Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
20th Century Stage Trends Along the Mississippi River

River regulation has systematically increased along much of the Mississippi River throughout the 20th century. There is only a cursory understanding of changing hydrological processes along the entire length of the Mississippi River over this same time period. This study compared four measures of river hydrology, at the beginning (1910-1930) and at the end of the 20th century (1980-2000). River-stage data were statistically analyzed from 15 equidistant gauges along the main stem of the Mississippi River. The findings revealed (1) significant changes in components of river hydrology between both time periods and (2) varying patterns of change between the different river segments. The Upper Mississippi River (UMR) experienced significant increases in peak, mean, and minimum monthly stages between the periods, while variance of these same stage conditions declined. The Middle Mississippi River (MMR) exhibited significant increases in the magnitude and variance of river stages. The frequency and duration of flood stages increased between the two periods on the MMR. The Lower Mississippi River (LMR) demonstrated a mixed response during this time period. Gauges at the upper and lower end of the LMR changed similarly to the gauges on the UMR. However, gauges on the central part of the LMR showed decreases in peak, mean, and minimum river stages.
Crime Spillovers and Hurricane Katrina

By using a differences-in-differences approach, we estimate the effects of migration due to hurricane Katrina on crime rates across the United States between 2003 a nd 2007. To account for possible endogeneity betwee n th socio-economic characteristics of a host city and e vacuees, we instrument the number of evacuees going t a certain metropolitan area by its distance to New Orleans, L A. Our results suggest that immigration of Katrina evacuees led to a more than 13 percent increase in murder and no -negligent manslaughter, an almost 3 percent incre ase in robbery, and a 4.1 percent increase in motor vehicl theft. We also examine Houston, TX, home to a lar ge number of comparatively more disadvantaged evacuees, and find dramatic increases in murder (27 percent) and aggr avated assault (28 percent) coupled with increases in ille gal possession of weapons (32 percent) and arson (4 1 percent) in areas lived by evacuees. While these estimated effe cts are substantial, we are unable to determine whe ther the crimes were committed by evacuees, or were triggere d by their presence. JEL Classification: R23, K42 i Email: ajhussey@memphis.edu ; Phone: (901)-678-1487. ii Email: nklrzhvs@memphis.edu ; Phone: (901)-678-4627. iii Email: ipacurar@memphis.edu ; Phone: (865)-300-0482.
A Temperature-Precipitation Based Leafing Model and Its Application in Northeast China

Plant phenology models, especially leafing models, play critical roles in evaluating the impact of climate change on the primary production of temperate plants. Existing models based on temperature alone could not accurately simulate plant leafing in arid and semi-arid regions. The objective of the present study was to test the suitability of the existing temperature-based leafing models in arid and semi-arid regions, and to develop a temperature-precipitation based leafing model (TP), based on the long-term (i.e., 12–27 years) ground leafing observation data and meteorological data in Northeast China. The better simulation of leafing for all the plant species in Northeast China was given by TP with the fixed starting date (TPn) than with the parameterized starting date (TPm), which gave the smallest average root mean square error (RMSE) of 4.21 days. Tree leafing models were validated with independent data, and the coefficient of determination (R 2) was greater than 0.60 in 75% of the estimates by TP and the spring warming model (SW) with the fixed starting date. The average RMSE of herb leafing simulated by TPn was 5.03 days, much lower than other models (>9.51 days), while the average R 2 of TPn and TPm were 0.68 and 0.57, respectively, much higher than the other models (<0.22). It indicates that TPn is a universal model and more suitable for simulating leafing of trees and herbs than the prior models. Furthermore, water is an important factor determining herb leafing in arid and semi-arid temperate regions.
Critical Zone services as environmental assessment criteria in intensively managed landscapes

The Critical Zone (CZ) includes the biophysical processes occurring from the top of the vegetation canopy to the weathering zone below the groundwater table. CZ services provide a measure for the goods and benefits derived from CZ processes. In intensively managed landscapes, cropland is altered through anthropogenic energy inputs to derive more productivity, as agricultural products, than would be possible under natural conditions. However, the actual costs of alterations to CZ functions within landscape profiles are unknown. Through comparisons of corn feed and corn‐based ethanol, we show that valuation of these CZ services in monetary terms provides a more concrete tool for characterizing seemingly abstract environmental damages from agricultural production systems. Multiple models are combined to simulate the movement of nutrients throughout the soil system, enabling the measurement of agricultural anthropogenic impacts to the CZ's regulating services. Results indicate water quality and atmospheric stabilizing services, measured by soil carbon storage, carbon respiration, and nitrate leaching, among others, can cost more than double that of emissions estimated in previous studies. Energy efficiency in addition to environmental impact is assessed to demonstrate how the inclusion of CZ services is necessary in accounting for the entire life cycle of agricultural production systems. These results conclude that feed production systems are more energy efficient and less environmentally costly than corn‐based ethanol.
Synthesis of Alginate-Curcumin Nanocomposite and Its Protective Role in Transgenic Drosophila Model of Parkinson's Disease

