Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Kuroshio front fluctuations in the East China Sea using satellite and in situ observational data

Fluctuations of the Kuroshio front in the East China Sea and their relation to variations of the Kuroshio stream around the Tokara Strait are investigated using consecutive satellite images, sea level data, as well as water temperature records from a Japan Meteorological Agency buoy station and a ferryboat which crosses the Tokara Strait. Meanders of the Kuroshio front with typical horizontal scales of 100 to 150 km and wave periods of 14 to 20 days are found to appear ubiquitously in the East China Sea. The front meanders originate upstream over the continental slope and evolve rapidly, while propagating downstream at speeds of 20 to 26 cm s−1. Downstream southwest of Kyushu, the fully developed meanders sometimes take the form of warm filaments, and when the volume transport of the Kuroshio is large, they may develop into shed-off warm eddies. Previous observations based on ferryboat temperature records have revealed the repeated northward migration of a clear sea surface temperature (SST) front across the Tokara Strait. It is shown that this northward migration of the SST front corresponds to the passage of the Kuroshio front meanders across the Tokara Strait, and that the unclear southward migration of the SST front is due to the presence of mixed water behind each meander. The Kuroshio front meanders in the East China Sea are further found to be closely related to the north-southward movement of the entire Kuroshio stream in the Tokara Strait. A lag of about 10 days exists between the time the front meanders reach the Tokara Strait and the Kuroshio stream there shifts to its northernmost position.
Large-Scale Variability in the Midlatitude Subtropical and Subpolar North Pacific Ocean : Observations and Causes

Altimetric data from the 8-yr TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) mission (Oct 1992–Jul 2000) are used to investigate large-scale circulation changes in the three current systems of the midlatitude North Pacific Ocean: the North Pacific Current (NPC), the Alaska gyre, and the western subarctic gyre (WSG). To facilitate the understanding of the observed changes, a two-layer ocean model was adopted that includes first-mode baroclinic Rossby wave dynamics and barotropic Sverdrup dynamics. The NPC intensified steadily over the T/P period from 1992 to 1998. Much of this intensification is due to the persistent sea surface height (SSH) drop on the northern side of the NPC. A similar SSH trend is also found in the interior of the Alaska gyre. Both of these SSH changes are shown to be the result of surface wind stress curl forcing accumulated along the baroclinic Rossby wave characteristics initiated from the eastern boundary. In addition to the interior SSH signals, the intensity of the Alaska gyre is shown to depend also on the SSH anomalies along the Canada/Alaska coast, and these anomalies are shown to be jointly determined by the signals propagating from lower latitudes and those forced locally by the alongshore surface winds. The WSG changed interannually from a zonally elongated gyre in 1993–95 to a zonally more contracted gyre in 1997–99. This structural change is due to the interannual SSH anomalies within the WSG as a result of the baroclinic Rossby wave adjustment attenuated by eddy dissipation. Along the western boundary of the subpolar North Pacific, variability of the East Kamchatka Current (EKC) and Oyashio is in balance with that of the interior Sverdrup flow on the annual and year-to-year timescales. On the multiyear timescales, the EKC/Oyashio variability is shown to be determined by the baroclinic SSH signals.
CrossNets: Cross-Information Flow in Deep Learning Architectures

We propose a novel neural network structure called CrossNets, which considers architectures on directed acyclic graphs. This structure builds on previous generalization of sequential feed-forward models, such as ResNets, by allowing for all forward cross-connections between both adjacent and non-adjacent layers. The addition of cross-connections within the network increases the information flow across the whole network, leading to better training and testing performances. The superior performance of the network is tested against both image classification and compression tasks using various datasets, such as MNIST, FER, CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and SVHN. We conclude with a proof of convergence for CrossNets to a local minimum for error, where weights for connections are chosen through backpropagation with momentum.
Redesigning Computationally Creative Systems For Continuous Creation

