Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the calibration of MTSAT‐1R infrared channels using collocated Terra MODIS measurements

The calibration of four MTSAT‐1R infrared channels was evaluated by comparing MTSAT measurements with Terra/MODIS inferred MTSAT‐equivalent brightness temperatures during August 2005 and August 2006. Theoretical relationships converting MODIS brightness temperatures to MTSAT‐equivalent values were obtained and used for the comparison. Results indicate that MTSAT two split window channels are well calibrated, and no serious systematic errors or biases are found; and the MTSAT water‐vapour channel shows a good linear relationship but with a warm bias up to 2 K. The significant cold bias of MTSAT 3.7 µm channel about −6.7 K in August 2005 is found to be much removed in August 2006, after correction of the electrical crosstalk between MTSAT‐1R SWIR channel and WV channel starting from March 2006. Since then, calibration performances of MTSAT‐1R split window channels and shortwave IR channel seem to be comparable with MODIS calibration, while the water‐vapour channel shows more uncertainties up to 2 K of bias.
Analysis of optimality in natural and perturbed metabolic networks

An important goal of whole-cell computational modeling is to integrate detailed biochemical information with biological intuition to produce testable predictions. Based on the premise that prokaryotes such as Escherichia coli have maximized their growth performance along evolution, flux balance analysis (FBA) predicts metabolic flux distributions at steady state by using linear programming. Corroborating earlier results, we show that recent intracellular flux data for wild-type E. coli JM101 display excellent agreement with FBA predictions. Although the assumption of optimality for a wild-type bacterium is justifiable, the same argument may not be valid for genetically engineered knockouts or other bacterial strains that were not exposed to long-term evolutionary pressure. We address this point by introducing the method of minimization of metabolic adjustment (MOMA), whereby we test the hypothesis that knockout metabolic fluxes undergo a minimal redistribution with respect to the flux configuration of the wild type. MOMA employs quadratic programming to identify a point in flux space, which is closest to the wild-type point, compatibly with the gene deletion constraint. Comparing MOMA and FBA predictions to experimental flux data for E. coli pyruvate kinase mutant PB25, we find that MOMA displays a significantly higher correlation than FBA. Our method is further supported by experimental data for E. coli knockout growth rates. It can therefore be used for predicting the behavior of perturbed metabolic networks, whose growth performance is in general suboptimal. MOMA and its possible future extensions may be useful in understanding the evolutionary optimization of metabolism.
Correlation Between TIGIT Expression on CD8 + T Cells and Higher Cytotoxic Capacity

Persistent exposure to antigen leads to T-cell exhaustion and immunologic dysfunction. We examined the immune exhaustion markers T cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected and healthy individuals and the relationship with cytotoxic CD8 + T-lymphocyte activity. Frequencies of TIGIT but not PD-1 were positively correlated with CD8 + T-lymphocyte activity in HIV-aviremic and healthy individuals; however, there was no correlation in HIV-viremic individuals. Transcriptome analyses revealed up-regulation of genes associated with antiviral immunity in TIGIT + CD8 + versus TIGIT − CD8 + T cells. Our data suggest that TIGIT + CD8 + T cells do not necessarily represent a state of immune exhaustion and maintain an intrinsic cytotoxicity in HIV-infected individuals.
A Nonlinear Model of the Shoaling and Refraction of Interfacial Solitary Waves in the Ocean. Part I: Development of the Model and Investigations of the Shoaling Effect

Abstract Oceanic internal waves are frequently observed to be of large amplitude, and to exhibit significant wave front curvature, as seen in synthetic aperture radar images. The aim of this paper is to present a refraction model in two horizontal dimensions, including moderate amplitude effects, to model these common properties of internal waves. The model incorporates second-order nonlinearity and uses a ray method to allow arbitrary refraction. For these preliminary investigations with the model, a two-layer ocean is assumed with an upper-layer thickness of 50 m and a density difference across the layers of 0.5 kg m−3. An important aspect affecting the refraction of nonlinear waves is shoaling, as the phase speed of a nonlinear wave depends on its amplitude. In Part I of this paper the development of the model is described, and the shoaling phenomenon is investigated in detail. The shoaling of interfacial internal solitary waves over both slowly varying and rapidly varying bathymetry is studied. A wedg.
PRX9 and PRX40 are extensin peroxidases essential for maintaining tapetum and microspore cell wall integrity during Arabidopsis anther development

