Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Rainfall Threshold for Hillslope Outflow: an Emergent Property of Flow Pathway Connectivity

Nonlinear relations between rain input and hill-slope outflow are common observations in hillslope hydrol-ogy field studies. In this paper we use percolation theory to model the threshold relationship between rainfall amount and outflow and show that this nonlinear relationship may arise from simple linear processes at the smaller scale. When the rainfall amount exceeds a threshold value, the underlying elements become connected and water flows out of the base of the hillslope. The percolation approach shows how random variations in storage capacity and connectivity at the small spatial scale cause a threshold relationship between rainstorm amount and hillslope outflow. As a test case, we applied percolation theory to the well characterized experimental hillslope at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed. Analysing the measured rainstorm events and the subsurface stormflow with percolation theory, we could determine the effect of bedrock permeability, spatial distribution of soil properties and initial water content within the hillslope. The measured variation in the relationship between rainstorm amount and subsurface flow could be reproduced by modelling the initial moisture deficit, the loss of free water to the bedrock, the limited size of the system and the connectivity that is a function of bedrock topography and existence of macropores. The values of the model parameters were in agreement with measured values of soil depth distribution and water saturation.
Akt Modulates STAT3-mediated Gene Expression through a FKHR (FOXO1a)-dependent Mechanism*

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway plays an important role in the signaling of insulin and other growth factors, which reportedly attenuate the interleukin-6 (IL-6)-mediated stimulation of acute phase plasma protein genes. We investigated the effect of the protein kinase Akt on IL-6-mediated transcriptional activation. The transient expression of constitutively active Akt inhibited the IL-6-dependent activity of the α2-macroglobulin promoter in HepG2 cells, whereas expression of an inactive mutant of phosphatidylinositol-dependent kinase 1 had the opposite effect. Since Akt is known to regulate gene expression through inactivation of the transcription factor FKHR (forkhead in rhabdomyosarcoma), we examined the effect of FKHR on STAT3-mediated transcriptional regulation. Indeed, the overexpression of FKHR specifically enhanced the activity of STAT3-dependent promoters but not that of a STAT5-responsive promoter. The effect of FKHR required the presence of functional STAT3 and was abrogated by the expression of dominant negative STAT3 mutants. Furthermore, FKHR and STAT3 were shown to coimmunoprecipitate and to colocalize in the nuclear regions of IL-6-treated HepG2 cells. Our results indicate that FKHR can modulate the IL-6-induced transcriptional activity by acting as a coactivator of STAT3.
The effects of exercise on the aged.

This study aimed to document the effects of regular exercise and physical activity on the aged. Subjects (n=S8) over the age of sixty-five participated in the study. All subjects were patrons from various retirement centers of the DAFTA organization (Durban Association for the Aged). The subjects completed a PAR-Q and informed consent form, which allowed the eligible to participate in the study. A pre and post-test battery was administered to measure the following parameters; body mass, height, girth measurement, agility and dynamic balance, muscle strength and endurance, flexibility, co-ordination, dynamic grip strength and aerobic capacity. During the experimental period the subjects engaged in a structured intervention exercise programme of 30 weeks. The intervention programme composed of games, walking, stretching, flexibility and resistance training exercises aimed at improving the following fitness components; agility and dynamic balance, strength, flexibility, co-ordination and aerobic capacity. Inferential and differential statistical methods were employed in order to analyzethe data. The study indicated that regular exercise and physical activity positively impacted the senior citizens' functional capacity and improved their quality of life (p<O.OS). The intervention programme served its purpose well. There are, however, many changes to be made to suit specific institutions and individuals. To ensure similar positive effects, follow-up exercise programmes would be necessary.
The structural transformation of the public sphere : an inquiryinto a category of bourgeois society

and theoretical concerns of his later work arose out of the concrete issues raised in this study. The Structural Transf ormation of the Public Sphere is a historical-sociological account of the emergence, transformation, and disintegration of the bourgeois public sphere. It combines materials and methods from sociology and economics, law and political science, and social and cultural history in an effort to grasp the preconditions, structures, functions, and inner tensions of this central domain of modern society. As a sphere between civil society and the state, in which critical public discussion of matters of general interest was institutionally guaranteed, the liberal public sphere took shape in the specific historical circumstances of a developing market economy. In its clash with the arcane and bureaucratic practices of the absolutist state, the emergen I bourgeoisie gradually replaced a public sphere in which the ruler's power was merely represented before the people with a sphere in which state authority was publicly monitored through informed and critical discourse by the people. Habermas traces the interdependent development of the literary and political self-consciousness of this new class, weaving together accounts of the rise of the novel and of literary
Brokering educational opportunity for homeless students and their families

