Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of explosive activity of Tungurahua volcano using seismic-acoustic data

Mario Calixto Ruiz Romero (Under the direction of Dr. Jonathan M. Lees) “ANALYSIS OF EXPLOSIVE ACTIVITY OF TUNGURAHUA VOLCANO USING SEISMIC-ACOUSTIC DATA” The character and mechanism of small vulcanian eruptions, often seen in andesitic volcanoes, have not been studied thoroughly. Activity of Tungurahua volcano, Ecuador, is presented here using data from a temporal deployment of broad-band seismic stations and infrasonic microphones. This study focuses on three areas of volcano dynamics: a) structure of the magmatic plumbing system, b) the process of magma fragmentation inside the volcano conduit, and c) propagation of infrasound waves through a real medium. Using shear wave splitting of regional tectonic earthquakes, we found that anisotropic structures (micro-cracks alignments) are approximately perpendicular to expected tectonic orientations. The perpendicular orientation of these structures is likely related to magma intrusions in the upper part of the volcano conduit. Degassing at Tungurahua is characterized by frequent short-duration explosions, typical of vulcanian style eruptions. Seismic and infrasound arrival times constrain the source of Tungurahua fragmentation to the shallowest section (upper 200 m) of the volcano edifice. While infrasound events cluster into families of similar waveforms, we found no temporal correlation nor relationship of event size with cluster association. The variation of amplitudes and arrival time differences between seismic and acoustic records suggests
Corporate Social Performance, Analyst Stock Recommendations, and Firm Future Returns

As consumers spend more time on their mobile devices, a focal retailer’s natural approach is to target potential customers in close proximity to its own location. Yet focal (own) location targeting may cannibalize profits on inframarginal sales. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of competitive locational targeting, the practice of promoting to consumers near a competitor’s location. The analysis is based on a randomized field experiment in which mobile promotions were sent to customers at three similar shopping areas (competitive, focal, and benchmark locations). The results show that competitive locational targeting can take advantage of heightened demand that a focal retailer would not otherwise capture. Competitive locational targeting produced increasing returns to promotional discount depth, whereas targeting the focal location produced decreasing returns to deep discounts, indicating saturation effects and profit cannibalization. These findings are important for marketers, who can use competitive locational targeting to generate incremental sales without cannibalizing profits. Although the experiment focuses on the effects of unilateral promotions, it represents an initial step in understanding the competitive implications of mobile marketing technologies.
Analytical investigations and adaptive control of vibrissae-like sensor models with finite DoF

Mice and rats use a sophisticated sensory system to acquire tactile information about their surroundings. Vibrissae, located in the mystacial pad, are either used passively to sense environmental forces, e.g., wind, or actively, when they are rhythmically moved to scan objects or surfaces. Inspired by this biological sensory system, three mechanical models with a rigid, rod-like vibrissa are developed based on findings in the literature. The models take into account the viscoelastic support of the vibrissa in the mystacial pad (follicle-sinus-complex and skin) on the one hand, and on the other hand they simulate the muscles (extrinsic and intrinsic) empowering the animals to whisk actively by using adaptive control algorithms. To model the range of movement of the biological vibrissa, the degree of freedom is gradually increased from 1 to 3 — enabling the examination of the support’s influence on the sensitivity of the system. Numerical simulations with chosen perturbation forces show that specific control variables contain adequate information on the force to be identified.
Roles of the Sortases of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Assembly of the RlrA Pilus

