Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bayesian estimation of precipitating cloud parameters from combined measurements of spaceborne microwave radiometer and radar

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the potential of a Bayesian inversion algorithm using microwave multisensor data for the retrieval of surface rainfall rate and cloud parameters. The retrieval scheme is based on the maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) method, extended for the use of both spaceborne passive and active microwave data. The MAP technique for precipitation profiling is also proposed to approach the problem of the radar-swath synthetic broadening; that is, the capability to exploit the combined information also where only radiometric data are available. In order to show an application to airborne data, two case studies are selected within the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA-COARE). They refer to a stratiform storm region and an intense squall line of two mesoscale convective systems, which occurred over the ocean on February 20 and 22, 1993, respectively. The estimated rainfall rates and columnar hydrometeor contents derived from the proposed algorithms are compared to each other and to radar estimates based on reflectivity-rainrate (Z-R) relationships. Results in terms of reflectivity profiles and upwelling brightness temperatures, reconstructed from the estimated cloud structures, are also discussed. A database of combined measurements acquired at nadir during various TOGA-COARE flights, is used for applying the radar-swath synthetic broadening technique in the case of an along-track radar-failure countermeasure. A simulated test of the latter technique is performed using the case studies of February 20 and 22, 1993.
The distribution of unmarked cases in Samoan

1 Introduction 1 Legate (2008) proposes a class of ergative case marking systems, in which sole arguments of intransitives receive nominative case, transitive patients receive accusative case, and transitive agents receive ergative case. The system does not exhibit absolutive as a distinct case. The appearance of a single morphological case on both intransitive sole arguments and transitive patients is due to a morphological syncretism between the nominative and accusative morphological cases. I argue that the Polynesian language Samoan falls into this category of ergative languages, arguing that both nominative and accusative case in Samoan are realised by the absence of any phonologically overt case marking on full DPs, but that nominative and accusative pronouns are morphologically distinguished. The evidence for this comes from nominalised clauses, where the distribution of the morphologically null case (ordinarily taken to be absolutive case) follows a nominative-accusative like distribution: P may retain the morphologically null case under nominalisation, but S and A may not. I argue this pattern falls out from positing two distinct morphologically null abstract Cases, nominative and accusative, which are licensed by distinct mechanisms; only accusative case is licensed under nominalisation. I also demonstrate previous analyses of Polynesian ergativity within the generative tradition (e.g., Bittner and Hale 1996a; Massam 2001) predict the wrong results for these data. Samoan is spoken in Samoa and American Samoa and by significant immigrant populations in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and elsewhere. It is an Austronesian language of the Polynesian sub-branch. It is head-initial, with predicate-initial word ordering.
Comparison of Single-Standing or Connected Implants on Stress Distribution in Bone of Mandibular Overdentures: A Two-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis

This study aimed to compare the influence of single-standing or connected implants on stress distribution in bone of mandibular overdentures by means of two-dimensional finite element analysis. Two finite element models were designed using software (ANSYS) for 2 situations: bar-clip (BC) group-model of an edentulous mandible supporting an overdenture over 2 connected implants with BC system, and o'ring (OR) group-model of an edentulous mandible supporting an overdenture over 2 single-standing implants with OR abutments. Axial loads (100 N) were applied on either central (L1) or lateral (L2) regions of the models. Stress distribution was concentrated mostly in the cortical bone surrounding the implants. When comparing the groups, BC (L1, 52.0 MPa and L2, 74.2 MPa) showed lower first principal stress values on supporting tissue than OR (L1, 78.4 MPa and L2, 76.7 MPa). Connected implants with BC attachment were more favorable on stress distribution over peri-implant-supporting tissue for both loading conditions.
The multifaceted presentation of tuberculosis in gynaecology: A masquerader as cervical cancer as well as a cause of primary infertility in the same patient

Tuberculosis (TB) of the genital tract is uncommon in the developed world. Cervical tuberculosis accounts for 0.1 - 0.65% of all cases of tuberculosis and 5 -24% of genital tract TB. More frequently TB will affect the upper genital tract - the fallopian tubes and endometrium and this is more common in the child-bearing age group (Lamba et al. 2002). We present here a case of a young woman who presented to the colposcopy combined gynaeendocrine and the infertility units of our hospital. (excerpt)
A new deletion ablating NESP55 causes loss of maternal imprint of A/B GNAS and autosomal dominant pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ib.

