Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Projecting the CO2 and Climatic Change Effects on the Net Primary Productivity of the Urban Ecosystems in Phoenix, AZ in the 21st Century under Multiple RCP (Representative Concentration Pathway) Scenarios

Urban vegetation provides ecological services that promote both the ecosystem integrity and human well-being of urban areas, and thus is critical to urban sustainability. As a key indicator of ecological health, net primary productivity (NPP) provides valuable information about the performance of urban ecosystem in response to the changes in urban climate and atmosphere in the 21st century. In this study, a process-based urban ecosystem model, HPM-UEM (Hierarchical Patch Mosaic-Urban Ecosystem Model), was used to investigate spatiotemporal dynamics of urban ecosystem NPP in the Phoenix city, AZ under three representative concentration pathway (RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) during the 21st century. The results indicated that, by the end of the 21st century, the urban ecosystem’s NPP would increase by 14% (in RCP2.6), 51% (in RCP4.5) and 99% (in RCP8.5) relative to that in the late 2000s, respectively. Factorial analysis indicated that CO2 fertilization effect would be the major driver of NPP change, accounting for 56–61% of the NPP increase under the scenarios. Under the RCP2.6 scenario, the strongest NPP increase would be found in the agricultural lands located in the west and southeast of the city. Under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, the strongest NPP increase would be found in the mesic residential areas that mainly located to the eastern, southern, and southwestern of the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Although higher ecosystem NPP in the future implies improved ecosystem services that may help to alleviate the heat stress (by providing more shading) and air pollution in the city, this will be at the cost of higher irrigation water usage, probably leading to water shortage in the natural ecosystems in this arid region. Furthermore, this study indicated the rich (such as in mesic residential area) would enjoy more benefits from the improved urban ecosystem services than the poor (such as in xeric residential area).
Final coalgebras as greatest fixed points in ZF set theory

A special final coalgebra theorem, in the style of Aczel (1988), is proved within standard Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory. Aczel's Anti-Foundation Axiom is replaced by a variant definition of function that admits non-well-founded constructions. Variant ordered pairs and tuples, of possibly infinite length, are special cases of variant functions. Analogues of Aczel's solution and substitution lemmas are proved in the style of Rutten and Turi (1993). The approach is less general than Aczel's, but the treatment of non-well-founded objects is simple and concrete. The final coalgebra of a functor is its greatest fixedpoint. Compared with previous work (Paulson, 1995a), iterated substitutions and solutions are considered, as well as final coalgebras defined with respect to parameters. The disjoint sum construction is replaced by a smoother treatment of urelements that simplifies many of the derivations. The theory facilitates machine implementation of recursive definitions by letting both inductive and coinductive definitions be represented as fixed points. It has already been applied to the theorem prover Isabelle (Paulson, 1994).
Water diffusion properties of human atherosclerosis and thrombosis measured by pulse field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance.

Using pulsed field gradient methods combined with magnetic resonance imaging, we calculated the apparent water diffusion coefficient D in different atherosclerotic components to probe the microstructure of normal and diseased arteries by characterizing molecular motion. D was equal to 0.26 +/- 0.13 x 10(-5) cm2.s-1 in plaque lipid core, 1.45 +/- 0.41 x 10(-5) cm2.s-1 in collagenous cap, and 1.54 +/- 0.30 x 10(-5) cm2.s-1 in normal media. Water diffuses isotropically in the atheromatous core of the plaque, suggesting the absence or destruction of confining structures. The comparable diffusion coefficients in collagenous cap and normal media are consistent with similar biophysical barriers in both components. In thrombi, D varies with the aging processes (fresh thrombus, 0.72 +/- 0.11 x 10(-5) cm2.s-1; 1-week-old thrombus, 0.36 +/- 0.08 x 10(-5) cm2.s-1; old occluding thrombus, 1.33 +/- 0.33 x 10(-5) cm2.s-1), consistent with the cross-linking of the fibrin strands occurring in the early phase and the later thrombus organization. Defining an indirect index of arterial lipid infiltration, remodeling, and aging, diffusion imaging provides a new nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of atherothrombosis.
Autonomous Navigation System for Mobile Robot Using Randomly Distributed Passive RFID Tags

