Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lake-level variability in Salar de Coipasa, Bolivia during the past ∼40,000 yr

Abstract Various paleoclimatic records have been used to reconstruct the hydrologic history of the Altiplano, relating this history to past variability of the South American summer monsoon. Prior studies of the southern Altiplano, the location of the world’s largest salt flat, the Salar de Uyuni, and its neighbor, the Salar de Coipasa, generally agree in their reconstructions of the climate history of the past ∼24 ka. Some studies, however, have highly divergent climatic records and interpretations of earlier periods. In this study, lake-level variation was reconstructed from a ∼14-m-long sediment core from the Salar de Coipasa. These sediments span the last ∼40 ka. Lacustrine sediment accumulation was apparently continuous in the basin from ∼40 to 6 ka, with dry or very shallow conditions afterward. The fossil diatom stratigraphy and geochemical data (δ13C, δ15N, %Ca, C/N) indicate fluctuations in lake level from shallow to moderately deep, with the deepest conditions correlative with the Heinrich-1 and Younger Dryas events. The stratigraphy shows a continuous lake of variable depth and salinity during the last glacial maximum and latter stages of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 and is consistent with environmental inferences and the original chronology of a drill core from Salar de Uyuni.
The Resource Curse: A State and Provincial Analysis

A puzzling piece of empirical evidence suggests that countries rich in natural resources tend to have dismal economic performance. This paradigm has come to be known as the “resource curse”. This paper deals with the role of institutional quality in explaining the transmission mechanism of the resource curse. I attempt to explain this phenomenon by using the index of economic freedom developed by the Fraser Institute as a proxy for the quality of institutions. The outcomes of the linear and non-linear interactions between resource abundance and institutional quality turn out to be the key elements that determine the intensity, if existent, or otherwise of the resource curse. Rather than look at cross country data like many others, I focus on the 10 provinces and 50 states in Canada and the US respectively over the 2000-2005 period.
Stratigraphic and geochemical expression of early Cretaceous environmental change in Arctic Svalbard

Significant changes in global climate and carbon cycling occurred during the Early Cretaceous. This study examines the expression of such climatic events in high-latitude Svalbard together with the stratigraphic utility of carbon-isotope stratigraphies. Isotopic analysis of fossil wood fragments (from the Rurikfjellet, Helvetiafjellet, and Carolinefjellet formations, Festningen, Spitsbergen) record a distinctive pattern including a negative isotope excursion preceding a positive event, correlatable with the global early Aptian isotope event. Our carbon-isotope profile improves the stratigraphic correlation and relative dating of the succession. We show that the upper part of the Helvetiafjellet Formation was deposited during the early Aptian, and not the late Barremian, as previously thought. Furthermore, we estimate an age for the abrupt contact of the Rurikfjellet Formation with the overlying Helvetiafjellet Formation (associated with a pulse of igneous activity) to be ca. 129 Ma or ca. 124 Ma, depending on which age model for the Early Cretaceous is used. The well-known dinosaur footprints of the Helvetiafjellet Formation at Festningen are constrained to the middle Barremian and, coupled with floral data, support a warm late Barremian prior to the Aptian carbon-isotope event. The appearance of glendonites at 655 m in the Carolinefjellet Formation is consistent with global cooling in the late Aptian–early Albian.
Entrainment and abrasion of megaclasts during submarine landsliding and their impact on flow behaviour

Abstract Many mass transport complexes (MTCs) contain up to kilometre-scale (mega)clasts encased in a debritic matrix. Although many megaclasts are sourced from the headwall areas, the irregular basal shear surfaces of many MTCs indicate that megaclast entrainment during the passage of flows into the deeper basin is also common. However, the mechanisms responsible for the entrainment of large blocks of substrate, and their influence on the longitudinal behaviour of the associated flows, have not been widely considered. We present examples of megaclasts from exhumed MTCs (the Neuquén Basin, Argentina and the Karoo Basin, South Africa) and MTCs imaged in three-dimensional seismic reflection data (Magdalena Fan, offshore Colombia and Santos Basin, offshore Brazil) to investigate these process–product interactions. We show that highly sheared basal surfaces are well developed in distal locations, sometimes extending beyond their associated deposit. This points to deformation and weakening of the substrate ahead of the flow, suggesting that preconditioning of the substrate by distributed shear ahead of, and to the side of, a mass flow could result in the entrainment of large fragments. An improved understanding of the interactions between flow evolution, seabed topography, and the entrainment and abrasion of megaclasts will help to refine estimates of run-out distances, and therefore the geohazard potential of submarine landslides.
The Bacterial Quorum-Sensing Signal 2-Aminoacetophenone Rewires Immune Cell Bioenergetics through the PGC-1α/ERRα Axis to Mediate Tolerance to Infection

