Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 Factors That Influence the Beta-diversity of Spider Communities in Northwestern Argentinean Grasslands

Beta-diversity, defined as spatial replacement in species composition, is crucial to the understanding of how local communities assemble. These changes can be driven by environmental or geographic factors (such as geographic distance), or a combination of the two. Spiders have been shown to be good indicators of environmental quality. Accordingly, spiders are used in this work as model taxa to establish whether there is a decrease in community similarity that corresponds to geographic distance in the grasslands of the Campos & Malezales ecoregion (Corrientes). Furthermore, the influence of climactic factors and local vegetation heterogeneity (environmental factors) on assemblage composition was evaluated. Finally, this study evaluated whether the differential dispersal capacity of spider families is a factor that influences their community structure at a regional scale. Spiders were collected with a G-Vac from vegetation in six grassland sites in the Campos & Malezales ecoregion that were separated by a minimum of 13 km. With this data, the impact of alpha-diversity and different environmental variables on the beta-diversity of spider communities was analysed. Likewise, the importance of species replacement and nesting on beta-diversity and their contribution to the regional diversity of spider families with different dispersion capacities was evaluated. The regional and site-specific inventories obtained were complete. The similarity between spider communities declined as the geographic distance between sites increased. Environmental variables also influenced community composition; stochastic events and abiotic forces were the principal intervening factors in assembly structure. The differential dispersal capacity of spider groups also influenced community structure at a regional scale. The regional beta-diversity, as well as species replacement, was greater in high and intermediate vagility spiders; while nesting was greater in spiders with low dispersion capacity. Geographic distance, among other factors (climate, and active and passive dispersion capacity), explains assembly structure and the decrease spider community similarity between geographically distant sites. Spiders with the highest dispersal capacity showed greater species replacement. This may be due to the discontinuity (both natural and anthropic) of the grasslands in this ecoregion, which limits the dispersal capacity of these spiders, and their close dependence on microhabitats. The dispersal capacity of the least vagile spiders is limited by geographic distance and biotic factors, such as competition, which could explain the nesting observed between their communities. How to cite this article Rodriguez-Artigas et al. (2016), Factors that influence the beta-diversity of spider communities in northwestern Argentinean Grasslands.
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 Intermediate-term Emotional Bookkeeping Is Necessary for Long-term Reciprocal Grooming Partner Preferences in an Agent-based Model of Macaque Groups

Whether and how primates are able to maintain long-term affiliative relationships is still under debate. Emotional bookkeeping (EB), the partner-specific accumulation of emotional responses to earlier interactions, is a candidate mechanism that does not require high cognitive abilities. EB is difficult to study in real animals, due to the complexity of primate social life. Therefore, we developed an agent-based model based on macaque behavior, the EMO-model, that implements arousal and two emotional dimensions, anxiety-FEAR and satisfaction-LIKE, which regulate social behavior. To implement EB, model individuals assign dynamic LIKE attitudes towards their group members, integrating partner-specific emotional responses to earlier received grooming episodes. Two key parameters in the model were varied to explore their effects on long-term affiliative relationships: (1) the timeframe over which earlier affiliation is accumulated into the LIKE attitudes; and (2) the degree of partner selectivity. EB over short and long timeframes gave rise to low variation in LIKE attitudes, and grooming partner preferences were only maintained over one to two months. Only EB over intermediate-term timeframes resulted in enough variation in LIKE attitudes, which, in combination with high partner selectivity, enables individuals to differentiate between regular and incidental grooming partners. These specific settings resulted in a strong feedback between differentiated LIKE attitudes and the distribution of grooming, giving rise to strongly reciprocated partner preferences that could be maintained for longer periods, occasionally up to one or two years. Moreover, at these settings the individual's internal, socio-emotional memory of earlier affiliative episodes (LIKE attitudes) corresponded best to observable behavior (grooming partner preferences). In sum, our model suggests that intermediate-term LIKE dynamics and high partner selectivity seem most plausible for primates relying on emotional bookkeeping to maintain their social bonds.
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 the Effect of Co 2 Enrichment on Net Photosynthesis of the Red Alga Furcellaria Lumbricalis in a Brackish Water Environment

