Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aeolian behavior of dust in a simulated Martian environment

The behavior of aeolian dust, particles 1-2 microns (μm) in diameter, was analyzed in a simulated Martian environment. Three main areas have been investigated: (1) characterizing spectral and aeolian properties of Martian particles and natural wind-blown terrestrial dust in order to identify a suitable surrogate Martian dust, (2) emplacement of the material in the simulated Martian environment, and (3) experimental procedures and testing in the Martian Surface Wind Tunnel (MARSWIT). The first phase of the study involved choosing a terrestrial dust that closely resembled Martian dust. Data accumulated from various sources suggest that Martian dust is derived from the weathering of basaltic parent material, nontronite clay being a good candidate composition. A commercial clay, Carbondale Red Clay (CRC), was determined to be an appropriate surrogate Martian dust. Using a compressed air-dust ejection system, an air-entrained dust cloud was generated which settled to cover the test section in the MARSWIT. This method best replicated the natural acrodynamic settling process presumed to exist on Mars. Low-pressure experiments were performed in the MARSWIT facility located at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. Two separate wind tunnel floors were used for these experiments; one provided an aerodynamically smooth-surface flow, and the other was an aerodynamically rough-surface flow. Initial and momentary particle movement was recorded at friction velocities as low as 2 m/s. However, the dust never reached fluid saltation threshold because individual particles less than 10 μm typically do not saltate, but pass into suspension. An estimated dust flux of 3.7 x 10 -7 g/cm 2 s was determined for a friction velocity of 2 m/s. This flux could suspend about 10,000 metric tons of dust per second over the surface of Mars. The dust behavior on the smooth surface was markedly different than on the rough surface under Martian conditions. Application of the processes described above to the Martian environment suggests that on rocky surfaces dust suspension would first occur, whereas smooth plains would require higher wind speeds for dust entrainment.
Implications of the mechanical and frictional behavior of serpentinite to seismogenic faulting

The widespread occurrence of serpentinite along major strike slip, seismogenic faults warrants systematic investigation to determine how its frictional characteristics may affect slip along the fault. Different locations along the Motagua fault zone in Guatemala were sampled to investigate the sliding mode as a function of composition and texture, confining pressure, and displacement rate. Air-dried, right circular cylinders, 7.1 cm in length and 3.3 cm in diameter, with a precut 35° to the cylinder and load axes were deformed at confining pressures up to 200 MPa, room temperature, and displacement rates of 10−4 and 10−7 cm/s. Compositional analyses of specimens cored from five blocks of serpentinite that were tested show that the serpentinite can be divided into two groups. One is a mesh-textured serpentinite containing up to 70% serpentine, mostly lizardite, 11% enstatite phenocrysts, 19% oxides, and minor amounts of olivine and carbonate (undifferentiated). The other is a flare-textured serpentinite containing up to 84% serpentinte, mostly antigorite, 10% oxides, 6% magnesite and dolomite, and almost no enstatite or olivine. The flare serpentinite undergoes the transition from stable sliding to stick slip sliding at confining pressures as low as 10 MPa. The mesh serpentinite results only in stable sliding up to confining pressures of 200 MPa and a displacement rate of 10−4 cm/s. At a displacement rate of 10−7 cm/s only one of the three mesh blocks exhibits stick slip. The shear stress required to initiate sliding for the flare-textured serpentinites is given by τ = 0. 77σn. For the mesh-textured serpentinites at a displacement rate of 10−4 cm/s it is given by τ = 0. 56σn, and at a displacement rate of 10−7 cm/s by τ = 0. 50σn. Differences in fracture strength between the five specimen blocks correlate with differences in frictional strength. Differences in the sliding behavior and in the deformation observed along the sliding surfaces can be related to the mineralogical components of each serpentinite type. Extensive deformation occurs in the mesh serpentinites as a result of hard oxide and enstatite indenters ploughing through a soft lizardite substrate. Lizardite-lizardite contacts prevail, and these deform by plastic flow. The stick slip behavior in the flare-textured serpentinites is explained by brittle failure of antigorite-antigorite contacts. The smaller grain size of the flare serpentinites, relative to the mesh serpentinites, may also contribute to the higher frictional strength of the flare serpentinites. We discuss the implications of the antigorite-rich, flare-textured serpentinite to seismogenic faulting. In particular, we consider the case of antigorite forming by shear-heating-induced progressive metamorphism of lizardite-chrysotile serpentinites. If serpentine dehydration temperatures are approached, talc may form. Having a lower coefficient of friction than serpentine, talc may act as a ‘lubricant’ along the fault plane.
De novo‐synthesized ceramide signals apoptosis in astrocytes via extracellular signal‐regulated kinase

