Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How efficiently do corn‐ and soybean‐based cropping systems use water? A systems modeling analysis

Agricultural systems are being challenged to decrease water use and increase production while climate becomes more variable and the world's population grows. Low water use efficiency is traditionally characterized by high water use relative to low grain production and usually occurs under dry conditions. However, when a cropping system fails to take advantage of available water during wet conditions, this is also an inefficiency and is often detrimental to the environment. Here, we provide a systems‐level definition of water use efficiency (sWUE) that addresses both production and environmental quality goals through incorporating all major system water losses (evapotranspiration, drainage, and runoff). We extensively calibrated and tested the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) using 6 years of continuous crop and soil measurements in corn‐ and soybean‐based cropping systems in central Iowa, USA. We then used the model to determine water use, loss, and grain production in each system and calculated sWUE in years that experienced drought, flood, or historically average precipitation. Systems water use efficiency was found to be greatest during years with average precipitation. Simulation analysis using 28 years of historical precipitation data, plus the same dataset with ± 15% variation in daily precipitation, showed that in this region, 430 mm of seasonal (planting to harvesting) rainfall resulted in the optimum sWUE for corn, and 317 mm for soybean. Above these precipitation levels, the corn and soybean yields did not increase further, but the water loss from the system via runoff and drainage increased substantially, leading to a high likelihood of soil, nutrient, and pesticide movement from the field to waterways. As the Midwestern United States is predicted to experience more frequent drought and flood, inefficiency of cropping systems water use will also increase. This work provides a framework to concurrently evaluate production and environmental performance of cropping systems.
Barriers to acceptance and adherence of antiretroviral therapy in urban Zambian women: a qualitative study

Abstract Sub-Saharan Africa contains over 60% of the world's HIV infections and Zambia is among the most severely affected countries in the region. As antiretroviral programs have been rapidly expanding, the long-term success of these programs depends on a good understanding of the behavioral determinants of acceptance and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). The study used qualitative methods to gain local insight into potentially important factors affecting HIV-infected women's decision to accept or continue with ART. Some of the barriers identified by this study are consistent with factors cited in the existing adherence literature from both developed and developing nations such as side effects, hunger and stigma; other factors have not been previously reported. One major theme was unfamiliarity with the implications of having a chronic, potentially deadly disease. Other emerging themes from this study include the complicated effect of ART on interpersonal relationship, particularly between husbands and wives, the presence of depression and hopelessness, and lack of accurate information. The results suggest that the reasons for non-uptake of treatment include issues related to local cultural frameworks (e.g., illness ideology), mental and behavioral health (e.g., depression and/or interpersonal challenges), stigma, and motivating factors (e.g., values of church or marriage) of different cultures that affect the ability and willingness to take life-saving medicine for a long period of time. Qualitative studies are critical to better understand why ART eligible individuals are choosing not to initiate or continue treatment to achieve needed adherence levels.
Negative affectivity in smokers applying to smoking cessation clinics: a case–control study

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess whether subjects applying to smoking cessation clinics display a higher level of affective symptoms than smokers recruited from the general population. Methods: The study was conducted according to a cross‐sectional, case–control design. Cases were smokers applying to public smoking cessation clinics for the first time and controls were smokers recruited from the general population. Socio‐demographic data and clinical information were collected. Self‐ (Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, State–Trait Anxiety Inventory) and hetero‐administered (Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety scale) rating scales were used to assess anxious and depressive symptoms. Nicotine dependence was measured via a self‐administered questionnaire (Fagerström Tolerance Questionnaire). Results: Sixty‐eight cases were recruited, individually matched, and compared to controls. Overall, cases had significantly higher scores than controls when the rating scales assessing anxious and depressive symptoms were evaluated. Conclusions: Smokers applying to smoking cessation clinics for the first time have a higher level of negative affectivity than smokers from the general population. An evaluation of the level of negative affectivity could be introduced into clinical practice to have a complete assessment of the patient. We propose adding psychological or pharmacological support to complement the smoking cessation program. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Why a Pure Primal Newton Barrier Step May be Infeasible

