Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating methane production rates in bogs and landfills by deuterium enrichment of pore water

Raised bogs and municipal waste landfills harbor large populations of methanogens within their domed deposits of anoxic organic matter. Although the methane emissions from these sites have been estimated by various methods, limited data exist on the activity of the methanogens at depth. We therefore analyzed the stable isotopic signature of the pore waters in two raised bogs from northern Minnesota to identify depth intervals in the peat profile where methanogenic metabolism occurs. Methanogenesis enriched the deuterium (2H) content of the deep peat pore waters by as much as +11‰ (Vienna Standard Mean Sea Water), which compares to a much greater enrichment factor of +70‰ in leachate from New York City's Fresh Kills landfill. The bog pore waters were isotopically dated by tritium (3H) to be about 35 years old at 1.5 m depth, whereas the landfill leachate was estimated as ∼17 years old from Darcy flow calculations. According to an isotopic mass balance the observed deuterium enrichment indicates that about 1.2 g of CH4 m−3 d−1 were produced within the deeper peat, compared to about 2.8 g CH4 m−3 d−1 in the landfill. The values for methane production in the bog peat are substantially higher than the flux rates measured at the surface of the bogs or at the landfill, indicating that deeper methane production may be much higher than was previously assumed.
Presence of the African MachairodontMegantereon whitei(Broom, 1937) (Felidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) in the Lower Pleistocene Site of Venta Micena (Orce, Granada, Spain), with some Considerations on the Origin, Evolution and Dispersal of the Genus

We have made a comparative analysis of dental morphometries of the Megantereon specimens found in the Lower Pleistocene site at Venta Micena (Orce, Granada, Southeastern Spain) with representatives of the genus throughout the Old and New World. The methodologies used in the study include discriminant functions and principal component analysis. The results obtained point to the presence of three distinct species of this genus: M. cultridens (Cuvier), indigenous to North America from the Lower Pliocene onwards, which in the Indian subcontinent gave rise to the larger sized species M. falconeri Pomel during the Upper Pliocene. M. cultridens survived until the Middle Pleistocene in China, and its African descendant M. whitei Broom colonized Europe at the time of the Plio-Pleistocene boundary, reaching Dmanisi via the Near East and southern part of the Iberian Peninsula at Venta Micena via the Strait of Gibraltar. 1995 Academic Press Limited
Petrography and composition of Martian regolith breccia meteorite Northwest Africa 7475

The Northwest Africa (NWA) 7475 meteorite is one of the several stones of paired regolith breccias from Mars based on petrography, oxygen isotope, mineral compositions, and bulk rock compositions. Its inventory of lithic clasts is dominated by vitrophyre impact melts that were emplaced while they were still molten. Other clast types include crystallized impact melt rocks, evolved plutonic rocks, possible basalts, contact metamorphosed rocks, and siltstones. Impact spherules and vitrophyre shards record airborne transport, and accreted dust rims were sintered on most clasts, presumably during residence in an ejecta plume. The clast assemblage records at least three impact events, one that formed an impact melt sheet on Mars ≤4.4 Ga ago, a second that assembled NWA 7475 from impactites associated with the impact melt sheet at 1.7–1.4 Ga, and a third that launched NWA 7475 from Mars ~5 Ma ago. Mildly shocked pyroxene and plagioclase constrain shock metamorphic conditions during launch to >5 and <15 GPa. The mild postshock‐heating that resulted from these shock pressures would have been insufficient to sterilize this water‐bearing lithology during launch. Magnetite, maghemite, and pyrite are likely products of secondary alteration on Mars. Textural relationships suggest that calcium‐carbonate and goethite are probably of terrestrial origin, yet trace element chemistry indicates relatively low terrestrial alteration. Comparison of Mars Odyssey gamma‐ray spectrometer data with the Fe and Th abundances of NWA 7475 points to a provenance in the ancient southern highlands of Mars. Gratteri crater, with an age of ~5 Ma and an apparent diameter of 6.9 km, marks one possible launch site of NWA 7475.
Robust WLAN Device-free Passive motion detection

WLAN Device-free Passive (DfP) localization is an emerging technology that uses the widely deployed WiFi networks for detecting and localizing human presence within indoor environments. This paper presents an accurate and low-overhead technique for detecting human presence based on non-parametric statistical anomaly detection. This technique constructs profiles capturing the signal strength characteristics when no human is present within the area of interest and uses these profiles to identify any anomalies in the signal strength due to human motion activity. To adapt to changes in the environment, the constructed profiles are regularly updated by signal strength readings with low anomaly probability. Exponential smoothing is then used to reduce the effect of noisy readings in order to enhance the detection accuracy. Our work proved to be more robust and accurate than other DfP detection techniques, achieving a high detection accuracy of 4.7% miss detection rate and 3.8% false alarm rate, while requiring minimal deployment overhead.
A Neurocomputational Model for Cocaine Addiction

