Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward quantification and source sector identification of fossil fuel CO2 emissions from an urban area: Results from the INFLUX experiment

The Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX) aims to develop and assess methods for quantifying urban greenhouse gas emissions. Here we use CO2, 14CO2, and CO measurements from tall towers around Indianapolis, USA, to determine urban total CO2, the fossil fuel derived CO2 component (CO2ff), and CO enhancements relative to background measurements. When a local background directly upwind of the urban area is used, the wintertime total CO2 enhancement over Indianapolis can be entirely explained by urban CO2ff emissions. Conversely, when a continental background is used, CO2ff enhancements are larger and account for only half the total CO2 enhancement, effectively representing the combined CO2ff enhancement from Indianapolis and the wider region. In summer, we find that diurnal variability in both background CO2 mole fraction and covarying vertical mixing makes it difficult to use a simple upwind‐downwind difference for a reliable determination of total CO2 urban enhancement. We use characteristic CO2ff source sector CO:CO2ff emission ratios to examine the contribution of the CO2ff source sectors to total CO2ff emissions. This method is strongly sensitive to the mobile sector, which produces most CO. We show that the inventory‐based emission product (“bottom up”) and atmospheric observations (“top down”) can be directly compared throughout the diurnal cycle using this ratio method. For Indianapolis, the top‐down observations are consistent with the bottom‐up Hestia data product emission sector patterns for most of the diurnal cycle but disagree during the nighttime hours. Further examination of both the top‐down and bottom‐up assumptions is needed to assess the exact cause of the discrepancy.
Immunocytochemistry of plant defense mechanisms induced upon microbial attack

During the past few years, cyto‐ and immunocytochemical techniques have been developed and widely used for locating and identifying various molecules in plant cell compartments. The last decade has witnessed tremendous improvements in molecular cytology, thus allowing an accurate in situ detection of various components thought to play important biological functions in the plant metabolism. The use of immunocytochemistry to investigate resistance mechanisms of plants upon pathogen attack has provided key information on the defense strategy that plants elaborate during a host‐pathogen interaction. Of the various proteins induced in response to infection, chitinases and β‐1,3‐glucanases have been the focus of particular attention due to their believed antimicrobial activity through the hydrolysis of the main fungal wall components, chitin and β‐1,3‐glucans. Attention has also been paid to β‐fructosidase, the enzyme that hydrolyzes sucrose into glucose and fructoside. The marked accumulation of this enzyme upon pathogen infection has led to the consideration that infection may greatly infleunce the metabolic activity of colonized tissues by creating alterations of source‐sink relationships. Another facet of the plant's defense strategy that has been the focus of considerable interest is related to the accumulation of structural compounds, such as hydroxyproline‐rich glycoproteins and callose, to reinforce the wall architecture, thus decreasing vulnerability to microbial enzymes. A number of alternatives designed to improve plant protection towards pathogen invasion have been suggested. Among these, the production of transgenic plants expressing constitutively a foreign resistance gene and the pretreatment of plants with elicitors of defense reactions have been the subject of intensive studies at the molecular, biochemical, and cytological levels. Results of such studies clearly demonstrate the important contribution that cyto‐ and immunocytochemical approaches can make to our knowledge of how plants defend themselves and how plant disease resistance can be directly enhanced. These approaches will undoubtedly be active areas for future research in the development of biological control alternatives in which the mode of action of the product used is of key importance. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mining historical data for DBpedia via temporal tagging of Wikipedia infoboxes

Access to large amounts of historical Linked Data – company revenues or city population over years – is of utmost importance for enabling LOD-based data mining techniques for current and future trends prediction. Currently, the amount of temporal information encoded in DBpedia is limited, mainly due to the fact that in Wikipedia facts are continuously updated with newer values replacing the older ones. We address this problem by extending the existing extraction framework to cope with temporal information within Wikipedia infoboxes using HeidelTime, a state-of-the-art temporal tagger, and extracting temporally annotated facts from the Wikipedia revision history. Following the proposed approach we extract the temporal dataset of business and financial data providing information about 18,489 DBpedia companies.
The effect of feet position on standing balance in patients with diabetes

