Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ecological and Evolutionary Drivers of Geographic Variation in Species Diversity

Recent studies have generated an explosion of phylogenetic and biogeographic data and have provided new tools to investigate the processes driving large-scale gradients in species diversity. Fossils and phylogenetic studies of plants and animals demonstrate that tropical regions are the source for almost all groups of organisms, and these groups are composed of a mixture of ancient and recently derived lineages. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the large extent of tropical environments during the past 10–50 million years, together with greater climatic stability, has promoted speciation and reduced extinction rates. Energy availability appears to only indirectly contribute to global patterns of species diversity, especially considering how some marine diversity gradients can be completely decoupled from temperature and productivity gradients. Instead, climate stability and time–integrated area together determine the baselines of both terrestrial and marine global diversity patterns.
Detecting Suicidal Ideation on Forums: Proof-of-Concept Study

Background In 2016, 44,965 people in the United States died by suicide. It is common to see people with suicidal ideation seek help or leave suicide notes on social media before attempting suicide. Many prefer to express their feelings with longer passages on forums such as Reddit and blogs. Because these expressive posts follow regular language patterns, potential suicide attempts can be prevented by detecting suicidal posts as they are written. Objective This study aims to build a classifier that differentiates suicidal and nonsuicidal forum posts via text mining methods applied on post titles and bodies. Methods A total of 508,398 Reddit posts longer than 100 characters and posted between 2008 and 2016 on SuicideWatch, Depression, Anxiety, and ShowerThoughts subreddits were downloaded from the publicly available Reddit dataset. Of these, 10,785 posts were randomly selected and 785 were manually annotated as suicidal or nonsuicidal. Features were extracted using term frequency-inverse document frequency, linguistic inquiry and word count, and sentiment analysis on post titles and bodies. Logistic regression, random forest, and support vector machine (SVM) classification algorithms were applied on resulting corpus and prediction performance is evaluated. Results The logistic regression and SVM classifiers correctly identified suicidality of posts with 80% to 92% accuracy and F1 score, respectively, depending on different data compositions closely followed by random forest, compared to baseline ZeroR algorithm achieving 50% accuracy and 66% F1 score. Conclusions This study demonstrated that it is possible to detect people with suicidal ideation on online forums with high accuracy. The logistic regression classifier in this study can potentially be embedded on blogs and forums to make the decision to offer real-time online counseling in case a suicidal post is being written.
Artemesia annua extract prevents glyoxal-induced cell injury in retinal microvascular endothelial cells during glaucoma

Purpose: To investigate the effect of Artemesia annua extract on glyoxal-induced injury in retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRECs). Methods: HRECs were cultured in a medium containing 500 μM glyoxal or glyoxal plus 50μM Artemesia annua extract, or in the medium alone for 24 h. Apoptosis was analysed by flow cytometry using annexin V and propidium iodide staining. Changes in mitochondrial membrane potential were determined by JC-1 staining. Results: When HRECs were cultured in a medium of 500 μM glyoxal, a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in caspase-3 expression was observed. However, treatment of HRECs with Artemesia annua extract (50 μM) inhibited the glyoxal-mediated decrease in caspase-3 expression. The extract also inhibited caspase-3 proteolysis, as was evident from the reduction in the level of cleaved caspase-3. Upregulation of ROS production by glyoxal in HRECs was inhibited by treatment with the extract. The viability of HRECs was significantly decreased by glyoxal (p < 0.05), but the decrease in viability was significantly reversed by Artemesia annua extract (p < 0.05). The extract also reduced gyloxal-induced apoptosis in HRECs from 17.3 to 2.6 % (p < 0.001). Results from JC-1 staining showed significantly (p < 0.001) higher level of green fluorescence in HRECs cultured with glyoxal. However, the glyoxal-induced increase in green fluorescence level was significantly (p < 0.01) reduced on exposure to Artemesia annua extract. Conclusion: Artemesia annua extract prevents oxidative damage to HRECs via inhibition of ROS production, up-regulation of caspase-3 expression and suppression of caspase-3 proteolysis. Therefore, Artemesia annua can potentially be used for the development of a new drug for the prevention of retinal injury in glaucoma. Keywords: Artemesia annua , Retinal injury, Glaucoma, Green fluorescence, cleaved caspase-3, ROS production
The Skill of Seasonal Ensemble Low-Flow Forecasts in the Moselle River for Three Different Hydrological Models

