Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hidden cycle of dissolved organic carbon in the deep ocean

Significance Oceanic dissolved organic carbon (DOC) contains as much carbon as Earth’s atmosphere, yet its cycling timescales and composition remain poorly constrained. We use serial oxidation experiments to measure the quantitative distribution of carbon isotopes inside the DOC reservoir, allowing us to estimate both its cycling timescales and source distribution. We find that a large portion of deep water DOC has a modern radiocarbon age and a fast turnover time supported by particle dissolution. In addition, stable carbon isotopes allow for diverse sources of carbon, besides microbial production, to quantitatively feed this reservoir. Our work suggests a DOC cycle that is far more intricate, and potentially variable on shorter timescales, than previously envisioned. Marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a large (660 Pg C) reactive carbon reservoir that mediates the oceanic microbial food web and interacts with climate on both short and long timescales. Carbon isotopic content provides information on the DOC source via δ13C and age via Δ14C. Bulk isotope measurements suggest a microbially sourced DOC reservoir with two distinct components of differing radiocarbon age. However, such measurements cannot determine internal dynamics and fluxes. Here we analyze serial oxidation experiments to quantify the isotopic diversity of DOC at an oligotrophic site in the central Pacific Ocean. Our results show diversity in both stable and radio isotopes at all depths, confirming DOC cycling hidden within bulk analyses. We confirm the presence of isotopically enriched, modern DOC cocycling with an isotopically depleted older fraction in the upper ocean. However, our results show that up to 30% of the deep DOC reservoir is modern and supported by a 1 Pg/y carbon flux, which is 10 times higher than inferred from bulk isotope measurements. Isotopically depleted material turns over at an apparent time scale of 30,000 y, which is far slower than indicated by bulk isotope measurements. These results are consistent with global DOC measurements and explain both the fluctuations in deep DOC concentration and the anomalous radiocarbon values of DOC in the Southern Ocean. Collectively these results provide an unprecedented view of the ways in which DOC moves through the marine carbon cycle.
Incidence of Genu Valgumin Relation to Intermalleolar Distances of Adultsin Amassoma South-South Nigeria

Intermalleolar distance of 80 adults, (50 normal and30 with genu valgum) of both gender between the age bracket of 18-35years were measuredwith a caliper to establish values for analysis. All subjects are resident in Amassoma, Bayelsa State Nigeria.The mean intermalleiolar distance obtained for normal adult males was 1.79cm with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.42 and 4.56cm for females with SD of ±1.71, while the mean IMD for adult males with genu valgumwas 13.92cm with SD of ±8.64. A casual observance of the mean values of the mean IMD between males and females in the normal subjects and those with genu valgum indicated variations amongst the values. These variations were however not statistically significant between the male and female genu valgum group, while there was a statistically significant difference in the mean IMD values between normal adult males and females (P< 0.05) for both groups). It could then be concluded that a mean IMD of < 4cm and <8cm may be considered within the safe limits for males and females respectively in the normal adult population. The difference between males and females could be due to the wider pelvis in the females than in males.
Molecular Characterization of Ciliate Diversity in Stream Biofilms

ABSTRACT Free-living protozoa are thought to be of fundamental importance in aquatic ecosystems, but there is limited understanding of their diversity and ecological role, particularly in surface-associated communities such as biofilms. Existing eukaryote-specific PCR primers were used to survey 18S rRNA gene sequence diversity in stream biofilms but poorly revealed protozoan diversity, demonstrating a need for protozoan-targeted primers. Group-specific PCR primers targeting 18S rRNA genes of the protozoan phylum Ciliophora were therefore designed and tested using DNA extracted from cultured protozoan isolates. The two most reliable primer combinations were applied to stream biofilm DNA, followed by cloning and sequencing analysis. Of 44 clones derived from primer set 384F/1147R, 86% were of probable ciliate origin, as were 25% of 44 clones detected by primer set 121F/1147R. A further 29% of 121F/1147R-detected clones matched sequences from the closely related phylum Apicomplexa. The highly ciliate-specific primer set 384F/1147R was subsequently used in PCRs on biofilm DNA from four streams exhibiting different levels of human impact, revealing differences in ciliate sequence diversity in samples from each site. Of a total of 240 clones, 73% were of probable ciliate origin; 54 different putative ciliate sequences were detected from throughout seven taxonomic ciliate classes. Sequences from Oligohymenophorea were most commonly detected in all samples, followed by either Spirotrichea or Phyllopharyngea. Restriction fragment length polymorphism profile-based analysis of clones suggested a potentially higher level of diversity than did sequencing. Nevertheless, newly designed PCR primers 384F/1147R were considered to provide an effective molecular basis for characterization of ciliate diversity in stream biofilms.
Evaluation of neck muscles activation patterns during simple isometric tasks

