Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Seasonal Climatic Anomalies on Zoo Visitation in Toronto (Canada) and the Implications for Projected Climate Change

This study uses a multi-year temporal climate analogue approach to explore zoo visitor responses to seasonal climatic anomalies and assess the impacts of projected climate change on zoo visitation in Toronto, Canada. A new method for selecting a representative weather station was introduced which ranks surrounding stations based on “climatic distance” rather than physical distance alone. Two years representing anomalously warm temperature conditions and two years representing climatically normal temperature conditions were identified for each season from within the study period from 1999 to 2015. Two years representing anomalously wet precipitation conditions and two years representing anomalously dry precipitation conditions were also identified. F-tests and t-tests were employed to determine if the apparent differences in zoo visitation between the temperature and precipitation paired groupings were statistically significant. A “selective ensemble” of seasonal Global Climate Model (GCM) output from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report was used to determine when these anomalous temperature and precipitation conditions may become the norm in the future. When anomalously warm winters and springs occurred within the historical record, total zoo visitation in those seasons increased significantly. Inversely, when anomalously warm summers occurred, total summer season zoo visitation decreased significantly. Temperature anomalies in the autumn season did not result in any significant differences in total autumn season zoo visitation. Finally, apart from in the spring season, there were no significant differences in total zoo visitation between anomalously wet and dry seasons.
Childhood exposure to infection and risk of adult onset wheeze and atopy

BACKGROUND The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases in children and young adults is inversely associated with family size. It has been suggested that more frequent exposure to infections in a large family group, particularly those spread by the faecal-oral route, may protect against atopic diseases, although not all published data support this hypothesis. Whether similar considerations apply to adult onset wheeze is unknown. The relationship between adult onset wheezing and atopy measured in adulthood and childhood exposure to a range of infections was investigated. METHODS A nested case control study of participants in a 30 year follow up survey was conducted. Questionnaire data on childhood infections had been obtained in a 1964 survey. In 1995 a further questionnaire on respiratory symptoms and other risk factors for wheezing illness was administered, total IgE, skin and RAST tests were performed, and serum was stored. In 1999 serological tests for hepatitis A,Helicobacter pylori, andToxoplasma gondii were performed on the stored samples. Information from the 1964 questionnaires was available for 97 cases and 208 controls and serological tests were obtained for 85 cases and 190 controls. The potential risk factors were examined for all cases, those who reported doctor diagnosed asthma, those who described persistent cough and phlegm with wheeze, and subjects stratified by atopic status. RESULTS The sibship structure was similar in cases and controls. In univariate analysis of all cases, childhood infections reported by parents as acquired either before or after the age of three years did not influence case:control or atopic status. Seropositivity was also similar for all cases and controls, but cases in the subgroup with chronic cough and phlegm were more likely to be seropositive for hepatitis A andH pylori. Seropositivity was unrelated to atopic status. In multivariate analyses both the effect of having two or more younger siblings (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.8) and of acquiring measles up to the age of three (OR 0.2, CI 0.03 to 0.8) were significantly related to a lower risk of doctor diagnosed asthma. CONCLUSIONS In these well characterised subjects, exposure to infections as measured by parental reports obtained at age 10–14 years and by serological tests obtained in adulthood did not influence the development of wheezing symptoms or atopic status in adulthood. However, early exposure to measles and family size may be associated with a lower risk of adult onset doctor diagnosed asthma.
Ginkgotides: Proline-Rich Hevein-Like Peptides from Gymnosperm Ginkgo biloba

