Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PERSPECT IVE Detecting spatial regimes in ecosystems

Shana M. Sundstrom,* Tarsha Eason, R. John Nelson, David G. Angeler, Chris Barichievy, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Nicholas A.J. Graham, Dean Granholm, Lance Gunderson, Melinda Knutson, Kirsty L. Nash, Trisha Spanbauer, Craig A. Stow and Craig R. Allen Abstract Research on early warning indicators has generally focused on assessing temporal transitions with limited application of these methods to detecting spatial regimes. Traditional spatial boundary detection procedures that result in ecoregion maps are typically based on ecological potential (i.e. potential vegetation), and often fail to account for ongoing changes due to stressors such as land use change and climate change and their effects on plant and animal communities. We use Fisher information, an information theory-based method, on both terrestrial and aquatic animal data (U.S. Breeding Bird Survey and marine zooplankton) to identify ecological boundaries, and compare our results to traditional early warning indicators, conventional ecoregion maps and multivariate analyses such as nMDS and cluster analysis. We successfully detected spatial regimes and transitions in both terrestrial and aquatic systems using Fisher information. Furthermore, Fisher information provided explicit spatial information about community change that is absent from other multivariate approaches. Our results suggest that defining spatial regimes based on animal communities may better reflect ecological reality than do traditional ecoregion maps, especially in our current era of rapid and unpredictable ecological change.
A Time Series of Prehistoric Mitochondrial DNA Reveals Western European Genetic Diversity Was Largely Established by the Bronze Age

A major unanswered question concerns the roles of continuity versus change in prehistoric Europe. For the first time, genetic samples of reasonable size taken at multiple time points are revealing piecemeal snapshots of European prehistory at different dates and places across the continent. Here, we pull these disparate datasets together to illustrate how human genetic variation has changed spatially and temporally in Europe from the Mesolithic through to the present day. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups were determined for 532 European individuals from four major eras: the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic (late Neolithic/early Bronze Age transition) and Modern periods. The Mesolithic was characterized by low mtDNA diversity. These initial European settler haplogroups declined rapidly in the Neolithic, as farmers from the east introduced a new suite of mtDNA lineages into Western Europe. For the first time, we show that the Chalcolithic was also a time of substantial genetic change in Europe. However, rather than the arrival of new mtDNA lineages, this period was characterized by major fluctuations in the frequencies of existing haplogroups. Besides the expansion of haplogroup H, there were few major changes in mtDNA diversity from the Chalcolithic to modern times, thus suggesting that the basic profile of mod- ern western European mtDNA diversity was largely established by the Bronze Age.
Searching for neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis at clinical onset: Diagnostic value of biomarkers

Background Neurodegeneration occurs during the early stages of multiple sclerosis. It is an essential, devastating part of the pathophysiology. Tools for measuring the degree of neurodegeneration could improve diagnostics and patient characterization. Objective This study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of biomarkers of degeneration in patients with recent clinical onset of suspected multiple sclerosis, and to evaluate these biomarkers for characterizing disease course. Methods This cross-sectional study included 271 patients with clinical features of suspected multiple sclerosis onset and was the baseline of a prospective study. After diagnostic investigations, the patients were classified into the following disease groups: patients with clinically isolated syndrome (n = 4) or early relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (early RRMS; n = 93); patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis with disease durations ≥2 years (established RRMS; n = 39); patients without multiple sclerosis, but showing symptoms (symptomatic controls; n = 89); and patients diagnosed with other diseases (n = 46). In addition, we included healthy controls (n = 51) and patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (n = 23). We analyzed six biomarkers of neurodegeneration: cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light chain levels; cerebral spinal fluid glial fibrillary acidic protein; cerebral spinal fluid tau; retinal nerve fiber layer thickness; macula volume; and the brain parenchymal fraction. Results Except for increased cerebral spinal fluid neurofilament light chain levels, median 670 ng/L (IQR 400–2110), we could not find signs of early degeneration in the early disease group with recent clinical onset. However, the intrathecal immunoglobin G production and cerebral spinal fluid neurofilament light chain levels showed diagnostic value. Moreover, elevated levels of cerebral spinal fluid glial fibrillary acidic protein, thin retinal nerve fiber layers, and low brain parenchymal fractions were associated with progressive disease, but not with the other phenotypes. Thin retinal nerve fiber layers and low brain parenchymal fractions, which indicated neurodegeneration, were associated with longer disease duration. Conclusions In clinically suspected multiple sclerosis, intrathecal immunoglobin G production and neurofilament light chain levels had diagnostic value. Therefore, these biomarkers could be included in diagnostic work-ups for multiple sclerosis. We found that the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer and the brain parenchymal fraction were not different between individuals that were healthy, symptomatic, or newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This finding suggested that neurodegeneration had not reached a significant magnitude in patients with a recent clinical onset of multiple sclerosis.
Mood and Learning Experience in Navigation-based Serious Games

