Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IQ and non-clinical psychotic symptoms in 12-year-olds: results from the ALSPAC birth cohort

Background Non-clinical psychotic symptoms appear common in children, but it is possible that a proportion of reported symptoms result from misinterpretation. There is a well-established association between pre-morbid low IQ score and schizophrenia. Psychosis-like symptoms in children may also be a risk factor for psychotic disorder but their relationship with IQ is unclear. Aims To investigate the prevalence, nature and frequency of psychosis-like symptoms in 12-year-old children and study their relationship with IQ. Method Longitudinal study using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort. A total of 6455 children completed screening questions for 12 psychotic symptoms followed by a semi-structured clinical assessment. IQ was assessed at 8 years of age using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd UK edition). Results The 6-month period prevalence for one or more symptoms was 13.7% (95% CI 12.8–14.5). After adjustment for confounding variables, there was a non-linear association between IQ score and psychosis-like symptoms, such that only those with below average IQ score had an increased risk of reporting such symptoms. Conclusions Non-clinical psychotic symptoms occur in a significant proportion of 12-year-olds. Symptoms are associated with low IQ and also less strongly with a high IQ score. The pattern of association with IQ differs from that observed in schizophrenia.
Thermal regime of a valley glacier, Erikbreen, northern Spitsbergen

The thermal regime of the valley glacier, Erikbreen, northern Spitsbergen (79°40? N, 12°30? E) was studied using radio-echo sounding and temperature measurements from eight boreholes ranging from 13.5 to 24 m. Radar images indicate a glacier with a two-layered thermal structure. A surface layer of cold ice, 20 to 60 m thick along the centre flow line, extends from an altitude above equilibrium line to the glacier front. This layer represents 20 to 35% of the glacier thickness, except at the floating front, where the cold layer is about 50%. The ice beneath the cold surface layer is interpreted to be temperate. Cold-based areas exist near the glacier margin and in some locations in the accumulation area; the ice is interpreted to be entirely temperate in central parts of the accumulation area at high altitude. Freezing of temperate ice at the base of the cold surface layer is probably the main mechanism of cold ice formation in the frontal parts of Erikbreen. Calculated heat fluxes based on the borehole measurements show that a steady state cold layer 25 to 30 m thick is likely, assuming a surface melting of 1.7 m/y and a maximum water content of 3%. In the frontal parts the calculated mean annual upward heat flux at 10 to 15 m depth is roughly 0.6 W/m2.
A new approach for dealing with depressions in digital elevation models when calculating flow accumulation values

Calculation of flow accumulation (also known as upstream area) matrices from digital elevation models (DEMs) is a very common procedure in hydrological studies, and also has been used in other disciplines within physical geography, such as glaciology. A problem with such calculations has always been the presence of closed depressions in DEMs; flow is directed towards such areas, but then cannot ‘escape’. In many implementations of flow accumulation algorithms such depressions have been removed from the DEM with some form of pre-processing algorithm which typically transform depressions into flat areas, across which area can then be routed. This approach effectively assumes that all depressions in a DEM are therefore artifacts, and not true features within the landscape. The proliferation of very high quality, high precision, and fine spatial resolution DEMs in recent years means that such an assumption is increasingly difficult to support. In this paper, some of the main flow accumulation algorithms and some existing techniques for dealing with closed depressions in DEMs are reviewed. A new algorithm is presented which assumes that such depressions are real features in the landscape, and which allows them to ‘fill’ and then ‘overflow’ into downstream areas within the DEM. Examples with a synthetic and two real DEMs suggest that, at least in these cases, the assumption that depressions are real is justified. These results also suggest that determining the size distribution for depressions within a DEM could form the basis for identifying whether artifact depressions are a problem in individual DEMs.
Ability of scavenging free radicals and preventing lipid peroxidation of some phenols and ascorbic acid

