Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uncertainty in regional temperatures inferred from sparse global observations: Application to a probabilistic classification of El Niño

Instrumental records showing increases in surface temperature are some of the robust and iconic evidence of climate change. But how much should we trust regional temperature estimates interpolated from sparse observations? Here we quantify the uncertainty in the instrumental record by applying multiresolution lattice kriging, a recently developed interpolation technique that leverages the multiple spatial scales of temperature anomalies. The probability of monthly anomalies across the globe is represented by an ensemble, based on HadCRUT4 and accounting for observational and coverage uncertainties. To demonstrate the potential of these new data, we investigate the area‐averaged temperature anomalies over the Niño 3.4 region in the equatorial Pacific. Having developed a definition of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) able to cope with probability distribution functions, we classify the ENSO state for each year since 1851. We find that for many years it is ambiguous as to whether there was an El Niño or not from the Niño 3.4 region alone. These years are mainly before 1920, but also just after World War II.
Can an Angry Woman Get Ahead?

Three studies examined the relationships among anger, gender, and status conferral. As in prior research, men who expressed anger in a professional context were conferred higher status than men who expressed sadness. However, both male and female evaluators conferred lower status on angry female professionals than on angry male professionals. This was the case regardless of the actual occupational rank of the target, such that both a female trainee and a female CEO were given lower status if they expressed anger than if they did not. Whereas women's emotional reactions were attributed to internal characteristics (e.g., “she is an angry person,” “she is out of control”), men's emotional reactions were attributed to external circumstances. Providing an external attribution for the target person's anger eliminated the gender bias. Theoretical implications and practical applications are discussed.
Genetic variation in mother–child acute seroconverter pairs from Zambia

Objective:To characterize the envelope (Env) glycoprotein of HIV-1 in mother–infant pairs (MIP) that underwent near simultaneous or acute-phase seroconversion, we examined the Env sequence of the transmitted viruses and compare viral evolution within the pair. Design:Three MIP from a Zambian cohort that seroconverted at the same sampling time were identified and followed longitudinally. Methods:The V1–V5 region of the HIV-1 Env gene was sequenced for each sample collected. Phylogenetic and population genetics analyses were carried out to subtype the viruses, estimate relationships among viral genotypes, and compare molecular evolution between the viral populations. Results:Genetic analyses demonstrated a close intrapair relationship between viral sequences from each MIP. Transmission involved several closely related viral genotypes and did not result in a reduction in viral diversity. Amino acid changes were not evenly distributed along Env V1–V5 but concentrated in concordant areas within each MIP. Several positions under positive selection were shared between the MIP viruses. Interestingly, selective pressure on the virus was higher in the infants than in the mothers. Conclusions:In contrast to most cases of perinatal transmission of HIV-1 from chronically infected mothers, there is no evidence of a genetic bottleneck in the transmitted viruses in these three instances of acute seroconversion. The longitudinal changes in the amino acids are in similar positions in Env for the MIP, suggesting shared evolutionary constrains among the closely related viruses infecting the MIP; such constrains may lead to similar genetic changes in the virus in two different hosts.
Ontology-guided knowledge discovery in databases

We present work in progress on a new methodology for leveraging the semantic content of ontologies to guide knowledge discovery in databases. Our system scans new databases to obtain type and constraint information, which users verify. Our system then uses this information in the context of a shared ontology to intelligently guide the potentially combinatorial process of feature construction. Further, our system learns each time it is applied, easing the user's verification task on subsequent runs.
Machine Learning Analysis of Post-Operative Tumour Progression in Non-Functioning Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumours: A Pilot Study

Simple Summary Effective models for predicting non-functioning pituitary neuro-endocrine tumours (NF PitNET) recurrence and regrowth following surgical intervention remain elusive. Previous studies have identified conflicting risk factors in predictions of tumour progression for patients receiving surgery for NF PitNET. The aim of this study was to develop machine learning (ML) models to improve prediction of post-operative NF PitNET progression up to 15 years following surgery. ML models were shown to be effective for predicting tumour remission, stability, and regrowth, but were non-performant when predicting tumour recurrence or reduction in size. The extent of surgical resection was shown to have the strongest influence in the performant models, with lesser influence from age, tumour volume, and the use of post-operative radiotherapy, and with no influence shown from pre- or post-operative endocrine function. Abstract Post-operative tumour progression in patients with non-functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumours is variable. The aim of this study was to use machine learning (ML) models to improve the prediction of post-operative outcomes in patients with NF PitNET. We studied data from 383 patients who underwent surgery with or without radiotherapy, with a follow-up period between 6 months and 15 years. ML models, including k-nearest neighbour (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), and decision tree, showed superior performance in predicting tumour progression when compared with parametric statistical modelling using logistic regression, with SVM achieving the highest performance. The strongest predictor of tumour progression was the extent of surgical resection, with patient age, tumour volume, and the use of radiotherapy also showing influence. No features showed an association with tumour recurrence following a complete resection. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the potential of ML models in predicting post-operative outcomes for patients with NF PitNET. Future work should look to include additional, more granular, multicentre data, including incorporating imaging and operative video data.
An Improved Approximation Guarantee for the Maximum Budgeted Allocation Problem

