Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermodynamics and evaporation of the noncommutative black hole

We investigate the thermodynamics of the noncommutative black hole whose static picture is similar to that of the nonsingular black hole known as the de Sitter-Schwarzschild black hole. It turns out that the final remnant of extremal black hole is a thermodynamically stable object. We describe the evaporation process of this black hole by using the noncommutativity-corrected Vaidya metric. It is found that there exists a close relationship between thermodynamic approach and evaporation process.
Psychological resilience in sport: A review of the literature and implications for research and practice

The ability to respond positively to setbacks, obstacles, and failures is essential for any successful athlete. Although resilience has been studied in general psychology for several decades, it is only recently that researchers and practitioners have begun to explore the construct within the sport context. The purpose of this article is to review the current state of resilience scholarship in sport, and to offer guidelines for future research and interventions in this area. Studies of resilience in sport to date have either used experimental designs to investigate resilience to performance failure, or qualitative interview designs to understand the thoughts and beliefs of athletes who have successfully overcome adversity. Researchers who wish to study sport resilience in the future should think carefully about how they operationalise the construct. Furthermore, knowledge will be enhanced by the development of a sport-specific resilience measure and the use of more sophisticated qualitative approaches and advanced statistical modelling procedures. Sport practitioners can learn from resilience-building programmes developed in other settings as they, craft evidence-based interventions to enhance resilience in athletes.
A comparison of MV Distribution System State Estimation methods using field data

This paper compares the performance of five different Distribution System State Estimation (DSSE) methods, using field data taken from a European MV distribution network. The performance of each method is assessed in terms of its solution accuracy, robustness to noise and input measurement uncertainty, and ability to identify bad data and network topology errors. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed with regard to their application to static state estimation in MV distribution systems, where the quantity and quality of available network measurements is typically low. The Weighted Least Squares (WLS) approach is by far the most widely-used method in this context. However, the results from this study demonstrate that Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) techniques have significant advantages, particularly in terms of their ability to handle various types of input data errors. The performance of robust solution methods for distribution system state estimation is also compared.
Explaining Maori under‐achievement in standardised reading tests: The role of social and individual characteristics

Abstract In New Zealand, Maori students have lower educational attainment levels than their Pakeha counterparts, which is a major contributor to the earnings inequality between these two groups. This study attempts to identify determinants of the gap in educational attainment using data on reading test scores for a sample of 3031 15‐year‐old Maori and Pakeha students. Using a decomposition method that is commonly applied to income inequality analyses, the determinants of the reading literacy test score gap between Maori and Pakeha students are identified. The main contributors to this gap are family factors, student's opinions, and school factors (including decile). An understanding of the determinants of the test score gap provides insights into how effective policy makers can be at reducing this inequality.
Life Cycle Assessment ( LCA ) of an Integrated Biomass Gasification Combined Cycle ( IBGCC ) with CO 2 removal

Basing on results of previous studies, the efficiency of a Brayton/Hirn combined cycle, fuelled with a clean syngas produced by means of biomass gasification and equipped with CO2 removal by chemical absorption, resulted 33.94%, considering also the separated CO2 compression process. The specific CO2 emission of the power plant was 178 kg/MWh. In comparison with values previously found for an Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle (ICGCC) with upstream CO2 chemical absorption (38-39% efficiency, 130 kg/MWh specific CO2 emissions), this configuration seems to be attractive because of the possibility of operating with a simplified scheme and for the possibility of using biomass in a more efficient way with respect to conventional systems. In this paper a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was carried out presenting results on the basis of the Eco-Indicator’95 impact assessment methodology. Further, a comparison with the results previously obtained for the LCA of the ICGCC was performed, in order to highlight environmental impact of biomass production with fossil fuels utilisation. The LCA shows the important environmental advantages of biomass utilisation in terms of reduction of both greenhouse gas emissions and natural resource depletion, although an improved impact assessment methodology may better highlight the advantages due to the biomass utilisation.
Initial structural and dynamic characterization of the M2 protein transmembrane and amphipathic helices in lipid bilayers

Amphipathic helices in membrane proteins that interact with the hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface of the lipid bilayer have been difficult to structurally characterize. Here, the backbone structure and orientation of an amphipathic helix in the full‐length M2 protein from influenza A virus has been characterized. The protein has been studied in hydrated DMPC/DMPG lipid bilayers above the gel to liquid‐crystalline phase transition temperature by solid‐state NMR spectroscopy. Characteristic PISA (Polar Index Slant Angle) wheels reflecting helical wheels have been observed in uniformly aligned bilayer preparations of both uniformly 15N labeled and amino acid specific labeled M2 samples. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange studies have shown the very slow exchange of some residues in the amphipathic helix and more rapid exchange for the transmembrane helix. These latter results clearly suggest the presence of an aqueous pore. A variation in exchange rate about the transmembrane helical axis provides additional support for this claim and suggests that motions occur about the helical axes in this tetramer to expose the entire backbone to the pore.
Proving the correctness of compiler optimisations based on a global analysis: a study of strictness analysis†

