Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global radiosonde balloon drift statistics

[1] The drift of radiosonde balloons during their ascent has generally been considered a negligible factor in applications involving radiosonde observations. However, several applications envisioned for observations from the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN) require estimates of balloon drift. This study presents a comprehensive global climatology of radiosonde balloon drift distance and ascent time, based on 2 years of data from 419 stations, with particular attention to GRUAN stations. Typical drift distances are a few kilometers in the lower troposphere, ∼5 km in the midtroposphere, ∼20 km in the upper troposphere, and ∼50 km in the lower stratosphere, although there is considerable variability due to variability in climatological winds. Drift distances tend to increase with height above the surface, be larger in midlatitudes than in the tropics, be larger in winter than in summer, and vary with wind (and consequent balloon drift) direction. Most estimates of elapsed time from balloon launch to various pressure levels, due to vertical balloon rise, have median values ranging from about 5 min at 850 hPa to about 1.7 h at 10 hPa, with ranges of about 20% of median values. Observed elapsed times exceed those estimated using assumed 5 or 6 m/s rise rates.
X-ray observations of INTEGRAL discovered cataclysmic variable IGR J17195−4100

We present the analysis of archival X-ray data obtained with the XMM–Newton and Suzaku for a new intermediate polar identified as a counterpart of an INTEGRAL discovered γ-ray source, IGR J17195−4100. We report a new period of 1053.7 ± 12.2 s in X-rays. A new binary orbital period of 3.52 +1.43 -0.80 h is strongly indicated in the power spectrum of the time series. An ephemeris of the new period proposed as the spin period of the system has also been obtained. The various peaks detected in the power spectrum suggest a probable disc-less accretion system. The soft X-rays (<3 keV) dominate the variability seen in the X-ray light curves. The spin modulation shows energy dependence suggesting the possibility of a variable partial covering accretion column. The averaged spectral data obtained with XMM–Newton European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) cameras show a multi-temperature spectrum with a soft excess. The latter can be attributed to the varying coverage of accretion curtains.
Non-Gaussianities in N-flation

We compute non-Gaussianities in -flation, a string motivated model of assisted inflation with quadratic, separable potentials and masses given by the Marčenko–Pastur distribution. After estimating parameters characterizing the bispectrum and trispectrum in the horizon crossing approximation, we focus on the non-linearity parameter fNL, a measure of the bispectrum; we compute its magnitude for narrow and broad spreads of masses, including the evolution of modes after horizon crossing. We identify additional contributions due to the said evolution and show that they are suppressed as long as the fields are evolving slowly. This renders -flation indistinguishable from simple single-field models in this regime. Larger non-Gaussianities are expected to arise for fields that start to evolve faster, and we suggest an analytic technique for estimating their contribution. However, such fast roll during inflation is not expected in -flation, leaving (p)re-heating as the main additional candidate for generating non-Gaussianities.
Quantifying Trade-Offs Among Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity, and Agricultural Returns in an Agriculturally Dominated Landscape Under Future Land‑Management Scenarios

Author(s): Underwood, Emma C. ; Hutchinson, Rachel A. ; Viers, Joshua H. ; Kelsey, T. Rodd; Distler, Trisha; Marty, Jaymee | Abstract: Change in land use in agriculturally dominated areas is often assumed to provide positive benefits for land-owners and financial agricultural returns at the expense of biodiversity and other ecosystem services. For an agriculturally dominated area in the Central Valley of California we quantify the trade-offs among ecosystem services, biodiversity, and the financial returns from agricultural lands. We do this by evaluating three different landscape management scenarios projected to 2050 compared to the current baseline: habitat restoration, urbanization, and enhanced agriculture. The restoration scenario benefited carbon storage services and increased landscape suitability for birds, and also decreased ecosystem disservices (nitrous oxide emissions, nitrogen leaching), although there was a trade-off in slightly lower financial agricultural returns. Under the urbanization scenario, carbon storage, suitability for birds, and agricultural returns were negatively affected. A scenario which enhanced agriculture, tailored to the needs of a key species of conservation concern (Swainson’s Hawk, Buteo swainsoni), presented the most potential for trade-offs. This scenario benefitted carbon storage and increased landscape suitability for the Swainson's Hawk as well as 15 other focal bird species. However, this scenario increased ecosystem disservices. These spatially explicit results, generated at a scale relevant to land management decision-makers in the Central Valley, provide valuable insight into managing for multiple benefits in the landscape and an approach for assessing future land-management decisions.
CarSenToGram: geovisual text analytics for exploring spatiotemporal variation in public discourse on Twitter

