Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Physico-Chemical Quality of Effluents of Selected Sewage Treatment Plants Draining into River Rwizi, Mbarara Municipality, Uganda

As population increases in urban areas, the domestic and industrial activities increase resulting in an increase in the volumes of wastewater and anthropogenic pollution, hence posing a threat to public health and environment. This study assessed the physical chemical quality of two main sewage plant effluents discharging into River Rwizi. Effluent water samples were analyzed for dissolved oxygen, colour, turbidity, total suspended solid, total iron, phosphates, alkalinity, magnesium, calcium carbonate, temperature, pH, ammonium, electrical conductivity, chloride and nitrates. Parameters were analyzed following standard methods of APHA (1985). The values obtained were compared with EPA (2001), NWSC (2015) and NEMA (1999) standards for waste water. Results showed that the mean values most of the parameters tested were higher than the recommended EPA, NWSC and NEMA standards. The mean colour was 1627.67°C and 1414.33°C in Kakoba and Taso sewage effluents respectively compared to EPA (20-150), NWSC (500) and NEMA (300) standards (p > 0.05). The mean alkalinity was 1390.17 mg/l and 1308.33 mg/l for Kakoba and Taso respectively compared with EPA (400) and NWSC (800) standards. DO had a mean concentration of 68.27 mg/l and 63.03 mg/l in Taso and Kakoba respectively compared to EPA and NEMA standard of 5 mg/l. Mg was 243.29 mg/l and 246.49 mg/l in Kakoba and Taso sewage effluents respectively compared to NEMA standard for waste water of 100 mg/l (p > 0.05). The mean pH was 8.26 and 8.16 in Taso and Kakoba sewage effluents respectively compared to NWSC and NEMA standard of 6.0 - 8.0. Phosphate mean concentration levels were 32.2 mg/l and 27.11 mg/l for Taso and Kakoba respectively compared to standards of EPA (0.5 - 0.7 mg/l) and NEMA (10 mg/l). NO3 was 10 mg/l and 5.83 mg/l in Kakoba and Taso sewage effluents respectively compared to NWSC maximum permissible limit of 5 mg/l. The mean NH4 concentration was 385.33 mg/l (Kakoba) and 50.0 mg/l (Taso) compared to the EPA guideline range (0.2 - 4 mg/l). Chloride (Cl) had a mean of 833.33 mg/l in Kakoba compared to EPA (250 mg/l), NWSC and NEMA (500 mg/l) standards. Therefore the study recommends for effective treatment of waste effluents from Kakoba and Taso sewage treatment plants before recycling in order to avoid pollution of river Rwizi.
Matrigel, but not collagen I, maintains the differentiation capacity of muscle derived cells in vitro

Satellite cells are key cells for post-natal muscle growth and regeneration and they play a central role in the search for therapies to treat muscle injuries. In this study the proliferation and differentiation capacity of muscle progenitor cells was studied in 2D and 3D cultures with collagen type I and Matrigel, which contain the niche factors laminin and collagen type IV. Muscle progenitor cells were cultured to induce proliferation and differentiation in collagen- or Matrigel-coated surfaces (2D) or in gels (3D). In the 2D cultures, muscle progenitor cells proliferated faster in Matrigel than in collagen. The numbers of Pax7+ and MyoD+ cells were also significantly higher in Matrigel than in collagen. During differentiation, muscle progenitor cells formed more and larger MyoD+ and myogenin+ myotubes in Matrigel. In the 3D cultures, muscle progenitor cells in Matrigel expressed higher mRNA levels of MyoD and myogenin, and formed elongated myotubes expressing myogenin and myosin. In collagen gels, the myotubes were short and rounded. In conclusion, muscle progenitor cells, both in 2D and 3D, lose their differentiation capacity in collagen but not in Matrigel. Although Matrigel contains growth factors, our results indicate that the kind of biomaterial steers the maintenance of the myogenic potential and their proper differentiation to achieve optimal skeletal muscle restoration.
Hydroxyurea for the treatment of sickle cell anemia.

