Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Climate reconstruction from tree rings: Part 2, spatial reconstruction of summer mean sea‐level pressure patterns over Great Britain

We present a methodology for the reconstruction of spatial climate patterns over the British Isles using tree rings. The predictands are mean sea-level pressures averaged over May to July for a 16-point grid centred over the British Isles. The predictors are ring widths from a network of 14 oak tree-ring chronologies in Britain and northern France. Major spatial modes of variance in the climate data are linked directly with those of the ring-width data via a series of principal component regressions.
Water Quality of Two First Order Forested Watersheds in Coastal South Carolina

Understanding watershed hydrology and the concentrations of nutrients in stream waters are fundamental considerations for assessing water quality. Despite the fact that forests are generally recognized for providing clean water and used as a baseline for assessing the effects of other land uses, especially urbanization, there are ongoing concerns about the effects of forest management practices on receiving waters. Two first-order forested watersheds (WS 80 and WS 77) on poorly drained pine-hardwood stands at the USDA Forest Service Santee Experimental Forest in the South Carolina Coastal Plain have been monitored since mid-1960s to characterize their hydrology, water quality and vegetation dynamics. This study examined the nutrient concentrations and loading dynamics of these two watersheds using both outflow and concentration data collected since 2003. WS 80 remained as a reference throughout the study period, whereas WS 77 underwent a prescribed burning of the understory vegetation in May 2003 for Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides barcalis) habitat management. Both watersheds were highly responsive of rainfall events with 8 to 46% of the annual rainfall lost to stream outflows depending upon years. Prescribed burning contributed to as much as 72% (147 mm) increase in outflows in 2005 for the treatment watershed (WS 77) compared to the pre-burning levels. However, by the first half of 2006 the effect reduced to only 13 mm increase. No difference was found in nutrient concentrations between the two watersheds, except for the NH4-N, which seem to have increased. Both the nutrient concentrations and loading rates measured were small and were lower than the values published for pine forests in eastern North Carolina. Historic data and the data presented herein may serve as baseline information for assessing developmental impacts in the region and for assessing the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
Adults’ facial impressions of children’s niceness, but not shyness, show modest accuracy

Lay wisdom warns against “judging a book by its cover. ” However, facial first impressions influence people’s behaviour towards others, so it is critical that we understand whether these impressions are at all accurate. Understanding impressions of children’s faces is particularly important because these impressions can have social consequences during a crucial time of development. Here, we examined the accuracy of two traits that capture the most variance in impressions of children’s faces, niceness and shyness. We collected face images and parental reports of actual niceness/shyness for 86 children (4–11 years old). Different images of the same person can lead to different impressions, and so we employed a novel approach by obtaining impressions from five images of each child. These images were ambient, representing the natural variability in faces. Adult strangers rated the faces for niceness (Study 1) or shyness (Study 2). Niceness impressions were modestly accurate for different images of the same child, regardless of whether these images were presented individually or simultaneously as a group. Shyness impressions were not accurate, for images presented either individually or as a group. Together, these results demonstrate modest accuracy in adults’ impressions of niceness, but not shyness, from children’s faces. Furthermore, our results reveal that this accuracy can be captured by images which contain natural face variability, and holds across different images of the same child’s face. These results invite future research into the cues and causal mechanisms underlying this link between facial impressions of niceness and nice behaviour in children.
Use of IV Immunoglobulin G in Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Patients Is Not Associated With Increased Rates of Thrombosis

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a severe prothrombotic syndrome with a mortality rate of 10%. Case reports and case series, including three published in CHEST, show that IV immunoglobulin G (IVIg) can rapidly and durably counteract HIT antibodymediated platelet activation in cases of severe protracted HIT. Although limited data from these and other papers support the use of IVIg in severe settings of HIT, it is well documented that “positive-result bias” enhances the likelihood of publication of studies that demonstrate salutary effects of interventions while those with neutral/negative results often remain unpublished. IVIg preparations have a black box warning for
Subregional precipitation climate of the Caribbean and relationships with ENSO and NAO

[1] Thirty-five meteorological stations encompassing the Caribbean region (Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Barbados) were analyzed over the time interval 1951–1981 to assess regional precipitation patterns and their relationships with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Application of factor analysis to these series revealed the existence of four geographically distinct precipitation regions, (C1) western Cuba and northwestern Bahamas, (C2) Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and southeastern Bahamas, (C3) Dominican Republic and northwestern Puerto Rico, and (C4) eastern Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Barbados. This regionalization is related to different annual cycles and interannual fluctuations of rainfall. The annual cycle is more unimodal and largest in the northwest Caribbean (C1) and becomes increasingly bimodal toward lower latitudes (C4) as expected. Year-to-year variations of precipitation are compared with two well-known climatic indices. The ENSO relationship, represented by Nino 3.4 sea surface temperatures (SST), is positive and stable at all lags, but tends to reverse over the SE Caribbean (C4) in late summer. The NAO influence is weak and seasonally dependent. Early summer rainfall in the northwest Caribbean (C1) increases under El Nino conditions. Clusters 2 and 3 are less influenced by the global predictors and more regional in character.
A new fluid scheme for weakly collisional plasmas: 1. General theory

