Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Satellite‐based assessment of cloud‐free net radiative effect of dust aerosols over the Atlantic Ocean

Using eighteen months (June–August, 2000–2005) of spatially and temporally collocated Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data from the Terra satellite over the Atlantic Ocean [10W–60W, 0–30N], we first separate the dust aerosol optical thickness at 0.55 μm (AOT) from the total column MODIS AOT. We then calculate the cloud‐free TOA net radiative effect (NRE) of dust aerosols by accounting for diurnal effects and sample biases. The cloud‐free NRE is −6.31 ± 1.16 Wm−2 and nearly twenty percent of the shortwave radiative effect (−7.75 ± 0.86 Wm−2) is cancelled by the longwave radiative effect (+1.44 ± 0.57 Wm−2) indicating the importance of the dust aerosols in the thermal portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This is the first multi‐year satellite‐based assessment of the NRE of dust aerosols indicating the importance of both the shortwave and longwave radiative effects of dust aerosols over the oceans unlike anthropogenic aerosols that have negligible TOA longwave radiative forcing effects.
[Buerger's disease or thromboangiitis obliterans].

PURPOSE To review clinical data, pathophysiology and treatment of thromboangiitis (Buerger's disease). DATA SYNTHESIS Buerger's disease or thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) is an obliterative vascular disease that affects medium and small sized arteries as well as superficial veins. Young males and smokers are preferentially afflicted with the disease. TAO accounts for 0.5 to 5% of occlusive vascular disease. Though TAO has a world-wide distribution, it can be found with greater prevalence in Eastern Europe, the Mid-East, Asia, and Southeast Asia. Women account for 10 to 20% of the patients and 5 to 10% are more than 60-years-old. Approximately 95% are smokers and disease activity is strongly associated with the use of tobacco. The pathogenesis is poorly understood and most hypotheses are controversial. There is no specific marker of the disease and the diagnosis is based on clinical and angiographic criteria. The disease spontaneously leads to tissue loss and major amputations. This can generally be avoided by discontinuing smoking. Induced hypervolemia and prostacyclins are effective treatments of critical limb ischemia in TAO. CONCLUSION If pathophysiology is still poorly understood, spontaneous evolution can be avoided by stopping tobacco and prostacyclin.
Breast Cancer Patients' Use of Health Information in Decision Making and Coping

Background: Breast cancer patients are some of today's most proactive healthcare consumers. Given how the media has highlighted the many issues involved in breast cancer, the unprecedented rise of consumerism in general, and the rise of healthcare consumerism specifically, a plethora of information on breast cancer has emerged in both scientific and popular media. It is timely and appropriate to consider breast cancer patients' perspectives regarding their search for health-related information and its use for treatment decision making and coping. Objective: The present study explores health information-seeking behaviors (passive and active), use of health information, sources of health information, and how such information is or is not used in patients' decision making about their treatment. Methods: This study used a secondary analysis of data regarding health information-seeking behaviors and treatment decisions from 2 separate but compatible qualitative data sets based on in-depth interviews with a total of 35 breast cancer survivors. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The majority of participating women were active information seekers (n = 26). Of the subsets of women who described their level of involvement in treatment decision making, the largest number (n = 13) reported a shared responsibility for decision making with their physician, and the next largest subset (n = 9) reported making the final decision themselves. Conclusion: These findings provide an enhanced understanding of the preferred source and method of delivery of information given health information-seeking behaviors and decision-making strategies. Implications for Practice: How health information is delivered in the future given these findings is discussed with specific attention to matching patient preferences with delivery methods to potentially enhance patients' sense of agency with regard to treatment, which has been shown to improve patients' psychosocial outcomes.
Brain stimulation reveals crucial role of overcoming self-centeredness in self-control

