Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sand Spit Elongation and Sediment Balance at Cua Lo Inlet in Central Vietnam

ABSTRACT Duy, D.V. ; Tanaka, H. ; Mitobe, Y. ; Anh, N.Q. D. , and Viet, N.T. , 2018. Sand spit elongation and sediment balance at Cua Lo Inlet in Central Vietnam. In: Almar, R. ; Almeida, L.P.; Trung Viet, N. , and Sall, M. (eds.), Tropical Coastal and Estuarine Dynamics. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 81, pp. 32–39. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Erosion is significant on the downdrift beach of Cua Lo Inlet, which is located in Central Vietnam. The elongation of Cua Lo Inlet's updrift sand spit together with severe erosion of the downdrift bank is raising numerous social problems such as flood safety and land loss. In this study, a series of Landsat and Google Earth images were used to analyze and investigate the inlet recent morphological changes and evolution. Since 1970 the inlet has constantly migrated towards the sediment transport pathway, and its traveling distance has reached 1700 m. In order to quantitatively investigate such characteristics, the tip coordinates and the area of the sand spit updrift of the inlet were calculated. In particular, the area of the sand spit has increased remarkably, and the increasing rate is almost constant. Using this value, the rate of sand volume transported along the updrift sand spit by the waves was estimated and it is in good agreement with the longshore sediment transport rate of the surrounding beach.
Alien species and alienable traits: An artificial language game investigating the spread of cultural variants between antagonistic groups

The spread of cultural variants, such as dress or speech patterns, may be promoted or inhibited by different types of bias. In model-based bias, variants are differentially adopted according to characteristics of individuals exhibiting them. A surprising case of cross-group adoption comes from sociolinguistic fieldwork in which White speakers were observed exhibiting a feature of African-American Vernacular English, in spite of expressing aggressively negative attitudes towards their AfricanAmerican neighbors. A likely explanation for this is that the feature in question had become dissociated for these speakers from the inalienable trait Blackness, but had retained associations with the more alienable trait of being “street” or tough. We tested this by conducting an artificial-language experiment in which groups of four participants played a computer game that involved typing instant messages to each other, trading resources, and fighting. Participants were assigned to one of two mutually antagonistic “alien species” (weaker Wiwos and tougher Burls) and learned an alien language with two speciesspecific dialects. In one condition, the Wiwos were told that that Burl dialect was mainly used by Burls; in the other condition they were told it was mainly used by “tougher aliens”. Burl variants were significantly more likely to be used by Wiwos in the latter condition than in the former, even though they were associated with tougher aliens in both conditions. This suggests that cultural variants linked to more alienable traits are more likely to be adopted than those linked to inalienable ones, even if the practical implications of the two traits are very similar.
Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers for medical imaging and therapy

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) have been subject to extensive research for the last two decades. Although they were initially developed for air-coupled applications, today their main application space is medical imaging and therapy. This paper first presents a brief description of CMUTs, their basic structure and operating principles. Our progression of developing several generations of fabrication processes is discussed with an emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of each process. Monolithic and hybrid approaches for integrating CMUTs with supporting integrated circuits are surveyed. Several prototype transducer arrays with integrated front-end electronic circuits we developed and their use for 2D and 3D, anatomical and functional imaging, and ablative therapies are described. The presented results prove the CMUT as a micro-electro-mechanical systems technology for many medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
Changes of cytokine production and cell viability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from silicosis patients: effect of in vitro treatment with acetylsalicylic acid

In this study, IL-6 and IL-12p40 production and cell viability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from silicosis patients after in vitro stimulation were investigated. Furthermore, the effects of introducing acetylsalicylic acid to stimulated patients’ peripheral blood mononuclear cells on cytokine production and cell viability were determined. Nine patients with moderate silicosis, 11 with severe silicosis and 14 healthy subjects were recruited for this study. The level of IL-6 produced by patients peripheral blood mononuclear cells decreased depending on the stage of the disease. The addition of acetylsalicylic acid had significantly suppressive effect on the IL-6 production by lipopolysaccharide—stimulated patients’ peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Acetylsalicylic acid treatment of C3 binding glycoprotein—stimulated patients’ peripheral blood mononuclear cells led to significant upregulation of IL-12p40 production. Results showed a stage-dependent decrease of cell viability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from silicosis patients. Acetylsalicylic acid significantly decreased cell viability entirely in stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with severe silicosis. In conclusion, this study showed that the disease progression affects peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with silicosis and causes functional changes that became apparent after stimulation. Our study demonstrated that in severe silicosis the treatment with acetylsalicylic acid, as an anti-inflammatory agent, might not be beneficial for patients.
Genetic Abolishment of Hepatocyte Proliferation Activates Hepatic Stem Cells