ABSTRACT Pili have been observed on the surface of several gram-positive bacteria, including Streptococcus pneumoniae. The S. pneumoniae strain TIGR4 pilus is composed of three structural subunit proteins encoded in the rlrA pathogenicity islet, RrgA, RrgB, and RrgC. RrgB comprises the pilus backbone, RrgA is observed at intervals along surface pili, while RrgC is found in a loosely defined relationship with RrgA. We investigated the incorporation of each subunit into pili and the reliance of such placement on each of the other subunits. Both accessory subunits RrgA and RrgC are present in similar quantities in pili of all sizes. However, neither protein is required for the polymerization of RrgB, suggesting a nonessential role for RrgA and RrgC in the initiation of pilus assembly. Additionally, the rlrA islet encodes three sortases, SrtC-1, SrtC-2, and SrtC-3 (formerly SrtB, SrtC, and SrtD), which are divergent in sequence from the housekeeping sortase, SrtA. We determined the contributions of these four sortases to pilus assembly and found that SrtA is dispensable for pilus assembly and localization to the cell wall. Instead, SrtC-1, SrtC-2, and SrtC-3 are responsible for pilus assembly and exhibit functional redundancy with respect to backbone assembly and cell wall localization. A level of specificity and coordination among the class C sortases was revealed by the finding that SrtC-1 and SrtC-3 are required for the incorporation of the accessory subunits and by showing a deleterious effect on pilus assembly upon alteration of the cell wall sorting signals of the accessory subunit proteins.
Cyclical Dynamics in Idiosyncratic Labor Market Risk

Is individual labor income more risky in recessions? This is a difficult question to answer because existing panel data sets are so short. To address this problem, we develop a generalized method of moments estimator that conditions on the macroeconomic history that each member of the panel has experienced. Variation in the cross‐sectional variance between households with differing macroeconomic histories allows us to incorporate business cycle information dating back to 1930, even though our data do not begin until 1968. We implement this estimator using household‐level labor earnings data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We estimate that idiosyncratic risk is (i) highly persistent, with an annual autocorrelation coefficient of 0.95, and (ii) strongly countercyclical, with a conditional standard deviation that increases by 75 percent (from 0.12 to 0.21) as the macroeconomy moves from peak to trough.
Inactivation of adipose angiotensinogen reduces adipose tissue macrophages and increases metabolic activity

The adipose renin‐angiotensin system (RAS) has been linked to obesity‐induced inflammation, though mechanisms are not completely understood. In this study, adipose‐specific angiotensinogen knockout mice (Agt‐KO) were generated to determine whether Agt inactivation reduces inflammation and alters the metabolic profile of the Agt‐KO mice compared to wild‐type (WT) littermates.
Fractal Weyl laws in discrete models of chaotic scattering

We analyse simple models of quantum chaotic scattering, namely quantized open baker's maps. We numerically compute the density of quantum resonances in the semiclassical regime. This density satisfies a fractal Weyl law, where the exponent is governed by the (fractal) dimension of the set of trapped trajectories. This type of behaviour is also expected in the (physically more relevant) case of Hamiltonian chaotic scattering. Within a simplified model, we are able to rigorously prove this Weyl law and compute quantities related to the 'coherent transport' through the system, namely the conductance and 'shot noise'. The latter is close to the prediction of random matrix theory.
Addition of truncated oligosaccharides to influenza virus hemagglutinin results in its temperature-conditional cell-surface expression

In the preceding paper (Hearing, J., E. Hunter, L. Rodgers, M.-J. Gething, and J. Sambrook. 1989. J. Cell Biol. 108:339-353) we described the isolation and initial characterization of seven Chinese hamster ovary cell lines that are temperature conditional for the cell-surface expression of influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) and other integral membrane glycoproteins. Two of these cell lines appeared to be defective for the synthesis and/or addition of mannose-rich oligosaccharide chains to nascent glycoproteins. In this paper we show that at both 32 and 39 degrees C in two mutant cell lines accumulate a truncated version, Man5GlcNAc2, of the normal lipid-linked precursor oligosaccharide, Glc3Man9GlcNAc2. This is possibly due to a defect in the synthesis of dolichol phosphate because in vitro assays indicate that the mutant cells are not deficient in mannosylphosphoryldolichol synthase at either temperature. A mixture of truncated and complete oligosaccharide chains was transferred to newly synthesized glycoproteins at both the permissive and restrictive temperatures. Both mutant cell lines exhibited altered sensitivity to cytotoxic plant lectins when grown at 32 degrees C, indicating that cellular glycoproteins bearing abnormal oligosaccharide chains were transported to the cell surface at the permissive temperature. Although glycosylation was defective at both 32 and 39 degrees C, the cell lines were temperature conditional for growth, suggesting that cellular glycoproteins were adversely affected by the glycosylation defect at the elevated temperature. The temperature-conditional expression of HA on the cell surface was shown to be due to impairment at 39 degrees C of the folding, trimerization, and stability of HA molecules containing truncated oligosaccharide chains.
Developing photoreceptor-based models of visual attraction in riverine tsetse, for use in the engineering of more-attractive polyester fabrics for control devices

