Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Periglacial complexes and the deductive evidence of ‘wet’-flows at the Hale impact crater, Mars

Abstract The Hale impact crater is a large complex crater (c. 150 × c. 125 km) in the southern hemisphere of Mars. Recurring slope lineae have been observed on its central-peak slopes, as have relatively youthful gully-like landforms; the latter are observed adjacent to or in the midst of the former, as well as on all of the rim-material slopes. Three of the gullied slopes on the northern-rim materials exhibit landscape features that, on Earth, are synonymous with wet periglaciation, i.e. landscape modification by the freeze–thaw cycling of water. These features include: (1) gelifluction-like lobes; (2) patches of surface polygonization, possibly underlain by ice wedges and formed by thermal-contraction cracking; and (3) shallow, rimless and polygonized basins morphologically akin to terrestrial alases. Here, we use the spatial association of the gully-like landforms together with the putatively wet periglacial assemblages or complexes to deduce and ascribe, albeit indirectly, a wet origin to the former.
Boundaries to change: insights into the change process of beef and sheep farmers

Extension programs aim to support farmers in achieving practice change, but often fail to deliver intended adoption outcomes. Understanding why and how farmers make decisions about change helps align extension approaches with farmer values, increasing the likelihood of recommended practice adoption. Interviews with 24 southern Australian sheep and beef farmers explored why and how farmers approach change. 'Boundaries to Change' emerged from a combined deductive and inductive thematic analysis of interviews: providing new insights into adoption based on conceptual Boundaries that constrain farmer decisions around change. The extent of change farmers are willing or able to make is associated with flexibility of Boundaries. Flexibility is influenced by motivating values and information seeking patterns. Farmer segments with particular combinations of Boundaries, values and information seeking patterns emerged, providing guidance for differentiating extension messages. Extension approaches informed by Boundaries to Change identify and respect farmer values, encourage adoption within existing Boundaries and support farmers' moving from firmer to more flexible Boundaries, accommodating practice change.
Endogenous virophages are active and mitigate giant virus infection in the marine protist Cafeteria burkhardae

Significance Single-celled eukaryotes are parasitized by viruses just like other life forms, but compared to bacteria or animals, their defense systems against viral infection remain unknown. Virophages could be one such mechanism since these small DNA viruses often inhibit giant DNA viruses while leaving their protist hosts unharmed. In this study, we demonstrate that certain virophage genomes that are integrated in wild populations of the marine protist Cafeteria burkhardae become active upon infection with the giant virus CroV and are able to protect host populations from lysis by CroV. We show that this virophage-based defense is giant-virus-specific and is present in protists from around the globe. Our findings strongly suggest that some protists use beneficial viruses to fend off lytic viruses.
In vitro ruminal fermentation, core nutrient, fatty acids and mineral matter of pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium L.) herbage at different phenological stages

Abstract Background In ruminants, fibrous feedstuffs must be included in the ration to ensure normal rumen physiology and to prevent the occurrence of rumen‐related metabolic diseases. In addition to being a source of fibrous feedstuffs, they contain energy depending on the level of digestion and protein, minerals, fatty acids, minerals, and secondary compounds. Objectives This study aimed to determine the nutrient matter, fatty acid, mineral and in vitro rumen fermentation values of the pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium L.) plant. Methods The pennyroyal plant samples were collected at different phenological stages (vegetative, full flowering, and seed bulking) from the natural meadow. The samples were analysed for core nutrients, condensed tannins, minerals, fatty acids, and in vitro ruminal fermentation parameters. Results The calcium (Ca) and iron (Fe) contents and in vitro ruminal fermentation parameters (total gas production and methane production, organic matter digestion (OMd), and the ammonia‐nitrogen) decreased with increasing phenological stage (p < 0.05). The percentages of linoleic, α‐linolenic, ω‐3, ω‐6 and polyunsaturated fatty (PUFA) acids of the pennyroyal plant linearly increased with the phenological stages (p < 0.05). However, butyric acid (BA) concentration in the in vitro ruminal fermentation fluid in the full flowering stage was lower than that of other stages (p < 0.05). Conclusions Pennyroyal plant is a functional plant in terms of high values of ether extract (EE), α‐linolenic acid, linoleic acid, ∑ω‐3 fatty acids, Ca, Fe and Zn contents. For this plant to be used as animal feed, the stage when it has the highest values for Ca, Mg, S and Zn minerals and in vitro OMd were vegetative and full flowering. The stage with good potential as animal feed for ∑ω‐3 and ∑ω‐6 fatty acids and core nutrients (CP and EE) is the seed bulking stage.
The Maritime Engineering Education: meeting industry demands