The ability to move and position one’s head in space intrinsically depends on the harmonious operation of about 30 pairs of neck muscles. Based on both sEMG measurements and moment arms evaluations of the main muscles of this segment, it has been shown (Vasavada et al. 1998) that four main muscles (SternoCleidoMastoid SCM, Splenius Capitis, Semispinalis Capitis and Trapezius) had the capacity to produce 70-80% of the maximum moment generated by the major neck muscles. However, experimental results targeting the action of the deep neck flexors (Falla et al. 2003) suggest that their contribution to the flexion of the head is not negligible. Similarly, the group of the hyoid muscles is often neglected in musculoskeletal modelling, despite having the potential to act as significant neck flexors (Van Ee et al. 2000). The main research questions of the study were therefore (i) to estimate neck muscles activation patterns for a range of isometric and isokinetic conditions, to serve as input data to control a currently developed finite element model and (ii) to investigate the part played by the deep, ‘postural’ muscles (in particular the deep cervical flexors) and by the hyoid muscles during postural tasks of the daily life. The paper presents some preliminary results from this study in isometric loading conditions.
Lower-bound estimation for multi-bitwidth scheduling

In high-level synthesis, accurate lower-bound estimation is helpful to explore the search space efficiently and to evaluate the quality of heuristic algorithms. For the lower-bound estimation of the scheduling problems, previous works mainly focus on the number of resources with uniform bitwidth. In this paper, we study the problem of lower-bound estimation on bitwidth summation of functional units for multi-bitwidth scheduling, where data-paths are composed of operations with various bitwidth. An integer linear programming (ELP) formulation and a polynomial time algorithm are presented. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm produces good estimation, only 2% lower than the optimal results, which are obtained from ILP.
Cytokines and Chemokines in Cerebral Malaria Pathogenesis

Cerebral malaria is among the major causes of malaria-associated mortality and effective adjunctive therapeutic strategies are currently lacking. Central pathophysiological processes involved in the development of cerebral malaria include an imbalance of pro- and anti-inflammatory responses to Plasmodium infection, endothelial cell activation, and loss of blood-brain barrier integrity. However, the sequence of events, which initiates these pathophysiological processes as well as the contribution of their complex interplay to the development of cerebral malaria remain incompletely understood. Several cytokines and chemokines have repeatedly been associated with cerebral malaria severity. Increased levels of these inflammatory mediators could account for the sequestration of leukocytes in the cerebral microvasculature present during cerebral malaria, thereby contributing to an amplification of local inflammation and promoting cerebral malaria pathogenesis. Herein, we highlight the current knowledge on the contribution of cytokines and chemokines to the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria with particular emphasis on their roles in endothelial activation and leukocyte recruitment, as well as their implication in the progression to blood-brain barrier permeability and neuroinflammation, in both human cerebral malaria and in the murine experimental cerebral malaria model. A better molecular understanding of these processes could provide the basis for evidence-based development of adjunct therapies and the definition of diagnostic markers of disease progression.
New developments in the management of acromegaly. Should we achieve absolute biochemical cure?

Acromegaly is an uncommon condition with a prevalence in European populations of about 40 per million, and an incidence of four to six new cases per million population per year. The vast majority (99%) of cases of acromegaly are due to a pituitary somatotrophinoma, the occasional rare case being caused by ectopic production of growth hormone-releasing hormone by bronchial carcinoid, pancreatic neuroendocrine, or hypothalamic tumours, giving rise to somatotroph hyperplasia. The onset of the condition is most often very insidious, especially so in the older patient; photographs may reveal evidence of acral expansion 5–10 years before biochemical confirmation of the diagnosis. This long exposure of tissues to excessive secretion of growth hormone (GH) before treatment may be significant with respect to the long-term mortality outcome. Furthermore, it may also explain why about 60–70% of somatotrophinomas are macroadenomas (>1 cm in diameter) at diagnosis, and only a minority (30–40%) are microadenomas. The presentation of acromegaly is very variable, and a fair proportion of cases are diagnosed coincidentally on the basis of the characteristic appearance of a patient presenting with unrelated problems. However, the consequences of GH excess such as enlargement of the hands, feet, jaw and face, sweating, greasy skin and carpal tunnel syndrome are the most common forms of presentation, although the metabolic consequences of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and renal calculus formation may provide the initial clues to the diagnosis. Other patients may present with symptoms directly attributable to an expanded pituitary gland, such as headache, visual impairment or hypopituitarism. This varied presentation and rarity of the condition often means that the disease goes unrecognised by the non-specialist physician. Accordingly, the specialist endocrinologist frequently encounters the patient when complications have developed. Moreover, the endocrinologist is committed to the long-term care of patients with acromegaly because of the implications of the complications and GH excess for long-term morbidity and mortality. This is not a condition that should be managed by generalists. Morbidity and mortality in acromegaly
Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems ( PACIS ) 2015 Examining Technology Perception and User Competence on Two Types of Smartphone Usages

