Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Satellite Observations of Wind Farm Impacts on Nocturnal Land Surface Temperature in Iowa

Wind farms (WFs) are believed to have an impact on lower boundary layer meteorology. A recent study examined satellite-measured land surface temperature data (LST) and found a local nighttime warming effect attributable to a group of four large WFs in Texas. This study furthers their work by investigating the impacts of five individual WFs in Iowa, where the land surface properties and climate conditions are different from those in Texas. Two methods are used to assess WF impacts: first, compare the spatial coupling between the LST changes (after turbine construction versus before) and the geographic layouts of the WFs; second, quantify the LST difference between the WFs and their immediate surroundings (non-WF areas). Each WF shows an irrefutable nighttime warming signal relative to the surrounding areas after their turbines were installed, and these warming signals are generally coupled with the geographic layouts of the wind turbines, especially in summer. This study provides further observational evidence that WFs can cause surface warming at nighttime, and that such a signal can be detected by satellite-based sensors.
Experimental Chemotherapy for Chagas Disease: A Morphological, Biochemical, and Proteomic Overview of Potential Trypanosoma cruzi Targets of Amidines Derivatives and Naphthoquinones

Chagas disease (CD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, affects approximately eight million individuals in Latin America and is emerging in nonendemic areas due to the globalisation of immigration and nonvectorial transmission routes. Although CD represents an important public health problem, resulting in high morbidity and considerable mortality rates, few investments have been allocated towards developing novel anti-T. cruzi agents. The available therapy for CD is based on two nitro derivatives (benznidazole (Bz) and nifurtimox (Nf)) developed more than four decades ago. Both are far from ideal due to substantial secondary side effects, limited efficacy against different parasite isolates, long-term therapy, and their well-known poor activity in the late chronic phase. These drawbacks justify the urgent need to identify better drugs to treat chagasic patients. Although several classes of natural and synthetic compounds have been reported to act in vitro and in vivo on T. cruzi, since the introduction of Bz and Nf, only a few drugs, such as allopurinol and a few sterol inhibitors, have moved to clinical trials. This reflects, at least in part, the absence of well-established universal protocols to screen and compare drug activity. In addition, a large number of in vitro studies have been conducted using only epimastigotes and trypomastigotes instead of evaluating compounds' activities against intracellular amastigotes, which are the reproductive forms in the vertebrate host and are thus an important determinant in the selection and identification of effective compounds for further in vivo analysis. In addition, due to pharmacokinetics and absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion characteristics, several compounds that were promising in vitro have not been as effective as Nf or Bz in animal models of T. cruzi infection. In the last two decades, our team has collaborated with different medicinal chemistry groups to develop preclinical studies for CD and investigate the in vitro and in vivo efficacy, toxicity, selectivity, and parasite targets of different classes of natural and synthetic compounds. Some of these results will be briefly presented, focusing primarily on diamidines and related compounds and naphthoquinone derivatives that showed the most promising efficacy against T. cruzi.
Diffusion tensor imaging of the corticospinal tract in patients with brain neoplasms.

PURPOSE To maximize the extent of tumor resection and minimize postoperative neurological deficits in patients with brain neoplasms, it is very important to evaluate the integrity of the corticospinal tract (CST) before surgery. We attempted to determine whether CST abnormality in these patients correlates with clinical motor weakness. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated 19 patients (16 men, 3 women, aged 39 to 70 years) with pathologically proven brain neoplasms with lesions adjacent to the posterior limb of the internal capsule and categorized their motor function as normal or abnormal based on clinical assessment. After correcting raw diffusion tensor image (DTI) data for motion and eddy-current artifacts, we computed fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. We manually segmented the CST from the level of the cerebral peduncle to the internal capsule, used the segmented CST as the mask for FA and ADC measurements, and compared normalized FA (nFA) and ADC (nADC) values relative to the contralateral normal side using a 2-tailed, unpaired t-test. RESULTS Compared with the normalized values for patients with normal motor function, patients with abnormal motor function demonstrated significantly decreased FA (P<0.001, 0.65±0.09 versus 0.85±0.08) and significantly increased ADC (P<0.01, 1.49±0.17 versus 1.23±0.22). CONCLUSION DTI metrics can be used for preoperative evaluation of the integrity of the CST microstructure.
An improved dynamic clustering algorithm for multi-user distributed antenna system

