Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cloud droplet activity changes of soot aerosol upon smog chamber ageing

Particles containing soot, or black carbon, are gen- erally considered to contribute to global warming. However, large uncertainties remain in the net climate forcing result- ing from anthropogenic emissions of black carbon (BC), to a large extent due to the fact that BC is co-emitted with gases and primary particles, both organic and inorganic, and sub- ject to atmospheric ageing processes. In this study, diesel exhaust particles and particles from a flame soot genera- tor spiked with light aromatic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors were processed by UV radiation in a 6 m 3 Teflon chamber in the presence of NO x. The time-dependent changes of the soot nanoparticle properties were charac- terised using a Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter, an Aerosol Particle Mass Analyzer and a Soot Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer. The results show that freshly emitted soot particles do not activate into cloud droplets at supersat- urations 2 %, i.e. the BC core coated with primary organic aerosol (POA) from the exhaust is limited in hygroscopicity. Before the onset of UV radiation it is unlikely that any sub- stantial SOA formation is taking place. An immediate change in cloud-activation properties occurs at the onset of UV ex- posure. This change in hygroscopicity is likely attributed to SOA formed from intermediate volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) in the diesel engine exhaust. The change of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) properties at the onset of UV ra- diation implies that the lifetime of soot particles in the at- mosphere is affected by the access to sunlight, which dif- fers between latitudes. The ageing of soot particles progres- sively enhances their ability to act as cloud condensation nu- clei, due to changes in: (I) organic fraction of the particle, (II) chemical properties of this fraction (e.g. primary or sec- ondary organic aerosol), (III) particle size, and (IV) particle morphology. Applying -Kohler theory, using a SOA value of 0.13 (derived from independent input parameters describ- ing the organic material), showed good agreement with cloud droplet activation measurements for particles with a SOA mass fraction 0.12 (slightly aged particles). The activa- tion properties are enhanced with only a slight increase in or- ganic material coating the soot particles (SOA mass fraction < 0.12), however not as much as predicted by Kohler theory. The discrepancy between theory and experiments during the early stages of ageing might be due to solubility limitations, unevenly distributed organic material or hindering particle morphology. The change in properties of soot nanoparticles upon pho- tochemical processing clearly increases their hygroscopicity, which affects their behaviour both in the atmosphere and in the human respiratory system.
In vitro and in vivo gene therapy with CMV vector-mediated presumed dog β-nerve growth factor in pyridoxine-induced neuropathy dogs

Due to the therapeutic potential of gene therapy for neuronal injury, many studies of neurotrophic factors, vectors, and animal models have been performed. The presumed dog β-nerve growth factor (pdβ-NGF) was generated and cloned and its expression was confirmed in CHO cells. The recombinant pdβ-NGF protein reacted with a human β-NGF antibody and showed bioactivity in PC12 cells. The pdβ-NGF was shown to have similar bioactivity to the dog β-NGF. The recombinant pdβ-NGF plasmid was administrated into the intrathecal space in the gene therapy group. Twenty-four hours after the vector inoculation, the gene therapy group and the positive control group were intoxicated with excess pyridoxine for seven days. Each morning throughout the test period, the dogs' body weight was taken and postural reaction assessments were made. Electrophysiological recordings were performed twice, once before the experiment and once after the test period. After the experimental period, histological analysis was performed. Dogs in the gene therapy group had no weight change and were normal in postural reaction assessments. Electrophysiological recordings were also normal for the gene therapy group. Histological analysis showed that neither the axons nor the myelin of the dorsal funiculus of L4 were severely damaged in the gene therapy group. In addition, the dorsal root ganglia of L4 and the peripheral nerves (sciatic nerve) did not experience severe degenerative changes in the gene therapy group. This study is the first to show the protective effect of NGF gene therapy in a dog model.
Streptococcus pyogenes pSM19035 requires dynamic assembly of ATP-bound ParA and ParB on parS DNA during plasmid segregation

The accurate partitioning of Firmicute plasmid pSM19035 at cell division depends on ATP binding and hydrolysis by homodimeric ATPase δ2 (ParA) and binding of ω2 (ParB) to its cognate parS DNA. The 1.83 Å resolution crystal structure of δ2 in a complex with non-hydrolyzable ATPγS reveals a unique ParA dimer assembly that permits nucleotide exchange without requiring dissociation into monomers. In vitro, δ2 had minimal ATPase activity in the absence of ω2 and parS DNA. However, stoichiometric amounts of ω2 and parS DNA stimulated the δ2 ATPase activity and mediated plasmid pairing, whereas at high (4:1) ω2 : δ2 ratios, stimulation of the ATPase activity was reduced and δ2 polymerized onto DNA. Stimulation of the δ2 ATPase activity and its polymerization on DNA required ability of ω2 to bind parS DNA and its N-terminus. In vivo experiments showed that δ2 alone associated with the nucleoid, and in the presence of ω2 and parS DNA, δ2 oscillated between the nucleoid and the cell poles and formed spiral-like structures. Our studies indicate that the molar ω2 : δ2 ratio regulates the polymerization properties of (δ•ATP•Mg2+)2 on and depolymerization from parS DNA, thereby controlling the temporal and spatial segregation of pSM19035 before cell division.
Challenge and hindrance demands in relation to self‐reported job performance and the role of restoration, sleep quality, and affective rumination

