Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint and Conditional Transformed T−Mixture Models with Applications to Financial and Economic Data

We estimate joint and conditional probability densities via a new hybrid approach that incorporates ideas from copula modeling and makes use of known analytic results involving the conditional distributions of multivariate random variables that have joint (usual) multivariate t or t−mixture distributions. Our method amounts to the application of t or t−mixture modeling in a special “working space” that is used in copula modeling. We also provide new simulation algorithms and describe numerical experiments, performed on accounting data, stock return data, and housing price data, in which we compare the performance of our method with a number of benchmark approaches.
The contrasting effects of fluctuating temperature on bacterial diversity and performances in temperate and subtropical soils

The extremely high species diversity of soil bacterial community has fascinated and puzzled community ecologists. Although theory predicts that fluctuations in environments can facilitate diversity maintenance, the effects of fluctuating temperature on species diversity have rarely been investigated in species‐rich microbial communities. Here, we examined whether fluctuating temperature had positive effects on species diversity relative to constant temperatures in soil bacterial communities, and investigated the effects of fluctuating temperature on bacterial performances (changes in relative abundance). We performed a temperature manipulation experiment with soils collected from temperate and subtropical zones, where the soils were subjected to constant high, low or fluctuating temperatures. We found that fluctuating temperatures showed significant positive effects on species diversity. The time‐averaged effect of fluctuating temperatures (i.e., averaging out the differences between species in their environment‐dependent performances) appeared to delay species loss in both the temperate and the subtropical communities. In addition, we found that the performances of temperature‐responsive species at fluctuating temperatures significantly deviated from their time‐weighted average performances at constant high and low temperatures, which was defined as fluctuation‐dependent effects in our study. Intriguingly, fluctuation‐dependent effects beyond time‐averaged effect led to an opposite trend: differences in temperature‐responsive species' performances decreased in the temperate communities, but increased in the subtropical communities. Our findings provide new insights into diversity maintenance in soil bacterial communities, and imply that the effects of fluctuating temperature on species diversity in soil bacterial community might vary across latitude.
A simple facility for the teaching of plasma dynamics and plasma nuclear fusion

A small plasma focus (3.3 kJ) is designed from the viewpoint of simplicity, reliability, and cost effectiveness to act as a source of pulsed high‐density plasmas. The simplicity of the device and associated diagnostics coupled with its rich variety of plasma phenomena makes this device ideal for the teaching of plasma nuclear fusion particularly for developing countries where such facilities are at present rarely available. Six sets of the device have been constructed and tested in various gases with better than 95% reliability and reproducibility in various plasma phenomena including neutron production of 0.5–1.0×108 per discharge when operated in 3‐Torr deuterium. The design principles, procedures, and parameters are discussed and test results shown.
Social conformity is associated with inter‐trial electroencephalogram variability

Human society encompasses diverse social influences, and people experience events differently and may behave differently under such influence, including in forming an impression of others. However, little is known about the underlying neural relevance of individual differences in following others’ opinions or social norms. In the present study, we designed a series of tasks centered on social influence to investigate the underlying relevance between an individual's degree of social conformity and their neural variability. We found that individual differences under the social influence are associated with the amount of inter‐trial electroencephalogram (EEG) variability over multiple stages in a conformity task (making face judgments and receiving social influence). This association was robust in the alpha band over the frontal and occipital electrodes for negative social influence. We also found that inter‐trial EEG variability is a very stable, participant‐driven internal state measurement and could be interpreted as mindset instability. Overall, these findings support the hypothesis that higher inter‐trial EEG variability may be related to higher mindset instability, which makes participants more vulnerable to exposed external social influence. The present study provides a novel approach that considers the stability of one's endogenous neural signal during tasks and links it to human social behaviors.
Targeting mitochondrial stress with Szeto‐Schiller 31 prevents experimental abdominal aortic aneurysm: Crosstalk with endoplasmic reticulum stress

Mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation contribute to a myriad of cardiovascular diseases. Deleterious crosstalk of mitochondria and persistent endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress triggers oxidative stress, which is involved in the development of vascular diseases. This study determined if inhibition of mitochondrial stress reduces aneurysm development in angiotensin II (Ang II)‐infused apolipoprotein‐E‐deficient (ApoE−/−) mice and its effect on ER stress.
Censored Data

estimators for the bivariate and marginal distributions of these variables are proposed. The estimators of the marginal distributions are not the marginals of the corresponding estimator of the bivariate distribution. Both estimators require estimation of the conditional distribution when the conditioning variable is subject to censoring. Such a method of estimation is proposed. The weak convergence of the estimators proposed is obtained. A small simulation study suggests that the estimators of the marginal and bivariate distributions perform well relatively to respectively the Kaplan-Meier estimator for the marginal distribution and the estimators of Pruitt and van der Laan for the bivariate distribution. The use of the estimators in practice is illustrated by the analysis of a data set.
The Bayesian lens and Bayesian blinkers