Article history: Received on: 06/05/2015 Revised on: 05/06/2015 Accepted on: 17/06/2015 Available online: 28/08/2015 The capacity for scavenging free radicals and preventing lipid peroxidation of gallic, caffeic, and p-coumaric acids, thymol, eugenol and ascorbic acid were evaluated. The capacity for scavenging DPPH  free radicals were performed in ethanol 96% and ethanol 70%. In the same assay, the activity estimation was followed at 10, 20 and 30 minutes. In this assay, eugenol presented the best activity (IC50 ranging from 2.10 mg/mL to 9.74 mg/mL. In the opposite site, p-coumaric had the lowest activity, in which the IC50 values were not possible to determine. Generally, 10 minutes of reaction provided lower scavenging activities than 30 minutes. The sole exception was ascorbic acid in which the activities were independent on the time of reaction. Ascorbic acid, eugenol and thymol possessed higher ability for scavenging DPPH free radicals in ethanol 70% than in ethanol 96%. Gallic and pcoumaric acids as well as thymol revealed to be the best scavengers of ABTS + free radicals in contrast to ascorbic acid. The capacity for preventing lipid peroxidation was dependent on the concentration of samples. The assay showed that higher concentrations of gallic acid, thymol and p-coumaric acid added to sunflower oil (from 0.3 to 0.6%) induced higher lipid peroxidation with higher peroxide values. In contrast, increasing the percentages of caffeic acid and eugenol induced lower peroxidation of the sunflower oil. The percentage of samples added to this fat did not influence the index of p-anisidine. In this test, gallic acid had the best capacity for preventing the formation of 2,4-dienals and 2-alkenals decadienals able to react with p-anisidine.
Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Wheat Cultivars with Differing Drought Stress Tolerance

Using a series of multiplexed experiments we studied the quantitative changes in protein abundance of three Australian bread wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) in response to a drought stress. Three cultivars differing in their ability to maintain grain yield during drought, Kukri (intolerant), Excalibur (tolerant), and RAC875 (tolerant), were grown in the glasshouse with cyclic drought treatment that mimicked conditions in the field. Proteins were isolated from leaves of mature plants and isobaric tags were used to follow changes in the relative protein abundance of 159 proteins. This is the first shotgun proteomics study in wheat, providing important insights into protein responses to drought as well as identifying the largest number of wheat proteins (1,299) in a single study. The changes in the three cultivars at the different time points reflected their differing physiological responses to drought, with the two drought tolerant varieties (Excalibur and RAC875) differing in their protein responses. Excalibur lacked significant changes in proteins during the initial onset of the water deficit in contrast to RAC875 that had a large number of significant changes. All three cultivars had changes consistent with an increase in oxidative stress metabolism and reactive O2 species (ROS) scavenging capacity seen through increases in superoxide dismutases and catalases as well as ROS avoidance through the decreases in proteins involved in photosynthesis and the Calvin cycle.
Star Formation in the Giant H II Regions of M101

The molecular components of three giant H II regions (NGC 5461, NGC 5462, and NGC 5471) in the galaxy M101 are investigated with new observations from single-dish telescopes (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and the NRAO 12 m) and from the Owens Valley Radio Observatory millimeter array. Of the three H II regions, only NGC 5461 had previously been detected in CO emission. We calculate preliminary values for the molecular mass of the GMCs in NGC 5461 by assuming a CO-to-H2 factor (X factor) and then comparing these values with the virial masses. We found that the appropriate X factor is 5 times smaller than the X factor in the Milky Way despite the lower metallicity of M101. We conclude that the data in this paper demonstrate for the first time that the value of X may decrease in regions with intense star formation. The molecular mass for the association of clouds in NGC 5461 is approximately 3 × 107 M☉ and is accompanied by 1-2 times as much atomic mass. The observed CO emission in NGC 5461 is an order of magnitude stronger than in NGC 5462, but it was not possible to detect molecular gas toward NGC 5471 with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. An even larger ratio of atomic to molecular gas in NGC 5471 was observed, which might be attributed to efficient conversion of molecular to atomic gas. The masses of the individual clouds in NGC 5461, which are gravitationally bound, cover a range of (2-8) × 105 M☉, comparable with the masses of Galactic giant molecular clouds. Higher star-forming efficiencies, and not massive clouds, appear to be the prerequisite for the formation of the large number of stars whose radiation is required to produce the giant H II regions in M101.
Observations on the epidemiology of Rift Valley fever in Kenya

