Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exaggerated elastin turnover in young individuals with Marfan syndrome: new insights from the AIMS trial

Abstract Aims The fragmentation and loss of elastic fibre in the tunica media of the aorta are pathological hallmarks of Marfan syndrome (MFS) but the dynamics of elastin degradation and its relationship to aortic size and physiological growth remain poorly understood. Methods and results In this post hoc analysis of the AIMS randomized controlled trial, the association of plasma desmosine (pDES)—a specific biomarker of mature elastin degradation—with age and aortic size was analysed in 113 patients with MFS and compared to 109 healthy controls. There was a strong association between age and pDES in both groups, with higher pDES levels in the lower age groups compared to adults. During childhood, pDES increased and peaked during early adolescence, and thereafter decreased to lower adult levels. This trend was exaggerated in young individuals with MFS but in those above 25 years of age, pDES levels were comparable to controls despite the presence of aortic root dilation. In MFS children, increased aortic diameter relative to controls was seen at an early age and although the increase in diameter was less after adolescence, aortic root size continued to increase steadily with age. In MFS participants, there was an indication of a positive association between baseline pDES levels and aortic root dilatation during up to 5 years of follow-up. Conclusion This study has shown that developmental age has a significant effect on levels of elastin turnover as measured by pDES in MFS individuals as well as healthy controls. This effect is exaggerated in those with MFS with increased levels seen during the period of physiologic development that plateaus towards adulthood. This suggests an early onset of pathophysiology that may present an important opportunity for disease-modifying intervention.
Quantitative examination of the anatomy of the juvenile sugar maple xylem

New methodologies have enabled viable sap yields from juvenile sugar maple trees. To further improve yields, a better understanding of sap exudation is required. To achieve this, the anatomy of the xylem must first be fully characterised. We examine juvenile maple saplings using light optical microscopy (LOM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), looking at sections cut along differing orientations as well as macerations. From this we measure various cell parameters. We find diameter and length of vessel elements to be 28 ± 8 μm and 200 ± 50 μm, for fibre cells 8 ± 3 μm and 400 ± 100 μm, and for ray parenchyma cells 8 ± 2 μm and 50 ± 20 μm. We also examine pitting present on different cell types. On vessel elements we observe elliptical bordered pits connecting to other vessel elements (with major axis of 2.1 ± 0.7 μm and minor 1.3 ± 0.3 μm) and pits connecting to ray parenchyma (with major axis of 4 ± 2 μm and minor 2.0 ± 0.7 μm). We observe two distinct pit sizes on fibres with circular pits 0.7 ± 0.2 μm in diameter and ellipsoidal pits 1.6 ± 0.4 μm by 1.0 ± 0.3 μm. We do not observe distinct pitting patterns on different fibre types. The various cell and pit measurements obtained generally agree with the limited data available for mature trees, with the exception of vessel element and fibre length, both of which were significantly smaller than reported values.
Ice core evidence for the extent of past atmospheric CO2 change due to iron fertilisation

An extended high‐resolution ice core record of dust deposition over the past 60 ka from Dome C, Antarctica, is presented. The data are in conflict with the idea that changes in aeolian iron input into the Southern Ocean were the major cause for the 80 ppm glacial‐interglacial CO2 increase. During the deglaciation, the CO2 increase shows a linear relationship with the fall of the logarithm of the nss‐Ca2+ flux, a proxy for dust deposition. However, the very large variations in the nss‐Ca2+ flux related to the glacial Antarctic warm events A1 to A4 were accompanied by small CO2 variations only. Our data‐based analysis suggests that decreased Southern Ocean dust deposition caused at most a 20 ppm increase in CO2 at the last glacial‐interglacial transition. Rapid decreases in dust deposition to the northern Pacific could have been responsible for a maximum of 8 ppm in addition.
Ice‐supersaturated regions and subvisible cirrus in the northern midlatitude upper troposphere

