Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Precipitation ensembles conforming to natural variations derived from a regional climate model using a new bias correction scheme

Abstract. This study presents a novel bias correction scheme for regional climate model (RCM) precipitation ensembles. A primary advantage of using model ensembles for climate change impact studies is that the uncertainties associated with the systematic error can be quantified through the ensemble spread. Currently, however, most of the conventional bias correction methods adjust all the ensemble members to one reference observation. As a result, the ensemble spread is degraded during bias correction. Since the observation is only one case of many possible realizations due to the climate natural variability, a successful bias correction scheme should preserve the ensemble spread within the bounds of its natural variability (i.e. sampling uncertainty). To demonstrate a new bias correction scheme conforming to RCM precipitation ensembles, an application to the Thorverton catchment in the south-west of England is presented. For the ensemble, 11 members from the Hadley Centre Regional Climate Model (HadRM3-PPE) data are used and monthly bias correction has been done for the baseline time period from 1961 to 1990. In the typical conventional method, monthly mean precipitation of each of the ensemble members is nearly identical to the observation, i.e. the ensemble spread is removed. In contrast, the proposed method corrects the bias while maintaining the ensemble spread within the natural variability of the observations.
Modelling non-markovian quantum processes with recurrent neural networks

Quantum systems interacting with an unknown environment are notoriously difficult to model, especially in presence of non-Markovian and non-perturbative effects. Here we introduce a neural network based approach, which has the mathematical simplicity of the Gorini–Kossakowski–Sudarshan–Lindblad master equation, but is able to model non-Markovian effects in different regimes. This is achieved by using recurrent neural networks (RNNs) for defining Lindblad operators that can keep track of memory effects. Building upon this framework, we also introduce a neural network architecture that is able to reproduce the entire quantum evolution, given an initial state. As an application we study how to train these models for quantum process tomography, showing that RNNs are accurate over different times and regimes.
A new data assimilation approach for improving runoff prediction using remotely-sensed soil moisture retrievals

Abstract. A number of recent studies have focused on enhancing runoff prediction via the assimilation of remotely-sensed surface soil moisture retrievals into a hydrologic model. The majority of these approaches have viewed the problem from purely a state or parameter estimation perspective in which remotely-sensed soil moisture estimates are assimilated to improve the characterization of pre-storm soil moisture conditions in a hydrologic model, and consequently, its simulation of runoff response to subsequent rainfall. However, recent work has demonstrated that soil moisture retrievals can also be used to filter errors present in satellite-based rainfall accumulation products. This result implies that soil moisture retrievals have potential benefit for characterizing both antecedent moisture conditions (required to estimate sub-surface flow intensities and subsequent surface runoff efficiencies) and storm-scale rainfall totals (required to estimate the total surface runoff volume). In response, this work presents a new sequential data assimilation system that exploits remotely-sensed surface soil moisture retrievals to simultaneously improve estimates of both pre-storm soil moisture conditions and storm-scale rainfall accumulations. Preliminary testing of the system, via a synthetic twin data assimilation experiment based on the Sacramento hydrologic model and data collected from the Model Parameterization Experiment, suggests that the new approach is more efficient at improving stream flow predictions than data assimilation techniques focusing solely on the constraint of antecedent soil moisture conditions.
Dynamic Parameters do not Predict Fluid Responsiveness in Ventilated Patients with Severe Sepsis or Septic Shock

Shock in sepsis results from vasodilatation and a reduction of effective intravascular volume. Its treatment, among others, includes optimal fluid resuscitation. Both over and under resuscitation can worsen outcome in these patients [1]. Routine clinical examination and static indicators of cardiac preload such as central venous pressure (CVP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), or left ventricular (LV) end diastolic area, are poor predictors of fluid responsiveness [1,2]. Recent studies have shown that respiratory variations in the dynamic indicators of LV stroke volume (SV), namely pulse pressure variation (PPV) and SV variation (SVV) are more reliable predictors of fluid responsiveness in ventilated septic patients [3-5]. Respiratory changes in the amplitude of the plethysmographic pulse wave (ΔPOP) have been shown to be as accurate as PPV in predicting fluid responsiveness in ventilated septic patients [5]. Pleth variability index (PVI), an automatic and continuous monitor of ΔPOP, has been demonstrated to predict fluid responsiveness in ventilated patients undergoing general anaesthesia [6], and in critically ill ventilated patients with circulatory insufficiency [4]. However, it is unclear whether PVI specifically predicts fluid responsiveness in ventilated patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. Therefore, we conducted a prospective, non-randomised, nonblinded observational study to compare the ability of multiple dynamic and static cardiovascular parameters to predict fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.
Delta and theta activity during slow-wave sleep are associated with declarative but not with non-declarative learning in children with sleep-disordered breathing