Self-control in intertemporal choice requires overcoming self-centeredness, a function typically associated with social decisions. Neurobiological models of self-control predominantly focus on the role of prefrontal brain mechanisms involved in emotion regulation and impulse control. We provide evidence for an entirely different neural mechanism that promotes self-control by overcoming bias for the present self, a mechanism previously thought to be mainly important for interpersonal decision-making. In two separate studies, we show that disruptive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the temporo-parietal junction—a brain region involved in overcoming one’s self-centered perspective—increases the discounting of delayed and prosocial rewards. This effect of TMS on temporal and social discounting is accompanied by deficits in perspective-taking and does not reflect altered spatial reorienting and number recognition. Our findings substantiate a fundamental commonality between the domains of self-control and social decision-making and highlight a novel aspect of the neurocognitive processes involved in self-control.
A comparison of clustering solutions for cognitive heterogeneity in schizophrenia

A cluster analytic solution based upon a battery of tests consisting of the Halstead Category and Tactual Performance Tests, the Trail Making Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was compared with a solution based on the subtests of the Wechsler intelligence scales, utilizing a sample of 221 schizophrenic patients. Both analyses permitted four-cluster solutions, and we found a weak but significant degree of association between solutions. Examination of external validity of the two solutions revealed stronger associations with clinical variables for the Wechsler-scale-based solution. The major conclusions were that the existence of cognitive heterogeneity in schizophrenia exists across a broad range of abilities, and appears to reflect a combination of continuity of ability level and existence of possible subtypes requiring further neuropsychological and neurobiological verification. (JINS, 1998, 4, 353–362.)
The Effect of Dietary Supplements Containing Green Tea, Capsaicin and Ginger Extracts on Weight Loss and Metabolic Profiles in Overweight Women: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: This study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary supplements containing green tea, capsaicin and ginger extracts on weight loss and metabolic profiles among overweight women. Methods: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was implemented among 50 overweight women. Participants were randomly divided into 2 groups. Group A received dietary supplements containing 125 mg green tea, 25 mg capsaicin and 50 mg ginger extracts (n = 25) group B received placebos (n = 25) twice with lunch and twice with dinner daily for 8 weeks. Results: Compared with placebo, taking dietary supplements containing green tea, capsaicin and ginger resulted in a significant decrease in weight (-1.8 ± 1.5 vs. +0.4 ± 1.2 kg, respectively, p < 0.001) and body mass index (BMI; -0.7 ± 0.5 vs. +0.1 ± 0.5 kg/m2, respectively, p < 0.001). In addition, subjects who received green tea, capsaicin and ginger co-supplements had significantly decreased serum insulin concentrations (-2.6 ± 3.9 vs. -0.6 ± 2.0 µIU/mL, p = 0.02), homeostatic model of assessment for insulin resistance (-0.5 ± 0.8 vs. -0.05 ± 0.6, p = 0.01), and increased quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (+0.01 ± 0.01 vs. +0.001 ± 0.01, p = 0.008) and plasma glutathione (GSH) levels (+73.8 ± 120.6 vs. -28.3 ± 193.4 µmol/L, p = 0.03) compared with the placebo. Conclusions: Our study indicated that taking green tea, capsaicin and ginger co-supplements for 8 weeks among overweight women had beneficial effects on weight, BMI, markers of insulin metabolism and plasma GSH levels.
Insights into the transfer of silicon isotopes into the sediment record

