Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mesoscale SST Dynamics in the Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension Region

Mesoscale eddies have been extensively studied based on the sea surface height anomaly (SSHA). However, it is the sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) that is vital to the mesoscale eddy–atmosphere interactions. In this study, we analyze the amplitude relationship between SSHA and SSTA (referred to as the H-T amplitude relationship) in the Kuroshio–Oyashio extension (KOE) region using both observational and reanalysis data. It is found that the spatial distribution of mesoscale SSHA variance is not coincident with mesoscale SSTA variance. The former peaks in the Kuroshio extension around 35°N whereas the latter is strongest in the Oyashio extension around 40°N. Regression analyses indicate that the rate of SSTA change per SSHA change is 1.8°C m−1 in the Kuroshio extension (145°–160°E, 34°–36°N) but increases drastically by a factor of 3–4 to 6.2°C m−1 in the Oyashio extension (145°–160°E, 39°–41°N). A theoretical expression for the H-T amplitude relationship is derived. Analyzing this expression suggests that the stronger H-T amplitude relationship in the Oyashio extension than the Kuroshio extension is mainly attributed to 1) the smaller thermal expansion coefficient due to the colder background SST, 2) the stronger salinity compensation effect that works against the contribution of SSTA change to sea surface density anomaly (SSDA) change, and 3) the shallower vertical structure of mesoscale eddies. The second factor is ascribed to the strong surface salinity front in the Oyashio extension, while the third factor is found to be qualitatively consistent with the shallower baroclinically unstable modes due to the shallower density front there.
Obstructive sleep apnoea: clinical signs, diagnosis and treatment.

Humans spend one-third of their lifetime sleeping. It has only been ∼50 years since it was recognized that sleep is not simply a passive state characterized by the absence of wakefulness, but rather a condition that has a typical structure with electrophysiologically, clearly distinguishable phases that follow one another according to a characteristic pattern in healthy subjects. Using electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG) and electromyogram (EMG), sleep is classified as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep or one of four different non-REM sleep stages. Altogether, one spends ∼20–25% of the total sleep time in deep sleep and REM sleep, respectively, and ∼50% in light sleep. After the age of 50, the percentage of deep and REM sleep decreases, whereas light sleep and periods of wakefulness during the night increases. During the night, 4–6 sleep cycles are completed lasting 70–90 min and consisting of an initial period of light sleep, followed by deep sleep and finally REM sleep. Whereas deep sleep is predominantly present during the first hours of sleep, there is an increase in REM sleep in the second half of the night, often accompanied by dreaming.
Doinseunggitang Ameliorates Endothelial Dysfunction in Diabetic Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis, a chronic and progressive disease characterized by vascular inflammation, is a leading cause of death in diabetes patients. Doinseunggitang (DYSGT), traditional prescription, has been used for promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the beneficial effects of DYSGT on endothelial dysfunction in diabetic atherosclerosis animal model. Apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE KO) mice fed on a Western diet were treated with DYSGT (200 mg/kg/day). DYSGT significantly lowered blood glucose level and glucose tolerance as well as systolic blood pressure. Metabolic parameter showed that DYSGT markedly decreased triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol levels. In the thoracic aorta, the impairment of vasorelaxation response to acetylcholine and atherosclerotic lesion was attenuated by DYSGT. Furthermore, DYSGT restored the reduction of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression, leading to the inhibition of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression. In conclusion, DYSGT improved the development of diabetic atherosclerosis via attenuation of the endothelial dysfunction, possibly by inhibiting ET-1, cell adhesion molecules, and lesion formation. Therefore, these results suggest that Korean traditional prescription Doinseunggitang may be useful in the treatment and prevention of diabetic vascular complications.
Late-Holocene oceanic variability in the southern Benguela region driven by interplay of upwelling, fluvial discharge, and Agulhas leakage

