Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assimilation of Simulated Polarimetric Radar Data for a Convective Storm Using the Ensemble Kalman Filter. Part I: Observation Operators for Reflectivity and Polarimetric Variables

Abstract A radar simulator for polarimetric radar variables, including reflectivities at horizontal and vertical polarizations, the differential reflectivity, and the specific differential phase, has been developed. This simulator serves as a test bed for developing and testing forward observation operators of polarimetric radar variables that are needed when directly assimilating these variables into storm-scale numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, using either variational or ensemble-based assimilation methods. The simulator takes as input the results of high-resolution NWP model simulations with ice microphysics and produces simulated polarimetric radar data that may also contain simulated errors. It is developed based on calculations of electromagnetic wave propagation and scattering at the S band of wavelength 10.7 cm in a hydrometeor-containing atmosphere. The T-matrix method is used for the scattering calculation of raindrops and the Rayleigh scattering approximation is applied to snow and ha.
Alexithymia in suicide attempters

Taiminen TJ, Saarijärvi S, Helenius H, Keskinen A, Korpilahti T. Alexithymia in suicide attempters. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1996: 93: 195–198. © Munksgaard 1996.
Imatinib rechallenge in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

BACKGROUND Imatinib is the standard of care for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). DESIGN This article reviews recent data on the impact of imatinib treatment interruption and subsequent rechallenge in patients with advanced GIST. RESULTS The randomized BFR14 trial showed that (i) interruption of imatinib after 1, 3, or 5 years of treatment in patients with nonprogressive GIST was associated with a high risk of progression even in patients with a complete response; (ii) rechallenge with imatinib restored tumor control in most patients, but the tumor response seldom reached that before treatment interruption; (iii) patients receiving continuous imatinib had a high rate of prolonged tumor control, which increased with longer imatinib treatment. The findings in the metastatic setting have important implications regarding the duration of adjuvant imatinib in GIST. CONCLUSIONS Discontinuation of imatinib in responding patients with advanced GIST is associated with a high risk of progression and is therefore not recommended. Although rechallenge is a strategy for treating patients who relapse after stopping imatinib, suboptimal tumor response indicates that continuous kinase suppression is necessary to achieve the best clinical outcome. Three-year adjuvant imatinib is recommended for patients with resected 'high-risk' GIST; however, a longer duration may provide additional benefits.
Integrin-Linked Kinase Deletion from Mouse Cortex Results in Cortical Lamination Defects Resembling Cobblestone Lissencephaly

Integrin-linked kinase (Ilk) is a scaffold and kinase that links integrin receptors to the actin cytoskeleton and to signaling pathways involved in cell adhesion, migration, and extracellular matrix deposition. Targeted deletion of Ilk from embryonic mouse dorsal forebrain neuroepithelium results in severe cortical lamination defects resembling cobblestone (type II) lissencephaly. Defects in adult mutants include neuronal invasion of the marginal zone, downward displacement of marginal zone components, fusion of the cerebral hemispheres, and scalloping of the dentate gyrus. These lesions are associated with abundant astrogliosis and widespread fragmentation of the basal lamina at the cortical surface. During cortical development, neuronal ectopias are associated with severe disorganization of radial glial processes and displacement of Cajal-Retzius cells. Lesions are not seen when Ilk is specifically deleted from embryonic neurons. Interestingly, targeted Ilk deletion has no effect on proliferation or survival of cortical cells or on phosphorylation of two Ilk substrates, Pkb/Akt and Gsk-3β, suggesting that Ilk does not regulate cortical lamination via these enzymes. Instead, Ilk acts in vivo as a major intracellular mediator of integrin-dependent basal lamina formation. This study demonstrates a critical role for Ilk in cortical lamination and suggests that Ilk-associated pathways are involved in the pathogenesis of cobblestone lissencephalies.
Perinatal exposure to androgen excess and the effects on the rat uterine estradiol responsiveness