We study the Maximum Budgeted Allocation problem, which is the problem of assigning indivisible items to players with budget constraints. In its most general form, an instance of the MBA problem might include many different prices for the same item among different players, and different budget constraints for every player. So far, the best approximation algorithms we know for the MBA problem achieve a 3/4-approximation ratio, and employ a natural LP relaxation, called the Assignment-LP. In this paper, we give an algorithm for MBA, and prove that it achieves a 3/4 + c-approximation ratio, for some constant c > 0. This algorithm works by rounding solutions to an LP called the Configuration-LP, therefore also showing that the Configuration-LP is strictly stronger than the Assignment-LP (for which we know that the integrality gap is 3/4) for the MBA problem.
Algorithm for global leaf area index retrieval using satellite imagery

Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the most important Earth surface parameters in modeling ecosystems and their interaction with climate. Based on a geometrical optical model (Four-Scale) and LAI algorithms previously derived for Canada-wide applications, this paper presents a new algorithm for the global retrieval of LAI where the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is considered explicitly in the algorithm and hence removing the need of doing BRDF corrections and normalizations to the input images. The core problem of integrating BRDF into the LAI algorithm is that nonlinear BRDF kernels that are used to relate spectral reflectances to LAI are also LAI dependent, and no analytical solution is found to derive directly LAI from reflectance data. This problem is solved through developing a simple iteration procedure. The relationships between LAI and reflectances of various spectral bands (red, near infrared, and shortwave infrared) are simulated with Four-Scale with a multiple scattering scheme. Based on the model simulations, the key coefficients in the BRDF kernels are fitted with Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind. Spectral indices - the simple ratio and the reduced simple ratio - are used to effectively combine the spectral bands for LAI retrieval. Example regional and global LAI maps are produced. Accuracy assessment on a Canada-wide LAI map is made in comparison with a previously validated 1998 LAI map and ground measurements made in seven Landsat scenes
THE IMPACT OF MARKET ORIENTATION ON MARKETING PERFORMANCE: EXPLORING THE MODERATING ROLE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

This research analyses the influence of market orientation and competitive advantage on MSMEs’ marketing performance, with competitive advantage as a moderating variable. The research methodology employs path analysis using Smart PLS software version 4.0 and involves 397 MSME owners in Jambi City, Jambi Province, Indonesia. The analysis results indicate that market orientation and competitive advantage significantly influence MSME marketing performance. Additionally, competitive advantage moderates, strengthening the relationship between market orientation and marketing performance. These findings have practical implications for MSME owners, suggesting that focusing on developing market orientation and competitive advantage can enhance their marketing performance. Furthermore, this study contributes to the theoretical understanding of factors influencing MSMEs marketing performance and encourages further research on elements that most impact competitive advantage. It also provides recommendations for policymakers to support enhancing MSME marketing performance through various supportive policies. However, this research has limitations, such as the lack of specific elements of market orientation with significant impacts and a need to better understand the moderation mechanism between market orientation and marketing performance through competitive advantage, which could be subjects of future research.
Report of the NIH task force on research standards for chronic low back pain.

UNLABELLED Despite rapidly increasing intervention, functional disability due to chronic low back pain (cLBP) has increased in recent decades. We often cannot identify mechanisms to explain the major negative impact cLBP has on patients' lives. Such cLBP is often termed nonspecific and may be due to multiple biologic and behavioral etiologies. Researchers use varied inclusion criteria, definitions, baseline assessments, and outcome measures, which impede comparisons and consensus. Therefore, NIH Pain Consortium charged a research task force to draft standards for research on cLBP. The resulting multidisciplinary panel recommended using 2 questions to define cLBP; classifying cLBP by its impact (defined by pain intensity, pain interference, and physical function); use of a minimum data set to describe research participants (drawing heavily on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System methodology); reporting "responder analyses" in addition to mean outcome scores; and suggestions for future research and dissemination. The Pain Consortium has approved the recommendations, which investigators should incorporate into NIH grant proposals. The research task force believes that these recommendations will advance the field, help resolve controversies, and facilitate future research addressing the genomic, neurological, and other mechanistic substrates of cLBP. We expect that the research task force recommendations will become a dynamic document and undergo continual improvement. PERSPECTIVE A task force was convened by the NIH Pain Consortium with the goal of developing research standards for cLBP. The results included recommendations for definitions, a minimum data set, reporting outcomes, and future research. Greater consistency in reporting should facilitate comparisons among studies and the development of phenotypes.
Prediction of breeding values for tenderness of market animals from measurements on bulls.