Abstract Based on the dopamine hypotheses of cocaine addiction and the assumption of decrement of brain reward system sensitivity after long-term drug exposure, we propose a computational model for cocaine addiction. Utilizing average reward temporal difference reinforcement learning, we incorporate the elevation of basal reward threshold after long-term drug exposure into the model of drug addiction proposed by Redish. Our model is consistent with the animal models of drug seeking under punishment. In the case of nondrug reward, the model explains increased impulsivity after long-term drug exposure. Furthermore, the existence of a blocking effect for cocaine is predicted by our model.
Influence of vitamin D on key bacterial taxa in infant microbiota in the KOALA Birth Cohort Study

Vitamin D has immunomodulatory properties giving it the potential to affect microbial colonization of the intestinal tract. We investigated whether maternal vitamin D supplemention, maternal plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration, or direct supplementation of the infant influences key bacterial taxa within microbiota of one month old infants. Infant and maternal vitamin D supplement use was ascertained via questionnaires. Maternal plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D was determined at approximately the 36th week of pregnancy. In 913 one month old infants in the prospective KOALA Birth Cohort Study, fecal Bifidobacterium spp. , Escherichia coli, Clostridium difficile, Bacteroides fragilis group, Lactobacillus spp. and total bacteria were quantified with real-time polymerase chain reaction assays targeting 16S rRNA gene sequences. The association between vitamin D exposure and prevalence or abundance of a specific bacterial group or species was analyzed using logistic or linear regression, respectively. There was a statistically significant negative linear trend between counts of Bifidobacterium spp. and levels of maternal vitamin D supplementation and maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D quintiles, respectively. In addition, a positive linear trend between quintile groups and B. fragilis group counts was observed. Lower counts of C. difficile were associated with vitamin D supplementation of breast fed infants whose mothers were more likely to adhere to an alternative lifestyle in terms of, e.g., dietary habits. These data suggest that vitamin D influences the abundance of several key bacterial taxa within the infant microbiota. Given that intestinal microbiotic homeostasis may be an important factor in the prevention of immune mediated diseases and that vitamin D status is a modifiable factor, further investigation of the impact of postnatal vitamin D supplementation should be conducted in older infants.
Suppression of uPAR Retards Radiation-Induced Invasion and Migration Mediated by Integrin β1/FAK Signaling in Medulloblastoma

Background Despite effective radiotherapy for the initial stages of cancer, several studies have reported the recurrence of various cancers, including medulloblastoma. Here, we attempt to capitalize on the radiation-induced aggressive behavior of medulloblastoma cells by comparing the extracellular protease activity and the expression pattern of molecules, known to be involved in cell adhesion, migration and invasion, between non-irradiated and irradiated cells. Methodology/Principal Findings We identified an increase in invasion and migration of irradiated compared to non-irradiated medulloblastoma cells. RT-PCR analysis confirmed increased expression of uPA, uPAR, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), N-Cadherin and integrin subunits (e.g., α3, α5 and β1) in irradiated cells. Furthermore, we noticed a ∼2-fold increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of FAK in irradiated cells. Immunoprecipitation studies confirmed increased interaction of integrin β1 and FAK in irradiated cells. In addition, our results show that overexpression of uPAR in cancer cells can mimic radiation-induced activation of FAK signaling. Moreover, by inhibiting FAK phosphorylation, we were able to reduce the radiation-induced invasiveness of the cancer cells. In this vein, we studied the effect of siRNA-mediated knockdown of uPAR on cell migration and adhesion in irradiated and non-irradiated medulloblastoma cells. Downregulation of uPAR reduced the radiation-induced adhesion, migration and invasion of the irradiated cells, primarily by inhibiting phosphorylation of FAK, Paxillin and Rac-1/Cdc42. As observed from the immunoprecipitation studies, uPAR knockdown reduced interaction among the focal adhesion molecules, such as FAK, Paxillin and p130Cas, which are known to play key roles in cancer metastasis. Pretreatment with uPAR shRNA expressing construct reduced uPAR and phospho FAK expression levels in pre-established medulloblastoma in nude mice. Conclusion/Significance Taken together, our results show that radiation enhances uPAR-mediated FAK signaling and by targeting uPAR we can inhibit radiation-activated cell adhesion and migration both in vitro and in vivo.
Discriminant Analysis Applied to Establish Major-Element Field Boundaries for Tectonic Varieties of Basic Rocks