Most systems developed for Computational Creativity projects are run for short periods of time, which provides enough space to be creative, but limits the long-term growth and development of software both internally and in the wider world. In this paper, we describe the notion of continuous creativity by describing how ANGELINA, an automated game designer, was rebuilt to be an ‘always-on’ system. We review the history of ANGELINA and contrast this new approach with earlier versions. We introduce the term presence to describe the impact a computationally creative system has on its environment, and vice versa, and discuss how continuous creativity can contribute to a system’s presence, providing greater creative independence, opportunities for framing, and space for the system to grow.
Autonomous Mapping of Factory Floors Using a Quadrotor MAV

We are developing a quadrotor-based system for autonomous mapping of factory floors. Information from a monocular camera, a laser rangefinder, and an IMU on-board the vehicle is fused to generate a 3D point cloud and a 2D image mosaic. These data products can then be used by the factory operators for logistics planning, equipment management, and related tasks.
Exploiting Maneuver Dependency for Personalization of a Driver Model

Modeling the driver’s behavior is an importance task in the automotive field. Most data-driven approaches build a general model that works well for the majority of drivers in the training set. Personalization, on the other hand, addresses the problem of adapting the model on the driver. A personalized model has to be able to adjust to changing user preferences over time. In this work, we propose an approach to extract and incorporate information from previous maneuver executions to improve the performance of prediction tasks in impending maneuvers. We apply our proposed adaptation method to predict the gap taken at a left-turn scenario, and show that it can boost the prediction of a neural network.
Lower and Upper Conditioning in Quantum Bayesian Theory

Updating a probability distribution in the light of new evidence is a very basic operation in Bayesian probability theory. It is also known as state revision or simply as conditioning. This paper recalls how locally updating a joint state can equivalently be described via inference using the channel extracted from the state (via disintegration). This paper also investigates the quantum analogues of conditioning, and in particular the analogues of this equivalence between updating a joint state and inference. The main finding is that in order to obtain a similar equivalence, we have to distinguish two forms of quantum conditioning, which we call lower and upper conditioning. They are known from the literature, but the common framework in which we describe them and the equivalence result are new.
Limitation of electron mobility from hyperfine interaction in ultraclean quantum wells and topological insulators

The study of electron transport and scattering processes limiting electron mobility in high-quality semiconductor structures is central to solid-state electronics. Here, we uncover an unavoidable source of electron scattering which is caused by fluctuations of nuclear spins. We calculate the momentum relaxation time of electrons in quantum wells governed by the hyperfine interaction between electrons and nuclei and show that this time drastically depends on the spatial correlation of nuclear spins. Moreover, the scattering processes accompanied by a spin flip are a source of the backscattering of Dirac fermions at conducting surfaces of topological insulators.
Iron absorption from a novel iron-enriched fungal fortificant in young women

Iron deficiency is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency, attributing to approximately 800 million individuals with anemia, worldwide. This nutrient deficiency is greatly attributed to consumption of high plant-based diets and foods that have low bioavailable iron. Challenges arise in iron fortification, as the most affordable and conventional iron compounds have low bioavailability, therefore efforts have been made towards finding an iron fortificant with high bioavailability. The objective of this research was to determine the iron absorption of an iron-enriched fungus, Aspergillus oryzae (ASP-p) and determine its effectiveness compared to current fortificants ferric pyrophosphate (FePP) and ferrous sulfate (FeSO4). Two, single-blinded cross-over studies were conducted using a dual-labelled isotope method in young female subjects. Results indicated a 2.3 fold higher absorption in ASP-p compare to FePP (P = 0.0001), whereas ASP-p reported significantly lower absorption (P = 0.0001) than FeSO4.
Gastrodin Protects Cardiomyocytes from Anoxia/Reoxygenation Injury by 14-3-3η