[1] We present a new approach to the study of two-fluid hydrodynamics of weakly collisional plasma systems, such as those frequently encountered in the astrophysical context. Our starting point is the novel procedure developed in past years by Chen, Rao, and Spiegel (CRS) for the fluid description of semicollisional neutral monoatomic gases. The new system of fluid equations that include viscous and conductive effects has been successfully tested. However, the extension of such a procedure to plasmas is not a straightforward one. We have to deal with (at least) two components, with vastly different values of the masses, and the nature of collisions between charged particles is substantially different from the neutral particle case. We perform a preliminary careful examination of the basic requirements of the CRS method and identify the conditions under which an extension of such method is indeed possible. We then derive the system of fluid equations appropriate to the description of a weakly collisional two-component plasma in the new scheme and discuss the differences with respect to the more familiar Navier-Stokes approach. This paper is therefore of a general theoretical nature. However, we also point out that solar wind is a good testing ground for the newly derived system of fluid equations. This application will be the subject of a subsequent paper.
P53 and SOX2 Protein Expression Predicts Esophageal Adenocarcinoma in Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to investigate the association between p53, SOX2, and CD44 protein expression and tumor response, and to validate potential predictive biomarker(s) in an independent cohort. BACKGROUND Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery has become a standard of care for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). However, the response to nCRT is highly variable among patients. METHODS EAC patients who underwent nCRT and surgery, between January 2003 and December 2014 at the Erasmus University Medical Center, were included and divided into a primary (n = 77) and a validation cohort (n = 70). P53, SOX2, and CD44 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in pretreatment tumor biopsies, and scored independently by 2 investigators. Response to nCRT was assessed based on tumor regression grade (TRG) in the resection specimen. RESULTS Forty-one (53%) patients in the primary cohort and 33 (47%) patients in the validation cohort showed major response (TRG1 or TRG2) in the resection specimen. Aberrant p53 and absence of SOX2 were associated with major response in the primary cohort: adjusted odds ratio (OR) 6.3 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3-30.1) and adjusted OR 4.1 (95% CI, 1.4-12.4), respectively. The same was true for the validation cohort (p53: adjusted OR 8.6; 95% CI, 0.93-80.9 and SOX2: adjusted OR 6.1; 95% CI, 1.6-23.4). The highest probability of a major response was seen in patients with concurrent aberrant p53 and absence of SOX2 expression, with an OR of 6.7 (95% CI, 2.1-21.4) and 6.2 (95% CI, 1.8-21.2) in the primary and validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS Pattern of p53 and particularly SOX2 protein expression in EAC predicts response to nCRT. These biomarkers may help to individualize treatment in EAC patients.
Retirement Transition, Migration and Remote Rural Communities: Evidence from the Isle of Bute

This paper explores relationships between retirement and migration into and within remote rural areas. Rural areas in the UK are characterised by net population gain, with pre-retirement age migrants being an identifiable sub-group of rural in-migrants. This paper reports findings from a household survey which sought evidence for retirement transition migration into remote, rural areas. Drawing upon data collected on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, we show that the economic characteristics of migrant households and their motivations for moving vary by age group and by migrant status. Non-local moves were most common when the householder was aged 50–64. Early retirement has facilitated these moves onto Bute, allowing migrants to fulfil their residential preferences and satisfy quality of life aspirations when their place of residence is no longer tied to their place of employment. Local moves associated with retirement were most likely when the householder was aged 65+. Our findings reflect the complexity of retirement, an event individuals and households react to over an extended period of time, and demonstrate the importance of early retirement as a catalyst for bringing ‘young-old’ migrants into a remote rural area, acting as a counterbalance to the ongoing effects of outmigration by young adults.
Smoking and Cardiac Structure and Function in the Elderly The ARIC Study ( Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities )

Cigarette smoking is a major, preventable cause of cardiovascular diseases, particularly of coronary artery disease. Epidemiological studies have suggested that active smoking is associated with incident heart failure in general populations, even after accounting for potential confounders and coronary artery disease. Nevertheless, the mechanisms linking cigarette smoking to cardiac dysfunction are not established.
Large‐scale patterns of dune type, spacing and orientation in the Australian continental dunefield