This paper presents an autonomous navigation system for a mobile robot using randomly distributed passive RFID tags. In the case of randomly distributed RFID tags, it is difficult to provide the precise location of the robot especially in the area of sparse RFID tag distribution. This, combined with the wide turning radius of the robot, can cause the robot to enter a zigzag exploration path and miss the goal. In RFID-based navigation, the key is to reduce both the number of RFID tags and the localization error for practical use in a large space. To cope with these, we utilized the Read time, which measures the reading time of each RFID tag. With this, we could estimate accurately the localization and orientation without using any external sensors or increasing the RFID tags. The average estimation errors of 7.8cm in localization and 11 degrees in orientation were achieved with 102 RFID tags in the area of 4.2m by 6.2m. Our proposed method is verified with the path trajectories produced during navigation compared with conventional approaches.
Mortality in Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: Results from the National Inpatient Sample Database

Background: Outcomes of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) vary from full recovery to death. Few studies have been performed examining epidemiologic and medical risk factors associated with high mortality in CVT. In this study, we examined the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) to determine the epidemiologic and medical risk factors associated with increased mortality from CVT. Materials and Methods: Using the NIS from 2001 to 2008, patients who suffered from CVT were identified using the ICD-9 codes 437.6 (nonpyogenic thrombosis of intracranial venous sinus), 325 (phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of intracranial venous sinuses) and 671.5 (peripartum phlebitis and thrombosis, cerebral venous thrombosis, thrombosis of intracranial venous sinus). We analyzed the associations of demographic factors, risk factors, comorbidities, complications of CVT, and therapeutic interventions with in-hospital mortality. We performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine which variables were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. Results: 11,400 patients were hospitalized with CVT between 2001 and 2008. Two-hundred and thirty-two (2.0%) suffered in-hospital mortality. Patients 15–49 years old had the lowest mortality rate (1.5%) compared with 2.8% for patients aged 50–64 (p < 0.001) and 6.1% for patients ≥65 years old (p < 0.001). The most common condition associated with CVT was pregnancy/puerperium (24.6%), and these women had a low mortality rate (0.4%). On multivariate analysis, the comorbidity most strongly associated with increased risk of mortality was sepsis (mortality rate 15.6%, OR = 7.5, 95% CI = 4.79–11.53, p < 0.001). Malignancy, underlying autoimmune disease and substance abuse were also independently associated with mortality, but with lower mortality rates (<5%). Complications associated with increased risk of mortality included paralysis (8.0%, OR = 3.4, 95% CI = 3.17–6.96, p < 0.001), intracranial hemorrhage (8.7%, OR = 5.4, 95% CI = 4.38–7.96, p < 0.001), and hydrocephalus (15.0%, OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 5.54–15.11, p = 0.004). Demographic variables associated with decreased mortality on multivariate analysis were male gender (2.1%, OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.43–0.87, p = 0.006) and Asian/Pacific Islander race (OR = 0.00, 95% CI = 0–0.27, p < 001). Conclusions: CVT is associated with a low in-hospital mortality rate. Amongst patients suffering CVT, male gender and Asian/Pacific Islander race were independently associated with lower odds of in-hospital mortality when compared to their female and white counterparts, respectively. Septic patients with CVT have the greatest risk of in-hospital mortality. Hydrocephalus, intracranial hemorrhage, and motor deficits are also associated with higher risk of death. Our results build on previous evidence that serves to define a group of patients with CVT at high risk of early death.
Evaluating the Mechanism and Therapeutic Potential of PTC-028, a Novel Inhibitor of BMI-1 Function in Ovarian Cancer