The multi-user distributed antenna system (MUDAS) is considered as a promising technology in the future wireless communication. Compared to the multi-user centralized antenna system (CAS), MU-DAS can improve the spectral efficiency significantly. One most attractive feature is that the implementation of the MU-DAS can be reduced by using the clustering approach of the remote antenna units (RAUs). However, the cluster algorithm of DAS has been only partially investigated. In this paper, a novel dynamic clustering algorithm for MU-DAS is presented. The objective of this algorithm is to maximize the total system capacity by using the full channel state information (CSI) or partial CSI. Simulation results show that our approach yields significant capacity gains when compared with some proposed clustering algorithms, and also the implementation complexity of the proposed algorithm remains very low.
Effect of colonic distension on gastric adaptive relaxation in rats: barostatic evaluation using an orally introduced gastric balloon

While the gastrocolonic reflex has been known, the cologastric relationship has not been clarified especially with regard to gastric adaptive relaxation. Therefore, in this study we have examined the correlation between gastric adaptive relaxation and colonic distension. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used after fasting for 18 h. Colonic distension was performed by injecting 2.2 ml of air into a colonic balloon inserted into the colon for 5 min in conscious state. After urethane anesthesia, gastric adaptive relaxation was investigated by using a slightly modified gastric balloon introduced into the stomach through the mouth. Gastric balloon volumes increased gradually just after an increment in the gastric balloon pressure (1 to 8 mmHg), and reached a plateau within 1 min. This increased volume was defined as gastric adaptive relaxation. In control rats, gastric adaptive relaxation increased with pressure increments in a pressure dependent manner. In the colon-distended rats, gastric adaptive relaxation increased also in a pressure dependent manner, but was significantly inhibited as compared with control at 8 mmHg (P<0.05). These findings show that colonic distension inhibits the gastric adaptive relaxation and suggests the existence of a cologastric relationship in rats.
Transmission and Selection of Macrolide Resistant Mycoplasma genitalium Infections Detected by Rapid High Resolution Melt Analysis

Background Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) causes urethritis, cervicitis and pelvic inflammatory disease. The MG treatment failure rate using 1 g azithromycin at an Australian Sexual Health clinic in 2007–9 was 31% (95%CI 23–40%). We developed a rapid high resolution melt analysis (HRMA) assay targeting resistance mutations in the MG 23S rRNA gene, and validated it against DNA sequencing by examining pre- and post-treatment archived samples from MG-infected patients. Methodology/Principal Findings Available MG-positive pre-treatment (n = 82) and post-treatment samples from individuals with clinical treatment failure (n = 20) were screened for 23S rRNA gene mutations. Sixteen (20%) pre-treatment samples possessed resistance mutations (A2058G, A2059G, A2059C), which were significantly more common in patients with symptomatic azithromycin-treatment failure (12/26; 44%) than in those clinically cured (4/56; 7%), p<0.001. All 20 patients experiencing azithromycin-failure had detectable mutations in their post-treatment samples. In 9 of these cases, the same mutational types were present in both pre- and post-treatment samples indicating transmitted resistance, whilst in 11 of these cases (55%), mutations were absent in pre-treatment samples indicating likely selection of resistant isolates have occurred. HRMA was able to detect all mutational changes determined in this study by DNA sequencing. An additional HRMA assay incorporating an unlabelled probe was also developed to detect type 4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms found in other populations, with a slightly lower sensitivity of 90%. Conclusions/Significance Treatment failure is associated with the detection of macrolide resistance mutations, which appear to be almost equally due to selection of resistant isolates following exposure to 1 g azithromycin and pre-existing transmitted resistance. The application of a rapid molecular assay to detect resistance at the time of initial detection of infection allows clinicians to shorten the time to initiate effective second line treatment. This has the potential to reduce transmission of resistant strains and to avoid sequelae associated with persistent untreated infection.
Does commonality in illiquidity matter to investors

This paper investigates whether investors are compensated for taking on commonality risk in equity portfolios. A large literature documents the existence and the causes of commonality in illiquidity, but the implications for investors are less understood. We find a return premium for commonality risk in NYSE stocks that is both economically and statistically significant. The commonality risk premium is independent of illiquidity level effects, and robust to variations in illiquidity measurement and systematic illiquidity estimation. We also show that precision in commonality risk estimation can be increased by the use of daily illiquidity measures, instead of monthly.
Good and Bad Sleep in Childhood: A Questionnaire Survey amongst School Children in Southern Italy

