Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimation of Temperature and Humidity Profile Information from Microwave Radiances over Different Surface Types

Abstract Existing use of passive microwave radiances to improve temperature and humidity analyses in the troposphere has been largely restricted to ocean applications. Recent studies have shown that useful information can be extracted from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I), particularly for cloud liquid water and precipitation, over many land and ice surfaces. Furthermore, new work has provided improved estimates of emissivity at frequencies well above those normally used for land surface applications using satellite, airborne, and ground-based methods. In the light of these new developments, information theory was used to investigate the potential for microwave atmospheric temperature and humidity sounding over varied land and ice surfaces using the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit. It was found that significant information is available even at low altitude over land and sea-ice surfaces. With extensive land areas poorly served by conventional in situ sounding methods, this result gives conside.
The Very Young Starburst Merger System NGC 1741

We use Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Faint Object Camera (FOC) ultraviolet (UV) and WFPC2 optical images in conjunction with UV spectroscopic observations taken with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph to examine the star formation history and properties of the interacting galaxy system NGC 1741 in the Hickson Compact Group 31. The high spatial resolution afforded by HST has allowed us to identify a large number of starburst knots, or "super–star clusters" (SSCs), in the starburst regions of this system. Photometry of these SSCs in the UV and optical bands indicates that most of these objects have ages of a few Myr, with a few up to ≈100 Myr, and masses between 104 and 106 M⊙. The estimated age is confirmed by a spectral synthesis analysis of one knot for which we have obtained a UV spectrum. The V-band luminosity function of the SSCs is well represented by a power law ϕ(L) ∼ L-α with an index of -1.85, with no evidence of a turnover brighter than the completeness limit. These properties are in good agreement with those found for SSCs in other starburst galaxies. Our results support the suggestion that some of these SSCs may be extremely young globular clusters formed in a relatively recent starburst episode that has been triggered by a merger event.
Investigation of Pole-to-Pole Performances of Spaceborne Atmospheric Chemistry Sensors with the NDSC

Abstract Spaceborne atmospheric chemistry sensors provide unique access to the distribution and variation of the concentration of many trace species on the global scale. However, since the measurements and the retrieval algorithms are sensitive to a variety of instrumental as well as atmospheric sources of error, they need to be validated carefully by correlative measurements. The quality control and validation of satellite measurements on the global scale, as well as in the long term, is one of the goals of the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC). Started in 1991, at the present time the NDSC includes five primary and two dozen complementary stations distributed from the Arctic to the Antarctic, comprising a variety of instruments such as UV–visible spectrometers, Fourier transform infrared spectrometers, lidars, and millimeter-wave radiometers. After an overview of the main sources of uncertainty which could perturb the measurements from space, and of the ground-based data provided .
Cube-textured nickel substrates for high-temperature superconductors

The biaxial textures created in metals by rolling and annealing make them useful substrates for the growth of long lengths of biaxially textured material. The growth of overlayers such as high-temperature superconductors requires flat substrates with a single, sharp texture. A sharp cube texture is produced in high-purity Ni by rolling and annealing. We report the effect of rolling reduction and annealing conditions on the sharpness of the cube texture, the incidence of other orientations, the grain size and the surface topography. A combination of high reduction and high-temperature annealing in a reducing atmosphere leads to >99% cube texture, with a mosaic of about the rolling direction, about the transverse direction, and about the normal direction.
Incidence and Outcomes of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair in New Zealand from 2001 to 2021

