Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Revisiting Titan's Earth‐based scattering data at 13 cm‐λ

Earth‐based measurements of scattering from Titan's surface at 13 cm‐λ obtained by the Arecibo Observatory provide an almost complete record over longitude of the backscattering spectra from the surface of Titan at 25.5°S. The observations contain a quasi‐specular component, indicating the presence of smooth surfaces on wavelength scale, that is distinct from an omni‐present diffuse background. Previous modeling of this scattering using Hagfors law produces values for the surface dielectric constant consistent with liquid hydrocarbons. Use of plausible alternative models, such as a linear combination of two Gaussian scattering laws, yields higher dielectric constant results, which are consistent with a solid surface of simple organics or “dirty” water ice. In instances where several scattering laws are plausible models for the data, it is helpful to check the consistency of the inferred surface parameters before making conclusions concerning surface composition.
Cold Chain Management of Fruits in Ghana

Ghana's Horticultural sector over recent years has seen tremendous growth and development with increasing demand for tropical fruits in Europe and the rest o f the world. With the rise in competition among producing countries, it has become very important for the sector to be strengthened. Demand for quality produce by consumers in these developed countries has been a challenge to producers from developing countries like Ghana. For Ghana to compete favourably among its peers in the global market, quality parameters relevant to international markets like the cold chain and its management is o f paramount importance to all the players in the sector. This research therefore sought to catalogue the entire postharvest practices in the sector, find out the awareness and practice of cold chain management with the pineapple sector as a case study and find the best practices in the sector with regards to temperature, and which are o f importance. It was observed that, there was immense knowledge (100%) o f the cold chain system among pineapple growers in the country and efforts were being made in practicing it. It was also found that growers were aware o f GLOBALGAP, HACCP and many other sophisticated systems and do try their very best to abide by these regulations with different levels o f compliance. Finally with respect to cold chain temperature monitoring and management, the results showed that even though local growers have taken steps to acquire either complete or partial cold chain systems, little has been done to improve the management and monitoring o f produce temperature, especially regarding produce in transit from the farm to the port. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug. edu.gh
Comparable and adaptable strategies to waterlogging stress regulated by adventitious roots between two contrasting species.

Cleistocalyx operculatus and Syzygium cumini possess a certain waterlogging tolerance. However, the comparable and adaptable strategies to waterlogging stress between these two species on the basis of waterlogging adventitious root (AR) regulation were still unclear. In this study, the plant performances in response to AR regulation based on AR removal and exogenous hormone application were investigated in terms of plant morphology, physiology, photosynthesis, and AR traits. Results showed that C. operculatus possesses stronger waterlogging tolerance than S. cumini based on waterlogging tolerance coefficient, which is mainly due to the higher root biomass, root porosity, and length and activity of ARs, and shorter emergence time of ARs in C. operculatus than in S. cumini. The AR-R treatment increased activity and porosity of primary root, and induce a large amount of up-vertical ARs from the primary root systems in C. operculatus, while similar adaptive morphological changes in roots did not occur in AR-R treated S. cumini. Exogenous ABA application had better effects on alleviating waterlogging damages than exogenous IAA in balancing endogenous hormones (ABA and ZR), promoting ARs development (porosity and activity, and the ratio of cortex area to stele area), improving photosynthesis process and antioxidant system (soluble protein, free proline, and peroxidase). Moreover, under waterlogging conditions, exogenous ABA application induced greater increases in net photosynthesis rate (A), stomatal conductance (gs), chlorophyll b (Chl b), and carotenoid (Caro) in S. cumini than in C. operculatus, which suggested that S. cumini responded more positively and efficiently to exogenous ABA application than C. operculatus under waterlogging conditions. Thus, the findings provided new insights into the waterlogging adaptable strategies in waterlogging tolerant woody species on the basis of ARs, and could provide scientific guidance for the application of these two species during revegetation activities in wetlands.
Affect Covariation in Marital Couples Dealing with Stressors Surrounding Prostate Cancer

Background: Consistent with a dyadic perspective to coping with chronic illness, couples may experience covariation in their daily affective experiences, particularly as they deal with stressful events surrounding chronic illness, such as prostate cancer. Objective: Our purpose was to examine the daily covariation of negative and positive affect among husbands and wives and whether this covariation was enhanced when couples mentioned the same stressful event and reported frequently collaborating. Methods: Fifty-nine husbands diagnosed as having prostate cancer and their wives participated in a daily diary where they reported on the most stressful event of the day, positive and negative affect, coping strategies and whether their spouse was involved in a collaborative manner. Coders independently made judgments as to whether the stressful event mentioned by husbands and wives was the same. Results: Multivariate hierarchical linear models revealed that on days when wives experienced greater negative affect, husbands did so as well. However, negative affect covariation was only found when spouses mentioned the same daily stressful event. The mean levels of collaborative coping across the 14 days moderated this negative covariation effect for wives, such that negative affect covariation was enhanced when wives reported collaborating more frequently. Positive affect covariation was not found. Conclusion: The results reveal that negative affect covariation may be most likely when spouses experience similar stressors and wives perceive frequently collaborating. Partners within close relationships experience similar negative affect as their spouse, pointing to the shared nature of illness in late life.
A conceptual framework for assessing interaction quality in online discussion forums

