Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automating the TeraScan Image Process for Creation of NOAA AVHRR Data Products

During the summer of 2002 the Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) was established on the campus of Elizabeth City State University. It is the intent of CERSER to develop innovative and relevant research collaboration focused on coastal, ocean, and marine research. The project represents a joint effort by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the MU-SPIN Office of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and SeaSpace. In addition to providing remotely sensed Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Sea Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) data for research projects during the summer and academic year, CERSER maintains a website which displays and archives data that has been captured and processed. Since the establishment of the CERSER lab, data has been processed, annotated and converted into tiff files manually by using a series of TeraScan and LINIX commands. This process is time consuming and requires a person to physically be at the TeraScan Machine. The objective of this project was to automate the process of creating NOAA AVHRR products. The TeraScan Product Generation System was utilized to create a visible and sea surface temperature image. This was accomplished by first creating a ‘master’ of North Carolina and Virginia. A ‘master’ is a TeraScan dataset that delimits a geographical area of the earth and specifies a map projection and a pixel resolution to the area. The ‘master’ was used for the sea surface temperature product. Visible images were processed from the complete raw AVHRR data. A script was also created which would process raw AVHRR data from the passdisk. A script is a sequence of commands linked together to automatically run when initiated. A script can be initiated by running it from the command line or by linking the processing to TeraCapCon (TeraScan Capture Control). Once passes are captured on the passdisk the script processes the image and generates a picture product. Each image, overlaid with a coastal boundary, gridlines, a wedge and a legend, is converted into a tagged image file format (tiff) file and automatically distributed to the server using file transfer protocol (ftp). Automating the image process eliminates the need for an individual to manually process images, and insures that the CERSER webpage is current.
Seasonal and age distributions of Babesia, Hepatozoon, Trypanosoma and Grahamella species in Clethrionomys glareolus and Apodemus sylvaticus populations

SUMMARY Four common blood parasites belonging to the genera Babesia, Hepatozoon, Trypanosoma and Grahamella were detected in sympatric populations of Clethrionomys glareolus and Apodemus sylvaticus. Seasonal changes in the abundance of hosts and parasites were monitored in a longitudinal field survey for 18 months. All parasites in both hosts showed similar seasonal patterns with most transmission occurring in summer and autumn and ceasing in winter. Amongst aged subsets of each host population, Hepatozoon and Grahamella spp. were primarily parasites of young animals whereas Babesia and Trypanosoma spp. generally infected older hosts. Data from the aged subsets were also used to estimate values for the basic reproductive rate, R0, for each parasite. In C. glareolus, R0 = 2·0 for B. microti, 2·6 for H. erhardovae, 1·7 for T. evotomys and 2·8 for Grahamella sp. In A. sylvaticusR0 = 2·2 for Grahamella sp. These estimates are probably representative only for summer and autumn of each year.
Osseointegrated implants in the treatment of the edentulous jaw. Experience from a 10-year period.

3,855,638 12/1974 Pilliar . 3/1 4,145,764 3/1979 Suzuki et al. . 3/19 4,195,409 4/1980 Child . 433/175 4,547,157 10/1985 Driskell. 433/173 4,722,688 2/1988 Lonca . 433/173 4,818,559 4/1989 Hama et al. . 623/11 4,826,434 5/1989 Krueger . 433/174 4,874,434 10/1989 Riggs, Jr. . 134/3 4,908,030 3/1990 Linkow et al. . 623/16 4,911,953 3/1990 Hosonuma et al. . 427/224 4,944,754 7/1990 Linkow et al. . 623/16 5,000,685 3/1991 Brajnovic . 433/173 5,030,096 7/1991 Hurson et al. . 433/173 5,071,351 12/1991 Green et al. . 422/23 5,188,800 2/1993 Green et al. . 433/173
Statistics of successive breakdown events in gate oxides

The basic statistics for devices/circuits that can tolerate several breakdown (BD) events without failure are derived. All the presented results are analytical and do not rely on the validity of any model relating breakdown to defect generation. The single requirement is the uniform and uncorrelated generation of breakdown paths. Significant lifetime improvement is anticipated for low failure percentiles and Weibull slopes close to unity, as those found in oxides with the thickness required for sub-100-nm CMOS technologies. The presented results are validated using grouping experiments.
Lean Tissue Adjusted Peak Oxygen Consumption in Congestive Heart Failure