The genetic models in Drosophila provide a platform to understand the mechanism associated with degenerative diseases. The model for Parkinson's disease (PD) based on normal human alpha-synuclein (αS) expression was used in the present study. The aggregation of αS in brain leads to the formation of Lewy bodies and selective loss of dopaminergic neurons due to oxidative stress. Polyphenols generally have the reduced oral bioavailability, increased metabolic turnover, and lower permeability through the blood brain barrier. In the present study, the effect of synthesized alginate-curcumin nanocomposite was studied on the climbing ability of the PD model flies, lipid peroxidation, and apoptosis in the brain of PD model flies. The alginate-curcumin nanocomposite at final doses of 10−5, 10−3, and 10−1 g/mL was supplemented with diet, and the flies were allowed to feed for 24 days. A significant dose-dependent delay in the loss of climbing ability and reduction in the oxidative stress and apoptosis in the brain of PD model flies were observed. The results suggest that alginate-curcumin nanocomposite is potent in delaying the climbing disability of PD model flies and also reduced the oxidative stress as well as apoptosis in the brain of PD model flies.
Winds of Change: Work Arrangements in Germany

During the last two decades we observe significant changes in the patterns of employment in Germany. Non-standard work arrangements such as agency work, fixed-term contracts and part-time employment gain in importance. By using data from the German labor force survey we examine what factors may drive the observed development. Our analyses show that the shifts towards service and female employment only explain parts of the development. The interplay of institutional and behavioral changes can be seen as the major source of changes in the patterns of work arrangements.
Genetic Perspective of Corneal Endothelial Dystrophies

The corneal endothelium serves primarily in maintaining stromal deturgescence which is essential for transparency of cornea. Any disturbance in its function leads to stromal edema which in turn reduces vision. The genetically heterogeneous nature of four different kinds of corneal endothelial dystrophies represents the involvement of diverse set of genes. Until now, only few genes were identified for a subclass of corneal endothelial dystrophy. Therefore, in this review, elucidated genes and their function involved in different corneal endothelial dystrophies were described to understand the pathogenesis of the disorder.
Dabrafenib and Trametinib, Alone and in Combination for BRAF-Mutant Metastatic Melanoma

Dabrafenib and trametinib were approved for use as monotherapies in BRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013, and most recently, their use in combination has received accelerated FDA approval. Both drugs target the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway: dabrafenib selectively inhibits mutant BRAF that constitutively activates the pathway, and trametinib selectively inhibits MEK1 and MEK2 proteins activated by RAF kinases. The phase III study of dabrafenib in BRAFV600E metastatic melanoma reported rapid tumor regression in most patients and a 59% objective RECIST response rate. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were improved compared with dacarbazine. Toxicities were well tolerated and different from those reported for vemurafenib, the first FDA-approved BRAF inhibitor. Efficacy has been demonstrated in other BRAF-mutant genotypes. The phase III study of trametinib in BRAF inhibitor–naïve patients with BRAFV600E or BRAFV600K also showed benefit with a prolonged median PFS and OS compared with chemotherapy. Trametinib is ineffective in patients who have progressed on BRAF inhibitors. A phase II trial of combined dabrafenib and trametinib demonstrated higher response rates and longer median PFS than dabrafenib monotherapy, with less cutaneous toxicity. Here, we review the clinical development of both drugs as monotherapies and in combination, and discuss their role in the management of BRAF-mutant melanoma. Clin Cancer Res; 20(8); 2035–43. ©2014 AACR.
Type specific serological testing for herpes simplex infection

