Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rain-Rate Characteristics over the Korean Peninsula and Improvement of the Goddard Proﬁling (GPROF) Database for TMI Rainfall Retrievals

SummerrainfallcharacteristicsovertheKoreanPeninsulaareexaminedusingsixyearsofTropicalRainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) measurements and surface rain measurements from the densely populated rain gauges spread across South Korea. A comparison of the TMI brightness tem- perature at 85 GHz with the measured surface rain rate reveals that a signiﬁcant portion of rainfall over the peninsula occurs at warmer brightness temperatures than would be expected from the Goddard proﬁling (GPROF) database. By incorporating the locally observed rain characteristics into the GPROF algorithm, efforts are made to test whether locally appropriate hydrometeor proﬁles may be used to improve the re- trieved rainfall. Proﬁles are obtained by simulating rain cases using the cloud-resolving University of Wisconsin Nonhydrostatic Modeling System (UW-NMS) model and matching the calculated radar reﬂectivities to TRMM precipitation radar (PR) reﬂectivities. Selected proﬁles and the corresponding simulated TMI brightness temperatures (limited in this study to values that are larger than 235 K) are added to the GPROF database to form a modiﬁed database that is considered to be more suitable for local application over the Korean Peninsula. The rainfall retrieved from the new database demonstrates that heavy-rainfall events—in particular, those associated with warmer clouds—are better captured by the new algorithm as compared with the ofﬁcial TRMM GPROF version-6 retrievals. The results suggest that a more locally suitable rain re- trieval algorithm can be developed if locally
Effectors of DNA accessibility in Trichoderma reesei

The ascomycete Trichoderma reesei produces industrially applied plant cell walldegrading enzymes. The two major xylanases XYNI (encoded by xyn1) and XYNII (encoded by xyn2) are amongst those enzymes. The transactivator Xyr1, the repressor Cre1, and genespecific transcription factors regulate the expression of both xylanases. The inducing compounds D-xylose and sophorose trigger the expression of the xylanases, however, to different extents. D-glucose causes carbon catabolite repression (CCR) mediated by Cre1, which leads to a down-regulation of expression of both. Apart from transcription factors, DNA packaging adds an important layer to the regulation of the production of xylanolytic enzymes. In this study the chromatin status in two upstream regulatory regions (URRs) of the xyn1 and xyn2 genes and the transcript levels were investigated in the wild-type strain QM6a and the hypercellulolytic mutant Rut-C30. This analysis demonstrated more open chromatin and higher transcript levels in both strains and genes under at least one of the two inducing conditions. Additionally, a generally more open chromatin could be observed in Rut-C30 independent of the carbon source that was accompanied by elevated transcript levels. In vivo footprinting analyses demonstrated that protein-DNA interactions differ between D-xylose compared to D-glucose in both strains. In addition, different DNA occupancies were observed in the URR of xyn2 in dependency of the applied inducer. Obviously, the usage of a certain inducer influences the final promoter architecture.
Flipping the Undergraduate Classroom: A Case Study

Rapid development in information and communication technology (ICT) is changing the instructional strategies in Higher Education. This study aimed to identify the level of self-efficacy of B.Ed. (IT) undergraduates of a local University in a flipped classroom. Further it also investigated gender difference among the undergraduates self-efficacy in the classroom. A group of 35 student selected using convenience sampling method. This group divided into Group 1 as control group and Group 2 as intervention. Group one consists of 17 students and two consist of 18 students. Initially the two classes answered pre-survey questionnaire of self-efficacy. Then control group was exposed to conventional teaching whereas intervention group intervened with Padlet. Data were analyzed with SPSS and revealed the intervention group has high Cohen effect (d) = . 53, which is considered moderate size compared Cohen effect (d) = . 17, considered small. This study clearly exhibits intervention group has better self-efficacy than control group. Further, the effect size of control group revealed decline in self-efficacy. In study exhibits there is no difference by gender in terms of self-efficacy. It is expected further study should be conducted by taking in to account sample size, duration of intervention, and method.
Embedding MSCs in Si-HPMC hydrogel decreased MSC-directed host immune response and increased the regenerative potential of macrophages

