Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From GCM grid cell to agricultural plot: scale issues affecting modelling of climate impact

General circulation models (GCM) are increasingly capable of making relevant predictions of seasonal and long-term climate variability, thus improving prospects of predicting impact on crop yields. This is particularly important for semi-arid West Africa where climate variability and drought threaten food security. Translating GCM outputs into attainable crop yields is difficult because GCM grid boxes are of larger scale than the processes governing yield, involving partitioning of rain among runoff, evaporation, transpiration, drainage and storage at plot scale. This study analyses the bias introduced to crop simulation when climatic data is aggregated spatially or in time, resulting in loss of relevant variation. A detailed case study was conducted using historical weather data for Senegal, applied to the crop model SARRA-H (version for millet). The study was then extended to a 10°N–17° N climatic gradient and a 31 year climate sequence to evaluate yield sensitivity to the variability of solar radiation and rainfall. Finally, a down-scaling model called LGO (Lebel–Guillot–Onibon), generating local rain patterns from grid cell means, was used to restore the variability lost by aggregation. Results indicate that forcing the crop model with spatially aggregated rainfall causes yield overestimations of 10–50% in dry latitudes, but nearly none in humid zones, due to a biased fraction of rainfall available for crop transpiration. Aggregation of solar radiation data caused significant bias in wetter zones where radiation was limiting yield. Where climatic gradients are steep, these two situations can occur within the same GCM grid cell. Disaggregation of grid cell means into a pattern of virtual synoptic stations having high-resolution rainfall distribution removed much of the bias caused by aggregation and gave realistic simulations of yield. It is concluded that coupling of GCM outputs with plot level crop models can cause large systematic errors due to scale incompatibility. These errors can be avoided by transforming GCM outputs, especially rainfall, to simulate the variability found at plot level.
A Framework of Human–Robot Coordination Based on Game Theory and Policy Iteration

In this paper, we propose a framework to analyze the interactive behaviors of humans and robots in physical interactions. Game theory is employed to describe the system under study, and policy iteration is adopted to provide a solution of Nash equilibrium. The human's control objective is estimated based on the measured interaction force, and it is used to adapt the robot's objective such that human-robot coordination can be achieved. The validity of the proposed method is verified through a rigorous proof and experimental studies.
A Control Systems Approach to Quantify Wall Shear Stress Normalization by Flow-Mediated Dilation in the Brachial Artery

Flow-mediated dilation is aimed at normalization of local wall shear stress under varying blood flow conditions. Blood flow velocity and vessel diameter are continuous and opposing influences that modulate wall shear stress. We derived an index FMDv to quantify wall shear stress normalization performance by flow-mediated dilation in the brachial artery. In 22 fasting presumed healthy men, we first assessed intra- and inter-session reproducibilities of two indices pFMDv and mFMDv, which consider the relative peak and relative mean hyperemic change in flow velocity, respectively. Second, utilizing oral glucose loading, we evaluated the tracking performance of both FMDv indices, in comparison with existing indices [i.e., the relative peak diameter increase (%FMD), the peak to baseline diameter ratio (Dpeak/Dbase), and the relative peak diameter increase normalized to the full area under the curve of blood flow velocity with hyperemia (FMD/shearAUC) or with area integrated to peak hyperemia (FMD/shearAUC_peak)]. Inter-session and intra-session reproducibilities for pFMDv, mFMDv and %FMD were comparable (intra-class correlation coefficients within 0.521–0.677 range). Both pFMDv and mFMDv showed more clearly a reduction after glucose loading (reduction of ~45%, p≤0.001) than the other indices (% given are relative reductions): %FMD (~11%, p≥0.074); Dpeak/Dbase (~11%, p≥0.074); FMD/shearAUC_peak (~20%, p≥0.016) and FMD/shearAUC (~38%, p≤0.038). Further analysis indicated that wall shear stress normalization under normal (fasting) conditions is already far from ideal (FMDv << 1), which (therefore) does not materially change with glucose loading. Our approach might be useful in intervention studies to detect intrinsic changes in shear stress normalization performance in conduit arteries.
Xylem Wall Collapse in Water-Stressed Pine Needles

