Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Miocene shearing along the northern boundary of the Jalisco block and the opening of the southern Gulf of California

New geologic and structural mapping in western Mexico shows that the tectonic boundary between the Eocene–early Miocene Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic province and the Cretaceous-Paleocene Jalisco block was reactivated as a transfer zone accommodating a limited amount of lateral motion in middle and late Miocene time. Transpressional folding, left-lateral strike-slip faulting, and minor thrusting occurred between 14.5 and 11.5 Ma during initial rifting at the mouth of the Gulf of California. Inferred right-lateral transtension between ∼12 and 9 Ma took place concurrently with widespread alkaline volcanism and east-west extension at the gulf mouth and east of the Jalisco block. These events can be explained in light of the long extensional history that led to the separation of Baja California from mainland Mexico since the birth of the Magdalena microplate, about 14.5 Ma. Left-lateral shearing at the Sierra Madre Occidental–Jalisco block boundary indicates that initial (14–12 Ma) rifting at the mouth of the gulf was accomplished mainly by east-southeast motion of the block. This was caused by differential stresses applied to the North America plate at the two sides of the subducting Magdalena-Cocos plate boundary as a consequence of the waning of subduction of the Magdalena plate. Subsequent right-lateral transtension at the Sierra Madre Occidental–Jalisco block boundary and extension to the east imply a limited west-northwest motion of the block, which possibly accounts for the discrepancy between slow rifting at the mouth of the gulf and fast northwest motion of Baja California.
Layer-specific analysis of myocardial function for accurate prediction of reversible ischaemic dysfunction in intermediate viability defined by contrast-enhanced MRI

Background Contrast-enhanced MRI (ceMRI) has impaired accuracy in the prediction of functional recovery after revascularisation in cases of intermediate myocardial viability. Objective To evaluate the predictive value of layer-specific myocardial deformation analysis for improvement in ischaemic dysfunction after revascularisation. Methods In 132 patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction undergoing revascularisation, myocardial viability was assessed by pixel-tracking-derived myocardial deformation imaging and ceMRI. Peak systolic circumferential strain was determined for total wall thickness and for three myocardial layers (endocardial, mid-myocardial and epicardial) in a 16-segment model. Analysis to predict recovery of function at 8±2 months after revascularisation was performed considering all dysfunctional segments or only segments with intermediate viability by ceMRI (hyperenhancement 25–75%, N=735 segments). Results Segments with functional recovery (N=568) had higher circumferential strain in all myocardial layers and a smaller degree of hyperenhancement than segments without functional recovery (N=433). Analysis of all dysfunctional segments showed that the predictive accuracy for functional recovery was high for endocardial strain, total wall thickness strain and hyperenhancement by ceMRI (area under the curve (AUC) 0.883, 0.782 and 0.834, respectively). Considering only segments with intermediate viability by ceMRI, endocardial circumferential strain allowed prediction of functional recovery with higher accuracy (specificity 75%, sensitivity 78%, AUC=0.811, 95% CI 0.776 to 0.851) than hyperenhancement analysis (specificity 59%, sensitivity 72%, AUC=0.705, 95% CI 0.659 to 0.747, p<0.05). Conclusion Analysis of layer-specific myocardial function using deformation imaging allows accurate identification of reversible myocardial dysfunction. In segments with intermediate viability analysis of layer-specific deformation may have special advantages for prediction of functional recovery. Clinical trial registration information Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00476320.
New Zealanders’ perceptions of the state of marine fisheries and their management

Management of New Zealand marine fisheries is widely regarded as innovative and effective. However a nationwide survey in 2000 revealed that New Zealanders judge the state of New Zealand’s marine fisheries to be adequate to good, and management of the marine fisheries is only adequate. On those two criteria marine fisheries obtained the lowest ratings amongst thirteen areas of the natural environment. In this paper we report results from a 2002 nationwide survey which repeats the 2000 questions and probes further to determine which features of marine fisheries and their management lead to their comparatively low scores. Findings are consistent between the two surveys. There are clear differences in perception on the basis of ethnicity and this has a range of policy implications for fisheries and other policy managers.
Multispecies reactive tracer test in an aquifer with spatially variable chemical conditions

