Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Observations of a two‐layer soil moisture influence on surface energy dynamics and planetary boundary layer characteristics in a semiarid shrubland

We present an observational analysis examining soil moisture control on surface energy dynamics and planetary boundary layer characteristics. Understanding soil moisture control on land‐atmosphere interactions will become increasingly important as climate change continues to alter water availability. In this study, we analyzed 4 years of data from the Santa Rita Creosote Ameriflux site. We categorized our data independently in two ways: (1) wet or dry seasons and (2) one of the four cases within a two‐layer soil moisture framework for the root zone based on the presence or absence of moisture in shallow (0–20 cm) and deep (20–60 cm) soil layers. Using these categorizations, we quantified the soil moisture control on surface energy dynamics and planetary boundary layer characteristics using both average responses and linear regression. Our results highlight the importance of deep soil moisture in land‐atmosphere interactions. The presence of deep soil moisture decreased albedo by about 10%, and significant differences were observed in evaporative fraction even in the absence of shallow moisture. The planetary boundary layer height (PBLh) was largest when the whole soil profile was dry, decreasing by about 1 km when the whole profile was wet. Even when shallow moisture was absent but deep moisture was present the PBLh was significantly lower than when the entire profile was dry. The importance of deep moisture is likely site‐specific and modulated through vegetation. Therefore, understanding these relationships also provides important insights into feedbacks between vegetation and the hydrologic cycle and their consequent influence on the climate system.
Simulation of the daytime boundary layer evolution in deep mountain valleys

A dry, two-dimensional version of the Colorado State University Multi-Dimensional Cloud/Mesoscale Model was used to simulate the crossvalley dynamic and thermodynamic structure in deep mountain valleys during the morning transition period when the nocturnal inversion is destroyed. This model employs a fully elastic set of primitive equations which are transformed to utilize a terrain following coordinate system. The model was forced at the lower surface by a specified sinusoidally varying potential temperature flux approximating the diurnal heating cycle. Each run was initiated with a stable layer filling the valley to ridgetop with a neutral layer above it. Five simulations were run to examine the effects of valley width, heating distribution and heating rate on the development of the valley boundary layer. The model realistically reproduced the gross features found in actual valleys in both structure and timing. The simulated inversions were destroyed 3~-6 hours after sunrise as a result of a neutral layer growing up from the surface meeting a descending inversion top. Slope winds with speeds of 3-5 m/s developed over both sidewalls 2~-5 hours after sunrise. All cases revealed the development of strongly stable pockets of air over the sidewalls which form when cold air advected up the slope loses its buoyancy at higher elevations. These stable pockets temporarily block the slope flow and force transient cross-valley circulations to form which act to destabilize the val ley boundary layer. Gravity waves rapidly redistribute heat across the valley to prevent large horizontal potential temperature gradients
Cenozoic Exhumation and Foreland Basin Evolution of the Zagros Orogen During the Arabia‐Eurasia Collision, Western Iran

Cenozoic exhumation patterns in the internal and external Zagros reveal a long‐term deformation record associated with geodynamic restructuring of Arabia‐Eurasia collisional zone from continental subduction to plate suturing, which can be evaluated from thermochronometric, provenance, and subsidence analyses. Thermal modeling of zircon and apatite (U‐Th)/He ages and apatite fission track data from the Sanandaj‐Sirjan Zone (SSZ) indicates exhumation and inferred uplift along the leading edge of Eurasia starting in the Late Eocene (~35 Ma), coeval with initial foreland flexural subsidence of Arabia. Together with deceleration in Arabia‐Eurasia convergence and diminished subduction‐related magmatism, these events signal the final Neotethys closure and onset of long‐term (15–20 Myr) Arabian continental subduction beneath Eurasia, facilitated by the attenuated architecture of the precollisional Arabian margin. From 35 to 20 Ma, crustal shortening was relatively subdued and restricted to areas along the Arabia‐Eurasia plate boundary and diffuse inversion structures within continental interiors. Acceleration in SSZ cooling/exhumation rates from 19 to 16 Ma was synchronous with rapid basin subsidence and clastic progradation in the Zagros foreland. These events were contemporaneous with 20‐ to 16‐Ma surge in calc‐alkaline magmatism in central Iran and may have been linked to reorganization/deflection of Arabian plate vectors during the main phase of Red Sea rifting at 19–18 Ma. Transition from continental subduction to Arabia‐Eurasia suturing by ~12 Ma forced a transfer of strain from the subduction zone to intraplate deformational structures. This was marked by rapid outward expansion of the Zagros orogen, involving a shift in exhumation from the SSZ to Zagros fold‐thrust belt and Iranian plate interior.
Avoiding Pitfalls in Fault-Injection Based Comparison of Program Susceptibility to Soft Errors