Gastrodin (GAS) is the major component isolated from the rhizome of the Chinese traditional medicinal herb “Tianma. ” Many clinical studies have found that GAS protects cardiomyocytes in cardiovascular diseases, although the effects and underlying mechanisms on cardiovascular anoxia/reoxygenation (A/R) injury remain unknown. This study is aimed at exploring the effect of gastrodin on cardiomyocytes in A/R injury. Our results suggested that the protective effect of GAS on cardiomyocytes is associated with upregulated 14-3-3η levels. Pretreatment with GAS could increase the cell viability and decrease the activities of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). GAS could also reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, inhibit mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening, alter the maintenance of the mitochondrial membrane potential (∆Ψm), decrease the activation of caspase-3, and finally restrain cell apoptosis. Downregulating 14-3-3η levels by transfection with siRNA14-3-3η clearly attenuated the protective effect of GAS on cardiomyocytes in A/R injury.
Exosomal MicroRNAs Derived from Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells Accelerate Wound Healing by Promoting the Proliferation and Migration of Fibroblasts

Previous work in our laboratory demonstrated that exosomes derived from human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) accelerated wound healing by promoting the proliferation and migration of fibroblasts. It is reported that exosomes, which are carriers of the microRNAs (miRNAs) and proteins, play an important role in the regulation of cell-to-cell communication. However, it is still unclear precisely which molecule or which group of molecules carried within hAEC-derived exosomes (hAEC-Exos) mediated wound healing. Here, we explored purified hAEC-Exos together with either proteinase K (PROse) or RNase A on the effect of fibroblasts and cutaneous wound healing. Our experiments demonstrated that hAEC-Exos were positive for exosomal markers CD9, CD63, and CD81. Also, we found that hAEC-Exos could be internalized by fibroblasts and then stimulated cell migration and proliferation. However, the promotive effect of hAEC-Exos was abolished by pretreating hAEC-Exos with RNase A, not PROse. Importantly, in vivo wound healing assay showed that local injection of hAEC-Exos or PROse pretreated hAEC-Exos at skin wounds significantly accelerated wound healing. Our findings revealed an important role of exosomal miRNAs in wound healing.
An EEG Study of a Confusing State Induced by Information Insufficiency during Mathematical Problem-Solving and Reasoning

Confusion is a complex cognitive state that is prevalent during learning and problem-solving. The aim of this study is to explore the brain activity reflected by electroencephalography (EEG) during a confusing state induced by two kinds of information insufficiencies during mathematical problem-solving, namely, an explicit situation that clearly lacked information and an implicit situation in which the missing information was hidden in the problem itself, and whether there is an EEG difference between these two situations. Two experimental tasks and three control tasks were created. Short time Fourier transformation (STFT) was used for time-frequency analysis; then the alpha task-related-power (TRP) changes and distributions, which are closely related to cognitive processing, were calculated, and repeated measures ANOVA were performed to find the significant difference between task conditions. The results showed that the alpha power decreased significantly in the regions related to calculation when the participants encountered both explicit and implicit information insufficiency tasks compared to the control tasks, suggesting that confusion can cause more brain activity in the cortical regions related to the tasks that induce confusion. In addition, the implicit information insufficiency task elicited more activity in the parietal and right temporal regions, whereas the explicit information insufficiency task elicited additional activity in the frontal lobe, which revealed that the frontal region is related to the processing of novel or unfamiliar information and the parietal-temporal regions are involved in sustained attention or reorientation during confusing states induced by information insufficiency. In conclusion, this study has preliminarily investigated the EEG characteristics of confusion states, suggests that EEG is a promising methodology to detect confusion, and provides a basis for future studies aiming to achieve automatic recognition of confusing states.
The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Metabolic Syndrome: A Possible Chronobiotic-Cytoprotective Adjuvant Therapy