A field investigation of multispecies reactive transport was conducted in a well‐characterized, sand and gravel aquifer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The aquifer is characterized by regions of differing chemical conditions caused by the disposal of secondary sewage effluent. Ten thousand liters of groundwater with added tracers (Br, Cr(VI), and EDTA complexed with Pb, Zn, Cu, and Ni) were injected into the aquifer and distributions of the tracers were monitored for 15 months. Most of the tracers were transported more than 200 m; transport was quantified using spatial moments computed from the results of a series of synoptic samplings. Cr(VI) transport was retarded relative to Br; the retardation factor varied from 1.1 to 2.4 and was dependent on chemical conditions. At 314 days after the injection, dissolved Cr(VI) mass in the tracer cloud had decreased 85%, with the likely cause being reduction to Cr(III) in a suboxic region of the aquifer. Transport of the metal‐EDTA complexes was affected by aqueous complexation, adsorption, and dissolution‐precipitation reactions of Fe oxyhydroxide minerals in the aquifer sediments. Dissolved Pb‐EDTA complexes disappeared from the tracer cloud within 85 days, probably due to metal exchange reactions with Fe and adsorbed Zn (present prior to the injection from contamination by the sewage effluent). About 30% of the Cu‐EDTA complexes remained within the tracer cloud 314 days after injection, even though the thermodynamic stability of the Pb‐EDTA complex is greater than Cu‐EDTA. It is hypothesized that stronger adsorption of Pb2+ to the aquifer sediments causes the Pb‐EDTA complex to disassociate to a greater degree than the Cu‐EDTA complex. The mass of dissolved Zn‐EDTA increased during the first 175 days of the tracer test to 140% of the mass injected, with the increase due to desorption of sewage‐derived Zn. Dissolved Ni‐EDTA mass remained nearly constant throughout the tracer test, apparently only participating in reversible adsorption reactions. The results of the field experiment provide a chemically complex data set that can be used in the testing of reactive transport models of flow coupled with chemical reactions.
Behavior of antibiotics during human necrotizing pancreatitis

The aim of the study was to verify whether antibiotics excreted by the normal pancreas are also excreted in human necrotizing pancreatitis, reaching the tissue sites of the infection. Twelve patients suffering from acute necrotizing pancreatitis were treated with imipenem-cilastatin (0.5 g), mezlocillin (2 g), gentamicin (0.08 g), amikacin (0.5 g), pefloxacin (0.4 g), and metronidazole (0.5 g). Serum and necrotic samples were collected simultaneously at different time intervals after parenteral drug administration by computed tomography-guided needle aspiration, intraoperatively, and from surgical drainages placed during surgery. Drug concentrations were determined by microbiological and high-performance liquid chromatography assays. All antibiotics reached the necrotic tissues, but with varying degrees of penetration, this being low for aminoglycosides (13%) and high in the case of pefloxacin (89%) and metronidazole (99%). The concentrations of pefloxacin (13.0 to 23 micrograms/g) and metronidazole (8.4 micrograms/g) in the necrotic samples were distinctly higher than the MICs for the organisms most commonly isolated in this disease; the concentrations in tissue of imipenem (3.35 micrograms/g) and mezlocillin (8.0 and 15.0 micrograms/g) did not always exceed the MICs for 90% of strains tested, whereas the aminoglycoside concentrations in necrotic tissue (0.5 microgram/g) were inadequate. Repeated administration of drugs (for 3, 7, 17, and 20 days) seems to enhance penetration of pefloxacin, imipenem, and metronidazole into necrotic pancreatic tissue. The choice of antibiotics in preventing infected necrosis during necrotizing pancreatitis should be based on their antimicrobial activity, penetration rate, persistence, and therapeutic concentrations in the necrotic pancreatic area. These requisites are provided by pefloxacin and metronidazole and to a variable extent by imipenem and mezlocillin.
Treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa with etanercept injection.

OBJECTIVES To observe the effects of etanercept treatment on the cutaneous manifestations of hidradenitis suppurative (HS) and to evaluate physician and patient global assessment scores of cutaneous manifestations. DESIGN Single-center, randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. SETTING Academic dermatology practice. PATIENTS Twenty patients with active moderate to severe HS who fulfilled all inclusion criteria. INTERVENTION Etanercept, 50 mg, or placebo was administered subcutaneously (SC) twice weekly for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, all patients received open-label etanercept, 50 mg, SC twice weekly for 12 more weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary end point: physician global assessment of HS as clear or mild at week 12. Secondary end points: patient global assessment and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference among physician global assessment, patient global assessment, and DLQI at 12 or 24 weeks between treatment and placebo groups (P > .05 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS Etanercept, 50 mg, SC administered twice weekly did not have significant efficacy in the improvement of HS. In light of our negative results, as well as those of previous studies, we suggest that future studies focus on other agents for the treatment of HS. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00949546.
Ego-Dissolution and Psychedelics: Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI)

