Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Bias Correction Method for Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Soil Moisture: Retrieval Ensembles

Bias correction is a very important pre-processing step in satellite data assimilation analysis, as data assimilation itself cannot circumvent satellite biases. We introduce a retrieval algorithm-specific and spatially heterogeneous Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV) bias correction method for Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) soil moisture. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to present the probabilistic presentation of SMOS soil moisture using retrieval ensembles. We illustrate that retrieval ensembles effectively mitigated the overestimation problem of SMOS soil moisture arising from brightness temperature errors over West Africa in a computationally efficient way (ensemble size: 12, no time-integration). In contrast, the existing method of Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) matching considerably increased the SMOS biases, due to the limitations of relying on the imperfect reference data. From the validation at two semi-arid sites, Benin (moderately wet and vegetated area) and Niger (dry and sandy bare soils), it was shown that the SMOS errors arising from rain and vegetation attenuation were appropriately corrected by ensemble approaches. In Benin, the Root Mean Square Errors (RMSEs) decreased from 0.1248 m3/m3 for CDF matching to 0.0678 m3/m3 for the proposed ensemble approach. In Niger, the RMSEs decreased from 0.14 m3/m3 for CDF matching to 0.045 m3/m3 for the ensemble approach.
An Analysis of the Factor Structure of the Multidimensional Ethics Scale and a Perceived Moral Intensity Scale, and the Effects of Moral Intensity on Ethical Judgment

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv INTRODUCTION 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 2 Business Ethics and I/O Psychology 2 Determinants of Ethical Decision Making 3 Ethical Decision Making Models 4 Moral Intensity 9 Empirical Studies of the Moral Intensity Construct 11 Moral Intensity and Moral Awareness 11 Moral Intensity and Behavioral Intention 13 Moral Intensity and Ethical Behavior 14 Moral Intensity and Ethical Judgment 14 Methodological Problems with Past Research 18 Measuring Ethical Judgment 20 Development of the Multidimensional Ethics Scale (MES) 21 Problems Associated with MES Development 25 Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the 8-item MES 27 Studies Using Reidenbach and Robin’s (1988, 1990) Initial 30 Items 30 Measuring Moral Intensity 35 Within-Subject versus Between-Subjects Design 38
Effectiveness of a simple rapid human papillomavirus DNA test in rural Nigeria

Success of the new human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test for low‐resource settings (careHPV™ test; QIAGEN Gaithersburg Inc., Gaithersburg, MD) requires good test performance when operated by personnel with limited laboratory experience. We evaluated the transferability, reliability, and accuracy of the careHPV test nested within a cervical screening project in a large Nigerian village. CareHPV testing was performed on screen‐positive (n = 345) and screen‐negative (n = 42) women attending colposcopy (68.3% of referred). Biopsies of abnormal‐appearing areas were processed and read in the U.S. CareHPV specimens taken immediately before colposcopy were processed up to four times (in the field) by two secondary school graduates without laboratory experience, trained for this study. Specifically, QIAGEN Gaithersburg trained a laboratory‐inexperienced U.S. researcher, who trained the first local technician who, in turn, trained the second. Residual specimens were sent to the U.S. for MY09/MY11 PCR testing for 13 carcinogenic genotypes (HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 68) plus HPV66 (included in careHPV). Intrarater agreement was 98.8% (κ = 0.97) and 98.9% (κ = 0.97) for Technicians 1 and 2, respectively, while inter‐rater agreement was 96.3% (κ = 0.90). Agreement with MY09/MY11 PCR (virologic reference standard) was 89.3% (κ = 0.73) with 74.2% sensitivity and 95.7% specificity. The careHPV test detected 12 (80%) of 15 histologically confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia Grade 2 (CIN2) or worse lesions, with an estimated 83.0% specificity to detect
Modeling the impact on virus transmission of Wolbachia-mediated blocking of dengue virus infection of Aedes aegypti