SUMMARY As a contribution to understanding the morphogenesis of the Australian continental dunefield, maps are presented of the main types of dunes, their orientation and mean spacing using the best available sources of data. Major features on previous maps of the Australian dunefield are verified and new information has been obtained. The anticlockwise whorl of dunes has been found to close on both its eastern and western ends. Dunes extend as far north as 16°S and over large parts of the far south‐west of Western Australia. Distributions of dune types are related to former vegetation cover, climate, supply of sand and directional variability of formative winds. Previously documented relationships between dune spacing, height, equivalent sand thickness (EST) and the texture of surfaces over which sand is transported are used to partially explain the map of mean dune spacings. The spatial distribution of EST, and mineralogic and sedimentologic evidence show that aeolian sediment in the Australian dunefiel.
Analysis and retracking of continental ice sheet radar altimeter waveforms

The SEASAT-I radar altimeter data set acquired over both the Antarctic and Greenland continental ice sheets is analyzed to obtain corrected ranges to the ice surface. The radar altimeter functional response over the continental ice sheets is considerably more complex than over the oceans. Causal factors identified in this complicated response include sloping surfaces, undulating ice surfaces with characteristic wavelengths on the same spatial scale as the altimeter beam-limited footprint, off-track reflections, and dynamic lag of the altimeter tracking circuit. Retracking methods using the altimeter return pulse waveforms give range corrections that are typically several meters. The entire set of SEASAT-I altimetry over the continental ice sheets is being retracked by fitting a multi-parameter function to each waveform. Many waveforms have double ramps indicating near-normal reflections from two distinct portions of the ice surface within the altimeter beam. Two independent range measurements differing by less than 25 m are obtained from retracking the double-ramp waveforms.
Soil organic matter effects on phosphorus sorption: a path analysis.

While P sorption in mineral soils has been extensively studied, P sorption behavior in organic-rich soils is less known. This study was conducted to determine the relationships between Langmuir P sorption maxima (S{sub max}) and selected physicochemical properties of soils, with particular emphasis on organic matter (OM) content. The S{sub max} values were determined for 72 soil samples from the North Carolina Coastal Plain, along with pH, clay and OM contents, oxalate-extractable P (P{sub ox}), Al (Al{sub ox}), and Fe (Fe{sub ox}), and Mehlich 3 extractable P (P{sub M3}), Al (Al{sub M3}), and Fe (Fe{sub M3}). Path analysis was used to examine direct and indirect effects of soil properties on S{sub max}. In the oxalate path analysis, the direct effects of clay, Al{sub ox}, and Fe{sub ox} on S{sub max} were significant in the order Al{sub ox} > clay > Fe{sub ox} (P 49 gmore » kg{sup -1}. This finding suggested that noncrystalline or organically bound Al and Fe in the soils with OM > 49 g kg{sup -1} is less effective for P sorption than in the soils with lower OM content. In the Mehlich 3 path analysis, the direct effects of clay, OM, and Al{sub M3} on S{sub max} were significant in the order Al{sub M3} > OM > clay (P < 0.05) while the direct effect of Fe{sub M3} on S{sub max} was not significant. Oxalate may be better suited than Mehlich 3 as an extractant for predicting P sorption capacity in the Coastal Plain soils. « less
Effectiveness OF Mulching Under Miraba in Controlling Soil Erosion, Fertility Restoration and Crop Yield in the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

Soil erosion is a major threat to food security in rural areas of Africa. Field experiments were conducted from 2011 to 2014 in Majulai and Migambo villages with contrasting climatic conditions in Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. The aim was to investigate the effectiveness of mulching in reducing soil erosion and restoring soil fertility for productivity of maize (Zea mays) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) under miraba, a unique indigenous soil conservation measure in the area. Soil loss was significantly higher (p < 0·05) under miraba sole than under miraba with mulching, for example, 35 versus 20 and 13 versus 8 Mg ha−1 y−1 for Majulai and Migambo villages, respectively, in 2012. Soil fertility status was significantly higher (p < 0·05) under miraba with Tughutu mulching than under miraba sole, for example, 0·35 versus 0·25% total N, 37 versus 22 mg kg−1 P and 0·6 versus 0·2 cmol(+) kg−1 K for the Majulai village; and 0·46 versus 0·38 total N, 17·2 versus 10·2 mg kg−1 P and 0·50 versus 0·2 cmol(+) kg−1 K for the Migambo village. Maize and bean yields (Mg ha−1) were significantly higher (p < 0·05) under miraba with Tughutu mulching than under miraba sole, 2·0 versus 1·3 for maize and 0·9 versus 0·8 for beans in Majulai; and 3·8 versus 2·6 for maize and 1·0 versus 0·8 for beans in the Migambo village in 2012. This implies that Tughutu mulching is more effective in improving crop yield than Tithonia, although both could potentially protect the arable land from degradation caused by water erosion under miraba. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Oceanic Core Complexes and Crustal Accretion at Slow-Spreading Ridges. Indications From IODP Expeditions 304-305 and Previous Ocean Drilling Results