This paper investigates the skill of 90-day low-flow forecasts using two conceptual hydrological models and one data-driven model based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for the Moselle River. The three models, i.e. HBV, GR4J and ANN-Ensemble (ANN-E), all use forecasted meteorological inputs (precipitation P and potential evapotranspiration PET), whereby we employ ensemble seasonal meteorological forecasts. We compared low-flow forecasts for five different cases of seasonal meteorological forcing: (1) ensemble P and PET forecasts; (2) ensemble P forecasts and observed climate mean PET; (3) observed climate mean P and ensemble PET forecasts; (4) observed climate mean P and PET and (5) zero P and ensemble PET forecasts as input for the models. The ensemble P and PET forecasts, each consisting of 40 members, reveal the forecast ranges due to the model inputs. The five cases are compared for a lead time of 90 days based on model output ranges, whereas the models are compared based on their skill of low-flow forecasts for varying lead times up to 90 days. Before forecasting, the hydrological models are calibrated and validated for a period of 30 and 20 years respectively. The smallest difference between calibration and validation performance is found for HBV, whereas the largest difference is found for ANN-E. From the results, it appears that all models are prone to over-predict runoff during low-flow periods using ensemble seasonal meteorological forcing. The largest range for 90-day low-flow forecasts is found for the GR4J model when using ensemble seasonal meteorological forecasts as input. GR4J, HBV and ANN-E under-predicted 90-day-ahead low flows in the very dry year 2003 without precipitation data. The results of the comparison of forecast skills with varying lead times show that GR4J is less skilful than ANN-E and HBV. Overall, the uncertainty from ensemble P forecasts has a larger effect on seasonal low-flow forecasts than the uncertainty from ensemble PET forecasts and initial model conditions.
Towards a Grounded Dialog Model for Explainable Artificial Intelligence

To generate trust with their users, Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) systems need to include an explanation model that can communicate the internal decisions, behaviours and actions to the interacting humans. Successful explanation involves both cognitive and social processes. In this paper we focus on the challenge of meaningful interaction between an explainer and an explainee and investigate the structural aspects of an explanation in order to propose a human explanation dialog model. We follow a bottom-up approach to derive the model by analysing transcripts of 398 different explanation dialog types. We use grounded theory to code and identify key components of which an explanation dialog consists. We carry out further analysis to identify the relationships between components and sequences and cycles that occur in a dialog. We present a generalized state model obtained by the analysis and compare it with an existing conceptual dialog model of explanation.
Power Distribution Network Topology Detection With Time-Series Signature Verification Method

This paper proposes a novel method for topology detection in distribution networks called the Time-series signature verification method for topology detection (<italic>TSV-Top</italic>). The <italic>TSV-Top</italic> analyzes data from phasor measurement units (PMU or <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula> PMU) installed on power distribution feeders. The <italic>TSV-Top</italic> relies on the fact that measurement data time series from power systems contain similar trends when network topology changes occur, and basically performs the projection of actual voltage phasorial patterns onto a library of signals associated with possible topology transictions of a given distribution network. The proposed algorithm is validated using a 33-bus testbed and the IEEE 123-bus feeder, and then compared with another state-of-the-art algorithm using the IEEE 37-bus feeder.
The locomotor system of the ocean sunfish Mola mola (L.): role of gelatinous exoskeleton, horizontal septum, muscles and tendons

Adult ocean sunfish are the heaviest living teleosts. They have no axial musculature or caudal fin. Propulsion is by unpaired dorsal and anal fins; a pseudocaudal fin (‘clavus’) acts as a rudder. Despite common perception, young sunfish are active predators that swim quickly, beating their vertical fins in unison to generate lift‐based propulsion and attain cruising speeds similar to salmon and marlin. Here we show that the thick subcutaneous layer (or ‘capsule’), already known to provide positive buoyancy, is also crucial to locomotion. It provides two compartments, one for dorsal fin musculature and one for anal fin muscles, separated by a thick, fibrous, elastic horizontal septum that is bound to the capsule itself, the roof of the skull and the dorsal surface of the short vertebral column. The compartments are braced sagittally by bony haemal and neural spines. Both fins are powered by white muscles distributed laterally and red muscles located medially. The anal fin muscles are mostly aligned dorso‐ventrally and have origins on the septum and haemal spines. Dorsal fin muscles vary in orientation; many have origins on the capsule above the skull and run near‐horizontally and some bipennate muscles have origins on both capsule and septum. Such bipennate muscle arrangements have not been described previously in fishes. Fin muscles have hinged tendons that pass through capsular channels and radial cartilages to insertions on fin rays. The capsule is gelatinous (89.8% water) with a collagen and elastin meshwork. Greasy in texture, calculations indicate capsular buoyancy is partly provided by lipid. Capsule, septum and tendons provide elastic structures likely to enhance muscle action and support fast cruising.
A Novel Framework for Evaluating Maximum PEV Penetration Into Distribution Systems