Riverine tsetse transmit the parasites that cause the most prevalent form of human African trypanosomiasis, Gambian HAT. In response to the imperative for cheap and efficient tsetse control, insecticide-treated ‘tiny targets’ have been developed through refinement of tsetse attractants based on blue fabric panels. However, modern blue polyesters used for this purpose attract many less tsetse than traditional phthalogen blue cottons. Therefore, colour engineering polyesters for improved attractiveness has great potential for tiny target development. Because flies have markedly different photoreceptor spectral sensitivities from humans, and the responses of these photoreceptors provide the inputs to their visually guided behaviours, it is essential that polyester colour engineering be guided by fly photoreceptor-based explanations of tsetse attraction. To this end, tsetse attraction to differently coloured fabrics was recently modelled using the calculated excitations elicited in a generic set of fly photoreceptors as predictors. However, electrophysiological data from tsetse indicate the potential for modified spectral sensitivities versus the generic pattern, and processing of fly photoreceptor responses within segregated achromatic and chromatic channels has long been hypothesised. Thus, I constructed photoreceptor-based models explaining the attraction of G. f. fuscipes to differently coloured tiny targets recorded in a previously published investigation, under differing assumptions about tsetse spectral sensitivities and organisation of visual processing. Models separating photoreceptor responses into achromatic and chromatic channels explained attraction better than earlier models combining weighted photoreceptor responses in a single mechanism, regardless of the spectral sensitivities assumed. However, common principles for fabric colour engineering were evident across the complete set of models examined, and were consistent with earlier work. Tools for the calculation of fly photoreceptor excitations are available with this paper, and the ways in which these and photoreceptor-based models of attraction can provide colorimetric values for the engineering of more-attractively coloured polyester fabrics are discussed.
Rethinking Meta-Analysis: Applications for Air Pollution Data and Beyond

Meta‐analyses offer a rigorous and transparent systematic framework for synthesizing data that can be used for a wide range of research areas, study designs, and data types. Both the outcome of meta‐analyses and the meta‐analysis process itself can yield useful insights for answering scientific questions and making policy decisions. Development of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards illustrates many potential applications of meta‐analysis. These applications demonstrate the strengths and limitations of meta‐analysis, issues that arise in various data realms, how meta‐analysis design choices can influence interpretation of results, and how meta‐analysis can be used to address bias and heterogeneity. Reviewing available data from a meta‐analysis perspective can provide a useful framework and impetus for identifying and refining strategies for future research. Moreover, increased pervasiveness of a meta‐analysis mindset—focusing on how the pieces of the research puzzle fit together—would benefit scientific research and data syntheses regardless of whether or not a quantitative meta‐analysis is undertaken. While an individual meta‐analysis can only synthesize studies addressing the same research question, the results of separate meta‐analyses can be combined to address a question encompassing multiple data types. This observation applies to any scientific or policy area where information from a variety of disciplines must be considered to address a broader research question.
Learnability-Based Syntactic Annotation Design