Modern barrier methods for constrained optimization are sometimes portrayed conceptually as a sequence of inexact minimizations, with only a very few Newton iterations (perhaps just one) for each value of the barrier parameter. Unfortunately, this rosy image does not accurately reflect reality when the barrier parameter is reduced at a reasonable rate, as in a practical (long-step) method. Local analysis is presented indicating why a pure Newton step in a typical long-step barrier method for nonlinearly constrained optimization may be seriously infeasible, even when taken from an apparently favorable point; hence accurate calculation of the Newton direction does not guarantee an effective algorithm. The features described are illustrated numerically and connected to known theoretical results for well-behaved convex problems satisfying common assumptions such as self-concordancy. The contrasting nature of an approximate step to the desired minimizes of the barrier function is also discussed.
Lung Ultrasound Predicts Well Extravascular Lung Water but Is of Limited Usefulness in the Prediction of Wedge Pressure

Background:Pulmonary congestion is indicated at lung ultrasound by detection of B-lines, but correlation of these ultrasound signs with pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) and extravascular lung water (EVLW) still remains to be further explored. The aim of the study was to assess whether B-lines, and eventually a combination with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment, are useful to differentiate low/high PAOP and EVLW in critically ill patients. Methods:The authors enrolled 73 patients requiring invasive monitoring from the intensive care unit of four university-affiliated hospitals. Forty-one patients underwent PAOP measurement by pulmonary artery catheterization and 32 patients had EVLW measured by transpulmonary thermodilution method. Lung and cardiac ultrasound examinations focused to the evaluation of B-lines and gross estimation of LVEF were performed. The absence of diffuse B-lines (A-pattern) versus the pattern showing prevalent B-lines (B-pattern) and the combination with normal or impaired LVEF were correlated with cutoff levels of PAOP and EVLW. Results:PAOP of 18 mmHg or less was predicted by the A-pattern with 85.7% sensitivity (95% CI, 70.5 to 94.1%) and 40.0% specificity (CI, 25.4 to 56.4%), whereas EVLW 10 ml/kg or less with 81.0% sensitivity (CI, 62.6 to 91.9%) and 90.9% specificity (CI, 74.2 to 97.7%). The combination of A-pattern with normal LVEF increased sensitivity to 100% (CI, 84.5 to 100%) and specificity to 72.7% (CI, 52.0 to 87.2%) for the prediction of PAOP 18 mmHg or less. Conclusions:B-lines allow good prediction of pulmonary congestion indicated by EVLW, whereas are of limited usefulness for the prediction of hemodynamic congestion indicated by PAOP. Combining B-lines with estimation of LVEF at transthoracic ultrasound may improve the prediction of PAOP.
Newborn Screening for Lysosomal Storage Diseases: A Concise Review of the Literature on Screening Methods, Therapeutic Possibilities and Regional Programs

Newborn screening for lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) is increasingly being considered as an option. The development of analytical screening methods, of second-tier methods, and of therapeutic possibilities, are paving the way for routine screening for LSDs in the coming years. Here, we give a brief description of the current status quo, what screening methods are currently available or are in the pipeline, what is the current status of therapeutic possibilities for LSDs, what LSDs are the most obvious candidates for introduction in screening programs, and what LSDs are already part of regional or national pilot or routine screening programs worldwide.
The Histone‐Deacetylase‐Inhibitor Suberoylanilide Hydroxamic Acid Promotes Dental Pulp Repair Mechanisms Through Modulation of Matrix Metalloproteinase‐13 Activity