BMI-1, also known as a stem cell factor, is frequently upregulated in several malignancies. Elevated expression of BMI-1 correlates with poor prognosis and is therefore considered a viable therapeutic target in a number of malignancies including ovarian cancer. Realizing the immense pathologic significance of BMI-1, small-molecule inhibitors against BMI-1 are recently being developed. In this study, we functionally characterize PTC-028, an orally bioavailable compound that decreases BMI-1 levels by posttranslational modification. We report that PTC-028 treatment selectively inhibits cancer cells in clonal growth and viability assays, whereas normal cells remain unaffected. Mechanistically, hyperphosphorylation-mediated depletion of cellular BMI-1 by PTC-028 coupled with a concurrent temporal decrease in ATP and a compromised mitochondrial redox balance potentiates caspase-dependent apoptosis. In vivo, orally administered PTC-028, as a single agent, exhibits significant antitumor activity comparable with the standard cisplatin/paclitaxel therapy in an orthotopic mouse model of ovarian cancer. Thus, PTC-028 has the potential to be used as an effective therapeutic agent in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, where treatment options are limited. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(1); 39–49. ©2017 AACR.
Multisource feedback systems for quality improvement in the health professions: Assessing occupational therapists in practice

Introduction: The objective was to develop and psychometrically evaluate (feasibility, reliability, validity) a questionnaire‐based multisource feedback (MSF) system for quality improvement (QI) for occupational therapists (OTs). Methods: Surveys were developed for assessment of OTs by clients, co‐workers, and themselves, respectively, using 5‐point scales with an “unable to assess” category. A sample of 238 OTs participated. Results: The number of respondents for the co‐worker questionnaire was 2621, and for the client questionnaire it was 2881. The mean ratings ranged from 4 to 5 for each item on each scale. All of the instruments' full scales had very high Cronbach's &agr; > 0.92. The factor analyses revealed a 7‐factor solution (66.3% of the total variance) for the co‐worker survey, and a 4‐factor solution for the client questionnaire (73.2% of the variance). Discussion: An MSF system employing surveys that have high reliability, validity, and feasibility was developed to provide feedback to OTs on core competencies and skills. It is suggested that similar MSF systems are feasible for health professionals in general.
Inducing and Exploiting Activation Sparsity for Fast Neural Network Inference

Optimizing deep neural networks for inference has recently become an extremely active area of research. One of the go-to solutions in this context is weight pruning, which aims to reduce computational and memory footprint by removing large subsets of the connections in a neural network. Surprisingly, much less attention has been given to exploiting sparsity in the activation maps , which tend to be naturally sparse in many settings thanks to the structure of rectiﬁed linear (ReLU) activation functions. In this paper, we present an analysis of methods for maximizing the sparsity of the activations in a trained neural network, and show that, when coupled with an efﬁcient sparse-input convolution algorithm, we can leverage this sparsity for signiﬁcant performance gains. To induce highly sparse activation maps without accuracy loss, we introduce a new regularization technique, coupled with a new threshold-based sparsiﬁcation method based on a parameterized activation function called Forced-Activation-Threshold Rectiﬁed Linear Unit (FA-TReLU). We examine the impact of our methods on popular image classiﬁcation models, showing that most architectures can adapt to signiﬁcantly sparser activation maps without any accuracy loss. Our second contribution is showing that these these compression gains can be translated into inference speedups: we provide a new algorithm to enable fast convolution operations over networks with sparse activations, and show that it can enable signiﬁcant speedups for end-to-end inference on a range of popular models on the large-scale ImageNet image classiﬁcation task on modern Intel CPUs, with relatively low retraining cost.
Sequencing of growth hormone gene for detection of polymorphisms and their relationship with body weight in Harri sheep

