Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Calibration and sequential updating of a coupled hydrologic-hydraulic model using remote sensing-derived water stages

Abstract. Two of the most relevant components of any flood forecasting system, namely the rainfall-runoff and flood inundation models, increasingly benefit from the availability of spatially distributed Earth Observation data. With the advent of microwave remote sensing instruments and their all weather capabilities, new opportunities have emerged over the past decade for improved hydrologic and hydraulic model calibration and validation. However, the usefulness of remote sensing observations in coupled hydrologic and hydraulic models still requires further investigations. Radar remote sensing observations are readily available to provide information on flood extent. Moreover, the fusion of radar imagery and high precision digital elevation models allows estimating distributed water levels. With a view to further explore the potential offered by SAR images, this paper investigates the usefulness of remote sensing-derived water stages in a modelling sequence where the outputs of hydrologic models (rainfall-runoff models) serve as boundary condition of flood inundation models. The methodology consists in coupling a simplistic 3-parameter conceptual rainfall-runoff model with a 1-D flood inundation model. Remote sensing observations of flooded areas help to identify and subsequently correct apparent volume errors in the modelling chain. The updating of the soil moisture module of the hydrologic model is based on the comparison of water levels computed by the coupled hydrologic-hydraulic model with those estimated using remotely sensed flood extent. The potential of the proposed methodology is illustrated with data collected during a storm event on the Alzette River (Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg). The study contributes to assess the value of remote sensing data for evaluating the saturation status of a river basin.
Throughput analysis of IEEE 802.11 DCF over correlated fading channel in MANET

The throughput of 802.11 DCF over correlated fading channel in MANET are investigated in this paper. By obtaining the analytical representation of saturation throughput of 802.11 DCF over correlated fading channel, we get the impact of frame length and the mobile speed on throughput. Study shows the throughput decreases with the increase of mobile velocity and there exists an optimal frame length to maximize throughput under a certain velocity. Moreover, the optimal length is independent of the number of nodes.
Pruning System and Foliar Application of MgSO4 Alter Yield and Secondary Metabolite Profile of Rosa damascena under Rainfed Acidic Conditions

Damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) is one of the most high-value essential oil-bearing plants in the world. However, the flower yield and quality of essential oil of R. damascena are largely influenced by the pruning practices and balanced supply of plant nutrition. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis whether the pruning system and foliar fertilization of MgSO4 would influence the flower yield, growth and secondary metabolites profile of R. damascena. A field experiment of 10 treatment combinations comprising two pruning systems (complete and partial) and five levels of MgSO4 (water spray, MgSO4 @ 5.0g L-1, 10.0g L-1,15.0g L-1, and 20.0g L-1) was conducted. The experiment was conducted in randomized block design with factorial arrangement. Overall, the flower yield ranged from 503.66 to 1114.47 g bush-1, while oil content varied from 0.039 to 0.046% of the fresh flower. Irrespective of foliar spray, partial pruning produced significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher flower yield (893.02 and 503.66 g bush-1) compared with complete pruning system in both the years. Regardless of pruning system, the foliar application of MgSO4 @ 15.0g L-1 registered about 26–38% higher flower yield compared with water spray control. The major constituents of essential oil were citronellol (19.75–48.88%), E-geraniol (9.63–29.6%), Z-citral (0.07–5.97%), nonadecane (6.76–22.32%), and heneicosane (2.87–10.21%). The principal component analysis revealed that the major hydrocarbons such as nonadecene, nonadecane, and heptadecane are positively and highly correlated with each others. The results suggest that higher yield and quality of R. damascena can be achieved through partial pruning system in combination with foliar application MgSO4 under rainfed acidic conditions.
Hepatitis C virus infection as a risk factor for Parkinson disease

