Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends in solar spectral irradiance variability in the visible and infrared

The Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) on‐board the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite provides the first multi‐year continuous measurements of solar spectral irradiance (SSI) variability from 200–2400 nm, accounting for about 97% of the total solar irradiance (TSI). In addition to irradiance modulation from active region passage, the SSI values for wavelengths with a brightness temperature greater than 5770 K show a brightening with decreasing solar activity, whereas those with lower brightness temperatures show a dimming. These results demonstrate that different parts of the solar atmosphere contribute differently to the TSI with the behavior in the deep photospheric layers giving an opposing and nearly compensating trend to that in the upper photospheric and lower chromospheric layers. These findings need to be incorporated into Earth‐climate assessments since the solar forcing induced by these differential trends are inherently different from the relatively flat spectral contributions employed in the IPCC assessments.
Disease Prevention: Saving Lives or Reducing Health Care Costs?

Background Disease prevention has been claimed to reduce health care costs. However, preventing lethal diseases increases life expectancy and, thereby, indirectly increases the demand for health care. Previous studies have argued that on balance preventing diseases that reduce longevity increases health care costs while preventing non-fatal diseases could lead to health care savings. The objective of this research is to investigate if disease prevention could result in both increased longevity and lower lifetime health care costs. Methods Mortality rates for Netherlands in 2009 were used to construct cause-deleted life tables. Data originating from the Dutch Costs of Illness study was incorporated in order to estimate lifetime health care costs in the absence of selected disease categories. We took into account that for most diseases health care expenditures are concentrated in the last year of life. Results Elimination of diseases that reduce life expectancy considerably increase lifetime health care costs. Exemplary are neoplasms that, when eliminated would increase both life expectancy and lifetime health care spending with roughly 5% for men and women. Costs savings are incurred when prevention has only a small effect on longevity such as in the case of mental and behavioural disorders. Diseases of the circulatory system stand out as their elimination would increase life expectancy while reducing health care spending. Conclusion The stronger the negative impact of a disease on longevity, the higher health care costs would be after elimination. Successful treatment of fatal diseases leaves less room for longevity gains due to effective prevention but more room for health care savings.
The Universality of Turbulence in Galactic Molecular Clouds

The universality of interstellar turbulence is examined from observed structure functions of 27 giant molecular clouds and Monte Carlo modeling. We show that the structure functions, δv = volγ, derived from wide-field imaging of 12CO J=1-0 emission from individual clouds are described by a narrow range in the scaling exponent, γ, and the scaling coefficient, vo. The similarity of turbulent structure functions emphasizes the universality of turbulence in the molecular interstellar medium and accounts for the cloud-to-cloud size/line width relationship initially identified by Larson. The degree of turbulence universality is quantified by Monte Carlo simulations that reproduce the mean squared velocity residuals of the observed cloud-to-cloud relationship. Upper limits to the variation of the scaling amplitudes and exponents for molecular clouds are ~10%-20%. The measured invariance of turbulence for molecular clouds with vastly different sizes, environments, and star formation activity suggests a common formation mechanism such as converging turbulent flows within the diffuse interstellar medium and a limited contribution of energy from sources within the cloud with respect to large-scale driving mechanisms.
Geology or Economics? Testing Models of Irreversible Investment Using North Sea Oil Data

This paper tests the main implications of models of irreversible investment using data from operations in the oil fields in the North Sea. Discrete-time hazard regression models are used to ascertain the influence of economic variables, the expected price of oil, the variance of the price of oil and the level of reserves, on the lag between the discovery of a field and the decision to develop the field. We are able to control for heterogeneity in the data by incorporating variables which account for both the geological features of each field and individual operator characteristics. The results indicate that the expected price of oil and the level of reserves are important in influencing the appraisal duration but that the variance of the oil price is not. Variables capturing the non-economic features of the individual fields are also found to be significant factors affecting the appraisal lag. Copyright 1994 by Royal Economic Society.
Exploring pareto routes in multi-criteria urban bicycle routing

To properly account for a broad range of routechoice factors in bicycle route planning, a multi-criteria optimization framework is needed. Unfortunately, in contrast to other categories of routing problems, optimal multi-criteria search has not yet been developed for bicycle routing. In this paper, we address this gap and provide a multi-criteria formulation of the bicycle routing problem and an optimum multi-label correcting algorithm for finding a full set of Pareto routes. To reduce the potentially very large number of Pareto solutions, we introduce a route selection algorithm, based on hierarchical clustering, for extracting a small representative subset of Pareto routes. We empirically evaluate our approach on a real-world cycleway network. We explore the size and structure of the set of Pareto routes and demonstrate the capability of our method to generate a practical set of bicycle routes in realistic conditions.
Forecasting Romanian GDP Using a Small DSGE Model

