Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing recent warming using instrumentally homogeneous sea surface temperature records

Instrumentally homogeneous SST records show a cooling bias in composite SST products and validate recent NOAA recent record revision. Sea surface temperature (SST) records are subject to potential biases due to changing instrumentation and measurement practices. Significant differences exist between commonly used composite SST reconstructions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Extended Reconstruction Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST), the Hadley Centre SST data set (HadSST3), and the Japanese Meteorological Agency’s Centennial Observation-Based Estimates of SSTs (COBE-SST) from 2003 to the present. The update from ERSST version 3b to version 4 resulted in an increase in the operational SST trend estimate during the last 19 years from 0.07° to 0.12°C per decade, indicating a higher rate of warming in recent years. We show that ERSST version 4 trends generally agree with largely independent, near-global, and instrumentally homogeneous SST measurements from floating buoys, Argo floats, and radiometer-based satellite measurements that have been developed and deployed during the past two decades. We find a large cooling bias in ERSST version 3b and smaller but significant cooling biases in HadSST3 and COBE-SST from 2003 to the present, with respect to most series examined. These results suggest that reported rates of SST warming in recent years have been underestimated in these three data sets.
Improving Semantic Role Classification with Selectional Preferences

This work incorporates Selectional Preferences (SP) into a Semantic Role (SR) Classification system. We learn separate selectional preferences for noun phrases and prepositional phrases and we integrate them in a state-of-the-art SR classification system both in the form of features and individual class predictors. We show that the inclusion of the refined SPs yields statistically significant improvements on both in domain and out of domain data (14.07% and 11.67% error reduction, respectively). The key factor for success is the combination of several SP methods with the original classification model using meta-classification.
Strong environmental determination of a carotenoid‐based plumage trait is not mediated by carotenoid availability

Carotenoid‐based colours are recognized as having an important signalling function, yet the nature of the mechanisms that maintain their honesty is not well understood. By combining a carotenoid‐feeding experiment with a quantitative genetic experiment in a wild population of blue tits (Parus caeruleus), we were able to test predictions that differentiate between proposed mechanisms. If variation in carotenoid ingestion underlies variation in carotenoid‐based colour expression, then carotenoid‐supplemented birds should have reduced variance in colour. In this study, carotenoid supplementation produced a small but significant change in plumage colouration, but no significant change in variation. These results suggest that variation in carotenoid acquisition is not an important source of variation for this colour trait, and that variation in post‐ingestion processes are likely to be more important. The low heritability of this colour trait suggests environmental factors are likely to underlie the majority of variation in these processes.
Syntax-Based Word Ordering Incorporating a Large-Scale Language Model

A fundamental problem in text generation is word ordering. Word ordering is a computationally difficult problem, which can be constrained to some extent for particular applications, for example by using synchronous grammars for statistical machine translation. There have been some recent attempts at the unconstrained problem of generating a sentence from a multi-set of input words (Wan et al., 2009; Zhang and Clark, 2011). By using CCG and learning guided search, Zhang and Clark reported the highest scores on this task. One limitation of their system is the absence of an N-gram language model, which has been used by text generation systems to improve fluency. We take the Zhang and Clark system as the baseline, and incorporate an N-gram model by applying online large-margin training. Our system significantly improved on the baseline by 3.7 BLEU points.
Biomedical Imaging and Intervention Journal Reversible Splenial Lesion Syndrome in Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome

Background: Reversible focal lesions in the splenium of the corpus callosum (SCC) or reversible splenial lesion syndrome are rare and little is known about their pathophysiology. Case summary: The authors describe a case of a 65-year-old female who presented with fever, abnormal behaviour and mild hypernatremia. She was on neuropsychiatric treatment for bipolar disorder but denied any history of seizure. After an extensive workout to exclude infection, a clinical diagnosis of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) was made. Initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed a lesion in the SCC characterized by high-signal intensity on T2-weighted and FLAIR sequences with reduced signal intensity on T1-weighted sequence. Diffuse weighted imaging (DWI) showed restricted diffusion. There was no enhancement following Gadolinium administration. The follow-up MRI 8 weeks later showed complete resolution of the SCC lesion. Conclusion: While the pathophysiology of reversible SCC lesions is still unclear, this case highlights the need to consider NMS in the differential diagnosis of reversible splenial lesion of the corpus callosum.
From News to Comment: Resources and Benchmarks for Parsing the Language of Web 2.0

