Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in extreme temperature and precipitation in the Caribbean region, 1961–2010

A workshop was held at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, in May 2012 to build capacity in climate data rescue and to enhance knowledge about climate change in the Caribbean region. Scientists brought their daily observational surface temperature and precipitation data from weather stations for an assessment of quality and homogeneity and for the calculation of climate indices helpful for studying climate change in their region. This study presents the trends in daily and extreme temperature and precipitation indices in the Caribbean region for records spanning the 1961–2010 and 1986–2010 intervals. Overall, the results show a warming of the surface air temperature at land stations. In general, the indices based on minimum temperature show stronger warming trends than indices calculated from maximum temperature. The frequency of warm days, warm nights and extreme high temperatures has increased while fewer cool days, cool nights and extreme low temperatures were found for both periods. Changes in precipitation indices are less consistent and the trends are generally weak. Small positive trends were found in annual total precipitation, daily intensity, maximum number of consecutive dry days and heavy rainfall events particularly during the period 1986–2010. Correlations between indices and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) index suggest that temperature variability and, to a lesser extent, precipitation extremes are related to the AMO signal of the North Atlantic surface sea temperatures: stronger associations are found in August and September for the temperature indices and in June and October for some of the precipitation indices.
The effects of geomagnetic storms on electrons in Earth's radiation belts

We use Van Allen Probes data to investigate the responses of tens of keV to 2 MeV electrons throughout a broad range of the radiation belts (2.5 ≤ L ≤ 6.0) during 52 geomagnetic storms from the most recent solar maximum. Electron storm time responses are highly dependent on both electron energy and L shell. Tens of keV electrons typically have peak fluxes in the inner belt or near‐Earth plasma sheet and fill the inner magnetosphere during storm main phases. Approximately 100 to ~600 keV electrons are enhanced in up to 87% of cases around L~3.7, and their peak flux location moves to lower L shells during storm recovery phases. Relativistic electrons (≥~1 MeV) are nearly equally likely to produce enhancement, depletion, and no‐change events in the outer belt. We also show that the L shell of peak flux correlates to storm magnitude only for hundreds of keV electrons.
mediated processing of the Amyloid ‐ β ‐ Protein Precursor Protein : Utility of an A β PP ‐ GAL 4 reporter assay

Sequential cleavage of the amyloid‐β protein precursor (AβPP) by BACE1 (β‐secretase) followed by the ‐secretase complex, is strongly implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) but the initial cellular responses to these cleavage events are not fully defined. β‐secretase‐mediated AβPP processing yields an extracellular domain (sAβPPβ) and a C‐terminal fragment of APP of 99 amino acids (C99). Subsequent cleavage by ‐secretase produces amyloid‐β (Aβ) and an APP intracellular domain (AICD).  A cellular screen based on the generation of AICD from an AβPP‐Gal4 fusion protein was adapted by introducing familial AD (FAD) mutations into the AβPP sequence and linking the assay to Gal4‐UAS driven luciferase and GFP expression, to identify responses immediately downstream of AβPP processing in neurons with a focus on the transcription factor Foxo3a which has been implicated in neurodegeneration. The K670N/M671L, E682K, E693G, V717I FAD mutations and the A673T protective mutation, were introduced into the AβPP sequence by site directed mutagenesis. When expressed in mouse cortical neurons AβPP‐Gal4‐UAS driven luciferase and GFP expression was substantially reduced by ‐secretase inhibitors, lowered by β‐secretase inhibitors and enhanced by α‐secretase inhibitors suggesting that AICD is a product of the β‐secretase pathway. AβPP‐Gal4‐UAS driven GFP expression was exploited to identify individual neurons undergoing amyloidogenic AβPP processing, revealing increased nuclear localization of Foxo3a and enhanced Foxo3a‐ mediated transcription downstream of AICD production. Foxo3a translocation was not driven by AICD directly but correlated with reduced Akt phosphorylation. Collectively this suggests that β‐secretase‐ mediated AβPP processing couples to Foxo3a which could be an early neuronal signaling response in AD.
Ocean Warming Effect on Surface Gravity Wave Climate Change for the End of the Twenty-First Century