Longitudinal research on the relationship between job demands and job performance and its underlying mechanisms is scarce. The aims of this longitudinal three-wave study among 920 Finnish employees were to ascertain whether (1) challenge job demands (i.e., workload, cognitive demands) and self-reported job performance are positively related over time, (2) job insecurity (i.e., a hindrance demand) and job performance are negatively related over time, (3) restorative experiences during off-job time and sleep quality are underlying mechanisms in these relations, and (4) affective rumination mediates the proposed relations of job demands and job insecurity with restoration and sleep quality. Self-report data were analysed with structural equation modelling. The results revealed a positive, temporal relationship between challenge job demands and job performance (task and contextual performance) across 1 year, but no temporal relationship between job insecurity and self-reported job performance. Moreover, high challenge job demands were positively related to the restorative value of off-job activities, and favourable restoration was positively related to subsequent task performance. Finally, affective rumination mediated the relationship of challenge job demands with both restoration and sleep quality. Job insecurity was not longitudinally related to restoration, sleep quality, or affective rumination. The implications of our findings for occupational health psychology are discussed. Practitioner points: Provide employees with sufficient job resources (e.g., high autonomy and social support) to adequately deal with high job demands. Allow employees sufficient time to recover from high job demands during off-job time and provide training sessions in recovery, relaxation, meditation, and goal setting. Employees may attempt to counteract perseverative thoughts by actively pursuing distracting restoration activities (e.g., exercise, meditation).
THE MECHANISM OF THE ACTION OF SALIVA IN BLOOD COAGULATION

It is well known that the addition of saliva to blood will accelerate its coagulation (1, 2, 7). This property of saliva is not species specific. It has been shown that dog, cat and human saliva will indiscriminately accelerate the clotting of blood obtained from the dog, cat, cow or man (1, 7). Bellis, Birnbaum and Scott (1) noted that while the clotting factor of saliva was stable at 60 " , it was destroyed by boiling at 100 ". Bellis and Scott (2) found that the addition of saliva decreased the co-agulation time of hemophilic blood, and that a similar effect was obtained with peritoneal and cerebrospinal fluids. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the function of saliva in the coagulation mechanism and to investigate the nature of the active material. The results obtained indicate that saliva contains a factor which acts like the thromboplastic material present in blood platelets, brain and lung tissues and that it probably is protein in nature. EXPERIMENTAL. The reagents employed in this investigation were prepared as follows: Plasma-from beef blood obtained by the addition of 0.2 per cent potassium oxalate. Prothrombin-prepared according to the method of Mellanby (8). The product was not activated by calcium ions alone when incubated for the maximum length of time of the experiments. Fibrinogen-obtained by repeated precipitation with sodium chloride as described by Eagle (3). &&z-human saliva was collected by first rinsing the mouth with saline and the chewing of paraffin to stimulate the flow. Samples were used within a few hours of collection. Calcium chloride-O. 025M solution. Thromboplastin-a fresh saline extract of blood-free calf-brain. The clotting mechanism may be separated into two well-recognized stages; 1, the formation of thrombin, and 2, the formation of fibrin from fibrinogen. The first step in analyzing the role of saliva was to determine which of these two stages was influenced by the presence of saliva. The following observations show that saliva has no important action on fibrinogen but that it is active in the formation of thrombin. When fresh, filtered saliva is added to purified fibrinogen, no clot 108
Circulating Levels of miR‐133a Predict the Regression Potential of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy After Valve Replacement Surgery in Patients With Aortic Stenosis

