Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SAR monitoring of progressive and seasonal ground deformation using the permanent scatterers technique

Spaceborne differential radar interferometry has proven a remarkable potential for mapping ground deformation phenomena (e.g., urban subsidence, volcano dynamics, coseismic and postseismic displacements along faults, as well as slope instability). However, a full operational capability has not been achieved yet due to atmospheric disturbances and phase decorrelation phenomena. These drawbacks can often be-at least partially-overcome by carrying out measurements on a subset of image pixels corresponding to natural or artificial stable reflectors [permanent scatterers (PS)] and exploiting long temporal series of interferometric data. This approach allows one to push the measurement precision very close to its theoretical limit (in the order of /spl sim/1 mm for C-band European Remote Sensing (ERS)-like sensors). In this paper, the detection of both time-uniform and seasonal deformation phenomena is addressed, and a first assessment of the precision achievable by means of the PS Technique is discussed. Results highlighting deformation phenomena occurring in two test sites in California are reported (Fremont in the Southern Bay Area and San Jose in the Santa Clara Valley).
On the existence of FIR zero-forcing equalizers for nonredundantly precoded transmissions through FIR channels

We consider in this letter the problem of perfectly equalizing finite-impulse response (FIR) channels in digital communication systems employing nonredundant precoding at the transmitter. In this case, as it is well known, there is no linear FIR zero-forcing (ZF) block equalizer that is capable of perfectly recovering information symbols in the absence of noise. We show that, when the symbol constellation is improper, it is possible to design widely linear FIR-ZF block equalizers that, unlike their linear counterparts, process both the received signal and its complex-conjugate version. In addition, we propose a simple procedure to synthesize universal modulation-induced cyclostationary (MIC) precoders that assures perfect symbol recovery, regardless of the channel-zero locations.
Vertical secondary flows in submersed plant‐like arrays

Obstructions that protruded from a laboratory test bed into the benthic boundary layer were exposed to gradients in longitudinal velocity (δu/δz) that produced vertical pressure gradients along the surface of the obstruction. These pressure gradients generated vertical secondary flows that may have ecological significance for benthic fauna and aquatic macrophytes. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that secondary flows of up to 15% of the local longitudinal velocity were produced behind individual obstructions within a submersed plant‐like or animal tube array and for conditions like those found in aquatic canopies or colonies. Our observations support theoretical predictions based on a reduced form of the Navier‐Stokes equations, confirming that the ascending flow is controlled by a local balance of vertical pressure gradient, proportional to δu2/δz, and viscous stress. The secondary flows were shown to transport dye from the bottom to a height dictated by the in‐canopy current speed and turbulence intensity. By extension, the ascending flows can potentially contribute to the advection of nutrients from sediments, where they have been regenerated by microbial processes, to areas higher in the canopy, where they can be used by epiphytes and macrophyte leaves. Pressure gradients generated near the stem base also produce pore‐water exfiltration. The coupled pressure‐driven exfiltration and vertical advection have the potential to control nutrient availability in the bed.
Growth and Output Fluctuations

This paper sheds new light on the interaction between growth and output fluctuations. Our approach is different from the literature in that we analyse how endogenous fluctuations are affected by a faster productivity growth in the long run. Main results: (i) expansion (or contraction) occurs more (or less) frequently, (ii) expansion becomes milder but contraction severer, (iii) the amplitude of fluctuations becomes larger, (iv) the variance of output changes ambiguously, indicating a non-monotonic relationship. We also investigate how an R&D subsidy alters the nature of output fluctuations and re-examine its effect on technological change in the presence of recurrent cycles. The result questions the widely-accepted theoretical implication that a research subsidy unambiguously promotes technological progress. Copyright 2000 by Scottish Economic Society.
Cholestasis and Seizure Due to Lead Toxicity: A Case Report

Introduction Lead poisoning is a major public health risk which may involve major organs. Recently, there have been reports of opioid adulteration with lead in Iran. The following case report is the first of its kind in that intrahepatic cholestasis due to lead toxicity has been described. Case Presentation A 65-year-old man presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain, abnormal liver function tests (cholestatic pattern), and normocytic anemia. He had been an opium user for 20 years. Clinical and preclinical findings including the bluish discoloration of periodontal tissues, or Burton’s sign, and generalized ileus on abdominal x-ray led us to the possibility of lead poisoning. Lead levels were higher than normal (150 μg/dL). Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and abdominal ultrasound were performed to rule out extra hepatic causes of cholestasis. To evaluate the possibility of lead-induced hepatotoxicity, a liver biopsy was performed. Histological features of lead-induced hepatotoxity have rarely been described in humans. In this patient, focal canalicular cholestasis and mild portal inflammation were confirmed. Thus, treatment with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and British anti-lewisite (BAL) were initiated and continued for five days. The patient’s liver function tests returned to their normal values, clinical findings including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain subsided, and the patient was discharged from the hospital in good condition. Conclusions Lead toxicity should always be taken into account in cases of intrahepatic cholestasis with an unknown etiology, especially in a setting where opium abuse is common.
Deriving operational software specifications from system goals

Goal orientation is an increasingly recognized paradigm for eliciting, modeling, specifying and analyzing software requirements. Goals are statements of intent organized in AND/OR refinement structures; they range from high-level, strategic concerns to low-level, technical requirements on the software-to-be and assumptions on its environment. The operationalization of system goals into specifications of software services is a core aspect of the requirements elaboration process for which little systematic and constructive support is available. In particular, most formal methods assume such operational specifications to be given and focus on their a posteriori analysis.The paper considers a formal, constructive approach in which operational software specifications are built incrementally from higher-level goal formulations in a way that guarantees their correctness by construction. The operationalization process is based on formal derivation rules that map goal specifications to specifications of software operations; more specifically, these rules map real-time temporal logic specifications to sets of pre-, post- and trigger conditions. The rules define operationalization patterns that may be used for guiding and documenting the operationalization process while hiding all formal reasoning details; the patterns are formally proved correct once and for all. The catalog of operationalization patterns is structured according to a rich taxonomy of goal specification patterns.
Explanation-Driven Inquiry: Integrating Conceptual and Epistemic Scaffolds for Scientific Inquiry

Science education reforms consistently maintain the goal that students develop an understanding of the nature of science, including both the nature of scientific knowledge and methods for making it. This paper articulates a framework for scaffolding epistemic aspects of inquiry that can help students understand inquiry processes in relation to the kinds of knowledge such processes can produce. This framework underlies the design of a technology-supported inquiry curriculum for evolution and natural selection that focuses students on constructing and evaluating scientific explanations for natural phenomena. The design has been refined through cycles of implementation, analysis, and revision that have documented the epistemic practices students engage in during inquiry, indicate ways in which designed tools support students' work, and suggest necessary additional social scaffolds. These findings suggest that epistemic tools can play a unique role in supporting students' inquiry, and a fruitful means for studying students' scientific epistemologies. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed88:345–372, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/. sce10130
Extreme adaptive optics for the Thirty Meter Telescope

Direct detection of extrasolar Jovian planets is a major scientific motivation for the construction of future extremely large telescopes such as the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). Such detection will require dedicated high-contrast AO systems. Since the properties of Jovian planets and their parent stars vary enormously between different populations, the instrument must be designed to meet specific scientific needs rather than a simple metric such as maximum Strehl ratio. We present a design for such an instrument, the Planet Formation Imager (PFI) for TMT. It has four key science missions. The first is the study of newly-formed planets on 5-10 AU scales in regions such as Taurus and Ophiucus - this requires very small inner working distances that are only possible with a 30m or larger telescope. The second is a robust census of extrasolar giant planets orbiting mature nearby stars. The third is detailed spectral characterization of the brightest extrasolar planets. The final targets are circumstellar dust disks, including Zodiacal light analogs in the inner parts of other solar systems. To achieve these, PFI combines advanced wavefront sensors, high-order MEMS deformable mirrors, a coronagraph optimized for a finely- segmented primary mirror, and an integral field spectrograph.
From the Athletes’ Perspective: A Social-Relational Understanding of How Coaches Shape the Disability Sport Experience

The purpose of this study was to explore athletes’ perceptions of how coaches shaped their experiences in disability sport throughout development. Athletes with physical disabilities (N = 21) participated in life history interviews. Participants outlined their sport history and responded to questions targeting the roles that coaches played in their development, which laid the foundation for broader conversations about how coaches shaped the disability sport experience. Using thematic analysis, patterns in coach knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors were captured in 4 themes. Three themes were discussed in relation to positive experiences in disability sport (consideration, collaboration, professionalism), and 1 theme was related to negative disability sport experiences (prejudice). The findings of this work are analyzed through the lens of the social-relational model of disability, thus challenging the dominant discourse that underpins understandings of (dis)ability in the sport context. Practical recommendations for disability sport coaches include reflective practice and introspective examination of implicit biases and assumptions, as well as a focus on interpersonal skills that assist coaches in collaborating with athletes—thus encouraging the integration of sport- and disability-specific knowledge. Lay Summary Athletes with physical disabilities were interviewed about how coaches shaped their experiences in sport over time. Differences in how coaches created positive experiences were identified at each stage of development, reflecting varied combinations of knowledge and behaviors. Negative experiences stemmed from perceptions of unfair treatment and inequality.
DrugBank 3.0: a comprehensive resource for ‘Omics’ research on drugs

