Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling the deep penetration of outer belt electrons during the “Halloween” magnetic storm in 2003

Radiation belt electrons are a natural hazard to satellites and humans in space, and they can be quickly enhanced and redistributed in the magnetosphere. Specification and advanced warning of such a reconfiguration of the electron distribution will be valuable to spacecraft designers, operators, and astronauts. Here we report our modeling results and discuss a feasible forecast procedure on such an extreme event. During the geomagnetic storm of October/November 2003, the intensity peak of the outer radiation belt electron moved from its nominal position of L ≈ 4 to L ≈ 2.5 in a day. This event was correlated with extremely high solar wind speeds and enhanced ULF wave power through out the inner magnetosphere, both are known to be associated with enhanced radial transport of radiation belt electrons. A radial diffusion model is developed, using the measurements of relativistic electrons at geosynchronous orbit as the source population and making the radial diffusion coefficient a function of solar wind parameters and L. We found that the deep penetration of 4.5 MeV electrons down to L ≈ 2.5 measured by Polar High Energy Space Telescope can be modeled by the fast inward radial transport mechanism. The practical significance of this model is that the inputs are solely from measurements of current solar wind and energetic electrons at geosynchronous orbit. Thus the model can be operated in real time to forecast the multiple MeV electron fluxes inside geosynchronous orbit and down to L ≈ 2.5 in such an extreme storm event.
A comparison of Webbased and facetoface Functional Measurement experiments

Information Integration Theory (IIT) is concerned with how people combine information into an overall judgment. A method is hereby presented to perform Functional Measurement (FM) experiments, the methodological counterpart of IIT, on the Web. In a comparison of Web-based FM experiments, face-to-face experiments, and computer-based experiments in the lab it is found that the computer-based method is less sensitive to experimental manipulations. However, different integration rules can be distinguished. The inability to monitor motivation in the unproctored setting can partly explain this effect. Consequently it is argued that Web-based experiments enable the researcher to test larger groups which enable more in-depth analysis of individual differences using single subjects analyses and clustering methods.
Probabilistic estimates of drought impacts on agricultural production

Increases in the severity and frequency of drought in a warming climate may negatively impact agricultural production and food security. Unlike previous studies that have estimated agricultural impacts of climate condition using single‐crop yield distributions, we develop a multivariate probabilistic model that uses projected climatic conditions (e.g., precipitation amount or soil moisture) throughout a growing season to estimate the probability distribution of crop yields. We demonstrate the model by an analysis of the historical period 1980–2012, including the Millennium Drought in Australia (2001–2009). We find that precipitation and soil moisture deficit in dry growing seasons reduced the average annual yield of the five largest crops in Australia (wheat, broad beans, canola, lupine, and barley) by 25–45% relative to the wet growing seasons. Our model can thus produce region‐ and crop‐specific agricultural sensitivities to climate conditions and variability. Probabilistic estimates of yield may help decision‐makers in government and business to quantitatively assess the vulnerability of agriculture to climate variations. We develop a multivariate probabilistic model that uses precipitation to estimate the probability distribution of crop yields. The proposed model shows how the probability distribution of crop yield changes in response to droughts. During Australia's Millennium Drought precipitation and soil moisture deficit reduced the average annual yield of the five largest crops.
The alpha-actinin-3 r577x polymorphism and physical performance in soccer players.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the association between ACTN3 genotype (RR, RX, and XX) and physical performance of 138 adult, professional, U-20 and U-17 years Brazilian first-division soccer players. METHODS The following three parameters were investigated: first, speed, using a 30-meter sprint test with speed measured at 10 meters, 20 meters, and 30 meters; second, muscular strength, using counter-movement-jump and squat jump tests; and third, aerobic endurance using the Yo-Yo endurance test. The athletes were ranked in ascending order according to their performance in each test. After which they were divided into quartiles and clustered according to genotype and allele frequency. The χ2 was used to compare the genotype frequencies (RR, RX and RR) and allele frequencies (R and X) within and between the different quartiles of performance rating. RESULTS No significant differences were observed in genotypic or allelic frequencies between different performance ratings. The ACTN3 genotype was not associated to any of the physical performance parameters. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides no ervidence for an assocviation between alpha-actinin-3 R577x genotypes and differences in physical performance in adult, professional, U-20 and U-17 years Brazilian first-division soccer players.
Allergy in Children in Hand Versus Machine Dishwashing Antibiotics in Fetal and Early Life and Subsequent Childhood Asthma: Nationwide Population Based Study With Sibling Analysis

