Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A remark on the coercivity for a first‐order least‐squares method

This study present a short proof concerning the coercivity of a first‐order least‐squares finite element method for general second‐order elliptic problems proposed by Cai, Lazarov, Manteuffel and McCormick (Cai et al. J Numer Anal 31 (1994), 1785–1799). Our proof is based on a priori estimate and the technique can be applied to prove L2‐norm error estimate for the primary function u. After establishing the coercivity bound from the assumed a priori estimate, we observe that the coercivity bound is actually equivalent to the a priori estimate. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2007
Linear Models of Dissipation whose Q is almost Frequency Independent-II

Summary Laboratory experiments and field observations indicate that the Q of many non-ferromagnetic inorganic solids is almost frequency independent in the range 10-2-107 cis, although no single substance has been investigated over the entire frequency spectrum. One of the purposes of this investigation is to find the analytic expression for a linear dissipative mechanism whose Q is almost frequency independent over large frequency ranges. This will be obtained by introducing fractional derivatives in the stressstrain relation. Since the aim of this research is also to contribute to elucidating the dissipating mechanism in the Earth free modes, we shall treat the dissipation in the free, purely torsional, modes of a shell. The dissipation in a plane wave will also be treated. The theory is checked with the new values determined for the Q of spheroidal free modes of the Earth in the range between 10 and 5 min integrated with the Q of Rayleigh waves in the range between 5 and 0.6 min. Another check of the theory is made with the experimental values of the Q of the longitudinal waves in an aluminium rod in the range between lo-’ and 10-3s. In both checks the theory represents the observed phenomena very satisfactorily. The time derivative which enters the stress-strain relation in both cases is of order 0.15. The present paper is a generalized version of another (Caputo 1966b) in which an elementary definition of some differential operators was used. In this paper we give also a rigorous proof of the formulae to be used in obtaining the analytic expression of Q; moreover, we present two checks of the theory with experimental data. The present paper is a generalized version of another (Caputo 1966b) in which an elementary definition of some differential operators was used. In this paper we give also a rigorous proof of the formulae to be used in obtaining the analytic expression of Q; moreover, we present two checks of the theory with experimental data. In a homogeneous isotropic elastic field the elastic properties of the substance are specified by a description of the strains and stresses in a limited portion of the field since the strains and stresses are linearly related by two parameters which describe the elastic properties of the field. If the elastic field is not homogeneous nor isotropic the properties of the field are specified in a similar manner by a larger number of parameters which also depend on the position.
Development of a one-run real-time PCR detection system for pathogens associated with poultry infectious diseases

Infectious diseases are an important issue in the poultry industry, requiring early diagnosis and countermeasures. To address this, we present a system based on TaqMan real-time PCR to detect pathogen genome in specimens collected from chickens. We designed 12 primer–probe sets for pathogens causing respiratory or systemic symptoms. In field samples, we detected three viruses, including DNA and RNA viruses, and three bacteria. The chicken anemia virus and Avibacterium paragallinarum were detected only in young and laying hens, respectively. Bacteria were detected only in throat swabs, and gallid alphaherpesvirus 2 was detected in different specimens at each developmental stage. Our novel TaqMan real-time PCR system effectively detects pathogen’s gene in chickens, while taking age into account.
Old and new convergence proofs for multigrid methods

Multigrid methods are the fastest known methods for the solution of the large systems of equations arising from the discretization of partial differential equations. For self-adjoint and coercive linear elliptic boundary value problems (with Laplace's equation and the equations of linear elasticity as two typical examples), the convergence theory reached a mature, if not its final state. The present article reviews old and new developments for this type of equation and describes the recent advances.
Shift Work and Sleep Disturbance in the Oil Industry

Background: Rotating shift work is common in high-hazard industries, despite documented associations with sleep disturbance and impairment. In the oil industry, where rotating and extended shift schedules are used to staff safety-sensitive positions, work intensification and increasing overtime rates have been broadly documented over the last few decades. Research on the impacts of these work schedules on sleep and health has been limited for this workforce. Methods: We examined sleep duration and quality among rotating shift workers in the oil industry and explored associations between schedule characteristics, sleep, and health outcomes. We recruited hourly refinery workers from the West and Gulf Coast oil sector members of the United Steelworkers union. Findings: Impaired sleep quality and short sleep durations were common and associated with health and mental health outcomes common among shift workers. Shortest sleep durations followed shift rotations. Early rise and start times were associated with shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality. Drowsiness and fatigue-related incidents were common. Conclusion/Application to Practice: We observed lower sleep duration and quality and increased overtime in 12-hour rotating shift schedules. These long workdays with early start times may reduce available hours for quality sleep; here they were associated with reduced exercise and leisure activity which correlated with good sleep. This safety-sensitive population appears severely impacted by poor sleep quality, which has broader implications for process safety management. Later start times, slower rotation, and a reconsideration of two-shift schedules are interventions to consider for improving sleep quality among rotating shift workers.
Association Between Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and 30-Day Mortality and Readmission for Patients With Common Neurologic Conditions

