Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ENSO Bred Vectors in Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere General Circulation Models

The breeding method has been implemented in the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) coupled general circulation model (CGCM) with the ultimate goal of improving operational seasonal to interannual climate predictions through ensemble forecasting and data assimilation. This is the first attempt to isolate the evolving ENSO instability and its corresponding global atmospheric response in a fully coupled ocean–atmosphere GCM. The results herein show that the growth rate of the coupled bred vectors (BVs) is sensitive to the ENSO phases of the evolving background flow and peaks about 3 months before an ENSO event. The structure of the dominant growing BV modes also evolves with the background ENSO and exhibits a larger amplitude in the eastern tropical Pacific, reflecting the natural dynamical sensitivity associated with the shallow thermocline at the eastern boundary. The key features of coupled bred vectors of the NSIPP CGCM are reproduced when using the NCEP CGCM, an independently developed coupled general circulation model.
Effect of iRoot Fast Set root repair material on the proliferation, migration and differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells in vitro

The present study investigated the effect of iRoot Fast Set root repair material (iRoot FS) on the proliferation, migration and differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). The hDPSCs were treated with eluates of iRoot FS at concentrations of 0.2 and 2 mg/mL, referred to as FS0.2 and FS2, respectively, and Biodentine (BD; Septodont, Saint Maur des Faussés, France) eluates at the corresponding concentrations as positive controls. A CCK8 assay was performed to determine cell proliferation. Wound healing and transwell assays were conducted to examine cell migration. Osteogenic differentiation was evaluated based on alkaline phosphatase activity, Alizarin Red S staining and quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to analyze the mRNA expression of differentiation gene markers. Cell proliferation was higher in the FS and BD groups than in the blank controls at 3 and 7 days. Moreover, FS0.2 enhanced cell migration and significantly promoted the osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs. These findings suggested that iRoot FS is a bioactive material that promotes the proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs.
Factors affecting wine purchase decisions and presence of New York wines in upscale New York City restaurants.

Substantial industry and winery efforts in recent years have centered on improving access of New York wines into upscale restaurants in New York City (NYC), albeit with limited success. A survey of upscale restaurants and wine stores in NYC was conducted to identify important attributes influencing wine purchase decisions and to better understand the primary factors affecting the level of New York wines included on restaurant wine lists. Larger restaurants with higher entree prices and a larger dependence on wine sales were shown to include fewer New York wines, while restaurants serving higher proportions of Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and domestic wines included more. A wine’s collective regional and varietal reputation was found to influence overall wine purchasing decisions, indicating that marketing efforts targeted on these attributes may be a beneficial strategy.
Inhaled dry powder mannitol in cystic fibrosis: an efficacy and safety study

This international phase III study of inhaled dry powder mannitol was a randomised, double-blind, 26-week study, followed by a further 26-week, open-label (OL) extension. 324 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients were randomised, in a 3:2 ratio, to mannitol (400 mg b.i.d.) and control groups. The primary efficacy end-point was to determine the change in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) over the double-blind phase. Secondary end-points included changes in forced vital capacity and pulmonary exacerbations. A significant improvement in FEV1 was seen over 26 weeks (p<0.001) and was apparent by 6 weeks, irrespective of concomitant recombinant human deoxyribonuclease (rhDNase) use. At 26 weeks, there was a significant improvement in FEV1 of 92.9 mL for subjects receiving mannitol compared with controls (change from baseline 118.9 mL (6.5%) versus 26.0 mL (2.4%); p<0.001). Improvements in FEV1 were maintained up to 52 weeks in the OL part of the study. There was a 35.4% reduction in the incidence of having an exacerbation on mannitol (p=0.045). The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was similar in both groups, although treatment-related AEs were higher in the mannitol compared with the control group. The most common mannitol-related AEs were cough, haemoptysis and pharyngolaryngeal pain. Mannitol showed sustained, clinically meaningful benefit in airway function in CF, irrespective of concomitant rhDNase use. Mannitol appears to have an acceptable safety profile for patients with CF.
Surgical Management for Intractable Metatarsalgia

We reviewed the results of arthrodesis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint and excisional arthroplasty of the lesser metatarsophalangeal joints performed on patients who presented intractable metatarsalgia and forefoot deformities. The study included 18 feet (15 patients) in 12 women and 3 men. The follow-up averaged 5.2 years. A good to excellent result was achieved in 15 (83%) feet; pain, which had been moderate to severe before surgery, was reduced to none to mild, and function, which had been severely limited before surgery, was improved to virtually unlimited. The fusion rate of the first metatarsophalangeal joint was 94% (17 of 18 feet). Thirteen of the 15 patients (87%) stated they would have the procedure again. This repair has been demonstrated to be a useful salvage procedure in nonrheumatoid patients with severe metatarsalgia secondary to failed forefoot surgery.
Reporting The Global Financial Crisis