Purpose: The burden of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) has changed in the last 20 years but is still considered to be a major cause of cardiovascular mortality. The introduction of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) and improved peri-operative care has resulted in a steady improvement in both outcomes and long-term survival. The objective of this study was to identify the burden of AAA disease by analysing AAA-related hospitalisations and deaths. Methodology: All AAA-related hospitalisations in NZ from January 2001 to December 2021 were identified from the National Minimum Dataset, and mortality data were obtained from the NZ Mortality Collection dataset from January 2001 to December 2018. Data was analysed for patient characteristics including deprivation index, repair methods and 30-day outcomes. Results: From 2001 to 2021, 14,436 patients with an intact AAA were identified with a mean age of 75.1 years (SD 9.7 years), and 4100 (28%) were females. From 2001 to 2018, there were 5000 ruptured AAA with a mean age of 77.8 (SD 9.4), and 1676 (33%) were females. The rate of hospitalisations related to AAA has decreased from 43.7 per 100,000 in 2001 to 15.4 per 100,000 in 2018. There was a higher proportion of rupture AAA in patients living in more deprived areas. The use of EVAR for intact AAA repair has increased from 18.1% in 2001 to 64.3% in 2021. The proportion of octogenarians undergoing intact AAA repair has increased from 16.2% in 2001 to 28.4% in 2021. The 30-day mortality for intact AAA repair has declined from 5.8% in 2001 to 1.7% in 2021; however, it has remained unchanged for ruptured AAA repair at 31.6% across the same period. Conclusions: This study highlights that the incidence of AAA has declined in the last two decades. The mortality has improved for patients who had a planned repair. Understanding the contemporary burden of AAA is paramount to improve access to health, reduce variation in outcomes and promote surgical quality improvement.
Glucoregulatory disruption in male mice offspring induced by maternal transfer of endocrine disrupting brominated flame retardants in DE-71

Introduction Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are commercially used flame retardants that bioaccumulate in human tissues, including breast milk. PBDEs produce endocrine and metabolic disruption in experimental animals and have been associated with diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in humans, however, their sex-specific diabetogenic effects are not completely understood. Our past works show glucolipid dysregulation resulting from perinatal exposure to the commercial penta-mixture of PBDEs, DE-71, in C57BL/6 female mice. Methods As a comparison, in the current study, the effects of DE-71 on glucose homeostasis in male offspring was examined. C57BL/6N dams were exposed to DE-71 at 0.1 mg/kg/d (L-DE-71), 0.4 mg/kg/d (H-DE-71), or received corn oil vehicle (VEH/CON) for a total of 10 wks, including gestation and lactation and their male offspring were examined in adulthood. Results Compared to VEH/CON, DE-71 exposure produced hypoglycemia after a 11 h fast (H-DE-71). An increased fast duration from 9 to 11 h resulted in lower blood glucose in both DE-71 exposure groups. In vivo glucose challenge showed marked glucose intolerance (H-DE-71) and incomplete clearance (L- and H-DE-71). Moreover, L-DE-71-exposed mice showed altered glucose responses to exogenous insulin, including incomplete glucose clearance and/or utilization. In addition, L-DE-71 produced elevated levels of plasma glucagon and the incretin, active glucagon-like peptide-1 (7-36) amide (GLP-1) but no changes were detected in insulin. These alterations, which represent criteria used clinically to diagnose diabetes in humans, were accompanied with reduced hepatic glutamate dehydrogenase enzymatic activity, elevated adrenal epinephrine and decreased thermogenic brown adipose tissue (BAT) mass, indicating involvement of several organ system targets of PBDEs. Liver levels of several endocannabinoid species were not altered. Discussion Our findings demonstrate that chronic, low-level exposure to PBDEs in dams can dysregulate glucose homeostasis and glucoregulatory hormones in their male offspring. Previous findings using female siblings show altered glucose homeostasis that aligned with a contrasting diabetogenic phenotype, while their mothers displayed more subtle glucoregulatory alterations, suggesting that developing organisms are more susceptible to DE-71. We summarize the results of the current work, generated in males, considering previous findings in females. Collectively, these findings offer a comprehensive account of differential effects of environmentally relevant PBDEs on glucose homeostasis and glucoregulatory endocrine dysregulation of developmentally exposed male and female mice.
Explosive Products EOS: Adjustment for detonation speed and energy release