Objective: To determine whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a risk factor for developing Parkinson disease (PD). Methods: This nationwide population-based cohort study was based on data obtained from a dataset of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for the period 2000 to 2010. A total of 49,967 patients with viral hepatitis were included for analysis. Furthermore, 199,868 people without viral hepatitis were included for comparisons. Patients with viral hepatitis were further grouped into 3 cohorts: hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, HCV infection, and HBV-HCV coinfection. In each cohort, we calculated the incidence of developing PD. A Cox proportional hazards model was applied to estimate the risk of developing PD in terms of hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The crude HRs for developing PD was 0.66 (95% CI = 0.55–0.80) for HBV infection, 2.50 (95% CI = 2.07–3.02) for HCV infection, and 1.28 (95% CI = 0.88–1.85) for HBV-HCV coinfection. The association between HCV and PD remained statistically significant after adjustments for age, sex, and comorbidities (adjusted HR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.06–1.56). Conclusions: We conducted a large nationwide population-based study and found that patients with HCV exhibit a significantly increased risk of developing PD.
Measurement of perceived and expected inflation on the basis of consumer survey data

This paper discusses measurement techniques used in the literature to quantify inflation perception and expectations on the basis of qualitative survey data. Description of quantification methods and assessment of their strengths and weaknesses is supplemented with an overview of direct measures of consumer inflation expectations in the European Union quantified with a number of techniques. Except presenting quantification methods, constraints in their interpretation and their results, the paper describes how direct measures of inflation expectations are used in central banks nowadays. JEL: C83, D84
Urinary angiotensinogen as a potential biomarker of diabetic nephropathy

Background Activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) is an important mediator of diabetic nephropathy. Urinary angiotensinogen, a novel biomarker of the intrarenal RAAS, is associated with progressive kidney injury. In this study, the authors investigated the determinants of urinary angiotensinogen and its associations with staging of diabetic nephropathy. Methods Random urine samples were collected from the patients with type 2 diabetes with normoalbuminuria (n = 52), microalbuminuria (n = 52) and macroalbuminuria (n = 51) for the measurement of angiotensinogen by sensitive and specific ELISAs. Control samples were collected from healthy volunteers (n = 20) who had normal albuminuria and renal function. Results Urinary angiotensinogen was higher in microalbuminuric and macroalbuminuric diabetes than in controls [63.44 (interquartile range, IQR: 22.08, 174.8) versus 398.38 (IQR: 205.03, 673.68) versus 9.12 (IQR: 3.76, 23.82) ng/mg creatinine, respectively, P < 0.001]. In diabetes with normoalbuminuria, urinary angiotensinogen was also higher than in controls [16.42 (IQR: 7.69, 34.71) versus 9.12 (IQR: 3.76, 23.82) ng/mg creatinine, P = 0.047]. The performance of the biomarker in differentiating each stage of type 2 diabetes from controls was illustrated by receiver-operating characteristic curves. The areas under the curve for the diagnosis of established normoalbuminuric, microalbuminuric and macroalbuminuric type 2 diabetes using urine angiotensinogen (ng/mg creatinine) were 0.62 (95% CI: 0.48–0.77), 0.85 (95% CI: 0.76–0.94) and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.92–1.00), respectively. In addition, the cut-off levels were 9.30 ng/mg (sensitivity 65.4%, specificity 55.0%), 12.32 ng/mg (sensitivity 55.8%, specificity 65.0%) and 17.44 ng/mg (sensitivity 44.2%, specificity 70.0%), respectively, for distinguishing normoalbuminuric type 2 diabetes from healthy controls. Conclusions The authors propose that angiotensinogen could be one of the potential urinary biomarkers for diagnosis in established diabetic nephropathy. It appeared even before the significant albuminuria in diabetic nephropathy. It might be useful as an early biomarker of activation of the renin–angiotensin system in diabetic nephropathy.
On Modeling Profiles Instead of Values

We consider the problem of estimating the distribution underlying an observed sample of data. Instead of maximum likelihood, which maximizes the probability of the observed values, we propose a different estimate, the high-profile distribution, which maximizes the probability of the observed profile---the number of symbols appearing any given number of times. We determine the high-profile distribution of several data samples, establish some of its general properties, and show that when the number of distinct symbols observed is small compared to the data size, the high-profile and maximum-likelihood distributions are roughly the same, but when the number of symbols is large, the distributions differ, and high-profile better explains the data.
Comparative Analysis of Salivary Gland Proteomes of Two Glossina Species that Exhibit Differential Hytrosavirus Pathologies

