Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uncertainties in climate assessment for the case of aviation NO

Nitrogen oxides emitted from aircraft engines alter the chemistry of the atmosphere, perturbing the greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and ozone (O3). We quantify uncertainties in radiative forcing (RF) due to short-lived increases in O3, long-lived decreases in CH4 and O3, and their net effect, using the ensemble of published models and a factor decomposition of each forcing. The decomposition captures major features of the ensemble, and also shows which processes drive the total uncertainty in several climate metrics. Aviation-specific factors drive most of the uncertainty for the short-lived O3 and long-lived CH4 RFs, but a nonaviation factor dominates for long-lived O3. The model ensemble shows strong anticorrelation between the short-lived and long-lived RF perturbations (R2 = 0.87). Uncertainty in the net RF is highly sensitive to this correlation. We reproduce the correlation and ensemble spread in one model, showing that processes controlling the background tropospheric abundance of nitrogen oxides are likely responsible for the modeling uncertainty in climate impacts from aviation.
Measuring Teachers’ Competency in Determining Students’ Satisfaction through Electronic Internet Survey Method

Improving competency can be conducted through several ways, such as education, training and practical on the job training. This human resource bulding aims to develop the comprehensive quality, which includes personality aspects, mastery of knowledge and technology, and professionalism and competency. To measure teachers’ performance through students’satisfaction, Balanced Score Card (BSC) is used. In this case, it is to measure students’ satisfaction to teaching processes, which are determined by good teaching processes and teachers’competency. Teachers’ competency is divided into three components: classroom management, teacher professional development, and academic mastery. The data for this research is based on the results of the questionnaire distribution through internet to the whole students of Faculty of Economic, Petra Christian University, on 139 various subject teaching classes. The analysis is using the linear regression analysis, and it is obtained that teacher professionalism development can bring satisfaction to students during the learning processes positive and significant with 0.248. Classroom learning management contributes to the students’ satisfaction as well positive and significant with 0.371. Subject mastery, or academic mastery, is able to give satisfaction to students through learning processes positive and significant with 0.518. Simultaneously, all three variables can build up satisfaction to students, which are obtained from the survey using electronic internet method.
Daily Scheduled High Fat Meals Moderately Entrain Behavioral Anticipatory Activity, Body Temperature, and Hypothalamic c-Fos Activation

When fed in restricted amounts, rodents show robust activity in the hours preceding expected meal delivery. This process, termed food anticipatory activity (FAA), is independent of the light-entrained clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, yet beyond this basic observation there is little agreement on the neuronal underpinnings of FAA. One complication in studying FAA using a calorie restriction model is that much of the brain is activated in response to this strong hunger signal. Thus, daily timed access to palatable meals in the presence of continuous access to standard chow has been employed as a model to study FAA in rats. In order to exploit the extensive genetic resources available in the murine system we extended this model to mice, which will anticipate rodent high fat diet but not chocolate or other sweet daily meals (Hsu, Patton, Mistlberger, and Steele; 2010, PLoS ONE e12903). In this study we test additional fatty meals, including peanut butter and cheese, both of which induced modest FAA. Measurement of core body temperature revealed a moderate preprandial increase in temperature in mice fed high fat diet but entrainment due to handling complicated interpretation of these results. Finally, we examined activation patterns of neurons by immunostaining for the immediate early gene c-Fos and observed a modest amount of entrainment of gene expression in the hypothalamus of mice fed a daily fatty palatable meal.
Cis3/Socs3/Ssi3 Plays a Negative Regulatory Role in Stat3 Activation and Intestinal Inflammation

Immune and inflammatory systems are controlled by multiple cytokines, including interleukins (ILs) and interferons. These cytokines exert their biological functions through Janus tyrosine kinases and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) transcription factors. We recently identified two intrinsic Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, JAK binding protein (JAB; also referred to as suppressor of cytokine signaling [SOCS1]/STAT-induced STAT inhibitor [SSI1]) and cytokine-inducible SH2 protein (CIS)3 (or SOCS3/SSI3), which play an essential role in the negative regulation of cytokine signaling. We have investigated the role of STATs and these JAK inhibitors in intestinal inflammation. Among STAT family members, STAT3 was most strongly tyrosine phosphorylated in human ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease patients as well as in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Development of colitis as well as STAT3 activation was significantly reduced in IL-6–deficient mice treated with DSS, suggesting that STAT3 plays an important role in the perpetuation of colitis. CIS3, but not JAB, was highly expressed in the colon of DSS-treated mice as well as several T cell–dependent colitis models. To define the physiological role of CIS3 induction in colitis, we developed a JAB mutant (F59D-JAB) that overcame the inhibitory effect of both JAB and CIS3 and created transgenic mice. DSS induced stronger STAT3 activation and more severe colitis in F59D-JAB transgenic mice than in their wild-type littermates. These data suggest that hyperactivation of STAT3 results in severe colitis and that CIS3 plays a negative regulatory role in intestinal inflammation by downregulating STAT3 activity.
Diagnostic Concordance of Echocardiography and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance–Based Tissue Tracking for Differentiating Constrictive Pericarditis From Restrictive Cardiomyopathy