Wall reinforcement in xylem conduits is thought to prevent wall implosion by negative pressures, but direct observations of xylem geometry during water stress are still largely lacking. In this study, we have analyzed the changes in xylem geometry during water stress in needles of four pine species (Pinus spp.). Dehydrated needles were frozen with liquid nitrogen, and xylem cross sections were observed, still frozen, with a cryo-scanning electron microscope and an epifluorescent microscope. Decrease in xylem pressure during drought provoked a progressive collapse of tracheids below a specific threshold pressure (Pcollapse) that correlates with the onset of cavitation in the stems. Pcollapse was more negative for species with smaller tracheid diameter and thicker walls, suggesting a tradeoff between xylem efficiency, xylem vulnerability to collapse, and the cost of wall stiffening. Upon severe dehydration, tracheid walls were completely collapsed, but lumens still appeared filled with sap. When dehydration proceeded further, tracheids embolized and walls relaxed. Wall collapse in dehydrated needles was rapidly reversed upon rehydration. We discuss the implications of this novel hydraulic trait on the xylem function and on the understanding of pine water relations.
Has extrapolation from biochemistry to crop functioning worked to sustain plant production under water scarcity

This paper considers the impact on crop productivity of an enhanced understanding and subsequent manipulation of plant drought stress biochemistry and physiology. Emphasis is placed on possible exploitation of our recent increase in understanding of long-distance chemical signalling in plants, particularly in relation to soil drying. We review evidence for a variety of signalling cascades involving hormones and nutrient ions in the xylem sap. We also assess the importance of changes in the pH of the leaf cell apoplast as influenced both by edaphic and climatic variation, as a regulator of shoot growth and functioning. The sensitivity of the sensing and signalling mechanism is emphasised. A number of possible manipulations of the long-distance signalling process are discussed but emphasis is placed on the development of a novel deficit irrigation system: partial rootzone drying (PRD). This system has been much researched and introduced into a variety of plant production systems. Substantial increases in the efficiency of water use can result from the use of PRD, along with increases in crop quality. The modification of plant performance (most commonly reduced vegetative growth with only minimal effects on reproductive development) is commonly attributed to the effects of drought signalling. We assess the evidence for this assertion and argue for more understanding of the nature of the signalling processes in the droughted plant. This can help us further develop both high-technology and low technology modifications of production systems to allow for more sustainable use of resources.
Invasion of shrublands by exotic grasses: ecohydrological consequences in cold versus warm deserts

Across the globe, native savannas and woodlands are undergoing conversion to exotic grasslands. Here we summarize the current state of knowledge concerning the ecohydrological consequences of this conversion for the cold deserts (Great Basin, Colorado Plateau) and the warm deserts (Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan) of North America. Our analysis is based on a synthesis of relevant literature, complemented by simulation modelling with a one‐dimensional, soil water redistribution model (HYDRUS‐1D) and a hillslope runoff and erosion model (MAHLERAN). When shrublands are invaded by grasses, many changes take place: rooting depths, canopy cover, species heterogeneity, water use, and fire regimes are radically altered. These changes then have the potential to alter key ecohydrological processes. With respect to the processes of runoff and erosion, we find that grass invasion influences cold and warm deserts in different ways. In cold deserts, runoff and erosion will increase following invasion; in particular, erosion on steep slopes (>15%) will be greatly accelerated following burning. In addition, evapotranspiration (ET) will be lower and soil water recharge will be higher—which after several decades could affect groundwater levels. For warm deserts, grass invasion may actually reduce runoff and erosion (except for periods immediately following fire), and is likely to have little effect on either ET fluxes or soil water. Significant gaps in our knowledge do remain, primarily because there have been no comprehensive studies measuring all components of the water and energy budgets at multiple scales. How these changes may affect regional energy budgets, and thus weather patterns, is not yet well understood. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cost-Effective Upgrade of PMU Networks for Fault-Tolerant Sensing

This paper considers robust allocation of additional phasor measurement units (PMUs) into a PMU network in order to meet a data availability profile in the face of random communication interruptions and transmission line faul-sarailoo-2756030ts. Synchrophasor availability (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol{SA}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) at a bus is the fraction of time the time-synchronized current/voltage phasors are correctly present for real-time usage. An algorithm that achieves the above objectives is developed. The algorithm switches between a placement step solved via integer programming and an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $\boldsymbol{SA}$</tex-math></inline-formula> evaluation step that uses a bus-centric stochastic model to efficiently determine the need for another placement step with a tightened constraint. The algorithm is shown to subsume the phasor observability and is equally applicable PMU network upgrade and creation. Scalability and computational efficiency of the algorithm are analyzed. The results of tests of the algorithm applied to the IEEE 118-bus system are reported, which are performed under a variety of availability specifications and random event arrival rates associated with communication interruptions, equipment faults, and their removals. Superior accuracy and fault tolerance in state estimation are achieved by PMU networks meeting more stringent <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> ${\boldsymbol{SA}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>.
Magnetic tuning of organic solar cell performance

This thesis explores the improvement of organic solar cells via tuning the exciton Intersystem Crossing. This is approached via the study of an spin-orbit coupling-enhancing macromolecule and also through the introduction of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. The influences of the nanoparticle coercivity and of external magnetic fields are investigated, as well as the effect of nanoparticles on the solar cell aging behavior.
Colloid Transport and Retention in Unsaturated Porous Media: A Review of Interface‐, Collector‐, and Pore‐Scale Processes and Models

