Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The contribution of boundary layer nucleation events to total particle concentrations on regional and global scales

The contribution of boundary layer nucleation events to total particle concentrations on the global scale has been studied by including a new particle formation mechanism in a global aerosol microphysics model. The mechanism is based on an analysis of extensive observations of particle formation in the boundary layer at a continental surface site. It assumes that molecular clusters form at a rate proportional to the gaseous sulfuric acid concentration to the power of 1. The formation rate of 3 nm diameter observable particles is controlled by the cluster formation rate and the existing particle surface area, which acts to scavenge condensable gases and clusters during growth. Modelled sulfuric acid vapour concentrations, particle formation rates, growth rates, coagulation loss rates, peak particle concentrations, and the daily timing of events in the global model agree well with observations made during a 22-day period of March 2003 at the SMEAR II station in Hyytiala, Finland. The nucleation bursts produce total particle concentrations (>3 nm diameter) often exceeding 104 cm? 3, which are sustained for a period of several hours around local midday. The predicted global distribution of particle formation events broadly agrees with what is expected from available observations. Over relatively clean remote continental locations formation events can sustain mean total particle concentrations up to a factor of 8 greater than those resulting from anthropogenic sources of primary organic and black carbon particles. However, in polluted continental regions anthropogenic primary particles dominate particle number and formation events lead to smaller enhancements of up to a factor of 2. Our results therefore suggest that particle concentrations in remote continental are dominated by nucleated particles while concentrations in polluted continental regions are dominated by primary particles. The effect of boundary layer particle formation over tropical regions and the Amazon is negligible. Particle concentrations are enhanced by a factor 3? 10 over the remote Southern Ocean (30? 70° S), resulting in total concentrations of ~250? 1000 cm? 3, in good agreement with observations. Particle formation tends to peak towards the top of the marine boundary layer and there is a lack of obvious burst-like behaviour at the sea surface. This result suggests that new particle formation in the marine boundary layer could be confused with entrainment from the free troposphere. These first global particle formation simulations reveal some interesting sensitivities. We show, for example, that significant reductions in primary particle emissions may lead to an increase in total particle concentration because of the coupling between particle surface area and the rate of new particle formation. This result suggests that changes in emissions may have a complicated effect on global and regional aerosol properties. Overall, our results show that new particle formation is a significant component of the aerosol particle number budget.
Meta‐Analysis of the Effects of Sexual Orientation on Earnings

type="main" xml:id="irel12075-abs-0001"> Most studies show that gay men earn less and lesbians earn more than their heterosexual counterparts, but the size of estimated sexual orientation differences varies greatly across studies. Using studies published between 1995 and 2012, a meta-regression shows that the gay sample size, sexual orientation measure, and controls for work intensity explain variation in estimates for men. For women, there are few conclusive influences although controlling for work intensity seems to be most important.
Recreation, Arts, Events and Festivals: Their Contribution to a Sense of Community in the Colac–Otway Shire of Country Victoria

Abstract So what does the concept of ‘sense of community’ mean to a rural society? Some would argue that sense of community is more important to rural society because it literally defines the community. This is in contrast to a larger community, where there are many sub-communities that define the make-up of the overall community and as such significantly distorts and diminishes the sense of community. There are many concepts, functions, and activities that are part of defining and developing a sense of community. One group of activities that many rural societies believe contributes to a sense of community are festivals, events and recreation. The purpose of this paper is to articulate the value recreation, arts, events and festivals have on a rural shire’s sense of community, including evidence of membership opportunities in the community, the ability for individuals to influence the direction of the community, the presence of a network to allow for integration and fulfilment of needs, and the potential for various levels of shared emotional connectedness. The research conducted for this paper was completed in conjunction with the Colac–Otway Shire in country Victoria.
The Correlation of Nonperforming Loans between Large and Small Banks

This short paper presents a new stylized fact about bank nonperforming loans. According to the data for the US, the average of the ratio of noncurrent loans to total loans for large banks presents a very high negative correlation with the same ratio for small banks. This result remains valid for different measures of bank size as well as controlling for different bank characteristics such as charter class, specialization or geographical location.
Programing by Demonstration: Coping with Suboptimal Teaching Actions

The difficulty associated with programing existing robots is one of the main impediments to them finding application in domestic environments such as the home. A promising method for simplifying robot programing is Programing by Demonstration (PbD). Here, an end user can provide a demonstration of the task to be programed, with a PbD “interface” interpreting the demonstration in order to determine low-level control details for the robot. A key aspect of the interpretation process is to make it robust to the noise typically included in a demonstration by the human. In this paper we present a method to help identify and eliminate any noise present in the demonstration. Our method involves two steps. The first step uses the demonstration to build up a partial knowledge of the geometry present in the task. Statistical regression analysis is used on demonstrated trajectories to determine equations describing curved surfaces in configuration space. The second step in our method uses the geometric information obtained in the first step to determine if there are more optimal paths than those demonstrated for completing the task. If there are, our method proposes these as the appropriate control commands for the robot. We show the validity of our approach by presenting successful experiments on a realistic household-type task—changing rolls on a paper roll holder.
Brain derived neurotrophic factor and cognitive status: the delicate balance among people living with HIV, with and without alcohol abuse.