SUMMARY The epizootic range of Rift Valley fever in Kenya is defined from the results of virus isolations during epizootics, and from an extensive serological survey of cattle which were exposed during an epizootic. A study of the sera from a wide range of wild bovidae sampled immediately after the epizootic, showed that they did not act as reservoir or amplifying hosts for RVF. Virus isolation attempts from a variety of rodents proved negative. Rift Valley fever did not persist between epizootics by producing symptomless abortions in cattle in areas within its epizootic range. A sentinel herd sampled annually after an epizootic in 1968 revealed not one single seroconversion from 1969 to 1974. Certain forest and forest edge situations were postulated as enzootic for Rift Valley fever, and a small percentage of seroconversions were detected in cattle in these areas, born four years after the last epizootic. This has been the only evidence for the persistence of the virus in Kenya since 1968, and may be a part of the interepizootic maintenance cycle for Rift Valley fever in Kenya, which otherwise remains unknown.
Assessment of the structural representativeness of sample data sets for the mechanical characterization of deep formations

Accurate characterization of the mechanical behavior of geomaterials at depth is a fundamental need for geologic and engineering purposes. Laboratory tests on samples from well cores provide the material characterization in terms of mechanical response and other relevant properties. Representativeness of a sample data set with respect to the in situ conditions at depth is a key issue, which needs to be addressed to extrapolate the laboratory response to the whole rock mass. We have developed a procedure aimed at quantitatively evaluating the representativeness of laboratory samples. The methodology is based on joint processing of laboratory ultrasonic tests and wellbore sonic logs. A structural index is used to quantify the difference between the average structure of the laboratory sample and the structure of the formation at the wellbore scale. This index could be used to identify different causes of discrepancies between the behavior of the cored samples and the behavior of the rock formation as documented by well logs. Then, it could also be used to integrate laboratory data for the construction of a reliable geomechanical model with reference to the real in situ state. The methodology was applied to three different experimental data sets, showing the effectiveness of the method.
Poemage: Visualizing the Sonic Topology of a Poem

The digital humanities have experienced tremendous growth within the last decade, mostly in the context of developing computational tools that support what is called distant reading - collecting and analyzing huge amounts of textual data for synoptic evaluation. On the other end of the spectrum is a practice at the heart of the traditional humanities, close reading - the careful, in-depth analysis of a single text in order to extract, engage, and even generate as much productive meaning as possible. The true value of computation to close reading is still very much an open question. During a two-year design study, we explored this question with several poetry scholars, focusing on an investigation of sound and linguistic devices in poetry. The contributions of our design study include a problem characterization and data abstraction of the use of sound in poetry as well as Poemage, a visualization tool for interactively exploring the sonic topology of a poem. The design of Poemage is grounded in the evaluation of a series of technology probes we deployed to our poetry collaborators, and we validate the final design with several case studies that illustrate the disruptive impact technology can have on poetry scholarship. Finally, we also contribute a reflection on the challenges we faced conducting visualization research in literary studies.
Extragalactic stellar astronomy with the brightest stars in the universe