I discuss the benefits of looking through the ‘Bayesian lens’ (seeking a Bayesian interpretation of ostensibly non-Bayesian methods), and the dangers of wearing ‘Bayesian blinkers’ (eschewing non-Bayesian methods as a matter of philosophical principle). I hope that the ideas may be useful to scientists trying to understand widely used statistical methods (including confidence intervals and p-values), as well as teachers of statistics and practitioners who wish to avoid the mistake of overemphasizing philosophy at the expense of practical matters. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bayesian inference: challenges, perspectives, and prospects’.
Risk perception of cardiovascular disease among Turkish adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Aim: The aim of the study was to determine in adults the risk perception for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the associated factors. Background: CVDs are the leading cause of death globally. In adults, perceptions related to the risk for CVDs have a considerable effect on decision-making processes related to one’s own health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 453 adult people from April to June 2019 in İzmir, Turkey. Data were collected with a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, perception of risk of heart disease scale (PRHDS), and health perception. Findings: The mean PRHDS score of adults was 48.88 ± 8.12. The risk perception for CVD was influenced by variables that were age, gender, education, marital status, employment status, health perception, familial cardiovascular disease history, chronic disease status, smoking status, and body mass index. Although CVDs are the most prominent cause of disease-related death in the world, risk perception for CVD was found to be low among the individuals included in this study. This finding indicates the importance of informing individuals about CVD risk factors, raising awareness, and training.
Effect of ants on herbivory levels of Inga laurina: the interplay between space and time in an urban area

Abstract Extrafloral nectary plants not only occur in natural areas but also in urban parks. These areas are prone to edge effects, and plants face different microenvironmental conditions. We investigated the spatial variation of ant–plant interactions in an urban park, and we examined if plants with ants would show lower herbivory levels and if it depended on habitat type (interior or edges). Seedlings of Inga laurina were set in 200-m long transects (which covered both the west and east edges, and the interior) in an urban park and then experimentally assigned to be either ant-present or ant-excluded plants. Leaf herbivory was investigated throughout the wet season and was influenced by the interaction effect between ants and habitat type. Ants decreased the herbivory on the west edge, but on the east edge results were the opposite. The east edge had higher temperature and sunlight exposure in comparison to the other sites and was assumed to disrupt the stability of ant–plant interactions. In the interior of the fragment, herbivory depended on ant presence/absence and on the location of plants along the transect. Our study highlights how the outcomes of ant–plant interactions are spatially conditioned and affected by different types of habitats.
Interactive Fixation-to-AOI Mapping for Mobile Eye Tracking Data based on Few-Shot Image Classification

Mobile eye tracking is an important tool in psychology and human-centred interaction design for understanding how people process visual scenes and user interfaces. However, analysing recordings from mobile eye trackers, which typically include an egocentric video of the scene and a gaze signal, is a time-consuming and largely manual process. To address this challenge, we propose a web-based annotation tool that leverages few-shot image classification and interactive machine learning (IML) to accelerate the annotation process. The tool allows users to efficiently map fixations to areas of interest (AOI) in a video-editing-style interface. It includes an IML component that generates suggestions and learns from user feedback using a few-shot image classification model initialised with a small number of images per AOI. Our goal is to improve the efficiency and accuracy of fixation-to-AOI mapping in mobile eye tracking.
Capturing and Predicting User Frustration to Support a Smart Operating System

This paper presents an IRB-approved human study to capture data to build models for human frustration prediction of computer users. First, an application was developed that ran in the user’s computer/laptop/VM with Linux 20.04. Then, the application collected a variety of data from their computers, including: mouse clicks, movements and scrolls; the pattern of keyboard keys clicks; user audio features; and head movements through the user video; System-wide information such as computation, memory usage, network bandwidth, and input/output bandwidth of the running applications in the computer and user frustrations. Finally, the application sent the data to the cloud. After two weeks of data collection, supervised and semi-supervised models were developed offline to predict user frustration with the computer using the collected data. A semi-supervised model using a generative adversarial network (GAN) resulted in the highest accuracy of 90%.
AN ELEMENTARY APPROACH TO NONEXISTENCE OF SOLUTIONS OF LINEAR PARABOLIC EQUATIONS

