Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulation of urban and regional air pollution in Bangladesh

[1] We have developed a regional scale air quality simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) – Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) to assess the suitability of such an advanced modeling system for predicting the air quality of Bangladesh and its surrounding region. The Regional Emission Inventory in Asia (REAS) was used as the emission input in this modeling approach. Both meteorological and chemical model performance were evaluated with observations including satellite data. Comparison between simulated and observed meteorological parameters revealed that the WRF can generate the necessary meteorological inputs for CMAQ. Comparison of observed and simulated concentrations of different air pollutants revealed that CMAQ greatly underestimates the concentrations of key pollutants. Comparison with satellite observations revealed that CMAQ reproduces the spatial distribution of NO2with some underestimation in Bangladesh and India. The simulated AOD and satellite-retrieved AOD showed good temporal and spatial agreement mutually, with a correlation coefficient of 0.58. Sensitivity simulation using higher horizontal resolution emission data made by re-gridding the REAS inventory with the population distribution improved the CMAQ performance. Nevertheless, CMAQ underestimated the pollutant concentrations in Dhaka. Uncertainties in the emission inventory and in the lack of time variation in emissions input mainly contributed to the model underestimation. Model predictions show that 36–72% PM10 and 15–60% PM2.5 in Dhaka might be contributed from brick kiln emissions in monthly average of January 2004. The chemical composition of PM2.5showed that the considerable amounts of secondary aerosols in Dhaka and carbonaceous components (particularly organic carbon) are most responsible for the model underestimation. Results suggest that improvements of emission inputs and more detailed sensitivity analysis of CMAQ model are important to assess the reliability and applicability of WRF-CMAQ modeling system in this region.
Statistics and secret leakage

In addition to its usual complexity assumptions, cryptography silently assumes that information can be physically protected in a single location. As one can easily imagine, real-life devices are not ideal and information may leak through different physical channels.This paper gives a rigorous definition of leakage immunity and presents several leakage detection tests. In these tests, failure confirms the probable existence of secret-correlated emanations and indicates how likely the leakage is. Success does not refute the existence of emanations but indicates that significant emanations were not detected on the strength of the evidence presented, which of course, leaves the door open to reconsider the situation if further evidence comes to hand at a later date.
Iconic memory requires attention

Two experiments investigated whether attention plays a role in iconic memory, employing either a change detection paradigm (Experiment 1) or a partial-report paradigm (Experiment 2). In each experiment, attention was taxed during initial display presentation, focusing the manipulation on consolidation of information into iconic memory, prior to transfer into working memory. Observers were able to maintain high levels of performance (accuracy of change detection or categorization) even when concurrently performing an easy visual search task (low load). However, when the concurrent search was made difficult (high load), observers' performance dropped to almost chance levels, while search accuracy held at single-task levels. The effects of attentional load remained the same across paradigms. The results suggest that, without attention, participants consolidate in iconic memory only gross representations of the visual scene, information too impoverished for successful detection of perceptual change or categorization of features.
Depth-Resolved Multilayer Pigment Identification in Paintings: Combined Use of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

A detailed feasibility study on the combined use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with optical coherence tomography (LIBS/OCT), aiming at a realistic depth-resolved elemental analysis of multilayer stratigraphies in paintings, is presented. Merging a high spectral resolution LIBS system with a high spatial resolution spectral OCT instrument significantly enhances the quality and accuracy of stratigraphic analysis. First, OCT mapping is employed prior to LIBS analysis in order to assist the selection of specific areas of interest on the painting surface to be examined in detail. Then, intertwined with LIBS, the OCT instrument is used as a precise profilometer for the online determination of the depth of the ablation crater formed by individual laser pulses during LIBS depth-profile analysis. This approach is novel and enables (i) the precise in-depth scaling of elemental concentration profiles, and (ii) the recognition of layer boundaries by estimating the corresponding differences in material ablation rate. Additionally, the latter is supported, within the transparency of the object, by analysis of the OCT cross-sectional views. The potential of this method is illustrated by presenting results on the detailed analysis of the structure of an historic painting on canvas performed to aid planned restoration of the artwork.
Influence of expectations plus mobilization with movement in patient with lateral epicondylalgia: a pilot randomized controlled trial

