Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How are species interactions structured in species-rich communities? A new method for analysing time-series data

Estimation of intra- and interspecific interactions from time-series on species-rich communities is challenging due to the high number of potentially interacting species pairs. The previously proposed sparse interactions model overcomes this challenge by assuming that most species pairs do not interact. We propose an alternative model that does not assume that any of the interactions are necessarily zero, but summarizes the influences of individual species by a small number of community-level drivers. The community-level drivers are defined as linear combinations of species abundances, and they may thus represent e.g. the total abundance of all species or the relative proportions of different functional groups. We show with simulated and real data how our approach can be used to compare different hypotheses on community structure. In an empirical example using aquatic microorganisms, the community-level drivers model clearly outperformed the sparse interactions model in predicting independent validation data.
Parent-child value similarity and subjective well-being in the context of migration: An exploration

Intergenerational value similarity has a different meaning for migrants and minorities compared to the majority society. Whereas high parent-child value similarity among majority families more likely indicates successful internalization of societal values, high intergenerational similarity among migrants may indicate a lack of social integration into the host society. The present paper links parent-adolescent value similarity among migrant/minority and majority families to subjective well-being in two societies, Germany and Israel (Total N = 977 families). Analyses assess intergenerational similarity on all values from the Schwartz value circumplex. Among majority groups intergenerational value similarity is a predictor of life satisfaction. In minority groups it is more so a low distance of a family's value preferences to the modal values of the majority group that predicts life satisfaction – but only in Israel.
Low Apgar score, neonatal encephalopathy and epidural analgesia during labour: a Swedish registry‐based study

Maternal intrapartum fever (MF) is associated with neonatal sequelae, and women in labour who receive epidural analgesia (EA) are more likely to develop hyperthermia. The aims of this study were to investigate if EA and/or a diagnosis of MF were associated to adverse neonatal outcomes at a population level.
Craniopharyngioma: radiologic and histologic findings and recurrence.

PURPOSE To identify the CT and MR characteristics of craniopharyngiomas, to evaluate the histologic types of craniopharyngioma, and to compare the radiologic/histologic appearance and type of therapy with tumor recurrence. METHODS We reviewed the records of 45 patients with craniopharyngiomas for which surgical specimens (n = 45), preoperative MR or CT studies (n = 27), or other MR or CT studies or reports (n = 18) were available. Radiologic appearance, histologic morphology, treatment, and tumor recurrence were studied. RESULTS Adamantinomatous epithelium was found in 40 of 45 surgical specimens, keratin in 34 of 45, and squamous epithelium in 11 of 45. A continuum of mixed morphology rather than distinct subtypes of tumors was found. The radiologic appearance did not correlate with the histologic features. No statistically significant difference was found between children and adults with respect to tumor size, calcification, histology, or tumor recurrence. Patients treated with radiation after subtotal resection had far fewer tumor recurrences (n = 3) than patients treated with surgery alone (n = 18). CONCLUSION Craniopharyngiomas could not be divided into distinct histologic types. No differentiating radiologic or histologic characteristics could be established for craniopharyngiomas in children versus adults. Radiation treatment was strongly associated with tumor regression or lack of recurrence.
Robust output feedback H∞ control for networked control systems based on the occurrence probabilities of time delays

This article is concerned with the problem of robust H ∞ output feedback control for a kind of networked control systems with time-varying network-induced delays. Instead of using boundaries of time delays to represent all time delays, the occurrence probability of each time delay is considered in H∞ stability analysis and stabilisation. The problem addressed is the design of an output feedback controller such that, for all admissible uncertainties, the resulting closed-loop system is stochastically stable for the zero disturbance input and also simultaneously achieves a prescribed H∞ performance level. It is shown that less conservativeness is obtained. A set of linear matrix inequalities is given to solve the corresponding controller design problem. An example is provided to show the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method.
Modeling Network-Level Impacts of P2P Flows

