Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bayesian full-waveform tomography with application to crosshole ground penetrating radar data

We present a probabilistic full-waveform inversion (FWI) approach that infers a geostatistical model along with the subsurface structure. Probabilistic FWI with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) allows for uncertainty quantification and removes the requirement of having a starting model in the cone of attraction of the assumed correct global minimum. We demonstrate our approach on a synthetic and a field data set. For the latter, we compare the results with deterministic FWI and a cone penetration test. Our results compare equally well with the cone penetration test as the deterministic results do. This is a positive result as for the deterministic inversion almost seven times more data were used than for the probabilistic inversion. Furthermore, the probabilistic FWI was able to converge to the posterior distribution starting from randomly drawn models. However, our uncertainty estimates are too narrow, because the necessarily short Markov chains implied by a computationally costly forward problem and the global nature of the model proposal scheme prevented a full exploration of the posterior probability density function. Without prior information such as borehole logs, the algorithm is only able to infer relative electric conductivity values, because the unknown amplitude of the wavelet and the mean of the conductivity are strongly correlated. This study clearly demonstrates the feasibility of probabilistic FWI and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the approach.
Eyelash formation secondary to latanoprost treatment in a patient with alopecia.

Eyelashes have a protective function against airborne particles. In addition, loss of eyelashes can be cosmetically unacceptable to some patients. For eyelash loss due to alopecia, treatments including oral steroids or other systemic medications have limited efficacy and can be potentially dangerous to the eye. We report growth of eyelashes after treatment with latanoprost in a patient with total loss of eyelashes for 5 years secondary to alopecia.
Does investors’ sentiment predict stock price changes? With analyses of naive extrapolation and the salience hypothesis in Japan

This paper investigates the forecast power and the characteristics of investors’ sentiment in Japan. According to the empirical analyses, Japanese investors’ sentiment has some forecast power for one month's future equity market dynamics. In addition, evidence is found that simultaneous and synthetic use of several sentiment variables is helpful for predicting future stock price changes in the short-term forecasting period. However, in contrast to findings in the USA, evidence cannot be found for ‘naive extrapolation’ or the ‘salience effect’ in Japanese investors’ sentiment.
Wortmannin Inhibits Insulin Secretion in Pancreatic Islets and β-TC3 Cells Independent of Its Inhibition of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase

Glucose is the primary stimulus for insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells, and it triggers membrane depolarization and influx of extracellular Ca2+. Cholinergic agonists amplify insulin release by several pathways, including activation of phospholipase C, which hydrolyzes membrane polyphosphoinositides. A novel phospholipid, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4,5)P3[, a product of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), has recently been found in various cell types. We demonstrate by immunoblotting that PI 3-kinase is present in both cytosolic and membrane fractions of insulin-secreting β-TC3 cells and in rat islets. The catalytic activity of PI 3-kinase in immunoprecipitates of islets and β-TC3 cells was measured by the production of radioactive phosphatidylinositol 3-monophosphate from phosphatidylinositol (Ptdlns) in the presence of [γ-32P[ATP. Wortmannin, a fungal metabolite, dose dependency inhibited PI 3-kinase activity of both islets and P-TC3 cells, with an IC50 of 1 nmol/l and a maximally effective concentration of 100 nmol/l, when it was added directly to the kinase assay. However, if intact islets were incubated with wortmannin and PI 3-kinase subsequently was determined in islet immunoprecipitates, ∼50% inhibition of PI 3-kinase activity (but no inhibition of glucose- and carbachol-stimulated insulin secretion) from intact islets was obtained at wortmannin concentrations of 100 µmol/l. Wortmannin, at higher concentrations (1 and 10 µmol/l), inhibited glucose- and carbachol-induced insulin secretion of intact rat islets by 58 and 92%, respectively. Wortmannin had no effect on the basal insulin release from rat islets. A similar dose curve of inhibition of glucose- and carbachol-induced insulin secretion by wortmannin was obtained when β-TC3 cells were used. Cellu-lar metabolism was not changed by any wortmannin concentrations tested (0.01–10 µmol/l). Both basal cytosolic [Ca2+]1 and carbamyl choline-induced increases of [Ca2+]1 were unaffected by wortmannin in the presence of 2.5 mmol/l Ca2+, while Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores was partially decreased by wortmannin. Together, these data suggest that wortmannin at concentrations that inhibit PI 3-kinase does not affect insulin secretion. PI 3-kinase is unlikely to have a major role in insulin secretion induced by glucose and carbachol.Diabetes 45:854–862, 1996
Case Salience and the Influence of External Constraints on the Supreme Court

Recent scholarship suggests that Supreme Court decision making is significantly constrained by Congress and the public, often arguing that case salience is a key factor in the operation of these constraints. However, scholars have developed different theoretical expectations regarding the effects of case salience on justices and have found empirical support for mutually contradictory theories. Furthermore, these studies rely on an endogenous measure of case salience. I replicate two leading studies using a theoretically appropriate measure of case salience in order to shed new light on this important topic, finding evidence of constraint from the public in salient cases.
“Vendor-Affected” WLAN experimental results: A Pandora’s Box?