This study intends to explain smartphone usage behaviours in the post-adoption stage of information systems (IS) based on the IS continuance model, the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the competence of the users. In this study, smartphone usage is divided into two types: usage of the smartphone’s device functions and usage of applications. This is the first time this concept has been proposed and empirically tested. The results found strong predictors of user satisfaction (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) toward smartphone satisfaction and finally confirmed the influence of smartphone function use on smartphone app use. Finally, several important theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research based on limitations are suggested.
The V-Way cache: demand-based associativity via global replacement

As processor speeds increase and memory latency becomes more critical, intelligent design and management of secondary caches becomes increasingly important. The efficiency of current set-associative caches is reduced because programs exhibit a non-uniform distribution of memory accesses across different cache sets. We propose a technique to vary the associativity of a cache on a per-set basis in response to the demands of the program. By increasing the number of tag-store entries relative to the number of data lines, we achieve the performance benefit of global replacement while maintaining the constant hit latency of a set-associative cache. The proposed variable-way, or V-Way, set-associative cache achieves an average miss rate reduction of 13% on sixteen benchmarks from the SPEC CPU2000 suite. This translates into an average IPC improvement of 8%.
The Association of Student Perceptions With Student Motivation and Cognitive Engagement in the Year 11 Economic Framework Unit

Many Western Australian Economics teachers have voiced concern with the level of motivation of students studying Economics and the apparent decline in the number of students in secondary institutions choosing Economics as an upper school subject (Lewis & Norris, 1996). A need therefore seems to exist for data about secondary students' thoughts and feelings towards Economics. This exploratory study aimed to investigate and describe student perceptions, motivational orientations and cognitive engagement, as experienced by Year 11 Economic students when studying the Economic Framework unit. This unit is the only compulsory unit in Year 11 Economics and is typically associated with motivational problems. Due to the interpretive nature of the research, data were derived incorporating mainly qualitative techniques. A case study approach was used to examine the perceptions, motivational orientations and cognitive engagement of four students. The main sources of data were questionnaires, a lesson observation, semi-structured interviews and teacher lesson plans, records and reports. In general the student perceptions of the Economic Framework unit were wide ranging and complex and included perceptions of previous experience, self and course content, instructional practivs and task value. There appeared to be some reasonably well defined associations between these perceptions and student motivational orientations and cognitive engagement. The findings provide Economics teachers, the Secondary Education Authority and other Curriculum developers, with valuable feedback, which could be used to
Physicochemical and sensory characteristics of no-bake wheat-soy snack bars.

BACKGROUND Health and wellness is a trend observed throughout ready-to-eat cereals, cereal health bars. Therefore, the main objectives of this research were to produce a low cost, acceptable, nutritious and healthy wheat- and soy-based bar under no-bake conditions. Also, the physical, chemical, microbial, acceptability and the nutritional value of this product were studied. Six different bars were produced: a wheat bar (WB), a wheat bar with coating (WBC), a wheat and soy bar with coating (WSBC), a soy bar with coating (SBC), a wheat bar with 3% glycerin (WB3%), and a wheat bar with 6% glycerine (WB6%). RESULTS WB and WBC had the highest water activities while WSBC had the lowest. The three bars with coating had higher L and lower b values, which indicates that they were lighter and not as highly yellow coloured as the wheat samples. WSBC had the lowest value for hardness while the SBC and WBC had the highest. SBC received the highest scores for overall acceptability, appearance, sweetness, flavour and texture while WSBC received the second highest score in all categories. CONCLUSION It appears that consumers prefer the soy varieties to the wheat bars. These types of bars can aid in feeding the general population, which is becoming increasingly concerned with nutrition and convenience.
Measuring the environment for friendliness toward physical activity: a comparison of the reliability of 3 questionnaires.

