Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decadal Oceanic Response to Stochastic Wind Forcing

Abstract The low-frequency linear eigenmodes of the reduced-gravity shallow-water equations with weak friction are calculated numerically and using an analytic approximation. For basins with a large variation of the Coriolis parameter, large-scale eigenmodes emerge: the eigenfrequencies are integer multiples of the frequency for the gravest mode, which, in turn, has a period given by the transit time of the slowest long Rossby wave. The e-folding decay times are comparable to the period and independent of friction. These eigenmodes are excited by stochastic wind forcing and this leads to a weak peak in the spectral response near the frequency of the least-damped eigenmode. This decadal-frequency peak is most evident on the eastern and western boundaries and in the equatorial region of the basin.
Advanced receiver design for satellite‐based automatic identification system signal detection

This paper describes an innovative receiver architecture for the satellite‐based automatic identification system. The receiver performance has been fully validated in the presence of the typical satellite channel characteristics. In particular, it is shown that the devised receiver provides an excellent performance against the noise, as well as a large resilience against message collisions, Doppler shift, and delay spread. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
What constitutes controlled hypertension? Patient based comparison of hypertension guidelines

Abstract Objectives: To investigate and quantify the extent to which variations in guidelines influence assessment of control of hypertension. Design: Cross sectional study. Selected patients had hypertension assessed as controlled or uncontrolled with guidelines from New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Britain, and the World Health Organisation. Setting: 18 general practices in Oxfordshire. Subjects: 876 patients with diagnosed hypertension and taking antihypertensive drugs. Main outcome measures: Proportion of patients with controlled hypertension according to each set of guidelines. Results: The proportion of patients with controlled hypertension varied from 17.5% to 84.6% with the different guidelines after adjustment for the sampling method. All five sets of guidelines agreed on the classification for 31% (277) of the patients. The New Zealand guidelines calculate an absolute risk of a cardiovascular event. When this was taken as the standard half of the patients with uncontrolled hypertension by the United States criteria would be treated unnecessarily and 31% of those classified as having controlled hypertension by the Canadian guidelines would be denied beneficial treatment. Conclusions: Hypertension guidelines are inconsistent in their recommendations and need to make clear the absolute benefits and risks of treatment. Key messages This study applied the recommendations of guidelines from New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Britain, and the WHO to a sample of 879 hypertensive patients The proportion with controlled hypertension varied between 17.5% and 84.6% according to which set of guidelines was followed Overall, the five sets of guidelines agreed for 31% of the patients Hypertension guidelines are inconsistent and unclear on the absolute benefits of treatment
Fast Censored Linear Regression

Weighted log‐rank estimating function has become a standard estimation method for the censored linear regression model, or the accelerated failure time model. Well established statistically, the estimator defined as a consistent root has, however, rather poor computational properties because the estimating function is neither continuous nor, in general, monotone. We propose a computationally efficient estimator through an asymptotics‐guided Newton algorithm, in which censored quantile regression methods are tailored to yield an initial consistent estimate and a consistent derivative estimate of the limiting estimating function. We also develop fast interval estimation with a new proposal for sandwich variance estimation. The proposed estimator is asymptotically equivalent to the consistent root estimator and barely distinguishable in samples of practical size. However, computation time is typically reduced by two to three orders of magnitude for point estimation alone. Illustrations with clinical applications are provided.
The effect of right ventricular apical and non-apical pacing on the short-and long-term changes in left ventricular ejection fraction : a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials Running title : RV pacing site and LVEF

Mohammad Akhtar Hussain,MD, Luis Furuya-Kanamori, MEpi,MPH, Gerald Kaye*, MD, Justin Clark, BA Suhail A. R. Doi PhD 1. Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. 2. Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia 3. Department of Cardiology, Princess Alexandra Hospital and *University Of Queensland Medical School, Brisbane, Australia 4. Trial Search Coordinator, Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia
Future Research on Physical Education Teacher Education Professors

Conceptual and methodological limitations are evident in the previous research on physical education teacher education (PETE) professors. The developing literature on professors in all fields, career theory, and occupational socialization theory may be blended to build a conceptual framework for future research. This framework illuminates influences on and questions about PETE professors’ work lives, role orientations, productivity, and affiliations. It also invites autobiographical, developmental, longitudinal, and action-oriented research perspectives. Several benefits may be derived from research on PETE professors, including improved career-guidance and faculty-development systems.
Belatacept: A worthy alternative to cyclosporine?