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a highly frequent reproductive-endocrine disorder affecting up to 8–10% of women worldwide at reproductive age. Although its etiology is not fully understood, evidence suggests that insulin resistance, with or without compensatory hyperinsulinemia, and hyperandrogenism are very common features of the polycystic ovary syndrome phenotype. Dysfunctional white adipose tissue has been identified as a major contributing factor for insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome. Environmental (e.g., chronodisruption) and genetic/epigenetic factors may also play relevant roles in syndrome development. Overweight and/or obesity are very common in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, thus suggesting that some polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome female phenotypes share common characteristics. Sleep disturbances have been reported to double in women with PCOS and obstructive sleep apnea is a common feature in polycystic ovary syndrome patients. Maturation of the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone secretion pattern in girls in puberty is closely related to changes in the sleep-wake cycle and could have relevance in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome. This review article focuses on two main issues in the polycystic ovary syndrome-metabolic syndrome phenotype development: (a) the impact of androgen excess on white adipose tissue function and (b) the possible efficacy of adjuvant melatonin therapy to improve the chronobiologic profile in polycystic ovary syndrome-metabolic syndrome individuals. Genetic variants in melatonin receptor have been linked to increased risk of developing polycystic ovary syndrome, to impairments in insulin secretion, and to increased fasting glucose levels. Melatonin therapy may protect against several metabolic syndrome comorbidities in polycystic ovary syndrome and could be applied from the initial phases of patients' treatment.
Early Graft Loss after Kidney Transplantation: Endothelial Dysfunction of Renal Microvasculature

Decision process about the acceptance of the deceased donor kidney for transplantation might be challenging. Although histological evaluation of pretransplant donor kidney biopsy provides reliable information regarding cortical necrosis, vascular thrombosis, extensive global glomerulosclerosis, and interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy, only electron microscopy enables thorough and reliable insights into microvasculature changes of kidney graft. The aim of the present paper is to briefly present two cases of early kidney graft loss. In one case, the donor was exposed to long-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO); in the other case, the donor experienced Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. In both cases, light microscopy of pretransplant biopsy found no pathology or significant discrepancy in morphology of kidney graft, while electron microscopy revealed severe endothelial dysfunction of renal microvasculature. Our results suggest that severe injury of renal microvasculature with relatively preserved tubular epithelium may be associated with some conditions of deceased kidney donors leading to early kidney graft nonfunction and loss. Further studies are needed to determine prognostic significance of severe ultrastructural microvasculature lesions and to evaluate disease states and conditions that could be associated with severe endothelial dysfunction of kidney graft.
Using 26,000 diary entries to show ovulatory changes in sexual desire and behavior.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology on Jun 3 2019 (see record 2019-34417-001). In the original article the number of participants available for robustness checks should have been 1,054, not 1,043; this applies to the third sentence in the abstract, the first sentence of the second paragraph in the Participants section, the first sentence of the second paragraph in the Robustness Checks section, and the subsample size of women in Table 3. The correct number of naturally cycling usable data should have been 429, not 421. The correct number of diary days should have been 26,680, not 25,948. The correct percentage of diary days in the fourth sentence in the Exclusion Criteria section should have been 5%. Figure 1 should have included guessing hypotheses (n 40) and long diary interruptions (n 41) as further reasons for exclusion, and an error in the effsize R package led to the reporting of inflated effect sizes for the differences between hormonal contraceptive users and non-users in Table 1. Figure 1, Table 1, and Table 3 have been corrected. All versions of this article have been corrected. ] Previous research reported ovulatory changes in women's appearance, mate preferences, extra- and in-pair sexual desire, and behavior, but has been criticized for small sample sizes, inappropriate designs, and undisclosed flexibility in analyses. In the present study, we sought to address these criticisms by preregistering our hypotheses and analysis plan and by collecting a large diary sample. We gathered more than 26,000 usable online self-reports in a diary format from 1,054 women, of which 429 were naturally cycling. We inferred the fertile period from menstrual onset reports. We used hormonal contraceptive users as a quasi-control group, as they experience menstruation, but not ovulation. We probed our results for robustness to different approaches (including different fertility estimates, different exclusion criteria, adjusting for potential confounds, moderation by methodological factors). We found robust evidence supporting previously reported ovulatory increases in extra-pair desire and behavior, in-pair desire, and self-perceived desirability, as well as no unexpected associations. Yet, we did not find predicted effects on partner mate retention behavior, clothing choices, or narcissism. Contrary to some of the earlier literature, partners' sexual attractiveness did not moderate the cycle shifts. Taken together, the replicability of the existing literature on ovulatory changes was mixed. We conclude with simulation-based recommendations for reading the past literature and for designing future large-scale preregistered within-subject studies to understand ovulatory cycle changes and the effects of hormonal contraception. Interindividual differences in the size of ovulatory changes emerge as an important area for further study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Cork Oak Young and Traumatic Periderms Show PCD Typical Chromatin Patterns but Different Chromatin-Modifying Genes Expression

