Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Kinematic evolution of Andean fold‐thrust structures along the boundary between the Eastern Cordillera and Middle Magdalena Valley basin, Colombia

Surface and subsurface data support a kinematic reconstruction of Cenozoic fold‐thrust deformation along the Eastern Cordillera‐Magdalena Valley transition in Colombia. The La Salina fault (LSF) marks the boundary between west‐vergent Eastern Cordillera structures and hinterland deposits of the Middle Magdalena Valley basin. Apatite fission track and (U‐Th)/He thermochronological results for the west‐directed LSF reveal initial hanging wall exhumation during middle Eocene–early Oligocene (45–30 Ma) shortening, renewed exhumation in the early middle Miocene (18–12 Ma), and accelerated late Miocene‐Pliocene (12–3 Ma) exhumation. Vitrinite reflectance data suggest maximum burial of 4–6 km, helping constrain Cenozoic basin architecture. Mapping of the LSF reveals hanging wall Cretaceous–Eocene rocks in a broad anticline‐syncline pair with limited faulting and footwall Eocene–Quaternary basin fill in a complex series of tight thrust‐related folds. Limited displacement along the westernmost (frontal) thrust suggests that shortening is largely accommodated by east‐directed thrusting within a broader triangle zone of a passive‐roof duplex (and probable minor strike‐slip deformation). In the preferred kinematic restoration, the most recent phase of shortening to transpressional deformation represents out‐of‐sequence reactivation of the LSF consistent with irregular crosscutting relationships among footwall structures. Earliest exhumation by 45–30 Ma in the Eastern Cordillera fold‐thrust belt is correlated with increased sedimentary lithic fragments and high compositional maturity in sandstones of the adjacent Magdalena Valley basin. Exhumation since ∼15 Ma coincided with decreased compositional maturity and elevated accumulation rates for the Real Group. The compositional provenance shifts are attributed to westward advance of fold‐thrust deformation into the proximal (eastern) segments of the Magdalena Valley basin.
Height, urban-born and prostate cancer risk in Japanese men.

BACKGROUND Height and early-life environments have received attention as risk factors for prostate cancer. However, the evidence is sparse in Japan. To elucidate the associations of height and early-life factors with prostate cancer risk in Japanese men, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study. In addition, to investigate whether the associations vary between prostate cancer and other major cancers, we conducted a comparative study within the same case-control study. METHODS Study subjects consisted of 282 prostate cancer cases, 584, 461, 231, and 156 male stomach, lung, colon and rectal cancer cases, respectively, and 1730 male hospital controls, aged 50 and over admitted to a single hospital in Miyagi Prefecture from 1997 to 2003. Information on height and early-life factors including birthplace and stature at 12 years was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated for each exposure variable. RESULTS A significant positive association was found between height and prostate cancer risk (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.00-2.31, between the highest and lowest quartiles; P for trend = 0.03). A significant association of urban-born with prostate cancer risk was also found (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.03-2.13). Analyses by stage revealed that height might be more strongly associated with the risk of advanced prostate cancer. For other major cancers, no significant association with height and early-life factors was observed. CONCLUSIONS Height and early-life factors were significantly associated with prostate cancer risk. Compared with other major cancers, these associations were specific to prostate cancer.
Mode-selective acoustic spectroscopy of trigonal piezoelectric crystals

A noncontacting electromagnetic-acoustic- resonance technique is presented for generating and detecting vibrational modes with prescribed symmetries in piezoelectric trigonal crystals with cylindrical geometry. This technique provides the experimental basis for determining all elastic constants from a single specimen, while overcoming difficulties in mode identification that can occur in traditional resonant-ultrasound spectroscopy. Narrow-band tone-burst excitation and piezoelectric coupling are employed with various geometrical configurations of electrodes near the surface of a quartz specimen. The geometries of the specimen and plates include all of the symmetry elements of the crystallographic point group, which enable selection of the irreducible representation of excited vibrational modes simply by switching electrical leads to the electrodes.
Delayed puberty.