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a prevalent sleep disorder among young children and is associated with daytime impairments, such as behavioral dysregulation, affective symptoms, and reduced cognitive performance. Microstructural changes of non-rapid eye movement sleep, particularly the reduction of slow frequency oscillations during slow-wave sleep (SWS) might be associated with impaired learning among children with SDB. In this study, we investigated the associations between learning capacity, overnight memory retention, and post-learning, spectral power density of SWS within a clinical sample of children (n = 27) with SDB. Participants performed a declarative (the “War of the Ghosts”) and a non-declarative (the “Alternating Serial Reaction Time”) memory task at night, before their clinical (nighttime polysomnographic) evaluation. Memory retention was assessed in the morning. Overnight changes in performance in the declarative and non-declarative task were not related to relative spectral power measu.
Iconography : HBs Ag and antibodies to hepatitis C virus in complicated chronic hepatic diseases in Gabon

Results — HBs Ag prevalence among cases was 35.1% (decompensated cirrhosis: 34.2%; hepatocellular carcinoma: 40.5%) and 12.5% among controls. Anti-HCV were detected in 32.4% of cases (decompensated cirrhosis: 34.2%; hepatocellular carcinoma: 28.6%) and in 20.1% of controls. Complicated chronic liver disease was linked to HBs Ag (OR = 11.3; IC: 4.8-26.7; cirrhosis: OR = 18; IC: 5.3-61.5; hepatocellular carcinoma: OR = 8.3; IC: 2.5-27.8) in patients from 15 to 34 years old. Above 45 years, complicated chronic liver disease was linked to anti-HCV antibodies (OR = 2.9; IC: 1.6-5.3; cirrhosis: OR = 2.8; IC: 1.4-5.8; hepatocellular carcinoma: OR = 3.2; IC: 1.1-9.5).
Phytoplankton functional groups for ecological assessment in young sub-tropical reservoirs: case study of the Nam-Theun 2 Reservoir, Laos, South-East Asia

The early stages following the creation of reservoirs are typically physical and biological unstable periods due to the conversion from a lotic to a lentic ecosystem. The sub-tropical Nam Theun 2 Reservoir (Laos) was impounded in 2008. Several limnological parameters were monitored from March 2009 to December 2011 in order to understand the evolution of the phytoplankton community. A strong inter annual variability of hydrodynamic pattern was observed. Rainfall and hydraulic balance were the main physical factors driving the community structure. Periods of highest hydraulic stability led to a phytoplankton biomasses increase. The first assemblages were dominated by the S-C-strategists reaching high biomasses but low diversity. Over the three years, phytoplankton became more diverse due to a diversification of ecological niches, mostly explained by a greater water transparency and a more stable thermal stratification. The applicability of functional groups for biomonitoring in this young sub-tropical reservoir was investigated and compared to a classical taxonomical approach. The dominant functional groups (Lo, A, E, F, N and P) characterized the NT2 Reservoir as meso-oligotrophic with a tolerance to low nutrients supply. Our results support the hypothesis that a functional group approach is more informative than a species-based approach to assess trophic level and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in such reservoirs.
FACTORS INFLUENCING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOUR AMONG ADULTS IN MALAYSIA

Numerous studies have been carried out on fruits and vegetables consumption and factors that influenced consumers’ fruits and vegetables intake. However, there is limited knowledge on factors that influence fruits and vegetables consumption in Malaysia. Hence, it is important to determine factors that increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the aims of this research were to evaluate the personal and environmental factors on fruits and vegetables consumption behaviour among adults in Malaysia. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) supports this study. A total of 1200 respondents were selected in seven cities in Malaysia. Data were analysed by using multiple linear regressions, independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA to address the research objective. Descriptive analysis was employed to profile the respondents. Based on the findings, attitude (p=.001), habit (p=.002), social influences (p=.001) and availability (p=.001) were found important towards fruits and vegetables consumption behaviour. Females were found to have higher interests than their counterparts in all those factors measured in this study. It indicates that women are more health conscious than men. Age and marital status were significant factors in fruits consumption behaviour whereas age, race, marital status and household income were found to have significant influences in vegetables consumption behaviour. As the conclusion, the empirical and theoretical implications of this study can be recommended to marketers and stakeholders.
Odd Couple? Reenvisioning the Relation Between Science and Practice in the Dissemination-Implementation Era

