Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
evaluation of the effect of intravitreal ranibizumab injections in patients with neovascular age related macular degeneration on retinal nerve fiber layer thickness using optical coherence tomography

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of repeated intravitreal ranibizumab injections for neovascular age related macular degeneration (nAMD) on the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness using optical coherence tomography. Design: A prospective observational cohort study of patients with nAMD. Methods: Thirty eyes of 30 patients with nAMD were selected. All patients received three ranibizumab injections and underwent scans using the fast RNFL thickness protocol (Stratus optical coherence tomography) before starting the first injection and 1 month after the third injection. The RNFL thickness measurements prior to the injections and after the third injection were used for the analysis. We also evaluated the effect of the lens status as well as the type of choroidal neovascular membrane on RNFL thickness measurements pre-and post-injection. Pre-and post-injection average and individual quadrant RNFL thickness were measured and statistically analyzed. Results: The mean ( ± standard deviation) pre-injection RNFL thickness was 90.8 ± 18. The mean ( ± standard deviation) post-injection RNFL thickness was 91.03 ± 15. The pre-and post-injection values of the mean RNFL thickness were not statistically significant. Likewise, the pre-and post-injection values for RNFL thickness in the different quadrants were not statistically significant. There was no statistical significance for the lens status or the type of choroidal neovascular membrane on the RNFL thickness. Conclusion: Repeated ranibizumab injections in nAMD appear to have no harmful effect on the RNFL thickness in the short term, in spite of the proven neurotrophic effect of vascular endothelial growth factor. Nevertheless, the safety profile of ranibizumab injections in nAMD needs to be further evaluated in a large multicenter trial with special emphasis on the long-term effects on the retina and optic nerve.
Mean flow and turbulence structure over fixed, two-dimensional dunes: implications for sediment transport and bedform stability

Detailed measurements of flow velocity and its turbulent fluctuation were obtained over fixed, two-dimensional dunes in a laboratory channel. Laser Doppler anemometry was used to measure the downstream and vertical components of velocity at more than 1800 points over one dune wavelength. The density of the sampling grid allowed construction of a unique set of contour maps for all mean flow and turbulence parameters, which are assessed using higher moment measures and quadrant analysis. These flow field maps illustrate that: (1) the time-averaged downstream and vertical velocities agree well with previous studies of quasi-equilibrium flow over fixed and mobile bedforms and show a remarkable symmetry from crest to crest; (2) the maximum root-mean-square (RMS) of the downstream velocity values occur at and just downstream of flow reattachment and within the flow separation cell; (3) the maximum vertical RMS values occur within and above the zone of flow separation along the shear layer and this zone advects and diffuses downstream, extending almost to the next crest; (4) positive downstream skewness values occur within the separation cell, whereas positive vertical skewness values are restricted to the shear layer; (5) the highest Reynolds stresses are located within the zone of flow separation and along the shear layer; (6) high-magnitude, high-frequency quadrant-2 events (‘ejections’) are concentrated along the shear layer (Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities) and dominate the contribution to the local Reynolds stress; and (7) high-magnitude, high-frequency quadrant-4 events occur bounding the separation zone, near reattachment and close to the dune crest, and are significant contributors to the local Reynolds stress at each location. These data demonstrate that the turbulence structure associated with dunes is controlled intrinsically by the formation, magnitude and downstream extent of the flow separation zone and resultant shear layer. Furthermore, the origin of dune-related macroturbulence lies in the dynamics of the shear layer rather than classical turbulent boundary layer bursting. The fluid dynamic distinction between dunes and ripples is reasoned to be linked to the velocity differential across the shear layer and hence the magnitude of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which are both greater for dunes than ripples. These instabilities control the local flow and turbulence structure and dictate the modes of sediment entrainment and their transport rates.
Climatic Reconstruction in Europe for 18,000 YR B.P. from Pollen Data

An improved concept of the best analogs method is used to reconstruct the climate of the last glacial maximum from pollen data in Europe. In order to deal with the lack of perfect analogs of fossil assemblages and therefore to obtain a more accurate climate reconstruction, we used a combination of pollen types grouped according to plant phenology and present climate constraints rather than pollen percentages for each individual taxon. The distribution of pollen taxa into plant functional types (PFTs) is aimed to reflect the vegetation in terms of biomes which have a wider distribution than a species. The climatic variables are then calibrated on these PFTs using an artificial neural network technique. The use of PFTs allowed us to deal with situations where pollen assemblages have only partial modern analogs. The method is applied to the glacial steppic vegetation in Europe, using 15 pollen records. North of the Pyrenees–Alps line, the reconstructed temperatures were lower than today: −30 ± 10°C for the temperature of the coldest month ( T c) and −12 ± 3°C for the annual mean ( T ann). South of that line, T c and T ann anomalies were respectively, −15 ± 5°C and −10 ± 5°C. The available moisture index and annual precipitation were also lower than present: −60 ± 20% north of Mediterranean Sea, (−800 ± 100 mm for precipitation). In Italy and Greece, the available moisture was 20% lower, with a precipitation anomaly of ca. −600 ± 200 mm. Southward, the moisture index was close to that at present (±20%), and precipitation was lower (−300 ± 300 mm).
Automatic destriping of Hyperion imagery based on spectral moment matching