Aims: The experience of a compromised sense of “self”, termed ego-dissolution, is a key feature of the psychedelic experience. This study aimed to validate the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI), a new 8-item self-report scale designed to measure ego-dissolution. Additionally, we aimed to investigate the specificity of the relationship between psychedelics and ego-dissolution. Method: Sixteen items relating to altered ego-consciousness were included in an internet questionnaire; eight relating to the experience of ego-dissolution (comprising the EDI), and eight relating to the antithetical experience of increased self-assuredness, termed ego-inflation. Items were rated using a visual analog scale. Participants answered the questionnaire for experiences with classical psychedelic drugs, cocaine and/or alcohol. They also answered the seven questions from the Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ) relating to the experience of unity with one’s surroundings. Results: Six hundred and ninety-one participants completed the questionnaire, providing data for 1828 drug experiences (1043 psychedelics, 377 cocaine, 408 alcohol). Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the eight EDI items loaded exclusively onto a single common factor, which was orthogonal to a second factor comprised of the items relating to ego-inflation (rho = −0.110), demonstrating discriminant validity. The EDI correlated strongly with the MEQ-derived measure of unitive experience (rho = 0.735), demonstrating convergent validity. EDI internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha 0.93). Three analyses confirmed the specificity of ego-dissolution for experiences occasioned by psychedelic drugs. Firstly, EDI score correlated with drug-dose for psychedelic drugs (rho = 0.371), but not for cocaine (rho = 0.115) or alcohol (rho = −0.055). Secondly, the linear regression line relating the subjective intensity of the experience to ego-dissolution was significantly steeper for psychedelics (unstandardized regression coefficient = 0.701) compared with cocaine (0.135) or alcohol (0.144). Ego-inflation, by contrast, was specifically associated with cocaine experiences. Finally, a binary Support Vector Machine classifier identified experiences occasioned by psychedelic drugs vs. cocaine or alcohol with over 85% accuracy using ratings of ego-dissolution and ego-inflation alone. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the psychometric structure, internal consistency and construct validity of the EDI. Moreover, we demonstrate the close relationship between ego-dissolution and the psychedelic experience. The EDI will facilitate the study of the neuronal correlates of ego-dissolution, which is relevant for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and our understanding of psychosis.
A REANALYSIS OF 409 EUROPEAN-ANCESTRY AND AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHIZOPHRENIA PEDIGREES REVEALS SIGNIFICANT LINKAGE TO 8p23.3 WITH EVIDENCE OF LOCUS HETEROGENEITY

The detection and replication of schizophrenia risk loci can require substantial sample sizes, which has prompted various collaborative efforts for combining multiple samples. However, pooled samples may comprise sub‐samples with substantial population genetic differences, including allele frequency differences. We investigated the impact of population differences via linkage reanalysis of Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia 1 (MGS1) affected sibling‐pair data, comprising two samples of distinct ancestral origin: European (EA: 263 pedigrees) and African‐American (AA: 146 pedigrees). To exploit the linkage information contained within these distinct continental samples, we performed separate analyses of the individual samples, allowing for within‐sample locus heterogeneity, and the pooled sample, allowing for both within‐sample and between‐sample heterogeneity. Significance levels, corrected for the multiple tests, were determined empirically. For all suggestive peaks, stronger linkage evidence was obtained in either the EA or AA sample than the combined sample, regardless of how heterogeneity was modeled for the latter. Notably, we report genomewide significant linkage of schizophrenia to 8p23.3 and evidence for a second, independent susceptibility locus, reaching suggestive linkage, 29 cM away on 8p21.3. We also detected suggestive linkage on chromosomes 5p13.3 and 7q36.2. Many regions showed pronounced differences in the extent of linkage between the EA and AA samples. This reanalysis highlights the potential impact of population differences upon linkage evidence in pooled data and demonstrates a useful approach for the analysis of samples drawn from distinct continental groups. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Thiazolidinediones in the Treatment of Insulin Resistance and Type II Diabetes

Insulin resistance, characterized by reduced responsiveness to normal circulating concentrations of insulin, is a common feature of almost all patients with type II diabetes. The presumed central roles of both peripheral and hepatic insulin resistance suggest that the enhancement of insulin action might be an effective pharmacological approach to diabetes. Thiazolidinediones are a new class of orally active drugs that are designed to enhance the actions of insulin. These agents reduce insulin resistance by increasing insulin-dependent glucose disposal and reducing hepatic glucose output. Clinical studies in patients with type II diabetes, as well as other syndromes characterized by insulin resistance, have demonstrated that thiazolidinediones may represent a safe and effective new treatment. Although the precise mechanism of action of these drugs remains unknown, transcriptional changes are observed in tissue culture cells that produce enhanced insulin action. This regulation of gene expression appears to be mediated by the interactions of thiazolidinediones with a family of nuclear receptors known as the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). The further elucidation of the molecular actions of these drugs may reveal much about the underlying mechanisms of insulin resistance.
On the relative importance of quasi‐biennial oscillation and El Nino/Southern Oscillation in the revised Dobson total ozone records