The first δ30Sidiatom data from lacustrine sediment traps are presented from Lake Baikal, Siberia. Data are compared with March surface water (upper 180 m) δ30SiDSi compositions for which a mean value of +2.28‰ ± 0.09 (95 % confidence) is derived. This value acts as the pre-diatom bloom baseline silicic acid isotopic composition of waters (δ30SiDSi initial). Open traps were deployed along the depth of the Lake Baikal south basin water column between 2012 and 2013. Diatom assemblages display a dominance ( > 85 %) of the spring/summer bloom species Synedra acus var radians, so that δ30Sidiatom compositions reflect predominantly spring/summer bloom utilisation. Diatoms were isolated from open traps and, in addition, from 3-monthly (sequencing) traps (May, July and August 2012) for δ30Sidiatom analyses. Mean δ30Sidiatom values for open traps are +1.23‰ ± 0.06 (at 95 % confidence and MSWD of 2.9, n = 10). Total dry mass sediment fluxes are highest in June 2012, which we attribute to the initial export of the dominant spring diatom bloom. We therefore argue that May δ30Sidiatom signatures (+0.67‰ ± 0.06, 2σ) when compared with mean upper water δ30SiDSi initial (e.g. pre-bloom) signatures can be used to provide a snapshot estimation of diatom uptake fractionation factors (ϵuptake) in Lake Baikal. A ϵuptake estimation of −1.61 ‰ is therefore derived, although we emphasise that synchronous monthly δ30SiDSi and δ30Sidiatom data would be needed to provide more robust estimations and therefore more rigorously test this, particularly when taking into consideration any progressive enrichment of the DSi pool as blooms persist. The near-constant δ30Sidiatom composition in open traps demonstrates the full preservation of the signal through the water column and thereby justifies the use and application of the technique in biogeochemical and palaeoenvironmental research. Data are finally compared with lake sediment core samples, collected from the south basin. Values of +1.30‰ ± 0.08 (2σ) and +1.43‰ ± 0.13 (2σ) were derived for cores BAIK13-1C (0.6–0.8 cm core depth) and at BAIK13-4F (0.2–0.4 cm core depth) respectively. Trap data highlight the absence of a fractionation factor associated with diatom dissolution (ϵdissolution) (particularly as Synedra acus var radians, the dominant taxa in the traps, is very susceptible to dissolution) down the water column and in the lake surface sediments, thus validating the application of δ30Sidiatom analyses in Lake Baikal and other freshwater systems, in palaeoreconstructions.
Patterns and correlates of prescription opioid use in OEF/OIF veterans with chronic noncancer pain.

OBJECTIVES Little is known about the treatment Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans receive for chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). We sought to describe the prevalence of prescription opioid use, types, and doses of opioids received and to identify correlates of receiving prescription opioids for CNCP among OEF/OIF veterans. DESIGN Retrospective review of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data. SETTING Ambulatory clinics within a VA regional health care network. PATIENTS OEF/OIF veterans who had at least three elevated pain screening scores within a 12-month period in 2008. Within this group, those prescribed opioids (N = 485) over the next 12 months were compared with those not prescribed opioids (N = 277). In addition, patients receiving opioids short term (<90 days, N = 284) were compared with patients receiving them long term (≥90 consecutive days, N = 201). RESULTS Of 762 OEF/OIF veterans with CNCP, 64% were prescribed at least one opioid medication over the 12 months following their index dates. Of those prescribed an opioid, 59% were prescribed opioids short term and 41% were prescribed opioids long term. The average morphine-equivalent opioid dose for short-term users was 23.7 mg (standard deviation [SD] = 20.5) compared with 40.8 mg (SD = 36.1) for long-term users (P < 0.001). Fifty-one percent of long-term opioid users were prescribed short-acting opioids only, and one-third were also prescribed sedative hypnotics. In adjusted analyses, diagnoses of low back pain, migraine headache, posttraumatic stress disorder, and nicotine use disorder were associated with an increased likelihood of receiving an opioid prescription. CONCLUSION Prescription opioid use is common among OEF/OIF veterans with CNCP and is associated with several pain diagnoses and medical conditions.
Induced Nitric Oxide Synthesis Is Dependent on Induced Alternatively Spliced CAT-2 Encoding L-Arginine Transport in Brain Astrocytes*