We investigate the problem of parsing the noisy language of social media. We evaluate four Wall-Street-Journal-trained statistical parsers (Berkeley, Brown, Malt and MST) on a new dataset containing 1,000 phrase structure trees for sentences from microblogs (tweets) and discussion forum posts. We compare the four parsers on their ability to produce Stanford dependencies for these Web 2.0 sentences. We find that the parsers have a particular problem with tweets and that a substantial part of this problem is related to POS tagging accuracy. We attempt three retraining experiments involving Malt, Brown and an in-house Berkeley-style parser and obtain a statistically significant improvement for all three parsers.
Comparison of the Efficacies of Disinfectants To Control Microbial Contamination in Dental Unit Water Systems in General Dental Practices across the European Union

ABSTRACT Water delivered by dental unit water systems (DUWS) in general dental practices can harbor high numbers of bacteria, including opportunistic pathogens. Biofilms on tubing within DUWS provide a reservoir for microorganisms and should be controlled. This study compared disinfection products for their ability to meet the American Dental Association's guideline of <200 CFU · ml−1 for DUWS water. Alpron, BioBlue, Dentosept, Oxygenal, Sanosil, Sterilex Ultra, and Ster4Spray were tested in DUWS (n = 134) in Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Weekly water samples were tested for total viable counts (TVCs) on yeast extract agar, and, where possible, the effects of products on established biofilm (TVCs) were measured. A 4- to 5-week baseline measurement period was followed by 6 to 8 weeks of disinfection (intermittent or continuous product application). DUWS water TVCs before disinfection ranged from 0 to 5.41 log CFU · ml−1. Disinfectants achieved reductions in the median water TVC ranging from 0.69 (Ster4Spray) to 3.11 (Dentosept) log CFU · ml−1, although occasional high values (up to 4.88 log CFU · ml−1) occurred with all products. Before treatment, 64% of all baseline samples exceeded American Dental Association guidelines, compared to only 17% following commencement of treatment; where tested, biofilm TVCs were reduced to below detectable levels. The antimicrobial efficacies of products varied (e.g., 91% of water samples from DUWS treated with Dentosept or Oxygenal met American Dental Association guidelines, compared to 60% of those treated with Ster4Spray). Overall, the continuously applied products performed better than those applied intermittently. The most effective products were Dentosept and Oxygenal, although Dentosept gave the most consistent and sustained antimicrobial effect over time.
Implementation of Real-Time Fuzzy logic control for NFT-based hydroponic system on Internet of Things environment

Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) is one of the methods of hydroponic system which use a circulated water containing nutrient as a growing media of plant. The important parameter in NFT that affect the plant growth are electrical conductivity (EC) and pH that should be maintain in prescribed range that depend on plant types. In this study, we implement the fuzzy logic to control the EC and pH condition of the NFT-based hydroponic system in Internet of Things (IoT) system environment. By using IoT consist of wireless sensor network, data logger, machine-to-machine and actuator (pump), we can remotely controlling and monitoring all parameters through internet network, that can be applied to scattered area. The experiment based on proportional small scale process which consist of four controlled tanks (nutrient A, nutrient B, acid solution, and alkaline solution) and one mixing tank with adjustable flow pump by using 12 rules fuzzy logic. Parameter EC and pH are maintained in range defined according to the input range given. The required time to recover the EC and pH from outside range to within the defined range is about 15 minutes.
Solutions of generalized fractional kinetic equations involving Aleph functions

In view of the usefulness and great importance of the kinetic equation in cer- tain astrophysical problems, the authors develop a new and further generalized form of the fractional kinetic equation in terms of the Aleph-function by using the Sumudu transform. This new generalization can be used for the computation of the change of chemical com- position in stars like the sun. The manifold generality of the Aleph-function is discussed in terms of the solution of the above fractional kinetic equation. The main results, being of general nature, are shown to be some unication and extension of many known results given, for example, by Saxena
Black hole creation in 2 + 1 dimensions

When two point particles, coupled to three-dimensional gravity with a negative cosmological constant, approach each other with a sufficiently large centre-of-mass energy, then a BTZ black hole is created. An explicit solution to the Einstein equations is presented, describing the collapse of two massless particles into a non-rotating black hole. Some general arguments imply that massive particles can be used as well, and the creation of a rotating black hole is also possible.
Huaier extract synergizes with tamoxifen to induce autophagy and apoptosis in ER-positive breast cancer cells

Tamoxifen (TAM) is the most widely used endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer patients, but side effects and the gradual development of insensitivity limit its application. We investigated whether Huaier extract, a traditional Chinese medicine, in combination with TAM would improve treatment efficacy in ER-positive breast cancers. MTT, colony formation, and invasion and migration assays revealed that the combined treatment had stronger anticancer effects than either treatment alone. Huaier extract enhanced TAM-induced autophagy, apoptosis, and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, as measured by acidic vesicular organelle (AVO) staining, TUNEL, flow cytometry, and western blot. Additionally, combined treatment inhibited tumorigenesis and metastasis by suppressing the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Huaier extract also enhanced the inhibitory effects of TAM on tumor growth in vivo in a xenograft mouse model. These results show that Huaier extract synergizes with TAM to induce autophagy and apoptosis in ER-positive breast cancer cells by suppressing the AKT/mTOR pathway.
Prospects of Levetiracetam as a Neuroprotective Drug Against Status Epilepticus, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Stroke