Androgen exposure during sexual development induces alterations in steroidal target tissues. The objective of this study was to evaluate the uterine responsiveness to estradiol after perinatal androgenization. Pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to corn oil or testosterone propionate at 0.05, 0.1, or 0.2 mg/kg from gestational day 12 until postnatal day 21. Female offspring was challenged with estradiol (E2) after weaning (0.4 mg/kg) and at adulthood (10 or 100 µg/day), when the pituitary response was also evaluated. At adulthood, control and 0.05 mg/kg groups presented a uterine weight increment when exposed to 100 µg/day of E2, 0.1 mg/kg group only responded to 10 µg/day of E2, and the 0.2 mg/kg group showed increased uterine weight at both doses. The pituitary weight was similarly increased after estradiol stimulation in all experimental groups. In conclusion, testosterone propionate exposure induced an abnormal stimulation of uterine tissue growth by estrogen stimulus without affecting pituitary response. More studies are needed to clarify whether these alterations are capable of impairing the reproductive capacity of the female tract. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1460–1468, 2016.
Nonredundant protective properties of FPR2/ALX in polymicrobial murine sepsis

Significance Sepsis defines a syndrome with poor clinical management characterized by overlapping phases of excessive inflammation temporally aligned with an immunosuppressed state. We define an endogenous pathway centered on formyl-peptide receptor 2/3 (Fpr2/3)—ortholog to human FPR2/ALX (receptor for lipoxin A4)—that protects the host against polymicrobial sepsis. Using null mice and proof-of-concept experiments with a peptide–agonist, we demonstrate how engagement of Fpr2/3 is crucial to enact nonredundant functions that span from control of cell recruitment and phagocytosis, modulation of soluble mediator generation, to containment of bacteremia, thus preventing spreading to vital organs and opening new opportunities to manipulate the host response in sepsis. Sepsis is characterized by overlapping phases of excessive inflammation temporally aligned with an immunosuppressed state, defining a complex clinical scenario that explains the lack of successful therapeutic options. Here we tested whether the formyl-peptide receptor 2/3 (Fpr2/3)—ortholog to human FPR2/ALX (receptor for lipoxin A4)—exerted regulatory and organ-protective functions in experimental sepsis. Coecal ligature and puncture was performed to obtain nonlethal polymicrobial sepsis, with animals receiving antibiotics and analgesics. Clinical symptoms, temperature, and heart function were monitored up to 24 h. Peritoneal lavage and plasma samples were analyzed for proinflammatory and proresolving markers of inflammation and organ dysfunction. Compared with wild-type mice, Fpr2/3−/− animals exhibited exacerbation of disease severity, including hypothermia and cardiac dysfunction. This scenario was paralleled by higher levels of cytokines [CXCL1 (CXC receptor ligand 1), CCL2 (CC receptor ligand 2), and TNFα] as quantified in cell-free biological fluids. Reduced monocyte recruitment in peritoneal lavages of Fpr2/3−/− animals was reflected by a higher granulocyte/monocyte ratio. Monitoring Fpr2/3−/− gene promoter activity with a GFP proxy marker revealed an over threefold increase in granulocyte and monocyte signals at 24 h post-coecal ligature and puncture, a response mediated by TNFα. Treatment with a receptor peptido-agonist conferred protection against myocardial dysfunction in wild-type, but not Fpr2/3−/−, animals. Therefore, coordinated physio-pharmacological analyses indicate nonredundant modulatory functions for Fpr2/3 in experimental sepsis, opening new opportunities to manipulate the host response for therapeutic development.
A survey of design issues in spatial input

We present a survey of design issues for developing effective free-space three-dimensional (3D) user interfaces. Our survey is based upon previous work in 3D interaction, our experience in developing free-space interfaces, and our informal observations of test users. We illustrate our design issues using examples drawn from instances of 3D interfaces. For example, our first issue suggests that users have difficulty understanding three-dimensional space. We offer a set of strategies which may help users to better perceive a 3D virtual environment, including the use of spatial references, relative gesture, two-handed interaction, multisensory feedback, physical constraints, and head tracking. We describe interfaces which employ these strategies. Our major contribution is the synthesis of many scattered results, observations, and examples into a common framework. This framework should serve as a guide to researchers or systems builders who may not be familiar with design issues in spatial input. Where appropriate, we also try to identify areas in free-space 3D interaction which we see as likely candidates for additional research. An extended and annotated version of the references list for this paper is available on-line through mosaic at address http://uvacs.cs. virginia.edu/~kph2q/.
CD4+ T cells from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis exhibit reduced apoptosis and down‐regulation of proapoptotic Bim in peripheral blood