Feet displacement is recognized to be an important element in standing and is also linked to postural instability in elderly people with diabetes. This study investigates standing balance in diabetic patients in four asymmetric feet displacements. Quiet standing balance was investigated using the Biodex Balance System in 18 diabetic patients and compared with 18 control elderly subjects. The four standing conditions, namely, comfortable feet position, preferred feet position with a stance width of 17 cm and 15° angle between the medial borders, feet side by side, and heel side by side with a 30° angle between medial edges of feet were evaluated (i.e. eyes opened, eyes closed). The overall stability was calculated by measuring anterior–posterior and medial–lateral indices in standing conditions. Differences among feet positions were compared using an analysis of variance and the independent t-test. The diabetic patients were unstable in the medial–lateral direction when standing with feet side by side versus heel side by side with a 30° angle between medial edges of feet (p = 0.012 and 0.011, respectively), while in controls the anterior–posterior stability scores between standing in preferred foot position with stance width of 17 cm and 15° angle between the medial borders versus feet side by side, and heel side by side with a 30° angle between medial edges of feet versus preferred foot position with stance width of 17 cm and 15° angle between the medial borders had significant difference (p < 0.05). The anterior–posterior stability scores of diabetic subjects with feet side by side versus comfortable foot position (p = 0.047) and heel side by side with a 30° angle between medial edges of feet versus comfortable foot position (p = 0.016) when they closed their eyes during the test had significant difference. Results confirmed that diabetic patients have greater instability in the medial–lateral direction when the base of support reduces and visual clue has an important role in standing balance.
A Kalman Filter Approach for Distinguishing Channel and Collision Errors in IEEE 802.11 Networks

In the last years, several strategies for maximizing the throughput performance of IEEE 802.11 networks have been proposed in literature. Specifically, it has been shown that optimizations are possible both at the medium access control (MAC) layer, and at the physical (PHY) layer. In fact, at the MAC layer, it is possible to minimize the channel waste due to collisions and backoff expiration times, by tuning the minimum contention window as a function of the network congestion level. At the PHY layer, it is possible to improve the transmission robustness, by selecting a suitable modulation/coding scheme as a function of the channel quality perceived by the stations. However, the feasibility of these optimizations rely on the availability of MAC/PHY measurements, which are often impracticable or very rough. In this paper, we propose a joint MAC/PHY estimator based on a bi-dimensional extended Kalman filter, devised to separately track the collision probability and the channel error probability suffered by each station. To this purpose, we derive a relationship between the unobservable system state and measurements which are performed in a distributed way by all the competing stations.
[Smoking and pregnancy: survey among women enrolled in an independent worker insurance program].

OBJECTIVES In order to further improve its prevention program entitled "Maternity childhood follow-up", the Paris region health insurance program for independent workers carried out a survey among female participants. The survey was designed to assess women's smoking behavior and evaluate reception of information concerning smoking-related risks and support available to stop smoking. The women's suggestions were also collected. MATERIALS AND METHODS A questionnaire was sent by the physicians in charge of the Ile de France region to the 3525 women who had reported a pregnancy. RESULTS 1099 answers were received (31%) The mean age of responders was 34.3 4.7 years. Their educational level was high (76% had a university degree). Before pregnancy, 37% were smokers. At the first trimester of pregnancy, 17% were smokers, 15% at the second trimester and 14% at the third trimester. Two years after childbirth, 20.5% were smokers. The proportion of women who stopped smoking was higher for those with a low Fagerström score. 29% of women said they did not receive any information about the harmful consequences of smoking. To cease smoking during pregnancy, 70% are helped by family and friends, 20% by health professionals; 3.5% took nicotine substitutes. CONCLUSION This survey emphasises the need for improving information to pregnant women for alerting them to the dangers of smoking and for training the relevant health professionals.
Global Rank Estimation

In real world complex networks, the importance of a node depends on two important parameters: 1. characteristics of the node, and 2. the context of the given application. The current literature contains several centrality measures that have been defined to measure the importance of a node based on the given application requirements. These centrality measures assign a centrality value to each node that denotes its importance index. But in real life applications, we are more interested in the relative importance of the node that can be measured using its centrality rank based on the given centrality measure. To compute the centrality rank of a node, we need to compute the centrality value of all the nodes and compare them to get the rank. This process requires the entire network. So, it is not feasible for real-life applications due to the large size and dynamic nature of real world networks. In the present project, we aim to propose fast and efficient methods to estimate the global centrality rank of a node without computing the centrality value of all nodes. These methods can be further extended to estimate the rank without having the entire network. The proposed methods use the structural behavior of centrality measures, sampling techniques, or the machine learning models. In this work, we also discuss how to apply these methods for degree and closeness centrality rank estimation.
Effect of Endothelin‐1 and Sarafotoxin S6c on Blood Flow in a Rat Tumor