Experimental work and modeling studies reveal that Aedes aegypti infected with the Wolbachia bacterium have reduced vector competence for the transmission of dengue viruses. Use a bug to fight a bug Dengue is the most common mosquito-borne viral infection in humans. In this new work, Ferguson et al. have assessed the extent to which infecting mosquitoes with a bacterium called Wolbachia was able to prevent those mosquitoes from being infected with dengue virus after they were fed with blood collected from dengue patients. One Wolbachia strain (wMelPop) almost completely prevented dengue infection. A second strain (wMel) partially blocked dengue infection. A mathematical model fitted to the data collected on the wMel strain suggested that wMel could reduce the transmissibility of dengue by 66 to 75%, enough to eliminate dengue in low or moderate transmission settings. Dengue is the most common arboviral infection of humans and is a public health burden in more than 100 countries. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes stably infected with strains of the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia are resistant to dengue virus (DENV) infection and are being tested in field trials. To mimic field conditions, we experimentally assessed the vector competence of A. aegypti carrying the Wolbachia strains wMel and wMelPop after challenge with viremic blood from dengue patients. We found that wMelPop conferred strong resistance to DENV infection of mosquito abdomen tissue and largely prevented disseminated infection. wMel conferred less resistance to infection of mosquito abdomen tissue, but it did reduce the prevalence of mosquitoes with infectious saliva. A mathematical model of DENV transmission incorporating the dynamics of viral infection in humans and mosquitoes was fitted to the data collected. Model predictions suggested that wMel would reduce the basic reproduction number, R0, of DENV transmission by 66 to 75%. Our results suggest that establishment of wMelPop-infected A. aegypti at a high frequency in a dengue-endemic setting would result in the complete abatement of DENV transmission. Establishment of wMel-infected A. aegypti is also predicted to have a substantial effect on transmission that would be sufficient to eliminate dengue in low or moderate transmission settings but may be insufficient to achieve complete control in settings where R0 is high. These findings develop a framework for selecting Wolbachia strains for field releases and for calculating their likely impact.
Multicenter Study Comparing Shunt Type in the Norwood Procedure for Single-Ventricle Lesions: Three-Dimensional Echocardiographic Analysis

Background—The Pediatric Heart Network’s Single Ventricle Reconstruction (SVR) trial randomized infants with single right ventricles (RVs) undergoing a Norwood procedure to a modified Blalock-Taussig or RV-to-pulmonary artery shunt. This report compares RV parameters in the 2 groups using 3-dimensional echocardiography. Methods and Results—Three-dimensional echocardiography studies were obtained at 10 of 15 SVR centers. Of the 549 subjects, 314 underwent 3-dimensional echocardiography studies at 1 to 4 time points (pre-Norwood, post-Norwood, pre–stage II, and 14 months) for a total of 757 3-dimensional echocardiography studies. Of these, 565 (75%) were acceptable for analysis. RV volume, mass, mass:volume ratio, ejection fraction, and severity of tricuspid regurgitation did not differ by shunt type. RV volumes and mass did not change after the Norwood, but increased from pre-Norwood to pre–stage II (end-diastolic volume [milliliters]/body surface area [BSA]1.3, end-systolic volume [milliliters]/BSA1.3, and mass [grams]/BSA1.3 mean difference [95% confidence interval]=25.0 [8.7–41.3], 19.3 [8.3–30.4], and 17.9 [7.3–28.5], then decreased by 14 months (end-diastolic volume/BSA1.3, end-systolic volume/BSA1.3, and mass/BSA1.3 mean difference [95% confidence interval]=−24.4 [−35.0 to −13.7], −9.8 [−17.9 to −1.7], and −15.3 [−22.0 to −8.6]. Ejection fraction decreased from pre-Norwood to pre–stage II (mean difference [95% confidence interval]=−3.7 [−6.9 to −0.5]), but did not decrease further by 14 months. Conclusions—We found no statistically significant differences between study groups in 3-dimensional echocardiography measures of RV size and function, or magnitude of tricuspid regurgitation. Volume unloading was seen after stage II, as expected, but ejection fraction did not improve. This study provides insights into the remodeling of the operated univentricular RV in infancy. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00115934.
Product Rearrangement from Altering a Single Residue in the Rice syn-Copalyl Diphosphate Synthase

