Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determination of the Effects of Kelvin Radii and Bulk hygroscopicity on Atmospheric Aerosols Using MVN mix Ratios

Present work aims to determine the relationship between Kelvin radii and Bulk hygroscopicity factor, the effects of these factors on Kelvin effect and Water activity of atmospheric aerosol and investigate how both Kelvin effect and Water activities affect atmospheric processes based on (MVN mix ratios). In the present study, microphysical properties of aerosols were extracted from the Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC) at seven relative humidity (50%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 98% and 99%) for ten aerosol models (Arctic, Antarctic, Continental clean, continental polluted, continental average, Desert, Maritime clean, maritime polluted, maritime tropical and Urban,). The parameters extracted were individual radii of the aerosols (both dry and wet), number concentrations, mass density, volume density, number mix ratio, mass mix ratio and volume mix ratio. The parameters were used to calculate effective radii and effective hygroscopic growth of the aerosols. These two calculated parameters were used in Kӧhler models to determine Kelvin radii (Kelvin effects) and bulk hygroscopicity factors (water activities) of the aerosols. It was discovered that the effective radii, effective hygroscopic growth factor, Kelvin effect and water activity all depends on aerosol composition and hygroscopicity. We also observed that the water activity values for all our aerosol models except the Urban were less than RH for number mix ratio, while the Maritimes, Antarctic and Arctic models are less than RH for volume mix ratio. And the Maritimes and Arctic models are less than RH for the mass mix ratio. The values of the Kelvin effect of all atmospheric aerosol models except the urban model, decreases with increase in RH and the Sahara model has a very high magnitude for the number mix ratio. While for the volume and mass mix ratios the Kelvin effects of all models decreases with increase in RH with very low magnitude for the Sahara model. We observed that as the ambient relative humidity (RH) changes, hygroscopic atmospheric aerosols can undergo phase transformation, droplet growth, and evaporation. Both Kelvin effect and water activity play important roles in atmospheric processes. These two quantities depend on Kelvin radii and bulk hygroscopicity factors of atmospheric aerosols.
An indirect immunofluorescence assay using a cell culture-derived antigen for detection of antibodies to the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis

An indirect immunofluorescence assay for the detection of human antibodies to the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) was developed and standardized. Antigen was prepared from a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60) infected with a tick-derived isolate of the HGE agent (USG3). Suitable antigen presentation and preservation of cellular morphology were obtained when infected cells were applied and cultured on the slide, excess medium was removed, and cells were fixed with acetone. Use of a buffer containing bovine serum albumin and goat serum reduced background fluorescence, and use of an immunoglobulin G (gamma-specific) conjugate reduced nonspecific binding. The assay readily detected specific antibody from HGE patients and did not detect antibody from healthy individuals. No significant reactivity was noted in sera from patients with high titers of antibodies to other rickettsial species. We were able to identify antibodies reactive to USG3 antigen in samples from areas where HGE is endemic that had tested negative to other rickettsial agents. Animal sera reactive against Ehrlichia equi or Ehrlichia phagocytophila bound to the HGE antigen, indicating that the assay may be useful for veterinary use. Comparability between two different laboratories was assessed by using coded human sera exchanged between laboratories. Results from the two laboratories were similar, indicating that the assay can be easily integrated into use for routine testing for HGE. The assay was then compared to an assay using horse neutrophils infected with ehrlichiae. The two assays gave comparable results, indicating that the cell culture-derived antigen can be used for testing samples that have been previously tested with E. equi as an antigen. The new assay offers several advantages over other immunofluorescence methods that use animal-derived antigen and is suitable for use in testing for human antibodies to the HGE agent.
Modeling of Surface-Mounted Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors With Stator Winding Interturn Faults

This paper develops and analyzes a parametric model for simulating healthy and faulty surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motors. It allows studying the effects of stator winding interturn short-circuit faults. A relevant feature of the developed model is that it deals with spatial harmonics due to a nonsinusoidal rotor permanent magnet configuration. Additionally, the proposed model is valid for studying the behavior of these machines running under nonstationary conditions, including load or speed variations. Stator current spectra obtained from simulations performed by applying the proposed model show a close similitude with experimental results, highlighting the potential of such a model to understand the effects of stator winding failures on the current spectrum and allowing it to carry out an automatic diagnosis of such faults.
Coupled Marginalized Auto-Encoders for Cross-Domain Multi-View Learning