Hevein and hevein-like peptides belong to the family of chitin-binding cysteine-rich peptides. They are classified into three subfamilies, the prototypic 8C- and the 6C- and 10C-hevein-like peptides. Thus far, only five 8C-hevein-like peptides have been characterized from three angiosperms and none from gymnosperm. To determine their occurrence and distribution in the gymnosperm, Ginkgo biloba leaves were examined. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of 11 novel 8C-hevein-like peptides, namely ginkgotides gB1–gB11. Proteomic analysis showed that the ginkgotides contain 41–44 amino acids (aa), a chitin-binding domain and are Pro-rich, a distinguishing feature that differs from other hevein-like peptides. Solution NMR structure determination revealed that gB5 contains a three β-stranded structure shaped by a cystine knot with an additional disulfide bond at the C-terminus. Transcriptomic analysis showed that the ginkgotide precursors contain a three-domain architecture, comprised of a C-terminal tail (20 aa) that is significantly shorter than those of other 8C- and 10C-hevein-like peptides, which generally contain a protein cargo such as a Barwin-like protein (126 aa) or class I chitinase (254 aa). Transcriptomic data mining found an additional 48 ginkgotide homologs in 39 different gymnosperms. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ginkgotides and their homologs belong to a new class of 8C-hevein-like peptides. Stability studies showed that ginkgotides are highly resistant to thermal, acidic and endopeptidase degradation. Ginkgotides flanked at both the N- and C-terminal ends by Pro were resistant to exopeptidase degradation by carboxypeptidase A and aminopeptidase. Antifungal assays showed that ginkgotides inhibit the hyphal growth of phyto-pathogenic fungi. Taken together, ginkgotides represent the first suite of hevein-like peptides isolated and characterized from gymnosperms. As a group, they represent a novel class of 8C-hevein-like peptides that are Pro-rich and protein-cargo free. Our findings also suggest that the ginkgotide scaffold could be useful for engineering metabolic-stable peptide therapeutics.
Singularity-Free Dynamic Equations of Open-Chain Mechanisms With General Holonomic and Nonholonomic Joints

Standard methods to model multibody systems are aimed at systems with configuration spaces isomorphic to Ropfn. This limitation leads to singularities and other artifacts in case the configuration space has a different topology, for example, in the case of ball joints or a free-floating mechanism. This paper discusses an extension of classical methods that allows for a more general class of joints, including all joints with a Lie group structure as well as nonholonomic joints. The model equations are derived using the Boltzmann-Hamel equations and have very similar structure and complexity as obtained using classical methods. However, singularities are avoided through the use of global non-Euclidean configuration coordinates, together with mappings describing a local Euclidean structure around each configuration. The resulting equations are explicit (unconstrained) differential equations, both for holonomic and nonholonomic joints, which do not require a coordinate atlas and can be directly implemented in simulation software.
Evaluation of Modified Hysteresis Models for Magneto-Rheological Fluid Dampers

The reported models on characterization of hysteretic force-velocity properties of controllable magnetorheological (MR) fluid dampers are critically reviewed in view of their performance. The vast majority of reported models lack consideration of damping force dependence upon the control current, and the frequency and magnitude of excitation. Selected models are modified by integrating a nonlinear function describing the control current dependency in order to enhance their applicability for the MR damper over a wide range of excitations. The parameters of the proposed modified models are identified using the measured data attained under a wide range of control current and excitation conditions. The results suggest that the integration of the control current function could considerably enhance the validity of the models.
Diagnostic and Prognostic Properties of Osteoprotegerin in Patients with Acute Dyspnoea: Observations from the Akershus Cardiac Examination (ACE) 2 Study