Through site-directed mutagenesis targeted at identification of the catalytic base in the rice (Oryza sativa) syn-copalyl diphosphate synthase OsCPS4, changes to a single residue (H501) were found to induce rearrangement rather than immediate deprotonation of the initially formed bicycle, leading to production of the novel compound syn-halimadienyl diphosphate. These mutational results are combined with quantum chemical calculations to provide insight into the underlying reaction mechanism.
Mumps: a resurgent disease with protean manifestations

Mumps has re‐emerged as an infection in the developed world. Its epidemiology has changed, with the majority of cases now primarily affecting adolescents and adults. While mumps is easily suspected if parotitis is present, parotitis is absent in 10%–30% of symptomatic cases. Mumps is a systemic infection with a variety of extra‐parotid complications. In Australia, mumps diagnosis is confirmed by antibody testing and reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction techniques. Suitable specimens for testing are serum, saliva, urine and cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment is generally supportive, although intravenous immunoglobulin therapy may have a future role in mumps management. Interferon alpha‐2b treatment may be considered specifically for mumps epididymo‐orchitis. Mumps vaccine is included in the measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine. In Australia, this vaccine is routinely administered at the ages of 1 and 4 years. Serious reactions to the mumps components of the MMR vaccine are rare.
Obesity and right ventricular structure and function: the MESA-Right Ventricle Study.

BACKGROUND The relationship between obesity and right ventricular (RV) morphology is not well studied. We aimed to determine the association between obesity and RV structure and function in a large multiethnic population-based cohort. METHODS The MESA-Right Ventricle Study measured RV mass and volumes by cardiac MRI in participants aged 45 to 84 years without clinical cardiovascular disease in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Participants were divided into three categories based on BMI: lean ( ≤ 24.9 kg/m(2)), overweight (25-29.9 kg/m(2)), and obese ( ≥ 30 kg/m(2)). RESULTS The study sample included 4,127 participants. After adjustment for demographics, height, education, and cardiovascular risk factors, overweight and obese participants had greater RV mass (6% and 9% greater, respectively), larger RV end-diastolic volume (8% and 18% greater, respectively), larger RV stroke volume (7% and 16% greater, respectively), and lower RV ejection fraction ( ≥ 1% lower) than lean participants (all P < .001). These findings persisted after adjusting for the respective left ventricular (LV) parameters. CONCLUSIONS Overweight and obesity were independently associated with differences in RV morphology even after adjustment for the respective LV measure. This association could be explained by increased RV afterload, increased blood volume, hormonal effects, or direct obesity-related myocardial effects.
Survival, Persistence, and Progressive Differentiation of Adoptively Transferred Tumor-Reactive T Cells Associated with Tumor Regression