Decades of clinical psychological science have produced empirically supported treatments that are now undergoing dissemination and implementation (DI) but with little guidance from a science that is just taking shape. Charting a future for DI science (DIS) and DI practice (DIP), and their complex relationship, will be complicated by significant challenges—the implementation cliff (intervention benefit drops when tested practices are scaled up), low relevance of most clinical research to actual practice, and differing timetables and goals for DIP versus DIS. To address the challenges, and prepare the next generation of clinical psychological scientists, we propose the following: making intervention research look more like practice, solving the “too many empirically supported treatments” problem, addressing mismatches between interventions and their users (e.g., clients, therapists), broadening the array of intervention delivery systems, sharpening outcome monitoring and feedback, incentivizing high-risk/high-gain innovations, designing new professional tracks, and synchronizing and linking the often-insular practice and science of DI.
Cow ’ s Milk for Breastfeeding Moms

• Breastfeeding babies are less likely to develop cow’s milk allergy when their mothers drink cow’s milk. • Mothers who drink cow’s milk have higher levels of secretory IgA in their breastmilk. • A cell culture study shows that “high sIgA” breastmilk blocks uptake of an undigested cow’s milk protein by intestinal cells. • A randomized controlled trial is needed to verify the linkage between dairy consumption and breastmilk sIgA, and subsequent protection of breastfeeding babies. • In the meantime, breastfeeding mothers should drink cow’s milk.
Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus and Associated Risk Factors among Students in a Nigerian University

Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus has been associated with subsequent infection and transmission within the hospital and community settings. This study was carried out to evaluate the carriage rates of S. aureus in a University student population and describe risk factors associated with the carriage. Two-hundred and seventy-seven nasal samples were obtained from healthy volunteer students and screened for S. aureus by standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted on the bacterial isolates by the disk diffusion technique. A questionnaire was conducted with each student to acquire demographic and risk factor information. One hundred and fifty-seven (56.7%) isolates were identified as S. aureus. Antibiotic resistance was highest for cloxacillin (91%), ceftazidime (71%), cotrimoxazole (23%), erythromycin (20%) and oxacillin (16%). Risk factors such as hospitalization in the past 12 months, recent skin infection and participation in sports were significantly associated with carrier status. High resistance to certain antibiotics observed in this study shows that nasal colonization could serve as a reservoir of antibiotic resistant strains within the community.
Explaining the convector effect in canopy turbulence by means of large-eddy simulation

Abstract. Semi-arid forests are found to sustain a massive sensible heat flux in spite of having a low surface to air temperature difference by lowering the aerodynamic resistance to heat transfer (rH) – a property called the canopy convector effect (CCE). In this work large-eddy simulations are used to demonstrate that the CCE appears more generally in canopy turbulence. It is indeed a generic feature of canopy turbulence: rH of a canopy is found to reduce with increasing unstable stratification, which effectively increases the aerodynamic roughness for the same physical roughness of the canopy. This relation offers a sufficient condition to construct a general description of the CCE. In addition, we review existing parameterizations for rH from the evapotranspiration literature and test to what extent they are able to capture the CCE, thereby exploring the possibility of an improved parameterization.
Does objective cluster analysis serve as a useful precursor to seasonal precipitation prediction at local scale? Application to western Ethiopia

Abstract. Prediction of seasonal precipitation can provide actionable information to guide management of various sectoral activities. For instance, it is often translated into hydrological forecasts for better water resources management. However, many studies assume homogeneity in precipitation across an entire study region, which may prove ineffective for operational and local-level decisions, particularly for locations with high spatial variability. This study proposes advancing local-level seasonal precipitation predictions by first conditioning on regional-level predictions, as defined through objective cluster analysis, for western Ethiopia. To our knowledge, this is the first study predicting seasonal precipitation at high resolution in this region, where lives and livelihoods are vulnerable to precipitation variability given the high reliance on rain-fed agriculture and limited water resources infrastructure. The combination of objective cluster analysis, spatially high-resolution prediction of seasonal precipitation, and a modeling structure spanning statistical and dynamical approaches makes clear advances in prediction skill and resolution, as compared with previous studies. The statistical model improves versus the non-clustered case or dynamical models for a number of specific clusters in northwestern Ethiopia, with clusters having regional average correlation and ranked probability skill score (RPSS) values of up to 0.5 and 33 %, respectively. The general skill (after bias correction) of the two best-performing dynamical models over the entire study region is superior to that of the statistical models, although the dynamical models issue predictions at a lower resolution and the raw predictions require bias correction to guarantee comparable skills.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma Occurrence and Recurrence in Hepatitis C-infected Patients Treated with Direct-acting Antivirals