AbstractSurface wind (U10) and significant wave height (Hs) response to global warming are investigated using a coupled atmosphere–wave model by perturbing the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) with anomalies generated by the Working Group on Coupled Modeling (WGCM) phase 3 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) coupled models that use the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4)/Special Report on Emissions Scenarios A1B (SRES A1B) scenario late in the twenty-first century.Several consistent changes were observed across all four realizations for the seasonal means: robust increase of U10 and Hs in the Southern Ocean for both the austral summer and winter due to the poleward shift of the jet stream; a dipole pattern of the U10 and Hs with increases in the northeast sector and decreases at the midlatitude during boreal winter in the North Atlantic due to the more frequent occurrence of the positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO); and strong de.
Long-Term Athlete Development

Part I. Introduction to Long-Term Athlete Development Chapter 1. Long-Term Athlete Development Model Part II. Key Factors in Long-Term Athlete Development Chapter 5. Age Chapter 11. Sport System Alignment and Integration Part III. Stages of Long-Term Athlete Development Chapter 13. Active Start Chapter 17. Train to Compete Chapter 19. Active for Life.
Inferring the mass fraction of floc‐deposited mud: application to fine‐grained turbidites

Fine sediment deposition in the ocean is complicated by the cohesive nature of muds and their tendency to flocculate. The result is disaggregated inorganic grain size (DIGS) distributions of bottom sediment that are influenced by single‐grain and floc deposition. This study outlines a parametric model that characterizes bottom sediment DIGS distributions. Modelled parameters are then used to infer depositional conditions that account for the regional variation in the grain sizes deposited by turbidity currents on the Laurentian Fan–Sohm Abyssal Plain, offshore south‐eastern Canada. Results indicate that, on the channellized Laurentian Fan, the mass fraction of floc‐deposited mud increases only slightly downslope. The small evolution in this fraction arises because sediment concentration and turbulent energy are associated in turbidity currents. On the Sohm Abyssal Plain, however, the mass fraction of floc‐deposited mud decreases, probably as a result of lower sediment concentration at this source‐distal site. Estimates of the mass fraction of mud deposited as flocs suggest that floc deposition is the dominant mode by which sediment is lost from suspension, although single‐grain deposition contributes more to the depositional flux in proximal areas where high energy breaks flocs and in distal areas where low sediment concentration limits floc formation. It is concluded that, throughout the dispersal system, changes in the fraction of flocculated mud deposited from turbidity currents reflect changes in sediment concentration and energy downslope.
Distribution and mobility of lead in soils at an outdoor shooting range

The distribution of total Pb in surface and subsurface soil horizons at an outdoor shooting range in southeastern Michigan was determined by single extraction elemental analysis (AAS and ICP‐AES). Significant Pb enrichment of the site's soils coincides closely with Pb vapor and particulate matter produced from shot shell primers and the downfall of Pb/Sb pellets associated with the recreational shooting of skeet and trap. Surface concentrations in these locations are 10 to 100 times greater than the background concentration found on adjacent properties. The distribution of Pb in the subsurface soil horizons corresponds to the distribution of Pb at the surface, which suggests the Pb is mobilizing and migrating downward through the vadose zone. This mobilization appears to be occurring despite the clay‐rich nature of the soils, and may be due to the transformation of metallic Pb into soluble Pb compounds of carbonate and sulfate: Both compounds appear to be present in crust material found coating many of th.
Wind‐forcing of volume transport through Lancaster Sound

[1] Volume and freshwater transport through Lancaster Sound are estimated from mooring measurements collected in eastern Barrow Strait for 13 years between 1998 and 2011. Estimates from 2006 to 2011 confirm the relationship between surface wind and volume transport derived from data collected between 1998 and 2006. Volume transport through Barrow Strait along the Northwest Passage is significantly correlated with northeastward winds in the Beaufort Sea, parallel to the western coasts of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, at monthly to interannual time scales. The location and wind direction for which there is maximum correlation are consistent with the flow being driven by a sea level difference between opposite ends of the Passage, and the difference being determined by setup caused by alongshore winds in the Beaufort Sea. Monthly alongshore wind anomalies account for 43% of the variance of the transport anomalies (p 0.05). The annual cycles of the total volume transport and its part attributed to the Beaufort Sea wind both have peaks in the summer and are lowest in the autumn. Correlations of the volume transport anomaly with ice velocity anomalies are lower than with surface wind anomalies.
The choices we make and the impacts they have: Machine learning and species delimitation in North American box turtles (Terrapene spp.)