Background and Objectives Patients of low individual socioeconomic status (SES) are at a greater risk of unfavorable health outcomes. However, the association between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and health outcomes for patients with neurologic disorders has not been studied at the population level. Our objective was to determine the association between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and 30-day mortality and readmission after hospitalization for various neurologic conditions. Methods This was a retrospective study of nationwide Medicare claims from 2017 to 2019. We included patients older than 65 years hospitalized for the following broad categories based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs): multiple sclerosis and cerebellar ataxia (DRG 058–060); stroke (061–072); degenerative nervous system disorders (056–057); epilepsy (100–101); traumatic coma (082–087), and nontraumatic coma (080–081). The exposure of interest was neighborhood SES, measured by the area deprivation index (ADI), which uses socioeconomic indicators, such as educational attainment, unemployment, infrastructure access, and income, to estimate area-level socioeconomic deprivation at the level of census block groups. Patients were grouped into high, middle, and low neighborhood-level SES based on ADI percentiles. Adjustment covariates included age, comorbidity burden, race/ethnicity, individual SES, and sex. Results After exclusions, 905,784 patients were included in the mortality analysis and 915,993 were included in the readmission analysis. After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, comorbidity burden, and individual SES, patients from low SES neighborhoods had higher 30-day mortality rates compared with patients from high SES neighborhoods for all disease categories except for multiple sclerosis: magnitudes of the effect ranged from an adjusted odds ratio of 2.46 (95% CI 1.60–3.78) for the nontraumatic coma group to 1.23 (95% CI 1.19–1.28) for the stroke group. After adjustment, no significant differences in readmission rates were observed for any of the groups. Discussion Neighborhood SES is strongly associated with 30-day mortality for many common neurologic conditions even after accounting for baseline comorbidity burden and individual SES. Strategies to improve health equity should explicitly consider the effect of neighborhood environments on health outcomes.
Model‐based prediction of effective target exposure for MEN1611 in combination with trastuzumab in HER2‐positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer patients

MEN1611 is a novel orally bioavailable PI3K inhibitor currently in clinical development for patients with HER2‐positive (HER2+) PI3KCA mutated advanced/metastatic breast cancer (BC) in combination with trastuzumab (TZB). In this work, a translational model‐based approach to determine the minimum target exposure of MEN1611 in combination with TZB was applied. First, pharmacokinetic (PK) models for MEN1611 and TZB in mice were developed. Then, in vivo tumor growth inhibition (TGI) data from seven combination studies in mice xenograft models representative of the human HER2+ BC non‐responsive to TZB (alterations of the PI3K/AkT/mTOR pathway) were analyzed using a PK‐pharmacodynamic (PD) TGI model for co‐administration of MEN1611 and TZB. The established PK‐PD relationship was used to quantify the minimum effective MEN1611 concentration, as a function of TZB concentration, needed for tumor eradication in xenograft mice. Finally, a range of minimum effective exposures for MEN1611 were extrapolated to patients with BC, considering the typical steady‐state TZB plasma levels in patients with BC following three alternative regimens (i.v. 4 mg/kg loading dose +2 mg/kg q1w, i.v. 8 mg/kg loading dose +6 mg/kg q3w or s.c. 600 mg q3w). A threshold of about 2000 ng·h/ml for MEN1611 exposure associated with a high likelihood of effective antitumor activity in a large majority of patients was identified for the 3‐weekly and the weekly i.v. schedule for TZB. A slightly lower exposure (i.e., 25% lower) was found for the 3‐weekly s.c. schedule. This important outcome confirmed the adequacy of the therapeutic dose administered in the ongoing phase 1b B‐PRECISE‐01 study in patients with HER2+ PI3KCA mutated advanced/metastatic BC.
A 3D Feature-Based Tracker for Multiple Object Tracking

