Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Galactic deuterium abundance and dust depletion: insights from an expanded Ti/H sample

The primordial abundance of deuterium (D/H) yields a measure of the density of baryons in the Universe and is an important complement to determinations from cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. Indeed, the current small samples of high-redshift D/H measurements from quasar absorption line studies are in excellent agreement with CMB-derived values. Conversely, absorption line measurements of the Galactic D/H ratio in almost 50 stellar sightlines show a puzzlingly large scatter outside the local bubble which is difficult to explain simply by astration from the primordial value. The currently favoured explanation for these large variations is that D is differentially depleted relative to H in some parts of the local interstellar medium (ISM). Here, we test this scenario by studying the correlation between D/H and the abundance of titanium, one of the most refractory elements readily observed in the ISM. Previous work by Prochaska, Tripp & Howk found tentative evidence for a correlation between Ti/H and D/H based on seven sightlines. Here we almost triple the number of previous Ti measurements and include several sightlines with very high or low D/H that are critical for quantifying any correlations with D/H. With our larger sample, we confirm a correlation between Ti/H and D/H at the 97 per cent confidence level. However, the magnitude of this dependence is difficult to reconcile with a simple model of dust depletion for two reasons. First, contrary to what is expected from local depletion rates, the gradient of the highly refractory Ti is much shallower than that observed for Fe and Si. Secondly, we do not observe the established tight, steep correlation between [Ti/H] and the mean volume density of hydrogen. Therefore, whilst dust remains a plausible explanation for the local D/H variations, the abundances of at least some of the refractory elements do not provide unanimous support for this scenario. We also argue that the correlations of [Si/H], [Fe/H] and [Ti/H] with D/H are inconsistent with a simple infall model of low-metallicity gas with approximately solar abundances as the dominant cause for D variations.
Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Induced by a Genetically Modified Picornavirus in Its Natural Murine Host

Infections with the picornavirus, human rhinovirus (HRV), are a major cause of wheezing illnesses and asthma exacerbations. In developing a murine model of picornaviral airway infection, we noted the absence of murine rhinoviruses and that mice are not natural hosts for HRV. The picornavirus, mengovirus, induces lethal systemic infections in its natural murine hosts, but small genetic differences can profoundly affect picornaviral tropism and virulence. We demonstrate that inhalation of a genetically attenuated mengovirus, vMC0, induces lower respiratory tract infections in mice. After intranasal vMC0 inoculation, lung viral titers increased, peaking at 24 h postinoculation with viral shedding persisting for 5 days, whereas HRV-A01a lung viral titers decreased and were undetectable 24 h after intranasal inoculation. Inhalation of vMC0, but not vehicle or UV-inactivated vMC0, induced an acute respiratory illness, with body weight loss and lower airway inflammation, characterized by increased numbers of airway neutrophils and lymphocytes and elevated pulmonary expression of neutrophil chemoattractant CXCR2 ligands (CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL5) and interleukin-17A. Mice inoculated with vMC0, compared with those inoculated with vehicle or UV-inactivated vMC0, exhibited increased pulmonary expression of interferon (IFN-α, IFN-β, IFN-λ), viral RNA sensors [toll-like receptor (TLR)3, TLR7, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 2 (NOD2)], and chemokines associated with HRV infection in humans (CXCL10, CCL2). Inhalation of vMC0, but not vehicle or UV-inactivated vMC0, was accompanied by increased airway fluid myeloperoxidase levels, an indicator of neutrophil activation, increased MUC5B gene expression, and lung edema, a sign of infection-related lung injury. Consistent with experimental HRV inoculations of nonallergic, nonasthmatic human subjects, there were no effects on airway hyperresponsiveness after inhalation of vMC0 by healthy mice. This novel murine model of picornaviral airway infection and inflammation should be useful for defining mechanisms of HRV pathogenesis in humans.
Interpolation of animal tracking data in a fluid environment

SUMMARY Interpolation of geolocation or Argos tracking data is a necessity for habitat use analyses of marine vertebrates. In a fluid marine environment, characterized by curvilinear structures, linearly interpolated track data are not realistic. Based on these two facts, we interpolated tracking data from albatrosses, penguins, boobies, sea lions, fur seals and elephant seals using six mathematical algorithms. Given their popularity in mathematical computing, we chose Bézier, hermite and cubic splines, in addition to a commonly used linear algorithm to interpolate data. Performance of interpolation methods was compared with different temporal resolutions representative of the less-precise geolocation and the more-precise Argos tracking techniques. Parameters from interpolated sub-sampled tracks were compared with those obtained from intact tracks. Average accuracy of the interpolated location was not affected by the interpolation method and was always within the precision of the tracking technique used. However, depending on the species tested, some curvilinear interpolation algorithms produced greater occurrences of more accurate locations, compared with the linear interpolation method. Total track lengths were consistently underestimated but were always more accurate using curvilinear interpolation than linear interpolation. Curvilinear algorithms are safe to use because accuracy, shape and length of the tracks are either not different or are slightly enhanced and because analyses always remain conservative. The choice of the curvilinear algorithm does not affect the resulting track dramatically so it should not preclude their use. We thus recommend using curvilinear interpolation techniques because of the more realistic fluid movements of animals. We also provide some guidelines for choosing an algorithm that is most likely to maximize track quality for different types of marine vertebrates.
Time-Dependent Descending Facilitation from the Rostral Ventromedial Medulla Maintains, But Does Not Initiate, Neuropathic Pain