BACKGROUND Patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ib (PHP-1b) develop resistance toward PTH, leading to hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia. PHP-1b is an imprinted human disorder associated with methylation changes at one or several differentially methylated regions at the GNAS locus. This complex locus gives rise to several different transcripts with different patterns of imprinted expression depending on promoter methylation. They can be either coding [Gαs, XLαs, and neuroendocrine secretory protein-55 (NESP55)] or nontranslated (A/B and AS). The paternal AS transcript lies antisense to nesp55. OBJECTIVE Define the genetic defect in a new family with three patients presenting autosomal dominant PHP-1b. DESIGN We used methylation analysis, comparative genomic hybridization, and genotyping to characterize the defect. AS expression was studied in two patients and their unaffected mothers. RESULTS A novel deletion of 18,988 bp that removes NESP55 and a large part of its counterpart GNAS AS intron 4 was discovered. On maternal transmission, this deletion causes loss of A/B methylation without affecting XL/AS imprint. On paternal transmission, there are no methylation anomalies. The deletion creates a cryptic exon contained within AS intron 4, which is expressed from the mutated allele, be it paternal or maternal. CONCLUSION This new deletion suggests that NESP55 is an additional imprinting control region that directs A/B methylation in humans. We bring arguments in support of the theory of reciprocal inhibition between the expression of NESP and AS. However, determining whether loss of methylation at the A/B differentially methylated region is a consequence of the loss of NESP expression or of the expression of AS requires additional investigations.
Selection of surgical treatment types for intrahepatic duct stones

Backgrounds/Aims Complete elimination of intrahepatic duct (IHD) stones is difficult and IHD stone disease is frequently associated with various complications, recurrence and sometimes cholangiocarcinoma. Therefore, we analyzed the long-term surgical results and evaluated the management currently considered appropriate. Methods Overall 110 patients who had been diagnosed with benign IHD stone disease and who underwent surgical treatment were enrolled in this study. The patients were categorized into three groups according to the type of surgery performed; liver resection (LR) group, intrahepatic duct exploration (IHDE) group and hepaticoenterostomy (HE) group. We compared and analyzed the results of these three groups. Results The number of cases in the LR group, IHDE group and HE group were 77, 25 and 8 respectively. The LR group required a longer operation time (p=0.000), more frequent transfusion (p=0.028) and had higher morbidity (p=0.049). However, the LR group had a higher clearance rate (90.9%) (p=0.000) than the other groups. In addition, there were a total of 22 cases of IHD stone recurrence during the follow-up, but there was no statistically significant difference among the three groups. The location of IHD stones was related to a risk factor for incomplete stone removal, but not for recurrence. Conclusions The fundamental principle for the treatment of IHD stone disease should be liver resection. However, it can lead to a longer operative time and higher rate of complications than the other procedures. There is also no difference in the IHD stone recurrence rate among the procedures. Therefore, these alternative and minor procedures could also be taken into account for patients with poor preoperative condition.
Control of adenovirus early gene expression: accumulation of viral mRNA after infection of transformed cells

We studied the accumulation of viral mRNA in the presence of inhibitors of protein synthesis in an adenovirus type 5-transformed cell line (line 293 cells). An analysis of the endogenous viral mRNA's and proteins revealed that only early regions 1A and 1B were expressed in uninfected 293 cells. However, viral mRNA's from early regions 2, 3, and 4, as well as mRNA's from early regions 1A and 1B, accumulated in 293 cells after infection with adenovirus type 2. Cells treated with anisomycin before infection showed a drastic enhancement of mRNA from early region 4 compared with drug-free controls, This increase in viral mRNA was detected by using filter hybridization, S1 endonuclease mapping, and in vitro translation. The rate of transcription of early region 4 nuclear RNA also increased significantly in the presence of anisomycin. In contrast to the results with early region 4, the levels of cytoplasmic mRNA's from early regions 2 and 3 did not increase in cells treated with inhibitors. These results suggested that multiple virus encoded controls operate on the early regions of the adenovirus genome.
An Introduction to Propensity Score Methods for Reducing the Effects of Confounding in Observational Studies

The propensity score is the probability of treatment assignment conditional on observed baseline characteristics. The propensity score allows one to design and analyze an observational (nonrandomized) study so that it mimics some of the particular characteristics of a randomized controlled trial. In particular, the propensity score is a balancing score: conditional on the propensity score, the distribution of observed baseline covariates will be similar between treated and untreated subjects. I describe 4 different propensity score methods: matching on the propensity score, stratification on the propensity score, inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score, and covariate adjustment using the propensity score. I describe balance diagnostics for examining whether the propensity score model has been adequately specified. Furthermore, I discuss differences between regression-based methods and propensity score-based methods for the analysis of observational data. I describe different causal average treatment effects and their relationship with propensity score analyses.
Void formation in short-fiber thermoplastic composites