Propagating detonation waves exhibit a curvature effect in which the detonation speed decreases with increasing front curvature. The curvature effect is due to the width of the wave profile. Numerically, the wave profile depends on resolution. With coarse resolution, the wave width is too large and results in a curvature effect that is too large. Consequently, the detonation speed decreases as the cell size is increased. We propose a modification to the products equation of state (EOS) to compensate for the effect of numerical resolution; i.e., to increase the CJ pressure in order that a simulation propagates a detonation wave with a speed that is on average correct. The EOS modification also adjusts the release isentrope to correct the energy release.
Arterial Stiffness in Transgender Men Receiving Long-term Testosterone Therapy

Abstract Context The effects of androgen therapy on arterial function in transgender men (TM) are not fully understood, particularly concerning long-term androgen treatment. Objective To evaluate arterial stiffness in TM receiving long-term gender-affirming hormone therapy by carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV). Methods A cross-sectional case–control study at the Gender Dysphoria Unit of the Division of Endocrinology, HC-FMUSP, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Thirty-three TM receiving intramuscular testosterone esters as regular treatment for an average time of 14 ± 8 years were compared with 111 healthy cisgender men and women controls matched for age and body mass index. Aortic stiffness was evaluated by cf-PWV measurements using Complior device post-testosterone therapy. The main outcome measure was aortic stiffness by cf-PWV as a cardiovascular risk marker in TM and control group. Results The cf-PWV after long-term testosterone therapy was significantly higher in TM (7.4 ± 0.9 m/s; range 5.8-8.9 m/s) than in cisgender men (6.6 ± 1.0 m/s; range 3.8-9.0 m/s, P < .01) and cisgender women controls (6.9 ± .9 m/s; range 4.8-9.1 m/s, P = .02). The cf-PWV was significantly and positively correlated with age. Analysis using blood pressure as a covariate showed a significant relationship between TM systolic blood pressure (SBP) and cf-PWV in relation to cisgender women but not to cisgender men. Age, SBP, and diagnosis of hypertension were independently associated with cf-PWV in the TM group. Conclusion The TM group on long-term treatment with testosterone had higher aging-related aortic stiffening than the control groups. These findings indicate that aortic stiffness might be accelerated in the TM group receiving gender-affirming hormone treatment, and suggest a potential deleterious effect of testosterone on arterial function. Preventive measures in TM individuals receiving testosterone treatment, who are at higher risk for cardiovascular events, are highly recommended.
An Application of Matrix Power Series to Linear Models

In the system of two seemingly unrelated regressions, employing a matrix power series, we show that the two-stage estimator is better than the ordinary least square estimator (OLSE) in terms of the mean square error matrix (MSEM) criterion. The result enriches the existing literature and can be applied to many fields of applications related to economics and statistics.
Efficacy of Artificial Intelligence in the Categorisation of Paediatric Pneumonia on Chest Radiographs: A Systematic Review

This study aimed to systematically review the literature to synthesise and summarise the evidence surrounding the efficacy of artificial intelligence (AI) in classifying paediatric pneumonia on chest radiographs (CXRs). Following the initial search of studies that matched the pre-set criteria, their data were extracted using a data extraction tool, and the included studies were assessed via critical appraisal tools and risk of bias. Results were accumulated, and outcome measures analysed included sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the curve (AUC). Five studies met the inclusion criteria. The highest sensitivity was by an ensemble AI algorithm (96.3%). DenseNet201 obtained the highest level of specificity and accuracy (94%, 95%). The most outstanding AUC value was achieved by the VGG16 algorithm (96.2%). Some of the AI models achieved close to 100% diagnostic accuracy. To assess the efficacy of AI in a clinical setting, these AI models should be compared to that of radiologists. The included and evaluated AI algorithms showed promising results. These algorithms can potentially ease and speed up diagnosis once the studies are replicated and their performances are assessed in clinical settings, potentially saving millions of lives.
Some comments upon the reciprocity integral used in magnetic recording