The statistical method of linear discriminant analysis has been applied to distinguish Pliocene to Recent basic rocks on the basis of their major-element composition. Studied basic rock suites are from four tectonic settings: island arc, continental rift, ocean island, and mid-ocean ridge. Field boundaries were derived by computing probability functions replacing the past practice of fitting lines by "eye. " Highly successful discrimination diagrams have been obtained. A testing set shows that the rate of correct classification ranges from 76% to 96%, and from 80% to 92% when three and four tectonic groups are considered at a time, respectively. The high potential of this approach to identify different tectonic settings for basic rocks is only reduced by the complex tectonic history shown by a few of the compiled samples, by crustal contamination effects in some basic rock samples, and the similarities of mantle sources tapped in different tectonic settings.
Epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus: a comparison of worldwide disease burden

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disease of multifactorial etiology. Quantifying the burden of SLE across different countries can clarify the role of genetic, environmental and other causative factors in the natural history of the disease, and to understand its clinical and societal consequences. The aim of this study is to summarize data on SLE incidence and prevalence in the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia. An extensive review of electronic resources (PubMed and MedLine) and medical journals was conducted to identify published studies on SLE incidence and prevalence over the period of 1950-early 2006. Researchers in the countries of interest provided additional information on the epidemiology of SLE. The incidence and prevalence of SLE varies considerably across the countries. The burden of the disease is considerably elevated among non-white racial groups. There is a trend towards higher incidence and prevalence of SLE in Europe and Australia compared to the USA. In Europe, the highest prevalence was reported in Sweden, Iceland and Spain. There are marked disparities in SLE rates worldwide. This variability may reflect true differences across populations, or result from methodological differences of studies. The true geographic, racial, and temporal differences in SLE incidence and prevalence may yield important clues to the etiology of disease.
Nocodazole Treatment Decreases Expression of Pluripotency Markers Nanog and Oct4 in Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Nocodazole is a known destabiliser of microtubule dynamics and arrests cell-cycle at the G2/M phase. In the context of the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) it is important to understand how this arrest influences the pluripotency of cells. Here we report for the first time the changes in the expression of transcription markers Nanog and Oct4 as well as SSEA-3 and SSEA-4 in human embryonic cells after their treatment with nocodazole. Multivariate permeabilised-cell flow cytometry was applied for characterising the expression of Nanog and Oct4 during different cell cycle phases. Among untreated hESC we detected Nanog-expressing cells, which also expressed Oct4, SSEA-3 and SSEA-4. We also found another population expressing SSEA-4, but without Nanog, Oct4 and SSEA-3 expression. Nocodazole treatment resulted in a decrease of cell population positive for all four markers Nanog, Oct4, SSEA-3, SSEA-4. Nocodazole-mediated cell-cycle arrest was accompanied by higher rate of apoptosis and upregulation of p53. Twenty-four hours after the release from nocodazole block, the cell cycle of hESC normalised, but no increase in the expression of transcription markers Nanog and Oct4 was detected. In addition, the presence of ROCK-2 inhibitor Y-27632 in the medium had no effect on increasing the expression of pluripotency markers Nanog and Oct4 or decreasing apoptosis or the level of p53. The expression of SSEA-3 and SSEA-4 increased in Nanog-positive cells after wash-out of nocodazole in the presence and in the absence of Y-27632. Our data show that in hESC nocodazole reversible blocks cell cycle, which is accompanied by irreversible loss of expression of pluripotency markers Nanog and Oct4.
Three-dimensional radial anisotropic structure of the North American upper mantle from inversion of surface waveform data

SUMMARY Seismic anisotropy provides insight into palaeo and recent deformation processes and, there- fore, mantle dynamics. In a first step towards a model for the North American upper mantle with anisotropy characterized by a symmetry axis of arbitrary orientation, aimed at filling the gap between global tomography and SKS splitting studies, we inverted long period waveform data simultaneously for perturbations in the isotropic S-velocity structure and the anisotropic parameter ξ = v 2 SH v2 , in the framework of normal mode asymptotic coupling theory (NACT). The resulting 2-D broad-band sensitivity kernels allow us to exploit the information contained in long period seismograms for fundamental and higher mode surface waves at the same time. To ensure high quality of the retrieved regional upper-mantle structure, accurate crustal cor- rections are essential. Here, we follow an approach which goes beyond the linear perturbation approximation and split the correction into a linear and non-linear part. The inverted data set consists of more than 40 000 high quality three component fundamental and overtone sur- face waveforms, recorded at broad-band seismic stations in North America from teleseismic events and provides a fairly homogeneous path and azimuthal coverage. The isotropic part of our tomographic model shares the large-scale features of previous regional studies for North America. We confirm the pronounced difference in the isotropic velocity structure between the western active tectonic region and the central/eastern stable shield, as well as the presence of subducted material (Juan de Fuca and Farallon Plate) at transition zone depths. The new regional 3-D radial anisotropic model indicates the presence of two distinct anisotropic layers beneath the cratonic part of the North American continent: a deep asthenospheric layer, con- sistent with present day mantle flow, and a shallower lithospheric layer, possibly a record of ancient tectonic events.
Coherent high- and low-latitude climate variability during the holocene warm period