Abstract Embedding mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in biomaterial is a subject of increasing interest in the field of Regenerative Medicine. Speeding up the clinical use of MSCs is dependent on the use of non-syngeneic models in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) requirements and on costs. To this end, in this study, we analyzed the in vivo host immune response following local injection of silanized hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (Si-HPMC)-embedded human MSCs in a rat model developing colorectal damage induced by ionizing radiation. Plasma and lymphocytes from mesenteric lymph nodes were harvested in addition to colonic tissue. We set up tests, using flow cytometry and a live imaging system, to highlight the response to specific antibodies and measure the cytotoxicity of lymphocytes against injected MSCs. We demonstrated that Si-HPMC protects MSCs from specific antibodies production and from apoptosis by lymphocytes. We also observed that Si-HPMC does not modify innate immune response infiltrate in vivo, and that in vitro co-culture of Si-HPMC-embedded MSCs impacts macrophage inflammatory response depending on the microenvironment but, more importantly, increases the macrophage regenerative response through Wnt-family and VEGF gene expression. This study furthers our understanding of the mechanisms involved, with a view to improving the therapeutic benefits of biomaterial-assisted cell therapy by modulating the host immune response. The decrease in specific immune response against injected MSCs protected by Si-HPMC also opens up new possibilities for allogeneic clinical use.
Forensic Accounting and Fraud Detection Control in Nigeria

The study empirically examined the impact of forensic accounting and fraud detection control in Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; examine the effectiveness of forensic accounting in financial fraud control, the effectiveness of forensic accounting in improving financial reporting quality and to ascertain the relationship between forensic accounting and internal controls. The study adopted desk survey methods in gathering relevant information which was extracted from textbooks, libraries, published and unpublished journals. Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistical tool was adopted in this study. It was revealed that there was a significant relationship between forensic accounting and financial fraud detection, there was a significant relationship between forensic accounting and financial reporting quality and there was a significant relationship between forensic accounting and internal control. The study recommended that eradication of economic and financial crime through the adoption of forensic accounting in the system will improve the image of Institutions under-review. Also, recommended that government and regulatory authorities should ensure the provision of standards and guidelines to regulate forensic activities above all, therefore Nigerians should embrace integrity, objectivity, fairness and accountability in their day-to-day activities. cross-firing, fake fictitious accounts, false proceeds of manipulation dry over-invoicing, statistical ledger accounts fictitious contracts, fraud, false declaration
Generation of low order LFT Representations for Robust Control Applications

The Linear Fractional Transformation (LFT) is a general, flexible and powerful framework to represent uncertain systems. Linear Fractional Representations (LFRs) are the basis for the application of many modern robust control techniques (e.g., robust H-infinity control design, mu-synthesis/analysis). For several classes of uncertain systems, it is in principle straightforward to generate equivalent LFRs. However, the resulting LFRs are generally not unique, a theory for the generation of LFRs with minimal complexity does not exist and the pure application of existing ad-hoc realization methods generally yields LFRs of high complexity. LFR-based modern robust control methods are numerically highly demanding and of high computational complexity, e.g., many methods require to solve a large system of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). Therefore the application of these methods is restricted to LFRs of reasonable complexity, otherwise the computation time will be unacceptable or the methods may even fail. To realize LFRs of low complexity, a three step procedure is employed in this thesis consisting of (i) symbolic preprocessing of uncertain system models using improved and newly developed decomposition techniques, (ii) object-oriented LFR realization based on a newly developed generalized/descriptor LFT, (iii) numerical multidimensional order reduction based on newly implemented numerical reliable and efficient routines. All the techniques are implemented in version 2 of the LFR-toolbox for Matlab and allow to realize an LFR of almost minimal complexity for one of the most complex parametric aircraft models available in the literature. Using this LFR, a reliable LFR-based robust stability analysis covering the whole flight envelope has been performed, which was not possible with earlier generated LFRs of high complexity. An LFR of minimal complexity is generated for a parametric vehicle model. Based on this LFR, a mu-synthesis controller and a gain-scheduled Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) controller are synthesized. Both controllers show better performance and are robust with respect to a considerably larger parametric uncertainty domain than recently developed controllers using the Parameter Space (PS) method.
Histoplasmosis With Diffuse Granulomatous Peritonitis in Crohn's Disease: A Mimic of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis

Anti – tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy has revolutionized management of several in ﬂ ammatory disorders. However, infectious complications associated with these agents remain serious, although uncommon, concern. Anti-TNF therapy – associated Histoplasma infections may present with small bowel thickening and ulceration. Ascites with peritoneal involvement mimicking peritoneal carcinomatosis or malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is rare. It is important for clinicians to be aware of rare presentations of these opportunistic infections to allow for timely diagnosis and management. Anti-TNF therapy has revolutionized the management of chronic in ﬂ ammatory disorders but can be associated with serious infections such as histoplasmosis. 1,2 A 76-year-old man with distal small bowel Crohn ’ s disease (CD) and rheumatoid arthritis presented with ascites. He was on adalimumab weekly with good control of gastrointestinal and joint symptoms. He denied recent travel, contact with ill individuals, and alcohol use but had travelled internationally in the past and resided in Southern California. Physical examination revealed moderate ascites. Serum albumin was 2.9 g/dL. No proteinuria was found. Echocardiogram showed normal right- and left-sided cardiac function. A paracentesis revealed yellow, hazy ﬂ uid with 3,098 nucleated cells (3% neutrophils, 40% monocytes, and 54%
The role of Rho kinase and ERK-MAP kinase in α 2 -adrenoceptor-mediated vasoconstriction in the porcine palmar lateral vein.

α 2 -Adrenoceptor-mediated vasoconstriction in the porcine palmar lateral vein is dependent upon activation of the ERK-MAP kinase signal transduction pathway. Recent studies have shown that α 2 -adrenoceptor-mediated vasoconstriction in the rat aorta is also dependent upon activation of Rho kinase. The aim of this study was to determine whether Rho kinase and ERK-MAP kinase are part of the same signalling pathway. The Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 (10 µ M) almost completely inhibited the contractile response to the α 2 -adrenoceptor agonist UK14304 in segments of porcine palmar lateral vein (maximum response 2.9 ± 2.3 % of 60 mM KCl response (mean ± S.E.M.) in the presence of Y27632, compared to 64.9 ± 7.1 % in control tissues, n=4). However, Y27632 had no effect on α 2 -adrenoceptor-mediated ERK activation, as measured by Western blotting. α 2 -Adrenoceptor-mediated vasoconstriction was associated with an increase in phosphorylation of the myosin phosphatase targeting subunit MYPT at Thr696 (the Rho kinase phosphorylation site). This phosphorylation was inhibited by 10 µ M Y27632. In contrast, inhibition of ERK activation with the MEK inhibitor PD98059 (50 µ M) had no effect on MYPT phosphorylation. Both Y27632 and PD98059 inhibited myosin light chain phosphorylation. These data indicate that α 2 -adrenoceptor-mediated vasoconstriction in the porcine palmar lateral vein is dependent upon both Rho kinase and ERK activation, although these are separate pathways. Rho kinase causes vasoconstriction through inhibition of myosin phosphatase and an increase in myosin light chain phosphorylation, whereas ERK causes vasoconstriction through a myosin phosphatase-independent pathway.
Decision tree complexity of Boolean functions

Suppose we would like to determine the value of a function at an unknown input and we can obtain information only by asking questions of a special form. Depending on the type of functions and questions we consider we obtain several models of computation. These are called decision tree models. The complexity of a computation is the number of questions asked. We investigate some natural problems raised by complexity theory. For example: Exhibit hard functions. How much speed up we can obtain by randomization? We give a survey of the results and open questions about these and similar questions.
Discovering and Linking Financial Data on the Web

