Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biogeosciences A global database of soil respiration data

Soil respiration –RS, the flux of CO2 from the soil to the atmosphere – is probably the least well constrained component of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Here we introduce the SRDB database, a near-universal compendium of publishedRS data, and make it available to the scientific community both as a traditional static archive and as a dynamic community database that may be updated over time by interested users. The database encompasses all published studies that report one of the following data measured in the field (not laboratory): annual RS, mean seasonal RS, a seasonal or annual partitioning of RS into its sources fluxes, RS temperature response (Q 10), or RS at 10C. Its orientation is thus to seasonal and annual fluxes, not shorter-term or chamberspecific measurements. To date, data from 818 studies have been entered into the database, constituting 3379 records. The data span the measurement years 1961–2007 and are dominated by temperate, well-drained forests. We briefly examine some aspects of the SRDB data – its climate space coverage, mean annual RS fluxes and their correlation with other carbon fluxes, RS variability, temperature sensitivities, and the partitioning ofRS source flux – and suggest some potential lines of research that could be explored using these data. The SRDB database is available online in a permanent archive as well as via a project-hosting repository; the latter source leverages open-source software technologies to encourage wider participation in the database’s future development. Ultimately, we hope that the updating of, and corrections to, the SRDB will become a shared project, managed by the users of these data in the scientific community. Correspondence to: B. Bond-Lamberty (bondlamberty@pnl.gov)
The Challenges of Detecting Circulating Tumor Cells in Sarcoma

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant neoplasms of mesenchymal origin, many of which have a propensity to develop distant metastases. Cancer cells that have escaped from the primary tumor are able to invade into surrounding tissues, to intravasate into the bloodstream to become circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and are responsible for the generation of distant metastases. Due to the rarity of these tumors and the absence of specific markers expressed by sarcoma tumor cells, the characterization of sarcoma CTCs has to date been relatively limited. Current techniques for isolating sarcoma CTCs are based on size criteria, the identification of circulating cells that express either common mesenchymal markers, sarcoma-specific markers, such as CD99, CD81, or PAX3, and chromosomal translocations found in certain sarcoma subtypes, such as EWS-FLI1 in Ewing’s sarcoma, detection of osteoblast-related genes, or measurement of the activity of specific metabolic enzymes. Further studies are needed to improve the isolation and characterization of sarcoma CTCs, to demonstrate their clinical significance as predictive and/or prognostic biomarkers, and to utilize CTCs as a tool for investigating the metastatic process in sarcoma and to identify novel therapeutic targets. The present review provides a short overview of the most recent literature on CTCs in sarcoma.
Effects of Src inhibitors on cell growth and epidermal growth factor receptor and MET signaling in gefitinib‐resistant non‐small cell lung cancer cells with acquired MET amplification

The efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)–tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as gefitinib and erlotinib in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is often limited by the emergence of drug resistance conferred either by a secondary T790M mutation of EGFR or by acquired amplification of the MET gene. We now show that the extent of activation of the tyrosine kinase Src is markedly increased in gefitinib‐resistant NSCLC (HCC827 GR) cells with MET amplification compared with that in the gefitinib‐sensitive parental (HCC827) cells. In contrast, the extent of Src activation did not differ between gefitinib‐resistant NSCLC (PC9/ZD) cells harboring the T790M mutation of EGFR and the corresponding gefitinib‐sensitive parental (PC9) cells. This activation of Src in HCC827 GR cells was largely abolished by the MET‐TKI PHA‐665752 but was only partially inhibited by gefitinib, suggesting that Src activation is more dependent on MET signaling than on EGFR signaling in gefitinib‐resistant NSCLC cells with MET amplification. Src inhibitors blocked Akt and Erk signaling pathways, resulting in both suppression of cell growth and induction of apoptosis, in HCC827 GR cells as effectively as did the combination of gefitinib and PHA‐665752. Furthermore, Src inhibitor dasatinib inhibited tumor growth in HCC827 GR xenografts to a significantly greater extent than did treatment with gefitinib alone. These results provide a rationale for clinical targeting of Src in gefitinib‐resistant NSCLC with MET amplification. (Cancer Sci 2009)
Good News or Bad News: Using Affect Control Theory to Analyze Readers’ Reaction Towards News Articles

