Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of trust in times of crises: A cross-sectional study of 3,065 German-speaking adults from the D-A-CH region

Interpersonal trust declined worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic; strategies are needed to restore it. We surveyed 3,065 quota-sampled German-speaking adults residing in the D-A-CH region. Using multinomial logistic regression models and backward elimination for variable selection, we calculated multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to appraise correlates of interpersonal trust using the Interpersonal Trust Short Scale (KUSIV3). Participants with high levels of interpersonal trust (top KUSIV3 tertile (T3)) tended to be older, male, residents of Switzerland, university degree holders, and workers with higher income and work satisfaction (all Pdiff<0.01) compared to those in the lowest KUSIV3 tertile (T1). Optimism was most strongly associated with high interpersonal trust (ORT3vsT1 = 5.75, 95%CI = 4.33–7.64). Also significantly associated with high interpersonal trust were: Having voted in the last national election (for the opposition, OR = 1.39, 95%CI = 1.02–1.89 or the governing party, OR = 1.61, 95%CI = 1.23–2.11) versus non-voters; perspective taking (ORT3vsT1 = 1.46, 95%CI = 1.11–1.91); being more extraverted (ORT3vsT1 = 1.99, 95%CI = 1.53–2.59) and more agreeable (ORT3vsT1 = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.46–2.61); and scoring higher on complexity thinking (ORT3vsT1 = 1.32, 95%CI = 1.01–1.72). Participants scoring significantly lower for interpersonal trust did not regularly participate in religious meetings (OR = 0.61, 95%CI = 0.44–0.84, versus participation at least monthly); were more conscientious (ORT3vsT1 = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.51–0.91) or current smokers (OR = 0.68; 95%CI = 0.53–0.87, versus never smoking); had sleep problems >5 times a week (OR = 0.48; 95%CI = 0.36–0.66, versus none); and scored high on conspiracy belief (ORT3vsT1 = 0.53; 95%CI = 0.41–0.69). Results differed minimally by gender and country. These findings may be helpful in devising targeted strategies to strengthen interpersonal trust and social engagement in European societies, especially during times of crises.
Influence of femoral anteversion angle and neck-shaft angle on muscle forces and joint loading during walking

Femoral deformities, e.g. increased or decreased femoral anteversion (AVA) and neck-shaft angle (NSA), can lead to pathological gait patterns, altered joint loads, and degenerative joint diseases. The mechanism how femoral geometry influences muscle forces and joint load during walking is still not fully understood. The objective of our study was to investigate the influence of femoral AVA and NSA on muscle forces and joint loads during walking. We conducted a comprehensive musculoskeletal modelling study based on three-dimensional motion capture data of a healthy person with a typical gait pattern. We created 25 musculoskeletal models with a variety of NSA (93°-153°) and AVA (-12°-48°). For each model we calculated moment arms, muscle forces, muscle moments, co-contraction indices and joint loads using OpenSim. Multiple regression analyses were used to predict muscle activations, muscle moments, co-contraction indices, and joint contact forces based on the femoral geometry. We found a significant increase in co-contraction of hip and knee joint spanning muscles in models with increasing AVA and NSA, which led to a substantial increase in hip and knee joint contact forces. Decreased AVA and NSA had a minor impact on muscle and joint contact forces. Large AVA lead to increases in both knee and hip contact forces. Large NSA (153°) combined with large AVA (48°) led to increases in hip joint contact forces by five times body weight. Low NSA (108° and 93°) combined with large AVA (48°) led to two-fold increases in the second peak of the knee contact forces. Increased joint contact forces in models with increased AVA and NSA were linked to changes in hip muscle moment arms and compensatory increases in hip and knee muscle forces. Knowing the influence of femoral geometry on muscle forces and joint loads can help clinicians to improve treatment strategies in patients with femoral deformities.
Assessment of JERS-1 SAR for monitoring secondary vegetation in Amazonia: I. Spatial and temporal variability in backscatter across a chrono-sequence of secondary vegetation stands in Rondonia