This article describes the outcome of a survey initiated by the Danish Maritime Fund (DMF). The survey resulted in a report that describes the engineering competencies requested by the Danish maritime industry. This is of interest since the desired competencies have changed in the past one to two decades, where Denmark no longer has a considerable ship-building industry. Furthermore, the DMF initiated report concludes that the demand for maritime engineers in the industry is larger than the output. The report sets forth a series of recommendations to the industry as well as the universities to enable meeting the demand for maritime engineers in Denmark. The recommendations are outlined together with the work commenced at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) to follow up on the recommendations in the report.
Mapping Ice Algal Blooms in Southwest Greenland From Space

Quantifying the distribution and abundance of ice algae is fundamental for understanding the evolving processes of algal blooms in supraglacial environments, particularly over the Greenland ice sheet, given the role of algal impurities in modulating surface albedo and meltwater production. Field observations of ice algae in Greenland are very limited over space and time. Here we show for the first time the regional variability in algal abundance across the dark zone in southwest Greenland, derived from Sentinel‐3 images acquired during the summertime in 2016 and 2017. We demonstrate the capacity of Sentinel‐3 imagery to characterize the spatial pattern of algal abundance using the reflectance ratios between 709‐ and 673‐nm bands, highly consistent with field measurements. The estimated algal abundance reveals a significant linear growth pattern of algal population with time after the peak of dark ice presence, shown to be tightly linked to surface runoff and meltwater production.
Efficacy, Complications and Effects of Alcides Pereira's Sutures in the Management of Uterine Atony: A Retrospective Study.

INTRODUCTION Uterine compressive sutures are conservative measures applied in cases of severe postpartum hemorrhage unresponsive to uterotonics. Pereira's suture was introduced in 2005 and consists of two longitudinal and three transverse non-transfixes sutures. Previous studies reported favorable results, highlighting its benefits and value. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy, complications, and impact on fertility and future pregnancies of Pereira's suture applied in cases of uterine atony and postpartum hemorrhage. METHODS An observational retrospective study was performed by consulting the medical records of women treated with Pereira's compressive sutures in a tertiary center between January 2013 and December 2022. We registered demographic data, pregnancy outcomes, short-term complications, and outcomes of subsequent pregnancies. RESULTS A total of 50 women were treated with Pereira's suture. The overall success rate was 96% and no hysterectomies were performed. Women who had sutures performed during an intra-cesarean section had better outcomes than those who had an after-cesarean section. Complications were reported in 12% (n = 6) of women, with the most frequent being pelvic infection (n = 3) and abdominal pain (n = 3). Regarding fertility, all women desiring a future pregnancy (n = 5) were able to conceive, resulting in three live births. CONCLUSION Pereira's suture is a type of suture that provides numerous advantages and should be considered when first-line medical treatment fails. When applied at an early stage, the sutures may prevent maternal morbidity. The Alcides Pereira's suture is a safe technique and appears to preserve fertility.
Estimating the abundance of the northern North Carolina estuarine system stock of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

The Northern North Carolina Estuarine System (NNCES) stock of the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) has a small population size and low Potential Biological Removal level (PBR). Levels of serious injury and mortality due to commercial fisheries interactions may exceed the PBR. In addition, the prior abundance estimate, from a survey in 2006, is no longer valid for computing the PBR for the stock after 2014. To obtain a new abundance estimate, we conducted a capture-mark-recapture survey of the NNCES stock in the Pamlico-Albemarle Estuarine Complex (PAEC) from 15 June to 27 July 2013. The PAEC is the primary summer habitat for the stock. We surveyed 4,779 km of trackline, encountering 128 dolphin groups. We took 30,991 photographs, from which 471 individual dolphins were identified from distinctive nicks and notches on dorsal fins. Because dolphins in the most southern portion of the summer habitat overlap with the Southern North Carolina Estuarine System (SNCES) stock in July, some photographed dolphins could have been members of the SNCES stock. We developed a decision tree to identify dolphins that may have belonged to the SNCES stock, thereby allowing us to estimate abundance using all dolphins and then excluding those that might belong to the SNCES stock. We then calculated lower (823; 95% posterior interval (PI) = 733-931) and upper (873; 95% PI = 775-989) bounds on the abundance estimate based on habitat-use assumptions from the decision tree. Both estimates were obtained using closed capture-mark-recapture models and a novel method to correct for dolphins with indistinctive fins.
Radiosondes Show That After Decades of Cooling, the Lower Stratosphere Is Now Warming