Background Circulating osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels are increased in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). The diagnostic and prognostic merit of OPG measurement in patients admitted with acute dyspnoea is unknown. Objectives To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of measuring OPG in patients admitted to hospital with acute dyspnoea. Methods OPG was analysed by ELISA in 308 patients admitted due to acute dyspnoea. Investigators blinded to OPG results adjudicated the diagnosis for the index hospitalization. Clinical outcomes were obtained from hospital records. Results In total, 139 patients (45%) were hospitalized with acute HF. OPG levels on hospital admission were higher in patients with acute HF vs. no acute HF, 7.8 (5.5–10.4) vs. 5.4 (3.8–7.2) pmol/L, p<0.001. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC AUC) of OPG to discriminate between HF vs. non-HF was 0.695 [95% CI 0.636–0.754]. OPG did not provide incremental information to the ED physician’s prediction or N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide regarding the diagnosis of acute HF. OPG levels (log transformed) were associated with mortality in crude analysis (HR (95% CI) 1.87 (1.34 to 2.61), p<0.001), but this association was attenuated and no longer significant after including established cardiac biomarkers into the model. Conclusion In patients admitted to hospital with acute dyspnoea, OPG levels are higher in patients with acute HF than in those with dyspnoea from other causes. However, OPG does not provide incremental information beyond ED physician assessment for the diagnosis of acute HF or beyond clinical risk variables and established cardiac biomarkers concerning prognosis.
Use of antifungal drugs in hematology

Invasive fungal disease represents a major complication in hematological patients. Antifungal agents are frequently used in hematologic patients for different purposes. In neutropenic patients, antifungal agents may be used as prophylaxis, as empiric or preemptive therapy, or to treat an invasive fungal disease that has been diagnosed. The hematologist must be familiar with the epidemiology, diagnostic tools and strategies of antifungal use, as well as the pharmacologic proprieties of the different antifungal agents. In this paper the principal antifungal agents used in hematologic patients will be discussed as will the clinical scenarios where these agents have been used.
Patient Participation in Surgical Treatment Decision Making from the Patients' Perspective: Validation of an Instrument

The aim of this paper is to describe the development of a new, brief, easy-to-administer self-reported instrument designed to assess patient participation in decision making in surgical treatment. We describe item generation, psychometric testing, and validity of the instrument. The final scale consisted of four factors: information dissemination (5 items), formulation of options (4 items), integration of information (4 items), and control (3 items). The analysis demonstrated a reasonable level of construct validity and reliability. The instrument applies to patients in surgical wards and can be used to identify the health services that are being provided and the areas that could strengthen patient participation.
The Employment, Unemployment and Unemployment Compensation Benefits of Immigrants

This report analyzes the employment and unemployment experiences of adult foreign-born men, both among themselves and in comparison with the native born. The empirical analysis uses microdata from the 1990 Census of Population. Three dependent variables are analyzed, weeks worked (employment) in 1989, unemployment status in the reference week in 1990, and a proxy measure of unemployment compensation benefits received in 1989. The theoretical model focuses on the job search behavior of the foreign born within the context of an immigrant adjustment model based on the imperfect transferability of skills and labor market information acquired prior to immigration. In particular, the model focuses on the effects on employment and unemployment of schooling, labor market experience, marital status and the agricultural sector, in addition to English language fluency and country of origin. The hypotheses developed from the model are found to be consistent with the data. Employment is significantly lower, and unemployment is significantly higher, among the foreign born in the U.S. for three or fewer years, but then reaches a level after which there is little variation by duration of residence. Unemployment problems associated with immigrants appear to be short-term transitional adjustments.
Statistical Analysis of Field Strength Location Variability for UHF Multimedia Broadband Services

This letter investigates the location variability of the field strength for dimensioning broadcast networks targeting mobile reception. A statistical analysis of empirical data from three European cities is performed for services in UHF band, specifically in TV bands IV and V (470-860 MHz). This work demonstrates that currently used values based on ITU-R P.1546-1 are too pessimistic and lead to inefficient network dimensioning.
Convoy Queries in Spatio-Temporal Databases

We introduce a convoy query that retrieves all convoys from historical trajectories, each of which consists of a set of objects that travelled closely during a certain time period. Convoy query is useful for many applications such as carpooling and traffic jam analysis, however, limited work has been done in the database community. This study proposes three efficient methods for discovering convoys. The main novelty of our methods is to approximate original trajectories by using line simplification methods and perform the discovery process over the simplified trajectories with bounded errors. Our experimental results confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of our methods.
The connection between ultraviolet and X-ray outflows in active galactic nuclei: the case of PDS 456