Despite its clinical importance, the issue of subjective sleep quality in children remains unexplored. Here we investigate, in school-aged children, the prevalence of bad sleep perception and its relationships with sleep habits and daytime functioning, to provide hints on its possible determinants. Subjective sleep perception, sleep habits, and daytime functioning were studied through a questionnaire survey in a sample of 482 children (6–12 yrs.). Being “bad sleeper” was reported by 6.9% of the sample. Compared to the “good sleepers”, these subjects displayed shorter sleep duration on schooldays, longer sleep latencies, and a more pronounced evening preference, beyond more frequent insufficient sleep. Though no differences emerged in sleepiness, bad sleepers showed higher impairments in daytime functioning, indicated by more frequent depressed mood and impulsivity. These distinctive features might be very important to precociously detect those children who are possibly more vulnerable to sleep disturbances and whose sleep-wake rhythms evolution should be paid particular attention thereafter. “The good people sleep much better at night than the bad people. Of course, the bad people enjoy the waking hours much more” Woody Allen
Technological Learning, Policy Regimes and Growth in a `Globalized' Economy: General Patterns and the Latin American Experience

The aim of this work is to investigate the role played by the so-called `globalization' processes of the last couples of decades on the international patterns of technological learning and on the distribution of incomes and growth. First, we re-assess the evidence on the general patterns of the current ``globalizing'' tendencies at various levels of observation and we argue that `globalization' has not gone together with international convergence in technological capabilities and incomes. We also focus on trends related to the `ICT revolution' and we highlight the relevance of `retardation factors' in explaining the rather limited impact of this new techno-economic paradigm. The last couple of decades have also witnessed the international diffusion (or, more often, the imposition) of laissez-faire policy regimes. Their revealed impact upon technological learning and growth, however, is at best mixed, or straightforwardly negative. We exploit the case of Latin American countries to study the dramatic effect of liberalization policies. We show how these policies may produce a `vicious growth path' when a country is not able to decrease its technology gap and improve its trade balance at the same time. Indeed, the general evidence and the lessons learnt from the Latin American experience both powerfully hint at the continuing role of public policies in fostering the accumulation of technological knowledge and its economic exploitation. We suggest some taxonomies of the 'control' and 'state' variables which policies are likely to influence. We argue that policy making still has unexploited degrees of freedom and we suggest that one way to go is re-thinking the role of international and domestic markets.
A new achievable ergodic secrecy rate region for the fading multiple access wiretap channel

We give a new achievable ergodic secrecy rate region for the two-user fading multiple access wiretap channel. Our scheme creates a vector channel between the two transmitters and the intended receiver that has full-rank and creates another vector channel between the two transmitters and the eavesdropper whose rank is 1. In this sense, our scheme removes interference from the main receiver multiple access channel by introducing an extra dimension in this channel, while sustaining the interference in the eavesdropper multiple access channel by keeping the rank of this channel equal to one. We show that the secrecy sum rate achieved by our scheme scales with SNR. In particular, we show that a total number of 1/2 secure degrees of freedom is achievable for the two users. Moreover, we compare our scheme with the Gaussian signaling scheme with cooperative jamming which improves significantly over the plain Gaussian signaling scheme. Our proposed scheme outperforms Gaussian signaling schemes (with or without cooperative jamming) at high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). In particular, we show that Gaussian signaling schemes with or without cooperative jamming achieve zero secure degrees of freedom, while our proposed scheme achieves 1/2 total secure degrees of freedom.
Nitrogen regulation of protein–protein interactions and transcript levels of GlnK PII regulator and AmtB ammonium transporter homologs in Archaea

Gene homologs of GlnK PII regulators and AmtB‐type ammonium transporters are often paired on prokaryotic genomes, suggesting these proteins share an ancient functional relationship. Here, we demonstrate for the first time in Archaea that GlnK associates with AmtB in membrane fractions after ammonium shock, thus, providing a further insight into GlnK‐AmtB as an ancient nitrogen sensor pair. For this work, Haloferax mediterranei was advanced for study through the generation of a pyrE2‐based counterselection system that was used for targeted gene deletion and expression of Flag‐tagged proteins from their native promoters. AmtB1‐Flag was detected in membrane fractions of cells grown on nitrate and was found to coimmunoprecipitate with GlnK after ammonium shock. Thus, in analogy to bacteria, the archaeal GlnK PII may block the AmtB1 ammonium transporter under nitrogen‐rich conditions. In addition to this regulated protein–protein interaction, the archaeal amtB‐glnK gene pairs were found to be highly regulated by nitrogen availability with transcript levels high under conditions of nitrogen limitation and low during nitrogen excess. While transcript levels of glnK‐amtB are similarly regulated by nitrogen availability in bacteria, transcriptional regulators of the bacterial glnK promoter including activation by the two‐component signal transduction proteins NtrC (GlnG, NRI) and NtrB (GlnL, NRII) and sigma factor σN (σ54) are not conserved in archaea suggesting a novel mechanism of transcriptional control.
Data from an intervention study point to a promising procedure for teaching discriminated use of a speech-generating device to children with autism spectrum disorder1