How bacterial pathogens exploit host metabolism to promote immune tolerance and persist in infected hosts remains elusive. To achieve this, we show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), a recalcitrant pathogen, utilizes the quorum sensing (QS) signal 2-aminoacetophenone (2-AA). Here, we unveil how 2-AA-driven immune tolerization causes distinct metabolic perturbations in macrophages’ mitochondrial respiration and bioenergetics. We found that the 2-AA tolerization impairs oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), leading to decreased generation of the crucial energy metabolite ATP and histone acetylation acetyl-CoA. We provide evidence that these effects result from reduced pyruvate flux into mitochondria due to the decreased expression of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC1) mediated via the reduced expression and nuclear presence of its transcriptional regulator estrogen-related nuclear receptor (ERRα), leading to the weaker binding of ERRα to MPC1 promoter. This is the outcome of the hampered interaction of ERRα with the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) that ultimately leads to reduced pyruvate flux into mitochondria and ATP production in tolerized macrophages. Exogenously added ATP in 2-AA exposed macrophages restores the transcript levels of MPC1 and ERR-α and enhances cytokine production and intracellular bacterial clearance. Consistent with the in vitro findings, murine infection studies corroborate the 2-AA-mediated long-lasting decrease in ATP and acetyl-CoA and its association with PA persistence, further supporting this QS signaling molecule as the culprit of the host bioenergetic impairment and PA persistence. These findings unveil 2-AA as a negative modulator of cellular immunometabolism implicating the PGC-1α/ERRα axis in its influence on MPC1/OXPHOS-dependent energy production and PA clearance. These findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms of host tolerance and on potential therapeutic strategies to combat persistent PA infections.
Treponema pallidum periplasmic and membrane proteins are recognized by circulating and skin CD4+ T cells

Background Histologic and serologic studies suggest the induction of local and systemic Treponema pallidum (Tp)-specific CD4+ T cell responses to Tp infection. We hypothesized that Tp-specific CD4+ T cells are detectable in blood and in the skin rash of secondary syphilis and persist in both compartments after treatment. Methods PBMC collected from 67 participants were screened by IFNγ ELISPOT response to Tp sonicate. Tp-reactive T cell lines from blood and skin were probed for responses to 88 recombinant Tp antigens. Peptide epitopes and HLA class II restriction were defined for selected antigens. Results We detected CD4+ T cell responses to Tp sonicate ex vivo. Using Tp-reactive T cell lines we observed recognition of 14 discrete proteins, 13 of which localize to bacterial membranes or the periplasmic space. After therapy, Tp-specific T cells persisted for at least 6 months in skin and 10 years in blood. Conclusions Tp infection elicits an antigen-specific CD4+ T cell response in blood and skin. Tp-specific CD4+ T cells persist as memory in both compartments long after curative therapy. The Tp antigenic targets we identified may be high priority vaccine candidates.
The predicted secreted proteome of activated sludge microorganisms indicate distinct nutrient niches

