Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Histogram Matching Approach for assessment of flow regime alteration: application to environmental flow optimization

In this paper we present a Histogram Matching Approach (HMA) for assessment of the flow regime alteration. The HMA uses the degree of histogram dissimilarity as a metric for impact assessment, which is based on the quadratic‐form distance between the frequency vectors of the pre‐ and post‐impact histograms weighted by a specified similarity matrix. The HMA is coupled with an aggregated multiobjective optimization genetic algorithm and applied to a case study on the Kaoping diversion weir (Taiwan) for determining the optimal environmental flow scheme that balances the ecosystem and human needs objectives. Two key issues are addressed in this study. First, we compare the performances of the HMA and existing Range of Variability Approach (RVA). Second, we employ three types of similarity function to investigate their effect on the outcomes of the HMA. The results reveal that the HMA consistently outperforms the RVA in preserving the natural flow variability regardless of what type of similarity function is used. No single type of similarity function can be found that would simultaneously best preserve the natural patterns of 32 Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA). For the situations where the water‐supply reliability is of critical concern, the pulse similarity is recommended because it would assure the smallest water‐supply deficit. If, however, minor degradation in the water‐supply reliability may be overlooked, the linear similarity is suggested because it would generally result in the post‐impact flows that most satisfactorily resemble to the natural flow regime. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Relativizing Chaitin's Halting Probability

As a natural example of a 1-random real, Chaitin proposed the halting probability Ω of a universal prefix-free machine. We can relativize this example by considering a universal prefix-free oracle machine U. Let be the halting probability of UA; this gives a natural uniform way of producing an A-random real for every A ∈ 2ω. It is this operator which is our primary object of study. We can draw an analogy between the jump operator from computability theory and this Omega operator. But unlike the jump, which is invariant (up to computable permutation) under the choice of an effective enumeration of the partial computable functions, can be vastly different for different choices of U. Even for a fixed U, there are oracles A =* B such that and are 1-random relative to each other. We prove this and many other interesting properties of Omega operators. We investigate these operators from the perspective of analysis, computability theory, and of course, algorithmic randomness.
Diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in intra oral tumors.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to establish the diagnostic accuracy, specificity and sensitivity of fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) for intra-oral tumors, comparing with histopathology as the gold standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty cases of FNA cytology from intraoral tumors was performed in AFID along with the demographic data and clinical information and then diagnosed at AFIP, Rawalpindi. Then the cytology results obtained per FNAC were compared with the histopathological biopsy results of the same lesions. The following variables were recorded for each patient: Age, gender, site of biopsy, diagnosis. The data were entered and analyzed using Open-epi version 2.0. Diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated. Cohen Kappa was further applied to compare the agreement between the biopsy and FNAC diagnoses. A p-value of <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS Among the total patients included in the study there were 24 males and 16 females, with a ratio of 1.5:1. Age of the patients ranged from 24 to 80 years with a mean of 52 years. A total of six sites were aspirated from the oral cavity with maximum (11) aspirates taken from alveolar ridge. The results of FNAC revealed that there were 32 malignant and 8 benign aspirates. Confirmation through histopathological analysis came for 31/32 malignant cases while one was falsely given positive for malignancy on FNAC. Among a total of 40 cases, 31(77%) cases diagnosed were found to be malignant and remaining 9(23%) were benign. The FNAC results revealed 32 malignant and 8 benign lesions. Histopathology of the subsequent surgically excised specimen showed malignant lesions in 31(77%) and benign in 9(23%) patients. As a whole, it was found that the absolute sensitivity for intra oral FNAC was 100% and specificity 89% with positive predictive value of 97% and negative predictive value of 100%. CONCLUSION Cytological diagnosis was almost corroborative with final histopathological diagnosis in all cases, with very few exceptions, exhibiting high diagnostic accuracy.
Wiring Specificity and Synaptic Diversity in the Mouse Lateral Central Amygdala

