Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Western Pacific Oscillator Paradigm for the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation

A data‐based hypothesis is presented on the mechanism of the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a major determinant of interannual global climate variability. The hypothesis emphasizes the importance of off‐equator sea surface temperature and sea level pressure variations west of the dateline for initiating equatorial easterly winds over the far western Pacific. These winds compete with westerly winds over the equatorial central Pacific enabling the coupled ocean‐atmosphere system to oscillate. Consistent with this hypothesis, an analogical oscillator model is constructed that produces ENSO‐like oscillations. The proposed mechanism differs from the delayed oscillator paradigm in that wave reflection at the western boundary is not a necessary condition for the coupled ocean‐atmosphere system to oscillate.
Comparative Genomic Hybridization Identifies Virulence Differences in Streptococcus suis

Streptococcus suis is an important zoonotic pathogen. However, identification of virulent S. suis strains is complicated because of the high diversity of the species. Here we evaluated the genetic difference among S. suis strains using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and virulence variation in vivo and in vitro. We showed that different clades differed in their ability to activate TLR2/6 in vitro and their capacity to induce cytokine production in vivo as well as their resistance to phagocytosis and survival in vivo. Our data showed the S. suis strains tested can be classified into three groups having differing levels of virulence: epidemic and highly virulent strains were clustered into clade Ia (epidemic and highly virulent group, E/HV group), virulent strains were clustered into clade Ib (virulent group, V group), and intermediately or weakly virulent strains were clustered into other clades (intermediately or weakly virulent group, I/WV group). Our study provided further insight into the genomic and virulence variation of S. suis.
Statistical Study of foF2 Diurnal Variation at Dakar Station from 1971 to 1996: Effect of Geomagnetic Classes of Activity on Seasonal Variation at Solar Minimum and Maximum

The statistical study of F2 layer critical frequency at Dakar station from 1971 to 1996 is carried out. This paper shows foF2 statistical diurnal for all geomagnetic activities and all seasons and that during solar maximum and minimum phases. It emerges that foF2 diurnal variation graphs at Dakar station exhibits the different types of foF2 profiles in African EIA regions. The type of profile depends on solar activity, season and solar phase. During solar minimum and under quiet time condition, data show the signature of a strength electrojet that is coupled with intense counter electrojet in the afternoon. Under disturbed conditions, mean intense electrojet is observed in winter during fluctuating and recurrent activities. Intense counter electrojet is seen under fluctuating and shock activities in all seasons coupled with strength electrojet in autumn. In summer and spring under all geomagnetic activity condition, there is intense counter electrojet. During solar maximum, in summer and spring there is no electrojet under geomagnetic activity conditions. Winter shows a mean intense electrojet. Winter and autumn are marked by the signature of the reversal electric field.
Oxygenation Inhibits the Physiological Tissue-Protecting Mechanism and Thereby Exacerbates Acute Inflammatory Lung Injury

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) usually requires symptomatic supportive therapy by intubation and mechanical ventilation with the supplemental use of high oxygen concentrations. Although oxygen therapy represents a life-saving measure, the recent discovery of a critical tissue-protecting mechanism predicts that administration of oxygen to ARDS patients with uncontrolled pulmonary inflammation also may have dangerous side effects. Oxygenation may weaken the local tissue hypoxia-driven and adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR)-mediated anti-inflammatory mechanism and thereby further exacerbate lung injury. Here we report experiments with wild-type and adenosine A2AR-deficient mice that confirm the predicted effects of oxygen. These results also suggest the possibility of iatrogenic exacerbation of acute lung injury upon oxygen administration due to the oxygenation-associated elimination of A2AR-mediated lung tissue-protecting pathway. We show that this potential complication of clinically widely used oxygenation procedures could be completely prevented by intratracheal injection of a selective A2AR agonist to compensate for the oxygenation-related loss of the lung tissue-protecting endogenous adenosine. The identification of a major iatrogenic complication of oxygen therapy in conditions of acute lung inflammation attracts attention to the need for clinical and epidemiological studies of ARDS patients who require oxygen therapy. It is proposed that oxygen therapy in patients with ARDS and other causes of lung inflammation should be combined with anti-inflammatory measures, e.g., with inhalative application of A2AR agonists. The reported observations may also answer the long-standing question as to why the lungs are the most susceptible to inflammatory injury and why lung failure usually precedes multiple organ failure.
Company Stock Reactions to the 2016 Election Shock: Trump, Taxes and Trade