High-velocity outflows from active galactic nuclei are a well-known phenomenon in terms of the broad absorption lines seen in the ultraviolet/optical. More recently, similar, possibly related, outflows have been reported in the X-ray. The most extreme example is seen in the nearby, luminous QSO PDS 456, which displays a massive, high-velocity (50 000 km s−1), high-ionization X-ray outflow of 10 M⊙ yr−1. Here we present the ultraviolet spectrum of PDS 456 as observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. We find that the ultraviolet spectrum is also extreme, displaying very broad emission lines, with C ivλ1549 blueshifted by 5000 km s−1 and a broad Lyα absorption trough blueshifted by 14 000–24 000 km s−1. No strong, broad high-ionization absorption features are seen. We interpret the combined ultraviolet and X-ray spectrum of PDS 456 as the signature of a decelerating, cooling outflow, which may be driven by radiation and/or magnetic field. This outflow may be the source of some of the broad emission- and absorption-line gas.
A Further Study of the Tropical Western Hemisphere Warm Pool

Abstract Variability of the tropical Western Hemisphere warm pool (WHWP) of water warmer than 28.5°C, which extends seasonally over parts of the eastern North Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the western tropical North Atlantic (TNA), was previously studied by Wang and Enfield using the da Silva data from 1945–93. Using additional datasets of the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis field and the NCEP SST from 1950–99, and the Levitus climatological subsurface temperature, the present paper confirms and extends the previous study of Wang and Enfield. The WHWP alternates with northern South America as the seasonal heating source for the Walker and Hadley circulations in the Western Hemisphere. During the boreal winter a strong Hadley cell emanates northward from the Amazon heat source with subsidence over the subtropical North Atlantic north of 20°N, sustaining a strong North Atlantic anticyclone and associated northeast (NE) trade winds over its southern limb in the TNA. This circulation, including the NE .
Obtaining prominence judgments from naı̈ve listeners

In this paper we examine different approaches to obtain judgments of perceptual prominence. It discusses the use of different scales, the influence of the linguistic level on which the prominence is rated and the normalisation of prominence judgments. We propose the use of a multilevel scale to obtain prominence judgments. It seems that naı̈ve listeners can rate word prominence better than syllable prominence, resulting in better correlations to acoustics. It is shown that normalization should be applied to the obtained ratings.
Study of changes in some pathophysiological stress markers in different age groups of an animal model of acute and chronic heat stress.

BACKGROUND This study demonstrates the changes in six different pathophysiological parameters such as body weight, body temperature, fecal pellet count, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, plasma corticosterone level and emergence of hemorrhagic peptic ulcer spots due to exposure to high environmental heat in three different age groups of freely moving rats. METHODS Each age group of rats was sub divided into three groups: (i) acute heat stress-subjected to a single exposure for four hours in the Biological Oxygen Demand incubator at 38 degrees C; (ii) chronic heat stress-exposed for 21 days daily for one hour in the incubator at 38 degrees C, and (iii) handling control groups. The data were recorded for the analyses of the changes in different parameters just after the heat exposure from acute stressed rats and on 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 18th and 21st day on chronic stressed rats for body temperature, body weight, fecal pellets count. For the analysis of changes in three other parameters, BBB permeability, plasma corticosterone level and peptic ulcer spots following chronic exposure to high environmental heat, data were recorded on 22nd day for the analysis. RESULTS Analysis of variance (ANOVA-1) of the observations demonstrates a significant increase in body temperature, fecal pellet count, BBB permeability (except in adult group), plasma corticosterone level and emergence of hemorrhagic peptic ulcer spots in all three different age group of rats due to exposure to acute heat stress. However, chronic heat was found responsible for the significant reduction in body weight in weaning and young rats, increase in body temperature, number of fecal pellets excreted (in early days of chronic stress) and number of peptic ulcer spots in all three age groups of rats. At the same time, BBB extravasations were not observed in rats except very mild in weaning group. CONCLUSION The results of the present study indicate that the acute as well as chronic exposure to hot environment significantly alters the physiology of different organs of the body.
Tax Base Variability and Procyclical Fiscal Policy