We disagree with the comments made by Dr. F. James Brennan that major events were underreported in our recent Journal article (1). Although we used a composite end point that included death, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident and myocardial revascularization, we also separately reported mortality, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization procedures and stroke (1). For example, as outlined in the Results section, there were thirteen 30-day deaths in the coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) group and two deaths in the percutaneous transluminal coronary revascularization (PTCR) group. After one month, five patients died in the PTCR group and four in the CABG group. These deaths are reflected in the Kaplan-Meier survival curves shown in our Figure 2, demonstrating a better survival in the PTCR group compared with CABG group (96.9% vs. 92.5%, respectively, p , 0.017). We employed the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate length of survival, freedom from myocardial infarction, freedom from repeat revascularization procedures and freedom from combined events for patients treated with CABG and with PTCR (see our Figs. 2–4). Comparison between groups was performed using the log-rank test. The Kaplan-Meier method is an appropriate means of estimating survival and other major events in our study. Because each of the events (mortality, myocardial infarction and repeat revascularization procedures) was analyzed separately using the Kaplan-Meier method, there was no under-reporting of major events. Although a given patient may have experienced a nonfatal primary end point, he or she was not excluded from the analysis of the other events. The Kaplan-Meier method allows the estimation of survival time of each patient who dies and provides exact survival proportions; this is because it uses exact survival times. The same principle was applied in the calculation of freedom from myocardial infarction and freedom from repeat revascularization procedures.
Silencing of PKD 1 Expression Increased Migration Ability of Human Osteosarcoma Cells

INTRODUCTION Osteosarcoma (OS) is one of high grade malignant bone tumors and is the most commonly encountered malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. Significant numbers of patients of the disease eventually develop pulmonary metastases and succumb to the disease even after conventional multi-agent chemotherapy and surgical excision. Protein kinase D1 (PKD1), founding member of a new family of serine/threonine protein kinases, plays a role in several cellular processes such as apoptosis, immune regulation, cell proliferation, oxidative stress signaling, adhesion and motility. Recent studies suggest that PKD1 expression is low in several cancers, and that low expression of PKD1 may increase cell proliferation, migration and invasion of cancer cells. However, the role of PKD1 in musculoskeletal tumors has not been discussed. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are considered to play important roles in the matrix degradation for tumor growth, invasion, and tumorinduced angiogenesis. Several solid tumors display enhanced expression of MMPs, and recently clinical trials have been initiated on MMPinhibitors. Recent studies revealed that MMP-2 (gelatinase A) and MMP-9 (gelatinase B) are present in large quantities in OS, and suggest that both MMP-2 and MMP-9 play a critical role on cell invasion and metastases of OS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of PKD1 on migration ability of human OS cells and to examine the relationship between PKD1 and MMPs in human OS cells.
Pseudoperiodic driving: Eliminating multiple domains of attraction using chaos.

The basins of attraction of period-2 attractors can be subdivided into two domains, one for each of the stable trajectories which are one drive cycle apart. This generalizes to period-n attractors. Periodic drive signals can be replaced by certain chaotic signals which result in the elimination of multiple domains of attraction. The attractors are similar to the original ones, but two systems on the same attractor cannot get out of phase with each other
Natural Structural Variants of the Nuclear Receptor Farnesoid X Receptor Affect Transcriptional Activation*

The Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily that has been shown to play an important role in bile acid and cholesterol homeostasis. Here we identify four murine FXR transcripts, derived from a single gene, that encode four isoforms, FXRα1, FXRα2, FXRβ1, and FXRβ2. FXRα and FXRβ differ at their amino terminus, and FXRα1 and FXRβ1 have a four-amino acid residue insertion in the hinge region immediately adjacent to the DNA binding domain. Real time PCR and 5′-rapid amplification of cDNA ends followed by Southern blotting reveal that these four transcripts are expressed differentially in liver, intestine, kidney, adrenals, stomach, fat, and heart. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrate that FXRα2 and FXRβ2 bind to FXR response elements with a higher affinity as compared with FXRα1 and FXRβ1, suggesting that the four-amino acid insert may affect FXR function. Consistent with this idea, the results of transient transfection experiments demonstrate that the four FXR isoforms differentially transactivated a number of promoter-reporter genes; activation of an ileal bile acid-binding protein promoter-reporter gene varied 20-fold depending on the FXR isoform; the rank order of activation was FXRβ2 > FXRα2 ≫ FXRα1 = FXRβ1. In contrast, SHP reporter or BSEP reporter genes were activated to similar degrees by each of the FXR isoforms. Finally, NIH3T3 cells were stably infected with individual murine FXR isoforms, and the cells were treated with FXR ligands. The endogenous ileal bile acid-binding protein gene was activated by the four FXR isoforms with the same rank order as seen in transfections. This effect was gene-specific, since induction of bile salt export pump mRNA was independent of the FXR isoform. These observations suggest that there are four distinct murine FXR isoforms that differentially regulate gene expression in numerous tissues in vivo.
Do sunlight and vitamin D reduce the likelihood of colon cancer?

It is proposed that vitamin D is a protective factor against colon cancer. This hypothesis arose from inspection of the geographic distribution of colon cancer deaths in the U.S., which revealed that colon cancer mortality rates were highest in places where populations were exposed to the least amounts of natural light--major cities, and rural areas in high latitudes. The hypothesis is supported by a comparison of colon cancer mortality rates in areas that vary in mean daily solar radiation penetrating the atmosphere. A mechanism involving cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) is suggested. The possibility that an ecological fallacy or other indirect association explains the findings is explored.
Time course of enhanced endothelium-mediated dilation in aorta of trained rats.

Previous work has demonstrated that 10 wk of exercise training enhances the responsiveness of rat abdominal aortas to acetylcholine (ACh), an endothelium-dependent vasodilator. The purpose of this study was to determine the time course for this training-induced adaptation of vascular endothelium. Additionally, the contribution of the cyclooxygenase and nitric oxide synthase mechanisms to the enhanced endothelium-mediated relaxation were examined. Male rats were divided into sedentary (SED) and exercise groups. Exercised animals were further subdivided into postexercise (POST-EX), 1 DAY, 1 WK, 2 WK, 4 WK and 10 WK groups. Exercise consisted of treadmill running at 30 m.min-1 (15 degrees incline) for 1 h.d-1 (5 d.wk-1 for the 1 WK, 2 WK, 4 WK, and 10 WK groups). Maximal vasodilator responses induced by 10(-4) M ACh (10(-7) M norepinephrine preconstriction) were determined on abdominal aortic rings in vitro immediately after a single exercise bout in POST-EX rats and 24 h after a single bout of exercise in 1 DAY animals. Maximal 10(-4) M ACh-induced dilation of aortas from 1 WK, 2 WK, 4 WK, and 10 WK animals was determined 24 h after the last exercise bout. Soleus muscle citrate synthase activity was greater in 2 WK (31 +/- 1 mumol.min-1.g wet wt-1), 4 WK (34 +/- 2), and 10 WK (36 +/- 1 mumol.min-1.g wet wt-1) rats than in SED (27 +/- 1 mumol.min-1.g wet wt.-1) animals. Maximal ACh-induced relaxation was greater in aorta from 4 WK (72 +/- 2%) and 10 WK (79 +/- 1%) rats than SED (61 +/- 2%) rats. ACh-mediated dilatory responses remained enhanced in the presence of the cyclooxygenase blocker indomethacin (10(-5) M), but were abolished by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (300 microM). In addition, the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS) protein in aortas from 4 WK (P = 0.057) and 10 WK (P < 0.05) rats was greater than in aortas from SED animals. These data indicate that the enhanced endothelium-dependent, ACh-mediated dilation of the rat aorta is present by 4 wk of endurance exercise training. This adaptation appears to be mediated primarily through the nitric oxide synthase pathway and is associated with an increased expression of ecNOS.
All-Optical Regenerative Multicasting From 1.55- to 1.3- $\mu$m Wavelength Window Using Dual-Stage Cascaded SOA-Based Wavelength Converter