This paper proposes a novel approach to sentiment analysis that leverages work in sociology on symbolic interactionism. The proposed approach uses Affect Control Theory (ACT) to analyze readers’ sentiment towards factual (objective) content and towards its entities (subject and object). ACT is a theory of affective reasoning that uses empirically derived equations to predict the sentiments and emotions that arise from events. This theory relies on several large lexicons of words with affective ratings in a three-dimensional space of evaluation, potency, and activity (EPA). The equations and lexicons of ACT were evaluated on a newly collected news-headlines corpus. ACT lexicon was expanded using a label propagation algorithm, resulting in 86,604 new words. The predicted emotions for each news headline was then computed using the augmented lexicon and ACT equations. The results had a precision of 82%, 79%, and 68% towards the event, the subject, and object, respectively. These results are significantly higher than those of standard sentiment analysis techniques.
Systemic features and early prognostic factors in Hispanic and non-Hispanic children from the United States of America and Mexico with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate if the persistence of systemic features is longer in Hispanic children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (S-JIA) than in non-Hispanic children with S-JIA and to determine early predictors of systemic and articular disease. METHODS We performed a multi-center retrospective chart review of patients followed in six pediatric rheumatology centers with onset of S-JIA from 1974 to 2004. Patients were included in the study if they had been followed for > or = 1 year after disease onset. Information collected included demographic, clinical, laboratory and treatment data. Systemic features included fever, rash, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, pericarditis, and pleuritis. RESULTS Of the 159 S-JIA patients screened, 120 (75%) met our inclusion criteria. There were 65 boys and 55 girls. The mean follow-up period for Hispanic patients was 5.7 years (SD 4.0) and for non-Hispanic patients was 8.6 years (SD 7.2). There was no significant difference in the presence of systemic features between Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years of follow-up. Polyarthritis at the 6-month visit was predictive of systemic features (OR 9.7, 95% CI 1.16-81.35, p = 0.036) and polyarthritis (OR 5.6, 95% CI 1.42-21.8, p = 0.014) at last follow-up. CONCLUSION In children with S-JIA, Hispanics did not demonstrate longer persistence of systemic features than non-Hispanics. Polyarthritis at 6 months strongly predicted the development of persistent systemic features and chronic polyarticular disease.
IN-SITU STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT AND FRP STRENGTHENING OF A FIRE DAMAGED RC STRUCTURE : A CASE STUDY

The paper focuses on the importance of in-situ assessment of structures also finalized to properly design and calibrate innovative structural strengthening solutions such as FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymers). Accordingly, the paper presents an overview of the current methods of performing structural surveys, in-situ material testing and innovative techniques for full-scale structural evaluation. Further, the paper aims to assess this topic by presenting a remarkable case study of a fire-damaged reinforced concrete (RC) industrial structure, located in Dubai (UAE), on which an extensive experimental campaign on materials and structures was carried out to evaluate the damages due to the fire. Consequently, a specific strengthening system with FRP materials was designed and realized. In addition, a quality check of the FRP application was carried out with non-destructive techniques (NDT) as well as a proof of structural efficiency was given with the execution of full-scale cyclic load tests on the strengthened structures.
Privacy as a Service in Social Network Communications

With dispersing of information on social networks - both personally identifiable and general - comes the risk of these information falling into wrong hands. Users are burdened with setting privacy of multiple social networks, each with growing number of privacy settings. Exponential growth of applications (App) running on social networks have made privacy control increasingly difficult. This necessitates Privacy as a service model, especially for social networks, to handle privacy across multiple applications and platforms. Privacy aware information dispersal involves knowing who is receiving what information of ours. Our proposed service employs a supervised learning model to assist user in spotting unintended audience for a post. Different from previous work, we combine both Tie-strength and Context of the information as features in learning. Our evaluation using several classification techniques shows that the proposed method is effective and better than methods using either only Tie-strength or only Context of the information for classification.
Translating vs . Interpreting Interface and Divergence

Despite the translating/interpreting interface where both are concerned with rendering a message in the source language ( SL ) into an equivalent message in the target language ( TL ), the two greatly diverge. The constraints imposed on each and the skills required for both vary in many respects. Apparently, a translator performs his task in a written, hence visible, text, with reference sources accessible to him, with the possibility of revising, altering, modifying, editing and polishing the TL version, and in an atmosphere of little stress and relatively fewer constraints. On the other hand, an interpreter, whether consecutive or simultaneous, is deprived of the above facilities, works under very stressful conditions and deals with an oral, hence an invisible, text, in addition to a plethora of other constraints. The corollary is that the interpreter is in a dire need to extra, i.e. compensatory, strategies such as the exegetic or paraphrase strategy, segmenting and chunking, queuing, calquing, approximation, borrowing and ellipsis to enable him/her accomplish his/ her arduous feat.
Occlusion Textures for Plausible Soft Shadows *