Summary: The modification of tumor blood flow resulting from administration of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and sarafotoxin S6c (SX6c) was examined in female CBH rats. Blood flow in subcutaneous HSN tumors and normal tissues was measured by tissue uptake of 125I-labeled io-doantipyrine ([125I]IAP). A 75% increase in tumor blood flow was observed after 1 nM/kg ET-1, contrasting with flow in normal tissues, which was unaffected or reduced. The exception to this was the brain, in which blood flow was increased by 30%, resulting from a rise in mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and the absence of vasoconstriction. Paradoxically, a significant drop in the tumor vascular resistance was observed after 1 nM/kg ET-1, whereas in all other tissues the vascular resistance was significantly increased. Vascular responses to SX6c differed from those observed with ET-1. At 1 nM/kg SX6c, blood flow in the tumor was increased to 175% of the control as a result of the increase in MABP, which was similar to ET-1. However, unlike ET-1, there was no associated vasodilatation. Vascular resistance was increased in all normal tissues with 1 nM/kg SX6c, corresponding to decreases in blood flow in the contralateral skin, skeletal muscle, and small intestine. This study therefore demonstrates that the vascular responses to ET-1 and SX6c are unique in the HSN tumor compared to normal tissues. This atypical response of the tumor vasculature may therefore be exploitable to improve the delivery of blood-borne anti-cancer agents in therapy.
Exploring the role of employer forums – the case of Business in the Community Wales

Collective employer representation in the United Kingdom has changed in fundamental ways in recent decades. Collective bargaining has declined and instead, we have seen the emergence of a significant new form of collective organization, the employer forum, which promotes good corporate behaviour and typically focuses on issues of equality and diversity, social policy and community engagement. This paper examines this new form of collective action through a case study on Business in the Community Wales. It also compares this employer forum with traditional employers’ associations in order to establish what is significant and distinctive about employer forums.
A First-Year White Teacher Working with Children of Color: An Investigation into the Meaning of "Trial by Fire.".

The idea that a white teacher working predominantly with children of color might have problems because of the inability to understand where the students are coming from or because of racial/ethnic biases is supported in various branches of educational literature. This study investigates a first-year white teacher working in a middle school where the students were predominantly children of color. Most of the children had economic situations low enough that they received free or reduced-price lunch. Teacher and researcher met seven times during the 15-week semester for open-ended interviews. Interviews were tape-recorded and analyzed for themes and patterns through a grounded theory approach. Data and a final paper were shared with the teacher, a means of member checking that lent to the triangulation of the data and a tool for the teacher to use. Findings suggest that support services offered to the teacher by the principals and by her mentor teacher were clearly lacking in "educative" qualities. The kinds of assistance she needed--clear delineations of policies and procedures; proactive advice on classroom management; supportive, instructive listeners; and a sense of collaboration with other teachers and administrators--were unavailable. The teacher usually adored her students, but she began to resent them as the administration pressed her with rules, blame, and the threat of consequences for her students' underachievement. This teacher's case shows that even caring, self-reflective teachers who love their students can buy into deficit thinking and student-blaming when the school environment inculcates such practices. Contains 59 references. (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. A First-Year White Teacher Working with Children of Color: An Investigation into the Meaning of "Trial by Fire"
Enabling technologies for smart building, what's missing?

Smart environments have many potential benefits, ranging from energetic efficiency to better living for the impaired and seamless interaction with smart devices. The devices empowering smart buildings, and specifically Wireless Sensor Networks, have recently gained a lot of interest among academy, industry and standardization bodies. However, current devices are not yet ready for mass-deployment, mainly due to management and security issues. This paper deals with the analysis of these issues, proposing a suitable methodology to overcome present limitations.
Incidence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax is not associated with microclimatic variations. Results of a seven-year survey in a temperate climate area.

Some diseases, such as renal colic and atrial fibrillation, display an association with microclimatic variations. In particular, despite a correlation has been reported between incidence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) and meteorological variations, the evidence remains poor and conflictual. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of day-by-day meteorological variations on the number of visits for PSP in the Emergency Department (ED). All PSP cases were retrieved from the hospital database from January 2008 to December 2014. For all the observational days, meteorological data about the Parma Province were obtained from the Environment and Climate Regional Agency. The correlation between ED visits for PSP and variation of air temperature (T°), atmospheric pressure (hPa) and humidity (%) was then tested. The chronological data of all the visits for PSP were correlated with climate data by univariate linear regressions analysis. A total number of 608.215 ED visits were recorded during the observational period, with an average of 238 patients per day. Overall, 257 PSP cases were observed (mean age 37±21 years), 79% males and 21% females. No significant correlation between average daily visits for SP and daily change of average temperature, humidity, or atmospheric pressure was observed throughout the observational period (p>0.05 for all). The results of the study show that the incidence of PSP is not significantly associated with changes of microclimatic variables.
Innate Vα14+ natural killer T cells mature dendritic cells, leading to strong adaptive immunity