The pathogenesis of the progressive liver disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), remains largely elusive. The strong genetic association with HLA loci suggests that T cell–dependent, adaptive immune reactions could contribute to disease pathogenesis. Recent studies have indicated that PSC is also associated with polymorphisms in the locus encoding for proapoptotic Bim (BCL2L11). Bim is crucial for the maintenance of immunologic tolerance through induction of apoptosis in activated T cells. Of interest with regard to PSC is the finding that BCL2L11‐deficient mice develop periductular infiltrates. We, therefore, investigated, whether defective apoptosis of T cells might contribute to the phenotype of PSC. Thus, we induced apoptosis of T cells from patients with PSC and controls by repeated T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation or cytokine withdrawal. We found that CD4+ T cells, but not CD8+ T cells, from patients with PSC exhibited significantly reduced apoptosis in response to both, TCR restimulation or cytokine withdrawal. This increased apoptosis resistance was associated with significantly reduced up‐regulation of proapoptotic Bim in T cells from patients with PSC. However, T cell apoptosis did not seem to be influenced by the previously described BCL2L11 polymorphisms. Reduced CD4+ T cell apoptosis in patients with PSC was not due to reduced cell activation, as indicated by a similar surface expression of the activation markers CD69, CD25, and CD28 in T cells from patients and controls. Thus, decreased apoptosis of activated CD4+ T cells may be part of the immune dysregulation observed in patients with PSC.
Eccentricities of Double Neutron Star Binaries

Recent pulsar surveys have increased the number of observed double neutron stars (DNSs) in our galaxy enough so that observable trends in their properties are starting to emerge. In particular, it has been noted that the majority of DNSs have eccentricities less than 0.3, surprisingly low for binaries that survive a supernova explosion, which we believe imparts a significant kick to the neutron star. To investigate this trend, we generate many different theoretical distributions of DNS eccentricities using Monte Carlo population synthesis methods. We determine which eccentricity distributions are most consistent with the observed sample of DNS binaries. In agreement with the work of Chaurasia and Bailes, assuming all DNSs are equally as probable to be discovered as binary pulsars, we find that highly eccentric, coalescing DNSs are less likely to be observed because of their accelerated orbital evolution due to gravitational wave emission and possible early mergers. Based on our results for coalescing DNSs, we also find that models with vanishingly or moderately small kicks (σ ≲ 50 km s-1) are inconsistent with the current observed sample of such DNSs. We discuss the implications of our conclusions for DNS merger rate estimates, of interest to ground-based gravitational wave interferometers. We find that, although orbital evolution due to gravitational radiation affects the eccentricity distribution of the observed sample, the associated upwards correction factor to merger rate estimates is rather small (typically 10%-40%).
The Effects of Two Educational Strategies on Knowledge, Attitude, Concerns, and Practices of Mothers With Febrile Convulsive Children

Background: Febrile seizures are common during childhood and have a good prognosis, although they cause fear and anxiety in parents. Parent education is an important intervention in febrile seizures. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two educational strategies, written information vs. written information plus verbal instruction on knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and practices of mothers with febrile convulsive children. Patients and Methods: The study adopts a quasi-experimental research design. A total of 102 mothers of children presenting with febrile seizure and admitted to a teaching hospital in Iran were equally assigned to three groups: Group I received no intervention (control group), Group II received a febrile seizure information pamphlet, and Group III received the febrile seizure information pamphlet plus verbal instruction. Knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and practices of participants regarding febrile seizure were measured as primary outcomes in the pre- and post- intervention stages. Results: The results showed that although only a slight change in attitudes toward febrile seizures was found, both the febrile seizure information pamphlet alone and the febrile seizure information pamphlet plus verbal instruction were significantly effective in improving the knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and practices of mothers with febrile convulsive children toward febrile seizures. Conclusions: This study suggests that written materials in the form of a pamphlet can be an effective teaching strategy for educating parents on febrile seizures. However, written and verbal information should be given together where possible.
CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ISOLATED EPIDERMAL DESMOSOMES