Quantification of the direct impact of land use in the tropics on net biotic carbon flux relies on estimates of rates of deforestation, pre- and post-disturbance biomass, and fate of the cleared land. While existing remote sensing applications are providing estimates of the rates of deforestation and the fate of the cleared land (pasture, croplands, or secondary vegetation), techniques for estimating biomass of natural systems with remote sensing are needed. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) presents a unique opportunity for imaging tropical forests under most cloud conditions and potentially provides information on vegetation biomass. Models for estimating above-ground biomass from SAR data have been developed. In this paper we examine the temporal and spatial variability of mean normalized radar cross-section across a chrono-sequence of secondary vegetation stands and clearings in Rondonia, Brazil. We also assess the impact of the observed temporal and spatial variability in normalized radar cross-section on estimating biomass of secondary vegetation stands. Results indicate that, while quantitative estimates of biomass are not stable due to intrinsic texture, system noise, and environmental effects, JERS-1 data are still useful for categorizing relative differences in development of secondary vegetation stands. Merging Japanese Earth Resources Satellite 1 (JERS-1) SAR data with Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) derived age information data provide improved characterization of clearings and secondary vegetation in Rondonia.
Satellite-derived sea surface temperature fronts on the continental shelf off the northeast U.S. coast

The distribution and variability of sea surface temperature (SST) fronts, over the shelf and slope along the east coast of North America from Cape Hatteras to Nova Scotia, are studied using a 12 year time series (1985-1996) of advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) images. After the masking of cloud- contaminated pixels, an edge-detection algorithm identifies surface temperature fronts in each image. Maps of the seasonal probability of detecting a front indicate substantial spatial and temporal variability in the occurrence of SST fronts. Over the continental shelf south of New England during spring through autumn, surface fronts are rare and observed only in scattered locations. North of Nantucket Shoals, both tidal mixing fronts and fronts associated with the Eastern Maine Coastal Current occur during the summer. A major finding of this study is the observation of fronts in winter over the inner and middle shelf from Cape Hatteras to the Bay of Fundy. These fronts, peaking during January-March, are characterized by cold SST on their inshore (shallow) side and appear to result from the influence of surface cooling on shallow nearshore waters. The shelfbreak front is found to vary strongly with season, being detected most frequently during spring and autumn. South of Hudson Canyon, it essentially disappears during the summer, while from Hudson Canyon to Northeast Channel, it weakens during summer but nevertheless remains detectable in SST.
Photosynthesis of co-existing Phragmites haplotypes in their non-native range: are characteristics determined by adaptations derived from their native origin?

Several Phragmites lineages differing in origin and phenotype co-exist in the Gulf Coast of North America. We collected rhizomes of four lineages and propagated them in a common environment to compare photosynthetic characteristics. We observed substantial differences among and within lineages. As the lineages originating in Africa and in the Mediterranean region had higher photosynthetic capacity than the lineages originating in Eurasia, and showed typical ecophysiological traits of plants adapted to warm and arid climates, we concluded that the differences observed are due to adaptations acquired in the native ranges. The four lineages can therefore be regarded as ecotypes.
Shoreline Changes and Near Shore Processes Along Ennore Coast, East Coast of South India

Abstract The study region located north of Chennai city on the East coast of India is facing shoreline erosion/accretion related problems after the introduction of Ennore Port during 2001. For the present study 25 km of coastal stretch has been taken up, which comprises Ennore port region, natural sandy beaches of Kattupalli Island, which is a turtle breeding ground and Ennore Creek and Pulicat Lake inlets, with a total coastal settlement population of 25,000 people. After the introduction of breakwaters for the port, beach erosion and accretion are considered as critical problems, resulting in damages to the natural set up of the coastal region in the study area. Analyses of coastal dynamics and vulnerable zones of erosion and accretion along the coast were performed during the present study which are highly useful for the development of strategies for beach erosion/accretion management. Four major categories of shoreline changes were observed in the study region, viz., 1) Beach accretion south of Ennore Port, 2) Beach fill erosion north of north breakwater of Ennore Port, 3) Almost stable coastline at the central part of the study region and 4) Shifting inlet of Pulicat Lake. Quantitative analyses are made from shoreline survey using Real Time Kinematic GPS, beach profile survey in four identified transects, characteristics of environmental parameters such as tides, waves, currents and sediment nature in the near shore region. Long shore sediment transport was computed for four cells using numerical modeling package to quantify the changing littoral drift in study region. Results show reduction in sediment transport from −0.66 × 106 m3/year on the southern side of Ennore port to −0.57 × 106 m3/year on the northern side of Ennore Port.
Management of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

