Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial distributions of secondary organic aerosols from isoprene, monoterpenes, β‐caryophyllene, and aromatics over China during summer

Filter‐based particle samples were simultaneously collected at 14 sites across 6 regions of China during the summer of 2012. These filters were analyzed for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers from biogenic precursors (isoprene, monoterpenes, and β‐caryophyllene) and anthropogenic aromatics. The sum of all SOA tracers ranged from 29.9 to 371 ng m−3 with the majority from isoprene (123 ± 78.8 ng m−3), followed by monoterpenes (10.5 ± 6.64 ng m−3), β‐caryophyllene (5.07 ± 3.99 ng m−3), and aromatics (2.90 ± 1.52 ng m−3). The highest levels of biogenic SOA tracers were observed in East China, whereas the highest concentrations of the aromatic SOA tracer, 2,3‐dihydroxy‐4‐oxopentanoic acid (DHOPA), occurred in North China. All biogenic SOA tracers exhibited positive correlations with temperature, most likely resulting from enhanced biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emissions and photochemistry in high‐temperature regions. Among the isoprene SOA tracers, the low‐NOx products 2‐methyltetrols were the largest by mass concentration. However, at certain urban sites, the contribution of the high‐NOx product 2‐methylglyceric acid was significantly higher, implying a greater influence of NOx on isoprene SOA formation in urban areas. For the monoterpene SOA tracers, the ratio of the first‐generation products (cis‐pinonic acid plus pinic acid) to the high‐generation product (3‐methyl‐1,2,3‐butanetricarboxylic acid) exhibited a negative correlation with the amount of high‐generation products, indicating that this ratio could serve as an indicator of the aging of monoterpene SOA. The ratio ranged from 0.89 to 21.0, with an average of 7.00 ± 6.02, among the observation sites, suggesting that monoterpene SOA was generally fresh over China during the summer. As a typical anthropogenic SOA tracer, DHOPA exhibited higher levels at urban sites than at remote sites. These SOA tracers were further used to attribute SOA origins via the SOA‐tracer method. The total concentrations of secondary organic carbon (SOC) and SOA were estimated to be in the range of 0.37 to 2.47 μgC m−3 and 0.81 to 5.44 µg m−3, respectively, with the highest levels observed in the eastern regions of China. Isoprene (46 ± 14%) and aromatics (27 ± 8%) were the two major contributors to SOC in every region. In North China, aromatics were the largest SOA contributor. Our ground‐based observations suggest that anthropogenic aromatics are important SOA precursors in China.
Westward-propagating SST Anomaly Features in the Sargasso Sea, 1982–88

Abstract Sea surface temperature (Ts) maps of the region from 59.5° to 75.5°W, 22.5° to 33.5°N containing the western North Atlantic Subtropical Convergence Zone (STCZ) were derived from AVHRR/2 images. The 7- year mean annual cycle was removed and the maps were filtered in space and time to represent anomaly variability with wavelengths ≥ 220 km and periods ≥ 50 days. Warm and cold anomaly features were observed cast of 71°W between 26° and 32°N that propagated westward at 3–4 km day−1 and that occasionally exceeded ±1°C in amplitude. They are generally strong and persistent from fall to spring and are only marginally detectable during summer. During 1981–82, 1982–83, and 1985–86, individual features could be followed through the entire fall-spring interval. During 1983–84,1986–87,and 1987–88,they could typically be followed for 2–4 months, and during 1984–85, for only 1–2 months. The features were anisotropic during all fall-spring intervals except 1986–87, and they had characteristic wavelengths of ∼80.
Screen Time at 6 Years Old and Visual Function in Early Adolescence