The inducible isoform II of nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) was recently cloned from brain and identified in astroglial cells. Induced nitric oxide biosynthesis occurs in brain cells only if extracellular cerebrospinal fluid contains L-arginine. This study demonstrates for the first time that induced iNOS activity is strictly dependent on concomitant induction of an alternatively spliced transcript of the cat-2 gene encoding high affinity L-arginine transporter System y+ in cultured rat astrocytes. Inhibition profiles of radiolabeled L-arginine and L-leucine uptake identified the dominance of Na+-independent transport System y+ serving cationic amino acids, with insignificant activities of Systems y+L, bo,+, or Bo,+. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction/sequencing/cloning strategy was used to identify a single 123-base nucleotide sequence coding the high affinity domain of alternatively spliced CAT-2 (not CAT-2a) in astrocytes activated by lipopolysaccharide/interferon-γ. Using this sequence as a cDNA probe, it was determined that CAT-2 mRNA, iNOS mRNA, and System y+ activity were concomitantly and strongly induced in astrocytes. Constitutive CAT-1 mRNA was weakly present in neurons and astrocytes, was not inducible in either cell type, and contributed <3% to total System y+ activity. Although astroglial iNOS Km ∼ 10 μM L-arginine for intracellular substrate, hyperbolic kinetics of inducible iNOS activity measured as a function of extracellular L-arginine concentration gave Km ∼50 μM L-arginine with intact cells. The same Km ∼ 50 μM was obtained for induced membrane transport System y+ activity. iNOS activity was reduced to zero in the absence of extracellular L-arginine uptake via System y+. These findings expand the current understanding of NO biosynthesis modulation and implicate a coordinated regulation of intracellular iNOS enzyme activity with membrane L-arginine transport in brain.
Do root hydraulic properties change during the early vegetative stage of plant development in barley (Hordeum vulgare)?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS As annual crops develop, transpirational water loss increases substantially. This increase has to be matched by an increase in water uptake through the root system. The aim of this study was to assess the contributions of changes in intrinsic root hydraulic conductivity (Lp, water uptake per unit root surface area, driving force and time), driving force and root surface area to developmental increases in root water uptake. METHODS Hydroponically grown barley plants were analysed during four windows of their vegetative stage of development, when they were 9-13, 14-18, 19-23 and 24-28 d old. Hydraulic conductivity was determined for individual roots (Lp) and for entire root systems (Lp(r)). Osmotic Lp of individual seminal and adventitious roots and osmotic Lp(r) of the root system were determined in exudation experiments. Hydrostatic Lp of individual roots was determined by root pressure probe analyses, and hydrostatic Lp(r) of the root system was derived from analyses of transpiring plants. KEY RESULTS Although osmotic and hydrostatic Lp and Lp(r) values increased initially during development and were correlated positively with plant transpiration rate, their overall developmental increases (about 2-fold) were small compared with increases in transpirational water loss and root surface area (about 10- to 40-fold). The water potential gradient driving water uptake in transpiring plants more than doubled during development, and potentially contributed to the increases in plant water flow. Osmotic Lp(r) of entire root systems and hydrostatic Lp(r) of transpiring plants were similar, suggesting that the main radial transport path in roots was the cell-to-cell path at all developmental stages. CONCLUSIONS Increase in the surface area of root system, and not changes in intrinsic root hydraulic properties, is the main means through which barley plants grown hydroponically sustain an increase in transpirational water loss during their vegetative development.
Reaction mechanism of caspases: Insights from QM/MM Car–Parrinello simulations

Caspases are fundamental targets for pharmaceutical interventions in a variety of diseases involving disregulated apoptosis. Here, we present a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics Car–Parrinello study of key steps of the enzymatic reaction for a representative member of this family, caspase‐3. The hydrolysis of the acyl–enzyme complex is described at the density functional (BLYP) level of theory while the protein frame and solvent are treated using the GROMOS96 force field. These calculations show that the attack of the hydrolytic water molecule implies an activation free energy of ca. ΔFA ≈ 19 ± 4 kcal/mol in good agreement with experimental data and leads to a previously unrecognized gem‐diol intermediate that can readily (ΔFA ≈ 5 ± 3 kcal/mol) evolve to the enzyme products. Our findings assist in elucidating the striking difference in catalytic activity between caspases and other structurally well‐characterized cysteine proteases (papains and cathepsins) and may help design novel transition‐state analog inhibitors. Proteins 2003;52:212–224. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A semi-implicit, second-order-accurate numerical model for multiphase underexpanded volcanic jets