Levetiracetam (LEV) is an anti-epileptic drug commonly used for the treatment of partial onset and generalized seizures. In addition to its neuromodulatory and neuroinhibitory effects via its binding to the synaptic vesicle protein SV2A, multiple studies have suggested neuroprotective properties for LEV in both epileptic and non-epileptic conditions. The purpose of this review is to discuss the extent of LEV-mediated protection seen in different neurological conditions, the potential of LEV for easing epileptogenesis, and the possible mechanisms that underlie the protective properties of LEV. LEV has been found to be particularly beneficial for restraining seizures in animal models of spontaneous epilepsy, acute seizures, and status epilepticus (SE). However, its ability for easing epileptogenesis and cognitive dysfunction following SE remains controversial with some studies implying favorable outcomes and others reporting no beneficial effects. Efficacy of LEV as a neuroprotective drug against traumatic brain injury (TBI) has received much attention. While animal studies in TBI models have showed significant neuroprotection and improvements in motor and memory performance with LEV treatment, clinical studies suggest that LEV has similar efficacy as phenytoin in terms of its ability to prevent post-traumatic epilepsy. LEV treatment for TBI is also reported to have fewer adverse effects and monitoring considerations but electroencephalographic recordings suggest the presence of increased seizure tendency. Studies on stroke imply that LEV is a useful alternative to carbamazepine for preventing post-stroke seizures in terms of efficacy and safety. Thus, LEV treatment has promise for restraining SE-, TBI-, or stroke-induced chronic epilepsy. Nevertheless, additional studies are needed to ascertain the most apt dose, timing of intervention, and duration of treatment after the initial precipitating injury and the mechanisms underlying LEV-mediated beneficial effects.
Cell cycle implication on nitrogen acquisition and synchronization in Thalassiosira weissflogii (Bacillariophyceae)

The Michaelis–Menten model of nitrogen (N) acquisition, originally used to represent the effect of nutrient concentration on the phytoplankton uptake rate, is inadequate when other factors show temporal variations. Literature generally links diurnal oscillations of N acquisition to a response of the physiological status of microalgae to photon flux density (PFD) and substrate availability. This work describes how the cell cycle also constitutes a significant determinant of N acquisition and, when appropriate, assesses the impact of this property at the macroscopic level. For this purpose, we carried out continuous culture experiments with the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (Grunow) G. Fryxell & Hasle exposed to various conditions of light and N supply. The results revealed that a decrease in N acquisition occurred when a significant proportion of the population was in mitosis. This observation suggests that N acquisition is incompatible with mitosis and therefore that its acquisition rate is not constant during the cell cycle. In addition, environmental conditions, such as light and nutrient supply disrupt the cell cycle at the level of the individual cell, which impacts synchrony of the population.
Pregnancy and HIV

The good news is that advances in HIV treatment have also greatly lowered the chances that a mother will pass HIV on to her baby (also known as perinatal HIV transmission [2], or vertical transmission; also sometimes called "mother-to-child" transmission). The World Health Organization reports that when mothers are NOT taking HIV drugs, HIV can be perinatally transmitted as much as 45 percent of the time. However, with HIV treatment, the chances of perinatal transmission can be less than five in 100 births.
Modeling re-entrant manufacturing systems with inspections

Inspection stations are now an integral part of any manufacturing system and help track product quality and process performance. In this paper the authors consider re-entrant manufacturing systems (such as semiconductor fabrication facilities) with inspections at various stages of processing. At the end of each inspection, three possibilities are assumed, namely accept, reject, or rework at some previous stage. The authors propose re-entrant lines with probabilistic routing as models for such systems and present an efficient analytical technique based on mean value analysis to predict mean cycle times and throughput rates. The method can be used to compare different ways of locating inspection stations, from a cycle time and throughput viewpoint.
Safe Runtime Downcasts With Ownership Types

The possibility of aliasing between objects constitutes one of the primary challenges in understanding and reasoning about correctness of object-oriented programs. Ownership types provide a principled way of specifying statically enforcable restrictions on object aliasing. Ownership types have been used to aid program understanding and evolution, verify absence of data races and deadlocks in multithreaded programs, and verify absence of memory errors in programs with explicit deallocation. This paper describes an efficient technique for supporting safe runtime downcasts with ownership types. This technique uses the type passing approach, but avoids the associated significant space overhead by storing runtime ownership information only for objects that are potentially involved in downcasts. Moreover, this technique does not use any interprocedural analysis, so it preserves the separate compilation model of Java. We implemented our technique in the context of Safe Concurrent Java, which is an extension to Java that uses ownership types to guarantee the absence of data races and deadlocks in well-typed programs. Our approach is JVM-compatible: our implementation translates programs to bytecodes that can be run on regular JVMs.
Characterizing Land Cover Impacts on the Responses of Land Surface Phenology to the Rainy Season in the Congo Basin