In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) complex microbial communities process diverse chemical compounds from sewage. Secreted proteins are critical because many are the first to interact with or degrade external (macro)molecules. To better understand microbial functions in WWTPs, we predicted secreted proteomes of WWTP microbiota from more than 1000 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from 23 Danish WWTPs with biological nutrient removal. Focus was placed on examining secreted catabolic exoenzymes that target major classes of macromolecules. We demonstrate that Bacteroidota have high potential to digest complex polysaccharides, but also proteins and nucleic acids. Poorly understood activated sludge members of Acidobacteriota and Gemmatimonadota also have high capacities for extracellular polysaccharide digestion. Secreted nucleases are encoded by 61% of MAGs indicating an importance for extracellular DNA and/or RNA digestion in WWTPs. Secreted lipases were the least-common macromolecule-targeting enzymes predicted, encoded mainly by Gammaproteobacteria and Myxococcota. In contrast, diverse taxa encode extracellular peptidases, indicating that proteins are widely used nutrients. Diverse secreted multi-heme cytochromes suggest capabilities for extracellular electron-transfer by various taxa, including some Bacteroidota that encode undescribed cytochromes with >100 heme-binding motifs. Myxococcota have exceptionally large secreted protein complements, probably related to predatory lifestyles and/or complex cell cycles. Many Gammaproteobacteria MAGs (mostly former Betaproteobacteria) encode few or no secreted hydrolases, but many periplasmic substrate-binding proteins and ABC- and TRAP-transporters, suggesting they are mostly sustained by small molecules. Together, this study provides a comprehensive overview of how WWTPs microorganisms interact with the environment, providing new insights into their functioning and niche partitioning. Importance Wastewater treatment plants are critical biotechnological systems that clean wastewater, allowing the water to reenter the environment and limit eutrophication and pollution. They are also increasingly important for recovery of resources. They function primarily by the activity of microorganisms, which act as a ‘living sponge’, taking-up and transforming nutrients, organic material and pollutants. Despite much research, many microorganisms in WWTPs are uncultivated and poorly characterized, limiting our understanding of their functioning. Here, we analyzed a large collection of high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes from WWTPs for encoded secreted enzymes and proteins, with special emphasis on those used to degrade organic material. This analysis showed highly distinct secreted proteome profiles among different major phylogenetic groups of microorganisms, thereby providing new insights into how different groups function and co-exist in activated sludge. This knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of how to efficiently manage and exploit WWTP microbiomes.
Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb age and geochemical characteristics of the Mesozoic volcanic rocks in Xi Ujimqin Banner, Inner Mongolia

西乌旗地区处于大兴安岭南部,广泛分布中生代火山岩. 中生代火山岩中性岩组SHRIMP锆石U-Pb年龄为163Ma±2Ma,为岩浆上侵结晶的年龄；研究区南区下营子地区查干诺尔组流纹岩SHRIMP锆石U-Pb年龄为144. 2Ma±1.4Ma,表明西乌旗地区晚中生代火山岩形成时代为晚侏罗世—早白垩世. 在TAS图中,中性岩样品数据点落入粗面岩区,属碱性岩系列,REE分馏明显,LILE富集,Nb、Ta等元素亏损,Eu异常不明显,具有正高eNd(t)值,推断粗面岩是由地幔的碱性、过碱性岩浆经过分离结晶过程形成的;流纹岩属高钾钙碱性岩系列,REE分馏明显,部分LILE富集,Ba、Sr和HFSE强烈亏损,推测该岩石由相对较浅的中下地壳物质部分熔融形成并具有A2型花岗岩的特征. 综合研究并结合前人的资料,认为从晚侏罗世(163Ma)开始,西乌旗所在大兴安岭地区已经处于伸展构造环境.
Consumer demand for value-added products of African indigenous vegetables in coastal Kenya: the case of sun-dried and frozen Cowpea leaves

