Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subduction initiation along the inherited weakness zone at the edge of a slab: Insights from numerical models

SUMMARY A preexisting weakness zone in the lithosphere is required to initiate subduction. Here, we focus on a new type of weakness zone, a Subduction-Transform Edge Propagator (STEP) fault, which is inherited from a tear along the edge of a slab. Using coupled thermal–mechanical models, we show that STEP fault-perpendicular convergence results in a dipping shear zone in any tectonic setting. At a continental margin, this shear zone dips towards the continent, which is an excellent starting condition for ocean–continent subduction. If (far field) convergence persists, STEP faults become new subduction boundaries. The trench moves landward during the earliest stages of convergence. When slab pull becomes a dominant driving force, after ∼80 km convergence, trench roll-back commences. The initial geometry and mechanical properties of the sub-crustal STEP fault zone affect the results; subduction initiation is facilitated by a wide (∼100 km) and low-viscosity weakness zone. Incipient subduction is easier for young oceanic lithosphere due to its lower flexural rigidity and is insensitive to the far field convergence rate. As STEP faults are commonly associated with young oceanic lithosphere, subduction initiation is thus relatively easy along them. Of particular interest are continent–ocean margins where STEP faulting has occurred.
Numerical simulation of aerated high velocity flow downstream of an aerator

The software FLUENT and its secondary developed interface technology were applied to carry out the numerical simulation of the aerated flow downstream of a ramp type aerator in open channel.The two-fluid model and mixture k-e turbulence model were adopted to describe the water-air two-phase turbulent flow.The turbulence diffusion effect was taken into account in establishing the constitutive equation of drag force.The calculation results show that by this improvement the simulation of air concentration distribution is greatly improved and the calculated magnitude of air entrainment is more closed to the model test data.This result indicates that turbulence diffusion plays an important role in distribution of air concentrations,its effect should be considered in the drag force equation when two-fluid model is adopted to simulate the aerated flow.
Assessment of Water Quality of Hand-Dug Wells in Zaria LGA of Kaduna State, Nigeria

----------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT--------------------------------------------This study assessed the water quality of some hand-dug wells in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Water samples were collected from eight (8) different wells at strategic positions and determined to ascertain how safe the water is for directly human consumption without treatment. The physical and chemical parameters assessed include temperature, pH, total hardness, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nitrate, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, lead and nickel. The result revealed high variation between the WHO standard for potable water and the obtained values. The implication is that water from most wells in the study area is not in any way safe nor suitable for direct human consumption. Closeness of wells to refuse dumpsites was blamed for the increase levels of concentration of pollutants. To avoid further pollution of groundwater, the study therefore recommends that the site for well should be at least 30m away from source of contamination most especially refuse dumpsite, the surrounding environment of the existing wells should be kept clean and tidy to avoid or reduce contaminations, disinfection of wells water by chlorination and continuous monitoring to determine any change in the level of pollution at the sources.
Effects of increasing salinity and 15N-labelled urea levels on growth, N uptake, and water use efficiency of young tomato plants

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the response of tomato plants (Lycopersicon lycopersicum L.) to salinity and to determine the interactive effects of salinity and nitrogen fertilisation on yield, nitrogen uptake, water use efficiency (WUE), and root-zone salinity during early plant growth. Furthermore, the effects of salinity and N fertilisation were evaluated by measurement of carbon isotope discrimination (∆). Tomato plants were grown in pots filled with 8 kg (dry weight equivalent) of Krumbach sandy loam. Salinity treatments were imposed by irrigation water containing Na, Ca, and Mg salts and having electrical conductivity of 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 dS/m at 25°C. 15 N-labelled urea (10 atom % excess) was also applied at 0, 80, 160, and 240 mg N/kg soil. Increasing salinity reduced plant growth; fresh and dry weights of shoots and roots decreased significantly, except for the non-fertilised plants. The maximum growth reduction in shoots occurred due to salinity-N fertilisation relationships at 12 dS/m (59.4% reduction compared with 0 dS/m in 160 mg N/kg). Root growth was less affected than shoots. Vegetative growth and N content increased with increasing nitrogen treatment. However, salinity generally reduced N uptake by plants. ∆ was negatively correlated with WUE at all salinity levels in young tomato plants. Similar correlations were also obtained between WUE and ∆ at various N treatments; the result suggests that ∆ is a useful tool for assessing stress conditions. Smaller ∆ values were obtained when salinity or N level increased. Increasing N fertiliser increased WUE in plants, whereas increasing salinity increased WUE at 3 dS/m and decreased WUE to some extent at other salinity levels. Electrical conductivity of the root-zone increased due to increasing salinity and time, whereas pH decreased. It was concluded that the early stage of development was a salt sensitive period for tomato plants. SR02 C. Ku t et al Sa li f
Factors Influencing The Coefficient Of FrictionBetween Sea Ice And Various Materials

