Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of aerosol spectral optical depths over Manora Peak: A high‐altitude station in the central Himalayas

[1] We present, for the first time, spectral behavior of aerosol optical depths (AODs) over Manora Peak, Nainital, located at an altitude of ∼2 km in the Shivalik ranges of the central Himalayas. The observations were carried out using a multiwavelength solar radiometer during January to December 2002. The main results of the study are extremely low AODs during winter, a remarkable increase to high values in summer, and a distinct change in the spectral dependencies of AODs from relatively steeper spectra during winter to shallower ones in summer. A comparison of the total optical depths of the nighttime measurements taken during the 1970s with the daytime values from the current study underlines the fact that loading of larger size particles during summer also occurred at that time, though less severely than it does today. During transparent days the AOD values usually lie below 0.08, while during dusty (turbid) days they lie between 0.08 and 0.69. The average AOD value during the winter, particularly in January and February, is ∼0.03 ± 0.01 at 0.5 μm. The mean aerosol extinction law at Manora Peak during 2002 is best represented by 0. 10λ−0.61. However, during transparent days, which covers almost 40% of the time, it is represented by 0. 02λ−0.97. This value of wavelength exponent, representing reduced coarse concentration and the presence of fine aerosols, indicates that the station measures aerosol in the free troposphere at least during part of the year.
Interest Rates and M2 in an Error Correction Macro Model

With annual data, real M2 is shown to have a surprisingly strong contemporaneous and leading relationship to GDP, robust to the inclusion of other explanatory variables. When combined and tested with parsimonious error correction equations for money demand, price determination, and a monetary policy reaction function, an overall macroeconometric model is revealed with an unusually good fit, aside from a velocity shift adjustment needed for the early 1990s and better inflation performance than expected of late. A regime shift is evident in the stronger response of the Federal Reserve to inflation in the 1980s than in the previous two decades.
Consumer expectations towards origin-claimed food products. Compensation and acceptance for global trading system

Origin- claimed food products mainstream gives diverse features over the world. The food labelling practices based on origin or provenance are frequently developed as a reaction to global trading system: private and NGO's initiatives (Fair Trade), enterprises in UK (Local Foods) and USA (Food Alliance), medals for winners in local exhibitions awards, or public regulation in European Union (PDO, PGI, Organic Farming). These practices claim at reaching consumer expectations. For a consumer who is frequently being uprooted and is stressed by his/her urban environment, the emotional content of where one's food is produced is greater than ever. With a longing for one's home, the consumer becomes an identity seeker. Origin, organic or fair trade food products respond to this need of native tangs revival. Such food products help consumer to identify his/her lost roots, to have recall of exotic holidays, to resist against ethical values' decline and finally to accept globalisation of food trading system. Because of their historical and cultural content, these foods give a meaning to taste. The demand for origin, organic and fair- trade food products is to be found somewhere between lifestyle habits and changes. The future of these products is supported, strangely enough, by the development of novel food products such as fat - or sugar - free foods, restructured meat, alcohol- free wine, and GMOs. The reference to tradition makes modernity tolerable. The arrival of High Tech food products should also result in a demand for compensatory products, and thereby favour those that can help to remove the guilty feelings of ready- to- eat consumers. Therefore, origin- , organic- and fair- trade- labelled foods seem to contribute to the modern food globalisation. The paper focuses on the place of these products within European food consumption. It examines in turn the rare estimation of market share of labelled food products, and their consumers' perception and purchasing behaviour in different sales channels, with a special focus on fair- trade and organic farming. It concludes with consideration of the marketing dynamics, which should be followed in order to favour consumption of origin- claimed food products.
Vitamin D3 Intake Dose and Common Cancer: A Population-Based Case Control Study in a Chinese Population

Objectives: Epidemiological studies suggest that vitamin D status is associated inversely with risk of common cancers in western populations. This study aimed to investigate whether vitamin D is associated with risk of common cancers in Chinese population. Methods: A population-based retrospective case-control study was conducted analyzing data retrieved from the Catastrophic Illness Patient Databases (CIPD) and longitudinal health insurance database (LHID) from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011and January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2011, respectively. Cases were identified as subjects diagnosed with site-specific cancers (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision,) and frequency matched to select controls. Use of vitamin D3 was compared between two groups. Odds ratios (ORs) were employed to quantify the risk associated with exposure to vitamin D3 by logistic regression. Results: There were 1.21% (1961/161806) patients in cases and 0.67 % (1092/161806) patients in controls identified were vitamin D3 users. Overall risk of cancers associated with vitamin D3 users was 1.67 (95% CI:1.55 -1.81). Among these, the risk of kidney cancer and bladder cancer associated with intakes of vitamin D3 were significant (OR 2.59; 95% CI 1.81-3.70; OR 4.97; 95% CI 4.40-5.60) in an adjusted model. In further stratification analysis, we found a statistically significant risk of bladder cancer associated with high intake of vitamin D3. Except this, no statistically significant risk of other site-specific cancers associated with high intake of vitamin D3. Conclusion: Except bladder cancer in stratification analysis, we observed no statistically significant association between high intake of vitamin D3 and other site-specific cancers.
Control Design of Fuzzy Systems with Immeasurable Premise Variables

The Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy model is described by fuzzy if-then rules which represent local linear systems of the underlining nonlinear systems (Takagi & Sugeno, 1985; Tanaka et al., 1996; Tanaka & Sugeno, 1992) and thus it can describe a wide class of nonlinear systems. In the last decade, nonlinear control design methods based on Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system have been explored. Since the stability analysis and state feedback stabilization first made in (Tanaka & Sugeno, 1992), system theory and various control schemes for fuzzy systems have been developed. Parallel to state feedback control design, observer problems were also considered in (Tanaka & Sano, 1994; Tanaka & Wang, 1997; Yoneyama et al., 2000; Yoneyama et al., 2001a). When the observer is available, it is known in (Yoneyama et al., 2000) that for fuzzy systems, the separation property of designing state feedback controller and observer is established. Thus, an output feedback controller for fuzzy systems was proposed in (Yoneyama et al., 2001a). Theory was extended to H∞ control (Cao et al., 1996; Chen et al., 2005; Feng et al., 1996; Hong & Langari, 1998; Katayama & Ichikawa, 2002; Yoneyama et al., 2001b). In spite of these developments in fuzzy system control theory, the separation property holds only for a limited class of fuzzy systems where the premise variable is measurable. When we consider a fuzzy system, the selection of the premise variables plays an important role in system representation. The premise variable is usually given, and hence the output is natually selected. In this case, however, a class of fuzzy systems is limited. If the premise variable is the state of the system, a fuzzy system can represent the widest class of nonlinear systems. In this case, output feedback controller design is difficult because the state variable is immeasurable and it is not available for the premise variable of an output feedback controller. For this class of fuzzy systems, output feedback control design schemes based on parallel distributed compensator (PDC) have been considerd in (Ma et al., 1998; Tanaka & Wang, 2001; Yoneyama et al., 2001a) where the premise variable of the controller was replaced by its estimate. Furthermore, Linear Matrix Inequality (Boyd et al, 1994) approach was introduced in (Guerra et al., 2006). Uncertain system approach was taken for stabilizatin and H∞ control of both continuous-time and discrete-time fuzzy systems in (Assawinchaichote, 2006; Tanaka et al., 1998; Yoneyama, 2008a; Yoneyama, 2008b). However, controller design conditions given in these approaches are still conservative. This chapter is concerned with robust H∞ output feecback controller design for a class of uncertain continuous-time Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems where the premise variable is the immeasurable state variable. This class of fuzzy systems covers a general nonlinear system Source: Fuzzy Systems, Book edited by: Ahmad Taher Azar, ISBN 978-953-7619-92-3, pp. 216, February 2010, INTECH, Croatia, downloaded from SCIYO.COM
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing Genotype, the Netherlands

To determine whether the Beijing genotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is emerging in the Netherlands, we collected data on 6,829 patients during 1993 to 2000. Six percent had the Beijing genotype. This genotype was associated with diagnosis in recent years, young age, nationality, and multidrug resistance.
Genetic Variability of Group A Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Strains Circulating in Germany from 1998 to 2007

ABSTRACT The variability between respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) strains is one of the features of RSV infections that might contribute to the ability of the virus to infect people repeatedly and cause yearly outbreaks. To study the molecular epidemiology of RSV, more than 1,400 RSV isolates from human nasopharyngeal aspirates or nasal or throat swabs from patients with respiratory illness were identified and differentiated by TaqMan reverse transcription-PCR into groups A and B. RSV group A was dominant in seven out of nine epidemic seasons. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that RSV group A genotypes GA2 and GA5 circulated from 1998 to 2007. Genotype GA7 was present in only two seasons (1999 to 2000 and 2002 to 2003). Comparison of the synonymous mutation/nonsynonymous mutation ratios showed greater evidence for selection pressure for genotype GA2 (1.18) than for GA5 (4.34). Partial protein sequences were predicted to encode G proteins of 298 amino acids in length and in a few cases of G proteins of 297 amino acids in length. Amino acid analysis also revealed genotype-specific amino acid substitutions: two substitutions for genotype GA2, seven for GA5, and three for GA7. Two to four putative, genotype-specific N-linked glycosylation sites were determined. Predicted O-glycosylation sites included 22 to 34 residues. This study provides for the first time data on the circulation pattern of RSV group A genotypes and their molecular characterization in Germany during nine consecutive epidemic seasons.
Microbial aetiology of community-acquired pneumonia and its relation to severity

