Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GEOLOGICAL LINEAMENT INTERPRETATION USING THE OBJECT-BASED IMAGE ANALYSIS APPROACH : RESULTS OF SEMI-AUTOMATED ANALYSES VERSUS VISUAL INTERPRETATION

Structural interpretation is an essential part of a mineral exploration project because the genesis of many mineralization types is controlled by bedrock structures. The objective of this study was to detect weakness and deformation zones of bedrock on a regional scale from remotely sensed magnetic and digital elevation datasets. Firstly, Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) is introduced in the detection of local elongated minima from aeromagnetic data, the most commonly used data in regional structural interpretation in Finland. Secondly, visual lineament interpretation results of the magnetic data and high-resolution digital elevation model acquired by laser scanning are presented from the Enontekiö study area in NW Finland. Finally, the lineament detection processes are reviewed against the literature. An OBIA algorithm called the Object-Based Lineament Detection (OBLD) implemented in eCognition software was developed with Cognitive Network Language (CNL) to delineate continuous tilt derivative (TDR) minima for pattern recognition of the weakness zones from aeromagnetic data. The success of the method relies on line extraction raster filtering. However, the algorithm is not quite as sensitive in finding local minima of TDR as curvature analysis (Phillips et al. 2007) for detecting edges from potential field data. The results of this paper also imply that visual interpretation cannot currently be excluded or replaced by semi-automated image processing techniques in the lineament detection of gridded geophysical or topographic data. Visual interpretation and pattern recognition-based lineament detection methods should be considered complementary rather than exclusive, although pattern recognition methods provide a more objective first-pass interpretation of lineaments compared to visual techniques. Further work in lineament detection in mineral exploration should focus on applying both new and established pattern recognition methods, gearing towards the use of a variety of geophysical and remotely sensed data sources, and the representation of these results as an integrated lineament interpretation approach for evaluation and interpretation by structural geologists.
Phosphorylation Regulates KSR1 Stability, ERK Activation, and Cell Proliferation*

Kinase suppressor of Ras (KSR) is a molecular scaffold that interacts with the components of the Raf/MEK/ERK kinase cascade and positively regulates ERK signaling. Phosphorylation of KSR1, particularly at Ser392, is a critical regulator of KSR1 subcellular localization and ERK activation. We examined the role of phosphorylation of both Ser392 and Thr274 in regulating ERK activation and cell proliferation. We hypothesized that KSR1 phosphorylation is involved in generating signaling specificity through the Raf/MEK/ERK kinase cascade in response to stimulation by different growth factors. In fibroblasts, platelet-derived growth factor stimulation induces sustained ERK activation and promotes S-phase entry. Treatment with epidermal growth factor induces transient ERK activation but fails to drive cells into S phase. Mutation of Ser392 and Thr274 (KSR1.TVSA) promotes sustained ERK activation and cell cycle progression with either platelet-derived growth factor or epidermal growth factor treatment. KSR1–/– mouse embryo fibroblasts expressing KSR1.TVSA proliferate two times faster and grow to a higher density than cells expressing the same level of wild-type KSR1. In addition, KSR1.TVSA is more stable than wild-type KSR1. These data demonstrate that phosphorylation and stability of the molecular scaffold KSR1 are critical regulators of growth factor-specific responses that promote cell proliferation.
Effects of Estrogen on Platelet Reactivity After Transient Forebrain Ischemia in Rats