In many developed countries, the incidence of genital herpes appears to be increasing. The annual numbers of new cases of genital herpes presenting to genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England and Wales increased 4 fold between 1976± 961. In the United States, there have been corresponding increases in the numbers of patients with clinically apparent disease2 and seroprevalence surveys have shown that the proportion of the general adult population infected by herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2) increased from 16.4% in sera collected during 1976± 803 to 21.7% in sera collected during 1989± 914. Seroepidemiological surveys have been undertaken in a variety of populations worldwide and have generally shown a consistent pattern of risk factors5± 9. As expected, higher HSV± 2 seropositivity rates occur in STD clinic attenders, commercial sex workers, and homosexual men. Within the general population, higher seropositivity rates are associated with increasing age, rising numbers of sexual partners, and females. In the USA, although the highest rates occur in black and Hispanic ethnic minorities, especially those from socioeconomically deprived areas, during the past decade the largest increases in seropositivity rates have occurred in white populations4. Recent epidemiological studies of genital herpes have indicated that the majority of infected individuals are unaware of their infection10, that asymptomatic viral shedding is common11,12, and appears to be the source of most transmission to new partners13,14. As a result, counselling of the minority of infected individuals who present with culture positive clinical lesions will have little impact on attempts to curb the spread of HSV-2 infection. With the recent advent of commercial typespeci® c tests, it is now being advocated that HSV serology be used not only to study populations but also to provide diagnostic information for individual patient management with a view to limiting the further spread of genital herpes and its neonatal complications15. The latter premise is based upon studies which indicate that many infected individuals can be taught to recognize the symptomatic disease16. It is postulated that it may be possible by subsequent counselling, behaviour modi® cation, and therapeutic interventions17 to in ̄ uence transmission from these individuals.
CombiTagger: A System for Developing Combined Taggers

The main task of part-of-speech (PoS) tagging is to assign the appropriate morphosyntactic category to each word in a sentence. A combination of different PoS taggers usually results in higher tagging accuracy than obtained by the use of only a single tagger. We present a new language and tagset independent system, CombiTagger, which combines automatically the output of several taggers. The system, which is open source, provides algorithms for simple and weighted voting, but it is extensible so that other combination algorithms can be added easily. We demonstrate the functionality of CombiTagger by using it to develop and evaluate combined taggers for Icelandic. The most accurate individual tagger obtains an accuracy of 91.83%. CombiTagger achieves 93.09%-93.41% accuracy by combining the output of five or six taggers using simple and weighted voting.
Numerical Simulation of Hydrodynamics and Reaeration over a Stepped Spillway by the SPH Method

Aerated flows are characterized by complex hydrodynamics and mass-transfer processes. As a Lagrangian method, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) has a significant advantage in tracking the air-water interface in turbulent flows. This paper presents the application of an SPH method to investigate hydrodynamics and reaeration over stepped spillways. In the SPH method, the entrainment of dissolved oxygen (DO) is studied using a multiphase mass transfer SPH method for reaeration. The numerical results are compared with the hydrodynamics data from Chanson and DO data from Cheng. The simulation results show that velocity distribution and the location of free-surface aeration inception agree with the experimental results. Compared with the experimental results, the distribution of DO concentration over the stepped spillway is consistent with the measurement results. The study shows that the two-phase DO mass transfer SPH model is reliable and reasonable for simulating the hydrodynamics characteristics and reaeration process.
Firefly Algorithm for Cardinality Constrained Mean-Variance Portfolio Optimization Problem with Entropy Diversity Constraint

Portfolio optimization (selection) problem is an important and hard optimization problem that, with the addition of necessary realistic constraints, becomes computationally intractable. Nature-inspired metaheuristics are appropriate for solving such problems; however, literature review shows that there are very few applications of nature-inspired metaheuristics to portfolio optimization problem. This is especially true for swarm intelligence algorithms which represent the newer branch of nature-inspired algorithms. No application of any swarm intelligence metaheuristics to cardinality constrained mean-variance (CCMV) portfolio problem with entropy constraint was found in the literature. This paper introduces modified firefly algorithm (FA) for the CCMV portfolio model with entropy constraint. Firefly algorithm is one of the latest, very successful swarm intelligence algorithm; however, it exhibits some deficiencies when applied to constrained problems. To overcome lack of exploration power during early iterations, we modified the algorithm and tested it on standard portfolio benchmark data sets used in the literature. Our proposed modified firefly algorithm proved to be better than other state-of-the-art algorithms, while introduction of entropy diversity constraint further improved results.
Impact of anatomical placement of an accelerometer on prediction of physical activity energy expenditure in lower-limb amputees

