Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antarctic Cloud Macrophysical, Thermodynamic Phase, and Atmospheric Inversion Coupling Properties at McMurdo Station—Part II: Radiative Impact During Different Synoptic Regimes

Different cloud types are generated over Antarctica as a result of various synoptic conditions. The cloud characteristics affect their impact on the surface energy budget. In this study, the dominating synoptic regimes over Antarctica (centered on the Ross Ice Shelf) are classified using self‐organizing map analysis, applied over long‐term ERA‐Interim 700‐hPa geopotential height data. The corresponding cloud properties over McMurdo Station (measured as part of the AWARE campaign) are described and discussed with respect to the synoptic settings and sea‐ice extent conditions. Cloud radiative forcing calculations are performed as well, and a particular focus is given to the net longwave “radiatively cloudy/opaque” (RO) regime. These results are compared with measurements performed at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide to examine their variability and applicability to other Antarctic locations. It is found that the McMurdo cloud properties are strongly affected by the regional flow patterns and mesoscale cyclonic activity, which often moderates the larger‐scale synoptic regime influence. In contrast, the WAIS clouds are more susceptible to the varying synoptic settings. It is suggested that the positive trend in the (frequent) cyclonic activity near the Antarctic coastal regions makes ice clouds an increasingly prominent contributor for the RO cases, especially during freezeup and maximum sea‐ice conditions.
Medial perirhinal cortex disambiguates confusable objects

Our brain disambiguates the objects in our cluttered visual world seemingly effortlessly, enabling us to understand their significance and to act appropriately. The role of anteromedial temporal structures in this process, particularly the perirhinal cortex, is highly controversial. In some accounts, the perirhinal cortex is necessary for differentiating between perceptually and semantically confusable objects. Other models claim that the perirhinal cortex neither disambiguates perceptually confusable objects nor plays a unique role in semantic processing. One major hurdle to resolving this central debate is the fact that brain damage in human patients typically encompasses large portions of the anteromedial temporal lobe, such that the identification of individual substructures and precise neuroanatomical locus of the functional impairments has been difficult. We tested these competing accounts in patients with Alzheimer’s disease with varying degrees of atrophy in anteromedial structures, including the perirhinal cortex. To assess the functional contribution of each anteromedial temporal region separately, we used a detailed region of interest approach. From each participant, we obtained magnetic resonance imaging scans and behavioural data from a picture naming task that contrasted naming performance with living and non-living things as a way of manipulating perceptual and semantic confusability; living things are more similar to one another than non-living things, which have more distinctive features. We manually traced neuroanatomical regions of interest on native-space cortical surface reconstructions to obtain mean thickness estimates for the lateral and medial perirhinal cortex and entorhinal cortex. Mean cortical thickness in each region of interest, and hippocampal volume, were submitted to regression analyses predicting naming performance. Importantly, atrophy of the medial perirhinal cortex, but not lateral perirhinal cortex, entorhinal cortex or hippocampus, significantly predicted naming performance on living relative to non-living things. These findings indicate that one specific anteromedial temporal lobe region—the medial perirhinal cortex—is necessary for the disambiguation of perceptually and semantically confusable objects. Taken together, these results support a hierarchical account of object processing, whereby the perirhinal cortex at the apex of the ventral object processing system is required to bind properties of not just perceptually, but also semantically confusable objects together, enabling their disambiguation from other similar objects and thus comprehension. Significantly, this model combining a hierarchical object processing architecture with a semantic feature statistic account explains why category-specific semantic impairments for living things are associated with anteromedial temporal lobe damage, and pinpoints the root of this syndrome to perirhinal cortex damage.
Determinants of International Tourism

The paper estimates the impact of macroeconomic supply- and demand-side determinants of tourism, one of the largest components of services exports globally, and the backbone of many smaller economies. It applies the gravity model to a large dataset comprising the full universe of bilateral tourism flows spanning over a decade. The results show that the gravity model explains tourism flows better than goods trade for equivalent specifications. The elasticity of tourism with respect to GDP of the origin (importing) country is lower than for goods trade. Tourism flows respond strongly to changes in the destination country’s real exchange rate, along both extensive (tourist arrivals) and intensive (duration of stay) margins. OECD countries generally exhibit higher elasticties with respect to economic variables (GDPs of the two economies, real exchange rate, bilateral trade) due to the larger share of business travel. Tourism to small islands is less sensitive to changes in the country’s real exchange rate, but more susceptible to the introduction/removal of direct flights.
Problem of immunoglobulin M co-detection in serological response to bacterial and viral respiratory pathogens among children suspected of legionellosis