Estrogen’s prothrombotic effects are of increasing concern, particularly in stroke risk and recovery. Using an ischemic rodent model, the authors sought to determine (a) if estrogen replacement increases postischemic platelet reactivity, (b) if changes in estrogen status alter intraplatelet endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) synthesis, and (c) if estrogen-mediated effects on platelets alter cerebral blood flow during reperfusion. Intact (I), ovariectomized (OVX), and OVX + 17 β-estradiol (E50) rats were subjected to 30 min of forebrain ischemia and 60 min of reperfusion. Using the platelet activation marker P-selectin, postischemic platelet reactivity was quantified by flow cytometry. In a separate cohort (I, OVX, E50), the authors quantified platelet eNOS by Western blot. Another cohort (OVX, E50) was subjected to ischemia/reperfusion, and cerebral blood flow was determined using the iodoantipyrine technique. Collagen-stimulated platelet P-selectin expression was increased in the OVX rats at 60 min of reperfusion, and this effect was reversed by estrogen treatment. No differences in platelet eNOS expression were detected among groups. Cerebral blood flow at 60 min reperfusion was comparable between the OVX and the E50 rats. The authors conclude that during reper-fusion, estrogen deficiency increases postischemic platelet sensitivity to stimuli in estrogen-deficient rats. Estrogen treatment mitigates effects of estrogen loss on platelets, but this early effect is apparently not caused by intraplatelet eNOS depression. Neither estrogen deficiency nor estrogen treatment changes early postischemic regional brain blood flow. In this rodent global cerebral ischemic model, physiologic doses of estrogen are not deleterious to platelet reactivity and may initially reduce postischemic platelet reactivity.
Data-driven modeling of isotropic haptic textures using frequency-decomposed neural networks

This paper presents a new approach to data-driven modeling of isotropic haptic textures using frequency-decomposed neural networks from the contact acceleration data that are captured when a stylus is scanned on a textured surface with diverse scanning velocities and normal forces. We first describe a motorized texture scanner that was developed for accurate and easy data collection under a wide variety of conditions. We then propose two neural network models with different topologies: a unified model that feeds all of acceleration data, scanning velocity, and normal force as input variables to a single large neural network and a decomposed model that consists of a number of smaller neural networks each of which is trained with the acceleration data for a pair of scanning velocity and normal force. An experiment with real samples showed that the unified model has better cross-validation ability in terms of spectral rms errors and its performance is comparable to the best available in the literature. We also present some preliminary results of anisotropic texture modeling achieved by extending the unified model.
Levonorgestrel-releasing (20 microgram/day) intrauterine systems (Mirena) compared with other methods of reversible contraceptives.

OBJECTIVE To assess the relative contraceptive effectiveness, tolerability and acceptability of the levonorgestrel-releasing (20 microg per day) intrauterine system (LNG-20) compared with reversible contraceptive methods in women of reproductive age. DESIGN A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. IDENTIFICATION Studies were identified through seven databases, and by contacting investigators and organisations working in the contraceptive field. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Unplanned pregnancy and continuation of contraceptive method. RESULTS Five of the seven randomised controlled trials which met the inclusion criteria were included in the meta-analyses; four were comparisons of the LNG-20 intrauterine system with nonhormonal intrauterine devices. LNG-20 intrauterine systems were compared with intrauterine devices divided into two categories, those > 250 mm3 (Copper T 380 Ag and Copper T 380A intrauterine devices) and those < or = 250 mm3 (Nova-T, Copper T 220C and Copper 200 intrauterine devices). Pregnancy rates for the LNG-20 intrauterine system users were significantly less likely to become pregnant compared with users of intrauterine devices < or = 250 mm3, and significantly less likely to have an ectopic pregnancy. LNG-20 intrauterine system users were more likely to experience amenorrhoea and device expulsion than women using intrauterine devices > 250 mm3. LNG-20 intrauterine system users were significantly more likely than all the intrauterine device users to discontinue because of hormonal side effects and amenorrhoea. When the LNG-20 intrauterine system was compared with Norplant-2, the LNG-20 users were significantly more likely to experience oligo-amenorrhoea, but significantly less likely to experience prolonged bleeding and spotting. CONCLUSIONS The effectiveness of the LNG-20 intrauterine system was similar to or better than other contraceptive methods with which it was compared. Amenorrhoea was the main reason for the discontinuation of the LNG-20 intrauterine system, usually unnecessarily, since this end-organ suppression of bleeding is benign, associated with normal oestrogen levels. Women choosing this method should be informed of potential amenorrhoea when having pre-contraceptive counselling and that absent bleeding may be viewed as a positive outcome.
When is a Weight not Illusory?

