Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity of African easterly waves to boundary layer conditions

A linearized version of the quasi-geostrophic model (QGM) with an explicit Ekman layer and observed static stability parameter and profile of the African easterly jet (AEJ), is used to study the instability properties of the environment of the West African wave disturbances. It is found that the growth rate, the propagation velocity and the structure of the African easterly waves (AEW) can be well simulated. Two different lower boundary conditions are ap- plied. One assumes a lack of vertical gradient of perturbation stream function and the other assumes zero wind perturbation at the surface. The first case gives more realistic results since in the absence of horizontal diffusion, growth rate, phase speed and period have values of 0.5 day 1 , 10.83 m s 1 and 3.1 day, respectively. The zero wind perturbation at the sur- face case leads to values of these parameters that are 50 per- cent lower. The analysis of the sensitivity to diffusion shows that the magnitude of the growth rate decreases with this pa- rameter. Modelled total relative vorticity has its low level maximum around 900 hPa under no-slip, and 700 hPa under free slip condition.
CONSOLIDATION AND WAVE PROPAGATION IN A POROUS MEDIUM

Basic di¤usion analytical solutions of one-dimensional consolidation are presented for the case of a semi-in nite domain. Typical tractions considered include instantaneous loads of the medium with a free boundary pressure, as well as the case of a permeable membrane located at the forced boundary. Two-dimensional boundary value problems for a porous half-space, described by the widely recognized Biots equations of poroelasticity, including inertia e¤ects is discussed. In this poroelastic version of Lambs problem in the classical theory of linear elastic waves, the surface of a porous half-space is subjected to a prescribed line traction. The following two broadly applicable cases are considered: 1) A steady state harmonic load, 2) An impulsive load (Dirac delta function time dependence). A general analytical solution of the problem in the Fourier Laplace space was obtained by the application of the standard Helmholtz potential decomposition, which reduces the problem to a system of wave equations for three unknown potentials, which correspond to three types of motion: P1, slow P2 wave, and the shear wave S. The possibilities of, and procedure for, obtaining analytic solutions in the physical space subsequently are discussed in detail. When viscous dissipation e¤ects are taken into account, a steady-state harmonic line traction solution can be represented in the form of well convergent integrals, while for the case when viscous dissipation is ignored, closed form analytic solutions can be obtained for impulsive forcing with the application of the Cagniard de Hoop inversion technique. Numerical studies of the dispersion relation of the Rayleigh, or surface, wave for cases in which the dissipation is not negligible are presented.
M:N object matching between image and map object data sets by means of latent semantic analysis

In this article, we propose a method to find corresponding object-set pairs between image and map polygon object data sets by means of latent semantic analysis. Latent semantic analysis assigns each polygon object of both data sets to feature vectors in a continuous geometric space in which the similarities between the vectors are proportional to the priorities to constitute a corresponding object-set pair. Thus, object clusters can be obtained by applying an agglomerative hierarchical clustering to the feature vectors. These object clusters are separated into object-set pairs according to the data sets to which the objects belong and are evaluated with a geometric matching criterion to find corresponding object-set pairs. We applied the proposed method to the segmentation result of a composite image with six normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) images and a forest inventory map. The proposed method was compared to a graph-embedding-based method. The results showed that the proposed method found more corresponding object-set pairs with a similar accuracy in terms of shape similarities and shared information of found pairs.
Longitudinal dynamics of depression in risk groups of older individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background Older individuals are most at risk of severe COVID-19 and particularly require protection causing (self)restriction of psychosocial interaction in daily living. So far, the impact of psychosocial withdrawal on mental health seems less pronounced in community-dwelling older individuals compared to younger individuals. However, dynamics and adverse long-term effects of the pandemic, such as increases in depression, are still mostly unclear, especially for vulnerable subgroups. Methods Pre-pandemic and 3-, 8-, 14-, 20-month peri-pandemic data were analyzed in 877 older participants (age at 3-month peri-pandemic: mean ± SD: 72.3 ± 6.3, range: 58–91 years) of the observational prospective TREND study in Germany. Severity of depression (Beck's Depression Inventory-II scores) and key factors of (mental) health were investigated for cross-sectional associations using path modeling. Risk groups defined by resilience, loneliness, history of depression, stress, health status and fear of COVID-19 were investigated for differences in depression between timepoints. Findings The early pandemic (3-month) severity of depression was most strongly associated with history of depression, stress and resilience. Overall increases in clinically relevant depression (mild-severe) from pre- to 3-month peri-pandemic were small (% with depression at pre-/3-month peri-pandemic: 8.3%/11.5%). Changes were most pronounced in risk groups with low resilience (27.2%/41.8%), loneliness (19.0%/28.9%), fear of COVID-19 (17.6%/31.4%), high stress (24.4%/34.2%), a history of depression (27.7%/36.9%), and low health status (21.8%/31.4%). Changes in depression were largely observed from pre- to 3-month and were sustained to the 20-month peri-pandemic timepoint, overall and in stratified risk groups defined by single and cumulative risk factors. Changes between timepoints were heterogenous as indicated by alluvial diagrams. Conclusion Only specific risk groups of older individuals showed a large increase in depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since these increases occurred early in the pandemic and were sustained over 20 months, these vulnerable risk groups need to be prioritized for counselling and risk mitigation of depression.
OPTICAL TRANSITION RADIATION FROM PROTONS ENTERING METAL SURFACES