Background Myocardial microRNA‐133a (miR‐133a) is directly related to reverse remodeling after pressure overload release in aortic stenosis patients. Herein, we assessed the significance of plasma miR‐133a as an accessible biomarker with prognostic value in predicting the reversibility potential of LV hypertrophy after aortic valve replacement (AVR) in these patients. Methods and Results The expressions of miR‐133a and its targets were measured in LV biopsies from 74 aortic stenosis patients. Circulating miR‐133a was measured in peripheral and coronary sinus blood. LV mass reduction was determined echocardiographically. Myocardial and plasma levels of miR‐133a correlated directly (r=0.46, P<0.001) supporting the myocardium as a relevant source of plasma miR‐133a. Accordingly, a significant gradient of miR‐133a was found between coronary and systemic venous blood. The preoperative plasma level of miR‐133a was higher in the patients who normalized LV mass 1 year after AVR than in those exhibiting residual hypertrophy. Logistic regression analysis identified plasma miR‐133a as a positive predictor of the hypertrophy reversibility after surgery. The discrimination of the model yielded an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of 0.89 (P<0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed plasma miR‐133a and its myocardial target Wolf‐Hirschhorn syndrome candidate 2/Negative elongation factor A as opposite predictors of the LV mass loss (g) after AVR. Conclusions Preoperative plasma levels of miR‐133a reflect their myocardial expression and predict the regression potential of LV hypertrophy after AVR. The value of this bedside information for the surgical timing, particularly in asymptomatic aortic stenosis patients, deserves confirmation in further clinical studies.
ITALIAN MUTUAL BANKS: Performance, Efficiency and Mergers and Acquisitions

1) Are Italian mutual banks efficient? Evidence from two different cost frontier techniques, by Juan Sergio Lopez, Alessandra Appenini, and Stefania P.S. Rossi. The aim of the first paper is to analyze the efficiency of co-operative banks in Italy. The increasing competition induced by the ongoing process of liberalization in Europe has been affecting also these small financial institutions that used to operate in a more protected environment. Based on a panel of about 450 banks covering the period 1995-99, two different techniques were employed: non-parametric frontier analysis, and parametric frontier analysis. By means of this analysis it is possible to compare the results obtained using these two methodologies and analyze the determinants of bank inefficiency 2) Mergers and acquisitions between mutual banks in Italy: an analysis of the effects on performance and productive efficiency, by Roberto Di Salvo, Maria Carmela Mazzilis, and Andrea Guidi. The second paper is aimed at testing the hypothesis that the M&A wave over the past ten years has increased the level of efficiency of co-operative credit banks (CCBs), both in terms of overall performance and productive efficiency. The logical development is hinged on two steps: 1) an explorative analysis which is based on the observation of balance sheet ratios by quantiles, 2) a DEA application for estimating productive efficiency scores. The analysis refers to 94 CCBs which have been involved in M&As over the period 1995-98 and is carried out on both merged and non-merged banks, either before concentration or in the subsequent years. The explorative analysis mainly shows a higher level of fee-based income for merged banks, which is consistent with the hypothesis that concentration strategies enhance diversification. It also detects some degree of cost reduction just after merging. The DEA application models (CRS and VRS) tends to confirm the results of the previous analysis and estimates higher efficiency for merged banks, a lower efficiency degree for pre-merger banks, and a significant degree of scale econonomies.
AS alliance: cooperatively improving resilience of intra-alliance communication

The current interdomain routing protocol, BGP, is not resilient to a path failure due to its single-path and slowly-converging route calculation. This paper proposes a novel approach to improve the resilience of the interdomain communication by enabling a set of ASes to form an alliance for themselves. The alliance members cooperatively discover a set of disjoint paths using not only the best routes advertised via BGP but also the ones unadvertised. Since such a set of disjoint paths are unlikely to share a link or an AS failure, a member AS can provide a pair of the other members with a transit to circumvent the failure. We evaluate how many disjoint paths we could discover from both advertised and hidden (unadvertised) routes by analyzing publicly available BGP route data. Our feasibility study indicates that an alliance of ASes can establish a set of disjoint paths between arbitrary pair of its alliance members to improve the resilience of interdomain routing among the members.
High Levels of Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Are Strongly Associated with Low HDL in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Objectives Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are associated with an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction possibly through impaired endothelial atheroprotection and decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) mediates endothelial function by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase activity. In patients with acute myocardial infarction, we investigated the relationship between serum levels of HDL and ADMA. Approach and Results Blood samples from 612 consecutive patients hospitalized for acute MI <24 hours after symptom onset were taken on admission. Serum levels of ADMA, its stereoisomer, symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) and L-arginine were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Patients with low HDL (<40 mg/dL for men and <50 mg/dL for women) were compared with patients with higher HDL. Most patients (59%) had low HDL levels. Median ADMA levels were markedly higher in the low HDL group (0.69 vs. 0.50 µmole/L, p<0.001). In contrast, SDMA and L-arginine levels were similar for the two groups (p = 0.120 and p = 0.064). Notably, ADMA, but not SDMA or L-arginine, was inversely correlated with HDL (r = −0.311, p<0.001). In stratified analysis, this relationship was only found for low HDL levels (r = −0.265, p<0.001), but not when HDL levels were higher (r = −0.077, p = 0.225). By multivariate logistic regression analysis, ADMA level was strongly associated with low HDL levels (OR(95%CI):6.06(3.48–10.53), p<0.001), beyond traditional confounding factors. Conclusions Our large population-based study showed for the first time a strong inverse relationship between HDL and ADMA in myocardial infarction patients, suggesting a functional interaction between HDL and endothelium, beyond metabolic conditions associated with low HDL levels.
Prognostic Factors of the Efficacy of High-dose Corticosteroid Therapy in Hemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes, and Low Platelet Count Syndrome During Pregnancy

