Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE Q CONTINUUM SIMULATION: HARNESSING THE POWER OF GPU ACCELERATED SUPERCOMPUTERS

Modeling large-scale sky survey observations is a key driver for the continuing development of high-resolution, large-volume, cosmological simulations. We report the first results from the “Q Continuum” cosmological N-body simulation run carried out on the GPU-accelerated supercomputer Titan. The simulation encompasses a volume of ( 1300 Mpc ) 3 ? > and evolves more than half a trillion particles, leading to a particle mass resolution of m p ≃ 1.5 · 10 8 ? > M ⊙ ? > . At this mass resolution, the Q Continuum run is currently the largest cosmology simulation available. It enables the construction of detailed synthetic sky catalogs, encompassing different modeling methodologies, including semi-analytic modeling and sub-halo abundance matching in a large, cosmological volume. Here we describe the simulation and outputs in detail and present first results for a range of cosmological statistics, such as mass power spectra, halo mass functions, and halo mass-concentration relations for different epochs. We also provide details on challenges connected to running a simulation on almost 90% of Titan, one of the fastest supercomputers in the world, including our usage of Titan’s GPU accelerators.
Lytic bacteriophages in Veterinary Medicine : a therapeutic option against bacterial pathogens ?

La elevada prevalencia de ciertas infecciones en los animales y su impacto económico a nivel productivo y en salud pública, han orientado los esfuerzos hacia la búsqueda de nuevos métodos de control y prevención, alternativos o complementarios, que logren mitigar sus efectos nocivos. Este escenario se ha complicado más aún con la aparición, permanente y ascendente, de bacterias patógenas multi resistentes a diversos antimicrobianos, que han limitado las posibilidades de control. En la continua búsqueda de nuevos elementos terapéuticos, ha renacido el interés por estudiar la aplicación de bacteriófagos, virus que matan bacterias, como potenciales agentes antimicrobianos. En medicina veterinaria desde hace poco más de tres décadas que se analiza la fagoterapia en animales de producción, de compañía y experimentales como modelos de infección humana, siendo sus resultados alentadores en términos de disminuir la mortalidad, la severidad del cuadro clínico y el recuento bacteriano a nivel tisular. Estos beneficios se han logrado gracias al mayor conocimiento de la biología de los fagos, la avanzada tecnología que ha permitido mejorar la purificación de este tipo de virus y a sus ventajas inherentes como su inocuidad para los animales y para el ser humano. Actualmente, la investigación continúa abriendo sus horizontes hacia la industria alimentaria, considerando la aplicación de fagos en las etapas desde la “granja a la mesa”, existiendo promisorios resultados al usarlo como una intervención en animales a su entrada a la planta de procesamiento.
Who is (Still) Socializing with Neighbors? A Contribution to the Analysis of Local Social Relations1

Disembedding of social relations from a local context has often been pointed out as one of the main characteristics of contemporary social changes. Taking that as a starting point, this paper explored the role of neighborhood social relations in contemporary Croatian society. The analysis presented in this paper had two aims. The first aim was to get insight into structure of local social relations in Croatia and the second one was to determine whether dynamics of local social relations are related to some demographic, socioeconomic or spatial characteristics. Data analyzed in this paper were collected through the survey entitled Pilar’s Barometer of Croatian Society. The survey was conducted in the spring of 2014 on the national representative sample of Croatian citizens aged 18 years and older (N=1000). Findings from the analysis indicate that neighboring is a usual form of social interaction for majority of the target population. Furthermore, analysis showed that the level of education and the size both of settlements and buildings where respondents live are the most important determinants of neighborhood social relations. In addition, the analysis revealed that years of residence at the present address are particularly important for density of neighborhood social relations.
It's not which school but which set you're in that matters: the influence of ability grouping practices on student progress in mathematics