Since the mid‐twentieth century, radiosonde and satellite measurements show that the troposphere has warmed and the stratosphere has cooled. These changes are primarily due to increasing concentrations of well‐mixed greenhouse gases and the depletion of stratospheric ozone. In response to continued greenhouse gas increases and stratospheric ozone depletion, climate models project continued tropospheric warming and stratospheric cooling over the coming decades. Global average satellite observations of lower stratospheric temperatures exhibit no significant trends since the turn of the century. In contrast, an analysis of vertically resolved radiosonde measurements from 60 stations shows an increase of lower stratospheric temperature since the turn of the century at altitudes between 15 and 30 km and over most continents. Trend estimates are somewhat sensitive to homogeneity assessment choices, but all investigated radiosonde data sets suggest a change from late twentieth century cooling to early 21st century warming in the lower stratosphere, which is consistent with a reversal from ozone depletion to recovery from the effects of ozone‐depleting substances. In comparison, satellite observations at the radiosonde locations show only minor early 21st century warming, possibly due to the compensating effects of continued cooling above the radiosonde altitude range.
Human Umbilical Cord–Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Phase I/II Dose-Finding Clinical Study

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuro-inflammatory disease resulting in disabilities that negatively impact patients’ life quality. While current treatment options do not reverse the course of the disease, treatment using mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC) is promising. There has yet to be a consensus on the type and dose of MSC to be used in MS. This work aims to study the safety and efficacy of two treatment protocols of MSCs derived from the umbilical cord (UC-MSCs) and their secretome. The study included two groups of MS patients; Group A received two intrathecal doses of UC-MSCs, and Group B received a single dose. Both groups received UC-MSCs conditioned media 3 months post-treatment. Adverse events in the form of a clinical checklist and extensive laboratory tests were performed. Whole transcriptome analysis was performed on patients’ cells at baseline and post-treatment. Results showed that all patients tolerated the cellular therapy without serious adverse events. The general disability scale improved significantly in both groups at 6 months post-treatment. Examining specific aspects of the disease revealed more parameters that improved in Group A compared to Group B patients, including a significant increase in the (CD3+CD4+) expressing lymphocytes at 12 months post-treatment. In addition, better outcomes were noted regarding lesion load, cortical thickness, manual dexterity, and information processing speed. Both protocols impacted the transcriptome of treated participants with genes, transcription factors, and microRNAs (miRNAs) differentially expressed compared to baseline. Inflammation-related and antigen-presenting (HLA-B) genes were downregulated in both groups. In contrast, TNF-alpha, TAP-1, and miR142 were downregulated only in Group A. The data presented indicate that both protocols are safe. Furthermore, it suggests that administering two doses of stem cells can be more beneficial to MS patients. Larger multisite studies should be initiated to further examine similar or higher doses of MSCs.
A retrospective study

To investigate effects of surgical treatment on adult tethered cord syndrome (TCS). A retrospective analysis of 82 adult patients (17 male cases, 82% and 24 female cases, 59%) with TCS treated by surgery was conducted between March, 2005 and December, 2015, with an average age of 31.6 years and average disease course of 6.7 years. All the 82 cases of patients received nerve electrophysiology monitoring assisted microsurgery. After surgery, all patients were followed up for an average of 2.5 years. Surgical effects were evaluated according to Hoffman grading system. As this is just a retrospective study that does not involve any interventions, ethical approval was not necessary according to the rules of the hospital. All patients were followed up, no death occurred. According to Hoffman grading system, the neurologic symptoms were improved in 22 patients (27%), stabilized in 60 patients (73%). Of 10 cases with lipoma tethered spinal cord, corresponding symptoms were improved in 2 cases. Of 32 cases with tethered spinal cord caused by dermoid cyst and epidermoid cyst, the symptoms were improved in 6 cases. Of 40 cases without occupying lesions of tethered spinal cord, the symptoms were improved in 14 cases. Besides, there was no deteriorated case. Surgical treatment on adult patients with TCS can improve the neurologic deficits which are associated with the course of disease, early treatment has much better curative effect. Abbreviation: TCS = tethered cord syndrome.
Contribution of desiccation to monotonic and cyclic strength of thickened gold tailings – not the same as over-consolidation

In many jurisdictions, regulators are concerned with remobilisation of high unbounded deposits of mine waste residuals, such as thickened tailings stacks. Consequently, the monotonic and cyclic behaviour of thickened tailings is of significant interest to practitioners of mine waste geotechnique. Thickened tailings are known to gain strength through a combination of hindered settling, desiccation, and consolidation post-deposition. This paper reports on the effects of over-consolidation ratio (OCR) and desiccation, investigated using a simple shear apparatus (NGI type). Samples for element testing were obtained from laboratory tests simulating multilayer deposition in columns or flumes. In each test, tailings were deposited at some initial solids concentration and allowed to desiccate to different values of water content, both above and below the shrinkage limit. These tailings were then overlaid with fresh tailings, and allowed to resaturate by capillary action from the fresh layer. Tailings from the bottom layer were then extracted using thin-wall Shelby tube. Some tailings were allowed to settle, subsequently extracted with no desiccation, and mechanically over-consolidated. Very sharp differences in both the quantitative and qualitative behaviours of samples prepared by these two methods were observed. Mechanically over-consolidated samples exhibited high peak strengths, whereas desiccated samples exhibited much lower strengths at phase transformation, but substantial strain hardening past phase transformation. This information is very important to geotechnical practitioners working on thickened tailings projects, as many operate under the assumption that desiccation is analogous to mechanical over-consolidation.
Improved Methods for Evaluating Noise Exposure and Hearing Loss