This qualitative study in a Midwestern US city examines how school and community-based organizations support homeless students’ connections to education-related resources and relationships. Drawing from organizational brokerage theory, which delineates how individuals’ chances to thrive are shaped by the organizations in which they participate, the study finds that brokerage practice unfolds and is affected by variables at three specific levels. First, social workers, teachers, and principals at the individual school level arranged for registration, enrollment, and other immediate connections for students. Second, school district-level actors played key roles in orchestrating homeless students’ transportation and educators’ professional development across the city. Third, a range of neighborhood factors – including immigration and housing trends – affected the ways and extents to which organizations identified and supported homeless students. The study concludes by presenting several implications for research and practice.
Relación entre promedio escolar y tres indicadores de ansiedad en estudiantes de medicina

Entering college is associated to changes that could challenge emotional stability and that might decrease the likelihood of academic success. With the aim of exploring the relationship between anxiety and academic performance of Medical students. 81 Mexican students participated in the study in a triple assessment session (Verbal, Behavioral, and Physiological). Instruments included the Zung Anxiety Text (Hernandez-Pozo, Macias, Calleja, Cerezo & Del Valle, 2008), a list of potentially stressful events, a computerized task based on the Stroop emotional paradigm, and phyisiological monitoring of blood pressure and pulse before and after the behavioral task. A non-lineal relation between anxiety and academic performance was found. Results support previous findings pointing that high levels of anxiety are related to low academic performance. There was no difference in anxiety levels associated to gender
[The influence of lactate Ringer solution versus hydroxyethyl starch on coagulation and fibrinolytic system in patients with septic shock].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of lactate Ringer solution (RL) versus hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 (HES130/0.4) solution on coagulation and fibrinolytic system in the patients with septic shock. METHODS Forty-two consecutive patients with septic shock diagnosed between September 2009 and June 2011 were randomized to two study groups: RL resuscitation group (RL group) with 20 patients, and HES130/0.4 resuscitation group (HES group) with 22 patients. In all of them peripheral blood was collected at four points of time: before resuscitation, 6, 12, 24 hours after resuscitation, and then prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and levels of plasma tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) were determined. Meanwhile, the patients' outcome and the length of intensive care unit stay (ICU-LOS) were recorded. RESULTS ICU-LOS (days) in HES group was significantly shorter than the RL group (12.5 ± 8.8 vs. 17.1 ± 16.6, P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the volume of fluid (L: 2.77 ± 0.59) as well as vasoactive drugs [μg×kg(-1)×min(-1): 0.56 ± 0.15] used in the HES group were significantly lower than RL group (3.46 ± 0.73, 0.81 ± 0.41, both P < 0.01). In RL group, 12 patients died and 8 patients survived, while in HES group, 7 patients died and 15 patients survived, showing no difference between two groups. PT, APTT and the levels of t-PA showed no significant differences between two groups at different time points, but the levels of plasma PAI (μg/L) of the HES group decreased gradually, and was significantly lower than that before resuscitation and RL group at 24 hours after resuscitation (41.76 ± 25.95 vs. 89.11 ± 14.27, 55.08 ± 35.43, both P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Both RL and HES130/0.4 fluid resuscitation did not affect the outcome of the patients with septic shock, but the resuscitation efficiency of HES130/0.4 is much better than RL. Both type of fluids did not show the effect on coagulability of the septic patients, but colloid fluid resuscitation may protect the vascular endothelial cell, reduce the inhibition of fibrinolytic system, and alleviate hypercoagulability state of patients in early stage.
Identifying Code Clones Having High Possibilities of Containing Bugs

Code cloning has emerged as a controversial term in software engineering research and practice because of its positive and negative impacts on software evolution and maintenance. Researchers suggest managing code clones through refactoring and tracking. Given the huge number of code clones in a software system's code-base, it is essential to identify the most important ones to manage. In our research, we investigate which clone fragments have high possibilities of containing bugs so that such clones can be prioritized for refactoring and tracking to help minimize future bug-fixing tasks. Existing studies on clone bug-proneness cannot pinpoint code clones that are likely to experience bug-fixes in the future. According to our analysis on thousands of revisions of four diverse subject systems written in Java, change frequency of code clones does not indicate their bug-proneness (i.e., does not indicate their tendencies of experiencing bug-fixes in future). Bug-proneness is mainly related with change recency of code clones. In other words, more recently changed code clones have a higher possibility of containing bugs. Moreover, for the code clones that were not changed previously we observed that clones that were created more recently have higher possibilities of experiencing bug-fixes. Thus, our research reveals the fact that bug-proneness of code clones mainly depends on how recently they were changed or created (for the ones that were not changed before). It invalidates the common intuition regarding the relatedness between high change frequency and bug-proneness. We believe that code clones should be prioritized for management considering their change recency or recency of creation (for the unchanged ones).
Aurora A kinase is required for activation of the Fanconi anemia/BRCA pathway upon DNA damage

