Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Water vapour transport to the high latitudes : mechanisms and variability from reanalyses and radiosoundings

The water vapour converging to the polar regions condenses into heat-trappingclouds and eventually precipitates, freshening the polar oceans and thickening the ice-sheets. Modulo circulation changes, the moisture transport is expected to increase in a warmer climate. While the extra precipitation could dampen the ice sheets’ contribution to sea level rise, the surplus of moisture could also feed back on the surface warming. However, the present variability of the polar moisture budgets must be known precisely before they can be projected with confidence into the future.This study examines the atmospheric water cycle of both the Arctic and the Antarctic in seven global reanalyses and in radiosonde observations covering the 1979-2013 period. The impacts of known model and assimilation flaws and of the various numerical approximations were evaluated and proven to be limited, at least for the moisture flux variable and the more recent reanalyses.In the Arctic, aside from a slight overestimation, the northward fluxes in reanalyses exhibit a remarkable agreement with the radiosoundings in terms of spatial and temporal patterns. In all reanalyses, transient eddies provide the bulk of the mid-latitude moisture imports – 89-94% at 70◦ N. In most datasets, evaporation, precipitation and precipitable water increase in line with what is expected from a warming signal. However fluxes do not scale with the Clausius-Clapeyron relation because the increasing humidity is not correlatedwith the meridional wind, particularly near the surface.The representations of the Antarctic atmospheric water cycle in reanalyses suffer from the scarcity of observations : the moisture convergence estimations vary from 117 to 156 mm per year. On the coast, the mean moisture flux results from the interplay between transient eddies and katabatic winds, which are particularly sensitive to the orography. The coastalradiosonde sites report significant increases of the southward moisture fluxes but otherwise there are practically no trends in reanalyses on a continental scale.Finally, the share of transient eddies in moisture advection is qualified using alternate methods. In particular, extratropical cyclones leave a characteristic imprint on the transport field, which can be detected and quantified.
A simplex trained neural network-based architecture for sensor fusion and tracking of target maneuvers

One of the major applications for which neural network-based methods are being successfully employed is in the design of intelligent integrated processing architectures that efficiently implement sensor fusion operations. In this paper we shall present a novel scheme for developing fused decisions for surveillance and tracking in typical multi-sensor environments characterized by the disparity in the data streams arriving from various sensors. This scheme employs an integration of a multilayer neural network trained with features extracted from the multi-sensor data and a Kalman filter in order to permit reliable tracking of maneuvering targets, and provides an intelligent way of implementing an overall nonlinear tracking filter without any attendant increases in computational complexity. A particular focus is given to optimizing the neural network architecture and the learning strategy which are particularly critical to develop the capabilities required for tracking of target maneuvers. Towards these goals, a network growing scheme and a simplex algorithm that seeks the global minimum of the training error are presented. To provide validation of these methods, results of several tracking experiments involving targets executing complex maneuvers in noisy and clutter environments are presented.
Differences in soccer players' dynamic balance across levels of competition.

CONTEXT Balance ability has been associated with performance and injury prevention in athletes. Few published reports have investigated the differences in dynamic balance abilities among male high school, collegiate, and professional soccer players. OBJECTIVE To examine the differences on the Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test in male high school, collegiate, and professional soccer players. DESIGN Descriptive laboratory study. SETTING Field testing. Patients or Other Participants: Dynamic balance data were collected for male high school (HS; n = 38), collegiate (n = 37), and professional (n = 44) soccer players during preparticipation physical examinations using the Lower Quarter Y Balance Test standardized protocol. Main Outcome Measure(s): For the Lower Quarter Y Balance Test, the participant reaches with 1 foot in the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions while standing on a centralized stance platform with the other foot. The test is performed for both left and right limbs. Differences in reach distances between competition levels were analyzed using a 1-way analysis of variance with significance set at P < . 05. The HS group had a greater anterior reach distance than the other 2 groups. In contrast, the HS group had less reach distance in the posteromedial and posterolateral directions than the other groups. Also, HS players tended to exhibit a lower composite reach score than the other groups, but this difference was not significant (P = .08). No differences were observed among groups for bilateral symmetry in any of the reach directions. CONCLUSIONS Dynamic balance performance varied with competition level. This may indicate that athletes' movement strategies may be different depending on the competition level and that normative values may need to be established for each competition level.
Expectations and Perceptions in Developing Countries: Their Measurement and Their Use