ABSTRACT Assessing the impact of events on the evolution of online public discourse is challenging due to the lack of data prior to the event and appropriate methodologies for capturing the progression of tenor of public discourse, both in terms of their tone and topic. In this article, we introduce a geovisual analytics framework, CarSenToGram, which integrates topic modeling and sentiment analysis with cartograms to identify the changing dynamics of public discourse on a particular topic across space and time. The main novelty of CarSenToGram is coupling comprehensible spatiotemporal overviews of the overall distribution, topical and sentiment patterns with increasing levels of information supported by zoom and filter, and details-on-demand interactions. To demonstrate the utility of CarSenToGram, in this article, we analyze tweets related to immigration the month before and after the 27 January 2017 travel ban in order to reveal insights into one of the defining moments of President Trump’s first year in office. Not only do we find that the travel ban influenced online public discourse and sentiment on immigration, but it also highlighted important partisan divisions within the US.
Gastrointestinal Complications from Antiplatelet Therapy in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients in Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital

Background & Aims: Antiplatelets drugs are widely used and may cause GI complications. This study was aimed at assessing the incidence and the risk factors of antiplatelet-induced gastrointestinal (GI) complication. Methods: Patients ≥ 18 years old with newly diagnosed coronary artery disease who were admitted for coronary angiography at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand, between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012 were included for study. The GI complications were classified as the CSULGIE composite
Web-Based Tailored Intervention to Support Optimal Medication Adherence Among Kidney Transplant Recipients: Pilot Parallel-Group Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Optimal immunosuppressive medication adherence is essential to graft survival. Transplant-TAVIE is a Web-based tailored intervention developed to promote this adherence. Objective The objective of our study was to evaluate the Transplant-TAVIE intervention’s acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy. Methods In a pilot, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial, we randomly assigned a convenience sample of 70 kidney transplant patients on immunosuppressive medication either to an experimental group (Transplant-TAVIE) or to a control group (existing websites). Kidney transplant recipients had to be older than 18 years, be taking immunosuppressant medication, and have access to the internet to participate in this study. Transplant-TAVIE was composed of three interactive Web-based sessions hosted by a virtual nurse. We documented user appreciation of and exposure to the intervention. Furthermore, we assessed medication adherence, medication self-efficacy, intake-related skills, and medication side effects at baseline and 3 and 6 months later. Analyses of variance were used to assess intergroup differences over time. Results After baseline questionnaire completion, participants were randomly assigned either to Transplant-TAVIE (n=35) or to the websites (n=35) group. All participants had received their kidney graft <1 year to 32 years earlier (mean 6.8 years). Of the experimental group, 54% (19/35) completed the sessions of Transplant-TAVIE. Users found the intervention to be acceptable—33% were extremely satisfied (6/18), 39% were very satisfied (7/18), and 28% were satisfied (5/18). At baseline and over time, both experimental and control groups reported high medication adherence, high medication self-efficacy, and frequent use of skills related to medication intake. No intergroup differences emerged over time. Conclusions The results of this study support the feasibility and acceptability of Transplant-TAVIE. It could constitute an accessible adjunct in support of existing specialized services.
ANALYSIS OF SELECTED PHYSIOLOGICAL FITNESS PROFILE OF FOOTBALL REFEREES IN CROSS RIVER AND AKWA IBOM STATES, NIGERIA

The purpose of this study was to compare selected p hysiological fitness profile of football referees i n Cross River and Akwa Ibom States. Physiological fitness p rofile compared were resting heart rate, resting sy stolic and diastolic blood pressures and estimated maximum oxygen uptake (max vo 2), as a measure of cardiovascular endurance. Standardized equipment an d procedures were employed in the tests. To achieve the objectives of the study, two research hypothese s were raised to serve as a guide to the study. The quasiexperimental research design was adopted for the st udy. A total of twenty (20) subjects were selected using stratify random sampling technique. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics were the mea n, r nge and standard deviation while the inferenti al statistic was the independent “t” test employed to test for significant difference between the mean sc ores of subjects from the two states. The level of signific an e was set at . 05 with 18 degree of freedom. Find ings of the study revealed that referees from Cross River a nd Akwa Ibom states were similar in resting heart r te, resting systolic and diastolic pressures. Based on these findings of the study, appropriate conclusion s a d recommendations were made.
Efficiency of Recognition Methods for Single Sample per Person Based Face Recognition