Background The distribution of the microbial aetiology and mortality of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was investigated in relation to the clinical setting and severity scores (pneumonia severity index (PSI) and confusion, blood urea nitrogen, respiratory rate, blood pressure, age (CURB-65)). Methods 3523 patients with CAP were included (15% outpatients, 85% inpatients). The distribution of the microbial aetiology in relation to the clinical setting and severity scores (PSI, CURB-65) and the relative mortality of different aetiologies across the severity scores were analysed. Results The aetiology was established in 1463 patients (42%), of whom 257 died (7%). The ranking of aetiologies varied according to site of care, with increasing frequency of Streptococcus pneumoniae and mixed aetiologies and decreasing frequency of atypical pathogens in hospitalised patients and those in ICUs. The distribution of aetiologies according to severity scores showed corresponding patterns; however, the severity scores were more sensitive to Gram-negative enteric bacilli (GNEB) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and less sensitive in identifying mixed aetiologies as moderate- and high-risk conditions. Mortality rates according to aetiology and severity scoring showed increasing mortality rates for all pathogens except atypical pathogens. S pneumoniae had the highest number of deaths while GNEB, P aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and mixed aetiologies had the highest mortality rates. Legionella pneumophila was similarly distributed according to site of care and prognostic scores. Conclusions CAP due to atypical bacterial pathogens is recognised both clinically and by severity scoring as a low-risk condition. Severity scores are more sensitive in identifying patients with GNEB and P aeruginosa as moderate- and high-risk aetiologies whereas mixed aetiologies may be underestimated.
Correcting for Mortality Among Patients Lost to Follow Up on Antiretroviral Therapy in South Africa: A Cohort Analysis

Background Loss to follow-up (LTF) challenges the reporting of antiretroviral treatment (ART) programmes, since it encompasses patients alive but lost to programme and deaths misclassified as LTF. We describe LTF before and after correction for mortality in a primary care ART programme with linkages to the national vital registration system. Methods and Findings We included 6411 patients enrolled on ART between March 2001 and June 2007. Patients LTF with available civil identification numbers were matched with the national vital registration system to ascertain vital status. Corrected mortality and true LTF were determined by weighting these patients to represent all patients LTF. We used Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox regression to describe LTF, mortality among those LTF, and true LTF. Of 627 patients LTF, 85 (28.8%) had died within 3 months after their last clinic visits. Respective estimates of LTF before and after correction for mortality were 6.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.2–7.6) and 4.3% (95% CI 3.5–5.3) at one year on ART, and 23.9% (95% CI 21.0–27.2) and 19.7% (95% CI 16.1–23.7) at 5 years. After correction for mortality, the hazard of LTF was reversed from decreasing to increasing with time on ART. Younger age, higher baseline CD4 count, pregnancy and increasing calendar year were associated with higher true LTF. Mortality of patients LTF at 1, 12 and 24 months after their last visits was respectively 23.1%, 30.9% and 43.8%; 78.0% of deaths occurred during the first 3 months after last visit and 45.0% in patients on ART for 0 to 3 months. Conclusions Mortality of patients LTF was high and occurred early after last clinic visit, especially in patients recently started on ART. Correction for these misclassified deaths revealed that the risk of true LTF increased over time. Research targeting groups at higher risk of LTF (youth, pregnant women and patients with higher CD4 counts) is needed.
Identifying Representative Trends in Massive Time Series Data Sets Using Sketches

Many data stores, including scientific and financial databases, business warehouses and network repositories, contain time series data. Time series data depict trends for an observed value e.g., value of a stock, number of bytes sent on a router interface, etc., as a function of time. Analysis of the trends over different time windows is of great interest. In this paper, we formalize problems of identifying various 'representative' trends in time series data. Informally, an interval of observations in a time series is defined to be a representative trend if its distance from other intervals satisfy certain properties, for suitably defined distance functions between time series intervals. Natural trends of interest such as periodic or average trends are examples of representative trends. We present efficient algorithms for analyzing massive time series data sets for representative trends over arbitrary windows of interest. Our algorithms are highly processor and 10 efficient; they are approximate but provide probabilistic guarantees for the approximations achieved. Our approach for identifying representative trends relies on a dimensionality reduction technique that replaces each interval by a 'sketch' which is a low dimensional vector. We present efficient algorithms to construct such sketches using a pool of select sketches that we precompute using polynomial convolutions. Using such sketches, we can compute representative trends accurately. Finally, we present results of a detailed experimental study of our technique on very large real data sets. Our results show that, compared to approaches that determine representative trends exactly, our approach shows significant performance gains with only a small loss in accuracy.
Governance Matters

