Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Remote predictive mapping of surficial materials on northern Baffin Island: developing and testing techniques using Landsat TM and digital elevation data

Considering the vastness of Nunavut, the paucity of regional-scale surficial geology maps for the territory, the significant expense of working in a remote region, and the increasing availability of affordable, remotely sensed data, it is timely to develop and test remote predictive mapping techniques for producing surficial geology maps. The goal of this remote predictive mapping project is to produce a surficial materials map, which will be used to expedite subsequent ground-based mapping and sampling. This paper describes techniques used to produce a surficial materials map for an area in northern Baffin Island using remote predictive mapping techniques with Landsat TM and digital elevation data. The predictive maps produced in advance of the field work (i.e. “ground truthing”) were found to be approximately 50% accurate. To improve remote predictive mapping accuracy to at least 80%, high-resolution imagery may need to be included in the remote predictive mapping protocol. Résumé : Compte tenu de la vaste étendue du Nunavut, de la rareté des cartes d’échelle régionale des dépôts meubles du territoire, des dépenses importantes encourues lors de travaux en région éloignée et de la disponibilité croissante de données de télédétection abordables, il est opportun d’élaborer et de mettre à l’essai des techniques de cartographie prévisionnelle à distance pour la production de cartes des dépôts meubles. Le présent projet de cartographie prévisionnelle à distance avait pour objectif de produire une carte des dépôts meubles qui servira à accélérer les travaux subséquents de cartographie et d’échantillonnage sur le terrain. Le présent article décrit les techniques utilisées afin de produire une carte des dépôts meubles pour une région dans le nord de l’île de Baffin en utilisant des techniques de cartographie prévisionnelle à distance avec des données du Landsat-TM et des données altimétriques numériques. On estime que les cartes prévisionnelles produites avant les travaux sur le terrain (c.-à-d. avant la vérification au sol) avaient une exactitude de 50 %. Afin d’augmenter à au moins 80 % l’exactitude de la cartographie prévisionnelle à distance, il faudrait éventuellement inclure des images à haute résolution dans le protocole de cartographie prévisionnelle à distance. Current Research 2007-B1 1 Olivia Brown et al.
Sympathetic Nervous Activity and Myocardial Damage Immediately After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in a Unique Animal Model

Background and Purpose— Obvious cardiac dysfunction, including ECG abnormalities and left ventricular asynergy, is known to develop after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). To clarify the close relationship between myocardial damage and sympathetic nervous activity immediately after SAH, a novel experimental animal model was used. Methods— SAH was provoked by perforation of the basilar artery with the use of a microcatheter inserted through the femoral artery in 18 beagle dogs. Hemodynamic changes were recorded, and plasma concentrations of noradrenaline, adrenaline, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylethylene glycol (MHPG) and serum levels of creatine kinase–MB (CK-MB) and troponin T were measured at 0, 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes after SAH. Results— Noradrenaline (pg/mL), adrenaline (pg/mL), and MHPG (ng/mL) increased abruptly from 120±70, 130±70, and 1.3±0.5 before SAH to 1700±1200, 5600±3500, and 3.2±1.2 at 5 minutes after SAH, respectively. Aortic pressure, left ventricular wall motion, and cardiac output increased by 60%, 40%, and 30%, respectively (P <0.001) at 5 minutes and then decreased by 50%, 55%, and 40%, respectively (P <0.001) >60 minutes after SAH compared with baseline values. The peak value of CK-MB correlated positively with the peak values of noradrenaline and adrenaline (r =0.730 and r =0.611, respectively). The peak value of troponin T also correlated positively with the peak values of noradrenaline and adrenaline (r =0.828 and r =0.792, respectively). Conclusions— These results suggest that the elevated activity of the sympathetic nervous system observed in the acute phase of SAH induced myocardial damage and contributed to the development of cardiac dysfunction.
Isca Archive