The southern Benguela upwelling system near the St. Helena Bay has been proposed to be affected by various factors, while few investigations about the late-Holocene oceanic conditions has been carried out in this area. To determine the oceanic variability and its forcing mechanisms in the southern Benguela region during the late-Holocene, we examined organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) records from two marine sediment cores located in the southernmost and central Benguela upwelling system. We compare our results with other proxies including alkenone-derived SSTs, grain size, and coccolithophore assemblages from the same samples. The results indicate a distinctive behavior between the southernmost Benguela system and the central Benguela area. We infer that the oceanic conditions in these two regions are primarily governed by an interplay of wind-induced upwelling, fluvial discharge, and advection of cold sub-Antarctic waters, which is consistent with the current understanding of the paleoclimate conditions in this area. However, the findings also suggest that the southernmost Benguela system also receives additional effects of warm and saline waters via the Agulhas leakage, which has a clear influence on the oceanic conditions in this area.
Water Quality of the Roper River 2012 - 2016

The aim of this report is to summarise the water quality data collected under four different monitoring programs that have been conducted within the Roper river catchment between 2012 and 2016. A detailed description of the programs is provided in section 3. In particular, the report aims to explore 1. Longitudinal (downstream) changes in dry season water quality 2. Temporal changes in dry season water quality between the early to late dry season 3. Inter-annual differences in dry season water quality 4. Spatial and temporal variations in diurnal patterns of water quality over the dry season 5. Relationship of water quality and discharge over one wet season
Boundary ownership by lifting to 2.1D

This paper addresses the “boundary ownership” problem, also known as the figure/ground assignment problem. Estimating boundary ownerships is a key step in perceptual organization: it allows higher-level processing to be applied on non-accidental shapes corresponding to figural regions. Existing methods for estimating the boundary ownerships for a given set of boundary curves model the probability distribution function (PDF) of the binary figure/ground random variables associated with the curves. Instead of modeling this PDF directly, the proposed method uses the 2.1D model: it models the PDF of the ordinal depths of the image segments enclosed by the curves. After this PDF is maximized, the boundary ownership of a curve is determined according to the ordinal depths of the two image segments it abuts. This method has two advantages: first, boundary ownership configurations inconsistent with every depth ordering (and thus very likely to be incorrect) are eliminated from consideration; second, it allows for the integration of cues related to image segments (not necessarily adjacent) in addition to those related to the curves. The proposed method models the PDF as a conditional random field (CRF) conditioned on cues related to the curves, T-junctions, and image segments. The CRF is formulated using learnt non-parametric distributions of the cues. The method significantly improves the currently achieved figure/ ground assignment accuracy, with 20.7% fewer errors in the Berkeley Segmentation Dataset.
Does Long‐Term GPS in the Western Alps Finally Confirm Earthquake Mechanisms?

The availability of GPS survey data spanning 22 years, along with several independent velocity solutions including up to 16 years of permanent GPS data, presents a unique opportunity to search for persistent (and thus reliable) deformation patterns in the Western Alps, which in turn allow a reinterpretation of the active tectonics of this region. While GPS velocities are still too uncertain to be interpreted on an individual basis, the analysis of range‐perpendicular GPS velocity profiles clearly highlights zones of extension in the center of the belt (15.3 to 3.1 nanostrain/year from north to south), with shortening in the forelands. The contrasting geodetic deformation pattern is coherent with earthquake focal mechanisms and related strain/stress patterns over the entire Western Alps. The GPS results finally provide a reliable and robust quantification of the regional strain rates. The observed vertical motions of 2.0 to 0.5 mm/year of uplift from north to south in the core of the Western Alps is interpreted to result from buoyancy forces related to postglacial rebound, erosional unloading, and/or viscosity anomalies in the crustal and lithospheric root. Spatial decorrelation between vertical and horizontal (seismicity related) deformation calls for a combination of processes to explain the complex present‐day dynamics of the Western Alps.
p38 MAPK in Pancreatic Cancer: Finding a Protective Needle in the Haystack

Activated p38 MAPK alpha (pp38α) is a good prognostic marker in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma that could be used to personalize therapy. pp38α suppresses JNK-mediated proliferation, both in vitro and in vivo. These findings support the testing of combination therapies that include JNK targeting and/or suppressing negative regulators of pp38α. Clin Cancer Res; 20(23); 5866–8. ©2014 AACR.
Bronchodilator responsiveness in normal infants and young children.