In this study I apply a simple DSGE model to forecast the quarterly Romanian GDP. The forecast is based on the posterior distribution of the model parameters resulted from the Bayesian estimation. The forecast for the 2006-2007 period shows that the realized GDP is within the confidence interval of the forecast when the shock uncertainty is also included. The projection for the 2007-2010 period indicates an average growth rate of almost 6%.
Gastroprotective Effects of PMK-S005 against Ethanol-Induced Acute Gastric Damage in Rats

Background/Aims This study aimed to examine the gastroprotective effects of PMK-S005, which is a synthetic S-allyl-l-cysteine (SAC; a sulfur-containing amino acid), against acute ethanol-induced gastric damage in rats. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups, including a nonethanol group, groups treated with absolute ethanol 1 hour after pretreatment with various doses of PMK-S005 (1, 5, and 10 mg/kg) or rebamipide (50 mg/kg), and an absolute ethanol-only group. Ethanol-induced gross ulcer and mucus levels were measured. Myeloperoxidase, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1β, PGE2, LTB4, cPLA2, COX-1, and COX-2 levels were estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or Western blot analysis. Furthermore, the protein expression levels of antioxidant enzymes, including heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), NAD(P)H:quinine oxidoreductase 1 (NQO-1), GCLC, and GCLM, were assessed. Results PMK-S005 significantly attenuated the ethanol-induced gastric damage; it reduced mucosal inflammatory cytokine production and increased mucus levels. The expression levels of cPLA2, COX-1, and COX-2 were decreased by PMK-S005. PMK-S005 did not affect PGE2 synthesis, but LTB4 production was significantly suppressed. In addition, long-term administration of PMK-S005 significantly increased the expression of HO-1, NQO-1, GCLC, and GCLM. Conclusions These results strongly suggest that PMK-S005 prevents gastric mucosal damage and that these gastroprotective activities are due to anti-inflammatory effects and enhancement of the gastric defense system, including antioxidant enzymes.
Managers Divided: Organisation Politics and Information Technology Management

From the Publisher: Identifies and analyzes the social, political and problematic nature of systems and the use of IT in contemporary society. Considers the growing complexity of IT management issues, the changing profiles and organization of the IS profession and the dominant rise of a user relations problem within modern systems development. Features a detailed, case study of a major systems project--from the early decisions involving desirability and design to launch and initial assessment. Analyzes the shift from a technological-led to a strategic and marketing-led use of IT.
Involvement of Metalloproteinases 2/9 in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Transactivation in Pressure-Induced Myogenic Tone in Mouse Mesenteric Resistance Arteries

Background—Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) transactivation is a mediator of angiotensin II (Ang II) signaling in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells isolated from large arteries. The present study used mouse mesenteric resistance arteries (MRAs) to investigate the role of EGFR transactivation under pressure-induced myogenic tone (MT). Methods and Results—Isolated MRAs were mounted in an arteriograph and stimulated by 25 to 125 mm Hg or with Ang II and KCl. Stepwise increases in pressure resulted in MT development associated with increased EGFR phosphorylation and release of heparin-binding EGF (HB-EGF), a membrane-bound growth factor that is shed on cleavage by metalloproteinases. EGF (50 ng/mL) potentiated MT (59±1% to 51±0.6% of passive diameter at 75 mm Hg). Pretreatment with the EGFR inhibitors AG1478 (5 &mgr;mol/L) or PD153035 (1 &mgr;mol/L) significantly decreased MT. However, EGFR inhibitors had no effect on Ang II– and KCl-induced contraction. MT was potentiated by HB-EGF, 50 ng/mL, which is bound to the cell membrane and released on cleavage by metalloproteinases. Neutralizing HB-EGF antibodies or heparin treatment to sequester HB-EGF resulted in significant inhibition of pressure-induced MT. MT increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 and MMP-9 gelatinase activity assessed by zymography, and specific MMP 2/9 inhibitors significantly decreased MT. Conclusions—These novel findings suggest that the mechanism of pressure-induced MT involves metalloproteinases 2/9 activation with subsequent HB-EGF release and EGFR transactivation.
Effectiveness of different types of clay for reducing the detrimental effects of aflatoxin-contaminated diets on performance and serum profiles of weanling pigs.