Since the first identification of physical causes for soft errors in memory circuits, fault injection (FI) has grown into a standard methodology to assess the fault resilience of computer systems. A variety of FI techniques trying to mimic these physical causes has been developed to measure and compare program susceptibility to soft errors. In this paper, we analyze the process of evaluating programs, which are hardened by software-based hardware fault-tolerance mechanisms, under a uniformly distributed soft-error model. We identify three pitfalls in FI result interpretation widespread in the literature, even published in renowned conference proceedings. Using a simple machine model and transient single-bit faults in memory, we find counterexamples that reveal the unfitness of common practices in the field, and substantiate our findings with real-world examples. In particular, we demonstrate that the fault coverage metric must be abolished for comparing programs. Instead, we propose to use extrapolated absolute failure counts as a valid comparison metric.
Coronary Stent Restenosis in Patients Treated With Cilostazol

Background— Restenosis after implantation of coronary artery stents remains a significant clinical problem. We undertook a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine whether cilostazol, a drug that suppresses intimal proliferation, would reduce renarrowing in patients after stent implantation in native coronary arteries. Methods and Results— We assigned 705 patients who had successful coronary stent implantation to receive, in addition to aspirin, cilostazol 100 mg BID or placebo for 6 months; clopidogrel 75 mg daily was administered to all patients for 30 days. Restenosis was determined by quantitative coronary angiography at 6 months. The minimal luminal diameter at 6 months for cilostazol-treated patients was 1.77 mm for the analysis segment (stent plus 5-mm borders) compared with 1.62 mm in the placebo group (P=0.01). Restenosis, defined as ≥50% narrowing, occurred in 22.0% of patients in the cilostazol group and in 34.5% of the placebo group (P=0.002), a 36% relative risk reduction. Restenosis was significantly lower in cilostazol-treated diabetics (17.7% versus 37.7%, P=0.01) and in those with small vessels (23.6% versus 35.2%, P=0.02), long lesions (29.9% versus 46.6%, P=0.04), and left anterior descending coronary artery site (19.3% versus 39.8%, P=0.001). There was no difference in bleeding, rehospitalization, target-vessel revascularization, myocardial infarction, or death. Conclusions— Treatment with the drug cilostazol resulted in a significantly larger minimal luminal diameter and a significantly lower binary restenosis rate compared with placebo-treated patients. These favorable effects were apparent in patients at high risk for restenosis.
Comparison of POSSUM and P-POSSUM as Audit Tools in Patients Undergoing Emergency Laparotomy for Secondary Bacterial Peritonitis

Background : Though POSSUM and P-POSSUM have been proposed as accurate tools of audit, our initial experience has not been encouraging. Therefore, a prospective study was conducted to find their accuracy for predicting outcome in peritonitis patients who underwent emergency laparotomy. Methods : 172 patients treated in single surgical unit over two years were included. Expected morbidity and mortality, computed by POSSUM and P-POSSUM equations using linear as well as exponential methods of analysis, were compared with observed outcome by observed: expected (O:E) ratios. X2-test was done to draw statistical significance; P<0.050 was taken as significant. Results : POSSUM significantly over-predicted mortality with linear as well as exponential methods with O:E ratios being 0.32 (X2=57.35, 1 d.f. P<0.001) and 0.25 (X2=111.26, 1 d.f. P<0.001), respectively. P-POSSUM also significantly over-predicted mortality by linear as well as exponential methods with O:E ratios being 0.55 (X2=11.37, 1 d.f. P<0.001) and 0.27 (X2=92.30, 1 d.f. P<0.001), respectively. POSSUM significantly over-predicted morbidity by linear and exponential analysis with O:E being 0.76 (X2=47.94, 1 d.f. P<0.001) and 0.81 (X2=23.27, 1 d.f. P<0.001), respectively. Conclusions : Neither POSSUM nor P-POSSUM was found accurate for predicting the outcome by linear or exponential methods. Further studies are required to find their suitability for audit purposes in conditions prevailing in third world countries.
Experimental study on creep and shrinkage of high-performance ultra lightweight cement composite of 60MPa