The interannual variability of the ozone layer is studied with the largest available revised Dobson (RD) total ozone records through March 1991. The analysis of this new data set, as well as the revised Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) zonal mean total ozone, shows that the phase of the ozone Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) relative to the 50 hPa zonal wind at Singapore varies linearly with latitude, being nearly in-phase at low latitudes and more symmetric about the equator than published in earlier studies. The phase progression of the QBO is about 2 months per 10 degrees of latitude, ozone following the 50 hPa zonal wind at Singapore. After removing the QBO and solar cycles from the RD total ozone records, a relatively large part of the remaining total ozone variance can be explained by El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in the tropics. It is also shown that only very large ENSO events (1982–1983 and possibly 1972) are followed within a few months time lag by low total ozone values in middle and even higher latitudes. This analysis also shows that at individual stations there are other significant total ozone anomalies which cannot be explained by the QBO or ENSO. Tentative circulational aspects of the ENSO disturbance and its relation to total ozone are also discussed.
Richtmyer-Meshkov instability dataset from LLNL or some of the visible human datasets from National Library of Medicine

We present a new method for the interactive rendering of isosurfaces using ray tracing on multi-core processors. This method consists of a combination of an object-order traversal that coarsely identifies possible candidate 3D data blocks for each small set of contiguous pixels, and an isosurface ray casting strategy tailored for the resulting limited-size lists of candidate 3D data blocks. Our implementation scheme results in a compact indexing structure and makes careful use of multithreading and memory management environments commonly present in multi-core processors. While static screen partitioning is widely used in the literature, our scheme starts with an image partitioning for the initial stage and then performs dynamic allocation of groups of ray casting tasks among the different threads to ensure almost equal loads among the different cores while maintaining spatial locality. We also pay a particular attention to the overhead incurred by moving the data across the different levels of the memory hierarchy. We test our system on a two-processor Clovertown platform, each consisting of a Quad-Core 1.86 GHz Intel Xeon Processor, and present detailed experimental results for a number of widely different benchmarks. We show that our system is efficient and scalable, and achieves high cache performance and excellent load balancing, resulting in an overall performance that is superior to any of the previous algorithms. In fact, we achieve interactive isosurface rendering on a screen with 10242 resolution for all the datasets tested up to the maximum size that can fit in the main memory of our platform.
Tangent linear analysis of the Mosaic land surface model

[1] In this study, a tangent linear eigenanalysis is applied to the Mosaic land surface model (LSM) [Koster and Suarez, 1992] to examine the impacts of the model internal dynamics and physics on the land surface state variability. The tangent linear model (TLM) of the Mosaic LSM is derived numerically for two sets of basic states and two tile types of land condition, grass and bare soil. An additional TLM, for the soil moisture subsystem of this LSM, is derived analytically for the same cases to obtain explicit expressions for the eigenvalues. An eigenvalue of the TLM determines a characteristic timescale, and the corresponding eigenvector, or mode, describes a particular coupling among the perturbed states. The results show that (1) errors in initial conditions tend to decay with e-folding times given by the characteristic timescales; (2) the LSM exhibits a wide range of internal variability, modes mainly representing surface temperature and surface moisture perturbations exhibit short timescales, whereas modes mainly representing deep soil temperature perturbations and moisture transfer throughout the entire soil column exhibit much longer timescales; (3) the modes of soil moisture tend to be weakly coupled with other perturbed variables, and the mode representing the deep soil temperature perturbation has a consistent e-folding time across the experiments; (4) the key parameters include soil moisture, soil layer depth, and soil hydraulic parameters. The results agree qualitatively with previous findings. However, tangent linear eigenanalysis provides a new approach to the quantitative substantiation of those findings. Also, it reveals the evolution and the coupling of the perturbed land states that are useful for the development of land surface data assimilation schemes. One must be careful when generalizing the quantitative results since they are obtained with respect to two specific basic states and two simple land conditions. Also, the methodology employed here does not apply directly to an actual time-varying basic state. INDEX TERMS: 1704 History of Geophysics: Atmospheric sciences; 3210 Mathematical Geophysics: Modeling; 3337 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Numerical modeling and data assimilation; KEYWORDS: tangent linear analysis, land surface state variability, soil moisture dynamics Citation: Yang, R. , S. E. Cohn, A. da Silva, J. Joiner, and P. R. Houser, Tangent linear analysis of the Mosaic land surface model, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D2), 4054, doi:10.1029/2002JD002410, 2003.