Excessive screen time has been linked to adverse health outcomes in children, including vision-related problems such as myopia. However, very few studies have evaluated the effect of moderate screen exposure on the development of visual functions. This study aimed to examine the association between screen time during middle childhood and color discrimination, contrast sensitivity, and short-range visual acuity in 12-year-old children (n = 305) from the mother–child PELAGIE cohort (France) for the whole sample and for boys and girls separately. Visual functions were assessed using the Freiburg Acuity and Contrast Test and an adapted version of the Cambridge Color Test. Screen exposure was documented using a parent self-report questionnaire. Regression models showed that screen exposure at 6 years of age was significantly associated with higher contrast sensitivity across the entire sample at 12 years of age. However, when controlling for covariates, this association remained statistically significant in girls only. Sex-stratified analyses also showed that moderate screen exposure was linked to improved tritan-axis color vision in boys only. These findings suggest that moderate screen exposure in middle childhood is not harmful to visual function development and as such, provide new insights into the impact of digital technology on children’s visual health and development.
Modern carbonate sedimentary facies on the outer shelf and slope around New Caledonia

We investigated surface carbonate sediments at 33 sites on the outer shelf and slope around New Caledonia (163°–167°E, 20°–23°S), at water depths of 75–720 m. Four carbonate sedimentary facies are recognized on the basis of sediment size fractions and predominant constituents: Facies 1, encrusted grains (rhodoliths and macroids), bryozoa, and benthic foraminifera; Facies 2, bryozoa, benthic foraminifera, and mud; Facies 3, plankton and mud; and Facies 4, ahermatypic corals. Facies distributions were constrained primarily by water depth, and secondarily by local seafloor geomorphology that, in some areas, allows transport of sediments to deeper water. Because the dominant facies (Facies 1 and 3), as well as lagoon and basin facies, are distributed worldwide at similar latitudes, facies around New Caledonia can be considered as representative of carbonate sedimentary facies distributed in tropical–subtropical regions.
Nutrition Value of Baked Meat Products Fortified with Lyophilized Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus undatus)

This study evaluates the nutritional value of a baked pork meat product containing lyophilized dragon fruit pulp. The selected nutritional properties of a baked pork meat product fortified with lyophilized Hylocereus undatus pulp in doses of 0.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%, and 4% were evaluated. For this assessment, changes in the basic chemical composition of the products, the content of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and phosphorus, and the profile of fatty acids were considered. Additionally, characteristics typical for meat products, such as pH, water activity, oxidation-reduction potential or thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and antioxidant properties of the product during 21 days of refrigerated storage, were assessed. The findings indicate that the use of higher doses of lyophilizate, i.e., in the amounts of 2.5% and 4%, significantly (p < 0.05) increases the nutritional value of meat products, leading to an increase in the concentration of essential minerals important for the proper functioning of the human body (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron). These changes occurred without affecting the basic chemical composition (except for an increase in the content of fat and carbohydrates in the sample with the addition of 4% lyophilizate). The introduction of the fortification treatment improved the fatty acid profile, resulting in an increase in the content of C14:0, C16:0, C20:0, and C20:5n3. In addition, in the variant with a 4% dosage, there was an increased content of C8:0, C10:0, C16:1n7, C18:0, C18:1n9C + C18:1n9t, and C18:2n6C + C18:2n6t, C18:3n3 (alpha), C20:1n15, and C20:1n9. In this particular variant, an increase in saturated-, monounsaturated-, and polyunsaturated fatty acids was also observed, which was associated with an increased level of TBARS in meat products. However, the increase in the dose of lyophilizate caused an increase in the antiradical effect of meat extracts. Based on the results obtained, it seems reasonable to use a plant additive in the form of lyophilized dragon fruit pulp in the amount of 4.0% in the production of pork meat products.
Mei-Gin Formula Ameliorates Obesity through Lipolysis, Fatty Oxidation, and Thermogenesis in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats

Obesity is a metabolic dysfunction characterized by excessive body fat deposition as a consequence of an energy imbalance. Novel therapeutic strategies have emerged that are safe and have comparatively low side effects for obesity treatment. Functional foods and nutraceuticals have recently received a great deal of attention because of their components with the properties of antimetabolic syndrome. Based on our previous in vitro and in vivo investigations on anti-adipogenesis activity and improved body fat accumulation in serials, the combination of three ingredients (including bainiku-ekisu, black garlic, and Mesona procumbens Hemsl), comprising the Mei-Gin formula (MGF), was eventually selected as a novel inhibitor that exhibited preventive effects against obesity. Herein, we verify the anti-obesity effects of MGF in obese rats induced by a high-fat diet and discuss the potential molecular mechanisms underlying obesity development. Oral administration of MGF significantly suppressed the final body weight, weight change, energy and water intake, subcutaneous and visceral fat mass, liver weight, hepatic total lipids and triglycerides (TG), and serum levels of TG, triglycerides (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), alanine transaminase (AST), uric acid, and ketone bodies and augmented fecal total lipids, TG, and cholesterol excretion in the high-dose MGF-supplemented groups. Furthermore, the corresponding lipid metabolic pathways revealed that MGF supplementation effectively increased lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation gene expression and attenuated fatty acid synthesis gene expression in the white adipose tissue (WAT) and liver and it also increased mitochondrial activation and thermogenic gene expression in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) of rats with obesity induced by a high-fat diet (HFD). These results demonstrate that the intake of MGF can be beneficial for the suppression of HFD-induced obesity in rats through the lipolysis, fatty oxidation, and thermogenesis pathway. In conclusion, these results demonstrate the anti-obesity efficacy of MGF in vivo and suggest that MGF may act as a potential therapeutic agent against obesity.
Last Remnants of Cenozoic Vegetation and Organic‐Walled Phytoplankton in the Antarctic Peninsula's Icehouse World

ecton pecia opyr 10.102 A late Oligocene, a middle Miocene, and two adjacent Pliocene sections were sampled off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in shelf sediments on the Joinville Plateau, Weddell Sea. Drilling was conducted from the research vessel icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer during the 2006 SHALDRIL campaign. The drill holes recovered sediment cores that each span a short interval of time because of extensive sea ice constraints during drilling. Despite this limitation, the palynomorphs extracted from these sediments help constrain the region’s past environmental conditions during three periods of the “icehouse” world and confirm that tundra vegetation persisted in the Antarctic Peninsula up to at least 12.8 Ma. The terrestrial palynological data reflect southern beech and conifer-dominated woodlands and tundra during the Oligocene, with reduction to pockets of tundra with probably stunted beech and podocarp conifers by the middle Miocene. During both the Oligocene and the Miocene, the phytoplankton were dominated by small sea ice-tolerant opportunistic species taking advantage of the migration of most dinoflagellate cysts to more hospitable parts of the ocean. By the Pliocene, only limited pockets of vegetation may have existed.
Effectiveness of Dry Needling and Ischaemic Trigger Point Compression of the Levator Scapulae in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain: A Short-Term Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Chronic neck pain (CNP) may be associated with latent myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the levator scapulae (LS), which can be treated with ischemic compression (IC) and dry needling (DN). Variables and elastography changes are evaluated to compare the short-term efficacy of two treatments with DN. Methods: A randomized clinical trial is conducted with 80 participants in two groups: the DN group (n = 40) and IC group (n = 40). The duration is 12 weeks, and mechanical heterogeneity index, pressure pain threshold (PPT), and pain intensity are measured at baseline, immediately after, 48 h after, and one week after treatment. Results: Statistically significant changes were immediately observed between the two groups: PPT decreased in the DN group (p = 0.05), while it increased in the IC group. At 48 h and one week after treatment, these values increased in the DN group and remained higher than in the IC group. The heterogeneity index improved in both groups but more significantly in the DN group than in the IC group. Conclusions: In subjects with CNP who had latent plus hyperalgesic MTrPs in the LS muscle, DN outperformed IC in PPT, pain intensity, and mechanical heterogeneity index at 48 h and one week after initiating therapy.
Inflammation-Involved Proteins in Blood Serum of Cataract Patients—A Preliminary Study

Approximately 50% of all global blindness is caused by cataract in adults aged ≥50 years. The mechanisms of the disease are most arguably related to a redox imbalance and inflammation; therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the processes associated with inflammation in cataract patients. Twenty-four patients aged 22–60 years (62.5% females) participated in the study, with 33 controls aged 28–60 years (66.7% females). Venous blood serum of the subjects was examined for alpha 1-antitrypsin, as well as selected lysosomal enzymes and adipokines. The activities of lysosomal enzymes, as well as the activity of alpha 1-antitrypsin and the concentrations of c-reactive protein and leptin, were similar in the patients versus the controls. The concentrations of interleukin 6 and resistin were lower, in turn, whereas omentin-1 and adiponectin were higher. Moreover, the study revealed the existence of many linear relationships between the parameters, including multiple linear regression, especially gender-wise. No systemic inflammation was probably noted in the cataract patients tested; nevertheless, the deregulation of adiponectin, omentin-1 and resistin secretion was observed.
A dose-finding study for a supplement containing Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris FC in healthy adults with mild constipation

A dose-escalation study was conducted to find the effective dose of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris FC for improving defecation in healthy subjects. Twenty-seven subjects were recruited and consecutively ingested a placebo and two dose levels of L. cremoris FC (dose level 1, 1 × 107 cfu; dose level 2, 2 × 107 cfu) capsules daily for two weeks. Frequency of defecation (times/week) was significantly increased by dose level 2, and stool volume (units/week) was significantly increased by dose level 1. This dose-escalation study elucidated that intake of at least 1 × 107 cfu L. cremoris FC improves defecation.
Alcohol consumption in relation to cardiovascular risk and mortality

It is known that drinking alcohol in moderation is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease and total mortality in healthy subjects, whereas its abuse is unquestionably harmful. This thesis has confirmed previous studies in healthy people and has extended them to the association of alcohol consumption with cardiovascular and total mortality in cardiovascular patients. Highly sophisticated statistical analyses have been used to dissect the issue. In both healthy subjects and cardiovascular patients, teetotalers and heavy drinkers are at the highest risk whereas light-moderate drinkers are at the lowest risk. A similar relationship was found when either wine or beer consumption were considered. In conclusions: there is no reason to discourage either healthy persons or cardiovascular patients, if they are regular light-moderate alcohol consumers from continuing. Heavy or binge drinkers should always be urged to cut and modify their consumption.
Environmental change in the subtropics during the late middle Eocene greenhouse and global implications

Oxygen isotope records from ODP Site 1052 (Blake Nose, subtropical North Atlantic Ocean) indicate significant short‐term, high‐amplitude variability (up to 1.4‰ in about 2500 to 4000 years) during the late middle Eocene (37.9–37.5 Ma). These variations reflect a combination of changes in sea surface temperature and the oxygen isotope composition of the regional seawater. In order to independently evaluate the magnitude of SST changes at Blake Nose and better understand the nature of environmental change during the late middle Eocene, we present planktonic foraminiferal Mg/Ca data combined with δ18O data from the same samples. The calculated Mg/Ca paleotemperatures indicate a decrease in SSTs over the study interval from ∼33 to 28°C at the same time that previously published foraminiferal δ18Ocalcite values from the same samples also decrease. Thus, the δ18Ocalcite values must reflect a significant component of seawater δ18O change in order to reconcile the opposite paleotemperature trends reflected by both proxies. Calculated δ18Oseawater values decreased from ∼3‰ at 37.83 Ma to ∼2‰ at 37.6 Ma. The combined trends of the SST and δ18Oseawater cannot be explained by an increase of continental ice over this time interval. Instead, the data favor an overall weakening of the hydrological cycle as global climate transitioned from the greenhouse to icehouse.
The Movius Line and the Bamboo Hypothesis: Early Hominin Stone Technology in Southeast Asia