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions to the atmosphere are causing reduction in the global ocean pH, also known as ocean acidification. This change alters the equilibrium of different forms of dissolved inorganic carbon in seawater that macroalgae use for their photosynthesis. In the Baltic Sea, benthic macroalgae live in a highly variable environment caused by seasonality and rapid changes in meteorological conditions. The effect of increasing water CO 2 concentration on the net photosynthesis of the red macroalgae Furcellaria lumbricalis (Hudson) Lamouroux was tested in short-term mesocosm experiments conducted in Kõiguste Bay (N Gulf of Riga) in June– July 2012 and 2013. Separate mesocosms were maintained at different pCO 2 levels: ca. 2,000, ca. 1,000 and ca. 200 µatm. In parallel, different environmental factors were measured such as nutrients, light and water temperature. Thus, the current study also investigated whether elevated pCO 2 and different environmental factors exerted interactive effects on the photosynthetic rate of F. lumbricalis. In addition, laboratory experiments were carried out to determine the optimal temperature for photosynthesis of F. lumbricalis. The results of our field experiments demonstrated that elevated pCO 2 levels may remarkably enhance the photosynthetic rate of F. lumbricalis. However, the magnitude of this effect is altered by different environmental factors, mainly by changes in water temperature.
Shared user-computer control of a robotic wheelchair system

An assistive robotic wheelchair system should allow its user to travel more efficiently and with greater ease. The robotic wheelchair system described in this thesis, Wheelesley, performs semi-autonomous navigation for its user, taking high-level directional commands and performing the low-level navigation required to avoid obstacles and stay on a safe path. The system consists of a standard electric wheelchair with an on-board computer for motor control, a vision system running on an off-the-shelf notebook computer, sensors, and a graphical user interface running on a tray mounted notebook computer. Most other research on robotic wheelchairs only addresses indoor navigation. The Wheelesley system can travel both indoors and outdoors using specialized navigation modes; there is a control algorithm for indoor navigation and a control algorithm for outdoor navigation. User tests have been conducted for both control modes to compare robotic assisted control against manual control. Robotic assisted control requires 71% less effort for indoor navigation and 88% less effort for outdoor navigation. In addition, the total time needed to travel between two points is reduced since less time is spent waiting to scan to the desired commands. The system switches automatically between navigation modes through the use of a novel indoor/outdoor detector. The detector is comprised of an ultrasonic transducer, three light-to-voltage optical sensors and a thermistor. A decision tree learned by C4.5 using data collected in a variety of indoor and outdoor conditions classified a test set correctly 98.3% of the time. The system can be easily customized for the access method(s) required by each user. This thesis describes customization of the user interface for two different access methods: eye tracking, an uncommon access method for a wheelchair, and single switch scanning, which is considered the driving method of last resort on standard powered wheelchairs. The wheelchair system and its interface was evaluated by a group of physical therapists. Thesis Supervisor: Rodney A. Brooks Title: Professor Shared User-Computer Control of a Robotic Wheelchair
Unsupervised methods for speaker diarization

Given a stream of unlabeled audio data, speaker diarization is the process of determining “who spoke when. ” We propose a novel approach to solving this problem by taking advantage of the effectiveness of factor analysis as a front-end for extracting speaker-specific features and exploiting the inherent variabilities in the data through the use of unsupervised methods. Upon initial evaluation, our system achieves stateof-the art results of 0.9% Diarization Error Rate in the diarization of two-speaker telephone conversations. The approach is then generalized to the problem of K-speaker diarization, for which we take measures to address issues of data sparsity and experiment with the use of the von Mises-Fisher distribution for clustering on a unit hypersphere. Our extended system performs competitively on the diarization of conversations involving two or more speakers. Finally, we present promising initial results obtained from applying variational inference on our front-end speaker representation to estimate the unknown number of speakers in a given utterance. Thesis Supervisor: James R. Glass Title: Principal Research Scientist Thesis Supervisor: Najim Dehak Title: Research Scientist
Fluid‐rock reaction weakening of fault zones

The presence of weak phyllosilicates may explain the low shear strengths of fault zones if they define well-developed fabrics. The growth of phyllosilicates is favored in meteoric water-dominated granitic fault systems, where mineral-aqueous fluid equilibria predict that modal phyllosilicate will increase via feldspar replacement reactions. In deeper, more alkaline, rock-dominated regimes, the reactions reverse, and feldspars tend to replace phyllosilicates. In Mg-rich mafic rocks, however, phyllosilicates (chlorite, biotite) can replace stronger framework and chain silicates in both shallower (<{approximately}10 km) meteoric H{sub 2}O-dominated and in deeper, alkaline, rock-dominated regimes. Where these phyllosilicates precipitate in active fault zones, they contribute directly to reaction softening. Because low-temperature deformation of phyllosilicates is not governed by frictional processes alone but can occur by pressure-independent dislocation glide, the strength of phyllosilicate-rich fault rocks can be low at all depths. Low strain rate creep during interseismic periods can align phyllosilicate grains in foliated gouge and phyllonites. Where preferred orientations are strong and contiguity of phyllosilicates is large, strengths of rocks within fault zones may approach minimum strengths defined by single phyllosilicate crystals. Fault zones containing localized high concentrations of phyllosilicates with strong preferred orientations in well-defined folia can exhibit aseismic slip, especially where mafic Mg-rich rocksmore » occur along the fault (like parts of the San Andreas Fault). 104 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab. « less
Cryptococcal meningitis: epidemiology and therapeutic options

