Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A method for detecting season‐dependent modes of climate variability: S‐EOF analysis

Anomalous climate is often regulated by the annual cycle. Based on this physical consideration, we propose a new method termed as Season‐reliant Empirical Orthogonal Function (S‐EOF) analysis to detect major modes of climate variability. The S‐EOF analysis of Indo‐Pacific SST during the past 54 years reveals two statistically significant leading modes, which are not obtainable by using conventional EOF analysis. These modes represent the Indo‐Pacific Low‐Frequency (LF) and Quasi‐Biennial (QB) modes associated ENSO, and reveal the fundamental differences between the LF and QB modes in their seasonal evolution, fractional variance structure, and interdecadal variation and trend. The interdecadal variability is coupled with the LF mode, suggesting that decadal‐interdecadal SST variation is primarily represented by the ENSO‐like interdecadal regime shift in the late 1970s. A warming trend is mingled with the QB mode, accounting for a large portion of the local SST variability in the Maritime Continent‐western Pacific horseshoe region.
Neuron-MOS Current Mirror Circuit and Its Application to Multi-Valued Logic

A neuron-MOS transistor (νMOS) is applied to current-mode multi-valued logic (MVL) circuits. First, a novel low-voltage and low-power νMOS current mirror is presented. Then, a threshold detector and a quaternary T-gate using the proposed νMOS current mirrors are proposed. The minimum output voltage of the νMOS current mirror is decreased by VT (threshold voltage), compared with the conventional double cascode current mirror. The νMOS threshold detector is built on a νMOS current comparator originally composed of νMOS current mirrors. It has a high output swing and sharp transfer characteristics. The gradient of the proposed comparator output in the transfer region can be increased 6.3-fold compared with that in the conventional comparator. Along with improved operation of the novel current comparator, the discriminative ability of the proposed νMOS threshold detector is also increased. The performances of the proposed circuits are validated by HSPICE with Motorola 1.5 μm CMOS device parameters. Furthermore, the operation of a νMOS current mirror is also confirmed through experiments on test chips fabricated by VDEC . The active area of the proposed νMOS current mirror is 63 μm × 51 μm. key words: neuron-MOS transistor, multi-valued logic, currentmode circuit, current mirror, current comparator, threshold detector, T-gate, integrated circuit
Preservation of diffusion tensor properties during spatial normalization by use of tensor imaging and fibre tracking on a normal brain database

White matter connectivity in the human brain can be mapped by diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI). After reconstruction, the diffusion tensors, the diffusion amplitude and the diffusion direction can be displayed on a morphological background. Consequently, diffusion tensor fibre tracking can be applied as a non-invasive in vivo technique for the delineation and quantification of specific white matter pathways. The aim of this study was to show that normalization to the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) stereotaxic standard space preserves specific diffusion features. Therefore, techniques for tensor imaging and fibre tracking were applied to the normalized brains as well as to the group averaged brain data. A normalization step of individual data was included by registration to a scanner- and sequence-specific DTI template data set which was created from a normal database transformed to MNI space. The algorithms were tested and validated for a group of 13 healthy controls.
DRD3 Ser9Gly variant is not associated with essential tremor in a series of Italian patients

Background: Essential tremor (ET) is the most common movement disorder worldwide. Three susceptibility loci on chromosomes 3q13, 2p24.1, and 6p23 have been reported, but no causative genes were found. The Ser9Gly variant of dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) receptor was found associated to ET in a French and US population. Methods: A case–control study to evaluate the association between the Ser9Gly variant and ET was performed in a cohort of 116 Italian patients with familial ET and in 158 normal controls. Results: No significant difference in allele and genotype frequencies was found between the two groups. Conclusions: These results do not support an association between DRD3 Ser9Gly and susceptibility to ET in Italian patients.
Evaluation of cognitive loads imposed by traditional paper-based and innovative computer-based instructional strategies.

Strategies of presenting instructional information affect the type of cognitive load imposed on the learner's working memory. Effective instruction reduces extraneous (ineffective) cognitive load and promotes germane (effective) cognitive load. Eighty first-year students from two veterinary schools completed a two-section questionnaire that evaluated their perspectives on the educational value of a computer-based instructional program. They compared the difference between cognitive loads imposed by paper-based and computer-based instructional strategies used to teach the anatomy of the canine skeleton. Section I included 17 closed-ended items, rated on a five-point Likert scale, that assessed the use of graphics, content, and the learning process. Section II included a nine-point mental effort rating scale to measure the level of difficulty of instruction; students were asked to indicate the amount of mental effort invested in the learning task using both paper-based and computer-based presentation formats. The closed-ended data were expressed as means and standard deviations. A paired t test with an alpha level of 0.05 was used to determine the overall mean difference between the two presentation formats. Students positively evaluated their experience with the computer-based instructional program with a mean score of 4.69 (SD=0.53) for use of graphics, 4.70 (SD=0.56) for instructional content, and 4.45 (SD=0.67) for the learning process. The mean difference of mental effort (1.50) between the two presentation formats was significant, t=8.26, p≤. 0001, df=76, for two-tailed distribution. Consistent with cognitive load theory, innovative computer-based instructional strategies decrease extraneous cognitive load compared with traditional paper-based instructional strategies.
Perinatal cortical infarction within middle cerebral artery trunks