Previous studies have linked the DNA damage response to mitotic progression machinery. Mitotic kinases, such as Aurora A kinase and Polo‐like kinase, are involved in the phosphorylation of cell cycle regulators in response to DNA damage. Here, we investigated the potential involvement of Aurora A kinase in the activation of the Fanconi anemia (FA)/BRCA pathway, which participates in cellular response to DNA interstrand cross‐link lesions (ICL). Initially, we detected interactions between Aurora A kinase and FANCA protein, one of the components of the FA nuclear core complex. Silencing of Aurora A kinase led to inhibition of monoubiquitination of FANCD2 and formation of nuclear foci, the final consequences of FA/BRCA pathway activation upon ICL induction. An in vitro kinase assay revealed that Aurora A kinase phosphorylates S165 of FANCA. Moreover, this phosphorylation event was induced by the treatment with mitomycin C (MMC), an ICL‐inducing agent. In cells overexpressing S165A mutant FANCA, monoubiquitination of FANCD2 and nuclear foci formation was impaired and cellular sensitivity to MMC was enhanced. These results suggest that S165 phosphorylation by Aurora A kinase is required for proper activation of the FA/BRCA pathway in response to DNA damage.
Propionibacterium acnes Osteomyelitis Occurring 23 Years After Craniotomy: Case Report and Review of Literature

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE:Propionibacterium acnes is an uncommon pathogen in delayed surgical site infection, and its indolent course can complicate diagnosis and treatment. We report the longest delay between neurosurgery and P acnes infection reported. CLINICAL PRESENTATION:Asymptomatic postoperative P acnes osteomyelitis and tumor recurrence occurring 23 years after initial craniotomy. Initial presentation was of tumor recurrence only, without signs or symptoms of infection. Calvarial osteomyelitis was unexpectedly discovered intraoperatively. Craniectomy and débridement were performed, and there was prolonged antibiotic therapy. CONCLUSION:The longest delay between neurosurgery and asymptomatic P acnes infection is reported. We review the literature for P acnes infection and discuss biofilm formation and its role in delayed surgical infection.
Modeling and Vibration Control for a Nonlinear Moving String With Output Constraint

In this paper, boundary control laws are developed to stabilize the transverse vibration for a nonlinear vertically moving string system. The control system is considered with varying length, varying speed, and the constrained boundary output. Based on the integral-barrier Lyapunov function, the exponential stability is proved with the proposed control without consideration of the disturbance. When the external boundary disturbance is taken into account, the disturbance observer is designed to eliminate its effect. The vibration is regulated and the boundary output always remains in the constrained space by appropriately choosing the control parameters. The control design and the stability analysis are based on the original infinite-dimensional dynamic equations. Extensive numerical examples illustrate the performance of the control system.
Identification of eae sequences in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains from rabbits

DNA sequences coding for attachment and for verotoxin production were investigated in a collection of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains from rabbits. All of the strains produced diarrhea after experimental infection, attached to the brush borders of the intestinal lining, and possessed homology to the eae probe, whereas strains isolated from healthy rabbits did not. Sequences homologous to the AF/R1 fimbriae of strain RDEC-1 were not found. One strain reacted with the probe for the Shiga-like toxin type I gene.
Temporal Precision of Spike Trains in Extrastriate Cortex of the Behaving Macaque Monkey

How reliably do action potentials in cortical neurons encode information about a visual stimulus? Most physiological studies do not weigh the occurrences of particular action potentials as significant but treat them only as reflections of average neuronal excitation. We report that single neurons recorded in a previous study by Newsome et al. (1989; see also Britten et al. 1992) from cortical area MT in the behaving monkey respond to dynamic and unpredictable motion stimuli with a markedly reproducible temporal modulation that is precise to a few milliseconds. This temporal modulation is stimulus dependent, being present for highly dynamic random motion but absent when the stimulus translates rigidly.
Perceived Group Climate as a Predictor of Long-Term Outcome in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive-Behavioural Group Therapy for Patients with Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders

Background: Research on group therapy indicates that various dimensions of the helpful relationship qualities (cohesion, climate, empathy, alliance) are associated with outcome. However, the use of a wide variety of empirical scales makes comparisons between studies as well as generalizations somewhat difficult. Although a generic, trans-theoretical measure such as the Group Climate Questionnaire-Short Form (GCQ-S; MacKenzie, 1983) is available and applicable to most treatment conditions, it has never been tested with cognitive-behavioural group therapy. Aims: To investigate perceived dimensions of group climate (engagement, avoidance and conflict) as predictors of long-term (1 year) follow-up in a manualized, structured time-limited cognitive-behavioural group therapy (CBGT) for out-patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders. Methods: Data from 27 patients were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Outcome measures used were general symptomatic complaints (SCL-90-R), interpersonal problems (IIP-64), specific mood- and anxiety symptoms (BDI; BAI) and early maladaptive schemas (YSQ). After controlling for scores on the relevant dependent variables at both intake and treatment termination, dimensions of group climate measured close to termination were entered as predictors in separate analyses. Results: Higher ratings of engagement were associated with reduced scores on all outcome measures at follow-up, except for anxiety symptoms (BAI). Higher ratings of avoidance were associated with lower anxiety symptoms at follow up, whereas ratings of conflict were unrelated to all follow-up scores. Conclusions: The results provide partial support for the use of the GCQ-S as a predictor of long-term follow-up in CBGT, and highlights perceived engagement as the most important dimension. Clinical implications are discussed.
A VPN-driven Infrastructure for Vertical Handovers

Mobile PCs are equipped with a multitude of network access technologies, such as IEEE 802.11 WLAN, GPRS over GSM or wire-based Ethernet. If the user wants to access the Internet he has to choose one of the technologies and has to use it for the whole duration of the session. But this is problematic when the user wants to be mobile and has to change network access technologies. It was quite problematic so far to start a session using Ethernet (rarr laptop at work) and then perform a seamless vertical handover to WLAN when the user becomes mobile. The protocols used in the Internet were not designed with mobility in mind. Some proposals were made to circumvent these problems, for example by using enhancements like Mobile IP or IPv6, but a solution that could easily be applied to a multitude of different " real-world systems" has not been presented yet. We developed a method that implements a data transfer mechanism that is able to handle the problems caused by mobility and vertical handovers. Our first approach made use of the universal proxy protocol SOCKSv5 (RFC 1928) to relay all data to a central proxy server using a handover-capable transport mechanism. Here, "socksified" applications were needed, which was not feasible in all possible scenarios [Evers, 2004]. This paper presents our latest enhancement that makes use of a virtual private network (VPN) in combination with our handover capable transport mechanism. This offers a full VPN- based network access to all applications running on the mobile node and is able to do all handover related work transparently. VPN-clients are available for all relevant operating systems. The handover management software was implemented using C++ and runs on GNU/Linux, Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. The architecture offers full mobility to the end user without the need of modifications to the applications or the operating system itself.
Giant Panda Genomic Data Provide Insight into the Birth-and-Death Process of Mammalian Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Genes

To gain an understanding of the genomic structure and evolutionary history of the giant panda major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, we determined a 636,503-bp nucleotide sequence spanning the MHC class II region. Analysis revealed that the MHC class II region from this rare species contained 26 loci (17 predicted to be expressed), of which 10 are classical class II genes (1 DRA, 2 DRB, 2 DQA, 3 DQB, 1 DYB, 1 DPA, and 2 DPB) and 4 are non-classical class II genes (1 DOA, 1 DOB, 1 DMA, and 1 DMB). The presence of DYB, a gene specific to ruminants, prompted a comparison of the giant panda class II sequence with those of humans, cats, dogs, cattle, pigs, and mice. The results indicated that birth and death events within the DQ and DRB-DY regions led to major lineage differences, with absence of these regions in the cat and in humans and mice respectively. The phylogenetic trees constructed using all expressed alpha and beta genes from marsupials and placental mammals showed that: (1) because marsupials carry loci corresponding to DR, DP, DO and DM genes, those subregions most likely developed before the divergence of marsupials and placental mammals, approximately 150 million years ago (MYA); (2) conversely, the DQ and DY regions must have evolved later, but before the radiation of placental mammals (100 MYA). As a result, the typical genomic structure of MHC class II genes for the giant panda is similar to that of the other placental mammals and corresponds to BTNL2∼DR1∼DQ∼DR2∼DY∼DO_box∼DP∼COL11A2. Over the past 100 million years, there has been birth and death of mammalian DR, DQ, DY, and DP genes, an evolutionary process that has brought about the current species-specific genomic structure of the MHC class II region. Furthermore, facing certain similar pathogens, mammals have adopted intra-subregion (DR and DQ) and inter-subregion (between DQ and DP) convergent evolutionary strategies for their alpha and beta genes, respectively.
A discriminative training method incorporating pronunciation variations for dysarthric automatic speech recognition

While dysarthric speech recognition can be a convenient interface for dysarthric speakers, it is hard to collect enough speech data to overcome the underestimation problem of acoustic models. In addition, there are lots of pronunciation variations in the collected database due to the paralysis of the articulator of dysarthric speakers. Thus, a discriminative training method is proposed for improving the performance of such resource-limited dysarthric speech recognition. The proposed method is applied to subspace Gaussian mixture modeling by incorporating pronunciation variations into a conventional minimum phone error discriminative training method.