Renal transplant is the definitive therapy in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and offers the only solace for such patients who have no alternative other than frequent hemodialysis, a process which contributes to sufficient morbidity. [1] Recent developments in the field of renal transplant including novel drugs have contributed immensely to the improvement in 1-year graft survival rates which approach almost 90%. [2] The pharmacotherapy of organ transplantation for immunosuppression consists primarily of an induction regimen comprising a monoclonal antibody such as basiliximab followed by maintenance immunosuppression consisting of calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) like cyclosporine or tacrolimus, and antiproliferative agents (mycophenolate mofetil) and lowdose corticosteroids. Long-term benefits of these drugs have not been as satisfactory, with the 5-year graft survival falling as low as 72%. Allograft dysfunction is a common cause for allograft loss. Several factors contribute to allograft dysfunction such as interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy and chronic toxicity of CNIs. [3] By the end of 2 years as many as 50% of patients on CNIs develop nephrotoxicity. The increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases in these group of patients have also been attributed to CNI owing to the drug's propensity to worsen hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia. [4-7] An active search for a better alternative to alleviate the suffering of patients on long-term immunosuppressive post renal transplant has led to the development of a new drug belatacept, recently approved by USFDA in June 2011. mechanism of action
Associative memory

This section considers how neural networks can be used as associative memory devices. It first describes what an associative memory is, and then moves on to describe associative memories based on feedforward neural networks and associative memories based on recurrent networks. The section also describes associative memory systems based on cognitive models. It also highlights the ability of neural-network-based systems to deal with uncertain data as compared with conventional associative memory systems.
In Vitro Comparative Skin Irritation Induced by Nano and Non-Nano Zinc Oxide

This study was designed to determine whether nano-sized ZnO has the potential to cause acute cutaneous irritation using cultured HaCaT keratinocytes and a human skin equivalent as in vitro models, compared to non-nanomaterials. Commercial nano ZnO with different sizes (50 nm and 100 nm) was characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and microscopy (SEM) in different media. Nano ZnO reduced the cell viability of HaCaT in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner, in a similar way to macro ZnO. However, the 3D-epidermis model revealed no irritation at 1 mg/mL after 24 h of exposure. In conclusion, nano-sized ZnO does not irritate skin, in a similar manner to non-nano ZnO.
Does the Naked Neck Meat Type Chicken Yield Lower Methionine Requirement Data?

Simple Summary It was hypothesized that naked neck chickens could have a lower methionine requirement according to their reduced feather coverage. The hypothesis was examined by nitrogen balance studies and non-linear model application for estimating methionine requirement data of naked neck chickens. It was concluded that naked neck birds do not require less methionine than normally-feathered birds. Abstract Methionine (Met) requirement studies with homozygous (Na/Na) and heterozygous (Na/na) naked neck meat type chicken utilized 144 birds of average weight (50% each genotype and sex) within two N balance experiments involving both the starter (d10–20) and grower period (d25–35). The birds were randomly allotted to five experimental diets with graded protein supply and Met as the limiting amino acid. The proportion of native feed protein sources (soy protein concentrate, maize, wheat, fishmeal and wheat gluten) was kept constant to ensure a uniform protein quality in all diets. The Met requirement depending on genotype, sex, age period and growth performance (protein deposition) was estimated using a non-linear modeling procedure of N utilization in monogastric animals. On average, 0.47% (Na/Na) and 0.45% (Na/na) dietary Met was established as adequate in the starter diet, as well as 0.37% (Na/Na) and 0.36% (Na/na) Met in the grower diet for both of the sexes. In conclusion, the Met requirement of the naked neck chicken is not significantly different from its normally-feathered counterparts. In addition, the low feather production was not reflected by reduced requirement for Met in naked neck birds. However, these conclusions are valid only at the given Met:Cys ratio (1:1) in the experimental diets.
Daily stress and religion as a coping resource

3 Introduction Stress 4 Religion 9 Optimism 12 Self-Efficacy 13 Life Satisfaction 14 Rational and Hypotheses 15 Method Participants 17 Design 17 Materials 18 Procedure 22 Results Descriptive Statistics 23 Inferential Statistics 25 Discussion Results 29 Limitations and Future Directions 31 Conclusion 38 References and Appendix 39
Interplay of DNA supercoiling and catenation during the segregation of sister duplexes

The discrete regulation of supercoiling, catenation and knotting by DNA topoisomerases is well documented both in vivo and in vitro, but the interplay between them is still poorly understood. Here we studied DNA catenanes of bacterial plasmids arising as a result of DNA replication in Escherichia coli cells whose topoisomerase IV activity was inhibited. We combined high-resolution two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis with numerical simulations in order to better understand the relationship between the negative supercoiling of DNA generated by DNA gyrase and the DNA interlinking resulting from replication of circular DNA molecules. We showed that in those replication intermediates formed in vivo, catenation and negative supercoiling compete with each other. In interlinked molecules with high catenation numbers negative supercoiling is greatly limited. However, when interlinking decreases, as required for the segregation of newly replicated sister duplexes, their negative supercoiling increases. This observation indicates that negative supercoiling plays an active role during progressive decatenation of newly replicated DNA molecules in vivo.
Effective mass measurement: the influence of hole band nonparabolicity in SiGe/Ge quantum wells