It has been clear for a long time that P2P applications represent a large proportion of the load on the network infrastructure. This is why significant research efforts have been devoted to reducing this load, in the form of ISP friendly P2P solutions. These solutions focus on the volume of the traffic as opposed to the number of network flows. At the same time, we are witnessing a great demand for more and more intelligence in the network such as flow based monitoring and application recognition, which have an overhead that depends on the number of flows and not on the volume of the traffic. Besides, the implementation of this intelligence is moving from the access layer towards the distribution and core layers. We show through measurements that the typical devices serving in the different layers of the infrastructure are not sufficiently scalable in terms of the number of flows, and, most importantly, the combined effect of an increase in the access layer bandwidth together with an increase in the P2P (e.g., BitTorrent) population will practically disable the intelligent networking capabilities. Our conclusion is that a novel focus needs to be incorporated into P2P research that concentrates on reducing the number of network flows generated by P2P applications.
High School Graduation of Students with Disabilities: How Long Does it Take?

This study explores the high school graduation experiences of students with disabilities, using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2, 2010), and asking: (a) After entering high school, on average, how long does it take for students with disabilities to graduate? (b) Is time to graduation different for students with different disabilities? Eight years after entering high school, 72.4% of students with disabilities had graduated—with the maximum conditional probability of graduation occurring 5 years after entering high school. In addition, students' type of disability affected both their conditional probability of graduation in each year and the temporal profile of those probabilities. Limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and policy implications are discussed.
Love and personal relationships: Navigating on the border between the ideal and the real

In the psychological literature, love is often seen as a construct inseparable from that of close, interpersonal relationships. As a result, it has been often assumed that the same motivational factors underlie both phenomena. This often leads researchers to propose that love does not exist in itself—that it is an emotion which stems solely from a need for attachment, fulfillment of reproductive aims, or for social exchange. The popular cultural imagination, however, perceives love as a unique, mysterious, altruistic, ever-lasting bond between two people—a vision of love which is at odds with its supposed psychological origins. We propose that an ideal of love and its enactment in our culture is a result of two intertwining factors. Within the last few centuries, interpersonal relationships and love have replaced religion as islands of existential comfort. Toward this end, lovers project illusory meaning on their partners. The laborious and turbulent process of withdrawing these projections can lead to what many thinkers think “love” is: bestowal of value on another, and consequent respect for, and care for that person, unmotivated by one's own needs, within the context of a real relationship.
Tiefe Hirnstimulation bei fortgeschrittener Parkinson-Erkrankung

Zusammenfassung Im Kompetenznetz Parkinson wurde seit 2001 unter Leitung der Kieler Universitätsklinik die erste multizentrische, randomisierte und kontrollierte Studie zur Wirksamkeit der tiefen Hirnstimulation (STN-Stimulation) bei der Therapie des fortgeschrittenen Morbus Parkinson durchgeführt. Die tiefe Hirnstimulation wurde erstmals mit einer Kontrollgruppe verglichen, die mit einer optimierten medikamentösen Therapie behandelt wurde. Die Lebensqualität, als wichtigster Zielparameter, wurde mit dem Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), die motorischen Symptome über die Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) beurteilt. Die Analyse des PDQ-39 Summationswertes ergab bei den stimulierten Patienten eine deutliche Verbesserung der Lebensqualität von 25%, wobei die Subscores Mobilität, Aktivitäten des Alltags, emotionales Wohlergehen, Stigmatisierung sowie körperliche Beschwerden besonders gut auf die Therapie ansprachen. Unter den motorischen Parametern führte die STN-Stimulation zu einer Verringerung der motorischen OFF-Phasen-Symptome um 41% und der Dyskinesien um 54%. Außerdem besserte sich die Beweglichkeit der Patienten im Tagesverlauf, ON-Phasen nahmen von 3,5 auf 8,4 h zu, OFF-Phasen sanken von 6 auf 1,3 h, außerdem nahmen störende Überbewegungen ab. Zudem konnte bei den stimulierten Patienten die Medikamentendosis um ca. 50% vermindert werden. Bei der ausschließlich medikamentös behandelten Kontrollgruppe zeigten sich keine wesentlichen Veränderungen in den genannten Parametern. Schwere unerwünschte Wirkungen waren in der Stimulationsgruppe häufiger. Weniger schwere unerwünschte Wirkungen waren in der Medikationsgruppe häufiger.
Testing Economic Hypotheses with State-Level Data: A Comment on Donohue and Levitt