Although injury-induced afferent discharge declines significantly over time, experimental neuropathic pain persists unchanged for long periods. These observations suggest that processes that initiate experimental neuropathic pain may differ from those that maintain such pain. Here, the role of descending facilitation arising from developing plasticity in the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) in the initiation and maintenance of experimental neuropathic pain was explored. Tactile and thermal hypersensitivity were induced in rats by spinal nerve ligation (SNL). RVM lidocaine blocked SNL-induced tactile and thermal hypersensitivity on post-SNL days 6–12 but not on post-SNL day 3. Lesion of RVM cells expressing μ-opioid receptors with dermorphin–saporin did not prevent the onset of SNL-induced tactile and thermal hypersensitivity, but these signs reversed to baseline levels beginning on post-SNL day 4. Similarly, lesions of the dorsolateral funiculus (DLF) did not prevent the onset of SNL-induced tactile and thermal hypersensitivity, but these signs reversed to baseline levels beginning on post-SNL day 4. Lesions of the DLF also blocked the SNL-induced increase in spinal dynorphin content, which has been suggested to promote neuropathic pain. These data distinguish mechanisms that initiate the neuropathic state as independent of descending supraspinal influences and additional mechanism(s) that require supraspinal facilitation to maintain such pain. In addition, the data indicate that these time-dependent descending influences can underlie some of the SNL-induced plasticity at the spinal level. Such time-dependent descending influences driving associated spinal changes, such as the upregulation of dynorphin, are key elements in the maintenance, but not initiation, of neuropathic states.
Interactions between metals and microbial communities in New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts.

The fate of toxic metals in marine sediments depends on a combination of the physical, chemical, and biologic conditions encountered in any given environment. These conditions may vary dramatically, both spatially and temporally, in response to factors ranging from seasonal changes and storm events to human activities such as dredging or remediation efforts. This paper describes a program designed to evaluate the interrelationships between the microbial community and pollutants in the New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts, area, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated Superfund site. Research has focused on establishing distributional relationships between contaminant metals, fluxes of metals between sediments and the overlying water, changes in microbial diversity in response to metals, and potential use of the microbial community as a biomarker of contaminant availability. This research has shown that a significant flux of metals to the water column is mediated by benthic biologic activity, and that microbial communities may be a responsive marker of contaminant stress. A combination of biogeochemical studies and the use of molecular tools can be used to improve our understanding of the fate and effect of heavy metals released to aquatic systems. ImagesFigure 1Figure 3Figure 4
The Local Interstellar Medium in Puppis-Vela

The first study of the local interstellar medium (LISM) toward Puppis-Vela (l = 245° to 275°, b = -15° to +5°, d < 200 pc) is presented in this paper. A study of the locations, sizes, and physical characteristics of local interstellar gas, i.e."astronephography," is included, and relies upon the improved distance measurements provided by Hipparcos parallax measurements. All spectra of more distant sight lines contain absorption features due to intervening local gas, and more distant structures can only be studied accurately if components due to the LISM have been isolated. Towards this end, high-resolution (R ≈ 95,000), high signal-to-noise (S/N ~ 110 to 250) Na I λλ5889. 951, 5895.924 spectra of 11 nearby stars in the direction of Puppis-Vela have been obtained with the Coudé Echelle Spectrograph on the 1.4 m Coudé Auxiliary Telescope at the European Southern Observatory. Toward Puppis-Vela, absorption due to the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) was not observed, but components at three distinct velocities were found, and the extent of the local gas producing the features was estimated. The three components have the following locations and velocities: component A—(l≈276° to 298°, b ≈ -5°to +4°), Vhelio = +6 to +9 km s-1, and d ~ 104 pc; component B—(l ≈ 264° to 276°, b ≈ -7° to +3°), Vhelio = +12 to +15 km s-1, and d ~ 115 pc; component C—(l ≈ 252° to 271°, b ≈ -8° to -6°), Vhelio = +21 to +23 km s-1, and d ~ 131 pc. The conclusions regarding the ultraviolet spectrum of γ2 Vel (l = 263°, b = -8°, d = 258 ± 35 pc) presented by Fitzpatrick & Spitzer were reexamined in light of this new LISM data, and the ambiguity in their conclusions about several absorption components is resolved. The stars in Puppis-Vela flank the region of the apparent extension of the Local Bubble (or Cavity) known as the β CMa tunnel, and measurements of the Na I column density towards the sample stars have been used to modify existing estimates of the extent of the tunnel. A compilation of all existing Na I observations of less than 200 pc sight lines around the tunnel reveal that low column densities have been exclusively detected within l ≈ 210° to 250°, and b ≈ -21° to -9°. Near the Galactic plane, at latitudes -10° < b < 0° and d ≲ 150 pc, the tunnel is confined to l < 270°, a lower longitude than was previously reported.
Using corpora in machine-learning chatbot systems