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between growth hormone (GH) gene polymorphism and estimated body weight in Harri sheep. One hundred Harri sheep lambs were used to determine the birth weight (BW) and weight at 120 days of age. The daily live-weight gain (DLWG) 0-120 days (g) was calculated. The complete CDS of the Harri sheep GH gene is 2117pb in length (GenBank acc. no. KU255857). Three novel SNPs were detected by comparing with GenBanke acc. no. X12546_1. The G871A SNP in intron II, G1383A in exon IV that resulted in conversion of the amino acid arginine number 121 to lysine (R121K) and the A1509G in intron IV. Each SNP was found on both alleles the mutant homozygote was more common (48, 56 and 50%) than the heterozygote (30, 18 and 20%) for G871A, G1383A and A1509G respectively. A positive significant (P<0.05) correlation between growth traits (BW, 120 day body weight and DLWG) and SNP and a highly significant correlation with the genotype were detected. The regression analysis indicated the positive effect of genotype and SNPs on the growth traits. Individuals carrying homozygote mutant alleles had the heaviest body weight and the highest DLWG. Consequently, these SNP may be useful indicators in the selection of lambs for higher growth rate and meat production.
GB Virus C/Hepatitis G Virus Groups and Subgroups: Classification by a Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Method Based on Phylogenetic Analysis of the 5′ Untranslated Region

ABSTRACT A phylogenetic tree based on 150 5′ untranslated region sequences deposited in GenBank database allowed segregation of the sequences into three major groups, including two subgroups, i.e., 1, 2a, 2b, and 3, supported by bootstrap analysis. Restriction site analysis of these sequences predicted that HinfI and either AatII or AciI could be used for genomic typing with 99.4% accuracy. cDNA sequencing and subsequent alignment of 21 Argentine GB virus C/hepatitis G virus strains confirmed restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns theoretically predicted. This method may be useful for a rapid screening of samples when either epidemiological or transmission studies of this agent are carried out.
Generative VoxelNet: Learning Energy-Based Models for 3D Shape Synthesis and Analysis

3D data that contains rich geometry information of objects and scenes is valuable for understanding 3D physical world. With the recent emergence of large-scale 3D datasets, it becomes increasingly crucial to have a powerful 3D generative model for 3D shape synthesis and analysis. This paper proposes a deep 3D energy-based model to represent volumetric shapes. The maximum likelihood training of the model follows an “analysis by synthesis” scheme. The benefits of the proposed model are six-fold: first, unlike GANs and VAEs, the model training does not rely on any auxiliary models; second, the model can synthesize realistic 3D shapes by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC); third, the conditional model can be applied to 3D object recovery and super resolution; fourth, the model can serve as a building block in a multi-grid modeling and sampling framework for high resolution 3D shape synthesis; fifth, the model can be used to train a 3D generator via MCMC teaching; sixth, the unsupervisedly trained model provides a powerful feature extractor for 3D data, which is useful for 3D object classification. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed model can generate high-quality 3D shape patterns and can be useful for a wide variety of 3D shape analysis.
Conceptual rainfall–runoff model with a two‐parameter, infinite characteristic time transfer function

A two‐parameter transfer function with an infinite characteristic time is proposed for conceptual rainfall–runoff models. The large time behaviour of the unit response is an inverse power function of time. The infinite characteristic time allows long‐term memory effects to be accounted for. Such effects are observed in mountainous and karst catchments. The governing equation of the model is a fractional differential equation in the limit of long times. Although linear, the proposed transfer function yields discharge signals that can usually be obtained only using non‐linear models. The model is applied successfully to two catchments, the Dud Koshi mountainous catchment in the Himalayas and the Durzon karst catchment in France. It compares favourably to the linear, non‐linear single reservoir models and to the GR4J model. With a single reservoir and a single transfer function, the model is capable of reproducing hysteretic behaviours identified as typical of long‐term memory effects. Computational efficiency is enhanced by approximating the infinite characteristic time transfer function with a sum of simpler, exponential transfer functions. This amounts to partitioning the reservoir into several linear sub‐reservoirs, the output discharges of which are easy to compute. An efficient partitioning strategy is presented to facilitate the practical implementation of the model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Growth cones and structural variation of synaptic end‐bulbs in the cochlear nucleus of the adult cat brain