A faunal record of sea-surface temperature (SST) variations off West Africa documents a series of abrupt, millennial-scale cooling events, which punctuated the Holocene warm period. These events evidently resulted from increased southward advection of cooler temperate or subpolar waters to this subtropical location or from enhanced regional upwelling. The most recent of these events was the Little Ice Age, which occurred between 1300 to 1850 A.D., when subtropical SSTs were reduced by 3 degrees to 4 degrees C. These events were synchronous with Holocene changes in subpolar North Atlantic SSTs, documenting a strong, in-phase link between millennial-scale variations in high- and low-latitude climate during the Holocene.
Role of land surface processes in South American monsoon development

Abstract This study explores the role of vegetation biophysical processes (VBPs) in the structure and evolution of the South American monsoon system (SAMS) with an emphasis on the precipitation field. The approach is based on comparing ensemble simulations by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction general circulation model (GCM) in which the land surface parameterization in one ensemble includes an explicit representation of vegetation processes in the calculation of surface fluxes while the other does not [GCM/Simplified Simple Biosphere Model (SSiB) and GCM/Soil, respectively], but with similar monthly mean surface albedo and initial soil moisture. The ensembles consist of five pairs of 1-yr integrations differing in the initial conditions for the atmosphere. The results show that, during the austral summer, consideration of explicit vegetation processes does not alter the monthly mean precipitation at the planetary scale. However, at continental scales, GCM/SSiB produces a more successful si.
Natural attenuation assessment of contaminated ground water at a gas-turbine manufacturing plant, Greenville, South Carolina

The potential for natural attenuation of petroleum-hydrocarbon and chlorinated volatile organic compound contamination in ground water was investigated at a gas-turbine manufacturing facility in Greenville, S.C. Examination of benzene migration involved integrating hydrogeologic, geochemical, and microbial parameters in a ground-water flow and solute-transport model. The natural attenuation potential of other compounds was examined using geochemical observations.
Diversity Management in Evolutionary Many-Objective Optimization

In evolutionary multiobjective optimization, the task of the optimizer is to obtain an accurate and useful approximation of the true Pareto-optimal front. Proximity to the front and diversity of solutions within the approximation set are important requirements. Most established multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) have mechanisms that address these requirements. However, in many-objective optimization, where the number of objectives is greater than 2 or 3, it has been found that these two requirements can conflict with one another, introducing problems such as dominance resistance and speciation. In this paper, two diversity management mechanisms are introduced to investigate their impact on overall solution convergence. They are introduced separately, and in combination, and tested on a set of test functions with an increasing number of objectives (6-20). It is found that the inclusion of one of the mechanisms improves the performance of a well-established MOEA in many-objective optimization problems, in terms of both convergence and diversity. The relevance of this for many-objective MOEAs is discussed.
Characterization of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the forebrain of anuran amphibians

Major common features have been reported for the organization of the basal telencephalon in amniotes, and most characteristics were thought to be acquired in the transition from anamniotes to amniotes. However, gene expression, neurochemical, and hodological data obtained for the basal ganglia and septal and amygdaloid complexes in amphibians (anamniotic tetrapods) have strengthened the idea of a conserved organization in tetrapods. A poorly characterized region in the forebrain of amniotes has been the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST), but numerous recent investigations have characterized it as a member of the extended amygdala. Our study analyzes the main features of the BST in anuran amphibians to establish putative homologies with amniotes. Gene expression patterns during development identified the anuran BST as a subpallial, nonstriatal territory. The BST shows Nkx2.1 and Lhx7 expression and contains an Islet1‐positive cell subpopulation derived from the lateral ganglionic eminence. Immunohistochemistry for diverse peptides and neurotransmitters revealed that the distinct chemoarchitecture of the BST is strongly conserved among tetrapods. In vitro tracing techniques with dextran amines revealed important connections between the BST and the central and medial amygdala, septal territories, medial pallium, preoptic area, lateral hypothalamus, thalamus, and prethalamus. The BST receives dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area and is connected with the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus and the rostral raphe in the brainstem. All these data suggest that the anuran BST shares many features with its counterpart in amniotes and belongs to a basal continuum, likely controlling similar reflexes, reponses, and behaviors in tetrapods. J. Comp. Neurol. 520:330–363, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.