The fact that the hypothetical test current in the well-known reciprocity integral used in magnetic recording studies must be at precisely the same frequency as that of the READ head output signal is emphasized. It is shown that, under the conditions which usually prevail in magnetic recording, the application of this criterion leads naturally to the concepts of the READ head efficiency temporal spectrum as well as the usual thickness, spacing and gap-loss spatial spectra.
The Unsteady Development of a Turbulent Wake Through a Downstream Low-Pressure Turbine Blade Passage

This paper presents two-dimensional LDA measurements of the convection of a wake through a low-pressure (LP) turbine cascade. Previous studies have shown the wake convection to be kinematic but have not provided details of the turbulent field. The spatial resolution of these measurements has facilitated the calculation of the production of turbulent kinetic energy and this has revealed a mechanism for turbulence production as the wake converts through the bladerow. The measured ensemble-averaged velocity field confirmed the previously reported kinematics of wake convection while the measurements of the turbulence quantities showed the wake fluid to be characterised by elevated levels of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and to have an anisotropic structure. Based on the measured mean and turbulence quantities, the production of turbulent kinetic energy was calculated. This highlighted a TKE production mechanism that resulted in increased levels of turbulence over the rear suction surface where boundary layer transition occurs. The turbulence production mechanism within the bladerow was also observed to produce more nearly isotropic turbulence. Production occurs when the principal stresses within the wake are aligned with the mean strains. This coincides with the maximum distortion of the wake within the blade passage and provides a mechanism for the production of turbulence outside of the boundary layer.
Modulation of Alpha-Crystallin-Membrane Association by Phospholipid Acyl Chain Length and Degree of Unsaturation

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. The only treatment for cataracts is the surgical removal of the cataractous lens and the replacement of an intraocular lens. With less availability of treatment and low income, the visual damage caused by cataracts can go untreated. The cataract may develop again after surgery, such as posterior capsule opacification. With age and cataracts, α-crystallin, a significant protein of the mammalian eye lens, is progressively associated with the eye lens membrane. The primary association sites of α-crystallin with the membranes are phospholipids. However, it is unclear if phospholipids’ acyl chain length and degree of unsaturation influence the α-crystallin association. We used the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) approach to investigate the association of α-crystallin with phosphatidylcholine (PC) membranes of different acyl chain lengths and degrees of unsaturation, with and without cholesterol (Chol). The association constant (Ka) of α-crystallin follows the trends, i.e., Ka (14:0–14:0 PC) > Ka (18:0–18:1 PC) > Ka (18:1– 18:1 PC) ≈ Ka (16:0–20:4 PC) where the presence of Chol decreases Ka for all membranes. With an increase in α-crystallin concentration, the saturated and monounsaturated membranes rapidly become more immobilized near the headgroup regions than the polyunsaturated membranes. Our results directly correlate the mobility and order near the headgroup regions of the membrane with the Ka, with the less mobile and more ordered membrane having substantially higher Ka. Furthermore, our results show that the hydrophobicity near the headgroup regions of the membrane increases with the α-crystallin association, indicating that the α-crystallin-membrane association forms the hydrophobic barrier to the transport of polar and ionic molecules, supporting the barrier hypothesis in cataract development. Taken together, our findings clearly show how the changes in phospholipids’ acyl chain length and degree of unsaturation influence α-crystallin association with model membranes and provide insight for further investigations to examine how such changes in lipids in the eye lens membranes with age and cataracts modulate α-crystallin association with native membranes.
Description and evaluation of a coupled eulerian transport-exchange model. Part II. Sensitivity analysis and application