This paper presents a 3D feature-based tracker for tracking multiple moving objects using a computer- controlled binocular head. Our tracker operates in two phases: an initialization phase and a tracking phase. In the initialization phase, correspondence between 2D features in the first stereo image pair is determined reliably using the epipolar line constraint and mutually-supported consistency. In the tracking phase, the feedback loop is established by first predicting new 3D feature locations with Kalman filters (KF) and then projecting them onto the 2D images to guide the extraction of 2D features in the new image pair. Here, we propose a RANSAC (RAN-dom SAmple Consensus)-based clustering method for motion segmentation and estimation using the principle of rigid body consensus, which states that all the extracted 3D features on a rigid body should have the same 3D motion. This new method leads to a feature-clustering algorithm which provides a systematic method for managing splitting, merging, appearance and disappearance of multiple moving rigid objects-including articulated objects, such as robot manipulators. Using the motion estimates obtained with the RANSAC-based method as the measurements for the KFs, we are able to use linear KFs for predictive visual tracking instead of the commonly-used extended Kalman filters (EKF). Experiments have shown that our tracking system does give good results and can serve as a robust 3D feature tracker for the active binocular vision system we are developing.
Reducing Back Exertion and Improving Confidence of Individuals with Low Back Pain with a Back Exosuit: A Feasibility Study for Use in BACPAC

Abstract Objective Low back pain (LBP) is hallmarked by activity limitations, especially for tasks involving bending. Back exosuit technology reduces low back discomfort and improves self-efficacy of individuals with LBP during bending and lifting tasks. However, the biomechanical efficacy of these devices in individuals with LBP is unknown. This study sought to determine biomechanical and perceptual effects of a soft active back exosuit designed to assist individuals with LBP sagittal plane bending. To understand patient-reported usability and use cases for this device. Methods Fifteen individuals with LBP performed two experimental lifting blocks once with and without an exosuit. Trunk biomechanics were measured by muscle activation amplitudes, and whole-body kinematics and kinetics. To evaluate device perception, participants rated task effort, low back discomfort, and their level of concern completing daily activities. Results The back exosuit reduced peak back extensor: moments by 9%, and muscle amplitudes by 16% when lifting. There were no changes in abdominal co-activation and small reductions maximum trunk flexion compared to lifting without an exosuit. Participants reported lower task effort, back discomfort, and concern about bending and lifting with an exosuit compared to without. Conclusions This study demonstrates a back exosuit not only imparts perceptual benefits of reduced task effort, discomfort, and increased confidence in individuals with LBP but that it achieves these benefits through measurable biomechanical reductions in back extensor effort. The combined effect of these benefits implies back exosuits might be a potential therapeutic aid to augment physical therapy, exercises, or daily activities.
High density nanocrystalline MgB/sub 2/ bulk superconductors with improved pinning

We report on the synthesis of high density nanocrystalline MgB/sub 2/ bulk samples with improved pinning via mechanical alloying of elemental Mg and B powders at ambient temperatures and hot pressing. The samples exhibit high j/sub c/ at 20 K and 1 T, and an irreversibility line strongly shifted toward higher fields resulting in H/sub irr/ of about 0.8H/sub c2/(T) compared to H/sub irr/(T) of about 0.5H/sub c2/(T) as typically observed for untextured conventional bulk specimens. The improved pinning of this material is attributed to the large number of grain boundaries in the nanocrystalline state.
Bias correction for Cohen’s d

Abstract Cohen’s d – a common effect size – contains a positive bias. The traditional bias correction, based on strict distribution assumption, does not always work for a small study with limited data. The non-parametric bootstrapping is not limited by distribution assumption and can be used to remove the bias in Cohen’s d. A real example is included to illustrate the implementation of bootstrap bias estimation and the removal of sizable bias in Cohen’s d.
Timing and magnitude of drought impacts on carbon uptake across a grassland biome

Although drought is known to negatively impact grassland functioning, the timing and magnitude of these impacts within a growing season remain unresolved. Previous small‐scale assessments indicate grasslands may only respond to drought during narrow periods within a year; however, large‐scale assessments are now needed to uncover the general patterns and determinants of this timing. We combined remote sensing datasets of gross primary productivity and weather to assess the timing and magnitude of grassland responses to drought at 5 km2 temporal resolution across two expansive ecoregions of the western US Great Plains biome: the C4‐dominated shortgrass steppe and the C3‐dominated northern mixed prairies. Across over 700,000 pixel‐year combinations covering more than 600,000 km2, we studied how the driest years between 2003–2020 altered the daily and bi‐weekly dynamics of grassland carbon (C) uptake. Reductions to C uptake intensified into the early summer during drought and peaked in mid‐ and late June in both ecoregions. Stimulation of spring C uptake during drought was small and insufficient to compensate for losses during summer. Thus, total grassland C uptake was consistently reduced by drought across both ecoregions; however, reductions were twice as large across the more southern and warmer shortgrass steppe. Across the biome, increased summer vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was strongly linked to peak reductions in vegetation greenness during drought. Rising VPD will likely exacerbate reductions in C uptake during drought across the western US Great Plains, with these reductions greatest during the warmest months and in the warmest locations. High spatiotemporal resolution analyses of grassland response to drought over large areas provide both generalizable insights and new opportunities for basic and applied ecosystem science in these water‐limited ecoregions amid climate change.
Cellular responses to long-term phosphate starvation of fission yeast: Maf1 determines fate choice between quiescence and death associated with aberrant tRNA biogenesis