In this work, we present an experimental analysis of a Dialogue System for the automatization of simple telephone services. A rst evaluation of a preliminary version of the system was done based on the Speech Recognizer error rate and on the identi cation of two groups of users, that we refer to as group A and B. From this evaluation we conclude the necessity to design a robust and exible system suitable to have di erent dialogue control strategies depending on the characteristics of the user and the performance of the speech recognition module. A system adaptation procedure combining a normalized average number of utterances per task, the amount of information in some particular utterances, and an estimate of the recognition error rate. Our adaptation procedure de nes two di erent control management strategies for a exible mixed-initiative strategy: xed for high recognition errors and Group B users, and mixed for low error rates and A users. Experimental results following the PARADISE framework showed an important improvement.
Cognitive style, personality and vulnerability to postnatal depression

Background Only some women with recurrent major depressive disorder experience postnatal episodes. Personality and/or cognitive styles might increase the likelihood of experiencing postnatal depression. Aims To establish whether personality and cognitive style predicts vulnerability to postnatal episodes over and above their known relationship to depression in general. Method We compared personality and cognitive style in women with recurrent major depressive disorder who had experienced one or more postnatal episodes (postnatal depression (PND) group, n=143) with healthy female controls (control group, n=173). We also examined parous women with recurrent major depressive disorder who experienced no perinatal episodes (non-postnatal depression (NPND) group, n=131). Results The PND group had higher levels of neuroticism and dysfunctional beliefs, and lower self-esteem than the control group. However, there were no significant differences between the PND and NPND groups. Conclusions Established personality and cognitive vulnerabilities for depression were reported by women with a history of postnatal depression, but there was no evidence that any of these traits or styles confer a specific risk for the postnatal onset of episodes.
Successful treatment of severe male factor infertility in 100 consecutive cycles using intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

In this report, we present the results of our first 100 consecutive cycles of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Overall, fertilization occurred in 98% of cycles and embryos were transferred in 94% (2.6 embryos per cycle). About 50% of patients had embryos frozen. The overall fertilization rate was 71%, of which 4% were abnormally fertilized (three pronuclei). A total of 30 clinical pregnancies were established (32% per transfer), resulting in 18 singleton, six twin and one triplet ongoing pregnancies. The implantation rate per embryo was 15%. There were no significant differences in the fertilization or pregnancy rates between patients who had only occasional motile spermatozoa in the ejaculate, semen that was too poor for routine in-vitro fertilization (IVF), or who had failed routine IVF and/or subzonal sperm injection (SUZI). A group of 18 patients were treated with both ICSI and routine IVF on their first cycle because of the high likelihood of failed fertilization due to poor sperm morphology < 20% normal). In this group, ICSI oocytes had a fertilization rate of 76% compared to only 15% for the routine IVF (control) oocytes, and six patients conceived after transfer of ICSI embryos (33%), indicating that ICSI can be used successfully on 50% of the oocytes if fertilization failure is expected. Similarly, patients who had failed to become pregnant with SUZI achieved excellent results after ICSI. There were no significant differences between ICSI and routine IVF in the proportions of grade 1, 2 or 3 embryos on day 3 post-oocyte recovery. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Exploration of the impact of nearby sources on urban atmospheric inversions using large eddy simulation

The Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX) aims to quantify and improve the effectiveness of inferring greenhouse gas (GHG) source strengths from downstream concentration measurements in urban environments. Mesoscale models such as the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model can provide realistic depictions of planetary boundary layer (PBL) structure and flow fields at horizontal grid lengths (Δ x ) down to a few km. Nevertheless, a number of potential sources of error exist in the use of mesoscale models for urban inversions, including accurate representation of the dispersion of GHGs by turbulence close to a point source. Here we evaluate the predictive skill of a 1-km chemistry-adapted WRF (WRF-Chem) simulation of daytime CO 2 transport from an Indianapolis power plant for a single INFLUX case (28 September 2013). We compare the simulated plume release on domains at different resolutions, as well as on a domain run in large eddy simulation (LES) mode, enabling us to study the impact of both spatial resolution and parameterization of PBL turbulence on the transport of CO 2 . Sensitivity tests demonstrate that much of the difference between 1-km mesoscale and 111-m LES plumes, including substantially lower maximum concentrations in the mesoscale simulation, is due to the different horizontal resolutions. However, resolution is insufficient to account for the slower rate of ascent of the LES plume with downwind distance, which results in much higher surface concentrations for the LES plume in the near-field but a near absence of tracer aloft. Physics sensitivity experiments and theoretical analytical models demonstrate that this effect is an inherent problem with the parameterization of turbulent transport in the mesoscale PBL scheme. A simple transformation is proposed that may be applied to mesoscale model concentration footprints to correct for their near-field biases. Implications for longer-term source inversion are discussed.
Reduced Physician Claims for Otitis Media After Implementation of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Program in the Province of Quebec, Canada

Background: In Canada, a 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) was licensed in 2001, and free vaccination of children <5 years of age was offered in December 2004 in the province of Quebec. Objectives: To describe the frequency of physician claims for otitis media (OM) in relation to PCV-7 coverage during the period from 1996 to 2007. Methods: The monthly frequency of OM claims in the population aged <10 years was obtained from the provincial health insurance board. Time series in different age categories were analyzed using structural models with unobserved components, including seasonality, linear trends, level changes, and outliers. The candidate explanatory variable was PCV-7 uptake rate as measured in the population <5 years of age in the Quebec City area. Results: Free PCV-7 program implementation was followed by a marked increase in uptake and by the end of 2007, >90% of children had received ≥1 dose. In all models, seasonality was a major determinant of OM frequency rates and there were statistically significant downward trends, as well as downward level breaks and outliers. PCV-7 coverage (≥1 dose) was a significant predictor in children 6 months to 2 years of age. The effect was of lesser magnitude and not significant in the group of children aged 2 to 4 years, and absent in the group 5 to 9 years. Since PCV-7 licensure, an estimated 100,000 visits were averted in children <5 years of age, and OM claim frequency reduction attributable to PCV-7 was 13.2% by the end of the study period. Conclusion: PCV-7 implementation was associated with a significant reduction in the frequency of OM in the target population, and there was no indication of herd protection in older children.
Association of apolipoprotein A1-C3 gene cluster polymorphisms with gallstone disease.

INTRODUCTION Genetic polymorphisms in apolipoprotein genes may be associated with alteration in lipid profile and susceptibility to gallstone disease. AIM To determine the association between apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1) -75 guanine [G] to adenine [A] and +83/84 M2(+/-), MspI) and apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) (SstI) polymorphisms with gallstone disease. METHODS MspI polymorphisms of the APOA1 gene and SstI polymorphisms of APOC3 were analyzed in DNA samples of 214 gallstone patients and 322 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 11.5 (SPSS, USA) and Arlequin version 2.0 (Arlequin, Switzerland). RESULTS The APOA1 -75 G/A polymorphism was significantly associated with gallstone disease. Patients with the GG genotype (P=0.015) and G allele carriers (P=0.004) had a significantly higher risk of gallstone disease (1.087-fold and 1.561-fold, respectively), whereas patients with AA genotypes (P=0.011) and A allele carriers (P=0.004) were protected (OR 0.230 and 0.641, respectively) against gallstone disease. APOA1 +83 M2(+/-) and APOC3 SstI polymorphisms were not associated with gallstone disease. Case-control analysis of haplotypes showed a significant association in males only. G-M2(+)-S1 conferred risk for gallstone disease (P=0.036; OR 1.593, 95% CI 1.029 to 2.464), while A-M2(+)-S1 was protective (P=0.002; OR 0.370, 95% CI 0.197 to 0.695) against gallstone disease. In APOA1(-75)-APOA1(+83) bilocus haplotypes, G-M2(+) was associated (P=0.0001) with very high risk (OR 3.173, 95% CI 1.774 to 5.674) for gallstone disease in males only. APOA1(-75)-APOC3(SstI) haplotypes also showed significant association while APOA1(+83)-APOC3(SstI) haplotypes showed no association with gallstone disease. CONCLUSIONS The APOA1 -75 G/A polymorphism is associated with gallstone disease and shows sex-specific differences. On the other hand, APOA1 M2(+/-) and APOC3 SstI polymorphisms may not be associated with gallstone disease. Haplotype analysis is a better predictor of risk for gallstone disease.
Parametric quantifiers for dependent type theory