Humidity and temperature data from the Measurement of Ozone by Airbus in-service Aircraft (MOZAIC) project have been used to produce maps of probability for ice supersaturation in two 50 hPa thick layers centered around 200 and 250 hPa. As the MOZAIC data cover only international air routes, the resulting maps cover mainly the northern midlatitudes. The data of ice supersaturation have then been correlated with data of frequency of occurrence of subvisible cirrus from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II) satellite instrument. The correlation analysis provided strong indications that subvisible cirrus (SVC) is associated to ice-supersaturated regions (ISSRs), although processes are possible that can decouple SVC from ISSRs. A first trial to derive a global picture of ice supersaturation near the tropopause was performed using a measure of cirrus fractional coverage constructed from meteorological analyses of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and to correlate this with the supersaturation data. The correlation was only moderate (although significant), leading to the tentative conjecture that regions of frequent ice supersaturation are to be expected over the Indonesian archipelago, over the Amazonas basin, and over the northern Pacific between Japan and Canada. A final correlation analysis between the meteorological analysis data and the SVC data indicated that the formation of SVC is generally thermodynamically controlled, with the exception of the northern midlatitude SVC. The composition of the aerosol at the northern midlatitude tropopause is probably variable due to industrial emissions and air traffic. Hence the freezing properties of these particles may become important, which results in a weaker thermodynamic control of SVC formation in the northern midlatitudes.
Incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and outcomes in COVID-19 patients with and without antiviral medications: A retrospective study

Background Acute kidney injury is a complication of COVID-19 and is associated with severity. Despite no specific antiviral treatment strategy, lopinavir/ritonavir and remdesivir have been used. Data on the association between AKI and receiving antiviral agents with outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is scarce. We aimed to determine the incidence of AKI and its outcomes in COVID-19 patients with and without antiviral medications. Methods We conducted a retrospective study on hospitalized adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in a tertiary center. The primary endpoint was determining mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and length of hospitalization affected by AKI development using antiviral agents. The logistic regression method was used to explore the predictive effects of AKI and antiviral therapy on composite outcomes (i.e., mortality, ICU admission, and prolonged hospitalization) in four defined groups by AKI development/not and utilizing antivirals/not. We used IBM SPSS version 24.0 software for statistical analysis. Results Out of 833 COVID-19 patients who were included, 75 patients were treated with antiviral agents and developed AKI. There was a significant difference in the occurrence of AKI and using antiviral medications (p = 0.001). Also, the group using antiviral agents and the development of AKI had the highest rate of preexisting hypertension (p = 0.002). Of note, the group of patients who used antiviral agents and also developed AKI had the most remarkable association with our composite outcome (p<0.0001), especially ICU admission (OR = 15.22; 95% CI: 8.06–27.32). Conclusions The presence of AKI among COVID-19 patients treated with antiviral agents is linked to increased severity and mortality. Therefore, it is imperative to explore preventive measures for AKI development in patients receiving antiviral therapy. Larger-scale randomized controlled trials may be warranted to provide a more comprehensive understanding of these associations.
Syncontractional extension and exhumation of deep crustal rocks in the east Greenland Caledonides

Tectonic models for the North Atlantic Caledonides typically show Baltica being subducted below Laurentia prior to late orogenic collapse and exhumation of deep crustal rocks, conveniently explaining the high‐ and ultrahigh‐pressure provinces in the Scandinavian Caledonides. However, these models offer no tectonic explanation for the deformation and overthickening of the overriding Laurentian plate. Here we document major anatectic midcrustal ultraductile top to the (N)W shear zones in the east Greenland Caledonides that may account for this orogenic thickening. U‐Pb dating of monazite and 40Ar/39Ar dating suggests that high‐grade fabrics (∼ 435–424 Ma) and granites (∼427 and 422 Ma) involved in these zones show that these were contemporaneous with syntectonic granites involved in the Fjord Region Detachment Zone (FRDZ), a major top to the east extensional fault. More than 100 km of top to the NW overthrusting has been documented in the foreland of the orogen, yet we show that rocks in the hanging wall of the thrust were thinned by orogen‐parallel extension rather than thickened during emplacement, thereby exhuming the underlying active midcrustal thrust zones. This is documented by Late Silurian (∼419 Ma) to Early Devonian (∼401 Ma) 40Ar/39Ar‐muscovite cooling dates from rocks uplifted along major normal faults and intrusion of mafic dikes (∼ 419 Ma) into extensional faults. Folding and thrusting in the foreland probably continued well beyond this time, and underthrust high‐grade nappes probably were exhumed in the triangular zone between the thrust faults (west) and the structurally higher FRDZ (east) before final NW vergent thrust emplacement over low‐grade sedimentary rocks. Final cooling of the metamorphic core below closure temperatures for Ar diffusion in K‐teldspar occurred in the early Carboniferous. Major folds previously regarded as having formed during the main Caledonian event at ∼425 Ma may in part be up to 100 m.y. younger. Some of these folds also deform sedimentary rocks associated with collapse basins of Middle Devonian to Carboniferous age.
Evaluation of TOPEX and basin-wide Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere-Tropical Atmosphere Ocean sea surface topographies and derived geostrophic currents