Lorah, E. R. (2016). Evaluating the iPad mini® as a speech-generating device in the acquisition of a discriminative mand repertoire for young children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, doi: 1088357616673624. Source of funding and disclosure of interest: The authors did not report any financial support for this study. The authors did not report any conflicts of interest.
Seasonal variations in sea level induced by continental water mass: First results from GRACE

Variations in the Earth's water cycle are commonly quantified by their effect on global mean sea‐level. However, the interaction between passive adjustment of the ocean to changes in gravitational attraction due to mass redistribution, the related deformation of the solid Earth and disturbances in the Earth's rotation vector will yield a distribution that is more complicated than a uniform rise or fall of the ocean's surface. In this study, we present the first estimates of seasonal changes in passive sea‐level (which we define as the height difference between the sea surface at rest and ocean floor, excluding steric and dynamical effects) based on direct observations of surface mass redistribution, made by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) between 2003 and 2010. We show that this “selfgravitation‐effect” causes seasonal variations of the sea‐level of up to 1 cm – comparable to the amplitude of the long‐period tides – and that inclusion in numerical ocean models results in a better agreement between observed and modelled ocean bottom pressure variations, particularly in coastal zones.
RXTE observations of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5506: evidence for reflection from disc and torus

We report on observations of the narrow line Seyfert galaxy NGC 5506 with the Rossi X-ray TIming Explorer. The observations cover a time interval of ~1000 days during which the source showed strong flux and spectral variability. The spectrum clearly shows iron fluorescence emission at 6.4 keV and significant reflection features. Both the equivalent width of the iron line and the relative strength of the reflected continuum are higher during low flux states. The variability of the reflection features can be explained by the presence of two reflected components: one that responds rapidly to flux changes of the primary continuum and a second, slowly variable, component originating from a distant reflector, e.g. a molecular torus.
Exploring the Interrelationships Among Academic Entitlement, Academic Performance, and Satisfaction With Life in a College Student Sample

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship among academic entitlement, life satisfaction, and academic performance as measured by cumulative grade point average. When comparing academically at-risk versus non-at-risk college students, academically at-risk students scored significantly lower on satisfaction with life than their non-at-risk peers. In addition, a significant negative correlation was found between academic entitlement and satisfaction with life for all students. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Dividend policy , risk , and catering

Fama and French (2001a) show that the propensity to pay dividends declines significantly in the 1990s, the disappearing dividends puzzle. Baker and Wurgler (2004a, 2004b) suggest that these appearing and disappearing dividends are an outcome of firms “catering” to transient fads for dividend paying stocks. We empirically examine disappearing dividends and its catering explanation through the lens of risk. We report two main findings: (1) Risk is a significant determinant of the propensity to pay dividends and explains up to 40% of the disappearing dividends puzzle; (2) Catering is insignificant once we account for risk. Risk is also related to payout policies in general: it explains the decision to increase dividends and that to repurchase shares. Our findings affirm theories and field evidence on the role of risk in dividend policy and suggest that the 1990s increase in volatility noted by Campbell, Lettau, Malkiel, and Xu (2001) has corporate finance implications.
Perception of valence and arousal in German emotion terms: A comparison between 9-year-old children and adults

ABSTRACT Two major semantic features of emotion concepts have been shown to impact performance in emotion perception tasks: valence and arousal. To design psycholinguistic experiments with emotion terms as stimuli, norms are required that indicate valence and arousal values for individual words. Although such norms are usually obtained from ratings of adults, they are often also used in developmental studies. This procedure raises the question of whether children and adults perceive emotional valence and arousal of words in the same way, and consequently, whether adults’ ratings are adequate when constructing stimulus sets for children. The present study obtained valence and arousal ratings for 48 German emotion terms from three different groups: 9-year-old children and adults tested in a controlled laboratory setting, and adults tested via online survey. Results demonstrate high correlations for valence and arousal across settings. The comparison between children and adults also revealed high correlations, suggesting that children at the age of 9 already display adultlike behavior in their evaluation of emotion terms. A small difference was found for absolute rating values of arousal, with children rating words less arousing than adults. Overall, 9-year-olds and adults are sufficiently similar in their perception of emotion to warrant the use of adult valence and arousal ratings in the analysis of children data.