Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parasitoid sex allocation affects co-evolution of patch selection and stability in host–parasitoid systems

Previously, we have show that the co-evolution of patch selection strategies of hosts and parasitoids in heterogeneous environments can lead to contrary habitat choices in which the hosts preferentially select patches that the parasitoids avoid. Since this work did not include the variable parasitoid sex ratios that have been found in field and laboratory systems with contrary choices, we extend previous analyses to determine how parasitoid sex allocation co-evolves with host and parasitoid patch preferences. In our analysis, we assume the environment consists of two patch types: lower quality patches and higher quality patches. In the lower quality patches, hosts have a lower intrinsic rate of growth and female parasitoid larvae are less likely to survive than male parasitoid larvae. Our co-evolutionary analysis reveals that the co-evolved parasitoids preferentially search for hosts in higher quality patches, lay primarily female eggs on hosts encountered in these patches, and are more likely to lay male eggs on hosts encountered in the lower quality patches. As a co-evolutionary response, the hosts lay twice as many eggs in the poorer patches as they would if parasitoid sex ratios did not evolve. We conclude by showing that the co-evolution of parasitoid sex allocation with patch selection can stabilize host-parasitoid interactions even when co-evolution of patch selection by itself does not.
Notes on Automata 1. Monoids Acting on Sets

We say that a monoid S with identity element acts on a set Q if q(st) = (qs)t and q = q. As with groups, if we set s ∼ = t whenever qs = qt for all q ∈ Q, then ∼ = is a congruence relation and S/ ∼ = acts faithfully on Q. (1) Q is a finite set (whose elements are called states), (2) S is a monoid, (3) · is an action of S on Q, (4) q 0 ∈ Q (called the starting state), and (5) F ⊆ Q (whose elements are called final states or accept states). We define the language of M as L S (M) = {s ∈ S : q 0 s ∈ F }, and say that these elements are recognized or accepted by M. If h : T → S is a homomorphism, then T acts on Q via q * t = q · h(t). Thus we obtain another DFA M = Q, T, * , q 0 , F with the corresponding language L T (M). We are particularly interested in the case when T is the free monoid generated by some finite alphabet A. We now define a nondeterministic finite automaton (NFA) with-moves and show how one can be represented as a DFA with the same language. An NFA is a quadruple N = Q, S 0 , q 0 , F where (1) Q is a finite set, (2) S 0 is a finite set of binary relations on the set Q, with a distinguished member ∈ S 0 such that ⊇ ∆ (equality), (3) q 0 ∈ Q, and (4) F ⊆ Q.
Bank CEO Materialism: Risk Controls, Culture and Tail Risk

We investigate how the prevalence of materialistic bank CEOs has evolved over time, and how risk management policies, non-CEO executives’ behavior and tail risk vary with CEO materialism. We document that the proportion of banks run by materialistic CEOs increased significantly from 1994 to 2004, that the strength of risk management functions is significantly lower for banks with materialistic CEOs, and that non-CEO executives in banks with materialistic CEOs insider trade more aggressively around government intervention during the financial crisis. Finally, we find that banks with materialistic CEOs have significantly more downside tail risk relative to banks with non-materialistic CEOs.
Skipping steps in deformable simulation with online model reduction

Finite element simulations of nonlinear deformable models are computationally costly, routinely taking hours or days to compute the motion of detailed meshes. Dimensional model reduction can make simulations orders of magnitude faster, but is unsuitable for general deformable body simulations because it requires expensive precomputations, and it can suppress motion that lies outside the span of a pre-specified low-rank basis. We present an online model reduction method that does not have these limitations. In lieu of precomputation, we analyze the motion of the full model as the simulation progresses, incrementally building a reduced-order nonlinear model, and detecting when our reduced model is capable of performing the next timestep. For these subspace steps, full-model computation is "skipped" and replaced with a very fast (on the order of milliseconds) reduced order step. We present algorithms for both dynamic and quasistatic simulations, and a "throttle" parameter that allows a user to trade off between faster, approximate previews and slower, more conservative results. For detailed meshes undergoing low-rank motion, we have observed speedups of over an order of magnitude with our method.
Integrated PET/CT in the Staging of NSCLC