Quiescent hepatic stem cells (HSCs) can be activated when hepatocyte proliferation is compromised. Chemical injury rodent models have been widely used to study the localization, biomarkers, and signaling pathways in HSCs, but these models usually exhibit severe promiscuous toxicity and fail to distinguish damaged and non-damaged cells. Our goal is to establish new animal models to overcome these limitations, thereby providing new insights into HSC biology and application. We generated mutant mice with constitutive or inducible deletion of Damaged DNA Binding protein 1 (DDB1), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, in hepatocytes. We characterized the molecular mechanism underlying the compensatory activation and the properties of oval cells (OCs) by methods of mouse genetics, immuno-staining, cell transplantation and gene expression profiling. We show that deletion of DDB1 abolishes self-renewal capacity of mouse hepatocytes in vivo, leading to compensatory activation and proliferation of DDB1-expressing OCs. Partially restoring proliferation of DDB1-deficient hepatocytes by ablation of p21, a substrate of DDB1 E3 ligase, alleviates OC proliferation. Purified OCs express both hepatocyte and cholangiocyte markers, form colonies in vitro, and differentiate to hepatocytes after transplantation. Importantly, the DDB1 mutant mice exhibit very minor liver damage, compared to a chemical injury model. Microarray analysis reveals several previously unrecognized markers, including Reelin, enriched in oval cells. Here we report a genetic model in which irreversible inhibition of hepatocyte duplication results in HSC-driven liver regeneration. The DDB1 mutant mice can be broadly applied to studies of HSC differentiation, HSC niche and HSCs as origin of liver cancer.
Efficient proximity and separation detection among mobile targets for supporting location-based community services

Proximity and separation detection are high-level functions for supporting proactive location-based community services. Proximity detection automatically triggers an alert as soon as a pair of mobile target persons approaches each other closer than a pre-defined distance, while separation detection generates an alert when two targets depart from each other more than a pre-defined distance. For both functions it is necessary to permanently track the positions of all target persons joining the community and correlate their position fixes. To realize proactive proximity and separation detection, different strategies for exchanging position fixes between GPS-capable mobile devices and a central location server are presented in this paper. The goal of the strategies is to minimize the amount of messages exchanged at the air interface and thus to save valuable bandwidth, monetary costs the tracked targets have to spend for bearer services like GPRS, and battery consumption of the mobile devices. Furthermore, the paper presents the results of simulations that has been performed in order to compare the proposed update strategies and describes experiences achieved with a prototype implementation.
Developmental Expression of Thyroid Hormone Receptors in the Rat Testis1

Abstract Sertoli cell proliferation in the rat is completed by Days 15–20 postnatally. Thyroid hormones appear to regulate the duration of Sertoli cell proliferation, affecting adult Sertoli cell number and hence the capacity of the testis to produce sperm. In the present study, a combination of immunohistochemistry, immunoblot analysis, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to demonstrate the expression pattern of thyroid hormone receptors (TR) in the juvenile and adult rat testis. The results indicated that TRα1 was expressed in proliferating Sertoli cell nuclei, its expression decreasing coincident with the cessation of proliferation. TRα2, TRα3, and TRβ1 mRNAs were expressed at low levels during development; however, the corresponding protein was not detected by immunoblot analysis. In addition, TRα1 was found to be expressed in germ cells from intermediate spermatogonia to mid-cycle pachytene spermatocytes. Immunohistochemistry also demonstrated TR expression in a subset of interstitial cells. The demonstration of TR expression in germ cells undergoing spermatogenic differentiation suggests a possible role for thyroid hormones in the adult testis.
Key Factors Affecting Temporal Variability in Stream Water Quality

Understanding the factors that influence temporal variability in water quality is critical for designing water quality management strategies. In this study, we explore the key factors that affect temporal variability in stream water quality across multiple catchments using a Bayesian hierarchical model. We apply this model to a case study data set consisting of monthly water quality measurements obtained over a 20‐year period from 102 water quality monitoring sites in the state of Victoria (Southeast Australia). We investigate six water quality constituents: total suspended solids, total phosphorus, filterable reactive phosphorus, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrate‐nitrite (NOx), and electrical conductivity. We find that same‐day streamflow has the greatest effect on water quality variability for all constituents. Additional important predictors include soil moisture, antecedent streamflow, vegetation cover, and water temperature. Overall, the models do not explain a large proportion of temporal variation in water quality, with Nash‐Sutcliffe coefficients lower than 0.49. However, when considering performance on a site‐by‐site basis, we see high model performance in some locations, with Nash‐Sutcliffe coefficients of up to 0.8 for NOx and electrical conductivity. The effect of the temporal predictors on water quality varies between sites, which should be explored further for potential spatial patterns in future studies. There is also potential for further extension of these temporal variability models into a predictive spatiotemporal model of riverine constituent concentrations, which will be a useful tool to inform decision making for catchment water quality management.
Randomized solution for robust optimal power flow