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Missed Opportunities: Evolution of Patients Leaving without Being Seen or against Medical Advice during a Six-Year Period in a Swiss Tertiary Hospital Emergency Department

Aim. The study aimed at describing the evolution over a 6-year period of patients leaving the emergency department (ED) before being seen (“left without being seen” or LWBS) or against medical advice (“left against medical advice” or LAMA) and at describing their characteristics. Methods. A retrospective database analysis of all adult patients who are admitted to the ED, between 2005 and 2010, and who left before being evaluated or against medical advice, in a tertiary university hospital. Results. During the study period, among the 307,716 patients who were registered in the ED, 1,157 LWBS (0.4%) and 1,853 LAMA (0.9%) patients were identified. These proportions remained stable over the period. The patients had an average age of 38.5 ± 15.9 years for LWBS and 41.9 ± 17.4 years for LAMA. The median time spent in the ED before leaving was 102.4 minutes for the LWBS patients and 226 minutes for LAMA patients. The most frequent reason for LAMA was related to the excessive length of stay. Conclusion. The rates of LWBS and LAMA patients were low and remained stable. The patients shared similar characteristics and reasons for leaving were largely related to the length of stay or waiting time.
Noise correction of image labeling in crowdsourcing

We investigate the methods of improving data quality, in terms of label accuracy, in the context of image labeling in crowdsourcing. First, we look at three consensus methods for inferring a ground-truth label from the multiple noisy labels obtained from crowdsourcing, i.e., Majority Voting (MV), Dawid Skene (DS), and KOS. We then apply three noise correction methods to correct labels inferred by these consensus methods, i.e., Polishing Labels (PL), Self-Training Correction (STC), and Cluster Correction (CC). Our experimental results show that the noise correction methods improve the labeling quality significantly.
POSIX Access Control Lists on Linux

Printed textiles and a process for production of resist effects on textile materials of mixed fibers of polyester and cellulose comprising impregnating the materials with a dye liquor containing dischargeable disperse dyestuffs and dischargeable reactive dyestuffs which react with the resisting agents, drying or partially drying the materials and subsequently printing a resist paste on the materials, and heat-treating the materials at temperatures of 100 DEG to 190 DEG C. , the improvement comprises said dischargeable disperse dyestuffs are of the formula p0 wherein n is a number of 1 to 9; said dischargeable reactive dyestuffs being those containing reactive moieties of the formula -SO2-CH2-CH2-hal, -SO2-CH2-CH2-O-SO3M, -NH-SO2-CH2-CH2-O-SO3M or -SO2-CH=CH2 wherein M is hydrogen or a metal cation and hal is halogen; and the resist paste contains an alkali metal sulphite or an alkali metal bisulphite in combination with an alkali metal carbonate of alkali metal bicarbonate.
The Extended Power Law as an Intrinsic Signature for a Black Hole

We analyze the exact general relativistic integrodifferential equation of radiative transfer describing the interaction of low-energy photons with a Maxwellian distribution of hot electrons in the gravitational field of a Schwarzschild black hole. We prove that, owing to Comptonization, an initial arbitrary spectrum of low-energy photons unavoidably results in spectra characterized by an extended power-law feature. We examine the spectral index by using both analytical and numerical methods for a variety of physical parameters as such the plasma temperature and the mass accretion rate. The presence of the event horizon as well as the behavior of the null geodesics in its vicinity largely determine the dependence of the spectral index on the flow parameters. We come to the conclusion that the bulk motion of a converging flow is more efficient in upscattering photons than thermal Comptonization, provided that the electron temperature in the flow is of order of a few kilo-electron volts or less. In this case, the spectrum observed at infinity consists of a soft component, which is produced by those input photons that escape after a few scatterings without any significant energy change, and a hard component (described by a power law), which is produced by the photons that underwent significant upscattering. The luminosity of the power-law component is relatively small compared to that of the soft component. For accretion into a black hole, the spectral energy index of the power law is always higher than 1 for plasma temperatures of order of a few kilo-electron volts. This result suggests that the bulk motion Comptonization might be responsible for the power-law spectra seen in the black hole X-ray sources.
Analytic Estimation of Subsample Spatial Shift Using the Phases of Multidimensional Analytic Signals