Lung cancer is a common disease with approximately 3-million new cases per year worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer-related death in many countries. Eighty percent of the lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and 20% are small cell lung cancers (SCLC) [1]. The imaging diagnostic assessment of patients with lung cancer includes morphological imaging modalities such as chest X-ray, Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance (MR) as well as metabolic imaging modalities such as nuclear medicine procedures, including Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and PET/CT. Staging a patient with lung cancer implies an accurate determination of the size of the tumor, the potential infiltration of the tumor into the adjacent structures, the involvement of hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes and the detection of distant metastases. Till recently, CT was the routine imaging procedure for staging patients with NSCLC. The success of CT is related to the very detailed imaging information of the localization and extent of the tumor, the presence of enlarged lymph nodes and the presence of metastatic disease [2]. PET has more recently been introduced in tumor staging and it has been used successfully for detection of primary tumors, metastases, early tumor recurrence, and for the detection of metastatic lymph nodes [3, 4]. This imaging modality possesses a greater sensitivity for detection of malignancy though it is inhibited by relatively poor spatial resolution and anatomical localization of disease. Combining detailed anatomical information obtained by CT with metabolic information from PET seems logical, therefore. Integrated PET/CT is the most recent approach to post hoc image fusion. It combines these image modalities into one scanner that acquires accurately aligned anatomical and metabolical images in the same scanning session [1].
Correlation-Based UWB Radar for Thin Layer Resolution

Liquid level measurement and material identification with ultrawideband (UWB) free-space radar is considered in this letter. Traditional level measurement methods cannot distinguish between overlapping pulses, and their accuracy in identifying thin layers of material is limited by the width of the pulse used. A thin layer resolution algorithm is introduced to estimate the amplitudes of overlapping pulses, which in turn increases the accuracy in thin layer identification. The proposed thin layer resolution algorithm is shown to outperform spectral estimation methods such as multiple signal classification (MUSIC). A complete test setup was developed in laboratory, and the proposed signal processing method was tested on measurement data. The thin layer resolution method can recognize a 1-cm top layer of oil that corresponds to an overlapping of 66% between the first two reflected pulses.
Optimal Strategies for Bidding Agents Participating in Simultaneous Vickrey Auctions with Perfect Substitutes

We derive optimal strategies for a bidding agent that participates in multiple, simultaneous second-price auctions with perfect substitutes. We prove that, if everyone else bids locally in a single auction, the global bidder should always place non-zero bids in all available auctions, provided there are no budget constraints. With a budget, however, the optimal strategy is to bid locally if this budget is equal or less than the valuation. Furthermore, for a wide range of valuation distributions, we prove that the problem of finding the optimal bids reduces to two dimensions if all auctions are identical. Finally, we address markets with both sequential and simultaneous auctions, non-identical auctions, and the allocative efficiency of the market.
Sjögren's Syndrome

A FILAMENTOUS type of keratitis has been recognized since the late nineteenth century, but it was not appreciated until relatively recently that the threads were derived from the cornea and that the condition was due to a deficiency of tears. In 1927 the association of the condition with a chronic arthritis was first described. It was, however, due to the work, since 1930, of Henrik Sjogren of jonkoping in Sweden that the condition has become more widely known and the various facets of the full syndrome recognized (Sjogren, 1933). By 1940 he had reported 50 cases and had pointed out that the conjunctiva was also involved. He therefore proposed the more comprehensive name of "keratoconjunctivitis sicca" and also an alternative designation with a pathological basis namely" dacryosialoadenopathia atrophicans", but the latter has not come into general usage. In France the condition is known as the Gougerot-Sjogren syndrome. The term "Sjogren's disease" has been used as the condition appears to be a fairly clearly defined one, but until more is known about its aetiology and especially its relationship to the syndromes of Mikulicz and Heerfordt, it might be as well to avoid the term and to use the less specific expression of " Sjogren's syndrome ".
Significantly Increased CD70 Up Regulation on TEL-AML Positive B Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells Following CD40 Stimulation

Abstract Background: TEL-AML the most common genetic alteration in childhood precursor B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) is associated with a favorable prognosis. Patients and method: We studied the expression of nerve growth factor/tumor necrosis factor receptor (NGFR/TNFR)/ligand family members on 108 primary BCP-ALL samples by flow cytometry and compared both their baseline expression and CD40-induced modulation on TEL-AML positive and negative leukemia samples. Results: Our findings demonstrate that TEL-AML positive patients exhibit a significantly higher percentage of CD40, CD27 and p75NTR positive blasts at diagnosis. This might well contribute to the improved relapse-free survival of these patients assessed in Kaplan Meier analysis as CD27 and p75NTR directly mediate apoptotic signals. Furthermore CD40 ligation enhances antigen presenting and T cell stimulatory capacity via significant up regulation of CD70 while adequate response to physiological maturation signals as indicated by concomitant down regulation of CD27 is retained in TEL-AML positive leukemia. Conclusion: These data provide novel insights in immunological control mechanisms preserved in this leukemia subtype and suggest that not only treatment with chemicals such as HDAC inhibitors but also retained in vivo response to CD40 ligation contributes to improved immune surveillance in these patients which may add to a superior relapse-free survival observed particularly in the presence of other risk factors.
Tactile defensiveness and stereotyped behaviors.