: Cryptococcal meningitis causes morbidity and mortality worldwide. The burden of disease is greatest in middle- and low-income countries with a high incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Patients taking immunosuppressive drugs and some immunocompetent hosts are also at risk. Treatment of cryptococcal meningitis consists of three phases: induction, consolidation, and maintenance. Effective induction therapy requires potent fungicidal drugs (amphotericin B and flucytosine), which are often unavailable in low-resource, high-endemicity settings. As a consequence, mortality is unacceptably high. Wider access to effective treatment is urgently required to improve outcomes. For human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients, judicious management of asymptomatic cryptococcal and appropriately timed introduction of antiretroviral therapy are important. an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal focusing on disease and drug epidemiology, identification of risk factors and screening procedures to develop optimal preventative initiatives and programs. Specific topics include: diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, screening, prevention, risk factor modification, systematic reviews, risk & safety of medical interventions, epidemiology & bio- statical methods, evaluation of guidelines, translational medicine, health policies & economic evaluations. The manuscript management system is completely online and includes a very quick and fair peer-review system, which is all easy to use.
Photocatalytic Reduction of Methylene Blue by Surface-Engineered Recombinant Escherichia coli as a Whole-Cell Biocatalyst

A novel Escherichia coli strain, created by engineering its cell surface with a cobalt-binding peptide CP1, was investigated in this study. The recombinant strain, pBAD30-YiaT-CP1, was structurally modeled to determine its cobalt-binding affinity. Furthermore, the effectiveness and specificity of pBAD30-CP1 in adsorbing and extracting cobalt from artificial wastewater polluted with the metal were investigated. The modified cells were subjected to cobalt concentrations (0.25 mM to 1 mM) and pH levels (pH 3, 5, 7, and 9). When exposed to a pH of 7 and a cobalt concentration of 1 mM, the pBAD30-CP1 strain had the best cobalt recovery efficiency, measuring 1468 mol/g DCW (Dry Cell Weight). Furthermore, pBAD30-CP1 had a higher affinity for cobalt than nickel and manganese. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) were used to examine the physiochemical parameters of the recombinant cells after cobalt adsorption. These approaches revealed the presence of cobalt in a bound state on the cell surface in the form of nanoparticles. In addition, the cobalt-binding recombinant strains were used in the photocatalytic reduction of methylene blue, which resulted in a 59.52% drop in the observed percentage. This study shows that modified E. coli strains have the potential for efficient cobalt recovery and application in environmental remediation operations.
Analysis of Spatial Patterns in Remotely Sensed Data Using Multivariate Spatial Correlation

Abstract Multivariate Spatial Correlation (MSC) (Wartenberg, 1985) is a method for quantifying spatial autocorrelation in multiband data. Analysis of simulated data shows that the MSC matrix is more robust in the presence of noise within groups of correlated bands than conventional covariance or correlation matrices. The first three MSC components of 10 band, simulated data explained 99% of the multivariate spatial correlation, whereas for the principal component analysis (PCA) the first three components explained only 75% of the total variance. HYDICE imagery of Cuprite, Nevada is used to illustrate the value of the method with real data. The MSC matrix shows much less correlation between bands, suggesting that although the HYDICE data is highly correlated, it is not necessarily redundant information. MSC component images tend to be less sensitive to noise, unlike the PCA components.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of sex differences in clinical outcomes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Background Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is recognized as the most prevalent form of genetic cardiomyopathy, and recent investigations have shed light on the existence of sex disparities in terms of clinical presentation, disease progression, and outcomes. Objectives This study aimed to systematically review the literature and perform a meta-analysis to comprehensively compare the clinical outcomes between female and male patients with HCM. Methods A thorough search was conducted in databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, encompassing literature from inception until June 2023. The primary endpoints examined were: (1) all-cause mortality; (2) an arrhythmic endpoint comprising sudden cardiac death (SCD), sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or aborted SCD; and (3) a composite endpoint incorporating either (1) or (2), in addition to hospitalization for heart failure or cardiac transplantation. Pooled estimates were derived using a random-effects meta-analysis model. Results The analysis encompassed a total of 29 observational studies, involving 44,677 patients diagnosed with HCM, of which 16,807 were female. Baseline characteristics revealed that the female group exhibited an advanced age [55.66 ± 0.04 years vs. 50.38 ± 0.03 years, pooled mean difference (MD) = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.22–0.40, p = 0.000, I2 = 88.89%], a higher proportion of New York Heart Association class III/IV patients [pooled odds ratio (OR) = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.55–2.43, p = 0.000, I2 = 85.92%], and a greater prevalence of left ventricular outflow tract gradient greater than or equal to 30 mmHg (pooled OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.27–1.73, p = 0.000, I2 = 68.88%) compared to the male group. The female group were more likely to have a positive genetic test (pooled OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.08–1.48, p = 0.000, I2 = 42.74%) and to carry the myosin heavy chain beta 7 mutation (pooled OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.04–1.54, p = 0.020, I2 = 0.00%) compared to the male group. Female sex exhibited a significant association with increased risks of all-cause mortality (pooled OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.38–1.89, p = 0.000, I2 = 72.78%) and the composite endpoint (pooled OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.20–1.79, p = 0.000, I2 = 84.96%), while no substantial difference was observed in the arrhythmic endpoint (pooled OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.87–1.34, p = 0.490, I2 = 55.48%). Conclusions The present findings suggest that female patients with HCM tend to experience poorer clinical outcomes. It is imperative to critically reevaluate disease definitions and enhance awareness to mitigate delays in the diagnosis and treatment of HCM in women, thereby fostering equitable healthcare practices. Systematic Review Registration https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/, PROSPERO (CRD42023431881).
The Effect of Data Splitting Ratio and Vectorizer Method on the Accuracy of the Support Vector Machine and Naïve Bayes Model to Perform Sentiment Analysis