State‐level data are often used in the empirical research of both macroeconomists and microeconomists. Using data that follows states over time allows economists to hold constant a host of potentially confounding factors that might contaminate an assignment of cause and effect. A good example is a fascinating paper by Donohue and Levitt (2001, henceforth DL), which purports to show that hypothetical individuals resulting from aborted fetuses, had they been born and developed into youths, would have been more likely to commit crimes than youths resulting from fetuses carried to term. We revisit that paper, showing that the actual implementation of DL’s statistical test in their paper differed from what was described. (Specifically, controls for state‐year effects were left out of their regression model. ) We show that when DL’s key test is run as described and augmented with state‐level population data, evidence for higher per capita criminal propensities among the youths who would have developed, had they not been aborted as fetuses, vanishes. Two lessons for empirical researchers are, first, that controls may impact results in ways that are hard to predict, and second, that these controls are probably not powerful enough to compensate for the omission of a key variable in the regression model. (Data and programs to support this comment are available on the web site of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.)
Motivation to Quit Smoking in Substance Abusing Outpatients: Association with Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms

ABSTRACT Objectives: This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between motivation to quit smoking and symptoms of depression and anxiety among 216 smokers seeking outpatient substance abuse treatment. Methods: Subjects were administered the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, a Likert scale of readiness to quit smoking, the Smoking Stages of Change Algorithm, the Addiction Severity Index and the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence. Results: There was a relationship between anxiety and motivation to quit smoking, with subjects reporting higher anxiety also reporting greater motivation to quit smoking. This relationship held up after controlling for the effects of substance use severity, race, gender, and cigarettes smoked per day. However, there was no relationship between depression and motivation to quit smoking. Conclusions: This is one of the few studies examining the role of anxiety and depression on motivation to quit smoking among smokers attending a substance abuse treatment program. The findings help to clarify the relationship between mental health symptoms and motivation to quit smoking in a substance abuse treatment setting.
Tanks, Chauffeurs and Backseat Drivers: Competence in MMORPGs

In this paper learning and competence in the MMORPG World of Warcraft are explored. In order to facilitate movement between in-game and the real-world contexts of play, data was collected from couples who play the game together while sharing real space. Through the collection and analysis of interview data the authors develop a framework for the examination of learning practices. The ways in which players acquire and assess skills, balance different skill levels, and accommodate different play preferences, are discussed. It is argued that competence in MMORPGs is complex, variously constituted and assessed by players in diverse ways.
Abnormal endothelin B receptor vasomotor responses in patients with Hirschsprung's disease.

BACKGROUND Hirschsprung's disease is associated with defects in the endothelin-3 and endothelin B receptor genes. AIM To assess the in vivo vasomotor responses to endothelin B receptor stimulation in patients with Hirschsprung's disease. METHODS Forearm blood flow was measured using venous occlusion plethysmography in 10 patients with Hirschsprung's disease and 10 matched healthy controls during intra-brachial infusion of the highly selective endothelin B receptor agonist, sarafotoxin S6c. To simulate endothelin B receptor dysfunction, sarafotoxin S6c was co-infused with the highly selective endothelin B receptor antagonist, BQ-788, in six of the healthy controls. RESULTS Sarafotoxin S6c caused a brief initial vasodilatation followed by a slow-onset, sustained vasoconstriction (p<0.001). Compared to control subjects, patients with Hirschsprung's disease had a substantial impairment of the initial vasodilatation whilst producing a more pronounced subsequent vasoconstriction (p<0.001). In healthy controls, co-infusion of BQ-788 and sarafotoxin S6c caused a similar pattern of responses to those obtained in patients with Hirschsprung's disease: abolition of the initial vasodilatation and augmentation of subsequent vasoconstriction (p<0.001). DISCUSSION In the majority of patients with Hirschsprung's disease, there is a functional defect of the vascular endothelin B receptor.
Error Exponent for Multiple-Access Channels: Lower Bounds