The election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America on 11/8/2016 came as a surprise. Markets responded swiftly and decisively. This note investigates both the initial stock market reaction to the election, and the longer-term reaction through the end of 2016. We find that the individual stock price reactions to the election – that is, the market’s vote – reflect investor expectations on economic growth, taxes, and trade policy. Heavy industry and banking were relative winners, whereas healthcare, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and apparel were among the relative losers. High-beta stocks and companies with a hitherto high tax burden benefited from the election. Although internationally-oriented companies may profit under some plans of the new administration, several other arguments suggest a more favorable climate for domestically-oriented companies. Investors have found the domestic-favoring arguments to be stronger. While investors incorporated the expected consequences of the election for US growth and tax policy into prices relatively quickly, it took them more time to digest the consequences of shifts in trade policy on firms’ prospects.
Integration of linguistic and web information to improve biomedical terminology extraction

Comprehensive terminology is essential for a community to describe, exchange, and retrieve data. In multiple domain, the explosion of text data produced has reached a level for which automatic terminology extraction and enrichment is mandatory. Automatic Term Extraction (or Recognition) methods use natural language processing to do so. Methods featuring linguistic and statistical aspects as often proposed in the literature, solve some problems related to term extraction as low frequency, complexity of the multi-word term extraction, human effort to validate candidate terms. In contrast, we present two new measures for extracting and ranking muli-word terms from domain-specific corpora, covering the all mentioned problems. In addition we demonstrate how the use of the Web to evaluate the significance of a multi-word term candidate, helps us to outperform precision results obtain on the biomedical GENIA corpus with previous reported measures such as C-value.
The Influence of Length of Residency on the Social Impacts of Selected National Arts Festivals in South Africa

Abstract Festivals in South Africa contribute greatly to the economic and social well-being of communities and offer various benefits. The host community is considered to be one of the key role players in tourism and therefore relations between the festivals and the host communities play an important role in understanding the social impact of an event. The aim of this research is to determine the influence of length of residency on the social impacts of arts festivals. To achieve this aim, a quantitative study was conducted in the communities of Oudtshoorn and Potchefstroom. Results indicated that residents who had been living in these communities for longer, had stronger opinions about certain negative impacts resulting from the festivals than those residents who had been living in these towns for a shorter period of time. It is thus evident that length of residency influences the social impacts of arts festivals and may influence the sustainability of these festivals as well.
Geology of the New Caledonia region and its implications for the study of the New Caledonian biodiversity

Introduction The New Caledonian exclusive economic zone is located in the Southwest Pacifie between Australia and the Vanuatu archipelago (formerly New Hebrides). It extends over 1200 km from north to south and 1800 km from west to east, from the Chesterfield Islands up to the Matthew and Hunter Islands at the southem tip of the Vanuatu archipelago (Figure 1, page 8). The main islands of New Caledonia are located on two parallel NW-SE trending ridges. The largest island (the 400 km-long and 50 kmwide Grande Terre) and subordinate islands including the Belep islands in the north and the Isle of Pines in the south are supported by the New Caledonia Ridge. The LoyaIty Islands are supported by the LoyaIty Ridge. Geologically, the area is schematically composed of a series of NW-SE trending ridges and basins formed by i) stretching and spreading along the eastem margin of Australia during Late CretaceousPaleocene times and ii) Eocene convergence which was responsible for the emplacement of one of the largest ophiolitic complexes in the world: the New Caledonian ophiolitic nappe (a slice of oceanic lithospheric mantle) from which weathering fOl'med one of the world's largest reservoirs of nickel. The ridges and basins are nowadays supported by the Australia plate that subducts beneath the Vanuatu active volcanic arc. The southemmost segment of the arc supports the active volcanic islands of Matthew and Hunter. These latter islands are thus on a plate (a micro-plate) that differs from the one supporting the main islands of New Caledonia territory. After reviewing the different morphostructural units and discussing the geological history of the New Caledonia area, 1 will point out sorne facts that may be relevant in the study and understanding of New Caledonia biodiversity.
Database Management for Life Science Research: Summary Report of the Workshop on Data Management for Molecular and Cell Biology at the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, February 2-3, 2003

OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS, we have witnessed a dramatic transformation in the practice of molecular biology. What was once a cottage industry marked by scarce, expensive data obtained largely by the manual efforts of small groups of graduate students, post-docs, and a few technicians has become industrialized (routinely and robustly high throughput) and data-rich, marked by factory scale sequencing organizations (such as the Joint Genome Institute, the Whitehead Institute, and the Institute for Genomic Research). Such sequencing factories rely on extensive automation of both sequencing and sample preparation. Commencing with sequencing, such industrialization is being extended to high-throughput proteomics and metabolomics, for example. While this industrialization of biological research is partly the result of technological improvements in sequencing instrumentation and automated sample preparation, it is also driven by massive increases in public and private investment and dramatic changes in the social organization of molecular biology (e.g., the creation of highly specialized, factory scale organizations for mass genomic sequencing). Such industrialization and the accompanying growth in molecular biology data availability demand similar scale up and specialization in the data management systems that support and exploit this data gathering. To date, the bioinformatics community has largely made do with custom handcrafted data management software or with conventional database management system (DBMS) technology developed for accounting applications. The industrialization of molecular biology has been largely the province of pharmacological, government, and, to a lesser extent, academic molecular biology research. However, it is clear that we stand at the threshold of clinical application of many of these technologies, for example, as clinical laboratory tests for medical applications. Such clinical applications will entail great increases in the laboratory and data management activities to handle tens or hundreds of millions of assays annually in the United States. Similarly, the approaches and data generation output from ever higher levels of biological complexity will be increasingly data intensive and high throughput. Instruments, data, and data management systems are complementary goods; in other words, their joint consumption is much more useful than consuming a single commodity at a time. It is trivial to say that data management systems are much more useful if they contain data. Consider also how limited the utility of genomic sequence data would be if we could only publish it in books and manually compare it. The availability of data management software that permits the rapid searching of large genomic sequence databases for similar sequences greatly enhances the utility of such sequence data. Quick sequence comparisons are
Contrasted Patterns of Selection on MHC-Linked Microsatellites in Natural Populations of the Malagasy Plague Reservoir

Plague (Yersinia pestis infection) is a highly virulent rodent disease that persists in many natural ecosystems. The black rat (Rattus rattus) is the main host involved in the plague focus of the central highlands of Madagascar. Black rat populations from this area are highly resistant to plague, whereas those from areas in which the disease is absent (low altitude zones of Madagascar) are susceptible. Various lines of evidence suggest a role for the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) in plague resistance. We therefore used the MHC region as a candidate for detecting signatures of plague-mediated selection in Malagasy black rats, by comparing population genetic structures for five MHC-linked microsatellites and neutral markers in two sampling designs. We first compared four pairs of populations, each pair including one population from the plague focus and one from the disease-free zone. Plague-mediated selection was expected to result in greater genetic differentiation between the two zones than expected under neutrality and this was observed for one MHC-class I-linked locus (D20Img2). For this marker as well as for four other MHC-linked loci, a geographic pattern of genetic structure was found at local scale within the plague focus. This pattern would be expected if plague selection pressures were spatially variable. Finally, another MHC-class I-linked locus (D20Rat21) showed evidences of balancing selection, but it seems more likely that this selection would be related to unknown pathogens more widely distributed in Madagascar than plague.
Timing error correction procedure applied to neural network rainfall—runoff modelling

Abstract Several studies have observed that neural network models will often produce phase-shift errors or timing lags in their output results. This paper investigates a potential solution to the timing error problem through the application of a procedure first applied in sunspot prediction. This procedure was applied to two neural network hydrological forecasting models for the River Ouse, in northern England, using a neuro-evolution toolbox. Models were optimised on a combination of root mean squared error and a timing correction factor. The application of this correction procedure produced timing improvements of up to about six hours on average over shorter forecasting horizons, whereas longer horizons showed little or no overall improvement in timing. The correction procedure also produced improved lower-magnitude estimates at the expense of higher-magnitude events over shorter forecasting horizons and, more significantly, improved higher-magnitude estimates at the expense of lower-magnitude events over longer forecasting horizons.
A review of barriers to effective asthma management in Puerto Ricans: cultural, healthcare system and pharmacogenomic issues

Abstract Background: Among the Hispanic community, Puerto Ricans have the highest prevalence of asthma and manifest the worst outcomes. The expected growth of the Hispanic population in the USA in the next several decades make elimination of disparate care in Puerto Rican asthmatics a matter of national importance. The purpose of this review of the literature (ROL) is to examine a variety of health system, genetic and cultural barriers in the Puerto Rican community which have created disparities in asthma care and outcomes among adult and pediatric Hispanic populations. In addition, this ROL describes several culturally sensitive, community-based educational interventions which can be used as a framework for future projects to improved asthma outcomes. Methods: Databases searched included Medline, PubMED, EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Google Scholar and ERIC. Papers published in English from January 1990 to January 2012 were reviewed. Results: Health system policies, insurer compensation patterns, clinician attitudes and cultural values/folk remedies in the Puerto Rican community represent barriers to effective asthma management, the use of controller medication and the implementation of educational interventions. In addition, genetic factors involving the beta-2 adrenergic receptor gene, which impair the response to albuterol, appear to contribute to poorer outcomes in Puerto Rican asthmatics. In contrast, several comprehensive, community-based, culturally sensitive educational interventions such as Controlling Asthma in American Cities Project (CAACP), the Racial and Ethnic Approach to Community Health in the US Program and Healthy Hoops programs (REACH) have been described. Conclusions: We believe that culturally sensitive community-based asthma education programs can serve as models for programs targeted toward Puerto Ricans to help decrease asthma morbidity. Moreover, greater sensitivity to Puerto Rican mores and folk remedies on the part of healthcare providers may improve the patient–clinician rapport and, hence, asthma outcomes. Finally, given ethnically based differences in pharmacogenomics, clinical trials targeting the Puerto Rican population may help to better define optimal asthma medication regimens in this ethnic group.
QTL Mapping of Flowering and Fruiting Traits in Olive