Direct application of histone‐deacetylase‐inhibitors (HDACis) to dental pulp cells (DPCs) induces chromatin changes, promoting gene expression and cellular‐reparative events. We have previously demonstrated that HDACis (valproic acid, trichostatin A) increase mineralization in dental papillae‐derived cell‐lines and primary DPCs by stimulation of dentinogenic gene expression. Here, we investigated novel genes regulated by the HDACi, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), to identify new pathways contributing to DPC differentiation. SAHA significantly compromised DPC viability only at relatively high concentrations (5 μM); while low concentrations (1 μM) SAHA did not increase apoptosis. HDACi‐exposure for 24 h induced mineralization‐per‐cell dose‐dependently after 2 weeks; however, constant 14d SAHA‐exposure inhibited mineralization. Microarray analysis (24 h and 14 days) of SAHA exposed cultures highlighted that 764 transcripts showed a significant >2.0‐fold change at 24 h, which reduced to 36 genes at 14 days. 59% of genes were down‐regulated at 24 h and 36% at 14 days, respectively. Pathway analysis indicated SAHA increased expression of members of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family. Furthermore, SAHA‐supplementation increased MMP‐13 protein expression (7 d, 14 days) and enzyme activity (48 h, 14 days). Selective MMP‐13‐inhibition (MMP‐13i) dose‐dependently accelerated mineralization in both SAHA‐treated and non‐treated cultures. MMP‐13i‐supplementation promoted expression of several mineralization‐associated markers, however, HDACi‐induced cell migration and wound healing were impaired. Data demonstrate that short‐term low‐dose SAHA‐exposure promotes mineralization in DPCs by modulating gene pathways and tissue proteases. MMP‐13i further increased mineralization‐associated events, but decreased HDACi cell migration indicating a specific role for MMP‐13 in pulpal repair processes. Pharmacological inhibition of HDAC and MMP may provide novel insights into pulpal repair processes with significant translational benefit. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 798–816, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Treatment of acute carbon monoxide poisoning with induced hypothermia

Objective The effect of induced hypothermia on severe acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning remains to be addressed further. We investigated the effect of induced hypothermia on severe acute CO poisoning. Methods Retrospective chart review was conducted for patients who diagnosed as severe acute CO poisoning in emergency department and underwent induced hypothermia from May 2013 to May 2014. Hospital courses with critical medication and major laboratory results were investigated through the chart review. Results Among total 227 patients with acute CO poisoning during the period of study, patients with severe acute CO poisoning were 15. All patients underwent induced hypothermia with a temperature goal 33°C. Initial and follow-up levels of S100B protein after induced hypothermia were 0.47 μg/L (interquartile range, 0.11 to 0.71) and 0.10 μg/L (interquartile range, 0.06 to 0.37), respectively (P = 0.01). The mean Glasgow Coma Scales at emergency department admission was 6.87 ± 3.36. Except 1 patient who expired after cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Glasgow Coma Scales at 30-day of hospital discharge were 15 in 10 patients (71.4%), 14 in 1 patient (7.1%), 13 in 1 patient (7.1%), and 6 in 2 patients (14.2%). Seven patients (46.7%) developed delayed neurologic sequelae. Four patients showed mild types of delayed neurologic sequelae and 3 showed moderate to severe types of delayed neurologic sequelae. Conclusion Most of patients underwent induced hypothermia had a good recovery from severe acute CO poisoning. Therefore, induced hypothermia may be considered as a possible treatment in severe acute CO poisoning.
Absorption in each layer of a silicon heterojunction solar cell

We study the absorption in a silicon heterojunction solar cell. After determining the texture and film properties of the cell from experimental data, we apply ray tracing to quantify the absorption as a function of wavelength and depth in each of the cell's many layers. By comparing the results to the measured external quantum efficiency, we determine the collection efficiency of the front intrinsic a-Si:H film to be 0.35. We then asses the optimal thickness $t_{opt}$ of the front and rear ITO layers with and without encapsulation under the AMl.5g spectrum, finding that after encapsulation (i) $t_{opt}$ of the front ITO decreases from 70 nm to zero, (ii) $t_{opt}$ of the rear ITO remains at about 100 nm, and (iii) the sensitivity of absorption and reflection to the front ITO thickness decreases. We also conclude that the collection current could be increased by up to 2.7 mA/cm2 by reducing the absorptance of the ITO and using thinner a-Si films, or by 1.3 mA/cm2 by increasing the collection efficiency of the front a-Si:H layers. The described approach is applicable to any solar cell containing thin-film stacks.
Graphons, cut norm and distance, couplings and rearrangements

