Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mismatch Negativity: is it time for deconstruction?

Addressed in over 7000 papers, the mismatch negativity (MMN) is an automatic brain response to unexpectation that has profoundly shaped perception research. An important turn has been its computational interpretation as a prediction error . This learning-based account is grounded in Bayesian theory and offers testable hypotheses for addressing efficiently the context-sensitivity of sensory processing. We emphasize that this theoretical turn requires a methodological one. Specifically, we advocate dynamical modeling over averaged-based approaches providing the MMN. We show that dynamic analysis addresses the interpretation of subtle fluctuations in brain activity, a necessary step to understand how perception adapts to change.
Diagenesis of Fossiliferous Concretions from the Upper Cretaceous Fox Hills Formation, North Dakota

ABSTRACT Three fossiliferous concretions of the Fox Hills Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of North Dakota display similar diagenetic histories. Petrographic and geochemical data from each concretion have yielded the following diagenetic sequence: 1) bioturbation by marine benthos; 2) partial phosphatization of glauconite, fecal pellets, and shell material; 3) sulfate reduction and pyrite formation; 4) siderite precipitation; 5) radial-fibrous calcite precipitation, and 6) equant calcite precipitation. Although the occurrence of open-marine faunas and glauconite indicates that concretion sediments were deposited under marine conditions, geochemical data suggest that marine pore fluids were replaced by brackish and meteoric water. As the Fox Hills Formation is part of a regressive, marginal marine equence, it is likely that the transition from marine to freshwater is recorded in concretion paragenesis. Early diagenetic minerals indicate oxidation of organic matter at shallow burial depths under normal marine conditions. Locally reducing conditions, produced initially by degradation of molluscan soft parts and later by degradation of organic material in crustacean and annelid fecal pellets, occurred at shallow burial depths. Alteration of iron silicates (glauconite) produced pore fluids enriched in Fe2+. Due to the abundance of reactive organic matter, subsequent reduction of marine sulfate yielded a small amount of disseminated pyrite. Following the removal of H2S, elevated Fe2+, pH, and bicarbonate concentrations soon exceeded siderite saturation and siderite was precipitated. Elevated Ca and Mg compositions and marine 18O values of siderite cements indicate that pore fluids were essentially reduced marine fluids. Depleted 13C values suggest that siderite precipitated in an environment dominated by the oxidation of organic matter. Isotopic compositions from the earliest and latest carbonate phases constrain intermediate phases and allow comparison of environments of precipitation. Carbon and oxygen isotopic data from skeletal aragonite provide an estimate of the isotopic composition of marine carbonate. The latest phase of equant calcite cement is characterized by invariant 18O, coupled with highly variable and light 13C. This characteristic isotopic signature and occurrence in overlying fluvial sediments suggests a meteoricphreatic origin for equant spars. Isotopic values of radial-fibrous calcite lie between those of marine (aragonite, siderite) and freshwater (equant calcite) ph ses and represent a complex mixing of marine and meteoric pore fluids. The paragenetic sequence of carbonate cements records a gradual decrease in ambient fluid Mg, Fe, and Mn content during shallow burial. Such decreases are consistent with the influx of oxidizing meteoric fluids.
Bidirectional mixing in an ACE 1 marine boundary layer overlain by a second turbulent layer

