Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SAR Speckle Dependence on Ocean Surface Wind Field

A novel physical paradigm is explored in this paper: synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) ocean speckle is informative. This paper experimentally analyzes the SAR ocean speckle intensity K-distribution model versus sea-surface wind field. It is shown that the normalized intensity moments of the K-distribution measured from actual C-band SAR data well fit the theoretical ones under different wind conditions, i.e., wind regime and relative SAR-wind azimuth direction. In addition, it is observed that the K-distribution shape parameter decreases as wind speed increases. A sensitivity of the K-distribution shape parameter on incidence angle and wind direction is also observed, where the largest variability is experienced at higher incidence angles and under crosswind relative azimuth angle.
Factors affecting Learning Management Systems Usage in Higher Learning Institutions in Tanzania: A Case of University of Dodoma

The Learning Management System (LMS) facilitates the learning and teaching process in higher learning institutions (HLIs) using the Internet. Despite the advantage of having these LMS in institutions, usage is still a challenging problem. This study investigated the factors influencing the usage of LMS in HLIs. To achieve the objective of the study, the constructs were adopted from TAM, UTAUT2, and the D&M success models. Data were collected using questionnaires followed by interviews with key people at the University of Dodoma (UDOM). A mixed-method sequential explanatory design was used to analyze the data collected from 92 participants. The results revealed that perceived usefulness, instructors’ self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation have an influence on the usage of LMS amongst instructors in HLIs. The findings of this study will help the HLIs and LMS implementers to find the strategies that will assist them in increasing LMS usage to achieve desired results.
Overexpression of Hevea brasiliensis ethylene response factor HbERF-IXc 5 enhances growth , tolerance to abiotic stress and affects laticifer differentiation

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1111/pbi.12774 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Article type : Research Article Overexpression of Hevea brasiliensis ethylene response factor HbERF-IXc5 enhances growth, tolerance to abiotic stress and affects laticifer differentiation
The relevance of cortical lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis

: BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) substantially contribute to clinical disease severity. The present study aimed at investigating clinical, neu-roanatomical, and cognitive correlates of these cortical lesions with a novel approach, i.e. by comparing two samples of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients, one group with and the other without cortical lesions. METHODS: High-resolution structural MRI was acquired from 42 RRMS patients and 43 controls (HC). The patient group was dichotomized based on the presence versus absence of DIR-hyperintense cortex-involving lesions, resulting in a cortical lesion group (CL, n = 32) and a non-cortical lesion group (nCL, n =10). Cognitive functioning was assessed in all participants with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, covering mnestic, executive, and attentional functions. RESULTS: Highest densities of cortical lesions in the CL group were observed in the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus. Relative to HC, patients with cortical lesions - but not those without - showed significant global cortical thinning and mnestic deficits. The two patient groups did not differ from each other regarding demographic and basic disease characteristics such as EDSS scores. CONCLUSION: The appearance of cortical lesions in MS patients is associated with cortical thinning as well as mnestic deficits, which might be key characteristics of a ’cortically dominant’ MS subtype. Abstract Background : Recent studies suggest that cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) 35 substantially contribute to clinical disease severity. The present study aimed at 36 investigating clinical, neuroanatomical, and cognitive correlates of these cortical 37 lesions with a novel approach, i.e. by comparing two samples of relapsing-remitting 38 multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients, one group with and the other without cortical 39 lesions. 40 Methods : High-resolution structural MRI was acquired from 42 RRMS patients and 41 43 controls (HC). The patient group was dichotomized based on the presence versus 42 absence of DIR-hyperintense cortex-involving lesions, resulting in a cortical lesion 43 group (CL, n=32) and a non-cortical lesion group (nCL, n =10). Cognitive 44 functioning was assessed in all participants with a comprehensive neuropsychological 45 battery, covering mnestic, executive, and attentional functions. 46 Results : Highest densities of cortical lesions in the CL group were observed in the 47 bilateral parahippocampal gyrus. Relative to HC, patients with cortical lesions - but 48 not those without - showed significant global cortical thinning and mnestic deficits. 49 The two patient groups did not differ from each other regarding demographic and 50 basic disease characteristics such as EDSS scores. 51 Conclusion : The appearance of cortical lesions in MS patients is associated with cortical thinning as well as mnestic deficits, which might be key characteristics of a 'cortically dominant' MS subtype.
Natural history and clinical significance of isolated complete left bundle branch block without associated structural heart disease

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic; Phoenix, Arizona-United States 1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Los Angeles, California-United States 2Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic; Rochester, Minnesota-United States Natural history and clinical significance of isolated complete left bundle branch block without associated structural heart disease
Catching a Wave: The Adoption of Voice and High-Commitment Workplace Practices in Britain, 1984-1998