More than 50% of people with dementia experience behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). BPSD are distressing for patients and their caregivers, and are often the reason for placement into residential care. The development of BPSD is associated with a more rapid rate of cognitive decline, greater impairment in activities of daily living, and diminished quality of life (QOL). Evaluation of BPSD includes a thorough diagnostic investigation, consideration of the etiology of the dementia, and the exclusion of other causes, such as drug-induced delirium, pain, or infection. Care of patients with BPSD involves psychosocial treatments for both the patient and family. BPSD may respond to those environmental and psychosocial interventions, however, drug therapy is often required for more severe presentations. There are multiple classes of drugs used for BPSD, including antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, anxiolytics, cholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA modulators, but the evidence base for pharmacological management is poor, there is no clear standard of care, and treatment is often based on local pharmacotherapy customs. Clinicians should discuss the potential risks and benefits of treatment with patients and their surrogate decision makers, and must ensure a balance between side effects and tolerability compared with clinical benefit and QOL.
Linear and circular polarization P band SAR tomography for tropical forest biomass study

This paper aims at investigating the potential of P-Band SAR tomography in estimating biomass in tropical rain forests. The analysis here presented is based on multi-baseline data acquired by ONERA at the test sites of Paracou and Nourages, French Guyana, in the frame of the ESA campaign TropiSAR. The favorable baseline distribution of this data set results in a tomographic vertical resolution of about 20 m, whereas forest height ranges from 20 to 40 m. These features result in the possibility to map the vertical distribution of the backscattered power in about three independent layers, without assuming any a-priori model of the forest. For both test-sites, the backscattered power associated with the volume layer (about 30 m above the ground) is observed to exhibit the highest sensitivity to forest biomass, even for high biomass values (250-500 t/ha). Furthermore, this result appears to be loosely dependent on the employed polarization, as a similar behavior is observed in both linear and circular polarization.
Modelling production of migratory catfish larvae (Pimelodidae) on the basis of regional hydro‐ climatology features of the Madre de Dios Basin in southeastern Peru

A simple stochastic model is presented to describe the influence of the natural flow regime of the Madre de Dios River (southeastern Peru) on the presence and downstream transportation of catfish larvae (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae), an important migratory species in commercial fisheries in the Peruvian Amazon region. One year of daily river stage records were related to weekly larval catches to determine the association between floods and spawning events, and based on the hydro‐climatologic characteristics of Andean‐Amazon regions, available long‐term historical rainfall records were used to determine the inter‐annual variability of floods within the Madre de Dios Basin. Major larval drift occurred during the high water season, specifically in association with stages of over 5 m, which served as an indicator triggering spawning responses of these species, termed a ‘biologically significant event’ (BSE). Timing of these BSEs, estimated from the historical rainfall records, described a uniform distribution during the wet season, and their inter‐arrival times were exponentially distributed. These observations provided the basis of the stochastic model describing the likelihood of larvae releases from this headwater region to the lowland Amazon. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Roles of Capsule Endoscopy and Single-Balloon Enteroscopy in Diagnosing Unexplained Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Background/Aims: The diagnostic algorithms used for selecting patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) for capsule endoscopy (CE) or balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BE) vary among facilities. We aimed to demonstrate the appropriate selection criteria of CE and single balloon-assisted enteroscopy (SBE) for patients with OGIB according to their conditions, by retrospectively comparing the diagnostic performances of CE and BE for detecting the source of the OGIB. Methods: We investigated 194 patients who underwent CE and/or BE. The rate of positive findings, details of the findings, accidental symptoms, and hemostasis methods were examined and analyzed. Results: CE and SBE were performed in 103 and 91 patients, respectively, and 26 patients underwent both examinations. The rate of positive findings was significantly higher with SBE (73.6%) than with CE (47.5%, p<0.01). The rate of positive findings was higher in overt bleeding cases than in occult bleeding cases for both BE and SBE. Among the overt bleeding cases, the rate was significantly higher in ongoing bleeding cases than in previous bleeding cases. Conclusions: Both CE and SBE are useful to diagnose OGIB. For overt bleeding cases and ongoing bleeding cases, SBE may be more appropriate than CE because endoscopic diagnosis and treatment can be completed simultaneously.
Blocking systems over an aqua planet