An 18-year-old woman with sickle cell anemia presents with recurrent painful crises, and treatment with hydroxyurea is recommended. Hydroxyurea causes a shift toward the production of red cells containing fetal hemoglobin. A possible increase in the risk of acute leukemia due to hydroxyurea therapy remains the subject of debate.
The Unusual Surface Chlorophyll Signatures of Southern Ocean Eddies

Southern Ocean mesoscale eddies play an important role in ocean circulation and biogeochemical cycling, but their biological characteristics have not been well quantified at the basin scale. To address this, we combined a 15‐year tracked eddy data set with satellite observations of ocean color, sea surface temperature, and autonomous profiling floats to quantify the surface and subsurface properties of eddies. Anomalies of surface temperature and chlorophyll were examined in eddy‐centric composite averages constructed from thousands of eddies. Normalized surface chlorophyll anomalies (chlnorm) vary seasonally and geographically. Cyclones typically show positive chlnorm, while anticyclones have negative chlnorm. The sign of chlnorm reverses during late summer and autumn for eddies between the Subtropical and Polar Fronts. The reversal is most obvious in the Indian sector, and we attribute this to a combination of eddy stirring (deformation of surface gradients by the rotational velocity of an eddy) and deeper winter mixing in anticyclones. Both chlnorm and sea surface temperature anomalies transition from dipole structures north of the Subtropical Front to monopole structures south of the Subantarctic Front. Sea surface temperature and chlnorm composites provide evidence for eddy trapping (transporting of anomalies) and eddy stirring. This research provides a basin‐scale study of surface chlorophyll in Southern Ocean eddies and reveals counterintuitive biogeochemical signals.
The Use of Information in Decision Making: An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Computer-Based Decision Aids

The traditional assumption in the decision support systems (DSS) literature is that if decision makers are provided with expanded processing capabilities they will use them to analyze problems in more depth and, as a result, make better decisions. Empirical studies investigating the relationship between DSS and decision quality have not borne this out. The explanation for such outcomes could be found in behavioral decision-making theories. The literature on behavioral decision making indicates that the conservation of effort may be more important than increased decision quality in some cases. If ths is so, then the use of a decision aid may result in effort savings but not improved decision performance. The two experiments reported here use verbal protocol analysis to compare the extent of information use by unaided decision makers and users of a decision aid designed to support preferential choice problems. The results of the two studies indicate that subjects with a decision aid did not use more information than those without one. Overall, subjects behaved as if effort minimization was an important consideration. For DSS researchers these studies indicate that to understand the DSS-decision quality relationship, it is necessary to consider the decision maker's tradeoff between improving decision quality and conserving effort. For DSS designers these results imply a need to focus on the moderating role that effort will play in determining DSS effectiveness.
School Subject Informatics (Computer Science) in Russia: Educational Relevant Areas

This article deals with some aspects of studying Informatics in Russian schools. Those aspects are part of the ‘third dimension’ of the Darmstadt model (they are also projected on the other two dimensions of this model) and include evolution of the subject, regulatory norms conforming to the Federal Educational Standards, the learning objectives, the required learning outcomes, and the Unified National Examination in Informatics, which is required for admission to a number of university programs. It is interesting to note that correspondence between requirements for the outcomes of learning Informatics in Russian school and the requirements of K-12 Computer Science Standards (USA) is quite satisfactory. It is noteworthy that the relatively high level of school education in Informatics in Russia is determined by the well-established methodological system with a 30-year history, the subject’s being on the list of core disciplines at school, as well as the existence of a state-sponsored system of education teachers of Informatics.
Crustal-scale depth imaging via joint FWI of OBS data and PSDM of MCS data: a case study from the eastern Nankai Trough