Abstract Transition Radiation is the term adopted to describe a feeble radiation emitted when a charged particle crosses the boundary between two media having different optical properties. The paper describes experiments to establish the existence of this effect, which has previously only been studied theoretically. The results, obtained from studies of the polarization of the radiation, its excitation function and its absolute yield, confirm the predictions of theory.
Comparing the influence of gold nanorods and -discs on the spontaneous decay rate of Eu–chelate dye

Nanometre-sized metal structures support localized surface plasmons associated with the collective oscillations of conduction band electrons. These modes can give rise to a drastic enhancement of local electromagnetic fields close to the surface of the structures. As a consequence, the fluorescence properties of molecules in that near field zone become strongly modified. In this paper, we investigate the modifications of the de-excitation processes in Eu–chelate dye for various nanoparticle sizes and shapes. By this coupling, in the electronic de-excitation process the corresponding radiative and non-radiative rates can be enhanced by orders of magnitude with respect to the free-space case. When the plasmon resonance overlaps well with the molecule’s fluorescence emission frequency the interacting molecules show a dramatically shortened fluorescence lifetime but an enhanced signal amplitude. This is a valuable mechanism for new labelling techniques in biosciences and for modifications of OLED emission properties.
Forecast skill of the ECMWF model using targeted observations during FASTEX

The impact of targeted observations on forecast accuracy is investigated for five case‐studies of cyclogenesis during the Fronts and Atlantic Storm‐Track EXperiment (FASTEX). Calculations of localized singular vectors (SVs) have been made using the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) forecasting model to find the sensitive regions for each case‐study. Two sets of analyses have been prepared: a ‘control’ set consisting of analyses in which all the FASTEX data have been removed from the operational analysis, and a ‘perturbed’ set obtained by adding to the control the data from the dropsondes deployed in regions highlighted as sensitive by SVs. Analysis and forecast differences have been compared with the structure of the SVs as they evolve during the forecast. Model integrations, starting from the two different analyses, have been performed. the impact of the dropsonde data on the forecast skill has been assessed on the basis of both subjective and objective scores. Re‐runs of the model from perturbed analyses almost always give better objective scores than those starting from the control analyses. the impact is more evident if the verification area coincides with the regions over which the SVs have been optimized. In this case, short‐range prediction errors (up to day 2) are reduced on average by 15%, with a maximum error reduction of about 37%.
Efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease-related constipation (PDC): A randomized controlled trial

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in treating Parkinson’s disease-related constipation (PDC). Materials and methods This was a randomized, controlled trial in which patients, outcome assessors, and statisticians were all blinded. Seventy-eight eligible patients were randomly assigned to either the manual acupuncture (MA) or sham acupuncture (SA) groups and received 12 sessions of treatment over a 4-week period. Following treatment, patients were monitored until the eighth week. The primary outcome was the change in weekly complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBMs) from baseline after treatment and follow-up. The Constipation Symptom and Efficacy Assessment Scale (CSEAS), the Patient-Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life questionnaire (PAC-QOL), and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) were used as secondary outcomes. Results In the intention-to-treat analysis, 78 patients with PDC were included, with 71 completing the 4-week intervention and 4-week follow-up. When compared to the SA group, weekly CSBMs were significantly increased after treatment with the MA group (P < 0.001). Weekly CSBMs in the MA group were 3.36 [standard deviation (SD) 1.44] at baseline and increased to 4.62 (SD, 1.84) after treatment (week 4). The SA group’s weekly CSBMs were 3.10 (SD, 1.45) at baseline and 3.03 (SD, 1.25) after treatment, with no significant change from baseline. The effect on weekly CSBMs improvement in the MA group lasted through the follow-up period (P < 0.001). Conclusion Acupuncture was found to be effective and safe in treating PDC in this study, and the treatment effect lasted up to 4 weeks. Clinical trial registration http://www.chictr. org.cn/index.aspx, identifier ChiCTR2200059979
Resonant oscillations of an inhomogeneous gas between concentric spheres