A coefficient of friction test between sea ice and various construction materials was conducted to clarify ice-material interaction. The properties of the ice and material are necessary to calculate the ice forces on sloping structures in cold coastal and offshore regions. From experimental studies through six years, the following conclusions were made. The coefficient of friction was found to be affected by: i) the relative velocity: ii) the sea ice temperature: and iii) the surface roughness of the construction materials. It was found to be relatively unaffected by: iv) the contact area: v) normal stress: vi) the growth direction of sea ice: and vii) the water at the sea ice-material interface.
Simulated Relationships between Regional Temperatures and Large-Scale Circulation: 125 kyr BP (Eemian) and the Preindustrial Period

To investigate relationships between large-scale circulation and regional-scale temperatures during the last (Eemian) interglacial, a simulation with a general circulation model (GCM) under orbital forcing conditions of 125 kyr BP is compared with a simulation forced with the Late Holocene preindustrial conditions. Consistent with previous GCM simulations for the Eemian, higher northern summer 2-m temperatures are found, which are directly related to the different insolation. Differences in the mean circulation are evident such as, for instance, stronger northern winter westerlies toward Europe, which are associated with warmer temperatures in central and northeastern Europe in the Eemian simulation, while the circulation variability, analyzed by means of a principal component analysis of the sea level pressure (SLP) field, is very similar in both periods. As a consequence of the differences in the mean circulation the simulated Arctic Oscillation (AO) temperature signal in the northern winter, on interannual-to-multidecadal time scales, is weaker during the Eemian than today over large parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Correlations between the AO index and the central European temperature (CET) decrease by about 0.2. The winter and spring SLP anomalies over the North Atlantic/European domain that are most strongly linearly linked to the CET cover a smaller area and are shifted westward over the North Atlantic during the Eemian. However, the strength of the connection between CET and these SLP anomalies is similar in both simulations. The simulated differences in the AO temperature signal and in the SLP anomaly, which is linearly linked to the CET, suggest that during the Eemian the link between the large-scale circulation and temperaturesensitive proxy data from Europe may differ from present-day conditions and that this difference should be taken into account when inferring large-scale climate from temperature-sensitive proxy data.
Climate and tropical cyclone activity : A new model downscaling approach

Abstract While there is a pressing need to understand and predict the response of tropical cyclones to climate change, global climate models are at present too coarse to resolve tropical cyclones to the extent necessary to simulate their intensity, and their ability to simulate genesis is questionable. For these reasons, a “downscaling” approach to modeling the effect of climate change on tropical cyclones is desirable. Here a new approach to downscaling is introduced that consists of generating a large set of synthetic storm tracks whose statistics are consistent with the large-scale general circulation of the climate model, and then running a deterministic, coupled tropical cyclone model along each track, with atmospheric and upper-ocean thermodynamic conditions taken from the global climate model. As a first step in this direction, this paper explores the sensitivity of the intensity of a large sample of tropical cyclones to changes in potential intensity, shear, and ocean mixed layer depth, fixing oth.
Exploring Common Symptoms in Patients with Respiratory Allergies Using K-Means Algorithm in the North-East of Iran in 2012–2015

Background: As a common disease among people of almost any age, allergic rhinitis has many adverse effects such as lowering the quality of life and efficiency at work or school. Considering these conditions and the collection of large amounts of data, the present research was conducted on allergic rhinitis and asthma patients' data to extract the common symptoms of these diseases using cluster analysis and the k-means algorithm. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional research was conducted in Mashhad city. The inclusion criteria were affliction with one or two respiratory allergy diseases diagnosed by an allergy specialist through clinical history taking and physical examination. A researcher-made checklist was used in the present study for data collection. Then, the K-means algorithm's cluster analysis model was conducted to extract clusters (WEKA software (3, 6, 9)). Results: Overall, 1,231 patients met the inclusion criteria. The result of the Cluster analysis consisted of Cluster 1 in allergic rhinitis consisted of 702 patients, and cluster 2 consisted of 382 patients. 46 asthma patients were assigned to cluster 1 and 23 to cluster 2. Also, 60 asthma and allergic rhinitis patients were assigned to cluster 1 and 19 to cluster 2. The most common symptoms in all patients were rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal congestion, and itchy nose. Conclusion: Overall, Salsola kali was the most common allergen in allergic rhinitis and asthma patients. Also, the most common symptoms in patients are rhinorrhea, sneezing, itchy nose, and nasal congestion. This study can help physicians diagnose allergic rhinitis and asthma in geographical areas with a high prevalence of Salsola kali.
Climatic and atmospheric teleconnection indices and western Arctic sea ice variability