Experimental results are typically envisioned as the ultimate validation reference for any theoretical and/or simulation modelling assumptions. However, in the case of Wireless LANs, the situation is not nearly as straightforward as it might seem. In this paper, we discuss to what (large) extent measurement results may depend on proprietary undocumented algorithms implemented in the vendor-specific card/driver employed. Specifically, we focus on the experimental study of IEEE 802.11 b/g outdoor links based on the widely used Atheros/MADWiFi card/driver pair. We show that unexpected performance divergences do emerge in two classes of comparative experiments run on a same outdoor link: broadcast versus unicast, and 802.11 g versus 802.11 b. We provide experimental evidence that the severe performance degradation emerging in the broadcast case and in the 802.11 g case, are not caused by physical reasons, such as interference, multipath, or different PHY/MAC settings, such as preamble type/size, etc. Rather, they are ldquosimplyrdquo caused by two different Atheros/MADWiFi proprietary algorithms. The conclusions are quite worrying. On one side, the scientific community seems still largely unaware of the existence of such vendor-proprietary solutions. This is crucial as, in most cases, lack of awareness may mislead to erroneous interpretation of the results. On the other side, the inclusion of proprietary solutions in the equipments is a growing trend, and the two findings documented in this paper might be just the very first ones emerging out from a Pandorapsilas box.
Survey evidence on price and wage rigidities in Portugal

This paper exploits the information collected from a survey conducted on a sample of Portuguese firms to study the patterns of firms’ price and wage adjustments and the extent of nominal price and wage rigidities. The evidence shows that the frequency of price changes varies substantially across sectors and depends on a number of factors such as the intensity of competition, the share of labour costs and firms’ price reviewing behaviour. The results also show that wages are more flexible in those firms where the fraction of permanent and high-skilled workers is lower and where the share of flexible pay components is higher.
Australia–India Strategic Relations: From Estrangement to Engagement

India and Australia held a set of largely divergent strategic perspectives during the Cold War period, which prevented any significant strategic relationship from developing at that time. Since the end of the Cold War, however, strategic relations between the two countries, although still volatile, have steadily improved. This article argues that as the Indo-Pacific region is increasingly seen as an arena of strategic importance in both New Delhi and Canberra, there is increased scope for a further convergence of Indo-Australian strategic relations based on a series of shared core security concerns. However, in the context of a rising China and re-assertive US in the region, there is a danger that bilateral relations between each of the two countries and the US may serve to prevent a strengthening of independent Indo-Australian relations. First, the post-World War II security policies of both India and Australia are outlined, as are the places occupied by each country in the strategic perspectives of the other. Then, the post-Cold War convergence of security perspectives of both nations is examined in the context of the emerging importance of the Indo-Pacific region in terms of both non-state security challenges and traditional balance-of-power concerns. Finally, the pressures exacted on potential Indo-Australian strategic relations by a rising China and re-assertive US are considered. It is argued that although convergence has begun, India and Australia still have a long way to go before they can initiate a robust and independent bilateral security partnership.
Assessing Time-Series Versus Cross-Sectional Influences in Panel Estimates: International Financial Architecture and Expected Equity Premia