Data were tenderness measures on steaks from 237 bulls (Group II) slaughtered after producing freezable semen and on 1,431 related steers and heifers (market animals, Group I) from Angus, Hereford, Pinzgauer, Brahman, and Sahiwal crosses from the Germ Plasm Evaluation project at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center. Tenderness was assessed through Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (SF), taste panel tenderness (TPT), marbling score (MS), and myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI). For all traits, as fraction Bos indicus inheritance increased, implied tenderness decreased. Heritability estimates were generally not significantly different from zero. Genetic correlations generally indicated favorable associations among the traits. The range in predicted breeding values of bulls for market animal tenderness was small and from -. 34 to . 32 kg for market animal shear force. Because of low estimates of heritability for SF or TPT, results from this experiment indicate that selection based on tenderness of steaks sampled from intact or late castrate males slaughtered following collection of freezable quality semen would not be very effective in improving average tenderness of steaks from steers of heifer progeny. If a mean of heritability estimates reported in the literature of . 27 for shear value was assumed for market steer and heifer progeny instead of . 02 as found in the present study, then selection based on estimates of shear force in young bulls would be relatively more effective in improving shear force of market progeny.
Evaluation of Serum Myostatin Concentration in Chronic Heart Failure with Preserved and Impaired Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical syndrome associated with muscle wasting, which can progress to cardiac cachexia. Myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of muscle wasting in CHF patients and suggested as a potential biomarker. The objective of this study was to investigate serum myostatin concentration in patients with CHF with preserved and reduced ejection fraction. Methods: The authors conducted a single-centre study comparing serum myostatin levels, functional and echocardiographic parameters, muscle mass, strength and function in patients with CHF to a control group without CHF. The study group was further divided into sub-groups with preserved and reduced or mildly reduced ejection fraction. Results: Results showed no significant differences in myostatin concentration between CHF patients and controls, and no correlation with sarcopenia or dynapenia. However, a higher myostatin concentration was found in patients with impaired systolic function (Me = 1675 pg/mL vs. Me—884.5 pg/mL; p = 0.007). A positive correlation between myostatin concentration and muscle mass (r = 0.27; p = 0.04), and functional parameters such as Norton (r = 0.35; p < 0.01), I-ADL (r = 0.28; p = 0.02) and Barthel scale (r = 0.27; p = 0.03) scores, was also observed. Conclusions: Myostatin appears to play a role in muscle wasting and its progression to cardiac cachexia in patients with impaired ejection fraction. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore myostatin’s potential as a biomarker for muscle loss and a target for pharmacotherapeutic agents in this population of patients.
Low-Complexity Iterative Algorithms for (Discrete) Compressed Sensing

We consider iterative (`turbo') algorithms for compressed sensing. First, a unified exposition of the different approaches available in the literature is given, thereby enlightening the general principles and main differences. In particular we discuss i) the estimation step (matched filter vs. optimum MMSE estimator), ii) the unbiasing operation (implicitly or explicitly done and equivalent to the calculation of extrinsic information), and iii) thresholding vs. the calculation of soft values. Based on these insights we propose a low-complexity but well-performing variant utilizing a Krylov space approximation of the optimum linear MMSE estimator. The derivations are valid for any probability density of the signal vector. However, numerical results are shown for the discrete case. The novel algorithms shows very good performance and even slightly faster convergence compared to approximative message passing.
Efficient Trading Strategies in Financial Markets with Proportional Transaction Costs

In this article, we characterize efficient portfolios, i.e. portfolios which are optimal for at least one rational agent, in a very general financial market model with proportional transaction costs. In our setting, transaction costs may be random, time-dependent, have jumps and the preferences of the agents are modeled by multivariate expected utility functions. Thanks to the dual formulation of expected multivariate utility maximization problem established in Campi and Owen \cite{CO}, we provide a complete characterization of efficient portfolios, generalizing earlier results of Dybvig \cite{Dyb2} and Jouini and Kallal \cite{JK1}. We basically show that a portfolio is efficient if and only if it is cyclically anticomonotonic with respect to at least one consistent price system. Finally, we introduce the notion of utility price of a given contingent claim as the minimal amount of a given initial portfolio allowing any agent to reach the claim by trading in the market, and give a dual representation of it.
Profile-based type reconstruction for decompilation

Decompilation is reconstruction of a program in a high-level language from a program in a low-level language. In most cases static decompilation is unable to completely reconstruct high-level data types due to loss of typing information during compilation. We present several profile-based techniques that help to recover high-level types. The techniques include pointer/integer determination by value profiling and composite type identification by heap profiling.
A NOVEL SIMULATION MODEL FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE SPINE SURGERY