In the Lagrangian B flights of the First Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE 1), the chemistry and dynamics of the postfrontal air mass were characterized by tracking a constant-level balloon launched into the air mass for three consecutive 8-hour flights of the instrumented National Center for Atmospheric Research C-130 aircraft during a 33-hour period. The boundary layer extended to a height of 400 to 700 m during this period, with its top defined by changes in the amount of turbulent mixing measured rather than by an inversion. Above the planetary boundary layer to a height of 1400 to 1900 m, a second layer was capped with a more pronounced temperature inversion and contained only intermittent turbulence. Since this layer served as a reservoir and mixing zone for boundary layer and free tropospheric air, we have called it a buffer layer to emphasize its differences from previous concepts of a residual or intermediate layer. Estimates of the entrainment rate of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and aerosol particles between the boundary layer and the buffer layer demonstrated that exchange occurred across the interface between these two layers in both upward and downward directions. In situ measurements of aerosol particles revealed highly concentrated, nucleation-mode aerosol particles between 10 and 30 nm diameter at the beginning of the first Lagrangian B flight in the buffer layer, while few were present in the boundary layer. Observations during the second and third flights indicate that aerosol particles of this size were mixing downward into the boundary layer from the buffer layer while DMS was transported upward. This fortuitous enhancement of aerosol particles in the buffer layer allowed simultaneous use of DMS and aerosol particle budgets to track the bidirectional entrainment rates. These estimates were compared to those from measurements of mean vertical motion and boundary layer growth rate, and from estimates of the fluxes and changes in concentration across the layer interface. In addition, three different techniques were used to estimate DMS emission rates from the ocean surface and showed good agreement: (1) evalulation of the DMS and aerosol mean concentration budgets, (2) seawater DMS concentrations and an air-sea exchange velocity, and (3) the mixed-layer gradient technique.
The Association Between Chronic Hepatitis B, Chronic Hepatitis C, Sustained Liver Damage, and Features of Increased Cardiovascular Risk

It is thought that chronic liver disease affects a person's risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Chronic Hepatitis B (HBV) infection, Chronic Hepatitis C (HCV) infection, and liver damage on cardiovascular risk and selected vascular parameters contributing to CVD risk. This case-control study included a group of 114 patients composed of 34 patients with HBV, 35 patients with HCV, and 45 patients as the control group. Cardiovascular risk was assessed by analyzing classic risk factors, and the SCORE system. The following arterial properties were analyzed using applanation tonometry with SphygmoCor Vx technology: central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), central pulse pressure, augmentation pressure, augmentation index, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). Asymmetric dimethyloarginine (ADMA) blood levels were analyzed using ELISA as a marker of vascular function. In a univariable analysis we found no significant differences between the hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and control groups in terms of PWV (respectively: median 7.2 [Q25-Q75 6.4-8.5], 7.3 [6.9-8.7], 7.8 [6.5-8.9]), cSBP (115 [109-126], 118 [107-123], 116 [107-129]), ADMA (0.52 [0.47-0.60], 0.53 [0.45-0.62], 0.58 [0.51-0.63]), SCORE (0 [0-1], 0 [0-2], 0 [0-2]). No significant differences in cardiovascular variables were observed between cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. A multivariable analysis confirmed the above findings. (PWV, p=0 . 29; cSBP, p=0.26; ADMA, p=0.19). We concluded that chronic hepatitis B or C was not independently associated with an adverse cardiovascular risk profile nor with an unfavorable pattern of vascular parameters contributing to CVD risk in our study population, even in the case of liver cirrhosis. The same was true for blood ADMA levels.
Orbital‐ and millennial‐scale fluctuations in late Quaternary marine pollen records from the Japan Sea

Quaternary surface water conditions within the Japan Sea change with eustatic sea‐level changes and fluctuations in the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM), influencing regional climate and vegetation through the delivery of heat and moisture. Our marine pollen data suggest overall cooling from the Last Interglacial (ca. 125 ka) to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a cold climate during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2, gradual warming from 12 ka and rapid warming after 10 ka. These stages are concordant with published palaeoceanographic changes in the Japan Sea. During mid MIS 5 to MIS 3, marine sediments in the Japan Sea are characterised by fine alternations of dark‐ and light‐coloured layers that formed under the influence of fluctuations in the EASM, possibly correlated with Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. During the deposition of dark layers, high levels of precipitation are inferred from the abundance of Cryptomeria. In contrast, a cool and dry climate is interpreted for the light layers, based on an abundance of subarctic conifer pollen. The palaeoclimate of the Japan Sea region appears to have been influenced by orbital‐scale changes in global climate and millennial‐scale fluctuations in the EASM. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Application of multi-temporal Landsat 5 TM imagery for wetland identification