Abstract. Imaging via Pre-Stack Depth Migration (PSDM) from reflection towed-streamer Multi-Channel Seismic (MCS) data at the scale of the whole crust is inherently difficult. This mainly results because the depth-penetration of the seismic wavefield is controlled, firstly (i) by the acquisition design, like streamer length and air-gun source configuration, and secondly (ii) by the complexity of the crustal structure. Indeed, the limited length of the streamer makes the estimation of velocities from deep targets challenging due to the velocity-depth ambiguity. The problem is even more pronounced when processing 2D seismic data, due to the lack of multi-azimuthal coverage. Therefore, in order to broaden our knowledge about the deep crust using seismic methods, one shall target the development of specific imaging workflows integrating different seismic data. Here we propose the combination of velocity model-building using (i) first-arrival traveltime tomography (FAT) and full-waveform inversion (FWI) of wide-angle/long-offset data collected by stationary Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) and (ii) PSDM of short-spread towed-streamer MCS data for reflectivity imaging, using the former velocity model as background model. We present an application of such workflow to seismic data collected by Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) in the eastern Nankai Trough (Tokai area) during the 2000/2001 SFJ experiment. We show that the FWI model, although derived from OBS data, provides yet an acceptable background velocity field for the PSDM of the MCS data. Furthermore, from the initial PSDM, we first refine the FWI background velocity model by minimizing the residual moveouts (RMO) picked in the prestack migrated volume through slope tomography (ST), from which we generate a better focused migrated image. Such integration of different seismic data sets and leading-edge imaging techniques led to optimal imaging results at different resolution levels. That is, the large-to-intermediate scale crustal units identified in the high-resolution FWI velocity model extensively complement the short-scale reflectivity inferred from the MCS data to better constrain the structural factors controlling the geodynamics of the Nankai Trough area.
Skeletal muscle mass in acromegaly assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and dual-photon x-ray absorptiometry.

CONTEXT GH and IGF-I are nitrogen retaining and anabolic, but the impact of long-term exposure to supraphysiological GH and IGF-I, either from endogenous overproduction in acromegaly or exogenous sources, on skeletal muscle (SM) mass is not clear. OBJECTIVES The objectives of the study were to assess SM mass by whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in acromegaly and test the hypothesis that dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) lean tissue mass-derived estimates of SM accurately estimate true SM mass. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS The design was a cross-sectional study in 27 acromegaly patients compared with predicted models developed in 315 nonacromegaly subjects and to matched controls. OUTCOME MEASURES Mass of SM from whole-body MRI and lean tissue from DXA were measured. RESULTS SM mass did not differ from predicted or control values in active acromegaly: 31.75 +/- 8.6 kg (acromegaly) vs. 33.06 +/- 8.9 kg (predicted); SM was 95.6 +/- 12.8% of predicted (range 66.7-122%) (P = 0.088). Lean tissue mass (DXA) was higher in acromegaly than controls: 65.91 +/- 15.2 vs. 58.73 +/- 13.5 kg (P < 0.0001). The difference between lean tissue mass (DXA) and SM in acromegaly patients was higher than that in controls (P < 0.0001) consistent with an enlarged non-SM lean compartment in acromegaly. SM mass predicted by DXA correlated highly with SM mass by MRI (r = 0.97, P < 0.0001). SM (MRI) to SM (DXA predicted) ratio was 1.018 (range 0.896-1.159), indicating high agreement of these measures of SM. CONCLUSIONS SM mass in active acromegaly patients did not differ from predicted values. SM mass estimated from DXA agreed highly with SM by MRI, supporting the validity of the DXA model in assessing SM in acromegaly and other disorders of GH/IGF-I secretion.
Callosal Shapes at the Midsagittal Plane: MRI Differences of Normal Males, Normal Females, and GID

We investigated differences in corpus callosum shape at the midsagittal plane using MRI for different subjects: normal males, normal females, and subjects with gender identity disorder (GID). We first represented callosal shapes with Fourier descriptors of callosal contours. Using linear support vector machines with soft-margin, we next determined a hyperplane that separates normal males and females most optimally in the vector space spanned by Fourier descriptors. We then proposed a measure that has prominent sex difference: it is defined as the coordinate of a given callosal shape on the subspace orthogonal to the obtained hyperplane. Use of the measure provides discrimination of someone's sex with 74.17% accuracy. We further showed that the value of the measure for GID more strongly reflects their mental sex, i.e. gender, than their physical sex
A solutions portfolio approach in peritoneal dialysis.