This note presents an elementary approach to the nonexistence of solu- tions of linear parabolic initial-boundary value problems considered in the Feller test. 1. Introduction. Our goal is to study the solvability of the initial- boundary value problem for a linear partial dierential equation of parabolic type in one space dimension of the form ut = a(x)uxx +b(x)ux; (1) u(0;t) = 0; u(1;t) = 1; (2) u(x;0) = u0(x); (3) where x 2 (0;1), t > 0, a and b are given measurable nonnegative func- tions on (0;1), and u0 is a continuous nonnegative function satisfying the compatibility conditions u0(0) = 0, u0(1) = 1. The question of the existence of a solution satisfying the boundary con- ditions (2) is delicate. William Feller developed tools which permitted him to give a complete answer to that question in his seminal 1952 paper (5). The theory presented there, culminating in the famous Feller test, is by no means elementary, and is based on a fine probabilistic analysis of stochastic processes associated with linear parabolic equations with diusion
Chiropterans Are a Hotspot for Horizontal Transfer of DNA Transposons in Mammalia

Horizontal transfer of transposable elements is an important mechanism contributing to genetic diversity and innovation. Bats (order Chiroptera) have repeatedly been shown to experience horizontal transfer of transposable elements at what appears to be a high rate compared to other mammals. We investigated the occurrence of horizontally transferred DNA transposons involving bats. We found over 200 putative horizontally transferred elements within bats; sixteen transposons were shared across distantly related mammalian clades and two other elements were shared with a fish and two lizard species. Our results indicate that bats are a hotspot for horizontal transfer of DNA transposons. These events broadly coincide with the diversification of several bat clades, supporting the hypothesis that DNA transposon invasions have contributed to genetic diversification of bats.
The chromatin factors SET-26 and HCF-1 oppose the histone deacetylase HDA-1 in longevity and gene regulation in C. elegans

SET-26, HCF-1, and HDA-1 are highly conserved chromatin factors with key roles in development and aging. Here we present mechanistic insights into how these factors regulate gene expression and modulate longevity in C. elegans. We show that SET-26 and HCF-1 cooperate to regulate a common set of genes, and both antagonize the histone deacetylase HDA-1 to limit longevity. We propose a model in which SET-26 recruits HCF-1 to chromatin in somatic cells, where they stabilize each other at the promoters of a subset of genes, particularly mitochondrial function genes, and regulate their expression. HDA-1 opposes SET-26 and HCF-1 on the regulation of a subset of their common target genes and in longevity. Our findings suggest that SET-26, HCF-1, and HDA-1 comprise a mechanism to fine-tune gene expression and longevity and likely have important implications for the mechanistic understanding of how these factors function in diverse organisms, particularly in aging biology.
Memory Th1 cells modulate heterologous diseases through innate function

Through immune memory, infections have a lasting effect on the host. While memory cells enable accelerated and enhanced responses upon re-challenge with the same pathogen, their impact on susceptibility to unrelated diseases is unclear. We identify a subset of memory T helper 1 (Th1) cells termed innate acting memory T (TIA) cells that originate from a viral infection and produce IFN-γ with innate kinetics upon heterologous challenge in vivo. Activation of memory TIA cells is induced in response to IL-12 in combination with IL-18 or IL-33 but is TCR-independent. Rapid IFN-γ production by memory TIA cells is protective in subsequent heterologous challenge with the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila. In contrast, antigen-independent re-activation of CD4+ memory TIA cells accelerates disease onset in an autoimmune model of multiple sclerosis. Our findings demonstrate that memory Th1 cells can acquire additional TCR-independent functionality to mount rapid, innate-like responses that modulate susceptibility to heterologous challenges.
Enterococcus faecalis OG1RF Evolution at Low pH Selects Fusidate-Sensitive Mutants in Elongation Factor G and at High pH Selects Defects in Phosphate Transport

E. faecalis bacteria are found in dental biofilms, where they experience low pH as a result of fermentative metabolism. Thus, the effect of pH on antibiotic resistance has clinical importance. ABSTRACT Enterococcus bacteria inhabit human and soil environments that show a wide range of pH values. Strains include commensals as well as antibiotic-resistant pathogens. We investigated the adaptation to pH stress in E. faecalis OG1RF by conducting experimental evolution under acidic (pH 4.8), neutral pH (pH 7.0), and basic (pH 9.0) conditions. A serial planktonic culture was performed for 500 generations and in a high-pH biofilm culture for 4 serial bead transfers. Nearly all of the mutations led to nonsynonomous codons, indicating adaptive selection. All of the acid-adapted clones from the planktonic culture showed a mutation in fusA (encoding elongation factor G). The acid-adapted fusA mutants had a trade-off of decreased resistance to fusidic acid (fusidate). All of the base-adapted clones from the planktonic cultures as well as some from the biofilm-adapted cultures showed mutations that affected the Pst phosphate ABC transporter (pstA, pstB, pstB2, pstC) and pyrR (pyrimidine biosynthesis regulator/uracil phosphoribosyltransferase). The biofilm cultures produced small-size colonies on brain heart infusion agar. These variants each contained a single mutation in pstB2, pstC, or pyrR. The pst and pyrR mutants outgrew the ancestral strain at pH 9.2, with a trade-off of lower growth at pH 4.8. Additional genes that had a mutation in multiple clones that evolved at high pH (but not at low pH) include opp1BCDF (oligopeptide ABC transporter), ccpA (catabolite control protein A), and ftsZ (septation protein). Overall, the experimental evolution of E. faecalis showed a strong pH dependence, favoring the fusidate-sensitive elongation factor G modification at low pH and the loss of phosphate transport genes at high pH. IMPORTANCE E. faecalis bacteria are found in dental biofilms, where they experience low pH as a result of fermentative metabolism. Thus, the effect of pH on antibiotic resistance has clinical importance. The loss of fusidate resistance is notable for OG1RF strains in which fusidate resistance is assumed to be a stable genetic marker. In endodontal infections, enterococci can resist calcium hydroxide therapy that generates extremely high pH values. In other environments, such as the soil and plant rhizosphere, enterococci experience acidification that is associated with climate change. Thus, the pH modulation of natural selection in enterococci is important for human health as well as for understanding soil environments.
Test bench for rotorcraft hover control