As a pushbroom imaging spectrometer, the Hyperion sensor records each along-track image column with a single detector element in one of its area detector arrays. This image acquisition configuration is prone to exhibiting along-track striping artefacts, if the instrument has not undergone a recent, proper uniformity calibration. These defective columns must be corrected before performing further processing and quantitative analyses. Spatial moment matching (SpaMM) is currently the most commonly used method for destriping Hyperion imagery. However, since SpaMM was originally developed for dealing with remotely sensed multispectral data, the abundant spectral information embedded in hyperspectral data is not fully utilized in the method. This paper proposes a new methodology that can automatically and more accurately remove the striping artefacts from Hyperion imagery. The technique is called spectral moment matching (SpcMM) because it uses spectral autocorrelation instead of spatial autocorrelation to estimate the expected mean and standard deviation of a subscene, which is comprised of the image pixels acquired by an identical detector element (an along-track image column in the case of Hyperion data). The basis of the algorithm is the observation that there are usually highly correlated groups of bands in a hyperspectral image cube; the statistics of the subscenes measured by the corresponding detectors in a set of highly correlated bands are usually very similar. The possibility of introducing undesired side effects into the destriped images by the proposed SpcMM is minimized due to the proper estimation of the expected mean and standard deviation for each along-track column. Moreover, SpcMM can automatically destripe an entire Hyperion image cube without the manual selection of defective bands or across-track spatial regions, or the individual selection of band-specific window sizes for spatial smoothing. Two Hyperion datasets acquired over sites in Seal Harbour, Canada, and Coleambally, Australia, have been used to assess the proposed new destriping technique. Examination of the images destriped by SpcMM and SpaMM and the reflectance spectra retrieved from the destriped image cubes reveals that the presented algorithm removes various types of stripes without degrading the images and is superior to the spatial moment matching technique.
Electric field assisted growth and field emission properties of thermally oxidized CuO nanowires

An electric field was introduced into the thermal oxidation synthesis of CuO nanowires (NWs) by heating Cu foils at 400 °C under ambient conditions using a hotplate. The morphology and crystal structure of the NWs on both sides of the foils synthesized under different electric field intensities and directions were characterized. The results indicated that adding an electric field increases the length and density of the CuO NWs. Particularly, the electric field can promote the growth of the NWs with the growing direction parallel to the electric field through accelerating the diffusion of Cu ions. Interestingly, a downward electric field and an upward temperature gradient change the growth direction of NWs on the bottom surface of the Cu foils. Besides, adding a downward electric field can increase the yield of CuO NWs with large aspect ratio, as they can grow on both sides of the Cu foil. The field emission properties of CuO NWs obtained under different electric fields indicated that these nanowire arrays could be used as the cathode of field emission displays.
Book Essays and Reviews

Michael B. Knable, DO, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. Address correspondence to Michael B. Knable, DO, 4300 Montgomery Ave., Suite 304A, Bethesda, MD 20814. E-mail: mknable@bbspsych.com. T. BYRAM KARASU. Gotham Chronicles: The Culture of Sociopathy, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2011. 303 pp., $34.95.
Band selection for analysing wheat water status under field conditions using relative depth indices (RDI)

In this study, the hypothesis that optimum wavebands could be selected for calculation of RDI values was tested. The canopy reflectance data from 350 nm to 2500 nm were collected at various growth stages of wheat irrigated in six amounts before stem elongation. Leaf water contents (%LWC) were insensitive to the irrigation level, while the leaf area index (LAI) and dry phytomass (DM) appeared to be sensitive to the irrigation level. The irrigation levels did not cause considerable spectral response within a specific growth stage, but spectral differences between the growth stages were evident, resulting in strong relationships between the spectral data and the biophysical parameters based on the pooled data of different stages and poor and inconsistent relationships between the spectral data and the biophysical parameters based on data within a specific growth stage. Under field conditions, the peak absorption positions of the wheat canopy were found to shift away from the theoretical wavelengths in the water absorption regions. When using the pooled data covering all the growth stages, the RDI values performed better than reflectance minimum and large differences were found between the RDI values on different selected wavebands in correlating the spectral data with the biophysical parameters. The 965–1085 nm and 1192–1282 nm spectral regions appeared to be the optimum bands for relating RDI to %LWC.
Trastorno Específico del Desarrollo del Lenguaje en una población infantil colombiana

The Neuroscience Group of Antioquia evaluated two hundred and four children from 6 to 16 years old with speech and language problems and 51 of them meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria for Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The SLI group underwent a neuropsychological and linguistic test to compare their cognitive and linguistic skills with a control group of asymptomatic children. When compared to the control group, SLI children showed significant differences in comprehension tests, particularly in complex morphosyntactic structures and elaborated sentences; in verbal expression, especially formulated sentences; repetition test of non-sense words; naming errors and marked disadvantages in readingwriting sub-tests
Spatial distribution and habitat preferences of selected large mammalian species in the Nech Sar National Park (NSNP), Ethiopia

A study on spatial distribution and habitat preferences of five large mammal species was conducted in the Nech Sar National Park (NSNP) for one year from January 2007-January 2008. The spatial distribution and habitat preference information is useful to propose appropriate patrol strategy for the management and conservation of the species with regard to attracting tourist and management of the park. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial distribution and habitat preference of five large mammals (Defassa waterbuck, Swayne's Hartebeest, Greater Kudu, Lesser Kudu and Black and White Colobus). For the purpose of this study, the park was divided in to three management zones and nine patrolling teams composed of six individuals were involved in the data collection. Each individual was assigned to a certain management zone to monitor the status and distribution of large mammals and the impact of human activities on the Park on daily basis. The patrolling team was equipped with Garmin Etrix Venture GPS receiver and Communication Radio and point sampling technique was used to collect the necessary information. The data was summarized and all spatial data were recorded and analyzed using GIS Software (DNRgarmin and ArcGIS9.1). DNRgarmin was used to transfer data from GPS receiver to computer. ArcGIS9.1 was used to analyze the spatial distribution of the wild animals, habitat association and human activities. Comparison of the mean on the observation of different wild animals in the NSNP was carried out using SPSS17. The results of the study showed that there were a total of 3340 observations of the five large mammals on 29013 km track movements in the NSNP. Observation in this sense does not mean the number of individuals, but the frequency of wild animals seen during the inspection. In this regard, Greater Kudu has shown a significant wider distribution in the three zones of NSNP (P>0.05), with high ecological amplitude and high tolerance range to different habitat factors. The other four large mammals were concentrated in a particular association of different habitats. Herds of Swayne's Hartebeest were restricted only to the Nech Sar Plain, Lesser Kudu, to west of the plain, on the mountain near to the hot spring, Defassa waterbuck on a hill of wooded grasslands near to Kulfo river and, the Black and white Colobus in the riverine forests of Kulfo and Sermele river valleys. Large numbers of peoples were observed in the Arba Minch forest and Lake Chamo collecting fuel wood and harvesting fish, respectively. The results of the study are important tools for the park managers, researchers and tourists, since it revealed clear species spatial distributions and habitat preferences. (Aramde Fetene, Girma Mengesha and Tsegaye Bekele. Spatial distribution and habitat preferences of selected large mammalian species in the Nech Sar National Park (NSNP), Ethiopia. Nature and Science 2011;9(3):80- 90). (ISSN: 1545-0740). http://www.sciencepub. net .
The CSR in SMEs : A Case Study

The changes that over time have marked our economic systems, have created new requirements relating to ball ethical-social and environmental issues, which the business community, in the first place, has had to cope with a shift of its organizational and managerial models. This paper aims to examine, in the first part, the path that has characterized the enlargement of the corporate vision and its responsibility toward the aspects related to the ethical dimension, social and environmental impact, in addition to those of traditional economic and financial. In the second part it analyzes the adoption of systems, models and tools of CSR in the Italian company "Antonio Petti SpA" operates from 1925 in the sector of vegetable tinned. This in order to evaluate the contribution that CSR instrument adopted has offered to build organization's sustainability in its three dimension: economic, environmental and social.
Evaluation of a new class of fungicides on grain yield in wheat and barley

In Europe, a new chemical-class of fungicides, strobilurins, has been shown to increase yields by up to 15% in wheat and barley in comparison to conventional triazole fungicides. Trials were conducted in the high-rainfall zones of Victoria and Tasmania to determine if similar results could be achieved in Australia. For long season wheat, there was no significant difference in yield between fungicide treatments. In one trial, barely showed a 25% increase in yield with the use of a strobilurin plus and a triazole compared to a conventional triazole fungicide.
A Bayesian approach to estimating tectonic stress from seismological data