Games are played for entertainment and stimulate a variety of moods during gameplay, including happiness. Serious or applied games are created and used to serve a purpose rather than pure entertainment. The relationship between mood and task efficiency has been investigated in psychology with contrasting results, also it appears there is a relationship between mood and learning. We have investigated players’ mood and learning efficiency as a consequence of playing two serious games involving navigation in a virtual environment as the main action of gameplay, but with different learning objectives. The first game trained players on how to perform a religious ritual, while the second taught the route to a real world destination. The preand post-gameplay mood of 52 players have been considered. We found that both serious games helped the players developing a pleasant overall mood and significantly increased the self-reported happiness score in the post-questionnaire. We also found that players who felt happier spent more time learning, and in particular, women performed better when they were happier. Also, younger learners tended to obtain a higher learning performance score than other age categories.
The Impact of Extratropical Atmospheric Variability on ENSO: Testing the Seasonal Footprinting Mechanism Using Coupled Model Experiments

Abstract Previous studies suggest that extratropical atmospheric variability influences the tropics via the seasonal footprinting mechanism (SFM), in which fluctuations in the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) impact the ocean via surface heat fluxes during winter and the resulting springtime subtropical SST anomalies alter the atmosphere–ocean system over the tropics in the following summer, fall, and winter. Here, the authors test the SFM hypothesis by imposing NPO-related surface heat flux forcing in an atmospheric GCM coupled to a reduced gravity ocean model in the tropics and a slab ocean in the extratropics. The forcing is only imposed through the first winter, and then the model is free to evolve through the following winter. The evolution of the coupled model response to the forcing is consistent with the SFM hypothesis: the NPO-driven surface fluxes cause positive SST anomalies to form in the central and eastern subtropics during winter; these anomalies propagate toward the equator along with weste.
Bang-bang and singular controls in a mathematical model for combined anti-angiogenic and chemotherapy treatments

A mathematical model for the scheduling of a combination of anti-angiogenic and chemotherapeutic agents is considered as a multi-input optimal control problem. Numerical results that are based on an explicit equation for a singular control confirm as optimal a structure of protocols that administer the anti-angiogenic agent according to the optimal monotherapy control and the cytotoxic agent at maximum dose at the end of therapy.
Running Head : Gender and Achievement Goal Profiles Achievement Goal Profiles Among Adolescent Males and Females

Achievement goal theory has long been a dominant model in the study of student motivation. However, a relatively small number of researchers have investigated gender differences in achievement goals, or have considered the possible role that social and extrinsic goals may play in student academic motivation. Adopting a person-centered multiple goals perspective based on Personal Investment Theory, this longitudinal study investigated whether males and females shared similar goal profiles, and whether the predictors (facilitating conditions) and outcomes (learning processes, task perseverance, and future aspirations) of these profiles were equivalent across genders. Profiles were extracted from eight types of academic goals, based on a large sample of Hong Kong high school students (N = 7,848). Findings revealed five distinctive profiles for both males and females. Although the relative size of these profiles differed across samples of male and female students, the results show that four of these profiles were mostly equivalent across genders. Predictors of membership into these profiles were also equivalent across genders, whereas their relative outcomes were specific to gender.
Dorsal cochlear nucleus responses to somatosensory stimulation are enhanced after noise‐induced hearing loss

Multisensory neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) achieve their bimodal response properties [Shore (2005) Eur. J. Neurosci. , 21, 3334–3348] by integrating auditory input via VIIIth nerve fibers with somatosensory input via the axons of cochlear nucleus granule cells [Shore et al. (2000) J. Comp. Neurol. , 419, 271–285; Zhou & Shore (2004)J. Neurosci. Res., 78, 901–907]. A unique feature of multisensory neurons is their propensity for receiving cross‐modal compensation following sensory deprivation. Thus, we investigated the possibility that reduction of VIIIth nerve input to the cochlear nucleus results in trigeminal system compensation for the loss of auditory inputs. Responses of DCN neurons to trigeminal and bimodal (trigeminal plus acoustic) stimulation were compared in normal and noise‐damaged guinea pigs. The guinea pigs with noise‐induced hearing loss had significantly lower thresholds, shorter latencies and durations, and increased amplitudes of response to trigeminal stimulation than normal animals. Noise‐damaged animals also showed a greater proportion of inhibitory and a smaller proportion of excitatory responses compared with normal. The number of cells exhibiting bimodal integration, as well as the degree of integration, was enhanced after noise damage. In accordance with the greater proportion of inhibitory responses, bimodal integration was entirely suppressive in the noise‐damaged animals with no indication of the bimodal enhancement observed in a sub‐set of normal DCN neurons. These results suggest that projections from the trigeminal system to the cochlear nucleus are increased and/or redistributed after hearing loss. Furthermore, the finding that only neurons activated by trigeminal stimulation showed increased spontaneous rates after cochlear damage suggests that somatosensory neurons may play a role in the pathogenesis of tinnitus.
Chapter 12. Comparative assessment of soil bulk density by computerized tomography methods for carbon stock quantification

