Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wind tunnel experiments on ground-mounted photovoltaic solar panels

Over the last decades, renewable energy resources have gained an increasing interest for human development and, specifically, photovoltaic solar energy has shown a speedy and rising expansion. Several photovoltaic solar panel farms have been built in many countries to take advantage of this energy. Standards and codes for wind load action have not been an adequate tool for evaluating wind load on photovoltaic (PV) solar panels yet; thus, deeper studies on this subject are necessary. This paper presents an experimental study of wind load on a ground-mounted PV panel in a wind tunnel. The model was tested with inclinations of 15° and 23° for different wind attack directions in an open field. The detailed characteristics of pressure distribution of the mean and peak load coefficients on the panel surfaces were obtained. The shape coefficients from the peak loads were obtained using the 3-s (three-seconds) and area-average approach. Pressure coefficient increases are critical for 0° and 180° with an approximated total increasing percentage of 57% and 61% respectively when varying the angle from 15° to 23°.
Small domain randomization

Random perturbation is a promising technique for privacy preserving data mining. It retains an original sensitive value with a certain probability and replaces it with a random value from the domain with the remaining probability. If the replacing value is chosen from a large domain, the retention probability must be small to protect privacy. For this reason, previous randomization-based approaches have poor utility. In this paper, we propose an alternative way to randomize sensitive values, called small domain randomization. First, we partition the given table into sub-tables that have smaller domains of sensitive values. Then, we randomize the sensitive values within each sub-table independently. Since each sub-table has a smaller domain, a larger retention probability is permitted. We propose this approach as an alternative to classical partition-based approaches to privacy preserving data publishing. There are two key issues: ensure the published sub-tables do not disclose more private information than what is permitted on the original table, and partition the table so that utility is maximized. We present an effective solution.
Adjusting Mortality for Loss to Follow-Up: Analysis of Five ART Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background Evaluation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) programmes in sub-Saharan Africa is difficult because many patients are lost to follow-up. Outcomes in these patients are generally unknown but studies tracing patients have shown mortality to be high. We adjusted programme-level mortality in the first year of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for excess mortality in patients lost to follow-up. Methods and Findings Treatment-naïve patients starting combination ART in five programmes in Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa were eligible. Patients whose last visit was at least nine months before the closure of the database were considered lost to follow-up. We filled missing survival times in these patients by multiple imputation, using estimates of mortality from studies that traced patients lost to follow-up. Data were analyzed using Weibull models, adjusting for age, sex, ART regimen, CD4 cell count, clinical stage and treatment programme. A total of 15,915 HIV-infected patients (median CD4 cell count 110 cells/µL, median age 35 years, 68% female) were included; 1,001 (6.3%) were known to have died and 1,285 (14.3%) were lost to follow-up in the first year of ART. Crude estimates of mortality at one year ranged from 5.7% (95% CI 4.9–6.5%) to 10.9% (9.6–12.4%) across the five programmes. Estimated mortality hazard ratios comparing patients lost to follow-up with those remaining in care ranged from 6 to 23. Adjusted estimates based on these hazard ratios ranged from 10.2% (8.9–11.6%) to 16.9% (15.0–19.1%), with relative increases in mortality ranging from 27% to 73% across programmes. Conclusions Naïve survival analysis ignoring excess mortality in patients lost to follow-up may greatly underestimate overall mortality, and bias ART programme evaluations. Adjusted mortality estimates can be obtained based on excess mortality rates in patients lost to follow-up.
Effects of Cell Seeding Methods on Chondrogenic Differentiation of Rat Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Polyhydroxybutyrate/Chitosan Scaffolds

Abstract The aim of our study was to examine the effects of passive and active cell seeding techniques on in vitro chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) isolated from rat bone marrow and seeded on porous biopolymer scaffolds based on polyhydroxybutyrate/chitosan (PCH) blends. This paper is focused on the distribution of the cells on and in the scaffolds, since it influences the uniformity of the created extracellular matrix (ECM), as well as the homogenity of the distribution of chondrogenic markers in vitro which ultimately affects the quality of the newly created tissue after in vivo implantation. The three types of cell-scaffold constructs were examined by: fluorescence microscopy, SEM, histology and quantitative analysis of the glycosaminoglycans after chondrogenic cultivation. The results demonstrated that the active cells seeded via the centrifugation of the cell suspension onto the scaffold guaranteed an even distribution of cells on the bulk of the scaffold and the uniform secretion of the ECM products by the differentiated cells.
Exotic species predominates in the urban woody flora of central Chile