Abstract A substantial amount of work has been devoted to the proof of correctness of various program analyses but much less attention has been paid to the correctness of compiler optimisations based on these analyses. In this paper we tackle the problem in the context of strictness analysis for lazy functional languages. We show that compiler optimisations based on strictness analysis can be expressed formally in the functional framework using continuations. This formal presentation has two benefits: it allows us to give a rigorous correctness proof of the optimised compiler; and it exposes the various optimisations made possible by a strictness analysis.
In a changing pattern of health care delivery towards comprehensive health services

The purpose of the research study was to describe guidelines to improve the com­ munity health clinics as a learning context conducive to learning. The objectives of the study commenced by getting the perception of student nurses from a nursing college in Gauteng; community sisters from ten community health clinics in the Southern Metropolitan Local Council and college tutors from a college in Gauteng. The research design and method used, consisting of a qualitative, exploratory, de­ scriptive and contextual approach and the design was divided into two phases. Phase one consisted of a field/empirical study and phase two of conceptualization. In all the samples follow-up focus group interviews were conducted to confirm the findings. To ensure trustworthiness, Lincoln and Guba’s model (1985) was imple­ mented and data analysis was according to Tesch’s model (1990 in Creswell 1994:155) based on a qualitative approach. The conceptual framework discussed, indicating a body of knowledge, was based on the study and empirical findings from phase one to give clear meaning and understanding regarding the research study.
3-D Dynamic Mesh Compression using Wavelet-Based Multiresolution Analysis

In this paper, we present a wavelet-based progressive compression method for 3-D dynamic meshes. Our method exploits the spatial and temporal redundancy. We encode the geometry of base mesh, the wavelet coefficients and the connectivity of each resolution level in order to reduce the spatial redundancy of intra meshes. For inter mesh coding, we encode the differences of geometry of base meshes and of their wavelet coefficients between adjacent frames to reduce the temporal redundancy. Our proposal is based on the wavelet-based multiresolution analysis which uses a perfect reconstruction filter bank and therefore it enables not only progressive representation but also lossless compression. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method is applicable to lossy and lossless compression of 3-D dynamic meshes.
In vivo efficacy of the AKT inhibitor ARQ 092 in Noonan Syndrome with multiple lentigines-associated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Noonan Syndrome with Multiple Lentigines (NSML, formerly LEOPARD syndrome) is an autosomal dominant "RASopathy" disorder manifesting in congenital heart disease. Most cases of NSML are caused by catalytically inactivating mutations in the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP), non-receptor type 11 (PTPN11), encoding the SH2 domain-containing PTP-2 (SHP2) protein. We previously generated knock-in mice harboring the PTPN11 mutation Y279C, one of the most common NSML alleles; these now-termed SHP2Y279C/+ mice recapitulate the human disorder and develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) by 12 weeks of age. Functionally, heart and/or cardiomyocyte lysates from SHP2Y279C/+ mice exhibit increased basal and agonist-induced AKT and mTOR activities. Here, we sought to determine whether we could reverse the hypertrophy in SHP2Y279C/+ mice using ARQ 092, an oral and selective allosteric AKT inhibitor currently in clinical trials for patients with PI3K/AKT-driven tumors or Proteus syndrome. We obtained echocardiographs of SHP2Y279C/+ and wildtype (SHP2+/+) littermates, either in the presence or absence of ARQ 092 at 12, 14, and 16 weeks of age. While SHP2Y279C/+ mice developed significant left ventricular hypertrophy by 12 weeks, as indicated by decreased chamber dimension and increased posterior wall thickness, treatment of SHP2Y279C/+ mice with ARQ 092 normalized the hypertrophy in as early as 2 weeks following treatment, with hearts comparable in size to those in wildtype (SHP2+/+) mice. In addition, we observed an increase in fractional shortening (FS%) in SHP2Y279C/+ mice, an effect of increased compensatory hypertrophy, which was not apparent in SHP2Y279C/+ mice treated with ARQ 092, suggesting functional improvement of HCM upon treatment with the AKT inhibitor. Finally, we found that ARQ 092 specifically inhibited AKT activity, as well as its downstream effectors, PRAS and S6RP in NSML mice. Taken together, these data suggest ARQ 092 may be a promising novel therapy for treatment of hypertrophy in NSML patients.
GazeDx: Interactive Visual Analytics Framework for Comparative Gaze Analysis with Volumetric Medical Images