Oceanic core complexes expose intrusive crustal rocks on the seafloor via detachment faulting and are often associated with significant extents of serpentinized mantle peridotite at the seafloor. These serpentinite units have unknown thickness in most cases. Assuming that steep slopes surrounding the domal core provide a cross section, one would infer that they comprise much of the section for depths of at least several hundreds of meters. IODP expeditions 304-305 results at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 30 N (Atlantis Massif), taken together with previous ODP drilling results from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, suggest that a revised model of oceanic core complex (OCC) development should be considered. All of the ODP/IODP drilling at 4 different core complexes and/or inside corner highs so far have recovered only gabbroic sections, with almost no serpentinized peridotite.
Magnetotaxis and acquisition of detrital remanent magnetization by magnetotactic bacteria in natural sediment: First experimental results and theory

The widespread occurrence of magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) in several types of marine and freshwater sediment, and the role of fossil magnetosomes (magnetofossils) as main remanent magnetization carriers therein, has important paleomagnetic and paleoenvironmental implications. Despite numerous studies on MTB biology and on magnetofossil preservation in geological records, no detailed information is yet available on how magnetotaxis (i.e., the ability to navigate along magnetic field lines) is performed in sedimentary environments, and on how magnetofossils possibly record the Earth magnetic field. We provide for the first time experimental evidence for these processes. MTB living in sediment are poorly aligned with the geomagnetic field, contrary to what is observed in water. This can explain the seemingly excessive magnetic moment of most MTB. The observed alignment is sufficient for supporting magnetotaxis across the typical thickness of chemical gradients. Experiments with magnetofossil‐rich sediment suggest that a natural remanent magnetization (NRM) is acquired by magnetofossils in the so‐called benthic mixed layer, where natural MTB populations usually occur. The acquired NRM is proportional to the applied field at least up to ∼160 µT, and its intensity is compatible with values observed in nature for same sediment types. Therefore, if fossil magnetosome chains are not subjected to further alteration by early diagenetic processes, they can provide useful relative paleointensities. We propose a preliminary model to explain early stages of magnetofossil NRM acquisition as the result of a dynamic equilibrium between magnetic torques and randomizing forces due to sediment mixing.
Three-dimensional micromagnetic modeling of randomly oriented magnetite grains (0.03–0.3 μm)

[1] We report three-dimensional micromagnetic structures obtained for magnetite cubes with 〈100〉 edges in the size range 0.03–0.3 μm around the single-domain threshold size. We employed the Metropolis algorithm to find equilibrium micromagnetic structures starting from uniformly magnetized initial states. Directions of initial magnetizations were randomly set so as to mimic a randomly oriented assemblage. Small grains (<0.07 μm) exhibit single-domain equilibrium structures parallel to a magnetic easy axis 〈111〉 irrespective of initial magnetization directions. Vortex structures emerge for small pseudosingle-domain grains above 0.07 μm. Axes of the vortices are parallel to 〈100〉 in the threshold size range but become randomly oriented with increasing grain size. Neither lamellar domain structures nor multiple vortex structures were found for grains smaller than 0.3 μm. Reduced saturation remanent magnetization decreased down to ∼0.1 with increasing grain size over a relatively narrow grain size range (0.07–0.15 μm). The grain size variation of reduced magnetization depends on microscopic magnetization structures inside a single grain and the degree of randomness of grain magnetization directions in an assemblage.
Peri-acetabular bone remodelling after uncemented total hip arthroplasty with monoblock press-�t cups: an observational study

Background: Bone stock preservation in total hip replacement is essential to allow for later revisions in an increasingly younger and �tter index patient population. While contemporary modular press-�t acetabular cups lead to rigid �xation with equatorial stress and central osteolysis, more elastic �xation may cause different peri-acetabular bone remodelling. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in periacetabular bone mineral density (BMD) in uncemented elastic �xation with monoblock press-�t cups. Methods: This prospective observational study included 45 patients with monoblock cups. We evaluated peri-acetabular BMD using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and reported functional outcomes and complications. Results: At a mean follow-up of 24.2 ± 2.2 months, we found that BMD stabilised in DeLee and Charnley zones I and III and recovered to baseline value in zone II. The mean Harris Hip Scores improved signi�cantly from 56.9 ± 20.0 to 97.2 ± 4.0 (p < 0001). Other than one peri-operative dislocation, we saw no post-operative complications. Conclusions: We found favourable adaptive bone changes with BMD stabilisation in the equatorial zones and recovery to pre-operative values in the central zone. Additionally, excellent clinical outcomes and few prosthesis-related complications strengthened the favourable results of monoblock acetabular cups. Trial registration: Registration number DRKS00017076.