Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soil and water conservation in Tigray (Northern Ethiopia): the traditional dagat technique and its integration with introduced techniques

Between the cultivated fields in the highlands of Tigray, one finds, besides the recently introduced stone bunds, many lynchets, with a height ranging from 0·3–3 m. Grasses occupy the riser and a more or less large strip on the shoulder. Traditionally, farmers established an untilled strip of about 2 m wide at the lower plot limit. This grass strip reduced runoff velocity, allowed for water to infiltrate and trapped sediment. Year after year, these lynchets, locally called dagat, continued to grow. In this study, the dagat technique is characterized and its evolution and reasons for partial destruction are outlined. Stereoscopic aerial photo analysis shows for the study area near Hagere Selam (13 °39′N, 39 °10′E, 2650 m a.s.l.) that 20·7 per cent of the major dagats (more than 1 metre high) have disappeared between 1974 and 1994. These lynchets, however, remain an important linear element in the landscape (22·7 m ha−1, i.e. their density on cultivated fields is much higher). Of the smaller lynchets, a great proportion has been levelled in order to increase plot surfaces and spread fertile soil over the field. Famines and impoverishment caused the farmers to increase short-term agricultural production in this way. Since the 1980s, the farmers built stone bunds on most of the cultivated land. Their average length equals 56·1 m ha−1 in the study area. The establishment of stone bunds results in the development of small terraces. Especially during recent years, there is a tendency to integrate the traditional knowledge of dagat with the building of stone bunds. A quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of both techniques must be made. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
New and Revised Inaniguttid Radiolaria and Associated Trilobites from the Upper Darriwilian (Ordovician) Shundy Formation of Kazakhstan

Abstract Representatives of the family Inaniguttidae dominate a diverse and well-preserved radiolarian assemblage from Kazakhstan. The fauna was extracted from a limestone sample of the Shundy Formation, a limestone sequence that accumulated on the slope of a carbonate platform and which crops out in the Aksuran Mountains (North Balkhash Region). The family Inaniguttidae is represented in the studied assemblage by five genera and 14 species (including two new species, Triplococcus aksuranensis and Inanibigutta maletzi). The genus Triplococcus is particularly abundant, representing half of the Inaniguttids in the studied assemblage. Based on the presence of species Haplentactinia juncta, the fauna can be correlated with the upper Darriwilian Haplentactinia juncta–Inanigutta unica assemblage. Identified trilobites (Endymionia semielliptica and Porterfieldia sp. aff. P. delicata) found in the same sample also suggest a late Darriwilian age, which agrees with the age suggested previously by graptolites.
Finite element modeling of cells in response to loading: Effect of cytoskeleton

Finite Element Modeling of Cells in Response to Loading Effect of Cytoskeleton Chee Wui Loke Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis marked by degeneration of the cartilage and bone in joints, which causes severe joint pain associated with daily activities. Articular cartilage is one of the major load bearing tissue that transfers load across joints and with synovial fluid provides a bearing surface for the diarthrodial joints. It is made up of highly specialized cells called chondrocytes that are responsible for its growth and maintenance. Mechanical loading and cell-matrix interactions have been shown experimentally to influence the biological behavior of chondrocytes. Biological behavior of the chondrocytes is important because they are highly associative with the collagen secretion, which is one of the building blocks of Extra Cellular Matrix. While there are many numerical models which had tried to mimic the behavior of the live cell, they do not represent the actual live cell architectures. Therefore a 3-D finite element model was built based on major structural components of a live cell, which consisted of cytoskeleton elements (actins and microtubules networks), cell membrane and internal fluid pressure in the analysis. As a result, the behavior of this cell model has shown good agreement with the live cell under compressive loading. Since the relationship between physical parameters, properties and overall cell structural stability are poorly understood, a series of parametric studies were performed by changing the agarose gel stiffness in the cell-gel construct model, increasing layers of interconnected actins filaments, changing actins stiffness and pre-stress effects of actins. A 2-D finite element model was also constructed, based on the real structure elements and composition of a live cell that are comprised of different structural combinations (microtubules and actins) at different locations within the cell. Using the volume fraction approach and treating each structural combination as a composite element, we concluded that there are four categories of composite elements in the cell and they are orthotropic. Using similar compressive strain of 15% and 30% in both the finite element and the experimental cell-gel construct model, the radial deformation, Ur, or shape change, are found to be within a good agreement. Replying on good predictions from ABAQUS, we are able to change the mechanical properties of each element accordingly to the structural combinations from the live cell and obtained the equivalent shape change, without performing experiments. This thesis is dedicated to Nelson Loke and Emily Cheong
Dutch general practitioners' perspectives on addressing obesity: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND Early diagnosis and treatment of obesity in primary care may help to tackle the obesity pandemic. Nonetheless general practitioners (GPs) frequently fail to address obesity and demonstrate limited adherence to guidelines. AIM To explore Dutch GPs' perspectives on addressing obesity regarding three target behaviors: discussing weight, diagnosing, and referring patients with obesity. DESIGN & SETTING A qualitative focus group study with Dutch GPs. METHOD Six focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of 21 GPs. Thematic analysis was performed using deductive coding according to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). RESULTS For discussing weight, main barriers identified were a presented complaint unrelated to obesity (environmental context/resources), concerns about a negative response from the patient (beliefs about consequences)worries about obesity being a sensitive vulnerable subject to discuss (emotions). A long-term trustworthy relationship (social influences) facilitated discussing weight. For diagnosing patients with obesity, the main barriers were related to resources, eg, lack of (appropriate) measuring equipment and time (environmental context/resources). For referring patients with obesity, main barriers were no referral options nearby (environmental context/resources), and doubts about the positive effects of the referral on weight change (beliefs about consequences). CONCLUSION Different barriers for discussing weight, diagnosing, and referring patients with obesity were identified, underscoring the importance for tailored interventions to these specific behaviours. Improving knowledge and skills of GPs seems insufficient as this study showed that particular attention should be paid to establishing long-term relationships, addressing GPs beliefs about consequences and a supportive environment with sufficient time and resources.
Effect of row ratio and nutrient management practices on growth and yield of chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) and mustard [ Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. and Coss] intercropping system

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2016-17 and 2017-18 at Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramadaya Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, Satna (M.P.) to study the effect of row ratio and nutrient management practices on growth and yield of chickpea and mustard under intercropping system. Growth characters of chickpea viz . plant height, dry weight/plant at 60 DAS were observed numerically higher under chickpea + mustard (4:1) while, growth characters of mustard i.e. plant height, leaves/plant, dry weight at flower initiation and at harvest were markedly higher under chickpea + mustard (6:1) during two years. The grain yield (1500 and 1686 kg/ha) and straw yield (2696 and 2750 kg/ha) of chickpea were significantly higher in 6:1 row ratio during two years. While, intercrop mustard seed (625 and 668 kg/ha) and stover yield (2218 and 2444 kg/ha) was conspicuously higher under chickpea + mustard (4:1) system. In nutrient management, dry weight/plant of chickpea was found higher in 100% N equivalent from OM while, dry weight of mustard was noted significantly more in 125% RDF to main crop followed by FYM 10 t/ha + 75% RDF during two consecutive years. Application of FYM 10 t/ha + 75% RDF to main crop produced higher grain yield of chickpea while, straw yield was found more in 125% RDF to main crop. Mustard seed and straw yield was obtained markedly higher in 100% N equivalent to main crop from OM. Sole chickpea or sole mustard recorded higher dry weight of chickpea and mustard compared to treatment means, respectively. Pure and intercrop chickpea seed and straw yield was statistically at par during two years but it was decreased grain yield to the tune of 179.8 and 110.87 kg/ha over pure chickpea during two respective years. Significant highest chickpea equivalent grain yield (1827 and 2021 kg/ha) and LER (1.21 and 1.31) was recorded under 6:1 row ratio. In nutrient management, the highest chickpea equivalent grain yield (1866 and 2016 kg/ha) and LER (1.23 and 1.30) were obtained under FYM @ 10 t/ha + 75% RDF. Chickpea equivalent grain yield and LER were found markedly higher in intercrop than either sole chickpea or sole mustard.
Seasonal Dynamics of the Sulphate Reduction Rate on the North-western Black Sea Shelf

The microbial sulphate reduction rate (SRR) in the surface layer (0–30 cm) of shallow water sediments of the north-western Black Sea shelf has been measured using the 35S radioisotopic technique. It was shown that SRR is accompanied by changes of salt composition of porewaters and isotopic (δ34S) composition of sulphate. The hydrogen sulphide-derived minerals are formed in the solid phase of sediments. An expected exponential dependence of the isotopic composition of reduced sulphur compounds on the SRR was observed. In near-shore sediments, terrestrial organic carbon (δ13C≈−26‰) as well as marine phytoplankton organic carbon (δ13C≈−22‰) are associated with the SR processes. In August 1995 and May 1997–1998, anoxic conditions in near-bottom waters of coastal areas were not detected. The average value of H2S production in nearshore sediments varied from 3·62 mmol S m−2 day−1 in spring to 8·89 mmol S m−2 day−1 in summer 1995; these fluxes were twice as high as those measured in spring 1997 and 1998.
Fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by Amazon tropical forest: A comparison of field measurements, modeling, and remote sensing

[1] The fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) is a vegetation biophysical variable that characterizes energy, mass, and momentum exchanges and is used extensively in models that represent the transfer of energy, carbon, water, and the biogeochemistry of terrestrial ecosystems. This paper compares three estimates of FAPAR by an Amazonian tropical rain forest. In the Tapajos National Forest, near Santarem, state of Para, Brazil, FAPAR is estimated based on field measurements, modeling (using IBIS which simulates the fluxes in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system considering two vegetation layers) and remotely sensed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) monthly FAPAR product, which has not been validated for a tropical rain forest yet. FAPAR based on field observations is calculated from incoming and reflected PAR measurements taken above the canopy, and downward PAR at a 15 m height, corrected to be representative of the entire canopy, obtaining an annual mean value of 0.91. FAPAR simulated by the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS) is 0.76, while the annual average FAPAR estimated by MODIS is 0.85. If we consider that MODIS estimates include only PAR absorbed by leaves, the remote sensing estimates are very close to field measurements corrected to include only the absorption by leaves (0.87); hence we conclude that the MODIS FAPAR product for the tropical rain forest is reliable to be used in future studies. However, model estimates of FAPAR for the tropical forest are low, and adjustments on the algorithm used to calculate the absorbed radiation by the canopy are necessary.
What Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) Doesn’t Say About Allergen-specific Immunotherapy (AIT)

Evidence-based allergology for the treatment of allergic rhinitis with allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) has been used in publications by the companies manufacturing AIT. The purpose of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is to provide physicians, health authorities, patients, and their families with the best evidence upon which to base treatment decisions. However, some RCT results may do more harm than good because they serve the commercial interests of the companies producing and marketing AIT more than the interests of patients. Allergic rhinitis is a trivial disease that is not life-threatening and is easily controlled by drugs. In this paper, we analyze some of the more controversial points underlying the EBM supporting the use of AIT. The paradox behind RCT-based practice is that AIT is based on the results of incorrectly interpreted RCTs. International scientific societies and drug regulatory bodies should analyze trials more carefully, considering potential conflicts of interest.
Spatiotemporal evolution of brittle normal faulting and fluid infiltration in detachment fault systems: A case study from the Menderes Massif, western Turkey

K‐Ar dating of fault rocks coupled with hydrogen isotope analysis allows constraining the timing of brittle faulting and the influx of meteoric fluids into such fault systems. Here we apply this approach to resolve the spatiotemporal activity of three detachment‐fault systems in western Turkey and to evaluate how deep meteoric fluids infiltrated these fault systems. K‐Ar ages of cataclasites and gouges from two detachment fault systems that accomplished the bivergent extension of the central Menderes Massif suggest diachronous brittle deformation. The Büyük Menderes detachment in the south was already active at ~22 Ma, whereas the earliest brittle deformation recorded at the Gediz fault system in the north occurred at ~9 Ma. K‐Ar ages of secondary and splay faults indicate that both fault systems continued to be active until 4–3 Ma—consistent with rapid Pliocene cooling inferred from published thermochronological data. In the northern Menderes Massif, the boundary fault of the Simav graben became active at 17–16 Ma, after the end of faulting on the Simav detachment. Hydrogen isotope (δD) values of −109‰ to −87‰ for fault gouges, cataclasites, and mylonites document that meteoric fluids infiltrated the upper crustal normal faults and penetrated into the detachments and the uppermost levels of their mylonitic footwalls. This explains the ubiquitous retrogression of biotite to chlorite in extensional shear zones and the growth of chlorite in detachment‐related cataclasites. Our results document that brittle normal faults were active over ~20 Ma of the extensional history and provided effective pathways for meteoric fluids.
Accretion history of the Trans-Hudson Orogen in Manitoba and Saskatchewan from paleomagnetism

Lithoprobe’s sponsorship has led to the acquisition of paleomagnetic data from ∼20 units throughout the Paleoproterozoic Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO) of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, essentially the first such data for the region. Discussed summarily in this paper, they provide an initial framework for the THO’s tectonic evolution. They show that the Archean Hearne and Superior cratons were at subtropical and subpolar paleolatitudes, respectively, at ∼1875 Ma, with the Lynn Lake – LaRonge arc midway between them in the Manikewan Ocean. By ∼1855 Ma, this ocean was still ∼5500 ± 700 km wide, and its seafloor was subducting northwestward under the Hearne craton and pericratonic Peter Lake domain margin with the coeval development of an Andean-type continental magmatic arc, the Wathaman–Chipewyan batholith. Between ∼1855 and ∼1810 Ma, coalescing apparent polar wander path (APWP) segments record closing of the ocean at a rate of ∼12 cm/a, trapping and accreting the several separate intervening terranes (Flin Flon, Hanson Lake, Lynn Lake – LaRonge, Rottenstone, and presumably also other THO terranes). From ∼ 1815 to ∼ 1775 Ma, the assembled terranes drifted as a coherent craton, yielding a stillstand and hairpin in the APWP.
Durability of rilpivirine-based versus integrase inhibitor-based regimens in a large cohort of naïve HIV-infected patients starting antiretroviral therapy

Objective s: Comparisons between rilpivirine (RPV) and integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) in antiretroviral therapy (ART)­naïve HIV­infected individuals are currently lacking. This study aimed to compare, in an observational cohort setting, the durability of treatment of RPV­based and INSTI­based first­line regimens. Methods : Patients who started first­line ARTs based on RPV or INSTIs, with HIV­RNA < 100 000 copies/mL and CD4 cell count > 200 cells/  L were included. The primary endpoint was the cumulative probability of treatment failure (TF = virological failure [confirmed HIV­RNA > 50 copies/mL] or discontinuation of the anchor drug in the regimen), as assessed by Kaplan­Meier method. A multivariable Cox regression was used to control for potential confounding. Results: Of the 1991 included patients, 986 started ART with an RPV­based and 1005 with an INSTI­ based regimen. The median (IQR) follow­up was 20 (10, 35) months. The cumulative 2­year probability of TF with RPV (9.1% [95% 7.2, 11.1]) was lower than that observed in the INSTIs group (16.6% [13.8, 19.4], P = 0.0002) but not when compared with dolutegravir (DTG) alone. Starting ART with an INSTIs­based regimen vs. RPV was associated with a higher risk of TF after controlling for potential confounding factors (AHR [95% CI]: 1.64 [1.28, 2.10]; P < 0.001). The results were similar when restricting the analysis to single­tablet regimens, although the probability of virological success was higher for INSTIs and DTG. Conclusions: In ART­naïve patients with low viral loads and high CD4 counts, the risk of treatment failure was lower in those who started RPV­based vs. INSTIs­based regimens other than DTG­based ones.
Spatial Price Homogeneity as a Mechanism to Reduce the Threat of Regulatory Intervention in Locally Monopolistic Sectors Spatial Price Homogeneity as a Mechanism to Reduce the Threat of Regulatory Intervention in Locally Monopolistic Sectors

We claim that a reason for why unregulated investor-owned local monopolies do not always charge the monopoly price is that they are threatened by customer complaints that may lead to retaliations from local elected officials. When investor-owned monopolies are exposed to this threat they will mimic the price(s) of their neighbour(s); the stronger the threat, the higher the spatial price correlation. The threat increases when elected officials have pro-consumer preferences and neighbours are geographically close. The empirical analysis, based on a complete cross-sectional data set from the Swedish district heating sector in 2007, confirms the theoretical predictions.
INFAUNAL BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA IN SOME NORTH AMERICAN MARSHES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON FOSSIL ASSEMBLAGES

We have looked at a series of living and total assemblages of foraminifera in cores from two well-studied salt marshes (Chezzetcook Inlet, Canada, and North Inlet, South Carolina) and replotted data from a marsh in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The data from the three sites indicate that: 1) the infaunal living specimens appear to have little impact on the total assemblages at depth; 2) there is little evidence of test breakdown except for the well-known dissolution of calcareous tests that occurs in these acidic marsh sediments, although there is an inexplicable taphonomic breakdown of specimens in the southeastern USA; 3) the upper 1-cm slice of sediment provides a representative assemblage to use as a modern analogue for fossil benthic foraminiferal assemblages (as opposed to larger segments); and 4) foraminifera do not migrate vertically in the sediment to escape seasonal ice. We also include a taxonomic discussion of the most common Trochammina species, since some new names have been assigned to various formae of Trochammina macrescens.
Compositional variability in the ascending fluxes from a hydrothermal plume

[1] Sequentially sampling sediment traps set with 33 day sampling intervals were deployed with current meters on three moorings in the northeast Pacific Ocean between July 1994 and May 1995. One mooring was deployed near the Main Vent field on Endeavour Ridge (On-Axis site, 47°57.0′N, 129°05.7′W), a second, 3 km west of the Main vent site (West site), and the third, 43 km northeast of the Main vent site (East or background site). Ascending and descending particles were collected near 1600 and 2000 m depth, well above and within the top of laterally spreading hydrothermal plumes. The elemental composition of particles was used to evaluate their origins: biogenic fluxes were indicated by elevated Ca or Si, hydrothermal fluxes by elevated Fe, Mn, and Cu, and lithogenic fluxes by elevated Ti. We link temporal variability in both the ascending and descending particle composition and flux to variations in lateral transport of hydrothermal constituents and to seasonal drawdown of hydrothermal plume particles by biogenic material from the upper ocean. The relatively low hydrothermal Fe content of ascending material late in the experiment is thought to be due to uptake by descending biogenic material. These results suggest that seasonal productivity and particle export from the ocean surface can modulate the hydrothermal flux of elements to the waters above and to the sediments below.