We present an interactive visual analytics framework, GazeDx (abbr. of GazeDiagnosis), for the comparative analysis of gaze data from multiple readers examining volumetric images while integrating important contextual information with the gaze data. Gaze pattern comparison is essential to understanding how radiologists examine medical images, and to identifying factors influencing the examination. Most prior work depended upon comparisons with manually juxtaposed static images of gaze tracking results. Comparative gaze analysis with volumetric images is more challenging due to the additional cognitive load on 3D perception. A recent study proposed a visualization design based on direct volume rendering (DVR) for visualizing gaze patterns in volumetric images; however, effective and comprehensive gaze pattern comparison is still challenging due to a lack of interactive visualization tools for comparative gaze analysis. We take the challenge with GazeDx while integrating crucial contextual information such as pupil size and windowing into the analysis process for more in-depth and ecologically valid findings. Among the interactive visualization components in GazeDx, a context-embedded interactive scatterplot is especially designed to help users examine abstract gaze data in diverse contexts by embedding medical imaging representations well known to radiologists in it. We present the results from two case studies with two experienced radiologists, where they compared the gaze patterns of 14 radiologists reading two patients' volumetric CT images.
Projected land-use change impacts on ecosystem services in the United States

Significance Land-use change affects the provision of ecosystem services and wildlife habitat. We project land-use change from 2001 to 2051 for the contiguous United States under two scenarios reflecting continuation of 1990s trends and high crop demand more reflective of the recent past. These scenarios result in large differences in land-use trajectories that generate increases in carbon storage, timber production, food production from increased yields (even with declines in cropland area), and >10% decreases in habitat for one-quarter of modeled species. We analyzed three policy alternatives that provide incentives to maintain and expand forest cover, conserve natural habitats, and limit urban sprawl. Policy interventions need to be aggressive to significantly alter underlying land-use trends and shift the trajectory of ecosystem service provision. Providing food, timber, energy, housing, and other goods and services, while maintaining ecosystem functions and biodiversity that underpin their sustainable supply, is one of the great challenges of our time. Understanding the drivers of land-use change and how policies can alter land-use change will be critical to meeting this challenge. Here we project land-use change in the contiguous United States to 2051 under two plausible baseline trajectories of economic conditions to illustrate how differences in underlying market forces can have large impacts on land-use with cascading effects on ecosystem services and wildlife habitat. We project a large increase in croplands (28.2 million ha) under a scenario with high crop demand mirroring conditions starting in 2007, compared with a loss of cropland (11.2 million ha) mirroring conditions in the 1990s. Projected land-use changes result in increases in carbon storage, timber production, food production from increased yields, and >10% decreases in habitat for 25% of modeled species. We also analyze policy alternatives designed to encourage forest cover and natural landscapes and reduce urban expansion. Although these policy scenarios modify baseline land-use patterns, they do not reverse powerful underlying trends. Policy interventions need to be aggressive to significantly alter underlying land-use change trends and shift the trajectory of ecosystem service provision.
Visual error augmentation for enhancing motor learning and rehabilitative relearning

We developed a real-time controller for a 2 degree-of-freedom robotic system using xPC Target. This system was used to investigate how different methods of performance error feedback can lead to faster and more complete motor learning in individuals asked to compensate for a novel visuo-motor transformation (a 30 degree rotation). Four groups of normal human subjects were asked to reach with their unseen arm to visual targets surrounding a central starting location. A cursor tracking hand motion was provided during each reach. For one group of subjects, deviations from the "ideal" compensatory hand movement (i.e. trajectory errors) were amplified with a gain of 2 whereas another group was provided visual feedback with a gain of 3.1. Yet another group was provided cursor feedback wherein the cursor was rotated by an additional (constant) offset angle. We compared the rates at which the hand paths converged to the steady-state trajectories. Our results demonstrate that error-augmentation can improve the rate and extent of motor learning of visuomotor rotations in healthy subjects. We also tested this method on straightening the movements of stroke subjects, and our early results suggest that error amplification can facilitate neurorehabilitation strategies in brain injuries such as stroke.
The Role of a Basolateral Transporter in Rosuvastatin Transport and Its Interplay with Apical Breast Cancer Resistance Protein in Polarized Cell Monolayer Systems