There is often more than one way to represent syntactic structures, even within a given formalism. Selecting one representation over another may affect parsing performance. Therefore, selecting between alternative syntactic representations (hencefor th, syntactic selection) is an essential step in designing an annotation scheme. We present a methodology for syntactic selection and apply it to six central dependency structures. Our methodology compares pairs of annotation schemes that differ in the annotation of a single structure. It selects th e more learnable scheme, namely the one that can be better learned using statistical parsers. We find that in three of the structures, one annotation is unequivocally better than the alternatives. Our r esults are consistent over various settings involving five parsers and two definitions of learnability. F urthermore, we show that the learnability gains incurred by our selections are both considerable ( error reductions of up to 19.8%) and additive. The contribution of this work is in demonstrating that syntactic selection has a substantial and predictable effect on parsing performance, and showing that this effect can be effectively used in designing syntactic annotation schemes.
Fc gamma R(CD16) interaction with ligand induces Ca2+ mobilization and phosphoinositide turnover in human natural killer cells. Role of Ca2+ in Fc gamma R(CD16)-induced transcription and expression of lymphokine genes

In this study, we present evidence that interaction of Fc gamma R(CD16) with ligands (immune complexes or anti-CD16 antibodies) induces a rapid rise in [Ca2+]i and fast production of both inositol 1,4,5 triphosphate (IP3) and IP4 in homogeneous NK cell preparations. Part of the initial [Ca2+]i rise observed upon stimulation of NK cells with either anti- CD16 antibodies alone or after their crosslinking at the cell membrane depends on Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores, but sustained [Ca2+]i levels are maintained, after the initial spike, through influx of extracellular Ca2+. The [Ca2+]i rise is mediated, at least in part, by increases in IP3 after receptor-induced hydrolysis of membrane polyphosphoinositides (PPI). The role of extracellular Ca2+ in Fc gamma R(CD16)-dependent induction of lymphokine gene expression has been tested by evaluating production, mRNA accumulation and transcription of IFN-gamma and TNF in NK cells stimulated with Fc gamma R(CD16) ligands and/or rIL-2 in the presence of EGTA. Under these conditions, accumulation and transcription of both IFN-gamma and TNF mRNA induced by CD16 ligands, but not that induced by rIL-2, is completely abolished and neither cytokine can be detected at significant levels in the supernatant fluids of cells so treated. These data confirm that NK cell activation by specific ligands occurs through mechanisms distinct from those induced by IL-2, and indicate that extracellular Ca2+ represents a stringent requirement for cytokine production induced in NK cells through specific (Fc gamma R) stimulation. Our data also indicate that the [Ca2+]i rise induced upon Fc gamma R(CD16) crosslinking, though necessary, is not sufficient per se to induce activation of lymphokine genes, compatible with the hypothesis that Fc gamma R(CD16) crosslinking generates additional transducing signals that synergize with IL-2 to maximally activate NK cells.
HHMM-based Chinese Lexical Analyzer ICTCLAS

This document presents the results from Inst. of Computing Tech., CAS in the ACL SIGHAN-sponsored First International Chinese Word Segmentation Bake-off. The authors introduce the unified HHMM-based frame of our Chinese lexical analyzer ICTCLAS and explain the operation of the six tracks. Then provide the evaluation results and give more analysis. Evaluation on ICTCLAS shows that its performance is competitive. Compared with other system, ICTCLAS has ranked top both in CTB and PK closed track. In PK open track, it ranks second position. ICTCLAS BIG5 version was transformed from GB version only in two days; however, it achieved well in two BIG5 closed tracks. Through the first bakeoff, we could learn more about the development in Chinese word segmentation and become more confident on our HHMM-based approach. At the same time, we really find our problems during the evaluation. The bakeoff is interesting and helpful.
Surface Roughness Effects on Magnetization Reversal of Magnetic Ring Elements

