Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Water Flow and Solute Transport Pathways During Long‐Term Column Experiments

Column experiments are often used to study transport properties of sediments to predict the fate of contaminants in the subsurface. However, water flow in column experiments is rarely monitored over the entire length of experiments, despite the known impact of biogeochemical processes on pore structures. To study if flow path changes occur over time, water flow and solute transport were investigated in a homogeneous, nearly saturated column by conducting three tracer experiments over 7 mo. Water flow and transport parameters were determined from tracer breakthrough curves using different model approaches. The initial homogeneous transport was adequately described by a simple advection‐dispersion model. However, after some months, the porous medium changed from being uniform to non‐uniform. The observed bimodal breakthrough curves were simulated with a simple multi‐flow advection‐dispersion and a dual‐permeability model. Both models supported the development of non‐uniform water flow and solute transport due to flow paths changes. Those changes were attributed to clogging of small pores near the column inlet due to microbial growth and calcite precipitation leading to a heterogeneous infiltration front. The results highlight the need to determine transport properties continuously over the course of column experiments to reliably predict parameters for groundwater flow and understand contaminant transport into aquifers.
The role of mucosal inflammation in initiation of rheumatoid arthritis

Reumatoide artritis is een auto-immuunziekte die is gekarakteriseerd door chronische ontsteking van synoviale gewrichten wat kan leiden tot onomkeerbare gewrichtsschade. Vroege behandeling is van groot belang om progressie van de ziekte te stoppen. Vroege herkenning is daarom erg belangrijk. Reumatoide artritis is gekarakteriseerd door de aanwezigheid van autoantistoffen gericht tegen gecitrullineerde eiwitten (ACPA) en reumafactor (RF). Het onderzoek focuste op de vraag of mucosale ontsteking, zoals parodontitis, chronische ontsteking van de longen en IBD de productie van autoantistoffen kenmerkend voor reumatoide artritis stimuleert. Met name parodontitis is gesuggereerd een rol te spelen bij de initiatie van reumatoide artritis geassocieerde autoantistoffen door de bacterie Porphyromonas gingivalis. Inderdaad bleek dat de aanwezigheid van deze autoantistoffen in patienten zonder reumatoide artritis was geassocieerd met parodontitis en chronische ontsteking van de longen, alhoewel de speigels over het algemeen laag waren. Ook werden immunologische veranderingen in seropositive artralgia patienten (ACPA en/of RF positief) onderzocht om immuun markers te identificeren die mogelijk een rol spelen in de ontwikkeling van reumatoide artritis.
Cloud-to-ground lightning in southeastern Brazil in 1993: 2. Time variations and flash characteristics

About 1.1 million cloud-to-ground lightning flashes were recorded by a lightning positioning and tracking system in southcastern Brazil in 1993. The data have been analyzed in terms of their monthly, scasonal (summer/winter), and diurnal (local time) variations. The monthly variation shows a double peak characteristic of tropical lightning activity. The seasonal variation indicates that most flashes occur in the spring and summer seasons, with less than 25% occurring in the autumn and winter. The lightning flash polarity and multiplicity were found to be very similar in the summer and winter seasons. Radiation field and direct current lightning data were obtained in towers located in the same region of the network to verify the multiplicity data obtained by the network. The results indicate that the multiplicity obtained by the system is much lower than that obtained by radiation field measurements of close lightning in the same region of Brazil. The lightning flash peak current were found to be larger in the summer than in the winter, in contrast with results obtained in other parts of the world. The diurnal variation of the negative flashes shows in the summer and winter seasons the same behavior, with a peak around 1500-1800 LT, associated with the maximum convective activity in the afternoon. The diurnal variation of positive flashes, in turn, shows this behavior only in the winter. In the summer, it shows a maximum around 1400-1500 LT, with a secondary peak at 1900 LT. However, considering only positive flashes with peak currents higher than 15 kA, the diurnal distribution in the summer is similar to that for negative flashes. This fact indicates that the positive flashes with a peak current less than 15 kA are probably intracloud flashes erroneously identified by the network. The results are discussed in association with the findings presented in paper 1 [Pinto et al., this issue] and compared with results obtained in other parts of the world.
A Small Collection of Leucosiid Crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) from Balicasag Island, Bohol, Philippines