A detailed description of a coupled transport-deposition model has been given in the accompanying paper in this issue (Lagzi et al., 2006). Sensitivity analysis of this model and some applications are presented in this study. Within the framework of sensitivity analysis, the effects of input data on model results have been examined. Some case studies of model applications are also presented here. Using our model, the impact of both short term accidental releases and continuous emissions of air pollutants can be estimated. An example of long-range transport processes resulting from an accidental release from a single concentrated emission source (nuclear power plant (NPP) at Paks, Hungary) is discussed. Another application of the model is the prediction of secondary pollutant loading resulting from the continuous release of pollutant precursors. Estimations of photochemical air pollution and ozone fluxes were performed on a regular grid over Hungary for the first time. Time and space resolutions of the transport-deposition model correspond to the ALADIN meso-scale limited area numerical weather prediction model used by the Hungarian Meteorological Service. Accordingly, the meteorological data utilized in the model were generated by the ALADIN model, which allows further routine model applications. The model simulations show that the predicted regions of high stomatal ozone flux (the effective ozone load) can be very different to predicted regions of high AOT 40 (accumulated ozone exposure over a threshold of 40 ppb) values depending on the weather and soil conditions. The predicted ozone deposition velocities over various vegetation types are shown to be highly sensitive to a range of meteorological parameters for summer, sunny conditions which affects the flux of ozone from the atmosphere to the surface.
Endovascular image-guided sampling of tumor-draining veins provides an enriched source of oncological biomarkers

Introduction Circulating tumor-derived biomarkers can potentially impact cancer management throughout the continuum of care. This small exploratory study aimed to assess the relative levels of such biomarkers in the tumor-draining vascular beds in patients with solid tumors compared to levels in their peripheral veins. Methods Using an endovascular image-guided approach, we obtained blood samples from peripheral veins and other vascular compartments–including the most proximal venous drainage from solid tumors–from a set of nine oncology patients with various primary and metastatic malignancies. We then interrogated these samples for a panel of oncological biomarkers, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), exosome-derived microRNAs (miRNAs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) mutations, and certain cancer-related proteins/biochemical markers. Results We found substantially higher levels of CTCs, certain miRNAs, and specific ctDNA mutations in samples from vascular beds closer to the tumor compared with those from peripheral veins and also noted that some of these signals were altered by treatment procedures. Discussion Our results indicate that tumor-proximal venous samples are highly enriched for some oncological biomarkers and may allow for more robust molecular analysis than peripheral vein samples.
Determinants of Consumers’ Intentions to Reduce Air Travel

Although consumer air travel reduction has important societal, economic, and environmental implications, knowledge about the determinants of consumers’ decisions to reduce air travel is sparse. Therefore, the present study develops and empirically tests a model of consumers’ intentions to reduce air travel. To understand the determinants of consumers’ intentions to reduce air travel through this model, we build on anticonsumption theory, which we extend by integrating social dilemma and behavioral reasoning theory. The findings from a survey conducted among air travelers (n = 1,263) reveal that consumers’ decisions to reduce air travel are the result of cognitively weighing the benefits and sacrifices of air travel that are oriented either toward the self (e.g., perceived health risks) or others (e.g., perceived environmental concerns). In addition, the results of a multigroup analysis provide segment-specific implications for practitioners and public policy.
High-Accuracy Stable Difference Schemes for Well-Posed Initial-Value Problems

For $t > 0$, let $u(t)$ satisfy \[ \frac{{du}}{{dt}} = Au, \] where A is a linear operator, the generator of a strongly continuous semigroup. Let $v(t)$ satisfy $v(t + h) = r(hA)v(t)$, where $r( \cdot )$ is a rational function of one variable, such that $| {r(z)} | \leqq 1$ for all $\operatorname{Re} z \leqq 0$. Let $u(0) = v(0)$ and be in the domain of $A^{q + 2} $. Then, if \[ \left| {r(z) - e^z } \right| = O\left( {| z |^{q + 1} } \right)\quad {\text{as }} | z | \to 0,\] we have \[ \| {u(t) = v(t)} \| = O\left( {h^q } \right)\] as $h \to 0$, where q is an arbitrary nonnegative integer.