Creep and shrinkage behaviour of an ultra lightweight cement composite (ULCC) up to 450 days was evaluated in comparison with those of a normal weight aggregate concrete (NWAC) and a lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) with similar 28-day compressive strength. The ULCC is characterized by low density < 1500 kg/m 3 and high compressive strength about 60 MPa. Autogenous shrinkage increased rapidly in the ULCC at early-age and almost 95% occurred prior to the start of creep test at 28 days. Hence, majority of shrinkage of the ULCC during creep test was drying shrinkage. Total shrinkage of the ULCC during the 450-day creep test was the lowest compared to the NWAC and LWAC. However, corresponding total creep in the ULCC was the highest with high proportion attributed to basic creep (≥ ~90%) and limited drying creep. The high creep of the ULCC is likely due to its low elastic modulus. Specific creep of the ULCC was similar to that of the NWAC, but more than 80% higher than the LWAC. Creep coefficient of the ULCC was about 47% lower than that of the NWAC but about 18% higher than that of the LWAC. Among five creep models evaluated which tend to over-estimate the creep coefficient of the ULCC, EC2 model gives acceptable prediction within +25% deviations. The EC2 model may be used as a first approximate for the creep of ULCC in the designs of steel-concrete composites or sandwich structures in the absence of other relevant creep data.
FGF signalling and the mechanism of mesoderm spreading in Drosophila embryos

FGF signalling is needed for the proper establishment of the mesodermal cell layer in Drosophila embryos. The activation of the FGF receptor Heartless triggers the di-phosphorylation of MAPK in the mesoderm, which accumulates in a graded fashion with the highest levels seen at the dorsal edge of the mesoderm. We have examined the specific requirement for FGF signalling in the spreading process. We show that only the initial step of spreading, specifically the establishment of contact between the ectoderm and the mesoderm, depends upon FGF signalling, and that unlike the role of FGF signalling in the differentiation of heart precursors this function cannot be replaced by other receptor tyrosine kinases. The initiation of mesoderm spreading requires the FGF receptor to possess a functional kinase domain, but does not depend upon the activation of MAPK. Thus, the dispersal of the mesoderm at early stages is regulated by pathways downstream of the FGF receptor that are independent of the MAPK cascade. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the activation of MAPK by Heartless needs additional cues from the ectoderm. We propose that FGF signalling is required during the initial stages of mesoderm spreading to promote the efficient interaction of the mesoderm with the ectoderm rather than having a long range chemotactic function, and we discuss this in relation to the cellular mechanism of mesoderm spreading.
Test-retest reliability of a functional MRI working memory paradigm in normal and schizophrenic subjects.

OBJECTIVE Repeated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of schizophrenic subjects may identify brain activity changes in response to interventions. To interpret the findings, however, it is crucial to know the test-retest reliability of the measures used. METHOD The authors scanned seven normal subjects and seven schizophrenic subjects on two occasions during performance of a working memory task. They quantified the reliability of task performance and brain activation. RESULTS In both groups, task performance was reliable, and all a priori regions were activated in group-averaged test and retest data. In individual schizophrenic subjects, however, indices of cognitive activation were not reliable across sessions. Normal subjects showed reasonable reliability of activation. CONCLUSIONS Even given reliable task performance, stable clinical status, and a stable pattern of group-averaged activation, individual subjects showed unreliable brain activation. This suggests that repeated fMRI studies of schizophrenia should control for sources of variation, both artifactual and intrinsic.
External communities, integration and student persistence among distance students at a university in Southern Africa