1 Department of Zoology, National Science Museum, 3-23-1 Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-0073 Japan Present address of HK: Fisheries Research Section, Hokkaido Nuclear Energy Environmental Research Center, 261-1 Miyaoka, Kyowa, Iwanai, Hokkaido, 045-0123 Japan E-mail: komatsu.hironori@pref.hokkaido. jp (HK) E-mail: takeda@kahaku.go. jp (MT) 2 Zoology Division, National Museum, P. Burgos St., P.O. Box 2659, Manila 1000, Philippines E-mail: vinrmanuel@yahoo.com (MRM)
Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series Gender Differences in Market Competitiveness in a Real Workplace : Evidence from Performance-based Pay Tournaments among Teachers

In this paper I examine how individual performance in a real work place is affected by the gender mix of the competitive group. The competition is among math, English and Language (Hebrew or Arabic) teachers who participated in a rank-order tournament that rewarded teachers with large cash bonuses based on the test performance of their classes. Teachers were awarded bonuses according to their ranking in the tournament. Ranking was based on a value added measure calculated by the difference between the actual mean performance of the teacher’s class and a value predicted on the basis of a regression that controlled for the students’ characteristics and a school-level fixed effect. Therefore teachers competed against other teachers of the same subject in their own school and they were told so explicitly. This framework created three distinct types of competitive environment which allow examining whether women succeed differentially when competing only against women or also against men. The evidence suggest that the average ranking, winning rate and awarded prize did not differ by gender nor between teachers in competition groups with only female teachers and in schools with teachers of both genders. I also examine a few mechanisms in the paper that can explain these results. I found no differences by either gender or by the gender mix of the competition group in teachers’ awareness and familiarity with the program and its rules, and in effort and teaching methods. However, large gender differences emerge in teachers’ expectations about success in the competition and in their perceptions about the effectiveness of the incentive scheme in improving students’ achievements. The relative pessimism of female teachers about their success in the tournament and the effect of the program on students’ achievement are on average very similar in the two types of competition environment. Examining directly the impact of the bonus program suggests that it did not vary by type of competitive environment and also by male and female teachers. For example, female teachers in only female competition groups and female teachers in mixed gender competition groups were equally effective in improving their students’ achievements as a response to the financial incentive.
The implications for dust emission modeling of spatial and vertical variations in horizontal dust flux and particle size in the Bodélé Depression, Northern Chad

The Bodele Depression has been confirmed as the single largest source of atmospheric mineral dust on Earth. It is a distinctive source because of its large exposure of diatomite and the presence of mega-barchan dunes. Direct measurements of horizontal dust flux and particle size were made to investigate dust emission processes and for comparison with mechanisms of emission assumed in current dust models. More than 50 masts, with traps mounted on each, were located across and downwind of three barchans in 56 km2 study area of the eastern Bodele. The size-distribution of surface material is bi-modal; there are many fine dust modes and a mixed mineralogy with a particle density three times smaller than quartz. Horizontal fluxes (up to 70 m above the playa) of particles, up to 1000 μm in diameter, are produced frequently from the accelerated flow over and around the barchans, even in below-threshold shear conditions on the diatomite playa. Our data on dust sizes do not conform to retrievals of dust size distributions from radiance measurements made in the same area. Dust emission models for the region may need to be revised to account for: saltators in the Bodele, which are a mixture of quartz sand and diatomite flakes; the great spatial and vertical variation in the abundance, mass and density of dust and abraders; and the patterns of surface erodibility. All of these have important local effects on the vertical dust flux and its particle sizes.
Effect of long-term cultivation on soil organic carbon fractions and metal distribution in humic and fulvic acid in black soil, Northeast China