The use of discussion forums in education has long been a hot topic in tertiary education. Discussion forums’ activities help learners to share and gain knowledge from each other. However, setting up discussion forums does not ensure that learners interact with each other actively and grading of discussion forum participation is done to ensure qualitative learner participation. Currently, a major focus has been put onto the better use of discussion forums, but the way in which quality of participation can be evaluated has yet to be adequately investigated. This paper presents a conceptual model, based on an extensive review of current literature in related areas, as a way forward in looking at the assessment of quality in online discussion forums. The main benefits of the proposed framework are towards facilitators, as a way to assess learners’ online contributions, while students may use it to understand what is expected of them as participants in online discussion forums
A young boy with unexplained headache and paralysis

HELENE HELGELAND E-mail: helene.helgeland@ous-hf.no Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Hospitals Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine and National Advisory Unit on Psychosomatic Disorders in Children and Adolescents Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet Helene Helgeland, PhD, is a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry. The author has completed the ICMJE form and reports no conflicts of interest.
Ionospheric effects of the missile destruction on 9 December 2009

We report on ionosonde and meteor radar observations made in Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory (SGO, 67°22′N, 26°38′E, Finland) on 9 December 2009, during a test launch of the Russian solid propellant military missile. Due to a technical problem, the missile was self‐destroyed around 07 UT at an ionospheric height (near 200 km altitude) over the Kola Peninsula (Russia), at a distance about 500 km to east from the observatory. Products of the explosion were spread into a large area and reached the region of SGO meteor radar observations in about 2 h (around 09 UT). After about 3 h (around 10 UT), a sporadic E layer presumably composed of the remains including long‐lived metallic (aluminum and its oxides) ions, was observed near the zenith of the SGO ionosonde. We discuss possible mechanisms accounting for transport of the remains. (1) Since the event occurred during a long‐lasting period of extremely low solar and magnetic activity, the ionospheric electric field was unlikely to play a substantial role in the transport of the remains and sporadic E layer formation. (2) The horizontal transport of the remains cannot be explained by the neutral winds based on empirical models. (3) Theoretical estimations suggest that the observed transport could be due to thermospheric turbulence.
Expression of the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor and excretion of secretory IgA in the postischemic kidney

Expression of the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor and excretion of secretory IgA in the postischemic kidney. Am. J. Physiol. 276 ( Renal Physiol. 45): F666–F673, 1999. —The humoral mucosal immune response of the kidney involves the transport of secretory IgA (S-IgA) through renal epithelial cells by the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR). The pIgR is cleaved and released as free secretory component (FSC) or attached to IgA (S-IgA). We examined the effects of an ischemic model of acute renal failure (ARF) on the expression of pIgR and the secretion of FSC and S-IgA in the urine. Kidney pIgR mRNA levels decreased in ischemic animals by 55% at 4 h and by 85% at 72 h compared with controls. pIgR protein expression in the medullary thick ascending limb (TAL) decreased within 24 h and was nearly undetectable by 72 h. Urinary S-IgA and FSC concentrations decreased by 60% between days 3 and 6 . pIgR mRNA and pIgR protein in the kidney returned to , 90% of control levels and urinary FSC and S-IgA concentrations returned to , 55% of control levels by day 7 . We demonstrate that ischemic ARF decreases renal mucosal S-IgA transport in vivo and may contribute to the increased incidence of urinary tract infections. Additional tissue sections were stained with the horseradish peroxidase-conjugated sheep anti-rat IgA (The Binding Site) to assess the distribution and relative amounts of IgA in the rat kidney. In addition, we incubated whole kidney sections with preimmune rabbit sera to assure that the staining was speciﬁc. Statistical analysis. Differences between and within the ischemic and control groups were assessed by two-wayANOVA (32). When a signiﬁcant difference was present between groups, additional analyses were performed using either the Tukey’s method for all comparisons or the unpaired t -test assuming equal variances for planned comparisons (Micro-soft Excel, Redmond, WA). P , 0.05 was considered statisti-cally signiﬁcant.
Accuracy of High-risk HPV DNA PCR, p16INK4a Immunohistochemistry or the Combination of Both to Diagnose HPV-driven Oropharyngeal Cancer