Background—Variations in longitudinal deformation of the left ventricle have been suggested to be useful for differentiating chronic constrictive pericarditis (CP) and restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM). We assessed left ventricular mechanics derived from cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) cine–based and 2-dimensional echocardiography–based tissue tracking to determine intermodality consistency of diagnostic information for differentiating CP from RCM. Methods and Results—We retrospectively identified 92 patients who underwent both CMR and 2-dimensional echocardiography and who had a final diagnosis of CP (n=28), RCM (n=30), or no structural heart disease (n=34). Global longitudinal strain from long-axis views and circumferential strain from short-axis views were measured on 2-dimensional echocardiographic and CMR cine images using the same offline software. Logistic regression models with receiver operating characteristics curves, continuous net reclassification improvement, and the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were used for assessing the incremental predictive performance. Global longitudinal strain was higher in patients with CP than in those with RCM (P<0.001), and both techniques were found to have similar diagnostic value (area under the curve, 0.84 versus 0.88 for CMR and echocardiography, respectively). For echocardiography, the addition of global longitudinal strain to respiratory septal shift and early diastolic mitral annular velocity resulted in improved continuous net reclassification improvement (P<0.001 for both) and integrated discrimination improvement (P=0.005 and 0.024) for both models. Similarly, for CMR, the addition of global longitudinal strain to septal shift and pericardial thickness resulted in improved continuous net reclassification improvement (P<0.001 for both) and integrated discrimination improvement (P=0.003 and <0.001). Conclusions—CMR and echocardiography tissue tracking–derived left ventricular mechanics provide comparable diagnostic information for differentiating CP from RCM.
Selected CC and CXC chemokines in children with atopic asthma

Introduction There are only limited data on CC and CXC chemokines regulation in children with asthma. Aim We compared the serum profile of selected CC and CXC chemokines in patients with atopic asthma and healthy children. Material and methods Serum concentration of CC chemokines RANTES, MCP-1, and CXC chemokines IP-10, MIG, IL-8, RANTES was measured using cytometric bead array in 44 children with atopic asthma and 17 healthy subjects. Results The concentration of RANTES was significantly higher and the MIG level was lower in all children with asthma as compared to their control counterparts. We observed increased RANTES and decreased MIG levels also in patients with stable asthma when compared with children in the control group. The IP-10 concentration was similar between the whole asthma group and healthy controls, while significantly increased levels of this chemokine in acute asthma have been observed when compared to stable asthma. For MCP-1 and IL-8, the serum concentration was similar in all compared groups. The MIG concentration correlated positively with IP-10, IL-8, and CRP levels and negatively with the eosinophil count. A negative correlation between the IP-10 and eosinophil count and a negative correlation between FEV1 and IP-10 were found. Conclusions An increased serum RANTES level in children with asthma may result in enhancement of Th2 lymphocyte recruitment into the airway. A decreased expression of Th1 chemokine MIG in children with stable asthma may contribute to a diminished antagonizing effect on Th2 cytokine production and hence intensify Th2 predominance. An increased IP-10 level in children during an asthma attack suggest that this chemokine is a serological marker of disease exacerbation.
Gamma-Ray Lines from the Orion Complex

We show that the 4.44 and 6.13 MeV line emission observed with the Compton Telescope (COMPTEL) from Orion is consistent with gamma-ray spectra consisting of a mixture of narrow and broad lines or spectra containing only broad lines. We employed several accelerated particle compositions and showed that the current COMPTEL data in the 3-7 MeV region alone cannot distinguish between the various possibilities. However, the COMPTEL upper limits in the 1-3 MeV band favor a composition similar to that of the winds of Wolf-Rayet stars of spectral type WC. The power dissipated by the accelerated particles at Orion is about 4 x 10(exp 38) ergs/s. These particles are not expected to produce significant amounts of Al-26.
Artificial Intelligence meets Software Engineering in Computing Education

In this paper we report on the experience of using artificial intelligence systems as the basis of educating IT students in software engineering practices. These systems have been evolving over nearly a dozen years and the process has been generating a steady stream of graduates, at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, whose dissertations and projects demonstrate the strong interplay of artificial intelligence and software engineering. The AI domains where we have applied a software engineering approach for instruction are focused on decision tree lifecycle management and board game learning mechanisms. Quite as importantly, both approaches have also delivered working research tools.
On the Undirected Rural Postman Problem: Tight Bounds Based on a New Formulation