One of the challenge fruit growers are facing is to balance between tree production and vegetative growth from year to year. To investigate the existence of genetic determinism for reproductive behaviour in olive tree, we studied an olive segregating population derived from a cross between ‘Olivière’ and ‘Arbequina’ cultivars. Our strategy was based on (i) an annual assessment of individual trees yield, and (ii) a decomposition of adult growth units at the crown periphery into quantitative variables related to both flowering and fruiting process in relation to their growth and branching. Genetic models, including the year, genotype effects and their interactions, were built with variance function and correlation structure of residuals when necessary. Among the progeny, trees were either ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ for a given year and patterns of regular vs. irregular bearing were revealed. Genotype effect was significant on yield but not for flowering traits at growth unit (GU) scale, whereas the interaction between genotype and year was significant for both traits. A strong genetic effect was found for all fruiting traits without interaction with the year. Based on the new constructed genetic map, QTLs with small effects were detected, revealing multigenic control of the studied traits. Many were associated to alleles from ‘Arbequina’. Genetic correlations were found between Yield and Fruit set at GU scale suggesting a common genetic control, even though QTL co-localisations were in spe`cific years only. Most QTL were associated to flowering traits in specific years, even though reproductive traits at GU scale did not capture the bearing status of the trees in a given year. Results were also interpreted with respect to ontogenetic changes of growth and branching, and an alternative sampling strategy was proposed for capturing tree fruiting behaviour. Regular bearing progenies were identified and could constitute innovative material for selection programs.
Inverse correlation between Skp2 and p27Kip1 in normal endometrium and endometrial carcinoma

Cyclin-dependent-kinase (cdk) inhibitor, p27Kip1 (p27), has been shown to participate in progestin-induced growth suppression of normal endometrial glands. To analyse the molecular mechanisms regulating p27 protein, we examined immunohistochemical expression of the SCFSkp2 (Skp1-Cullin-F-box protein) complex factors, i.e. Skp1, Cul1 and Skp2, and compared them with that of p27, steroid receptors and Ki-67. In normal endometrial glands, the expression of Skp2 was observed in the proliferative phase, whereas that of p27 was observed in the secretory phase. Cultured normal endometrial glandular cells showed that progesterone induced the down-regulation of Skp2 along with up-regulation of p27. In endometrial carcinomas, the inverse topological correlation between Skp2 and p27 was evident in 39/66 (59%) cases, and the expression of Skp2 showed a strong correlation with Ki-67. These findings suggest that the expression of SCFSkp2 complex changes during the menstrual cycle in normal endometrium and the SCFSkp2 ubiquitin-proteasome pathway may also work in endometrial carcinomas.
Simulation of Crop Response to Polyolefin-Coated Urea: II. Nitrogen Uptake by Corn

Controlled-release N fertilizers are more desirable if release characteristics are synchronized to plant uptake. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between N dissolution from polyolefin-coated urea (POCU) and N uptake by corn (Zea mays L.) under Andisol field conditions. Cumulative N release (CNR) followed a quadratic curve as a function of either time or cumulative air temperature (CAT). Rate of N dissolution was high at the early growth stages, but gradually decreased with time. The CNR reached about 80% of the total N content of the fertilizer at around 126 d after application or when CAT had reached about 2300 °C. Nitrogen uptake from the fertilizer followed a typical sigmoid curve. Therefore, the fertilizer can supply the N requirements of corn throughout the whole growing period. Since N dissolution can be simulated, it may also be possible to simulate N uptake from POCU by crops. Nitrogen uptake by corn can be predicted in terms of the total amount of N dissolved. Actual recovery of the fertilizer was very high compared with highly soluble fertilizers like (NH4SO4 or urea. Since POCU releases N gradually, depending on variations in temperature when soil moisture is sufficient, recovery by crops is less likely to be influenced by variations in climate, such as the occurrence of heavy rains; hence N losses are minimized. Such characteristics of the fertilizer increases nutrient efficiency and contributes to efforts in controlling pollution. View complete article To view this complete article, insert Disc 5 then click button8