Objective clinical responses have been observed in approximately 50% of patients who received non-myeloablative chemotherapy prior to the adoptive transfer of autologous melanoma-reactive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Recent studies carried out through the use of antibodies directed against T-cell-receptor beta chain variable region (TRBV) products, as well as by direct sequencing of the expressed TRBV gene products, indicated that clinical responses in this trial were associated with the level of persistence of adoptively transferred T cells. In an attempt to further characterize T cells that persist in vivo following adoptive transfer, five dominant T-cell clonotypes were identified in TIL 2035, an adoptively transferred TIL that was associated with the complete regression of multiple metastases. The most highly persistent clonotype, which expressed the BV1 TR gene product, recognized the MAGE-6 cancer/testis antigen in the context of HLA-A23. This clonotype was detected in peripheral blood for over 16 months following adoptive transfer, expressed relatively higher levels of the co-stimulatory markers CD28 and CD27, and possessed telomeres that were long relative to other clonotypes present in TIL 2035 that showed only short-term persistence. The long-term persistent BV1 clonotype appeared to differentiate more slowly toward an end-stage effector in vivo than short-term persistent clonotypes, as manifested by the downregulation of CD28, CD27, and CD45RO and upregulation of CD57 and CD45RA expression on these T cells. These results indicated that the differentiation stage and replicative history of individual TIL clonotypes might be associated with their ability to survive and to persist in vivo, and progressive differentiation of the persistent clonotypes occurred following adoptive transfer.
Particulate Air Pollution, Metabolic Syndrome, and Heart Rate Variability: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Background Cardiac autonomic dysfunction has been suggested as a possible biologic pathway for the association between fine particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined the associations of PM2.5 with heart rate variability, a marker of autonomic function, and whether metabolic syndrome (MetS) modified these associations. Methods We used data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis to measure the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN) and the root mean square of successive differences (rMSSD) of 5,465 participants 45–84 years old who were free of CVD at the baseline examination (2000–2002). Data from the U.S. regulatory monitor network were used to estimate ambient PM2.5 concentrations at the participants’ residences. MetS was defined as having three or more of the following criteria: abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose. Results After controlling for confounders, we found that an interquartile range (IQR) increase in 2-day average PM2.5 (10.2 μg/m3) was associated with a 2.1% decrease in rMSSD [95% confidence interval (CI), −4.2 to 0.0] and nonsignificantly associated with a 1.8% decrease in SDNN (95% CI, −3.7 to 0.1). Associations were stronger among individuals with MetS than among those without MetS: an IQR elevation in 2-day PM2.5 was associated with a 6.2% decrease in rMSSD (95% CI, −9.4 to −2.9) among participants with MetS, whereas almost no change was found among participants without MetS (p-interaction = 0.005). Similar effect modification was observed in SDNN (p-interaction = 0.011). Conclusion These findings suggest that autonomic dysfunction may be a mechanism through which PM exposure affects cardiovascular risk, especially among persons with MetS.
Diagnosing Symptomatic HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders: Self-Report Versus Performance-Based Assessment of Everyday Functioning

Abstract Three types of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) exist that are distinguished by presence and severity of impairment in cognitive and everyday functioning. Although well-validated neurocognitive measures exist, determining impairment in everyday functioning remains a challenge. We aim to determine whether Self-Report measures of everyday functioning are as effective in characterizing HAND as Performance-Based measures. We assessed 674 HIV-infected participants with a comprehensive neurocognitive battery; 233 met criteria for a HAND diagnosis by having at least mild neurocognitive impairment. Functional decline was measured via Self-Report and Performance-Based measures. HAND diagnoses were determined according to published criteria using three approaches to assess functional decline: (1) Self-Report measures only, (2) Performance-Based measures only, and (3) Dual-method combining Self-Report and Performance-Based measures. The Dual-method classified the most symptomatic HAND, compared to either singular method. Singular method classifications were 76% concordant with each other. Participants classified as Performance-Based functionally impaired were more likely to be unemployed and more immunosuppressed, whereas those classified as Self-Report functionally impaired had more depressive symptoms. Multimodal methods of assessing everyday functioning facilitate detection of symptomatic HAND. Singular Performance-Based classifications were associated with objective functional and disease-related factors; reliance on Self-Report classifications may be biased by depressive symptoms. (JINS, 2012, 18, 79–88)
Insulin-like growth factor 2 axis supports the serum-independent growth of malignant rhabdoid tumor and is activated by microenvironment stress

Malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRTs) are rare, lethal, pediatric tumors predominantly found in the kidney, brain and soft tissues. MRTs are driven by loss of tumor suppressor SNF5/INI1/SMARCB1/BAF47. The prognosis of MRT is poor using currently available treatments, so new treatment targets need to be identified to expand treatment options for patients experiencing chemotherapy resistance. The growth hormone insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) signaling pathway is a promising target to overcome drug resistance in many cancers. Here, we evaluated the role of IGF2 axis in MRT cell proliferation. We showed that microenvironment stress, including starvation treatment and chemotherapy exposure, lead to elevated expression of IGF2 in the SNF5-deficient MRT cell line. The autocrine IGF2, in turn, activated insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R), insulin receptor (INSR), followed by PI3K/AKT pathway and RAS/ERK pathway to promote cancer cell proliferation and survival. We further demonstrated that impairment of IGF2 signaling by IGF2 neutralizing antibody, IGF1R inhibitor NVP-AEW541 or AKT inhibitor MK-2206 2HCl treatment prevented MRT cell growth in vitro. Taken together, our characterization of this axis defines a novel mechanism for MRT cell growth in the microenvironment of stress. Our results also demonstrated the necessity to test the treatment effect targeting this axis in future research.
Exploiting UMLS Semantics for Checking Semantic Consistency among UMLS concepts