We give a survey of basic results on the cut norm and cut metric for graphons (and sometimes more general kernels), with emphasis on the equivalence problem. The main results are not new, but we add various technical complements, and a new proof of the uniqueness theorem by Borgs, Chayes and Lov\'asz. We allow graphons on general probability spaces whenever possible. We also give some new results for {0,1}-valued graphons and for pure graphons.
KIER DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES

This paper examines the practical usefulness of two new journal performance metrics, namely the Eigenfactor score, which is said to measure “importance”, and Article Influence score, which is said to measure “prestige”, using the most recent ISI data for 2009 for the 200 most highly cited journals in each of the Sciences and Social Sciences, and compares them with two existing ISI metrics, namely Total Citations and the 5-year Impact Factor (5YIF) of a journal. It is shown that the Sciences and Social Sciences are different in terms of the strength of the relationship of journal performance metrics, although the actual relationships are very similar. Moreover, the importance and prestige journal performance metrics are shown to be closely related to the two existing ISI metrics, and hence add little in practical usefulness to what is already known. These empirical results are compared with existing results in the literature.
A structural approach to distance rendering in personal auditory displays

A virtual resonating environment aiming at enhancing our perception of distance is proposed. This environment reproduces the acoustics inside a tube, thus conveying peculiar distance cues to the listener. The corresponding resonator has been prototyped using a wave-based numerical scheme called waveguide mesh, that gave the necessary versatility to the model during the design and parameterization of the listening environment. Psychophysical tests show that this virtual environment conveys robust distance cues.
Eccentric Torque-Producing Capacity is Influenced by Muscle Length in Older Healthy Adults

Abstract Melo, RC, Takahashi, ACM, Quitério, RJ, Salvini, TF, and Catai, AM. Eccentric torque-producing capacity is influenced by muscle length in older healthy adults. J Strength Cond Res 30(1): 259–266, 2016—Considering the importance of muscle strength to functional capacity in the elderly, the study investigated the effects of age on isokinetic performance and torque production as a function of muscle length. Eleven younger (24.2 ± 2.9 years) and 16 older men (62.7 ± 2.5 years) were subjected to concentric and eccentric isokinetic knee extension/flexion at 60 and 120°·s−1 through a functional range of motion. The older group presented lower peak torque (in newton-meters) than the young group for both isokinetic contraction types (age effect, p < 0.001). Peak torque deficits in the older group were near 30 and 29% for concentric and eccentric contraction, respectively. Concentric peak torque was lower at 120°·s−1 than at 60°·s−1 for both groups (angular velocity effect, p < 0.001). Eccentric knee extension torque was the only exercise tested that showed an interaction effect between age and muscle length (p < 0.001), which suggested different torque responses to the muscle length between groups. Compared with the young group, the eccentric knee extension torque was 22–56% lower in the older group, with the deficits being lower in the shortened muscle length (22–27%) and higher (33–56%) in the stretched muscle length. In older men, the production of eccentric knee strength seems to be dependent on the muscle length. At more stretched positions, older subjects lose the capacity to generate eccentric knee extension torque. More studies are needed to assess the mechanisms involved in eccentric strength preservation with aging and its relationship with muscle length.
The Feasibility of Integrating the Omaha System Data Across Home Care Agencies and Vendors