REVIEWER COMMENTS. This study was unique in its attempt examine the impact of bio-contaminant exposure in infancy with asthma outcomes in later childhood in children living in diverse suburban environments. However it has inconsistent results where in 1 cohort endotoxin was associated with increased odds of current asthma at 6 years of age, whereas in another cohort, it was associated with decreased odds of doctor-diagnosed asthma ever at 10 years of age. This inconsistency could be related to several factors. The PIAMA cohort dust samples were taken only from children of atopic mothers. In addition, the dust samples were only collected at 1 time-point in infancy, although it is acknowledged that resources can limit how often samples can be ascertained. Variations in timing and dose of exposure can account for these differences, but the concept of combining data from multiple cohorts is desirable.
The Political, Economic, and Social Aspects of Katrina

In this paper, we examine the resiliency of community recovery after a natural disaster. We argue that a resilient recovery requires robust economic/financial institutions, political/legal institutions, and social/cultural institutions. We explore how politically and privately created disaster preconditions and responses have contributed to or undermined institutional robustness in the context of the Gulf Coast's recovery after Hurricane Katrina. We find that where postdisaster resiliency has been observed, private-sector responses contributing to the health of these institutional arenas are largely responsible. Where postdisaster fragility and slowness has been observed, public-sector responses contributing to the frailty of these institutional arenas are largely the cause. In other words, we engage in a comparative institutional analysis of civil society, entrepreneurial commercial society, and government agencies and political actors in the wake of a natural disaster.
Microtia grade as an indicator of middle ear development in aural atresia.

OBJECTIVE To correlate the appearance of the external ear with the development of the middle ear in patients with congenital aural atresia. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of patients with congenital aural atresia. Obtain the microtia grades assigned to affected ears and correlate them with atresia scores that describe the degree of the middle ear malformation. SETTING University of Texas-Houston Otolaryngology Clinic (1988 to 1992). PATIENTS A total of 199 ears with congenital microtia and aural atresia and 25 ears with canal stenosis without microtia were identified, all of which had been previously evaluated by high-resolution computed tomography of the temporal bone, and then assigned an atresia score. Patients with Treacher Collins syndrome were not included in our study. RESULTS The average atresia score in cases with grade I microtia was 8.5; grade II microtia, 7.2; and grade III microtia, 5.9. In cases with canal stenosis without microtia, the average atresia score was 8.3. CONCLUSION The better developed the external ear, the better developed the middle ear.
Dasatinib for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemias

Introduction: Dasatinib is a dual Abl/Src tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), which was developed to treat patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), who had failed or were intolerant to therapy with imatinib. Areas covered: In this article, we review preclinical and clinical studies with dasatinib for the therapy of Philadelphia (Ph)-positive leukemias. Expert opinion: Dasatinib is very effective in the setting of CML resistance or intolerance to imatinib, particularly in patients in chronic phase (CP). Dasatinib is also effective against most BCR-ABL1 mutations that arise during therapy with imatinib. Further studies have confirmed activity of dasatinib as a single-agent, and combined with chemotherapy, for the treatment of patients with Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+-ALL). More recently, randomized trials have demonstrated that dasatinib is superior to imatinib in the initial therapy of patients with CML, and the drug was approved by the FDA for this indication in 2011.
Short-Term Debt and Incentives for Risk-Taking

We challenge the view that short-term debt curbs moral hazard and analytically demonstrate that, in a world with financing frictions and fair debt pricing, short-term debt increases incentives for risk-taking. To do so, we develop a model in which firms are financed with equity and short-term debt and cannot freely optimize their default decision because of financing frictions. Using this model, we show that short-term debt can give rise to a "rollover trap," a scenario in which firms burn revenues and cash reserves to absorb severe rollover losses. In the rollover trap, shareholders find it optimal to increase asset risk in an attempt to improve interim debt repricing and prevent inefficient liquidation. These risk-taking incentives do not arise when debt maturity is sufficiently long.
Creating a Favorable Practice Environment for Nurses

Chronic nurse turnover and attendant personnel shortages threaten patient care. Inadequate pay and benefits are primary factors leading to nurses' job dissatisfaction and, subsequently, to turnover. However, recent meta-analyses suggest that a favorable practice setting can improve nurses' satisfaction and minimize turnover. The practice environment's potential to positively influence nurses' job satisfaction is analyzed in a large academic medical center. Nurse supervisors, job characteristics, management style, and service quality emphasis-not just money and benefits-surface as key factors associated with a positive practice milieu. Implications for raising nurses' job satisfaction, reducing turnover, and improving care delivery are discussed.
Usefulness of Spoligotyping in Molecular Epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis-Related Infections in South America