Voids, or bubbles, are formed in short-fiber thermoplastic composites because of entrapment of air in the compounding and melt flow processing steps and as a result of uneven shrinkage due to temperature gradients involved in the solidification step by cooling. The experimental results suggest that bubble nucleation takes place at fiber ends and their volume content depends on processing conditions. The shape and distribution of the voids were studied by optical examination of longitudinal sections of extrudates, using standard metallographic polishing technique and reflected light microscopy. The void volume fraction of extrudates was found to increase with increasing extrusion rate, temperature, fiber concentration, and fiber length, and with a decreasing draw ratio. The void content in fiber-glass-reinforced injection moldings is low, ≈1% by volume; however, by heating these moldings, the contained pressurized bubbles expand and significant void volume fractions are observed.
Elevated serum visfatin levels are associated with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Visfatin is considered a pro-inflammatory adipocytokine, and it is commonly increased in obesity-related diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the levels of serum visfatin in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its diagnostic and predictive value in detecting HCC. Fasting serum levels of visfatin of 135 HCC patients, 115 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, 129 liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, and 149 healthy controls were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Meanwhile, serum alpha fetal protein (AFP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were also assayed. The median serum visfatin concentration in HCC patients was 1.113 ng/mL (range: 0.823-2.214 ng/mL), which was significant higher than those of healthy controls, CHB patients, and LC patients (P<0.05). The serum visfatin concentration in HCC patients was positively correlated with AFP (r=0.595, P<0.001) and IL-6 (r=0.261, P<0.015) and was also associated with tumor size and tumor node metastasis stage. Moreover, elevated levels of serum visfatin were associated with a higher HCC risk for CHB and LC patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis had shown that HCC patients with high levels of serum visfatin had significantly shorter overall survival times than those with low serum visfatin levels (P<0.001). Using a cutoff visfatin level of 1.403 ng/mL, the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed unappealing sensitivity and specificity values (45.76% and 74.79%, respectively; AUC=0.626) regarding visfatin's use as a diagnostic marker for HCC. Our results indicate that increased serum visfatin levels are associated with poor prognosis of HCC. Visfatin may be a potential therapeutic target of HCC.
A long-term Human-Robot Proxemic study

A long-term Human-Robot Proxemic (HRP) study was performed using a newly developed Autonomous Proxemic System (APS) for a robot to measure and control the approach distances to the human participants. The main findings were that most HRP adaptation occurred in the first two interaction sessions, and for the remaining four weeks, approach distance preferences remained relatively steady, apart from some short periods of increased distances for some participants. There were indications that these were associated with episodes where the robot malfunctioned, so this raises the possibility of users trust in the robot affecting HRP distance. The study also found that approach distances for humans approaching the robot and the robot approaching the human were comparable, though there were indications that humans preferred to approach the robot more closely than they allowed the robot to approach them in a physically restricted area. Two participants left the study prematurely, stating they were bored with the repetitive experimental procedures. This highlights issues related to the often incompatible demands of keeping experimental controlled conditions vs. having realistic, engaging and varied HRI trial scenarios.
Sparse learned representations for image restoration

Sparse representations of signals have drawn considerable interest in recent years. The assumption that natural signals, such as images, admit a sparse decomposition over a redundant dictionary leads to efficient algorithms for handling such sources of data. In particular, the design of well adapted dictionaries for images has been a major challenge. The K-SVD has been recently proposed for this task (Aharon et al. (2006)) and shown to perform very well for various grayscale image processing tasks. In this paper, we address the problem of learning dictionaries for color images and extend the K-SVD-based grayscale image denoising algorithm that appears in (Elad and Aharon (2006)). This work (Mairal et al. (2008a)) puts forward ways for handling nonhomogeneous noise and missing information, paving the way to state-of-the-art results in applications such as color image denoising, demosaicking, and inpainting. A multiscale extension of these algorithms (Mairal et al. (2008b)), which has led to state-of-the-art results in denoising, is also briefly presented.
The Wide Field Imager Lyman-Alpha Search (WFILAS) for galaxies at redshift ~5.7: II. Survey design and sample analysis