Cultivation affects soil organic matter and its fractions. Fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA) make up an important part of soil organic matter, and their binding capacity influences heavy metal behaviour in soil. This research studied changes in soil organic components and the distribution of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in HA and FA affected by long-term cultivation in black soils. Uncultivated sites and their adjacent cultivated sites (18, 50, and >200 years) were selected. Alkaline sodium hydroxide/pyrophosphate extraction of humic substances and precipitation of HA by acidification were used to separate the HA and FA fractions. Concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn in HA and FA were determined. The content of soil organic carbon (C) had decreased by 30% after 200 years of cultivation. Cultivation led to a moderate decrease (38%) in HA and a minor decrease (7%) in FA. The CHA/CFA ratio, which is a humification parameter, decreased from 2.05 in the uncultivated soil to 1.38 in the soil cultivated for 200 years, indicating a lower degree of humification of organic matter in cultivated soils. Of the Na4P2O7 + NaOH-extracted Pb and Zn, 47–60% and 63–76%, respectively, was associated with FA, showing that FA has a high affinity for Pb and Zn. Of the Na4P2O7 + NaOH-extracted Cu, 55% was in the HA fraction. The share of Cu and Zn in the HA fraction decreased with cultivation time, but cultivation did not bring about a systematic change in Pb distribution in humic substances. The results show that cultivation can decrease the humified C content and metals bound to the HA fraction, and suggest that cultivation may potentially increase the mobility of heavy metals.
CarbFix: a CCS pilot project imitating and accelerating natural CO2 sequestration

CarbFix, a combined industrial‐academic pilot program, was developed in order to assess the feasibility of in situ CO 2 mineral sequestration in basaltic rocks. Unique to CarbFix is its connection to the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant, allowing for capture of otherwise emitted CO 2 in addition to CO 2 transport and mineral sequestration. Extensive research has been conducted in order to characterize physical properties of the pilot injection site in Hellisheidi. Tracer tests have been carried out and continuous well‐logging confirmed separation of the target formation from shallower groundwater systems. Alteration mineralogy in natural analogs has been mapped out in order to predict which minerals are likely to precipitate upon CO 2 injection. In addition to carbonates, these include clays, zeolites, and poorly crystalline hydroxides. Some of the secondary minerals will compete with carbonates for cations dissolved from the rock matrix. Numerical modeling plays an important role in the CarbFix project as it provides tools to predict and optimize long‐term management of the injection site as well as to quantify the amount of CO 2 that can be mineralized. A reactive transport model has been developed and numerical simulations of the pilot CO 2 injection are ongoing. Extensive monitoring provides the basis for testing, validating, and calibrating reactive transport models. It is anticipated that the results of CarbFix will be used to optimize the in situ carbon mineralization process, enabling it in basalt and ultramafic rock formations throughout the world. © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
F-box protein EBF1 and transcription factor ABI5-like regulate banana fruit chilling-induced ripening disorder.

Cold stress adversely affects plant production, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Banana (Musa acuminata) is sensitive to cold stress and suffers chilling injury when stored under 11 °C, causing abnormal fruit softening. However, the mechanism underlying the abnormal fruit softening due to chilling injury remains obscure. This study uncovered the coordinated transcriptional mechanism of ethylene F-box protein (EBF1) and abscisic acid-insensitive 5 (ABI5)-like protein in regulating chilling-induced softening disorders of Feijiao banana. Cold stress severely inhibited the transcript and protein levels of EBF1, ABI5-like, and fruit softening-related genes. The ABI5-like protein bound to the promoters of key starch and cell wall degradation-related genes such as β-amylase 8 (BAM8), pectate lyase 8 (PL8), and β-D-xylosidase23-like (XYL23-like) and activated their activities. EBF1 physically interacted with ABI5-like and enhanced the transcriptional activity of the key starch and cell wall degradation-related genes but did not ubiquitinate or degrade ABI5-like protein. This promoted fruit ripening and ameliorated fruit chilling injury in a manner similar to the effect of exogenous abscisic acid treatment. The ectopic and transient overexpression of EBF1 and ABI5-like genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and Fenjiao banana accelerated fruit ripening and softening by promoting ethylene production, starch and cell wall degradation, and decreasing fruit firmness. EBF1 interacted with EIL4 but did not ubiquitinate or degrade EIL4, which is inconsistent with the typical role of EBF1/2 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). These results collectively highlight that the interaction of EBF1 and ABI5-like controls starch and cell wall metabolism in banana, which is strongly inhibited by chilling stress, leading to fruit softening and ripening disorder.
“Usually, I’m not like that”: Toward a Model of Changes in Clinical Pain that Alcohol Drinking Induce”