Three trials were conducted with recently weaned pigs (n = 198) to determine the effects of feeding different types of clay in conjunction with aflatoxin-contaminated diets. In Trial 1, pigs (n = 54; trial length 4 wk) were assigned to either an uncontaminated treatment (NC), 800 ppb of aflatoxin from contaminated corn (AC), or AC with one of four clays. In Trial 2 (n = 81; trial length 5 wk), pigs were assigned to NC, AC (500 ppb of aflatoxin from rice starch), or AC with one of seven types of clay. In both trials, pigs fed AC had decreased ADG and gain:feed ratios (P < .05) compared with controls. The clays differed in their ability to produce gains similar to those of controls. The clays did reduce changes in the serum measurements normally affected by aflatoxin, including albumin, total protein, gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, in a manner similar to their effect on ADG. In Trial 3, pigs (n = 63) were assigned to one of seven diets for 4 wk: NC, AC (800 ppb of aflatoxin) with no clay, AC with one of four levels of a treated Ca bentonite (.25, .5, 1, and 2%), or AC and . 5% hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate. The addition of treated Ca bentonite to AC improved ADG (P < .05) and ADFI (P < .01) linearly. Gain:feed ratios were not affected by treatments. The inclusion of treated Ca bentonite to the AC diet linearly decreased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and quadratically decreased ALP and GGT levels (P < .05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Origins of Face Processing in Humans: Phylogeny and Ontogeny

Faces are crucial for nonverbal communication in humans and related species. From the first moments of life, newborn infants prefer to look at human faces over almost any other form of stimuli. Since this finding was first observed, there has been much debate regarding the “special” nature of face processing. Researchers have put forward numerous developmental models that attempt to account for this early preference and subsequent maturation of the face processing system. In this article, we review these models and their supporting evidence drawing on literature from developmental, evolutionary, and comparative psychology. We conclude that converging data from these fields strongly suggests that face processing is conducted by a dedicated and complex neural system, is not human specific, and is unlikely to have emerged recently in evolutionary history.
The Choice of Park and Ride Facilities: An Analysis Using a Context-Dependent Hierarchical Choice Experiment

Park and ride (P&R) facilities have been proposed in several countries to alleviate the accessibility problems in cities. Despite growing accessibility problems, these facilities do not seem to attract the expected number of car drivers and are underused. In an attempt to measure consumer evaluations of the attributes of P&R facilities, a stated choice experiment, based on the method of hierarchical information integration, was conducted in the city of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. This paper documents the major results of this study, which differs from previous research in that a large range of attributes is examined, including accessibility of the facility, the quality of the facility, and the features of connecting transport. In addition, context variables affect the decisionmaking process of car drivers such as weather, having heavy luggage and travel purpose were incorporated in the study design. The results indicate that social safety, quality of the connecting public transport and relative travel times by transport modes are key attributes to the success of P&R facilities. Contextual variables seem to have only a minor impact.
Tidal Streams in the Galactic Halo: Evidence for the Sagittarius Northern Stream or Traces of a New Nearby Dwarf Galaxy

Standard cosmology predicts that dwarfs were the first galaxies to be formed in the universe and that many of them merge afterward to form bigger galaxies such as the Milky Way. This process would have left behind traces such as tidal debris or star streams in the outer halo. We report here the detection of a very low density stellar system at 50 ± 10 kpc from the Galactic center that could be related to the merger process. It could form part of the Sagittarius northern stream or, alternatively, could be the trace of a hitherto unknown dwarf galaxy. The dwarf galaxy in Sagittarius, the closest satellite of the Milky Way, is currently being tidally disrupted and is a "living" test for galaxy formation theories. The system found here is 60° away from the center of the Sagittarius galaxy. If it is really associated with this galaxy, it would confirm predictions of dynamical interaction models indicating that tidal debris from Sagittarius could extend along a stream completely enveloping the Milky Way in a polar orbit.
Perception of voice-individuality for distortions of resonance/source characteristics and waveforms

A perceptual study has been performed to investigate relation-ship between acoustic parameters and the voice individuality making use of the pitch synchronous analysis-synthesis system Voice-individuality is involved in many acoustic parameters and the aim of this experiment is to examine how individual parameters affect the voice-individuality by separately giving them some distortions. Formant-frequency shift and bandwidth manipulations are given for spectral distortion, F 0 -shift for source manipulation. As the waveform distortion, zero-crossing and center-clipping techniques are used. It has been found that for-mant-shift is very sensitive to voice-individuality change and F 0 -shift and bandwidth manipulations are rather tolerant to the voice-individuality. The results of waveform manipulation reveal that the voice-individuality is kept more than the phonetic information for zero-crossing distortion and the results for cen-ter-clipping distortion are reverse.
Fiscal Stimulus and the Promise of Future Spending Cuts

Recent evaluations of the fiscal stimulus packages enacted in 2009 in the United States and Europe such as Cogan et al. (2009) and Cwik and Wieland (2009) suggest that the GDP effects will be modest due to crowding out of private consumption and investment. Corsetti, Meier, and Muller (2009, 2010) argue that spending shocks are typically followed by consolidations with substantive spending cuts, which enhance the short-run stimulus effect. This note investigates the implications of this argument for the estimated impact of recent stimulus packages and the case for discretionary fiscal policy.
A curated transcriptome dataset collection to investigate the development and differentiation of the human placenta and its associated pathologies