The central amygdala (CeA) nucleus, a subcortical structure composed of mostly GABA-releasing (GABAergic) neurons, controls fear expression via projections to downstream targets in the hypothalamus and brainstem. The CeA consists of the lateral (CeL) and medial (CeM) subdivisions. The CeL strongly gates information transfer to the CeM, the main output station of the amygdala, but little is known about the functional organization of local circuits in this region. Using cluster analysis, we identified two major electrophysiologically distinct CeL neuron classes in mouse amygdala slices, the early-spiking (ES) and late-spiking (LS) neurons. These two classes displayed distinct autaptic transmission. Compared with LS neurons, ES neurons had strong and depressing autapses, which enhanced spike-timing precision. With multiple patch-clamp recordings, we found that CeL neurons made chemical, but not electrical, synapses. Analysis of individual connections revealed cannabinoid type 1 receptor-mediated suppression of the ES, but not of the LS cell output synapse. More interestingly, the efficacy of the ES→LS or LS→ES synapse was ∼2-fold greater than that of the LS→LS or ES→ES synapse. When tested at 20 Hz, synapses between different neurons, but not within the same class, were markedly depressing and were more powerful to sculpt activity of postsynaptic neurons. Moreover, neurons of different classes also form synapses with higher degree of connectivity. We demonstrate that ES and LS neurons represent two functionally distinct cell classes in the CeL and interactions between presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons dictate synaptic properties between neurons. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The central lateral amygdala (CeL) is a key node in fear circuits, but the functional organization of local circuits in this region is largely unknown. The CeL consists of mostly GABAergic inhibitory neurons with different functional and molecular features. Here, we report that the presynaptic cell class determines functional properties of autapses and cannabinoid-mediated modulation of synaptic transmission between neurons, whereas presynaptic versus postsynaptic cell classes dictate the connectivity, efficacy, and dynamics of GABAergic synapses between any two neurons. The wiring specificity and synaptic diversity have a great impact on neuronal output in amygdala inhibitory networks. Such synaptic organizing principles advance our understanding of the significance of physiologically defined neuronal phenotypes in amygdala inhibitory networks.
Flash Thermography of Aerospace Composites

In the past decade, thermography has become a widely accepted inspection technique for both manufacturing and maintenance of aerospace composites. Optical flash thermography, where the sample surface is heated by a brief pulse of light, has emerged as the most widely implemented technique in the United States, as it is faster than step or modulated optical heating, and it facilitates quantitative measurement of thickness, depth or thermal diffusivity. For many polymer and ceramic matrix composite inspection applications, flash thermography has replaced traditional ultrasonic inspection. In part, the increased acceptance of flash thermography is the result of improved signal processing and analysis techniques. While early attempts at thermographic NDT were based on analysis of contrast in the post-heating image data sequence, modern systems treat each pixel as an independent time series, so that information about the state of a sample can be acquired from a single pixel, without the use of a reference standard. The Thermographic Signal Reconstruction (TSR) technique has been a particularly effective device for signal analysis. While the TSR signal itself provides only noise reduction, its first and second time derivatives provide a signature that is invariant to ambient conditions, surface preparation or input energy, and that reveal the presence of subsurface interfaces and their thermophysical properties.
The Clinical and Etiological Characteristics of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) in Outpatients in Shanghai, China, 2011 to 2013

Introduction Clinical and etiological characteristics of influenza-like illness (ILI) in outpatients is poorly understood in the southern temperate region of China. We conducted laboratory-based surveillance of viral etiology for ILI outpatients in Shanghai from January 2011 to December 2013. Materials and Methods Clinical and epidemiological data from ILI outpatients, both children and adults, were collected. A total of 1970 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected and tested for 12 respiratory viruses using multiplex RT-PCR, and the data were analyzed anonymously. Results All 12 respiratory viruses were detected in the specimens. At least one virus was detected in 32.4% of 1970 specimens analyzed, with 1.1% showing co-infections. The most frequently detected agents were influenza A (11.7%), influenza B (9.6%), and rhinoviruses (3.1%). Other viruses were present at a frequency less than 3.0%. We observed a winter peak in the detection rate in ILI patients during 3 years of surveillance and a summer peak in 2012. HCoV, HADV, and HMPV were detected more frequently in children than in adults. Patients infected with influenza virus experienced higher temperatures, more coughs, running noses, headaches and fatigue than patients infected with other viruses and virus-free patients (p<0.001). Conclusions The spectrum, seasonality, age distribution and clinical associations of respiratory virus infections in children and adults with influenza-like illness were analyzed in this study for the first time. To a certain extent, the findings can provide baseline data for evaluating the burden of respiratory virus infection in children and adults in Shanghai. It will also provide clinicians with helpful information about the etiological patterns of outpatients presenting with complaints of acute respiratory syndrome, but further studies should be conducted, and longer-term laboratory-based surveillance would give a better picture of the etiology of ILI.
Aspect-Based Opinion Polling from Customer Reviews

Opinion polling has been traditionally done via customer satisfaction studies in which questions are carefully designed to gather customer opinions about target products or services. This paper studies aspect-based opinion polling from unlabeled free-form textual customer reviews without requiring customers to answer any questions. First, a multi-aspect bootstrapping method is proposed to learn aspect-related terms of each aspect that are used for aspect identification. Second, an aspect-based segmentation model is proposed to segment a multi-aspect sentence into multiple single-aspect units as basic units for opinion polling. Finally, an aspect-based opinion polling algorithm is presented in detail. Experiments on real Chinese restaurant reviews demonstrated that our approach can achieve 75.5 percent accuracy in aspect-based opinion polling tasks. The proposed opinion polling method does not require labeled training data. It is thus easy to implement and can be applicable to other languages (e.g., English) or other domains such as product or movie reviews.
Stochastic simulation of cosmic ray modulation including a wavy heliospheric current sheet