ABSTRACT Recent observations support the importance of ceramide synthesis de novo in the induction of apoptosis. However, the downstream targets of de novo‐synthesized ceramide are unknown. Here we show that palmitate incorporated into ceramide and induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation in astrocytes. These effects of palmitate were exacerbated when fatty acid breakdown was uncoupled and were not evident in neurons, which show a very low capacity to take up and metabolize palmitate. Palmitate‐induced apoptosis of astrocytes was prevented by L‐cycloserine and fumonisin B1, two inhibitors of ceramide synthesis de novo, and by PD098059, an inhibitor of the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) cascade. Accordingly, palmitate activated ERK by a process that was dependent on ceramide synthesis de novo and Raf‐1, but independent of kinase suppressor of Ras. Other potential targets of ceramide in the control of cell fate, namely, c‐Jun amino‐terminal kinase, p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase, and protein kinase B, were not significantly affected in astrocytes exposed to palmitate. Results show that the Raf‐1/ERK cascade is the selective downstream target of de novo‐synthesized ceramide in the induction of apoptosis in astrocytes and also highlight the importance of ceramide synthesis de novo in apoptosis of astrocytes, which might have pathophysiological relevance. —Blázquez, C. , Galve‐Roperh, I. , Guzmán, M. De novo‐synthesized ceramide signals apoptosis in astrocytes via extracellular signal‐regulated kinase. FASEB J. 14, 2315‐2322 (2000)
Transforming human blood stem and progenitor cells: A new way forward in leukemia modeling

MLL-AF9 (MA9) is a leukemia fusion gene formed upon translocation of the AF9 gene on chromosome 9 and the MLL gene on chromosome 11. MA9 is commonly found in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and occasionally in acute lymphoid leukemia and is associated with intermediate to poor outcome. The specific signaling pathways downstream of MA9 are still poorly understood. We have recently described a model system whereby we expressed the MA9 fusion gene in human CD34+ Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) cells and showed that these cells transformed to acute myeloid or lymphoid leukemia when injected into immunodeficient mice. The Mixed Lineage Leukemia oncogenes are unique in this model system in that they promote full transformation of primary human blood cells, while all other leukemia-associated oncogenes tested thus far have induced only partial phenotypes. Here we provide an update on the use of this system for modeling human leukemia and its potential application for therapeutic testing of novel compounds to treat the disease. We focus specifically on the Rho family of small guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) as potential therapeutic targets, which we have implicated in the pathogenesis of AML associated with MA9 expression.
Nitric Oxide Synthase and Breast Cancer: Role of TIMP-1 in NO-mediated Akt Activation