ABSTRACT Two hundred twenty-four Mycobacterium bovis isolates, mainly from South American countries, were typed by spoligotyping, and 41 different spoligotypes were identified. A total of 202 M. bovis isolates (90%) were grouped into 19 different clusters. The largest cluster contained 96 isolates (42.8%) on the basis of the most frequently observed spoligotype, spoligotype 34. Nineteen M. bovis isolates from humans in Argentina had spoligotypes and polymorphic GC-rich repetitive sequence (PGRS) types that represented the most common types found among isolates from cattle. All five isolates from Uruguay and three of the six isolates from Paraguay had spoligotypes that were also detected for isolates from Argentina. The spoligotypes of isolates from Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico and of some of the isolates from Paraguay could not be found in Argentina. A total of 154 M. bovis isolates were selected in order to compare the discriminative power of spoligotyping and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with direct repeat (DR) and PGRS probes. By spoligotyping, 31 different types were found, whileAluI-digested DR probe-associated RFLP analysis identified 42 types, and RFLP analysis with the PGRS probe also detected 42 types; these were partly independent of the DR types. By combining the results obtained by spoligotyping and by RFLP analysis with the DR and PGRS probes, 88 different types were obtained. Although the differentiation of M. bovis by spoligotyping was less discriminatory than differentiation by RFLP analysis with the DR and PGRS probes, spoligotyping is easier to perform and its results are easier to interpret. Therefore, for the purpose of typing of M. bovisisolates, spoligotyping could be performed first and the isolates could be grouped into clusters and then analyzed by RFLP analysis with the DR and PGRS probes.
Efficacy of various pyrethroid structures against a highly metabolically resistant isogenic strain of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from China.

BACKGROUND Resistance to pyrethroids and other types of insecticides in Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) has been documented in many countries. The isolation of specific resistance mechanisms in isogenic strains is an optimal approach to investigate cross-resistance pattern, and to validate resistance breaking pyrethroids. In this study an isogenic metabolic resistance CMR strain was successfully isolated from a field pyrethroid-resistant population of H. armigera. With this strain, cross-resistance among 19 pyrethroid insecticides with varying chemical structures was analysed. RESULTS Resistance to pyrethroids in the CMR strain was likely to be due to enhanced oxidative metabolism. The most significant cross-resistance in the CMR strain was between pyrethroids such as fenvalerate, tau-fluvalinate and flumethrin characterised by having both phenoxybenzyl and aromatic acid moieties. Substitution of the phenoxybenzyl group with a polyfluorobenzyl group, as in tefluthrin, benfluthrin and transfluthrin, overcame most of this resistance. CONCLUSION The findings in this study support the assertion that it is possible to find pyrethroids that are active against resistant populations. Such pyrethroids could be considered as possible partners or resistance breaking pyrethroids in a pyrethroid resistance management programme for H. armigera in China and in other Asian countries where the oxidative metabolism resistance is a dominant mechanism.
Cranial nerve enhancement on three-dimensional MRI in Miller Fisher syndrome

Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) is characterized by an acute onset of external ophthalmoplegia, cerebellar ataxia, and areflexia. Because MFS is often preceded by an episode of acute inflammatory symptoms and, in most cases, the neurologic symptoms recover after a certain period of time, the disease is regarded as a variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). [1] Although the involvement of peripheral nerves is evident in GBS, controversy still exists as to the localization of lesions in MFS. [2] Here we report two cases of MFS in which, using contrast-enhanced three-dimensional (3-D) MRI, the abducens and oculomotor nerves were enhanced by Gd-DTPA. The patient was a 26-year-old man with a history of transient diarrhea and sore throat 1 week before he complained of diplopia and unstable gait. On admission (the fifth day of illness), his external ocular movements were limited to all directions with the right abducens nerve being most severely affected. His gait was ataxic and his deep tendon reflexes …
Behavioral disorders and diabetes-related outcomes among Massachusetts Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

