Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ground Subsidence in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region from 1992 to 2014 Revealed by Multiple SAR Stacks

The coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei has become a national strategy with Beijing and Tianjin as twin engines driving the regional development. However, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has suffered dramatic ground subsidence during last two to three decades, mainly due to long-term groundwater withdrawal. Although, annual spirit leveling has been conducted routinely in some parts of Beijing and Tianjin, and InSAR technique has also been used to monitor ground subsidence in some local areas of the region, there is a lack of a complete survey of ground subsidence over the whole region. In this paper, we report a research on mapping ground subsidence in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region over a long time span from 1992 to 2014. Three SAR datasets from four satellites are used: ERS-1/2 SAR images from 1992 to 2000, ENVISAT ASAR images from 2003 to 2010, and RADARSAT-2 images from 2012 to 2014. An improved multi-temporal InSAR method, namely “Multiple-master Coherent Target Small-Baseline InSAR” (MCTSB-InSAR), has been developed to process the datasets. A unique feature of MCTSB-InSAR is the adjustment process useful for wide area monitoring which provides an integrated solution for both calibration of InSAR-derived deformation and the harmonization of the deformation estimates from overlapping SAR frames. Three maps of the subsidence rate corresponding to the three periods over the wide Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are generated, with respective accuracy of 8.7 mm/year (1992–2000), 4.7 mm/year (2003–2010), and 5.4 mm/year (2012–2014) validated by more than 120 leveling measurements. The spatial-temporal characteristics of the development of ground subsidence in Beijing and Tianjin are analyzed. This research represents a first-ever effort on mapping ground subsidence over very large area and over long time span in China. The result is of significance to serve the decision-making on ground subsidence mitigation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Blind Quality Metric using a Perceptual Importance Map for JPEG-20000 Compressed Images

JPEG-2000 coding introduces at high compression ratios, some perceptual impairments (blurring and ringing effects), which can be exploited by a no reference (NR) quality metric. Even if these distortions are present in the whole processed image, the human visual system judges, the perceptual quality, identifying and selecting some regions of interest. In this paper, to judge of the perceptual quality of JPEG-2000 compressed images, we propose to measure both of ringing and blurring distortions, locally weighted by an importance map generated on the one hand, by an Osbergers modified model and on the other hand, by a simple algorithm, of attention model. The respective predicted scores have been compared with the subjective quality scores. With a comparative study on the contribution of each importance map, we demonstrate the significant interest of these weights in a NR quality metric.
Comparative Effectiveness of 30- versus 60-Second Radio Commercials on Recall and Rate

Can less really be more? This study is designed to provide the radio and advertising industries with an objective, theoretical foundation to what is being called “Less Is More. ” Specifically, this study compares the effectiveness of 30-second and 60-second radio commercials on unaided recall. The results indicate that the brand recall as well as the message and proven recall of advertising from 60-second commercials are significantly greater than from 30-second commercials. The results also indicate that the first or second commercial in the commercial set will be better recalled. Based on these results, this study suggests a possible pricing model for 30-second commercials and a premium for first or second in-pod placement. This study was sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters 2005 Grants for Research in Broadcasting Program.
Prognostic value of skin lesions in sarcoidosis: clinical and histopathological clues

BackgroundAlthough tremendous advances have been made, a significant gap exists between the vast knowledge accumulated concerning sarcoidosis in recent years and our understanding of this disease.ObjectiveDescribe the main clinical and histopathological findings associated with cutaneous sarcoidosis and to investigate the relationship of these skin lesions with systemic involvement.Materials and MethodsAretrospective review of 41 patients who were diagnosed with cutaneous sarcoidosis was done.ResultsThe study included 34 females and 7 males. Systemic disease occurred frequently in patients with lupus pernio and nodulo-plaque type lesions. Systemic symptoms were observed more commonly in patients with raised serum ACE levels (84.6% vs. 40%; p<0.05). Our study also indicated that patients with skin lesions that were associated with systemic symptoms had a more chronic form of the disease than patients with only cutaneous lesions (91.6% vs. 29.4%; p<0.001). Additionally, complete resolution of cutaneous lesions was observed more frequently in patients with no associated systemic symptoms (66.6% vs. 23.5%; p<0.05). Interestingly, we found that patients with a moderate/severe granulomatous infiltrate in their biopsies had a more severe clinical presentation during the course of the disease, with a more generalized skin involvement (65.6% vs. 30%) as well as a more chronic course of the disease (56.3% vs. 30%). Another interesting histopathological finding observed was the presence of a grenz zone in 20 cases (47.6%). ConclusionsA correct and methodical clinicopathological correlation is important for our clinical practice because it can give us useful clues to the diagnosis and prognosis of this disease.
The Importance of Image as a Competitive Strategy: An Exploratory Study in Commercial Banks