The mathematics achievement of a cohort of 955 students in 42 classes in six schools in London was followed over a four-year period, until they took their GCSEs in the summer of 2000. All six schools were regarded by Ofsted as providing a good standard of education, and all were involved in teacher-training partnerships with universities. Matched data on key stage 3 test scores and GCSE grades were available for 709 students, and these data were analysed in terms of the progress from key stage 3 test scores to GCSE grades. Although there were wide differences between schools in terms of overall GCSE grades, the average progress made by students was similar in all six schools. However, within each school, the progress made during key stage 4 varied greatly from set to set. Comparing students with the same key stage 3 scores, students placed in top sets averaged nearly half a GCSE grade higher than those in the other upper sets, who in turn averaged a third of a grade higher than those in lower sets, who in turn averaged around a third of a grade higher than those students placed in bottom sets. In the four schools that used formal whole-class teaching, the difference in GCSE grades between top and bottom sets, taking key stage 3 scores into account, ranged from just over 1 grade at GCSE to nearly 3 grades. At the schools using small-group and individualised teaching, the differences in value-added between sets were not significant. In two of the schools, a significant proportion of working class students were placed into lower sets than would be indicated by their key stage 3 test scores.
TITLE: Identification of a Gene on Chromosome 18q21 Involved in Suppressing Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Loss of heterozygosity and allelic imbalance data has shown that there are two distinct regions of loss on chromosome 18q associated with the progression of prostate cancer (CaP). To investigate the functional significance of chromosome 18q loci in CaP, we utilized the technique of microcell-mediated chromosome transfer to introduce an intact chromosome 18 into the human prostate cancer cell line, PC-3. Three of the resulting hybrid lines were compared to the PC-3 cells in vitro and in vivo. The hybrid cell lines, containing an intact copy of the introduced chromosome 18, exhibited a substantial reduction in anchorage-dependent and independent growth in vitro. These hybrid cell lines also made smaller tumors in nude mice following subcutaneous injection compared to PC-3 cells. Because tumor growth was not completely eliminated by introduction of chromosome 18, we assessed the ability of the hybrids to metastasize to bone after intra-cardiac inoculation in a nude mouse model. Mice inoculated with PC-3 hybrids containing intact copies of chromosome 18 had significantly fewer bone metastases and dramatically improved survival compared to PC-3 cells. In addition, the introduction of chromosome 18 significantly reduced tumor burden in extraskeletal sites. This was not because of differences in growth rates because mice bearing hybrids were monitored for metastases over twice as long as mice bearing PC-3 cells. Taken together, these data suggest that chromosome 18
Brain Plasticity and Neurorestoration by Environmental Enrichment

In the adult mammalian brain, neural-lineage cells are continuously generated in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. These cells in vivo arising from the adult SVZ may be regulated by environmental enrichment (EE). EE is a method of raising animals in a huge cage containing novel objects, running wheels and social interaction with a complex combination of physical, cognitive, and social stimulations. EE can affect neural plasticity via overexpression of growth factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), and synaptic activity-regulating genes. EE also have advanced effects on brain functions including the enhancement of motor and cognitive functions in normal and pathological states. Additionally, behavioral changes by EE are related with molecular changes including neurogenesis, gliogenesis, angiogenesis, axonal sprouting, and dendritic branching in the adult brain. In this review, we focus on brain plasticity and neurorestoration associated with molecular changes of neurotrophic growth factors such as BDNF, VEGF, IGF-1, FGF-2 and synaptic activity-regulating genes that occurs in interaction to EE.
Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Zoonoses in Humans and Associated Risk Factors

The soil is an important route for transmission of numerous human pathogens, including the five major soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), also known as geohelminths, namely: roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus), and threadworm Strongyloides stercoralis (Brooker et al., 2006). An estimated one billion people are currently infected with STHs worldwide, particularly in resource-poor settings (WHO, 2011). Although overall mortality due to STH infections is low, morbidity may be significant given the pronounced impact on nutrition, growth, physical fitness, cognitive functions among infected infants, schoolchildren and adults from developing countries (Bethony et al., 2006). In Africa, an estimated 89.9 million children harbor STHs, many of whom are co-infected with two or more STH species (WHO, 2011). Zoonotic agents, comprising a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites, account for almost two thirds of all known human infections. Some helminthoses that commonly infect canids and felids are typically soil-transmitted. This chapter focuses on two major groups of STHs that cause disease in humans: (a) the ascarids Toxocara canis and T. cati, associated with visceral and ocular larva migrans, and (b) the hookworms Ancylostoma braziliense and Anc. caninum, associated with cutaneous larva migrans. We review the current geographic distribution, laboratory diagnosis and clinical spectrum of these infections, examine the relative contribution of some risk factors for infection and disease, and discuss potential control measures for reducing the burden of disease in companion animals and humans. A third soil-transmitted ascarid species that can cause human disease is Baylisascaris procyonis, commonly found in raccoons in North America. Human infections are characterized by severe neurological disease, leading to death or long-lasting sequelae (Watts et al., 2006). Another nematode species, Gnathostoma spinigerum, has occasionally been found in biopsy sample from patients with suspected VLM. More recently species of Toxocara including T. malayensis, a parasite of the domestic cat, and T. lyncus, which infects the caracal, have been identified, but their role in human disease remains unknown (Despommier, 2003). Soil-transmitted larval infection with other common canine and feline hookworms, such as Anc. ceylanicum, Anc. tubaeforme and Uncinaria stenocephala, can also cause occasional dermatological lesions in humans, and Anc. ceylanicum can readily develop in adults causing severe enteritis (Bowman
Modeling of spatial resolution effects using DNS of turbulent channel flow