Model‐based approaches that attempt to delimit species are hampered by computational limitations as well as the unfortunate tendency by users to disregard algorithmic assumptions. Alternatives are clearly needed, and machine‐learning (M‐L) is attractive in this regard as it functions without the need to explicitly define a species concept. Unfortunately, its performance will vary according to which (of several) bioinformatic parameters are invoked. Herein, we gauge the effectiveness of M‐L‐based species‐delimitation algorithms by parsing 64 variably‐filtered versions of a ddRAD‐derived SNP data set collected from North American box turtles (Terrapene spp.). Our filtering strategies included: (i) minor allele frequencies (MAF) of 5%, 3%, 1%, and 0% (= none), and (ii) maximum missing data per‐individual/per‐population at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% (= no filtering). We found that species‐delimitation via unsupervised M‐L impacted the signal‐to‐noise ratio in our data, as well as the discordance among resolved clades. The latter may also reflect biogeographic history, gene flow, incomplete lineage sorting, or combinations thereof (as corroborated from previously observed patterns of differential introgression). Our results substantiate M‐L as a viable species‐delimitation method, but also demonstrate how commonly observed patterns of phylogenetic discordance can seriously impact M‐L‐classification.
Long-Term Outcomes of Secondary Atrial Fibrillation in the Community: The Framingham Heart Study

Background— Guidelines have proposed that atrial fibrillation (AF) can occur as an isolated event, particularly when precipitated by a secondary, or reversible, condition. However, knowledge of long-term AF outcomes after diagnosis during a secondary precipitant is limited. Methods and Results— In 1409 Framingham Heart Study participants with new-onset AF, we examined associations between first-detected AF episodes occurring with and without a secondary precipitant and both long-term AF recurrence and morbidity. We selected secondary precipitants based on guidelines (surgery, infection, acute myocardial infarction, thyrotoxicosis, acute alcohol consumption, acute pericardial disease, pulmonary embolism, or other acute pulmonary disease). Among 439 patients (31%) with AF diagnosed during a secondary precipitant, cardiothoracic surgery (n=131 [30%]), infection (n=102 [23%]), noncardiothoracic surgery (n=87 [20%]), and acute myocardial infarction (n=78 [18%]) were most common. AF recurred in 544 of 846 eligible individuals without permanent AF (5-, 10-, and 15-year recurrences of 42%, 56%, and 62% with versus 59%, 69%, and 71% without secondary precipitants; multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio, 0.65 [95% confidence interval, 0.54–0.78]). Stroke risk (n=209/1262 at risk; hazard ratio, 1.13 [95% confidence interval, 0.82–1.57]) and mortality (n=1098/1409 at risk; hazard ratio, 1.00 [95% confidence interval, 0.87–1.15]) were similar between those with and without secondary precipitants, although heart failure risk was reduced (n=294/1107 at risk; hazard ratio, 0.74 [95% confidence interval, 0.56–0.97]). Conclusions— AF recurs in most individuals, including those diagnosed with secondary precipitants. Long-term AF-related stroke and mortality risks were similar between individuals with and without secondary AF precipitants. Future studies may determine whether increased arrhythmia surveillance or adherence to general AF management principles in patients with reversible AF precipitants will reduce morbidity.
Surface velocities of a Greenland outlet glacier from high‐resolution visible satellite imagery 1