In this paper we treat workplace voice and systems of high-commitment human resource management (HCHRM) as technological innovations in order to account for the uneven diffusion patterns observed across establishments. Using British data, the paper finds that variables highlighted in the technological diffusion literature are significant predictors of voice and HRM adoption decisions. Workplace size, size of multi-establishment network, ownership type, set-up date and network affects all play a significant role in high-commitment HRM adoption. We also find that union presence, per se, is not an inhibitor to the adoption of high commitment HRM practices.
Evaluation of a Rapid Immunochromatographic ODK0501 Assay for Detecting Streptococcus pneumoniae Antigen in Sputum Samples from Patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Infection

ABSTRACT A novel, rapid, and noninvasive test (ODK0501) to detect Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen was evaluated in a Japanese multicenter study. ODK0501 uses polyclonal antibodies to detect C polysaccharide of S. pneumoniae from sputum samples by an immunochromatographic assay. The utility of ODK0501 was evaluated for 161 adult patients with lower respiratory tract infection between March 2006 and March 2007. Bacterial culture and identification, real-time PCR, and ODK0501 assays were performed on sputum samples, and the Binax Now Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen test was performed using urine samples obtained from the same patients. The performances of all tests were compared based on the results of bacterial culture and identification. The sensitivity and specificity of ODK0501 were 89.1% (49/55 samples) and 95.3% (101/106 samples), respectively. We then compared the Binax Now Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen test with ODK0501 using samples from 142 patients. The sensitivities of ODK0501 and the Binax Now S. pneumoniae antigen test were 90.0% (45/50 samples) and 62.0% (31/50 samples), respectively (P = 0.002). The relative quantity of S. pneumoniae in expectorated sputum was calculated using real-time PCR and indicated that the possibility of false-positive results for ODK0501 due to indigenous S. pneumoniae was low. The positive and negative concordance rates of ODK0501 and Binax Now were 96.8% (30/31 samples) and 21.1% (4/19 samples), respectively. Binax Now was less capable of detecting S. pneumoniae antigen among patients with underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In conclusion, ODK0501 is noninvasive, rapid, and an accurate tool for diagnosing respiratory infection caused by S. pneumoniae.
Dynamic hyperparameter optimization for bayesian topical trend analysis

This paper presents a new Bayesian topical trend analysis. We regard the parameters of topic Dirichlet priors in latent Dirichlet allocation as a function of document timestamps and optimize the parameters by a gradient-based algorithm. Since our method gives similar hyperparameters to the documents having similar timestamps, topic assignment in collapsed Gibbs sampling is affected by timestamp similarities. We compute TFIDF-based document similarities by using a result of collapsed Gibbs sampling and evaluate our proposal by link detection task of Topic Detection and Tracking.
Activated prothrombin complex concentrate for dabigatran‐associated bleeding

A humanized antibody fragment to reverse the oral thrombin inhibitor dabigatran is currently under development (Schiele et al, 2013). The absence of a specific reversal agent has caused apprehension over the use of this anticoagulant (Cotton et al, 2011). Prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) and activated factor VII seemed ineffective in recently reported cases (Lillo-Le Louet et al, 2012), and animal models and ex vivo studies have provided conflicting results Majeed & Schulman, 2013). Although dabigatran has a low degree of binding to plasma proteins and is dialyzable (Khadzhynov et al, 2013), it may take many hours to eliminate this drug from the circulation. We treated four patients with potentially life-threatening dabigatran-associated bleeding with activated PCC (FEIBA, Baxter AG, Vienna, Austria), two in Hamilton, Ontario and two in Edmonton, Alberta. The laboratory and transfusion data are shown in Fig 1. Creatinine clearance was estimated with the Cockroft-Gault formula. An 84-year-old male (Hamilton 1) with a medical history of atrial fibrillation, hypertension and chronic renal insufficiency was urgently referred to our tertiary care hospital with subdural haematoma. He had fallen at home 1 month earlier and, at the time of presentation, had a 3-day history of headache and progressive left sided weakness. Computed tomography (CT) showed acute on chronic right parietal subdural haematoma with associated midline shift (Fig 2). The last dose of dabigatran, 110 mg, was 2 d before transfer to our hospital. On admission the thrombin time (TT) was 127 s (normal range 20–30 s), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) was 46 s (normal 22–35 s), prothrombin time – international normalized ratio (INR) was 1 2, dabigatran concentration (with Hemoclot ) was 50 ng/ml, and creatinine 135 lmol/l with calculated creatinine clearance of 45 ml/min. The neurosurgeon elected to defer haematoma drainage until dabigatran had been eliminated. The patient received 4600 units (50 units/kg) of aPCC, whereafter the weakness improved without immediate change in the coagulation profile. The thrombin time normalized 3 d later and he underwent uneventful craniotomy with evacuation of 100 ml of blood. Repeat imaging demonstrated resolution of the bleed and he was discharged home the next day. At 1month follow-up, there was complete resolution of the weakness. An 81-year-old female (Hamilton 2) with atrial fibrillation and hypertension woke up in the morning, 12 h after her last dabigatran dose (110 mg), and felt normal but 1 h later she fell off the toilet and was disoriented, unsteady and had right-sided weakness and slurred speech. When the paramedics arrived, 20 min later, her blood pressure was 196/100. CT, 70 min after onset showed acute intra-axial haemorrhage
Reconstructing ENSO - Methods, Proxy Data and Teleconnections