In recent years, much attention has been devoted to the debate between two groups of applied researchers. The first stresses the need for empirical work to rely on variation in the data that is truly and surely exogenous to estimate a well defined, if narrow, set of parameters. The second is willing to impose structure on data to estimate behavioral parameters. The conduct and design of economic policy rely heavily on the identification of structural behavioral parameters, as they are crucial to understanding how individuals react to incentives in different contexts. However, the estimation of structural models often relies on very strong assumptions. The availability of rich datasets that include credible measurements of variables that are relevant to the decision-making process, such as expectations, perceptions, and beliefs, can shift the weight of this debate, as it allows the estimation of structural models of individual behavior using much weaker assumptions. Moreover, in the case of development, measurement of this type of variables goes straight to the core of issues that are fundamental for the understanding of the causes of the lack of development and the imperfections (in markets, knowledge, and information) that may prevent growth. The availability of hard data on expected returns on certain investments, and how individuals act upon these expectations, gives direct information on whether individuals have reasonable beliefs on returns and, crucially, on whether credit and insurance market imperfections might be playing an DATA WATCH: DATA InITIATIves
Africa's Media Image in the 21st Century From the "Heart of Darkness" to "Africa Rising"

Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century is the first book in over twenty years to examine the international media’s coverage of sub-Saharan Africa. It brings together leading researchers and prominent journalists to explore representation of the continent, and the production of that image, especially by international news media. The book highlights factors that have transformed the global media system, changing whose perspectives are told and the forms of media that empower new voices.
Is Climate Change Controversial? Modeling Controversy as Contention Within Populations

A growing body of research focuses on computationally detecting controversial topics and understanding the stances people hold on them. Yet gaps remain in our theoretical and practical understanding of how to define controversy, how it manifests, and how to measure it. In this paper, we introduce a novel measure we call "contention", defined with respect to a topic and a population. We model contention from a mathematical standpoint. We validate our model by examining a diverse set of sources: real-world polling data sets, actual voter data, and Twitter coverage on several topics. In our publicly-released Twitter data set of nearly 100M tweets, we examine several topics such as Brexit, the 2016 U.S. Elections, and "The Dress", and cross-reference them with other sources. We demonstrate that the contention measure holds explanatory power for a wide variety of observed phenomena, such as controversies over climate change and other topics that are well within scientific consensus. Finally, we re-examine the notion of controversy, and present a theoretical framework that defines it in terms of population. We present preliminary evidence suggesting that contention is one dimension of controversy, along with others, such as "importance". Our new contention measure, along with the hypothesized model of controversy, suggest several avenues for future work in this emerging interdisciplinary research area.
Ethanol extract of Forsythia suspensa root induces apoptosis of esophageal carcinoma cells via the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway

Forsythia suspensa root is used in the treatment of fever and jaundice in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In the present study, the anti-tumor activity of the ethanolic extract of Forsythia suspensa root (FSREE) against esophageal carcinoma cells was investigated in vitro and in vivo and its anti-cancer mechanism was examined. The results revealed that FSREE, rather than Forsythia suspensa ethanolic extracts from the leaf (FSLEE) and fruit (FSFEE) exhibited marked anti-tumor activity towards human esophageal cancer cells. FSREE induced cancer cell apoptosis and growth arrest by downregulating B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2, Bcl-extra large and myeloid cell leukemia 1, while upregulating Bcl-2-associated X protein, Bcl-2 antagonist of cell death and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced protein 1. This led to the activation of poly(ADP ribose) polymerase, caspase-3 and caspase-9, but not caspase-8. Furthermore, the anti-cancer activity of FSREE was associated with a decreased level of phosphorylated Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase signaling activity. It was also observed that the levels of cytochrome c were elevated in the cytoplasm, accounting for the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in the TE-13 cells upon treatment with FSEER. In addition, FSEER inhibited the growth of esophageal cancer cells in xenograft models and no detectable toxicity was present in the lung or liver tissues. These observations provided further evidence of the anti-tumor effect of FSEER and may be of importance to further examine the potential role of Forsythia suspensa root as a therapeutic agent in esophageal carcinoma therapy.
Robust Reduced-Rank Adaptive Algorithm Based on Parallel Subgradient Projection and Krylov Subspace