Prediction of therapeutic response and cancer patient survival can be improved by the identification of molecular markers including tumor Akt status. A direct correlation between NOS2 expression and elevated Akt phosphorylation status has been observed in breast tumors. Tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) has been proposed to exert oncogenic properties through CD63 cell surface receptor pathway initiation of pro-survival PI3k/Akt signaling. We employed immunohistochemistry to examine the influence of TIMP-1 on the functional relationship between NOS2 and phosphorylated Akt in breast tumors and found that NOS2-associated Akt phosphorylation was significantly increased in tumors expressing high TIMP-1, indicating that TIMP-1 may further enhance NO-induced Akt pathway activation. Moreover, TIMP-1 silencing by antisense technology blocked NO-induced PI3k/Akt/BAD phosphorylation in cultured MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. TIMP-1 protein nitration and TIMP-1/CD63 co-immunoprecipitation was observed at NO concentrations that induced PI3k/Akt/BAD pro-survival signaling. In the survival analysis, elevated tumor TIMP-1 predicted poor patient survival. This association appears to be mainly restricted to tumors with high NOS2 protein. In contrast, TIMP-1 did not predict poor survival in patient tumors with low NOS2 expression. In summary, our findings suggest that tumors with high TIMP-1 and NOS2 behave more aggressively by mechanisms that favor Akt pathway activation.
Minimum Required Payment and Supplemental Information Disclosure Effects on Consumer Debt Repayment Decisions

Repayment decisions—how much of the loan to repay and when to make the payments—directly influence consumer debt levels. The authors examine how minimum required payment policy and loan information disclosed to consumers influence repayment decisions. They find that while presenting minimum required payment information has a negative impact on repayment decisions, increasing the minimum required level has a positive effect on repayment for most consumers. Experimental evidence from U.S. consumers shows that consumers’ propensity to pay the minimum required each month moderates these effects; U.K. credit card field data indicate that borrowers’ credit limit and balance due also moderate these effects. However, increasing the minimum level is unlikely to completely eliminate the negative effect of presenting minimum payment information. In addition, disclosing supplemental information, such as future interest cost and time needed to repay the loan, does not reduce the negative effects of including minimum payment information and has no substantial positive effect on repayments. This research offers new insights into the debt repayment process and has implications for consumers, lenders, and public policy.
The Effectiveness of Urban Design and Land Use and Transport Policies and Practices to Increase Physical Activity: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND Although a number of environmental and policy interventions to promote physical activity are being widely used, there is sparse systematic information on the most effective approaches to guide population-wide interventions. METHODS We reviewed studies that addressed the following environmental and policy strategies to promote physical activity: community-scale urban design and land use policies and practices to increase physical activity; street-scale urban design and land use policies to increase physical activity; and transportation and travel policies and practices. These systematic reviews were based on the methods of the independent Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Exposure variables were classified according to the types of infrastructures/policies present in each study. Measures of physical activity behavior were used to assess effectiveness. RESULTS Two interventions were effective in promoting physical activity (community-scale and street-scale urban design and land use policies and practices). Additional information about applicability, other effects, and barriers to implementation are provided for these interventions. Evidence is insufficient to assess transportation policy and practices to promote physical activity. CONCLUSIONS Because community- and street-scale urban design and land-use policies and practices met the Community Guide criteria for being effective physical activity interventions, implementing these policies and practices at the community-level should be a priority of public health practitioners and community decision makers.
Head-Driven Hierarchical Phrase-based Translation

This paper presents an extension of Chiang's hierarchical phrase-based (HPB) model, called Head-Driven HPB (HD-HPB), which incorporates head information in translation rules to better capture syntax-driven information, as well as improved reordering between any two neighboring non-terminals at any stage of a derivation to explore a larger reordering search space. Experiments on Chinese-English translation on four NIST MT test sets show that the HD-HPB model significantly outperforms Chiang's model with average gains of 1.91 points absolute in BLEU.
The Kelp Highway Hypothesis: Marine Ecology, the Coastal Migration Theory, and the Peopling of the Americas