The El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is globally important and influences climate at interannual and decadal time-scales with resultant links with extreme weather events and associated socio-economic problems. An understanding of the ENSO system is therefore crucial to allow for a better understanding of how ENSO will ‘react’ under current global warming. Palaeoclimate reconstructions of ENSO variability allow extension prior to the relatively short instrumental record. However, due to the paucity of relevant annually resolved proxy archives (e.g. corals) in the central and eastern Pacific, reconstructions must rely on proxy data that are located in regions where the local climate is teleconnected with the tropical Pacific. In this study we compare three newly developed independent NINO3.4 SST reconstructions using data from (1) the central Pacific (corals), (2) the TexMex region of the United States (tree-rings), and (3) other regions in the tropics (corals and an ice-core) which are teleconnected with central Pacific SSTs in the 20 century. Although these three reconstructions are strongly calibrated and well verified, inter-proxy comparison shows a significant weakening in inter-proxy coherence in the 19 century. This break down in common signal could be related to insufficient data, dating errors in some of the proxy records or a break down in ENSO’s influence on other regions. However, spectral analysis indicates that each reconstruction portrays ENSO-like spectral properties. Superposed epoch analysis also shows that each reconstruction shows a generally consistent ‘El-Nino-like’ response to major volcanic events in the following year, while during years T+4 to T+7, ‘La Nina-like’ conditions prevail. These results suggest that each of the series expresses ENSO-like ‘behaviour’ but this ‘behaviour’ however does not appear to be spatially or temporally consistent. This result may reflect published observations that there appear to be distinct ‘types’ of ENSO variability depending on location within the tropical Pacific. Future work must address potential dating issues within some proxies (i.e. sampling of multiple coral heads for one location) as well as assessing the timestability of local climate relationships with central Pacific SSTs. More emphasis is needed upon sampling new and extending old coral proxy records from the crucial central and eastern tropical Pacific region.
University of Birmingham Numerical simulations of a falling film on the inner surface of a rotating cylinder

A ﬂow in which a thin ﬁlm falls due to gravity on the inner surface of a vertical, rotating cylinder is investigated. This is performed using two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) direct numerical simulations, with a volume-of-ﬂuid approach to treat the interface. The problem is parameterised by the Reynolds, Froude, Weber, and Ekman numbers. The variation of the Ekman number ( Ek ), deﬁned to be proportional to the rotational speed of the cylinder, has a strong eﬀect on the ﬂow characteristics. Simulations are conducted over a wide range of Ek values (0 ≤ Ek ≤ 484) in order to provide detailed insight into how this parameter inﬂuences the ﬂow. Our results indicate that increasing Ek , which leads to a rise in the magnitude of centrifugal forces, produces a stabilising eﬀect, suppressing wave formation. Key ﬂow features, such as the transition from a 2D to a more complex 3D wave regime, are inﬂuenced signiﬁcantly by this stabilisation, and are investigated in detail. Furthermore, the imposed rotation results in distinct ﬂow characteristics such as the development of angled waves, which arise due to the combination of gravitationally-and centrifugally-driven motion in the axial and azimuthal directions, respectively. We also use a weighted residuals integral boundary layer method to determine a boundary in the space of Reynolds and Ekman numbers that represents a threshold beyond which waves have recirculation regions.
The Effectiveness of Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Improving Glycaemic Control in Adults with Severe Mental Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

People with severe mental illness (SMI) have reduced life expectancy compared with the general population, which can be explained partly by their increased risk of diabetes. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the clinical effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for improving glycaemic control in people with SMI (PROSPERO registration: CRD42015015558). A systematic literature search was performed on 30/10/2015 to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in adults with SMI, with or without a diagnosis of diabetes that measured fasting interventions, metformin and antipsychotic switching strategies improved HbA 1c . Behavioural interventions of longer duration and those including repeated physical activity had greater effects on fasting glucose than those without these characteristics. Baseline levels of fasting glucose explained some of the heterogeneity in behavioural interventions but not in pharmacological interventions. Although the strength of the evidence is limited by inade-quate trial design and reporting and significant heterogeneity, there is some evidence that behavioural interventions, antipsychotic switching, and metformin can lead to clinically important improvements in glycaemic measurements in adults with SMI.
Wewenang Auditor Badan Pengawasan Keuangan dan Pembangunan (BPKP) Mengungkap Kerugian Negara dalam Tindak Pidana Korupsi