Desmosomes, isolated from cow nose epidermis by a method utilizing citrate buffer pH 2.6 and density gradient centrifugation, have been analyzed and found to contain approximately 76% protein, 17% carbohydrate, and 10% lipid. Nonpolar amino acids predominate in desmosomal protein, representing 456 residues per 1,000. The sialic acid content is 5 nM/mg of protein. The lipid fraction is composed of approximately 40% cholesterol and 60% phospholipids. Desmosomes are completely solubilized by incubation with 2% sodium dodecyl sulphate and 1% β-mercaptoethanol. Gel electrophoresis of the denatured desmosomal proteins reveals 24 bands, with mobilities corresponding to a molecular weight range of 15,000–230,000 daltons. Seven of these are considered to be major bands, together constituting 81% of the desmosomal protein. Bands 1 and 2, of molecular weights 230,000 and 210,000 daltons, together comprise 28% by weight of the desmosome. It is suggested that these protein chains are located in the desmosomal plaque. Bands 3 and 4 are PAS-positive, constitute 23% of the desmosomal protein, and have apparent molecular weights of 140,000 and 120,000 daltons, respectively. At least part of this material must originate from the carbohydrate-containing layer which is demonstrated, by histochemistry, to be present in the desmosomal interspace. The possible nature and origin of the remaining major bands, of molecular weights 90,000, 75,000, and 60,000 daltons, are discussed.
Stochastic Matching : New Algorithms and Bounds ∗

Online matching has received significant attention over the last 15 years due to its close connection to Internet advertising. As the seminal work of Karp, Vazirani, and Vazirani has an optimal (1 − 1/e) competitive ratio in the standard adversarial online model, much effort has gone into developing useful online models that incorporate some stochasticity in the arrival process. One such popular model is the “known I.I. D. model” where different customer-types arrive online from a known distribution. We develop algorithms with improved competitive ratios for some basic variants of this model with integral arrival rates, including: (a) the case of general weighted edges, where we improve the best-known ratio of 0.667 due to Haeupler, Mirrokni and Zadimoghaddam [12] to 0.705; and (b) the vertex-weighted case, where we improve the 0.7250 ratio of Jaillet and Lu [13] to 0.7299. We also consider an extension of stochastic rewards, a variant where each edge has an independent probability of being present. For the setting of stochastic rewards with non-integral arrival rates, we present a simple optimal non-adaptive algorithm with a ratio of 1− 1/e. For the special case where each edge is unweighted and has a uniform constant probability of being present, we improve upon 1− 1/e by proposing a strengthened LP benchmark. One of the key ingredients of our improvement is the following (offline) approach to bipartitematching polytopes with additional constraints. We first add several valid constraints in order to get a good fractional solution f; however, these give us less control over the structure of f. We next remove all these additional constraints and randomly move from f to a feasible point on the matching polytope with all coordinates being from the set {0, 1/k, 2/k, . , 1} for a chosen integer k. The structure of this solution is inspired by Jaillet and Lu (Mathematics of Operations Research, 2013) and is a tractable structure for algorithm design and analysis. The appropriate random move preserves many of the removed constraints (approximately with high probability and exactly in expectation). This underlies some of our improvements and could be of independent interest. ∗A preliminary version of this appeared in the European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA), 2016 †Email: bbrubach@cs.umd. edu Supported in part by NSF Awards CNS 1010789 and CCF 1422569. ‡Email: kabinav@cs.umd. edu Supported in part by NSF Awards CNS 1010789 and CCF 1422569. §Email: srin@cs.umd. edu Supported in part by NSF Awards CNS 1010789 and CCF 1422569, and by research awards from Adobe, Inc. ¶Email: panxu@cs.umd. edu Supported in part by NSF Awards CNS 1010789 and CCF 1422569.
Anaerobic Naphthalene Degradation by Microbial Pure Cultures under Nitrate-Reducing Conditions

ABSTRACT Pure bacterial cultures were isolated from a highly enriched denitrifying consortium previously shown to anaerobically biodegrade naphthalene. The isolates were screened for the ability to grow anaerobically in liquid culture with naphthalene as the sole source of carbon and energy in the presence of nitrate. Three naphthalene-degrading pure cultures were obtained, designated NAP-3-1, NAP-3-2, and NAP-4. Isolate NAP-3-1 tested positive for denitrification using a standard denitrification assay. Neither isolate NAP-3-2 nor isolate NAP-4 produced gas in the assay, but both consumed nitrate and NAP-4 produced significant amounts of nitrite. Isolates NAP-4 and NAP-3-1 transformed 70 to 90% of added naphthalene, and the transformation was nitrate dependent. No significant removal of naphthalene occurred under nitrate-limited conditions or in cell-free controls. Both cultures exhibited partial mineralization of naphthalene, representing 7 to 20% of the initial added14C-labeled naphthalene. After 57 days of incubation, the largest fraction of the radiolabel in both cultures was recovered in the cell mass (30 to 50%), with minor amounts recovered as unknown soluble metabolites. Nitrate consumption, along with the results from the 14C radiolabel study, are consistent with the oxidation of naphthalene coupled to denitrification for NAP-3-1 and nitrate reduction to nitrite for NAP-4. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S ribosomal DNA sequences of NAP-3-1 showed that it was closely related to Pseudomonas stutzeri and that NAP-4 was closely related to Vibrio pelagius. This is the first report we know of that demonstrates nitrate-dependent anaerobic degradation and mineralization of naphthalene by pure cultures.
Evolutionary Strata in a Small Mating-Type-Specific Region of the Smut Fungus Microbotryum violaceum

DNA sequence analysis and genetic mapping of loci from mating-type-specific chromosomes of the smut fungus Microbotryum violaceum demonstrated that the nonrecombining mating-type-specific region in this species comprises ∼25% (∼1 Mb) of the chromosome length. Divergence between homologous mating-type-linked genes in this region varies between 0 and 8.6%, resembling the evolutionary strata of vertebrate and plant sex chromosomes.
Students’ Perceptions of the Skills in the Labor Market in the 4th Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will have a crucial impact on the jobs, the types of skills required to cover them, and the role of Higher Education in obtaining these skills. Among the challenges universities are called upon to face is providing students with the necessary employability skills for their future professional careers. This research aims to investigate the perceptions of students at the University of the Aegean and the University of Patras on the employability skills considered necessary in the future labor market. The research was conducted using a questionnaire answered by 392 students from various faculties of the University of the Aegean and the University of Patras. The results show that participants consider hard skills more important (such as Equipment Selection and troubleshooting) than programming and mathematics. They also consider soft skills (such as active listening and critical thinking) to be more important than negotiation, social perceptiveness, and coordination. In terms of their degree and the skills it offers, the majority consider that they have chosen it for a professional career and that it provides them with the necessary skills for the labor market. However, for the next 10–15 years, they do not consider that their degree will be sufficient regarding the skills requirements for their employability.
Peak-to-Mean Envelope Power Ratio Statistical Analysis of Continuous OFDM Signal

Peak-to-mean envelop power ratio (PMEPR) statistical analysis in continuous OFDM context is addressed. After having precisely defined this term which characterizes OFDM signal fluctuations, first statistical order derivation of PMEPR from two already developed distribution functions for continuous base-band OFDM signals is proposed. In literature, one of these two functions is simulation based and lacks any theoretical justifications. It is demonstrated that first statistical order of these two distributions is almost same which provides the analytical justification of the correctness of the simulation based distribution function. Moreover, it has been revealed that the second statistical order of the PMEPR valid for an oversampling factor of one (discrete signal), could also be adopted for continuous signals. PMEPR distribution function associated with continuous OFDM signal is proposed.