Supergiants are objects in transition from the blue to the red (and vice versa) in the uppermost HRD. They are the intrinsically brightest ‘normal’ stars at visual light with absolute visual magnitudes up to −9. They are ideal to study young stellar populations in galaxies beyond the Local Group to determine chemical composition and evolution, interstellar extinction, reddening laws and distances. We discuss the most recent results on the quantitative spectral analysis of such objects in galaxies beyond the Local Group based on medium and low-resolution spectra obtained with the ESO VLT and Keck. We describe the analysis method including the determination of metallicity and metallicity gradients. A new method to measure extragalactic distances accurately based on stellar gravities and effective temperatures is presented, the flux-weighted gravity—luminosity relationship (FGLR). The FGLR is a purely spectroscopic method that overcomes the uncertainties, introduced by interstellar extinction and variations of metallicity, which plague all methods of photometric stellar distance determination. We discuss the perspectives of future work using the giant ground-based telescopes of the next generation such as the TMT, the GMT and the E-ELT.
Displacement-Based Assessment of Ductile Tearing under Low-Constraint Conditions

This paper deals with several issues in the ductile tearing assessment relevant to the fracture criteria and test methods covering the determination of the crack growth resistance under low-constraint conditions. Specifically, the effects of the specimen geometry and size, type and length of the original stress raiser, boundary restraints, load biaxiality, loading history, and plastic anisotropy were studied experimentally. With regard to the problem of transferring crack growth data, our results demonstrate that underlying assumptions of the current concept of ductile tearing evoke a suspicion from different points of view. To clarify the reasons for a gap between the model descriptions and measurements, we put forward an innovative engineering concept enabling through-life assessment of the fracture process in sheet metals.
The achievable performance of convex demixing

Demixing is the problem of identifying multiple structured signals from a superimposed, undersampled, and noisy observation. This work analyzes a general framework, based on convex optimization, for solving demixing problems. When the constituent signals follow a generic incoherence model, this analysis leads to precise recovery guarantees. These results admit an attractive interpretation: each signal possesses an intrinsic degrees-of-freedom parameter, and demixing can succeed if and only if the dimension of the observation exceeds the total degrees of freedom present in the observation.
The excitation of normal modes of the Earth by sources with volume change

Summary. A formulation is given for the normal mode excitation by a collapsing cavity, including as special cases the tangential, normal and point dislocation. The results are compared with corresponding results for a phase transformation. In dislocations with volume change, the action of static pressure modifies the traditional expression for the excitation, but under certain conditions the effect is shown to be of minor importance to the observable normal-mode spectrum.
Evaluation of the shear frame test for weak snowpack layers

Abstract The shear frame allows testing of thin weak snowpack layers that are often critical for slab avalanche release. A shear metal frame with an area of 0.01–0.05 m2 is used to grip the snow a few mm above a buried weak snowpack layer. Using a force gauge, the frame is pulled until a fracture occurs in the weak layer within 1 s. The strength is calculated from the maximum force divided by the area of the frame. Finite-element studies show that the shear stress in the weak layer is concentrated below the cross-members that subdivide the frame and where the weak layer is notched at the front and back of the frame. Placing the bottom of the frame in the weak layer increases the stress concentrations, and results in significantly lower strength measurements than placing the bottom of the frame a few mm above the weak layer. Based on over 800 sets of 7–12 tests in western Canada, coefficients of variation average 14% and 18% from level study plots and avalanche start zones, respectively. Consequently,sets of 12 tests typically yield a precision of the mean of 10% with 95% confidence, which is sufficient for monitoring of strength change of weak layers over time in study plots. With consistent technique, there is no significant difference in mean strength measurements obtained by different experienced shear frame operators using the same approximate loading rate and technique for placing the frame. Although fracture surfaces are usually planar, only one of eleven shapes of non-planar fracture surfaces showed significantly different strength compared to planar fracture surfaces. For weak layers thick enough for density measurements, the shear strength is plotted against density and grain form. From these data, empirical equations are determined to estimate the shear strength of weak snowpack layers.
Asynchronous discussion groups as Small World and Scale Free Networks