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of expectations plus mobilization with movement (MWM) in kinesiophobia, perceived disability and sensorimotor variables in patients with lateral epicondylalgia. A pilot randomized controlled trial in 24 patients with lateral epicondylalgia was conducted. Perceived pain, pain-free grip strength, pressure pain detection threshold, kinesiophobia measured with the short version of Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, perceived disability of the upper limb measured with disability of the arm, hand and shoulder questionnaire, and perceived disability specifically for the elbow joint measured with patient-rating tennis elbow evaluation, and also satisfaction were assessed. Participants were randomized to receive written instructions in order to create positive expectations regarding the technique in one group (n=12) or neutral expectations in the other one (n=12). All patients were treated for three sessions with the MWM technique. Measures were recorded before and after treatment. The effect size was calculated by Rosenthal “r” for nonparametrical tests. There were no significant statistical differences (P>0.05) between groups after receiving the treatment for none of the physical analyzed variables. The Wilcoxon test showed statistically significant changes in kinesiophobia (Z=−2.278, r=0.47, P=0.023) and perceived disability (Z= −2.934, r=0.61, P=0.003) within positive expectations group. In conclusion this pilot study shows that a positive expectation almost given in a sealed envelope before treatment plus MWM produced changes in kinesiophobia and perceived disability in the immediate term, in patients with lateral epicondylalgia.
Ligand mediated adhesive mechanics of two deformed spheres

A self-consistent model is developed to investigate attachment / detachment kinetics of two soft, deformable microspheres with irregular surface and coated with flexible binding ligands. The model highlights how the microscale binding kinetics of these ligands as well as the attractive/repulsive potential of the charged surface affects the static deformed configuration of the spheres. It is shown that in the limit of smooth, neutral charged surface (i.e., the Debye length, $\kappa \rightarrow \infty $), interacting via elastic binders (i.e., the stiffness coefficient, $\lambda \rightarrow 0$) the adhesion mechanics approaches the regime of application of the JKR theory, and in this particular limit, the contact radius scales with the particle radius, according to the scaling law, $R_c\propto R^{\frac{2}{3}}$. We show that adhesion dominates in larger particles with highly charged surface and with resilient binders. Normal stress distribution within the contact area fluctuates with the binder stiffness coefficient, from a maximum at the center to a maximum at the periphery of the region. Surface heterogeneities result in a diminished adhesion with a distinct reduction in the pull off force, larger separation gap, weaker normal stress and limited area of adhesion. These results are in agreement with the published experimental findings.
Integrative Analysis of Cancer-Related Signaling Pathways

Identification and classification of cancer types and subtypes is a major issue in current cancer research. Whole genome expression profiling of cancer tissues is often the basis for such subtype classifications of tumors and different signatures for individual cancer types have been described. However, the search for best performing discriminatory gene-expression signatures covering more than one cancer type remains a relevant topic in cancer research as such a signature would help understanding the common changes in signaling networks in these disease types. In this work, we explore the idea of a top down approach for sample stratification based on a module-based network of cancer relevant signaling pathways. For assembly of this network, we consider several of the most established cancer pathways. We evaluate our sample stratification approach using expression data of human breast and ovarian cancer signatures. We show that our approach performs equally well to previously reported methods besides providing the advantage to classify different cancer types. Furthermore, it allows to identify common changes in network module activity of those cancer samples.
Targeting DNA Damage Response in the Radio(Chemo)therapy of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide due to its high incidence and mortality. As the most common lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a terrible threat to human health. Despite improvements in diagnosis and combined treatments including surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the overall survival for NSCLC patients still remains poor. DNA damage is considered to be the primary cause of lung cancer development and is normally recognized and repaired by the intrinsic DNA damage response machinery. The role of DNA repair pathways in radio(chemo)therapy-resistant cancers has become an area of significant interest in the clinical setting. Meanwhile, some studies have proved that genetic and epigenetic factors can alter the DNA damage response and repair, which results in changes of the radiation and chemotherapy curative effect in NSCLC. In this review, we focus on the effect of genetic polymorphisms and epigenetic factors such as miRNA regulation and lncRNA regulation participating in DNA damage repair in response to radio(chemo)therapy in NSCLC. These may provide novel information on the radio(chemo)therapy of NSCLC based on the individual DNA damage response.
Sensor-Based Model Driven Control Strategy for Precision Irrigation

Improving the efficiency of the agricultural irrigation systems substantially contributes to sustainable water management. This improvement can be achieved through an automated irrigation system that includes a real-time control strategy based on the water, soil, and crop relationship. This paper presents a model driven control strategy applied to an irrigation system, in order to make an efficient use of water for large crop fields, that is, applying the correct amount of water in the correct place at the right moment. The proposed model uses a predictive algorithm that senses soil moisture and weather variables, to determine optimal amount of water required by the crop. This proposed approach is evaluated against a traditional irrigation system based on the empirical definition of time periods and against a basic soil moisture control system. Results indicate that the use of a model predictive control in an irrigation system achieves a higher efficiency and significantly reduce the water consumption.
Learning in-contact control strategies from demonstration