In this paper, we propose a novel reduced-rank adaptive filtering algorithm exploiting the Krylov subspace associated with estimates of certain statistics of input and output signals. We point out that, when the estimated statistics are erroneous (e.g., due to sudden changes of environments), the existing Krylov-subspace-based reduced-rank methods compute the point that minimizes a ldquowrongrdquo mean-square error (MSE) in the subspace. The proposed algorithm exploits the set-theoretic adaptive filtering framework for tracking efficiently the optimal point in the sense of minimizing the ldquotruerdquo MSE in the subspace. Therefore, compared with the existing methods, the proposed algorithm is more suited to adaptive filtering applications. A convergence analysis of the algorithm is performed by extending the adaptive projected subgradient method (APSM). Numerical examples demonstrate that the proposed algorithm enjoys better tracking performance than the existing methods for system identification problems.
Data Constraints on Glacial Atlantic Water Mass Geometry and Properties

The chemical composition of benthic foraminifera from marine sediment cores provides information on how glacial subsurface water properties differed from modern, but separating the influence of changes in the origin and end‐member properties of subsurface water from changes in flows and mixing is challenging. Spatial gaps in coverage of glacial data add to the uncertainty. Here we present new data from cores collected from the Demerara Rise in the western tropical North Atlantic, including cores from the modern tropical phosphate maximum at Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) depths. The results suggest lower phosphate concentration and higher carbonate saturation state within the phosphate maximum than modern despite similar carbon isotope values, consistent with less accumulation of respired nutrients and carbon, and reduced air‐sea gas exchange in source waters to the region. An inversion of new and published glacial data confirms these inferences and further suggests that lower preformed nutrients in AAIW, and partial replacement of this still relatively high‐nutrient AAIW with nutrient‐depleted, carbonate‐rich waters sourced from the region of the modern‐day northern subtropics, also contributed to the observed changes. The results suggest that glacial preformed and remineralized phosphate were lower throughout the upper Atlantic, but deep phosphate concentration was higher. The inversion, which relies on the fidelity of the paleoceanographic data, suggests that the partial replacement of North Atlantic sourced deep water by Southern Ocean Water was largely responsible for the apparent deep North Atlantic phosphate increase, rather than greater remineralization.
A Comparison of Bacterial Composition in Diabetic Ulcers and Contralateral Intact Skin

An extensive portion of the healthcare budget is allocated to chronic human infection. Chronic wounds in particular are a major contributor to this financial burden. Little is known about the types of bacteria which may contribute to the chronicity, biofilm and overall bioburden of the wound itself. In this study we compare the bacteriology of wounds and associated intact skin. Wound and paired intact skin swabs (from a contralateral location) were collected. The bacterial diversity was determined using bacterial Tag-encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing (bTEFAP). Diversity analysis showed intact skin to be significantly more diverse than wounds on both the species and genus levels (3% and 5% divergence). Furthermore, wounds show heightened levels of anaerobic bacteria, like Peptoniphilus, Finegoldia, and Anaerococcus, and other detrimental genera such as Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus. Although some of these and other bacterial genera were found to be common between intact skin and wounds, notable opportunistic wound pathogens were found at lower levels in intact skin. Principal Component Analysis demonstrated a clear separability of the two groups. The findings of the study not only greatly support the hypothesis of differing bacterial composition of intact skin and wounds, but also contribute additional insight into the ecology of skin and wound microflora. The increased diversity and lowered levels of opportunistic pathogens found in skin make the system highly distinguishable from wounds.
Using Partially Structured Attitude Measures to Enhance the Attitude-Behavior Relationship

This article recalls a classic scheme for categorizing attitude measures. One particular group of measures, those that rely on respondents’ interpretations of partially structured stimuli, has virtually disappeared from attitude research. An attitude measure based on respondents’ interpretation of partially structured stimuli is considered. Four studies employing such a measure demonstrate that it predicts unique variance in self-reported and actual behavior, beyond that predicted by explicit and contemporary implicit measures and regardless of whether the attitude object under consideration is wrought with social desirability concerns. Implications for conceptualizing attitude measurement and attitude-behavior relations are discussed.
Use of photoaffinity crosslinking and molecular modeling to analyze the global architecture of ribonuclease P RNA.