AIM To define neonatal pial middle cerebral artery infarction. METHODS A retrospective study was made of neonates in whom focal arterial infarction had been detected ultrasonographically. A detailed study was made of cortical middle cerebral artery infarction subtypes. RESULTS Forty infarctions, with the exception of those in a posterior cerebral artery, were detected ultrasonographically over a period of 10 years. Most were confirmed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Factor V Leiden heterozygosity was documented in three. The onset was probably antepartum in three, and associated with fetal distress before labour in one. There were 19 cases of cortical middle cerebral artery stroke. The truncal type (n=13) was more common than complete (n = 5) middle cerebral artery infarction. Of six infarcts in the anterior trunk, four were in term infants and five affected the right hemisphere. Clinical seizures were part of the anterior truncal presentation in three. One of these infants, with involvement of the primary motor area, developed a severe motor hemisyndrome. The Bayley Mental Developmental Index was above 80 in all of three infants tested with anterior truncal infarction. Of seven patients with posterior truncal infarction, six were at or near term. Six of these lesions were left sided. Clinical seizures were observed in three. A mild motor hemisyndrome developed in at least three of these infants due to involvement of parieto-temporal non-primary cortex. CONCLUSIONS Inability to differentiate between truncal and complete middle cerebral artery stroke is one of the explanations for the reported different outcomes. Severe motor hemisyndrome can be predicted from neonatal ultrasonography on the basis of primary motor cortex involvement. Clinical seizures were recognised in less than half of the patients with truncal infarction; left sided presentation was present in the posterior, but not the anterior truncal type of infarction. Asphyxia is a rare cause of focal arterial infarction.
Performance analytic processes in elite sport practice: An exploratory investigation of the perspectives of a sport scientist, coach and athlete

In recent years, there have been an increasing number of studies exploring the benefits of performance analysis both for sports and the sport sciences. Comparatively little empirical research exists, however, pertaining directly to the application and use of performance analysis. The aim of this paper is to explore the in-practice application of performance analysis. A sport scientist, an international coach and a former professional athlete, all having used performance analysis and unrelated to each other, were interviewed on their extensive experience in the use of performance analysis. The results indicated that, although the object and receiver of performance analysis process, the athlete is not included in the process itself, with the coach acting as the gatekeeper. An extrapolative argument is made with regards to the potential impacts of this practice, not least those on the motivation of the athlete.
Of Streams and Storms

The past few years have witnessed an unparalleled surge in both structured and unstructured data being generated by heterogeneous sources. These sources vary from scientific computations and sensor network deployments to high frequency financial markets and Web 2.0 applications. This has in tandem engendered an entire ecosystem of high-level computation frameworks targeting batch, streaming, iterative, and incremental applications, which abstract away the details of distributed computation underneath simple APIs. In a similar vein, the need to store datasets pre-and post-analysis has led to innovation in traditional DBMS, NoSQL stores, and distributed file systems. On the infrastructure side, due to economies of scale, the computation and storage model is supported by commodity off-the-shelf hardware. A key goal of organizations which crunch these datasets, is to get timely results with sub-second latency. This real-time computation requirement is naturally fulfilled by stream processing systems, which enable analysis on data in motion. IBM InfoSphere Streams is an award-winning product in this domain, enabling line-rate processing of real-time data streams for an extremely wide range of analytics because it both provides out of the box analytic capabilities and allows for easy extension with Java and C++ logic. The underlying engine is supported by the Stream Processing Language (SPL), which allows practitioners to define complex analytic applications using very simple constructs. This combined with a custom Integrated Development Environment (IDE) facilitates a rich ecosystem for stream processing where the practitioner primarily focuses on the desired analytics while the platform does all the heavy lifting. In this paper, we compare the performance of IBM InfoSphere Streams against Apache Storm [1], a leading open source alternative, to augment existing literature [2]. To this end, we implemented a real-world stream processing application, which enables email classification for online spam detection [3] on both platforms. Our goal was to analyze both the quantitative differences in performance as well as the qualitative differences in application writing and framework tuning. Similar to other studies [4, 5], we employed CPU time and throughput as primary metrics to compare the efficacy of both systems. Overall, our results show that for the application benchmark documented in this paper, Streams outperforms Storm by 2.6 to 12.3 times in terms of throughput while simultaneously consuming 5.5 to 14.2 times less CPU time. The measurements we made and the particular system environments used are described in this paper. Notably, the outcomes from this study show that the CPU …
Dynamical Mass Estimates for Incomplete Orbits: Young Multiple Stars in Taurus and Ophiuchus