We show that the common practice of identifying effective masses derived from Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) and cyclotron resonance measurements with zero-field effective density of states (DOS) masses must be scrutinized when nonparabolicity effects come into play. To this end, the temperature dependence of theoretical SdH oscillations expected for strained-Ge quantum wells is explicitly simulated from calculations of the Landau level structure, giving rise to theoretical masses in exact analogy to a SdH measurement. The calculations are performed within a 6 × 6 envelope function approximation (EFA). The same method is used to calculate the zero-field DOS mass. Our analysis shows that the pronounced nonparabolicity of the heavy hole band leads to a nonlinear magnetic field dependence of Landau level energies invalidating the assumption of equal cyclotron and DOS masses. In particular, we show that at high carrier density the DOS mass is significantly underestimated in a SdH measurement.
Phosphorylation of Bcl-2 Protein and Association with p21Ras in Ras-induced Apoptosis (*)

p21Ras mediates mitogenic responses and also renders cells susceptible to apoptosis after inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC) activity. Ras-induced apoptosis can be blocked by the proto-oncogene bcl-2, but the biochemical or functional nature of Bcl-2 regulation of Ras-induced apoptosis is not understood. We demonstrate that Bcl-2 and p21Ras molecules can be co-immunoprecipitated in Jurkat cells. The level of this association is enhanced when an apoptotic stimulus (inhibition of PKC activity) is delivered. Bcl-2/p21Ras association is coincident with new phosphorylation of the Bcl-2 protein. Inhibition of this phosphorylation prevents protection from apoptosis by Bcl-2, providing a functional correlation to the phosphorylation event. The Bcl-2/p21Ras association cannot be competed by exogenous glutathione S-transferase-Ras fusion protein, suggesting that the endogenous complex may be formed before cell lysis. These results provide a possible mechanism of regulation of Ras-induced apoptosis by Bcl-2.
RatingBot: A Text Mining Based Rating Approach

Credit risk is at the core of banking business and its adequate measurement is crucial for financial institutions. Due to lack of historical default data and heterogeneity of customers, qualitative expert-based information is an important factor in measuring the creditworthiness of large companies. However, such information is often extracted manually, causing inefficiencies and possible subjectivity. In this paper we develop the RatingBot: a text mining based rating approach, which efficiently and objectively models relevant qualitative information based on annual reports. It combines both the literature on text mining in finance and machine learning in credit rating to derive the credit rating of a company. We evaluate our approach on two datasets: a publicly available one that facilitates replicability, and a dataset provided by a major European bank representing real-world scenario. The results show that RatingBot delivers additional predictive power and should be considered in future research on credit rating models.
Oxidative posttranslational modifications mediate decreased SERCA activity and myocyte dysfunction in Galphaq-overexpressing mice.

BACKGROUND Myocyte contractile dysfunction occurs in pathological remodeling in association with abnormalities in calcium regulation. Mice with cardiac myocyte-specific overexpression of Galphaq develop progressive left ventricular failure associated with myocyte contractile dysfunction and calcium dysregulation. OBJECTIVE We tested the hypothesis that myocyte contractile dysfunction in the Galphaq mouse heart is mediated by reactive oxygen species, and in particular, oxidative posttranslational modifications, which impair the function of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA). METHODS AND RESULTS Freshly isolated ventricular myocytes from Galphaq mice had marked abnormalities of myocyte contractile function and calcium transients. In Galphaq myocardium, SERCA protein was not altered in quantity but displayed evidence of oxidative cysteine modifications reflected by decreased biotinylated iodoacetamide labeling and evidence of specific irreversible oxidative modifications consisting of sulfonylation at cysteine 674 and nitration at tyrosines 294/295. Maximal calcium-stimulated SERCA activity was decreased 47% in Galphaq myocardium. Cross-breeding Galphaq mice with transgenic mice that have cardiac myocyte-specific overexpression of catalase (a) decreased SERCA oxidative cysteine modifications, (b) decreased SERCA cysteine 674 sulfonylation and tyrosine 294/295 nitration, (c) restored SERCA activity, and (d) improved myocyte calcium transients and contractile function. CONCLUSIONS In Galphaq-induced cardiomyopathy, myocyte contractile dysfunction is mediated, at least in part, by 1 or more oxidative posttranslational modifications of SERCA. Protein oxidative posttranslational modifications contribute to the pathophysiology of myocardial dysfunction and thus may provide a target for therapeutic intervention.
Phase noise in oscillators: DAEs and colored noise sources