BACKGROUNDThe incidence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV)-driven head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, in particular oropharyngeal cancers (OPC), is increasing in high-resource countries. Patients with HPV-induced cancer respond better to treatment and consequently have lower case-fatality rates than patients with HPV-unrelated OPC. These considerations highlight the importance of reliable and accurate markers to diagnose truly HPV-induced OPC. METHODSThe accuracy of three possible test strategies, i.e. a) hrHPV DNA PCR (DNA), b) p16INK4a immunohistochemistry (IHC) (p16), and c) the combination of both tests (considering joint DNA and p16 positivity as positivity criterion), was analysed in tissue samples from 99 Belgian OPC patients enrolled in the HPV-AHEAD study. Presence of HPV E6*I mRNA (mRNA) was considered as the reference, indicating HPV etiology. RESULTSNinety-nine OPC patients were included, for which the positivity rates were 36.4%, 34.0% and 28.9% for DNA, p16 and mRNA, respectively. Ninety-five OPC patients had valid test results for all three tests (DNA, p16 and mRNA). Using mRNA status as the reference, DNA testing showed 100% (28/28) sensitivity, and 92.5% (62/67) specificity for the detection of HPV-driven cancer. p16 was 96.4% (27/28) sensitive and equally specific (92.5%; 62/67). The sensitivity and specificity of combined p16+DNA testing was 96.4% (27/28) and 97.0% (65/67), respectively. In this series, p16 alone and combined p16+DNA missed 1 in 28 HPV driven cancers, but p16 alone misclassified 5 in 67 non-HPV driven as positive, whereas combined testing would misclassify only 2 in 67. CONCLUSIONSSingle hrHPV DNA PCR and p16INK4a IHC are highly sensitive but less specific than using combined testing to diagnose HPV-driven OPC patients. Since HPV-driven OPC cancer can be treated less aggressively, combined testing can reduce treatment sequelae at the expense of a small number of patients that may receive less effective therapy.
Retrieval of forest biophysical variables by inverting a 3-D radiative transfer model and using high and very high resolution imagery

Obtaining detailed observations of the amount and condition of vegetation is an important issue for describing, understanding and modelling the role of the biosphere in the global carbon cycle. Here, multispectral optical imagery was used for retrieving biophysical variables through the inversion of a 3-D radiative transfer model. Two inversion procedures are presented: a classical procedure for high resolution imagery and an innovative procedure specifically designed for very high resolution imagery (resolution around 1 m). They were tested with SPOT ('Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre') and Ikonos images, respectively. One of the objectives was to assess to which extent the inversion of high and very high resolution satellite imagery can help in assessing how Fontainebleau forest (France) was damaged by a very strong storm on December 1999. Retrieved biophysical variables are: Leaf Area Index (LAI), Crown Coverage (CC) and leaf chlorophyll concentration (C ab). Compared with ground measurements, SPOT-derived LAI has a root mean square error (RMSE) of around 1.4 at stand scale. This is not accurate enough to quantify the effects of the storm. However, LAI variation was assessed at a forest scale. On the other hand, the innovative procedure applied to Ikonos data led to more accurate results. For example, the relative error between estimated and ground measured LAI was improved, on average, from 23% (using 20 m resolution imagery) to 6% (using very high resolution imagery).
Predictive Modeling of Soil and Plant Distributions

Predictive modeling of plant speciesâ€™ distributions based on their relationship with environmental variables is important for a range of management activities. Examples include management of threatened species and communities, risk assessment of non-native species in new environments and the estimation of the magnitude of biological responses to environmental changes. Variability is one of the intrinsic characteristics of the soil properties. Within an ecosystem, soil properties have vast spatial variations which mainly arise from factors and processes of pedogenesis and land use. Spatial variability in the soil is natural, but understanding these changes, particularly in agricultural lands for planning and management is inevitable. Soil properties change with time and space of the small scales to large scales, which are influenced by intrinsic properties (such as soil parent materials) and non-inherent characteristics (such as management, fertilizer and crop rotation). To plants predictive mapping, it is necessary to prepare the maps of all affective factors of models. Geostatistics is a useful tool for analyzing the structure of spatial variability, interpolating between point observations and creating the map of interpolated values with an associated error map. In this paper, we are focusing on the spatial variation of plant diversity with respect to soil and environmental impacts
Characterization of multiple platelet activation pathways in patients with bleeding as a high-throughput screening option: use of 96-well Optimul assay.