This paper describes an indoor stand for a computer-controlled model helicopter. This stand was built to verify modern multivariable controller algorithms in real-world tests rather than in simulations. A commercial radio-controlled helicopter (not a scale model) is mounted on a mechanical structure allowing 6-degree of freedom flight conditions in a 2-m cube. The symmetrical geometry of the frame reduces its physical influence on the rotorcraft to be equivalent to a concentrated mass near the center of gravity. Including the dynamics of the driving motor and some unsteady aspects of the aerodynamics, an unstable 18th order mathematical model results. In addition, the radio controller causes a significant time delay. For this system, several control algorithms have been applied [channelwise proportional differential (PD) controller used for system identification, Linear Quadratic Gaussian/Loop Transfer Recovery (LQG/ LTR) approaches, modal controller]. The quality of the test results and some aspects of design problems are described and compared in the second part of the paper.
Genetics: Genetics and Stochastic Simulation Do Mix!

The rapid development of biological technology in recent years has generated an overwhelming quantity of highly complex genetical data. In retrospect it is perhaps now obvious that standard stochastic sampling algorithms were destined to fail when applied to the type of models that these data require. During this period, both the genetics and statistics research communities have developed a range of new algorithms that have endeavored to avoid these failures. This article presents a brief journey through the development of some of these algorithms. I hope to demonstrate that continued collaborative research and education in both genetics and statistics disciplines is crucial for the advancement of future sampling frameworks, and call on researchers in both fields to take up this challenge.
The Effect of an Artificial Pitch Surface on Home Team Performance in Football (Soccer)

Four teams in the four divisions of the English Football League have been playing their home matches on artificial pitch surfaces at certain times over the last 10 years or so. A Commission of Enquiry (Football League, 1989) recently recommended that the introduction of further artificial pitches be restricted. One of the factors leading to this recommendation was the possible advantage gained by the home team on such pitches. A statistical analysis of the end‐of‐season results for the four divisions over the last 10 years (carried out for the Football League) showed that there is indeed such an advantage and that it is of a sufficient scale to be a cause for concern.
All-optical logic gates by using multibranch waveguide structure with localized optical nonlinearity

We propose all-optical logic gates by using a multibranch waveguide structure with localized optical nonlinearity. By simply setting nonlinear media in the selected output guides and properly launching the input power, the numerical results show that the proposed all-optical waveguide structure could really function as AND and OR logic gates.
High-quality HTS tiles designed for the application in magnetic bearings of cryotanks and flywheels

High quality bulk YBaCuO superconductors with maximum trapped fields up to 1.3 T and transport critical current densities up to 1.3 A/cm/sup 2/ in self field at 77 K are prepared by the Top Seeded Melt Growth. On the basis of this process two methods for the processing of large tiles and tiles in complex shapes are presented. Superconducting rings with a radial orientation of the crystallographic c-axis are processed by a multi-seeding method. These rings are used in the magnetic bearing of a cryotank designed for the storage of liquid hydrogen. The joining of single domains with an ErBaCuO compound leads to the formation of a superconducting joint between single domains. Large tiles prepared by this process are to be used in the circumferential magnetic bearing of a flywheel.
Vector area morphology for motion field smoothing and interpretation

A new nonlinear technique for filtering motion fields and other multivariate data is introduced. The method is developed from mathematical morphological area openings and uses a vector to scalar transform, in which each vector is replaced by the sum of the distances to its connected neighbours, to control the growth of extrema regions. As the filter either perfectly preserves or completely removes image components, it is able to remove noise without altering significant features. In addition, at larger area sizes a meaningful interpretation of the underlying structure is achieved. Results show that the vector area morphology sieve performs well in comparison to the widely used vector median filter.