[1] We present a quasi-steady two-dimensional (axisymmetric) model of the heliospheric transport of galactic cosmic rays. The model is based on stochastic simulation techniques and includes all the modulation mechanisms that cosmic rays experience in the heliosphere: convection, adiabatic cooling, diffusion, and drifts. A special emphasis is given to the cosmic ray transport in the vicinity of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS), and a new method to calculate the wavy current sheet drift is presented. We study cosmic ray modulation in different solar modulation conditions and levels of waviness of the current sheet. We discuss changes in the cosmic ray spectrum and the dominant streaming patterns of cosmic rays in the heliosphere for different solar polarities and HCS tilt angles.
Metagenomic Analysis of Human Diarrhea: Viral Detection and Discovery

Worldwide, approximately 1.8 million children die from diarrhea annually, and millions more suffer multiple episodes of nonfatal diarrhea. On average, in up to 40% of cases, no etiologic agent can be identified. The advent of metagenomic sequencing has enabled systematic and unbiased characterization of microbial populations; thus, metagenomic approaches have the potential to define the spectrum of viruses, including novel viruses, present in stool during episodes of acute diarrhea. The detection of novel or unexpected viruses would then enable investigations to assess whether these agents play a causal role in human diarrhea. In this study, we characterized the eukaryotic viral communities present in diarrhea specimens from 12 children by employing a strategy of “micro-mass sequencing” that entails minimal starting sample quantity (<100 mg stool), minimal sample purification, and limited sequencing (384 reads per sample). Using this methodology we detected known enteric viruses as well as multiple sequences from putatively novel viruses with only limited sequence similarity to viruses in GenBank.
An autopsy case of SOD1-related ALS with TDP-43 positive inclusions

Approximately 20% of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) cases are linked to mutations in the antioxidant enzyme, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) . Controversy exists as to whether SOD1 -related FALS and sporadic ALS (SALS) share common mechanistic pathways, since very few SOD1 -related FALS cases exhibit cytoplasmic inclusions composed of 43-kDa TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43), a pathologic hallmark of SALS and SOD1 -unrelated FALS.1,2,e1,e2 We describe prominent TDP-43 pathology in the spinal cord of a patient with SOD1 -related ALS with SOD1 I112T mutation, a relatively uncommon variant form leading to rapid disease progression.3 ### Case report. A 41-year-old man with no familial history of neurodegenerative disorder noted progressive weakness in his left leg. Four months after onset, a neurologic examination detected muscle weakness in the left lower extremity and fasciculation in all the extremities. Tendon reflexes were decreased and Babinski sign was negative bilaterally; EMG revealed a neurogenic pattern in the left extremities. Dysarthria and dysphagia were not evident. He was diagnosed with ALS. Within a year, he became bedridden and died at the age of 43 because of respiratory failure. Genomic DNA was extracted from the autopsied samples with informed consent from his family. DNA analysis revealed a …
Resolvins Decrease Oxidative Stress Mediated Macrophage and Epithelial Cell Interaction through Decreased Cytokine Secretion

Background Inflammation is a key hallmark of ALI and is mediated through ungoverned cytokine signaling. One such cytokine, interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) has been demonstrated to be the most bioactive cytokine in ALI patients. Macrophages are the key players responsible for IL-1β secretion into the alveolar space. Following the binding of IL-1β to its receptor, “activated” alveolar epithelial cells show enhanced barrier dysfunction, adhesion molecule expression, cytokine secretion, and leukocyte attachment. More importantly, it is an important communication molecule between the macrophage and alveolar epithelium. While the molecular determinants of this inflammatory event have been well documented, endogenous resolution processes that decrease IL-1β secretion and resolve alveolar epithelial cell activation and tissue inflammation have not been well characterized. Lipid mediator Aspirin-Triggered Resolvin D1 (AT-RvD1) has demonstrated potent pro-resolutionary effects in vivo models of lung injury; however, the contribution of the alveoli to the protective benefits of this molecule has not been well documented. In this study, we demonstrate that AT-RvD1 treatment lead to a significant decrease in oxidant induced macrophage IL-1β secretion and production, IL-1β-mediated cytokine secretion, adhesion molecule expression, leukocyte adhesion and inflammatory signaling. Methods THP-1 macrophages were treated with hydrogen peroxide and extracellular ATP in the presence or absence of AT-RvD1 (1000–0.1 nM). A549 alveolar-like epithelial cells were treated with IL-1β (10 ng/mL) in the presence or absence of AT-RvD1 (0.1 μM). Following treatment, cell lysate and cell culture supernatants were collected for Western blot, qPCR and ELISA analysis of pro-inflammatory molecules. Functional consequences of IL-1β induced alveolar epithelial cell and macrophage activation were also measured following treatment with IL-1β ± AT-RvD1. Results Results demonstrate that macrophages exposed to H2O2 and ATP in the presence of resolvins show decreased IL-1β production and activity. A549 cells treated with IL-1β in the presence of AT-RvD1 show a reduced level of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8. Further, IL-1β-mediated adhesion molecule expression was also reduced with AT-RvD1 treatment, which was correlated with decreased leukocyte adhesion. AT-RvD1 treatment demonstrated reduced MAP-Kinase signaling. Taken together, our results demonstrate AT-RvD1 treatment reduced IL-1β-mediated alveolar epithelial cell activation. This is a key step in unraveling the protective effects of resolvins, especially AT-RvD1, during injury.
High Temperature Water Heat Pipes for Kilopower System