The Rural Postman Problem (RPP) is a classic "edge-routing" problem. A mathematical programming formulation of the RPP that differs fundamentally from those in the literature was introduced, but not tested computationally, by Garfinkel and Webb (1999). A rudimentary algorithm that yields lower bounds via cutting planes and upper bounds via heuristics is developed and tested for a variation of that formulation. Computational results are encouraging, especially in terms of the relatively small number of added inequalities needed to get good lower bounds, and the fact that the vast majority of these have efficient, exact separation procedures. Note that a first algorithm based on this new formulation is computationally competitive, allowing the possibility of far more efficient and complex future realizations.
Single carrier FDMA over underwater acoustic channels

Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UWASN) have been attracting growing research interests in recent decades. However, underwater acoustic (UWA) communications suffer from the long propagation delay, the limited bandwidth, multipath, and the Doppler effect. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) are attractive to UWA communications because of their robustness against frequency selective distortion. Nevertheless, OFDM and OFDMA have several drawbacks: high sensitivity to the frequency offset, large peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), and subcarrier nulls. Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) which is a DFT-precoded version of OFDMA has stimulated wide interests in cellular wireless communication systems because of the inherent merits. However, SC-FDMA over UWA channels has not been investigated in the existing literature. In this paper, we apply SC-FDMA to UWA channels and mainly focus on the receiver design of the localized FDMA (LFDMA) scheme. Furthermore, our proposed receiver algorithm is tested using the experimental data recorded from the ACOMM10 experiment. The experimental results show that with multiple hydrophones combined, an average uncoded bit error rate (BER) of 10−3 can be achieved.
Suppression of SIV-specific CD4+ T cells by infant but not adult macaque regulatory T cells: implications for SIV disease progression

The impact of regulatory T cells (T reg cells) on the course of HIV and SIV disease is unknown. T reg cells could suppress protective antiviral responses and accelerate disease progression. Alternatively, these cells might block T cell activation and thereby limit viral replication as well as activation-associated immunopathology. Given the higher frequency of T reg cells known to be present during human fetal ontogeny, such influences may be most important in the context of perinatal infection. We found that infant macaques had higher fractions of CD4+CD25+CD127lowFoxP3+ T reg cells in the peripheral blood and in lymphoid tissues, and that these T reg cells showed greater in vitro suppressive activity on a per cell basis. Infant and adult macaques were infected with SIVmac251 to test the influence of the T reg cell compartment on SIV-specific immune responses. After infection with SIV, most (three out of four) infant macaques had persistently high viral loads, weak and transient SIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, and rapid disease progression. T reg cells in the infant but not in the adult directly suppressed SIV-specific CD4+ T cell responses, which were detectable only after depletion of T reg cells. In the case of both the infant and the adult macaque, T reg cells were not able to directly suppress SIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses and had no apparent effect on T cell activation. In aggregate, these observations suggest that the T reg cell compartment of the infant macaque facilitates rapid disease progression, at least in part by incapacitating SIV-specific CD4+ T cell responses.
THE FOOD INSECTS NEWSLETTER

According to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act5 (FD&C Act), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has jurisdiction over foods that move in interstate commerce and foods that are imported. We are not aware of any food products composed of insects that are manufactured within the United States (USA) and offered for sale in interstate commerce. This is not to imply that such products do not or should not exist, only that we have not heard about them.
Do mtDNA Mutations Participate in the Pathogenesis of Sporadic Parkinson’s Disease?

The pathogenesis of sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains enigmatic. Mitochondrial complex-I defects are known to occur in the substantia nigra (SN) of PD patients and are also debated in some extracerebral tissues. Early sequencing efforts of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) did not reveal specific mutations, but a long lasting discussion was devoted to the issue of randomly distributed low level point mutations, caused by oxidative stress. However, a potential functional impact remained a matter of speculation, since heteroplasmy (mutational load) at any base position analyzed, remained far below the relevant functional threshold. A clearly age-dependent increase of the ‘common mtDNA deletion’ had been demonstrated in most brain regions by several authors since 1992. However, heteroplasmy did hardly exceed 1% of total mtDNA. It became necessary to exploit PCR techniques, which were able to detect any deletion in a few microdissected dopaminergic neurons of the SN. In 2006, two groups published biochemically relevant loads of somatic mtDNA deletions in these neurons. They seem to accumulate to relevant levels in the SN dopaminergic neurons of aged individuals in general, but faster in those developing PD. It is reasonable to assume that this accumulation causes mitochondrial dysfunction of the SN, although it cannot be taken as a final proof for an early pathogenetic role of this dysfunction. Recent studies demonstrate a distribution of deletion breakpoints, which does not differ between PD, aging and classical mitochondrial disorders, suggesting a common, but yet unknown mechanism.
Exploring physiological parameters in ski mountaineering during world cup races