Fields of TOPEX-derived sea level anomalies are validated against and compared with fields of Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere-Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TOGA-TAO) dynamic height anomalies for the first 470 days of the TOPEX/POSEIDON mission. At periods longer than 35 days, TOPEX sea level anomalies compare extremely well with TOGA-TAO dynamic height anomalies throughout the whole basin, with a mean correlation of 0.79 and mean rms differences of 2.6 cm. Zonal geostrophic current anomalies are then derived from both data sets and validated against in situ current meter measurements at the equator. TOPEX-derived geostrophic current anomalies at the equator are in good agreement with in situ currents at 0°–165°E, 0°–170°W, 0°–140°W, and 0°–110°W. TOGA-TAO-derived current anomalies compare well with in situ currents at 0°–110°W, 0°–140°W, and 0°–170°W, but poor comparisons at 0°–165°E are thought to be linked to the absence of instantaneous salinity measurements in the dynamic height calculation. Despite localized discrepancies, basin-wide TOGA-TAO geostrophic currents compare reasonably well with TOPEX-derived geostrophic currents. The discrepancies in the comparison between TOPEX and TAO are shown to be mostly associated with gaps in TOGA-TAO space-time sampling and subsequent gridding procedures.
Sediment-Hosted Copper Deposits of the World: Deposit Models and Database

Descriptive Model of Sediment-Hosted Cu 30b.1 by Dennis P. Cox1 Grade and Tonnage Model of Sediment-Hosted Cu by Dennis P. Cox1 and Donald A. Singer1 Descriptive Model of Reduced-Facies Cu 30b.2 By Dennis P. Cox1 Grade and Tonnage Model of Reduced Facies Cu by Dennis P. Cox1 and Donald A. Singer1 Descriptive Model of Redbed Cu 30b.3, by David A. Lindsey2 and Dennis P. Cox1 Grade and Tonnage Model of Redbed Cu by Dennis P. Cox1 and Donald A. Singer1 Descriptive Model of Revett Cu 30b.4, by Dennis P. Cox1 Grade and Tonnage Model of Revett Cu by Dennis P. Cox1 and Donald A. Singer1
Tectonomagmatic evolution of Cenozoic extension in the North American Cordillera