Learning to perform tasks like pulling a door handle or pushing a button, inherently easy for a human, can be surprisingly difficult for a robot. A crucial problem in these kinds of in-contact tasks is the context specificity of pose and force requirements. In this paper, a robot learns in-contact tasks from human kinesthetic demonstrations. To address the need to balance between the position and force constraints, we propose a model based on the hidden semi-Markov model (HSMM) and Cartesian impedance control. The model captures uncertainty over time and space and allows the robot to smoothly satisfy a task's position and force constraints by online modulation of impedance controller stiffness according to the HSMM state belief. In experiments, a KUKA LWR 4+ robotic arm equipped with a force/torque sensor at the wrist successfully learns from human demonstrations how to pull a door handle and push a button.
Quivers of monoids with basic algebras

Abstract We compute the quiver of any finite monoid that has a basic algebra over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. More generally, we reduce the computation of the quiver over a splitting field of a class of monoids that we term rectangular monoids (in the semigroup theory literature the class is known as DO) to representation-theoretic computations for group algebras of maximal subgroups. Hence in good characteristic for the maximal subgroups, this gives an essentially complete computation. Since groups are examples of rectangular monoids, we cannot hope to do better than this. For the subclass of ℛ-trivial monoids, we also provide a semigroup-theoretic description of the projective indecomposable modules and compute the Cartan matrix.
Excess risk bounds for multitask learning with trace norm regularization

Trace norm regularization is a popular method of multitask learning. We give excess risk bounds with explicit dependence on the number of tasks, the number of examples per task and properties of the data distribution. The bounds are independent of the dimension of the input space, which may be infinite as in the case of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces. A byproduct of the proof are bounds on the expected norm of sums of random positive semidefinite matrices with subexponential moments.
Outcomes of visual disturbances after methanol poisoning

Introduction. Methanol poisoning and toxic optic neuropathy is still seen worldwide. Little attention has been paid to the persistent visual disturbances following methanol poisoning. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of visual disturbances in methanol-poisoned patients referred to us with visual disturbances. Methods. This retrospective observational case series evaluated the outcomes of visual disturbances in patients with methanol poisoning hospitalized in Loghman Hakim and Hazrat Rasoul Akram hospitals between March 2003 and October 2009. Medical charts were evaluated for age, gender, time between consumption and hospital presentation, gastrointestinal symptoms, abnormal neurological findings at presentation and during hospital admission, arterial blood gas results, treatment modalities, history of chronic diseases, and status of vision at presentation and discharge from the hospital. The patients or their relatives were contacted 1 year after the admission date of the last patient and questioned about the status of the patients' vision at the time of hospital discharge, after discharge, and at the time of phone contacts. Results. A total of 50 patients with methanol poisoning and visual disturbances at presentation survived. Thirty-seven cases were followed; 16 showed visual disturbance improvement before hospital discharge, and 21 had visual disturbance after discharge. Visual disturbances were classified into two groups: severe to total blindness and blurred/snowfield vision. Patients were also grouped into one of four categories: group I: patients whose blurred or snowfield vision completely recovered within up to a maximum of 2 weeks after discharge (n = 7); group II, the patients who were blind at the time of discharge (n = 5) and partially recovered within a maximum of 3–4 weeks; group III, the patients who were blind at the time of discharge and gained no improvement in their vision (n = 5); group IV, who were blind at the time of discharge, partially recovered within few days to approximately 1 month and experienced reduced vision and blindness after about a maximum of 9 months (n = 4). Patients whose visual disturbances improved with treatment and the patients in group I were considered as transient (n = 23) and groups II, III, and IV as permanent visual disturbance cases (n = 14). Significant difference was not seen in age, sex, elapsed time to presentation, gastrointestinal symptoms, abnormal neurological and CT findings, and arterial blood gas results at presentation between the transient and permanent visual disturbance groups. No association existed between the visual disturbance and abnormal neurological and CT findings. Conclusion. Blurred or snowfield vision in methanol poisoning resolved. However, outcomes of the blindness cannot be predicted. Insome patients, blindness improves but these patients eventually experience reduced vision afterwards.
An Update on the Genetics of Usher Syndrome