Bacterial ribonuclease P (RNase P), an endonuclease involved in tRNA maturation, is a ribonucleoprotein containing a catalytic RNA. The secondary structure of this ribozyme is well established, but comparatively little is understood about its 3‐D structure. In this analysis, orientation and distance constraints between elements within the Escherichia coli RNase P RNA‐pre‐tRNA complex were determined by intra‐ and intermolecular crosslinking experiments. A molecular mechanics‐based RNA structure refinement protocol was used to incorporate the distance constraints indicated by crosslinking, along with the known secondary structure of RNase P RNA and the tertiary structure of tRNA, into molecular models. Seven different structures that satisfy the constraints equally well were generated and compared by superposition to estimate helix positions and orientations. Manual refinement within the range of conformations indicated by the molecular mechanics analysis was used to derive a model of RNase P RNA with bound substrate pre‐tRNA that is consistent with the crosslinking results and the available phylogenetic comparisons.
Heritability analyses show visit-to-visit blood pressure variability reflects different pathological phenotypes in younger and older adults: evidence from UK twins

Background: Clinic and long-term average blood pressure (BP) are heritable traits with estimates of heritability ranging from 0.31 to 0.68. Long-term visit-to-visit BP variability (BPV) is emerging as a new cardiovascular risk predictor, though it is unclear if this is completely independent of BP. We hypothesize that BPV should demonstrate the same pattern of additive genetic, shared environmental and unique environmental variance as BP, if both are phenotypic surrogates. Method: We studied 2889 twin pairs not on any BP-lowering therapy from the Twins UK cohort, and estimated the additive genetic variance for baseline BP, long-term average BP, BP trajectory (rate of change of BP in mmHg/year) and BPV (coefficient of variation and average real variability over an average of 3.2 visits). Heritability estimates were obtained by structural equation modelling adjusting for age, age2, sex and BMI. Results: The heritabilities for baseline SBP and DBP were 0.51 (95% confidence interval 0.49, 0.53) and 0.56 (0.54, 0.58); long-term average SBP and DBP were 0.56 (0.53, 0.59) and 0.61 (0.58, 0.64); and systolic and diastolic trajectories over 10 years were 0.49 (0.46, 0.52) and 0.29 (0.27, 0.32), respectively. Both overall systolic and diastolic BPV showed no additive genetic variance contributing to the phenotypic variation, but after stratification by age, the younger subgroup (<51 years) showed heritability estimates of 0.44 (0.38, 0.50) for coefficient of variation and 0.35 (0.29, 0.41) for average real variability. Conclusion: Age is a major factor that influences heritability estimation of BPV and it is likely that BPV in younger and older age groups may reflect different pathological phenotypes.
Failure of atriopeptin II to cause arterial vasodilation in the conscious rat.

The cardiovascular actions of the synthetic natriuretic peptide, atriopeptin II, were examined in conscious unrestrained spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. The animals were chronically instrumented with miniaturized pulsed Doppler flow probes to allow measurement of regional blood flow, or with an electromagnetic flow probe on the ascending aorta to facilitate the measurement of cardiac output in the conscious rat. Intravenous infusion of increasing doses of atriopeptin II (0.25-4 micrograms/kg per min) caused a dose-dependent fall in mean arterial pressure in the hypertensive and normotensive rats. Blood flow in the renal, mesenteric, and hindquarters vascular beds was markedly decreased during the infusion of atriopeptin II, and regional vascular resistance was significantly increased in both groups of rats. Heart rate was significantly elevated (47 +/- 14 beats/min) in the spontaneously hypertensive rats during atriopeptin II infusion, but no change in heart rate was observed in the Wistar rats. In the hypertensive rats, atriopeptin II caused a marked dose-dependent decrease in cardiac output (maximal decrease = -39 +/- 4%) and stroke volume (maximal decrease = -48 +/- 4%). Central venous pressure and left atrial pressure were also significantly reduced during atriopeptin II infusion. Total peripheral resistance was increased over the infusion protocol by 26 +/- 3%. These data suggest that atriopeptin II infusion markedly attenuated cardiac output in the conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats. Total and regional vascular resistances were increased, possibly through reflex compensatory mechanisms, to maintain arterial pressure in the face of decreased cardiac output. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Sex and death: towards biologically inspired heuristics for constraint handling

Constrained continuous optimization is still an interesting field of research. Many heuristics have been proposed in the last decade. Most of them are based on penalty functions. Here, we experimentally investigate the two constraint handling heuristics proposed by Kramer and Schwefel. The two sexes evolution strategy (TSES) is inspired by the biological concept of sexual selection and pairing. The death penalty step control evolution strategy (DSES) is based on the controlled reduction of a minimum step size depending on the distance to the infeasible search space. These two methods are able to overcome the problem of premature mutation strength reduction, a result of the self-adaptation mechanism of evolution strategies in constrained environments. All methods are experimentally evaluated on a couple of typical constrained test problems. These experiments offer recommendations for the TSES population ratios and the speed of the ε-reduction process of the DSES.