1Laboratorio de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Departamento de Biología, Centro para el Desarrollo de la Nanociencia y la Nanotecnología (CEDENNA) 917-0124, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Avenida Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 3363, Casilla 40, Correo 33, Santiago, Chile. 2Centro de Estudios Arquitectónicos, Urbanísticos y del Paisaje, Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Paisaje, Universidad Central de Chile. ,Avenida Santa Isabel 1186, Santiago, Chile. 3Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Rudecindo Ortega 02950, Temuco, Chile. 4Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Área Botánica, Interior Parque Quinta Normal S/N, Casilla 787, Santiago, Chile. *sergio.castro@usach.cl; javier.figueroa@ucentral.cl
Stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation method

In this paper we propose a novel approach called the stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation (SCALES) method which takes advantage of both the coherent vortex simulation (CVS) and large eddy simulation (LES) methods. With the SCALES method a wavelet filter is applied to a turbulent field such that the maximum number of modes are resolved in the simulation, given the balance between computing resources and user defined acceptable simulation error. As with CVS, the wavelet thresholding filter will allow a SCALES simulation to resolve and “track” the coherent energetic structures in a turbulent flow field. The wavelet filter compression in SCALES will be substantially greater than the “ideal” wavelet compression used in CVS, making it cost effective for simulating high Re number flows. The SCALES methodology will simulate the most important modes given the resources available. Because of the higher wavelet compression the subgrid scales (SGS) in a SCALES simulation will contain both coherent and i.
Objective evaluation of surface- and satellite-driven CO2 atmospheric inversions

Abstract. We study an ensemble of six multi-year global Bayesian CO2 atmospheric inversions that vary in terms of assimilated observations (either column retrievals from one of two satellites or surface air sample measurements) and transport model. The time series of inferred annual fluxes are first compared with each other at various spatial scales. We then objectively evaluate the small inversion ensemble based on a large dataset of accurate aircraft measurements in the free troposphere over the globe, that are independent from all assimilated data. The measured variables are connected with the inferred fluxes through mass-conserving transport in the global atmosphere and are part of the inversion results. Large-scale annual fluxes estimated from the bias-corrected land retrievals of the second Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) differ from the prior fluxes much, but are similar to the fluxes estimated from the surface network within the uncertainty of these surface-based estimates. The OCO-2- and surface-based inversions have similar performance when projected in the space of the aircraft data, but relative strengths and weaknesses of the two flux estimates vary within the Northern and Tropical parts of the continents. The verification data also suggests that the more complex and more recent transport model does not improve the inversion skill. In contrast, the inversion using bias-corrected retrievals from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) or, to a larger extent, a non-Bayesian inversion that simply adjusts a recent bottom-up flux estimate with the annual growth rate diagnosed from marine surface measurements, estimate much different fluxes and fit the aircraft data less. Our study highlights a way to rate global atmospheric inversions. It suggests that some satellite retrievals can now provide inversion results that are, despite their uncertainty, comparable in credibility to traditional inversions using the accurate but sparse surface network and that are therefore complementary for studies of the global carbon budget.
Simulation of Triple Junction Motion with Arbitrary Surface Tensions

We simulate triple junction motion that is given by the gradient flow of surface energy with arbitrary surface tensions of the individual interfaces. The foundation of the method is the diffusion-based BMO algorithm in vectorvalued formulation. We modify the original vector-valued BMO method so that it can accommodate motions for any triple of surface tensions leading to the possibility of a nonsymmetric junction. The main idea of the modification is to adjust both the reference vectors and the coefficients in the underlying diffusion system. Moreover, we improve the method by using vector-valued projection triangle and also address the volumepreserving problem. Analysis and numerical results of this generalized vector-valued BMO algorithm are presented.
Paired‐pulse modulation at individual GABAergic synapses in rat hippocampus

