Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Nitrogen Enrichment on C1-Cycling Microorganisms and Methane Flux in Salt Marsh Sediments

Methane (CH4) flux from ecosystems is driven by C1-cycling microorganisms – the methanogens and the methylotrophs. Little is understood about what regulates these communities, complicating predictions about how global change drivers such as nitrogen enrichment will affect methane cycling. Using a nitrogen addition gradient experiment in three Southern California salt marshes, we show that sediment CH4 flux increased linearly with increasing nitrogen addition (1.23 μg CH4 m−2 day−1 for each g N m−2 year−1 applied) after 7 months of fertilization. To test the reason behind this increased CH4 flux, we conducted a microcosm experiment altering both nitrogen and carbon availability under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Methanogenesis appeared to be both nitrogen and carbon (acetate) limited. N and C each increased methanogenesis by 18%, and together by 44%. In contrast, methanotrophy was stimulated by carbon (methane) addition (830%), but was unchanged by nitrogen addition. Sequence analysis of the sediment methylotroph community with the methanol dehydrogenase gene (mxaF) revealed three distinct clades that fall outside of known lineages. However, in agreement with the microcosm results, methylotroph abundance (assayed by qPCR) and composition (assayed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis) did not vary across the experimental nitrogen gradient in the field. Together, these results suggest that nitrogen enrichment to salt marsh sediments increases methane flux by stimulating the methanogen community.
QUANTUM-TO-CLASSICAL TRANSITION FOR FLUCTUATIONS IN THE EARLY UNIVERSE

According to the inflationary scenario for the very early Universe, all inhomogeneities in the Universe are of genuine quantum origin. On the other hand, looking at these inhomogeneities and measuring them, clearly no specific quantum mechanical properties are observed. We show how the transition from their inherent quantum gravitational nature to classical behavior comes about — a transition whereby none of the successful quantitative predictions of the inflationary scenario for the present-day universe is changed. This is made possible by two properties. First, the quantum state for the spacetime metric perturbations produced by quantum gravitational effects in the early Universe becomes very special (highly squeezed) as a result of the expansion of the Universe (as long as the wavelength of the perturbations exceeds the Hubble radius). Second, decoherence through the environment distinguishes the field amplitude basis as being the pointer basis. This renders the perturbations presently indistinguishable from stochastic classical inhomogeneities.
Prognostic impact of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and B-type natriuretic in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated by primary PCI: a prospective observational cohort study

Objectives Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) from a pathophysiological perspective connects various pathways that affect the prognosis after myocardial infarction. The objective was to evaluate the benefits of measuring NGAL for prognostic stratification in addition to the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score, and to compare it with the prognostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). Design Prospective observational cohort study. Setting One university/tertiary centre. Participants A total of 673 patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction were treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention. NGAL and BNP were assessed on hospital admission. Outcomes Primary outcome: 1-year mortality. Secondary outcomes: 1-year hospitalisation due to acute heart failure, unplanned revascularisation, reinfarction, stroke and combined end point of 1-year mortality and hospitalisation due to heart failure. Statistical methods Using the c-statistic, the ability of NGAL, BNP and TIMI score to predict 1-year mortality alone and in combination with readmission for heart failure was evaluated. The addition of the predictive value of biomarkers to the score was assessed by category free net reclassification improvement (cfNRI) and the integrated discrimination index (IDI). Results The NGAL level was significantly higher in non-survivors (67 vs 115 pg/mL; p<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) values for mortality prediction for NGAL, BNP and TIMI score were 75.5, 78.7 and 74.4, respectively (all p<0.001) with optimal cut-off values of 84 pg/mL for NGAL and 150 pg/mL for BNP. The addition of NGAL and BNP to the TIMI score significantly improved risk stratification according to cfNRI and IDI. A BNP and the combination of the TIMI score with NGAL predicted the occurrence of the combined end point with an AUC of 80.6 or 82.2, respectively. NGAL alone is a simple tool to identify very high-risk patients. NGAL >110 pg/mL was associated with a 1-year mortality of 20%. Conclusions The measurement of NGAL together with the TIMI score results in a strong prognostic model for the 1-year mortality rate in patients with STEMI.
A comparison of methods for accurate summation

The summation of large sets of numbers is prone to serious rounding errors. Several methods of controlling these errors are compared, with respect to both speed and accuracy. It is found that the method of "Cascading Accumulators" is the fastest of several methods. The Double Compensation method (in both single and double precision versions) is also perfectly accurate in all the tests performed. Although slower than the Cascade method, it is recommended when double precision accuracy is required. C programs that implement both these methods are available in the BULLETIN online repository.
An Automatic Estimation Of The Axis Of Rotation Of Fragments Of Archaeological Pottery: A Multi-Step