Abstract Inorganic phosphate is an essential nutrient acquired by cells from their environment. Here, we characterize the adaptative responses of fission yeast to chronic phosphate starvation, during which cells enter a state of quiescence, initially fully reversible upon replenishing phosphate after 2 days but resulting in gradual loss of viability during 4 weeks of starvation. Time-resolved analyses of changes in mRNA levels revealed a coherent transcriptional program in which phosphate dynamics and autophagy were upregulated, while the machineries for rRNA synthesis and ribosome assembly, and for tRNA synthesis and maturation, were downregulated in tandem with global repression of genes encoding ribosomal proteins and translation factors. Consistent with the transcriptome changes, proteome analysis highlighted global depletion of 102 ribosomal proteins. Concomitant with this ribosomal protein deficit, 28S and 18S rRNAs became vulnerable to site-specific cleavages that generated temporally stable rRNA fragments. The finding that Maf1, a repressor of RNA polymerase III transcription, was upregulated during phosphate starvation prompted a hypothesis that its activity might prolong lifespan of the quiescent cells by limiting production of tRNAs. Indeed, we found that deletion of maf1 results in precocious death of phosphate-starved cells via a distinctive starvation-induced pathway associated with tRNA overproduction and dysfunctional tRNA biogenesis.
Caudolenticular gray bridges of the brain: A magnetic resonance imaging study

The caudolenticular (or transcapsular) gray bridges (CLGBs) connect the caudate nucleus (CN) and putamen across the internal capsule. The CLGBs function as the main efferent terminus from premotor and supplementary motor area cortex to the basal ganglia (BG). We conjectured if inherent variations in numbers and sizes of CLGBs could contribute to abnormal cortical–subcortical connectivity in Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder featuring a hindrance of BG processing. However, there are no literature accounts of normative anatomy and morphometry of CLGBs. We therefore retrospectively analyzed axial and coronal 3T fast spoiled gradient‐echo magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 34 healthy individuals for bilateral CLGBs symmetry, their numbers, dimensions of thickest and longest bridge, and axial surface areas of CN head and putamen. We calculated Evans' index (EI) to account for any brain atrophy. We statistically tested associations between sex or age and measured dependent variables, and linear correlations between all measured variables (significance at p < 0.05). Study subjects were F:M = 23:11 with mean age 49.9 years. All EI's were normal (<0.3). All but three CLGBs were bilaterally symmetrical with a mean 7.4 CLGBs per side. Mean CLGBs thickness and lengths were 1.0 and 4.6 mm, respectively; CN head and putamen areas were 205 and 382.0 mm2, respectively. Females had thicker CLGBs (p = 0.02) but we found no significant interactions between sex or age and measured dependent variables, and no correlations between CN head or putamen areas and CLGBs dimensions. These normative MRI dimensions of the CLGBs will help guide future studies on the possible role of CLGBs morphometry in PD predisposition.
Changes in annual transcriptome dynamics of a clone of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) planted under different climate conditions

Environmental responses are critical for plant growth and survival under different climate conditions. To elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms of environmental responses in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don), the annual transcriptome dynamics of common clonal trees (Godai1) planted at three different climate sites (Yamagata, Ibaraki, and Kumamoto Prefectures) were analyzed using microarrays. Both principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering of the microarray data indicated the transition to dormant transcriptome status occurred earlier and the transition to active growth status later in the colder region. Interestingly, PCA also indicated that the transcriptomes of trees grown under three different conditions were similar during the growth period (June to September), whereas the transcriptomes differed between sites during the dormant period (January to March). In between-site comparisons, analyses of the annual expression profiles of genes for sites ‘Yamagata vs. Kumamoto’, ‘Yamagata vs. Ibaraki’, and ‘Ibaraki vs. Kumamoto’ identified 1,473, 1,137, and 925 targets exhibiting significantly different expression patterns, respectively. The total of 2,505 targets that exhibited significantly different expression patterns in all three comparisons may play important roles in enabling cuttings to adapt to local environmental conditions. Partial least-squares regression analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient analysis revealed that air temperature and day length were the dominant factors controlling the expression levels of these targets. GO and Pfam enrichment analyses indicated that these targets include genes that may contribute to environmental adaptation, such as genes related to stress and abiotic stimulus responses. This study provided fundamental information regarding transcripts that may play an important role in adaptation to environmental conditions at different planting sites.