A unified approach is presented for the derivation of reliability function lower bounds for the two-user discrete memoryless (DM) multiple-access channel (MAC). In particular, three lower bounds are presented. The first one (random coding) is identical to the best known lower bound on the reliability function of DM-MACs. It is shown that the random coding bound characterizes the performance of the average code in the constant-type code ensemble. The second bound (typical random coding) characterizes the typical performance (the performance of a high probability subset of the ensemble) of the constant-type code ensemble. To derive the third bound (expurgated), we eliminate some of the codewords from each of the codebooks. This is the first bound of this type that explicitly uses the method of expurgation for DM-MACs. It is shown that the exponent of the typical random coding and the expurgated bounds are greater than or equal to the exponent of the known random coding bounds for all rate pairs. Moreover, an example is given where the exponent of the expurgated bound is strictly larger for a certain input distribution. Each of the presented bounds is universal in the sense that there exists a code that attains the bound for all channels with given input and output alphabets. The approach presented for the DM-MAC is first demonstrated for the point-to-point discrete memoryless channel (DMC), by rederiving the random coding and expurgated exponents, and deriving a bound that characterizes the typical performance of the constant-type code ensemble.
Homozygous nu/nu mice with transplanted human malignant tumors.

The model systems hitherto applied to the study of human cancers have been based on transplantation of malignant tissue to immunologically privileged sites, e.g., the cheek pouch in the Syrian hamster and the anterior chamber of the eye in rats and guinea pigs, or to immunologically incompetent host organisms, e.g., the chorioallantoic membrane of ferti-lized hen's eggs, newborn animals, and experimental animals in which the immune response was suppressed by irradiation, cortisone treatment, thymectomy and, more recently, administration of antilymphocyte and-antithvmocvte sera.
Transplantation Tolerance in NF-κB-Impaired Mice Is Not Due to Regulation but Is Prevented by Transgenic Expression of Bcl-xL1

NF-κB is a key regulator of transcription after TCR and costimulatory receptor ligation. To determine the role of T cell-intrinsic NF-κB activation in acute allograft rejection, we used IκBαΔN-Tg mice (H-2b) that express an inhibitor of NF-κB restricted to the T cell compartment. We have previously shown that these mice permanently accept fully allogeneic (H-2d) cardiac grafts and secondary donor skin grafts, and that splenocytes from these tolerant mice have reduced alloreactivity when restimulated in vitro. These results were compatible with either deletion or suppression of allospecific T cells as possible mechanisms of tolerance. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of transplant tolerance in these mice. IκBαΔN-Tg mice did not have increased numbers or function of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells either before or after cardiac transplantation. In addition, tolerance could not be transferred to fresh NF-κB-competent T cells and was not permissive for linked suppression to skin grafts sharing donor and third-party alloantigens, suggesting that dominant suppression is not the mechanism by which IκBαΔN-Tg mice achieve tolerance. In contrast, overexpression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL in T cells from IκBαΔN-Tg mice resulted in effective rejection of cardiac allografts and correlated with an increased frequency of splenocytes producing IFN-γ in response to alloantigen. Together, these results suggest that the death of alloreactive T cells may be partly responsible for the transplantation tolerance observed in mice with defective T cell-intrinsic NF-κB activation.
Multi-Item Spectrum Auction for Recall-Based Cognitive Radio Networks With Multiple Heterogeneous Secondary Users