Pollen and microspore development is an essential step in the life cycle of all land plants that generate male gametes. Within flowering plants, pollen development occurs inside of the anther. Here, we report the identification of two class III peroxidase-encoding genes, PRX9 and PRX40, that are genetically redundant and essential for proper anther and pollen development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Arabidopsis double mutants devoid of functional PRX9 and PRX40 are male-sterile. The mutant anthers display swollen, hypertrophic tapetal cells and pollen grains, suggesting disrupted cell wall integrity. These phenotypes ultimately lead to nearly 100%-penetrant pollen degeneration upon anther maturation. Using immunochemical and biochemical approaches, we show that PRX9 and PRX40 are likely extensin peroxidases that contribute to the establishment of tapetal cell wall integrity during anther development. This work identifies PRX9 and PRX40 as the first extensin peroxidases to be described in Arabidopsis and highlights the importance of extensin cross-linking during plant development.
Defining Value in Spine Care

Spinal disorders are extremely common, debilitating, and costly to the payer and to society as a whole. The rate and cost of various spinal treatments are increasing at an astonishing rate, but it is unclear whether the resulting quality of spinal care is improving. Rather than focusing solely on quality improvement measures or cost-saving measures, there is a recent emphasis on the value of health care. Defining the value of spine care depends on a standardized, accurate method of measuring outcomes and costs. It is important that the outcomes measured are patient centered and that both the outcomes and costs are measured over time with long-term follow-up. The purpose of this article is to review current methods for measuring outcomes and propose a means by which the value of spine care can be more clearly defined.
Vagale Stimulation - eine neue Möglichkeit zur konservativen Therapie der peripheren arteriellen Verschlusskrankheit Vagal Stimulation - A New Possibility for Conservative Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Occlusion Disease

Background: The options for the conservative therapy of PAD, and also the achievable benefits are well documented in the S3-guidelines and the TASC-II guidelines. Upon vagal stimulation with a P-STIM device a significant extension of the pain-free and maximum walking distance could be noticed. As this fact continued beyond the end of the therapy, we may have found a new, conservative therapy option to manage PAD.
Effect of high pressure processing on carotenoid and phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, and microbial counts of bee-pollen paste and bee-pollen-based beverage

Copyright Additional Information http://hdl.handle. net/10251/150612 Zuluaga, C. ; Martínez, A. ; Fernández, J.; López-Baldó, J.; Quiles Chuliá, MD. ; Rodrigo, D. (2016). Effect of high pressure processing on carotenoid and phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, and microbial counts of bee-pollen paste and bee-pollen-based beverage. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies. 37:10-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset. 2016.07. 023
Degenerative Neurological and Neuromuscular Disease Recent advances in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Correspondence: Kay E Davies MRC Functional Genomics Unit, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Le Gros Clark Building, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PT, UK Tel +44 1865 285 880 Fax +44 1865 285 878 Email kay.davies@dpag.ox. ac.uk Abstract: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), an allelic X-linked progressive musclewasting disease, is one of the most common single-gene disorders in the developed world. Despite knowledge of the underlying genetic causation and resultant pathophysiology from lack of dystrophin protein at the muscle sarcolemma, clinical intervention is currently restricted to symptom management. In recent years, however, unprecedented advances in strategies devised to correct the primary defect through geneand cell-based therapeutics hold particular promise for treating dystrophic muscle. Conventional gene replacement and endogenous modification strategies have greatly benefited from continued improvements in encapsidation capacity, transduction efficiency, and systemic delivery. In particular, RNA-based modifying approaches such as exon skipping enable expression of a shorter but functional dystrophin protein and rapid progress toward clinical application. Emerging combined geneand cell-therapy strategies also illustrate particular promise in enabling ex vivo genetic correction and autologous transplantation to circumvent a number of immune challenges. These approaches are complemented by a vast array of pharmacological approaches, in particular the successful identification of molecules that enable functional replacement or ameliorate secondary DMD pathology. Animal models have been instrumental in providing proof of principle for many of these strategies, leading to several recent trials that have investigated their efficacy in DMD patients. Although none has reached the point of clinical use, rapid improvements in experimental technology and design draw this goal ever closer. Here, we review therapeutic approaches to DMD, with particular emphasis on recent progress in strategic development, preclinical evaluation and establishment of clinical efficacy. Further, we discuss the numerous challenges faced and synergistic approaches being devised to combat dystrophic pathology effectively.
Molecular basis for the faithful replication of 5-methylcytosine and its oxidized forms by DNA polymerase (cid:2)

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mark that regulates gene expression in mammals. One method of methylation removal is through ten–eleven translocation–catalyzed oxidation and the base excision repair pathway. The iterative oxidation of 5-meth-ylcytosine catalyzed by ten–eleven translocation enzymes pro-duces three oxidized forms of cytosine: 5-hydroxmethylcyto-sine, 5-formylcytosine, and 5-carboxycytosine. The effect these modificationshaveontheefficiencyandfidelityofthebaseexci-sion repair pathway during the repair of opposing base damage, and in particular DNA polymerization, remains to be eluci-dated. Using kinetic assays, we show that the catalytic efficiency for the incorporation of dGTP catalyzed by human DNA polymerase (cid:2) isnotaffectedwhen5-methylcytosine,5-hydroxmeth-ylcytosine, and 5-formylcytosine are in the DNA template. In contrast, the catalytic efficiency of dGTP insertion decreases (cid:2) 20-fold when 5-carboxycytosine is in the templating position, as compared with unmodified cytosine. However, DNA polymerase fidelity is unaltered when these modifications are in the templating position. Structural analysis reveals that the methyl, hydroxymethyl, and formyl modifications are easily accommodated within the polymerase active site. However, to accommodate the carboxyl
How groundwater withdrawal and recent tectonics cause damages of the earth's surface: Monitoring of 3D site motions by GPS and terrestrial measurements

Abstract The intensive brown coal mining activities occurring since the mid-fifties of the last century in the Lower Rhine Embayment have caused massive landscape changes. Less obvious but equally dramatic are the effects on the Earth's surface such as ground movements which are mainly due to groundwater withdrawal associated with the ongoing open pit mining activities. Larger discontinuities in the pattern of motion tend to appear at pre-existing fault lines and are causing sizable damage to buildings and roads. Precision levellings and traverses carried out in regular intervals by the State Survey of Nordrhein-Westfalen (Germany) and the mining company RWE Power have been supplemented by GPS observations in recent years, to measure the ground motions and monitor their behaviour with high accuracy. As a recent example, the measurements of the local deformation GPS network ‘Donatussprung’, a section of the Erft Fault system where the surface trace can be identified from topography and effects on buildings and roads, have revealed displacements of up to 6 mm/y in horizontal and 22 mm/y in vertical direction with high accuracy. Vertical and horizontal motions due to recent tectonics in this region are smaller by at least an order of magnitude. The observed pattern of vertical and horizontal velocity vectors shows a remarkable difference in the motion of point groups on either side of the fault. The scenario suggested by these measurements indicates that the sediment layers on the Erft Block are indeed sinking in proportion to the groundwater withdrawal, but that near the fault the pattern of motions is strongly influenced by the fault geometry. Modelling options include mining subsidence troughs as well as fault slip motion.
Rationally designed hyaluronic acid-based nano- 1 complexes for pentamidine delivery

Nanoparticles of polymeric complexes made of hyaluronic acid and polyarginine were investigated 20 for the encapsulation of the cationic hydrophilic drug pentamidine isethionate. The interaction 21 between the anionic hyaluronic acid and the cationic pentamidine and the formation of polyelectrolyte 22 complexes of them were firstly studied. Then, nanoparticles made of mixed hyaluronic acid / 23 polyarginine loaded with pentamidine were developed as drug delivery systems. A monodisperse 24 population of negatively charged pentamidine- loaded nanoparticles allowed high encapsulation rates 25 of pentamidine (80%). Such high encapsulation efficiency coming from ion exchange was confirmed 26 by measurements of the counterion isethionate released from pentamidine during nanoparticles 27 formation. Besides, freeze-dried pentamidine-loaded nanoparticles kept their integrity after their 28 reconstitution in water. In vitro studies on human lung (A549) and breast (MDA-MB-231) cancer cell 29 lines showed that pentamidine-loaded nanoparticles were more cytotoxic in comparison to the free 30 drug, suggesting an enhanced internalization of encapsulated drug by cancer cells. The present study provides insight into a new HA based nano-complex, namely nanoparticles, for encapsulation of positively charged hydrophilic drug. In a first set of experiments, HA-PTM complexes were studied. Such complexes were highly polydispersed species that remained soluble in water. To stabilize the complex and to maximize the amount of the drug associated to the system, HA-PArg NPs were developed using polyelectrolyte complexation technique. NPs were kinetically stabilized by the excess charge, which prevented their aggregation and ensured high encapsulation efficiency of PTM. Also, high encapsulation efficiency was associated to the release of the isethionate counterion in the solution quantified by IC. Following in vitro studies, PTM-loaded NPs were more effective in reducing cell viability as compared with free drug suggesting enhanced efficacy and cell internalization via CD44 receptor. Moreover, their optimum pharmaceutical properties, namely easy production using mild conditions, stability and possibility to obtain ready-to-use dry powders, highlight the potential of HA-PArg nanoparticles as novel drug delivery system for nanomedicine applications.
A Reinforcement Learning Based Framework for Prediction of Near Likely Nodes in Data-Centric Mobile Wireless Networks

Data-centric storage provides energy-efficient data dissemination and organization for the increasing amount of wireless data. One of the approaches in data-centric storage is that the nodes that collected data will transfer their data to other neighboring nodes that store the similar type of data. However, when the nodes are mobile, type-based data distribution alone cannot provide robust data storage and retrieval, since the nodes that store similar types may move far away and cannot be easily reachable in the future. In order to minimize the communication overhead and achieve efficient data retrieval in mobile environments, we propose a reinforcement learning-based framework called PARIS, which utilizes past node trajectory information to predict the near likely nodes in the future as the best content distributee. Our framework can adaptively improve the prediction accuracy by using the reinforcement learning technique. Our experiments demonstrate that our approach can effectively and efficiently predict the future neighborhood.
"No One Can Make that Choice for You": Exploring Power in the Sexual Narratives of Black Collegians

Repository Citation Hargons, Candice; Mosley, Della V. ; Meiller, Carolyn; Dogan, Jardin; Stuck, Jennifer; Montique, Chesmore; Malone, Natalie; Oluokun, Joseph; Bohmer, Carrie; Sullivan, Queen-Ayanna; Sanchez, Anyoliny; and Stevens-Watkins, Danelle, ""No One Can Make that Choice for You": Exploring Power in the Sexual Narratives of Black Collegians" (2020). Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications. 38. https://uknowledge.uky. edu/edp_facpub/38
Attenuation of Seismic P-Waves in Multilayered Gas Hydrate-Bearing Sediments

We present an analysis of a time lapse walkaround, multilevel vertical seismic profile (VSP) data set from a carbonate field in Oman which has a long history of steam injection and production. The aim of this study is to compare changes in traveltime and attenuation variations in response to fracture orientation. The method used for calculating the attenuation factor Q, is based on the instantaneous frequency technique. Velocities and attenuation are sensitive to the fractures, presenting shorter travel times and lower attenuation in the direction of the fracture plane. We show through the case study the effectiveness of the method and the potential of azimuthal attenuation and travel-time studies of P-waves for fracture characterization.
Characterization of open and closed volcanic systems in Indonesia and Mexico using InSAR time series

We use 2007–2011 Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) data to perform an arc‐wide interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series survey of the Trans‐Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) and to study time‐dependent ground deformation of four Indonesian volcanoes selected following the 2007–2009 study of Chaussard and Amelung (2012). Our objectives are to examine whether arc volcanoes exhibit long‐term edifice‐wide cyclic deformation patterns that can be used to characterize open and closed volcanic systems and to better constrain in which cases precursory inflation is expected. We reveal deformation cycles at both regularly active and previously inactive Indonesian volcanoes, but we do not detect deformation in the TMVB, reflecting a lower activity level. We identify three types of relationships between deformation and activity: inflation prior to eruption and associated with or followed by deflation (Kerinci and Sinabung), inflation without eruption and followed by slow deflation (Agung), and eruption without precursory deformation (Merapi, Colima, and Popocatépetl; at Merapi, no significant deformation is detected even during eruption). The first two cases correspond to closed volcanic systems and suggest that the traditional model of magmatic systems and eruptive cycles do apply to andesitic volcanoes (i.e., inflation and deflation episodes associated with magma accumulation or volatile exsolution in a crustal reservoir followed by eruptions or in situ cooling). In contrast, the last case corresponds to open volcanic systems where no significant pressurization of the magmatic reservoirs is taking place prior to eruptions and thus no long‐term edifice‐wide ground deformation can be detected. We discuss these results in terms of InSAR's potential for forecasting volcanic unrest.
Exploring the conformational space of a receptor for drug design: an ER α case study

Motivation: Nowadays, virtual screening (VS) plays a major role in the process of drug development. Nonetheless, an accurate estimation of binding afﬁnities, which is crucial at all stages, is not trivial and may require target-speciﬁc ﬁne-tuning. Furthermore, drug design also requires improved predictions for putative secondary targets among which is Estrogen Receptor alpha (ER α ). Results: VS based on combinations of Structure-Based VS (SBVS) and Ligand-Based VS (LBVS) is gaining momentum to help characterizing secondary targets of xenobiotics (including drugs and pollutants). In this study, we propose an integrated approach using ligand docking based on multiple structural en-sembles to reﬂect the conformational ﬂexibility of the receptor. Then, we investigate the impact of the two different types of features (structure-based docking descriptors and ligand-based molecular descriptors) for afﬁnity predictions based on a random forest algorithm. We ﬁnd that ligand-based features have limited predictive power ( r P =0.69, R 2 =0.47), compared to structure-based features ( r P =0.78, R 2 =0.60) while their combination maintains the overall accuracy ( r P =0.77, R 2 =0.56). Extending the training dataset to include xenobiotics, leads to a novel high-throughput afﬁnity prediction method for ER α ligands ( r P =0.85, R 2 =0.71).
Sedimentary nitrogen isotopic ratio as a recorder for surface ocean nitrate utilization

In two contrasting regions of the ocean, the equatorial Pacific and the southern ocean, the δ15N of core top sediments were strongly related to [NO3−] in surface waters. With distance from the equator in the equatorial Pacific, δ15N increased from 7‰ to 16‰ as [NO3−] decreased from 8μM to < 0.1 μM. Going from 60° to 30° S in the SE Indian Ocean, core top δ15N increased from 5‰ to 11‰ as surface [NO3−] decreased from 25μM to < 0.1 μM. These results are strong evidence that sedimentary δ15N in these regions is recording the increasing isotopic enrichment of near-surface NO3− with its depletion by phytoplankton. In the case of the equatorial Pacific, δ15N values for sinking particles collected at 150 m matched well the core top sediment values, demonstrating little diagenetic alteration of the near-surface generated isotopic signal. These equatorial Pacific data sets have variations with near-surface [NO3−] consistent with Rayleigh fractionation kinetics for a fractionation factor (ϵu) of 2.5‰. This value is substantially lower than previously found for temperate or polar regions, perhaps as a result of differences in phytoplankton species assemblage or growth condition. In the southern ocean south of the polar front, comparison of δ15N values for opal-rich sediments south and sinking particles indicates an apparent +5‰ diagenetic enrichment relative to the surface-generated signal that requires further investigation. This exception aside, our observations show that the surface-water relationship of increasing δ15N with increasing NO3− depletion is generally transmitted to and preserved in the sediments, an important requirement for further development and application of this important paleoceanographic tool.