Compendia of large-scale datasets made available in public repositories provide a precious opportunity to discover new biomedical phenomena and to fill gaps in our current knowledge. In order to foster novel insights it is necessary to ensure that these data are made readily accessible to research investigators in an interpretable format. Here we make a curated, public, collection of transcriptome datasets relevant to human placenta biology available for further analysis and interpretation via an interactive data browsing interface. We identified and retrieved a total of 24 datasets encompassing 759 transcriptome profiles associated with the development of the human placenta and associated pathologies from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and present them in a custom web-based application designed for interactive query and visualization of integrated large-scale datasets ( http://placentalendocrinology.gxbsidra.org/dm3/landing.gsp). We also performed quality control checks using relevant biological markers. Multiple sample groupings and rank lists were subsequently created to facilitate data query and interpretation. Via this interface, users can create web-links to customized graphical views which may be inserted into manuscripts for further dissemination, or e-mailed to collaborators for discussion. The tool also enables users to browse a single gene across different projects, providing a mechanism for developing new perspectives on the role of a molecule of interest across multiple biological states. The dataset collection we created here is available at: http://placentalendocrinology.gxbsidra. org/dm3.
Fetal Exposure of Rhesus Macaques to Bisphenol A Alters Cellular Development of the Conducting Airway by Changing Epithelial Secretory Product Expression

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure early in life results in organizational changes in reproductive organs, but the effect of BPA on conducting airway cellular maturation has not been studied. Late gestation is characterized by active differentiation of secretory cells in the lung epithelium. Objective: We evaluated the hypothesis that BPA exposure disrupts epithelial secretory cell development in the fetal conducting airway of the rhesus macaque. Methods: We exposed animals to BPA during either the second (early term) or the third (late term) trimester. There were four treatment groups: a) sham control early term, b) sham control late term, c) BPA early term (BPA-early), and d) BPA late term (BPA-late). Because cellular maturation occurs nonuniformly in the lung, we defined mRNA and protein expression by airway level using microdissection. Results: BPA exposure of the dam during late term significantly accelerated secretory cell maturation in the proximal airways of the fetus; both Clara cell secretory protein (CCSP) and MUC5AC/5B mRNA and protein expression increased. Conclusions: BPA exposure during late gestation accelerates secretory cell maturation in the proximal conducting airways. We identified a critical window of fetal susceptibility for BPA effects on lung epithelial cell maturation in the third trimester. This is of environmental health importance because increases in airway mucins are hallmarks of a number of childhood lung diseases that may be affected by BPA exposure.
THE LUNAR THERMAL ICE PUMP

It has long been suggested that water ice can exist in extremely cold regions near the lunar poles, where sublimation loss is negligible. The geographic distribution of H-bearing regolith shows only a partial or ambiguous correlation with permanently shadowed areas, thus suggesting that another mechanism may contribute to locally enhancing water concentrations. We show that under suitable conditions, water molecules can be pumped down into the regolith by day–night temperature cycles, leading to an enrichment of H2O in excess of the surface concentration. Ideal conditions for pumping are estimated and found to occur where the mean surface temperature is below 105 K and the peak surface temperature is above 120 K. These conditions complement those of the classical cold traps that are roughly defined by peak temperatures lower than 120 K. On the present-day Moon, an estimated 0.8% of the global surface area experiences such temperature variations. Typically, pumping occurs on pole-facing slopes in small areas, but within a few degrees of each pole the equator-facing slopes are preferred. Although pumping of water molecules is expected over cumulatively large areas, the absolute yield of this pump is low; at best, a few percent of the H2O delivered to the surface could have accumulated in the near-surface layer in this way. The amount of ice increases with vapor diffusivity and is thus higher in the regolith with large pore spaces.
Spinocerebellar ataxia in monozygotic twins.

CONTEXT Although phenotypic heterogeneity in autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) has been explained in part by genotypic heterogeneity, clinical observations suggest the influence of additional factors. OBJECTIVES To demonstrate, quantitate, and localize physiologic abnormalities attributable to nongenetic factors in the development of hereditary SCA. DESIGN Quantitative assessments of ocular motor function and postural control in 2 sets of identical twins, one with SCA type 2 and the other with episodic ataxia type 2. SETTING University laboratory. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Saccadic velocity and amplitude, pursuit gain, and dynamic posturography. RESULTS We found significant differences in saccade velocity, saccade metrics, and postural stability between each monozygotic twin. The differences point to differential involvement between twins of discrete regions in the cerebellum and brainstem. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate the presence of quantitative differences in the severity, rate of progression, and regional central nervous system involvement in monozygotic twins with SCA that must be owing to the existence of nongermline or external factors.