Soil carbon (C) concentration and soil bulk density are essential parameters used to quantify soil C stocks and the potential of soil C sequestration. Bulk density was traditionally assessed by gravimetric methods but gamma ray computed tomography can be used to quantify variations in bulk density within the soil profile. Tomographic methods measure soil physical properties without disturbing the soil, and X-ray microtomography provides high resolution cross-section images of an object to create a virtual 3 dimensional-model of the object. As such, it was assumed that this technique may also be applied to evaluate soil bulk density. The objective of this study was to compare computerized tomographic results to estimate the bulk density of soils of different textures and under different management conditions. Results were compared with bulk density values determined by classical methods as volumetric ring or paraffin sealed clod methods. Comparisons among linear attenuation coefficients were undertaken to correlate them linearly with the soil bulk density parameter for each soil. However, some factors such as beam hardening effect and the polychromatic nature of X-rays microtomography make it difficult to directly quantify soil bulk density.
On the experimental design of the material microstructures

The design techniques of the components on the macro level are established in the scientific community, however are far behind from the real material performance limits. To obtain those limits, the deeper understanding of the material structure is required. The methods of a new comonents production through standard alloying are the basis of the modern material science manufacturing. The design of the materials with expected required performance limits is the next conceptual step for the materials scientist. As results, to make this step, the problem of a precise material structure analyses on the microstructural level is one os the major importance for the next generation materials design. The complexity of the material structure across the scales(macro-micro) requires a new non deterministic methods for better understanding of the connectivity betwen a materials performance and material microstructure features. This work presents a various new research methodologies and techniques of the material microstructure characterization and numerical design with future applications to the anlyses of the material behavior. The focus of the particular research was to analyse a new cross correlation function of the material structure on the micro length scale and develop a novel framework which allows a better understanding of various important material phenomenas such as failure initiation and recrystallization.
Toxicity and persistence of selected neonicotinoid insecticides on cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch (Homoptera: Aphididae)

Field strain of cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch, was treated by selected neonicotinoid insecticides to evaluate their toxicity and persistence against this pest in Assiut governorate, Egypt. Under faba bean field conditions, acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran registered significantly high percent reduction of the pest at one, seven, fifteen and 21 post treatment. The residual effects of these insecticides showed that the LT50 for acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran were 5.8, 6.2, 6.95 and 4.2 days, respectively. The application of these insecticides on the cowpea aphid under field conditions induced yield increases. The toxicity of these neonicotinide insecticides were tested against field strain of cowpea aphids using leaf-dib bioassay under field and laboratory conditions. The toxicity index showed that thiamethoxam, acetamiprid and imidacloprid have the highest aphicidal activity, with LC50s 0.60, 0.71 and 1.16 mg/L, respectively, while dinotefuran was the least toxic one with LC50 23.41 mg/L. Results of this study indicated that neonicotinoid insecticides were highly effective against cowpea aphid under field and laboratory conditions.
On the Psychometric Principles of Affect

D. Watson and L. A. Clark (1997) announced “two fundamental psychometric principles” (p. 282) of affect: The positive correlation between affects with the same valence tends to be substantial, whereas the negative correlation between affects with opposite valence tends to be weak. These allegedly robust empirical generalizations underlie various conceptual models of affect (such as those that posit an independence between positive and negative affect) and various scales of affect. The authors offer an alternative analysis: The correlation between two affects is a function of the angle between them within a circular ordering. Two data sets were reanalyzed and showed predicted exceptions to Watson and Clark's principles: same-valenced pairs with weak correlations and oppositely valenced pairs with substantial correlations.
Desert Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii) in Southeastern Colorado: Life History, Reproduction, and Communal Hibernation