The effect of surface roughness on magnetoresistance of permalloy ring structure is investigated. Microstructured permalloy rings with surface roughness varying from 4.2 to 21 nm were fabricated using electron beam lithography and a chemical etching process. It is found experimentally that the first and second nucleation fields decrease obviously with the surface roughness increasing, and the field range for the flux-closure state is not associated with surface roughness. The results indicate that surface roughness in permalloy ring structure is an important factor that influences the magnetic behaviors of the ring. This result can provide important information for future designs of ring-shaped magnetic devices.
Psychotherapy In A New Key: A Guide To Time-limited Dynamic Psychotherapy

* Overview and Background * Patients Problems as a Function of Disturbed Interpersonal Relationships * The Therapists Stance * Assessment * The Dynamic Focus Thomas E. Schacht, Jeffrey L. Binder, and Hans H. Strupp * Clinical Illustration of the Assessment Process and the Development of a Focus * Technique * Case History Illustrating the TLDP Approach * Termination * Research Considerations * Epilogue
Cochlear Electrode Arrays: Past, Present and Future

Cochlear implants are very successful devices: more than 60000 people use them throughout the world. Key to the success of these prostheses is the development of electrode arrays that place contacts close to the target neurons, survive for decades in the tissues of the inner ear, and that provide reliable and repeatable excitation to the cells of the auditory nerve. This article describes the early electrode arrays and their development into the arrays that are used presently in clinical cochlear prostheses. While integrated circuit techniques were proposed and tested in the laboratory two decades ago, the present clinical devices still are hand built and made of wire-based technologies. Current approaches that seek to automate the construction of cochlear electrode arrays are described and discussed.
Parental presence versus absence in the dental operatory: a technique to manage the uncooperative child dental patient.

AIM Societal changes have led to an increased parental presence in paediatric dental surgeries. The aim of this study was to assess the deliberate use of a parental presence/absence (PPA) intervention as a behavioural technique to manage very uncooperative children. STUDY DESIGN This is a retrospective study of the PPA technique in a Greek paediatric dental practice. METHODS Practice patient records were examined over a six year period, during which time Frankl behaviour ratings were made for each patient. At the initial dental visit, 85 otherwise normal healthy children were found to be very uncooperative (Frankl score of definitely negative); 46 female and 39 male, mean age 4.6+/-1.5 yrs (range 2.7-8.8). Their parents stepped out of the operatory and returned after the child became cooperative. These children were compared with 85 randomly selected cooperative children, matched for age and gender. STATISTICS A one sample binomial test was used to assess the technique's success, while chi(2) and t-tests were used for between group comparisons of proportions and means, respectively. RESULTS Seventy-four out of the 85 initially uncooperative children displayed Frankl positive behaviour as the initial appointment progressed, while 6 children remained uncooperative during the first appointment but were cooperative at following visits. The total technique success was 80/85 (94%, p<0.001). The two groups differed significantly with regards to control in caries scores (frequency 77.6% with 12.2 +/- 11.8 dmfs as opposed to 54.1% with 6.7 +/- 5.7 dmfs), and in parent's awareness of patient dental needs or symptoms (76 vs 52). There was no significant difference between groups with regards to completing the treatment planned (63/80 vs 75/85). There was no significant difference in the proportion of returning children who displayed uncooperative behaviour in subsequent visits. CONCLUSIONS The PPA technique can be successful in gaining the cooperation of children displaying very negative behaviour, thus minimising the need for other more aversive techniques.
Nonionic Contrast Neurotoxicity after Coronary Angiography Mimicking Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Introduction The incidence of neurotoxic events due to intravascular application of iodinated x-ray contrast media (CM) has decreased markedly since the introduction of nonionic CM [1]. Severe neurotoxic complications are accompanied by disruption of the blood-brain barrier and CM extravasation [1–6]. Coronary angiography involving only nonionic CM has been reported to cause transient cortical blindness, confusion and amnesia, but no focal deficits [3, 4], whereas coronary angiography involving ionic CM was followed by more severe complications including seizures, motor and speech deficits [5, 6]. Here we report on a patient who developed transient hemiparesis, aphasia and confusion due to neurotoxicity of nonionic CM after coronary angiography, and whose CT findings mimicked subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).