In the study of economic and financial panel data it is often important to differentiate between time-series and cross-sectional effects. We present two estimation procedures that can do so and illustrate their application by examining international variations in expected equity premia and financial architecture where a number of variables vary across time but not cross-sectionally while other variables vary cross-sectionally but not across time. Using two different estimation procedures we find a preference for market financing to be negatively associated with the size of expected premia. However, we also find that U.S. corporate bond spreads negatively determine financial architecture according to the first procedure but not according to the second estimation as U.S. Corporate bond spreads change value each year but have the same value across countries. Similarly some measures that change across countries but do not change across time, such as cultural dimensions as well as the an index of measures against self dealing, are significant determinants of financial architecture according second estimation but not according to the first estimation. Our results show that using these two estimation procedures together can assess time-series versus cross-sectional variations in panel data. This research should be of considerable interest to empirical researchers.
Higher fasting glucose levels are associated with reduced circulating angiogenic cell migratory capacity among healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND Chronic or severe acute elevations in plasma glucose are associated with decreases in the number and function of circulating angiogenic cells (CACs). However, less is known about whether fasting plasma glucose levels (FPG) within the normal or pre-diabetic range among healthy individuals are associated with decreased CAC function. Establishing this relationship is an important step in developing a line of research that may ultimately lead to preventative lifestyle interventions intended to maximize endogenous CAC function and reduce cardiometabolic disease risk. OBJECTIVES 1) To examine whether increases in FPG are associated with decreases in CAC migration among healthy individuals with FPG levels below the threshold for hyperglycemia, and 2) to contrast effect of FPG on CAC migration toward a pro-angiogenic stimulus (vascular endothelial growth factor; VEGF) with effect on intrinsic cell migratory capacity (i.e., random migration with no stimulus). METHODS 28 men and women ranging from 20-57 years of age and free of cardiovascular disease participated in a pilot study, involving a fasting blood draw for FPG and isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CAC migration toward VEGF and random cell migration (control) were assessed in vitro. VEGF-induced migration that was normalized to control migration, representing the VEGF-response component of chemotaxis independent of motility, was calculated to determine whether any impairment in migration to VEGF was due to lower specific response to VEGF or to lower non-specific migratory capacity. RESULTS Increased levels of FPG were associated in a dose-response fashion with a significantly lower random migration under control conditions (CTRL: r= -.408, p=.031), no differences in migration to VEGF (r= -.039, p=.842) and a borderline association with VEGF-induced migration normalized to control migration (VEGF/CTRL: r=.349, p=.069). The relationship between FPG and random migration under control conditions remained significant when controlling for gender and body mass index (p's<.05), and became borderline significant when controlling for age (p=.062). CONCLUSIONS Among healthy individuals, higher fasting glucose levels, despite falling below the diabetic range, are associated with decreased random CAC migration. These findings suggest a need for further studies investigating the effects of lifestyle or dietary interventions on glucose regulation and CAC function.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting after general anesthesia for oral and maxillofacial surgery

Background Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the most common postoperative complications. Despite this, few papers have reported the incidence and independent risk factors associated with PONV in the context of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS). Therefore, we sought to determine the incidence of PONV, as well as to identify risk factors for the condition in patients who had undergone OMFS under general anesthesia. Methods A total of 372 patients' charts were reviewed, and the following potential risk factors for PONV were analyzed: age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, history of PONV and/or motion sickness, duration of anesthesia, amount of blood loss, nasogastric tube insertion and retention and postoperative opioid used. Univariate analysis was performed, and variables with a P-value less than 0.1 were entered into a multiple logistic regression analysis, wherein P-values < 0.05 were considered significant. Results The overall incidence of PONV was 25.26%. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, the following variables were independent predictors of PONV: age < 30 years, history of PONV and/or motion sickness, and anesthesia duration > 4 h. Furthermore, the number of risk factors was proportional to the incidence of PONV. Conclusions The incidence of PONV in patients who have undergone OMFS varies from center to center depending on patient characteristics, as well as on anesthetic and surgical practice. Identifying the independent risk factors for PONV will allow physicians to optimize prophylactic, antiemetic regimens.
Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Features in Fellow Eyes of Patients with Idiopathic Macular Hole

Purpose To describe the vitreomacular interface and foveal structural changes in fellow eyes of patients with idiopathic macular holes using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods Retrospective analysis of consecutive medical records and SD-OCT images of the fellow eyes of patients with macular hole was done. Changes of the vitreoretinal interface and foveal structures on SD-OCT scan of the 101 fellow eyes of 101 subjects with full-thickness macular hole were studied and compared with 101 eyes of 101 age-matched healthy subjects. Results Sixty-four patients (57.65%) were female. Mean age at presentation was 60.44 ± 12.17 years. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in eyes with macular hole was 0.86 logMAR units and in fellow eyes was 0.41 logMAR units. Seven eyes had macular hole in the fellow eye at the time of presentation. The majority of the fellow eyes (87/101, 78.37%) were phakic. The average base diameter of macular hole was 1105 ± 451.63 μm. Incidence of vitreomacular traction, epiretinal membrane, lamellar hole, and inner foveal split was more common (<0.05) in fellow eyes in comparison to healthy eyes. In contrast, posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and perifoveal PVD was more common in age-matched control eyes. There was no statistically significant correlation between foveal abnormalities of fellow eyes with base diameter of eyes with macular hole, BCVA, and duration of symptoms. Conclusions Fellow eyes of patients with idiopathic macular hole have a high frequency of abnormal vitreoretinal interface and foveal abnormalities, which predisposes to formation of macular hole.
Rescue of chromosomal T-antigen sequences onto extrachromosomally replicating, defective simian virus 40 DNA by homologous recombination