Weight illusions occur whenever some aspect of an object—such as its size, material or colour—arouses the expectation that its weight will be heavier or lighter than it actually is. The direction of the illusion normally contrasts with the expected weight. When objects are hidden from sight and lifted by strings they can provide no misleading cues, and a correct weight-expectation should be achieved after one or two trials. When a visible object has the same physical and apparent weight as a hidden object, it can be defined as non-illusory. Weighted tins and polystyrene blocks of various sizes were compared with hidden weights. Tins were found to be non-illusory when their density was about 1.7, and polystyrene blocks when their density was about 0.14. Weight illusions may be due to a central scaling process which enables a wide range of weights to be estimated, different ranges being selected according to the expected value of the weight. If the selected range is inappropriate an illusion occurs. Changes in expected value could also allow for the operation of “weight-constancy” during changes in proprioceptive stimulation.
Growth Options, Macroeconomic Conditions and the Cross-Section of Credit Risk

This paper develops a structural equilibrium model with intertemporal macroeconomic risk, incorporating the fact that firms are heterogeneous in their asset composition. Compared with firms that are mainly composed of invested assets, firms with growth options have higher costs of debt because they are more volatile and have a greater tendency to default during recession when marginal utility is high and recovery rates are low. Our model matches empirical facts regarding credit spreads, default probabilities, leverage ratios, equity premiums, and investment clustering. Importantly, it also makes predictions about the cross section of all these features.
Contribution of impaired renal function to cardiovascular risk prediction models in renal transplant recipients

The Framingham risk score (FRS) and cardiovascular risk calculator for renal transplant recipients (CRCRTR‐MACE) quantify cardiovascular risk in renal transplant recipients (RTR). In contrast to the FRS, the CRCRTR‐MACE includes serum creatinine as a variable in the risk prediction equation.
Experimental studies of the gas exchange through the ostium of the maxillary sinus.

Model experiments were performed in order to investigate the gas exchange in the maxillary sinus. The exponent Q2 in the equation illustrating the gas exchange through the maxillary ostium was analysed in relation to the volume of the maxillary sinus, the size of the ostium, the nasal ventilation, the nasal respiratory pressure and the respiratory work. The experiments showed that the gas exchange, expressed as the exponent Q2, is inversely proportional to the size of the maxillary sinus, and principally directly proportional to the cross-sectional area of the ostial canal. It is also principally directly proportional to the nasal ventilation and positively correlated to the nasal respiratory pressure but estimations of the effect of these two parameters are difficult to perform separately. The relation between antral gas exchange and respiratory work has been analysed more thoroughly and a linear correlation was obvious although not directly proportional, since the diffusion of gas through the ostium wil.
Obesity Associated with Increased Risk of Gastric Helicobacter pylori Infection in an Elderly Chinese Population

nonagenarians are reported. From 2002 to 2011, a total of 16,911 open aortic valve procedures were performed in Sweden. Only 13 of these individuals (0.8%) were nonagenarians (Swedeheart Registry, http://www.ucr.uu.se/ swedeheart/index.php/arsrapporter). None of these individuals died within 30 days, although one each had died by 1, 2, and 6 years after surgery. A recent study reported on the feasibility of TAVI in a group of 26 nonagenarians using the CoreValve and the SAPIEN valve (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA). The procedural success rate was 96%, whereas 19% of participants had major vascular complications, which were four times as common as in the control group of participants, who were younger than 90. Thirty-day, 6-month, and 1-year mortality were 15%, 27%, and 32.5%, respectively, versus 6%, 14%, and 22.4% in the control group. The results of the current study provide further evidence of the feasibility and safety of TAVI in carefully selected nonagenarians and compare well with those of TAVI in younger participants in previous studies. Although further studies are warranted, the current study indicates that older age should not be a sole reason to exclude individuals from undergoing TAVI. Limitations of this retrospective study were that it was a single-center study of few individuals without a comparative group and that measurements of quality of life and physical capacity were not included.
Interaction between grounding systems and nearby lightning for the calculation of overvoltages in overhead distribution lines