Six new aggregate measures capturing various dimensions of governance provide new evidence of a strong causal relationship from better governance to better development outcomes. In a cross-section of more than 150 countries, Kaufmann, Kraay, and Zoido-Lobaton provide new empirical evidence of a strong causal relationship from better governance to better development outcomes. They base their analysis on a new database containing more than 300 governance indicators compiled from a variety of sources. They provide a detailed description of each of these indicators and sources. Using an unobserved components methodology (described in the companion paper by Kaufmann, Kraay, and Zoido-Lobaton, Aggregating Governance Indicators, Policy Research Working Paper 2195), they then construct six aggregate indicators corresponding to six basic governance concepts: voice and accountability, political instability and violence, government effectiveness, regulatory burden, rule of law, and graft. As measured by these indicators, governance matters for development outcomes. This paper - a joint product of Macroeconomics and Growth, Development Research Group; and Governance, Regulation, and Finance, World Bank Institute - is part of a larger effort in the Bank to study the causes and consequences of governance for development. The authors may be contacted at dkaufmann@worldbank.org, akraay@worldbank.org, or pzoidolobaton@worldbank.org.
The history of star formation in the local disc from the G dwarf metallicity distribution

We address the question of the occurrence of star formation bursts in the solar neighbourhood by using the metallicity distribution of the G dwarfs. We present a method to recover the star formation history using simultaneously the metallicity distribution and the age-metallicity relation. The method associates the number of stars in a given metallicity interval with the corresponding time interval predicted by the age-metallicity relation. We take into account corrections relative to observational errors, cosmic scatter and scale height effects. The method is tested by simulations of the chemical evolution of a galaxy with irregular star formation rate, and our results show that it is possible to recover the star formation history fairly well. The application of the method to the solar neighbourhood shows evidences for at least two strong events of star formation: a burst 8 Gyr ago, and a lull 2-3 Gyr ago. These features confirm some previous studies on the star formation history in the local disk.
Transcriptional profiles of supragranular-enriched genes associate with corticocortical network architecture in the human brain

Significance The human cerebral cortex is patterned with distributed networks that connect disproportionately enlarged association zones across the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. We asked herein whether the expansion of the cortical surface, with the concomitant emergence of long-range connectivity networks, might be accompanied by changes to the underlying molecular architecture. We focused on the supragranular layers of the cortex, where most corticocortical connections originate. Genes that are enriched in supragranular layers in the human cerebral cortex relative to mouse are expressed in a topography that reflects broad cortical classes (sensory/motor, paralimbic, associational) and their associated network properties. Molecular innovations of upper cortical layers may be an important component in the evolution of increased long-range corticocortical projections. The human brain is patterned with disproportionately large, distributed cerebral networks that connect multiple association zones in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. The expansion of the cortical surface, along with the emergence of long-range connectivity networks, may be reflected in changes to the underlying molecular architecture. Using the Allen Institute’s human brain transcriptional atlas, we demonstrate that genes particularly enriched in supragranular layers of the human cerebral cortex relative to mouse distinguish major cortical classes. The topography of transcriptional expression reflects large-scale brain network organization consistent with estimates from functional connectivity MRI and anatomical tracing in nonhuman primates. Microarray expression data for genes preferentially expressed in human upper layers (II/III), but enriched only in lower layers (V/VI) of mouse, were cross-correlated to identify molecular profiles across the cerebral cortex of postmortem human brains (n = 6). Unimodal sensory and motor zones have similar molecular profiles, despite being distributed across the cortical mantle. Sensory/motor profiles were anticorrelated with paralimbic and certain distributed association network profiles. Tests of alternative gene sets did not consistently distinguish sensory and motor regions from paralimbic and association regions: (i) genes enriched in supragranular layers in both humans and mice, (ii) genes cortically enriched in humans relative to nonhuman primates, (iii) genes related to connectivity in rodents, (iv) genes associated with human and mouse connectivity, and (v) 1,454 gene sets curated from known gene ontologies. Molecular innovations of upper cortical layers may be an important component in the evolution of long-range corticocortical projections.