Even for the present-day computer technology, the biometric recognition of human face is a difficult task and continually evolving concept in the area of biometric recognition. The area of face recognition is well-described today in many papers and books, e.g. (Delac et al., 2008), (Li & Jain, 2005), (Oravec et al., 2010). The idea that two-dimensional still-image face recognition in controlled environment is already a solved task is generally accepted and several benchmarks evaluating recognition results were done in this area (e.g. Face Recognition Vendor Tests, FRVT 2000, 2002, 2006, http://www.frvt.org/). Nevertheless, many tasks have to be solved, such as recognition in unconstrained environment, recognition of non-frontal images, single sample per person problem, etc. This chapter deals with single sample per person face recognition (also called one sample per person problem). This topic is related to small sample size problem in pattern recognition. Although there are also advantages of single sample – fast and easy creation of a face database and modest requirements for storage, face recognition methods usually fail to work if only one training sample per person is available. In this chapter, we concentrate on the following items: • Mapping the state-of-the-art of single sample face recognition approaches after year 2006 (the period till 2006 is covered by the detailed survey (Tan et al., 2006)). • Generating new face patterns in order to enlarge the database containing single samples per subject only. Such approaches can include modifications of original face samples using e.g. noise, mean filtering, suitable image transform (forward transform, then neglecting some coefficients and image reconstruction by inverse transform), or generating synthetic samples by ASM (active shape method) and AAM (active appearance method). • Comparing recognition efficiency using single and multiple samples per subject. We illustrate the influence of number of training samples per subject to recognition efficiency for selected methods. We use PCA (principal component analysis), MLP (multilayer perceptron), RBF (radial basis function) network, kernel methods and LBP (local binary patterns). We compare results using single and multiple training samples per person for images taken from FERET database. For our experiments, we selected large image set from FERET database.
Novel in Vitro Modification of Bone for an Allograft with Improved Toughness Osteoconductivity

Abstract : The purpose of the project is to investigate a potential application of ALT-711 (4,5-Dimethyl-3-(2-oxo-2-phenylethyl)-thiazolium chloride) in improving both mechanical and biological quality of femoral cortical bone for the purpose of providing better allograft materials via chemically breaking down AGEs (Advanced Glycation Endproducts) in the bone matrix. AGEs are naturally accumulated with age in connective tissues and believed to have adverse effects on the biological and mechanical functions. Thus allografts sourced from bones with a high level of AGEs are likely to have a higher risk of nonunion and premature failure in the hosts. The current scope, as a proof of concept study, is to measure the effectiveness of ALT-711 on both cellular and mechanical characteristics of bones with and without prior glycation treatment (an artificial method to increase AGEs). Effects of ALT-711 on osteogenic expression of stem cells on the bone substrates, cell division, apoptosis and mineralization as well as the R-curve parameters including crack propagation, fracture toughness and critical crack length were measured. We found that the crosslink breaker ALT-711 can modify bone matrix, affect its fracture behavior and affect stem cell differentiation when used to treat allograft bone. However, these effects were not uniform enough that the proposed crosslink breaking method can be directly translated in to a protocol for enhancement of allograft performance. Further understanding of the complex interactions among donor age, sex and the AGE type would be necessary to develop more effective approaches to selectively remove the relevant AGEs from the tissue. Such understanding may also be key to understanding age related bone fragility and the sex disparity in fracture risk.
Cuba’s Road to Serfdom

The last decade of the 20th century was marked by a profound change in the structure of the international political system and with it the foreign policy priorities of the United States. Yet, one policy that has remained unchanged for close to 40 years has been the use of a unilateral embargo on Cuba with the presumed objective of provoking a change in the behavior of a dictatorial and repressive government. That policy has continued in light of the evidence that the efficacy of unilateral economic sanctions in effectuating political change is at best inconclusive. In fact, Kaempfer and Lowenberg (1988) illustrate how domestic politics influences the design and severity of the sanctions to account for the varying interests of different constituencies (see Seiglie 1997 for an application to the case of Cuba).
Propensity score prediction for electronic healthcare databases using super learner and high-dimensional propensity score methods

ABSTRACT The optimal learner for prediction modeling varies depending on the underlying data-generating distribution. Super Learner (SL) is a generic ensemble learning algorithm that uses cross-validation to select among a ‘library’ of candidate prediction models. While SL has been widely studied in a number of settings, it has not been thoroughly evaluated in large electronic healthcare databases that are common in pharmacoepidemiology and comparative effectiveness research. In this study, we applied and evaluated the performance of SL in its ability to predict the propensity score (PS), the conditional probability of treatment assignment given baseline covariates, using three electronic healthcare databases. We considered a library of algorithms that consisted of both nonparametric and parametric models. We also proposed a novel strategy for prediction modeling that combines SL with the high-dimensional propensity score (hdPS) variable selection algorithm. Predictive performance was assessed using three metrics: the negative log-likelihood, area under the curve (AUC), and time complexity. Results showed that the best individual algorithm, in terms of predictive performance, varied across datasets. The SL was able to adapt to the given dataset and optimize predictive performance relative to any individual learner. Combining the SL with the hdPS was the most consistent prediction method and may be promising for PS estimation and prediction modeling in electronic healthcare databases.
INTRA AND INTER SPECIFIC PROFILING OF PAKISTANI QUERCUS SPECIES GROWING IN THE HILLY AREAS OF DISTRICT DIR KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