This paper presents a method for an estimation of the axis of r otation of radially symmetric objects from their fragments. In particular, fragments of archaeologic al pottery are considered. The method exploits basic geometrical properties of fragments which are descri bed by an appropriate model. The estimation is performed in several steps which continuously improve ac curacy and robustness of an initial estimate. Because only coordinates of surface points of a fragment are required for the estimation, the proposed method can be implemented as a fully automatic process. The approac h has been evaluated on both synthetic objects and real pottery fragments.
REGULARITY UNDERLYING COMPLEXITY: A REDSHIFT-INDEPENDENT DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTINUOUS VARIATION OF GALAXY-SCALE MOLECULAR GAS PROPERTIES IN THE MASS-STAR FORMATION RATE PLANE

Star-forming galaxies (SFGs) display a continuous specific star formation rate (sSFR) distribution, which can be approximated by two log-normal functions: one encompassing the galaxy main sequence (MS), and the other a rarer, starbursting population. Starburst (SB) sSFRs can be regarded as the outcome of a physical process (plausibly merging) taking the mathematical form of a log-normal boosting kernel that enhances star formation activity. We explore the utility of splitting the star-forming population into MS and SB galaxies—an approach we term the “2-Star Formation Mode” framework—for understanding their molecular gas properties. Star formation efficiency (SFE) and gas fraction variations among SFGs take a simple redshift-independent form, once these quantities are normalized to the corresponding values for average MS galaxies. SFE enhancements during SB episodes scale supra-linearly with the SFR increase, as expected for mergers. Consequently, galaxies separate more clearly into loci for SBs and normal galaxies in the Schmidt–Kennicutt plane than in (s)SFR versus M⋆ space. SBs with large deviations (>10 fold) from the MS, e.g., local ULIRGs, are not average SBs, but are much rarer events whose progenitors had larger gas fractions than typical MS galaxies. Statistically, gas fractions in SBs are reduced two- to threefold compared to their direct MS progenitors, as expected for short-lived SFR boosts where internal gas reservoirs are depleted more quickly than gas is re-accreted from the cosmic web. We predict variations of the conversion factor αCO in the SFR–M⋆ plane and we show that the higher sSFR of distant galaxies is directly related to their larger gas fractions.
Reflection Family dynamics and housing : Conceptual issues and empirical findings

OBJECTIVE In this reflection I discuss my conceptual ideas and the latest empirical findings regarding the connections between leaving the parental home, marriage, parenthood, and separation on the one hand, and housing on the other. I also discuss the limitations of the research and directions for future research. CONCLUSIONS Parental housing of good quality keeps specific categories of potential nest-leavers in the parental home, but is also positively associated with the likelihood of young adults starting their housing careers as homeowners. The connections between housing and marriage and between housing and parenthood can be characterized using the concepts of housing space, quality, and safety or security – all three of which married couples and families need more than singles – and flexibility, which couples and families need less. These four needs are strongly subject to social norms. There is a strong tendency for married couples and prospective families to move into home ownership and higher quality homes. Separation tends to lead ex-partners with lower moving costs and fewer resources to move from the joint home, and tends to lead to a longer lasting decrease in housing quality, particularly for women. Future research could focus on the impact of housing on the transformation of dating partnerships into co-residential partnerships, the impact of housing quality and home ownership on the quality of partner relationships, partnership and housing histories rather than single events and short-term effects, unraveling the causal connections between family and housing, and incorporating the impact of the socio-spatial context in the research. 1 Population Research Centre, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: c.h. mulder@rug.nl. Mulder: Family dynamics and housing: Conceptual issues and empirical findings 356 http://www.demographic-research.org
2016 Ieee International Conference on Big Data (big Data) Online Social Network Evolution: Revisiting the Twitter Graph

—In 2010 the popular paper by Kwak et al. [11] presented the first comprehensive study of Twitter as it appeared in 2009, using most of the Twitter network at the time. Since then, Twitter's popularity and usage has exploded, experiencing a 10-fold increase. As of 2015, it has more than 500 million users, out of which 316 million are active, i.e. logging into the service at least once a month. 1 In this study we revisit the network observed by Kwak et al. to examine the changes exhibited in both the graph and the behavior of the users in it. Our results conclude to a denser network, showing an increase in the number of reciprocal edges, despite the fact that around 12.5% of the 2009 users have now left Twitter. However, the network's largest strongly connected component seems to be significantly decreasing, suggesting a movement of edges towards popular users. Furthermore, we observe numerous changes in the lists of influential Twitter users, having several accounts that where not popular in the past securing a position in the top-20 list as new entries.
Photometry using the Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope

We present several corrections for point-source photometry to be applied to data from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. These corrections are necessary because of characteristics of the IRAC arrays and optics and the way the instrument is calibrated in flight. When these corrections are applied, it is possible to achieve a ∼2% relative photometric accuracy for sources of adequate signal-to-noise ratio in an IRAC image.
Women and the Democratic State: Agents of Gender Policy Reform in the Context of Regime Transition in Venezuela (1970-2007)

This study examines the process of gender policy reform. It seeks to explain how and when gender policy reform takes place in Venezuela across time. The study entails observations gender policy reform during specific periods of Punto Fijo democracy (1958-1998) characterized by democratic consolidation and deconsolidation, and during the transition towards a new type of hybrid democracy, the Chavez era (1999-2007). The policies considered are the ones addressing women’s equality at home and at work, reproductive rights, women’s economic rights, and political participation. The analysis shows that the likelihood of gender policy reform depends on the combination of certain institutional configurations that provide women access to the decision-making process of the state, but most importantly to women’s groups’ capacity to organize a broad coalition of women from civil society and from within the state apparatus behind a reform and push for it by using frames based on international agreed norms that legitimized their struggle. In addition, the analysis reveals the negative influence of religious groups with decision-making power on the process of gender policy reform. INDEX WORDS: Regime consolidation and deconsolidation, Regime transition, Gender policy reform, Women’s issues, State institutions, State-society relations, Political party deinstitutionalization, Decentralization, Political opportunity WOMEN AND THE DEMOCRATIC STATE: AGENTS OF GENDER POLICY REFORM IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIME TRANSITON IN VENEZUELA (1970 – 2007)
Getting Bad News Out Early: Does it Really Help Stock Prices?

In this paper, we examine the stock price benefit of meeting or beating earnings expectations. Using a general methodology, we find no evidence that the timing of earnings news has any benefit for firms' stock returns. In fact, in many cases we find firms attempting to engineer positive earnings surprises by beating down expectations only to discover that their efforts are counterproductive. Our results appear to overturn the findings of previous authors who, using less general methodologies, have suggested that firms can boost their stock returns by getting bad news out early. Our results are robust across time periods, for different scaling factors on earnings revisions and surprises, when controlling for firm size and growth prospects, and when conditioned on past earnings news.
Solving the Dilemmas of Teacher Supply, Demand, and Standards: How We Can Ensure a Competent, Caring, and Qualified Teacher for Every Child.

The National Commission on Teaching & America's Future was created in 1994 to identify the implications for teaching embodied in current school reforms; to examine what steps need to be taken to guarantee all children access to skilled, knowledgeable , and committed teachers; and to develop a comprehensive blueprint for recruiting, preparing, and supporting a teaching force that can meet 21st-century standards of high educational performance. The Commission issued its major report, What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future , in September of 1996. One year later, the Commission released an anniversary report, Doing What Matters Most: Investing in Quality Teaching , which describes progress toward its recommendations .
Hearing Sounds, Understanding Actions: Action Representation in Mirror Neurons

Many object-related actions can be recognized by their sound. We found neurons in monkey premotor cortex that discharge when the animal performs a specific action and when it hears the related sound. Most of the neurons also discharge when the monkey observes the same action. These audiovisual mirror neurons code actions independently of whether these actions are performed, heard, or seen. This discovery in the monkey homolog of Broca's area might shed light on the origin of language: audiovisual mirror neurons code abstract contents—the meaning of actions—and have the auditory access typical of human language to these contents.
The Origin of Massive O-type Field Stars. Part I: A Search for Clusters

We present a study aimed at clarifying the birthplace for 43 massive O-type field stars. In this first paper we present the observational part: a search for stellar clusters near the target stars. We derive stellar density maps at two different resolving scales, viz. 0.25pc and 1.0pc from NTT and TNG imaging and the 2MASS catalogue. These scales are typical for cluster sizes. The main result is that the large majority of the O-type field population are isolated stars: only 12% (5 out of 43) of the O-type field stars is found to harbour a small-scale stellar cluster. We review the literature and aim at characterizing the stellar field of each O-type field star with the emphasis on star formation and the presence of known young stellar clusters. An analysis of the result of this paper and a discussion of the O-type field population as products of a dynamical ejection event is presented in an accompanying paper.
2012 BASHH statement on partner notification for sexually transmissible infections