UNLABELLED Several studies have demonstrated that normal infants exhibit bronchoconstriction after inhalation of nonspecific agonists and that the induced airway narrowing can be reversed by the inhalation of a beta-agonist. However, there are very limited data on baseline airway tone and the airway response to a beta-agonist in this subject population. The purpose of our study was to evaluate in normal infants baseline airway responsiveness to the inhaled beta-agonist, albuterol, using changes in maximal expiratory flows. Forty-one healthy infant volunteers with no history of respiratory disease or recurrent wheezing (ages 5.4 to 141.4 wk) were studied. Maximal expiratory flow- volume curves were obtained at baseline and 10 min after inhalation of albuterol (n = 28) or placebo (n = 13) using a metered-dose inhaler with a spacer. The mean percent change was significantly greater (p < 0.05) in the albuterol versus placebo group for FEV(0.5) (2.2% versus -1.5%), FEF(75%) (10.6% versus -3.1%), and FEF(85%) (12.9% versus 0.5%). Six of 28 albuterol-treated infants demonstrated increases in FEF(75%) greater than two standard deviations from the mean change in FEF(75%) seen in the placebo group. These infants were younger and more frequently exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy. We conclude that normal healthy infants have overall levels of baseline airway tone that are similar to that reported in adults and older children; however, among the infants we evaluated the response to an inhaled bronchodilator was greatest in the youngest infants and in those exposed to tobacco smoking. KEYWORDS airway responsiveness; asthma; tobacco smoke; infant pulmonary function; bronchodilator
A stability result on the feedback interconnection of negative imaginary systems with poles at the origin

This paper presents a new definition of negative imaginary (NI) systems to include poles at the origin. Also, a necessary and sufficient stability conditions of positive feedback interconnection of NI systems that have poles at the origin with a strictly NI system is provided. As an application of this class of systems, an example of a train system is presented.
Self-Regulatory Depletion Enhances Neural Responses to Rewards and Impairs Top-Down Control

To be successful at self-regulation, individuals must be able to resist impulses and desires. The strength model of self-regulation suggests that when self-regulatory capacity is depleted, self-control deficits result from a failure to engage top-down control mechanisms. Using functional neuroimaging, we examined changes in brain activity in response to viewing desirable foods among 31 chronic dieters, half of whom completed a task known to result in self-regulatory depletion. Compared with nondepleted dieters, depleted dieters exhibited greater food-cue-related activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, a brain area associated with coding the reward value and liking aspects of desirable foods; they also showed decreased functional connectivity between this area and the inferior frontal gyrus, a region commonly implicated in self-control. These findings suggest that self-regulatory depletion provokes self-control failure by reducing connectivity between brain regions that are involved in cognitive control and those that represent rewards, thereby decreasing the capacity to resist temptations.
Population trends in the 10-year incidence and prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in the UK: a cohort study in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink 2004–2014