In this paper, we consider a spectrum auction system among heterogeneous secondary users (SUs) with various quality-of-service (QoS) requirements and a recall-based primary base station (PBS) that could recall channels after auction to deal with a sudden increase in its own demand. Beginning with proposing a recall-based single-winner spectrum auction (RSSA) algorithm, we further extend our work to allow multiple winners in order to improve the spectrum utilization and propose a recall-based multiple-winner spectrum auction (RMSA) algorithm. A combinatorial auction model is then formulated, and Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism is applied in the payment function. Moreover, the proposed RMSA algorithm focuses on a fair spectrum allocation among heterogeneous SUs and the increase in the PBS's auction revenue. Both theoretical and simulation results show that the proposed spectrum auction algorithm can improve the spectrum utilization with guarantees on SUs' heterogeneous QoS requirements.
Association of TNFSF8 regulatory variants with excessive inflammatory responses but not leprosy per se.

BACKGROUND Type 1 reactions (T1R) affect a considerable proportion of patients with leprosy. In those with T1R, the host immune response pathologically overcompensates for the actual infectious threat, resulting in nerve damage and permanent disability. Based on the results of a genome-wide association study of leprosy per se, we investigated the TNFSF15 chromosomal region for a possible contribution to susceptibility to T1R. METHODS We performed a high-resolution association scan of the TNFSF15 locus to evaluate the association with T1R in 2 geographically and ethnically distinct populations: a family-based sample from Vietnam and a case-control sample from Brazil, comprising a total of 1768 subjects. RESULTS In the Vietnamese sample, 47 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) overlapping TNFSF15 and the adjacent TNFSF8 gene were associated with T1R but not with leprosy. Of the 47 SNPs, 39 were cis-expression quantitative trait loci (cis-eQTL) for TNFSF8 including SNPs located within the TNFSF15 gene. In the Brazilian sample, 18 of these cis-eQTL SNPs overlapping the TNFSF8 gene were validated for association with T1R. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these results indicate TNFSF8 and not TNFSF15 as an important T1R susceptibility gene. Our data support the need for infection genetics to go beyond genes for pathogen control to explore genes involved in a commensurate host response.
Research on engine fault diagnosis technology based on ANFIS

Aim to the problem of engine fault diagnostic accuracy, research an engine fault diagnosis technologies based on adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. The method is proposed that using known input and output data, construct a fuzzy inference system, internal systems adjust the membership function using a least squares method based on hybrid learning algorithm and reverse the spread of the combination by four major state test engine (including a normal state, the stator short-circuit fault, the rotor rupture fault and the rotor eccentricity fault) of experimental data, The results shows that the outputs of test is basic agreement with the expected outputs. The algorithm is proposed and it is used for fault diagnosis of asynchronous engine with high diagnostic accuracy, it can overcome the traditional engine fault diagnosis method has big error, for a long time and other shortcomings.
Observation interventions for motor skill learning and performance: an applied model for the use of observation

Using the 5 Ws and 1 H journalistic approach of Beveridge Mackie (2011), we reviewed the observation intervention research that targeted sport skills or daily movement tasks. Through this review, it became apparent that while there is much research that examines observation of a live or video (what), skilled model (who) for enhanced skill learning (why) in laboratory settings (where), there is a need for not only a wider scope of research, but also a deeper one. Following the review of literature, an applied model for the use of observation is advanced. Through this applied model, we propose that practitioners should first assess the observer's characteristics and the task characteristics for which any observation intervention is being created. The practitioner should then gain an understanding of the context and the desired outcomes of the learner and use this advance information to vary the characteristics of: (1) who is observed; (2) what is observed and what instructional features will accompany the intervention; (3) when it is observed; and (4) how the observed information should be delivered. Future research directions are also forwarded with regard to identified gaps in the literature.