SUMMARY Earthquakes are conspicuous manifestations of tectonic stress, but the non-linear relationships between the stresses acting on a fault plane, its frictional slip, and the ensuing seismic radiation are such that a single earthquake by itself provides little information about the ambient state of stress. Moreover, observational uncertainties and inherent ambiguities in the nodal planes of earthquake focal mechanisms preclude straightforward inferences about stress being drawn on the basis of individual focal mechanism observations. However, by assuming that each earthquake in a small volume of the crust represents a single, uniform state of stress, the combined constraints imposed on that stress by a suite of focal mechanism observations can be estimated. Here, we outline a probabilistic (Bayesian) technique for estimating tectonic stress directions from primary seismological observations. The Bayesian formulation combines a geologically motivated prior model of the state of stress with an observation model that implements the physical relationship between the stresses acting on a fault and the resultant seismological observation. We show our Bayesian formulation to be equivalent to a well-known analytical solution for a single, errorless focal mechanism observation. The new approach has the distinct advantage, however, of including (1) multiple earthquakes, (2) fault plane ambiguities, (3) observational errors and (4) any prior knowledge of the stress field. Our approach, while computationally demanding in some cases, is intended to yield reliable tectonic stress estimates that can be confidently compared with other tectonic parameters, such as seismic anisotropy and geodetic strain rate observations, and used to investigate spatial and temporal variations in stress associated with major faults and coseismic stress perturbations.
Batch and column studies for Cadmium ( II ) removal using sawdust from Triplochiton Scleroxylon .

L.C. Koffi Akissi, K. Adouby, B.Yao and D. Boa Laboratory of Industrial Process, Synthesis, Environment and New Energy, National Polytechnic Institute Felix Houphouët-Boigny, BP 1093 Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire Laboratory of Thermodynamics and Physical Chemistry of the environment University of Abobo-Adjamé (UFR-SFA), 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02 Côte d’Ivoire Abstract Batch and column sorption studies to removal Cd(II) from aqueous solution was investigated using sawdust from Triplochiton Scleroxylon. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to equilibrium data at four temperatures. The maximum sorption capacity (qo) obtained from Langmuir isotherm models plots were found to be 10.793, 10.476, 10.529 and 10.061 mg.g respectively at 30, 40, 50 and 60°C. Thermodynamic parameters (G, H and S) for sorption process were evaluated. The temperature variation study showed that the cadmium ions sorption is exothermic and spontaneous. Thomas model was used to analyze the experimental data and model parameters were obtained. The column was regenerated using 0.2mol. L CaCl2 solution. The sorption–desorption tests for four cycles were also performed. Sorption of Cd(II) at specific binding sites on sawdust was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Also, Sorption of Cd(II) is accompanied by releasing of Ca(II) and Mg(II) in the solution showing that the sorption mechanism of Cd(II) involved both ion exchange and complexation.
Optimal Monetary Policy

This paper investigates the optimal monetary policy in a two-sector model with imperfect common knowledge between firms due to limited attention. A welfare criterion based on the utility of consumers is derived to evaluate the real effects of monetary policy. When sectoral productivity shocks are symmetric, complete price stabilization is optimal. However, with asymmetric sectoral productivity shocks, price stabilization is no longer optimal. When responding to these shocks, central banks face tradeoffs between output and price stabilization. The optimal monetary policy places more weight on price stabilization when firms have more information processing capacity. JEL Classification: E3, E5, D8.
Water Quality Deterioration of Jinjang River, Kuala Lumpur: Urban Risk Case Water Pollution

Jinjang River is a branch of the Klang River, which today suffers from a decline in water quality resulting from agricultural and development activities. A study on the water quality of Jinjang River was conducted in both June and October 2011. The purposes of the study were to determine the water quality of Jinjang River based on physicochemical and biological parameters and to classify the Jinjang River based on National Water Quality Standards (NWQS) and the Water Quality Index (WQI). A total of five sampling stations were selected along the river; two stations (S1 and S2) represented the upstream region and another three stations (S3, S4, and S5) represented the downstream region of the river. Fourteen water-quality parameters were selected. As a result of the analysis, Jinjang River was categorized as a slightly polluted river (WQI) and was classified as Class III. The result, compared with the NWQS, showed that most of the water-quality parameters studied ranged from Class I to Class IV, except for biological parameters (Escherichia coli), which were classified as Class V. This indicates that the river was extremely contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria (E. coli).
Social resources and health

© Oxford University Press, 2014. This chapter explores the history of an interdisciplinary research program on the social, economic, cultural, and psychological determinants of health and the biological pathways by which they operate. The study dealt with the inevitable resistance to interdisciplinary research by, initially, breaking it up into small nonthreatening chunks and only later attempting to prove that the whole was greater than the sum of parts. A particular problem was that the research was addressing social inequalities in health. When the political climate was unfavorable, such research was seen to be, at best, irrelevant and, at worst, threatening. When the political climate in Britain changed, yesterday's pure academic research became today's applied science.