The intra and inter genetic diversity among 20 genotypes of Pakistani Quercus species viz., ten genotypes of Q. incana, eight Q. baloot and two Q. dilatata were analyzed using morphological characterization and proteomic profiling. A total of 14 morphological traits were scored for estimation of genetic diversity through descriptive statistics, traits similarity index and cluster plotting. Similarly, seven loci (bands) were detected in the collected germplasm of Quercus sp. Intra species locus contribution to genetic diversity (LCGD) was 42.9% in Q. baloot and 14.2% in Q. incana. Similarly, inter species LCGD was 71.43% in the collected germplasm. Out of seven loci, locus-1, 5 and 6 showed polymorphic in Q. baloot and locus 6 in Q. incana. Importantly, locus 3 and 4 was monomorphic in all collected lines and marked as generic specific locus for Quercus (sp.). SDS-PAGE profiling based on one-way cluster plotting successfully resolved the three species into separate clusters. The present data reflect that though the Quercus sp. showing intra and Inter species genetic diversity, but maintained species specific identity in the area regardless of environmental fluctuation.
A Modern Behavioral Treatment to Address Fetishism and Associated Functional Impairment

The clinical research and treatment options for sexual paraphilias are scant and have generally been limited to psychodynamic and early behavioral approaches. This article highlights the application of two existing evidence-based modern behavioral interventions, specifically behavioral activation and sensate focused therapy, to treat foot fetishism/sexual impulses and co-occurring mood/anxiety symptoms in a 57-year-old male Vietnam War veteran. This brief 6-week treatment addressed the patient’s complicating psychosocial factors and medical conditions, and focused on targeting behavioral avoidance symptoms associated with fetishism and depression (e.g., increasing socially and sexually appropriate and positive reinforcing behaviors in his environment). The patient no longer met diagnostic criteria for fetishism and endorsed significant reductions in depressed mood, anxiety, and stress at post-treatment and 1-month follow-up. This case illustrated how current behavioral treatments may be used to successfully treat patients with rare symptom presentations who may otherwise be neglected within a medical system.
Musculoskeletal Pathologies in Children with Haemophilia Evaluated using a Standardised Physical Joint Scoring System to Assess Disability

Repeated bleeding into the joints leads to the development of chronic and progressive joint disease in 90% of people with severe haemophilia. Owing to recurrent haemarthroses, musculoskeletal outcome remains an important hallmark of treatment efficacy in haemophilia. Physical joint assessment is commonly used to measure structural and functional joint damage. With the development and introduction of prophylaxis, the most widely used instruments for the assessment of haemophilic arthropathy were found to lack sensitivity to detect the earliest signs of joint disease. To address these inadequacies, a new international consensus tool, the Haemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS), was developed. The HJHS appears to be a sensitive, reliable and valid tool. However, the HJHS needs further evaluation in various patient populations to assess its applicability and usefulness.
EC Radiative Transport and Losses in DEMO-like High-temperature Plasmas

Electron cyclotron (EC) wave power losses tend to play a significant role in the local electron power balance of a tokamak fusion reactor for electron temperatures above 35 keV as considered for steady-state operation. Using the RAYTEC code a comparative study of EC wave and bremsstrahlung contributions to the local and total power balance in relation to the α -particle heating power was carried out for a range of plasma conditions, wall reflection coefficients of the EC waves, and magnetic fields.
Eigenstate entanglement between quantum chaotic subsystems: Universal transitions and power laws in the entanglement spectrum

We derive universal entanglement entropy and Schmidt eigenvalue behaviors for the eigenstates of two quantum chaotic systems coupled with a weak interaction. The progression from a lack of entanglement in the noninteracting limit to the entanglement expected of fully randomized states in the opposite limit is governed by the single scaling transition parameter, $\Lambda$. The behaviors apply equally well to few- and many-body systems, e.g.\ interacting particles in quantum dots, spin chains, coupled quantum maps, and Floquet systems as long as their subsystems are quantum chaotic, and not localized in some manner. To calculate the generalized moments of the Schmidt eigenvalues in the perturbative regime, a regularized theory is applied, whose leading order behaviors depend on $\sqrt{\Lambda}$. The marginal case of the $1/2$ moment, which is related to the distance to closest maximally entangled state, is an exception having a $\sqrt{\Lambda}\ln \Lambda$ leading order and a logarithmic dependence on subsystem size. A recursive embedding of the regularized perturbation theory gives a simple exponential behavior for the von Neumann entropy and the Havrda-Charv{\' a}t-Tsallis entropies for increasing interaction strength, demonstrating a universal transition to nearly maximal entanglement. Moreover, the full probability densities of the Schmidt eigenvalues, i.e.\ the entanglement spectrum, show a transition from power laws and L\'evy distribution in the weakly interacting regime to random matrix results for the strongly interacting regime. The predicted behaviors are tested on a pair of weakly interacting kicked rotors, which follow the universal behaviors extremely well.