Summary The spatial and temporal distributions of Cenozoic extension and magmatism in the Cordillera suggest that the onset of major crustal extension at a particular latitude was confined to a relatively narrow belt (<100 km, pre-extension) and followed the onset of intermediate and silicic magmatism by no more than a few million years. Extension began in early Eocene time in southern British Columbia, northern Washington, Idaho and Montana. Farther S, extension began at about the Eocene-Oligocene boundary in the Great Basin and slightly later in the Mojave-Sonora Desert region. The intervening area, at the latitude of Las Vegas, remained quiescent until mid-Miocene time. Compositional and isotopic characteristics of most pre-Miocene magmas are consistent with their containing major components of melted continental crust. In mid-Miocene time, two major changes occurred: widening of the area of extension and the widespread appearance of basaltic magmas. The area affected by extension, from southwestern Montana to the Lake Mead region, widened to several hundred kilometres. By this time extension in southern British Columbia, northern Washington and northern Montana had ceased (probably before the end of the Eocene), and extension S of Lake Mead (except in the Gulf of California) had waned. Regions affected by the broader belt of extension during late Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary time experienced basaltic magmatism, which began along a central rift zone in the northern part of the region, and which had within a few million years spread to include most of the region; later basaltic activity has tended to concentrate in restricted zones, especially near the margins of the extended area. We recognize a correlation between the amount of earlier crustal thickening and Cenozoic extension, and between the length of time after shortening but before extension and the degree to which a given region was intruded by Late Cretaceous plutons. The localization of extension in areas of previous crustal thickening and the dependence of the timing of extension on the thermal state of the overthickened crust is consistent with a simple thermal-mechanical model developed in a companion paper (Sonder et al.). This raises the possibility that stresses inherent in the North American Plate dominated over plate-interaction forces as controls of the Cenozoic tectonomagmatic evolution of the North American Cordillera, especially in its earlier stages.
Evolution of microstructure and melt topology in partially molten granitic mylonite: Implications for rheology of felsic middle crust

[1] The deformation study of midcrustal porphyritic granite reveals exceptionally high strain intensities of feldspar aggregates compared to stronger quartz. Three types of microstructures corresponding to evolutionary stages of deformed granite were recognized: (1) the metagranite marked by viscous flow of plagioclase around strong alkali feldspar and quartz, (2) quartz augen orthogneiss characterized by development of banded mylonitic structure of recrystallized plagioclase and K-feldspar surrounding augens of quartz, and (3) banded mylonite characterized by alternation of quartz ribbons and mixed aggregates of feldspars and quartz. The original weakening of alkali feldspar is achieved by decomposition into albite chains and K-feldspar resulting from a heterogeneous nucleation process. The subsequent collapse of alkaline feldspar and development of monomineralic layering is attributed to the onset of syn-deformational dehydration melting of Mu-Bi layers associated with production of ∼2% melt. The final deformation stage is marked by mixing of feldspars which is explained by higher melt production due to introduction of external water. An already small amount of melt is responsible for extreme weakening of the feldspar because of Melt Connectivity Threshold effect triggering grain boundary sliding deformation mechanisms. The grain boundary sliding controls diffusion creep at small melt fraction and evolves to particulate flow at high melt fractions. Strong quartz shows a dislocation creep deformation mechanism throughout the whole deformation history marked by variations in the activity of the slip systems, which are attributed to variations in stress and strain rate partitioning with regard to changing rheological properties of the deforming feldspars.
Bed load transport in turbulent flow at the grain scale: Experiments and modeling

[1] We report an experimental investigation of the motion of bed load particles under steady and spatially uniform turbulent flow above a flat sediment bed of uniform grain size. Using a high-speed video imaging system, we recorded the trajectories of the moving particles and measured their velocity and the length and duration of their flights, as well as the surface density of the moving particles. Our observations show that entrained particles exhibit intermittent motion composed of the succession of periods of “flight” and periods of rest. During one flight, a particle may go through phases of reptation, during which it moves in nearly persistent contact with the rough bed, and phases of saltation, during which it travels sufficiently high above the bed to reach high velocities. The distributions of longitudinal and transverse particle velocities obey a decreasing exponential and a Gaussian law, respectively. Interestingly, these observations are similar to those previously reported for viscous flows. The experimental results presented here support the erosion-deposition model of Charru (2006) and allow the calibration of the involved coefficients. In particular, noting τ*, the Shields number, and τ*c, the threshold Shields number, we find that (1) the surface density of moving particles increases linearly with τ* − τ*c; (2) the average particle velocity increases linearly with τ*1/2 − τ*c1/2, with a finite nonzero value at the threshold; (3) the flight duration scales with a characteristic settling time with no significant dependence on either τ* or the settling Reynolds number; and (4) the flight length increases linearly with τ*1/2 − τ*c1/2. The results presented in this paper should provide a valuable physical framework to describe bed form development in turbulent flows.
Saúde e saneamento no Brasil