During the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, the financial press attracted criticism for its coverage: specifically that it did not provide any forewarnings to the general public; that it lacked sufficient scepticism when reporting on financial and economic trends; and that reporters were too close to the sources they used for information. This paper argues the GFC represents only the latest manifestation of dissatisfaction with the financial press, with similar concerns being raised in previous financial crises such as the recession of the late 1990s and the Dot Com boom in 2000. The paper presents the results of a longitudinal tri-nation quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the reportage in three mainstream newspapers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia across three decades, along with industry insights provided by interviews with reporters in each of the countries studied. The interviews and empirical evidence indicate there has been a decline in mainstream financial journalism standards since the 1980s, as the media have faced increasing institutional, ideological, and industrial pressures.
Can diversity in global software development be enhanced by agile software development?

In this paper we discuss the notion of diversity in software development processes in general and its relevance with respect to global software development (GSD) in particular. Based on the following two working assumptions: a) diversity benefits with communities and organizations that welcome it and b) diversity is an inherited element of GSD, we discuss how agile software development, which allows for diversity, may support GSD processes. We illustrate this argument by demonstrating the expression of gender diversity, management diversity and opinion diversity in agile software development environments.
Noninvasive measurement of myocardial tissue volume change during systolic contraction and diastolic relaxation in the canine left ventricle

In coronary circulation the flow in epicardial arteries and veins is observed to be pulsatile and out of phase with each other. Theoretical considerations predict that this phenomenon extends to all levels of the vascular tree and leads to a cyclic fluctuation of regional tissue volume. Intramyocardial tissue volume change between end‐systole and end‐diastole was measured noninvasively with MRI in 10 closed‐chest beagles. The displacement encoding with stimulated‐echo technique was used to obtain pixel‐by‐pixel tissue displacement field between end‐diastole and end‐systole and vice versa in the midlevel left ventricle, from which the 3D strain matrix and volume changes were calculated. The volume change was between 0.8 ± 0.5% (mean ± STD) in the epicardial layer and 1.5 ± 0.6% in the subendocardial layer of the left ventricle. Tissue volume fluctuation reflects the amount of arterial inflow in a heartbeat under the assumption that regional arterial inflow and venous outflow have little time overlap. The corresponding perfusion level was estimated to be from (1.0 ± 0.6) ml/min/g in the epicardial layer to (1.7 ± 0.6) ml/min/g in the subendocardial layer, in good agreement with microsphere measurements in the same dog model. The result supports the notion of high arterial resistance at the microvascular level from intramyocardial pressure during systole. Magn Reson Med, 2006. Published 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Implementation and the Policy Process: Opening Up the Black Box

Introduction: The Relation of Implementation Research to Policy Outcomes by Dennis J. Palumbo and Donald J. Calista Implementation and Policy Design Opening Up the Black Box: Implementation and the Policy-Making Process by Dennis J. Palumbo and Donald J. Calista Integrating Implementation Research by Soren Winter When Failure Is Success: Implementation and Madisonian Government by Barbara Ferman Research Perspectives on the Design of Public Policy: Implementation, Formulation, and Design by Stephen H. Linder and B. Guy Peters The Japan External Trade Organization and Import Promotion: A Case Study in the Implementation of Symbolic Policy Goals by Robert T. Nakamura Implementation Politics and the Organization Context Implementation and Managerial Creativity: A Study of the Development of Client-Centered Units in Human Service Programs by Glenn W. Rainey, Jr. Implementation as Policy Politics by Evelyn Z. Brodkin Female Executives in Public and Private Universities: Differences in Implementation Styles by Bryna Sanger and Martin A. Levin Policy Implementation and the Responsible Exercise of Discretion by John P. Burke Acquisition: The Missing Link in the Implementation of Technology by Carl P. Carlucci Epistemology, Methodology, and Implementation Studying Micro- Implementation Empirically: Lessons and Dilemmas by Mary Ann Scheirer and James Griffith Studying the Dynamics of Public Policy Implementation: A Third-Generation Approach by Malcolm L. Goggin, Ann O'M. Bowman, James P. Lester, and Laurence J. O'Toole, Jr. Implementation Research: Why and How to Transcend Positivist Methodologies by Charles J. Fox Tackling the Implementation Problem: Epistemological Issues in Implementation Research by Dvora Yanow Bibliography Index
Stereoscopizing cel animations