In terms of research, the use of objective and standardized methods allowed the study of the alcoholic problems in its relations with the other clinical disorders and disorders of personality [1215]. At the phenomenological level, alcoholic subjects, when they describe themselves, use the type formulas “usually, I’m not like that” or “alcohol turn me to”. These types of formulations raise the question of the representation of self in alcohol depending on whether it is or not, subjects under the influence of alcohol. One wonders then how to establish a model of psychological functioning of the alcoholic subject if the self-assessment of the latter includes a fluctuation which is not taken into account by the methodological device.
esters of nucleotide analogs inhibit polyomavirus DNA replication and antigen

: Polyomavirus infections occur commonly in humans and are normally non-fatal. However, in immunocompromised individuals they are intractable and frequently fatal. Due to lack of approved drugs to treat polyomavirus infections, cidofovir, a phosphonate nucleotide analog approved to treat cytomegalovirus infections has been repurposed as anti-polyomavirus agent. Cidofovir has been modified in various ways to improve its efficacies as broad-spectrum antiviral agent. However, the actual mechanisms and targets of cidofovir and its modified derivatives as anti-polyomavirus agents are still under research. Here, polyomavirus large tumor antigens (Tag) activities were identified as the viral target of cidofovir derivatives. The alkoxyalkyl-ester derivatives of cidofovir efficiently inhibit polyomavirus DNA replication in cell-free human extracts and a viral in vitro replication system only utilizing purified proteins. We present evidence that DNA helicase, and DNA binding activities of polyomavirus Tags are diminished in the presence of low concentrations of alkoxyalkyl-ester derivatives of cidofovir suggesting that the inhibition of viral DNA replication is at least in part mediated by inhibiting ssDNA and dsDNA binding activities of Tags. These findings show that the alkoxyalkyl-ester derivatives of cidofovir are effective in vitro without undergoing further conversions and conclude that the inhibitory mechanisms of nucleotide analog-based drugs are more complex than previously believed. pH 7.8; 200 mM NaCl; 0.5 mM DTT; 4 µg/ml BSA) for 30 min in a 20 µl reaction volume. Then followed by the addition of DNA loading buffer and the protein-nucleic acid complexes were analyzed in an electro-mobility shift assay (EMSA) using a 6.5% native polyacrylamide gel in 1xTBE. The gel was then exposed overnight to imager screens (Fujifilm) and the image captured using a FLA5100 phosphoimager (Fujifilm) for autoradiography detection. Multi Gauge Image Analyzer (Fujifilm) was used to quantitatively determine bands intensities. biothionol is ~20 µM in human cells, which is in the same range as its IC50 for SV40 DNA replication inhibition (64, 82), and that HDP-CDV has a CC50 value of ~31 µM (83) and an IC50 of  13 µM for SV40 DNA replication as described here, HDP-CDV has an advantage as a polyomavirus replication inhibitor compared to bithionol. These data suggests that fatty-ester linked nucleotide analogs themselves such as HDP-CDV are efficient polyomavirus DNA replication inhibitors that directly interact with the viral replication machinery by targeting the polyomavirus Tag helicase and
Switching on Brain PET to Light Up Amyloid Pathology In Vivo In Vivo Imaging of Amyloid Deposition in Alzheimer Disease Using the Radioligand 18 F-AV-45 (Flobetapir F 18)