Abstract We studied Desert Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii) in southeastern Colorado in 1998 and 2005–2007. Mark–recapture data for 770 snakes indicated a population size of >3,500 snakes in an area of approximately 4,800 ha. Field growth rates and size class frequency distributions showed that average snake age was 3 yr; 4 yr old snakes were frequently encountered, but less than 4% were 5 yr or older, suggesting low survivorship beyond this age. Conversely, initial growth was rapid; snakes grew an average of 0.57 mm/day in their first full year. Desert Massasaugas mated in fall and spring, producing 2–7 (mean 3.3) young in late August to early September, and reproduction appeared to be biennial. Desert Massasaugas showed maternal attendance for at least 5 days postparturition, and neonate dispersal corresponded with the first shed. Radioed Desert Massasaugas (N = 15) used rodent burrows as hibernacula, and within 50 m of Desert Massasauga hibernacula, eight snake, five anuran, and two turtle species use the same area for hibernation. Low prey density at the hibernaculum indicates that stable hibernation conditions are the primary resource attracting a diverse assemblage of species to this area. The hibernaculum area serves as a critically important winter refuge for numerous species and supports the largest known population of Desert Massasaugas. This population is considered stable at present; however, because of rapidly changing climatic conditions, habitat loss and degradation, anthropogenic disturbance, and shifts in prey abundance, it may become threatened in the near future, and continued monitoring is warranted.
Benchmark model of Quanser's 3 DOF Helicopter

This paper proposes a software benchmark tool for the Quanser " 3 DOF Helicopter " in the Mathworks Simscape environment, based on a multi-body model of the experimental setup. The proposed benchmark tool takes into account a number of implementation features of the experimental setup and aims at providing a tool for simulative validation and performance analysis of control strategies. Along with this software-in-the-loop tool, a novel reduced complexity non-linear model for the Quanser " 3 DOF Helicopter " is derived from the Lagrangian description of the full multi-body model, with the scope of being used in the control synthesis phase. The identification of the models parameters is carried out following a " gray-box " type of paradigm in order to match the models with the experimental setup. A feedback linearizing control law is as well proposed, based on the reduced complexity model. Closed-loop experimental results both show the accuracy of the simulated response compared to the experimental response, and the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy in a set-point regulation task.
Thienopyridines in cardiovascular disease: Focus on Clopidogrel resistance

Summary Platelets play an important role in atherothrombotic disease, as well as in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and in complications. Antiplatelet therapy with Clopidogrel represents at present an important treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD), especially in and after acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and after coronary interventions when stents are used. Clopidogrel is a potent and specific inhibitor of platelet ADP receptor (P2Y12 receptor) with high antithrombotic activity. Emerging data suggest that a significant percentage of individuals treated with Clopidogrel do not receive the expected therapeutic benefit because of a decreased responsiveness of their platelets, which is caused by several extrinsic and/or intrinsic mechanisms. As long as Clopidogrel is the “gold standard” in combination with aspirin in the treatment of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention and stent implantation, the overall challenge is to develop a fast “point-of-care” assay to detect Clopidogrel resistance early and to enable alternative antithrombotic strategies in non-responders or low-responders. This test should be easily performed (bedside) and reproducible, with a standardized definition of response, which is known to correlate with clinical outcomes. Unfortunately, such a test does not exist at present. As an alternative, new ADP receptor antagonists with better bioavailability and improved pharmacokinetics, e.g. intestinal reabsorption as an active drug or 1:1 conversion into an active metabolite thus reducing individual variations, are in development and have already found their way into clinical use in phase-3 trials. Prasugrel is one of the incoming new drugs with high expectations, but other agents might follow in the near future.
Epinephrine Auto-Injector Versus Drawn Up Epinephrine for Anaphylaxis Management: A Scoping Review*

Objective: Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening event. Most clinical symptoms of anaphylaxis can be reversed by prompt intramuscular administration of epinephrine using an auto-injector or epinephrine drawn up in a syringe and delays and errors may be fatal. The aim of this scoping review is to identify and compare errors associated with use of epinephrine drawn up in a syringe versus epinephrine auto-injectors in order to assist hospitals as they choose which approach minimizes risk of adverse events for their patients. Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched using terms agreed to a priori. Study Selection: We reviewed human and simulation studies reporting errors associated with the use of epinephrine in anaphylaxis. There were multiple screening stages with evolving feedback. Data Extraction: Each study was independently assessed by two reviewers for eligibility. Data were extracted using an instrument modeled from the Zaza et al instrument and grouped into themes. Data Synthesis: Three main themes were noted: 1) ergonomics, 2) dosing errors, and 3) errors due to route of administration. Significant knowledge gaps in the operation of epinephrine auto-injectors among healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers were identified. For epinephrine in a syringe, there were more frequent reports of incorrect dosing and erroneous IV administration with associated adverse cardiac events. For the epinephrine auto-injector, unintentional administration to the digit was an error reported on multiple occasions. Conclusions: This scoping review highlights knowledge gaps and a diverse set of errors regardless of the approach to epinephrine preparation during management of anaphylaxis. There are more potentially life-threatening errors reported for epinephrine drawn up in a syringe than with the auto-injectors. The impact of these knowledge gaps and potentially fatal errors on patient outcomes, cost, and quality of care is worthy of further investigation.