What is the network form of online discussion groups? What are the topological parameters delineating the interaction on such groups? We report an empirical examination of the form of online discussion groups. We are interested in examining whether such groups conform to the Small World and the Scale Free models of networks. Support for these expectations provides a formal expression of growth, survival potential and preferential attachment in the connection patterns in discussion groups. The research questions were tested with a sample of over 8,000 active participants, and over 30,000 messages. We find that the social network resulting from discussion groups is indeed a Scale Free Network, based on In, Out and All Degree distributions. We also find that, for the same sample, discussion groups are a Small World Network too. As expected, the clustering coefficients for these groups differ significantly from random networks, while their characteristic path lengths are similar to random networks. Implications of the topology for the design and understanding of discussion groups include the stability and control of such groups, as well as their longevity.
Seaweed Hydrocolloid Production: An Update on Enzyme Assisted Extraction and Modification Technologies

Agar, alginate, and carrageenans are high-value seaweed hydrocolloids, which are used as gelation and thickening agents in different food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological applications. The annual global production of these hydrocolloids has recently reached 100,000 tons with a gross market value just above US$ 1.1 billion. The techno-functional properties of the seaweed polysaccharides depend strictly on their unique structural make-up, notably degree and position of sulfation and presence of anhydro-bridges. Classical extraction techniques include hot alkali treatments, but recent research has shown promising results with enzymes. Current methods mainly involve use of commercially available enzyme mixtures developed for terrestrial plant material processing. Application of seaweed polysaccharide targeted enzymes allows for selective extraction at mild conditions as well as tailor-made modifications of the hydrocolloids to obtain specific functionalities. This review provides an update of the detailed structural features of κ-, ι-, λ-carrageenans, agars, and alginate, and a thorough discussion of enzyme assisted extraction and processing techniques for these hydrocolloids.
Sequestration Revisited: Integrating Traditional Electron Microscopy, De Novo Assembly and New Results

Electron microscopy analysis of the autophagic sequestration membrane (SM) in various metazoan cell types after different fixation methods shows that: (1) the growing SM cannot derive from preformed rough surfaced endoplasmic reticulum (RER) membranes by transformation; (2) the empty cleft between the two layers of the SM after aldehyde fixation is an artifact of sample preparation; (3) the SM emerges from and grows de novo in cytoplasmic areas where membranous precursors cannot be identified by traditional electron microscopy; (4) the growing SM consists of two tightly packed membrane layers with a sharp bend at the edge; (5) changes in the environment of the growing SM participate in the determination of the size and shape of the autophagosome.
Dynamics of solar magnetic elements

We present observational results that demonstrate a strong increase in the dynamic behavior of magnetic elements at the solar photosphere, when observed at high spatial and temporal resolution. The HAO/NSO Advanced Stokes Polarimeter was used to obtain an extensive set of high resolution StokesV spectra from network, intranetwork and active region magnetic fields at a low noise level. We performed a statistical analysis of Doppler shifts and asymmetries of the V spectra of FeI 630.15 and 630.25 nm to obtain information on the dynamics of magnetic elements of different sizes. The spatial resolution of 0.8–1 arcsec in combination with high polarimetric precision allowed us to investigate StokesV spectra of magnetic elements down to a size of≈ 150 km. The Doppler velocity within magnetic elements as well as the amplitude and area asymmetries of the StokesV profiles show a strong dependence on the size of the magnetic elements as well as on the granular velocity in their vicinity. Applying an absolute velocity calibration we find that the smallest magnetic features have velocities of up to 5 km s −1 in both upand downflows whereas for larger elements or clusters of several flux tubes the velocities become smaller and more uniform. TheV -profile asymmetries are larger (both positive and negative) for small fill fraction than for higher fill fraction within the resolution element. Averaged over all individual profiles, there remains a positive amplitude and area asymmetry and a downflow exceeding 0.5 km s −1. The properties of spatially and temporally integrated V profiles are consistent with results from FTS-observations. Our observations are in qualitative agreement with results from numerical MHD simulations.