We present recent measurements of the orbital motion in the binaries DF Tau and ZZ Tau and in the triples Elias 12, T Tau, and V853 Oph. We observed these systems with the Fine Guidance Sensors on the Hubble Space Telescope and with adaptive optics imaging at the W. M. Keck and Gemini North Observatories. Based on our measurements and those presented in the literature we perform preliminary orbital analyses for DF Tau, ZZ Tau, Elias 12 Na-Nb, and T Tau Sa-Sb. Because the orbital coverage in most of these systems does not yet span a sufficient portion of the orbit, we are not able to find definitive orbit solutions. By using a Monte Carlo search technique we explored the orbital parameter space allowed by the current set of data available for each binary. We constructed weighted distributions for the total mass of the binaries derived from a large sample of possible orbits that fit the data. These mass distributions show that the total mass is already well defined. We compute total mass estimates of 0.78, 0.66, 1.13, and 4.13 M⊙ for DF Tau, ZZ Tau, Elias 12 Na-Nb, and T Tau Sa-Sb, respectively, using a distance of 140 pc. For Elias 12 Na-Nb, where the orbital coverage spans ∼164°, we compute a preliminary orbit solution with a period of ∼9-12 yr. By including an earlier lunar occultation measurement, we also find a likely orbit solution for ZZ Tau with a period of ∼32 yr. With additional measurements to continue mapping the orbits the derived dynamical masses will be useful in constraining the theoretical tracks of pre-main-sequence evolution.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Farmers: A Systematic Review

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant public health problem but it is unclear whether agricultural work causes an increased risk of disease. The aim of this review was to study COPD risk among farmers and analyze occupational exposures in agricultural workplaces. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify epidemiological studies investigating COPD prevalence in farmers. Results: In the 14 studies reviewed, COPD prevalence ranged from 3% to 68% due to different characteristics of study population, working activities, case definition/diagnosis. Livestock farmers were at higher risk and significant associations were observed for exposure to organic dusts, endotoxins, mites, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide. Conclusions: Farming work was associated with greater risk of developing COPD. However, considering the several variables that may influence the disease prevalence in farmers, we suggest the adoption of a standardized research strategy.
Measuring and fingerprinting click-spam in ad networks

Advertising plays a vital role in supporting free websites and smartphone apps. Click-spam, i.e., fraudulent or invalid clicks on online ads where the user has no actual interest in the advertiser's site, results in advertising revenue being misappropriated by click-spammers. While ad networks take active measures to block click-spam today, the effectiveness of these measures is largely unknown. Moreover, advertisers and third parties have no way of independently estimating or defending against click-spam. In this paper, we take the first systematic look at click-spam. We propose the first methodology for advertisers to independently measure click-spam rates on their ads. We also develop an automated methodology for ad networks to proactively detect different simultaneous click-spam attacks. We validate both methodologies using data from major ad networks. We then conduct a large-scale measurement study of click-spam across ten major ad networks and four types of ads. In the process, we identify and perform in-depth analysis on seven ongoing click-spam attacks not blocked by major ad networks at the time of this writing. Our findings highlight the severity of the click-spam problem, especially for mobile ads.
TRIANGULATING PSYCHOPOMP, BOT AND AVATAR TO CREATE A TECHNO-PSYCHOGOGIC LEARNING ACTIVITY SYSTEM FOR AUTISM TREATMENT

The number of individuals diagnosed with autism has increased drastically from 2 to 4 per 10,000 births in the 1990’s to 60 to 116 per 10,000 births in the 2000’s. As a result, many countries, especially in Europe and North America, have channeled their resources into research to address the autism epidemic in two main aspects: (1) to understand the onset and causes of autism in order to develop better diagnostic screening tools; and (2) to determine the effectiveness of a wide range of intervention strategies to treat autism. This paper focuses on the latter basing on two treatment approaches: psychogogy and technogogy. Psychogogy, literally means to lead the mind, involves corrective, remedial, assistive and/or compensatory strategies to modify the mind’s processes in order to maximize learning and behavioral potentials. Technogogy, literally means to be led by technology, refers to the convergence of technology, pedagogy and content in the transformative use of technology to foster learning and behavior development. In the psychogogic domain, a guiding agent known as psychopomp is needed to enter an autistic mind in order to understand it to help that individual. In the technogogic domain, there are two types of guiding agents: the bot and the avatar. The former is an autonomous computer software that operates as an agent for a user or a program to simulate a human activity, while the latter is a user’s customizable on-screen character or persona in a computer game. Each of these guiding agents is a learning activity system. Understanding and triangulating all these three systems to integrate both psychogogy and technogogy will provide a new autism treatment framework with a fresh techno-psychogogic perspective.
Localization of prostate‐specific antigen‐like immunoreactivity in human salivary gland and salivary gland tumors