OBJECTIVE The study investigated whether Massachusetts beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid, or both programs who have behavioral disorders have higher rates of diabetes-related complications and hospitalizations. METHODS This was a retrospective study using merged Medicare and Medicaid claims data from Massachusetts in 2004 and 2005. The study included beneficiaries who had type 2 diabetes, who stayed in nursing homes for fewer than 90 days, and who were enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid (or both) for at least ten months during the study period. ICD-9-CM and Current Procedural Terminology codes were used to identify diabetes complications (eye complications, nephropathy, neuropathy, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, lower-limb amputations, and diabetes-related hospitalizations). The rates of adverse diabetes outcomes were compared across behavioral disorders as identified by ICD-9-CM diagnoses. While adjusting for case mix, multivariate logistic regressions were performed to compare the odds of adverse diabetes outcomes among people with mental or substance use disorders with those without these disorders. RESULTS A total of 106,174 individuals met inclusion criteria. Results from adjusted analysis showed a mixed picture of the relationships between behavioral disorders and adverse diabetes outcomes. Although substance use disorders were associated with higher odds of lower-limb amputations and diabetes-related hospitalizations, beneficiaries with schizophrenia or paranoid states had lower odds of adverse diabetes outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries with alcohol or drug use disorders had higher rates of adverse diabetes outcomes than other groups, whereas beneficiaries with mental disorders had lower rates of diabetes-related complications.
Virality over YouTube: an empirical analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek reasons for some videos going viral over YouTube (a type of social media platform). Design/methodology/approach – Using YouTube APIs (Application Programming Interface) and Webometrics analyst tool, the authors collected data on about 100 all-time-most-viewed YouTube videos and information about the users associated with the videos. The authors constructed and tested an empirical model to understand the relationship among users’ social and non-social capital (e.g. User Age, Gender, View Count, Subscriber, Join Date, Total Videos Posted), video characteristics (Post Date, Duration, and Video Category), external network capital (in-links and hit counts), and Virality (Likes, Dislikes, Favorite Count, View Count, and Comment Count). Partial least square and Webometric analysis was used to explore the association among the constructs. Findings – Among other findings, the results showed that popularity of the videos was not only the function of YouTube system per .
Brain abnormalities in early-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorder observed with statistical parametric mapping of structural magnetic resonance images.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess neuroanatomic abnormalities in children and adolescents with childhood-onset schizophrenia by using whole-brain voxel-based morphometric analyses. Previous volumetric studies of brain abnormalities in childhood-onset schizophrenia have revealed anomalies similar to those in subjects with adult-onset schizophrenia. Specifically, low cerebral volume, high ventricular volume, and thalamic, basal ganglia, callosal, and temporal lobe abnormalities have been observed in childhood-onset schizophrenia. Relatively few anatomical structures have been delineated and measured in this rare population, partly because of the labor involved in the slice-by-slice region definition required of conventional volumetric image analyses. METHOD The subjects were 10 normal children and adolescents and nine children and adolescents with early-onset schizophrenia (mean age at diagnosis, 11.0 years; range, 7-16 years). The authors conducted voxel-by-voxel and volumetric statistical analyses of high-resolution structural magnetic resonance images. RESULTS Statistical parametric maps of gray matter, white matter, and CSF differences between the groups revealed that the subjects with early-onset schizophrenia had larger ventricles, predominantly in the posterior horns of the lateral ventricles, and midcallosal, posterior cingulate, caudate, and thalamic abnormalities. Volumetric analyses of the lateral ventricles in native image data space confirmed significantly higher volume in posterior, but not anterior, regions. Randomization tests confirmed the overall statistical significance of the group differences and validity of the parametric maps. CONCLUSIONS These findings are generally consistent with the findings of other research groups, but localization of enlarged ventricles specific to the posterior region may be a new finding in the literature on childhood-onset schizophrenia.
Brain perfusion patterns in familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration

Objective: Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a clinically, genetically, and pathologically heterogeneous disorder. The aim of this study was to compare clinical features and perfusion patterns on SPECT of patients with familial FTLD–TAR DNA binding protein 43 kDa (TDP) and MAPT mutations. Methods: Patients were included if they had MAPT or GRN mutations, positive family history with pathologically proven FTLD in the patient or first-degree relative, or were part of FTD-MND families. All patients and 10 age- and gender-matched controls underwent measurement of brain perfusion using 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT. We used SPM8 to perform image processing and voxel-based group analyses (p < 0.001). Gender and age were included as nuisance variables in the design matrices. Results: Of the 29 patients with familial FTLD, 19 had familial FTLD-TDP (GRN mutations in 6), and 10 had MAPT mutations. At clinical presentation, familial FTLD-TDP patients were older at onset (p = 0.030) and had more memory deficits (p = 0.011), whereas patients with MAPT had more naming deficits (p < 0.001) and obsessive-compulsive behavior (p = 0.001). The between-groups SPECT analyses revealed significantly less perfusion in the right frontal lobe, precuneus, cuneus, and inferior parietal lobule in familial FTLD-TDP, whereas significantly less perfusion was found in the left temporal and inferior frontal gyri in MAPT. Post hoc analysis of familial FTLD-TDP with unknown genetic defect vs MAPT revealed less perfusion in the right frontal and parietal lobe. Conclusion: Familial FTLD-TDP shows relatively more posterior hypoperfusion, including the precuneus and inferior parietal lobule, possibly related to significant memory impairment. Patients with MAPT were characterized by impaired perfusion of the temporal regions and naming deficits.