This study examines the sea ice cover minima in the western Arctic in the context of several climatic mechanisms known to impact its variability. The September latitude of western Arctic sea ice is measured along 11 equally-spaced longitudes extending from 176º W to 126º W in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, 1953–2010. Indices of seasonal atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections and annual mean Northern Hemisphere temperatures (NHT) and CO2 concentration are orthogonalized using rotated principal component analysis, forming predictors regressed onto the sea ice latitude data at each longitude using stepwise multiple linear regression. Prior to 1998, small amounts of September ice edge variance are explained by teleconnections such as the Arctic Dipole, Arctic Oscillation, and Pacific-North American Pattern. NHTs begin explaining large amounts of ice edge variance starting in 1998. For the 1953–2010 period, up to 68% of the ice edge variance is explained at 161° W in the Chukchi Sea, mostly by NHTs. With the exception of the three easternmost longitudes (136–126° W), the teleconnections and NHTs explain over 50% of the regional ice edge variance. Increases in both NHTs and ice retreat since the mid-1990s account for the large explained variances observed in regression analyses extending into recent years.
RANKL/RANK is required for cytokine-induced beta cell death; osteoprotegerin, a RANKL inhibitor, reverses rodent type 1 diabetes

Treatment for type 1 diabetes (T1D) requires stimulation of functional β cell regeneration and survival under stress. Previously, we showed that inhibition of the RANKL/RANK [receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa Β (NF-κB) ligand] pathway, by osteoprotegerin and the anti-osteoporotic drug denosumab, induces rodent and human β cell proliferation. We demonstrate that the RANK pathway mediates cytokine-induced rodent and human β cell death through RANK-TRAF6 interaction and induction of NF-κB activation. Osteoprotegerin and denosumab protected β cells against this cytotoxicity. In human immune cells, osteoprotegerin and denosumab reduce proinflammatory cytokines in activated T-cells by inhibiting RANKL-induced activation of monocytes. In vivo, osteoprotegerin reversed recent-onset T1D in nonobese diabetic/Ltj mice, reduced insulitis, improved glucose homeostasis, and increased plasma insulin, β cell proliferation, and mass in these mice. Serum from T1D subjects induced human β cell death and dysfunction, but not α cell death. Osteoprotegerin and denosumab reduced T1D serum–induced β cell cytotoxicity and dysfunction. Inhibiting RANKL/RANK could have therapeutic potential.
Lupus Anticoagulant Is Associated with Critical Cases and High Mortality in COVID-19: A Literature Review

Background: In severe COVID-19 cases, a hypercoagulable state may occur. Antiphospholipid syndrome-related auto-antibodies (APSRAs) contribute to coagulopathy, but their role in COVID- 19 remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of positive APSRAs and their effect on clinical outcomes in confirmed COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, severe hospitalized COVID-19 cases were enrolled. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from the day of admission. APSRAs including IgG and/or IgM anticardiolipin (aCL) and anti-β2-glycoprotein1 (anti-β2GP1) as well as lupus anticoagulant (LAC) were measured. Results: In this study, 54 severe COVID-19 cases with positive RT-PCR and chest CT scans were recruited. Positive APSRAs were found in 7 (12.9%) patients. Positive LAC was a more prevalent marker as compared to other tests (11.1%). The prevalence of positive aCL (IgM or IgG) and anti-ß2 GPI (IgM or IgG) was 1.8% (in an elderly woman). Lower oxygen saturation was found in the positive APSRAs group as opposed to the negative APSRAs group (70.3±9 vs. 84.8±9.7%). The mortality rate in the positive APSRAs group was significantly higher relative to the negative APSRAs group (83.3% vs. 27.1%; P-value: 0.01). Likewise, the mechanical ventilation requirement in the positive group was also higher (50% vs. 27.1%, P-value: 0.28). Conclusion: This study indicated that LAC might be associated with critical cases and high mortality of COVID-19. Nonetheless, the mortality was not related to macrothrombotic incidence.
Metabolic syndrome and surgical complications: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 million individuals

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterised by the presence of at least three of the five following components: insulin resistance, obesity, chronic hypertension, elevated serum triglycerides, and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. It is estimated to affect 1 in 3 people around the globe and is reported to affect 46% of surgical patients. For people with MetS who undergo surgery, an emerging body of literature points to significantly poorer postoperative outcomes compared with nonaffected populations. The aim of this study is to review the current evidence on the risks of surgical complications in patients with MetS compared to those without MetS. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis using PRISMA and AMSTAR reporting guidelines. Results: The meta-analysis included 63 studies involving 1 919 347 patients with MetS and 11 248 114 patients without MetS. Compared to individuals without the condition, individuals with MetS were at an increased risk of mortality (OR 1.75 95% CI: 1.36–2.24; P<0.01); all surgical site infection types as well as dehiscence (OR 1.64 95% CI: 1.52–1.77; P<0.01); cardiovascular complications (OR 1.56 95% CI: 1.41–1.73; P<0.01) including myocardial infarction, stroke, cardiac arrest, cardiac arrythmias and deep vein thrombosis; increased length of hospital stay (MD 0.65 95% CI: 0.39–0.9; P<0.01); and hospital readmission (OR 1.55 95% CI: 1.41–1.71; P<0.01). Conclusion: MetS is associated with a significantly increased risk of surgical complications including mortality, surgical site infection, cardiovascular complications, increased length of stay, and hospital readmission. Despite these risks and the high prevalence of MetS in surgical populations there is a lack of evidence on interventions for reducing surgical complications in patients with MetS. The authors suggest prioritising interventions across the surgical continuum that include (1) preoperative screening for MetS; (2) surgical prehabilitation; (3) intraoperative monitoring and management; and (4) postoperative rehabilitation and follow-up.
Endothelial YAP Mediates Hyperglycemia-Induced Platelet Hyperactivity and Arterial Thrombosis