Occupational noise exposure is one of the most frequent hazards present in the workplace; up to 22 million workers have potentially hazardous noise exposures in the US. As a result, noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common occupational injuries in the United States. Workers in manufacturing, construction, and the military are at the highest risk for hearing loss. Despite the large number of people exposed to high levels of noise at work, many occupations have not been adequately evaluated for noise exposure. The objective of this experiment was to investigate whether or not iOS smartphones and other smart devices (Apple iPhones and iPods) could be used as reliable instruments to measure noise exposures. For this experiment three different types of microphones were tested with a single model of iPod and three generations of iPhones: the internal microphones on the device, a low-end lapel microphone, and a high-end lapel microphone marketed as being compliant with the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) standard for a Class 2-microphone. All possible combinations of microphones and noise measurement applications were tested in a controlled environment using several different levels of pink noise ranging from 60 to 100 dBA. Results were compared to simultaneous measurements made using a Type 1 sound level measurement system. Analysis of variance and Tukey's honest significant difference (HSD) test were used to determine if the results differed by microphone or noise measurement application.
Multi-Scale Protein Language Model for Unified Molecular Modeling

Protein language models have demonstrated significant potential in the field of protein engineering. However, current protein language models primarily operate at the residue scale, which limits their ability to provide information at the atom level. This limitation prevents us from fully exploiting the capabilities of protein language models for applications involving both proteins and small molecules. In this paper, we propose ms-ESM (multi-scale ESM), a novel approach that enables multi-scale unified molecular modeling. ms-ESM achieves this by pre-training on multiscale code-switch protein sequences and utilizing a multi-scale position encoding to capture relationships among residues and atoms. Experimental results indicate that ms-ESM surpasses previous methods in protein-molecule tasks, demonstrating the full utilization of protein language models. Further investigations reveal that through unified molecular modeling, ms-ESM not only gains molecular knowledge but also retains its understanding of proteins.
The CCR4/CCL17 axis drives intestinal acute Graft versus Host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

Acute-Graft-versus-Host disease (aGvHD) is a life-threatening complication after allogeneic stem-cell-transplantation. It is mediated by alloreactive T cells whose trafficking to aGvHD target organs is orchestrated by chemokines. We here asked whether CCL17 and its corresponding receptor CCR4 are involved in aGvHD development and severity. We applied an experimental mouse model of aGvHD in CCR4/CCL17 knockout mice and analyzed gut biopsies of GvHD patients. We show that the absence of CCR4 in transplanted T cells induced significantly less severe aGvHD. This was accompanied by reduced expression of Gata3. Mechanistically, only CD4+, but not CD8+CCR4-/- T cells protected from aGvHD. We next identified dendritic cells in the small intestine to produce CCL17, which selectively recruited CD4+ T cells. IL-4 production by intestinal CD4+ T cells promoted proliferation of CD8+ T cells. In line, we detected an upregulation of CCL17 and Gata3 in human aGvHD samples. Our results indicate that local CCL17 production in aGvHD target organs recruits T cells, reinforcing local tissue damage and immune cell recruitment. We identified the JAK1/2-inhibitor ruxolitinib to dampen CCL17-expression, thereby reducing GvHD severity. We here dissect a to date unknown role of the CCL17-CCR4 axis in aGvHD, which might help to develop novel therapeutic strategies.
Human brain aging heterogeneity observed from multi-region omics data reveals a subtype closely related to Alzheimer’s disease

INTRODUCTION: The interconnection between brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remain to be elucidated. METHODS: We investigated multi-omics (transcriptomics and proteomics) data from multiple brain regions (i.e., the hippocampus (HIPP), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and cerebellum (CRBL)) in cognitively normal individuals. RESULTS: We found that brain samples could be divided into ADL (AD-like) and NL (normal) subtypes which were correlated across brain regions. The differentially expressed genes in the ADL samples highly overlapped with AD gene signatures and the changes were consistent across brain regions (PFC and HIPP) in the multi-omics data. Intriguingly, the ADL subtype in PFC showed more differentially expressed genes than other brain regions, which could be explained by the baseline gene expression differences in the PFC NL samples. DISCUSSION: We conclude that brain aging heterogeneity widely exists, and our findings corroborate with the hypothesis that AD-related changes occur decades before the clinical manifestation of cognitive impairment in a sub-population.