In cross-domain learning, there is a more challenging problem that the domain divergence involves more than one dominant factors, e.g., different view-points, various resolutions and changing illuminations. Fortunately, an intermediate domain could often be found to build a bridge across them to facilitate the learning problem. In this paper, we propose a Coupled Marginalized Denoising Autoencoders framework to address the cross-domain problem. Specifically, we design two marginalized denoising auto-encoders, one for the target and the other for source as well as the intermediate one. To better couple the two denoising autoencoders learning, we incorporate a feature mapping, which tends to transfer knowledge between the intermediate domain and the target one. Furthermore, the maximum margin criterion, e.g., intra-class compactness and inter-class penalty, on the output layer is imposed to seek more discriminative features across different domains. Extensive experiments on two tasks have demonstrated the superiority of our method over the state-of-the-art methods.
The Fiscal Impact of Foreign Aid in Rwanda: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis

The inflow of large quantities of foreign aid into Rwanda since 1994 can have potential adverse effects such as aid dependency via a significant negative effect on tax efforts and on public investments. This paper carries out a theoretical and empirical study to examine these issues. The theoretical part develops a model in which the recipient government decides on the optimal level of tax and optimally allocates total government revenue between current expenditure and public investment. The theoretical model makes it possible to empirically test whether an increase in aid is likely to reduce the optimal tax rate and the proportion of public expenditure allocated to public investment. The econometric analysis uses time series data on Rwanda to show, in line with other studies in the literature, a negative relationship between increased aid and the tax rate; but the magnitude of the effects are extremely small. In the case of Rwanda, reforms to the tax administration and expansion of the tax base have had mitigating effects. As far as the effect on public investment, the overall effect was negative in the past; however, since 1995 the direction of this effect has changed.
A Comparative Method

The main methodological problem of comparative biology is to distinguish between effects attributable to ancestry and those attributable to function. The nested analysis of variance addresses this problem by partitioning variance and covariance between taxonomic levels. The estimation of variance components and the derived intraclass correlation coefficient can be used to describe the overall increase in variation through time and the relation between variances at different taxonomic levels. Applying this procedure to data about the body mass of eutherian mammals showed a steep increase in variance associated with the adaptive radiation of the group in early Tertiary times, with much lower rates of increase thereafter; chromosome number showed a similar but shallower increase, implying that chromosome number varies more between taxa at lower levels of classification than does body mass. The variance of species within genera increased with the geologic age of the genus, permitting a quantitative description of the rate of evolutionary divergence. A straightforward extension of the technique yields estimates of taxonomic components of covariance and the associated interclass correlation coefficients. It is argued that covariance between taxa is attributable to ancestry and covariance within taxa to function, and that adaptive hypotheses should be tested by the within-taxon correlation. This technique is illustrated by analyzing the covariance of litter mass with gestation period, independent of body mass, among eutherians. This reveals substantial correlation within species, attributed to function, and between suborders and orders, where it was attributed to ancestry, with little or no correlation at intermediate taxonomic levels. The components of variance and covariance can be used to describe how the correlation changes through time, in this case declining continuously from the time of divergence of suborders onward. Two sources of phylogenetic constraint are identified: the taxonomic components of covariance themselves, which may reflect the past operation of selection; and differences among correlation or regression coefficients among taxa at a given level of classification, representing an interaction between phylogeny and function, which may arise when a third variable alters the pattern of selection.
The Reliability and Validity of Subjective Notational Analysis in Comparison to Global Positioning System Tracking to Assess Athlete Movement Patterns

Doğramacı, SN, Watsford, ML, and Murphy, AJ. The reliability and validity of subjective notational analysis in comparison to GPS tracking to assess athlete movement patterns. J Strength Cond Res 25(3): 852-859, 2011-Subjective notational analysis can be used to track players and analyse movement patterns during match-play of team sports such as futsal. The purpose of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of the Event Recorder for subjective notational analysis. A course was designed, replicating ten minutes of futsal match-play movement patterns, where ten participants undertook the course. The course allowed a comparison of data derived from subjective notational analysis, to the known distances of the course, and to GPS data. The study analysed six locomotor activity categories, focusing on total distance covered, total duration of activities and total frequency of activities. The values between the known measurements and the Event Recorder were similar, whereas the majority of significant differences were found between the Event Recorder and GPS values. The reliability of subjective notational analysis was established with all ten participants being analysed on two occasions, as well as analysing five random futsal players twice during match-play. Subjective notational analysis is a valid and reliable method of tracking player movements, and may be a preferred and more effective method than GPS, particularly for indoor sports such as futsal, and field sports where short distances and changes in direction are observed.
Estimating Grizzly and Black Bear Population Abundance and Trend in Banff National Park Using Noninvasive Genetic Sampling