Federal and state initiatives are aligning around the goal that by 2014 all Americans will have electronic health records to support access to their health information any time and anywhere. As a key healthcare provider, nursing data must be included to enhance patient safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of care that is patient-centric. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of abstracting, integrating, and comparing the effective use of a standardized terminology, the Omaha System, across software vendors and 15 home care agencies. Results showed that the 2900 patients in this study had an average of four problems on care plans, with interventions most frequently addressing surveillance (39%) and teaching (30%). Findings in this study support the feasibility of integrating data across software vendors and agencies as well as the usefulness for describing care provided in home care. However, before exchanging data across systems, data quality issues found in this study need attention. There were missing data for 10.8% of patients as well as concerns about the validity of using the problem rating scale for outcomes. Strategies for effective use of standardized nursing terminologies are recommended.
Improving Thermal Transport at Carbon Hybrid Interfaces by Covalent Bonds

Graphene and carbon nanotubes have received much attention for thermal management application due to their unique thermal performance. Theoretical work suggests that a covalent bond can combine 1D carbon nanotubes with 2D graphene together to extend the excellent thermal property to three dimensions for heat dissipation. This paper experimentally demonstrates the high heat dissipation capability of a freestanding 3D multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and graphene hybrid material. Using high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and pulsed photothermal reflection measurement method, the covalent bonds between MWCNT and planar graphene are microscopically and numerically demonstrated. Thermal resistance at the junction with covalent bonds is 9 × 10−10 m2 KW−1, which is three orders of magnitude lower than van der Waals contact. Joule heating method is used to verify the extra cooling effect of this 3D hybrid material compared to graphite film. A demonstrator using high power chip is developed to demonstrate the applicability of this hybrid material in thermal application. Temperature at hot spots can be decreased by around 10 °C with the assistance of this hybrid material. These findings are very significant for understanding the thermal conduction during combining 1D and 2D carbon material together for future thermal management application.
Evaluation of a "triple rule-out" coronary CT angiography protocol: use of 64-Section CT in low-to-moderate risk emergency department patients suspected of having acute coronary syndrome.

PURPOSE To determine whether coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography "triple rule-out" evaluation of emergency department (ED) patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) can help identify a subset of patients who can be discharged without adverse clinical outcomes within 30 days. MATERIALS AND METHODS This protocol was approved by the university institutional review board. Each patient provided written informed consent prior to inclusion. Coronary CT angiography was performed in 201 consecutive low-to-moderate risk ACS patients. A triple rule-out protocol was used to evaluate for coronary disease, pulmonary embolism, aortic dissection, and other thoracic disease. Four patients were excluded because of technical problems. The remaining subjects underwent a 30-day follow-up. RESULTS A disease process other than coronary atherosclerosis that explained the presenting symptoms was diagnosed in 22 (11%) of 197 patients. Clinically important noncoronary diagnoses that did not explain patient symptoms were identified in 27 (14%) of 197 additional patients. With respect to coronary artery disease, 10 patients had severe disease (>70% stenosis), 12 had moderate disease (50%-70% stenosis), 46 had mild disease (up to 50% stenosis), and 129 had no disease. No further diagnostic testing was performed in 133 (76%) of 175 of patients with no to mild coronary disease. At 30-day follow-up, the negative predictive value of coronary CT angiography with no more than mild disease was 99.4%. There were no adverse outcomes at 30 days. CONCLUSION Triple rule-out coronary CT angiography evaluation of low-to-moderate risk ACS patients presenting to the ED provided a noncoronary diagnosis that explained the presenting complaint in 11% of patients, suggested the presence of significant moderate-to-severe coronary disease in 11% (22 of 197) of patients, and precluded additional diagnostic cardiac testing in the majority of patients with no adverse outcomes at 30-day follow-up.
Uncovering Temporal Context for Video Question and Answering

In this work, we introduce Video Question Answering in temporal domain to infer the past, describe the present and predict the future. We present an encoder-decoder approach using Recurrent Neural Networks to learn temporal structures of videos and introduce a dual-channel ranking loss to answer multiple-choice questions. We explore approaches for finer understanding of video content using question form of "fill-in-the-blank", and managed to collect 109,895 video clips with duration over 1,000 hours from TACoS, MPII-MD, MEDTest 14 datasets, while the corresponding 390,744 questions are generated from annotations. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our approach significantly outperforms the compared baselines.