Abstract A multidisciplinary team of researchers reports the results of a study of the feasibility of utilizing high‐resolution Declassified Intelligence Satellite Photographs (D1SP) to derive surface speeds of fast‐moving Greenland outlet glaciers from tracking surface features on sequential DISP images. The images provide coverage of the entire Greenland Ice Sheet for most of the 1960s and their value as a resource for establishing a baseline for assessing ongoing and future changes in the ice sheet is demonstrated.
Hospitals That Report Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Bundle Compliance Have More Structured Sepsis Performance Improvement

Purpose Sepsis is a common cause of death. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services severe sepsis/septic shock (SEP-1) bundle is focused on improving sepsis outcomes, but it is unknown which quality improvement (QI) practices are associated with SEP-1 compliance and reduced sepsis mortality. The objectives of this study were to compare sepsis QI practices in SEP-1 reporting and nonreporting hospitals and to measure the association between sepsis QI processes, SEP-1 performance, and sepsis mortality. Materials and Methods This study linked survey data on QI practices from Iowa hospitals to SEP-1 performance data and mortality. Characteristics of hospitals and sepsis QI practices were compared by SEP-1 reporting status. Univariable and multivariable logistic and linear regression estimated the association of QI practices with SEP-1 performance and observed-to-expected sepsis mortality ratios. Results One hundred percent of Iowa’s 118 hospitals completed the survey. SEP-1 reporting hospitals were more likely to have sepsis QI practices, including reporting sepsis quality to providers (64% versus 38%, P = 0.026) and using the case review process to develop sepsis care plans (87% versus 64%, P = 0.013). Sepsis QI practices were not associated with increased SEP-1 scores. A sepsis registry was associated with decreased odds of being in the bottom quartile of sepsis mortality (odds ratio, 0.37; 95% confidence interval, 0.14 to 0.96, P = 0.041), and presence of a sepsis committee was associated with lower hospital-specific mortality (observed-to-expected ratio, −0.11; 95% confidence interval, −0.20 to 0.01). Conclusions Hospitals reporting SEP-1 compliance conduct more sepsis QI practices. Most QI practices are not associated with increased SEP-1 performance or decreased sepsis mortality. Future work could explore how to implement these performance improvement practices in hospitals not reporting SEP-1 compliance.
Zebra and boxwork fabrics in hydrothermal dolomites of northern Canada: Indicators for dilational fracturing, dissolution or in situ replacement?

Zebra and boxwork fabrics in Manetoe and Presqu'ile hydrothermal dolomites provide critical data for discrimination between hypotheses for their origin. In a unique occurrence, sets of weakly imbricated, decimetre‐sized curvilinear lenticles of white dolospar are developed within sub‐metre sized tongues of greyish‐white dolomitized crinoidal packstone and grainstone. This nascent zebra fabric has developed along wavy to nodular intra‐bed sedimentary partings. Primary bedding can be traced through dolomitized masses containing these fabrics, into the surrounding undolomitized limestone. All zebra and boxwork fabrics are confined within single beds, consistent with an early burial time of origin. No change in bed thickness occurs across zebra or boxwork fabrics within beds; this indicates a dissolutional, rather than a dilational, origin for the creation of pore space partly cemented with white dolospar. The dolomitized groundmass displays an abruptly gradational or sharp transition to centripetal saddle dolomite cement, which partially to nearly completely, occludes vugs. Circulation of geothermally heated hypersaline Devonian Elk Point basinal sea water brines led to dissolution and replacive dolomitization of limestone adjacent to vugs, and near‐contemporaneous precipitation of white dolospar within dissolutional vugs, consistent with geochemical simulations. The presence of downward‐extending galleries of white dolospar‐cemented solution‐collapse breccia provides further support for an interpretation of regional thermally driven convection of hydrothermal evaporative sea water brines across a broad area of northern Canada. The absence of gases under pressure in vacuoles within fluid inclusions from Manetoe and Presqu'ile dolospars is also more consistent with a dissolutional and contemporaneous dolomitization origin for these fabrics, rather than an origin involving dilational fracturing for space creation and dolospar precipitation. The ubiquitous presence of zebra and boxwork fabrics in hydrothermal dolomite reservoirs indicates that they are not confined fault zones and instead occur wherever precursor limestones had relatively greater porosity and permeability prior to dolomitization.
Characteristics and Survival of Malignant Cardiac Tumors A 40-Year Analysis of > 500 Patients