— The constant publishing of large volumes of financial information by various business sector organizations through its financial statements is a fact that must be exploited by using semantic technologies. This paper describes the use of Linked Data to generate a financial dataset that is part of the ongoing work of the FLORA (Financial Linked Open Data Reasoning and Management for Web Science) project. Furthermore, we describe a process to discover other relevant links within the LOD cloud which can be related to FLORA dataset in order to provide a financial knowledgebase, which might be useful for: data analysis to support decision making, generating predictions or performing own financial discoveries to mention a few. However, the results of experiments performed, show that the coverage of the financial domain of public companies is rather small and ambiguous to link them to the FLORA dataset. Thus, is necessary involve more data as CIK (Central Index Key) or ticker symbol of the companies to objective of improve the results quality and implement techniques for disambiguation and
Apr 26, 2019 Effect of ion-implantation-induced defects and Mg dopants on the thermoelectric

For applications in energy harvesting and environmentally friendly cooling, and for power sources in remote or portable applications, it is desired to enhance the efﬁciency of thermoelectric materials. One strategy consists of reducing the thermal conductivity while increasing or retaining the thermoelectric power factor. An approach to achieve this is doping to enhance the Seebeck coefﬁcient and electrical conductivity, while simultaneously introducing defects in the materials to increase phonon scattering. Here, we use Mg ion implantation to induce defects in epitaxial ScN (111) ﬁlms. The ﬁlms were implanted with Mg + ions with different concentration proﬁles along the thickness of the ﬁlm, incorporating 0.35 to 2.2 at. % of Mg in ScN. Implantation at high temperature (600°C), with few defects due to the temperature, does not substantially affect the thermal conductivity compared to a reference ScN. Samples implanted at room temperature, in contrast, exhibited a reduction of the thermal conductivity by a factor of 3. The sample doped with 2.2 at. % of Mg also showed an increased power factor after implantation. This paper thus shows the effect of ion-induced defects on thermal conductivity of ScN ﬁlms. High-temperature implantation allows the defects to be annealed out during implantation, while the defects are retained for room-temperature implanted samples, allowing for a drastic reduction in thermal conductivity.
Joint torque sensor for robots

AJointTorqueSensorforRob otsF.AghiliandM. BuehlerJ.HollerbachDept. ofMechanicalEngineeringComputerScienceMcGillUniversityofUtahMontreal,QCH3A2A7,CanadaSaltLakeCity,UT84112,USAAbstractThispaperdescribesthedesignofelasticbodyanewtorquesensortomeasuretorsionmomentfaithful lyinthepresenceofstrongoverhangandthrustforcesaswel lbendingmoments.Thisfeature,inconjunctionwithhighsti nessmakesthissensoranidealchoiceforroboticappli-cations.Thestructureinherentlyexhibitsminimumstrainsensitivitiesandcompliancestoal lnon-torsionalmomentsandforcessuchthattheire ectaneasilybancel ledintheWheatstonebridgecircuit.Ontheotherhand,maximumpossiblelocalstrainsensitivitynearthemateriallimit,andmaximumtorsionalsti nessareachievedthroughthestruc-ture'sstrainconcentrationcharacteristic.Severalotherim-portantdesigncriteriaarealsodiscussed,aswel l.Thesen-sorgeometryisanalysedandfurtheroptimizeusingthe niteelementmethod.Thesensorwasconstructed,andexperimentaldatavalidatedthe niteelementmodelanddocumentedthesensor'sperformance.1Intro ductionAsdirectdriverob otsb ecomeincreasinglyp opular,thereisaneedforhighp erformancemotioncontrollerswhichachievethedynamicaccuracyinpractice.Adirectapproachforcontrolisp ossiblewhentheexternalloadin-formationisavailabledirectlybymeasurementofalljointorquesviajointtorquesensors.Directp ositivefeedbackofthetorquesignalcanthencomp ensatedynamicstherob otmanipulator[1,10,16]. Althoughthisapproacho ersafarsimplercontrolsolutionthanmo delbasedcon-trol,accuratejointtorquemeasurementsencounterseveralchallenges.Inthedesignofrob otmanipulators,itisdesirabletocontributemuchtorque/forcereactionlinkloadonthejointsformofnon-torsionalcomp onenlessactuatione ortsaredemanded(e.g.SCARAdesign[12]preventsgravitytorquesactingonthejointmo-tors). Moreover,indirect-drivrob otsthetorqueisdirectlyattachedtothemotor'sdistallink.Therefore,theymustb earthelargecomp onentsofgeneralizedforce/torquevectorexertedatjointcalledthemexogenouscomp onentshereafter.The rstchallengeishowtomeasuretorsiontorquefaithfullywithoutb e-inginuencedbyanofexogenouscomp onents.Sec-ond,torquesensorsrelyonmeasuringthelo calstrainordisplacementoftheirelasticb o dies.Inordertoincreasesignal-to-noiseratioobtainahighresolution,itisdesirabletodesignastructurewhichgeneratelargestrainforagivenloadtorquethereforehaslargesensitivity.However,resultingcomplianceintro ducesajointangleerrorwhichshouldb eminimized.Thustherearetwoconictingrequirements;highmechanicalsti nessandhightorquesensitivity,b othquantitiesshouldb emaximizedsimultaneously.Thesolutiontob othofthesemainchallengeswillb ede-scrib edinthispap erandnewcomparedtoexistingde-signs.Thereisalargeliteratureonsystematicdesignofsixdegree-of-freedomforce/torquesensors[7,17,19]andonarioustechniquestoinstrumengearedmotorsfortorquesensing[5,11,1420],whilelittleattentionhasb eenpaidtopurejointsensing[3,9]. Itisimp ortantonotethatdesigncriteriafortwoyp esofsensorsareverydif-ferent.Forinstance,isotropy(i.e.uniformsensitivity)isdesirableprop ertyofasixdegree-of-freedomforce/torque
WAVEGUIDE-INTEGRATED TERAHERTZ QUANTUM CASCADE LASERS FOR USE AS LOCAL OSCILLATORS