We evaluated the potential of two noninvasive genetic sampling methods, hair traps and bear rub surveys, to estimate population abundance and trend of grizzly (Ursus arctos) and black bear (U. americanus) populations in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Using Huggins closed population mark-recapture models, we obtained the first precise abundance estimates for grizzly bears ( = 73.5, 95% CI = 64–94 in 2006; = 50.4, 95% CI = 49–59 in 2008) and black bears ( = 62.6, 95% CI = 51–89 in 2006; = 81.8, 95% CI = 72–102 in 2008) in the Bow Valley. Hair traps had high detection rates for female grizzlies, and male and female black bears, but extremely low detection rates for male grizzlies. Conversely, bear rubs had high detection rates for male and female grizzlies, but low rates for black bears. We estimated realized population growth rates, lambda, for grizzly bear males ( = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.74–1.17) and females ( = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.67–1.20) using Pradel open population models with three years of bear rub data. Lambda estimates are supported by abundance estimates from combined hair trap/bear rub closed population models and are consistent with a system that is likely driven by high levels of human-caused mortality. Our results suggest that bear rub surveys would provide an efficient and powerful means to inventory and monitor grizzly bear populations in the Central Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Eosinophil Development, Regulation of Eosinophil-Specific Genes, and Role of Eosinophils in the Pathogenesis of Asthma

Eosinophils arise from hematopoietic CD34+ stem cells in the bone marrow. They acquire IL-5Rα on their surface at a very early stage during eosinophilopoiesis, and differentiate under the strong influence of interleukin (IL)-5. They then exit to the bloodstream, and enter the lung upon exposure to airway inflammatory signals, including eotaxins. In inflamed tissues, eosinophils act as key mediators of terminal effector functions and innate immunity and in linking to adaptive immune responses. Transcription factors GATA-1, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein, and PU.1 play instructive roles in eosinophil specification from multipotent stem cells through a network of cooperative and antagonistic interactions. Not surprisingly, the interplay of these transcription factors is instrumental in forming the regulatory circuit of expression of eosinophil-specific genes, encoding eosinophil major basic protein and neurotoxin, CC chemokine receptor 3 eotaxin receptor, and IL-5 receptor alpha. Interestingly, a common feature is that the critical cis-acting elements for these transcription factors are clustered in exon 1 and intron 1 of these genes rather than their promoters. Elucidation of the mechanism of eosinophil development and activation may lead to selective elimination of eosinophils in animals and human subjects. Furthermore, availability of a range of genetically modified mice lacking or overproducing eosinophil-specific genes will facilitate evaluation of the roles of eosinophils in the pathogenesis of asthma. This review summarizes eosinophil biology, focusing on development and regulation of eosinophil-specific genes, with a heavy emphasis on the causative link between eosinophils and pathological development of asthma using genetically modified mice as models of asthma.
Efficient diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome to reduce the burden on patients

Abstract Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the procedures for efficiently diagnosing Sjögren's syndrome to reduce patient burden. Methods. This study analyzed data from 254 Japanese patients diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome out of 4967 who visited our clinic complaining of xerostomia. Results. Of the 254 Sjögren's syndrome patients, 140 fulfilled the criteria proposed by the Committee on Sjögren's Syndrome of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan, 228 fulfilled the criteria proposed by the American-European Consensus Group, and 69 fulfilled the criteria proposed by the American College of Rheumatology. Numbers of definitive cases varied with each set of criteria. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze useful examination items for definitive diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome, demonstrating that anti-Ro/SSA (odds ratio (OR), 7.165), lip biopsy (OR, 4.273), sialography (OR, 2.402), and ANA (OR, 0.678) correlated significantly with definitive diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome. Conclusions. These results suggest that the following diagnostic procedure for Sjögren's syndrome would reduce burden on patients. When clinicians choose examination items for diagnosing Sjögren's syndrome, they should first select which criteria to use. Then, to minimize the number of examination items, examinations should be performed in order of anti-SSA antibody, lip biopsy, and parotid gland sialography.
Politics 2.0: The Multifaceted Effect of Broadband Internet on Political Participation