Robust optimal power flow problem is to find the optimal operating setting of a power system subject to some constraints based on power and voltage for any uncertain power generation. Since this problem is NP hard due to its nonconvexity, a computationally cheap randomized algorithm is presented. The algorithm is applied for the New England test system and its efficiency is demonstrated through numerical examples.
DualGAN: Unsupervised Dual Learning for Image-to-Image Translation

Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) for cross-domain image-to-image translation have made much progress recently [7, 8, 21, 12, 4, 18]. Depending on the task complexity, thousands to millions of labeled image pairs are needed to train a conditional GAN. However, human labeling is expensive, even impractical, and large quantities of data may not always be available. Inspired by dual learning from natural language translation [23], we develop a novel dual-GAN mechanism, which enables image translators to be trained from two sets of unlabeled images from two domains. In our architecture, the primal GAN learns to translate images from domain U to those in domain V, while the dual GAN learns to invert the task. The closed loop made by the primal and dual tasks allows images from either domain to be translated and then reconstructed. Hence a loss function that accounts for the reconstruction error of images can be used to train the translators. Experiments on multiple image translation tasks with unlabeled data show considerable performance gain of DualGAN over a single GAN. For some tasks, DualGAN can even achieve comparable or slightly better results than conditional GAN trained on fully labeled data.
Local adaptation and the potential effects of a contaminant on predator avoidance and antipredator responses under global warming: a space-for-time substitution approach

The ability to deal with temperature‐induced changes in interactions with contaminants and predators under global warming is one of the outstanding, applied evolutionary questions. For this, it is crucial to understand how contaminants will affect activity levels, predator avoidance and antipredator responses under global warming and to what extent gradual thermal evolution may mitigate these effects. Using a space‐for‐time substitution approach, we assessed the potential for gradual thermal evolution shaping activity (mobility and foraging), predator avoidance and antipredator responses when Ischnura elegans damselfly larvae were exposed to zinc in a common‐garden warming experiment at the mean summer water temperatures of shallow water bodies at southern and northern latitudes (24 and 20°C, respectively). Zinc reduced mobility and foraging, predator avoidance and escape swimming speed. Importantly, high‐latitude populations showed stronger zinc‐induced reductions in escape swimming speed at both temperatures, and in activity levels at the high temperature. The latter indicates that local thermal adaptation may strongly change the ecological impact of contaminants under global warming. Our study underscores the critical importance of considering local adaptation along natural gradients when integrating biotic interactions in ecological risk assessment, and the potential of gradual thermal evolution mitigating the effects of warming on the vulnerability to contaminants.
Transient Response of the Gulf Stream to Multiple Hurricanes in 2017

Autonomous underwater glider observations collected during and after 2017 Hurricanes Irma, Jose, and Maria show two types of transient response within the Gulf Stream. First, anomalously fresh water observed near the surface and within the core of the Gulf Stream offshore of the Carolinas likely resulted from Irma's rainfall being entrained into the Loop Current‐Gulf Stream system. Second, Gulf Stream volume transport was reduced by as much as 40% for about 2 weeks following Jose and Maria. The transport reduction had both barotropic and depth‐dependent characteristics. Correlations between transport through the Florida Straits and reanalysis winds suggest that both local winds in the Florida Straits and winds over the Gulf Stream farther downstream may have contributed to the transport reduction. To clarify the underlying dynamics, additional analyses using numerical models that capture the Gulf Stream's transient response to multiple tropical cyclones passing nearby in a short period are needed.
Observation learning of tool use by captive Guinea baboons (Papio papio).

A subadult male from a captive group of Guinea baboons learned, by trial-and-error, to use a tool to rake in food. He then used the tool 104 times over 26 days, thereby providing the group with most of its food. No other group member used the tool during this period. The tool user was removed, and the remainder of the group was given access to the display. None imitated his tool use. It took longer for another finally to learn to use the tool than it had for the initial solution. However, compared with the period before initial solution, group members manipulated the tool more frequently and touched the food pan with the tool nearly twice as many times after the tool user's separation. This type of tool use appears to be too complex for baboons to imitate directly. However, as a result of observing successful tool use, they attend more to the problem and manipulate the tool more frequently and more accurately. This increase in frequency and accuracy may, in turn, accelerate acquisition of the response by observers through instrumental trial-and-error learning.
Realistic filter cavities for advanced gravitational wave detectors