INTRODUCTION The advent of combination antiretroviral therapy(cART) has lead to a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV(PLWH). However, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) still remain a significant problem. One possible mechanism for the persistence of these disorders is through the effect of HIV on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is influenced by various factors including hazardous alcohol use (HAU), which is prevalent among PLWH. This study attempts to elucidate the relationships between HAU, BDNF and HAND. METHODS Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on a sample of 199 hazardous alcohol users and 198 non-HAU living with HIV. Members of each group were matched according to sociodemographic characteristics and CD4 count. Research procedures included validated questionnaires, neuropsychological assessments and a blood sample to obtain BDNF and immune measurements. RESULTS Hazardous alcohol users showed either significantly lower or significantly higher BDNF levels compared to the Non-hazardous (OR=1,4; 95% CI: 1-2.1, p = 0.003). Therefore, for additional analyses, subjects were categorized based on BDNF values in: Group 1 < 4000, Group 2: 4001-7,999 (reference group), and Group 3 for those >8,000 pg/mL. Groups 1 and 3 performed significantly worse than those in Group 2 in the domains of processing speed, auditory-verbal and visuospatial learning and memory. Multivariate analyses confirmed that HAU and BDNF are significant contributors of HAND. CONCLUSION Our findings offer novel insights into the relationships between BDNF, and alcohol use among PLWH. Our results also lend support to expanding clinical movement to use BDNF as an intervention target for PLWH, in those with evidence of deficiencies, and highlight the importance of including HAUat the inception of clinical trials.
The accuracy of hospital records and death certificates for acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND In Australia information on the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is available from routinely collected morbidity and mortality data. Given that these data are used for monitoring AMI it is important to assess their quality. AIMS This paper examines the accuracy of the hospital records and death certificates. METHODS Morbidity and mortality data were compared with the Newcastle heart disease register which is part of the WHO MONICA Project for 1986-1991 and sensitivity and positive predictive values calculated. RESULTS For non-fatal AMI the hospital diagnostic coding had sensitivity of 78.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 77.1%-80.7%), and positive predictive value of 65.6% (95% CI 63.7%-67.4%). Sensitivity was higher for men than for women and decreased with increasing age. Sensitivity was higher in those with no history of either AMI or other ischaemic heart disease (IHD), higher in current smokers than ex-smokers or never smokers, and lower in those with a self-reported history of high blood pressure. Sensitivity also varied among hospitals. Positive predictive value varied only with hospital. Both sensitivity and positive predictive value were high for death certificate data--89.9% (95% CI 88.4%-91.3%) and 96.0% (95% CI 95.1%-97.0%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Although the mortality data appear to be quite accurate, the hospital data alone are not accurate enough to be used to estimate rates or trends of heart attacks. Additional data are required in order to determine numbers of non-fatal AMIs accurately.
Vitamin D supplementation in young children: associations with Theory of Planned Behaviour variables, descriptive norms, moral norms and habits

Abstract Objective In the Netherlands, a supplementation of 10 μg vitamin D is recommended for children (aged 0–4 years), given that vitamin D contributes to the development of healthy bones and deficiency during childhood is a risk factor for osteoporosis at a later age. However, only 60 % of the Dutch children receive sufficient vitamin D supplementation a day. In order to develop interventions to improve supplementation intake, it is necessary to gain insight into the behaviour of parents in giving their children vitamin D supplementation and its association with variables of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, moral and descriptive norms and habits. Design A cross-sectional survey to assess present supplementation-related behaviour, knowledge, received information, intention, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, moral norm, descriptive norm and habit. Setting Data obtained from a representative Internet Panel by means of electronic questionnaires. Subjects Parents (n 270) of children aged 0–4 years. Results Half of the parents (48·9 %) gave their child sufficient vitamin D supplementation. Giving the supplement at a fixed time, a positive intention and habit were significantly associated with actual behaviour. The higher age of the child, first-born status, a fixed time for taking vitamin supplementation, descriptive norm and moral obligation were significantly associated with intention. Conclusions These results indicate that because many parents do not give their children adequate vitamin D supplementation, the promotion of supplementation during the first years of life is a necessity. Effective yet simple strategies should be developed, focused on improving moral obligation, descriptive norms and habit formation.
Characterization of cytR mutations that influence oligomerization of mutant repressor subunits