Vivo Imaging of Amyloid Deposition in vinyl)- N -methyl benzenamine ( 18 F-AV-45 or ﬂobetapir F 18). Methods: An open-label, multicenter brain imaging, metabo- lism, and safety study of 18 F-AV-45 was performed on 16 patientswithAD(Mini-MentalStateExaminationscore,19.3 6 3.1; mean age 6 SD, 75.8 6 9.2 y) and 16 cognitively healthy controls (HCs) (Mini-Mental State Examination score, 29.8 6 0.45; mean age 6 SD, 72.5 6 11.6 y). Dynamic PET was per- formed over a period of approximately 90 min after injection of An 18 F-labeled PET amyloid- β (A β ) imaging agent could facilitate the clinical evaluation of late-life cognitive impairment by providing an objective measure for Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology. Here we present the results of a clinical trial with ( E )-4-(2-(6-(2-(2-(2- 18 F-ﬂuoroethoxy)ethoxy)ethoxy)pyridin-3-yl)vinyl)- N -methyl benzenamine ( 18 F-AV-45 or ﬂobetapir F 18). Methods : An open-label, multicenter brain imaging, metabolism, and safety study of 18 F-AV-45 was performed on 16 patients with AD (Mini-Mental State Examination score, 19.3 ± 3.1; mean age ± SD, 75.8 ± 9.2 y) and 16 cognitively healthy controls (HCs) (Mini-Mental State Examination score, 29.8 ± 0.45; mean age ± SD, 72.5 ± 11.6 y). Dynamic PET was performed over a period of approximately 90 min after injection of the tracer (370 MBq [10 mCi]). Standardized uptake values and cortical-to-cerebellum standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were calcu- lated. A simpliﬁed reference tissue method was used to generate distribution volume ratio (DVR) parametric maps for a subset of subjects. Results : Valid PET data were available for 11 AD patients and 15 HCs. 18 F-AV-45 accumulated in cortical regions expected to be high in A β deposition (e.g., precuneus and frontal and temporal cortices) in AD patients; minimal accumulation of the tracer was seen in cortical regions of HCs. The cortical-to-cerebellar SUVRs in AD patients showed continual substantial increases through 30 min after administration, reaching a plateau within 50 min. The 10-min period from 50 to 60 min after administration was taken as a representative sample for further analysis. The cortical average SUVR for this period was 1.67 ± 0.175 for patients with AD versus 1.25 ± 0.177 for HCs. Spatially normalized DVRs generated from PET dynamic scans were highly correlated with SUVR ( r 5 0.58 – 0.88, P , 0.005) and were signiﬁcantly greater for AD patients than for HCs in cortical regions but not in subcortical white matter or cerebellar regions. No clinically signiﬁcant changes in vital signs, electrocardiogram, or laboratory values were observed. Conclusion : 18 F-AV-45 was well tolerated, and PET showed signiﬁcant discrimination between AD patients and HCs, using either a parametric ref- erence region method (DVR) or a simpliﬁed SUVR calculated from 10 min of scanning 50 – 60 min after 18 F-AV-45 administration.
Serum concentrations of 7alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one reflect bile acid synthesis in humans.

Serum concentrations of 7alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (alpha-HC) have recently been shown to reflect the activity of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase in humans. To evaluate the relationship between alpha-HC in serum and bile acid synthesis, serum concentrations of alpha-HC, and rates of bile acid synthesis, as measured by the isotope dilution technique using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, were determined simultaneously. Regression analysis revealed a positive linear correlation of serum alpha-Hc with synthesis of cholic acid (CA) (r = .59, P = .02), chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) (r = .75, P = .001), and total synthesis of both primary bile acids (r = .83, P < .001) in patients with gallstones and normal liver function (n = 15). alpha-HC was also correlated to input rates of deoxycholic acid (DCA) (r = .53, P <.05). Addition of patients with chronic cholestatic liver disease (n = 5) improved the correlation between serum alpha-HC and synthesis of CA (r = .75, P < .001), CDCA (r = .77, P < .001), and both primary bile acid combined (r = .87), P < . 001). Our data are in agreement with the concept that synthesis of bile acids is regulated by cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity and that alpha-HC in serum may serve as a convenient marker for the semiquantitative assessment of bile acid synthesis in humans.