In this study, the effect of limited spatial resolution of hot wire anemometry (HWA) is investigated through analysis of the two dimensional energy spectra from direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent channel flow atReτ ≈ 934. Various spanwise filter lengths are applied to the streamwise velocity component in order to mimic the spatial resolution of the HWA experiments. The overall effect of insufficient spatial resolution causes attenuation of the smallscale energy levels in experimental data. The attenuated energy clearly increases as the wire-length is increased and the filtered DNS results show good agreement. It is shown that small-scale energy levels are highly attenuated in the near-wall region. We introduce an empirical expression to estimate the amount of the missing energy as a function of wire length and wall-normal distance. This expression can be used to correct experimental data for the effects of attenuation due to spatial resolution to obtain a more accurate energy spectra and turbulence intensity.
Demissei, B. G. et al. (2017) Plasma biomarkers to predict or rule out early post- discharge events in patients discharged after an acute heart failure hospital

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Demissei, B. G. et al. (2017) Plasma biomarkers to predict or rule out early post-discharge events in patients discharged after an acute heart failure hospital admission. European Journal of Heart Failure, 19(6), pp. 728-738, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi. org/10.1002/ejhf.766. This article may be used for noncommercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for SelfArchiving.
Equality and Inequality in Health Care: The Case of Mental Health

This paper is based on the observation that some certainties in care and rehabilitation of mentally ill people have not been and are not yet sufficiently guaranteed; furthermore discrimination and inequalities are generated by a certain kind of science and politics. So we conducted a study at a Diagnosis and Care Psychiatric Service (DCPS) located in the South of Italy. We have observed and stated that some inequalities in care are redressed when dramatic situations must be coped with, so that the more the situation is dramatic, the more inequalities will be prevented. At the same time we have observed that in relation to some phenomena and etiologies, unlike others, inequalities in treatment do persist. Therefore we have worked out and developed a possible model to redress the imbalance, by drastically redesigning the agreements among public, private, para-private and social private services by means of innovative systems targeted to users and their families, rather than to facilities.
Techno-demonology: Naming, Understanding and Redeeming the A/Human Agencies with Which We Share Our World.

In this paper I argue that an important strand of ecotheology should be an articulated techno-demonology - an understanding of the ways that technologies increasingly confront us as indifferent or malign agencies. Drawing particularly on the New Testament language of spiritual agencies, I consider in turn three necessary components of techno-demonology. First, techno-demonology needs a taxonomic nomenclature, one which names techno-demonological phenomena in a manner that reveals the specific ways in which the technologies can stand before us as autonomous powers. As a contribution to this task I distinguish between elementals (stoicheia) and powers (dynameis) - between technical systems which have become treated as ends in themselves, and have thus started to control human action, and technologies whose unanticipated side-effects overwhelm their intended purposes. Second, I suggest that techno-demonology should include an understanding of how such techno-demons arise; I thus give historical explanations for the proliferation of technological elementals and powers in the contemporary world. Finally, I argue that techno-demonology should include the redemptive task of restoring technology to its rightful place in creation.
Análisis de los determinantes de la satisfacción con los sistemas de bicicletas públicas de alquiler

Resumen: En muchas ciudades, la bicicleta ha experimentado un importante desarrollo como medio de transporte urbano. De las muchas iniciativ as públicas adoptadas para promover su uso en el entorno urbano, la que está logrando unos result ados más espectaculares en un corto espacio de tiempo es el sistema de alquiler de bicicletas públ icas. La experiencia del programa de bicicletas públicas de alquiler implantado en la ciudad de Sev illa está siendo una de las más exitosas a nivel internacional, ya que ha conseguido que, en tan sól o dos años y medio desde su inauguración, el 6,6% de los desplazamientos mecanizados de la ciuda d se realicen en bicicleta.
Understanding the Pathophysiology of Nephrocalcinosis

Many in vitro and in vivo studies on the mechanisms underlying calcium nephrolithiasis have provided evidence of a frequently associated condition, i.e., a microscopic renal crys‐ tal deposition that can occur within the tubular lumen (intratubular nephrocalcinosis) or in the interstitium (interstitial nephrocalcinosis). Medullary nephrocalcinosis is the typi‐ cal pattern seen in 98% of cases of human nephrocalcinosis, with calcification clustering around each renal pyramid. It is common in patients with metabolic conditions that pre‐ dispose them to renal calcium stones. Cortical nephrocalcinosis is rare and usually results from severe destructive disease of the cortex. It has been described in chronic glomerulone‐ phritis, but often in association with another factor, such as an increased calcium ingestion, acute cortical necrosis, chronic pyelonephritis or trauma. The most accredited hypothesis to explain the onset of interstitial nephrocalcinosis is purely physicochemical, relating to spontaneous Ca 2 PO 4 crystallization in the interstitium due to oversaturation of Ca 2 PO 4 salts in this milieu. The theory that nephrocalcinosis is a process driven by osteogenic cells was first proposed by our group. We review nephrocalcinosis in terms of its definition, genetic associations, and putative mechanisms, pointing out how much evidence in the literature suggests that it may have some features in common with, and pathogenic links to vascular calcification.
Stack et. al. revised manuscript -JD-22-11-07