ABSTRACT In this article, a collaborative effort between archaeologists and marine ecologists, we discuss the role kelp forest ecosystems may have played in facilitating the movement of maritime peoples from Asia to the Americas near the end of the Pleistocene. Growing in cool nearshore waters along rocky coastlines, kelp forests offer some of the most productive habitats on earth, with high primary productivity, magnified secondary productivity, and three-dimensional habitat supporting a diverse array of marine organisms. Today, extensive kelp forests are found around the North Pacific from Japan to Baja California. After a break in the tropics—where nearshore mangrove forests and coral reefs are highly productive—kelp forests are also found along the Andean Coast of South America. These Pacific Rim kelp forests support or shelter a wealth of shellfish, fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and seaweeds, resources heavily used historically by coastal peoples. By about 16,000 years ago, the North Pacific Coast offered a linear migration route, essentially unobstructed and entirely at sea level, from northeast Asia into the Americas. Recent reconstructions suggest that rising sea levels early in the postglacial created a highly convoluted and island-rich coast along Beringia's southern shore, conditions highly favorable to maritime hunter-gatherers. Along with the terrestrial resources available in adjacent landscapes, kelp forests and other nearshore habitats sheltered similar suites of food resources that required minimal adaptive adjustments for migrating coastal peoples. With reduced wave energy, holdfasts for boats, and productive fishing, these linear kelp forest ecosystems may have provided a kind of “kelp highway” for early maritime peoples colonizing the New World.
Evasion of Neutrophil Killing by Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus causes many types of infections, ranging from self-resolving skin infections to severe or fatal pneumonia. Human innate immune cells, called polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs or neutrophils), are essential for defense against S. aureus infections. Neutrophils are the most prominent cell type of the innate immune system and are capable of producing non-specific antimicrobial molecules that are effective at eliminating bacteria. Although significant progress has been made over the past few decades, our knowledge of S. aureus-host innate immune system interactions is incomplete. Most notably, S. aureus has the capacity to produce numerous molecules that are directed to protect the bacterium from neutrophils. Here we review in brief the role played by neutrophils in defense against S. aureus infection, and correspondingly, highlight selected S. aureus molecules that target key neutrophil functions.
Impact of Non-Ideal Efficiency on Bits Per Joule Performance of Base Station Transmissions

Energy efficiency has become an important metric for the future system design. In traditional design methods, the link transmission strategies were investigated with only transmit power considered. We shall show in this paper that from the whole system's aspect, the radiated energy used for data transmission is only a portion of the overall power consumption, whose ratio depends on many practical issues such as the transmission distance, the modulation level, the non-ideal power amplifier efficiency, as well as the circuit and processing power. Through closed-form formula derivation, analysis remarks, and numerical examples, we shall show the impact of different system parameters and configurations on the whole system's power consumption and energy efficiency, which in turn, sheds a light on the design philosophy for maximizing the energy efficiency of a base station as a whole.
Natural killer cell regulation - beyond the receptors

Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes that are important for early and effective immune responses against infections and cancer. In the last 40 years, many receptors, their corresponding ligands and signaling pathways that regulate NK cell functions have been identified. However, we now know that additional processes, such as NK cell education, differentiation and also the formation of NK cell memory, have a great impact on the reactivity of these cells. Here, we summarize the current knowledge about these modulatory processes.
Validation of a Regional Atmospheric Model for Assessing the Offshore Wind Resources Along the Portuguese Coast

This study aims to determine the offshore wind energy potential for Portugal using the mesoscale atmospheric model WRF that provides a reliable and accurate wind data set for this area, and allows identifying the wind resources in potential areas for developing offshore wind parks. Before a model can be used to provide a wind climatology a validation study has to be carried out, for which accurate wind measurements are required. Therefore, two years of high resolution (9 km) weather modeling data are used to validate the model against measurements from meteorological stations along two Portuguese pilot zone areas for renewable energy devices: Agucadoura and S. Pedro de Moel. The validation is carried out for winds at 10m and at 80m height. The correlation coefficients, root mean squared errors and bias are used to evaluate the model accuracy. The model is used to calculate 80 m wind speeds (turbine hub height) for each area and wind statistics are determined for the entire domain in the Portuguese coast. It is demonstrated that the downscaled winds provide better accuracy than the initial forcing fields.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
High-Performance Inversion-Type Enhancement-Mode InGaAs MOSFET With Maximum Drain Current Exceeding 1 A/mm