Context. Wide-field narrowband surveys are an efficient way of searching large volumes of high-redshift space for distant galaxies. Aims. We describe the Wide Field Imager Lyman-Alpha Search (WFILAS) over 0.74 sq. degree for bright emission-line galaxies at z ∼ 5.7. Methods. WFILAS uses deep images taken with the Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the ESO/MPI 2.2 m telescope in three narrowband (70 A), one encompassing intermediate band (220 A) and two broadband filters, B and R. We use the novel technique of an encompassing intermediate band filter to exclude false detections. Images taken with broadband B and R filters are used to remove low redshift galaxies from our sample. Results. We present a sample of seven Lyα emitting galaxy candidates, two of which are spectroscopically confirmed. Compared to other surveys all our candidates are bright, the results of this survey complements other narrowband surveys at this redshift. Most of our candidates are in the regime of bright luminosities, beyond the reach of less voluminous surveys. Adding our candidates to those of another survey increases the derived luminosity density by ∼30%. We also find potential clustering in the Chandra Deep Field South, supporting overdensities discovered by other surveys. Based on a FORS2/VLT spectrum we additionally present the analysis of the second confirmed Lyα emitting galaxy in our sample. We find that it is the brightest Lyα emitting galaxy (1 x 10 -16 erg s -1 cm -2 ) at this redshift to date and the second confirmed candidate of our survey. Both objects exhibit the presence of a possible second Lyα component redward of the line.
Long-term posttraumatic stress disorder persists after major trauma in adolescents: new data on risk factors and functional outcome.

BACKGROUND Little is known about long-term psychological outcomes after major trauma in adolescents, a leading cause of death and preventable morbidity in this age group. A prospective epidemiologic study was conducted to examine quality of life (QoL) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outcomes in injured adolescents. The specific objectives of the present report are to describe long-term PTSD and to identify risk factors for long-term PTSD and the impact of PTSD on QoL. METHODS Between April 26, 1999, and November 13, 2002, 401 eligible trauma patients aged 12 to 19 years triaged to five participating trauma center hospitals in a regionalized trauma system were enrolled in the study. The admission criteria for patients were as follows: age 12 to 19 years and injury diagnoses excluding severe traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury. PTSD was diagnosed with the Impact of Events Scale-Revised; scores of 24+ were used to diagnose PTSD. QoL after trauma was measured using the Quality of Well-Being scale, a sensitive and well-validated functional index (range: 0 = death to 1.000 = optimum functioning). Patient outcomes were assessed at discharge and at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after discharge. RESULTS The rate of long-term PTSD was 27%, with high rates over the follow-up period. Risk factors for long-term PTSD were perceived threat to life (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; p < 0.001.); death of a family member at the scene (OR, 4.7; p < 0.001); no control over injury event (OR, 1.7; p < 0.05), and violence-related injury (OR, 2.2; p < 0.05). PTSD in adolescents was significantly and strongly associated with female gender, older age, low socioeconomic status, drug and alcohol abuse, and other adolescent behavioral problems. Long-term PTSD was also associated with marked and significant QoL deficits throughout the 24-month follow-up interval. CONCLUSION High rates of long-term PTSD persist after major trauma in adolescents. Injury events such as perceived threat to life and control over the event are strongly associated with PTSD risk. Prolonged PTSD severely impacts QoL outcomes. Early identification and treatment of risk factors for long-term PTSD will be important to improve outcomes in injured adolescents.
FPGA segmented channel routing using genetic algorithms

A genetic algorithm approach for segmented channel routing in field programmable gate arrays (FPGA's) is presented in this paper. The FPGA segmented channel routing problem (FSCRP) is formulated as a special case of a matrix row matching problem which is known to be NP-complete. The goal of FSCRPS is to find a conflict-free net assignment in the tracks within the channel with the minimum routing cost. Simulations on 30 benchmark instances show that GA is able to obtain better solutions compared to the gradual neural network (GNN) approach.
NT-proBNP and Circulating Inflammation Markers in Prediction of a Normal Myocardial Scintigraphy in Patients with Symptoms of Coronary Artery Disease

Background Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) can detect myocardial perfusion abnormalities but many examinations are without pathological findings. This study examines whether circulating biomarkers can be used as screening modality prior to MPI. Methodology/Principal Findings 243 patients with an intermediate risk of CAD or with known CAD with renewed suspicion of ischemia were referred to MPI. Blood samples were analyzed for N-terminal fragment of the prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), YKL-40, IL-6, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Patients with myocardial perfusion defects had elevated levels of NT-proBNP (p<0.0001), YKL-40 (p = 0.03) and IL-6 (p = 0.03) but not of hsCRP (p = 0.58) nor of MMP-9 (p = 0.14). The NT-proBNP increase was observed in both genders (p<0.0001), whereas YKL-40 (p = 0.005) and IL-6 (p = 0.02) were elevated only in men. A NT-proBNP cut off-concentration at 25 ng/l predicted a normal MPI with a negative predictive value >95% regardless of existing CAD. Conclusions 20-25% of patients suspected of CAD could have been spared a MPI by using a NT-proBNP cut-off concentration at 25 ng/l with a negative predictive value >95%. NT-proBNP has the potential use of being a screening marker of CAD before referral of the patient to MPI.