Our ability to accurately simulate the transport and retention of colloids in the vadose zone is currently limited by our lack of basic understanding of colloid retention processes that occur at the pore scale. This review discusses our current knowledge of physical and chemical mechanisms, factors, and models of colloid transport and retention at the interface, collector, and pore scales. The interface scale is well suited for studying the interaction energy and hydrodynamic forces and torques that act on colloids near interfaces. Solid surface roughness is reported to have a significant influence on both adhesive and applied hydrodynamic forces and torques, whereas non‐Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) forces such as hydrophobic and capillary forces are likely to play a significant role in colloid interactions with the air–water interface. The flow field can be solved and mass transfer processes can be quantified at the collector scale. Here the potential for colloid attachment in the presence of hydrodynamic forces is determined from a balance of applied and adhesive torques. The fraction of the collector surface that contributes to attachment has been demonstrated to depend on both physical and chemical conditions. Processes of colloid mass transfer and retention can also be calculated at the pore scale. Differences in collector‐ and pore‐scale studies occur as a result of the presence of small pore spaces that are associated with multiple interfaces and zones of relative flow stagnation. Here a variety of straining processes may occur in saturated and unsaturated systems, as well as colloid size exclusion. Our current knowledge of straining processes is still incomplete, but recent research indicates a strong coupling of hydrodynamics, solution chemistry, and colloid concentration on these processes, as well as a dependency on the size of the colloid, the solid grain, and the water content.
A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of reward-related brain activation : Effects of age , pubertal stage , and reward sensitivity q

http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.bandc. 2013.10. 005 0278-2626/ 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc. q This research was supported by a VIDI grant and an ERC grant awarded to Eveline A. Crone. ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333AK Leiden, The Netherlands. E-mail address: a.c. k.vanduijvenvoorde@fsw.leidenuniv. nl (A.C.K. van Duijvenvoorde). 1 Both authors contributed equally. Anna C.K. van Duijvenvoorde a,b,⇑,1, Zdeňa A. Op de Macks , Sandy Overgaauw , Bregtje Gunther Moor , Ronald E. Dahl , Eveline A. Crone a,b
Understanding the impact of the cofactor swapping of isocitrate dehydrogenase over the growth phenotype of Escherichia coli on acetate by using constraint-based modeling

It has been proposed that NADP+-specificity of isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH) evolved as an adaptation of microorganisms to grow on acetate as the sole source of carbon and energy. In Escherichia coli, changing the cofactor specificity of ICDH from NADP+ to NAD+ (cofactor swapping) decreases the growth rate on acetate. However, the metabolic basis of this phenotype has not been analyzed. In this work, we used constraint-based modeling to investigate the effect of the cofactor swapping of ICDH in terms of energy production, response of alternative sources of NADPH, and partitioning of fluxes between ICDH and isocitrate lyase (ICL) -a crucial bifurcation when the bacterium grows on acetate-. We generated E. coli strains expressing NAD+-specific ICDH instead of the native enzyme, and bearing the deletion of the NADPH-producing transhydrogenase PntAB. We measured their growth rate and acetate uptake rate, modeled the distribution of metabolic fluxes by Flux Balance Analysis (FBA), and quantified the specific activities of NADPH-producing dehydrogenases in central pathways. The cofactor swapping of ICDH led to one-third decrease in biomass yield, irrespective of the presence of PntAB. According to our simulations, the diminution in growth rate observed upon cofactor swapping could be explained by one-half decrease in the total production of NADPH and a lower availability of carbon for biosynthesis because of a change in the partition at the isocitrate bifurcation. Together with an increased total ATP production, this scenario resulted in a 10-fold increment in the flux of ATP not used for growing purposes. PntAB was identified as the primary NADPH balancing response, with the dehydrogenases of the oxidative branch of the Pentose Phosphate Pathway and the malic enzyme playing a role in its absence. We propose that in the context of E. coli growing on acetate, the NADP+-specificity of ICDH is a trait that impacts not only NADPH production, but also the efficient allocation of carbon and energy.
Clinical Role of Adjuvant Chemotherapy after Radical Hysterectomy for FIGO Stage IB-IIA Cervical Cancer: Comparison with Adjuvant RT/CCRT Using Inverse-Probability-of-Treatment Weighting