Oscillators are key components of electronic systems. Undesired perturbations, i.e. noise, in practical electronic systems adversely affect the spectral and timing properties of oscillators resulting in phase noise, which is a key performance limiting factor, being a major contributor to bit-error-rate (BER) of RF communication systems, and creating synchronization problems in clocked and sampled data systems. We first present a theory and numerical methods for nonlinear perturbation and noise analysis of oscillators described by a system of differential algebraic equations (DAEs), which extends our recent results on perturbation analysis of autonomous ordinary differential equations (ODEs). In developing the above theory, we rely on novel results we establish for linear periodically time varying (LPTV) systems: Floquet theory for DAEs. We then use this nonlinear perturbation analysis to derive the stochastic characterization, including the resulting oscillator spectrum, of phase noise in oscillators due to colored (e.g., 1/f noise), as opposed to white noise sources. The case of white noise sources has already been treated by us in a recent publication (A. Demir et al., 1998). The results of the theory developed in this work enabled us to implement a rigorous and effective analysis and design tool in a circuit simulator for low phase noise oscillator design.
Examining Racial Differences in Sympathetic Activity Assessed During Recovery from Exercise in Obese Adolescent Females

Sympathetic overactivity (SO) is associated with several disease states including type 2 diabetes and obesity. PURPOSE: To evaluate the association of SO, as assessed by an exercise recovery index (ERI; heart rate/VO2 plateau), with insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), cardiovascular fitness (VO2peak), and percent body fat (%FAT) in obese adolescents participating in a three month weight management program. METHODS: Forty participants (13.7±1.6 yrs.; Body Mass Index, 36.9±6.5 kg/m2) volunteered to participate in this study. % FAT, VO2peak, ERI, HOMA-IR were assessed at enrollment and after 3-months of program participation. Program components included physical activity, nutrition education, and behavioral support. RESULTS: Using multiple linear regression modeling, there was a significant independent association between ERI and %FAT (r = 0.539, p < 0.000) after controlling for both VO2peak per lean tissue and HOMA-IR. However, VO2peak per lean tissue (r = -0.306, p = 0.061) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.052, p = 0.755) were not independently associated with ERI. ERI (n = 23; 29.1±7.1 vs. 25.1±7.6, p = 0.027) and VO2peak per lean tissue (n = 23; 47.2±7.5 vs. 50.6±8.2, p = 0.023) were significantly reduced after the program. %FAT and HOMA-IR remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that insulin resistance is distinct and not impacted by SO in young overweight adolescents. Additionally, involvement in a weight management program may attenuate the development of pathological risk factors associated with SO. DEGREE SOUGHT DURING PROPOSED AWARD
The STAR Project: Enhancing Adolescents' Social Understanding through Video-Based, Multimedia Scenarios

Adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other externalizing disorders are at risk for academic and behavioral problems as a result, in part, of their lack of social competence. One aspect of this population's difficulty in social situations may be attributed to an impaired ability to analyze the social situations of which they are a part, recognize the multiple perspectives or interpretations that individuals may take away from a social situation, and act in a situationally appropriate manner. This study examines a computer game that supports the development of learners' social problem-solving skills. The game package consists of an immersive environment, integrated digital videos of social situations, and embedded questions and instruction. In a controlled, three-group, pre-post experimental design, the prototype performed significantly better than an attention-placebo control and comparably to a therapist-directed group on a transfer measure of problem solving and on one of two engagement measures. No significant differences were found on the Gresham and Elliott Social Skills Rating Scales (SSRS). These results, together with the findings from formative evaluation of the product, led to several recommendations for future work.
HSP60: Issues and Insights on Its Therapeutic Use as an Immunoregulatory Agent

Heat shock proteins 60 (HSP60) is one of the most well studied member of the HSP family. Although found to be a target self antigen in pathological autoimmunity and HSP60-reactive T and B cells are part of immune responses in several infectious diseases, there is consistent experimental evidence that HSP60 displays dominant immunoregulatory properties. There are a series of reports on animal models showing that the administration of HSP60 can modulate inflammatory diseases. However, HSP60 has both immune-regulatory and inflammatory properties placing it as an essentially homeostatic antigen, but with potentially harmful effects as well. There have been a series of reports on the successful use of HSP60 and its peptides as immune-modulatory agent for several models of autoimmune diseases and in some clinical trials as well. We believe that the potential risks of HSP60 as a therapeutic agent can be controlled by addressing important factors determining its effects. These factors would be route of administration, appropriate peptides, time point of administration in the course of the disease, and possible association with other modulatory agents.