Glossina pallidipes salivary gland hypertrophy virus (GpSGHV; family Hytrosaviridae) is a dsDNA virus exclusively pathogenic to tsetse flies (Diptera; Glossinidae). The 190 kb GpSGHV genome contains 160 open reading frames and encodes more than 60 confirmed proteins. The asymptomatic GpSGHV infection in flies can convert to symptomatic infection that is characterized by overt salivary gland hypertrophy (SGH). Flies with SGH show reduced general fitness and reproductive dysfunction. Although the occurrence of SGH is an exception rather than the rule, G. pallidipes is thought to be the most susceptible to expression of overt SGH symptoms compared to other Glossina species that are largely asymptomatic. Although Glossina salivary glands (SGs) play an essential role in GpSGHV transmission, the functions of the salivary components during the virus infection are poorly understood. In this study, we used mass spectrometry to study SG proteomes of G. pallidipes and G. m. morsitans, two Glossina model species that exhibit differential GpSGHV pathologies (high and low incidence of SGH, respectively). A total of 540 host proteins were identified, of which 23 and 9 proteins were significantly up- and down-regulated, respectively, in G. pallidipes compared to G. m. morsitans. Whereas 58 GpSGHV proteins were detected in G. pallidipes F1 progenies, only 5 viral proteins were detected in G. m. morsitans. Unlike in G. pallidipes, qPCR assay did not show any significant increase in virus titers in G. m. morsitans F1 progenies, confirming that G. m. morsitans is less susceptible to GpSGHV infection and replication compared to G. pallidipes. Based on our results, we speculate that in the case of G. pallidipes, GpSGHV employs a repertoire of host intracellular signaling pathways for successful infection. In the case of G. m. morsitans, antiviral responses appeared to be dominant. These results are useful for designing additional tools to investigate the Glossina-GpSGHV interactions.
Cell-Extrinsic Effects of Tumor ER Stress Imprint Myeloid Dendritic Cells and Impair CD8+ T Cell Priming

Tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells, such as dendritic cells (BMDC), are key regulators of tumor growth. However, the tumor-derived signals polarizing BMDC to a phenotype that subverts cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity have yet to be fully elucidated. Addressing this unresolved problem we show that the tumor unfolded protein response (UPR) can function in a cell-extrinsic manner via the transmission of ER stress (TERS) to BMDC. TERS-imprinted BMDC upregulate the production of pro-inflammatory, tumorigenic cytokines but also the immunosuppressive enzyme arginase. Importantly, they downregulate cross-presentation of high-affinity antigen and fail to effectively cross-prime CD8+ T cells, causing T cell activation without proliferation and similarly dominantly suppress cross-priming by bystander BMDC. Lastly, TERS-imprinted BMDC facilitate tumor growth in vivo with fewer tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells. In sum, we demonstrate that tumor-borne ER stress imprints ab initio BMDC to a phenotype that recapitulates several of the inflammatory/suppressive characteristics ascribed to tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells, highlighting the tumor UPR as a critical controller of anti-tumor immunity and a new target for immune modulation in cancer.
A Scheme for Indoor Localization through RF Profiling

We present a certain approach to indoor location tracking based on sensing the strength of received RF signal. Our scheme employs a database of signal strength readings from known locations collected during a prerequisite profiling stage. Subsequently, the problem of estimating the location of a node emitting an RF signal from an unknown place boils down to data mining in the database—to select a best matched set of profile points and then average the coordinates of those points into an approximate location of the tracked sender. We show preliminary experimental results which confirm our hope that this approach will result in a better accuracy than, e.g., triangulation based schemes.
Growth in free groups (and other stories)

We start by studying the distribution of (cyclically reduced) elements of the free groups with respect to their abelianization. We derive an explicit generating function, and a limiting distribution, by means of certain results (of independent interest) on Chebyshev polynomials; we also prove that the reductions $\mod p$ ($p$ -- an arbitrary prime) of these classes are asymptotically equidistributed, and we study the deviation from equidistribution. We extend our techniques to a more general setting and use them to study the statistical properties of long cycles (and paths) on regular (directed and undirected) graphs. We return to the free group to study some growth functions of the number of conjugacy classes as a function of their cyclically reduced length.
The Early Origin of the Antarctic Marine Fauna and Its Evolutionary Implications