The main information retrieved from public opinions can be understood by carrying out a sentiment analysis. The validity of the retrieved information depends on the performance of the algorithm used to perform the sentiment analysis. , where sentiment analysis parameters themselves need to be considered. Thus, it is important to determine the best level parameter and algorithm in order to obtain a valid conclusion from a sentiment analysis. This study aims to determine the effect of the data splitting ratio (0.5, 0.6, 0.7), and vectorizer (CountVectorizer, TF-IDF) on the accuracy of the Support Vector Machine and Naïve Bayes model while performing sentiment analysis. The results of the research show that the data splitting ratio and vectorizer have a significant effect on the accuracy of the SVM and Naïve Bayes model performance. However, the interaction between the data splitting ratio and the vectorizer method does not significantly influence the accuracy of both models.
Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 and Enlightenment to China

The contents,indicators,methodology and key findings of global forest resources assessment(FRA)2010 organized by FAO are introduced.The national forest resources assessment,national report and the contribution to global analysis of FRA 2010 are summarized.In particular,proceeding from the realistic situation in China,the urgent issues on national forest monitoring and statistics are analyzed.The approaches for enhancement of the timeliness and authority of the national figures,and strengthening the ability of answering the global focuses related to global climate change including SFM evaluation,forest carbon accounting and REDD plus are also identified.
Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine, 103-4 | 2015

Recent research has demonstrated significant demand for foods from Europe’s mountain areas; the production of these foods delivers significant positive externalities, despite producers facing greater constraints than their lowland equivalents. Existing markets often fail to account for these factors due to a lack of clear definition of mountain products. This research investigated the current and potential future role of food labelling and certification to support mountain food supply chains and sustainable mountain development, using expert/stakeholder interviews, spatial analysis, and email survey. Results demonstrate that existing EU Geographical Indication schemes are important for marketing mountain foods; however, they are less suitable for smallscale producers. National schemes for certifying mountain products have limited effectiveness, although considerable scope for enhancement exists. Recent EU legislation defining mountain products represents a considerable opportunity; however, challenges and potential trade-offs remain regarding the development of criteria on the location of supply chain stages and environmental factors, certification and control methods, and definition of mountain areas. Des recherches récentes ont mis en valeur l’existence d’une demande significative en denrées alimentaires originaires des montagnes européennes. La production de ces aliments va de pair avec des externalités positives, bien que leurs producteurs soient confrontés à de plus grandes contraintes que leurs homologues des plaines. Les marchés sont souvent défaillants pour compenser ces contraintes du fait de l’absence de définition claire des produits de montagne. Le présent article examine en quoi la labellisation et la certification des produits alimentaires joue et peut jouer à terme un rôle de soutien aux circuits de commercialisation des produits alimentaires de montagne et au développement durable des zones montagneuses. L’étude à été menée à partir d’entretiens avec des experts et des acteurs, d’une analyse spatiale et d’une enquête par courriel. Les résultats démontrent que les indications géographiques existantes sont importantes pour la commercialisation des produits alimentaires de montagne ; elles sont cependant peu adaptées pour les petits producteurs. Les systèmes nationaux de certification des produits de montagne ont une efficacité limitée bien qu’ils possèdent un potentiel considérable A mountain food label for Europe? Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine, 103-4 | 2015 20