Multi-temporal Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery was evaluated for the identification and monitoring of potential jurisdictional wetlands located in the states of Maryland and Delaware. A wetland map prepared from single-date TM imagery was compared to a hybrid map developed using two dates of imagery. The basic approach was to identify landcover vegetation types using spring leaf-on imagery, and identify the location and extent of the seasonally saturated soil conditions and areas exhibiting wetland hydrology using spring leaf-off imagery. The accuracy of the wetland maps produced from both single- and multiple-date TM imagery were assessed using reference data derived from aerial photographic interpretations and field observation data. Subsequent to the merging of wetland forest and shrub categories, the overall accuracy of the wetland map produced from two dates of imagery was 88 percent compared to the 69 percent result from single-date imagery. A Kappa Test Z statistic of 5.8 indicated a significant increase in accuracy was achieved using multiple-date TM images. Wetland maps developed from multi-temporal Landsat TM imagery may potentially provide a valuable tool to supplement existing National Wetland Inventory maps for identifying the location and extent of wetlands in northern temperate regions of the United States.
Spatial and temporal patterns of the water quality in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, China

Abstract The three-route South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP), transferring water from the water-rich Yangtze River and its tributaries to the much drier area of North China for irrigation, industrial and domestic use, has been implemented in China since 2002. Thus, water quality in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, the water source area of the SNWDP's Middle Route, is of great concern. We investigate its water quality from 2004 to 2006 by monitoring some important physical (T, turbidity and SPM) and chemical (DO, pH, alkalinity, TDS, SpCond, ORP, CODMn and BOD) parameters and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) contents. Consequently, their spatial and temporal patterns in the reservoir were examined. The results indicate that the water of the reservoir is of a Ca and HCO3 type, and the major pollutants are nitrogen and CODMn. Comparisons among the sampling sites show that water quality increases downstream, implying the self-purification capacity of the reservoir. The reservoir in general has better water quality in the dry season than in the wet season. Integrated basin management would be critical of the water quality in the Danjingkou Reservoir for the interbasin water transfer project.
Development of the Global Width Database for Large Rivers

River width is a fundamental parameter of river hydrodynamic simulations, but no global‐scale river width database based on observed water bodies has yet been developed. Here we present a new algorithm that automatically calculates river width from satellite‐based water masks and flow direction maps. The Global Width Database for Large Rivers (GWD‐LR) is developed by applying the algorithm to the SRTM Water Body Database and the HydroSHEDS flow direction map. Both bank‐to‐bank river width and effective river width excluding islands are calculated for river channels between 60S and 60N. The effective river width of GWD‐LR is compared with existing river width databases for the Congo and Mississippi Rivers. The effective river width of the GWD‐LR is slightly narrower compared to the existing databases, but the relative difference is within ±20% for most river channels. As the river width of the GWD‐LR is calculated along the river channels of the HydroSHEDS flow direction map, it is relatively straightforward to apply the GWD‐LR to global and continental‐scale river modeling.
Innovative Microemulsion Loaded with Unusual Dimeric Flavonoids from Fridericia platyphylla (Cham.) L.G. Lohmann Roots

Fridericia platyphylla (Cham.) L.G. Lohmann is a species native to the Brazilian cerrado, with promising bioactivity. The organic fraction of the roots is rich in unusual dimeric flavonoids, reported as potential candidates for cancer treatment. The exploration of these flavonoids is very important, considering their diverse biological activities and the need for innovative therapeutic options. This work aimed to develop and characterize a microemulsion loaded with a non-polar fraction (DCM). The constituents were chosen, and the pseudo-ternary diagram was constructed to determine the region of microemulsion formation. The microemulsions blank (ME), with 3% (ME3) and 5% (ME5) of fraction DCM, were characterized in terms of droplet size, zeta potential, and polydispersity index. Both MEs showed particle sizes <100 nm; only ME3 exhibited better values for polydispersity index and zeta potential and was therefore selected for further study. The organoleptic and physicochemical characteristics were evaluated, revealing limpidity and transparency typical of these microstructures, physiologically acceptable pH, refractive index of 1.42±0.01, and density of 1.017 g/cm3±0.01. The stability tests showed good stability profiles even after exposure to extreme thermal conditions, with minimal changes in pH and the content of the incorporated fraction. The in vitro release study demonstrated that ME3 enabled the controlled release of the fraction, with a cumulative amount released over 60% within 6 h. Furthermore, fraction DCM and ME3 exhibited no toxicity in Tenebrio molitor larvae. The developed microemulsion exhibited excellent properties, so this study represents the first successful attempt to develop a formulation that incorporates the dimeric flavonoid fraction.
Fish, fishing and the rural poor. A case study of the household importance of small scale fisheries in the Lao PDR. Aquatic Resources, Culture & development