The extensive Late Cretaceous – Early Paleogene sedimentary succession of Seymour Island, N.E. Antarctic Peninsula offers an unparalleled opportunity to examine the evolutionary origins of a modern polar marine fauna. Some 38 modern Southern Ocean molluscan genera (26 gastropods and 12 bivalves), representing approximately 18% of the total modern benthic molluscan fauna, can now be traced back through at least part of this sequence. As noted elsewhere in the world, the balance of the molluscan fauna changes sharply across the Cretaceous – Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary, with gastropods subsequently becoming more diverse than bivalves. A major reason for this is a significant radiation of the Neogastropoda, which today forms one of the most diverse clades in the sea. Buccinoidea is the dominant neogastropod superfamily in both the Paleocene Sobral Formation (SF) (56% of neogastropod genera) and Early - Middle Eocene La Meseta Formation (LMF) (47%), with the Conoidea (25%) being prominent for the first time in the latter. This radiation of Neogastropoda is linked to a significant pulse of global warming that reached at least 65°S, and terminates abruptly in the upper LMF in an extinction event that most likely heralds the onset of global cooling. It is also possible that the marked Early Paleogene expansion of neogastropods in Antarctica is in part due to a global increase in rates of origination following the K/Pg mass extinction event. The radiation of this and other clades at ∼65°S indicates that Antarctica was not necessarily an evolutionary refugium, or sink, in the Early – Middle Eocene. Evolutionary source – sink dynamics may have been significantly different between the Paleogene greenhouse and Neogene icehouse worlds.
Contribution of Genoarchitecture to Understanding Forebrain Evolution and Development, with Particular Emphasis on the Amygdala

The amygdala is a forebrain center involved in functions and behaviors that are critical for survival (such as control of the neuroendocrine system and homeostasis, and reproduction and fear/escape responses) and in cognitive functions such as attention and emotional learning. In mammals, the amygdala is highly complex, with multiple subdivisions, neuronal subtypes, and connections, making it very difficult to understand its functional organization and evolutionary origin. Since evolution is the consequence of changes that occurred in development, herein we review developmental data based on genoarchitecture and fate mapping in mammals (in the mouse model) and other vertebrates in order to identify its basic components and embryonic origin in different species and understand how they changed in evolution. In all tetrapods studied, the amygdala includes at least 4 components: (1) a ventral pallial part, characterized by expression of Lhx2 and Lhx9, that includes part of the basal amygdalar complex in mammals and a caudal part of the dorsal ventricular ridge in sauropsids and also produces a cell subpopulation of the medial amygdala; (2) a striatal part, characterized by expression of Pax6 and/or Islet1, which includes the central amygdala in different species; (3) a pallidal part, characterized by expression of Nkx2.1 and, in amniotes, Lhx6, which includes part of the medial amygdala, and (4) a hypothalamic part (derived from the supraoptoparaventricular domain or SPV), characterized by Otp and/or Lhx5 expression, which produces an important subpopulation of cells of the medial extended amygdala (medial amygdala and/or medial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis). Importantly, the size of the SPV domain increases upon reduction or lack of Nkx2.1 function in the hypothalamus. It appears that Nkx2.1 expression was downregulated in the alar hypothalamus during evolution to mammals, which may have produced an enlargement of SPV and the amygdalar cell subpopulation derived from it.
Number Density of Bright Lyman-Break Galaxies at z〜6 in the Subaru Deep Field

We report on the bright Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) selected in a 767 arcmin^2 area of the Subaru Deep Field. The selection is made in the i-zR vs zB-zR plane, where zB and zR are new bandpasses with a central wavelength of 8842A and 9841A, respectively. This set of bandpasses enables us to separate well z~6 LBGs from foreground galaxies and Galactic cool stars. We detect 12 LBG candidates down to zR=25.4, and calculate the normalization of the rest-frame far-ultraviolet (FUV: 1400A) luminosity function at MFUV = -21.6 to be \phi(-21.6) = (2.6+/-0.7) x 10^{-5} mag^{-1} Mpc^{-3}. This must be the most reliable measurement ever obtained of the number density of bright z~6 LBGs, because it is more robust against both contamination and cosmic variance than previous values. The FUV luminosity density contributed from LBGs brighter than MFUV = -21.3 is (2.8+/-0.8) x 10^{24} ergs/s/Hz/Mpc^3, which is equivalent to a star formation rate density of (3.5+/-1.0) x 10^{-4} Msun/yr/Mpc^3. Combining our measurement with those at z<6 in the literature, we find that the FUV luminosity density of bright galaxies increases by an order of magnitude from z~6 to z~3 and then drops by 10^3 from z~3 to the present epoch, while the evolution of the total luminosity density is much milder. The evolutionary behavior of bright LBGs resembles that of luminous dusty star-forming galaxies and bright QSOs. The redshift of z~3 appears to be a remarkable era in the cosmic history when massive galaxies were being intensively formed.
Markers of Systemic Inflammation and Apo-AI Containing HDL Subpopulations in Women with and without Diabetes