Abstract. An improved version of the PDAC (Pyroclastic Dispersal Analysis Code, Esposti Ongaro et al., 2007) numerical model for the simulation of multiphase volcanic flows is presented and validated for the simulation of multiphase volcanic jets in supersonic regimes. The present version of PDAC includes second-order time- and space discretizations and fully multidimensional advection discretizations in order to reduce numerical diffusion and enhance the accuracy of the original model. The model is tested on the problem of jet decompression in both two and three dimensions. For homogeneous jets, numerical results are consistent with experimental results at the laboratory scale (Lewis and Carlson, 1964). For nonequilibrium gas–particle jets, we consider monodisperse and bidisperse mixtures, and we quantify nonequilibrium effects in terms of the ratio between the particle relaxation time and a characteristic jet timescale. For coarse particles and low particle load, numerical simulations well reproduce laboratory experiments and numerical simulations carried out with an Eulerian–Lagrangian model (Sommerfeld, 1993). At the volcanic scale, we consider steady-state conditions associated with the development of Vulcanian and sub-Plinian eruptions. For the finest particles produced in these regimes, we demonstrate that the solid phase is in mechanical and thermal equilibrium with the gas phase and that the jet decompression structure is well described by a pseudogas model (Ogden et al., 2008). Coarse particles, on the other hand, display significant nonequilibrium effects, which associated with their larger relaxation time. Deviations from the equilibrium regime, with maximum velocity and temperature differences on the order of 150 m s−1 and 80 K across shock waves, occur especially during the rapid acceleration phases, and are able to modify substantially the jet dynamics with respect to the homogeneous case.
Citalopram as adjunctive therapy in bipolar depression.

BACKGROUND The treatment of bipolar depression remains a major clinical challenge. The effectiveness and safety of adjunctive citalopram were evaluated in DSM-IV-diagnosed bipolar depressed patients in a 5-site study. METHOD The treatment strategy consisted of an open-label add-on design in which patients received 8 weeks of acute treatment with citalopram adjunctive to their ongoing treatment with mood stabilizers. Ongoing treatment with 1 antipsychotic, 1 anxiolytic, and 1 hypnotic agent was permitted. Responders to the 8-week trial then received 16 weeks of additional treatment with citalopram. RESULTS Forty-five subjects entered the trial; 12 dropped out before the end of the acute treatment phase. Of the 33 patients who completed the acute treatment phase, 64% (N = 21) were responders and 36% (N = 12) were nonresponders. In the continuation phase of the study, 14 patients achieved sustained remission, 3 patients did not achieve remission before completing 16 weeks of continuation treatment, 2 patients experienced a relapse, and 2 patients dropped out of the study and did not have a chance to remit. In spite of the extensive concomitant medication usage allowed in this study, citalopram treatment was well tolerated and the level of reported adverse events (including headache, nausea, diarrhea, and sexual dysfunction) relatively low. CONCLUSION The high response rate, the high rate of sustained remission, and the low rate of adverse events strongly support the use of citalopram as a treatment for bipolar I or II depression. These findings should stimulate a controlled double-blind trial to demonstrate even more clearly the usefulness of this drug in the therapeutic regimen for bipolar disorder.
Sequencing of cancer cell subpopulations identifies micrometastases in a bladder cancer patient

Purpose Pathologic staging of bladder cancer patients remains a challenge. Standard-of-care histology exhibits limited sensitivity in detection of micrometastases, which can increase risk of cancer progression and delay potential adjuvant therapies. Here, we sought to develop a proof of concept novel molecular approach to improve detection of cancer micrometastasis. Experimental Design We combined fluorescence activated cell sorting and next-generation sequencing and performed whole-exome sequencing of total cancer cells and cancer cell subpopulations in multiple tumor specimens and regional lymph nodes in a single patient with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder following radical cystectomy. Results Mean allele frequency analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between primary tumor cancer cells and cancer cells isolated from the lymph nodes, confirming lymph node disease despite negative pathologic staging. RNA-sequencing revealed intratumoral heterogeneity as well as enrichment for immune system and lipid metabolism gene sets in the micrometastatic cancer cell subpopulations. Conclusions Our analysis illustrates how next-generation sequencing of cancer cell subpopulations may be utilized to enrich for cancer cell markers and enhance detection of bladder cancer micrometastases to improve pathologic staging and provide insight into cancer cell biology.