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to explore the physiological changes induced by a vertical race and see how they are progressing the next day during individual race. A total of 10 elite skiers (19.4 ± 2.4 years) were evaluated before and after a vertical race and an individual race during a week end of World Cup. The parameters measured were as follows: heart rate, lactate, lung function by spirometry and body composition by bioelectrical impedance. During vertical race, mean heart rate (HR) values were around 93.1 ± 3.1% of theoretical HRmax. Before individual race, lactate concentration was significantly higher (+1.0 ± 1.6 mmol.l−1), whereas mid maximal expiratory flow rate and muscle mass (fall was around 700 g or 2.2% of muscle mass) were significantly lower compared to before vertical race. Metabolic activity indicator tended to be lower before individual race than before vertical race (6.8 ± 0.7 vs. 7.3 ± 1.3, p = 0.07). The high physiological demand of vertical race induces metabolic fatigue, loss of muscle mass and pulmonary impairment. Theses disturbances observed the next day before individual race indicate an incomplete recovery between the two races. That is why we recommend using method of recovery, especially nutritional strategy after vertical race.
Mitochondrial permeability transition pore: an enigmatic gatekeeper

Mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) is a transient structure formed in the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) upon oxidative challenge of the organelle. The transition is a Ca 2+ -dependent increase of permeability of IMM leading to loss of transmembrane potential (∆ψm), mitochondrial swelling and, finally, rupture of outer mitochondrial membrane leading to release of factors causing apoptosis. Formation of this pore is an indication of the onset of necrotic cell death. In spite of several years of research, the molecular identity of this structure remains a mystery. The current review introduces MPTP, summarizes the research on various proteins that are thought to constitute the pore, enumerates factors that trigger pore formation, and the various experimental approaches that aid in understanding pore behavior.
Do Political Contributions Purchase Regulatory Discretion in Mining Inspections

A vast literature acknowledges the corruptibility of regulators; however, empirical tests on the matter have been limited to two-agent models examining the rulemaking process and price regulation of natural monopolies. It remains an open question whether political contributions, by driving legislative pressure, can entice laxity from regulators in their application of the rules. To remedy this issue, I observe the highly-regulated coal mining industry for which there exists several points for inspector discretion. By comparing the outcomes with Congressional coal mining contribution levels, I am able to ascertain capture across several dimensions. Specifically, I find that contributions are associated with agency inspectors using their discretion to preempt violations requiring follow-up inspection, grant more inspections to waive safety requirements, conduct shorter inspections, and grant lower penalties. It is troubling that these findings occur at relatively low levels of contributions, suggesting a high level of corruptibility on the part of regulators.
MINDFULNESS AND EMOTION REGULATION IN DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY: COMMON AND DISTINCT MECHANISMS OF ACTION

The current study seeks to investigate the mechanisms through which mindfulness is related to mental health in a clinical sample of adults by examining (1) whether specific cognitive emotion regulation strategies (rumination, reappraisal, worry, and nonacceptance) mediate associations between mindfulness and depression and anxiety, respectively, and (2) whether these emotion regulation strategies operate uniquely or transdiagnostically in relation to depression and anxiety.
Activation for cell fusion in Chlamydomonas: analysis of wild-type gametes and nonfusing mutants

Gametes of Chlamydomonas reinhardi become activated for cell fusion as the consequence of sexual adhesion between membranes of mating-type plus and minus flagella. By using tannic acid plus en bloc uranyl acetate staining, and by fixing at very early stages in the mating reaction, we have demonstrated the following. (a) Activation of the minus mating structure entails major modifications in the structure of the organelle, causing it to double in size and to concentrate surface coat material, termed fringe, into a central zone. (b) The unactivated plus mating structure is endowed with fringe that moves with the tip of the actin-filled fertilization tubule during activation. Pre-fusion images suggest the occurrence of a specific recognition event between the plus and minus fringes. (c) Gametes carrying the imp-1 mutation fail to form a fringe and are unable to fuse. The imp-1 mutation is linked to the mating-type plus (mt+) locus, suggesting that the gene specifying the synthesis or insertion of fringe is encoded in this sector of the genome. (d) Gametes carrying the imp-11 mutation fail to form both a normal fringe and a normal submembranous density beneath the fringe, and are also unable to fuse. The imp-11 mutation converted a wild-type minus cell into a pseudo-plus strain; a model to explain this conversion proposes that the normal imp-11 gene product represses plus-specific genes concerned with Chlamydomonas gametogenesis.