Abstract This paper reviews the development of ideas about early hominin stone technology and behavior in Southeast Asia and the state of current thinking on the subject. Particular emphasis is placed on the enduring influence of the “Movius Line” concept, the decades-old notion that Acheulean handaxes are absent from Southeast Asia (and the Far East in general), marking this area off as distinct from the Palaeolithic developmental sequence elsewhere in the Old World. The most widely accepted explanation for the Movius Line is that organic-based tool technologies took precedence over stone in the endemic rainforests of Pleistocene Southeast Asia: the so-called “Bamboo Hypothesis. “The rationalefor the Bamboo Hypothesis is examined and the model called into question on empirical and theoreticalgrounds. Finally, thepaper reviews claims for early hominin stone tools in Southeast Asia and considers their implications for our understanding of Palaeolithic hominin behavior.
Planning sustainable futures for Melbourne's peri-urban region

Planning Sustainable Futures for Melbourne's Peri-urban Region. This study outlined current sectoral trends in the land use, agriculture, water resources, biodiversity, and socio-economic sectors for six Victorian peri-urban municipalities and explores the policy and institutional arrangements associated with these trends. The six municipalities form the Peri-urban Group of Councils. The report found that the peri-urban group of councils constitutes a region which contains extensive similarities and is experiencing similar pressures and problems. It concludes that the region would benefit from a coordinated policy framework and responses to emerging issues at all levels of government. The report found that extensive spatial, policy and institutional fragmentation had occurred in the study area. Most of the rural areas had been subdivided into lots of varying sizes, many jointly owned as part of larger properties, each lot able to be developed. Under current land use policies and planning schemes, extensive incremental development of dwellings and other uses will occur on these fragmented lots over time with significant cross-sectoral implications particularly for servicing costs to local government, the provision of social services, landscape quality, water use, agriculture and biodiversity.
Marine Fisheries Ecosystem: Its Quantitative Evaluation and Management

Purpose and scope Ecosystem processes and approaches to quantitative simulation of the marine fish component Limitation of models based on primary production and comparison of biomass-based and number-based models Biomass parameters of fish population and distribution of biomass with age Major processes in the fish component of a marine ecosystem and their simulation Formulas and computation procedures of a biomass-based fisheries ecosystem Simulation of plankton and benthos, interactions of fish biota with them and the total carrying capacity of ocean regions Equilibrium biomasses and basic input data Equilibrium biomasses in the eastern Bering Sea at present and Bering Sea biomasses in natural state Environment - biota and interspecies interactions Natural fluctuations in the marine ecosystem Consumption of marine biota by marine mammals in the NE Pacific Ocean Verification and validation of ecosystem simulation Simulation of the fishery in marine ecosystem models Acceptable catch and its estimation Use of ecosystem simulation in fisheries management and research List of symbols.
Farmer's decisions and landscape change : an actor-based approach for land-use research

In dit proefschrift wordt een actorgerichte benadering beschreven die landgebruiksveranderingen probeert te verklaren en simuleren als een reactie van boeren op socio-economische en biofysische veranderingsprocessen. Deze aanpak werd geimplementeerd in een ‘agent-based’ raamwerk dat verschillende concepten en hulpmiddelen combineert: de bereidheid en capaciteit van boeren, besluitvormingscorridors, typologieen van ‘agents’ en beslissingsmechanismen gebaseerd op kansberekening. De beschrijving en implementatie van dit modelleerraamwerk heeft verschillende bijdragen gehad aan het onderzoek naar landgebruikThis dissertation has two objectives. The first objective is to link conceptually individual decisions and land-use/cover change (LUCC) patterns in rural regions. The second objective is to use these concepts to explore the influence of policy on LUCC as a response of farmers' decisions. To achieve these objectives, different approaches are used. Firstly, agent typologies are used to simplify and allocate the regional diversity of farmers' decisions. Secondly, an agent-based approach is used to link individual decisions and LUCC patterns in a regional model. Thirdly, this approach is applied to explore how farmers' response to national and global socio-economic and biophysical processes can affect the landscape of a Dutch rural region. Fourthly, this approach is applied to explore how farmers' participation in voluntary mechanisms to restore native vegetation can affect the landscape in rural Australia. Finally, the implication of these results for LUCC research and policy-making are discussed.