Objectives To describe trends in the incidence and prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in the UK by diabetes type, age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation, region and calendar year. Design Cohort study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Setting UK primary care. Participants 7.7 million patients ≥12 contributing to the CPRD from 2004 to 2014. Primary and secondary outcome measures Age-standardised prevalence and incidence of diabetes, DR and severe DR (requiring photocoagulation) by calendar year and population subgroup. Relative risk of developing DR and severe DR by population subgroup. Results The prevalence of DR was 48.4% in the population type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) (14 846/30 657) and 28.3% (95 807/338 390) in the population with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Prevalence of DR remained stable in people with T2DM and decreased in people with T1DM. Screening for DR increased over time for patients with T2DM and remained static for patients with T1DM Incidence of DR increased in parallel with the incidence of T2DM in both diabetic populations. Among patients with T2DM, relative risk of DR varied significantly by region, was increased for older age groups and in men compared with women, with risk of severe DR increased in South Asian groups and more deprived groups. Relative risk of DR for patients with T1DM varied by age and region, but not by gender, ethnic group or deprivation. Conclusions This is the largest study to date examining the burden of DR in the UK. Regional disparities in incidence may relate to differences in screening delivery and disease ascertainment. Evidence that deprivation and ethnicity are associated with a higher risk of severe DR highlights a significant potential health inequality. Findings from this study will have implications for professionals working in the diabetes and sight loss sectors, particularly to inform approaches for diagnosis of retinopathy and campaigning to better tackle the disease for at risk groups.
Prenatal Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Child IQ at Age 5 Years

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the relationship between prenatal exposure to airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and child intelligence. METHODS: Children of nonsmoking black or Dominican-American women residing in New York City were monitored from in utero to 5 years of age, with determination of prenatal PAH exposure through personal air monitoring for the mothers during pregnancy. At 5 years of age, intelligence was assessed for 249 children by using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate and to test the associations between prenatal PAH exposure and IQ. RESULTS: After adjustment for maternal intelligence, quality of the home caretaking environment, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and other potentially confounding factors, high PAH levels (above the median of 2.26 ng/m3) were inversely associated with full-scale IQ (P = .007) and verbal IQ (P = .003) scores. Children in the high-exposure group had full-scale and verbal IQ scores that were 4.31 and 4.67 points lower, respectively, than those of less-exposed children (≤2.26 ng/m3). The associations between logarithmically transformed, continuous, PAH levels and these IQ measures also were significant (full-scale IQ: β = −3.00; P = .009; verbal IQ: β = −3.53; P = .002). CONCLUSION: These results provide evidence that environmental PAHs at levels encountered in New York City air can affect children's IQ adversely.
Decreased Cognitive/CNS Function in Young Adults at Risk for Hypertension: Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Hypertension has been linked to impaired cognitive/CNS function, and some of these changes may precede development of frank essential hypertension. The stress and fatigue of sleep deprivation may exacerbate these cognitive changes in young adults at risk. We hypothesize that individuals at risk for hypertension will show significant declines in cognitive function during a night of sleep deprivation. Fifty-one young adults were recruited for 28-hour total sleep deprivation studies. Hypertension risk was assessed by mildly elevated resting blood pressure and by family history of hypertension. A series of cognitive memory tasks was given at four test sessions across the sleep deprivation period. Although initially comparable in cognitive performance, persons at risk showed larger declines across the night for several indices of working memory, including code substitution, category, and order recall. These results suggest that cognitive/CNS changes may parallel or precede blood pressure dysregulation in the early stages of hypertension development. The role of CNS changes in the etiology of essential hypertension is discussed.
"Doing battle": a metaphorical analysis of diabetes mellitus among Navajo people.

Effective communication with patients and their family members forms the foundation of a therapeutic relationship. This is particularly important when the occupational therapist, other health professionals, and the patient are from different cultural backgrounds. This paper describes one aspect of the findings of a ethnographic study of chronic diabetes among the Navajo people (referred to here as Dine'). It focuses on the dominant metaphorical images that were used by the informants to describe their illness experiences. The data suggest that diabetes can be considered a metaphor for larger social changes in the life-style and traditions (e.g., away from sheepherding as a means of basic subsistence to obtaining urban-centered employment) of native Americans and their effects on the Dine'. Implications of our findings include the importance of metaphorical communication for perceptions of compliance, powerlessness, and patient and therapist satisfaction with the therapeutic relationship.
Linking 600-Hz “Spikelike” EEG/MEG Wavelets (“&sfgr;-Bursts”) to Cellular Substrates: Concepts and Caveats