Foi significativa ao longo das ultimas duas decadas, no Brasil, a reducao da mortalidade infantil associada as doencas de veiculacao hidrica. Usando um modelo de estrutura epidemiologica, nosso estudo demonstra que essa reducao foi alcancada com a melhoria na cobertura dos servicos de saneamento e tambem devido ao acesso aos servicos de educacao e saude. Com base nos resultados econometricos estimamos, para cada tipo de servico, o custo medio de salvar uma vida. Considerando-se esses custos, a continua reducao do analfabetismo garante a alternativa mais barata para baixar mais ainda a incidencia desse tipo de mortalidade. Por outro lado, gastos defensivos de saude apresentam custos quase equivalentes aos respectivos custos relacionados com a expansao dos servicos de saneamento, quando se trata da mesma magnitude de reducao dessa taxa de mortalidade.
SOIL CHARACTERISTICS AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION POTENTIALS OF VEGETATION IN DEGRADED HILLS OF CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH

The impacts of tree and horticultural plantations, and grassland on soil characteristics in the degraded hills of Chittagong District, Bangladesh are reported on this paper. The carbon sequestration potential and the present value of carbon revenue flow were also estimated for the degraded hills of Chittagong using A. auriculiformis plantations for the purpose. The results showed that the change of land use from degraded hill to vegetation cover had altered the physico‐chemical characteristics of soil in the study area. The organic carbon concentration and storage under vegetated land uses were significantly (p < 0·05) higher than those in the degraded hill areas. The results also showed that about 17 million megagram carbon (MgC) could be sequestered in the degraded hill areas of Chittagong District by planting A. auriculiformis trees in a 15‐year rotation. The present value of revenue flow generated by this sequestration at the current international market carbon price and assuming a realistic market interest rate could be as high as US$ 326 million. The net present value of the revenue stream is expected to be positive. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
High‐ and low‐resolution images of the Earth's mantle: Implications of different approaches to tomographic modeling

Recently published images of the Earth's mantle are characterized by a nominal resolution much higher than that used in previous studies, where substantially different techniques were employed. The agreement between such “high-resolution” and “low-resolution” images often seems very poor. In an attempt to determine the reason for this discrepancy, we analyze how the choice of inversion algorithm (exact or iterative), regularization (norm or roughness minimization), and parameterization (spherical harmonics up to a variable degree, blocks) affects a tomographic model. We also investigate the effects of the varying density of the data coverage on the final solution. In our experiments we employ two seismic data sets: Rayleigh wave phase velocity at 75 s period and P wave travel times. We construct a new model of P velocity in the mantle (BDP98) based on the International Seismological Center bulletins 1964–1992. We use our findings in an evaluation of recent mantle models, including our own, focusing on similarities and discrepancies between models of different nominal resolution. In all the models the long-wavelength component is the most stable. However, consistent high-resolution details, probably corresponding to features of the real Earth, are also seen. In general, we conclude that most of the differences between existing tomographic models derive from the arbitrary choices made in the process of defining and solving the inverse problem, rather than from actual errors or approximations.
Weather variability and food consumption: Evidence from rural Uganda

This multidisciplinary study considers the impact of short-term weather variations on food consumption of 488 rural households in Uganda. We combine World bank LSMS households panel data with data on rainfall, number of rainy days, maximum and minimum temperatures in the period 2005/06-2009/10. Triangulating the findings of the econometric model with qualitative interviews and the analysis of the agricultural sector recent developments, we argue that households are involved in ex-ante smoothing strategies while land and reduction of non-consumption expenditures seem to partially offset adverse rainfall variations.
Effect of Wettability on Waterflood Recovery for Crude-Oil/Brine/Rock Systems

This paper presents a definitive account of the effect of wettability on oil recovery from Berea sandstone based on the results of more than 50 slow-rate laboratory waterfloods. Closely reproducible wettability conditions and waterflood recoveries were obtained with wettability, depending on the crude oil, brine composition, aging temperature, and initial water saturation. Maximum oil recovery by waterflooding was obtained at very weakly water-wet conditions from shortly after breakthrough up to discontinuation of the test at 20 PV of water injected. In most of the tests, coproduction of oil and water continued long after breakthrough.