Owing to increased competition resulting from a decade of deregulation of the financial services industry, banks find themselves faced with the task of differentiating their product as a method for attracting new customers. The importance of bank image is examined as a competitive strategy for increasing customer traffic flow. A survey of 60 business undergraduates and 46 MBA students measured attitudes relating to bank size, atmosphere, innovativeness, and attributes relating to good service. Some significant differences in response by certain demographic characteristics were also measured. Implications of the findings and suggestions for further research are provided.
Do People Who Believe in God Report More Meaning in Their Lives? The Existential Effects of Belief.

I conduct the first large-N study explicitly exploring the association between belief in God and sense of purpose in life. This relationship, while often discussed informally, has received little empirical attention. Here I use the General Social Survey to investigate how form of and confidence in belief in God is related to sense of purpose in life, as measured by a Likert item level of agreement with the statement "In my opinion, life does not serve any purpose. " Using logistic regression analysis, I find that those who indicate that they are confident in God's existence report a higher sense of purpose compared to nonbelievers, believers in a higher power, and those who believe but occasionally doubt.
Performance evaluation for SDN deployment: an approach based on stochastic network calculus

The OpenFlow implementations (SDNs) have been deployed increasingly on varieties of networks in research institutions as well as commercial institutions. To develop an OpenFlow implementation, it is required to understand the performance of the network. A few benchmark tools (e.g., Cbench and OFlops) can be used to measure the network performance, while these tools take considerable time to simulate traffic behaviors and generate the required results, therefore extending the development time. In this paper, we present an analytical model, which is based on stochastic network calculus theory, for evaluating the performance of switch to controller. The previous studies show that stochastic network calculus can provide realistic emulation of real network traffic behaviors. Our model is evaluated by using both simulation tool and realistic testbed. The results show the stochastic network calculus based analysis model can realistically measure the network performance of the end-to-end properties between controller and switch.
Akt signaling regulates actin organization via modulation of MMP‐2 activity during chondrogenesis of chick wing limb bud mesenchymal cells

Endochondral ossification is initiated by the differentiation of mesenchymal precursor cells to chondrocytes. This process is characterized by a strong interdependence of cell shape and cytoskeletal organization accompanying the onset of chondrogenic gene expression, but the molecular mechanisms mediating these interactions are not known. In this study, we hypothesized that the activation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2 would be involved in the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and that this would require an Akt‐dependent signaling pathway in chick wing bud mesenchymal cells. The pharmacological inhibition of Akt signaling resulted in decreased glycosaminoglycan synthesis and reduced the level of active MMP‐2, leading to suppressed cortical actin organization which is characteristic of differentiated chondrocytes. In addition, the exposure of cells to bafilomycin A1 reversed these chondro‐inhibitory effects induced by inhibition of Akt signaling. In conclusion, our data indicate that Akt signaling is involved in the activation of MMP‐2 and that this Akt‐induced activation of MMP‐2 is responsible for reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton into a cortical pattern with parallel rounding of chondrogenic competent cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 252–261, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
DNA fingerprinting of Streptococcus uberis based on polymorphism of DNA encoding rRNA

The rRNA gene restriction patterns of strains of Streptococcus uberis and Strep. parauberis were determined. Chromosomal DNA was digested with endonucleases and probed with radiolabelled DNA complementary to rRNA synthesized by random oligonucleotide priming using reverse transcriptase. Reproducible restriction patterns were obtained which readily distinguished Strep. uberis and Strep. parauberis. In addition, considerable variations in the patterns at the intra‐specific level were observed indicating that rRNA gene restriction profiles are of epidemiological, as well as taxonomic value.
Supply chain network optimization: A review of classification, models, solution techniques and future research

Article history: Received January 19, 2013 Received in revised format 18 April 2013 Accepted May 8 2013 Available online May 9 2013 With an ongoing progress in industries and technologies, most firms and businesses highly depend on cooperation and collaborations within a supply chain. In today’s competitive business environment, customer satisfaction plays an important role for the business survival. These matters can be secured by “supply chain”, a chain consists of various companies working together to maintain customers’ satisfaction. If various stages of different chains cooperate with each other, “supply chain network” (SCN) will be the outcome. In order to have a supply chain network or just a supply chain-operation in its best possible way, some optimization techniques are needed. In this paper, we present a close look at previous studies in the field of SCN optimization techniques and classify them based on the relative important characteristics. © 2013 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Impact of Ownership Structure on Corporate Dividend Policy and Performance

