Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Angiotensin II receptor inhibition ameliorates liver fibrosis and enhances hepatocellular carcinoma infiltration by effector T cells

Significance Immune checkpoint inhibitors are used in HCC treatment, but overall response rates for single-agent PD-1/PD-L1 blockers have remained stubbornly low. Using a mouse model of NASH-driven HCC, we show that cotreatment with the safe and inexpensive angiotensin II receptor inhibitor losartan substantially enhanced anti-PD-1-triggered HCC regression. Although losartan did not potentiate the reinvigoration of exhausted CD8+ T cells, it considerably enhanced their intratumoral invasion, which we postulated to be compromised by peritumoral fibrosis. Indeed, the beneficial effect of losartan correlated with inhibition of TGF-β signaling and collagen deposition, and depletion of immunosuppressive fibroblasts. Losartan should be evaluated for its adjuvant activity in HCC patients undergoing PD-1/PD-L1 blocking therapy.
Catastrophic Rainfall and Flooding in Texas

Abstract Heavy rainfall and flooding occurred on the Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic province of southeastern Texas in October 1994 and caused 22 deaths and more than $1 billion in damages. Record flooding occurred in the 1085 km2 Spring Creek catchment, which received peak rainfall accumulations of more than 500 mm during a 12-h period. Rainfall and flooding of greater magnitude occurred 100 km northeast of Spring Creek over Kickapoo Creek. The peak discharge of 2400 m3 s−1 in Kickapoo Creek at a drainage area of 148 km2 places the event just below the Texas and United States envelope curve of peak discharge. Peak rainfall accumulations in Kickapoo Creek at time intervals from 15 min to 24 h approached Texas and United States record values. The storms that resulted in flooding in Spring Creek and Kickapoo Creek were two components of one mesoscale convective system. The Spring Creek and Kickapoo Creek storms exhibited contrasts in storm structure, evolution, and motion that are of fundamental importance.
Parental Smartphone Use and Parent-Child interactions During The Covid-19 Pandemic

PARENTAL SMARTPHONE USE AND PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Giana LaGioia, M.S. Department of Family and Consumer Sciences Northern Illinois University, 2022 Melissa Clucas Walter, Director This study explored parental smartphone usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as examined parents’ perceptions of technology interference in interactions with their young children, ages 0-5. The COVD-19 pandemic brought on far-reaching consequences for many children and families across the United States. Technology quickly began to play an important role during the pandemic to obtain public health information, promote coping, and provide social support. However, parents using a mobile device can cause them to become less responsive while in the presence of their child. Current studies have not adequately addressed parental smartphone usage and parent-child interactions during the pandemic. Using a cross-sectional design, this study surveyed a total of 141 parents with young children, ages 0-5, to specifically look at: 1) How were parents using mobile devices during the pandemic? 2) Did parents perceive technoference in their interactions with their young children? 3) Is there a relationship between parents’ perceived stress and the frequency of technoference in their interactions with their young children? Results found that on average most parents were using their devices during the pandemic for social media, text messaging, and/or work purposes. We were able to also examine those parents disagreed or “somewhat disagreed” that technology was disrupting their thoughts during parent-child interactions and there was a slight correlation between parent’s stress level
Reinterpretation of the Cambrian ‘Bryozoan' Pywackia as an Octocoral

Abstract Pywackia baileyi Landing in Landing et al., 2010, from the upper Cambrian Yudachica Member of Oaxaca State, southern Mexico, consists of small, phosphatic, proximally tapering cylindrical rods covered by shallow polygonal calices. The bryozoan-like morphology of this fossil prompted its interpretation as the first bryozoan known from the Cambrian. However, restudy of some of the original material, employing scanning electron microscopy for the first time, questions the assignment of Pywackia to the Bryozoa. Striking similarities between Pywackia and the modern pennatulacean octocoral Lituaria lead to an alternative hypothesis interpreting Pywackia an early fossil octocoral. While Pywackia is probably not a true pennatulacean, a group with a definitive fossil record stretching back only to the Late Cretaceous, it can be envisaged as having had a similar skeletal structure and ecology to Lituaria, the rods representing mineralized axes of tiny colonies that lived with their proximal ends buried in the sediment and distal ends covered by feeding polyps. Landing et al. (2010) considered the phosphatic composition of Pywackia specimens to be the result of diagenetic replacement, but the evidence is equivocal. If Pywackia had a primary phosphatic skeleton, this would support the hypothesized existence of phosphatic biomineralization early in the evolutionary history of Cnidaria, as well as providing further evidence that Pywackia is not a bryozoan.
Authenticity on the Ground: Engaging the Past in a California Ghost Town

This qualitative study explores how the concept of authenticity is constructed, experienced and employed by visitors and staff in the provocative landscape of the ghost town of Bodie, California. Bodie State Historic Park, once a booming gold-mining town, now greets some two hundred thousand tourists annually and is widely applauded for its authenticity. In this paper, I explore the meaning of this term in its ghost-town context: while boom-town Bodie was a bustling commercial center, ghost-town Bodie appears abandoned and devoid of commercial activity. Thus, authenticity in a ghost town is not tied to the accuracy with which it represents its past. Yet a version of Bodie's past is what both visitors and staff experience: they employ Bodie's authenticity to engage with the mythic West, a romanticized version of the Anglo-American past that upholds dominant contemporary Anglo-American values. Bodie's false-fronted facades and ramshackle miners' cabins call forth these images, familiar to visitors from movi.
A method to enhance the CO 2 storage capacity of pyroxenitic rocks

Investigation of new efficient pathways for CO 2 sequestration is of great significance for the mitigation of climate change. Ultramafic rocks are considered among the most promising lithotypes for the safe storage of CO 2 via mineral carbonation. This paper investigates a powerful method for the optimization of the ex situ carbonation of pyroxenitic rocks, which comprise part of ultramafic lithologies occurring in ophiolite complexes. The ball milling process was applied to a sample of pyroxenite from the Troodos ophiolite (Cyprus) for the first time, in order to create novel nanomaterials with enhanced CO 2 storage capacity. The goal was to accelerate the kinetics of rock‐fluid reactions during the carbonation process. The starting rock material and the ball‐milled samples were characterized using a variety of methodologies. The experimental results imply that only a few hours of wet ball milling with ethanol as process control agent can substantially increase the CO 2 storage capacity of pyroxenites. Through temperature‐programmed desorption of CO 2 (CO 2 ‐TPD) experiments, we show that the optimum milling conditions are 4 h of ball milling with 50 wt% ethanol, leading to an increase of the CO 2 uptake of the studied rock material by 41 times. This notable increase designates that pyroxenites are very promising lithologies for CO 2 storage via ex situ carbonation, and that ball milling can be an effective preparation technique for this process, providing an efficient and secure carbon storage solution. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Social impact assessments of large dams throughout the world: lessons learned over two decades

The dams reviewed in this paper — Three Gorges in China, Ilisu in Turkey and Urra in Colombia — are controversial and the assessment of their social impacts represents a challenge. This paper emphasizes the complexity of the institutional setting and social impacts of these projects as well as the specific problems raised by their assessment, which result from the magnitude, intensity and visibility of these impacts. The paper draws lessons from these projects on SIA methods, impact perception, the analysis of project alternatives, the design of mitigation and compensation measures, social monitoring and follow-up, as well as ethical boundaries.
Genetic determinants of human phenotypes

C-C chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is the main HIV co-receptor a ﬀ ecting susceptibility and disease course. In people living with HIV (PLHIV), CCR5 surface expression is a ﬀ ected by various factors, including the use of long-term antiretroviral treatment (ART), cell di ﬀ erentiation stage, genetics, and epigenetics. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping analysis was performed to assess genetic variants associated with CCR5 expression on circulating immune cells in 209 PLHIV using ART and 304 healthy controls, all of Western European ancestry. The percentage of CCR5+ cells and CCR5 mean ﬂuorescence intensity (MFI) were assessed by ﬂow cytometry in monocytes and twelve CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets. Interestingly, rs60939770, which is not in linkage disequilibrium with CCR5d32 , was related to the proportion of CCR5+ memory T regulatory cells, both in PLHIV and healthy controls. Two genome-wide signiﬁcant loci, in linkage equilibrium with CCR5d32 , were found to be associated with CCR5 MFI of multiple subsets of mostly di ﬀ erentiated memory T cells in PLHIV and healthy controls. The expression of nearby chemokines receptors ( CCR1 , CCR2 , CCR3 ), which are part of the same topologically associating domain, were also associated by these genetic variants. Furthermore, we show that the modulation of CCR5 surface expression through genetic variants are also correlated the production of inﬂammatory mediators, including monocyte-and lymphocyte-derived cytokines as well as CCL4 and IL-8. Our data indicate that the genetic regulation of CCR5 expression is cell-speciﬁc, and a ﬀ ects the production of inﬂammatory mediators, also by inﬂuencing the expression of nearby genes.
Geological and palynological characterization of a river beach in Portugal for forensic purposes

Abstract Currently, it is important to use a combination of independent analytical techniques in order to reliably characterize between different samples of geological trace evidence in criminal investigations. Areínho beach, in the town of Vila Nova de Gaia (northern Portugal), is located on the southern bank of the Douro River. Although isolated, it is a very busy area during the summer and other seasons due to its popular water sports. The geology of the area is complex, with numerous different outcrops. In addition, there is a considerable variety of vegetation in the region, and many materials are transported by the Douro River and deposited in the area. In order to characterize this beach for forensic purposes (both criminal and environmental), sediment samples were collected and analysed using a combination of geological techniques, namely colour, particle size distribution and mineralogy. These geological techniques were combined with a palynological assessment of the sediment samples. In addition, the surrounding vegetation was characterized and seasonal vegetation surveys were carried out. In this study, the results obtained revealed homogeneous data throughout the profile in all the properties analysed. This research demonstrated that the combination of different, independent techniques used to characterize sediments from this river beach has the potential to contribute substantially to future forensic investigations.
Wind as an Ecological Agent at Treelines in North America, the Alps, and the European Subarctic

The altitudinal treeline ecotone is a windy environment where wind velocities and directions are controlled by local mountain topography and also by the distribution pattern and structures of tree stands. Wind may override the role of heat deficiency in determining treeline position, spatial pattern, ecological conditions, and tree growth. Regular strong permanent winds restrict tree height and usually cause asymmetric and suppressed growth forms that are common in the treeline ecotone. Apart from direct physiological and mechanical effects on trees and ground vegetation, wind also disperses seeds, relocates snow, and locally erodes soils in the treeline ecotone. Wind effects must be considered an important factor that may delay or even preclude establishment of seedling trees on wind-swept terrain. Discussions of a potential climatically driven upward shift of the treeline at the landscape and smaller scales should give greater attention to the varying wind effects because warming cannot compensate for these other factors. The relative importance of microsite facilitation providing shelter from the wind will increase in parallel with the upslope migration of the tree limit into a much windier environment.
Occurrence of a ferrous, trioctahedral smectite in Recent sediments of Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea

Abstract A trioctahedral, ferrous smectite has been located in the uppermost deposits of Atlantis II Deep, SW basin, Red Sea. This clay is very unstable when removed from its environment of formation and, for example, oxidizes during desiccation under laboratory conditions. Only X-ray transmission diffraction study of the mud itself demonstrates the trioctahedral character of the clay. Electron-optical investigation shows that oxidation within the octahedral sheet creates a juxtaposition of dioctahedral and trioctahedral sub-lattices in the same particle. Ferrous smectite authigenesis is located near the hydrothermal spring outlets of the Atlantis II Deep.
An introduction to `upside-down' remote sensing

Over the last decade, a number of applications have been developed which utilize ground-based hemispherical photography. The collection of such imagery can be described as `upside-down' remote sensing as, instead of viewing the Earth from a platform in the sky, techniques are being employed to view the sky from the Earth. This paper reviews the current theory and potential applications of `upside-down' remote sensing across the electromagnetic spectrum. To date, apparatus has been developed to detect various wavelengths between ultraviolet and infrared. Potential applications using these wavelengths are numerous and currently span urban climatology, forest climatology and transportation.
Modeling Studies of Wind and Thermohaline Forcing on the California Current System

Abstract : A high-resolution, multi-level, primitive equation model is initialized with climatological data to study the combined effects of wind and thermohaline forcing on the ocean circulation of the California Current System (CCS). The ocean circulation is generated by the model using a combination of climatological wind stress and thermohaline forcing. In the first experiment, the effects of thermohaline forcing alone are evaluated, in the second experiment, previously conducted, the effects of wind forcing are isolated, while in the third experiment, the combined effects of wind and thermohaline forcing are looked at. The results from the combined experiment show that even though the effects of wind forcing dominate the CCS, the additional effects of the thermohaline forcing results in the following: the seasonal development of a poleward surface current and an equatorward undercurrent in the poleward end of the model region; an onshore geostrophic component, which results in a temperature front and stronger surface and subsurface currents between Cape Mendocino and Point Arena; and a region of maximum eddy kinetic energy inshore of tilde 125 deg W between Cape Mendocino and Point Arena, associated with the temperature front. These model simulations are qualitatively similar to recent hydrographic, altimetric, drifter, and moored observations of the CCS.
Geometry of navigation identifies genetic-risk and clinical Alzheimer's disease

Recent research evidence demonstrates that the inability to orient oneself and navigate space is an early indicator of Alzheimer's Disease. The video game Sea Hero Quest (SHQ) was designed to assess the players' navigation ability, and several research works analysed the SHQ data using simple metrics such as length and time of navigation paths. Expanding these analyses, we propose new performance metrics that capture the geometry of paths, and analyse datasets of more than 60,000 navigators. The metrics identify players who failed the navigation task, the dementia patients, and carriers of the at-risk allele of the Apolipoprotein-E [APOE]. Furthermore the metrics detect weak navigation ability when only a fraction of navigation paths are used, with superior performance to baseline methods. Our findings demonstrate that the proposed performance metrics pave the way to a comprehensive pre-clinical screening toolbox for Alzheimer's Disease.
Influence of slope geometry and nail parameters on the stability of soil-nailed slopes

Abstract Soil nailing is one of the in-situ soil reinforcement techniques that have been used for the past four decades. The stability of a soil-nailed slope is closely related to slope geometry and nail parameters. This paper presents a parametric study on various factors influencing the overall stability of soil-nailed slopes. Stability analysis was performed to study the effect of slope geometry, nail parameters and effect of rising water surface within the slope on the overall stability of soil-nailed slopes. The stability of soil-nailed slopes is considered in terms of a factor of safety. The slope geometry varied for the present study includes slope inclination and back slope inclination while the nail parameters include nail inclination, nail length, nail length pattern, and nail layout (horizontal spacing). The study shows that with horizontal back slopes, the optimal nail inclination (αopt) increases with the decrease in slope inclination but it increases with an increase in back slope inclination. Two nail length patterns: Pattern 1, nail length decreasing with depth of the slope and Pattern 2, nail length increasing with depth of the slope have been studied. Pattern 1 is found to be effective for a 10.2 m high slope whereas Pattern 2 is found to be effective for 7.2 m high slope. Rising water surface within the slope, increase in horizontal spacing and decrease in length of the nail reduce the overall stability of a soil-nailed slope. Contribution of nails to the overall stability of soil-nailed slopes is different and found to be dependent on their location and inclination with respect to the slip surface.
Seasonal dependence of Interball flux transfer events

J. Raeder (2006) presented the results of a global magnetohydrodynamic simulation indicating that flux transfer events (FTEs) form solely in the winter hemisphere and move poleward in the direction of the background magnetosheath flow during periods of strongly southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation. This paper presents results from a statistical survey of flux transfer FTEs observed on the mid‐latitude northern and southern magnetopause by the magnetometer on the Interball‐1 spacecraft over the course of its five‐year mission from 1995 to 1999. Interball‐1 observations confirm that FTEs exhibit a strong tendency to occur in the winter hemisphere.
Re-Embedding Situatedness: The Importance of Power Relations in Learning Theory

This paper critically addresses the coherence, reception, and dissemination of "situated learning theory" (Lave and Wenger 1991). Situated learning theory commends a conceptualization of the process of learning that, in offering an alternative to cognitive theories, departs radically from the received body of knowledge on learning in organizations. The paper shows how elements of situated learning theory have been selectively adopted to fertilize or extend the established terrain of organizational learning. In this process, we argue, Lave and Wenger's embryonic appreciation of power relations as media of learning is displaced by a managerial preoccupation with harnessing (reified) "communities of practice" to the fulfillment of (reified) corporate objectives. We illustrate our argument by reference to Orr's (1990, 1996) study of photocopier technicians, which is very widely cited as an example of the "new," situated conceptualization of learning in communities of practice. We commend a revitalization of situated learning theory in which learning practices are understood to be enabled and constrained by their embeddedness in relations of power; and, more specifically, by the unstable institutionalization of power relations within capitalist work organizations.
Water transport through the unsaturated zone of the Middle Chalk: a case study from Fleam Dyke lysimeter

Abstract The role of fractures in transporting water in the unsaturated zone of the Chalk has been a source of controversy for many years. There is clearly a potential for fractures to transport water and contaminants rapidly to the saturated zone, although direct observations are rare. The evidence from well hydrographs, solute profiles and soil water measurements is ambiguous concerning the importance of by-pass flow. This paper examines drainage data from several years’ operation of a 5 m cube undisturbed monolith lysimeter at Fleam Dyke, Cambridgeshire, for evidence of by-pass flow and investigates the factors responsible for its onset. Evidence from measurements of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the Chalk at the site and in situ measurements of soil water are also presented. Both the lysimeter and soil water observations agree that flow through fractures accounts for approximately 30% of the total drainage from this site, significantly higher than has been inferred at other Chalk sites. By-pass flow was observed to occur above a threshold of approximately −50 cm H2O matric potential, or above a flow rate of approximately 1 mm day−1. During periods of no soil water deficit, about 50% of drainage occurred via fractures. In general, there was a delay of three or four days between rainfally and drainage at the base of the lysimeter. On once occasion, intense summer rainfall satisfied the existing soil moisture deficit and initiated fracture flow, the peak in drainage through the lysimeter occurring within 24 hours. Drainage from the lysimeter was consistently higher than MORECS estimates of hydrologically effective precipitation during the period after the onset of soil water deficits.