Penelitian ini bertujuan megetahui hubungan kewenangan kerja antara Auditor BPKP dan Institusi kepolisian Polda di Sulawesi Selatan, kedudukan hukum hasil audit auditor BPKP dan alat bukti dalam hukum acara pidana, serta kendala dalam pelaksanaan audit auditor BPKP Sulawesi selatan. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan yuridis empiris untuk melihat bagaimana suatu aturan berlaku secara real di masyarakat. Adapun data penelitian diperoleh melalui kegiatan observasi di lapangan, wawancara dengan penyidik Institusi kepolisian dan Auditor BPKP Daerah Sulawesi selatan, serta pengkajian berbagai dokumen yang terkait dengan penelitian. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa wewenang kerja antara Institusi Kaepolisian Daerah dan Auditor BPKP perwakilan Provinsi Sulawesi selatan hanya berdasarkan permintaan bantuan untuk melakukan penghitungan kerugian keuangan dan perekonomian Negara yang dilandasi dalam kesepakatan kerjasama atau Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) diantara Institusi Polri dan BPKP, sehingga disimpulkan bahwa BPKP Sulawesi Selatan memang berperan dalam mengungkap indikasi korupsi namun kewenangannya hanya berdasar pada hubungan permintaan penghitungan kerugian Negara, dimana apabila laporan hasil audit oleh auditor BPKP menyatakan adanya kerugian negara maka Penyidik Polda meningkatkan ke tahap Penyidikan untuk dilakukan serangkaian penyidikan, namun apabila hasil audit Auditor BPKP menyatakan tidak ada kerugian maka penyelidikan akan dihentikan yang berarti tidak terindikasi adanya pidana korupsi.
Quantifying the Escape Mortality of Trawl Caught Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba)

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is an abundant fishery resource, the harvest levels of which are expected to increase. However, many of the length classes of krill can escape through commonly used commercial trawl mesh sizes. A vital component of the overall management of a fishery is to estimate the total fishing mortality and quantify the mortality rate of individuals that escape from fishing gear. The methods for determining fishing mortality in krill are still poorly developed. We used a covered codend sampling technique followed by onboard observations made in holding tanks to monitor mortality rates of escaped krill. Haul duration, hydrological conditions, maximum fishing depth and catch composition all had no significant effect on mortality of krill escaping 16 mm mesh size nets, nor was any further mortality associated with the holding tank conditions. A non- parametric Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to model the relationship between mortality rates of escapees and time. There was a weak tendency, though not significant, for smaller individuals to suffer higher mortality than larger individuals. The mortality of krill escaping the trawl nets in our study was 4.4 ± 4.4%, suggesting that krill are fairly tolerant of the capture-and-escape process in trawls.
Functionalized MoS2 Nanosheets as Multi-Gene Delivery Vehicles for In Vivo Pancreatic Cancer Therapy

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are categorized as novel two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials with unique physical and chemical properties, bearing varied applications in medical and materials sciences. However, only a few works report the application of TMDCs for gene therapy in cancer treatment. Here, we engineer a multi-gene delivery system based on functionalized monolayer MoS2, which can co-deliver HDAC1 and KRAS small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to Panc-1 cancer cells for combinational cancer therapy. The synergistic effect of gene silencing therapy and NIR phototherapy is demonstrated by inhibition of both genes, in vitro cell growth rate, and in vivo tumor volume growth rate, exemplifying pre-eminent anticancer efficacy. This anti-tumor effect is a result of the photothermal effect of MoS2 induced by NIR excitation and inactivation of HDAC1 and KRAS genes, which consequently bring about apoptosis, inhibit migration, and induce cell cycle arrest in the treated Panc-1 cells. Moreover, good biocompatibility and reduced cytotoxicity of MoS2-based nanocarriers enable their metabolism within in vitro and in vivo mouse models over a prolonged duration without any evident ill-effects. In summary, we demonstrate the promising potential of low-toxicity, functionalized MoS2 nanocarriers as a biocompatible gene delivery system for in vivo pancreatic adenocarcinoma therapy.
Improving the Reliability of Network Metrics in Structural Brain Networks by Integrating Different Network Weighting Strategies into a Single

Dimitriadis SI, Drakesmith M, Bells S, Parker GD, Linden DE, Jones DK 1 Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, United Kingdom 2 Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom 3 School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom 4 Neuroinformatics Group, CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom 5 Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI), Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK 6 MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK