Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global Model selection for evaluation of Climate Change projections in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape

Two methods for selecting a subset of simulations and/or general circulation models (GCMs) from a set of 30 available simulations are compared: 1) Selecting the models based on their performance on reproducing 20th century climate, and 2) random sampling. In the first case, it was found that the performance methodology is very sensitive to the type and number of metrics used to rank the models and therefore the results are not robust to these conditions. In general, including more models in a multi-model ensemble according to their rank (of skill in reproducing 20th century climate) results in an increase in the multi-model skill up to a certain point and then the inclusion of more models degrades the skill of the multi-model ensemble. In a similar fashion when the models are introduced in the ensemble at random, there is a point where the inclusion of more models does not change significantly the skill of the multi-model ensemble. For precipitation the subset of models that produces the maximum skill in reproducing 20th century climate also showed some skill in reproducing the climate change projections of the multi-model ensemble of all simulations. For temperature, more models/simulations are needed to be included in the ensemble (at the expense of a decrease in the skill of reproducing the climate of the 20th century for the selection based on their ranks). For precipitation and temperature the use of 7 simulations out of 30 resulted in the maximum skill for both approaches to introduce the models. Citation: Hidalgo, H. & E.J. Alfaro. 2012. Global Model selection for evaluation of climate change projections in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (Suppl. 3): 67-81. Epub 2012 Dec 01.
Co-Occurrence of Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Problems Among 406 Survivors of Critical Illness*

Objectives: To describe the frequency of co-occurring newly acquired cognitive impairment, disability in activities of daily livings, and depression among survivors of a critical illness and to evaluate predictors of being free of post-intensive care syndrome problems. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Medical and surgical ICUs from five U.S. centers. Patients: Patients with respiratory failure or shock, excluding those with preexisting cognitive impairment or disability in activities of daily livings. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: At 3 and 12 months after hospital discharge, we assessed patients for cognitive impairment, disability, and depression. We categorized patients into eight groups reflecting combinations of cognitive, disability, and mental health problems. Using multivariable logistic regression, we modeled the association between age, education, frailty, durations of mechanical ventilation, delirium, and severe sepsis with the odds of being post-intensive care syndrome free. We analyzed 406 patients with a median age of 61 years and an Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II of 23. At 3 and 12 months, one or more post-intensive care syndrome problems were present in 64% and 56%, respectively. Nevertheless, co-occurring post-intensive care syndrome problems (i.e., in two or more domains) were present in 25% at 3 months and 21% at 12 months. Post-intensive care syndrome problems in all three domains were present in only 6% at 3 months and 4% at 12 months. More years of education was associated with greater odds of being post-intensive care syndrome free (p < 0.001 at 3 and 12 mo). More severe frailty was associated with lower odds of being post-intensive care syndrome free (p = 0.005 at 3 mo and p = 0.048 at 12 mo). Conclusions: In this multicenter cohort study, one or more post-intensive care syndrome problems were present in the majority of survivors, but co-occurring problems were present in only one out of four. Education was protective from post-intensive care syndrome problems and frailty predictive of the development of post-intensive care syndrome problems. Future studies are needed to understand better the heterogeneous subtypes of post-intensive care syndrome and to identify modifiable risk factors.
Molecular typing of Staphylococcus aureus based on coagulase gene

Aim This study was conducted to study the coagulase gene-based genetic diversity of Staphylococcus aureus, isolated from different samples of cattle using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and their sequence-based phylogenetic analysis. Materials and Methods A total of 192 different samples from mastitic milk, nasal cavity, and pus from skin wounds of cattle from Military Dairy Farm, Jammu, India, were screened for the presence of S. aureus. The presumptive isolates were confirmed by nuc gene-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The confirmed S. aureus isolates were subjected to coagulase (coa) gene PCR. Different coa genotypes observed were subjected to RFLP using restriction enzymes Hae111 and Alu1, to obtain the different restriction patterns. One isolate from each restriction pattern was sequenced. These sequences were aligned for maximum homology using the Bioedit softwareandsimilarity in the sequences was inferred with the help of sequence identity matrix. Results Of 192 different samples,39 (20.31%) isolates of S. aureus were confirmed by targeting nuc gene using PCR. Of 39 S. aureus isolates, 25 (64.10%) isolates carried coa gene. Four different genotypes of coa gene, i.e., 514 bp, 595 bp, 757 bp, and 802 bp were obtained. Two coa genotypes, 595 bp (15 isolates) and 802 bp (4 isolates), were observed in mastitic milk. 514 bp (2 isolates) and 757 bp (4 isolates) coa genotypes were observed from nasal cavity and pus from skin wounds, respectively. On RFLP using both restriction enzymes, four different restriction patterns P1, P2, P3, and P4 were observed. On sequencing, four different sequences having unique restriction patterns were obtained. The most identical sequences with the value of 0.810 were found between isolate S. aureus 514 (nasal cavity) and S. aureus 595 (mastitic milk), and thus, they are most closely related. While as the most distant sequences with the value of 0.483 were found between S. aureus 514 and S. aureus 802 isolates. Conclusion The study, being localized to only one farm, yielded different RFLP patterns as observed from different sampling sites, which indicates that different S. aureus coagulase typeshave a site-specific predilection. Two coa patterns were observed in mastitic milk indicating multiple origins of infection, with 595 bp coa genotype being predominant in mastitic milk. The coa genotypes and their restriction patterns observed in the present study are novel, not published earlier. 514 and 595 coa variants of S. aureus are genetically most related.
Ribosomal protein L14 contributes to the early assembly of 60S ribosomal subunits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract The contribution of most ribosomal proteins to ribosome synthesis has been quite well analysed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, few yeast ribosomal proteins still await characterization. Herein, we show that L14, an essential 60S ribosomal protein, assembles in the nucleolus at an early stage into pre-60S particles. Depletion of L14 results in a deficit in 60S subunits and defective processing of 27SA2 and 27SA3 to 27SB pre-rRNAs. As a result, 27S pre-rRNAs are subjected to turnover and export of pre-60S particles is blocked. These phenotypes likely appear as the direct consequence of the reduced pre-60S particle association not only of L14 upon its depletion but also of a set of neighboring ribosomal proteins located at the solvent interface of 60S subunits and the adjacent region surrounding the polypeptide exit tunnel. These pre-60S intermediates also lack some essential trans-acting factors required for 27SB pre-rRNA processing but accumulate practically all factors required for processing of 27SA3 pre-rRNA. We have also analysed the functional interaction between the eukaryote-specific carboxy-terminal extensions of the neighboring L14 and L16 proteins. Our results indicate that removal of the most distal parts of these extensions cause slight translation alterations in mature 60S subunits.
For Falls Sake: Older Carers' Perceptions of Falls and Falls Risk Factors

Purpose: Older carers play an important role in falls prevention through their influence over their dependent’s actions and by their own behaviour. This study aimed to determine the perceptions of falls and fall-related risk factors by older carers in an Australian metropolitan community to inform the development of effective falls prevention strategies in this population. Method: A questionnaire was mailed to all members of a carers group in January 2003 and responses from carers aged 60 years or above were included in the study (n=121). Results: The majority of older carers (85%) understood that falls are a problem for their age group and that falls can be prevented (74%). Poor pavement maintenance and balance problems were rated as the most important risk factors for falls. The importance of unsafe behaviour as a falls risk was undervalued. The majority of respondents (74%) indicated they would talk to their doctor if they were concerned about falling. Conclusions and Recommendations: The results of this study indicate that older carers in a metropolitan community acknowledge falls are both important and preventable. The awareness of unsafe behaviour as a falls risk factor needs to be raised. Health professionals are trusted by older carers and should discuss falls prevention strategies with both the older patient and their carer. The next stage is to explore if older carers understand how they can reduce the risk of falling for themselves and their dependents, and how to effectively engage and enable older carers to do this successfully.
Ultrafast nonthermal heating of water initiated by an X-ray Free-Electron Laser

Significance X-ray Free-Electron Lasers have opened the door to a new era in structural biology, enabling imaging of biomolecules and dynamics that were impossible to access with conventional methods. A vast majority of imaging experiments, including Serial Femtosecond Crystallography, use a liquid jet to deliver the sample into the interaction region. We have observed structural changes in the carrying water during X-ray exposure, showing how it transforms from the liquid phase to a plasma. This ultrafast phase transition observed in water provides evidence that any biological structure exposed to these X-ray pulses is destroyed during the X-ray exposure. The bright ultrafast pulses of X-ray Free-Electron Lasers allow investigation into the structure of matter under extreme conditions. We have used single pulses to ionize and probe water as it undergoes a phase transition from liquid to plasma. We report changes in the structure of liquid water on a femtosecond time scale when irradiated by single 6.86 keV X-ray pulses of more than 106 J/cm2. These observations are supported by simulations based on molecular dynamics and plasma dynamics of a water system that is rapidly ionized and driven out of equilibrium. This exotic ionic and disordered state with the density of a liquid is suggested to be structurally different from a neutral thermally disordered state.
Classifying sepsis patients in the emergency department using SIRS, qSOFA or MEWS.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of qSOFA and SOFA compared with the MEWS and SIRS criteria on the classification of emergency department (ED) patients with an infection as having sepsis. METHODS A retrospective single-centre study was performed in a random sample of 600 medical patients who visited the ED of the Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam between 1 November 2015 and 1 November 2016. Data for the different sepsis scores, as well as general data and demographics were retrieved. Descriptive analytics and sensitivity/specificity analysis were used to evaluate the performance of the different sepsis tools. RESULTS Of 577 evaluable medical patients, 198 patients (34.3%) had a probable infection. The SIRS sepsis criteria, severe sepsis criteria, MEWS ≥ 5 and qSOFA criteria classified 141/198 (71.2%), 55/198 (27.8%), 58/198 (29.3%) and 17/198 patients (8.6%) respectively, as septic. The in-hospital mortality of patients classified as septic by the SIRS and qSOFA score was 6.4% and 29.4%. The qSOFA and SIRS score of ≥ 2 had a specificity of 93.7% (95% CI: 91.3-95.6) and 56.9% (52.7-61.1) in predicting in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION No major differences in gender, age, comorbidity and site of infection between patients with sepsis or severe sepsis classified by the SIRS, qSOFA criteria or MEWS of ≥ 5 were found. The qSOFA criteria classifies a smaller group of patients as septic compared with the SIRS or MEWS. Due to this strict selection, the qSOFA score seems unsuitable as a bedside tool in the work-up and treatment of sepsis at the ED.
Large-scale gas dynamics in the adhesion model: implications for the two-phase massive galaxy formation scenario

We have studied the mass assembly and star formation histories of massive galaxies identified at low redshift in different cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. To this end, we have carried out a detailed follow-up backwards in time of their constituent mass elements (sampled by particles) of different types. After that, the configurations they depict at progressively higher zs were carefully analysed. The analyses show that these histories share common generic patterns, irrespective of particular circumstances. In any case, however, the results we have found are different depending on the particle type. The most outstanding differences follow. We have found that by z ~ 3.5-6, mass elements identified as stellar particles at z = 0 exhibit a gaseous cosmic-web-like morphology with scales of ∼ 1 physical Mpc, where the densest mass elements have already turned into stars by z ∼ 6. These settings are in fact the densest pieces of the cosmic web, where no hot particles show up, and dynamically organized as a hierarchy of flow convergence regions (FCRs), that is, attraction basins for mass flows. At high z FCRs undergo fast contractive deformations with very low angular momentum, shrinking them violently. Indeed, by z ∼ 1 most of the gaseous or stellar mass they contain shows up as bound to a massive elliptical-like object at their centres, with typical half-mass radii of r mass star ∼ 2-3 kpc. After this, a second phase comes about where the mass assembly rate is much slower and characterized by mergers involving angular momentum. On the other hand, mass elements identified at the diffuse hot coronae surrounding massive galaxies at z = 0 do not display a clear web-like morphology at any z. Diffuse gas is heated when FCRs go through contractive deformations. Most of this gas remains hot and with low density throughout the evolution. To shed light on the physical foundations of the behaviour revealed by our analyses (i.e. a two-phase formation process with different implications for diffuse or shocked mass elements), as well as on their possible observational implications, these patterns have been confronted with some generic properties of singular flows as described by the adhesion model (i.e. potential character of the velocity field, singular versus regular points, dressing, locality when a spectrum of perturbations is implemented). We have found that the common patterns the simulations show can be interpreted as a natural consequence of flow properties that, moreover, could explain different generic observational results from massive galaxies or their samples. We briefly discuss some of them.
The Development of a Pressure-based Typing Biometrics User Authentication System

In this paper, the development of a pressure-based typing biometrics user authentication system is presented. Studies have shown that identity of a user can be recognized based on his/her keystroke timing pattern [1-2]. However, instead of using conventional typing timing characteristics, the work presented in this paper investigates the applicability of using a different approach to ascertain the identity of a user – the user’s typing force. In the following sections, the hardware architecture, including all the constituent components and the software development will be elaborated.
Supervised deep learning embeddings for the prediction of cervical cancer diagnosis

Cervical cancer remains a significant cause of mortality all around the world, even if it can be prevented and cured by removing affected tissues in early stages. Providing universal and efficient access to cervical screening programs is a challenge that requires identifying vulnerable individuals in the population, among other steps. In this work, we present a computationally automated strategy for predicting the outcome of the patient biopsy, given risk patterns from individual medical records. We propose a machine learning technique that allows a joint and fully supervised optimization of dimensionality reduction and classification models. We also build a model able to highlight relevant properties in the low dimensional space, to ease the classification of patients. We instantiated the proposed approach with deep learning architectures, and achieved accurate prediction results (top area under the curve AUC = 0.6875) which outperform previously developed methods, such as denoising autoencoders. Additionally, we explored some clinical findings from the embedding spaces, and we validated them through the medical literature, making them reliable for physicians and biomedical researchers.
Perceptions of Narrative Child Sexual Exploitation Material in a German community sample