OBJECTIVE Minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) is among the fastest growing technologies in general neurosurgical practice. In addition, great demand exists to teach these skills to neurosurgery residents. With newly enforced work hour restrictions, opportunities to acquire these skills are limited, necessitating development of alternative strategies of education. We describe a novel simulation model for MISS supplemented by resident self-assessment analysis and evaluation. METHODS The simulator was constructed using a nontransparent Plexiglas frame supplemented with a modified halo frame on which to affix spine specimens. Interchangeable copper tubing was affixed to a 360-degree pivot system to replicate a working portal. Deer skulls and spines were then collected and prepared accordingly. Laboratory exercises were based on the resident's level of training with emphasis on proper drilling techniques. Eight neurosurgery residents were asked to complete the exercises and complete a self-assessment survey regarding their competence level on a scale of 0 to 5, both before and after completing the skill sets. Additionally, they were asked to complete an exit survey that was used to assess the simulation exercises. RESULTS All exercises were completed successfully with the exception of placing 2 separate pedicle screws through the same portal, which posed difficulty on some specimens because of the of lack of lordosis of the specimens, leading to unfavorable trajectories using a free-hand technique. With regard to the resident self-assessment analysis, the mean confidence rating for performing an MISS laminectomy improved by a difference of 1.25 points (n = 8; 95% confidence interval, 0.66–1.84; P = 0.0015), from 2.50 to 3.75 before and after simulation exercises, respectively, and reached statistical significance. For the senior-level residents, the mean confidence rating for performing MISS placement of pedicle screws using a free-hand technique improved by a difference of 1.00 (n = 3; 95% confidence interval, −1.48–3.48; P = 0.225), from 3.33 to 4.33 before and after simulation exercises, respectively. Results of the exit survey were encouraging. CONCLUSION The MISS simulator is a feasible, inexpensive, and reproducible adjunct to neurosurgery resident training and provides a new teaching method for spine surgery. Further investigation of this technology is warranted, although multicenter, randomized, controlled trials assessing its validity may not be practical because of ethical constraints with regard to patient safety.
Synthesis and Selective Inhibitory Activity Against Human COX‐1 of Novel 1‐(4‐Substituted‐thiazol‐2‐yl)‐3,5‐di(hetero)aryl‐pyrazoline Derivatives

Novel 1‐(4‐ethyl carboxylate‐thiazol‐2‐yl)‐3,5‐di(hetero)aryl‐2‐pyrazoline derivatives were obtained by reacting 3,5‐di(hetero)aryl‐1‐thiocarbamoyl‐2‐pyrazolines with the ethyl ester of α‐bromo‐pyruvic acid. The synthesized compounds were confirmed by spectroscopic data and assayed to evaluate their in vitro ability to inhibit both isoforms of human cyclooxygenase (hCOX). Some derivatives (compounds 5, 6, 13, 16, and 17) displayed promising selectivity against hCOX‐1 in the micromolar range and were shown to have a selectivity index similar or better than the reference drugs (indometacin, diclofenac). The introduction of a phenyl or a 4‐F‐phenyl ring on the C5 associated with a 4‐substituted phenyl or a heteroaryl group on the C3 of (4‐substituted‐thiazol‐2‐yl)pyrazoline derivatives improved the activity against hCOX‐1. Thanks to these preliminary results it could be possible to extend our knowledge of the pharmacophoric requirements for the discovery of new pyrazoline‐based hCOX‐1 inhibitors.
Chk1 and Mps1 jointly regulate correction of merotelic kinetochore attachments

Summary If uncorrected, merotelic kinetochore attachments can induce mis-segregated chromosomes in anaphase. We show that checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) protects vertebrate cells against merotelic attachments and lagging chromosomes and is required for correction of merotelic attachments during a prolonged metaphase. Decreased Chk1 activity leads to hyper-stable kinetochore microtubules, unstable binding of MCAK, Kif2b and Mps1 to centromeres or kinetochores and reduced phosphorylation of Hec1 by Aurora-B. Phosphorylation of Aurora-B at serine 331 (Ser331) by Chk1 is high in prometaphase and decreases significantly in metaphase cells. We propose that Ser331 phosphorylation is required for optimal localization of MCAK, Kif2b and Mps1 to centromeres or kinetochores and for Hec1 phosphorylation. Furthermore, inhibition of Mps1 activity diminishes initial recruitment of MCAK and Kif2b to centromeres or kinetochores, impairs Hec1 phosphorylation and exacerbates merotelic attachments in Chk1-deficient cells. We propose that Chk1 and Mps1 jointly regulate Aurora-B, MCAK, Kif2b and Hec1 to correct merotelic attachments. These results suggest a role for Chk1 and Mps1 in error correction.