Based on a sample of 56 countries, we find that while fiscal policy in the G-7 countries appears to be broadly consistent with Barro's tax smoothing proposition, in developing countries government spending and taxes are highly procyclical (i.e., government spending rises and taxes fall during expansions, while the reverse is true in recessions). To explain this puzzle, we develop an optimal fiscal policy model in which running budget surpluses is costly because they create pressures to increase public spending. Given this distortion, a government that faces large (and perfectly anticipated) fluctuations in the tax base will find it optimal to run a procyclical fiscal policy. We argue that the differences in fiscal policy between the G-7 countries and developing countries can be traced back to the fact that the tax base is much more volatile in developing countries than in the G-7 countries.
A HIF1α Regulatory Loop Links Hypoxia and Mitochondrial Signals in Pheochromocytomas

Pheochromocytomas are neural crest–derived tumors that arise from inherited or sporadic mutations in at least six independent genes. The proteins encoded by these multiple genes regulate distinct functions. We show here a functional link between tumors with VHL mutations and those with disruption of the genes encoding for succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) subunits B (SDHB) and D (SDHD). A transcription profile of reduced oxidoreductase is detected in all three of these tumor types, together with an angiogenesis/hypoxia profile typical of VHL dysfunction. The oxidoreductase defect, not previously detected in VHL-null tumors, is explained by suppression of the SDHB protein, a component of mitochondrial complex II. The decrease in SDHB is also noted in tumors with SDHD mutations. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function analyses show that the link between hypoxia signals (via VHL) and mitochondrial signals (via SDH) is mediated by HIF1α. These findings explain the shared features of pheochromocytomas with VHL and SDH mutations and suggest an additional mechanism for increased HIF1α activity in tumors.
Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in the Virgo Cluster

We briefly describe the properties of the confirmed spectroscopic sample of intracluster planetary nebulae recently discovered in the Virgo cluster. We find 23 bonafide intracluster planetary nebulae and 8 high redshift (z ~ 3.1) Lyalpha emitters identified by their broad asymmetric emission line.
Fixed broadband wireless access: state of the art, challenges, and future directions

This article provides an overview of fixed broadband wireless access technology. Focusing on the band below 3 GHz, we describe BWA service and carrier needs, deployment scenarios, architectural requirements, physical layer, medium access control, and radio link protocol requirements. We characterize fixed BWA channels, outline the major challenges of fixed BWA, and study requirements for future BWA systems. Finally, we show that the use of multiple antennas at both ends of a fixed wireless link provides significant leverages.
The Effect of Beating and Missing Analysts' Forecasts on the Information Content of Unexpected Earnings

This study investigates whether the market rewards (penalizes) firms for meeting (not meeting) analysts' earnings forecasts. Specifically, we examine the market response to positive and negative forecast errors. In addition, we examine whether the sensitivity of stock prices to positive or negative forecast errors is affected by the firms' history of consistently beating or missing analysts' forecasts. The results indicate that the earnings multiple applied to positive unexpected earnings is significantly greater than for negative unexpected earnings. In addition, we find that after controlling for the magnitude of the forecast error and bad news preannouncements, the market penalty for missing forecasts is significantly greater in absolute terms than the response to beating forecasts. We document evidence that, while the market recognizes and partially discounts the systematic component of positive analysts' forecast errors, a higher multiple is attached to the unsystematic component of unexpected earnings of firms that consistently beat analysts' forecasts. Overall, the evidence suggests that the increasing frequency of positive forecast errors as documented in previous research is a rational response by managers to market-related incentives.