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii DECLARATION iv GLOSSARY OF TERMS v SECTION 1 – Introduction and Background 1 SECTION 2 Literature Review and Conceptual Framework 5 SECTION 3 Research Design and Methodology 25 SECTION 4 Data Presentation and analysis 32 SECTION 5 Summary, Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion 72 LIST OF REFERENCES 79 APPENDICES 82 http://etd.uwc. ac.za/
IL-1β, IL-6, and RANTES as Biomarkers of Chikungunya Severity

Background Little is known about the immunopathogenesis of Chikungunya virus. Circulating levels of immune mediators and growth factors were analyzed from patients infected during the first Singaporean Chikungunya fever outbreak in early 2008 to establish biomarkers associated with infection and/or disease severity. Methods and Findings Adult patients with laboratory-confirmed Chikungunya fever infection, who were referred to the Communicable Disease Centre/Tan Tock Seng Hospital during the period from January to February 2008, were included in this retrospective study. Plasma fractions were analyzed using a multiplex-microbead immunoassay. Among the patients, the most common clinical features were fever (100%), arthralgia (90%), rash (50%) and conjunctivitis (40%). Profiles of 30 cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors were able to discriminate the clinical forms of Chikungunya from healthy controls, with patients classified as non-severe and severe disease. Levels of 8 plasma cytokines and 4 growth factors were significantly elevated. Statistical analysis showed that an increase in IL-1β, IL-6 and a decrease in RANTES were associated with disease severity. Conclusions This is the first comprehensive report on the production of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors during acute Chikungunya virus infection. Using these biomarkers, we were able to distinguish between mild disease and more severe forms of Chikungunya fever, thus enabling the identification of patients with poor prognosis and monitoring of the disease.
High doses of benzodiazepine predict analgesic and sedative drug withdrawal syndrome in paediatric intensive care patients

Critically ill children can develop withdrawal syndrome after prolonged analgesia and sedation in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), when treatment is stopped abruptly or reduced quickly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of withdrawal syndrome in patients after three or more days of analgesic or sedative drug therapy, using a validated scale. We also analysed the association between withdrawal syndrome and the patients’ outcome and factors related to analgesia and sedation treatment.
Testers and their applications

We develop a new notion called tester of a class M of functions f : A → C that maps the elements α ∈ A in the domain A of the function to a finite number (the size of the tester) of elements b1,. ,bt in a smaller sub-domain B ⊂ A where the property f(α) ≠ 0 is preserved for all f ∈ M. I.e., for all f ∈ M and - ∈ A if f(α) ≠ 0 then f(bi) ≠ 0 for some i. We use tools from elementary algebra and algebraic function fields to construct testers of almost optimal size in deterministic polynomial time in the size of the tester. We then apply testers to deterministically construct new set of objects with some combinatorial and algebraic properties that can be used to derandomize some algorithms. We show that those new constructions are almost optimal and for many of them meet the union bound of the problem. Constructions include, d-restriction problems, perfect hash, universal sets, cover-free families, separating hash functions, polynomial restriction problems, black box polynomial identity testing for polynomials and circuits over small fields and hitting sets.
Continued Alcohol Misuse in Human Cirrhosis is Associated with an Impaired Gut–Liver Axis