This dissertation studies the impact of corporate ownership structure on dividend payout and firm performance. The dissertation ties these variables to test whether policy intervention with respect to blockholding and higher managerial ownership is required in Pakistan. This dissertation develops and tests two main hypotheses about insiders’ ownership in listed firms. The first hypothesis is related to finding evidence of expropriation of minority shareholders by insiders whereas the second hypothesis is related to quantification of the expropriation effects on firm value. In the first part, this dissertation posits that the relevance and indeed the assumptions of the dividends cost minimization model ought to be restricted to those countries where shareholders rights are well protected.Alternatively, this study proposes an “investor power” hypothesis, which is closely akin to the La Porta et al.’s (2000) “outcome hypothesis”. The investor power hypothesis states that the determining factor of dividends payout in a weak legal system is not the minimization of agency costs; instead it is the presence of certain powerful outside investors who can force firms to pay out dividends.Using two variants of the dividends cost minimization model and a modified version of the dividends partial adjustment model on a data set for 183 Pakistani listed firms, the empirical results partially support the investor power hypothesis. Results of the mean-comparison tests as well as the regression models show that dividend-payout ratio decreases with the ownership percentage of individual shareholders and the incumbent managers.The empirical results indicate that there is only weak evidence that institutional investors can force managers to pay dividends.Among the other variables, dividend payout ratio increases with the size of a firm and ownership percentage of associated companies, and decreases with financial leverage, coefficient of variation of net income, and growth opportunities. In the second part, the dissertation hypothesizes that the market places expropriation premium on the stocks of the firms where large insiders are present.In addition to poor market performance, such firms are expected to show poor accounting performance due to various forms of expropriations.These hypotheses are tested with the help of OLS (ordinary least square) and 2SLS (two-stage least square) regressions while controlling for other explanatory variables that have been identified in the literature.The results indicate that both the market- and accountingbased measures of performance are negatively related to the ownership percentage of incumbent managers.Among the control variables, Tobin’s Q increases with growth opportunities and tangibility of assets, whereas it decreases with firm size, market risk, firm-specific risk, and ownership percentage of institutional shareholders
A review of the medical treatment of primary aldosteronism

Purpose Use of the aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) has suggested that at least one in 10 hypertensive subjects have primary aldosteronism (PA). There is thus a timely need to review the literature for effective drug therapies and to speculate on other therapeutic options by taking into account recent advances in understanding of the PA disease pathophysiological process. Data source A MEDLINE and EMBASE search of all articles published from the start of the databases until July 1999 and reviews of the bibliographies of textbooks. Study selection Primary research articles on the medical treatment of PA with emphasis on diagnosis, treatment option, drug dosage, therapeutic response and adverse drug effect. Data extraction Study design and quality were assessed. Relevant data on diagnostic methodology, drug usage and response were analysed and compared. Data synthesis A select number of subjects with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) can be expected to respond well to surgical treatment. For the majority of PA cases especially subjects with idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA), long-term medical treatment is now safe and feasible although no randomized controlled trials have been carried out to date. The best therapeutic response is obtained by directly antagonizing aldosterone at the receptor level using medium to low dose spironolactone and this response can be predicted by a raised ARR. The response to other potassium-sparing diuretics and calcium channel blockers are modest. IHA responds better than angiotensin II-unresponsive APA to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and this may also be true with angiotensin II receptor blockers. The discovery of the aldosterone synthase gene opens up the possibility for gene therapy. Conclusion The diagnosis of PA allows appropriate management with resultant blood pressure control in many hypertensive subjects who otherwise have resistant hypertension despite multiple drug therapy.
Taste aversions in man.