In Escherichia coli, the transport and catabolism of nucleosides require expression of the genes composing the CytR regulon. The role of the CytR repressor in transcriptional regulation has been examined through a study of mutant CytR proteins. Two important and interrelated CytR mutants are encoded by cytR delta M149, a dominant negative allele, and cytRC289R. Studies with CytR delta M149 indicated that the native, repression-competent CytR protein is multimeric while the CytR amino acid substitution C-289-->R has been proposed to affect subunit oligomerization on the basis of its ability to suppress the transdominance of CytR delta M149. The present study identifies other CytR amino acid residues proximal to Cys-289 that may also participate in normal subunit oligomerization. Mutations in these CytR residues, cytRA307P, cytRM308R, and cytRL309P, encoded inactive repressors in a CytR- background and, when combined with cytR delta M149, yielded hybrid repressors that were recessive in a CytR+ genetic background. Because the stability and solubility observed for the new, mutant CytR proteins and the wild-type CytR protein were indistinguishable, these residue replacements, like the C-289-->R substitution, are envisaged as being located at the subunit interface and thus suppress the CytR delta M149 transdominance by blocking efficient and stable assembly of wild-type and hybrid CytR subunits. The assignment of CytR amino acids to a protein region involved in subunit association is also consistent with the observations that these CytR amino acids are roughly colinear with regions of the LacI repressor that influence monomer-dimer association and would be surface located by alignment to the E. coli galactose-binding protein crystal structure.
Multiplex PCR for Rapid and Improved Diagnosis of Bloodstream Infections in Liver Transplant Recipients

ABSTRACT This prospective study evaluated the utility of the SeptiFast (SF) test in detecting 25 clinically important pathogens in 225 blood samples from 170 intensive care unit (ICU) patients with suspected sepsis after liver transplantation (LTX) or after other major abdominal surgery (non-LTX). SF yielded a significantly higher positivity rate in the LTX group (52.3%) than in the non-LTX group (30.5%; P = 0.0009). SF may be a powerful tool for the early diagnosis of bloodstream infections in LTX patients.
Progenitor Cell Mobilization by Gamma-tocotrienol: A Promising Radiation Countermeasure

Abstract This article reviews studies of progenitor mobilization with gamma-tocotrienol (GT3), a tocol under advanced development as a radiation countermeasure for acute radiation syndrome (ARS). GT3 protects mice against high doses of ionizing radiation and induces high levels of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). GT3‐induced G-CSF in conjunction with AMD3100 (a chemokine receptor antagonist clinically used to improve the yield of mobilized progenitors) mobilizes progenitors; these mobilized progenitors mitigate injury when infused to mice exposed to acute, high-dose ionizing radiation. The administration of a G-CSF antibody to GT3‐injected donor mice abrogated the radiomitigative efficacy of blood or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in irradiated recipient mice. The efficacy of GT3‐injected donor mice blood or PBMC was comparable to a recently published article involving blood or mononuclear cells obtained from mice injected with G-CSF. The injected progenitors were found to localize in various tissues of irradiated hosts. The authors demonstrate the efficacy of a bridging therapy in a preclinical animal model that allows the lymphohematopoietic system of severely immunocompromised mice to recover. This suggests that GT3 is a highly effective agent for radioprotection and mobilizing progenitors with significant therapeutic potential. Therefore, GT3 may be considered for further translational development and ultimately for use in humans.
Anglos' and Latinos' Self-Regulation to Standards for Education and Parenthood

Anglos’ and Latinos’ Self-Regulation to Standards for Education and Parenthood by Melissa Ann Witt Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Philip Costanzo, Supervisor ___________________________ Rick Hoyle ___________________________ Timothy Strauman ___________________________ Wendy Wood An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Duke University 2012 Copyright by Melissa Ann Witt 2012
Evaluation of the hardware specialization techniques for vibration control applications