Due to environmental concerns and depletion of fossil fuel resources, the penetration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) is expected to increase in the near future. However, such electrification of the transportation sector is expected to impact the distribution grid adversely. This paper presents a novel framework to determine the appropriate level of PEV penetration that distribution systems can accommodate. Monte Carlo simulation has been used to simulate the uncertainty of typical demand, drivers’ behavior, PEV market share, and charging level share. Moreover, the maximum allowable penetration of uncontrolled and smart charging loads are determined based on the current available market data pertaining to PEV type and charging level, considering different charging scenarios. The proposed framework is examined and compared across a number of scenarios.
Comparison of fuzzy controlled active contour with existing segmentation techniques

Image segmentation is an important step in medical diagnosis and brain image segmentation is one of the essential steps that are to be involved in the medical field. The main motive of the brain image segmentation is to get the specific clinical information of the patient. The imaging process becomes essential because, they are capable of assisting the experts by revealing the details of interventions after the disease that is being detected and localized. This works aims in Alzheimer's disease image segmentation. Many segmentation techniques exist, but the fuzzy controlled active contour segmentation technique is capable of segmenting the image with greater accuracy. This paper presents a comparative work on the existing segmentation technique and the fuzzy controlled active contour segmentation.
Detailed 3 D Reconstruction of Static Scenes from a Multi-Camera System

Virtual reality (VR) has recently become a popular subject in which effective 3D scene construction techniques are necessary for a smooth and fine reconstruction scene. Aiming at constructing a dense 3D scene from multipleperspective frames captured by six fisheye cameras, this essay will explore a novel technique which applies superpixel segmentation to frames in order to obtain densified 3D information of a piecewise planar. In combination with a structure-from-motion (SFM) algorithm, we shall demonstrate that this technique is a simple solution for dense 3D reconstruction and that is also efficient and effective. Furthermore, since it requires no further information concerning scale, object segmentation and other factors, it may be applied to a wide range of scenarios.
Hybrid Precoding for Multi-Subarray Millimeter-Wave Communication Systems

This letter studies analog and digital hybrid precoding for millimeter wave communication systems with multiple subarray architecture. To reap the benefit of multiple subarrays with less number of RF chains, subarray selection needs to be jointly optimized, which leads to a mixed integer nonlinear problem and hard to solve. To find a good solution, we propose an efficient hybrid precoding algorithm by leveraging the constraint-introducing-and-penalty (CIP) approach. Simulation results show that the spectral efficiency achieved by the proposed algorithm is larger than that of existing hybrid precoding algorithms.
High-Temperature Insensitivity of 50-Gb/s 16-QAM-DMT Transmission by Using the Temperature-Compensated Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers

In this study, a 50-Gb/s 16-quadrature amplitude modulation discrete multitone (16-QAM-DMT) was applied to an 850-nm oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) at various temperature ranging from 25 °C to 85 °C. This study reports the highest bit rate for directly modulated VCSELs operating at 85 °C, in addition to demonstrating, for the first time, 16-QAM-DMT with less dependence on slope efficiency (SE) reduction. By using a temperature-compensated VCSEL, this study determined the degradation of the bit error rate (BER) in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio. The analysis results demonstrate that the transmission quality is dominated by optical bandwidth rather than the SE. Therefore, the preleveling technique was applied for error rate recovery to reduce the BER from <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{6.3}\times \text{10}^{-3}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> to <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{3.8}\times \text{10}^{-3}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> with a 0.2-dB/GHz preleveling slope. Thus, a low-bandwidth system (nearly 10 GHz) was realized for high data-rate transmissions (50 Gb/s) at 85 °C. The 16-QAM-DMT transmission provides an effective approach to alleviating thermal problems that occur in high-speed optical communication without the requirement of any external amplification circuits.
Prevalence and Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus Cultured From Raw Milk Taken From Dairy Cows With Mastitis in Beijing, China