Institute for the Biotechnology of Infectious Disease s (IBID), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Level 6, Building 4, Corner of Thomas & Harris Street, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia. 2 presently at, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Western Sydney (UWS), Narellan Road, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia. Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, Byers Hall N508, 1700 4th Street, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA. Departamento de Genetica, Facultad de Medicina, UDELA R , Gral. Flores 2125, CP 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay 5 presently at, the School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Republic of Ireland. Departments of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA. presently at, Gene Center Munich, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen, Feodor-Lynen-Strasse 25, D-81377 Munich, Germany. Running Title: F. hepatica Cathepsin L structure-activity relationships
Consistency of modularity clustering on random geometric graphs

We consider a large class of random geometric graphs constructed from samples $\mathcal{X}_n = \{X_1,X_2,\ldots,X_n\}$ of independent, identically distributed observations of an underlying probability measure $\nu$ on a bounded domain $D\subset \mathbb{R}^d$. The popular `modularity' clustering method specifies a partition $\mathcal{U}_n$ of the set $\mathcal{X}_n$ as the solution of an optimization problem. In this paper, under conditions on $\nu$ and $D$, we derive scaling limits of the modularity clustering on random geometric graphs. Among other results, we show a geometric form of consistency: When the number of clusters is a priori bounded above, the discrete optimal partitions $\mathcal{U}_n$ converge in a certain sense to a continuum partition $\mathcal{U}$ of the underlying domain $D$, characterized as the solution of a type of Kelvin's shape optimization problem.
Inequality in Beijing: A Spatial Multilevel Analysis of Perceived Environmental Hazard and Self-Rated Health

Environmental pollution is a major problem in China, subjecting people to significant health risk. Surprisingly little is known, though, about how these risks are distributed spatially or socially. Drawing on a large-scale survey conducted in Beijing in 2013, we examine how environmental hazards and health, as perceived by residents, are distributed at a fine (subdistrict) scale in urban Beijing and investigate the association between hazards, health, and geographical context. A Bayesian spatial multilevel logistic model is developed to account for spatial dependence in unobserved contextual influences (neighborhood effects) on health. The results reveal robust associations between exposure to environmental hazards and health. A unit decrease on a five-point Likert scale in exposure is associated with increases of 15.2 percent (air pollution), 17.5 percent (noise), and 9.3 percent (landfills) in the odds of reporting good health, with marginal groups including migrant workers reporting greater exposure. Health inequality is also evident and is associated with age, income, educational attainment, and housing characteristics. Geographical context (neighborhood features like local amenities) also plays a role in shaping the social distribution of health inequality. The results are discussed in the context of developing environmental justice policy within a Chinese social market system that experiences tension between its egalitarian roots and its pragmatic approach to tackling grand public policy challenges.
Lung Ventilation Modeling for Assessment of Lung Status: Detection of Lung Disease and Indication for Extubation of Mechanically-Ventilated COPD Patients

In pulmonary medicine, it is important to detect lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, lung fibrosis and asthma. These diseases are characterized in terms of lung compliance and resistance-to-airflow. Another important endeavour of pulmonary medicine is mechanical ventilation of COPD patients and determining when to wean off these patients from the mechanical ventilator. In both these medical domains, lung ventilation dynamics plays a key role. So in this chapter, we develop the lung ventilation dynamics model in terms of monitored lung volume (V) and driving pressure (PL), in the form of a differential equation with parameters of lung compliance (C) and resistance-to-airflow (R). We obtain the solution of this equation in the forms of lung volume (V) function of PL, C and R. For the monitored lung volume V and pressure PL data, we can evaluate C and R by matching the model solution expression with the monitored lung volume V and driving pressure PN data. So what we have done here is to develop the method for determining lung compliance (C) and resistance-toairflow (R) as average values of C (= Ca) and R (= Ra) during the ventilation cycle. Now in some lung diseases such as in emphysema, the lung compliance (C) is high. In other lung diseases such as in asthma, the airway resistance (R) is high. So we need to determine the ranges of C and R for normal lung status as well as for lung disease states. Then, we can develop a 2-parameter R-C diagnostic coordinate plane, on which we can demarcate the zones for different diseases. Then, for any patient’s (R, C) value, we can plot the (R, C) point in the R-C diagnostic coordinate plane, and based on its location designate the lung disease state of the patient. A more convenient way for detecting lung disease is to combine R and C along with some ventilator data (such as tidal volume and breathing rate) into a nondimensional lung ventilator index (LVI). Then, we can determine the ranges of LVI for normal and disease states, and thereby employ the patient’s computed values of LVI to