The aim of the paper is to analyze overvoltages in overhead distribution lines induced by nearby lightning return stroke currents taking into account also the conductive coupling between the lightning current injected into the soil and the line's grounding system. Experimental results obtained in 2003 at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) in Florida have shown that significant currents were coupled with an overhead experimental line through its grounding system by nearby rocket-triggered lightning. The paper first proposes a conductive coupling model between the lightning current injected into the soil and the nearby line grounding system, then presents the incorporation of such a model into the LIOV-EMTP computer code. The paper finally presents an experimental validation of the proposed models by making reference to results obtained during the above-mentioned triggered-lightning campaign.
Information source, information channels and information choice: The mediating effect of personal characteristics

Although a strong relationship has been established between information source, information channels and information choice strategies, however, a mediator is required to further explain why or how the independent variables (information source and information channels) predict the dependents variable (information choice strategy). As a result, the collected data from 358 respondents of Arab tourists in Malaysia was analyzed through the regression analysis.Overall, the findings show significant relationships between information source, information channels and information choice.The result further shows that personal characteristic significantly mediate the relationship between information source, information channels and information choice. Hence, the study concludes that personal characteristic significantly explains the relationship between information source, information channels and information choice. Based on the findings obtained in this study, implications for the study and future research including the limitations are discussed.
Kinetics of Human C-peptide in Man

A review of studies concerned with the metabolism of human C-peptide showed that the kidney is the major organ in C-peptide removal. The turnover rate of C-peptide was similar to that of proinsulin but considerably slower than that of insulin. An analysis of corresponding C-peptide and insulin concentrations in normal subjects after the administration of oral glucose or intravenous glucagon was used to define the relationships between the two peptides. These results show that different peripheral vein concentrations of insulin may correspond to identical C-peptide concentrations, depending on sampling conditions.
Cup-to-Disc Ratio From Heidelberg Retina Tomograph 3 and High-Definition Optical Coherence Tomography Agrees Poorly With Clinical Assessment

Purpose:To investigate the agreement of vertical cup-to-disc ratio (VCDR) measured from Heidelberg Retina Tomograph 3 (HRT-3), high-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT), and clinical grading. Methods:A total of 933 consecutive subjects underwent optic nerve head imaging with HRT-3 and HD-OCT during a single visit. The vertical dimensions of the disc and cup were measured by slit-lamp examination using an eyepiece graticule. Bland-Altman plots evaluated the agreement in the VCDR obtained by the 2 instruments and clinical grading. Results:We found a significant trend for the difference in VCDR measured clinically and with HRT and HD-OCT (P<0.001 for both). The mean VCDR differed significantly between clinical measurement and that evaluated by HRT and HD-OCT, respectively (0.40±0.12 vs. 0.37±0.21 and 0.40±0.12 vs. 0.50±0.14, P<0.001 for both), with significantly poor correlation (r2=0.35 and 0.34, P<0.001 for both). Conclusions:In general, there is poor correlation and a lack of agreement of VCDR measured using HRT-3, HD-OCT, and clinical grading. HD-OCT has somewhat better agreement with clinical measurements of VCDR. Compared with clinical grading, HD-OCT tended to overestimate VCDR, whereas HRT-3 tended to underestimate it.
Disruptive Technologies: Explaining Entry in Next Generation Information Technology Markets