We investigate the impact of the diffusion of high-speed Internet on different forms of political participation, using data from Italy. We exploit differences in the availability of ADSL broadband technology across municipalities, using the exogenous variation induced by the fact that the cost of providing ADSL-based Internet services in a given municipality depends on its relative position in the pre-existing voice telecommunications infrastructure. We first show that broadband Internet had a substantial negative effect on turnout in parliamentary elections between 1996 and 2008. However, we also find that it was positively associated with other forms of political participation, both online and offline: the emergence of local online grassroots protest movements, and turnout in national referenda (largely opposed by mainstream parties). We then show that the negative effect of Internet on turnout in parliamentary elections is essentially reversed after 2008, when the local grassroots movements coalesce into the Five-Star Movement (M5S) electoral list. Our findings are consistent with the view that: 1) the effect of Internet availability on political participation changes across different forms of engagement; 2) it also changes over time, as new political actors emerge who can take advantage of the new technology to tap into the existence of a disenchanted or demobilized contingent of voters; and 3) these new forms of mobilization eventually feed back into the mainstream electoral process, converting “exit” back into “voice”.
Exploring user and system requirements of linked data visualization through a visual dashboard approach

One of the open problems in Semantic Web research is which tools should be provided to users to explore linked data. This is even more urgent now that massive amount of linked data is being released by governments worldwide. The development of single dedicated visualization applications is increasing, but the problem of exploring unknown linked data to gain a good understanding of what is contained is still open. An effective generic solution must take into account the user's point of view, their tasks and interaction, as well as the system's capabilities and the technical constraints the technology imposes. This paper is a first step in understanding the implications of both, user and system by evaluating our dashboard-based approach. Though we observe a high user acceptance of the dashboard approach, our paper also highlights technical challenges arising out of complexities involving current infrastructure that need to be addressed while visualizing linked data. In light of the findings, guidelines for the development of linked data visualization and manipulation are provided.
Deciphering Interactions in Moving Animal Groups

Collective motion phenomena in large groups of social organisms have long fascinated the observer, especially in cases, such as bird flocks or fish schools, where large-scale highly coordinated actions emerge in the absence of obvious leaders. However, the mechanisms involved in this self-organized behavior are still poorly understood, because the individual-level interactions underlying them remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate the power of a bottom-up methodology to build models for animal group motion from data gathered at the individual scale. Using video tracks of fish shoal in a tank, we show how a careful, incremental analysis at the local scale allows for the determination of the stimulus/response function governing an individual's moving decisions. We find in particular that both positional and orientational effects are present, act upon the fish turning speed, and depend on the swimming speed, yielding a novel schooling model whose parameters are all estimated from data. Our approach also leads to identify a density-dependent effect that results in a behavioral change for the largest groups considered. This suggests that, in confined environment, the behavioral state of fish and their reaction patterns change with group size. We debate the applicability, beyond the particular case studied here, of this novel framework for deciphering interactions in moving animal groups.
Plant embryogenesis requires AUX/LAX-mediated auxin influx

The plant hormone auxin and its directional transport are known to play a crucial role in defining the embryonic axis and subsequent development of the body plan. Although the role of PIN auxin efflux transporters has been clearly assigned during embryonic shoot and root specification, the role of the auxin influx carriers AUX1 and LIKE-AUX1 (LAX) proteins is not well established. Here, we used chemical and genetic tools on Brassica napus microspore-derived embryos and Arabidopsis thaliana zygotic embryos, and demonstrate that AUX1, LAX1 and LAX2 are required for both shoot and root pole formation, in concert with PIN efflux carriers. Furthermore, we uncovered a positive-feedback loop between MONOPTEROS (ARF5)-dependent auxin signalling and auxin transport. This MONOPTEROS-dependent transcriptional regulation of auxin influx (AUX1, LAX1 and LAX2) and auxin efflux (PIN1 and PIN4) carriers by MONOPTEROS helps to maintain proper auxin transport to the root tip. These results indicate that auxin-dependent cell specification during embryo development requires balanced auxin transport involving both influx and efflux mechanisms, and that this transport is maintained by a positive transcriptional feedback on auxin signalling. Highlighted article: Auxin-dependent cell specification during plant embryo development requires balanced and regulated auxin transport involving both influx and efflux machineries.
Primary Cerebral T-Cell Lymphoma in a Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)

ABSTRACT A 10-year-old female sea otter exhibited convulsions, arrhythmia, hyperthermia, forced breathing and anorexia and died after a week. Histopathological examination revealed neoplastic proliferation of small round cells with scant cytoplasm and round or oval nuclei distributed mainly in the thalamus. The proliferation of neoplastic cells was observed in the cerebral parenchyma and perivascular areas. The neoplastic cells were immunopositive for CD3, but not CD20. No neoplastic proliferation of T-cells was found in other organs. Taken together, we diagnosed this case as a primary cerebral T-cell lymphoma. To our knowledge, this is the first case of primary cerebral T-cell lymphoma in a sea otter.