OBJECTIVES We tested the reliability of 3 instruments that assessed social and physical environments. METHODS We conducted a test-retest study among US adults (n = 289). We used telephone survey methods to measure suitableness of the perceived (vs objective) environment for recreational physical activity and nonmotorized transportation. RESULTS Most questions in our surveys that attempted to measure specific characteristics of the built environment showed moderate to high reliability. Questions about the social environment showed lower reliability than those that assessed the physical environment. Certain blocks of questions appeared to be selectively more reliable for urban or rural respondents. CONCLUSIONS Despite differences in content and in response formats, all 3 surveys showed evidence of reliability, and most items are now ready for use in research and in public health surveillance.
A cost-effectiveness analysis of directly observed therapy vs self-administered therapy for treatment of tuberculosis.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To compare the costs and effectiveness of directly observed therapy (DOT) vs self-administered therapy (SAT) for the treatment of active tuberculosis. DESIGN Decision analysis. SETTING We used published rates for failure of therapy, relapse, and acquired multidrug resistance during the initial treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis cases using DOT or SAT. We estimated costs of tuberculosis treatment at an urban tuberculosis control program, a municipal hospital, and a hospital specializing in treating drug-resistant tuberculosis. OUTCOME MEASURES The average cost per patient to cure drug-susceptible tuberculosis, including the cost of treating failures of initial treatment. RESULTS The direct costs of initial therapy with DOT and SAT were similar ($1,206 vs $1,221 per patient, respectively), although DOT was more expensive when patient time costs were included. When the costs of relapse and failure were included in the model, DOT was less expensive than SAT, whether considering outpatient costs only ($1,405 vs $2,314 per patient treated), outpatient plus inpatient costs ($2,785 vs $10,529 per patient treated), or outpatient, inpatient, and patients' time costs ($3,999 vs $12,167 per patient treated). Threshold analysis demonstrated that DOT was less expensive than SAT through a wide range of cost estimates and clinical event rates. CONCLUSION Despite its greater initial cost, DOT is a more cost-effective strategy than SAT because it achieves a higher cure rate after initial therapy, and thereby decreases treatment costs associated with failure of therapy and acquired drug resistance. This cost-effectiveness analysis supports the widespread implementation of DOT.
A Look back at the PAKDD Data Mining Competition 2006

The 10th Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (PAKDD) 2006 Data Mining Competition involved the problem of classifying mobile telecom network customers into second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) services, with the ultimate aim of identi-fying existing 2G network customers who had a high potential of switching to using the mobile operatorâ€™s new 3G mobile network and services. This paper discusses the background behind the preparation of the dataset, the choice of judging criteria incorporating both a quantitative measure of accuracy and a set of subjective qualitative assessments, and finally a summary of the participation and results. We also highlight, in the report, interesting observations and find-ings from some of the participating teams.
Modeling and Analysis of Non-Rectangular Gate for Post-Lithography Circuit Simulation

In the nano regime it has become increasingly important to consider the impact of non-rectangular gate (NRG) shape caused due to sub-wavelength lithography. NRG dramatically increases the leakage current and requires geometry dependent transistor models for post-litho circuit simulation, hi this paper, we propose a coherent modeling approach for non-rectangular gates based on equivalent gate length (Le). A gate-voltage dependent model of Le is developed which is scalable with design conditions, continuous across weak and strong inversion regions, accurate for both leakage and saturation current, and compatible with standard circuit analysis tools. We systematically verify this approach with 65 nm TCAD simulations. A generic CAD algorithm is further proposed to predict the value of Le under various non-rectangular geometries. The interaction with the narrow-width effect is efficiently convolved in this method. Depending on the gate geometry, the leakage current can vary more than 15X at 65 nm technology node. Our analytical method well captures this effect. Finally, we extrapolate the impact of NRG effect on future technology generations. The proposed model can be easily extracted from TCAD tools or direct silicon data. It bridges the gap between lithography, simulation, and circuit analysis for measuring transistor performance under increasingly severe NRG effect.
CUMULATIVE DISADVANTAGE: EXAMINING RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITY IN PROSECUTION AND SENTENCING†

Current research on criminal case processing typically examines a single decision-making point, so drawing reliable conclusions about the impact that factors such as defendants’ race or ethnicity exert across successive stages of the justice system is difficult. Using data from the New York County District Attorney's Office that tracks 185,275 diverse criminal cases, this study assesses racial and ethnic disparity for multiple discretionary points of prosecution and sentencing. Findings from multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrate that the effects of race and ethnicity vary by discretionary point and offense category. Black and Latino defendants were more likely than White defendants to be detained, to receive a custodial plea offer, and to be incarcerated—and they received especially punitive outcomes for person offenses—but were more likely to benefit from case dismissals. The findings for Asian defendants were less consistent but suggest they were the least likely to be detained, to receive custodial offers, and to be incarcerated. These findings are discussed in the context of contemporary theoretical perspectives on racial bias and cumulative disadvantage in the justice system.