Summary: The observation that the glycolipid α‐galactosylceramide (α‐GalCer) is a potent stimulator of natural killer T (NKT) cells has provided an important means for investigating NKT cell biology. α‐GalCer is presented on CD1d to the invariant NKT receptor, leading to interleukin‐12 (IL‐12) production by dendritic cells (DCs) and to NK cell activation. We review our research on the tumor‐protective properties of α‐GalCer, particularly the major role played by DCs. We compared administration of α‐GalCer on mature DCs with soluble glycolipid and found that DCs induced more prolonged interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) production by NKT cells and better protection against B16 melanoma. Human α‐GalCer‐loaded DCs also expanded NKT cell numbers in cancer patients. α‐GalCer‐activated NKT cells were then found to induce DC maturation in vivo. The maturing DCs produced IL‐12, upregulated co‐stimulatory molecules, and induced adaptive immunity to captured cellular antigens, including prolonged, combined CD4+/CD8+ T‐cell immunity to dying tumor cells. Surprisingly, co‐stimulator‐poor tumor cells, if directly loaded with α‐GalCer (‘tumor/Gal’) and injected intravenously, also induced strong NKT‐ and NK‐cell responses. The latter killed the tumor/Gal, which were subsequently cross presented by CD1d on DCs to elicit DC maturation and prolonged adaptive T‐cell immunity, which lasted 6–12 months. These findings help explain tumor protection via α‐GalCer and urge development of the DC‐NKT axis to provide innate and adaptive immunity to human cancers.
Pengaruh Tarif Pajak, Sistem Perpajakan, Pengawasan Pajak dan Sunset Policy terhadap Minimalisasi Tax Evasion (Penggelapan Pajak) (Studi Empiris Pada Wajib Pajak di KPP Pratama Wilayah Makassar Selatan)

Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa tarif pajak berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap minimalisasi tax evasion, sistem perpajakan berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap minimalisasi tax evasion, pengawasan pajak berpengaruh negatif signifikan terhadap minimalisasi tax evasion, dan sunset policy berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap minimalisasi tax evasion.
Dependence of Mycobacterium bovis BCG on Anaerobic Nitrate Reductase for Persistence Is Tissue Specific

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium bovis BCG, the only presently available vaccine against tuberculosis, was obtained from virulent M. bovis after serial passages in vitro. The vaccine strain retained at least some of its original virulence, as it persists in immune-competent hosts and occasionally may cause fatal disease in immune-deficient hosts. Mycobacterial persistence in vivo is thought to depend on anaerobic metabolism, an apparent paradox since all mycobacteria are obligate aerobes. Here we report that M. bovis BCG lacking anaerobic nitrate reductase (NarGHJI), an enzyme essential for nitrate respiration, failed to persist in the lungs, liver, and kidneys of immune-competent (BALB/c) mice. In immune-deficient (SCID) mice, however, bacilli caused chronic infection despite disruption of narG, even if growth of the mutant was severely impaired in lungs, liver, and kidneys. Persistence and growth of BCG in the spleens of either mouse strain appeared largely unaffected by lack of anaerobic nitrate reductase, indicating that the role of the enzyme in pathogenesis is tissue specific. These data suggest first that anaerobic nitrate reduction is essential for metabolism of M. bovis BCG in immune-competent but not immune-deficient mice and second that its role in mycobacterial disease is tissue specific, both of which are observations with important implications for pathogenesis of mycobacteria and vaccine development.
How far can automatic translation engines be used as a tool for stylistic analysis?

This pilot study investigates the potential of automatic translation engines to be used as a tool for literary stylistic analysis. By translating from English into one of 62 languages and then re-translating back into English, the resulting texts were compared with a stylistic analysis of the original. Although the similarity index varied widely between languages - between 90% and 32.9% - many stylistic features were retained. However, more subtle features of the texts were lost in the translation process. The similarity index gives a good indication of the literary subtlety / quality of the text, suggesting that this process may be useful as a preliminary “filtering” technique in deeper stylistic studies.