DrugBank (http://www.drugbank.ca) is a richly annotated database of drug and drug target information. It contains extensive data on the nomenclature, ontology, chemistry, structure, function, action, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, metabolism and pharmaceutical properties of both small molecule and large molecule (biotech) drugs. It also contains comprehensive information on the target diseases, proteins, genes and organisms on which these drugs act. First released in 2006, DrugBank has become widely used by pharmacists, medicinal chemists, pharmaceutical researchers, clinicians, educators and the general public. Since its last update in 2008, DrugBank has been greatly expanded through the addition of new drugs, new targets and the inclusion of more than 40 new data fields per drug entry (a 40% increase in data ‘depth’). These data field additions include illustrated drug-action pathways, drug transporter data, drug metabolite data, pharmacogenomic data, adverse drug response data, ADMET data, pharmacokinetic data, computed property data and chemical classification data. DrugBank 3.0 also offers expanded database links, improved search tools for drug–drug and food–drug interaction, new resources for querying and viewing drug pathways and hundreds of new drug entries with detailed patent, pricing and manufacturer data. These additions have been complemented by enhancements to the quality and quantity of existing data, particularly with regard to drug target, drug description and drug action data. DrugBank 3.0 represents the result of 2 years of manual annotation work aimed at making the database much more useful for a wide range of ‘omics’ (i.e. pharmacogenomic, pharmacoproteomic, pharmacometabolomic and even pharmacoeconomic) applications.
Cloning and Functional Expression of an Aplysia 5-HT Receptor Negatively Coupled to Adenylate Cyclase

Serotonin (5-HT) is involved in the control of various behaviors inAplysia californica, including reproduction, feeding, locomotion, circadian rhythm, synaptic plasticity, and synaptic growth. The large variety of functions of 5-HT is mediated by different receptor subtypes that are coupled to different second-messenger systems. Here, we report the cloning of a cDNA coding for anAplysia G-protein-coupled 5-HT receptor (5-HTap1). Its deduced amino acid sequence resembles those of the 5-HT1 receptor subfamily. When expressed in stable cell lines, 5-HTap1 exhibits high-affinity binding for the serotonergic radioligand [N-methyl-3H]lysergic acid diethylamide. This binding is competed by several 5-HT agonists and antagonists, and the pharmacological profile of inhibition has some similarities with those of 5-HT1 and 5-HT7 receptors. Application of 5-HT or its agonists 5-carboxamidotryptamine maleate and (±)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propyl-amino) tetralin hydrobromide on cells transformed with 5-HTap1produced a dose-dependent inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation. 5-HTap1 is thus negatively coupled to adenylate cyclase. The production of antiserum against the 5-HTap1 receptor allowed us to examine its expression in animal tissues. The receptor protein is detected in every tissue examined, although it seems only weakly expressed in some samples. The receptor is also found in every ganglia of the nervous system, both in the sheath and in the neurons. 5-HTap1 mRNA is absent from the sheath, indicating that the protein observed there is probably located on the nerve terminals.
Exploring Teleimpedance and Tactile Feedback for Intuitive Control of the Pisa/IIT SoftHand

This paper proposes a teleimpedance controller with tactile feedback for more intuitive control of the Pisa/IIT SoftHand. With the aim to realize a robust, efficient and low-cost hand prosthesis design, the SoftHand is developed based on the motor control principle of synergies, through which the immense complexity of the hand is simplified into distinct motor patterns. Due to the built-in flexibility of the hand joints, as the SoftHand grasps, it follows a synergistic path while allowing grasping of objects of various shapes using only a single motor. The DC motor of the hand incorporates a novel teleimpedance control in which the user's postural and stiffness synergy references are tracked in real-time. In addition, for intuitive control of the hand, two tactile interfaces are developed. The first interface (mechanotactile) exploits a disturbance observer which estimates the interaction forces in contact with the grasped object. Estimated interaction forces are then converted and applied to the upper arm of the user via a custom made pressure cuff. The second interface employs vibrotactile feedback based on surface irregularities and acceleration signals and is used to provide the user with information about the surface properties of the object as well as detection of object slippage while grasping. Grasp robustness and intuitiveness of hand control were evaluated in two sets of experiments. Results suggest that incorporating the aforementioned haptic feedback strategies, together with user-driven compliance of the hand, facilitate execution of safe and stable grasps, while suggesting that a low-cost, robust hand employing hardware-based synergies might be a good alternative to traditional myoelectric prostheses.
Spectroscopic and magnetic studies of wild-type and mutant forms of the Fe(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent decarboxylase ALKBH4