Recombination between chromosomal and extrachromosomal DNA sequences was analyzed by investigation of the recombinational rescue of a 1,018-base-pair (bp) segment of the T-antigen gene of simian virus 40 from the chromosome of monkey COS cells to two different, extrachromosomally replicating, simian virus 40 DNA molecules lacking this 1,018-bp sequence. The ratio of rescued to unrecombined virus was as high as 10(-3). The rescued molecules, detected optimally 5 to 9 days after transfection of COS cells, had completely recovered the 1,018-bp DNA segment from the chromosome. The recombination event is proposed to occur either by double reciprocal recombination or by gene conversion between the chromosomal T-antigen gene and the extrachromosomal molecules missing the 1,018-bp sequence.
Changes in Total Peripheral Resistance in Endotoxin Shock.∗

Summary A series of experiments has been carried out on dogs to determine total peripheral resistance changes in endotoxin shock. Animals were perfused with homologous heparinized blood at controlled and measured cardiac inflows. Results suggest that the onset and course of irreversible shock are characterized by a progressive fall in total peripheral resistance. The mechanism of the decline in resistance has been suggested by earlier studies from this laboratory.
Treponemes Detected in Digital Dermatitis Lesions in Brazilian Dairy Cattle and Possible Host Reservoirs of Infection

ABSTRACT The main pathogenic treponemes causing bovine digital dermatitis were identified from 17 infected herds in southern Brazil for the first time in this study using PCR. We did not find a relationship between treponeme phylogroup composition and clinical classification. Treponema phagedenis was present in all lesions. Rumen fluid was implicated as a reservoir location for these pathogens.
Improved Style Transfer by Respecting Inter-layer Correlations

A popular series of style transfer methods apply a style to a content image by controlling mean and covariance of values in early layers of a feature stack. This is insufficient for transferring styles that have strong structure across spatial scales like, e.g., textures where dots lie on long curves. This paper demonstrates that controlling inter-layer correlations yields visible improvements in style transfer methods. We achieve this control by computing cross-layer, rather than within-layer, gram matrices. We find that (a) cross-layer gram matrices are sufficient to control within-layer statistics. Inter-layer correlations improves style transfer and texture synthesis. The paper shows numerous examples on "hard" real style transfer problems (e.g. long scale and hierarchical patterns); (b) a fast approximate style transfer method can control cross-layer gram matrices; (c) we demonstrate that multiplicative, rather than additive style and content loss, results in very good style transfer. Multiplicative loss produces a visible emphasis on boundaries, and means that one hyper-parameter can be eliminated.
Properties of gas and char from microwave pyrolysis of pine sawdust

Pine sawdust pyrolysis was carried out respectively using microwave and conventional electrical heating at different temperatures in order to understand the properties of pyrolytic products from microwave pyrolysis of biomass. Less char material was obtained by microwave pyrolysis compared to conventional heating at the same temperature. While comparing the components of the pyrolytic gases, it was revealed that the microwave pyrolysis gas usually had higher H2 and CO contents and lower CH4 and CO2 contents than those obtained by conventional pyrolysis at the same temperature. The texture analysis results of the microwave pyrolysis chars showed that the chars would melt and the pores would shrink at high temperatures, and hence, the specific surface areas of the chars decreased with increasing temperature. Similarly, the reactivity of the char was remarkably reduced when the microwave pyrolysis temperature exceeded 600°C.
Macrophages Contribute to Cellular But Not Humoral Mechanisms of Acute Rejection in Rat Renal Allografts

Background Cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage have been implicated as effectors in acute allograft rejection based on short-term depletion studies. However, the therapeutic potential of targeting monocyte/macrophages in acute rejection is unknown. We investigated the potential of a c-fms kinase inhibitor (fms-I) in acute renal allograft rejection. Methods Lewis rats underwent bilateral nephrectomy and received an orthotopic Dark Agouti renal allograft. Recipients received fms-I or vehicle from the time of transplantation until being killed on day 5. Results Vehicle-treated rats developed severe allograft rejection with massive macrophage and T-cell infiltration. In contrast, fms-I substantially inhibited renal allograft dysfunction and structural damage with abrogation of macrophage and dendritic cell infiltration but had only a minor effect on the T-cell infiltrate. However, fms-I suppressed T-cell activation within the allograft, whereas systemic T- and B-cell activation was not affected. In a longer-term study to assess therapeutic potential, fms-I–treated rats developed severe antibody-mediated rejection on day 8 after transplantation. These transplants exhibited features of antibody-mediated rejection including capillaritis with thrombosis, acute tubular injury, IgG and C4d deposition, and neutrophil infiltration and activation. Interestingly, T-cell activation within these rejecting allografts remained suppressed, indicating separation of T-cell and antibody-mediated rejection. Conclusion This study demonstrates the ability of c-fms kinase blockade to selectively deplete monocyte/macrophages in acute allograft rejection, although this did not result in significant prolongation of allograft survival. Furthermore, we identify contrasting roles for macrophages in cellular and humoral mechanisms of acute renal allograft rejection.