Knowledge of how rainfall seasonality affects land surface phenology has important implications on understanding ecosystem resilience to future climate change in the Congo Basin. We studied the impacts of land cover on the response of the canopy greenness cycle (CGC) to the rainy season in the Congo Basin on a yearly basis during 2006–2013. Specifically, we retrieved CGC from the time series of two-band enhanced vegetation index (EVI2) acquired by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI). We then detected yearly onset (ORS) and end (ERS) of the rainy season using a modified Climatological Anomalous Accumulation (CAA) method based on the daily rainfall time series provided by the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission. We further examined the timing differences between CGC and the rainy season across different types of land cover, and investigated the relationship between spatial variations in CGC and rainy season timing. Results show that the rainy season in the equatorial Congo Basin was regulated by a distinct bimodal rainfall regime. The spatial variation in the rainy season timing presented distinct latitudinal gradients whereas the variation in CGC timing was relatively small. Moreover, the inter-annual variation in the rainy season timing could exceed 40 days whereas it was predominantly less than 20 days for CGC timing. The response of CGC to the rainy season varied with land cover. The lead time of CGC onset prior to ORS was longer in tropical woodlands and forests, whereas it became relatively short in grasslands and shrublands. Further, the spatial variation in CGC onset had a stronger correlation with that of ORS in grasslands and shrublands than in tropical woodlands and forests. In contrast, the lag of CGC end behind ERS was widespread across the Congo Basin, which was longer in grasslands and shrublands than that in tropical woodlands and forests. However, no significant relationship was identified between spatial variations in ERS and CGC end.
In vitro characterization of perfluorocarbon droplets for focused ultrasound therapy

Focused ultrasound therapy can be enhanced with microbubbles by thermal and cavitation effects. However, localization of treatment is difficult as bioeffects can occur outside of the target region. Spatial control of bubbles can be achieved by ultrasound-induced conversion of liquid perfluorocarbon droplets to gas bubbles. This study was undertaken to determine the acoustic parameters for bubble production by droplet conversion and how it depends on the acoustic conditions and droplet physical parameters. Lipid-encapsulated droplets containing dodecafluoropentane were manufactured with sizes ranging from 1.9 to 7.2 µm in diameter and diluted to a concentration of 8 × 106 droplets mL−1. The droplets were sonicated in vitro with a focused ultrasound transducer and varying frequency and exposure under flow conditions through an acoustically transparent vessel. The sonications were 10 ms in duration at frequencies of 0.578, 1.736 and 2.855 MHz. The pressure threshold for droplet conversion was measured with an active transducer operating in pulse-echo mode and simultaneous measurements of broadband acoustic emissions were performed with passive acoustic detection. The results show that droplets cannot be converted at low frequency without broadband emissions occurring. However, the pressure threshold for droplet conversion decreased with increasing frequency, exposure and droplet size. The pressure threshold for broadband emissions was independent of the droplet size and was 2.9, 4.4 and 5.3 MPa for 0.578, 1736 and 2.855 MHz, respectively. In summary, we have demonstrated that droplet conversion is feasible for clinically relevant sized droplets and acoustic exposures.
Fc Engineering of Human IgG1 for Altered Binding to the Neonatal Fc Receptor Affects Fc Effector Functions

Engineering of the constant Fc part of monoclonal human IgG1 (hIgG1) Abs is an approach to improve effector functions and clinical efficacy of next-generation IgG1-based therapeutics. A main focus in such development is tailoring of in vivo half-life and transport properties by engineering the pH-dependent interaction between IgG and the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), as FcRn is the main homeostatic regulator of hIgG1 half-life. However, whether such engineering affects binding to other Fc-binding molecules, such as the classical FcγRs and complement factor C1q, has not been studied in detail. These effector molecules bind to IgG1 in the lower hinge–CH2 region, structurally distant from the binding site for FcRn at the CH2–CH3 elbow region. However, alterations of the structural composition of the Fc may have long-distance effects. Indeed, in this study we show that Fc engineering of hIgG1 for altered binding to FcRn also influences binding to both the classical FcγRs and complement factor C1q, which ultimately results in alterations of cellular mechanisms such as Ab-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, Ab-dependent cellular phagocytosis, and Ab-dependent complement-mediated cell lysis. Thus, engineering of the FcRn–IgG1 interaction may greatly influence effector functions, which has implications for the therapeutic efficacy and use of Fc-engineered hIgG1 variants.