Usher syndrome (USH) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by hearing loss, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), and, in some cases, vestibular dysfunction. It is clinically and genetically heterogeneous and is the most common cause underlying deafness and blindness of genetic origin. Clinically, USH is divided into three types. Usher type I (USH1) is the most severe form and is characterized by severe to profound congenital deafness, vestibular areflexia, and prepubertal onset of progressive RP. Type II (USH2) displays moderate to severe hearing loss, absence of vestibular dysfunction, and later onset of retinal degeneration. Type III (USH3) shows progressive postlingual hearing loss, variable onset of RP, and variable vestibular response. To date, five USH1 genes have been identified: MYO7A (USH1B), CDH23 (USH1D), PCDH15 (USH1F), USH1C(USH1C), and USH1G(USH1G). Three genes are involved in USH2, namely, USH2A (USH2A), GPR98 (USH2C), and DFNB31 (USH2D). USH3 is rare except in certain populations, and the gene responsible for this type is USH3A.
Automatic Morphology-Based Brain Segmentation (MBRASE) from MRI-T1 Data

A method called morphology-based brain segmentation (MBRASE) has been developed for fully automatic segmentation of the brain from T1-weighted MR image data. The starting point is a supervised segmentation technique, which has proven highly effective and accurate for quantitation and visualization purposes. The proposed method automates the required user interaction, i.e., defining a seed point and a threshold range, and is based on the simple operations thresholding, erosion, and geodesic dilation. The thresholds are detected in a region growing process and are defined by connections of the brain to other tissues. The method is first evaluated on three computer simulated datasets by comparing the automated segmentations with the original distributions. The second evaluation is done on a total of 30 patient datasets, by comparing the automated segmentations with supervised segmentations carried out by a neuroanatomy expert. The comparison between two binary segmentations is performed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The automated segmentations are found to be accurate and robust. Consequently, the proposed method can be used as a default segmentation for quantitation and visualization of the human brain from T1-weighted MR images in routine clinical procedures.
The influence of dexamethasone on Hsp70 level and association with glucocorticoid receptor in the liver of unstressed and heat-stressed rats

Summary: The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of dexamethasone on the levels of heat shock protein Hsp70 and glucocorticoid hormones receptor, as well as on the interaction of these two proteins in the liver cytosol and nuclei of unstressed and rats exposed to whole body hyperthermic stress. The results, obtained by quantitative immunoblotting, have shown that dexamethasone provoked a reduction of Hsp70 basal level and an increase in its stress-induced level in the nuclei, supporting the idea that this hormone may be a factor included in the regulation of Hsp70 level both under normal and stress conditions. The cytosolic reduction and nuclear elevation of the glucocorticoid hormones receptor level by dexamethasone were also observed. Coimmunopurification of Hsp70 and glucocorticoid hormones receptor has revealed that the changes of cytosolic and nuclear levels of the two examined proteins resulted in the changes of their interaction within the respective cellular compartments. Thus, 41 °C heat stress, was shown to cause at least two-fold elevation of Hsp70/GR ratio within the glucocorticoid hormones receptor heterocomplexes both in the presence and in the absence of dexamethasone. The results support the view that glucocorticoid hormones signaling pathway and heat shock system are interrelated.
Intraductal biliopancreatic imaging: European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) technology review

This technology review expresses the current view of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) on the available techniques for intraductal biliopancreatic imaging. The three cholangioscopy techniques are described: the “dual-operator” and “ single-operator” mother-baby approaches using dedicated instruments, and the “direct” technique using currently available ultrathin gastroscopes. The mother-baby method is standardized and reproducible, while direct cholangioscopy is technically demanding and its safety requires further evaluation. As well as direct visualization of the bile ducts, cholangioscopy has the further advantage of allowing targeted biopsy. Image quality is still suboptimal for single-operator cholangioscopy, while the other techniques have achieved adequately detailed imaging. The costs of mother-baby cholangioscopy are high and its application in clinical practice should be restricted to selected cases (i.e. indeterminate biliary strictures/intraluminal lesions, difficult biliary stones) and to the setting of tertiary care centers. Peroral pancreatoscopy may find an indication in situations where other imaging modalities (mainly EUS) are inconclusive (i.e. delineation of main duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasia extension, sampling of indeterminate main pancreatic duct strictures) Intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) has a poorer performance than EUS in the staging of pancreatic malignancies and can increase the risk of pancreatitis. A promising indication for IDUS could be the evaluation of indeterminate biliary strictures and ampullary tumors. Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) of the bile ducts is a difficult and expensive technique. Appropriate training needs to be established, since interpretation of images is challenging. pCLE can be an important diagnostic tool in the setting of indeterminate biliary strictures.