Primary malignant cardiac tumors (PMCTs) are extremely rare neoplasms of varying histopathology that originate within cardiac structures and display biologically aggressive behavior. Because most practitioners may see only a handful of such cases in their lifetime, the accumulated experience on this subject has been collated and summarized in multiple extensive literature reviews. Nevertheless, the core knowledge of PMCTs has continued to come from single-center studies consisting of surgical case series and autopsy reports. Because of the relatively small numbers and significant referral bias of these reports, the incidence of PMCTs remains unclear, their histology incompletely defined, and treatment ineffectual, and prognosis is thought to be universally poor. We therefore sought to better understand PMCTs by using the largest cancer registry in the United States.
Challenge of forecasting demand of medical resources and supplies during a pandemic: A comparative evaluation of three surge calculators for COVID-19

Abstract Ever since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic, there has been a public health debate concerning medical resources and supplies including hospital beds, intensive care units (ICU), ventilators and protective personal equipment (PPE). Forecasting COVID-19 dissemination has played a key role in informing healthcare professionals and governments on how to manage overburdened healthcare systems. However, forecasting during the pandemic remained challenging and sometimes highly controversial. Here, we highlight this challenge by performing a comparative evaluation for the estimations obtained from three COVID-19 surge calculators under different social distancing approaches, taking Lebanon as a case study. Despite discrepancies in estimations, the three surge calculators used herein agree that there will be a relative shortage in the capacity of medical resources and a significant surge in PPE demand if the social distancing policy is removed. Our results underscore the importance of implementing containment interventions including social distancing in alleviating the demand for medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic in the absence of any medication or vaccine. The paper also highlights the value of employing several models in surge planning.
The Face of Success Inferences from Chief Executive Officers' Appearance Predict Company Profits

First impressions are powerful and rich sources of information about other people, and studies have demonstrated that they predict performance in numerous domains, such as teaching has employed outcome variables that are subjective. For example, in the study of teacher effectiveness, both the predictor (naive observers' ratings) and the outcome (teaching evaluations) were based on subjective opinions. Similarly, electoral success is based on voters' impressions of candidates, which are also responsible for which candidates are elected. In the current study, we examined the relation between a subjective predictor and an objective performance outcome: Are impressions of chief executive officers (CEOs) related to the performance of their companies? Despite the ubiquitous perception of the CEO as the embodiment of a company, there is no clear evidence of any relation between CEOs' personalities and their companies'success (Ranft, associated with the evaluation of leadership overlap with traits that can be judged reliably from the face. These traits include competence, likeability, and trustworthiness (Todorov et al., 2005) and dominance (Hess, Adams, & Kleck, 2005). Another facial feature related to judgments of leadership is facial maturity (Zebrowitz & Montepare, 2005). Are these variables that can be gauged from facial information also associated with leaders' success and performance? To answer this question, we asked participants to make naive personality judgments from the photographs of the CEOs from the 25 highest and 25 lowest ranked companies of the Fortune 1,000 and examined whether these judgments related to measures of the companies' financial success. METHOD Stimuli We selected the 25 highest and 25 lowest ranked companies from the 2006 listing on the Fortune 500 Web site (http://money. cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500). The information on this Web site included the companies' Web addresses, which we used to obtain a photograph of each company's CEO. 1 Each image was cropped tightly around the CEO's head to remove all extrafacial information, was converted to gray scale, and was standardized in size. From the Fortune Web site, we also obtained information about each company's financial performance (revenues and profits) for fiscal year (FY) 2005, the year on which the 2006 Fortune listing was based, as well as for the previous and following years (FY 2004 and FY 2006). In cases in which Fortune did not list the information, revenues and profits were obtained from Google Finance (http://finance.google.com) or the companies' annual reports. Two companies were acquired by other companies during FY 2006 and were excluded …