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia—a symptom that characterizes diabetes—is highly associated with atherothrombotic complications. However, the underlying mechanism by which hyperglycemia fuels platelet activation and arterial thrombus formation is still not fully understood. METHODS: The profiles of polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolites in the plasma of patients with diabetes and healthy controls were determined with targeted metabolomics. FeCl3-induced carotid injury model was used to assess arterial thrombus formation in mice with endothelial cell (EC)–specific YAP (yes-associated protein) deletion or overexpression. Flow cytometry and clot retraction assay were used to evaluate platelet activation. RNA sequencing and multiple biochemical analyses were conducted to unravel the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: The plasma PGE2 (prostaglandin E2) concentration was elevated in patients with diabetes with thrombotic complications and positively correlated with platelet activation. The PGE2 synthetases COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2) and mPGES-1 (microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1) were found to be highly expressed in ECs but not in other type of vessel cells in arteries from both patients with diabetes and hyperglycemic mice, compared with nondiabetic individuals and control mice, respectively. A combination of RNA sequencing and ingenuity pathway analyses indicated the involvement of YAP signaling. EC-specific deletion of YAP limited platelet activation and arterial thrombosis in hyperglycemic mice, whereas EC-specific overexpression of YAP in mice mimicked the prothrombotic state of diabetes, without affecting hemostasis. Mechanistically, we found that hyperglycemia/high glucose–induced endothelial YAP nuclear translocation and subsequently transcriptional expression of COX-2 and mPGES-1 contributed to the elevation of PGE2 and platelet activation. Blockade of EP3 (prostaglandin E receptor 3) activation by oral administration of DG-041 reversed the hyperactivity of platelets and delayed thrombus formation in both EC-specific YAP-overexpressing and hyperglycemic mice. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our data suggest that hyperglycemia-induced endothelial YAP activation aggravates platelet activation and arterial thrombus formation via PGE2/EP3 signaling. Targeting EP3 with DG-041 might be therapeutic for diabetes-related thrombosis.
An optimized postsurgery follow-up strategy for patients with esophageal cancer: a cohort study

Background: After radical surgery, patients with esophageal cancer should undergo long-term surveillance of disease relapse. However, the optimal follow-up strategy remains to be explored. Method: A total of 4688 patients were recruited. Recursive partition analysis was applied to develop recurrence risk stratification for patients. The follow-up strategies of each stratification were developed based on monthly recurrence probability and validated by bootstrap validation and an external dataset. A Markov decision-analytic model was constructed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the follow-up strategies. Results: Patients were stratified into four groups according to four pathological features. The authors applied a random survival forest to calculate the monthly recurrence probability of each group. Based on the temporal distribution of recurrences, the authors further established surveillance strategies for four groups. The strategies were validated as optimal protocols by bootstrap resampling and another dataset. Markov cost-effective analysis indicated that our recommended strategies outperformed the mainstream protocols from guidelines. Using less than 12 visits across the first 5 years on average, our follow-up strategies were more efficient than the NCCN recommended strategies (14 visits average). Our results also supported the computerized tomography from the neck to the upper abdomen as a routine examination and PETCT of distant metastasis for some groups with high risks. Conclusion: Our study provided data-driven evidence of personalized and economic follow-up strategies for esophageal cancer patients and shed light on follow-up optimization for other cancer types.
Health state utility values for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is one of the most burdensome chronic diseases in the world. Health utility values are an important tool for quantifying this disease burden and conducting cost‐utility analyses. This review aimed to derive a reference set of health utility values for children and adolescents with T1DM.
Description of the Impressions and Foot-prints of the Protichnites from the Potsdam Sandstone of Canada

Of the extensive series of foot-prints found under the circumstances described in the preceding communication, the originals of some and good plaster-casts of more have been brought over with much labour and expense by their discoverer, Mr. Logan, and of these I have selected the best-marked and most intelligible portions for the following descriptions.