This paper presents a new approach to compute plausible soft shadows for complex dynamic scenes and rectangular light sources. We estimate the occlusion at each point of the scene using prefiltered occlusion textures, which dynamically approximate the scene geometry. The algorithm is fast and its performance independent of the light's size. Being image‐based, it is mostly independent of the scene complexity and type. No a priori information is needed, and there is no caster/receiver separation. This makes the method appealing and easy to use.
Experimental Investigation on Spontaneously Active Hippocampal Cultures Recorded by Means of High-Density MEAs: Analysis of the Spatial Resolution Effects

Based on experiments performed with high-resolution Active Pixel Sensor microelectrode arrays (APS-MEAs) coupled with spontaneously active hippocampal cultures, this work investigates the spatial resolution effects of the neuroelectronic interface on the analysis of the recorded electrophysiological signals. The adopted methodology consists, first, in recording the spontaneous activity at the highest spatial resolution (interelectrode separation of 21 μm) from the whole array of 4096 microelectrodes. Then, the full resolution dataset is spatially downsampled in order to evaluate the effects on raster plot representation, array-wide spike rate (AWSR), mean firing rate (MFR) and mean bursting rate (MBR). Furthermore, the effects of the array-to-network relative position are evaluated by shifting a subset of equally spaced electrodes on the entire recorded area. Results highlight that MFR and MBR are particularly influenced by the spatial resolution provided by the neuroelectronic interface. On high-resolution large MEAs, such analysis better represent the time-based parameterization of the network dynamics. Finally, this work suggest interesting capabilities of high-resolution MEAs for spatial-based analysis in dense and low-dense neuronal preparation for investigating signaling at both local and global neuronal circuitries.
Skipping breakfast: Morningness-eveningness preference is differentially related to state and trait food cravings

Eveningness preference is associated with unhealthy eating behaviors. We measured state and trait food cravings in chronotypes in the morning and in the evening. Less Evening (E)- than Morning (M)-types reported to have had breakfast. Accordingly, hours that had elapsed since the last meal were higher in E- than M-types in the morning, but did not differ between groups in the evening. E-types reported higher anticipation of positive reinforcement that may result from eating than M-types in the morning, but both had the same hunger levels. On a trait level, M-types reported more feelings of guilt for giving into cravings compared to E-types. Results suggest that E-types skip breakfast more often than M-types, but this eating pattern does not inevitably lead to more food cravings in the evening or more pronounced habitual cravings. Furthermore, E-types did not experience more hunger in the morning although they had not been eating for a longer time period. Results support findings about a different lifestyle in E-types compared to M-types.
Estimating changes in global vegetation cover (1850–2100) for use in climate models

Historical changes in global cropland area based on estimates of Ramankutty and Foley (1999), and projections of future changes under IPCC SRES development scenarios taken from the IMAGE 2 model, were combined with a simple classification of present‐day satellite data. These data were used to estimate annual changes in area fractions occupied by primary plant functional types (PFTs) between 1850 and 2100 using two different approaches. The linear interpolation approach assumed that natural vegetation area varies in inverse proportion to cropland area. The rule‐based approach added simple transition rules to define the sequence by which natural PFTs are converted to agriculture (e.g., grassland before forest) and by which abandoned cropland reverts to natural vegetation. In both approaches, constraints were imposed to ensure the simulated PFT composition was consistent with available information. The resulting time series data can be used in coupled biosphere‐atmosphere models, and in uncoupled global climate models, to represent time‐varying land cover.
Real-time underground localization using graph pruning-augmented graph optimization for directional drilling

Underground localization is widely used for the directional drilling due to advances in the unconventional resources. To mitigate the accumulated errors, a novel underground localization algorithm using re-measurement of the magnetic field and graph SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) was proposed. However, since the penetration length of the drilling device is very long, the real-time localization is not assured due to huge number of nodes. To reduce the computation time, an underground localization method using graph optimization augmented by graph pruning is proposed in this paper. The graph pruning algorithm can remove the nodes and constraints that have low priority. In this paper, in order to reduce the constraints, minimum spanning tree algorithm is used.
GaN DHFETs Having 48% Power Added Efficiency and 57% Drain Efficiency at $V$ -Band

We report the state-of-the-art <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band power performance of a scaled 40-nm gate length Al<sub>0.23</sub>Ga<sub>0.77</sub>N/AlN/GaN/Al<sub>0.08</sub>Ga<sub>0.92</sub>N double heterojunction field effect transistor (DHFET). The <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$200~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$4\times 50 ~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) wide GaN DHFETs pre-matched for <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band (57–64 GHz) have demonstrated an output power of 376 mW (1.88 W/mm) with 48% power-added efficiency (PAE), 57% drain efficiency, and more than 8 dB of associated gain measured at a frequency of 59 GHz. These results represent to the best of our knowledge the best combination of power and PAE reported to date at this frequency for a solid-state device. These results were achieved through optimization of the GaN heterostructure, which incorporates a low aluminum content back-barrier for electron confinement through polarization effects, a vertically scaled Al<sub>0.23</sub>Ga<sub>0.77</sub>N/AlN gate barrier stack for minimization of short-channel effects, and a selective n<sup>+</sup> GaN ohmic re-growth process by molecular beam epitaxy for reduction of parasitic resistance.
Improvement of the tolerated raw bit error rate in NAND flash-based SSDs with the help of embedded statistics