While hand-drawn cel animation is a world-wide popular form of art and entertainment, introducing stereoscopic effect into it remains difficult and costly, due to the lack of physical clues. In this paper, we propose a method to synthesize convincing stereoscopic cel animations from ordinary 2D inputs, without labor-intensive manual depth assignment nor 3D geometry reconstruction. It is mainly automatic due to the need of producing lengthy animation sequences, but with the option of allowing users to adjust or constrain all intermediate results. The system fits nicely into the existing production flow of cel animation. By utilizing the T-junction cue available in cartoons, we first infer the initial, but not reliable, ordering of regions. One of our major contributions is to resolve the temporal inconsistency of ordering by formulating it as a graph-cut problem. However, the resultant ordering remains insufficient for generating convincing stereoscopic effect, as ordering cannot be directly used for depth assignment due to its discontinuous nature. We further propose to synthesize the depth through an optimization process with the ordering formulated as constraints. This is our second major contribution. The optimized result is the spatiotemporally smooth depth for synthesizing stereoscopic effect. Our method has been evaluated on a wide range of cel animations and convincing stereoscopic effect is obtained in all cases.
Influence of Ionic Liquids on an Iron(III) Catalyzed Three-Component Coupling/Hydroarylation/Dehydrogenation Tandem Reaction

A three-component oxidative dehydrogenation tandem reaction via the coupling and hydroarylation of benzaldehyde, aniline and phenylacetylene to a quinoline derivate was catalyzed by an iron-containing ionic liquid. The reaction was air mediated and could be performed under neat conditions. The iron(III) of the ionic liquid was the oxidizing species.
Differential Effect on Two Immobility Responses by Chronic Administration of 1,3-di-o-Tolyl-Guanidine (Sigma Receptor Agonist) in Rats with Neonatal Ventral Hippocampal Lesion

The effect of chronic administration of the sigma agonist: 1,3-di-o-tolyl-guanidine (DTG), in neonatal ventral hippocampal lesioned (nVHL) rats, on the immobility by clamping and dorsal immobility, were investigated. The nVHL increases the duration of immobility by clamping, but does not affect the duration of the dorsal immobility. We found that DTG augments the duration of the dorsal immobility in the unlesioned rats, but does not modify the duration of immobility induced by clamping the neck. DTG also counteracts the increase in the duration of the immobility by clamping produced by nVHL. However, the increase in the duration of the dorsal immobility produced by DTG is counteracted by nVHL. These results are discussed with respect to the differential effect on the two immobility responses tested, suggesting that they are different forms of immobility mediated by different mechanisms although they behaviorally share common characteristics.
Rhinovirus Genome Evolution during Experimental Human Infection

Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) evolve rapidly due in part to their error-prone RNA polymerase. Knowledge of the diversity of HRV populations emerging during the course of a natural infection is essential and represents a basis for the design of future potential vaccines and antiviral drugs. To evaluate HRV evolution in humans, nasal wash samples were collected daily for five days from 15 immunocompetent volunteers experimentally infected with a reference stock of HRV-39. In parallel, HeLa-OH cells were inoculated to compare HRV evolution in vitro. Nasal wash in vivo assessed by real-time PCR showed a viral load that peaked at 48–72 h. Ultra-deep sequencing was used to compare the low-frequency mutation populations present in the HRV-39 inoculum in two human subjects and one HeLa-OH supernatant collected 5 days post-infection. The analysis revealed hypervariable mutation locations in VP2, VP3, VP1, 2C and 3C genes and conserved regions in VP4, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B and 3D genes. These results were confirmed by classical sequencing of additional samples, both from inoculated volunteers and independent cell infections, and suggest that HRV inter-host transmission is not associated with a strong bottleneck effect. A specific analysis of the VP1 capsid gene of 15 human cases confirmed the high mutation incidence in this capsid region, but not in the antiviral drug-binding pocket. We could also estimate a mutation frequency in vivo of 3.4×10−4 mutations/nucleotides and 3.1×10−4 over the entire ORF and VP1 gene, respectively. In vivo, HRV generate new variants rapidly during the course of an acute infection due to mutations that accumulate in hot spot regions located at the capsid level, as well as in 2C and 3C genes.
Alcohol and psychotropic substance use in female Spanish victims of intimate partner violence