Objective To evaluate the clinical role of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) in FIGO stage IB-IIA cervical cancer patients. Study Design A cohort of 262 patients with cervical cancer who received radical hysterectomy (RH) and adjuvant therapy at Asan Medical Center between 1992 and 2012 was enrolled. In this cohort, 85 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy (AC), and 177 received adjuvant radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiation therapy (AR). Oncologic outcomes and adverse events in both treatment arms were compared using weighted Cox proportional hazards regression models with inverse-probability-of-treatment weighting (IPTW) to reduce the impact of treatment selection bias and potential confounding factors. Results During a 46.8-month median follow-up duration, 39 patients (14.9%) had recurrences, and 18 patients (6.9%) died of disease. In multivariate analysis, the hazard ratio (HR) for recurrence and death was not significantly different in patients in either treatment arm (p=0.62 and 0.12, respectively). Also, after IPTW matching, the HR for recurrence did not significantly differ between the arms (HR 1.57, 95% CI 0.68-3.62, p=0.29). Similarly, disease-free survival and overall survival were not significantly different between the arms (p=0.47 and 0.13, respectively). In addition, patients with AC had a much lower prevalence of long-term complications (lymphedema: n=8 (9.4%) vs. 46 (26.0%), p=0.03; ureteral stricture: n=0 vs. 9 (6.2%), p=0.05). Conclusion Patients with FIGO stage IB-IIA cervical cancer can benefit from AC after RH with fewer long-term complications and non-inferior therapeutic effect to AR. Chemotherapy may therefore be an alternative adjuvant treatment option for cervical cancer, particularly in younger patients.
A feature-based structural measure: an image similarity measure for face recognition

Facial recognition is one of the most challenging and interesting problems within the field of computer vision and pattern recognition. During the last few years, it has gained special attention due to its importance in relation to current issues such as security, surveillance systems and forensics analysis. Despite this high level of attention to facial recognition, the success is still limited by certain conditions; there is no method which gives reliable results in all situations. In this paper, we propose an efficient similarity index that resolves the shortcomings of the existing measures of feature and structural similarity. This measure, called the Feature-Based Structural Measure (FSM), combines the best features of the well-known SSIM (structural similarity index measure) and FSIM (feature similarity index measure) approaches, striking a balance between performance for similar and dissimilar images of human faces. In addition to the statistical structural properties provided by SSIM, edge detection is incorporated in FSM as a distinctive structural feature. Its performance is tested for a wide range of PSNR (peak signal-to-noise ratio), using ORL (Olivetti Research Laboratory, now ATT simulation results show that the proposed FSM outperforms the well-known SSIM and FSIM approaches in its efficiency of similarity detection and recognition of human faces.
Pain Management in Knee Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is the commonest degenerative joint disease affecting older adults. Risk factors for the knee OA includes female gender, advanced age, overweight, obesity, previous knee injuries, previous knee surgery, and certain jobs that require continuous knee bending. Pain is the major symptom of knee OA and increased pain causes reduced physical function and poor quality of life. In addition to pain, patients may have joint stiffness, knee extensor muscle weakness, and altered proprioception. A multitude of structural, physical, and psychosocial factors influences symptom and severity of pain in knee OA. Rehabilitation of knee OA aims to train the patients in coping strategies, improves physical health, quality of life, and maintains their independence in daily livings. Management of knee OA often requires a combination of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment approaches.
Algorithm selection based on exploratory landscape analysis and cost-sensitive learning

The steady supply of new optimization methods makes the algorithm selection problem (ASP) an increasingly pressing and challenging task, specially for real-world black-box optimization problems. The introduced approach considers the ASP as a cost-sensitive classification task which is based on Exploratory Landscape Analysis. Low-level features gathered by systematic sampling of the function on the feasible set are used to predict a well-performing algorithm out of a given portfolio. Example-specific label costs are defined by the expected runtime of each candidate algorithm. We use one-sided support vector regression to solve this learning problem. The approach is illustrated by means of the optimization problems and algorithms of the BBOB'09/10 workshop.
Plasma source mass spectrometry for radioactive waste characterisation in support of nuclear decommissioning: a review

The efficient characterization of nuclear waste materials represents a significant challenge during nuclear site decommissioning, with a range of radionuclides requiring measurement in varied and often complex sample matrices. Of the available measurement techniques, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has traditionally been applied to long-lived radionuclides, particularly in the actinide series. With recent advances in the technique, both the sensitivities achievable and number of radionuclides potentially measurable has expanded, with the reduced procedural time offering significant economic benefits to nuclear site waste characterization compared with traditional radiometric (typically alpha and beta spectrometry) techniques. This review provides a broad assessment of recent developments, improvements in capability and describes the advantages and drawbacks of ICP-MS with regards to sample introduction and instrument design. The review will be of interest to international agencies concerned with nuclear decommissioning as well as nuclear site laboratories, project managers and sites involved in environmental monitoring and nuclear forensics.