Peritoneal membrane failure may develop during long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD). It is characterized by the occurrence of ultrafiltration failure1 and by morphologic alterations in the peritoneal tissues. These alternations consist of an increased thickness of the collagenous submesothelial compact zone of the parietal peritoneum, sometimes accompanied by loss of surface mesothelium2,3. Vascular abnormalities also have been described, including an increase in the number of vessels3,4; subendothelial hyalinosis, especially of the venules and small veins, but also of arterioles3,5, and extensive diabetiform lamellation of the capillary and mesothelial basement membranes6,7,8. Advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) are found in peritoneal tissues, especially around the vascular wall9,10. Multiple peritonitis episodes might accelerate the development of these functional and anatomic alterations, but are clearly not the only source11. The induction of diabetiform peritoneal alterations in a peritonitis-free, long-term peritoneal exposure model in the rat12, and the relationship with the cumulative peritoneal glucose exposure in humans13,14, point to an important contribution by the current bioincompatible glucose-based dialysis solutions, and the need for new solutions that by their more favorable effects on the peritoneum and the patient as a whole can improve both PD technique and patient survival.
Learning optimal features for visual pattern recognition

The optimal coding hypothesis proposes that the human visual system has adapted to the statistical properties of the environment by the use of relatively simple optimality criteria. We here (i) discuss how the properties of different models of image coding, i.e. sparseness, decorrelation, and statistical independence are related to each other (ii) propose to evaluate the different models by verifiable performance measures (iii) analyse the classification performance on images of handwritten digits (MNIST data base). We first employ the SPARSENET algorithm (Olshausen, 1998) to derive a local filter basis (on 13 × 13 pixels windows). We then filter the images in the database (28 × 28 pixels images of digits) and reduce the dimensionality of the resulting feature space by selecting the locally maximal filter responses. We then train a support vector machine on a training set to classify the digits and report results obtained on a separate test set. Currently, the best state-of-the-art result on the MNIST data base has an error rate of 0,4%. This result, however, has been obtained by using explicit knowledge that is specific to the data (elastic distortion model for digits). We here obtain an error rate of 0,55% which is second best but does not use explicit data specific knowledge. In particular it outperforms by far all methods that do not use data-specific knowledge.
Levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Three Organochlorine Pesticides in Fish from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska

Background Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides, have been shown to have many adverse human health effects. These contaminants therefore may pose a risk to Alaska Natives that follow a traditional diet high in marine mammals and fish, in which POPs bioaccumulate. Methods and Findings This study examined the levels of PCBs and three pesticides [p, p′-DDE, mirex, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB)] in muscle tissue from nine fish species from several locations around the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The highest median PCB level was found in rock sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata, 285 ppb, wet weight), while the lowest level was found in rock greenling (Hexagrammos lagocephalus, 104 ppb, wet weight). Lipid adjusted PCB values were also calculated and significant interspecies differences were found. Again, rock sole had the highest level (68,536 ppb, lipid weight). Concerning the PCB congener patterns, the more highly chlorinated congeners were most common as would be expected due to their greater persistence. Among the pesticides, p, p′-DDE generally dominated, and the highest level was found in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka, 6.9 ppb, wet weight). The methodology developed by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) was used to calculate risk-based consumption limits for the analyzed fish species. For cancer health endpoints for PCBs, all species would trigger strict advisories of between two and six meals per year, depending upon species. For noncancer effects by PCBs, advisories of between seven and twenty-two meals per year were triggered. None of the pesticides triggered consumption limits. Conclusion The fish analyzed, mainly from Adak, contain significant concentrations of POPs, in particular PCBs, which raises the question whether these fish are safe to eat, particularly for sensitive populations. However when assessing any risk of the traditional diet, one must also consider the many health and cultural benefits from eating fish.
Low-Frequency Noise Phenomena in Switched MOSFETs