1 Unitary inhibitory postsynaptic currents (uIPSCs) were recorded in synaptically coupled pairs of CA1 hippocampal interneurons and pyramidal neurons in rat brain slices by using dual patch‐clamp techniques. Paired‐pulse modulation of uIPSCs at individual GABAergic synapses was tested. 2 GABAergic synapses could be divided into two subgroups, high and low failure, depending on their failure rate. 3 The external Ca2+ levels modulate the failure rate of uIPSCs. In 0·51 mM Ca2+, low‐failure pairs had a high‐failure characteristic, whereas high‐failure pairs had a low‐failure characteristic in 8 mM Ca2+. The results suggest that uIPSC failures result from the Ca2+‐dependent release mechanism rather than axon propagation failures. 4 Paired‐pulse facilitation (PPF) occurred in high‐failure pairs when the interspike interval was 20 ms. Paired‐pulse depression (PPD) was not predominant in high‐failure pairs. 5 Potency of uIPSCs, the average amplitude of non‐failure events, was enhanced by PPF, suggesting that multiple synapses connect each pair. Differing numbers of activated synapses contributed to the variable amplitude of uIPSCs from a given pair. 6 PPD occurred in low‐failure pairs at the tested range of interspike intervals (20–200 ms). The uIPSC2 after a large uIPSC1 was smaller than the uIPSC2 after a small uIPSC1, suggesting that PPD is use dependent and due to a decrease in the quantal content (m) after the first release. 7 In 8 mM Ca2+, PPD occurred in high‐failure pairs and was larger in low‐failure pairs, suggesting that the occurrence of PPF or PPD depends on the baseline release probability. 8 The GABAB receptor antagonist CGP 55845A (5 μM) decreased the baseline release probability of inhibitory synapses and attenuated PPD indirectly, rather than by blocking presynaptic GABAB autoreceptors.
T-Cell Receptor-Stimulated Calcineurin Activity Is Inhibited in Isolated T Cells from Transplant Patients

The addition of calcineurin inhibitors, including cyclosporine A (CsA) and FK-506 (tacrolimus), to transplant protocols has markedly reduced acute allograft rejection and prolonged patient survival. Although monitoring of serum drug levels has been shown to be a poor indicator of efficacy, there is little data on calcineurin enzymatic activity in humans. Therefore, we measured calcineurin in isolated CD3+/4+ T cells from 81 non-transplant controls and 39 renal allograft patients by using a 32PO4-labeled calcineurin-specific substrate. A gender difference was observed in the control cohort, with activity in males significantly higher than that in females (1073 ± 134 versus 758 ± 75 fmol/μg/min, respectively). Activity of both groups was comparably inhibited by 5 ng/ml tacrolimus (27 ± 4 versus 30 ± 4%). Calcineurin is a downstream target of the T-cell receptor (TCR). Therefore, activity was measured in isolated T cells after incubation with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies to stimulate the TCR. Calcineurin activity increased significantly from 1214 ± 111 to 1652 ± 138 fmol/μg/min; addition of either tacrolimus or CsA (500 ng/ml) blocked CD3/CD28 stimulation. Despite therapeutic levels of tacrolimus and CsA (mean 11.4 and 172 ng/ml), basal calcineurin activity was significantly higher among renal transplant recipients than controls (1776 ± 175 versus 914 ± 78 fmol/μg/min). In contrast, anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies failed to stimulate calcineurin activity in transplant subjects. Finally, we found that basal and stimulated calcineurin activities are inversely related. Consistent with this finding, basal activity in resting T cells rose over time after transplant but stimulation fell (r2 = 0.785, p < 0.05). These data suggest that examination of TCR-stimulated calcineurin activity after renal transplantation may be useful for monitoring immunosuppression of individual patients.
[Interference of age on semen quality].