OBJECTIVES To quantify semantic inconsistency in UMLS concepts from the perspective of their hierarchical relations and to show through examples how semantically-inconsistent concepts can help reveal erroneous synonymy relations. METHODS Inconsistency is defined in reference to concepts from the UMLS Metathesaurus. Consistency is evaluated by comparing the semantic groups of the two concepts in each pair of hierarchically-related concepts. A limited number of inconsistent concepts was inspected manually. RESULTS 81,512 concepts are inconsistent due to the differences in semantic groups between a concept and its parent. Four examples of wrong synonymy are presented. CONCLUSIONS A vast majority of inconsistent hierarchical relations are not indicative of any errors. We discovered an interesting semantic pattern along hierarchies, which seems associated with wrong synonymy.
Preschool and Academic School Readiness Among Young Children of Asian and Hispanic Immigrant Mothers

ABSTRACT Preschool is an important developmental context for children of immigrants that can help them succeed in later life. In this study, we examine the association between preschool and academic school readiness among young children of Asian or Hispanic immigrant mothers. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data (n ≈ 1,550) collected in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. Results show that attending preschool (mostly prekindergarten or other center-based care) was associated with better academic school readiness at the year of participation among children of both Asian and Hispanic immigrant mothers; such beneficial associations were found at kindergarten entry among Asian children, but not Hispanic children. Furthermore, more-pronounced beneficial influences of preschool on academic school readiness were found at the year of participation among children of home language mothers in both groups, but such more-pronounced benefits were gone at kindergarten entry in both groups. These findings suggest that the differences between the two groups in maintaining the benefits from preschool may be associated with different home environments. Future research is needed to look specifically at the mechanisms of how attending preschool is related to academic school readiness among children of immigrants.
World knowledge for the domain of your choice

Modern Web search engines access large parts of the publicly indexable Web. Relevant sites can be found easily thanks to advanced techniques such as Google's PageRank algorithm. However, a common problem remains the large number of matching documents being returned even for fairly specific queries. The same problem can be observed in domains that are more limited like intranets or local Web sites. By enriching a search engine with knowledge about the domain one could provide much more feedback for a query than just a list of matches, such as a number of useful discriminating terms, that would allow the user to constrain the query. We present a way of building such a domain model automatically by analyzing the markup of the source data. We will illustrate this with some examples taken from our sample domain.
Difference, Disparity, and Disability: A Comparison of Health, Insurance Coverage, and Health Service Use on the Basis of Race/Ethnicity Among US Adults With Disabilities, 2006–2008

Background:In the United States, research on health disparities has begun to include people with disabilities as a minority population. However, there is a gap in our knowledge of whether, and to what extent, racial and ethnic disparities may affect the health or health care access of people with disabilities. Objectives:We examined potential disparities in overall health, insurance coverage status, and health service use between non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics, among a nationally representative US sample of adults with and without disabilities (N=63,257), using both bivariate and multivariate methods. We tested 2 definitions of disparity. Results:Under the more conservative definition, we confirmed the presence of both racial and ethnic disparities in overall health, total annual health care visits, and the percentage reporting no doctor visit during the year among people with less severe disabilities; Hispanics also evidenced a disparity in rates uninsured relative to non-Hispanic whites in this group. Racial/ethnic disparities were less common among persons with more severe disabilities that affected activities of daily living or instrumental activities. Conclusions:We conclude that the reduction of disparities between the populations of people with and without disabilities will require specific attention to racial and ethnic disparities in health, insurance coverage, and service use.