We investigate the effects of nonlinearity, geometry and stratification on the resonant motion of a gas contained between two concentric spheres. The emphasis is on whether the motion is continuous, and on how the inhomogeneity, geometry or nonlinearity can move the motion to a shocked state. Linear undamped theory yields a standing wave of arbitrary amplitude and an eigenvalue equation in which the higher eigenvalues are not integer multiples of the fundamental; the system is said to be dissonant. Higher modes, generated by the nonlinearity, are not resonant and consequently shocks may not form. When the output is shockless, the amplitude is two orders of magnitude greater than that of the input. When the eigenvalues for a homogeneous gas are not sufficiently dissonant and shocks form, the introduction of a stratification in the gas can restore dissonance and allow a continuous output. Similarly, the introduction of an inhomogeneity can change a continuous motion to a shocked one, as can an increase in the input Mach number, or an increase in the geometrical parameter. Various limits of the eigenvalue equation are considered and previous results for simpler geometries are recovered; e.g. a full sphere, a cone and a straight tube.
Hodgkin Lymphoma Cell Lines and Tissues Express mGluR5: A Potential Link to Ophelia Syndrome and Paraneoplastic Neurological Disease

Ophelia syndrome is characterized by the coincidence of severe neuropsychiatric symptoms, classical Hodgkin lymphoma, and the presence of antibodies to the metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor (mGluR5). Little is known about the pathogenetic link between these symptoms and the role that anti-mGluR5-antibodies play. We investigated lymphoma tissue from patients with Ophelia syndrome and with isolated classical Hodgkin lymphoma by quantitative immunocytochemistry for mGluR5-expression. Further, we studied the L-1236, L-428, L-540, SUP-HD1, KM-H2, and HDLM-2 classical Hodgkin lymphoma cell lines by FACS and Western blot for mGluR5-expression, and by transcriptome analysis. mGluR5 surface expression differed significantly in terms of receptor density, distribution pattern, and percentage of positive cells. The highest expression levels were found in the L-1236 line. RNA-sequencing revealed more than 800 genes that were higher expressed in the L-1236 line in comparison to the other classical Hodgkin lymphoma cell lines. High mGluR5-expression was associated with upregulation of PI3K/AKT and MAPK pathways and of downstream targets (e.g., EGR1) known to be involved in classical Hodgkin lymphoma progression. Finally, mGluR5 expression was increased in the classical Hodgkin lymphoma-tissue of our Ophelia syndrome patient in contrast to five classical Hodgkin lymphoma-patients without autoimmune encephalitis. Given the association of encephalitis and classical Hodgkin lymphoma in Ophelia syndrome, it is possible that mGluR5-expression in classical Hodgkin lymphoma cells not only drives tumor progression but also triggers anti-mGluR5 encephalitis even before classical Hodgkin lymphoma becomes manifest.
Effects of management practices for using the SaaS system on performance of hospitality firms in Norway

ABSTRACT The earlier literature either measured management practices in terms of the general management traits or did not account for the effects on firm performance. However, the transformation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems from general to more specific practices, the counteractive managerial goals and standardization and measurement issues requires the measures with more specific goals in a specific setting. The current paper aims at filling the gaps in measuring management practices and its effects on production costs and technical efficiency using daily data of 92 hospitality firms, i.e. chain hotels, in Norway from 2012 to 2014. We measured management practices in an index constructed from multiple criteria that capture managers' user patterns of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) systems. The empirical model identified inefficiency using a translog stochastic frontier input distance function (IDF). The findings show, on average, a 10% improvement in management practices increases production costs by 1.2%, but it improves efficiency by 0.9%. However, the marginal effect of improved management practices on the production cost is found to be U-shaped, while the marginal impact on inefficiency gradually declines to zero. The study also provides managerial implications on how to effectively use the ERP system and improve firm performance.
Heatwaves Similar to the Unprecedented One in Summer 2021 Over Western North America Are Projected to Become More Frequent in a Warmer World