The most difficult challenge facing a market leader is maintaining its leading position. This is especially true in information technology and telecommunications industries, where multiple product generations and rapid technological evolution continually test the ability of the incumbent to stay ahead of potential entrants. In these industries, an incumbent often protects its position by launching prematurely to retain its leadership. Entry, however, hap- pens relatively frequently. We identify conditions under which an entrant will launch a next generation product thereby preventing the incumbent from employing a protection strategy. We define a capabilities advantage as the ability to develop and launch a next generation product at a lower cost than a competitor, and a product with a greater market response is one with greater profit flows. Using these definitions, we find that an incumbent with a ca- pabilities advantage in one next generation product can be overtaken by an entrant with a capabilities advantage in another next generation product only if the entrant’s capabilities advantage is in a disruptive technology that yields a product with a greater market response. This can occur even though both next generation products are available to both firms. We also show that the competition may require the launching firm to lose money at the margin on the next generation product.
Comparing the direct and community‐mediated effects of disturbance on plant population dynamics: flooding, herbivory and Mimulus guttatus

1 Competition, trophic interactions and abiotic disturbances play important roles in governing plant population dynamics, yet few studies have addressed their relative contributions or interacting effects. 2 We used Life Table Response Experiment (LTRE) analysis, coupled with stochastic analyses, to examine how a major abiotic disturbance, flooding, influences the fitness and population growth of a common riparian plant, Mimulus guttatus, and how this effect compares and interacts with that exerted by herbivory. 3 We also extended LTRE analysis to include nested factors, which enabled us to examine differences across experimental sites. These spatial contributions to changes in population growth rate, λ, were compared and contrasted with those derived for year and experimental treatments. 4 Flooding had direct positive impacts on population growth, while protection from herbivory benefited plants in both flooded and non‐flooded areas. Spatial variation in plant performance was also substantial, with greater variation across experimental sites than temporal variation across years. 5 Our stochastic analysis revealed that the impact of herbivores on population growth was much greater when the environment fluctuated between years with and without flooding than in more constant environments. 6 Both flooding and herbivory exerted the majority of their impacts on plant performance via changes in adult summer survival. For flooded sites, this was surprising, given the small difference in summer survival between control and herbivore‐exclusion treatments, and results from the high sensitivity of population growth to adult survival. 7 The importance of herbivory in flooded sites would have not been discerned had we not considered how adult survival interacts with other stages of the M. guttatus life cycle. Thus, in order to increase ecological understanding associated with shifts in community dynamics, experimental results should be placed in a life‐history context. 8 Within disturbance‐driven systems, the direct abiotic effects of factors such as flooding play a critical role in determining population dynamics. However, the biotic interactions that change as a consequence of disturbance can have equal and lasting impacts on population growth.
Whole exome sequencing identified genetic variations in Chinese hemangioblastoma patients

Hemangioblastomas (HBs) are uncommon tumors characterized by the presence of inactivating alterations in the von Hippel‐Lindau (VHL) gene in inherited cases and by infrequent somatic mutation in sporadic entities. We performed whole exome sequencing on 11 HB patients to further elucidate the genetics of HBs. A total of 270 somatic variations in 219 genes, of which there were 86 mutations in 67 genes, were found in sporadic HBs, and 184 mutations were found in 154 genes in familial HBs. C: G>T: A and T: A>C: G mutations are relatively common in most HB patients. Genes harboring the most significant mutations include PCDH9, KLHL12, DCAF4L1, and VHL in sporadic HBs, and ZNF814, DLG2, RIMS1, PNN, and MUC7 in familial HBs. The frequency of CNV varied considerably within sporadic HBs but was relatively similar within familial HBs. Five genes, including OTOGL, PLCB4, SCEL, THSD4, and WWOX, have CNVs in the six patients with sporadic HBs, and three genes, including ABCA6, CWC27, and LAMA2, have CNVs in the five patients with familial HBs. We found new genetic mutations and CNVs that might be involved in HBs; these findings highlight the complexity of the tumorigenesis of HBs and pinpoint potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of HBs.