Immunoreactivity of prostate‐specific antigen (PSA), a kallikrein‐like enzyme present in the seminal plasma, was demonstrated by indirect immunoperoxidase staining using a PSA antiserum in the apical cytoplasm along the luminal border of small‐sized duct epithelial cells of the major salivary (parotid and submandibular) gland of both sexes (56/56, 100%). No PSA‐like immunoreactivity was seen in large‐sized duct epithelial cells and acinar cells. Minor salivary gland ducts were negative. When inflammatory and atrophic changes were observed, ductal expression of PSA‐like immunoreactivity was decreased (12/37, 32%) and the site of intracellular localization often became diffusely cytoplasmic. The immunoreactivity was absorbed by human seminal plasma. Immunoreactivities of prostatic acid phosphatase and sex hormone receptors were undetectable in the salivary gland. Twenty‐nine (34%) of 86 salivary gland tumors with ductal differentiation were immunoreactive for PSA mainly in the cytoplasm. A PSA monoclonal antibody ER‐PR8 detected immunoreactivity in the prostate but not in the salivary glands or their tumors. Prostate‐specific antigen‐like immunoreactivity in small‐sized (intercalated) duct epithelial cells of the major salivary gland and their tumors may be due to cross‐reactivity of the antiserum with kallikrein‐like substances.
Spillovers in Industrial Districts

We study the role of social interaction (SI) in determining firms' employment adjustments in industrial districts. We assume that SI matters only among firms that are both similar and geographically close. Our first test of this assumption is based on the correlation between individual and aggregate measures of employment adjustments. Exploiting the richness of our data, we directly address the problems of self-selection and unobserved common shocks that plague most of the empirical literature. Our second test shows that, as theory predicts, spillovers give rise to amplified responses to shocks and bunching of adjustments. This gives further support to the role of SI in industrial clusters and suggests that information spillovers, according to which firms' actions convey useful information about a common problem, are one of the channels through which they take place. Copyright 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation Royal Economic Society 2007.
Facial landmark detection via pose-induced auto-encoder networks

Facial landmark detection is an important issue in a face recognition system. However, human faces in wild conditions often present large variations in shape due to different poses, occlusions or expressions, which makes it a difficult task. Instead of learning the same map for all images, we propose a Pose-Induced Auto-encoder Networks (PIAN) approach which uses different pose-induced networks for landmark estimation under different pose conditions. Firstly, we build a network to simultaneously get the initial landmark and pose estimation. Then, different networks which are induced by the estimated pose are built for local search where a component-based searching method is explored. By using the pose inducing strategy, the initial estimation is reliable and it helps reduce the variations in local patches. This makes the component-based search feasible and more accurate than previous searching methods. Experiments show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms especially in terms of fine estimation of landmarks.
Subcutaneous injections of low-dose veltuzumab (humanized anti-CD20 antibody) are safe and active in patients with indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Background Subcutaneous injections of anti-CD20 antibodies may offer benefits to both patients and the healthcare system for treatment of B-cell malignancies. Design and Methods A pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the potential for subcutaneous dosing with 2nd generation anti-CD20 antibody veltuzumab in patients with CD20+ indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Patients with previously untreated or relapsed disease received 4 doses of 80, 160, or 320 mg veltuzumab injected subcutaneously every two weeks. Responses were assessed by computed tomography scans, with other evaluations including adverse events, safety laboratories, B-cell blood levels, serum veltuzumab levels, and human anti-veltuzumab antibody (HAHA) titers. Results Seventeen patients (14 follicular lymphoma; 13 stage III or IV disease; 5 treatment-naive) completed treatment with only occasional, mild-moderate, transient injection reactions and no other safety issues. Subcutaneous veltuzumab demonstrated a slow release pattern over several days, achieving a mean Cmax of 19, 25 and 63 μg/mL at 80, 160, and 320 mg doses for a total of 4 administrations, respectively. Depletion of circulating B cells occurred after the first injection. The objective response rate (partial responses plus complete responses plus complete responses unconfirmed) was 47% (8/17) with a complete response/complete response unconfirmed rate of 24% (4/17); 4 of 8 objective responses continued for 60 weeks or more. All serum samples evaluated for human anti-veltuzumab antibody were negative. Conclusions Subcutaneous injections of low-dose veltuzumab are convenient, well tolerated, and capable of achieving sustained serum levels, B-cell depletion, and durable objective responses in indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00546793)