PURPOSE to evaluate the influence of age on the quality of semen in men submitted to spermatic analysis in a human reproduction service, in cases of conjugal infertility. METHODS a retrospective study in which the spermiograms of all men in process of investigation for conjugal infertility in a service of assisted reproduction in the Northeast of Brazil were evaluated from September 2002 to December 2004. A number of 531 individuals submitted to 531 spermatic evaluations were included in the study. The following parameters have been analyzed: spermatic volume, concentration, motility and morphology. The men under investigation have been divided in groups, according to the results obtained in each of the variables studied. Seminal volume groups were divided in: hypospermia, normospermia and hyperspermia. Spermatic concentration groups were divided in: azoospermia, oligospermia, normospermia and polyspermia. Motility groups were divided in: normal motility and asthenospermia. Morphology groups were divided in: normal morphology and teratospermia. The t test has been used to compare the average age of patients in groups with normal and in groups with altered parameters. The program XLSTAT (p<0.05) has been used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS the individuals studied presented an average of 37+/-7.9 years old, with an average of seminal volume of 3+/-1.4 mL, a spermatic concentration of 61.4+/-66.4 spermatozoids by mL of semen, a progressive motility of 44.7+/-19.4% of the total of spermatozoids and normal morphology of 11.2+/-6.6% of the spermatozoids. Average age among groups were similar, except for that of individuals with hypospermia, which was significantly higher than the one from men with normospermia (39.6+/-10.3 versus 36.5+/-7.3, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS age interferes in an inversely proportional way on the ejaculated volume, but does not influence spermatic concentration, motility and morphology.
Public Privates: Performing Gynecology from Both Ends of the Speculum

In "Public Privates", a book about looking and being looked at, about speculums, spectacles, and spectators, about display, illumination, and reflection, Terri Kapsalis makes visible the practices and representations of gynaecology. The quintessential examination of women, gynaecology is not simply the study of women's bodies, but also serves to define and constitute them. Any critical analysis of gynaecology is therefore, as Kapsalis affirms, an investigation of what it means to be female. In this respect she considers the public exposure of female 'privates' in the performance of the pelvic examination.From J. Marion Sims' surgical experiments on un-anesthetised slave women in the mid-nineteenth century, to the use of cadavers and prostitutes to teach medical students gynaecological techniques, Kapsalis focuses on the ways in which women and their bodies have been treated by the medical establishment. Removing gynaecology from its private cover within clinic walls and medical textbook pages, she decodes the gynaecological examination, seizing on its performative dimension.She considers traditional medical practices and the dynamics of 'proper' patient performance; non-traditional practices such as the cervical self-examination; and, incarnations of the pelvic examination outside the bounds of medicine, including its appearance in David Cronenberg's film "Dead Ringers" and Annie Sprinkle' performance piece "Public Cervix Announcement". Confounding the boundaries that separate medicine, art, and pornography, revealing the potent cultural attitudes and anxieties about women, female bodies, and female sexuality that permeate the practice of gynaecology, "Public Privates" concludes by locating a venue from which challenging, alternative performances may be staged. Provocative and daring, this book will be important to readers engaged in women's studies, cultural studies, and performance studies, and to those concerned with issues of women's health.
Recent star formation in local, morphologically disturbed spheroidal galaxies on the optical red sequence

We combine Galaxy Evolution Explorer [(GALEX); ultraviolet (UV)] and Sloan Digital Sky Survey [(SDSS); optical] photometry to study the recent star formation histories of ∼100 field galaxies on the optical red sequence, a large fraction of which exhibit widespread signs of disturbed morphologies in deep optical imaging that are consistent with recent merging events. More than 70 per cent of bulge-dominated galaxies in this sample show tidal features at a surface brightness limit of μ ∼ 28magarcsec −2 . We find that, while they inhabit the optical red sequence, they show a wide spread in their UV colours (∼4mag), akin to what has been discovered recently in the general early-type population. A strong correlation is found between UV colour and the strength of the tidal distortions, such that the bluest galaxies are more distorted. This strongly suggests that the blue UV colours seen in many nearby early types are driven by (low-level) merger-induced star formation within the last 3Gyrs, contributing less than 10 per cent of the stellar mass. If the ongoing mergers in this sample, which have a median mass ratio of 1:4, are representative of the nearby red merger population, then less than ∼25 per cent of the new stellar mass in the remnants is typically added through merger-induced star formation. While the dust extinction in the interstellar medium (ISM) in these galaxies is small (E ISM−V < 0.1), the local dust content of the star-forming regions is, on average, a factor of ∼3 higher. Finally, we use our theoretical machinery to provide a recipe for calculating the age of the most recent star formation event (t2) in nearby (z 0.1) red early-type galaxies: logt2(Gyrs) ∼ 0.6 ±0.03 [(NUV − u) − (g − z) − 1.73 ±0.03 ], where NUV,u,g and z are the observed photometric magnitudes of the galaxies in the GALEX/SDSS filter sets.
Ability of the V3 Loop of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus To Serve as a Target for Antibody-Mediated Neutralization: Correlation of Neutralization Sensitivity, Growth in Macrophages, and Decreased Dependence on CD4