Terahertz-frequency quantum cascade lasers (THz QCLs) are compact sources of 1–5 THz radiation, which show great promise for use as local oscillators in satelliteborne heterodyne radiometers. We present a waveguideintegration scheme, in which a THz QCL is mounted in a copper heat-sink block, with radiation outcoupled into a precision micromachined rectangular waveguide. Electrical bias is provided by an integrated SMA connector and mounting points are provided for attachment to a cryocooler and a temperature sensor. The integration scheme is mechanically robust and is shown to have negligible impact on the thermal performance or threshold current of the device. The emitted beam quality is significantly improved, compared with that of a conventional device, with single-lobed profile with divergence . 20◦.
against Rodent Malaria Vaccine Confers Long-Lasting Protection A Nonadjuvanted Polypeptide Nanoparticle

We have designed and produced a prototypic malaria vaccine based on a highly versatile self-assembling polypeptide nanoparticle (SAPN) platform that can repetitively display antigenic epitopes. We used this platform to display a tandem repeat of the B cell immunodominant repeat epitope (DPPPPNPN) 2 D of the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei circumsporozoite protein. Administered in saline, without the need for a heterologous adjuvant, the SAPN construct P4c-Mal conferred a long-lived, protective immune response to mice with a broad range of genetically distinct immune backgrounds including the H-2 b , H-2 d , and H-2 k alleles. Immunized mice produced a CD4 (cid:1) T cell-dependent, high-titer, long-lasting, high-avidity Ab response against the B cell epitope. Mice were protected against an initial challenge of parasites up to 6 mo after the last immunization or for up to 15 mo against a second challenge after an initial challenge of parasites had successfully been cleared. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the SAPN platform not only functions to deliver an ordered repetitive array of B cell peptide epitopes but operates as a classical immunological carrier to provide cognate help to the P4c-Mal-speciﬁc B cells. The Journal of Immunology, 2009, 183: 7268–7277.
B UREAUCRATS OR P OLITICIANS ?

Policies are typically chosen by politicians and bureaucrats. This paper investigates the criteria that should lead a society to allocate policy tasks to elected policymakers (politicians) or non elected bureaucrats. Politicians are preferable for tasks that do not involve too much specific technical ability relative to effort; there is uncertainty about ex post preferences of the public and flexibility is valuable; time inconsistency is not an issue; small but powerful vested interests do not have large stakes in the policy outcome; effective decisions over policies require taking into account policy complementarities and compensating the losers. We then compare this normative benchmark with the case in which politicians choose when to delegate and we show that the two generally differ.