Western North America (WNA) experienced an unprecedented heatwave from late June to early July 2021, which lies far outside the historical range. Based on the model outputs from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, we find that the likelihood of a heatwave over WNA similar to the 2021 one increases with global warming. Such a heatwave is projected to occur more frequently with increased extreme temperature and shortened return period. It means that a rare event in the current climate will be a more common event in a warmer climate, especially under a high‐emission scenario like the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways 585 (SSP5‐8.5). Moreover, we show a large expansion of areas over WNA that will break the 2021 record in the future with an increasing level of emission scenario. Nevertheless, some heatwave records west of the Rocky Mountains are still difficult to break, highlighting the specific extremity of the 2021 WNA heatwave.
The impact of social comparison processes on self-evaluation of performance, self-concept, and task interest

Development of self-concept and task interest has been shown to be affected by social comparison processes in a variety of cross-sectional studies. A potential explanation for these effects is an effect of social comparative performance feedback on an individual’s self-evaluation of performance, which in turn influences development of self-concept and task interest. There are, however, only few studies addressing this topic with experimental designs. This study was aimed at closing this research gap by experimentally manipulating social comparative performance. Feedback given was based on 2 × 2 experimental conditions: social position (high vs. low) and average performance of the reference group (high vs. low). Results show a strong effect of social position on self-evaluation of performance and smaller effects on self-concept and task interest.
Proton Migration on Top of Charged Membranes

Proton relay between interfacial water molecules allows rapid two-dimensional diffusion. An energy barrier, ΔGr‡, opposes proton-surface-to-bulk release. The ΔGr‡-regulating mechanism thus far has remained unknown. Here, we explored the effect interfacial charges have on ΔGr‡’s enthalpic and entropic constituents, ΔGH‡ and ΔGS‡, respectively. A light flash illuminating a micrometer-sized membrane patch of a free-standing planar lipid bilayer released protons from an adsorbed hydrophobic caged compound. A lipid-anchored pH-sensitive dye reported protons’ arrival at a distant membrane patch. Introducing net-negative charges to the bilayer doubled ΔGH‡, while positive net charges decreased ΔGH‡. The accompanying variations in ΔGS‡ compensated for the ΔGH‡ modifications so that ΔGr‡ was nearly constant. The increase in the entropic component of the barrier is most likely due to the lower number and strength of hydrogen bonds known to be formed by positively charged residues as compared to negatively charged moieties. The resulting high ΔGr‡ ensured interfacial proton diffusion for all measured membranes. The observation indicates that the variation in membrane surface charge alone is a poor regulator of proton traffic along the membrane surface.
Reflection of oblique waves by currents: analytical solutions and their application to numerical computations

Surface waves superimposed upon a larger-scale flow are blocked and reflected at the points where the group velocities balance the convection by the larger-scale flow. In this study, we first extended the theory of Shyu & Phillips (1990) to the situation when short deep-water gravity waves propagate obliquely upon a steady unidirectional irrotational current and are reflected by it. In this case, the uniformly valid solution and the WKBJ solution of the short waves were derived from the Laplace equation and the kinematical and dynamical boundary conditions. These solutions in terms of some parameters (the expressions for which have also been deduced in this case) take the same forms as those derived by Shyu & Phillips, which by referring to Smith's (1975) theory can even be proved to be valid for gravity waves in an intermediate-depth region and near a curved moving caustic induced by an unsteady multidirectional irrotational current. In this general case, the expressions for certain parameters in these solutions cannot be obtained so that their values must be estimated in a numerical calculation. The algorithm for estimates of some of these parameters that are responsible for the amplitude of the reflected wave not being equal to that of the incident wave in the vicinity of the caustic and therefore are crucial for the computer calculation of the ray solution to be continued after reflection, was illustrated through numerical tests. This algorithm can avoid the error magnification phenomenon that occurred in the previous estimates of the reflected wave in the vicinity of the caustic using the action conservation principle directly. The forms of the solutions have also been utilized to clarify the wave profiles near caustics in a general situation, which indicate that in storm conditions freak waves characterized by a steeper forward face preceded by a deep trough will probably occur in the caustic regions.
A note on the possible electrostatic disruption of bacteria

Recently published scanning electron and transmission electron photomicrographs of cells of the bacterium Escherichia coli exposed to plasma glow discharges at atmospheric pressure indicate physical disruption of their outer cell membranes. However, the mechanism of cell disruption was unclear. Here, we propose and model an electrophysical mechanism for this phenomenon, namely, the electrostatic disruption of the cell membrane, which takes place when it has acquired a sufficient electrostatic charge that the outward electrostatic stress exceeds its tensile strength. It also appears that surface roughness or irregularity would render it more sensitive to electrostatic disruption.