Introduction Multiple studies have shown the efficacy of the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) with a cure rate of over 90% in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. Some recently published studies have suggested an increased incidence of de novo and recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic patients in sustained virological response (SVR) after completing therapy. A possible mechanism is the breakdown of immune surveillance after starting DAAs. We report a retrospective analysis on a population of chronic HCV infected patients, with and without a prior history of HCC, who developed HCC after receiving DAAs in the hope of adding to existing literature and in pursuit of greater clarity into this emerging concern with DAAs. Methods We analyzed 497 HCV-infected patients who were treated with DAAs, or a combination of DAA with interferon, from January 2014 to April 2017 at the Veterans Medical Center, Oklahoma City. Descriptive analysis, including the mean and standard deviation for different variables, was used. The cohort was divided into two groups: cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic. The analysis was run in the cirrhotic group between the subgroups who developed HCC and who did not. Results Data from a total of 233 cirrhotic patients were analyzed. We further subdivided these patients into those who eventually were diagnosed with HCC (group 1) and those who were not (group 2). These subgroups were comparable in regards to race, gender, baseline serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), platelets, sodium, HCV genotypes, and pretreatment viral load. All patients completed therapy. The rate of SVR was much lower in group 1 compared to group 2 (62.5% vs 88.94%, p = 0.002), respectively. Model End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score, and Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score were higher in the group that developed HCC. The average time period (weeks) from DAA therapy to HCC diagnosis was 48.2 weeks. The remaining 264 non-cirrhotic patients had no reported cases of HCC. Conclusion From a total of 497 treated HCV-infected patients, 233 (46.88 %) had cirrhosis, out of which 16 (6.86%) were reported to develop HCC during or after DAA therapy was initiated. The remaining 217 (93.1%) cirrhotic patients did not develop HCC. As per our comparison, achieving SVR in cirrhotic patients should not preclude HCC screening, and more studies are needed to assess the risk of HCC in patients who achieve SVR but have a high FIB-4 score. In fact, patients who do not achieve SVR may be at a higher risk of eventually developing HCC and may be candidates for closer surveillance.
Shifts in immunoglobulins levels in the porcine mammary secretions during whole lactation period.

The absolute and relative levels of immunoglobulins (Ig) G, M, and A in porcine mammary secretions throughout lactation period were estimated. Concentrations of each immunoglobulin were determined by ELISA kits. The results of the study confirmed that pigs, like other mammals, have colostral and milk phases of lactation, distinguished by the concentrations of IgG and IgA. The amount of IgG showed a dramatic 27-fold decline from the beginning to day 6 of lactation. The IgM concentration decreased over threefold at the same time. Concentration of IgA at the day 6 of lactation was almost 4-fold lower than that at the beginning of lactation. The relative contribution of IgG and IgA to the total Ig content becomes reversed during lactation. Summarising, in pigs, transformation of colostrum to milk was characterised by dramatic decrease in total Ig content, connected with the change of predominant immunoglobulin. The predominant immunoglobulin in colostrum was IgG, which plays an important role in systemic immunity, while in milk a major Ig was IgA, responsible for the protection at mucosal surface level. As concentrations of Ig in colostrum are very variable, an improved understanding of factors influencing colostrum Ig concentration is now desirable.
Characterization of DOM Removal by Full-Scale Biological Activated Carbon (BAC) Filters Having Different Ages

Biological activities on biological activated carbon (BAC) play a crucial role in controlling biostability of drinking water distribution systems. Microbial development on the BAC surfaces may have a competitive effect of eliminating adsorptive sites for dissolved organic matter (DOM) and increasing biological activities. Therefore, this study aimed to (1) investigate changes in DOM treatability by BAC filters as BAC ages in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant employing ozonation-BAC filtration process and (2) identify levels of limiting nutrients for bacterial regrowth in the effluent of BAC filters of multiple ages. In the initial stage (1–4 weeks), BAC filter achieved DOM removal of 87%, but the removal declined monotonically with service time to 42% and 24% by BAC filters operated for 32–54 weeks and 6 years, respectively. In contrast, the oldest BAC filter maintained biostability of finished water as confirmed by assimilable organic carbon (AOC) of 62 μg acetate-C/L with 0.6 mg/L of free residual chlorine and a bacterial regrowth potential of 1.30×10 5 CFU/mL. Phosphorous and AOC were limiting nutrients in effluents of ozonation and BAC filters, respectively. Our results suggest that understanding changes in the ozonation-BAC treatment mechanisms will help optimize DOM removal and the biological stability.
Metabolic cardiac protection is beneficial in patients undergoing coronary revascularization: is it necessary afterwards?

Coronary revascularization procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous coronary intervention) take their place among the principal approaches to coronary artery disease (CAD) treatment. These procedures not only successfully alleviate the symptoms of the disease, but may also improve outcome in subsets of CAD patients. However, accumulating data suggest the possibility that myocardial injury develops as a response to the restoration of coronary blood flow. This paper describes the potential benefits of trimetazidine as a promising agent for cardiac protection in patients undergoing coronary revascularization. The rationale for long-term treatment with trimetazidine after coronary revascularization procedures is also discussed.