A survey of 696 subjects revealed that taste aversions may be acquired by a special kind of learning that has previously been demonstrated clearly only in animals. Gastrointestinal illness was associated with acquisition of aversions in 87 percent of the subjects. One pairing of food and illness was sufficient to produce aversions that lasted for many years. Onset of aversions was most common between ages 6 and 12, when the prevalence rate reached 30 percent; it then fell steadily to a low of 6 percent after age 60. The authors believe that a better understanding of taste aversions may help improve conditioned aversion procedures in the treatment of alcoholism and obesity.
Improving Interfaces for Collaborative Work in Multiple-Device Environments

Productive collaboration in a Multiple-Device Environment (MDE) requires an effective interface to efficiently manage applications among devices. Though many interfaces exist, there is little empirical understanding of how they affect collaboration. This paper reports results from a user study comparing how well three classes of interfaces; textual, map, and iconic, support realistic, collaborative activities in an MDE. From empirical results, our observations, and an analysis of how groups interacted with each interface, we produced a set of design lessons for improving management interfaces for MDEs. The lessons were demonstrated within the iconic interface, but are just as applicable to other interfaces. This work contributes further understanding of how to design effective management interfaces for MDEs. Author
Artificial Chaperone-assisted Refolding of Carbonic Anhydrase B

We recently reported a new approach to protein refolding that utilizes a pair of low molecular weight folding assistants, a detergent and a cyclodextrin (Rozema, D., and Gellman, S. H.(1995) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 117, 2373-2374). Here, we provide a detailed study of carbonic anhydrase B (CAB) refolding assisted by these “artificial chaperones. ” When CAB is heated in the presence of a competent detergent, or when guanidinium-denatured CAB is diluted to nondenaturing guanidinium concentration in the presence of such a detergent, the detergent forms a complex with the non-native protein, thereby preventing aggregation. CAB is unable to refold from the detergent-complexed state, but folding can be induced by introduction of a cyclodextrin, which strips the detergent away from the protein. Use of artificial chaperones provides excellent yields of reactivated CAB under conditions that lead to little or no reactivation in the absence of the refolding assistants. Our studies show that the detergent can capture the unfolded protein even at submicellar concentrations, but that not all CAB-detergent complexes lead efficiently to refolded enzyme upon introduction of the stripping agent. Effective refolding appears to require that detergent stripping occur as rapidly as possible; intrinsically slow methods of detergent removal (dialysis or use of macroscopic adsorbents) are less effective than cyclodextrin at inducing renaturation upon detergent removal. The detailed characterization of artificial chaperone-assisted CAB refolding reported here should guide the application of this strategy to other proteins.
Cloning of cDNAs encoding mammalian double-stranded RNA-specific adenosine deaminase

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-specific adenosine deaminase converts adenosine to inosine in dsRNA. The protein has been purified from calf thymus, and here we describe the cloning of cDNAs encoding both the human and rat proteins as well as a partial bovine clone. The human and rat clones are very similar at the amino acid level except at their N termini and contain three dsRNA binding motifs, a putative nuclear targeting signal, and a possible deaminase motif. Antibodies raised against the protein encoded by the partial bovine clone specifically recognize the calf thymus dsRNA adenosine deaminase. Furthermore, the antibodies can immunodeplete a calf thymus extract of dsRNA adenosine deaminase activity, and the activity can be restored by addition of pure bovine deaminase. Staining of HeLa cells confirms the nuclear localization of the dsRNA-specific adenosine deaminase. In situ hybridization in rat brain slices indicates a widespread distribution of the enzyme in the brain.
Patients With Existing Pressure Ulcers Admitted to Acute Care

Purpose This study describes the characteristics of patients with pressure ulcers present on admission to the hospital and predictors of pressure ulcer presence and severity. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting and subjects Adults (n = 267) admitted to a Pacific Basin military hospital who were expected to stay more than 24 hours. Instruments Braden scale, portable vital sign machine, and pulse oximeter. Methods Pressure ulcer risk was evaluated and skin inspection was performed. Demographic, physiologic, and laboratory data were obtained. Medical history and patient acuity were recorded. Results Thirty-four of 267 subjects (12.8%) had a pressure ulcer. Most were male and white. Their mean age was 65.7 years; mean albumin level, 2.9 g/dL; mean hematocrit level, 31.9 vol%; mean oxygen saturation, 95.3 mm Hg; and mean hemoglobin level, 10.7 g/dL. The mean Braden scale score for subjects without ulcers on admission was 19.7, and it was 15.9 for those with ulcers (P < .05). Analysis of variance showed that subjects with pressure ulcers had a significantly lower albumin level, total lymphocyte count, hematocrit level, and hemoglobin level. These subjects were significantly older and had a longer hospital length of stay. Regression showed that albumin level, oxygen saturation, and length of stay (P < .01) accounted for 11.3% of the variance of pressure ulcer presence and that albumin level and length of stay (P < .001) accounted for 11.2% of the variance in ulcer severity. Conclusions Poorer nutritional status and decreased oxygen perfusion were predictors of pressure ulcers on admission. Nutrition and length of stay were predictors of ulcer severity. Further research is warranted.