Puberty is the acquisition of secondary sexual characteristics associated with a growth spurt and resulting in the attainment of reproductive function. Delayed puberty is diagnosed when there is no breast development by 13.4 years of age in a girl and no testicular enlargement by 14.0 years in a boy. The aetiologies are: (i) pubertal delay, either with constitutional delay of growth and puberty or secondary to chronic illness, and (ii) pubertal failure, with hypogonadotrophic (defect in the hypothalamo-pituitary region) or hypergonadotrophic (secondary to gonadal failure) hypogonadism, or both (secondary to radio/chemotherapy). The investigation includes: history, auxological data and pubertal development examination. Boys usually require treatment and, if they do not respond, investigation. In girls it is appropriate to measure the thyroid function and karyotype first and, if necessary, to offer treatment. If they present with dysmorphic features, or positive familial history, an assessment is required before treatment.
The Efficacy of the EORTC Scoring System and Risk Tables for the Prediction of Recurrence and Progression of Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer after Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Instillation

Purpose The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) scoring system and risk table were introduced in the 2008 European Association of Urology guidelines on TaT1 bladder cancer. We compared the recurrence and progression rate between EORTC risk tables and author's patients who underwent transurethral resection of bladder cancer (TURB) following intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) instillation. Materials and Methods The medical records of 251 patients who underwent TURB and were diagnosed with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer from l993 to 2007 were analyzed. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the recurrence group and the progression group. According to the EORTC scoring system, the patients in each group were categorized in terms of number of tumors, tumor size, prior recurrence rate, T category, carcinoma in situ, and pathologic grade and the scores were summed. According to the summed scores, the recurrence group and the progression group were divided into 3 subgroups: low, intermediate, and high risk, respectively. The recurrence rate and progression rate of each group were compared with the EORTC risk tables. Results The recurrence rate and progression rate were almost similar to the EORTC risk tables. However, the recurrence rate was low in the intermediate-risk group. Conclusions Clinical utilization of the EORTC scoring system and risk tables is very effective in predicting the recurrence and progression of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer and in selecting treatment.
Optical Power Splitting Techniques Using Photonic Crystal Line Defect Waveguides

“Photonic Crystals (PCs)” are dielectric structures with periodic spatial alternations of refractive index on the scale of the wavelength of light. Many optical devices, based on PCs, have been proposed. There are multiple ways by which equal amount of power of incoming signals can be divided into two, three and four output channels; for example using multiple coupled photonic crystal waveguides, directional coupling and cascaded multimode PC waveguides. Ideally, the splitter should divide the input power equally into the output channels without significant reflection or radiation losses and should be compact in size. In this thesis we have proposed different techniques of optical power splitting using (a) Y-junction, (b) PC line defect waveguides integrated with multimode interference (MMI) block, and (c) multiple line defect PC waveguides. The optical modeling of these proposed structures were investigated by finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation. The goal was to achieve equal power at each output channel with broad spectrum around the target wavelength with low loss. Using a new design of a 2-D slab based Y-junction scheme, we have achieved 84.4% power output from a 1×2 power splitter and 58.3% form a 1×4 power splitter configuration respectively. Then to improve the power transmission of 1×4 power splitter configuration, we have examined two more structures, one is 2-D slab PC line defect waveguides integrated with MMI block and another which is based on multiple line defect waveguides. The first structure transmits 75.7% power at the output with 46nm broad spectrum for a 2-D slab configuration whereas the second structure transmits 94.9% power at output with 32nm broad spectrum for 2-D configuration. The advantages of PC line defect waveguides integrated with MMI block for 1×4 power splitter configuration over the Y-junction are ease of fabrication, broad output spectrum and high transmission power. The only disadvantage is the size of the device. The device is somewhat larger than other devices but still compact enough to compete with commercial on chip optical power splitters. In future multiple line defect PC waveguides will probably be able to achieve both compact size and high power.
TREND ANALYSIS OF SUGARCANE AREA, PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY IN ANDHRA PRADESH

A study on “TREND ANALYSIS OF SUGARCANE AREA, PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY IN ANDHRA PRADESH” has been undertaken to estimate the growth rates of sugarcane crop in three regions of Andhra Pradesh and fit the adequate trend equation for the future projections by 2015-16 AD. The reference period of study was from 1971-72 to 2010-11 and was carried out region wise and Andhra Pradesh state as a whole. The present investigation was carried out to examine the trends in area, production and productivity of sugarcane crop. Linear and compound growth rates were calculated for this purpose. Ten growth models were fitted to the area, production and productivity of sugarcane crop and the bestfitted model for future projection was chosen based upon the model with relatively high significant Adj R and least Residual Mean Square (RMS). Besides, the important assumption of randomness of residuals was tested by using one sample Run test. Results revealed that area, production and productivity of sugarcane in Andhra Pradesh marked significantly increasing trend with decreasing trend in production and productivity in last year during the study period. In case of Coastal Andhra region, upward trend in area, production and productivity were observed, whereas in case of Rayalaseema region, area, production and productivity marked significantly increasing trend but there was a decreasing growth in case of area and production in last years was observed and finally in Telangana region it was observed that there was a significantly increasing trend in area, production and productivity.
A Technical-economic Analysis of Wood Gasification for Decentralized Power Generation in Colombian Forest Cores