OBJECTIVES This study explores the constructs of stereotyped behaviors (e.g., repetitive motor patterns, object manipulations, behavioral rigidities) and tactile defensiveness as relevant to occupational therapy theory and practice and attempts to test their purported relationships in children with developmental disabilities. METHOD Twenty-eight children with developmental disabilities and autism were assessed on eight factors of stereotyped behavior via a questionnaire and by four measures of tactile defensiveness. The subjects' scores from the questionnaire were correlated with their scores on the tactile defensiveness measures to see what, if any, relationship among these behaviors exists. RESULTS Significant relationships emerged from the data, indicating that subjects with higher levels of tactile defensiveness were also more likely to evidence rigid or inflexible behaviors, repetitive verbalizations, visual stereotypes, and abnormal focused affections that are often associated with autism. No significant association was found between motor and object stereotypes and tactile defensiveness. These relationships could not be explained solely by maturational factors. CONCLUSION The results suggest that clinicians should include observations of stereotyped behaviors, particularly behavioral rigidities, in conjunction with assessments of sensory defensiveness because these are related phenomena that may pose unique challenges for children with developmental disabilities and autism. Further study is needed to determine the causal mechanisms responsible for these relationships.
Insertion of poly (ethylene glycol)-lipid reduces the liposome-encapsulated hemoglobininduced thrombocytopenic reaction

Interaction with platelets has been recognized as a concern in the development of liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin as an oxygen carrier. This reaction causes a significant drop in circulating platelets in a rapid and transient fashion. We studied the effect of lipid bilayer charge on the magnitude of drop in circulating platelets. We also investigated the effect of post-inserted PEG-lipid on this phenomenon. PEG-DSPE was inserted in the outer lipid layer of neutral and anionic LEHs. Autologous rabbit platelets were radiolabeled with In-111-oxime and allowed to circulate for 30 min before administering a small dose of LEH preparation. Circulating radioactivity as well as the number of platelets was monitored by sampling blood at various time points. Anionic LEH induced the largest decrease (64%) in circulating platelets. PEGylation of anionic LEH significantly inhibited thrombocytopenic reaction (45.3% decrease). PEGylated neutral LEH demonstrated the least thrombocytopenia (23.8% decrease). In all cases, the reaction was transient, and the platelet counts recovered to reach the baseline level. The recovery time, however, was dependent on the charge and surface PEGylation of LEH preparations. The results indicate that the platelet reaction is significantly influenced by the surface charge carried by the liposomal surface. Hiding the charge by surface PEGylation appears to be an effective means of reducing the thrombocytopenic reaction shown by the LEH.
Protecting the primary users' operational privacy in spectrum sharing

Although using geolocation databases is a practical approach for enabling spectrum sharing, it poses a potentially serious privacy problem. Secondary users (queriers), through seemingly innocuous queries to the database, can determine the types and locations of incumbent systems operating in a given region of interest, and thus compromise the incumbents' operational privacy. When the incumbent systems (primary users) are commercial systems, this is typically not a critical issue. However, if the incumbents are federal government systems, including military systems, then the information revealed by the databases can lead to a serious breach of operational privacy. In this paper, we propose privacy-preserving mechanisms and techniques for an obfuscated geolocation database that can enable the coexistence of primary and secondary users while preserving the operational privacy of the primary users.
Using Machine Learning Algorithms to Find Patterns in Stock Prices

We use a machine learning algorithm called Adaboost to find direction-of-change patterns for the S&P 500 index using daily prices from 1962 to 2004. The patterns are able to identify periods to take long and short positions in the index. This result, however, can largely be explained by first-order serial correlation in stock index returns.
Patterns of Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions in Europe and northern Asia

This paper summarizes the results so far of our ‘Late Quaternary Megafaunal Extinctions’ project, focussing on an assessment of latest available dates for selected target species from Europe and northern Asia. Our approach is to directly radiocarbon-date material of extinct megafauna to construct their spatio-temporal histories, and to seek correlations with the environmental and archaeological records with the aim of establishing the cause or causes of extinction. So far we have focussed on Mammuthus primigenius, Coelodonta antiquitatis, and Megaloceros giganteus, and are accumulating data on Panthera leo/spelaea, Crocuta crocuta and Ursus spelaeus. Attempts to date Palaeoloxodon antiquus and Stephanorhinus hemitoechus (from southern Europe) were largely unsuccessful. The pattern of inferred terminal dates is staggered, with extinctions occurring over ca. 30 millennia, with some species previously thought extinct in the Late Pleistocene – M. primigenius and M. giganteus – surviving well into the Holocene. All species show dramatic range shifts in response to climatic/vegetational changes, especially the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum, Late Glacial Interstadial, Allerod, Younger Dryas and Holocene, and there was a general trend of progressive range reduction and fragmentation prior to final extinction. With the possible exceptions of P. antiquus, S. hemitoechus and Homo neanderthalensis, extinctions do not correlate with the appearance of modern humans. However, although most of the observed patterns can be attributed to environmental changes, some features – especially failures to recolonize – suggest human involvement.
Integrative Model of the Immune Response to a Pulmonary Macrophage Infection: What Determines the Infection Duration?