We propose and demonstrate, for the first time, all-optical multicasting from 1.55- to 1.3-mum wavelength window using the dual-stage cascaded semiconductor-optical-amplifier-based wavelength converter. Using our proposed technique, we also demonstrate amplitude regeneration of the converted signals at each multicasting output
President‘s Letter

Children and young people who appear to be sad, bored and isolated, who avoid school, have few if any friends, feel anxious and worried, find it difficult to sleep or are aggressive and difficult, suffer from mood swings, have eating difficulties, wet the bed, exhibit poor concentration or over activity or more worrying behaviours such as selfharming, sexualised behaviour, substance and alcohol misuse, and eating disorders are likely to face severe mental health problems in adulthood. As adults, many are likely to become victims of crime, left to cope with drug and alcohol addiction and become homeless. Alarmingly, Young Minds reports that,
Sediment Geochemical Records of Productivity and Oxygen Depletion Along the Margin of Western North America During the Past 60 , 000 Years : Teleconnections with Greenland Ice and the Cariaco Basin

Many sediment records from the margins of the Californias (Alta and Baja) collected in water depths between 60 and 1200m contain anoxic intervals (laminated sediments) that can be correlated with interstadial intervals as defined by the oxygen-isotope composition of Greenland ice (Dansgaard–Oeschger, D–O, cycles). These intervals include all or parts of Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (OIS3; 60–24 cal ka), the Bölling/Alleröd warm interval (B/A; 15–13 cal ka), and the Holocene. This study uses organic carbon (Corg) and trace-element proxies for anoxia and productivity, namely elevated concentrations and accumulation rates of molybdenum and cadmium, in these laminated sediments to suggest that productivity may be more important than ventilation in producing changes in bottom-water oxygen (BWO) conditions on open, highly productive continental margins. The main conclusion from these proxies is that during the last glacial interval (LGI; 24–15 cal ka) and the Younger Dryas cold interval (YD; 13–11.6 cal ka) productivity was lower and BWO levels were higher than during OIS3, the B/A, and the Holocene on all margins of the Californias. The Corg and trace-element profiles in the LGI–B/ A–Holocene transition in the Cariaco Basin on the margin of northern Venezuela are remarkably similar to those in the transition on the northern California margin. Correlation between D–O cycles in Greenland ice with gray-scale measurements in varved sediments in the Cariaco Basin also is well established. Synchronous climate-driven changes as recorded in the sediments on the margins of the Californias, sediments from the Cariaco Basin, and in the GISP-2 Greenland ice core support the hypothesis that changes in atmospheric dynamics played a major role in abrupt climate change during the last 60 ka. Millennial-scale cycles in productivity and oxygen depletion on the margins of the Californias demonstrate that the California Current System was poised at a threshold whereby perturbations of atmospheric circulation produced rapid changes in circulation in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. It is likely that the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans were linked through the atmosphere. Warmer air temperatures during interstadials would have strengthened Hadley and Walker circulations, which, in turn, would have strengthened the subtropical high pressure systems in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic, producing increased rainfall over the Cariaco Basin and increased upwelling along the margins of the Californias. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Quasi-Elliptic Triple-Stopband Filter Based On Six Cross-Coupled SIW Resonators

A new K-band triple-stopband filter in substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is introduced. The filter consists of six rectangular cavities resonating in their fundamental TE101 mode. Main and cross couplings between resonators are used to design a filter with six transmission zeros, separating three stopbands and four passbands. A corresponding coupling matrix is presented. The initial filter covers an overall bandwidth of 4.50 GHz at center frequency of 19.50 GHz. The three stopbands are located at 17.6, 19.56, and 21.34 GHz with bandwidths of 0.92 GHz, 0.82 GHz, and 0.85 GHz, respectively. The two passbands located between the three stopbands have center frequencies of 18.70 and 20.56 GHz with corresponding bandwidths of 0.97 GHz and 0.88 GHz, respectively. The filter is prototyped and measured. Good agreement between simulated and measured results proves the reliability and robustness of the design method.
Recombination modification in a fluctuating environment