This work presents a technical-economic analysis of several biomass gasification-based power plants for decentralized generation. The major aim is to make a preliminary evaluation of their feasibility in the Colombian context by means of the cost of electricity (COE). The analysis was conducted using information provided directly by power plant manufacturers from several continents. A silvicultural analysis of the major commercial forest plantations in Colombia allowed to determine suitable forest crops for energy projects, with energy potentials ranging from 500 kWe to 2000 kWe. Results from the study show that COE varies from 10.2 cUSD/kWe-h to 40.8 cUSD/kWe-h depending on the technology used. For lower cost plants, the share of investment cost in COE is of 45-50%, whereas for more expensive technologies it is of 63-67%. The methodology used provides technical, economic, and energy support to make informed decisions regarding the best technology for small-medium power applications using biomass.
A synthetic O2‐tolerant butanol pathway exploiting native fatty acid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

Several synthetic metabolic pathways for butanol synthesis have been reported in Escherichia coli by modification of the native CoA‐dependent pathway from selected Clostridium species. These pathways are all dependent on the O2‐sensitive AdhE2 enzyme from Clostridium acetobutylicum that catalyzes the sequential reduction of both butyryl‐CoA and butyraldehyde. We constructed an O2‐tolerant butanol pathway based on the activities of an ACP‐thioesterase, acting on butyryl‐ACP in the native fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, and a promiscuous carboxylic acid reductase. The pathway was genetically optimized by screening a series of bacterial acyl‐ACP thioesterases and also by modification of the physical growth parameters. In order to evaluate the potential of the pathway for butanol production, the ACP‐dependent butanol pathway was compared with a previously established CoA‐dependent pathway. The effect of (1) O2‐availability, (2) media, and (3) co‐expression of aldehyde reductases was evaluated systematically demonstrating varying and contrasting functionality between the ACP‐ and CoA‐dependent pathways. The yield of butanol from the ACP‐dependent pathway was stimulated by enhanced O2‐availability, in contrast to the CoA‐dependent pathway, which did not function well under aerobic conditions. Similarly, whilst the CoA‐dependent pathway only performed well in complex media, the ACP‐dependent pathway was not influenced by the choice of media except in the absence of O2. A combination of a thioesterase from Bacteroides fragilis and the aldehyde reductase, ahr, from E. coli resulted in the greatest yield of butanol. A product titer of ∼300 mg/L was obtained in 24 h under optimal batch growth conditions, in most cases exceeding the performance of the reference CoA‐pathway when evaluated under equivalent conditions. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 120–128. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Energy optimum chiralities of multiwalled carbon nanotubes.

The energy optimum chiralities of neighboring layers of a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) are found to correlate with each other. Nearly identical chiralities are energy optimum in MWNTs with a large diameter. For a small tube, the chiral angle ratio of the outer to inner tubes decreases monotonically with decreasing tube diameter, and nearly identical zigzag chiralities become dominated for a very small tube. It is expected that low temperature control is necessary for achieving the optimum chiralities. The theory can explain most existing chirality characterizations of MWNTs synthesized at low temperature.
Functional Analysis of the Quorum-Sensing Streptococcal Invasion Locus (sil)

Group A streptococcus (GAS) causes a wide variety of human diseases, and at the same time, GAS can also circulate without producing symptoms, similar to its close commensal relative, group G streptococcus (GGS). We previously identified, by transposon-tagged mutagenesis, the streptococcal invasion locus (sil). sil is a quorum-sensing regulated locus which is activated by the autoinducer peptide SilCR through the two-component system SilA-SilB. Here we characterize the DNA promoter region necessary for SilA-mediated activation. This site is composed of two direct repeats of 10 bp, separated by a spacer of 11 bp. Fusion of this site to gfp allowed us to systematically introduce single-base substitutions in the repeats region and to assess the relative contribution of various positions to promoter strength. We then developed an algorithm giving different weights to these positions, and performed a chromosome-wide bioinformatics search which was validated by transcriptome analysis. We identified 13 genes, mostly bacteriocin related, that are directly under the control of SilA. Having developed the ability to quantify SilCR signaling via GFP accumulation prompted us to search for GAS and GGS strains that sense and produce SilCR. While the majority of GAS strains lost sil, all GGS strains examined still possess the locus and ∼63% are able to respond to exogenously added SilCR. By triggering the autoinduction circle using a minute concentration of synthetic SilCR, we identified GAS and GGS strains that are capable of sensing and naturally producing SilCR, and showed that SilCR can be sensed across these streptococci species. These findings suggest that sil may be involved in colonization and establishment of commensal host-bacterial relationships.
BLUE: A New Class of Active Queue Management Algorithms