In small-area MOSFETs widely used in analog and RF circuit design, low-frequency (LF) noise behavior is increasingly dominated by single-electron effects. In this paper, the authors review the limitations of current compact noise models which do not model such single-electron effects. The authors present measurement results that illustrate typical LF noise behavior in small-area MOSFETs, and a model based on Shockley-Read-Hall statistics to explain the behavior. Finally, the authors treat practical examples that illustrate the relevance of these effects to analog circuit design. To the analog circuit designer, awareness of these single-electron noise phenomena is crucial if optimal circuits are to be designed, especially since the effects can aid in low-noise circuit design if used properly, while they may be detrimental to performance if inadvertently applied.
Chromosomal Study of Couples with the History of Recurrent Spontaneous Abortions with Diagnosed Blightded Ovum

Spontaneous abortion (SAb) is the most common complication of early pregnancy. Numerous risk factors are associated with an increased risk of pregnancy loss such as: Blighted ovum. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of balanced chromosomal translocations in couples with a history of recurrent spontaneous abortions and ultrasound diagnosed blighted ovum. Sixty Eight couples with the history of spontaneous abortion (diagnosed blighted ovum) were selected and introduced into this survey during 2007-2012 at Medical Genetics department of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Giemsa banding technique was used to search for chromosomal balanced translocations. Demographic assessment has not shown any age difference between blighted ovum suffering couples and general population. Consanguineous marriages in blighted ovum suffering couples was significantly higher (P value <0.001) than non-consanguineous marriages (68.5% versus 31.5%), while in general population 62% of were non-consanguineous. The incidences of balanced chromosomal rearrangements as well as the rate of chromosome 9 inversion were 8.3 percent each, in non-consanguineous Blighted ovum suffering couples and the remaining (83.4%) showed normal karyotypes. There was no chromosome 9 inversion in consanguineous blighted ovum suffering couples and the incidence of balanced chromosomal rearrangements was 2.3%. With regard to relatively low incidence of balanced chromosomal rearrangements in consanguineous couples with blighted ovum, it would be reasonable to suggest that single gene determinants may play an important role in such pregnancy complications rather than chromosomal disorders.
Multiple adhesin proteins on the cell surface of Streptococcus gordonii are involved in adhesion to human fibronectin

Adhesion of bacterial cells to fibronectin (FN) is thought to be a pivotal step in the pathogenesis of invasive infectious diseases. Viridans group streptococci such as Streptococcus gordonii are considered commensal members of the oral microflora, but are important pathogens in infective endocarditis. S. gordonii expresses a battery of cell-surface adhesins that act alone or in concert to bind host receptors. Here, we employed molecular genetic approaches to determine the relative contributions of five known S. gordonii surface proteins to adherence to human FN. Binding levels to FN by isogenic mutants lacking Hsa glycoprotein were reduced by 70 %, while mutants lacking CshA and CshB fibrillar proteins showed approximately 30 % reduced binding. By contrast, disruption of antigen I/II adhesin genes sspA and sspB in a wild-type background did not result in reduced FN binding. Enzymic removal of sialic acids from FN led to reduced S. gordonii DL1 adhesion (>50 %), but did not affect binding by the hsa mutant, indicating that Hsa interacts with sialic acid moieties on FN. Conversely, desialylation of FN did not affect adherence levels of Lactococcus lactis cells expressing SspA or SspB polypeptides. Complementation of the hsa mutant partially restored adhesion to FN. A model is proposed for FN binding by S. gordonii in which Hsa and CshA/CshB are primary adhesins, and SspA or SspB play secondary roles. Understanding the basis of oral streptococcal interactions with FN will provide a foundation for development of new strategies to control infective endocarditis.
Biologically Inspired Scene Context for Object Detection Using a Single Instance

This paper presents a novel object detection method using a single instance from the object category. Our method uses biologically inspired global scene context criteria to check whether every individual location of the image can be naturally replaced by the query instance, which indicates whether there is a similar object at this location. Different from the traditional detection methods that only look at individual locations for the desired objects, our method evaluates the consistency of the entire scene. It is therefore robust to large intra-class variations, occlusions, a minor variety of poses, low-revolution conditions, background clutter etc., and there is no off-line training. The experimental results on four datasets and two video sequences clearly show the superior robustness of the proposed method, suggesting that global scene context is important for visual detection/localization.