This paper examines the theory of the evolution of increased recombination between two loci subjected to interactive selection in a temporally fluctuating environment. Both cyclical and stochastic environments are considered. It is shown that temporal variation in the linkage disequilibrium coefficient for the pair of selected loci, due to fluctuations in the selective values of the genotypes at these loci, can give rise to selection in favor of modifier genes increasing recombination. The equilibrium level of recombination established in a given population depends on several factors; it is highest for intermediate values of the environmental periodicity or autocorrelation, for cases when the modifier genes are themselves closely linked to the selected loci, and for high levels of environmental variation. In general, it seems that the rate of modification of recombination values by this process will be low except when the modifiers are tightly linked to the selected loci. The possible evolutionary significance of this process is discussed in relation to observations on genetic systems of plants and animals.
It's not really theft!: Personal and workplace ethics that enable software piracy

This study examines predictors of software piracy, a practice estimated to cost the software industry between $4 and $12 billion in lost revenue annually. Correlates with software piracy were explored using responses from a university wide survey (n = 589). Forty-four percent of university employees reported having copies of pirated software (mean = 5.0 programmes), while thirty-one percent said they have made unauthorized copies (mean = 4.2 programmes). A structural model was developed based on (1) previous studies of software piracy, (2) consequential aspects of intellectual property, and (3) the theories of planned behaviour (Ajzen 1985), and reasoned action as applied to moral behaviour (Vallerand et al. 1992). This model indicates that social norms, expertise required, gender, and computer usage (both home and at work), all have direct effects on self-reported piracy. In addition, ease of theft, people's sense of the proportional value of software, and various other demographic factors were found to .
The role of osmolality in the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy: a systematic review of angiographic contrast media in high risk patients.

BACKGROUND The role of osmolality of contrast media (CM) in the pathogenesis of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) has been suggested by studies comparing high osmolality CM (>1500 mOsm/kg) with low-osmolality CM (550-850 mOsm/kg), and by the results of a recent comparison of a CM isotonic to plasma (iodixanol, 290 mOsm/kg) with a low-osmolality CM (iohexol, 844 mOsm/kg) in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac or peripheral angiography. METHODS Using prospectively defined search criteria, we performed a systematic overview of prospective, randomized, controlled studies of CIN in renally impaired patients receiving intra-arterial doses of iodixanol or low-osmolality, nonionic CM, and conducted a systematic review of the data from those studies to determine whether the osmolality of CM was predictive of CIN incidence. RESULTS Seventeen primary studies met the selection criteria, for a total of 1365 patients. Overall, the incidence of CIN was 16.8%. A multivariate logistic regression model showed that the risk of CIN is similar with the iso-osmolality iodixanol and the low-osmolality iopamidol (796 mOsm/kg). The risk of CIN was significantly lower with iodixanol and iopamidol compared to iohexol. The incidence of CIN with iohexol was also significantly higher than with iopamidol, despite their similar osmolalities. CONCLUSION These data suggest that factors other than osmolality play a significant role in the pathogenesis of CIN, at least for agents with osmolalities of 800 mOsm/kg or less.
Problematic Hospital Experiences among Adult Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Background. Adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) have often reported difficulties obtaining care during vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in qualitative studies. Methods. We measured the experiences of 45 SCD patients who received in-hospital care for VOC using the Picker Patient Experience Questionnaire (PPE-15), and used the one sample binomial test to compare with national norms. Results. Most SCD patients reported that they were insufficiently involved in decisions (86%), staff gave conflicting information (64%), it wasn't easy to find someone to discuss concerns (61%), doctors' answers to questions were not clear (58%), nurses' answers to questions were not clear (56%), doctors did not always discuss fears and anxieties (53%), and nurses did not always discuss fears and anxieties (52%). A greater percentage of SCD patients than the U.S. sample in 9 of 12 areas reported problems. Conclusions. Further research is needed to determine the consequences of and potential interventions to improve these poor experiences.