(1) Summary of key principles (2) Importance of partner notification (3) Aim (4) Statement development (5) Audience and care networks (6) Competency in partner notification (PN) practice (7) Offering PN (8) Infections for which PN should be offered and look-back intervals (9) Table showing look-back intervals for partner notification and where epidemiological treatment is recommended (10) Agreed contact actions (11) PN resolution (12) Legal issues regarding sharing of information between services (13) PN auditable outcome measures for the BASHH Clinical Effectiveness Group Guidelines and National Audit Group audit questionnaires (14) Updated chlamydial PN outcome standards and rationale for the updated standards (15) Interface between PN and outbreak/incident control (16) Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults (17) HIV-PN (18) Future developments in PN outcome measurement (19) Contributors (20) Document review plan (21) Appendix. Notes on measuring the updated chlamydial PN outcome measures (22) References
An assessment of the accuracy of DOLA ’ s northern Australian NOAA-AVHRR Fire Affected Area ( FAA ) map p roducts

A standard method for assessing the accuracy of fire mapping derived from NOAA-AVHRR imagery was applied to five Landsat scenes sampling different regions across northern Australia. The procedure involved the undertaking of: (1) detailed ground verification exercises (using ground and aerial transects) at the time of Landsat overpasses; (2) assessment of the accuracy of fire mapping derived from relatively high resolution Landsat imagery, using the ground-truth verification data; and (3) using the Landsat fire mapping as a basis for assessing the accuracy of fire mapping produced from more coarse-resolution NOAA-AVHRR imagery, employing a regression approach. As well, using fire map data interpreted from Landsat imagery (both MSS and TM) and NOAA-AVHRR for two of these scene areas, the size class distribution of fires was determined principally to assess the reliability of mapping small fires with NOAA-AVHRR imagery. Accuracy of fire mapping undertaken at the Landsat scale was consistently greater than 80% (range 84-99%). For assessing the accuracy of fire mapping derived from NOAA-AVHRR, a regression approach was applied using the mapped extent of burning from both Landsat and NOAA-AVHRR in 10 X 10 km grid cells. Results indicated variable, but generally high mapping accuracy, with r2 ranging from 0.41-0.81. Assessment of the size class distribution of fires indicates that mapping from NOAA-AVHRR imagery a priori misses all fires less than 1 pixel (1 km) in size; which constitute by far the great majority of individual fires. The assessment indicates that fire mapping accuracy using current semi-manual mapping procedures is generally high, but needs to be substantially automated if mapping quality is to be improved consistently.
Delegation and R&D Spending: Evidence from Italy

We use data from the Italian manufacturing industry to document a positive relation- ship between delegation of decisions within organizations and involvement in research and development. This positive correlation is robust to controlling for the determi- nants of R&D within firms such as the level of human capital, capital intensity, sec- toral and regional effects and to using different measures of R&D. We also investigate the determinants of delegation in our sample. We find a positive correlation between ownership concentration and delegation, which goes against the findings of Shleifer and Vishny (1986). We also find that variables found as important determinants of delegation in French manufacturing by Acemoglu, Aghion, Lelarge, Van Reenen and Zilibotti (2007) do not appear important in our sample, and some even exhibit qualita- tively opposite effect. These disparities can perhaps be explained by differences in the studied samples and observed variables, and call for further studies of cross-country differences.
Test anxiety in physical education: The predictive role of gender, age, and implicit theories of athletic ability

Test anxiety is experienced by a substantial number of students in many school subjects, including physical education, and it may be deleterious for their school performance and their well-being. The aim of our study was to explore through multiple regression and mediation analyses the relationships between test anxiety in physical education, implicit theories, gender, and age. Five hundred and twenty-six French students (Mage = 15.82, SD = 1.19) voluntarily participated in the study. The results mainly highlighted the following: Gender was a significant predictor of all the components of physical education test anxiety, evidencing that girls scored higher than boys on the four negative components (worry, self-focus, bodily symptoms, somatic tension), and lower on the positive component (perceived control). Age negatively predicted the self-focus component only. Entity theory was a significant predictor of the five components of test anxiety, whereas incremental theory only positively predicted perceived control. Entity theory partially mediated the relationships between gender and perceived control. A better understanding by physical education teachers of the characteristics of their students (e.g. gender differences, age, implicit theories of athletic ability) may contribute to decreasing test anxiety in physical education.
Clinical Improvement Interventions for Residents and Practicing Physicians: A Scoping Review of Coaching and Mentoring for Practice Improvement

Graduate medical education (GME) bodies are beginning to mandate coaching as an integral part of the learning process, in addition to current requirements for mentorship. Once an emergency medicine physician transitions beyond graduate training, there is no requirement and little focus on coaching as a method of improving or maintaining clinical practice. Our objective was to understand and describe the current state of the published literature with regard to the use of coaching and mentorship for both GME and practicing physicians.