ABSTRACT To better define the effects of sequence variation and tropism on the ability of the simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac V3 loop to act as a target of antibody-mediated neutralization, a series of experiments were performed. Three SIV strains, SIVmac239, SIVmac316, and SIVmac155/T3, each with defined differences in envsequence and tropism, were used to construct a panel of viruses chimeric for a portion of envelope that includes the V2 and V3 regions. Peptides with sequences corresponding to the V3 loops of the parental viruses were used to immunize rabbits. The polyclonal rabbit antibodies and plasma from SIVmac239-infected animals were then used to assess the neutralization sensitivity of the parental and chimeric viruses. One of the parental viruses, SIVmac316, which is able to replicate to high titer in alveolar macrophages and can infect cells in a CD4-independent fashion, was highly sensitive to neutralization by plasma from SIVmac-infected rhesus macaques, with average 50% neutralization titers of 1:20,480; this same strain was also sensitive to neutralization by the anti-V3 loop peptide sera. Other parental and chimeric viruses were less sensitive to neutralization with this same panel of antibodies, but as seen with SIVmac316, those viruses that were able to productively replicate in alveolar macrophages were more sensitive to antibody-mediated neutralization. To further define the amino acids involved in increased sensitivity to neutralization, a panel of viruses was constructed by changing envelope residues in SIVmac316 to the corresponding SIVmac239 amino acids. The increased neutralization sensitivity observed for SIVmac316 was mapped principally to three amino acid changes spread throughout gp120. In addition, the increased sensitivity to neutralization by V3-directed antibodies correlated with the ability of the various viruses to replicate to high levels in alveolar macrophage cultures and a CD4-negative cell line, BC7/CCR5. These results demonstrate that the V3 loop of SIVmac Env can act as an efficient target of neutralizing antibodies in a fashion that is highly dependent on sequence context. In addition, these studies suggest a correlation between decreased dependence on CD4 and increased sensitivity to antibody-mediated neutralization.
Direct evidence that a class II molecule and a simple globular protein generate multiple determinants

We have examined the individual contributions of the I-A kappa alpha chain, the I-A kappa beta chain, and the foreign antigen hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL) in the formation of the determinant being recognized by the T cell receptor. As functional probes we have used (a) a panel of 10 HEL-specific T cell hybridomas, (b) a panel of antigen-presenting cells (APC) possessing mutations in either the I-A kappa alpha or I-A kappa beta chains, and (c) proteolytic fragment of HEL and related synthetic peptides. The ability of the I-A kappa beta and I-A kappa alpha mutant cell lines to present antigen to the 10 T cell hybridomas divided these T cells into six distinct groups. These HEL-specific T cells therefore appear to recognize several distinct domains on the I-A kappa molecule. The 10 T cell hybrids were then shown to recognize at least three distinct determinants on the HEL molecule, with 8 of the 10 hybrids recognizing one of two major determinants HEL(46-61) or HEL(34- 45). Combining the response patterns to the panel of I-A kappa mutant APC lines with the antigen specificity revealed that the 10 T cell hybrids recognized at least eight unique determinants formed by the I-A kappa alpha chains, I-A kappa beta chains, and HEL peptides. This analysis provides direct evidence that a large number of different determinants or T cell receptor ligands can be generated from a single Ia molecule and a simple globular protein.