NASA Glenn Research Center is examining small fission power systems that address the gap between Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) and Fission Surface Power Systems (FPS) for future spacecraft applications and Lunar and Martian surface missions. The Kilopower system, operating in the 1 to 10 kWe range, uses alkali metal heat pipes to supply heat to Stirling convertors to produce electricity and titanium water heat pipes to remove the waste heat and transport it to the radiators where it is rejected to space. The design of the heat pipes must allow for testing of the Kilopower system on earth, operation in space, survival during launch, and adverse orientations (evaporator above condenser). Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) is designing and fabricating hybrid screen-groove titanium water heat pipes as solely grooved wicks are insufficient for the varied operating environments. This paper reports on the fabrication and test results for the titanium water heat pipes and radiators and future development efforts. A screened annular evaporator which interfaces to the cold end of the Stirling convertor was designed, fabricated, and welded to the grooved heat pipe previously developed. The hybrid heat pipe was then tested for heat transport capability. Heat pipe radiators were fabricated by joining solid aluminum facesheets to titanium heat pipes using S-Bond. The heat pipe radiators were cycle tested under vacuum for bond integrity and performance tested in ambient conditions for radiator effectiveness.
Treatment with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate improves proteinuria, oxidative stress, and glomerular hypertension in overload proteinuria.

We evaluated whether the blockade of the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB would modify the oxidative stress, inflammation, and structural and hemodynamic alterations found in the kidney as a result of massive proteinuria. Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with 2 g of BSA intraperitoneally daily for 2 wk. Ten of them received in addition the inhibitor of NF-kappaB activation pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC; 200 mg.kg(-1). day(-1) sc) and the rest received vehicle. Seven rats that received intraperitoneal saline were used as controls. Glomerular hemodynamics were studied after 14 days. Markers of oxidative stress (NF-kappaB subunit p65+ cells, 3-nitrotyrosine, and 4-hydroxynonenal), inflammation (cortical CD68+ cells and NOS-II), and afferent arteriole damage were assessed by immunohistochemistry and morphometry. Activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase was evaluated in renal cortex and medulla. Albumin overload induced massive proteinuria, oxidative stress with reduced activity of antioxidant enzymes, NF-kappaB activation, inflammatory cell infiltration, a significant presence of proteinaceous casts, systemic and glomerular hypertension, as well as arteriolar remodeling. Treatment with PDTC prevented or improved all of these findings. In this model of nephrotic syndrome, we demonstrate a key role for oxidative stress and inflammation in causing systemic and glomerular hypertension and proteinuria. Oxidative stress and inflammation may have a key role in accelerating renal injury associated with intense proteinuria.
Evaluation by comparing result sets in context

Familiar evaluation methodologies for information retrieval (IR) are not well suited to the task of comparing systems in many real settings. These systems and evaluation methods must support contextual, interactive retrieval over changing, heterogeneous data collections, including private and confidential information.We have implemented a comparison tool which can be inserted into the natural IR process. It provides a familiar search interface, presents a small number of result sets in side-by-side panels, elicits searcher judgments, and logs interaction events. The tool permits study of real information needs as they occur, uses the documents actually available at the time of the search, and records judgments taking into account the instantaneous needs of the searcher.We have validated our proposed evaluation approach and explored potential biases by comparing different whole-of-Web search facilities using a Web-based version of the tool. In four experiments, one with supplied queries in the laboratory and three with real queries in the workplace, subjects showed no discernable left-right bias and were able to reliably distinguish between high- and low-quality result sets. We found that judgments were strongly predicted by simple implicit measures.Following validation we undertook a case study comparing two leading whole-of-Web search engines. The approach is now being used in several ongoing investigations.