It is well established that forced planetary waves are critically important for blocking formation. To test whether blocking can be generated and maintained in the absence of topographic forcing, we carry out aqua‐planet simulations using NCAR CAM2. Results show that blockings occur frequently under the aqua‐planet conditions which have no forcing such as land‐sea contrast, orography and stationary remote tropical forcing. Features of simulated blockings well resemble that in the real atmosphere, showing typical Ω‐like patterns, persistence, and quasi‐stationary behavior with occasionally westward shifting. It is found that the onset and maintenance of simulated blockings are due to interaction between quasi‐stationary free Rossby waves and baroclinic eddies. For 10‐year simulations, the blocking frequency is slightly higher than that in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) in the real atmosphere. These suggest that blocking is a natural consequence of rotating and baroclinic atmospheres, while locally topographic forcing and remote tropical forcing are not necessary conditions.
A process‐based hypothesis for the barchan–parabolic transformation and implications for dune activity modelling

The introduction of vegetation to bare barchan dunes can result in a morphological transformation to vegetated parabolic dunes. Models can mimic this planform inversion, but little is known about the specific processes and mechanisms responsible. Here we outline a minimalist, quantitative, and process‐based hypothesis to explain the barchan–parabolic transformation. The process is described in terms of variations in the stabilization of wind‐parallel cross‐sectional dune slices. We hypothesize that stabilization of individual ‘dune slices’ is the predictable result of feedbacks initiated from colonization of vegetation on the slipface, which can only occur when slipface deposition rates are less than the deposition tolerance of vegetation. Under a constant vegetation growth regime the transformation of a barchan dune into a parabolic dune is a geometric response to spanwise gradients in deposition rates. Initial vegetation colonization of barchan horns causes shear between the anchored sides and the advancing centre of the dune, which rotates the planform brinkline angle from concave‐ to convex‐downwind. This reduces slipface deposition rate and allows vegetation to expand inward from the arms to the dune centre. The planform inversion of bare barchans dunes into vegetated parabolic dunes ultimately leads to complete stabilization. Our hypothesis raises several important questions for future study: (i) are parabolic dunes transitional landforms between active and vegetation‐stabilized dune states? (ii) should stabilization modelling of parabolic dune fields be treated differently than linear dunes? and (iii) are stabilized parabolic dune fields ‘armoured’ against re‐activation? Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Causal factors for spatial variation in long‐term phenological trends in Ginkgo biloba L. in Japan

Distinct plant phenological changes caused by increasing temperature have been reported in several regions. However, spatial patterns in long‐term phenological trends and their causal factors have not been fully examined. Attempts were made to address these issues using a long‐term (1961–2000) phenological dataset (budding and leaf fall dates) for Ginkgo biloba L. from 60 meteorological stations in Japan. Although many stations indicated earlier budding and delayed leaf fall, there were large differences among stations. First, the author tried to understand the spatial variation patterns of the long‐term phenological trends relative to geography. However, there was no significant relationship between phenological trends and geographical variables: latitude, longitude, and altitude, with the exception of a negative relationship between the trend of leaf fall date and latitude. Second, relationships between phenological trends, long‐term trends in air temperature, and phenological sensitivity of Ginkgo to variations in air temperature were investigated as direct causal factors for spatial variations in phenological trends. With respect to the air temperature trend, a negative relationship was found with the budding trend, but there was no obvious relationship with the leaf fall trend. On the other hand, the spatial variability of the phenological sensitivity to temperature was relatively large and displayed a significant linear relationship with trends in budding and leaf fall. Where trees had higher sensitivity to temperature, they showed earlier budding and delayed leaf fall. The results obtained from multiple linear regressions indicated that the spatial variations in phenological trends were dependent more on phenological sensitivity to air temperature than temperature trends. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society
Multi-omics data integration reveals the complexity and diversity of host factors associated with influenza virus infection

Influenza viruses pose a significant and ongoing threat to human health. Many host factors have been identified to be associated with influenza virus infection. However, there is currently a lack of an integrated resource for these host factors. This study integrated human genes and proteins associated with influenza virus infections for 14 subtypes of influenza A viruses, as well as influenza B and C viruses, and built a database named H2Flu to store and organize these genes or proteins. The database includes 28,639 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 1,850 differentially expressed proteins, and 442 proteins with differential posttranslational modifications after influenza virus infection, as well as 3,040 human proteins that interact with influenza virus proteins and 57 human susceptibility genes. Further analysis showed that the dynamic response of human cells to virus infection, cell type and strain specificity contribute significantly to the diversity of DEGs. Additionally, large heterogeneity was also observed in protein-protein interactions between humans and different types or subtypes of influenza viruses. Overall, the study deepens our understanding of the diversity and complexity of interactions between influenza viruses and humans, and provides a valuable resource for further studies on such interactions.