Background: Studies show high use of alcohol among American women who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), but not in Spanish victims. This study examines hazardous drinking, use of psychotropic substances, and the relationship with psychopathological symptoms in Spanish women who are victims of IPV. Method: 50 battered women and 50 control women from general population were assessed. Results: Hazardous drinking in women victims of IPV (18.4% and 24.5%) was higher than in previous Spanish studies, and lower than in controls (no significant difference). Women victims of IPV showed a significantly higher use of psychotropic medication than controls (40% vs. 20%). For women victims of IPV, psychopathological symptoms were not related to use of alcohol, but use of psychotropic medication was related to posttraumatic arousal. Conclusions: Results suggest that Spanish women victims of IPV may resort to psychotropic medication rather than alcohol to cope with their symptoms. &NA; Consumo de alcohol y sustancias psicotrópicas en mujeres españolas víctimas de violencia de género en la pareja. Antecedentes: los estudios muestran un alto consumo de alcohol en las mujeres maltratadas americanas, pero no en las españolas. Este estudio examina en mujeres maltratadas españolas: el consumo de riesgo de alcohol, el consumo de sustancias psicotrópicas y la relación con los síntomas psicopatológicos. Método: 50 mujeres maltratadas y 50 mujeres controles de la población general fueron evaluadas. Resultados: el consumo de riesgo de alcohol en mujeres maltratadas (18,4% y 24,5%) fue superior al encontrado en los estudios españoles previos, e inferior a los controles (sin diferencias significativas). Las mujeres maltratadas mostraban un consumo de psicofármacos significativamente mayor que las controles (40% vs. 20%). En las mujeres maltratadas, los síntomas psicopatológicos no estaban relacionados con el consumo de alcohol, sin embargo el consumo de psicofármacos se relacionaba con la activación postraumática. Conclusiones: los resultados sugieren que las mujeres maltratadas españolas pueden recurrir a los psicofármacos en lugar de al alcohol para hacer frente a sus síntomas.
Modeling Adhesive Anchors in a Discrete Element Framework

In recent years, post-installed anchors are widely used to connect structural members and to fix appliances to load-bearing elements. A bonded anchor typically denotes a threaded bar placed into a borehole filled with adhesive mortar. The high complexity of the problem, owing to the multiple materials and failure mechanisms involved, requires a numerical support for the experimental investigation. A reliable model able to reproduce a system’s short-term behavior is needed before the development of a more complex framework for the subsequent investigation of the lifetime of fasteners subjected to various deterioration processes can commence. The focus of this contribution is the development and validation of such a model for bonded anchors under pure tension load. Compression, modulus, fracture and splitting tests are performed on standard concrete specimens. These serve for the calibration and validation of the concrete constitutive model. The behavior of the adhesive mortar layer is modeled with a stress-slip law, calibrated on a set of confined pull-out tests. The model validation is performed on tests with different configurations comparing load-displacement curves, crack patterns and concrete cone shapes. A model sensitivity analysis and the evaluation of the bond stress and slippage along the anchor complete the study.
Prototyping a global algorithm for systematic fire-affected area mapping using MODIS time series data

The remote sensing of Earth surface changes is an active research field aimed at the development of methods and data products needed by scientists, resource managers, and policymakers. Fire is a major cause of surface change and occurs in most vegetation zones across the world. The identification and delineation of fire-affected areas, also known as burned areas or fire scars, may be considered a change detection problem. Remote sensing algorithms developed to map fire-affected areas are difficult to implement reliably over large areas because of variations in both the surface state and those imposed by the sensing system. The availability of robustly calibrated, atmospherically corrected, cloud-screened, geolocated data provided by the latest generation of moderate resolution remote sensing systems allows for major advances in satellite mapping of fire-affected area. This paper describes an algorithm developed to map fire-affected areas at a global scale using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance time series data. The algorithm is developed from the recently published Bi-Directional Reflectance Model-Based Expectation change detection approach and maps at 500 m the location and approximate day of burning. Improvements made to the algorithm for systematic global implementation are presented and the algorithm performance is demonstrated for southern African, Australian, South American, and Boreal fire regimes. The algorithm does not use training data but rather applies a wavelength independent threshold and spectral constraints defined by the noise characteristics of the reflectance data and knowledge of the spectral behavior of burned vegetation and spectrally confusing changes that are not associated with burning. Temporal constraints are applied capitalizing on the spectral persistence of fire-affected areas. Differences between mapped fireaffected areas and cumulative MODIS active fire detections are illustrated and discussed for each fire regime. The results reveal a coherent spatio-temporal mapping of fire-affected area and indicate that the algorithm shows potential for global application. D 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The role of cell–substrate interaction in regulating osteoclast activation: potential implications in targeting bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis

Analysis of tissues retrieved from the bone–pannus interface from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and studies in animal models of inflammatory arthritis provide strong evidence that osteoclasts, the cells that are essential for physiological bone resorption, are responsible for articular bone destruction in RA. However, current treatments that specifically target osteoclast-mediated bone resorption in RA have not been successful in preventing bone erosions, and new therapeutic strategies are needed. It has been noted that, although osteoclast precursors are present within the bone microenvironment at sites of pathological bone resorption, cells expressing the full morphological and functional properties of mature osteoclasts are restricted to the immediate bone surface and adjacent calcified cartilage. These findings provide evidence that, in addition to requirements for specific cytokines, interaction of osteoclast precursors with these mineralised matrices results in activation of specific signal pathways and the induction of unique gene products that are essential for terminal osteoclast differentiation and activation. These studies are designed to define the gene products and signalling pathways regulated by bone and calcified cartilage, to identify new molecular targets and novel therapeutic approaches for preventing osteoclast-mediated joint destruction in RA and related forms of pathological bone loss.