Background: Narrative Child Sexual Exploitation Material (N-CSEM) constitutes an under-researched area, partly resulting from difficulties concerning its conceptualization, as well as differences arising from varying national legislations. This paper provides an outline of the current context of N-CSEM and provides an investigation of the legal and moral perception of N-CSEM amongst a German community sample (n = 243). Methods: Based on an online and offline survey, information was collected on participants' demographic information and perceptions of the illegality and severity of a range of sexual activities, targeted towards N-CSEM. Participants also completed an assessment of their attitudes towards sex offenders (using the Attitudes Towards Sexual Offenders Scale). Results: The findings revealed a high variation in participants' responses, indicating a lack of public awareness concerning N-CSEM. Active engagement with N-CSEM (e.g., writing sexually explicit stories) was perceived as more severe than passive engagement (e.g., reading such material). Regression analysis revealed that public perception of NCSEM is only predicted by specific concern about N-CSEM rather than general crime awareness or one's attitudes towards sex offenders. Conclusion: The study revealed some parameters to inform policing and legal decision-making but alerted to the controversial nature of this topic.
Caused motion across child languages: a comparison of English, German, and French

Abstract Previous research on motion expression indicates that typological properties influence how speakers select and express information in discourse (Slobin, 2004; Talmy, 2000). The present study further addresses this question by examining the expression of caused motion by adults and children (three to ten years) in French (Verb-framed) vs. English and German (Satellite-framed). Participants narrated short animated cartoons showing an agent displacing objects and varying along several dimensions (Path, Manner). A significant increase with age was found in the number of expressed motion components in all languages, as well as an influence of Path (vertical > boundary crossing). However, at all ages, participants encoded more information in English and German than in French, where more variation and structural changes occurred with increasing age. These findings highlight both cognitive and typological factors impacting the expression of caused motion in development. Implications of our findings are sketched in the ‘Discussion’.
5-Hydroxytryptamine Induces Electrogenic Secretion in the Duodenum of Gerbil (Gerbillus cheesmani )

The effect of serosally added 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT 100 I¼M) on the short circuitcurrent (Isc) across duodenum taken from fed, starved (4 days, water ad lib) and undernourished (50% control food intake for 21 days) gerbils (Gerbillus cheesmani) were investigated. The effect of the neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX 10 I¼M) and atropine (100I¼M) on the maximum increase in Isc induced by 5-HT were also studied. The 5-HT-induced Isc were higher in unstripped than in the stripped sheets in the three feeding conditions. TTX reduced the maximum increase in Isc induced by 5-HT across stripped and unstripped sheets taken from fed, starved and undernourished gerbils. Atropine decreased the 5-HT-induced Isc of stripped sheets in the three feeding conditions and it also decreased the 5-HTinduced Isc in unstripped sheets in fed duodenum. Therefore, the duodenal response to 5-HT occur partly by activation of a nonneural pathway and partly by activating electrogenic ion transport via muscarinic neural mechanism. It also showed that the 5-HT-induced Isc was chloride-dependent in fed duodenum and were chloride and bicarbonate dependent in the duodenum taken from starved and undernourished gerbil The results also showed that the increase in 5-HT-induced Isc as a results of starvation and undernourishment were TTX-sensitive and both chloride and bicarbonate dependent.
Effects of Progressive Resistance Exercise Training on the Motor and Nonmotor Features of Parkinson's Disease: A Review

Objective: This paper reviews the therapeutically beneficial effects of progressive resistance exercise training (PRET) on motor and nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: First, we perform a systematic review of the literature on the effects of PRET on motor signs of PD, functional outcomes, quality of life, and patient perceived improvement, strength, and cognition in PD. Second, we perform a meta-analysis on the motor section of the UPDRS. Finally, we discuss the results of our review and we identify current knowledge gaps regarding PRET in PD. Conclusion: This systematic review synthesizes evidence that PRET can improve strength and motor signs of Parkinsonism in PD and may also be beneficial for physical function in individuals with PD. Further research is needed to explore the effects of PRET on nonmotor symptoms such as depression, cognitive impairment, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and quality of life in individuals with PD.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON DAMPING FOR HONEYCOMB SANDWICH PANELS UNDER DIFFERENT SUPPORT CONDITIONS

The damping of joints strongly influences structural dynamic behaviour. Therefor the influence of different boundary conditions on the damping of honeycomb lightweight structures is investigated experimentally. Material and structural damping is compared to investigate the influence of joints. The tests are carried out in a one-at-a-time procedure and serve as indicator to for critical design parameters in future studies.