Some recent efforts to improve the food and nutrition security of rural households have focused on the promotion of African indigenous vegetables (AIVs). This has been due to the challenges smallholder farmers face in participating in high-value global food systems. AIVs contain vitamins and micronutrients not found in most exotic vegetables, and therefore their consumption could contribute to resolving malnutrition among poor rural households. Higher consumption could also lead to improved rural incomes through sales into urban niche markets, resulting in enhanced community development. Despite the role AIVs can play in promoting food security and community development, the AIV supply is highly seasonal, characterized by large gluts and acute shortages. Much study of AIVs has focused on production rather than consumption. In this study we use descriptive analysis to describe AIV consumers and assess demand for basic value-addition practices by AIV retailers. We then use regression analysis to examine the factors conditioning consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for more advanced value-addition processes that can smooth out the supply of AIVs. It focuses on cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata ), one of the most widely consumed AIVs in western, eastern, and coastal Kenya. We find that several socio-economic factors and varietal attributes condition the WTP for value addition. Specifically, WTP is affected by age, gender, education, awareness of the selected value-addition techniques, and the self-reported likelihood of purchasing value-added vegetables. Additionally, color, tenderness of leaves, and the washing off of soil affect WTP for value addition. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for traditional fresh produce food systems, community development, and policy.
Unleashing the Potential of Aerial RISs in Post-Disaster Scenarios

Conventional wireless network infrastructures are known to be susceptible to strong perturbations such as the ones caused by calamities. With this regard, whenever facing an emergency, it is vital to ensure reliable connectivity within the disaster-struck zone. Therefore, in this paper we promote the use of aerial reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) as a possible solution for supporting any possible damages affecting terrestrial base stations (TBSs). At the same time, we discuss the main differences between the aerial RIS (ARIS) technology and its parent ones, namely the terrestrial RIS (TRIS) and the aerial base station (ABS). To support our vision, we recall hurricane Maria, which affected Puerto Rico in 2017
The changing landscape of text mining - a review of approaches for ecology and evolution

In ecology and evolutionary biology, synthesis and modelling of data from published literature is a common practice for generating insight and testing theories across systems. However, the tasks of searching, screening, and extracting data from literature are often arduous. Researchers may manually process hundreds to thousands of articles for systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and compiling synthetic datasets. As relevant articles expand to tens or hundreds of thousands, computer-based approaches can increase eﬃciency and dramatically improve the transparency and reproducibility of literature-based research. Methods available for text mining are rapidly changing due to developments in machine learning-based language models. Here we review the growing landscape of approaches, mapping them onto three broad paradigms (Frequency-based approaches, Traditional Natural Language Processing, and Deep learning-based language models). This review serves as an entry point to learn foundational and cutting edge concepts, vocabularies, and methods, and foster better integration of these tools into ecological and evolutionary research. We discuss approaches for modelling ecological texts, generating training data, developing custom models, and interacting with Large Language Models, and we present challenges and possible solutions to implementing these methods in ecology and evolution.
Insights into the genetic mechanism for Turcicum leaf blight resistance of maize ( Zea mays L.)

An experiment was conducted to study the genetic mechanism of Turcicum leaf blight (TLB) in maize. A set of 56 experimental F 1 hybrids was screened for TLB under artificial inoculation condition along with standard susceptible and resistant checks. The results revealed that, the inheritance of TLB resistance is majorly governed by additive gene action, while the preponderance of non-additive gene action was displayed by grain yield. The TLB resistance had high narrow sense of heritability. The genetic analysis of parents and hybrids showed sufficient variation for TLB resistance among the studied material. The lines CTLB-01 and CTLB-02 exhibited a high general combining ability effect in a negative direction for Area Under Disease Progressive Curve and percent disease index, which were identified as novel source of durable resistance for TLB. The GGE biplot analysis showed that CTLB-01 and CTLB-02 were genetically similar for disease resistance and IMIC-68 was identified as ideal tester for disease resistance. The CTLB-02 × IMIC-02 and CTLB-02 × IMIC-40 are best crosses for TLB resistance and grain yield. The present findings suggested that the resistance to TLB can be improved through recurrent selection.
The Role of Personality In Moving Encounters with Sacred Art The Role of Personality In Moving Encounters with Sacred Art