The objective of this research was an analysis of the serological response to respiratory bacterial and viral pathogens, in 156 children admitted to hospital in Warsaw with a suspicion of legionellosis. Levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) M to Bordetella pertussis, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenoviruses, human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) t. 1-4 and influenza t. A + B viruses were determined retrospectively by ELISAs. In the prospective examinations (only Legionella pneumophila sg1), a positive level of IgM was found in 35 patients, but in 59 children together with retrospective tests. There were positive results for B. pertussis (21 children), followed by HPIV (10 children), M. pneumoniae (5 patients), RSV (4 persons), adenoviruses (3 children), and influenza A + B virus (3 persons). Positive results for > 1 agent were found in 16 children. The most often co-detected IgM were to L. pneumophila sg1 and B. pertussis (9 children) and L. pneumophila sg1 and M. pneumoniae (5 patients). The distribution of IgM to L. pneumophila sg1, B. pertussis and HPIV among children ≤ 4 years differed significantly from IgM specific to other pathogens. A high number of HPIV infections, mainly single, was found among infants. Positive results of IgM to L. pneumophila sg1 were mainly found in children aged 4-5 years. and the oldest children (over 10 years.). However, among the oldest children, anti-L. pneumophila sg1 antibodies were often found together with IgM to B. pertussis. Infections due to more than 2 pathogens were only observed among patients with pneumonia, especially due to L. pneumophila sg1 and/or B. pertussis. Conversely, co-detection of IgM ELISA for L. pneumophila and M. pneumoniae were mainly detected among patients hospitalized without pneumonia.
The Late Jurassic extensional event in the central part of the South China Block – evidence from the Laoshan’ao shear zone and Xiangdong Tungsten deposit (Hunan, SE China)

ABSTRACT The Late Mesozoic tectonics strongly reworked the tectonic framework of East Asia. In the South China Block (SCB), the major Late Mesozoic phenomena are featured by numerous magmatic activities, (half-) graben basins opening, and abundant ore deposits formation. The intrinsic relationships of these phenomena with the tectonic regime are still hotly debated, partly due to the lack of structural data. To advance the understanding of these issues, we conducted a detailed structural analysis including field and microscopic observations as well as an Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) investigation in the Laoshan’ao shear zone (LSA), which is the northern branch of the major Chaling–Chenzhou–Linwu Fault (CCLF) in the SCB. The new data enable us to reach the following conclusions: the evolution of the LSA can be divided into three deformation phases. D1 is a NW–SE-stretching event featured by the SE-dipping normal fault with a top-to-the-SE shear sense, coeval with the emplacement of the 154 Ma Batuan syn-tectonic pluton that leads to the development of the Xiangdong tungsten deposit and the opening of the Cretaceous Chaling basin; D2 is a NE–SW-striking dextral strike–slip event that dislocated the ore veins formed during the D1 event; D3 is a NW-directed thrusting event that cross-cut the previous gneissic foliation. D1 is the major event of the LSA shear zone, interpreted as the reactivation of the CCLF in response to the Late Mesozoic tectonics in the SCB, and indicates a NW-SE extensional regime since the Late Jurassic in the study area. This study also provides an example for an ore-forming process controlled by both the hydrothermal fluid coming from a syn-tectonic granite and the accommodation of tension gashes opened by the regional extensional event. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
A Self-Calibrating, Camera-Based Eye Tracker for the Recording of Rodent Eye Movements

Much of neurophysiology and vision science relies on careful measurement of a human or animal subject's gaze direction. Video-based eye trackers have emerged as an especially popular option for gaze tracking, because they are easy to use and are completely non-invasive. However, video eye trackers typically require a calibration procedure in which the subject must look at a series of points at known gaze angles. While it is possible to rely on innate orienting behaviors for calibration in some non-human species, other species, such as rodents, do not reliably saccade to visual targets, making this form of calibration impossible. To overcome this problem, we developed a fully automated infrared video eye-tracking system that is able to quickly and accurately calibrate itself without requiring co-operation from the subject. This technique relies on the optical geometry of the cornea and uses computer-controlled motorized stages to rapidly estimate the geometry of the eye relative to the camera. The accuracy and precision of our system was carefully measured using an artificial eye, and its capability to monitor the gaze of rodents was verified by tracking spontaneous saccades and evoked oculomotor reflexes in head-fixed rats (in both cases, we obtained measurements that are consistent with those found in the literature). Overall, given its fully automated nature and its intrinsic robustness against operator errors, we believe that our eye-tracking system enhances the utility of existing approaches to gaze-tracking in rodents and represents a valid tool for rodent vision studies.
Developmentally regulated cleavage of tRNAs in the bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor

The ability to sense and respond to environmental and physiological signals is critical for the survival of the soil-dwelling Gram-positive bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor. Nutrient deprivation triggers the onset of a complex morphological differentiation process that involves the raising of aerial hyphae and formation of spore chains, and coincides with the production of a diverse array of clinically relevant antibiotics and other secondary metabolites. These processes are tightly regulated; however, the genes and signals involved have not been fully elucidated. Here, we report a novel tRNA cleavage event that follows the same temporal regulation as morphological and physiological differentiation, and is growth medium dependent. All tRNAs appear to be susceptible to cleavage; however, there appears to be a bias towards increased cleavage of those tRNAs that specify highly utilized codons. In contrast to what has been observed in eukaryotes, accumulation of tRNA halves in S. coelicolor is not significantly affected by amino acid starvation, and is also not affected by induction of the stringent response or inhibition of ribosome function. Mutants defective in aerial development and antibiotic production exhibit altered tRNA cleavage profiles relative to wild-type strains.
Hardening Persona - Improving Federated Web Login

Federated login protocols for the Web are intended to increase user security by reducing the proliferation of passwords that users are expected to remember and use on a day to day basis, however these protocols are vulnerable to recent attacks against TLS that allow attackers to extract session cookies and other such authentication tokens from within TLS sessions. A recent technique, TLS-OBC (origin bound certificates), allows these tokens to be hardened against extraction. This paper describes the design and engineering of OBC-based extensions to federated login protocols. We present two OBC-based variants on the popular Persona federated login protocol, formalizing them with BAN logic and using the automated proof checker from the related Nexus Authentication Logic. We also present a proof of concept implementation, exploring the necessary browser extensions and server support.
Does Visual Perspective Matter in Imitation?

Theories purporting to explain the cognitive processes underlying imitation and its taxonomic distribution have proliferated in recent years but a common assumption is that imitators must adopt a model's mental or visual perspective. Data on thirty-six adult subjects were used to test the hypothesis that imitative learning of knots would suffer a decrement proportional to the disparity of visual perspectives on the task that the subject held between observation and performance. There was no significant effect of visual perspective on performance, nor was there a trend in the predicted direction. This was in spite of significant preferences on the part of subjects for minimising the angle of disparity, assessed both by their behaviour and introspective report. The cognitive basis for human imitation is discussed in the light of these findings.
Implementation of a low-budget, lifestyle-improvement method in an ordinary primary healthcare setting: a stepwise intervention study

Objective To evaluate, in an ordinary primary healthcare setting, the effects of a screening questionnaire and a self-administered health profile dealing with special reference to the involvement of motivated individuals in need of lifestyle changes. Design Intervention study in a naturalistic context, using a screening questionnaire offered to consecutive patients, followed by a self-administered health profile and a health dialogue. Setting Hisingen primary healthcare area (130 033 inhabitants), Gothenburg, Sweden. Participants Men and women aged between 18 and 79, visiting any of the eight public primary healthcare centres (PCC) during an 8-month period, were presented with a screening questionnaire and, were offered, a health profile, a plasma glucose (p-glucose), blood pressure check and a health dialogue. Main outcome measures Motivation level, negative lifestyle factors in screening questionnaire and intraindividual changes in blood pressure, p-glucose, body mass index (BMI) and lifestyle factors between baseline and 1-year follow-up. Results Subjects with less favourable lifestyle and higher motivation chose to participate. A higher percentage of presumptive participants reported a less favourable lifestyle. The presumptive participants also indicated higher motivation. Participants showed more readiness to initiate lifestyle changes compared to non-participants (p<0.001). At 1-year follow-up significant reductions in BMI, waist circumference, waist–hip ratio (WHR), blood pressure and p-glucose were observed. Conclusions The results indicate that the method is on target and applicable to motivated individuals with a ‘risk profile’. A pedagogical model including a self-administered health-profile and a health dialogue, combined with emphasising the individual's own resources, seems to be a feasible method for effective preventive work in primary healthcare.
FABP4 Induces Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Migration through a MAPK-Dependent Pathway

