct cerebral region. We illustrate the use of the model in an investigation in progress of children referred to an inner-city family clinic for evaluation of ADHD. The ADHD study indicates that a number of aspects of attention are impaired in children diagnosed with ADHD, and that the deficient attention is probably not attributable to learning disorders. We also speculate on the possible role of immaturity of brain development in ADHD. MRDD Research Reviews 1999;5:169–176. Published 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Amphetamine use: crystal gazing into the new millennium: Part Two - alternative paths

The first part of this paper (Klee 2001) aimed to uncover the psychological, social, cultural and economic forces that drive the persisting demand for the amphetamines in many communities across the world. The evidence so far reveals many cross-cultural similarities in the use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS - see Note 1) despite the diverse environments in which they appear. The rapid emergence of the Global Village via the Internet, the impact of developed nations on the less developed, changed boundaries in Europe and the dismantling there of barriers to cross-border traffic may together partly account for this. The cultural and national identities are as pronounced as ever but the intrinsic attractions of the drugs are strong and appeal to similar groups irrespective of context. The global increase in production, trafficking and consumption of ATS reported by the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP 1996) confirms the universality and strength of their allure.
Divergent responses to spring and winter warming drive community level flowering trends

Analyses of datasets throughout the temperate midlatitude regions show a widespread tendency for species to advance their springtime phenology, consistent with warming trends over the past 20–50 y. Within these general trends toward earlier spring, however, are species that either have insignificant trends or have delayed their timing. Various explanations have been offered to explain this apparent nonresponsiveness to warming, including the influence of other abiotic cues (e.g., photoperiod) or reductions in fall/winter chilling (vernalization). Few studies, however, have explicitly attributed the historical trends of nonresponding species to any specific factor. Here, we analyzed long-term data on phenology and seasonal temperatures from 490 species on two continents and demonstrate that (i) apparent nonresponders are indeed responding to warming, but their responses to fall/winter and spring warming are opposite in sign and of similar magnitude; (ii) observed trends in first flowering date depend strongly on the magnitude of a given species’ response to fall/winter vs. spring warming; and (iii) inclusion of fall/winter temperature cues strongly improves hindcast model predictions of long-term flowering trends compared with models with spring warming only. With a few notable exceptions, climate change research has focused on the overall mean trend toward phenological advance, minimizing discussion of apparently nonresponding species. Our results illuminate an understudied source of complexity in wild species responses and support the need for models incorporating diverse environmental cues to improve predictability of community level responses to anthropogenic climate change.
Joint Frequency-domain Equalization and Multiple Transmit / Receive Antenna Diversity for DS-CDMA

Frequency-domain equalization used in MC-CDMA can be applied to the reception of DS-CDMA signals. Further performance improvement can be attained by the additional use of multiple transmit/receive antenna diversity. The BER performance improvement attainable by the joint use of frequency-domain equalization and multiple transmit/receive antenna diversity in a frequency-selective fading channel is evaluated by computer simulation. In this paper, delay transmit diversity (DTD) is used as transmit diversity. It is found that DTD is effective to improve the BER performance in a fading channel with weak frequency-selectivity.
An Effective Replication Technique Using Rateless Codes for Unstructured P2P Networks

It is possible to recover the original data from a certain amount of encoded data by using rateless codes, which are utilized for multicast streaming. In this paper, we propose an effective replication technique using rateless codes for unstructured P2P networks. More specifically, we propose a method to spread and find chunks generated from files efficiently. Through simulation experiments, we show that the proposed technique achieves high search success ratio and shortens the time required to obtain a file. Various Internet services are available today owing to the rapid growth of the Internet. Many of these services use the client/server (C/S) model in which a computer receiving the service (a client) is connected to a dedicated computer providing the service (the server). This model is based on the relationship between a master and a servant. The C/S model allows client data to be centrally managed on the server and thus has the advantage of being easy to design as a business model. In recent years, the rapid migration of everyday household connections to broadband has made it possible for such Internet services to transfer large volumes of content, and high- quality sophisticated services are expected in connection with these large-volume communications in the corporate world. It is extremely costly for the C/S model to provide such advanced services; the costs arise from the need to provide backup servers and to invest in equipment that can keep pace with the newest advances in processing capacity and can support an increasing number of clients. Quite simply, it is becoming more and more difficult to provide stable services using the C/S model. A new network model that is currently attracting much attention is the peer-to-peer (P2P) model. In this network model, computers (peers) on the network communicate and share files on an equal footing with each peer serving as both a server and a client. As a result, traffic is not concentrated only at the server unlike the case in the C/S model, thereby reducing the cost required for investing in new equipment.
Personalizing Local Search with Twitter

We propose a new ranking model for personalized local search. While local search verticals such as Google Local and Yahoo! Local incorporate physical proximity and public sentiment (reviews and ratings), their rankings reflect minimal personalization. We personalize local search by integrating Twitter social network structure and content analysis. Specifically, we infer sentiment for tweets by the user and those he follows which mention local businesses by name. We also provide a Google Android tailored interface and interaction experience for local search with Twitter integration. Evaluation of search accuracy and quality of user experience via a 25 person user study shows both improved search accuracy and anecdotal evidence of greater user satisfaction.