Small-scale fisheries in developing countries are often considered to be of particular importance to poorer groups, with fishing often characterised in the literature as an ‘activity of last resort’. Despite this assertion, there are few quantitative studies that compare the role of these fisheries in households from different socioeconomic groups. This is particularly true of many agricultural areas in countries of the Lower Mekong Basin, where fishing is, frequently, one of a range of livelihood activities carried out for either subsistence or income generation. Through a detailed household survey, this study quantifies the importance of small-scale fisheries to households from different socioeconomic groups in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR. It looks at three potential axes of ‘importance’: catches from small-scale fisheries; utilisation of fish caught; and reliance on fishing as a means of bringing fish into the household. Results suggest that along all three axes of importance, the role of small-scale fisheries, and fishing, whilst substantial, is not substantially different between the socioeconomic groups. Fishing therefore cannot be described as important only for the ‘poorest of the poor’, but as an essential component of all these households’ livelihoods.
Late-orogenic extensional tectonics at the NW margin of the Caledonides in Scotland

Abstract A major ductile extensional structure throwing down several kilometres to the ESE probably marks the southern portion of the NW Caledonian orogenic margin in Scotland. This structure, the Sound of Iona Fault, is probably related to the intensely mylonitized zones that cut the Lewisian and adjacent Iona Group (? Torridonian) metasedimentary cover on Iona. The fault-related mylonites predated the 414±3 Ma Ross of Mull Granite and are inferred to have postdated the c.425 Ma Moine Thrust. It is concluded that the Sound of Iona Fault is one of the many late Caledonian faults in Scotland, but is exposed at a deeper structural level than normal. Its position at the orogenic margin of the Caledonides is similar to that of the Loch Gruinart Fault on Islay, hinting that (a) major steep fault(s) may be a significant feature of the largely concealed Caledonian margin south of Skye
Contrasting Episodes of Regional Granulite-Facies Metamorphism in Enclaves and Host Gneisses from the Aravalli–Delhi Mobile Belt, NW India

The Aravalli-Delhi Mobile Belt in the northwestern part of India demonstrates how granulite enclaves and their host gneisses can be utilized to unravel multistage metamorphic histories of orogenic belts, using three suites of metamorphic rocks: (1) an enclave of pelitic migmatite gneiss-leptynite gneiss; (2) metamorphosed megacrystic granitoids, intrusive into the enclave; (3) host tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) gneisses associated with an interlayered sequence of garnetiferous metabasite and psammo-pelitic schist, locally migmatitic. Based on integrated structural, petrographic, mineral compositional, geothermobarometric studies and P-T pseudosection modelling in the systems NCKFMASH and NCFMASH, we record three distinct tectonothermal events: an older, medium-pressure granulite-facies metamorphic event (M 1 ) in the sillimanite stability field, which is registered only in the enclave, a younger, kyanite-grade high-pressure granulite-facies event (M 2 ), common to all the three litho-associations, and a terminal amphibolite-facies metamorphic overprint (M 3 ). The high-P granulite facies event has a clockwise P-T loop with a well-constrained prograde, peak (M 2 , P~12-15 kbar, T~815°C) and retrograde (M 2R , ~6.1 kbar, T~625°C) metamorphic history. M 3 is recorded particularly in late shear zones. When collated with available geochronological data, the metamorphic P-T conditions provide the first constraint of crustal thickening in this belt, leading to the amalgamation of two crustal blocks during a collisional orogeny of possible Early Mesoproterozoic age. M 3 reactivation is inferred to be of Grenvillian age.
Stop 1-1b: Tectonic geomorphology of the western Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA

Hypotheses regarding uplift of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (Sierra), California, USA, vary from a single, westward tilting block to rapid Pliocene and/or Quaternary uplift by various mechanisms. To test these hypotheses, we examined geomorphic indices of the western Sierra. We interpret longitudinal profiles of the larger westerly flowing rivers, mountain front sinuosity, valley floor-to-width to height ratio, and relief ratio to show that there are two tectonically active segments of the western Sierra mountain front. Relative tectonic activity is greatest in the southern Sierra near the Kern River Gorge fault. In the central Sierra, the geomorphology indicates lower, but still active, tectonic activity that we hypothesize is consistent with Pliocene delamination. We hypothesize that the locus of tectonism in the south is most consistent with post-Pliocene interaction of the San Andreas, Garlock, and Sierra Nevada Frontal fault zones.
Price Volatility and Risk Management: The Case of Rice

The paper aims at analysing rice-price volatility over the last five years, and at identifying strengths and weaknesses of financial-risk management tools other than derivatives. In particular, it focuses on innovative insurance products and on their potential use in the EU Mediterranean area, specifically in Italy that is the main rice producer in this area.
Dolomite–silica stromatolites in Miocene lacustrine deposits from the Duero Basin, Spain: the role of organotemplates in the precipitation of dolomite

This research provides an ancient analogue for biologically mediated dolomite precipitation in microbial mats and biofilms, and describes the involvement of highly structured extracellular polymeric secretion (EPS) templates in dolomite nucleation. The structure of EPS is shown to match the hexagonal–trigonal lattice geometry of dolomite, which favoured the epitaxial crystallization of dolomite on the organic substrate. This structure of EPS also matches the arrangement of silica nanospheres in opal, which further accounts for the organically‐templated formation of opal enabling the non‐replacive co‐existence of dolomite and silica. The study is focused on a 50 m thick dolomite succession that is exposed in central areas of the Tertiary Duero Basin and was deposited in a mudflat‐saline lake sedimentary complex during the Middle to Late Miocene (9 to 15 Ma). In the intermediate intervals of the succession, poorly indurated dolomite beds pass gradually into silica beds. On the basis of sedimentological, compositional, geochemical and petrographic data, silica and dolomite beds have been interpreted as mineralized microbial mats. The silica beds formed in marginal areas of the lake in response to intense evaporative concentrations; this resulted in the rapid and early precipitation of opal. Silicification accounted for the exceptional preservation of the microbial mat structure, including biofilms, filamentous and coccoid microbes, and EPS. Extracellular polymeric secretions have a layered structure, each layer being composed of fibres which are arranged in accordance with a reticular pattern, with frequent intersection angles at 120° and 60°. Therefore, the structure of EPS matches the lattice geometry of dolomite and the arrangement of silica nanospheres in opal. Additionally, EPS binds different elements, with preference to Si and Mg. The concurrence of suitable composition and surface lattice morphologies in the EPS favoured the crystallization of dolomite on the substrate. In some cases, dolomite nucleation took place epicellularly on coccoid micro‐organisms, which gave way to spheroid crystals. Organic surfaces enable the inorganic mineral precipitation by lowering the free energy barrier to nucleation. Most of the microbial mats probably developed on the lake floor, under sub‐aqueous conditions, where the decomposition of organic matter took place. The subsequent formation of openly packed dolomite crystals, with inter‐related Si‐enriched fibrils throughout, is evidence for the pre‐existence of fibrillar structures in the mats. Miocene dolomite crystals are poorly ordered and non‐stoichiometric, with a slight Ca‐excess (up to 5%), which is indicative of the low diagenetic potential the microbial dolomite has towards a more ordered and stoichiometric structure; this confirms that microbial imprints can be preserved in the geological record, and validates their use as biosignatures.