The immune mechanisms which determine the infection duration induced by pathogens targeting pulmonary macrophages are poorly known. To explore the impact of such pathogens, it is indispensable to integrate the various immune mechanisms and to take into account the variability in pathogen virulence and host susceptibility. In this context, mathematical models complement experimentation and are powerful tools to represent and explore the complex mechanisms involved in the infection and immune dynamics. We developed an original mathematical model in which we detailed the interactions between the macrophages and the pathogen, the orientation of the adaptive response and the cytokine regulations. We applied our model to the Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome virus (PRRSv), a major concern for the swine industry. We extracted value ranges for the model parameters from modelling and experimental studies on respiratory pathogens. We identified the most influential parameters through a sensitivity analysis. We defined a parameter set, the reference scenario, resulting in a realistic and representative immune response to PRRSv infection. We then defined scenarios corresponding to graduated levels of strain virulence and host susceptibility around the reference scenario. We observed that high levels of antiviral cytokines and a dominant cellular response were associated with either short, the usual assumption, or long infection durations, depending on the immune mechanisms involved. To identify these mechanisms, we need to combine the levels of antiviral cytokines, including , and . The latter is a good indicator of the infected macrophage level, both combined provide the adaptive response orientation. Available PRRSv vaccines lack efficiency. By integrating the main interactions between the complex immune mechanisms, this modelling framework could be used to help designing more efficient vaccination strategies.
Agents that Learn to Explain Themselves

Intelligent artificial agents need to be able to explain and justify their actions. They must therefore understand the rationales for their own actions. This paper describes a technique for acquiring this understanding, implemented in a multimedia explanation system. The system determines the motivation for a decision by recalling the situation in which the decision was made, and replaying the decision under variants of the original situation. Through experimentation the agent is able to discover what factors led to the decisions, and what alternatives might have been chosen had the situation been slightly different. The agent learns to recognize similar situations where the same decision would be made for the same reasons. This approach is implemented in an artificial fighter pilot that can explain the motivations for its actions, situation assessments, and beliefs.
Incidental Learning and Measures of Creative Potential

The relationship between incidental learning and creative potential was assessed by two measures of cognitive complexity (the Barron-Welsh Art Scale and the Asch-Barron inventory), and responses of 59 male and female undergraduate students showed that, while incidental learning had high positive correlations with intelligence and intentional learning, r with the creativity predictors was nonsignificant. Results indicate the functioning of independent motivational and cognitive processes, with differing outcomes for these variables.
Endotoxin and lung injury.

Two things are certain: endotoxin has dramatic effects on the structure and function of the lungs in intact animals and also on isolated lung cells, and both the in vivo and in vitro effects of endotoxin are complex. In whole animals, endotoxin causes obvious and subtle effects on functions of both airways and the pulmonary circulation. These effects include diffuse lung inflammation and injury of pulmonary vascular endothelium. Endotoxin can also directly injure endothelial cells in vitro. In vivo, lung injury caused by endotoxin is at least partly dependent on the presence of granulocytes, and some evidence also suggests that both lymphocytes and macrophages may participate in the response either directly or by directing cell traffic. At least in the sheep preparation, platelets do not seem to play a major role in the lungs' response to endotoxemia. Although endotoxin can activate complement and activated complement infused into whole animals affects the lungs, it seems unlikely that complement activation alone is sufficient to explain the severe and prolonged lung injury caused by endotoxin. Cyclooxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid appear to mediate both changes in lung mechanics and pulmonary vasoconstriction after endotoxemia. Lipoxygenase products may play a role in these responses as well as the inflammatory response and increases in vascular permeability, although evidence for these latter speculations is not firm. Lung cell injury caused by endotoxin probably is mediated at least in part by generation of free radicals. Inflammatory cells, especially neutrophils, are one source of these toxic oxygen species, but intracellular generation of free radicals within lung cells per se may also be stimulated by endotoxin and account for some of the lung injury. Likewise, inflammatory-cell-derived proteinases may mediate endotoxin-induced injury of lung cells and, as with chronic lung diseases, balance between proteinases and antiproteinases could be important. The fact that free radicals can inactivate antiproteinases, and antiproteinases can act as free radical scavengers, may suggest a complex relationship among the several possible mediators of toxicity. Cyclic nucleotide metabolism is affected in whole animals and isolated lung cells by endotoxin and these classic second messengers could be involved in the pathogenetic sequence, but exactly how is unclear. Chronic effects of endotoxin on the lungs may provide a pathogenetic link between acute lung injury and chronic changes in lung structure and function. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)