Polymorphic type systems such as System F enjoy the parametricity property: polymorphic functions cannot inspect their type argument and will therefore apply the same algorithm to any type they are instantiated on. This idea is formalized mathematically in Reynolds's theory of relational parametricity, which allows the metatheoretical derivation of parametricity theorems about all values of a given type. Although predicative System F embeds into dependent type systems such as Martin-Löf Type Theory (MLTT), parametricity does not carry over as easily. The identity extension lemma, which is crucial if we want to prove theorems involving equality, has only been shown to hold for small types, excluding the universe. We attribute this to the fact that MLTT uses a single type former Π to generalize both the parametric quantifier ∀ and the type former → which is non-parametric in the sense that its elements may use their argument as a value. We equip MLTT with parametric quantifiers ∀ and ∃ alongside the existing Π and Σ, and provide relation type formers for proving parametricity theorems internally. We show internally the existence of initial algebras and final co-algebras of indexed functors both by Church encoding and, for a large class of functors, by using sized types. We prove soundness of our type system by enhancing existing iterated reflexive graph (cubical set) models of dependently typed parametricity by distinguishing between edges that express relatedness of objects (bridges) and edges that express equality (paths). The parametric functions are those that map bridges to paths. We implement an extension to the Agda proof assistant that type-checks proofs in our type system.
Ultrafine particles in alveolar macrophages from normal children

BACKGROUND Increased ambient levels of particulate matter <10 μm (PM10) from fossil fuel combustion are associated with an increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms in children. However, it is unknown whether, and to what extent, pollutant particles penetrate the paediatric lower airway. The capacity of alveolar macrophages (AM) to phagocytose inhaled material was used to directly assess exposure of normal children to particles. METHODS AM from 22 children aged 3 months to 16 years with no respiratory symptoms were obtained by non-bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage prior to elective surgery. In each child the size and composition of environmental particles within single sections from 100 separate AM was determined by electron microscopy and microanalysis. RESULTS Single and clusters of particles were seen in AM from all children. The percentage of particle-containing AM ranged from 1% to 16% per child. Particles consisted of a carbonaceous core and all were ultrafine (<0.1 μm). Other elements such as metals and silicon were not detected. The percentage of particle-containing AM did not change with age, but was increased in children whose parents lived on a main road compared with those living on a quiet residential road (median 10%v 3%, p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS All children had AM containing ultrafine carbonaceous particles. The predominant source of these particles is most likely to be from the combustion of fossil fuels.
Parallelizing SystemC Kernel for Fast Hardware Simulation on SMP Machines

SystemC is a system-level modeling language and simulation framework which facilitates design and verification of processor designs at different levels. Recently, SystemC is becoming a popular choice for designers of both System-On-Chip (SoC) and embedded processors, due to its adaptability at cycle as well as transaction levels, and ability to model concurrent processes. However, the single threaded simulation kernel inherent to SystemC, prevents it from utilizing the potential computing power of symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) machines to speed up hardware simulation. We present a parallel SystemC simulation kernel, which is implemented using parallel programming techniques and leverages the parallel execution capabilities of multi-core machines to speed up hardware simulation. We discuss the mechanism we use for mapping parallel SystemC modules into different cores. Finally we report the performance of the parallelized SystemC kernel using a linear pipelined performance model and a pipelined performance model tailored to exhibit the behavior of real world simulation. Our results demonstrate that the performance improvement obtained by using parallelized SystemC for simulation of the above models is significant and improves with increasing design complexity of the simulated design and the number of cores in the machine running the simulators.
Significance of arsenic metabolic forms in urine. Part I: Chemical speciation.