Purpose To assess the influence of the anatomical placement of a tri-axial accelerometer on the prediction of physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) in traumatic lower-limb amputees during walking and to develop valid population-specific prediction algorithms. Methods Thirty participants, consisting of unilateral (n = 10), and bilateral (n = 10) amputees, and non-injured controls (n = 10) volunteered to complete eight activities; resting in a supine position, walking on a flat (0.48, 0.67, 0.89, 1.12, 1.34 m.s-1) and an inclined (3 and 5% gradient at 0.89 m.s-1) treadmill. During each task, expired gases were collected and an Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer was worn on the right hip, left hip and lumbar spine. Linear regression analyses were conducted between outputs from each accelerometer site and criterion PAEE (indirect calorimetry). Mean bias ± 95% limits of agreement were calculated. Additional covariates were incorporated to assess whether they improved the prediction accuracy of regression models. Subsequent mean absolute error statistics were calculated for the derived models at all sites using a leave-one out cross-validation analysis. Results Predicted PAEE at each anatomical location was significantly (P< 0.01) correlated with criterion PAEE (P<0.01). Wearing the GT3X+ on the shortest residual limb demonstrates the strongest correlation (unilateral; r = 0.86, bilateral; r = 0.94), smallest ±95% limits of agreement (unilateral; ±2.15, bilateral ±1.99 kcal·min-1) and least absolute percentage error (unilateral; 22±17%, bilateral 17±14%) to criterion PAEE. Conclusions We have developed accurate PAEE population specific prediction models in lower-limb amputees using an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer. Of the 3 anatomical locations considered, wearing the accelerometer on the side of the shortest residual limb provides the most accurate prediction of PAEE with the least error in unilateral and bilateral traumatic lower-limb amputees.
Optimization of Training and Feedback Overhead for Beamforming Over Block Fading Channels

We examine the capacity of beamforming over a single-user, multiantenna link taking into account the overhead due to channel estimation and limited feedback of channel state information. Multi-input-single-output (MISO) and multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) channels are considered subject to block Rayleigh fading. Each coherence block contains L symbols, and is spanned by T training symbols, B feedback bits, and the data symbols. The training symbols are used to obtain a minimum mean squared error estimate of the channel matrix. Given this estimate, the receiver selects a transmit beamforming vector from a codebook containing 2B i.i. d. random vectors, and sends the corresponding B bits back to the transmitter. We derive bounds on the beamforming capacity for MISO and MIMO channels and characterize the optimal (rate-maximizing) training and feedback overhead (T and B) as L and the number of transmit antennas Nt both become large. The optimal Nt is limited by the coherence time, and increases as L/logL. For the MISO channel the optimal T/L and B/L (fractional overhead due to training and feedback) are asymptotically the same, and tend to zero at the rate 1/log Nt. For the MIMO channel the optimal feedback overhead B/L tends to zero faster (as 1/log2 Nt).
Evolution of understandability in OSS projects

Empirical papers on open source software should try and formulate reasons for successes as Linux, Apache and some other flagship projects. What we need to understand about this topic is on the process of producing software through cooperation of different efforts. Albeit many success reasons for these projects are inherently due to the application domain that the project develops, architectural and conceptual views of the code have to be considered as key factors when considering community efforts and joint decisions. We focus our attention on what is perceived of a source code when investigating its structure. We do this considering that structure as a proxy for the conceptual architecture of the application. A metric is developed based on some current assumptions, and it is tested over a sample of open source projects. What is interesting to note, is that refactoring efforts are clearly visible when intended as reduction of complexity of source code. Our second observation is that, based on what an open source software currently does, i.e. its application domain, there's a threshold value that several projects tend to.
Systematic Review of Community-Based Childhood Obesity Prevention Studies

OBJECTIVE: This study systematically reviewed community-based childhood obesity prevention programs in the United States and high-income countries. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL, clinicaltrials.gov, and the Cochrane Library for relevant English-language studies. Studies were eligible if the intervention was primarily implemented in the community setting; had at least 1 year of follow-up after baseline; and compared results from an intervention to a comparison group. Two independent reviewers conducted title scans and abstract reviews and reviewed the full articles to assess eligibility. Each article received a double review for data abstraction. The second reviewer confirmed the first reviewer’s data abstraction for completeness and accuracy. RESULTS: Nine community-based studies were included; 5 randomized controlled trials and 4 non–randomized controlled trials. One study was conducted only in the community setting, 3 were conducted in the community and school setting, and 5 were conducted in the community setting in combination with at least 1 other setting such as the home. Desirable changes in BMI or BMI z-score were found in 4 of the 9 studies. Two studies reported significant improvements in behavioral outcomes (1 in physical activity and 1 in vegetable intake). CONCLUSIONS: The strength of evidence is moderate that a combined diet and physical activity intervention conducted in the community with a school component is more effective at preventing obesity or overweight. More research and consistent methods are needed to understand the comparative effectiveness of childhood obesity prevention programs in the community setting.