In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, the material world is understood to contain access points to the transcendent. An icon may move the awestruck believer to emotional engagement and reflection on moral and religious themes. Personality dispositions potentiating the experience of being moved in religious aesthetic contexts have not been thoroughly studied. The present article describes the development and testing of a cross-sectional study into potential belief and personality-related predictors of being moved by sacred art in a lab environment evocative of a holy site. Ninety (90) Christians in Canada and Greece completed personality measures and viewed and rated thematically matched Latin and Byzantine icons. Findings suggest impacts of attachment, imaginativeness, and traditional vs. mystical dispositions in resonance with sacred art, and point to a secure, mystically oriented perceiver. Those who tended towards structured religious lives also presented with a personality profile favouring logical problem-solving. The paradigm applied the social psychological tradition of an evocative lab situation and use of psychometric tests to pressing questions in aesthetics and transpersonal psychology. This study offers a replicable methodology, inviting further empirical inquiry into the experiential texture of being moved and predictive relationships among individual differences at play in moving encounters.
Relations Between Ecosystem and Wind Energy

The study explores the amount of energy production by wind turbines in Turkey, in Europe, and in several other countries around the world. Annual production of electric energy through the wind turbines in Turkey is only 2493 MW, which accounts for only 5.8% of the total energy consumption in the country. We discussed the possibilities of how this amount can be increased to 10%, over the next 35 years. Turkey, which has 502 bird species, is a part of the Palearctic, and is located on important bird migration routes. As a result, birds prefer the migration routes on the areas where the wind intensity is quite high. Certain areas in Turkey, such as Kapıdagi peninsula, Iskenderun, Izmir, Belen, or Adana, are located on high wind intensity routes. Continuous monitoring programs for migratory bird species must be carried out for several years before the wind turbines are built on such areas. In this work, we discussed the collision effects of wind turbines on birds and bats, based on information obtained from literature and field observations both in Turkey and in several other countries. For example, the wind turbines in four states in the eastern part of the United States have only 0.003% share for bird deaths in the region. Similarly, it was found that only 0.23 individual bats died per year by wind turbines in Brandenburg, Germany. Similarly, the death rates of birds and bats caused by wind turbines are quite low compared to other human factors in Turkey. The available data indicate that death rates of birds and bats by wind turbines in relation to the other factors (e.g. by clashing up against glass windows of buildings) is quite low. Therefore, public oppositions against wind turbines are not well justified. Considering the ever lasting energy needs of mankind and environmental deterioration due fossil fuels and nuclear energy, establishment of wind turbines as green energy sources must be encouraged in appropriate places accomponied by bird observation programs along with recommended implementations proposed by ornitology reports. * Corresponding author
Late Quaternary climate and environmental change derived from glacial deposits in the Parlung Zangbo Valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

ABSTRACT This study investigated the late Quaternary climate and environmental characteristics of two tributary valleys (Xingmu and Depu Valleys) in the Parlung Zangbo Valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples collected from moraines at the mouth of Xingmu Valley produce a wide age range from 13.9 ka to 76 ka. The ages measured from the lenticular sand are consistent with the relative geomorphic sequence of the landforms. Lenticular sand layers below the moraine were dated to 37.9 ka and 44.7 ka, indicating that fluvial processes were likely dominant in the valley during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. The outer moraine ridges at the valley mouth were formed during 13.9 ka and 26.5 ka, corresponding to MIS2. At Depu Valley, OSL samples from two sets of lateral and terminal moraines close to the modern glacier, provide ages from 1.4 ka to 29.2 ka. The paleosol layer widely developed during 2.6 cal ka BP and 8.7 cal ka BP in the study area, reflecting a relatively warm condition during the mid-Holocene.
ASSESMENT ELECTROCARDIOGAPHIC AND ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS IN DOGS WITH DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY

In the present study, a total of 262 dogs presented with clinical signs suggestive of cardiac insufficiency were screened for the DCM. Among them, DCM was diagnosed in 26 dogs (10.08 %). Echocardiographic examination revealed increased LA/AO ratio, increased left ventricular end diastolic dimensions and systolic dimensions, increased end diastolic volume and end systolic volume, increased E-point septal separation and decreased fractional shortening and ejection fraction. Mitral valve regurgitation was observed with pulsed wave Doppler, continuous wave Doppler and Colour flowDoppler echocardiography. Tissue doppler echcocardiography showed decreased systolic velocity, early diastolic velocity, late diastolic velocity and increase of E m :A m with normal isovolumic relaxation time and isovolumic contraction time.