The aim of this research has been to develop analytical procedures whereby the various chemical forms of arsenic present in urine can be distinguished and further data on the biotransformation of absorbed arsenic can be acquired. The separation of inorganic arsenic ( InAs ), monomethylarsonic acid ( MMAA ), and dimethylarsinic acid ( DMAA ) in urine was performed by ion-exchange chromatography on AG 50 W-X8 resin. Arsenic was then measured directly on the eluted fractions by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, after the reduction of arsenic to the correspondent arsine. In 160 subjects with no occupational exposure to arsenic compounds, InAs , MMAA , DMAA each accounted for about 10% of the total arsenic urinary excretion (17.2 +/- 11.1 micrograms/1), thus indicating that in the normal population over 60% of arsenic in urine is present in other organic forms. After eating marine food, there was a marked increase of urinary output of arsenic, but no increase was observed in InAs , MMAA and DMAA urinary excretion. In the biological monitoring of exposure to inorganic arsenic, particularly in the case of high urinary excretion values, the differentiation of the excreted forms of arsenic is necessary to establish with certainty the source (industrial or alimentary) of arsenic.
Reasons why a second radiological opinion is advisable: a case report of a misreported crural synovial cell sarcoma

Abstract Synovial sarcoma (SS) is a rare condition that accounts for 5–10% of all soft-tissue sarcomas (STS). SS locates most frequently near the joints, in particular at the lower extremities, but it can also occur in other locations. We report a case of a 42-year-old male complaining of a slow-growth mass on his right thigh, reported as a femoral nerve shwannoma on the basis of the preoperative radiological investigations, which revealed to be a monophasic SS on the histological examination. During the surgical procedure, the assistance of vascular surgeons was required to reconstruct the wall of the femoral vein underlying the tumor, that was pathologically thickened, and communicated with the tumoral capsule. Although extremely rare, SS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of peripheral nerve sheath tumors, in particular if next to a large vein at the lower extremities.
Impact of the wavelength dependence of the mode field on the nonlinearity coefficient of PCFs

We theoretically analyze the impact of the wavelength dependence of the optical mode-field distribution on the nonlinearity coefficient /spl gamma/ for photonic crystal fibers with square and hexagonal air-hole lattices and for a silica rod. For the core size, which provides the maximum achievable nonlinearity coefficient, the relative change of /spl gamma/ over a 60-nm wavelength range around 1550 nm amounts to approximately 12.5%.
The Inferior Frontal Gyrus and Phonological Processing: An Investigation using rTMS

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) offers a powerful new technique for investigating the distinct contributions of the cortical language areas. We have used this method to examine the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in phonological processing and verbal working memory. Functional neuroimaging studies have implicated the posterior part of the left IFG in both phonological decision making and subvocal rehearsal mechanisms, but imaging is a correlational method and it is therefore necessary to determine whether this region is essential for such processes. In this paper we present the results of two experiments in which rTMS was applied over the frontal operculum while subjects performed a delayed phonological matching task. We compared the effects of disrupting this area either during the delay (memory) phase or at the response (decision) phase of the task. Delivered at a time when subjects were required to remember the sound of a visually presented word, rTMS impaired the accuracy with which they subsequently performed the task. However, when delivered later in the trial, as the subjects compared the remembered word with a given pseudoword, rTMS did not impair accuracy. Performance by the same subjects on a control task that required the processing of nonverbal visual stimuli was unaffected by the rTMS. Similarly, performance on both tasks was unaffected by rTMS delivered over a more anterior site (pars triangularis). We conclude that the opercular region of the IFG is necessary for the normal operation of phonologically based working memory mechanisms. Furthermore, this study shows that rTMS can shed further light on the precise role of cortical language areas in humans.