The colonization of dairy herds and subsequent contamination of raw milk by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), especially those expressing a multi-drug resistance (MDR), biofilm and toxins producing ability, remains an important issue for both the dairy producer and public health. In this study, we investigated the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, virulence, and genetic diversity of S. aureus in raw milk taken from 2 dairy farms in Beijing, China. Ninety (46.2%, 90/195) samples were positive for S. aureus. Resistant to penicillin (PEN) (31.3%), ciprofloxacin (18.8%) and enrofloxacin (15.6%) were the most often observed. Isolates cultured from farm B showed significantly higher resistance to penicillin (73.9%), ciprofloxacin (34.8%), enrofloxacin (34.8%), tilmicosin (17.4%), and erythromycin (17.4%) than those from farm A (p < 0.05). Totally, 94.8% S. aureus harbored at least one virulence gene and the pvl (93.8%), sec (65.6%), and sea (60.4%) genes were the most frequently detected. The pvl and sec genes were more often detected in isolates from farm A (97.3% and 84.9% respectively) than those from farm B (p < 0.05). Of all 77 staphylococcus enterotoxin (SE)-positive isolates, more than 90% could produce enterotoxins and 70.1% could produce two types. Biofilm related genes (icaA/D, clf/B, can, and fnbA) were detected in all96 isolates. All 96 isolates could produce biofilm with 8.3, 70.8, and 18.8% of the isolates demonstrating weak, moderate and strong biofilm formation, respectively. A total of 5 STs, 7 spa types (1 novel spa type t17182), 3agr types (no agrII), and 14 SmaI-pulso-types were found in this study. PFGE cluster II-CC1-ST1-t127-agr III was the most prevalent clone (56.3%). Isolates of agr III (PFGE Cluster I/II-CC1-ST1-t127/2279) had higher detection of virulence genes than those of agr I and agr IV. TheMSSA-ST398-t1456-agr I clone expressed the greatest MDRbut with no virulence genes and weakly biofilm formation. Our finding indicated a relatively high prevalence of S. aureus with less antimicrobial resistance but often positive for enterotoxigenicity and biofilm formation. This study could help identify predominant clones and provide surveillance measures to eliminate and decrease the contamination of S. aureus in raw milk of dairy cows with mastitis.
Synthesis of Dye‐Modified Oligonucleotides via Copper(I)‐Catalyzed Alkyne Azide Cycloaddition Using On‐ and Off‐Bead Approaches

Fluorescence molecular imaging is widely used to visualize and observe different biomolecules, in particular DNA and RNA, in vivo and in real time. Typically, DNA strands are tagged with only one fluorophore, and, in the case of molecular beacons, an additional quencher is conjugated, which bears the risk of false‐positive or false‐negative results because only fluorescence intensities at one fluorescence wavelength (color) are compared. To address this drawback, the concept of “DNA/RNA traffic lights,” which is characterized by a fluorescence color change due to energy transfer between two dyes, was developed by our working group. For these DNA and RNA systems, the oligonucleotides are post‐synthetically labeled, specifically after solid‐phase synthesis by chemical means, with a fluorescent dye using copper(I)‐catalyzed cycloaddition at the 2′ position of single uridines. In order to functionalize oligonucleotides with several different labels, an on‐resin method is required to ensure the necessary selectivity. This unit describes two different CuAAC (“click”) approaches—in solution (post‐synthetic) and on solid phase (during synthesis)—for the attachment of fluorophores to the 2′ position of DNA. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Right anterior cingulate cortex volume is a neuroanatomical correlate of aggression and defiance in boys

Variation in emotional processes may contribute to aggressive and defiant behavior. This study assessed these problem behaviors in a large sample of normal healthy children and adolescents in relation to the volume of two cortical regions with prominent roles in emotion processing, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). 117 participants (61 boys, 56 girls), age 7–17, were recruited from the community. Aggressive and defiant behavior was measured using the Pediatric Behavior Scale, a parentand teacher-reported questionnaire and volumetric measures were generated using structural MRI. Regression analyses indicated a significant sex X ACC volume interaction in predicting aggressive and defiant behavior, without significant results for the vmPFC. Followup analyses showed that aggressive and defiant behavior is associated with decreased right ACC volume in boys and a non-significant reduction in left ACC volume in girls. These results are consistent with the notion that the right ACC acts as a neuroanatomical correlate of aggression and defiance in boys. We discuss this finding in light of its implications for understanding the neural correlates of antisocial behavior.
Learning Word Embeddings: Unsupervised Methods for Fixed-size Representations of Variable-length Speech Segments

Fixed-length embeddings of words are very useful for a variety of tasks in speech and language processing. Here we systematically explore two methods of computing fixed-length embeddings for variable-length sequences. We evaluate their susceptibility to phonetic and speaker-specific variability on English, a high resource language and Xitsonga, a low resource language, using two evaluation metrics: ABX word discrimination and ROC-AUC on same-different phoneme n-grams. We show that a simple downsampling method supplemented with length information can outperform the variable-length input feature representation on both evaluations. Recurrent autoencoders, trained without supervision, can yield even better results at the expense of increased computational complexity.