Summary Somatosensory evoked human EEG and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) responses comprise a brief burst of low-amplitude, high-frequency (approximately 600 Hz) spikelike wavelets (“&sfgr;-bursts”) superimposed on the primary cortical response (e.g., the N20 to electrical median nerve stimulation). The recent surge of interest in these macroscopic &sfgr;-burst responses is energized by the prospect of monitoring noninvasively, highly synchronized and rapidly repeating population spikes generated in the human thalamic and cortical somatosensory system. Thus, analyses of spike-related &sfgr;-bursts could uniquely complement conventional low-frequency EEG/MEG, reflecting mass excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials that potentially also incorporate subthreshold activities of undetermined functional relevance. Recent studies using spatiotemporal source analysis of multichannel recordings identified regional burst sources subcortically (near-thalamic) as well as cortically. At the primary somatosensory cortex, &sfgr;-burst generators showed the well-established homuncular somatotopic ordering. Functionally, the 600-Hz burst appears to comprise multiple subcomponents with differential sensitivity to stimulus rate, intensity, sleep–wake cycle, tactile interference, subject age, and certain movement disorders. A plenitude of cellular candidates contributing to burst generation at different levels can already now be envisaged, including cuneothalamic and thalamocortical relay cells, as well as cortical bursting pyramidal cells and fast-spiking inhibitory interneurons. Although cellular burst coding might serve to relay information with high efficiency, concepts to link macroscopic &sfgr;-bursts and cellular substrates call for additional study.
Environmental Health: a Global Access Science Source Xenoestrogenic Activity in Blood of European and Inuit Populations

Background: Human exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is ubiquitous and found in all individuals. Studies have documented endocrine disrupting effects and impact on reproduction. The aim of the present study was to compare the level of xenoestrogenic activity in serum of groups with varying POP exposure, and to evaluate correlations to the POP biomarkers, 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-ethylene (p,p'-DDE).
Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (2E,2′E)-3,3′-(1,4-phenylene)bis[1-(2,4-difluorophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one]

The asymmetric unit of the title compound consists of one and a half bischalcone molecules. In the crystal, molecules are linked into a three-dimensional network by C—H⋯F and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, some of the C—H⋯F links being unusually short (< 2.20 Å). Hirshfeld surface analyses are presented and discussed.
On the asymptotic properties of a simple estimate of the Mode

We consider an estimate of the mode θ of a multivariate probability density f with support in $\mathbb R^d$ using a kernel estimate f n drawn from a sample X 1 ,. ,X n . The estimate θ n is defined as any x in { X 1 ,. ,X n } such that $f_n(x)=\max_{i=1, \hdots,n} f_n(X_i)$ . It is shown that θ n behaves asymptotically as any maximizer ${\hat{\theta}}_n$ of f n . More precisely, we prove that for any sequence $(r_n)_{n\geq 1}$ of positive real numbers such that $r_n\to\infty$ and $r_n^d\log n/n\to 0$ , one has $r_n\,\|\theta_n-{\hat{\theta}}_n\| \to 0$ in probability. The asymptotic normality of θ n follows without further work.
Quality factors of crowdsourcing system: Paper review

Crowdsourcing is defined as a process where company distributes tasks online publicly to anonymous people over the Internet to complete the task. It has opened up opportunities for supply and demand for employment via the Internet. One of the major issues, however, is the quality of products and services delivered through the Internet. This issue needs to be addressed seriously as the demands for high-quality products and services have become crucial in today's highly competitive marketplace and fast moving technologies. Thus, in this paper, we explore and analyze how the task affected by the three main components of crowdsourcing: Job Provider, Crowd Workers, and Platform. Analyzing quality factors based on these three components is crucial as these components determine the success of the crowdsourcing system. The result of the analysis is hoped to be useful in improving the quality of crowdsourcing industry particularly in Malaysia.