BACKGROUND Cirrhosis and alcohol can independently affect the gut-liver axis with systemic inflammation. However, their concurrent impact in humans is unclear. METHODS Our aim was to determine the effect of continued alcohol misuse on the gut-liver axis in cirrhotic patients. Age- and MELD-balanced cirrhotic patients who were currently drinking (Alc) or abstinent (NAlc) and healthy controls underwent serum and stool collection. A subset underwent upper endoscopy and colonoscopy for biopsies and duodenal fluid collection. The groups were compared regarding (i) inflammation/intestinal barrier: systemic tumor necrosis factor levels, intestinal inflammatory cytokine (duodenum, ileum, sigmoid), and ileal antimicrobial peptide expression; (ii) microbiota composition: 16SrRNA sequencing of duodenal, ileal, and colonic mucosal and fecal microbiota; and (iii) microbial functionality: duodenal fluid and fecal bile acid (BA) profile (conjugation and dehydroxylation status), intestinal BA transporter (ASBT, FXR, FGF-19, SHP) expression, and stool metabolomics using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. RESULTS Alc patients demonstrated a significant duodenal, ileal, and colonic mucosal and fecal dysbiosis, compared to NAlc and controls with lower autochthonous bacterial taxa. BA profile skewed toward a potentially toxic profile (higher secondary and glycine-conjugated BAs) in duodenal fluid and stool in Alc patients. Duodenal fluid demonstrated conjugated secondary BAs only in the Alc group. There was a greater expression of all ileal BA transporters in Alc patients. This group also showed higher endotoxemia, systemic and ileal inflammatory expression, and lower amino acid and bioenergetic-associated metabolites, without change in antimicrobial peptide expression. CONCLUSIONS Despite cirrhosis, continued alcohol misuse predisposes patients to widespread dysbiosis with alterations in microbial functionality such as a toxic BA profile, which can lead to intestinal and systemic inflammation.
Group Prenatal Care: Review of Outcomes and Recommendations for Model Implementation

&NA; The intent and delivery of prenatal care have evolved since its formal inception in the early 1900s. Group prenatal care offers an alternative care delivery model to the currently dominant prenatal care model. The group model has been associated with a number of improved perinatal outcomes including decreased preterm birth, higher birth weight, improved breast-feeding initiation and duration, decreased cesarean delivery, and greater patient satisfaction. This article outlines the tenets of CenteringPregnancy, the current dominant form of group prenatal care, reviews literature regarding perinatal outcomes related to group prenatal care, suggests future research agendas, and highlights relevant considerations when implementing this alternate model of prenatal health care delivery. Target Audience Obstetricians and gynecologists, family physicians Learning Objectives After completing this CME activity, physicians should be better able to identify the elements of the CenteringPregnancy group prenatal care model, evaluate which perinatal outcomes have been associated with CenteringPregnancy and similar group prenatal care models, and compare the benefits and risks to implementing a group prenatal care model.
Models for Multiband Infrared Surveys

Empirical "backward" galaxy evolution models for IR bright galaxies are constrained using multiband IR surveys. A new Monte Carlo algorithm is developed for this task. It exploits a large library of realistic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 837 local IR galaxies (IRAS 25 μm selected) from the UV (1000 Å) to the radio (20 cm), including Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) measured 3-13 μm unidentified broad features (UIBs). The basic assumption is that the local correlation between SEDs and mid-infrared (MIR) luminosities can be applied to earlier epochs of the universe, an assumption that will be strongly tested by SIRTF. By attaching an SED appropriately drawn from the SED library to every source predicted by a given model, the algorithm enables simultaneous comparisons with multiple surveys in a wide range of wave bands. Three populations of IR sources are considered in the evolution models. These include (1) starburst galaxies, (2) normal late-type galaxies, and (3) galaxies with active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Constrained by data from the literature, our best-fit model ("peak model") predicts that since z = 1.5 the population of starburst galaxies undergoes a very strong luminosity evolution [L = L0(1 + z)4.2] and also strong density evolution [ρ = ρ0(1 + z)2], the normal late-type galaxy population undergoes a passive luminosity evolution [L = L0(1 + z)1.5], and the galaxies with an AGN undergo a pure luminosity evolution similar to that of optical QSOs [L = L0(1 + z)3.5]. Prior at z ≥ 1.5 all evolution rates drop as (1 + z)-3. The luminosity evolution results in evolution of SEDs of IR bright sources because of the luminosity dependence of the SEDs. Predictions for number counts, confusion limits, redshift distributions, and color-color diagrams are made for multiband surveys using the upcoming SIRTF satellite. A Λ cosmology (ΩΛ = 0.7, Ωm = 0.3, H0 = 75 km s-1 Mpc-1) is assumed throughout the paper.