AbstractThe aim of this study was to identify the factors which can affect the efficacy of corticosteroid (CORT) therapy in the management of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome.Research articles reporting the efficacy of CORT therapy to HELLP syndrome patients were searched in several electronic databases including EMBASE, Google Scholar, Ovid SP, PubMed, and Web of Science. Study selection was based on predefined eligibility criteria. Efficacy was defined by the changes from baseline in HELLP syndrome indicators after CORT therapy. Meta-analyses were carried out with Stata software.Data of 778 CORT-treated HELLP syndrome patients recruited in 22 studies were used in the analyses. Corticosteroid treatment to HELLP syndrome patients was associated with significant changes from baseline in platelet count; serum levels of aspartate aminotransaminase, alanine transaminase, and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH); mean blood pressure; and urinary output. Lower baseline platelet count predicted higher change in platelet count after CORT therapy. Lower baseline platelet count and lower baseline urinary output predicted greater changes in LDH levels after CORT therapy. There was also an inverse relationship between the change from baseline in LDH levels and intensive care duration. Higher CORT doses were associated with greater declines in the aspartate aminotransaminase, alanine transaminase, and LDH levels. Incidence of cesarean delivery was inversely associated with the gestation age. The percentage of nulliparous women had a positive association with the intensive care stay duration.High-dose CORT therapy to HELLP syndrome patients provides benefits in improving disease markers and reducing intensive care duration, especially in cases such as mothers with much lower baseline platelet count and LDH levels.
Verification of operational Quantitative Discharge Forecast (QDF) for a regional warning system – the AMPHORE case studies in the upper Po River.

Abstract. In recent years, the interest in the prediction and prevention of natural hazards related to hydrometeorological events has grown due to the increased frequency of extreme rainstorms. Several research projects have been developed to test hydrometeorological models for real-time flood forecasting. However, flood forecasting systems are still not widespread in operational context. Real-world examples are mainly dedicated to the use of flood routing model, best suited for large river basins. For small basins, it is necessary to take advantage of the lag time between the onset of a rainstorm and the beginning of the hydrograph rise, with the use of rainfall-runoff transformation models. Nevertheless, when the lag time is very short, a rainfall predictor is required, as a result, meteorological models are often coupled with hydrological simulation. While this chaining allows floods to be forecasted on small catchments with response times ranging from 6 to 12 h it, however, causes new problems for the reliability of Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPF) and also creates additional accuracy problems for space and time scales. The aim of this work is to evaluate the degree to which uncertain QPF affects the reliability of the whole hydro-meteorological alert system for small catchments. For this purpose, a distributed hydrological model (FEST-WB) was developed and analysed in operational setting experiments, i.e. the hydrological model was forced with rain observation until the time of forecast and with the QPF for the successive period, as is usual in real-time procedures. Analysis focuses on the AMPHORE case studies in Piemonte in November 2002.
Relic neutrino background from cosmological supernovae

Present and future observations of supernova relic neutrinos (SRNs), i.e., a cosmological neutrino background from past core-collapse supernova explosions, potentially give us useful information concerning various fields of astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics. We review recent progress of theoretical and observational studies of SRNs, particularly focusing on the detectability, and also on implications for cosmic star formation history and neutrino physics.
Dimensionality Reduction and Network Inference for Climate Data Using δ‐MAPS: Application to the CESM Large Ensemble Sea Surface Temperature

A framework for analyzing and benchmarking climate model outputs is built upon δ‐MAPS, a recently developed complex network analysis method. The framework allows for the possibility of highlighting quantifiable topological differences across data sets, capturing the magnitude of interactions including lagged relationships and quantifying the modeled internal variability, changes in domains properties and in their connections over space and time. A set of four metrics is proposed to assess and compare the modeled domains shapes, strengths, and connectivity patterns. δ‐MAPS is applied to investigate the topological properties of sea surface temperature from observational data sets and in a subset of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) Large Ensemble focusing on the past 35 years and over the 20th and 21st centuries. Model ensemble members are mapped in a reduced metric space to quantify internal variability and average model error. It is found that network properties are on average robust whenever individual member or ensemble trends are removed. The assessment identifies biases in the CESM representation of the connectivity patterns that stem from too strong autocorrelations of domains signals and from the overestimation of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation amplitude and its thermodynamic feedback onto the tropical band in most members.