To explore the potential for structural variation and new growth at the synapse, we studied the morphological patterns of the end‐bulbs of cochlear nerve axons in adult cats by using rapid Golgi, reduced silver, and electron microscopic methods. Horseradish peroxidase labeling of these endings in the anterior division of the antroventral cochlear nucleus was produced by anterograde transport following injection into the cochlea. Three types of end‐bulbs were distinguished, regardless of method: reticular, coalescent, and ringed forms, all synapsing on spherical bushy cells. The reticular variety corresponds to the classically described end‐bulb and constitutes the majority in all regions of the tonotopic map. The ringed end‐bulb, described here for the first time, forms an excitatory synaptic cuff around the base of a bushy cell's main dendrite; these endings were localized to the region receiving cochlear input in the 1–6 kHz range, which is used in vocalization. The coalescent ending forms a small fraction of the end‐bulb population throughout the region studied. The findings raise the possibility of functional differences between these snyaptic types.
Distinguishing between respiratory syncytial virus subgroups by protein profile analysis

We subgrouped 75 strains of respiratory syncytial virus by a protein profile method (PPM) which relies on different mobilities of the phosphoprotein in one-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and does not require monoclonal antibodies. When compared with enzyme immunoassay, PPM correctly subgrouped 54 of 56 subgroup A and all 19 subgroup B strains.
Associations of Adverse Clinical Course and Ingested Substances among Patients with Deliberate Drug Poisoning: A Cohort Study from an Intensive Care Unit in Japan

Objectives Some patients with deliberate drug poisoning subsequently have an adverse clinical course. The present study aimed to examine whether the type of drugs ingested and psychiatric diagnoses were related to an adverse clinical course. Methods We conducted a cohort study of patients with deliberate drug poisoning admitted to the intensive care unit of a university hospital located in Tokyo, Japan, between September 2006 and June 2013. Intensive care unit (ICU) stay of ≥4 days was used as a primary outcome measure, while the incidence of aspiration pneumonitis was used as a secondary outcome measure. Ingested substances and psychiatric diagnoses were used as explanatory variables. Results Of the 676 patients with deliberate drug poisoning, 88% had a history of psychiatric treatment and 82% had ingested psychotropic drugs. Chlorpromazine-promethazine-phenobarbital combination drug (Vegetamin®) ranked fifth among the most frequently ingested substances in cases of deliberate drug poisoning and had the highest incidence of prolonged ICU stay (20%) and aspiration pneumonitis (29%). The top three major classes consisted of benzodiazepines (79%), new-generation antidepressants (25%), and barbiturates/non-barbiturates (23%). Barbiturate overdose was independently associated with increased odds of both prolonged ICU stay (8% vs. 17%; odds ratio [OR], 2.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.60–5.55) and aspiration pneumonitis (8% vs. 24%; OR, 3.83; 95% CI, 2.18–6.79) relative to those associated with overdose of only other sedative-hypnotics (i.e., benzodiazepines). Conclusion These results suggest that judicious prescribing of barbiturates by psychiatrists could reduce the risk of an adverse clinical course when a patient attempts an overdose.
Local Residents’ Assessment of South Africa as a Domestic Leisure Travel Destination

Market research has realised that identifying tourists’ needs and wants, and making concerted efforts to satisfying them is the hallmark of destination marketing. This study explores locals’ perception of South Africa (SA) as a leisure travel destination, and ways of marketing the destination, using the case of Mtubatuba Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. We used a structured questionnaire to collect data from 400 respondents. Results show that respondents perceive South Africa as a favourable leisure travel destination. Results also show that better promotion of South Africa as a domestic leisure travel destination should be made, mostly through the usage of Technology. Young (18-30 years of age), female, and employed residents, and those with tertiary education, show higher demand for domestic tourism than their counterparts. This study recommends that domestic tourism marketing efforts by South African Tourism should be amplified targeting these demographic groups. Intensive and continuous domestic tourism promotion (using social media and other modern forms of Information and Communication Technology), competitive pricing (through reduced operational costs and bundle pricing), and further improvements on national security are areas that still need national attention. Domestic tourism demand translates into international or foreign demand.