The Fe(II)/2OG (2-oxoglutarate)-dependent dioxygenase superfamily comprises proteins that couple substrate oxidation to decarboxylation of 2OG to succinate. A member of this class of mononuclear non-haem Fe proteins is the Escherichia coli DNA/RNA repair enzyme AlkB. In the present work, we describe the magnetic and optical properties of the yet uncharacterized human ALKBH4 (AlkB homologue). Through EPR and UV–visible spectroscopy studies, we address the Fe-binding environment of the proposed catalytic centre of wild-type ALKBH4 and an Fe(II)-binding mutant. We could observe a novel unusual Fe(III) high-spin EPR-active species in the presence of sulfide with a gmax of 8.2. The Fe(II) site was probed with NO. An intact histidine-carboxylate site is necessary for productive Fe binding. We also report the presence of a unique cysteine-rich motif conserved in the N-terminus of ALKBH4 orthologues, and investigate its possible Fe-binding ability. Furthermore, we show that recombinant ALKBH4 mediates decarboxylation of 2OG in absence of primary substrate. This activity is dependent on Fe as well as on residues predicted to be involved in Fe(II) co-ordination. The present results demonstrate that ALKBH4 represents an active Fe(II)/2OG-dependent decarboxylase and suggest that the cysteine cluster is involved in processes other than Fe co-ordination.
Deep Fishing: Gradient Features from Deep Nets

Convolutional Networks (ConvNets) have recently improved image recognition performance thanks to end-to-end learning of deep feed-forward models from raw pixels. Deep learning is a marked departure from the previous state of the art, the Fisher Vector (FV), which relied on gradient-based encoding of local hand-crafted features. In this paper, we discuss a novel connection between these two approaches. First, we show that one can derive gradient representations from ConvNets in a similar fashion to the FV. Second, we show that this gradient representation actually corresponds to a structured matrix that allows for efficient similarity computation. We experimentally study the benefits of transferring this representation over the outputs of ConvNet layers, and find consistent improvements on the Pascal VOC 2007 and 2012 datasets.
Impact of Integrated Community Case Management on Health-Seeking Behavior in Rural Zambia

Provision of integrated community case management (iCCM) for common childhood illnesses by community health workers (CHWs) represents an increasingly common strategy for reducing childhood morbidity and mortality. We sought to assess how iCCM availability influenced care-seeking behavior. In areas where two different iCCM approaches were implemented, we conducted baseline and post-study household surveys on healthcare-seeking practices among women who were caring for children ≤ 5 years in their homes. For children presenting with fever, there was an increase in care sought from CHWs and a decrease in care sought at formal health centers between baseline and post-study periods. For children with fast/difficulty breathing, an increase in care sought from CHWs was only noted in areas where CHWs were trained and supplied with amoxicillin to treat non-severe pneumonia. These findings suggest that iCCM access influences local care-seeking practices and reduces workload at primary health centers.
The light-induced increase of carbohydrate metabolism in glial cells of the honeybee retina is not mediated by K+ movement nor by cAMP

The retina of the honeybee drone is a nervous tissue in which glial cells and photoreceptor neurons constitute two distinct metabolic compartments. The phosphorylation of glucose and its subsequent incorporation into glycogen occur essentially in glia, whereas O2 consumption occurs in the photoreceptors. After [3H] glucose loading of superfused retinal slices, light stimulation induced a significant rise in [3H] glycogen turnover in the glia. This occurs without a concomitant covalent modification of glycogen enzymes. Probably only an increase or a decrease of the availability of [3H] glycosyls that are incorporated into glycogen is necessary. As only photoreceptors are directly excitable by light, we searched for a signal that stimulates glycogen metabolism in the glia. Although K+ in extracellular space and glia increases after repetitive light stimulation, increasing bath K+ in the dark did not mimic the metabolic effects of light, despite an equivalent increase of K+ in the extracellular space and glia. We subsequently explored the role of cAMP, a universal intracellular second messenger. Exposure of retinal slices to the adenylate-cyclase activator forskolin induced an expected increase in the rate of formation of cAMP, but only partially mimicked the metabolic effects of light. Furthermore, light stimulation failed to induce a rise in the rate of formation of cAMP. We conclude that in this nervous system, without synapses, neither K+ nor cAMP mediates the effect of light stimulation on intraglial glucose metabolism.
Economic Effects of the Recently Signed Pak-China FreeTrade Agreement

Factor endowments and cross country differences create regional disparities among states. The disparity in sizes between the Chinese and Pakistani economies can lead to the creation of trade patterns that can positively or negatively impact the latter’s economy. The present paper attempts to analyze the pros and cons of forming a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China given the size, structure and trade patterns of Pakistan’s existing economy. It also deals withthe crucial questions of: Can the formation of an FTA with China benefit Pakistan? Will trade liberalization under an FTA with a neighboring countrylike China spur Pakistan’s trade and growth? Looking at trends and trade patterns of Pakistan, the potential of Pakistan’s existingeconomy is analyzed to enhance interregional trade and export diversification by further deepening cooperation with China. In the light of this analysis, the paper also outlines a number of recommendations to extract the maximum benefit for Pakistan’s economy from this recently signed FTA with an old economic partner, China.