The ongoing global effort to detect gravitational waves continues to push the limits of precision measurement while aiming to provide a new tool for understanding both astrophysics and fundamental physics. Squeezed states of light offer a proven means of increasing the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors, potentially increasing the rate at which astrophysical sources are detected by more than an order of magnitude. Since radiation pressure noise plays an important role in advanced detectors, frequency dependent squeezing will be required. In this paper we propose a practical approach to producing frequency dependent squeezing for Advanced LIGO and similar interferometric gravitational wave detectors.
The Treatment of IgA Nephropathy

Background: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is a very common glomerulonephritis worldwide. Nevertheless, treatment options for primary IgAN are still largely based on opinion or weak evidence. There is a lack of large randomized controlled trials (RCT) that provide a definitive immunosuppressive protocol for IgAN. The recent KDIGO Clinical Practice Guidelines for Glomerulonephritis have assigned low levels of evidence for almost all recommendations and suggestions related to this nephropathy. Summary: In this article, we review different treatment options and emphasize that the key to therapeutic decision-making is the assessment of an individual's prognosis. The risk of disease progression is closely related to clinical parameters such as proteinuria, hypertension, and impaired glomerular filtration rate. For patients with minor urinary abnormalities, the mainstay of treatment is long-term regular follow-up to detect renal progression and hypertension. Optimized supportive care aiming to maintain proteinuria <1 g/day is preferred in the typical patient presenting with microhematuria, significant but nonnephrotic proteinuria, hypertension, and variable degrees of renal failure. The atypical patient with overt nephritic syndrome or rapidly progressive kidney injury that represents a vasculitic form of IgAN should be treated with immunosuppression. Finally, the variant of overlapping syndrome of IgAN and lipoid nephrosis that runs a good prognosis should be treated as lipoid nephrosis. Key Message: The treatment of IgAN should be structured according to the clinical scenario.
Yoga therapy decreases dyspnea-related distress and improves functional performance in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND There has been limited study of yoga training as a complementary exercise strategy to manage the symptom of dyspnea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). PURPOSE The primary purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate a yoga program for its safety, feasibility, and efficacy for decreasing dyspnea intensity (DI) and dyspnea-related distress (DD) in older adults with COPD. METHODS Clinically stable patients with COPD (n = 29; age 69.9 +/- 9.5; forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) 47.7 +/- 15.6% predicted; female = 21) were randomized to a 12-week yoga program specifically designed for people with COPD or usual-care control (UC). The twice-weekly yoga program included asanas (yoga postures) and visama vritti pranayama (timed breathing). Safety measure outcomes included heart rate, oxygen saturation, dyspnea, and pain. Feasibility was measured by patient-reported enjoyment, difficulty, and adherence to yoga sessions. At baseline and at 12 weeks, DI and DD were measured during incremental cycle ergometry and a 6-minute walk (6MW) test. Secondary efficacy outcomes included physical performance, psychologic well-being, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). RESULTS Yoga training was safe and feasible for patients with COPD. While yoga training had only small effects on DI after the 6MW test (effect size [ES], 0.20; p = 0.60), there were greater reductions in DD in the yoga group compared to UC (ES, 0.67; p = 0.08). Yoga training also improved 6MW distance (+71.7 +/- 21.8 feet versus -27.6 +/- 36.2 feet; ES = 0.78, p = 0.04) and self-reported functional performance (ES = 0.79, p = 0.04) compared to UC. There were small positive changes in muscle strength and HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS Elderly patients with COPD participated safely in a 12-week yoga program especially designed for patients with this chronic illness. After the program, the subjects tolerated more activity with less DD and improved their functional performance. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger, more sufficiently powered efficacy study.
PCR Amplification of DNA Sequence of Bovine Papillomavirus Type 2 in Urinary Bladder of Cattle with Enzootic Hematuria in Espirito Santo, Brazil

The goal of this study was to investigate the presence of bovine papillomavirus type 2 (BPV-2) genomic DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, in the urinary bladder of cattle with bovine enzootic hematuria (BEH), in the neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions in Espirito Santo, Brazil. Thus, 46 bladders with gross BEH lesions were collected from adult cattle at slaughterhouses. The samples were divided into two portions: one for use in histopathological analysis and the other one for PCR. Microscopic analysis showed that 56.52% of the bladders presented neoplastic lesions, of which 50% were benign, 23.08% were malignant and 26.92% presented both types of neoplasms. The remaining 43.48% of the bladders did not show any neoplasms. Presence of BPV-2 was confirmed in 43.48% of the bladders: 65% of these were found in neoplastic lesions and 35% in non-neoplastic lesions. Among the neoplastic lesions, detection of BPV-2 was more frequent in benign lesions (53.84%), followed by malignant lesions (23.08%) and by those presenting both benign and malignant lesions (23.08%). These results confirm the presence of BPV-2 in both neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions in urinary bladders of cattle with enzootic hematuria from the studied geographic area.