Logic circuit can be reduced, if any input is given as a constant. The derived circuit usually operates at a higher frequency, as the logic depth and layout area are reduced. Such technique is called as hardware specialization, since the circuit is specialized to specific input data. This study presents the quantitative evaluation results of hardware specialization for vibration control systems, using MATLAB/Simulink and Altera Cyclone III FPGA as evaluation platform. In case of the third order Butterworth low-pass filter, its logic scale was reduced to 40–56% of the original by fixing the gain parameters; the improvement of operational frequencies were 23–39%. In Hybrid Shaped Approach, the logic scale was reduced to 48% of the original by fixing the filter parameters, while the improvement of operational frequency was 43%. In Preshaping with a low-pass filter, the respective logic scales were reduced to 10.6%, 9.6%, and 1.2% of the original by fixing parameters, input data, and both. The respective improvements of operational frequencies were 53, 10, and 70%.
Exogenous Application of Bio-Regulators for Alleviation of Heat Stress in Seedlings of Maize

High temperature is an important environmental stress that influences the growth and development of crop plants thus adversely affecting their production and productivity. An experiment was carried out to investigate the protective role of bioregulators viz., Putrescine (Put), Thiourea (TU) and Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) against high temperature stress in maize at early vegetative stage. Maize genotypes earlier identified as heat tolerant (NSJ 221 and NSJ 189) and heat sensitive (RJR 270 and PSRJ 13099) were chosen for the present study. Independent foliar spray of Put (4 mM), TU (20mM) and H2O2 (1.2 mM) was observed to have significant difference (P>0.01) between genotypes, treatments and their interaction when applied 72 hrs prior to heat exposure. High temperature stress led to disruption of cellular membrane by increasing cell membrane injury, lipid peroxidation and H2O2 contents. It led to decrease in total chlorophyll content, soluble proteins, quantum yield and POD activity. Increased SOD activity in heat stressed seedlings was recorded with genotypes NSJ 189 and NSJ 221. Foliar application of Put, TU and H2O2 ameliorated heat-induced damages by stimulating the antioxidant enzyme system through decrease in lipid peroxidation, membrane injury and H2O2 contents in all the genotypes when compared with untreated heat stressed seedlings. Spray with these chemicals resulted in an increase in chlorophyll content, quantum yield and activities of anti-oxidative stress enzymes. Genotypes RJR 270 and PSRJ 13099 recorded improved heat tolerance with spray either of these chemicals by enhancing their biochemical potential. Spray of Put or TU was observed to be more effective of improving heat stress tolerance of maize
Effect of multidisciplinary pre‐dialysis education in advanced chronic kidney disease: Propensity score matched cohort analysis

Aim: The mortality and morbidity of end‐stage renal failure patients remains high despite recent advances in pre‐dialysis care. Previous studies suggesting a positive effect of pre‐dialysis education were limited by unmatched comparisons between the recipients and non‐recipients of education. The present study aimed to clarify the roles of the multidisciplinary pre‐dialysis education (MPE) in chronic kidney disease patients.
Platelet-derived growth factor-modulated guided tissue regenerative therapy.

The goal of this study was to develop an effective regenerative therapy capable of achieving periodontal regeneration of Class III furcation defects. We attempted to achieve this goal by combining three therapeutic approaches. First, the lesion was protected by an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene barrier membrane that prevents migration of gingival fibroblasts as well as osteogenic cells from the mucoperiosteal flaps. Second, platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), which has potent chemotactic and mitogenic effects on periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDL), was used to promote migration of fibroblasts and their proliferation on the root surface. Third, the root surface, demineralized by citric acid conditioning, was chosen as the primary site for PDGF-BB application. The demineralized root surface appeared to have the capability of providing a sustained release of the applied growth factor. This seemed to facilitate rapid repopulation of PDL fibroblasts on the root surface and new PDL formation in the early stages of repair, which contributed to complete periodontal regeneration without root resorption and ankylosis in later stages. Combining these approaches, we developed a therapy referred to as "PDGF-modulated guided tissue regenerative therapy. " Unlike guided tissue regenerative therapy alone (without PDGF-BB), this therapy effectively promoted periodontal regeneration of Class III furcation defects in the beagle dog without significant ankylosis or root resorption.
Cooperative Medium Access Control Based on Spectrum Leasing

Based on cooperative spectrum leasing, a distributed “win-win” (WW) cooperative framework is designed to encourage the licensed source node (SN) to lease some part of its spectral resources to the unlicensed relay node (RN) for the sake of simultaneously improving the SN's achievable rate and for reducing the energy consumption (EC). The potential candidate RNs carry out autonomous decisions concerning whether to contend for a cooperative transmission opportunity, which could dissipate some of their battery power, while conveying their traffic in light of their individual service requirements. Furthermore, a WW cooperative medium-access-control (MAC) protocol is designed to implement the proposed distributed WW cooperative framework. Simulation results demonstrate that our WW cooperative MAC protocol is capable of providing both substantial rate improvements and considerable energy savings for the cooperative spectrum leasing system.