Background. Besides their role in reverse cholesterol transport, HDL particles may affect the atherosclerotic process through the modulation of subclinical inflammation. HDL particles differ in size, composition, and, probably, anti-inflammatory properties. This hypothesis has never been explored in diabetic women, frequently having dysfunctional HDL. The potential relationship between lipid profile, Apo-AI containing HDL subclasses distribution, and common inflammatory markers (hsCRP, IL-6) was examined in 160 coronary heart disease- (CHD-) free women with and without type 2 diabetes. Results. Compared to controls, diabetic women showed lower levels of the atheroprotective large α-1, α-2, and pre-α-1 and higher concentration of the small, lipid-poor α-3 HDL particles (P < 0.05 all); diabetic women also had higher hsCRP and IL-6 serum levels (age- and BMI-adjusted P < 0.001). Overall, HDL subclasses significantly correlated with inflammatory markers: hsCRP inversely correlated with α-1 (P = 0.01) and pre-α-1 (P = 0.003); IL-6 inversely correlated with α-1 (P = 0.003), α-2 (P = 0.004), and pre-α-1 (P = 0.002) and positively with α-3 HDL (P = 0.03). Similar correlations were confirmed at univariate regression analysis. Conclusions. More atheroprotective HDL subclasses are associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers, especially in diabetic women. These data suggest that different HDL subclasses may influence CHD risk also through the modulation of inflammation.
CLASSIFICATION OF IRANIAN NURSES ACCORDING TO THEIR MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES USING GHQ-12 QUESTIONNAIRE: A COMPARISON BETWEEN LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS AND K-MEANS CLUSTERING WITH TRADITIONAL SCORING METHOD

Background: Nurses constitute the most providers of health care systems. Their mental health can affect the quality of services and patients’ satisfaction. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is a general screening tool used to detect mental disorders. Scoring method and determining thresholds for this questionnaire are debatable and the cut-off points can vary from sample to sample. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders among Iranian nurses using GHQ-12 and also compare Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and K-means clustering with traditional scoring method. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Fars and Bushehr provinces of southern Iran in 2014. Participants were 771 Iranian nurses, who filled out the GHQ-12 questionnaire. Traditional scoring method, LCA and K-means were used to estimate the prevalence of mental disorder among Iranian nurses. Cohen’s kappa statistic was applied to assess the agreement between the LCA and K-means with traditional scoring method of GHQ-12. Results: The nurses with mental disorder by scoring method, LCA and K-mean were 36.3% (n=280), 32.2% (n=248), and 26.5% (n=204), respectively. LCA and logistic regression revealed that the prevalence of mental disorder in females was significantly higher than males. Conclusion: Mental disorder in nurses was in a medium level compared to other people living in Iran. There was a little difference between prevalence of mental disorder estimated by scoring method, K-means and LCA. According to the advantages of LCA than K-means and different results in scoring method, we suggest LCA for classification of Iranian nurses according to their mental health outcomes using GHQ-12 questionnaire
Trade, Technology and UK Wage Inequality

This paper examines the impact of international trade and technical change on changes in the UK skill premium. We first measure trade as changes in product prices and technical change as TFP growth. Then we relate price and TFP changes to a set of underlying forces. Among our results are (a) changes in prices, not TFP, were the major force behind the rise in inequality in the 1980s; (b) changes in OECD prices and UK tariffs significantly raised 1980s skill premia through their effects on prices, and that industry concentration significantly raised 1980s skill premia through its effect on TFP.