Up to 1% of the population have mild bleeding disorders, but these remain poorly characterized, particularly with regard to the roles of platelets. We have compared the usefulness of Optimul, a 96-well plate-based assay of 7 distinct pathways of platelet activation to characterize inherited platelet defects in comparison with light transmission aggregometry (LTA). Using Optimul and LTA, concentration-response curves were generated for arachidonic acid, ADP, collagen, epinephrine, Thrombin receptor activating-peptide, U46619, and ristocetin in samples from (1) healthy volunteers (n = 50), (2) healthy volunteers treated with antiplatelet agents in vitro (n = 10), and (3) patients with bleeding of unknown origin (n = 65). The assays gave concordant results in 82% of cases (κ = 0.62, P < .0001). Normal platelet function results were particularly predictive (sensitivity, 94%; negative predictive value, 91%), whereas a positive result was not always substantiated by LTA (specificity, 67%; positive predictive value, 77%). The Optimul assay was significantly more sensitive at characterizing defects in the thromboxane pathway, which presented with normal responses with LTA. The Optimul assay is sensitive to mild platelet defects, could be used as a rapid screening assay in patients presenting with bleeding symptoms, and detects changes in platelet function more readily than LTA. This trial was registered at www.isrctn. org as #ISRCTN 77951167.
Direct evaluation of hole effective mass of SnS-SnSe solid solutions with ARPES measurement.

Valence band dispersions of single-crystalline SnS1-xSex solid solutions were observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The hole effective masses, crucial factors in determining thermoelectric properties, were directly evaluated. They decrease slightly with increasing Se content in the low Se composition range but sharply in the high Se composition range.
Functional Segregation within the Dorsal Frontoparietal Network: A Multimodal Dynamic Causal Modeling Study.

Discrimination and integration of motion direction requires the interplay of multiple brain areas. Theoretical accounts of perception suggest that stimulus-related (i.e., exogenous) and decision-related (i.e., endogenous) factors affect distributed neuronal processing at different levels of the visual hierarchy. To test these predictions, we measured brain activity of healthy participants during a motion discrimination task, using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We independently modeled the impact of exogenous factors (task demand) and endogenous factors (perceptual decision-making) on the activity of the motion discrimination network and applied Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) to both modalities. DCM for event-related potentials (DCM-ERP) revealed that task demand impacted the reciprocal connections between the primary visual cortex (V1) and medial temporal areas (V5). With practice, higher visual areas were increasingly involved, as revealed by DCM-fMRI. Perceptual decision-making modulated higher levels (e.g., V5-to-Frontal Eye Fields, FEF), in a manner predictive of performance. Our data suggest that lower levels of the visual network support early, feature-based selection of responses, especially when learning strategies have not been implemented. In contrast, perceptual decision-making operates at higher levels of the visual hierarchy by integrating sensory information with the internal state of the subject.
NDRG1 in Aggressive Breast Cancer Progression and Brain Metastasis.

BACKGROUND N-Myc downstream regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) suppresses metastasis in many human malignancies including breast cancer yet has been associated with worse survival in patients with inflammatory breast cancer. The role of NDRG1 in the pathobiology of aggressive breast cancers remains elusive. METHODS To study the role of NDRG1 in tumor growth and brain metastasis in vivo, we transplanted cells into cleared mammary fat pads or injected them in tail veins of SCID/Beige mice (n = 7-10 per group). NDRG1 protein expression in patient breast tumors (n = 216) was assessed by immunohistochemical staining. Kaplan-Meier method with 2-sided log-rank test was used to analyze the associations between NDRG1 and time-to-event outcomes. A multivariate Cox regression model was used to determine independent prognostic factors. All statistical tests were 2-sided. RESULTS We generated new sublines that exhibit a distinct propensity to metastasize to the brain. NDRG1-high expressing cells produced more prevalent brain metastases (100% vs 44.4% for NDRG1-low sublines, P = .01, Fisher's exact test), greater tumor burden, and reduced survival in mice. In aggressive breast cancer cell lines, silencing NDRG1 led to reduced migration, invasion, and tumor-initiating cell subpopulations. In xenograft models, depleting NDRG1 inhibited primary tumor growth and brain metastasis. In patient breast tumors, NDRG1 was associated with aggressiveness: NDRG1-high expression was also associated with shorter overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.20 to 4.29, P = .009) and breast cancer-specific survival (HR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.07 to 4.48, P = .03). Multivariable analysis showed NDRG1 to be an independent predictor of overall survival (HR = 2.17; 95% CI = 1.10 to 4.30; P = .03) and breast cancer-specific survival rates (HR = 2.27; 95% CI = 1.05 to 4.92; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated that NDRG1 drives tumor progression and brain metastasis in aggressive breast cancers and that NDRG1-high expression correlates with worse clinical outcomes, suggesting that NDRG1 may serve as a therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker in aggressive breast cancers.