In this correspondence, a method of analytic subsample spatial shift estimation based on an a priori n-D signal model is proposed. The estimation uses the linear phases of n analytic signals defined with the multidimensional Hilbert transform. This estimation proposes: i) an analytic solution to the n -D shift estimation and ii) an estimation without processing complex cross-correlation function or cross-spectra between signals contrary to most phase shift estimators. The method provides better performance in estimating subsample shifts than two classical estimators, one using the maximum of cross-correlation function and the other seeking the zero of the complex correlation function phase. Two delay estimators using the in-phase and quadrature-phase components of signals are also compared to our estimator. Like most estimators using the complex signal phases, the estimator proposed herein presents the advantage of unaltered accuracy when low sampled signals are used. Moreover, we show that this method can be applied to motion tracking with ultrasound images. Thus, included in a block-based motion estimation method and tested with ultrasound data, this estimator provides an analytical solution to the translation estimation problem.
The Mystery Deepens: Spitzer Observations of Cool White Dwarfs

We present 4.5 and 8 μm photometric observations of 18 cool white dwarfs obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our observations demonstrate that four white dwarfs with Teff < 6000 K show slightly depressed mid-infrared fluxes relative to white dwarf models. In addition, another white dwarf with a peculiar optical and near-infrared spectral energy distribution (LHS 1126) is found to display significant flux deficits in Spitzer observations. These mid-infrared flux deficits are not predicted by the current white dwarf models including collision-induced absorption due to molecular hydrogen. We postulate that either the collision-induced absorption calculations are incomplete or there are other unrecognized physical processes occurring in cool white dwarf atmospheres. The spectral energy distribution of LHS 1126 surprisingly fits a Rayleigh-Jeans spectrum in the infrared, mimicking a hot white dwarf with effective temperature well in excess of 105 K. This implies that the source of this flux deficit is probably not molecular absorption but some other process.
A Novel Multi-factor Authenticated Key Exchange Scheme With Privacy Preserving

In this paper, a new multi-factor authenticated key exchange scheme, which combines with biometrics, password and the smart card, is proposed. Compared with the previous schemes, this scheme has higher security in remote authentication and preserves privacy of biometrics , and most of the previous schemes rely on the smart card to verify biometrics. The advantage of these approaches is that the user’s biometrics is not shared with the remote server, which can resist insider’s attack and preserve the privacy of the biometrics. The disadvantage is that the remote server must trust the smart card to perform authentication, which leads to various vulnerabilities. To achieve multifactor authentication, a new function called one-way function with distance-keeping, which is used to preserve privacy of user’s biometrics, is introduced. This scheme has advantages as multi-factor authentication, privacy preserving and lower communication complexity etc. It is proven secure under the random oracle and is suitable to the environment which lacked communication resource and needed higher security.
The Synthesis of Wide- and Multi-Bandgap Electromagnetic Surfaces With Finite Size and Nonuniform Capacitive Loading

A method is presented that allows for the efficient design of capacitively loaded finite-size electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures, which can target a wide range of design objectives. The design flexibility is achieved by adding arbitrary nonuniform capacitive loading to an underlying periodic EBG structure. This system can be interpreted as having an effective aperiodic structure, which allows more design flexibility in terms of bandgap engineering. To choose the proper capacitances, a powerful global optimization technique known as the covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy is employed that is aided by a fast port-reduction strategy. This approach avoids the need to carry out multiple computationally expensive full-wave simulations during the course of the optimization process by requiring only a single full-wave simulation be performed prior to initiating the optimization. To demonstrate the utility of this method, the capacitive loading of a mushroom-type EBG structure in a parallel-plate waveguide is optimized to reduce transmission from 2.4 to 7 GHz. This design was fabricated and the measured response was found to be in good agreement with the simulations. Using the same initial full-wave simulation, another structure was designed to improve isolation at the 2.4-, 3.6-, and 5-GHz WLAN bands to below -22 dB. An additional set of structures are also designed using capacitively loaded mushroom-type EBG surfaces without placing them inside of a parallel-plate waveguide.
A New Wireless Access Scheme: Novel Punctured LDPC Coded Ultra-wideband System

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology has attracted much attention in high speed indoor wireless communications. UWB communications have transmitted power limitations according to FCC regulation. To face this drawback, while still maintaining significant error correction capabilities, we propose a novel punctured low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding scheme for multiband OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) UWB systems in this paper. Different from the randomly punctured coding, we puncture the variable nodes on their degrees. We fix the target SNR threshold of the punctured code and optimize (maximize) the puncturing fraction for that threshold. From our analysis and numerical results, we find that this new scheme gives a significant performance gain compared with the randomly punctured scheme.