Purpose The migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells play crucial roles in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. This study examined the effects of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), an adipokine that is associated with cardiovascular risk, endothelial dysfunction and proinflammatory effects, on the migration and proliferation of human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCASMCs). Methods and Results A DNA 5-bromo-2′-deoxy-uridine (BrdU) incorporation assay indicated that FABP4 significantly induced the dose-dependent proliferation of HCASMCs with a maximum stimulatory effect at 120 ng/ml (13% vs. unstimulated cells, p<0.05). An anti-FABP4 antibody (40 ng/ml) significantly inhibited the induced cell proliferation, demonstrating the specificity of the FABP4 proliferative effect. FABP4 significantly induced HCASMC migration in a dose-dependent manner with an initial effect at 60 ng/ml (12% vs. unstimulated cells, p<0.05). Time-course studies demonstrated that FABP4 significantly increased cell migration compared with unstimulated cells from 4 h (23%vs. 17%, p<0.05) to 12 h (74%vs. 59%, p<0.05). Pretreatment with LY-294002 (5 µM) and PD98059 (10 µM) blocked the FABP4-induced proliferation and migration of HCASMCs, suggesting the activation of a kinase pathway. On a molecular level, we observed an up-regulation of the MAPK pathway without activation of Akt. We found that FABP4 induced the active forms of the nuclear transcription factors c-jun and c-myc, which are regulated by MAPK cascades, and increased the expression of the downstream genes cyclin D1 and MMP2, CCL2, and fibulin 4 and 5, which are involved in cell cycle regulation and cell migration. Conclusions These findings indicate a direct effect of FABP4 on the migration and proliferation of HCASMCs, suggesting a role for this adipokine in vascular remodelling. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the FABP4-induced DNA synthesis and cell migration are mediated primarily through a MAPK-dependent pathway that activates the transcription factors c-jun and c-myc in HCASMCs.
Demographic drivers of black-throated blue warbler population dynamics at the trailing edge and core of the species' range

Species’ ranges are shifting poleward and to higher elevations in response to climate change. Very few studies have determined how demography links environmental change to range shifts. To investigate the demographic drivers of range shifts, I examined spatial and temporal variation in population density and demography of black-throated blue warblers (Setophaga caerulescens) near the core and trailing edge of the species’ range. Population density declined at the trailing edge, but remained stable in the core of the range, which supported the hypothesis that this species’ range is shifting. Survival rates were higher, but recruitment rates were lower at the trailing edge, suggesting that low recruitment may explain trailing-edge population declines. Future work should seek to understand how climate influences recruitment at trailing-edge range margins via shifts in reproduction, juvenile survival, or dispersal. INDEX WORDS: Bayesian population models, Black-throated blue warbler, Climate change, Demography, Population dynamics, Range shifts DEMOGRAPHIC DRIVERS OF BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER POPULATION DYNAMICS AT THE TRAILING EDGE AND CORE OF THE SPECIES’ RANGE
Detection and quantification of Phytophthora ramorum, P. kernoviae, P. citricola and P. quercina in symptomatic leaves by multiplex real-time PCR.

SUMMARY New species of Phytophthora such as Phytophthora ramorum, P. kernoviae and P. quercina together with P. citricola are plant pathogens which impact on forest health, natural ecosystem stability and international trade. A real-time multiplex PCR approach based on TaqMan PCR was developed to simultaneously identify and detect these four Phytophthora species. Specific primers and probes labelled with FAM (P. ramorum), Yakima Yellow (P. kernoviae), Rox (P. citricola) and Cy5 (P. quercina) were designed in different regions of the ras-related protein (Ypt1) gene. A new set of Black Hole Quenchers (BHQ), which dissipate energy as heat rather than fluorescence, were utilized. The method proved to be highly specific in tests with target DNA from 72 Phytophthora isolates (35 species). For all pathogens, the detection limit was 100 fg of target DNA and was not improved utilizing a nested approach to provide a first round of amplification with Phytophthora spp. -specific primers. Cycle threshold (Ct) values were linearly correlated with the concentration of the target DNA (correlation coefficients ranged from 0.947 to 0.996) and were not affected by the presence of plant extracts, indicating the appropriateness of the method for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Two universal primers and a TaqMan probe were also developed to evaluate the quality and quantity of extracted DNA and to avoid false negatives. The reliability of the entire procedure was assessed using both artificially and naturally infected leaves of a range of plant species. The method, combined with a rapid procedure for DNA extraction, proved to be rapid, reliable, sensitive and cost effective as multiple pathogens were detected within the same plant extract by using different primer/probe combinations.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Sleep Disorders: Evidence for a Causal Link and Therapeutic Implications

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep disturbances are both common health problems. There is a significant association between disturbed sleep and GERD, and this may be bidirectional. Sleep disorders may induce gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, while GI symptoms also may provoke or worsen sleep derangements. Reflux of gastric acid is a less frequent event during sleep, however, acid clearance mechanisms (including swallowing, salivation and primary esophageal motility) are impaired during sleep resulting in prolongation of acid contact time. Nighttime reflux can lead to sleep disturbance and sleep disturbance may further aggravate GERD by prolonged acid contact time and heightened sensory perception. This may facilitate the occurrence of complicated GERD and decreased quality of life. However, the interplay between sleep problems and GERD is complex, and there are still relatively limited data on this issue. Further investigation of sleep-related GERD may identify common pathophysiological themes and new therapeutic targets.