Solid-state drives (SSDs) based on NAND flash memories provide an attractive storage solution as they are faster and less power hungry than traditional hard-disc drives (HDDs). Aggressive storage density improvements in flash memories enabled reductions of the cost per gigabit but also caused reliability degradations. A recent large-scale study revealed that the uncorrectable bit error rates (UBER) in data center SSDs may fall far below the JEDEC standard recommendations. Here, a technique is proposed to improve the tolerated raw bit error rate (RBER) based on the observation that (a) a small SSD ratio may have a much higher RBER than the rest and (b) the RBER is dominated by the retention error rate. Instead of employing stronger but costly error-correcting codes a statistical approach is used to estimate the remaining retention time, i.e., the reliable data storage time, of flash memory pages. This estimation can be performed each time a memory page is read based on the number of detected retention errors and the elapsed time since data was programmed. The fact that the estimated remaining retention time is smaller than a maximum time interval before the next read operation is an indication that data needs to be refreshed. It is estimated that the tolerated RBER can be increased by more than a decade over a storage period of 3 years if the stored data are verified on a monthly basis and refreshed only if necessary. The proposed technique has the ability to adapt the average time between refresh operations to the actual RBER. This enables performance overhead reductions with factors between 8x and 12x as compared to systematic refresh schemes.
Operator-Related Anomalies in a Random Mechanical Cascade

Experiments with a "Random Mechanical Cascade" (RMC) apparatus have yielded anomalous results correlated with pre-stated inten- tions of human operators. Based upon a common statistical demonstration device, this machine allows 9000 polystyrene balls to drop through a matrix of 330 pegs, scattering them into 19 collecting bins with a population distribution that is approximately Gaussian. As the balls enter the bins, exact counts are accumulated photoelectrically, displayed as feedback for the operator, and recorded on-line. Operators attempt to shift the mean of the developing distributions to the right or left, relative to a concurrently generated baseline distribution. Of the 25 operators who have completed one or more experimental series with this device, four have achieved anom- alous separations of their right and left efforts, and two others have dis- played significant separations of either their right or left efforts from their baselines. The overall mean difference of right versus left efforts concaten- ated across the total data base of 87 series (3393 runs), has a probability against chance of <10-4, with 15% of the individual series significant at p < . 05, and 63% conforming to the intended directions. The concatenated results display a stark and curious asymmetry, in that virtually all of the right vs. left separation is provided by the left vs. baseline separation. This pattern also appears in the data of several individual oper- ators, and is not attributable to any known physical asymmetry in the experimental system. In addition to the systematic asymmetric deviation of the distribution means, cumulative excesses in the variances of the left and right distributions relative to baseline are also observed, progressing to statistical probabilities of . 003 in the left efforts, but only . 2 in the right. More detailed study of the individual bin population patterns reveals that while most of the bins contribute to the overall mean shifts and variance changes, those on the outer portions are more influential than those near the center. Operator achievements tend to compound marginally but systematically in cumulative deviation patterns characteristic of the particular individuals and, in several cases, similar to those produced by the same operators in microelectronic Random Event Generator (REG) experiments. Within these characteristic patterns of achievement, some operators also show sensitivities to secondary experimental parameters, such as instructed vs. volitional establishment of the intended directions, or the presence or ab- sence of feedback displays. Other successful operators seem insensitive to such options.
The Structuralist Dilemma in Negotiation

Negotiation takes place when neither party in a conflict is strong enough to impose its will or to resolve the conflict unilaterally. In those negotiations, the parties are formally equal, since each has a veto over an acceptable outcome. Yet two-party equality produces deadlock. Yet obviously there are power differences between the parties, asymmetries which can be used to break the deadlock. But these asymmetries then raise the structuralist dilemma: How can weaker parties negotiate with stronger parties and still get something? Expecting to lose, a weaker party should want to avoid negotiation with a stronger party at all costs, but it cannot; and, expecting to win, a stronger party should have no need to negotiate to get what it wants, but it must. Yet weak parties not only engage stronger ones in negotiation, they usually emerge with payoffsNand often with bigger payoffsNin the end. How does one account for the structuralist dilemma, and what is the effect of power symmetry or asymmetry on negotiation?