Membrane transporters can play a clinically important role in drug absorption and disposition; Caco-2 and Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells are the most widely used in vitro models for studying the functions of these transporters and associated drug interactions. Transport studies using these cell models are mostly focused on apical transporters, whereas basolateral drug transport processes are largely ignored. However, for some hydrophilic drugs, a basolateral uptake transporter may be required for drugs to enter cells before they can interact with apical efflux transporters. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential differences in drug transport across Caco-2 and MDCK basolateral membrane that could cause discrepancy in the identification of efflux transporter substrates and to elucidate the underlying factors that may cause such differences, using rosuvastatin as a model substrate. Bidirectional transport results in Caco-2 and breast cancer resistance protein-MDCK cells demonstrated the necessity of an uptake transporter at the basolateral membrane for rosuvastatin. Kinetic study revealed saturable and nonsaturable processes for rosuvastatin uptake across the Caco-2 basolateral membrane, with the saturable process encompassing >75% of overall rosuvastatin basolateral uptake at concentrations below the Km (4.2 μM). Furthermore, rosuvastatin basolateral transport exhibited cis-inhibition and trans-stimulation phenomena, indicating a facilitated diffusion mechanism. This basolateral transporter appeared to be a prerequisite for rosuvastatin and perhaps for other hydrophilic substrates to interact with apical efflux transporters. Deficit of such a basolateral transporter in certain cell models may lead to false-negative results when screening drug interactions with apical efflux transporters.
Random access protocol for massive MIMO: Strongest-user collision resolution (SUCR)

Wireless networks with many antennas at the base stations and multiplexing of many users, known as Massive MIMO systems, are key to handle the rapid growth of data traffic. As the number of users increases, the random access in contemporary networks will be flooded by user collisions. In this paper, we propose a reengineered random access protocol, coined strongest-user collision resolution (SUCR). It exploits the channel hardening feature of Massive MIMO channels to enable each user to detect collisions, determine how strong the contenders' channels are, and only keep transmitting if it has the strongest channel gain. The proposed SUCR protocol can quickly and distributively resolve the vast majority of all pilot collisions.
Positive and negative effects of mesograzers on early‐colonizing species in an intertidal rocky‐shore community

Abstract The ecological consequences of human‐driven overexploitation and loss of keystone consumers are still unclear. In intertidal rocky shores over the world, the decrease of keystone macrograzers has resulted in an increase in the dominance of herbivores with smaller body (i.e., “mesograzers”), which could potentially alter community assembly and structure. Here, we experimentally tested whether mesograzers affect the structure of rocky intertidal communities during the period of early colonization after the occurrence of a disturbance. A manipulative field experiment was conducted to exclude mesograzers (i.e., juvenile chitons, small snails, amphipods, and juvenile limpets) from experimental areas in an ecosystem characterized by the overexploitation of keystone macrograzers and predators. The results of multivariate analyses suggest that mesograzers had significant effects on intertidal community structure through negative and positive effects on species abundances. Mesograzers had negative effects on filamentous algae, but positive effects on opportunistic foliose algae and barnacles. Probably, mesograzers indirectly favored the colonization of barnacles and foliose algae by removing preemptive competitors, as previously shown for other meso‐ and macrograzer species. These results strongly support the idea that small herbivores exert a firm controlling effect on the assembly process of natural communities. Therefore, changes in functional roles of top‐down controllers might have significant implications for the structure of intertidal communities.
Using Dual Tasks to Test Immediate Transfer of Training Between Naturalistic Movements: A Proof-of-Principle Study

ABSTRACT Theories of motor learning predict that training a movement reduces the amount of attention needed for its performance (i.e., more automatic). If training one movement transfers, then the amount of attention needed for performing a second movement should also be reduced, as measured under dual task conditions. The authors’ purpose was to test whether dual task paradigms are feasible for detecting transfer of training between two naturalistic movements. Immediately following motor training, subjects improved performance of a second untrained movement under single and dual task conditions. Subjects with no training did not. Improved performance in the untrained movement was likely due to transfer, and suggests that dual tasks may be feasible for detecting transfer between naturalistic actions.
Exercise-induced weight loss preferentially reduces abdominal fat.

PURPOSE To investigate whether abdominal fat is reduced in response to substantial weight loss induced by exercise in young obese men. METHODS Thirty obese men (mean age 19.8 +/- 0.6 yr) were evaluated before (pretraining) and after (posttraining) 4 months of regimented training in the Singapore Armed Forces. There were 30 obese male subjects (mean age 19.2 +/- 1.3 yr) without training who were monitored as control subjects. Fat free mass (FFM), fat mass, and percent body fat were determined from skinfold measurements. Differences between pre- and posttraining responses were analyzed with a paired -test. RESULTS Subjects lost 12.0 +/- 3.6 kg (P < 0.001) from pre- to posttraining, which was attributable to a reduction in fat mass (P < 0.001), as FFM was unchanged. Both waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) decreased (P < 0.01), the reduction in WC (13.7%) being greater than the reduction in HC (7.7%) as reflected by the decrease in waist-to-hip ratio (WHR; P < 0.001). These data reveal that large exercise-induced weight losses are associated with maintenance of FFM. The significant reduction in WHR indicates a greater mobilization of abdominal fat and a preferential loss of fat from this region. CONCLUSIONS Large exercise-induced weight loss is associated with a preferential reduction in abdominal fat and a corresponding maintenance of FFM. Such an effect on body composition should reduce disease risk and the eventual weight regain that typically follows diet-induced weight losses with obese subjects.