In order to stem the increasing packet loss rates caused by an exponential increase in network traffic, the IETF is considering the deployment of active queue management techniques such as RED [13]. While active queue management can potentially reduce packet loss rates in the Internet, this paper shows that current techniques are ineffective in preventing high loss rates. The inherent problem with these queue management algorithms is that they all use queue lengths as the indicator of the severity of congestion. In light of this observation, a fundamentally different active queue management algorithm called BLUE is proposed. BLUE uses packet loss and link idle events to manage congestion. Using simulation and controlled experiments, BLUE is shown to perform significantly better than RED both in terms of packet loss rates and buffer size requirements in the network. As an extension to BLUE, a novel technique for enforcing fairness among a large number of flows is described. In particular, this paper proposes and evaluates Stochastic Fair BLUE (SFB), a queue management algorithm which can identify and rate-limit non-responsive flows using a very small amount of state information.
Showing Off? Human Mobility and the Interplay of Traits, Self-Disclosure, and Facebook Check-Ins

Mobile and location-based media refer to technologies that can openly and dynamically portray the characteristics of the users and their mundane life. Facebook check-ins highlights physical and informational mobility of the users relating individual activities into spaces. This study explored how personality traits like extraversion and narcissism function to influence self-disclosure that, in turn, impacts the intensity of check-ins on Facebook. Using survey data collected through Facebook check-in users in Taiwan (N = 523), the results demonstrated that although extraversion and narcissism might not directly impact check-in intensity on Facebook, the indirect effects of self-disclosure and exhibitionism were particularly salient. Moreover, a complete path from extraversion to Facebook check-in through self-disclosure and exhibitionism was discovered. Theoretical implications on human mobility and selective self-presentation are also discussed.
Preschool language profiles of children at family risk of dyslexia: continuities with specific language impairment.

BACKGROUND Children at family risk of dyslexia have been reported to show phonological deficits as well as broader language delays in the preschool years. METHOD The preschool language skills of 112 children at family risk of dyslexia (FR) at ages 3½ and 4½ were compared with those of children with SLI and typically developing (TD) controls. RESULTS Children at FR showed two different profiles: one third of the group resembled the children with SLI and scored poorly across multiple domains of language including phonology. As a group, the remaining children had difficulties on tasks tapping phonological skills at T1 and T2. At the individual level, we confirmed that some FR children had both phonological and broader oral language difficulties (compared with TD controls), some had only phonological difficulties and some appeared to be developing typically. CONCLUSIONS We have highlighted the early overlap between family risk of dyslexia and SLI. A family history of dyslexia carries an increased risk for SLI and the two disorders both show an increased incidence of phonological deficits which appear to a proximal risk factor for developing a reading impairment.
SOX2 expression is upregulated in adult spinal cord after contusion injury in both oligodendrocyte lineage and ependymal cells

The upregulation of genes normally associated with development may occur in the adult after spinal cord injury (SCI). To test this, we performed real‐time RT‐PCR array analysis of mouse spinal cord mRNAs comparing embryonic day (E)14.5 spinal cord with intact adult and adult cord 1 week after a clinically relevant standardized contusion SCI. We found significantly increased expression of a large number of neural development‐ and stem cell‐associated genes after SCI. These included Sox2 (sex determining region Y‐box 2), a transcription factor that regulates self‐renewal and potency of embryonic neural stem cells and is one of only a few key factors needed to induce pluripotency. In adult spinal cord of Sox2‐EGFP mice, Sox2‐EGFP was found mainly in the ependymal cells of the central canal. After SCI, both mRNA and protein levels of Sox2 were significantly increased at and near the injury site. By 1 day, Sox2 was upregulated in NG2+ oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC) in the spared white matter. By 3 days, Sox2‐EGFP ependymal cells had increased proliferation and begun to form multiple layers and clusters of cells in the central lesion zone of the cord. Expression of Sox2 by NG2+ cells had declined by 1 week, but increased numbers of other Sox2‐expressing cells persisted for at least 4 weeks after SCI in both mouse and rat models. Thus, SCI upregulates many genes associated with development and neural stem cells, including the key transcription factor Sox2, which is expressed in a pool of cells that persists for weeks after SCI. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.