High-performance inversion-type enhancement- mode (E-mode) n-channel In<sub>0.65</sub>Ga<sub>0.35</sub>As MOSFETs with atomic-layer-deposited Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> as gate dielectric are demonstrated. A 0.4-mum gate-length MOSFET with an Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> gate oxide thickness of 10 nm shows a gate leakage current that is less than 5 times 10<sup>-6</sup> A/cm<sup>2</sup> at 4.0-V gate bias, a threshold voltage of 0.4 V, a maximum drain current of 1.05 A/mm, and a transconductance of 350 mS/mm at drain voltage of 2.0 V. The maximum drain current and transconductance scale linearly from 40 mum to 0.7 mum. The peak effective mobility is ~1550 cm<sup>2</sup>/V ldr s at 0.3 MV/cm and decreases to ~650 cm<sup>2</sup>/V ldr s at 0.9 MV/cm. The obtained maximum drain current and transconductance are all record-high values in 40 years of E-mode III-V MOSFET research.
Pesticide Exposure Alters Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Levels in Mexican Agricultural Workers

Organophosphorous pesticides (OPs) are suspected of altering reproductive function by reducing brain acetylcholinesterase activity and monoamine levels, thus impairing hypothalamic and/or pituitary endocrine functions and gonadal processes. Our objective was to evaluate in a longitudinal study the association between OP exposure and serum levels of pituitary and sex hormones. Urinary OP metabolite levels were measured by gas–liquid chromatography, and serum pituitary and sex hormone levels by enzymatic immunoassay and radioimmunoassay in 64 men. A total of 147 urine and blood samples were analyzed for each parameter. More than 80% of the participants had at least one OP metabolite in their urine samples. The most frequent metabolite found was diethylthiophosphate (DETP; 55%), followed by diethylphosphate (DEP; 46%), dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP; 32%), and dimethyldithiophosphate (DMDTP; 31%). However, the metabolites detected at higher concentrations were DMTP, DEP, DMDTP, and dimethylphosphate. There was a high proportion of individuals with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations outside the range of normality (48%). The average FSH serum levels were higher during the heavy pesticide spraying season. However, a multivariate analysis of data collected in all periods showed that serum FSH levels were negatively associated with urinary concentrations of both DMTP and DMDTP, whereas luteinizing hormone (LH) was negatively associated with DMTP. We observed no significant associations between estradiol or testosterone serum levels with OP metabolites. The hormonal disruption in agricultural workers presented here, together with results from experimental animal studies, suggests that OP exposure disrupts the hypothalamic–pituitary endocrine function and also indicates that FSH and LH are the hormones most affected.
The functional role of the ischiopubic membrane for the mechanical loading of the pubis in the domestic fowl (Gallus gallus)

Soft tissues other than muscles are supposed to be of mechanical importance, yet they are rarely integrated into finite element models. Here, we investigate the functional role of the ischiopubic membrane for the loading of the pubis of the domestic fowl using 2D finite element analysis. For this purpose, a specimen of the domestic fowl was dissected and soft tissues attaching to the pubis were studied in great detail. Muscles were removed and measurements taken. For the 2D finite element model, the outline was taken from the dissected specimen. Two 2D finite element models were generated: one without and one with ischiopubic membrane. The same muscular loading based on own measurements and electromyographic data was applied to both models. The model without ischiopubic membrane shows anteroventral bending deformation of the scapus pubis, resulting in high compressive and tensile principal stresses at the level of ultimate bone stress values. The model with ischiopubic membrane shows low compressive principal stresses in the pubis consistent with the levels of steady state remodelling of bone. Based on these results, the ischiopubic membrane of the domestic fowl potentially establishes a physiological loading of the pubis and therefore might be of great mechanical significance for the loading of the bone.