Plants are subjected to adverse conditions being outer protective tissues fundamental to their survival. Tree stems are enveloped by a periderm made of cork cells, resulting from the activity of the meristem phellogen. DNA methylation and histone modifications have important roles in the regulation of plant cell differentiation. However, studies on its involvement in cork differentiation are scarce despite periderm importance. Cork oak periderm development was used as a model to study the formation and differentiation of secondary protective tissues, and their behavior after traumatic wounding (traumatic periderm). Nuclei structural changes, dynamics of DNA methylation, and posttranslational histone modifications were assessed in young and traumatic periderms, after cork harvesting. Lenticular phellogen producing atypical non-suberized cells that disaggregate and form pores was also studied, due to high impact for cork industrial uses. Immunolocalization of active and repressive marks, transcription analysis of the corresponding genes, and correlations between gene expression and cork porosity were investigated. During young periderm development, a reduction in nuclei area along with high levels of DNA methylation occurred throughout epidermis disruption. As cork cells became more differentiated, whole nuclei progressive chromatin condensation with accumulation in the nuclear periphery and increasing DNA methylation was observed. Lenticular cells nuclei were highly fragmented with faint 5-mC labeling. Phellogen nuclei were less methylated than in cork cells, and in lenticular phellogen were even lower. No significant differences were detected in H3K4me3 and H3K18ac signals between cork cells layers, although an increase in H3K4me3 signals was found from the phellogen to cork cells. Distinct gene expression patterns in young and traumatic periderms suggest that cork differentiation might be under specific silencing regulatory pathways. Significant correlations were found between QsMET1, QsMET2, and QsSUVH4 gene expression and cork porosity. This work evidences that DNA methylation and histone modifications play a role in cork differentiation and epidermis induced tension-stress. It also provides the first insights into chromatin dynamics during cork and lenticular cells differentiation pointing to a distinct type of remodeling associated with cell death.
The comparison of anthracycline-based and non-anthracycline-based regimens in adjuvant chemotherapy of HER2-positive non-metastatic breast cancers

Aim of the study This study aimed to assess the efficacy of anthracycline-based (AB) and non-anthracycline-based (nAB) adjuvant therapies in the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive non-metastatic BC (nMBC) patients. Material and methods This retrospective study included women with HER2-positive BCs (stage I–III) treated with trastuzumab from 2008 to 2017. The patients were divided into two groups, including 196 patients in group AB and 67 in group nAB. Results Cox’s proportional hazard regression analysis showed no unfavourable predictors for five-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) except for stage and hormone therapy. The OS rate was 67.9% in group AB and 80.6% in group nAB (p = 0.630). The DFS rate was 61.6% in group AB compared with 67.1% in group nAB (p = 0.447). Conclusions The results showed no difference between the efficacies of AB and nAB regimens in HER2-positive nMBCs in adjuvant setting. Therefore, selecting the nAB regimen can reduce the serious damage caused by the AB regimen.